Lucifers Hero

Delete.

Can't believe Baker and Smith have been dropped. Not even emergencies. They weren't our worst! Jones and Gawn selected. Expect some late changes.

Bone bruising in itself shouldn't cause a player to go back to VFL after just a few weeks out. Its worth remembering he didn't even play a full VFL game. His first was for about 2 qtrs and in the second he sustained an ankle injury. Hardly ideal prep for a full on AFL game. I wasn't taking a shot at the Club. Listen to Goodwin's press conf. He says Lever has had a long time out of footy and they want him to get VFL form. It sounds like he wasn't ready for AFL be that for match fitness or form reasons.

Have mixed feelings about Bolton at the Dees. He is a Clarkson protege which on paper looks good. But he had the Blues playing a woeful defense only game. An example: This year he had all the tall fwds simultaneously playing up the ground so they struggled to score. Interestingly, their fwd coach was Teague, the current stand in coach. He has put the fwds back where they belong - near to goal and they are kicking reasonable scores. This suggests Bolton wasn't giving line coaches much latitude in how the team plays. It has oft been reported that he is a control freak, has too many meetings and makes things complex and detailed. From the outside, not sure that the Goodwin style and Bolton style would make for good synergy.

Just for info: The only difference between a rookie and a full-list player is the length of the contract and the size of the pay packet. Rookies can play AFL from day 1 without waiting to be upgraded for a LTI. We have a 'combined' list of 47 players. 39 full-list (are allowed 40) and 8 rookies (have forgotten how many are allowed). I feel we have the depth in numbers just not sure the depth of ability is there. Other clubs have as long a list of injuries as ours but suspect they have better quality depth eg Richmond, Pies.

Gawn still in doubt. https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-07-04/star-demon-still-in-doubt-as-final-fitness-test-looms Ankle still very swollen. Will be tested again on Saturday. Lever will play VFL. Goodwin: "We just want to ease him back into it." Should have done that a month ago rather than bring him into AFL on barely a full game in over a year.

It never occurred to me that players will not play out the season as if we were in the finals race. In 2019 they have taken the respect for our beloved demons back several years. They have 8 weeks to get some of it back. They can shape the final 8, play for pride and their own self respect. I just can't digest the thought that they will not do their best in every game. If they just put the cue in the rack it will be a poor way to enter the 2020 preseason. Where will the hunger come from in 2020?

If some things don't change it is unlikely the results will. I don't mind too much if we don't win but the club most show it has improved in this year and what better way to do that than these four return games. If some things don't change we will miss the opportunity to test different coaching ideas against teams that in recent years have generally had the wood on us and are successful teams. To me it is now all about preparation for 2020 so I expect the club to play to win but not to squander the opportunity the rest of the season provides for experimenting and show that we have learnt and improved.

Rounds 18 to 21 should show what we have learnt and how far we have progressed this year. We have return games vs Eagles, Saints, Tigers, Pies. They beat us this year with better game plans or better tactics or straighter kicking. But we will have most of the preseason/early season injured players back. We have had 2-3 months to apply lessons learnt and a new coaching structure. So we should perform better this time round. Hoping for a few wins! A benefit of the return matches is coaches can test different tactics/plans. If they work against arguably 3 of the best 4-5 teams then we can be optimistic of a successful 2020. If they don't it is back to the drawing board. I'm looking forward to these games to see how we have adjusted and what 2020 may bring.

I haven't had that info. There are several posters that have 'lucifer' in their moniker.

He recently said he wanted to play for a few years. So, if he doesn't have something else lined up post playing, be it studies/ventures etc he won't take kindly to being tapped on the shoulder. Last year Clarkson told his captain he could see out the last year of his contract and take his chances on senior selection. Roughy relinquished the captaincy and is playing VFL with good grace and professionalism. That is what needs to happen with Jones. A one year contract and games based on form and what is best for the team. Getting to 300 games is irrelevant.

May left GCS to play finals with mfc and hopefully a premiership. Atm both teams are a long way off finals let alone a flag. The ultimate irony for him will be MFC sharing the cellar with them this year and then watch on if GCS rise above us in the next few years.

Not useful to take things out of context. Yes 2, relevant to the question I asked. Repeat: The coaches believe players are fit enough OR the coaches believe players are not fit enough. One of those has to be correct.

Even when we win the i50, clearances and cp we lose and lose badly. Evidence that it no longer work. Opp coaches repeatedly saying the way to win is to match us on the inside and beat us around the ground. When op do that, they win. Evidence that it no longer works. We are 4 W/11L: Evidence that it no longer works. If you think by kicking more in one or two qtrs vs Freo is on par with everyone else, you haven't watched how the 'controlled' game teams tear us apart. Rewatch the prelim, 2018 and 2019 QB game and 2019 round 2 and see how the kick/mark style works. We are nothing like that.

Accepting the preseason/surgery/injury/fitness issues, I have one simple question: Why has the coach persisted with a ballistic, fast brand of contested football that requires going flat out for 4 qtrs and in his words 'we the easiest to score against'? One of two answers: 1. Coaches believe players are not fit enough to play the ballistic brand but are too stupid/stubborn to adjust the brand to what player fitness allows. OR 2. Coaches believe players are fit enough and there are other reasons for non-performance Take your pick. Either or. #stoptheexcuses

Lyon and Roos have been saying that for a while but it must be fugazzi to our coach. Hopefully this honesty catches Goodwin's attention: how-the-lions-beat-the-dees-at-their-own-game "What Brisbane...did...was as big a football insult possible to Simon Goodwin, who's built his team brand around dominating at the coalface". Ouch!! Brutal but honest. "The Lions savaged the Demons 20-6 in the centre clearances... for Melbourne, it was the club's equal second-worst differential ever recorded." Read that again: Equal second worst EVER! As bad or worse than the Neeld years. "Brisbane also won 27 – twenty-seven – more contested possessions than the Demons". So much for our 'one wood'; more like a plastic putter!! More than enough evidence is presented week after week that Goodwin's' brand' no longer works. Goodwin looks stuck in neutral, spinning wheels and digging a deep hole. He must make changes to the game plan. Or if players are not listening, change the players. To continue as is, he may take us into an almighty sink hole! Time for the coach to have an honest look in the mirror.

The point was to make a statement and make them better players. Hinkley was prepared to take the risk. They all put in exceptional games in the SANFL. They are all match winners on their day. The success of the move can only be assessed once they are back in the team which they will be. I suspect Port will win more games from the improvement in the dropped name players than losing the game on Sat night. The alternative was to let them continue to play below expectations. As to who we bring in? I've given up on this season so I don't care who we bring in. The goal imv is to build a team for next year. If that means making a statement and drop Oliver or Brayshaw and we lose so be it. Give JKH a chance to show he deserves another contract or give Dunkley a run to see how he fares at AFL level. Nothing to lose.

It is looking that way. AVB has two years to go so if there is any chance of coming good the club will stick with him. On other possible changes, I think it is harsh to delist J Smith and Garlett as they have season ending injuries and its tough to recover without the support of a football club. I doubt they can be traded so would like to see them get a one year contract or be rookied.

Hinkley recently made a statement and dropped: Rockcliff, Westoff, Ryder and Powell-Pepper. There was an article yesterday about Ollie Wines (co-captain) the next one on the chopping block. That is what strong coaches do. The way our midfielders danced around and blindly flicked the ball around was awful - they wouldn't take a tackle. It was like a playground. As usual Oliver constantly trotted after an opp rather than chased. He has good tackle numbers but to players who are 1 mt away. He doesn't do the hard stuff. Neither does Brayshaw. Even Harmes' intensity has dropped off lately. Viney also looked like he caught the 'hands off' bug. Would love to see their metres run stats and the 'heat map'. The season is gone; we will end up bottom 3. I don't care who we bring in. Some statements need to be made. Hinkley did it. Clarkson did it. Even Hardwick dropped fan idol Higgins. Our coaches cannot avoid the hard decisions. If they do is it any wonder the players don't do the hard stuff. The sooner our players realise that no-one is a 'protected species' the better we will be. Perhaps drop Oliver until he learns to chase, defend and kick - no bigger statement than that. Everyone will be on notice.

Injury Ladder - Total Games Is there another table?

If its the table I think you are referring to it was total games lost to injury not to the best 22. The likes of Nietschke, Walker, Chandler, Smith are a considerable part of our total games lost. Of the Saints players I mentioned I think only one had a reasonable preseason: Geary. The rest little. Doubt we will agree binman.

A lot is made of preseason injuries but we aren't the only ones. Coll, Rich and a few others could claim loss of players in preseason or early season injuries. And, St Kilda had a bad run with preseason/early season outs. McCartin, Hannebery, Carlisle, Stevens, Roberton, Geary. All best 22. Without counting, those 6 have probably missed as many if not more games than our missing best 6. Yet they managed to win 6 games without them in the first half of the season and achieve a reasonable %. And really their list is nowhere near as talented as ours. Yesterday's smashing was because we had no physicality. There was no ferocity, no real effort to tackle or put bodies on the line. Had we done those things we may still have lost but not thrashed. In a word, we were timid. Referring back to preseason surgeries and injuries feeds the 'time will sort things out' narrative and papers over underlying issues.

Fagan: "...Melbourne, they want to get you into that contested ball environment because they believe that's where they play their best footy...that's the most pleasing thing … we were able to beat a fantastic contested ball team at their own game." How many coaches have said similar this year: match them on the inside and we beat them on the outside/around the ground etc. Defeat after defeat they are virtually telling Goodwin his version of a contested ball game plan doesn't work anymore. Just don't understand why Goodwin is not listening. Does he think he knows much better than the likes of Hardwick, Buckley and Fagan? If I hear the 'match them on the inside and we can win' mantra from an opp coach again, I will...I don't know what I'll do but good Lord something needs to change in the coaches box. At what point do players, who hear this from opp when we lose, start losing faith in the game plan...?

Joined up a week ago. Half your posts are in this thread and pot anyone non-positive comments. Similar to your posts in other threads. Are you the alter ego of one of our absent mfc apologists?

The voice of reason. Thank you,