Lucifers Hero

Am I the only one that thinks we can take it up to Adelaide? They are playing unbelievable football but I'm not convinced they are invincible. They have beaten: GWS, Haw, P.A. Ess. GC. Rich. The 3 top 6 teams have in turn beaten: GWS: GC. NM. Port. Syd. WB. Port: Syd. Freo. Carlton. Brisb. Rich: Carl. Coll. WC. BL. Dees. A lot of bottom 6 teams among the beaten. I'm not saying we will win but I'm not ready to notch it up as a loss, either. If we bring our A game we will give it a damn good go.

Adelaide are amazing. They show no mercy. They play like a team possessed and never give the ops a look in. So Rich % has taken a huge beating and they have slipped to 4th. They have no 'gimme' games coming up in the next month. Who knows how far (down) the slippery slope they go...to 9th perhaps...

To page do this @A F Echo your sentiments. Great weekend for AF. Married his great lady and a super demons win...as good as it gets, really.

There were a few positional changes at half time: Vince, Mcdonald etc Another was that Petracca took Hurley who had thrashed us in the 1st half, away from the play and stop him intercepting. I think he had only 4 marks in the 2nd half. Virtually all Goodwin's moves worked. Goodwin comprehensively outcoached Worsfold!

You may as well give up 'Webber'. Some people can't see past their biases or past a few clangers which all players have. Even today's hero, Pedobear (whom I love) had 8. I couldn't see the game but heard on ABC that at the start of the 3rd qtr we had 7 in defence and T McD was the 'spare'. He almost immediately kicked a goal. Not quite a momentum turning piece of play but really significant for the game. T Mc more than did his job today. I might add putting Frost on Daniher for the game and freeing T Mac was a bit of coaching masterstroke.

My dislike for Ess knows no bounds. So of all games this year this is the one I desperately wanted us to win. And we did - without 2 of our best players. A real four quarter effort. So proud we rose above all the setbacks. A win that will be a huge confidence boost for the team. Demons take a bow.

If we lose I hope Hibberd and Melksham don't stop to laugh and joke with their old team mates. Never like to see that. Just shake their hand and move on guys. If we win milk it for all its worth. Go Dees.

And isn't that a powerful motivator. Surely, that will spur the team on to overcome challenges. Won't it? Add Freo to that and that is 4 of the 2015 top 8 teams. If ever there was a year that a team was going to sneak into the 8, this is it. Will be incredibly disappointing if we don't get there this year. Especially if the likes of Ess, Rich, StK do. Will leave town for the finals season, if that happens!!

But we haven't lost our 2 match winners for 10 weeks. And yes we will forgive a few losses but I wouldn't like to see us accept that injuries are the reason we lost the last 3 games. I know that is not what you are saying nor suggesting but others on this site are. So to give folks some comparisons: The nearest is WCE who have lost both first choice ruckman for extended periods, their 3rd backup ruckman/forward is out for 5-6 weeks and they have an equally long list of injured depth players. Some will claim they keep winning because they are flat track bullies. But last night they smashed a team we let pinch a game on our home turf a few weeks ago when we didn't have in game injuries. Another is the young, inexperienced WB lost their ruckman Roughhead in the second quarter of the 2016 prelim final but still found a way to win. The main reason they won is because their leaders stood up and they had another 200+cm player on the ground (which teams nearly always do even during the season games) so they were able to stick to their game plan and structures. For various reasons our structures completely fell apart vs Richmond. I agree that early injuries in games (and suspensions) have hurt but there were other factors that contributed to the three losses. What I'm finding a little frustrating is a growing narrative on DL that "we lost/will lose games because of injuries and suspensions, ipso facto injuries will cost us more games and finals". I feel we can't afford to think 'oh, x+x is out' and that is why we lost/will lose. I'm not suggesting you think like this Nasher as you are one of the more objective posters on this site. That narrative may make some people feel warm and fuzzy but if we accept it, it we will mask other problems that caused the 3 losses. They have been done to death in other threads so won't back track here. I'm incredibly proud of how our team has fought each game this year and love how they are going about it. That will help us win a lot more games than some people may think. But I have gone past accepting that injuries/suspensions caused all 3 losses and will be the reason for more.

Agreed. Before people start thinking 'poor demons, we have so many injuries' just look at those of other teams. If we get into this 'woe me' mindset we will make excuses for real problems with our game and performance. Like Goodwin said - good teams find a way to win regardless of personnel out. So agreed, no more 'injury' excuses.

Don't be fooled by Sydney being on the bottom. They are more likely to bounce back 2nd half this season and definitely next season than are North or Hawks. Sydney have had a bad run with injuries so far (and they lost Tippett this morning). They have a young list with quite a bit of talent which just need some experience. About 8-10 of their GF team had played less than 50 games. I think Tippett comes out of contract his year and it is hard to see him get the mega $ again so that should free up some sal cap space. They are a very smart, well run club. Longmire is no dummy and knows exactly where they are at and what needs to be done. This is a temporary lull for Sydney. More permanent for North and Hawks.

They took one look at our forward line and decided to drop a tall backman. Worried that we will be too fast and mobile for them up forward.

Lately, Toby has shown why Roos didn't take him for a 'packet of chips'. "It’s the third incident in three weeks that Greene has been involved in. He escaped suspension for headbutting Sydney’s Isaac Heeney last weekend, while he was fined for striking Port Adelaide’s Aidyn Johnson in Round 4...Those incidents also came after two in the JLT Community Series involving North Melbourne’s Sam Gibson and Sydney’s Harrison Marsh". http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/toby-greene-reported-for-striking-caleb-daniel-during-gws-giants-clash-with-western-bulldogs/news-story/9456f4c182e681d53b80ca8403647463 Apparently, his characteristics that led to his club imposed 5 week suspension in 2014 were well known. And, Roos was working for Sydney up to end of 2013 so would have kept a very close eye on the young Giants. Roos probably figured once a DH, always a DH. He is the sort of guy who can win a game but also the one that gets himself rubbed out for the big dance and costs a club the premiership. Anyway we had/have our own feisty terrier: Jack Viney. Roos probably figured one terrier in a team is enough!

Goodwin said on SEN tonight the club contacted the AFL umpires department to find out why he is being pinned for throws when the club think he is handballing. I wonder if the umpires are reacting to some commentators narrative a few weeks ago that Oliver throws and are just guessing. Good to see the club being proactive and hopefully the chat with AFL sorts the problem.

I wonder if something 'creative' with the ruck role would be to designate a ruckman for each zone eg Frost/TMac back of centre. Watts/Pedersen forward of centre. Maybe Pedersen to take the centre bounce to leave the others free to do their primary role. This would wear out Bellchambers as he would have to run all over the ground. Its Bellchambers' first game in 18 months and he would not be used to the pace of the game so the more we can wear him out the more even the game becomes. Creating a lot of stoppages will also help wear him out.

I put the link to the report at the top of my post. Scroll down the article and you will find the video of Petracca. Judge for yourself how solid his left leg looks as he runs and when he lands after marking. And Minson said yesterday that Petracca had bone bruising which usually takes time to heal. It is the same knee as his ACL which would make healing slower. Not sure why you find my comment 'scarily careless'. It's simply my opinion on where we are at. Knowing that Weideman isn't playing, we don't have much of a forward line this week so as I see it we have little choice but to play Petracca. It wouldn't be the first nor the last time that teams select players that are injured and hope it doesn't worsen.

From an article on AFL website: Nathan Schmook reports from Essendon training earlier this morning: ESSENDON'S five-day turnaround has already claimed three scalps, with James Kelly, Matthew Leuenberger and Aaron Francis rested. So how will the rest of the 22 from Anzac Day fare? And will the Bombers make any more changes for their Sunday clash against Melbourne, with James Stewart, Kyle Langford and Conor McKenna named on the extended bench? One thing is for sure, the Bombers are protecting their prized assets, with Zach Merrett, Brendon Goddard and Michael Hurley on light duties during yesterday's session in Tullamarine. The trio walked laps while the rest of the squad got into drills during a light session, with the Bombers taking no risks on a short five-day turnaround. The game may be a lot closer than some pundits think

Report from AFL site: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-04-28/late-mail-live-all-the-round-six-whispers Extract: MELBOURNE young gun Christian Petracca is set to play against Essendon after his sore left knee held up at training this morning. With his left knee heavily taped up, Petracca tested it out at the start of training with a series of run throughs and towards the end of the session with rehab coach Daniel Cross where he challenged himself to jump with full force off the ground to mark the ball on the lead. Petracca then joined in the rest of main training, which was a good sign for his availability. Oscar McDonald, Tom Bugg and Mitch Hannan are all chances to come in to replace Hogan after training with the senior squad on Friday. Sam Weideman was not out on the track with the team on Friday and looks likely to play for the Casey Demons against Geelong's VFL team at Simonds Stadium on Saturday afternoon. In the report there is a video of Petracca training (but I don't know how to copy it). He wasn't going fast nor running smoothly but I guess we don't have much choice but to play him. There is also a really good report by @Deespicablein the 'Team Selection' thread...post #161

The Carlton doctors probably put in one of their 'special' medical reports to 'help' the Tribunal give the 'correct' penalty. BTW the guy who hit Gus got 1 week - accidental clash of heads bit a bit late.

Goodwin gives a club perspective of what has happened around Jesse in recent times. http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/melbourne-demons/melbourne-coach-simon-goodwin-says-some-of-the-criticism-aimed-at-jesse-hogan-has-been-unfair/news-story/933070384a2d0ac4720f3ab93d6c1a9b "Goodwin said he would have liked to have defended Hogan, who was criticised for uncharacteristically lashing out and striking Carlton’s Sam Rowe off the ball in their round-two clash and then photographed smoking while on the two-game ban...Obviously there’s been a bit of heat on Jesse for a number of different things over the last four or five weeks that have probably been unfair in a lot of ways with what he’s going through and what he’s dealing with". Kudos to the club for keeping Jesse's predicament out of the media despite all the hue and cry. I read yesterday that Jesse had learnt of his father's critical condition in the days before the Carlton game which explained his frustration at Rowe. I was cranky at the Carlton doctor's at the time of the MRP for the 2 weeks. If they embellished their medical report in any way I hope they have learnt their lesson and hang their heads in shame. Given the sequence of events, Jesse's family must have come to Melbourne with him. How hard must have Monday night been for Jesse and how proud would he have been to have his dad watching him play. The trip across must have been physically and emotionally challenging for the family especially Tony Hogan. It speaks volumes for their bond, support and pride in their son.

Not sure who started it. But somehow he got the free for what, who knows.. Someone rang SEN yesterday about the incident saying Reiwoldt and Prestia who were on the bench at the time, were holding Viney (Cotchin's opponent at the time) down and wrestling, stopping him going after Cotchin and as we know the play ended in a goal. And as Cotchin said it changed the coures of the game. Both Wallace and Bartlett agreed they were on the bench and were surprised no action was taken as they thought it was illegal. I think they were going to follow up the rules. Hope the club complained to the umpiring department about it. The incident aside, I do think our players need to stop getting taunted into aggressive behaviour and still play on the edge. Edit: @Pates Checked the MRP report and yes Cotchin was charged with instigating the melee. That makes the free to him all the more baffling. It makes his gloating about the incident after the game even more unpalatable.

In your own way you are a champion, Mark. I know what you mean. I lost my mum to cancer while living in the USA when I was not much older than Jessie. I made it home in time to spend some time with her and will be eternally grateful for that. Your avatar of your little guy running out with Jessie in the JLT is one of my favourite on Demonland. Stay strong. God bless.

Firstly, congratulations 'Adam Farr'! Secondly, you are a very lucky man to have a lady that is ok with you going to the footy the day after the wedding. Best wishes for the wedding and Go Dees for Sunday.

Yes, would love to have him on board but I suspect the younger Toby failed the NDH test. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Roos over the next year or 2 of his time at the club etc. He obviously still cares enough to go to our games when he isn't foxtelling other games so his insights would be quite interesting.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2017-04-27/injury-update-david-misson Misson update on Angus: He had a few symptoms early this week so had his first run today and felt really good. It is expected to have a normal training week next week and play the following weekend. From past Plapp reports he has some things to work on but look forward to him getting back to the seniors and consolidate his spot.