spirit of norm smith

Apologies DD36. I’m getting frustrated by the Jackson non signing. Becoming more likely he’s going home. As some know, I was very keen on Hayden Young as a highly skilled quarterback type player. And local. Jackson was a project and from WA, with go home factor always in the back of mind. But I saw the highlights and potential. Love JT for his bold vision and courage in picking Jackson. It proved a masterstroke and GF glory. Really hope the kid sees his future at the Dees.

Agree. Brown had knee issues at Norfff. We took the gamble and it paid off. A premiership to remember. Love what the BBB delivered in the GF but I think BBB will go through to end 2023 most likely. We need the succession planning to happen for JVR to come through for 2024.

6!changes this week radical but it’s not necessarily players in/out that will break us out of the slump Ins. 1- “winning the clearances” . The numbers don’t lie. We are being smashed in the contest and clearances work. So different to 2021. That’s bizarre considering our contested ball winning. Even with dominant ruckman we struggled. 2- “tackles inside 50”. Last week … ZERO. That’s unbelievable. Yes we let the Bulldogs run it out far too easily. Forwards pressure was non existent. 3- “marks inside 50”. Yes it’s that “connection” word again. Long bombs that have 8 seconds hang time don’t work. “ “Hello Mcfly”. It doesn’t always have to ge a contested mark. Practice more direct spear type entries. 4- “overlap running and kicking”. It’s an old strategy. Yes run past for a handball and then kick. Not just handballs to other players under pressure. Even look to use the corridor. It’s about confidence. Slow and wide is a cop out. 5- a “kick in to create” opportunities. As we watch many other clubs get the kick in and create (aka pies last 28 second play)! 90% of our kick ins are to the big pack 55 metres out on the half back flank. Time after time. It’s so easy to shut down. Boring mediocrity in fact. 6- “play out the full game”. First half leads have quickly dissolved in the 2nd half. And our last quarters v Freo v Swans v Pies v Cats v Dogs have been killers. Even port kicked the last 3 goals against us. Fitness? Or attitude. outs. 1 - “stop the long bombs” to the forwards . We all know why! 2- “stop sloppy handballs”’to players next to you under more pressure. It’s a stat. But useless!! Frustrating. Wheres the spread? 3- stop the “near enough is good enough”. There’s no intensity in the sharp delivery or hitting a target. Maybe we were #freed from desire and need to rekindle the eye of the tiger. Get hungry. Find the desire. 4- “slow and wide and slow and turnovers”. We move it too slowly now. Kick it down the line to a contest pack. Let them setup. Helloooooo. We are beating ourselves and other clubs are doing “Melbourne to us”. Look at the GF 2nd half. Quick running and ball movement. And not always to the wings. Yes I love Lingers but he plays on the boundary line. On the knife edge. He often runs out of space and it goes out of bounds. Or he kicks with only one option. We need to play more in the corridor. Ask Lingers to walk 5 steps in. 5- “stop kicking to the deep forward pocket”. It’s hard to score from even with a mark or crumb. It’s a defensive kick to the forwards. Why? We are the worst entry team imv. The defender just punches it over the line. FFS. 6-“stop letting opposition quarterbacks free”. Bailey Dale. Callum Mills. Jack Crisp. Mitch Duncan. See the theme. Lock them down. Try Harmesy or ANB. Let them run and create at your peril. And we do !!!! (Hayden Young is Freo quarterback… lock him down and pressure pressure pressure him always)

Hello Mr.G. Read this. If all we do this week is keep up the tempo and play quicker to give our forwards a chance , then it’ll be a step forwards. Slow and slow is boring and gets defended too easily. Teams are using our strategy to beat us !!!

Hello Goody - put this up in the locker room. MELBOURNE'S difficult run home will see the premier miss the top four, according to our reporters, who predict a Grand Final rematch in the opening week of the finals. The Demons started the season with 10 straight wins, but have slipped to 13-5 with four rounds remaining. Melbourne faces top-eight sides Fremantle, Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane in its final four games and AFL.com.au's reporters collectively predict the Dees will miss the top four.

Scott Thompson Jeff Farmer Jesse Hogan And potentially Luke Jackson do the Dees have trouble retaining our interstate talent? Hoping Jackson stays but if not, let’s reset, demand 2 x 1st rounders ( get Aaron Cadman and Brayden George) and then get a 2nd Ruck/Fwd (like Haydn McLean) on less than 1/2 the money.

Yes yes yes. It’s so clear to 65000 supporters. It’s not that they are under pressure. From a mark or free kick, it’s a bomb and often to the pockets. It’s like a defensive type kick.

Yes it was obvious to the DL faithful during the 10 wins. Going at 3/4 pace and some sloppy mistakes and not 100% focus. Then you play other top 8 teams and whack !! Where’s the pressure and intensity that we saw v the lions. 🤔

Yes yes yes. It’s so clear to 65000 supporters. It’s not that they are under pressure. From a mark or free kick, it’s a bomb and often to the pockets. It’s like a defensive type kick.

Agreed. But long bombs just don’t help anyone ( can’t believe that I’m looking at you Salem ). We look so much better with quicker ball movement and lowering eyes to a sharper pass.

If we did lose Jackson to Freo🤬🤬 the only silver lining is that we’d be in the race for this kid surely JT has AARON CADMAN in bold text on his list. I have him #6 draft pick but he’s a key forward which are like gold. Cadman is a Jeremy Cameron 2.0. Full forward or CHF. Van Rooyen and Cadman would be a perfect combo for our forward line !!

AFL WEBSITE - Sarah probably is not a Dees supporter or even watched Saturday night !!! Very optimistic Melbourne 52 points (13 wins, five losses) 128.8 per cent Melbourne now slips four points adrift of top spot after its loss to the Western Bulldogs, with Brisbane's win and Fremantle's draw meaning its hold on top four is tenuous. The clash against the Dockers has suddenly become even more vital to the Dees' second-chance aspirations. Melbourne should have the firepower to see off Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane, but stranger things have happened, particularly in clashes against the Pies - Sarah Black

Agree. We’ve lost the “eye of the tiger”. We are not sharp. Hungry.

Agree Agree But I’m still wondering which 2 games will we win ? Can’t see it right now. Winning 2 is probably optimistic!! 😭😭

Finals start now. 8 weeks. 2x blockbusters at the MCG. 2x big Road-trips. Each game is against top 4 contenders. Our record v bottom 8 teams. 11-0 Our record v top 8 teams. 2-5. !!!!! A lot of players need a rocket. We thought 10-0 it was all just good enough. But the warning signs were there with 1/2 or 3/4 game efforts good enough. Not any more !!!

I can’t give May a vote. The howler was an absolute killer.

Three words clearances lost again Angry Frustrating Disappointing lost double chance on downward slide stop long bombs quicker ball movement

Ins. Corridor play. Taking the game on. Clever footy outs. Slow boring ball movement. Big heads.

Some youngsters to shout out Hayden Young from Freo is an excellent young player. Great kicking skills. Conor Macdonald from the Hawks is a seriously good youngster. Good pace. Moves effortlessly. Footskills are excellent. Dylan Stephens from Swans. His burst of pace and has ability to hit targets. They have a great bunch of young fast kids. Stephens. Warner. Gulden. Florent. Campbell. Very attacking team.

Definitely top 10 now. Given some clubs desperately need tall key forwards !!

Bruhn will nominate the Cats. Likely role in their midfield perhaps to replace Selwood. If I was able to grab Giants players, aside from the stars like Greene or Kelly, I’d go for Ash, Callaghan or Cumming. AFL should wind them up and send the “franchise” to Tasmania. Western Sydney is undoubtedly heartland Rugby League and will remain so.

Here we go again Demons waiting for Sam to become what we all desperately waif him to be !!! We live in the hope that Sam Weideman will take his chance and show more intensity, one grab marking and kick goals as a key forward. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Miles Shepherd should get the recall in place of Weideman. He showed enough in recent games to warrant more opportunities.

Just checked. Bailey Dale is elite for disposals (avg 27 per game) , rebounds from def50 (6.9) and metres gained (592m). But only average for contested possessions, tackles and spoils. Classic quarterback. Aside from the Mids (Bont, Libba, Macrae) I’d put lots of work into making Dale accountable and making sure we tightly watch him closely when the Dogs rebound. Simply can’t play a loose zone on him.

Agreed. If Dogga goes, we definitely want one pick within top 10, and one pick within top 16.