spirit of norm smith

That would be ridiculous. We would be on Fox again. I guess after our poor 2019, we can’t expect anything but a Royal bugg&@$ing off the AFL.

Other clubs can survive with 6/7 mids. I’d hold onto both Brayshaw and Viney. There is no targets imo worth giving up club culture to get.

Either would be good. They’ll feel the cold after being in the GC for 4 weeks !!

WOW. Maybe Vic clubs could play in Perth at 10am do they can fly home before curfew. !!

Too clever Balls.

Just watch the final v Eagles and then in 2019. His disposal was poor (to be fair) and tackling was non existent. Certainly went backwards. Not sure at 173 cms that the kid has any tricks to succeed at AFL level. He’s not a Harvey or Gresham with pace and energy.

Might be worth a phone call to Brandon White, ex Saint who signed on with Beaconsfield footy club for 2020. Local boy who would fit in nicely, with good size (6”3) and speed.

That’s 3 interstate trips in the first 6 weeks. Ridiculous. Agree that Demons will DESERVE three MCG games for rounds 7-9. Suggest v Magpies v Giants v Bulldogs.

I like it. A July/August hub with games v Lions v Suns v Saints would be a good outcome. Weather would be okay and good to avoid southern winter. We have already travelled to Perth so safe from that. Other possibility is Tassie hub with Hawks, Kangas and perhaps Swans. I like it, though August in Tassie would be frosty “cool”.

Yes agree that ANB is most likely trade option. May seek better $ and contract and game opportunities elsewhere (Crows??). They’d offer a pick 35-40 likely.

Odds of Grand Final in WA have shortened from 100,000-1 to 5,000-1. Might get 60,000 at optus stadium versus nil at MCG. I don’t like it !!

We’ve already played Eagles so no way we are going! Hope Pies and Blues move there for 3 games. Potential to get ancrowd at Magpies v Blues at optus stadium !!!

Have to trade a top 15 player or package Round 2 and a player. I’d sit it out right now. Difficult year to gauge talent plus we have nucleus of team. I didn’t think we’d be active but players may seek trade or return home or better contract $$ elsewhere. You never know

Ridiculous. 20 year old. Key position player with two years development. A lot of this type don’t start to show until 21-23 at least. Can play CHB or CHF. Plenty of others ahead in the delist category.

I recall as with most finals in the 80s, it was very physical. No soft free kicks or ducking heads. I recall we got thrashed by the Cats the following week. We were undermanned and they had a very very good team in 89.

No.15 1989 Elimination Final v Collingwood at VFL PARK Waverley Another elimination final and another final at VFL Park Waverley. The Dees had (1989) another year like 1988 where a form slump would again cast them into elimination finals footy. We were flying high at 13-3 after 16 rounds and 2nd in the ladder amongst the powerful Hawks, Bombers and Cats. But injuries and lost form saw us lose 5 of the last 6 games. We held onto 4th place (14 wins) but a percentage of 96% showed our demise. We had hoped after the disappointment of 87 and 88 but no confidence leading into these finals. We would play the inform Magpies, a strong unit with 3 straight wins leading in. We had knocked them out in 1988 (they lost both finals) so they wanted revenge. They were arrogant. You could sense it in their supporters. Shaw, Daicos, Brown and many more very good players. The Demons were missing 4-5 key players through injury and we thought the year would just descend away. The game opened with the Pies taking an early lead. The Dees had the breeze to the big scoreboard end but were behind. The Pies kicked 3 goals to start the 2nd quarter to get 4 goals up. We felt like it was all over already. But somehow with the last 2 goals to the half to the Dees, it meant we were only 9 points down. We were still in it. In the 3rd quarter, I remember the avalanche of goals. We were sitting in the forward pocket to the right of the scoreboard. We kicked 7 goals in the first 15 minutes of the 3rd quarter to grab the advantage and despite the Pies kicking a few majors, we managed a 9 goal quarter and had a 4 goal lead. The goal frenzy was led by Darren a Bennett, Brian Wilson and Ricky Jackson. “Willo” was exciting and lifted the whole team. Bennett was brought in 1989 to address our weakness of a recognized full forward. He’d delivered. The Pies were shaken. Yet they had the wind now and 4 goals seemed barely enough. However the Dees held on, with the sealer kicked by Bennett. The final margin was 23 points. What a turnaround. Jimmy Stynes was BOG and he had carried us. Lovett had shutdown Daicos. Stretch’s run on the wing was excellent. Alan Johnson was sensational again. Bennett’s 4 goals were crucial. The Pies supporters were shattered. Two years in a row they’d been bundled out by their old enemy. We enjoyed the win and the September action. Melbourne 17.9.111 defeated Collingwood 13.10.88

There is probably 15 kids out of the top 30 who are aligned already. I think two kids the Dees could look at are Ollie Lord, a key forward from Sandringham Dragons who trained with the Dees over the summer. Likely to be around in the late 20s range. Josh Clarke did well in the Futures game last year at the G as a fast wingman with skilled delivery of the footy. Needs a good year in the gym and on the pasta diet to bulk up. But should be in the 30-40 range. Unfortunately Will Phillips will go top 10 so the Dees would miss him. He is the type of elite skilled midfielder who would be a handy addition.

still looks a young team but more competitive with Spencer, Hustwaite, Nelson, & Morrison. Hustwaite , Mutimer, Morrison and Nelson would be trying to impress some AFL recruiters. Would like to see Casey twist Declan Keilty into the short season return. And any news on Corey Machaya. He impressed in 2018 before his knee injury in 2019.

Thanks KC. Great news. Jake was always great with the fans and had a good chat to my youngest son who he remembered from prior 3-4 occasions. He will do a great job in the ruck, help the youngsters and the midfield. Dees should look at him as a future ruck coaching role. I was a wrap on Morrison when he played a half dozen games at Casey in 2018. Good solid backman. Disappointed that he shifted across to the Kangas VFL in 2019. Nelson will be very handy.

True. They can be quick fix for energy but would be counter productive in a game for more than an hour. May explain Max having a great first half and then breaking even in the last quarter

No.16 1998 Round 22 v Richmond at the MCG 1998 what a year. We’d been in decline through 1995 to 1997 with merger talks, Schwarz’s 3 knee reconstructions, Lyon’s injured back, Viney’s tennis holiday and the wooden spoon in 1997 to sink our spirits. But 1998 saw a new dawn. Neale Daniher had arrived and his strict but calculated style appeared to be working. I remember a great win over the Kangas (the dominant team) in round 2 giving us a feeling that we were able to recapture the form of a few years ago. Then we nailed a few more wins and beat the Pies by a few points in huge win with a true finals atmosphere. That was in round 8 and 6 wins had us in the top 4. I went overseas for 10 weeks and got back to see us play the Kangas again (they smashed us by 11 goals). We were now 9-8 and falling quickly with a poor percentage. However with Neitz and Farmer firing, we won the next 4 matches including wins over Power in Adelaide and a big round 21 over the Swans who were in 2nd place. This sets the tone for round 22. The Dees were in 6th place and would have to play the Sydney in Sydney the next week if we won. A loss would see us tumble to 8th and a showdown against the Kangas likely. The Tigers were in 8th and playing for a finals berth and could finish as high as 6th. The crowd was 80,000. Buzzing. We sat on level 1 behind the Punt Road goals. It was massive. The Demons fans erupted in the first quarter from a sensational mark (mark of the Year) over Gary Lyon and Scott Turner. Farmer just kept going up and timed it beautifully. He nailed the goal and the Dees kicked 5 to 1 for the term to excite the faithful. But in the second, wasted opportunities only saw us lead by 3 goals as the Tigers got a late goal to climb back into it. In the second half early goals to Farmer and Neita reassured our position. We marched out to a 7 goal lead at 3/4 time. The Dees supporters were ecstatic. The last quarter started with another two quick goals and we piled on 7 for the quarter to demolish the Tigers. The final margin was 76 points. We kicked the Tigers out of the finals on percentage. White and Stynes had dominated in the ruck. Farmer and Neitz each kicked 5 goals. Jeff Farmer (the Wiz) was amazing. We could not stop talking about his mark. Even today it is superhuman. But the team was more than just the forwards. Shanahan, Ingerson and Seecamp (in perhaps his best game) controlled the back half. Yze, Rigoni, Woey, Tingay, Anthony McDonald and the Febeys provided the run. This team was on fire. The crowd knew we had a special group, returning to the finals and we couldn’t wait to return the next week for September action. With the Saints amazingly losing to the bottom placed Lions, the Dees finished 4th. Not guaranteed but a quasi double chance finish. We also would return to play at the MCG the next week and not travel to Sydney or Adelaide, and would face the Crows (the reigning premiers). That’s another story.

Yes agree. Effectively Kosi Pickett is our 2020 1st rounder. Our trade “got him a year early” so happy with the shift. There are so many academy, multicultural zone and father-son kids this year that are good so it’s definitely compromised. Our 1st pick could be in the late 20s again. We might only have 2-3 picks this year and we should aim for a young key forward.

Exactly. He’s the spare tyre !!

Pass. Maybe back in 2017-18 but not now !!

No change