spirit of norm smith

Really hope the Dees give a new contract deal for Blake Howes. He’s got the talent but in my view, he hasn’t been given the opportunities like others. He was impressive at Casey across 2022 and 2023 but injuries prevented him from getting his chance. In 2024, he was very good across defence and showed himself as one of the good young under 22s in our team. Now in 2025, he was in, sub, out, in, out, emergency, emergency. He seems stuck as too good for VFL but not given the chance again at AFL. I hope we re-sign him and not let ourselves see another Bedford or JJ situation. Note - I’d like to see him trialed also across half forward. That’s where he also excelled in his underage footy. And he know how to kick a goal !!!

Chronic. Dysfunctional. Systemic. Yes all are applicable Bad kicking will lose you games We called it out year after year Dees performance in front of goal this year has been HORRENDOUS I don’t actually now trust anyone in their set shot capability, even Milkshake missed a few recently The worst part is that the Dees actually LOSE GAMES THEMSELVES V hawks 7.14. Should have been 4 goals up as 3/4 such was the position of the match V Saints 7.21 from 57 inside50s. At least 6-7 easy shots from 25 metre out that would be a 80-90% probability for many teams V Swans 6.11 (halftime) - dominated the 1st half (3.8 in 2nd quarter) V Suns 2.9 (halftime) probably not the reason that we lost but we didn’t take our chances and when the suns had momentum they scored often on rebound V Lions 4.8 (last quarter) -A win in the game but we absolutely dominated the last quarter yet couldn’t nail our chances and somehow didn’t fully close it out V Freo A win. Yes a beautiful 15.5 to 3/4 time. It was one of the reasons why we won. We took our chances !!! and applied Scoreboard pressure. Actually 1.6 in the last quarter to keep Freo in the hunt

@Demonland 👏👏👏 Jeff White interview. I’d highly recommend all DLers to listen in. It’s one of best PODs. Jeff is insightful not just on ruck craft but the overall game and how it’s played. I especially liked his comments about “see the game first, then refer in the stats”. Many commentators see for example the possession stats and say oh he had a great game. They need to see impact and the context of the match. Jeff is still a red and blue man. He had a great career for the Dees. Also really hope Kalani picks the Dees.

A wise soothsayer once said Dees beat Lions because the Lions were loading Saints beat Demons because the Demons were loading Dees will beat the Pies because the Pies will be loading (“Dees will be running on top of the ground and have pressure consistently over 200”) Ummmm I’m not a believer to this loading cult - just my opinion

Meanwhile back at Demons training Get rid of the soccer balls. WAFJ !!!

one sane voice in the wilderness … 3AW Breakfast sports reporter Jon Anderson has fired up over Melbourne’s decision not to pay close attention to Saints defender Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera late in Sunday’s game in Alice Springs. The Demons lost to the Saints by 28 points, despite having seven more scoring shots, but Wanganeen-Milera was able to roam around and rack up 15 disposals in the last quarter. “How darn obvious is that to not do something about it?!” Anderson said on 3AW Breakfast. That’s not just on Goodwin, what about the senior leaders on that team? “I’m not a Melbourne supporter, but it angered me.”

I just have to laugh at our goalkicking 3 years of frustration is becoming overwhelming

Just tried to be a 1980s player !! Not showing any sense of the modern game. What was the point of jumping into a bloke kicking the ball ? Smother or spoil or tackle with force. Not bump. Was it stupid? 95/100 people would say yes.

@Rohstarrr agree. Loved Andy passion and likely we all need to hear him unleash another rant. It reflects all of us. Any passionate Dees supporter would excuse any F bombs born out of the anger and disappointment of this goalkicking performance @Demonland

Ins. Lockdown tackles to stop handballs out Hard overlap running Quick ball movement (a must in) Accuracy in front of goal Lower eyes entering 50 Transition through the corridor with bravery Outs Missed tackles Start stop wide start stop go wide Guarding grass and pointing fingers High dump kicks inside 50 Nervous anxious goal kicking Loose low handballs to teammates feet

Jake Lever has been very good for a long time. Clearly highly respected within the footy club. Yes he was poor v Saints. He had lost some pace and agility. Injuries do take away from natural ability. The modern game needs quicker agile 3rd intercepting defenders like our Turner, & others like Idun, Battle, Ryan)

There were some individuals as positives. McVee had a good game& restricted Higgins to one goal. He’s a ripper May’s intercepts in the first half. Chandler contested hard & gives 100% Gawn in my view edged out Marshall in a good ruck contest. Trac kicked 2 nice goals and again had a nearly game (some other missed chances) Bowey had a very good 2nd half. Saints tried to negate him Turner had a good 3/4 in defence and took a great mark. Fritta was active and had 4 tackles !! Not much to say about others unfortunately

Supporting your Footy club is an emotional thing. Where to begin? The disappointment. The despair. The embarrassment. We are the joke of the footy world. Texts from mates saying “Dees would have to kick themselves in the bum for losing, but they’d probably miss that too”. Our short lived positivity was simply destroyed. Questions - yes a few from me, my wife and my 4 kids Do we honestly think they practice goalkicking and real goalkicking simulation? 7 goals 21 behinds. 2 out of bounds. 2 not making the distance. At least 6 or 7 shots were easy and within 30 metres. 1.12 after half time (Petty goal from 9 metre out) 8 behinds in the last qtr. Unforgivable on any level. Sunny. No breeze to mention. Dry. Question @binman is it still just technique or a mental frailty in kicking for goal? I think now it’s both. @george_on_the_outer can we ban players taking shots for goal around the corner kicks on their wrong foot from 20 metres out directly in front. It’s so so bad. Koz, Melksham, Petty, Trac. Some easy shots ended as bad misses in the last few weeks. Inside 50s Dees 57. Goals 7. Yes 12%. Probably one of the teams worst ever conversions. We regressed back to high up and under dump kicks. Bad habits as Ed Sheeran would say ! The transition footy. Dees went side and slow and attacked from wide. It simply allowed a congested forward 50. We allowed Saints to run the corridor. @binman with the game in the balance, we played back and zoned , with little pressure in the last quarter. your stats… Saints had an anmaxing uncontested possessions 250. The coaching. The summary is that Lyon totally smashed Goodwin today. Saints had a strong tag on Kozzy and Clarry. Windhager was almost BOG & Zac Jones negated Clarry. Lyon commented how he told his team at halftime to take away Mays intercepting. In the meantime, Wilkie took 11 intercepts as we kicked it to him. Also Wanganeen-Milera and Sinclair were allowed to roam free. They never had a body side by side. In his presser Goody said he put time into them. Time? There was no pressure on them. Sparrow looked to at one stage be on WanganeenMilera who just ran off him with disdain and ease. @george your view on the absence of a plan to negate the Saints runners!!!

Perfect. Imagine it. Can they play the Benny Hill music over the top. And insert Kozzzzy kicking a left foot snap from 18 metres out and not making the distance.

@binman this is all I’ve got at the moment. So disappointing today.

@Demonland Goody What did you do to try to stop Wanganeen milera ? He ran free all day (except when off for 15. Minutes of 2nd qtr) No player went to him. No one. What did you do to try to stop Sinclair in 1st half ? 20 possessions No player went to him. No one. Goalkicking. 7.21. 7.21. 7.21. Dry. Sunny. Little if any wind. Saints 14.7. Are you practicing at all? Players look nervous. Players have no routine. Setup is all wrong. Finally. Don’t kick it to Wilkie. One of the best 1-1 defenders. Yet we kicked it to him and he won marking contests then stayed free in defence unmanned. what were the instructions? Are the players not listening or are you not giving instructions?

See it’s easy this week… only 7 contributors only.

May - very good defence 👍🏻 Gawn - battled hard and was one of our best great contest v Marshall 👍🏻 Turner - yes played well as a 3rd tall defender 👍🏻 McVee - good rebound and run 20 disposals 👍🏻 Bowey - well held in 1st half Good in 2nd half to be ok 👍🏻 Petracca - played in bursts but nothing like last week was okay 👍🏻 Chandler. - contests and runs hard all day 👍🏻 Ummmm the rest … Fritsch - seemingly played half forward connector and stayed wide and kicked wide too ineffective overall Salem - likes the boring 15 metre pass defensively caught out too often and looked slow Oliver - Zac jones tagged him and did a good job Clarry battled on Lindsay - uncharacteristically is missing goals He nailed them in under 18s Had ok game and excuse as he’s just 1st year Johnson - big bustling bumbling performance love his heart but limited again Pickett - simply poor today Windhager tag was too good and frustrated kozzzy (Why didn’t Goodwin put him forward to one in one in square??) Melksham - seemed injured and bravely went on yet nothing today Rivers - he tried and tried and tried but it didn’t happen today Langford - yes agree he might need a spell as he battles but is looking very tired Petty - good contest and tackle to goal was good but … The rest need to go to house of mirrors Windsor - poor under pressure, turnovers and missed tackles (please please please put him back to the wing, end his defense role now) Langdon - wow that was a shocker. Had to ask if he was playing. Ed will bounce back Sharp - so inconsistent- works hard then lets himself down - disappointing!! Sparrow - where is he at? Defensive forward?? Slow and lacks skill had 3 goal chances for zero goals not good enough Lever -very disappointing , yes he was a liability in defense & imv physically is not right Laurie - some might excuse as only had a quarter but looked slow again and I’m still saying he’s not up to it. Maybe give him a few games so we can finally see that he’s not going to make it. Fair enough. He is a good VFL player.

Easy this week. Easy. I had only 7 players who I think can actually collect a pay cheque this week. 6 Gawn 5 May 4 McVee 3 Bowey 2 Turner 1 Petracca Apologies to Chandler The rest were simply just passengers Brownlow votes 1- Wilkie 2- Wanganeeeeeen milera 3- Demons shocking goalkicking

@Demonland Question to Goodwin and 23 Dees Why kick it to Wilkie Why let Wanganeen milera be free and run and free and run Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera

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Dumb Dumb Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera Wilkie Wanganeen milera

Laurie is not this standard. At all !!!

@Demonland @binman Why aren’t they sitting on wanganeen milers???? Why is he running free?? He’s destroying us - 8 kicks in 11 minutes

7.15 7.15 Two misses from straight in front of Goalkicking is horrible Horrible Horrible @Demonland