Dees2014

Quite agree. If you think any finals are going to Perth you haven’t been paying attention to the relationship between the AFL and the WA premier. WA are no chance to get any of the finals, something the Eagles appear to have accepted. The GABBA would also be 200% better for us.

I think Max playing ruck/forward would really assist us, and Preuss playing second ruck would assist that. I think it could work to our advantage...

Momentum...momentum! A bye at this stage would interrupt our momentum and 2018 showed how important that is to us come finals time. Playing the Prelim in Perth did exactly that, something we won’t have this time. It may well though substantially affect the WCE flag hopes.

I’ll take beating anyone and everyone at this stage. Percentage might still be important as we move towards finals. It is still possible for us to sneak into the top four if we win every game by big margins - not impossible if we develop some 2018-style momentum. We do not meet anyone who we would normally consider unbeatable....

And playing some pretty good football, something l wouldn’t have said at the beginning of the year. At the moment he deserves his place, especially in view of the increased pressure he is creating recently. There are however some hard selection decisions approaching. Against the bullies, a side renowned for leg speed and quick ball movement, whether he is the right fit as apposed to someone like Hunt is debatable. In the end, at the moment, the club will make selection decisions based purely on our ability to win football games as we move towards the finals. However, should we fall out of the running for the finals, it is more than reasonable that other selection issues could be considered for Jones. At the moment though he deserves his spot on merit, and could potentially play an important role as we move towards hopefully a finals campaign.

Both Salem and Brayshaw started the season in less than top form, but like the rest of the side they are hitting top form as we go into the business end of the season. Very like 2018 IMHO. What l like about Salem is his elite kicking, which the team is now starting to use constructively, especially as we as a team l would not generally describe as an elite disposal side. However, we are moving towards that and using Salem more constructively is a great start. The current momentum is a great sign as it was in 2018.

I hope we are moving into a 2018 scenario where we finish the season very strongly. If we move into that form , given our draw and our outstanding finishing ability, there is no reason why we cannot finish winning all remaining games in H&A. We showed in 2018 how important momentum is going into finals. Anything is possible this year, particularly as we look like not meeting WCE in Perth if we do make it!!

Yeh Tomlinson for Omac in my book.

Jonesy is playing pretty good footy atm though, much better than l thought he was capable of at this stage of his career. Some of the intensity he showed on Saturday l thought was outstanding, even showed flashes of speed. It will be an intense discussion around the selection table if we do make it to the finals. Got to get past the Dogs first though, which will not be easy given our past record. Go Dees!

Jackson....

This year’s final series....

He is much bigger, stronger and more skilful than Robinson - and will be twice the player he is....

Fritsch reminds me of Geoff Tunbridge/Barrie Vagg, although a better mark/kick than both of those. When Fritsch first appeared he was a “dead eye [censored]” in front of goal but seems to have lost a lot of that accuracy, although at the same time l think his pressure has improved considerably. With all the spare time these guys have got in the hubs, you would think they would practise weaknesses like goal kicking accuracy til they got it right wouldn’t you? Still l think he is a key part of our forward setup as he can play tall and mid, and is very skilful in most areas.

Yes their totall possessions and inside 50s were almost the same as us but conversion rate deplorable. Says something about our defence l reckon, plus isn’t it wonderful to kick straight for once.

This performance does raise questions about how we construct our attack and rucks. Pruess performance l thought was good as was TMac. With max back l would be inclined to still have Max first ruck but rest him down forward along side the Weid, a bit like he plays with Jacko now that he is out for an extended period. I think there is room for Max, Preuss, TMac and Weid in the same team, and when Jacko comes back play him on the ball and on the wing given his mobility. l would drop Tomlinson. A very powerful lineup on the dry September,/October grounds.....

I don’t entirely agree. He is doing an expert commentary job, so has a responsibility to be objective. He also has insights which he wouldn’t have without that Demon background. He was clearly delighted during our run in 2018. I remember him and Paul Roos commentaries - two very happy people. When we are playing well his analysis is nuanced and insightful. It will be interesting to see what he says on Monday night “On the Couch”.

Probably agree, although might be 4th with our improving percentage. I have a hottible feeling it might depend on the last game against the Dons - our record in that direction has not been good. Still records are there to be broken !!

I think we are building into a consistency very similar to our run home in 2018. If you remember we were pretty inconsistent in the first half of 2018 but came home very strongly. We are also building our percentage nicely which may prove important in this shortened season, especially for us to sneak into the top 4. Anyway, tonight was our best win since the 2018 final series, with an almost full list especially if we can get max back We have a real chance this year to do something really special.

No l don’t pretend to have any inside info. I was more “tongue in cheek” trying to illustrate the arrogance of Eddie and his Magpie born to rule bully-boys. I really hope the Weid is a 10 year + player for us particularly now that Jacko has arrived which could develop into one of the great forward duos. It is really the last piece of the jigsaw in place for a great side, which will be better than anything the Woods could offer.

It will be interesting to see how the Weid goes when he crosses to Collingwood when his contract is over with Us. Eddie can’t help himself when he is commenting during Dees games how much he admires the Weid and constantly mentions his Collingwood connections.. In fact, l can’t stand listening to maguire commentaries any more because he constantly references everything during play back to Collingwood.......he is just a complete clown, and not in a good way...

The thing we are missing is that we can play Gawn, TMac and Jackson, but play jacko as a mobile mid who also takes throw ins sometimes. When he was recruited they said he could play ruck or midfield. I think we are too short a side anyway, so three talls l think works well, but just slightly redefine jacko’s role. After all if Jim stynes can play on the wing or up forward which he did regularly particularly later in his career when Jeff White was emerging, then it is good enough for Jacko. Might even be a match winner, and greatly strengthens our side. Nearly all commentators after last weekend wrote the Dees off as a finals team because they said we lacked height and strength up forward. That’s mainly because we weren’t playing Gawn. Gawn, Weid and Jacko is retry powerful. Even better when you add TMac. What many forget is that TMac has been consistently in the top three runners on our list. He has a lot to offer...

In: TMac, Rivers, Hannan Pickett Out: Gawn (rested), ANB (suspended) AVB (injured) Lockhart Gawn is clearly not right and needs a rest In preparation for the really taxing games ahead. Play TMAC in the ruck which might actually run him into form which would be a huge boost if it comes off. Lockhart l don’t think is up to it, and l think Rivers is much more skilful than him, and quicker. Hannan for ANB makes sense. I’d also play Jones in AVB role. We still have much more improvement to go but are building nicely but wouldn’t want to drop NM game, or Essendon for that matter.

On 7/21/2020 at 11:51 PM, Dees2014 said: I know it is early days but l think this team has the potential to be the best dees team in the modern era. It does not really have a weakness plus it has some genuinely champion players on almost every line, plus it is extremely well led and coached. The first rounds draft picks we have picked up over the last five years have produced some genuine champions (Petracca, Gawn, Viney, Oliver and potentially Bennell), some extremely good players (TMac, Omac, , Lever, Jetta, Friscke, Salem, May, Vanders, Weid, Hannan) and brilliant youngsters in Jackson and Kossie. The challenge now is consistency, but all in all l can’t remember being as excited as l am by the potential of a demon team as l am by this one. It is the most skilled team we have had in my lifetime. Who agrees? I know there will be many that will think that l am tempting fate. We will see l guess..... I must say when l wrote the above post l expected the usual deluge on here of self righteousness indignation. In fact it has been relatively mild. I guess the Rusty Nails post might be the start of it, since this sort of indignation usually comes in copycat waves... Or alternatively, maybe, just maybe there may be more substance in the original post than some of those in the past. Let’s hope so anyway. We will see soon enough....

Still think Hunt has some value if he can improve his kicking accuracy.....

Cameron for us definitely.