Dees2014

It is always a huge task to hold onto players who do not get a game but have serious talent. If we go as far as I think we are about to, there will be a dozen clubs trying to pillage our list. It is a serious issue for us. i would nominate Jaydn Hunt and Tom Bugg as the most likely targets. Sadly because I think especially Hunt has serious talent given his speed and ball smarts. Speed IMHO is not one of our strengths. I would hate to see him go. The question is what can we get for them, and what do we really need?

The point surely is that the elite player group ie top six, will fire in big games, as will the opposition’s otherwise they would not be classed as elite. Basically cancel out each other, except where teams have individuals of such brilliance that they turn a game through individual brilliance and skill. These are rare beasts, but no-one can deny that Franklin, Gawn, Nicnak, Dangerfield, Dusty Martin regularly do this, even Hawkins, Clary and Rance. If the elite six was so important, then Geelong would be clearly on top of the ladder, but they have so top ended their salary cap, that their bottom six are, not to put too finer point on it....ordinary. In this, we should give credit to our recruiters: their strategy of picking the eyes out of the second tier leagues has been masterful and greatly stengthens our bottom six players through people such as Hannan, Fritsch.and Vanders. It is a lesson others such as Carlton and St. Kilda should note, but I rather suspect neither has the elite recruiting skills we have. We are in good shape.

Vandenberg spent the first part of training with Viney doing running and drills. Half way though, Viney very obviously ran across the field to join the main group which was met with very loud applause and cheers from the players. This is a seriously close group. You can see how committed they are to each other, and to their leadership. Vanders subsequently joined the main group for the session

Attended training/family day this morning. I reckon about 2000 people there on a chilly morning. I have been attending training off and on now for I suppose 5 years and it is interesting to see how the club has evolved in this as it moves to elite performance. Mostly in the past training has been pretty regimented and predictable. Today I noticed a crucial difference. It was much much more accountable. For instance, in front of us there was a match simulation amongst I suppose a dozen senior players with handballs and kicking, marking etc. For the first ten minutes or so, they continually missed their targets, which prompted the coach (l didn’t recognise him) to yell at them very loudly, to the extent when it continued he brought them in and gave them a serious dressing down. After that it was almost flawless. i have never seen that before at a Dees training session. I suspect it reflects the elite demands that are on this group. About time too, but also symptomatic of the group’s expectations and how ruthless they are now to achieve them. lt was wonderful to see.

The whole point of the post was that many of the experts are saying it is not the top six which are critical in winning finals, it is the bottom, hence my claim that that gives us an advantage over most teams. Many will disagree I’m sure, but it certainly looks like we have it over most teams in that respect, especially Geelong who fall away quite quickly with their bottom 10 because of their salary cap skew towards the big 3 mid fielders and Hawkins.

Here is my likely team for Friday week: B: Jetta. Omac. Lewis HB Hibberd. Frost Salem CC Neal-Bullen Oliver Hannan HF Melksham TMac Pettracca F Harmes Weideman Fritsch Foll. Gawn. Brayshaw. Jones Inter. Kennedy-Harris. Spargo. Vandemberg. Viney Here they are in quality order: 1 Gawn 2 Oliver 3 Brayshaw 4 TMac 5 Jones 6 Viney 7 Lewis 8. Salem 9. Melksham 10 Jetta 11 Hibberd 12 Harmes 13 Pettraca 14. Frost 15 Omac 16 Vandenberg 17 Weideman 18 Fritsch 19 Hannan 20 Neal-Bullen 21 Spargo 22. Kennedy-Harris This makes the crucial six for us as Spargo, Kennedy-Harris, Neal-Bullen, Hannan, Frisch, Weideman. Interestingly, the majority are forwards or mids, and two are ex VFL and mature age recruits.In light of our #1 rating in scoring, seems a bit contradictory. In any case, some serious talent here, and IMHO would be amongst the top two or three if you rated the bottom 6 across all sides in the AFL. Be interested in others views both on overall ratings and where we sit in bottom six rankings.

It is relevant because the trading period is coming up and discussions are starting. Some demon supporters are suggesting we don’t need hogan presumably because our winning record this year is much better when Hogan doesn’t play. I very much disagree with this. - hogan is much too good a player to contemplate trading, but we have to admit we need to think through better how we use him in the future. David Neitz early in his career played a lot at CHB, and the great Wayne Carey described him as the best backman he ever played on. Neitz himself says playing down back for extended periods eventually made him a better forward. The same may apply to Hogan. It is at least worth considering,. Hogan is a key part of the Dees bright future.

Play him at CHB like David Neitz. The forwards are working a lot better without him, but he is incredibly talented. Our defence needs a monster. Why not?

Percentage, percentage percentage.....not. How glorious it is!

Oh what sweet revenge that would be. I take that in return for our two earlier close defeats!

Brilliant pass to melscham for the last goal of the day by trac, and had a hand in one or two others in the last quarter. I agree that Demon fans are waiting for him to have some 25 -35 possession games, something of which l am sure he is capable. For that though he would have to be played in the mid field, something for which he would require a bigger engine than he has now. Hopefully the club will challenge him to develop that in the off season. He could be anything Trac. At the moment he would not be in our top ten players, but on potential and natural talent he should be top 5.

My vote preliminary final loss to Tiges

I though spargo lost us the game last week against the Swans and almost this week through his inexperience. This can’t happen in finals. For me, Jesse Garret needs to come in for him.

So was l actually. Very strange feeling. demons looked on from the beginning. With this team, you can usually tell. Let’s hope this is just the beginning!!

I can’t watch this . It is too painful. . Switched on to foxtel to Ww2 doco as a distraction, and my iPad popped up the final scores. Oh what joy....Go you mighty Dees. We could do real destruction in September. I feel 1987 coming on again, except Max will control running over the mark l am sure! Weid was good today...

Because we would be 3rd - and firmly in the top 4 ahead of the pies!

I think this speculation is spurious. Why would Angus move when he and Max could be one of the greatest centre combinations of all time. Max is very clearly committed to the Dees in the long term. It is a glorious future which Angus won’t get elsewhere, particularly at Norf! i can’t stand that club...

Stupid Channel 7 covering VFL Williamstown v Dogs from Williamstown in the afternoon and then switch over to the AFL DEES V CATS after their news. Apart from the additional costs of two venues, our VFL game would be a lot better game anyway, particularly if it is in dry conditions.

No, 12 wins won’t be enough. In fact, given certain results 13 may not be enough though unlike last year our excellent percentage should help us in that. My prediction? 14 wins finish in the top four and play the Tiges in our first final for 12 years. We would be a real chance at the G. What we don’t want is to finish third and have to play West Coast in Perth!

My posts were July 2017. Your archive is admirable. My view now is that Max is rightly outright favourite for the medal. He is a genuine star and in the top three or four players in the AFL, and one of the few who makes such a huge difference when he is on the field that he makes the difference between winning and losing. He WILL win us a flag in the next year or two. I really don’t understand certain commentators who rank Max only in the top 2 or 3 ruckman in the AFL. To me he is clearly number one. The complete package.

Really good long term thinking by the club. As we play through Max’s career peak, we will have a superiority over nearly all teams onball through Max’s silver service, but That can’t last forever. What better than to recruit a giant, very athletic individual with great sporting pedigree to be taught by the best over an extended period, and we all know how long it takes for big men to develop. I suspect given Austin’s size, his athletic pedigree and his learning under Max’s guidance, he may well come along a bit quicker than we expect. The great part about it is we have plenty of time to get it right. What a great prospect!

And he can kick...

It all comes back to Hird. He managed to burn so many people at Essendon and beyond through his singleminded obsession in proving his innocence: Bomber was clearly one of them, although nothing excuses what looks like blatant breaking of the law. What goes around comes around - I reckon....

Tyson to me is almost invisible in the field. You think who has played well, and he is almost never in your mind, then you look at the stats and you find he has 20-30 touches. I guess it is because he truly is an inside mid and does a lot of his work in close. However, I think his weaknesses are so severe that I don’t think he makes our best 22 when everyone is fit. The most obvious is his disposal, where the accuracy in his kicking in particular is weak. It is most obvious in set shots for goal where he misses more often than not. He and Max should have special training sessions practicing kicking for goal 30-40 meters out, then Max can teach him the banana from the pocket!

Yes.....big time!!