Dees2014

I hope not....

Tmac is one of the best middle distance runners we have at the club which means he has endurance and speed. Although he is doing an excellent job up forward at the moment, we have ready made replacements for him in Ben Brown and the Weid. By moving Tmac to the mid field (ie wing) we can better use our two forwards, as well as tap into Tmacs other superior skills. I think that move substantially improves the team, particularly given his recent good form.

Yes he has never played for us when we are top of the ladder.

The Tigers has just set this up for us so well. Hopefully the press propaganda about the Dogs might be a little subdued from here, at least in the short term . It is now up to us to consolidate for the next four weeks before our clash with the Dogs. Well done Dees!

The Tigers has just set this up for us so well. Hopefully the press propaganda about the Dogs might be a little subdued from here, at least in the short term . It is now up to us to consolidate for the next four weeks before our clash with the Dogs. Well done Dees!

I think we all should realise what (who) we are dealing with here. There is a long tradition in Australian media of promoting “common man” personalities because that is what the decision makers in the media think represents the Australian people ie the “common man” and l say man advisedly. As far as they are concerned the more “okker” the better. And who is to say they are wrong? The ratings for AFL 360 remain strong, and some might argue the contrast between the erudite Whateley and that blithering [censored] Robinson makes entertaining television. Personally l would prefer someone like Paul Roos or to keep it in the journalistic realm Tom Morris, but that makes it a very different program. Perhaps on a one more enlightened day!

Yes, l would add there are also several players who have been around for a while from whom we are extracting significant more out put and improved skill levels this year compared to previous years: notably, Hunt, ABN and Hibberd. Frankly, it is like having three highly skill recruits, albeit mature age one. Add to that Jackson’s significant improvement this year - that all adds up to having very significantly increased capabilities.

Think it will take a while for crowds to come out as they used to. I think they said the 59k crowd in Perth recently was the largest in the world since the pandemic. The Dees crowd was 53k so we are not doing too badly. As mentioned in an earlier post, the ticketing system brought in to manage the pandemic environment has not helped as it is too bureaucratic and complicated. In my view sporting crowds will not return to normal until the global pandemic subsides internationally and that could be several years away if at all. Given the new vicious strains emerging overseas we should be all thankful for the cautious approach all our governments are taking to keep us safe. We are still in the best position in the world, and the behavioural modification is still the best panecea. Vaccines are fine as far as they go, but they are not the complete answer at least in the short to medium term. Sadly, this could put the Tokyo Olympics, and even our grand final in some doubt....

This week it is about fine tuning the effectiveness of the team. For instance, if we bring in Brown for a mid or a small, is that going to upset team balance which has been so effective up til now. Personally, l think inclusion of Brown is a must, it is simply how best to do this. When you have someone who is fully fit available who has kicked over 60 goals in a year, you must play them in your best 22. You only need to look at what Cameron has done for the Cats to see that. It is now simply a question of who will need to be dropped.

TMac is the best middle distance runner on our list, and given his size and football skill would be a headache for all oppositions on the wing. He sort of played a floating wingman in 2018 and that turned out “ok”.

t what l was thinking. Who do we swap for him?

It won’t be in Tassie : they will move it to Marvel in Melbourne owing to COVID.

Yes, interesting to contrast with 2018. Then we dropped games consistently throughout the season, but also won games by close to 100 points in others. Hence we had a %age close to the leaders by the time finals arrived. This year so far much more consistent, but don’t win by nearly as much. A lot to do with a game plan ld suggest. Will be interesting to see what the margins are in the next six weeks or so. Time to put the foot down l would suggest as our percentage moves closer to the doggies as they start to play more top sides. So far, they have not played anyone higher than 8th.

Interesting that in the week that he committed to a long term contract he produced his best game ever. Hope others take note...

Overall tho we have one of the least injured lists in the AFL, and therefore plenty of cover, even for key backs. TMac anyone??

Love the intensity around the ball. Daw/Badtke giving the mids an armchair ride from the ruck contests, and Weid and Brown are real targets up forward. Bradtke is showing huge improvement since l last saw him play last year. He and Daw would beat most ruck combinations in the AFL. Daws palming is on a par with Max and that’s saying something. Really good signs we have such a strong 2’s side. Very exciting. We now have the cattle to blow most sides away.

Watching some of the replys of the games this season, we make mistakes in games, but then tend to correct in the same game or in subsequent weeks, which is as it should be. For instance, we dropped five easy marks (the main culprit being Lever) which all resulted in goals in the game against the Saints which made the results closer than it should have been, but corrected this in the next three games where our back line has been very reliable. Another example, was our tendency in earlier games was to deliver deep into the forward pockets which cut down on accuracy in front of goal, but this has been partially corrected in the last two games. This year so far we have won but we have not buried opponents unlike 2018. Then again, this year we have not (so far) lost games we clearly should have won which we regularly did in 2018. Maybe it is a sign of maturity both in the playing group and coaching group. Let’s hope it continues. Today will be the acid test.

The speculation about Collingwood moving out of their current home has been fuelled by themselves, no-one else. I was simply relating to that. There have been plenty of examples of thriving social clubs at AFL level. Success depends on accessibility, parking and quality of offering. Admittedly the most outstanding have tended to be interstate (and even Geelong), but there are some that thrive.

Just a consequence of his original “smart [censored]” decision not to support AFLW originally. He deserves everything he gets for being such a laggard.

I think the media give us a pretty fair run when we are successful just as the bag us when we are not. This week we have been constantly in the news, with most commentators nominating the ANZAC eve game as the most significant of the season so far: and so it is! Enjoy the limelight - there will be plenty more ahead.

Olympic pool precinct is our natural home and we should have jumped at the chance to move there when we were first offered it before Collingwood moved there. Having said that it was an understandable decision not to given our parlous financial state at the time, although l wonder whether all the sophisticated financing options were fully examined at the time. If the Woods move, it would be a perfect home for us, including at last a permanent social club.

Think Bombers’ difficulties are far more deep seated than their training base. Try their leadership at all levels starting with Hird for a start. They will be a long way off for quite some time..

I agree he will not be dropped. At his best he is in our best half dozen players. In fact, l think there is room in our best team for MacDonald, Weid, B Brown, Fritsch, Jackson, Gawn, especially if they play MacDonald on the wing, which apparently he has been training for. He is also the best elite middle distance runner at the club.

We play TMac one the wing, B Brown at FF, Weid at CHF, Jackson second ruck, Fritsch HFF. Best forward half / on ball brigade l can remember in my 50 Years following the Dees.

Interestingly he played up forward. Did a great job too. Considering wher we are, who should replace him tho. I don’t think he is any longer an a lite backman, but happy to disagreed with