btdemon

When I studied the fixture earlier I was of the opinion that it was tough and if we made the finals we would deserve to be there. Like most of us, I started to think we were better than we are and we beat many of these teams leading up to the last round. I’m back to thinking we’ll struggle and if we make it it will be after beating some good teams. If so, then we’ll deserve it. List wise there are still pieces missing

Petty will be good. Clearly picked long before he was ready. Hopefully this game won't totally destroy his confidence. We went in top-heavy and slow. Shocking selections. If TMac was doubtful, which it seems he was, then he shouldn't have played either. Pedo would have been better. Spargo should also have played. Fritsch was great but probably played to be the small forward. It seems that that FD thought that that could blood Petty because we were going to win the game easy. Yeeeeesh! Have we learnt nothing? New also wasn't up to his normal standard. I would have preferred to see Bernie and Stretch out there. Tyson still has value but not on the wing.

She is articulate, intelligent and insightful. Have a look back at her first address at a MFC awards night about two years ago. Her speech was far better than anyone else, including, Paul Roos, Peter Jackson, Glen Bartlett and Nathan Jones. She is a gem and we are lucky to have her in Melbourne colours.

I don't see his decision making as the problem. Yes, he hangs on to the ball too long sometimes but he is usually looking for the best option. When he is in heavy traffic this often works to our advantage. His biggest weakness imo, is his kicking. It's rare to see a left footer with such an inaccurate, floaty trajectory. When commentators say he is a good kick it drives me mad. We as supporters know that he isn't. If he could work on this it would take him from a good inside ball winner to a really potent mid. Most people know how difficult it is to correct your basic kicking technique. This is something you evolve from childhood, but there have been some who made major adjustments to their technique. These changes are usually made to set shot goal kicking approaches though, not field-kicking under pressure. Maybe he needs to do what Nev has done. Kick within his limits. Nev is a great user but doesn't try to kick more than about 40 metres. He rarely wastes a kick. The coaching staff should be hammering Tyson about this. He is potentially a great asset but will end up as a marginal player if he doesn't rectify this. Roos seemed to know what his strengths were and played him accordingly. He ain't no outside player. He does however, have the ability to be at the fall of the ball repeatedly.

I must admit Maldonboy, that yesterday's game made me more optimistic. The pressure we applied yesterday was pretty good. We can possibly snag a couple of those difficult away games if we play to the best of our ability. As every MFC supporter knows, its difficult to be confident

I was sceptical about the move of TMac up forward. I wasn't convinced that the defence could survive without him. IMO Lever is not a key back but an interceptor and would rely on having a CHB pillar for him to be able to do his thing. I thought we would end up with Tmac going back there to finalise the defensive structure. I'm pleased to be proved wrong. My doubts about TMac have always been about his disposal under pressure. He would show great judgement when marking, punching and spoiling but usually have a couple of kicking clangers each game. Now he is roaming from forward 50 through the wing and falling back when needed that pressure is somewhat alleviated. When kicking for goal he has time to balance and go through his routine. The ball drop is still too great but everything else is straight and in line. He is our most reliable shot for goal inside 40 metres. He is also able to use his considerable size to push people around. I'm loving this. he is bullying opponents to win the contested ball. It almost seems that he has grown bigger and stronger but I suspect that its just the different role he is playing. He doesn't have to time his interceptions but can place himself in contests and use his his body size. With Hogan and him up there we definitely look more formidable. I also love the flexibility. He has such a big tank that he can slip into defence during those pressure periods when the opposition are getting a run on. Keep it up TMac. BTW. what the hell is this "connection" that Simon Goodwin keeps talking about? Is it another cliche that I have somehow missed the meaning? Every time he says it I try to imagine what he means. I still don't get it. Even Nathan Jones used it yesterday. I sure there is a more direct expression they could use that would be clearer to us dumb punters.

It's not a "dive". Look this body jolt with the impact. He fell backwards. You can't fake that. Granted, he was more than happy to accept the free kick and let Carlisle know about it, but its not a dive.

Jeffy's poor games, (Hawthorn and Richmond) coincided with beltings where we couldn't get clean ball into the forward 50. I wouldn't have dropped him because he is so potent, but then Hannan, Spargo have been great. Fritsch is special and i'd like to see him on the wing. His delivery is beautiful.

Link?

Assuming we win the next three (no guarantees) we should be sitting somewhere in the lower end of the eight. From there on it is very difficult. We have have a couple of 'gimmees' and as you know, they are never gimmees with the Dees. We have many top 8 sides and teams like the Bulldogs, who are starting to find their mojo. Eagles in Perth, Port in Adelaide, the Crows twice, in Adelaide and NT, Freo in NT, Geelong at Geelong, Giants, Collingwood, Swans. We are going to have to be a better side than we are now to make the finals. We will have to knock off a few sides against the flow. I am not feeling that confident after our patchy and unconvincing start. If we make it I'll be pleased and surprised.

Even if we win the next 3 the second half of the season is extremely difficult. I willmore than happy to make the final eight but have grave doubts. We need a lot of things to go right.

I'm there. It could go something like this: Hi, my name is .................... I am a recovering Demon supporter. It has now been .... days since my last Demon disappointment. With the support of those around me I have been able to avoid discussing football, watching replays, football analysis programs, reading the back of the newspaper, reading websites, listening to SEN and most of all, reading Demonland and venting. I have not anticipated the next game for more than a brief moment and have been able to quickly distract myself and shift my attention to more important things. I am fully aware of the perils of thinking about football and with the help of those who love me I will try to live a normal life and exorcise my Demons. Thank you

I agree that the Dees appear to have lost all confidence. Goodwin continually talks about building resilience in the team psyche. That is the ability to bounce back and regain confidence after a knock. They don't seem to have this. Yet at the same time they have a number of players who seem to "over celebrate" goals and run of the mill wins. This particularly worries me and has been part of the team culture throughout the bad times. I also get very annoyed with certain players who appear to exhibit a bravado which is not backed up by their ability or their actions. Confidence is what enables teams in their prime to believe that they can win even when they are behind. Geelong, hawthorn, Brisbane, Swans all had this. The Tigers have it in spades at the moment. We just don't. It will take a string of really good performances to acquire it. We seem to go from a couple of good performances to an unexpected loss. This pattern will take another couple of seasons of consistent performance to eradicate. I'm not sure that this particular list has that in them.

Yes it is very much a figurative comparison, which is not intended to trivialise the plight of people with substance addiction. It is based on the idea that we keep going back to be abused but somehow can't give it up. It's a very masochistic pastime with the promise that "one day, we'll be premiers", or at least regular finalists. I have supported the Dees since 1975. There has been very little joy, except to watch the form of Robbie, or later on the 'wiz', Schwartz, Aaron Davey or Liam Jurrah. I really enjoyed the years with John Northey at the helm because I knew that although they weren't blessed with enormous talent, they would fight like crazy to win. We have suffered years of incompetent and amateurish administration, near merging and public irrelevency. I am confident in the admin with PJ at the helm but have lost confidence in the coaching panel and the game plan and to a certain extent, the quality of the list. Over the summer i was like many Demon supporters, looking at the list and thinking what depth we had. Not so now. We have had a team over the past few years of players who seem to think they are better than they are. That's the impression anyway. I can't see into their individual psyches. I'm just so sick of it. I attempted to break the habit while in Europe in mid '87. I found myself at Australia House in London reading The Age about our most recent capitulation to Geelong at geelong. I vowed to give up my interest in football there and then. There I was on the other side of the world punishing myself again. Of course when I arrived home in July they had begun to string together the that great run that got them into the finals for the first time in 22 years. I was sucked back in. That was 31 years ago. I know we have made two grand finals since then but look how they panned out. I'm now 62. Yes, I'm alive and comfortable. Jeez I'm sick of the Dees though

I tried. I hate this team. And I made my kids barrack for them! Sheesh!

They give you the occasional high but mostly its just horrible. I want to kick it but can't.

He looks like a reasonably quick opportunist forward as well. If he could play the role of a small forward who is a great mark and kick then he'd be very hard to match up on

Imagine.......... it was us who had taken Paddy McCartin over Christian Petracca. In his third year with patchy form, limited impact, injury worries and a cloud over his long term health, he would been lynched on this site by now. In the wider football public the club would been ridiculed for adding to its pantheon of bad early round draft picks. The Saints would have Petracca, who would be now beginning to star. We would hate his talent and arrogance and secretly wish we had him........... WELL WE DO! YESSSSSSS!!!!! What a 'sliding door moment' that was

It was interesting to hear him interviewed after the game. He used all of the team cliches - "lucky to get on the end of a few" etc, etc. The fact that he is using the team language suggests that he has really "bought in". A couple of years ago he was much less focused about why he had a good game. He is really working for the team now and the chasing and tackling are really working for him. He must be aware that he is now in the top performers for "forward pressure" and that makes him feel pretty good. We are so lucky that he is happy in the Dees team environment. He's an enormously valuable player for us now. Our leading goal kicker and most reliable avenue to goal. He'll hopefully improve further when Hogan is back the the forward structure settles.

people are forgetting Darcy Moore and Nakia Cockatoo. In the same draft as Petracca, Wright and McCartin. Both of these guys could be stars IMO

Let's make it happen!

I have said the same thing, a couple of times. But I agree totally. Its the bullocking way he gets the ball and then stands up in the tackle and handballs to advantage. Michael Voss all over again and its got nothing to do with red hair. Its the strong frame, the belligerent attitude and the ball smarts.

In his TAC highlights package he most reminded of Michael Voss. Knew how to get the ball an then was able to stand up in the tackle and give it off to advantage. He seems to have quite a burst of initial speed away from the pack as well. Love the look of him. The midfield is getting some size and grunt about it now. Oliver, VB, Brayshaw, Tyson, Jones, Vince, Viney and if Trenners comes back it will be very solid. It still needs a bit of real pace. Petracca may provide this but I expect he will play as a high half-forward rather than a true mid. Kennedy is a handy quick and a have been pretty impressed so far but i'm not sure that he'll spend that much time in the middle. Stretch has impressed me so far. He is not blisteringly quick but he rarely seems to do anything wrong.

I, for one, am not going to spend the rest of the season speculating about something that I have absolutely no control of. I heard a Dees supporter on the radio last night expressing his concern hat Hogan and McDonald might go. Until the Dees are a strong club then every player we have that is any good will prompt that speculation. In the minds of many, they can't see why would a decent player want to stay at a club that has little chance of playing finals. The club is getting stronger and hopefully we might even play finals either this year or next. Maybe it won't be long before good players from other clubs are seeking a transfer to the Dees? Until then, I'm going to try my best to enjoy the work of Hogan and McDonald (and Petracca and Salem and Brayshaw and Oliver and Viney and Kent) and all of the players who look like being really good. Try and enjoy.

I want to enjoy the next two years with Jesse. If he goes I'll deal with the disappointment then.