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Brayshaw turns it on
Ben Guthrie reports: Angus Brayshaw was the dominant player on the ground in the second half of the Demons’ intraclub clash at Olympic Park Oval.
After sitting out the first half, as part of his comeback from a calf problem, Brayshaw shone up forward and through the midfield.

The young star, who battled repeat concussion symptoms in 2016, had two shots at goal on the run and missed both, but it was his ability to find space in the first place that was most impressive.

Marquee recruit Jordan Lewis’ ball use – particularly through the middle of the ground – was noteworthy, as his deft kicks often opened up the other side of the ground and led to scoring shots for his side.
 

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I went to the match sim and overall it was very spirited but quite scrappy. Certainly not a lot of silky skills on display but there was a fair few Casey kids in the mix, plus it's the first semi-serious hitout of the year.

Anyway, briefly ...

Major positive: No injuries as far as I'm aware

Standouts: Brayshaw, Lewis, Viney, Hunt, Salem, Jones, Oscar Mac. JKH and Melksham also impressive in bursts.

Little disappointed in Hogan and Weid: too often play from behind imo. Really hope Hogan is given more license to roam up the ground this year rather than playing near goal all the time.
 
I went to the match sim and overall it was very spirited but quite scrappy. Certainly not a lot of silky skills on display but there was a fair few Casey kids in the mix, plus it's the first semi-serious hitout of the year.

Anyway, briefly ...

Major positive: No injuries as far as I'm aware

Standouts: Brayshaw, Lewis, Viney, Hunt, Salem, Jones, Oscar Mac. JKH and Melksham also impressive in bursts.

Little disappointed in Hogan and Weid: too often play from behind imo. Really hope Hogan is given more license to roam up the ground this year rather than playing near goal all the time.

Is there any chance this could be because our defensive structure is so good? Or am I clutching at straws?

And did Tim Smith get a run?
 
I went to the match sim and overall it was very spirited but quite scrappy. Certainly not a lot of silky skills on display but there was a fair few Casey kids in the mix, plus it's the first semi-serious hitout of the year.

Anyway, briefly ...

Major positive: No injuries as far as I'm aware

Standouts: Brayshaw, Lewis, Viney, Hunt, Salem, Jones, Oscar Mac. JKH and Melksham also impressive in bursts.

Little disappointed in Hogan and Weid: too often play from behind imo. Really hope Hogan is given more license to roam up the ground this year rather than playing near goal all the time.

Thanks for the update
Did BenKen have a run? He was in rehab group last week
 
Good to hear Gus coming on strong

Watching him train up here on the sunny coast last week he looked angry.... in a good way.

Just about the best news we could wish for right now! The improvement of Brayshaw, Petracca, Oliver, Hogan, Weid, OMac, Stretch, Salem and Hunt will be the difference between us making up finals numbers or being in contention for a flag. Viney and Gawn have shown huge improvement last season or two, and if the other young guys can do similar things look out! God I hope Goodwin can coach! Our success is virtually in his hands!
 

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Is there any chance this could be because our defensive structure is so good? Or am I clutching at straws?

And did Tim Smith get a run?

It could well be because of our defensive structure. The McDonald brothers were positioned about 5-10m in front of Weid and Hogan, and at one stage Weid did get out the back and take a mark about 35m out on a 45 degree angle.

I think Hogan and Weid need to work out when to fight for first position and when to stay deep out the back - I forget both are so young still and have a lot to learn. I still believe Hogan is much better suited to be a CHF rather than deep FF..

I didn't notice Smith, to be honest. He was out there though I believe.
 
I'm not sure why, but I do t trust Ben Guhtries report.

What did you see PG?
Oh I don't mind Guthrie's reports really. I'm just in a bad temper because I'm exceptionally hung over.

I didn't particularly notice Gus as a dominant player, though he did kick a good goal at one point. The standout players for me were Petracca and Hunt. Petracca looks amazing and is such a physical presence - he is in great shape and moves like a cat. And most of his passes were excellent. Hunt was everywhere and ran about 50 metres dodging about 8 guys at one point, though that might have been in the drills that they were doing before the kind of mini intraclub thing that they started later.

It improved as they worked into it, but the skills were a bit sloppy really. Too many guys getting caught, to many handballs to nobody that skid along the ground. Sort of high speed version of Melbourne v Brisbane 2014. I think there was a big focus on speed of ball movement so it took a fair while players to click into the pace and for the comedy errors to reduce. Having said that it is streets ahead of the intraclub thingy last year at Casey in wet conditions. That was hilarious.

Hogan looks in great shape - did some okay stuff when played up the ground. He kicks to the forward 50 really well, probably because as a forward he has a good sense of how he would like the ball delivered. The brothers Mac look very good too.

God knows how Pedo has shrunk that much in 4 weeks.

I'm still a bit puzzled as to why we brought Melksham in. He went okay, got some possession etc but I see no real point of difference about him and I can't really see what gains his recruitment brings. I wouldn't have him play round one if it was up to me.
 
Oh I don't mind Guthrie's reports really. I'm just in a bad temper because I'm exceptionally hung over.

I didn't particularly notice Gus as a dominant player, though he did kick a good goal at one point. The standout players for me were Petracca and Hunt. Petracca looks amazing and is such a physical presence - he is in great shape and moves like a cat. And most of his passes were excellent. Hunt was everywhere and ran about 50 metres dodging about 8 guys at one point, though that might have been in the drills that they were doing before the kind of mini intraclub thing that they started later.

It improved as they worked into it, but the skills were a bit sloppy really. Too many guys getting caught, to many handballs to nobody that skid along the ground. Sort of high speed version of Melbourne v Brisbane 2014. I think there was a big focus on speed of ball movement so it took a fair while players to click into the pace and for the comedy errors to reduce. Having said that it is streets ahead of the intraclub thingy last year at Casey in wet conditions. That was hilarious.

Hogan looks in great shape - did some okay stuff when played up the ground. He kicks to the forward 50 really well, probably because as a forward he has a good sense of how he would like the ball delivered. The brothers Mac look very good too.

God knows how Pedo has shrunk that much in 4 weeks.

I'm still a bit puzzled as to why we brought Melksham in. He went okay, got some possession etc but I see no real point of difference about him and I can't really see what gains his recruitment brings. I wouldn't have him play round one if it was up to me.

Guess when we got melksham we hadn't seen Wagner, Hunt, Frost and even Vince down back
At worst we have AFL quality depth ready to play in the midfield at all times
 
Worth remembering that with intra-club games (where the teams are mixed, as the should) the overall level of each team will drop significantly compared to our best 22, even if we have more depth than previous years.
 
Worth remembering that with intra-club games (where the teams are mixed, as the should) the overall level of each team will drop significantly compared to our best 22, even if we have more depth than previous years.

Plus as been mentioned a few times here everyone knows each others moves and patterns etc so it's gonna be more defensive than offensive

Plus you never know if they have instructions, for instance they might have been told to try and kick every pass 5m in front of the forward so the crumbers can get more involved
 

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