2008 Mid Season Review

[Double Dee]

Gday Big Footyists,

Just finished writing my 2008 Mid-Season review. About 2000 words so make yourself a cup of coffee. It can be viewed at http://hihathawkins.wordpress.com/

Will be uploaded on Demonology in the coming days I think.

Hope you guys enjoy it. Please feel free to comment on anything I wrote that you don't agree on.

Kevin Hawkins

 

[dee-molishon]

Great review kevin pretty much spot on.

Can you tell me who our "other" win will be against this year though?

 

[master bate]

Pretty accurate and well informed piece for mine, however you don't quite have the supermerc wit! It's a development year, and Bailey is developing players and hopefully by the end of this year and next we start developing as a team.

I also think the players copped a pretty light preseason to stop the big pile up of injuries. Sure Jared Rivers isn't right, but Moloney was back until a shoulder derailed him, Neitz and Robbo have copped strange injuries but were going ok. Whelan has suffered from suspension and flue but he is even getting to back to health. Wheatley has probably had a better injury run than usual (even if not flawless) and touch wood Brock gets through a season with his soft tissue (besides that on his nose) all together. Petterd has probably being the unlucky one this year, but its much better than having several young players out with restricting injuries.

Just on what you said about Bartram, I think he is a good tagger but I don't think he is as effective at tagging as Dunn is on stronger midfielders like Foley tonight. And for the life of me I can't name any of the surplus supply of rebounding defenders in our team. Buckley and Chris Johnson fit that role but neither of those two are in the best 22. Bell, Whelan, Bode, Warnock, Rivers, Carroll certainly aren't. Young Garland might have a bit of rebound in him but thats it unless you count playing Green, McDonald, Bruce or Wheatley back there.

I'm surprised you haven't put out a wish list for the rest of the year. Whilst I'm not a massive fan of tanking I don't really care for many wins (not saying I don't want to win every game but it is slightly irrelevant). I just want to keep seeing the young blokes improve, and the number one thing I want for the year is to see Juice Newton back on track. With Miller and Bate going ok, Warnock and Garland going well and knowing Frawley and Rivers can be ok for the future, Juice is the one piece of the young spine we are missing. I really believe if you get your midfield to be competitive (check) and a spine together you are a long way to climbing the ladder.

 

[Double Dee]

Great review kevin pretty much spot on.

Can you tell me who our "other" win will be against this year though?

I wrote it before the Richmond game and believed that we could win at least 1 against them (we've still got Round 22) or Essendon. Maybe even West Coast.

 

[Double Dee]

Just on what you said about Bartram, I think he is a good tagger but I don't think he is as effective at tagging as Dunn is on stronger midfielders like Foley tonight. And for the life of me I can't name any of the surplus supply of rebounding defenders in our team. Buckley and Chris Johnson fit that role but neither of those two are in the best 22. Bell, Whelan, Bode, Warnock, Rivers, Carroll certainly aren't. Young Garland might have a bit of rebound in him but thats it unless you count playing Green, McDonald, Bruce or Wheatley back there.

I'm surprised you haven't put out a wish list for the rest of the year. Whilst I'm not a massive fan of tanking I don't really care for many wins (not saying I don't want to win every game but it is slightly irrelevant). I just want to keep seeing the young blokes improve, and the number one thing I want for the year is to see Juice Newton back on track. With Miller and Bate going ok, Warnock and Garland going well and knowing Frawley and Rivers can be ok for the future, Juice is the one piece of the young spine we are missing. I really believe if you get your midfield to be competitive (check) and a spine together you are a long way to climbing the ladder.

Thanks for the feedback. While I believe that Dunn is doing a good job as a tagger thus far, I reckon he could be a really good key position forward. I remember watching him on his debut against the Cats and I immediately thought 'This guy is gonna be a gun forward.' I have to admit I've never rated Bartram highly, but I believe that the best games of his career have been as a tagger - and he has had a few beautys.

The rebounding defenders I think of are Wheatley, Bruce and Bell (probably the only 3 in the best 22) And then there is a whole group of players vying for spots that could get that position: Petterd, CJ, Buckley, Bode and even Sylvia can play there. Sure, none of them are brilliant, but IMO there's enough players in that category to allow Bartram to play another role.

I was very tempted to include a 'wish-list' or something similar but I personally don't like to think about that stuff too early on in the season. Plus, I had already written about 1800 words. We don't know how well our players will develop before the seasons end so its hard to know what type of players we will need (eg. warnock, garland and frawley might be a very firm backline by round 22 so we might not have to recruit another key defender)

Completely agree with you on Newton. I've always rated him and am hoping DB gets him back in the side sooner rater than later. After 4 goals in Sandy 2nds on the weekend, I'm hoping for a bag this weekend at Sandy seniors.

 

[ExTasDeeMan]

I would agree that Dunny brush could well be a key forward if he presented with intent inside the 50. He just seems out of his depth unless he is stickie-taped to an opponent.

That being said, Ling was recruited as a Forward, but look where that's gone.

 

[RandB]

For the most part, that is a pretty fair assessment of things.

Just a few notes and opinions...

"While Green has been Melbourne’s standout player this year, his desperation and courageous marking ability is being wasted as a loose man in defence. For years, supporters have been screaming for him to return to the forward line. Perhaps Bailey should take note."

Whilst most Demon supporters would agree that Green is damaging up forward, I would not go so far as to say that playing him as a loose man in defence has been a waste. He plays a role that is perfect for his style of play, physique and skills. With a young defence, his assistance has been very important. If we had a similar player who was mobile enough to do the same job then sure put Green up forward and leave him there. I am quite happy with the way Green has been used this year.

"Brad Miller’s permanent move to Centre Half Forward has, as expected, been a success; the inconsistent leader is enjoying his finest season to date".

Just because he is enjoying one of his better years I wouldn't necessarily call it a "success". Whether he plays CHF or FF he has not proven himself enough. He enjoys these positions because we don't have many other options available. He's played a couple of decent games but he doesn't make any impact.

"Johnson has made the most of this opportunity, showing class all over the ground"

I will be part of a very small minority (of 1) on this one but I disagree. PJ looks good when he has space. He attacks the ball as well as he can and tries hard to be apart of link play but he just doesn't have enough attributes. Nothing illustrates this better than the last quarter against Richmond when we were making a last ditch attempt to peg them back, he simply wasn't up to it. Even when he was in a good position he was being outmarked to players with a better leap. He is too slow, doesn't take contested marks and he is heavy. His rucking is nowhere near as good as Jamar either. I admit, when we played our first few games this year he looked like one of a handfull who were actually having a go but he hasn't progressed at all IMO. He gets noticed for the hand full of things he does in games but not many Dees supporters are seeing where he drops off significantly in such basic areas. I guess what I am saying is that we are not getting enough of the benefits out of him that you should get from a tall player.

 

[Double Dee]

For the most part, that is a pretty fair assessment of things.

Just a few notes and opinions...

"While Green has been Melbourne’s standout player this year, his desperation and courageous marking ability is being wasted as a loose man in defence. For years, supporters have been screaming for him to return to the forward line. Perhaps Bailey should take note."

Whilst most Demon supporters would agree that Green is damaging up forward, I would not go so far as to say that playing him as a loose man in defence has been a waste. He plays a role that is perfect for his style of play, physique and skills. With a young defence, his assistance has been very important. If we had a similar player who was mobile enough to do the same job then sure put Green up forward and leave him there. I am quite happy with the way Green has been used this year.

"Brad Miller’s permanent move to Centre Half Forward has, as expected, been a success; the inconsistent leader is enjoying his finest season to date".

Just because he is enjoying one of his better years I wouldn't necessarily call it a "success". Whether he plays CHF or FF he has not proven himself enough. He enjoys these positions because we don't have many other options available. He's played a couple of decent games but he doesn't make any impact.

"Johnson has made the most of this opportunity, showing class all over the ground"

I will be part of a very small minority (of 1) on this one but I disagree. PJ looks good when he has space. He attacks the ball as well as he can and tries hard to be apart of link play but he just doesn't have enough attributes. Nothing illustrates this better than the last quarter against Richmond when we were making a last ditch attempt to peg them back, he simply wasn't up to it. Even when he was in a good position he was being outmarked to players with a better leap. He is too slow, doesn't take contested marks and he is heavy. His rucking is nowhere near as good as Jamar either. I admit, when we played our first few games this year he looked like one of a handfull who were actually having a go but he hasn't progressed at all IMO. He gets noticed for the hand full of things he does in games but not many Dees supporters are seeing where he drops off significantly in such basic areas. I guess what I am saying is that we are not getting enough of the benefits out of him that you should get from a tall player.

Thanks for your opinions. You make a good point on Green. The thing about him is that he shows such desperation towards the ball, something he probably doesn't get to do as much playing as a loose man.

I will admit that Miller still has a long way to go, but I believe this year he is showing some of the football we have been expecting of him for ages. He is leading really well from the forward line and averaging 7+ marks a game. I wouldn't say that he isn't making any impact. He has been a very valuable link from defence to attack.

Your observations on PJ are interesting. His performance yesterday highlighted some of his best skills. For his size, he can run, find the ball and mark really well. Lets hope he can pull off more games like that one. I've always believed though that he is very athletic for a big man and although he probably isn't our first ruck solution, he has probably been more effective in the ruck than White this year.