2018 Demons

[AmericanAFL]

Went from being part of the All Australian squad & our leading goalkicker in 2017 to being dropped 5 games into the season.

Interesting- I thought he played well in rounds 1-3. No one played well against the Hawks. Don’t remember much from him against the Tigers in round 5.

 

[Topkent]

Interesting- I thought he played well in rounds 1-3. No one played well against the Hawks. Don’t remember much from him against the Tigers in round 5.

After he was dropped he never did anything in the reserves to earn a recall. He did get another chance later in the year but he really wasn't playing anywhere near his best

 

[AmericanAFL]

Is he is still with the team, and in their plans?

 

[Topkent]

Is he is still with the team, and in their plans?

At his best he possesses ability as a small forward that no one else in the team has. But when you are 29 and dropped from the team it's a long way back, he is still on the list so if he trains hard he will make the team.

 

[harry000]

At his best he possesses ability as a small forward that no one else in the team has. But when you are 29 and dropped from the team it's a long way back, he is still on the list so if he trains hard he will make the team.

Seems to have a big season every second year. Hopefully this continues haha

Goal output per season since 2011 (tackle and disposal numbers follow a similar pattern):

2011 - 48
2012 - 29
2013 - 43
2014 - 12
2015 - 40
2016 - 29
2017 - 42
2018 - 18

 

[Cannon82]

Seems to have a big season every second year. Hopefully this continues haha

Goal output per season since 2011 (tackle and disposal numbers follow a similar pattern):

2011 - 48
2012 - 29
2013 - 43
2014 - 12
2015 - 40
2016 - 29
2017 - 42
2018 - 18

2014 is his last year at Carlton when he was out of favour, and he was obviously out of favour again this year with us. I'm not saying he can't work his way back into the team, but given he lost his spot to a first year player essentially and then didn't show any inclination to work his way back into the team, I'd be surprised if he gets near the side without a few injuries in the forward line. He'll be starting the season as one of the players in that 25-30 bracket trying to work their way into the side, and deservedly so because he was pus this season.

 

[harry000]

2014 is his last year at Carlton when he was out of favour, and he was obviously out of favour again this year with us. I'm not saying he can't work his way back into the team, but given he lost his spot to a first year player essentially and then didn't show any inclination to work his way back into the team, I'd be surprised if he gets near the side without a few injuries in the forward line. He'll be starting the season as one of the players in that 25-30 bracket trying to work their way into the side, and deservedly so because he was pus this season.

Your posting makes too much sense lately. It has me on edge.

 

[Cannon82]

Your posting makes too much sense lately. It has me on edge.

Well I haven't changed so you should probably consult a specialist.

 

[Proper Gander]

Your posting makes too much sense lately. It has me on edge.

Hasn’t posted about Melksham yet though.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

We do have that tall option, Tom McDonald. Injured still in that game.

Unfortunately people who play the game at Mason Cox height have literally never happened before. Pretty much every other premiership has been won without blokes that tall although the new average for a key forward would be 195-200cms

The crowd wasn't that small, it was 35000, it's just that
1- The MCG holds 100,000 so it seems small.
2- The broadcasters turn the crowd noise down so that you can hear them commentate better. It's infuriating.
3- at the beginning of that game we hadn't beaten North for 12 years.

4- most Melbourne supporters sit on the Northern side of the ground which is where the cameras are so they're generally facing less packed stands on the other side of the ground.

 

[AmericanAFL]

Just finished the round 6 game vs the bombers.

Ugly first half, but they somehow found a way to keep the game close. Seems the entire team had a terrific second half, but several who stood out for me:

Dominant ruck game from Max, and I liked him pushing forward toward goal.

Great game from Melksham, impacting play inside 50 with and without possession.

The way Spargo and Fritsch played, I can see why Jeff has a hard time getting back in the side. Also Hannan who I haven’t noticed before.

Also good to finally see McDonald out there.

This one was pretty much what the doctor ordered after the Hawthorn/Richmond losses. I’m sure it helped the mood of supporters quite a bit, especially looking at a stretch of very winnable matches coming up.

 

[Topkent]

Just finished the round 6 game vs the bombers.

Ugly first half, but they somehow found a way to keep the game close. Seems the entire team had a terrific second half, but several who stood out for me:

Dominant ruck game from Max, and I liked him pushing forward toward goal.

Great game from Melksham, impacting play inside 50 with and without possession.

The way Spargo and Fritsch played, I can see why Jeff has a hard time getting back in the side. Also Hannan who I haven’t noticed before.

Also good to finally see McDonald out there.

This one was pretty much what the doctor ordered after the Hawthorn/Richmond losses. I’m sure it helped the mood of supporters quite a bit, especially looking at a stretch of very winnable matches coming up.

The Essendon games have been an anomaly for about 7 years now. They are always ugly and often extremely unpredictable. We beat them twice when we were horrible and then they beat us when they had all their suspensions and played a VFL team

Normally the favourite loses. We just take those wins and move on

 

[AmericanAFL]

Just recently learned the punter for my NFL team was briefly a Demon:

 

[AmericanAFL]

4- most Melbourne supporters sit on the Northern side of the ground which is where the cameras are so they're generally facing less packed stands on the other side of the ground.

I noticed this in one of the games- a different camera angle showed far more fans sitting on the camera side.

As a viewer I enjoyed the atmosphere for the Dons game they played at Marvel because the stands were 80-90% full as compared to some of the matches I have watched at the MCG.

 

[dee_mac]

Just recently learned the punter for my NFL team was briefly a Demon:

View attachment 601507

Made news here a couple of times. Tackling Kamara and punting it into the overhanging scoreboard. Go birds!

 

[Topkent]

I noticed this in one of the games- a different camera angle showed far more fans sitting on the camera side.

As a viewer I enjoyed the atmosphere for the Dons game they played at Marvel because the stands were 80-90% full as compared to some of the matches I have watched at the MCG.

40k stadium vs a 100k stadium
It's our original home ground and during the finals when we had 90k crowds you wouldn't wanna be anywhere else

 

[AmericanAFL]

Go birds!

Indeed mate!

Are you a fan of American football?

 

[harry000]

Just finished the round 6 game vs the bombers.

Ugly first half, but they somehow found a way to keep the game close. Seems the entire team had a terrific second half, but several who stood out for me:

Dominant ruck game from Max, and I liked him pushing forward toward goal.

Great game from Melksham, impacting play inside 50 with and without possession.

The way Spargo and Fritsch played, I can see why Jeff has a hard time getting back in the side. Also Hannan who I haven’t noticed before.

Also good to finally see McDonald out there.

This one was pretty much what the doctor ordered after the Hawthorn/Richmond losses. I’m sure it helped the mood of supporters quite a bit, especially looking at a stretch of very winnable matches coming up.

About half way through the Essendon game the coach switched up our defensive structure and moved our zone backwards a bit.. stopped them from scoring so easily on transition.

 

[AmericanAFL]

About half way through the Essendon game the coach switched up our defensive structure and moved our zone backwards a bit.. stopped them from scoring so easily on transition.

Is this something you would know if you were watching on tv? Seems impossible to know much about what’s happening away from the ball, especially on such a large field.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Is this something you would know if you were watching on tv? Seems impossible to know much about what’s happening away from the ball, especially on such a large field.

That's because the tv production for the most part is terrible. Way too many closeups and quick cuts so it's difficult to see what's going on. Combined with the oval being so large it is difficult to notice these types of strategic changes unless they're specifically shown or discussed by the commentators.

 

[harry000]

Is this something you would know if you were watching on tv? Seems impossible to know much about what’s happening away from the ball, especially on such a large field.

Yeah its definitely easier to notice things like this when youre at the ground.

Watching on tv you would notice that we were cutting them off when they tried to exit our defense in the second half instead of it going over our heads when we were pressed up too high. Would help if the commentators gave more insight about that kind of thing instead of talking shit.

You do definitely get a better grasp of everything being at the ground. Another example is the impact weather can have on the quality of skills. Ill brave a wet or windy day to go to the ground and watch and youll get people sitting on their couches at home bitching about the skill quality.

In certain conditions at the MCG with the grand stand being so high sometimes you cant feel much wind at ground level but once you kick the ball up higher the wind impacts the kick. So the players might kick the ball accurately with ease at ground level but struggle at goal kicking.

 

[AmericanAFL]

Yeah its definitely easier to notice things like this when youre at the ground.

Watching on tv you would notice that we were cutting them off when they tried to exit our defense in the second half instead of it going over our heads when we were pressed up too high. Would help if the commentators gave more insight about that kind of thing instead of talking shit.

You do definitely get a better grasp of everything being at the ground. Another example is the impact weather can have on the quality of skills. Ill brave a wet or windy day to go to the ground and watch and youll get people sitting on their couches at home bitching about the skill quality.

In certain conditions at the MCG with the grand stand being so high sometimes you cant feel much wind at ground level but once you kick the ball up higher the wind impacts the kick. So the players might kick the ball accurately with ease at ground level but struggle at goal kicking.

I really enjoy this kind of information. The game is pretty daunting to get your arms around for someone who basically just stumbled onto it a few months ago. Posts with insights into the game/sport, as well as personal experiences/stories are helpful and appreciated.

Many thanks to all contributing in this thread.

 

[Bluelegs]

Haven't had as much time this week to watch as I expected. Have only made it to halftime of this one.

Good response to an awful start, and really should be up even more at the half after being a bit wasteful of good scoring chances. Gawn has been terrific, winning just about every single center tap (what an advantage to score and just go right back on the attack).

Could the Dees use a bit more height somewhere in their group of forwards??

Also, the small crowds are a downer. Beyond the games lacking an "electric" feel, for a new fan like me, an engaged/vocal crowd helps draw my attention to aspects of play that I may not recognize as noteworthy (bad referee call, great effort from a player, terrific play, etc).

From a Melbourne perspective a huge percentage of our supporters are MCC members. The MCC stand is on the same side of the ground as the cameras so the smaller games always looks deserted

 

[dee_mac]

Indeed mate!

Are you a fan of American football?

I am. Have been following Philly for about 10 years. They had a a few broadcast games here at the time. McNabb, Westbrook and Dawkins were fun to watch. And having the connection to Aus through Sav Rocca got me invested. Was an emotional wreck in both the NFC championship and superbowl games last year so hate to think what I'll be like if the Dees ever salute. Bring on Mon morning

 

[AmericanAFL]

I am. Have been following Philly for about 10 years. They had a a few broadcast games here at the time. McNabb, Westbrook and Dawkins were fun to watch. And having the connection to Aus through Sav Rocca got me invested. Was an emotional wreck in both the NFC championship and superbowl games last year so hate to think what I'll be like if the Dees ever salute. Bring on Mon morning

My brother.