Melbourne Discussion

[Purple 77]

do u guys think Vandenberg has potential to be a premo mid

another preseason will be good for him

Aww, will see how he handles a second year in the AFL. He could be one of those guys that never plays as well as his first year.

*cough* Dean Terlich *cough*

In fairness, he was never good :P It was more a matter of everyone else around him being so much worse :(

[elephants]

do u guys think Vandenberg has potential to be a premo mid

another preseason will be good for him

Aww, will see how he handles a second year in the AFL. He could be one of those guys that never plays as well as his first year.

*cough* Dean Terlich *cough*

In fairness, he was never good :P It was more a matter of everyone else around him being so much worse :(

haha oi! Big ol 80 average in DT m8 :p

[Purple 77]

do u guys think Vandenberg has potential to be a premo mid

another preseason will be good for him

Aww, will see how he handles a second year in the AFL. He could be one of those guys that never plays as well as his first year.

*cough* Dean Terlich *cough*

In fairness, he was never good :P It was more a matter of everyone else around him being so much worse :(

haha oi! Big ol 80 average in DT m8 :p

DT doesn't punish skill errors :P and oh goodness was he good at those lol

[elephants]

do u guys think Vandenberg has potential to be a premo mid

another preseason will be good for him

Aww, will see how he handles a second year in the AFL. He could be one of those guys that never plays as well as his first year.

*cough* Dean Terlich *cough*

In fairness, he was never good :P It was more a matter of everyone else around him being so much worse :(

haha oi! Big ol 80 average in DT m8 :p

DT doesn't punish skill errors :P and oh goodness was he good at those lol

I ignored his SC average because "SC is corrupt"... Not really haha

[Barra13]

“IT was clearly our most disappointing and worst performance that we’ve had this year, after making some really good improvements, particularly from an alignment point of view. We lacked effort and composure and Box Hill is a very structured, well coached team and it played very well. We were made to look second rate, so we were disappointed in all areas of our game, including our effort to compete and our attitude. We only had three or four winners on the day, so it made it very hard to compete at a level that was acceptable. From the word go we were on the back foot and we were well and truly beaten in the end.”  â€" Justin Plapp

Rohan Bail: We thought Rohan was our best player for the day. He won his position and made a pretty decent contribution to the way we wanted to play. Rohan had 23 possessions and kicked two goals.

Jayden Hunt: Jayden was disappointing. He had been challenged through illness leading up to the match, and ended up with six possessions and no tackles. He’s a kid that’s got to be able to respond, but unfortunately Hunty didn’t have a good day. I’m sure he will respond in a positive manner.

Mark Jamar: Russian had 15 possessions, 24 hit outs and one effective tackle for the day. His strengths are around centre bounces and stoppages, and he won that area of the game pretty well. But, like a lot of the team, he wasn’t at his best.

Jay Kennedy-Harris: There was some improvement from Jay this week. He had 24 possessions and two effective tackles. Jay had a couple of opportunities to hit the scoreboard, but his inability to finish off his work was disappointing. He’s certainly building after some quieter weeks.

Jordie McKenzie: He had 17 possessions and three effective tackles. Jordie tried and was pretty strong around the football. But he didn’t have a lot of impact on the game. He had an inside tagging role on Jonathan Simpkin and then was moved onto Jed Anderson. Jordie played his role, but we would’ve liked a bit more output from him.

Ben Newton: Newts had four effective tackles and 15 possessions. We would’ve liked a lot more out of him. His ball use was OK at times, but he didn’t win enough of the football and we need him with the ball in his hands. He was disappointing, but he gets another opportunity to respond this weekend.

Aidan Riley: Aidan was good. He had 35 possessions and four effective tackles. Aidan was really positive and influential around the stoppages. He won numerous critical contests, but let himself down a couple of times with missed kicks and the effectiveness of his disposals. Aidan really tried over the course of the game.

Christian Salem: We were really happy with Christian’s game. He had 23 disposals and five effective tackles. He played various roles, including inside mid and back. His ball use was good and some of his inside work was strong as well. He’s building to play in the AFL again and he’s heading in the right direction. It was his third game back from injury and we were happy with his effort and performance.

Jake Spencer: Spence had 14 possessions, one effective tackle and two goals. Both of those goals came from ground level contests, where he finished his work off really well. He played in the ruck and had 23 hit outs. Jake dropped some marks, which we expected him to take, so that’s an area for him to work on this week. But his effort levels were good and he hit the scoreboard, which was positive.

Billy Stretch: It was a quieter game from Billy. He had 11 disposals and two effective tackles. Billy struggled to get into the game, but it’s been a long year for first year players. He’s been challenged from a loading point of view and it can be a bit of a burnout time of the year for first year players. His effort was there, but he didn’t have a great day.

Dean Terlich: Terls had 25 possessions and two effective tackles. He made a couple of costly mistakes, which ended up as opposition goals. Dean took a couple of really courageous marks coming back with the flight of the ball. We’re really encouraging Terls to get a more consistent balance between his offense and defence, but his effort was good on the day. Like a lot of other players, we needed a bit more out of him.

Jimmy Toumpas: Toump didn’t have one of his best performances. He was ill leading up to the match and it didn’t help his preparation. It was a day that Toump would want to forget. We’re hoping that he’ll respond well during the week and his preparation is a lot better than last week, due to illness. He was disappointing unfortunately.

Mitch White: Whitey was really good in patches, but then he lost concentration at times. His communication needed to be better in a few situations. He had 14 possessions and three effective tackles, playing half-back and a little bit forward. Mitch took a couple of strong mark from opposition kicks, but he’s another first year player and it’s been a long year for some of these kids. We’re trying to get them through and keep them as fresh as possible. But he didn’t disgrace himself on the day.

[Barra13]

Melbourne injury list: round 20

Jack Fitzpatrick (ill) â€" available
Sam Frost (toe) â€" 3 weeks
Dean Kent (hamstring) â€" 1 week
Max King (hamstring) â€" 2 weeks
Oscar McDonald (groin) â€" available
Cameron Pedersen (wrist) â€" 3 weeks
Christian Petracca (knee) â€" season
Jack Trengove (foot) â€" season
Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) â€" 3 weeks

[Purple 77]

Toumpas was ill ay? Convenient excuse...

[elephants]

Toumpas was ill ay? Convenient excuse...

In fairness, Watts was sick leading into the Dees AFL match and Roos said on AFL 360 that theres a bug going around the club haha

[Barra13]

Yeah Fitzy also had it as per the "ill" on his out. He was supposed to play VFL. Matt Jones came in for vandenBerg who was sick as well apparently.

[elephants]

Also says Hunt was sick ^

[Purple 77]

If they were that bad, they wouldn't have played. They declared themselves fit so they are subject to criticism.

But I also don't like Toumpas I guess, so maybe I'm a bit harsh

[powersuperkents]

I want to hear Demon supporters' thoughts on Aidan Riley. He has the potential, but will he ever be a starter for the club? I just can't see him competing with all the other young talent the club has in the midfield and as a vest player at best (I need to make delistments in my fantasy team and due to depth alone, I may have to drop him before players such as Ted Richards (I pray that I never resort to playing Teddy haha).

He racks up in the VFL, however he can't earn a vest free game in the main team and I'm starting to think of him as another 'Sam Blease' type. Just can't see him break through ahead of Jones, Salem, Toumpas, Viney, 'a fit' Trengove, Brayshaw, Tyson, Stretch, Newton (and he isn't even pivotal to the Dees), Michie (another non-essential I see getting call-ups over him), Vince, JKH, Petracca, ANB, Grimes, & vandenBerg.

What are your thoughts on Riley as a prospective fantasy football player? 

By the way, Paul Roos has done a fantasy job building the midfield depth at the club. The midfield has gone from laughing-stock to future champions

[Big Mac]

I want to hear Demon supporters' thoughts on Aidan Riley. He has the potential, but will he ever be a starter for the club? I just can't see him competing with all the other young talent the club has in the midfield and as a vest player at best (I need to make delistments in my fantasy team and due to depth alone, I may have to drop him before players such as Ted Richards (I pray that I never resort to playing Teddy haha).

He racks up in the VFL, however he can't earn a vest free game in the main team and I'm starting to think of him as another 'Sam Blease' type. Just can't see him break through ahead of Jones, Salem, Toumpas, Viney, 'a fit' Trengove, Brayshaw, Tyson, Stretch, Newton (and he isn't even pivotal to the Dees), Michie (another non-essential I see getting call-ups over him), Vince, JKH, Petracca, ANB, Grimes, & vandenBerg.

What are your thoughts on Riley as a prospective fantasy football player? 

By the way, Paul Roos has done a fantasy job building the midfield depth at the club. The midfield has gone from laughing-stock to future champions

I can see why you make the comparison but I think Blease and Riley are quite the opposite. Blease had the talent to make it, but never had the work ethic (I think it's too late for him now). Riley works very hard, but doesn't have the talent. His contested game is great, and so is his tackling, not as good as Viney but in the same league imo. But he's slow, has poor skills and can't really impact the game offensively.

When Riley has cracked the team he has been forced to play a small forward role, never really getting a proper run in the mids and so he hasn't really been given a fair go. Although, that may be an indication on how Roos sees Riley's future

Still a long way to go until our midfield can match it with some other teams, hopefully the building blocks are there though

[powersuperkents]

I want to hear Demon supporters' thoughts on Aidan Riley. He has the potential, but will he ever be a starter for the club? I just can't see him competing with all the other young talent the club has in the midfield and as a vest player at best (I need to make delistments in my fantasy team and due to depth alone, I may have to drop him before players such as Ted Richards (I pray that I never resort to playing Teddy haha).

He racks up in the VFL, however he can't earn a vest free game in the main team and I'm starting to think of him as another 'Sam Blease' type. Just can't see him break through ahead of Jones, Salem, Toumpas, Viney, 'a fit' Trengove, Brayshaw, Tyson, Stretch, Newton (and he isn't even pivotal to the Dees), Michie (another non-essential I see getting call-ups over him), Vince, JKH, Petracca, ANB, Grimes, & vandenBerg.

What are your thoughts on Riley as a prospective fantasy football player? 

By the way, Paul Roos has done a fantasy job building the midfield depth at the club. The midfield has gone from laughing-stock to future champions

I can see why you make the comparison but I think Blease and Riley are quite the opposite. Blease had the talent to make it, but never had the work ethic (I think it's too late for him now). Riley works very hard, but doesn't have the talent. His contested game is great, and so is his tackling, not as good as Viney but in the same league imo. But he's slow, has poor skills and can't really impact the game offensively.

When Riley has cracked the team he has been forced to play a small forward role, never really getting a proper run in the mids and so he hasn't really been given a fair go. Although, that may be an indication on how Roos sees Riley's future

Still a long way to go until our midfield can match it with some other teams, hopefully the building blocks are there though

Cheers mate

Very insightful, exactly what I was hoping for  :)

[Purple 77]

I agree with Mac here; Pig Dog has the heart but not the talent. I also think he has never truly been given a fair go at his prime position i.e. full-time inside mid, but that may be because Roos doesn't reckon he has the skills to deliver in comparison to our other contested animals such as Jones and Viney.

I think he is out of contract BM? If so, reckon this is his last year on the demons list.