Hardwick on SEN - Sat. 12/8

[one-eyed]

Dimma was just on SEN with Hudson, Robbo and Dermie ....

* Last night - lack of composure going forward. 90% of the matches this year we've gone inside 50 and had more scoring shots than the opposition. Goalkicking yips not helping either.

* Frustrating last night. Tried to get the message out to be more composed going inside 50. Normally an opposition transitions out of defence but they just kept kicking it back to us so they had numbers back and we couldn't find any room.

* Newy has been tagged for the past 10 weeks. Moved him out of the half-back line last night. If we had the players we would've done move him earlier but Batchelor only came back last night. Believes Newy can become an effective wingman and our backline worked well last night without him.

* Grimes is an A-grade defender. Like last year when he went down we lost a fair bit from our defence. Body is predisposed to such hammies so we need to work through that and his confident our fitness staff will fix the issue.

* Vickery wasn't having a great year but having them down there in the forward line helped Jack.

* McGuane has been impressive. He competes. Just needs to get cleaner. After fumbling last week Dimma told Luke to strap his fingers onto the ball lol.

* Dimma said he's learning on a weekly basis. If he makes a mistake you be honest and admit it (eg: Sandilands comments).

* What we need? Two things - (i) A bigger body defender to release Rance and Grimes to roles that are more suited to them (playing on the 2nd and 3rd forward). (ii) More midfield depth (more experience and bigger bodies)

* Robbo mentioned something about a rumour of us putting in an offer for Cloke but Dimma said we'll put in a call but not much else we can do right now. Dimma said with Jack, Vickery and co. it's not a real big concern for us.

* Vickery - Significant reco on shoulder(s); he couldn't put his arms above his shoulders; he couldn't do weights. So it got to the stage you patch him up for next year.

* Looking at bigger bodies at the bookends but also the types of mids who can play both inside and outside like Cotch and Lids. Also want guys who can use the ball well by hand and foot. Last night we were able to control the ball and it was hard to get it off us. That's what we want.

* Dimma believes the season is too long. It's a brutal game and once you lose players you have no one else to call on and you just try to hold on. Dimma's personal preference is bringing the season back to 17-18 rounds. Of course money will be a factor. What we thinks will happen is clubs will use their rookie list more smartly. Use the rookie list as a injury back-up. We got caught out with injuries this year.

* Morris an example of bringing in state league footballers and finding a good player. Overlooked over 3-4 drafts but has come in and been great for us. No doubt clubs will look at the VFL. Mostly recruiters look at U18 level. Resources dictate beyond that and that's one area we need to get better at.

[Smokey]

* McGuane has been impressive. He competes. Just needs to get cleaner. After fumbling last week Dimma told Luke to strap his fingers onto the ball lol.

And I agree with that comment.  He has been a serious upgrade on Miller or Vickery in that same position/role this year and despite his comical errors he has added significantly to the forward line.  Like him or not, it would not surprise to see him get another 2 years.

[Chuck17]

Yep unfortunately I think he has saved his bacon.

Hopefully he will be just a depth player to fill in for a KPF going down (thats if we have any apart from jack)

[Hard Roar Tiger]

* McGuane has been impressive. He competes. Just needs to get cleaner. After fumbling last week Dimma told Luke to strap his fingers onto the ball lol.

And I agree with that comment.  He has been a serious upgrade on Miller or Vickery in that same position/role this year and despite his comical errors he has added significantly to the forward line.  Like him or not, it would not surprise to see him get another 2 years.

Cannot agree Smokey. He gives away too many silly free kicks and 50s to be considered anything other than a liability. His kicking is worse than Millers if that's possible and he has less composure than a muslim at a bah mitzvah.
Effort only gets you so far

[Penelope]

In fairness he hasnt given away that many silly frees and 50s since going up forward. I cant agree on his kicking being worse than millers either. may not be up to standard, but still an upgrade on miller.

lack of composure and decision making is masked to a certain degree up forward as well.

get the ball in range and shoot for goal is a lot easier than trying to find a target and clear the ball through the press in the backline.

[Willy]

Maguane could be an OK third tall. He scraps and competes well and can jump up and take a mark. He's pretty difficult to match up on. But he is not a CHF who can crash packs and be a real target. That is what we have been crying out for all season.

[unplugged]

Agree Willy.  As the third tall, he would be a very competitive player.  I would prefer we had 3-4 mobile talls and a couple of mid size players in the forward line than a combo of giants and midgets.  They just need to keep working on their defensive pressure.  I have been impressed with McGuane's goal kicking this year.  Straight through the middle most of the time.

[Coach]

2 years for McGuane stuff me. Shane Tuck is in our best couple of players and that bloke would have got the ass if it wasn't for his contract a couple of years ago. Still performing at a good standard and he can't get anything but a 1 year deal

[Penelope]

he wont get 2 years.
one if hes lucky, if we snag a tall from elswhere he may even be delisted and rookied

[Coach]

Rookied

[Penelope]

why for you laugh 

[torch]

Should rookie McGuane or use as trade bait ...

[yellowandback]

In fairness he hasnt given away that many silly frees and 50s since going up forward. I cant agree on his kicking being worse than millers either. may not be up to standard, but still an upgrade on miller.

lack of composure and decision making is masked to a certain degree up forward as well.

get the ball in range and shoot for goal is a lot easier than trying to find a target and clear the ball through the press in the backline.

Might have to agree to not agree!
He's given away 13 free kicks and received 2 in 8 games this year - that's equal 16th in the comp.
 Jack has given up 25 and received 24.
I definitely agree with the last comment which is why I'd play post up forward now he is getting more confident in his marking. At least you know Post should have upside. With mcg, what you see is what you get

[Loui Tufga]

To be brutally honest I have loved the way McG has gone about it the last couple of weeks but he isn't the future. It's time to cut our losses and either put him up for trade or Delist. Actualy isn't he available for free agency? If so I wouldn't  be surprised if he walks.

[Stripes]

Interesting what Dimma said about trade targets. Obviously Chaplin is a lock in but the other area he suggested was the midfield and in particular, big bodied/experienced midfielders. I wonder who they have in mind? 

Dimma obviously rates our forward line depth which to me, at the moment, seems very one dimensional at present. We have Jack as a genuine threat but beyond that the other talls are decoys at best. Once Vickery gets back we have part of the puzzle filled but we need another target. I would love to see Griffiths tired in preference to McGuane - I believe he offers much more than Luke.

The reason why I find Dimmas comments so interesting is that I feel that it is our forwardline that is costing us games not our defense or midfield. Our forward 50 percentage entries are excellent as is our percentage of shots at goal (90% Dimma says). Our accuracy in front of goal would also improve if we weren't kicking from such angles and distances. We need to create space in our F50 and if we can't find it on the ground we need to find it in the air with taller forward targets like West Coast, North, Adelaide etc do.

My 2c