Dempesay

[rama_fan]

This kid will be alright.


Bit more confidence, bit more weight..

He will come good, and when he does look out.

[Jazz_84]

bit more weight..

think a few of our kids will have to work on this over the summer

[Gatsid]

The way he was bawking tonight was awesome to watch, with a little more confidence and polish he will be very damaging. Definetley something exciting ahead.

[danstar84]

Needs a lot more weight. You could see he was too worried about being bumped off the ball, and sometimes focused on th eman rather than the ball.

Does look very exciting though, and has plenty of pace to burn.

[robbie67]

Now HE is someone to get excited about. He thinks and looks like a footballer. Just needs a good feed.

[lozza89]

I was very excited from what i saw from him tonight. It has taken him a while to adjust to the seniors team, but he showed he can play this kid.
Excellent pace off the half back line and through the middle.
Yeah needs more weight, but that will come over time.
Good signs for the future from this guy!

[Brumaz]

played very well for a young guy. give him time, he will be a great pickup

[Sartorius]

Great game. Wasn't afraid to run with the ball, and take people on, which is great. Needs a little bit of muscle, but will never be a very big bloke.

You could see from Pre season that this bloke was good. Kicked a very good goal at Optus against the Swans. Too bad the season has finished!

[CameronClayton]

dont want to put the mozz on him, but Longy would have been proud of his efforts tonight

[Filthy]

Now HE is someone to get excited about. He thinks and looks like a footballer. Just needs a good feed.

i Was going to suggest a diet of banana smoothies 3 times daily, but the Club will go broke doing it.

He has got the intangible IT.

[Gossy7]

Possible rising star nomination?

Played a great game tonight, i was very impressed with his efforts. As they said, hes just got to learn to run into that space that he gets so much of.

[Sartorius]

Good point brendan. certainly could be nominated this week, but i think someone who has been doing alright for a while will get it. Hopefull demps does.

Always next year though.

[swooper]

Looking forward to watching Dempsey next year. Appears to be a pure footballer and once he bulks up a bit and gets used to the pace of the game required as far as decision making goes the sky's the limit.

[jimmyc1985]

I would like to see Dempsey used in a Davey-like capacity as a forward line 'hassler' at this stage of his career.

Something we've lacked for a while is forward line pressure in being able to hold the ball in, and by the same token we currently lack a good forward line crumber who could maybe contribute 30-40 goals for the year. Given next year we're probably going to run a 3-tall forward line of Lucas, Lloyd and Johns, there's surely going to be plenty of opportunity for a quick ground-level player to sneak goals after marking contests. Davey does this unbelievably well for the Demons and he makes a big difference to their forward line in his ability to both chip in with a couple of goals per game, as well as hassle the opposition defenders and hopefully get them to turn the ball over.

Even when we had quickish guys in the forward line, like a Cupido, they still didn't have the ability to hold the ball in, for lack of effort or desperation. For us, it rebounds so quickly out of our forward line with minimal pressure that our midfielders get exposed on the rebound and the defenders end up having to deal with too much pressure down the other end.

So, whilst Dempsey is still skinny and learning the game but has stacks of raw pace, can read the play reasonably well and has a neat kick, i reckon he'd be great to have lurking around the forward line contests, chipping in with a few handy goals here and there as well as putting some much-needed pressure on the opposition defenders. And then, once he's a bit older and has more fitness, strength etc., he can progress into a more permanent midfield/winger role as Davey does at times.

Just to finish, i guess people reading this might think that i've forgotten about Lovett, who to some extent fills this role i've described at times anyway. To that i say that Lovett is 4-5 years ahead of Dempsey, and should have a more permanent role on the wing, in the midfield or even on a back flank. He's handy in the forward pocket position and usually bobs up with a few goals, but is sometimes lazy when the ball is going the other way and i think he's more capable of contributing when he's gunning it in the midfield or on the wing.

[Sartorius]

Good post Jimmy. Some very good points.
It'll be interesting to see where he is played next year. I think he will begin in the forward line as you said, and we will see how he goes from there.

[danstar84]

I would like to see Dempsey used in a Davey-like capacity as a forward line 'hassler' at this stage of his career.

Something we've lacked for a while is forward line pressure in being able to hold the ball in, and by the same token we currently lack a good forward line crumber who could maybe contribute 30-40 goals for the year. Given next year we're probably going to run a 3-tall forward line of Lucas, Lloyd and Johns, there's surely going to be plenty of opportunity for a quick ground-level player to sneak goals after marking contests. Davey does this unbelievably well for the Demons and he makes a big difference to their forward line in his ability to both chip in with a couple of goals per game, as well as hassle the opposition defenders and hopefully get them to turn the ball over.

Even when we had quickish guys in the forward line, like a Cupido, they still didn't have the ability to hold the ball in, for lack of effort or desperation. For us, it rebounds so quickly out of our forward line with minimal pressure that our midfielders get exposed on the rebound and the defenders end up having to deal with too much pressure down the other end.

So, whilst Dempsey is still skinny and learning the game but has stacks of raw pace, can read the play reasonably well and has a neat kick, i reckon he'd be great to have lurking around the forward line contests, chipping in with a few handy goals here and there as well as putting some much-needed pressure on the opposition defenders. And then, once he's a bit older and has more fitness, strength etc., he can progress into a more permanent midfield/winger role as Davey does at times.

Just to finish, i guess people reading this might think that i've forgotten about Lovett, who to some extent fills this role i've described at times anyway. To that i say that Lovett is 4-5 years ahead of Dempsey, and should have a more permanent role on the wing, in the midfield or even on a back flank. He's handy in the forward pocket position and usually bobs up with a few goals, but is sometimes lazy when the ball is going the other way and i think he's more capable of contributing when he's gunning it in the midfield or on the wing.

At the moment, sheeds seems to be throwing him all over the place. Played up forward, in the middle and down back at different stages last night. I think he could be handy up forward as you have suggested, but he does need to work hard on his kicking skills, especially in terms of penetration. Some of his kicks seem to die off quickly, and he has the helicopter every now and again. Only his first year though, so can't be too hard on him.

I think he still needs a fair bit of time on the wing, or in the middle, to learn that position, as that is no doubt where he will play the majority of his footy. I think we need to be careful that we don't do the same to him as we have done to others, even Bradley at the moment whereby he is thrown all over the place, but hasn't had the chance to learn in a single position.

Definately agree on Lovett. He needs to push up the ground more often next year, especially when he has not been able to get into the game. He can be lazy sometimes, but overall I think he works pretty hard. Layed some wonderful tackles due to hard work throughout the year.

[j-mac31]

Jimmy I agree, but Lovett can be so damaging up forward. Why not just tell him to get less lazy and leave him there, whith Dempsey playing on the wing.

Speed and excitement is what Dempsey brings to the team. Just imagine him and Aker together!

[Boyler_Room]

Talking about moving guys all over the place... by my reckoning I can only really think of 2 guys who haven't been thrown all over the place through their careers (and even they've played cameo roles in their opposite poles). They would be Lloyd and Fletcher... and as I said, both these guys have played at the opposite end of the ground from their usual position at times.

That's probably the one thing I don't like about the way Sheedy coaches... but hey he's been coaching an AFL club for 26 years... and I coach juniors from time to time. Hell he's been coaching longer than I've been alive.

[Sismis]

dont want to put the mozz on him, but Longy would have been proud of his efforts tonight

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Get this Kid on the wing!

If you get a chance rewatch the game and see how often he is in the shot. it's not just his speed either, his tank seems inexhaustable. At one stage the commentators were prattling on about how the doggies ran forward in waves. At the time there were 3 running forward in a line. CD caught the first one just as handballed, got to second just as HE handballed and almost made it to the third!

[azza78]

I think this kid is gonna be exciting. Like a few others, needs to get a bit bigger and stronger, and needs a fair bit of work on decision making and foot skills.

But the potential is very, very good.