I don't know what's going on with McLean. I doubt anyone is more in love with that man than myself, but he's had two shockers and today was the worst game I have seen him play. Either he is terribly unfit, having had a late start to the pre-season, or he is getting tagged out of the game. I'd give him a couple of weeks to play off the half back line or even as a small forward, and get some touch into him. Seems very frustrated as well, which can't be helping.

Whatever it is, he looks a shadow of the man who dominated against St. Kilda in the elimination final of 2006. I wouldn't be surprised if he's carrying an injury but he's either too determined or too stubborn to admit it.

sick of the excuse that we are young!

As a coach be creative! First time in two years i have been dissapointed with bails! Exploit their potential weakness!!!!!!!!! In the ruck.. Fraser by him self and we had two ruckman and got dominated! Run to the forward line, take him out of the game for hell sake!

Midfield effort pathetic. Second half pathetic!

This sucks.

Footy sucks.

With our major weakness...

It's clear that Bailey is playing kids that are not ready for AFL standard.

Jetta 6 touches

Bennell 8 touches

Do we have any depth at Casey?

Maric

Dunn

Meeson

Newton

Valenti

no.

Maric aside, the kids are played because the experienced players are not up to AFL standard.

Whatever it is, he looks a shadow of the man who dominated against St. Kilda in the elimination final of 2006. I wouldn't be surprised if he's carrying an injury but he's either too determined or too stubborn to admit it.

Or maybe........

haha well its true isnt it!

The senior blokes we have are not match winners, its just frustrating thats all.

Im very dissapointed to fold like we did after that first quarter.

Its going to be a long long long season i think

This is what happens when you play a bunch of players with less than 20 odd games apiece.

Where's your patience, grow some quick.

If you were at hawthorn a few years back they wouldn't have won the flag last year.

I understand your frustation Mousey. Certain senior members of the team seem to be responsible for a lot of the turnovers, which is extremely frustating, I can forgive Cheney for fluffing a kick in, but it does get annoying watching Bruce continually turn the ball over by hand or foot.

And by the way, I will never listen to Malcolm Blight's whingeing commentary, it was doing my head in today more than anyhting that was happening on field. Next game on channel 10, I will mute it, and watch in silence or give a bit of running commentary myself

TIm Lane is a doushbag!

Got our players names wrong a number of times more than 10 times! Christianson also bad!

Whatever it is, he looks a shadow of the man who dominated against St. Kilda in the elimination final of 2006. I wouldn't be surprised if he's carrying an injury but he's either too determined or too stubborn to admit it.

It'll take us 4 - 5 games till we get some more experienced players back into the team before we show much. The players look down on confidance & belief.

When Whelan, Wheatley, Robbo, & bring in Dunn, finally get back we'll get some composure back.

It's too much to have two 2 gamers, plus Morton in the one side. The side needs some stiffening.

Drop Mclean and Bates - one dimensional although in McLeans case he has no dimension. Also did anyone note how easy it was for the opposition to block out players from chasing. Also lack of talk out there and again using handball in many cases to get out of trouble memories of 2008.

You all should have listened to SEN which was unbiased and informative. KB at the end after a very depressed Demons supporter rang to complain said that MFC was in fact so much better than last year, was doing the absolute right thing by playing all the young players and that in 2-3 years that we would be in finals contention. I perked up for a little while at least.

I thought Spencer showed today what we all hoped he had. I thought his effort over on the Melbourne wing was great for a big man just learning the game.

Drop Junior - you have to be joking. His attitude alone was worth ten kicks. He was prepared to go in after the ball and at least he shows some peripheral awareness that so many of them haven't got ie McLean and to some extent Morton. Why is Morton so hesitant. Surely a second year player should be able to make quicker decisions than what he is making at the moment.

Why didn't we try and shut down Didak in the second half.

Is Robbo playing tomorrow. Once Robbo is back and Wonna then players can be released to other positions and our game plan will be fluid again like it was in the first half.

I think we have to hold on to how the team played in the first half and showed glimpses of what they are cabable of and hope that with more games under their belts the younger players wont make the basic skill errors they made today in the second half when they come under pressure and they are tiring.

Also you cannot expect the likes of Green, Moloney, Davey and McD to win the game on their own.

Maybe I am just so used to losing these last few years but for whatever reason I don`t come home and sulk after very ordinary performances like the last 3 quarters today. I think we just have to expect that with such an inexperienced side we are going to get well beaten by top 4 or 5 sides. We were very good in the 1st Q and made the pies looked rattled. We should have been 7.0 as both points to Miller and Sylvia were easy shots!

Positives today -

Miller - good leads throughout the day. Went quiet for a quarter after being knocked senseless by Ricky. (He was out cold for 5 secs and fell over trying to get up!) Still presented later on in the game.

Davey - Best game in a long while and willed himself to the contest all day.

Warnock - Best game he has played.

Martin - Will take advantage of Garlo`s injury and keep his spot for the year

Morton - Yes, a couple of poor disposals but seems to have more time than anyone on our list when he has the ball.

Rivers - Another game under the belt and this bloke has lost none of his courage. He is not setting the world on fire but it is great to have him in the team.

Worries -

Rucks - I will not be surprised if Meeson gets a game by default next week.

Chooka - Surely he is playing injured?

Sylvia - I`m speechless

A few things off my chest.

#1 - Get Mahoney out of our coaching box. He is useless. Rarely has forwards inside the 50, when we get the ball we have to wait an eternity for players to get down there and by that time we have turned the ball over. When we have a target up there, there is not one crumber for when the ball spills out. I was taught these tactics in primary school.

#2 - Stuff Bailey's gameplan. We obviously don't have the skill to execute it for a whole 4 quarters. When a team is as poorly skilled as ours, we need to stick to the basics. Accountable football, first option best option and kick the bloody thing long into the forward line (doesn't matter if there's no one there, hopefully Mahoney will get a clue and put people in the 50)

#3 - this may seem controversial to many, but i seriously question Bruce's spot in the side. Sure he gets a lot of the ball, but almost half would be turnovers and a 1/4 would be ineffective. Just stating it as it is, and if you don't agree you are obviously blind and biased. McDonald is awfully close to getting to this level. Sure he might try, but the game passed him by 2 years ago.

#4 - PJ needs a rocket sent up his arse. Lazy lazy lazy. Bring Meesen in for him, we're gonna lose anyway so some competition for him can only be good.

#5 - we are not going to be any good any time soon. Play the kids and only the kids. What a statement it would make if the captain was dropped from the team. McDonald, the captain, needs to set an example, too often today the team stopped chasing, him included. On-field leadership is way more valuable than off-field. Sadly McDonald is just not up to AFL standard any more. I could say this for almost all players, but the majority are young and need to be tried.

#6 - Sylvia had little effect, strike that no effect. However, he did not turn the ball over anywhere near as much as Buckley last week.

#7 - Davey is not a midfielder, keep him on a HFF, it is where he played his best footy. I'd prefer to see him get 13 good touches than 20+ easy kicks in the backline.

#8 - If we keep this up, showing no progress, Bailey is on borrowed time. And good riddance. If it ain't working then the coach is not getting through to the players.

We were competitive for 3 quarters last week, 2 this week, and i predict we will be good for maybe 1 (hopefully at least a half of a quarter at port). We sure are making progress!!!

Frustrated?????? i definitely am, but what we put out today was pathetic. a half of footy is not good enough, regardless of if we are young

I like the post DD:

#2: The gameplan is working, albeit slowly. Last year we would have been horrendoues for four quarters. This year a bunch of teenagers went with the Pies for nearly a half. Now before you go crying "mediocrity" consider that it was ALWAYS going to take time both for the gameplan to come to fruition, AND for the younger players to mature. Given these setbacks, consider that the defenders did a very good job today. Then consider their ages. They are either 20... or in their mid-twenties. That's coming into their footballing prime. When you boil it down, Bailey could coach a desperate win by abandoning all he has stuck to thus far, then what do we achieve? Maybe 6 wins in the year? The damage to our future would be worse than one or two more losses. Why so desperate?

#3: No. Not blind and biased. Just aware of Bruce's limitations. One of the real bugbears if mine is that of the mature players we hung onto, we managed to get some of the weakest leaders at the club to stick around. Bruce was never a star, and it boggles my mind that he is still marked as such. If he was any other player he'd be lost in the crowd of the 20-odd demons players who can't kick at the moment. But because he's Bruce, and because he picks up 30 touches, everyone gets up in arms about how ineffective he was. Like trying to pass to unfit kids playing against grown men is somehow an easy prospect. Drop him, and what do we see? 10-15 less touches in the game. Where does that get us? Our leaders aren't much chop at the moment. But we knew this coming in. Playing all kids would be a HORRIBLE mistake, but more on that later.

#4: I like it. It'll fail miserably, but it's a good theory, making him work.

#5: It's one thing to try the kids, another altogether to throw 18-21 year olds en masse to the wolves. How much do you think they'll learn getting monstered by 100 points? Who will they turn to on the field to ask questions? If you think McDonald is bad, imagine if it were only Sylvia, Miller, Moloney? It would be infinitely worse for their confidence and work ethic to get used to being smashed week in week out which would absolutely happen if they took the field on their own. If this were a good theory, TAC sides would be playing in the AFL.

#7: Agreed.

#8: It may be a little early, but I must admit, I am watching Bailey. No-one has the guts to lay blame at his feet, and rightly so given the list he has. But in a couple of years we'd better see some food on our plate. I'll leave it at that.

All in all I reckon following the demons comes down to a kind of meditative state, where you keep your eye on the prize, and keep from allowing yourself to be angry with the side as it is. Anyone who is expecting lots of wins... THEY are the ones who are blind and biased. We had ten years of trying to win individual games. We are now trying to win a flag. It's really that simple, and you can see this plan reflected in all of Bailey's decisions. It's about 2011, not 2009.

It'll take us 4 - 5 games till we get some more experienced players back into the team before we show much. The players look down on confidance & belief.

When Whelan, Wheatley, Robbo, & bring in Dunn, finally get back we'll get some composure back.

It's too much to have two 2 gamers, plus Morton in the one side. The side needs some stiffening.

I actually thought that we showed more confidence and belief during the first quarter and half today against a quality opponent than at any point in season 08.

Our centre square set up was excellent. We regularly got first hands to the ball during this period of the game. Spencer is a good tap ruckman, the rest will come. He needs time. Jones and Moloney showed that they had the smarts by hand to create clearances. I didn't think they gave much indication last year of being able to do that. Jones in particular impressed me. I've raised concerns about his kicking in the past but over the past two weeks he's hit a lot of targets and like Moloney failed to blaze away when under pressure. Petterd forward continues to impress. Rivers is reminding us all of why we missed him so much - he will get better and better. Green showed leadership. Morton is a serious player and with muscle and age, confidence will grow and his potential influence is exciting. Of the four debutants this year, Bennell is the one who impresses me most. I'm amazed at those suggesting he gets dropped (both last week and this week). He is quick, has good skills and the defensive tools to get the job done. I have no doubts his is a 10 year player. Martin was a revelation. In all of my hypothetical teams of the future I have had Martin eventually replacing Warnock at FB. His performance today reinforced my belief that he possesses the ability and potential to not only play a role but to absolutely dominate the defensive 50. Some of his marking today was awesome. Having said all that I feel I owe Warnock an apology. He's much much better than I thought he was ever likely to become and he's stil improving. Frawley gets better with every game . Our defensive potential really has me salivating. With Watts, Blease, Strauss, Maric and Grimes all waiting to have an impact and Wonaemirri and Garland also out of the mix, I think we have a lot to be positive about.

Obviously there are concerns. McLean is certainly struggling but it's amusing to see how quickly the faithful have turned on him. He missed a lot of footy last year and was a slow starter in the pre-season. He will get better. Bruce isn't having the influence he used to and our skipper is making far too many mistakes. If these three can recover the way Davey did today, we might just win a few games of footy. I not quite up for talking about Sylvia yet . . .

I thought the run and handball at times today was exciting and certainly gave us an insight into how Bailey sees our future style of play. We're certainly getting better at the much discussed 'run and carry'. We're still making mistakes and we're still turning it over and the serial offenders will soon be replaced by the highly skilled draftees of 2007 and 2008. Dappa Dan has the right approach. We need to enjoy the baby steps and individual signs of improvement and keep our eye on the prize. I remember 2004 like it was yesterday. The next 5 years will fly. Buckle up.

#8: It may be a little early, but I must admit, I am watching Bailey. No-one has the guts to lay blame at his feet, and rightly so given the list he has. But in a couple of years we'd better see some food on our plate. I'll leave it at that.

Wrong, I do. He has shown nothing to suggest that he's an adequate match day coach.

He states in his press conference that errors sap the players' confidence. Dean, the errors are occuring because the players are indecisive when the opposition apply pressure. Why? Because option A, B, C and D is to handball when under pressure. There is no structure forward of the ball that allows for a medium to long kick.

On an optimistic note I feel we are somewhere near that hawthorn were 4 years ago, losing most games with youngsters, Clarkson under the pump,people calling for his beheading amongst other foul deeds.

We Melbourne fans are long suffering folk but I think there is light at the end of this bloody long tunnel.

We will reap the rewards!! Won't we?

We are the worst team in the competition.

On that note, you have to take the positives out of the game, especially if they are positives for the future.

Green, Bruce, Moloney, and Davey were very good today but they were alone in the last 75 mins today (the entire backline is excepted, they are great, amazing how things turn around - 2002-6 we could have used this backline).

But those guys always give you something (although we are hard on all 4).

The disappointment was in the disappearance of everyone else after qtr time.

Smashed in contested possies, tackles, and Inside 50s. That's the midfield - Jones, Morton, McLean, and Batram didn't work hard enough to provide an option or provide run.

But the positives were contained in the first qtr; Miller and Bate showed us that they can work very well as forwards if the ball is moved quickly and to their advantage. Best half I have seen Miller play.

64 - 39 Inside 50s?! Makes it really hard to win...

sick of the excuse that we are young!

As a coach be creative! First time in two years i have been dissapointed with bails! Exploit their potential weakness!!!!!!!!! In the ruck.. Fraser by him self and we had two ruckman and got dominated! Run to the forward line, take him out of the game for hell sake!

Midfield effort pathetic. Second half pathetic!

This sucks.

Footy sucks.

The facts are, we are a young and inexperienced side. We all know it. Now, we'd rather not here it anymore from BAiley & Co. It's definitely wearing thin and thanks to Blight, the media will be on Bailey's back from now on.

Its going to be a long long long season i think

I get that feeling too. I just hope our injuries don't get worse. And I hope Jaded gets to keep updating her Jared Rivers tracker for games played....