Just on a tangent, but did anyone else see gary lyon in row F of N49 in the olympic stand? Now not to nit pick but, for an alleged club legend, would a scarf or even standing during an anthem or applauding/cheering the club that made you be too much to ask?

Forwards need to have greater pressure. They are a lazey and don't work hard enough, same with defense.

It is the small thing, helping a teammate and making an effort to run hard and create targets that we seem to lack.

To be honest, it was a good ending. We lost the game with wayward kicking, but overall you have to be proud of such a young team missing some key players for managing to claw their way back into the match.

We have come a long way from the 100 point thrashing we suffered last year in Round 1.

We got done by 9 or 10 goals in round 1 last year; our worst loss for the season i think.

That 100-point drubbing V Hawthorn you're thinking of was Round 1 2008 (followed by a 97 point drubbing by the Bulldogs in Round 2).

It's certainly been a long road, this rebuild...

Jamar never should have missed that one in the last though, my nan could kick that... and she's dead!

I couldn't believe he missed it! The build-up to that mark and set shot was so exciting too.

Thought Russian was really good again, but gee, you want/expect your AA ruckman to dob 20m goals on no angle at critical moments of the game. Was a momentary lapse of concentration where we saw the Mark Jamar of old (pre-2009) again, just for a moment.

No footballer, ever, let alone an AFL footballer, should be missing from there in near perfect conditions. I would have kicked it, and i'm not much chop.

We got done by 9 or 10 goals in round 1 last year; our worst loss for the season i think.

That 100-point drubbing V Hawthorn you're thinking of was Round 1 2008 (followed by a 97 point drubbing by the Bulldogs in Round 2).

It's certainly been a long road, this rebuild...

It's all one of the shame sh*t to me B)

OK, a misquote, but one that sums you up.

There are always positives, and there are always negatives, no matter the result.

After the preseason we had, the players we've lost, the players out injured, plus the way Sydney came to play (they certainly haven't forgotten last year's drubbing), to have come back from where we did and scramble a draw ... all fine with me.

It still comes back to the fact we did not win!

Stop looking for excuses.

We had some promising performances by some players.

It is next to impossible to always have your best 22 on the park.

Every team comes to play we have to play better than them.

Yesterday we did not play better than the swans or we would have won.

You can go on acepting honorable draws but they are not good enough for me.

Stop being a " melbourne" supporter

be James hird!

Edited March 27, 201114 yr by old dee

It still comes back to the fact we did not win!

Stop looking for excuses.

We had some promising performances by some players.

It is next to impossible to always have your best 22 on the park.

Every team comes to play we have to play better than them.

Yesterday we did not play better than the swans or we would have won.

You can go on acepting honorable draws but they are not good enough for me.

Stop being a " melbourne" supporter

be James hird!

I was very happy with that game OD, that team is continuing to improve it's pressure and intensity

Remember where Bailey inherited this team in 2008???

Back then we were being thumped by 10-15 goals

Now we are playing hard pressure football against top 8 sides, with more improvements to come.

You my friend just want things to happen too quickly.

(Cam Bruce played well for Hawthorn on saturday night i thought....NOT)

It still comes back to the fact we did not win!

Stop looking for excuses.

We had some promising performances by some players.

It is next to impossible to always have your best 22 on the park.

Every team comes to play we have to play better than them.

Yesterday we did not play better than the swans or we would have won.

You can go on acepting honorable draws but they are not good enough for me.

Stop being a " melbourne" supporter

be James hird!

I don't think anybody's making excuses.

This was a good first-up effort (especially considering what we're used to in Round 1), but not great, and I don't think anybody has said it was "good enough".

Could it have been better? Of course! Do we need to improve? Of course we do!

For some like yourself, the result is the be-all and end-all & nothing else matters; it's black and white (and a draw is "black" because we didn't win). Nothing wrong with that.

But for those of us looking for an improvement upon last year in terms of performance, there was a lot to like. As Bailey hinted after the match, that's the sort of game that last year would have been an "honourable" 3-4-goal loss - against the team that finished 5th, who are in very good form & playing well, and who play the hard uncompromising sort of game that we often struggle against.

But nobody's saying we're there yet, there's still a long way to go.

Thought bringing Petterd on as a fresh player was how the coaches will use the sub in future...ie bring on a gun player fresh in the last..almost a soccer tactic really....if it was intended it worked. Perhaps not Pet as we need him all game at the mo....but i think we will see more of this.

melbourne mids need to lift next week against the hawks.

I was very happy with that game OD, that team is continuing to improve it's pressure and intensity

Remember where Bailey inherited this team in 2008???

Back then we were being thumped by 10-15 goals

Now we are playing hard pressure football against top 8 sides, with more improvements to come.

You my friend just want things to happen too quickly.

(Cam Bruce played well for Hawthorn on saturday night i thought....NOT)

Could not resist the final line WYL?

2008 is three years ago it is now 2011.

When will it be not acceptable to draw like yesterday do you think?

2012, 2013, 2014.

Just need to know so that I am not expecting things to happen too quickly.

Edited March 27, 201114 yr by old dee

Thought bringing Petterd on as a fresh player was how the coaches will use the sub in future...ie bring on a gun player fresh in the last..almost a soccer tactic really....if it was intended it worked. Perhaps not Pet as we need him all game at the mo....but i think we will see more of this.

Yes, I think someone like Jetta would be well suited to being a "super-sub", as he tends to drift in and out of the game - if he was to come in and go full tilt for one quarter (or even a half), then he could be very damaging. I doubt it will be used as a place for a back-up ruckman, particularly now that other coaches will note that it probably cost the Swans the game.

Could not resist the final line WYL?

2008 is three years ago it is now 2011.

When will it be not acceptable to draw like yesterday do you think?

2012, 2013, 2014.

Just need to know so that I am not expecting things to happen too quickly.

you do not think yesterday was acceptable OD You do not rate sydney at all?

you are a very hard man. The final line in my previous post was a true observation.

you do not think yesterday was acceptable OD You do not rate sydney at all?

you are a very hard man. The final line in my previous post was a true observation.

I do not think yesterday was acceptable

IMO it does not matter how good or bad Sydney is

We did not win!

If I am a hard man then so be it I have been less so for a long time.

The result is Zero premierships in a very long time.

I do not think yesterday was acceptable

IMO it does not matter how good or bad Sydney is

We did not win!

If I am a hard man then so be it I have been less so for a long time.

The result is Zero premierships in a very long time.

Yes OD i read you loud and clear.

You want a premiership like we all do, you though are not prepared to save up for it.

Yesterday was a cracking game of football, were you there??

Did your fair weather mates buy their memberships yesterday btw?? Was that performance good enough for them??

Get real.

I saw enough to believe that given some luck, some tweaking to the gameplan and a lift in intensity we should improve on last years showing.

Our defence was leaky early, yet the forward line looks dangerous and our midfield options have increased.

The thing that impresses me most is that we have the distinct possibility of having depth in all areas of the ground.

Still the loss was not acceptable and I don't think that the club will be treating it as an honourable draw.

I have a feeling that we may run into some form and string quite a few wins together this season.

Yes OD i read you loud and clear.

You want a premiership like we all do, you though are not prepared to save up for it.

Yesterday was a cracking game of football, were you there??

Did your fair weather mates buy their memberships yesterday btw?? Was that performance good enough for them??

Get real.

I have been to a lot of cracking games over the year wyl.

Not prepared to save for it!

When you have followed the Dees for 52 years you can tell me I am not prepared to save for it.

Tough, wanting too much, unfair, any other label I will wear but please do not say I am not patient.

If I was not patient I would have long ago changed to the Hawks, Carlton, or Essendon.

And for your information My mate signed up before the game on sunday after I had given him a hard time

for the last month.

What I want is the same tough attitude that James Hird and Essendon supporters show

Not the "great effort " we accept

I saw enough to believe that given some luck, some tweaking to the gameplan and a lift in intensity we should improve on last years showing.

Our defence was leaky early, yet the forward line looks dangerous and our midfield options have increased.

The thing that impresses me most is that we have the distinct possibility of having depth in all areas of the ground.

Still the loss was not acceptable and I don't think that the club will be treating it as an honourable draw.

I have a feeling that we may run into some form and string quite a few wins together this season.

I agree with you Dandeeman, it is not the players I worry about the most it is us out in the outer.

We are happy to go away from the ground with a "great effort" attitude.

I agree with you Dandeeman, it is not the players I worry about the most it is us out in the outer.

We are happy to go away from the ground with a "great effort" attitude.

What frustrates me is that, after all the pre-season and the long wait, we didn't start like a house on fire. There was no hunger there. Not at the first bounce and not after half-time, to correct our lazy start. We only got going when the crowd started to believe and became boisterous.If our players can't get up for a round 1 game, apart from the filth, when will we get pumped?

One real positive for me yesterday, and to me is what the club has worked towards for the past 4 drafts, we now have a number of good to elite kickers. Compared to the last few years our field kicking has been very bad, of the players that played Yesterday I rate the following as good to Elite in terms to field kicking, Green, Jurrah, Watts, Sylvia, Tapscott, Trengove, Davey, Bennell, Jetta, Grimes(bad day yesterday), Maric.

In fact the only players I don't want to see kicking the footy is Bartram, Rivers, Macdonald and Jones(for goal he can, and limit the Ruckman Jamar and Martin but confident they can hit targets.

What frustrates me is that, after all the pre-season and the long wait, we didn't start like a house on fire. There was no hunger there. Not at the first bounce and not after half-time, to correct our lazy start. We only got going when the crowd started to believe and became boisterous.If our players can't get up for a round 1 game, apart from the filth, when will we get pumped?

It is possible that sydney jumped us because of the DISGRACEFUL performance they put in last year against us at the same ground last year.

I was impressed how we were able to fight back from that position. Those young players will learn from that.

We must do our utmost to Pump the hawks next sunday night.

If next sunday we put in an insipid effort OD, then you have a POV i will listen to.

Edited March 28, 201114 yr by why you little

What frustrates me is that, after all the pre-season and the long wait, we didn't start like a house on fire. There was no hunger there. Not at the first bounce and not after half-time, to correct our lazy start. We only got going when the crowd started to believe and became boisterous.If our players can't get up for a round 1 game, apart from the filth, when will we get pumped?

We went into the game with a very young side and missing Scully, Morton, Frawley and a couple of others who would challenge for a spot. Based on our pre season form, the performance was credible and the last quarter was noteworthy. The players were absolutely spent at the end of the game.

If we are serious about challenging for the 8, then Sydney is one of the sides we have to be capable against.

All things considered there is enough to work with and to build upon.

Some people need to be realistic about the performance.

What I want is the same tough attitude that James Hird and Essendon supporters show

Not the "great effort " we accept

Do you also want the same tough feral eat-your-own attitude that those same fans develop as soon as things start to go a bit awry? Let's just wait and see what happens if Hird's Bombers aren't doing quite so well by the second half of the season shall we? Believe me, they don't get much more bi-polar than they do in Bomberland.

By all rights, we should have lost that game on Sunday in the third quarter... yet we somehow managed to claw our way back and hang tough to eke out a well earned draw - that would not have happened in seasons past at this early stage.

Oh, and I have followed the Dees for 54 years (since I was 4 years old) so does that mean I am entitled to call you impatient? Being a Dees supporter for 50+ years does not entitle us to feel any more or less aggrieved than any fan of the club whether they be 5 years old or 85 years old. In fact, if you have followed them for as long as you say, then you, like myself, have at least had the pleasure of witnessing them taking the flag.

Do you also want the same tough feral eat-your-own attitude that those same fans develop as soon as things start to go a bit awry? Let's just wait and see what happens if Hird's Bombers aren't doing quite so well by the second half of the season shall we? Believe me, they don't get much more bi-polar than they do in Bomberland.

By all rights, we should have lost that game on Sunday in the third quarter... yet we somehow managed to claw our way back and hang tough to eke out a well earned draw - that would not have happened in seasons past at this early stage.

Oh, and I have followed the Dees for 54 years (since I was 4 years old) so does that mean I am entitled to call you impatient? Being a Dees supporter for 50+ years does not entitle us to feel any more or less aggrieved than any fan of the club whether they be 5 years old or 85 years old. In fact, if you have followed them for as long as you say, then you, like myself, have at least had the pleasure of witnessing them taking the flag.

Well said my friend...i agree with each paragraph you write.

Do you also want the same tough feral eat-your-own attitude that those same fans develop as soon as things start to go a bit awry? Let's just wait and see what happens if Hird's Bombers aren't doing quite so well by the second half of the season shall we? Believe me, they don't get much more bi-polar than they do in Bomberland.

By all rights, we should have lost that game on Sunday in the third quarter... yet we somehow managed to claw our way back and hang tough to eke out a well earned draw - that would not have happened in seasons past at this early stage.

Oh, and I have followed the Dees for 54 years (since I was 4 years old) so does that mean I am entitled to call you impatient? Being a Dees supporter for 50+ years does not entitle us to feel any more or less aggrieved than any fan of the club whether they be 5 years old or 85 years old. In fact, if you have followed them for as long as you say, then you, like myself, have at least had the pleasure of witnessing them taking the flag.

Hard tack I have followed the Dees since 1960 ( I was 11 at the time so you do the Maths).

And yes I was there in 1964 with my father in standing room. No fancy seat in the members.

And I would stand there again as long as I have the strength no matter how long it takes.

I do not care what people call me I have a thick skin except for being called impatient and suggesting that I do not tell the truth.

I resent you suggesting I am stetching the truth. I have followed ( and been a member )of the

Dees since 1960.

The fact I might have a different opinion to you does not make me a liar

Have a look at how many flags the bombers have won since 1964 and how many times they have played in finals.

There major problem is they expect the best and except nothing less.

Call it eating there own if you like but I would swap a bit of our gentleman attitude

for a flag.

Like it or not they are the facts

Edited March 28, 201114 yr by old dee