GAME DAY

[Nasher 33,615]

Thoroughly enjoyable first half.

God I hate Travis Cloke.

Thoroughly enjoyable second half.

[agent 99 71]

Oh well!

We can come out next week and smash Freo then say we are back on track.

[Guest watts04]

we bounce back well from heavy losses - its what we r about

heaven knows why people call us soft and play bruise free footy

maybe its cause too many blokes decide when to go in hard instead of being a must do

[Jaded No More 68,913]

In 13 years I have never left a game early. Today I had to. There is only so much emotional investment you can make in something before you've had enough of it kicking you in the guts repeatedly.

I've put up with it in life, but I don't have to put up with it in footy.

[QueenC 74]

Sack bailey

Stupid

But predictable........

[Jack7 528]

We will not play finals with Bailey's gameplan,it's obsolete!

Our last 2 games against the Pies before today were a draw and 1 point loss,Pies have since implemented the press and we haven't,we are sliding backwards.

Midway through the 3rd 1/4,we were 36 points down and lose by 88 because when the ball comes out of our forward line,players just don't run hard enough defensively,Pies stream down the ground and we are 10 metres behind and the result is far too much pressure on our defense and the dam wall breaks.Our midfield doesn't work hard enough defensively.

What the hell is Bailey thinking playing Rivers on Cloke? 5 first half goals,Bailey finally makes a change with Frawley who keeps him to 1.

Bailey's gameplan is obsolete in today's football and i'd write the rest of the year off,get games into kids,get Petterd back in,bring Cook in for 5-6 games,no more games into Dunn,Newton,Bate and go into next year with a new coach and gameplan.

If we continue with Bailey next year,we'll beat bottom 8-10 teams but won't trouble top 4 teams.

Rivers on Cloke FFS Bailey!

[twist 0]

People who are saying effort is the problem have no idea. Collingwood are playing like the Premiership side they are. This is a development year and I can see development from our players . . . so that one day we can be where Collingwood is at. Poor disposal has really cost us today, though.

You are Jaded!!

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

People who are saying effort is the problem have no idea. Collingwood are playing like the Premiership side they are. This is a development year and I can see development from our players . . . so that one day we can be where Collingwood is at. Poor disposal has really cost us today, though.

Spot on Chook.

[QueenC 74]

People who are saying effort is the problem have no idea. Collingwood are playing like the Premiership side they are. This is a development year and I can see development from our players . . . so that one day we can be where Collingwood is at. Poor disposal has really cost us today, though.

Sounds reasonable Chook.....

But poor skills are still a blight (one that will change hopefully), despite the (mostly) good effort.

[QueenC 74]

In 13 years I have never left a game early. Today I had to. There is only so much emotional investment you can make in something before you've had enough of it kicking you in the guts repeatedly.

I've put up with it in life, but I don't have to put up with it in footy.

Oh Jaded, you sound like you need a hug.....

Or something/someone to hit and possibly a drink and a good lie down B) !!!

[RalphiusMaximus 6,048]

I'm loving the lines being trotted out on here. Everyone has their own pet hate to spout off about.

Jones is woeful.

Morton is soft.

Sack Bailey.

Blah.

I agree it was an embarrassing loss today, but to say that Collingwood were bad is ridiculous. You have several of their regulars stepping up for career-best games, you have Cloke nailing his best ever haul, and they have destroyed us in contested possession. They were damn good today. They came in as a highly professional outfit and made sure that they dictated terms, stuck to their gameplan and won the key areas.

I'm not at all happy with the way we played, but the reality is that this is the result we should have seen twice last year and I'm not really surprised we saw it today. Our boys were outmuscled at stoppages, outplayed tactically and in the end outrun by a team which is fitter, stronger and much better drilled than us.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

What the hell is Bailey thinking playing Rivers on Cloke? 5 first half goals,Bailey finally makes a change with Frawley who keeps him to 1.

...

Rivers on Cloke FFS Bailey!

Frawley started on CLoke for the first 2 goals then the switch to Rivers who has proven yet again that he is poor man on man. We were forced to push Frawley back on Cloke after Rivers got truly toweled.

I would have loved to have Garland back.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,048]

Frawley started on CLoke for the first 2 goals then the switch to Rivers who has proven yet again that he is poor man on man. We were forced to push Frawley back on Cloke after Rivers got truly toweled.

I would have loved to have Garland back.

I notice that nobody has mentioned the obvious truth. The only back on our list who has the physical presence to handle Cloke in the goalsquare is Warnock. Why on earth would you not have brought him in to take one of the three huge forwards Collingwood hit us with?

Edited June 13, 2011 by RalphiusMaximus

[boydie 655]

I notice that nobody has mentioned the obvious truth. The only back on our list who has the physical presence to handle Cloke in the goalsquare is Warnock. Why on earth would you not have brought him in to take one of the three huge forwards Collingwood hit us with?

Finally, someone who gets it. Warnock was in the best 3 out of 4 games, yeah he played a horrible game against Carlton. Didn't deserve to get dropped, needed him desperately today.

[Shadow_S13 0]

At the end of the day I cant see a new coach changing the mentality of the players. If they dont want to play hard, contest the footy/make tackles stick, run into space etc they simply wont do it, no amount of screaming by the coaches etc will change them.

The boys need to have a hard look at themselves, if the game plan is in place but the players dont play to it, it will always looks stupid. Time for the players to show pride in their jumper and the club that is feeding them. Whether they like the coach or not (they seem to like him) they are professionals who have pride and integrity apparently.

[Hardnut 327]

Back to earth after the false dawn of beating a weak Essendon!

Warnock and Petterd/Bate/Dunn were clearly missed as bookends.

I won't even attempt to discuss tactics, game plans etc!

Anyone who can't see that Bailey and Co have to go is kidding themselves.

MFC is in danger of losing yet another opportunity to build a successful era - yes, we have had several chances over the last 40 years!

[QueenC 74]

Back to earth after the false dawn of beating a weak Essendon!

And the yo-yo season continues unabated.....unfortunately !!!

[Deetective Sgt. Taggert 389]

Finally, someone who gets it. Warnock was in the best 3 out of 4 games, yeah he played a horrible game against Carlton. Didn't deserve to get dropped, needed him desperately today.

In retrospect it does seems like an obvious selection blunder. Could have freed Rivers up to play his role as third man up, but not sure how much difference it would have really made.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Ascobar

[Samsara 65]

I never seriously expected that we could win but that was another insipid effort. It was pretty poor by most of the team too, particularly some senior players like Green and Jones. Rivers was made to look like a complete amateur and even our young guns were pretty quiet. I hope the club realises how far behind they are in terms of being a serious contender for finals (let alone a premiership). I know we are young and developing, but today was the complete antithesis of development - again! So sick of this up and down performances. I'd rather consistent losses than this.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,048]

I never seriously expected that we could win but that was another insipid effort. It was pretty poor by most of the team too, particularly some senior players like Green and Jones. Rivers was made to look like a complete amateur and even our young guns were pretty quiet. I hope the club realises how far behind they are in terms of being a serious contender for finals (let alone a premiership). I know we are young and developing, but today was the complete antithesis of development - again! So sick of this up and down performances. I'd rather consistent losses than this.

The area we are lagging behind is, for want of a better term, professionalism. I've watched our training sessions, and they don't look all that different from the ones you see twice a week at your local club. Compare that with the report we saw this week on how Collingwood train. Compare how well-drilled the top teams are with the indecision and uncertainty shown by our boys. A Collingwood player always knows exactly what his next disposal is going to be. He gets the ball and instantly knows what he is doing with it, because they are so well drilled in their structures. We never see that certainty from our team. We rely too much on individual skill and not enough on cohesive team play.

I really do hope that the coaching staff realise how far behind the 8-ball they are, but if they did, wouldn't they be trying to improve?

[Demonic_Inferno 17]

Compare how well-drilled the top teams are with the indecision and uncertainty shown by our boys. A Collingwood player always knows exactly what his next disposal is going to be. He gets the ball and instantly knows what he is doing with it, because they are so well drilled in their structures. We never see that certainty from our team. We rely too much on individual skill and not enough on cohesive team play.

I think you've hit the nail smack bang in the centre of the head with this comment.

[QueenC 74]

The area we are lagging behind is, for want of a better term, professionalism. I've watched our training sessions, and they don't look all that different from the ones you see twice a week at your local club. Compare that with the report we saw this week on how Collingwood train. Compare how well-drilled the top teams are with the indecision and uncertainty shown by our boys. A Collingwood player always knows exactly what his next disposal is going to be. He gets the ball and instantly knows what he is doing with it, because they are so well drilled in their structures. We never see that certainty from our team. We rely too much on individual skill and not enough on cohesive team play.

I really do hope that the coaching staff realise how far behind the 8-ball they are, but if they did, wouldn't they be trying to improve?

Very logical summation Ralph, and a slightly sad indictment on our coaching staff and exactly what they are drilling (if anything) into this "team".

[Rod Grinter Riot Squad 5,654]

Frawley started on CLoke for the first 2 goals then the switch to Rivers who has proven yet again that he is poor man on man. We were forced to push Frawley back on Cloke after Rivers got truly toweled.

I would have loved to have Garland back.

Are you sure about that?

Coud have sworn Rivers started on Cloke

[Chook 15,013]

The area we are lagging behind is, for want of a better term, professionalism.

This has been true as long as I've watched Melbourne (and apparently in the decades before that, too). I remember watching us warm-up in the old Daniher days. We'd lazily perform our drills, take a few pot shots, then hey, what do you know? The game's about to start, so we'd saunter to our positions, engage in a little ruff stuff and promptly get flogged - unless it was an even year, in which case the floggings would be confined to just the top four teams and anyone we happened to get paired up against in the finals.

I know for me, it takes about ten minutes of full on work before I'm operating at top notch. That should be what our players aim for. I don't think these guys get it at all - and they haven't for years.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Chook

[old dee 23,788]

Frawley started on CLoke for the first 2 goals then the switch to Rivers who has proven yet again that he is poor man on man. We were forced to push Frawley back on Cloke after Rivers got truly toweled.

I would have loved to have Garland back.

RR among the wreakage of today 2 things were glaring obvious to me.

- We needed the big strong body of Warnock on cloke, he took Rivers to the cleaners just too big and strong.

- At the other end we needed a Cloke, we have no one who can stand their ground and take a mark.

The pies beat us all over the ground.

We missed our injured players badly today but even allowing for them the Pies showed us how far we have to go.