If the Melbourne Football Club wants to win flags in an 18-team competition with a lopsided playing field draw-wise and financially, it's going to have to develop these two qualities - brute strength and rabid hunger. The skills are there, we've got raft of high draft picks, but are our boys capable of transforming themselves - under Mark Neeld - into mean, nasty win-at-all-costs arrogant brutes? Because that - like it or lump it - is what it takes to be a winner.

This from Scott Pendlebury after the game:

"When their mature-bodied players come at you with the ball it's as if they think: "I'm going to nail this guy." It's as if they want you to try to tackle them because they just want to break straight through you. Eventually, it just wore us down."

To understand the mentality a bit better have a watch of this video from former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, describing what it took for him to make it to the top ... and stay there.

It's a mentality our players ... from Jamie Bennell to Colin Sylvia to Sam Blease ... have got to develop and develop in a hurry.

The clock is ticking ... tick ... tick ... tick.

Pretty much stating the obvious there Exorcist.. Some of our players will NEVER develop this mind set. And skill alone won't win you a flag.

In final matches toughness rains supreme. And if you aren't tough you will be steam rolled over. That's why some of our players (Morton and a couple of others) will never be of any use to us.

Been watching teams with brute strength and rabid hunger beat us up for 35 years .

I would love nothing more than our club turning the tables .

Pretty much stating the obvious there Exorcist.. Some of our players will NEVER develop this mind set. And skill alone won't win you a flag.

In final matches toughness rains supreme. And if you aren't tough you will be steam rolled over. That's why some of our players (Morton and a couple of others) will never be of any use to us.

Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. And stated again. Because unless the penny drops with some of these guys they're going to coast through wasted careers.

If some of them NEVER will as you say then we won't win a flag. It's as simple as that. But I'm not so sure that has to be the case, that somewhere deep inside the psyche of individuals like Cale Morton, there isn't a beast of a competitor lying dormant.

There's a quote in that clip from Hopkins where he says ..."You always gotta be on your game like a fighter in the ring. You gotta be ready to look at the other guy in the face and say 'I will kill you if I have to. I will stab you, I will hurt you and you can't talk the game, you gotta act and do the game. In prison talking is a thing that gets you killed. What earns you respect is you do."

Now obviously these are extreme words, but the principle is the same. Whether it's the prison yard or the football field, it's the guy who spurns self-preservation and fronts up with everything he has, who generally wins the day.

Here's hoping Mark Neeld is the man who can help light this spark for us.

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by The Exorcist

i think the hunger aspect is more important than the strength.

Nev Jetta has the hunger, Jordie Mac has the hunger, its time that a few of the other younger guys get hungry too!

To understand the mentality a bit better have a watch of this video from former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, describing what it took for him to make it to the top ... and stay there.

That guy was stabbed and spent 4 months in hospital before going to jail.

I dont really want our players to go through that.

I liked the rest of your post but the choice of video didn't help your argument.

That guy was stabbed and spent 4 months in hospital before going to jail.

I dont really want our players to go through that.

I liked the rest of your post but the choice of video didn't help your argument.

I understand what your saying but you've got to put things in context. Hopkins had little choice given his destroy or be destroyed upbringing. For him it was fight and standover others or 'go under the dirt'. It was a pure choice to decide be a sheep or a wolf and he said ... "I'm gonna be the wolf".

How many of our players can say they have that mindset?

What one man can do ... another can do.

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by The Exorcist

it also takes a few wins for a team and individuals to become mentally tough. You can't just wake up and start being mentally tough. We need to start competing against quality opposition and the mental toughness and confidence will come in time.

Chris judd says that confidence comes from remembering past success and I believe him.

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by cowboy_from_hell

That guy was stabbed and spent 4 months in hospital before going to jail.

I dont really want our players to go through that.

I liked the rest of your post but the choice of video didn't help your argument.

Utah, if you can't sort the wheat from the chaff, you'll totally miss the message.

Maybe the delivery psyched you out of hearing the message?

If the message delivery is too ghetto, and life or death then maybe thats our problem going backwards. That maybe were too soft and too precious, to hear the message through the intimidation.

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by dee-luded

Utah, if you can't sort the wheat from the chaff, you'll totally miss the message.

Maybe the delivery psyched you out of hearing the message?

If the message delivery is too ghetto, and life or death then maybe thats our problem going backwards. That maybe were too soft and too precious, to hear the message through the intimidation.

Yeah, you got me.

The delivery 'psyched' me.

Yeah, you got me.

The delivery 'psyched' me.

Fair enough, I probably deserved that.

But we sure do need to toughen up And we need bigger bodies in the middle. Bailey wanted to play the skillfull game, and the Lions showed a blend of skill and Hardness as are the Pies starting to build their mids.

But the Cats once again have shown both Pies and Hawks that size is king.

If the Melbourne Football Club wants to win flags in an 18-team competition with a lopsided playing field draw-wise and financially, it's going to have to develop these two qualities - brute strength and rabid hunger. The skills are there, we've got raft of high draft picks, but are our boys capable of transforming themselves - under Mark Neeld - into mean, nasty win-at-all-costs arrogant brutes? Because that - like it or lump it - is what it takes to be a winner.

Financially we are fine, structurally (post 2011 season) we are fine, player list wise we are fine [my view... could be a lot worse and we have some good future oppotunities in the draft - player wise and pick wise]

Its all up to the players. We have a young side, time for people to mature mentally and physically.

Being skilled is only one part of the equation - time to pull the finger out and get down and dirty... If they need any inspiration look below:

"I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near." - Margret Thatcher

"The pain of discipline is nothing compared to the pain of regret"

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by PJ_12345

Nah you're wrong.....

We need to get RUTHLESS!

Rabid?

I wonder how many weeks you get for running around and biting the opposition nowadays.?

Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. And stated again. Because unless the penny drops with some of these guys they're going to coast through wasted careers.

If some of them NEVER will as you say then we won't win a flag. It's as simple as that. But I'm not so sure that has to be the case, that somewhere deep inside the psyche of individuals like Cale Morton, there isn't a beast of a competitor lying dormant.

There's a quote in that clip from Hopkins where he says ..."You always gotta be on your game like a fighter in the ring. You gotta be ready to look at the other guy in the face and say 'I will kill you if I have to. I will stab you, I will hurt you and you can't talk the game, you gotta act and do the game. In prison talking is a thing that gets you killed. What earns you respect is you do."

Now obviously these are extreme words, but the principle is the same. Whether it's the prison yard or the football field, it's the guy who spurns self-preservation and fronts up with everything he has, who generally wins the day.

Here's hoping Mark Neeld is the man who can help light this spark for us.

I wouldn't mind sharing a cell with Cale .At least you'd get your own space .

I mentioned in an earlier thread, in relation to the obsession with trying to recruit a power forward to solve our problems, that what we need are classy powerful, big-bodied mids. Grannies are won around the middle. Geelong and Hawthorn both showed the value of brute strength around the ball. We have our own Jimmy Bartel (trengove), but need to augment the mid crew with some more big (and tall) mids. Moloney and Jones will both serve us well in this department but I'm not sure that Tappy, Sylvia and Grimes can be true onballers. Gysberts was recruited as a bigger mid and will be a good link player and ball magnet. But he'll never be strong. Pendlebury stated how they were effectively pushed aside.

A power-forward alone won't solve our problems.

I mentioned in an earlier thread, in relation to the obsession with trying to recruit a power forward to solve our problems, that what we need are classy powerful, big-bodied mids. Grannies are won around the middle. Geelong and Hawthorn both showed the value of brute strength around the ball. We have our own Jimmy Bartel (trengove), but need to augment the mid crew with some more big (and tall) mids. Moloney and Jones will both serve us well in this department but I'm not sure that Tappy, Sylvia and Grimes can be true onballers. Gysberts was recruited as a bigger mid and will be a good link player and ball magnet. But he'll never be strong. Pendlebury stated how they were effectively pushed aside.

A power-forward alone won't solve our problems.

No it won't but we still need one. I don't think anyone has said power forward alone