THE WINDS OF CHANGE

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THE WINDS OF CHANGE by Whispering Jack

When Mark Neeld was appointed coach of the Melbourne Football Club last September, we were promised something different and if any proof was required that the winds of change are now sweeping through the club then yesterday afternoon's intra-club match at Casey Fields certainly did not disappoint. 

Sitting in the stands high above the action were club luminaries Jim Stynes and Garry Lyon who have overseen the changes in the club's football department over the off season. Alongside them are some of the club's injured and rehab group and together with those being rested, they make up a third of the club's playing list.

Now, I'm not particularly well versed on the make up of Melbourne's football department staffing situation but you don't have to be Einstein to figure out that if you total up the all the coaches and assistants now at the club, you will get close to a one on one coaching set up for the players in this unique hybrid of a practice match/training run/lecture session in eight parts of seven minutes each with classes in the breaks in between. 

This is 2012 and the times are a'changin at last at Melbourne. With all due respect to those who came before, this is serious stuff clearly based on a form of sports science that we've never seen before at the Melbourne Football Club. 

The first thing I notice when the two teams run out on the ground is the change in body shape of several of the players. Some have trimmed down and others are bulked up but the changes are subtle and nuanced rather than dramatic. Midfielders like Brent Moloney and Nathan Jones look positively sleek (compared with their former selves), Matty Bate a little more so but his move to the middle is a reinvention. Cale Morton might have added a few grams to his frame but, as the session progresses from one eighth to another, you can see that he has added significant tonnes of confidence to his repertoire.

It's hard to judge exactly what is going on out there as the tricky winds blow around the ground in a way that has seemingly come from nowhere. How much of this is experimentation? Are they simulating discrete strategies for use in particular situations for later in the year or is this part of a new game plan where, much in the same vein as at the coach's former club Collingwood, you hug the wings and flanks, then zero in on the goal and score? 

So what would I know - there's no scoreboard, no player numbers and the result of the game (if this is a game) is irrelevant. The only thing that remains unchanged is the fact that the umpires, attired in red, wear  their own numbers but even they remain fairly anonymous and the desire to jeer them just isn't there.

The highlight is the size and the physical presence of Brisbane recruit Mitch Clark who provides the strong marking forward target missing during most of Dean Bailey's tenure after David Neitz broke down and retired a handful of games into 2008. Coming out of the middle, the players kick long to find the likes of Clark, a rejuvenated Mark Jamar and other dangerous targets like Jack Watts and Ricky Petterd. When Liam Jurrah returns after recovering from surgery on his wrist there is going to be some excitement every time the ball moves into the attacking zone. 

Of course, with that sort of set up, you need the crumbers to take advantage of the opportunities that will open up at ground level. Aaron Davey is being tried there but the Flash, with knee bandaged and still not 100% after last year's frustrations with injury, is used sparingly and, dare I say it, only shows flashes of his former self. He needs more time and it's only February.

On the other hand, there's Sam Blease, the red-headed speedster who looks stronger, fitter and faster than he has ever been since coming to the club in the Jack Watts draft. He looks set to become a regular up forward after impressing as a defensive flanker on debut late last year.  I sense that the change in him is more than just physical; he seems to have matured emotionally and is far more focussed as if ready to announce his arrival on the football stage. I met Sam at a club function last year when he appeared under the spell of his close mate Tom Scully. I noticed he seemed in awe of his now former team mate and followed him around like a puppy. Today, like the rest of the club, he's moved out of that shadow and stands to be the major beneficiary of that much publicised departure from the club. Blease is now his own man and he underlines this with an impressive two goal performance playing up forward.

Among the others who stand out as improvers are Rohan Bail, rookie Dan Nicholson, Tom McDonald and jumping Jeremy Howe looking the part as an onballer who drifts forward on occasion. Troy Davis also looks good at times.

In the days of yore, intraclub practice games were good for identifying possible new talent but under the new system, we know all there is to know from the Internet the moment they're traded or have their names called out in the draft. Clark is already a given and James Sellar crashes through a bit in a key defensive position alongside regulars like James Frawley and Colin Garland. Tom Couch shows a bit in the middle but the newbie youngster who really stands out in defence is Josh Tynan.

Tynan looks to have the necessary confidence and poise to step quietly into the game at the highest level. I must confess that initially, I didn't know who this player was and had to go back later to vision on the 'net before I was able to make a positive ID but if the youngster from Gippsland keeps up the intensity, that sort of thing won't be necessary in the future.

There's also been a lot said about leadership at the club in recent times. The old leaders like Brad Green and Brent Moloney demonstrate that even without the titles, they will still be providing on-field leadership and, although Jack Trengove didn't play, it's pleasing to see that Jack Grimes has lost none of his courage and poise and that he is set to fit comfortably into his new role. Indeed, the way things look with the continuing on field contributions of the old guard together with the emergence of the new, young leaders, that initiative might well be a stroke of genius on the part of the new coach.

I suppose we'll get some further indication next week on the Gold Coast when we move from eights to half games with supergoals and the razzmatazz of the NAB Cup.

Like most of you, I just can't wait.