RUMOURS

[Biffen 12,943]

23-1 free kick count minutes into the 2nd half is unbalanced to say the least, enough to break most teams' backs. A few high tackles and obvious ones in the 23 but a lot of grey area decisions getting paid one way but not the other.

That's what annoys me a lot about the way this game has become, the grey area is bigger than ever and the umpires are more active than ever. I'd love to see the whistles get put away as much as possible and let the players control the outcome.

It's not an excuse for the result but I feel it did contribute to killing the contest early.

23-1 is absolutely out of control and is enough to ruin 2 games .

Those guys were pathetic today .The Meth Coast didn't even have to try .They would half go for the ball and then look for a free(which they knew would be paid )

Completely disgraceful effort .Hopefully their last game ever.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Biffen

[dees189227 12,390]

I seriously reckon our players just arent smart enough for this gameplan. Im not sure how neeld lifts there confidence levels and I hope he has people trying to help his confidence because I reckon its dropped and he will probably be doubting himself. Maybe they need one of those sessions where everyone just hashes it all out and clear the air. The thing is Neeld still doesnt know our best 22.

I didnt see the game because i dont have foxtel and I knew it was a waste of time going somewhere to watch it. I have no issue getting in Brown and Rawlings because at least they are fresh out of the game but the midfield seems to be an issue and I would have thought in todays world you would need a fresh retired player not someone that played decades ago. Why did Royal stay on. Couldnt we have given him another role like we did with Josh and get in someone good.

lts going to be a very quiet flight back and a long on in that. If you were a supporter on the same flight I would be finding it hard not to say something. prepare for another week of scrutiny. I just hope the eagles smash the gws next week like they did to us.

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,602]

i watched it at a pub and got about 20 ongoing opinions about what the club needs - most thinking heart would be of benefit.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,209]

Yeah when they mentioned Royal as our midfield coach I almost straight away though "oh OK, at least it makes a bit of sense now." What did they say that Jamar and Royal (or Neeld?) were having a go at each other at 3/4 time? I know the media beats things up so this may have been nothing more than frustration but it didn't sound good.Imagine what the young guys would be thinking watching one of the few older players in the team have a yelling match with his line coach.

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,602]

LOL = yes chaos reigns...

[Pennant St Dee 13,172]

I was there today and fwis clark is good really good one on one, magner has the hunger half our team needs and the defence has the makings of a solid defence but the amount of times it came back in because of no gut running to give an option. we got smashed in the middle, priddis, gaff & scott selwood killed us and the running power of the eagles was very impressive. the midfield needs to be sorted out to give the defence options, get clearances and give some good delivery to our forwards. tough deccisions to be made and maybe fair bit of trading to be done. watts is struggling with confidence big time and frawley had a day to forget.

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,602]

maybe we need some of that west coast powder to spark up some speed?

[Jumping Jack Clennett 1,780]

I thought there were some positives in our dreadful loss.

Tommy McDonald looked like he' ll be a proper AFL player.

Chunky gave his guts as usual.

Magner.....how come no-one' s picked him up for so long.?

Petterd...OK come back from injury.

Mitch got 5 without taking any marks, which I'm sure he can improve on.

Bail wasn't too bad.

I thought Jack Watts showed a lot of footy nous with intelligent tap-ons, and disposal in general.

I reckon the way the boys came out breathing fire showed Neeld can influence them to give their all.... The trouble is they tackled recklessly and gave away too many frees. Our boys should learn how to drop their bodies like Sellwood when tackled on the chest.

In some ways I thought Bennel and Dunn declared themselves, and the selectors should have a good think about ever selecting th em again. Greenie and the Russian didn't distinguish themselves either.

My impression overall was that there was a lot of endeavour shown in the first two thirds of the game, and against Richmond, on our ground, given normal umpiring, we' ve got a chance!

[Macca 16,963]

Id love to sit down with Neale Daniher and Neil Craig right now with a six pack each to analyse where we are at.

You might have to call for extra supplies . Perhaps from the top shelf .

Cheers

[Pennant St Dee 13,172]

Twenty years ago i would have suggested the boys go away together away from everyone get on the [censored], speak honest and clear the air. fook knows how they do things like that these days.

[Flying Cloud 152]

18 months ago this team ended below us on the ladder.

What the hell is going on?

I'm not yet going to microwave my membership, but someone needs to provide some answers.

And can we please just get rid of the rat(s) who is destyroying the moral at the team. I don't know who it is nor do I care. Just get rid of them.

[jackaub 1,402]

All i can think is that we need a hardnut player to come in and remind the other players that you can influence the culture of a club.

Where have u been? MFC doesn't draft or keep hard nut players

[jackaub 1,402]

Everyone bitching on Jack Watts needs to remember his performance last week. Don't be the typical reactionary supporter, to whom only the last week's game is of any relevance. Jack Watts wasn't very good today, but he was good last week. Obviously there's potential there, and anyone hoping for a Watts delisting is clearly not worth listening to.

Trade him now he doesnt want to try imo

[old dee 23,788]

I thought there were some positives in our dreadful loss.

Tommy McDonald looked like he' ll be a proper AFL player.

Chunky gave his guts as usual.

Magner.....how come no-one' s picked him up for so long.?

Petterd...OK come back from injury.

Mitch got 5 without taking any marks, which I'm sure he can improve on.

Bail wasn't too bad.

I thought Jack Watts showed a lot of footy nous with intelligent tap-ons, and disposal in general.

I reckon the way the boys came out breathing fire showed Neeld can influence them to give their all.... The trouble is they tackled recklessly and gave away too many frees. Our boys should learn how to drop their bodies like Sellwood when tackled on the chest.

In some ways I thought Bennel and Dunn declared themselves, and the selectors should have a good think about ever selecting th em again. Greenie and the Russian didn't distinguish themselves either.

My impression overall was that there was a lot of endeavour shown in the first two thirds of the game, and against Richmond, on our ground, given normal umpiring, we' ve got a chance!

JJC you have got to be the greatest optimist that god has put breath into.

We are a club with a very poor list.

A playing team that appears to me has little idea how to put the game plan into action. ( i have no idea what it is either )

A team that has zero confidence

We will give Richmond their first win for the season.

It is as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow.

Please do not give me any more blind faith it is greatly misplaced.

PS I do agree with one thing Bennel is useless, but I have been saying that for over a year now god only knows why they keep picking him

[jackaub 1,402]

Get real mate! No way.

Odds on sportsbet are shortening rapidly

[jackaub 1,402]

what would magner be feeling when he looks at most of our list? " Gee these blokes got drafted straight away and I didn't and look at the half hearted peanuts now" How embarassing that a 24 year old recruit is the nuts and bolts of our side already.

So true!!

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Mitch and Magner played well. Very well. 5 goals in a team that played like that, with only 32 inside fifties... that's a pretty damn good return.

[jackaub 1,402]

I think Watts has a future but not on the wing and not in the forward 50.

Being a Brighton Grammer boy maybe he already has a job already

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

My 2 bob worth. Certainly not everything that was wrong, but a few points I noted.

- Our disposal is sub-standard, and WCE smashed us in this area today. We could not hit targets by foot, and we rarely kick to advantage (i.e. in front, behind, to the correct side). This needs serious improvement across the board, and is potentially the most important improvement we can make.

We haven't done this on a consistent basis since 2000 that i can recall. And prior to that it would probably be 1994 under Balme with massive gap years in between. We are a mile behind AFL standard now in this (and many other skill areas).

- We get sucked in towards the ball like a bunch of under 10's. When there is a marking contest, too many players go up, and those that crumb get sucked in to within 2-3 meters; it seems to me that spillages often fall further than this. When there is a loose ball, too many of our players get sucked into the contest, and then either any short clearance goes out to a waiting oppositoon player (who held off) or we appear not to have players in any direction. Similarly often a second player leaves their man to assist in a tackle, leaving a free man outside the contest, which then results in the following:

This is a hangover from the Bailey era and such a basic blunder that many of our players make week in and week out. The opposition must rub their hands together at the thought of playing us the next week. No wonder they're so eager at the start of every match and throughout. Mentally we're so far behind them as they're expecting this crap and we rarely let them down.

We just aren't able to man up or play accountable footy for extended periods (when we don't have the ball or it's in dispute) during a quarter against mediocre opposition teams or better. At this point i think we'd even struggle against the 2 new entrants in this area.

If you can't run,spread and carry in waves, break lines, stream down the ground with creative precise skillful play off HB or through the middle for a good percentage of each quarter when you gain possession, then you better be prepared to play tough, man on man bang in footy and pressure/harrass the hell out of the ball carrier and be accountable, when the ball is lost to the opposition or in dispute, in order to get it back and at least hack it forward without the classy clearance/outlet work.

We do neither of these very well (in general) at this point. There are exceptions but just not enough cattle that are either willing or possibly capable. Maybe this is a cattle factor, but i've seen some pretty average teams over the years punch above their weight 'on occasions' to achieve some pretty amazing performances and upsets playing accountable man on man footy.

When was the last time we upset a quality top line opponent when we were expected to get soundly beaten? It's this sort of thing that can turn a looming disastrous season around. Even if you lose making that effort, sometimes the previous weeks effort and momentum was the spark for the win or wins in the weeks to come.

Where the hell is the spark boys....where's the fire??????????

- We don't man up correctly. When we had the ball, the ball carrier was immediately pressured by an opponent, any give off went to a player who also had an opponent pressuring them thus the turn overs and rushed big kicks out of defence that usually are not to our advantage. When WCE got the ball, often the first ball carrier would be pressured by a player who left his opponent (i.e. has to move towards the ball carrier leaving an open man). As a result, the new loose man receives the ball, and is pressured in turn by another demon who leaves his opponent. This chain continues until a plaer is free with no pressure. (I am not trying to point the finger but in the last quarter it appeared that Petterd was responsible 3-4 times, he appeared to be loose in the centre when the first eagle got the ball as a loose man and then the chain of leaving your man started as a result)

You mean they played accountable man on man footy for much of the game through the middle and our HF line, when they didn't have the ball, and pressured the ball carrier with intensity?

- We need to leave at least one permanant forwad in the 50!

How about we also isolate him for a time and allow him to contest one out, changing up once in a while?? Lucifer forbid we should try something different to FIND A WAY.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Rusty Nails

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

JJC you have got to be the greatest optimist that god has put breath into.

We are a club with a very poor list.

A playing team that appears to me has little idea how to put the game plan into action. ( i have no idea what it is either )

A team that has zero confidence

We will give Richmond their first win for the season.

It is as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow.

Please do not give me any more blind faith it is greatly misplaced.

PS I do agree with one thing Bennel is useless, but I have been saying that for over a year now god only knows why they keep picking him

I think you might finally have your wish OD....i doubt he'll be put forward again unless he grows an extra leg or something. Might not be alone either.

[baysidedave 246]

No leaders. No sponsors. No Jimmy. No heart. No skills. No hope.

This could very well be the beginning of the end.

Its been an absolute shocking start to the season on and off the ground, we are pathetic but just have to keep going, l new we would get done by 100 points today, it was bleedin' obvious. Imagine how demorolising its been for the players and staff with all the crap going off the field at the moment, we just can't take a trick. No club in the history of the game has had to go through what we have had in the last month.

[jumbo returns 6,741]

How frustrated will Mitch Clark feel as week after week he's double and triple teamed and the passes land on his head?

By the way, where are the other two forwards? Oh, I know, shoring up an overwhelmed backline.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,209]

Its been an absolute shocking start to the season on and off the ground, we are pathetic but just have to keep going, l new we would get done by 100 points today, it was bleedin' obvious. Imagine how demorolising its been for the players and staff with all the crap going off the field at the moment, we just can't take a trick. No club in the history of the game has had to go through what we have had in the last month.

I was going to put money on +100 today but couldn't get motivated to head down to the dirty TAB. I wish I had have now I might feel a bit better with a winning ticket in my pocket. I think thats the only way I can get through this season is by betting the line against us and let it ride.

[old dee 23,788]

I was going to put money on +100 today but couldn't get motivated to head down to the dirty TAB. I wish I had have now I might feel a bit better with a winning ticket in my pocket. I think thats the only way I can get through this season is by betting the line against us and let it ride.

It will be available again next week Dr and ever chance you will win

[BIG JIM 508]

MY VOTE IS FOR A NEW DIRECTION AND BOARD RND 2 and all my hope is gone for 2012. The sad thing is im allready thinking of the draft after dying for the footy to come back for so long and my team has me done after 2 weeks. The board must put there hand up