I saw the term "desire indicator" thrown around by rohan bail in a post match interview on the MFC website. Seems as though the team are being asked to focus heavily on those 1%ers and acts that appear to reflect desire for the contest. From our post match interviews (Bail, Bate & Neeld to a degree) it seems like internally we're pretty happy with the level of effort / desire we're putting in latley.

On the other hand you have Roos and others saying that our players "dont want it as much as other sides" or "it doesnt mean as much to them" etc.

I think the guys are all trying pretty damn hard. They've been drilled all preseason about contested posesion and clearances and havent been too bad in this department. Where i do think we need a big lift is in desire to get to the next contest. Seems to me that so much education and schooling has gone into the stoppage itself that the next piece of the puzzle has been neglected? Perhaps the run and spread and reading of the play is a aspect which is harder to teach (more reliant on "footy smarts?"). Perhaps the players are hesitant to take the game on and back their gut instincts when they do get the ball due to a desire to follow the coaches orders to a tee?

Its worrying IMO if the players and coaches are pretty happy with the level of effort & desire that the players are putting in, yet we cant get our hands on the ball.

The only indicator we need to have is get the F**king ball indicator, because if you have it your opponents can't score. Sorry they can and the way we are kicking at the moment we more than likely we force a behind.

The only indicator we need to have is get the F**king ball indicator, because if you have it your opponents can't score. Sorry they can and the way we are kicking at the moment we more than likely we force a behind.

With you there Dr! To think that thtere are so many on here praising the players and coach for 15 minutes of good football is a typical Melbourne supporter thing to do (aka accepting mediocrity). At the end of the day, we had some 100 possession less than our opposition. Funnily enough, the period where we out scored them was when we had more possessions than them.

I don't care what game plans are being introduced, how hard it is for the players to change from their past ways, there is no excuse for letting the opposition dominate possession in such a way that we have seen in the 4 games to date.

I think the 'desire' indicator is to look at the palyers and observe how many come in to pat their 'mate' on the back after a good piece of play. I have taken a keen interest in player body language after I was given information about the friendship divide amongst the players at the club. I don't want to elaborate on that because some dull journo like Hutchy will troll this site and look for a story. But to me, the problem seems to be that this group of players are no all for one and one for all. Its a mix of players thrown together.

Hard to have desire if you don't love playing with the blokes in ya team and if you don't love the club.

For a lot of the game on Sunday, I felt that we were the superior team. It was the breaks in the possession chains that caused us the most problem and gave them easy scoring opportunities. When we don't have the ball we look kinda ok structurally except for commiting too many to the ball carrier, instead of adding pressure by reducing that players options.

I can sort of see why the players and coaches would be happy with Desire Indicators.

The next step is to gain confidence in each other that running to space, and running early even before we secure possession won't go unrewarded or wasted by poor disposal.

As for a possible friendship divide, well it would be nice if it was a really tight group, but as Adelaide showed for many years, it's not the be all and end all.

If one of these indicators is butchering the ball by foot, then i'd say we excelled in that aspect last Sunday.

Edited April 24, 201213 yr by Demon Disciple

I think the desire indicators are a starting point, and a good one at that.

It helps answer the first question ie. Do you want to play for the MFC?

It Yes please continue to question 2 ....etc

I think desire indicators go hand in hand with non negotiables, myself.

I have taken a keen interest in player body language after I was given information about the friendship divide amongst the players at the club.

Hard to have desire if you don't love playing with the blokes in ya team and if you don't love the club.

What information do you have?

Paul Roos also said last night that Sydney coaches could do nothing in 2010 to shut Melbourne down when he was handed his biggest loss in his coaching career.

No one in the public, or the fans putting up with this VFL standard of football really know why we have got worse since then. And the lack of player size, contested ball and defensive part of the game aside, they shouldn’t be this bad.

I think the term 'desire indicators' suggests that Neeld has had to coin a term or phrase to explain what should be instinctual. Poor Neeld has his work cut out...

I saw the term "desire indicator" thrown around by rohan bail in a post match interview on the MFC website. Seems as though the team are being asked to focus heavily on those 1%ers and acts that appear to reflect desire for the contest. From our post match interviews (Bail, Bate & Neeld to a degree) it seems like internally we're pretty happy with the level of effort / desire we're putting in latley.

On the other hand you have Roos and others saying that our players "dont want it as much as other sides" or "it doesnt mean as much to them" etc.

I think the guys are all trying pretty damn hard. They've been drilled all preseason about contested posesion and clearances and havent been too bad in this department. Where i do think we need a big lift is in desire to get to the next contest. Seems to me that so much education and schooling has gone into the stoppage itself that the next piece of the puzzle has been neglected? Perhaps the run and spread and reading of the play is a aspect which is harder to teach (more reliant on "footy smarts?"). Perhaps the players are hesitant to take the game on and back their gut instincts when they do get the ball due to a desire to follow the coaches orders to a tee?

Its worrying IMO if the players and coaches are pretty happy with the level of effort & desire that the players are putting in, yet we cant get our hands on the ball.

Demon WA, you don't put up the roof tiles before the foundations are right.

Take the first hurdle, get that one right before we have a crack at the rest.

Paul Roos also said last night that Sydney coaches could do nothing in 2010 to shut Melbourne down when he was handed his biggest loss in his coaching career.

No one in the public, or the fans putting up with this VFL standard of football really know why we have got worse since then.

We haven't got worse since then - we played some shocking games in 2010 and in 2011, and to pull just about our one really decent game out of the hat as a measure of what we were doing is misleading.

To put that famous Sydney game in context, we'd only won two of the preceding 11 games, and lost 3 of the remaining 5 - including to Port Adelaide and North, teams we should have beaten if we were anything like a good side. Even the two wins, against Brisbane and Richmond, weren't exactly resounding triumphs.

In any case, let's wait till season's end before we start summing up this one.

I saw the term "desire indicator" thrown around by rohan bail in a post match interview on the MFC website. Seems as though the team are being asked to focus heavily on those 1%ers and acts that appear to reflect desire for the contest. From our post match interviews (Bail, Bate & Neeld to a degree) it seems like internally we're pretty happy with the level of effort / desire we're putting in latley.

On the other hand you have Roos and others saying that our players "dont want it as much as other sides" or "it doesnt mean as much to them" etc.

I think the guys are all trying pretty damn hard. They've been drilled all preseason about contested posesion and clearances and havent been too bad in this department. Where i do think we need a big lift is in desire to get to the next contest. Seems to me that so much education and schooling has gone into the stoppage itself that the next piece of the puzzle has been neglected? Perhaps the run and spread and reading of the play is a aspect which is harder to teach (more reliant on "footy smarts?"). Perhaps the players are hesitant to take the game on and back their gut instincts when they do get the ball due to a desire to follow the coaches orders to a tee?

Its worrying IMO if the players and coaches are pretty happy with the level of effort & desire that the players are putting in, yet we cant get our hands on the ball.

They stated that our desire indicators this week were at the expected levels. There was no indication that previous weeks were acceptable. Our level of effort was good on the weekend particularly second half. Now if we could just stop giving it back to the opposition once we have it.

Scoreboard is the KPI