Jump to content

Discussion on recent allegations about the use of illicit drugs in football is forbidden
  • IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

    Posting unsubstantiated rumours on this website is strictly forbidden.

    Demonland has made the difficult decision to not permit this platform to be used to discuss & debate the off-field issues relating to the Melbourne Football Club including matters currently being litigated between the Club & former Board members, board elections, the issue of illicit drugs in footy, the culture at the club & the personal issues & allegations against some of our players & officials ...

    We do not take these issues & this decision lightly & of course we believe that these serious matters affecting the club we love & are so passionate about are worthy of discussion & debate & I wish we could provide a place where these matters can be discussed in a civil & respectful manner.

    However these discussions unfortunately invariably devolve into areas that may be defamatory, libelous, spread unsubstantiated rumours & can effect the mental health of those involved. Even discussion & debate of known facts or media reports can lead to finger pointing, blame & personal attacks.

    The repercussion is that these discussions can open this website, it’s owners & it’s users to legal action & may result in this website being forced to shutdown.

    Our moderating team are all volunteers & cannot moderate the forum 24/7 & as a consequence problematic content that contravenes our rules & standards may go unnoticed for some time before it can be removed.

    We reserve the right to delete posts that offend against our above policy & indeed, to ban posters who are repeat offenders or who breach our code of conduct.

    WE HAVE BUILT A FANTASTIC ONLINE COMMUNITY AT DEMONLAND OVER THE PAST 23 YEARS & WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE CLUB WE LOVE & ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT.

    Thank you for your continued support & understanding. Go Dees.


Dermie and Robert Walls on SEN



Recommended Posts

Ask a kid, when did the Rot set in?

A: The kid thinks back, his whole life is just 19 years. Oh, the rot set in last year in Geelong.

The truth as I see it is, the Rot never left us.

We were the Fuscias Until Checker Hughes came from the Tigers to Coach, & said to himself, how do I get this mob to play Hard??? first step, get rid of 'Fuscias', & Bring in Demons...

2nd step, tell them to go out and play like real men,,, don't play them if they play like sooks.

Harden them up. bring in some tough bastards.

MY point is the Culture of 'Cushy' is inbred, into the walls of the MCC/G.

We had to import toughness, but when we sack the 'King Tough Bastard', the impotence Ekes out of the walls yet again.

The Rot has been going for well over a hundred years, Except for spells where we bought in some Special Hardness to Lead Us. We got Flags in a few quick spells of success, punctuated by long stints of Failure.

Good post DL - I've raised this issue before when talking about our culture.

In the history of our club we have been a "successful team" for one brief period - 1939-1964. This was under the leadership of Checker Hughes who as you said came from the Tigers and had to beat the Fuschias out of us to get us playing like Demons. This was carried on by Norm Smith who was tutored under Hughes and came from "the other side of the river" in Northcote. We sacked Smith for political reasons and immediately went back to our Fuschia ways.

The only other period since we have had any semblance of "toughness" about us was during the Northey years, another import from Richmond who was tutored by Tommy Hafey. Other than this period (which saw us win 10 of our 12 flags) we have been quite rubbish. Compare that to most other teams except Footscray and St. Kilda (who by the way have only won one flag each) and you can see that our culture is seriously sick. Compare us to even teams like the Pies who have only won 2 flags since 1958. Even though they didn't achieve the ultimate success they did make many GF's during this period (hence the Colliwobbles) and won more than their fair share of H&A games. Do you think when Eddie says things publicly like "this isn't Melbourne where you can just walk in and take our players" it is just an off-the-cuff remark? Understanding how we are perceived by the wider football community is key to understanding how we might be able to fix our "culture". It's like addiction, the first step is admitting you have a problem.

Yet you barrack for this team... Why?

You can't choose your relatives or your football team. Like most of us we are born into this for better or worse. :lol:

I will never regret barracking for the Demons but sometimes I just wish they didn't break my heart on such a consistent basis.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Torture - definition. Long suffering melbourne members being seeingly compelled to go to each home game knowing full well they will walk away angry, frustrated and confused

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Torture - definition. Long suffering melbourne members being seeingly compelled to go to each home game knowing full well they will walk away angry, frustrated and confused

It appears that's how our players feel after a game as well.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where to start on this....

We have a coach who is very clear on gameplan and this will either make or break him or the club. One thing for sure he wont change it and or tolerate players not showing the discipline to stay the course.

Stuie...on the face of it of course you are correct. Our current list played flashy football that occasionally got us good wins against teams that were susceptible to a loss interstate. On top of that our better performances generally included players through the midfield who haven't really made it on the field this year. (Think Scully, Sylvia, Moloney not to mention Jurrah up forward)

However as stated by others the trending of this gameplan was not obvious to anyone (just review threads on DB and lack of gameplan last year) including people at the club. Our team although seemingly showing improvement was not really on track to do anything long term in terms of matching it with the good teams.

This year we are almost 5 games in and now we see this new gameplan and edge being implemented by a coach who by the way also lives in Northcote. This coach Mark Neeld will stay the course and clearly needs time to adjust the list to the way he believes this team needs to play long term to win.

To give you an idea according to GPS data the players are running 30% further this year during games than last year. The gameplan pushes them right to the edges of the boundary and then asks for counter attacks to be made by getting the entire team to switch to the other side of the ground at pace. This asks alot of the players in terms of fitness. That is why they make really poor decisions and have been generally fading after halftime. When Mark arrived he knew straight away the list wasn't where it needed to be in terms of fitness to go with a gameplan that could challenge for the ultimate success. But he is determined to change this.

People percieved us with all the investment in coaching and a new fitness regime that we would automatically be better. Reality is that was never going to happen. There is understandably a lack of patience from many...we have all been through a lot of pain and with loss after loss doubt creeps in.

But let me tell you this. Mark Neeld has belief that what he is doing will generate long term success and he will not bend from that. People point to his media appearances being a distraction and that perhaps he shouldn't have said 'the hardest team' comment. But reality is that is his aspiration and he totally believes in it. Further to that, leaders at the club have expressed to me that they totally understand and believe in the gameplan and what is occurring. More than one has confided that under DB they really struggled to know the gameplan. With Neeldy they know what it is and agree totally with the direction.

So people get ready for a season of more pain. I expect people will now jump on me for trying to impart what I know. Some will try to discredit me. Some will continue to pull apart Mark and his gameplan. They will continue to pot the 4 game coach expecting him to have turned us into a powerhouse by now.

I wish everyone had the privilege and benefit I have had to spend time with Mark and other leaders of the club. When you actually see what is happening inside it is far more tangible to understand the facts as opposed to the many opinions sprouted about the club. I'll give you another example. When Mark started the club didn't even have the IT programs all other clubs had and he had to convince the club to purchase it and implement it. There are many more embarrassing examples that Mark has had to address that were big gaps in terms of getting the foundations right for the football department.

It kills me to see our own people on this site make uninformed comments based purely on what they see on gameday. Although it is entirely understandable. (Believe me it kills me too) I wanted to write to try and provide some sort of solace to those that may wish to believe what I say. I see in many the passion and heart and pain that to have in my heart.

All I can ask each of you is be realistic with expectations. Please don't blame Mark who is a brand new senior coach trying to change the club and set it up for success. Some senior players have a lot to answer for but I know you all know that. It is not accepting mediocrity just realistic based on where we have come from.

In my job I am fortunate to have a lot to do with a number of clubs and I must confess MFC has been the club by far who are always behind trying to catch up. Mark is leading the way with fixing this disparity but it doesn't all happen and click overnight. The comment from Mick Malthouse about things other than football was an articulation of the fact the club has been paving the foundations and multiple levels to finally put everything into the Football team.

Believe it or not good times are ahead but not without a lot of pain first.

Stick with the Dees the light at the end of the tunnel will come!

Edited by Footynut
  • Like 34
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Epic post.

Thanks for taking the time to write that, footynut.

Yeah, spot on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


IHave had a wine or 2 this eveninhg so dates are not forthcoming, but does anyone remember during the Daniher era, that we would have finished at the south end of the ladder, the previous year. We would win a couple of games and then be scheduled to play last/second last on the ladder (Richmond/Carlton - whoever). They would towel us up. I could never fathom how we didn't think we needed to turn up to play against sides lower than us on the ladder, when we had achieved absolutely nothing.

For me that's when the rot set in

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was a symptom not the cause - has happened for as long as I've been supporting the Demons even during the Northey years we had massive mid-season slumps that costs us the double chance. 2006 we would have finished top 4 but we lost to Carlton (who only won 3 games) twice. 2004 we were on top of the ladder after round 18 then lost to the Blues (again) at Princes Park in another year when they were rubbish.

This getting ahead of ourselves and falling in a heap against rubbish and not-so-rubbish teams because we feel like we've done the hard yards is symptomatic of the culture that DL has discussed above. We need hard bastards from outside the club to show us that you don't relax until the siren goes and you've achieved nothing til you've got the premiership cup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do yourselves a favour and don't get too hung up on the results this season. You'll be in for a lot more anguish if you do.

Yes i agree. Wins are not the key, its the consistency of effort, the repeat game after game of tonight's effort.

It's perhaps a bit of a strange attitude but although i desperately wanted to see a win tonight (every week) the thought crossed my mind an honourable defeat will help more in the long term than a win in so far as improving our draft options in November (when Neeld will really have a chance to influence who plays for the dees over the next 5 years).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess part of what I'm inferring above as well as trying to provide a different perspective, is that there are alot of people out there being paid to fill media content. Most of them are guessing as are many posters on here. Dermie and Walls both have rehashed what everyone else has said but only understand a small % of the story. They view the on field behaviors and try to draw conclusions. When you consider it's a Journos job to provide as many angles as possible to a story they really are extremely lazy.

Thanks to all those who supported by last post, I would be happy to see it read by all on this forum so that they may have the benefit of getting access to the layers that sit under the outcomes they are seeing.

Good progress last night by the team. I'm sure you can all see what Mark is doing is starting to create a very different team. How long has it been since we were able to compete in a rain affected match...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Robert walls is a moron.

Robert is a former coach who got sacked and has a soft spot for other coaches in the same position. But he has got it so so wrong here.

He says we fired Bailey after one poor match (the 186 game). That is not true.

Round 2 - Hawthorn - the Dees were 28 points up just before 1/2 time. By the start of the last quarter we were 40 points down. arguably our worst 3rd Q in memory.

Round 6 - West Coast. Game over at quarter time. arguably our worst 1st Q in memory.

Round 8 - North. MFC 25 points up early in the second. Nearly 40 points down by 3/4 time.

Round 10 - Carlton - Another 6 goal performance from MFC. Carlton doubled our score.

Round 12 - Collingwood. Another 6 goals from the Dees. Collingwood kicked 10 in a row in the last quarter.

Round 15 - The Dogs. We played a middle ranked side and got done by 64 points. They killed us in the last and i believe Bailey was lucky to see out the round.

Round 19 - Geelong - 186.

In every one of these games, the opposition got a run-on and we couldn't deal with it. After 4 years with Bailey we did not have a game plan to cope with adversity.

Robert is very selective with his stats. He says Melbourne won 8 1/2 games in 2010 and because we won 7 1/2 games by round 19 (of 24 rounds) therefore we were improving slightly, but the stat is misleading.

Yes we did have 3 big wins against GC, Freo and Adelaide in 2011, but these teams were struggling with form, injury and inexperience.

It's the same story with the win over Essendon. We caught them during their 5 game losing streak.

Compare the 2011 results with the previous year and we clearly did better in 2010. 2 close games against Collingwood; just falling short against the Dogs and Hawthorn, and thrashing another final 8 side in Sydney. We were going backwards in 2011, and that's why Bailey was fired.

Edited by DirtyDees DDC
  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, fantastic post Footynut. Deserves to be read by every member (and non-member) on the forum.

Great post Footynut. I remain absolutely convinced that Mark Neeld will transform this club. I've said it before, if he had a number, I'd put it on the back of my guernsey.

I love the man. He is currently making decisions, and adopting structures and approaches, that this club has shirked for far too long.

No doubt, there will be more pain - but, unlike the pain we've endured over the last few decades, I reckon this year's pain will be worth it.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Robert is a former coach who got sacked and has a soft spot for other coaches in the same position. But he has got it so so wrong here.

He says we fired Bailey after one poor match (the 186 game). That is not true.

I heard Walls when he said that. It really annoyed the shite out of me! As someone who follows and watches the MFC week-in and week-out 186 was the exclamation mark on a development program going nowhere.

Walls reckons the fact we won more games each year under DB was THE indicator we were tracking in the right direction. Makes me wonder if Walls ever closely watched any Melbourne games?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I heard Walls when he said that. It really annoyed the shite out of me! As someone who follows and watches the MFC week-in and week-out 186 was the exclamation mark on a development program going nowhere.

Walls reckons the fact we won more games each year under DB was THE indicator we were tracking in the right direction. Makes me wonder if Walls ever closely watched any Melbourne games?

the answer is no....his analysis is lazy and simplistic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I heard Walls when he said that. It really annoyed the shite out of me! As someone who follows and watches the MFC week-in and week-out 186 was the exclamation mark on a development program going nowhere.

Walls reckons the fact we won more games each year under DB was THE indicator we were tracking in the right direction. Makes me wonder if Walls ever closely watched any Melbourne games?

Yes i heard that too. I was in the car and couldn't ring but i sent a text later. That opinion of Walls needs to be challenged.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Footynut and Dirtydees it was a privilege to read both of your posts.

Ditto

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Demonland Forums  

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles  

    DEPTH CHARGE by Whispering Jack

    The jubilation on the coach’s face as he danced a celebratory jig by the playing bench after the final siren sounded to record his team’s four-point victory over the Demons when the teams last met, said it all.    On that rainy Friday night at the Adelaide Oval, Ken Hinkley’s young midfield secured much more than four points on offer. The victory over one of the big dogs of the competition after a succession of wins over some of its lesser lights gave his team respect and validation fo

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 5

    TRAINING: Monday 25th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Demon Dynasty & Kev Martin were trackside at Gosch's Paddock today to bring you their observations from training. DEMON DYNASTY'S TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Kade Chandler's left knee heavily strapped. BBB, Spargs & Jake Lever also in rehab group. Jake Bowey solo running separate kicking/sprint/agility drills. Super fine morning / early arvo at Gosch's for the boys to blow out some cobwebs. Choco initially had the light duties / rehab group

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    HIBERNATING by KC from Casey

    When they locked up the rooms for summer at the end of last year’s football season, the rooms gathered cobwebs, the atmosphere became dense and the place developed a sleepy feel. They opened up the rooms to let Casey out to play on Sunday but the team was still hibernating and they missed the bulk of the opening quarter. By the time they worked out it was game on, their opponents from Box Hill had accumulated five goals and, if the game wasn’t over, it might as well have been. For a se

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    A FORK IN THE HAWK by George on the Outer

    For too long in the past, Demon fans became habitually sick and tired of watching the Hawks hand out thrashings to their side. But Melbourne’s empahtic 55-point win at the MCG on Saturday has truly put a fork in the Hawk and turned that history well and truly on its head. The Demons have now won nine of their last ten encounters with the other result, a draw.     And like a fork, it was the multi-pronged options that Melbourne had all across the ground.  It certainly helped that Hawthorn

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports 8

    PREGAME: Rd 03 vs Port Adelaide

    The Demons head on the road for the next 2 weeks as they travel to Adelaide to play Port on Saturday and then have a 5 Day break before facing the Crows in the Gather Round. With injuries to May and Lever who comes in and who goes out?

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 279

    PODCAST: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 25th March @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we analyse the Demons victory at the MCG against the Hawks in the Round 02. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 46

    VOTES: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    Last week Steven May took the lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Jack Viney. Clayton Oliver & Max Gawn round out the Top 4. Your votes for the win/loss against/to the Hawks. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 50

    POSTGAME: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The Demons cruised to an easy 55 point win over the Hawks at the MCG but but paid a heavy toll on the injury front with Steven May & Jake Lever possibly sidelined for a number of weeks.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 363

    GAMEDAY: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    It's Game Day and after mixed results in the first two weeks of the season the Demons have the opportunity to capitalise on their good form last week when they take on the Hawks at the MCG today.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 437
  • Tell a friend

    Love Demonland? Tell a friend!

  • Podcast 

  • Podcast 

  • Podcast Stream 


    Open Stream in
    New Window
        TuneIn    Opens in New Tab
  • Support Demonland  



  • 2021 Premiership  

  • Social Media 

  • Non MFC Games  

    NON-MFC: Round 03

    Discussion of all the other games that don't involve the Demons in Round 03 ... READ MORE

    Demonland | Round 03

  • Match Preview      

    DEPTH CHARGE by Whispering Jack

    The jubilation on the coach’s face as he danced a celebratory jig by the playing bench after the final siren sounded to record his team’s four-point victory over the Demons when the teams last met, said it all ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 27

  • Latest Podcast      

    PODCAST: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The boys dissected the clinical thrashing of Hawks praising the immense performance of Christian Petracca whilst lamenting the injury toll to our defensive unit ... LISTEN

    Demonland | March 26

  • Training  

    Monday, 25th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Demon Dynasty & Kev Martin were trackside at Gosch's Paddock today to bring you their observations from training ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 25

  • Casey Report      

    HIBERNATING by KC from Casey

    When they locked up the rooms for summer at the end of last year’s football season, the rooms gathered cobwebs, the atmosphere became dense and the place developed a sleepy feel. They opened up the rooms to let Casey out to play on Sunday but the team was still hibernating and they missed the bulk of the opening quarter ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 25

  • PreGame      

    PREGAME: Rd 03 vs Port Adelaide

    The Demons head out on the road for the next 2 weeks as they travel to Adelaide to play Port on Saturday and then have a 5 Day break before facing the Crows in Gather Round. With injuries to May and Lever who comes in and who goes out? ...READ MORE

    Demonland | March 28

  • Match Report      

    A FORK IN THE HAWK by George on the Outer

    For too long in the past, Demon fans became habitually sick and tired of watching the Hawks hand out thrashings to their side. But Melbourne’s empahtic 55-point win at the MCG on Saturday has truly put a fork in the Hawk and turned that history well and truly on its head ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Post Game      

    POSTGAME: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The Demons cruised to an easy 55 point win over the Hawks at the MCG but but paid a heavy toll on the injury front with Steven May & Jake Lever possibly sidelined for a number of weeks ...READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Votes      

    VOTES: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    Last week Steven May took the lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Jack Viney. Clayton Oliver & Max Gawn round out the Top 4. Your votes for the win/loss against/to the Hawks. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Game Day      

    GAMEDAY: Round 02 vs Hawthorn

    It's Game Day and after mixed results in the first two weeks of the season the Demons have the opportunity to capitalise on their good form last week when they take on the Hawks at the MCG today ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Training  

    Friday, 22nd March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatcher Kev Martin and I attended the Captain's Run at Gosch's Paddock on this lovely sunny morning to bring you the following observations from the training session ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 22

  • Training  

    Tuesday, 19th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Kev Martin & Walking Civil War attended Tuesday morning's training session at Gosch's Paddock to bring you the following observations ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 19

  • Training  

    Saturday, 16th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Kev Martin and Dee Zephyr wandered down to Gosch's Paddock on Saturday morning to bring you their observations from the Captain's Run in the lead up to Sunday's Round One match against the Bulldogs ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 16

  • Farewell  

    Angus Brayshaw Retires

    After 167 games including the drought breaking Premiership Angus Brayshaw has made the heart breaking decision to medically retire from football as a result of a series of serious head knocks over his nearly decade of footy. We wish Gus all the best and he'll always be a hero at Demonland ... READ MORE

    Demonland | February 22

  • Latest Podcast  

    PODCAST: Koltyn Tholstrup Interview

    I interview the Melbourne Football Club’s newest recruit Koltyn Tholstrup to have a chat about his journey from the farm to the Demons, his first few weeks of preseason training, which Dees have impressed him on the track and his aspirations of playing Round 1 ... LISTEN

    Demonland | December 14

  • Latest Podcast  

    PODCAST: Jason Taylor Interview

    I interview the Melbourne Football Club's National Recruitment Manager Jason Taylor to have a chat about our Trade and Draft period, our newest recruits, our recent recruits who have yet to debut as well as those father son prospects on the horizon ... LISTEN

    Demonland | November 27

  • Next Match 

    .

    Round 03

       vs   

    Saturday 30th March 2024
    @ 07:30pm (AO)

  • MFC Forum  

  • Match Previews & Reports  

  • Training Forum  

  • AFLW Forum  

  • 2024 Player Sponsorship

  • Topics

  • Injury List  


      PLAYER INJURY LENGTH
    Jake Lever Knee Test
    Clayton Oliver Hand Test
    Oliver Sestan Concussion Test
    Steven May Ribs 1 Week
    Lachie Hunter Calf 1 Week
    Daniel Turner Hip 2-3 Weeks
    Charlie Spargo Achilles 2-4 Weeks
    Shane McAdam Hamstring 3-5 Weeks
    Jake Bowey Shoulder 7 Weeks
    Jake Melksham ACL 12-14 Weeks
    Joel Smith Suspension TBA

  • Player of the Year  


        PLAYER VOTES
    1 Christian Petracca 27
    2 Steven May 25
    3 Max Gawn 21
    4 Jack Viney 20
    5 Bayley Fritsch 19
    6 Clayton Oliver 18
    7 Christian Salem 12
    8 Blake Howes 11
    9 Jack Billings 10
    9 Alex Neal-Bullen 10

        FULL TABLE
  • Demonland Interviews 



  • Upcoming Events 

×
×
  • Create New...