For the first time in years I'm actually excited about the direction the club is taking. Cutting spuds and seeing the backs of average veterans makes me happy. I just hope they keep on chopping as some of the deadwood is starting to get covered in ivy. Guys like Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Moloney, Bate, Bennell, Davey are just not good enough to play key roles in our future team. Neeld has my support as a tough and uncompromising coach. Something this club has needed for a long long time. As a player you need to be willing to extract 100% from yourself for the benefit of your teammates first, your club second and yourself third. That is what makes great players, COMMITMENT. If you haven't got it Fark off

For the first time in years I'm actually excited about the direction the club is taking. Cutting spuds and seeing the backs of average veterans makes me happy. I just hope they keep on chopping as some of the deadwood is starting to get covered in ivy. Guys like Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Moloney, Bate, Bennell, Davey are just not good enough to play key roles in our future team. Neeld has my support as a tough and uncompromising coach. Something this club has needed for a long long time. As a player you need to be willing to extract 100% from yourself for the benefit of your teammates first, your club second and yourself third. That is what makes great players, COMMITMENT. If you haven't got it Fark off

Absolutely agree 100%. All this should have taken place at the beginning of the DB era. What great times they were.

For the first time in years I'm actually excited about the direction the club is taking. Cutting spuds and seeing the backs of average veterans makes me happy. I just hope they keep on chopping as some of the deadwood is starting to get covered in ivy. Guys like Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Moloney, Bate, Bennell, Davey are just not good enough to play key roles in our future team. Neeld has my support as a tough and uncompromising coach. Something this club has needed for a long long time. As a player you need to be willing to extract 100% from yourself for the benefit of your teammates first, your club second and yourself third. That is what makes great players, COMMITMENT. If you haven't got it Fark off

Loved this line. Change is always difficult for some to accept, but change is what our club is all about. No f'ing short cuts this time.

For the first time in years I'm actually excited about the direction the club is taking. Cutting spuds and seeing the backs of average veterans makes me happy. I just hope they keep on chopping as some of the deadwood is starting to get covered in ivy. Guys like Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Moloney, Bate, Bennell, Davey are just not good enough to play key roles in our future team. Neeld has my support as a tough and uncompromising coach. Something this club has needed for a long long time. As a player you need to be willing to extract 100% from yourself for the benefit of your teammates first, your club second and yourself third. That is what makes great players, COMMITMENT. If you haven't got it Fark off

agree 100%

i personally think the biggest issue with half our players is they are happy to have just made to the afl, but not willing to put the extra work in required to become an "a" grader

Neeld will soon have that perception changed

Absolutely agree 100%. All this should have taken place at the beginning of the DB era. What great times they were.

Gee we seem to conveniently forget, from when Bailey took over till he left, so had 21 players.....is that enough for you?

Yet another post to start bashing all and sundry

I am all for change, so bring it on, just don't bang on about it or the past

Look forward

Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Bate, Bennell, Davey have not left the club yet. Cook and Gsy were mentioned in the Hun but except for rumor are still at the club.

Keep promoting the "I love Neeld" crap when he has yet to do anything except wet your appetite with anticipation. I hope he makes calculated decisions that move the club forward. We cant go anymore backwards!

Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Bate, Bennell, Davey have not left the club yet. Cook and Gsy were mentioned in the Hun but except for rumor are still at the club.

Keep promoting the "I love Neeld" crap when he has yet to do anything except wet your appetite with anticipation. I hope he makes calculated decisions that move the club forward. We cant go anymore backwards!

I guarantee they and others will all be gone by the end of next season. With most gone inside the next month

You have nailed it Roost!! It won't be a short journey, but we will start to see positive signs as early as 2013. I just hope that some of the doomsday theorists around here will see the light, pay their memberships, and stay the journey without slashing their wrists.

Im not sure how you can guarentee what you say. Having said this I hope you are right! Not sure if the decision on Cook is a little early and Gys provides very good bargaining power come trade month IMO.

Possibly the difference now is theres some tangible change and shift in criteria. Weve often got excited about the prospects of the new year but in reality it was very much a hope and prayer thing.

I dont see it this way this time. I can actually see things are changing its not just rhetoric.

Im very interested as many are to see the list after the silly season.

Bring it on

Gee we seem to conveniently forget, from when Bailey took over till he left, so had 21 players.....is that enough for you?

Yet another post to start bashing all and sundry

I am all for change, so bring it on, just don't bang on about it or the past

Look forward

Yeah but Bailey took the safe option, retiring verterans who were finished (whether they knew it or not) and cutting clear spuds (or helping some guys retire who's injuries were getting in the way - i.e. Wheatley and Whelan)

Look at the list of players Bailey "culled". Anyone would've shaved them off the list

His big move was trading Travis Johnstone who should've been traded years earlier

Neeld isn't afraid to cut non performers / non buy ins early on, so they're not considered list cloggers and dead wood in 4 years

Neeld had the opportunity to let Bate go to the dogs for a good draft pick, but chose to keep him. I dont buy into the idea that Neeld had little idea of the playing list. He came into the club eyes wide open and according some one on this site he regrets his choice not cull last year. He thought he could develop Bate into a midfielder and couldnt and didnt. A bad decision from Neeld here. Whats to say he will get it right. Not all his decisions will be right but he needs to get alot of decisions right for this club to turn around

I support Neeld but remain a sceptic until tangible results are provided. The opposite has occurred and Im a little worried about the clubs direction.

Neeld had the opportunity to let Bate go to the dogs for a good draft pick, but chose to keep him. I dont buy into the idea that Neeld had little idea of the playing list. He came into the club eyes wide open and according some one on this site he regrets his choice not cull last year. He thought he could develop Bate into a midfielder and couldnt and didnt. A bad decision from Neeld here. Whats to say he will get it right. Not all his decisions will be right but he needs to get alot of decisions right for this club to turn around

I support Neeld but remain a sceptic until tangible results are provided. The opposite has occurred and Im a little worried about the clubs direction.

He kept Bate for 1 year to try and turn him around, all whilst making his assessment of the entire list.

He cut few and wanted to see what he had to work with

With the return we were getting from Footscray, it was worth the risk in an assessment year and didn't work.

No one is saying Neeld WILL succeed. People who support Neeld are merely confident of his approach

This club has had just seven live draft picks across the past two national drafts, despite having a list which has been an unmitigated disaster for the past six years. If Neeld gets around to cutting some dead wood this year, it is only because he (and Bailey) went far too soft in previous years.

And so far, the only players who have left have either been past Best & Fairest winners or Leading Goalkickers; I can't see that any of the true dead wood (Bennell, Strauss, Bate, Dunn, Macdonald, etc) has gone yet.

It is alright to say lets get rid of the guys who can't be bothered commiting to the cause, but not if the guys who remain have done nothing to show that they are capable of becoming decent AFL players.

This club has had just seven live draft picks across the past two national drafts, despite having a list which has been an unmitigated disaster for the past six years. If Neeld gets around to cutting some dead wood this year, it is only because he (and Bailey) went far too soft in previous years.

1) theres no IF ..open your eyes and look around. How has Neeld gone too soft in previous years ..I question both the soft...and years

by all means castigate Bailey.. but Neelds only get his real chance this year. he had to be rather prudent and circumspect last eos. hed only been here 5 mins and by own words wanted a good look at players to evaluate for himself, not relyin gon others or reputations

And so far, the only players who have left have either been past Best & Fairest winners or Leading Goalkickers; I can't see that any of the true dead wood (Bennell, Strauss, Bate, Dunn, Macdonald, etc) has gone yet.

Given teh cull has hardly started , you may well be jumping the gun

It is alright to say lets get rid of the guys who can't be bothered commiting to the cause, but not if the guys who remain have done nothing to show that they are capable of becoming decent AFL players.

The guys who will remain WIL have shown they are both committed and capable. Thats Neelds very criteria. You may need to pay closer attention to whats actually happening as opposed your take on it.

Well said - the first post hit the nail on the head.

I get the feeling that we were a soft club under Bailey.

Bailey cut but didn't demand excellence from those that remained. That's not exactly a new thing around this club though, so I can forgive him that. He assumed - like many of us did - that all that was needed was to give the talent games and a couple of years growth, and success would follow. We found out the hard way that that sort of plan did more damage than good, and now Neeld has inherited a list that needs that mind set shaken out of it.

I don't know if Neeld's approach will work. Maybe things are too far gone and maybe we won't be able to get the talent we need to become a powerful team again, but it's got to be tried. We won't get anywhere until the whole list is prepared to do whatever it takes every time they run on the field, and I'll back him as long as I think that is the message he is trying to send.

Well said - the first post hit the nail on the head.

I get the feeling that we were a soft club under Bailey.

in the inimatble words of Jethro Gibbs....... " ya think !! "

Neeld had the opportunity to let Bate go to the dogs for a good draft pick, but chose to keep him. I dont buy into the idea that Neeld had little idea of the playing list. He came into the club eyes wide open and according some one on this site he regrets his choice not cull last year. He thought he could develop Bate into a midfielder and couldnt and didnt. A bad decision from Neeld here. Whats to say he will get it right. Not all his decisions will be right but he needs to get alot of decisions right for this club to turn around

I support Neeld but remain a sceptic until tangible results are provided. The opposite has occurred and Im a little worried about the clubs direction.

He's not going to get them all right but the decision to cut Maric has been vindicated and the Clark get was a good one. Bate, he wanted to have a look at and at least he put in with his training and has worked hard, just hasn't quite come up. I like the look of Tynan and Taggert so I would say if they recruit with a like mind this year we will be heading in the right direction at last.

Can anyone tell me what has happened to Gysberts for him to suddenly be out of favour??? I just don't get it.

Doesn't the fact that a successful club like Geelong rate him enough to want to get him on board say something??? Like we should be keeping this kid.

Neeld had the opportunity to let Bate go to the dogs for a good draft pick, but chose to keep him. I dont buy into the idea that Neeld had little idea of the playing list. He came into the club eyes wide open and according some one on this site he regrets his choice not cull last year. He thought he could develop Bate into a midfielder and couldnt and didnt. A bad decision from Neeld here. Whats to say he will get it right. Not all his decisions will be right but he needs to get alot of decisions right for this club to turn around

I support Neeld but remain a sceptic until tangible results are provided. The opposite has occurred and Im a little worried about the clubs direction.

Neeld new he needed some mature bodies & honest players, we still do & obviously hope to trade some into the list.. If we can't get enough of them traded in this year, we may have to keep one or two?

This club has had just seven live draft picks across the past two national drafts, despite having a list which has been an unmitigated disaster for the past six years. If Neeld gets around to cutting some dead wood this year, it is only because he (and Bailey) went far too soft in previous years.

And so far, the only players who have left have either been past Best & Fairest winners or Leading Goalkickers; I can't see that any of the true dead wood (Bennell, Strauss, Bate, Dunn, Macdonald, etc) has gone yet.

It is alright to say lets get rid of the guys who can't be bothered commiting to the cause, but not if the guys who remain have done nothing to show that they are capable of becoming decent AFL players.

Bailey cut but didn't demand excellence from those that remained. That's not exactly a new thing around this club though, so I can forgive him that. He assumed - like many of us did - that all that was needed was to give the talent games and a couple of years growth, and success would follow. We found out the hard way that that sort of plan did more damage than good, and now Neeld has inherited a list that needs that mind set shaken out of it.

I don't know if Neeld's approach will work. Maybe things are too far gone and maybe we won't be able to get the talent we need to become a powerful team again, but it's got to be tried. We won't get anywhere until the whole list is prepared to do whatever it takes every time they run on the field, and I'll back him as long as I think that is the message he is trying to send.

I agree with nearly all of that, But if we had a Strong culture from the Daniher Era, those senior players would have demanded from our kids, an honest approach with, 'ass up head over the pill footy', & they would have developed much better.

It's gotta be hard to get a steel will from a coach hired to be the Lamb on Sundays Roast.

Can anyone tell me what has happened to Gysberts for him to suddenly be out of favour??? I just don't get it.

Doesn't the fact that a successful club like Geelong rate him enough to want to get him on board say something??? Like we should be keeping this kid.

1 at it Ude!

Can anyone tell me what has happened to Gysberts for him to suddenly be out of favour??? I just don't get it.

Doesn't the fact that a successful club like Geelong rate him enough to want to get him on board say something??? Like we should be keeping this kid.

During pre season he was the first player to give in on the running. His endurance was pitiful. He has gained no core strength since being drafted. He has not improved his speed off the mark. His attitude was ordinary and he whinges. Starting to get it?

Perhaps if he said to the Coach " I will be in the Gym for a minimum 10 hours a week, starting now and I will run with Jones during the whole pre season and will start now, the Coach might keep him.

I agree with nearly all of that, But if we had a Strong culture from the Daniher Era, those senior players would have demanded from our kids, an honest approach with, 'ass up head over the pill footy', & they would have developed much better.

It's gotta be hard to get a steel will from a coach hired to be the Lamb on Sundays Roast.

Sure. That's why I'm pretty forgiving of Bailey. Not completely, mind you, but I don't lay it all at his feet. There has been a hell of a lot of sooking from so called leaders that felt they were entitled to prepare and play the way they wanted, and not be held to account for it, since the end of the Daniher years. Too much playing favourites and not enough insistence on players earning their spot week in week out. Bailey had a tough job because of our complete lack of leadership in that 23-28 year old group, so the surviving older players of those years were given an armchair ride again purely because we had nobody else. But at the same time the unaccountable footy, the 'games into the kids' before it was earned, and that bloody word competitive (which made everyone feel good as long as we didn't get smacked by ten goals) just passed the baton to the next generation.

Now we have to either change that culture or die, and I don't care how hard or long the cure take as long as at the end we have a club that refuses to accept anything but the best. If that means cutting every infected player no matter what their pedigree then I'm backing it. I think we'll see some unexpected players stand up to this demand, and those that don't can go and infect another club.