http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-03-20/dees-were-unfit-last-year-garland

Thought it was an interesting read from the AFL website. Rarely does an AFL player come out and admit something like that. I think it is kind of a positive as in we know where we are and what we need to improve at. Although this is kind of surprising considering our style of footy pre-Neeld - fast and free flowing. Anyway maybe a sign that we are on the right track .... now we just need to fix disposal! .... and the whole club culture.

It wasn't just our fitness that was embarrassing. We were embarrassing in about every way you can think of - it can only improve.

At least he is honest. Good to hear it from a player.

Astounding how poor this club has been.

I applaud G Lyon for walking in on behalf of Jim and demmanding improvement.

I wait to hear Moloney's side of the power shift in a few years....The fact remains that Brent never played well for us against the top sides, last year he didn't "play" at all. He obviously had DB wrapped around his finger.

But now the players are realizing....Neeld has his first real win.

GOOD.

Good article, actually gives me more confidence going into this year

The story that was missed by footy journos last year.

Its not as if the club hid the fact that the Melbourne players were told by Neeld, Misson and Craig that their key fitness indicators and professionalism were way off the levels at Collingwood, St Kilda and Adelaide. Misson even stated that we were doing more running mid week in 2012 season than he had the Saints doing in 2011 because we were still building to the elite fitness levels that the Saints just had to maintain.

Good coach that Bailey fella. Did he sit around drinking beer with them instead of training? They certainly played like it at the end of his tenure.

And according to Misson we're only a year away from elite AFL fitness.

Not sticking up for bailey what so ever as he was proven to be a rubbish AFL head coach, but it was a fair effort belting the likes of Adelaide and Fremantle by 90 odd points, and beating a final 8 side in Essendon , with grossly inferior fitness.

That awful fitness base also somehow saw them tie with the 2010 premiers.

Not sticking up for bailey what so ever as he was proven to be a rubbish AFL head coach, but it was a fair effort belting the likes of Adelaide and Fremantle by 90 odd points, and beating a final 8 side in Essendon , with grossly inferior fitness.

That awful fitness base also somehow saw them tie with the 2010 premiers.

interesting point. is fitness really the essential base it seems it must be? (Or can other - perhaps mental - qualities be as effective, as alternative bases?)

we'll find out how much fitness changes things I suppose, as our fitness levels reach elite standard over the next year and a bit.

but I well remember seeing the unfit Jurrah turn it on for 5 goals in a short period against Brisbane a couple of years ago...

We all knew it, now it's been confirmed.

Fitness matters when you need to dig deep and make a comeback or hang in a game, we never did that, we were front runners, even under Daniher, I we got in front we were fine, got behind and suddenly It was all too much.

Didnt we have time trials canceled during baileys time?

I

Didnt we have time trials canceled during baileys time?

I've heard that as well..can anyone verify the story?

How does an administration let that happen? Surely we have knowledge about other clubs and their fitness levels. How could we have sunk so low and let the lunatics (players) run the asylum?

Big question for mine..

How does an administration let that happen? Surely we have knowledge about other clubs and their fitness levels. How could we have sunk so low and let the lunatics (players) run the asylum?

Big question for mine..

And yet on here we continually swipe at the coach(s) and let our players off the hook. Previous coaches certainly did not have us fit enough and our playing group has not been challenged to reach elite heights but as importantly - the players have never challenged themselves or taken it upon themselves as professionals to step up.

How does an administration let that happen? Surely we have knowledge about other clubs and their fitness levels. How could we have sunk so low and let the lunatics (players) run the asylum?

Big question for mine..

"How does an administration let that happen?" I've often wondered about CS's perceived interference with the football department, but if the questions he was raising were about this kind of issue, then it's no-wonder Bailey went and Cam stayed.

"How does an administration let that happen?" I've often wondered about CS's perceived interference with the football department, but if the questions he was raising were about this kind of issue, then it's no-wonder Bailey went and Cam stayed.

i think you are spot on with this.

Bailey's deputy is now at Brisbane imo

I always thought last year this had an impact on how we played last year. If we were running harder during the week then other clubs then it would have had an impact on our match day performances.

I'm guessing they won't need to do as much mid-week running this year so it will be interesting to see if there is an improvement on the teams ability to run out games.

In such a competitive competition I find it more embarrassing that we were so far behind other teams. That the FD and board did not realize is evidence of a rotten culture.

I think the present FD is well on it's way to cleaning the deadwood,but fear board level will be a decade behind,hindering our climb because of ego and revenge.Past 50 years is testament to that.Shame.

I always thought last year this had an impact on how we played last year. If we were running harder during the week then other clubs then it would have had an impact on our match day performances.

I'm guessing they won't need to do as much mid-week running this year so it will be interesting to see if there is an improvement on the teams ability to run out games.

I am in no doubt that the above was one of two reasons (the other being the responsibilities of captaincy) for the decline in form from our younger captain, and quite possibly some others in our team.

I always thought last year this had an impact on how we played last year. If we were running harder during the week then other clubs then it would have had an impact on our match day performances.

I'm guessing they won't need to do as much mid-week running this year so it will be interesting to see if there is an improvement on the teams ability to run out games.

I can remember when I used to play footy, there was a team that were bordering on unbeatable (they were playing well below their division), however, we always went in thinking we could win. The biggest problem was that in the week leading up to that game, the coach trained us harder than any normal week, and as a result, we got to Saturday and were completely knackered. Nb. Our coach was a tool.

Point I'm making is that if that was happening to the players every week last year, ie ,training above what would be considered a "normal" training regime, then there is absolutely no doubt that we would struggle. For Garland to come out and say our fitness levels were embarrassing, this was probably an observation that was made by the coaches at the start of the year, and something they acted upon straight away.

You would hope that given we stepped it up by about 20% over this preseason, that we will be able to back it off by 20% during the season proper (that's not saying we can cruise through the training, it's probably backing it off to 120%!).

These are the kind of statements that I loathe. Just another layer of wall paper to cover over the cracks and shift blame. The club keeps coming out with them year after year, Getting the players to make the excuses.

These are the kind of statements that I loathe. Just another layer of wall paper to cover over the cracks and shift blame. The club keeps coming out with them year after year, Getting the players to make the excuses.

I agree.

Enough of rhetoric, bs and finger pointing.

Get on with it and do it on the park.

These are the kind of statements that I loathe. Just another layer of wall paper to cover over the cracks and shift blame. The club keeps coming out with them year after year, Getting the players to make the excuses.

Ignore.

i think you are spot on with this.

Bailey's deputy is now at Brisbane imo

Martin was Bailey's deputy? No wonder we stunk.