CAN YOU HEAR THE DRUMS? by George on the Outer

Demons Fans boo off team after Round 1 capitulation.

A simply disgraceful team performance by the Melbourne Football club where they managed a solitary goal in a half of football, saw them rightly booed from the ground by their fans.

And for all the apologists who say the team shouldnt be bagged ... that's rubbish!

When a couple of first game 18 year olds show how to play a game of football, as an example, then players who had pulled on the jumper for 50 or 100 games should hang their heads in shame.

Once again the supporters turned out in droves with over 20,000 paying their money and providing encouragement. For that they were treated disgracefully as they witnessed half-hearted efforts and lack of simply football smarts throughout the whole game.

If it werent for the likes of Mitch Clark, Jack Grimes, Jack Viney and Nathan Jones the result would have been as one toothless Port supporter described after the match -Road Kill. How true that was!

Port were prepared to run. Port were prepared to back up their team-mates and keep playing simple football. It was what we have come to know them as. It is their culture.

Melbourne players in contrast played like a group of upper-class schoolboys. Avoiding the heavy contact, and hoping someone else will do the hard work, just to avoid getting the hands dirty.

Simple tactics of manning up were either not followed or issued, as countless Port goals were slammed through with barely a Melbourne player in sight. Grimes tried hard to rally the troops with some genuine dash, and Blease added that which was missing for the first ¾ of the game.

Clark played his heart out, but with no other assistance up forward his output was nullified. Viney will surely win the Rising Star award for this week with 22 disposals. And they were all hard fought and valuable. However, his long time friend Oliver Wines had an equally impressive debut for the Power.

A sharp contrast with Col Sylvia (yet again) who simply refuses to cover his or any man, while he is all too happy to let others get the ball to him ... if he feels like it.

The fans booed the team off at half-time and again at full time. They could see the sub-standard performance and the lack of effort being shunted out. Any supporter can stomach a team that is better than yours, but they certainly couldnt stomach what they saw today.

Melbourne 3.1.19 7.2.44 7.3.45 8.6.54

Port Adelaide 5.3.33 11.6.72 16.13.109 19.19.133

Goals

MelbourneClark Howe 2 Byrnes McKenzie Pedersen Viney

Port Adelaide Schulz 4 Monfries Stewart 3 Hartlett 2 Cornes Heath Moore Pittard Westhoff Wingard Wines

Best

Melbourne Grimes Viney Clark N Jones M Jones

Port Adelaide Hartlett Monfries Schulz Ebert Cornes Westhoff

Injuries

Melbourne Clark (ankle)

Port Adelaide Nil

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Port Adelaide Nil

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Port Adelaide Nil

Substitions

Melbourne Sam Blease replaced Mitch Clark (final quarter)

Port Adelaide Kane Mitchell replaced Angus Monfries (final quarter)

Umpires Farmer Ryan Pannell

Crowd 22,924 at the MCG

there were a few positives. I didnt actually go to the game for one...

I can safely say that Dean Kent, Terlich, Jetta and a few others will make the side next week. Dawes will be wondering why he didnt choose the dogs.

Riot on AAMI park

Microwave and membership time - where is that bag of horse crap?

Left 10 mins before 3 qtr time. Threw my scarf on the ground. Forget it I'm not wasting an afternoon on that crap ever again.

This club is officially in danger of folding.

Wonder what the school teacher has to say about this one. I reckon inexperience and youth will get a run.

Pathetic.

I truly hope the club understands how fed up the supporters are. And not in the way a supporter might be fed up because their side threw away a 5 goal lead on one occasion, or because their car membership sticker faded after a couple of months, but fed up in a way that can have serious ramifications for the club's future.

I was trying to get new members across, but after today, looks like i've lost them to the tigers. What a pity.

I was just on SEN!

For Demon fans, April Fools Day came a day early.

I hate this [censored].

Hanging out big time for progress. SHATTERED

March fools. March to August fools, actually. I sure feel like one.

I lost a lot of passion and love for this club since Mark Neeld took over, and I went in today with less than no expectations. But I left the game just numb. I honestly don't even know what there is left to say. This club is a joke and I am ashamed to say that I spend so much time and money on it. What a fool I am.

I listened to the game on Triple M. Carey and Schwass didn't hold back and used words such as insipid, embarrassing, putrid.

It's clearly an attitude problem with too many players. You'd have someone like Jack Viney who would go back to the rooms and be hurting on the inside, then you have Mr "Losing doesn't bother me" Watts who's probably sitting there thinking about how many Pink Bacardi Breezers he'll sip through a straw tonight.

We are a bottom 4 side on talent but the effort today was as if we barely cared.

Devastated.

Is that performance redeemable in any way?

Range Rover - I hate to say it - but I agree with you. I have horrible feelings akin to South Melbourne 1980 and Fitzroy 1996. WE seem to have OK administrators, good marketing adn management, etc... But we simply cannot play AFL standard football.

At the Commencement dinner, Mark Neeld said "we are building something special". Bulldust. We are fading away into irrelevancy and obscurity.

I really am sick and tired of this. I will hold onto my scarf and membership but I can't emotionally buy in. This one really hurts.

For Demon fans, April Fools Day came a day early.

I take no pride in saying I predicted this. Saw it coming a mile away based on pre-season and other factors. I held out hope for a competitive effort but it fell well short of even that.

I owe so much beer for bets made on finishing above some clubs this year and on winning a flag before the Tigs it is not funny!! Bugger

Something is very wrong. The players just couldnt be bothered. It was obvious. All i wanted was a bit of improvement with structures, spread, some signs of things settling down.

If the club is losing the heart of the passionate supporters on this forum then I'm worried how many normal supporters are going to leave in droves. So many of our players could not give a [censored] or were not up to it. Not playing for the coach or team. No work rate. No spirit.

After years of ribbing Im going to cop this on Tuesday

If the club is losing the heart of the passionate supporters on this forum then I'm worried how many normal supporters are going to leave in droves. So many of our players could not give a [censored] or were not up to it. Not playing for the coach or team. No work rate. No spirit.

Five mates are wavering supporters. They were lost yeasr ago to be honest. James McDonald's sacking did it for them. One had followed the demons since 1954

Something is very wrong. The players just couldnt be bothered. It was obvious. All i wanted was a bit of improvement with structures, spread, some signs of things settling down.

Yep I'm suspicious that something else was behind the lack of effort. Who turns up to Round 1 with so little effort after a long preseason and supposedly optimism for each and every side???!! It's like they have given up already

I can't believe that just happened

Have you ever seen a worse contrast between two sides in terms of the space/freedom one has over the other? Time and time and time again they had loose men everywhere, while we didn't seem to find one for the entire day.

Jack Watts had 2 kicks.

There is something wrong somewhere.