Well, what a day. I unfortunately stayed til the end, just to see if there was any fall out from the fans, to be honest it was more moderate than I thought it might've been.

I've read quite a lot of the post match comment and have just a few thoughts....

Blease as sub puzzled many, but when you think about it fitness hasn't been his thing all career and he is coming back from an ankle injury so think this could explain him being the sub today...

Always loved Tappy for his hardness. but he isn't contributing much with the ball, and he seems to be coming off for a rest alot more frequently than other non-mids, so his fitness really needs to improve

Toumpas looks ok, but clearly not quite up to the level just yet, would be surprised he plays next week

Pederson and Gilles, hmmm, they looked slow and didn't think I'd say it so soon but we missed Rivers today, Gilles doesn't look like a good swap but it is early

Love Howe and his marking prowess, was what kept me coming back to the footy last year for his highlights, but he needs to do much more apart from the hangers

Essendon has been our only real non interstate scalp in the past few years and he have to somehow HOPE that continues, tho it seems very unlikely, but we have to have hope right, or we wouldn't be reading this right now....

This is the worst demons team ever. I'm 54.

I'm 64 and was at the game today. I am not arguing!

I feel sorry for Neeld. He was asking the journos if they had any ideas on what to do. So it emerged that the only person with passion at the end of it was Jack Viney (a Melbourne person). Just sad.

I am 53yo. We have had worse sides but those sides at least tried.

Lets all be totally honest with ourselves. There is a disease at this club that no one is capable of diagnosing, I have no idea as a man over 50 and supported the club for all my life.

No one seems to have the answers, the players don't appear capable to lift themselves to elite level and the football department seems out for the count.

To watch teams go past us every year as we stand still just amazes me. How does this simply happen?

I have lost all confidence in this shell of a football club.

It's Groundhog day!!!!!!

Again

Edited March 31, 201312 yr by DemonOX

Well after ripping my MFC jersey off my chest and destroying it after the 3rd quarter i went for a 55km bike ride as i was furious. After a cheeky Whisky i am ready to say my thoughts on today.

Our back line should not be paid for the efforts today. Whoever said on here to sign Jack Watts up for a 5 year contract would regret those words. I have stuck up for him since day dot, Today him and Dunn were our worst players by far!. Itleast Watts can kick, Dunn was woeful should be made to play for free for the coming weeks. - Watts and Dunn should be dropped next week

Nicho - i see a lot of posters having a crack at him, i disagree itleast the bloke had a bloody go!, he through himself into everything

Jamar - A shocker, we really need him to stand up and he didn't, taps are ineffective and he cannot move around the ground

Garland - simply not AFL level

Gilles - should never have the pleasure to pull on a Demons jersey again, disgraceful footballer

Frawley - battled all day

Grimes - Had a crack all day, did some great things, should be proud of trying to lead from the front

Viney - A superstar in the making

Jones & Toumpas - did some great things, Jones made an impact by the end of the year Toumpas will warrant his number 4 picl

Sylvia - was barely noticed (but seriously who was surpirsed)

Sellar - not AFL standard

Pederson - Not AFL standard

Howe - was ok

Rodan & Byrnes - tried all day but at the end of the day are players that other clubs didnt want (i was expecting miracles by either)

N.Jones - Played well in the first half but was heavily tagged in the 2nd half

Mckenzie - tries his ass off but cannot hit the side of the barn

Tapscott - will be delisted at the end of the year

Overall was the worst game of football i have seen a Demons team play. We have so many issues, i really feel for the two Jack co-captains they should not be captains they should be concentrating on the early stages of their carrer and not burdened by the team. We have no leaders on the field.

I do not understand why we paid 500k a year on Dawes when we so desperately need quality mid fielders, we should of picked up Koby stevens or someone like that to it least help us.

I am lost for words, i have simply stopped caring and that the scary part as a bleed navy blue and red.

For everyone asking for Neelds head, get a (censored) grip, Malthouse, Mathews, Sheedy or Roo's would be in the same boat. As my 83 year ol Grandpa said today "you can't ask the coach to scream at his players to pull their socks up when they have nothing to pull up". We're a woeful playing list that is the honest truth.

Sellar,Watts, Dunn, Pederson, Tapscott, Garland are all playing for their careers this years.

Frawley and Sylvia will leave as restricted free agents and who could blame them

Thank christ i have a wedding next weekend so i won't have another piece of me die inside watching that sorry state of a football team!!!!.

Rant over, time for another Whisky.

Neeld talked about 'elite standards' in the presser - yet again. The only thing that is elite about this club is the consistent serving up of [censored] football.

Lets all be totally honest with ourselves. There is a disease at this club that no one is capable of diagnosing, I have no idea as a man over 50 and supported the club for all my life.

No one seems to have the answers, the players don't appear capable to lift themselves to elite level and the football department seems out for the count.

To watch teams go past us every year as we stand still just amazes me. How does this simply happen?

I have lost all confidence in this shell of a football club.

Northey's era was an exception, I think. Why can't we reproduce that feeling in the group?

Lets all be totally honest with ourselves. There is a disease at this club that no one is capable of diagnosing, I have no idea as a man over 50 and supported the club for all my life.

No one seems to have the answers, the players don't appear capable to lift themselves to elite level and the football department seems out for the count.

To watch teams go past us every year as we stand still just amazes me. How does this simply happen?

I have lost all confidence in this shell of a football club.

A poster has suggested there are deep divisions within the Club! if this is the case then none of us will see success. If this is true, I as a loyal member want to know more, what is going on?

Neeld talked about 'elite standards' in the presser - yet again. The only thing that is elite about this club is the consistent serving up of [censored] football.

I noticed that too. I wish he'd stfu about "elite standards". We are the furthest thing from elite in the entire league.

jamar and moloney wouldve smashed the clearances today...

Can anyone seriously remember what it's like to support a team that is competitive and wins consistently?

It's going to be another long season but I feel really bad for my young kids cause again they have to follow this team.

What else can u say?

well from all the games that i have been to to watch the dees, i have to say this was by the far the worst performance by them i have seen! another 3rd qtr fadeout with only a pt scored is unacceptable, and only getting 1 goal in the 2nd half, pathetic!

However there were some players who stood up in all of this:

1: viney. He was unreal, in and under winning the hardball, and out played Jones today imo (but he wouldn't have had a tag like jones would've). His goal in the 2nd quarter was great to watch.

2: Jones. He was his usual self holding up the midfield, however he did go missing in the 2nd half, but was definitely not the only one who did.

3: Grimes: while i don't think he had a great game, he was in the mix of it and was getting possies aroudn the ground and didn't seem to go missing in the 2nd half.

4: Toumpas. he had some good times in the game. from what i saw he didn't get much of it, but when he did he generally used it well and kicked cleanly.

5: Pedersen. I didn't see him for a large chunk of the game, but when he did have it he seemed good. his kick deep into the fwd line in the 2nd was good along with his mark on the goalline.

6: Clark. good first real game back from his foot injury. 2 goals in 2 mins in the 1st term, but didn't have an impact on the scoreboard after that, but did keep presenting. he did seem to tire but what do you expect when you've been out for 9 months! got carried off the ground in the 3rd which was worrying, but came back on in the 4th for a couple of mins then was subbed off.

7: Howe was good in the 1st half, but like a lot of his teamates did go missing towards the end of the game. he did take some good marks, and nearly got a hanger in the last qtr.

The rest were nothing to write about. Gillies was dissapointing, as was watts, frawley(looked slow to me) and dunn. Sylvia did very little (did lay a good tackle in the middle towards the end), Sellar did very little but he didn't have a few leads honoured (although i did he him leading for the ball and he was chasing his defender while doing it?!?), Blease was sub and when he came on he had a good passage of play in the middle where he blasted past a few players but he ruined it with a rubbish kick.

i'm still going to be going to a few games this year regardless of how we do (5-6 as i have a country membership) but am not as enthusiastic as i was before todays game.

Clearly you missed Pedersen shirking in the centre square.He'll ever amount to anything besides another MFC spud

Can anyone seriously remember what it's like to support a team that is competitive and wins consistently?

It's going to be another long season but I feel really bad for my young kids cause again they have to follow this team.

What else can u say?

This is like the late sixties and the seventies all over again, during that period we were just awful and hardly won a game. You just don't expect that in this day and age with more knowledge of recruits and modern training methods available.

We just stuff up every selection now and seem to recruit the wrong type every time, with a few exceptions.

Today's effort, if you can call it that, was pitiful and even the players that have put in in the past were atrocious; you get the feeling that some of them are just waiting to get out of the place. I just don't think there's anything that anyone can do and sitting behind a former captain and club legend today didn't make it any easier as he pointed one by one to the players in the record and said hopeless, hopeless, hopeless........

We have stuffed this up royally and none of the NQR players should play for the club again; what were they thinking, I'd rather have Martin back than Pederson and Daniel Ward over Rodan.

Clearly you missed Pedersen shirking in the centre square.He'll ever amount to anything besides another MFC spud

Could possibly rank as one of our worst recruiting mistakes in modern times.

Sorry I forgot Rodan, Byrnes and Gillies.

The Presser killed me. The focus on training is absurd. Everyone looks elite in their skins on a Tuesday but its not the game. Nobody cares how well you train. We need to focus on competitive spirit and endeavour, not handbills to Syliva streaming though the middle of Goschs Paddock against no one.

Also, purely from an organisational perspective, how is it ok to say 'I didn't see that coming' when it's your sole job to plan and prepare for all outcomes? If I said that at work I'd be packing my desk within 15 minutes.

First post on DL but I feel it has to be said.

Today's loss hurt in many ways. We lost a lot of our hopeful fanbase. The general actions of supporters that occured after half time were either two things.

1. Laughing about how terrible we were playing

2. 'Let's go home, I might be able to catch the start of NM v Collingwood'

This team is an outright disgrace.

Dunn was terrible, way to stand up in your 100th

Watts is finally starting to aggravate me, sick of defending him

Jones's game is far too predictable, will cop a heavy tag every week

Nicholson, MARK THE BALL

Mitch Clark, 70 points down and trying to kill himself = dumb

Sellar, the preseason warrior was a major flop

Sylvia, same old inconsistency

Blease, kick-started our attack in games in 2012 is the sub?? poor decision

I've had enough of the defending every week of James Frawley, the guy is an absolute spud, never plays infront

Above all of the individual defects, we looked like we didn't care, thats the team and the supporters. How we are still in this league is shocking to me. We are in serious danger of folding

Just so I don't make a first impression of pessimist , I was very impressed with Jack Viney, Matt Jones, Clark's recovery (despite his stupidity at times), Shannon Byrnes, Jack Grimes and Jeremy Howe (finally kicking straight). Toumpas will take time and credit to Port Adelaide for not holding back on this reality check

Could possibly rank as one of our worst recruiting mistakes in modern times.

Sorry I forgot Rodan, Byrnes and Gillies.

I would hold fire on Rodan and Byrnes, Pederson a filler-in only but Gillies should never be allowed to play again - absolutely useless no wonder he couldnt get a game at Geelong.

Blease, kick-started our attack in games in 2012 is the sub?? poor decision

Mostly agree with what you said, but I think this was simply a fitness decision and had the game been in the balance he would've been perfect to have come on. Obviously it was not so he got to get a quarter once the game was well and truly over.

I noticed you pointed to Mitch killing himself at contests after the game is over. Unfortunately he doesn't know any other way.

Today I saw something I thought I'd never see. I saw Nathan Jones drop his head and give up in a contest that lead to a Port goal. Nathan Jones gave up.

Neeld seems to have killed any kind of passion or pride for the club the players may have ever thought of having.

This was quite evident when maloney, a Melbourne supporter, turned his back on the club and basically said neeld is a fcukwit.

If he has even killed Jones passion, its truly dangerous.

Neeld may be our coach, but it is quite evident that he can't coach.

To think we have to put up with this misery for another year is sadistic.

Throw your bullshite game plan out the door, give me some animal ball winners and let me watch a bunch of bloke giving their all for the jumper. Did you notice malthouse on Thursday quickly change his gsmeplan when he saw it wasn't working.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, its probably a Neeld.

Edited March 31, 201312 yr by tonatopia

I cannot say I will be too worried about loosing Sylvia or Frawley, Sylvia is just not going to put in for anyone. Frawley is living in his past glory days, every time he gets the ball i cringe, as he far too often butchers his handballs, kicks or gets caught. He is always chasing his man and usually a few yards behind at that.

Let's take it in baby steps. No point trying to get us to go from zero to hero.

This week, I'd like to see the following:

• Running. I want our players to run. Whether it's chasing, linking up, spreading, zoning, or whatever, I just want to see movement.
• Kick-ins. I'm sick of the kick-to-self, run 5 metres, then bomb it to the flank outside the 50 where Jamar and a pack of players are sitting. It's not only predictable, it's not very good anyway.
• Stoppages. At half-time in general stoppages we were down 11-1. I don't want to see Essendon continually ripping the ball out of stoppages.

That will do for now. There are so many things wrong with us, but if we come out on Saturday and we run hard, we work harder at stoppages, and we do something relatively smartish with our kick-ins, that'll be a start at least.

Essendon will destroy Melbourne next week and WC will claw away what is left of them.

I am sure Toumpas will be a good player but I must say that seeing Wines play today has me concerned.

Wines is a ready made in and under player and Toumpas looks like he will take two years to develop.

I am so sick of having to always wait on players to "build up" etc. I want to see results and I think that we may have made another draft mistake.

Why has every other club improved over the summer and we look the same? Enough is enough!

Wines would have been crap in our team today....