RESPONDING TO FAILURE by The Oracle

[Demonland 72,176]

Sunday's mind-numbing performance by the Demons was shocking enough but what sort of experience lies in store for the long suffering fans of the game's oldest club?

A clue to the answer to that question might have been subliminally implanted in my brain during last week's fiasco by a message they kept flashing up on the main scoreboard which kept saying, "Sleep at the G". I suspect this might have been the creation of some brain child at the club who thought it might be an interesting promotion for the club but thankfully, it's probably been shelved and put away in the same cupboard that contains Mark Neeld's game plan. Anyway, with or without the promotion, there's a fair chance based on recent history, that those of the club's supporters who come along to the G on Saturday night will be well and truly snoozing in their seats well before the half time siren sounds to awaken them from their reverie.

All kidding aside, it was a shocking performance by the team to lose first up to Port Adelaide, but is it not possible that the Power are a lot better side than most of us thought and that, even though there's no justification or excuse for it in Round 1, Melbourne was badly in off mode for the game against an aggressive emotion-charged opponent? The Demons have taken some big hits from the top of the club to the bottom, but is one swallow sufficient justification at this early stage of the season to tear the club apart with demands that the President, the Board, the CEO and the coach all fall on their swords Richmond style?

Is this the right way to respond to failure?

One Demonlander had this to say this week:-

RESOLVE LEADS TO VICTORY by MFC1858

I've failed many times and in many ways in life and football but there's so much that we can learn by understanding how we respond to failure. Failure in football is more than just losing matches. What we saw on the weekend was failure, not simply a loss.

In today's game there is so much time and effort invested by clubs in ensuring that the skills, strategies, fitness, strength and composition of teams that one could be forgiven for thinking that these are the things which
will lead to success if executed better than the opposition on any given day. The reality of the AFL is that all of these aspects of a team's preparation are more or less consistent with each other, being at the elite level. The small
differences between teams may see teams lose by a goal or two, or even five. Results like that which we saw are caused by a deficiency in something else.

Coach Mark Neeld and Captain Jack Grimes were both shocked at the result on the weekend, but maybe this is because they failed to understand what the critical elements of success in this game are.

Confidence & Resolve

Successful teams generally win games because they have either superior confidence than the opposition, because they are more resolute or both.

Confidence affects the offensive aspects of the game, whereby a confident player will swiftly position themselves in an attacking position when in possession, or move the fall swiftly to such a position.

On the other side a team lacking in confidence will hesitate when in possession, both in disposal and positioning. Confidence is somewhat fleeting, and can not be artificially imposed on players or teams, it comes from real outcomes. We often see this as scoreboard pressure - when victory is within reach confidence swells quickly, this causes momentum. The opposite of this is also true, making confidence an element of our game which leaders needs to understand but can't actually control.

Resolve concerns the game where the opposition have the ball or the ball is in dispute. A resolved individual will be determined and disciplined in attacking a loose ball, tackling, chasing an opponent or lunging for a smother. If a team's resolve is greater than the opposition, it will accumulate to stifle confidence, and possibly even break their resolve.

Once resolve is broken a football team fails, as we did on the weekend. Unlike confidence though, resolve can be developed within a team by its leaders, and this is the role that our coach and captains have at hand. What
makes this difficult is that the triggers or stimuli for resolve in individuals differ. Some people respond to criticism and failure with resolve, others respond to encouragement with resolve. It's the old you can do it/you can't do it response.

Our leaders should know which kind of approach to take to develop this resolve with every player at the club. Ruthless condemnation to those who will respond to it with resolve, and reinforcement of the strengths which they can do well for those who will respond to this. They then need to apply this personally and as a team with vigour. This is the job of a leader.

What our club needs at the moment is not changes in personnel, we've seen first hand this is not the answer to questions of success or failure.

Our club needs to develop leaders who genuinely understand what's required, and are motivated to impress this, to demand this resolve from the team. I hope that what happened last week was the wake up call that the team needed, but it needs to be used to develop resolve by our leaders.

I'd love to see the same team run out this week with resolve which leads to confidence, success and then, maybe, victory.

The supporters appear to agree that wholesale changes in personnel after one game will not solve things. A poll carried out on the site is currently showing only 33% in favour of such changes at the top.

THE GAME

Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 6 April, 2013 at 7.40pm.

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Essendon 126 wins Melbourne 80 wins 2 draws

At the MCG Essendon 63 wins Melbourne 44 wins 1 draw

Since 2000: Essendon 10 wins Melbourne 7 wins

The Coaches Hird 0 wins Neeld 1 win

MEDIA

TV Channel 7 & Fox Footy Channel at 7.30pm (live)

RADIO

THE BETTING

Essendon $1.10 to win Melbourne $7.00 to win

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 8.10.58 defeated Essendon 6.16.52 Round 10, 2012 at the MCG

Underdog Melbourne stunned the football world when it won this game by a goal against ladder leader Essendon which had looked a likely top four prospect. Coach Mark Neeld pulled some great moves including Colin Garland from defence to forward while Jack Watts slotted brilliantly into defence with a best on ground performance. The embarrassed Bombers went downhill while the Demons didn't go anywhere after this result either.

THE TEAMS

ESSENDON

Backs Mark Baguley Jake Carlisle Dustin Fletcher
Half backs Brendon Goddard Cale Hooker Brent Stanton
Centreline Dyson Heppell Jobe Watson Alwyn Davey
Half forwards Stewart Crameri Michael Hurley David Zaharakis
Forwards Nick Kommer Patrick Ryder Jake Melksham
Followers Tom Bellchambers Heath Hocking Courtenay Dempsey
Interchange Michael Hibberd Ben Howlett Jackson Merrett David Myers
Emergencies Will Hams David Hille Elliott Kavanagh

MELBOURNE

Backs Tom Gillies James Frawley Dean Terlich
Half backs Jack Watts Tom McDonald Tom Garland
Centreline Jack Grimes Jack Viney Matt Jones
Half forwards Sam Blease James Sellar Jeremy Howe
Forwards Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Shannon Byrnes
Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones
Interchange Aaron Davey Dan Nicholson Jimmy Toumpas Jack Trengove
Emergencies Cameron Pedersen David Rodan Jake Spencer

In Aaron Davey Tom McDonald Dean Terlich Jack Trengove

Out Lynden Dunn (hamstring) Cameron Petersen David Rodan Luke Tapscott

New Dean Terlich (23, Norwood, SA)

PROFESSIONALS? by The Oracle

The opposing teams both took on opposition from South Australia in Round 1 with dramatically contrasting outcomes.

Essendon crossed the border and beat Adelaide (3rd in 2012) by 35 points on its own home patch while nine days later, Melbourne went down to Port Adelaide (14th in 2012) by 79 points at the MCG.

This information alone is sufficient to suggest that the unchanged Bombers are set for an easy night on Saturday.

Melbourne has made four changes to the side that was bashed by Port Adelaide last Sunday and, on the face of it, each of the changes is a plus for the team. The players being replaced had a minimal contribution to the team effort while those coming in all have the capacity to play important roles for the team.

Of course, in order for Melbourne to be competitive (let alone win) against the Bombers, it will need more than just the four newcomers to fire up. It requires an enormous lift all over the park. It needs its players to perform like the highly paid professions they profess to be.

The Demons are coming off a six day break while the Bombers should be well rested having last played 15 days ago. Most of their players had a week off before that which makes Saturday's game only their second in 29 days. This could well be the weakness for Melbourne to exploit because, just as it came out looking lethargic and playing that way last week, there remains the possibility that its players have been stung by the reaction to their insipid first up performance. Then there's also the possibility that we've all underestimated Port Adelaide and overestimated the Crows or that the Round 1 results were aberrations.

Essendon will have a look at the way we play, and well have a look at the way theyve played, and well get out there and well see how we go. But were asking for a far more competitive presentation of our group - Melbourne coach Mark Neeld

That's it. If Essendon look at the way Melbourne played last week, it should come out this week with supreme confidence. There's no need for an analysis of match ups. If James Frawley comes out and meanders around the park as he did last week, then Michael Hurley will have a field day. Multiply that 22 times but allow for a handful of Demons who put in an effort and it's going to be a slaughter.

Time for Melbourne players to come out and look and act like professional footballers.

Essendon to win. I make no prediction as to the margin.

[binman 42,919]

The supporters appear to agree that wholesale changes in personnel after one game will not solve things. A poll carried out on the site is currently showing only 33% in favour of such changes at the top.

Pure gold.