Talking about us right now, in relation to how poorly the Doggies are going. At least they are giving us credit for effort on Sunday.

i tell you what, Demons vs Doggies will be a very interesting game

Interesting Bomber said on the show - in the early 2000s when he took over at Catland they focused on defense.... sounds familiar haha

Interesting chat with Bomber and Rocket talking about rebuilding and footy some good insight

i tell you what, Demons vs Doggies will be a very interesting game

Dogs have a worse record then us since mid 2012 (hard to believe)

I'd still reckon the dogs would be favorite for our game in rd 14?? haha

Dogs have a worse record then us since mid 2012 (hard to believe)

I'd still reckon the dogs would be favorite for our game in rd 14?? haha

We could have a Dawes/Clark forward line by then. Tantalising.

Interesting Bomber said on the show - in the early 2000s when he took over they focused on defense.... sounds familiar haha

Interesting chat with Bomber and Rocket talking about rebuilding and footy some good insight

I think the most telling thing he said is that teams are placing more emphasis on counter attacking footy or sling shot footy.

This is the reason we can't score heavily at the moment. We have no way of creating easy scoring opportunities as we are basically slow & poor users of the footy. Hawks, Geelong etc have all drafted midfielders with pace & skill. They aren't necessarily inside mids but can still win their own footy. We don't have those players & one of the players capable of this type of footy is playing at GWS now.

We could have a Dawes/Clark forward line by then. Tantalising.

True but I think the Dogs will have the advantage with their ability of winning first hands on the ball

The other thing in their favour is when we win the ball we turn it over too easily, hence out counter attack is worst in the league.... We need to sustain pressure for 4 qtrs otherwise we'll get easily beaten IMO... The key to the MFC winning in 2013 is the press (as we are too poor on counter attack and in possession - and probbaly don't have the resources) create turnovers and score

If Stuie is about I'd love to know how we score the majority of our goals??? Stoppages, turnovers??? It's not counterattack that is for sure - we butcher the ball

As much as it is mouth watering to see Dawes and Clark play together we need ball winners to kick it to them - damn i hop Magner M Jones and Davey can continue to perform add Watts and some run and we might be ok?

I think the most telling thing he said is that teams are placing more emphasis on counter attacking footy or sling shot footy.

This is the reason we can't score heavily at the moment. We have no way of creating easy scoring opportunities as we are basically slow & poor users of the footy. Hawks, Geelong etc have all drafted midfielders with pace & skill. They aren't necessarily inside mids but can still win their own footy. We don't have those players & one of the players capable of this type of footy is playing at GWS now.

Yeah, we'd be better with Rhys Palmer, I agree.

I think the most telling thing he said is that teams are placing more emphasis on counter attacking footy or sling shot footy.

This is the reason we can't score heavily at the moment. We have no way of creating easy scoring opportunities as we are basically slow & poor users of the footy. Hawks, Geelong etc have all drafted midfielders with pace & skill. They aren't necessarily inside mids but can still win their own footy. We don't have those players & one of the players capable of this type of footy is playing at GWS now.

True Bonkers and I do take this in to account - I simply don't believe the MFC at this stage can execute - I don't want to take pot shots at players but our backline is the worst in the league for ball use IMO and that puts a ton of pressure on the whole team. I shouldn't just pot the backline we are poor all over the ground.

I guess my point is I hope we are working towards playing like Hawks, Cats etc but we don't have the personnel to execute that game plan - and I think we have to focus on the basics...

I am not supporting Neeld but he doesn't have an easy job in that regard

Rocket stuck up for us with the quip "so we should cut Melbourne some slack?"

i tell you what, Demons vs Doggies will be a very interesting game

Only for the supporters....

I think the most telling thing he said is that teams are placing more emphasis on counter attacking footy or sling shot footy.

This is the reason we can't score heavily at the moment. We have no way of creating easy scoring opportunities as we are basically slow & poor users of the footy. Hawks, Geelong etc have all drafted midfielders with pace & skill. They aren't necessarily inside mids but can still win their own footy. We don't have those players & one of the players capable of this type of footy is playing at GWS now.

Not true. Our rebound 50 stats are actually pretty good. It's actually just the middle of the ground where we are smashed.

i tell you what, Demons vs Doggies will be a very interesting game

Possibly if it were at the G - but if we played Nan Nar Goon thirds at Docklands we would struggle. It is all in the psyche.

True Bonkers and I do take this in to account - I simply don't believe the MFC at this stage can execute - I don't want to take pot shots at players but our backline is the worst in the league for ball use IMO and that puts a ton of pressure on the whole team. I shouldn't just pot the backline we are poor all over the ground.

I guess my point is I hope we are working towards playing like Hawks, Cats etc but we don't have the personnel to execute that game plan - and I think we have to focus on the basics...

I am not supporting Neeld but he doesn't have an easy job in that regard

That is just not true.

We are ranked 2nd in Team to Opponent rebound 50s per game diff. Clearly we ARE rebounding.

Don't know how many times it needs to be said, IT'S THE MIDFIELD.

Rocket stuck up for us with the quip "so we should cut Melbourne some slack?"

maybe hes secretly signed as our coach for 2014 and beyond lol

We could have a Dawes/Clark forward line by then. Tantalising.

Ah -- if only we had a midfield who could deliver he ball to them, aided and abetted by a ruckman who could manufacture clearances, not just rack up huge numbers of hit outs..

True Bonkers and I do take this in to account - I simply don't believe the MFC at this stage can execute - I don't want to take pot shots at players but our backline is the worst in the league for ball use IMO and that puts a ton of pressure on the whole team. I shouldn't just pot the backline we are poor all over the ground.

I guess my point is I hope we are working towards playing like Hawks, Cats etc but we don't have the personnel to execute that game plan - and I think we have to focus on the basics...

I am not supporting Neeld but he doesn't have an easy job in that regard

It could also be argued that turnovers are being created because the players aren't running hard enough into space or to make space to create an easy out. I agree we have some poor users of the ball in the backline but I don't think it's our biggest issue.

It's quite obvious all teams are going for this style of football. We shouldn't draft & coach to follow this strategy but draft & coach to beat this style. Counter attacking football is quite similar to soccer but it's very limiting & allows the other team to dictate the game. However It creates easy goal oppurtunities if you can intercept & move quickly. The only way to beat this style is to possess the ball or to leave numbers behind the ball as a safety net. We will probably still need to draft the same type of players anyway but Neeld should be coaching to get ahead of the trend already.

Doggies have minimal key position players that look to be any good coming through but have a strong midfield. Dees have lots of Key position but no midfield.

One club we may be able to overtake in the coming years as midfielders are easier to find than key position players, although we have managed to mess this up over previous years.

More development into current mids such as Trengove, Viney, Toumpas, Evans, M. Jones and a couple of good additions say like Prestia and the wheel may turn quicker than we think.

Not true. Our rebound 50 stats are actually pretty good. It's actually just the middle of the ground where we are smashed.

What's the disposal differential after each game & why are we always behind in uncontested possessions?

What's the disposal differential after each game & why are we always behind in uncontested possessions?

The zone. That's the short answer.

That is just not true.

We are ranked 2nd in Team to Opponent rebound 50s per game diff. Clearly we ARE rebounding.

Don't know how many times it needs to be said, IT'S THE MIDFIELD.

Isn't that just because the ball is always in our defensive 50?

You would think our defence would be pretty good at rebounding by now!

The zone. That's the short answer.

The zone doesn't explain why we can't retain possession.

The zone doesn't explain why we can't retain possession.

IMO we can't retain possession because we don't work nearly hard enough, when we ( very rarely ) play at our best, we chase, tackle harass and make things very uncomfortable for the other team, i don't think we have done that for even a quarter so far this year.

The zone doesn't explain why we can't retain possession.

It does partly, and it also explains why we give up so many uncontested possessions.

We are in the wrong spots, and are unsure when and where to run and if we should break away from the zone.

IMO we can't retain possession because we don't work nearly hard enough, when we ( very rarely ) play at our best, we chase, tackle harass and make things very uncomfortable for the other team, i don't think we have done that for even a quarter so far this year.

They tackled & harassed equal to the tigers yesterday yet still didn't have anywhere near there disposal count. Skills & hard running is the reason IMO.