Peter Jackson asked unsigned members to wait till round 5 and judge the performance of the club then. Take out the west coast game, throw Dawes in at round one, Mumford gets injured 2 weeks earlier, we play the same 4 qtr effort against Gold Coast like we did against Carlton then members would be swarming back. Surely? But those things didn't happen and we are 1 and 4. But..... Instead of averaging 122 points against we are averaging 82 and there has been big changes both on and off the field. So for unsigned members, is this enough?

1-4 isn't ideal but aside from the WCE game I don't think you could have asked for much more. We were borderline VFL material last season, and we are still crap but we've improved a lot on 2013. I think we'll end up with 4-5 wins, and I don't think that is too bad all things considered (Also expect us to be much more competitive).

That WC game and the dearth of tall players for a month really hurt.

Took the steam out, a real punch to the membership gut...

Come out and beat Sydney and it is restored however...

Yep, if we had Hogan, Dawes and Clark from the start of the year I reckon we would have 2k more members.

maybe judge after 6 not 5 ?

Peter Jackson asked unsigned members to wait till round 5 and judge the performance of the club then. Take out the west coast game, throw Dawes in at round one, Mumford gets injured 2 weeks earlier, we play the same 4 qtr effort against Gold Coast like we did against Carlton then members would be swarming back. Surely? But those things didn't happen and we are 1 and 4. But..... Instead of averaging 122 points against we are averaging 82 and there has been big changes both on and off the field. So for unsigned members, is this enough?

The direction the club is taking, was enough for me to resign, as finances allowed. I said I would, if Roosy signed on.

They are making IMO, sensible decisions, & I hope they keep the hard earned game motto true.

Getting a game in a Red & Blue jumper has to mean something. we went the other way in recent years, & it showed all of us, it doesn't work. just cheapened the jumper & club.

I am comfortable with the direction of the club and have faith the guys in charge know what needs to be done. My only concern is how long they are sticking around for. The performance of the team has been light years ahead of last season with the exception of round 2.

However I'm a rusted on tragic who renews each October so I'm not one of the target audience.

we've played 4 sides who are crap in general or crap on the day we played them, we should be up 4-1. The only real side we've played murdered us. So no, not happy.

we've played 4 sides who are crap in general or crap on the day we played them, we should be up 4-1. The only real side we've played murdered us. So no, not happy.

St Kilda beat Essendon.

Gold Coast are expected to challenge for finals.

GWS have a ridiculous amount of talent.

Carlton played finals last year.

Come back out of the wardrobe Caspian...

We genuinely should've won the games against the Saints and the Suns.

West Coast was an unmitigated disaster.

Carlton was a bloody great win, and not one I had pencilled in prior to the start of the season.

GWS - like the few weeks prior, hard to win sans a forward line, especially away from home. GWS are no mugs, at Metricon at least. Could've won it - ultimately didn't deserve to.

1 from 5. Not great.

That it should be 3 from 5 is bloody brilliant though, especially given that we've not really had a forward line for most of that time.

So yep - I'm judging it favourably. And that I'm annoyed that it's not 3, possibly 4, from 5 serves to demonstrate just how far we've come under Roos.

I love Paul Roos.

Like Gonzo, I'm just sweating on some crucial signatures before the end of the year: Roos, Jackson, Frawley, Dunn and a couple of not yet known big names from other clubs.

Edit - iPad typo

That it should be 3 from 5 is bloody brilliant though, especially given that we've not really had a forward line for most of that time.

So yep - I'm judging it favourably. And that I'm annoyed that it's not 3, possibly 4, from 5 serves to demonstrate just how far we've come under Roos.

This.

St Kilda beat Essendon. But were pretty hopeless when we got them and we still couldn't put them away

Gold Coast are expected to challenge for finals. Believe it when I see it.

GWS have a ridiculous amount of talent. Which won 2 games last year.

Carlton played finals last year. And who were 0-4 by the time we'd met them.

Come back out of the wardrobe Caspian...

We're improving, definitely, but not even close yet.

St Kilda beat Essendon.

Gold Coast are expected to challenge for finals.

GWS have a ridiculous amount of talent.

Carlton played finals last year.

Come back out of the wardrobe Caspian...

We genuinely should've won the games against the Saints and the Suns.

West Coast was an unmitigated disaster.

Carlton was a bloody great win, and not one I had pencilled in prior to the start of the season.

GWS - like the few weeks prior, hard to win sans a forward line, especially away from home. GWS are no mugs, at Metricon at least. Could've won it - ultimately didn't deserve to.

1 from 5. Not great.

That it should be 3 from 5 is bloody brilliant though, especially given that we've not really had a forward line for most of that time.

So yep - I'm judging it favourably. And that I'm annoyed that it's not 3, possibly 4, from 5 serves to demonstrate just how far we've come under Roos.

I love Paul Roos.

Like Gonzo, I'm just sweating on some crucial signatures before the end of the year: Roos, Jackson, Frawley, Dunn and a couple of not yet known big names from other clubs.

Edit - iPad typo

Realistically, I think we are tracking OK. Not great, but OK. Let's not forget just how bad we were 12 months ago, I certainly haven't.

However I worry that we haven't faced any of the REAL powerhouses and bogey teams yet (Freo, Geel, Hawks, Kangaroos, Coll), but I can see us snagging a couple of wins here and there against the others. 5-17 and a much-improved percentage is probably the best we can hope for.

Realistically, I think we are tracking OK. Not great, but OK. Let's not forget just how bad we were 12 months ago, I certainly haven't.

However I worry that we haven't faced any of the REAL powerhouses and bogey teams yet (Freo, Geel, Hawks, Kangaroos, Coll), but I can see us snagging a couple of wins here and there against the others. 5-17 and a much-improved percentage is probably the best we can hope for.

I share your worry about all of those teams. I'm truly frightened at what Hawthorn might do to us.

Typically, we'll probably get Collingwood just as they've shaken off the last of the cobwebs and they'll give us an almighty reaming.

St Kilda beat Essendon.

Gold Coast are expected to challenge for finals.

GWS have a ridiculous amount of talent.

Carlton played finals last year.

Come back out of the wardrobe Caspian...

I also find it amusing that the bloke who used to jump down all and sundry's throats if they ever dared challenge the wisdom of CS's tanki... err... 'list management' strategy is now complaining about mediocrity and lack of competitiveness. Miracles will never cease.

Ok so there has been one disaster game, the rest we have at least been in with a shot at 3 quarter time and we've knocked off our first win a lot earlier than in previous years.

I think most would be able to say we've improved, we still lack that cut throat ability to take the game by the scruff when it's there for the taking. We had opportunities against the Saints and GC, even v GWS we kicked the first goal of the last term and that should've given us momentum but instead GWS showed they wanted it more.

We were unlucky against the Saints, we basically beat them everywhere except where it counts, on the scoreboard. Losing Fitzy to concussion early and having a our best FB playing on now one of the form forwards in the comp conspired to hurt us, not to mention our poor kicking.

GC let us back in the game but no one was able to take the game into our own hands, in some ways it's the loss that hurts the most because it was a great opportunity to build momentum.

Ultimately I think we should have at least one more win on the board, but if people can't see the improvement than they aren't watching the game. It's still only baby steps.

At this stage it's just a pass. The lack of forward options in the first few games really hurt and almost certainly cost us a win against the Saints.

If we had grabbed a win out of Saints or Suns I'd bump it up to a credit. The fact is we didn't. But the improvement on last season is there for anyone with their eyes open to see.

Ok so there has been one disaster game, the rest we have at least been in with a shot at 3 quarter time and we've knocked off our first win a lot earlier than in previous years.

I think most would be able to say we've improved, we still lack that cut throat ability to take the game by the scruff when it's there for the taking. We had opportunities against the Saints and GC, even v GWS we kicked the first goal of the last term and that should've given us momentum but instead GWS showed they wanted it more.

We were unlucky against the Saints, we basically beat them everywhere except where it counts, on the scoreboard. Losing Fitzy to concussion early and having a our best FB playing injured on now one of the form forwards in the comp conspired to hurt us, not to mention our poor kicking.

GC let us back in the game but no one was able to take the game into our own hands, in some ways it's the loss that hurts the most because it was a great opportunity to build momentum.

Ultimately I think we should have at least one more win on the board, but if people can't see the improvement than they aren't watching the game. It's still only baby steps.

Look, the question is judge us after 5 rounds.

While i am quite disappointed being 1-4, considering we could easily be 4-1 (based on the situations we have been in the other games we lost).

I am very happy with the progress we have made. It appears as if we have a very young, yet competitive midfield which will only get better.

Still lacking a quality half back line, Toump and Salem to hopefully slot right in there.

The forward line will inevitably be better when Hogan and someone else is down there. Dawes doing a great job and loving Dean Kent.

I am optimistic if we can keep this up, i know we can snag some upset wins.

We genuinely should've won the games against the Saints and the Suns.

West Coast was an unmitigated disaster.

Carlton was a bloody great win, and not one I had pencilled in prior to the start of the season.

GWS - like the few weeks prior, hard to win sans a forward line, especially away from home. GWS are no mugs, at Metricon at least. Could've won it - ultimately didn't deserve to.

1 from 5. Not great.

That it should be 3 from 5 is bloody brilliant though, especially given that we've not really had a forward line for most of that time.

So yep - I'm judging it favourably. And that I'm annoyed that it's not 3, possibly 4, from 5 serves to demonstrate just how far we've come under Roos.

I love Paul Roos.

Like Gonzo, I'm just sweating on some crucial signatures before the end of the year: Roos, Jackson, Frawley, Dunn and a couple of not yet known big names from other clubs.

Edit - iPad typo

Why should we "genuinely have won"? Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?

Reality is that unsigned members are unsigned because the club isn't winning games. Improvement will not be enough short term to attract people to games apart from the faithful that have sat through 100-point losses.

The diehards will judge this team after 5 rounds and say they have improved.

The bandwagoners that signed up after 2010 that dropped off after 2011, 2012, are not going to sign up again until they aren't embarrassed to have a Melbourne sticker on their car.

Let's face reality here: the club needs to start winning games if it wants to achieve its off-field goals. That's not to invalidate the team's growth and improvement, but what we've seen so far will really only satisfy those with a strong knowledge of the game. Otherwise, it's just another 4 losses, one of which was a 100-point loss, and two against teams that have three wooden spoons between them in 3 seasons. That is not going to having people rushing back to buy memberships.

It's imperative the club wins at least 6 games this season. Otherwise, growing membership next year will be very, very tough.

Is the club still optimistic about breaking even this year? Its two home games so far have been against the Eagles and Suns, both would have been substantial losses.

The first two rounds are the most important for attracting members: one was at Etihad, which Melbourne fans hate, the other was at the MCG where we lost by 100-points and played Neeld-era football.

Yeah, there's improvement...comparatively. But so far as growing as a CLUB, it needs to win more games.

What happens if it goes into Round 10 bye 1-8? That would be no more an improvement than in 2013. Statistically, maybe there's an improvement, but for those that dropped off and didn't resign as members, it'll be the same old.

It's a lot more complex than "improving". You need to win games.

I was filthy after Sunday. My girlfriend fed me the typical "at least they only lost by 8 points". I am sick of that rhetoric.

We've improved, but overall im disappointed, especially only winning one game to date.

I thought we would be a bit more desperate and aggressive, but looked rather meek in all games bar Carlton.

Still have to learn how to play four quarters of footy.

Percentage is up to 69%. Points against we are 9th in the comp despite our full back playing at full forward. Points for we are clear last although losing Clark, Hogan injured, Gawn/Fitzy injured or out of form, Dawes missing the first 3 weeks.

Anyway I remember Roos saying there will be a game plan by week 5 and I think there is. Contested ball needs to improve but it is a focus, being stout defensively and still a focus on possession game style.

Considering where we came from to have a win in the bank and to have been right in the contest in 3 other games has to be considered something.

Sydney, Adel (away), Dogs, Richmond. We simply have to win one of the next 4 otherwise the players will lose confidence again.

We have already passed last years membership total, aiming for 35000

We genuinely should've won the games against the Saints and the Suns.

West Coast was an unmitigated disaster.

Carlton was a bloody great win, and not one I had pencilled in prior to the start of the season.

GWS - like the few weeks prior, hard to win sans a forward line, especially away from home. GWS are no mugs, at Metricon at least. Could've won it - ultimately didn't deserve to.

1 from 5. Not great.

That it should be 3 from 5 is bloody brilliant though, especially given that we've not really had a forward line for most of that time.

So yep - I'm judging it favourably. And that I'm annoyed that it's not 3, possibly 4, from 5 serves to demonstrate just how far we've come under Roos.

I love Paul Roos.

Like Gonzo, I'm just sweating on some crucial signatures before the end of the year: Roos, Jackson, Frawley, Dunn and a couple of not yet known big names from other clubs.



Edit - iPad typo

Roos wants to develop from within, which bit of him repeatedly saying that don't people get, Cross and Vince will probably be it (would only assume we would make a play for a 'superstar'), I reckon we will be looking more for another Riley or Michie or Georgiou

Agree with Cudi. Outside of a couple wilfully blind rah-rah merchants Landers can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

To the bandwagoners that will make up the 36k-45k members we want over the next few years - all they see is more darkness that we are travelling through.

We need a big statement to get half of them onboard this season. Otherwise we will have to continue the small improvements and get them next year or the year after.

They want to rock up to a QB game and have their friends and the voices on the radio tell them we are a chance.

Until that mindset happens - our support and membership will stay where it is.