THE AGE OF ENTITLEMENT IS OVER by George on the Outer

The Age of Entitlement is Over ...

…..so says Joe Hockey, the Federal Treasurer, and the same words may well be coming from Paul Roos the Melbourne Football Coach.

For too long now, players have been selected to wear the Red and Blue on the basis of expectation, history or just plain “no one better”. The 5 goal loss against the Swans was hopefully the last vestige of the “Entitled to a game” group.

Roos warned us to appraise the group after 5 games and while there has only been 1 win in that period for the fans, it has also been the same opportunity for him to appraise the group that he inherited.

The ¾ time huddle conference between Jack Watts, Jeremy Howe and the coach will hopefully signal the end their sense of entitlement to a game next week. Neither of these players seems to understand that their performances are visible to all and sundry. Neither seems to appreciate that with today’s media capabilities: fans are able to compare their efforts to those in other sides constantly.

And what they see they don’t like.

Is it any wonder the Bronx cheers resounded around the M.C.G whenever they went near the ball? Contrast that with the huge cheer afforded Adam Goodes when he returned to the field after a 6 month hiatus. The Fans applauded his bravery and determination, not for what he did in this match, but for what he has done before. His is a positive reputation. It is not what a number of Melbourne players have to their name.

The game itself was rather ugly. Perhaps that wasn’t unexpected with the styles already in place at Sydney and being developed at Melbourne. That the Demons were able to hold a top 4 side to a 5 goal victory is now seen as a positive, but given the disasters of last season as history, this would have turned into a 100+ point rout in 2013.

There were small positives, although more than just a few small ones are needed to boost the hopes and morale of the still long suffering supporters. Cam Pedersen showed just what an AFL level footballer should be doing all game long. He was one of the few who ran to space and made opportunity for those up-field. Backing up in the ruck with a hit-out to advantage better than any ruckman on the day was an additional bonus.

The return of Mark Jamar was a breath of fresh air. Again after a long lay-off he showed what a ruckman should be capable of with input around the ground, and not just standing in the centre circle and swatting at the ball.

Chris Dawes was another who put in plenty, but had few opportunities to work with. Importantly, he is prepared to work. He stands the goal line on kick-outs, then runs to the first contest, then runs to the next, while others are rooted to the ground that they stood when setting the zone defence. If he only had some genuine assistance, the forward line pressure would produce results.

Jones, both Nathan and Matt are setting the standard for mids at the club, ably assisted by Cross and Vince. It is the one area that Roos has bolstered positively, yet there still remains a fragility about the group, as too often the Sydney players freed the ball too easily in the pack situation. But then they are the masters of this.

May 13th is Budget night and we will all witness the carnage that the end of the Age of Entitlement will bring. For those Melbourne players who haven’t been prepared to adopt the Roos mantra, the end of their own period of entitlement may well be sooner, and more final.

Those that didn’t sign on when he coached Sydney didn’t come back. They didn’t win Premierships with un-committed players….

Melbourne 1.2.8 2.3.15 4.4.28 5.8.38

Sydney Swans 4.5.29 4.8.32 7.12.54 9.15 69

Goals

Melbourne Byrnes Dawes M Jones Salem Tyson

Sydney Jack 2 Cunningham Derickx Franklin Hannebery Kennedy McGlynn Parker

Best

Melbourne M. Jones N. Jones Vince Dunn Terlich McDonald

Sydney Hannebery Kennedy Parker Jack Shaw Rampe

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Sydney Nil

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Sydney Franklin (knee) Jetta (calf)

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Sydney Nil

Umpires Margetts Ryan Mitchell

Attendance 24,855 at the MCG

(Congratulations to those that did turn up! Even the door officials have stopped checking the tickets of Melbourne supporters as they enter the Premium areas. They are obviously not prepared to turn ANYONE away who is that resilient, having paid or not!)