Whats everyone's opinion on the effects these close losses and missed opportunities have on the phsyche of the team?

Will they continue to make the boys hungry or does wear on them after a while?

I feel it will drive the team to go that next step but what does everyone else think?

The teams response on QB is going to be fascinating.

so [censored] off at the Saints, Gold Coast, Bulldogs and Port games!!!

Should have won a couple of them at least but lost all 4 arrghhhhhhhh

Dogs and Port game the most frustrating cos we lead with 10 minutes left

Both.

This is part of the process.

It is a relief in a sense that the development is incremental for me as it will be more sustainable and concrete.

Get in positions to win, then we work out how to win consistently.

I think when you consider where we are coming from, all but the west coast game and maybe the swans game we got into a position where we could, arguably should have won, which is a massive improvement, the big thing we are lacking is composure which will come from experience,

another thing to remember is we still have a lot of players who are still really young and inexperienced, so losses are frustrating but well and truly on the right track now, the composure and wins will come, maybe another 5-6 rounds and we will have improved as much again and have Hogan looking like coming back soon

I think when you consider where we are coming from, all but the west coast game and maybe the swans game we got into a position where we could, arguably should have won, which is a massive improvement, the big thing we are lacking is composure which will come from experience,

another thing to remember is we still have a lot of players who are still really young and inexperienced, so losses are frustrating but well and truly on the right track now, the composure and wins will come, maybe another 5-6 rounds and we will have improved as much again and have Hogan looking like coming back soon

Have you heard something re Hogan , Sassy?

What Im impressed with this year is that older group that werent carrying their weight the last few years have really lifted . This has really lightened the load on the kids who will now be left to develop at their own pace. Two years ago we wouldve all been pinning our season's fortunes on Salem. This year he is a sideshow (though impressive), to the overall team's performance. the team has some real balance now

Have you heard something re Hogan , Sassy?

What Im impressed with this year is that older group that werent carrying their weight the last few years have really lifted . This has really lightened the load on the kids who will now be left to develop at their own pace. Two years ago we wouldve all been pinning our season's fortunes on Salem. This year he is a sideshow (though impressive), to the overall team's performance. the team has some real balance now

I work in the fitness industry and have worked with rehabbing from stress fractures before, I am glad the club is taking the ultra conservative approach, but I have seen people recover really quickly once they get back into training, the hardest part is easing them back into it without pushing too hard, so it's my opinion ( based on nothing to do with how Jesse himself is going, as I haven't seen much) that he may well play a couple of games at the back end of the year.

The thing I really like is people were saying we were a 10 year turnaround to play finals again last year, now we could have been 9-2 if everything fell our way, Roosy knew the talent was here and it's just going to keep shining more and more, I see us being a top 8 standard team by the end of 2014.

Have you heard something re Hogan , Sassy?

What Im impressed with this year is that older group that werent carrying their weight the last few years have really lifted . This has really lightened the load on the kids who will now be left to develop at their own pace. Two years ago we wouldve all been pinning our season's fortunes on Salem. This year he is a sideshow (though impressive), to the overall team's performance. the team has some real balance now

Well, that's Roos all over, isn't it? And it's endemic of a strong culture.

I work in the fitness industry and have worked with rehabbing from stress fractures before, I am glad the club is taking the ultra conservative approach, but I have seen people recover really quickly once they get back into training, the hardest part is easing them back into it without pushing too hard, so it's my opinion ( based on nothing to do with how Jesse himself is going, as I haven't seen much) that he may well play a couple of games at the back end of the year.

The thing I really like is people were saying we were a 10 year turnaround to play finals again last year, now we could have been 9-2 if everything fell our way, Roosy knew the talent was here and it's just going to keep shining more and more, I see us being a top 8 standard team by the end of 2014.

The boys would be up and about if Hogan got on the park for the last couple wouldnt they.

Well, that's Roos all over, isn't it? And it's endemic of a strong culture.

Looking back at 2007-2012,13, the club really was amateurish in so many ways compared to now. the ladder doesnt show it yet but in so many other aspects, MFC does now seem to be on track. Perhaps more than ever in recent history. And i am including the Northey/Balme and Daniher years. Those periods of success were great but they were still training out of Junction oval with old footys and cold showers and working out of an old house in Jolimont Street. The club was miles behind the league in off field admin in those days.

Of course winning would build confidence, and by the way be really enjoyable, but I am sure the general psyche is worlds ahead of 2013 where we were being belted every week with no improvement in sight.

We are, after all, 'only' 2 games and percentage out of the 8. :-))

Who could have believed that we would be pushing the top team so soon.

Composure and finishing confidence will come.

GO DEES

Both. We've definitely missed some opportunities along the way (St Kilda and Footscray especially) but confidence is obviously building, at a far quicker rate than I could have hoped.

If we take a step back and see how far we've come from last season, the progress really is amazing. Now we just have to learn how to win and master that killer instinct.

It's a pity that we've only just missed out ona few games now and could've been making up the top 8 if we'd won those games.

For me, I take full heart in the quality of those performances and I'm sure the players will too - even though they'd be [censored] off they didn't get the points.

The positive out of these close misses will be our position during trade and draft periods. We know our team is getting better and in theory should be an even more competitive unit next season but with more leverage at trade time, we will target and recruit those players Roosy is best at identifying.

The simple fact we are playing grown up, adult footy is good enough for me. Not that soft free-up-the-loose-man cheat footy. First teach the blokes to compete for the agate, pressure, tackle and bang bodies, then work out strategies to move the ball.

Let you know in a few months...

I think it's going to build the need to win. This isn't the demoralising impact of getting thrashed by ten goals a week. This is getting a sniff every week and falling a hair short. I think that being in a position to win and falling short is going to frustrate the hell out of them and sooner or later they will collectively have had enough and will throw everything they have at getting over the line against some decent opposition.

I don't see a negative side at all, the group is similar to we the supporters, emotionally speaking, in that it is all very exciting and positive just to be taking it up to nearly everybody given we spent years not even looking like we deserved to be an AFL side. Sure you would prefer the 4 points but my position is that I really don't care what the win/loss is at the moment, next year losing a number of close ones will probably be the difference between playing finals and not, that is a different story. All these close losses do for this season is improve our draft pick, which might be a double win if we get a compo pick for Frawley

Seems like a 2 steps forward 2 back atm.

Positives...

Much better organised in the middle and back half.

Some decent quick thinking mids by hand and foot (Tyson, Vince and Cross). Sum extra grunt to help the Jones boy out in the clinches (Viney)

Some players developing beyond expectations... Pedo & Jetta.

The addition of a leader up forward and higher up the ground (Dawesy) who can mark and kick big game/moment goals. A part timer to help him out (Chip).

The return and into some form of the big russian has helped us a little with general and center clearance work.

The spread and clean ball use/speed at which we work our way out of and away from stoppages at least until the last entry i50 has improved substantially albeit some players still arent able to move the ball on by foot accurately or quickly enough...or they choose poor options who are well covered/or dont kick to their advantage.

Problems....

Terlich and Grimes (and less often the likes of Howe/N Jones) hit/miss disposal/decision making is a major concern and impacting the scoreboard against far too often with turnovers off HB resulting in cheap goals to our opponents. Often killing momentum.

Our inability to choose the right option/and or hit lead up targets (or those lead ups inability to lose their opponent just prior to the lead... or run back into space after initial lead) when coming i50 is the double edge to our clangers at HB highlighted above.

We had the first 4 entries (or attempted entries) i50 in the opening minutes of the 3rd quarter against Port, with a chance to wrestle the game our way with a decent lead going into the last.... but we blew all 4 entries (and a few others later in the same quarter) with terrible choices/attempted passes to players who were well covered.

When we find replacements for Terlich/Grimes who are better decision makers by foot (or hopefully see them improve chance to improve this aspect of their game at Casey) and clean up our disposal with the kick/pass/decision making on that last kick i50... then we will finally start winning these winnable games.

Both

Looking back at 2007-2012,13, the club really was amateurish in so many ways compared to now. the ladder doesnt show it yet but in so many other aspects, MFC does now seem to be on track. Perhaps more than ever in recent history. And i am including the Northey/Balme and Daniher years. Those periods of success were great but they were still training out of Junction oval with old footys and cold showers and working out of an old house in Jolimont Street. The club was miles behind the league in off field admin in those days.

The "old house" at 26 Jolimont Tce was sold by the MCC over the weekend for over $4m ! I used to fantasise that the former Dees admin office may have housed our club museum .

Building momentum for mine.

And particularly pleasing is that we are very competitive on the road, as well as in Melbourne.

I think it is overwhelmingly positive. We are clearly developing self belief which is fundamental in being successful in any endeavor in life not just football. In a sense I am glad we are having some defeats along the way (how ever frustrating that might be) as Roosy continually points out the side is not yet up to the optimal level of his game plan. It is sometimes easier to drum in changed behavior after a defeat rather than victory.

No, I think we are going along nicely. I still think we will win 9 or ten games overall this year which would give us huge momentum going into next year when we will have Hogan on the park, perhaps even Clark, a fit and rejuvenated Trengove (2010 style), a more mature Viney, Salem, Tyson, Toumpas, JKH, a fit ( for a change) in front of his first full pre season Max Gawn, and even an up and running Sam Bleese (yes I still have high hope Roosy can get him firing - his outside speed would be very useful in this team) . We are starting to see the basis of our next premiership side.

Hugely exciting I reckon.

There is one way of looking at it, we could have faced teams like Hawthorn and Geelong at the start of he year when they were up and about and been creamed, whereas now when we play them we should win.

There'll be plenty of time to exact revenge against West Coast etc.

One of the major differences in psychology compared to other years is that losses will make us hungrier to win. They aren't demoralising losses that kill confidence, the players would look back on games and ask themselves "why didn't we win that?" And it'll drive them to succeed, especially when we come up against team we've already lost to.

They're missed opportunities but this year is about building a launch pad for the future.

I honestly think we can win the next 4 games.

Well we almost beat the team on top of the ladder. I don't think anyone thought we'd have the lead with 10 minutes to go, so I'd say we can win any game from here on.

After tonight I'd almost pencil in West Coast at Patersons as a certainty. Add that to GWS, Bulldogs, Bombers and Lions and we'll finish the year quite nicely. Realistically could win one of our North games, Geelong if they're still in poor form, and maybe even Hawthorn if they're still injury ravaged. There's definitely potential in there for an upset!