Win the ball in inside, work your way out of the contest through smart use of handball, move forward.

That's the blueprint and they do it better than anyone. Rarely do you see a 'bang on the boot' kick from a contested situation with these guys.

They do 'hand-ball' games all summer to help with this side of their game.

Aside from that, to have the kind of quality people like Beverage, Murphy and Bont at your club helps enormously and has clearly had a huge impact on all the players at the club.

An extremely special group. Amazing year.

I can see Goody having a similarly close relationship to our guys. It's definitely a changing of the guard in terms of 'style' of coach.

We're in good hands.

Gee I hope you are right Steve I havent got another rebuild in me dont know about you?

There is for mine one single element of the Bulldog game that you copy. It's the idea , as expressed by Bevo , that you create your OWN game and make it work.

Melbourne need to create the Melbourne game, and perfect it. You also need plan B and C but you needs skills, skills and skills. People who can actually KICK a ball properly and efficiently help no end 

No need to rebuild, we ARE building

We saw our own blueprint emerge this year. Very defensive around stoppages, accompanied by risk and adventure off half back, and strong use of the corridor. The forward set up that recieves from this allows for lots of different kind of goals. 

I am not a fan of "copying" anyone. The Hawks built their game plan around their cattle. Bulldogs did the same. Sydney did the same.  Someone above mentioned fluidity - our basic game plan has variations on how we move the ball towards Hogan, Weideman and Watts; or Weideman, Joel Smith and Hulett etc... because their strengths are different. But around stoppages and halfback we rey and be predictable for each other. 

The thing that the Bulldogs have over us is belief in themselves, belief in their teammates and belief in the club. They have a coach who makes them feel like they can achieve anything as individuals and a group. I never saw that with Roos, despite the hyperbole from his pet players. Talent helps, but this game is still played mostly above the shoulders.

A group of fully committed players can achieve anything. We still have far too many who play if and when they can be bothered. Until these are removed, we will also be a mediocre team.

  On 02/10/2016 at 01:50, Satyriconhome said:

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/how-luke-beveridge-built-the-bulldogs-up-from-brendan-mccartneys-focus-on-the-contest/news-story/e5b94059f95c2b650e19a747cf92c393

Gee this sounds familiar

Wow, outstanding article! Outstanding because the parallels between Macca/Bevo & Roos/Goody are all too plain to see.

  On 02/10/2016 at 22:07, rjay said:

You are arguing a different point so I'm not sure you do get all that.

Beveridge has been a terrific coach, not saying he hasn't.

I didn't even mention Goodwin, he has nothing to do with the point I'm making.

The point is the state of the list & club at the time Roos took over with us and Beveridge took over at the Dogs.

So you think their list was around par with ours?

All good we just don't agree on that.

Bevo has shown an ability to manufacture players from the scraps and I think he could've done that with us. But when Roos took over our midfield was Jones and Viney and we had to ship in Tyson, Cross and Vince just to be competitive. 

Losing Griffen could've hurt the Dogs, pushing Cooney and before that Cross out didn't. That shows the gap between the two lists in 2014/2015. Libba (who didn't even play), Wallis, Bont, Macrae, Hunter and Dahlhaus were ready to carry a decent load - with support from the guys Bevo got something new out of in Picken, Stevens, Jong. 

The only thing I think a better coach could've done with Melbourne the last 3 years is make faster progress. 2014 could've been more like 2015 where we won 7 games and played more 2 way footy. 2015 could've been like this year with more attack and faster ball movement. And then this year could've been a step up as well where we made the 8. It's crazy to think it could go any faster than that.

The rains had come creeping slowly along the gorge and my rainforest was wet and languid and I could light another cheroot and settle into the rhythm on the tin roof and watch the john abercrombie vinyl spinning on my rega but no I was still thrilling at the doggies so I scooted down the mountains and to my shack by the sea. 

In a cigar smoke trail I barefooted down peter street and out onto the wide golden sand with the Byron lighthouse as my southern beacon and I paddled lazily beneath the blackened sky and I caught a slow right hander that might take me all the way to mount warning silhouetted in the northwestern clouds.

Two dolphins suddenly joined me one on either side with me straddling my mal and together we rode the curl and all the while they were talking across me to each other seemingly oblivious of the glistening grey wolf between them. And you might not believe this but a wolf has the uncanny ability to engage in dolphin speak and I can tell you that the older dolphin was called Jason and the younger squatter one was known as tee vee.

Jas chortled tee vee wow woof those doggies mate are there any lessons there for us mate..tell me its a sign jas... and jas opened his left eye and winked at me and as quick as that wink was he came out with the following insight and I was walking up and down my mal straining to keep up with his story and its not easy being a surfing wolf listening to dolphins after three cheroots but I am sure it went like this....

Jas compared the doggies back seven with ours (age and games)

Morris 34/230 Roberts 23/37 Wood 29/107 Boyd 34/282 Hambling 23/23 Johansenn 24/64 Biggs 25/42

Jetta 26/90     Omak 20/13 Frost 23/36        Hunt 21/15   Tmac 24/100      Salem 21/29        Harmes 21/24 

Then our forward seven

Stringer 21/73 Cordy 20/11 picken 30/176 Smith 23/47 Boyd 21/38 Dickson 29/79 Maclean 20/19

Petracca 20/13 Weed 19/3 Watts 25/133   Kent 22/49  Hogan 21/38 Garlett 27/143 Vanders 24/24

Then jas compared midfield eights

Roughead 26/113 Bontempelli 21/63 Dahlhus 24/115 Hunter 22/62 Libba 24/98 Macrae 22/77Dunkley 19/17 Daniel 20/34

Gawn 25/57          Jones 28/219        Tyson 23/67        Stretch 20/23 Viney 22/66 Vince 31/189 Oliver 19/10 Brayshaw 20/27

 

Oh I see what you mean jas chuckled tee vee but it was lost on jas as he had already started to cut back and tee vee followed knocking the wolf off his board and into the sand and whales were spouting along the horizon and my cigar was cooling on the dune...

  On 03/10/2016 at 04:45, grey wolf said:

Oh I see what you mean jas chuckled tee vee but it was lost on jas as he had already started to cut back and tee vee followed knocking the wolf off his board and into the sand and whales were spouting along the horizon and my cigar was cooling on the dune...

  On 01/10/2016 at 10:31, mo64 said:

I been saying it for 2 years, it all comes down to the coach. Roos felt he needed 2 years of a defensive gameplan before he let the players attack. Beveridge walks in and has his team playing an attacking style, which the players embraced, but realised that it wouldn't take them all the way. Within the space of 1 preseason, Beveridge has them being the best defensive team in the comp.

And don't get me started on Roos' list of excuses when the team had a shocker. Despite having horrible luck with injury, Beveridge never made excuses, and instilled belief in his whole squad. 

Beveridge has been innovative from day one, whilst Roos felt he was just a caretaker coach whio could take the pressure off the club.

I was rapt with Roos' appointment, felt it was needed after the disasters that preceded him as coach,felt he at least built a platform to launch from in future years, and brought in excellent line  & development coaches but I cannot dispute your logic here - there is a lot of Northey at MFC 86-88 in the way Beveridge energised his team. The players send off for Roos was a 100 + point belting..