Jump to content

SEN BREAKFAST INTERVIEW WITH NEALE DANIHER

Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

On Friday, the Morning Glory boys Ian, Billy and Tim interviewed Melbourne coach Neal Daniher. Billy Brownless introduced the Demon coach noting that this was his tenth year at the helm and pointing out that it's going to be a big year.

Neale Daniher: Big year. They're all big Billy!

Billy: I haven't heard you lately. A couple of years ago you were the Reverend. You were on your soapbox. Spruiking Melbourne. This and that. You've quietened down the last couple.

Neale: Bad news sells Billy. That's why we've been very quiet because we’re just going along beautifully at the moment. You just tune in to the Blues and whoever else is in trouble. We're just going along nicely.

Tim: How beautifully are you going Neale?

Neale: As beautifully as you can go at this stage Tim. What you've got to be concerned about this time of the year is not having any injuries. We listen to a Nick Riewoldt do a hamstring and I guess over the next few weeks you’ve got your heart in your mouth. You start to do play some practice games, intraclub and you just have your fingers crossed that none of your stars or anyone gets injured over the next three or four weeks.

Tim: Neale, we keep reading that everybody's training harder than they ever did before because they want to keep pace with the Adelaide Crows. Is this the new trend in the AFL is it?

Neale: I wouldn't have thought so Tim. Some clubs I think may have re-adjusted from a power based programme. It does go in trends. The Brisbane Lions won three in a row and you recall the size of them and the power they had and the big bodies. Maybe clubs have toggled. I think the Kangaroos have adjusted and St. Kilda has adjusted. We haven't adjusted. But that's where that's come from Tim - when the Brisbane Lions got into four grand finals everyone may have thought that the speed/power was the way to go but it's still an endurance sport.

Tim: What's been your concentration then, the key thing that you identify that you needed to improve with your group over the summer?

Neale: Just our young players Tim. We think we've got some real exciting players like Bartram - he's only a year in. We've got a mini veteran like Brock McLean who’s only 20. We think that Bartam, Bate, Bell and Dunn, Jones who came into the side late last year with five games, McLean, Moloney, Sylvia - those sort of blokes - we think they're really going to improve us in the next year. That's been our focus.

We're sort of fine-tuning our game. We've got to get better on the long grounds. We felt we weren't as competitive as we would have liked to be at Subi and AAMI. We'd like to adjust our game to run and carry a little bit more but most of our focus is on these younger players who have got a lot of improvement in them.

Tim: So do you think you've been picking the wrong sides, that you've been taking the wrong personnel over to those big grounds or is just the game plan?

Neale: I think two things. We've been very, very successful at the MCG where we've won 11 out of 12 or 12 out of 13 and then it's a combination of both personnel and game plan. Everyone in the inner sanctum of the AFL knows that we're predominantly a kicking team rather than a handball team and we've been working on having a number of game plans that we can turn to depending on what sort of ground we're on.

Ian: You spoke about Brock McLean. Two questions. Is he a future captain and what's happening with the captaincy at the Dees?

Neale: The answer is that Brock is definitely a future captain at some stage. We've got a five man leadership group which the players have had the major input into and the captain will come from that group which is David Neitz, Cameron Bruce, Brock McLean, Brad Green and James McDonald and that will be announced prior to the Nab pre Cup competition.

Ian: I mean normally if you're going to stick to the incumbent you just let it roll on but with those sort of noises you're making is there a chance that there is a change in the guard at the Dees?

Neale: Not bad Ian. Not bad, you're trying to get the announcement through this morning?

Ian: I am yes.

Neale: Good effort. I'll give you a B+ for that one. Well done.

Ian: Well, that's better than I ever got at school.

Billy: Neale, are you spying on any or all of the other clubs?

Neale: No. We've got one of our guys just starting to have a look Billy but we haven't been focussing to much on what the other clubs have been doing. We're just focussing on what we’re doing and how we're going to get better.

Tim: And are you going all out for the pre season competition Neale? How do you approach that?

Neale: Our major priority is to have everyone up and going for the round one game, Tim. We'll go into the Nab Cup to win it but we also want to be able to have a look at a number of young players and give them opportunities. You know, Lynden Dunn and these sorts of boys need some game time. Mark Jamar finished the year injured, Paul Johnson is a ruckman we want to have a look at so it’s always a mixture Tim. We want to see which young players are ready to take the step up and help us in the home and away series.

Ian: Question off the SMS. Brad Miller. How's he travelling at the moment

Neale: Brad is travelling well. He had osteitis pubis this time last year and wasn't training because of it and we had a number of boys who had that complaint. Brent Moloney missed most of the year with it. Brad Miller's 100% and is training really well. Brent Moloney's progressing really well and he'll play in round 1 and will play during the Nab Cup.

Tim: Just before we let you go we know you always head home to Ungarie for the Christmas game with the boys in the back yard for cricket. How did that go this summer?

Neale: Not too bad Tim. We had the Danihers versus the town and very controversially the town got up this year. We've got some suspicion that the town supplied the scorers with more beer than what we did but we'll re-group and there is some word that Terry Daniher will be dropped for next year's game for poor performance but we’ll have a look at that and we'll make a big comeback next year.

Ian: We appreciate your time. One last chance. No news on the man who's going to toss the coin?

Neale: We'll make an announcement before the Nab Cup.

Ian: Good luck on the Nab Cup and for season 2007.

[Thanks to Alpha33 for transcribing the interview]

  • Quote
    •  

    Thank you for an excellent write up of the interview. At last I am starting to get excited about the season.

    It is unusual the way they are avoiding the captaincy announcement. Do they always wait this long ?

  • Quote

    Thanks for that write up- 2007 season is nearly upon us

    It is unusual the way they are avoiding the captaincy announcement. Do they always wait this long ?

    I guess they do this to keep us guessing until the season starts

  • Quote
    •  

    I cant remember them ever doing this, but let's face it David Neitz will be the captain in 2007.

  • Quote
    It is unusual the way they are avoiding the captaincy announcement. Do they always wait this long ?

    From memory they always leave it this late to officially announce it, but it's been a while since there was speculation that Neitz might not go again.

    It's obviously being left up to him, because I'm sure the club wants him to captain for at least another year.

    Given that Neale has ruled McLean out for 2007, I really truely hope the club is just holding out on us for no big reason. I can't see anyone doing a better job than Neita in the short term. Besides, he deserves every opportunity to captain us to a flag.

    If a change really is about to happen, then the 2 candidates are pretty obvious.... Bruce and Green.

    Problem is, one isn't a good enough leader, the other isn't a good enough player.

  • Quote

    There's nothing more certain than Neita being captain this season. As for 2008, we'll see.

    Spot on Bob.

    The last thing we need at this stage in our team's development is one of our better players/leaders being burdened with all that extra pressure.

    Why rock the boat now?

    BTW isn't the captaincy something they announce at the family day?

    Go Dees

  • Quote
    Spot on Bob.

    The last thing we need at this stage in our team's development is one of our better players/leaders being burdened with all that extra pressure.

    Why rock the boat now?

    BTW isn't the captaincy something they announce at the family day?

    Go Dees

    Neitz is certain to be skipper this year but there's a lot of high praise for young Brock there. Hopefully, he will continue to go from strength to strength and take his mate Colin up with him.

  • Quote
    •  

    Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • NON-MFC: Round 13

      Follow all the action from every Round 13 clash excluding the Dees as the 2025 AFL Premiership Season rolls on. With Melbourne playing in the final match of the round on King's Birthday, all eyes turn to the rest of the competition. Who are you tipping to win? And more importantly, which results best serve the Demons’ finals aspirations? Join the discussion and keep track of the matches that could shape the ladder and impact our run to September.

        • Thanks
      • 17 replies
      Demonland

    • PREVIEW: Collingwood

      Having convincingly defeated last year’s premier and decisively outplayed the runner-up with 8.2 in the final quarter, nothing epitomized the Melbourne Football Club’s performance more than its 1.12 final half, particularly the eight consecutive behinds in the last term, against a struggling St Kilda team in the midst of a dismal losing streak. Just when stability and consistency were anticipated within the Demon ranks, they delivered a quintessential performance marked by instability and ill-conceived decisions, with the most striking aspect being their inaccuracy in kicking for goal, which suggested a lack of preparation (instead of sleeping in their hotel in Alice, were they having a night on the turps) rather than a well-rested team. Let’s face it - this kicking disease that makes them look like raw amateurs is becoming a millstone around the team’s neck.

        • Thanks
      • 1 reply
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Sydney

      The Casey Demons were always expected to emerge victorious in their matchup against the lowly-ranked Sydney Swans at picturesque Tramway Oval, situated in the shadows of the SCG in Moore Park. They dominated the proceedings in the opening two and a half quarters of the game but had little to show for it. This was primarily due to their own sloppy errors in a low-standard game that produced a number of crowded mauls reminiscent of the rugby game popular in old Sydney Town. However, when the Swans tired, as teams often do when they turn games into ugly defensive contests, Casey lifted the standard of its own play and … it was off to the races. Not to nearby Randwick but to a different race with an objective of piling on goal after goal on the way to a mammoth victory. At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, the Demons held a slender 14-point lead over the Swans, who are ahead on the ladder of only the previous week's opposition, the ailing Bullants. Forty minutes later, they had more than fully compensated for the sloppiness of their earlier play with a decisive 94-point victory, that culminated in a rousing finish which yielded thirteen unanswered goals. Kicks hit their targets, the ball found itself going through the middle and every player made a contribution.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 1 reply
      Demonland

    • REPORT: St. Kilda

      Hands up if you thought, like me, at half-time in yesterday’s game at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs that Melbourne’s disposal around the ground and, in particular, its kicking inaccuracy in front of the goals couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. And what’s even more damning for the Melbourne Football Club is that the game against St Kilda and its resurgence from the bottomless pit of its miserable start to the season wasn’t just lost through poor conversion for goal but rather in the 15 minutes when the entire team went into a slumber and was mugged by the out-of-form Saints. Their six goals two behinds (one goal less than the Demons managed for the whole game) weaved a path of destruction from which they were unable to recover. Ross Lyon’s astute use of pressure to contain the situation once they had asserted their grip on the game, and Melbourne’s self-destructive wastefulness, assured that outcome. The old adage about the insanity of repeatedly doing something and expecting a different result, was out there. Two years ago, the score line in Melbourne’s loss to the Giants at this same ground was 5 goals 15 behinds - a ratio of one goal per four scoring shots - was perfectly replicated with yesterday’s 7 goals 21 behinds. 
      This has been going on for a while and opens up a number of questions. I’ll put forward a few that come to mind from this performance. The obvious first question is whether the club can find a suitable coach to instruct players on proper kicking techniques or is this a skill that can no longer be developed at this stage of the development of our playing group? Another concern is the team's ability to counter an opponent's dominance during a run on as exemplified by the Saints in the first quarter. Did the Demons underestimate their opponents, considering St Kilda's goals during this period were scored by relatively unknown forwards? Furthermore, given the modest attendance of 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park and the team's poor past performances at this venue, is it prudent to prioritize financial gain over potentially sacrificing valuable premiership points by relinquishing home ground advantage, notwithstanding the cultural significance of the team's connection to the Red Centre? 

        • Thanks
      • 4 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Collingwood

      After a disappointing loss in Alice Springs the Demons return to the MCG to take on the Magpies in the annual King's Birthday Big Freeze for MND game. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
      • 232 replies
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: St. Kilda

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 2nd June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we have a chat with former Demon ruckman Jeff White about his YouTube channel First Use where he dissects ruck setups and contests. We'll then discuss the Dees disappointing loss to the Saints in Alice Springs.
      Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
      Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

        • Thanks
      • 47 replies
      Demonland
    View All