We could have fallen off the cliff after the final round  heartbreak of 2016 and been the same old Melbourne.

Instead we went to another level.  I dont believe complacency will be an issue, this is a team of hungry animals.

I don't think its about complacency, particularly with the personalities we have and the spark from the way we finished the year. It will be can we handle true expectation. We are expected to make finals and expected to be a contender. We will be the hunted most weeks, one of those teams the opposition set themselves for. 

We also can’t rest on our laurels. 

Edited January 12, 20196 yr by Ethan Tremblay

37 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

We also can’t rest on our laurels. 

Del Santo, one of my least favourite commentators.

One thing they must avoid....

really? Der!

no evidence this is remotely in play.

we should also avoid playing with funnel web spiders, drinking bleach and dwarf burning.  

Idiotic piece of summer filler journalism.

I can't see complacency being an issue.

However expectation is high.

The question I have and the logic that follows is that we have been on a steady upwards trajectory since PJ and Roos came on board.

At some point there will be a dip.

Can we go all the way with incremental forward movement towards the flag from here?

Can we get that flag before the dip?

Or will we take a step back?

Will Demonland meltdown if we drop back this year?

There are no guarantees in football (as in life). I've heard a number of our supporters say that 2020 is our year, it's when we will be ripe and ready.

Maybe, but we're in the so called window now so we need to snag one in the next few seasons.

Interesting times ahead and maybe a few meltdowns along the way.

Be prepared for the bumps...

We have set ourselves up to be a contender and the window is wide open therefore l am going to enjoy the ride smooth or rough and ride it home to the line this year and the next and so on. IMO the list is well balanced and barring any major injuries the dream is real. 

We can drop our percentage and we might kick less goals however we will stop the leaking in our backline We can also grind some wins as l believe they, our list is now  more talented and most of all smarter as it comes down to experience.   

We haven't dropped our heads from that WCE loss and come round 1  we will be ready to go.

The lessons in complacencies have been smattered across the last couple of seasons. You would’ve thought the Collingwood disaster in the final round of 2017 was a huge enough lesson but we continued dropping games against the likes of the Saints, Geelong and Sydney when we should’ve won and the awful spanking from the Hawks.

I feel as though the group fully realised the stakes at play when we rolled the Eagles here in Perth last year to book our finals seat. Our blitzing streak right through to the Preliminary final was from a team that was determined to win but ultimately met a team that was even more hell bent on winning and the same team that kicked off our streak. 

To me, the prelim lesson was the one that will set us up for a real crack at a flag. 

A fit Lever, the addition of May and a break out season from Weideman will have us fully loaded.

 

Complacency, not sure who, if anybody, he is judging this on

Every player I have spoken has one aim at the moment, to be in the Rd 1 team, knowing the competition is going to be fierce

Besides which Gawn and Viney would never allow it

I just hope that last game has been analysed to bu##ery down at MFC Headquarters before and after XMAS because that is NOT to happen in The Season or The Finals. I don't mind if we have the personnel to do it to others........but not us. 

I want to notice a brute(s) I want to see different game plans and lots of players used/ spread out through the Season.

Dropping the games last season against the below sides all had reasons not necessarily complacency.

Geeong R1 Negative coaching keeping extra man in defence I'm last quarter and a msn short in forward line meant we didn't score from many forward entries. Still should have won with Maxies kick!

Hawks R4 Bad day all round in wet Started well but lost contact with Hawks on ballers and were dismantled like many previous occasions in the last decade by Hawks precise teamwork.

Tigers R5  Nowhere near as bad as many Dees fans said. Held dangerous Tigers till we kicked first goal in last quarter then floodgates opened. Defence solid but attack inefficient by and large.

Pies R 12 After 6 big wins our midfield was comprehensively smashed. Too many players in fir ball together and no outside runners matching up enabling Pies to control the ball Cic a threat all day as well.

R14 Port  Should  Have Won, again forward line impotent but lead of 3 goals withered down in last quarter. Tried our hearts out in a courageous effort.

R15 Saints 3 point loss but flattered us really. Probably selection of Harry Petty did not help defence but this was the loss that on ladder was a 2017 repeat.

R18 Cats At GHMBA Last quarter lapse and defence going through growing pains.Refusal to put Frost on Hawkins and about a dozen mistakes in the last 10 mins pivotal. Why does Nev get caught against a taller opponent. Coaching issue? 8 more scoring shots!!.

R21 Swans    Horrific forward work and lack of accuracy  again cruelled our chances.Swans smarter but again we were our own worst enemy. 6 more shots!

Prelim less said the better see vs Pies for part reason per midfield but bad bad day.

So IMO our forward line and coaching game day and selection are more pertinent in 2018 than complacency.

Still overall a wonderful end (Prelim excepted) and best season for 18 years.Are now considered a real contender and respect pretty much from all AFL is universal. Expectations are on the agenda but our group seem hungry Motivated and unified ready for the challenge. Supporter base is holding its collective but enormously positive breath for 2019 to finally end the greatest drought currently in the AFL and indeed for the Mighy Demons.

1 hour ago, Satyriconhome said:

Complacency, not sure who, if anybody, he is judging this on

Every player I have spoken has one aim at the moment, to be in the Rd 1 team, knowing the competition is going to be fierce

Besides which Gawn and Viney would never allow it

Couldn't agree more. There will be some very good players not getting a game in round 1. In past we gifted ordinary players a game because we had no depth. Different now. Players will be fighting tooth and nail to get a game which augers well for us NOT getting complacent.

This goes into the bucket of articles that didn’t need to be written. Next week Dal Santo is writing a piece on how water is wet. 

Edited January 13, 20196 yr by Ethan Tremblay

Complacency - hunger, it's the same thing and it's what every club is wary of. 

I agree with @Ethan Tremblay. It's most definitely an issue, but it's so obvious it doesn't need mentioning. 

 

Yes it is an issue the Leaders of the club will be well aware of. 

Just remember Max’s Speech at the B&F

 

Dal Santo's comments are on the mark, but having listened to Maximus G at the BnF I doubt complacency is an issue.

That headline is so 2017.

2 minutes ago, mauriesy said:

That headline is so 2017.

Yes it is a shocking headline. What Del Santo said was ok

I not sure if "complacency" is the appropriate word but we have a history of losing games that we should have won ……………….. and paying the consequences.

14 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

I not sure if "complacency" is the appropriate word but we have a history of losing games that we should have won ……………….. and paying the consequences.

Yep. Look no further than the Aints loss at the ‘G

cost us a home Preliminary Final 

some of the loses we had last year were sort of the loses we had to have really. Goody was still working out what our best team looked like and suitable game plans. I think loses like the ones to the Hawks, Port, Saints and Cats were mostly down to bad team balance/ player selection and/or an unsuitable gameplan. sometimes we got beat by the better team and sometimes I think we pushed it too far, but I can understand why it was done, as the coaches have to learn more about the group and themselves. its all part of the learning curve, and I think we learnt a lot from last year.

 

If ever there was a club that has had a history in the last 30 years, that has been guilty of drinking our own bath water, it is ours.

 

That said, the club right now and the team, seem to be to be made of very different stuff, the place has changed.

2 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

I not sure if "complacency" is the appropriate word but we have a history of losing games that we should have won ……………….. and paying the consequences.

Getting ahead of oneself and not appreciating your opponent. I agree, it’s different to complacency. Dal Santo most likely just learnt the word and wanted an excuse to use it.

Edited January 13, 20196 yr by Ethan Tremblay