Jump to content

Featured Replies

  • Author
3 hours ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

Do we know what was said?,  There was an article on the AFL site that referred to this but when you read the article there was no mention of it.

It's in one of the post game interviews after the Grand Final. I can't remember if it was on Channel 7 or Fox Footy, sorry.

 

Tracc said on foxtel tonight that Chocco reminded him of all the mindfulness work he had done this year and told him to reset.   

7 hours ago, wizardinoz said:

Bugger signing him on for a few more years, let's make it for life! 😂

I know this is tongue in cheek but makes you wonder why Choco seems to have an expiry date at many clubs? As he said in the ABC article no one has wanted him. for a senior role and we picked him up from Werribee. 

His knowledge of football is amazing and he obviously knows how to motivate and develop players. I wonder if some clubs have seen him as too big a personality? I have heard second hand that our media dept. are keen to shield him away from as many interviews as possible.

Anyway, I'm glad we have him. Sometimes being a maverick goes a long way. What he has done with the young guys as well as the senior blokes has been amazing.

Edited by dee-tox

 
3 hours ago, dee-tox said:

I know this is tongue in cheek but makes you wonder why Choco seems to have an expiry date at many clubs? As he said in the ABC article no one has wanted him. for a senior role and we picked him up from Werribee. 

His knowledge of football is amazing and he obviously knows how to motivate and develop players. I wonder if some clubs have seen him as too big a personality? I have heard second hand that our media dept. are keen to shield him away from as many interviews as possible.

Anyway, I'm glad we have him. Sometimes being a maverick goes a long way. What he has done with the young guys as well as the senior blokes has been amazing.

It's because he is mad as a cut snake and no club will entrust their expensive playing list (costly in time and money) to his charge.

On the other hand, our now-excellent football department has found a way to use his best attributes to the advantage of our team, and to the gratification of "Mad Mark". Win-win. Win-win-win. Win win win win win win win win win win win .... (sorry, got carried away. GO DEMONS!!!)


These are posts from the Post Match thread but thought they are relevant here also.

23 hours ago, Premiers said:

Choco was rather coy about what he whispered to Petracca; it sounded a bit like he was appealing to Petracca's ego.  It worked!!

As you say he got the first clearance.  Then he looked unstoppable.  The next time we saw a close up of him (for a fraction of a second somewhere in the 2 Fritsch, Brown and Brayshaw goals sequence) he wore a fierce expression.  He didn't look satisfied with that handful of goals.  Then he went on a rampage.

Just shows what having coaches on the bench can do.  It is unlikely Choco's message coming thru headphones would have had the same affect.

Then I found more info:

8 minutes ago, Premiers said:

Apologies for quoting myself.  I just wanted to elaborate on the above. 

The Choco interview I was referring to is in this.  what-chocco-said-to-trac?  Choco's reflection on his 'whispering' to Petracca is in this article and starts @ 3.20.  Love Choco's cheeky expression when asked the question.

This is the fierce expression I'm referring to in the above post.  We then kicked 3 goals in less than a minute.  it was not long after Choco's 'whispering'.

2033941628_ScreenRecording2021-09-26at22_42_43.mov-00_38_366.thumb.png.1fbf384e1a51c08a67517c905d967e2f.png

 

Thanks to @Chookfor posting it in the favourite GF thread. 

 

Edited by Premiers

Apparently he gave the players a huge spray about being timmid and not taking the game on, and that change defintiely turned the game, the dogs couldn't go with us. 

 

5 minutes ago, Dwight Schrute said:

Apparently he gave the players a huge spray about being timmid and not taking the game on, and that change defintiely turned the game, the dogs couldn't go with us. 

I think it was more than the spray.

There was a good interview last night with Goodwin on OTC.  He made a lot of tactical changes after half time to get the contest back on our terms and take the heat out of Daniel and Bontempelli games.  The changes took 15 minutes to kick in but once they did there was no stopping us.

 

Thanks for doing this, everyone, including for the nods to the other coaches (I'm also appreciating the on-reporting from various media that I'm unable to get, by the way!)

I wonder if those to whom our thanks are directed get to see them? I hope so!

p.s. Also wondering of 2021's realised good-teammate-not-self culture has made players and coaching staff more open to each other's messages, making good coaches (and players) even better?

Edited by Timothy Reddan-A'Blew
p.s.

17 minutes ago, Premiers said:

I think it was more than the spray.

There was a good interview last night with Goodwin on OTC.  He made a lot of tactical changes after half time to get the contest back on our terms and take the heat out of Daniel and Bontempelli games.  The changes took 15 minutes to kick in but once they did there was no stopping us.

I feel as though Goody's cool, calm, collected approach and Choco's 'pizzazz' compliment each other so, so well.


7 hours ago, dee-tox said:

I know this is tongue in cheek but makes you wonder why Choco seems to have an expiry date at many clubs? As he said in the ABC article no one has wanted him. for a senior role and we picked him up from Werribee. 

His knowledge of football is amazing and he obviously knows how to motivate and develop players. I wonder if some clubs have seen him as too big a personality? I have heard second hand that our media dept. are keen to shield him away from as many interviews as possible.

Anyway, I'm glad we have him. Sometimes being a maverick goes a long way. What he has done with the young guys as well as the senior blokes has been amazing.

I too wondered  what is this guy doing coaching a VFL side. He still has the hunger to be head coach and I think will challenge himself at times to remember his place amongst his colleagues - more so now that he is receiving public acknowledgement that he has contributed to another flag. 

We can all laud his efforts thus far, but equally when things are not going well, his temperament and style with the playing group can also contribute to his downfall. Personally I think as a development coach, he knows how to extract every last drop of talent from every player - which is great for the club - but may bruise a few egos along the way. His longevity will rest upon how well he can get this balanced. 

  • Author

I would love for @Demonland
to eventually arrange an interview with Mark "Choco" Williams on the Demonland podcast maybe, please?

Just so we can call in and give our heartfelt thanks to Mark "Choco" Williams for all the amazing work he has done as Head of Development. May his involvement at the Melbourne Football Club continue for many years to come!

Martin Flanagan summed things up well when he noted that it's been very 'un-Melbourne-like' people who have impacted our club the most throughout our history.

Norm Smith was a Northcote boy. Checker Hughes came from the blood lust culture of Richmond (and gave us our nickname). Jimmy was both an Irish and a Catholic, which seems incongruous for a club associated the Protestant establishment of Melbourne. Maxy might very well have been thrown out of the MCC members were he not our drought breaking captain.

Choco, while not having the same impact on the surface, can be considered among the people who have made a difference due to breaking the mold. He is passionate, mercurial and outspoken. While our culture can be poo-pooed unfairly, these qualities were excellent counterbalances to Goody's calmer approach. 

A brilliant pickup who I hope hangs around for at least 5 more years!

Dees had many jigsaw pieces to find to complete our premiership picture. 
 

The addition of Mark “choco” Williams was one critical piece. He and Yze brought winning culture and the mindset to compliment Goodwin. 
 

Thanks Choco. 


On 9/27/2021 at 11:27 AM, Supreme_Demon said:

I wanted to say a massive thank you to Mark "Choco" Williams for coming to the Melbourne Football Club.

Apparently he said something pretty inspiring to Christian Petracca while he was on the bench when the Grand Final was in the balance. This assisted with turning things around very quickly in the Demons favour.

Mark "Choco" Williams has probably been the recruit of the year for the Melbourne Football Club. I cannot sing his praises any higher.

I hope that the Melbourne Football Club sign him on for a few more years. He has made a massive impact on our playing group.

To think a few years ago no AFL club wanted Mark "Choco" Williams around. He has definitely proved them all wrong! What a legend!

ABSOLUTE LEVIATHAN!!

Williams and Yze have been the cream on the pie.

Mad as a cut snake and I love him. His appointment is right up there with the Jackson, Bartlett, Roos, and Goodwin appointments. 

And I reckon he is in the perfect role. No way could he be a senior coach again. The narrower the frame he works in the better he is. With all the coaches, development coaches, line coaches etc... in modern footy, he would go round the twist taking half the team with him. 

Please, please, please MFC pay him enough and keep him stimulated enough so he stays for a 5 year stint. Please! I reckon our premiership window could be 5 years long and I want this bloke involved. 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • NON-MFC: Round 15

    As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

    • 140 replies
  • REPORT: Port Adelaide

    Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

    • 2 replies
  • CASEY: Essendon

    Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

    • 0 replies
  • PREGAME: Gold Coast

    The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

      • Like
    • 111 replies
  • PODCAST: Port Adelaide

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 16th June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Power.
    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
      • Like
    • 32 replies
  • POSTGAME: Port Adelaide

    The Demons simply did not take their opportunities when they presented themselves and ultimately when down by 25 points effectively ending their finals chances. Goal kicking practice during the Bye?

      • Like
    • 252 replies