ND blames Travis

[QueenC 74]

I don't see it as Daniher "blaming" TJ........

But the fact remains that with a one goal lead and 90 seconds left we should have been able to hold onto possession for a hell of a lot longer.

[Jaded No More 67,609]

Woah, let's back up a little here. Were you present during Neale's addresses to his players? How can you say that he instructed his players to handball at all costs as if it were 100% certain fact?

Because I have been watching Melbourne play for like 9 years, and I have never EVER seen David Neitz handball to a teammate under pressure when he is 40m out from goal.

That is not a natural instinct of a forward, especially a key forward capable of kicking 60m goals.

I doubt very much the players came together before the game and said "hey, remember how in Round 1 we over-possessed the footy and lost? Yeah, lets do that again!".

Funny how the only two players in the side who refused to follow the 'handball at all costs' instruction were Brock and Jones. Give me 20 possessions from those two, over 50 from the likes of Bruce, Junior, Brown etc etc.

I could not believe how many times we handballed UP FORWARD when it was completely unnecessary. Playing on at all costs is fine, if playing on gets the ball moving forward, and not backwards, sideways and into the opposition's hands. The more you over-possess the footy, the more likely you are to stuff up, and given how poor our skills are, the less we muck around with the ball, the better.

Besides, even they didn't handball under his instructions, he should have made them stop doing it in the first quarter break, not the third!

And never mind, I'm used to being called a 'he' around here

[old55 22,758]

Neitz is playing on one leg, his knee is clearly giving him trouble. He just couldn't kick thru the ball early yesterday and it was a truly heroic effort in the last quarter. IMO the reason he handballed to Petterd was because he knew he couldn't make the distance from outside 50.

[Hards 2]

Woah, let's back up a little here. Were you present during Neale's addresses to his players? How can you say that he instructed his players to handball at all costs as if it were 100% certain fact?

You seen Rounds 1 through 8 Nash?

Clear as night and day change in the gameplan from previous years, spoken about pre-season, hasn't worked. Masked by injuries, but funny how that gameplan went out the window in the last quarter and we had our best quarter for the year. Interested to see Cam Bruce's comments on it in the HS today - "In those first three quarters we weren't attacking the game. We know that's the way we play best: get the shackles off and take the game on. We know we can't play in that negative frame of mind. Stop start footy is not our go."

He's spot on - and before any nuff nuff says that he's saying we should play any defensive footy - he's saying that we play our best when we play open and get the game moving, not that we shouldn't be hard at contests and tackle hard and all that.

Not the first time a senior player has said something along those lines this year...

[Jaded No More 67,609]

Not the first time a senior player has said something along those lines this year...

Exactly.

I imagine that if we, as spectators are frustrated by the crap that is being served up, the players must be just as, if not more frustrated. Especially our key forwards, who get disgusting delivery.

Old, it's fine if he didn't think he could kick it. He should have gone back and kicked it to a leading forward or just bombed it long and someone could have maybe marked it on the line. Handballing to Petterd who had not one, but two opponents on his tail was a terrible decision and not one that is typical of our skipper.

[Guest Deeboy78]

Can someone help me understand why Melbourne didn’t flood after getting in front with 2 minutes to go? Two weeks ago when playing the Bulldogs, the same thing occurred, they hit the front with 2 minutes to go, and Brad Johnson was able to run onto a loose ball inside 50 under no pressure to kick the winning goal for the Bulldogs. We know that under Daniher Melbourne have never been a flooding team but there are times when it is required, I think the coaching staff has failed to instruct the players and put in place a structure to protect small margins in the dying minutes of a game. All teams flood back and only play 1 or 2 forwards, it’s not rocket science!!

[QueenC 74]

Clear as night and day change in the gameplan from previous years, spoken about pre-season, hasn't worked. Masked by injuries, but funny how that gameplan went out the window in the last quarter and we had our best quarter for the year. Interested to see Cam Bruce's comments on it in the HS today - "In those first three quarters we weren't attacking the game. We know that's the way we play best: get the shackles off and take the game on. We know we can't play in that negative frame of mind. Stop start footy is not our go."

He's spot on - and before any nuff nuff says that he's saying we should play any defensive footy - he's saying that we play our best when we play open and get the game moving, not that we shouldn't be hard at contests and tackle hard and all that.

Not the first time a senior player has said something along those lines this year...

And he is totally right. The difference yesterday was amazing. and while heartbreaking in the end that last quarter was great to watch.

And I thought that there was also an increase in the team things in the fourth quarter.

By that I mean there seemed to be a hell of a lot more work off the ball, shepherding and the like, than what we have seen in the last few games.

I imagine that if we, as spectators are frustrated by the crap that is being served up, the players must be just as, if not more frustrated. Especially our key forwards, who get disgusting delivery.

And that is if the the ball actually gets into our forwards in the first place......

And you would have to be right about the players frustration Jaded.

Hards is right, in that Bruce's comments are not the first time we have heard a player say something along similar lines over the past couple of months, and maybe now the powers that be will get back to what this side actually does pretty well and that is what we saw, for the most part, in the final quarter yesterday.

[Jonesy is the next captain 0]

Cos its crap football and we arent going to start that rubbish