I fear that if David Neitz doesn't reach his 300th game this season he won't make it under a new coach! he is plainly not up to the task as are many of them. A truly monumental close season faces many of our players and there is going to be a lot of angst amongst this lot.

Certainly the training staff have all got to go if this year is the best they can do with our team.

I just can't understand how they could get it so wrong. BUNGLING IDIOTS all of them!

There's a parallel universe somewhere where Guerra didn't bugger Bruce's shoulder, Bruce won the Brownlow that year and took over the captaincy the following year, and Neitz was free to retire at the end of this year, the burden of captaincy removed to one of his peers; as opposed to this universe, where Miller, Bruce, Green and (to a smaller extent) McLean have put their hands down for the captaincy.

If you stand back, I'll try and engage this big machine that can rip through time-space, and we can all step through into that one.

*presses ON button*

This topic comes up at least once a season.

No, he hasn't reached the end of the road, he is actually UNFIT!

Also, he is surrounded by a bunch of people who don't possess the ability to hit him on the chest. Yes, he dropped some sitters, but he also had a lot of balls bounce wide, high etc etc...

He was very good at the start of the season before he injured his knee. He did a full pre-season and his body was looking and feeling good.

The only thing that will end Neita's career prematurely (i.e.- this season), is if they keep playing him and he sustains a serious injury because he's not 100% fit to begin with.

I understand that the club wants to get his to his 300th ASAP, and give us at least one good memory from this horrible season, but I think it's too much of a risk. He certainly shouldn't play after Round 20.

In a word... No.

Look at the other champions of the current era... they go season after season playing worse and worse, then they come out and play like Hird has this year.

Neita's body may be letting him down, but you give the champions every opportunity to play out their careers to a completion that they want. He deserves this.

It was only last year he was a fantastic and ppowerful FF...

Having said all that, today I was feeling more than ever that the end is nigh. He'll play next year, may not be captain but he'll be there, and it will probably be his last.

  Dappa Dan said:

In a word... No.

Look at the other champions of the current era... they go season after season playing worse and worse, then they come out and play like Hird has this year.

Neita's body may be letting him down, but you give the champions every opportunity to play out their careers to a completion that they want. He deserves this.

It was only last year he was a fantastic and ppowerful FF...

Having said all that, today I was feeling more than ever that the end is nigh. He'll play next year, may not be captain but he'll be there, and it will probably be his last.

I am not convinced he'll get up for next season! and I believe he is being played even though injured in order to get to 300 he so richly deserves!!

He will play next year and if we get back to running through the middle and remember how to hit a target in the F50 he should kick 40+ next year.

As some surmise he's far less than 100%. I'm just trying to understand why he's playing at al at the moment.

  belzebub59 said:

As some surmise he's far less than 100%. I'm just trying to understand why he's playing at al at the moment.

I can only think it's because he's going to pull the plug at the end of this year. The real problem for Neita today wasn't his teammates. He dropped a lot of marks he normally would have taken and chose some really bad options.

If he's not fit then he shouldn't be playing because he's now doing more harm to the team than good. With him being so useless now the opposition can easily run off him to create play or to help the other defenders, putting more pressure on our other forwards like Newton.

  Jarka said:

If he's not fit then he shouldn't be playing because he's now doing more harm to the team than good. With him being so useless now the opposition can easily run off him to create play or to help the other defenders, putting more pressure on our other forwards like Newton.

I never thought i would see the day when i would see the word useless and neitz used in the same sentence.

  demonsflag555657 said:

I never thought i would see the day when i would see the word useless and neitz used in the same sentence.

Not saying that he is useless, just in his current condition ie unfit.

Neitz is near finished, Holland would be a better full forward at the moment, Neitz to slow for the tempo of AFL. Bring in some new blood, has to be done sooner or later and the sooner the better

Maybe this should be renamed the lets have a go at the captain thread.

I never thought i would see it.

  demonsflag555657 said:

Maybe this should be renamed the lets have a go at the captain thread.

I never thought i would see it.

the way I'm interpreting this thread is suggesting that our great captain shouldn't be playing when he is so obviously unfit, just because he is approaching 300 games, or do you disagree?

Pretty hard when you're not fit and playing in currently the equal worst team in the comp.

  Jarka said:

the way I'm interpreting this thread is suggesting that our great captain shouldn't be playing when he is so obviously unfit, just because he is approaching 300 games, or do you disagree?

I agree if he is unfit he should not be playing just because of 300 i just dont like neg against the skipper.

  demonsflag555657 said:

I agree if he is unfit he should not be playing just because of 300 i just dont like neg against the skipper.

Fair enough, seeign him struggle when so obviously unfit is hard to watch, sort of reminds me of Lyon's last couple of years.

  grazman said:

I can only think it's because he's going to pull the plug at the end of this year. The real problem for Neita today wasn't his teammates. He dropped a lot of marks he normally would have taken and chose some really bad options.

That's been my concern - why play without rest when so far below fitness and form in a 'dead rubber' game?

I really worry that it's about getting to the three-hundred and then stepping away.

Some of it might be Captain pressure - meaning that the lack of new leaders to step in for him is actually physically damaging Neitz.

I hope that some of the more 'complacent' of our senior players realise this and are appropriately shamed into action.

  Jarka said:

Fair enough, seeign him struggle when so obviously unfit is hard to watch, sort of reminds me of Lyon's last couple of years.

Very sad to see could end the same.

The reason I suspect he is playing unfit is that he already knows he won't go on next year and is set to retire after the 300th.

  grazman said:

I can only think it's because he's going to pull the plug at the end of this year.

I hope for his sake and the club's sake that that's not the case.

He deserves to be part of our 150th year celebrations, and he deserves to finish his career on a high, not playing in a crap team that couldn't win if they played an under 9's side.

He's playing because the club knows how desperate I am for him to be playing his 300th against Collingwood.

It's the only reason I can think of.

Yes , Poor Neita has well and truly reached the end of a fantastic career. He can only be justified in the side at the moment due to his impending 300th game. As Warney once hinted "can't catch, can't run, can't kick". David, you are really damaging your reputation playing like this at present. Is 300 games worth the ridicule that is building pretty quickly? The current coach has no idea how to get any enthusiasm into the side and will not make the "real" short list of our prospective new coach. By the way, Neita has several mates who are really embarrasing themselves and will not be league footballers in 08 or 09 seasons. All the players should shut up and not go on record as saying that they are all having a red hot go. What a croc of @%$*.

Our midfield and forward set ups are crap, Neita should own from 25m to goal line same as Alistar Lynch did. The problem Neita has is the forwards around him run towards him and clog his space and Neita always has a couple of defenders and usually another MFC player jumping all over him. Our forward line is always crowded and our ball usage and spedd we move the ball is the worst in the AFL, I would hate to be a forward at the MFC right now.

  Jaded said:

I hope for his sake and the club's sake that that's not the case.

He deserves to be part of our 150th year celebrations, and he deserves to finish his career on a high, not playing in a crap team that couldn't win if they played an under 9's side.

are you saying under 9s are [censored]! :D