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I have been to a few sessions this pre season, and am happy to see the work being put in. I also think that the work rate is higher than most people think, as the drills they are doing have barely any time to recover or rest in them. In regards to Dunn, personally I have never been the biggest fan of his, I know he can be clever and has kicked some good goals, but I dont rate him that highly. His aggression (or so called aggression) reminds me of Campbell Brown. I think he will struggle for a game, and I will be a little disappointed if he is getting a game, as it means our better players are not playing well. All being said, I wont be upset if he proves me wrong, and dominates!

I would suggest that this is most likely due to the fact that in addition to having made the "public" comments in question about the players, Neeld would also be communicating with the players as well and fortifying the message he wants to get across to the individuals and the team. If only we could be flies on the wall then we might know the full story but I would be surprised if these things cause any major worries to most professional footballers of today. I can recall our own esteemed chairman getting an almighty public bake from John Northey after a rather infamous incident in the 1987 preliminary final which many might consider a public humiliation. The bloke came back and was instrumental in our getting to a grand final the next year, winning a Brownlow, a handful of b & f's and playing a thousand games in a row. I have a feeling he might have even attributed his determination to succeed and prevail at least in part to that experience. Times have changed since then but the effectiveness of a well placed message is no less on the right people if done in the right way.

Sometimes I think that this is whats wrong with many of our supporters . Far too conservative. I love seeing our jumper being worn with pride no matter whos wearing it .

After all these years it's still a worry that some players are so one sided in the way Bate is on his left side. I always though that would be a problem with someone who is going to be played in the middle but I must be wrong because the FD continues to trial him there.

Yes. Sorry that i don't agree with paying for something that already advertises products. George Orwell was so right.

I checked the medical dictionaries and I don't think I'm suffering from Scullitis. I think it's a reasonable proposition to make that the money we would have spent on Scully is now being spent on Mitch Clark instead and the latter is my preference especially whilst the status of Scully's knee remains an unknown. Twelve months ago Scully was sparkling at pre season training sessions. That's a fact and he looked to be on his way to stardom as a midfielder. Since then, he got injured and did very little to demonstrate that he had the qualities of a star but I think most supporters would still have been happier to have kept him on a reasonable contract and not the ridiculous money that he and his father are getting in their package from GWS. None of that was to be and I'm entitled to my opinion that the two compensatory picks for a # 1 were inadequate. All in all, I'm happier with the balance of the squad post-Scully and that's where I stand on the issue.

Not to mention going to the game then coming straight home and watching the replay (record on IQ). If we win of course.

So we'll make that UHSOBs (earlier) and MHSOBs (later) I know he spent a lot of time at UHSOBs in the ealy days especially disappearing for days on end around GF time a couple more Reggisms "boarders to be bed, visitors to buggary" "the 2nd thing you do after a trip is unpack your bags"

Well said Footynut, Freak's suggestion that there is a less than optimal, or ideal fitness workload for any player and their specific situation is just monumentally ignorant. And that may be the understatement of 2012 thus far........

Geez,it's 2 bucks a day you TightA$$es!!!

I'm a lawyer. Does that mean I have to watch Judge Judy to get a tax deduction?

In terms of concerns about the intensity of the running during training I can say that the training session is really only 1 component of the day's work for these guys. Prime example: I was running the Tan this morning and saw James Sellar putting in a hard hard effort up Anderson St Hill. I'm not sure how far he had already run or ran after I saw him but we should know players are doing a lot more than the training sessions on the oval. I have seen him there regularly during the off season and he seems to continually punish himself. Neeld also mentioned to me that there are 47 individual programs running at the moment and every player has specifics to complete daily around running or weights etc. It is very specific and scientific. Far more to fitness than meets the eye.

Although Wattsy will be a champ . The 9 guernsey will earn a Brownlow one day . A blind turn around no apparent opponent and then slotting a goal also deserves an instant 3 votes .

Number 4 is a certainty. Mainly because being in the west and playing footy with a heap of WCE supporters who give me heaps on the Nic Nat vs Jack Watts comparison. I wear my Melbourne gear to every training session. Go Dee's! Ed: I even throw in some blind-turns in the middle of lane work when no-one's around me. That really gets 'em going.

#31 - got caught up in the hype of a pretty scripted and cold media conference. Thankfully i was a big Paul Wheatley fan....

looks like I'll be missing out on Foxtel-AFL then and Foxtel will be missing out on some easy money - c'est la vie and offering a single only package like Foxtel Sports would not stress the worlds leading db software provider I'm sure (at least 35 years IT technical experience tells me) nobody's asking for individual channel selection, just the ability to select an existing package without the base and probably for a 6mth contract and at a reasonable price FFS this is the 21st century!

To me Freak it looked like the players were spending pretty minimal time on the witches hats. Yes in between drills they get a rest as things get organised but between cones they were moving pretty fast and the assistant coaches made an effort to get footies and fire off kicks/handballs etc to players coming to the back of the line. Todays session was about getting some touch, getting the basic skills done right, learning the game plan and keeping the legs rolled over. Not every session should be gut busting, swimmers, cyclist and runners certainly don't train that way. As mentioned above new draftees were at AFL induction. Tapscott and Spencer did laps, they look a bit of a way off. Strauss did sprints then he and McKenzie went in the middle for a few kicks. Jamar and Jurrah ran laps together with the big fella really helping Liam along. Lawrence, Cook and Sylvia started in the main group then broke into the rehab drill of 2 guys with 2 footies either end and a guy in the middle leading and marking each footy at a time. Jet and Grimes did this just before the xmas break. Lawrence and Sylvia looked good, Cook looks like he's battling his way back and I think we wont get much out of him this year at this rate. He probably needs the year in the VFL followed by a healthy preseason before he'll shine. After some close in work the players broke into 2 drills and did a 5 star spreading the ball around and finish with a goal drill. The foot skills were surprisingly reasonable but the better kicks (Watts, Davey, Blease) still stand out. Then they broke in lines. Once again Jetta will be a back, Nicholson a mid and McDonald, Davey and Blease forwards this year. As for individuals... Clark leads and marks well. Sellar looks pretty strong in the air defensively and has genuine size, Grimes looks ready to go. Jones and Moloney look a good size - strong but not slow. The midfield group looked short on class and numbers to be honest - hence Magner, Couch and Viney coming in. That said Stef Martin seems more advanced than last year and should combine well with Jamar who they are obviously letting freshen up after a couple of tough seasons. The backline group seems ready to go though and even with Jurrah still getting the miles in his legs the forward group seems much more dangerous with Clark and Davey added in. There wasn't much game plan style stuff today. I'm still concerned about our ability to move the ball under pressure and our contested ball winning ability but with a fair while til the season starts I'm happy we might well have a fit side with some talent.

Good lord

I think he and Bail will be competing for the "best value for money pick" title. I'm very excited to see what 2012 has in store for Howe.

It is surprising to me that the club has not asked for some of the more brilliant insights and ideas of posters to be removed so others don't benefit...

I'm not sure Neeld's comments were even statements of negativity. He said Watts needed to: Focus on becoming an elite footballer. Find new levels of fitness and hunger Develop a massive work ethic and appetite to play footy Not forget his core business and train really hard Get to know the new sports science director really well Get to know his new coaches really well Get a massive work ethic to fall back on and train his backside off. Sounds like statements of positivity and an action plan to me (nowhere did he use perjoratives like 'lazy', 'disinterested' or 'unprofessional'). The only argument could be whether it should or shouldn't be in the pages of the Herald-Sun. You can't discount the idea that the club, Neeld and Watts were happy for such a challenge to be made public.

2011: THE YEAR THAT WAS by Whispering Jack Melbourne fans have experienced some tough times since the 50s and 60s and the year now ending will not be remembered fondly by them. In many ways, 2011 was among the most frustrating experienced by those of us who have suffered for so long waiting for the glory of days past to return. Like many before it, season 2011 began amid promise and the expectation of improvement but ended delivering little other than disappointment, although there was a twist in the tail of the season's aftermath that might just deliver some hope for the future. The year was dominated by one issue which CEO Cameron Schwab described as a "black cloud" over the club. Would former number one draft selection Tom Scully take the money and run off to the Greater Western Sydney franchise which was due to open its doors for business in 2012 under veteran coach Kevin Sheedy and heavily funded by the AFL? The rumour mill was buzzing as early as February to the effect that the Giants had already snared the young Demon midfielder for huge coin amid speculation that the AFL was deeply involved and had smoothed the way for the recruiting coup to happen once the season was over. Scully was coaxed into appearing at a press conference in early March at which he gave an assurance that nothing had been decided; he would make up his mind about his future at the end of the season. He said he was not even aware of the extent of any offers that might have made for his services and he maintained the line almost until the moment when he and his family caught a flight to have a look around Sydney on a Sunday morning in early September. The sight of the harbour bridge from a jet circling high above was apparently enough to swing the deal. By mid-afternoon on the same day, he was not only a Giant but spruiking his devotion for the nascent football club. Back in the early days of the saga, Melbourne's ever insightful chairman Jim Stynes was critical of a system that encouraged young players to tell lies to their clubs. This alone should have been enough to arouse suspicions about the club's young midfielder. In any event, Scully's "assurances" did nothing to deter the almost daily speculation over his future until it undoubtedly became a major distraction for the club. Eddie McGuire was adamant on his radio programme before the first ball was bounced in anger saying he knew for a fact that the youngster was on his way north. By mid year, most commentators believed this to be the case. Demon champion David Schwarz announced to his television and radio audiences that he was "98% sure" that Scully had jumped ship and that the evidence at his disposal was compelling. Later revelations including bizarre reports of a job offer made by GWS to Scully's father as early as November, 2010 confirmed in our minds that the lad was indeed, pulling our collective legs all the while. And though most did not begrudge him the money, the apparent deception to the club, his teammates and fans left a bad taste in the mouth. The loss of a promising young player is always a bitter pill to swallow but the fact that many considered two draft picks in the middle of the first round inadequate compensation for a number one selection coupled with Kevin Sheedy's gloating and AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou's compliments to GWS over the coup did nothing to douse suspicions of AFL complicity in a deal many consider to be nothing short of scandalous. The Scully saga was big enough to overshadow the departure of Dean Bailey and the background story of internal rumblings over the position of the CEO even as Melbourne's season unravelled in the wake of a mammoth 186 point defeat at the hands of Geelong at Skilled Stadium on 30 July - a date that might yet assume major significance in the club's history but more of that later. Melbourne faced 2011 with one of the competition's youngest lists following the retirement of James McDonald and the departures of Cameron Bruce and Brad Miller. In the absence of the former, Brad Green whose form in 2010 was close to his best ever, took the captaincy. Despite the youth of the playing list, things began well enough for the club when it successfully negotiated the novelty of two half games in Adelaide for the NAB Cup opening in February. However, something appeared to be amiss when the team played poorly and was overwhelmed for strength in its remaining pre season matches. Still, that was regarded as part of the preliminaries, not to be taken quite seriously, particularly with many good players like All Australian James Frawley, Jordie McKenzie, Scully and others sidelined during the preseason with injuries. The opening game against the Swans was a corker ending in a draw. That was followed by a shocker of a second half against the Hawks when the team was simply overpowered. Then came a close call against the Brisbane Lions which provided the relief of four points at last. A trip north saw the team easily shrug off the new boys on the Gold Coast by 15 goals and things seemed back on track. As often happens, a trip to parts west of the Victorian state border, this time for a clash against the Eagles, was what exposed the team's weakness against exponents of the hard press and confirmed our worst fears from the Hawthorn loss. The reigning wooden spooners simply smashed their visitors whose poor skills and lack of application were visible everywhere on the field. There was nowhere for the Demons to hide. A week later and back at home, Melbourne turned on another Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde performance when it crushed Adelaide by a record 16 goals but it turned out to be a disastrous weekend with two players, Jack Grimes and Jake Spencer (in the VFL) lost for the season, All Australian ruckman Mark Jamar out for several weeks and, as if that wasn't enough, Jack Trengove was outed for three weeks over a controversial sling tackle on Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield whose concussion from the incident was not enough to stop him from playing and kicking five goals a matter of only six days later. Melbourne was in a spot of bother. The injury toll kept rising in the coming weeks with the losses of Aaron Davey, Colin Garland and Rohan Bail coming in quick succession as an unsettled team lost to North Melbourne (after holding an early six goal lead) and St. Kilda before its humiliation in the "bruise free" game on a late May Friday night against Carlton. The club's entire season was in danger of being derailed. There were few shining lights in all of this. Brent Moloney was a stand out, particularly after losing his place in the leadership group after an alcohol fuelled night of celebration. Stefan Martin was having a break out season, showing great improvement and manfully filling the void left by the injury toll to the ruck division. Jack Watts was starting to demonstrate some of the promise that made him a number one draft pick and Luke Tapscott was impressive in his debut season but he too succumbed to a bad hamstring injury. On the debit side, many were down on form and confidence including skipper Green on whose shoulders the responsibility of leadership weighed heavily. A great deal of soul searching and an infusion of young players into the midfield saw a turnaround against the Bombers in a game where Trengove, Watts, McKenzie, Jordan Gysberts and Scully, returning from a knee injury for his maiden game of the season, were among their team's best and rookie Dan Nicholson also showed glimpses of promise for the future. The win was the first of three out of four in a midseason patch that returned the club to the top eight. That one defeat was an 88-point smashing at the hands of Collingwood on Queens Birthday, courtesy mainly of a pathetic final quarter but this was blotted out of the memory banks six days later when an undermanned Fremantle capitulated by a single point short of 15 goals. The club's season was taking the trajectory of a roller coaster as the team notched up big wins against lowly opponents but when they met the stronger sides that applied the hard press, they were simply no match. The excuse that it had one of the youngest lists in the competition, that it was tired after four consecutive six day breaks and that there were injuries rang hollow in the face of an insipid performance against the struggling Bulldogs in the Friday night game on the first of July at Etihad. It was to be the start of an horrific month for the club with many questioning the direction of the coaching and whether the team was up to the rigours of the modern game. Suddenly, it was more than just the inability to shake off the bruise free tag - it was a combination of many things that were necessary to be able to compete with the best exponents of the modern game. Skills, fitness, strength, leadership, the ability to pressure opponents, win the hard ball and execute what for want of a better word is often described as a game plan. That is not to say that there was no game plan but rather that it was too complex and precise for this young side and it just didn't work against the bigger, stronger teams in the competition. A bye and an unconvincing win in steamy Darwin over lowly Port Adelaide offered only brief respite. Tellingly, Scully limped off late in that game with what we were told was a recurrence of his knee problem. With one or two exceptions, his ten games for the club in 2011 were quite underwhelming and seemingly devoid of true commitment to the cause. The Demons now had the task of winning three of their final seven matches to make the finals. The last three of those games were eminently winnable and the team's competitors for a berth in the top eight were floundering. They might have been a chance but unfortunately, the effort within the team was not there. In the month to follow, they would have the stuffing knocked out of them. A few days after the Port Adelaide game a brief item appeared in the Herald Sun announcing Collingwood assistant coach Mark Neeld as the favourite with punters to be Melbourne's next coach. The item passed virtually unnoticed but events over the next week or two would give the piece greater significance although its effect would only become evident somewhat further down the track. The following game saw the Hawks inflict a nine goal thrashing against a jaded Demon team that appeared not to have recovered from its trip to the tropics. Then followed a week of questioning and probing. Skipper Green was clearly under pressure when interviewed on television. The media pack was circling. Something was wrong at the club. On the second last day of July, the morning press carried a story on the woes besetting the Melbourne Football Club. A confusing scenario was presented involving player unrest, the prospect of Dean Bailey's reappointment for another year and the imminent sacking of CEO Cameron Schwab. If none of that made sense then the several hours of football that were to follow beggared disbelief. In the curtain raiser, the lowly Cats' reserves thrashed club's VFL affiliate, the Casey Scorpions, a top four contender, by 128 points. Worse was to come when a listless Melbourne outfit barely raised a whimper on its way to the second biggest losing margin in the 115 years of the competition's history. Bailey was sacked the following night. The Board handled the sacking poorly delivering the news by telephone rather than in person. At the ensuing press conference, Bailey was gracious. He dropped the gentlest of hints about fulfilling a brief to aid the club's development that most consider to be synonymous with tanking but that went nowhere because, according to the AFL's official version, the practice does not exist. Todd Viney was appointed interim coach for the rest of the season but it was effectively all over for the Demons. Like a ship foundering on the rocks, the team crashed out for the rest of its year and it barely managed to scrape a home win against the eventual wooden spooner Gold Coast. The final kick in the teeth was delivered at the Adelaide Oval in Round 24 when lowly Port Adelaide, aided and abetted by some bewildering umpiring decisions, broke their own horror run of outs against the hapless Demons who finished the year in 13th place. A few weeks later Brent Moloney won the club championship on a night when the club faithful were introduced to their new coach Mark Neeld. An ailing Jim Stynes surprised with his attendance and inspirational words and therein lay the tale of how the club went a long way to erasing the deep wounds that had cut into it during the latter third of the season. Much of the credit for that could be taken by a man who was unable to attend the best and fairest night due to work commitments at the MCG on Preliminary Final Night. Club legend Jim Stynes was diagnosed with cancer in July, 2009 and has demonstrated enormous resolve and resilience as he battled the disease. That comes as no surprise to those who were fortunate to witness his stellar career which included a then club record of games, a competition record of 244 in succession, a Brownlow Medal and multiple best and fairests - resilience became his middle name and the theme for the way in which he lifted his club out of the mire of debt and returned it to a respectable position in the eyes of the AFL, the MCC and indeed the football community. Despite his illness, he has held on to his position and thanks to the help of his able lieutenants, the club continued to thrive with growing sponsorships, connections to new partnerships including the Chinese market. However, all that was placed at risk with the events of late July 2011. The club had no football director and Stynes had different battles to fight. He sought and gained the support (albeit initially reluctantly) of friend and former teammate and club captain Garry Lyon who was deeply entrenched in his media role. There were critics who scoffed at Lyon's acceptance of the temporary position at the club akin to that of the football director but the former Demon key position player grasped the role, virtually moved into his friend's skin and started to work a minor miracle at the club. The main thrust had to be the reorganisation of the football department and appointment of a new coach but he was also there to impart some stability. Personnel were moved from here to there, others moved out and new appointments were made with a minimum of leakage of information that was once commonplace at the club. The result is there to see and awaits only the imprimatur of on field performance and success. A new coach in Neeld and a bevy of assistants including Neil Craig, leading football fitness and conditioning man David Misson and players recruited for a purpose - to put bigger and stronger bodies on the field. Mitch Clark was the club's first big trading coup in a decade. An interesting mix of players was drafted to the club in November and December. The intensity of a hard, tough pre season was also there to be seen. The black cloud is gone and is not missed at all. The dark days of July/August are gone and there is a feeling that the still young but stronger in body and mind Demons are going to be a lot harder to beat in 2012 and beyond.

The constraint is that you can't be critical of players on your own club's website but there are still some interesting insights and tit bits of information if you read closely enough.

It's funny the dislike of this new team and I don't even put it down to T$. I like the GC Suns and have even adopted them as my second team. I think it is just the professionalism and the people who are in charge of GC that makes the difference. They show a sensitivity to the difficulties of setting up a new club and the taking of existing team's players that GWS don't.