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July 30th, 2011. We journeyed down to Kardinia Park to take on the GFC in the middle of winter with a team which had shown some signs of promise. We seemed to be developing as a team which was headed in the right direction, regardless of the inconsistency from week to week. We turned up at Kardinia Park feeling as though we didn't really want to be there, as we didn't believe we could win. I felt that the match was something which we needed to survive through and then move on to next week. This attitude and a ruthless GFC team saw us torn to shreds, not only on the scoreboard but the loss ripped the fabric of the club apart and took a part of our dignity. As we all know, Dean Bailey was sacked as the club tried to deal with it, but in reality we haven't been the same club since and we haven't fully gotten over it. There's been an painful darkness lurking in the corners of our collective MFC psyche since that day. There is only one way that the club can deal with what happened on that day last year, and sacking Dean Bailey or any other off field measures are completely insufficient. We need to go back to Kardinia Park and retrieve our dignity. It wont come easily, but must be torn back from Geelong, we must fight to take it back, and we must win to take it back. We must be ruthless in attacking every contest with absolute and brutal desperation. We must gut run from start to finish. We must treat every goal not with joyous celebration but with a sober resolve to bounce the ball and do it again. We need to punish Geelong every time they make a mistake or hesitate. This weekend is our opportunity to cast out the darkness, and we need to approach it head on, without compromise or excuse. Let's go to Kardinia Park, and let's fight to win our dignity back. Let's go to Kardinia Park together.

If players could pick themselves... Jai Sheahan shows how it should be done in this tweet: "Back at the old stomping ground this week. Time for a debut to remember. Come on Neeldy u know u want to!!"

A Great thread. Well done Pitchfork and PSD. Yes if you have played any reasonable standard of football you will know of the problem of the oval ball and its quirky bounce, the week in week out grind of training. The challenge of a good opposition, particularly the guy who runs two metres faster than you over 10, the 6'6" forward pocket when you are onloy 6"0" etc etc, the skill of picking up the half volley off your toes in the wet. yes of course training throughout the 10 degree wind and rain week after week or the 30 degree heat of summer, and having to play with an injury because the team already had too many injuries etc etc etc. Occasionally I let go on a demon player and remember I merely played in the suburbs. Enough of the practicality of the challenge. But a little more ethereal reflection.. All of life is a projection. What we see around us is merely a projection of what is inside us. Ever so true out on the field. All that passion and energy is telling us something about ourselves. All those grumpy old bums are really externalising something they are also internalizing within themselves. If they think the team is screwed up or perhaps some players, its telling us an awful lot about themselves...real screwed up. It's called vicarious living, living through someone else. Parents struggle with it all the time, as a parent I know its a tough gig. If all your entertainment is on TV / computor games etc., don't go to a psychologist for the shock would be too much. If only we could see that following the football is entertainment and not the real world. If you think it is , you ain't got a life.

I managed to get a ticket when they went on sale last Thursday. Couldn't get two together though I was on the phone the minute they went on sale. So I'm going by myself. I think it's completely wrong that AFL matches involving two Vic clubs can be held at a stadium that holds only 20000 people(so they say, but I doubt it). Geelong have an unfair advantage having so many games with no opposition supporters. Any other Demonlanders going?

this says more about you than it does about the people whose opinions you disagree with. I'm surprised such abusive language is allowed on this site. it's a forum, not a redneck shooting gallery. isn't it? Or, to put it another way, every morning the eastern sky has yet another, different, version of sunrise. If you watch it daily, it will impress on you the infinite diversity of our world. This can be applied to everything, including football. Jurrah, Flower, Jakovich, all the greats were players who "broke the mould" and brought a new thing to the game. They put Flower on the weights at one time, trying to bulk him up; tried to make a defender out of him at another. I remember Davey trying to play the hard man for a couple of seasons. But everyone actually is different. Watts is Watts. He tries and he cares and there are good things for us to love. Some of his game will improve, and he will do stuff we are amazed at - and not everything will go to the script we would like it to. That's life, SW, and we - in my humble opinion - miss the point if we throw around abuse when we don't see it play out the way we expected/wanted; especially, if we direct abuse at third parties. Surely, Neeld and Jack Watts are having an infinitely greater impact on Watts' development than any expressed opinions of Demonland bloggers. So, ease up, SW!

I constantly read in these forums about how we, as supporters, shouldn't 'tolerate' the following: - Mediocrity - Poor performances - A close, but 'noble' loss to a good side My question is, how does one go about 'not tolerating' these things as a supporter of a football club? I guess these are the options: - Go to the game and yell at/abuse the players and/or coaches (a popular option) - Tear up memberships, and/or refuse to attend the games - Log in to this forum and write about why we are angry, work out who is to blame IMO none of the above options are actually productive, and won't actually go any way to improving the performance of the club. The first option will leave you stressed and frustrated, and will annoy the sh*t out of the poor bastards who have to sit in front of you. The second option hurts the club financially, which certainly has no positive impact. The third option has a similar impact as the first option. So what do we do, as supporters? I think the best thing we can do, is SUPPORT the club. Continue to attend the games and buy memberships, and hope that the ppl running the joint can actually head in the right direction. Maybe write a letter to the club, and have reasonable debates on this forum, rather than constantly playing a pointless blame game. Also, I find it funny when someone says that MFC fans 'accept mediocrity'. It is SO lame, and a ridiculous concept.

For all those who want to see it again, here it is. Perhaps the most awesome smother of all time!

Dictonary definitions of the word "support"... To give active help, encouragement or money to somebody or something. To be in favour of something, e.g. a cause, policy, organisation, or sports team, and wish to see it succeed. To give encouragement to somebody or something by being present at an event.

The point is that firstly the kids don't need to hear it. The second is it's hard enough to get these kids supporting the dees without rabid supporters blasting our players with all the words your mum told you not to use. Or maybe like gidon you couldn't give a toss about the kids or families.

Mitch Clark rocks and we now don't need a "gun" forward... We have one. I would like to see us use our first pick on a mid. Then for our 2nd pick I am thinking we could pick a mid. The third is a tough one but I think it would be best if we pick a mid. 4th pick is tough.... tossing and turning over it but I reckon we should go out on a limb and pick a mid.

As one of Mort's biggest critics over the journey, I have to admit that he has started to show "something" since the last quarter against the Bulldogs. I've never bought into the "elite skills" or "elite running" stuff that gets thrown around because he's not a gutsy kind of player, and I hate when people say "we need outside players like Morton" and I think that is total BS. But lately I've seen the beginnings of an appetite for hard work. Yet to see these supposed silky skills, but something is starting to click, he's still making a few Morton Senior (aka Cam Bruce) clangers, but for the first time in years I feel hope for him. Let's give him as many games as he earns this year and then by seasons end he's either a hungry (I know, he always looks hungry haha), hard working, versatile regular 22 player, or he's packed off...

The demons are heading to skilled stadium this weekend to take on last year’s premiers. It’s a tough road trip for any side in the competition, let alone for the heavily scrutinised Demons who were pantsed by 186 points in the corresponding fixture in 2011. Every player who gets an opportunity this week will be driven by the humiliation of last year. None more so than #22 who, in a year where he polled exceptionally well in the Brownlow, couldn’t manage a single possession in a half of football. He and the others will be keen to atone for last years effort. If the 31 goal loss to Geelong was to have any silver lining, it is to be the subsequent introspection, and overhaul of the clubs footy department. This fresh start and direction looks to have galvanised the club as a whole. Lead by Mark Neeld the demons are working on a game style and culture which is intended to get the Melbourne Football club back towards being a quality, consistent AFL side. Egos have been battered as home truths have been told, the leadership group has been overhauled. Inconsistency from week to week and questionable endeavour will no longer be tolerated. Gone are the days of Melbourne playing top picks for the sake of development. It’s obvious to all that the transition from the past environment to the current one has not been an easy one for many of the players. 5 losses in 5 rounds has been a tough start to the season, especially with 3 of these losses coming against the lions, tigers and bulldogs. However the signs are starting improve as Neeld picks through the list to find a core group of players who will give their all in implementing his game style for four quarters. A four quarter effort which will be required this weekend if the demons are to be any match for Geelong at their home. A competitive effort will also set the side up for the coming weeks where the demons will play the majority of the form sides in the competition. A win during this period would do wonders for the confidence of the playing and coaching groups and set the side up for more victories in the second half of the year. I think the demons will show allot of heart again this week but will be hurt on the scoreboard by a polished Cats outfit. Cats by 6 goals, 25 less than last year.

Yes he has. And IMO , any-one who goes out of their way specifically to abuse players from behind the the safety of the fence is a coward.

As a backman in a former life (season) I always put it on the midfield as a 'partner' of getting the ball out of the backline. I would tell them if you are standing next to me you are of little use - maybe a handball if in space, and if you are standing still 30m away with your bloke on you, then you are of no use. It starts and ends in the middle, and I still think our mids don't work hard enough, or smart enough, for long enough to give our defenders options. I'm not saying these two shouldn't own their clangers but they need the mids to spread and find some cheap footy. (Ironically, something Morton gets pilloried for...)

I last went there in 2005. A mate who is a Geelong member invited me for the ritual humiliation. That was one of the best days of my life.

NO PUFFY JACKETS!!

Geelong have an unfair advantage by having such a bloody good team.

Dreadful tone to this thread. Form does sometimes desert players, and there have been injury issues for Davey, too. I reckon his form in rounds four and five shows an increase in intensity, improved fitness, some of his old style finishing and a willingness to run. I think he could be on the way back bigtime.

Yes...very much about reclaiming our id. ( not i.d ....id ) Ought to be interesting ...Neeld back to his familiar surroundings.

FWIW I've got young kids and am doing my best to instil a love for the red&blue and it players . I've taken them over to the race after a couple of games to get a closer look at their idols and some of the abuse the players cop is not acceptable. I realise many are frustrated but please , keep it in perspective. God knows what the kids are thinking . P.s. There isn't club out there that their supporters don't turn on their own when they're getting done. That was one of the joys of footy for me when we had a decent side , listening to the opposition fans turn on their own players.

6 months? Most people are lucky to have a player memory of longer than 1 week.

Not from your Colleagues. This Would be Corrosive. But if it were from your clients, it would make you work harder to improve. We're Not the colleagues. We are the clients of the club. We are the ones with the hopes of the outcome. We are the ones they continually try to sell us the message. Why, do they have to try so hard, to sell to Us? Because it's been mucked Up so much in the last 40 odd years, the supporters, the ones still surviving &/or still around, are sceptacle & we are rusted on. I wonder if over the last 40ish years, we have become so conditioned to only having one or two players to cheer on, we now accept that & look to the next young thing to look too hard for hope in them. In the end we an cause them to Not Fulfill they're potential through our focused attention on them. It's they're for all to see,,, Re the Sydney Swans, just how well they go in the shadows of the AFL. The same can be said & has, re the Melbourne Storm players, away from too much public spotlight, allowing them to breath & to develop at they're own pace.

The Demons this week return to where it all began. Or ended depending on your outlook. A completely new coaching panel. A completely new game plan. A very different Demons outfit. But no one who is a part of our grea club can forget 186. So what does this all equate too??? The bottom line is who the hell knows. The Demons looked like they have started to turn the corner a bit with the game plan and effort required but as we know all to well Melbourne are nothing if not sporadic. I cannot see a win no matter how I look at the game but there are still many things that can be achieved out of this game. For starters- a result that is far closer. An effort and intensity level that matches or builds on last week. An improvement in the execution of our game plan. Beamer must atone (regardless of how crook he was last year) Our midfield must give our backmen a chance and our forwards a look at the ball more than 40 times. Would it be folly to suggest this week that we adopt the old adage of everyone has one man for the day, regardless of where they play? Trengove on Bartel Jones on Chappy Beamer on Selwood Frawley/McDonald on Hawkins Bartram on Stokes Grimes on Christensen Sylvia on Enright Clarke on Scarlett Morton on Mackie Watts on Corey ....and the list goes on. If nothing else, our boys will learn the work rate of a champion team, but if every player is responsible for just one man of flesh and blood, whom they must make it their life's ambition for that day to beat, then maybe, just maybe the Demons can make a game of it?!?

Nothing annoys me more than supporters who get upset when people make negative comments. I never abuse our players and never will, but I get annoyed when we do stupid things and I express that frustration. I'm an emotional footy supporter and I make no apologies for that. I don't swear (loudly enough for anyone to hear anyway ), and I will stand and cheer everything good that we do, so if me expressing my emotions annoys people then they can stay at home. If you want to watch in silence watch it on TV. Otherwise harden up. Our players hear worse from our coaches everyday.

Doesn't have kids ^^

I believe JW will play more than 200 games for this club and be decorated in his career with several awards .The Norm Smith medal will be one of them. Games 1 to 60 will be a byline .

Put it this way. Statistically, a club should win a premiership every 16th (now 18th) year. Yet no coach is ever given nearly that long to turn a club around. Every time you change coaches, you effectively set yourself back a few years and damage the stability of your club. While I'm not sad DB got the axe, and reckon Mark Neeld is a much better coach, it is just another in a long line of examples of coaches getting sacked before they could reasonably have been expected to give their club success. I reckon if a club went to a new coach "we'll give you a ten year contract. Do whatever you think is necessary to win a premiership in that tenth year," you'd see less follow the leader strategy and some more comprehensive plans put in place by coaches.

How many trolls do we have on this thread. I can't believe some of the comments on here are from Melbourne supporters.

Biff you truly are the Demonalnd every-man; you are part of the lunatic fringe element, the centralists and the hard-lined moderates (whatever the hell that means). Like your avatar and namesake you can play forward and back and pinch hit in the ruck. I salute you

i have a preference for yelling at players when they do something really well.(encouragement)

Frank Caliendo ...........

No make him earn it, lets see him do this over 3/4 weeks. We Need to make our team similar to Wes Coast where guys are tearing the WAFL apart to get a chance and once they do are playing to the team structures and hearts out just to stay in

There aren't many players I detest more than Mitch Robinson. I'd prefer we avoided that comparison altogether.

Some say he paid his money so he is entitled to express his opinion. I don't agree. I have played sport at a decent enough level for many years to know sometimes things just happen on the field that you cant explain. Sometimes the harder you try the worse it gets. I was never gifted with talent but there was no one fitter or who gave more. This is why I hate hearing people on here slate Barty, Joel Mac and others in the past they give their all for the red and the blue and they have played more AFL games than I and most on Demonland. Armchair sports stars tell you how to do things and what they would do, but it aint easy. Some players make it look easy and have natural talent, desire and the ability to go that extra bit. While others have talent and give what is their best. Players of all different levels and talents are pieces in the team jigsaw and it is so hard to get them all together for the ultimate. Yes I get angry with the boys at times but never would I personally attack any of them, I don't have the right no matter how much money I spend or put into the club. I do not know the mindset or the personal circumstances of the individuals. Im not right or wrong its just my personal opinion

i saw more from Morton last night than I have in a long time. And his disposal is an asset we need. So I wont complain about him again for a while

I think we should still go for best available, whatever the position. Especially if we have three first round picks, and then early second. If this guy turns out to be a Mathew Pavlich type player, then he is as good as an extra mid anyway. Definately one to keep a close watch on for the rest of the year.

so what your saying watts is tough couragous and hard at the ball? he needs to lift his intensity to another level and throw himself to the contests and show that he means business. im sick to death of these [censored] weak excuses about about its wet weather footy, its not his style seriously what a load of crock [censored]. didn't stop tom hawkins playing in a tsunami last night. i have been a big supporter of watts but lately prencing aound getting cheap possessions and not putting ya head over the footy or even laying a [censored] tackle last night is [censored] weak and not a good enough effort.

i agree some of the [censored] weak excuses some of these supporters bring up makes me sick. jack just looks disintrested out there. soft as butter.

Excuses excuses excuses. It's all I read from Melbourne supporters with regards to Watts. In all honesty he was a terrible pick one even though he was pegged top 3 by most recruiters. So I don't blame the MFC at all, it's just one of those things that can be gleaned by the benefit of twenty twenty hindsight. Jeremy Cameron is an undersized tall in his first year in the AFL and I would trade Watts for him in a nano second. That boy has heart, courage, desire and can play. He makes Jack look like a sick joke.

I think Tom Hawkins has probably shown just how important confidence can be and the monumental difference it can make. With Watts, I think he lacks confidence in his body and throwing his weight around.

I'm pretty disappointed with a lot of Dees fans openly booing and abusing Cale at the game. He may not be your fav player but he Is wearing a red & blue jumper. I'm not huge fan either but he had 22 disposals 5 tackles & 5 In50's, was far from our worst and I think has been getting better each game this year apart from a couple of turnovers. I thought Essendon fans were a pack of pricks last year for openly booing Stanton whenever he touched It. I'd like to think we're better than that.

No Maurie, what has happened is we have a list of players who are not fit enough and have under performed over the last 5 years, whilst being paid top $$$$. Stop thinking everything just happens with draft picks.

Fair enough. I think that would apply only to 2010 and 2011, but I'll be a happy little vegemite if you are correct.

Probably. But the reason we went so early was that the Crows were in Todd's ear about using the GWS 17 year old draft system to get him to the Crows. We put a stop to that.

The disappearance of the great Yze_Magic

I honestly can't believe all the tripe I'm reading on this thread about us doing deals with GWS/GC, and anything else that has been mentioned. At the end of the day, if we finish 16th (as per the current ladder), we have pick 3. If GWS or GC wish to pick Viney with either Pick 1 or 2, then we have to use our Pick 3 on him. If the MFC believe he is worth that, they spend it, quite simple. The solution is simple. We could be in a fantastic position to go in to this draft with pick 3, 4, 11(ish) and get Viney with our 2nd round pick. We MUST do whatever we can to ensure GWS/GC don't want to use Pick 1 or 2, but one thing is for sure, this DOESN'T involve some secret deal - give these bastards nothing. If they still want to try and backdoor us by putting in a dummy bid, I'm all for calling their bluff and letting them have him. We will get either Whitfield or whoever else is rated a top 2 pick - I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I honestly don't think GWS or GC would risk missing out on a true, potential pick 1 or 2, just to shaft us by trying to force our hand on a potential pick 5-15. Anyone thining otherwise really is jumping at shadows.

Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down? Jack Watts! Jack Watts! Who leaves Atlantis off the maps? Who keeps the Martians under wraps? Jack Watts! Jack Watts! Who holds back the electric car? Who makes Steve Gutenberg a star? Jack Watts! Jack Watts! Who robs cave fish of their sight? Who rigs every Oscar night? Jack Watts! Jack Watts!

.........for us tanking. .........for playing like Jack Watts. .........for not being NIk Nat. .........for not being god.

I thought Aaron showed some hardness last week that i have never seen from him before. alot of our players are adjusting to new roles and Aaron is no different, but i liked his intent and would keep him in the side.

Disappointing game today. I can't help but think we need someone to really give the players a rev up. Uncompromising, draw a line in the sand kinda guy. Vote 1 for Leon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL35da4x0D0