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I do

I didn't say you had to be more be more positive, I just want you to be less of a Fun Vampire and not trample over other people's positivity. Example: rpfc - Blease is playing well. old dee - He will probably leave at the end of the year. (Crickets) (Depressed crickets)

Agreed. Watts is a beautiful kick and user of the ball in general; if he must be down there we may as well play to his strengths.

Watts had ONE bad kick in, most were perfect. I hope he keeps taking them.

It's an existential question: if you don't get the ball to the forward line, do you have a forward line. In essence - can something dissolve if it never existed?

No gunfire from my direction! I'm firmly with you, Lamb! Just a little more patience (well, maybe a LOT more...), and all will be revealed. A glorious new Demon Empire to rival our great days of the 1950's! So, Scoffers, scoff on! Your days are numbered...! Go Dees!

Line up in front of that wall over there.

rpfc says I have to be more positive. It is in the bag GTG Dees by 5 points for our first win. No.7 to kick five from the HFF Clark finishes game with 6 BOG to watts with 32 postions on the wing. Why am I sitting on the floor? Oh no I have fallen out of bed again

I with you on this one. I reckon by the end of the season will have seen signs of what we are all about. Its just a matter of time, as it always is with out club....Oh well, GO DEES!

Yes, and it was a sarcastic comment aswell... Can we stop referencing Comments from the Hun. It's akin to adding footnotes on what the crazy lady outside the housing flats said about requiring bus money home when she clearly, clearly lives there.

Bang

One wins contested footy and the other doesn't. I know which one I'd prefer.

I can only assume that you're talking about young Jamie Bennell?

ENDING THE DAYS OF PAIN by Whispering Jack The media is reporting that one of the Melbourne Football Club's responses to recent intense media criticism in the wake of the team's poor winless record after nine rounds has been to institute a series of meetings for selected supporters where they can question the club chairman Don McLardy, CEO Cam Schwab, Coach Mark Neeld and his assistant Neil Craig on matters relating to all aspects of its performance. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the first of these sessions on Tuesday night and can vouch for the fact that the evening could in no way be described as a "crisis" meeting although that is precisely the impression that many have of the club at present - a club in crisis. It was however, all about the way the club is moving to end the long days of pain it has been experiencing for more than half a decade. From my point of view as a concerned supporter, the one and a half hours were in fact as positive, constructive as they could be in the club's circumstances. The three speakers, McLardy, Neeld and Craig outlined their plans and strategies and made a good fist of reassuring a group of fairly hardnosed supporters that the club is on the right path despite the fact that it sits winless at the foot of the AFL table in a season in which two very young franchises are currently ahead of them (albeit narrowly). I know there are many sceptics but I have to say I was impressed by what the three had to say. McLardy outlined where the club is off the field and this has been well documented. We a positive net asset position despite the loss of a major sponsor. McLardy defended Cameron Schwab and pointed to the red and blueprint which Schwab put together and which has earned praise from the AFL administration. Neeld put together a very impressive presentation. He presented statistics of various indicators to show how his game plan is developing. It's a game plan that's based heavily on defence - not just from back line players but from every position on the field. He pointed out that statistics indicate that only one premiership team in the past three decades hadn't finished in the top four in defensive statistics (Brisbane Lions in 2003 were sixth but in the second half of that season were first). Neeld cited Dean Cox who said the difference between WCE of 2010 and 2011 was that the players adopted and embraced a strongly defensive approach. Needless to say the coach is convinced the tide will turn but it might still take time. Both he and Craig said they were staggered that players were saying they went through their toughest pre season after the new guard took over. They said that in their view, training loads were kept fairly conservatively (to avoid major injuries) and the intensity will be ramped up more during the next pre season. Neeld's view is that many players are brought up with attacking mindsets. The most talented players coming into the TAC Cup system are usually midfielders or forwards. They often remain good attacking players but don't measure up defensively. He found this with many players at Melbourne. He is convinced that the indicators show that his methods are working. Against Carlton, Neeld was happy with the figures both from a defensive and an attacking viewpoint. We were good in a number of areas but during the last quarter when the players were tired, Carlton was able to ramp up the pressure and many of our players reverted to old habits and didn't work hard enough defensively. The easy way to coach would probably have been to follow the same path as Neeld's predecessors, a path that might have brought better results in the short term but would never have given the club a chance to challenge the big boys in much the same way as it struggled against them last year. We all well remember the meaning of "bruise free" and "186" from 2011 even if there were some big moments against the competition's lesser lights. It goes without saying that we can expect changes in the makeup of the team and clearly, the midfield will be the area that gets a fair bit of attention. Craig defended Neeld and his other assistants and pointed to the unbelievable initiation he's had into coaching ranks including the Jurrah situation, the Davey/Mifsud racism furore, the death of Jimmy, the injuries and poor form. Craig also defended Schwab noting that he hadn't seen any sign of interference from the CEO into football department matters (nor McLardy for that matter). Craig was full of praise for the entire leadership group. For all that, Melbourne remains on the bottom of the AFL ladder, and faces Essendon and Collingwood in its next two matches. The days of pain may not be over yet. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 2 June 2012 at 7.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 126 wins Melbourne 79 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 63 wins Melbourne 43 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Essendon 10 wins Melbourne 6 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Neeld 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 Fox Footy Channel live at 7.30pm RADIO 3AW Triple M THE BETTING Essendon $1.05 to win Melbourne $10.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.11.101 defeated Essendon 10.8. 68 at the MCG It was a great night for the Demons as the unexpectedly bested the Bombers in all parts of the ground. It was a big night for Melbourne's young midfielders with Gysberts, Trengove and McKenzie in outstanding form and Scully doing well on return. The problem from Melbourne's point of view is that its goal kickers that night were:- Green 4 Jurrah 3 Jetta Moloney 2 Howe Scully Sylvia Watts How many of these players will be in action on Saturday night? THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Cale Hooker Dustin Fletcher Courtenay Dempsey Half backs Ricky Dyson Kyle Hardingham Jake Carlisle Centreline David Zaharakis Jobe Watson Brent Stanton Half forwards Angus Monfries Stewart Crameri Patrick Ryder Forwards Leroy Jetta Michael Hurley Alwyn Davey Followers Tom Bellchambers Ben Howlett Heath Hocking Interchange Travis Colyer Sam Lonergan Nathan Lovett-Murray Melksham Emergencies David Hille Tayte Pears Henry Slattery In Dustin Fletcher Kyle Hardingham Leroy Jetta Out Mark McVeigh Tayte Pears Henry Slattery MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Tom McDonald Half backs Jack Trengove Jack Watts Colin Garland Centreline Jack Grimes James Magner Nathan Jones Half forwards Rohan Bail Mitch Clark Joel Macdonald Forwards Jeremy Howe Brad Green Luke Tapscott Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Interchange Sam Blease Lynden Dunn Daniel Nicholson Colin Sylvia Emergencies Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell James Sellar In Joel Macdonald Colin Sylvia Out Jamie Bennell James Sellar THE TROUBLES by Whispering Jack It's hard to fathom that twelve months down the track from their last meeting that the two combatants in this game would be at almost polar opposites to each other and that Essendon would be starting as such an odds on favourite to win. The Bombers are sitting in equal top position on the ladder with just one loss for the season (by a single point to Collingwood on Anzac Day) while the Demons have lost their first nine matches of the season. That's enough to make it a lay down misere that an Essendon brimming with confidence will win and win easily and that's how I'm predicting the game to pan out. Part of the question why is already explained above in some shape or form. The type of game that is being instilled into the Melbourne team is radically different to that which applied in past years and the team is not yet ready in terms of make up and fitness to conquer top eight teams in full flight. In last year's encounter, we caught a glimpse of a better Melbourne midfield. It was headed by Brent Moloney who won the club's best and fairest and polled 19 Brownlow votes. Beamer's form has been well down on that and he would be very lucky to have polled a vote at all to this stage of the season. But the better midfielders that night included Jordan Gysberts, Jack Trengove, Jordie McKenzie and Tom Scully, who all racked up good numbers on their possession counts. Two of those players haven't played this year. Gysberts is injured and Scully jumped ship. The so called "compensation" for the latter won't kick in for a while. Other potential young midfielders on the list also languish with injuries and loss of form. So the club's all important midfield has taken a hit just at the time when it's most needed and much development time is being lost. But if the midfield has taken a hit then there's also the matter of the attack. Even with the changes that Neeld's defensive approach entails, the end game is always to score ... at least more than the opposition in any given game. So here is something that the club's harshest critics seem to have missed. Last year, Melbourne's top three goalkickers were:- • Liam Jurrah 40 goals • Brad Green 37 goals • Colin Sylvia 25 goals That's 102 goals between the club's three most attacking playmakers. These players alone directly contributed almost five goals per game between them and I dare say would have been responsible for setting up a few more goals to others on a weekly basis. It's not unreasonable that we should have expected this trio, Mitch Clark and perhaps Ricky Petterd as well, to do most of the team's scoring. Alas, after nine matches we have had very little from the players we might have otherwise expected to contribute to the scoreboard. Instead, we have this:- • Liam Jurrah 0 goals • Brad Green 2 goals • Colin Sylvia 1 goal Now, if you take the three top goalkicking forwards as completely out of the equation as the above figures indicate, it's not likely that a young team with a completely new style of play to learn is going to show very much, particularly if the midfield is also performing at well below its best. Sure, you might say it's the coach's role to get the best out of his players and that will certainly be the case in the medium to long term but after nine games in these circumstances, there's is no reason to do anything other than to cut him some slack. The troubles are by no means over but there needs to be a much greater understanding of Neeld and his team's plight. When it all starts to click the results will be quite dramatic; the club will be in a much better place and the days of pain will be over. But, I don't think we can expect that to happen this week. Essendon by 34 points.

A poster in another thread mentioned the idea of starting a thread of inspirational videos from Youtube and the like. We are 0 and 9. The only way is up and the only way we'll get there is if we all start to ... believe. From the players to the coaches and administrators and of course us to us loyal supporters, it's the most vital ingredient of success. More important than the money, the facilities, the high-perfromance training, the premium draft picks. More important than the lot of it put together. Belief. I'll start us off with some Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa. Feel free to go ahead and post your own. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ "It 'aint about hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit ... and keep movin' forward. How much you can take ... and keep ... movin' ... forward." [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZDw6FxnVMA&feature=related

Not a fan of playing Clark in the ruck. With Sellar coming in for Frawley I don't think we'll have to do that. One thing I want Neeld to maintain doing is playing players in positions he wants them to be in in the long run. So that means Clark plays FF, Watts plays HB/wing (if that's what Neeld wants), Garland stays in defence, Bail does his HFF/run with role, etc. I don't like moving players around as stop-gap solutions. We don't need Clark to ruck. In the long run we have Gawn, and I still have faith in Martin. Clark is dominating at FF; if he was in any other team that's not called Gold Coast/GWS, he could be leading the Coleman.

I never said that I think we'll win, I was just saying there's a good chance that the Bombers will be wary of us. I predict a 10 goal loss, for the record. Also to go on record: Your "optimism" lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes. Well done.

he's been carrying the hip injury for alot of the year, a bit unfair.

If you take out the rookies it's 13 last year vs 24 this year . Massive difference . The 24 out of contract this year doesn't include any rookies . It's a high number and one that has snuck up on a few people . It doesn't necessarily mean there is an issue - it's just an observation . I'm actually quite happy that there are a lot coming out of contract . However there are more than a few we need to move on and stitch up asap . Free agency will open the door for other 'out of contract' players to seek a move if they wish . Player movement in general will increase IMO .

Both of those things could just as easily be to our advantage. Essendon: Could we be their bogey team? Maybe they won't have confidence going in. Collingwood: Neeld and Brown will know all about Buckley and the Collingwood list...this could be a huge bonus for us.

Agressive new approach Both

Will have the second half of the year to prove his worth..... Funny, I thought a player like Ricky would have stepped up to Neeld's expectations.

I like the cut of your jib, young fella me lad. I was inspired by Misson's mantra from his article a few weeks back, an Aristotle quote. It made me somewhat more hopeful of the future (I might even go so far as to say it gave me belief in our future).

This bloke has been everything I hoped he would be, and more. The one thing I wish he wasn't is a decent back up ruck... I hate to see him in there and if would like to see a Jamar/Martin or Martin/Gawn or Martin/Spencer combo used in the future.

So far we have lost only someone who seemed both economical with the truth and without desire to play for our club to GWS OD. So what have we really lost? Heally of all people, raised the issue of quiteness on resignings and I thought McLardy responded well. ( Must have been hard for him not to burst out laughing). I wouldn't be jumping at shadows just yet. Harrington/Viney and co have a big task in managing all the parts to this years picture and we may have to give to get. In a negotiation you never get it all your own way. But with two first round compo picks, a likely lowly finish, salary cap room available, plus some trade value in some of our players including some of the younger ones , I would be surprised if we cant significantly improve our list one way or the other. Our position isn't unreasonable and I hope we remain calm and astute in walking through the process..

I like Huddo... but I can't quite shake the feeling that I'm listening to a work experience kid when he's on (which I find quite refreshing - he always seems in awe of those around him) :-)

And we wouldn't Melbourne supporters if we weren't suspicious of a supposedly good hand in the draft... I don't know where we will finish, so it might be moot - but the odd situation of getting Collingwood's second in charge three weeks before the draft would be handy... What a stubborn idiot Eddie can be... "I am not letting you go. You will stay here and use our resources to formulate a list of players that we will scout and help develop that list into a recruiting strategy and three weeks before the draft when your contract is up and you know exactly what we are looking for and like you can go." Yeah, and WE get criticised for this farce?! It's not our farce! We brought a farce on them, and it's their farce! The farce is not with us!

Jeez, OD. You are a massive killjoy. Maybe he wants to help turn the club around? Maybe that is why he is playing with a verve and flair and went for that amazing goal on the weekend. I refuse to see every little thing that is going right as another potential thing that could go wrong.

I don't care anymore AF I want winners not choir boys. Winning games is my aim. The rest I could not care less

It's a valid concern but I would like to think he would want to stay. He seems to be enjoying his footy. I certainly am.

Our top pick and our pick straight after as Scully compensation are off the table...but why wouldn't we use any other pick plus a player to get Boak? I rate him. Would be happy to use our mid first rd compensation pick + Sylvia for Boak. Presuming we finish 3rd last (big if ATM!) and GWS and GC stay out of Viney stakes, could be picks 3 and 4 plus Boak and Viney! For saypick 12 and Sylvia. Competition is Geelong, Carlton and Essendon. All will likely be top 8 so picks will be lower than our mid round scully compo pick. Just got to hope Boak has some sort of interest in going from one battler club to another!

The most astounding thing to me is that Dunn and Bate will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. It's hard to believe both those players have been persisted with for so long given that neither has ever solidified their spot in the seniors. Perhaps if they had been the victims of serious injuries, such as ACLs, along the way there might have been some justification. But to my mind the fact that both are still on the list is extraordinary.

Been watching most of these games on delay later at night on ESPN, which has been great. Even though knowing the result, its still good watching the machinations of the game. It certainly seems all but a formality it will be Heat-Spurs now. If ever Boston were gonna sneak a win in Miami it was yesterday, a herculean effort from Rondo but still they couldnt get it done down South Beach way. The third cog in the big three wheel in Miami in Bosh is still not back, but they still keep rolling along. Spurs were similarly convincing in their game 2 at home, in fact even more so. They were 20 odd points up at one stage, until a belated third Q comeback led predictably by Durant. The sheer depth of the Spurs roster after the pickups of Diaw and Jackson has meant they can easily cover if one of their stars has a bad night. They certainly run deeper than any of the other 3 teams right now. The tables turned for the first home games for Boston and OKC today and tomorrow, the home fans will be rowdy and hungry for an opening win. I expect these two games to be very close. As for the draft, after the season from hell the Bobcats had, they only end up with pick 2. Devastating that they wont get Davis, who has been the standout in the NCAA this year. His monobrow does scare me somewhat though.

Great pass for that overtime goal . LA are just a juggernaut at the moment . What a run they've had . And they had to win vital games at the end of the regular season just to get into the last 16 for the playoffs . Amazing . I'm still with the Devils though . Just get a win fellas !! Game 2 is Sunday morning oz time . Bewdy , we can watch it live !

Amazing really to see a fit Petterd running around for Casey. I recall the talk on demonland about Gold Coast being him to him and the angst on this board about that. Can't get a game in the team stone motherless last is not a good look and one wonders where his AFL career is at.

Very strange? Why bring back Sylvia without him earning his stripes with Casey due to a bye? Whats he done at training that has got his form back? Both Davey & Morton whilst both deserved to be dropped have had far more disposals & impact than Sylvia? Can someone who is going to those supporter meetings ask Neeld

Thanks KC I am considering going to this game I think it will be a lot more entertaining than the MCG.

Alot of teams, as clubs dont right off all asutralian U18 CHF after 1.5 years like supporters do

At St Kilda FC

Kings are now 9-0 on the road. Unbelievable record. Also, apparently Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom is set to announce his retirement tomorrow.

So according to that article Taylor is "rumoured" to be contracted to the Pies til November 1. Pretty stupid of them considering the draft is only a few weeks later which means he can walk to us before the 2012 draft. They might as well just let him go now.

No need to sook, just act ruthlessly like successful clubs do.

Here's an idea - tell Eddie to GAGF.

He plays in the mid-field with more senior guys like Moloney, Jones and other guys who havn't been showing much burst like Mckenzie. This is a new regime and no injury has even been mentioned by the club. Im sure one of the guys wouldve said he has a 'slight tweak' or something if he was carrying something as a reason for his performance. But no-one has!! except random demonlanders and there prosumptions and there random sources that never get named. Wake up guys, his just struggling with the load at the moment.

The gameplan Bailey implemented would not take us to ultimate glory The training was clearly light under Bailey, therefore the players were "fresher" for games However the fitness levels also would not take us to ultimate glory The style under Bailey was very much an outside game Neeld's game is a much harder more contested style - this is more physically taxing than simply running The players need bodies that can withstand physical battering - right now they do not have that Hence the reason (as Misson himself said) they are still being flogged on the training track during the week. He also said that come next year, the real hard stuff / running at training should be done and dusted by the time the season proper starts They are clearly not running out games at the moment Despite people think that they're elite sportsmen and should be able to stand up to this, this is simply not the case It is clear the players are physically tired during the game, this will change in coming years

I.m with Jarred. I believe Neeld, Mission, Graig etc know exactly what they are doing. And as hard as it is to watch, the sudden improvement we are going to see soon will shock the lot of you. Well some of you.

With respect, Jose, you're a blue sky junkie. Under another guise last year you wouldn't hear a bad word about Bailey, when in reality, he wasn't the right man to take this club forward. I completely understand some Melbourne supporters angst at what has been going on at the club. When one considers that Leoncelli wasn't replaced; the club losing its way when Stynes became ill; the club once again having to revert to Lyon to help orchestrate a coach; the club being stone motherless last while a club we all thought we were ahead of is showing real signs of improvement; the failure to develop a plethora of draft picks, including a handful of top 5 picks; and the embarrassing handling of our current CEO it's little wonder that many feel you need the patience of Jobe to keep getting hit in the solar plexus by this club. Make no mistake, this up-coming draft is astonishingly important. Despite some supporters view that we can't recruit properly, it's a must that we make the most of our strong hand. I genuinely believe that our medium term outlook hinges on it. And if we do recruit well we can turn things around relatively quickly. Richmond notoriously stuffed up draft after draft, but even they have got quality players with Deledio, Cotchin, Riewoldt and Martin because they were constantly at the well. Hawthorn have stuffed up plenty of drafts. Think of Dowler, Muston, and Thorpe, but they too got a few right. Stars are what makes teams become successful - plus a good defensive game-plan that we're learning. We have a chance to get a couple of stars into our club. Clearly there's no guarantee, but we must be a decent chance considering the picks that will be at our disposal. Which leads me to Viney ? I'm not quite the blue sky junkie, but I'll place my faith in the club - again - to make the right decisions with regards to our recruiting set-up, but I can completely undertsand the concerns of some others. I really like Todd Viney and reckon he's a switched on footy person. I doubt he'd accept the role if he thought he'd compromise the club he loves. But it's critical they make the right choices. As stated, we could really change the fortunes of this club. And just because some of you have heard that comment before with regards to other drafts doesn't invalidate this next opportunity. We just have to nail it.

How about last week, when he went back with the flight of the ball, stood his ground, copped a fist in the back of the head and took the mark..? The mysterious anti-oracle... The one who will tell you truth by saying the exact opposite... The man, the myth, the legend... The Freak.

Isn't that Viney's role? He is respected as an assistant coach, and now is in the area of youth development, and has seen a lot of these kids play from an early age while he was watching his son. He also has a strong insight into their character that most head recruiters wouldn't have access to. He was in Europe with the team underthe guise of being there to support his son, but No, he hasn't been a recruiter before, but that doesn't mean he can't spot talent and doesn't understand what qualities make a kid capable of developing into good player. In fact, his development role gives him a bloody good insight. I don't see why you have so little faith in him.

Lethal basically admitted last night that Clark had done mkuch more than he would have expected and been good as a forward. Mitch Clark is the only reason I go at the moment!