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Akin to the worst employee at the Ford factory quitting a week before they lay off 500 people.

Glad to know we started it - one of the few positives for the year.

The next best thing after a Demons win is an Essendon loss and this mob have capitulated in fine style after being touted as a flag fancy earlier in the season. Anyone who has mates who bang on and on about Hiiiiiiiirdy and Bombaaaaa will know what I'm talking about. Go to Bomberblitz and follow the meltdown live. It's a guilty pleasure.

I'm seeing players working harder. I'm seeing more discipline. I'm seeing more scrapping. I'm seeing some fight. Not from everyone, no. The usual suspects can't or won't put in. But there's enough spirit and commitment to the cause there to suggest that Neeld is getting through to a critical mass of the players. He's getting 'buy in'. Get Clark and a Cloke type down there, add a sprinkling of class in the middle and some dog-hungry Moneyballers to the side ... and we will claim some real scalps next year. Don't doubt it. This club will climb up off the canvas. A new Melbourne is going to emerge that we can all be proud of.

Can't you just PM the cheap shots - really annoying to read straight insults when trying to understand what happened in a game played 9000 km away from me.

Not sure why people are being smart arses about a member of the MFC family leaving. Sure he wasn't able to crack it for a game, but making an AFL list is a great effort, he didn't cost us much and hopefully he gave it his all while he could. I wish him well for the future.

Yep. It was everyone. Everyone except for, well... everyone. Seriously, who wanted that other than a handful of nitwits?

I think we've established that, despite the awesomeness that is Mitch Clark, you need more than one key forward target to get anywhere near success. Of our current options that you mention: Watts is best down back. Jurrah is a good chance of not playing again. Ricky Bobby is going to GC. Garland has proven he is a defender. Howe will be a mid. Sylvia is a running flanker. Trengove can't kick a goal from 40 out. Jamar can't kick at all. You are left with Martin, Rivers, Sellar, Bate and Dunn as your key forward options. Yes, we need Cloke.

Reports of his severe home sickness were coming out of the club since day 1. Well done for sticking it out (mostly) for the duration of your commitment. Top level footy isn't for everyone.

Seems some people are still not getting it. We dont need 'potential" anything any more.. We need GOERS WE need elite, not potential elite We need midfielders, not potential midfielders We need forwards , not potential forwards weve had it up to our ears in potential for a decade and got absolutely NOWHERE. Its time for players to DO, not be considered potential , or even triers, we need DOERS !! Sylvia does not do, he exudes "might". Might isnt good enough anymore.

I think Nev may be a victim of other peoples' expectations to some extent. A lot of people look at him and see a small aboriginal player, so they expect lightning speed, flashy skills and the odd freakish moment. That's just not the sort of player he is. He's a hard, tough, courageous combatant who will fight for the contested ball and do well in traffic. He is more like Brett Kirk than Cyril Rioli.

Watch the interview with him on deetv post match - he aint goin' anywhere!

This should be our main priority at the moment. Then sign Rivers.

because beamer had exceeded his pointing quota

He did that time we lost to Hawthorn.

I'm not sourcing or divulging my 'sauces' but I'm telling you all right now that Blease will not be going anywhere. He is so appreciative of how the Club supported and counselled him during his major injury. Further, he has several very close mates (Gys is one of them) and he loves the place. Will sign.

Yes good post. It would have continued with "Goodsey and Kirky wouldn't have let that happen. They would have got Judy and Reidy to have a chat with him. Then he would have had a coffee with Jacky and Joshy and all would have worked out fine. They really are a rabble down at demonland. No culture and an irrelevant club. Isn't that right Mike?"

If we were just talking about this game in isolation then I would agree. Yes he may or may not have been hurt really bad yesterday but you can't defend my sceptacism of Sylvia's efforts as he has shown little or no effort in a lot of games prior to yesterday it all adds up in the end

Next they'll start asking Lawrence about his knowledge of tanking.

If we're so bad, then please feel free to go and follow another team. RR made some valid observations, but you nay say purely because these observations were made by RR.

I find it unbelievable that Melbourne beats Richmond by 8pts earlier in the 2009 season, then loses by a kick after the siren allegedly as a result of positional experimentation (at least we played our players, a 2 goal turnaround, earth shattering!) but GWS has an almost 60 point turnaround after dropping all their "stars" against a team that until only a few weeks ago couldn't win a game! Yet there is not even a murmur of from the press about tanking. It defies belief, the AFL protection of its new babies obviously runs pretty deep.

He does make some valid points. However, pointing out poor decisions at the MFC is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. Does Melbourne have a poor culture because of tanking? I doubt it. I'd say it's more because of bad leadership & the failure to recruit leaders. Recruiting has been key in Melbourne's demise. Scott Thompson, Luke Molan, Daniel Bell, Colin Sylvia, Matthew Bate, Nathan Jones, James Frawley, Cale Morton, Jack Watts, Tom Scully, Lucas Cook - all of our first pick, first rounders this century. Jones & Frawley aside, has there been a pick that hasn't been disappointing, disastrous or not bitten us in the arse? Give us hungry footballers in Sam Mitchell, Sam Fisher, Cyril Rioli, Michael Hurley, Dustin Martin, Jack Darling & that goes a long way to solving the talent & culture problem. Geelong have been great at recruiting talent & building culture. A little luck goes a long way though, they've gained Gary Ablett, Matthew Scarlett, Tom Hawkins & Mark Blake through the father-son rule, all who've been pivotal in premierships (Blake 09 only). In the same time period Melbourne got Chris Johnson. A bit of financial & political stability goes a long way. Melbourne has a set of unique challenges in that respect which should be kept in mind before pushing the line "Club Y did this, Club Z does that, why can't the MFC?" Benchmarking has its place but the best clubs are successful because they can find a cutting edge, a competitive advantage or adapt to their surrounds. To my mind Melbourne has too often been a follower in that respect. The reasoning behind many of the decisions made by Melbourne since Daniher finished has been sound, the execution pox. The cultural problems of today stem from a lack of leadership & are compounded by the failure to recruit leaders. Schwarz is more than entitled to his opinion & should be commended for the way he has turned his life around. However, The cultural problems of today would be better if former players & leaders had left a legacy of professionalism, dedication to club & cause. Not a legacy of getting on the [censored], the punt, hanging out with gangland figures & introducing that lifestyle to young, impressionable team mates.

Another casual reminder that Essendon missing the finals effectively bumps our mid 1st round compo pick forward by 1 slot (as another team missing the 8 would pick before this compo pick and they'd choose from players we'd have our eyes on, as opposed to picking Daniher).

AFL tick of approval

I saw more that gives promise than not. You can either believe that we are heading in the right direction or we are doomed, that is your choice. We are still playing some bad, over possession low confidence football. But there are indeed glimmers of hope. In a group of players with such low levels of experience, and especially playing together so rarely as a core group, I took a lot from what I saw. Are we there yet? No. Are we on the path? I really think so.

I am sorry to disagree and be a minority but this is the best clash strip MFC has ever produced. It keeps the red and blue but adds a light colour that provides the clash alternative to another dark jumper. I agree that perhaps using it against the Saints might not be the best option, but it is a recognisable, well designed and classy looking jumper.

I haven't posted for a few weeks because Demonland has become so heavy, whingy and depressing but I had to add my 20c worth. For the first time in a long time I saw some signs of new life. Endeavour and ticker were not an issue for most of the game Nev Jetta was ferocious at times. Blease played four quarters, Grimes leadership - a really good leader emerging here.. Players actually the game on and spreading - yes, I actually saw both defensive andattacking spread!!! Don't get me wrong, we are still horrible at times, but what I saw gave me the best hope I have had since the Bombers win. The forward line was non-existent for most of the game but we have some good players injured.

It's simple, there was a clash yesterday. Both teams have a clash strip, just so happens that ours clashes with their original strip. At least one occasion Blease mistook a saint for one of ours and passed it to him. Any clash should be eliminated where possible. The solution yesterday would have been for us to wear our traditional jumper and the Saints to wear their clash strip, doesn't matter whose home game it was, that was the solution, the AFL failed.

Josh Mahoney: Sigh. Won't someone think of the words.

His manager will only want to sign him for 2. He is a player whose value in 2 years could be very hard to guage now. The most pleasing part of the interview is the mention of the extra work he is doing in preparation for next pre-season. This is the comments that the good teams make and is starting to be heard more and more in MFC interviews.

Sylvia and elite does not compute with me. He spends most of his timely vaguely looking for easy ball and the rest of the time putting in single efforts on the hard ball.

THIS IS THE WORST DAY EVER!

Sylvia has shown he can be elite, its not on potential - the guy is elite. The thing is, he isn't 'elite' very often, mainly due to injuries. As good as Jones is and has been, Sylvias best is better, he just needs consistancy and injuries have prevented that. Neeld and Craig will get the best out of him. Massive upside in Colin, moreso than trading him - in which we wouldn't get much anyway.

He is 19 years old. How good is that stat!?

Not me , been screaming for no BS straight line players for 20 years.

Thanks for the memories Kelvin.

He must? Dunno if you have listened to Neeld much, but he seems pretty happy with Trengove, and if anything suggests that Trenners focuses too much on doing the 1% stuff, and is too intense. Trengove still managed 22 possessions and was one of the leading possession winners on either team in the first half. In an ordinary year he is still top 3 for disposals, and top 2 for tackles... and high up on whatever 1% stats Neeld seems to track internally. Tell me why would giving Jones a share of the captaincy make things better for anyone?

For the first half we were beating them in most of the key stats and were using the ball ok, we just have a completely non-functional forward linen The amount of inside 50s with Clark in there, we would kick a lot more goals. In the middle they had: Dal Santo, Montagna, Hayes, Goddard. Guys that were a bees dick away from Premiership players. They had more quality and it showed when it counted. I'm baffled that some people can't take positives out of that win. This has given me belief for 2013 and beyond.

Who?

You missed the point of the thread TA I'll repeat it for you. Against the Aints, our REGULAR jumper would have been LESS a clash than our CLASH strip i.e. NO need for a clash strip in this game In fact I think some of the turnovers on both sides were due to the clash strip Clear?

They may not play finals but they do have some very good players. We can sit here and hang sh!t on all and sundry if you want to, but, hell, we have been doing that for the last two months. And this site is fine, except for when people get on here and say that you can't take anything positive in a loss. As a captain of a team that just got pantsed I will say that is absolute BS, and not helpful at all. So you can go start a blog and write about how crap we are but guess what - we know that. But life isn't black and white and if we can pick out something worthwhile in the grey then that's great.

The key to ruckmen as one-dimensional as Spencer is the use of their body. He knows he is big and likes contact. He is Jamar's heir at this point. I will say that I don't rate the importance of ruckmen greatly - effective tap ruckmen are fantastic. But what do they do once it hits the ground? Athletic jumping ruckmen are also pleasing on the eye, but what happens when they are lost the rest of the time or do what Jeff White did - sit a kick back from the play. What a waste. My point is a sideways point - I don't want a ruckman picked with 3 or 4 in the upcoming draft, if the presence and prognosticated development of Spencer means that doesn't happen then that is great.

Spot on.

correct. as previously stated, for about 108 out of 120 minutes (90%) of the game we lost by a point - however, it has to be acknowledged we piled on 5 goals to 1 in the last 20 minutes or so, commonly referred to as 'junk time'

I watch him really closely and he's a lazy [censored]. He plays the game on his terms. The difference between his best and worst is massive. With his experience it sickens me. I know he's a great talent and I know he'll have games where he stars elsewhere and opposition supporters will say "how did they let this bloke go", but I don't care, because he's not a leader. Strong clubs can trade a Sylvia type and go on to win premierships.

Yes I noted that as well. It is good to see he listens. He is never going to be a naturally defensive player but with 2 more preseason he will be that good that it wont matter.

Blease is better than his mate from Bankstown.

Good on spencer and blease for having a dip Sylvia should have a look at Spencer's efforts and take note

Now the Crows have joined in.....Eddie is having uncomfortable bowel movements atm.

i'll never forget that great game he never played please can the days of hanging on to players who give us nothing for years be gone Newton I'm thinking of you Brad Miller, 5 good games out of 150, i'm thinking of you too