Leaderboard

You serious? Terlich has been a bloody good find. You crazy man, you crazy.

Trouble is that the dawn of online journalism means that there is an insatiable need for content. This has meant that we now have a dirth of poor quality journalists trawling for sensational stories in order to make a name for themselves. The vacuous nature of this journalism perfectly suits an environment where news comes and goes at a rate of knots. Compare 'old-school' types like Martin Flanagan and Patrick Smith with blokes like Damian Barrett and Matt Campbell and you see what I mean. Journalistic craft, which was a mix of carefully checked fact and experienced opinion has largely made way for speculative articles based on innuendo and supposition. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about it, as news is now all about money/advertising and editors are under more pressure than ever to ensure that their stories get the most clicks. I watch Neeld's conferences with interest - he isn't that comfortable with the press (getting better), but has been laid into from day one. It seems that he has taken Malthouse's approach, treating the gutter press with barely concealed disdain although seemingly creating relationships with more senior types like Mark Robinson, whom he seems to trust. There was a great line in the afl.com match review, describing Neeld giving his 3Q talk, while a conga-line of gloating journalists was assembling in the Members wing waiting for his sacking. At the end of the day, you could say that Neeld is fully entitled to have an intense dislike of the press, but it's something he needs to live with and arguably get better at dealing with. But, as Teddy Roosevelt said: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. "

The look on my kids faces during the last quarter when dominating and singing the song to victory was priceless for me. We all know that we want more. But its important to acknowlege any win and enjoy it. It was a great feeling for a change.

The media is literally out of control these days. Look at the way in which The New York Post has been reporting on the Boston marathon bombing - totally outrageous. There is also no such thing as sports journalism anymore. You only need to watch that documentary "When We Where Kings"' about Ali to realise that the old school sports journalists being interviewed about the George Foreman fight in Zaire were quite intellectual, very considered and interesting. Sports journos now are all absolute dolts.

Quite the opposite IMO. Having another big ruckman yesterday highlighted to me that Jamar has been going against two ruckmen each week, and that he simply can't do that anymore. With another ruckman in the team, however, Jamar looked much better. In my view, there is a role for both of them. And yep - like the rest of you - I am very excited about Maxy Gawn.

Went to the footy yesterday on the D train. 11.13 am train from Pakenham. What a great idea and trip in it was. The Casey Demons, MFC and Metro should all be congratulated on the idea and carrying out of the day. We arrived at the station to see many of the staff, the buglar, face painting and a balloon person. When the train arrived the staff hung the first two carriages with red and blue balloons up popped the ruckle more passengers arrived and we were off. All the seating was taken by the time we got to Dandenong. Red and blue everywhere, free chockies, year books and car stickers. The little kids loved it and the not so little ones too. By the time we got to Richmond there wasn't even any standing room either, and many Dees supporters were in other carriages as well. Great day, great idea cant wait to the next one. I was told they will have more carriages for the Dees on the next one. Well done to all concerned.

* Urgency * Intensity * Will for a contest * Second/third efforts * Tackling * Physicality * "Elite Compliance" Jack Watts - after 5 years in the system, he is a way off from the above aspects that are a necessity for AFL standard. Jack's performance yesterday was lacking in these departments. It was embarrassing and it cost the team on the score board as a direct result. I'd be actually hesitant in playing him at Casey in the same forward line with Jesse. Because I wouldn't want any shirking evident near Jesse. On second thoughts, Jesse wouldn't alter his game in any way which is a hard physical approach to every contest, or contested mark situation, so if any of this rubs off on Watts, it will be a bonus. Some of the stand-off-ball watching-one handed broken tackles-jogging around observing teammates put in, were just cringeworthy in the extreme. I've seen better efforts from him in the past, and I've got to question his desire, work ethic, application, dedication and concentration. Because it waivers. I've seen him at training and observed him. I have questions about his committment to training hard. He's a laid back lad. If he makes an error and the ball is still in dispute, his competitive edge is found wanting, repeat efforts are rare or simply insipid. I counted quite a few non negotiables that were breached yesterday, if this "elite compliance" that the FD have been setting is anything to go by, J.Watts shouldn't be boarding the flight for the Gabba this week IMO.

Chelsea made the right call each time...it was the field umpires who called for the reviews....

Melbourne is nearing a full strength list, with just Clark and Dawes on the injury list this week. Round five injury list Mitch Clark (foot) test Chris Dawes (hamstring) test That is incredible. Injured Demon Clark down, but not out for the count

The "D-Train" sounds a helluva lot more fun than the "reality bus" the rest of us are on!

One of my favourite threads last year, is there a reason why it hasnt started up again? If so, let me know and we can put a holt to it! Grimes - Plenty of footy Byrnes - Showed his class Evans - Last quarter specialist Trengove - 10 Captain Tackles Jamar - Solid Ruckmans Game M.Jones - Keeps getting better N.Jones - On Field Captain Sylvia - Need 4 Quarters Bail - Tackled and Ran Howe - Clutch and Heroic Garland - Lifted when needed Gawn - He can play Frawley - Did his job Pederson - Was good early Terlich - Hard, tough, talented Watts - Some ok patches McDonald - Not his best Tapscott - Needed more yesterday Jetta - Some ok patches Clark - Not quite himself Davey - Perfect Sub Game Viney - Tried but hurting

I can't believe what I'm reading on this thread. The term 'cheap seats' is a standard reference used to mean any person who is not actually in a position accountable for the decisions someone else has to make. It's regularly used when people want to explain why it's harder to play or umpire any game and it's also used when companies explain to shareholders and politicians explain to voters that the decisions that they (the company directors and politicians) have to make are more difficult than they may appear to be to outsiders (those in the cheap seats) who don't have all the facts. Don is 100% correct that the greater the scrutiny the harder it will be to get people prepared to give up their time to volunteer to be on the Board of any AFL club. Where he was wrong was in his timing. He needed to have read 'Team of Rivals' first and learned from Abraham Lincoln that the time to make this sort of move (in Lincoln's case his Emancipation Proclamation) was after a win, not beforehand, so it doesn't look like whinging.

I heard this and it was pathetic. T shaw is a [censored] jockey As bad as the dig from the boundary rider to the captains about remembering the song. Cant they go five minutes without a school yard dig. As I said previously i picked up that Jack T in the post game chat said something along the line "they are all out to get us" Hopefully this us against them attitude will solidify the team and stick it up a few of the overpaid media plodders.

I'm not 'bagging' Watts. I'm realistically pointing out his deficiencies, and they're significant. For instance, the reason he gets 'good carry out of the back half' is because he never wins the ball himself. He's a receiver, which every player can be at some time, but not all the time. He never goes in hard himself, and you just can't get away with the other players always taking the hits and earn respect. Watch him next time there's a 50-50 contest possiblity. He'll always take the soft option, which is to wait for the opponent to take possession then attempt a tackle, rather than win possession himself. You may call that 'clever', which it is in the right circumstances, but when someone does it all the time it's letting down your team. And his tackles are often weak. He had two on Sunday. That's poor for someone playing predominantly back. With that approach, he'll never be a midfielder. You have to go in hard. He's just a pack skirter. The one person who can fix all this is not Neeld, or the mid-field coach, or the backline coach. It's Jack Watts. And only Jack Watts. The biggest thing that would help the team is Jack Watts playing like every other footballer that's any good.

JACK WATTS MUST PLAY FORWARD THIS WEEK! IT'S TIME DAMMIT! IT'S TIME!

perhaps its because we lost 3 by 100 and were every chance to lose again that didn't happen and in fact we played a qtr of pure domination this proved we have at least some ticker and not a list of total duds you think maybe that's why?

Then again, maybe the incidents needed review, the right decisions were made, and all the arguments about gender and the hard-done-by Demons are crap.

Every week we are a chance, it just depends if the players can be bothered or not.

I'm from the Barassi school of thought where you go harder on the players with talent because its no great feat to be born with talent it's how hard you work to use it which is what matters. Watts has all the ability in the world but needs to realise talent without urgency and intensity for the full 120 minutes is pointless.

Until the AFL invests in having set camera's on the goal line and on posts etc. instead of using the TV camera's, the whole Video Review System will continue to be the insipid unpredictable circus it currently is.

Nate Jones also patted Scully on head - but no mention of that of course.

Comments like this are plain stupid. Not everyone is able to step up to be President or on the board of a football club, the ones that do generally have some standing in the community, some skills in business, a fair amount of ego and some money behind them. A position like President of an AFL club is also good for their profile and doesn't hurt them in the wider business community either, so don't think it's all a one way street. As members and supporters though, we do have a right to be critical of decisions made, it doesn't make us any lessor people or supporters for disagreeing and seeking change when we believe things have been done to the detriment of the club. In fact if we don't speak up and seek change and just accept the status quo then what kind of club would we have, what kind of supporters are we. You are pro the current board and admin, so be it, it's your opinion and one I don't share. Go for your life, but don't go about criticising anyone else and calling them a lessor supporter for not sharing the same view. We all want what's best for the club but have different views on how to achieve it.

I am absolutely pumped. That was an epic final quarter. And win. Down and out against the co-cellar dwellers, who've actually shown a bit this year. We've been bagged mercilessly all year, down on confidence, down by 19 points at 3/4 time, plenty of talk in the media of massive changes if we fail to win the game, poor umpiring decisions during the entire game to overcome - in short, so much stacked against a win by this player group in the circumstances. And then - Geelong like intensity at the ball. And skill - it began to look like a training drill. Don't under-estimate that win - it was fantastic in the circumstances. Not to over-estimate it either, but we really needed it. This is apparently the third oldest football club in the world. It is the oldest in the league. And we have won 12 premierships. And not ever before have we had a 12.2 final quarter. Bloody fantastic. So yep - I'm pumped C&B.

Pretty sure he stuffed up a kick around half forward but kept running with GWS players all over him and he tackled and kept going for the ball again and eventually held it up in the forward line. Mistakes don't bother me we are going to make plenty but it's what you do afterwards. He didn't point fingers or just stand there. He busted his butt.

Build character? That kid would have great character to deal with what he has had to deal with. Don't confuse physicality on a football field with ones character. If you think that you are more misguided than all those you so rudely accuse of being on here.

So have calmed down a bit, anyone want to retract there per year comments that Davey is done? Very critical sub for us today, took a few minutes to find the ball but his goals came when the game was in the balance, he still has plenty to offer.

Would have kicked 10 if he did not have the beard..........

Jamar was still poor but played his best game with Gawn in the side. Maybe the Russian cannot run out a game by himself. We need to play two ruckmen every week.

i love the optimism here, no doubt caught during the highly contagious last quarter but did you guys watch the other 3 quarters? And all other quarters this year baring some glimpses in the game against the Eagles. I also point you to exhibit A from round 1 last year. I dearly hope I am proven wrong but I find the optimism here after one quarter of decent football to be premature. Just my two cents. As i said I love the optimism but I have supported this club for too long and have had all the optimism sucked out of me.

I love that mark where he held off the two blokes on either side of him then marked the ball, turned around, ran into the goals and nailed it. Pure arrogance. If he can stay fit he'll be an absolute gun

I just wanted to acknowledge the efforts of these 3 players in the leadership they showed today in righting the ship.. when things were untidy they showed their guts. & they brought some mates in with them.

Wattsanism - a curious malady, where sufferers continue to verbally recycle what others have said, focussing their diatribe of inane thoughts and waffle on a particular individual.

On a serious note, D's played well with Clarke of because we finally got some run and given Brisbane are quick I think Mckenzie to tag Rich, Blease for pace and Strauss so Jack can go up forward with Jetta, Viney and Clarke missing

We must have been sitting in the same area. I don't think he shirked the contest but he made a poor choice. He took his eyes off the ball and went at the opponent to bump him. He should have attacked the ball and taken the hit with the ball in his possession. This would have provided a better outcome for the team. More chance of getting the free and less chance of the ball being taken away from the contest. JW's not going to hurt anybody with a bump, at least not with the lack of ferocity he showed in this instance, but could have hurt the opposition with a clean disposal or a resultant free kick.

Just let him play on the HFF, wing and make him accountable. When the opposition has a press, he has to get involved and make sure he gets defensive. Btw, in the 2nd quarter, there was a loose ball with a GWS player coming one way, and JW coming the other way....he didn't shirk it. He got hurt, but got up and dusted himself off. Happened right in front of me.

Max Gawn showed glimpses of his true potential today. What i really like about him, he is 6'9", but chases and contests like a mid fielder, and when he rests in the square, he is such as presence, that he attracts two or three defenders, and still beats them, either by marking it, or by providing a contest, and it falls to unmarked forwards. He is also a dominant centre bounce ruckman. I have said in other treads here, that Max has the potential to be in the 2 or 3 most important players at the club as we climb into the top half. I think today he showed us glimpses of that potential. it is very exciting...

PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED. PLEASE DON'T GET INJURED. PLEASE PLEASE DONT GET INJURED.

Never mind I got it thanks to some Filth fan complaining about the same thing For the nerds Here is the link that the web site gives you http://www.afl.com.au/video/smart-replay/?ound=CD_R201301404&match=CD_M20130140407&eventType=Goal&seek=6032&videoQuality=high Here is the one that works: http://www.afl.com.au/video/smart-replay/?round=CD_R201301404&matchId=CD_M20130140407 Note the differences? Bloody amateur hour, lets hope the $500K donation we have to give them will buy them some people who can actually write and test software properly

There are plenty of nervous nellies who think: 1. We don't have any good players. 2. We cannot attract good players. 3. We can't keep our good players. 4. We can't keep the good players we attract. It takes a f___ing mental gymnast to straddle all of these natterings at once.

Posters are asked to take extreme care when raising allegations about any player at this club. Refer to the code of conduct. We apply zero tolerance when clearly defamatory allegations are made and for this reason we have indefinitely banned one poster today. Thank you

I thought Jack was good, bad and everywhere in between today. There were times i thought he was cool and slick and other times he should have commited to a contest and didn't. So watching him its about confidence. I dont doubt he has talent and can do things. I just reckon he second guesses. Maybe a bit like the team. Once he gains more confidence I do believe he will be more consistant.

Staggering that there are a few without Byrnes in their top 6. BOG is up for debate but I thought it was beyond contention that he was top 5.

Here's an idea for another poll: Do you agree with those posters who expressed some disappointment in the Game Day thread that we had an all-time record last quarter because by winning we lost an opportunity to get rid of the coach. They are of course welcome to their deep strategic thinking, but .....

When Jim Stynes stepped up to take the Presidency when no one else would his first choice was to cajole Dees supporting experienced and successful business types to also step up and join the board. This is the board that resulted. Some had previously refused offers to join the board for fairly obvious reasons and it was only Jim's cajoliung that persuaded them. I am still waiting for those who advocate throwing out this board to to tell us who is going to replace them. I don't think you are gong to find it as easy as you think to persuade experienced and successful business types to devote 20 - 40 hours a week to the Melbourne Football Club. And anyone who thinks Don McLardy is out of touch have never had a chat with him about the Dees at a club function or after a game. My Name is Tom Potter And I Approve This Message.

I find Don's take on this and his referral to the 'cheap seats' a little bit condecending. Don's comment that we will end up with people from the cheap seats running the club which will be another major problem for the game is laughble when you consider how well those from the 'expensive seats' are going doing the same thing. I mean Don really could anyone do any worse than what the club has been subjected to in the last 2 years? Don really is out of touch and needs to get some perspective. I would have thought the 'establishment' type people at our club would have realised they need the people in the 'cheap seats' to make this club a great one together as one and not blame them for pressure. Lets face it at 3 Qtr time today all I could think was - what more do you want MFC...20K supporters turn up even when you are at your lowest and now you are doing this to them against GWS. Seriously Don come sit in the 'cheap seats' just like Jim used to do. You might find you actually learn something outside the ivory tower.

Take a bow you bloody legend! Never say die attitude, hard work pays off. Lead from the front again today. Well done #2

I think he can still make it but he needs to go back to Casey and and stay there until he demands a recall - not after 2-3 weeks but 6-10. Look at McLean when he went to Carlton. Was not gifted games and was sent to the VFL to the point where some thought his career was over. Then when he did get his next chance he took it with both hands as be knew be may not get another. There's no point dropping Watts for 1 or 2 weeks he needs to find form and confidence and learn you need to earn games (by putting your body on the line) and not just be gifted them. Goes for a few other players on our list as well only problem is not sure how many players we have to come in for them all. Watts would be one of my first on this list though.

I was listening to the Triple M call at the game today and they were onboard Jonesy in a big way. The Chu-man (statistician) pointed out that he leads the competition, the whole competition ffs, in centre clearances. We might have been a bit down on ourselves lately, but this should not go unheralded.

To be brutally honest with you Sue my business likes to be associated with winning and success, so I'll not be sponsoring out current club. But I love that at the first sign of someone putting their hand up you've sniped at them. Go ahead. I'm not going to accuse you of taking a cheap shot from the 'cheap seats'. I'm smart enough not to do that.

He is the heart and soul of this footy club. And IMO, damned close to elite. How is he not on the Demonland banner? Get Garry "I'm too busy" Lyon off there and put the bald nugget in the centre!!