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Round 1 - St Kilda kicked 5 in a row in the last 15 minutes of the first quarter. Round 2 - Carlton kicked 5.4 to our 0.2 in about 20 minutes of play either side of half time Round 3 - Geelong kicked 5 in a row in about 7 minutes of play either side of three quarter time Round 4 - Fremantle kicked 8 in a row from the half-time siren to the end of the third quarter Round 5 - Richmond kicked the last 5 goals in the final quarter in about 15 minutes. Round 6 - the only game so far where our opponent hasn't had a run of goals (the first half was too low quality for either side to do it) Round 7 - Hawthorn kicked the last 4 goals of the first quarter in about 15 minutes. In all four of our losses we lost by less than the score kicked during this period of being "off". It seems to me that we are spending more of the game playing better than our opponent than we do playing worse but we don't convert the periods of dominance whilst we let our opponent convert their periods of dominance into scores. The optimist says if we work on lowering the time spent "off" during a game, the wins will flow. The pessimist says we've had this same problem for years and we still, despite setting ourselves for finals this year, cannot get through games without these small periods which ruin what is usually otherwise 2 or 3 or 3.5 quarters of strong football.

Agree the numbers say that, but I have been to every minute of every game- It wont placate the masses to say we "could" be 7-0 but we indeed have been in with a winning chance in every game. This is unlike other years. We are a much better side, we just havent got the job done as we could have. I would rather be in every game, and have a solid game plan, than bob up every now and then with a stirring win against the odds. I go to every game now believing we can win, this hasnt happened fora very very long time. I am as frustrated as anyone with 3-4, but there is lots of upside if you get past the disappointment.

What a frustrating loss by a group whose arousal levels need to be at high alert all of the time, not just some of the time. They get too comfortable too quickly. As you say, Brayshaw is the disappointment. In his third year we need the class in the midfield we now expected him to be providing. I still rate him highly, others don't, but him being the mid we hoped for and expected would make a huge difference. Selection is just one component, but it's another element that has been a bit baffling over the last couple of weeks. I didn't mind Weideman early days, or the retention of Melksham, but for the life of me I question Kennedy-Harris and Bugg getting games ahead of Harmes, Stretch, Kent and even what Neal-Bullen was showing in the main. Harmes isn't perfect, but he's a big fast body who has a crack. Give me Harmes over Bugg every day of the year. Kent might have needed a rocket, but gee, he would have provided more than JKH. Stretch isn't immune to playing in the VFL, but he also offers more, albeit in a different role. That said, I won't forget the positives. Being 4th on the 'quarters won' ladder shows we're playing some very good footy in parts, so does the frustrating stat that we've been level or ahead in the last quarter of every game. I also like using other clubs who have taken the journey before us as a guide, such as the Dogs. In Beveridge's first year they were 5/5 from 10. We can still be 5/5 from 10, or 6/5 from 11. They went on to win 14 games and play finals that year (2015) even though they lost to Brisbane in round 23. Brisbane went into that match with 3 wins and finished second last with just 4 wins. So even a Luke Beveridge side that was about to embark on finals lost the last game of the year to a cellar dwellar. We know what they did 12 months later. It's bloody frustrating, but I still believe we can win 3 of our next 4 to get back on track. But we have to turn up to play.

Whats more depressing than losing? Reading the negativity, criticism and bagging of players, coaches and Club. There are winners and losers in football as there is in life. In many countries there is poverty, deprivation and a life without future. However, people remain happy. They have faith, hope, patience and also optimism for their future or their children's future. So if you see no future for the MFC and if all that comes to mind are negative thoughts.....then for God's sake give it away. If there is one worse thing about watching your team go down at the MCG, its sitting near a bunch of whinging Melbourne supporters bagging their own players. I can think of many occasions when I have got close to decking some of our supporters for the comments that they shout out. Have faith, optimism and positive thoughts or give it up and make your life and the life of family and friends a happier one. Did the Bulldog supporters give up on their beloved club. No, and look what happened. After years of frustration and disappointment, they won a flag. Losing brings disappointment and frustration. It dents your expectation, confidence and hope. However, there is always next week and a win will bring renewal of these things. The best posts are those where their authors have constructive comments about where improvement can come from, such as selection, team balance, game plan etc. See the upside to this young side and coach, and appreciate that this is still a developing list with lots of improvement still to come.

Hey guys, First time long time... I'm feeling optimistic. That 3rd q was electric. Not since 98 have we looked so dangerous. Our best footy is very very good! Our midfielders are learning to survive without Gawn's silver service. This can only make them better players. Trick is finding enough wins to stay in touch of the top 8. I think we can. Pretty nice draw this year. Get Gawn and Joel Smith back (who looked incredible for a first gamer) Our defense is blistering! Frost and Hunt running off halfback is so exciting! Hogan looking very dangerous too. We're not far away!

The most annoying thing is how predictable it all is. Come out half-hearted against an out-of-form side, allow them early goals to get their confidence and belief going and find ourselves well behind early in the game. Then turn it on when hope seems gone, come roaring back into the match but fail to finish the job and lose a nailbiter. I reckon I've seen this movie 20 times. I hated it the first time and I hated it today. We keep coming back for more but the script doesn't change. Over and over and over again we play teams near the bottom who are down on confidence and we fail to come out switched on from the outset. I would love to be surprised for once and to see us land some big blows early against these sides but it doesn't happen. We lost to drug-banned Essendon last year but learned nothing and we continue to fail to show up when expected to win. There are some real attitude problems that we just cannot, at the moment, get over. We've improved our list, our talent, our skill (not there yet but better), our hardness, etc. But we really are miles off it mentally. I said the same thing after the Freo game when we failed to get men back in the last few minutes. Great teams find a way to win, we simply find ways to lose. We are just so good at it. If the aim in football was to extract defeat from winnable positions we'd be the reigning triple Premiers. And it's no surprise our best quarter was the third. The pressure was off as there was no expectation to win being 6 goals down. Then once again as soon as we drew level in the last and the expectation was we would run over them, we fail to go on with it. I'm sick of the youth excuse. We had enough senior players out there today to lead the way. They've had these lessons before and they've learned nothing. I'm quite happy with our physical development so far this year but mentally we are really falling well short of the mark. We need to find some answers.

Have heard Lou Richards has passed, very sad the end of a great time in footy grew up hearing him.he had a good life and thoughts with his family

I had the honour of meeting both Lou and the larger than life E.J. Whitten at the old McEwen's hardware store (the last one became a Bunnings apparently!) in the Bourke Street store circa 1976 - 78 as a young fella. Teddy was a huge framed bloke (for me anyway) and had a huge booming voice in person. The city was like my back yard play ground back then and I used to take the short cut between Bourke street and little Bourke on occasions through McEwens. On this particular occasion I walked in on either a store self promotion or maybe an VFL ( Chanel 7 3AW/3KZ sponsored?) footy fan prize giveaway competition with mini put put as the challenge. Not dissimilar to that we are seeing on the a Footy show now in an attempt to fund raise for struggling local clubs at the moment with Sam the only one doing the putting. I was lucky enough to have a go. Pretty sure I just missed on my attempt but the memory of these two huge personalities and legends and the opportunity to meet them in the one event was very special as a young bloke. His co hosting of WWOS and League Teams was always a highlight and not to be missed on Sunday's and Thursday evenings respectively. Bobby, Jack and Lou what legends and was mostly all on the run and ad libbed. Thanks for the memories, all the great gags and laughs . R.I.P. Louie "the Lip" Richards ✌?️

Yes, it was probably ghosted but as a young boy I couldn't wait to read Lou's columns before the game. I'm sure many are in the same boat. Maybe it's rose coloured glasses, but I remember that period as a gentler, funnier time as a football follower. Before professionalism made much of the media analysis one big yawn fest. Perhaps that's what time does. Not sure I'll look back at the golden period of Dwayne Russell however. RIP Lou Richards.

Gone but not forgotten. Part of footy folklore.

This is just a sample of the experience of our backline compared to Hawthorns. Yes they built a dynasty but they built it over TIME. I'm leaving Tommy Mac and Hibberd out but I've left Burgoyne out here too. Just look at the difference. We need to give these guys time to develop. Oscar McDonald - 21 (22 games) Jayden Hunt - 22 (26 games) Josh Wagner - 22 (15 games) Sam Frost - 23 (22 games for MFC) VS. Grant Birchall - 29 (243 games) James Frawley - 28 (186 games) Ben Stratton - 28 (145 games) Josh Gibson - 33 (220 games) Melbournes backline: 88 games total Hawthorns backline: 794 games total I think all of our defenders have the potential. They're athletic, have a good intensity and work rate and are all good one on one defenders. Kicking from the backline is not easy and that along with decision making will come with time. It's obvious the difference in confidence and composure when Lewis, Hibberd, Vince and Jetta have the ball compared to our younger players. We are very much still developing.

Opposition clubs have worked out our backline. If you watch our kick ins, no one goes near any of the McDonalds, especially for that short 15m kick to the pocket. They should be told to not go there at all. Their kicking is horrendous and clubs are just happy to go and man up the good kicks (Salem, Hibberd etc), means they can outnumber them as teams don't care if either McDonald gets it as they know that they cannot hurt them by foot and more often than not give them a chance to get the ball back.

Effort's fine. Our smarts are appalling. Saw Oliver receive a Hb in the back pocket as he was streaming forward. Instead of kicking it his instinct was to HB backwards to a stationary player. WTF?

Problem with our club is we are losers. Have been pretty much all my life. The club accepts it, the players join in when they get to the club. We accept mediocrity like kids accept chocolate. How a club like ours can continually lose against teams below or around us is oustanding. Absolutely outstanding. There is no heart, no soul to this club. We are a business with players who have a job. No passion, just a job to keep as long as they can before phase two of their life begins.

Tom draws a diagram of Melbourne's zone defence for brother Oscar.

Be fair Deemented. The Dees didn't cause the tears and tantrums of your children. They're only capable of doing that to adults on the internet.

Just home. A few observations before I see the replay. 1) It grates to see us lose to the Hawks and also that a so-called hack in No.23 plays his best ever game against us. A few times O'Brien marked because of our zone being breached, but the majority were off forced kicks down the line and he'd come in from the side like Howey used to do. The question that begs is why wasn't his opponent making it harder to block his run? So who was his opponent - mix of T-Mac, O-Mac and Wags I think. Not Frost because he was at full-back on Roughy most of game. 2) Twice we had five defenders flying for the one ball - which means their roles haven't been made clear enough. Jetta always flies rather than stay down and with Wagner now joining in you have to wonder if he has to be told is he third man up to spoil or whether he just lack experience to read the play. Their last goal (maybe second last) came via a courageous effort by him to spoil a marking contest that the Macs had covered. He got winded and the ball spilt to his opponent. Great courage, even greater stupidity. 3) Watts in the ruck. How many more weeks do we have to use him in this role for a fair whack of the game? I can tell you now, he won't have any chance against Jacobs and it is no longer a shock for his opponent. This is the second game in a row where he has been murdered early and only T-Mac was able to get us a fairly even split. I have no problem with a Watts in the ruck cameo as it can get him in the game more and he can exploit going the other way with a loose opponent. But the ploy as a regular back-up is a laughing stock for other sides. Pedo got burnt by McEvoy today, so we have big issues next week - perhaps we may have to bite the bullet and start O-Mac or T-Mac with a view that Pedo can be the trusty back-up. For the second week in a row, Pedo was thrashed in the hitouts early. This time he was still getting beaten up late in the game. he ain't tall enough for Jacobs. problem ahead. 4) Why is Salem not playing down back? I get that a lot of people want his silky (offensive word) skills in the middle but he's not big enough to be a brute against the current players and never recovered today after Oliver spoiled his overhead mark. And let me think - where was he playing when he was best on ground versus Carlton? That's right ... half-back. Play him there please. 5) What happened to the switch back like in the first two weeks. I get that we want to switch but suddenly we aren't buying in as much to switching back the way it came from. If we are playing soccer style (and we are), then trust that something will eventually open up and don't listen to the old blocks in the stand. 6) I don't want to join the JKH bashing, but it's hard for anyone to understand why you remove a player who has finally arrived last year (Kent) and then take out a player who does all the hard things and is quick (Harmes) and go for a really small guy who is not quick and can't tackle. If we are playing basketball, then JKH might be a Patty Mills, but I'm sorry this ain't basketball. I will be looking on the replay to see just how many crumbs JKH got. Jeffy was the same till half time, but at least he read it better in the third. 7) If our philosophy is to run hard and fast on the break then how come we are playing Bugg, Tyson, Vince, Lewis all in the the same side. The obvious answer for three of them is clear - Lewis is smart, Vince is a lethal kick (unless there is only 20 seconds to go) and Tyson is a quality ball user (usually) who keeps presenting. But how can you pick Bugg as well ahead of Stretch or Harmes or Kent. Please note: It is fine to have slow players with big tanks, but there has to be the right balance and today we got exposed on the break by them, almost as much as we exposed them. Bugg should not have played unless one of the above three was out and even then I'd have my doubts. 8) Final thing. In our passion to keep possession have we created a monster. We are overdoing the backwards handball way too much and the biggest culprit is our greatest talent - Oliver. At what point does the coach sit him down and explain that stats mean nothing if you don't take the game forward on occasions. Time for a chat with him Goody. And if he won't kick it, start him up forward - he's classy enough to find the pill anywhere. And even he wouldn't handball backward from 10m out ... or would he?

INS- stretch, anb & kent OUTS- jkh, bugg, wagner jkh a delist at season end candidate, his 3 weeks in the seniors has been putrid

Jay Clark @ClarkyHeraldSun Reality check on Melbourne. One of the four youngest teams every week. Winning more quarters than not. I'm happily buying their stock.

RIP Lou, I always have fond memories of watching World of Sport as a kid.

Terry Wallace just saying on SEN that Melbourne will never have real success while the McDonald brothers play in the same side. Says while they are athletic and can intercept, they are very poor decision makers and ultimately cost the team.

I didn't see much of the game yesterday but last week against Essendon when we stopped stuffing around with the ball we were ten times better. We all love Oliver and I jumped on his bandwagon well before many here, but he needs change his initial reaction of just handballing (especially backwards) to actually driving the ball forward through either running or kicking.

I just watched the presser and my first instinct is he was rightly [censored] off. Haven't seen more angry then that. Goody is fine. At least he tried a few things which i enjoyed. One thing Roosy never did was try and change things up when we were down. Was pretty one dimensional in his game day changing.

Astute coaches (Hardwick, Lyon, Clarko) are now playing the same way against us. They have not just one spare in defence, but 2 or 3. They know we're such a good contested-ball & clearance team, but the one place where they can reliably win the ball against us is from our horrible delivery into our 50. Their extra numbers not only win them the ball, they allow them to run it through our ultra-high press in a breakaway. Goody et al simply have to work out what to do when there are 8 or 9 defenders against 5 forwards, because bombing it on Hogan's head ain't ever gonna work when he's triple-teamed. And it seems we're more comfortable with brave losses than actual wins. It could be argued that we've outplayed the other side in every game (certainly statistically we have). We're the kings of outplaying but losing, and that's a real concern, because it means that other sides don't have to outplay us to beat us.

I agree with this. There was a moment in the 4th quarter, 10 mins to go still. 4 Hawks players (Hodge, Gibson and some other campaigners) started laying into Watts in our forward line, ball was 100 meters away. It was like watching his debut all over again where he got swarmed by Colllongwood player a and his teammates didn't have his back. Hannah and Hogan were both standing there and just ignored their mate getting mauled until Hunt ran over and actively raised his arms and yelled at them. Then they put in a token effort to stop the fight. It was symbolic. The Hawks players know each other and we're on the same page. They had fight in them. The Dees players haven't bonded properly yet and wanted to avoid conflict. They had no fight in them. As soon as I saw that mini fight I knew 100% we would not get back up and win. These guys still don't have the fire in them yet and don't know each other well enough. It's going to take time, and that sucks. Let's just hope they get there in the end or lots of Melbourne supporters will die without seeing a premiership.

How, after all these years, the letdowns, the heartaches, the coaching changes, and list changes... how can this group of players still come out with a terrible attitude and not give enough, is absolutely beyond me. We have everything to play for, yet we didn't turn up for the majority of the game. I've been OK with some of our losses, especially when we lost players during the game. Today Hawks were a man down, and we still lost. I felt like I was back in 2013 watching players not giving a damn, not chasing, not sticking tackles, not manning up... basic [censored] that you think professional footballers with a desire to win would be proficient at doing. Sometimes it feels like this ride through hell will never end, and sometimes you see glimpses and you think "one day we'll be great", but that one day never comes. That light at the end of the tunnel feels like an oncoming train!

Got a funny story to tell. So there was a lot of north supporters at the game today because north sent an email to their members mentioning the game at hoppers crossing had free entry. I was standing next to a bunch of them, and because I was wearing my MFC gear plus I told them Keilty was my brother we had a bunch of friendly banter throughout the game, was a really good day. Lindsay Thomas had a quiet game until the last quarter, and given the dirty hit on Maynard I was giving them lip about Lindsay, which they enjoyed because they knew the hit was dirty. When Werribee was walking off the ground, I yelled out "Enjoy the holiday Lindsay!" to which a bunch of the north boys laughed. Then all of a sudden an official for Weribee, who was wearing a suit, started having a go at me, yelling and pointing "You are a clown mate" to which I said "But he tried to kill someone today mate!" We had a bit more of a laugh whilst the rest of the supporters were looking at me trying to figure out what was going on. It was pretty crazy.

A different perspective! I went along today with my adult son who has inherited my illogical passion for the team with our city's name. A Hawthorn supporter sat behind us, and although I didn't agree with all his calls, I'm sure he didn't agree with many of mine! Late in the day I heard him tell another supporter that it was the first game his little daughter had attended. The first AFL game I attended was a Hawks v Demons game in 1963. The one thing I remember from that game was No. 9, Brian Dixon, dashing down the wing in full flight and wobbling a flat punt 40 metres in the right direction. I hope the little girl behind me today remembers her first game as vividly in 50+ years! I was at high school (just!) in 64 when Melbourne's Premiership was acknowledged and applauded in the quadrangle at Assembly time. I remember thinking, "Gee, this is easy come..." The bit I didn't pay attention to was "... easy go!" Enough with the introduction... Today at half time I was confident that our team would make a better fist of the second half, and we did. The third quarter was all about why we love our team and love our players, and love football! The final quarter was a grind. We never really snatched the game from the Hawks grip.... but we were Gallant! I know most here don't want to hear about Gallant, they want wins now! Starved for success, we want success now! It will come, and sooner than the despairing think! ... 2017 has been a lot better than most are prepared to admit. We have been right in every game, no matter the opposition. I think we agree, we were in a winning position in every game! You would have to go back a long way to find a similar start to a season. It's happened perhaps three or four times since 1964! So, I don't look toward Adelaide next week as an opportunity to be flogged. I look forward to another opportunity for our young stars to rise up. Next week is winnable! I'm backing the Dees! Today was frustrating, but the signs are good! We are more competitive against all comers than we have been for a very long time. Stop looking for a scapegoat and understand where we are at. We are on the cusp of a great rise! I'm not bitter about today, I look forward to the next challenge, and I'm sure our players do as well. Get behind the Dees!

It continues to be said time and time again. Melbourne overuses the footy by handball. Sometimes MFC finds a way to still win (v. Blues) but in other games (v Freo and Hawks) it leads to losses. Against the Hawks on the weekend Quarter time. 40 kicks, 72 handballs. Half time. 95 kicks. 137 handballs. Full time. 193 kicks. 237 handballs. 430 posessions v. Hawks 355 (218 kicks 137 handballs) Oliver 4 kicks 24 handballs Viney 12 kicks 20 handballs Lewis 11 kicks 19 handballs Tyson 10 kicks 18 handballs Sure they are inside mids but their overuse of handballs even when free of congestion. The circular non effective handballs are frustrating. Even bandballs back into the congestion. Even Jayden Hunt tried to handball rather than kick to position. Gameplan? Is it a lack of foot skills? if yes then it must be addressed. I think not. It is the gameplan. But it is only successful by good decision making. Our players still lack this in the main. Our CONTESTED footy is up with the best in the league. It is our heart and effort each week. It is NOT questionable. The Kangas beat the Crows by quick ball movement, and putting their defence under pressure. Defenders hate 1 on 1s & the Crows defence was exposed. We cannot allow slow handballs to allow them to rotate their mids back. Kangas kicks were about 2:1 ratio to handballs. Sure handball out of a contest but NOT to another contest or someone else under pressure. Memo Simon Goodwin. You have the players. We have the effort. Get the strategy and decision making right and we will be a power. May the discussion begin. Go the mighty Demons.

I dont know when it exactly started but there is some massive group think tidal wave regarding how talented the list is. No one has proven anything yet and all this hype stinks of 2010 for mine. the list is no where near as talented as the group think line says. its fascinating to watch an opinion of a few gradually build to assumed fact, yet no one really stops to analyse. at best this list is tooled to replicate Nths last few years. mid-lower top 8 at best. There is far too much talk and assumption of 'we just got to hang on until these kids get games in to them and we will be a great side'. Its only 7 years since the last time i saw this play out in the media and on this site but it is eerily familiar. Our list is nowhere near as talented as some seem to be assuming. And yes the predictable response to my pot will be "this list is more talented than 2010" - and yes i agree, it is. But thats not my point> The point is it is NOT as talented or as well positioned as many are assuming. Its a tough comp and most sides are as well or better placed for the future. - Collingwood and Stkilda included.

We might find Jayden Hunt kicks alot more goals in the future. He really is a weapon.

The clearance numbers are often a misnomer. In terms of clean clearances we were shockingly awful. Without Gawn and to a lesser extent, Spencer, we're probably only going to get our clean clearance numbers up when the other mob aren't very good (Essendon) In all our other losses this year we've been down a lot on the clean clearance count (in terms of what those clean clearances could be if we had a proper ruckman) When Gawn taps the ball to our advantage we're often able to bring the ball into our forward line crisply and with purpose. Spencer is obviously not as good but Jake is still a big step up from what we've got going for us now. We might have sharked more taps yesterday but we wasted the ball when we did get it. And we were often under extreme pressure when we did shark the taps. A tap to advantage is exactly that. The other area where we were atrocious was in our around the ground turnovers and our general fumbling. In both areas we were deplorable. The clean clearances will remain problematic until at least Spencer returns but the turnovers & fumbling needs to be eradicated as soon as possible. If we don't improve those 2 latter areas against the Crows we'll get smashed. As it stands, their rucks will probably have a field day anyway - and that will probably be enough for them to win the game.

Yet another weekend ruined by the MFC after another pathetic display and to top it off a week of work ahead FMD. This club really knows how to continually punish its supporters and I've had an absolute gutful tbh and by some of the postings here I am not alone. Will this ever end!

I'm sick of losing to bottom teams every year. With Sydney winning, Hawthorn were bottom of the ladder. They were 1-5 with a % of 63. In terms of performance, they were on par with Melbourne during the Mark Neeld era. Sure they have some old champions in that team, but they have been horrendous this year, absolutely pathetic. They've had 3 80+ losses and an average losing margin of 70+ points. And we lost to them. That loss is an absolute embarrassment for the club. I hope the players really feel the sting of that loss but I doubt they will if history is anything to go by. If we don't make finals this year then it's a complete waste of a season. We've got older guys like Lewis, Vince, Jones who are only going to be around for another 2-3 years. We're already struggling with leadership, we'll be even worse when the guys retire. We need these kids getting all the experience they can get, and that includes finals experience. If we're not producing actual successful results instead of being competitive, we won't attract good players from other clubs, and guys like Hogan will get fed up and go home to WA. It's a vicious cycle and I'm not sure we're out of it yet.

Agree Gawn changes the whole set-up. I agree and am on record that my biggest concern this year is Brayshaw - we really need another class mid and him therefore to realise his potential, we don't want another Trengove. As you say Weed and Stretch will make it. Kent needs to play team rules. Joel Smith is very exciting. If AVB can get his body right he's a big in. I think Hannan and Wagner can both play and just need more time. It would be handy if Dec Kielty can come on. Players like Harmes, Melksham, ANB, Kennedy, Bugg, Trengove can come in and play a role - with salary cap and list management you can't have 30 champs.

Very disappointing effort early and resulting outcome. But I'm not discouraged in the big picture, we could hardly have played worse and they couldn't have played better and we lost by a kick.

Yes Norm, we clearly over-used the ball by hand and Goodwin even agreed in his post-match interview however, he seemed to isolate it to the first quarter. This would lead you to believe that it is game plan related rather than the players dishing out rushed handballs. The way they set up behind the stoppage and other contests is to allow an extra dimension to our ability to clear the ball - I think we can all get that. The bit that I don't get is that yesterday, we seemed to be trying to do it when in attack, when our players were goal-side and options were available to move the ball further up the ground bu foot. Instead, we passed it by hand to a bloke either flat-footed or under pressure from the opposition. We need to find a balance and I'm sure the coaches are fully aware of this. Questions of whether we have the skill level to execute this game-plan are valid although when you hear Nathan Jones state that "we're hell bent on playing a certain way" then I think we need to get ready for more of this. The other question is when will it pay off? Were the Hawks crappy with their ball movement before it clicked into place and they became elite ball users? I can't remember that far back but you would assume so. Yesterday was a combination of very good pressure from the Hawks and poor execution from us. There's only one thing we can control so we need to back the team in and hope that it will fall in to place soon. This year is going to remain a bumpy, frustrating ride.

That's just a complete cop out. They've been good enough to win every game so far, the fact they haven't isn't because of youth.

Hawthorn are on the decline. Their skills have been woeful this season. Their experienced players are slow. When spuds like Langford and O'Brien star all day is an indictment on us. They still know how to take mug sides like us that think the game is won before the first bounce though.

Ya see its all perspective...and possibly a one size all feedback wont fit for all of a game. Here's an example Jones - Sank us early Now he did improve, but as captain his game , his clunkers and turnovers cost us dearly. He aided and abetted the enemy for more minutes than is forgivable. and yet at times he played manfully and with vision. Its almost as all by him self he epitomises everything thats wrong with Melb Inconsistency.

I thought Jesse had a good game given recent events. He competed well. Took some good marks. He was double tagged and had a loose defender in front preventing him leading. And he still kicked 3.3. on a day when we couldn't get the ball very far into the f50. Importantly, he took poor umpiring decisions in his stride and had some good second efforts. Not bad given he had a stop/start to the year, playing only 3 games before yesterday so his match fitness would have been down. Naturally, he seemed subdued but I thought it was terrific how he fronted up yesterday and kept his head up regardless of how things went on the field. I am very confident that in time we will see him achieve the potential he showed in 2015. I wouldn't be surprised if at some stage this year he wins a game off his own boot.

After a nights sleep (slept well, thanks for asking) I have concluded that yesterday's loss belongs to the leadership group. You can not hold players with 20 games experience responsible (Hunt, Oliver, Track). Aside from Viney, who was outstanding and played a real captains game (and is only just turned 23), the older more experienced players did little to lead when needed in the first quarter. Goodwin needs to pull Vince, Jones, and Lewis aside and ask them to stand up. Jones in particular turned over the ball 3 times in the first quarter under relatively little pressure. I hope he gives them an all mighty spray because so far this year I've been underwhelmed by their on field leadership - and if you look at our stats the only thing we've lacked (aside from a ruckman) is composure and game sense. With that we should have a minimum 2 more wins on the board.

Just watched the presser and I'm a lot more sold on him now! I reckon he would have given the players a rocket. effort is a starting point, we will waste our potential if its not matched with effort.

Not for the first time but now to the greatest number, 40,083 have been sold a pup again. It's as though Groundhog Day was based on a Melbourne Supporter. The blade of the shovel is changed any number of times as is the handle and we still have the same useless broken thing. Losing earlier games was lamentable but yesterday...... Realy not sure why i should bother. Club doesn't, obviously. 2017 going nowhere. We mock the Tigers as pretenders. I'm thinking we ought look in the mirror. We're soft in the head on the field and WE must be off it to keep barracking. The laughing stock is much closer than some realise.

Probably not the week to try it. T Mac will be needed down back on Tex Walker/Josh Jenkins.

Thought our leaders were really good today. Best combined game, Viney/Jones for the season. Bernie was good, Lewis was a contributor, Hibberd did well. Eight other teams lost this round... how did their leaders go? Reading here you would think our leaders deserve to be taken out the back of gate 2 and shot! The stupidity of trashing Nathan Jones... the same Nathan Jones that is respected throughout the AFL community for his leadership and guts in his decade long battle to lift the team out of the doldrums... its pathetic!

I've had the usual few hours of post match depression and can now speak about the game without receiving copious headaches and chest pains. Another immensely frustrating loss....When on earth are we going to start winning the games that we go into as favourites? It seems that these are the games that we never seem to have the right 'attitude' for. Why the hell not? We all know that when we're switched on we can just about beat anyone in the league. Granted, we still have a young team, so I guess this might be expected. Maybe losses like this are the only way they'll learn. What annoys me the most is that I actually think we'll really have a good crack against the Crows next week. Moving on individual players, Viney easily played his best game of the year. He was absolutely sensational in the third quarter when we kicked a few goals in a row and were looking likely. It certainly looks like he has his dash and tenacity back. On the other end of the scale, I am failing to see what JKH is bringing to the team. 0 tackles and 0 goals from someone who played the majority of the game as a small forward is just not good enough. It's a real shame considering I was backing JKH to have a good year. In reflection, I'm hoping Kent is brought in next week as his grunt, pace and goal nouse was sorely missed. Frost is an absolute jet. Yes, Roughead kicked four goals (2-3 from questionable calls from the umpire) but his kamikaze like style of playing is an absolute joy to watch. Moving to our other speedster, kudos to Goodwin for trying something different and playing Hunt as a forward during the second half. For a guy well known for his pace, he definitely has a good pair of hands on him. Hunt tried his guts out today, well done to him. In regards to our other forwards, all things considered I thought Hogan was good today, especially in the second half. I think he still could have a 50 goal season if he improves from here. Jeffy also continued his great form. 18 goals from seven games now. While the loss is immensely frustrating, at least there's reason for optimism. We'll get there. Go Dees!

Just watched Goodwin's Press Conference he was really angry, but held it together well but i bet a few players will be challenged hard this week. Go hard Simon. The players have killed far too many coaching jobs at the MFC since '64 Line in the sand.

We are reliving St Kilda's year last year, There about in the first 6 rounds couldn't quite get the wins they needed then they travelled to west coast... and lost by 100+. We get Adelaide on the rebound... God help us.. Saints came home with a wet sail late in the year but the damage was done for their finals hopes... Now we sit in a very similar position, 3 wins and 4 could've, should've, would've losses. The overall trend is good we are in every game but our finals hopes a dwindling, we now need a couple of big upsets to get back in contention. Just a side note to the guys crying like the world is ending, and claiming we were "disgraceful" or "pitiful". 3 years ago a pitiful performance was a 100 point loss... this year we have had 4 pretty "terrible" games against Carlton, Freo, Essendon and now the Hawks and we have gotten 2 wins and 2 losses of 2 and 3 points.... We have come a mighty long way. I'm shattered we aren't quite there yet, but we will claim a big win at some point I'm sure of it, and hopefully if we can just hang onto the main pack we will be able to make a late run at finals with our big ruck man back. This side is poised for success, and is inches away from getting it. just as we were inches away from winning today. A couple of nice bounces and we win today, despite a shocking start. We are not talking massive overhauls anymore, we are talking little tweaks and a bit of consistency.

How did you find those few Hawks fans booing Lewis? Personally, it didn't frustrate me, but I thought they were a bunch of imbeciles. A captain in waiting that helped them win four premierships who was suddenly pushed out of the club. Bunch of idiots really.