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If we don't make finals then this season a failure. This is unarguable. In 2016 we finished on the cusp of the 8 and Roos handed Goodwin a top 8 quality list with good support around him. Anything other than making the 8 and playing finals means we have stagnated or gone backwards. We all know it's been 11 years without finals at this stage, which is pathetic. No other club has been this poor for decades. Even teams like Carlton, Richmond, Saints etc. have all made finals a few times in the past decade. The only other team not to have a finals appearance in the past 11 years is Gold Coast, and they've only existed 5-6 years and are deemed a failure at the point. Jesus since we last played finals over half my family has died, I've completed a University degree, I've lived overseas for two years, I've bought my first property, sold my first property, bought my second property, had 3 long term girlfriends, got engaged, got married, have a kid on the way etc. The fact I've been able to tick off so many of the key events in an adult life since we last played finals is [censored]. It makes me furious at the club and the AFL. Disregarding the 11 years missing, our current "rebuild" started with Roos, so we are now in year 4 of a rebuild. To not be able to turn it around in this time is a failure. If we don't make it this year, and somehow don't next year too, then that's 5 years of rebuild with no success, despite landing Paul Roos and him cleaning the place out to start us fresh. That is Terry Wallace Richmond level failure. Thank god we are now sound off-field! We now sit at the exact same spot we were last year. 10 wins, and a few weeks to go to win the final matches and earn a finals place. Last year we folded like an accordion and lost to bottom 4 placed Carlton and then got done by 100+ by Geelong. This year, we are in the same place but with an easier run, playing 3 bottom 8 teams. If we stuff up again, we have not improved on last year, despite having an easier draw. If anything, that means we have gone backwards due to the same result from an easier draw. Reality is we probably should have done better this year at this stage. Our second half of the season has been poor. We have won two matches by more than 8 points, and the rest we either scraped over the line or lost. While it was nice to win some of those close ones, it goes to show we weren't in control and it could have just as easily gone the other way. This past 6 weeks our contested ball, clearances, and scoring have all dropped off massively. Statistically we are a bottom 4 team over the past 6 weeks. When we were in a position to challenge for a top 4 place, we crumbed. Yes, we have had injuries, but the team we fielded on the weekend was probably our strongest for the year and yet it did not give a yelp and had 10 goals in a row kicked against us. Unacceptable. Until we can instil some mental toughness and some leadership into this team, we will continue to fail. I appreciate we have shown improvement at times this year, but fact is we are in the exact same spot as last year and the exact same questions regarding lack of leadership and lack of mental toughness are being asked. To me that says we have not really improved. Don't get me wrong, I'll be stoked if we scrape into finals, purely because I have invested countless hours and hard earned dollars into this club over decades of my life, and its been so long since I've seen us play finals that even a token appearance will appease me. Says a lot about how poor this club has been, and how starved for any semblance of success us supporters really are. I hope like hell we can manage to win the last 3 and play finals. Us members and supporters deserve to see that after all this time. It's time the players and club stood up instead of falling over again.

What a worn trope this is. It's not that Jack Watts doesn't play howlers - he most certainly does. It's the lazy, ignorant and mean spirited scape-goating that just grates. He can be critiqued, but he doesn't get 'critiqued,' not really, he gets blamed, he get the ire of those that can't fathom where else to point their anger and frustration. Not many could hit a target and the coaching staff failed the team and us with the way they instructed the team to play. And yet, who gets a thread dedicated to them and their role in our drama? One member of the coaching staff gets a fawning thread for a bunch of words and the easy kill gets devoured once again.

Winning games at docklands - yep. Beating Wet Toast in the west - yep Beating Adelaide in Adelaide - yep Winning games against teams in top 4 - yep Percentage in the black - yep Riddled with injury to most important players for many weeks - yep Lost games by a kick or two - yep (cooda, shooda, didn't - yep) Not as bad as some would have us believe - yep But still need to improve - yep

It's painful, BUT our best players are kids. We can scare the crap out of other teams when we bring our best. We've been in almost every game, and it's just been a q here or there that hurt us. The bad is behind us. These are the teenage years. Sometimes a teenager will say something really profound and you will think 'wow! how did you come up with that?', a week later they will do something so dumb you will wonder if they are retarded. That is where we are now.

Good news: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-07/demons-season-over-but-ok-news-on-knee

The wind in Manuka usually pushes the ball to the 'Kingston' side pocket and that it did on Saturday. When you are defending that end like we were in the first, you station your loose man favouring that side. But we didn't have one. GWS - 6 goals up in the second started with one... ! You also 'attack' up that wing going into the wind because you won't get punished when you turn the ball over. The only aspect of this that is very much Manuka-driven in the belligerent arrogance of Goodwin and co. to direct us to play up the 'grandstand' side presumably because there is a small protection from the wind and we can execute our skills oh-so-well... If we were playing a shite team, I could understand it, but we were not and it was demoralising to watch as I have played, coached, and watched dozens of games at Manuka and have never instructed a team to open up the ground for the opposition the way we did for GWS in that first quarter against the wind.

I live near TBO so the Sandringham away game is my best chance to see Casey play. Some observations. With a very strong NW blowing diagonally to the Beach Road pocket at the Sautner end, it was a very scrappy contested game with a continuous rolling maul, a lot of turnovers and skill execution was rare. Sandringham were well on top for the first 2 and half quarters, their extra men back in the first quarter were very effective outnumbering Casey forwards and intercept marking, Marshall and Pierce are big boys who marked well in windy conditions. Casey were 4 goals down at half time - 4 goals to 8, and 3 players down - Smith, Spencer and (I think) James Munro - apologies to James if I'm wrong. The start of the third quarter Casey failed to get on top and when Sandy kicked their second goal for the quarter half way through it was 6 goals to 10 and looking bleak for Casey. Dec kicked a goal midway through the quarter, there is really great spirit and belief at Casey and the boys really got around him and kicked the next 3 goals to be a point behind at 3 quarter time - each of these goals was strongly celebrated and that seems to be a team theme. At 3 quarter time Justin Plapp encouraged the team to write a memorable story and there was general belief among the players (but not me). The focus was on the "money ball" - I'm not sure what that is, but he mentioned it 4 or 5 times. I don't blame Earl for leaving at 3 quarter time, it looked like how far the Zebras - I actually moved to the northern end of the ground to enable a quick getaway myself and was able to enjoy the Casey action there in the final quarter. Sandy seemed to think it was just going to happen and Casey really lifted around the ball. Mitch King had an influence at the stoppages. Weid took two strong contested marks and Scott, Fritsch and Ferriera were dangerous around goal when finally matched up 1:1. Sandy got their noses in front about 20 minutes in but in an incredible effort Casey kicked the final 2 goals to win a great victory. Plapp really has the team playing with belief, spirit and cohesiveness and it's a great credit to him. Melbourne listed players: Gus Brayshaw: Was playing free across a half-back until midway through the 2nd and I thought was ineffective, he didn't get much interception at all but did land one bone crunching tackle on a Sandy player in quarter one. Went onto the ball midway through the second and immediately got his hands on it. He was a ball magnet at the stoppages and I expect his handball numbers to be high. It was hot in the kitchen and he would have gained a lot of confidence concussion-wise from getting through a fierce test. He's an inside/outside midfielder and half-forward and half-back don't suit him. If he comes into the MFC side that's where he needs to play to get involved. Billy Stretch: Got a lot of the ball in the heat and tried to be creative and run the ball up into the wind. He's a smart player who works hard on his game. Dec Keilty: As Drunkn said, he played very well, especially intercept marking and contested marking down back and kicked a nice goal when thrown forward to spark the Casey revival. He's got some ground skills too and is definitely a prospect worth investing in. JKH: He was very busy at the stoppages and got a lot of the ball. He's evasive so can get into some space. He's small so that works against him at AFL level. It's hard to see him permanently in the midfield but I think he's could play the Neville Jetta role and maybe apprentice there. I'd keep him on the list because ANB had a similar year last year and has shown improvement. Ben Kennedy: Also worked hard inside and is genuinely a tough customer. Kicked a superb long goal at the start of the 3rd from the wrong pocket with the wind and for a left footer. We need developing depth players but I have JKH ahead of him. Sam Weideman: It was a very difficult day for marking forwards. Was manned up against 3 or 4 Saints giants when we had the wind and could not get a run at it in the 1st. In the 2nd I think it only went inside our 50 once and Fritsch kicked a goal. Sam was rucking in the back half in this quarter part of the time. He was better in the 3rd and took a couple of marks and kicked a goal. In the last he was instrumental in the win when finally 1 out against the Zebra defenders. He took 2 strong marks, crumbed a Hulett contest to handball off for a nice goal and got a free for holding in a marking contest because he was making the defenders nervous. He missed that shot but he is generally a beautiful kick with the best action since Garry Lyon. It was great that he fought on and didn't drop his head and really contributed on what could have been a dirty day for him. Dion Johnstone: He played in the centre square and wing and got his hands on a few nice clearances. He's an aggressive player and gave away a 50 at one stage, but I like his hardness. He's small too but there's some ball finding quality there to work with. Mich King: Had to shoulder the ruck load when Jake went off injured and struggled up to 3 quarter time. In the last quarter he too was instrumental in the victory, he got his hands on the tap outs or at least broke even. Followed up with a crucial centre clearance which were like gold into the wind and also got forward and took a good contested mark. It's the kind of match that could be the making of his belief. Jack Trengove: He's a leader and was very good at the quarter time huddles with his guidance and advice. But I think unfortunately his AFL career is over, he just doesn't have a point of difference. Joel Smith: Stood on the shoulders of the pack on a kick-in - really right up there like his dad, but landed badly and was in a lot of pain when stretchered off. Hope he makes a good recovery, he has many AFL attributes - size, speed, courage and leap. He'll make it. Liam Hulett: I was bullish about Liam when he joined us last year but he has struggled. He played deep forward and really made a contest but was unable to get his hands on it much. It was tough conditions but unfortunately he seems to lack AFL level class. Jake Spencer: Went off injured in the 2nd and was in the tracksuit - I'm not sure what the injury was. Jake needs to be able to dominate the contest against a player like Jason Holmes and he wasn't able to. I think he'll be at another club next year. There's no clear elevations to the MFC side that will make a huge difference. Gus was very good but he needs to play in the guts to excel and I don't see a slot for him there yet . It will come with Lewis and Vince coming towards the end, or sooner if we have an injury or suspension. As some have posted, I think he needs more confidence building at Casey. Billy was very good too and is a class above VFL level, he'll make it as a player but he's not going to make a huge impact at AFL level yet, he just needs to continue to work hard on his game which no doubt he will. Dec was great but I think he's better playing back and I don't see him forcing his way in there just yet, he can continue to develop and build confidence and really dominate at VFL level. Weid is the most likely elevation IMO even though he had 3 quiet quarters he has some AFL level chops.

especially so this year with our beloved dees ... Morgan freeman nails it on the head

Attended the pregame function in Canberra today. Brendan McCartney was the guest speaker. He was super impressive. Here are some of the points he made . . . We are getting it right 85 percent of the time – flags are won by teams that get it right 90 percent of the time No team ever operates at 100 percent – that’s a fallacy Often he can tell who’s going to win a grand final within two minutes of the opening bounce based on how many numbers are at the ball and mistakes made Numbers at the connect is what counts – bad teams have players that leave the contest too early or arrive to late You know the side is playing well when you leave a contest and the opponent is on the ground Pressure acts must be executed with the body close to the ball/opponent (i.e. not with the arms out stretched and the body at a distance from the pressure act) The Melbourne game style is based on a ‘physical’, style of game – hard to play but ultimately successful in finals Teams that don’t play a physical style (he said there were six at the moment) will be found out in September Young, low profile coaching group and it’s a deliberate approach to keep media profile low Under pressure, players default to their ‘instinctive’ way of playing (this was in reference to a question about Jack Watts) Players attend around 16 meetings a week Players review clips of their performance Most players are able to provide accurate self-analysis of their performance Videos are made and reviewed of training sessions and more is often learnt from these than game footage His role is one of mentoring and assisting the assistant coaches – often sitting in on their meetings with players Goody’s role is confined as much as possible to the players and game day (90 percent of his time) the other 10 percent is meetings with the board or managers etc. A club is operating well when it can find good players low down in the draft (in reference to Maynard) Priority has been to recruit players “who love the contest” The players are acutely aware of how their performances effect the supporters Many players who were treated poorly by the club a few years ago are now around the club (McDonald was mentioned) Most professionally run club he’s been involved with The club has provided a lot of education about the history of the MFC to the players and they all love the place At any one time a maximum of 90 percent of the players will be buying into the game plan or coaching philosophy and anyone who says they have 100 percent buy in is kidding themselves All players are given full and frank information about their performance and no player can claim to be in any doubt about the standards required from the club (both on and off the field) and how their contribution is measured When asked about why the players do “dump things” he said footy teams are like any other endeavor where people management is involved . . . just because a coach (CEO/manager/parent) directs something to be done (example sighted was kicking long with the wind last week), it doesn’t mean they will/can execute it

If we win all 3 games we will likely finish 7th. If we win 2 we will likely finish 9th due to percentage. Every game from here onwards is now an elimination final. Do the players have the mental toughness to stand up and at least make finals? Or is this another year of failure? To go from top 4 striking distance (sitting outside on percentage) to missing finals altogether would be disaster. Anything less than finals in 2017 is a failure for the club.

Nobody ever seems to be fed up with the club when we win.

i'm tired of hearing 'kick us out of the comp and i can get on with my life' crap from so-called supporters; my mum is guilty of it too, and i think it's just such a shocking lack of support for the club yr supposed to be a member of yep, we're inconsistent from game to game, quarter to quarter - welcome to modern football! no club since essendon in 2000 has been a powerhouse in one season, and they only got one premiership all 18 clubs are super-even now, with the possible exception of gw$ being a monster as a result of the concessions they were given upon entering the competition - you'll win some, you'll lose some we are demonstrably better than we were at the start of this rebuild, just four short years ago we [censored] away two rebuilds in a row by dint of mistakes (toumpas, morton at the pointy ends of a drafts, strauss, blease etc.) and bad luck ($cully walking out, clark's foot / mental issues, jurrah) and it's only since roos and pj took over the stewardship of the club that we've looked like the sort of professional outfit that the likes of hawthorn have been for my entire life time get some backbone and deal with the difficulties - never, ever wish your club out of existence

What?

A lot of people not responding to the question. Highlighting we've improved is one thing. Failing to hit important KPIs is another. You can improve but still fail in your objective. It's been a very tough season and it appears we've hit a wall. Imo missing the finals would undoubtedly be a failure. We're 4 years into a rebuild now and have shown that we are finals capable. If we miss out on finals with 13 wins (which won't happen - if we win 13 we make it), then it suggests we've "improved" incrementally at the same rate as the teams around us, but have ultimately failed to move up into the upper end of the league. That may very well be something that is out of the club's hands and you can only do so much. However considering some of our losses this year, particularly North last week, it would imo be a major indictment on the leadership group if we falter -- again -- at a moment when finals was within reach. We have failed to embed ourselves in the top 8 with one very poor loss. We now have an opportunity to redeem that and move back into finals contention. Faltering like we did last year is a massive failure considering we end the season with 3 games against teams below us on the ladder. You couldn't possibly argue this season has been a success if we miss finals from here. We've improved, sure, but it would still be a failure. The current variables make it easy to distinguish between success and failure.

We are on track to finish with as many wins as I thought we'd get, but have had no Gawn and no Hogan for most of the season. Oliver has been huge. Garlett has taken a step forward. Hunt, Petracca, Oscar, Frost and ANB are all understanding what it takes. Tom Mac is a revelation up forward. Hibberd is the recruit of the year. Most of our most dynamic players are 23 or under. Every week we are in the youngest 4 teams in this comp. We look tired because of age, and because we've had to travel to every corner of the country in the passed 6 weeks. For me the only failure for the year has been the inability of our senior players to impact more. I expected more from Lewis, and Vince and Jones will never be what they were. Had they stepped up and got us 2 more wins (Freo and a North) most would agree the season was a success.

Everyone needs to chill out... I think are we lose sight of where we are at, we are in unique situation where we have had a succession plan which is only the 2nd one in the league recent memory (the other been Sydney who still had the core of a premiership side). Goodwin is in his first season will full reins and we are building from a lower base then just about any club, expansion sides exempt but they had the draft concessions to build off... I am as frustrated as anyone but I'm looking at the bigger picture, we after 10 years in the wilderness are on track... Goodwin has us playing a style of football that will take us to the top & will stand up in finals football. It's frustrating because we have had glimpses & tatses throughout the year and we just want more and more of it but we are trending the right way.. You look at the players listed below and you realise we are that season or 2 away from really consistent football week in, week out they say players don't find their feet and stamp themsleves on the comp until the 70-80 game mark.. Brayshaw - 33 games Frost - 56 games Hannan - 17 games Harmes - 31 games Hogan - 49 games Hunt - 38 games McDonald - 34 games Neal Bullen - 31 games Oliver - 32 games Petracca - 36 games Salem - 45 games Stretch - 35 games Weidemen - 9 games Add to that the coach has has 19 games in the seat.. It takes time & because we have been so bad for so long we are impatient, we'll get there people dont stress. I'll also throw in the injuries we have had this year.. You take anysides co-captains out, all australian ruckmen, full forward, 3rd key forward, half back flanker for extended periods, see how they go.. GWS have had a horrible run but when your depth runs as deep as theirs it's easier to cover

I was almost done after the North loss down in Tassie, that stung more than anything this year. You choose to overcome it in any way possible, kick the dog, smash the TV, drop the F bomb as loud and as many times as possible making sure the whole street hears you. You avoid football for the rest of the weekend and feel that all hope is lost and you just want to give up. Then Monday pops along and you start your weekly tasks albeit with a heavy heart, as Thursday approaches all is almost forgotten, you see the inclusions and we charter off to a new challenge, we discuss our club again and what the weekend will dish up this time. Come Sunday it starts all over again, you cover yourself in red and blue attire from top to bottom. You take your seat and watch the pre game warm-ups, chat with the fella sitting next to you on what the day will bring. When the 22 run out, you become a kid again, you cheer and scream to get your club over the line, what ever it takes! We are Red and Blue, This is what we do!!!

Give Jack a break. His summer range has only just been finalised . He had to go to Byron to do the casting and pick all the talent. Some of the girls in the shoot came back out of shape and had to do extra sessions . It's not easy to run a summer brand in a cold climate.

By now a player of Jacks talent should be in the leadership group and an All- Australian. He's never had the intensity or application to go to the next level. He teases by giving glimpses and then goes missing to the point of being dropped. I doubt that it will ever be any different - he doesn't have the ticker for the contest or the work ethic that champions are made of. We seem to collect players like this and I for one am sick of it.

We didnt recruit Lewis and Hibberd to not make finals. There are three games left and its all there for us to take. A massive fail if we dont get there. Every single Melbourne supporters should be sick to death of not being there in September.

Melksham has been cleared, I am in shock. It looked like it deserved weeks.

That's fantastic news, it gives him a season that he would otherwise have missed. Given he's a player who hasn't come through the normal pathway he needs as much football as he can get. Missing a season with an ACL would have been dreadful. Great news in my book.

All of whom have only average or below average disposal skills. With better skills from midfielders the receivers have a better chance of getting the ball. We simply do not have players with those skills.

I made it through a half of Saturday's game, before finding better things to do. Incidentally, that is longer than most of the players lasted, as they seemed to think the job was done 10 minutes in. The two really concerning aspects of our performances over the past six weeks are (1) the lack of effort and intensity and (2) the lack of game sense our players and coaches exhibit. On point 1, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, we should have looked at resting Hunt & Petracca for the GWS game. Both are well down on form and impact, and a long season has clearly got to them. A week off, with three winnable games to come may have been a better option. Other players have certainly gotten ahead of themselves, and need a sharp kick up the backside. On point 2, I'm not sure how we got our game plan so badly wrong on Saturday after failing in similar conditions a week ago. Slow the game down into wind, and move the ball quickly with the wind. It's not that difficult. Goodwin's insistence on keeping Watts & McDonald in the forward line as the game slips away is doing my head in. There is no excuse for missing finals this year. This group just doesn't want it badly enough.

On current form we will win none of the last 3 games. It's that simple. Somehow, Goodwin and co. have to reverse the present mentality, deal with tiring younger players, find an answer to the diappearance of the swarming desperation around the contest that marked our best games, and get the players to take ownership. This is key, and seems woefully lacking. That GWS scored 8 goals in 15 minutes without a forward line (their 3 leading goal scorers, FFS!) tells me that even if we re-discover patches of our best, we are horribly brittle at the worst time of the year. Next Sunday will tell us all, but I fear that up against the likes of inspiring leaders like a retiring Nick Riewoldt with a last sniff of finals action, we will get utterly thumped. Call it MFCSS if you like, but I've seen this movie before (for 52 years) and nothing about this team and its capitulations tells me it's going to be different this time. The sadder potential outcome is that once more the football world will justifiably see us as pretenders, and laughably uncompetitive, which is a pervasive psyche and one the younger players could take into next year. As for destination club status, we will drop miles off it again. We've talked about season defining games a lot this year, but this Sunday's game truly wears that infamy.

So after training as a Key Defender all pre-season, Dec was kinda thrown into the deep end, having to play a Ruck-Forward role for the majority of the first half of the year. He did alright, but nothing spectacular, all while slowing building up is craft. For the past month and a half or so he's been primarily thrown back down as a KPD, with stints in the Forward and Ruck when required. I think now that's he is settled into the position he was originally playing when he got drafted, he's really been able to step up to the plate. Yesterday was probably his best game I've ever seen him play. Under constant duress, he stood up time and time again to take a number of crucial marks in defence, run through and get some good rebound 50's and won the majority of his one-on-one contests. All game, Weideman had 2, 3 or even 4 defenders on him so in the 3rd quarter Plapp threw Keilty forward to try and relieve the pressure Sam was getting, where he took an impressive contested mark about 20m on a 45 degree angle and slotted the goal. I think that ability, to be half way through a game and then go and play in a completely different position and then step up to have an impact is exactly what the MFC saw in him last season and a big reason why he was picked up, as a versatile developing player. But he's recent form has been pretty damn great, he is still pretty sure he needs another pre-season in him before he really starts to get to his best footy, but from what I've seen from the Melbourne Coaching staff is they reward form, and Keilty might just be a chance at a senior game this year if Melbourne need to rest a KPP. Edit: Also yesterday, because Casey were only down to 2 rotations after the first quarter and a half, he ran himself into the ground. I think it finally clicked with him that kind of work effort is what is required to really make it on the big stage

Trengove delivers greatest Australian marathon performance in London

The game has changed and the tackler is now held responsible if their tackle causes a head injury/concussion. Numerous examples this year for Grundy to have known better. Needs to be suspended 1-2 weeks at least. Head is, and has to be protected.

My thoughts are similar, although we have not been smashed by 100 this year. A capitulation from here would be unforgivable, with the list we have at our disposal. We have imported elite "leadership", and our own boys are growing up. The time for finals is now.

We've been hovering around the lower half of the Top 8 for the whole season, besides Rounds 6-11 where we were outside of the Top 8. I think some of us got a bit excited in believing the Dees could truly finish Top 4. The lower half of the Top 8 is probably a more realistic expectation for us given the ladder progression this year. The season definitely isn't over though, given how close 5th to 11th is right now. At the moment Port Adelaide are 5th on 44 points, we're 10th on 40 points. Winning against St Kilda will change the whole scenario potentially putting us back in the 8 with 2 rounds to go. Especially with Brisbane at the G the following week. The one thing against us is the percentage, we could be sneaking into 8th right now on percentage alone. Instead, we need to rely on wins, which I don't necessarily see as a negative. We should be aiming to get into the 8 on wins, rather than relying on other results and percentage (mind you if we get in on percentage I definitely won't complain). Who knew footy was as simple as winning games! There is no way I'm turning my back on the season right now, especially with the prospects of the final run of 3 games. The good news is we have a bit of a break now to recover and get ready to smash the Saints at our home on Sunday. I'll be back in this thread next week to either salivate with the rest of you on the run home, or crying into my keyboard at the missed opportunities!

For me, 12-13 wins was always what we should have been aiming for. At the moment that is still achievable. My only concern is that we appear to have run out of steam a tad. Injuries and youth are affecting us badly. Keep going boys!!

Congratulations to Jess Trengove for a fantastic effort finishing 9th in the marathon at the World Championships. She and Jack are obviously very close and this result must have given him a real boost.

Yeah i get the point you are trying to make Skuit, and i dont doubt you are a passionate Dees supporter, but it just smacks of excuse-making. We have not played a SINGLE game more than any other team this year... and other sides have laid and taken more tackles/bumps and are further up the ladder than we are. Im just sick to [censored] death of needing to grasp at straws for excuses. We need to reach finals this year. Reason and excuses look the same otherwise.

Also, can I just say, I would hope for a BIG turnout by our members/supporters next week. All well and good for us to sit here put it all on the players whilst wallowing in crapulence ; we ought to get down there and make some bloody noise. We still have a shot at this and I'd be so disappointed if a half-arsed crowd showed up. I read a comment earlier re; the club's poor image - well at the very least we can do our bit to make it hard as possible for the Anits! I'll be there with bells on my balls, knuckle dusters on and a lungful of barracking for one last roll of the dice!

You're in a unique position on here and it's a credit to you that you've been balanced in your reports on Dec's performances rather than looking through "bro" coloured glasses. It's good for you (and him) that you can now give him a decent write up. I and I guess many others have appreciated getting your perspective on Casey's efforts this year. Good stuff

As a deep down passionate member/supporter this club is wearing myself out. im sure many of you have seen many more years of false dawns and poor culture at the MFC, which hasn't have been fun, but it's become harder and harder to go/watch football. Sometimes I just want to cry as to why we have stunk so bad over the Last decade and continue to honestly do so. Not too mention the last 53 years. I just can't see the MFC ever being a hard team to play against at all, I feel way overloaded with losing and failure. How hard is it to create a strong culture the only demands success??? It can't be rocket science??? May sound over the top, but if the MFC continue to do what it is currently doing and never properly thrive I wish they would just close there doors I'll hand my memberships back and walk away from the AFL. Just so I can get on with life and not have the weekends ruined by trash. Rant over.... I will peace out

2014: 4 wins 2015: 7 wins 2016: 10 wins Going by this logical progression, I expected 2017 to be 13 wins. Still achievable at this stage, but finishing the season with 12-13 wins is basically where I think we are right now. If that means missing the finals, I wouldn't necessarily call it "failure". Disappointing, yes. Next season I would expect: Number of Wins in 2018 = Number of Wins in 2017 + 3 Mind you, if we finish with 10-11 wins I think that would constitute a failure as it completely ruins my formula.

Posted 42 minutes ago From the Jack Watts thread and a pretty good summary. We either had dumb players or dumb coaches, but essentially we played dumb football. Another aspect of GWS's play was that they went long, very long with the wind (even mongrel kicks) and then applied maniac pressure when the ball inevietably hit the ground; resulting in a rushed kick into the wind. Now this is not rocket science; as the following morning I had my U10's playing in similar gale force conditions and instructed them to kick the ball long with the wind, informing them that marking a ball in those conditions was not likely, and therefore we had to follow the long kick up with numbers at the contest. If the opposition got it, we then had to force them to rush a kick into the wind, with our defenders playing in front (our last line being 5 metres in front). When we were going into the wind we kicked to the dead side of the ground, and pushed numbers to the contest daring them to switch into the open side were a fumble (likely in the conditions) could be exploited by our pace. The kids implemented this easily and we went on to comfortably beat a top 2 side doing this. After the Hobart experience, how cold the Dee's not have learnt and adapted just 7 days later.

The most annoying aspect for mine is we had the 'practice' run only a week before. We got to see first hand how it all goes, ..i.e instructions ( if the right ones ) v execution...= results etc. Then on Sat..someone pushed the the 'Repeat' button. mind boggling stupidity really

I think we are sore and tired, is why I think we will be lucky to win a game in the run in. I noticed in an interview with Trengove after the Port game that he mentioned the game style was a very hard one to maintain for a whole game hence why we faded in the last half. Take this out over a season and we are cooked. This has me worried overall in that our game style may be fantastic during the year when we can implement it but if we can't do it for the whole year, especially at the end of the year, what is the point of it?

The thing upsetting me the most is that pretty much every other team in contention is fighting hard and winning games they have to, quite often coming from behind. Two weeks ago against North half way through the 3rd qtr we were still just in front of North who had the wind and we had the last qtr to come home with it. Meanwhile in Perth GWS were 15 points down against Freo. I'm thinking wow next week we may be playing GWS for a top 4 spot. Oh the possibilities! Instead GWS manage to get over the line, we manage to do what we've done for the last ten years and capitulate and then we back it up a week later with a further poor performance just to prove to the football world "No we weren't kidding, we are crap. You want a win, you need a win, come and see us. We'll roll over for you." They've got to be hungrier. The main problem with Jack Watts is I think he becomes pleased with himself too easily just when he should be looking to further improve his game. Good teams improve into the season, they become focussed. Melbourne are scattered to the winds.

Nothing like a sudden death game to shove a rocket up this team. Don't think we'll see back to back insipid performance by Jones so let's try be confident about this one fellow D'landers.

The irony.

If you just shut up shop and barracked for someone else I'd be at peace with it too. Grow a set fella. We are in a better position than in 1987 and the ride isnt over.

Calm your [censored], there is still three games left.

You're very brave after the early in the season "Letter to Goodwin" poster quickly looked like a goose . A full week break (for a change) and back to the G for the last three there's still hope for a final .

In the words of NFL legend Al Davis Just win baby!

those numbers from jkh are ridiculous

Dangerfield got 2 weeks, downgraded to 1 for early plea. Grundy should get two as well, and Mumford 1 week potentially, plus a week for his bump on Gawns face (seriously how was no free given for that???)

Petracca is quietly staying out of the firing line. His recent games: - GWS: 3 kicks, 13 handballs. DE% 43.8. 1 tackle. - NM: 2 kicks, 15 handballs. DE% 76.5. 1 tackle There was one passage of play yesterday, 2nd or 3rd quarter when the ball was going toward the boundary line. I think it was at least 2 GWS players vs our 1. Petracca was jogging toward them and then slowed up rather than go help his teammate. It wasn't a good look. I don't know why he has suddenly become handball happy. And 1 tackle per game is shocking for a forward. It is no wonder the ball ricochets straight out of our fwd 50. None of our fwds are effective right now. Petracca should also share the responsibility of the complete breakdown of our forward line in the last few weeks.