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@DeeSpencer - apologies for saying you dropped your bundle the hardest after Monday's game. We have a new winner.

I'm a fan for his loyalty and his love of the demons. His fans and detractors alike acknowledged his sublime skills and his lack of intensity for the contest, inconsistency and for setting a poor example. Nothing to fess up about there. However, I do fess up to defending him against the vitriol thrown at him by his detractors on this board. Anyway, we have heard it all before. Perhaps the mods can merge this with the designated 'Jack Watts in 2018' thread.

FFS... It’s going to be a long 9 days until the Port game. People on this joint need to chill the f&$k out. We weren’t going to go undefeated for the rest of the year... One loss in 7 weeks and everyone loses their mind.

Going home on the tram after the game on Saturday, my wife and I started chatting with a guy about my age, with his brother. Friendly bloke, interested in the game and like us, a bit subdued about the day. I commented to him that the game reminded me of one in the Peter Daicos era, early nineties , one to which we had dragged all five of our children and with the same thing happening outplayed, outscored and the icing on the cake as we walked up the aisle afterwards was to have Collingwood supporters looking down on us yelling ‘it’s like having all your worst nightmares come true innit ?’ This chap in the tram said ‘ I remember that game I was the coach ‘ He offered me a selfie and a Kleenex Thanks John Northey - a real gentleman and a pleasure to talk to. Just wish we could have met under different circumstances .......

If it's anything like what I've heard of similar camps, it's probably to do with them cutting off access to family members and spouses. All of the murmurs from inner sanctums I've heard about disgruntled players appear to be centred around a complete disregard for player wellbeing, and the mental wellbeing of their loved ones (who apparently are given no indication of when or where the players are going). I get the importance of intense training, but there is no place in the universe where football takes priority over family and well being.

This is a needless post. I've got no problem with anybody still 'loving' Jack Watts - they are well within their rights to do so. Seeing Watts dropped is not an opportunity to sink the boots in, but a chance to reflect on the trade and understand that for us it was the right decision going forward. Nothing more than that.

i feel sorry for him his best years, by far, were under roos - and even then he got dropped to the vfl he has the "distinction" of being dropped by every senior coach he's had now all the talent in the world, but none of the desire required

I've tried hard not to post since Monday's loss, allowing for some time to view the game on TV, (having been there live) and to watch closely on what went on at the coal face which is where the game was lost. First off, it's clear as day that Buckley went to town on the first quarter of the bulldogs game and would have shown his players and said, "look what happens when you pressure Melbourne to this level". Props to him, we couldn't handle it at all and they maintained that level of intensity for the entirety of the game which was impressive. Why were or levels of intensity and pressure not at theirs given its what we've built our entire brand on? Buckley also exposed us in a couple of areas within the midfield. Having a contested heavy, one dimensional midfield group who are all natural ball chasers/inside players can be a double edged sword. When we're on, playing with intensity and most importantly are 'clean' in the contest, we look really good. If the opposition put pressure us at the coal face and nullify Gawn's taps then we look slow and reactionary given the types of players we have playing as half forwards and wings. As an example, if you watch Harmes closely in patches when he's on the wing, you'll see how hard he finds it to sit back from the contest and trust that a team mate would win the ball. Some of his efforts when he decided to chase the ball were very poor as he had no impact and it allowed for his opponent to sit back on the outside and become an option in space. Too many times this happened, and Collingwood had a much better spread of midfielders both inside and outside. Sometimes I wonder what instruction is given to players like Harmes and Brayshaw when they play on the wing and or if they're listening? Both players played their under age years as inside mids with Harmes having rests forward. Unfortunately at this stage, if the opposition get on top in that area, we don't really seem to have another plan due to our personnel through through the midfield. I noticed Goodwin tried to throw Hogan in there again and for me, that's just clutching at straws as he is not a midfielder and cannot play that position effectively. Watch some of his efforts and you'll see. Whilst there are other areas of the ground we can tinker with, like the Vince and Lewis in the same backline conundrum, I thought I'd concentrate on the midfield as it's our strength. Bringing Tyson in is not an answer for me. Unless you're taking one of our starting mids out which there's no need yet imo. We need to get back to starting the game with real intensity and being clean with that first possession. Pederson whilst strong in the air, doesn't provide the same defensive pressure as Smith or Weideman. I would bring Smith back in. Other than that, keep the same side. The only way we beat Port over there is by playing to our strength and smashing them at the coal face. Oh, and Petracca needs to start in the middle. Needs a rocket.

You must be watching a different Jones to me.

Good luck to him. Enjoy Fritsch. Move on.

Normally I’d ignore posts like yours DrD, but not this time. While most people here would find it sad that JW’s form has warranted his dismissal from the team, you seem to take pleasure from the fact that this justifies some supposed statement you made about him. Feel good now? Jack has played over 150 AFL games - how many have you played? Sure we wanted so much more from Jack, but he couldn’t give it consistently, for whatever reason. So what? That’s life. Jack has had to take shite like this for way too long - from people who’s only claim to fame is that they are able to post a blog on demonland. Jack has accepted all this with complete dignity. I’m sure most of us here only wish him success. Perhaps if Jack had been drafted at pick 20 none of this bs about his ability and expectations would have transpired. Perhaps it’s the fault of the recruiters who simply misread his capabilities, and us supporters who needed a hero and simply wanted it too much. Good luck Jack - hope you make it back to the ones soon.

There are 47 players on an AFL list, only 22 of those can play in the seniors any given week. I'm not one for shaming a player who is 'dropped' to the seconds to work on an element or elements of their game- that's what it's there for. Good coaches use the lower leagues for teaching and development, not as a punishment. I wish Watts well, he loved the club as much as we all do and fought to stay. I had hoped that the new environment would work out for him, but to this stage it hasn't. As posters have mentioned above, he's looked lost on the field in recent weeks and his heart doesn't seem to be in it anymore. For all of his shortcomings as a player, he did play to a much higher standard in his final couple of year for Melbourne and his current form doesn't detract from an excellent 2016 and half of '17. Unfortunately for him, he's got the skills, but not the personality for professional football and perhaps it's not as easy as 'flicking a switch' to play to the tempo, aggression and desperation of league footy. He didn't ask to be drafted pick one, didn't ask to debut Queens Birthday with the 'Welcome number one draft pick Jack Watts!!' blaring over the speakers, didn't ask to play on Glass, Rutten, Merrett and Scarlett in his first 10 games as an 18yo CHF and didn't ask to leave our club when we were at our absolute worst. He plays for Port Adelaide now anyway...

Seriously...do you want a bozo badge? You were one of the most vocal during the trade period with your repetitive posting about how useless he is. I notice you only jump on here with constant negativity. Good for you for feeling vindicated. They guy has left the MFC but you wait for moments like this to gloat. Well done.

I like him because he's a good bloke. Sue me. I really dislike Leigh Matthews, still, because despite being the best footballer i have ever seen he was a malicious thug whose violence had a disturbing element of premeditation to it. Unlike some players from his era who 'just snapped' (eg Robbie Muir, Carman) 'Lethal' hit opponents (often behind the play) who were beating him. No better example being the day he king hit Steve Smith at Princess Park after Smith was giving him a bath.

Well that was disappointing Credit where's it due. They played in front and were first to the ball. We were somehow unable to. But crikey ... That was a game where everything went C'woods way. It happens. Every bounce of the ball, straight into their hands. For us, odd bounces or slow ones giving oppo time to grab us. Every stray kick went to them. Every rushed, side of the boot, up in the air .... went to them. They were really geed up for this. It really was their grand final. They targetted Max. They formed huddles and circles and spent a lot of nervous energy. Great for them but I don't think any team can can sustain it. If the game was played again next week, result might be different. But ... It was played Monday and they outplayed us. With a fair slice of help from the footballing gods. Disappointed but no more than that. GO DEMONS!

I feel your pain. I have only just started being civil again to my husband after he insisted putting the replay on as soon as we got home after the game. I told him that I would never forgive him. I am one to hold a grudge so I probably won't.

McClure is a turd for even writing that piece. Now every media outlet and footy show is going to be speculating and talking about it. Respect his Betts’ wishes to not want to speak about it.

My wife thinks all elite level sport is rigged, and there is no point in getting angry when your team loses as the result was decided before the game. I still get angry.

Will always be one of my favourite MFC players.

Have agreed with many of this thread. Beaten by a team confident they could drop, throw , block, scrag, indeed act with no impediment from the umpires. The umpires threw the ball up inordinately quickly and responded to the report in the age to create quick moving high scoring game. Play on always preferred to keep the ball moving. Oh and of course "it helps if Collingwood are up and about". We may have been destined never to win but the game exposed some simple faults that must be remedied. Sheperd the ball carrier. Especially if you have given it to him. Kick the ball low and flat, not high to allow two opposition players to join the contest. Man up when they have the ball, provide an option running to space when we have the ball place the ball in front of your teammate so he can run on to the ball. Only one player needs to fly for the ball. If against two opponents then force the contest and bring the ballcould have used Frost pace off backline. wasnt disappointed with Pedersen in forward but we didn't seem as effective when he was on the ball. Maybe needs more time to play this role. Trac is a burst player and did perform that role. Brayshaw was wasted in tagging role. We need to be able to play with intensity for four quarters , this is the emerging trend in successful sides. We can still win the flag if we remember and respond to this loss with an improved focus against Port.

This season he’s basically doing what we expected Petracca to do. He’s kicked bags of goals when playing forward (5+6 goal games), and dominated in the midfield on both the inside and outside. We don’t have picks to get him, so pipe dream. Hopefully Petracca gets a rocket and follows De Goeys lead as he should be the better of the two.

That's crazy. Free kicks were 10-3 their way at quarter time. And that doesn't consider the ones that should have been paid like their throw in the goal square.

This post isn't to gloat and i wish Watts well. Just that watching him last week, even in a winning team, I thought I saw exactly what he delivered to MFC. No aggression, slipped tackles and falling over. Not surprised at this selection decison by Power. Unfortunate for him, but early validation of MFC call last year.

I'm starting to see in Petracca what was predicted for Watts : a player about to have a break-out game. He's been around for a good while now and hasn't produced much more than glimpses of possibility. What's the go Christian? Are you a gun who is just a little bit over-awed, a bit shy? Not likely, but! Have a look at young Spargo. No glamour there but he's kicked more goals than you have recently. And he tackles hard too.

Leigh Matthews was a thug. The statue of him outside the MCG should not be there. He broke Neil McMullin’s face in an off the ball punch and many others too. He is the only player to have been charged by the police for punching another person on the football field. He was not a great footballer. He was a lout.

You know we haven't 'stuffed' up yet, right? So you're astonishment is somewhat misplaced... I helped coined the term 'MFC Supporter Syndrome' and knew that different forms of it would follow as we got better but this is ridiculous. 10 rounds to go, champ. Hope your nerves can handle it.

Watts gets a hard time because he’s obviously got god given talent that could make him a genuine star of the game. That’s why he gets more heat than Joe Average on the fringe of the side. You can’t use the “only 22 spots in the side” here; if Watts delivered on his talent then he’d still get picked if there was only 5 spots in the side. That to me justifies the intrigue around him, but it doesn’t justify why people used to wail and get nasty as if they were personally affronted when Watts was disappointing. For some reason he doesn’t have the drive or competitive edge to really take the bull by the horns. So be it, many don’t.

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere - Tom Mc and Oliver made TOTW. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-06-13/oliver-mcdonald-in-team-of-the-week And on FC the other night Chris Judd named Oliver as the best under 21y.o. in the league and will one day win a Brownlow?

I'm just relieved I don't have to stick up for him anymore. After 9 years I was exhausted!

It is 1 hour of awesomeness from Roosy. @Supermercado was great too. I was above average at best.

Same, what started as corn chips, frothies and a carnival friendly atmosphere of Dees (father and son) V pIes (wife) quickly devolved into matrimonial disharmony due to my inability to not take it so seriously

Did you just quote yourself and ask yourself a question?

WGAS. Time to build a bridge guru.

In order to impose manic pressure or pressure of any kind onto the opposition you actually have to be standing next to your opponent. We need to stop this garbage of guarding space and corralling (in some cases standing 5-10 metres from our opponents) and play directly on them. This is also beneficial if your opponent is quicker than you, your opponent doesn’t have a head start on you and you’re more likely to pressure their disposal/marking the ball. If your opponent moves, move with him. Hawthorn/Richmond and now Collingwood were all able to move the ball from one end of the ground to the other not only without us touching it but almost unoposed. When teams are kicking in from a behind we seem to conceed the first kick, (normally to deep in the pocket) then at times the second kick (somewhere around the 50). Both these kicks are being taken uncontested because our players are too busy guarding an irrelevant space. From here teams can do one of two things, continue to kick to free teammates as we still guard space and work their way up the ground or outwork and outrun us and create the overlap, handball receive then run and carry then a kick inside 50. Yesterday was a combination of both for Collingwood. One thing we’ve been good at doing this year is taking a mark inside 50 then turning quickly and kicking to a teammate in a better position. For some reason we failed to defend against this yesterday. We know we’re not the quickest, we pride ourselves on contested possession so let’s make every possession by the opposition accountable. (Guard space when the opposition has marked and is kicking inside 50, put a man front and centre of the goals, and where the keys forwards are going to lead to) Our tackling let us down again, even in the previous games we’ve won this season it’s been an issue. On most occasions one player should be able to tackle the player with the ball. When we tackle we allow the ball carrier to off load a handball. At times yesterday we had 2 and 3 players tackling the ball carrier and he still managed to get a handball off and away they went. The suggestions that Lever’s absence was a large contributing factor to the back lines pantsing and the loss as a whole are comical. Hogan had a bad day, it happens, but can he stop playing for frees and stop throwing his hands in the air while the opposition runs off with the ball. Lead by example. Can we now all acknowledge that TMac is Neita MARK2. Feel free to rotate Hogan and “inset name” but can we just leave him planted in the goal square for the remainder of the season. He is by far our best contested mark and set shot for goal in the team. Leaving him there was the best thing Goodwin did. Petracca needs to be dropped, if it was good enough for Watts, enough said. Poor decision making across the board, kicking to 1 on 2 or 2 on 3. Players running inside 50 from the centre square and kicking to an outnumbered fwd. Take ownership, be accountable and kick the goal. The Pies worked harder than us and wanted it more, they hunted in numbers and put us away with ease. On paper we had them covered but it was evident we were rattled from the first bounce. 100 point drubbings of lower placed sides clearly count for nothing, when we are challenged in big games and there’s something to play for we continue to choke. No this doesn’t mark the end of the season but this does raise a number of questions, some of them reoccurring ones. As posted earlier, it’s not that we lost, it’s the way we lost. If they kicked straight we could of been down by 8 goals at qtr time.

We got beaten by a far superior team on the day ... Collingwood's best is as good as any of the better teams except they often don't play at their best. But that's their problem, not ours. Our issue is that we're a 12-14 win team which means we're a team that is almost certainly going to lose 8-10 games. Or perhaps only 7 losses but definitely not more than 10 losses. That is how good we are. We lost the game because we got smashed at the clearances and the opposition were able to use the ball exceptionally well once they won the ball at the contest. But some teams can win the ball well and then not use it very well so the clearance numbers don't often tell the true story. But Collingwood do use the ball well when they are on. So do we but it's impossible to play possession football if you don't have the ball. We can play a lot better and we will play a lot better ... we're just not that good a side where we can do it all the time. We have to win the clearances by a good number in order to give ourselves a chance against the better teams ... we came up way short yesterday but we live to fight another day. Our defence was under siege yesterday so there's no point pointing the finger in that direction.

You're doing an outstanding job with Demonland Andy, a credit to you, we appreciate your efforts.

Not sure that is abuse (subjective though) I got told I was a lefty and had mental issues (half right) but whatevs.

I will never drop off the Dees. Its more about perspective. I hate it when we lose and the rush I get when we win is huge. A few years ago, someone posted on D’land that they wouldn’t want us to thrash teams every week as it would get boring. My response was I would love to win big every week whilst the opposition supporters had to sit there in stony silence as we dismantled them. Needless to say I have enjoyed 6 out of the last 7 weeks immensely. I want the ultimate rush. I want a Premiership. And I want us to destroy every other team along the way. However, to have so much invested in something you have no control over is a precarious state to be in.

Why would you say anything to him in front of his grandkids. I also think that he committed some questionable acts on the ground and would let him know face to face if I came across him, but not in front of grandkids, no wonder he didn't say anything.

I'm just happy the club cancelled our proposed camp...no good can come of these things.

When Jack was at MFC he had my full support as do all MFC players, once he left he just became another afl player but their is no need to sink the boots in when things are not happening for him. People that question the courage of any sportsperson or person in general on social media I have found to be wanting badly in that area themselves.

I am a fan of Watts, understand he had to go and really wish he would do well at Port. He looks lost out there, like he needs to get out of Dixon and Grey's way. I wonder how Jack Trengove is going and if he is pushing for selection

.......and also "hello Umpires, we are allowed to play on, aren't we, just like Wobbles". They know in advance beforehand because it was teed up with the Umpires before the game by bucks.........

Very good synopsis and counter advisory in so many areas of our game that was displayed miserably against the Filth - but these have been lingering doubts across the supporter base for a long time, so it seems as if less has been learned than we had supposed. The net effect is not far away but reinforcement is needed now to consolidate a finals position. Good work, dpositive.

Preserve tradition - it dates back to the 50s

As much as I hate Collingwood, it would be a little hypocritical to decide we want the game with someone else after they happily allowed us to make it our home game each year so we got the money from the gate. There is absolutely no reason why the game needs to be changed now, and I don't mind it rotating as a home game as long as we get another good fixture somewhere else during the year (eg. a few Friday night fixtures).

I've wanted to bring this up but couldn't be bothered with the likely blow-back. But I see you've been hinting around the edges Stretch, so here goes . . . Perhaps a silly fan perception, but I almost sensed that Viney was a bit lost on his return. When he put his head down to dig out the ball, Oliver and some other ursurpers were already there. He then seemed to step back a little, and it looked as if he was easing himself back in. Since then, he has returned to a primary extractor role, but now Oliver looks a bit frustrated and ANB and Harmes are suddenly down again - and Brayshaw, who was in top-notch form as a play-maker, has been shunted to a run-with role. I don't want accuse JV of being a one-trick pony, but is primary strength is in burrowing under. We've switched our approach a bit since he was last in the team, from shutting down the stoppages to really getting the ball moving. Hence the blowouts for and against. Right now, Jack looks on the slow side, and I think has upset the mid-field balance a fraction. It makes sense to want him back in the thick of it, because he is one of the league's best, and we need to back him in in the role, but the trust the running mids and half-backs have with Oliver isn't there yet with Viney. We were seriously sucked into the ball versus Collingwood. Jones too, seemed to have struggled on the weekend with the new mid-field mix and his own role. I feel something right now has to give. Maybe Jones back to half-back to replace Vince, or Viney, who is a fantastic tagger, to swap with Brayshaw for the time being. We have ten or so weeks to get it right, but I think that sorting it out is absolutely critical to our ultimate chances to push deep into finals. When we break down in the middle - the cornerstone of our game - we get well and truly done.

I think we just have to "Feed the Weed" by playing him the rest of the season. If he can develop then we don't need to worry about trying to trade for someone else. If he doesn't pan out at least then we know what we have with Weed.

Watching near the fence behind Punt Rd goals the bolded bit stuck out the most. Collingwood did it well and we took no risk in trying to open it up. Carbon copy of the Hawks and Tigers games yet it seemed we went in with no counter plan. On the other hand we were all at sea when Collingwood started their forward forays from defence. I thought we would have sorted it out already after the early losses.