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I loves posts like these. Let's take a look, shall we? Hogan wanted the opportunity to go home. Not much you can do there. Last night would have seen Watts go missing for large chunks of the game. He did that for years and he has done it for Port. Plus he left in 2017, not 2018. Kent has played one good game all year. Tyson is in the reserves for North. Bugg couldn't get a game. Neither could Pedersen. It was time for Bernie to retire, much like Lewis and potentially Jones at the end of the year. Losing those guys has nothing to do with how we are playing now. Apart from Vince and Tyson (who didn't do much), none of the above played in our finals. They didn't factor in. Pur confidence is shot, our depth is being tested by a large amount of injuries and we have a horribly dysfunctional forward line. We have a little mountain to climb, but it has little to do with the players you mentioned. Even if they were still on the list, only possibly Hogan would have helped last night.

Depth is overrated. Our biggest issue is our most important structural players are playing like crap. Depth players always look great when the team is flying and ordinary when the team sucks. They are the effect, not the cause.

Essendon fans cementing their spots as the most disgusting supporters in the game. Outstanding response by Buckley.

I agree - the only difference being Thompson and Hardwick were a bees [censored] away from losing their jobs. Goodwin is safe. Hogan - wanted out Watts - right call Kent - perennially injured, wanted security of a longer contract Tyson - right call, absolute butcher of the footy, gets caught - now playing reserves for North Bugg - right call, no longer playing senior footy Pedersen - right call, past it Vince - retired I don't understand how anyone can bag the club for these decisions

Thank you. I take heart from someone within the club saying our game plan is an issue (ie it isn't just the players): "we might need to look at that [the way we play]. We've been beaten pretty much the same style each week" Lewis is saying Clarkson did just that in 2010. Hope Goodwin can be flexible and creative?

The more I look into & forward the more my mindset changes. As hard as it is, lets get enthused by the challenge facing us, by seeing what Goodwin & this list is made of. Like I said 16 weeks to find ourselves from the boot studder (if they still exist) to the President. Find out who is mentally strong out of this group to take us to the next level, it is just so disappointing because some felt we were right up there with the top contenders but clearly we aren't this year. As hard as it is, we go to the footy for the rest of the year & see how we can evolve & change to get things right for 2020. It hurts because it's "always next year" but this AFL game is a long journey, sometimes one step back to go 10 steps forward could be what we need, we haven't taken a step back since our gradual rise of the ladder from 2014 onwards

We asked Goodwin to make positional changes. He did. We asked him to loosen the aggressive nature of our forward press. He did. But we still stank. To me, tonight was proof that our fitness levels are deplorable. We were out on out feet in the third. They ran us off our legs. Our fitness issues must surely run deeper like Roos has suggested. The effort was there, the attempts to spread and run two ways were there in the first half, but as we tired in the third quarter we fell apart. Combining our lack of fitness with repeat turnovers leads to no confidence and it just spirals from there. I reckon Viney turned literally every one of his kicks over. He isn’t learning from previous mistakes and he’s trying to will himself into form by breaking tackles, but failing. Hibberd’s defensive job on Dusty was impressive but I think he also turned all of his kicks over. Our forward line is a shambles. We have no one leading at the ball carrier, which contributes to the turnovers. We have no one who can take a contested mark. We tried to bring forward pressure but ANB, Garlett and Hunt failed. Weideman is hopelessly out of form. Petracca was terrible. Tim Smith is a VFL player. We won’t get anywhere until we get 22 fit players, some forwards who lead at the ball and hold their marks, and we start lowering our eyes and hitting targets.

Give it up you people. Any one of you played any decent footy?. That ball was coming into Tigers forward line at a million miles an hour and the backs had no hope however battled hard and it could have been a lot worse of a loss without the likes of TMac who did well along with Frost,Salem and Hore . The forwards and Mids let them down AGAIN big time.

He’s probably still of more value IN the forward line right now.

I had a chance this morning to back and flick through some of the highlights from the Geelong and Hawthorn finals, as well as our games against GWS and West Coast. It was nice to see us playing good footy, but I was more interested in how we went forward of centre. And what made us so good in those games is all out of whack so far in 2019. One of our most important players in that span was Mitch Hannan. Go back and look at the footage - he is either kicking goals for us, or he is an important link in the chain. He hasn't played a single second for us this season. What about AVB? His crunching tackles, pressure around the footy and the ability to slip into the midfield is greatly missed. He also has a knack of getting himself into good positions to win the footy and hit the scoreboard. He hasn't played a minute this season. We know where we are at with Tom McDonald and Weideman. Tom looks like a bloke who couldn't be further out of form if he tried, and having off season surgery again makes him look as though he is only 70% fit at best. In those games above he was clunking marks and kicking goals in each of them. We don't have that now. Weideman is a young kid well down on confidence and form, and he is contributing next to nothing for us at the moment due to that. He is running under the footy a bit and it feels like he is almost clunking marks, but he drops most of them. We know how good he was in both finals, but he looks a mile off it at the moment. Another one who flies under the radar in those games is Spargo. Again, footage from those games has him very much involved in a large chunk of our goals. He is either winning some 50/50 balls and dishing off to set up goals, or he is nabbing a few himself. He is another young kid way down on form. From those games, you can also make a correlation to how fit we are and how hard we are running. You can see the midfielders working hard to support each other and to run both ways. We probably sustained it for more periods last night than in any of our other games, but with off season surgeries and possibly some players not putting in the hard yards, we are still playing catch up in this regard. We just can't keep up with a quality team like Richmond. What it amounts to is a midfield that is constantly under pressure, and when we deliver the ball forward we are either missing some vital cogs or kicking it to players who have zero confidence. The outcome is very much what you saw last night and the week before. We can't hit the scoreboard and we can't connect well enough through the midfield and the forward line to fix it. For me, this will be a hugely disappointing season, but this is not the end of the world. I'm not looking at this list like I would have in 2013 and gone 'bloody hell, where is the improvement going to come from?'. I'm looking at a list that is learning some extremely harsh lessons, ones that will hopefully bruise our ego a little and get us to sit up and take notice. They crapped on last night about the Tigers having the five youngest players, but the fact still remains that we still have a young list, one that is being exposed in a big way. I am confident with the talent we have in place, and the changes that may come in the off season to the coaching and fitness staff, that this season will be the anomaly and that we can well and truly improve in the coming weeks, months and years. This just might be the season we had to have to get there.

My hate for Essendon runs deep, much much deeper than my hate for Collingwood – which is actually really deep itself so that shows you the situation I’m in with Essendon. Tear them apart Maggies.

I haven't noticed.

The more I read Demonland the more I understand why people vote for the Greens and Clive Palmer.

Give me an example of a successful coach who didn’t give trite, repetitive platitudes when the team was playing like crap? Actually put up a clip. What were Clarkson or Hardwick saying to the media in the years their teams were struggling? Can anyone remember a pale Neale Daniher sitting in front of the press in one of those down years after a woeful loss, mumbling “we’re tryin’ to build a spine”? Hindsight tells us Daniher was a very capable coach. Coaches in press conferences are on a hiding to nothing. I put it out there that there’s absolutely nothing Goodwin could say that will please everyone. Someone actually said in the post match thread that he wanted to see the coach “irrational” - that’s the last thing I want to see and will know he’s cooked as soon as he is. His message has been steady and consistent. It’s hard to hear when we’re so angry and disappointed, but nothing Goodwin has said is wrong or suggests incompetence.

I thought Smith showed a bit last night. The dropped mark in the goals after some great body work showed he can play at this level with a bit more polish to be added. Should string games together.

Would be happy to have him as an assistant coach next year.

I will say this - we’re a better chance of turning things around by focusing on defence first and trying to add attack, rather than the other way around. And I thought Hore was great again and is showing signs of a positive future.

I fear that we are heading down the path of English soccer with this mindless behaviour at the football. It's getting ugly and it's unfortunately only going to get worse... My admiration for Buckley grows with each season...

Illegal or not, until the Melbourne Football Club chooses to stand up to the “play ground bullies” on field, we will continue to be pushed around and be considered irrelevant. It’s up to the players to fly the flag and show the opposition we won’t be pushed around. We bullied and bashed Geelong and Hawthorn in the finals last year and earned respect. This year we haven’t even let out a whimper.

This is quite funny wiseblood you have picked the only thing that would insult me. You would never catch me in a beanie. I hate them with rare intensity. Yes I have been following the Dees since 1960 and the most frustrating thing is we continually do the same thing. We put in a year or two of respectability then wander off into mediocrity for the next decade. Am I wingeing ? Yes

Nothing has changed

Bareacking for other teams is simply not an option where I come from. Your footy team is inherited, not something you can pick and choose when it feels convenient

Spot on Jordan. This is one of the main reasons we recruited Lewis. .. the guys won 4 flags, has played 300 games, played under arguably the greatest coach of all time. His experience is invaluable. Amazing that the Hawks were 1-5 in 2010 .... coming off a season of no finals at and at 1-5 the supporters would have written off the season already and lost faith in Clarkson. They ended up with 12.5 wins and finished 7th. I really hope our coaches take note. We must make big changes to the gameplan.

You want Hird to come to our Club? I propose a Demonland life ban for you

Agree, TMac played tight on Lynch and nullified him. I thought it was a good demonstration to his brother and Frost on how it’s done. It’s easy to sook about TMac’s ball use coming out of defence, but honestly that’s such old news I’m amazed anyone still bothers. He’s a 100% known quantity as a defender; we all know what the tradeoff is, and we got what we paid for last night with him.

First post of the year. You can feel the raw disappointment of the supporters everywhere, it's real. My observations align with many already have touched on - the players appear bereft of confidence in both each other and as the weeks go by, the gameplan. Although we were mildly successful last season, the signs were there. The game against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, astonishing number of inside 50s for little reward. Stkilda cutting us to ribbons at the G (scarily similar to last week). Anzac Eve, Queens Birthday. We looked exposed in those matches and people forgot because we beat a weak Geelong and an undermanned Hawthorn. The fact is - we're a young side, with a hell of a lot of upside that probably overachieved in 2018. Getting rid of Hogan hurts us on field in the short term but was in my opinion the right call to make for the long term due to non- football related issues. The player we miss the most is Vandenberg, his tackling pressure is inspirational and is deceivingly damaging with his disposal. He can't get fit quick enough. Hang tough guys, some positives to come out of the season so far - Salem is leading the bluey by a mile. Stellar season so far from Christian we all love his poise at times when everybody else is panicking and missing targets. We have the pillars to build a team around, sadly most of them are coming into the year severely under done. Dip into the draft this year and grab forwards and outside runners. Go hard at high end free agents. We'll be right.

I thought Billy Stretch did OK

Then he should have stayed on to finish the job and not get shirty from the commentary box.

I wonder what old mate Roosy thinks about the veil of negativity now. No other club does the sort of [censored] our club does to its supporters. From 4th to 18th in one off season. ?

Harsh on T.Mac kept Lynch to 1 goal. I thought he was good.

For those bitching about Goodwin and his soundbites to questions that are posed to him... I would love to see your own responses to them (seriously, write them down)...because I suspect there is nothing he can say that would appease any of you? I'd hate to be a coach and be under scrutiny publicly week in week out....and having to justify/explain/mansplain reasons for a loss...

I don't give a stuff if you think being here longer means you are not talking crap. 5000+ posts of your quality? You think Goodwin is a good coach. I have as much right as you to make observations as someone who does not have much of a life.

The text size grows and shrinks automatically based on our collective mood.

Agreed - there is definitely something NQR about the place at the moment. I have never seen so many very good, good and capable players so desperately out of form and confidence at the same time. There will definitely be an end of season review and, in my opinion anyway, I hope it's led by someone from outside of the club. When these reviews take place, there's rarely mass sackings as the outcome, but it usually comes down to communication and role definitions within the club as a whole. Last year was not a one-off or a fluke as some have been spruiking; it was the gradual progression that has been building since 2014. We have gone from: 2014: 4 wins 2015: 7 wins 2016: 10 wins 2017: 12 wins 2018: 14 wins (+ 2 finals) To then go 1 and 5 says that something significant has occurred behind the scenes that we haven't got wind of yet.

Why do you still follow the club WYL? I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to watch games or log on to Demonland if I thought the situation was irredeemably hopeless.

Upon reflection, Lewis was decent I thought. From where I was sitting he spent a lot of time on Caddy which I thought was odd at the time. Caddy had no influence at all on the game.

Get off Weideman's bac. You are the same people who complained about Hogan and then whinged when he left. He is 21 year old

I see an article on AFL.com that the saints are already linked to Jack Martin and Tomlinson. Mean while we are probably venturing out to Frankston oval scouting VFL plodders...

Apart from Hogan, those guys wouldn't have made a lick of difference last night. Are you trying to tell us that Dom Tyson would have helped change the outcome of the game? Or that Jack Watts would have stood up under the pressure? You're kidding yourself.

Thought Stretch was OK. His kicking was better than most.

I thought the kick outs were excellent last night Lewis and Salem nailed some rippers

Did everyone notice that the Richmond guys stood arms around each other during the ANZAC ceremony and we stood apart from each other? Contrast that to the Melbourne v Geel final last year, where the opposite took place. Is this a sign of a bigger issue at play than purely game style, structures etc?

It’s hard to hit a target inside 50 when no one leads at the ball carrier. They all run back towards goal demanding the footy. It calls against the basics of this game. It’s a new trend and the 666 rule has taken footy back to a traditional style, you must lead at the ball inside fifty. If we don’t improve this, we do not win another game this year

'Sack everyone mega thread' Made me lol

Goody's living in Disneyland. Statistically our worst team performance for the year. We also nearly cracked the turnover ton reaching what must be some kind of record with 97! 6 players accumulated nearly 50% of those alone, racking up 46 turnovers between them, they were.... Viney, Melk, Gus, Frosty, Hibb and T-Mac Two players racked up over 20% of our turnovers between them @ 10 a piece in Viney & Melk. We got lucky tonight with theTiges missing many getable set shots as well. The scoreboard flattered our performance and the Tigers weren't even hitting anywhere near their straps IMO. Could it get any worse? If we don't address the core problems and keep the blinkers on....hell yes! P.S. Our team DE% hit rock bottom for this season @ 58.64%. That's 14.3% below the approx usual AFL average of 73%! That's the sort of disposal numbers one might expect from a half decent VFL level team (if they were forced to come into the AFL and play). Forward pressure? 3 tackles inside 50. 2 from Garlett, 1 from Bull Smith. That was it

Exactly. He plays a straight bat to the media, and so he should. It will always be that way.

Gee that made a big difference. Seriously do you think the Umpires lost it for us. Give it a break please.

Give the umpires a rest. Sick of hearing about them. They are not causing us to lose games. If we are first to the ball we don’t give away frees. We have pathetic skills - that’s the problem.

After the first term it was a horribly frustrating game to watch. The dew played a bit of a factor, but we fumbled more than I've ever seen from a Melbourne team. That comes from a lack of confidence and, as the game wore on, the perceived pressure from the Tigers. They just kept at us all night and wore us down until we simply couldn't handle it. The way we used the ball going forward was probably the most disappointing aspect. We controlled parts of the game but rushed our kicks forward which allowed Grimes and Vlastuin to pick it off at will. It doesn't help that Weideman is waaaay out of form and Smith is not really a tall forward. I thought early our pressure down there was okay, but it's hard to keep it in there when they're marking it uncontested. Garlett and Hunt didn't have any impact, Petracca had one or two good moments and Melky didn't really play down there. It was tough to watch. On the flip side, I thought the way we set up defensively was pretty good and we weathered the storm for most of the night until the dam wall broke in the last. I thought Stretch played really well and took his chance. Hibberd did a pretty good job on Dusty, while I thought Frost and Tom Mac drew even with Lynch and Riewoldt. I thought Hore was pretty good again across half back too. Outside of that, there isn't much to write home about. I was also impressed to see Goody make some changes to kick off the game, even if they didn't make a difference all night. It shows he is willing to mix things up a little, and he made some changes to the gameplan. But with no confidence and a night that made our skills look even more deplorable, we were always ice skating up a hill. But it's on to next week. Keep your chin up, Demonlanders. Footy stinks at the moment, but there is always next week. I'm already looking forward to it.