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This is the major failing of the club and specifically the coaching department. It reflects poorly on the professionalism of the club particularly the coaches. Rather than spending time on study tours, our coaches missed the opportunity to look closer to home and do some critical problem solving in a methodical and analytical manner. It's quite incredible when you think how complacent the club was in its view of our list, our game plan and our opposition. Like its supporters, the club approached this year with unrealistic expectations following two successful finals matches. We celebrated those two wins rather than address the problems that were so evident against West Coast. Consider the reinvention of Geelong after an unsuccessful finals campaign. Everyone outside the club wrote them off for 2019 and beyond, however, the Cats culture and professionalism has seen them emerge better and stronger than ever. What happens from now to the end of the season will be very important to the future of the MFC. I don't believe that we can rely on players return from injury as an antidote to our problems. It is not bad luck we are in this position. We don't have minor problems or issues to fix. The club has a hell of a lot of work to do to become successful. The improvement of 2018 has been smashed and destroyed. It feels like we have taken two or three steps back rather than one. Our window of opportunity for finals success has suddenly become very narrow. In the space of 6 weeks, we have regressed to the losing culture of the past. The players look beaten. Even in the first quarter of the game against the Tigers, we looked like a poor side playing well compared to the Tigers, who looked like a good side that could not find its rhythm. We can only hope that the club has the character, culture and professionalism to learn from its mistakes and can address the systemic problems evident this season.

My impression is that Lyons playing career doesn't get the credit it deserves. I cannot work out why he isn't in the AFL Hall of Fame. I think he was that good. Courageous, tremendous leader. Good in the air, a brilliant one on one mark, but equally dangerous with the ball on the ground, which is an unbelievable trait considering the issues he faced with constant back injuries. Had class to burn (IMHO second only to Robert Flower for pure class amongst the Melbourne players I've seen). A genuine match winner. Had a good finals record, with the standouts being slotting the match winner vs WCE in 1988 Elimination Final, and I think his 10 goal performance against the Bulldogs in the 1994 Semi Final tends to be forgotten due to the heroics of David Schwarz that day. Captained the Vics, which a lot of the "young folk" perhaps don't understand how big of an honour that is. Quite simply, was easily Melbournes best player during an era where Melbourne had a lot of good players and not only played finals, but won finals regularly. A lasting memory for me was a game against the Brisbane Bears in 1995. Melbourne had started the season 0-6, and were playing an up and coming Bears team at the MCG. It was a must win game if ever there was one. The natives were restless in a low scoring game as the Bears looked like winners until Lyon went into the middle in the last quarter. Leading from the front, Lyon virtually single handed dragged Melbourne over the line. Again, from a guy who was essentially a key position player, had the ability and versatility to take the game by the scruff of the neck from the middle of the ground and get his team to victory when the game just had to be won. He may have played better games in that season, but considering Melbourne missed finals by 1 game after starting the season at 0-6, Lyon must take a lot of the credit for getting the season up and going on that overcast Sunday afternoon.

What if I wasn’t a Melbourne supporter is something I’ve asked before.

I don't know if it's a symptom or a cause of some of our problems against Richmond, but I thought that way too many of Oliver's dinky flick over the top handballs either missed their targets or were to players under almost immediate pressure who either fumbled and turned it over or were smashed in a tackle. Basically the options he chose to handball to were in poor position and/or we were not presenting enough good handball options around the ball, with enough space to execute an effective next possession. A few of his kicks hit their mark, but again I recall a high percentage of turnovers based on quick around the corner and hope kicks. My impression was this one of the least effective contributions I've recalled from Oliver, but then, he also wasn't the only guilty one by my account.

As a diehard supporter devastated and despondent as to the position we find ourselves, I also don't want to be part of the negativity that other Club supporters, the Media and some of our own supporters are relishing. We are generally all passionate supporters on this site and and the extreme disappointment we all feel is exacerbated by the fact that there are no clear answers to our problems. However, why can't we all put that aside and actually support the boys when they really do need our support. I know that the players will be really feeling the anger and frustration of their supporters and despite their outgoing positive comments they will be hurting. I really believe we have the team to turn it around. Friday 3rd May, there is a light training run from 9.30 to 10.30 at Gosch's paddock. I really hope that we can get as many "supporters" there to show the players that we do support them and believe that they can turn it around. I know that we have the team to do exactly that but we will have to get through whatever is happening at the moment. I'm not making excuses for them. I just want to show them that we haven't given up on them. There will not be any BBQ's or marketing tents just plain old fashioned spontaneous support for our players. Let's bring back a sense of unity amongst members and supporters. Bring your dogs, children, neighbours and anyone that loves the MFC.

He should be on the demonland banner

You currently qualify for a job in our FD... probably running it.

Honestly some of the tripe I read on here makes me squirm. Players HAVE to be available to the media these days . To not do so would be economically negligent and the same ones pulling max apart here would be going nuts about how we don’t promote our club... in good and bad times. we, as a club, are lucky that Maxxy is well loved in the football world in general and given a regular voice. It gives us an industry respected spokesman and face for young supporters to relate to. We haven’t had a lot of them in recent times. He needs to speak up... the fans in general need to stay engaged. Our footy sucks and yes, we would all rather engage fans w winning but it isn’t happening now. Max disappearing from the media wouldn’t help anything one bit. It’s footy in the 21 century. No club can close their doors to the media anymore. Im as angry , deeply disappointed, numb and shocked as the next person here. Looking for answers , wondering where everything is breaking down and why. But attacking max fr writing this article has produced some of the most inane comments I’ve read here for years.

POINT CRASH by KC from Casey The Casey Demons went down by the narrowest of margins to a strong Richmond VFL combination in the Round 4 game at Casey Fields on Saturday after a rushed behind to the Tigers in the game’s dying moments broke the deadlock. In a low scoring game, Casey took the early ascendency after conceding the first goal and held their lead for most of the first half going into the sheds at the main break with an 8 point lead. The Demons were led in defence by key position players, Oscar McDonald and youngster Harry Petty who often relieved the Tigers’ pressure with strong marking and bold movements out of the backline. They were well backed up by Josh Wagner. Recruit ruckman Liam Wale-Buxton had a terrific duel with Richmond’s AFL-listed Ivan Soldo in just his third game at VFL level and, although just shaded by his Tiger counterpart in the ruck duels, he contested strongly and kicked two vital goals. He was well supported by Declan Keilty who provided a hand out in the ruck and added two goals himself, including one from a screamer of a mark. Another youngster who impressed was midfielder Tom Sparrow who was hard at the ball and tackled strongly all day. The downfall for the Demons was their poor opening to the second half when they leaked four unanswered goals in the first ten minutes or so and were kept under a tight rein for the remainder of the third term. The fight back in the final quarter was led by former skipper Jack Hutchins who struck a purple patch and kicked the goal to level the game at the 23 minute mark. He was aided and abetted by experienced VFL-listers in Mitch Gent and current captain Mitch White and while the team had their chances, they fell agonisingly short in the end. The Demons face another hard task next week against Footscray VFL and will need to work hard given the number of injuries the club is experiencing at AFL level. 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL Casey Scorpions 3.0.18 4.1.25 4.2.26 8.3.51 Richmond VFL 1.0.6 2.5.17 6.8.44 7.10.52 Goals Casey Demons Keilty Wale-Buxton White 2 Chandler Hutchins Richmond VFL Chol 2 Aarts Bolton Butler Moore Townsend Best Casey Demons Wale-Buxton White Hutchins McDonald J Wagner C Wagner Richmond VFL Bolton Collier-Dawkins Morris Townsend Menadue Naish Statistics Oskar Baker 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 68 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 2 tackles dream 13 team points Jaxon Briggs 4 kicks 3 handballs 7disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 31 dream team points Kade Chandler 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 50 dream team points Jake Di Pasquale 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 marks 14 dream team points Tom Freeman 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 54 dream team points Mitch Gent 10 kicks 12 handballs 22 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points Jack Hutchins 1 goal 6 kicks 1 handballs 7 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 40 dream team points James Jordon 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 51 dream team points Declan Keilty 2 goals 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 6 hit outs 75 dream team points Mitchell Lewis 3 kicks 5 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 37 dream team points Tom McCaffrey 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 1 mark 5 dream team points Oscar McDonald 17 kicks 5 handballs 22 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 73 dream team points James Munro 10 kicks 9 handballs 19 disposals 2 marks 11 tackles 94 dream team points Harrison Petty 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 53 dream team points Aidan Quigley 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 48 dream team points Charlie Spargo 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 57 dream team points Tom Sparrow 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 2 marks 12 tackles 100 dream team points Luke Tynan 3 kicks 2 handballs 5 disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 23 dream team points Corey Wagner 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 77 dream team points Josh Wagner 12 kicks 8 handballs 20 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 85 dream team points Liam Wale-Buxton 2 goals 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles 31 hit outs 117 dream team points Mitchell White 2 goals 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 1 tackle 1 hit out 77 dream team points

I'm very much against dropping Weideman. He needs as many senior games as possible this year with an eye to the future. We're last after six rounds and won't be playing finals, so why on earth would you drop a 21 year old tall forward in his 4th year ? He's obviously down on confidence, but tell him you'll back him. He'll learn far more at AFL level than VFL. Hés just completed six games in a row, which is the most he's ever played consecutively. I'd be getting 22 games into him. The rest of this year should be an investment in his and the club's future. What's the point of dropping him, bringing him back, dropping him again, etc. ? Some on here don't rate him as a prospect, which is fine, but this is a year to develop players for the future. If you're still desperate to play finals I suggest you re-evaluate your expectations. It just doesn't make sense to me to not give him a year in the seniors when we won't be playing finals. At least he'll enter next year as a 40+ game player. What's the point of him entering next year as a 30 game player...

What if instead of spending over $1200 on memberships this season I put that money towards alcohol...

What if...

Range Rover: "Lewis must retire vs Hawks!" "Recruit Patton at all costs!"

Yes it can be a lottery when Frost has the pill in hand But …. he has pace, endurance and is prepared to take the game on and back himself. I'll take those qualities at the moment.

My take on the sacking of Norm Smith ... spoils a good story but nevertheless ... Norm slandered an umpire publicly, was sued (settled out of court) and the club rightfully wouldn't stand by Norm and his slanderous comments ... in frustration he was sacked by the club and then later reinstated (a week later) His team had started to struggle (moving forward) and the writing was on the wall with regards to the less than average zones that we were allocated. Norm did the 'supporter' thing and started blaming the umpires. He brought about his own downfall in my opinion.

If they spread, It might help. Our forwards need also to learn to help one another in packs (1%'s), using their bodies to shield the marker. So many little areas, we have to get more composed and better at.

At some point we need continuity. There's no point dropping 5 each week if when you look at every player individually, 75% of them wouldn't have held a spot last year at their current output. Singling out certain players and replacing them with underdone or unproven VFL players gives us nothing, short term and long term. Some people want blood each week, and I get that, but you can't pour from an empty cup. We already have most of our depth players featuring regularly this year due to injuries and what not. Our problem is fundamental across the whole playing group right now, and as a group they need to find a way out of this mess. Random appearances by middle tier Casey players will not help the group heal and move forward. No changes except injuries.

Love the 12 tackles from Sparrow! Has to be rewarded..

Curses are for people looking for excuses, and dare I say also people who blame umpires for losses and Mission for every game day injury The reasons are nothing to do with any curses but a number of factors many self inflicted others just poor timing or decisions Poor zone been covered by others but we didn't exactly have a conveyor belt of recruits coming through in the 70s Poor culture the old boys club off field who didn't move with the times in the changing game of the 70/80s Bottoming out when TV was about to have a massive influence The above set the tone for missing a generation of new supporters in the 70s and 80s Timing 1988 & 2000 running into 2 absolute juggernauts in the GF, Hawks of 88 were some side and we overachieved getting there. 2000 bit like 1987 put a strong run together in the backend of the year only to run into a dominant side set on redemption having fallen foul to complacency to the Blues in 99. They were never slipping up here Poor drafting - the drafting overall in the early noughties had a big effect which we are still recovering from with Jones a lone warrior survivor from that period. From 2012 onwards we are on par with most clubs with hits and misses each year but the Strauss, Maric, Blease draft was a killer. Molan was just an unforseen bust and our timing of getting it wrong with the expansion sides coming in was another blow Poor decisions with Olympic park when first offered is another in the list from previous boards which impacted our club greatly

They've done a lot more than that. When I was sloshing beers with Moonie on that memorable finals night I thought I was seeing the end of an era for Geelong and the beginning of one for Melbourne. FMD I clearly know [censored] all !!

I think you may be colour-blind DV8. Do you ever find yourself yelling at the Demons on TV and for some odd reason the commentators won't stop blabbing on about Patrick Cripps?

I wonder if Tony ever played on Billy Picken.

Thank god for Max, both on and off the field. Great work ethic, great leadership. The team leader for me.

Ir is a balance thing. Leading directs the kick - to space but that kick must also be read accurately to continue the 'connection'. It takes practice; firstly, to be seen by the ball deliverer and secondly, to know more about that feeder's kicking styles, distances of possible kicks to receive and the identification of the spatial requirements to take an effective possession/mark. It is also a perfect training drill involving all forwards and the midfielders - obviously (but not confirmed) - left largely unpractised at MFC training. Knockout feeds produce knockout goals.

Did he play wing against Richmond? He certainly played large periods of the game in the backline and spent some time as the starting 4 at centre bounces, but I don't recall him being used on the wing. Thankfully. My preferred spot for him right now is as a small forward with occasional runs on the ball.

@joeboy call lawyer

You’ve seen how fast lies spread in the footy world. “They turned up unfit” and “they drank their own bathwater” is circulating about our players at a furious pace, even on this forum where we’re supposed to be on their side. I think he has every right to respond with a rebuttal. Yes, obviously we would all prefer the club responded by hitting the magic “get good at footy” switch again instead of talking (nobody moreso than Max I reckon), but of course since that doesn’t exist, he is allowed to defend himself.

Thank you to our resident Essendon fan. Great memories. Lyon was a wonderfully skilled and smart footballer. His only achilles heel was not being a great pack mark, but one v one he was very good. Like most Melbourne players there were often injury concerns, namely a debilitating back. I'm not much of a fan of his media work, but a champion of the MFC.

So many weird new posters.

Doesn’t deserve it? You are a clown. The bloke deserves all the accolades coming his way for what he has given the club.

Max is damned if he says something, anything, and damned if he's silent. Haters gonna hate.

You’d prefer him to say they thought finals were guaranteed? Personally I’d hate it if the players thought they were.

People are weird, hey? Quote: "Only actions can get us out of the fix we are in" Response: "Shows how mentally weak you are"

The most dangerous animal in Africa...

Wasted? I am getting a little over all of the spewing on the kids that got selected. If he was a first rounder and was cruising around like a millionaire, then OK, have a crack. But this kid was a late selection (60+) if I recall, and part of our academy. There was enough positivity about him being selected at this pick at the time, as a project type for us. Everyone overlooked the Stack kid picked up by Richmond. About 100 times he was overlooked (Draft and rookie selections), and people even overlooked him when they had room on their lists still to fill. It is not a perfect science. Gotta say that things will turn. Not everyone will make it, some will exit our system. Others may be selected in the ones and become players and do better. Some on our list will improve and make it. Bedford has played something like 5 games at this level and you are making this call? How many games did Michael Tuck play in the reserves before he got his chance? I get that everybody is pizzed off with being stone motherless last, but it getting a bit annoying that people can’t feel that way and still support the kids that we have (and will have until the end of this year at least), recognise that Casey is important to our success at senior level, and do more than just spit vitriol. I want all of them to play better, to push the seniors hard for spots and make the seniors work harder to stay in front of them. Most of these guys are just kids, and unless they are freaks will take time.

Gees everyone is really looking behind every door to find someone to blame. Roos built a game on hard nosed, contested football which stands up in finals. I constantly remember him using Fremantle at their best pre Melbourne of having "big bodied mids of Fye/Mundy/Barlow" which we similarly went down that path with Oliver & Brayshaw. Most premiership sides & final sides are good contested teams which we were last year. As we all know Roos taught us how to defend first before slowly adding in how to attack & defend. We had the right balance towards the end of last year & during the finals we were tougher to score against but could also score heavily. For whatever reason we first lost our defensive mindset & it was costing us, now we've had to focus on defend because we were just bleeding goals so we saw Wednesday night how our attacking & scoring was effected. We wont know without been inside the club what has turned for us to fall away but it could be a combination of the off season surgeries, slight tinker with the game plan, poor player mindset, 6-6-6, sides doing more homework on us, all these little things add up to the perfect storm. Roos left 2 and bit seasons ago, a lot has changed since. He isn't the reason we are in this current state. We will ride this out & I have faith Goodwin & this group will turn it around if not by seasons end then next year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cwiBma5WKg

Injuries. Jakovich retired in like round 15. Lyon hurt his hamstring in round 6 vs North and missed like 6 games. Charles had a host of personal issues and also missed large chunks. Neitz was a backman at this stage and rarely went forward. Ox was outstanding. The problem was that we just seemed to get injuries whenever we would get on a run. And they would always be injuries to key players. Tingay as well. Lovell. Lovett. Come finals time we were peaking but much like last year, we faced a rampaging Eagles on their home turf, and we were burnt out after essentially playing 3 elimination finals (we needed to beat Sydney in round 24 to make finals). It was a brutal season from an injuries perspective. If we could have kept Jako, Charles, Lyon, Lovell, Lovett, Tingay on the field together for long periods we would have finished higher and perhaps have at least snagged a GF berth. Alas, like 1998, it just wasn't to be.

That forward line in 1994 with Lyon Jakovich Neitz Sean Charles and the Ox. How did we not win a flag?

In: O.McDonald Out: Viney Won’t satisy anyone’s bloodlust, but I’m fine with that. TMac to go forward again. Weideman stays in. We need to figure out how to make that combination work again - it’s far too important for the future to abandon now. It’s reason #1 why we’ve been garbage. Not too interested in any other fringe player swaps, though I wouldn’t be averse to having a look at Keilty.

Signed a new four year deal with GWS at the beginning of the month.

Disagree. He’ll learn nothing getting humiliated at AFL level week after week, if anything it could permanently wreck his already brittle confidence levels. Plus it sends the wrong message to the playing group. He has been persisted with for six games in a row and has produced nightmare performance after nightmare performance. He’s got no timing, no physical presence and no idea when the ball is on the deck. He’s not on his Pat Malone in terms of poor form sure but if this kid is the best the MFC can muster to hold down a key post in the forward line we are in for a world of hurt for the remainder of 2019. You’ve got to have some kind of minimum level of output. Forget his high draft pick status, right now Sam Weideman is embarrassing the jumper out there. Must be dropped.

Unfortunately SWYL, apart from making supporters feel better, the next week or so are irrelevant. We have [censored] ourselves for 2019.

Matsuo, as is screechingly obvious, I was responding to the way people were reacting to the article itself. And for what it is worth, your earlier claims about 'Pendles, Danger etc would not have throughts about finals not being guaranteed' are just ridiculous, even a perfect inversion of reality. I swear, you're coming across as one of those people who are addicted to "Be a Winner" seminars and "Rich Dad Poor Dad" style self-help books. So much anger stirred up in you against what is just basic, normal, and practical humility.

Again.. its all talk.. its all been talk the last couple years.. Max is great, but he talks a lot.. he tells us the prelim final loss is going to burn in the players.. we come out lose r1..we are 1-5 now he says judge us on how they respond. Why in the hell should we believe and trust words. its rather pathetic.

and just like in reality, he's chopped off at the knees in this photo...

Alright, here we go, here's how it would, could, might, in theory happen - Hawks aren't actually that good, they haven't beaten anyone impressive. The four days off trick will work and we will come in with a calmer mind and better focused on what needs to be done. Disposal efficiency climbs, workrate at least reaches adequate. Win number 2 goes on the board. We're 2-5 after 7 rounds. Suns just barely scraped their three wins against highly variable opposition and have had a bit of luck. They were exposed by an Adelaide side that still isn't really hitting great heights of their own. Their confidence will be down after being belted in Perth by an angry Eagles side. We go 3-5, and start to believe. I wont make any pretences about our chances against the Eagles at this stage. 3-6 after nine rounds and we are still right on the edge of season over. But just maybe we turn up with some fight and at least show we're still a meaningful team - part of the healing, redeption process. The Giants are still up and down and massively rely on a few stars to make them potent. Simon Goodwin pulls his first ever genius positional move and somehow matches the right players to lock down on Coniglio and Whitfield. Demons finally rediscover their forward connection and just barely come through in a low-margin shootout game for the ages. We are 4-6 and starting to believe. Round 11, we return to the Northern Territory to hunt Crows, and just like last season this is the game where things really turn. Just like last season, Adelaide wilts under the weight of lost contests and clearances. Not like last season's hammering, but an important win. We are 5-6 and looking like a menace. Queens Birthday at the MCG. We've begun to get some players back from injury, even if not stars, May, Smith, Vandenberg and Hannan have all been trickling back into the team and giving us a deeper team capable of holding their end up while the stars do their thing. Headlines start reading "Where were these Demons at the start of the year" and players respond with "we will never be caught napping in pre-season again". Incredibly, we are 6-6 at the halfway point of the season. With Lever coming back after the long break and the team finding a new solidarity and commitment, and the coaches having learnt a valuable lesson in flexibility and tactical initiative, the pieces come together and the Demons are now a team to take seriously for the second half of the season. Before you know it, we've knock over four quick wins against the unreliable Dockers, tiring Lions and Blues, and ever-stumbling Bulldogs. We are 10-6 and now the ONLY team in the competition that has managed a consistent run of wins. Suddenly, it is possible to speculate about our chances against in the Eagles, back up in the NT. It is like a whole new reality has dawned in ten weeks. So, there it is, each small delusion builds into the next. Each one only a moderate madness in itself, but when you get to the end you look back and go... naaaah, that is just total, absolute madness. If it happens, I expect not only to be given an award for my prediction, but to actually be given credit for the whole thing happening and installed as an assistant coach responsible for miracles.

To those calling for surgery now you’ve clearly never had an AC injury. They vary in scale. If you don’t need surgery, you don’t do surgery.

He had a millisecond mate. He didn't see him until the last split second as he did what most MFC players wouldn't, and that is keeping his eye totally on the ball. Extremely poor football? No, extremely poor commentary from you. Viney is bloody tough considering he just got up and didn't even grimace. I have whinged more about a biting my tongue.

Out: Weed, Viney, Lockhart In: 3 more Salem’s