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if you have been there please attend Tigers training sessions

HAVE A DIP OR YOU WILL SLIP GET IT DONE IN 21 ! GO DEES !

Can have 30k at a boxing day test but can't have several spectators at a standard footy training session... On ya Dan..

So, what happened to the DL drones?? Someone shoot 'em down??

"if it is to be, it is up to me" - rdb

High performing organisations may have creeds, mission statements, and any number of motherhood statements. However they are not top organisations because of such statements. They are organisations that have appointed talented people and developed that talent. They recruit people that can grow into leaders of the organisation. As a result, they attract the best because everyone wants to be part of the organisation. It’s history and culture of success becomes a way of being and individually and collectively people are driven to work hard and perform at a high level. People are ingrained with this philosophy and way of working. Working as a team is a natural organic thing. There is innate talent/skills and this talent is nurtured and developed. There is mutual respect between team members and these individuals assist one another to achieve their goals. Norm Smith Esprit de Corps as commented on by Lucifer is an effective explanation of success. It’s as good as anything. Slogans will always be used in organisations but it comes about as a result of the people you hire, train, coach, and, the people you place in leadership positions. Then success becomes innate to the organisation and follows almost naturally.

We had one: 'Esprit de Corps' in 2018, borrowed from Norm Smith: "We have this spirit at Melbourne. It embraces loyalty to the team, to the coach and to teammates. It is the spirit essential for success". We seem to have lost sight of it since then. Don't hear it referred to anymore. Good discussion of it here:

Thought it worthwhile starting a new thread as many people may not see this in the Fixture thread. "The Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging anyone who was in the Great Southern stand, zone five of the MCG, between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on December 27 to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result". To not be too alarmist: "Professor Cheng said the decision to list Chadstone and the MCG as possible sites where the man may have contracted the virus was precautionary, and that there are several other locations where he could have caught it".

Gawn Petracca Clarry May Brown

Beyond the AFL, and I'm a Lib voter McGowan's border closures have been fantastic for those of us living in WA. We went hard early and have pretty much been living normal lives since May Kids missed 5 weeks of school (2 of which were school holidays) Work is pretty much back to normal with the main impact being the job keeper payments are making it hard to attract staff for some businesses Gyms, swimming pools etc all operating normally for several months Pubs restaurants etc functioning pretty normal Junior and Community sport all got seasons in and summer sports still continuing. I'm sure we will get a cluster, but for now very happy with how things are going Sorry but life goes beyond the AFL

Wow, TMac looks like he has trimmed down heaps! Trac looks rolls Royce and Max looks lean. These galleries are all we are going to get I reckon. Williams looks like someone pinched his lunch!

More likely failed to launch and still on the ground.

The value happens when it is lived, not just written down. It has to come from the players, owned by the players and lived by them. Having the club make it is just another waste of paper.

It seems that the team returns to full training on Wednesday, presumably at Casey Fields. Reports from any correspondents who own drones or who are capable of climbing the trees around the oval would be appreciated.

I think the fringe range players is where we need our lift Weid, Joel Smith, Fristch, Vanders & Harmes

Weiderman - I really think he has the talent to be a top 10-15 forward in the competition, I think it’s largely down to confidence so hopefully reaching out to Jonno Brown will help Ben Brown - big off season recruit, naturally would like to see him do well and create a dangerous Buddy/Roughead-like combo with Sam Brayshaw - I feel like Angus needs clear direction as he is better than what we saw largely in 2020. Unfortunately I think it’s a bit to do with Viney’s style, this gets sorted and we get back a player who came 3rd in the Brownlow Kozzie - 2020 was a year of “almost’s” for Kozzie. His first shot at goal should’ve gone through the big sticks after creating a great opportunity. He got into dangerous positions lots of times but failed to finish too many times, hopefully a year of experience will help with him taking these chances in 2021 May - had a cracker of a 2020 and it was a disgrace he didn’t even get into the AA squad. I want him to back it up in 2021 and demand he be given AA honours

What a [censored] show this lock down training is! I really enjoyed a January trip to Gosch’s with Moonie and one or two others followed by a boozy counter lunch

Perhaps you need to visit The Manor and do some penance Luci ?!

But they could have let us fly to Cairns a day or two before the game, instead of making it on the day.

I just don't see how this theory can be correlated with our current state as a footy side. The players aren't ready to perform consistently due to a variety of reasons. You speak about it in such simple terms. Using your example of the two games that in your view were the reason we didn't play finals last year, your diagnosis is that the players simply didn't 'turn up'..?! It's far more nuanced. Just as it was when we consistently played an underdeveloped and underperforming Oscar McDonald for the amount of time we did in our side. These things fall on Goodwin. Selection, gameplan, connection, player positions, gameday strategy, messaging, communication etc etc. Honestly, use google to find the evidence binman. It's there. And if you didn't hear it, then maybe you don't watch enough football. People from Ross Lyon to Jason Dunstall and many in between have made comment on how easy we are to play against. A head coach takes full responsibility for moulding a team over a period of time to play a certain way. We've been losing in an almost identical manner for three years now under Goodwin, and he has been too slow to make change to the list in general, positional change and change in the way play. If any Melbourne supporter disagrees with that last sentence, please give me a reason to listen you.

Can I point out that it is Bda, the correct acronym for Better days ahead. You're welcome and don't mention it. ?

And in Uncle Bitters case, the love of Shiraz is the evil of all roots

I have just read this thread having somehow being deflected to it but very happy I was. i started liking nearly every post, appreciating the considered and in depth ananlysis everyone was contributing. i cant say I am any more knowledgeable than all contributing. i scraped through matrices economics, lucky to get employment in health industry as computers were invented and progress , social and economic, charged ahead. Worked in local rural community, regional programs , state wide providers and regulators, private business, large and small, as senior administrator and owner operator. I completed a tertiary qualification as a mature age student which reinforced my economic, political and general knowledge and experience. i have made some comments on other threads which probably evidenced both my confusions and ignorances, but I do enjoy the stimulation of debate. I did recently reflect that some amazing outcomes of our current society is that the bushfires and Covid have with much brutality shown that as individuals we are powerless but as communities we are strong. This reinforces to me why we need governments even with their obvious failings. Western, Eastern, Liberal, Fascist ,Comminism have all had some successful measures mixed with their obvious deplorable failures. It is a pity we cannot construct an amalgam of the best. Religion of all faiths has also much to be criticised for. Some of their underlying principles are fantastic only to be destroyed by their own operatives actions. i could despair but being a demons supporter has entrenched a resilience that I hardly thought to define. i am still positive and hope that your respective alternative views continue. I would love to take the conversations to the MCG and interrupt any ideological discussion with the distraction of the Dees premiership thrust

Looking at that picture, if Farmer is a tiny 169cm, then so is Kossie.

Farmer #48

Apologies for abbreviating your excellent post. Wanted to focus on the above. 3 to 4 years ago Macca highlighted that under pressure our players revert to old (bad) habits. So we understood the problem. But unlike Richmond we haven't given our players the 'mind training' (mindfulness is the current buzz word) or if we have it hasn't been sustained or supported with techniques. Dusty is the perfect example of how a player well versed in and accepting of 'mind training' can excel. Not everyone will become a Dusty but training players minds as well as their bodies and skills would, imv see a marked improvement in our performances. If nothing else it would reduce/eliminate the quarters in which we go missing. A 'mind training' program needs to have full on belief and commitment by the FD and playing group and I don't sense we have that or that it is even a priority. Old habits are very hard to undo and I think this is the case for Clarrie. When he started he was told: 'see ball, get ball' and it becomes a hot potato for him. The team was told: 'get jumpers to the contest' and it is stacks on the mill and we get murdered on the outside. It all still sounds very familiar. So we need re-training of bad playing habits, training the mind in staying focused and dealing with pressure so that players can confidently 'let go of the rudder' and not fall back into old habits. We so often hear 'it is all above the shoulders' but rhetorically, do we have a program to re-train their minds?

There is no issue with having a creed, or a vision or a mission statement of it is something that drives and defines everything an organisation does and has the sincere backing of a majority of the plebs at the frontlines. If it is ‘shelfware’ to impress idiots on forums then nah - I’m good. Ask Gawn and Lever and May and Oliver, et al - what gets you doing the extra thing, what makes you selfless, what pushes you to be involved at the club - that’s your creed/mission statement/meaning of life.

If you go back several years I've posted previously about a program I was involved in, now more than 20yrs ago (I can hear the young'ns groaning already). I haven't engaged directly with you on the matter but your post prompted me to mention it again. As you have quoted; Coaches don't appear to have an overt influence on performance per say. All this talk about Game Plan and the programs around "Leading Teams" and "Commando Training" are great for showing what can be done but I've never believed it really takes hold mentally and becomes ingrained "behaviors". What I was taught in the program I did was; if you haven't done the mind training then when you let go of the rudder you will go back to the old habits. Clary was a point in case this year, Burgo had said to him "if you're clear, take three quick steps before releasing the ball". I saw this implemented a few times in games to great effect and then gradually saw Clary revert to habit. The follow up techniques to support this change are not being taught. Most on here would say; well that's a coaching problem. But you don't know what you don't know. Binman you have done some great reading/research/posting on the subject so I'll challenge you to pursue my comments by looking at Coach Nick Saban of Alabama Crimson Tide football team and the record in the 7 or so years before he arrived. Why has he been so successful since? I'll give you a hint, they invested in a program that is more focused on individual performance (and no it doesn't give up team focus). Yes, the same program I did 20yrs ago is still being taught to the new players in 2020. I'll leave you with a snippet from Saben.

I've played Assassins Creed.. that's a good game.

Creed is good.

Plot twist! Would've laid down good money they'd blame it on Lucifer

Nah, i'ts money is the root of all evil and it is a quote from from one of the dub/reggae greats: https://youtu.be/lgrMCxvEQUw

Fair comment. Let’s say the grammar police. I am not the best by a long way. But like you I think we should do our best. Keeping watching me I will no give plenty to laugh about.

That's the 2018 game plan right there. Goodwin's game plan has focused first and foremost on dominating time in forward half. He has always believed that successful footy sides ensure the ball is in their forward half more than their opponents. I don't have the stats to hand to say whether he's right about that or not. In 2018 we achieved this through prioritising stoppages and clearances. We ran one off the back of the square to ensure we had an extra number at centre bounces and we regularly swapped out our sixth forward for an extra number through the middle. We then scored heavily through locking the ball in our forward half. And we used a high forward half press, with our key defenders in the middle of the ground, to lock the ball in that forward half. It largely worked, we scored heavily, and we won 16 games doing it. So we had a game plan. Since 2018 it's fallen apart for a number of reasons, including that it wasn't a particularly sustainable game plan to begin with. We've changed things since then, although Goodwin's core focus appears to me to remain time in forward half dominance.

This is a good point. The first year they did custom cards I got a bit overexcited and paid $5 (!) for one, then the next year a blank card turned up when I would probably have paid them another fiver. Every dollar counts.

Here we go LH. Membership prices frozen across all categories. Complimentary general admission tickets offered to 2021 members renewing as compensation. Membership packages with included hospitality offered complimentary function. Reserved seat renewal period extended to ensure no member loses a seat. htp://membership.melbournefc.com.au That is all she wrote LH. As I probably wont be going to a game next season I get nil. However it does not worry me I paid last year and would this year even if there was not season. Just a rusted on [censored].

Good topic for this time of the year. We could augment it by trying to track the most recent drop kick deployed in a game. I recall Bill Nettlefold gleefully kicking one in what I think was his final game for the Dees in 1982 at the MCG. It was probably in the reserves curtain raiser.

Feel your pain on the Dee-trauma front, Deegirl. To be fair to the big fella his goals/behinds percentage is pretty darn good at 68.12% from 141 goals in 204 games - better than Dunstall and not far off Lockett. For the record, Yze is 54.67% and Goodwin 54.54%. (Ben Brown at 67.21% is nice!). I remember him as having a very simple and clean kicking action. But in general it has been a tiring watch over the journey.

The best part of having deleted all of my MFC supporters facebook accounts (with the exception of DL of course) is that I don't now have to scroll past the thousands of nuffies that like to post a photograph of the exact same membership pack that we all get every year. Simple pleasures.

Prefer to be alive than watch an average football club Bbo. Looks like a TV game for me in 2021.

My 18 year old daughter receiving the “adult” membership pack, for the first time, complained there was no pencil case and face paint!

I thought it was just a lunch box cooler, but maybe your kids are tougher than mine! ;)

I signed up for a digital membership, and I already regret it. Firstly I can already tell given the AFL is running the digital memberships that it is going to be a big dumpster fire, as apparently the membership and tickets are loaded together as the fixture gets released. Trusting the AFL to do anything digitally, especially in combination with the powerhouse that is Ticketmaster (remember the joys of trying to buy finals tickets on their server?) doesn't sound good. Had I known the digital membership was being run by the AFL I wouldn't have signed up for it. Secondly, they still mailed me a pack, which is pointless because I asked for a digital membership to save on paper, and the pack itself was completely empty except for a thank you pin for sticking with the club in 2020. WTF? If you are going to waste postage and trees and plastic, all the things I specifically didn't want, can you at least send me some stickers so I can drive around in my 4WD with my Melbourne sticker like a [censored]?! Uncool.

They are not allowed to! They roll their eyes and put it in the mailbag going to Melbourne. If I pay extra ($1 per letter) they can put it straight in.

Why can't you get the Australian Post staff to place it into the P.O. Box if You give it to them by hand ? Seems more sensible.