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First post I may not have the same insight as others on this forum but having watched the training drills at Casey Fields, the first three halves looked suprisingly similar to the defensive match drills being carried out . What was missing were the offensive lead and mark drills being carried out at the other end of the ground. Coincidence or instruction ???

What a complete joke some of the comments here are. IS it school holidays again? At this rate we won't be able to field a team of 22 because they have all been earmarked by the geniuses here for trading at year end. No point playing 'em if we are going to trade them. Sheesh. Breathtaking. Better stop reading until about round 10. It'll be suicide watch for lots here after rds 1-9...

Bate was really good last night and you think let's bag him. Top support mate your a great fan. How about saying looks like you have worked hard and your getting the reward well done matty bate he was very good and if keeps playing like that he could have a really great year give some support to players when its due

Correct. I am amazed more people have not noted this. I saw more true crumbing acts from Davey last night than from our forwardline last year. Crumbing is a skill that cannot be taught and Davey is a natural. I can see this being a good move once his fitness and confidence grows.

How about we play a dry game of footy before everyone loses their heads? Every game of football that is played in weather like that is mainly long kicks to congestion so I don't know why people think we weren't executing our skills. If it weren't for that stupid boundary rule, I think we would have been a lot better off as we were smashing teams with our contested ball work and getting yardage from kicks, but unfortunately they were going out of bounds and it resulted in a turnover. There will always be a few skill errors early on but from that hit out I found the following positives: 1 - No injuries! (A blessing for us) 2 - Mitch Clark sure does have an aura about him and god is he agile for a big guy 4 - Sellar did some good things. Spoiled well and kicked a nice goal. Will be good to see him in dry weather also. 3 - We had a hard edge to us. We were always first to/on/over the ball. Even if we made the odd turnover, the positive is we were winning the ball first. Can't wait for the collingwood game !

I thought Davey was a big positive, he had that goal sneak look to him that I hadn't seen for five or so years.

Sorry Thomo, but I can't be held responsible for your inability to comprehend the nuances of the English language. Just because there is no sponsor name appearing on the FOJ it does not mean that a deal is all but signed, sealed and delivered. As posted above, according to CC, we all but have a Chinese sponsor sewn up.

Chill out people. Let's wait until the real stuff starts. And for all of those complaining that we 'are miles from the top'... Seriously? Of course we are. Did you expect us to make top 4 this year?

He has so much talent, but no physicality. Granted the conditions didn't suit. But really. At least have a presence.

some of you people here seriously need to neck up! first of all the conditions were atrocious! did not suit our talls and skills were yes not that flash. 2nd its going to take us a couple of games to get our game plan up to scratch! dont expect for them to waltz onto the field and bang get it right first up! i actually found more positives then negatives tonight. and 3rd wtf is with comments like '' we are in for another long sufferiing year, or bring back bailey!! FFS its the first game of the year and a chance to blow out the cobwebs and gets some games and miles into most of the players! Gosh there are seriously some rosey eyed people on this forum...

LOL! Did about as much as Jonathan Brown. Conditions were shite for a big man pushing up the ground.

IMPRINT by Whispering Jack Mark Neeld's initiation as coach of Melbourne was eerie to say the least. In a part of the world known for its theme parks and somewhat curiously dubbed "The Sunshine State", his team braved monsoonal rain conditions and broke even in its two matches played on the AFL's second newest football ground, Metricon Stadium. The day broke with rain belting down laterally on the Gold Coast. I spent the morning shopping for a suitably fashionable poncho and picked up the bargain of my four day rain soaked visit to this place at a seedy looking shop on the highway. It cost me two bucks. Then it was off to the Queensland Demons lunch brilliantly organised by Demondeb and hosted by Chris Connolly. There were Demon fans from everywhere - even as far as drought-striken WA who looked at the rain teeming outside with curiosity and even the arrival of the great Ronald Dale Barassi was not enough to stop the deluge as the Emerald Lakes Golf Club (where the function was being held) threatened to become one giant lake and the 18th green became a major water hazard. As game time neared, I grabbed my belongings, ditched my losing raffle ticket and wondered if I would ever again see the vehicle I left in the car park. The ominous sign at the beginning of the street warning of local flooding didn't make me feel any better. The rain actually eased off a little as I entered the ground having first located my Demon supporting companions. I also spotted Jack Viney's father entering the ground with another former player, Kelly O'Donnell. So many coincidences. We stepped inside south east Queensland's football theme park as the rain started belting down again. I think I've set the scene well for what was to come. The reconditioned ground at Carrara is now thankfully blessed with state of the art drainage systems but it was still impossible for the teams to put on a decent display of footy. Melbourne, already without a handful of its best (including co-skipper Jack Trengove, Liam Jurrah, the exciting young Sam Blease, Jordie McKenzie and Cale Morton) left out some of its better and more experienced players for the second and started Mark Jamar and Brent Moloney in the green substitute vests for the Gold Coast Suns' game. The indications were clear that the result of the game was not particularly relevant. The Demons were nevertheless quick off the blocks with the game's first two goals. The first was from a strong mark by Mitch Clark who provided a long awaited key position target in the forward line, the second a long goal from a busy Nathan Jones after a free kick. Some poor defensive errors let the Suns back in to level the scores at half time. The new Mark Neeld style was evident with more emphasis on defence, strong play at the stoppages and long kicks into attack. In some instances, this brought the team undone but the players kept their discipline. The Suns won the second half through opportunist goals and greater accuracy but Melbourne did unearth some talent apart from the obvious one in Clark. James Magner's ferocity at the football was outstanding at stoppages, Tom Couch not far behind him and Josh Tynan was also impressive fitting directly into Neeld's mould of a hard working no nonsense ballgetter. Jack Fitzpatrick toiled hard in conditions which were very trying for the young ruckman. Matthew Bate got a lot of the football and worked hard to win the footy while Aaron Davey played probably his best football in two years to allay fears that his career was in steep decline. Late in the game he had an opportunity to snap the winning goal from a difficult angle but it just missed. Lynden Dunn missed what, for him, should have been a simple set shot but it too was wayward. Melbourne 0.2.2 3.5.23 Gold Coast Suns 0.2.2 0.4.26 Goals: Melbourne Bartram Clark Jones Gold Coast Suns Hall 2 Fraser Rischitelli Best: Melbourne Clark Jones Magner Bartram Bate Davey Gold Coast Suns Ablett Rischitelli Hall Bock Prestia Weller Injuries Melbourne Nil Gold Coast Suns Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Gold Coast Suns Nil Umpires Stevic McKenzie Gleeson The heavens opened up during the break just as I was in the (uncovered) queue for refreshments. This gave me a fairly good insight into what the players had to endure in the second game against the Lions when Neeld brought in his A team including Jack Grimes, Colin Sylvia, Brad Green, Jared Rivers and Rohan Bail. One would have expected a much better effort given that it was a much stronger side on paper but Melbourne never fails to disappoint and a scoreless quarter (half?) beckoned, punctuated by a James Frawley blooper that was uncharacteristic for him. Later his attempt to soccer the ball was almost the team's undoing but, in between, he was a solid defender. Bate and Magner continued to plug away and Dan Nicholson started coming into the game while Rohan Bail added to the mix with some coolness under pressure. James Sellar was also cool when he converted a free in front of goals but the coolest of them all was skipper Jack Grimes who twice beat his Brisbane opponent all ends up in the dying moments of the game. In the end, it was a mixed day for the Demons who should have won the first game and deserved to lose the second. There were some good signs suggesting that bruise free football is now a thing of the past but the club still lacks a game breaker of Black Caviar quality like Gary Ablett Junior. In the absence of such a player, the rest of the team will need to work harder to develop their game in much the same way that Collingwood did some two or three years ago under Mick Malthouse. You can see Mark Neeld's faint imprint in that style in what he is bringing to the Melbourne. The way the players are having a decent crack at winning the hard ball suggests he is starting to get his message across. Melbourne 0.0.0 2.1.13 Brisbane Lions 1.1.7 1.4.10 Goals: Melbourne Sellar Sylvia Brisbane Lions Banfield Best: Melbourne Bate Frawley Grimes Jones Moloney Howe Brisbane Lions Beams Lester McGrath Black Yeo Golby Injuries Melbourne Nil Brisband Lions Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Nil Umpires Stevic McKenzie Gleeson Official Crowd: 5150 at Metricon Stadium Thanks to gsmith for the ticket into the ground. Much appreciated.

And fairytales... Burn. No, seriously. I will burn in hell for that remark.

The ineptitude the Dees showed tonight, especially against the Lions, may be a result of them desperately trying to stick to the new 'structures' implemented by Neeld. There was very little flow, attack and the boundary hugging game was horrible. Neeld has made it very clear that he will pick the team for round 1 on the evidence he sees in the NAB games. Players could well be constricted by a fear of stuffing up and not pleasing the new coach. He has made it very clear what he requires and this may well be weighing heavily on the minds of some of the guys. Few players did the 'natural' things tonight. It will come, hopefully, when they are more familiar with the different structures. It was interesting to see how often they just tried to belt the ball forward with little system. Maybe they were instructed to because it was wet. Brisbane, in contrast, were relatively 'surgical' in their ball movement.

This is ridiculous/funny for what some people are saying. We've seen this exact situation in the cricket this summer and I don't know why it always happens to the stars of the game but who's to know. Perfect example is Ricky Ponting couldn't buy a run in a meaningless test series against NZ everyone writes him off as dead but as soon as he comes good when we really need him he is everyone's best mate. It was Jacks first run and not every horse likes being first up after a spell, so give him 4 or 5 weeks and I bet all of you will be back explaining how you'd never written him off. Seriously get a grip and wait till a game that means half of a piece of .

I am a massive Watts fan and agree that last night he was not at his best. He may never be the a crash and bash CHF however with Clark & Martin/Sellar/T Mac taking the two biggest defenders, Watts should be able to dominate a few games this season. With better disposal into the F50, Watts will be able to use his pace to be our leading target and play to his strengths. Watts will have a massive year!

Spot on Macca. I've been thinking this for months. Who cares that he was recruited to be CHF? He's got speed, skill, some intelligence, can pick it up from the ground & handball away quickly, lets use that & have Watts @ HFF, wing, a little CHF or loose defender & use MARTIN or Sellar @ CHF, or Clark @ CHF when Jamar rests @ FF.

You mean the elephant in the room when NicNat had a great start to last season and Watts didn't or the elephant in the room that disappeared when Watts started putting good games together in middle part of the season and NicNat went quiet or the elephant that returned when Watts season tapered off and NicNat had a few good games at the end. Hmmm...better not mention elephants - they can be fickle

OUT: whoever needs a rest IN: whoever needs a game

It looks like bruise-free footy might be a horrible memory now but everyone please take a valium. There is no way that Neeld will fill the midfield with only grunt players. We can't fit all of Couch, Magner, Nicho, Moloney, Jones, Sylvia and Bate, into a side that also needs Trengove, Gysberts, Bail, Blease and maybe even Grimes also as a midfielder. Grunt is important, especially considering 2011 but it can never be everything. We need outside runners like Davey, Morton, Blease, Kel Lawrence. Just sit and watch the next 2 NAB Cup games and the preferred Needl team makeup will begin to emerge.

I agree with this big time. It's very obvious that we haven't had a silky midfielder for a long time and while we have some grunt atm we need the class package to really complete the picture. Think Judd, Burgoyne, Ablett, Kerr, Cousins, Pendlebury, Goodes etc. These players create so many opportunities through their ability to extract the ball from stoppages and then use it brilliantly. Trengove may get their but won't do it with that explosive style. Maybe more like a Black, Hayes or Bartel. Sylvia has many of the attributes but doesn't do it consistently.

We are able to promote two from the rookie list at the present time.

And is that physicality going to happen ? What if it doesn't ? We all want it to happen but maybe we have to start accepting Jack for who he is - A highly skilled athlete who is best suited as a Utilty / Rebounding backman / Pinch hitting forward . Not a CHF , not yet anyway . Sellar or Martin could be our best bets at CHF . Rotating these 2 with Watts in a pinch hitting role at CHF may be the best case scenario . My opinion on Jack is not based on last nights game , though I didn't see anything different from the last 3 years . Cheers ®

I dont think round one did much for our game plan. We want to hug the boundary kick long and be "hard at the stoppages". The Out of bounds rule didnt allow us to get the stoppages we want imo. If we were able put theb all out more often looking for the boundary we could have held alot more possession. Maybe this will be more evident next week?

In breaking news for those who have not yet visited Metricon Stadium, there were adequate supplies of beer and curry on sale. I reckon some blokes over indulged

That is true but McGuire is not as generous as he makes out - Collingwood have a special deal with the MCC which gives them the Ponsford Stand as their social club WHENEVER they play at the 'G, home game or not. So they do alright out of the day, no mistake. The bloke seriously is a joke: rabbiting on about how Collingwood find and train their own, fcs. What was Malthouse when he joined them if not a dual premiership coach with a non-Victorian club, and a former coach and player with two Victorian clubs neither of which had any history at the Grace Darling Hotel?

I thought we turned it over enough last night.

I'm flying back home and there's a few great Melbourne players on our flight. Harry Kewell and Archie Thompson for starters!!!

What were our biggest deficiencies in 2011? I'd say defensive set up around stoppages and limiting the damage when there are turnovers. The atrocious weather gave us little actual opportunity to practice our skill and ball movement, and fanatically bombing the ball forward without looking to pick out an option seemed to be our directive. Not necessarily because it's how we'll move the ball forward come round 1, but because it allows us an opportunity to focus on fine tuning certain aspects of our game for round 1. Coincidentally, the "bomb-at-all-costs" tactic resulted in more of an opportunity to practice our defensive set up at stoppages and limiting the damage from turnovers. Funnily enough, I think on the whole we did this well. Just some food for thought.

Anyone watch the http://www.afl.com.au highlights? Apparently we had Danny Frawley down back wrestling with Jonathan Brown and Dustin Martin's our second ruckman. Who knew?

believe it or not its part of the new game plan, remember last year we would attack our forward 50 nothing on and look back towards corridor turn it over and get caught on the rebound. This plan is about kicking it long to the pockets and running it out to regroup for a stoppage and not getting caught on the rebound, I know it looks senseless with that NAB cup rule re out of bounds but this to me is clearly what we will be doing in the season proper and we are working on it, but still some tweaking required

And as for suggesting we trade Watts on the strength of one bad night in the bucketing rain in the silly season... Wow.

Was at the game tonight 1 win and 1 loss in shite conditions. If it wasnt pi##ing down it was as slippery as all hell. One of the things I noticed was that the Dees kept at it eventhough the ball was like a cake of soap. Amazing about how negative people are here. Its the first game of 2012. Settle down people. Davey looked to have his pace again, Watts was better in the 2nd game and the newbies did ok. Having seen the game I feel more confident about the Dees being more dare i say it COMPETITIVE. Heard Garlo has hurt his lower back, hope its not too bad, One thing that annoyed the crap out of me apart from the conditions was that after every GC/BL goal they played music and also at the start of each game they had a one min countdown on the score board. Very bloody annoying. Have faith my fellow Dees supporters we will be better than last season.

Anyone still think he is a forward? Should be a very good backman, one of the best stoppers in the AFL, will never be a forward.

Settle down mate. You will be able to book a great holiday to China really soon. It will be worth the wait.

What????????? "Fact is that none of us know where things are at re an FOJ sponser. To say we don't have one is pure speculation" There is no sponser on the front of the jumper, that is fact, not speculation. Some of the crap that people write on this site is just plain stupid.

Season of Halves.... Wont win many in first half but will finish strongly..May give the 8 a rattle.

Oh the irony.

Those who did the training reports really need to look at themselves...

I dont see what all the wrist slitting is about. It is usual when implementing a new style to take it to the extreme. We played half a side against the Suns and lost because our defence got sucked up the ground and left men behind on three occasions. The Brisbane game we would have lost last year by 4-5 goals but defended well and ground out a win. Have not seen the numbers but would expect we won the contested possession count in both games which is probably two more times than we did last year. Those long kicks forward will look alot better when the game is not in a monsoon and when you dont get penalised for putting them out. Bate was exceptional winning the ball but coughed it up too often. Magner is clearly the round 1 rookie. Nicholson did not put in a great showing and Couch looks extremely slow. Some good signs from Mitch Clark on occasion and Davey's involvement at the fall of the ball showed some promising signs. We lacked a bit of polish in the midfield but that will be helped with the addition of Trengove. No major injuries.Some good signs from Magner, Clark and Tynan. A victory against the odds. I dont understand the fuss.

Ha! This is going to be a funny year on Demonland. Get used to watching games like that. Everyone was so keen to get a defensive coach, but as soon as they see us playing defensively they are gobsmacked. We will hug the boundary, focus on stoppages and strangle the opposition. Honest players will play before silky players and we will have low possession numbers and low mark numbers because of our style. Get used to it.

What ... a clever, tough-minded administrator who stops at nothing to help his club win premierships?

Aren't we the first team to back up with a win? Pretty good conditioning if you ask me. The thing that frightens me is how panicked and unsettled we looked for most of those two games. Clearly that has a lot to do with trying to implement a new game plan, plus having nowhere near our regular side. Jamar played a half, Garland was taken off with a back injury (doesn't sound too serious thankfully), Sylvia only played one game, as did Green, as did Grimes, and Clark was taken off in the last half. More importantly, in the season proper, great tactical kicks that bring the ball inside our forward 50, are not going to be deemed a free kick to the opposition for going out of bounds. This is a completely different set of rules. What was good is the tackling and pressure on the opposition, right up until the last second. To come up against a fresh team and be completely outplayed, only to scrap out a win, was very good. Grimes was sensational when the game was there to be won, and that is why he is captain. A year out of the game, and his defensive punch then run on to help us get the ball forward to Sellar, was absolutely brilliant. So good to see him out there again. Howe and Bail who barely played were also very good, and will be a big part of season 2012 and beyond. All in all, heaps for us to work on, but also some positives.

You mean Collingwood's new sponsor? Eddie has announced he's going to take his bat, his ball, and our sponsors and go home.

I understand your sentiment, especially an accountant's view, but do you ever get sick of this club kowtowing to all and sundry ? Do you ever get sick of following a club that's been 'nice' for 40 years ? A club that never steps on toes ? I'm sick of it. I'd rather have a real crack than wither on the vine.

"Knock off their sponsors" because "that's how I roll" ? Reads to me like Easy E-Mac is planning a drive-by on one of our sponsors. Pets Paradise best be on the lookout for a slow rollin' Lexus leaning heavily to one side (not because of hydrollics, but because a fat bastard is driving it). No doubt Alan Didak will be riding shotgun. Bring it [censored].

Eddie is apoplectic... So he is going to steal our sponsors, end our handouts, take the QB receipts, rape our women, and drink our mead!! Simple is as simple does.

you can drop the strawman arguments too thomo

I am prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt.Im sure there are others as well who would prefer to hear these back stories. Not everyone jumps to conclusions.

True, with our crap midfield, any guys who could improve it are welcome. Big bodies are especially welcome. Contested Poss 17th - Melbourne 16th - Brisbane 15th - Saints 14th - Adelaide Clearances 17th - Saints 16th - Melbourne 15th - Adelaide 14th - Brisbane Team / Opponent Differential Clearances per game 17th - Richmond 16th - Melbourne 15th - Brisbane 14th - Adelaide Team / Opponent Differential Contested poss per game 17th - Brisbane 16th - Melbourne 15th - Saints 14th - Essendon Team / Opponent Differential 1st poss per game 17th - Richmond 16th - Melbourne 15th - Brisbane 14th -Saints Opponent Averages Clearances against 1st - Richmond 2nd - Brisbane 3rd - Melbourne 4th - Adelaide Opponent Averages 1st poss against 1st - Richmond 2nd - Melbourne 3rd - Freo 4th - Sydney Stats don't lie