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Melbourne didn't poach Neeld - they put out an advert , he applied and he was appointed. MFC didn't tell him he had to leave Collingwood during the finals - Collingwood asked him to leave. Nobody lied about anything, in this case. So he who as someone earlier pointed out talks about integrity but lacks any especially when it comes to his own pet projects e.g. GC, GWS, should just but out and stop interfering in what doesn't concern him. IF anyone broke a contract it was Neeld and / or Collingwood, but it sounds as if it was by mutual agreement. Bottom line is....that maybe, just maybe, MFC may have contributed to Collingwood's downfall, and how good is that if true? Presumably the one with very selective integrity thinks that a club should wait until after the GF to appoint the person who will amongst other things play a pivotal role in his new club's future a fortnight later at trade week - how much integrity is there in that?

THE HIGHWAYMAN by Whispering Jack “I was a highwayman Along the coach roads I did ride, With sword and pistol by my side.“ I have this picture in mind of the great Demon Jim Stynes in another life in which he is a highwayman roaming the mountainous regions of his native Ireland. The image is not that of a common criminal but rather of a folk hero in the mould of those legendary characters who stole from the rich and gave to the poor in that famine-ravaged land. When captured, they were hung on the gallows or, if luck intervened, they would be transported halfway across the world in chains to do hard labour. There were those in this land who craved freedom more than the highwayman’s baubles and coins. In dark times at the rising of the moon, they lay in wait preparing to battle for their liberty. Jim's grandfather had a brother, "Uncle Joe". He fought alongside the legendary Michael Collins during the Irish war of independence but Joe also won an all-Ireland Gaelic football title playing for Dublin. “I was a sailor. I was born upon the tide And with the sea I did abide” There was another great Demon Ron Barassi. He appreciated the close connection between the Irish game and our local sport. Australian football was first played in the colonies where highwaymen were sent on convict ships. Afterwards, thousands came on the tide hoping to find gold on the streets and start new lives away from the misery and the poverty of their homeland. Another hundred years and more passed by when a tall young teenager with immense athletic talent read an advertisement. It was placed in an Irish newspaper by Barassi's football club and was seeking athletic young lads to come across the world to play football. Jim Stynes answered the call and arrived in Australia where he overcame many hurdles to become a champion footballer. He was the pre-eminent player in his adopted land when he won the Brownlow Medal in 1991. “I was a dam builder across the river deep and wide Where steel and water did collide” Football careers are measured in short time spans. When they end, the time comes to build other things. Jim married, made a home, started a family and a thriving enterprise helping young people with shattered lives. He reached out and soothed and enriched them. He gave them back their dreams. “I'll fly a starship across the Universe divide, And when I reach the other side, I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can, Perhaps I may become a highwayman again" Jim was the bloke who ran over the mark in the preliminary final and went on to play 244 consecutive games in a total of 264 in a career that saw him win club four club Best and Fairest awards as well as the 1991 Brownlow. In his time, he established his durability, a feature that remained part of his persona even when afflicted by the curse of cancer in the last few years of his life. Last September, he surprised the Melbourne faithful and arrived to speak at the club's Keith "Bluey" Truscott Medal presentation night. They were saying he was on death's bed, that the AFL was planning a tribute on grand final day. We stood, listening to his words in awe. And he stayed on a while ... "Or I may simply be a single drop of rain, But I will remain, And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again ..." Today, that single drop of rain is like the tear that spills from my eye yet I remain consoled knowing his spirit will remain with us forever. [The words quoted are from The Highwayman written by Jim Webb]

Why is Junior Mac playing for this team? A coaching position ok fair enough, but playing against other AFL sides for him is just weird.

Macdonald scored last goal

Commentary is starting to irk me. They are only saying good things about GWS and almost jump through the commentary box window with excitement when they get a goal.. must be some kind of deal they have going with Andrew.

So Watts may finish the year with no goals but a record for assists.

Fitzy up forward Macdonald up forward Gys on the ball Grimes and Morton down back Score Casey 1.1 will 0.0

Robin Williams .......

I have just watched Gary Lyon from lasts nights footy show. He was outstanding. Must admit had a tear in my eye. In fact the way all Melb footy people have handled Jimmy's passing has been exceptional. MFC all the way.

What I don't get about this poaching thing is why Demetriou is concerned about clubs poaching other clubs' assistant coaches while proudly applauding GWS poaching a 19 year old kid after playing one season and a year ahead of the end of his contract. Smells of rank hypocisy and arrogance but that's the AFL these days.

This is a lovely piece from the Irish sports site 'The Score': http://www.thescore.ie/readme/jim-stynes-inspired-thousands-to-reach-for-the-sky-including-me/

They do at Collingwood - I think they are also known as Adults and Juniors memberships...

Is it just me but everytime I look at your av biff, I think to myself " he's an loathsome offensive brute yet I cannot look away"

I remember Collingwood actually spruiking the virtues of Neeld before we signed him .Now they cry and whinge after the fact which is just typical Filth . Anyway ,tough [censored] to them .

Col spoke beautifully, glowingly about Jim and esp the work he'd done with reach.. (him, frawls and the captains - everyones been so good in such a crap period for the Mfc) Would be great if you could thank him personally on behalf of Dees fans..

Shouldn't it be DR.WTF?

The expanding market is everything. If you lived in Tasmania, would you ditch the MFC to support a Tasmanian team? I do and I wouldn't. Neither would the masses of Hawthorn, Collingwood and St. Kilda fans that live down here. That's the thing - there's no growth at all to be achieved down here, all that would happen is the support for other clubs would be diluted. The worst case for a Tasmanian team is the same as the worst case for GWS and GC - i.e. no support and a burden on the AFL, and the best case is things being the same as they are now. The best case for a Tassie team is that from a growth perspective things remain completely the same, while for GWS and GC the best case is that the game has significant growth in these areas. From a business perspective, this is an absolute no brainer. With Hawthorn in Launceston and now North in Hobart playing games down here, the market has been fulfilled IMO. I'll head off to Bellerive twice this year, masquerade as a North supporter for those days purely as thanks to them for bringing me the game I love, and spend the rest of the year watching the MFC every weekend religiously on TV. More to the point, I'll take my kids along, knowing that I risk inadvertently turning them in to North supporters (as my brainwashing has otherwise been a complete success) - four less potential members for the MFC in years to come.

Yes he is very rude no doubt about it. It was probably a smart move from the AFL not to go through with the Tassie team due to the fact that they are having dramas with their economy still. As we have seen the AFL want return for their investment. Having grown up in Tassie for the first 20 years of my life I have seen it go from a thriving state on Tourism, mining & Professional fishing to a quiet, lonely & desperate state trying to stay afloat. The town I was born at Strahan, used to have have 7 cruise boats and 6 sea planes and is down to 2 & 2 respectively and tourist numbers are dwindling rapidly. People just arent coming to Tas like they used to and jobs are well down. My sisters which are nurses got put off before xmas with no job to go to, one of their partners who was working in the same mine for 30 years was put off, so they moved away and wont return. My father who has been lobster fishing for 52 years is finding it tough, especially with the quota systems and fuel prices. A lot of the younger generation are leaving Tas for better opportunities whilst the older generation/retirees are moving to this sleepy hollow. Thankfully my brother is playing at the Melbourne Football Club, but I cant see him returning. I even moved away for better opportunities with work and money. Tasmania is not often considered when it comes to migrants coming into Australia. It is true that the majority of migrants arrive into Sydney and Melbourne, therefore there is a much greater potential for the game to grow in those areas. Whilst 15 years ago I was all for the Tassie team, now is the wrong time. It will take years for the Tassie economy to get back on track and I cant see an ageing population keeping a team afloat for too long. Even the crowds once at Bellerive for the cricket are very poor now and Tassie people love their cricket. Whilst I think it was the right move by the AFL not to implement a team right now it doesnt excuse Andrew Demetriou for being rude.

Neeld is on record as saying he wants to instill 3 or 4 game plans as and when situations call for it. It takes time to teach them. The more 'structured' the plans are the harder they are to teach and instill. Already it has been said that the Dee players have been so keen to stick to the structures they have forgotten how to take the game on and run and carry when appropriate. It will simply take time for the players to get confident in the plan, each other and themselves. It's a process we are going through but with Neeld and Craig we have two very strong guys at teaching our players so I remain quietly confident we will gradually piece together our own style of play. personally I like the fact we will be able to play different styles for different situations. Just hope it doesn't take too long!

Using the boundary, defending space, long kicks to the forward-line when appropriate, and a strong forward press are definitely parts of how we want to play. My theory is that because the players are trialling a very new defensive game-plan they've lost control of other aspects the coaching group requires. Whenever you do something new that is being drilled into you ad nauseum it always takes a while to find the right balance. In time it becomes second nature. At the moment the players aren't spreading well, not playing on quickly enough, not creating options, and not maintaining possession, which is why our uncontested possession rate is terrible. They'll be working hard on getting the balance right. Once they improve this aspect of their play they'll start dominating some games of footy. It will happen.

He hasn't even sent the team out onto the field for a real AFL game yet, so it's probably a little early to be speculating about Nield's gameplan... let's give it a few rounds before we start to question its effectiveness.

Each teams gameplan can be simplified to that extent when you boil it down. It just comes down to how well the gameplan is executed which comes down to the talent, fitness & discipline of the players. What is Collingwood's, Hawthorn's or Geelong's gameplan? They're all pretty simple but they've won the last 5 flags.

Agreed. The team is still learning the gameplan. Neeld is probably just getting them to master the basics and progress naturally. I think the difference between how we play at the beginning of the season to how we play at the end will be polarizing.

I think we have only seen 4 games so will not have fully seen the gameplan/gameplans yet. We will get a better idea once the season starts properly I feel.

I think we'll see more bomb it long, at the start of our season as we have more Bigger bodies in the team but less footskill. This will help our initial transition into a see hard ball get hard ball side. As we settle I reckon we'll slowly bring in the more skilled player, one at a time slowly bringing up the footskill level as these players become harder & stronger. Eventually I hope we'll end up being a highly skilled but tough Unit.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that what we've seen is really just the bare bones of the gameplan. I don't think "bomb it long, and win contests" is the entire design of the gameplan, and we'll see more complexity throughout the year.

I was going to wait until we won a premiership, but now is the time.....I'll be signing up my three kids round 1.....i will also sign up people that i know support the MFC.....i will also buy a couple of junior memberships, which i'm going to donate too my local primary school....for the kid like me that had to be the Demon supporter...this is my pledge!!!

Bit of Louis CK.

If Sellar can hold his own at CHB then that would/could allow Rivers to free up a bit and come into contests as a spoiler (he is the best punch we have in all of the backs) as he can play on a 'less dangerous' forward. He would go nuts as a loose defender. (IMO)

Should give him a lower jumper number. I would suggest give him 31