Wiseblood

For the last 2 years Roos taught the team HOW to play defensively. Running both ways, pressure etc. Now he, and probably Goodwin, Rawlings etc, have changed the actual structure of how we play defensively, and we've found that transition difficult. It's been more difficult than I think we anticipated, and add to that the change in how we go about our football offensively, and it's not worked out very well... yet. I have no doubt that the club itself aren't panicking. They see the problems and the difficulties and are no doubt tweaking and educating the players on what they can do differently to make sure that, over the next few years, that this works. It might be concerning to you, SWYL, but I don't think you're looking at the bigger picture. If we're still playing like this at this point NEXT year, then I'll share you concerns.

He played one game last weekend, but I think his game time was managed, so I doubt he'll be included this week. I don't see Roos and the selection team hitting the panic button and rushing him back in.

This is spot on, buck. One thing that stood out the most from the weekend was how easy they ran the ball out from a kick in. Almost every time they kicked it outside 50 to a contest, brought the ball to ground and then just surged forward. Often it was from a player in front of the pack, or to the side, who burst forward with the ball and released it to a player out the back... and they were away. It was very frustrating and we didn't work hard enough to kill the ball, or at least put a few tackles on, to either kill the contest or give the players time to get back and support the defenders with a few tackles. Hinkley set this up superbly and we had no answer for it as the game went on. Obviously if we allow the same thing to happen this week then the Hawks are going to absolutely smash us, but I'm confident (at the moment anyway) that there will be some frank discussions on this during the week and the players are ready to make amends on the weekend.

Any relation to Mark?

Say one thing about our defensive system - it's certainly brought up some vigorous debate from both sides. At least there is a positive side to the discussion these days. While it might not look pretty at times at least we can see where we are headed and what we are trying to implement. It was only a few years ago that we had no idea about the direction we were headed in as a club. Those days are gone. Be patient.

I didn't say the quote you used, though. That was someone else.

Where did I say that Carlton were better than us? I've never said that.

Another false dawn? Yeah... nah....

Well then highlight that bit so I understand what you're getting at - you quoted my whole post and simply said 'rubbish' without clarifying what you were aiming it at. We deserve a medal? Woe is us. That's life. Thankfully we have coaches in place who are focused on putting the right things in place for the long term, not the short, so hopefully we can have the sustained success we have all been craving for so long.

Well I'm sorry that I brought it up. You guys can keep on worrying about other clubs and what they're doing and how, after a win, they have sped ahead of us in development, talent, money and gameplan. Don't let me stop you.

You don't see it on here constantly? I'd be surprised if you didn't.

Until we win this week (hypothetically) and the article is "Demon Dynasty Confirmed". They are as bad as us.

Wouldn't disagree with any of that, although I still don't understand why people do it. We are far too negative after a loss, especially when another team has a win or plays well. Instantly they have 'gone past us'. It's the most reactionary, and wrong, response I see on this site.

Melbourne fans do this better than most. You see it in the gameday threads, around the league threads etc. Constant moaning about how we lost to this team or why we can't be that team. It's a talent that is unmatched by opposition supporters.

I have a feeling he was sent on another holiday after only being back for a day or so. Like 'luded', it's not a big loss.

Let's see if their gameplans have any longevity before we start potting ours and praising others. Roos has said from the start that they wanted to build a structure, gameplan and culture for the long term future. If Carlton are a finals side and dominating in 2 years time then I'll happily stand corrected, but let's not get carried away in professing that Bolton is the messiah after just 10 rounds.

He still had 21 touches at 85%, which means he isn't missing that many targets, and he is still working hard to make contests and provide something for the side, a trait that was sorely lacking in many on Saturday. He is no world beater, he is merely a foot soldier, but he is a foot soldier who does his job and is underrated by some on this site for the role he was recruited to play.

I think it's time I bit the bullet and put you on ignore, fence. It's been long overdue.

It tells me that, because of our youth, we can't do it consistently. Just because Carlton are doing it today doesn't mean they've done it every week either.

Look, I'm in no position really to argue for it right now. We aren't winning games there and we don't seemingly have a strong foothold there either. I get that. I'm merely arguing as to why we do it, and why we will probably continue to do it. That's all.

True, but we play well there already. Plus selling games is not something new. North and Hawthorn do it in Tassie, while other clubs are even pushing for games outside of the country. In the modern era you need to get on the front foot to attract new supporters, which leads to more money and so forth. We are trying to do that with the NT, although so far, in terms of our performance, it hasn't helped us out just yet.

Geelong aren't switched on at all here. Playing horrible footy at the moment, Carlton well and truly dragging them down to their level.

Call me a sucker, but I think we'll go okay next week. I think we'll make at least 4-5 changes at selection, and all of our inclusions will bring bigger bodies and more experience into the mix. Dawes, Trengove, Grimes, Oliver and VDB will all be around the mark for selection this week, and probably Dunn as well. All 6 of these give us those bigger bodies around the contest, while most give us that added experience as well. I'm not suggesting we'll win, far from it, but I'd like to think some of the inclusions will allow us to match Hawthorn in most areas next week.

I reckon they got cold feet on it, Stuie. Roosy said he was going to do it, then the match committee spoke about it and they all baulked at the idea and made 2 changes instead. I'd like to think it's the last time they do this. It's great that they want to back in the kids, but it didn't work at all this week and I reckon Roosy knew it pretty early on in the game.

Well said, Nasher. It's easy to see how some can be frustrated and annoyed at the diamond defence we are playing - when a team gets over the press you can guarantee, 8 times out of 10, that they will hit the scoreboard. They have free players around the wings and as long as they hit the targets there is nothing we can do about it. This doesn't mean the defence isn't working, or going to work for us going forward. What it suggests is that, when players don't work hard enough and play their role, then we lose. It's that simple. It's easy to pot the younger players but it will take time and patience for them to implement it on a consistent basis. Patience is not something Melbourne fans have a lot of left, but we need to be patient to potentially see the fruits of what we are putting place. The way I see it, is that when many of our younger players have 50-70 games in them, this gameplan will have been rolling for a few years and we will know not only how to implement it, but how to implement it perfectly. They will suffocate teams and put on manic pressure each week, forcing teams into turnovers and keeping the ball in our half of the ground. Guys like Oliver, Brayshaw, VDB, Lumumba and Dawes I think will help in this regard going forward. We just need to be patient, even if it's hard to do.