Goodvibes

I'd be happy if our line in the sand statement involved 120 minutes of hard two-way running.

They must be confident with Dawes. Fitzpatrick not even named as an emergency. So who pinch hits in the ruck to give Jake a rest? Pederson?

If Dawes plays and plays well first up then we're a chance. But everything has to go right. We'd need to withstand the inevitable hot first ten minutes and if we're still in the game and make the most of our first quarter opportunities then our self-belief might grow during the game. I'd love to see them tide turning before our very own eyes. Consecutive goals, a hint of arrogance, genuine celebration and a Viney shirtfront on Robinson all in the latter part of the first quarter might just get the competitive juices flowing again around here. And then we might be in for a game of footy. We live in hope.

timD, I completely understand the role Demonland plays in providing an outlet for the frustration that goes with being a Melbourne supporter and agree that the club shouldn't be above receiving criticism when it's warranted but 90% of the negativity involves failings of past regimes. As I said, it's time to move on. If we keep opening up old wounds, the group mentality will worsen. Imagine you're a passionate 13 or 14 year old who stumbles upon Demonland for the first time . . . . I genuinely fear for the next generation. I think we need to embrace what makes us special. I was introduced to a friend's visiting parents last week and the usual line came up about me not being a bad bloke apart from the fact I follow the Dees. I quickly responded that it's like a badge of honour to me and should speak volumes as to my character, loyalty and resilience. It's tough to shake the chip on the shoulder when the team is doing so poorly but as a club we need to boost our esteem and our pride. Obviously, it would be easier if that started on the field. But the last 8 years have shown us that we can't necessarily wait for that to happen.

Franky, I'm not judging those people. But I'm merely making the point that we've taken hit after hit. During the lowest of low days during Neeld's tenure people would come on to Demonland and spew forth their judgements and criticisms but rarely would they throw their hands in the air and say, "I've had enough". Over the past three weeks that's been happening more and more here. I'm only suggesting that the arrival of Roos brought with it increased levels of hope for both the players and the supporters. When results haven't improved, the lows that both groups have felt may have in fact been worse than anything over the past seven or eight seasons.

I think any manoeuvrings involving high picks and good players from other clubs will be dependent on how we finish the season. If we don't win games and finish the season full of promise, no one will be interested in coming here. But if we do finish the season well we probably won't receive a priority pick/s. My ideal scenario involves Frawley staying, finishing third or fourth last have won five or six games in the back half of the season and having a top 5 pick that we can use in a way similar to the Tyson deal at the end of last year.

Yeah sorry about the font size. My Demonland settings are a bit weird at the moment. I'm struggling with the quote button and couldn't even increase the font size upon editing. WJ I take your point. I knew we were dead in the water two minutes into the West Coast game and the now infamous Frawley chase was symptomatic of where we were at. James Frawley is an elite defender who is bereft of confidence in himself and his team mates right now. It seemed to me as if Roos had spent five months slowly rebuilding some of our collective confidence and then the St Kilda loss knocked their stuffing out and they went into the West Coast game with little self belief. Our confidence levels and as others have highlighted, our levels of trust in each other are at an extremely low ebb. As I tried to point out in the OP, hope is a dangerous thing. It's not just the supporters it's the players too. They were full of hope leading into round 1. They believed in Roos and they believed in the gameplan. Look at how quickly many of our supporters have thrown in the towel. Just like those supporters, the team was riding high on hope and then when that hope was smashed (unluckily) against St Kilda we fell into an even deeper hole. In the past when we've been struggling I've noticed that it's near on impossible to just flick a switch and suddenly run around looking like a competent footy team. Re-building of confidence takes time and usual occurs incrementally over a series of games. And as you say, in the modern world of instant gratification it's not what many young supporters will want to hear. I'd like to think we may have taken a small step against GWS and hope to see the same occur against Carlton. It's the understatement of the year to say that this team needs a win. People are talking about a 0 - 22 game season. We've had winning opportunities in two of our three games and we've done so without a key forward to kick to. We will win games this season.

"Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." - Morgan Freeman, 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994). Like many folk around here, Im currently low on morale and struggling to muster the usual optimism and energy for the fight. Were hardened supporters whove become experts at dealing with loss and adversity. Whilst I shake my head regularly at some of the stuff thats posted on Demonland, Im proud of my fellow Dees supporter. Its a tough gig and if any group of supporters had reason to walk away its us. Weve experienced one setback after another but we always bounce back. Or so I thought. The last three weeks, like others, Ive noted the uncharacteristic deflation and hurt that has clearly overwhelmed a band of posters Id normally associate with balance, optimism and good humour. Its one thing to be down about our current form but more disturbingly, its another to be flying the white with no hope for the future. A great many posters have made reference to mergers, relocation and death. And theyve done so in a manner that you normally associate with a terminal patient wanting to be put out of their misery. This concerns me greatly. Weve also heard posters talk about the plight of their children. Im about to turn forty and have two small children who I have no qualms in saying will definitely be Melbourne supporters and members. Ive had friends throw the child abuse jokes my way as well. I remember wearing the number two on the back of my Dees jumper in the early 80s in primary school and feeling very much alone. In the minds of many the last three weeks and Mitch Clarks sad departure has been one kick in the guts too many. With Paul Roos, came an incredible tidal wave of hope. Expectations rose and hope morphed into genuine anticipation of improvement and wins. Paul Roos was like an adrenalin shot for failing fans and with the opening three losses weve relapsed and fallen into a hole of despair bigger than any weve experienced in the past. The timing and nature of Mitch Clarks affliction couldnt have been more symbolic of how the Melbourne masses must feel. Hope can indeed drive a man insane or in our case, an entire football forum. Im not going to sit in judgment and Im certainly not going to stand on my soap box. Posters have every right to vent their anger and point the finger of blame but there comes a point when anaylzing and over-analyzing the ills of the past serves little purpose. Weve made our mistakes at the draft table, weve allowed a culture of mediocrity to emerge over the past eight seasons. Our decision makers have erred and the power mongers have divided rather than united. Weve lost loved ones, sacked coaches and been ridiculed for deliberately losing. We cant ignore the past but at some point we must move on. I think weve learnt from our mistakes and am confident weve got the appropriate structures now in place. The last piece of the puzzle, sadly, will be the team we send out onto the paddock each week. So what am I asking? I guess Im asking for you to help each other out. Dont underestimate the power your individual posts can have on the shared psyche of the most passionate Demon supporters in the land. The group vibe right now is toxic. Talk of the club dying isnt productive. Repeatedly discussing past mistakes made by past regimes isnt productive. Slagging off young inexperienced players isnt productive. Abusing other posters who are in as much pain as you, isnt productive. And if I can indulge in another reference to Shawshank Redemption, can I state my intent to personally get off the canvass yet again and re-commit to the club that has played such a huge role in my life. Put simply, theres no alternative. They had me from the first day I walked down the players race at the MCG as a seven year old attending a dreary, waterlogged training session. Im not going to allow this part of my life to die. Im going to find joy in the journey again and Im going to look forward to the next win and the next surge of adrenalin that only footy seems to provide. Theres a clear choice to make. As a supporter you can get busy living or get busy dying.

I'll feel it's sorted when we don't lose eight straight centre clearances to start a game. I still can't get my head around how that happened.

6. Tyson 5. N Jones 4. Dunn 3. Cross 2. Vince 1. Bennell

One mark between Fitzpatrick, Spencer, Pederson and Howe in a half of footy.

McKenzie?

We'll be talking about this win for years to come.

I thought St Kilda were hard at it, disciplined, fit and well structured. They made some mistakes too and with the exception of Riewoldt lacked star power but they (unfortunately) were a hell of a lot better than I was expecting. I thought we were ok. Tyson is a huge pick up. Most here acknowledging that he was ok and got a lot of the ball but seem more focused on a couple of turnovers. He reads it so well in stop ball situations. Watts for me was a revelation. Two or three times he had me screaming, "just tackle the *$#^%#" but his game sense, explosive speed and ball use was exceptional. Dunn has taken a massive step over the past 12 months that I simply didn't think was possible. His vision and kicking have been huge. His kickouts immense. Trengove worries me but my biggest concern is our ruck. I'm more of a fan of Spencer than most but we seemed to lack two major things outside the obvious one (a tall forward or two) and that was an aerial threat around the ground and some line breaking speed. Say what you like about Jamar but he did give us a reliable bail out option when we were tired late in quarters and needed to long up the line. When Watts and M Jones (anyone else surprised by how quick he was last night?) broke the lines it highlighted how our slowish midfield (Tyson, Trengove, Toumpas, Cross below average) needs to be balanced with the some genuine outside zip. Going forward I think we've got the basis of a good midfield. We need two more A graders preferably with speed. In Salem and Viney we have star potential to develop but I think we need at least another from outside the current list. Our forward line obviously promises much but delivers little. Even if we get two of the much hyped three key forwards back, I worry about our lack of genuine speed at their feet. Defensively we seem to have some great depth with Dunn emerging and Georgiou really impressing me. Bring back Garland and we're in good shape but again we need some more speed to help break the lines and an elite Matt Suckling-like boot wouldn't go astray. Can we morph Blease and Strauss? I'm disappointed but not slashing my wrists. Roos promised we'd see a style emerge by round 5. I think we can see it now and that's without a quality tall forward to kick to. The demographic of our list is encouraging. Three key jigsaw pieces in the off-season, the maturing of Viney, Salem, Hogan and Toumpas as well as the forgotten man Kent, another pre-season to hone our understanding of the gameplan and a half decent run with injuries and I don't think we're as far off a finals appearance as most think. As another poster suggested earlier, a Bulldogs 2013 would be fine. Get something close to our best 22 on the park and the second half of the season might set us up as a desirable place for players to come.

6. N Jones 5. Watts 4. Tyson 3. Spencer 2. Dunn 1. Vince

The GWS midfield is travelling ok if they can give Dylan Shiel the vest in round 1. I think he might sneak into our starting 18.

I'm brickin it. Hope is a dangerous thing.

Thanks for the updates KC!

They would be my six Lamashtu with Blease getting the vest . . . again. But I get this sneaking suspicion that M Jones, Byrnes and possibly Nicholson could surprise.

Alright, let's cut to the chase. Back six looks like being McDonald, Frawley, Dunn, Georgio, Grimes and Terlich. Pederson, Fitzpatrick and Howe to be our forward options and midfield locks appear to be N Jones, Tyson, Trengove, Vince, Cross, Watts and Spencer as our number one ruck. The much discussed three key position forwards are out (Clark, Dawes, Hogan) plus Jamar and Garland and Viney needs match time at Casey. Tapscott, Kent and Gawn likewise and Evans, Clisby, Salem and Barry appear set to start at Casey. King is a project and Riley not far off. So that leaves us with six spots with nine main contenders - M Jones, Michie, McKenzie, Byrnes, Bail, Blease,Toumpas, Nicholson and Kennedy-Harris. So who's your six from that group of nine and who of your six gets the vest?

I've decided to run with the, I didn't see it, therefore it didn't happen approach.

811 listed players in Ultimate Footy and Dom Tyson is projected as the 720th best. My mates and I had our annual Ultimate Footy draft tonight and calling his name out in the first half of the evening was a lot of fun. Had my friends frantically flipping pages to the back of their booklets to see where I pulled this one from. At this stage of the night no one had made a selection outside of the top 150 that alone as late as the seven hundreds. Hope he gets 30 disposals against the Sainters! Ultimate Footy aside, Tyson has all the attributes to be elite. I think I've been waiting my entire life for a genuine elite inside midfielder at the Dees and I think the wait might be over.

Mitch Clark.

Four observations: Most of our consistent turnovers came from players outside of our best 22. Hogan will play round 1 despite Demonland hysteria a week ago. Spencer will start in the ruck round 1. People round here need to get used to it. No obvious injuries.

186 live on Fox Footy right now. What an awesome way to start gameday Friday!