Redleg 52

He looks like he's 'managing' a groin problem as well which coupled with the workload of support rucking duties has probably taken the edge off his game lately. His value to the team these days cannot be overstated and I find it hard to tolerate those fools on here who delight in knocking him when his performance dips below the benchmark he has now established. It is a credit to him and Roos & Co that he's taken his game to its current level.

Didn't VFL have Representative Game?

It's all well and good to sheet home the blame for the Club's total demise post-Bailey to his successor, Mark Neeld. I'd dearly love to know what 'brief' Neeld was given by the administration of the day which appointed him but I can vividly recall in his opening press conference he made a statement to the effect he wanted to make Melbourne "the hardest team to play against". This objective was probably embraced by most of us at the time and perhaps goes some way towards explaining the reasons behind his appointment. Sadly, his methods and no doubt many of his decisions failed to attract the buy-in of most if not all of our playing list. The situation was exacerbated by our inept player and leadership development. What we have witnessed since has been virtually a total rebuild of the Club - administration, football department and playing list - orchestrated by Glen Bartlett, Peter Jackson, Josh Mahoney & Paul Roos/Simon Goodwin and their support teams.. We are seeing the fruits of their labour now in our on-field performances not to mention our membership growth and corporate success. The once maligned Jack Watts is perhaps the best example of what a player can become with the right leadership, coaching and development coupled, of course, with their own hard work. Suffice to say, the job is not done yet but we are clearly on the right path and are indebted to Roosy and Co for righting the ship and helping to restore our pride in the Grand Old Flag.