the fork

6 - McLean 5 - Bate 4 - Davey 3 - Wonaeamirri 2 - Green 1 - Garland Apologies to Moloney and Jones.

Great effort by Melbourne today. So impressed with Brock, Bate, Davey and Aussie. Today we saw some real promise from Warnock, Garland (who held Franklin incredibly well ALL day) and Morton. Buckley was amongst it and as mentioned just needs to work on his disposal. Signs of the futire indeed.

speachless...

Great passage of play Composed Garland, Buckley determined to use the centre, Robbo up the ground, Holland goal!! Aussie again on fire...

I'm watching the game live in WA. We are killing them in the middle. As mentioned Brock has had 20 touches playing like a captain dare I say. Jones is expressing some real aggression and making Tassie hurt. Morton is getting plenty of it, but most impressively he is making every disposals count. Bate is tough, overhead, on the ground, tackling with ferocity. Miller presenting really well as a CHF willing to run hard. Aussie is leading by example at the moment, great goals, chasing hard and picking up possesions everywhere. Davey is pushing up the ground to real effect, doing what is expected of him up there better than he ever has before. Robbo working hard which is really helping. Backline is working well. Warnock, Buckley and Frawley showing genuine resolve and yes, I agree giving us a glimpse of the future. Overall a gutsy effort so far, it what happens next that really matters. We want the footy today.

None of what I am about to say has anything to do with the legacy of this great man. A true champion player who I hope will continue to have an influence around the club, but... I am wondering if even at this early stage there is any room for discussion over his decision to take on the captaincy this year. He knew prior to making this decision of the potential seriousness of his injury and therefore should have been able to foresee it's possible ramifications. I think ultimately it was a poor decision and for such a giving bloke a rather self-centred one. Some of the lack of on-field leadership has come from our captain. This has steamed from poor form, seemingly attributed to the his injury concerns. This lack of leadership has had a huge influence on our confidence, which I believe is currently our biggest problem. I know this sounds tough, but this is what comes with being the captain of a club. It's been a horror 150th season and I just think the above needs to be acknowledged as a contributing factor in it. Again this is something that should not taint a wonderful career, but something we should frame in the context of season 2008.

I am staggered that anyone would want Moloney dropped. What was it about his game on Sunday that should see him out of the side? Was it his hardness? His attack on the ball, his score assists, penetrating kicking or sheer guts? Fess up...

Agree with comments supporting selection on form. Also on comments made about players with imperfections who eventually make it. I've heard people rave about Shane for a few years now and only got to see him in the pre-season games this year and he was a magnet. Congratulations Shane, wear the jumper with pride.

What a win. I knew it was on it's way. No matter what we all have to stick with the club and the jumper we love. How good does it feel to hold on, to never let go and win like that? I was way out west in the heart of the Pilbara and missed the whole game. I heard it on the radio, but need to see it. To see Aussie celebrate like that again and again. He's playing with an infectious fire. Miller, Bate, Brock. Go Dees. I am desperate to make contact anyone who can provide me with a DVD of the game. My head, but more importantly my heart needs it. I am sure some Dee fan out there can help me, not prepared to pay $35 for a name the game copy. I spend too much paying for 5 memberships a year. I am willing to pay all costs, please reply and I'll send you an email. Go you bloody Demons!!

Well said Rhino, no more band-aids, we can't back out of what is needed. Our inability to go through a genuine rebuild is what has starved us of being a genuine force in this game. It's false pride or bravado that has limited our ability to follow through in the past and if anything I think the fact that we are really on the brink that will see us come through a much stronger club.

What we don't have time for is another typical thrown together list that will make the finals one year and then collapse. This process is what we're very good at and it has been instrumental in providing our current predicament. Inconsistent success = Inconsistent membership and support. mo64, your assuming then that our current list has the correct ingredients for finals footy. Too often our players and coaching staff have suffered through poor off-field management, you are now saying that not only should this continue but it should dictate our on field approach. Your saying cut our losses, don't go for top spot, eighth will do. That to me mate is ludicrous. Only through long term success, and genuine (premiership) success will we get genuine, long time support. No More Quick Fixes!!

Whilst this article states little we don't already know or have gathered, it does put the facts straight for the 10000 or so past members that are yet to sign up. Whilst being possibly the most fickle, these "supporters" are certainly the most potentially important "supporters" the club has. For the simple fact that they unfortunately are the short-term saviors of our club. Far from preaching to the converted I choose to see Wilson’s article as a war cry to those 10000. Now they know how dire things are for us. The facts are there in black and white, the club you love needs you, not to thrive, but just survive. If they are true supporters they will immediately sign-up... Wont they? Continuing from a previous thread earlier in the week, I believe that we need to break this club to its bare bones so that a meaningful cultural rebuild can begin. We need to have the axe swung and about to fall before we will stand and fight. If the sad and potentially catastrophic facts in this article don't cause a surge in our membership, then there will be further evidence that we are not fit to survive. If you are a non-member and you have read this article then there is only one thing left to do. Go get you credit card, sit down and call: (03) 9652 1150. We need to stick, to stay close and fight.

I feel compelled to chip in here and relate a story from earlier this year. Whilst at a training session Beamer went out of his way to say G'day to us also. A little effort goes a long way, a top bloke it would seem and I still believe a vital player for our club. Interesting also, one of the other things I heard that day was David Neitz's excuse to a couple of trainers who were winding him up for knocking off training early. His retort was 'I'm on long service leave". Still is apparently.

Mediocre. The word I and many other Melbourne supporters have used to describe our club over the years. It has described our players, their attitude, the clubs efforts off the field, our results and in particular our culture. All I have wanted, for a very long while, was an admission there was something wrong at the heart of the club. To get “vital”, act meaningfully and drop the clichés of lines in the sand. As we know things came to a head in 2007 and since then perpetual change has occurred. These changes have enabled the core of what has been at the club for years to reveal itself: Utter Dysfunction. And so finally in 2008 we have a new word to describe The Mfc: Dysfunctional. My very quick assessment of that’s going wrong this year is that even after last years clear out we still have so much deadwood on our list that is unable to operate under a competitive game plan. We don’t have enough skilful, thinking footballers who are willing to lead by example and play not for themselves but the jumper, the club and most importantly each other. We’ve bottomed out. There’s no pretending anymore, we can’t pull off the unfortunate less-than-a-goal-losses anymore. We’ve been stripped naked for all too see and I say: Thank God. Change has brought us to the first meaningful stage of the physical, emotional and cultural rebuild that the Melbourne Football Club has needed for over four decades. It’s happening, posters on Demonland are chopping up their membership cards and sending them to the club. Players are on the brink of unexpected mid-season retirements and we are set for the wooden spoon. But what I choose to focus on is the fact that every single player we drafted last year was a noted leader at their previous club. We as a club, supporters included, should consider our personal pain as a vital part of this rebuild. This is the crux of the emotional. The concepts of acceptable mediocrity, half-lived potential and “nearly” or “maybe next year” need to be replaced with a culture of desire for a well deserved win. If you’re like me the Mfc is not just a part of your life but a part of who you are. Your heart, just like my heart beats true for the red and the blue. It is only with the support of you and every other Melbourne supporter will this once great club, will be great again.

It's hard to take hard tack statements from a barracker... a follower. A couple of weeks ago it was YOU who threatened to never again buy a membership. After two abysmal performances, what a pathetic little hissy fit that was. You don't read the game with clarity, your not a prophet, your the worst type... a barracker. Who the hell are you, as a non-member to lay down the law to the rest of us?

The Mfc has experienced a tremendous amount of change in the last 12 months. Continued change, given our current circumstance, is more justified than ever. I am not suggesting for a moment that change will immediately improve our current team or the results it will achieve. I am suggesting however, it will begin to prepare us for the future this club needs to survive. Neitz should retire (soon), move on gracefully and allow this re-build to officially begin. He deserves to bow out on his terms so he will be remembered as the great leader he has been for the majority of his career and not for performances like today.

Sorry Yze, happy to have a laugh with you about your amazing social life, Ben Cousins and David Neitz, but discuss serious football matters I will not.

Yze_Magic. For me the jury has been out on you. I enjoy your absurdities and appreciate your input, your great love of this club (most of the time) is infectious. However my opinion on your knowledge of the game and your ability to critique the players and their impact on the game has slipped dramatically today, after this blind assessment of Sylvia's game. Almost every disposal of his today was a complete waste, he was soft with a capital S and in the absence of our leaders: Neitz, Yze, Robbo, White and Brock he should be standing tall and setting an example for our younger players. I love Colin and I want nothing more than for him to be part of the future of this club, but today we saw a few penetrating kicks but little else. Lets keep the debate on Demonland real and not kid ourselves. Cheers.

1. You never begin supporting a club with a proviso that when they lose, you quit. You support your club, especially this club, through thick and thin and that red and blue blood that beats through your heart is thicker than any other. 2. The new breed: Cale Morton, Austin Wonemarri, Stefan Martin, Simon Buckley, Paul Johnson, Jack Grimes, Addam Maric, Clint Bartram. Shane Valenti, Tom McNamara. Players waiting for our deadwood to move on and assert themselves meaningfully: Brock Mclean, Daniel Bell, Nathan Jones, Lynden Dunn, Aaron Davey, Matthew Bate, Brent Moloney, Ricky Pettard, Jared Rivers. 3. I believe we have assembled a winning off field team. Bailey (give the man time, he has no bricks, only rubble), CC (moving and shaking), Paul McNamee (serious clout). 4. You want to be amongst it to see off senior football for David Neitz (past it, I dare anyone to deny this and put forward a meaningful case), Russell Robertson (uninterested egomaniac), Mark Jamar (not an AFL footballer), Adem Yze (all done, all done), Jeff White (footsteps) and Benny Holland (pathetic). 5. Because only with the support of you and every other Melbourne supporter will this once great club, be great again.

I'm a member and for the last two years I have paid for my brother, sister, father and girlfriend. Seeing them all through to Silver then it's up to them. Four of us are MCC members, all of us live in the NT, with no hope of attending a single game this year and we're all full Mfc members. To the [censored] who chopped up his membership: So your the "supporter" that gives the rest of us a bad name! You personify everything that wrong with our barrackers, I personally don't want to be in the same club as you. Two games down and you've thrown in the towel, good on ya!

I agree with all that is being said here. The backline has the potential to be our genuine weakness this year. These three will make the difference, as previously stated; best news all pre-season (along with Jones boys re-signing. C'mon Dees. This is something to get excited over!

A few people here need to settle. It is absurd to jump to the conclusion that because a player has not been named that he is injured. This is Dean Bailey's first crack at placing players in a true match situation. Premership points are not on the line so the opportunity is there to try some of our developing players. Simple. At the training session I witnessed Zomer was a good sized player, who seemed very vocal and popular with skills, it must have been very tempting for DB to give him a run. Mc Namara is a good sized potential KP back. DB sees we have a solid forward line and knows our backline is where a lot of youth needs developing, why not give him a go and allow Pettard the extra time he needs for the season proper. A simular theory applies with Cheney and Martin. Vey excited about Meesen, Valenti, Martin and Austin. I would like to see Valenti silence the critics who suggest he wont handle the pace of this level. I'd like to rub a brilliant Meesen Debut in Adeliades face and Aussie to do the Tiwi proud during such a monumentous week. Winning is not what today is about, it's about Baileys rough gems revealing themselves to a coach who isn't going to take any s%*t and who knows that all we want is a premership.

NAB Cup Round One backline option: Martin Buckley Bode Mc Donald Frawley Bell

Red Sox, Bate did train, again he appears to have bulked up also. He and Cheney are remarkably similar in size and at times I had to really look to see.

Neita - Trained well but did not complete the session. Appeared after a few weights perhaps and changed. Training staff stirred him a little to which he replied - " I'm on long service leave". Robbo - Completed the full session including a couple of great goals. Cracked the shits at one stage when a lead was ignored. White - He trained well, worked a little with the other potentials, but he and Messen were operating at different ends of the field (Interesting). Whelan - Trained as light as Clint. Did a few more skills drills than him though. Rivers - Went well, really looking fit and just looked to have the surest hands out there. I found out about training on the Official Mfc site. It's small and difficult to find in small type toward the bottom. No sign of any hotdogs, just plenty of shitty black and white and a few suspicious Mfc officials. My brother was actually asked to put his video camera away (we were also planning some you tube action for you all), but we were asked to put it away as they are worried about people stealing their drills, fair enough or over reaction ?. Ozzie was cheered by all players everytime he downed an opponent, like the theory here Nasher.