Deefensive Language

Loved the moment when he sprinted back to the goal line to contest a ball and cannonned into the point post. Great closing speed. Can he and Rivers play in the same team? I know they have different attributes, but in terms of experience level for the lead in to potential finals.

Agreed. I'd like to see Harmes and Salem rotate between wing and half forward with stints on the ball. Time to get some minutes into Rivers to see if he can free those two up with drive out of the backline. It was also Hibbo's 150th and his highlights reel was a sight to behold. Does he still have it in him to play a more attacking role with less direct responsibility for an opponent? It seems to me that he's being forced deeper and deeper.

With his recent 100 game celebration I just had at a look at his highlight reel. What strikes me is his attacking run and impact forward of centre. Where does he really sit right now? Where is his best position?

I thought Lever was good individually also, as was May on Dixon. But our system seems to depend on individual efforts rather than group cohesion. As in, when one of our talls goes up, how are the others positioning themselves to best put direct pressure on opposition forwards?

Our back six - Lever, May, OMac, Hibbo, Lockhart, Harmes had 4 tackles between them. Don't understand how that's possible from a backline in a professional highly paid sport?

Are they going to blame the 4 day break? This was line in the sand stuff

Kick after the siren touched. Pathetic. That's like a airball in a ball free throw

Yep..no idea

Jones says he feels like he can offer something to that "not many others at the club can at the moment" Fascinating... Is this an example of an old head questioning the heart of the young brigade?

Goodwin: "we need to come up with a strategy" So reactive...

I can hear an emergency siren in the background... Is it the firefighters to come and help us get out of the tree? Or an ambulance to have Goodwin committed?

If not for shorter quarters this would be a 100 point loss

If not for shorter quarters this would be a 100 point loss

BT said Port aren't even playing their best...and he's right!

When I watch Melbourne play a quarter like this I can't help but think about when Pacific Island nations like Vanuatu play Australia in World Cup qualifiers and get smashed 15-0 like a training drill. Even when the Bulldogs get smashed like last night they still play what seems like relatively normal football. Melbourne is just completely irrelevant on nights like tonight

22 kicks so far...12 of them are turnover kicks! Professional sporting team or bunch of hacks?

All we can ask for is growth and a positive response to the week's criticism. And that's what we got...so proud of the boys. We played like a bottom 8 side (rather than a bottom 4 side) but given how far we had fallen you can't expect a flawless performance. Attack on the ball carrier was up, as was the composure with the ball (particularly Viney, Oliver, Langdon), and even some more proactive coaching (Harmes in the middle, Melksham moved around, May sent forward, Max pushed forward). Still a concern that the Suns backs took so many intercept marks, but this will be a focus for the whole season. Looking forward to the Hawks game.

My thoughts exactly. In 2020 the entire AFL is being questioned for its relevancy because the world has turned on its head. In a less relevant environment, tolerating MFC issues is becoming a real chore. Bartlett spoke last week of the club's plan to fundraise a million or so around Christmas...this just reeks of being oblivious to the current situation. Why donate to a lost cause or one that brings no joy?

https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/94395/tomlinson-a-rising-star "Nick Riewoldt's been the player I've looked up to over the past few years, so I've been trying to replicate what he does on the footy field," Tomlinson told AFL.com.au Boy, either priorities have drastically changed in 7 years or he's lost touch with his footballing identity. Riewoldt was one of the most body-on-the-line courageous big guys the game has seen.

Both Derm and King agreed that no-one tags Oliver because "he doesn't hurt you." But as a 2 time B&F winner and All-Australian at 22, he has time to turn things around like Lachie Neale has.

Melbourne needs "shock therapy" according to Derm. He said many of our players go out there "happy to be AFL footballers". He questions whether we're willing to put in the hard work to get things done. I think he's talking about Melksham, Tomlinson etc. Far too many (and very noticeable to non-supporters)

Moving to the Sydney hub is an opportunity to shake things up. If we can't change the shoddy game plan, poor coaching and ineffective kicking, we can at least move around the magnets and keep the opposition thinking. In: Jones, Weidemann, Bennell, Brown, Jetta, Sparrow Out: Oliver, Melksham, Hunt, Rivers, Smith, Vandenberg B: Hibberd, May, Lever HB: Salem, T Mcdonald, Lockhart ? Langdon, Petracca, Brayshaw HF: Jones, Weidemann, Bennell FF: Hannan, Brown, Fritsch R: Gawn, Harmes, Viney IC: Jetta, Sparrow, Pickett, Tomlinson Oliver needs to be dropped. He can come back from this, but needs to be given a clear message and focus points to work mentally (hold the ball for longer to make a decision) before reclaiming his place. Send Harmes back into the middle and keep him there. He played some fantastic games in the guts last year when everything was turning to [censored]. Also, Sparrow's opportunity is now...he must surely be starting to get [censored] off at the lack of opportunities. He runs and tackles - let's see how far he can go. Melksham's tackling numbers have been plummeting year by year. Against Richmond he was our experienced on the ground by games played. Not good enough. Also, when he does come back with an improved attitude, I'd consider giving him a run up the ground to reacquaint himself with the intensity he needs at the level. He's played plenty of minutes HB and on-ball in the past. Hunt, Smith and VDB are giving us nothing. For Vanders I'm on the fence as to whether the game has passed him by or he has not had the continuity to develop solid match fitness. I like Rivers but I don't think the team can carry both him and Lockhart at the moment. He'll benefit from a much more settled structure. Lockhart's preseason and Round 1 was strong and he deserves another chance (plus his kicking efficiency is over 80%). Like Oliver he needs some solid mentorship over the next few weeks to remember his role, to play to his strengths, and ensure he applies pressure to the forwards (tackle numbers low). Time to bite the bullet and send TMac back. It's easy to forget how solid he was down there before the decision to swing him forward. Even then, he played 2017 as a swingman effectively. Watching him lumber around the forward line these last few weeks is bringing back memories of the sad failures of guys like Clark, Dawes, Fitzpatrick. Surely the experience of him and May combined will lead to some structure down there and free up Lever to show what he is capable of. If Lever still can't get his eye in and put himself in the right spots after that, then we have problems. Jetta and Jones still have some good football to play. Jetta can defend and will put his body on the line, and Jones was still hitting targets in the F50 before getting dropped. Even if Jones only plays 65% of game time, his presence and experience is important to prevent complete capitulation. It's manic and crazy enough as it is at the moment. Given the shambles we're dealing with now, it can't hurt to try Brown and Weid in the same forward line. Some people seem to think Brown is past it but I don't think that's fair. He positions well and makes plenty of contests. He also kicked 18 of his 21 goals in Essendon wins last year, (usually multiples) and given they just scraped into the finals that's a decent impact considering he was a fill in for Daniher. I feel he'd be a better match for Weidemann than TMac (the two of them get in each others' way). At least Brown is more accustomed to the role of second-tier forward. Bennell played an OK first game and after all of the hoohaa about his comeback, the decision to drop him was a low blow. Let's back him to add some polish in the forward line with Pickett, who will benefit from more tall targets in the area. He needs a few games to settle in to AFL level.

Who remembers Paul Prymke? Gun CHB who won best first year player in 94 then did his back before reaching 50 games. Could have been a famous name...

Glad you asked. I see this happen all the time. Kids will approach complaining about XYZ thing that makes them uncomfortable. I will ask, "have you told *name of teacher directly responsible*?" "No, because he/she doesn't listen/doesn't care." Other times I witness this lack of awareness or care factor in a colleague. They will misinterpret a complaint or misdemeanour and view it through their own often flawed lens. The kid looks at them with masked disdain - there is little wonder why so many people enter adulthood with that same chip on their shoulder: "teachers are jerks/losers....they didn't understand me etc." Some brave fools speak up when they believe something to be unjust, unfair or heavy-handed. But these green dissenters have not the psycho-social development required to allow the target of their protests to save face. An authority figure (especially one with an ego or poor social skills themselves) will never allow themselves to be publicly out-argued by an underling. So this just intensifies the feeling of injustice. It gets dire when you know something is unjust and no-one says anything. Either they are losing hope or they're getting smart enough to keep their lack of respect to themselves. A coach or teacher (same thing) needs to listen and listen well. Listen openly without judgement. Be open to hearing views that conflict with their own. And they need to act on whatever they hear in a level-headed and strategic way. The doubled-edged sword is that gaining a reputation for listening leads to more people seeking your counsel. But doing so will earn you respect and an army of followers. This is on an emotional level, not a logical one - which you need to build a dynastic football team. See how Hardwick loves his players and is loved by them? Back to the original question...you're screwed as a teacher if the students/players do what they did. Sadly, many never realise or understand that this is how they are perceived. Many others may learn this but refuse accept it as a dealbreaker. Would you expect your significant other to respect you if you knew they already went behind your back? And instead of properly addressing the elephant in the room, you just went about your business like an ignorant buffoon? Goodwin found himself on the losing side of one of these human resource management dilemmas. We don't know for certain, but much of it stems from young people not finding him (and Jones for that matter) to be approachable. Perhaps Roos was a father figure, and Goodwin was the more "down to business" operator who didn't have time for anyone. Even impressions can change behaviour. Here's what we knew at the time: - The players who "dobbed" didn't want to appear soft (Goodwin did not appropriately communicate/understand what soft/hard actually means for young footballers). - The AFLPA suggested to MFC after 2017 that it was over the top (A wise manager/listener would address this with non-judgemental questioning and listening) - Goodwin viewed it as a lost opportunity for the group to grow together (he was publicly challenged and refused to change his opinion. So much for positioning himself as someone who can be confided in.) There's also the matter of Goodwin and co not knowing the types of young personalities in their midst. Who had teenage anxiety? Who had impostor syndrome? Who had clinical perfectionism? Who drove themselves to vomit before a game to deal with the stress? Coaches/recruiters MUST recruit first and foremost based on temperament, initiative and openness to ideas (with raw skills secondary). Then an individualised plan developed to help manage them (which includes LISTENING). Dusty Martin was carefully nurtured in this way at the beginning of his career. You can't change the world in this way, but you can definitely shape a small community of 20-30 (size of a classroom/football team) to be united and work together. Outside influences (like health, personality deficiencies, loved ones) can make this harder. In a classroom this can be a losing battle, be in a football team, you can hire/fire however you like. And to tie this into the topic of this thread, a mission statement helps you build strategic people management plans like this into the fabric of a club. Without it, a place seesaws around randomly from year to year, coach to coach.

Fanatique, thank you for your well thought out comments and insights from a fresh perspective. As a teacher, I see tremendous value in building a shared belief system and values-based structure to help drive performance/achievement. As you have mentioned, some organisations do this well and some do it terribly. In schools, this can be even more stark. The right support structures and underlying values are necessary to maintain unity. They are a reminder of expectations and highlight a way forward. In schools that have not undertaken such a process, you end up with teachers and support staff that progress from stress to apathy. And as a result, students progress from anxiety to carelessness to insolence. Young people need boundaries to not only feel safe but also to develop in the appropriate ways. Without it you have chaos. Not only does nothing get done, but people check out. This is fractured further by narrow-sighted parents who can further complicate things with their own individualised values (eg. I will teach my child to fight fire with fire against bullies). This can fester and be incredibly hard to turn around. Even though you may want the academic results (ie. premierships), you're never going to get there without a significant reset. Is this happening at MFC? It sure looks like Goodwin is stressed, and people like Pert appear to be apathetic (with his perceived lack of initiative in response to our year). Players like Gus look anxious and wracked with indecisiveness on field. Carelessness was apparent against Sydney on Friday night and Oliver's on-field antics were a display of insolence. Gawn, ever the optimist, is giving it another crack (check his most recent Tweet) but looks just about ready to check-out if things don't improve. Shaun Smith revealed to us all how angry he was at the management of his son. Luckily for Joel, Mission is now gone, because I don't think he could have functioned under him after what dad said. People seem to forget that a club needs to guide, train, inspire and motivate a group of emotionally under-developed BOYS to work together and grow into men. You need to communicate with teenagers and early 20s people in a certain way, so that they become wise and self-aware 30 year-olds who can support you in that process. Look at Fagan (ex-teacher) and his weekly one-on-ones with Brisbane's boys. Look at Clarkson and the way he turned just about ALL of his 2008 boys into solid, articulate, insightful and emotionally intelligent leaders. Many organisations (including schools) are run by shaky leadership that either a) fail to understand the importance of genuine cultural growth, or b) are power-hungry egotists themselves. When the cynics to your post say that these mission statements are pointless corporate wankery, the reason is either a) or b) above. And in this case you end up with a whole host of people underneath that care only about getting bread on the table. It breeds more cynical/individualist behaviour and the cycle continues! Clearly a football club is different to a for-profit corporation. We're not aiming to profit at all costs - the stakeholders (members) want on-field success. I want my football club to recognise the importance of real shared values. If there are players (or players' parents/partners), coaches, trainers who believe it to be wanky, then their cynical influence will have a toxic effect and they need to be removed. If top-leadership initiate the process Fanatique described simply because "it's the thing to do" and care only about the plaque, then they will be a major cause of the decline. You can't lament the poor leadership of Jones and Viney and in the same breath say that there is no place for strong values at a club. Neither can you stand up on a soapbox and say, "just win premierships", expecting every individual to figure it out for themselves. Given the criticism of the OP, no wonder MFC has been internally broken since 1964. This old-boys club, ultra-conservative cynicism and ignorance of modern inclusive practice needs to end. But sadly, as I'm sure you're aware Fanatique, the prevalence of negative/non-critical opinions (which they are entitled to) can partly explain the hindrance of real growth.