Toad33

Things always look shite when they aren't quite working. It was pretty obvious from the opening few minutes that we weren't working as hard or as manically to shut down their space, which gifted them the opportunity to pick and hit targets almost at will...…...the fumbles and missed handballs cost us dearly and were a 'tell' of the pressure we put ourselves...….some of them (Oliver) was without even being tackled. Not disappointed in the loss......just the way we lost we lost the first half. Keep going Dees

Hey Bleasey thanks for your take on today's game. I haven't posted for a couple of years (probably) but needed to respond re: your comment that Balic could be a chance for a game towards the end of the year. I like to think and believe that as a club we are now past gifting potential 'next season' rookies a game 'just to give them a taste' at the end of a season......why because I hope......NO.....I know we will have players like Pedo, Garlett, Frost, Wagner, Stretch, Bugg etc. that are working extra hard, hungry and fighting for a spot in our 2018 finals side(s). Don't get me wrong, I hope Balic is working his arse off too and I would like nothing more than to see his performances and work ethic push him ahead of those more senior players playing his role..........but whether you are an observer, supporter or member we should ALL expect and demand that the most 'in form' and 'balanced' team is selected each week regardless of a players name or their games played! I suspect 'Goody' has the same opinion and that is why 'Jeffy' is playing for Casey. FWIW I think JKH should start to 'bunk up' and train with Nev Jetta so he can learn to be 'hard and accountable' and hopefully develop into Nev's replacement. Over-and-out for another few years......

Hey all Demonland Faithful I am in need of your assistance. Neville Jetta will be the guest speaker at my sons football club (St Mary's GJFC) this Sunday where he will be awarding a player from each of our 25 teams our 'Indigenous Round Award'. I am putting together a slideshow to run on our TV's and LED scoreboard for the occasion and would like to include Neville's nickname. Now as embarrassing at this is for me as a die-hard DEMON supporter to admit, I am not entirely certain I actually know Nev's nickname. However, I have a strong feeling it's 'Jetts'.....but this is where I need your expert knowledge to tell me YES or NO it's ????? Thanks and GO DEES T33

G'day Ascobar Unfortunately footy has become a seemingly complex game of forward pressure, team defence, spreading from contests and interchange rotations since you have been gone........ ....that's why you have probably been pulling what's left of your hair out when you see an in form, dominant, player kicking a goal and then sprinting to the bench (expending more energy to do that than they did to get the goal!!) and can't fathom why when we get the ball to a free player in the defensive 50m arc, and it is kicked long there is NO ONE there to make a contest!!!!...... .....but I have to say that the BIGGEST change there has been in football over the past few years is the WILLINGNESS and DETERMINATION by players to PROTECT a team mate................and as a result I UNFORTUNATELY..........I have to report that the 'SHEPHERD' (that's where a player blocks an opposition player to allow a team mate more time and less pressure to make a good decision and disposal) is COMPLETELY DEAD at the MFC..........thanks to the coaching that has been going on at the club for far too long now! In my opinion If the current MFC players were coached to play as a team the statisticians would have to start recording 'shepherds' as a 'stat' just like they do 'tackles', 'goal assists' etc. Enjoy your time in the sun Escobar....while we are all freezing our arses off at the 'G' in 8 degrees (not factoring in the wind chill) and wondering......WHY....why the _uck to we even bother. Go.....meh.........show you give a [censored] and I will too!!

All I want to see is Bernie do to Pendlebury what he did to Dangerfield..........win lose or draw I want to hear those toothless bogans booing.......but I will settle for them booing the umpires if we are in front and getting what a 'one eyed' supporter feels is an easy ride. :-) If we can control the midfield we will win....it's as simple as that...... ......so we need to be harder, lower and relentless. Go Dees

Man he should at the very least be a VIP guest at the President's Luncheon before our first home game next year.......where he should be publicly thanked in front of the 'big knobs' and opposition President before his choice of 3 guests should be given the 'Presidential Mtach Day Treatment'....all after he receives a noteworthy memento.....like a signed THANKYOU photo from Ronald Dale Barassi or a special player of his choice......and all this should be broadcast on the BIG SCREEN for all the DEMON FAITHFUL to witness, appreciate, applaud and aspire to... IMO... ....'from an MFC point of view' this achievement is this guys 15 minutes of fame...........make it something that others....like struggling middle age, middle income battlers like me...and their kids can aspire to. When I read about things like this it just strengthens my resolve that my family and I will be not be MFC members for 50 years..........I will continue to wait patiently for that long awaited premiership to be delivered and continue to convince my kids that it is not that far off.....to continue to keep them interested. Unfortunately it is most likely that if and when it is delivered it will be in a game style we despise, by a bunch of players who have made their names at other clubs before arriving at the MFC... the result will be that supporters like me will then try to achieve some sort of personal satisfaction from the event and struggle to explain to their kids (probably teenagers by then) that loyalty is a virtue even though there is none in he AFL apart from within the supporter ranks.....and then try to explain the contradiction as to why we will not be supporting the club in future. GET SERIOUS and GET ON WITH IT DEES.....

I am going to go early and nickname him....'Archie'.....short for Architect,.....because from what I have seen he has elite spacial awareness and always appeared to have a plan when he wins the ball.......his highlight videos take me back to watching Adem Yze in his prime when he would win the ball at half-back, get out of trouble, and start directing traffic up field to put all the pieces(players) in place for an effective attack before releasing the ball. Welcome ANB aka Archie. Go Dees

MEH.....let him go and learn about how PREMIERSHIPS are won, and then get him back. Nothing to see here....... ....I'd prefer an Alistair Lynch, Wayne Carey or Matthew Lloyd, who have the runs on the board when it comes to finals and Grand finals, in the mean time Goatees...I mean Go Dees :-)

Pity..... Reading the above posts I get the feeling that the players weren't really to blame in the end........ ....I must admit I have had a 'bee in my bonnet' for a long time when I comes to 'player recruitment and development'......and the subsequent 'cast-offs' that occurr as a result! Without knowing all the details......just like the rest of you... I put their collective downfall firmly in the hands of the recruiters and development coaches!!....... .......and before you jump to their defences.....I don't suggest that they aren't decent and knowledgeable football people trying to do their best....but, like the fringe players in our league, they too are struggling to eek out a lucrative living in this competitive and ever changing ruthless environment......and only usually get one or two chances at it before they too are cast aside. So.....to put it as simply as I can..... ...Player X (Blease) is recruited because he has skills that COULD make him player Y (Line breaking half back)......BUT he could 'BE DEVELOPED' into player Z (outside Mid/wingman/attacking forward)....a position that we desperately needed to be filled what he was recruited !!! And so the coaching begins. .....but the result of player X trying to curb his natural instincts and develop into what the assistant coaches want......to appease the Senior Coach (or Senior Coaches in our case)....completely changes his game from one of 'understanding and instinct' to one of 'stop, think and act'.....and as we all know at the AFL level there is no time to stop and think........unless you want to look like a human tackle bag or a deer in the headlights!!! .....AND SO THE 'PLAYER' is effectively 'BROKEN'!!!!......and generally that means.......trade or delist and try again.......unless a miracle occurs. I am now going to type the MOST BANDIED AROUND and most DAMAGING WORD that I believe is associated with young draftees and players.......POTENTIAL. This is what KILLS players in my opinion.....not ability.....but the 'value' (POTENTIAL) that the recruiters, coaches AND SUPPORTERS see in a player. In most cases if a player doesn't reach his 'potential' in 'good time' they are cast aside as a failure. So..........thanks for your commitment to the MFC Sam and James and I sincerely hope you can put the negatives behind you and find a place where you can express yourself through your football abilities. Go Dees

RIP Robbie..... ...........as a mid-forty something lifelong Demons supporter I had pleasure of being spellbound by 'Robbie's' genius as a pre-adult in what were arguably, in my living memory anyway, the most uncompetitive years of the MFC. During this time I had the pleasure, on a dozen or so occasions of seeing the 'maestro' play live, including the entire 1987 finals series.....the other performances were sometimes relayed on the radio (MFC....not very often), or in the papers.....not usually 'Back Page Stuff' though......but the odd bit got in there! But this thread is not about what I witnessed and experienced when it comes to Robbie Flower.......it's about making sure his contribution to the game of Australian Football, the VFL and the Melbourne Football Club (and Melbourne Cricket Club even though I don't think they were affiliated with the MFC at the time) is recognised in perpetuity!! Now........this week we have experience another modern football phenomenon, 'The Draft Combine' and the beginnings of the toing's and froing's of another trade period. But. in a quiet moment this afternoon I pondered how OUR Robbie would have stacked up in such a clinical, regimented, cut-throat, measured and forceful environment? How would he have done in the 20 sprint repeat sprint 3km time trial standing jump agility test Nathan Buckley Kick Test and all the other 'measurements' that are supposed to help separate the 'want-to-be's' from the 'genuine articles'. Personally I think it would have been a monumental achievement for Robbie if he had even been invited to attend in the first place, and that makes me think of the loss to our game if such a genius was overlooked and NEVER had the opportunity to show, or express, his skills and intricate understanding of our great game. Yesterday I listened to many stories and anecdotes on SEN about our lost champion and my mind has 'stuck fast' to the verse of this Ode to Robbie Flower suggesting the 'Member's Wing' take on his name.(http://www.sen.com.au/audio look for the Ode to Robbie Flower). Robbie was more than just a great player, he was a genuine leader of men..........Let's face it anyone who is selected Captain of their state team for the annual 'State of Origin', while their own team is on the bottom of the ladder has something beyond physical ability that others respect and admire greatly. SO, let's make sure his legacy is not just confined to the MFC annuls and is a part of the AFL/MFC forever by SUPPORTING THE IDEA of THE ROBBIE FLOWER MEMBERS WING. I don't know where else to start this 'push' but I am sure many on here have the connections to make it happen. Go Dees.

I hope Col is not wasting his pay packet like he is wasting his talent.......personally I don't really care if he is.....but he if he is, he might spend the rest of his life.......like the rest of us....wondering 'What if'. Anyhooo, isn't there some obscure club in the AFL/VFL for 'Wasted Talent' like his.........like the 'kick a goal with the first kick in football club'?.......Col might get a badge and even voting rights when he is inducted given his recent (thankfully NOT with MFC) efforts. Not Bitter just Twisted. GO Dees

I'm ready...... ....but I think it will be a hard road for most.....no thanks to one FORMER greats, Garry Lyon (who was a major player in the appointments of Dean Bailey (rip) and Mark Neeld (a partial failure and complete disaster respectively), who has decided to weigh into our list management decisions with his opinion on Heritifer Lubumba on AFL.com (sorry link not working) I know this guys works for the media but he should have a LONG HARD LOOK at his track record as an 'expert consultant' and hopefully he will realise that he should ZIP HIS LIP when it comes to staff and player appointments at MFC. Personally I can see where he is coming from because I am the same age and have grown up in the same generation, BUT, a personality like HL could be a great 'education' to the young men in our club, particularly regarding the issues of diversity, acceptance and tolerance that are REALITIES in our society facing the modern young person today. While HL might be seen to be on the extreme left of the spectrum IMO he is no more disruptive or damaging than the narrow minded '[censored] sure' sexist bogan type that is on the extreme right. He can play footy in a manner and position that we are lacking.....so take a look MFC........and move into the NEW CENTURY Garry!! Go Dees

OH MY GOD!! Just seeing those images and reading the first couple of paragraphs brings back some unbelievable emotions and memories for me as a 19 year old supporter experiencing his first finals campaign. I still get shivers when I recall listening to the final home and away round game against Footscray at their 'dung heap' (in the same game that our young 'bright light' Garry Lyon broke his leg) on my dodgy transistor radio in the shed at home....thankfully it was a radio broadcast game for that weekend (for those younger folk...many weren't...you had to either listen to the horse racing or another game and wait to get a 'cross' of score update during their broadcast........no internet or Foxtel back then kiddies!! The next Monday I 'took a sickie' to line up and get tickets for the biggest game in my life......and got them!! On game day my parents, brother and I got there early.....really early........well before the reserve's game had started...... and part way through the under 19's kicking the dew off the grass. We also had the 'nervous' pleasure of getting a confident nod and smile from John 'Swooper' Northey when he appeared behind us to smell the air and survey the atmosphere at half time of the reserves game. My memories of that final's campaign. I have not seen Melbourne supporters as vocal as I did in that '87 Elimination Final..........admittedly there was a LOT to cheer about from the first goal at the 35 second mark onwards!!......BUT.....the standing ovation when the team walked off at half time was something to behold and still give me goose bumps when I think of it. For a team that literally FELL into the finals and was regarded as a team full of 'rejects' from other clubs, we showed the football world in the MOST emphatic fashion what the value of BELIEF and DETERMINATION are to a football team. (The only game I have seen since that remotely compares is the Geelong effort in the Grand Final where they passed the baton of GREATEST LOSING MARGIN onto Port Adelaide....thank you Geelong). Towelling the Swans by 77 points in week two and turning the football world on it's head......'What has POSESSED the Demons"?. Missing SO MANY opportunities to bury the Hawks in the first half to following week. Seeing Robert 'Dipper' DiPierdomenico in full flight at 93kg's 'fairly and squarely' hip and shoulder Robbie Flower (75kg). The result a broken Collar Bone from the impact. This was the first 'wrench in the guts' that told me 'Robbie' was not going to get what the football world wanted for him.....a crack at a Premiership. Jimmy running over the mark just before the final siren.........as much as it pains me to type it........I know he won't rest 'easy' until that next Premiership Flag is flying high at the MFC. Seeing Hawthorn limp into the GF and get SMASHED by a fresh and clinical Carlton outfit.........we may not have won but by gee we would have given a [censored] good yelp. Go Dees

I am all in favour of the 30 year Casey alignment. Problems are Casey 'leaking' players to the AFL and other VFL clubs (this is a double edged sword. Players at this level will always aspire to advance to the next level or a bigger pay packet and having a good coach will help them get there). MFC not in a financial position to fully support the Scorpions. (AFL team comes FIRST, SECOND and THIRD and the Scorp's will be fully supported when finances dictate they can be, but not this year!) Benefits are Exposure to a young and vibrant growing community. (Auskick, Auskick , Auskick. = KIDS KIDS KIDS = Kids exposed to the game ++++ VFL and AFL (Casey/Demons) players in attendance = Interest, exposure, influence and potential memberships) THREE decades (GENERATIONS) to attract/convert future members. This agreement doesn't mean we need to put ALL our eggs in one basket but does ensure we DO have our eggs in the SECOND BIGGEST basket (in term of population size and growth) in the country at the current time. I am sure that if our arrangement folded tomorrow the 'cashed up' clubs would be sniffing around the 'corpses' quicker than a dog chasing a tennis ball. A question before I log out. Q. How often do you think the supposed 'ferals' living in Casey who support Collingwood travel to Victoria Park to watch their VFL team play? A. About as many times as the 'sheltered' MFC supporters from Eastern Melbourne go to Casey to watch the Scorpions....or LESS! Go Dees and Scorps

Diddo with a cherry on top