Chook

He played better this week than last week, so I think until he stops improving we should play him in the seniors. I just hope we don't go overboard with it.

Agreed. We ruined Cale Morton by giving him games he didn't deserve, and I don't want the same thing to happen to Jimmy Toumpas.

West Coast are not exactly setting the world on fire. If we weren't the worst team I'd ever seen, I might actually think we had a chance next week.

Agree with all that, but I just wish we could also elevate Magner and Couch.

He didn't lose Rivers, and Moloney is a selfish 80s stereotype anyway. Who needs him? The fact is that a coach needs time to effect change. Getting a new coach is not the right move. Getting rid of players who don't buy in is the right move.

I'd frame that hypothetical like this: If I didn't have faith in Neeld, I shouldn't be playing for Melbourne.

Thanks.

You're thirty-six? Wow. No offense, but I pegged you for about 18 years old.

He was absolutely shattered in that video. You cannot question his commitment, and that's something positive at least. By the way, has anyone noticed that this week's party-line catch-phrase is "It wasn't good enough." Last week it was "we didn't see this coming" (said by Jack Watts, Jack Grimes and Mark Neeld), and this week it's "It wasn't good enough" (said by Mark Neeld and Jack Grimes so far).

Well he's in luck because some MORON decided to give Cameron Schwab a 3 YEAR CONTRACT FFS!!!

Look, I agree with that in theory but I just wonder what real effect it would actually have. I do see that it might be symptomatic of a larger issue, but targeting a symptom does nothing to eliminate the cause.

Should they take down the club dartboard too? No time for that either, right?

In his press conference, Neeldy basically ran roughshod over our midfield and said that Nathan Jones and Jack Viney are the only remotely AFL level mids we've got. So at least he's aware of the problem. Maybe he can get around to fixing it before this club goes down the toilet.

But it won't be "us." It'll be some new club that I don't support.

In so many words, Neeldy basically ran roughshod over our midfield and said that Nathan Jones and Jack Viney are the only remotely AFL level mids we've got. So at least he's aware of the problem. Maybe he can get around to fixing it before this club goes down the toilet.

You're talking like growing a beard takes effort. Literally all you need to do is avoid sharp objects near your face. How much effort should that take. Seriously, it's totally irrelevant.

Ha! Brilliant.

Jack Viney, last week. But I take your point and agree with it wholeheartedly.

Daniher, Riley, Bailey, Viney, Neeld. Five coaches. Seven years. About 20 wins between them. What if it's not the coaches or the culture? What if we simply have recruited bad practitioners of australian rules football? Could it be that simple? If it is, can it be fixed without just sitting through another six years of Draft Day Threads? It's only natural to place blame on high-profile individuals (and there's no-one more high profile than the senior coach), but the reality probably is that we just have not picked the correct players over an extended period of time. Again, are we willing to do it all over again in the hopes that this time we might actually get it right?

Who gives a toss about what's on their faces? It's what's in their hearts that counts.

Tell that to the guy who's had his eyes stabbed out.

How can we be sure it was really her?

So by this logic, sacking Bailey was a good decision despite where it's led us. Did we just mess up with who we appointed? If so, then who's to say we won't manage to find someone worse. The reality is that succesful clubs should statistically win a premiership about every 15 years - yet no coach is ever given this long. How can anyone expect to effect real change if they're living in constant fear of being sacked without the time to put their plan into place?

His game tonight was nothing more than a solid AFL level performance, and yet he was our best player by a country mile. Sad.

Anybody got a link yet? EDIT: Oops. Simultaneous posts.