The Taciturn Demon

He really must have. Or he was just ignoring what he was being told. Or, much worse, someone was being disingenuous. The only thing worse than pulling punches during reviews would be pulling punches and then stopping suddenly. "You're going well. You're going well. You're going well. You're playing at Casey." That would be so much worse than: "You're going OK. Not your best game. You really need to work on X and Y. Sorry, you need to work on stuff at Casey."

This might sound like a dumb question, but after the flag did we find it easier to get better sponsor dollars?

Ha ha. I think he told the story as an example of what a good bloke Neita is. Everything I've heard about him suggests the same.

Went to the Geelong Beer Festival on the weekend and saw Neita at the Brewmanity stall. Seems like he absolutely loves it. I remember years ago on Twitter a Melbourne fan mentioned they ordered some Brewmanity and Neitz himself turned up at the door with the order.

Well said. Every fan could reel off dozens of names of footballers who are/were rake thin and hard as nails. And a similar number who are/were built like the brick s###house you mentioned and not really cut out for such a physically demanding game. Weight, for all the reasons you've said, tells us almost nothing. And even if it was a steady number, it would still tell us almost nothing. Footballers are not farm animals; they're not more valuable because they have more meat on them.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect. The lack of consistently exceptional players is a huge worry. Petracca could butcher it, but he did a lot well and he did it most weeks. Oliver, too, although not for several years. Max is possibly the only one left, and he's approaching 35. I'm very optimistic about Pickett and the progress he's made, but even I don't think he's the consistent star we need him to be. May was top-level but isn't anymore. This all points to the possibility of winning few games. But the list isn't a complete disaster. It's tattered without being buggered - Mihocek, Steele, Jiath and Heath all seem like solid pick ups to me, who may not be stunning upgrades on what came before but fill clear holes. I'd be surprised if we looked back in three years and considered them in the same league as Hunter, Billings, Schache and Sharp. Having said that, I don't expect any (except maybe Heath) to be essential members of the team after this year. I'd want a player like Steele to be much more Daniel Cross than Brent Moloney. By that, I mean, I'd want him to be the player you love in your team, but who isn't a five-year midfield lock. If that happens either we've failed to find the midfielders we so desperately need to replace Petracca and Oliver or he's miraculously returned to his brilliant form as a 25 and 26 year old. I think the big variable is what King can change and how quickly. Usually I'd be cautious about predicting some meteoric rise just based on a new coach, but in hindsight we hadn't just become stale under Goodwin, we'd become sclerotic. I have a feeling our players will love playing with a bit more freedom and who knows how much difference that might make. And closely linked to this is who, if anyone, suddenly steps up - either thanks to King's coaching or confidence or by claiming a role once made impossible because of Goodwin's dedication to a pretty unchanging 25-odd players. Or just through natural progress. Could Rivers be a better-than-solid centre bounce midfielder? Is Langford as good as we all think and can he be influential so early in his career? Same with his fellow super draftee, Lindsay? Is there a Jai Newcombe from-nowhere story on the list - Culley? Kentfield? Latrelle Pickett? By the middle of last year it was painfully obvious to me the mantra of "we're so close" was complete nonsense. And that was desperately disappointing just four years after a flag. I think we're a long way from a premiership now, but not necessarily a long way from being a solid team again. Sorry. Talk about being on the fence.

Terrific post. I think a lot of Melbourne supporters came to painful realisations similar to yours over the past six months. I certainly did. Everyone is entitled to engage in some wishful thinking, especially when it comes to something we're passionate about, but it does set you up for disappointment when it clashes with the cold, often brutal reality of top-level sport.

Interesting on JVR. I've agreed with one two others on here that he has a very hard ceiling and wasn't far off it fairly early in his career. Hope I'm completely wrong. Definitely agree on Culley.

I was going to say that the answer is it looks awful, but this AI effort doesn't look too bad. I think that's because they've gone with a subdued, dusty red. I suspect that with the red New Balance uses - which is bright and lustrous, it would be too much.

Good list. I reckon Culley might surprise a few sceptics. I think Turner might go from good to... well above good.

Yeah, that's fair. And Jetta himself came straight from playing pretty good footy in the VFL.

We now have a lot of players over 22 on the fringes and with few senior games under their belts. Johnson is one, but also: Culley Henderson Laurie Moniz-Wakefield Howes and Sharp are in a similar position but with more games. Campbell and Heath are special cases as rucks, and Berry is a Category B. (I'm keen to see what Heath can do.) Culley's the most likely to succeed in my view. I think Moniz-Wakefield will get games although not sold on his disposal. As others have said on here for a long while, I'd be interested to see what Howes can do further up the ground. Johnson is next on my list. Hard to judge him on such a shambolic season and first in the system for him, but I didn't see much to pin hopes on. If Mihocek can be the solid number one, I'm eager to see what van Rooyen, Kentfield and Jefferson can do as second or third talls. If Johnson's pre-season is too good to ignore, and puts him ahead of those three, and maybe Heath as the second ruck resting forward, so be it.

Thanks for the info! Just my opinion, but dodged a bullet there.

And so they should.

Interesting to see what back six or seven King goes with. I just had a little go at a possible Round 1 team and realised, there's not an overabundance of small defenders on the list by any means. Now that Bowey is out, I reckon only Turner and Petty are immediately on the sheet. Jiath, too, but mainly because you don't trade for a 26 year old, 75-gamer and then play him in the reserves (not completely convinced he's going to play 100 or more games for Melbourne). So that's two talls and a dasher. AMW looks in a great position to become the 'lockdown' small after McVee cracked the sads. If Rivers starts in the middle, which I think he will, maybe Taylor gets an early - even Round 1 - gig. AMW Petty Salem Taylor Turner Jiath (Horses for courses on the bench - May, Lever, Adams or McDonald if the opposition is tall; Lindsay if they're smaller.) Who am I missing?

"Salary cap's a bit tight. Let's trade Caleb Windsor for a fifth rounder - am I right or am I right or am I right?"

I'm not entirely convinced that Ned Ryerson would do a worse job.

Pretty sure that's Bunjil, the main deity of the Kulin Nation. The constellation at the top is Aquila, also associated with the eagle creator, Bunjil.

Ah right. My mistake. It's a shocker. Personally, I think most of the Anzac Day ones are far worse.

The 'worst' one described as a cheap cubist print was an attempt to recreate the first jumper we used in the VFL, which was mainly blue - the strip down the middle was where players laced up the guernsey. I don't think it's in the top 20 worst designs we've worn.

The mark in front of D'Ambrosio at about 1:00... if he can do that more at AFL level like he did in the Under 18s he'll be a nightmare for opponents.

Me too. And if that's the case, Gold Case will want to trade with a year left rather than the year after when he's out of contract.

I always thought "25" was an odd number. Then when Oliver was traded for nothing it became clear that Oliver might well have been in King's 25... but was number 24 or 25.

I'd love Nev Jetta to come back to Melbourne. He did indeed coach Fitzroy, but not the amateur team - the Fitzroy Stars, who play in the NFNL. He coached them to their first flag in a very long time: https://www.afl.com.au/news/1448112/neville-jetta-nominated-for-coach-of-the-year-at-national-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-sports-awards He still has a role at Collingwood.

Interesting. A lot of the (very little) stuff I hear from the club on the women's team is that X, Y or Z (often a player) "suits the way we play". I would have thought a new coach would bring a new way to play... unless it was Shae Sloane who has been part of the Stinear programme for so long.