Whispering_Jack

The way I see it, we have a number of problems and issues at the club running together at the same time. It's still a young list with depth problems and these are biting hard at this time of the year when we can't get anything near our best on the park. The fact that most of the missing are from our taller brigade has left a gaping hole in the make up of the side when it runs out and the problem is compounded by the psychological factor among the playing group knowing that they don't have the big men around the ground and up forward to take the marks and kick the goals. We are currently physically and mentally hobbled and, once we're under the pump, the old issues stemming from a poor culture of losing over a long period of time kicks in and we tend to collapse entirely under pressure. These issues won't go away overnight but I'm confident that Roos has identified the problems (he's alluded to it on a few occasions now) - it's a question of how is he going to deal with it because he can't conjure up the ruckmen and key position forwards he needs overnight. He is also trying to instil a new game plan that he knows can't be perfected in a short space of time so he's going to stick to that plan despite last Sunday's result. He can tinker with it at the sides and my best guess is that he will bring in one or two medium size players to instil some pace but otherwise he doesn't have a great deal of ammunition to play with at the moment. He does have the benefit of playing against teams in the next few weeks that are nowhere near as strong as the Eagles who are, based on the two games to date and the NAB Challenge the form team of the competition and at full strength. Not that I'm taking GWS at Spotless Stadium lightly but if we can get off to a good start and not mess things up with appalling kicking for goal as we did against St. Kilda we can get things back on track fairly quickly even if there's still some pain to be experienced when we play the big guns.

I can't wait for him to team up with his old teammate Jack Viney again. They were both stars at the Oakleigh Chargers a few years ago and I've been awaiting their reunion with bated breath so far. Pity they won't have any key forwards for target practice in the foreseeable future.

How did your afl career go DemonDomination?

He would be behind N Jones, D Tyson and B Vince ATM but not very far. The fact that we are wallowing even with midfielders dominating among our best players is indicative of the depth of problems caused by our current injury crisis among our taller players.

The first of the injury lists is taken from The Barometer Mitch Clark (personal leave) indefinite Chris Dawes (calf) 2-3 weeks Jesse Hogan (back) TBA Mark Jamar (foot) 1 week Jordie McKenzie (foot) test Aidan Riley (leg) test Colin Garland (ankle) test Good to see that Max Gawn and Jack Viney don't appear on this list (FWIW).

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day lads ... please be on your best behaviour.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion and hacks like this bloke will keep. Remember that Al Clarkson also copped plenty of stick from the media in days gone by when his team was at the bottom of the barrel. Given what we've got running around at the moment, we just have to grin and bear it until our day comes. As Mick Malthouse used to say, the Ox is patient or whatever ... or was it the Ox talking about Mick?

Agree wholeheartedly. I have no time whatsoever for people who seek to revise history such as describing what this player did as stuffing up and then trying to hide what actually happened. The Moloney incident occurred at a night club partly owned by the son of a very good friend and I've been told that it was captured on CCTV cameras. I have no illusions about the behaviours of both sets of players, neither of them need justification or explanation and it is an act of gross revision of history to suggest otherwise.

I consider the actions of both players equally repugnant. They were both behaviours that merited strong disciplinary action and what Beamer did, as a member of the leadership should not be dismissed or taken lightly. To his credit, he openly admitted to having a problem which is usually the first step to rehabilitation. I was informed at the time that bringing the matter of his alcohol problem out in the open was supposed to be a way of helping him to help himself and not for the purpose of humiliation as some posters here have interpreted the situation.

What happened in the second half of 2012 was partly an unintended outcome of an experimental programme - a number of EFC players succumbed to soft tissue injuries which were also attributed to the programmes adopted by The Weapon. However, this neither adds nor detracts from the theory put forward that the programme also had the effect of "fast tracking" player development which is one of the things which some of the drugs in the concoction of substances mentioned in the ASADA interim report were supposed to achieve. As a matter of interest, what does everyone think was the purpose of the drugs programme put together in 2012?

I may have missed it but when Dawes first suffered the calf injury at the intraclub match in February (about 5 weeks ago) it was described as a "strain". Does anyone know when it became a tear?

Sorry Franky but this is actually very much "on topic" for once because it goes directly to the Essendon programme. A lot of the stuff in this thread is about frying irrelevant fish because they deal with side issues like what Tania said or feeling sorry for the players. The main issue is what the players ingested and were they legal under the WADA Code.

True - the fast tracking took a short period of time. The dates of the two games were 11 September, 2011 and 21 April, 2012. That's a space of seven months and the Dank programmes started three months into that period so it's not 20 months but 3 or 4 at most. BTW at least three of the players mentioned as raising Carlton's concerns are among the 12 players "outed" recently by Mark Robinson in the Herald Sun.

Rhino suggests that I twist history. Here's how the Age reported on what he described as Beamer stuffing up - note he can't bring himself to mention the player broke club rules, was out until the early morning getting pissed and then he turns Moloney into the innocent angel who was "publicly humiliated by Schwab". Demotion for drunk Demon Two years earlier, Collingwood disciplined two of its players by banning them for the remainder of the season a few weeks before the finals. It came at a tremendous cost to that club in terms of its 2009 campaign but laid the foundation for their 2010 premiership. Eddie McGuire and his board were congratulated by those who mattered in football for taking a courageous stand. Nobody in their right mind would have accused him of humiliating the players involved when they apologised to their fans for their public displays of drunkenness. On the other hand the supposedly humiliated Moloney, did not miss a game.

I think you've missed the point Rhino. He's not suggesting that the drug lasts 18 months but that there are programmes involving some of the substances mentioned that enable the physical development of players to be fast tracked whereas it might take two or three years of player development to get them to the same point by natural means - weights and diet.You might recall that Carlton was extremely suspicious of how, after thrashing Essendon by 62 points in an elimination final in 2011, the Blues lost to them by 5 goals in a return match with the physical development of many young Bombers raising eyebrows. This prompted the visit by some Carlton people to the South Yarra compounding chemist to check out what the Bombers were on. I've been told the Blues were suspicious because they had been offered and rejected a programme by Dank.

Pot kettle black.

We have a thread on Demonland that precisely resembles this.

I remember a different Neale Daniher going back a lot further in time. Somewhere back in the days of yore, I think it was Channel 7 that used to replay telecasts of schoolboy games on a Saturday morning. I think the year was 1978 which made young Neale Daniher from Assumption College, Kilmore a mere 17 year old. I was interested in ACK because someone had alerted me about some potential Melbourne recruits in the team but, as has been customary over the ages, they never amounted to much. Neale Daniher was something else. Athletic, a smooth mover who had the ball on a string, it was clear from the very moment I saw him that he was a young champion in the making ... and it came to pass. He was VFL recruit of the year in 1979 and was on his way to becoming a great of the game when he was appointed captain of Essendon in 1982 but never led the side due to injury. A succession of knee injuries kept his games tally down to 82 in a dozen seasons till 1990. The choice of Daniher as coach of Melbourne was an inspired one and his reign brought much success but not the ultimate in those years and with the benefit of hindsight, I think he probably stayed a couple of years too long. He fought adversity with courage as a player and I'm sure he'll fight with the same purpose and determination now as he did in his playing and coaching career. Champions never give in. For all that, my abiding memory of him will remain that of the young colt running freely under lights on a windswept oval long ago.

Somebody asked me in another thread if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning but actually, I was in good spirits until I read this piece of unmitigated propagandist garbage masquerading as comment from Matthew Lloyd - Let the healing begin as Hird takes up Essendon reins. Let the healing begin indeed! Starting with healing the players into whose veins were injected thousands of doses of unknown substances most likely described by numbers, some of which had their origin down south of the border Mexico way and others (if we believe one of esteemed posters) named after Roman generals in Julius Caesar's army. Lloydy, all I can say is - Beware the Ides of April.

I reckon they'll be lucky to double their current tally to four wins by the end of the season.

I don't think it's the job of the forward pocket to necessarily get the ball inside 50 unless he's instructed to roam far and wide. I know Byrnes isn't considered a fashionable footballer and he hasn't lived up to our expectations as a damaging forward goalsneak but he did kick a couple of goals last week while some of our other forwards were found wanting. You wouldn't expect him to be in our best 22 by the end of the year but if our injury list is up to about 10 players in real terms (and many are forwards of some sort) then it's more than likely that he's going to be selected.

You want cheerful? Excuse me while I dig out my jokebook. Merely pointing out the facts - it's been a long time since we've had the opportunity to rejoice over a victory and it's about time we did. Now, why did the chicken cross the road?

On Moloney and Rivers, it's a moot point. I believe the club did the wrong thing by itself and the playing group over the disciplining of Moloney after the night club incident in 2011. He was let off far too lightly and whether it's coincidence or something else, the situation at the club spiralled out of control for the remainder of that season. When senior players are allowed to become embroiled in political power plays, it's not a good thing no matter who we might seek to blame or who we perceive is right or wrong. I put it down to ineffectual leadership at all levels of the club including the playing group and to that extent, it's my view that a number of those who were leaders of the club in that unhappy period at the club needed to go for its future good. The club thanked Moloney and Rivers for their contributions and let them go to pursue their futures elsewhere. I don't think it could or should have been any other way and I certainly can't envisage either of these players as being likely parts of Paul Roos' plans for the future. I've commented elsewhere about Nathan Jones and how he's developed both as a player and a leader in much the same time frame. That's the future as far as I'm concerned. The other blokes are of no more interest or concern to me as any member of any other club.

A lot of water's flowed under the bridge since Melbourne last appeared at the home of football in round 21 on Sunday, 18 August, 2013 when we took on a different side from Western Australia, the Dockers. We kicked 5.8.38 and lost by 95 points. Our last goal at the MCG was kicked that day by Jeremy Howe at the midpoint of the third quarter. Our last win at the ground (or anywhere else if you exclude the NAB Challenge) was on 29 June, 2013 when we beat the Western Bulldogs by 3 points. It's been a long time in between drinks.

Most would not have noticed but the VFL season opened today mimicking its big brother AFL by conducting a split round over the first two weekends. The Casey Scorpions have the bye in the first week and open proceedings against the Bombers next week. I would suggest that judging by Melbourne's injury list ATM, that's probably a good thing. Most of the judges are predicting that the Scorpions won't have a good season as they've lost players and aren't flush with funds to go out and buy players. Here's an article from the local Cranbourne paper which probably doesn't have much new to say but sums up the comings and goings at the club on the eve of the new season - Youthful arrivals have Casey Scorpions buzzing ahead of VFL season.