Deeoldfart

I agree completely. Mark Neeld comes across to me as a no-nonsence, straight talkng, wysiwyg sort of bloke - most unlikely to mince words with the players, for the media or for his own personal ends.

Some fond memories there WJ. Geoff was skinny as a rake but a beautiful kick for goal despite an awkward kicking style IIRC. Played 'starvation corner' to a tee.

The Mark Neeld approach reminds me of an old saying that, to me, rings very true with the most of the last 47 years at the Melbourne Football Club ...... "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got". Our new coach is about changing that trend.

Thanks molly. Beanie and bib at this stage.

You have your work cut out there old dee. But as you know, where there's life there's hope .......... you and I are proof of that old mate.

Family and the MFC are tops with me old dee. Number four grand daughter is only 8 days old ..... time to sign her up I reckon.

Most around here were arguing that we needed a 'new broom', and now some of them are suggesting that all we needed was a different feather duster ........ sheesh! My guess is that Neeld's comments are precisely the type of reality-check needed to jolt some players out of the comfort zone they have been occupying for way too long. Maybe this approach will work and maybe it won't, but surely two weeks into Neeld's first pre-season is way too early to criticise it.

Everyone on equal footing. Names mean nothing. Every place in the team must be earned from here on in. Exactly what we need and I love it.

Silly old fool and and silly young tool in that order. I'm very content in the knowledge that neither of them are at my Club.

That's a pretty fair assessment Lutz.

There's a suggestion that Michael would have been taken much earlier in the 2010 draft if he hadn't suffered a serious knee injury in his u18 year, and I've heard that the Dees believe he has a strong future. In his handfull of senior games I really liked his hardness and work ethic, but as others have said, his disposal frequently let him down. He will need to address this if he is going to make it, but I'm certainly not writing him off after 4 games. He has time on his side for now, and hopefully he can remain injury free and make a real fist of it.

Daniel has genuine pace, a great work ethic and a willingness to take the game on, which are strong attributes for a speccie rookie selection in his first season. I think he needs to work on his disposal and awareness, but improvements in these areas could come fairly naturally as he adjusts to the pace and physicality of the AFL. I hope he can build on the promise shown in his first season, and become more than a bit-part player in our line-up, but at this stage I have no real feeling for where he might find his niche.

Jack is a tall KPP / ruckman who has had two years at the Club, both marred by illness and / or injury. If he is contracted for the next two years, surely the time to judge his future on our list will be towards the end of season 2013.

I'm happy to admit that I was one of those who had all but given up on James securing a regular spot in our best 22. However, as the selectors showed faith in him, his confidence and form seemed to slowly but steadily improve, which is a real positive in a defence that was constantly under pressure. I just hope that he makes a full recovery from the injury, both physically and in his mind. If he can pick up where he left off by some time in the second half of 2012, I'll be well satisfied.

I don't think its sad at all Old Dee. It would be much sadder if you couldn't remember a cracker of it!

I havn't seen Kel play, but I'm encouraged by what most of the posters above have to say. It seems that a senior small forward berth is beckoning, if he can build his fitness and consistency and ensure that homesickness doesn't get the better of him. Hopefully a second year at the Club, and his first full pre-season, will set him on track. His retention on our rookie list suggests that the Club is thinking the same way.

I was very impressed when I first saw Sam in the U18 Championships; delighted when we drafted him; devastated when he broke his leg; and pretty 'flat' about his future until late in season 2011. I'm happy to say that I'm back to being impressed, and the long wait looks to have been worthwhile. I agree with what some others have said about his need to improve the defensive side of his game and his endurance, but given that he has just started his first real pre-season, I'm optimistic on both fronts. He has the pace, skills and smarts to be a very damaging player of the HBF or as an outside mid. I recall from the U18s, that he made something happen just about every time he got hold of the pill. If he can consistently bring that quality to the AFL, we will have a very good player on our hands.

Just got back from a week in the bush, out of mobile range and definately no computer access (didn't even know who won the Cup until this morning). I can't believe how I missed Demonland and how much reading I have to do to catch up on all things 'Melbourne' and all things T$ No B$. Congrats on passing the 1000 mark Redleg.

Rohan was starting to become an important player for us before his season was, once again, stuffed by injury. He's quick with excellent endurance and clean skills, and in my eyes his concentration and the defensive side of his game improved considerably over what we saw in 2010. He performed some very good run-with roles before he was injured, and imo, this is probably where he'll end up playing most of his footy, but having said that, his versatility is perhaps his strongest suit. If he can remain injury free, I think Rohan will be a better than average player for us, which would be an excellent result for a speccie pick drafted somewhere in the 60s.

Based on his very limited exposure at the top level, Tom appears to be a bright prospect. He seems to have well rounded footy skills (strong for his age, quickish for his size and a solid mark and kick) but the impressive thing for me was the poise and good decision making he showed for a player of his short experience. He certainly didn't look out of place at the top level, or overawed by the occasion of his first couple of games, and this augurs well for the future.

It's certainly my view GOAG! At this stage in our re-build into a decent footy team, we should not be looking to plug holes in our list with short-term fixes, we should be looking to develop our own long-term solutions. And as others have said, I doubt that Davis would make a very satisfactory short-term fix anyway.

Absolutely! I took that as a given jcb.

That's absolute garbage jcb, so I'll respond with a bit of self-indulgent garbage of my own! I love the romantic notion of having Waylen on our list. I know footy is not supposed to be about romance, but I'm an old romantic from way back, and the thought of having another LJ type in our team makes me drool. We know we have a strong support network for our indigenous players, and having LJ around the place certainly wouldn't do any harm if we were to recruit Waylen. I'm delighted to know that we are at least having a look at him.

Yes and no. I don't want to make the 8 on the back of a soft draw, unless we have consistently shown that we can be competitive against decent teams.

In his fourth year at Melbourne, Pencil was just starting to show a little at Casey when he did his ACL. It was horrible luck, as he was the obvious choice to replace Jamar in the senior team when he was injured on the same weekend. Unfortunately for Jake, he has now been overtaken by a couple of others, and is no longer the long-term heir apparent to Jamar's senior ruck berth. He needs to make a speedy recovery from the reco. and have a good second half to 2012, to bolster his chances of remaining on our list after 2012. On the other hand, he could find that there is some interest from other clubs keen to recruit a big bodied tap ruckman who has already served a sound apprenticeship. In either case, 2012 will be an important one for Jake.