CHF

I am of an age where I have a hell of a lot more long and winding road behind me than open road in front of me and I will take the enjoyment of a win by the MFC anywhere, at any time no matter how they come. I always rant at the mistakes, yell at the vision and the umps as if they should be able to hear me and take heed of my observations about their parentage. And after that, I do what I did today, grin quietly to myself and look forward to the next game. I also had lunch and a glass or two of a very good red. I would have given my left nut to have been one of the 71,000 at the G last night. Mind you, at my age that is not giving up much. Sit back and enjoy the win for a few minutes. Love this team of mine.

I will be interested to see the way the coaching team perform this evening. Last week was really the first time I have seen them win the match day coaching. They were positive and proactive. Need the same tonight. Want to see pressure, Pressure, Pressure and a clearly defined task for Viney. He responded very well last week. Go Dees!

As good a team as could be selected with the available players. I will be watching as usual but this week it starts at 11.30am my time. A glass of wine at half time as an aperitivo. Followed by lunch after the game. I would have selected a little differently by retaining Howes and dropping Sharp. I just think that would have given us a bit more flexibility with some of the positional rotations. Bring last week's game and we run out easy winners. Slide back into earlier habits and we get done. I hope the coaching team bring last week's style of planning as well. Pressure, pressure and more pressure and a defined task for Viney. Go Dees!

So, it has taken us 6 rounds to get on the board and me until Tuesday morning my time to get around to posting a few observations about the game against Freo. I don't feel so bad about that as Easter was very busy. Not too busy that I did not watch the game live starting at 5.20am and then steal some time to watch a replay a bit later on. The replay was blurred a bit by an excellent red. My observations: Very good lift in pressure on the ball/ball carrier. There was also more attention paid to possible secondary receivers. Pressure in forward 50 was [censored] good as you are going to see. We were keeping it very tight at the contest. Early on watching it live I thought that Langford was a bit hesitant at the contest but on second viewing he was letting his team mate in the contest do his work and looking to the next receiver. It is what we used to do in the past. Trust in our players to do the job. if they do not succeed, then the next in line steps up. Don't over commit. The midfield looked better balanced. with a greater variety of players attending. I want to see Petracca in there consistently as he will always attract a to p notch opponent and make the job easier for others. Midfield bested the Freo midfield without domination from Petracca and Oliver. Pickett cut them up but the balance was very good. won the center bounce clearances well. Bowey is in the best form of his life. Just looks so confident and assured with the ball. Salem looks a bit slower than he was in his prime. McVee to replace him? Be a big call. The coaches to be commended for the use of Viney as a tagger. He seemed to love the responsibility of the role on Serong and it is the best game he ha played in a while. We finally fluked a forward setup that gave us a good return. Going into the game I was not confident in the patchwork nature of our forward setup, or, for that matter the patchwork defence we cobbled together. Both worked better than I expected. The coaching team ran the game well on Saturday made the moves and played to the developing strengths. However, it needs to be asked "Why did it take so long to react to players in bad form?" Fristch and JVR should, in my opinion, have been dropped at least 2 weeks ago. Any change would have made the intent clear. That game sets the base standard that we need to bring to each and every game for the rest of the season. A 0-5 start has not completely destroyed our ambitions for the season. It has made it a hell of a lot more difficult to realise our ambitions by increasing the pressure on the team, and coaches to perform. May and McVee to come back into the defence. There might be a bit of shuffling of the players but I could see Sharp dropped and May replacing Turner. Now the question is, "Can we play two good games in a row?"

Simon has changed his jocks and socks and the forward 50. I will be interested to see what he has changed when it comes to his match day coaching. Seems to me we have been going backwards since he was on the boundary with Yze upstairs. I am not confident. Head says Dockers… heart always says the Dees.

When Simon talked about changes during the week I thought he might be about to don clean jocks and socks. It is likely that he now has having kept them on for two weeks longer than he should have. Three forwards dropped. About bloody time. The forward 50 has been a mess the whole of the first 5 rounds. Players down on form, lack of rhyme and reason in the way it moves or is structured... make me wonder what the hell they have been doing in the pre-season. 5 rounds in and winless with just one reasonable performance in the first round, 3 abject beatings and, in the last round a bad loss after scoring just 3 goals in 3 quarters of the game. I really need some one to convince me that the coaching team have any idea what the problems are or if they have any clue how to rectify the problems. I've got no idea but I would at least have tried a few things over the last 3 weeks to see if the changes made any difference. Select on form and give those out of form a chance to work their way back via Casey. Play players where they have proved themselves capable of playing. Windsor on the wing. Rivers in defence. Petracca in the middle. Fristch close to goal. Chandler and Pickett front and center at the drop of the ball in the forward 50. Across the ground get back to basics and build from there.

Just saw some vision of all of our forwards sitting together talking. Wonder what they are taking about?

Total lack of basic skills with the exception of 2 or 3 players. The forwards lack any structures to play too and the coaches look to have no idea of what to do.

So, zip and 4 going into round 5 playing Essendon in Adelaide. Not where to hoped or expected to be at the start of the season. I am actually very confident about a win in this game. I believe that we will come out and things will click for the team. We are getting a few players back and a couple have found form at Casey. What I would like to see is that we go back to basics. Go back to our strengths and evolve our gameplan as the season unfolds rather. The basics of selection to my mind is to select players that are in form and play them in the positions that they are excellent at. For the players the basics to me are hard running to both ways, nailing tackles, fast reactions to turnovers and concentration on the simple handballs and kicks. I am not saying that I do not want them to be ambitious with the ball in hand but I want them to execute properly. My team: B: TMac, May, Rivers HB: Salem: Petty: Bowey C: Langdon, Oliver, Windsor HF: Sparrow, Turner, Chandler F: Fristch, AJ/Fullarton, Pickett Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Langford IC: Viney, Lindsay, Melksham, Tholstrup, Spargo Sub: Henderson Play Petracca on the ball as much [censored] possible, Windsor and Langdon on the wings for a majority of the time and Rivers defending a majority of his time. Picket 70/30 split forward and on ball. If Lindsay does not get up I would look at giving Brown a run. JVR to go back to Casey to get some confidence. Personally, I like what I see with AJ. A tough straight forward footballer that can backup in the ruck for a bit.. Full Cream might get the nod though. Viney needs a big game. Tholstrup back in first up to be subbed out late third quarter. Dees to win a 'back to basics' game by a few goals.

I can go along with this selected team. I would have dropped a couple of 'names' that are not performing but it is as expected given the coaching teams loyalties to some of the players. However, I hope that no players gets a pass in this game. The not negotiables in this game are 'perform or get dropped, no excuses.'

Always tough to win down the road in Geelong. However, over the last 10 matches we are 5-5. Add to that the fact that the Cats are not travelling all that well either and you would think we might be a chance. Goody put the pressure on with a demand for a response from the team. All well and good but possibly a week late. We were all whimper and no bang last game following on from a thrashing the week before. There has to be doubt about the players ability to respond. A repeat of the team performance of the last two weeks on Friday night will really put the media blowtorch fairly and squarely on all aspects of MFC footy department and rightly so. Leadership needs to step up. Off ground starting with selection and on ground starting with Gawn and the senior players. Match selectors need to start with a blank sheet of paper and look to play players that are fit, in form and ready to commit. Forget reputations, Forget what they have done in the past. Look at what they are doing now, week to week in the games, MFC or Casey, and put together a team that will attack the ball and the contest with bit of vigor and determination. This last couple of weeks there have been too many putting half hearted efforts chasing, contesting and tackling. Select and play to our strengths. Windsor and Langdon are class wingers. Play them there for 80% of their game time at least. Same with Petracca, 80% mid, Rivers, 80% back. Leaders on the ground leading from the front. Doing the hard yards, supporting and chastising when required. Demanding a standard of performance. I want the Dees to win but my expectations of a win are bery, very pow. Go Dees

I have not given up on the season even though after 3 rounds I had us penciled in for a win or two. I lot of water to flow under the bridge in 25...... and starting this game some of the water will be fresh back from suspension and injury. Here is my take on the team for this week for Friday night at the Litter Tray. B: Lever/Tmac, May, Bowey HB: Rivers, Petty, Salem C: Langdon, Oliver, Windsor HF: Sparrow, Turner, Henderson F: Pickett, AJ, Fristch/JVR Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Langford IC: Viney, Chandler, Spargo, Campbell, Melksham In defence I would have Tmac in the team if lever does not get up. 7th Defender may see Windsor rotate back there Or even Langdon playing deeper behind the ball. Langdon and Windsor on the wings. Oliver, Petracca, Langford, Viney, Sparrow, Rivers and Pickett to get time in the center and on the ball at times. I used to love to see Max walk to the center with Petracca, Viney and Oliver for the bounce but I really hope that we mix it up a bit more. P,V & O look a bit one paced and predictable. I would not mind seeing Henderson at a bounce or two. In the forwards, Turner and Pickett come back. I would retain AJ as I like his attack on the ball and even his rough edges. For me, I would drop JVR back to Casey to ease the game pressure on him a bit and to see if he can get a bit of confidence back into his game. Chandler and Spargo on the bench to rotate through the forwards as required to allow for others to rotate into mid roles. Campbell on the bench as rotation for Gawn if he is fit. He could also slot into the resting role forward to free up AJ and/or Turner if required. A few possibilities for sub... Spargo, Campbell and Melksham. I want see us run out the game right through the 4 quarters. Time for our on field leadership to lead from the front.

We got thrashed by a better team this week. I want to be clear what I mean. The team that thrashed us this week is better than the team that thrashed us last week. Dreadful response across the board by the players and coaches. Lack of leadership on the ground and off the ground. I woke at 3.20am my time to watch that game and I think I showed more commitment in doing that than 80% of the Melbourne players in that team.

Given what the teams has produced over the last two weeks it is hard to feel very confident in making a prediction on the result of this game. I always try to go with the head and try to give an educated opinion. However, this week it is all with the heart and hope. Dees will produce a response to the inept game they presented last week and get over the line by a couple of goals or points. No idea how they will do it but the heart is confident. I look at the talent and experience we have in the team and I cannot see us not responding. May to give the backs some backbone and structure, Midfield to lift and AJ to rip into it in the forwards. All good. Go Dees!

Two games into the season and we are under the pump. Understandable given the game our team dished up on Sunday. Our game fell apart in all areas. Team structures failed with little teamwork or team support shown at all across the ground. Our leadership on the ground failed to have any effect on the performance. It is the first time I can recall in recent times that we have been so bad at the fundamentals. I do not see the coaching team changing course in any significant way at this stage of the season. It would be madness to do that after spending the off-season training to the developed game plan. We have an extensive list of players that are unavailable and there is nothing we can do about that except work through their recoveries and each week put out a best team we can. Mind you, that is where things get interesting as there are hell of a lot of opinions about the best team. My take on this weeks best team is a follows: B: Lever, May/TMac, Rivers HB: Bowey, Petty, Salem C: Langdon, Oliver, Lindsay HF: Sparrow, Turner, Henderson F: Fristch, JVR, AJ Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Viney IC: Campbell, Windsor/Sestan, Langford, Chandler Sub: Spargo Defence If May gets up and is available he comes in for Tmac, other wise I think Tmac gets another run. Lever and Petty to stay there this week but I would look at Howes spot very critically. Without McVee we lack a number of options and flexibility. It may be necessary to have Rivers spend more time as a full time defender to cover Howes position. Bowey and Salem with Windsor, if available to cover the running defender options. If not Windsor then it may be time for Sestan to get a run. it must be time for a look at him by now. There are a few others on the list that are there abouts. Mentha, Brown and Woewodin could all get the nod in place of Sestan. Midfield: Gawn is there but with Campbell on the bench as ruck support. Both of them to be used at times forward to give the Suns defence something to think about. Viney, Oliver and Petracca as midfield back bone with Langdon on one wing and Lindsay on the other. Langford, Sparrow and Rivers to rotate through there at times with possible cameos in there of Chandler and I would give Henderson a couple of runs in there at center bounces. He is fast and elusive with a good footy brain. I would also give AJ a visit to the center just to disrupt things. (yeah, I know, it will not happen but I do like a bit of out-of-the-box thinking). Forwards: AJ in for Jefferson. I liked his first up game. He was strong at the contest, and gave good second and third efforts. JVR and Turner to get another game together but I want to see both of them commit to the contest with both hands. I do not want to see them run in at the fall of the ball with their hands in the air waiting for a push in the back. I want to see Henderson, Chandler and/or running mids crumbing properly at the forward contests. Sharp to get a run at Casey as a pressure forward kicking goals, or, at least attempting/practicing to kick a few.

Hard to come up with any positives from this hot mess of a game. A few of my observations: - Our much vaunted midfield, Max included got handed a beating. - Our defence got handed a beating. - Our forwards, except for Chandler, are still trying to find the ground let alone the ball. - No teamwork or connection. - Little evidence of any on-ground leadership. Where to from here? the coaches do not sound like they have any answers. Giving the team a collective cuddle and making them feel loved does not look like an effective gameplan. We could try goal kicking practice and a bit of endurance training. we missed a lot of kickable goals today and looked to run out of (interest and) puff in the last quarter. Looking forward to less of a mess next week. I can live in hope.

We cannot get any worse, can we? I do not read responses to rhetorical questions.

Early start for me. The bounce at 5.20 am my time. Coffee and breakfast at half-time. Believe we should win with our defensive strength matching/beating their forward quality. Our forwards should have an easier time of it this week as the Roos defence looks to,have a few holes in it. Our midfield to have too much for the Roos and too improve with the run last week. I look to the team to run out winners in the second half. Dees by 32.

Just watched the replay and I am shaking my head at how many times GWS had someone front and center at the contest and we did not. To me that is a basic requirement. You have to have someone there at every contest. It begs the question: If GWS players were there, where was their Dees opponent?

As a lot have already said: "a disappointing loss." However I liked a lot of what I saw. Here are a few of my observations: - May would have been handy to stop a couple of their goals as he always seems to guard the goal line. - we got caught out in the last quarter when we had a few of our best players in the bench and the play was never in the interchange area to allow for players to come on. No one to blame just circumstances. - Liked Windsor's goal and pass to Jefferson but he needs to tighten up in defence as a HBF and be a bit more aware. - Lindsay had a very good game first up - I liked what AJ brought to the forward line and want him to get a couple more games to build. - Tmac, Lever and Petty a solid performance in defence - Midfield did ok but need to build on that performance. Good to see Petracca and Oliver looking more like their old selves. - liked Max's game and had him the best of our lot. However, I think he would be kicking himself for ending up 25m away from his opponent who takes a mark and kicks the winning goal. Before the game I gave us an outside chance of winning. At 3/4 time I thought we would run on and win it. I think the difference was that GWS had a solid game under their belt a a bit more match fitness. Add to that that we were playing 6 new team players and I think our relative inexperience cost us. We have a very good base to build on for this season. We will kick on from this game. Go Dees!

A few good things to take out of that game and there is a lot that would have given the players and coaches a bit to contemplate. Extended periods of dominance, good clearance work and good at the contest all good. Inaccurate goal kicking and some loose defence, not so good. I would take the good with the bad out of that practice match and use it to drive home lessons with regard to setup and preparation for set shoots. a question: If we were so on top in clearances as the stats suggest, why would we not up the pressure at the contest as much as possible to force stoppages? It may not have been attractive football but it might have been winning football.

If Casey play a match and DL get no reports, did it really happen?

I like this game against Freo as a preseason matchup. Just the sort of game we need to settle the dust and get match awareness into the players. Travelling over to WA is a good thing as well in my book as it gives the players a chance to bond and experience an away weekend. There is going to be a lot to look out for in the game with the positional changes that we have looked at in the off-season as well as the development of the game plan. The development of flexibility of some of the players is a good thing as long as we use it in matches to be proactive and get the game on our terms. I think, in the second half in particular, we will throw the players around a bit to have a look. I would not play Pickett but use this game to look at alternative forward structures. Possible a bit of a different look each quarter. midfield is where it is won and lost and we will use this game to mix and match combinations that may relate to different match senarios. Petracca to play mainly as a mid particularly in the first half. Still think that he will have minimal time in the forward 50 this season. not worried about the win just interested to see who we play where and how we play during the game.

I really don't agree with playing Petracca forward as much a we did last year. In my opinion, he is one of the most damaging inside midfield players we have on our list. We need to play to our strengths especially in the midfield where the games are won and lost. I want to see a re-build of the understanding that Petracca, Oliver and Viney had as midfield players. The forwards have to be accountable for their performance.

Windsor is a quality footballer. His first season was exceptional as he played on the wing. He has good vision and balance and always seems to have plenty of time to play the ball. His execution sometimes left a little to be desired, but that is understandable given his level of experience. I have no problem having a look at him in defence as long as the coaching team are proactive in response. I recall Fritsch having a run in defence some seasons ago and it was very clear from the first couple of games that he was being played out of position but he was persisted with for some time before he was moved. I do not want to see that happen with any other player. Have a look at Windsor back there by all means. When assessing the success of the move, there also needs to be an assessment of the player slotted into his wing position. Overall we need to see a team improvement in the moves.