Dees Win

I hope someone from the club has sat our players down and shown them footage of Brock, and how he is contributing to a disciplined team now. He was useless with us, but he can be used as an example of how if we can improve our culture and discipline we can raise even ordinary players to play important roles in a machine. Cheers

C'mon Bingers - get with the 21st century. We should be prepared to use the electrons these days - for the benfit of the club. Cheers

Max is a great kid. He goes in hard and has good skills. He is vertically challenged at this stage, and a bit slow of foot. As he grows this may change. He certainly doesn't mind mixing it with kids twice his height. Doubt he will be AFL standard, but he has plenty of time to prove me wrong. Cheers

Old Dee, I don't consider myself old. But when I think about the past 46 years with very little on field success I do feel old. I keep going because I hope to see ultimate success before I pass on. And having inflicted a love of MFC onto my children, I would love the opportunity to share some onfield success with my family. However, I feel that they are better people, and take less for granted, as a result of the ongoing disappointments. They deal with adversity well, and are not sore losers or sore winners. Cheers

Sure. I went to the Hawks match in round 2. I coach my son's junior team who play on Sunday's. We had an early match that week, and so managed to get there during the second quarter. Always looked bad, given the scoring shot discrepancy at half time. I also went to the Essendon game on the Friday night. Managed to see the entire match, sitting with some Essendon friends made it all the more enjoyable. But whether I am able to attend or not does not diminish my enjoyment of watching and following my team each week. Been a member for the last 25 years, and have already paid for next year. Born in 1965, it has not been an easy road. I hope to get to more games once my parental responsibilities are less about being involved, and more about worrying if they come home. Cheers

The value you get from a membership should be measured in the entertainment value you get from following a club. I get way in excess of the price of the membership in value. I have buy in to the performance and results of the team, and the club, 7 days a week for 22 rounds. I follow pre-season closely. Occasionally, I get to enjoy the finals season also. I put this all under the banner of my membership. Value for money that cannot be beaten. I only attended 2 matches in person this year. Don't just whinge and complain when the season doesn't pan out the way you would like it. Offer yourself to try to help make a positive improvement - that is what I did. Cheers

I coach an U14 team, and one of our players was threatened by his opponent a month or so ago. His opponent threatened to stab him after the game. I do not regard any form of threat as "sledging". A threat of violence is one of the places where the line should be drawn. This incident with Petterd and McGinnity is of the same ilk. He has threatened violence to Petterd's mother. Inappropriate conduct. Investigation and penalties warranted. Sledging needs to keep clear of violence in any form. Cheers

I am fortunate enough to travel to work on bike, passing through Gosch's Paddock some mornings. Yesterday I was passing through, and so I thought I would share a couple of observations. Both Collingwood and Melbourne were training, and unlike the "open" training sessions, the park had an eerie feeling as I think I was the only observer not employed by the club. I have been to training a few times over summer, including to Casey, and it is interesting to note how the nature of the work has changed. The team is far more focussed on match simulation at present. Yesterday, Bailey was in the middle of the field during the simulation. The team was working the ball around in the back half before driving it forward to leading forwards. The best observation was when the players did not follow the "game plan" to the letter. Bailey ripped into all players with energy and gusto, and after the spray ordered them all into an extended set of push-ups. It was great to see him impose himself, when at other times he always appears to have a calm demeanor. The short period I watched gave me the impression that Bailey knows where they need to be, and what they need to be doing, and that he will run a very tight ship in order to achieve the expected outcomes. Cheers

I may well have missed him, but I can't see him in any of the phots either. I must also add that Garland and Rivers moved well and looked sharp too. While Garland may have bulked up marginally, he is way too slight to take on the monsters. Although I think that Rivers is a bit slow in matches, he seemed to move really well. Hopefully he can stay injury free and bump Jaded's counter. Joel Macdonald is alos one of those reliable senior players, and makes good decisions on the track and executed the skills confidently. Jamar took the session pretty easy, and looked ridiculous in the leggins. Obviously he carries a big load, and they monitor and structure his training loads. Overall, the team looked really sharp. I may go and watch some other teams train to see if any comparisons can be made.

I took my kids to training on Friday, and so can add some impressions, and a different perspective maybe. We arrived at about 9:30 and left at about 11:15. I was impressed by Aussie, who moved well and handled the ball well. Given his interrupted preseason, he was in good form and good shape. Spencer was moving well, shops good hands and although ordinary kicking style continues to hit targets. I have seen training now 2 or three times and Spencer is looking much improved and is giving himself the best chance to perform a role. Maric was quick and sharp. Bate moved well, chased hard, and handled the ball cleanly. Sylvia was a stand-out I thought. During competitive drills, he gave advice and support to younger team mates, he was pin-point with disposals, was sure handling the ball, and aggressive in the tackles. From his role in some of the drills, he looks like he will spend more time on the ball this season, where I think he has his greatest effect. Bennell was terrific: fast, sharp, accurate and focussed. Jetta was also impressive. Green and Davey were class. Jones and Moloney were looking sharp. Strauss was inconsistent. He looked good when he hit targets, but missed a few targets too. Jurrah was impressive. He spent time kicking with Newton, and the difference in class was immense. Jurrah repeatedly hits targets with low hard kicks. Maybe better suited to a role further from goal. Fitzpatrick is way too slight, but leads, marks and kicks at goal well. Hopefully he can develop over time. Grimes moves well and disposes of teh ball well, but was also caught a few times in the simulation drills. Martin looked switched on, but i didn't see much of his skill execution. Scully was in a different colour bib for most of the session, and was working on timing his runs past the ruck at clearances and for the hand-off after a mark. Full speed is Judd-like. Trengrove is Robert Harvey-like and looks stronger. Good skills on display. I am not full bottle on the new guys, but while they showed why they were recruited, it is obvious who has the more developed physiques and engines. The younger guys were tiring as the session wore on. I believe Watts participated in the early ball drills, but then spent a good period running and jogging laps of the oval, before disappearing up the race to the rooms. Various players spent time running laps, but most were then introduced back into the ball drills. Warnock not sighted. Happy to answer questions.

What are the implications to our other rookies from 2010? For example, Michael Newton I believe was a rookie. Does he continue, or has he now missed out?

I don't mind the idea at all.. An old coach of mine once advised "never change a winning game, but always change a losing game". The true merit of this philosophy is up for debate, but it generally rings true. I have seen plenty of forwards thrown into the midfield for 5 minutes, or a couple of clearances, to try to spark a revival. I think the best at it at the moment is Pav. The problem here is that when Pav gets the clearance, he has no-one to kick it to that he can trust to win the ball and kick the goal. In this situation, Pav will nearly always run, carry, and kick the goal himself. I like the idea of taking a defender and throwing him in to help win a clearance, and get the ball forward. This could be beneficial if te forwards are starved of opportunity. If the game is nearly lost, and the mids are being beaten at the clearances, a change can be worthwhile. Why not use a backman rather than a forward? Frawley would be the guy who would give us the best chance of changing the dynamic of the clearance to our advantage. Cheers

When Jack was at school in Melbourne he was at the same school and in the same year level as my daughter - he is in year 10 this year. So year 12 in 2012. Cheers

My concerns at present are around Col Sylvia. I read on another thread about a week ago that he limped off the track with what looked like a lower leg injury. There was a fair bit of speculation and discussion about whether it could be a recurrence of OP, although this is doubtful. Is he currently fit and training? Will he be playing in teh intra-club match tomorrow? Has he been sighted since sustaining the "injury"? Can anyone help? Cheers

It is a priviledge to be able to watch some of the players who have been fortunate enough to wear the red and blue, and you can name them all. They all bring different skillsets to the team, and have different strengths and weaknesses. Davey leaves us shaking our heads at his speed, delivery and defensive work. It is increible to think that he can improve considerably over what he showed us last year, and we can't wait to see it this year. But without doubt, Flower stands out for this club since 1970. I can't comment prior to that time. In a very poor period for the football club, with only a handfull of decent players there was always Flower to bring people to the game. His balance is what separated him from the rest. And for a guy with such poor eyesight, his vision was incredible. His ability to be elite from such an early stage in his career made the game great. Davey's goal on the run when he baulked Tarrant against Freo in the great comeback match of 2008 was Flower-esque. But Flower would do it multiple times a match, and pin-point the finish - either at goal or to a player down field. My favourite memory was a match when Barassi was coaching, and held Flower at FF for 3 and a bit quarters against Essendon at the G. You could see Flower was toey, and eager to get involved, but he had very limited opportunity. With about 20 minutes to go and Melbourne down by plenty, Barassi released him to the wing. The game changed completely. The struggling Dees became the attacker. Flower took the ball all over the ground and danced around players at will to drag the Dees back into the contest. Whenever he had the ball the crowd rose as one. We didn;t win the day, but supporters of both teams had been treated to 20 minutes of football that they talked about for ages. It barely rated a mention in the media. I believe the Flower never won a Brownlow as the umpires would judge his performance each week against his own standard. That is, Flower could have been the best and most influencial player on the ground, but he wouldn't poll a vote as it wasn't seen as a good match by Flower standard. It can be pretty hard to get votes that way. That is how underdogs like Woewy and Wilson won Brownlows. Families of Melbourne supporters owe a great deal to Flower for keeping their interest in the Dees during those cold, dark, difficult years. Cheers

My information is that he has had a lot to do with the spirit around the place, and he has really galvanised the team during a long, frustrating period. His being on board for another season is good news for all. Cheers

I think you have named all the factors that have led to Col's improvement - except one: his contract renewal. It is possibloe that much of the mental improvement came from him understanding the impact of possible delisting without having the opportunity to show hiw wares to other prospective employers. For the record, I am a Col supporter. Cheers

I think that Woolworths / Safeway would be an ideal brand to have on board - especially since they are expanding and hiring new staff in a very tough economic climate. C'mon Woollies Cheers

McKenna fits the three key criteria: Must have won a premiership as player or coach, Must have played tough accountable skilled football, Must have prior successful coaching experience. This Guy is the real deal and will take us to the top. Cheers

I can't see anyone beating him - certainly he deserves it for effort. Pity he doesn't have any mates helping him out.

We were every bit as inept the first time against the Roos. What made the scoreboard look better was a 15 minute purple patch when we played like last year and piled on 7 goals. Both times against the Roos this year we have played lazy, sloppy, inept footy. I suspect a number of senior players hve decided to retire at seasons end, and have mentally left the building. Cheers

I was at the game, and the result was not as shattering as the others. We were pathetic all day, except for a 15 minute burst when we played confident and flowing footy to kick 7 goals. We were inept for the first 3 quarters and 10 minutes and never deserved to win. That we managed to get so close was laughable, and the looks on the faces of the roos supporters was hilarious. I had resigned myself to another loss well before 3 quarter time. Now, the Essendon game is a different matter........

I am a bigger fan of those who know what it takes to win, and have practical experience doing it. Cheers

There are just 3 criteria we should be considering for the new top dog. Anyone who fits all criteria should be shortlisted and considered for the roll: 1) They must have experienced premiership success as either a player or coach. We need people at the club who know what it takes to win. We should not take on anyone who was great at losing. 2) They must have played as a backman or on-baller. This gives preference to those people with a defensive midset, who will train their team to be accountable and hard at the ball, rather than soft and outside. 3) They must have had prior experience as a coach or assistant coach. Great players do not necessarily make great coaches, and vice versa. But managing a group of self-motivated individuals to get them to play as a cohesive unit, as well as all the other staff associated with the football department is a learned skill, and not one which you can have without sufficient exposure. So now to assess the names: Voss - 1 & 2 but no 3 Ratten - 1, 2 & 3 - candidate worth considering Longmire - 1 & 3 no 2 Sumich - 1 & 3 no 2 McKenna - 1, 2 & 3 - candidate worth considering My vote is with McKenna. He is given loads of responsibility at a place where they are getting enormous output from a pretty thin list. Ratten is getting nothing from a dud list. feel free to add other names...

MarkC Would you please check your records to determine if one was sent to me. I haven't yet received one and the kids can barely wait. Cheers