Go the Biff

We ? Rudeboy, you haven't come over from the dark side have you ? ('cos to be honest, you could have picked a better time)

One sentence in particular stood out for me"No, the Demons won't reach 8.5 wins this season, but that doesn't mean they are going backwards." This bloke is one of the few that understands this. There's a presumption in the mindless media that because we won 8 games last year then we should win at least 10 this year as a pass-mark. Prior to the season I was expecting around the same result as 2011 but with fewer floggings I was expecting the new coach to take an evolutionary approach with the implementation of new game styles and tactics I was wrong on both counts Neeld instead has taken the revolutionary path and damn the cost. I'm convinced he doesn't really give a toss about where we finish this year or how many wins we have. He knows where he wants to take this footy team & he wants to get there quickly. If that means burning 2012, so be it. I also reckon McLardy & the board know exactly what he's doing & why. Agree with the quoted poster that our list is not as bad as it is being painted. A lot of these blokes can play - we've seen it. Quite a few have had their development stifled through injury but we have seen they have the tools to be quality AFL players (Gys, Tappy). I had thought we had significant issues up forward but these have been largely addressed. Mitch Clark is a much better, much more committed footballer than I ever thought he was. We need to address the holes in the middle. Once that is done, things can quickly turn around. Maybe not as dramatically as the WCE revival, but not far off. When Judd was returning to Victoria, we weren't ready for him. Now we are. We should be pursuing a player of similar stature, drive, & work ethic, not to mention skill, to lead our midfield from 2013. Things can take off quickly And then we can put the current nightmare behind us. But we'll have to live this horrible dream for the rest of the year.

Doubt it would happen anyway The AFL have created a rod for their own back with the arbitrary method they've concocted for priority picks in the future They can easily deny us one on the basis of 8 wins last year Then we go on to finish the season with 2 or 3 wins. We become the bar-setting, precedent establishing level of shiteness that the AFL can reference in future priority pick discussions Depending on just how crap we finish, they may never have to hand one out again

Might be worth hanging onto Nev for a while then as it took Leroy five years to get a kick.

Mate, I was all over it as well. As the week went by the feeling that we were going to win grew & grew. Backing the Dee's & encouraging others too as well. Not sure where that confidence came from but it has been well & truly extinguished. Swans - easily

The club Refer back to his press conference post dismissal if you're in any doubt as to what his brief was

We didn't have a Fletcher or a Watson Bailey did as he was asked. And never blinked

Terrifying thing to get. A friend of mine got it & was almost totally paralysed for 2 weeks. Could move eyes & eyelids, nothing else. Get well soon young feller.

Thought Jones kept his feet a lot better last night. I've felt he has a tendency to go to ground too easily. Terrific game, spectacular first half & dogged, engine-room stuff in the second half

Seconded. Thought this was Demonland.

Tapscott was on one leg for much of the last quarter. Had a physical clash with McEvoy - came off second best. Kept at it though.

I'm forever looking for Watt's positives and there are plenty there to like. The example you quoted was hardly a sign of improved strength. If dwarf-tossing becomes an Olympic sport, Jacks our man. Those knocking his dropped mark are being overly harsh - I reckon he did well to even get to that contest

Wow. Undeeterred is an undeerstatement. If you are on something, I want some. If you are not chemically fortified, I find myself ignoring my initial reaction of ridicule & strangely admiring your optimism You have the rosiest of rose coloured glasses mate but ........respect

Don't think it was the Hawks. From memory Essendon first brought him to Melbourne

The main problems we have now - no senior players of quality, no leadership - go back to the Cameron years. We should have a core group of 24 - 27 year olds leading the way. Instead we have SFA It's our drafting over this period that has dropped us firmly in the mire Too early to assign a pass or fail to Prendergast

Then we should try it. The sooner it is outlawed the better. Players lowering their head is just asking for injury I'm old enough to remember Neil Sachse. Never want to see something like that again that again

Didn't Ricky have a game last year where he had something ridiculous like 13 tackles in the forward 50 ? If so, that was his last good game. I agree with you, Ricky is over-rated around here. Certainly doesn't run hard enough. His best is good but we very rarely see it I'd still prefer him instead of Dunn though

Get on with plenty. Their backline are pygmies. Disposal wise, none of them could hit a cow's arse with a banjo. Their clearance work is worse than ours. Their top level midfielders are superior to ours but they fall away quickly. Their forward line is Riewoldt - yeah, good player - Miller & Maric Get on with plenty C&B

No way Jose - he spends a fair bit of time up the ground. Our forward line looks horribly one dimensional at the moment with only Clark back I'd like to see, at a minimum, one leading up & one stopping deep so the mids & half forwards have at least 2 options. With Davey (or Bennell) 20 metres in front of Clark so if the ball goes that way, we have someone front & square at Clark's marking contests Then again, as an old CHF, I'm probably a bit old fashioned with my forward line footy & I don't know that my structure & Neeld's would have much in common

Relax D2, he's just trying to pull the wool over your eyes

Agreed - it's back to the future for Brad. He can finish as he started. Deep forward leading up as an alternative to bombing on Mitch's head. I think he can give us value in that role He was all at sea last week when in the midfield. So often stuck in space we were never going to use

What makes you think anyone would want our offcasts ? If we trade, we'll be selling picks

Mate, that is awesome

Watched the WCE game again. First half was better than I originally thought. A few tweaks: tackles, turnovers (OotF) & forward setup & we can improve markedly Admittedly the second half was horrid - on the ropes being pummelled. A decent ref would have stopped the fight. Watched Collingwood v Tiges again. Pies ain't travelling that well & are relying on individual efforts at the moment. Which got them over the line the other night. Am now starting to think we can win next week. Control or at least limit the influence of Riewoldt, Cotchin, Deledio & Martin. Aside from that they have some honest toilers like their captain but they have assembled a crew of ball-butchers to rival ours. If you are sitting in the front seats, keep your hands warm

Jeez WYL, I realise you're a passionate Demon and you, like the rest of the Demon faithful have had a tough couple of weeks. But now you're just making [censored] up ! 19 Brownlow votes knackers. Reckon more than just me & Tricky thought Moloney had more than three good games