Craig Drinker

I also think our list is not that bad. Where we are failing I believe is that far too much emphasis is being placed on tackle counts and not enough on being FIRST in for the ball. On numerous occasions I have seen one of our guys in the prime position to go in and grab the ball only to wait for the opposition player to pick it up so our guy can then lay a tackle.If you are in first for the ball you may break clear with it or receive a free kick from the umpire. A far more important statistic to give weight to is the 'Hard Ball Get' imo ! The other thing standing out to me is that our defensive zone is clearly far too easy to penetrate. It is not working!! I am wondering whether Neeld will persist with this ad nauseaum. If we can improve in the abovementioned areas, I really think that our list is not that far off it. Thoughts??

The latter.

To be fair to Neeld I think he was misquoted. He meant "the easiest"

The defensive zone Neeld insists the players implement seems to be one of the easiest to bypass in recent memory. Do you think Neeld will eventually concede this tactic isn't working or do you think he will dogmatically persist with it until his eventual sacking?

Yes and they/we have appointed Peter Jackson as our interim CEO. Maybe you don't get it? Peter Jackson is a Melbourne/AFL appointment. The AFL have taken charge.

They have. His name is Peter Jackson soon to be CEO of the MFC.

Should the midfield coach be held accountable at the end of the day if we constantly get flogged out of the middle. What would be the midfield coaches accountabilities? What would they be judged on?

The biggest issue with Neeld may be his communication skills. Whatever he is selling, the players aren't buying!

What was that famous line again from a very famous player? "If it is to be, it's up to me!!"

Seems an excellent runner. Great endurance and as others have said playing well beyond his years.

Please no Cloke!!! Way over rated and would suck up too much of the resources. Quality mids with some pace a must.

Out: Sellar,Dunn,Tapscott In: Fitzpatrick,Couch,Blease

Don't seem keen enough to be first to the football IMO. You end up chasing the opposition players all day in that case. I like the work of Mitch Clark he's been a very good pick up.

You can't be serious! This is a [censored] take right!

Outside of the ins of Clark and Frawley: I would like to see Petterd in for Davey. We have had great service from Davey over the years however I believe his time at MFC is just about up.He is no longer feared by oppositions and seems to have lost more than a yard of pace. Also I would like to see Fitzpatrick in for Sellar just to see what he as got at senior level and he would also be capable of giving Jamar a chop out in the ruck.

Agree with everything said and also like the fact the Cale put on a couple of strong tackles as well! Hopefully he can put a few good ones together. A bit of extra strength may have given him that extra bit of confidence. My feeling is that Neeld has thrown out a challenge to certain players and is waiting to see who responds and who can't. Morton may have been one of those players.

West Coast masters of stretching the rules! Had a fantastic gift for turning skinny recruits into muscle bound gladiators over one pre season in the 90's. Hmmmm!

We'll have to agree to disagree on Bartram as I saw it differently. The people that really know his value first hand and scrutinise his play the most closely are the coaching staff.We'll see if they drop him this week? My bet is they won't!

It's bewildering to say the least, those on here calling for Bartram to be dropped!!! It would be hard to find a more courageous,harder working player in the lineup. He makes his opponent earn every kick and I gaurantee whilst he continues to play like that he WONT be dropped by the selection committee.( move on to a new whipping boy.) Couple of observations on Jack Watts from yesterdays game.He started well and attacked the ball hard early doors, then it was almost as though his thinking was "Right, I've done enough to get a game next week" and all of a sudden he gave up taking the front position and attacking the ball hard.Second efforts were very rare after this point. He should watch the game video and check out the work ethic on Dalhouse(not sure of the spelling) and attempt to emulate his efforts next week. On the upside, he has the potential to be a superstar of the AFL if he can get his attitude/desire up to the required level.He has speed, good hands, incredible vision ,he's a good mark and good kicking skills. How far he progresses is all up to him. Might be worth getting Blease back in to the team as we miss the legspeed and run and carry.

Do you think any front and square roving drills get practised at training? Comprehensively being shown up by the opposition in this department so far!

Moloney definitely looked injured when i saw him running close up in the Round One game.Seemed to be carrying some sort of leg injury.

I doubt very much Neeld or the club would sue and they would be wise not to. A defamation case would be way too expensive and they may not win. Thomas would have a couple of defamation defences he could pursue such as "Fair Opinion" defence i.e The defamatotory comments were passed as comment rather than fact.(The legal posters on Demonland would have a better handle on these matters). The best Neeld and the MFC should hope to get out of this is an apology and the restoration of their reputations. Any lawyers out there want to give a more informed opinion?

I don't think booing players is a good habit to get into.

I think Gysberts will be a very good midfielder for Melbourne fairly soon. He is probably 3 to 4 kg too light at the moment unfortunately.

Not sure Watts into the midfield is the answer as he currently doesn't seem that keen on physical contact. My take is that the players are still struggling with the game plan especially under the pressure of a 4 point game. For most I think it is a decent game plan and I understand what Neeld is trying to do. I'm not sure the offensive part of the game plan is ideal though. Bombing it in to the forward line is too predictable and too easy to defend. The forward game plan needs to be tweaked IMO and I wouild prefer to see forwards leading to space and leads honoured. To say the players didn't put in is just hysterical BS! To say they struggled to carry out the game plan is closer to the mark.