praha

A leader is about more than just "leading from the front". A true leader is one that empowers those to take charge. Jones can work his butt off but does that make him a good leader? I don't know. He sets an example, which is a form of empowerment because it fuels endeavour and standards, but those around him lack the confidence to feel empowered. You can only do so much. Trengove should never have been made captain. He needs empowerment, not to distribute it.

Well, boys eventually become men.

"It's free agency of equalisation". Free agency. Melbourne needs to start performing and when it does it'll be able to reap the benefits of free agency. Until then we're just filling up the numbers and will always be on welfare.

TBH I don't think it was. Giants deserved the win and the match for what it was offered a decent contest. Our most humiliating loss was Round 2. And the North game.

I didn't go to training but I can confirm that they trained well and hard and they are going into this week's game confident because they trained hard. Source: The last three years.

I refuse to accept that the skill, quality or talent of the squad isn't good enough. They simply lack urgency. Their biggest loses come through a genuine lack of urgency from the onset. The errors come later. The Eagles were in 2nd gear all game. Melbourne never left 1st gear. Imagine if he Eagles were ruthless and this game was closer to finals? Would have been a 150-point loss. IMO Roos' style and Jackson's intentions seem at odds. Jackson says we need result on the field. Immediate, impacting results. The reality is that the club cannot afford another 2-3 win season. This all comes down to the players now. They ARE the final link. Roos' teams play an ugly, ugly style of football. When they win, it's a tough, satisfying win. But that style, that holding the ball, chipping it, maintaining possession, there is NO room for leaving the fundamentals at home, no room for error. This is why Roos honed in on it on Sunday. The fundamentals were non-existent on Sunday. This goes beyond the club now. There is simply nothing else the AFL or administration can do. There are new facilities, corporate sponsorship, money coming in from the NT deal, a better TV deal (more free-to-air games), more primetime fixture results (a few Saturday night games), a champion coach, a champion CEO. The team foundations have been set. Guys like Trengove, Watts, Frawley, Jones, Dunn, Vince, McKenzie, they should bring the fundamentals to matches every week, and should be leading from the front. Jones was missing handball targets on Sunday. Frawley DID. NOT. CHANCE. Vince's vision went out the door, had about 5 kicks cut off, Dunn tried hard, Trengove is slow but tackles hard. Watts is a downhill skier. Much of the team's problem atm is not due to a lack of talent. It is a lack of confidence and urgency, a will to win. The players need to accept this, move on, and DO SOMETHING. Because the club cannot afford this anymore. You can't blame anywhere else now. All eyes are on this squad to perform. No lack of a forward line equates to a lack of urgency. They were deplorable on Sunday. The whole, "A lack of a forward line is part of their problems" rhetoric is a load of crap. If that was an 18 point loss on Sunday, everyone would be signing the team's praises and be saying, "They'd be winning with a forward line". The problem now is a lack of desire and concentration, which leads to laziness and a, "Someone else will do it" mentality.

Tbh I think we'll scrape together 2-3 wins. But I think the spoon is just about stitched up.

Free agency brought Melbourne Clark, Vince, Cross, Dawes to name a few. I think it's a hyperventilation to suggest it will turn the league into the Premier League. In the PL there is no cap and the player pool is global, not to mention teams sign players when they're 10 years old. The market is far more important than the club. I know that in some cases a player wants to win a flag, but a player that wants to either return home, or play in a big market like Sydney or Melbourne will go to a club that can offer him the most money. The only thing stopping Melbourne from signing free agents is good management. IMO Melbourne has benefited more than most from free agency. The club has signed some real gems in recent years. I know it hasn't translated on the field yet but most of those who signed would easily make the 22 in a top 4 side. What more could you want? Lots of hyperventilation going on here. Rather than say "WHAT ABOUT US" why don't we start putting the pressure on the club to start performing so that it doesn't get the short end of the stick? You're all only saying this now because the team is struggling. Not every single free agent of caliber can end up at a "big" club. The cap won't allow. Moloney, Rivers and Sylvia have been replaced by the players I mentioned above. Those three were around during 2 wooden spoons' and 2012, 2013, so I don't see how their loss has made the team any worse than what it already way. Had they stayed, would we have ended up with Vince, Dawes, etc.? Frawley will leave, but why? Is it because of more money or because he wants to go to a "big" club? He wants success. Whose fault is that? Free agency or the club's? He could get more money at Hawthorn but hypothetically if Melbourne was a fringe side pushing for a top-8 spot with lots of promise, do you think he would leave and jump ship for an extra few K when he could be pushing for a flag in 2-3 years with a team he's helped build? Players are leaving because they need a fresh start. If Frawley leaves, I'll understand. That's the nature of it. If the club were in a better position he'd have signed ages ago. This is a system that really punishes mediocrity. That's not the AFL's fault, nor the league's players' fault.

I understand the OP's point but I think it's quite evident that the club has failed a talented list. I am sure eventually some of the young folks will stay leading this club, but the difference with the Hawks and Cats is that it took one rebuild to get it right. The club is essentially on its THIRD rebuild: Roos and Neeld are two different rebuilds, add in Bailey and well, it goes to show how terrible things have been.

No McKenzie? I'd have him in the side ahead of Byrnes.

Depression is what he's got? Is that what you know? The club I felt made it clear that he was frustrated about the injuries and this affected him mentally. We're not talking about acute depression here. Everyone gets depressed about issues in their lives and I am not invalidating his perceived depression but the reality is he's the kind of guy we need around the club now, even if he isn't playing. He SHOULD be at the club. You're telling me that because he's minds a bit off because of injuries he can't go near the club? Give me a break! If it is indeed depression I'd imagine being around his mates and the club would assist him. I'm assuming all of those things because I can't imagine he wants to give up football all together.

Not to say I know anything of the situation but I'd imagine his time away from the club wouldn't be substantial. You'd imagine that at this time he'd be at the club supporting the boys. It's what he should be doing. Tbh I expect him to be playing half-way through the year.

I don't care how much of the pill they got, how improved our midfield is, or how depleted our forward line is, they were deplorable. This video goes to some length to show a handful of instances that demonstrate how lacking the team was on the day. From a few seconds into the game they stopped running and didn't care. This video is damning.,

Fitzpatrick down back would be the second coming of Alistair Nicholson. No.

Toumpas reminds me a lot of a young Montagna. I think he will be a 200-game player.

There is no media market in Tassie. It won't work.

"the failure of some players to even break into a chase." Take particular notice of Frawley, Jones, Watts and Fitzpatrick: these guys did not chase. And apart from Jones, they give up on the chase very early. Frawley could have at least tried to get involved in several contests but simply gave up. Watch the replay. It's very, very obvious. Reminds me of his 186 performance.

Watching the replay, there are some very basic fundamentals left behind by very experienced players. Guys like Vince lacking any real awareness of the opposition, and turning it over frequently. Jones not holding onto tackles. Frawley not chasing...lol who am I kidding he never chases! Sunday was deplorable. People saying they were okay because they got a lot of the ball: they were absolutely terrible.

With some of the errors and efforts Frawley has put in I've mistaken him for Carroll lately

You mean, run out, start a fight, and then lose?

inb4 Melbourne'd

Journalism has a role to inform: objective reliance on the facts. This is an opinion piece. The author takes the facts, forms an opinion with the intention of fuelling debate. He has succeeded. In other words, his "journalism" is as defined. Rather than knifing the cynics that blast the team, why don't we take the neutral supporter's opinion on board and constructively discuss it? Otherwise, we are just one-eyed loonies that can't separate reality from fantasy. ie. Greens voters *runs and hides*

If they're saying the same thing what does a matter what the person's history is? Roos sees exactly what Neeld saw. Don't throw Neeld to the sword for his other fallacies. The bloke wasn't an idiot.

To disregard the similarities is to be a delusional numpty. Neeld I don't think was the best coach, but he went in with high expectations, had a team that seemed to gel well in the lockeroom, but ultimately lacks any real drive or urgency to win, or at the very least perform. There was nothing really wrong with how Neeld approached the team publicly. He was honest, and that's what the fans wanted after a whole bunch of PR fluff. Ultimately it got to a point where all he could say was, "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie? It is what it is." Roos sounded very Neeld-esque on Sunday, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Neeld and Roos are a universe apart in the way of forming relationships, building trust and actually knowing how to win. Neeld went in with no plan B. Roos I imagine has a plan B, but he'll refuse to use it until this team learns the basics. The absolute basics. Like taking a chestmark on the lead 5 meters ahead of your opponent. Neeld imo was greatly underrated in how he was able to acknowledge and approach the team dynamics. He just couldn't get through to them. That makes him a bad coach, but he acknowledged it almost immediately and the bloke did what he could to change that. I know it's only two rounds in, but Roos now really knows the task ahead of him. He is now similarly placed as Neeld was two years. I don't believe for a second this team hasn't made progress, but their worst is absolutely deplorable. Give Neeld some respect, because he tried to instil structure and discipline among the playing group. He lost them very early, even though the playing group was saying, "He's made a difference," if we all remember correctly. Eerily, Roos has also "made a difference". These players are truly at a crossroad. Every single one of them.

Ultimately, no amount of changes will fix what is broken: a non-existent desire to win, and a lack of trust in one another. They need to learn that more than anything. They simply don't care enough to will each other on. I am not willing to concede that these players don't have the skill, or aren't AFL quality, because I am confident they'd all thrive elsewhere. At one point in the last quarter, Spencer stood alone on the forward 50 on the MCC wing with his hands waving crazily. The ball was chipped around about 5 times, all 5 players saw Spencer, but completely ignored him. I was absolutely livid. We had 3 goals for the whole game at that point, and simply couldn't kick a goal. We had a guy 20 meters clear, admittedly not a great kick, but still an option, all alone, within distance. He was completely ignored. Completely. There comes a time when you can blame the club and the "culture" so much. Yesterday was deplorable, the effort non-existent, and the urgency severely hindered. The Eagles were in 2nd gear. IMO he is either 2-4 or 4-6 weeks away.