DeeSpencer

Excusable in 1930's maybe when the telegram might not have got through. But in this day and age it only takes an email or phone call. Ms Watt and Mr Mahoney should be in frequent communication to make sure that the footy department are aware of consumer relations and vice versa. Anyway, I certainly appreciate the open and honest apology. It's enough for me for now.

User Actions Following peter ryanVerified account‏@AFL_petryan Non-appearance of Jesse Hogan @melbournefc training Monday just a management issue, stayed in Perth on weekend and bit sore from game.

Physical resemblance in both size and looks as well as a bit of the way he moves. So I see it. A B grade version of BJ Goddard would be a solid addition to our team!

All first round picks should be 3 year deals with a club option for a 4th at least. It's fair reward for putting such faith in a player. It takes a special kind of hubris to think you should leave a club before that time anyway and a special lack of talent for a first round pick to be out the door before then. Somehow we've managed both in the last 5 years. There's no desire for Brayshaw to leave any time soon and these days a contract doesn't do much anyway. There's little chance (although I bet we'll try to find it in him) that he'll be so bad or so injured as to not show some form, he's already showing a bit at training. There's also a reality that he's got some filling out to do and some developing as well so why bet on yourself dominating before your time. All round it's a nice set of circumstances for both parties to show some goodwill. We get the asset locked in and the salary squared away for future planning, he gets some financial security.

If I'm correct the BBQ was run by demon army which are some kind of cheer squad. So yeah it pretty much was a suburban footy club. So I wont judge them too much because they are out there trying their best for the club. They shouldn't run out of drinks, soft drink cans last forever and they should have more of these BBQ's, same goes for sauces, mustards, even onions which if left over could just go back between the members. Under catering on bread and snags and not having a second BBQ on the go either for more snags or even burgers etc is missed opportunity as well but understandable. Really I have to feel like these cheer squad types probably get the same stuffing around from the club as the rest of us so probably were messed around on the time and didn't have any support either. I guess the main thing we hope for is the club learns from its mistakes. They didn't learn from the intraclub at Casey for today. Maybe for next years intraclub and/or if there's ever a labour day open training again to realise these are really important fan events that deserve appropriate planning and support from the club!

Also Clarkson-esque and Bomber Thompson-esque, therefore resulting in 6 (if you attribute the Cats 3rd to Thompson's work) of the last 8 premierships. Even Malthouse's pies won the premiership after the likes of Thomas, Pendlebury and then Beams and Sidebottom were given early opportunities. Neeld didn't really play the kids. He cooked the Toumpas turkey, but besides that specially brought in a legion of has beens to make sure the kids weren't over burdened. Bailey played the kids for 2 years - 08, 09. Then in 2010 things were looking pretty good. Unfortunately so many of those kids went by the wayside when the senior players dropped their bundle and some of the talented kids went off the rails. Late last year we really hit the wall after playing the same bunch of mediocre players most weeks. We found our level and played to it. I've got no doubt Hogan will be best 22 on form and of course he shouldn't be over worked. But in terms of other spots I think we really need to stick with Salem from half back if fit and competing (which I'm sure he will be), give Frost a shot and make sure we have a mix of young talent through the forwards/mids/sub role. It can still be form based, but last year we kept guys at Casey who were clearly doing ok even if they weren't perfect whilst keeping others in the team who weren't up to scratch.

Ok I started a new thread for the other stuff. If it's combined so be it. But I thought others would want to focus on the actual training! Somewhat in between timing stuff ups and actual training had me thinking about how the players arrive for training. They come out in dribs and drabs and then proceed with a slow walk around the oval with or without a footy before some light stretching and then some kick to kick to warm up the legs. When I played local footy I hated the way some coaches mandated group warm ups, but at the same time I do think there might be some method to the madness. It's a team game, warm up and get stuck in to training as a team. Just food for thought. From there it was in to the standard kicking drill they do that involves the ball going cone to cone in a diamond shape. A middle group takes one of two options. Generally solid kicking. The drills opened up from there. Lots of 5 v 7 ball movement from defence to attack that was very messy at times. The good news I guess is we can zone off and defend pretty well. The bad news is still too many lack confidence and flair when getting the ball out to the open man then up the field. A Brayshaw kick diagonally back in to the centre was a highlight. The speed of ball movement was mixed. Love watching some like Garlett, Kent and Salem when they link and run. It was in to different drills but the same emphasis, getting the ball going forward quickly. Toumpy had some clean moments and trained well. Roh Bail knows how to run as does Lumumba. Had a good look at van den Berg, there's a certain flow to the way he moves that just looks like a natural football. Dane Swan waddles his way to a browlow and van den Berg probably has a fair way to go on fitness and repeat speed, so who knows what it means. Ah I don't know, there was just a few moments, it might all count for nothing. Benny Matthews took Maxy King to fake hit outs to a group of Jones, Cross, Michie, Salem, JKH a couple of others. The rest were split in groups doing a midfield drill or having a bit of goal kicking. Garland, Gawn and White did some extra running. White is a solidly built lad. Brendan McCartney finished the session with most of those who didn't play in the NAB 1 plus the 2 subs (V'berg and McKenzie) as well as Gawn and Pedersen getting some extra running through a tough ball movement drill with a smaller group working hard. Overall most of the better players looked in solid nick. The skills started ok but the lesser types felt the pressure. It wasn't great but it wasn't terrible either. Maybe a 6/10 for execution probably dragged down by some senior players making early mistakes that looked like they are ready for more games but probably an 8/10 for doing the correct drills with decent intensity and in good numbers.

I thought we could keep the training thread to topic. If mods want to merge they can merge. If anyone wants to send this through to the club they can. The club has to improve in communication and treatment of members and supporters. I think they do a fantastic job in interviewing players and coaches pre and post game, but everything else is very substandard. The intraclub game staged at Casey at a non fan friendly time of 4pm and without any associated merchandise, membership, food or drink sales was very poor. Today was worse. I'm calling on Josh Mahoney as head of football operations to get together with Paul Roos (a man who clearly has a firm grasp of PR) and David Misson to make sure they are all on the same page in the footy department. Whilst I never expect them to sacrifice preparation to appease supporters they can certainly be aware of what's happening in the rest of the club. If the club advertise a training time then that's it locked in, it can't be changed merely a couple of hours before. I'm then calling out the clubs consumer staff. The head of which is Jennifer Watt - General Manager Marketing and Communications is her title according to the website. The following are listed to work under her. If the names are wrong and the positions are blank then guess what, it's still a failure of communications! - Matt Burgan - Editor & Chief Football Writer - Debbie Lee - Community Manager - Ryan Larkin - Media Manager - Matthew Goodrope - Communications Coordinator - Ryan Earles - Digital Marketing Manager - Dave Larkin - Graphic Designer - Anna Harrington - Digital Media Coordinator - Georgina Lewis - Customer Relations Executive - Courtney Hart - Digital Video Producer - Alexandra Luxford - Community Trainee If you can't organise a popular open training on a public holiday to start when it says it will start and not change times then I don't know how you can lead a team of 10 others! If you're getting screwed around by the footy department then it's time to stand up for the members who support this club and work it out. I'm at loss at what those 10 people do considering the majority of website content comes from Matt Burgan and that we seem to be one of the least active clubs on twitter. Today was simply not good enough. For people to waste 90 minutes of precious time standing around before the main group hit the track is taking your supporters for granted. And no group of members and supporters have been more taken for granted than us loyal demons over the last many long years. Time to lift your game MFC. GRRM out

Presume nab suspensions get served in premiership season not nab, but can't be sure. Looks blatant and dangerous enough to draw a week, but we have to beat the team out there not look for help.

Good story. I think the recruiters should've at least been on to him regardless but a tip to Stone wouldn't have hurt. I'm thinking his game against the Swans reserves which was part of his highlights video would've been vital to him getting picked up. Dominating the NEAFL is fine, but getting a kick against the likes of O'Keefe is much more important. I reckon those country stories get told all the time but usually the player goes through to a (proper sorry NEAFL) state league and only a small amount of them make the step up (see Isaac Smith and Lewis Jetta as the best examples).

According to twitter At 9am: we were having an open training at 12 At 10am: we are having an open training at 1pm with a bbq and coffee from 12 Do I demand too much suggesting no changes on the day of a members event???

Nah from the vibe of it I think he was speaking in general terms about how bad teams turn in to good. Probably framed from his experience at Geelong not a dig at the dogs and definitely not a comment on any Melbourne specifics.

He might not see it that way but I'm sure it was. When the season finished he was set to coach the dogs the next year. Any review carried out of his performance would've had him staying. If there was significant doubt they would've reviewed his performance in September and had him in or out by trade week. As far as I can tell McCartney's biggest error was appointing Griffen captain. One of the elite players of the comp (at the time of his appointment) who at his best was an inspirational on field leader. If Griffen refused the captaincy and McCartney forced him in to it then that is a Neeld style error from a man trying to be a leader of a football club. If Griffen accepted the job and then later couldn't handle the pressure then he made the mistake and should be very apologetic to McCartney. Either way, most fail at senior coaching in the AFL. The expectations are just too high. Better to have tried and failed than never tried at all.

Sticking with the Roos to Goodwin handover would be a start. Making sure we keep good assistant coaches and support staff. Focus on the core of young players coming together. Don't make mega trades for some short term benefit that wont deliver long term. Don't panic in to landing some saviour free agent if it's not the right player at the right price. Maybe don't try to move on the current CEO in the hope of landing another well credentialed CEO.

Matt Jones just sat in his back. It was terrible technique. He also gave away another 3 or 4 free kicks for too high, where a loose arm of his in a soft attempted tackle made high contact. He has no idea how to tackle and it's because he tries to protect himself and he has no grunt. He may be inexperienced at AFL level but he's not a young man, if he isn't willing to play with some conviction then he shouldn't be out there. And that goes for Grimes, Garland and others.

First thing I'd give up is any talk of mental scars. Garland played his best footy in 2013. For whatever reason, despite Saty telling me it's fine he's not looking fit on the training track. Dead last in the running. He's also not suited to tall opponents. He's a mid sized versatile type who can provide run from the backline. Roos needs to get out some tapes of Garland 2013 and they both need to familiarise each other with how he played then. Aggressive, attacking play from the backline. Either Grimes' body is shot or the game has gone passed him. It's sped up and he doesn't have the skills or power to compete any more.

Tommy Mac plays half back, you better be able to kick there. Gawny plays ruck, he should handball it off or take a safe option more times than not. The training line gets over used, I'm just saying I do expect improvement. Spencer even at training still is incredibly mechanical in his kicking, Gawn at training has good flow to his kicking.

Average output. Still a very good talent. Pedersen is average in every single way and doesn't have the physical tools to ruck. Gawn will get there as a ruck but he needs AFL minutes. He'll only deliver once in a blue moon as a forward but until Pedersen does more often there's little to lose.

Hogan and Dawes are fine for talls when the ball hits the ground. Dawes defends very well, he wont crumb it like Buddy Franklin but he's more than standard. Give Hogan a bit of time to find match fitness, but he's a very smart player when the ball hits the deck and moves well. If our second ruck was Fitzy then maybe I'd agree with you. But he's not in the picture and neither Dawes or Hogan are putting their name up to 2nd ruck. So it's Pedersen and really there's little evidence that he's any more mobile than Gawn. Jamar's our best ruck. Gawn's our future ruck and provides another winner in the hit outs and mobile player in the midfield.

Gawn kicks beautifully at training. He's really improved his technique. The pressure of a game and 31 degrees stuffed him though. He's worth another chance because he's not in the side for his kicking. Dawes I don't understand though, he wasn't just missing kicks like Gawny but wheeling round and lacing it straight to no one. We aren't going to have smooth kicking talls, not many teams do. However there is hope that most of our best 22 can raise the kicking standard to something like a 7/10. One of the big problems in trying to analyse our performance is that you have to figure it was a NAB challenge game and give the players leeway for being very rusty, but also remember a lot of these guys just aren't much chop. So there's no real way to predict who will or wont shape up by round 1.

Jamar misses a few easy goals forward, but it's not like he's never kicked one over his career. Kicked a harder goal than last nights to win us the game v Adelaide last year. More so he dominated the centre hit outs early and got us in the game which is his primary role. Unless Pedersen does anything in the rest of the NAB series then we should play 2 rucks and develop Gawn and live with some poor forward work from the rucks. It's not like Freo's second ruck did anything forward. Jamar at least drew the free kick that led to his comical miss. Agree totally on Grimes and maybe on Garland. They have 2 games to prove themselves because we know Howe can play half back, we know Frost is an option and personally I've seen enough from Salem as well.

His second half marking was impressive. But his defending (one on one) and decision making is still ordinary. An agressive kick in to Toumpas at half forward was just a mind staggering dumb decision. And it's little things around the packs in terms of using team mates, using his body and providing an option that I see little improvement in. I worry that any improvement he has left in him wont match the improvement of the competition. He's still one of best tall defensive options, but Frost adds something new and Garland, Dunn and McDonald better be on their game.

When it comes to footy I'm pretty firmly in the play good footy and the stats will follow column, but that's interesting stuff. I see Lumumba as a running outside type, but there's still contests and therefore contested possessions to be had away from the packs. The centre clearances and clearance numbers in general do lend me to favouring the 2 rucks set up. I also did like Garlett's burst from a centre stoppage as a change up as well. Obviously it comes down to the form and fitness of the best guys, but overall I think we have an ok amount of solid, mature clearance winners now. Especially if Jamar is fit I don't think we should be embarrassed at the contest like we were so often at the worst times. Disposal efficiency and how to move the ball with the right amount of risk and reward is probably where the success is on the line. Chipping it around half back constantly won't cut it this year. Work rate, foot skills, marking, smarts to get in the right spots, structure, team orientated play, speed. So many variables involved in moving the ball fluently from one end to the other these days.

He tackles like he means it. I enjoy that. And throws his weight around at the stoppages. Just hope he can win some more ball instead of tackling all the time. Other than that he just needs to spread and run more and really bust a gut. He's got the skills and size and isn't afraid of the contest. I'm not saying he's lazy, I'm sure he's working really hard, but it's the big league and he needs to just step up the intensity and be desperate to get to contests and get involved. Then he'll be a player.