bing181

Not sure where that's coming from, according to http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/best-laid-plans-20120418-1x7n9.html, we have the highest contested possessions in the league (45.7%) - also, second highest kick:handball ratio, which is why overall possessions are down.

A guy who allegedly [censored] on a bar, another who drives his car into a car yard while under the influence of something or other, another who's just been suspended for being out drinking while in rehab, another who was suspended because he couldn't be bothered attending a meeting, both our captains suspended by the AFL for illegal (and dangerous) tackles, and to top it all, a guy up on a jailable charge for attacking someone with a machete. Not sure what kinds of choirs you hang with, but if this is your definition of "nice boys" ...

And your point is ...??? Good interview with Jones, glad he's in the leadership group, would have been happy with him as captain.

That's a big jump between those two statements .... In any case, of course he could have left if he was satisfied with his role. An opportunity suddenly presents itself: greener pastures, change of scenery, a new challenge, more money? I've read posts from Carlton supporters saying that they deliberately head-hunted BP. Just so much conjecture masquerading as fact around here these days.

He's great, and he's right for MFC. And he's already signed.

Funny you should bring that up: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/melbourne-western-bulldogs-can-see-stars-on-horizon/story-fn7si05c-1226330742519 or here: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport-old/afl/melbourne-western-bulldogs-can-see-stars-on-horizon/story-e6frepkx-1226330742519

http://www.heraldsun...f-1226196969925 Elliot Kavanagh apparently. Wanted to go to Essendon (or his dad did), so a bit of a kerfuffle with the interviews from North and the Swans. Oddly enough, ended up at ... Essendon.

Sure we had injuries last year, but if you look at the games we won, and won well, the likes of Sylvia, Jurrah, Moloney, Gysberts, Scully and McKenzie all featured. All are missing (or coming back from injury- McKenzie). I'm not looking for excuses, because I'm not looking for a problem to make excuses for. We have a young list (yes, still ...), an absence of A-grade senior players, plus some key injuries, and to turn this around is a process that will take time. I don't have a problem either with the process or the time it'll take. Amongst the players who will take us forward, I don't see we have a poor playing group at all - though we do have a playing group that's a bit lost for the moment, which is understandable given recent upheavals. This is a discussion to have at the end of the season, not after 3 games.

But we don't even have the same cattle as 2011 - Sylvia, Jurrah, Moloney out, that's not nothing. Nor is the loss of Scully. OK, he didn't do much last year, but he showed a lot in 2010 (runner up RS etc. etc.), and if ever we could use some fast, run-all-day, it's now. Add to that (from the mids) Gysberts, who it would have been reasonable to assume would have come on, and once again, could have brought some useful ball-getting and ball-disposing to the mids. Finally, Trengove and McKenzie, also two of our solid mids, have had interrupted pre-seasons and are not quite the same cattle they were in 2010. That's 1/3 of last year's regular/best 22 (and regular/best from 2010 for that matter) either missing or under-performing with fitness issues. If we COULD get the same cattle on the field, then perhaps we wouldn't be as far back as we are.

No it won't, there's nothing to come out - much as that may pain many of the conspiracy theorists, the sky-is-fallingists and hand-wringers around here: "The culture of the Melbourne footy club is pretty strong, the core of the player list are working really hard, their morale is good, the way they train is pretty good and we are expecting higher standards,'' Neeld said on Monday. Asked about how the club was working when he arrived late last year, Neeld replied: "I didn't notice any problems at all.'' From the horse's mouth.

!!!! Ok then. Not sure what that makes the other 35K or so members, plus non-members etc. etc. What we have on Demonland is a self-selected group who choose to manifest their support for a football club on an internet forum, nothing more. And people talk about the players having big heads.

A distinction lost on many here.

Any verifiable evidence for that?

Then don't start a thread on the possibility of being 0-11 by mid-season.

""When players instinctively work to the game structure they've been used to for some time and all of a sudden they have this slight change… [then that] creates uncertainty." M Malthouse. re Collingwood.

... two of which we won.

I know this POV goes against the grain here, but I'd support it completely. Play him at least till the middle of the year. He was far from our worst, and got a lot more possessions than most. Confidence. Suspect Martin may be dropped, perhaps for Fitzpatrick if he has another solid game at Casey. Grimes is going to be OK apparently, and I would leave the back line alone. Considering how often the ball's coming in, they're doing OK. Perhaps one of Green, Tynan or Couch in, depending on how they go. Bail might be on thinner ice than most, and I'd add Davey as well. He at least tried today, but it's clear that he's no longer what he was. But as above, it's really just moving the deck chairs. There's no 10 goal difference to be found in a couple of guys from Casey.

We have a lot of players who are going backwards, or are having trouble moving forwards. In the former category there's the likes of Green and Davey, and perhaps even Jamar: time is catching up with them, or has already gone past them. In the latter category we have quite a few who have had injury issues which have meant that either they've lost a slab of game-time, or pre-season time: Grimes, Bail, McKenzie, Tapscott, Morton, Trengove etc. Add to that the missing in action for the moment, most notably Sylvia, Moloney and Jurrah. Throw in a completely new coaching team, with a completely new approach, new systems, new instructions etc. etc., which some players are clearly having trouble getting on top of, certainly on game-day. Once again, I just don't know what people were expecting. We were mediocre (or worse) for a lot of last season, and yes, we've gone backwards from there - for the above reasons (and probably quite a few others beyond anyone's control).

But what has happened to any number of the players? They're still young, you would be expecting them to progress, not go backwards. Howe, Jones and a few others have come on, but most have gone the other way. Hard to fathom - perhaps there are just too many changes around the club. One of the assistants spoke of "over-correcting" during the week, they just don't have any confidence or a particularly strong sense of purpose.

Hawthorn also took Thorpe a year or two later at around pick 5. Richmond also took Tambling over Franklin.

Not sure about your basic premise given we have a player currently up on a charge of attacking a guy with a machete ... Though don't know about your basic premise in any case.

I notice you edited your contribution. Seeing you're obviously giving some consideration to what you post online, just thought I'd point out that "area's" in your tag is just a simple plural, and doesn't actually need the apostrophe. No need to thank me.

I don't know if you watched the Geelong Hawthorn match on Sunday. Tom Hawkins. Drafted in 2006. It's now 2012. Cook was AA CHF. He earned the right to go at pick 12, and he's earned the right to be given some time before we start passing judgement. If 6 years after he was drafted he can manage 12 marks and 22 disposals against a likely Grand Finalist - as Hawkins did on Sunday - fine with me. On half of these threads we have people criticising us because we let the likes of Thompson and Jolly go too soon, and the other half we have people who can't wait to shunt everyone out the door after 2 or 3 seasons if they aren't already AA.

Sitting AND thinking. That would be multi-tasking I believe.

Just to bump this thread with an outsider's view, interesting Age article re Melbourne's drafting in the context of the changing game: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/demons-recruiters-beaten-by-the-press-20120410-1wn4v.html