Ned

I do the same and sign my little guy up too. Pure donation.

Amen to that.

One game as Melbourne coach and he's already under preside! Doesn't take long these days!

I hate to say it, but I think we'll be battling with Port to avoid the bottom (GWS and Gold Coast below - but they don't count).

I think we should tank, come bottom and actually get fair compensation for losing Judas.

Lovely article from Martin Flanagan. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/melbourne-demons/more-than-a-great-sportsman-20120320-1vgjg.html

Sky News reporting. Heart goes out to his family.

I see you guys have been having some fun. I find the loan fundamentally wrong. I could understand a dodge on the recruiter question. But I still find it unacceptable that no-one has explained how we got to the point of losing by 186 points, which is simply an abnormal defeat. Someone needs to explain what happened. How could it come about. I believe an account needs to be given.

Mile Sheehan just asked Andrew Demetriou about reports Jimmy is gravely ill. Demetriou gave little away other than saying thoughts were with Jimmy and family. But it didn't sound good. Keep up that fight Jimmy!

Hi Cameron, I have a couple of questions. Is it fair to say Barry Prendergast jumped before he was pushed, and if so, is it reasonable to conclude that our new coaching panel (which looks great) is dissatisfied with the recruiting in recent years when Melbourne was at or near the bootom? Can you provide an explanation of the days leading up to Melbourne's 186-point loss at Geelong last year? We had reports you were about to be sacked, then your contract extended, and of player dissatisfaction. I have never seen an adequate explanation of what occurred given our team, which a year prior had been a chance to make the finals, suffered one of the biggest defeats in football history. I think as members we deserve one. Finally, why did you need to borrow money from the club for a property deal and not use a bank, as most people do? Thanks

I'm sorry for Col to be injured. But I doubt it'll hurt our season. Col isn't a matchwinner.

Michael Hurley-Jack Watts. Would happily trade.

So was Brock McLean.

Thanks for the history lesson. Funnily enough, I support Melbourne too and know that. As I said, it's just my opinion. But a player who can't be arsed showing up on time is a bit of an attitude indication. He left, he wasn't fired! Sometimes you don't need to be told your number is up. It's made fairly clear without it being said.

No mate, they're my opinions. Blease has shown zero. Gysberts- thanks for the spelling lesson champ, I have autocorrect alas-has shown nothing outside those first couple of games where he shone during floggings. You're welcome to wait 5 years. I'm just talking about having seen very little to justify their level.

Yep, agree we're a bottom 4 team. Outside of Trengove and Grimes, not much for two years on the bottom, out draft selections appear very poor. Watts a half-forward at best. Morton weak. Blease and Gysbetts poor. You can see Neeld's opinion. He canned our recruiter. I don't see the talent on the list -let alone desire- to be top 4. Midfield too weak for a start. Only Jones has my respect from NAB cup form. So Neeld will need to rebuild. I expect some serious moves at the trade table in coming years. People ranking us above Richmond need a serious rethink. At least our coach is clear-eyed. That's the good news. Bad news is that we as supporters are likely to endure more lean times.

Yeah, that's my take too. People penciling in a certain win over Richmond are dreaming. I think they've streaked ahead of us, which is really painful.

I find it hard to argue with any of that except the last line. But then we're Melbourne supporters. We were born to suffer. As I said earlier, there's a distinct lack of class in the team, and I have a sinking feeling that we didn't maximise the recruitment during two years on the bottom of the ladder.

Apologies if this has already been posted. Malthouse's rundown on all the teams. On Melbourne: There’s not a lot wrong with Melbourne, except they have played without a modern game plan that resembles finals football. Their new coach Mark Neeld will kick their backsides raw. He’ll toughen them up, he’ll discipline them and he’ll have a game structure that is tried and proven. Players like Jack Watts and Liam Jurrah might look fantastic, but they’ll be reminded constantly by Mark that tackling should be a first priority and not an after-thought. I question Watts’ ambition. Is it to be the best player in the competition? If it’s any less than that, he will perform less than that. And when he performs less than that, he is going to be a marked man. He was picked at No.1 in the draft and although that’s not his decision, you still have to live by the code that as that selection you have to perform as a No.1 competitor. Age and number of games are irrelevant. http://au.news.yahoo...2-crystal-ball/

We lack class. It's weird that we had all those draft picks and there's no real star power in the team. The good news is I think we have a great coachingpanel and hopefully the young blokes can be crafted into a good honest football team.

Couldn't agree more. He's all heart and seems a very sound individual. But the beauty is there's a heck of a lot of talent there too. I'm really looking forward to watching him this year. Melbourne's Lenny Hayes?

I don't even particularly care about beating Hawthorn. All I want to see is the same pressure as last night and some improvement in awareness and better execution. That will go some way to regaining our credibility as a club, the rest is just icing on the cake. Despite not having any interest in preseason games, I enjoyed last night a lot!

Martin is going to be a terrific player. I think we saw his emergence last year when he took it upon himself to do extra training during the preseason and really commit to footy. The guy is a great athlete, big unit and has a brain like a planet. I reckon we are going to see some great stuff from him this year. I was impressed last night. That one brainfade was nothing on the rest of his contribution. Only Jones has me more excited at the moment. Jeez he's a ripper. Love the way he goes about it and had lifted his game to another level.

Sanctioned for turning up late to meeting. Cripes. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/129381/default.aspx

C - Frawley VC - Trengove and Moloney LG - Jamar, Jones, Green, Garland and Clark