Robbie57

I haven't bothered with any of this but all this speculation ignores the words that fell from Scully's mouth.

He said he has not signed anything.

I take a man at his word.

In this case we have a serious hard working man who likes his privacy so there is even more reason to accept his word whe he fronts the media.

I think those in the media ought to be more careful about what they say here after all by saying he has signed something they are clearly asserting he is lying.

If he got annoyed enough he could sue them, they are relying on the fact he wont.

Frankly all the speculation is being media generated.

Jones is not a C Grader, he is singly the most under-rated player at our club.

Strong, skilled, resilient, hard running ball winners are hard to find, particularly at the MFC. Jones has a tendency to take too much reponsibility upon himself, therefor trying to break the extra tackle, kick to the corridor when it's not on etc. He has kerbed this to a large degree.

He is an attacking player with a mindset that I would dearly love to rub off onto a number of his team-mates. Put some better players around Chunk he will improve, not become obsolete. Think Dane Swan and what he was doing a few years ago.

I'm with Yoda on this.

Great news.

Hope to see him and his family enjoying a Dees win soon.

An inspiration to all footy followers.

What I would love to see from our team in the near future is....

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, (and even 4th) efforts at getting the ball to be the standard MO for all players
• The transition from Attack to a Forward defensive press by our forwards is organised and quick
• The kick out is so fast oppositions teams don't have the time to set up their zone
• Our player keep their feet when contesting and are not being bodied off the ball
• When impeded or infringed upon in a contest players don't stop to appeal for the free kick they keep contesting
• When a team mate does courageous stuff every one takes the time to show appreciation
• All players know where they should be when zoning off

I maybe venting but I just needed to release some those things that frustrate me when I'm watching the Footy. If even half of my wishlist is filled I would be a happy camper.

This my wish list what is yours?

All of the above and I'd like to see:

Every player applying the skulls single minded determination to leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of excellence. A pact between players to follow his lead.

Every playing imposing on themselves a minimum base line performance above their current output.

Every player attacking the ball and trying to move it forward to a teammate(or locking it in our forward line).

Trengove coming back and tackling with the same intensity.

Morton,Sylvia,Petterd,(i could go on) playing with a higher at the ball intensity.

Watts continuing to grow in confidence.

Our players realising they have the capacity to be just as good as anyone going around or can achieve those heights, Sylvia could be as good as Pendebury, Watts will be as good as Reiwoldt,etc etc.

No more pathetic passes and inability to work out of defence.

No more stupid frees from Dunn.

A forward line constantly working the spaces inside 50.

Jurrah and Petterd running the legs of their backs.

Morton attacking the ball in the way he started last week before the umpires cruelled him.

No giving up at the start of the game or even when the tide turns against us.

Bailey not accepting half hearted efforts and letting rip if his plan is not being followed (that should expose if he has one).

Bailey heeding what Roos has told him when they spoke and applying it.

Our players having the guts and determination most supporters have, if chip is tired of losing spare a moment for us supporters, I have been a supporter for 50 years like many here that has taken a lot out of us but we turn up every week ready to give our all for the team. We dont give up.

If thats not enough ponder how you can face big Jimma after a game if you haven't left every last effort out there on the ground.

Reflect on all of that for a moment when you pull on the jumper.

Good Luck Aussie your Melbourne family will always be here for you and yours.

I'll apologise.

Clearly had been playing on with a crook knee.

What was really interesting in what he said was " I spoke to Dean a couple of weeks ago about game plans"

Is he on the payroll already?

I hope they play him.

Nice bloke and was good to the club but not up to it.

It's repeated again at 5pm on Saturday (28/5) afternoon......

thanks queen c appreciate it.

Missed it. Anyway to see it.

My all-time favorite player.

I loved him playing in the big v and Running around the wing.

Milne

Harvey

Le cras

I couldn't believe my eyes today, to see flash pull out of that contest today, there has to be a reason.....I think somethings rotten in denmark behind the scenes, he hasn't played well for 3 to 4 weeks. There's more to this than meets the eye. I'm not gunna bag him when he's down he has enough brownie points up for me to give him some slack...but somethings not just right

I agree. Something is not right.

I want to bag him but that may not be the right call.

He looked like he didnt want to be there very troubling.

I like the Pendlebury to Melbourne suggestion, about time we were in the mix for a player of that calibre.

Your mates are idiots.

Brownlow as well, how many ruckmen have done that?

Well done Rudeboy, count me in for many copies...

The Tyranny of distance _Indigenous Round

Sam's article attempts to explain some of the issues facing Indigenous footballers but the deep cultural differences are sometimes very hard to comprehend.

I have been privileged to spend some time in a couple of communities and realise my understanding of their culture and problems has a long way to go but its clear they have many more issues to face before they can step onto the field.

It remains the simple fact that most Indigenous communities are underprivileged. That is as unacceptable.

We should be proud that the leaders at our club with the support of the members are committted to trying to undestand the issues and make a difference in Indigenous communities.

Our players are clearly committed to doing what they can. And whilst we might bag Kevin Sheedy on all sorts of other grounds he deserves credit for the work he has done over the years in this area.

Indigenous players make significant sacrifices to play for the teams we love and we should acknowledge and respect that.

So to our Indigenous players, their families and communities: thank you.

If you cant see yourself winning you won't.

I go into every match with the belief we might be able to win and I hope our players think they can every week.

I sure hope our players dont read this iste.

On another thread i suggested Watts to play back.

He did well there laast week.

He and Frawley may prove difficult streaming forward.

Well done Cale very impressive not easy to publically admit your mistakes.

Here is a crazy idea. Watts to play on Reiwoldt.

He looked good when he went back last week and if he beats Reiwoldt a massive boosst for his confidence (not to mention a learning experience) and our boys.

I'd really like to see MacDonald back in the team.

Then bring in Gawn and play Juice as the leading forward.

He should appeal.

(joking agree this is what he deserved and not upset he will not be in the team.

Being wrong Melbourne style or why the media is our best coach.

Remember the Road Runner and the wiley (not) coyote who only ever realised he was on the wrong path when he was 20 metres out over the canyon. At the moment Melbourne is like the Coyote unable to realise when it is wrong. Dean Bailey is the coyote saying we are building and doing the right things lets stay the path. Cam Swab is the coyote talking about premiership windows. Don’t get me wrong I think both have done a good job to date but now a different world view is needed. We need a culture of being elite and nothing but success will do and that has to start today not in a year or two in the "premiership window".

Being wrong is not easy and almost all of us on this site are wrong about one thing or another and any loss only confirms our deeply held and often wrong convictions about the coach or particular players.

Before the Adelaide game the media spent a whole week telling our team what was wrong with them, they couldn't fail to hear the message and they responded.

This week our players spent a whole week listening to how hard done by the MRP we were and how damaged by the injuries we were. They listened and learnt we were not going to win this week.

In that context was a massive mistake to appeal the Trengove decision. It distracted everyone and was never going to be successful (no doubt it was a terrible decision in the first place). We should have moved on.

Saturday was not a disaster, terrible yes. It deserves proper analysis and we should listen a bit more to those outside the club about where we are in relation to the cliff edge. Now I am not a football guru I am probably only fit to coach the little guys who run around at half time (nope I would be no good at that either). However we should listen to those in the media who can see without passion for our team what is wrong.

So what were the faults on Saturday?

Much as I hate to say it I think Dermie was right on the weekend when he said are second efforts are poor, they are not good enough. We absolutely lack intensity at the second effort and in the tackle. What stood out to me was Martin whilst being beaten in the ruck he was trying hard with his second efforts. He didn't have a good tap day but worked really hard at making up for it when the ball hit the ground. Not as good as the opposition but he didn't drop his bundle at any stage.

There was a lack of effort by Green and Davey at the level expected of players of their class. Green had 20 Disposals (SC 63pts and one more disposal than Sylvia) and wasn't at his best but in fairness not in the bottom 5. Davey some very poor disposals in his 22 ( Supercoach score of 9)7. (only one Dees player above 100) He is below where we would want and expect him to be. Jones got an injury in the first quarter and went on to get 27 disposals (sc 89), whilst beamer had a very bad day by his standards of 16 disposals. Wonna 11, Tapscott 13, Petterd 13, Jurrah 10 all failed on Saturday. What happened to our tackle count, it evaporated.

Dunn was a liability, have you noticed he is always late to a contest. A few weeks ago he gave away a lot of head high frees and on the weekend he did it again. 8 disposals well below par.

Our problem is not depth or injuries its application.

Old fashion graft. We can do it one week and not the next. I don’t mind losing with our depleted squad if the application from every player is the best they can do. At the moment they don't but don’t believe me just listen to those who see it as it is. What's even more annoying is when our players do apply themselves we are competitive.

So the big question is why do we have to rely on external critique to get this message across, thats is the coaching staff's challenge.

Imagine if the media were just saying "i like what I see at the Dees".

Big Milestone for the Jones boy this week.

It is easy to forget that Nathan is 23 years old. I have got a lot of time for the boy. His head is in the right place. He puts in 100% every time. He is the kind of guy you want around the club, likeable, hard working, diligent and he loves the club. He is also pretty good on the run in front of the sticks.

Good on you Nathan Jones, great 100 games.

Congratulations. I like Jones and we need more with his attitude.

ditto

Raw or not, Gawn has been playing in the ruck for all of his sporting life. He'll probably struggle around the ground for fitness and whatnot, but there's one thing he should be able to do is contest physically in the ruck contests for a large portion of the game.

Dont think fitness will be an issue.

I am warming to the idea of Gawn in combo with someone else.