Webber

Agree this. And has elite skills....a natural footballer.

Gawn did more in the first quarter than Jamar has done for a whole game all year. He understandably was knackered in last quarter, where Minson took over, and there was nothing as you say that Nathan Jones could have done. But PLEASE no more Jamar. He is simply a liability around the ground.

Flanners is not only the best football writer in Australia, but one of our best writers on any subject. He combines the knowledge of a historian, the passion of a fan, the romance of a poet, and the intellectual consideration of a true pragmatist. All at once. His brother's not half bad either.

He's all class, and the players will love him for it. There's a reason he is so respected in the AFL, and we saw it in his press conference. Would love to think he'll be at the MFC next year in some capacity, but not sure how....

He's a gun, and great to watch. He along with Jonesy, sets the standard for on field performance from the rest of the playing group. The absolute consistency of his efforts makes him very easy to admire.

Thanks for linking to your piece WJ. The connection of Tom Wills with Marngrook is an interesting one, and seems to make some commentators oddly adversarial. The best evidence I've heard is through interviews with the Wills family. As much as he was was ostracised by his family later in his life, there was no contention from them as to whether he played Marngrook with the local Indigenes around Moyston or not. He did, which makes the comments of those who suggest there's no evidence of an influence on the original inception somewhat ignorant. The fact that he knew and experienced the game brings it to bear on his part in the rule making.

Excellent find indeed 7-UP! Tommy Wills is about to be re-discovered as having the cultural status he deserves, not just in respect to footy, but as regards his relationship with indigenous Australians. Martin Flanagan generously opened a painting exhibition I had earlier this year, with a series of Tom Wills related pieces, and spoke exclusively on Tommy and his historical impact. He also currently has a screenplay on the Tom Wills story being worked up by a film production company, and has written a terrific lyrical biography on him : 'The Call'. Martin also gave the John Button oration at Geelong footy club in 2011 on Tommy, and it's a great essay taster on him. You can find it online. Greg De Moore, a Sydney psychiatrist, wrote a biography : 'Tom Wills, his spectacular rise and tragic fall' about 5 years ago. Also a bloody good read. So I reckon the Tom Wills story is about to have a rebirth, and not before time. He is a fascinating and enigmatic character, and embodies so much of how Australia sees itself. As mentioned, I've done a series of TW pieces (of which my profile pic is one), and as an act of shameful self promotion, they can be viewed them on www.richardwebber.com.au or on Facebook as 'Richard Webber Artworks'. There's a triptych reconstruction of the Shaun Smith mark of the century on there as well, for a bit of nostalgic worth!

Nice post FerDaDee, and it shows a couple of things. Firstly that adversity can breed stronger bonds and a desire for solidarity. Secondly, that consistent success doesn't translate as directly to supporter numbers growth as may seem. Sure, it helps a lot, and makes selling the club to potential supporters easier, but St. Kilda are exceptional to this 'truth'. They have been worse for longer, and without the ultimate success than any other AFL club, but their support is vocal, large, and has a distinctive personality of its own.

I had his brother David as a physiotherapy student for a 5 week placement a few years ago at the clinic I work at. Chris was just finding his way at Collingwood, and Dave was happy to admit that Chris was both the better footballer and a smarter cookie. Dave was no slouch in either respect himself. He was a very classy, thoughtful bloke, mature beyond his years, and very appealing to the ladies at the clinic too I seem to remember.

Such overwhelming positivity...... reads like resigned self pity. It was the history that attracted him first. Good response though.

I sent an email to the sports editor of The Guardian online Australia version yesterday, Tom Lutz. I was suggesting he may not be giving Australian Football it's due as the biggest sport in the country by its lack of presence in sports stories. He replied quickly and with detail, even suggesting that since arriving from the UK, he had chosen to support the Dees! For those who think that history counts for nothing, he chose the MFC because it is the oldest club firstly, and secondly because we have been success free for so long. Good on him I reckon.

Yep. Stupid divisive sniping from David Schwarz. The strongest clubs on and off field have a culture of solidarity and loyalty, and that includes from affiliated media commentators. To further inflame the 'pro-Neeld/anti-Neeld division, and effectively invite supporters to share his unwillingness to support the team on game day, and even HOPE THEY GET SMASHED is beyond juvenile. Mark Neeld's performance as coach will ultimately determine his fate, and the ONLY thing the Ox is doing is fertilising the media ridicule and opinion that this club has no unity and loyalty even from its supporters..... US! Imagine if he did the statesman-like thing and directed his great passion toward unity amongst supporters, like Jimmy did. Imagine instead if he got his sound bites by attacking the mindless ignorant commentators who think they know what's going on at the MFC, and how to fix it. If we need ANYTHING right now it's a positivity toward supporting the club. This is not it, and it does NOTHING to help. Shameful stuff from a club legend.

This post, along with your last post btdemon, are perfect examples of the stream of speculative presumption that spews out from the media these days, and in particular about what's going on at the MFC. You make grand and and absolutist statements about Mark Neeld's personality, his relationship with the players, the players reactions, feelings and attitudes. All of which you have absolutely no direct evidence or justification for. You see on field results, and then invent a scenario that tries to make sense of it. Of course we all do that, because we desperately want to find reasons and solutions. You however, are making judgements as if they are fact, and because you don't actually know, it is in fact the rubbish that other posters have called you on. For the sake of reason and in the spirit of support for your club, reconsider before you post damaging guesswork like this again.

He is universally very highly regarded, inside and outside the club. David Parkin was ropable when CC was scapegoated by the AFL, but entirely unsurprised when he decided to cop it for the club. I'd be surprised if anybody 'within' football ( not the media) had a bad word say about him.

Excellent piece longsuffering. Hopefully the worm will turn against the media, and more people will reject the poisonous personal vitriol that they spew out daily. We need to stay thick with the club at the moment, and let the ignorant doomsday rubbish slide past.

Good stuff Sat. I suspect the idea of keeping Neeld and Craig through this year and next makes a lot more sense when you hear the plan and situation from them directly rather than presuming, judging and second guessing from the outside as we all do on here. A big part of the problem with football commentary now, which has violently escalated over the last 5 years, is the short term desperation for success. The media breed and then feed this frenzy for instant results, and we buy into it. No patience, no tolerance for a plan that might take a few years, no respect for anybody who might try to implement a longer term fix. The media want scandal and blood, and they insidiously convince us that we drive the agenda. [censored]. They set the agenda, and public opinion lines up behind them because we assume that they know what they're talking about. For what good it will do them, I couldn't be more impressed that certain MFC people have been staying away from the media completely, such as quoted by Neeld, and Jordie McKenzie recently. The media is POISON, with fewer and fewer exceptions, and unfortunately it dominates any information more valuable, such as that which comes from the horses mouth.

Great stuff Robbo, some perspective from somebody who knows more about what goes on at the club than ANYBODY on here.

Yep, cos Geelong are brilliant at making the game about unbroken chains of possession. Applying pressure to facilitate the turnover, then using movement and skill to bring the ball forward to score. We've seen briefly from the MFC this year some pressure on the opposition when they have possession, maybe a few quarters, but our ability to move the ball with skill through uncontested possessions from there is the worst in the AFL. When we don't even apply that pressure, it gets to the point where we look like witches hats. Mark Neeld talks about the possession differential we throw up every week as not being that relevant, but it ABSOLUTELY is. The easiest way to win is by having more of the ball, and using it well (disposal efficiency). If you out point the opposition on these 2 stats in combination, you will win.

Hyping and personifying scandal and 'shame' is the Herald Sun's raison d'être, so expecting any degree of sensitivity to the plight of the girl and her 'guilt' is beyond hopeful. Dr. John Dee, your erudite explanations of racism and it's existence within the superficially reasonable arguments for rejecting political correctness and suggesting people be more thick-skinned were enjoyable reading. Sadly, the girl has been too readily identified, and will have a struggle to overcome the consequences of this. What I have thought is terrific in the way this episode has hit the public domain though, is that it seeks a better standard of respect and tolerance firstly at sporting events, and secondly in Australian society generally. Considering the degree to which sport is embedded in Australian culture, any chance to use it as a means to improve racial respect should be held high. Whilst the crowds at Australian football are remarkably harmonious and good-spirited in the context of other sports worldwide, it can ALWAYS be better, and Adam Goodes has just shown us how we can and should aspire to this.

There are rumours that Mark Williams is being spoken to and arranged at this very moment. Be careful what you wish for......

You may be frustrated Gd, but you write a lot of sense, and with calm perspective.

You're assuming that hiring Neeld was a mistake, but it just ISN'T that black and white. Just consider that it may NOT be Mark Neeld that is to blame, because as much as you are so sure it is, you actually don't know.

NOBODY knows how to fix it, but there will ALWAYS be those who say they do. They don't. They're guessing and postulating. Somebody in charge however will employ general good management and get lucky with timing as the MFC ship begins to right itself, who knows when, and then be attributed as the reason for the improvement. For all of the supporters and the media who imagine everyone at the club is doing everything wrong, they need to grow up and see how ridiculous this vulture like frenzy for sackings and dumpings and change for its own sake is. Exactly how much influence do people think Don McLardy has over our current on field performance? Pretty close to f***-all I'd say. Perspective is needed far more desperately than the blood mania the modern media drive.

Doggies have been consistently more competitive than us this year, I just don't see us winning either barring their entire midfield being out of action. They will control possession just as every other team has and can easily do against us.

James Sellar was good down back last year and has been good there this year. In fact he's looked very much at home there whenever he has been. Tom McDonald on the other hand looks more like a natural forward. At his best last year he was instinctive and sought the ball out. He played there as a junior, and was drafted on what he showed as a forward. I don't understand why he hasn't been tried up front, unless its part of a longer term career plan, a la David Neitz.