Deetective Sgt. Taggert

Unless of course he's one of the players who allegedly doesn't like Buckley and he does not want to leave Victoria...

Be interesting to know what Neeld thought of it and whether he had words with the players in question...

Thanks Striker. I hope the black tape I put on mine won't cause an issue with the cover option!

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This was quite damning I thought from Cale's interview. I remember someone posting last year about this last year who had spoken to Morton and he felt he wasn't getting adequate feedback. I recall Warnock having a similar complaint.

was that the year they drafted buddy and roughy!!! I'm sure they would thank us for it...

It just seems like they rarely get the timing of the tackle right.

So we've recruited a cop...might be just what we need to interrogate potential draftees to see who really is dedicated to being elite in their profession and who would be committed to their club!

Whats next?!?! Someone on the Melbourne Board turns out to be a Chinese double agent??!! Apparently Melbourne is playing a football game this weekend

Sounds pretty positive all things considered! Nice to talk about footy for once...

Agree, by the end of the first half, I had more confidence it our defensive capabilities and ability to apply pressure on the ball carrier that I had at any stage last year. Unfortunately, they couldn't sustain it, nor get much fluidity when attacking...

As far as I'm concerned, yes the responsibility of the leadership group is to represent the club and front the media, but that should primarily be in regards to all things football which is their job. They are not paid to provide commentary on the impact of the death of a former player, I don't see how that is part of their position description.

I think that is also a fair point. In the short term, it might be considered a bad move, but longer term, perhaps it was necessary to get it out. However, I think this could still have been done behind closed doors rather than in the media.

I think that some mistakes were made in terms of not shielding the players from the situation as Malthouse has noted. In retrospect, I think it was the wrong choice to have exposed the players to the media on the day of Jim passing and even in the days that followed. Mitch Clark's public breakdown should have sent alarm bells to the administration that the players should not have been put in front the media on that day. Especially given that it was such as new leadership group and two young captains. It was just too much to ask of them and at the time I really felt for them because its a responsibility they probably weren't prepared for (although they did pretty well all things considered). I note that Neeld kept a very low profile at the time, which I thought was appropriate given he had only recently joined the club. Perhaps he should have fought harder protect the players as well, but I reckon he would have decided to concede to the wishes of the club administration in the case rather that trying to get his own way. But who knows? However, I think we have to accept that the build up to the game was a very unique situation for the players, coaches and the club. I think Neeld must accept some responsibility for this, but given he is so new to the club he wouldn't know the players well enough to be able to know how best to handle such a situation so I willing to let this one slide.

I posted this in the game plan thread but think its also relevant here: I read the Game in Time of War by Martin Flanagan last year. One of the things that jumped out for me was the chapter on Peter Schwab as coach of Hawthorn in early 2000s. Flagan said in regards to Schwabs philosophy/gameplan: "As I understood it, at a time when the game was becoming more planned and preprogrammed, with more and more of the thinking being done by men in glass boxes and not the players on the ground, Schwab was trying to develop a side in which the players made the decisions themselves. His team had proved erratic, one observer describing them as a 'collection of unhinged athletes', Others questioned their hardness at the ball..." This sounds an almost identical description of the Demons under Bailey. Which would seem a strange approach of Bailey to take given it largely failed to deliver anything at Hawthorn until the Line in the Sand game and all that has happened since under Clarkson. The parallels with Neeld and Clarkson are quite similar I would think so i take some hope from this. Also, if the players were supposed to make decisions themselves (from all I have heard/read this sounds very plausible) under Bailey, then no doubt the more regimented approach under Neeld would be quite a drammatic change and you would have to expect some time for it to become second nature for the players.

I read the Game in Time of War by Martin Flanagan last year. One of the things that jumped out for me was the chapter on Peter Schwab as coach of Hawthorn in early 2000s. Flagan said in regards to Schwabs philosophy/gameplan: "As I understood it, at a time when the game was becoming more planned and preprogrammed, with more and more of the thinking being done by men in glass boxes and not the players on the ground, Schwab was trying to develop a side in which the players made the decisions themselves. His team had proved erratic, one observer describing them as a 'collection of unhinged athletes', Others questioned their hardness at the ball..." This sounds an almost identical description of the Demons under Bailey. Which would seem a strange approach of Bailey to take given it largely failed to deliver anything at Hawthorn until the Line in the Sand game and all that has happened since under Clarkson. The parallels with Neeld and Clarkson are quite similar I would think so i take some hope from this. Also, if the players were supposed to make decisions themselves (from all I have heard/read this sounds very plausible) under Bailey, then no doubt the more regimented approach under Neeld would be quite a drammatic change and you would have to expect some time for it to become second nature for the players.

That's why you not on the selection committee...bail is a role player and sticks to his assigned job each week because he unlike other players takes nothing for granted.

the midfield is a lot more workman-like than than we must have seem for a number of years. more grunt and less flash, can't help but think of Geelong 2011...

Surprised to see MacDonald but Great effort by Tynan to debut Round 1. Also nice to see all of last years VCs and Captain make the cut, shows they have kept working hard.

But can they do both...

Watch Mark Neelds speech at the commencement dinner, he makes it pretty clear that they were trialing things in the NAB Cup...

I think the good thing from the NAB Cup is that is has given us all a dose of reality. The reality is the team will take time to adjust to Neelds game plan, that is to be expected. From what I understand under Bailey the players were more trained to play a game more on instincts and to react based on what the other team dished up including playing on at every opportunity. Whereas the new game plan is much more regimented and thus requires a higher degree of discipline and 'compliance'. Therefore, it must be expected that some time must elapse before the players adapt to the new approach. However, it is somewhat depressing that the midfielder that has shown the most, aside from Jones, is a rookie listed player who's availability for selection in round one is in doubt.

Why does Santa have such a big sack?..... ...because he only comes once a year

Interesting to note that the article on the MFC has had it titled changed to "Brad Green Rushed Back for Power Clash". Methinks someone at HQ was reading this!!

I grew up in Wangaratta and I think its an absolute disgrace, the time saved by flying instead of driving (when you take into account the commute to and from the airports, boarding time etc.) would have been perhaps 1 hour max. Yet the additional cost would have been huge by flying. Really makes Essendon look like a bunch of toffs. But i really feel for the local fans who bought all 11,000 tickets! My old man was helping out with a few things on the night and said many of those people were families, who due to financial circumstances, would rarely if ever have the opportunity to see an AFL game. I don't care who gets the points but its a slap in the face for a footy mad town and the local kids who missed out. The AFL needs to arrange something to make it up to them!!!