Grandson of a gun

Someone highlighted the stats before (perhaps the other thread), we won all the important ones- Contested Possession, Tackles, Inside 50's It is only NAB Cup and it is still difficult to read too much into it but if this is the manner in which our boys will play this year then i think we will have a good season. Whether it becomes very good is the next question.......

Will take that considering no one gave us a chance.......(including me) Pressure, Pressure, Pressure.........I Love It.

Well regardless of the result, and believe you me i hope they win, what i am more/mostly happy with is the WAY they are playing. We have been crying out for this fierce attack on the ball and the man for years....

Don't care about the disposals or even the end result. It is the endeavour, pressure, hardness and ability to implement the game plan that i'm after. Listening to MMM and they are praising the pressure applied by the demons. That is music to my ears...

Brisbane were so happy when they drafted Matt McGuire..................................

Let me preface this by saying that I am leader of the Jack Grimes fan club. I simply love the man. But to all those here on Demonland- Stop Bloody Whinging. Every team has injuries. EVERY TEAM. Brisbane just lost their Captain again. Collingwood has two knee reco's and a few other medium termers. Hawthorn could barely field a fit side last year. Fremantle started recruiting blokes from the mines to fill in.... It is a contact sport and injuries will happen. I don't want any Melbourne player to ever get injured and i will curse the world whenever it happens, but stop acting as if it only ever happens to us. Whether he is back in two or ten weeks, the true test of whether we are an improving side, and even a good side is whether we have depth to cover. Whether there are blokes who can and will step into the void. If you think i am talking crap, think of a premiership team who lost their all australian CHB just before the finals and he never played again. Yet they have won 3 now in 5 years. If that's what we are aiming to become then we must develop a robust enough list that can cater for these situations. I love Grimey and think he is an absolute Jet. I am very thankful that on the face of it he will be fit for round 1. But if he is not then we need to be good enough to cover his loss.... So quit the woe is me crap and the it always happens to Melbourne attitude as if no other club in the AFL has experienced it.....

Wow Rhino. Now you've done a complete 180 and are approving of the clubs decision on this. Obviously you slept on it and some common sense has prevailed in the morning. Good work.

What part was spin Rhino? I stated the situation as it is. You are the one who is making baseless assumptions, fearmongering and trying to convince everyone the sky is falling in. What is it exactly that you expected in this situation Rhino? Nothing ever runs perfectly in a successful business and if you think it does then you have your head up your you know what. There is always problems and issues coming up- it is how the problem is handled that governs the success of the business. So tell me again what exactly you expected in this situation especially when you consider every other club had their head recruiters locked up for the year. Make a rushed decision and get stuck in a contract with someone you are realistically looking to replace in 10 months or appoint an interim head and conduct a wide ranging recruitment process to get the best available? So instead of sitting there potting the decision made, come up with a better solution.... Or perhaps you should just take a moment to really reflect.

The argument against this though Ralph is that there is a school of thought that it is more preferable to have players play 4 continuous quarters like a normal match then play for two, have a long break where you cool down and lactic acid builds up and then get going again. I actually prefer them playing the back to back games.

People will find any excuse to whinge instead of rejoicing that finally our boys are running out to play. They would have liked 34 but ended up only taking 29 because they are obviously managing loads and niggles etc. What would you prefer, they take 5 blokes who aren't 100% and break them before the season starts- give me a break (pardon the pun). It is also a mickey mouse round the first week of NAB and very rarely will players play all 3 pre-season games anyway. I would much prefer we have a stronger, better list available for games against real strong opposition in Collingwood and Hawthorn in the weeks to come anyway. Be happy people...

Wow Rhino. Think you need to take a step back and read the release again about what is going on. It is quite obvious that the club didn't think BP was going to leave and his timing left the club in a position where they could not secure a suitably qualified head of recruiting to manage this year given it was already January. Instead the club has taken the opportunity to appoint Viney who already worked in the field to a degree. They also have a specific person to look after the mature age recruiting from other clubs and leagues and someone else who focuses specifically on the junior pathways. It also gives them plenty of time to head hunt the best in the business. Look at the situation as it stood, we were left without a head of recruiting in January. All other clubs were locked away which meant we were probably looking at someone with the 18th best credentials and then only in a position to offer them a 10 month contract before we would be looking to replace them. No recruiter would accept that deal and it is not great for the club either. Instead they have utilised resources within with someone who knows exactly what the club wants and where it is heading and they have made the best of the situation. It's not all doom and gloom Rhino.

Yep i could just see Neeld accepting that excuse. Just like the dog ate my homework. Tough [censored]. It is your job to be there on time. Take measures to ensure you never miss an alarm, or get up in time or allow enough travel time. It's called being professional.

I like it. And i reckon that it is good that the perceived areas for improvement are made public as it gives the players nowhere to hide. As has been said- a direct reflection of Neeld's approach to this list? And the new thought process of the FD in general. Thumbs up from me...

I agree with Nasher that there is no hurry. I do believe that if he is fit, Magner will get one. And Nicho is likely too as well although Neeld may want him to work more on his disposal before upgrading. Part of me thinks they will keep the third spot open for the first couple of weeks of the season to see how the likes of Couch, Evo, Sheehan, Williams go at Casey...

I might be mistaken but don't we only have two rookie spots? 1 spot because we only have 1 veteran. 1 spot for Spencer LTI. Then mid season another rookie upgrade is available free of charge so to speak? Or have i missed one? Edit: excuse my stupidity, i forgot about big max...............

You misunderstood Fan. I am verygreatful for those training reports and thoroughly enjoy reading them. However they are only one persons perspective and none of us see what goes on behind closed doors in the other sessions they do. Yet many round here love act quite the opposite and speak as if they know everything intimately and their opinion on a players training performance over summer is therefore gospel. As Neeld said recently, unless you are on the inside then you have no idea of what actually goes on and the effort and work put in by the players.

It's funny isn't it Maurie. Experts around here would have you think otherwise....................

No disrespect to the current crop on the demonland banner but I believe Jack Grimes should also feature. I know it's not as simple as banging up a photo but just thought if you guys have any upgrades or refreshes due soon that it would be a good sign of respect.

Something around $96 maybe...............?

I love the expert opinions here on the inner workings of the club, the players thoughts and feelings and the coaches decision. Is it that hard for people here to understand that whilst we all love this club, very very few of us actually know what is going on inside. I am absolutely rapt for the Captains. And for the rest of the leadership group i think it is a wonderful statement. I do feel for Green who does bleed red and blue as does Moloney. Riv and Davey i'm sure do too but in life and in football hard decisions need to be made and this club has for too long shirked the real tough decisions. I have absolute faith in what Neeld and co have decided and that those who are not in the leadership group any more will still continue to give their all for the club.

Your ability to show strength in times of immense personal adversity is a life lesson for everyone who loves Melbourne. You epitomise every aspect of the word hero and it is not a word of a lie when it is said that you saved this club. Your ability to re-unite and direct everyone's focus in the same direction is immense. We all love you Jimma. Keep fighting.

Im in. Averaged 2200 last year.

Thanks for the reports guys- it always makes for interesting reading. People always view things slightly differently and it is good to have multiple reports from which you can glean a more accurate picture. But for those worrying about what the players are doing, remember we have coaches out there who have a far more intimate knowledge of what exactly is going on and what we see on the track is only a small portion of the training regime our team undertakes. I have faith in the coaching group to extract the best out of the players we have.

I don't give a rats tossbag.............

I don't believe it was meant in the tone of "ditching talented players", rather that a few might get injured now, or struggle now, or burn out quicker this year, but in the long run they'll be better for it because they will have built up their base and resilience.