Macca

We've rarely won 2 games in a row in the last 5 years so I'm not so sure it's a Darwin thing anyway I hear the whole "saps you're energy bit" but I don't buy it . We've been a club in the last 5 years that gets the odd win and we all know what happens then .............. Neeld and his crew will change the mentality

Oh , ok - my bad ! Anyway it's always Port then yeah ? That'll do .

You're right and there lies the conundrum - how do come to an amicable end ? Esp with so much money in the game now - I know if I was a player I wouldn't want it to end but if somebody like Barassi or Stynes sat me down then ..............................

Totally agree - we shouldn't be worried at all about a new frontier - Embrace it Wouldn't it be good if opposition teams and fans were fearful about playing us in Darwin . As a club we need to be innovative and think outside the square a bit more - bring it on . I see playing 2 games rather than 1 a huge advantage esp if we play teams that aren't used to the conditions .

Why were they ugly exits ? Ask the club - they were the people involved - that's gonna have to do you ! As I've said before - my observation was that we've had too many ugly exits - "The why" is a club issue . Don't agree with you at all re Johnno . Btw - I've got no problem with ANY player of any club trying to maximise their income at the end of their careers - often players get paid "Unders" at the start of their career's - you're a long time retired ( in most sports )

Good sides win anywhere - we should be able to travel and win - it's just another footy ground in my eyes . Never seemed to bother the Eagles and the Crows in the 90's or the Lions in the early 2000's . Don't believe in hoodoo's etc - it's rot - just win .

We're getting nowhere here - agree to disagree time

Yze , Robbo , Junior , Bruce , Trav - all ugly exits - I could name others but you'll probably tear strips off them . The Ox your only example - any other ugly exits pre 2007 ? Trav a dweeb ? What is a dweeb ? Somebody who plays pinball ? Great player btw and won us many games . Btw - are there any past players that you like ?

Observation .

Yeah ya right about our list - probably the end of 2005 really if ya think about it . Back to Bruce ! I'm done unless ....................

I don't know how you end it for players - I've got zero expertise in that area as do probably most of us . All I know is that Melbourne didn't do it at all well from 2007 - 2010 and I reckon it created a siege mentality and is possibly a reason why Cam left . Anyway , The Hawks obviously see it differently hey ? He's got another year by the looks of it .

Better Management would have handled it better - I've got no facts to back it up but pre 2007 we didn't seem to have anywhere near as many ugly endings . Yeah , ya right about most of our experienced players being finished but my point was about how it all ended for most of them - ugly And the bloke who probably had final say on the endings - Bailey . Noticed it hasn't happened this year btw - funny that . I was half expecting Green to get the chop given our immediate past record . Cheers Rhino .

If he gets another year at the Hawks ( as reported ) does that mean he gets another 300k ? Melbourne might have turfed him . Good luck to him ( just don't play well against us ! ) Btw I don't like the way the Club has ended the careers of many of our experienced players in the last 5 years - it's been ugly on too many occasions - could have been done a lot better - there's a classy way to do it and then there has been our way - it can create a siege mentality - " Every man for himself ! "

Not part of us ? Not in my eyes or plenty of others demons - He'll get life membership soon enough as well - so what if he held out for more money at times - it's not as if he's on his own in that dept. Even the great Ronald Dale played 50 games in a Carlton jumper ( whilst we were becoming a bit of a basket case ) People should always show a bit of foresight when judging a players career - in other words how are you gonna feel in 2 or 3 years time ? Cameron helped our team play in 5 finals campaigns - which is a far cry from the rubbish we've been served up in the last 5 years . Forget about his last year or 2 - He took a punt at the Hawks and it probably hasn't worked - I seem to remember Wells , Alves and others taking that same punt - Overall Cam was really good contributor . I've been reading posts on this site for about 2 years now and quite a few have copped it - Yze , Robbo , Daniher , Travis and others - It seems the ONLY player who hasn't is Neitz - that's sad if you think about it . I've never met the Cameron Bruce and probably never will but I'd be happy to have a beer with him if the chance ever arose . Cheers , Nuggets

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089222/ Well may you jest - but it may be true - click on the link above

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/2551/default.aspx He will no doubt qualify for Life Membership soon enough - the above link is our Life Members up to and including 2007 - some names may surprise .

I'd rather remember Cameron for the good footy he played for us - over 200 games is a fair effort - as is often the case , the last year or so of a player's career is focused on way too much - Hope he does well in his future endeavers .

I like your tall backline - seems that the good sides do this a fair bit - Pies , Cats and others The game changed a fair bit this year with more long kicking and taller forward lines ( Cats ) If the trend continues then we need to find more marking options in the forward line - Clark obviously helps but who else have we got that can consistently take contested marks in the fwd line - week in , week out . Hopefully Howe gets even better and if Watts and Jurrah can learn how to play in front and take some heat then we'll be alright - Green and Petterd are good at times - my team had Martin at CHF cos I think he can handle it - But if Watts can hold down CHF we are cooking with gas .

You've got the same 7 talls in your team ! OK so you've got Martin on the bench but not a lot of difference hey - 6 v 7 in the starting 18 - In fact nearly every team posted has the same 7 talls in it ! The difference being I have Martin in the team at CHF - As I said earlier maybe Grimes for Rivers ( who I've seen play on mediums / smalls quite a lot ) A tallish backline is usually needed against Pies , Cats , Hawks and Eagles ( esp if we're getting towelled up by their talls ) Anyway , it's ok to agree to disagree !

Watts is not equiped for CHF yet - you may have a point about the backline though ( against small forward lines ) Grimes for Rivers for that case - Not sure that my backline is "amazingly" tall in any case . Watts plays like a utility and has good leg speed - Don't get the "Wrecked team balance" bit either - how ?

FB : Garland Frawley Bartram HB : Rivers Watts Tapscott C : Blease Sylvia Bail HF : Trengove Martin Jurrah FF : Green Clark Howe FOLL : Jamar Moloney McKenzie INT : Grimes Petterd Jones SUB : Gysberts EMG : Davey Bate Nicholson We really do possess a good list that underperforms too often - Neeld should be able to get the best out of them . I tried to put as many "Goers" as I could find in the team - Usually that's what a new coach does as well .

Well that's where he has played most of his career but ..... he's not elite and he could be - I do like the idea of a "General" type in the centre and we do have a lot of medium / small type forwards that can fill the bill - Pettard , Jurrah , Green , Howe , Jetta , Wonna , Davey (?) Dunn and Bate ( though I'd rather see him on the wing ) . And lets face it , we have to change our structure a fair bit cos the one used this year and in the previous few years simply doesn't work . It's a bit off subject I suppose but it's all related - interesting times ahead and I can't ever remember feeling as confident about a new coach - Maybe Barassi though 1981 was a tough year ( 1 win !!! )

Yeah - you could swap Martin and Watts around - Sylvia is the one that has to become elite player - he has loads of ability - in the middle is where this might happen .

Yeah he's not up to it but so were quite a few more ( this year ) . There's some on the list that can count themselves lucky to be contracted next year .

FB - Frawley CHB - Watts Centre - Sylvia CHF - Martin FF - Clark Now there's a talented spine - Reckon that's what Neeld might be thinking anyway .