rufus

You make a fair point and no, I didn't go today. To be honest, I don't go to games anymore as I just don't enjoy it. My overtly negative comments on Demonland help me put the frustration of the days' performance behind me, but are probably best ignored! The first 14 rounds have been a good step forward for the club...we still have a long way to go. As I've said before, those that have enjoyed the journey to where we are now, and continue to ride the highs and lows without complaint, are the ones who I admire the most and who rightfully will enjoy the ultimate success the most when we finally get there.

This club is a hard one to turn up for when you enjoy watching good competitive sport where 2 teams go at it trying to win. Lots of fans are accustomed to the Demons picking and choosing when they'll have a crack...and many probably suspected today was going to be one of those days where the players couldn't be bothered...and they were right. We have had so many years of the results being worse than they should have been, based purely on inconsistent effort, it'll take 3+ years of consistent effort from the players before supporters will attend consistently.

Playing group that has gotten ahead of themsleves...even though they have achieved nothing. Playing like a team that has won the last 2 flags and think they can save themsleves for September. We won games by applying pressure around the ball and giving quality looks to our forwards. Seem to have put that in the too hard basket again. We simply do not have the talent in the forward line to score unless it is coming in fast with the opposition on the back foot.

Don't reckon I've ever walked away from watching a Collingwood game and thought the Pies were soft. Reckon our players were a bit soft today...another area where old habits are probably going to die hard and will continue to make us vulnerable against intense pressure.

Still a long way off being trustworthy. Experienced players have a gap between their best and worst that is too enormous to be a premiership threat. Don't know how we fix that.

One of our massive ongoing problems still seems to be the minimum output we get from our experienced players. With many of them, their bad games are horrendous and costly, whereas what you should get with experience is that the 'quieter' performances are just ordinary games. Not sure what it is about our culture that sees guys who've played more than 100 games still turning up complete stinkers on the regular.

Reality is we are still a way off where we need to get to. Our intensity this season in general is leaps and bounds ahead of the general level of the last 30 years. But these guys still take quarters and sometimes games off...and as a team that is yet to achieve anything you just can't afford tp do that. Scary thought that could do another 2018 Perth rollover or even worse in a big final. The 2 losses so far have been based off intensity and they'll definitely cost us top 2...hopefully not top 4.

Great pressure applied last night. It really is the most important thing in a football game. Interesting that we had less tackles than them but our pressure was better. Wish there was a stat published more widely that explains the pressure applied. I know on the TV coverage they sometimes show the pressure gauge which is interesting. Have heard a number of Bulldogs people bemoan that they played into our hands by kicking long and high instead of lowering their eyes, thus bringing May and Lever to the fore. The thing is, when we apply great pressure in the middle, it's much harder for them to lower their eyes. Lots more hurried entries into the 50 which is helping our backline hugely.

Our pressure has dropped way off and we're fumbling the ball in all parts of the ground. Both are a recipe for disaster against the dogs. If we get within 5 goals I'll be surprised.

Reality is we've been ordinary for the last month. Has been an amazing result to come out 3 and 1 over the last 4. Skills have dropped off in direct correlation with the drop off in defensive intensity especially in the forward half. Looked like 2 evenly matched teams today which is concerning. Don't believe we are contenders but if we make strides towards showing intensity for larger periods of games this season (which overall we have so far) it will have been a good season and a big step forward.

If a player tackles another player, it's either: - holding the man if the umpire deems the player did not have posession - incumbent on the player who has posession to move the ball out legally, via kick or handball, otherwise holding the ball, regardless of 'prior opportunity' (the opportunity was to not take posession and knock the ball forward if under pressure). Personally think this is pretty simple and will keep the game moving.

We seem to be doing well by making games into arm wrestles and making the most of the periods where the momentum swings our way. Playing that way i think we will lose somegames through inefficiency and some others when our opponents capitalise on the momentum at the right time. If we lose games while still fighting tooth and nail i don't care...been a long time since we've been able to watch the MFC play with a fair idea that we'll get a real sustained effort. That's all I ever cared about.

Time up for Melksham. Avoided contact which cost us today. We can't accept that if we want to transform into a consistently competitive football club.

First half massive concern...that our players can still come to a game with that level of intensity is baffling. Thought we'd learned and were past it. Our intensity was so bad that not only were we walking around the stoppages but North were almost walking out of them. Some guys had absolute shockers. Was Brayshaw trying to get tackled by executing as slowly as he possibly could when he had the ball today?

My view is probably too simplistic, but i think it comes down to the players finally applying the required amount of pressure for long enough. Everyone looks a better player when you are getting ball off of turnovers...it's just so much more damaging. Think our players have been incredibly lazy over many years...which translated to our bad days being much worse than they should have been. So far this year we haven't let lack of effort decide a game...we've either let them be decided by talent (by matching intensity) or have exceeded the oppo intensity. I believe the AFL is a pretty low skilled professional sport...premierships are won by the teams that go harder for longer. Not sure what has got our guys heading in the right direction, but it's nice to see some genuine fight.

It's a good point and a hard thing to do (refraining from arguing with umpires). Takes a lot of discipline and in the long run it works in your favor.

Great to see the players absorb the physicality early and then respond with a sustained effort back at them. This is something we haven't seen since Northey days. It's amazing how applying sustained physical pressure opens the game up for your own scoring opportunities. We still made bad skill errors (dropped chest marks and fumbles mostly) but because of our relentless pressure we still created good quality scoring chances. The players look like they may have finally cottoned on with the intensity. Long way to go though.

Plus a team that plays with higher intensity across the ground...which makes it easier for everyone to play better...

The team look like they're 'angry' about the opportunities they've let slip this year...great to see them showing it through on field actions.

Gee these guys really just don't seem to get it. So much talk and so many efforts like the one vs. Port last year...didn't look like there was a burning desire to make a success of the season.

My belief is that our skills look poor because of our lack of defensive intensity. When we have applied high levels of pressure to our opponents, we create turnovers in situations where we can break away and have more time and space, hence it's easier to hit targets. Our defensive intensity back, forward and in the middle is very poor.

100% right and the softness is possibly also a reflection of the supprter base...in general we don't seem to expect that much from these guys. I always think back to those reported comments made by Melbourne Storm players about the lack of dedication and professionalism at the MFC. Doesn't seem to be changing.

Like all of us, been burnt many times! I do admire those with eternal optimism though. If/when the wheel does eventually turn they will have the most satisying celebrations.

Not sure about Port before this year. But I will give you a few predictions based my sense of the kind of culture MFC have vs. some other clubs. We'll see in a few years how close my sense is: - Carlton will do better than us this year. - Hawthorn (who right now I reckon have one of the worst lists for talent I have seen in a long time) will be competitive in the top 4 before we are. - Essendon same as Hawthorn. - North Melbourne will win games against us over the next few seasons because they'll go at us physically. Hope I'm wrong about all of these and our guys are now committed to a 'compete at all costs' culture but who knows.