rjay

The first principle of good tackling is desire, you really want to tackle and have pride in your tackling, no one should ever get past you or slip your tackle. A rugby mindset where tackling is a critical part of their game, no matter what the size differential you are expected to stick the tackle. Too much emphasis is placed in AFL on pinning the arms and this is what makes it easy for an opponant to slip down in the tackle to draw a free kick and if they don't more often than not they lift the arms to get a handpass.away anyway, particularly with the present rule interpretation that allows players too much time to be spun around and then get the handpass off. The best tackler technique wise that I have seen in the AFL of late is Nik Nat. He comes in low and hard and knocks his opponants body out with a shoulder to the middle. If you do this enough a couple of things will happen, your opponant will want to protect his rib and stomach area and not raise his arms, if he does raise them he will get the wind knocked out of him. If he is trying to dispose of the ball you will knock him off his line and draw a turn over so there is no need to worry about him lifting his arms. Desire and good well thought out technique are the keys.

I'm 100% with you there. Need to do a Carlton getting Swan from Collingwood.

The only constant is the administration, so it needs to be looked at very seriously. Questions about season 2011 were shut down at the AGM and in hindsight that was a mistake, by not addressing these issues, what ever they were we are in danger of repeating them.

I think he had a very good idea and said as much after the first game press conference.

Whether you agree with Mick or not something is not right at the club and hasn't been for some time. By the look of things (the results) we have a lot more to be sorted out yet. Let's get on with it asap, I just hope the results don't devalue Neeld's power to bring about the necessary changes, at least to the football side of things.

The approach Neeld took in his first after match was a breath of fresh air to the supporters and some journos. He got hung out to dry on that one so I guess I would be happy to see him do the old Alan Jeans, one week at a time and give em absolutely nothing from now on.

That's what I'm getting at, probably not expressed well. It really gets to me that the type of player we need, Blease is just sitting on his arse at Casey and wasting his talent. Nicholson needs to make the most of what he has and get back on the program.

We are so slow, it's ok to get grunt and bigger bodies around the ball but... We really need Blease to pull his finger out or put him on the trade table and we could do with Nicholsons leg speed. I hope these guys can show something at Casey.

It's interesting that Toumpas has jumped up in the rankings, he played a serious part in the senior SANFL premiership last season as a 17yo. Mathew Haynes is another one we should be interested in, good kick, very quick.

Interesting to hear the commentary about players missing at the mo, Didak, Tarrant and Johnson, but all of these have their best football behind them. With Swan talking retirement and Cloke thinking about GWS maybe all is not well at Eddie land, well at least we can think it for this week. It's a long season and it looks a bit more open, at least for the moment.

At least it might take the heat off us for a bit, but a win tomorrow would be a better way. Go dees....

Money or chase a premiership, GWS or Carlton. Otherwise he will stay a Saint.

Ok, now you are throwing 2 different issues into one, development and trade. I agree with you that development is important and it is an area we have been sadly lacking. Trade for players is not such a big deal in my opinion. If we look at the yardstick in Geelong then appart from Ottens they have not traded anyone into the club for quite a while. They have traded some good quality players out for picks and that's what I would be looking to do. We have traded in Clark and Mclean out for a high pick, I know he was picked up as a high pick but for us to get what we got for him wasn't a bad trade. We're not going to pick up an A grader with a trade (I think you are alluding to that in your PS) and if we did the cost would be too great, we are better with astute recruiting and quality development to grow our own. Diamond Jim, Big Carl, Templeton, Croswell, Moore etc. didn't bring us team success. At the end of this season we need to see who has real currency then make decisions to trade for more picks or if a Kennedy or Mumford are around have a serious look. We are too late now to start to top up our senior players, that horse has bolted. It's now up to the new leadership group and coaching staff to show the way forward. By the way Tim Lamb's police experience might be a real benefit in interviews (interagation), I reckon he might just be able to sniff out a bit of the BS that goes on from time to time.

Much rather use the picks on 2x18yo plus Viney, that's just my opinion. I think the up side is far greater and I also think that Strauss, Gysberts and Tapscott will more than hold their own with Beams and Sidebottom stalling in their development and Wellingham, like him but would rather take my chances in a good draft. Maybe a player trade if anything but these guys are definitely not first round pick trades.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/players/playerprofile/rorytaggert/tabid/8357/playerid/23841/category/senior/season/2012/selected/bio/default.aspx

Yeah, imagine how much they would have won by if Bartel and Selwood had played good games.

Not a good idea for mine, these 2nd stringers shine with top talent around them. They won't have that luxury with us and it would be a waste of a first round pick. We should take 2 first round mids with Viney in this draft, there are a few really good ones that will be available to us given our recent form.

Check out Richmond this week, they might win the game but they give us a good run for our money on kicking skills. Edwards would be up there with Bartram for the worst kick in the comp and Rance is not far behind.

He can play, just can't get on the park at the moment. Good size, strength, kick and mark to make it as a mid. If the development argument is right and we have it right then he has every chance of making it.

I heard that too, but where are our runners?

If the game was still on I think Bartel would have nailed him, but yep Hawthorn were just as hungry. What a great game.

Seems to be the case not an excuse, hey I don't like the results either but I'm really [censored] off about why our team has stagnated since 2010. Neeld has given us a reason and is trying to rectify it, I just hope he is right. Adelaide started winning games when the coach changed over last year, we didn't?????????? The players didn't play for Bailey and didn't bother when he was gone. Neeld's job was always going to be a hard one but with what he's had to cope with on top of the playing list over the last month he's done well to stand up under the pressure. We played the odd good game over the last couple of seasons but it proved to be a false dawn. Neeld promised to push the players and said some would break, I think we are seeing that now and at the end of the year we will go to the draft with a young leadership group established and ready to bring in a new crop of players to join them who will play and train the way Neeld wants. Trengove is in my opinion a good choice for captain and is well on track, he will get better as the year goes on, he is likened to Jimmy Bartel and watching the game today, well I'll be very happy if he gets to that level. What a great champ Bartel is. I wish we could sprinkle some magic dust but it aint going to happen, maybe we will start to see the wheel turn a bit as the season goes on maybe not. Yep, I've had to sit through the great Fitzroy and Hawthorn floggings, many more downs than ups, I just hope we get it right this time. West Coast turned it around last year, Adelaide may this year, lets hope it's us next year.

It is Development, Recruiting, Culture, Leadership, Coaching, Administration and a whole lot more that goes into making a player. If it was just development alone then you wouldn't be concerned with first round picks at all and be happy with a bunch of 2nd and 3rd rounders knowing that development was all that counted and you had the best development so all of your players would become top liners. Development is not alchemy you are not going to turn Tommy Mc into Buddy Franklin no matter how good your development but you can help him become a damn good player. I think the jury is still out on our recruiting but at the moment it is not looking so good. I would think our development has definitely been sub par with no improvement being shown in our players over the last 2 years. I think this is also the reason Neeld said he was not surprised by the performance against Brisbane. This to me was the most telling thing to come from the club and with all the drama's of the last month it has almost gone un noticed. It made me bloody angry, not that he said it but that he was right and that the club has let it happen. So I can understand the development argument and feel that we have failed some of the kids who have been drafted to our club, some will turn it around and others will fall by the wayside. We now have a good chance to see how our new coaching group go about the development of players over the next couple of years. I'm interested in a couple of test cases from the last draft, Jai Sheahan picked up as a rookie with a bit of inside knowledge from his TAC cup coach was a KPF who played a bit in the ruck. Tall, could take a grab and a good kick both sides. Watching his first couple of training sessions looked like a kid (he is) and a bit lost but they have moved him to defence at Casey where he has been very impressive, he seems to have matured in his short time at the club and may be a player in the next couple of years, let's watch his development. Tynan and Taggert are the others to watch, Tynan has surprised me with how far he has come already, I thought he would be a good couple of years away when I first spotted him at training. Unfortunately Taggert is injured, I was really looking forward to watching him as he came with a ready made body for AFL unlike a lot of the skinny kids we have picked up in recent years. A good size, strong overhead, and big kick. With a few good picks in this years draft, I would look to trade for more picks and trust that we have the development in place now to grow our own.

I think some questions need to be answered, so I hope there is no over zealous censorship.

Sacking Norm Smith.