dpositive

A late entry just to welcome back KC and thank all those who put this thread up. I did keep up with events as posted but couldnt get my response to work until today

I'm awaiting details from my travel agents who are the best two friends a bloke could have. There was a group of us used to go every week we could and some of us made an epic road trip to Adelaide years ago for a weekend of sheer enjoyment even though we lost the game. We met the team in the casino and felt like we were a real part of the club more than supporters. We still talk about that experience I've migrated to the country and dont get out much anymore but the others still get to as many matches as they can. The guys arranged a trip to the Gold Coast and it was as good as a two weeks break and cost less than a trip to the psychiatrist. It was fantastic and I am in their debt for the pleasure they provided. Now they have organised the return to Adelaide and while we are older and wiser I am looking forward to another action packed weekend of pure enjoyment. To have a team that is competitive is fantastic and a win would be a bonus. If we lose it wont be because of lack of support from us. West Adelaide V Sturt would be an interesting prelude but Ive got a mate over there who is into the Ammos and we may squeeze some action from him after a lazy game of golf. Its all very much up in the air BUt a good time is assured

LUCKY BASTARDS!!!!

I reckon you are right there I think the nature of the Sydney market is that they dont attend games in large numbers and not sure wether they watch TV games in large numbers. Too many distractions with beaches and babes Sydney (Swans) were an economic drain until they won and they have a hard won supporter base including the reborn Sth Melb cohortwho give them some respectability GWS have no history and will not have until they win a flag Thay are built around the next generation and are mostly young so their results will fluctuate until they have a core of hardened experienced players. They are coming and so will success if they can keep all they have. I think someone said they need an experienced coach and I think thats probably right The AFL are determined to make this work they will plough whatever $ are required to make it work Lets just hope they want to entrench Melbourne for those interstate battles and provide us with a flag first.

Me also P MAn It will be a real test of the players and the coach. The Hawks were definitely down with their injuries but continued to play their style which would have beaten many sides. Port may have an ease down but I dont think Hinkley will allow that We have to match up carefully against them and Roos will have to have every player switched on. If every player plays to their best we can certainly beat them but I think the most important thing will be not to get blown away. A big loss would undo much of the progress that has been made GO DEES

Nothing beats the compliment "As solid as a brick shithouse" Thats Dunny

I only caught the end of the game on ABC radio and the commentators there were quite bemused by the umpiring. Plenty of comment and not complimentary at all. Perhaps a copy of that should be sent to Wayne Campbell.

I was interested i saw a grab of Buckley and he said something along the lines of yeah were getting the umpires down to just discuss a few things we do at training and clarify what we are required to do in match play I have said that MFC needed to this this many times in the past. Not as a criticsism of their performance but rather a criticism of our tackling or placement efforts. at the same time we could show them that above our collar line is where our head is and that the place we display our number is the back and ask if we need to alter our jumper to help them recognise those features more easily. Obviously slightly tongue in cheek But in reality how can we help improve their job and help improve our performance through better understanding

my only real problem goes to the heart of the Viney decision. The call should be about safety of the players as well as the upholding of the laws. Players heads and backs should be protected. over the shoulder and in the back are to protect those vulnerable parts of the body. While some players (orall players when possible) exagerate the impact in the back, when a player goes face down with someone on top of them it seems likely that it is indeed in the back. To allow this action and then countenance more players piling on top in order to trap the ball and earn a stoppage or free for holding just seems ludicrous. Often tackles are made over the shoulder to drag a player down and the player is on the ground with an arm still around their shoulder when the free is paid against them. I maintain we should ask the umpires to come to our training and instruct us as we seem to have difficulty in receiving free kicks for over the shoulder and in the back and seem proficient at giving both away. We can ask the umpires to assist us in getting this important part of the game correct and helping them do their job better.

When I went to the footy regularly i started a campaign in opposition to the chant which every club had collingwood clap clap clap richmond clap clap clap west coast clap clap clap and interrupted there chant with a GO DEES found it very satisfying collingwood GO DEES clap clap clap you can then continue the GO DEES at different syncopations to disrupt any opposition supporters cheers and also to match the pace of the game.Was a great build up in passage of play GODEES,GO DEES, GO DEES (like a steam train engine gathering power) with an exhortation of triumph and relief when the score was achieved DEEEMONS. I guess you had to be there!

Looks like they should be doing more of the match simulation work where they were/are not as sharp Thanks for the report

While Watts is the almost obvious out as ineffectual I just cant see how we can let him get away with this performance by letting him return to a lower level where he will slope around picking up 30 or so possessions against lesser calibre players. What is of concern is his hardness and attack on the ball with so many examples given in this and other threads that it not worth repeating. However I doubt he is going to get better at this at the lower level. He needs to be told by Roos and I reckon 3 quarter time might have just been the beginning and I did like the comment made about the players watching and analysing together. I also reckon Watts wasnt the only one not putting pressure on players. I did notice a couple of times he positioned himself to force a sydney player to dispose of the ball where he didnt want to go and this resulted in a turnover. But most of the time all over the field we were under pressure when we disposed of the ball but we allowed opponents to have space and get balanced this is why they can hit a target. I watched most games on Tv over the weekend and this was a common feature players who delivered accurately were usually well balanced and not under extreme pressure players under pressure usually just went short anywhere to a player with space they often created the space after disposal or went to a space and got the ball back. We just seem to be so slow with our thinking that we are putting ourselves under pressure and not delivering well. This is something that needs plenty of work at training. Jack Watts is one of the few players who does seem to be able to make space and get balanced but is now so confused that he still manages to bugger it up. Dont know the answer but I hope Roos does.

just worked my way through 11 pages. Dont have the latin for that I still dont know. Stats and many games show that Jack is still progressing at above average. This explosion of comment has occurred for the poor game last week but even in this he laid more tackles and did plenty of unnoticed work? than others. I have seen him present and his teammates ignore his perfectly timed lead to space, I have seen him with the ball looking for a non existing outlet or a teammate offering the next move. I think he may well be a tad too talented for others around him his intuitive action is often ahead of any one else and they perhaps lack the ability to get the delivery to him accurately. Other teams do seem to have figured out how to take Jack out of the game and often just keep it away from him it is up to our team to keep him involved. If Jack is then found to be lacking he will fade away. As it is most can his talent and are frustrated that it is not reaping a greater return for our team I just hope Roos can overcome the problems of Jack and the team. Jack is only part of the problem and may yet prove to be a considerable part of the answer. I hope Roos can get Jack and the team working together.

It seems that we are losing sight of contract details. There is no compulsion to make a contract for a fixed period. It may be done for specific loading purposes (front end etc ) and salary cap prescriptions orspecific attraction or retention reasons. As there is no compulsion to make it short there is no compulsion to make it long. There are offsets which are necessary when undertaking contract discussion. Contracts can also be extended or reduced if necessary. P Roos could well say he is extending his contract to give the boys reassurance of certainty and stability. He does not have to meet that obligation if their are release provisos. Players can be given contracts and reassured for purposes of injury or setback with value or length or even termination /redundancy. Frawley will bring what he is worth on the market and the club will decide what he is worth to us. At the moment we seem to be paying a lot of players (the salary cap) that do not seem worth the same value as comparative players at other clubs on performance Contracts also require performance. I have been a supporter of Jack Watts and believe he was treated poorly by the club and fellow players on his introduction and was used poorly by Neeld, BUT this is his last chance.I would be demanding performance and certainly wouldnt drop him to Casey. I would also demand his teammates to use him when he leads to a space and to provide him an option when he has the ball. These demands would be included as contract provisions and I while I do not support demotivating penalties I would be valuing players under their contract on each performance with fins for something as woeful as Terlich kick in the ifrst quarter or Frawleys lack of chase against West Coast. The value would be gauged against other clubs performers and in accordance with other unknowns, Ie if Terlich was instructed to kick it as wide and as long in that direction or Frawley was instructed to ease his running due to an injury risk. It would be interesting to see how many players earned their keep each week

I agree with the thrust of the thread and have mentioned it myself. The delay also means that the kick is made under pressure as the umpire calls play on. If it is a plan to play to position the players need to get to those positions more quickly. I also see many players working into space but being ignored as the kicker scans one way then the other perhaps looking for the planned release where a quicker release would achieve a better possession. perhaps the intensity of training needs to be increased to reflect the speed needed in the game. It could again be lack of confidence in ability to deliver or lack of confidence in the target whatever it is it needs to be rectified to help us go forward.

do you blokes do this comedy as a stand up routine If so I reckon we could get you a gig up here in Beechworth we appreciate a good laugh Keep up the good work

I only get to watch on TV and this is what I see other sides do. Kick in front of or to a moving player to a space that he is in or going to and the overlap as Bruce usually calls it happens.

Lovely work This is the real test of Roos, the team of coaches and the players. I still think the players have come through a system where they were identified to the elite level. while we have perhaps selected poorly (no need to revisit that)they have still come form a select group and we have many high level players. Again we have been cruelly affected with injuries (Clarke and Dawes being the obvious)but we still a nucleus of quality players. There are obvious reasons how the constant defeats would wear you down. As supporters we have had a lot longer experience of it than most. I thought we had endured the false promise of the Bailey attack when football went defensive, the promise of Neeld defence and possession when the game went scrum and speed. I just now hope that Roos can ignite the abilities of the squad he has with some tactics to use their skills within their limitations to be not just competitive but victorious. But this also requires the players to acknowledge their deficiencies and work to remove them recognise their teammates abilities and play within them. To work as a close knit team is now more important than ever. Again this is a significant part of the role that Roos must perform. It is all possible A win against The Blues would be a great place to start.

Maybe Karma aint true But I do quote Newtons "immutable law" ( is it No 4) For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. There must be a lot of reaction coming

I know its silly But I tip them to show support

Yep Its almost the same too many comments to agree with I have lived through it and will continue. Agree with most of whats on here re changes. The game and Me. I still pick Melb in the pub footy tipping to the amused derision and sympathy of others. I Too dont watch all other games with the same intensity but get great enjoyment from by local club. I cant even get to all their games any more but after a flag they finished bottom and have started this year with a win . A new sense of passion and a desire to improve that I wish Melbourne would display. We had Sam Kekovich up here a couple of weeks ago and he said that the bond that was forged as a bottom side was even better than the bond of victory. But he didnt discount what the victory set up for him and his teammates. Some of the old values are being lost and I hope that Melbourne can rediscover its winning abilities. I have faith in the players abilities and even greater faith in Roos to expose the ability and use it to achieve victories. I just dont know when thats going to happen but will continue to support the Dees.

I said last week on a training report thread that I hoped the players and Roos were training by watching replays of other teams. Before they analyse their own game they could see how other teams are playing. I saw alot of similarities in the poor things Carlton did yesterday with the way we played against the saints. Next week they will surely not be as bad but as they are playing the Malthouse method we should use this game to attack and tear them to shreds just like Essendon did It may be time to say to the players OK we have seen this shyte for so long we need to see something different Run Case Tackle focus on the ball and focus on each other to get out of this mess. The alternative is that none of them will have a reputation (N Jones perhaps exempt) as they have shown only glimpses of potential but have been unable to sustain it. Need to develop my thoughts further if only to show the players that I care.

Fantastic reference Thanks WJ Some of this needs to be passed on to the players. The joy, the desperation and the fleeting moment of opportunity which must be grasped. Of course life can still be enjoyed but the position they are in is rare and should be cherished with the knowledge that they gave it every ounce of their effort.

Gee RN I hope there are others who agree with you otherwise I know nothing about the game. A very good analysis of the outcome of the lack of confidence I reckon. I think that a lot of the timidness came about because they were inexperienced with small bodies easily knocked off the ball and crucified in some of the tactics adopted by previous coaches. Not having any toughened bodies around prepared to support them they developed the timidness which does not equate with the game. Yes they must toughen up but as a unit and support each other to be a tougher team. Dont know that I can express my thoughts too clearly as it is pretty complex but thanks for making me think. I will always support the team as I have seen worse times and will watch as closely as I can to see if any of the issues you have highlighted are improved.