dpositive

I can also remember White running through the centre providing an option and being ignored Structure or strategy I didnt know But it sure was frustrating as a supporter and must have been for him as well I think he was a good player whio wasnt able to show how he could be great hopefully we have a more flexible and astute coaching team able to use all the talents of all the players to give us not just improvement but reward

In the Mitch Clark thread I have said that Clarke can make space and Watts can perhaps better use that space with his speed flexibility and disposal. I reckon he is still very much a developing unit and form will fluctuate But there is plenty to admire and there is also much hope that he can show that intensity that all supporters have. As I said in the two captains thread we dont always get it right as long as there is intent and this manifests as improvement I would love nothing better than for Watts to be a part of the successful premiership Demons. Even if he doesnt match Hardeman Neitz Lyon who were all fantastic but I think also had the odd day off.

With Clark the crash and bash forward making space it may be an opportunity for Watts to fill the space provide another skill option Really can see the two working well together within the forward line Perhaps those derided selectors and coaches have got it right??

The boys are co captains of the playing squad They are joined with a leadership group We have experienced previous leaders Not every player is available (form or fitness)every week Maybe not even suited to opposition or structure for specific match Leadership can be displayed throughout the club activities not just on the field Leadership can be displayed by how you cope with being rested (not sooking) but taking as an opportunity to rebuild (form or fitness) The boys are young and under incredible pressure they will grow and develop if the coaching and support staff are as skilled dedicated and committed as the players in their areas As supporters we have been used to the lows and some relative highs.We expect better and hope it will come We support which can include trenchant furious and irrational criticism We do not always get our actions right but lets all know our roles, maintain our passion and acknowledge improvement Hope you get my drift Go DEES

Great thread I finally got one I blame Jack for the broken jaws of Gysberts and Viney

Cant forget the little old ladies who always took the only fence seats at the Kennel in front of the Melbourne supporters. They contributed to the coarse language that was expelled in frustration and came up with the best line I can personally recount. The Melbourne crowd were silenced when these venerable old ladies did the morecombe and wise routine one stating to the other F#$n Robbie Flower! You know the f#$n trouble with Robbie F#$n Flower? Noooo said the second Whats the trouble with F34n Robbie Flower???? the Melbourne supporters were silenced with apoplexy ready to unl;eash appropriately invective laden response The trouble with f%#$n Robbie Flower is that he cant kick it to F#%n Robbie Flower It wasnt Boom Boom but it did cause a reappraisal of the relationship as the Melbourne fans realised the truth of the statement The ladies had pies and drinks delivered all day and always thanked the boys for their service. It was just one of many great days at the footy. T This thread and most of the comments in Dland rekindles those feelings and makes theentertainment even more compelling I am still waiting for some glory but get plenty of enjoyment from the associationship (if thats a word) Keep up the banter GO DEES

Thanks for taking the time to keep us posted KC it is really appreciated Look forward to your always excellent reports of the match I do really like your report of events flavoured with just a touch of your opinion. Your observations are rarely contradicted so I feel I learn more about the squad than from many others posters. Will obviously be interested in your appraisal of Watts Jurrah and the other individual contributions. I think others have stated the importance of the basis of that side our high draft picks as the future team It is certainly going to be interesting how the "ones" go and how we are able to use the scorps as development of the squad. GO DEES .

I saw Jack , Morton and Watts on different occasions whem they had the ball hold off in the middle of an intuitive action to dispose of the ball because there simply was no option. I often saw Watts do this in previous seasons , almost af if the intuitive response was ahead of others in the team. It sometimes looked wrong but as more options open up I see that the so called improvement in Watts delivery is confidence of the player receiving the ball. I am hoping that this is one of the issues of structure that Neeld and coaches talk about. That the more highly skilled draft picks can execute. It may be about fitness and it may be about physical size and strength etc but its also alot about the confidence of yourself and those around you. It was great to see that confidence growing last weekend and even scaping a narrow win at Casey can be infectious for confidence of the team.

As always KC starts a great thread and it continues Thanks all for contributions certainly gives great info and entertainment to me shows the good depth in the club on and off field.

May be a good reason to rest him next week He is only 19 and recovery may be better than another gruelling contest He did match up well on Reiwold (the conditions didnt suit him?) and the pace style fo game Gut running did suit Tom the confidence he gained could be lost if he goes against a bigger opponent who smashes him That said he may well match and learn from HAwkins another big scalp who may bring out the best in him Rely on the coaching staff who must now have some conficdence that their massages are getting through to continue the development and improvement.

Maybe Couch for Trengove and let Trenners freshen up at Casey

Not shunted but refreshed If he is needed for structure or game plan against opposition it may be OK to let him watch Hawkins from the stands.

He really did seem to impose himself on the game at times and seemed to contribute all night I also saw him noit only impose but contribute with linking play or shepherding and just creating space. Not sure who his opponent/s was/ were but Im sure watters would not have been happy that Jones did contribute. Also I thought Jamar did distribute the ball more widely and Jones was often able to benefit from that. All in all agreat part of the progress Lets continue that intensity next week GO DEES

Havent seen the stats but St Kildas "tall" "mature" "well developed" "Stars" didnt seem to have a great impact all night. BUT and I am a Jack Watts supporter they did have an impact at times and I didnt notice Jack do that He did execute some good passages and I even saw him put some tackles on with intensity and cleared a path for others but as has been overwhelmingly stated he didnt seem to do enough for mine when it was really needed Perhaps its confidence perhaps fitness perhaps its just a mental scouring that the coaches havent yet been able to penetrate Again it may be appropriate to play him at Casey but not as a penalty but rather as a refresher to get him to work on those attributes beyond skill that he needs to find I too was interested in the Hawkins article and see some parallels(??spelling) BUt overall a great improvement on the output and the outcome even in defeat there was some progress It must be continued GO DEES looking forward to the rest of the site and comments

It certainly looked to me like some endeavour to get the ball Eyes were on the ball What would have been said if Thomas had incurred a brocken back as rohan fell on him??

Its really looking pretty Grim Cant see where the win is coming from if we continue with existing structures and game plans. I am waiting for the change and with better use of the squad optimistically hope for a win. Cant see any sides having a bad day being worried by us ATM. 0-11 with a bit of improvement will be a win for mine.

Dont go to the Barry Prendegast thread then!!

OPEL?? part of the GMH stable???? Hope we dont alienate the Ford supporters! All good to me I own an aged subaru

I believe the MCC has agreater proportion of Collngwd members than Melbourne supporters. I think I have read that they have only a minority of MFC members and they would probably contain similar proportions of all clubs supporters as the general population. Its the same thing when you go to the snow, There are as more other teams scarves on display than there are Melbourne but we will always be disparaged as snow bunnies. (I have indicated to the club that we should leverage of this perception and try and attract the snow crowd to join us) I wear my colours and my allegiance proudly wherever I am and I respect any supporter for any other club who does the same. I have always welcomed the passion and the banter that support generates. I know that I have heard comments within and outside the MCC Members that are considered foul or unwholsome. I try to treat them all with a grain of compassion and know that I have made comments that have been perceived as foul . I always try to think of context and recall to others that often foul language or inappropriate behaviour is a consequence of frustration and is unintended Its why an apology is often the best course of action With regard to foul language I often remind people of the context and intent There is no better example than the word bugger I think Ill bugger off now.

Or can make a statement within the club with all players in a comparitive circumstance situation This is what we expcet better to highlight a better passage of play rather than dwell on a poor piece. Then get ALL the players to understand thats what is wanted and get them to buy into the criticism and support on the field. I have stated before its about bringing the poorer performers up to the level of your better performers not penalising your better performers by expecting too much of them. ie Whats the point of dropping him if he is really tuned on to play for Jimma and matches up well on doggies opponent , he now knows not only what he can do but also what he musnt do (as do all players) I think this is development??? Its a bit vague but I hope you can get my drift?

I have never played elite level but playing at equivalent level competiion and from observation lack of fitness does impact dramatically on performance. I play squash and when not fit it is noticeable how you dont get to the ball, are off balance, and generally game skills deteriorate markedly. When competitor is even a 5% reduction in fitness can affect score dramatically. I hadnt really considered it a major weakness at MFC but it may be a bigger factor than realised. Maybe the effort asked by Neeld and Misson on the training track is taking some time to take effect. It does seem that the intensity and fitness of other clubs has increased and if we were marginally behind it may impact a lot. AS I have aged I know that it takes longer to recover and it is easier to lose the level of fitness Fitness is difficult to achieve and retain over a gruelling period (season) I imagine thats the purpose of the beep tests etc all players go through is to establish monitor and improve those levels Recovery levels also are affected by fitness and ability to do the second and third effort repetition etc are all affected by fitness levels It again is a reason I have been promoting the Squad versus a fixed or best 22 as all players will have different cycles of effort and recovery and levels of fitness. Matching the player capacity with what is required is why selection should not be automatic Wow its a very interesting aspect which I again have assumed the club and its coaches are professionally managing and improving and I guess why I am still positive.

Like the rest of the threads nothing sounds hollow to meAll comments are the real and genuine thoughts of posters so I do think they carry some weight. Looking at the thread on "culture" has really made me think i havent commented as I am not sure what I can contribute AT this stage I would just say that the culture is all stakeholders I do not see the current coach making the culture, It is all the coaches , players, administrators,members and supporters who make the culture. It is the past, the present and the future. It is strong. It is not our current performance on the field and I think all recognise that. It is not about accepting defeat easily despite our long history with that. As I said earlier there may be some value in many dlanders contributing in relaying that message to players with the message that we also see value in effort I think Ive gone beyond my original statemnt and said more than I wanted with little thought Our culture is deep and needs to be very seriously considered, identified, communicated, reinforced in word and action Go Dees

Its all between the ears after all I think if you see the development of the widely criticised Jack Watts you can see a boy in the beginning taking big hits from bigger bodies now bulking up and using the skills he has to improve He is becoming more of a man on the field Its not possible to leap forward all the time Player and body type were recruited with some aim in mind. Neeld Knew roughly what we had and I still maintain he must use that with a game plan that uses those attributes. And maybe some of that is just exposing the boys to the mens game. I do believe we do look bigger and fitter this year so maybe an impact of the new fitness regime but even that growth takes some time for developing bodies and minds to adjust to. It has been pointed out that all teams need a mixture of attributes and I think our squad has that mix. Some Talls, some smalls, some fast, some slow, some insiders, some outside runners,some gifted, some genuine triers. Its a matter of getting the right mix Oh and getting the right techniques of the game I guess thats why Im not a coach and I am still willing to give Neeld and Co a good chance to get it right BUT I would like to see more signs of improvement and it isnt really being reported here or any where else Can we still get those helpful reports from training from the Dlanders and as I have said elesewhere the positive body and real language fr5om the coach and coaching group. I thought GLyon last night was good Obvious disappointment and honesty but acknowledgement that there were still some positives. Its just not my ID its also my attitude.

most comments resonate with me. I had Hassa Mann then Flower Parkes Hardeman Rhino Grinter Lyon Ox Jacko Jacovic, Wiz Yze hope you get the drift We now have Watts Howe Trenners GArland maybe even Morton to start with All a work in progress I have said that defeat is character building and that mine is built. Im off to get defeated at squash but I sure as hell will make em fight for victory. I sometimes win and sometimes lose and if I get beaten coz Im off my game( happens often) then I make sure I try harder next time. Is so and always has been inspired by the Dees

Not a bad idea to get a few demonlanders to talk to the players about pride and passion effort etc maybe get them to read the threads and make their own comments Neeld has adressed the fact that fans are stakeholders so he may even support this idea Of course it would be necessary to select those supporters with care Cant deny the passion of most but some too negative on selective issues (Self included)