The heart beats true

None of the players or coaches missed it though. I reckon it's open season on Jetta now. Everyone will be into him now he's the boy who cried wolf. Fletcher on the other hand can do no wrong. He's a protected species.

Good article. I think Mick has struggled a bit with the line between opinion and sensationalism this year, a lot of it due to his new employers exploiting his obvious relevance. Anybody that has a crack at Stephen Milne the way he did is ok with me though. ;-)

Based on some of Col Garlands efforts on Saturday night I reckon we might have Simon Eishold coaching our goal kicking. He had that same nervous look in his eye.

Pay attention to his efforts in the last quarter. It was a real captains effort. He definitely stood up when he needed to.

What a bunch of A-holes. That horse is a freakish athlete the likes of which we see once every century. They are just a bunch of mid range footballers who so far have had a good draw that sees them sitting 4-6 spots higher than they should.

I noticed a few times we had more players pushing back in defence after the initial clearance. More like a flood of a couple years back. I felt like it really helped our spread out of defence once we had the ball coming out. I didn't remember seeing us roll from more flooding and then into one on one when we had the ball in previous games. When I watched the replay one of the commentators brought it up too.

Me too! It's a fascinating insight into the psychology of fans. You could replace the team name and the players names and it reads just like D'land after rounds 1 - 9. We are a sad bunch us footy fans, unless we are winning - then we are glib bastards. ;-)

Colin Sylvia's goal. Not only did it send the message that we were coming it also proved just how good Col can be. That goal wasn't about structure, or development, or coaching. It was simply a goal that was kicked by a player with enormous talent deciding to stand up and be counted. I loved it for what it meant to the team, and the player.

Really not wanting to get involved in the entertaining backs and forth between you and Hardnut, but surely RR you acknowledge that the game plan does change week to week? I noticed we set up quite differently last night in terms of defensive structures. Watched the replay and the commentators mentioned the same thing. * This is acknowledged as a compliment to Neeld. If he's readjusting the plan it means he's doing his job.

Looks a player. Really helps with pace out of defence which we certainly need.

Good luck with pushing that agenda Frankie. Did nobody tell you it's Dustin Fletcher Appreciation Year this season. Seriously, the bloke stretches and the commentators go into fits about how he's the greatest stretcher they've ever seen. Greatest thing about last night was BT and Richo having to pay attention to our players in the last quarter. They rabbited on about Essendon blokes that did nothing all game. They've got half a dozen blokes that wouldn't get a touch without Watson and last not they got really exposed.

I actually think its a bit of both. I think you can play certain structures against teams that clearly won't work against other sides. I think last night our defensive set up worked really well and it was much more reflective of a flood at times. It was this that actually gave me real faith in Neeld. I felt like earlier in the year he was too rigid in his structures, and perhaps now he feels like he can have more finesse with it. The longer we compete in games the more the players can show a defensive understanding the more the coach will feel like he can tailor the structures. It's a cycle that hopefully we can build on.

Good to see Lingy go to Jack at the end of the game. Some instant recognition for the kid. I thought he was really good at controlling the tempo of the game early on when Essendon tried to pick up the pace and create turn overs. Jack is going to be one of the most highly regarded players in the league in 3-4 years. Let's not compare him to anyone but instead appreciate him for what he is.

I thought Sellar looked much better running in a straight line out of defence. He seemed to judge the ball better and used his body more efficiently for 2nd efforts when he did go up. I suspect Tommy Mac's form may have pushed him up forward.

I love this bloke. He's not going to die wondering.

This comment has all the psychological scarring of a closet Melbourne supporter.

I hope the next generation can start to believe and ensure the Demons have a bright future. Made me really happy to hear that he got behind them!

Enjoy the win boys, and all the Demonland folks. I gotta say I've been critical of Neeld but he did a great job tonight. I was so happy for him at the siren because you began to understand the pressure he was under. Good to see Don give him a big hug in the rooms too. Grimesy was a real leader in that last quarter. Watts was good. Col Garland up forward was inspired. Beamer and Sylvia tried really hard without a lot of reward. Best of all we played like a team. That song of ours is alright isn't it? ;-)

It ain't a bad draw is it? Footy is all about confidence. Our boys might get some real self belief. Get behind em. Go the Dees!

SCOFF! (please let my days be numbered, I can't handle much more of this)

Keep an eye out for the amount of times Bruce McAvaney calls someone with a 'good kick' that manages to miss the mark or even be turned over to the opposition. He does at least once a quarter. I think he likes the kicking action more than the result sometimes. I do think the AFL needs to get involved with the relationship between commentators and player managers. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Ditto with anyone that sits on a board. Pick a side and then be as good at it as you can be. It's why a lot of the best callers historically haven't been players. They understand their role and people trust them for it.

I love that list, but if Stephen Milne comes to play for the Dees I couldn't cope. I love to hate that guy. What would I do at St Kilda games? It's not the same hating on Riewoldt.

Not to beat a dead horse but Sylvia coming back in without playing a game just proves what a joke the VFL comp is. While on one hand I think it would be character building for Davey and Sylvia to be playing footy in the suburbs it really does nothing for the club that is their employer. Davey has missed 2 games this year so far from being omitted, yet not played the game of footy he really needs to get himself up and going. Hopefully he gets that this weekend.

Absolute bullsh#t Jose. Potential Free Agent players, player managers, sponsors, and 17 year old draft picks don't get a chance to hear what is said behind closed doors. All this club trades on is how it plays every week, and the way it acknowledges those efforts to the media.

Out - Sellar, Green, Dunn, Bennell In - Martin, Sylvia, Davey, Bartram Sellar isn't up to it and has proven it at 2 clubs (thanks for this dud Neil Craig). Greeny will be too sore, but I loved what he did and he really deserves to come right back in when he's fit for it. It sends the right message to the playing group. Benell offers nothing and looks lost. Ins - Stef deserves another crack and has more potential than Sellar. Sylvia and Davey are both in as they at least draw better opponents than Pettard and Bennell warrant. I also think that Colin Syvia is playing for his career. If he doesn't make it work in the next month it's highly likely that he won't get picked up by anyone. I know we've been harsh on him but I think his injury undid him more than we assumed. If he can light it up then we look a lot better than we do with Dunn trying to kick miracles from the boundary that even his mum doesn't think he'll kick.