Older demon

Get some run in the team, yesterday too top heavy and slow. Midfielders must pick up 20 quality possessions so that excludes Mckenzie, Rodan and Tapscott and tell Jamar to hit it to our blokes not his feet. Runners of the back flanks Watts, Tommy Mac and Dunne is too big and slow. Select 2 tall backs and a make the ruckman runs back and fill the hole, rest of the backline must be runners who can run 10 kick it 60 and hit a target (preferably left footers like malceski or birchall)

To the President (and I am one of your fickle supporters whose letter you didn't respond to) Today the staff of the MFC disgraced their club and jumper, DO SOMETHING, DON"T THINK DO! It was embarassing and a disastrous way to start the season as you have effectively killed off all hope.

Without picking a team I worry about the ones listed with Dunn, McDonald & Watts where is the pace and run out of the back line? If Garland and Frawley are down back I feel we are too top heavy. Successful teams have a runner with great kicking skills coming of half back. Yarran, both Shaw brothers, Suckling, Mattner or Malceski. Individually the names in the backline look good but it isn't what I would call a rebound defence, coupled with an average midfield means the ball will struggle to get forward. I can see Terlich, Jetta, Nicholson for his run not delivery playing down back and playing 1 less tall

Do I feel sick? No. I expect to be bottom 4 and fighting with the Bullies for the spoon we are weak in the middle with jamar our only decent ruckman unless they plan to use Clarke in that position. Midfield lacks class and even if all the tall forwards are playing the ball wont get there. Not convinced the coaching strategy under neeld has got it right, sacking leadership group, 7 discards eagerly picked up bu other clubs and topping up with discards and money ball players. I have no expectation for this year and frankly don't even feel enthused to go and watch the carnage.

No Still too early and I am yet to see what I call our definitive game plan. It appears that the addition of Clark, Dawes, Sellar and Pederson up forward suggests Neeld wants it longer into the forward line and as yet I haven't determined how the coaching panel plan to move the ball out of defence. Last season was a nonsense and no judge. Will Neeld be innovative like Clarkson and have different games styles. Does he have Malthouses ability to design a defensive game plan around the personel he has? Will we mimic the defensive overlap style of Adelaide under Craig? This season will tell us part of the story and then we can decide how bright the future is. Personally I don't like the current chip chip chip around the boundary stuff shown in the NAB cup and worry when we will ever see Clarke and Dawes operating together.

Great question. I couldn't help but admire Geelong in the NAB cup saturday when it got tight. Instinctively they played to a plan and knew were to run as they moved the ball up the middle of the field. The secret I believe is in how many games you can get into the young players when they arrive at the club in the seconds. Thats right in the 2's learning the game style so they react instinctively when they make the ones. In the 80's at the Hawks it was not uncommon to play 50 games in the seconds before making your senior debut (Michael Tuck) and now Geelong have a core of young players to bring on who have played 2 seasons in the 2's even the great Gary Ablett, Enright etc played a seconds grand final which they won. Collingwood is currently developing its second stringers at their 2nds. Contrast this to MFC and casey where we wont let our players play finals at Casey and look to get as many games into you in your first year. Thank goodness Viney got to spend a year at casey as will Jessie Hogan there is NO quick fix to team culture!!!

Who would want to be a backman in this team? We get smashed out of the middle consistently and the ball heads into our forward line at a million miles an hour. It would do anyones head in and make them indecisive. Similarly you need mids who run and spread so the backs have someone to kick to and can play an attacking game. Jamar got 35 hit outs against NO opposition (McEvoy and Hickey not playing) and we still lost the clearances, who the hell was he hitting it too? Look at the tackle count , how much pressure did we apply? None. Don't blame Chip, look at the midfield personnel and game plan. Fix that and things will improve. And to anyone who says it was only a practise game read Barassi and his quote on practise to be perfect, you train how you play and the practise form does not inspire hope for a season any better than the last.

Re Beamer & Martin and even Gysberts I care because they were all victims of coach Neeld. We have all forgotten how he sacked the old leadership group including Rivers at the start last year and cleaned out the club so he could get his players in and play his style of football. We all have short memories of his arrogant uncompromising attitude and angry manner (just ask players and staff around the club). There are 7 former players deemed good enough to get a game at other clubs that is an extraordinary number Well now part of his assessment this year will be the performance of the team he has built as well as the players he discarded. Our ruck stocks are thin and I certainly didn't agree with giving Martin away. It is only February but he will be judged this year and remember how we all couldn't believe how the team could go from 8 and a half wins in 2011 and hope for improvement that led to a bottom 4 spot in 2012.

Could not agree more. Why then did we give away Martin? Potential to get smashed at the clearances again and again

Need more run out of defence and flankers who kick long and penetrate downfield. Malceski, Yarran, Birchal, Enright, are the play makers we need to emulate

From the vision I think Dunn pushed Vickery into the contest slightly resulting in Vickery copping a falcon ie hit in the head with the ball. He may have thought that Dunn hit him. The umpires mike also came across asking Dunn to stop using his elbows. poor Tyrone he must bruise easily

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Class teams have a plan and deliver the ball to advantage, we have a long way to go to get there. Bombing to the goal square worked for Brisbane but they had Lynch and Brown and a host of talented forwards to mop up the crumbs just as Geelong now have Hawkins & Pods with some fairly talented support staff...we don't. Hogan is only 17 but the type you build a team around but that is 4 years away. I know it is February but we are talking about the same ball butchers as last year so I don't expect they will ever improve (sorry Geordie u are killing us). My son is a kangas supporter and he was rapt with Gysberts game and laughed that we traded him for Pederson I know who will benefit from that deal.

Gee we butcher the ball! And it is the same culprits all the time, mentioned in pre season training and the same again in NAB cup. Still unable to nut out what our game plan is, North constantly transferred play to open up other side of ground. We try and turn it over.

I wouldn't under estimate teams early on. It will take months for the investigation to reach a head and any teams find they have a large list of unavailable players. It is such a foreign concept that a team be found of doping and players will actually be banned for up to 2 years. Having said that in cycling whole teams have been withdrawn after even 1 member has been found guilty. How will the ACCC prove the supplements were tainted? Do they have old batches of PED's to test for contaminants or will a retrospective blanket ruling be made about any PED supplement use? As for the other mystery player I do hope the Age will go after him and his club with the same vigour that MFC has been dusted and Hirdy has been attacked it would be fascinating if, god forbid, it was a Richmond player. How would the Age cope. They do have a habit of sacking individuals before all the facts are available.

I believe that this hits the nail on the head and it all starts in the ruck. We consistently got slaughtered in the clearances at center bounces and throw ins and the issue to address is getting our hands on the footy first. I am concerned that our ruck division is an unknown and shaky, so while the midfield has great potential they may lack the strength of last year. Jordie, Jones and Sylvia even, will have to be the big bodies in the middle to compete or our backline will get opened up again. Mumford is so good at center clearances, the Hawk's rely on Lewis, Sewell and Mitchell to lock it. yet in early in the season they were getting carved up and conceding scores in the absence of a good ruckman. The Woods have Jolly feeding Pendlebury, Swan, Beams, Sidebottom and now Ball. Jamar, Spencer and Gawn have enormous responsibility but with the latter two precious little experience. Of the other talls Fitzy is too raw and Mitch too valuable to risk in the ruck, Dawes wont do that role and Pederson is a little undersized against the big boys. It may not improve much without midfield support

Well I will put my hand up as I have been very critical of Mark Neeld and can I point out it is November. Lets re open the discussion about March next year and see if all the changes have made a difference. My concern is that we have topped up with players that ensure we win more games than last year but who will not be there long term but guarantee Neeld another year. I applaud the FD for bringing Viney, Toumpas and Hogan into the club and hope they develop into 200 game players. I have seen NO evidence that Mr Neeld is a great coach or that his game plan will work. At least next year we will be able to judge him on the performance of the team HE built. Pleasing that we haven't been accused of tanking to get draft picks this year.

This hits the nail on the head IMO. As late as this season GWS sent all its players off for season ending surgery so that they wouldn't accidentally win against GC and lose top pick. Why hasn't anyone made comment, where are the Caroline Wilson's and Dwayne Russell's of the world now. In the same discussion leading up to the game Guy McKenna stated that they wanted to win , they had enough kids and needed some more mature bodies and win's. If there is anything to learn from this saga that bottoming out and losing is bad long term for the fabric of the club

Marcus seecamp

As I remember, he was asked to take a substantial pay cut while Carlton offered him a great deal, he couldn't get a regular game due to always being injured and appearing too slow. I think to find the other reason you may have to speak to Brad Green. His form at the Blues had been woeful and he managed to turn it around only in the second half of the season and only time will tell if his purple patch is sustained. Just because he donated lots of money to the club does not entitle him to think he was above scrutiny for poor form and poor judgement, one only has to read his tweets to see that!

Magnificent piece of writing. Please submit it to the editor of the Age so he can read an intelligent piece of creative writing and compare it with the rubbish Caro is spewing out

I really don't like Caro. So she never made a mistake or did something in her youth she now regrets, ha, what a hypocrite. What has she against Melbourne that she is happy to pour such vitriol on the club and write an OPINION piece not a factual piece written on a basis of good investigative journalism. IT is a bad combination to have a vindictive journo looking for something in a slow news month and a lot of [censored] off former employees. Can the club take legal action against her now based on todays article? Will Gary Lyon have a quiet word and tell her to back off? And will all Melbourne supporters cancel their subscriptions to the Age in all forms and drop the promotions we get for cheap Age subscriptions.

Sorry guys couldn't disagree more. The coach has selected discards who may win him enough games to keep his job at years end. What do Rodan and Byrnes offer beyond 1 or 2 seasons. It is outrageous to expect Viney and Wines (if selected) to come in and make an instant impact. Where are the class highly skilled players, the game breakers and match winners. Neeld is a first year coach who frankly I don't think could train pigs to be dirty. What is his long term strategy didn't he say say he was pleased to take over such a great list that wasn't at rock bottom. NO he took us there, insisted on a game style our list couldn't play and has given away Morton, Gysberts and Martin for peanuts. Just watch martin and Gys develop at other clubs

Woewodin really hurt my family. He was my daughters favourite player and when he went to the Pies she went with him, encouraged by her step dad a Pies supporter. It is one thing to have them leave when out of contract as Rivers & Maloney have but it is another when they are in contract and pushed (sold off) like Woewodin was. Losing marquee players really hurts a club just ask the eagles who lost Judd and North who lost Carey

If what we are talking about is basically a trade of Martin to get Pederson then I think the club has it wrong. Pederson could not get a game at North even when they were a little undersized down back and had no backup ruck man. What is the attraction he has been in the system one basically playing 12 games and got only 2 this year? I thought the idea was to trade up not down. Under the new rules Martin is a better option than jamar who last year could only tap the ball at his feet, rarely took a mark and could miss goals from the goal square and rarely if ever plays a full season. Martin must be the back up or even 1st ruck as Spencer isn't athletic enough and gawn is coming off his second knee reco and will need time. I think Fitzy is the one we will need to develop and shows the most upside.