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THE LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK by The Oracle "Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look, He thinks too much; such men are dangerous." William Sheakespeare - Julius Caesar: Act 1, scene 2, 190–195 It was a strange game of football at Etihad Stadium. While it ebbed and flowed as all good games do, the ascendency was held, surprisingly, by the team that finished off 2011 like a ship without a rudder. Not the one that came into last year's grand final as the warm favourite. At half time, when the Magpies had just managed to snatch the lead for the first time with a Nick Maxwell goal after the siren, they decided to make a sporting declaration by removing half a dozen of their A team and replaced them with youngsters and overseas imports. The Demons responded with some changes of their own and proceeded to apply the same disciplines using the same structures that gave them a moral victory in the first half. The result was not simply a victory on the scoreboard but an early moment of pleasure for the coach and supporters. A breakthrough for Melbourne at the Docklands and the dawn of a new era for the club. After so long, the lean and hungry look has returned to the Melbourne Football Club and we welcome it back with open arms even if it comes in a NAB Cup game that everybody says noddingly in agreement that it means nothing. Especially when they lose. We've heard about and discussed Mark Neeld's game plan whereby his team hustles and grinds the opposition, works hard defensively to eke out errors, kicks long to position and performs with discipline. But this is also the result of hard work on the track and in the gym over many months. Strength, endurance, bodies changing and taking shape. We saw some good signs; the rejuvenation of players, some in rebirth and some new faces. Brad Green is back in town. Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate are changed for the better and a couple of hard nuts in James Magner and Tom Couch have been found. And there's more to come. Melbourne 0.2.6.18 0.3.9.27 0.7.11.53 0.11.13.79 Collingwood 0.2.3.15 0.4.4.28 1.6.5.50 1.9.7.70 Goals Melbourne Dunn Jones Martin Petterd 2 Green Howe Sylvia Collingwood Shaw (supergoal) Rounds Thomas 2 Ball Ceglar Cloke Maxwell Paine Best Melbourne Garland Petterd Magner Jones Sellar Green Injuries Melbourne Nil. Collingwood Nil. Reports Melbourne Nil. Collingwood Nil. Umpires Stevic Armstrong Kronk Official crowd 12,954 at Etihad Stadium

THE LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK by The Oracle "Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look, He thinks too much; such men are dangerous." William Sheakespeare - Julius Caesar: Act 1, scene 2, 190–195 It was a strange game of football at Etihad Stadium. While it ebbed and flowed as all good games do, the ascendency was held, surprisingly, by the team that finished off 2011 like a ship without a rudder. Not the one that came into last year's grand final as the warm favourite. At half time, when the Magpies had just managed to snatch the lead for the first time with a Nick Maxwell goal after the siren, they decided to make a sporting declaration by removing half a dozen of their A team and replaced them with youngsters and overseas imports. The Demons responded with some changes of their own and proceeded to apply the same disciplines using the same structures that gave them a moral victory in the first half. The result was not simply a victory on the scoreboard but an early moment of pleasure for the coach and supporters. A breakthrough for Melbourne at the Docklands and the dawn of a new era for the club. After so long, the lean and hungry look has returned to the Melbourne Football Club and we welcome it back with open arms even if it comes in a NAB Cup game that everybody says noddingly in agreement that it means nothing. Especially when they lose. We've heard about and discussed Mark Neeld's game plan whereby his team hustles and grinds the opposition, works hard defensively to eke out errors, kicks long to position and performs with discipline. But this is also the result of hard work on the track and in the gym over many months. Strength, endurance, bodies changing and taking shape. We saw some good signs; the rejuvenation of players, some in rebirth and some new faces. Brad Green is back in town. Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate are changed for the better and a couple of hard nuts in James Magner and Tom Couch have been found. And there's more to come. Melbourne 0.2.6.18 0.3.9.27 0.7.11.53 0.11.13.79 Collingwood 0.2.3.15 0.4.4.28 1.6.5.50 1.9.7.70 Goals Melbourne Dunn Jones Martin Petterd 2 Green Howe Sylvia Collingwood Shaw (supergoal) Rounds Thomas 2 Ball Ceglar Cloke Maxwell Paine Best Melbourne Garland Petterd Magner Jones Sellar Green Injuries Melbourne Nil. Collingwood Nil. Reports Melbourne Nil. Collingwood Nil. Umpires Stevic Armstrong Kronk Official crowd 12,954 at Etihad Stadium

Interested to get people's thoughts on our match this Saturday night vs the Pies. Despite the fact it's a NAB cupper should be a good test of where were at against the best in the business. • Who are you looking forward to keeping a close eye on (eg Sellar on Cloke?) • Will Collingwood play close to a full strength side excluding Didak, Krakouer and Johnson? • Are we any realistic chance of winning and if so what would it mean at this stage of the season? • Will the Etihad hoodoo continue? • Will our new structures allow us to finally be up to the challenge of competing against a side with a good forward press. I'll be going to the game and am really looking forward to it. Hope to see lots of Dees fans there and hope it makes for a good atmosphere.