Certainly would have taken Adam Cerra before Paddy Dow just incredible lack of due diligence , it’s not easy and there have been many similar blunders but hard to swallow. To cap it off LOB at pick 10 too, very poor recruiting.

More revisionist history.

Dow was considered the clear #3 at the time, hence us taking him there.

If we drafted Cerra we’d be having the exact same conversations about him right now.

We've got a pretty winnable month. Hawfs, both Sydney teams and wc in Melbourne. Let's see then

If it was this Sime,e to turn things around at Melbourne why can’t we do it?

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/unl ... 57vcm.html

The leaders talked of selfishness. It was selfishness in varied forms. For some it was the selfishness of the player who wanted to get his 35 touches and was less worried how the team goes. Some players admitted they had been guilty of that.

There was also the idea that when things were desperate, when they needed leaders in games, players would try to pull on the cape and be Superman to save the day, playing outside the role they had to try and win the game off their own boot. It was understandable, admirable and counter-productive.

Sound familiar?



It shows that talent is important but attitude is critical. We've talked here recently about selflessness but how much do you really see in our team? I see players like Ed Curnow who will do anything required to make the team better. I also see other players who buy into the selflessness mindset by expecting others to be selfless to benefit them. But is it reciprocated?

We need everyone performing at their best and we need the coaches to also give them every opportunity. I watched a replay of the Hawthorn game again last night. (Yes, I have no life). In the last quarter Luke Breust cruised past the front of a boundary throw in and kicked an easy goal. As the defensive winger, Cottrell's role was to block the exit so that could never occur. Yet he was sucked into the stoppage, had no impact with his positioning and Breust cruised past him. Is it coaching or is it players taking responsibility?
IMHO, it's both. It's a basic structure that Cottrell should have no doubt about. Not only should he have had no doubt about what was required but the players around him should never have allowed it to happen.

Last night the Demons cut the Bulldogs off at the knees. Not by stopping Bontempelli but by stopping Libba.
Going into the Bulldogs game we recognised here that Libba was the threat. Bont received the media adulation for his game but he didn't create the outside ball that cut us up. From memory I posted that in the 3rd quarter, Libba attended 6 centre bounces and put the ball into the hands of his outside runners 5 times. Last night Goodwin put Harmes onto Libba and it disrupted the Bulldogs flow. Time was afforded to set up behind the ball and once again, selflessness bought maximum pressure.

That's where we need to be. Talent is important and IMHO, with a reasonably fit list, we have enough. Do we have the attitude and coaching aptitude? IMHO, the answers are definitely no to attitude and probably not to coaching. If it's there, bloody well show us.
I heard Jordan Lewis talking last night about Adem Yze. He said that Melbournes midfielders were previously well coached at winning the ball and the contested stuff. But until Yze joined, they were never coached on running patterns outside the stoppage and how they can impact offensively and assist defensively. He openly intimated that their previous midfield coaches (Matthews and McCartney) had only done half a job. Sound familiar?
Do you think our mids understand the requirements their role entails away from the stoppages?

These are the areas that seperate 2020 Melbourne to 2021. They're also the things that seperate us from them and Richmond of the past 5 years. Structure, understanding your role and most importantly, team first attitude.

Sound familiar?



It shows that talent is important but attitude is critical. We've talked here recently about selflessness but how much do you really see in our team? I see players like Ed Curnow who will do anything required to make the team better. I also see other players who buy into the selflessness mindset by expecting others to be selfless to benefit them. But is it reciprocated?

We need everyone performing at their best and we need the coaches to also give them every opportunity. I watched a replay of the Hawthorn game again last night. (Yes, I have no life). In the last quarter Luke Breust cruised past the front of a boundary throw in and kicked an easy goal. As the defensive winger, Cottrell's role was to block the exit so that could never occur. Yet he was sucked into the stoppage, had no impact with his positioning and Breust cruised past him. Is it coaching or is it players taking responsibility?
IMHO, it's both. It's a basic structure that Cottrell should have no doubt about. Not only should he have had no doubt about what was required but the players around him should never have allowed it to happen.

Last night the Demons cut the Bulldogs off at the knees. Not by stopping Bontempelli but by stopping Libba.
Going into the Bulldogs game we recognised here that Libba was the threat. Bont received the media adulation for his game but he didn't create the outside ball that cut us up. From memory I posted that in the 3rd quarter, Libba attended 6 centre bounces and put the ball into the hands of his outside runners 5 times. Last night Goodwin put Harmes onto Libba and it disrupted the Bulldogs flow. Time was afforded to set up behind the ball and once again, selflessness bought maximum pressure.

That's where we need to be. Talent is important and IMHO, with a reasonably fit list, we have enough. Do we have the attitude and coaching aptitude? IMHO, the answers are definitely no to attitude and probably not to coaching. If it's there, bloody well show us.
I heard Jordan Lewis talking last night about Adem Yze. He said that Melbournes midfielders were previously well coached at winning the ball and the contested stuff. But until Yze joined, they were never coached on running patterns outside the stoppage and how they can impact offensively and assist defensively. He openly intimated that their previous midfield coaches (Matthews and McCartney) had only done half a job. Sound familiar?
Do you think our mids understand the requirements their role entails away from the stoppages?

These are the areas that seperate 2020 Melbourne to 2021. They're also the things that seperate us from them and Richmond of the past 5 years. Structure, understanding your role and most importantly, team first attitude.

Sound familiar?



It shows that talent is important but attitude is critical. We've talked here recently about selflessness but how much do you really see in our team? I see players like Ed Curnow who will do anything required to make the team better. I also see other players who buy into the selflessness mindset by expecting others to be selfless to benefit them. But is it reciprocated?

We need everyone performing at their best and we need the coaches to also give them every opportunity. I watched a replay of the Hawthorn game again last night. (Yes, I have no life). In the last quarter Luke Breust cruised past the front of a boundary throw in and kicked an easy goal. As the defensive winger, Cottrell's role was to block the exit so that could never occur. Yet he was sucked into the stoppage, had no impact with his positioning and Breust cruised past him. Is it coaching or is it players taking responsibility?
IMHO, it's both. It's a basic structure that Cottrell should have no doubt about. Not only should he have had no doubt about what was required but the players around him should never have allowed it to happen.

Last night the Demons cut the Bulldogs off at the knees. Not by stopping Bontempelli but by stopping Libba.
Going into the Bulldogs game we recognised here that Libba was the threat. Bont received the media adulation for his game but he didn't create the outside ball that cut us up. From memory I posted that in the 3rd quarter, Libba attended 6 centre bounces and put the ball into the hands of his outside runners 5 times. Last night Goodwin put Harmes onto Libba and it disrupted the Bulldogs flow. Time was afforded to set up behind the ball and once again, selflessness bought maximum pressure.

That's where we need to be. Talent is important and IMHO, with a reasonably fit list, we have enough. Do we have the attitude and coaching aptitude? IMHO, the answers are definitely no to attitude and probably not to coaching. If it's there, bloody well show us.
I heard Jordan Lewis talking last night about Adem Yze. He said that Melbournes midfielders were previously well coached at winning the ball and the contested stuff. But until Yze joined, they were never coached on running patterns outside the stoppage and how they can impact offensively and assist defensively. He openly intimated that their previous midfield coaches (Matthews and McCartney) had only done half a job. Sound familiar?
Do you think our mids understand the requirements their role entails away from the stoppages?

These are the areas that seperate 2020 Melbourne to 2021. They're also the things that seperate us from them and Richmond of the past 5 years. Structure, understanding your role and most importantly, team first attitude.

The talk will more be around coaches