It’s really saying something when the GWS Giants, the league’s newest collection of untested rookies, has had a better start to the year than your club. And for Demons fans, unfortunately it’s true.
The Giants, while they have been belted by the Swans and the Roos in their first two AFL matches, have certainly had some bright lights in amongst the demoralising defeats we knew that they would sustain.
Some fine young kids such as Jon Giles, Tomas Bugg and Adam Kennedy have shown glimpses of what makes tomorrow’s Chris Judds and Scott Pendleburys, while aging veterans Luke Power and Chad Cornes have proven their critics wrong with exciting performances and mentoring of the young squad.
Melbourne, on the other hand, have had a dreadful start to the year. It all began with with a 41-point loss to the Lions. Now, we all know that Brisbane are not the strongest team out there, and that just makes the Demons’ shock loss all the more disappointing. At home, daisy fresh after a strong pre-season, the Dees just couldn’t fire.
You would think that after the tragic passing of club legend Jimmy Stynes that the Demons would have something worthwhile to play for, but with the possible exceptions of young midfielders James Magner and Jack Trengove, they faltered around the ground. Stars such as Brent Moloney, Brad Green and excitement machine Aaron Davey were nowhere to be seen.
To spare a bit of the Dees’ dignity, no-one expected them to get close to the budding Eagles at home, but some of their efforts were pathetic. For the entire match, 120 minutes of slogging, the Demons did not lay a tackle in their forward 50.
How can that be? West Coast had 140-odd more disposals, 30-odd less marks and smashed a hapless Melbourne around the ground.
Needless to say, the Demons have kick-started 2012 on the field in a fashion that they would be less than pleased. Throw in an EnergyWatch scandal, a wrongly accused coach and a few racist Facebook posts and there are 17 other AFL clubs glad not to be in the shoes of the Melbourne Football Club.
Next week should provide an evaluation of where the Demons are at when they take on the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
After worthy slogs at the Blues and the Pies, Richmond would be well-placed to take out the biscuits. But can the Dees rise above? If not, then there’s major issues at Melbourne.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
That's right. Webjet is set to be announced as their sponsor. :D
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Melbourne are about to announce a major sponsor to replace the mob the dumped the other day.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Clayts, Lemme put it this way. Im a GWS supporter, and I have the Dees game circled in red pen.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
The types of recruits Melbourne should be going for are shown by three of GWS's better players. Tim Mohr and Jonathon Giles came out of the VFL and the SANFL, and Chad Cornes was a discard.
clayts
Guest
Oh wow. Another dees bashing article. Who'd have thunk it
amazonfan
Guest
I think it's incredibly unfair to say that 'Their head recruiters have surely distinguished themselves as the most hapless in the business.' Jake Niall wrote a terrific piece today in which he argued that Melbourne's drafting problems isn't that Melbourne has poor recruiters (when numerous other clubs would have selected the same players if they were in the same situation), but rather that the game has evolved in a way that wasn't anticipated by Melbourne (or most other clubs) that has greatly lessened the impact of their selections. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/demons-recruiters-beaten-by-the-press-20120410-1wn4v.html
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Part of why I'm an advocate of strengthened second tiers.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
The performance of Magner, and other mature players taken by other clubs, shows what is possible if clubs are willing to scout second tier comps properly, and lose the mantra that you can only go after 18 year olds.
Mitch Brown
Guest
It's an established fact that recruiters do make mistakes with picking someone they should not, or letting talent slip through the draft without a second glance. I'm sure that the Richmond recruiters (the infamous Richard Tambling over Buddy Franklin error) or those down at Hawthorn (Mitch Thorp before Joel Selwood) would testify to this. At the end of the day, they cannot expect ready-made stars (as James Magner does appear to have the potential to be) to flow into their club, they need to take rough hunches and develop their players a bit more before throwing them out in front of the big boys. The likes of Nathan Jones, Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn and many others have the potential to grow into tough and skilful players, but the coaching staff at Melbourne cannot expect it to just happen. You would hope that eventually the Demons will get over these dog days and in a few years' time be finals contenders (see the rise of Carlton from 2001 onwards), but they cannot just sit back and hope for the best. And thanks for the comments guys.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Two elements - Recruiting - Their head recruiters have surely distinguished themselves as the most hapless in the business. Training - Those spuds that they do select they are chronically unable to develop.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
It's becoming clear now, ever since Melbourne got thrashed in the 2000 grand final, we're talking a decade of very average performances, with plenty of good draft picks, that their recruitment policy and selections have been atrocious. Some have been bad luck, but when you go back in history and see some of the names other clubs pick AFTER the demons made their selections, it's unbelievable the talent they let slip in favour of non-performers. In short - it's a long, long way to the top (just like the song says), and we're looking at Richmond-like years in the wilderness. One bright note from the disaster on the weekend: James Magner had 11 hard-ball gets, which just goes to show what you can pick up in the draft when you're willing to cast that net wide.
Justin Curran
Guest
I'm trying to keep the faith, but Gee it's hard