You have to really applaud Melbourne. It takes a special type of ineptitude to make sure that a team so so rubbish can fill more column space than teams at the top of the ladder.
It was no surprise that Melbourne would lose to Fremantle. Statistics, logic, instinct and your gut just knew it would happen.
Heck, the above criteria can easily be applied when you were trying to pick the margin (I was wrong by 10 points. I picked them to lose by 100). But, I don’t think you could use the same criteria to argue that Melbourne would look so insipid. Again.
In the earlier rounds of the season, many writers and Roarers were ‘wondering just how bad it could get?’ Well, I say congrats to Melbourne. We wonder no more. We now know. It can. It did. It was worse.
Melbourne are in a hole so deep, that if they dig just a little further, they might find themselves rudely intruding on a nice Chinese family sitting down for dinner.
It beggars belief that the top cream of players in the Melbourne squad are on similar paygrades to some of the top cream in Geelong, Essendon, Sydney and Collingwood.
It is embarrassing that players like Nathan Jones and Jeremy Howe (who admittedly are of a shrinking group of players that genuinely try each match) are being paid the same, if not more than their superior peers at superior teams?
The demons play Hawthorn this week. Collingwood the next. The misery will continue, unless the club can perform a monster turn-around. No one expects them to win, but to be competitive.
As yet, there is no guarantee that they will beat the bye.
I wish I could speculate why Melbourne is so bad. I wish I could speculate a way for Melbourne to dig themselves out of this hole. I can’t seem to do either.
Can the Roarers?
Nick
Roar Guru
Some of them are playing like they want to be cut.
langou
Roar Guru
There are many factors but I can’t help but think back to those decisions made by Connelly , Bailey and Co in “ensuring this club was well placed for draft picks”. The Dees of today could only dream of being in a winning position as often as they were back in 09. You just don’t take those things for granted and assume it is just going to happen. What they have effectively done is 1) Rob Dean Bailey of a chance to develop his coaching spills 2) Rob the young players a chance to develop in their preferred playing position 3) Rob senior players (Yze, McDonald, Robertson) the chance to show that they could still play a role in the future 4) Develop players that lack that competitiveness. (Even when Bailey won the eight or so games in 2010 his team would crumble at the sign of pleasure) 5) Developing a terrible culture within the club 6) Sell the soul of a 150 year old club for the sake of one 17 year old It’s ironic that a team that is rebuilding and struggling to be competitive was four years ago rebuilding and doing what they could to be uncompetitive
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Speaking as a North member, I'd rather be in Melbourne's position right now. Melbourne are just hopeless, North are heartless.
Brendan
Guest
No pont writing articles like this everyone knows Melbourne are a basket case .
Franko
Guest
You do wonder if a mid-season draft could help them out at all, and for that matter a mid-season chop. Maybe a player or two from the VFL/SANFL/WAFL could stop the bleeding. Some experience now may be in their long term interest: Brad Miller? Josh Fraser? Luke Power? Would some of their guys show a bit more passion if they knew they could be cut in 2 weeks?