Speaking at Wednesday night’s annual general meeting at the MCG, Neeld said it was important to remain realistic and not embellish expectations this season.
“I’m not one to sell fairytales,” he said.
“The boys have been put through a significantly tough pre-season. In terms of volume and intensity, it’s gone up 15 per cent. At an elite level, to increase anything at such a large number, that’s significant.
“They’ve put their heads down and they’ve worked particularly hard. Our aim is to become more competitive, and our aim is also to not promise going from here (low on the ladder) to here (high). We want to make sure we get there and we stay there. That’s our aim.”
Neeld said his players had “attacked pre-season training, as opposed to simply getting through it”.
“There is a difference – a significant difference,” he said.
“You listen to the conversations that the players have prior to each session – they’re actually talking about football and about the session … and how they can get the best out of themselves.”
Although Neeld said the squad had prepared better over the pre-season, it was still in an educational phase, given Melbourne ranks as the third least experienced list in the AFL heading into 2013.
Neeld added that Melbourne’s most experienced team last year fielded an average of 80 matches. But it was also one of the team’s worst performances of 2012, when it lost to the Sydney Swans by 101 points at the SCG. (For the record, seven players from that team are no longer at the club).
“The number of games played is still one of the things football coaches look at for where your football team should be,” he said.
“When I say we’re in an educational phase, it’s not to lower any expectations … it’s just to be a realist and let [people] know where we do sit.”
Meanwhile, Neeld said the club was already looking to return to the Northern Territory next pre-season, later this year, after the success of its Darwin/Kakadu camp last December.
