COACH Mark Neeld says he is not about “quick fixes or fairytales”, but he is adamant that he is seeing behaviours among his players that have been proven to be successful at other AFL clubs.
Addressing the red and blue faithful at the Foundation Heroes dinner on Tuesday night, Neeld said he was optimistic about the future because the appropriate foundations were being laid on the training track, and during matches.
“We’re seeing that, and we’re being led extremely well by two young, fresh AFL captains, who in my opinion will become elite AFL captains in a short period of time,” he said.
“It is an inexperienced group - no question. We’re not going to hide from that, and we’re not going to hide from the fact that we’ve won four games this season.
“[It is an] inexperienced group of footballers developing elite habits.”
Neeld said he was “certainly” emotionally invested in the club now, after almost 12 months with the Demons.
“I’m not a salesperson. I’m a footy coach. I’ve got a strong belief that, in really good quality organisations, people understand what their role is, and they play that role,” he said.
Neeld said he had been encouraged by his side’s development in the second half of the season.
“Our ability to defend the opposition ball movement - we were ranked 17th in the competition. Since the bye, in the last nine rounds, with a group averaging 54 games [per player] - we’ve moved that to 10,” he said.
“Offensively, our ability to move the footy down the ground in the first half of the year - we were ranked 16th in the competition. [In the] second half of the year, with an inexperienced group, we’ve moved that to sixth in the competition.
“In the second half of the year, with the kicking efficiency of the players who have taken the field have ranked eighth in the competition…since the bye, Melbourne has been the third most effective tackling team in the competition.”
Addressing the red and blue faithful at the Foundation Heroes dinner on Tuesday night, Neeld said he was optimistic about the future because the appropriate foundations were being laid on the training track, and during matches.
“We’re seeing that, and we’re being led extremely well by two young, fresh AFL captains, who in my opinion will become elite AFL captains in a short period of time,” he said.
“It is an inexperienced group - no question. We’re not going to hide from that, and we’re not going to hide from the fact that we’ve won four games this season.
“[It is an] inexperienced group of footballers developing elite habits.”
Neeld said he was “certainly” emotionally invested in the club now, after almost 12 months with the Demons.
“I’m not a salesperson. I’m a footy coach. I’ve got a strong belief that, in really good quality organisations, people understand what their role is, and they play that role,” he said.
Neeld said he had been encouraged by his side’s development in the second half of the season.
“Our ability to defend the opposition ball movement - we were ranked 17th in the competition. Since the bye, in the last nine rounds, with a group averaging 54 games [per player] - we’ve moved that to 10,” he said.
“Offensively, our ability to move the footy down the ground in the first half of the year - we were ranked 16th in the competition. [In the] second half of the year, with an inexperienced group, we’ve moved that to sixth in the competition.
“In the second half of the year, with the kicking efficiency of the players who have taken the field have ranked eighth in the competition…since the bye, Melbourne has been the third most effective tackling team in the competition.”
