The Bailey aftermath
Peter Ryan, AFL Record writer: Dean Bailey has been sacked as Melbourne coach. Was it the right decision? What type of coach should the Demons chase in the aftermath?
Ashley Browne, afl.com.au writer: It was the right move. You can't sit still after a loss of that magnitude. It kills the brand. But the Demons should hold their nerve and go after a top shelf coach - Alastair Clarkson or Mick Malthouse - and if it means waiting until after the Grand Final to do so, then so be it.
Nick Bowen, AFL Record writer: It's the call. Bailey already looked as though he'd be struggling to hang onto his job by the end of the season. The loss against the Cats just confirmed he was gone. If they'd kept him on, the media speculation would have destabilised the club. At least now they can get on with trying to make something of the rest of the year and, more importantly, getting ready for 2012.
Ryan: They must play their cards carefully and get the 'right' coach rather than narrowing their chase down to a certain type of individual because if they are unable to land a big name then the appointment may be perceived as second best. I think a qualified assistant could do just as well as one of the big names you mention.
Callum Twomey, AFL Record writer: Bailey might be remembered as that qualified assistant you talk about. The type who could probably easily step in at a rival club next year as an assistant coach but one whom never seems to quite fit the senior job. Someone like Brendan McCartney has little chance of landing that job despite how good he may be as an assistant, probably because he seems a lot like Bailey.
Ryan: Perception and trends are nonsensical but reality. Everything is a risk so they just need to find someone with an x-factor - regardless of profile.
Ryan: How will Bailey be remembered?
Browne: Put the club first. Apparently coached for draft picks rather than wins in 2008 and 2009. The 'T' word anyone?
Michael Lovett, AFL Record writer: Three numbers will haunt Dean Bailey for the rest of his life - 186 (the Demons' losing margin to Geelong). You can't put up a performance like that and expect no reaction at such a delicate time of his contractual future. I'm not sure it was the right move but given what took place and the magnitude of the loss to Geelong, someone had to make a tough call.
Bowen: Agree with Ash that you can write his first couple of seasons off. He took some short-term pain in the best interests of the club. Unfortunately, he hasn't delivered in the past two seasons, especially this year, as he'd have hoped.
Lovett: Bailey will be remembered as an honest bloke who inherited a poor list, then got some advantages via the draft but for whatever reason could not take his side much further. I doubt if we would see him in senior coaching ranks again but like Neil Craig I hope he is not lost to the game.
Ryan: Bailey would be a good addition to any coaching team. He was impressive in all public utterances since the defeat. He is a realist and I think he would have known the game was up after Saturday. But he knows the game well and has shown he can handle pressure. The players seemed to like him but many of their performances lacked heart and from an outsider's perspective it is the only way to assess the coach. Might rue James McDonald's departure. It appears to have hurt, as they looked well placed at the end of last season.
Howard Kotton, AFL Record writer: The question is, how much responsibility should the players take? I'm sure there will be more fall-out, possibly at the end of the season. The other issue is the lack of leadership within the Demons' ranks, with several experienced players either departing for other clubs or retiring recently and few have appeared to step up in that area.
Bowen: Howard, I think when you have a loss the magnitude of 186 points the players have got to take a hell of a lot of the blame. As good as Geelong were, you don't get a margin like that unless one side puts the cue in the rack.
Twomey: What should a leader of the playing group do in this situation? What is now expected of Brad Green and the leadership group?
Ryan: The leaders need to be rock solid and united and work their bums off to make sure every player is on the same page. They should be meeting as a group to make a commitment to each other for the rest of the season and set some basic values as non-negotiables. They need to rebuild trust on the field. It means the only intent against Carlton this week should be to help each other out.
Turnaround
Ryan: Can Melbourne win this week?
Lovett: No chance.
Twomey: Agree with Michael. Bails-free footy won't make a difference against the Blues.
Ryan: History shows those on the receiving end of two of the three biggest thrashings in AFL history before Saturday won the next week.
Browne: They've set themselves for this one, and have referred to the 'bruise-free footy' jibe in their marketing. They'll want to put their heads over the footy early on.
Bowen: Blues far too good. Can't see them beating the Eagles the following week either. But they've then got Richmond, Gold Coast and Port. If they're fair dinkum, they should win all three of those.
Kotton: I'm sure under Todd Viney the Demons will show some spine. That's the way he played and he will demand it as a 'non-negotiable'. I'm sure the Blues are aware they will be in for a hard contest.
Ryan: As long as they don't think the job is done if they respond for one week. It's appeared to be a problem all season.
Geelong, finals and Mooney
Ryan: On to lighter matters, what does the performance say about Geelong and is there a spot for Cameron Mooney in the finals?
Bowen: We all know Geelong is good, but we'll learn far more about them when they play Collingwood in round 24. Likewise with Mooney, let's see how he goes - if selected - against the Pies before comparing him with Lazarus. I think the Cats can only play two of Hawkins, Podsy and Mooney.
Browne: Nice dilemma for Chris Scott. He must think this AFL coaching caper is a bit of a lark. I'd like to see Mooney back it up against Collingwood in round 24 before pencilling him in for the finals. Geelong's draw is quite soft until then.
Twomey: If Saturday is any indication then yes, Pete. Perhaps the question is more along the lines of whether Geelong can fit James Podsiadly, Tom Hawkins and Mooney into the same forward line. Given Geelong's midfielders are all reliable options up forward, I think it's viable.
Kotton: Sorry, Callum, have to disagree. Don't think the Cats can play Podsiadly, Hawkins and Mooney on the same forward line on a dry track at the MCG in September.
Bowen: On the Cats, do you think Gary Ablett would be regretting his decision to leave now? Beyond the shortfall in dollars, it was suggested part of his thinking was that the Cats' premiership window had closed. Not so sure that's the case now.
Lovett: The Cats were in another zone and several other sides lower down the ladder can thank their lucky stars they weren't at Skilled Stadium last Saturday. It's all about tapering for the finals as Dean Bailey just noted in his press conference. As for Mooney, it's up to him and his body. He's declared this is his last year but his body must be right. There is no room for sentiment and I think he knows that.
Ryan: The competition is dividing into grades - contenders, middles, battlers and no-hopers. Only when contenders play contenders do we get a picture. What I love about what Mooney has done is that it sets a great example for everyone at the club that you can always learn, always strive and never think anything is below you.
Another coaching change leads to win
Ryan: What do we read into Adelaide's performance? Was that a change of coach or the opposition?
Browne: Not a whole lot. Games between sides that can't make the finals mean less and less every year. Patrick Dangerfield to the midfield was interesting. You always wonder whether moves like that are pushed up during the season, only to be rejected by the coach. When he's gone, the assistants are free to tinker.
Twomey: Well, one of Bickley's first moves was to bring back Taylor Walker and he was instrumental yesterday. He attacked the ball, brought it to ground, followed it up and converted his opportunities, save for a shocking attempt from the boundary line. He also made Adelaide's forward line seem a lot more versatile and unpredictable in Kurt Tippett's absence. It was against the 17th-placed team though.
Ryan: Inexplicable that Dangerfield has not played in the midfield. No doubt such moves - no idea about the specifics of that one - have more air time when a coach changes. Might see Jack Watts playing as a deep forward. Brad Green at centre half-back this week. Need good kicks behind the footy.
Rucking and their role
Ryan: Dean Cox's performance was brilliant on Saturday. Who has the best ruck combination of the top five and how important will their role be in finals? Ottens/Vardy, Hale/Bailey, Jolly/Brown, Cox/Nic Nat, Kreuzer/Hampson or Warnock
Bowen: The Eagles clearly. Cox and Nic Nat are so mobile they're like ruck rovers when the ball hits the ground and none of the other teams can boast two genuine ruckmen like that.
Browne: Jolly/Brown are premiership hardened and the prototype for other clubs. On talent alone, it's Cox/Nic Nat. Bailey/Hale has worked surprisingly well for Hawthorn. Hale was great in the wet on Saturday night.
Ryan: Hale was well named for the conditions.
Bowen: How did his hair hold up in the rain?
Browne: Better than his shorts.
Lovett: I'd say Cox/Naitanui, just ahead of Jolly and Brown. Cox is the Simon Madden of our era — his tapwork is magnificent, he can push forward and as we saw on Saturday, he can take match-saving marks in defence.
Twomey: Definitely the Eagles. Cox, more than any other, has the ability to impact the end result of a game and be the best and most important player on the ground. Jolly probably comes next, although Tom Bellchambers in the first half on Sunday, was able to overcome the experienced Collingwood campaigner. Brown has dropped away from his standards of 2010.
Ryan: Cox and Nic Nat are the Eagles' weapons whereas the Hawks rucks just have to hold up. I reckon the ruck will be where the premiership can be won or lost. If one combination gets on top of another anything can happen. Cox and Nic Nat are the most talented combination while Ottens and Jolly rank alongside Cox as the best. Brown is reliable. Intriguing.
Bowen: The Hawks would have looked completely different if Roughy hadn't gone down with his Achilles. Hope they continue to play him in the ruck when he gets back. Was one of the revelations of 2011.
Eight is (more than) enough
Ryan: Of the teams battling for eighth spot who would be most competitive in finals? Their likely opponent is Carlton.
Twomey: Putting natural bias aside, if the Bombers can get some players back and play Carlton in an elimination final, they would enter it very confident of progressing. There was a lot to like in the first half against Collingwood. With (Cale) Hooker, (Michael) Hurley, (Tayte) Pears, (Dustin) Fletcher and (Heath) Hocking back in that team, plus probably Michael Hibberd, Essendon would worry Carlton. However, it's a long way to go before that happens.
Bowen: As much as I hate to say, I think Essendon. They've been better against the good teams than North, while I think Freo are going to run out of players.
Browne: Funny as it sounds, if Melbourne gets in, they'll have won three or four in a row to get there. Admittedly against softish opposition, but in cricketing terms, they'll be seeing the ball well. Shades of 1987. But Callum is probably right about the Bombers. They won't be fazed by the occasion and they play well when going for broke - the only way to approach an elimination final.
Bowen: Ash, have you lost the plot? Beating up on Richmond, the Suns and Port is hardly going to get you ready for the finals. It's the equivalent of beating up 'Aussie' Joe Bugner one week then taking on a young Mike Tyson the next.
Ryan: I think after watching Friday night North is best equipped. If Melbourne gets in it will be like Eddie the Eagle making the Olympic finals of the ski jump or perhaps their version of England at Headingly in 1981.
A thought to leave you with: of the teams recording the top 10 highest scores of all time, three have won the flag in the same season.
The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
