Surely there comes a time when football clubs must realise that it's actions the fans want to see and not words they want to hear.
Unfortunately, Melbourne haven’t quite come to that realisation.
The Melbourne Football Club has announced that it will release a five-part pre-season documentary series, titled To Hell and Back.
According to the club it gives unprecedented access into the club’s football program, Melbourne Media have captured an action-packed pre-season documentary series, launching on Sunday.
CEO Gary Pert says: “It’s important for members and supporters to understand that the term ‘To Hell and Back’ is about our journey. A journey out of one of the most difficult periods in our club’s history back to re-establishing itself as a consistently successful, strong and significant AFL club."
I don’t mind the club making a documentary detailing the struggles of 2019 but don’t release it before a ball has been bounced in the new year. That’s not hell and back. The Demons are still in hell.
Perhaps a better strategy is to release the documentary the week after you win the Grand Final or bow out deep into September like other clubs such as Collingwood have successfully done in the past.
I’ve been a bit bemused by the comments coming from Melbourne this pre-season.
A vital role in any AFL football club is that of the club media manager.
Essentially the person in this position aims to control the public narrative to key stakeholders of the club including supporters, sponsors and the media.
Before any AFL player fronts the media pack of takes part in a radio or television spot, they will receive a briefing from the media manager designed to reinforce the messages the club wants made public.
This person will also field 10s to 100s of weekly requests from different media outlets who want to speak to a player, administrator or coach from their club.
That being said – who is advising the Demons this summer? For a club who was embarrassed, winning only five games in 2019 and finishing 17th after making the final four in 2018 they are doing far too much talking.
Veteran defender Michael Hibberd was the latest to speak glowingly about the Dees prospects in 2020.
"I think we've had an unbelievable pre-season," he had told AFL Media.
Hibberd’s comments follow those of Captain Jack Viney when he sat down for a double page spread with the Herald Sun prior to Christmas.
Viney lauded new the impact of new fitness boss Darren Burgess and also talked up the impact former St. Kilda coach Alan Richardson has had.
Just this week the club has spoken glowingly of the impact its three new recruits have had this pre-season and forward Tom McDonald has lauded the impact of new goal kicking coach Greg Stafford - declaring there has been “genuine improvement made by the forwards”.
I understand that clubs during the pre-season are trying to sell optimism in a competitive and saturated market. But you’ve got to read the room.
If I’m in the media managers chair at the Demons this is how I’m instructing my players to answer the typical pre-season question from a journo.
Journo: “(Insert player's name) How have you found the pre-season?”
Player: “Look, I’ve enjoyed it. Obviously we were highly embarrassed and disappointed by what we served up as a club last year and we are working to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes.”
Then shoosh. Shut up. There it’s done, that’s all a Melbourne fan wants to hear.
Not that it’s been an unbelievable pre-season, not that we re releasing a pre-season documentary called To Hell and Back, not that the young players are training the house down, not that the new coaches and fitness staff are gods.
Just be quiet until March and then let your football do the talking.
Its crystal clear who the AFL pre-season premiers are. Congratulations to the Melbourne Football Club. I just really hope for their sake they win some games this year, otherwise its going to be highly embarrassing.