1. The more things change the more they stay the same
WHEN a new football department consisting of a new coach, a new sports scientist, new assistant coaches, new doctors and new physiotherapists are introduced, hope is sparked. When new co-captains are appointed and a new, ruthless attitude promised, expectations are raised. When the first game was lost - a habit of Melbourne's since 2005 - and eight losses followed, questions came from all angles.
 
2. In March, the coach was not happy, Jan
The perception surrounding Mark Neeld as a tough disciplinarian was going to be hard to budge as soon as his round one post-match press conference was over. He spoke in clipped tones and promised that such an unacceptable performance would not be repeated. "Will the same 22 travel to Perth? Not on your life," Neeld said as he pledged changes for Melbourne's round two match against the Eagles. "Am I going to go down a similar road and continue to put blind faith in players? No way. Absolutely, no way." It took until round eight when Sydney embarrassed Melbourne's most experienced line-up for the season by 101-points for those words to turn into real action.
 
3. There was sadness and turmoil
There were more off-field matters to deal with in the first eight weeks of the season than most clubs have in a decade. The sad passing of club icon Jim Stynes was the most significant event and it stood apart from the rest of the matters that came to hand. Among the distracting incidents however were unsubstantiated and false claims of racism made against the coach, forward Liam Jurrah facing serious assault charges, and the sacking of a sponsor for racist postings on Facebook. A football had hardly been kicked and the Demons were attracting unwanted headlines on a weekly basis.
 
4. Howe high Jeremy can jump
Jumping Jeremy Howe was the game's most prominent high-flier. He was nominated for mark of the round an unbelievable eight times and his aerial exploits made it hard to switch off Melbourne games. He saved his best mark for the team's worst performance against the Sydney Swans in round eight when he flew above Swans defender Heath Grundy to take a classic. As if to sum up the Demons' season, he immediately played on after taking the mark and admitted later he regretted doing so as soon as he did.
 
5. You can trust Mitch Clark
Mitch Clark convinced the doubters with his performance in the first 13 rounds. He kicked 29 goals in 11 games, his only downer for the year coming in round one amid the emotion of Jim Stynes' death. Clark wore Stynes' No.11 and proved a great choice by the big man as he played with passion and courage against overwhelming odds. His finest performance came in round two against a rampaging West Coast Eagles when he kicked five goals as the club recorded just 32 inside 50s. Unfortunately he hurt his foot in round 13 against Greater Western Sydney after kicking four goals in the first quarter. He had an operation on the injury and was expected to play round one 2013.
 
6. It is possible to win
On a cold Saturday night at the MCG, second-placed Essendon played bottom of the ladder Melbourne, which had lost the first nine games. The Bombers could not kick straight and suddenly the Demons got a sniff. At half-time Melbourne was a goal in front after Essendon had kicked 2.9. Suddenly Colin Sylvia exploded from a pack in the goalsquare to kick a critical goal and a win was likely. Remarkable scenes followed on the siren as Neeld recorded his first win as coach. By year's end however Melbourne's maintained an unenviable record: the only Victorian teams it has defeated since round 22, 2007, when it beat Carlton, are Essendon and Richmond.

7. The changing of the guard
No-one on the club's 2011 honour board will remain at Melbourne in 2013 after former captain Brad Green retired, club champion Brent Moloney left at season's end to test the free agency waters and leading goalkicker Liam Jurrah decided to live with family in Adelaide rather than continue at the club. While the new culture being set meant dramatic change was inevitable, the future of the club looked so different at the end of 2012 than it had at the start. After post-season reviews many players - both experienced, as well as high draft picks such as Lucas Cook - faced uncertain futures. The only thing lingering was a tanking investigation into games that happened in 2009. While it had just four wins to sell, supporters showed their faith in the direction when they pledged $750,000 at the club's Foundation Heroes event in August.
 
8. Progress was sometimes hard to see
That question was hard to answer as the Melbourne hierarchy pointed to better training standards, culture and ball movement as the season progressed. The improvement in Nathan Jones, Howe, Clark, Grimes, Tom McDonald, Sam Blease, Daniel Nicholson, James Magner, Jake Spencer and Colin Sylvia was obvious to everyone, while Jack Watts enjoyed the most consistent patch of form for his career midway through the year. The chance he may be the next Andrew Mackie emerged as a realistic proposition. About 10 goals and a couple of years' experience behind the finals teams is a reasonable assessment of where the club ended. The Demons only took in more experience in three games during 2012 and won each one of them.
 
9. It was good to release the Blease
The coach rode Blease hard to improve the defensive aspects of his game. He was sent back to the VFL after round one but emerged from purgatory with a good game in round eight against the Swans. The speedster did not look back, playing every game, kicking 19 goals and signing a new two-year deal late in the year. He played with dash and added real excitement to the line-up. His infectious personality also provided light relief, a much-needed antidote to the relentless demand for elite standards.
 
10. Bartram has a fat chance
Clint Bartram is a bubbly personality and they were needed at Melbourne this season. However he could not play after round eight as his degenerative knee made it nearly impossible for him to run. Having explored multiple options only an experimental one was left - to put on weight, then extract fat through liposuction, harvest the stem cell and then re-inject into the knee in the hope of regenerating cartilage tissue to alleviate pain.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs