Maybe I started this as something to take my mind off the Jesse Hogan thread, but mainly because, in many respects, 2016 was a great season that had many moments that should be celebrated.  2016 saw some huge leaps by our club and whilst it didn't finish the way we would have liked, there is still many great moments and matches that we were treated to through the year.  Thought I'd have a look at our wins this year and rank them in order of:

1) How well we played to achieve the win.

2) How enjoyable that particular win was.

These two criteria don't necessarily go hand in hand, but hey, there's no such thing as a perfect formula.

 

THE 2016 WINS WERE:

Round 1: MELBOURNE 12.8.80 def GWS 10.18.78

Round 4: MELBOURNE 16.6.102 def COLLINGWOOD 9.13.67

Round 5: MELBOURNE 20.9.129 def RICHMOND 14.12.96

Round 7: MELBOURNE 24.16.160 def GOLD COAST 14.3.87 

Round 9: MELBOURNE 19.17.8131 def BRISBANE 9.14.68

Round 12: MELBOURNE 16.8.104 def COLLINGWOOD 8.10.58 

Round 16: MELBOURNE 12.15.87 def FREMANTLE 8.7.55

Round 19: MELBOURNE 9.12.66 def GOLD COAST 9.10.64

Round 20: MELBOURNE 17.8.110 def HAWTHORN 11.15.81 

Round 21: MELBOURNE 13.16.94 def PORT ADELAIDE 8.6.54

 

1) Round 20: MELBOURNE 17.8.110 def HAWTHORN 11.15.81 

Hard, skillful, fast, competitive football over the top of the table reigning triple premiers... nuff said.

2) Round 5: MELBOURNE 20.9.129 def RICHMOND 14.12.96

Our first complete game for the season.  Gave a glimpse of our new fast attacking style and showcased some serious new talent.  Always love beating the Tiges too.

3) Round 4: MELBOURNE 16.6.102 def COLLINGWOOD 9.13.67

Things were looking a little grim at the start of the season, with a lot of people asking what's new?'  A first quarter blitz, coupled with seeing off some determined challenges answered that question.

4) Round 12: MELBOURNE 16.8.104 def COLLINGWOOD 8.10.58 

Feel Collingwood set themselves for this match.  They'd shown improvement by this stage of the year and wanted to make amends on the big stage.  We met the challenge and saw them off emphatically.

5) Round 21: MELBOURNE 13.16.94 def PORT ADELAIDE 8.6.54

Port was capable of some very good footy this year and their midfield had routinely brutalised us over the years, including in our previous class in the NT.  There was a sense of destiny about the way were playing by this stage and whilst not a faultless match, we beat PA on their home turf to keep our winning run going.

6) Round 7: MELBOURNE 24.16.160 def GOLD COAST 14.3.87 

Were were challenged by the Gold Coast in the first half but turned on an incredible display in the second half.  Saw our first glimpses of what Petracca was capable of in a steamrolling win.

7) Round 1: MELBOURNE 12.8.80 def GWS 10.18.78

Very much an underrated win at the time and still today.  We were up against it at the start of the last quarter but Watts and Hogan would have nothing of it.  Showed we weren't going to roll over as easily as we had in the past and we saw an incredibly first half from Clayton Oliver.  Knocked over a team that is, at worst, a preliminary finalist.

8) Round 16: MELBOURNE 12.15.87 def FREMANTLE 8.7.55

Tough win that we were expected to have.  Wasn't pretty, and anyone who's followed Melbourne for more than 20 minutes knows that the games you're expected to win should never be pencilled in.

9) Round 9: MELBOURNE 19.17.8131 def BRISBANE 9.14.68

Was a big win on the scoreboard, but remember feeling less than enthused by the standard.  Brisbane took it right up to us but lacked any polish; we ran away in the second half.

10) Round 19: MELBOURNE 9.12.66 def GOLD COAST 9.10.64

Gold Coast were playing some decent footy by the end of the season, especially with Lynch up forward.  Error riddled and unconvincing, but at least we can now say 'Jack Watts... match-winner.'

 

Ruining the Hawks mentally .

The other wins were fairy floss.

Number One  Beating St Kilda twice!

Number Two  Beating Western Bulldogs

Number Three  Beating North Melbourne 

Sorry, I was getting ahead of myself. I am thinking 2017.  This year, Hawthorn without a doubt followed by Collingwood( Twice) then Richmond. We were super in these games.

1 Hawks

2 Port

3 GWS

4 Tigers

5 Collingwood QB

6 Gold Coast away

7 Collingwood Rd 4

8 Freo

9 GC home

On 9/17/2016 at 5:39 PM, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Round 9: MELBOURNE 19.17.8131 def BRISBANE 9.14.68

Was good to see us start to bring some of these 8000+ point wins its about time.

I would rate the last two as the best. Hawks and Port, followed by GWS where little luck went our way.  All the others were against strugglers or distracted teams at the time.

Edited September 19, 20168 yr by america de cali

1 Hawthorn
No contest. Will be remembered for decades to come.

2 Port Adelaide
We played our grand final putting everything into the hawks then backed it up a week later... away. Albeit against a very poor Port Adelaide

3 Gold Coast Away
Underated win imo. Although we played a poor team it was away and we struggled to get control in the first half. I liked that we were able to just pull away from a team like that. 

4 Greater Western Sydney
Come from behind, never give up win.. any win from behind is a good win 

5 Collingwood QB
Queens Birthday needed to be won its still the biggest day on our calender and we got the job done. 

6 Richmond
Felt alot better at the time and could go ahead of QB, it was a good all around game from us on what will hopefully be our second biggest day for a few years to come

7 Collingwood The Other One
Best of the rest. Job done against a club on the slide

8 Gold Coast Home
Thank god Watts got it done that day god knows nobody else was... Worst win in a long while... but better to have terrible wins than terrible losses

9 Fremantle
Yay we won in darwin... Not much else to get excited about.

10 Brisbane
Terrible team, somewhat underwhelming yet emphatic win. Did what we needed to without being spectacular. 

Side note: To borrow from basketball, it was good to sweep both Collingwood and Gold Coast in the respective "season series" They weren't great teams this year but if they feel about us the way we feel about St Kilda right now thats a good result in my book. 

1. Hawks

2. Port

3. GWS

4. Queens Birthday 

5. Richmond

6. Gold coast away

7. Collingwood Rnd 4

8. Fremantle

9. Brisbane 

10. Gold Coast Home

1. Hawthorn - Is anyone really surprised? This one will be remembered for many, many years to come.

2. Richmond - Even though Richmond were struggling quite a bit, I can't possibly express how satisfying this game was to watch. 

3. GWS - I'm a sucker for a classic come from behind win and this was no exception. Don't underestimate the value of this win, especially considering GWS are about to play in a preliminary final. 

4. Collingwood (Queens Birthday) - Our first Queens Birthday win in a nearly a decade. Our second quarter was probably some the best football we've played in many years.

5. Port Adelaide - After the glitz and glamour of the Hawthorn win, it seemed obvious that we would come crashing down back to Earth. While that would happen against Carlton a week later, we showed that we are capable of backing up great performances. Winning in Adelaide was a fantastic achievement as well.

6. Collingwood (Round 4) - Another great win against the Pies, although it's slightly decreased in value after our performance on Queens Birthday. It was fantastic to see Jack Watts set the win up with four first half goals.

7. Gold Coast (Round 7) - Very underrated win in my opinion. First time in a long time that we've really put a team to the sword. 

8. Brisbane - Hard to believe a 10 goal win could look so unconvincing. 

9. Fremantle - We won in Darwin? Anyway, aside from Jesse Hogan tearing Zac Dawson a new orifice, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about this one. 

10. Gold Coast (Round 19) - Thank Christ for Jack Watts. Quite possibly our worst win in a long time. But as a previous poster said, it's better to win ugly than lose ugly.