The golden haired recruit from our country zone promised so much but, due to injuries, he never quite delivered at Melbourne.

He did meet the Queen though (and long before Harry and Megan).

Ross Dillon: Dees and Redleg royalty

... and playing for Victoria in their star studded side in the ’69 carnival dominating for the bloody Vics. 

Those croweaters still can't get over losing to Victoria!

So sad, he lost two brothers.

Love one of his sons is nick named thrasher?

Can still remember "Dillon!!!!!" called by commentators when he took pack marks. Sadly we couldn't get Dillon, Aitken and Parke onto the ground much otherwise 60s and 70s could have been very different story.

  On 14/01/2020 at 00:16, bush demon said:

Can still remember "Dillon!!!!!" called by commentators when he took pack marks. Sadly we couldn't get Dillon, Aitken and Parke onto the ground much otherwise 60s and 70s could have been very different story.

True, I had forgotten Aitken.

Dillon was a beautiful mark and kick. Perhaps a bit slow on the ground but certainly an unrealized talent at Melbourne. Yet another Coodabeen.  But he was one of those young guys that had MFC fans excited for a brief period. Like a falling star. 

Had not realized that he had gone on to a successful career in the SANFL.  A pity he did not have a second try at VFL but given his injury frustration and lack of senior footy, you can't blame him for staying put. 

I remember watching Chris Aitken in a pre-season practice game, and he was just back from the bush.  He hung around the goal square mostly, and went for the big hanger, over and over.  He looked the goods and we thought "here we GO!"  Perhaps he was lairising, even though it looked like he was just revelling in it.  Thinking about it now, and the great number of big-marking forwards we've gone through - you have to wonder.  I remember Hardeman going forward one week and kicking 8, but he was a backman, and back he went.  We really didn't seem able to get into synch.   The tone of that congratulatory letter to Ross Dillon sounds so complacent, so lordly superior, very MCC - and yet I know Jim Cardwell is well respected.  Were other clubs sounding as fusty old-fashioned as we were?

Back then, too, we played our pre-season in-house practice games on the MCG...  I was just over the fence behind the goals, watching Aitken.  Free admission, if I remember rightly.  So much lost, despite what looked like such promise, and what was at that time an incredible birthright.  

Fun fact: Chris Aitken is bro. of Wilbur Wilde.

My dear bro proudly sported 24 on his melbourne jumper as a kid

  On 14/01/2020 at 02:07, Salems Lot said:

My dear bro proudly sported 24 on his melbourne jumper as a kid

Interested in some of the '...might have made the bigtime...' statements about Dillon. I must have been very lucky back then, as all of the Dees' games that I saw were back-boned winners thanks to Ross Dillon. He was a superb footballer, a CHF of immense merit and virtually unstoppable, compared very favourably with Royce the Heart at Richmond. I also thought that he was quick onfield, not lacking pace to get into the action but CHFs played differently then, to nowadays. The guys he out-marked consistently knew it, too; if Dillon was in the vicinity they'd be beaten on-ground, in the air, in a pack, etc. Heartbroken, was I, when he left for Sth Aust (where he continued to star as a real champion might). 

  On 14/01/2020 at 00:40, hemingway said:

True, I had forgotten Aitken.

Dillon was a beautiful mark and kick. Perhaps a bit slow on the ground but certainly an unrealized talent at Melbourne. Yet another Coodabeen.  But he was one of those young guys that had MFC fans excited for a brief period. Like a falling star. 

Had not realized that he had gone on to a successful career in the SANFL.  A pity he did not have a second try at VFL but given his injury frustration and lack of senior footy, you can't blame him for staying put. 

no he was a terrible kick for goal-completly unreliable .But his marking judgement was unrivalled .Tragically struck down in his first season but had already shown he was something special . Although he was not the same player when he returned he was still one of our mainstays in typically difficult times .

  On 14/01/2020 at 06:55, kallangurdemon said:

no he was a terrible kick for goal-completly unreliable

What I meant was that he had a long kick both with punt and torpedo, but I agree his kicking for goal was unreliable. 

  On 14/01/2020 at 00:16, bush demon said:

Can still remember "Dillon!!!!!" called by commentators when he took pack marks. Sadly we couldn't get Dillon, Aitken and Parke onto the ground much otherwise 60s and 70s could have been very different story.

Sadly Greg Parke passed away just before the game last Saturday. Loved watching him play back in the day.