On 05/05/2020 at 06:13, Sir Why You Little said:

Yes Matera was very close (Bags Packed) to being on our list. So sad. Just the Player we needed to put serious Respect back into the Club

23 years later we still need an A Grade recruit

........and to think Ollie was there for the taking .

  On 07/05/2020 at 06:56, dee-eee said:

........and to think Ollie was there for the taking .

Yes indeed. BOG in his first game against us. We got so much out of Toumpas. 
 

incredible to think that the MFC actually still exists after the last decade

  On 07/05/2020 at 07:54, Sir Why You Little said:

Yes indeed. BOG in his first game against us. We got so much out of Toumpas. 
 

incredible to think that the MFC actually still exists after the last decade

We've had questionable development over the years, but zero doubt this was ridiculously poor recruiting. A ready to go gun (and Viney best mate) vs a project player, and over the years I never really saw anything that made me think he'd anything worth a top 5 pick.

Edited May 7, 20204 yr by Pates

  On 07/05/2020 at 08:27, Pates said:

We've had questionable development over the years, but zero doubt this was ridiculously poor recruiting. A ready to go gun (and Viney best mate) vs a project player, and over the years I never really saw anything that made me think he'd anything worth a top 5 pick.

Right up there with Lucas Cook

This Club took us all for idiots, and we still paid up!!!

  On 05/05/2020 at 05:10, Demonland said:

I don’t remember this one. Anyone else remember this. 

MELBOURNE

The Demons almost struck gold and snared dual premiership Eagle and Norm Smith Medallist Peter Matera, only for his teammates to convince him to stay in Perth. Matera flagged an intention to join Melbourne after the 1997 season, causing a media storm in WA. But several senior teammates eventually convinced the star wingman to stay at the Eagles – the club he’d ultimately spend his entire career at.
 

Any other stars we almost lured?

Lucky we didn't get him...didn't we self report salary cap breaches between 1995-98!! Matera wouldn't have come cheap!

Mark Alvey and Mattew Lobbe is scraping the bottom of the barrel for 'mega deals'.

Yes, I remember.

I'm glad for Matera's sake it never eventuated.

  On 07/05/2020 at 04:53, Redleg said:

Well according to Don Scott, Matthews was pretty much a loner and kept to himself.

I am not sure he would have changed our culture.

Yes,  I heard that he often left straight after a game, especially when he was concussed.  He would slip out & home.

I think his efforts as a coach,  speak volumes for is understanding of players and culture standards,  and commitment to team.   He was highly successful in this area.  We could have done with some of that.

 

It saddens me that such a legend is often thought of and spoken of as just a one dimensional thug,  when truth is he copped as much as he dished out.   He was a product of the era which was rugged,  and his career spread across changing times and social cultures.

When we think of Ditterich,  Biffen, or Grinter,  and others who dished out a lot of punishing blows to opposition players,  we mostly see things in a different light.

 

Many coaches were a little aloof to the players in that day.   For discipline reasons.  Things are different these days,  because people are different in mind and attitudes.  and fragile ego's.

Lethal was just about best ever but  outrageous thuggery was common . Will never forget our  Peter Giles (pretty much a harmless hippy type ) being clubbed to the ground from behind as he cleared the ball from defence .

 

  On 05/05/2020 at 05:10, Demonland said:

I don’t remember this one. Anyone else remember this. 

MELBOURNE

The Demons almost struck gold and snared dual premiership Eagle and Norm Smith Medallist Peter Matera, only for his teammates to convince him to stay in Perth. Matera flagged an intention to join Melbourne after the 1997 season, causing a media storm in WA. But several senior teammates eventually convinced the star wingman to stay at the Eagles – the club he’d ultimately spend his entire career at.
 

Any other stars we almost lured?

We had Daryl Baldock signed sealed and delivered until the apple cart spilt over in Tasmania.

We also nearly got Darren Jarman but he ended up at Adelaide.

Then there was me. I offered my services to MFC but they declined.

Player	Year	Notes
Michael Tuck	1991	In his autobiography Garry Lyon says that the Demons made an offer to Tuck after the season that was half considered.
Dermott Brereton	1995	With Allen Jakovich finished and David Schwarz out for the season Melbourne showed some interest for 1995 but he was drafted by Collingwood before the Demons could take him. He was still there but they took Shaun Smith instead.
Keenan Reynolds	1995	Another potential Schwarz replacement, articles suggested Melbourne thought he'd be gone by the time their pick came. He was available by the Demons didn't select him
Darren Gaspar	1996	Linked with the ex-Sydney defender in early 1996 but baulked at his 250k price tag.
Daryl Griffin	1996	Melbourne agreed to trade Jeff Hilton to Footscray for Griffin but the deal was vetoed by Footscray's administration.
Gavin Brown	1996	It was reported that Melbourne attempted to lure the Collingwood captain at the end of 1996.
Stuart Edwards	1996	Trained at the end of the 1996 season but was not drafted.
Paul McCormack	1996	Ex-Carlton defender who trained at the end of the 1996 season but was not drafted.
Shannon Grant	1997	Linked in mid-1997
Peter Matera hman who was lost to the Demons in a coin-toss with the Bulldogs. Melbourne got Kevin Devine instead. Trent Croad 2001 The Demons were initially named as his most likely destination after leaving Hawthorn, but he eventually went to Fremantle. Brad Flower 2001-2002 Son of Robbie Flower. Played with Eastern Ranges in 2001 and with Sandringham in 2002 with an eye to a father/son selection but was not picked. Barnaby Howarth 2002 22-year-old midfielder from Pennant Hills, NSW. Trained but was not picked up in the rookie draft and joined Sandringham. David Pitt 2001 Springvale player who trained with the club Wayne Carey 2002 Melbourne were one of the club's linked to Carey with CEO John Anderson refusing to rule out a move. Michael Handby 2002 Former Adelaide listed player who trained with the team but was not drafted Chad Davis 2002 Former St Kilda player who trained but was not drafted Danny O'Brien 2002 Ex-Geelong player who trained with the club but was not drafted Jade Rawlings 2003 Met with Melbourne in 2003 trade week with a view to joining as a swap for the #5 selection ultimately used on Brock McLean Ryan Houlihan 2003 Had an offer to join but chose to stay at Carlton. Justin Blumfield 2005 Considered for the spot on the list left open by Troy Broadbridge Kris Barlow 2005 Considered for the spot on the list left open by Troy Broadbridge Brad Sewell 2005 Ryan Ferguson refused a 2005 trade that would have seen him switch to Hawthorn as a swap for Sewell. Went on to win two premierships with the Hawks. Chris Judd 2007 Childhood Melbourne fan who named Melbourne as one of his four potential clubs before choosing Carlton Robert Warnock 2008 Almost lured to the club before choosing Carlton after 2008 . His brother Matthew played for the Demons at the time. Shaun Burgoyne 2009 Named Melbourne as one of his three preferred clubs when he left Port Adelaide. Joined Hawthorn. Luke Ball 2009 Courted by the Demons but nominated Collingwood as his preferred club. Despite some suggestion that Melbourne would use National Draft selection 18 on him, they did not. Mitch Thorp 2009 Former top ten Hawthorn pick who was sacked from the Hawks with a year left on his contracted. Trained with the Demons as a potential key forward but was not selected after failing medical tests. David Hale 2010 Former North Melbourne ruckman linked heavily to the Demons during trade week 2010. Despite the suggestion that Hale would go to either club, he eventually landed at Hawthorn when the Hawks trumped Melbourne's offer.	1998	Agreed to join then changed his mind and stayed at West Coast

Nice work, David.

You can see him out and about in Perth these days (pre COVID) punching ciggies...

Punching them like Trent from punchy 

From memory we took Jamie Shanahan with the first pick in the 1998 Pre Season Draft and although he clearly wasn't the same calibre of player as Peter Matera, he filled a hole for us in 1998 when we were in desperate need for a strong, experienced full back. By 2000 Al Nicholson had replaced him in that position, but you wonder if we'd had been as balanced as we were in 1998 if not for Shanners. A quiet achiever.

i liked him but he got exposed a lot in his old age. Particularly pace off the mark. We need more full backs with gloves