Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.
Demonland

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Norm Smith-What happened in 1965

Sir Why You Little
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

Younger Supporters have been asking about what happened. Why did we fall so low?

Did Norm leave a curse?

The Red Fox was our true legend…

  • Quote
    • Like 7
    • Thanks 1
     

    Incredible video !!!! Thank you for posting . Loved the Hassa Mann story told by Stan Alves . " Sooner fight than lie " . Interesting he thought the club was slipping . How right he was . Coach of the Century !

    Not sure about curses but definitely believe in Karma . Dont walk under ladders . The longest sporting curse was the 87 year Red Sox ( not Redlegs ) Bambino curse when they moved on Babe Ruth . We moved Norm on . 

    When we do the following the Karma will have changed . 1. Win 9 and break the 65 streak . 2. MFC player to win a Norm Smith medal and 3 . Win the premiership .

  • Quote
    • Like 1
     

    i am a near 81 year old dee who lived through that era and I highly recommend that any  football person should read the book the RED FOX. A great insight into the man .

  • Quote
    • Like 6
    • Love 1

    Some of the feeble minds who believed in curses . Caesar , Genghis Khan , Shakespeare .

  • Quote
    3 hours ago, demonstone said:

    Curses are superstitious nonsense and the domain of the feeble minded.

    Thats the kind of attitude that has caused us to be stranded in the doldrums for the past six decades. We need more chicken sacrifices.

    Edited by John Crow Batty

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Haha 3
    28 minutes ago, Craig Hutchinson said:

    Some of the feeble minds who believed in curses . Caesar , Genghis Khan , Shakespeare .

    You're not really helping your argument by citing people who lived hundreds of years ago and believed in all sorts of whacky nonsense that has since been debunked for the unadulterated tosh it always was.

    You do know that Shakespeare wrote fiction, Craig?

  • Quote
    •  

    The curse definitely cost us a flag when we were good enough ie 1987-1991 and perhaps 1998. Geelong and The Saints also missed flags they should have won. None as much as Collingwood though.

  • Quote

    23 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

    Younger Supporters have been asking about what happened. Why did we fall so low?

    Did Norm leave a curse?

    The Red Fox was our true legend…

    Thanks for linking to my YouTube account :lol:
    I have a tonne of MFC videos/games that I plan on uploading at some stage when I finally get time - a lot have been uploaded to YouTube over the years but I think there's still quite a few that aren't up yet

     

    Edited by Dr. Gonzo

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    • Author
    2 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

    Thanks for linking to my YouTube account :lol:
    I have a tonne of MFC videos/games that I plan on uploading at some stage when I finally get time - a lot have been uploaded to YouTube over the years but I think there's still quite a few that aren't up yet

     

    Stumbled across it yesterday 

    the Norm footage is full on. A man of Principles

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    Just now, Sir Why You Little said:

    Stumbled across it yesterday 

    the Norm footage is full on. A man of Principles

    Yep and they spell it the same whether you went to a public school or a private school ?

  • Quote
    • Love 2
    10 hours ago, demons123452000 said:

    i am a near 81 year old dee who lived through that era and I highly recommend that any  football person should read the book the RED FOX. A great insight into the man .

    you must have some great stories. Glad you’re around. 

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    • Author
    9 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

    Yep and they spell it the same whether you went to a public school or a private school ?

    Yes i had never seen that section before. 
    that whole program of Tony Charlton’s Footy Show would be great to see in full, but I doubt it exists 

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    When I read the book I was stunned at how it all developed and how MFC used to be the family club. All the stuff that Hawthorn started doing when they became a power. I still ask how did we get it so wrong. Of interest these days is if you were to ask Ronald Dale about his move to Carlton he has stated that in retrospect it was an error. I didn't like the role Jim Cardwell appeared to have played in all this, if what is said in the book is true

    Maybe now after all this years we are on the verge of something big. Roos said it would take 5 year and we are finally getting there, maybe Yze is the talisman coming back from Hawthorn..

     

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    8 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

    Yes i had never seen that section before. 
    that whole program of Tony Charlton’s Footy Show would be great to see in full, but I doubt it exists 

    Yep I'd only ever seen the snippet on the 100 Years of Footy doco from 1996 from memory the video linked above has a longer segment but the entire show would be great viewing.

    When I think of the amount of content consigned to the scrapheap over the years by the broadcasters and the league it makes me cry. If only the VFL had a Steve Sabol/Vince McMahon type in charge who knew the value of keeping ownership of and storing the video catalogue of the sport. Can you imagine the streaming service the AFL could have? Such a shame.

  • Quote
    • Like 2

    English football manager Barry Fry took a ceremonial pish in all four corners of Birmingham's pitch to try and reverse a supposed gypsy curse. Let's see the people in this thread who think curses are a real thing load up and have a go at the same sort of exorcism.

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    • Haha 1

    Two things caused our decline. The first was the so-called Norm Smith curse that destroyed the fabric of the club.

    The second was much more influential and compounded the effect of the first. In the mid 60s the VFL implemented "zoning" whereby each club was gifted an exclusive recruiting zone in Victoria.  This destroyed the MFC's dominance in recruiting by being able to use the MCG and the connectedness of our club to attract talent.

    Our zones delivered Robbie and Garry but not much else in terms of out and out champions. Clubs like the dorks and the lollie blues were, by chance, gifted unfettered access to productive zones that delivered an ongoing supply of great players eg dorks had Mornington Peninsula and Berwick that were fast growing residential areas that delivered Tuck, Matthews, Scott, Brereton, Langford, Mew, Ayres, Crimmins, Wallace, Dipierdomenico etc etc hat brought them success.

     

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Angry 1

    22 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

    Thats the kind of attitude that has caused us to be stranded in the doldrums for the past six decades. We need more chicken sacrifices.

    Sacrifice Chook Fowler? No surely not.

  • Quote

    • Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
    Reply to this topic...
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • Thank You Simon Goodwin

      As Demon fans, we’ve ridden a rollercoaster of emotions over the decades; the heartbreaks, the near misses, the wooden spoons, and the endless waiting. But through it all, we clung to hope. And then came Simon Goodwin. Before he ever wore red and blue, he was a champion in his own right. A five-time All-Australian, two-time Best and Fairest, and two-time premiership hero and Captain with Adelaide, Simon Goodwin was always destined to lead. When he transitioned from the field to the coach's box, first as an assistant at Essendon, he began shaping a new legacy.

        • Sad
        • Clap
        • Love
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 20 replies
      Demonland

    • PREVIEW: Western Bulldogs

      Long ago and far away, the Melbourne Football Club replaced its coach in difficult circumstances after the team suffered a devastating loss. In the aftermath, I penned the following words: “Then came the politics, the intrigue, the axing, the sound of the football world laughing at a club, the circling of the media vultures, the reinvention of history, the anger, the irony, the pathos, the hurt on the face of the president, the dignified departure of the coach, and the determination of the newly appointed caretaker.” Today, we’re back in the same place although one difference here is that the coach who was terminated this time is Simon Goodwin, the man who four years ago

        • Clap
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 4 replies
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: West Coast

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 4th August @ 8:00pm. Join Binman & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing glorious win over the Eagles
      Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
      Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 37 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: West Coast

      The Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities, opens with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …”  This phrase highlights many of the significant challenges that humanity encounters in life, ranging from experiencing remarkable highs to living in times of despair. This is a concept that should resonate with all supporters of the Melbourne Football Club this morning as they reflect on its comprehensive 83-point victory over the struggling West Coast Eagles at Marvel Stadium. The outcome proved beyond doubt that they are the worst of clubs and that we are the best of the worst.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 4 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Western Bulldogs

      With only 3 games to go, all against Top 8 fancies, the Demons face a daunting task as they return to the MCG when they play the Western Bulldogs. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
      • 221 replies
      Demonland

    • POSTGAME: West Coast

      The Demons return to town fresh off a thumping win over the back-to-back wooden spooners, the West Coast Eagles, played in front of a sparse crowd at Marvel Stadium, the same venue that hosted last week's heartbreaking loss.

        • Haha
        • Love
        • Thanks
      • 218 replies
      Demonland
    View All

    Configure browser push notifications
    Chrome (Android)
    1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
    2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
    3. Adjust your preference.
    Chrome (Desktop)
    1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
    2. Select Site settings.
    3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.