What a revelation. Maxie can play full back (on hawk in the goal square for a while), loose man in defence, high marking full forward, first ruck who can also clear his own work, chaser and tackler (tackle on rohan), ground ball getter, goal sneak from the pocket and now attacking midfielder with goals on the run from over 50m. Not quite the complete package until he shows that he can run like langers, intercept like Lever and kick exquisitely like Salem.

I cannot recall over 60 years a champion ruckman in any team that combined the skills and attributes of our Maxie. That list includes Schultz, Farmer, Sampson (Ess), Green (Rich), Dempsey, Thompson, Moss, Teasdale, Madden 1 and 2, Scott, Jimmy, Wynd, Nicnat. None of them could have achieved what Maxie achieved in the prelim final.

To Maxie - please settle, rejuvenate your mind and body and play to your best.

He is a unique beast, in every possible sense. A force for good purely by how much joy he’s bringing to people, obviously us as supporters, but really anybody even vaguely interested in footy. He is a pure gift to the AFL, a beacon of larrikin sportsmanship, a ‘character’ of the kind all sports crave and can be proud of, let alone market the game on. I can only imagine the effect he’s having on kids who love a sports hero they can thrill to, but also trust as authentic, respectful, fun-loving, passionate and dedicated. And then there’s his football ability. We’ve never seen any player like him.