1 hour ago, CYB said:

Not sure non one-eyed supporters would agree with you on every aspect of this.

Still think Libba has Viney covered. Treloar is much better than Harmes and Smith is ahead of Brayshaw.

I tend to agree with you CYB, except for the fact that we won by 74 points.....Admittedly Libba had a shocker...which goes to show it is a team game...

(If I really cared my worries for the Dogs is that by the time the young tall timber comes online the mids will be too old - and their backline is very ordinary..)

2 hours ago, jnrmac said:

Bont = Petracca

Oliver >Macrae

Viney>Libba

Langdon >Hunter

Harmes > Treloar

Brayshaw > Smith

Gawn > Martin

Jackson > English 

Macrae not even able to tie Clarries Bootlaces is my take!

22 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

I really cant say who the better player is between Clayton and Trac but I'm glad they are ours.

Trac is probably better but Clarrie is the most important to the side

1 hour ago, Mazer Rackham said:

They rushed back Martin hoping he could do a Clark Keating and work Max over physically. But he was a long way underdone. What happened to the old grand final rule of thumb that you do't play unfit players? I suppose desperation will do that to you.

They had no other choice. If they played Sweet instead the result would have been worse.

They took a punt on a 198cm, 35 year old ruckman which cost them very little in trade and salary cap in the off season. He just couldn't stay fit enough to get the job done. It might have paid off if they came up against another club with weaker rucks in the grand final. 

Personally I thought it wasn't a great pick-up at the time.

24 minutes ago, loges said:

For mine Libba & Viney about equqal, but I judge Smith And Brayshaw how they performed in the heat of a Grand Final. Brayshaw for mine.Think Smith may be a bit of a front runner.

I rate him very highly. I would love to have Bailey Smith on the list. 

I don't think he will ever be the mid who continually pushes back into defence. He does his best work mid and fwd and he would be wasted if he didn't play to these strengths.

He didn't have the best grand final but is still young.

Gus had an epic grand final. I will love him forever for that game alone.

All 3 would be in the starting 18 of the best MFC Team of the Century and Half. 

R: Gawn

RR: Barassi

Rover: Clayton

Centre: Petracca

35 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Macrae not even able to tie Clarries Bootlaces is my take!

Harsh but fair.

Apart from Bont who is a champion and hurts the opposition with finishing, Petracca, Oliver and Viney hurt you both in setting up plays and delivery. Well ahead of Treloar, Libba and McCrae.  Largely accumultors. Libba has been dealt with 2 of the 3 times we met this year.

Bailey Smith has yet to really prove himself in a match consistently apart from cameos.

Watch Brayshaw's mastercalss in this regard in the GF. Contest after contest after contest....  Bailey Smith on the other hand is looking around to find out who's on who, as Langdon runs away with the ball (as 1 example)

41 minutes ago, Demon17 said:

Harsh but fair.

Apart from Bont who is a champion and hurts the opposition with finishing, Petracca, Oliver and Viney hurt you both in setting up plays and delivery. Well ahead of Treloar, Libba and McCrae.  Largely accumultors. Libba has been dealt with 2 of the 3 times we met this year.

Bailey Smith has yet to really prove himself in a match consistently apart from cameos.

Watch Brayshaw's mastercalss in this regard in the GF. Contest after contest after contest....  Bailey Smith on the other hand is looking around to find out who's on who, as Langdon runs away with the ball (as 1 example)

Not fair at all. McCrae is a very good player. Is he as good ad Oliver? No.

The guy who you quoted doesn't watch non demon games.

1 hour ago, Wizard of Koz said:

All 3 would be in the starting 18 of the best MFC Team of the Century and Half. 

R: Gawn

RR: Barassi

Rover: Clayton

Centre: Petracca

Um dont ever forget ROB FLOWER EVER

2 hours ago, BAMF said:

Not fair at all. McCrae is a very good player. Is he as good ad Oliver? No.

The guy who you quoted doesn't watch non demon games.

McCrae is a ball magnet. He just doesn’t have the acceleration of Clarry which is why he isn’t as good. Oliver can gain 5m on his opponent in a flash, which is why he is so damaging and so hard to stop. McCrae is a very very good player and I would love him in our side. But Oliver is a once in a generation freak of nature. 

Bailey Smith has superstar type of upside given his athletic traits, but at the moment he is trending to be Dylan Shiel 2.0

Edited December 13, 20213 yr by adonski

5 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

They rushed back Martin hoping he could do a Clark Keating and work Max over physically. But he was a long way underdone. What happened to the old grand final rule of thumb that you do't play unfit players? I suppose desperation will do that to you.

1/. Could have tried Clark Kent in his alternate gear and still wouldn’t have beat our Max

2/ Stevie May says hi. 

5 minutes ago, monoccular said:

1/. Could have tried Clark Kent in his alternate gear and still wouldn’t have beat our Max

2/ Stevie May says hi. 

Uh May was a almost a liability in the GF. Such a competitor that he was able to beat his opponent but there were quite a few moments where the hammy was limiting him. I wouldn’t be using him as an example that it’s ok to play unfit players.

10 hours ago, CYB said:

It is a curious topic. I think it is fair to say that whilst we were dominant in the finals, there are still a lot of footy fans that are less than convinced. A repeat in 2022 would probably put that to bed. 

Minor premiers.

Only team to be in the top four all season.

Started the season with nine straight wins and ended the season with seven straight wins.

Fewest points against in home and away season.

Five All-Australians including the captain plus the coach (most of any team).

Total losing margin across all games of 47 points (Geelong’s in 2007 was 45).

AFLCA Award Winner (Oliver).

Rising Star winner (Jackson).

Average finals winning margin of over 10 goals without playing a single home final at our home ground.

Won the Grand Final by 74 points.

There’s probably a heap more but but I can certainly see why some people weren’t convinced.

5 hours ago, CYB said:

Not sure non one-eyed supporters would agree with you on every aspect of this.

Still think Libba has Viney covered. Treloar is much better than Harmes and Smith is ahead of Brayshaw.

Yes, except for;  Viney has him covered for hurt factor, Viney can bench press 2 Libba's. Viney has leadership skills and values. Viney is a family man and father. Viney has better tatts.

3 reasons we flogged the dogs in the GF ........

Our Mids are far better than theirs
Our Backs are far better than their forwards.
Our Forwards are far better than their backs.

 

10 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Minor premiers.

Only team to be in the top four all season.

Started the season with nine straight wins and ended the season with seven straight wins.

Fewest points against in home and away season.

Five All-Australians including the captain plus the coach (most of any team).

Total losing margin across all games of 47 points (Geelong’s in 2007 was 45).

AFLCA Award Winner (Oliver).

Rising Star winner (Jackson).

Average finals winning margin of over 10 goals without playing a single home final at our home ground.

Won the Grand Final by 74 points.

There’s probably a heap more but but I can certainly see why some people weren’t convinced.

I feel like there will be a few oppo fans with sour grapes that try to taint the achievement of last year. I think the funny thing is the quirk of the AFL is that it’s not unusual for the best team of the year to not win the Premiership. We defied that trend by being the best across the board the whole season, how Geelong almost snatched the minor premiership is beyond me because they were very ordinary early on. Port were pretenders. The Lion’s best was very strong but they couldn’t sustain it. Dogs were the only true challengers but [censored] the bed at the end of the season making it hard for them. 

There can be no doubt: we were absolutely the deserved premiers. Now comes the next challenge, backing it up as the hunted!

16 hours ago, CYB said:

Not sure non one-eyed supporters would agree with you on every aspect of this.

Still think Libba has Viney covered. Treloar is much better than Harmes and Smith is ahead of Brayshaw.

Was about to post exactly this although I'd give Viney=Libba

16 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

I've said it before but Gawn is the best player I have seen I think there will be one player even better than him eventually and that's Jackson he is just a freak.

It will be interesting to see how that comparison pans out. They are both great at ground level for their sizes with  Luke seemingly better. Even though Luke has a great leap, Max has a big height advantage do he may fair better with hit outs and marking. But perhaps Luke is/will be faster and get to comps quicker. Luke has put on some muscle but Max still has more mass to use. Max has great leadership qualities that a young Luke may have but it's an unknown quantity as yet.

In any event both great talents, both ours and playing both at the same time.

15 hours ago, Jontee said:

Trac is probably better but Clarrie is the most important to the side

Petracca's obviously more explosive and more exciting to watch in significant games (e.g. Anzac Eve and the finals) but I feel that Oliver produces his best football on a more consistent basis.

That being said, the Petracca/Oliver debate is probably redundant. We should just feel really lucky to have both. They're easily the best midfield duo I've ever seen.

Edited December 13, 20213 yr by Hopeful Demon

On 12/12/2021 at 9:45 PM, Queanbeyan Demon said:

• My guess is that after the PF the Dogs put a heap of work into how to curb the influence of Gawn, and basically forgot about Jackson. Well, suffice it to say that they probably learnt their lesson.
• Max Gawn is really good at getting absolutely pumped by sh*t rucks.
• It feels like Draper is still a season away from putting it all together - before he could start to challenge the likes of Gawn (which I think he can do).
• There is no denying that if Melbourne lose any one of Gawn, Oliver & Petracca for an extended period and they will likely drop out of the 8.
• Outside of Gawn which top 8 side has a genuinely good ruckman?
• Max Gawn - Hawthorn players love playing kick-to-kick with the giant sasquatch.
• Gawn won the coaches votes award in 2018. No ruckman has been recognised as the best player in the league on a general public consensus, Jackson has potential to be not just the best ruckman but the best player.
• Obviously you'd love either he or Oliver but for me Petracca gives your team the X Factor and the hard work ethic as well. The way he is now I think he'd stand out in any team but having Gawn as well is what really allows them to find that extra gear when they're under the pump.
• It is worth pondering what Bont could do if roving to Gawn or NicNat.
• As Gawn just keeps getting better and better, we need to find our answer in the ruck instead of hoping ours can at least compete if he has his best ever game.
• He (Luke Nankervis) has Max Gawn vibes, even looks a bit like him.
• Gawn would have to get at least one more AA and captain another flag then I'd probably have him over Cox.
• I don't think I've seen a ruckman do what Gawn did in the preliminary final before.
• Gawn is their lynch pin. Jackson had a good GF, no question, but he's a 21yo, undersized ruck (198cm?) - as talented as he is.
• One injury to Gawn and the Dees are barely a top 8 side.
• Greg Stafford wasn't exactly Polly Farmer and he turned Max Gawn into the best ruck in the league.
   

II think it is nonsense to say we suddenly drop out of the 8 if we lose particular players. One of the things that l love about our list building is we now have such depth, and our recruitment has been not only geared to our long term future, but to give us an insurance against injuries. We now have most positions covered.
 

I love in particular the recruitment of Dunstan: unwanted by the Hawks because of his poor kicking skills, but in most other aspects elite particularly his hardness  at the ball. We have several players who were recruited from other clubs because of lack of skills, but had great strengths as well (eg Langdon). Just as Choco’s academy taught him to kick, so it will for Dunstan. It is very reassuring that we have such smart people running our club.

Brilliant list management by our guys, and just gives further credence to the confidence we have built for the future.

Edited December 13, 20213 yr by DeesFlag2020

In all of my 45 years 2021 was, by a very long way, the best Melbourne team I have ever seen. Which i know is easy to say because we won the flag, but it just is. There have certainly been times throughout the decades where I have seen us play amazingly well. The QF against Carlton in 2000, times during 1990/91 before we [censored] the bed in the finals to the Eagles etc...we all can recall certain games or weekly periods where we were just "on" - only for the wheels to fall off 

But in 2021 we just got absolutely everything right and everyone peaked in terms of skills, fitness and mental strength right at the time of the season when they had to. Every player just went to another level as they all pushed each other there. That has never happened before and may never again. 

The way we dismantled Geelong and then the Bulldogs was utterly merciless and brutal. It was the most perfect, relentless football I have ever seen in my life. 

And as for Max, his game against Geelong was the best game I have ever seen a ruckman play. Like ever. And I am old enough to remember the individual brilliance of Stynes, Madden et al. It was just extraordinary.

 

18 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

They rushed back Martin hoping he could do a Clark Keating and work Max over physically. But he was a long way underdone. What happened to the old grand final rule of thumb that you do't play unfit players? I suppose desperation will do that to you.

I would take it further than that. Max, and the JACKO outskilled them. A case of “ if Max doesn’t get you, Jacko will!”   

Exactly as it played out!

Edited December 13, 20213 yr by DeesFlag2020

42 minutes ago, Hatchman said:

In all of my 45 years 2021 was, by a very long way, the best Melbourne team I have ever seen. Which i know is easy to say because we won the flag, but it just is. There have certainly been times throughout the decades where I have seen us play amazingly well. The QF against Carlton in 2000, times during 1990/91 before we [censored] the bed in the finals to the Eagles etc...we all can recall certain games or weekly periods where we were just "on" - only for the wheels to fall off 

But in 2021 we just got absolutely everything right and everyone peaked in terms of skills, fitness and mental strength right at the time of the season when they had to. Every player just went to another level as they all pushed each other there. That has never happened before and may never again. 

The way we dismantled Geelong and then the Bulldogs was utterly merciless and brutal. It was the most perfect, relentless football I have ever seen in my life. 

And as for Max, his game against Geelong was the best game I have ever seen a ruckman play. Like ever. And I am old enough to remember the individual brilliance of Stynes, Madden et al. It was just extraordinary.

 

My old man is 73 and declared during the finals it's the best he's seen them play since he was a kid.
I know for sure it's the best I've seen them play.
The way we defend the whole ground is brilliant and then when we attack it's fast and aggressive.
The work rate is amazing.

Edited December 13, 20213 yr by Fork 'em

12 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Minor premiers.

Only team to be in the top four all season.

Started the season with nine straight wins and ended the season with seven straight wins.

Fewest points against in home and away season.

Five All-Australians including the captain plus the coach (most of any team).

Total losing margin across all games of 47 points (Geelong’s in 2007 was 45).

AFLCA Award Winner (Oliver).

Rising Star winner (Jackson).

Average finals winning margin of over 10 goals without playing a single home final at our home ground.

Won the Grand Final by 74 points.

There’s probably a heap more but but I can certainly see why some people weren’t convinced.

To be fair I'm still not convinced by Richmond and they've won 3 flags 😂