Jump to content

Featured Replies

 

What a wonderful player!

I wonder if others on this site agree with me when I say that Clarry reminds me of him in his relentlessness and his competitiveness -and even the way he runs.

 

Anyway, happy birthday Ron.

 

1 hour ago, pitmaster said:

Wonderful photo. Brilliant guernsey unsullied by sponsor labels. HB Ron!

And the collar. And the woolliness.

It's quite palpable, the feeling of my childhood this photo briefly gave me. 'Twinkletoes' himself (my mother's name for him), the colour and 'feel' of the jumper particularly, and the sense of the 'simple', winter VFL as was.

Memory's tricks say my Gran's bulky hand-knit (envy of the possessors of the 'real'!) had a '31' on it (plastic? felt?) I certainly drew lots of action pics with my Derwent pencils of Number 31, and his teammates, flying over hapless oppositions, particularly my parents' adopted underdog Hawks in the '50s (good times!)

Thanks for it all, Ron. Keep on Twinkling!

The Blue looks almost BLACK!!??

36 minutes ago, Fanatique Demon said:

image.jpeg.922139b14c02bad0e2d644cbcfdac30e.jpeg

Love this photo.

First ever father-son, 6 time premiership player, 4 time premiership coach. rover in VFL/AFL team of the century, changed the game as a coach, etc etc. 

My first memories of barracking for Melbourne always included Ron. He stands alone as a legend of the game. With all he achieved, his blood always ran red and blue. 

How lucky are we. Love you Ron. ❤💙

 

 

 

 
3 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

To the generation of Demon fans who grew up supporting the club in the golden era of the 50s - 60s, Ronald Dale Barassi remains the greatest!

36964E26-0FA2-4EF5-BA31-934C15CDE2B7.thumb.jpeg.80fb972f9971c8d0a9abafb421840cee.jpeg

The great man 

Happy 87th Birthday to the great man Ronald Dale Barassi!

Hopefully, he gets to present the Premiership Cup to the Melbourne Demons on Grand Final Day at the MCG in the not-to-distant future!

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSj1USljnSYcqOhDcR3kEs

It would be a wonderful tribute to have Ronald Dale Barassi hand another brand new Premiership Cup over to Max Gawn.

 

Edited by Supreme_Demon


87 is the demon number in cricket.....13 off a century

13 is also 31 backwards which was ron's jumper number

happy birthday ron

23 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

87 is the demon number in cricket.....13 off a century

13 is also 31 backwards which was ron's jumper number

happy birthday ron

Sh*t, we have an omen!

3 hours ago, Fanatique Demon said:

image.jpeg.922139b14c02bad0e2d644cbcfdac30e.jpeg

Have this as my screen saver on the computer.

RDB No31 what a man, what a Legend of the MFC and wider football world and as some former great pointed out If the Norm Smith Medal had been available Ron would have won 3.!!!

Happy 87th Ronald Dale Barassi.!!!

Edited by DeeZone
Missed capital

As lovely as 2021 was, we're all still missing that one sight we know we all need to see:

Ron handing the cup to Max on a warm September afternoon at the G.


Sixty years ago we played Geelong at Kardinia Park and it was Barassi for us and Polly Farmer for them. They won the flag that year and we won it the next - it was two teams stacked with stars.  Farmer won every hit-out, so it seemed to me - and he marked everything and crouched down to fire out his handballs - he was a colossus.  And Barassi was if anything only better.  It seemed he sharked every hit-out, and his power around the ground was something i don't think i have ever seen anyone match.  Those two guys were like gods among mortals, that day.

Barassi was like nothing you've ever seen - like Ablett senior, or Robbie Flower - in a category all to himself.  The airborne shot of him kicking is what he was like, if you are not old enough to have seen him - it captures absolutely indelibly what he was like as a player.  Hard to figure it, that he left, because nobody ever was such an indefatigable "force of Nature" in lifting his side over the line, time after time. 

My daughter met the great man in Hobart three or four years ago. A charming and courteous and very soft-spoken elderly gent.  Who actually ten years ago (aged 77) was thinking about how nutritional requirements change as we go - primary age kids compared to secondary age kids, and then what AFL footballers at different stages of their maturing might need.  Brushed aside as a geriatric, apparently, when he tried to talk about this. To his chagrin. Always, a creative thinker.

Anyway, a giant of his time.  We are so fortunate to be able to call him one of ours.

18 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

To the generation of Demon fans who grew up supporting the club in the golden era of the 50s - 60s, Ronald Dale Barassi remains the greatest!

36964E26-0FA2-4EF5-BA31-934C15CDE2B7.thumb.jpeg.80fb972f9971c8d0a9abafb421840cee.jpeg

Magnificent competitor never beaten. My football idol growing up. Could compete with the talls and moments later keeping up with the rovers. Those long arms! 

Get tackled by Ron you knew about it.  I guess today a combination of Petracca and Oliver would sum up RDB. I'm sure Ron would be so impressed by these two current, absolute champions. Of course Robbie Flower would have to be in the same company with these players. My top 4 Demons of all time. And I saw many over the years. Happy birthday Ronnie.

I've brought this up before but would like to re-visit. For those who were lucky enough to see the great man play, which current day player did his style most resemble? If any?

I never saw him live but from all the books, stories from uncles, tidbits from folks on here, the limited tv footage I got my hands on, I get an image in my head of someone like Paddy Dangerfield. Someone who was like a fierce mountain lion released from the cage moments before the ball was bounced. Most great footballers have killer instinct and bottle but players like this took it to a new level.

Really keen to hear your comparisons and if there aren't any and he was just one of a kind, I'm happy to hear that too.

2 hours ago, layzie said:

I've brought this up before but would like to re-visit. For those who were lucky enough to see the great man play, which current day player did his style most resemble? If any?

I never saw him live but from all the books, stories from uncles, tidbits from folks on here, the limited tv footage I got my hands on, I get an image in my head of someone like Paddy Dangerfield. Someone who was like a fierce mountain lion released from the cage moments before the ball was bounced. Most great footballers have killer instinct and bottle but players like this took it to a new level.

Really keen to hear your comparisons and if there aren't any and he was just one of a kind, I'm happy to hear that too.

As I mentioned yesterday imo Barassi would be a composite of Petracca and Oliver. Fierce determination, never say die attitude. 'Melbourne through and through' to quote the famed Norm Smith. 

As I posted above, Clayton Oliver really reminds me of him. I don’t think Dangerfield was anything like him, to be honest. For a start, I don’t recall Barassi ever being a whinger, like Dangerfield is – Dangerfield complains about every free kick awarded against him, no matter how obvious. But it’s more than that. Oliver, like Barassi, is everywhere, and always having an influence. Absolutely relentless is the only way I can describe it. They see the ball and it is theirs, no point arguing about it.


Ron was like a combination of Rod Grinter, Leigh Mathews and Clayton Oliver. 

In other words, don't upset him and get out of the way!

1 minute ago, ManDee said:

Ron was like a combination of Rod Grinter, Leigh Mathews and Clayton Oliver. 

In other words, don't upset him and get out of the way!

Agreed but without the viciousness of Matthews. 

 

The term is no longer in use today, but am I recalling correctly that the term "ruck rover" was created to explain the role Ron Barassi had in the Melbourne team?

Unfortunately, my memories of RDB as a player are of him in a Carlton jumper. 

My recollection is of him during the breaks in games always walking around and around.

It always seemed wetter in those days, the ground and the players

The use of arms in those days. From what i remember, he used to play in long and short sleeves.


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...

Featured Content

  • NON-MFC: Round 15

    As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

      • Like
    • 42 replies
  • REPORT: Port Adelaide

    Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

    • 2 replies
  • CASEY: Essendon

    Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

    • 0 replies
  • PREGAME: Gold Coast

    The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

      • Haha
      • Like
    • 110 replies
  • PODCAST: Port Adelaide

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 16th June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Power.
    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
    • 32 replies
  • POSTGAME: Port Adelaide

    The Demons simply did not take their opportunities when they presented themselves and ultimately when down by 25 points effectively ending their finals chances. Goal kicking practice during the Bye?

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 252 replies