Jump to content

What they are saying at Arden Street

Bitter but optimistic
Bitter but optimistic
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

On 7/31/2023 at 4:15 PM, hemingway said:

The much recommended book Between The Flags by Ian Munro provides many examples of the wheeling and dealing of recruiters during the 70s and 80s. 

I bought this recently, haven't got to the 70s & 80s yet ... good reading so far 👍

  • Quote
    •  
    9 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

    It may be Luci that while there, you can solve the perennial mystery of what is under a Scotsman's kilt.

    A Scot mate of mine is known for doing handstands on New Years Eve while wearing his kilt, I always avert my gaze but this one time I was traumatized for days. There are some things you just cannot unsee.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Love 1
    • Haha 5
    On 7/31/2023 at 3:57 PM, poita said:

    https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/north-melbourne-kangaroos/afl-draft-2021-trade-news-north-melbourne-rejects-offer-for-pick-1-adelaide-offers-three-firstround-picks-jason-hornefrancis/news-story/c04e020fec2fe228597559746741b62c

    They were stupid enough to draft a player who made it pretty clear he didn't want to go there. They only have themselves to blame.

    I must have missed the email Poita? 

    I never heard this as reliable information when he was drafted or asked for a release. 

    To be honest the Scully saga  was not a lot different in that he decided once here about halfway through he wanted out ( due entirely to the monster GWS offer to both himself and father). 

    But you are stating that he  NEVER wanted to come and let this be known to The Kangas before the draft. A Club if that was so has to make a decision and get most things right. 

    JHF clearly did not respect the NMFC by his actions and deceit and single  mindedness and as he fought defiantly to get out of the Club it would appear.

    Doesn't make the Club wrong IMO in selecting him as he has been the only No 1 can recall other than Scully who fought the system. 

    It's two bottom Clubs with a potentially poor future at the time that have been in this situation. But thankfully both are outliers not the norm in the AFL draft system. 

    Eonder if we had chosen Nic Nat instead of Wattsy would he have done any thing like this, 

    Really Jacko did this in a way but stayed a bit longer and got the premiership spoils!! Maybe he wont get that  at Freo ?  Time alone will tell. 

     

     

  • Quote
    •  
    16 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

    Thank you.

    Glasgow is new for me so seeking out its quirky spots.  And its the easiest way to get to the wedding in Ayrshire.  

    For a decent whisky you may need to visit Scotland!🙂

    Whilst there are a lot there for sure, Japan has some amazing whisky and one of the absolute best imo is Hellyers Rd from Tassie.

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    On 8/1/2023 at 8:10 PM, Diamond_Jim said:

    that's a good discussion point and relevant to teams like MFC ever catching the big boys.

    There is no doubt that North of old were an entertaining and successful team. Why did they not catch on whereas Hawthorn did ? Was it simply the weight of premiership numbers or was there something else

    Believe it or not some of what makes clubs now big or otherwise has to do with Melbourne's geography. Richmond was not a wildly successful club early in the competition when Collingwood was racking up premierships at will but it was a big suburb full of small working class cottages filled with large Catholic families - the genesis of the Tiger Army.

    North by contrast is a small suburb with plenty of industrial/warehouse areas taking up space so an even smaller population, and in football club terms is sandwiched between Carlton and Essendon, both successful early in the VFL. So it's always had a smaller base and more attractive clubs surrounding it. Add to that it was late to the VFL and had literally no success - played in one losing grand final in its first 50 years in the League and you have the recipe for North today.

    On a personal note I would that its [censored] colours also contribute to its lack of appeal. I mean really, washed out sky blue, and white(!). Contrast that to, I don't know say a deep, blood red and a dark, almost black navy blue, those are colours you can get around.

    The lack of a name suburban base was always offered as a major reason for Melbourne not having a bigger following when it was ruling the roost.

    Edited by pitmaster

  • Quote
    • Like 2

    1 hour ago, Gorgoroth said:

    Whilst there are a lot there for sure, Japan has some amazing whisky and one of the absolute best imo is Hellyers Rd from Tassie.

    I love Hellyers Rd but the pricepoint is a little beyond ideal compared to other great local whisky brands.  

  • Quote
    11 hours ago, No. 31 said:

    I bought this recently, haven't got to the 70s & 80s yet ... good reading so far 👍

    An excellent book.  It put so much of this period into context. Essential reading for any supporter wanting to get a better understanding of this period from the 1970s through to the 2000s. I thought I knew it all, but the book provided information that I was unaware of, had forgotten, or for which I had scanty knowledge. It’s a reminder to never forget the past as it teaches us so many lessons for current and future times. 

  • Quote
    • Like 4
    • Clap 1
    18 hours ago, grazman said:

    Love Banksy as you can probably tell 😄

    Exhibition was next level awesome!

    Love how he juxtaposes images to make the viewer smile, laugh, ponder or be shocked.

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    • Love 1
     
    2 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

    Exhibition was next level awesome!

    Love how he juxtaposes images to make the viewer smile, laugh, ponder or be shocked.

    Do you have time and interest to visit any Charles Rennie Mackintosh sites while you're in Glasgow, Luci.  He's a favourite of mine, e.g.:

    https://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/visit/ourvenues/themackintoshhouse/

    Edited by old55

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Love 1
    1 minute ago, old55 said:

    Do you have time and interest to visit any Charles Rennie Mackintosh sites while you're in Glasgow, Luci.  He's a favourite of mine, e.g.:

    https://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/visit/ourvenues/themackintoshhouse/

    I do! He is next on my list.  Along with walking the 'Street Art Trail'.

  • Quote
    • Love 1

    Some Bansky street art to ponder:

    image.png.0f72d8ecfae43700e88c180a9254f8d6.png

    image.png.9855f576882e2d771a3dea8e16b1667b.png

    image.png.eac5f91e17a698274306e6e1c15eba6a.png

  • Quote
    • Like 6
    • Love 2

    Ok. Time for teams and football so I'll take my leave of this thread and DL for the rest of my holiday.

    Folks get the decor out to paint the town red and blue as our 14th flag beckons!!

    Edited by Lucifers Hero

  • Quote
    • Like 5
    • Love 1
    8 hours ago, layzie said:

    I love Hellyers Rd but the pricepoint is a little beyond ideal compared to other great local whisky brands.  

    Maaaaaaate, when you are drinking whisky, you pay for what you get. Hellyers is a great distiller, a lot of others decent, but not the same class. And tbh I think Hellyers are well priced. We got a starward from the whisky club and it was the same price and I don’t rate it at all.

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    6 hours ago, Gorgoroth said:

    Maaaaaaate, when you are drinking whisky, you pay for what you get. Hellyers is a great distiller, a lot of others decent, but not the same class. And tbh I think Hellyers are well priced. We got a starward from the whisky club and it was the same price and I don’t rate it at all.

    See I love Starward and you just went blasphemous! 😜

    However if you're talking the Solera I'm not a massive fan, much prefer Fortis. 

    I've only tried the 12 year single malt from Hellyers. Just didnt quite see the fuss. Happy to try again for sure.

    In other news the whisky show is on Saturday 2 mins from my place and I don't have tickets!

    Edited by layzie

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    6 hours ago, layzie said:

    See I love Starward and you just went blasphemous! 😜

    However if you're talking the Solera I'm not a massive fan, much prefer Fortis. 

    I've only tried the 12 year single malt from Hellyers. Just didnt quite see the fuss. Happy to try again for sure.

    In other news the whisky show is on Saturday 2 mins from my place and I don't have tickets!

    Slightly peated is my fav of theirs and they did an exclusive through the whisky club and it’s fantastic. Got a few bottles of that one.

     

    IMG_7044.png

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    14 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

    Ok. Time for teams and football so I'll take my leave of this thread and DL for the rest of my holiday.

    Folks get the decor out to paint the town red and blue as our 14th flag beckons!!

    Wow LH the last time you were this confident was 2021. 

  • Quote
    On 8/3/2023 at 7:46 AM, pitmaster said:

    Believe it or not some of what makes clubs now big or otherwise has to do with Melbourne's geography. Richmond was not a wildly successful club early in the competition when Collingwood was racking up premierships at will but it was a big suburb full of small working class cottages filled with large Catholic families - the genesis of the Tiger Army.

    North by contrast is a small suburb with plenty of industrial/warehouse areas taking up space so an even smaller population, and in football club terms is sandwiched between Carlton and Essendon, both successful early in the VFL. So it's always had a smaller base and more attractive clubs surrounding it. Add to that it was late to the VFL and had literally no success - played in one losing grand final in its first 50 years in the League and you have the recipe for North today.

    On a personal note I would that its [censored] colours also contribute to its lack of appeal. I mean really, washed out sky blue, and white(!). Contrast that to, I don't know say a deep, blood red and a dark, almost black navy blue, those are colours you can get around.

    The lack of a name suburban base was always offered as a major reason for Melbourne not having a bigger following when it was ruling the roost.

    I saw a theory awhile ago that made sense to me about how and why the big clubs got big and it was due to the emerging TV coverage of the late 60s and 70's.
    It was this time when Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond were all top sides and so dominating the footy show replays.
    Teams on the bottom of the ladder during this time barely got a look in.
    Every year for eg I'd watch the Grand Final eve replays and we were never in them.
    Same with saturday nights when they'd review the days games and then show the last qtr or so of the game of the round.
    We very rarely got a look in there either.
    Essendon and Hawthorns era of dominance during the 80's helped their cause.
    Meanwhile we for the most part were stinking up the bottom of the ladder for multiple decades.
    Can't explain Norf but I do feel for them pioneering Friday night footy only then for the other clubs to muscle in on their lucrative action.




     

    Edited by Fork 'em

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    1 hour ago, Gorgoroth said:

    Slightly peated is my fav of theirs and they did an exclusive through the whisky club and it’s fantastic. Got a few bottles of that one.

     

    IMG_7044.png

    Definitely going to have to try this. I'm all about the Pinot/red wine casks.

    Been meaning to join the Whisky club for years. More than happy to get a decent whisky each month for reasonable $. 

  • Quote
    1 hour ago, Gorgoroth said:

    Slightly peated is my fav of theirs and they did an exclusive through the whisky club and it’s fantastic. Got a few bottles of that one.

     

    IMG_7044.png

    This whisky was well received by the best independent whisky reviewer going around Ralphy Mitchell from the Isle of Mann. His weekly reviews are well worth checking out.

     

    Edited by dee-tox

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    15 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

    Some Bansky street art to ponder:

    image.png.0f72d8ecfae43700e88c180a9254f8d6.png

    image.png.9855f576882e2d771a3dea8e16b1667b.png

    image.png.eac5f91e17a698274306e6e1c15eba6a.png

    Magnificent! The exhibition would have been something else! 

  • Quote

    On 8/3/2023 at 6:41 AM, Gorgoroth said:

    Whilst there are a lot there for sure, Japan has some amazing whisky and one of the absolute best imo is Hellyers Rd from Tassie.

    Agreed on Japanese whiskies. Superb. Moreover Japan is a remarkable place to buy whisky. You can get a bottle of excellent Scotch ....Ardbeg etc...from a Seven Eleven for half what they cost here, even less. It's ridiculously cheap.

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    10 minutes ago, Redlagged said:

    Agreed on Japanese whiskies. Superb. Moreover Japan is a remarkable place to buy whisky. You can get a bottle of excellent Scotch ....Ardbeg etc...from a Seven Eleven for half what they cost here, even less. It's ridiculously cheap.

    My brother is in Japan right now. Might have to put in an order! 

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    18 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

    Some Bansky street art to ponder:

    image.png.0f72d8ecfae43700e88c180a9254f8d6.png

    image.png.9855f576882e2d771a3dea8e16b1667b.png

    image.png.eac5f91e17a698274306e6e1c15eba6a.png

    Brilliant art, Luci.

    Shame about this…

    https://amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/feb/14/banksy-new-artwork-margate-kent-violence-against-women

    And this…

    https://amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/11/banksy-stencils-destroyed-by-construction-workers-in-melbourne

     

    My fave Banksy…

    487EBF73-0553-4A5C-B05F-2CEB6FD3F175.thumb.jpeg.a8b6b5bba03425b6303c61199f0f1c76.jpeg

    “PILLOW FIGHT”

    Edited by WalkingCivilWar

  • Quote
    •  
    On 8/2/2023 at 9:24 PM, WalkingCivilWar said:

    Poor bastard.

    Remember the times when we’d say “we only lost by five goals!” 🥳 🎉 🎈 

    Further to this… last night Sophie (one of our three AMAZING leaders) told me that in 2013 if we lost a match by anything under five goals the cheer squad would sing the song. 😢

  • Quote
    On 8/1/2023 at 8:10 PM, Diamond_Jim said:

    that's a good discussion point and relevant to teams like MFC ever catching the big boys.

    There is no doubt that North of old were an entertaining and successful team. Why did they not catch on whereas Hawthorn did ? Was it simply the weight of premiership numbers or was there something else

    The PLEASANT SUNDAY MORNINGS at the old hawthorn ground would have helped.The family club, a family that gets [censored] together is happy

  • 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

    • PREVIEW: Fremantle

      A month is a long time in AFL football. The proof of this is in the current state of the two teams contesting against each other early this Saturday afternoon at the MCG. It’s hard to fathom that when Melbourne and Fremantle kicked off the 2025 season, the former looked like being a major player in this year’s competition after it came close to beating one of the favourites in the GWS Giants while the latter was smashed by Geelong to the tune of 78 points and looked like rubbish. Fast forward to today and the Demons are low on confidence and appear panic stricken as their winless streak heads towards an even half dozen and pressure mounts on the coach and team leadership.  Meanwhile, the Dockers have recovered their composure and now sit in the top eight. They are definitely on the up and up and look most likely winners this weekend against a team which they have recently dominated and which struggles to find enough passages to the goals to trouble the scorers. And with that, Fremantle will head to the MCG, feeling very good about itself after demolishing Richmond in the Barossa Valley with Josh Treacy coming off a six goal haul and facing up to a Melbourne defence already without Jake Lever and a shaky Steven May needing to pass a fitness test just to make it onto the field of play. 

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 06

      The Easter Round kicks off in style with a Thursday night showdown between Brisbane and Collingwood, as both sides look to solidify their spots inside the Top 4 early in the season. Good Friday brings a double-header, with Carlton out to claim consecutive wins when they face the struggling Kangaroos, while later that night the Eagles host the Bombers in Perth, still chasing their first victory of the year. Saturday features another marquee clash as the resurgent Crows look to rebound from back-to-back losses against a formidable GWS outfit. That evening, all eyes will be on Marvel Stadium where Damien Hardwick returns to face his old side—the Tigers—coaching the Suns at a ground he's never hidden his disdain for. Sunday offers two crucial contests where the prize is keeping touch with the Top 8. First, Sydney and Port Adelaide go head-to-head, followed by a fierce battle between the Bulldogs and the Saints. Then, Easter Monday delivers the traditional clash between two bitter rivals, both desperate for a win to stay in touch with the top end of the ladder. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

        • Thanks
      • 85 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Essendon

      What were they thinking? I mean by “they” the coaching panel and team selectors who chose the team to play against an opponent who, like Melbourne, had made a poor start to the season and who they appeared perfectly capable of beating in what was possibly the last chance to turn the season around.It’s no secret that the Demons’ forward line is totally dysfunctional, having opened the season barely able to average sixty points per game which means there has been no semblance of any system from the team going forward into attack. Nevertheless, on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval in one of the Gather Round showcase games, Melbourne, with Max Gawn dominating the hit outs against a depleted Essendon ruck resulting from Nick Bryan’s early exit, finished just ahead in clearances won and found itself inside the 50 metre arc 51 times to 43. The end result was a final score that had the Bombers winning 15.6 (96) to 8.9 (57). On balance, one could expect this to result in a two or three goal win, but in this case, it translated into a six and a half goal defeat because they only managed to convert eight times or 11.68% of their entries. The Bombers more than doubled that. On Thursday night at the same ground, the losing team Adelaide managed to score 100 points from almost the same number of times inside 50.

        • Sad
        • Clap
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Essendon

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 14th April @ the all new time of 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect another Demons loss at Kardinia Park to the Cats in the Round 04. 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. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.

        • Thanks
      • 59 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Fremantle

      The Demons return home to the MCG in search of their first win for the 2025 Premiership season when they take on the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 369 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Essendon

      Max Gawn leads the Demonland Player of the Year ahead of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Kade Chandler and Jake Bowey. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Thanks
      • 24 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All