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Not sure how old you are Dr G but some of you have incredibly short memories...in 2000 we had Bizzell at CHB and Robbo at CHF - both round 6'2". It was clear we had to build a spine and get some inside players. 2000 draft we recruited Scott Thompson - a great inside midfielder. The scumbag left us high and dry. 2001 Luke MOlan sadly was injury prone and a waste of a number 9 pick. But he was recruited as a big bodied KPP. 2002 we took Nick Smith at 15. never made it but was recruited as a hard bodied KPP. 2003 saw us take Sylvia and McLean - two hard bodied potential insiders. McLean was terrific for us for a while but injuries and pace meant he was on the outer. Sylvia has never come in as we would have anticipated. 2004 We recruited Bate and Dunn who have been overall disappointing for two 192/193cm players with bigger bodies. So don't say we didn't learn our lesson and seek out hard bodied players - it's just not true. The fact that our drafting was poor and we had some poor luck with Thompson are more the case.

We all know toughness in footy is critical, but two comments I've heard recently have really reinforced this and brought it back to the surface. First, in the NAB Cup match between the Dogs and Pies, Heath Shaw and Jarrad Grant were chasing after the ball as it trickled over the boundary. As it went out, Shaw gave Grant a hard shove off the ball. Grant got up and just ran back to position without retaliating. Dermie saw this incident, was clearly unimpressed with Grant's lack of reaction and said something like "see that, Grant has done nothing back to Shaw, Shaw would be thinking, 'I've got him now'". Dwayne Russell responded by saying that maybe Grant just wanted to get on with his own game and not get distracted by stuff like that, to which Dermie responded "well, that may be the case, but I'm yet to see a premiership side that doesn't antagonise the opposition". Second, Kevin Sheedy in his pre-match address to the GWS players emphatically said the line "do not let your opponent dominate you". Sheedy also said the following in relation to the McDonald incident "All the best teams over the decades play hard, tough football." "Geelong do it, Brisbane's premiership teams did it. It's the only way to win finals." There wouldn't be too many who have a better knowledge of what it takes to win finals and Grand Finals than a bloke who has won five of them as a player and a coach who has won four. In my years of watching the Demons, the only time I can recall us being a tough and brutal team was in the Northey years. Sure we've had some very good teams since and plenty of tough and brutal players, but as a team I don't think anyone in the AFL would have regarded us as a tough and brutal team in the last 20 years. You can have all the talent in the world, but a purely talented team without the necessary toughness won't get the job done when it counts. Sheedy and Brereton know this and that's why they made the comments above. For the record I am not just referring to going in hard - footballers are brave and courageous and put their bodies on the line (our players included). And I am not saying we are soft. My reference to 'tough and brutal' is about taking it to the next level - it's about wanting to hurt, to antagonise, to dominate the opposition. There is nothing new in this, but because we have been so bad recently all the focus has been on getting the skill and the talent of the side in order. And make no mistake, this should be a key focus area because it's critically important. A tough side without the talent is going nowhere fast. But what I'd really like to see this year, other than the obvious improvement in the team as it adjusts to a new style of footy, is the MFC starting to become a tough and brutal side again. I'm not calling for thuggery and behind the play stuff, but rather an uncompromising attack on the ball and a willingness and desire to hit hard and hurt the opposition when they have it. And not to let the opposition dominate us.

going to buy mine on saturday, try something a little bit different this year! my girlfriend is only a casual football fan, mainly geelong, but theres a membership and jumper coming her way to try and swing things around!

How about we commit to bringing out an Irish kid, under the AFL's International Rookie scheme. I mean every year, and make a big deal about it. Call it the Jim Stynes internship or similar. Something we can own in two countries. Edit: or maybe the Earley Wight Stynes Fellowship

There is a tribute day to Jimmy all day today on fox footy - they are replaying all day, games he played in and I caught a game this morning ( and taped the rest) - 1994 - Melbourne v Collingwood - we won by a couple of points. The skills of both teams is pretty ordinary (Buckley got plenty of the ball and butchered it every time). What you couldnt help but notice is the hardness and intensity at the ball ( and some push and shove when required). I know it was a different time but Darren Kowall who I remember as not the bravest would rate up there today with Nat Jones. Much harder, uncompromising football. Very little coralling - see the ball, make the contest. Obst, Dyson, Viney - hard hard men. Both Febey's went at the ball like men possessed. P.S. Stop diving Brad Plain - it's pathetic.

Aussie Rules is arguably the most brutal contact sport in the world. Flint hard teams win premierships. Premiership teams nearly always have great leadership groups. It takes years to develop a premiership team/club. Mark Neeld will sort the wheat from the chaff. He wants uncompromising footballers that win contested footy and put their head over the ball. He'll give opportunities to players like Tynan, Magner, and Couch for this very reason. But he won't sacrifice skill for grunt. He will love Jack Viney because Viney enjoys hurting people. I want my team to hurt and intimidate its opposition. One day Scoop and I may see it.

Most of all, I want to see these players develop a killer attack and hunger for the ball. My concerns about some of the players mentioned on this thread are not really to do with their size - it's more about their underlying ambition and mental hardness. I expect some players can be really strong and fit without actually looking like the Michelin Man. Equally, size can probably operate the opposite way too. For instance, Tapscott hasn't exactly been available for selection for much of the time he's been with us, despite looking like a bull elephant at a very young age.

A lot of our "average" players really need to step it up this year If we're to make an impact. I found it tough to put together a best 22 for round 1 that would beat very many teams to be honest. It's lucky we have Brisbane this week, safe to say I'll be fairly worried if we can't beat Brisbane at the G without JBrown.

They do at Collingwood - I think they are also known as Adults and Juniors memberships...

The club could not have done a better job today. Beautifully represented, both inside and outside the church. A united front, just like Jim envisioned when he first took the job of president. He must be very proud looking down today.

All great ideas. Really love the green stars. Even more so I hope they wear the Irish training guernsey for the match. Id love to see 22 boys in the green for the night.

I like the new one , a fuller sound , more dynamic . And the banjo is just simply sublime ! (I have no idea what this means but it sounds intelligent) Cheers

Yes Nasher , I was agreeing with you .Presumption of innocence is one of the primary tenets of the legal system .When his wrist and form are right ,he will be picked .As he should be .

The Anti-Oracle © has spoken! Jack Watts will be a great of the Melbourne Football Club! As it is, and always will be. Amen.

Why would the club suspend him indefinitely? Surely it's business as usual until his time in court plays out.

Given some moron drove into and destroyed the back of my car last week, thus ruining my precious stickers, I am thinking I might buy a 3 game membership so I can get my replacement stickers. Sad, but necessary.

i am amazed at some of the criticism of jack on this site. sure he isnt the pack crashing big marking key forward we were hoping for when he was drafted, but he showed some big improvement last year, and has plenty of upside. he has just turned 21 for a start. we havent even started the season yet and people are writing him off. give the poor kid some time and im sure he will prove plenty of you wrong. freak, your comments are ridiculous. to say that he hasnt even shown glimpses in three years just shows your lack of footy knowledge. i will readily admit that he hasnt set the world on fire, but there have definitely been glimpses. the 3 goal game against richmond would be just one example. i think if given the chance, you would find 17 other teams that would happily trade for jack.

JW just turned 21. Seriously 21! Jack was not born with the baulk of the incredible hulk so to expect JW to crash packs and physically destroy the opposition at the age of 21 is beyond dumb. He is not a midfielder who can walk in and see ball get ball as they say. He is playing what a lot of people have said is the hardest position to play in the AFL. To say he has shown nothing in any of his games really gets me going. I will say he hasn't blown a game away but to be honest being a forward in our team the last couple of years hasn't been easy on anyone (Brad Green) He has shown plenty in plenty of games for me. When we smashed freo last year JW set up that many goals for us. His game against richmond where I believe he kicked 3 and kicked a goal beating two tigers by himself gave me plenty to be happy with. Sure trade our number 1 draft pick who has shown plenty as of last saturday night and while your there you suit up since by your own accord you could show form if you played 30-40 games.

im at the point now where I would be happy to trade him. He has done nothing special in 3 years, not even any glimpses to be honest. I reckon I would do something good on a footy field if I was given 30-40 games. He is just dropping in value at each time he squibs a contest or doesn't crash a pack.

The tip is in ... Watts will be BOG against Brizzy on Sat'day.

I know that a lot of my next statement should be taken in context of maturity and hardneing of the body but think of one Daisy Thomas - went from his first couple of years of outside, give it to me, try for a speccy showpony to one of the hardest at it footballers going. We have seen our team play at various stages under Bailey hard frenetic footy- unfortunately all too rarely. Think of us vs Collingwood 2010 both games as the benchmark we need to play with week in and week out.

Courtney_Fish: You are entitled to your opinion. But I wouldn't be too quick to write off Dermie's view. Not only has he won 5 flags but he is very insightful and astute. I'll back his view on this. Longsuffering: The game has changed, but the basics of footy still remain the same. It always has been and still is a tough and brutal game and it needs to be played that way. Old: It's not about beating someone up. I'm not calling for that at all. As I said previously, "I'm not calling for thuggery and behind the play stuff, but rather an uncompromising attack on the ball and a willingness and desire to hit hard and hurt the opposition when they have it. And not to let the opposition dominate us." I agree that Geelong are different to Hawthorn – Hawthorn niggle more and do more off the ball stuff. But Geelong hit hard, make no mistake. They are a ruthless team. They clearly meet the above criteria - an uncompromising attack on the ball, a willingness and desire to hit hard and hurt the opposition when they have it, and not to be dominated by the opposition.

What a beautiful speech from his brother Brian...

I will prepare to be shot down, but does anyone think that Davis is a sneaky chance to get a game? He has played all thr pre season games, and maybe a bit of a dark horse. Have not seen his name mentioned yet.

1972 - A RETROSPECTIVE by Whispering Jack "Long, long time ago ..." (the opening line of the Don McLean song American Pie which was the # 3 single of 1972 according to Billboard Magazine - see footnote) This might be hard to believe but in 1972 there was not a single Jack on the playing list of the Melbourne Football Club. To compensate, there were six Johns and five Peters but, to prove that not everything changes over time, there was still only one Max although he was destined to make his mark in another sport. The captain's name was Frank (Davis) and he, along with Barry Bourke and John Townsend, was one of the three remnants of the club's 1964 premiership team - the last of its twelve flags to date. The latter two had stood alongside each other on grand final day, Townsend the leading goalkicker on the day with three, Bourke scoring one and also taking an important saving mark in the dying moments of the game. In turn, some of their teammates had been at the club as far back as 1953 when the Demons were a lowly young team thirsting for success that was, as it happened, just around the corner. So there were two decades of separation between the players of the Melbourne Football Club as season 1972 dawned. Another four decades have come and gone since then and the club, with a new coach is again placing its faith on youth and hard work in anticipation ... But for now, let's go back in time to 1972. THE DETAIL Coach: Ian Ridley Captain: Frank Davis Finishing Position: 8th Best and Fairest: Stan Alves Leading Goalkicker: Greg Parke (63) Best First Year Player: Ross Brewer After fading out and missing out on the finals in 1971, the mood was buoyant and coach Ian Ridley declared his team's motto for the season would be "This Is It" - appropriate for a team that had not seen finals action for eight long years. There was some hope for the Demons in the fact that they had won the Under 19s premiership in 1971 and several talented youngsters were on their way up but were they good enough to make the transition to senior VFL standard? The team tuned up for the season with a bonding and training trip to Sydney and reports from pre season practice was positive leading up to the season's opener against reigning premier Hawthorn. Melbourne, Collingwood and South Melbourne had voted against the McIntyre Final Five system but its introduction gave the club a greater chance of making its first finals series since 1964. THE PLAYING LIST 1. Max Walker 11 games, 1 goal 2. Robert McKenzie 8, 0 3. Trevor Rollinson 6, 0 4. Tony Sullivan 18 , 0 5. John Gallus 8, 8 6. Frank Davis 21, 0 7. Graham Osborne 13, 7 8. Peter Keenan 16, 13 9. Peter Yeo 3, 1 9. George Lakes 2, 0 10. Lloyd Burgman 7, 12 11. Greg Wells 22, 34 12. Mike Collins 13, 6 14. Barry Bourke 22, 0 15. Stan Alves 21, 22 16. John Townsend 12, 9 17. Denis Clark 9, 2 18. John Tilbrook 9, 10 19. Ray Biffin 20, 0 20. Laurie Queay 2, 2 21. Graham Molloy 21, 7 22. Ray Carr 4, 11 23. Peter Sinclair 8, 8 24. Ross Dillon 11, 5 26. Col Anderson 2, 0 26. Greg Parke 20, 63 27. Ross Brewer 17, 15 29. Noel Leary 1, 0 30 . John Letcher 12, 0 33. Gary Hardeman 21, 10 34. John Clennett 17, 13 35. Paul Callery 22, 23 37. John Reid 1, 0 38. Wayne Delmenico 1 , 0 39. Peter Dilnot 1, 0 41, Stephen Kerley 14, 1 45 . Henry Ritterman 12, 4 46. Geoff Harrold 2, 0 50. Shane McSpeerin 6, 3 54 . Peter Williamson 4, 0 THE OPENING ROUND The opening round game of 1972 between Hawthorn and Melbourne at Glenferrie Oval on Saturday, 1 April, 1972 was famous for all the wrong reasons. Late in the second term Hawk goalkicking sensation Peter Hudson, who equalled the VFL record of 150 goals in a season on the day his team won the previous year's grand final, found himself wedged between Demon defenders Ray Biffin. His knee buckled and his season was over. Indeed, his career was severely curtailed. The 21,513 fans at the ground watched in stunned silence as the Hawk forward, who had kicked 8.1 in less than half a game was carried from the ground. Hawthorn held a 27 point lead at the main break but the excitement went out of the game with Hudson's departure. Both sides went goal for goal in the second half with the home side prevailing by 29 points by the time the final siren sounded. Despite the win, the loss of Hudson turned out to be too much for Hawthorn who missed out on the finals finishing in 6th place. Melbourne went on to win 10 games after losing the first three and finished two spots behind Hawthorn which it beat in the return game later in the season. Hawthorn 4.3.27 9.4.58 10.10.70 15.14.104 Melbourne 1.3.9 4.7.31 5.11.41 10.15.75 The Team: Backs B. Bourke R. Biffin J. Letcher Half backs F. Davis G. Hardeman A. Sullivan Centreline G. Osborne P. Sinclair S. Alves Half forwards L. Burgmann G. Molloy R. Brewer Forwards F. Dillon R. Carr J. Townsend Followers P. Keenan G. Wells P. Callery 19:20 G. Lakes M. Walker Goals Ray Carr Greg Wells 2 Stan Alves Ross Brewer Paul Callery Ross Dillon Peter Keenan John Townsend. Best Garry Hardeman Stan Alves Tony Sullivan Paul Callery Peter Sinclair Greg Wells The Hawks also won the curtain raiser when their reserves beat the Demons in the reserves by 14.19.103 to 12.7.79. Goals Clennett Parke 3 Ritterman Tilbrook 2 McSpeerin Morgan Best Clennett McSpeerin Kerley Hawthorn made it a clean sweep in the Under 19s winning 20.9.129 to Melbourne 12.19.91. THE SEASON The early optimism was shattered by losses in the opening three games of the season with Footscray and Collingwood prevailing over them after the opening round loss to Hawthorn. There was a breakthrough with a big win over the Swans but, as the season progressed, those early losses and some narrow defeats (2 by one point, one by five and a couple of others thanks to poor kicking at goal) left the team well short of a chance of making the finals. Perhaps the sole consolation was that a win in the return game at the MCG ended up costing the Hawks a finals berth. It was disappointing that although a number of youngsters were blooded (9 first year players), the club went backwards by one position on the ladder in Ridley's second year as coach. They were to slide again the following year and wouldn't see finals action again for another decade and a half by which time every degree of separation had been exhausted although there was a young bloke named Robert coming through the fourths (Under 17s) which won their premiership in the Melbourne Boys League who was about to make his mark at the club. WINS & LOSSES 1. Hawthorn LOSS 2. Footscray LOSS 3. Collingwood LOSS 4. South Melbourne WIN 5. Richmond LOSS 6. Essendon WIN 7. Carlton LOSS 8. Geelong WIN 9. St. Kilda LOSS 10. North Melbourne WIN 11. Fitzroy LOSS 12. Hawthorn WIN 13. Footscray WIN 14. South Melbourne WIN 15. Collingwood LOSS 16. Richmond LOSS 17. Essendon LOSS 18. Carlton LOSS 19. Geelong WIN 20. St. Kilda LOSS 21. North Melbourne WIN 22. Footscray WIN LADDER Carlton 134.3% 74 Pts Richmond 117.7 % 72 Collingwood 133.0% 66 St. Kilda 115.6% 56 Essendon 108.3% 56 ----------------------- Hawthorn 111.1% 52 Footscray 94.7% 44 Melbourne 105.9% 40 Fitzroy 96.8% 36 Geelong 84.2% 28 South Melbourne 65.1% 8 North Melbourne 62.9% 4 BEST & FAIREST Seniors: 1st Stan Alves 2nd Greg Wells 3rd Gary Hardeman 4th Barry Bourke 5th Paul Callery 6th Greg Parke Reserves: 1st Denis Clark 2nd John Gallus Outstanding Service Henry Ritterman Ross Dillon John Cumming Under 19s 1st Frank Giampaolo 2nd Ian McGuinness Outstanding Service Peter Slade Peter Watts Neil McMullin Under 17s 1st Robert Flower 2nd James Ahern Outstanding Service Glen Campbell Guy Moorhouse Best Clubman Ian Kavanagh THE BOTTOM LINE The club made a substantial profit for the first time since 1956 turning a $7,493.80 loss in 1971 into a $8,923.30 profit. A major reason for the profit a finals ground hire payment of close to $44,000.00. LIGHTS OUT The introduction of a final five the night series redundant, leaving Melbourne the last ever champions under that format. ANNUAL REPORT 1972 from the Melbourne Football Club Annual Report ... In presenting the Annual Report for Season 1972, one must record a drop from Seventh to Eighth position on the Premiership ladder, and a decline from 46 Premiership points in '71 to 40 points in '72. Perhaps the charge of failure might be levelled against the team, but this would be most unfair and unjust to a club which suffered many narrow defeats over the season. Although we rarely rose above the middle of the list it was accepted by opponents and critics alike, that we were a side to be respected, and no team approached our matches with over-confidence. The brilliance of our younger players was generally admired, and it was no surprise at the end of the season to find Melbourne players in Greg Wells, Gary Hardeman and Stan Alves polling so well in the Brownlow Medal. To this splendid trio one must include players such as Ray Biffin, Ross Brewer. Paul Callery, Dennis Clark, John Clennett, Wayne Delmenico, Geoff Harold, Peter Keenan, Stephen Kerley, and Peter Williamson who are all young players who must improve, and to have this group backed up with the skill, determination and experience of Frank Davis, Barry Bourke, Ross Dillon, Greg Parke and Tony Sullivan, then we boldly declare that Melbourne will improve its position in 1973 and we have set our eyes on the Final Five and are determined to achieve this position. We are still recruiting widely, both interstate and in pur Country and Local Zones, and we are delighted to have included in our Metro­politan area the City of Chelsea and all clubs contained therein, this will be a most profitable area, as will be the Waranga North Eastern League which has been a new addition to our Country Zoned areas. New players will be encouraged within our limits, and we are certain to produce a much stronger final list in 1973, than we had in '72. On the administrative side the club is very well geared with many sub-committees working to improve our financial position which'has become No. 1 in priority on all V.F.L. Clubs' agenda, and we are very appreciative of the work our members of Committee are doing on the club's behalf, reference is made elsewhere in this report to-these mem­bers, but special mention must again be made of our Senior Coach. Ian Ridley. When Ian.Ridley was appointed as Senior Coach in 1971 he brought with him a new enthusiasm which is burning as brightly as ever, his desire for success has been accepted by the team, who are all very much behind him in every demand he makes. Whilst he has the support of the team, he has more importantly the respect of the Team, and with this attitude, coupled with the skill of the players we will not fail. Backing Ian Ridley we had in 1972, Bernie Massey, former defender, Assistant Coach who had the satisfaction of reaching the Grand Final with his Reserve Eighteen, and Brian Gray was again Coach of our Under 19's, another side to make the Final Five and play in the final series at the M.C.G., whilst yet again Gordon Duff led the Under 17 team to another well won Premiership. Of great assistance to Ian Ridley was Laurie Prosser our Physical Fitness Adviser, and assistance was rendered in our early training running sessions at Caulfield by John Hicks. Ken Carlon was again in charge of Recruiting, ably supported by Bill Deans, Roy McKay, John Osborne and Rick Mollison, with Allan McKay as our Metropolitan Public Relations Officer. The miles that Ken covers in the Country Zones and the hours away from his home, leave us very much in his debt, and we must acknowledge the great work all these gentlemen do in recruiting for us. This year we conducted our Best and Fairest voting in public at the M.C.G. This proved to be an outstanding success, and will be a feature at the conclusion of the 1973 season. After a most interest­ing count Stan Alves was the Winner of our Best and Fairest award, and praise must be given to this great clubman. His play has always been an inspiration to all, and many of our younger players have endeavoured to model their football on Stan's and he could be paid no higher compliment than this, we know that he will continue to thrill us with his great play and his splendid example for many years to come. Our runner-up Best and Fairest players were Gary Hardeman and Greg Wells in that order, Gary Hardeman climaxed a great year's football by travelling overseas with Carlton to play our football in Europe as a member of the All Stars team. Gary's excellence as a player was also evidenced by his selection in this year's Victorian Team he played in the key positions of Centre Half Back and Centre Half Forward and was a star wherever he appeared we are fortunate to have a player of his ability in our side. The same praise can be showered on Greg Wells who was a brilliant and spectacular member of our team, in being voted runner-up to Len Thompson in the Brownlow Medal. Greg Wells confirmed our own Selectors' judgement who placed him as our own Best and Fairest in 1971. Greg has everything that pleases our spectators to our game, a most brilliant player he will star in V.F.L. football for many years to come and is a potential Medallist every year in which he plays. Barry Bourke's effort in finishing fourth in our voting list cannot be over-emphasised, throughout the year Barry had to overcome injury and soreness and week after week excelled in his effort on the Back line, his dependability, courage, and team spirit are an object lesson to all our young players. Trophies for outstanding service were won by Paul Callerv. Tony Sullivan and Greq Parke. Each player gave us great pleasure during the vear. and each in his way means a great deal to the Melbourne Football Club. Paul Callery with his great determination his never say die spirit, Tony Sullivan with his con­sistency, the ability that rarely permits a mistake, his great leadership that commands everybody's respect, and Greg Parke with the amazing skill in marking and his uncanny sense of position play as the team moves around him, spell the qualities that we see in abundance in the team of today. We sincerely believe this team to be the best Melbourne team since 1964, and look forward to the players them­selves confirming this statement. A special reference should be made of the performance of Ray Biffin in 1972. Almost with the beginning of our Season it was found that Ray Biffin had suffered a Hernia, and it was suggested that the operation should be conducted immediately for this annoying occur­rence. However on Ray's request this was deferred until the season had ended, praise must be given to Ray for a most courageous and effective season, when one realises the burden he imposed upon himself in the club's interest one must be loud in praise of his courage and team spirit. Our best First Year player in a very good group was Ross Brewer, who exemplified the skill and ability in our club today, it is quite certain that Ross will develop into a star in V.F.L. football and will represent Melbourne for many years to come. Financially our club had a much better year, aided very much by the draw in the Final series which gave us an additional Final round at the M.C.G. It would appear however that there might be some slowing down of the development at Waverley, and that more money may be diverted to the V.F.L. Clubs who are badly in need of assistance in this direction. The progress that has been made at Waverley is indeed commendable, but it is high time that the clubs which comprise the V.F.L. should be assisted in their efforts to meet the increased payments they will be called upon to meet from our own players. CAPTAIN AND VICE-CAPTAIN Special thanks must be conveyed to Frank Davis and Barry Bourke who again acted as our leaders on the field. Frank by his example and devotion to his team is an ideal Captain, his great courage inspires the younger members of the team, and with Barry Bourke who is equally inspiring in his approach to football we have been very well served in 1972 by these fine young men. We thank them most sincerely. OUR COMMITTEE Dr. Duffy again presided as Chairman of the football club for season 1972. It would have been more pleasant to have reported greater success because of the time and effort that Don Duffy displays in his role as Chairman, but, as mentioned before, we feel that this must surely come in the very near future. Our sub-committees continued to meet regularly two or three times a week in an endeavour to improve our club's position. Our Committee in 1972 comprised the following: Representing M.C.C. Committee: Dr. D. G. Duffy, Messrs. D. Ferguson, J. R. Mitchell, T. C. Trumble. Representing M.C.C. Members: Messrs. K. Carlon, R. S. Geary, F. V. Hughes, A. L. V. King, N. Lockwood, M. McLean, N. J. McMahen, G. W. Patterson. Representing M.F.C. Members: Messrs. G. A. Lenne, J. P. McGrath. Co-opted Official: Mr. G. M. Swan. Representing M.F.C. Reserve XVIII: Mr. R. Miller. During the year, certain changes were made in Committee and we were pleased to grant leave of absence to Dr. D. P. Cordner who left us in April of this year to travel overseas and retired from the Committee at that time. His place was taken by Mr. J. R. Mitchell who was elected as a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club and now represents that Committee. Formerly, he was a representative of Melbourne Cricket Club members. We were also most pleased to welcome Mr. Don Ferguson, the Treasurer of the Melbourne Cricket Club to our Committee representing the M.C.C. Committee and his presence is much appreciated. His interest and guidance on matters financial are of great value and we trust he will remain with us for many years to come. Mr. Mitchell's work as President of the Redlegs is also very well known and his long association with the Melbourne Cricket Club is also very much appreciated. Replacing Mr. Mitchell as a representative of M.C.C. members was Mr. Neil Lockwood who joined our Committee in July. Mr. Lockwood has been most prominent in club affairs and led the W.I.P. Committee which has contributed so much financially to the players in the incentive scheme and we were pleased to welcome him to our Committee. During the year, Mr. J. P. (Shane) McGrath, our former great full back, suffered a most severe illness which kept him from our meetings for some months. However, we are pleased to report that he is back in full health and joined us towards the end of the season. All members of our Committee are truly hard working individuals comprising such men as Ken Carlon, who is in control of recruiting for our club and spends many hours carrying out this most important task. Mr. Reg Geary and Bill Patterson are closely involved with the operation of our Business Committee, and we are very fortunate to have such gentlemen devote so much time and energy to our Club affairs. A football team today needs businessmen as much as it needs players and we thank them for their continued efforts on our behalf. The work that Mr. A. L. King, our League Director, undertakes must once again be praised. Mr. King, a member of Committee since 1938, again controlled our membership ticket—and reserved seat sales, and in the final series, conducted sales of final series tickets. It is to the credit of Mr. King and Mr. Bill Langley that so much praise was heaped upon them by our supporters who were very happy with the manner in which our tickets were distributed and the many oppor­tunities they were given to purchase these tickets. Our office received many letters of thanks and commendation from supporters for the work of these officials on that occasion. When one also considers the fact that Mr. King is our Director at the Victorian Football League and the leading role he occupies with that body, emphasizes our obliga­tion to him. Mr. Bob Miller, acting as Reserve XVIII Chairman and represent­ing that group on our Committee, has shown great confidence in this role and our Reserve XVIII Committee are most pleased with his attention to their requirements. We are very fortunate with the type of person that represents our Committee at the present time. CONGRATULATIONS We were again pleased to report that the Premier of Victoria, The Hon. Sir Henry Bolte, K.C.M.G., again consented to act as our No. 1 ticket holder for season 1972. Sir Henry was most attentive at our matches and was supported at our Pre Season Dinner by Mr. Lindsay Thompson and later, our Federal Treasurer, Mr. Billy Sneddon. Sir Henry has now retired from his high office as Premier of the State of Victoria but we sincerely trust that we shall see him even more fre­quently in Season 1973. Congratulations are extended from the Club on the appointment of Cr. Allan Whalley as Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. Allan is a very keen Melbourne supporter, a former member of Coterie and we are most pleased to learn of his appointment. Our congratulations must also go to the Carlton Football Club and playing coach John Nicholls, for their great performance in win­ing the 1972 V.F.L. Premiership. Their determined and professional approach is one that we envied greatly. However, we are still quite certain that Carlton are a side that we can challenge and look forward to meeting them in 1973. We must also congratulate Richmond on an excellent performance in season 1972 and though disappointed as they undoubtedly were in not winning that vital final match, they have had a most successful season. These remarks can also apply to Collingwood, St. Kilda and Essendon who comprised the Final Five. Congratulations are conveyed to Len Thompson of the Collingwood Football Club for his win in this year's Brownlow Medal. Len Thompson will undoubtedly develop into one of the most brilliant players ever to have played our game and the winning of another medal must surely come to this very great player. Reference has been made earlier to the magnificent voting of the Melbourne Football Club players in the Brownlow Medal. Greg Wells was runner-up to Len Thompson and secured 22 votes. He was closely followed by Gary Hardeman who was equal third with John Williams of Essendon and Stan Alves succeeded in gaining twelve votes. Our players were always at the head of affairs in the public counting of the votes and as a result, a great deal of interest in our club was created. Each of these three players figured high in the various awards that were made through Television and radio and, becoming more established V.F.L. players each year, it is quite possible that we will produce a Brownlow Medal­list in the very near future. Congratulations must go to our interstate representatives in Gary Hardeman and Stan Alves. They were most worthy representatives and represented our Club with great distinction. Stan Alves was selected as a member of the All Australian team and richly deserved this splendid honour. Reference is made elsewhere in this report to his success as Best and Fairest player for 1972. RESERVE EIGHTEEN AND COMMITTEE We have always been fortunate at Melbourne in the strength of our Reserve Eighteen and 1972 has been no exception. The Reserve Eighteen lost a very great administrator with the passing of Ray Read, but gained a fine leader with the appointment of former Melbourne player and now Senior Committee member in Bob Miller. We were all delighted when Bob accepted the Chairmanship of the Reserve Eighteen and he has led this group most capably. The Executive Committee which comprised Messrs. R. Miller, N. Parkhill, W. Rodriquez and E. Massey gave great leadership to the rest of the Reserve Eighteen, with Bill Rodriquez again acting as Secretary, with Noel Parkhill as Reserve Eighteen Manager, and Steve Stevens as Manager of the Under 17's we have a hard working group of officials who serve our club very well indeed. We are most fortunate to have them leading our youngsters and would like to thank them most sincerely. The Best and Fairest winner in the Reserve Eighteen was the hard working and at times quite brilliant player Dennis Clark, he was ably supported by our runner-up best and fairest in the Reserve Eighteen in John Gallus. Great Support to the team throughout the season was given by the other trophy winners in Henry Ritterman, Ross Dillon and John Cumming. The best and Fairest winner in the Under 19's was Frank Giampaolo, whilst our best and fairest winner in the Under 17's was a name to be marked down in the file for the future, player Robert Flower*. FOOTNOTE* The Billboard Magazine # 1 single of 1972 was Roberta Flack's First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Ironically, the club's 1972 annual report gave us our first glimpse of a bespectacled, scrawny youngster in the Under 17 team photograph being the last named player in the above report.

I agree with the sentiment of the thread, IF you are taking it to the appropriate end. I don't agree if people think 'niggling' is a tough act... Be tough at the footy, the bloke with the footy, and bloke trying to keep you from the footy.

Obviously you include yourself in those with short memories, as in 2000 we had a guy named Anthony Ingerson at CHB and another guy named David Schwarz at CHF - you may have heard of them? Clint Biz played 20 games in 2000... for Geelong. He came to the club in 2002.

There should be a separate board for those with true vision, so that they don't have to endure the slings and arrows of the outrageously ignorant. It's so lonely being right all the time but no-one realising it. Oh well.

Today fox footy is remembering jim stynes, all day long is replays of his great games and it is going to be a joy to watch so much for the plans i did have for today, i have found something better to be doing!!

Yeah fair enough WYL and thanks for the response. Just reading through the last few weeks of this thread it seemed like some were of the "she'll be right" opinion and thought a couple of million dollars was neither here or there and something we had the luxury of being able to turn up our nose at. However the fact is, while we have increased revenue to $33.5M we are still well behind the top clubs and we need to get our hands on as much cash and as many revenue streams as we can.

Yeah , fair enough Wyl , but there's no denying our total number of fans isn't great . That table only serves as a guide but .............. Lots of things we can do to improve the numbers of course . Winning a flag or 2 would help enormously ! Getting involved in the Casey area "big time" could help us boost our supporter base . I reckon a lot of our fans cop a raw deal with regards to our level of support . And some end up succumbing to that public perception . Not this fella . I've always felt it's a load of rot . But ...........if people want to start seeing "huge" numbers at our home games right now , they're not being realistic . I believe our fans/members are great when compared to a number of other clubs fans/members . We just don't have enough of them . We could possibly point the finger at what has happened post 1964 but we're better off just getting on with it . Cheers

"Anybody who says that they're great at communicating but 'people are bad at listening' is confused about how communication works"

Would love to see out boys have a bit of mongrel about them this year (fairly of course) as the MFC are unfortunately usually perceived to be a "soft" team. At the moment Beamer and Tapscott are the only two with a bit of mongrel in my opinion. But I can also see Mitch Clarke having the same tenacity about him too. Hopefully more follow suit!

And in your guts I know you know who is right! - If we where getting 50,000approx to each home game & rating our "[censored]" off on TV - we would have absolutely no problems in securing a FOJ sponsor. But the sad realistic facts of life are - we are not. Melbourne supporters favour realism over optimisim. Well you now have to realistically face the facts - sponsors want eyeballs, that we cant deliver on a regular consistent basis.

..or Morton's.

No, that was to blame for The Sponsor Debacle of 2009 ©... Initially I thought his dad ate the money... Well, he can't attract sponsors!! Except for that $6m he got from Energy Watch. (Cough) Oh, I don't care about that. It's the only thing that makes sense...

First I thought it must be the fault of the Norm Smith/MCC jinx Then I thought no, it most probably is T$'s fault Then I read somewhere that it was obviously CS's fault and he should be sacked forthwith Then on reading Dr W's thesis I concluded it must be the apathetic mfc supporters fault Now you are telling me it is JW's fault I can't wait till the end of the season to trade him

Bloody CS. Has all the tricks, loads of potential but just does have the crash and bash style a good CEO needs. When we picked him up in the CEO draft we we're hoping he would be a Key Position Manager (KPM) but he seems to be an outside operator who picks up easy sponsorships and bangs on about KPI's. All those big words - where's his agro, his attack on the ball.

Maybe we should be getting Pfizer to sponsor?

This is all Jack Watts' fault...

i like this

No, if the club made a decision they should stand by it. It was the right decision to make at the time. If they felt that McDonald needed some sort of apology, give it to him privately, there was no need to go to the media with it. It looked unprofessional and added to the pressure on the club and players. When Bailey came in everyone on here wanted the club to be more ruthless, they were, and there is no need to apologise for it.

Don't tell me he's now jumping on McDonald as a cause célèbre.

I object to this idea that we "owe" a player contract extensions - same goes for Ponting, Thorpe anyone. The team comes first. If players were giving their time pro bono ...

I would like to talk about Jack Watts... I added the ellipsis because my facetiousness is not readily understood.

Forward can mean MANY things. If the club thought Watts was a crash and bash physical FF, they wouldn't have recruited Mitch Clark. There is no doubt that at 20, Watts has loads of work to do, but no matter how much we stamp our feet, he will never be the gorilla FF some people are delusionally hoping he will. I doubt the club ever thought that's how he'll turn out, in fact, I'm sure he was earmarked as a roaming CHF. And few, if any his size, have the skills, agility or smarts to do a better job in a modern day set up. Nobody is more valuable to a team than a tall link player who can hit a FF on the chest. That is what Watts will do for us. He will also kick goals, take good contested marks and roam the packs. He won't ever smash his opponent physically, crash packs or break skulls. He is the Garland of our forward line, as opposed to the Frawley. That is why Mitch Clark is here, and why McDonald is being developed as a forward.

I agree with Malthouse, play Watts at CHB, get him in amongst it. he has done some very good work down back. no harm in doing that. Garry Lyon, Pavlich, Glendinning etc gained confidence early on in their careers and excelled down back. Watts is capable. Grimes Watts Garland at half back releasing Frawley as an attacking full back would be a salivating thought for this year.

In fact, the Hawks had Buddy bulk up and tried to make him more of a "Travis Cloke type" before realising it hurt his game and changing tact, getting him more slender again, and surprise surprise back to his athletic best. Watts at his best will be a similar player, in that he'll use his skill and athleticism rather than brute strength.

Sorry Old Dee will have to pull you up here Jimmy will never be forgotten not just by us Dees, pretty sure they will strike some kind of medal in his honour not to mention the kids who's lives he has changed through Reach. I will always remember him and teach my children and grandchildren about him. Oh and please god when that fateful day finally comes our way on the last Saturday in September and we lift the trophy the first person I will think of and thank is Jimmy