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Hi all. This is me and my son. We filmed his reaction as we thought he'd be pretty happy with the tickets and we'd share it with my Dad and sisters who are also keen Dees fans. We did not expect the level of emotion he ended up showing and my sister shared it with the club who of course posted it. Can I just say the club have been absolutely amazing through this and as a result we're flying down from Brisbane a couple of days earlier and Sam will be spending Thursday with the team and meeting all the players and coaches. It's really demonstrated to us why we love this club and why we support it. I've also been told that Goody has showed the video to the playing group to demonstrate what finals means to all the members, supporters and fans. As we all know, its been a hard slog supporting this club for so long but I am convinced there's a very bright future ahead, both on and off the field. Can't wait for Friday night then. Go Dees!

Just found a preview online..

I'm not defending Neeld, I didn't like him from his first presser when appointed but it's never just one man. The whole club was toxic and divided and the list was terrible. He put the explanation mark on a terrible period. Nobody at the Club intended to hurt it, they were just out of their depth. I'll watch with interest, it's part of our history and just highlights the strides we've made and the wonderful contributions of all involved since PJ was appointed. But IMO it's time to put the knives away for the Stynes/McLardy era and enjoy our growth both on and off the field.

Great photo of Max Gawn and Charlie Spargo.

Thought it was time for a new video. Here's my latest offering. Enjoy

This will have absolutely no bearing on how the team prepares and plays. Heres a thought... Don’t watch it.

The club was on it it's knees when McLardy got ousted as President, the 'Dee-surgence' started when Peter Jackson was appointed CEO

Melbourne are five days away from playing in their first final in twelve years, I'm just gagging to get stuck into some off-field politics from almost a decade ago.

From the Bernie Vince video: "We have this spirit at Melbourne. It embraces loyalty to the team, to the coach and to teammates. It is the spirit essential for success". Norm Smith. I assume that is behind the hs article. I can't get behind the paywall but reports I've heard include: - past players invited back to the club to tell current players of their experiences. eg Bluey Adams tells the story of Norm Smith remembering player's families names. - this 'esprit de corps' is reminiscent of Paul Roos resurrecting the South Melbourne 'Bloods' name and culture at Sydney. If anyone can post more about the article it would be much appreciated. We do have a proud history. We have quite a few of the '64 premiership players still with us so there is a rich personal memory bank to draw on. I really, really like that Goodwin is embracing our successful past. That players of our golden years are participating. What a terrific way to help rid the baggage since then that the current team has been burned with.

Well this should be interesting. Pretty brave effort for him to appear on this show, I doubt Mike will go easy on him. I didn't think he'd be sighted ever again.

“I have reached the conclusion that some footballers or teams succeed because they cheerfully pay the price of success…and others, though they may claim ambition and a desire to succeed are unwilling to pay that price.” — Norm Smith

Beautiful - like an Aussie haiku

Is he high? Loved Stynes but that was a dark, lawless and incompetent period in our club's history. He oversaw tanking, 186, a failed rebranding, among other things. Stynes was a member of the boys club, who, along with Schwab, applied bandaid solutions whilst drawing up fantasty ideas and long term plans on whiteboards with zero business or rational case behind the ideas. Stynes came in and saved us immediately with debt demolition, but it was downhill from there. He was out of his depth. We may as well have picked a random store manager from McDonald's to run the joint. May cop some flack for that and some may not want to hear it, but we were in a worse place when he left the club than it was in when he started. I'd rather forget that time and I have no idea why Mclardy would bring Stynes' legacy up in that way.

Not once in the entire article did McLardy try to take any credit for it though! He simply said he was thinking of people like Jimmy and Robbie Flower who would be enjoying this so much. He's obviously been asked for a quote, all he's said is that it's taken a long time to get the whole club right and now finally it is, which I don't think anyone can argue with. Rome wasn't built in a day, it's been the hard work of many people over the last decade that has got the club to where it is today. Including Jimmy and Don. The gist of his quotes are that he couldn't be happier, especially for people who have been there for the long haul like Jones, Gawn, Viney and Mahoney. Not sure how it's destabilising in the slightest, and how you could hold that view unless you didn't read the article?

Always worried when Walls tips us. * * Walls' previous prediction - https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/thewest.com.au/sport/afl/eagles-to-win-the-spoon-fremantle-to-play-finals-in-2018-says-robert-walls-ng-b88779554z.amp

As long as it's not that tip rat Nicholls, then we'll be alright.

No, don't waste them ... we need them for the prelim in Perth Dicky Bird Robin Bailache Steve Bucknor at least will be fair

Yeah, let’s not. Hope to see Don at the footy on Friday night. Onward and upward. Go Dees.

I think the biggest hurdle will this Friday. If we perform well beat the cats I believe the momentum and confidence will be there to contest in every game including the big one. Friday is to get rid our any stage fright.

Thanks DS. That is just as emotional as watching the video. We have a great club. Kudos that you have engendered such love of the Demons in young Sam from interstate and through all the heartache in his whole lifetime. What a great reward and experience for him to meet the players and coaches!

McLardy and now Neeld. Why do people feel the need to dredge up this sht from the past....

Why oh why would it be this week. I know it's relevant now but surely they'd wait till GF week for maximum negative Fugazi impact on this club.

We saved the club...it was the supporters/fans in the end that made enough noise to be heard. The club was on it's knee's... Luckily for us, love him or hate him Andrew Demetriou listened. He got the right man for the job in PJ, a great get as it turned out. ...but make no mistake, the rebuild of this club started from the fans. There was no messiah, just a club in turmoil at the top and enough of us day to day supporters that still cared. Now as Simon said the other day it's ours to enjoy, so enjoy but remember. ...The Dee-surgence started with us. No one can take that away from us.

I would have loved to have seen how things went had Jimma not gotten so sick. He absolutely oversaw the things above, but some of those happened while he was very unwell and unable to really play the role of president to the best of his ability. He listened to others around him instead, many of whom made horrible decisions that set us back years. Again, I don't think anyone could deny that many of those things happened while he was in charge, but I think it's a little harsh considering how unwell he was during that period.

There is one thing I will say. If I were Mark Neeld, Don Mclardy or any other passing ships in the night that suddenly want to make comment at this point in the season, I would be instantly saying before saying ANYTHING else that what is happening right now is all about the current playing group, football department, administration and members and not about them.

It's spooky to think that if not for Maxie's miss and poor selection by the coaches against sainters we would have finished SECOND on percentage. We had it in our hands but let it slip through our fingers. Does anyone believe that we were possibly the second best team over the year? If you do, then the Walls' prediction is not so far fetched. We have settled the team at the right end of the season, we are in form, if results go by rankings we play the first 2 weeks at home (having passed through the MCG curse), we are young, keen and determined and have nearly full squad. So why not? Notwithstanding that I have secured grand final tickets in the ballot and have strong memories of watching Froggy Crompton's kick sailing towards me behind the goals 54 years ago, I am more than ready. But I will still be taking it one game at a time.

Personally I’m hating this shite. Way too much hype... let’s let the footy do the talking. I want to enjoy winning the game (s) not reading the news. I sincerely hope we’re not getting distracted by this garbage., we finished 5th and almost missed the 8. That’s the truth of where we’re at... for now.

People smashing us on Instagram after Harmes photo saying "we're not scared. We're not scared at all". They hate us. Finally relevant again. ?

I feel like differentiating Neeld the man v Neeld the coach. As a man his disappointment must have been immense, coaching was his lifes ambition. He killed his own dreams as much as killed ours with his coaching style. He faced the truth of our recuiting policy that had gone before him...which was never going to make him popular. The club recovers but his aspirations never will. So, as many above have said , like him or not, he gave it his all and bled for our club along with us. It must have been a savage ride and I thank him...as I thank all ex dees for his contibutions and the time and strain he gave for us. That being said. Neeld the coach was a frikn abomination. He was weak when he needed to be strong ( apparantly following a directive to sack the leadership group on arrival....sooo wrong) and strong when he needed to be flexible ( the manner he appoached the players and the relationships he grew/ poisoned) his speeches to the players were atrocious, his game plan was dated anyway and built without reference to the players he actually had. On top of that he managed to alienate both the coaches AND the players with his autocratic ways from early on in his time here. His tenure remains the darkest years of my entire 46 year supporting history...and theres been some really crap years to run that against lol. The only good thing Neeld gave us imo was that he brought us absolutely and fully undone. He was great at that. From THAT place PJ and PR arrived and today we are a destination club, finals coming, a possible new home base and seen by many as having the best young list in the comp. I hated the death and that whole humiliating time he was at the helm...but Im def enjoying the rebirth! Perhaps today could never be reached without that kind of black yesterday.

First of all the timing on this one is questionable but it was probably going to come up at some point. Its a very tricky situation as this particular era of the footy club should be remembered in some kind of form but not to dwell on. When Jimmy came in the intentions were very good and he rallied everyone like few others could. He was incredibly ill in those last few years and fought on when it may have been best to step away. Don Mclardy is a good man and from the outside seemed like a great right hand for Jimmy, he was a reluctant president. Schwab was a good appointment when it was made, finally we had a credible CEO at AFL level. Who would have thought he'd save his worst years for those last 3 with us? I don't know, I really don't have a definitive opinion on this. I do think the focus should be on the job that the Bartlett/Jackson/Roos era have done to get us back. The others should be noted as part of the journey but not in full focus, not for now at least.

This is a great article. Totally agree @Lucifer's Hero - I love that Goody took the time to learn about our history, and impress upon the team just how rich and proud it is. He said the philosophy essentially embodies what the club was built upon when it was great. Fearlessness and togetherness. I'm so excited about all of this. It's taken time, and there have been bumps (and there will continue to be bumps), but I can see that the team is building a new identity with the team as the core. Something the players live and breathe (including new players coming in), and a present/future we can believe in.

Wouldn’t mind having Rodan as one of the goal umps and seeing him give a cheeky grin for each of our 20 goals.

Not those pieces of Schmitt, Pannell, Margetts, Nicholls or Chamberlain.

Please Dees wipe the smile off that bloke. Please.

Little doubt that they will flood our forwardline and rely upon their midfield to cut us up on the rebound. We can either apply forward pressure and maintain ball control or relax the press a little. What we cannot do is bomb the ball to the 30 metre mark and then watch it come sailing back over the defensive press thus putting the likes of Hawkins etc one on one. The problem with our game plan is that it only takes two 15 minute bursts the other way to undo all our good forward work. And of course we need to kick reasonably straight on goals..2 goals 6 and the like for a quarter will kill us. PS: Against WCE our midfielders got caught a few times disposing the ball into the 50 as they were lowering their eyes. Didn't mind this at all because it gave us a chance to reset downfield from the resultant free kick rather than bomb inside the forward 50 and watch the ball come out in an uncontrolled manner. Not sure I put much weight on the GWS game as other than controlled ball movement in the first 15 minutes GWS were not on their game. (Lovely to see the win though.)

Geelong are 16th for centre clearances. Its their defensive rebound where they will be confident of winning it. That's why our last two weeks have been so important. Hitting up targets i50 AND stopping run from defence. 19 fwd marks against WC.

Nothing, I repeat nothing good will come from this.

I think this will be interesting. Id love to hear his side of the story on how his relationship was with some of the players. Look when he came to the club I thought great, he has been under mick, been part of a premiership team and had other credentials. I just think our list wasn't that great at the time and he was asking to much. I also think some of these players couldn't handle being yelled at or maybe didn't like what they were hearing. Im sure Mike will ask him about the 2 young captains as well. But being at essendon will feature a bit as well.

Him serving it in the preseason was the biggest disgrace of all, it was what ended up changing the rule. They were dominant that year but that day they were thugs and bullies against youngsters. As soon as Neitz hit the post on the first shot on goal I knew it was going to be a dirty day.

I can't name the ones I want because I don't know their names. That's how it should be. I only know the names of the ones I hate.

make that iceland and make it permanent holidays

Those from our last two weeks, thought overall both games were umpired fairly and quite consistently. Nicholls, if the umpiring department is serious, should be on holiday in Bali for the month

One of the more bizarre things I have read today.

Just finished having a coffee down at Jan Juc with Cam Guthrie sitting opposite and boy was he carbohydrate loading, pancakes, maple syrup, ice cream, and then attacked his girlfriends fry up lunch as well. My wife kept whispering to me kick the chair out from under him! Very unsporting of her.

http://vfl.com.au/vfl-recap-finals-week-1-saturday/ Scroll down to the Casey write up.

Great call by Deespicable. Solid team. Fritsch does better on the HFflank in a cross-over role, rather than solely man-on-man. Smith is a must for movement and height, intercepts and disposal. Clarrie on the bench gives it some dignity and will throw their coach off the melting wax throne to which he has become accustomed. Expect Vanders and Harmes to do something nasty to the cheating Dangermouse within a very fast succession of bodily contact drills, and as for poor Selwood, who could forget how Viney left him mentally shafted on the carpet with the perfect opposition player disposal mission earlier in the year? Happy Fathers Day to all dads, today. My son got me flights to Melbourne, 2-nights apartment accommodation in East Melb and tickets for the game coz I deserve it. 'Carna Dees. The lad and I regard this match as the pinnacle of the year.

Cannot stand Geelong. My dislike has increased as the season has progressed. Their idiotic coach, smug players and arrogant supporters - ugh.

Excellent, I’m claiming this as a best team in the comp reference