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Paul "The Count" Callery turned 70 today. Great footballer and an even better bloke! Still very active. Congratulations! PF

On this day in 1964, the VFL season opened with a round of six matches. The Melbourne Football Club had taken part in the past ten finals series under the coaching of the legendary Norm Smith and had won five premierships in that time. However, it was now almost four years since their last flag. The Demons were drawn to take on 1963 premiers Geelong on the MCG in the opening match. Round 1, 1964 Melbourne vs Geelong Saturday 18 April Venue: MCG Attendance: 66,250 B Crompton Massey L Mann HB Anderson Roet Leahy C Dixon H Mann Adams HF Groom Lord Vagg F Williams Bourke Robbie Foll Tas Johnson Kenneally Rov Emselle 19/20 Miller Townsend Melbourne took on the reigning premier in the opening round and Geelong overcame their poor MCG record over the past decade to prevail over the home side by 13 points. Hassa Mann was acting captain for the game as regular skipper Ron Barassi sat the game out serving the last match of a four-week suspension for striking Richmond’s Roger Dean in Round 17, 1963. After an even first quarter, the Demons took the initiative to go to a 20 point lead during the second term before a Cat fight back cut their lead to three points at half time. Hassa Mann started on 1962 Brownlow Medal winner Alistair Lord, and comprehensively outplayed him in the first half while John Lord’s strong marking was decisive during this period. The Cats grabbed the lead in third term with three goals to their full forward Doug Wade in the third quarter but it was still anyone’s game at the last change. Geelong’s superior fitness stood out in the final quarter with three quick goals and despite a last ditch comeback Melbourne went down by 13 points. Melbourne 2.4.16 8.7.55 11.11.77 14.13.97 Geelong 2.2.14 8.4.52 12.7.79 17.8.110 Goals Lord 4 Emselle 3 Bourke Robbie 2 H Mann Vagg Williams Best H Mann Lord Kenneally Vagg Bourke Anderson Reserves Geelong 11.7.73 defeated Melbourne 10.9.69 Goals Carroll 4 Bourke 2 Bartlett Leitch Matthews Wood Best Zinko McLean Davis Under 19s Melbourne 8.18.66 defeated Geelong 7.11.53 Goals Stone Pritchard 2 Jones McNabb Osborne Reinholdt Best Stone Jones Pritchard

Good point about the French and the protection of their wine names, Diamond Jim. You can't even say "champagne comedy" any more, but instead have to use the phrase "sparkling wit".

Gawn is the only elite on our list. Gawn easily can and does turn the tide in games. Its blokes like Oliver and Viney who are borderline as their impact is dependent on their disposal. Oliver always gets plenty but doesnt use it well. Round 1 2020 Jack Viney was an elite performance. Petracca isnt elite at this point in time.

I got Kinane up as well thanks to Paul Joice. Joice is good tipster in terms of finding some value runners. Kinane was 10-1 in the early betting but with JMac on board, that was overs DZ. Well done! Clean forgit to tune in ... flat chat at work! Next week! Well done on Fender Wadda

Nice fellas, Macca with Race 1 winner in Syd, Wadda with Race 2, I’m sure Rubisaki was in some of our multis, mine anyway but the Pippie was swallowed up at Caulfield so no good there. Kinane just got me back on track. Edit: Sorry, got it wrong way around. Wadda R1 and Macca R2.

Well done Macca. I was on Fender in the first which ran very well. Track Good 4 at Randwick now Hope you managed to tune into Roy & HG.....still going.

Got an early winner with Snitz at Randwick ... bonus of double your winnings (via Laddies) means that the rest of day's bets are with house money Ya gotta love that!

With the stoppage of football, it was just a matter of time till the Merger saga reared its ugly head again. Happens every couple of years. Standard Demonland. Still fascinating to hear all the stories from the people who were at the coal face. Would be a unreal if we could get documentation eg. leaflets, ballot papers etc. Would be great if people who aren't tech savvy could ask loved ones to upload photos of documentation from merger. Would give people like myself living in another state or overseas a better understanding of what took place during that period.

Great, I'm so looking forward to a day off from sitting inside my house

Why on earth did the analysts select 1995 as a baseline? Most pundits and fans who complain of a diluted competition are referring to the latest expansion teams - so since 2012. How much has the population grown since then? How much of that growth is immigrants or first-generation with no interest in football? From the Census data provided the trend-line for football participation for ages 15+ had declined from 2006 to 2012. The childhood participation data is meaningless. How many aspiring footballers miss out on the draft or recruitment to state leagues and then just quit football? That's the reserve talent pool, the adult ammos, not some kids who played Auskick in primary school. It's subjective of course, but I would posit that football reached it's heights in the years leading up to around 2012, with several dominant and exciting teams. Since then the standard has plummeted, especially over the past three or so years. Nostalgia for the mid-90s is another matter. Football was different then. But now it has no grounding - the evenness of the competition is not a benefit in my opinion but a detraction. I want to see the best football possible, not even scorelines and manufactured excitement. My and many others' early projections of a diluted competition on recent expansion were slightly wrong. The impact isn't felt immediately, but five or six odd years later when the quality reaches it's peak playing years. That's the dilution - a wider spread of top talent across more teams. It's subjective again, but form my perspective that is exactly what has occurred, the inability now to assemble a genuine, top-level team. I still have no respect for current Richmond in the way I did for the Geelong, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Swans' teams of the recent past. I've basically stopped watching football over the past few years, and it's not because of congestion. It's because I no longer get the opportunity of watching titans in the sport crush other teams, or occasionally play against each other. Nothing has moved me to watch in a way that a Hawthorn v Swans or Geelong match-up would have done so not so long ago. Richmond v West Coast or the Giants in 2018/2019? Whatever. I may be getting old. But I find arguments against the football talent pool having been diluted illogical. Why would you even use population growth as a starting point, it's completely irrelevant. There's two new top-flight teams. That means a wider spread of top-flight talent as compared to when those teams didn't exist. That dilutes the competition. The Fox Sports article draws from here: http://www.hpnfooty.com/?p=31834

You're not wrong. That really is vomit inducing.

Elite players win clubs premierships. Here is my list of players on our list who have the potential to become/are already elite AFL players: May - Elite. One of the top 5 full backs in the league. Beautiful kick, great one on one, moves so well for a big fella. Petracca - Potential Elite. His best is elite in the competition. Can he bring it consistently this year? Jackson - Potential Elite. Has all the attributes to become an elite big man. You don't use pick three on a bloke unless you're confident he'll become A grade. Viney - Heading towards Elite. When fit, this guy has major influences on matches. His best is outstanding. Now that he is over his injuries let's hope we see it consistently. Gawn - Elite. One of the best and most influential big men in the game. Period. Oliver - Potential Elite. I don't think he's quite in the top bracket of mids yet, but at 22 I have little doubt he'll get there. He's a star, but he has room for improvement. Fritsch - Potential Elite. His 19 goals from 7 games in a struggling side to end last year showed what he is capable of. He has the potential to kick 40 - 50 goals as a mid sized forward. That would make him elite. Kysaiah Pickett - Potential Elite. I think he could develop into one of the best small forwards in the game. For him to be showing the signs he has at senior level already is hugely promising. Have I missed anyone? Have I added anyone that shouldn't be there? Is there enough elite talent on our list to compete at the pointy end of the season?

I was feeling nostalgic and thought I’d reminisce about our best players from interstate ie. outside Victoria (excl Ireland). There have been disappointments from Tilbrook to Toumpas/Morton. But some absolute guns have moved to the Dees and had great careers. My list is: 1- Alan Johnson 2- Todd Viney 3- Brad Green 4- Russell Robertson 5- Steven Febey 6- Jeff Farmer 7-Steven Stretch 8-Danny Hughes 9-Shane Woewodin 10-Nev Jetta 11- Andy Lovell 12-Andrew Obst 13-Earl Spalding 14-Jared Rivers 15-Aaron Davey 16-Ray Biffin 17-Alan Jakovich 18- Warren Dean 19-Matthew Whelan 20- Colin Garland 21- Jeremy Howe 22- Jesse Hogan 23- Bernie Vince 24- Mark Jamar 25- Anthony Ingerson 26- Liam Jurrah 27- Brad Miller 28- Darren Bennett 29- Peter Vardy 30- Nathan Brown Special mention time Peter Walsh. Loved his attack on the footy. His heart was the size of a lion. I didn’t include Jack Viney as he came through the Vic metro schools system. Also Jeffy Garlett was from the Blues.

MELBOURNE Founded: 1859 Club song: ‘The grand old flag’ It’s a grand old flag It’s a high flying flag It’s the emblem for me and for you It’s the emblem of the team we love The team of the Red and the Blue Ev’ry heart beats true For the Red and the Blue And we sing this song to you (What do we sing!) Should old acquaintance be forgot Keep your eye on the Red and the Blue “It’s a Grand Old Flag” was taken from an American patriotic tune, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”. The Melbourne theme song was written in 1912 and is one of the oldest club songs. A second verse was added by Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott, a Melbourne player, in the late 1930s. “You’re a grand old flag” is an American patriotic march by George M. Cohan, and is a tribute to the American flag. The song was written for the musical George Washington Jr, which premiered in New York in 1906

Which was why they were seen as ripe for the picking. They had on-field assets and some off field but hubris had become endemic. Mismanagement and extravagance undid all their gains in the '80's. Enter Ian Dicker. The assessment of Don Scott by @TGR is correct. He saw the merger for what it really was - a takeover of HFC - and he displayed so brilliantly with his graphic demo of the jumper. The assessment of Kennett's contribution is overplayed. He sailed smooth seas long after Ian Dicker had calmed the storm and set the ship on course. Without Ian Dicker I doubt there'd have been a HFC for Kennett to play with

Is is true that, when metrication was introduced, he considered changing his name to Killer Jewell?

One of the worst examples perhaps as it is of course the official song of the US marines. I suppose it can be defended on the basis that they stole the tune from a French operetta. Probably even worse is the Fitzroy/Brisbane theme sung to the tune of the French National Anthem.(Given their defence of almost every wine and cheese name known to man I'm surprised the French haven't sent Brisbane a please desist note.)

had to laugh at tgr's constant reference to "we" when referring to mfc supporters what i don't understand is how such an obvious and boring troll is still allowed to post

I note Brayshaw’s not there and absolutely agree. A bit of a fall from grace from a player that came third in the Brownlow. Viney’s round 1 performance was elite, and not for the first time when playing WC over there. During the Foxtel telecast of that game, Gerard Healy thought Viney was a genuine chance of an All Australian gig this year.

Flintoff, a very underrated performance!

My 2 cents: Elite players don't win flags on their own - but history suggests it's almost impossible to win a flag without at least a couple. The term 'elite' is subjective and gets thrown around a lot. For mine, an elite player is genuinely in the discussion (among neutral supporters) as the best in the league for their position. By that measure, we have one - Gawn. We all love him - but the value of having a dominant ruckman in modern footy is debatable. Viney, Oliver and Trac are more than handy, but no neutral supporter would mention their names in the same breath as Fyfe, Dusty, Bontempelli, Cripps, etc (at this stage). May is very good, but I'd doubt many would list him in the best 5 defenders in the AFL - he's far too inconsistent. He's also 28, so unlikely to suddenly develop into the best fullback in the comp (even allowing for the Gold Coast factor). Jackson and Pickett are 2 of perhaps 50 highly promising, but ultimately unproven young players in the AFL. Statistically, it's highly unlikely that either of them become elite players (although early signs are promising). I love Fritsch, but Tim Membrey kicked 44 goals last year. He ain't elite. In order of most likely to become elite, I think: Petracca > Oliver > Lever > Jackson > Pickett

Agree or putting it another way is consistently in the teams best 5 and is the top 5 on ground every second or third week with a BOG performance once every five.

True. Elite is a subjective term. I think of an elite player as anyone who can consistently have an influence on the outcome of the game. I think one of main problems is that we don't have enough players who can consistently stand up when needed.

Paul Prymke - he was showing outstanding signs as a key defender before a crook back destroyed his career.

An interesting aside to those that think all we need is success on field and all will be well is that the Hawks had a golden period in the 80's that stretched into the early 90's but by 1996 they were on their knees financially. Different times but it does show how important sound management is along with on field success.

They had the numbers due to proxy votes bought with corporate memberships (Bill Guest?) I doubt it would have stood up to a court challenge

The coaches should never have been given carte blanche Cause & effect leaves the issue squarely in the AFL's court rjay But they (the AFL) have had their eyes firmly fixed on the money ... and now the money is in jeopardy with them now having to borrow $600Million. So now (finally) they are deeply concerned with state of the game ... proverbial hitting the fan will do that.

Prelim was always played at Waverley in those days. In 1987 we played the first 2 finals at the G, and in 88 we played the 1st Semi v Collingwood at the G.

Continuing the series - Number 11 1912 Hedley Tomkins (No. 17, 1913) 1913 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1914 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1915, 1919 – 1920 Jack Bacquie (No. 35, 1914) 1921 Jack Lord Snr (No. 26, 1922 – 1923) 1922 – 1924 Dave Elliman (No. 35, 1919) 1925 – 1928 CD ‘Derek’ Mollison (No. 16, 1923 – 1925) wore both 11 and 16 in 1925 1925 – 1926 Carlyle Jones (No. 25, 1929) 1926 Bruce Pie 1929 Art Beaumont 1931 – 1932 Frank Smith 1932 Terry Ogden 1933 Robert C Johnson (No. 16, 1926 – 1932) 1934 – 1936 Sid Meehl 1936 Harden Dean (No. 29, 1938; No. 38, 1943) 1937 Beres Reilly 1938 Sid Meehl (see also 1934 – 1936) 1939 – 1940 Harold C Ball 1941 Warren Lewis (No. 33, 1944) 1942 – 1944 Norm Matthews (?, 1935) 1945 – 1950 Gordon Bowman 1952 – 1953 Jim Wilson 1954 – 1962 Laurie Mithen 1963 – 1969 TG ‘Tony’ Anderson 1970 – 1980 Greg Wells (No. 50, 1969) 1981 Gary Hardeman (No. 33, 1967 – 1977) 1982 – 1987 Steven Icke 1988 – 1998 Jim Stynes (No. 37, 1987) 2001 Troy Simmonds (No. 46, 1999 – 2000) 2002 - 2004 Darren Jolly (No. 41, 2001) 2005-2010 Paul Johnson 2012-2013 Mitch Clark 2015 - Max Gawn (No. 37, 2011 - 2014) Number 12 1912 Malcolm Kennedy 1913 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 4, 1912) 1914 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914) 1919 Allan McLean 1920 – 1929 Bob Corbett 1930 – 1931 Jack Power (No. 31, 1932 – 1934) 1932 EH ‘Ted’ Thomas (No. 3, 1921 – 1928) 1932 – 1933 Alan ‘Ginger’ Ryan 1934 – 1949 Jack Mueller (No. 36, 1950) 1950 – 1956 Stuart Spencer 1957 – 1960 Neil Crompton (No. 5, 1962 – 1966) 1961 – 1962 Michael Joseph Collins 1965 Hugh Bromell 1967 – 1969 Chris Fowler 1970 Rod Payne 1972 – 1974 Michael John Collins (No. 48, 1971) 1975 – 1977 Martin Lyons 1977 – 1979 Barry Norsworthy 1979 – 1982 Cameron Clayton 1983 – 1986 David Williams (No. 15, 1987 – 1988) 1987 – 1999 Todd Viney 2004-2013 Colin Sylvia 2014-2018 Dom Tyson 2020 - Toby Bedford Number 13 1912 H ‘Bert’ Francis 1913 Fen McDonald 1914 Stanley J Fairbairn 1919 Lindsay Nichol 1920 – 1924 Bill Shelton (No. 30, 1919; No. 20, 1925) 1931 Gordon Lindsay 1932 Joe Hogan 1933 – 1941 Les Jones 1941 – 1942 George Lenne (No. 20, 1945) 1944 Frank Scanlan (No. 26, 1943; No. 34, 1947 – 1948) 1947 – 1950 Max Spittle 1951 – 1953 Alan Krause 1975 – 1978 Henry Coles (No. 3, 1979 – 1980) 1979 – 1981 Wayne Gordon 1989 Tom Kavanagh 1991 – 1994 Allen Jakovich 1996 - 2008 Adem Yze 2010-2015 Jordie McKenzie (No 49, 2009) 2016 - Clayton Oliver Number 14 1912 Jack Bristow (No. 18, 1913) 1913 Alf George (No. 3, 1912; No. 29, 1915) 1914 Mick Maguire (No. 30, 1912 – 1913) 1915, 1919 – 1921 Alec Gray (No. 22, 1914) 1923 – 1924 Jim Abernethy (No. 4, 1926 – 1932) 1925 – 1932 Ivor Warne-Smith (No. 33, 1919) 1932 Jack Richardson 1933 Ray Usher (No. 34, 1928 – 1932) 1934 – 1937 Maurie Gibb (No. 10, 1937 – 1943) 1938 – 1940 Jack Maher (No. 37, 1944) 1941 – 1945 George Archibald 1945 – 1947 Ron Hall (?, 1944) 1947 Jack Furniss (No. 26, 1936 – 1940) 1948 – 1949 Eric Roscoe 1950 – 1952 Robert Johnston 1955 – 1962 Trevor Johnson 1963 – 1973 Barry Bourke 1974 – 1976 Neil Chamberlain (No. 54, 1973) 1977 Chris Aitken (No. 5, 1967, 1969) 1977 – 1982 Michael Byrne 1983 – 1984 Roger Ellingworth (No. 34, 1981 – 1982) 1985 – 1994 Rodney Grinter 1996 Michael Polley 1997 Leigh Newton 2000 - 2002 Steven Pitt 2006 -2016 Lynden Dunn 2017 - Michael Hibberd Number 15 1912 Tim Lane (No. 25, 1912) 1913 Ted Politz 1914 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 11, 1913; No. 12, 1915) 1915 Ed Buckley 1919 – 1925 George Haines (Heinz) 1927 – 1929 Charlie Barnes (No. 18, also 1928) 1930 – 1931 Harry S Crapper 1932 Tom McMahon 1933 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1934 Edwin Pemberton (No. 19, 1930 – 1933) 1935 Audley Gillespie-Jones 1935 – 1942 Ron Baggott 1943 – 1944 Colin Bradley (No. 29, 1942) 1945 Ron Baggott (see also 1935 – 1942) 1946 Jack Quinn 1947 – 1948 Frank O’Connor 1949 Len Toyne 1950 Max Jeffers 1951 Geoff Mason 1951 – 1952 Terry Pierce 1955 – 1959 Athol Webb 1963 – 1964 Ray Groom (No. 31, 1965 – 1968) 1965 – 1976 Stan Alves 1977 Darryl Cumming 1978 – 1980 Phil Seaton 1981 – 1982 Vin Catoggio 1984 – 1986 Mark Withers 1987 – 1988 David Williams (No. 12, 1983 – 1984, 1986) 1990 – 1991 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 2, 1992 – 1998) 1993 Haydn Robins (No. 46, 1992) 1994 – 1999 Paul Hopgood (No. 30, 1993) 2001 – 2002 Ross Funcke 2003 – 2006 Nick Smith 2007-2012 Ricky Petterd 2013 David Rodan 2015-2019 Billy Stretch 2020 - Ed Langdon Number 16 1912 Bill Flintoft 1913 Bill Angwin 1914 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 5, 1913) 1915 Roy L Park 1919 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 28, 1920 also) 1920 Hugh Odgers (No. 26, 1912) 1921 Clarrie L Lethlean 1923 – 1925 CD ‘Derek’ Mollison (No. 11, 1926 – 1928; wore both 11 and 16 in 1925) 1926 – 1932 Robert C Johnson (No. 11, 1933) 1933 – 1938 Eric ‘Tarzan’ Glass 1939 Gerry Daly (No. 27, 1940 – 1941, 1946) 1940 Jack Atkins 1941 Hugh McPherson (No. 25, 1942) 1942 Tom Ferguson (No. 22, 1943) 1943 – 1944 Hugh McPherson (see 1941 above) 1945 – 1952 George Bickford 1954 – 1956 Clyde Laidlaw (No. 35, 1957 – 1962) 1957 – 1961 Robert B Johnson (No. 18, 1954 – 1956) 1962 – 1972 John Townsend 1975 – 1977 Peter Keays (No. 51, 1974) 1979 – 1981 Robert Walters (No. 32, 1977 – 1978) 1982 – 1987 Adrian Battiston 1988 – 1995 Anthony ‘Andy’ Lovell 1996 David Grant 1997 Robert Pyman 1998 – 2007 Travis Johnstone 2008-2012 Jack Grimes 2014-2018 Dean Kent (No. 34, 2013) 2019 - Kade Kolodjashnij Number 17 1912 Wally Naismith 1913 Hedley Tomkins (No. 11, 1912) 1914 Frank Lugton (No. 32, 1913) 1915 Alex Fraser (No. 40, 1914) 1919 Con Kenney 1920 – 1928 Albert Chadwick 1929 – 1931 William MacDonald 1932 Joe Kinnear (No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1933 Geoff McInnes (No. 10, 1932) 1934 – 1942 Allan La Fontaine 1943 Denis Cordner (No. 1, 1948 – 1956) 1943 Frank Deayton (No. 27, 1942) 1944 Tom Bush (No. 5, 1942) 1945 Allan La Fontaine (see 1934 – 1942) 1946 – 1947 Frank Kennedy (No. 39, 1944; No. 37, 1945) 1948 Greg Lourey (No. 28, 1950) 1949 Jim Dorgan 1950 – 1956 Geoff McGivern 1958 Graeme Wilkinson 1961 – 1963 Ray Dawson 1964 – 1965 Graeme Watson 1966 Jeff Chapman 1967 John Comben 1968 – 1970 Kelvin Clarke 1971 – 1975 Denis Clark 1976 – 1979 Shane Grambeau 1980 – 1983 Michael Seddon 1986 Frank Rugolo (No. 43, 1983 – 1984; No. 34, 1985) 1987 – 1997 Brett Lovett (No. 50, 1986) 2002 Michael Clark 2005 - 2007 Chris Johnson 2012-2014 Sam Blease Number (No. 46, 2011) 2015-2019 Sam Frost Number 18 1912 Harry ‘Waratah’ Cope (No. 20, 1913) 1913 Jack Bristow (No. 14, 1912) 1913 Jim Mackie 1913 Bill Daly (No. 10, 1914) 1914 Les A. Smith 1915 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914) 1919 Stan Huntington 1920 Bob Bodington (No. 28, 1919) 1921 – 1927 ‘Percy’ A Tulloh 1928 Charlie Barnes (No. 15, 1927 – 1929; wore both 15 and 18 in 1928) 1929 Alec Proudfoot 1930 – 1931 William Cutler 1932 – 1935 Don Hooper (No. 1, 1943) 1936 – 1941 Wally Lock 1942 – 1944 David Walsh 1943 Bill Scanlan (No. 38, 1944; No. 19, 1945 – 1948) 1945 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 34, 1940 – 1943; No. 28, 1946 – 1949) 1946 – 1949 Wally Lock (See also 1936 – 1941) 1950 – 1951 Nevin Paynter 1952 Harry Lack 1953 Nevin Paynter (See also 1950 – 1951) 1954 – 1956 Robert B. Johnson (No. 16, 1957 – 1961) 1957 – 1958 Kevin Mithen 1961 – 1965 Brian ‘Doc’ Roet (No. 23, 1968) 1966 – 1969 Neville Stone 1970 Des Campbell (No. 5, 1975 – 1977) 1971 – 1975 John Tilbrook 1976 – 1980 Maurice Wingate 1982 – 1984 Greg Hutchison (No. 52, 1975; No. 43, 1976 – 1981) 1986 – 1993 Steven Stretch 1994 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 1, 1995 – 1997) 1996 – 1997 Craig Nettelbeck 1999 Matthew Bishop (No. 48, 1998) 2000-2012 Brad Green 2014-2015 Daniel Cross 2017 - Jake Melksham Number 19 1912 – 1913 A.M. ‘Joe’ Pearce 1914 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 9, 1913, 1915) 1915 Reg Gibb (No. 7, 1919) 1919 – 1920 Jack Huntington (No. 3, 1914; No. 28, 1915) 1921 – 1928 Harry Coy 1929 Claud Carr (No. 22, 1928) 1930 – 1933 Edwin Pemberton (No. 15, 1934) 1934 Ron Wilson 1936 – 1941 Frank Roberts 1942 Robert Shearer 1944 R.G.W. ‘Lloyd’ Bennett 1945 – 1948 Bill Scanlan (No. 18, 1943; No. 38, 1944) 1949 – 1952 Colin Love 1952 – 1958 Keith Carroll 1961 – 1964 Robert Carroll 1966 – 1967 Terry Leahy 1969 – 1979 Ray Biffin (No. 40, 1968) 1980 – 1982 Bill Nettlefold 1983 – 1986 Rodney Wright 1986 – 1988 Paul Payne 1989 – 1993 Darren Bennett 1994 – 1997 Paul Prymke 1999 – 2000 Scott Chisholm 2001 Ben Beams (No. 47, 1999 – 2000) 2002 - 2004 Peter Vardy 2006 – 2007 Clint Bartram (No. 3, 2008-20????) 2008-2011 Addam Maric 2015-2016 Ben Newton 2017 - Mitch Hannan Number 20 1912 Wally Sykes 1913 Harry ‘Waratah’ Cope (No. 18, 1912) 1913 Thornton Hosking 1914 Aubrey MacKenzie 1914 Eric Parsons 1915 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 16, 1919) 1919 Edward Johnston (No. 23, 1915) 1919 Art McWhinney 1920 – 1921 George Walker (No. 28 – 1920 also; see also 1915 above) 1920 Joe O’Carroll 1921 – 1925 Alf Wilson 1925 Bill Shelton (No. 30, 1919; No. 13, 1920 – 1924) 1927 – 1928 Les Meade 1929 – 1937 Harry Long 1937 Jack ‘Cactus’ Coolahan 1938 – 1939, 1941 Frank Williams 1942 Ted Wood 1943 – 1944 H.A. ‘Bob’ Herbert 1945 Harry New (No. 31, 1944) 1945 George Lenne (No. 13, 1941 – 1942) 1946 Norm Wilson (No. 30, 1945) 1947 – 1948 Russell Robinson 1949 – 1950 Alan McGowan (No. 33, 1948) 1951 – 1952 Tom McLean 1957 – 1961 Graeme Pinfold 1964 – 1967 Graeme Jacobs 1969 – 1970 Paul Rowlands 1972 Laurie Queay 1973 Shane McSpeerin (No. 50, 1971 – 1972) 1975 – 1977 Paul Hurst 1977 Brian Cook 1978 – 1982 Graeme Gaunt 1983 – 1987 Russell Richards 1992 – 2000 Matthew Febey 2001 – 2004 Troy Broadbridge 2007-2016 Colin Garland 2018 Corey Maynard (No. 48 2017) 2020 Adam Tomlinson

I actually love the idea on an indigenous verse, but no. Leave my song alone please

Typically Melbourne to reject the offer. Kennett was so good as a president, that Hawthorn changed its constitution to get him back after the Garvey/Gaudry disaster. The safe option or ''conservatism'' has been the titanic anchor of the MFC lifeboat since the mid-60s. It''s so heavily entrenched in our culture, that it easily explains the chronic failure post-Menzies. There have been glimmers of hope under Barassi, Northey, Daniher and Roos; with the latter more focused on our culture, leadership and the veil of negativity. Conversely, the supporters need a veil of objectivity; and the club needs to adopt more of a 'whatever it takes' approach. Case-in-point, "we wont draft Martin, if he doesn't want to come". We have done that in the past too, and it makes me sick.

6 million

At Dallas Brooks Ridley was strident in his demand that there be a merger. Bill Guest and "the suits" had the numbers and were arrogant and dismissive in their confidence. Brian Dixon and Joe Gutnick had the passion and the simple response to Ridleys comment that the board had tried to get support from everyone. The simple line "you didn't ask me" and his presentation of a plan completely blind sided the board and the overflowing crowd were rapturous in their support. Ridley had the numbers and won the night but lost the fight. This meeting established divisions that soured the club for years and created an impression that was often displayed on the field. Confusion and disconnect were traits that have been carried on to this date. We need to acknowledge this blight and spur the current generation to display the best attributes of a united cohesive club that will reap the success it deserves.

Will give it a listen. Very keen to hear what he has to say about Joel's injury management.

Might upset some but I'd love a new song. It's a jingoistic knock off of an American patriotic song. Time we had our own

I'll take a look Earl ... I've got access to Netflix again and the plot and storyline looks quite interesting re The Expanse. The user reviews in IMDb are extremely favourable and it looks like the show gets better by the season after building slowly for the first half of season 1 (there are 4 completed seasons) Good recommendation.

Believe this list was the best goal to goal line up, as usual the injury curse severely impacted this group from winning a flag... Stynes, Lyon , Shcwarz, Neitz, Jackovich, Tingay, Pike, Lovett, Prymke, Lovell Goals Lyon 79 Schwarz 60 Jackovich 51 Pike 25 Charles 24 lovell 29

Read his book mate, it's called "Urge to Merge"

I am only telling you what I know of the situation and I do not recall him being vocal about it.

Is this Ohio usa - David's jacket.?

The irony of the Brisbane/Fitzroy merger is that Brisbane have been propped up by the AFL for over 2 decades. Ongoing with large amounts of money thrown their way No such money was thrown Fitzroy's way of course. The thinking has changed dramatically from League HQ's and now all the clubs are financially protected. It's just a real pity that the same AFL has overseen the decline in the actual sport as a spectacle (unless watching scramble-ball ... congestion-City) does it for you. There won't be any mergers once things are up and running again ... downsizing across the board is well and truly on the cards though The broadcast rights money could be greatly reduced and as a flow on effect, the salary cap reduced as well. Along with FD numbers etc etc And the league might even make a concerted effort to fix the sport as a spectacle. If the MFC ceased to operate most demon fans I know would walk away from the sport.

sounds good to me. I'd add my usual hobby-horse: If a player is tackled and a team member of the tackled player then jumps on the initial 2, pay a free against that third player. They often tackle the oppo who does not have the ball, which is clearly a free kick under current rules (though never paid). But I'd suggets a free regardless of who they 'tackle' as long as it is clear they are not trying to help extract the ball.

Those gifted wa players were given to them at the end of the 80’s when the club almost collapse after what was considered a failed start. The wa public had expected to win the flag in their first year when they saw their starting squad. They special draft set them up for a decade, plus a decent AFL coach in Malthouse, who modernised their footy thinking from the original coach in terms of preparation and structures. Interesting what might have happened if the pies didn’t lose the game when they had it under control in the first week.

The Eagles were an excellent team in 94 - very underrated when we talk about the great teams. For as good as our forward line was, teams simply couldn’t get a look in against a backline of: Jakovich, Worsfold, McKenna, McIntosh and Brennan.

Prymke’s injuries cost us big time. Very solid, under rated

Watch for Ricky Jackson's lucky 5th goal....free for ??? then hit the post! Important goal!

I suspect the only flag we'll be seeing this year is a white one. Can't see how footy can continue with all that's happening.

I actually think the reaction will differ depending on the premier. If we win it (same deal with a team like St Kilda or even Carlton/North Melbourne), there will be sections of the media/public who will say that it doesn't really count (e.g. we beat sides on the road because there were no crowds, levelled the playing field in favour of small clubs like us etc.). But if, say, RIchmond or Collingwood or West Coast or Geelong wins it, I can see the story being "champion teams find a way despite whatever adversity is thrown at them".