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How good was the game? Not the result but the free flowing contested footy with no umpires interference (the incessant play on if the player takes time to find a target) and the open centre bounce where a ruckman could run and take a leap. White and Simmonds were outstanding and made the game look better (I know there are knee injury issues but there needs to be a better answer than the small circle and the repeated pushing and shoving). Its time to tell the umpires to shut up and let the game flow. The players know best. And what about white jackets and hats for the goal umpires - got to be better than the tee shirts and baseball caps. All these replays have displayed to me that the game was better when there was no "kicking down the line" and constant switching looking for cheap stats. Traditional kick ins from the square were a better means to restart the game and create a contest. What's worse, listening the BRuuuuuuce, Dermie, Landy and others reminded me that they were old hat 20 years ago but they are still with us. No wonder I don't miss footy as much as I should. Gil and the boys have neutered the game and it is less like real footy than it was. After the virus society will have to start again. This is an opportunity for our beloved great game to go back a bit and realise what made it great. It used to be a fast moving and attractive spectacle, now it is a dour struggle. That's all. Off the soap box.

No.49. 1982 Round 20 v Pies at Victoria Park. I still remember this game. I was only 15 years old and knew Victoria Park mainly only for horrible losses. The Dees were having a down year still but some promising signs. Brian Wilson had added a lot to the side and Robbie was still our champion. Gerard Healy was spotted into the forward line as a goalkicker alongside Mark “Jacko” Jackson to kick goals. The team was young but still had captain Robbie Flower, Steven Smith, Stephen Icke and Peter Giles. Great players. The Pies we’re heading down after making grand finals for the prior 3 years without success. Still formidable at Victoria Park. The game was a high scoring see saw game until the 3rd quarter. I remember being with my late father who was very excited. He hated the Pies and any win over them was celebrated. 8 goal third quarter had us 5 goals in front. We overran the Pies 16 goals to 6 after half time. Jackson kicked 7 including his amazing battle with Billy Picken. An absolute showman. Tony Elshaug kicked 4 goals and was as smooth and skilled a young rover in the league. Flower, Johnson and Wilson led the midfield. Getting the train to Victoria Park to see the footy was always very scary. But on this day, I was able to celebrate and sing the song on the filthy enemy turf. Melbourne 25.18.168 defeated Collingwood 17.12.114

He is the kind of player who knows how to accumulate as he has showed at Fremantle and a 30 plus possy in his first game for us. His kicking skills need a bit of polishing and has the time on his to correct it. He is a professional and trains hard, a real goer and hope he can fulfill his dreams out our great club.

Maybe you were thinking of QLD v Vic 7-11 Jan 1966. Vic needed 387 runs in 2nd innings, 265 on the last day, after only scoring 130 in 1st innings. Watson opened with Redpath and were there on day 4 both on 61. Watson eventually out for 109 and Redpath 180 to win by 3 wickets.

I was at the Punt Road oval when Roger Dean dived. All of us in the crowd were trying to work out what happened....no replay on a screen to to enlighten us. Today Dean would probably only have been fined for staging.

Hassa was my childhood Demon hero and I proudly wore his number 29 on my first ever Melbourne jumper as a kid. Although he was technically recruited from Rutherglen, he had been transferred there in his job (a bank, from memory) but hailed from Merbein, home of the late and sometimes great Colin Sylvia.

Good news in an email from the MCC today: "Finally, I would like to announce and welcome to the MCC Committee Russel Howcroft who has been appointed to fill the casual vacancy created by the retirement of Mark Smith". Russell, of course, is one of the stalwarts on the ABC's Gruen show, but importantly is a former MFC Board member. We hope that this will continue to ensure our voice is heard over at the MCC, and that more can be done to sign up those 5,000 MCC members who go along to 4 or more Melbourne games each year, but do not sign up to the MFC/MCC membership.

Powell was part of the pack including Woewodin and A MacDonald - three hard running, front of pack, goal kicking left footers. Together they were a formidable and at times unstoppable force. It was the threesome that was destructive. After losing 2001, by 2002 the coaches had destroyed Woey and the effectiveness of the pack was all over. Sad but at least he never showedd something extra at the sainters than he showed with us.

Music by David Bridie

Farmer was the more enjoyable player to watch of the two but his voluntary departure at the end of 2001 really hurt - considering it was’t long after his amazing 75 odd goal season in 2000. Yze was an absolute class act, had one of the best left foots in the league and polled 17 Brownlow votes in 2002. He gave us 14 seasons of excellence from the wing and half forward flank and thus gets my vote.

Garry scored more goals, more all aussies, hall of fame and team of the century. He was a dynamic and courageous leader who could be potent in several positions. Brad was a champion, durable and dynamic at times but never rose to the levels of Garry. Lyon for me.

Ah i see. When i write out the 3 bets, i now put them in sequential order as they are run. I guess the Dooz is more suited over 2000 as they say, just thought it might have brained em over 1700 but it wasnt to be. Did look a touch jumpy in the mounting yard. Sometimes the internationals can be a bit one paced i think. Will be one to look at in the Spring perhaps, if we get a spring carnival. They might have to send the Ruby Princess off to England to bring back a few horses, dont think it will have much else to do for a while !

from demonwiki

Hard to believe we let a midfielder that kicked 4 goals in a prelim (And 3 goals the following weeks GF ) go to St Kilda 2 years later- for no return.

Agree demonstone. It was bravery of the highest order to go to Vic Park

was für eine Überraschung

I much prefer Germans doing Ac/Dc...

Who had most good years? Id say the Wizard. The ooze was great but had lots of quiet games. The Wiz was just something else.

Me too do. Had the 29 on my jumper but I think I got it from a friend of my old man. I think Bluey Adams was his neighbour and he followed Melbourne and was happy that I didn't follow dads saints. But the story would only make sense if Bluey came from Mornington where this all happened to the best of my recollection..

No, I got that one from my Beatles obsession (Bar owner telling Beatles to "mach shau"). The other one from uni days, world war two history etc.?

This game will always be remembered for the Wiz show but Powell’s performance was pretty special too.

More 'raw' ability than most & although he stood somewhat in the shadow of Jimmy Stynes, he was an amazing player & athlete. Loved him RIP Sean

the appointment is to the MCC Board not the MFC Board

Double the scoring shots and twice as many inside 50s in the 2nd quarter for a 21 point lead. Sounds bloody familiar. Should have been 10 goals up

Where would you like to start? Mueller Neitz, Ditterich, Schwartz, Obst, the Wagner lads. Mann is a German name. Possibly Burgmann, Glass, Bill Vanthoff, Nick Pesch, Prymke, Alan KRause. JUst for starters....

Watched this on Friday night on YouTube. Quite a manic game style we had back then’ that didnt seem too different from chaos ball of 2018. Far less pressure of ball carrier through the middle of the ground too.

I'm not qualified to sit on a board 'sat'... In all seriousness and not to get into a slanging match with you. I would like to know why the board allowed Garry Lyon to come in as a consultant to the club. Garry was a great player but had no qualification to take up this role. He's never coached at a club or been involved in any other role but as a player. From the outside looking in it seems that the will of a sick president over rode that of common sense. To me that is a failure at board level and Russell was part of that board. Does this qualify him to be a good appointment on another sporting board? It might seem stupid to you but this still really gets to me...there may have been good reasons at the time but from a supporters view all I can see is failure to make the right call and we're all still paying for it.

Support you on that one! I remember just how elaborate and well-timed that acting performance by Roger Dean was, fooling everyone except those closer to the action - the latter seeing Barassi exhibit ideal defensive pressure. The white snot goblins (in those days) were after us, even then.

Just fantastic. All great players, but Hassa Mann remains as one of my favourite Demons of all time. Rutherglen boy, I think I can recall.

Somehow it seems unfair that Greeny is pitted against Gary Lyon who was one of our greats as Gary could have been even greater if he didn't carry a debilitating back.This cost him his best football in his twilight. However Brad Green was no slouch as a player as he was classy enough. Could play up the ground but was more effective near the goals. Unfortunately captaining a hack side didn't help his reputation. Kicked 55 goals in 2010 and was stiff not to make all Australian. Gary for mine.

Your overt hypocrisy is hilarious!!!

Seems you have progressed beyond the deadly Corona to the more innocuous Corolla. Ramsey is fortunate and once again leading scientific orthodoxy. Your research methods need encouragement rather than officious dogma. What could possibly go wrong?

So did any players of German extraction mach shau with the Dees?

A Dee through and through!

RIP Anyone who represented elite sport in two genre's deserves hero status

Although he often played injured, Barassi's '64 season catapulted us into the grandy, and ultimately the flag. He wasn't a top performer in the finals series, but was undoubtedly the no.1 legend of the vfl, and losing him cost us our weltanschauung. there has been no viable replacement

From a personal point of view Wadda, 2 out of 3 ain't bad ? Sweated up a bit before the race did Dadoozdart. Didn't finish off as a consequence (?) And I'm in the habit of taking the first 2 choices (as they are sequentially run) as we've historicall got the first 2 legs up (on occasions) And Laddies will give a 2nd odds boost with the extra runner (or the reduced runner) if you wait till the next day. In other words put the tri bet on Thurs/Fri and then the early double on Sat. That's how I do it anyway. Odds boost is a priority though ... in terms of percentages.

I have seen and spoken to Paul as he still attends MFC games and at the golf club for grand final week pennant he is in melbourne colours.

We haven’t been Successful & we are not hungry enough to REALLY want it...

Yes. Its a lack of momentum of winning. And more-so the momentum of loss for us with our past 50+Yrs. This effects the players and as they start to overcome the fear, it still remains entrenched in the fans minds. And at games when things are tight and opposition are pressing us hard, that anxiety re-emerges outwardly in the Voice tones of the supporters themselves. For a part of the 2018 season, we were able to be whipped up into a more aggressive mental mindset, and boy, did the players lap that up. Aggression overwhelms fear. It's an antidote to paralysis/anxiety of fear. Except for those who are fearful of aggression, they will remain stifled, without good help to overcome this phobia. The club needs US, to be more aggressive for the players, on match-days. Instead of prim and proper. Get dee-shevelled on game days, Melbourne supporters... Be Proud, and get Loud... with no inhibition. Be Free & be Proud.

Anzac Day, 1964 also fell on a Saturday. Sport could not be played before midday out of respect for the marchers. Ironically, today sport can’t be played at all because of another plague on humanity. Back then, the Demons bounced back in tentative fashion to win their first game and start their march up the ladder. Round 2, 1964 North Melbourne vs Melbourne Saturday 25 April Venue: Arden Street Attendance: 15,914 B Williams Massey L Mann HB Miller Roet Leahy C Townsend H Mann Adams HF Groom Lord Vagg F Kenneally Bourke Robbie Foll Tas Johnson Barassi Rov Emselle 19/20 Matthews Wise The Demons ventured to Arden Street on Anzac Day with skipper Ron Barassi back in charge although he almost missed out again, this time with a bout of flu. Also in doubt with the same ailment were Hassa Mann and Bernie Massey but they recovered to take part in the team’s first win for the season after a hard fought encounter. Melbourne had first use of the strong breeze but was held to four goals in the opening term. The home side returned fire with a six goal second quarter to take a 6 point lead into the half time break. The Demons hit back in the third stanza and held a four goal lead at three quarter time. The Kangaroos peppered the goals in the final term but squandered their chances by booting a wasteful 1.8 to the Demons’ solitary goal which saw them win by 16 points. North Melbourne 0.1.1 6.5.41 7.5.47 8.13.61 Melbourne 4.3.27 5.5.35 10.11.71 11.11.77 Goals Barassi 3 Bourke Robbie 2 Kenneally Lord Townsend Vagg Best H Mann Robbie Kenneally Barassi Leahy Lord Reserves North Melbourne 15.11.101 defeated Melbourne 10.18.78 Goals Carroll 4 Mounter 2 Bartlett Brewster Mitchell Watson Best Jacobs Watson McLean Under 19s Postponed until 20 June due to Anzac Day restrictions on morning sport.

I'm actually trying to get a membership to keep my consecutive years going and obviously contribute to the club, but it didn't work online and I'm guessing nobody is at the club.

2-4. Wins against the usual suspects in GC and Freo. Losses to the rest including a fast St Kilda at Marvel. Nothing about our round 1 performance indicated we would’ve been taking a quantum leap in 2020. Very much same old same old.

A sufferer might feel terribly uncomfortable talking to anyone about the issues. The sufferer might be unaware of the issues themselves... But just aware they are struggling for some reason. Sometimes, even the right kind of doctor is too much a step for some. This is why little steps talking to a trusted friend, if there is one, can be the start of finding good help. The sufferer has to first get to the point of acknowledging to themselves, that they would like some help. So talking to someone trusted inside the club; away from the Head Coach, who obviously would be conflicted to a degree, would likely be the correct way. To get things started.

Rightly so, we were so bad in that round one game. I don't care if it was meaningless or any other excuses people have thrown around, it simply highlighted that we have not improved or worked on what made us so bad in 2018.

I have great respect for PJ, and as far as the MFC is concerned, they should be erecting a statue outside the MCG in recognition of his saving the club financially. However, his view as shown by Moonshadow is way off the mark. Associating player retention to facilities may have some merit, but it completely ignores the results of having proper facilities. North Melbourne may have made 7 prelims in a row, but they didn't win any premierships in that period. Hawthorn, WCE, Sydney and Richmond did....all with excellent facilities. Melbourne may have made the GF in 2000 with only the Junction oval as a training ground, but Essendon and Brisbane were the power houses again with facilities ( at the time) simply light years ahead of what we had. Over both those periods, Melbourne and North had great lists, yet not being able to develop players properly and train them to the standards that the Premiership teams had only resulted in multiple years of failure.

Dear members and supporters, Firstly, I hope you and your families are staying safe. As we know, this is uncharted territory for everyone and we’re all adjusting to it in different ways. Hopefully your at-home haircuts are going better than my mohawk. With the community’s health and safety being the most important thing right now, football has obviously taken a backseat. While this needed to happen, I want you to know that our work hasn’t stopped, albeit in a very different environment. We are working with what we’ve got, like many of you are too, and are riding this out, together (while maintain social distancing). Obviously, the fact that we can’t do that we love right now, and have been training to do since October, is frustrating. But we understand we are incredibly lucky that we have a job to go back to when the time is right, and that job is to work our arses off to make you proud to be a Demon. So, the purpose of this open letter is to thank you and acknowledge everyone who is currently financially supporting the Club. Without this support, and without every little dollar we are getting from our members and sponsors, we would be in real trouble. I have always been taught that through challenging times, you see the best and worst in people, and so far, I’ve only seen the best in our supporters. It makes me so confident in where our Club will be when we come out the other side of this. For the best part of six years, I sat in the stands with you. Whether I was injured or couldn’t get a game, I rode every bump with you. Sitting in the Olympic stand, I experienced the high and the lows of being a Melbourne supporter, so I want you to know that I do understand how you are feeling. I know it’s been tough and let’s be real, when I say “I’ve been through the hard times”, who could forget the time when Jack Fitzpatrick decided to tunnelball the footy through for a deliberate rushed behind which cost us the game on Queen’s Birthday, or when my close friend Lynden Dunn tagged Gary Ablett Jr. who then proceeded to rack up 30 touches in one half. On a more serious note, I know the pain – missing the finals in 2017, the Preliminary Final loss in 2018 or the disappointment of last year. But, as with any adversity, these times have brought us closer. I know if we stick together, we will come out of this stronger than ever before. I am reliably informed by the higher ups at the Club that our members have supported us like no other Club in the competition during the COVID-19 shutdown. You are sticking with us and many of you have bought memberships since the games were postponed. I can’t express how proud that makes me (and my teammates) – you are sticking with us and personally, I love you for that. So, my message to the great Demon faithful is a simple thank you. Thank you to those who have signed up; you are standing up for us in a time of need and we will always be extremely grateful for that. For those who are not yet members, I understand this might not be financially possible for some right now. For those that are able to join us, we would absolutely love your support. We want you to be part of our great Club and share in this challenge with us. While I would love to, I can’t do anything for you today. I’m itching to get back out there and play for you, but we can’t just yet. In times like this though, we must focus on the opportunity in front of us, and let me tell you, when it’s time to return, we will be ready. Make no mistake, this year is going to be the difficult one to win, so how much better would it be to do it. We are stronger together, Demon family. Thank you again, and I can’t wait to lead us out when the time’s right to do so. Go Dees. Love Max

It's was sad when these two were drawn against one another in the first round. Both would be in my top 5 or so, both hugely underrated by many MFC supporters IMO. Jones will probably win mainly based on the fact many of the younger supporters didn't see or have forgotten how good Junior was. I voted Junior. IMO he was cleaner, made better decisions and was a better clearance player. He won two B&F's in a period when we had players like Travis, Ooze, Neita, Robbo and others of high standard. Jones won when he had little opposition which is not to suggest he didn't deserve them but merely to point out the greater competition Junior faced. But the clincher for me is Junior's AA. Competition for mid spots was significant. Judd, Cousins, Beams, Pendles, Bartel, Ablett and on you go. Junior was judged against them and was selected AA. Jones has faced similar competition but wasn't. And finally I think Junior was a better captain. It's always hard to tell from the outside but where the captaincy never seemed to sit comfortably with Jones it always did with Junior. Picking one over the other made me feel a bit sick but on an objective measure Junior shades Jones because of his AA and a few intangibles. Shocking situation to have them drawn against each other round 1, both greats of the Club who offer so much more than many others in this draw.