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he's been doing this thing every week during the downtime; reckons that the dees one is one of the hardest he's had to look at as we've not had many stand-out players or periods of time over the journey nevertheless, not a bad side B: Laurie Fowler – Sean Wight – Alan Johnson HB: Brett Lovett – Gary Hardeman – Adem Yze C : Stan Alves – Greg Wells – Robbie Flower HF: Garry Lyon (Capt.) – David Schwarz – Brian Wilson F: Jeff Farmer – David Neitz – Allen Jakovich Foll: Jim Stynes – Gerard Healy – Todd Viney I/c: Max Gawn – Nathan Jones – Clayton Oliver – Brad Green Coach: John Northey they also teased that they've got a demon on the 'sacked' podcast this friday and that it's a doozy

** Opportunity lost!**. “Mammoth tusk” for full points!

fair go it was only 186, you make it sound like a thrashing !

I'm absolutely loving this thread and I commend you on the work you've put into it. Fantastic effort!

No.33 1986 Round 18 v Collingwood at Victoria Park In 1986, Barassi had gone after the 5-year plan failed to deliver us a return to finals actions. Replaced by John Northey. Gerard Healy our star player had moved to Sydney for big $$$. Robbie Flower was retuning after missing 1985. Whilst still skilled, his body was now looking fragile. There were serious season ending knee injuries to Icke & Giles. Steven Smith retired. Kelvin Templetons body failed him and he retired/ was sacked. We needed the youth who had graduated through the successful under 19s teams from 1981-84 to stand up. Veterans like Moore, Zantuck and Jarrott had stayed to help the youngsters develop. I had been to see some wins and some horrible losses at Victoria Park so it wasn’t a foreign ground. We’d only just lost in 1985 after a valiant effort. It was a short train ride, totally surrounded by black and white. My dad and I were seriously outnumbered. I recall via the transistor, I heard that Peter Moore had pulled out before the game. Not good. Despite that, the game started well with Williams and Stretch goals (Stretch went off injured shortly after) and despite the Pies getting back on top, a goal to Johnson and a Battiston snap fired up the Dees to lead into half time. Could we? Brian Taylor had kicked most of Collingwood goals and so bustling Danny Hughes was shifted forward for the 2nd half. Young 21yo defender Paul Payne moved to Taylor. Robin White was keeping Daicos under control. White was a tenacious small back who tackled hard. Battiston, Healy, Connolly were now winning the contested footy and pumping it forward. Alan Johnson was on fire. Allday was winning the ruck. Suddenly the mixed forwards of Cordner and Hughes goaled and I remember Alan Johnson slamming through a goal from about 50metres. 6 goals for the quarter and we were now up by 3 goals. This undermanned Demons team (4 wins, 11th place) was beating the Pies at their home. They would slip out of the five if we won. The crowd was not happy. Taylor kicked his 6th goal at the start of the last quarter but a Steve Turner spoil denied him the next. Steve Turner and Paul Payne were not the classiest or talented players but they gave 100%. It was tight and tough but the Dees team held on in the last and a final Dees goal around the 20 minute mark had us back out to 3 goals up. When the siren went, it sent us into wonderland. This mixed bag team had won it. Northey was jubilant. Melbourne 16.9.105 defeated Collingwood 13.14.92

Obviously not. Although my favourite story is about the first one. My family sponsors Max and it was his first match. When he got the ball in the goal square and was ready to kick what would surely be a certain goal. My family proudly claimed him as our own for all that would listen around us. The mostly Essendon fans around us laughed and laughed when he missed and rightly so. I would ahve done the same to them. Of course we thought we'd never live that moment down but I guess 3 All Australians and a Captaincy later we've had the last laugh.

I’m afraid Vdberger may be added to the long list of Dees whose career was destroyed by injury. ?

That’s the team. I reckon it’s a great lineup. I will await Werridee to confirm. Some observations - Full back was the hardest position. Wight deserves the nod. - Hardeman was an absolute champion and the standout choice for CHB - Alan Johnson could be in the wing but that centreline is sensational - Good luck stopping that forward line - Gerard Healy was a star. He could have been one of our greatest ever players if he’d stayed. - Northey or Daniher as coach, obviously *Emergencies- Jeff White, Steven Febey, James McDonald , Russell Robertson, Greg Parke. *Assistant coach - Neale Daniher

I get the feeling we could go through an iceage for a millennium, then on return see Van den burg - progressing well.

...and watch Collingwood get to play WCE, Fremantle and the S.A. sides in Victoria as "away" games in the first of the hub games.....then when the hubs are removed, they can play all their home games in Vic.

I walked down to Goschs, bit too dark to see, passed a couple of blokes on Victoria street who were practicing shooting though

I voted for Barass. He was a match winner who was usually dominant in important games. How these two only won 3 Blueys between them still beats me.

No.35 2002 Round 14 v Lions at the Gabba For financial reasons, the Dees administration had sold off one of our Home games to be played in Brisbane. It was footy madness but showed our strained financial position. After a down 2001, the team had rebounded in 2002 and leading into round 14 were 7 wins 6 losses. We had some good tough wins and reasserted ourselves as a top 8 team. After a narrow loss to the powerful Bombers, and the emotional retirement of David Schwarz, the team headed north for the Away “home “ game. Watching on TV was cruel. This should have been at the MCG. The Lions were now a powerful outfit. As reigning premiers from 2001, they were on top and had won their prior 18 games straight at the Gabba. Voss. Akermanis. Black. Lappin. Power. Brown. Bradshaw. Lynch. Leppitsch. White. Pike. Mal Michael. A huge task to win this one. In the first quarter, the mountain got steeper. By the 15 minute mark it was 6 goals to the Lions to nil. We were being smashed. A few F bombs may have been uttered. The team finally got some chances and a goal to Neita started our day. In the second we lifted to challenge and got back to 2 goals down but late goals gave the Lions a 30 point advantage at half time. The momentum seemed wasted. But the 3rd quarter was simply amazing. Neita kicked 3 goals to cut the margin back as the Dees kicked 7 goals to 3 goals to be only 9 points down at the last break. But we weren’t done. Despite the warm July conditions, we overran the Lions to run out with a 21 point victory. It was a 14 goal to 5 goal second half. There were many heroes. Neitz showed his leadership and talent with 7 goals on the toughest defender Mal Michael. Travis Johnstone was outstanding BOG with Stephen Powell, Shane Woewodin, Cam Bruce and Adem Yze in support. They had beaten the best midfield group in the league if not possibly of all time. Jeff White got on top in the ruck. Clint Bizzell controlled the defence as the sweeper and launched many defensive rebounds. But it was the lesser lights who shone brightest. Daniel Ward kicked 4 goals including two memorable fast running goals. Paul Wheatley launches a bomb from 70 metres out to lift the team. Peter Vardy showed why he was recruited with a smart game across half forward. Brown dog and Peter Walsh had held Power and Ashcroft to no goals. Chris Lamb in his 7th game had beaten Lynch and kept him to 2 goals. It was a very satisfying victory which proved we had the ability to beat anyone on any day. Melbourne 20.11.131 defeated Brisbane 16.14.110 (Footnote - to show how amazing this win was, the Lions won the 2012 premiership- in fact 2011, 2012 & 2013).

No. 36 1994 Round 1 v Geelong at MCG To understand the importance of this win, it’s important to reflect what it meant. The Dees had made finals in 5 years across 1987 to 1991. But had fallen short each time of the elusive premiership. In 1992 and 1993 the team had fallen away and questions had to be answered. Balme had been brought in in 1993 but failed to achieve, with the team finishing 9th on 10 wins 10 losses. But there was talent. Stynes, Lyon, Viney, Obst, Lovett, Tingay, Lovell, Wight were now the experience. A young 21yo David Schwarz has shown ability as a CHF. A young 19yo key forward/back David Neitz had emerged in 1993. Sean Charles was back and was so fast and skilled. And of course Alan Jakovich was back after a frenzy of goals to end 1993. Could he stay fit to drive the Demons back to the finals. It was a hot March day for footy as we marched to the G for round 1. The Cats were a super talented team (eventually runners up in 94). They had Ablett, Bairstow, Couch, Hocking, Barnes, Riccardi. But What transpired excited all Demon fans. The Dees were fast and exciting. We built up a 4 goal lead by half time. But the Cats were very good so we remained anxious. But the lead grew and the goals flowed. A 9 goal last quarter saw us record a 65 point win. Simply we smashed the Cats through the sheer talent and ability of Jakovich, Schwarz and Lyon. Tingay, Viney and Obst controlled their middle. Sean Wight negated Gary Ablett. Stynes managed the ruck. But our forwards were amazing. Jakovich kicked 8 goals 8 behinds. He could have kicked 13-14 goals. 21 kicks. Schwarz was giving us a glimpse of his aerial ability and talent. He kicked 4 goals. Mcgrath, Handley, Oreilly, Mensch. The Cats backs had no answer. Lyon 5 goals from the HFF. Small forwards Andy Lovell 4 goals and new boy Jeff Hilton kicked 3 goals. It was a goal frenzy. The fans were dancing. Suddenly we had the firepower. We were back. Melbourne 26.18.174 defeated Geelong 16.13.109

A huge thank you to Mrs Brayshaw from all Dees supporters.

All teams need good people to help out when youngsters are brought into a club. Mother (and father?) Brayshaw certainly fit that bill. All of their boys seem like genuinely nice fellas, and that is a direct reflection on the parents. It is a very good thing that they have opened their doors to our new generation of players. Thank you Brayshaws....

Jakovich was awesome even before coming to Melbourne. I was living in SA the year before he was drafted to the Dees. There were 2 gun full forwards in the SANfl. Scott Hodges was playing for Port Adelaide, who were premiers that year, kicked 100+ goals. He had the benefit of a dominant midfield. Jako played for Woodville who finished bottom. He also kicked 100+ goals in what was basically a team making up the numbers. It was an amazing effort. I was elated when he was drafted to the Demons. I travelled over to Melbourne for this game against North, and saw one of the most incredible displays of forward play. 20 scoring shots - what a star!

Hmmm Mitch Hannan, was undecided about him until I watched our highlights during this shut down. Has some important moments.

Ha Ha, i guess that'll have to do, Deem.

The players let those performances happen. They are paid Professionals and it was a disgrace. Including that game against Essendrug, but 186 was inexcusable because Bailey got knifed by the players who “loved him”. Why the CEO survived i have no idea. That was just pure insanity and it became just that... But we are far to nice to our players, they are very well paid and looked after, we should expect more in battle. Week after Week, not just the odd “emotional game”

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Petracca has not slacked off too much from his preseason.

Ok it wasn't listed in the honour roll above. Still how did he only win 1? Point stands.

2010 was when junior and Bruce left. That year we seemed on the up, being competitive against many top sides (1 point loss and draw against Collingwood being the biggest examples). It was the year after where we were beating most bottom sides one week but were getting smashed by top sides the next. The absence of those two leaders was one of the reasons why that happened.

Fair Comment. But we lacked Leadership when Jnr was in the side, and i am not being disrespectful to him by saying that. Back then we would win the odd big game, and then the week after would crash to the ground. The Strong leadership wasn’t there. I understand why big changes were made, they had to be done. Trouble is, many wrong changes were made. CEO being the main one.....

No way it will have the same status as other seasons. By mid June, it will be good if we get can through 10+ games and a couple of finals. We won't know how it will be judged until afterwards but it feels more like an experiment than a season at the moment. I'd settle for some entertainment and a few wins

Ray Biffen to full back for me. That forward line looks really potent and maybe a bit too tall. Nietz to CHB and jako to FF and Robertson to FP. A bit harsh on Hardeman though.

Yeah I realize that, but I interpret it differently. IMO, the fact that he was still able to come back and play well at AFL level after a year out of the system really highlights how much he had left in the tank when he 'retired'. I'm not suggesting Junior wouldn't have made much difference to our playing list in 2011-12. Would 186 have happened if he was on the list? Who knows. But the fact is that we lacked leaders, and he was our best. The decision to axe him had nothing to do with form. It was based on a flawed coaching philosophy that overvalued youth and undervalued senior leadership.

You're suggesting that getting him back to full health is a mammoth task?

Given that this season will be more like an exhibition rather that a season that gives all teams more of an equal fair go, should it have the same status as other seasons? Should there be a Grand Final this year?

My 5 yo kids are doing children’s yoga in front of the telly right now, does that count?

Surprised the one against Adelaide in Alice last year didn’t feature. Missed the goal he should’ve got which then threw Weideman under the bus a minute later.

2002,2003 and 2001 in fact. Was at that game and amazing comeback after horrible start. Lions had a rare bad day in defending but still kicked 16 goals. Really 1994 and some other wins during 98 and 2000 Plus 87/91 There was a lot of ability but injuries and I think an ordinary defence at times cost us a chance if a flag.

When you agree with Picket for providing the most balanced post of the lot. This is like the Demonland equivalent of the great nurture vs nature debate. Even with some ideal world variations, I think it's pretty fair to conclude that Neeld was ultimately a [censored] coach and Cale wouldn't have amounted to much at another club either.

"Possessions" was not really Jako's kind of stat. That day his 11.8 came from 22 kicks and 0 handballs. I reckon those 3 non-scoring kicks would have been well represented by oob's on the full. His approach to his teammates seemed to be: why give off when you can have a ping yourself? I looked at the AFL stats site for that year and in 14 games he kicked 71.57 for the year, with 10 handballs for the season. And 3 tackles! The handballs were probably mistakes or handballs to himself. A truly exciting footballer. The thought of seeing him strut his stuff gave Dees fans an extra buzz approaching the ground. A flawed but hugely talented player.

"Let's show up Schwab. Let's really stick it to him. We'll put in a coach-killing performance so shameful it will never be forgotten in football history. That'll show the world we mean .... something ... ? Come on boys! Who's with me?!"

He won the B & F in 1977.

You'd hope his wife is in there somewhere.

There was one exception on the day which just emphasized the shame of the others. Jordie McKenzie. Respect.

North want the money...that's the main reason. It's worth around 2M to them but if I was the Tas Gov I'd be offering them around 500k. What is the economic benefit to the state of having crowd free matches on a fifo basis. Ground advertising and a bit of brand awareness at most. As to us in Alice... I'm neutral as long as the travel is reasonable. Who we play is irrelevant as there will be no crowds. If the NT allow crowds the team would be mad to play there.... so wrong to have crowds this year Remember also most teams will probably need to charter and pay for aircraft.

He missed 6 matches in his final year and finished top 10 in our B & F. Barring an ACL-type injury, we almost certainly would have got 12-15 games per season out of him for the next couple of years, and he was still playing good footy at the Giants in 2012. In part, because we prematurely axed our best leader. IMO forcing Junior Mac into retirement was one of the biggest mistakes we made during that era, which is saying something.

Easy fixed. He always sprays to the left. Teach him to run towards the point post (not straight at the goals) and his natural action will swing the ball through the goals. Like Buddy does with his left footers when he brings the ball across his body.

Making things up? he had one bad hamstring injury that he took 6 weeks to recover from, as opposed to being an ongoing problem

Unfortunately not fully complete. A shambles yes, agreed, job completed. But the embarrassment was only half completed. Neeld, tanking saga, Caroline Wilson, Jurrah and Scully finished the job. Jesus what horrible years they were

I'd imagine they'll be training at Casey for the next few weeks so as to limit contact with the general public.

I'd assume no one from the public would be allowed to attend but it is on public land so as long as people maintain social distancing we will gladly accept any training reports.

The question should have be phrased differently I guess from the start. Best and Favourite are 2 different things. To me Lyon was probably best in this time period but he's most definitely not my favourite.

Simple and straight forward example of why culture is the key to success. We do not have a culture and that is one of the reasons Roo's choose Goodwin, as he spoke about culture before his appointment and not strategy and tactics as the soil focus.

Have to say I'm really enjoying this trip down memory lane. It was a magnificent win - I was 14 at the time and remember getting very carried away. Unfortunately it was the end of what was a great run from memory. Did we get belted by Essendon the next game or very soon after?