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Nathan and Jerri had their twins on Sunday. Jonesy just made it back on time for the birth. Sounds like it was the right call and hopefully he gets to sit back and watch a Melbourne flag with his family next Saturday, knowing how instrumental he has been to this club from the day he step foot in the door. We would not be where we are today without him. He was driving standards long before anyone else. Wishing him and his family only the best!

As you requested on the podcast, George, a bit of flying the flag in Amsterdam!

Meanwhile, spotted on a scooter heading west on the Nullarbor is someone who looks a lot like this...

Dear all, I was clearing up some old computer disks today in search of a work document and came across this gem that I found years ago. It is a digital version of the Souvenir Football Record for September 19. 1964 - Grand Final Day - Melbourne v Collingwood. It sold for the princely sum of 1 shilling. Among other information provided, we learned that: The new stadium to be built at Waverley would "Cater for all" and be the largest sporting arena in the English-speaking world. It was the product of "Scientific consideration". Ross Faulkner "Native Brand Footballs". 3DB with Ron Casey and Lou Richards - uninterrupted descriptions of the 1964 night football matches. Melbourne U19 list against Collingwood "Philip Morris Presents Your Side of the Fence" with a picture of a guy smoking. Gordon Collis wins Brownlow. Harry Beitzel's column. The full Melbourne Senior list for the game, then positions and later all their statistics. The tall players would be relatively modest height these days. The week's big TV events - Team Preview (Thursday), Kevin Dennis Sports Parade (Friday), Football Reply (Saturday at 6), Football Inquest (Saturday at 7), World of Sport (Sunday at noon), Football Replay (Sunday at 2). Ice Skating an St. Moritz. Melbourne won 14 lost 4 that season with a percentage of 138.1. Fitzroy didn't win a game. John Peck (Hawthorn) 68 was the leading goalkicker. Huge full page ad for Rothmans King Size - eek! Plus much more. The PDF scan is too large to upload but I have put it up on one of my servers. You can download it here - http://bilbo4.economicoutlook.net/bill/Football/1964_Grand_Final.pdf I was very young but I still have memories of that day at the MCG. best wishes bill

Let's just say we are never in the same room together.

Not enough love going round for Kozzie I feel. If that was Cyril on Friday night people and commentators would be losing their [censored]. 3 superb goals, doesn’t waste a possession and his first involvement was sublime. As Dazzle said, 40 goals in grade 2. 2nd year goals: Wiz 36 Betts 21 Cyril 21 Koz already goals ahead and a superior fitness base, the possibility of surpassing them all is realistic. And that’s crazy. Edit: I haven’t read the game day or post match threads yet, savouring them to fill in the days. Not enough love in the media or wider football world I meant.

Hi all. I’m excited. I’m scared. It’s like we are all about to go on a rollercoaster together. A terrifying spiraling rollercoaster. It’s exciting but terrifying. You have to give your heart and soul to the Demons, to feel the hurt of defeat but the exhilaration of victory. We are so close. So close to that premiership we have dreamed of. All the dedication. All our time and thoughts. All the posts. All our potential strategies. All those trades and recruiting suggestions. This is what we do it for. To aspire. To dream to get the Dees that premiership. To feel the glory. It’s so close. Let’s ride it together and no matter what, we hold ourselves together and ride the wave. We might get dumped and we might ride the perfect tube and feel the exhilaration. That’s what we signed up for when we give our hearts to the Dees. Let’s keep the belief. 2021 is our year. The premiership we dreamed of.

In any previous season I would have been accused of being a happy clapper who accepts mediocrity and is part of the reason why the demons will never be successful. .

Where and to whom did Daisy compare her contribution? Do you know how many premiership medals, BnF, AA's and captain stripes Daisy has, in the best comps available to her?. Daisy loves the Dees so much she boldly told Gill to stuff his AFLW if she couldn't play for her beloved Dees. I don't think Daisy will be the one nominated by the club to present the cup but you are seriously undervaluing her achievements and value to mfc. If by some chance she was nominated she would be very worthy of the honour.

I'm not disagreeing with the point he is making about the round 19 game, but fair dinkum, David King is all over the shop. He swings more than marriages in the1970's. He gets a direct mainline of champion data stats and whatever he bangs on about is directly related to what he has read before he comes on air. In that same slot last week, or perhaps on First crack (he just repeats his talking points on that show the following day on SEN) he said the Cats v Dees PF was 'a genuine 50 50 game'. A 50 - 50 game? Please. What load of nonsense. And this is not hindsight. The bookies had us at $1.50 to win that game, not even money. And before anyone says the dogs win show that punting odds are meaningless $1.50 still gives the other team at 30 odd percent chance of winning. Of course the odds not absolute. But they are very good measure of probability (i think the most reliable measure), particularly when pools are as big as they were for the PF, because there is real investment, most of which by professional punters who back their expertise with real money, not glib opinions. Part of his rationale for the PF being a flip of the coin game was how close the round 23 game was and the fact thta the cats jumped out to a big lead. Which is just ridiculous. Why? Because in that game I'm pretty sure the Champion data 'expected score' had us wining by 4-5 goals. From memory Goody even referenced it in his post match presser. So this week the 'expected score' is relevant for his assessment of the outcome of the GF, but wasn't for the PF? And as goody also noted the stats at half time all looked how we like them to look, with the exception of the scores from centre clearances (an outlier as goody noted - which by the by is an interesting parallel to the Round 19 inside 50 stoppage goals as Goody noted that stat was an outlier too in his post match presser) and the goals we gave up in the second quarter. King, and many others, completely misread that game from a form perspective. Way too much weight was put on their 44 point lead and nowhere enough on the fact they could only manage 2 goals (and only 5 scoring shots?) in the second half of a must win game. Or the fact that their leaders - Hawkins, Selwood and Dangerfield went missing in that last quarter. Or for that matter the utter toweling Max gave Stanley, another leader, in the last quarter. All of those factors pointed to the probability of what would happen in the PF - and ultimately did happen. And those factors are why the weight of money had us at $1.50 to win that game. And King, a fella employed by Fox to do expert analysis, missed EVERY SINGLE one of them.

I’m far less nervous about the Grand Final than I was last week. I’ll be shattered if we lose but just seeing Melbourne make the Grand Final is a thrill and something I am still gettting my head around. Side note, I think winning the flag having been minor premiers will be even more satisfying than if we came from fifth like the Bulldogs have. We have been the best team all year, we just need to make it official.

This freak of nature has just ticked over 40 goals for the year. 20 year old in his second year in the AFL system playing one of the hardest positions on the ground and he's kicked 40 bloody goals. Let that sink in.

Feel sad for anyone watching the game alone, I will not be watching the game alone, I will watching with 2 cats. Until I start yelling at the TV - then I will be watching alone.

I don’t disagree with you, but you also don’t know everyone’s circumstances. I help my dad every few weeks with errands and other essentials as my mum doesn’t drive and he’s had multiple blood transfusions recently so is prone to dizziness. I’m also an only child. We’ve both had one dose. I get tested every time before I go see him so I know I’m negative. I will be bringing him and my mum over to my place to watch the grand final as the game will finish after curfew and we have a spare room for them to stay. We will all get tested beforehand. I feel 0 guilt for it. I have done the right thing for 18 months. But I’ll be damned if I miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to watch the grand final with my dad. This might never come around again in his lifetime. Or mine even. If that upsets you, I’m really sorry and I understand. The last 2 years have been awful and hard and debilitating and downright draining. Melbourne has given us the one piece of hope and happiness to hold onto this year and I don’t want to waste it, and frankly I can’t blame anyone else who feels the same. We are human. We can only take so much before our tank runs dry. Mine has well and truly run dry.

The pic says it all…

Gotta like them odds...

Wonder if Goodwin and the recruitment team will take advantage of not being in quarantine and go and meet Cerra face to face this time instead of the zoom they conducted the other week?

Gus is settled in Victoria. He has a long term girlfriend and he loves the club and is part of the leadership group. Also he is not allowed to leave or retire until he gets Eddy Langdon on the podcast.

“which way are they going?”, “oh why did they do that?”, “my father says he’s texting you - why haven’t you responded?”, “oh good it’s the ad break, you can talk to me now”, “easy on the red wines, I don’t want you snoring”, “my grandmother wants to know how you’re feeling”, “oh well there is always next year” and my favourite “see, I’m a good footy commentator aren’t I?” to which my response is always… “yep, better than BT!” I love my wife but I need to watch this somewhere else.

G'day all! Need an excuse to watch Max's glorious goal from 55m last night 7 more times? Then here's a lil' multi-call clip I put together featuring 7 different commentary tracks all basking in the brilliance of the effort! Enjoy!

Would be shocked if we delisted him. At worse just offer him a 1 year deal. McDonald is pretty much cooked imo. Weideman certainly has an opportunity next year to cement that spot next to Brown.

She can comment however she feels like, she’s been with Nathan the entire ride. She has seen all of the downs and recent ups.

Perth 28-Day Rainfall Forecast Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 14 15 High 16 High 17 Low 18 High 19 Low 20 21 22 23 24 Med 25 Dees win 26 27 28 29 30 Oct 1 2 3 Low 4 5 Low 6 7 Low 8 Med 9 10 11 12 Low CHANCE OF RAINFALL WITHIN DISTRICT Nil < 25% Low 25 - 50% Medium 50 - 75% High ≥ 75%

I'm lucky enough to be able to go (touchwood), being from TasWeiga. I'm locked and loaded! I promise you I'll be loud!

I am a victim of the Melbourne lockdown. I doubt the rules will be changed in time for me to even have one other person over, let alone a party. I expect to be sitting alone on the couch watching the game. Without the pandemic, I would probably start Friday and after watching the game at the G, and then celebrating/commiserating hard until some time on Sunday or maybe Monday. I am double vaxxed, and would love to get out and enjoy this special moment, but I will comply with the law at the time.

Be excited, not worried. This is a new Demon Team. I feel we've cracked the code.

This is your daily reminder that we have in fact made the grand final. It was not a weird dream you had after too much drinking. Stay calm, keep positive, and remember there are only 11 sleeps to go!

Just emerging after Friday night. Family in Perth went and now have tickets to the big dance. It weird that after all the years our staunchest fans wont be there but like many others I felt very connected to my fellow demons. However the lid is not off yet.

Why this concern that the 2 jumpers will look too similar and be confusing. Seems our best hope of evening the free kick count. 😀

Youthful US Open winner

To help manage your nerves and anxiety on the day, I have compiled a timetable of activities for you to follow. Fri 24 Sep 11pm Go to bed, sleep serenely in knowledge that demons are sure things and cannot lose. Sat 25 sep 6am Wake up in cold sweat knowing deep in soul that we will suffer either a drubbing or a close heartbreaking loss. 6:00 - 6:10 Lie in bed staring at ceiling trying to calm self down. 6:11 Put on radio. Listen to experts pronouncing Doggies as sure things. 6:15 - 6:30 Lie in bed staring at ceiling trying to calm self down. 6:35 Go to kitchen, make soothing coffee. 6:36 While waiting, check demonland for words of solace. 7:15 Cheer up reading words of encouragement. Go back to kitchen. Discover cold coffee. Put in microwave. 7:16 Check demonland. Read single post that puts chills of fear into soul. 7:20 Shower to warm up. 7:25 Continue shower to contemplate horror of after-match celebrations of Doggies. 7:45 Run out of hot water. Get out and get dressed. Suffer crippling paralysis at thought of Bailey Smith winning the Norm Smith. 8:05 Finish getting dressed. 8:06 Go to kitchen, get cold coffee out of microwave. Pour into sink, start again. 8:07 Check mail. Nothing. 8:08 Check messages on phone. Note some good luck messages, become utterly psychically eradicated by one mocking taunt from close friend. 8:10 Go to bathroom. Wet towel is evidence of already having showered. Leave bathroom. 8:15 Go for walk to calm nerves. 8:20 A fat lot of good that did. Go back home. 8:25 Meditate to sooth jangled nerves. 8:26 Stupid meditation. Remember coffee. Put in microwave. 8:27 Go outside. 8:28 Go back inside. 8:29 Go outside. 8:30 Wave to Collingwood supporting neighbour. Return wave. Take no comfort from encouraging words from neighbour. Suffer wave of nausea imagining neighbour's post-match taunts. 8:31 Go back inside. 8:32 Check demonland. 9:00 Watch television. It's all crap. 9:15 Check demonland. 10:45 Drag self out of depression. Get cold coffee from microwave. Throw out. Put on kettle for new coffee. 10:50 Check demonland. 11:00 Shake self out of torpor and anxiety. Go outside to do some gardening. 11:05 Spray weedkiller on plants. Get hose and wash off. Get water everywhere. Pull up weeds by design, plants by accident. Dump weeds, plants, weedkiller, fertlizer, gloves, in bin. Go inside and change clothes. 11:20 Check demonland. 11:40 Go outside. 11:41 Go back inside. 11:42 Go on walking inspection of house interior. 11:43 Inspection complete. Check demonland. Feel nagging anxiety increase. 12:05 Check phone. Fail to cheer up over cheering messages, hit maximum anxiety over jeering messages. 12:10 Check demonland. 12:40 Go outside. 12:41 Go back inside. 12:42 Watch television. It's all crap. 13:00 Go for walk to calm nerves. 13:05 A fat lot of good that did. Go back home. 13:10 Meditate to sooth jangled nerves. 13:11 Stupid meditation. Remember cold coffee. Put in microwave. 13:12 Make lunch in spite of no appetite. 13:30 Sit down for lunch. 13:40 Throw uneaten lunch in bin. Put kettle on for coffee. 13:45 Check Bunnings web site. Order seeds, potting mix, gardening gloves and stanley knife. 14:00 Check demonland. 14:30 Go outside. 14:31 Go back inside. 14:32 Meditate to sooth jangled nerves. 14:33 Stupid meditation. Re-boil kettle. 14:44 Search for old footy to have a kick to settle nerves. 14:55 Find footy. Discover laces old and broken. Search for pump. 15:10 Find pump. Pump up footy. Bladder bulges out where laces disintegrated. Throw footy in bin. 15:15 Check demonland. 15:45 Re-boil kettle. 15:46 Remember the sun is over the yardarm. Check supply of spirits. Whiskey! 15:47 Fret that whiskey supply is low. Check web site for nearest Dan's or BWS. 15:55 Drive to bottle shop. Pick up whiskey. 16:25 Re-boil kettle. 16:30 Get message from Bunnings that order is ready for collection. 16:32 Get in car, drive to Bunnings, pick up order. Note number of cars with Doggies scarves. Anxiety level to 90%. 17:15 Re-boil kettle. Turn on tv for pre-match warmup shows. They're all crap. 18:00 Re-boil kettle, make coffee. Add whiskey. Ahhhhh. 18:10 Discover nerves are at 100% fever pitch despite whiskey. Go outside. 18:11 Go back inside. 18:12 Meditate to sooth jangled nerves. 18:13 Stupid meditation. Check demonland. 18:45 Nearly game time. Panic attack. Boil kettle for coffee. Take shot of whiskey straight while waiting. 18:50 Make coffee. Trembling hands spill it everywhere. Re-boil kettle. Take shot of whiskey straight while waiting. 19:00 Watch players warm up. Sooth jangled nerves by cheering demons and booing dogs. Desperately try to ascertain clues to performance by how the players jog sideways, roll the ball on the ground, etc. Anxiety increase to 150%. 19:10 Anthem and other frippery. Rage at universe for making you wait. 19:15 Game on! Watch as demons tear the dogs a new one. Race around living room with each goal as Demons pile on a record score. Catharsis, and all emotion is replaced by a joyful high. 10:00 Rejoice as the demons hoist the cup. Laugh, cry, text friends, take straight shot of whiskey. Take another straight shot of whiskey. 10:30 Check demonland. Sunday 26 sep 03:00 Go to bed. Fail to sleep.

I thought it was more to do with 'Enter Sandman' personally...

Will Schofield

It's never too soon for trade talk. And besides, trade talk helps pass the time from now until the 25th

I was always a bit [censored] off with Melbourne for not taking him. He made a claim that he would refuse to play for anyone else other than Collingwood which I thought was super arrogant, I wanted us to call his bluff.

Congrats Nath and Jerri. Amazing stuff. Get the feeling though that Jerri isn't particularly warm towards the footy club.

You're kidding me right? Chris Grant 341 games, 554 goals and ripped off by Ian Collins of the 1997 Brownlow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Grant_(footballer)

Dunkley was under contract Cerra is not

Is it too late to nominate Natalie Portman

He's definitely a Richmond supporter. Has regularly said it.

Wiz flicks the cup to an unsuspecting, back-turned-Gary on the podium

Then I think it must mean "c'mon guys be charitable and give a couple of goals before half time to get their hopes up before we smash them in the 2nd half"

Spent near the whole year on top and come GF day the boys will come out and show the football world why.

Robert Flower and Norm Smith will descend from above and do the job The curse will fade away

Very fortunate to have been given this original poster bought at auction and is signed by Norm Smith, Ron Barassi and others from the 1957 team. Hopefully a 2021 poster to join it soon. 🤞