Leaderboard

Beware the hubris my friends. This sort of thinking never won anyone a flag. Stay hungry, stay humble!

Missed 16 games due to persistent hamstring injuries in 2021. 5 games, one of which was as a medical sub. Now delisted from a side which finished bottom of the ladder.....after being moved on from Port as well....and people entertain the idea of bringing him to Melbourne?

Why not have the B & F Count at the G in front of 30,000 to 40,000 fans on the big screen at the G on 5 December at the premiership celebration function?

Got my Christian Salem jumper tonight, you little beauty😄.

Nominated as Demon father-son. Great news.

Angus raises his arm, Jake sees him and deliberately pulls his kick to pass to Angus. It was a pass or otherwise it would have been a longer kick. Watched it multiple times and I am certain.

In the lead up to Angus' third quarter goal, it was Jake Bowey who found the ball and in a nanosecond summed up the situation and deliberately delivered a short pass to Angus to mark and goal. Smart footy. He has shown many times in his few games that he has the footy smarts to be a star. Impressive.

The amount of times in the last few games of the year where Bowza would be pinned against the boundary or in heavy traffic and go to kick it, I'd think "OK, long dump kick to a contest" only for him to lace out a teammate 30m away with a kick that barely goes above head height..... crazy stuff. The prospect of him and Salem distributing off half back for years to come is pretty enticing 🤤

Buntine now locked in and playing for the Casey Demons next year.

I like it how, even though we're all in awe of the fact he's a premiership player after only seven games, there's no way anyone could argue that he didn't deserve it. With the opportunity he was given, he barely put a foot wrong and in fact played an important role for the team - in no way just a stopgap or filler player, as you might expect from a player who sort of falls into a premiership team like this. The novelty of it isn't how few games he played, it's how well he played in those games.

Even when Bontempelli kicked his third, I had little concern - we were the fittest, we were stronger and we had more stars. I was sure we'd run it out better than the Dogs. I said to the young Bulldogs fan next to me, "you watch, they'll put Jackson in the ruck, Harmes will go onto Daniels and shut him down, it's what they do." he laughed and said something about living in hope - but then it all kicked off. We were so far a different article, the doggies looked absolutely astonished - and then they folded. Anybody would have. We have got a list nobody can match. Gawn Oliver and Petracca - who beats that? but then there's Jackson as well! Not forgetting Viney and a queue of rising strong learners. The best backline, able to shut down anybody. Who has got hold of them in the past twelve months? Kozzie is only starting, so is Ben Brown really. Fritsch is pretty good! We have arrived, and I have never seen a more capable set of players at Melbourne, including 1964; never mind the competition-leading fitness and the team ethos. We've got the wings sorted, and we can kick goals. Bowie and Salem are rock-sloid, smart, skilled - absolute guns. You hesitate to look over-confident, but the objective facts seem to me to point at MFC being the benchmark by quite a margin. Short of us stuffing it up, why would anyone think we're going to be looking back later and saying "i'm not surprised"? This is the box-seat! Clearly the most gifted and well organised team in the competition. And young enough for it all to be in front of them! Max shows the way - hard-working to the nth degree, but with that in place, it's all about fun. I loved the way Petracca spoke so unselfconsciously about knowing he had the talent. It's simply a fact. This is all new for us, but it's real and we should enjoy!

First of all we have to make top 4. Two games out from finals this year we were staring at fifth position. We had a magnificent finals series. While we won the home and away comp a quiet review of several matches shows we were often scratchy and off target. We rode our luck on the back of a decent gameplan supported by a great backline. Looking forward to 2022 but in no way drinking the bathwater

As Leigh Matthews once said, to win a premiership everything at the club has to be in lockstep right down to who cooks the sausage sizzle or something like that. So we must keep the BBQ in good shape, source the best sausages, bread, sauce and onions plus make sure our sausage turner’s contract is extended so not poached by other clubs.

Limited edition merch, shipment just received from Vietnam. PM if keen, all proceeds to my charity.

Anyone mentioning bathwater can get in the bin, as can the term itself.

Before Port he was at Brisbane... Has been at three clubs at 29 years old. Now paid out the last 2 years of what was said to be a lucrative contract. Rarely shown team first attributes. Not our type! Pass.

He just turned 29 so maybe he is a player Geelong should recruit. The MFC need player with a good upside and around 22-26 years of age.

I think Brisbane will come back hard - losing Cam Rayner for the season who has the potential to be their Dusty / Petracca type player and then losing Hipwood and McStay for all the finals. They were very unlucky to lose to the dogs - I think they're only a player or two away from being very dangerous. GWS and Sydney certainly have enough talent on their lists to trouble anyone if it all comes together (including injuries and suspensions) at the right time of year. I think Carlton will come good under Voss but would think it would take a few years of "learnings" to get them playing the right way. Don't we know about that!

Cal Twomey reporting we have. https://www.afl.com.au/news/686253/dee-lightful-son-of-brownlow-medallist-has-eyes-only-for-melbourne

I didn't rate him at all until late in the year, but he genuinely delighted me in the finals. Not that he got heaps of the ball, but his body strength, booming kick, positioning - a lot to like. The pass to Ben Brown early in the last quarter - the way he read the play before all the Bulldogs boys and ran forward of the play was a thing of beauty (as was ANB's through ball!) I am happy to go out on a limb and say this bloke will explode in 2022. He has a touch of the raging bull about him, has a strong physique, and just a little bot of arrogance. I am as excited about this kid as I am about Rivers.

They won one only flag in a dominant period. 2000 was their only year. Waste of talent. Take nothing for granted.

In racing parlance, prefer others.

I thought he was a real dud, particularly in that game where he kicked into the man on the mark, and handballed into the man on the mark, in separate incidents. He proved me completely wrong in the grand final! I love his build (an absolute brick …house), a fantastic long kick, and a good mark. I think he might have real potential.

Theres not a lot of love for him on this site but I think he's a way better player than given credit for. Big questions around his defensive game which wont endear him to goody or to the club ethos. He could come on a low wage, sort out his game, and join Dunstan as immediate back up with a flag chance if he applied himself and the cards fall his way.

Sorry, I 'misspoke'. I should have only said if they move (forward) on the line. Re going off-the-line, you are of course correct. I fear they are almost always too late calling play-on when a player goes off the line, especially if they are simultaneously shouting 'stand'. To mount my usual hobby-horse, I reckon the whole play-on arrangement is the wrong way around. The player on the mark should be allowed to move as soon as he thinks the player with the ball has played on. Let the umpire judge if he moved too early and pay a penalty if so. The only time the umpire need shout play-on is when the player with the ball stands still for too long holding up play.

We are gonna win 4 in a row, the improvement will come from 8 premiership players under 21

It is remarkable how often a middling team suddenly emerges as a power viz. lions in 01, catties in 07, dorks in 13, doggies in 16, toiges in 17, dees in 21. So far as I can recall, none of the above were accurately predicted in advance of that season. So we must stay cautious of all teams and plan to emerge even further in 22. Stability, fitness, competition for spots and the chance for a home GF win should make us hungrier. Go dees

Thoroughly approve of the name….

Hereeeeeeeeee's Clarry!

13 victories shaping Melbourne’s 13th flag

He was clearly trying to kick it in to the gap to the advantage of a Melbourne player, any Melbourne player, and it was Gus who got there first. Good thinking in a tight game not to blaze away inside 50 (so 2019).

Commentary on a fan forum never actually won or lost a game either, for what its worth

To be honest I hadn’t noticed Tom until late in the season. But his Finals Series was superb. He was a serious cog in the midfield. His GF Goal in the 3rd Quarter was the moment I knew we were not going to be beaten He will get better Premiership Player who played well

Always thought that having a player who can kick a very long goal is worth persevering with. Can change the momentum of the game with one kick. One of my favourites.

I thought he was kicking it out in front of the leading player (from memory Brown?) who pulled up when Angus dived for it. Either way it was clever play in a telephone box

Huge fan of sparrow Tough, smart, kicks like a mule and runs all day. Had a great GF.. Was in everything.

Gus is pointing where to kick it. Brilliant from both Bowey and Gus.

We should remain in the mix for the next couple of years at least but there are too many variables to suggest we are a shoo-in for another premiership. This year, we were probably best placed, in terms of injuries, out of all the teams competing. If we have an average year injury wise, we'll come back a little and if we have a rough year on the injury front, we'll be right back with the pack. That said, I think we still have as much room for improvement as any side out there, so I like where we sit. I think Richmond will be competitive again, barring injury. I like Port's list but injuries to their young talent may cruel them. The Bulldogs could have made a better fist of their campaign late in the season and they are certainly capable of beating us but I'm more bullish about our scope for improvement than theirs. The Swans have done everything right and are loaded with young talent. If they continue to progress quickly, they could be next in line. I'm so glad we made it count in 2021. We're unlikely to have such a good run with injuries in the future. That said, we're favourites right now and hopefully, we can taste success on the G' next year.

I really rate this kid. 7 games and already he is a quick, smart decision maker and rarely turns over the ball. He is just so clean as well, I am dying to see what he looks like after 50 - 100 games.

not so sure he was trying to pass to gus

The most intriguing player on the list

Subject to recovery of fitness, I'd like to see Tomlinson back on the wing - I think this is important to get Gus off the wing and back into the 'corridor' from whence his goodly fragrance emanated. I have a good deal of faith in Tomlinson and his play, his ground coverage and his 'space' awarenesses. It looks as though many consider that Petty will hold down CHB next season rather than trialling him up forward, and with the additional and rather recent team play coming out of defence, Tomlinson might be 'found' next season, out there on the flanks, in space and ready to take us forwards.

Spot on. Collingwood's flag team was very young and everyone predicted a long dynasty. We al saw how well that turned out. We were also very blessed with injury this year. Anything can happen next year. Everyone laughed at anyone who suggested we'd come good in 2021. 12 months is a long time in football. Having said all that I hope nobody gets near us.

We have a young side and whilst the other sides mentioned on here will/can improve, so will we. We're not a side that has fallen in to a flag in the last years of out window, we have won it at the very beginning of it.

I would assume that you will still receive those items. Surely they have to honour the order even if it is now sold out for new orders or on pre-order for anyone ordering those items today. I know it's frustrating but I'm sure we'll all receive the items we have already ordered. There are many factors as to why we have not received some or all of our orders placed within hours or days from the final siren. Some items weren't ready to ship straight away and were pre-order from the beginning. No doubt the demand has been huge so there will be logistic issues with fulfilling and packing those orders to be shipped. Then there is the well documented delays with Australia Post due to COVID. I guess the silver lining is that the club is going to have a massive windfall just in terms of merchandise and I would imagine it will be even larger than was originally anticipated by the Club. Hopefully this will also be the case with Memberships too going into the coming years.

I'm somewhat disappointed that Dante and me - given the relationship of our names - aren't quite communicating. We should be like brothers in arms, rather than heading towards a Cain and Abel situation. In fact, we all should be. Let's move on from this pointless back-and-forth and be grateful that here in Melbourne at 6pm today we leave the inferno. (Did you see what I did there?)

This year will definitely rank in the top 20 of Max’s life.

Fantastic videos! Thanks for going to so much effort.

Also, here are the statistics to back that up. I'm comparing 2021 with 2019. The 2020 numbers would actually demonstrate even stronger trends, but I'm ignoring them because the 2020 statistics are skewed by the reduced game time due to COVID. Since the introduction of the rule: Clearances down 6.9%, hitouts down 12% (ie, fewer stoppages because of less congestion). Clangers up 3.8% (ie, more risks being taken with disposal rather than bombing defensively down the line). Contested possessions down 6.1%, tackles down 9.0%(!!!) and uncontested possession up 1.2% (ie, less congestion) Contested marks up 0.9% (ie, more one on one opportunities. Interestingly, the contested possessions were way down but the marks were slightly up, indicating fewer ground contests and an more even aerial contest). Marks inside 50 up 3.0% from 1.0% fewer inside 50s (ie, more space for forwards). Clearly this rule has helped to reduce congestion make the game faster. I think that represents a successful rule.