Leaderboard

The last 32 seconds of the 3rd was the best 32 seconds of my life. Watched it at least 10 times again last night. Kozzies block. Tracs all class dribbler. James Brayshaw .... "Christian Petracca no way." Settling back at the bounce "Lets go Demons .... Another one." I asked the footy gods. Viney to Trac to Oliver streaming forward to Sparrow and the bomb. TMac in a show of strength on the line and hist fist pump. Even Brian Taylor. "This is gonna be a big one, Sparrow to make it a 3goal 3/4 time lead .... He's got it, MELBOURNE ARE UP BY 3GOALS on the eve of 3/4 time." I've said it before but I was forken redlining right here. Roaring and fist pumping harder than Sparrow. The boys making their power move in the premiership quarter before my very eyes. Back at the bounce with 30 seconds to go. Now the football world raves about Scarletts toe poke to Ablett in their GF. Viney putting Jackson into space with one of his own was also footy genius. Jackson bolting forward like a 6'5' gazelle the 19yr old displays his own high footy IQ by-passing Viney handballing to Oliver "Streaming through" in a relentless wave straight down the middle. The crowd starts roaring off the boot as they do when it looks good from down town. The goal umpire leaning right back as it sails directly over his head. Brayshaw again "Bang ... Bang, Bang, Bang!" Another fist pump on the goal from TMac who's starting to see his dreams come true. Oliver and Jackson charging away together mobbed by their teammates with a pair of 1 finger salutes. Sparrow under the wing of Oliver, one of the sides leaders who's just torn the heart from the dogs and holding it aloft. If I was redlining after Sparrows goal I found a whole new level I didn't know I even had at this moment. Pure , unadulterated ecstasy maybe .... Dunno, but the world went fuzzy there for abit. There was much heroics from many players in that game and I could be here all day but that 32seconds ...... Holy forken sheet. Un forken real .... Just Legendary. Said to my daughter at 3/4 time. "Another couple quick ones and it'll be party time." And the boys come out and did just that so I could sit back and spend the last qr shaking my head chuckling at the surreal realisation that I was actually watching the Mighty Demons win the Grand final. Top item on my bucket list ticked off 🏆 ✔️ At peace with the world.

The ANB goal is the moment for me, I knew it was over also. It was remarkable. The moment Bont put them 19 points up I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. I felt truly crook. Following that everything was going right for them. Keath taking a contested mark in our forward line, then kicking to the wing when Naughton took another contested mark 3 deep. That was when I truly thought we were gone. The rubbish free kick to Hannan 60 out and his wayward handball to a running player was when I turned. Rivers lays a heavy tackle; Max gets “turned” to the ground by Daniel. From then on it was a tidal wave. Something I never saw coming and it made the victory so much sweeter. The last 4 minutes of the third is probably the greatest moment of football I’ve ever experienced.

I'm looking forward to reliving the experience and celebrating with the faithful in 29 days time. I'm so looking forward to heading into the city, proudly wearing my newest Dees merch, strutting along Swan Street.

You know that its time to give up the booze when Werridee is hanging $#!t on you about posting a best 22.

Damn you guys. After reading this thread I have to watch the blitz again NOW.

It's a really strange one, i've probably watched the replay 30 ish times so far, and it still hasn't quite sunk in that we actually did it. the last quarter and a half was the most dominant football i've seen at AFL level, we were incredible all over the ground. I spoke to a very involved Dogs supporter and he said the people he knows within the club just said the players felt helpless, they couldn't match us, not even in one area. they worked so hard to get a lead, knowing we'd have more run, and wanted to try and hold on, but it was just like a tidal wave. watching the replay i think it was the ANB goal where i thought, okay we're gunna win. though i think the Brayshaw mark and goal is going to be an iconic MFC moment. that was insanely brave, and then to convert and fire the crowd up. incredible, spintingling

I've always said following melbourne has made me a stronger person...

I keep watching the 3 goal burst at the end of the 3rd quarter - the best footy I have seen. We won it, playing a kind of football I have only seen 3 other times in my life - Hawks 88, Lions 01-03, and Geelong 07-09. But the general feeling is one of serenity. The pressure is off. I am totally relaxed, and I enter the 2022 season not giving a rats ar*e about too much at all. We are the best, everyone else can go get stu**ed. The trade period = whatever. Draft = whatever. Super chilled, no knot in my gut thinking about the next season. I could get used to this.

Well from all the evidence that I have witnessed since Gary Pert joined the Club is a man with a vision and on a mission to make us a bigger, better and financially sound successful club. To be totally honest I initially doubted that he / we could achieve those goals that the club set for us But here we are. I remember when Richmond set their goals , targets and vision 6 or seven years ago and I thought yeah, sure you will and they did. So you need men and women at your club or business that have a vision and know how to go about achieving it and for that I will always have a special place in my heart for Perty and the rest of the team that helped us achieve our most important 13th Premiership.💕❤️💙

The look in Tracs eyes after he kicks that dribbler is the hunger and determination that only the absolute champions like Voss, Hodge and co have. seeing that, and looking back, it would have taken something incredible to beat us from that moment.

The Cup arrived this Morning “After 57 years of Pain”

Was I rapt we won ? Ofcourse but it was not nirvana as I have often imagined it would be. I want to see it happen in person at the G and not sitting on the bloody couch.

This is exactly how it appears to me having watched the game (well mainly the second half) around the 30 or so odd times as well. The turnaround in both our defensive capabilities and mental toughness over the past 3 or so years has been immense. I recall that home and away game agains Sydney back towards the back half of 2018 as an example of how the GF and other games like Rd 23 at the Cattery could have ended for us in the past. Vs the Swans that day, we started on fire and had dominated the Swans on the field, but somewhat failed to convert the oppertunities, but led by around 11pts at qtr time. Over the next two qtrs, tough playing mostly compeditive footy, we leaked goals like crazy and the Swans ended up with a 28 point lead at 3/4 time. We threw it at them in the last, but couldn't get back the lead. In the GF, the Bulldogs somewhat dominated the play and the scoreboard for one and a half quarters, but our defense held strong and mitigated the score they were able to kick in that time, which somewhat kept us in the game over that period and didn't let them get away. To some extent the Bulldogs were actually lucky to open up the ~3 goal lead we had on them, because we were still winning it out of the centre via Trac and Co. and providing reasonable scoring opportunities that we just weren't converting. We score one or two of those goals and all of a sudden, the Bulldogs are only 6 - 12 points up, which doesn't look quite as bad. Even still, watching the replay again, over this time, it felt like the Bulldogs had played their game by this time and needed us to crack for them to finish the job off - but crack we certainly didn't and they were ill prepared to dig in and defend when the momentum swung back the other way, which is hardly surprising really based on their defense being a weakness of theirs all season. Seems like we have such trust in our defense to hold up and keep us in it when we don't have the momentum, the maturity to keep our head when this is happening and then are able to flick the switch and really hurt teams offensively when we have the dominance - I LOVE IT!!

love your passion for the club, wcw hope the enjoyment continues forever as my grandson said as a 3 yo on video "go the mighty dees, pop" (with just a little coaching from me) as an 8 yo now he said after the gf "i've waited so long for this"............huh?

Good Luck waiting for a reply bruised ego at some stage i reckon

Good call. Yze and Choco working with the youngsters is a fantastic opportunity for these young men. Laurie ahd Rosman will effectively be new recruits all over again. We’ve seen the value of (Yze and Choco) mentoring and training the youngsters. The development, that was so lacking in prior years, is now such a strength.

It's still very surreal for me. I can't believe our beloved Melbourne Demons won the 2021 Premiership! After all the years of pain and suffering, since 1964, we finally obtained Premiership glory and broke the drought! This moment will remain one of the happiest in my entire life! GO DEMONS!!!

Very easy question to answer . . . Bid up if it's any interstate club, Colinwood, Carltank, Horethorn, Essendrugs, Jeelong. All other clubs play fair.

One can just see those workers in China and Bangladesh saying to each other... "What is this team with strange colours ... must be new Australian team"

Whoever we pick will be a competive beast regardless if they are inside, outside or in the middle.

He's the skills coach

Ask and ye shall receive. Scene: Night. A young man, not yet out of his teens, wearing a red and blue sports jersey with number 17 on the back walks alone outside a deserted sports stadium. A bald man, heavily tattooed, appears in the foreground, snapping his fingers menacingly. The young man halts nervously, but quickly summons his courage and walks on. The bald man moves to his side and a puts an arm around his shoulders, and starts to sing: Nathan Jones (tenor): When you're a Dee you're a Dee all the way From your first handball stat till your last coach's spray A tall man, with close-cropped hair and a long beard appears on the young man's other side. In the background other football players appear in twos and threes. Max Gawn (bass): When you're a Dee if you're under a pack You got brothers around, and they've all got your back Marcus Bontempelli (baritone): The gasoline will be ours! Chorus of MFC midfielders: Here come the Dees like a bat out of hell Weightman gets in our way, Libba don't feel so well Here come the Dees, it's a hundred to seven We go bang, bang-bang-bang, it is pure football heaven Simon Goodwin (baritone): I'm just here for the gasoline. Chorus of MFC footballers, coaches, trainers, admin staff, and orange cutters: Here come the Dees, yeah and we're gonna beat Ev'ry last buggin' team in the whole buggin' league In the whole - ever - mother - lovin' - league! The entire MFC playing list then engages in an electrifying breakdance sequence as the hapless Western Bulldogs arrhythmically shuffle from one foot to the other like a bunch of dags.

"We always knew that if Ben could get his body right, his best football stacks up," Brown said. "You don't kick 60 goals in an AFL season by luck, and it was disappointing that some parts of the media wrote him off and didn't give him credit for what he had achieved. "He wasn't getting lucky goals - if that was the case there would be a heap of us running around on an AFL ground. "He's got something pretty special with his size, his hand-eye co-ordination and footy nous. "We're really pleased he could get back to this level, and while he had to go back to the reserves to work hard and re-evaluate a few things, Melbourne has been awesome in their support of him. "They continued to give him time and said he was a four-year player for them, not a one-year player, which took a bit of pressure off him and allowed him to work on some little things. "When the final siren went, it was the culmination of a long journey for Ben, but the last couple of years have been a real rollercoaster, so to have that all come to a head was pretty emotional for the whole family.

Loved the performance. Loved the season. Loved the fact that we’re the premiers and all the associated benefits that come along with it. Disappointing that many us weren’t able to see it, and just hope we’ve got another one in us over the coming 1-5 years.

Richo Richo man, I wanna be a Richo man...

Buckle up man. If we don't win at least 2 more over the next few years I'll be very surprised. Monkey's off the back, the list is young, talented, hungry with no holes.

My champion Premiership coach from 21 years ago recalled I was a staunch Demons supporter and went out of his way. Legend.

I was reminded once a week by my Collingwood supporting colleague that this man would be an absolute disaster for the club as he left the pies in disgrace. Has to take a massive amount of credit for our 2021 premiership and his key role now is to make us a financially powerful club that has its future in the league well and truly secured for decades, much like Richmond has over the last 5 years. If ever there are talks of a VIC club re-locating again, I want us to be so far down the pecking order we're not even remotely considered.

Don’t forget how much the Club spent, to give us all Saturday nights game. To take the full squad over to Perth with elite facilities There has to be some Price Rises If you can’t afford Trident Membership next year, purchase a lower Membership I have spent $800 each year for 15 years, the past 2 years I have seen nothing live. But i am glad my money helped pay the bills

i always knew it would come and understood the emotion connected to number 13 would be like nothing i have ever experienced. My hopes and dreams were high. But i have to say that 6 weeks after the fact, the feeling of greatness by far and outweighs my expectations. It is the moment that you think back to the Bailey Smiths [censored] up to Tommys nail in the coffin. It is the anecdote to fulfillment that very few things can provide. No other club has done it as hard as us and our win is better and more special than any others because of the collective loyalty and the sick state of the city. We needed it and our boys provided it. This really is the best of the 13 and we rode it gloriously.

They say all’s fair in love and war but when it comes to sport, we teach our kids to play fair. Be nice. But, in recent times, I’m reading about the AFL draft about expectations that clubs should play by some unwritten rule that requires them to be nice to each other. To play fair. A Herald Sun article last week referred to St Kilda Next Generation Academy midfielder Mitch Owen (Sandringham Dragons) who has shown great improvement over the year. Some said he was “exploding” before the NAB league shut down and that he could even be nominated in the top 20 which would preclude the Saints from matching a bid for him. The same would happen if Melbourne’s NGA Mac Andrew was nominated that highly. Dragons’ talent manager Mark Wheeler said that Covid gave Owens time to erase his weaknesses as he grew 15cm over two years to his current height of 191cm. In July, he was a late inclusion in the Vic Metro team against VIc Country and starred with 29 disposals, seven marks and a goal. Wheeler said: “We have heard rumours he is in those picks before 20, but it just depends if recruiters want to play nice or if they don’t want to play nice.” I don’t understand why Wheeler considers there to be an obligation in the draft for clubs to “play nice”. Surely, if a player is worth taking when a club’s pick comes, he should get taken - otherwise, the club might be dereliction of its duty. I have no qualms about the prospect of another club selecting Mac Andrew in the top 20. The main thing from the Demons’ perspective is that they’ve had plenty of time to get used to such a prospect. A similar situation applies with North Melbourne which has pick number 1 and has flagged its intention to take South Adelaide midfielder Jason Horne-Francis with that selection. However, there is a view that North should first nominate Collingwood father-son Nick Daicos to force the Pies to spend the maximum number of draft points to snare their father-son player who they have already indicated they will take no matter what. North can also cause similar inconvenience to the Western Bulldogs over their father-son prospect, Sam Darcy. The idea would be that North are h to the football world their intent to be competitive in every aspect of the game. But is this fair and does “fair play” come into the equation when it comes to matters such as the draft?

It is with great trepidation that I reply to an acolyte from the Spirit of Norm Smith tree of influence after Mitch O’Neill won South Adelaide’s best first year player award this year, but I will try and help you out. Firstly, there are some incorrect facts in your post. Josh Honey was a second year rookie this year and Cottrell was also a rookie (rendering obsolete your complaint about Carlton’s use of him.) There are some list and TPP mechanics that are relevant but arent referred to in your diatribe. One of the most important is that rookie promotions count towards the AFL’s mandated minimum three national draft picks per club. So by switching players from the relative ‘lists’, it helps clubs satisfy that requirement. In the current AFL world where list sizes are incredibly tight that has a value. Carlton are positioned to have only one National draft pick, perhaps two, this year, so they’ve covered the AFL’s draft requirements with the rookie promotions. We can now move to TPP. To recontract O’Brien they would have to pay the AFL senior list minimum at worst, now they can pay him the rookie list minimum, a saving of at least $30k in actual real dollars. The movement of Kennedy is a counterweight to any TPP benefit most likely but its still a positive financial result for the club. The actual rookie list TPP saving maximum is closer to 100k than the 60k from your post. So the O'Brien for Kennedy switch has at least a real world money saving benefit, plus it has extremely positive list size and national draft implications. In terms of Honey, the National Draft pick factor is relevant, plus Carlton had a huge rookie list last yeat with high retention into this year, so promoting him helps with that, given that the AFL tightened the rookie list screws with its latest list size announcement this year. Him moving to the primary opens the extra slot for one of the delisted players. Im not sure but as a third year supplemental rookie draft player, Cottrell may have reached the ceiling to the amount of time he could stay as a rookie, they may have been forced to either delist or promote. If thats the the case, the former is a more sensible line of attack. The moves are about satisfying AFL rules and dealing with list size issues.

i'm still waiting for something i ordered from china about 2 years ago

Yeah well. This club has taught me how to deal with disappointment over the years but when Bontempelli kicked his 3rd ..... I was sliding into a dark tunnel.

I find these type of lists a bit contrary to our modus operandi of last year. The performance of our so called role players (Petty, ANB, Spargo, Hibberd, Brayshaw, TMac, Jordon, Sparrow, Viney on occasions, Harmes, Rivers and Sparrow) are the major reason we did what we did. Stars are important of course but they can only be stars when the cogs in the wheel work for them. Lever can only play roaming backman when Petty is locking down on a dangerous tall. Salem can only play distributor when Rivers and Hibberd keep the opposition crumbers at bay. The star midfielders need Jordon, Sparrow, Viney, etc to play their roles. Block, shepherd, tackle, etc. Our supposed top 10 players are only as good their teammates around them allow them to be.

Gotta say. Thank fork they did win. While riding the amazing high I think of the depths of despair I'd be in if they hadn't. After the season that was it woulda been real tough.

It is an all encompassing feeling of joy, happiness, disbelief, euphoria, satisfaction and it just continues to bouy you up. Dare I say it but our mind shattering final series has released such a positive wave of endorphins that I am struggling to describe my feelings satisfactorily.😀😀💕❤️💙

Agree Wiz I was alive and barracked for the Dees in 1958,59 60 and 64 but as a 10 year old to 16 we went as a family to most games at the G starting in 1959. Our first memberships were in 1965 and by far the most emotional and consequential event in the 63 years was that afternoon at the Western Oval when we made the Finals in 1987 and those matches like in 2018 were amazing for their red and blue support and atmosphere snd us winning the 2 Finals games. I moved to Brisbane in 1993 and still purchase an Adult Membership and have for 56 consecutive years. I and fellow supporters in their 60's and 70's agreed that our time was running out in our lifetime even though in retrospect 2018 now was not a glitch but a promise of the prospect that we could in the next few years maybe break our curse or drought. 2019 was very disappointing and the injury toll and lack of a solid pre season of about half the list was crucial. 2020 in my opinion was not a wasted year as our defence was starting to emerge as a tight unit and May snd Lever showed glimpses of their class and why we used those draft picks. The biggest improvement was in 2020 that Christian Petracca went from a good B grader to a class A + grader on his best days. Along with him was Gawny Clarry Langers and on occasions Viney and Salem (near the end of the season) were all impacting our form and results but for our largely dysfunctional forward line. Cairns also showed our weaknesses mentally and in difficult conditions but a platform on our fitness by Burgo had been started and our % was over 100% (107% in fact up from 78% in 2019. The JT and his team plus the FDepts recent years of drafting and recruiting were starting to bear fruit. I contributed at least a dozen posts indicating my optimism about our list and its potential to take a step or two to the Final 8 or even Top 4 if we succeeded in a number of facets of the game in 2021. Paramount to this was the following : 1. Positive run with injuries to key players and low overall total numbers as well. 2. Potential immediate improvement in 2019 draftees Jackson Kossie and Rivers. 3. Players like Fritsch Spargo Brayshaw ANB Harmes show regular and consistent improvement in their individual and team contributions to kick more goals raise their tacking level and develop a hard edge approach. 4. All our A or potential A graders emerge and lead the way on and off the field. Gawn Trac Clarry Vines Langers Maysie Jake L and Salem were a very good start in this group. 5. Tommy Mac rediscover his 2018 form or kick say 30-50 goals this season. 6. BBB our new recruit and/or Sam Weid become forwards that took the oppositions best defenders and still beat them enough times to impact and connect our attack to a new level. 7. That our 2/3 year recruits Sparrow Chandler and Jordon plus others fulfil much of their potential in breakout years to back up our mids in depth. 8. Very Importantly a stronger game plan be introduced and the Club learn from the Tigers Hawks and Cats that team footy is the secret to sustained form and importance to a successful season no matter what ability you possess on your list. 9. I was extremely bullish about our new coaching panel giving us an edge in our midfield and running patterns and improving the game plan overall. 10 From that first JTL win over the Tigers I reckoned that form was true and achievable and our team was gelling together in a positive snd measured manner. Solid team orientated and honest players seemed to know more about their role in the team and the team looked as though they enjoyed each other's company and on field success. Our disastrous under strength JLT performance to lose vs the Doggies at Marvel was a complete glitch and did not seem to harm us mentally in hindsight. From Round 1 we were a bit scratchy but still strong and solid with some real individual brilliance emerging in the team as the season progressed. Anzac Eve was a great lesson in our growth only we recognised as the footy world had to eventually. By Finals time we had laid the base and in the last minutes st the Cattery tied up the Minor Premiership to give real belief that we would be up for the Finsks Challenges. To say it was a juggernaut from then on is not overstating our excellence snd performance yo gain our 13 Th and best modern flag this century.

It was a great night. Was one of my uncles last happy moments. So glad he got to see this before he passed away. I guess it must have been fate