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Maybe because it's pre-season, maybe because it's a highly controlled environment, maybe because he's had a huge weight taken off his shoulders. Goody seems very relaxed, and more assured with his speaking.

Over the next five weeks, Demonland regular Deespicable will count down his version of our top 100 players since 1972. THERE'S always a fine line at the end of any list with a few tricky decisions on those who do and don’t make the cut. Firstly I had a general rule that you had to have played 50 games for us, although I did break it for three players, two of whom are in the 81-100 category – Mark ‘Whacko’ Jackson and Sean Charles. One of our most expensive recruits Kelvin Templeton played 34 games and kicked 99 goals for us and his eight-goal game in our win down at Kardinia Park on Anzac Day in 1983 has to rate among our best ever individual performances – but sorry Kel, not enough red and blue blood spilt for mine. Secondly I had to rule out a large number of highly serviceable stars who played their best footy in the 60s. Frank Davis was still captain in 1972, but by then was more a dour half-back flanker and the former No.6 never really rocked my boat as a kid. Ditto Barry Bourke. Thirdly, how do you draw a line between levels of serviceable players, which let’s face it, most of those in the 81-100 category are. I mean Simon Godfrey (105 games) had less kicking talent than most Demonlanders, yet he tagged with intent (just ask Shane Crawford). Paul Hopgood (113 games) and Darren Kowal (105) had genuine hops, but both never really cemented a spot in eras that weren’t exactly flushed with success, while Marcus Seecamp (89) always looked the part in defence, but never dominated. But I suspect my biggest omission is Peter Walsh (104 games), a gutsy redheaded defender who tied for 15th in the 2001 Brownlow with 11 votes. He came on the scene via the rookie list along with Daniel Ward and always put in and I reckon quite a few would want him, just as Port did in 2005 when he was traded and went on to play played finals for them. So re-instate him in my 81-100 list as you see fit, it’s just that all of these guys have solid cases too. 81 Graham Osborne 66-77 146 games One of my earliest memories was watching Ozzy fly off the backline, take a bounce and then lose the ball all in the blink of an eye. He was mega quick which gave him a huge advantage in those days, but unfortunately he couldn’t quite put it all together, although he did have a pretty good year in defence under Skilts in 1976 – even polling 18 votes in the Brownlow that year under the two-umpire voting system. Sadly he was injured early in 1977, so maybe he was the factor in why we didn’t kick on as expected that year. 82 Nathan Brown 98-07 146 games OK, he was a Collingwood six-footer (180cm), who often struggled to roost it more than 40m and he wasn’t exceptionally quick. But our Nathan Brown (as distinct from the Dogs forward) was a real livewire rebounder who’d run all day and put his body on the line off half-back. He had a few ripping battles with Stephen Milne and during his prime was one of the Reverend’s automatic selections. 83 Jake Melksham 16- 83 games Unlucky not to play for us in 2016, Melky had a tricky baptism when Goody initially tried to turn him into a defender. Eventually he found his way to our forward line where his booming delivery was hugely important in our 2018 campaign and his left-footer on the run from 50m in our finals win over the Hawks was huge. Tom Sparrow’s rise probably ultimately cost him his spot in our premiership team, but there was a time in 2018 when he was talked about as an AA such was his importance. 84 Peter Keenan 70-75, 81-82 131 games I’ll never forget trying to imitate Crackers hunched over stance like a warring buffalo at ammo level and finding myself victim to every kid’s attempted screamers. But as a ruckman he was a workhorse, who could take a pretty strong mark – he took 14 grabs one day against South Melbourne in 1975 and it was that prowess that saw him snaffled by Barrass at North in 1976 to solve his ruck woes. He played in their flag against the Pies in 1977 and was nice enough to return to us in 1981 with Barassi. He was often suspended but racked up 30 more games for us, albeit for just five more wins. 85 Mark Jackson 81-82 41 games 152 goals Amazingly whacko Jacko contributed 152 goals in only two seasons. Recruited from Richmond’s U19 – they already had Michael Roach and Brian Taylor on their books, few players have been more watchable or selfish as the Energizer. He was actually a pretty accurate kick and could even snap a goal across his body. But he preferred to just snap – whether it be at umpires, at opponents or even the club skipper. Those from 82 reckon he just had to go the day he belted Robbie Flower at training, apparently peed off that Tulip kept beating him to the ball. He was less successful at St Kilda but Geelong persisted with him for a while and the Neville Bruns/Leigh Matthews incident came about largely because of his stirring antics. But while he was never quick or clean with his marking, his combination with Gerard Healy in 1982 was amazingly prolific for us. 86 Steven Icke 82-87 78 games Sticky was recruited from North with Allen Jarrott, part of Ron Barassi’s plan to steal the smarts from his old side – he did also steal Mad Dog Brent Crosswell around then, although that seemed more about getting in someone who could beat him at chess. But Icke was very serviceable as a CHB who could go forward on occasions when things weren’t working. He didn’t take hangers, but he was a nice mark all the same. 87 Henry Coles 75-80 77 games, 106 goals For three years in the late seventies, Henry was our No.1 rover and a pretty handy one, being particularly dangerous when he rested in the pocket as rovers did before the interchange came in. He snagged 33 goals in 1978, including a memorable six in our win over the Cats and won a Vic guernsey that year. He gave up his No.13 when another Pie Wayne Gordon arrived at our club, a bad omen for him as he did his knee in Round 4 in 1979 in the No.3 top and never really recovered. A run in with Big Carl in 79 didn’t help either. 88 Brock McLean 04-09 94 games Taken at No.5 in the 2003 draft, Brocky was the son of Blues hitman Ricky and was as tough as they come. His flowing mullet (no Bailey Smith perm) made an immediate impression and he played in our losing elimination final side to Essendon in ‘04. By 2006 he was virtually best on ground for us when we downed the Saints in the first week of the finals and was again among our best the following week in our loss to Freo. In 2007 he injured his foot in Rd 1 and by the time he returned we were 0-8 and it was a whole new club. He lifted us to a huge QB victory that year but he, and we, were never the same, even stooping to tanking late in 2009. Disgruntled by that philosophy, he agreed to be traded to the Blues for pick 11. 89 Ricky Jackson 86-91 80 games, 131 goals Sported the No.45 like Matty Whelan and came to us in 1986 after a failed stint at Richmond who felt that at just 170cm he was too small to make it. But ‘tricky’ Ricky had explosive pace and loved taking on defenders and for six year did his Kozzie Pickett forward-pocket role with aplomb. He even won our goalkicking with 43 majors in 1988. He kicked five goals against Carlton in the preliminary final that year and made the Big V side in 1990. I still don’t know why we traded him to Footscray in 1991, but he badly broke his leg pre-season at the kennel and never played for them. 90 Darren Bennett 89-93 74 games 215 goals Discarded by West Coast who had Peter Sumich, the thumping right-footer arrived at the Dees a couple of years before Allen Jakovich. Given our battle to find gun forwards in the 70s, it’s hard to believe we had a plethora to choose from in John Northey’s era. He had a few knee issues, but boy could he kick a long goal and his foot extension matched that of Tayla Harris - which is why he went on to make more money in America as a professional punter than ‘Dollars' Lyon made from us. He kicked 87 goals in 1990 (only Fred Fanning and Norm Smith have kicked more) and nailed four in our breakthrough elimination final win against the Hawks that year. But it was his five goals after halftime in our amazing comeback win at Windy Hill in 1990 that was the stuff of legends. 91 Russel Richards 83-87 81 games How good was it watching the Rhino in full flight charging off half-back like Adonis. He almost won the 1985 Grand Final sprint. Sadly he was a bit like Sam Frost – unable to turn his excitement into a game-breaking play but for a while we all thought he was on his way to greatness. A couple of minor injuries and the growing star status of Sean Wight and Rod Grinter meant that he struggled to get games in 1987 and by the end of 88 he was sent off to Prahran. 92 Alex Neal-Bullen 15- 105 games After five years of being the Demonlanders whipping boy, ANB endured an even darker 2020 and was seemingly out the door. Goody, who had spotted his work rate early in 2016 and pushed Roosy to play him as a small forward, seemed to have sided with the critics and written him off. After eight weeks watching from the sidelines in COVID 1.0, he returned for the clash with Adelaide and the club failed to even lodge a complaint when he copped four weeks for a dangerous tackle on a young Crow - the same that Shaun Burgoyne and others did virtually weekly. At season's end he was offered up as trade bait. Thankfully there were no takers. Bet he’d have quite a few now after a year when he played every game and constantly provided link work, tackle pressure and the occasional goal in a premiership side. Here’s the thing - Nibbler has always been is our hardest worker at training - bar none. And that’s why it’s so nice that he got some reward for all those efforts. 93 Dom Tyson 14-18 94 games Dommy’s best years were pre-Clayton when he was our big-bodied midfielder alongside Jonesy, Viney and Bernie. In his first year under Roosy in 2014 he even snagged 16 goals and he was second in our B&F. He was clever at times by hand and would lean back and hammer a left foot to our non-existent forwards back then. But by 2018, Goody was worried about his lack of pace (he’d always had knee troubles) and sent him to the wing - the same one the club had offered Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove on their way out. He was useful in the 2018 finals but it wasn’t a surprise when he was offered up to North to lure Braydon Preuss. Some will say that we should never have given up pick No.2 in the 2013 draft for him, but without splitting that pick, we wouldn’t have attained Christian Salem. 94 Alistair Nicholson 97-06 110 games Big Nick was recruited as a ruckman from Claremont but was never quite tall enough to make it as Jimmy’s replacement and once we had Jeff White we didn’t need him in that role anyway. So Neale Daniher sent him down back and he played on all the resting ruckman including Steven Alessio in the 2000 Grand Final. I was always a bit dirty that he didn’t belt a few blokes that day, especially after Brad Green and Troy Simmonds had been felled, as he was built like a proverbial brick sh..house, but he’s probably too nice a bloke at the end of the day. He’s been pretty successful off field representing our cricketers in legal battles, before more recently looking after the coaches group. 95 Jack Trengove 10-17 86 games The victim of one of our most whacky decisions when Mark Neeld decided he didn’t like his senior squad on arrival at the club and upgraded the 20-year-old from country South Australia to the leadership in tandem with Jack Grimes. The pressure on the then 37-gamer must have been intense, especially given it was before we had a good support coaching network. Jack had a nice baulk and became so team-oriented under the weight of being skipper that it seemed to stifle the initial flair he’d shown in his first two seasons. He had good endurance (like his sister Jess) but was never blessed with pace so when he kept getting stress-related foot issues, any chance of him utilising his smarts on the wing were minimal. 96 Guy Rigoni 98-05 107 games A late-comer to the top level after having no luck at Hawthorn, Riggers was a hard-at-it Myrtleford mid who could thump a long bomb in the Neiter direction and was a regular in both 98 and 2000 when he played in the granny against Essendon. He had a night out against the Roos in 2000 in a one-point loss at the Docklands amassing 37 disposals, but back issues limited his career after that. 97 Sean Charles 92-97 46 games, 60 goals A favourite of mine and just about everybody’s in 1994. He was recruited from Tatura in 1992 and kicked five goals on debut as a 17-year-old but from then he was hit by a mix of injuries and complexities from his indigenous background. He had electric speed and Melbourne was so sure of his abilities that Balmey arranged for him to be helicoptered in to training Brian Peake style mid-season. He was a key part of the exciting forward mix alongside Schwarter and Lyon in 1994 and his five-goal game in our finals upset of Carlton that year was a career-high. Broke his arm badly pre-season next year and spent more time in the medical room than on the field. But along with Liam Jurrah, one of our most talented players ever - you just wonder what he could have been if Neville Jetta was around to guide him then. 98 Colin Garland 07-17 141 games I always felt that Col was a little unsure of his abilities and doubtless that came from beginning his career in an era when our assistant coaches and support network were not a patch on today. A Hobart boy, he was quick, had a pretty good leap and could kick a long goal, as he did in the Queen’s Birthday draw against the Pies in 2010. As a defender he never really became the star interceptor that he should have been. But until Frosty came on the scene, I always felt he was in our best 22. 99 Tony Elshaug 79-83 66 games 92 goals It’s amazing how many of our players back in the 70s and 80s won flags at other clubs and Tony was another being a clever forward pocket/rover in Essendon’s 1985 premiership side. At the Demons the Bentleigh boy progressed from our fourths and got a couple of senior games late in 1979. But his 1980 year was arguably the best of his career and he very nearly won our goalkicking with his 29 tally second only to Brent Crosswell’s 31. He was also pretty handy in the Grand Final sprint but I reckon after three years of Barassi and a win/loss record that Cale Morton would relate to, he realised a switch to Sheedy’s Bombers was the best way to actually use his pace on the footy field. 100 Anthony McDonald 97-02 104 games A bit like Guy Rigoni in that he didn’t actually play his first game until he was 24, having unsuccessfully tried out at Carlton and Hawthorn. He was a superstar at Old Xavs though, so we gave him a go and the left footer became a pretty handy midfielder who was among our most reliable players during the 98 and 2000 seasons. Along with older brother, Hawthorn No.1 pick Alex and our future captain Junior, the McDonalds became only the third set of three brothers to play 100 games behind the Morwoods and Danihers. No relation to Edenhope’s Tom and Oscar, these ones hailed from a nice farm just outside of Ballarat. Next week: 61-80

I saw Mark Williams at cricket, and thanked him for the premiership. He said congratulations. He was with Dylan Shields and his daughter. It is great to be wearing Melbourne gear at the MCG with pride.

I'm looking forward to all these end of year 'Best Sports Moments of 2021' media lists. No. 1 is easy, of course. Forget Olympics, Melbourne Cup, Wimbledon etc. An MFC premiership after 57 years is a monte for the top spot as it's one for the ages. Any list that says otherwise is clearly made by people who don't know what they're talking about 😁

I'd like to see Goody reprise that pre season catch up with Mike Sheehan down at the Sorrento Hotel but with the premiership cup on the table this time.

Also Happy Birthday to our Premiership Coach.

If you're taking it from 1972 then probably not, he was in his last couple of seasons. If you are talking his whole career, then most definitely he would rank higher than probably any on that list. Same with Frank Davis...

Barry Bourke would be in the top 50. Has to rank higher than Dom Tyson and most of the others in the list.

I dont know if it is correct or not (probably not) but I was told that our brains trust asked Kelvin Templeton to hop on one leg to prove he had got over his dodgy knee. And he hopped on the other foot.

The barmy army are the only poms who have performed so far this ashes series.

Boy can he bowl.!!!

Same thing. 😆 I always get those two confused.

1. Stuart Broad?

This further clogs up an already overwhelmed system that should be concentrating on symptomatic people and Tier 1 exposures.

Interesting that you don't rate Frank Davis - Premiership player, captain and one of the most reliable defenders the Demons ever fielded. To not rate Barry Burke is even weirder. Once again, premiership player, Victorian player - on a wing - a man who gave his heart and soul, who finished his career as a very distinguished Backman. Ya can't win em all, I suppose. Also, I never rated Graeme Osborne: yep he was quick, he could get the ball, but inevitably - like Do Tyson - he'd pass it directly to an opposition player: a Turnover King, if you like. It is an interesting exercise though, the kind of thing a seventy year old with insomnia because he's had an AFD does...For example, I read max's book last night.

On last Thursday I contacted Membership Dept about Demon Shop Opening Hours and Answering the phone And in a quick discussion with the rep in the Membership Dept I asked re numbers and was told in the 38,000's. On George in the Outer figures under Membership Tally the best at this time of the year is 30,000 plus in 2019. We made 52,000 plus that year a record but this year I would assume we should/could attract between 25,000 and 35,000 more members depending upon early results. I would estimate ( on previous seasons numbers) that we could definitely get between 65,000 and 70,000, not far off Perty's 75,000 he has spoken of do often. I would also be especially interested in our Junior Membership total which gives an inside into future potential growth if we do attain a dynasty (ie. sustained success) over the next decade.

Nice job @Deespicable over 100 players you won't have a single other Demonlander agree with your order. But you are having a crack and I love that. Look forward to seeing where you rate Tingay, Farmer and Trapper. I imagine Gawn, Oliver and Petracca might go well.

Nice job there, deespicable. It's obvious that you've put a lot of time and effort into this. As you're no doubt aware, you'll never please everybody with these sort of lists but I can't say I have any quibbles with your first 20 players, other than to note that Brock McLean is the nephew, not the son of Ricky. Looking forward to future instalments.

Yep, a premiership will do that for you.

Thanks very much D'stone. The Pat Cummins and Waugh ones were very good. Much appreciated. If you get the time, Im sure I speak for others, please post another one. Perhaps a footy one. Again, much appreciated. Enjoy the test match today. Cheers.

You would have to think it's a high probability. If you google who are Scott Boland's parents it says he wants to keep the privacy of his parents but has a brother Nick. So I doubt we will ever know and anybody who does wouldn't post it here (you'd hope not anyway if that's his wishes)

I finally caught up with my wife's cousins who are mad Bulldogs supporters at our Christmas Eve dinner last night, after a bit of friendly banter I said at least you guys already won one a few years ago so its not as bad as if you were still in a drought one of them tried to pull the "yeah we won a real Grand Final, not a rubbish interstate covid one" - I just smiled, and said "so that's how you're trying to rationalise that embarrassing capitulation to yourself." He said he'd rather win at the G in round 1 next year and I said don't worry, we'll do that too 🤣

Back in the early 80s Melbourne recruited a player from Parkdale by the name of Glenn Boland who played 16 games from 1982 to 1984. He was dropped from the list at the end of 1984 and transferred to St Kilda for three games in 1985. Does anyone know whether he’s related to Australia’s new pace bowler Scott Boland who took his maiden test wicket on debut today? Boland the cricketer also comes from Parkdale.

The young master interviewer with the future young master key position player ~

Luke Jackson Podcast: I’ve come across this podcast (I think it was shared in a forum here earlier) from a crew in Perth - who interviewed Luke Jackson. By the looks of things, it’s a 2 parter but I thought it might be of interest to some here. spotify link:

Yes, I kept noticing that bloke, too. He was very distracting; in a good way.

There was a bloke in a a dees jumper on day 1 that positioned himself perfectly behind the wickets Cummings was bowling too. He got on camera over and over all day.

PS My demonland cap is off to WalkingCivilWar.

No ...just the spit in the tube... five minute test Given that they were all having Christmas lunch together 48 hours ago it goes to show that the definitions of contacts etc are going by the wayside ... good thing

Can you have a polo and hoodie with wording Demonland Premier Supporters. Any image you have are appropriate. But something that is recognisable so Dlanders can recognise and acknowledge each other in the crowd. Same with caps and beanies. Colour Red with Blue print and Blue with Red print

Gotta confess: not watching our Dees atm. But… noticing a few Demons guernseys in the crowd at the Test Match. ❤️💙

This is fantastic! I feel opposition supporters are partly happy for us winning this year :- it won’t be until we dominate in 2022, that we really start to annoy them

I got this watch for Christmas. It’s actually a lot nicer in person than in the add which was a pleasant surprise. I also got a premiership jersey, bar runner, stickers, cap and flag. Very spoilt this yr but as I said to my kids, it’s easy to buy for dad when we win the premiership. (This is the first year they haven’t had to really think what to get me!). Hope all demonlanders had a great Christmas Day. 🥃🏆

I heard a stat mentioned the other day that dogs won about twenty of their first quarters all year. I'm not sure if that's true....anyone confirm? If it is, it was a better one by us to whip them in the first of the granny. That first quarter scoring by us was not our usual way. But helped keep us in touch score wise when the dogs got the drop on us. Psychologically if we were thirty points down it could have been pretty rough. I still dont get why the dogs went out in the last the way they did. Yep they travelled a lot but had 2 weeks rest. One must assume that they were somewhat blown away by our third quarter performance. It must have had taken some toll on their mindset. After controlling the scoring and be three goals up they must have been wondering if it was theirs maybe.

This is going to be a year in which I’ll be fully invested in the draft. It’s the age group of my oldest grandson who was a teammate of leading draft prospect Harry Sheezel - they played over 100 games of junior footy together plus school games over almost ten years. He has also played directly against one of the hot tips to go #1 in George Wardlaw who could become a superstar of the competition. Harry is a clever, elusive player with all of the skills including the ability to kick those special goals. This year, he played as a forward for the Sandringham Dragons Under 19s and the Vic Metro Under 17s but he’s also good enough to play in the midfield. If he goes there this season, he’ll team up at the Dragons with another potential #1 in Will Ashcroft who has been playing for Brighton Grammar. Ben Hempel from Mordialloc-Braeside is another promising player from their competition who will feature in draft discussion. He was also a 2021 bottom ager who played for the Dragons Under 19s.

I went to the shops to buy Gawnys diary for dad for xmas then saw the At Last book and opted for that instead. Today I got Gawnys diary AND At Last from my dad for xmas as did my brother and sister 🤣 I asked him if he bought At Last for himself as well as I knew what he was getting when he unwrapped his gifts. He said he didn't but he did get a copy of Gawnys diary for himself so I made the right choice on that one

almost as stupid as the 72 hour pre departure test for the UK. By the time you land its 100 plus hours and they have 125k cases a day !!!

as well as cracking the s@#$s

Finally got around to getting these framed.

Hells, I got excited just seeing this thread was back on the list of recently posted topics!!!!! WE’RE REIGNING PREMIERS!!!! Never. Gets. Old. EVER.

I find it annoying that you cannot take out your whole post just the contents.

Proven at AFL standard: - JJ, Hunt, Tomlinson Can cover a role: - Dunstan, Weid, M. Brown, Daw, Melksham, Bedford, Chandler, Baker, J. Smith Kids: Laurie, Rosman, Turner, D. Smith, JVR, Howes, Woey, McVee, AMW The guys in bold are the ones I think have a real chance to push their case in 2022 as genuine depth. If they break in to the side they might be able to hold a spot for weeks on end rather than just getting a look in on a short term basis. That's the kind of players we need to get to a squad of 30+ to cover a reasonable number of injuries. I'm harsh on Dunstan, he's probably not that far off but I'd like to see him in our system. Weid's 2020 was very close to establishing himself. Chandler has talent if he can find a niche. Just like the footy department I can't give up on Joel Smith. Then from the young guys I expect Laurie to push his case strongly at Casey if he gets a consistent run at it. Deakyn Smith has strong lockdown defensive traits if he can make another big leap over summer improving his ball use and physical traits he might surprise.

To be fair, I would not put us up there as having good reliable wings. For starters we demons are not known for flying. In the league there a number of bird teams like the eagles, hawks, crows, magpies, and, perhaps the biggest wings of those birds, the swans. These would already beat us. I would say the second best wings would be the saints as they can sustain what should be human weight to fly. But the best wings in the comp would have to be the bombers. Have you ever seen one? Massive. That's not even to mention the suns who are the known enemies of the wings club after taking out one of history most well known flyers in icarus.

More premierships and more money.

Phukkkkk . . . bit rich coming from the mob the invented the 'virtual throw'.

And 87! And Mathew’s decking Smith behind play and Giles and……I am just still bitter!

There were complaints from Bulldogs fans that some of our handballs weren't punched. After reviewing it l do see that some were questionable. But the fact is they had some that should have been reviewed that weren’t and they fail to even mention that. There was that goal the Fritch kicked that I thought was out of bounds on the full, but was thrown in. Having said that, I still think they got away with more than we did

When does next season start? Whenever it is, I wish it were sooner.

He had ONE job to do well. Canberra would suit him.

Reckon it was most devastating 16 minutes ever played. To see it in a GF, that turned the match, and history, is nearly unbelievable. Been watching some of our ballistic Prelim for a break. Told friends that week I doubted we’d we play so well again. Went Nuclear. Next.Level.Nuclear ☢️