Leaderboard

The moment Bayley Fritsch slotted through his fifth goal after accepting a pass from Charlie Spargo early in the final quarter of the Grand Final, the result was a given. The Demons were six goals in front and the Bulldogs were spent; the drought was over. The game itself managed to roll on with goals coming seemingly on endless rotation and when it was stopped by the final siren (the mercy rule doesn’t apply in the AFL), the scoreboard had Melbourne in front by 74 points. The sun rose on the following morning with the day’s newspaper highlighting the new “immortals”. If not before, we understood then that it wasn’t all a dream and that Norm Smith’s curse finally was dead and buried. The Demons had won a premiership with a group that dominated through the winning of its own ball in the midfield. They were the best at it with a group filled with contested beasts led by Christian Petracca (ironically, the winner of the medal named after the man whose curse had just recently ended), Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney and more. They received silver service from their ruckmen, skipper Max Gawn and a young man who came of age in the sizzling last half of the third term, Luke Jackson. It’s all well and good to claim supremacy in the midfield but foundations for premierships are built on much more than that. If Melbourne had the best ball winners through the midfield, it also had a clinical defence led by impenetrable intercepting key defenders Jake Lever and Steven May aided by Adam Tomlinson early in the season and when he was injured by Harrison Petty and flanked by the elite kicking skills of Christian Salem and Trent Rivers and later Jake Bowey who, in effect, took the place of the unlucky Jayden Hunt. Up forward, the Demons had to make do with only one dominant key forward at a time, firstly Tom McDonald and more lately, Ben Brown but with Fritsch the constant, a strong mark and nimble of foot on the way to a 59-goal season. Their involvement in the forward line with medium to small forwards Kysaiah Pickett, Charlie Spargo and running machine Alex Neal-Bullen strangling opposition defences time and again with their immense forward pressure, the critical component of the club’s on-field success and not more so than in the finals and spectacularly, in the ultimate game of the season. By the time the breakthrough came and Fritsch kicked his rapid fire two goals on end at the 16 minute 34 second and 17:49 marks of the third to bring Melbourne right back in the game the Bulldogs were running on the spot, the Demons in twos and threes and covering more ground than the early settlers. Their superior fitness, the legacy of a long hard preseason and a sustained program put into place by departing fitness guru Darren Burgess, culminated in a 45-minute blitz that was never before seen in the ultimate game of a season. The Immortals B: M. Hibberd 14 S. May 1 J. Lever 8 HB: T. Rivers 24 H. Petty 35 C. Salem 3 C: A. Brayshaw 10 C. Petracca 5 E. Langdon 15 HF: A. Neal-Bullen 30 T. McDonald 25 T. Sparrow 32 F: C. Spargo 9 B. Brown 50 B. Fritsch 31 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 J. Viney 7 I/C: J. Bowey 17 J. Harmes 4 L. Jackson 6 K. Pickett 36 Sub: J. Jordon 23 Emerg: K. Chandler 37 J. Hunt 29 J. Melksham 18 There was more … The scene was set in preseason with the list coming up in reasonably good health and opening the scratch match period positively with a narrow win over the Tigers at Casey Fields in late February. This was followed up with a loss to the Bulldogs with a below strength lineup at Marvel Stadium in the AAMI Community Series match but there was no need to panic (although some did). It was, after all, a practice match. Head Coach, Simon Goodwin had been building his team for a number of seasons. They nearly made it in 2018, slipped and fell in 2019 and by virtue of a plague that blunted their edge in fitness, they were ½ a game away from another assault last year. On every line Goodwin had great or at the very least highly competent skilled players but he was after something more. More hard work, greater fitness and a cohesive, selfless unit. There were many examples throughout the year, the most frequently cited being the move of Angus Brayshaw out of his natural position in the the centre to a new role on the wing. Together with Ed Langdon, they were the club’s ying and yang wingmen, important link players who plied their trade to devastating effect along the outside fringe areas of the field. Everyone had a role to play. In times of pandemic and caps on football club expenditure, Melbourne did well to augment its existing coaching support structure for Goodwin, already headed by General Manager of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson, Backline and Forward coaches Troy Chaplin and Greg Stafford with former premiership coach Mark Williams as Head of Development and Adem Yze, the Midfield coach. Both were revelations. The Demons took the first steps into the 2021 season proper with a solid win over the visiting Dockers in Round 1 after leading all day and continued on their winning way against St Kilda and GWS. While not particularly convincingly, they took the points over an undermanned Geelong and finally shook off Hawthorn in a brilliant last term. Suddenly, they were sitting on a 5 - 0 winning streak (7 - 0 if you counted the last two games of 2020) but they still lacked credibility in the eyes of the football world. Along came a Saturday night contest at the home of football in front of a large crowd against the reigning premiers. After a slow start in drizzly conditions, they took hold of the reins and pressurised and suffocated the Tigers to a standstill. That night also marked Nathan Jones' 300th match and the battle-hardened veteran was able to hold his head high. The evening belonged to the midfield duo of Petracca and Oliver that had supplanted their former skipper in the midfield but the club faithful honoured the man who had led them through the wilderness to a point where they were ready to make the great leap forward into premiership contention. Sadly, the Demons’ captain of 2014–2019 and winner of three Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medals would only play two more games - this was his swansong. Also on his way out was long serving small defender in Neville Jetta who was to also finish up at the end of the season with 159 great games under his belt. The Melbourne train rolled on and on with another three wins before a surprise 1-point loss to the lowly Crows in Adelaide in controversial circumstances. They responded in the best possible way with consecutive wins over top four contenders in the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions. Both were emphatic victories that saw the Demons firmly installed as mid season flag favourites. The pandemic robbed the club of a big home ground cash bonanza when its Queens Birthday Blockbuster against Collingwood was shifted to the SCG. It was Nathan Buckley’s last hurrah as Magpie coach. His team was switched on and brought a pressure game with them but the Demons failed to respond in kind to go into the bye round with their tails between their legs. The mid part of the season was to be the club’s low point of the year. They beat a rising Essendon and another top four contender in Port Adelaide away from home but lost games to GWS and the Western Bulldogs and drew against Hawthorn. The defeat at the hands of the Dogs was disappointing and cost Melbourne top spot as winter came to an end but it wasn’t the end of the world. In actual fact, the reversal against the new ladder leaders became the catalyst for a dominant seven match period that covered all of August and September and culminated with the triumph in the year’s Big Dance. With Victoria in lockdown and the Delta strain surging, the AFL switched games here and there to successfully keep the season alive. Melbourne criss-crossed the country and beat Gold Coast, West Coast, Adelaide and Geelong at various venues and under various weather conditions including lightning, thunder and rain. The win at Corio Bay over the Cats saw a famous comeback from 44 points down to a winning goal after the siren from Max Gawn which secured top spot and the McClelland Trophy. They were on their way to becoming immmortals. The Brisbane Lions fell in the Qualifying Final after some early resistance from Charlie Cameron but the Demons were well in control by half time and coasted to a win that looked a lot easier than the eventual 31 point margin. There was no resistance a fortnight later when an aging Geelong was unceremoniously dumped from the finals by 83 points after managing a single final half goal in the face of a Demon tsunami. Max Gawn’s third quarter was sublime and unforgettable. The Western Bulldogs were similarly ruthless on the following evening when they demolished a bedraggled Port Adelaide by 71 points. The Grand Final promised to be a clash of Titans but we know now that this promise lasted until that point in the premiership quarter when the Demons went “bang, bang, bang!” The club made a big bang at AFL All-Australian team selection with five players gaining selection and Max Gawn was named as skipper after earning his fifth All-Australian jacket as the No.1 ruck. He was joined in the 22-man squad by teammates Steven May, Jake Lever, Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca. In addition, Bailey Fritsch and Christian Salem would have been unlucky to miss out. Emerging ruckman Luke Jackson won the AFL Rising Star Award. Simon Goodwin topped of the premiership year with the AFL Coaches Association Coach of the Year award. Clayton Oliver received accolades from the AFL Coaches Association as its AFL Champion Player. He also finished third in the Brownlow Medal with in excess of 30 votes, an outstanding achievement given the quality of players competing against him for votes each week and capped it off with his third Keith “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy for the club’s best and fairest player. In addition to bidding farewell to two of the club’s champion veterans in Nathan Jones and Neville Jetta, we saw the departures of Aaron Bradtke, Kye Declase, Marty Hore, Jay Lockhart (all delisted) and Aaron vandenBerg (retired). Their places will be taken in 2022 by Luke Dunstan (St Kilda), Jacob Van Rooyen (Claremont, WA), Blake Howes (Sandringham Dragons), Taj Woewodin (East Fremantle, WA) and rookies Judd McVee (East Fremantle, WA) and Andy Moniz-Wakefield (Northern Territory). The expanded VFL competition was doomed by the plague but the Casey Demons started the season in outstanding fashion and were sitting on a 6 - 0 record at the end of June. They kicked themselves out of a win at Casey against the more accurate Giants on a night when Ben Brown was rested for almost the whole game in preparation for a promotion back to the AFL leaving them one player short in a tight finish. They won their next game comfortably but the dice were loaded when they lost to Footscray with half their VFL team leaders flying aimlessly between Tullamarine and the Queensland border. Toby Bedford was runner up the best and fairest and best Melbourne player. Jake Bowey cut his teeth at Casey with 8 excellent games before he made his AFL debut. That 1 point loss to the Giants (in which he had 27 touches) was his only losing game for the year. Veteran Jimmy Munro won his second Gardner Clarke Medal for Best and Fairest. The Melbourne AFLW team under coach Mick Stinear had a solid season and made it to the finals where they beat Fremantle comfortably but reverted to type with poor kicking for goal in their 1.9.15 to 5.3.33 Preliminary Final loss against Adelaide. Earlier, they had a perfect 3 - 0 start to the season before another putrid effort in front of goals against the Bulldogs. Their finals chances were in jeopardy but they regrouped to score some big victories in the tougher half of the draw. At times, they looked premiership material. Two midfielders at opposite ends of their careers in Karen Paxman and Tyla Hanks tied in first place for the Best and Fairest Award. Hanks also won the NAB AFLW Rising Star Award while Paxman was named in the All Australian side for the fifth time in as many seasons – one of only two players to hold that honour – while also placing fifth in the league’s Best and Fairest Award. Paxman was also the Demons’ vice-captain and was skipper in the finals series in the absence of the injured Daisy Pearce. The team was well served by contributions from Eden Zanker, Lily Mithen and Maddi Gay. The club had a number of retirements and other departures at the end of this season but has recruited well for the 2022 season which is due to start in early January. The departures include Niamh McEvoy, Shae Sloane, Tegan Cunningham and Meg Downie (all retired), Chantel Emonson (traded to Geelong) and Mietta Kendall (delisted). The recruits are Tayla Harris (Carlton) and Olivia Purcell (Geelong), draftees Georgia Campbell, Tahlia Gillard and Alison Brown and Eliza West, a rookie from the Casey Demons VFLW team. Stinear has been reappointed as senior coach. The Casey Demons also made the finals in that competition’s uncompleted season. During the season Kate Roffey succeeded Glen Bartlett to take the club presidency and become the first female president in the club’s 163 years long history. She was in the right place at the right time and saw in a premiership and with it a financial windfall from merchandise sales on top of the sale of the Bentleigh Club freehold. A great result for CEO Gary Pert after his last assignment at the Magpies. Roffey’s Her big moment came ten weeks after the event when 35,000 fans came to the MCG to watch the replay and to celebrate their heroes. What of next year? The vagaries of the pandemic with its sheer chaos and its changes in complexion as a result of the emergence of new strains make it difficult to predict the future of the game but otherwise things look rosy. The Demons have a deep list having re-signed a number of its stars to longer contracts during the season and also holding on to many players beyond the 23 grand finalists who might easily have moved elsewhere for greater opportunity - all of that indicates strength and stability and puts them in a handy space in the new era for the Melbourne Football Club.

Thank you all for your concern. Like Melbourne under Neale Daniher the site regularly goes up and down, usually it's fixed before anyone notices but this time I thought I'd give the hard-working technical department the Christmas-NY period off without harassing him for a fix. All data is safe, and hopefully in 2022 I'll fill in more of the many information gaps.

I'm still a fan of the Weed. Reckon what is stopping him is mostly between his ears. Had a few injury setbacks too over the last couple of years. His body shape looks much improved. Stronger through the thighs, hips and shoulders, which will help prevent him getting pushed around in the contest for marks. Hope the tank is similarly improved. Wouldn't be surprised if Weed overtakes Tmac by end of 2022. Be a good sign for the health of our KPF stocks. HNY to all on Land. And what a great footy year it has been.

I actually think he'll surprise a few and become more than just handy depth. May take a while for him to get his chance but when he does I think he'll take it. Was touted as a future captain early in his career and I thought he generally performed well at the Saints when I watched him particularly in recent years. His kicking often let him down earlier in his career but I thought he improved that but for whatever reason he was on the outer with Ratten. I think it's an astute pickup by our recruitment team and if he ends up being nothing more than a solid depth player it's still a win and better than when we were 5 or 6 years ago when our depth players were guys barely good enough for VFL.

I’ve always disliked Bradshaw the commentator. But his bang. Bang bang bang! comment I thought was a great bit of spontaneous commentary., until ... i was watching the Melb vs Geelong replay of their final round clash. Geelong has just kicked 4 goals in a row of which Hawkins kicked the last 3. Hamish McLachlan states that Hawkins had gone “bang, bang, bang” after Hawkins third. I’ve gone back to seriously disliking Bradshaw the commentator all over again.

I consider my posts to be an educational resource Mazer - towards the improvement of mankind.

I love how Bt just doesn't finish his

He only said bang once. Apparently there was an echo!

Really Daemonstein? Don't get me started on Hibbard, Hibbert, Hibbart, Hippo...oh dog droppings I think I have started myself.... (Are we at 100 pages yet)

So Froggy, how do you feel about Brayshaw?

The game has passed by a heap of commentators. Daisy Pearce explaining to Brian Taylor why they didn't "Stick it out infront of Kozzie!" a prime example. Cannnot believe Mark McLure has a job these days. Gerard Healy ......

i'd call call this pretty much flatlining in victoria in fact icu and ventilation is going down noticeably VIC HOSPITALISED Cases Admitted to Hospital DATE HOSP ICU VENT 30 Dec 21 395 55 23 29 Dec 21 397 62 28 28 Dec 21 361 69 33 27 Dec 21 368 80 38 26 Dec 21 374 77 43 25 Dec 21 361 71 42 24 Dec 21 397 75 40 Week -3 -17 -16

Not to mention players possible missing for a week with Covid. This could be the year where a deep list becomes very important and we have one.

The year before he had a really bad hip problem. It could have been 2 years before the covid years all blend into one. I've been his biggest critic and would have delisted him but after seeing the photo and knowing how many things the club is getting right at the moment I just have a gut feeling 2022 might be the turning point.

6 years in the system, and he is still fringe. Unless he alters his marking techniques, he won’t go further. He is trying to replace 2 forwards who take pack marks and win one on ones. And most importantly he has to develop 2nd efforts. Can that be done? I’m not hopeful, as that is an attitude thing, not confidence.

There is something very familiar about this thread.

Personally I hope he makes it, he's got the talent all he needs is confidence. Time after time he gets his hands to the ball but just can't hold them, if he clunks a few it may all come together.

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

My God. Do you want to get D'land shut down? There are other websites that specialise in this kind of activity.

You dont get best on grounds in multiple games in winning teams against Richmond and Brisbane without being very good imo. A first round draft pick entering the prime of his fitness and abilities with his best ever year behind him?! He's unquestionably "better" than Sparrow, Jordan etc but is he better at playing the role the team needs? That's questionable. St Kilda have been diabolical with their list management in recent years. Cant believe he's on the scrap heap when depth is going to decide everything this year, if indeed a full season gets played with player (s) pulling out every week on the morning of games.

I see it as Brayshaw being delirious with amazement at what he was seeing, and became incoherent and unable to articulate his thoughts.

Whilst I’m very much looking forward to next year, 2021 was such an unbelievable year, a part of me doesn’t want it to end.

read it like bang......(pause)......bang, bang, bang the first won is either for the 3rd goal of for the whole sequence. then the last 3 bangs are just playing it out for emphasis at least that's is how i see it

An epic piece WJ. Still pinching myself, like many others I am sure! Happy and Safe New Year to all. Take nothing for granted and may 2022 bring us back to back!

Over the years I've both posted in support of Weid and [censored] canned him. He's played some terrific games and others where he's made a witch's hat look like a Brownlow medalist. He's had more ups and downs than a bride's nightie. This contract must surely be his last chance at AFL level and I guess he knows it.

We are all going to get Covid19 in some form. The sooner the better. get Vaccinated and it won’t be too bad

The Demons hath power to assume a pleasing shape. Just thought I would say that.

ANBs goal to put us up by 42 is when I knew it was done. I felt it before that but when that goal went through I knew we definitely wouldn't lose (even being 5 points short of the Chris Sullivan line I think the time left in the game combined with the ubdeniabke momentum and the fact the Dogs had given up the ghost was enough for me to go one goal early 😅)

The more I see of Sparrow the more I like him. Reckon Luke will play as part of about 6/8 mids and a few others thrown in at times to vary the mix eg Kossie.

Happy new year demonlanders (except Dr D, wherever you are) Cheers to another flag in 22

The flag was a huge plus in what was an otherwise very ordinary year

Agree with a premiership at the MCG.

Mixed bag. Thank goodness for the flag.

Brayshaw NOT Bradshaw

Now all we need is an article in the newspapers from Hamish saying how peeved and upset he is that his tagline was stolen. This actually happened in golf. Jack Nicklaus won a tournament and in the key moment -- a long putt that dropped -- the commentator of the moment said "yes, sir!" which has gone into the sports commentating hall of fame. Except the guy had "stolen" the line from another commentator who used it a few days before. Cue spats, recriminations, protestations of innocence, etc. It was big bickies for these guys, but for the rest of us, a first world storm in a teacup. And funny.

It's the year that brought us more Covid, climate change problems, Trump and the protests in Washington, Putin's continuing belligerence, Xi's continuing belligerence, working and learning from home, Craig Kelly and Clive Palmer, protests and a Melbourne Premiership. So, all in all, a pretty good year*. Happy New Year to all. Let 2022 be a repeat of the Year of the Demons *Note: I appreciate that this has been a hard year for many. Please appreciate the tongue in cheek nature of this post.

It's warming up out there and I'm not talking about the weather. To date we have had the luxury of studying overseas trends in advance of significant outbreaks but not this time. The new rules for PCR testing could see a nominal reduction in official cases but the speculation about "real numbers" will explode.

Dunstall is fine, he actually has a clue and isn't too bad about Melbourne. It's Dermie that's the moron and doesn't have a nice thing to say about us

that's quite understandable, jara. It must be a very difficult and uncertain job as to what is coming down the line, i wouldn't even dare to speculate........i can only hope it gets better sooner than later people like your wife do a great job

well how do you explain infections going up exponentially, yet hospital admissions flatlining in addition those in hospital are mostly the unvaxxed not saying the health people at the pointy end aren't working their butts off

My question is: What's changed? Physical gifts: He had an interrupted preseason last year and is clearly motivated this year. So there's a chance he's stronger and fitter. The added physical tools then lead to better performance that then builds confidence and away he goes. Role in the side: He's been asked to play as the deeper target and crash packs - the Ben Brown role, but he doesn't have Brown's reach and often finds himself out of position and buffeted by strong key defenders. With more fitness he's a chance to play as a lead up CHF - the Tom McDonald role. But Tom is a freak really, there's very few who can run like he does and no matter how fit Sam gets he might not be able to do that. His best footy has also come as the back up ruck allowing him to get involved around the ground and get touches - the Luke Jackson role. There's a chance his game starts to come together and he takes his opportunity as a key forward, but overall I think if he's only made solid but unspectacular gains over summer I'm not sure it will be enough. So I favour the idea of a new role entirely and move him to the backline for summer and half a year. Worse case scenario it doesn't work at all and he goes back to being handy key forward depth. Best case scenario is he either excels down back or it rounds out his game by getting him more involved with the ball on the deck, more comfortable with marking situations and more confident to impact games. Then he goes back to the forward line with more tricks in his bag and confidence.

Not for me. I've never seen a thread where someone is training the house down trying to break into a premiership side.

There is only one way that Weid plays in the Senior Side. He has to smash the door down and play better than TMac or Benny Either way The MFC benefits Good Luck Sam…

At Christmas lunch I asked my nutter Hawks MIL if she could just pop the GF replay on the telly. Went down as expected, made me a happy man. Had to suck down years of their smug [censored]. Nice to put a cats bum look on the old girls face!

Seen (and bought) at Rebel in Chadstone