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Went along last night. A few notes: • Melksham gave a fantastic tribute to Hibberd. Said Hibberd was a man who would always “find a way”, despite not looking like the quintessential AFL footballer. Whether that was on the field as a desperate defender, or when the energy among the boys was dwindling during wacky Wednesday celebrations, he would “always find a way”. This led to his nickname for Hibberd being “the human loophole.” • Hibberd also gave a wonderful speech. He thanked Goody for convincing him to come to MFC as the best decision he’s made. Goody pitched him to come and help start our “new competitive culture”. Credited his father for never letting him get ahead of himself. Even when he kicked 10 goals in juniors, his dad said “what about the 2 points you missed, I would’ve kicked 12.” His dad refused to say Michael was a better player… Hibberd said it only took an all-Australian, premiership, and 197 AFL games to finally admit it. • Mark Williams presented best young player awards to McVee and JVR. Choco said when we played Brisbane, Charlie Cameron came up to him before the game and said, “I suppose you’ll have McVee on me.” Highlighted how the competition was starting to take notice of McVee’s talents. • During the video tribute for Ron Barassi, they had a great quote from Hassa Mann. It might have been shown in other Barassi tributes, as there are many, so others may have seen it. I’m paraphrasing here, but essentially Hassa said he remembers coming to the MFC as an 18-year-old, by which time Barassi was already a giant of the AFL (3 flags). They were running out onto the field one game when Barassi tapped him on the shoulder, looked him square in the eyes, and told him: “Don’t worry. I won’t let you down, son.” Talk about leadership! RIP Ron Barassi. Man amongst men. Obviously, people can watch the speeches from the award winners, President and coach on the MFC website but a couple of notes: • I agree with what Older Demon said re Goody. My impression after last night was that his position is one of leadership, not just coaching. He drives standards, culture, and creates the environment for players to become elite. I recall Roosy used to say he wanted to coach Melbourne for the leadership challenge as much as anything, and I can see this mindset in Goody. I also recall Peter Jackson saying Goody’s job interview for the succession plan was different from other candidates, who all talked about game plans, whereas Goody talked about culture, values, behaviours, and habits. To Jackson, that was like hearing Paul Roos speak, and that’s when he knew they had the right man – our 57-year drought-breaking premiership coach and a real leader of the club. • I would also like to add that we are privileged to have Christian Petracca don the red and blue. Goody said he’s never met a player who wants to be great as much as Petracca. Trac thanked the club psychologist in his speech and spoke of his passion for performance mindset, always finding a way to get better. He has flaws in his game like all players, but he is elite in everything he does to prepare… from the mental to the physical to the work he puts in on his skills, even on days off. Our next captain imo. Pencil him in. Bloody legend. Go dees in 2024.

I congratulated him afterwards on his speech, he replied “I only said what we were all thinking, I f%^#ing hate Collingwood”. Love him!

That's an embarrassing blunder. It's not as if Bradshaw is a difficult name to spell.

The night was great. It was an awards night not a vote bore-a-thon. It's so great to see the surviving 64 flag players get life membership. May was epic and even more vocal post count; honestly, he only said what most were thinking. He thinks we are better than them and he doesn't like them. He did say if he thought they were better than us he would congratulate them but was annoyed that we missed an opportunity. I do hope they find a post-career role for Pig his speech was heartfelt and sincere and he has left nothing in the tank to complete his career. BBB was asked by a doctor mate about his knee and said it was ok and he would play on and TMac needed more time to find form post-op but will suit up next year. Goody has his detractors but I came away thinking he is a very good head coach, drives the standards, is loved and respected by the players and has got this team into the top 4 the last 3 years which no one else has done. Sure he has his weaknesses but that is up to the assistants to cover the gaps. Kate said don't believe any media [censored] only what the club publishes which after the last week has convinced me is correct. Too many journos not looking for the true story but getting the first story. Pert's letter was brilliantly timed and answered the critics and the media scribes. We are reminded it took Geelong a decade to win that last premiership despite making the finals every year. They are bloody hard to win and everything has to go right.

On the contrary Petracca is underrated by plenty of Melbourne supporters and the broader media. Our game is all about contest and defence, but ultimately it's measured by scores. Over the last three years Petracca has been the number one 'score involvement' player by some margin. But he's been able to do it while also being number one for 'inside 50s', 'goal assists' and 'metres gained' during the same period. He's also number 2 over the last 3 years for 'contested possessions' behind only Oliver and second for 'disposals' in general. If you consider him ''overrated'', you must have a measurement you're comparing him to. Considering there's not a player in the league that can match his overall output over the last 3 years I'll be fascinated to know what it is.

That is an excellent summary and I agree with everything you said. The night was fabulous. The players were generous with their time, happy to chat and the atmosphere was very upbeat. I had a good chat with Steven May. Told him his speech was hilarious and I thanked him for his stellar year. He was highly amused to hear I was married to a Collingwood supporter ( who was also with me on the night). All of our table had a great night and we plan to make it an annual event. I am pumped for 2024 now ❤️💙

Would rather play a man down than see that [censored] Mathieson in red and blue.

That’s because you genuinely don’t know what role he’s being asked to play every week. Half this site thinks ANB is a liability but he came 6th. Go figure. The one set of awards you can’t complain about is the B&F. Our coaches give very specific votes for very nuanced things that we have no idea about.

Word is even his mum’s on the fence about him.

Well with no forward line, our 4th in the B & F unconscious at the 3 minute mark of the game, replaced by a newbie who did nothing and Petracca being forced to play more midfield as a result and still with 32 more inside F50 entries, which were totally wasted and having beaten them earlier in the season, you could argue we are a better team than Collingwood, right here, right now.

Truely believe if Petty played in the final series we would have won the GF - easily.

Why do people keep fixating on this? Schache is 25 yo kpf/ruck depth that has a reasonable amount of AFL experience but isn't necessarily asking for too much more. It's very hard to find. Even if he plays the year at Casey - he takes the best defender and helps them win, all of which helps our other young players develop. For the 1s he's a total emergency backup who can at least follow team structures and at best, could neutralise an opposition player. Not every player we sign or re-sign needs to be best 22 or even best 30. It takes a whole list to get this stuff done.

He’s been around football for 2 decades. He’s worked with many doctors in his time. I have also been told by a few people that she’s a really wonderful doctor. Very focused on the holistic approach to health care and the players really love her. She will be a loss for sure. I also loved that Trac thanked the club psych last night. Having good access to mental health is paramount to professional athletes these days.

With all due respect, are you out of your mind? Very average player burdened with a woeful personality and a face only a mother could love.

I do if we kick straight, we genuinely lost both finals on the back of having no composure and being inaccurate in front of goals.

I like the way Geelong does it. They take out each players 4 lowest polling games as a way to neutralize games missed through injury. So for instance, Gawn's 4 games that he missed through injury don't count (his vote tally wouldn't change)but the others around him would also have their 4 lowest polling games removed (Pickett his two for suspension plus next lowest polling games). That get you closer to the actual best player and not the most durable. Hard to argue with the top 10 though. Trac and Viney standouts, good to see the defence get rewarded - Lever, May, McVee and Rivers all in the top 10. Pickett and ANB the only forwards and both perhaps moreso for their defensive work. Gawn was a top 5 lock bar his month missed.

The Contract thread is pinned at the top of the Demons Forum Link to the thread itself: The latest is discussed toward the end of the thread. I also put the latest at the top of page 1 of the thread for easy reference.

Yes. Comfortably. Despite winning the premiership, Collingwood were lucky to finish top of the ladder and lucky to have won the flag. They will rightly be remembered as a weak and lucky premier, just like the Bulldogs of 2016. That’s why 2023 hurts so much. We missed an opportunity to win a flag against a weak field due to injuries and inaccuracy, and the eventual premier was inferior to us and multiple other teams.

Who will ever forget that outstretched arm...just collecting the ball high and powering towards destiny. That moment is permanently etched in my memory. Thanks Harmesy !!

Hodge was in Judd's year, so Hodge wasn't the best player either. Good leader yada yada, but I'm taking Judd every day of the week over Hodge.

‘Seeing them win the premiership and celebrating with the cup, I was like [censored], we’re a better team than them. We should’ve beaten them.’

🥳 so happy that despite the endless [censored]-canning he cops on here, the people whose assessment matters the most gave him the credit he deserves. Onya Nibs! And just quietly… HOW GOOD IS KNUCKLES MCVEE?! The kid’s a ⭐️ Loved seeing an event where some of the “lesser lights” got to shine. Spaz a deserving winner of the True Player award (again). 👏

She did a great job.

How does the misspelling of a player’s name get through?!?! Where’s the proofreader? Inexcusable!

You don't want McAdam, but you do want Mathieson. OK ....

Butters is better than both and went at 12. Worth considering Ports position in that year having picks 5 and 12 is very similar to ours this year. If you trust in Jason Taylor and his record would you back in the potential to trade for pick 1 (Walsh) instead of gaining a Rozee and Butters equivalent quality.

Flynn is an established ruck who would have been a good get but is more suited to the first ruck role Fullarton hasn’t had as much exposure at AFL level but is more suited to the second ruck / ruck-forward role that we need So overall I’d say he’s a better fit and has a lot of scope for development

I have made that clear previously. I am thinking of changing my name to dazzlesdavey36, whispering jacks, rpfcs, binmans, demonstones, spirits of norm smith, jnrmacs or even Demonlands. Then again Demon Dynastys even though spelt incorrectly, has a nice ring to it.

Not sure a guy that ticked off on the drug supplements would be high on anyone's list.

Some players do well when the team lifts. Some players lift the team when the team's not doing well. Jack kept us in games when we were struggling.

I watched the live stream. Which was mainly pretty good. As expected, Christian Petracca wins his 2nd Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy. Thought it would be a lot closer with Jack Viney though. Heard the word "Culture" a dozen or more times which is good. I am assuming that some of that is a subtle reminder to Clayton Oliver. But I am sure he got lots of love and well wishes this evening. We all love and support Clarrie and obviously want him to do well. Steven May, absolutely brilliant speech! He said exactly what we were all thinking! We are better than [censored] Collingwood! Let's beat them next year! Hopefully Clarrie and the rest of team is inspired by the classic Ron Barassi quote repeated by Simon Goodwin which is "if it is to be, it is up to me!" Let's win that Premiership on the MCG next year Demons!

i’m case you didn’t see May it was the best speech of all time “[censored] we are better than the Pies watching those [censored] win the flag was torture” loved it!

I have sizzle, Benny told me his knee is good and he’s playing next year

Where are all the Hunter haters? Currently third even tho he apparently can’t kick and is a bad player 🙄

That would be a wise thing for the club to do. For Melbourne fans only to hear. Agree wholeheartedly with what he said, but let's not put more controversy on him and take the spotlight away from the award winners and legends who were there. That said, we know it will get out so stand by.

Don’t wear a toupee 😳

We love Steven May 👏👏👏👏👏

Someone find a link to Mays speech please! Was hilarious.

Will fit in well with "Milkshake" when he gets back

Of course you have to be in it to win it. Seriously? IMO very lucky not to have been put through the wringer by AHPRA (medical board successor) for breaching one of the basic ethical requirements, putting his patients health paramount over the orders of the payer, in this case EFC.

I can't be neither going through this entire thread to check if this has been mentioned before but in case it hasn't, I just felt like I have to say, Steven May's speech after receiving the 5th place trophy was absolutely epic. 😎

I can’t seem to locate May’s speech on the website. Was it that profanity laced?

B. Vagg, could pull a special when the whole team was in a dire position in the last quarter. Great player.

Rivers hard done by. Deserved to finish much higher in my humble opinion.

Despite coming second in the BnF surely this was Viney's best ever year for us.

A remarkable human being and one of the best people you could ever hope to have at your club. He brings so much to our club and we should be incredibly proud that he plays for us. Even if he doesn’t play another game, his contribution next year will be immeasurable. If every young player at our club models themselves on Ben, they’ll be better for it.

i'm stealing @spirit of norm smith thunder here

you are all gonna hate me for this. i’ve got his nickname. We’ve had JLo, now…. ToFu irony is he loves a steak