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More good news for the club. Any journos perusing Demonland for a good news story, please note, winning the McClelland trophy for best men's and women's football program can be added to an impressive list of positives from the last 3 years, a period where we: have won three flags are even money favorite to win our fourth flag in a few weeks finished top 4 in the men's and women comp every season made finals in every VFL season (In spite of this success) go into the upcoming draft with a brilliant draft hand for any team, let alone a top 4 team have a united board a CEO (who had his critics when he came to the dees) doing a top job have stabilized financially thankfully no longer have to rely on income from pokies got to 70k plus members (an all time record) continued to strengthen the women's program have been able to keep the women's team together (very much unlike other top teams) are on the way to creating the best, most successful program in AFLW history did a thorough review of our 2022 season and made changes as a result resigned our men's and women's coach made a series of long term, contract extensions to key players resigned Koz, a terrific message that our club is considered culturally safe by Aboriginal players (reinforced by McAdam nominating the dees) been leaders in the Aboriginal cultural space - for example the Indigenous jumpers and Narrm initiative that other clubs are now getting on board with (eg renaming their team for Indigenous round) not unrelated to the above two points, bedded down our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan managed the departure of Jackson in a way that has given us a great draft hand managed the transition of Burgess to Griffith super well managed the situation with Jonsey not getting a game in the GF super well resigned Melk when we we could have easily said see ya have done a great job connecting with past players and bringing them back into the fold had an assistant coach win one of the most coveted jobs in footy - the senior coach of the tigers Yes, like every other club we have had our share of isolated incidents but by any measure that is a super impressive list of achievements, albeit missing one key thing - a home base. We are in better shape now then at any other point in the 45 plus years i have ardently followed the mighty dees. Go redlegs.

RE the best club in Australia: Whether you used AFLW S6, S7 or a combinatuon of both, if they had awarded the Mcellend Trophy using the same formula in 2022 we would've won it last year as well. 2021 didn't have all 18 clubs in the AFLW, but we would've won it that year too, based on the club's that were in. 3 years in a row being the most dominant club in the land.

This Saturday night our final H&A match will take place vs the Lions at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield, QLD. The message is simple… if you can, PLEASE attend this match! Unfortunately there’s only 12 of our core DA who can attend, and there probably won’t be many Dees fans. This is such a shame as Lions fans will undoubtedly turn up in comparatively big numbers. The girls tell us time and again how very important fans are. They need to hear encouragement, it really matters to them, so much so that we’ve changed our position at Ikon matches from behind the goals to the pocket because they told us they can hear us clearly from there. With Adelaide having beaten North today, a win for us next week is crucial. If you or your family and/or friends can attend, feel free to PM me for who to contact/tickets/info etc. BACK TO BACK BECKONS!!!

I think Mick is fantastic, he and Daisy set up this team and are a big part of the culture. The team themselves, what a great bunch they are. Peter Jackson again had the foresight to get on board way back when others couldn't see it. It mustn't also be forgotten that one of the people 'Robbo' has been taking pot shots at...the Prez, Kate Roffey has been very proactive. ...and I will also say a big part of the success of the women's team are the cheer squad who are the envy of the competition and an absolute credit to themselves and the club.

😂 was typing when one of my chooks jumped from outta nowhere onto my lap, spilling coffee over the two of us. I didn’t realise I’d pressed submit. The chook in question is Goldie, maybe she wanted to remind me to mention what a great player she is. 😂 She won’t do that again in a hurry since being bathed is not on the top of her things I like list. Anyways, as I was saying, the players are… BLOODY AWESOME!!!!! 😁

apologies to all. You are correct in all you say. i have presented a poorly constructed and articulated comment. it does certainly present as sexist criticism which was not my intention. Thank you for taking the time to respond and as you say it would require more time to dissect than it is worth. i will contnue to watch and support our male and female players and encourage everyone to do the same.

Binman please take a bow, that is a very significant list of achievements for the mighty MFC.

They've called it: https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1057726/brisbane-lions-surrender-1m-mcclelland-prize-in-costly-loss-to-st-kilda-saints "The result will see Melbourne claim the McClelland-Trophy treasure, with Collingwood one game and nearly 18 percentage points behind." Both our teams have contributed 64 points (with one game remaining for the women), so a nice and even contribution. Someday a club will win it with more of a contribution from one team over the other, but this ain't that.

Geez I really hope that doesn’t happen. But if MFC fans are able to attend a home final/grand final but choose not to, I don’t wanna hear these same folks whinge about not having seen a Melbourne grand final in person. We support our Club therefore we should support ALL of our players, ie. anyone who pulls on a red and blue jumper. I almost forgot to add… IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. 😉

Spend five minutes with Mick and the girls and you’ll see…he ain’t goin’ nowhere. 😁

Thank you, I really appreciate your response.

None to Demonland?

Put together a 1st round mock without trades, will attempt one later with trade guesses which will be laughably inaccurate. I've tried to be a little different, combining my rankings with media speculation and guessing club needs to a degree. I've started out with WC bidding on Walter as he would combine perfectly with Allen to be a dominant key forward pair, GC will obviously match but will be paying full price. With apologies to SA and WA prospects who I just don't see enough of throughout the year outside of champs. 1. GC - Walter (NGA) 2. WC - Reid 3. NM - Duursma 4. NM - McKercher 5. HW - Watson 6. WB - Sanders 7. MELB - Leake 8. GC - Read (NGA) 9. GWS - Curtin 10. GEEL - Caddy 11. ESS - Windsor 12. GC - Rogers (NGA) 13. ADE - Wilson 14. MELB - O'Sullivan 15. SYD - Murphy 16. WB - Croft (f/s) 17. StK - Simpson 18. ADE - M Edwards 19. NM - Collard 20. GWS - Tholstrup 21. NM - Morris 22. HAW - McCabe (f/s) 23. NM - Schoenmaker 24. COLL - Hastie 25. ADE - DeMattia 26. StK - Hardeman 27. CAR - Jiath

I know everyone hearts in the right place but… AFLW coaching and admin is a career in-and-of-itself; no one needs to ‘progress’ to a men’s program if they don’t want that shift. AFLM is where Daisy is at the moment - unless she wants to shift back to AFLW there is no need for her to use that as a ‘stepping stone’ to progression in the men’s game.

Speaking of Zanker, which we should be, always:

I reckon the men should donate their portion to the women

pies lose so absolutely no doubt the $1m is ours now.

That’s what I’m missing, a chook to blame my typos on!!

Hang out to your hats. The strong blustery conditions made it extremely difficult for either team to execute footy skills but nonetheless an entertaining match ensured for those brave enough to venture down to Casey Fields on Saturday. Impressive Irish player Aine Tighe was a late withdrawal for Freo. Maddie Gay was also a late change, and she was replaced with 19 year-old Georgia Gall, the 6-foot ex Melbourne Stars BBL cricketer who has been impressing the coaches in scrimmage games. Fremantle came to play, boosted in confidence by their impressive 24-point win against St Kilda the previous week. With total clearances at 30 each it was tough in the middle. Fremantle possess a strong army of physical mids in Kiara Bowers, Ange Stannett, Dana East, and skipper Hayley Miller and were competitive all day. Despite our four-quarter efforts, the Dockers still managed to kick a goal in each quarter. The Demons are noted 4th quarter specialists and kicked 3 goals to 1 which was enough to run out comfortable winners in the end by 33 points. For the Dees, Paxy was ubiquitous with a game-high disposal count of 27 including 10 contested possessions. Eliza McNamara (25, 10), Lily Mithen (20,7), Liv Purcell (20, 8), and Sinead Goldrick (19, 10) demonstrated the breadth of our contributors in the hard-fought win. With 10 tackles and 20 disposals Westy is back. Her efforts around the contest were awesome as was her crafty goal using the brute strength of West against (Dana) East. It was noticeable at ground level that Freo has many quick players and at times we looked slow in comparison. They achieved a couple of running goals by breaking down our defensive wall. Not as obvious on the telly but our well drilled side has several players who read the play so well and either regain possession via intercepts or half a contest with a tackle or create a stoppage. Goldie and Mackin typically do this so well, but Meggs wanted to praise Eliza McNamara for her efforts yesterday. On numerous occasions she confidently inserted herself in the play for intercepts or tackles. A very good game Lize. Gillard continues to elevate herself to be our premier defender. Our leading scorers Eden Zanker and Kate Hore kicked 2 goals each and top the AFLW goalkicking table (20 and 19 respectively). It was Shelley Heath’s 50th game and a banner celebrating her milestone had been jointly created by DeeArmy and the Melbourne players. Unfortunately, due to the strong winds which would have ripped it to shreds, the raising was postponed. No matter, it was nice for Heathy to have a win and contribute well during her big match and she feistily laid 7 of her trademark tackles. News of Brisbane’s loss to St Kilda at RSEA Park later in the afternoon was important for the Dees as we hope to lock in the $1m Dr McLelland Trophy prize. Meggs’ quick maths suggests even if the Pies thump Sydney and Richmond in the next 2 weeks and Melbourne is thrashed by Brisbane in Round 10, we would finish on top on percentage. Adelaide plays North and West Coast and is expected to win both games, therefore the result of next week’s grand final rematch at Ipswich next Saturday evening will decide whether it’s the Crows or the Demons as Season Eight minor premiers. In terms of the game: Q1 Freo wins the toss and kicks with the wind. Fremantle wins the 1st clearance and Birch takes a nice defensive mark. She then plays on, and the ball ends up coming straight back where Freo forward pressure wins a free in front of goal. Kauffman kicks the first of her three goals for the day. It’s tough conditions but eventually Hanksy, ever the opportunist, makes something out of nothing with a great check-side goal. The Dockers hit the post again and have not taken their opportunities with the wind. ¼ time: Dees 1.2.8 Dockers 1.3.9 Q2 We now have the wind. The game is being played in the Demons forward half, with Freo defending well. It’s only a matter of time until we score, and Kate’s poster is a highlight. Then in the space of a few minutes the Dees pile on three quick goals to Zanker, Paxy and Westy. Three goals and six points for the quarter means we have not taken our opportunities. Freo’s hard work is finally rewarded when they move the ball over our defensive wall and run with speed to kick a good team goal by Kauffman, who outsprints Wilson. ½ time: Dees 4.9.33 Dockers 2.3.15 Q3 Against the wind, Kate kicks a goal off the ground. Later in the quarter Goldie is surprisingly adjudged holding the ball and Freo’s Serena Gibbs converts from directly in front. A big quarter coming up. ¾ time: Dees 5.9.39 Dockers 3.4.22 Q4 Some untidy wind impacted play in the Demons forward line is finally rewarded via a long-range snap on goal by Blaithin Mackin. Brilliant B. Kauffman then marks and goals from up throw up. Freo are not going away. Some clever vision from Liv Purcell who long bombs into space to Sherriff who outruns her opponents cleverly taking control of the footy and giving to Kate Hore for a nice team goal. A defensive kick in error sees Zanker mark and goal to take back her outright leadership of the AFLW goalkicking table. And that’s that, a 33 point win. Dees win 8.13.61 to Dockers 4.4.28 Coaches and next week Melbourne Coach Mick Stinear was really pleased with the outcome in the end. It was challenging conditions against a tough, physical side. A good four quarters with 21 scoring shots. He highlighted our versatility. Tayla Harris and Aimee Mackin should be available next week and provide him with a selection headache. A massive test on the road next week. Dockers coach Lisa Webb was disappointed they were not able to get the result but was particularly proud of their exceptional effort. She noted Freo were down a couple of soldiers, namely Aine Tighe and Ebony Antonio. Next week is the last round of Season Eight. The reigning premiers play a grand final rematch against Brisbane at the same venue, Brighton Homes Arena, Ipswich on Saturday evening November 4 at 7:05pm. Beat Brisbane and we finish minor premiers plus (if we make it that far) a home grand final at our fortress Ikon Park. MELBOURNE 1.2.8 4.9.33 5.9.39 8.13.61 FREMANTLE 1.3.9 2.3.15 3.4.22 4.4.28 GOALS MELBOURNE Hore Zanker 2 Hanks B Mackin Paxman West FREMANTLE Kauffman 3 Gibbs BEST MELBOURNE Paxman West McNamara Fitzsimon Mithen Hore FREMANTLE Kauffman Bowers Stannett East Lally MillerINJURIES INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil FREMANTLE Flynn (back) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil FREMANTLE Nil UMPIRES Devenish Howard Talbot CROWD 1,650 at Casey Fields

Fantastic recognition for our AFLW & AFL teams, we are all enjoying our most successful era since the mid 50’s - mid 60’s. Soak it up and enjoy their success, we are in great shape as a club, let’s hope that our AFLW team can go back to back in 2023, the flow on effect will be enormous. Even more boys and girls running around in Red & Blue next season, I am loving this experience.❤️💙

Yep @dazzledavey36 been thinking for ages that Mick should be in helping Goody in some capacity at aflw seasons end. It's not just culture, he seems to be a great tactician as well. He's a gem

Thanks for the acknowledgment, rjay. We are baffled as to why the other clubs don’t get involved to the level we do. It’s so rewarding. The players are

I believe he lives down Apollo Bay way so if he was to get into a men’s coaching role on a full time basis as much as I would love it to be with us, that tax payer funded club in Cotton On FC would be attractive from a location point of view. You can wear the travel for a shorter AFLW season but with a young family the travel and time commitment with our men’s program may be too much. Daisy to come home and take over the AFLW program and Mick promoted to the men’s program would be a dream scenario.

I'd like petrol prices under $2 a litre, a Hella Mega Tour announcement, and probably to lose a few more kgs. Oh I'd also like Ryley Sanders and James Leake as our picks for 6 & 11. Mick Stinear to play a role with our men's team, and Mick Warner and Mark Robinson to be sued by Goodwin after we win the flag. ... I'm not fussy.

And Marnus and Maxi’s superb fielding saved a couple of certain boundaries. Bring on the poms!!!

Could not agree more @3183 Dee. The boys to me don’t seem to be enjoying what they are doing when out on the footy field. Whatever happened to simply having fun? Our ‘systems’ are so rigid, it allows for little enjoyment. It was quite noticeable to me this year, almost as if the fear of losing was greater than the motivation of winning.

It'll be a matter of time before he is snapped up in the AFLM environment. Whoever does that will be incredibly lucky to be get such a valuable asset into their environment.

Couldn’t agree more. They could also learn from the AFLW teams ball movement and game plan a bit as well.

No question about it. The Melbourne Football Club is the best, most successful club in Australia right now. The media questioning of the club’s “culture “ is complete [censored].

Agh, another classic Blusterdome game. I used to be all "both teams have to play in the conditions, so you take it as it is". But with the gap in skills this team has on most opponents it's more and more of a shame that we play so often in the football equivalent of a spin cycle. Yes, a bunch of those goals missed should have been slotted (and this is something we won't always get away with and need to tighten up). It's the around the ground stuff that I find frustrating, as the conditions don't reward skill or superior ball movement so much as "kick and hope" footy. We'll still typically rise above it, and play the conditions smart. And there'll always be games affected by the weather. But I hate that 90% of the time, playing at our home ground means our team won't get to practice its full potential. All that aside, we did what we needed to do, 4 points, no obvious injuries, and as it turns out, all but sealing $1 mil. That goal from B.Mack was all class and the highlight of the day for me. I want to watch the replay for a couple of Heater tackles I saw from a great distance but need to experience with a better view as a 50 game celebration. Liked Gall's game and look forward to seeing more of her. Fitzsimon had a real purple patch at one point putting on immense forward pressure with numerous repeat efforts. Matchday experience: Nearly lost a few camp chairs and I swear a half-full bag of potato chips I dropped blew a good 10m away before I could catch up to it. Everything was at the right volume (Dees Army loud, PA system reasonable), so that was a plus.

You can't include the girls into the men's in terms of culture. That's offensive to the girls program. It's Separate. The girls are a very well drilled team which is driven hard by Mick Stinear who's created a fantastic culture for the women's. The boys could learn a thing or two from the way Mick and his team go about it from a culture point of view.

His Dad was ND Pick 66 so there are similarities. Make no mistake his Dad was an absolutely hard at it player who seems to be underrated on here. If he is at that level he is a draft must. Fourth Best and Fairest 2002 Most Consistent Player 2002 Second Best and Fairest 2004 Most Consistent Player 2004

Appropriate posting name.

The phantom drafts are dependent on the recruiters giving information to the journalist who the club is interested in, at one stage WB was sold on Watson now its Sanders because Hawthorn saw something in Watson. If Curtain is there when we have a pick his upside is tremendous plays Forward, Back and Midfield.

Pies lost to Swans, makes it official! Happy it meant a Pie loss to win it hehe 😁

I hear BBO is very good at “feeding the chooks”.

Cal’s had Caddy and Curtin to us but I don’t think either have been definitive, both seem to be based on his order. He’s been stronger on the top 5 than any link to us. The link to Leake comes from the HS. He’s been strong on Windsor as a top 10/top 12 pick. Which means us, GWS, Geel, Adel or Ess. That surprises me a bit.

...what? Getting back into the puzzle game, W? 😁

Agree that Mick Stinear has a lot to offer Goodwin and his coaching group.

Congrats after the BS off field in our men’s team includes the media attention.. hope the girls go back to back flags

Not true, yet! If north wants to up their offer then they’re paying overs 💯 As it stands our offer is superior! Over to the Roos it is.

WC don’t want to take a risk on Reid and they believe curtin is the next best player. They’ll get him at 6 and then get dees next 2 first rounders. If I were WC this scenario would have to be considered

Congrats to the women's and men's teams on winning the McClelland. Thoroughly deserved the women have been brilliant.

Really? You maybe read the Herald Sun and Robbo, or you listen to the Cornfield a wee bit too much for your health of mind. 😎😍🥰

Is that you, Kelli Underwood?

Just to let our football do the talking. No talk about players being at clubs that value them, no slogans like Demon Spirit or Possessed. Just simply play football and play it well.

The men's side should donate their side of the Trophy monies to the girls. They are already well remunerated ( 10X on average now) and they would only be handing more $'s to the tax man than any of the girls would be.

Curious as to why OMc is being ridiculed here. Good luck big fella, hope you get to 100 games.