Leaderboard

A FINAL NOD TO RON by Whispering Jack I sat down a little while ago to document the Melbourne Football Club’s 2023 in a “That was the Year that Was” format and I soon hit a snag in putting it all together. You see, it was a year that by all rights should have been a shining light in the club’s history after the club achieved such great heights at both men’s and women’s levels that it took out the revamped McClelland Trophy, adding $1m to its coffers. The format now includes the AFLW and is a combined award presented to the 'Champion Club' for the men and women. The Demons finished both competitions with the double chance but failed to make a Preliminary Final in either one of them; a crushing blow for all at the club, from the point of view of the administration, players, staff and supporters alike. Particularly so, because in both competitions, the club was not far off the mark which is a testament to how competitive our game is at the highest level these days. And as if that wasn’t enough, Melbourne suffered a further blow within a day of its semi final exit against Carlton, with the news of the passing of the man who was arguably the greatest player to ever wear the Red and the Blue, Ronald Dale Barassi. Former skipper Stan Alves, who made his debut in 1965 which was the season after Barassi left the club for Carlton, said, “No greater person has been involved in the game than Ron Barassi.” The dark cloud hanging over the club has barely lifted over the past few months with issues facing one of the great players of our present but time will surely heal. The players will be back on the track in no time to begin preparations in earnest for the season. What would the great Ronald Dale Barassi advise the players as they embark on their next campaign after letting the opportunity for greatness slip twice in a row? It would have to be encapsulated by the elements that made him famous — his resilience, his determination and his heroic feats. During his playing days, it was always Barassi who demonstrated the ability to rise to the occasion. He did so throughout his life and his career, both inside and outside of the game. Barassi was born in Castlemaine in the goldfields region of Victoria in 1936 and was five years old when his father, a former Melbourne player Ron Barassi Sr., died in action at Tobruk during World War II. I recently found this news item from the Castlemaine History Group that demonstrated his potential as a young sportsman of 11 years of age. Not long after this, he and his mother moved to the big smoke of the city and when she married and moved to Tasmania, he was taken in by Melbourne’s Coach Norm Smith, the father/son rule was devised and by the time he was 17 years and two months old, he was a senior footballer with the Demons. Two years later, a premiership and on the way to six flags in a decade as a player. Ronald Dale Barassi could turn a game on its head with a single bound. He was a hero to every second kid on the block. From his modest start in life and with the difficult circumstances of losing a father in wartime through his outstanding playing career, his brilliant coaching and even in the later years of his life, by his chivalry in saving a damsel in distress, he was not only the quintessential hero. He was a winner and while he was as tough as nails, played the game in the right spirit, was a happy, personable friend to all. That was Ron - heroism, sportsmanship and resilience personified, the very person for the Melbourne Football Club to honour in the season to come and, in return, his legacy will give inspiration from on high to take us forward to a bright premiership filled future.

Judd McVee’s debut season is the exception rather than the rule. Running my ruler along the line rather than through it, to add the millimetre perfect hyphen. In the tradition of Audley Gillespie-Jones, Ivor Warne- Smith, Trent Ormond-Allen, Jay Kennedy-Harris and Alex Neal-Bullen my nomination is Andy Moniz-Wakefield the local lad. Admittedly some wide degrees of auspiciousness on that list. From just about absolute bust to double Brown-Low divinity. But a debut and some on going opportunity would be terrific for AMZ. A young man with a 🔥 desire to succeed.

Blake Howes.

Remember that freo comeback game when we were 50 odd points down? Well, leaving that i ended up walking behind the southern stand with the great man. I was rather excited at the time but he was just as happy. "Itll give the boys such a lift". Will never forget that 50m walk.

Koltyn Tholstrup

based on performance I think Turner, who is improving like JVR the year before.

69 i50s to 35 i50s We lost the game Is inexcusable regardless of the rwd line we had in place

Could be as many as five players forward that didn't play in the last final. McAdam, Billings, Petty, JVR, BBB if fit, also Fritta who was barely fit enough to get on the ground for the last few weeks. Should be enough options to tweak the forward line somewhat.

All the best KF's were/are strong on the lead but as you said, the game has changed and it's much harder for forwards to lead into space (but not impossible) Quick ball movement further afield and quick f50 entries is the key And that's what the Pies do. They catch out teams on the counter so it often looks like they've got an open forward line with their f50 entries They are quick and it's nearly every time. Thus, their forwards have got space to lead into What we do has been much discussed and we have to change We do a lot right though with a tremendous zone defence and we have real talent in our backline. The midfield is fine as well with plenty of talent It's just our ball movement which is not corridor-centric which leads to slow inside f50 entries So we need to be quick from HB, stoppages or centre-breaks and we should back ourselves to use the corridor ... turn it over and we've got the stellar defence as back-up Footnote: Pound for pound we've got a better list of players than Collingwood but their system takes them a long way. They play high-risk football knowing that mistakes & clangers are going to happen, no matter which way they play And the best way for us to pay them back for the act of thuggery is to beat them on the scoreboard (although we could send out a goon as well - Ice Hockey style!!)

Wouldn't mind this, though!

Lovely bit of writing there. And by all accounts he was a modest person & didn't have tickets on himself. A great loss for Australia.

Something more than 'Sorry' needed, 'Good' Sir. Wikipedia-ing and Demonwiki-ing - precious time I will not get back!

Your ability to make anagrams is elite, @Demonstone!

Laurie - from all reports he’s taken a significant step forward with his fitness (coming 3rd in the 2km time trial), which is what Judd credited for his breakthrough into the senior side last year We’ve been crying out for classier ball users and if Laurie can hold down a spot averaging 15-20 possessions a game (which an increased fitness base should allow him to do) it will go a long way to addressing one of our biggest areas of weakness

Woewodin, I thought he showed enough last year in the games he played.

That highlights the lack of quality amongst our forwards ... most of our entries came straight back out If Petty, Melksham & co had have been available, our forward line would have functioned better and we would have in all likelyhood won the game The amount of entries is also dependant on the quality of the personnel up forward and our forward line that night could best be described as C- We've had similar quality forward lines (C-) from 2007 through to 2015 with similar results. The amount of entries is just a number and often just a reflection on the strength of the respective midfields and/or clearances won There were many times when we matched the i50's with the opposition during the Bailey & Neeld years ... we still got smashed Equally, one could argue that the opposition were extremely efficient with their low number of f50 entries. Again, a reflection on the quality of their forwards in comparison to our forwards The following week against the Blues we matched them for i50's but the same issue was there, a lack of quality forwards. Therefore, we lost So, to win any game of football you need (in general terms) a decent forward line. To win a final you need a better than decent forward line and to win 3 finals in order to win the GF, your forward line needs to be at least, very good Our forward line during the 2023 finals series was not up to par (due to a multitude of injuries to our forwards)

So where do McAdam Billing’s and others like AMW Kolt and Caleb Windsor fit into your 2024 plans. McAdam and/or Billing’s wil help our forward line and even Fullarton will get an opportunity. Not all of our 2023 forwards will be there during the season if our recruits live up to expectations. I believe McAdam will be a lock plus Billing's a chance also. And don’t rule out Kolt and Duke (Windsor getting opportunities to debut. Also AMW appeals as does Howes and of course Taj. KP wise we may even get some good service from BBB and Fullarton is a chance of playing in the AFL also. Plenty of chances to assist our forward line and a game plan plus greater connectivity will make a great difference. Also JVR cannot wait to see him further develop his skills and ability plus team play and X factor. 2024 should be a great response to our 2022-23 disappointments

I really can’t understand these incredibly negative opinions. We only needed to score one more goal a game last season & we go to one of the top forward lines. A few tweaks to our forward delivery & more importantly keeping our forwards on the ground will make a massive difference to our team. Get consistency on the scoreboard & that will impact our whole team dynamic. Name one team we haven’t matched it with & have lost for any other reason than because of our “much publicised forward deficiencies”.

5 is my old man.

All good points. To be honest i was in shock after the QF game and Gus incident - in large part because it was the worst, most awful, febrile environment i have experienced at any sporting event. Because of that, and becuase he had been quiet for the preceding few weeks, the JVR suspension washed over me and i didn't really factor it in when thinking ahead to the blues game. But to a large degree, as you imply, JVR missing that game was the straw that broke the back. Even if he had another game he would have had his chances and with his accuracy most likely taken them. And JVR strikes me as a big game player and so there is every chance he would have risen to the occasion and had a big impact. And Smith and JVR would have been a hard combo for the blues to cover. I reckon there is one factor that the impact of which consistently gets underplayed by fans and the media (and me too) - luck. People seem to hate suggesting luck is a factor - i suspect because it feels like making excuses and/or perhasp it so ephemeral. But however anyone assesses our performance, its hard to argue that once again we had our (un)fair share of bad luck.

Too bad you picked the dees to support then. Failure is part of the deal. Not sure how long you have been a dees fan, but as someone who has been supporting the dees for half a century the current model of failure sure beats the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s model.

The quiz posted by @Roger Mellie has inspired me to saddle up the old grey matter and take 'er for a ride. Below is a list of ten cryptic clues, the answer to each being a Melbourne listed player since the year 2000. PLEASE READ: a) Reply by PM only. Don't blurt out answers or guesses on this page, please. b) Don't be greedy and hog all the glory. There is a limit of two (2) correct answers per poster at this stage. 1. Ales investor is drunk. (6,6) Oliver Sestan 2. Scratchier captain irritated. (9, 8) Christian Petracca 3. Turns alternative. (7) Windsor 4. Floral mutton chop. (3, 9) Tom Fullarton 5. Ant prehistory analysed. (8,5) Harrison Petty 6. Sarin alchemist formula. (9,5) Christian Salem 7. Box and run. (6) Spargo 8. Box and fight. (7) Sparrow 9. Yachts briefly changed course. (6,7) Bayley Fritsch 10. A banjo conveyor shattered. (5, 9) Jacob van Rooyen

They don't come around every year necessarily. That's what makes Judd McVee Judd McVee.

Judd McVee👍

I think the club must have real faith in the progress of Jed Adams given that they skipped the chance at Dan Curtin in the draft. I'd expect to see him sliding into the tall defender mix as the kid surrounded by the old men Lever, May and Tomlinson! Oddly enough, if Petty remains forward then Adams is actually our tallest defender. There's going to be huge competition for spots in our midfield and medium forward roles this season. Woewodin seems like the most versatile of the group who will keep getting games each week, and thus most likely to get a good block of form going and develop consistency throughout games and over the season. Also, Jefferson will come in at some point during the season, and kick a goal a game and take a few useful marks on the lead and without being a spectacle in himself will make a disproportionate difference to our game. Think of it as what you get if you add 20cm to Charlie Spargo.

Apologies @Macca, that’s meant to be Texans not Titans.

I’ve never seen the kid play but I’ll go Jed Adams.

Also supports Stevie May in his comments. Law of averages also backs this up about beating them. Boy dies this Filth need a hiding or two from us this year. Once in HandA and also in a Final.

Which I think was my point & in both seasons we had massive disruptions to personnel in our forward line. Looks like we have addressed the personnel situation..just need them to fire

Agree . The flag that got away despite injuries and forward woes. We never tossed it in

The main problem was we had this same issue in 2022, and again in 2023 Massive F50 entries with very low conversion rates The issue was not resolved during 2023 pre season

You were honorably 4th - Champion of Victoria. I could disqualify Tough Kent for blurting though. That would make you third 🏆🏆🏆

Pakistan played a pretty good series and could have easily won a test or two with a bit more polish. Will be an interesting watch the Windies series and whether they have Green or Smith open or go with another option before heading to NZ for that tour? Then comes the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean before some white ball tours of Afghanistan (neutral venue anyway), Ireland and England before we're back home. And I hope the ICC don't green light another T20 or T10 comp in October/November. We've often toured South Africa then, the ODI World Cup was then last year and is set for then in 2027 and its also the start of our domestic season. Cricket needs to make sure they don't let private enterprise ruin the sport.

After last September i am staggered that he is going around again I love Tom, but we played those 2 Finals a man down…

Not so good at the Jets this year.

He's still handy to have as depth even if he mainly plays at Casey. Can pinch hit in the ruck or any key position. Great team player & always gives 100%.

Dunno. You’re the textbook spermocinator… you should know 😉 Now I’m picturing Arnie menacingly strolling through the city streets brandishing a giant sex toy in each hand… The Spermocinator in cinemas Boxing Day.

Yes he did

Laurie is another who doesn't win enough of his own football, and who isn't tall or quick enough to compensate for that. I honestly don't see a single AFL standard trait in his kitbag, and for that reason I don't think he'll make it.

Petracca has improved every year and has come back to training looking extraordinary. With him, Viney, Sparrow and (we hope) Gus, our midfield will be fine. Max is still going strong and we might blood some backup this year. Our defence is the best in the league although I agree, May is getting on, unfortunately. Our forward line is immensely improved on paper at least and if Fritta is fit and firing, and if we can get Petty back relatively soon, I see us having a great year. And if Clarry is in there, and I hope for his sake as much as ours that he is, we will be almost unbeatable IMV.

A list update for the Casey Demons ahead of the 2024 season. STAYING: Casey Demons: Riley Baldi, Jack Bell, Paddy Cross, Tyler Edwards, Tom Freeman, Max Gregory, Ned Moodie, Charlie Muley, Harvey Neocleous, Charlie Peters, Tom Sheridan, Roan Steele, Ziggy Toledo-Glasman, Ryan Valentine, Mitch White; Melbourne: Jed Adams, Jake Bowey, Angus Brayshaw, Ben Brown, Kynan Brown (VFL promotion - Old Geelong/Oakleigh Chargers), Kade Chandler, Kyah Farris-White, Bayley Fritsch, Max Gawn, Blake Howes, Lachie Hunter, Matt Jefferson, Ed Langdon, Bailey Laurie, Jake Lever, Steven May, Tom McDonald, Judd McVee, Jake Melksham, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Alex Neal-Bullen, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Harrison Petty, Kysaiah Pickett, Trent Rivers, Christian Salem, Josh Schache, Oliver Sestan, Joel Smith, Charlie Spargo, Tom Sparrow, Adam Tomlinson, Daniel Turner, Jacob van Rooyen, Will Verrall, Jack Viney, Taj Woewodin. ARRIVING: Casey Demons: Leo Connolly (St Kilda AFL), Eddie King (Richmond Juniors), Wardell Lual (Werribee), Kobe Shipp (Beaconsfield/Dandenong Stingrays), Brayden La Planche (Rowville/Eastern Ranges), Caleb Lewis (Footscray), Mitch Szybkowski (Frankston), Kai Windsor (Box Hill Hawks); Melbourne: Jack Billings (St Kilda), Tom Fullarton (Brisbane Lions AFL), Marty Hore (Williamstown), Shane McAdam (Adelaide AFL), Koltyn Tholstrup (Newtown-Condingup/Subiaco), Caleb Windsor (Lysterfield/Eastern Ranges). DEPARTING: Casey Demons: Heath Briggs (Cora Lynn), Matt Buntine (retired - Tooradin-Dalmore), Trent Burgoyne (delisted), Zane Duursma (North Melbourne AFL), Finn Emile-Brennan (SANFL), Rhys Galvin (Coburg), Luca Goonan (Frankston YCW), George Grey (Frankston), Ryan Koo (Devon Meadows), Cooper Macdonald (Collingwood VFL), Tommy McRae (Footscray), Jimmy Munro (retired - Cora Lynn), Miles Shepherd (retired), Cooper Simpson (Fremantle), Liam Tyrell (Crib Point); Melbourne: Luke Dunstan (retired - South Belgrave), Brodie Grundy (Sydney AFL), James Harmes (Western Bulldogs), Michael Hibberd (Port Melbourne), James Jordan (Sydney AFL), Deakyn Smith (delisted - North Melbourne VFL), Kye Turner (delisted - Port Melbourne). 2024 List Update - Smithy's VFL

Make or break year. Not sure that he has got it!

You’re missing my point… it’s the childish name-calling with which I take issue. Also, the lack of respect. Besides, I heard both Kate and Perty speak last night at the AGM and I’ll take that over eavesdropping at dinner tables any day.

People who confuse entomology and etymology bug me in a way that I cannot put into words.

Fair enough. But whilst i take your point that prior to the Gus incident (which occurred at the 8 minute mark of the first quarter) we weren't as switched on as we should have been, surely you concede that for the rest of that quarter we were understandably in la la land psychologically and emotionally and that had a direct impact on our effort and performance level in the first. Basically the first quarter was a write off. Which left 3 quarters to put in maximum effort. Which they did. Are you not impressed that after quarter time they rallied and put maximum effort in right up to the final siren? I mean plenty of teams, including plenty of other dees teams over the years, would have turned up their toes after the first quarter (how many finals end up in a blow out after one team is jumped in the first quarter). We didn't and whilst I understand your point about how we started the game i think the team deserves a lot of credit for their fight in the last 3 quarters.

A serious question, ie I'm not being facetious. For the sake of argument lets say you are right and the 'way we started the QF was nothing short of abysmal, bordering on pathetic' and we 'weren't ready to play football right from the start'. And for the sake of argument let's say we agree that losing Gus had a massive impact on the game. For the sake of argument, let's leave the obvious, and completely understandable, emotional impact of Gus being poleaxed just a few minutes into the game out of the equation. But let's agree that from a purely footy perspective losing Gus for almost an entire game had a significant impact on our chances of winning the game. I meant to say, we lost one of our best players and leaders, a starting midfielder, had to cover all the kms Gus runs in a game, lost his defensive smarts and had to bring our sub on early, robbing us of the chance to bring a fresh player on late in the third or early in the last quarter. And finally, for the sake of argument, lets agree that inaccuracy cost us the game and that we were clearly the better, stronger team in the last quarter. So to the question. Given we started poorly, lost one our best players only a few minutes into the game and were down 20 points at the end of the first quarter, were you impressed with our mental strength to fight our way back into the contest and be in a position to beat the team who finished top of the ladder and went on to win the flag?

Show them Rocky IV. The way he beat Drago in Russia is inspirational.

Yes to Turner, no to the other two. Seen only flashes of Laurie but there's nothing in him that suggests he is anything more than depth. McAdam is clearly the Melksham replacement. Happy to give Jefferson a game but only if we're playing against a struggling side and need to rest the other talls.