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Jeremy Finlayson’s wife Kellie has stage 4 aggressive bowel cancer which has metastasised to her lungs. It’s not expected she’ll be around to see their 2yo daughter grow up. This little tribute might not be easily noticed from the stands but it’s on tonight’s banner, OUR banner… … because some things are bigger than footy. GO DEES! ❤️💙

I rang in to Demonland tonight & was thankful Andy & Binman gave me some time to share my thoughts on this great team we barrack for. Here's what I said & what I feel. I'd like to share my thoughts on the Redlegs as a whole circa 2023. As a club, we're in rarefied air; a men's, women's & VFL Premiership all within the last 2 years. A recruiting, administrative & conditioning team that made impeccable decisions for almost 10 years. The highest paid up memberships in the history of the club. A pool of generational talent signed to long term deals. A strong list of youngsters pushing our best 22 for team selection. A destination club that has attracted All Australians, Best & Fairest's and previous club captains. A team of A list assistant coaches. A coach that tasted the highest success in his playing career & now also as a head coach, that not only learnt from a genius & passionate Demon fan in Paul Roos, but is young enough to relate to his players, young enough to grow with his players & young enough to be around for another decade which creates an environment of trust & cohesion. If you think back to your amateur team sports days, be it AFL footy, local cricket or even indoor soccer, when did you, as a team, create success? When you had consistency & cohesion & trust. When you had the same 22 fellas running out to kick the sherrin, the same 11 blokes going out to field, the same 5 friends putting on shingaurds. Why, because you built patterns, game plans and trust in their abilities. You could anticipate what your team mates were going to do & when they needed your help. The Dees finally have this. Stability, trust & importantly genuine class. What we don't have is a recent history of it. They're learning to be successful. Just as we as a supporter base are learning with them. We're not used to this success, being the favourites to win every game, being in every game, no longer being thrashed each week. But what I consistently see when I read frustrated fans' posts on various platforms is that we should be better. And it's this word I'd like to analyse. 'Better than what' is what I would like to ask. Is it possible to win every game? Of course not. Is it possible to only lose 4 games in a season. History would suggest not often. It's been decades since we've had this kind of heat. Teams need to play at their very best to beat us. So each week, we are playing the very best the opposition has to give, week in, week out. This takes its toll on the boys; you simply cannot be up every week. You simply cannot be 'better' all the time. This not an excuse, or a defeatist attitude, it's a fact. We all know the cliches; you don't win flags in 'insert any month except September', you have to peak at the right time, you must finish top 4 to win a flag. They're cliches for a reason, because the better teams have fulfilled these cliches better than other teams. As Binman says, if you have all the pieces in place as we do (talent, good governance etc), the key determinant is injuries & increasingly suspensions. These are the things to concern yourself of. Not the team itself. In the cut & thrust of battle ie the home & away season, it can be hard to pull back & see the bigger picture. What is it? The future has never been better. It's ok to be angry at losses but let's get behind them rather than walk away. Let's be that club that turns the umps whistles our way with our own noise of affirmation. Let's continue to pay our membership, to buy whatever merch we can afford from the Demon shop to assist the club to find a spiritual home for us congregate; not Casey or Gosch but a real home. Let's not feed into the collective anxiety that if we don't win a flag in the next few years, we never will again, but rather strive for sustained prolonged success. Because then the flags are inevitable. Simply my point is, trust in this team, this collective organisation. The club has never been in a better position. If we can't enjoy this now, when can we enjoy this team?

Just wanted to take a moment and share how special last night’s win was for one particular reason - Charlie. I am involved with the charity Challenge who reached out to Melbourne to help organise this. Charlie met the team earlier in the year in the lead up to Ben Brown’s shave and his whole family are diehard demon fans. Charlie's family has been facing considerable challenges and receiving less-than-ideal news, so Challenge reached out to Melbourne, hoping they could arrange something special for the family. The whole MFC went above and beyond to make it happen for Charlie. They were phenomenal. Charlie also got to attend the training session in the lead up to the game, and it was funny because he said, "I'm really worried." When we asked why, he said, "I'm worried we won't win this Friday!" Well, Charlie, the boys got the four points for you and gave you and your family a memory they can cherish forever. I always want us to win every week. But last night, it felt like a Grand Final, and all I wanted was for them to win it for Charlie. I'm so glad they pulled it off. Sure, we weren't perfect, but that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that the night was perfect for Charlie. Well done, Melbourne Football Club. Proud supporter.

Really good game from our perspective. Got that solidity behind the ball back. Really good signs. Contested possession +29. inside 50s +20. clearances +9. Smashed them all over the ground. I don’t know what most people want from the team. Without looking, I assume it’s just groupthink from the Gameday thread.

Rooey Free to Play 🔴🔵😈

J.Viney won that game for us. Disgusting commentary by Dunstall, barracking for the Suns and calling umps decisions that weren’t even there.

Interesting that when Collingwood fall over the line against middle of the road signs like Essendon and Adelaide- the media, the players and supporters celebrate like they’ve won a flag and give the impression that they’re this special side that captures the hearts of the media and most football supporters. But, when we win a close game against a middle of the road side interstate in challenging conditions, it’s considered a poor win by some despite leading for 99% of the game, something that Collingwood are incapable of doing in many of their games. This win wasn’t as poor as some are making it out to be. We got lucky with some umpire calls as well as McPherson missing that very late goal, but we beat an inform side who are playing hard footy at the moment and asked a lot of question of us today.

Meet Clarry......

Salem was awesome tonight. Was great to see him in full flight running through the middle in the third quarter. Bowey was also great before he was concussed.

I’m a “reader” and not a “poster” as evidenced by my 144 posts in 13 years. I’ve also never taken a fellow Demonlander to task before. Yet, your post kept me awake last night. I only post this now because of the high regard I hold for the quality of your posts and your influence on other Demonlanders. As an additional preface, I want to make clear that I share your concerns with all the issues you have raised about the present state of the game. I have not followed the game for as long as you. However, in the 35 years I have followed the game, people have always complained about the umpiring, the rules, the tribunal and the administration. Furthermore, there have always been those who have claimed the game is at its lowest ebb. I suspect it has always been such and always will be. This discussion need not be restricted to football. People make similar comments about the state of society generally. So, I am naturally sceptical of such claims. What is missing from your post and similar lamentations is balance. For all the negatives you have identified – and with which I agree – there are positives. Most obviously is the phenomenal success of women’s football and the explosion in participation. This is great for the game, gender equality and public health more broadly. Football clubs and matches (AFL/VFL and local) were once places of open racism that was not only tolerated but encouraged. Racial slurs were seen as a legitimate way of putting an opponent off their game. Whatever you think of clubs taking a stance on the Voice, surely we can agree that there is less racism in football today and that is a good thing. What was once glorified as toughness has been better identified as thuggery and the game is cleaner. Does anyone really think we need more players running past the ball to shirt front an unsuspecting player? Toughness is better appreciated as playing the ball and never shirking a contest. Viney, along with Oliver and Petracca, are outstanding examples of tough and clean players. The players are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilful. The tactics and strategy are more complex. Fundamentally, when you strip away inconsistent umpiring and ambiguous rules, the game is still fascinating and spectacular. I look at my young boys. They love playing this athletic and skilful team game with an odd-shaped ball, just as I did at their age. They have no awareness of the concerns I have about the direction of the game. Though I’m sure they will when they are my age, when their own kids develop their love of the game and I bemoan how the game is not what is was in the 2020s when the MFC won a cabinet full of premiership trophies. My point is, just as the game and society change, so do we. Psychological research shows we have a tendency towards preferring to maintain the status quo as we age. We also have a cognitive bias towards negativity and we weight losses more than gains (i.e. the negative effect of losing $100 is greater than the positive effect of winning $100). Evolutionary psychology theory argues we have evolved thus because this confers a survival advantage (at the expense of our happiness and with the burden of anxiety). So, the negatives are easy to identify and we tend to overestimate their magnitude. We may need to look harder, but the positives are there as well. Across the course of my life, on balance, both football and society have changed for the better. Thanks for your great insights and humour over the years. I trust you will receive this post in the spirit with which it was intended.

Everyone loves a conspiracy theory. With Dunstall and Derwayne openly barracking for the Suns, it was interesting that every time they said there should have been a Suns free or an incorrect free was paid to the Dees, the incident was replayed a couple of times and dissected by the commentators. However, contentious frees and goals paid to the Suns were totally ignored and no replay to show the incident/decision was seen. I had absolutely no idea why several frees and resultant goal decisions were paid to the Suns. How does this happen repeatedly in a game that is so heavily televised with multiple cameras? How many times was the JVR spoil on Ballard repeated? It seemed to be extremely selective vision and replays. Just a bit of fun for post game discussion, easier of course when you win.

Just been told Taj Woewodin will debut this week. Unbelievable moment for the club and his family. Our first father son since Billy Stretch IIRC? And our first son of a Melbourne Brownlow medallist to play for the club.

I’m sitting in Rundle mall bantering with a bunch of Port supporters and along comes Tracc, Langers, Tmac and Brodie. They slowed down to say hello and since I have yet to get a pic with Brodie I got my phone out and asked these Port guys if one of them could take the pic. They refused! Unbelievable. Anyways Brodie takes my phone and takes the selfie then motions towards the other three. I said, “All good. I’ve already got numerous pics with these guys.” Tmac pretended to be dejected and I said “Soz, chopped liver!” Then Tracc said, “security!” JK, he didn’t really. Anyways, what stood out was how happy Tmac is. He was in a great mood and had quite the spring in his step. He walked past me again, this time on his own and he beamed. I said, “I’m so happy you were picked for tonight.” He said, “yeah, it’s great, isn’t it.” Then, just 10 mins ago I was on the phone to my cheer squad room-buddy and along comes Max, Ricky and Salo. I yelled out “HEY MAXY! HEY RICKY! HEY SALO!” It was smiles and thumbs up all around and everyone in the mall stared at me like I’d just sprouted a second head. Gotta love Adelaideans 🙃

Melbourne Football Club. The true custodians of Australian Rules Football.

Just heard the most sensible comment on this matter. Jordan Lewis on 360 - " They are making it up as they go along " Can't argue with that !!!

It relates back to 1990 when everyone’s favourite footy manager,the great Peter Rohde, and the unheralded Tony Campbell pantsed them in consecutive weeks in R22 and the the finals to keep them from winning a flag they thought was rightfully theirs. I love that they hate us. It’s for all the right reasons and they can do f all about it.

He is a machine. You'd have to have blinkers on not to see his impact. Finished with 28 disposals, despite having a hard tag (ie not a defensive mid like Dunkley's job on Cripps) on him all game – something that doesn’t happen much anymore because the oppo is basically giving up a player and coaches can drag a player doing the hard tag away from contests (which are the reasons I’ve heard goody give for not using a hard tag more often) And despite having less disposals than he normally would, Oliver had the third most metres gained (behind tracc and maxy) for us and on a night we got smashed in CP, the most contested possessions (he was two ahead of trac, four ahead of Viney – and equal second with Swallow for both teams, behind only Anderson). And top all that off he had 9 score involvements – two more than any other player on the ground. Oliver doesn’t play, we don’t win. But sure, he didn't have much infleunce. Sheesh.

Geez there's some negative [censored] on this forum tonight. We won a tough game - that's good enough for me !

Top game! A hard fought win against a tough opponent ! They picked through our defence too easily at times but , in the end, some big moments from Max, Tracc , Oliver in the last quarter got us over the line. Some confusing umpiring again. Fritta - an absolute mare!

Just to iterate a couple of facts about Matt Jefferson.... A heck of a nice kid with strong values and upbringing. A guy who takes in coaches comments and strives to get better. A loyal bloke that loves his mates. A sticky fingered one grab player, A mainly dead eye kick. Yep he is as skinny as a Greyhound, and needs to put on weight and he will. BUT he is young and will learn and l'll tell you something else about him, when he makes the papers it will be for all the right reasons unlike many who's indescretions are cringeworthy and reek of entitlement and lack of moral fibre. He may or may not make it but I"ll guarantee he will give it 100% and respect the club and game!

Loved McVees game.

I don't think Rivers is getting enough love for the outstanding season he is having.

Light duties: Fritta, Rivers, Tomlinson, Woey, K.Turner, Verrall. Salem, TMac, Chandler, Hibbo, full training. BBB, Tomlinson, Fritta, and Rivers have now joined the main group after the warm ups. Mithen, Fitzsimons, and McNamara, (AFLW) have joined in for some drills. All under the guidance of Williams. Fritta now goal kicking. Three squads, handball game, soccer game, and Williams’ skill training. Dunstan in rehab, right calf. BBB and Tomlinson leave early, when the others start running harder. The full squad drill is, short passes in a pocket, that lends up on a corner of the fifty, then they kick and run around to the points of the square, which finishes with a lead to the forward area and a kick on goal. All rotate through the ground. That is it, 35 minutes. A few finish with some goal kicking. Tracc, Oliver, Kossie, J.Smith, Farris-White, Grundy. Bowey, and the women (still with Williams). Viney, ball handling with a trainer. May, Lever, Hibbo, and Petty chat.

This is already my favourite thread This is my beautiful boy Bear. A real keen Melbourne supporter... P.S- I did want to name him Clarry since he's a ginger but my husband said absolutely not.

Hi everybody, I’m actually out here at Waverley right now, still stuck in the car park from a game in 1986.

I thought Salem moved better than he has since that one day in September. Looks like he’s got real confidence in his legs again, and found the tempo of the game. It’s so good to see. He is an absolute gun, and makes us much harder to play against.

Yeah, coz they were so ruthless last week against the second worst team in the afl when they got smashed in the last quarter, giving up 6 goals. And despite winning three more games prior to this match, they still had a lower percentage than us. So ruthless. Is this a bloody pies footy forum or a Demon's one? FMD.

I am 71, have loved the game and especially the MFC, since I was about 5 and I am now at the stage, where I only want to go to games, to be with my kids and grandkids. I detest what I see happening to the game, which is run imo purely for money. People are ripped off at every turn by the AFL. AFL members are forced to pay $10.00 on top of membership for a seat at the G, for many games, instead of just being allowed to walk up. The fixturing is completely unfair and of its own, makes the whole competition a compromised sport. The umpiring is inconsistent. The MRO and Tribunal are a joke. The media because of accreditation are sycophants, too scared to report honestly. Everything is a deal, or fixed by a deal. Players now are unsure how to play the game and as an example, against Freo, I watched Melbourne players actually hesitate before going for the ball or tackling. Games being played on school nights, so families are denied the ability of attending. Blasting music so loud you can’t talk to people next to you. Excessive Politicising of the game. My love of the game has been severely diminished by its administrators, who couldn't run a BBQ without giving everyone food poisoning. I detest the direction of the game, that these people have taken it in and I am not referring to efforts to make it safer. Yes they have improved the viewing facilities, with some new grounds and refurbishments, but they have imo achieved little else. At least I have my memories of hard, tough,skillful footy, umpired reasonably, with penalties at Tribunals that were pretty consistent and people loving the game and actually living for it.

MFC statement re First Nations Voice to Parliament Referendum ❤️

Im sorry but Sport and Politics should never mix.

A review from a BF poster: K. Brown is a workhorse. His decision making is really good. I love how he values a HB as much as a kick, there aren’t too many that I can confidently say have this mindset. He spent time in the midfield and across HB, but his mid work was strong with 6 clearances. Brown is definitely one that doesn’t get the plaudits he deserves. Dees recruitment staff would be happy with how Brown is progressing. I see him starting as a nippy back pocket like his dad was, but eventually spending time as one of the Dees mids. It doesn’t matter where his selection comes from, he will definitely land a spot on the Dees list.

Didn't mind what I saw from Smith. Clearly needs to get more of the ball but played with more aggression than I thought he was capable of. Made Carlton earn a few hard balls.

Before everyone goes Tomlinson there is nothing he can do when the ball comes in lace out. I thought he was ok ish

You could say that sport is entertainment or that politics should be kept out of sport but that sort of thing is reserved for the perfect world that doesn’t exist at the present time. Politics and sport have been intertwined for a long time. Hitler used the Berlin Olympics to persuade the rest of the world that his intentions were honourable while at the same time planning for a world war and an evil genocide. Politics and sport intermingled in the anti-Apartheid campaigns from the 1960s that ultimately changed South Africa. It was involved in the Olympics with Tommie Smith and John Carlos‘ Black Power human rights salute supported on the 200m victory dais by the late Peter Norman (a Demon fan) in 1968 and it cast a cloud on the 1972 Olympics in Munich with the Black September terrorist attack. We’re in the middle of Sir Doug Nicholls Round. I was fortunate to meet him as a schoolboy and heard him talk about his experience as a recruit at Carlton when the trainers wouldn’t touch him because of the colour of his skin. He eventually left them and became a star player with Fitzroy before playing a role in Aboriginal rights and later in life, became Governor of South Australia. Politics/Sport/Life - they’re all intertwined and there’s nothing wrong with Melbourne taking a positive position on the Voice. We live in a democracy and we all have a choice. I urge everyone to consider the issues and make up their own minds about this issue.

Sport and Politics has always and will always mix.

Petracca was best on ground. Petracca had 5 goal assists. To put that in perspective, Joel Selwood's career high from his 355 games is 4. And we all know how Geelong liked sharing it around in their dominant years. Dustin Martin's career high is also 4. None of the other 45 players who took the field had more than one. Petracca also had an equal high clearance game, was second in contested possessions with 15, had a game high score involvements (12 - next best 9), and the most metres gained of any player.

I did read that Fremantle consulted with the traditional owners of the land and 'Walyalup' is the local language term for 'bottom 4'.

he’s taking a loss to the bombers even worse than we did

We had the game iced at half time and then took our foot off the pedal - not ideal -but there it is. Dorks came back hard but Petracca, Oliver, Viney , Max lifted as required. Yes we produced some bloopers .... that is football ... not the reason for suicide that some of the negative Nancies on this site seem to find. Take the points and take the percentage and move towards September. PS 1. I'm waiting for the day Kossie actually hangs on to one of those speccys - it will be mark of the century. PS 2. No doubt who Jason Dunstall used to play for ! PS 3. My ideal finish to this evening will be watching the paper baggers get a jolly good reaming.

Incoming from Perf…. ✈️

This Saturday… STEVEN MAY’S 200th GAME! While it’s not our home game, it’s at our home. It would be AWESOME to have as many Dees fans as possible. 4:35 on a Saturday arvo… a convenient time. COME AND GIVE MAYSIE THE LOVE HE DESERVES! ❤️💙

Howsabout an update at 12:12am? 😁There’s nothing to be concerned about. No new injury. The scans are scheduled ahead of time and at regular intervals. It’s part of his treatment.

No contact to the head. Stopped and was reaching for the ball. Appeared to brace and didn’t use elbow, forearm or shoulder. No injury. Rozee played on without any treatment and kicked the winning goal in fact. All commentators during and after game said it would be looked at, but should be ok, as he did everything right to protect Rozee as players are being taught. Verdict, life imprisonment.

This brought buckets of rain to my eyes.

It's a section of my home made pizza and salad. Only the staff on the field at the moment. Glimpsing the red training tops,, as they meander to the truck and cover. Music beats start up, they mingle with trainers and coaches, a few doing dinky passes, coaches separate., whistle blows and they gather. Tracc is with them. No sign of Petty. Light duties, Tracc, Viney, Lever, Fritta, Hibbo, BBB. Joined the skill drills. Rehab, TMac, Tomlinson, Spargo, they are in rehab tops and are wearing runners. They have joined in the skilss drills, taken by Williams. Plenty of short kicking (look at the target then the ball, is Chocos advice). Plenty of goal kicking practice under supervision, then their out. No sign of Harmes.

These sorts of wins are what should set our H&A season up. If you’re expecting flawless football and 100-point wins you’re not thinking right. We are winning games by comfortable margins while actively experimenting - we are trying new things forward of the ball with personnel and structure and we are learning how to score from sources other than stoppage. Imagine what happens when we settle. Yes, we need to show that we can produce good football against Port (and Collingwood, and Brisbane, and Geelong), but to be banking wins whilst developing in front of our eyes is precisely what we should all be demanding from this part of our fixture. Not 100-point wins.

Bloke held onto an 18 year old brad green while dean wallis punched him in the throat during the first quarter of the 2000 grand final. What else you need to know?