Demonland

Dear members and supporters, Firstly, I hope you and your families are staying safe. As we know, this is uncharted territory for everyone and we’re all adjusting to it in different ways. Hopefully your at-home haircuts are going better than my mohawk. With the community’s health and safety being the most important thing right now, football has obviously taken a backseat. While this needed to happen, I want you to know that our work hasn’t stopped, albeit in a very different environment. We are working with what we’ve got, like many of you are too, and are riding this out, together (while maintain social distancing). Obviously, the fact that we can’t do that we love right now, and have been training to do since October, is frustrating. But we understand we are incredibly lucky that we have a job to go back to when the time is right, and that job is to work our arses off to make you proud to be a Demon. So, the purpose of this open letter is to thank you and acknowledge everyone who is currently financially supporting the Club. Without this support, and without every little dollar we are getting from our members and sponsors, we would be in real trouble. I have always been taught that through challenging times, you see the best and worst in people, and so far, I’ve only seen the best in our supporters. It makes me so confident in where our Club will be when we come out the other side of this. For the best part of six years, I sat in the stands with you. Whether I was injured or couldn’t get a game, I rode every bump with you. Sitting in the Olympic stand, I experienced the high and the lows of being a Melbourne supporter, so I want you to know that I do understand how you are feeling. I know it’s been tough and let’s be real, when I say “I’ve been through the hard times”, who could forget the time when Jack Fitzpatrick decided to tunnelball the footy through for a deliberate rushed behind which cost us the game on Queen’s Birthday, or when my close friend Lynden Dunn tagged Gary Ablett Jr. who then proceeded to rack up 30 touches in one half. On a more serious note, I know the pain – missing the finals in 2017, the Preliminary Final loss in 2018 or the disappointment of last year. But, as with any adversity, these times have brought us closer. I know if we stick together, we will come out of this stronger than ever before. I am reliably informed by the higher ups at the Club that our members have supported us like no other Club in the competition during the COVID-19 shutdown. You are sticking with us and many of you have bought memberships since the games were postponed. I can’t express how proud that makes me (and my teammates) – you are sticking with us and personally, I love you for that. So, my message to the great Demon faithful is a simple thank you. Thank you to those who have signed up; you are standing up for us in a time of need and we will always be extremely grateful for that. For those who are not yet members, I understand this might not be financially possible for some right now. For those that are able to join us, we would absolutely love your support. We want you to be part of our great Club and share in this challenge with us. While I would love to, I can’t do anything for you today. I’m itching to get back out there and play for you, but we can’t just yet. In times like this though, we must focus on the opportunity in front of us, and let me tell you, when it’s time to return, we will be ready. Make no mistake, this year is going to be the difficult one to win, so how much better would it be to do it. We are stronger together, Demon family. Thank you again, and I can’t wait to lead us out when the time’s right to do so. Go Dees. Love Max

"Probably in the summer we just lost a few heading into the season so we get (Christian) Salem back, (Nathan) Jones, (Harrison) Petty, (Mitch) Hannan, (Bennell), (Aaron) vandenBerg - so there's six guys that will come along pretty well for us.“

Today sees David Neitz take on Rod Grinter. You can either vote by going to our Facebook or Twitter pages or for convenience you can vote in the poll above. David Neitz: 306 Games 631 Goals 2000-2008 MFC Captain 2002 Keith Bluey Truscott Trophy 2002 Coleman Medalist 7 x MFC Leading Goalkicker 2 x All Australian MFC Hall of Fame AFL Hall of Fame Rod Grinter: 134 Games 57 Goals Tournament Fixture:

Top 20 Rank was based on HUN list. I Picked the next 12 players (subjective I know) and randomly “ranked” them. Junior unfortunately got paired with Chunk.

Today sees Nathan Jones take on James McDonald. You can either vote by going to our Facebook or Twitter pages or for convenience you can vote in the poll above. Nathan Jones: 286 Games 138 Goals 2014-2019 MFC Captain 3 x Keith Bluey Truscott Trophy James McDonald: 251 Games 56 Goals 2 x Keith Bluey Truscott Trophy 2008-2010 MFC Captain 2006 All Australian Tournament Fixutre

I reckon that will be the case for all crowded events. Social Distancing will be with us for at least 18 months.

Jeff Farmer Farmer's nickname is literally 'The Wiz'. Like Cyril Rioli, he was a dual threat as a small forward; someone who was equally dangerous hunting the loose ball as he was soaring for a huge mark. Some of his grabs need to be seen to be believed – just ask Garry Lyon. Farmer was never better than in his 2000 campaign, when he kicked 76 goals and made the All-Australian team. Included in that season was the match where he booted nine second-half goals against Collingwood, after being dragged from the field in the second term without a touch. A remarkable footballer. Honourable mentions: Liam Jurrah and Aaron Davey

Jake Melksham on his Essendon days, joining Melbourne and his best mate Michael Hibberd

Today sees Brett Lovett take on Steven O'Dwyer. You can either vote by going to our Facebook or Twitter pages or for convenience you can vote in the poll above. Brett Lovett: 235 Games 48 Goals MFC Hall of Fame Steven O'Dwyer: 84 Games 45 Goals 1988 Keith Bluey Truscott Trophy Tournament Fixture: