TeamPlayedFine39

We limped over the line that year and were in some terrible form come September. That was an issue we had in 04, 05 and 06; we were never peaking at the right time of year. This year however...

I voted Daniher as I grew up with him as our coach and his love and passion for the club kept it afloat during some hard times. No slight on Barassi, but as a 36yo, my only first hand experience of him is as the coach of Sydney. I honestly couldn’t care less tbh- everyone on the list above is worthy and I just want the damn cup!

Interesting case Bernie. Didnt want to be traded, and definitely didn’t want to come to us, but as soon as he walked through our doors he embraced the club and played with genuine passion. His career was fading away in adelaide - to the extent that he was told they were going to cut him at the end of the next season if he didn’t leave. He then found a new level of intensity and consistency with us that he’d never had to that point. He and Daniel Cross were godsends in 2014.

I think Gawn referred to him as his favoured opposition player during the preseason... after he dumped TMac in AFLX: “My favourite opposition player against my least favourite teammate...”

Can hopefully now enjoy a few beers in the crowd as we go deep into the finals.

MELBOURNE FINALS 1994 (not including that unfortunate business in the west) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DT1x2uGCXw

Hugh Goddard and Kieran Collins, both highly rated juniors who have had their share of injury issues. Both delisted... could be DFA or Rookie option if we’re looking at out key defensive depth.

Big Max followed by Nev and Clarrie. Always have had a soft spot of Oscar too. Interesting to read through the responses here- more variety than I thought there’d be.

It's tragically poetic that he remained on an AFL list for so long, only to then be delisted a few weeks after finally making his debut. There is talent there, but unfortunately his body's not up to it. Scott Gumbleton II.

Source?

It’s all getting a little bit silly now. The only reason the club would ever trade Hogan would be if we were offered something simply too good to pass up in return. Some arguments suggesting we trade home because he’s overrated or replaceable are fanciful. He would walk into the forward six of every team in the league- and they’d be very, very happy to have him. There was a similar thread in the first third of the year suggesting to trade Brayshaw for ‘whatever we could get for him’. Three weeks ago there was a thread to cut our losses and trade out Weideman (who’s suddenly replaced Hogan as our long term CHF). Jesse is a 23yo KPF who has only played 71 games. He hasn’t even scratched the surface. And... https://thewest.com.au/sport/melbourne-demons/jesse-hogan-isnt-going-anywhere-says-melbourne-coach-simon-goodwin-ng-b88942433z

Incredible effort and thoroughly well deserved. Would have to be the most accurate of all the individual award for measuring a players impact on a match or season.

One thing Max has going for him, asides from being an exceptional footballer, is that everything he does on the field in eye-catching. His massive frame, the beard, the pack marks, chases, tackles all catch the eye in the same way Crawford, Woewodin and Akermains' peroxided hair did.

No surprise to see Brayshaw or Jetta miss out this year. Nev was more consistent last year and had a few poor games early in the season. With that said, he wouldn’t have missed by much and is now recognised by the footballing community as being one of the best small defenders in the comp. Brayshaw, in addition to missing early games, has essentially come from nowhere this year. It’s exccedingly rare for a young player in a break out year to get an All Australian nod (see Clayton Oliver 2017). Still, this thread should be about celebrating Clarry and Max. An outstanding achievement by the premier midfield combination in the AFL.

Get as much quality time with the wife and kids as possible- cos hopefully they won’t be seeing much of me for the month of September.

Exactly - a good results for us and a bad results for my final round of tipping.

My understanding is that, with that result, we win tomorrow, we play Week 1 and 2 at the G... that’s a good result.

Experiment before finals.

I’m confident that Oliver and Gawn will make the AA team and equally confident there will be no other Dees in the 22. Jetta, McDonald and Brayshaw are possibly a chance to make the squad, but even that may be a bit of a stretch.

It doesn’t matter- if it’s there, it’s there. That’s the only test that matters. Not really buying the ‘but it’s only banned on match day’ line (pardon the pun). This drug is in fact banned 24/7, 365 and 1/4 days of the year. Murray’s either an addict who cannot help himself and needs immediate intervention, or he is a complete and utter moron.

Agreed. Addiction is an illness and he is very, very unwell, but the threats that he is making to his ex and children are scarily familiar and there’s a dire outcome if he is not removed from their lives.

Exactly. With McGovern resigning WCE may not be in a position to match a huge offer. Darling, Kennedy, NicNat as well as signings like Redden and Jetta would all be taking up a lot of cap space. They’ll need him to re-sign for quite a bit less than market value as they’ll struggle to ‘match’ it.

The crowd behaviour in the west is cultural and ingrained; they do it now instinctively, and it clearly has an influence on the umpire’s decision making. It was clear to see that the umpires were (rightly) resisting the crowd’s pleas and abuse this round, as incorrect or borderline decisions that usually go their way, were not awarded. The most staggering part for me however was the WCE players reactions to not being awarded free kicks. Clearly they are just as conditioned as the crowd is to getting the good side of contentious decisions. They complained more than any team I can remember seeing to the extent that they looked rattled and irritated.

It’s very rare to see any player reacting like that- especially after the siren. There was no arguing, just anger.