DemonDave

These are all of the Melbourne Mobil Cards, from my collection: http://s640.photobucket.com/albums/uu129/dave74_photos/Mobil/ The oldest known Melbourne cards depicted are from 1904: Feel free to browse around all of the other Melbourne cards, plenty of great history in there! Some of my other favorite looking series http--,,--//s640.photobucket.com/albums/uu129/dave74_photos/Coles/ http--,,--//s640.photobucket.com/albums/uu129/dave74_photos/Kornies/1959/

Blind Freddy could see he was in the wrong place at the wrong time...maybe looking for the ghost of Brownlow Fevolas past..

No real surprise in the Award winners, or Hall of Fame Inductions announced, all well worthy winners. AP seems to be taking the celebrations in good stride... Less than 24 hours till the big game, nerves are kicking in here, got the couch primed and a mate coming over to watch it. While its been fun, almost 2 weeks on ESPN nightly shows of talking about the one game, even with my team involved, has become somewhat groundhog-day-esque. At least this time every year the sadness of the NFL season ending is knowing that AFL is just about to fire up again!

Also some great portrait shots from on the MCG on that afl photos site too: http://www.aflphotos.com.au/galleries/results/?q=collection:AFL%202013%20Portraits%20-%20Melbourne&image_id=274554 Is it just me, or does Dom Barry have really big hands compared to his skinny arms?

http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/melbourne_demons_signs_opel_as_joint_major_sponsor/ Although financial details of the agreement were not released, EnergyWatch's sole major sponsorship of Melbourne was worth US$2 million annually. As such, Opel's commitment to Demons as a joint major sponsor is estimated to be worth US$1 million annually http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/demons_extend_partnership_with_webjet/ The Australian rules football club signed the original agreement in April, estimated to be worth in the region of US$1 million annually, The way I read reports after Opel had signed was that we had more than matched the money that EnergyWatch would have provided us. These articles seem to articulate the same thing...

Thanks for posting this, good read! Most of it is pretty spot on, our midfield has been our biggest weakness the last 5 years. Not sure how or what the scoring measurements for the Elite to Unknown categories entails, but surprising to see Joel MacDonald rated in Above Average.

Superbowl here we come, yeah! Not a great start in todays game, Ryan was hitting White, Jones and Fernandez with ease, our secondary wasnt coping at all well despite the fact their offense revolves around these 3 almost 90% of the time. Great comeback, we didnt see much running from the QB today, but Gore and James made some good rushing plays. Ahmad Brooks the standout on defence, two bat downs and the big hit to Ryan that hurt his left shoulder near the end. Now for the second game, will we see a Harbaugh-Bowl on Feb 4?

I was about to say "Too Many Chiefs" but Lost Highway beat me to it... So 1/3 of our leadership group have represented the club in a grand total of 11 games for the club combined...

Has anyone else seen this video thats done the rounds the last couple of days? Bad lipreading interpretations of some NFL highlights, its hilarious....

Seems a lot of people claim to have read the Andrews Report and making comment on it here, did the club release it via PDF and I not get it? Or are people making things up? As for the historical emphasis of our club of late I love it! We are the oldest club, have 12 premierships and were the power club there for a while. Why not celebrate it? Should we just write it all off and prance around like the newest hooker on the block a-la GWS and Gold Coast saying how wondeful we are going to be in 5 years time? Hawthorn still refer to themselves via their glory era in the Eighties, the Swans ethos is driven by 'the Bloods'. Plenty of clubs have been casting a retrospective rather than introspective eye back into their history of late, Richmond having their captains wear Jack Dyers number etc etc.

Superb game of football that one between Falcons and Hawks. Wow I thought that Seattle were about to pull off a miracle. A good onside kick saved the day for the Falcs. so its decided: AFC Baltimore at New England NFC San Fran at Atlanta 3 out of the 4 that were there at the same stage last year with Falcons taking the place of the Giants. Cant wait!

Crabtree has also had a breakout year, hes our go-to guy on third down conversions this year. I didnt make any predictions about this game beforehand as honestly I didnt think we would win. Losing our #2 and #4 receivers (Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams) and #2 running back (Kendall Hunter) to season ending injuries, and a questionably fit Justin Smith along with our indifferent form over the past month left me quietly fearing the worst. I'm torn with a preferred opponent next week, Seattle cut us to pieces a few weeks ago, but that was on the road and they werent that convincing last week given RG3 was a non-factor so early. Hawks are an unknown quantity to me, have barely seen them play all year. Matt Ryan needs to get the monkey off his back of never having had a playoff victory, if he does they secure home ground advantage and that game would be a real interesting one. I'd take Atlanta right now.. I cant see the Patriots losing tomorrow, and I really feel that was Baltimores 'grand final' today. so I think the Pats will be in the Super Bowl yet again.

Well that certainly was a 'career' game by Kap, and the Niners as a team beat all sorts of post-season records. 263 yards in the air and 183 on the ground for the QB (Most by any QB ever in a playoff!) are incredible numbers. Good game in the first half, but was all one way in the second. A few of the Packers receivers (Jordy Nelson, Driver never really seemed to be a factor in this game). Good day for the Harbaugh family too!

I hope not! My nerves are already shredded here!

What an amazing game in Denver that was! Full credit to the Ravens, I didnt expect that win today, especially travelling to Mile High. That bomb by Flacco in the last quarter was a gem! The only thing I didnt like about the finish was that I was forced to jump onto ESPN to watch a play by play tracker of the first 6 or so minutes of the Niners-Packers game while OT played out...

the always informative ussportsdownunder have released details of their superbowl venues for watching the game locally today, Ive never been to one of these but think I will this year: http://ussportsdownunder.com/nfl/attend/events/places-to-watch-super-bowl-xlvii-in-australia-2013

Watched the Seahawks-Skins game today, was really looking forward to this matchup. Clearly once RG3 went down the first time it was a fait accompli that he wouldnt see out the game, which is a shame as it robbed us of what looked like an enthralling contest. Marshawn Lynch activated 'beast mode' and got his game going, Wilson made a few nice scrambling reads and the Seahawks regained a lot of that momentum they'd carried the last month or two. So Wilson now is the last remaining rookie QB, Ive been saying it for a month or so now that I think he should be the Rookie of the Year and today definitely underlines it, for a guy of his relatively small size he has a big presence on the field. Its a tough ask next week to front upto the Falcons, Seattle have a good secondary, but will be coming up against Julio Jones and Roddy White an co. Falcons have been a bit hot and cold of late, so I think it will be a close one. Didnt catch the earlier game, too early for me, but the veteran Ravens getting the job done over a rather green Indi team is upon reflection not a huge surprise. Ray Lewis gets one more 'final' shot at it, and if the oft-feared Ravens defence can hit top form they're capable of continuing deeper into the playoffs, I like their chances against Denver next week. I havent looked it up, but have the Broncos beaten anyone of substance in their current form streak?

Its been an amazing year for rookies, in particular QBs, and also a year of great comebacks by veterans (Manning, Peterson). Who wouldve thought at this time last year if you were a Broncos, Colts, Vikings or Redskins fan that you'd be in the playoffs? And that the defending SB champ didnt make it? (Actually thats not that much of a stretch seeing the Giants were only a .500 team for most of last year anyway). Other traditional playoff staples Steelers, Bears and Saints all sitting it out this year. There are several teams in the playoffs that its hard to get a read on form wise, so I cant wait! I'm tipping the Texans and Colts in the AFC wildcards. And in the NFC the I'm going for the Packers and Seattle. Also a shame to see Ray Lewis drawing time on his career, he's been an absolute champion and spiritual leader of the Ravens

Skins win their sixth straight game, setting up a huge game against the Cowboys next week, cant wait for that one! When is the last time theyve strung that many together? Im tipping not for a long time.. Other interesting results... Pats struggle but just beat lowly Jags after a failed hail mary by Jags. Packers smash the Titans, probably sealing the #2 seed (Im currently watching the niners get smashed by the Seahawks) Broncos win their TENTH straight game, kudos to John Elway he really pulled the right trigger in the offseason ditching Tebow and bringing in Manning despite the question marks over his age and health. Bengals also with a decent streak of form going lately, Dalton is turning into a good QB. Defending Superbowl Champs Giants may be all done and dusted after yet another disappointing result at the Ravens

So Minnesota's (to use an example) playoff picture looks like this: Wins tie break over Dallas based on best win percentage in conference games. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate NY Giants (Dallas wins tie break over NY Giants based on best win percentage in division games). Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Chicago (Minnesota wins tie break over Chicago based on best win percentage in division games). Huh? I'll get me coat......

Wasnt fun to watch being a Niners fan I can tell you after half time! Finger nails shredded. I'm shocked at the Atlanta-NYG game scoreline. Great game by Kirk Cousins deputising for RG3 as well. Russell Wilson continues to rack up impressive numbers. ROY contender?

So just wondering on what the optimal cook time for my card is, given my microwave is 900W?

Joel Mcdonald??

Since 2001, only two players who werent QBs have won the award (a bit like the brownlow is to midfielders I guess). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Most_Valuable_Player_Award Only 3 times since the awards inception 65 years ago has it been won by a player in position other than QB or RB! I cant believe a placekicker won it in the 80s... Its a fairly wide open field this year I think, as no one team (Falcons notwithstanding) has dominated the competition. Tom Brady has come back into calculations of late, although he (along with Rogers) tends to always play at such a high standard that you take their output for granted. Rogers had quite a few average weeks earlier this year so he wouldnt be a factor this year. This award tends to become clearer once playoff orders are firmly established. Some huuuge games this week: Giants at Falcons Broncos at Ravens (Ravens stumbling of late, sacking their offensive co-ordinator) Packers at Bears Jags at Dolphins (just kidding.....) Vikings at Rams Steelers at Cowboys Niners at Pats (along with the GIants/Falcons clash the game of the round for mine) Wooeee, I love this time of year heading into the playoffs...

This is a superb moment capturing the emotion as Hannath is told he'll be playing AFL next year, but not with the Dees: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/tabid/8667/contentid/509476/default.aspx Well done to the whole content and digital team, including all the happy snaps from Matt Burgan, the coverage of this camp has been first class.