Rodney (Balls) Grinter

We keep a winning culture together and I think it will be an easy decision. Never thought I'd say this, but while we're in the position we currently are, I'm bearly concerned about loosing quality players like LJ, because I doubt it will happen. By the time LJ is demanding absolute top dollar and ruck time, I think Max will be around the point where he's ok with accepting lesser roles and dosh. Let's face it Max has already immortalised himself in MFC / footy fofolklore. I think we are at greater risk of loosing some of the quality B graders like Rivers, Jimmy Jordon and possibly the likes of Hunt, whom might rightly think they could be a bigger name and earning capasity at another club. But when guys with some currency and capability like Melksham choose the option of slogging it out at the MFC over others where they might have greater opportunities, I think that says something.

With a premership medal around their neck!

Who would have thunk that. I have a new found respect perhaps even some love for Eagles and Dockers supporters. Who knows, maybe they are human after all!!

Not really sure that doll was needed Jontee. I think we've got Libba's measure. We have a Harmes and Jack! ...But keep your voodoo magic skills by the ready, just in case we need them.

The respectful and understanding way we supported Kossie when his mother tragically passed away before the season. Though he wasn't a huge scoreboard contributor on GF day, he still had a huge presence in the game, the preceding finals and season as a whole. I think having guys like Matty Wheelan and Nev around would have been a big help in this regard as well.

They just need to have a good afternoon nap. This is a big occation. Any MFC parent that doesn't let their kids go to this arn't a real supporter. My kids will be there with all their cousins. One day they will tell their kids they were there when the MFC unveiled it's first flag in 57 years. ...and any boss that sacks their worker for not turning up the next day is a bum!! 😜

Yeah, cool. I get that perspective too. Saturday afternoon would have been my preference, following that Friday night. Guessing the AFL and the club also have their eye on the TV audience. Not sure what the calculation is there Wednesday Vs Friday, but I'I'm guessing in their drive to Amercanize our sport and maximize cash, pretty much anything goes. I'm just hoping that things will return to a Saturday afternoon GF at the MCG again from 2022 onwards.

I'm actually not so sure about playing the dogs fist up, as I'd probably rather us both have at least 3 or 4 games under our belts Into the new season, to build both form and anticipation of the game, but I can also live with playing them first up in Rd 1. It's a no loose situation for us really though. We win the game and all MFC supporters will go home happy that we've unveiled the flag and got a win first up to maintain our dominance and kick off the new season on the right foot. We loose and it's like 'meh, we won the one that counts and we're the premier's. I'd much rather win mind you and should we subsequently loose games in the following rounds, a round one loss would be more consequential. Still, a big pressure game for both teams first up to kick things off.

You don't think we'll get 80,000 MFC fans to this game to watch us unveil the flag for the first time in 57 years? Sunday will be great for everyone who can make it, but I'd be going to this Rd 1. game if it was played underwater at Timbucktoo at 4:00am on a Monday morning.

Love your work Webber. Give me your work over a Picasso or Van Gogh any day of the week. This fine art should adorn the wall of the true Melbourne supporter.

Nah, we play that just as the dogs get onto the ground before the game. ...and after if we win too!

Now we are premiers, the sound of that song should simultaneously send a chill down the spines of MFC and opposition supporters for polar opposite reasons. Hope it becomes even more hated by the opposition than Ports never tear us apart or whatever it is.

That's true. I guess also if it weren't for short quarters and a horror 5 days or whatever in Cairns a few seasons ago, we probably would have made and presented well in finals last year and appeared less like we'd come from way back in the pack as well. As has been variously pointed out and stated by Goody, Max and others, our 2020 was actually pretty decient, bar a few finishing touches to the team's ethos and character.

Yeah, perhaps I'm being a little Chicken Little there. What's probably more likely is that MFC 2019, is just missing the 8, like the Hawkes of 2009. I could handle that, so long as we go on and did what they did subsequently. Of course, I'd really love us to go back to back, but it's such a big ask, I'd rather not bank it just yet. ...then again, maybe we could just jump straight to the Brisbane Lions style 'three-peat' straight up - to quote an infamous catch cry from a few years back "I'd like to see that!!".

Although, on this occation, at least Flash posted a bit of a summary and key quote.

Love just how fickle the media are. Start of last season they bearly rated us at all, had St Kilda, Carlton, Freo, Essendon and possibly Hawthorn surpassing us. Now all of a sudden we have a list that is setup to win multiple premierships. To be honest, I didn't exactly foresee last season would go as spectacularly well as it did, but I did think we had the core of a list that could compete for a flag over the next 2 or 3 years at least. Now all this incessant tyre pumping is making me nervous and I just hope we arn't about to get 2019 Mk 2.

How times have changed!!

Just move them out by another 0.97 maxies and make the a 25 maxie line. Not sure your average footballer, let alone comentators would understand decimal points and fractions of maxies.

On a related note, I loved reading the Melbourne bit in the below article: https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2022-round-1-teams-afl-draft-2021-recruits-most-likely-to-debut-in-round-1-at-every-club/news-story/5c63c76358ba821c57a2ba5437d54ee1 Round 1 verdict: The draftees most likely to debut immediately at every AFL club MELBOURNE Three great national draft selections for the Dees, but it’s going to be a tough task for all of them to break into the reigning premiers’ senior team early. Perhaps the best chance would be first-round selection Jacob Van Rooyen. The 193cm and 91kg utility, who played a few games at WAFL league level for Claremont this year, will walk into the Demons with a strong frame and the ability to play inside either 50m arc. The biggest obstacle, though, is there’ll be a few gun players – at either end of the field – in front of Van Rooyen. But a strong pre-season from the WA product should still put him in the mix. Honestly I could have predicted this would be written up as the prediction for us, both from my own analysis and also because of the cookie cutter script Fox Sports use for these articles. But I still just liked reading the parts about us being premiers and how all these experts are fawning over our list all of a sudden.

What ever the correct wording was suposed to be, it should go down in modern footy folklore and replace / contemporise that Kennedy one. The force lives strong in the Reverend.

As quoted from the article in question: "AFL coverage fails to inspire him. He tries, but listening to commentators with little knowledge of modern football’s arcane strategy makes him groan or curse. It’s not worth the grief." Though said article was none the less written by a journalist as well! Best guesses for which coverage / comentators this was aimed at?

Love your work. Someone needs to offically raise this as a motion at the next MCC general meeting, to have the unit of official measurements of the MCG changed from the metric system (SI units) to Gawn units of maxies.

Look, I totally rate Goody and agree he should be getting most of the coaching credit for taking us to a flag, but I think Roos did still play an important part in turning around our culture. Other guys within the coaching staff like Choco, Stafford, Chapman, Yze, Burgess etc probably also deserve some credit too. Although 2019 was a Fing disaster, Dave Misson was also probably the one who lifted our fittness and traing standards to anything like where they needed to be (under Roos?). After all, it's a team game on and off the field.

That's a bit of a stretch isn't it Mo? Roosy and Jackson bought us some space and credability and laid the foundations of the culture for guys like Goodie to build upon. Roos bought a build from defense mindset that bought back compeditiveness and confidence to a team that had neither for the preceding period. His impact was huge. With all the sack Goodwin now thread that was going pretty hard up until the start of this season, do you seriously think Goodie would have made it through the period that Roos guided us through as a rookie coach?

Loved those post premership scene with Gary Lyon interviewing Shane in his 2000 GF jumper. Similarly the probably somewhat staged scene with Jack presenting the premiership cup to Todd made me all warm and fuzzy inside. Will be great to see a video of Shane and Taj celebrating his selection for the mighty Red and Blue. Also wounding if Jack and Taj got to know each other hanging out around the MFC rooms all those years ago?