Lou C. Fur

Good luck for the future Aaron.

I've been there at least half a dozen times in the past years for Dees games. A10 is on the fence at the half forward flank. It's cold at night so rug up but the cheer squad sits here so you're in good company. The angle of seating is low which makes it hard to see the other side of the ground especially if there is someone tall sitting in front of you. But viewing is not "restricted" by any structures as such. I've attached a couple of maps - hopefully they're helpful. kardinia park.pdf Stadium map.pdf

Was a sad state affairs then. I remember hardly ever seeing Melbourne on the evening replays on Channel 7 after the Saturday matches - as they were back then. We had a good side in 76. Missed out on making finals that year decided by a kick in another game after the siren as I remember it. Yet I never remember seeing Melbourne on the replays. I have faith in our current admin. We seem to be getting on the replays more now...

Great game. Both Melbourne & Geelong were vying for a finals berth. Gary Ablett kicked 11 but Melbourne still won.

Vale Bernie Massey.

Inspired Bombers logo change. I'm all for it. Kudos to Dee Viney Intervention. Loving the nickname suggestions too: Essendon Pharmaceuticals (thanks Witches Hat - gut laugh!) Essendon Danks (thanks demon 3164 - simply undeniable) Essendon Pr*cks (my suggestion)

Apt.

Has anyone got a spare ticket to Geelong v Melbourne they can on-sell to me? I've been to every Dees game at Kardinia Park for the past 6 years (except that famous game in 2021 during Covid Lockdown when the ground was empty and Max kicked the winning goal after the siren). I'm a member of the MFC and rang the club to get a reserved seat - usually get somewhere in A10 next to the cheer squad. This year the club can't help me - they said all seat are sold out. I sure as hell don't want to miss this game. It's on my bucket list to see Melbourne beat Geelong live at a Kardinia Park. I reckon were a big chance on Thursday night and I'd be spewing if I missed it. Has anyone got a spare ticket they can on-sell to me?

Point taken. Still think it's a step in the right direction for the club.

I like that Melbourne's appealing the Lachie Hunter suspension. I like it even more given the recent and ultimately successful appeals over JVR's suspension. In the past, MFC would've accepted these suspensions. Not anymore it seems. It shows that MFC admin has grown a pair and is rightly questioning the increasingly confusing interpretation of rules by the AFL MRO. A refreshing preparedness and braveness to take on the AFL and to stand up for the club. It is bold and at it's core presents a "nothing to lose - everything to gain" attitude. Whether we win or lose the appeal, it more broadly sets a great example for the whole club to follow.

...its the secret to my sexiness.

OO, AH, JVR OO, AH, JVR

Signed petition yesterday.

Also inaccurate, unjust and obsequious. Livid, (and corrected for you @McQueen)

JVR did nothing wrong. He was trying to spoil with eyes on the ball in a football action and was only millimetres away from making contact with the ball to prevent Ballard from taking a mark. In the process, his right bicep made contact to Ballard's head. Whilst Ballard was removed from the field on a stretcher (as a precaution) he was not concussed and is available to play this week. Fair dinkum, if Patrick Cripps can get off for concussing Callum Ah Chee who missed weeks of football, and Tom Hawkins can get off for an accidental elbow to Steven May's eye causing a fractured eye socket and causing him to miss a month of footy, the precedent is well and truly set for JVR to be let off to play given that his accidental hit on Ballard has not caused him to miss any football. Free JVR! Sign the petition, I did. It's now at 577. Lets support JVR https://www.change.org/p/free-jacob-van-rooyen

Don't believe everything you read.

The old Polly Waffle wasn't bad but it it paled in comparison to Lollie Gobble Bliss Bombs. Oh how I loved devouring them.

I'm rapt that Kozzie has committed to Melbourne for another 4 years. Onya Kozzie!

Thanks for this link deva! I followed the link, signed up for 7+ and thoroughly enjoyed that interview with Gus and Kade. Those two a couple of ripper blokes! They both spoke so well and are both excellent active listeners and answer questions eloquently. Loved how Gus naturally took control of the interview and ran commentary on the highlights reel! Congrats to Gus on his engagement with Danielle!

I beg to differ with you @Deeoldfart, and suggest that wet conditions have indeed played at least a part in Melbourne's two losses this year, coupled with another reason you have not mentioned. Brisbane and Essendon beat Melbourne in the wet. Brisbane in the dreary dewy evening "lights out" game at the Gabba, and Essendon in the driving rain at Adelaide Oval during the inaugural Gather Round. Melbourne's skills were poor in these matches in stark contrast to the sublime skills shown int the 3 matches Melbourne has won this year in dry conditions. Melbourne's opponents have been far better at handling a wet footy this year, so far. It was frustrating to watch how well Brisbane and Essendon were able to take marks, receive handballs, stay on their feet, and kick accurately for goal, whilst Melbourne fumbled, dropped marks, slipped over, missed shots at goal, etc. In both games, there was an encouraging comeback by Melbourne in the 4th quarter. The will to win by the Demons was evident. But it was all too late. The crucial 2nd point, IMHO, is that in the wet, Brisbane and Essendon additionally applied extreme on-ball pressure - especially when Melbourne had possession of the ball. They applied manic tackling pressure on almost every opportunity for Melbourne to deliver the ball to a team-mate and stifled the Demons free-flowing run-on dry weather style of play. This is a bitter pill to swallow as Melbourne is renowned for its fierce contest at the ball whilst in dispute. If Melbourne can apply its dry weather contested football to wet weather football for 4 full quarters (and not just the last quarter), and learn to find ways to evade the manic tackling used by Brisbane and Essendon in the wet, I think Melbourne will start to win more of these difficult contested games in the wet.

...couldn't help myself...(🤣)

Free beer, wine, soft drinks - after you've bought a ticket to "The Lounge" is my understanding. Prices vary depending on the game. Melb v Rich costs $300 - details in the link below: https://melbourneexperiences.com.au/Catalog/AssetRegister?assetRegisterId=92b5785f-85ba-40f7-8ef3-956c43629512

That's not how you spell Pandas!

I did a bit of research into the MFC membership numbers inspired by reading this thread and a request from @JimmyGadson Jimmy asked for details on the last 10 years, but it is the last 5 years that has seen remarkable development in MFC membership numbers. Below is what I discovered: By the end of 2022, Melbourne Football Club were the 8th largest AFL club by membership (66,484): In the past 5 years Melbourne coped better than most clubs either side of and during CoVid. Most clubs suffered massive membership losses in 2020 (grey bars in the graph below). Melbourne suffered the 3rd biggest downturn in membership in 2020, but this was more than offset by the 3rd largest increase in membership during these 5 years: During 2021 and 2022, Melbourne's bounced back and increased it's membership by more than any other club - no doubt spurred on by winning the premiership in 2021. That's right - Melbourne were the fastest growing club in terms of membership during this period with 25,913 new members signing up during this period. Collingwood and Carlton were the next fastest growing clubs during this 2 year period with figures of 23,522 and 21,741 respectively: If Melbourne continues to grow it's membership at this rate, the 70K membership mark will soon be passed and the Dees will push towards a 6 figure membership to challenge Richmond, Collingwood, West Coast who have already achieved that milestone. In conclusion, Melbourne has been the fastest growing club in the AFL during 2021 and 2022. Another premiership by the Dees will no doubt further increase Melbourne Membership and place the Demons in a position to surpass even the biggest of the AFL clubs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope this has been informative. All figures have been referenced from the tables below, the figures of which were found at the following sources: https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/09/05/all-18-afl-clubs-membership-tallies-for-2022-revealed/ https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/west-coast-eagles/afl-membership-numbers-ladder-2021-afl-club-membership-by-team-club-records-west-coast-eagles-richmond/news-story/27b74f6e8e6225c5666c4a9e493891b0 https://www.sen.com.au/news/2019/08/06/afl-club-membership-numbers-for-2019-revealed/ https://www.afl.com.au/news/142385/afl-club-membership-heads-towards-a-million https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/454510/afl-announces-2015-membership-numbers https://www.afl.com.au/stats/premiership-winners https://web.archive.org/web/20121019233016/http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/146980/default.aspx https://web.archive.org/web/20110825021430/http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/118901/default.aspx https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2019/12/05/0b3bf9a6-8f7d-4094-8591-d10f5babd3cf/afl_annual_report_2010_V2-min.pdf https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2019/12/05/0f1757b4-7638-44ae-8718-12326f215abc/afl_annual_report_2009-min.pdf https://www.footyindustry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Club_Memberships https://www.footyindustry.com/?page_id=228 https://www.footyindustry.com/?page_id=142692 https://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/AFL/Files/afl_annual_report_2005.pdf