Fritta and Turner

Well done to the boys in red and blue. From the bottom of my heart, thankyou.

Starting to cry

Feeling sicker

Feeling sick

and to think I had to sit through Meatloaf..... GO DEES

first goal: spargo norm smith: clarry most goals: fritta margin: 27

ALL Melbourne’s big guns were there. Coach Simon Goodwin, co-captains Jack Viney and Nathan Jones, the man who would eventually succeed them, Max Gawn, as well as Jake Lever, the star recruit from a year earlier. They were gathering for a good reason. The Dees were trying to convince Gold Coast’s Steven May – another co-captain – to join them as the final piece of their defensive master plan. The opportunity presented when prolific spearhead Jesse Hogan requested a trade home to play for Fremantle. That decision coincided with Sam Weideman’s breakout finals series in Hogan’s injury absence and Tom McDonald becoming a 50-goal forward. Lever and May share the same agent, Hemisphere Management Group’s Alex McDonald, whose brothers, James and Anthony, played for Melbourne. McDonald helped orchestrate the blockbuster deal for Lever to cross to the Demons at the end of 2017, in a package that saw them boldly give up two first-round draft picks. After years of mediocrity, Melbourne was eyeing success. But May had a major choice to make. His fellow Suns skipper, Tom Lynch, had already revealed he was exercising his free agency rights to join powerhouse club Richmond, whereas May was contracted for 2019. Lever had a similar dilemma about whether to leave Adelaide, but became enamoured with the Demons’ emerging group, including Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw from his draft class. The pitch to May was the same as the one made to Lever. In short, Melbourne felt it had transformed a once-pained club’s culture, established great camaraderie between the players and was building something special. Lever had only been there for one season but was already making his mark. He was the Demons’ trump card and the enticement for what May could achieve in red and blue. Fast-forward three years – and plenty of water flowing under the bridge – and they are both All-Australians and backline linchpins for grand final-bound Melbourne. In between, critics questioned why the Demons used the pick six on May that it gained from the Dockers for Hogan and traded to Gold Coast rather than drafting Ben King. That external debate is long over despite King’s vast promise. Winning silences everything, as Melbourne and Goodwin know all too well. “I could see Steve was very passionate about the culture side of things,” Lever told the Herald Sun. “Then when we spoke about myself and him coming together, he was as rapt as I was. When the trade got done, it was obviously very satisfying for both of us.” The idea was the yin-and-yang defensive couple would complement each other’s strengths, which have seen them become the faces of the AFL’s stingiest defence – but it’s not just them. Harry Petty’s stepped in wonderfully for the sidelined Adam Tomlinson to be the third key defender, Christian Salem had an All-Australian-calibre season and others such as Trent Rivers, Jake Bowey, Michael Hibberd and Joel Smith have contributed. “Steve’s such a great one-on-one defender and that’s something I’ve worked towards, because in the modern game you’ll have to do it at some stage every game,” Lever said. “He helps me so much with that side of the game, then my strength is probably reading the footy and knowing where it’s going to go and intercepting off that. “To Steve’s credit this year, that’s what he’s worked really hard at. We watch a lot of vision together, along with Harrison Petty, Adam Tomlinson, Marty Hore and Joel Smith.” HOW THE DEMONS EMERGED FROM HELL Hiring Jason Taylor The decision to poach Taylor from Collingwood in December 2012 has proven a masterstroke. Ex-Demons coach and Magpies assistant Mark Neeld was the connection in the switch of clubs. Taylor’s now arguably the game’s No.1 recruiter, selecting the likes of Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Christian Salem, Angus Brayshaw, Luke Jackson and Kozzy Pickett. The Oliver and Jackson selections were his boldest and finest. Sweet-kicking Jake Bowey can probably be tacked on that list of first-round prizes, too. Melbourne could once never be trusted no matter how many draft picks it boasted, but in the Taylor era it finds stars at the top and bargains down the order. None of Tom Sparrow (pick 27), Charlie Spargo (29), Bayley Fritsch (31), Trent Rivers (32), James Jordon (33), Harry Petty (37), Alex Neal-Bullen (40), Jayden Hunt (57) or James Harmes and Joel Smith (rookies) were top prospects. Demon-turned-Bulldog Mitch Hannan (46) was another clever choice. Taylor once said: “In my job, ideally you don’t want to be going to a club after they’ve won a premiership. You want to be going to Melbourne, who hasn’t won one (since 1964) – it’s a challenge you’re seeking to show your competitive spirit.” Aggressive trading Tim Lamb succeeded Todd Viney as Melbourne’s list manager in early 2018, when Viney firstly became more involved in football operations then departed after the 2019 season. Viney is credited with playing an integral role in the Demons’ list transformation but the lower-profile Lamb deserves plenty of plaudits. He’s filled holes in Melbourne’s playing list and employed aggressive trading tactics that have pretty much all been a raging success. Under Lamb’s direction, the Demons rarely haggle too long over value and are happy to pay a fair price if they believe in what’s coming in. That includes giving up two first-round selections as part of the Jake Lever deal, and the 2019 pick swap with North Melbourne, where Melbourne gave up picks 26, 50 and a future first-round selection for pick eight. A subsequent trade with Fremantle saw the Dees slide back a couple of spots in the first round – all with the view of nabbing Kozzy Pickett, after securing ruckman Luke Jackson. A clear, undeviating strategy Not only has Melbourne used second-round selections wisely at the draft but it’s also consistently and successfully dangled them in front of rivals to bring in mature talent. The Demons recruited Ed Langdon, Ben Brown, Michael Hibberd, Jake Melksham and even current Hawk Sam Frost and the retired Bernie Vince for the equivalent of second-round picks. That’s good business however you look at it. The other part of Melbourne’s list strategy was to use the advent of future pick trading to its advantage. The Kangaroos deal two years ago, which saw them add Kozzy Pickett to Luke Jackson, was only the second example. The Demons also sent a 2016 first-round selection to Gold Coast to have two top-10 picks in 2015, which they used on Clayton Oliver and Sam Weideman.

$2 bin. Isn't he on $400k+?

In the past there would be a special ticket into the MCC reserve and from memory the current captain would sit as a guest with the MCC committee.

Thats dedication, painting your whatsits blue.

Welcome. Fancy Caro sticking up for the MFC. When our golden era ended I got the impression that the VFL/AFL was very happy to see us out the door and perhaps this is also reflected in the zones we were given. Our home ground had the largest capacity and we drew a small crowd. What a waste says the AFL. Get the MFC to play at small grounds - their supporters wont complain not being able to get into another drubbing. Always play at geelong - only teams who are crap play there (ground cant hold a big crowd.) (I think my chip is showing) And as for Freo....'We are Freo, We are Hopeless' and 'Lets go Freo, lets go Home!!!' - for me thats being extremely nasty... Keep the faith

So Goody plays Hunt for 20 odd games, but Goody aint a fan. Like really?

Rather than carried I would have preferred escorted, supported, or path cleared to 300 games

And to think that Joel Selwood had a crack at our 'hard man' Ed Langdon. Thx for the 50m. Check out the photo wearing a very sensible hat. Touch of the school excursions about it. I reckon he would be mothers favourite.

Tied to a Palm tree out the front.

Same as Cairns...

Long suffering supporters. Do you know the players names - (well done Nos 5)

Who the heck is Aidan Corr? Nothing against Jimmy T but even I said pick Wines. I f we had though perhaps we would have not picked Oliver....

In my head for months

Not a game medal, no. But I do think the squad should be larger for the GF, say 25.

Must admit I felt that it was an odd story to lead with for a fringe player, perhaps the balance has been edited out. My solicitor advised me not to burden any male with responsibility and by association the need for clear, concise decision making until they are well north of 25 years of age. Many of those at Essendon were lambs to the slaughter, relying on the direction of club leadership. And the saga would have been traumatic. And he has now lost his brother in a tragic accident. I just hope that these incidents motivate him to second and third efforts - in the words of Allan Jeans 'Just make sure you get a kick, son'.

Did we get involved with the bentleigh club in Joe Gutnick days?

As this thread is now at 36 pages the rival clubs circling the Weid must be very dizzy

Being in FNQ it should be available here by Cup Day

One thing I can tell you is that there is zero MFC/DOGs apparel and hardly any AFL available in FNQ. Went to Rebel, 3 Tigers jumpers, 1 Lions, 1 Port and 5 x footy shorts - thats it. Lucky I have my member scarf - not sure what to do with it in this weather.