Swooper1987

I love both. My very first demon jumper was the royal blue of the late 70's with number 2 on the back. I was about 8 or 9 and I loved it. I loved it when in 1987 we returned to the navy and made finals straight away after 24 years - the first Melbourne finals series of my lifetime to that point. My fondest memories of the finest Melbourne player I have seen are with the royal blue but equally, I love the navy as well. As a club there have been more lows than highs, but those jumpers are our past, present and future and they both represent Melbourne.

The most intriguing for me was that neither coach rated Viney's game worthy of a vote. Based on the coaches presser I think Scott gave Gawn 4 and Goody would've given the 4 to Clarry and 3 to Gawn. Which probably means the 3 to Langdon came from Scott.

AFLCA votes: Petracca 10 Gawn 7 Oliver 4 Langdon 3 Lever 2 Salem 2 McDonald 1 Pickett 1 Tracc and Gawn the only players to receive votes from both coaches. Gawn is now second on 22 votes, 6 behind Tex Walker. Oliver in 4th place and Tracc 13th.

We looked very organized yesterday after he left the field - no doubt due to Lever's influence. They are an experienced unit - Jetta, Tomlinson, Salem, Lever, Hunt. Rivers is the only real rookie. I think they pick for the opponent. Could probably get away with Hibberd in the short term who can play bigger than he is, and is also mobile enough for the middle sized forwards that Hawthorn and Richmond both have. I'm not opposed to seeing Petty get a go either.

The Age Footballer of the Year Top 10 after Round 4: T. Walker Adelaide 31 R. Laird Adelaide 24 T. Mitchell Hawthorn 23 C. Oliver Melbourne 23 C. Mills Sydney 23 M. Gawn Melbourne 22 M. Bontempelli Western Bulldogs 22 C. Petracca Melbourne 22 O. Wines Port Adelaide 21 C. Jiath Hawthorn 19 This is a better award voting system than the Herald Sun 3-2-1 model where the best player is three times better than the third best. The top 5 on the ground are scored out of 10. A great effort to have three Demons in the top 8 players. Interesting that other two undefeated sides only have the one player each.

Probably the moment of the game for me, Nasher. Summed up Lever's influence to a tee.

Was interesting listening to Scott's presser after the game. He was asked why send O'Connor to Oliver and not Petracca. He didn't want to discuss the specific reasons why but said that Gawn is a star and Melbourne has a number of very good players. From that I think what he meant was that Gawn gives first use to Oliver more than any other Melbourne player, therefore attempt to stop the first link in the chain. Either way, it didn't work today. O'Connor is no de Boer.

Herald Sun: 3. Petracca 2. Fritsch 1. Gawn The Age: 8. Petracca 7. Langdon 7. Gawn 7. Oliver 7. Fritsch Swooper: 6. Petracca 5. Gawn 4. Fritsch 3. Lever 2. Viney 1. Oliver Looking forward to seeing what Goodwin and Scott thought of that.

He was a very good footballer. Played an outstanding last month of the 87 season. Best on in the final game at the Western Oval to get us into the finals, then played three really good finals. Injured his knee early in 1988, was rushed back way to early and barely played again. Traded to the Eagles for the 1990 season but didn't play a game for them. He arrived with Earl Spalding and Todd Viney. Had we been able to keep him on the park I wonder how we might have gone with a couple of our near misses (1990 in particular). He was a rare talent - as other have said a booming if somewhat erratic kick, an outstanding overhead mark for a relatively light player. He took the much bigger Stephen McCann apart in the 1987 Elimination Final. I really enjoyed watching Dean play for us. Interesting to note that Steve Turner is rucking for the Demons in that round 7 game. That was with a list that included Peter Moore, Steve O'Dwyer and Jim Stynes. Just goes to show how quickly things changed throughout that season.

Well done to young Josh Smith. Played in the U18 Champs a couple of years back for Vic Country. I have seen him play since u10's and actually coached him for a couple of years. I'm sure he'll give a good account of himself. Number 66 I believe!

6. Gawn 5. Hunt 4. Pickett 3. Langdon 2. Viney 1. Salem

Just another example of why that Royal Commission was required. The duty of care that young people like Owen deserved was nowhere to be seen in schools, sports clubs or basically any institution. That he survived at all is a credit to his resilience and his strength of character. He was an amazing talent and I was truly excited by what he showed us in the early part of 1991.All I thought about then was his footy; he obviously had so much more on his mind. Good luck to him and well done to those who have provided him with ongoing support.

Madden was a remarkable player. He kicked well over 500 goals but nearly always had a very good ruck partner which allowed him to spend plenty of time forward. His first two senior seasons he played almost exclusively forward as Graham Moss (1976 Brownlow medallist) was the number one ruck at the Bombers. Then he played alongside his brother Justin for a number of years, before he went to Carlton in 1983, Paul Salmon from 1983 until the end of his career, as well as Peter Somerville towards the end of his career. Roger Merrett also often took the ruck in the mid 80's. So Madden was genuinely versatile and could have played exclusively as a key forward. His ruck work was incredible. Gawn is the best ruck since Dean Cox in my view, and certainly worthy of a place in that top 5. He's a better ruckman than Peter Moore - not as spectacular but a better pure ruck.

Coaches Votes: 9 Salem 9 Oliver 5 Gawn 3 Pickett 2 Petracca 1 Steele 1 Tomlinson Only Salem, Oliver and Gawn received votes from both coaches.

The Age Player of the Year votes from Peter Ryan. His match report is a good one too. Mentions Petracca trying to do too much in the first half. Pleased to see Salem recognized by the mainstream media and Gawn's game receiving the acknowledgement it deserved. He and Oliver form a lethal combination. VOTES: Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) 8 Christian Salem (Melbourne) 7 Max Gawn (Melbourne) 7 Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne) 7 Dougal Howard (St Kilda) 6

6. Oliver 5. Salem 4 Gawn (a dominant second half and gave Oliver first look nearly every time). 3. Pickett 2. ANB 1. Petracca

Very reminiscent of a young David Schwarz the way that he moves. His marking has improved - his kicking will too.

6. Lever 5. May 4. MacDonald 3. Langdon 2. Tomlinson 1. Oliver (although our mids were beaten pretty comprehensively as a unit)

We have had some pretty poor defensive units in the last 20 years, but individually some good players. Frawley, Whelan, Jetta, Ingerson were all at times, excellent defenders. The game has moved past Nev now but at his best he was very good. Frawley was a star in 2010; Whelan about as tough and courageous a player as I've seen at Melbourne and Ingerson was one of the main reasons we made the 2000 GF. Nathan Brown was underrated by the football world by and large but was also a very courageous player. May is probably a better player than most of those guys but we are basing his Melbourne contribution off just last season. I actually think Lever is potentially the best player of all of them. He's crazy brave in the air. His disposal can let him down a little but he looks fit, tuned in and ready to repay the club's investment. And he is likely to see a bit of the ball, too.

6. May 5. Lever 4. Nibbler 3. Gawn (and only 76% game time which was a different look) 2. Fritsch 1. Langdon A very clear top 2 today, probably because the ball spent most of the game in our back half.

Yes, agree entirely. It was a different era but it was certainly a much better "flow" - more in sync with what was happening on the field. I watched a replay of the Melbourne V Footscray game from 1987 the other day from the ABC. Drew Morphett, Ian Robertson and Bernie Quinlan were commentating. They let the game tell the story without their own egos becoming part of it. Tim Lane, Doug Heywood, Clarke Hansen, Geoff Leek, John Nicholls all great commentators because of what they didn't say. I didn't mind Bruce until the last few years. He was a great all rounder until he needed to become part of the show.

Great topic. Since 1979, when I was 9 I can recall pretty much every Melbourne season. From each decade - the 80's belonged to Flower. He matched up and bested some of the all time greats - Greig and Schimmelbusch; Hawkins; Neagle; DiPierdomenico; Bryan Wood - some truly great players. Our next best player was probably Gerard Healy, then guys like Brian Wilson, Steve Icke. After 87 and into the 90's, Lyon was definitely the best player over that whole period, Stynes was a great workhorse but was probably never the best ruck in the comp over that period - Madden, Salmon, Scott Wynd, Shaun Rehn etc. Neitz and Schwarz for different periods were wonderful players. Neitz carried that into the first part of the 2000's. A couple of AA's, one B&F, a Coleman and captained us to a GF. Between 2007 and the emergence of Gawn in 2015 there was no Melbourne player who you'd consider elite. Junior McDonald got an AA. Now we have Gawn, with Oliver and Tracc probably a rung below but all three are better than anyone since the Daniher era. I'd rate Gawn as the second best Melbourne player I've seen after Flower; ahead of Lyon and Neitz. He's a great ruck, against other great rucks. He's a champion and he's probably the first player since Flower that opposition teams and fans fear for his ability to influence a game.

It's all so subjective. I think Rob Flower was a terrific captain at Melbourne yet we only played finals once in his tenure of 7 years. Bruce Monteath was a handy player but captained Richmond to a flag (from the bench) in 1980, in a team chock full of leaders - Bartlett, Cloke, Wood, Bourke etc etc. That was his only season as skipper. The best captain I've ever seen, from both an on and off field point of view was Terry Daniher. One of the lads, but set such an outstanding on field example that players were prepared to follow him anywhere. All time greats like Tim Watson and Simon Madden, as well as workmanlike players Peter Bradbury and Steve Carey speak reverently of TD's leadership capabilities. He spoke to fans, to corporates and media in an authentic and relatable manner. Gawn has the capacity to lead like Daniher. He has great media and fan presence. He is an outstanding player who clearly has the respect of the playing group - in almost every interview Petracca and Oliver do they reference the influence Gawn has on their individual and collective games. He has been an outstanding player for many years now. 4 times an AA speaks volumes as to his playing ability. He will grow into the role, and as Petracca, Oliver, Lever, May etc become better able to share that onfield leadership burden, we will collectively become a better team. Those pushing for May need to remember he was not a successful Captain at GC. He led a side with an ingrained poor culture that he couldn't effectively influence, and was a part of since day one. Often injured and sometimes suspended he was far from professional. His first year at Melbourne was a continuation of that. He has played one good season. He has leadership capabilities, no doubt, but he would not have the respect that players like Gawn have built up over a number of years.

Nice to see him go some way to fulfilling the enormous potential he has always had. His work ethic was outstanding both preseason and within season and he reaped the individual accolades that came with that. He still has work to do (one swallow doesn't make a summer) to be spoken of in the same company as Martin but he looks likely to join that elite company if his progression continues on the same trajectory. Congratulations to him!

Gawn is a genuine champion of the game. Bar the Brownlow and a flag, he has won everything there is to win. He's also showing great promise as Captain - a player respected right across the entire competition. Well done on another great season Max, played under great duress.