Swooper1987

6. Salem 5. Tracc 4. Langdon 3. Gawn 2. Oliver 1. Jackson

Agree. Gawn is our biggest point of difference - an outstanding tap ruck who can actually take contested marks regularly in all areas of the ground.

It's unlikely that Jones would be the reason we win or lose against Richmond. His replacement would be the 22nd player and it's unlikely they'd make the difference either. It's also unlikely they would have the same emotional impact as Jones in his 300th game. Jones has earned the right to play a milestone game on a big stage and other than the GF this is about as big as it gets for us. I'm sure he won't let himself or his team down.

The Age M. Gawn (Melbourne) 8 J. Lever (Melbourne) 8 E. Langdon (Melbourne) 7 M. Hibberd (Melbourne) 7 C. Oliver (Melbourne) 6 The Herald Sun 3. M.Gawn 2. C.Oliver 1. C. Salem

6. Gawn 5. Lever 4. Salem 3. T Mac 2. Langdon 1. Oliver

Dom Tyson played a blinder from memory. That was the beginning of the end of the quest for 4 in a row.

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.