Bring-Back-Powell

Did Lovett come close to winning the 1990 Brownlow?

Tough but fair call and analysis of Gawn. However I would’ve thought 3 All Australian awards in the last 4 years is purely elite. I think we’ve seen the best of Gawn and he won’t be getting any better. I also concede that Grundy will take over Gawn as the number 1 ruck this year, if he didn’t already last year.

I note Brayshaw’s not there and absolutely agree. A bit of a fall from grace from a player that came third in the Brownlow. Viney’s round 1 performance was elite, and not for the first time when playing WC over there. During the Foxtel telecast of that game, Gerard Healy thought Viney was a genuine chance of an All Australian gig this year.

If there’s one year I don’t want to win a flag it’s this year. Pure and simple. It’s a personal dream and footballing supporting ambition of mine to see a premiership live at the MCG. Watching the Dees on TV winning a flag in front of an empty MCG or Optus Stadium would be good and satisfying, but nowhere near the enjoyment, elation and sense of achievement of watching the mighty Dees win the big one at the G. With that all being said, we’re nowhere near a flag with this current playing list, coach and game style.

I actually think we sealed a finals birth the week before against Richmond at Waverley. We played Hawthorn in the final round of 1990 and we were playing for second spot on the proviso that West Coast lost to Geelong at Kardina Park and Collingwood lost to North at Waverley. Alas West Coast came from behind to beat Geelong while the Pies won by about 90 points. I wonder how the 1990 finals series would have gone had Geelong held on against West Coast in round 22 and we subsequently finished third and played Collingwood at Waverley and got the double chance? It should be noted thought that we conceded 31 goals to North and lost to a pathetic Sydney (5-17) that year, and great sides wouldn’t have allowed that.

Round 6 1992. MCG bins were full of Melbourne scarves after the game.

That GC 2016 game at the top of the thread was the exact definition of a poor win. Played terribly that day and IIRC vanDenberg got us back into the game with a couple of strong marks and sausages. We lost a few close ones in the first half of 2007 to kill Daniher’s coaching career. One in particular against North at the G when we were about 6 goals down at 3 qtr time, grabbed the lead with 3 mins left, only for Swallow to kick an amazing goal with seconds left for us to slump to 0-9. Thankfully we got on the board the following week against Adelaide.

I often wonder how Kennett would’ve gone as MFC president if the AFL gave it the green light. During 2013 we were an absolute basket case and things couldn’t get any worse for us.

Not surprised we didn’t feature in the top 50 games. Over the off season , Fox Footy showed loads and loads of classic games for a good 4-5 months but didn’t even show one Melbourne win. One of the two featured Melbourne games they showed included a 106 point to loss to North in the mid 90’s. Even GC and Fitzroy wins were shown, the latter of whom is dead!

I’d entertain the idea. Back in the 2014 draft I was hoping the Saints would choose Petracca or Brayshaw and therefore allowing us to take McCartin. Had a gut feel he’d be a champion forward. Has been crueled by injury. We also need to bolster our forward line and Paddy could be an option. A far better marking option than Weid. We don’t have a good forward line and we can’t rely on Melksham and Fritsch to kick 8 between them every week. They were both disappointing in round 1 as they only contributed 1 between them against WC. However, they will be much better against lesser teams and lesser defenders. As for T Mac, we all bagged him after round 1 but he still managed 2 goals on the back of a poor performance against pretty much the best side in the league. That suggests to me that he would’ve been on track for a solid 50 goal year if the season went 22 games. To T Mac’s credit he’s a very accurate shot for goal and makes the most of his chances unlike many other forwards around the league.

We were also leading Geelong by 38 points at one stage in the second last game of the year only to fall over the line with a draw. Win that one and just one of the Carlton games you pointed out and top 4 would’ve also been ours. Losing to a pathetic Carlton in round 18 2006 was absolutely unforgivable and came from nowhere considering we’d gone 12-2 leading into the game.

Herald Sun website this morning reporting that the season could be back far sooner than we think. Can anyone get past the pay wall and find out what kind of date they’re speculating about?

You weren’t encouraged by our fresh new tactical look, minimal school-boy errors and Hawthorn (2012-2015) like inside 50 efficiency we showed in round 1?

Correct

Number 3: “Footy sucks sometimes” Someone said it after a loss to North to start the season 0-9 in the mid-late 2000’s.

Absolutely it could work in Bennell’s favour. Instead of maybe getting a token handful of games at the end of what would’ve been a non impacted season, he may end up playing half the season if the planets finally align for HB.

That asterisk next to this year’s premier just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Brayshaw needs a kick in the behind and I wouldn't be 100% shattered if he's dropped for round 2. They could drop Brayshaw, bring back Salem in defence and release Harmes back to the midfield where he plays his best footy. Brayshaw just seems to be going at the moment, and has been since round 1 2019, not adding any point of difference to his game (for someone that has no pace) and even missing shots he'd normally get. eg - he kicked 2 behinds in a minute in the third quarter. Need a serious rocket in him when the league resumes.

I’ve got a feeling Freo will jump out of the gates early. Need to be within 4-5 goals during the third qtr if we’re a snow flakes chance in hell of getting our first win of the season.

Stephen Powell played 2 fantastic seasons for us (2000 and 2002) and is the exact type of midfielder we lack today - a midfielder that kicks goals. Kicked 32 goals in 2000 including 7 over the prelim and GF fortnight. Left the club at the end of 2002 over a finance dispute I believe, which was poor management by us. Can’t make the list due to his brief tenure, but he was fantastic player that was picked up on the cheap (both for us and then St Kilda).

Given Collingwood and Richmond are 2 of the 4 clubs that are allegedly bullet proof financially, I would hope that Melbourne are scheduled at least one home blockbuster next year - either Anzac eve or QBday. I know we’re not scheduled to host either marquee game next year, but it would be a kick in the guts if the other mobs get the gate revenue for both events. Perhaps Collingwood and Richmond will agree to split the gate with us just for next year. And then business as usual after that.

So on the one hand we're playing games from Thursday 11 June, and on the other hand the doomsayers reckon it's 18 months until we can leave our houses when the vaccine is ready.

I fear that’s the very game they’ll show. One of the most humiliating losses of the decade.

Or what about Melbourne V Freo - 2008. A bit of a come from behind win to say the least. The home teams from round 2 were the winners in each classic game they showed last week, aside from the North V Brisbane 2003 draw. So I expect a Melbourne win will be shown. Conversely next week for St Kilda V Melboune they'll show a St Kilda win.

If the entire season is played behind closed doors, then Casey should absolutely be an option, to save us a few bucks and utilise that shocking wind out there to our advantage (local knowledge!) They've played annual pre season games there since 2017, and most years since 2008, so they've already had a foot in the door in terms of hosting top flight games. Under absolutely no circumstances can they play a game there in front of a crowd. There is no elevation, per most suburban/country pre season venues.