Monbon

Let's forget I wrote that...

No room for Smith???????????????????Sorry, you're wrong. He starts before Billing...

Unlike Grundy, the lad can take a mark or two or three...

Please, JoeB, you NEVER win an argument wid your daughter!!!I know.

All that proves is you can fool most of the people most of the time.

Yes, his hair, when loose, reminds me of someone...

'A Derrinallum recruit, the lightly framed Northey was a fleetfooted runner and earned the "swooper" nickname by his ability to get the ball and pass it on to a teammate. He played 118 games and kicked 192 goals for Richmond from 1963 until 1970. He also was a member of Richmond's 1967 and 1969 premiership teams.' Not a bad track record as a player...I watched him play a few times: he always looked dangerous...in a 'Footy Act' kind of way, i.e.skills etc

Um, Thompson and Northey 'not naturally gifted players? Not sure about that. But I'm only nit-picking in a banterish way. Just call me The Little Red Rooster - oh, that's right them's Bantams...

I really don't care much about this Grand Final. Collinwood for most of the year have played some 'good footy', as has Brisbane. All I care about is that Brisbane wins narrowly and that someone shows Maynard the difference between assault and a 'real footy act'. Um, like taught him first hand what being the victim of assault feels like. Um, I don't condone any violence but, I also condone the saying, He who lives by the sword...

I am not a violent man, nor do I condone any violence. However, I do wish Maynard becomes a victim of a 'Footy Act' and the E Coli Wobblers lose by a point because of a crook goal umpire call.

Good god, he's right you know. Except in Box HIll where there's hills on Dorking Road...

If you're not a 'Follower', are you a flanker or a wingman?

It is an interesting conundrum. The good book says we are all desceneded from Adam and Eve. They had two sons. I'll leave the rest to your imagination...

Yep, both. Why does Final Time mean less obvious Frees are paid? It's nonsensical. So first he complains, then he says he likes it. Sounds like a demented form of masochism to me...

It came up on You Tube. I taut, well, maybe he's found some sense somewhere...in an Irish bog, wherever...

Saw some footage of him highlighting free kicks after free kicks which were not paid - Toby Greene being 'hooked', Daicos pushing a GWS player's face into the surface - what would have been at least a week during the season - and the various Frees where umpires simply forgot they had whistles in Brisbane. I'm with him on this, and then, typically Korny Kane, says, he likes it, it makes it a fast, flowing game...????? Kane, as usual, hot air, bluster and contradiction.

yes

Yep, on the right hand side of Ron Barassi, Hassa to Ron's left...

Don Williams died in 1995. My grandson's other defacto grandfather ran a business with him.

Thanks: I have the photo: I've recognized Bernie Massey - I think, but what I would like is a list of their names, as they appear in the photo...

On the Melbourne Football Club site above Dixon's piece about Barassi, there's a photo of most of the 1964 Premiership players, all of them now old men. I can only recognize Barassi, Hassa mann, Dixon, Lord, Townsend and Barry Bourke. I'd love to be able to place the others. Can anybody help?

The bottom line is that when these two great players re-signed nobody could know that injury would plague them. There's no use blaming anyone for this sad outcome. It's simply bad luck, 'in the lap of the gods' stuff. I'm sure things will sort themselves out because the bottom line is that this club is now in capable hands.

Rohan the Man is a plagiarist. It is word for word - or its gist - what I wrote: but I forgive him, because in the end, what he and I wrote is not rocket science. It's worth Melbourne and Port Adelaide fans pondering that as they pick over the entrails of their team's defeats. Because I'm not sure the level of angst about either necessarily matches the reality of their position. Particularly when it comes to the Dees. ESPN/Getty Images Of course, the Demons shot themselves in the foot in not just one but two finals, losing both by a combined total of just nine points having booted a collectively ridiculously wasteful 16.28. But you also need a bit of luck on your side to win premierships, and this season Melbourne had precious little, particularly near goal. Tom McDonald and Ben Brown were injured, out of sorts, or both. Then Bayley Fritsch got hurt. Then, just as Melbourne appeared to have crafted first one, then a second more-than-adequate back-up plan in attack with Harrison Petty and Jake Melksham, they suffered season-ending injuries. And just to rub salt in the wound, young gun Jacob van Rooyen got suspended. Even then, the Dees still managed to find goals in their two finals out of Fritsch, Kysaiah Pickett and Joel Smith. Even then, they managed 18 scores to Collingwood's 15 in the qualifying final and 26 to 18 against the Blues. But the repeated disruptions to any sort of continuity of structure simply had to take a toll. On both efficiency and conversion. And Melbourne still was oh-so-close to winning either game. In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest had even one, let alone both Petty and Melksham stayed upright, the Dees might very well have ended up premiers. On that basis, while the hand-wringing about Melbourne potentially squandering a golden era is understandable, I think it's completely over the top. The Demons were still a healthy enough sixth for points scored this year and defensively were ranked behind only St Kilda. They were ranked top six in five out of six midfield categories and were close to the best in the business in terms of occupying territory. They had the second-most experienced games average in but were still youthful enough, with a handful of clubs still older and with more over 30s. They got valuable experience into the likes of Van Rooyen and Judd McVee, and even now-experienced premiership players like Trent Rivers and Tom Sparrow took steps forward. Yes, another key forward should be a priority. But that may well be all that is needed for Melbourne to continue to push for a premiership for some time yet.

Agree: then again, there's also no need to blame him for every twist of fate either...

I agree with your first four paragraphs. When you then go on to question Goodwin spoils it for me. The bottom line is that under him, Melbourne has played in finals in 2018, 2021-2023. You nailed why we failed this year but in the end, a coach - as Hinkley pointed out yesterday - has to deal with the injury hand he is dealt. I've read in these pages that West Coast had 3 All Australians out during their Grand Final win in 2018. Yep, maybe so, but they were obviously able to cover them with what was in their tank. We lost our main forwards for parts - the crucial parts- throughout the year, and just about every week was another period of adjustment. In other words, the crucial aspect - continuity- was not on the agenda when the Injury Gods consistently made decisions to send us back to square one. It's no excuse, as they say, bad kicking is bad footy, but had we the luxury of having the same luck with injury our backline had up forward....