Whispering_Jack

WA leading by 3 goals. They look very strong in the key positions. So strong that Van Rooyen who is normally at CHF is playing in defence. Sharpshooter Jye Amiss looks good at FF.

Over the years, and particularly before the VFL turned national, there was always a close connection between Melbourne and the Norwood Redlegs in the SANFL. They have similar colours and historically, the clubs played many practice and exhibition matches against each other going back to the 19th century and more recently, in the early 1970s. The Demons recruited Tassie Medalist Graham Molloy from Norwood in 1970 as a potential Barassi replacement but injuries prevented him from showing his best in a 76 game career with the Demons. The ABC used to televise the SANFL grand finals and for success starved Melbourne fans, we used to get a kick out of supporting the Redlegs to premiership victory. Their team is playing North Adelaide in the SANFL this afternoon and I wish them success and hope they also come out in their numbers in red and blue to support our boys tonight.

Well … yes, partly so but in fact his origin is Swiss. Ron is a third generation descendant of one of the Swiss Italians of Australia who migrated to Australia in the 1850s and 1860s to areas such as Guildford, between Castlemaine and Daylesford. A few years ago, he featured in an episode of the ABC series, "Who Do You Think You Are?". It was a fascinating documentary with a highly emotional scene of Ron returning to Tobruk to visit the grave of his father who played 54 games for Melbourne from 1936 to 1940 and became the first VFL player killed in action in WW2. Like his son, his played his last game in a winning Melbourne premiership team. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1519235/?ref_=ext_shr_em/

Two of the form sides of the competition meet on neutral territory. The Lions have had a number of big wins recently but they’ve been against sides that have been struggling so will they be able to withstand the pressure of the Demons took a big scalp last week? The prize on offer is a week’s rest and a berth in the Preliminary Final. I say it’s not going to be easy but Melbourne will win the prize.

Reckon Chris Scott might be calling for shorter quarters again next week.

There are a few differences with Geelong from last week but the main one is the kicking for goal. Last week, Cats at half time were 10.2.62. This week, one scoring shot less 3.8.26 plus a shot out of bounds on the full. Cats still having a significant advantage in frees.

That’s a great achievement to provide the AFL and AFLW Rising Stars in the same year. Congratulations to Luke Jackson & Tyla Hanks!

The WA government’s opening of its border with SA is timely for the elite young players from both states as it allows for the first game of the championships to take place on Sunday as planned. That leaves almost three weeks for the second game which remains highly unlikely given today’s uptick in the Victorian case figures. Still, it’s likely that we’ll get to see some of the top end talent that will feature come the draft in November. Here’s a preview:- Where it’s won: Western Australia vs. South Australia Under 19s

K-Rock -

Triple M -

3AW -

The ABC -

Following are various commentaries from different radio stations together with the vision of the winning goal from Max Gawn starting with the original -

Jason Taylor has criticised the rule change that prevents clubs (other than from the northern states) from matching NGA bids in the first 20 of the draft but he’s shrewdly avoided making a judgment call on Andrew in terms of where or whether he would pick him. All he’s done is commented on the fact that Andrews’s game has made “significant growth” in the past few years since he came into the club’s NGA system. It’s also unlikely that the club could “manufacture” a way to get him unless he doesn’t get picked up in the first 20. To that end, the best the club could do to partially block that from happening would be coincidental in the event that we traded for a pick or two that would be situated in the high teens which in my view, on current form is the optimum scenario for Andrews’s selection. Some might believe otherwise but I think he still needs to prove himself worthy of top 20 selection and with the NAB Boys League competition all but over and the postponed national championship games still under a cloud, that’s not going to happen. If we end up with North’s pick #20 as part of a deal for Sam and trade that up a few places it would be great. If we could somehow do another trade to give us two late first rounders it would be ideal but probably wishful thinking.

High contact, medium impact … not 4, just two weeks.

She’s due a few weeks after the grand final.

@Nasher - there you go. We all forgot about this one that was started when Kalani was just 9 years of age!

Not there yet but we can reflect on where we’ve come from …

Young White is about 15 and I’m told is closing in on his father’s height. Worth a look in the draft in a few year’s time and probably already not far off getting a thread of his own on Demonland.😀

It had to happen sooner or later and it comes via AFL Draft Central’s Michael Alvaro in his article about players in the top 10 mix. Check out his comment on North Melbourne’s likely #1 pick and his speculation that the Roos might consider trading the pick to end up with … who? "With Adelaide likely lurking for Horne, there has again been talk that North may look to trade down the order, much like there was last year. Smooth moving Sandringham Dragons midfielder Finn Callaghan could be another option for the Roos, as well as versatile tall Mac Andrew". Indicative Draft Order: Who’s in the top 10 mix?

I heard a different story that related to the reason why he was dropped after kicking 6 goals in a game against Hawthorn. Burston burst on the scene when he came back from an overseas holiday suntanned and looking like Superman to play in an intraclub practice match a couple of weeks before the start of the season. He was sensational in that game but his career never took off and he quickly disappeared off the scene.

Nothing much to report on the injury front except for the fact that Jayden Hunt is advancing well with his rehab and looks likely to be back sooner rather than later. Also, it’s interesting that Marty Hore is now on the list of the players who are out for the rest of the season. There’s a veiled hint from Darren Burgess in there that the VFL season is done and dusted if there’s no use in continuing with his season. Injury Report | Smooth sailing for finals

After the “Last Hurrah” comes another book touching the history of the club. Very timely as we embark on the finals to read about a man who was captain coach of the 1926 premiership team and a lot more ~ Sir Albert Chadwick biography released by MCC

I turned 15 in the middle of 1964 and by that time, I had been a supporter for almost 10 years. In 1954, Father Christmas presented me with a tie that had a Melbourne footballer on it and lo and behold, I was a fan for life. We won 6 flags in the next 10 years. I couldn’t get a ticket to the ‘64 grand final but managed to get invited to the Channel 2 studios where I watched it in an auditorium on black and white screens with about 100 others, almost all of them local aged care residents. The one grand final that I made it to was in 1960 when it rained from start to finish and we held Collingwood to the lowest score ever in a grand final - 2.2.14. When I got home, I had to work in the family milk bar in the northern suburbs selling Heralds and Sporting Globes to disgruntled Pies fans. My recollection of winning grand finals was the feeling of happiness and euphoria, one that I hope we’ll all be experiencing in a little over a month’s time.

It was back in Round 12 during one of Victoria’s Covid19 lockdowns that the two clubs had to find refuge in the western suburbs of Sydney where Gladys reigned supreme and things were safe and sound in the State of New South Wales for everything except footy teams from Brisbane. Melbourne can pick and choose where to play next week (subject to no unforeseen circumstances arising and when does that ever happen these days?😀) but it won’t be at Giants Stadium. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: M. Hibberd 14 S. May 1 J. Lever 8 HB: C. Salem 3 H. Petty 35 A. Brayshaw 10 C: T. Sparrow 32 C. Petracca 5 J. Hunt 29 HF: J. Jordon 23 T. McDonald 25 C. Spargo 9 F: B. Fritsch 31 L. Jackson 6 A. Neal-Bullen 30 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 K. Pickett 36 I/C: J. Harmes 4 J. Melksham 18 T. Rivers 24 S. Weideman 26 Emerg: O. Baker 33 T. Bedford 12 J. Bowey 17 M. Brown 38 In: O. Baker Out: Ed Langdon (concussion) BRISBANE LIONS B: J. Prior 20 H. Andrews 31 B. Starcevich 37 HB: D: Rich 10 M. Adams 24 G. Birchall 14 C: D. Zorko 15 L. Neale 9 H. McCluggage HF: C. Ah Chee 4 J. Daniher 3 L. McCarthy 11 F: D. McStay 25 E. Hipwood 30 C. Cameron 23 Foll: O. McInerney 46 J. Lyons 17 M. Robinson 5 I/C Z. Bailey 33 K. Coleman 18 R. Lester 35 D. Robertson 2 Sub: R. Mathieson 36 Emerg: C. Ballenden 38 T. Fullarton 21 J. Madden 42 In: R. Lester L. Neale Out: T. Berry (omitted) J. Madden (omitted)