Whispering_Jack

The first thing I noticed when watching the Alan Jakovich game from 1991 was just how much more exciting the game was back then. Unfortunately, the game has progressed, rules have changed, players are trained differently and it’s unlikely that we’ll ever go back to the old days.

Ok so no Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. We have to wait for next year for that elusive flag. However, way back in 1919 when there was a big pandemic, we finished last. Gulp.

The idea appears to be that he won’t be quite ready for the restart but without a VFL competition, that means another week or two of training. I wonder however, if he continues to impress at training and the AFL allows two extra interchange players, whether he might be given a limited run against Carlton.

Round 7, 1964 Melbourne vs Footscray Saturday 30 May Venue: MCG Attendance: 33,129 B Crompton Tas Johnson Williams HB Anderson Roet Leahy C Dixon H Mann Adams HF Vagg Groom Kenneally F Jacobs Bourke Townsend Foll Wise Barassi Rov Emselle 19/20 Lord Robbie The determined Doggies faced an in-form Demon outfit at the MCG and the visitors gave them a scare for the first half of the game. Melbourne trailed by a point when the siren sounded but Tony Anderson’s goal put the side in front at the main break. From there, the Demons asserted their domination scoring 5.9.39 to a single goal in the third quarter before they coasted home for a comfortable immediately ended any speculation about the result by kicking five goals to one to lead by 42 point victory to securely place them in the top four. The old guard of Dixon, Adams and Barassi were dominant while full forward Barry Bourke was on fire with five goals. Melbourne 2.3.15 4.5.29 9.14.68 12.14.86 Footscray 2.3.15 3.6.24 4.6.30 6.8.44 Goals Bourke 5 Barassi 3 Emselle 2 Lord Townsend Best Dixon Groom Mann Barassi Tas Johnson Bourke Reserves Melbourne 12.9.81 defeated Footscray 8.12.60 Goals Bartlett 4 Leitch Watson 2 Carroll Lynch Matthews Wood Best Watson Leitch Davis Under 19s Melbourne 12.6.78 defeated Footscray 10.17.77 Goals McNab Russell Schultz Wight 2 Bird Jones Marr Minton-Connell Best Millard McNamee Russell

Sadly, Michael Graham was a player that Melbourne was chasing in the early 1970s but we couldn’t persuade him to cross the border to Victoria. He had a long and successful career in Adelaide but (from my perspective at least), it was a tragedy that he didn’t play at the highest level at the time. There was another player at the time who would have come in very handy and he was Glenelg ruckman Peter Carey who Melbourne was associated with at the time. Carey became a games record player with the SA Tigers playing well over 400 games. Having those two in the side at the time in the mid-70s might have made a big difference to the club.

Here you go. Archie Perkins

Also the last time, we won a game ... CARLTON B Lachie Plowman Liam Jones Caleb Marchbank HB Kade Simpson Jacob Weitering Dale Thomas C Will Setterfield Ed Curnow Lochie O'Brien HF Jack Silvagni Levi Casboult Sam Petrevski-Seton F Marc Murphy Mitch McGovern Michael Gibbons FOLL Matthew Kreuzer Zac Fisher Sam Walsh I/C Paddy Dow Matthew Kennedy Darcy Lang Nic Newman EMG Matthew Cottrell Alex Fasolo Hugh Goddard Andrew Phillips IN Darcy Lang OUT Charlie Curnow (knee) MELBOURNE B Jay Lockhart Steven May Harrison Petty HB Marty Hore Sam Frost Christian Salem C Nathan Jones James Harmes Alex Neal-Bullen HF Bayley Fritsch Sam Weideman Christian Petracca F Mitch Hannan Tom McDonald Angus Brayshaw FOLL Max Gawn Jack Viney Clayton Oliver I/C Kyle Dunkley Michael Hibberd Jayden Hunt Jordan Lewis EMG Oscar McDonald Braydon Preuss Corey Wagner Josh Wagner IN Kyle Dunkley Jordan Lewis Braydon Preuss OUT Oskar Baker (omitted) Max Gawn (ankle) Tim Smith (calf)

For a number of seasons, the rationale behind the AFL’s draw has been that the more lowly teams should have the benefit of an easier draw. This was reflected in the number of highly placed teams you played from the year before that you played twice but that’s not a consideration when you only play each team once. It stands to reason therefore that this year the lower placed sides should get 9 home games rather than 8. However, “reason” rarely applies to AFL fixturing even when the size of crowds don’t matter.

AFL Draft Central looks at the 2020 Draft’s speed kings - Preseason testing analysis: Which State is the fastest? An interesting name in that group is Kobi George from the Dandenong Stingrays who came in at fifth fastest from Victoria. He’s been on Melbourne’s books for a while as a Next Generation Academy player.

Elwood 3184 raised this point as a result of the fact that Melbourne’s 19th & 20th men, first gamer Robert Foster and rover Herbie Matthews, sat out the entire game on the bench. On top of that Foster was dropped for Round 6 which was pretty tough on a kid who sat out every minute of his debut game getting splinters on the bench. The players copped it in those days and in many ways, it was the hallmark of Norm Smith’s coaching discipline - there was no room for the softly, softly approach we often see these days but of course, the times are different.

I finally got around to watching the game and reliving some of the fantastic memories of that era - Jim Stynes, Garry Lyon, Brett Lovett, the all round strength of the team up forward, down back and on the ball. We had fantastic marking strength, knew how to set up scoring and had plenty of players who could convert, not the least of who was Jako (and remember we had the Davids (Neitz and Schwarz) and Sean Charles all waiting in the wings. The opportunities were definitely there to snaffle a flag if things went right. This particular game was probably the most exhilarating home and away game I’ve ever experienced. Pity we didn’t get 10 years of Jako in that sort of form.

Would be fantastic if a sudden heavy rainstorm caused the cardboard cutouts to melt away into goo.

Speaking of Hawthorn ... Round 6, 1964 Melbourne vs Hawthorn Saturday 23 May Venue: MCG Attendance: 53,798 B Crompton Massey Jacobs HB Anderson Roet Leahy C Dixon H Mann Adams HF Vagg Groom Kenneally F Barassi Bourke Townsend Foll Tas Johnson Wise Rov Emselle 19/20 Bartlett Matthews Melbourne avenged its defeat from the previous year’s Preliminary Final when it emerged triumphant over Hawthorn in a nail-bighting struggle at the MCG. The Hawks had the early ascendancy through the goal kicking feats of tough full forward John Peck who booted four goals from as many kicks against Bernie Massey before the defender was injured in the second quarter and replaced by Tas Johnson who kept Peck down to only one more for the day. The Demons strength in the air saw them take the lead at the main break and in a tense struggle, they held sway as both teams managed only a goal each in the final term. Hawthorn managed a goal in the last minute but their final attack for victory was repelled by a Tas Johnson mark in defence on the siren. The win gave Melbourne a record of four wins .and two defeats but with little breathing space as only percentage separated it from Collingwood and Essendon in fifth and sixth positions on the ladder. Melbourne 3.3.21 5.9.39 9.11.65 10.13.73 Hawthorn 4.6.30 5.7.37 9.8.62 10.8.68 Goals Jacobs Vagg 3 Barassi 2 Bourke Kenneally Best Townsend Roet Tas Johnson Groom Barassi Vagg Reserves Melbourne 10.16.76 defeated Hawthorn 8.5.53 Goals Lord 4 Carroll Robbie Leitch Mounter Best Lord Hill McLean Under 19s Hawthorn 13.5.83 defeated Melbourne 11.10.76 Goals Schultz 3 McNab Osborne Stone 2 Jones Pritchard Best Bird Brodie Stone

Given that drawing crowds will be a pretty much irrelevant consideration in 2020 then I’d prefer to get some momentum going. Collingwood after WCE might not be such a good idea.

In round 19, 1947, Fred Fanning kicked 18 goals, 1 point in that game against St Kilda which means he hit the scoreboard on 19 occasions as well.

That’s probably 4 or 5 times for Nathan. Let’s hope he gets the opportunity this year.

Not only did we make what turned out to be some shocking draft choices in that era, we were also in the wrong place at the wrong time. We drafted Sylvia and McLean with picks 3 & 5 in 2003. The same selections in the following season would have given us Ryan Griffen and Lance Franklin.

It would have been Mike Minton-Connell who was a solid key defender who played some good games in defence but struggled to break into Melbourne’s team with players like Roet and Groom ahead of him at CHB. His brother Adrian arrived in 1966 and looked a likely ruck type but injured his knee. What a pity we couldn’t leverage off the connection to get Peter Hudson!

The turning point ... Round 5, 1964 Essendon vs Melbourne Saturday 16 May Venue: Windy Hill Attendance: 27,000 B Crompton Massey Tas Johnson HB Anderson Roet Leahy C Watson H Mann Adams HF Vagg Groom Kenneally F Jacobs Bourke Townsend Foll Wise Barassi Rov Emselle 19/20 Foster Matthews Windy Hill was never a happy hunting ground for the Melbourne Football Club and it was proving to be so for them at half time when inaccurate kicking for goal saw them trailing by a goal against Essendon who began the game as favourites by virtue of their demolition of the reigning premier Geelong. The Demons lifted their game in the second half in what was probably the catalyst for turning around a season that was in danger of slipping away. Tony Anderson and Neil Crompton stood firm all day in defence while Norm Smith’s move of third gamer Graeme Watson into the middle allowing Hassa Mann to take on the main roving duties proved to be the master stroke as the team dominated the rest of the game despite their continued inaccuracy in front of goal. In an interesting sidelight, both of Melbourne’s reserves, including first gamer Robert Foster, sat out the entire game on the bench. Runner Sam Allica was reported for illegally delivering messages to players other than the captain or vice-captain for the second time in the season. Essendon 2.0.12 4.4.28 5.7.37 7.11.53 Melbourne 1.6.12 2.10.22 5.18.48 10.25.85 Goals Barassi Bourke H Mann Vagg 2 Groom Jacobs Best Anderson Crompton Watson H Mann Emselle Kenneally Reserves Melbourne 10.9.69 defeated Essendon 6.13.49 Goals Carroll 5 Bartlett Wood 2 Slade Best Carroll Vaughan Bartlett Under 19s Melbourne 13.18.95 defeated Essendon 9.7.61 Goals McNabb Schultz 4 Reinholdt 2 Coutts Osborne Russell Best Stewart Minton-Connell McNamee

I voted for Barass. He was a match winner who was usually dominant in important games. How these two only won 3 Blueys between them still beats me.

The crunch came on this day 56 years ago ... Round 4, 1964 St. Kilda vs Melbourne Saturday 9 May Venue: Junction Oval Attendance: 35,000 B Crompton Massey L Mann HB Anderson Roet Leahy C Williams H Mann Adams HF Vagg Groom Kenneally F Barassi Bourke Townsend Foll Tas Johnson Wise Rov Emselle 19/20 Jacobs Watson The young St Kilda side was still smarting from their loss in the previous season’s first semi final when they took on Melbourne for what turned out to be their last encounter at the Junction Oval. The Demons wasted their opportunities in the opening quarter with wayward kicking for goal allowing the Saints to control the game from there on taking a 16 point lead into the main break. Although they got to within five points early in the last quarter, the home side steadied to a comfortable 26 point win, leaving the Demons in mid table with a 2-2 record for the season. St. Kilda’s charge was led by two exciting young teenagers Carl Ditterich, 18, and Ian Cooper, 17 while Ray Groom was Melbourne’s best. Half forward Barrie Vagg kicked four goals, but his impact on the team’s overall performance was lacking. Veteran winger Brian Dixon who was a Liberal Party candidate for the local seat of St Kilda at the forthcoming State Election missed with a shoulder injury which might have been regarded as a blessing in disguise for him. St. Kilda 2.1.13 7.5.47 8.11.53 13.15.93 Melbourne 1.6.12 4.7.31 6.12.48 9.13.67 Goals Vagg 4 Emselle 2 Barassi Bourke Groom Best Groom Anderson Roet Barassi H Mann Adams Reserves St Kilda 9.8.62 d. Melbourne 7.11.53 Goals Wood 2 Bartlett Bourke Carroll Matthews Slade Best Matthews Davis Lord Under 19s Melbourne 17.6.108 defeated St. Kilda 6.12.48 Goals Feldman 4 McNab Schultz 3 Osborne Marr Stone 2 Russell Best Griffiths Marr Pritchard

Some of the less fashionable numbers - Number 41 1953 – 1954 Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams (No. 6, 1955 – 1964) 1968 Euan Campbell 1969 Blair Campbell 1972 Steve Kerley (No. 49, 1971; No. 9, 1973 – 1974) 1976 – 1980 Chris Woodman 1981 – 1982 David McGlashan 1986 – 1987 Steve Turner 1988 – 1995 Peter Rohde 1998 Nathan D. Brown (No. 25, 2000 - 2007) 2001 Darren Jolly (No. 11, 2002 - 2004) 2003 – 2008 Nathan Carroll 2009 Rohan Bail (No. 44 2010 - 2015) 2013 Troy Davis 2014 Alex Georgiou 2015-2017 Mitch White 2019 - Jay Lockhart Number 42 1966 John W. Hamilton 1973 John Morgan 1974 Ted Carroll (No. 37, 1975 – 1977) 1980 Russell Rowe 1981 Jamie Barham 1985 Brett Hutchinson 1987 – 1988 Brad Sparks 1991 Fabian Francis 1993 Scott Simister 1997 Russell Robertson 1999 - 2004 Peter Walsh 2009-2015 Jake Spencer (No. 33, 2017) Number 43 1953 Ron McKenzie 1967 Tony Sullivan (No. 4, 1968 – 1979) 1969 David Hayes 1970 Terry Davey 1971 Gordon Lawrie 1973 – 1974 Frank Giampaolo (No. 22, 1975 – 1977) 1975 Ray Smith (No. 7, 1976) 1976 – 1981 Greg Hutchison (No. 52, 1975; No. 18, 1982 – 1984) 1983 – 1984 Frank Rugolo (No. 34, 1985; No. 17, 1986) 1985 – 1986 Paul Payne (No. 19, 1987 -1988) 1986 Len Gandini 1991 - 1992 Andrew Ford 1998 - 2005 Guy Rigoni 2007 - 2008 Jace Bode 2009 - 2010 Jamie Bennell (No. 7, 2011-2012) 2011 Tom McDonald (No. 25, 2012-) 2015 - 2017 James Harmes (No. 4, 2018 -) Number 44 1962 Alec Ingwersen 1966 Les Harrison 1967 Tom Quinn 1968 Phil Rhoden (No. 38, 1969) 1969 Mark Mitchell 1978 David Code 1980 - 1981 Stephen Bickford 1982 - 1983 Scott Sutcliffe 1984 - 1986 John Fidge 1991 David Schwarz (No. 5, 1992 - 2002) 1992 - 1993 Sean Charles (No. 18, 1994; No. 1, 1995 – 1997) 1995 Adem Yze (No. 13, 1996 - 2008) 1997 - 2000 Alistair Nicholson (No. 8, 2001 – 2002) 2005 - 2006 Shannon Motlop 2008 - 2009 Shane Valenti 2010 - 2015 Rohan Bail (No 41, 2009) 2017 - Joel Smith Number 45 1960 Peter Baker 1966 John Quirk 1969 - 1970 Danny Jennings 1971 - 1972 Henry Ritterman (No. 22, 1973) 1973 Greg MacDonald 1979 Peter Giles (No. 4, 1980 - 1987) 1981 Russell Dickson 1983 Glenn Boland (No. 27, 1984) 1984 Graeme Yeats (No. 8, 1985 – 1995) 1986 - 1991 Ricky Jackson 1992 Wayne Lamb 1996 - 1997 Todd McHardy 1999 Troy Longmuir 2000 - 2009 Matthew Whelan 2013-2016 Matt Jones 2019 Declan Keilty Number 46 1966 Adrian Bowden (No. 23, 1967) 1967 Max Walker (No. 1, 1968 - 1972) 1969 Ray Sampson 1972 Geoff Harrold 1975 - 1976 Glenn Walley 1982 Peter Tossol (No. 21, 1983 - 1984) 1983 - 1984 Mike Reynolds (No. 21, 1986) 1985 - 1986 Darren Louttit 1990 Matthew Mahoney (No. 10, 1992) 1992 Haydn Robins (No. 15, 1993) 1998 Hayden Lamaro 1999 - 2000 Troy Simmonds (No. 11, 2001) 2009 - 2011 Sam Blease (No. 17, 2012-2015) 2012 Josh Tynan 2013 - 2014 Dean Terlich Number 47 1978 Paul Thompson 1981 Des O’Dwyer (No. 27, 1978; No. 24, 1982) 1982 - 1986 Alan Jarrott 1989 John Ahern 1999 - 2000 Ben Beams (No. 19, 2001) 2010 - 2011 James Strauss 2012 Tom Couch Number 48 1965 Robert Gormly 1969 Daryl Powell 1971 Michael John Collins (No. 12, 1972 - 1974) 1977 Brett Marchant 1979 John Wallace 1981 John Tossol 1984 Ross Fisher 1985 Stephen Newport (No. 34, 1986 - 1990) 1989 Luke Beveridge (No. 24, 1990 - 1992) 1991 Darren Cuthbertson (No. 9, 1992 – 1993) 1997 Brent Grgic (No. 4, 1998 – 2001) 1998 Matthew Bishop (No. 18, 1999) 2009 Liam Jurrah (No 24, 2010 - 2012) 2011 - 2015 Jack Fitzpatrick 2017 Corey Maynard (No. 20, 2018) 2019 - Kyle Dunkley Number 49 1966 John Murnane (No. 27, 1967) 1968 Graeme Aubrey 1971 Peter Williamson (No. 54, 1972; No. 30, 1973 – 1974) 1971 Steve Kerley (No. 41, 1972; No. 9, 1973 – 1974) 1973 Ian McGuinness 1978 Michael Rea 1982 Stuart McKenzie 1992 Brian Stynes 1998 - 1999 Daniel Ward (No. 26, 1999, also 2000; No. 10, 2001 – 2002) 1999 - 2000 Luke Williams (No. 26, 2001 - 2002) 2009 Jordie McKenzie (No. 13, 2010 - 2015) 2011 Daniel Nicholson (No. 26, 2011-2014) 2012 James Magner (No. 22, 2013) Number 50 1962 Garry Byers (No. 1, 1963) 1966 Ken Jungwirth 1969 Greg Wells (No. 11, 1970 – 1980) 1969 Robert D. McKenzie (No. 10, 1970; No. 2, 1971 – 1972) 1971 – 1972 Shane McSpeerin (No. 20, 1973) 1974 Neil McMullin 1975 Colin Graham (No. 27, 1976 – 1978) 1979 Tony Elshaug No. 33, 1980 – 1983) 1980 Paul O’Brien (No. 40, 1981 – 1983) 1981 Ian Todd 1986 Brett Lovett (No. 17, 1987 – 1997) 1991 Kevin Dyson (No. 23, 1991 – 1995 – wore both 50 and 23 in 1991) 2011 Michael Evans (No. 32, 2013 - 2014) 2013 Mitch Clisby Number 51 1966 Ken Osborne (No. 36, 1967 – 1968) 1974 Peter Keays (No. 16, 1975 – 1977) 1987 Glenn Lovett (No. 6, 1989 – 1998) 1989 John Howat (No. 28, 1990 – 1992) Number 52 1966 Robert Langford (No. 30, 1967) 1975 Greg Hutchison (No. 43, 1976 – 1981; No. 18, 1982 – 1984) 1982 Steve McCarthy (No. 24, 1983) 1989 Stephen Tingay (No. 15, 1990 – 1991; No. 2, 1992 – 1999) Number 53 1966 Brent Jones (No. 34, 1967 – 1971) 1966 Anthony Hirst 1985 Joe Rugolo (No. 26, 1986 – 1987) Number 54 1972 Peter Williamson (No. 49, 1971; No. 30, 1973 – 1974) 1973 Neil Chamberlain (No. 14, 1974 – 1976) 1974 Mike Power 1981 Trevor Korn 1990 Brent Heaver (No. 38, 1991) 1997 James McDonald (No. 23, 1998 - ) Number 55 Never worn in a senior AFL/VFL match Number 56 1984 Paul Earley Number 57 1985 Greg Sizer Number 58 1984 Michael Howard Number 59 1986 Andrew Dale

FWIW, at the end of 2007 the Melbourne Football Club made advances to secure Laidley as coach, but his contract with North Melbourne was renewed for another two years.

Couldn’t be sadder than Phil Walsh.

Sheedy, who lived in Melbourne’s residential zone but Norm Smith told him he could go away and apply for an open clearance because he wasn’t good enough. If there is a negative to a prolonged period at the top then it’s the fact that sometimes you have to let some quality players slip through the cracks and from time to time, it bites you on the bum.