bush demon

Here you go: Round 2, 1961. OUr first game at the MCG for the season. Previous two years' we were premiers, in fact we had won five of the preceding six premierships. Sat, 22nd Apr 2nd Melbourne 2.5 3.10 4.13 5.14 (44) 10th Hawthorn 3.1 4.5 8.8 11.10 (76) Crowd - 34,640 at MCGView Details Melb - A.Rowarth 2, F.Adams 1, R.Barassi 1, C.Laidlaw 1 Haw - G.Young 4, P.Hay 2, I.Law 1, M.Browne 1, B.Edwards 1, G.Arthur 1, K.Connell 1 Hawthorn went on to win their first premiership that year. If we pulled 34,000 at the MCG in 2011 or in any recent years v Hawthorn demetriou would be calling for our re-location.

Diamond Jim Tilbrook needs further mention. There was wide media coverage of Melbourne's recruiting coup in securing his services, i think from Sturt. He was supposed to be a tear-away half-forward with a booming kick who could win games off his own boot. First game v South? he badly over-run the ball and I thought Oh oooh. Became a serviceable half-back from memory. Lou Richards on W.O.S starting calling him "tillendrium" tilbrook when his currency devalued.

Vincent Catoggio came from Carlton with big wraps as part of their premiership-winning mosquito fleet. Widely derided during his playing days at the MFC.

I wouldn't agree with that. Jarrott, Icke, Wilson gave great service to Melbourne. CAn't quite remember if Brian Wilson was North, someone else can fill in details here.

Hugh Bromell "Boom recruit of the ill-fated '65 season. Glenn Swann, kicked 8 one day gone the next.

I think the FAther-son rule was created for the specific purpose of recruiting him cbecause he wasn't in Melbourne's zone.

Ted Cordner & David Cordner

Don't worry, it has happened before and the sick feeling never goes away.

GWS is only a spiral torpedo away from Melbourne's nightspots and AFL culture.

That seems naive in the extreme. All GReaterWesternSydney has to do is wave big bucks in front of any Vic. footballer and they will go. The AFL is regulating the departure of Vic. footballers to the expansion states so the locals don't rise up and revolt. Whether we can hold onto an uncontracted Scully remains to be seen.

That was around the time i first went to the football. Couldn't believe we had such huge banners despite our lowly ladder position. must have come out our era of greatness. The other one read, "Melbourne, the greatest ever exponents of perfection football"... i seem to remember it at every home game, possibly draped along the second tier of the southern stand.

What? Morton was one guy who has taking big overhead marks in the second half of the game. I thought his marking game was a breakthrough for him.

WAs this on channel nine? they rake in huge profits with alcohol sponsorship of sport, esp. cricket. then again alcohol isn't a "d.r.u.g", is it. as long as you are not "on drugs" it's ok to cause ruination of society through alcohol-induced disease and violence washed down with large frothies of hypocrisy. Ben Cousins is such an easy target because he confirms the generally prevailing ignorance on this subject.

A courageous move. The AFL finals system is a cynical, money-making scam which exposes the high-finishing teams to injury and form loss regardless of how they played in the home/away season. the system makes a mockery of the home and away series and gives limited value to the top team/s of the year. the finals system in fact conspires against teams which excel during the year. north melbourne and the saints in the late 90's were over-run by a dud in adelaide who only had to sit in the slip-stream and strike at the right time. eagles in '91 were ripped off... not that i had any sympathy for them at the time. geelong against hawthorn a couple of years ago went stale after being top dogs all year.

See my link on demonology about an after the game incident at the G. There was a very ugly scene outside the ground with the police slow to sort it out. the incident seemed to have spilt over from something that had happened inside the ground.

I remember the Sunday morning after our prelim. final defeat in 1987 reading the Sunday Age at a Clayton Bakery which had a quote from French soccer legend Michelle Platini. He said that there is more meaning in defeat than victory. This sounded bizarre at the time and was no solace to the shock of Jimmy crossing the mark but i have no doubt that jimmy has been driven by this wound and that our continuing resurrection owes something to one man's quest dating back to that fateful day.

Checker-Hughes is also part of the equation. He led the re-birth of Melbourne when he came across from Richmond and helped establish our period of greatness from '39 to Barassi's departure in '65.

Watts is showing his intent, trying to break through the lines. Soon he will get there. That missed snap near the end would have been a beauty for him. Great at the LeighOak tonight. Pleased to speak to Neville Jetta. He said it would be difficult to break back into the side with the team playing so well.

"Masters of the MCG" banner adorned the MCG in the early 70's when i started going to the football. it had been in use since the glory days...

Anyone with a casual eye on the Essendon game last Sunday would recognise that Watts is a class act, albeit still a teenager. Dropping him for Hughes is ludicrous.

I sit near you too. Demonland re-union in the Tridents!

From the Melbourne Sun, 18 April 1964. How times change!

Apparently the buses were waiting at Flinders St Station instead of Caulfield, where they should have been. NOrmally travelling in by train is fantastic and much less stressful than driving and finding a park etc. but on this occasion they totally went off the rails.

ABout 9.30pm

Getting home from the G via the disgraceful VLIne service on Saturday witnessed the following: - Dozens of MFC and C'Wood supporters abandoned at Caulfield station when the fill-in buses (*trackwork meant not trains betw. pakenham and Caulfield) forgot to pick up their passengers. then not enough buses, then another wait at Caulfield. Then at Pakenham station another forty minute wait only to be (initially) told that the Bairndale train was 'express' and would miss a number of stations.