Nasher

On the topic of crippling pedantry, correct pronunciation of his name please? The commentators all pronounced it “Van Ruin” - I refuse to believe the “y” in there is silent.

My 9 year old son, the only of my four that has any interest in footy, starts on a much different course to what I did. I was 9 in 1993 when we suffered defeat at the hands of the hopeless Swans for their only win of the year, and the flack I copped as the only Melbourne supporter at school was merciless. Like how the current players say they’re not scarred from the past because they weren’t here for it, neither will be the generation of kids growing up in this era.

I love the length they went to relate it to Jack Watts just so they could pull off a Watt pun.

Without meaning to be a downer, I’ll be surprised if he makes it to 300. He’s a human battering ram whose arms already have to be taped on by his dodgy shoulders. I’ll settle for him leading the dynasty until he’s 28 before he starts to struggle with injuries though.

The Suns fans on BigFooty are accusing him of “taking the money”. I spat my drink: imagine being 29 and turning your back on all that Suns success.

Nah, we retained the same coaches for the entire game. (Sorry, had to!) Two that have been fairly well documented, which were even better than coaching moves - player driven tactical changes: 1) Oliver claiming direct responsibility for Bont at stoppages 2) Gawn staying out of the ruck when Jackson was on top

Interesting comment given you’ve been registered for less than a month and it’s been years since RR was a moderator. He had a pretty prickly personality no doubt, but he also dealt with a LOT of shit. For every time he might have acted harshly, there were 10 funkwits who repeatedly broke the rules and then cried foul when they got given the boot; the ragequitter in question was most definitely one of these. Unless you were staff at the time, you don’t know. My skin turned to teflon years ago when it comes to criticism of our moderation. People see 1/100th of the picture and think they know. They don’t. By the way, RR is still about, he just doesn’t post. I respect his contribution to the site, and I think it’s a pity others don’t.

There was a guy on here who apparently quit the MFC and signed as a Richmond member, all because he copped a Demonland ban. Was one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen in my time here:

It’s actually incredible how much of our historical success is accounted for by Smith and Hughes. As in, all of it, other than 1926 and 2021, with the early century flags being coachless. It puts Goodwin’s achievement in to perspective a bit. He’ll pass Barassi for games coached in 2022 and Northey in 2023. Needs to still be around in 2026 to pass Danners to slot in to third. Incredible, doesn’t feel like he’s been around that long, just goes to show how little longevity there is in senior coaching circles. By my calcs, Goody will need to still be going around in 2029 to pinch top spot, and that’s if we regularly play finals. That seems fairly unlikely in this era.

This year will definitely rank in the top 20 of Max’s life.

Yeah that must be the only reason. How do you reckon Trac compares to old chap Jack Leith?

He's the guy who got sacked from the Gold Coast Suns for punching (teammate) Steven May in the face.

Nick Smith must have really impressed you in his 4 games!

Surely at least some from our 1900 flag could get a gig? No? Could that be because it’s pointless comparing players of different eras, where the skill level was different to begin with, and relies on faulty and incomplete human memory?

I’m glad he managed to hang on to his spot in the flag side, even if it was by the skin of his teeth. Will be even harder next year, but he’ll always have that medal now. Loved the cheeky moment of snatching the cup and running off towards the crowd with it… to where Bernie Vince awaited, in a Melbourne guernsey, cheering like mad like the rest of us. Cheers for your part in the rebuild boys. Both part of the MFC family now.

Yep, same. I went through the roof. Watching it in the replay, this goal is still the moment where the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Love the look on his face as he salutes the crowd too. None of the usual excited child bouncing around you see from him sometimes. A stern look of concentration. We’re crushing them, but the job’s not done yet. We may never again in our lives see a midfield combination like Petracca, Oliver and Viney. I’m definitely going to enjoy it while it lasts.

To Richard? I don't think so.

Schadenfreude directed at other battling clubs seems cheap now. I'm saving all mine for the Geelong cliff.

It’s a fair bit of a stretch to tie this to the GF loss.

My mind went straight to Aaron Keating. I was going to give you a big WTF before I realised I had the wrong Keating.

I mean if it does, it can’t have been that strong in the first place. I’m sure Jeff understands how it works and that it’s not personal.

He sure picks his moments too. No junk time goals there.

It may seem like the third quarter of the GF has wiped out my memory of the entire rest of the year, but... well, yeah, it pretty much has. And he was HUGE in that third quarter. The tap, the breakaway like a (small) midfielder, and the rocket handball to Oliver was just absolute perfection. Not just the skill there, but the choice - he could have been forgiven for handballing it to Viney, who was hot and collided with Daniel. Wouldn't have been a goal if he'd made that choice. Only question is, how long before he's a better player than Gawn? If you ask Max, he'd say with honest belief that he already is, but no doubt the (premiership) skipper underestimates his own capability.

If his parents are moving from Perth to Melbourne, it's not just him that has committed long term, it's the whole family. Love it.

Harrison Petty. Dunno why. I like the idea of a big bloke in #2, it’s been smaller players my whole life. On that note it’s weird to think, I’m nearly 40 and there’s only been four #2s in my life and only three I can actually remember - Tingay, Armstrong and Jones, and Flower who I never saw play. Not in favour of retiring numbers.