Einstein

Probably. But then, the best ideas are often the simplest. Your idea has merit, but can't see it happening. As far as I am concerned, the Western Sydney team has disaster written all over it. I don't know why the AFL just doesn't establish the Swans out in the western suburbs of Sydney. Would make the most sense, instead of brining in another team that will take decades to become viable if it ever does. The Swans are still being propped up after 27 years up there. How long is a Western Sydney 'franchise' going to take? Don't like it.

Looking forward to seeing how Col goes about it this week. Wouldn't expect him to have another blinder like he did on Sunday. It was an exceptional game. But hopefully he can continue to build on the form he has shown for most of the season and continue to make a genuine contribution. I had pretty much given up on Col becoming what we all hoped he would when we drafted him at number 3. By now, I was simply hoping he could become a good honest player. But his game on Sunday night was exactly the sort of game I think we have all been hoping he could play. This was his make or break season. Hopefully the penny has dropped. Keep up the good work Col.

I do think some posters on this thread have gone a little overboard in their condemnation of Robbo. But as far as I'm concerned most of the criticism is on the money. No doubt Robbo has been a great player for the club, both on and off field. He's been a great ambassador and a great club man. Some posters on this thread have suggested the guy is 'no dud' having kicked over 400 goals. Well. we know that. I don't think anybody is suggesting he has been no good for the club over his career, because they fact is he has been great. But the issue is how he is going about his footy this year. You can even go back to the Geelong game when after kicking a goal, he is raising his arms to the heavens Jeff Farmer style. The side is getting well beaten and he's going on like that. No doubt he'll be given heaps during the week and hopefully he can come out against the Saints and work his butt off. He's 31 this year. He's got to make every week count if he wants to play on next season. Currently, he isn't doing much for his chances.

I'd hate to think that the club is considering wheeling Watts out just to make a buck off of his debut, rather than when he's ready to go. He won't play in the Essendon game, I don't think he'll be ready by then. I'm thinking it'll be more like Round 18 or 19 at this stage. I think he still has alot of work to do at Casey before then.

Yeah, round 13, 2005. West Coast were 1st and we were 2nd. Official crowd was 35.653. Everything went to rubbish after that game. And just on Sunday nights crwod. I was top of the Olympic Stand and there were plenty of Demons up there. When we're out numbered it always looks worse than it really is, especially if the team isn't doing much on the field to excite the supporters. I would say it was about 30,000 Hawks and 9,000 Demons. Still a disappointing turnout but not as disgracful as some on this thread have suggested. When the team turns the corner, the supporters will return. Build it, and they will come.

Love the way Brock is handling himself in the media lately. Great stuff. Great point about not being able to buy effort and commitment. Love it. Thanks guys.

I've read people say Grimes looks as though he has already played 100 games. I'm not sure about that, but he does look comfortable out on the ground and in the thick of it for a guy who just played a handful of games. It's exciting to think what he will be doing once has played 100 games. Can't wait.

So what did he have to say? I have cable TV but not digital.

Spot on Rhino. Regardless of whether he kicked the goal or not, to even attempt to kick a goal while laying on his back after taking a mark in the goal square, deserves a dragging and a mighty spray from Bailey. We were 40 points down. Getting soundly beaten pretty much all over the ground. And all Robbo has on his mind is getting on the highlight tape. Ridiculous. I watched the tape of the Bulldogs game last week. In the last quarter Bate is running with the ball inside 50. He has two options. One, to pass to Petterd on a lead or two, kick long to Robbo. Bate does neither and the ball goes out of bounds. Robbo turns around, hands on hips, glaring back at Bate, a real Matthew Richardson-Brendan Fevola type moment. Meanwhile, a week later, Robbo has the ego to try party tricks when we're 7 goals down. Simply crap form from a veteran and a supposed club leader. No doubt Robbo will be feeling like a right royal dick right now. Will he be dropped? I don't know. If he does play, he better go all out to redeem himself this week. This is a guy who should be fighting to remain relevant on a list of emerging and talented young players. He's playing like he's guaranteed a spot.

Stephen Michael is regarded as one of the best players to have never played in the VFL/AFL. He is CHF in the Indigenous team of the Century. He played for South Fremantle from 1975 to '85. Plenty of VFL clubs had a dip at trying to get him to come across but he continually refused. Many in the West, regard him as the best aboriginal player to have played the game. It's hard to judge from here, having only seen highlights of him. And it will always be a question mark next to his name having not played the game at the elite level. Would have loved to have seen him play in the VFL. That's a great team. I like that you name Sean Charles. Sean was a great talent (and I'm not just saying that because he is a relo of mine). Seans problem was getting his head around the demands of 'professional' football. That and a sorry run of injuries. Would have loved to have seen what he could have done if he had played 200 games. Unfortunately he only played a few over 50.

We were on such a roll, it's nice to wonder what would have happened the next week. But in hindsight it would've been a huge task to come up again after such an epic Prelim Final. We had injuries to Wilson and Flower that might have kept them out. And it was the hottest Grand Final day on record, 31 degrees. I've always felt looking back, that whichever team had won that Prelim, such an emotionally and physically draining battle, Carlton were just going to be too strong on such a hot day having had a weeks rest. But I would have loved to have found out. I've watched the last quarter a few times over the years. Each time I have, I still think one of those missed shots at goals is going go through the middle. But they never do. I think looking back on the game, as gutting as it still is, it has to go down as one of the greatest games ever played. It was simply the definition of the word 'epic'. If only we had won it...... From memory, and I have timed it, from when Hawthron kicked in after the Tony Campbell miss, it's about 9 or 10 seconds until the siren sounds. Unbelievable. There was also a Hawthorn goal in the third quarter that was given that looked awfully like a point. I was sitting behind the goals down the main scoreboard end. In the 3rd quarter Hawthorn kicked a goal that I could have sworn drifted to the outside of the left goal post. Everyone around us swore it was a point too. A guy, not a Melbourne supporter either, stood up and hurled a beer can at the goal umpire. It didn't hit him. Anyway, the cops came and took him away. I still swear it was a point.

I thought I would add my parents story to this thread. They met at a football game. My dad, an aboriginal man, grew up on the Murray River up near Echuca. He was a pretty good footballer and moved down to Melbourne at 19 in the mid 60's to see if he could get a run with either a VFA or a VFL team. He trained with a couple of VFA teams but never got a game. Apparently, there was also talk that he could have had a game with the Fitzroy reserves. But for one reason or another it never happened. So he played local footy for a few different inner suburban Melbourne clubs. He was a big Fitzroy supporter. At age 24 however my dad severely broke his ankle while playing football. It was the sort of injury that wouldn't heal properly, so it ended my dads football playing days and he ended up with a permanent limp. He thought about returning home to Echuca but had made plenty of new friends in Melbourne and there were plenty of relatives living in and around Fitzory and Collingwood. So he stayed in Melbourne and to fill the void of the weekends he began to keenly follow Fitzroy, going to watch them play each week. Meanwhile, my mum had come to Australia from Ireland. She arrived with her family as a 13 year old in 1961. Being Gaelic football fans, upon arriving here, the family took an immediate liking to Australian Football. My mum soon became a Melbourne supporter mainly because that was the club her dad chose. The reason he chose Melbourne was this; he simply asked one of his new workmates who the oldest club was. He was told it was Melbourne and that it was the club that invented the game. That was all he needed to know. Melbourne would be his team. So they started going to games and were there on Grand Final day in '64. So, it's Round 11, 1972. Melbourne is playing Fitzroy at the Junction Oval. Now details are sketchy, my mum won't say much about it. But the story goes that my mum had dropped her copy of the Football Record and my dad picked it up for her. They were standing near one another in the outer at the Junction Oval. My dad struck up a conversation with her. So the story goes, at 3quarter time my dad asks my mum, "Would you like to go to a dance with me?" Apparently my mum shyly replied "Perhaps." Anyway, Fitzroy ends up winning by a point. After the game my dad asks my mum again. This time she says yes. Not sure when the dance was but they went and fell head over heals for one another. About a year later they were married and I arrived in early 1974. I have vague memories of going to the football as a very young boy in the '70's. I don't remember it much, but according to my mum, one week we would go see Fitzroy play, the next we would go watch Melbourne play. We did this for a few years. Sadly, my dad died when I was 4 years old in late 1978. Cancer. Me and my mum didn't go to the football again until 1980. We began to go watch Melbourne play week in week out. We have been members of the football club ever since. My mum would also buy a Fitzroy membership and did each year right up until they merged with Brisbane at the end of '96.

Yeah, saw it on AFL Teams on Thursday night. BT was in amazement. Motlop has unbelievable skills. And the way acts all casual and ho hum about it. The guy is worth watching every week.

So it's designated a home game for Melbourne members. Does that mean there will be a reserved seating section for Redlegs members like at regular home games? Anybody know? Doesn't really bother me, I'll sit anywhere at the G reserved or not, but would be good to sit with the usual crowd of Redlegs.

Good to know.

Like I said in my post, I only included players I saw play. Didnt see Farmer or Cable play so didn't include them. But no doubt they'd be in an all-time team. Other than that, Mal Michael is from Papua New Guinea. And Brian Peake is Maori. Also on the subject, Greg Williams isn't aboriginal. From memory he is of Maltese heritage. And I'll add Jared Brennan of Brisbane to the list of often mis-identified indigenous players. He's from the Northern Territory but he isn't aboriginal.

Here's my own odd story of a day out at Victoria Park as a young boy. It was 1985, Round 3. And I was 11 years old. Usually I went to the footy with my mum. But that day she was sick and couldn't go. I wasn't going to go but my mum encouraged me to go. So as an 11 year old, all on my lonesome, I took the train out to Vic Park, wearing my classic mid 80's Melbourne long sleave light blue jumper with reigning Brownlow Medalist Peter Moore's number on my back. I get out there and decide I would look for any significant group of Melbourne supporters and just stay close. So after a tight first half we led at halftime by 1 point and Peter Moore is playing a great game. I'm standing there at halftime minding my own business eating a sandwich and this Collingwood supporter nudges me and says "You've got guts wearing that number on your jumper out here mate." I just smile hoping he'll just leave me alone. He didn't. So then he says...... "Are you an [censored] or a wog?" I didn't know how to reply. I just quietly said "I'm aboriginal." He nods and then says..... "You must be the only [censored] who barracks for Melbourne mate." I remember smiling to myself, half insulted and half proud. Wow, I thought, I'm the only "[censored]" who barracks for Melbourne!!!!! Anyway, we ended up losing by 10 points after leading by a couple of points at 3 quarter time. Peter Moore played great, couldve been BOG. And I made it home in one piece.

Happy with the team. The players returning are massive inclusions. Cheney is unlucky but understandable, I think he might be the sort of player who is on the fringes of selection week in week out, he certainly gives himself every chance. And I guess either Bartram or Petterd were going to be dropped. Ricky has to show a little bit this week. Overall I think the lineup is one that will give it a shake on Sunday.

One of the MFC's greatest. I was young when I saw Robbie play in the 80's. One of the first football games I ever went to was as a 7 year old, a 1981 game out at the Western Oval against the Bulldogs. We won that game by a point with Robbie kicking the winning goal. It was our only win for the entire season and it was against an equally hopeless team that only won two games for the entire season. This sums up much of Robbies career, sticking thick with the club and playing amazing football on some very ordinary teams. It was a shame he was injured for the Panasonic Cup Final back in '87. I remember him being held aloft by the players that night after the game even though he didn't play such was the regard held for him by the playing group. But fortunately he got to play finals that same year, something that was rarely a opportunity throughout his playing days (1976 and perhaps 1984 were exceptions.) It's a great shame that his last game was that sad day out at Waverley against Hawthorn. He played with one arm most of that day and what might have been sadder would have been had we won, it was questionable if Robbie would have come up the next week for the Grand Final. No doubt he would have given himself every chance of playing, injured or not. His light frame didn't reflect his physical toughness and courage. Another thing I would say about Robbie was the fact that I truly didn't appreciate him at the time. I was young and though I marvelled often at his talents, it was only years after watching him play and watching other Melbourne players come and go that I really could reflect and recognise just how great he was. How he never won a Brownlow Medal is a mystery. Playing on teams that rarely won wouldn't have helped. His win-loss record as a player was 88-184. But he still collected 150 Brownlow votes in his 15 seasons. As far his goal kicking went, he kicked 315 in his career, kicking a career high 47 in his final season. I wish I could go back and watch him play all over again.

Can't say I have any issues with who we drafted. You could say Rioli is the better player of the lot right now, hard to disagree at this stage, maybe Cotchin, but there's many years to come to determine this argument. Morton is the type we needed and will ultimately be an elite player. Grimes was a solid selection at 14, the guy is going to be something. And as for Maric, can't question this selection either. Who would you rather have taken? I think Maric is going to be a real talent once he gets a few games into him. He kicked two goals last week, but he set up or was directly involved in another three with a couple of sweet handballs and one little touch kick. After that Geelong horror game he had, he has done nothing but show great promise. I'll stick with our choices anyday.

Yeah it was good to hear some positive talk amongst the panel. Seems the football world is wising up to the potential of our young squad. Hope we can put in another good performance on the weekend and keep the media pumping us up. And BT loves Cale Morton.

Like I said in my post I only considered players I saw play, so Polly, Cable and Jackson missed out. But no doubt would be in an indigenous team of the century type selection. Derek Kickett and Gilbert McAdam were close to making the team but I only had so many spots. Always going to be some unlucky. But hey, it's only an opinion. Happy to get others views.

Too true.

Yeah was a very ordinary effort by Michael. Simmo was defenseless. I gave Long heaps that day. Was a weak act. Didn't consider it when putting the team together though.

Ah right, he is. Missed that. Thanks. Hope he gets another run in the seniors.