Supermercado

I reckon 98 an average team that played out of its skin (apart from those two thrashings in the middle of the year). By 2000 you had Bruce, Green, Powell, Robertson, and older Woewodin and Farmer. '98 is still my favourite season thanks to repeat viewings of Hotter Than Hell but for mine 2000 a better side.

No, but I'd pay $32 to put embarassing photos of my friends on them.

People weren't happy in the Electrifying 80s either. Whinging about the quality of footy is the second biggest national sport.

Jeff Farmer. Though we did get Clint Bizzell out of that in a roundabout, pick swapping way, so it wasn't a total bust.

Hi all, coincidentally am currently putting together a book about the 1964 season for publication early next year. Would be interested in hearing the memories from people who were at the Grand Final (and the other key moments like Glenferrie Oval). Feel free to PM me or email [email protected].

This is like saying the cyclone does you a favour by knocking your house down so you can build a better one.

This was well put together but as mentioned above I'd be interested in getting an understanding of why they played so badly. Was part of it that Geelong didn't pull up like many teams do when a major thrashing is brewing. It was the last season where a variety of teams were savagely beaten (even we won three games by over 80 points) and the Cats did beat Gold Coast by 150 points the next week (fair fortnight) so I wonder if what would have been a 20 goal loss under normal circumstances exploded because teams were in a percentage race. Or were we so bad that once they got to half time 110 points up they thought they could go for something special without extending themselves. Also: - Did Bailey really pay for the team to stay overnight in Geelong because the club wouldn't pay as was rumoured at the time? - Why did Moloney play when he was so sick that he went around like a zombie for the first half having zero touches? I know they're not going to make it a four hour doco but these are things I'd be interested in. - I'd like to hear more about the Schwab squib. It's one thing to say you can't sack a CEO and coach at the same time but why? We'd just lost a game by 31 goals, I don't think anyone was going to think we were any more of a shambles if a board member took over as interim CEO for a few weeks. It was certainly a memorable afternoon, right down to going to a movie afterwards and yelling at some hipster doofus behind me for talking too loudly.

Please, the other two Mortons. What a dynasty that could have been.

They were (reportedly) trying to get him as captain/coach before signing Ditterich so probably wouldn't have been there with Barassi. Might not have needed Barassi if all went well.

Instead of taking the flag off them the league just deleted the entire club.

I want Nathan Jones to win it. May as well cancel the 1900 flag that we won from 6th of 8 because the final series was NQR.

Depends what a round 2 loss looked like. If it was close not so much, if it was a blowout then there would have been chaos. Hopefully the Giants would have had a nervous breakdown returning to the MCG and lost.

I wonder how much external pressure there would have been if we'd lost to GWS. Forget that Perth away and a grand finalist is about the hardest start you can get, the media would have sensed a story and gone for us.

Is there at least an employee assistance program where you can speak to somebody outside the business? If a club had that I'd agree they might not need a specialist psychologist on the payroll but the players have to have an option to take their problems to somebody independent and not an assistant coach (when they still existed). I understand what you're saying, but footy clubs are not normal businesses, the demands on the people involved are much higher, there's a massive element of public intrusion and the window to make your money is much smaller. It's not like a job where you could come in at 18 and stay there until you were 65 if you wanted, these guys are on a super-limited timeline and the club should provide adequate support for them while they're on the list.

Bizarre to say it's not the head coach's area - obviously not his job to hire somebody personally but surely you would have an interest in proper support structures for the people whose business it is to keep you in a job. Especially considering the behind the scenes tension before he took over. The point was whether we had a club psychologist, counselling service, or independent person mentally stressed players (especially those who had been through two spoons, 186, up to three senior coaches, the death of the president and 10 weeks of being dragged through the media at every thumping) could speak to - not some ex-player with zero training in counselling that they probably think will run a line through them for admitting weakness. Alternatively, a proactive program where you work with players before it gets to that point. Didn't have that either.

I'll never forget the all time classic Neeld moment at one of those supporter 'information sessions' (e.g. crisis meetings) they had when we were getting massacred every week in early 2012. When it came to the Q&A I asked what the club was doing for the mental health of players who had been through so many terrible beatings, coach changes etc.. etc.. over recent years and he responded with (paraphrasing) "we don't need a psychologist, if players are upset they can talk to an assistant coach." I have regretted not arguing that bonkers point ever since.

Would think a few fringe players would be struggling with the knowledge that lists are going to be cut and they'll almost certainly be out of a job.

Unlikely the merged club would have bombed out at the right time to get Hodge, Franklin and Roughead (plus Rioli, Lewis further down the draft), so possibly, but not the same way Hawthorn did it.

He was #50 earlier in the year but by the time he debut Wells was #11. Confirmed by somebody with the full set of Footy Records from that year. Some confusion as AFL Tables had the wrong number for many years so it crossed over to Demonwiki until I realised both he and Robert McKenzie were shown as wearing #50 in the same game.

You should preserve it appropriately, some Channel 7 goose probably threw the master tape in the bin.

If we're honest, it was very kind of them not to include 186 - the win in league history where footage is available. I take it they only put on games they have four quarters of, and that's why Round 22, 1987 doesn't make it and the whole thing is tilted massively towards the 2000s. It would be interesting to see a similar list with all games of the last 50 years regardless of whether there's four quarters of vision available.

Can't always be certain who played particular games pre-1897, but if you replace Leith with Herb Fry you can get back to the first official MFC match via seven more steps. Herb Fry (1889-1898) George Strachan (1883-1890) Charles Baker (1876-1883) John Bennie (1865-1876) William Aitken (1864-1866) George Tait (1863-1864) Sydney Wooley (1859-1863)

All time great name - Harry Crapper For good reasons - Brent Heaver and Chris Lamb For novelty value - Cameron Hunter For being crap - Tom Gillies and Isaac Weetra

And we could have had his cousin brother who was the real star of the family. (Source) Plenty of SANFL stars didn't translate to the VFL but tell me this wouldn't have come in handy...

Does the emergency fund still exist if they have to pay back the broadcasters for not showing games? (And do they have to pay them back? Surely if they're not providing the product as agreed...) If senior players don't want to play then get the ringers in. Jay Lockhart for the Brownlow.