P-man

Shouting at the top of my lungs “I love you Nev Jetta!” during the 2018 final against Geelong when he was within earshot on the wing was a nice item to tick off the bucket list. Would’ve got an AA nod if there was any justice. At his peak there was no small defender better at executing their most critical role. All the best to him.

A bit surprised by this but equally happy with it. He’s solid backup.

You’d hope he has left the club with enough tools to carry on his work and planning without him Incredible effort though. Joins the club and within the space of two seasons has them the fittest group in the league and holding up the cup. Some people are just entitled to have a big head. This guy is one of them.

Have we heard from PJ? Would love to see an interview with the great man. Roosy too. They must both be chuffed.

I thought Gus in the early years showed signs of a future captain, but now I’m leaning more towards either Lever or Trac. It depends what type of captain you want as to which one you’d choose. Trac has matured no doubt, but by his own admission he was coming from a pretty low base. Lever has him covered in that regard. Some schools of thought say the captain should simply be the best player. Pretty sure Lyon is of that view. In which case Trac would get the nod. Both would do fine in the media. I think Lever is more polished in that respect but the increase in Trac’s media appearances such as AFL360 shows the club is comfortable having him as its face The captain should certainly be someone who can lift the team when the chips are down, as well as an authoritative voice, both on.the field and in the rooms. They should also be inclusive of everyone in the group. You could mount a case for either Lever or Trac, but I think it will be one of those two.

Same. I found that odd. It was the equivalent of skipping the father of the bride. And as much as I love the big fella, I thought a shout out to Neale, Jimmy and/or Jonesy in Max’s speech would’ve been fitting. But when your biggest complaint about a grand final is the speeches or lack thereof, you’re going pretty good.

So who is watching the replay sinking their alcohol of choice?

I love you all and I love this club. Trac breaking the disposal record for.a GF if you don’t [censored] mind.

Love a good tawny and that has to be the king of tawnys. Super jealous.

There’s something very satisfying about watching Brereton forced into saying positive things about us. He’s still going on about how reliant we are on Gawn, and he’d rather the Dogs’ game plan, blah blah blah. Can’t be TOO positive. But we’ve made a grand final. He pretty much has to concede, once and for all, that we’re a damn good TEAM.

Now that’s a spread 😍

I keep thinking about the moment I thought this year COULD be different. It was actually in round 2 after watching us live against the Aints. The diligent way we defended, both in structure and effort, was something slightly different to what I’d seen before. We allowed them possession but it was never in doubt that we would eventually win it back. Not to mention the way we approached the contest. We essentially bullied them all game. If we had kicked straight it would have been a total blow out. Yes there were the odd lapses, and the Saints routinely shot themselves in the foot, but it was something I hadn’t recognised in a Melbourne side when watching them live before: complete control. It wasn’t enough to totally convince me that this year was going to be different, but there were signs that it could be. Of course my Saints mates were having none of it, attributing the result to them playing poorly. But looking back, it was a key moment for me in realising the possibilities of this year. 2018 was fun but I came from that game wondering if this 2021 mob could be the real deal. Turns out, they were, and are. Enjoy the day ladies and gents. It’s not the circumstances any of us envisioned, but I have faith in this team. We will be thereabouts for a while to come. So let’s savour the moment. We’re in a grand final dammit. And finally, thanks again to Andy and everyone else who makes DLand possible. Despite having never met a single one of you, I feel a kinship with anyone nutty enough to come to a place like this and share their nuttiness with other nuts. And I know many others feel the same. Salo for the Norm Smith. You heard it here first. Go Dees 💪

I’m still chuckling at this. Guy Rigoni: “We went over to Todd’s place for a midfield meeting one day and Jack Viney got his teeth knocked out on the trampoline out the back. He came inside and Todd said ‘don’t you cry!’”

The bar is open 👍

I must admit I got emotional while reading his statement today. I’ll never forget his performances during arguably the darkest days the club has seen. In footy terms they were nothing short of heroic. The bloke will always be a favourite son. Thanks for everything, Jonesy.

I’m struggling to understand the narrative developing that the Dogs are the “story of the year” and it will be the “greatest flag ever” if they win it. Why? Because they lost games they shouldn’t towards the end of the regular season which dropped them into fifth? Is that what makes them the “story of the season”? Failure? I don’t mind the Dogs. I’m just a bit perplexed how their story trumps that of a historical cellar dweller finally coming good to dominate all comers and break a 57 year premiership drought. But maybe I’m biased.

This bump is in the Voss on Richardson category. Epic.

Those hands. They’re like supersized baseball gloves coated in some kind of glorious adhesive.

As for Max, that is one of the all time great finals games. It’s one thing to be recognised as a great player but not every great player has a game that opposition fans will remember and talk about for generations. Max just chalked up one of those games. It’s a strange one for Melbourne fans when you hear and read people saying, “gee, how good is Max Gawn?”. Like it’s some kind of awakening. Yes, we know. That’s why we laugh at the NicNat comparisons. That’s why the All Australian captaincy selection was an obvious one. The dude is an out and out superstar. He is, by a long, long way, the best ruckman in the game.

I know right? He’s every bit as good a pick up as Rivers. Did he make a single mistake last night? I don’t recall one.

Well that is a heartbreaker no matter how you paint it.. I hope he is placing it all in perspective. On ya Jonesy.

My pies mate who has literally never said anything complimentary about Melbourne in his life texted me one word during the third quarter: “GAWN!!!!” I said in the pre game thread that I was hoping for us to give them a belting they would never forget. For it to actually happen is a surreal feeling.

Dreaming

This is officially a show.

Make it 100+ boys. Please. Make this dream complete.