Pates

Definitely not going to do 2x NT games or at least not one in Darwin. Those days are over. But since you bring it up I would love us to bring the premiership cup to the NT when we play our game next year. Give fans up there an opportunity to have photos taken with it and have it on display while at the game. The big thing that the club has done so well at lately is making every component of our club be recognised as a part of the success. That should 100% include the Northern Territory and their long time sponsorship of us. I’d personally request we play Brisbane there, generate some genuine interest in the game.

Beautifully summed up, she is a great lover of opening up old wounds that have been closed long ago. As for the curfew, biggest non-story ever. Ask the players now if they could care less about being told to be professional for a 1 and half week period before the biggest game of their lives. She tries, I think, a little too hard to be the policewoman for the AFL’s morals. She gets some right, but when she gets them wrong she looks like a real goose (not unlike many others in her industry).

I’m sure he’s pretty happy with the call now but from pure money and contract certainty perspective she was probably right at the time. He might be worse off in a financial way but now he’s a premiership player I doubt he cares much!

We experienced this a little when we were 9-0 but we have officially now “the hunted”. I think this group of players is going relish this opportunity to make an even bigger statement. I just remember when we garbage and we’d come up against the top of the table and the various coaches would talk about the challenge the players had of going up against the best. We are now the best, we are the standard and everyone else is trailing behind. I love it!

Get on those odds, might be the best you get! 😉

Yeah I think people would’ve forgiven us for slowing the game down after we got 40 odd points in front but the boys were just having fun and didn’t want to stop. My only sadness about the game is that neither Kozzie or Gawn got a major in the game.

Begs the question of if they had filled their sponsors quota then why not just stay live and show more replays/chat between the goals? I’m sure people would’ve been very happy to do without the extra adverts.

I think for me we traded Watts and Fritta was the one who we ended up with from the pick, I’d seen some of how he’d played at Casey and thought the talent and footy smarts were there but wasn’t sure if he would follow through on his Casey form. I will also say his kicking last year drove me nuts at times, I think the most annoying part was I could tell he had a good action he just needed a little adjusting.

Fritta’s transformation into the player he is has been a really interesting ride because he’s one that doesn’t come from the traditional drafting system straight from U18’s. When he came to us he had talent and looked a good pick but the question was whether he would be anything but decent. He’s had his struggles, inaccuracy being one he’s had to overcome, but boy he has become something really special. Him kicking that goal and pointing to his jumper is one of my favourite GF moments.

Like many analysts he doesn’t look into the future he looks at the present. It means that all he’s doing stating what would appear obvious to most football fans and not people with genuine analytical knowledge. Montagna to his credit rates us from the start of the year and a few scoffed at him. But Buckenara’s biggest facepalm call is surely suggesting we trade out Oliver! I mean c’mon the guy was an out and out gun last year that needed more support. Calling Petracca a B-grader as well was boldly dumb. Ah well stuff him, he can eat his words now!

Gawn v Cats Rnd 23 after the siren has top spot for me, I think now we know how much more it meant because of the confidence it gave the team. We could well still have made the premiership anyway but the wave of emotion and momentum can’t be underestimated in going into finals. Trac’s 3rd quarter dribbler has to make the list as well now though! As a team effort I love Clarry’s running goal as well.

I’ll add there needs to be a Gus and Gawny commentary of the full game perhaps with Gary Lyon along side them, and special guests for each quarter (Trac has to be the 3rd or 4th quarter).

So in years gone by we’ve had “Hotter Than Hell” for 1998, “Dynamic Demons” for 2000 as the review VHS/DVD’s. There surely has to be some kind of review merchandise than they do for this incredible year, I would love it if they actually did a Netflix/Amazon style documentary series with elements of going through the review of the season. “Date with Deestiny” was one thought, “Too Hot To Handle” was another (although I’d have concerns about putting that into a search engine). I’m also absolutely serious about the club trying to get a Netflix/Amazon doco series on the go for this. It’s a story that stretches back decades.

Sad, but expected. All you can hope is that the lessons learned have been put into a plan for future seasons. He’s helped us get to a premiership, not much more you can ask of him. I hope Adelaide aren’t in the mix for a while.

Bugger it, that’s tomorrow’s problem. If a team wants to stay together they find a way.

Watching the second half now 😄 Fritta just kicked the first goal of the avalanche. We were really on the ropes, the Dogs were marking everything and we just looked like we needed a goal out of anything. The change is incredible. Considering that all year we weren’t exactly a team that got goals from centre clearances, then suddenly the Prelim and GF! Dogga huge!

I like Jack a lot and overall he had a really good game with his hardness and approach. He had a couple of costly brain farts through the piece but more than made up for them in the rest of the game. Being a son of a legend he’s been able to create his own legacy now, well done to him. Zero doubt he’s a vital cog to our machine.

Ridiculous to do it solely from 3, 2, 1 of each game. Stick your neck out and say who was the best player. Trac by a country margin is the player of the finals because in every important moment he stepped up and got us to the premiership. I don’t think Trac will lose a moments sleep from it though.

His kids are there, COVID must have made things even trickier than usual, he's helped build the fitness of the club to the point that we have broken a 57 year drought. I can honestly say thank you, and good luck to him with wherever he ends up. And if he wants to return to Melbourne for whatever reason he should have an open return ticket! Thanks Burgo.

I’ve been thinking about our finals series and if I were fans of other teams in the AFL I would be getting very nervous about Melbourne’s prospects for the next few years. Aside from a couple of games through the H&A year we never really destroyed any teams, we just always did what was needed to be done. So come the finals series we went to a totally different level to any team in the competition this year. Now I don’t know if that was a Burgess masterstroke or what but what we produced when our backs were against the wall in the second should scare the crap out of teams for next season. I have never seen a Melbourne team produce such pure awesomeness, and to do it in the grand final makes it even better. Aside from TMac, who’s second half of the year was definitely a drop, especially after he hurt his back, and maybe Brown was well being the age he is, I don’t see our lines declining in the next 2-3 years. If anything they could get better. I will also say this, thank you to the footy gods for finally giving us a good injury run. I have no doubt that the medical and support team deserve all the credit, but it was about time we got a run of good luck as well.

I’ve just started watching the replay, it’s possible I won’t sleep tonight. I would’ve preferred to just watch the second half I guess this will do. I’m still just so happy. Congrats to Trac, well deserved Norm Smith. Fritta, simply amazing. Jackson, this may seem OTT but I thought him taking primary ruck duties in the third quarter changed the game. He is something special. Salem, brilliant and cool as ever. Max, captain my captain. So much love. I could go through the whole list but I’m just going to sit back and enjoy it. What I will say is thanks to this club for bringing it home, would’ve been special to be there but they did it for us. The Perth crowd were fantastic, thanks to everyone there. Some time in the future we will all be together to celebrate this properly, but for now I will just enjoy watching the replay and once again say thank you to everyone.

I love you Dees. I love every Melbourne fan. I’m in shock.

I think I might have just squeezed in 5hrs, woke up at 4:30 and barely slept after that.

Yep I just woke from a dream sequence of two Dees goals. First was a coast to coast that was just shear will power of keeping it moving forward and pressure in the forward 50 ending with Kozzie getting the finishing touch. Then the second was to TMac after a brilliant run from Max draws a player so Tommy gets it out the back and snaps the goal. That was enough to wake me up. I honestly don’t know if I'm going to sleep much more tonight.