Grapeviney

Site looks great, but is there any way to change the colours? I'm not a fan of red and blue!

I operate on the assumption that if there is any bias in the voting, it's likely to be toward the opposition team, with coaches more inclined to mark their own players more harshly.

A while back I asked it to write a match report of the 2021 Grand Final. It said the Bulldogs came back in the last quarter, but it was too little too late. Edit: Just did it again, and to say it's wrong is an understatement. It's a Grand Final played in the Twilight Zone, where the Dogs controlled the game early, we come back in the second quarter, and Goodwin has been at the club since at least 2010 😂 ----- The 2021 AFL Grand Final saw Melbourne end a 57-year premiership drought, defeating the Western Bulldogs in a dominant display of skill and composure. Played at Optus Stadium in Perth due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Dees’ triumph was built on their relentless pressure and relentless attack, which overwhelmed a Bulldogs team that had no answer in the second half. First Half: Bulldogs Start Strong, But Dees Take Control The Western Bulldogs came out with intent, led by their midfield stars Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae, as they controlled the early stages. The Bulldogs' pressure on the ball carriers was evident, and their tackling intensity was impressive, keeping Melbourne's forwards in check. Despite this, Melbourne was clinical when it mattered, with Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver stepping up with strong performances in the middle. By quarter-time, the Dogs had a narrow lead, but Melbourne began to assert their dominance in the second term. The Dees’ midfield, led by Petracca, started to break free, providing excellent delivery into their forward line. Bayley Fritsch, who had a standout match, was dangerous in front of goal, contributing two goals in the second quarter, while Max Gawn, the towering ruckman, played a crucial role both in the air and at ground level. Second Half: Dees Surge to Victory With the margin at just five points in Melbourne's favor at half-time, the game was still up for grabs, but it was all Melbourne after the break. The Bulldogs' midfielders struggled to keep pace as the Dees applied enormous pressure and moved the ball with precision. The game’s tempo increased, and Melbourne’s superior fitness began to tell. Petracca continued his superb form, winning contested ball and linking up effectively with teammates. He would go on to be awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground. His outstanding performance included an awe-inspiring goal in the third quarter, where he sidestepped several opponents before slamming the ball home from long range. The Dees' dominance in the second half was punctuated by a blistering third-quarter burst. They kicked six goals to one, stretching their lead and putting the game well beyond the Bulldogs’ reach. The pressure applied by Melbourne's forwards, including Ben Brown and the ever-dangerous Fritsch, was relentless, forcing turnovers and creating scoring opportunities. By the time the final siren sounded, Melbourne had built a commanding 74-point lead, a fitting reward for their season of brilliance. Their powerful team performance had overcome the Bulldogs’ early fightback, with the likes of Gawn, Petracca, and Oliver all playing pivotal roles in their triumph. Key Players: Christian Petracca: 39 disposals, 2 goals, Norm Smith Medalist. Petracca was the standout performer, leading from the front with a sensational display. His ability to win contested possessions and create scoring opportunities was unmatched. Max Gawn: 17 disposals, 16 hitouts, 1 goal. As captain and ruckman, Gawn was a dominant force around the ground and in the air, providing Melbourne with critical drive out of the middle. Clayton Oliver: 27 disposals, 7 tackles. Oliver was an engine in the midfield, providing great support for Petracca. Bailey Fritsch: 6 goals. The forward was clinical in front of goal, proving to be one of the Bulldogs' biggest headaches all match. Marcus Bontempelli (Bulldogs): 25 disposals, 1 goal. While the Bulldogs were outclassed in the second half, Bontempelli was one of the few players who could hold his head high. Aftermath: The win was a historic moment for Melbourne, securing their first premiership since 1964. It capped off a remarkable season under coach Simon Goodwin, who had been with the club for over a decade. Melbourne had shown resilience all year, but their performance in the Grand Final was the culmination of years of hard work and development.

Thanks for sharing Tim - sending you every strength for the road ahead.

They actually call him Trac, not Tracc. If you'd ever played footy, you would know there is not enough time to pronounce both c's in the heat of battle.

Treasured our occasional trips out to Sportsco as kids, where we'd buy a tracksuit or footy jumper, chat to Robbie, and get an autograph. On Good Friday, he would always be part of the RCH appeal and in the phone-room taking donations - another opportunity to talk with him. As I've posted before, the goal he kicked on the run against Richmond, after spoiling a mark in the centre and sharking the ball over an opponent, is one of the best of all time. It's at the 1.50 mark of this video.

I'm actually still in the car park, trying to get home from a match in 1985.

Zipporah / Tziporah is a Hebrew name meaning 'bird'. The combination of bird / fish / human would be a potent weapon - make it happen Dees!

What about those of us involved with the legal system in other ways? I'm up for parole in a few weeks and would love to come along.

We've actually got a decent record against them in the Pep era, stretching back to Poch days and including a few good away wins. Losing to Ipswich at home and then thumping City away is the most Spursy thing ever.

Leaving the politics out of it, dumping and trying to bury all this stuff at once is the best thing to do after a year of bad headlines. The alternative is that each story receives maximum coverage and drags on for as long as possible .. and then just when the air clears, another stink bomb drops. Much prefer to get it all over and done with at once, rather than trickling out one at a time and prolonging the agony.

Football's poet. As I've posted on here numerous times, I will go to my grave arguing that the goal against Richmond at the 1.50 minute mark of this tribute video is up there with the very best of all time. He's out of position in a marking contest in the centre of the ground, effects the spoil and prevents a certain Tigers mark, keeps his feet and is first to the ball, sharks it over an opponent, streams through CHF and dobs it from outside 50m. As Bobby Skilton says in the commentary, it's football at its very best.

Happy days for former Demon Billy Stretch as Glenelg go back-to-back in a classic SANFL Grand Final.

From the Herald Sun's Jon Ralph: Melbourne Demons in the clear over handling of Petracca injury on King’s Birthday Melbourne’s treatment of Christian Petracca’s MCG injury was given a tick of approval by multiple reviews conducted by the AFL and the AFL Doctors’ Association, despite his anger at the club’s treatment of his King’s Birthday accident. The reviews found that while it was regrettable Petracca had been put back on the ground, the actual processes put in place by Melbourne’s doctors had not been flawed. The Demons used the AFL’s emergency clinician at the MCG for a second opinion, with the review finding even initial consultation in hospital was unable to diagnose his spleen concern. It comes with confusion among AFL fans about whether players are able to return to the field while carrying rib injuries after the Petracca incident. The Demons champion was so ill upon his return to the ground even Collingwood players asked him if he should be on the field, with the 28-year-old nearly dying with a lacerated spleen and four broken ribs. AFL Doctors Association boss and Gold Coast club doctor Barry Rigby is also an intensive care doctor. He runs the yearly briefing over rib and internal injuries for AFL and AFLW doctors so they can better diagnose broken ribs or internal trauma. He said on Monday it was almost impossible for club doctors to diagnose whether ribs were bruised or broken without a complex CT scan, with even MRI scans or a simple chest X-ray often not detailed enough. Rigby said the AFL was satisfied with the current procedures for caring with patients with rib damage. “The priority is clinical assessment but it can be quite difficult with blunt force chest trauma. You can have significant pain, but you might not have fractured a rib,” he said. “Chest X-rays are often not that good at picking up chest fractures, and they can miss a small pneumothorax, which is a contusion which causes air to escape from the lungs. “To do a CT scan, which continues a significant amount of radiation, for every player who has a bump to the chest, isn’t a practical approach to the problem. It gets back to the clinical assessment for club doctors and it can be very difficult. “We need to be careful we don’t change the whole landscape which is working pretty well for 99 per cent of the issues. Safety is always our top priority. There is good support from an emergency physician who sits behind the bench if we need assistance,” he said. Rigby has run his emergency care course on assessing players with potential torso chest or abdominal trauma for over five seasons at AFL level. He says the general rule is that if a doctor suspects a player has broken his rib he will not be allowed to return to the field “We have looked at Christian’s circumstances closely and done a constructive critique on what did or didn’t happen. Hindsight is a wonderful gift in some respects. But there was an adequate assessment done. The decision in retrospect (for him to return to the ground) was the wrong one, but we don’t want to criticise the process,” he said. “There was a review done by the AFL and (chief medical officer) Michael Makdissi. The doctors collectively reviewed the whole situation as well. In our professional life we are always reviewing for things we can do better. “All of those boxes were ticked, the process was followed. The emergency physician was involved. The club doctor and hospital were involved. Even in hospital the (damage) wasn’t clear and obvious in the early stages. So I don’t think changing processes would have got us a different outcome.” “There are hundreds of games played every year and the number of people who end up in hospital with rib fractures, you could count on one hand.”

One thing you can say about Max - and it's not true of all premiership captains - is that he truly led us to a flag: * the game-winning goal to secure top spot in the final round * 5 goals in an outrageous Prelim performance * a selfless captain's call late in the 3rd of the GF, a decision which proved pivotal as the game turned. In a career full of achievements, I think his role in leading us to the promised land is his greatest.