Grapeviney

The press swooped in like a vulture With questions about club culture But we only had ourselves to blame For not achieving premiership fame A simple trick would have altered the team's fate 'Tis not a secret - just kick straight

The Age: To become great, Melbourne need to recognise the less-than-great.

We need Tayla for structure as much as anything else. Zanker has done an exceptional job these past few weeks but it's not sustainable. She's playing both CHF and FF at the same time, and when she comes up the ground, it leaves us light on for marking power near goal (skipper's heroics notwithstanding). There seemed to be times on the weekend (bit hard to judge off the telly) when we had to hold up play at CHF, presumably because Hore was outnumbered at FF. A fit and firing Harris improves us in a multitude of ways.

Here's the transcript from VAR on the Diaz goal - worth a read. Would love to see the same from the AFL, but won't hold my breath! https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/03/var-audio-full-transcript-luis-diaz-goal-liverpool-tottenham

Except for putting on your jumper.

Shout out to Eden Zanker - worked so hard all night, repeatedly brought the ball to ground even when she was outnumbered or out-positioned, and kept scrambling for second and third efforts when it was on the ground, tackling, chasing. It was a huge effort to help fill the absence of Tayla.

Unfortunately I won't see the game - I'm still blinded by the sunset at Frankston on Friday night.

Another flag for Jack Trengove on the weekend. Congratulations to Billy Stretch, too, on tasting premiership success with Glenelg. Two ex-Demons doing good things back home.

Can't see this one being too popular - the standard 9-month pregnancy is already pretty taxing on women.

A fitting week to make her debut following the passing of RDB, who I’m sure would be pleased to see his masterstroke still reaping rewards for the Dees after all this time. The fact she’s playing seniors so quickly suggests good things - it’s not like we’re scratching around needing to play the kids.

Really nice to read everyone's anecdotes and tales of the great man. The one that sticks in my mind isn't related to football all; it was the night Ron came to the defence of a woman who was being assaulted by a gang of thugs at a restaurant in Fiztroy street. Already well into his 70's, Ron put himself in harm's way to protect a stranger. When he got involved and chased the group away, they ultimately turned on him, punching and kicking him while he lay on the ground. In his own words: "I just hoped I'd survive." The woman later credited him with saving her life. "I'd like to thank Mr Barassi for daring to help. He's a very brave man. A good man. There's not many of them around any more."

This was the soundtrack to my childhood, and that of @Demonland. In the early 80’s Mike Brady released an album called “Songs of Football’s Greatest Sons”, with tracks celebrating the game’s best. As the song explains, Ron was the captain of the group. We listened to this non-stop until the cassette warped ( a bit like the beginning of this recording).

I'm going to be sitting on this, just to stick it up the AFL.

I'm quite comfortable with how we carry ourselves on the big stage - and the respect we've earned from the football world in return. Yes we went out in straight sets last year, but you don't finish top 4 three years in a row without 'stepping up' multiple times. I saw the OP made a similar post in another thread, implying that the flag was diminished because it was played at a neutral venue away from a hostile crowd; if you want to put an asterisk next to one of our greatest premiership wins, that's your call. Not me. We were on the precipice of one of football's biggest ever chokes in 2021. We were easily the best team of the H&A season, and the finals, and we'd let a dominant four-goal GF lead turn into a 19-point deficit midway through the third term. Our decades-long reputation as a soft club that couldn't deliver when the heat is on was about to be signed and sealed forever in front of the entire nation. But we didn't fold. We produced 45 minutes of the most devastating football in finals history - close to perfection. When it counted most. With a heavy 57-year old monkey on our back. To pretend there wasn't scrutiny or pressure is just plain wrong - there will never be more pressure than there was in 2021 when we were trying to break the curse.

The evidence is in. We turn up big time. Largest cumulative crowds for VFL / AFL games on consecutive days 1. September 7 & 8, 2023 Coll v Melb - 92,636 Carl v Sydney - 92,026 Total = 184,662 2. September 6 & 7, 2018 Rich v Haw - 91,446 Melb v Geel - 91,767 Total = 183,213 3. April 24 & 25, 2023 Melb v Rich - 83,985 Coll v Ess - 95,179 Total = 179,164 Stats courtesy of @sirswampthing on Twitter.

Still a few games and rounds to go, but it’s hard to see the ladder changing from here.

You live next to a jail?

I got so flustered checking out I accidentally made a $50 donation to some organisation i've never heard of 😂 😡 They're sneaky bastards - they do it deliberately no doubt. PS: I'm in M50 too, which is where we both sat for the Brisbane final last year. What row? I'm in F

I’m surprised we haven’t seen more about goody’s flaws on here: * stubborn * no plan b * still playing his best mate Melksham * not a good gameday coach * doesn’t reward form at casey * bad at press conferences * still hasn’t reviewed the 2018 PF!

It was an awful year SD - we won 1 game, by 1 point. Don't stress, things will pick up soon, as Ron assures us we're in the market for "some top-name interstate recruits"! If you look carefully in the top right corner, the number for the changerooms is listed!

They've barely played a dozen games together. The idea that any of Grundy, Gawn or the club have made up their minds on the experiment at this stage is pretty hard to believe. Grundy is more cerebral than most players, and would have come into this situation with his eyes wide open about the risks and rewards. Let the media chase their tails with their silly stories - the real yarn is watching how it all unfolds over the coming months, at the selection table and on the field.

Bizarre thing happened to me tonight during that final quarter. I was screaming at the umpires, and all of a sudden I had a couple of security people at my row giving me eyeballs. I wasn’t swearing, nor was I being abusive. My voice wasn’t noticeably louder than anyone else’s. Just shouting like 38,000 other people, I think the phrase I was yelling at the time was “hopelessly inconsistent”. Pretty tame stuff. But the glaring continued, much to the bemusement of everyone around me, which is family and a bunch of friendly Dees who we’ve now sat with for years. It was clear no-one had complained. A few people started telling them to move on, and the game looked gone at that stage, so I really lost my cool. I kept shouting, but I was now facing the security guards, yelling that “I will barrack as loud as I want” etc. It genuinely looked like they were going to turf me, and I was goading them to do it, but without crossing the line. As I say, the whole thing was just bizarre. I probably acted like a bit of a goose but I wasn’t going to shut up because of some power-tripping security dudes - since when do we have to be quiet at the football? Wish they’d still been there at the end when I was celebrating!

Love that - a good opportunity for Bont to learn from the best in the business.

The standard margin of confidence needs to be adjusted against Collingwood to account for their supporters. As Gerard Whately observed of their comebacks a few weeks ago, once they kick a couple of goals, "the crowd seems to will it into existence". That momentum can turn into an avalanche in the blink of an eye. That's what known as 'the Chris Sullivan line' thanks to @Supermercado. 47 points early in the last quarter.