Red and Bluebeard

I hear your Hellfire Dub. The AFL can hardly argue against investment in a truly national competition after standing up Gold Coast and GWS for about 15 years. But unfortunately common sense and logic play a distant second to politics, perceptions and economics here. Your comments on the "two-tier" AFL, which are spot on, also unfortunatley reflect this -- the clubs with the biggest followings and/or big TV ratings call the shots. Tassie is a great place and I see the attaction of the Devils, but they are unlikely to compete with the big clubs off the field.

It is the AFL, so it is not about morals 😀 Historically there were state-based leagues until 1990, although by the end of the 1980s there were 11 Victorian-based clubs in the VFL (out of the 12 from 1925 onwards), together with the Sydney Swans (ex-South Melbourne) and two "interstate" teams West Coast and the Brisbane Bears. The 1990s saw the invention of the AFL as the national league for Aussie rules, and the addition of the Adelaide Crows, the Fremantle Dockets and Port Power, and the demise of Fitzroy (swallowed by the Bears). So we end up with 10 clubs in Melbourne or nearby, 2 in Sydney, 2 in Perth, 2 in Adelaide and 2 in Queensland (and none in Tassie). The point of this is that the history reads like lunatic playing with the map from the 1980s onwards, based on the (probably true) assumption tha the VFL was the highest-quality and best-followed of the state leagues, and hence "deserved" to be the basis of the national league. That history and some kind of economic overlay means that Tassie has missed out so far. You could also argue that "morally" there should have been a team from SA in the late-80s version of the VFL (alongside West Coast) instead of the Brisbane Bears, but the politics and economics didn't support it. The harsh reality is that Tasmania has less than half the population of Adelaide, let alone any of the other mainland cities 🤨

That left handed bounce on the run ought to be trademarked...

I recall seeing him regularly burst our of the centre, dodge the opposition and kick a goal on the run. If you didn't know who he was, you would soon pick him out, as he made it seem everyone else was playing at half the speed. There was one time when the Melbourne coach instructed the team to line up for kick ins by having Robbie on one flank and everyone else on the other. It didn't matter who was on Robbie - we would back him to win the contest. One of a kind: skilled, fast, aware, humble and loyal. RIP Tulip.

But don't let all that heed go to your head ... 😀

You also got your "no C$&!(# people" wish ... 🤣

Sacrilege! This will breathe new life into its!

Are you saying we are Gawn? 😅

Steven Kong in charge of the Demons? Other clubs be afraid, be VERY afraid! 🤣

I don't know why but I recall hearing rumours that as Robbie's loyalty was a given, it was sometimes manipulated to give the B&F to someone else to ensure that they stayed. What I think is even a bigger bilght is that Robbie never won a Brownlow in an era when Keith Greig won two in succession and Peter Moore also won two (with Robbie third behind him in 1984). So Robbie was robbed! IIRC we won only one game in 1981, Barassi's first year as Melbourne coach. And guess who it was who took a speccy in a pack in the goal square to kick the winning goal in the last minute or so of the game ... A classic captain's goal if there ever was one.

Gawn is certainy up there, but Robbie Flower is near impossible to dethrone as the greatest Demon for me. He had the loyalty and never-say-die attitude of Nathan Jones, the skill and poise equal to few if any in the league today (think Pendlebury's decision-making and sense of space, Kozzy's pace and the kicking skills of Bailey Dale/Touk Miller/whoever), the versatility to play just about anywhere apart from the ruck, and courage in spades, especially from a bloke who was as skinny as a rake and always seems to be the little brother playing with the big boys. If you were picking the Melbourne Team of the past 100 seasons, Robbie would be the first name picked, with Gawn as first ruck and Barassi as one of the midfielders. Who would be the captain is another interesting debate ...

You would probably have to explain that reference to most on here BB ...

The real question is whether they are bananaless ...

Mate, whatever has possessed you, shake it off! Shake it off! 😀

Shouldn't be a problem for us demons :-)