Cranky Franky

I think that's quiet a sexist comment. I'd have thought supporters would be wrapped if we got an outstanding person regardless of gender or any other particular classification.

Rubbish. Last year Bartlett said exactly what needed to be said at the time.

Well done, balanced & well written something you don't always get on Demonland when anything racial is involved.

The second verse is a shocker. Maybe we could ask Paul Kelly to write a new one.

One of the gutsiest ever.

Lets leave this matter for historians. I'm a bit concerned at the timing. It's got the potential to shift the focus from the GF. This week let's concentrate on the best of Melbourne.

Cancel culture is hardly a right wing term, its a real thing and happens far too often. You disagree with someone and instead of arguing your position you ban them from appearing and boycott them.

Fully agree QB - to call Barassi and by implication Norm Smith "non thinking" coaches is patently absurd. Sure it was a different era where discipline was king & coaches were much tougher on players in particular Kennedy, Jeans & Hafey but both Smith & Barassi were acknowledged as great motivators, creative and innovative and brilliant tactical coaches.

Agree - the number of decent players that left from late 60's to the late 70's didn't help - Kenneally, Jacobs, Groom, Dillon, Parke, Kerley, Thorne, Keenan, Callery, Fitzsimmons, Hardeman, Alves, Wells, Elshaug.

Not sure where you got this from ?? Farmer was sought after by almost every Club in the VFL. Did you confuse him with Doug Wade ? whom we did knock back. Ditto for Baldock another champion sought after by most VFL clubs at the time. There is a story Melbourne signed him when he was young but there is no actual evidence about this.

I think your theory is a bit simplistic. Smith was certainly tougher on his top players including Barassi but also on the others like Spencer, Ridley, Williams, Mithen etc. He won 6 flags because he had great teams & coached well. Ditto with North - they won because they had a great team. In fact Blight wasn't in the best players in either of their flag sides.

+1

Agree Oliver is clearly the RDB of today. A clearance beast who goes all day. Not the most polished player going round but a relentless pressure machine.

One of my all time favourites Ross Dillon left in his prime & went to Norwood. Part of the reason for our decline was that in the late 60's & 70's lots of promising players left for greener pastures. Stephen Kerley also left Melbourne for Norwood & Greg Parke also had a stint there.

Its a waste of time having an argument u can't win. The decision if up to the AFL.

Certainly an outstanding contested ball winner but comparisons with Flower are awkward as they played in very different positions in different eras. The best current comparison to Flower would be Ed Langdon.

6 Oliver 5 Lever 4 Gawn 3 Langdon 2 Salem 1 Pickett

Technical point - he didn't actually go to the UK with the team. The other interesting point of course is that Tom's family was killed by Aboriginals in Queensland & he would also probably have been killed except he was away getting supplies. Definitely an interesting, complex & flawed individual.

Just can't admit you're wrong can you ? You made a statement that a player who finished 3rd in the Brownlow, playing as a mid is too slow to play as a mid. Its just a demonstrably incorrect statement and you are probably the only poster to believe that.

That's an outstanding painting mate. Should be hanging in a gallery. Congratulations.

Ian Stewart, Adrian Fletcher & Greg Williams all say hello. All were just as slow or slower than Gus & all ruled the centre square.

For people to point out obscure statistics as proof that a winger who got 6 touches actually played a good game is something new for me. Poor old Oskar Baker picked up 15 touches on a wing v North & was dropped.

Think the failure is masked by the team's success. He should be elite, up there with the best mids going round. Goodie is extremely stubborn. He stuck fat with Oscar McD for ages & persisted with Fritter & Harmes played out of position long after most supporters had worked it out.

Agree - he was terrible & has been ordinary all year. Gets good PR from his podcasts & is a nice guy which seems to mitigate the criticism he receives but has been a failure as a wing

Well Demonland posters are always making assumptions without any evidence. Its because they don't understand epistomology and logic. Hopefully it was just a brain fade by Majak a bit like Paddy McCartin earlier in the year.