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Melbourne's decline at the end of its golden era was swift. No sooner had the 1964 premiership cup been put away that stories were put abroad about captain Ron Barassi's possible defection to Carlton where he was indeed appointed and ultimately coached them to three flags, The Demons pressed on irregardless and won their first eight matches but there were a few chinks in the armour. The team managed to find a way somehow to win games, often by narrow margins (take note Hawthorn) but the die was cast. It was an aging team with a growing number of holes in the makeup. Queens Birthday 1965 was the start of the fall from grace when they lost their first game for the season by 61 points to St Kilda. A week earlier, Smith the master had bested Barassi the pupil but the end of the golden era was near. A month later, the chinks became a gaping chasm when Norm Smith was sacked and then reinstated after a week. The team started losing and missed out on making the finals at the end of the year. If Queens Birthday 1965 was the day on which the fall from grace began, then Anzac Day 1966 - 50 years ago today - was the day when the realisation set in that the golden era was over. At the time, it was unimaginable that half a century later, the Melbourne Football Club would remain without another flag to its name. The opposition was again St Kilda. I found this article on the Football Almanac about Anzac Day 1966 written from the perspective of a Saints fan. I will come back with my own recollections of the day and later, in the run up to next week's game at Etihad against ... St Kilda, some thoughts about whether the new reality at Melbourne today can become a true revival.