Melbourne Football Club
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| Image:2006 AFL Melbourne.jpg | |
| Full name | Melbourne Football Club |
| Nickname | The Demons |
| Strip | Red and blue guernsey, blue shorts, red socks |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| League | Australian Football League (1897-) |
| Ground | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Club song | 'It's a Grand Old Flag' |
| President/Chair | Paul Gardner |
| Coach | Neale Daniher |
| Captain | David Neitz |
| 2005 | 7th of 16 |
The Melbourne Football Club (MFC), nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest football club in Australia and is one of the oldest in the world. It is also distinguished by the fact that it was members of the club who wrote the rules of their game.
The club is also distinguished as having competed at the highest level in their sport for longer than any other football club in the world.
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[edit] Club history
Many sources claim that the MFC is the oldest professional sporting club in the world. There is no doubt that it was formed before any Australian club in any football code. However, some rugby clubs in the UK and Ireland are older. The claim of "professionalism" is also contentious, as the Victorian Football League did not officially allow professional players until Rule 29 was passed in 1911, and even then Melbourne remained a proudly amateur club for many years.<ref>[1]</ref>
The MFC was an offshoot of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), occupiers of what many consider to be Australia's finest sporting arena the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG, known as "The G"). The group which became the MFC came together informally on August 7 1858 and the club was formally established in 1859. On May 17 that year, at the Parade Hotel in East Melbourne, Tom Wills, W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson (some sources also include Thomas Smith and/or H. C. A. Harrison), wrote the first set of written rules for Australian rules football. By 1866, several other clubs had also adopted an updated version of Melbourne's rules.
[edit] Founders of the VFA
In 1877, the club became a foundation member of the Victorian Football Association. During this time, the club was known as the "Fuchsias".
In 1889 the MFC was reincorporated into the MCC, and for many years the two organisations remained unhappily linked. The MFC's close association with the MCC allowed it to claim the MCG as its home ground and have it access to a wealthy membership base, but Melbourne's reputation as an "establishment" club has not always been an advantage. The MCC members' automatic right to attend all events at the ground, including Demons' games, also means that many potential members have a reduced incentive to join the club - thus, Melbourne's membership is currently amongst the lowest in the competition.
[edit] Entry to the VFL
The MFC joined the breakaway Victorian Football League at its formation in 1897, and has been a part of the competition ever since.
The team became known as the "Redlegs". This nickname is still used by certain membership and supporter groups within the club.
In 1900 Melbourne won its first VFL premiership (traditionally known as "The Flag," although since 1959 it has been complemented annually by a premiership trophy), defeating Fitzroy. Melbourne's greatest player of these early years of the VFL was Ivor Warne-Smith, who in 1926 won the club's first Brownlow Medal (the League's annual award for the best and fairest player). In that year Melbourne won its second flag. Warne-Smith won the Brownlow again in 1928.
[edit] Age of greatness
In 1933, the club changed their moniker to the "Demons".
F. V. "Checker" Hughes became Melbourne's coach in 1933, and under his leadership the club entered its era of greatness. In 1939 Melbourne won its third flag, against traditional rivals Collingwood, and in 1940 and 1941 it went on to win two more.
In 1946 Melbourne finished second and Don Cordner became the second Demon to win the Brownlow. In 1947 Fred Fanning kicked a record 18 goals in the last game of the season. The following year Melbourne played in the first ever drawn Grand Final, against Essendon. The next week they came back and won the replay.
Norm Smith became Melbourne's coach in 1952, and the following year Ron Barassi played his first game. These two were to take Melbourne to new heights in the coming years. The Demons won the flag in 1955, 1956 and 1957, narrowly lost to Collingwood in 1958, and then won again in 1959 and 1960. With Smith as coach and Barassi as captain, Melbourne dominated the competition.
In 1964 Melbourne won its 12th flag, and seemed set for a new era of domination. But at the end of the season, in one of the greatest shocks in the history of the game, Barassi left the club to become captain-coach of Carlton. The following year Norm Smith was sacked after a dispute with the club. Things were never the same again for the Demons. They had appeared in every Grand Final from 1954-1960 and every Finals' Series from 1954-1964.
After the 1954 Grand final loss to Footscray no team was able to score 100 points against the club until Collingwood in round 5 1963. The next team was Geelong with 110 in round 1 1964.
Their 1965 season started with 8 wins but only two wins from the next 10 games saw the end of the era. They would have to wait until 1971 and then again until 1987 before they ended a season with more wins than losses.
[edit] Decades of disappointment
Through the 1970s Melbourne, under coaches John Beckwith 1968-1970, Ian "Tiger" Ridley 1971-1973, Bob Skilton 1974-1977, Denis Jones 1978 and Carl Ditterich 1979-1980, Melbourne languished at the bottom of the League ladder although in 1971 they started the season at the top and maintained that position until they lost to Collingwood in round 6. They were still in second place at the start of the second half of the season but within five weeks were out of the top four and finished with only two more wins and a draw.
They collected Wooden spoons in 1974 and 1978, but narrowly missed the finals in 1976 their fate depending on Carlton beating Footscray in the final round but their game ended in a draw. Taunts arose from the Collingwood fans who began to chant "Footscray" upon hearing the result. They had lost by 15 points to Melbourne and had ended up as Wooden spooners for the first time in their club's history and were trying to cushion their own disappointment.
Innacuracy kept them from a promising start in 1977 as the club was expecting to continue its good form at the end of the previous season but it was to be Skilton's last season.
In his only season as coach in 1978 Denis Jones oversaw a wooden spoon but remarkably his team participated in the highest scoring match ever. Melbourne scored 21.15.141 in the seventh round but lost by over ten goals to St.Kilda who scored 31.18.204. The combined points total of 345 still remains the highest aggregate for an AFL/VFL game.
In 1979 Ditterich returned to the club as Captain-Coach and although the team won more games it finished second last. St.Kilda, the team Ditterich had left finished last.
In 1980 the MFC finally legally separated from the MCC, becoming a public company, in an effort to attract more members and improve the club's finances. The season produced one less win than 1979 (five) but the club finished higher - 9th. It became evident that drastic action was needed for a club that had missed 16 finals series in a row the return of former star Ron Barassi was seen as the cure. When Barassi had left in 1965 it was felt that he would eventually return and his arrival caused much excitement and an expectation of immediate success.
For a brief period in the middle of the 1984 season Barassi's five year plan appeared to be on target. In Round 13 they defeated the previous season's premiers Hawthorn and were in fourth position with a strong percentage after having lost the first five games of the season. They met the eventual premiers Essendon in the next game and lost, destroying the confidence that had been built up in the previous games. The losses started and they began to slip down the ladder. They were in the top 5 after the fifth round in 1985 but a complete loss of form saw them finish second last and Barassi felt that he could do little to help the club further.
In 1986 Barassi was replaced by John Northey. Under Northey, Melbourne made the finals in 1987, for the first time since 1964, losing the Preliminary Final to Hawthorn on the last kick of the game after the final siren, when future Brownlow Medallist Jim Stynes walked over the mark after Rod Grinter was penalised, allowing Gary Buckenara a relatively simple opportunity. It was also the last game played by the team captain Robert Flower.
There had been a number of very easy goals missed by the inexperienced Melbourne players in the last quarter and it is evident that it was this, more than a single incident at the end of the game, that caused the loss. The team had become a little unsettled as to how easily they were accounting for such a powerful opponent. The pressure that was felt for the entire last quarter when Hawthorn were finishing strongly was causing the younger players to miss normally easy opportunities to kick goals.
The 1987 finals campaign had begun in very exciting circumstances and North Melbourne were defeated by 118 points by a side brimming with confidence. The following week a 76 point win over the Swans put the young side into Premiership contention.
The following year the Demons did even better, reaching the Grand Final, only to be defeated, again, by Hawthorn.
From 1987 to the end of 1991 Melbourne had five positive win-loss ratios in successive seasons which they had not been able to achieve since the 1954-1965 era. They enjoyed 76 wins over 47 losses which, in comparison with the 1966-1986 period with only 140 victories and 309 losses, was extremely successful and a credit to the players.
Thereafter things went downhill for Northey, although Jim Stynes won the Brownlow in 1991.
In 1992 the club finished 11th, and Northey was replaced by Neil Balme as coach. Balme got Melbourne into the finals in 1994, a last game loss to Brisbane saw them drop out of the top eight in 1995 and a 127 point loss to Geelong in the opening round of 1996 saw them linger at or near the bottom of the ladder for most of the season.
[edit] Facing Oblivion
In 1996 the club was also in dire financial straits. The board decided, with 52% support of the members, on the desperate step of a merger with Hawthorn, but the Hawthorn members rejected the idea. This was the final straw for many of the MFC members, after years of continual failure.
In the aftermath of the 1996 merger vote, an unlikely rebel leader, Orthodox rabbi and mining tycoon Joseph Gutnick, became president. He put $3 million of his own money into the club, and sacked Balme as coach midway through the 1997 season. After a 107 point loss to Collingwood in round two the team had plunged to the bottom of the ladder by round 3 after beating the previous season's premiers North Melbourne in the opening game.
In 1998, under new coach Neale Daniher, the club spent most of the season in the top eight and even beat the eventual premiers Adelaide by 48 points in the Qualifying Final. They also eliminated St.Kilda but lost to North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final.
The following year they were able to stay with the top eight until round seven but along with reigning premiers Adelaide they finished in the bottom four.
[edit] 2000s - New Era of "Success"
In 2000 coach, Neale Daniher, took Melbourne to the Grand Final, where the Demons were soundly beaten by Essendon (who only lost one game for the season). The entire season found no rival for the dominant Bombers. From early in 2000 it was merely a challenge to see who would finish second.
The members had expected a new era of success, but in 2001 it was same old story: Melbourne finished 12th. In 2002, although Melbourne again made the finals, Gutnick's was voted out by the members. Many attributed this to his autocratic ways provoked another revolt. Regardless, the club still held him to his financial pledge and despite much protest and controversy over the sacking, he did not ask for it back.
In 2003 Melbourne plunged into a new crisis, winning only five games for the year and posting a $1 million loss. President Gabriel Szondy resigned and it seemed that Daniher's tenure as coach was under threat. But, continuting the recent trend, in 2004, Melbourne climbed the ladder again, winning 14 games and leading the competition, albeit for one round only, in Round 18. And although the team lost their remaining four games, they still made the finals, only to lose that match also, by five points to Essendon. On a bright note, young-gun Jared Rivers was the winner of the AFL Rising Star award.
Melbourne started 2005 strongly, finding themselves in second place after Round 12 with 9 wins. However a horror streak of seven consecutive losses placed the club's finals hopes in doubt, until the Demons finished the year with 3 nail-biting victories to salvage an Elimination Final appearance. Melbourne was eliminated from the premiership race in the opening week of the finals by Geelong.
In 2006, after a slow start, Melbourne again performed well, and were in the top four by the middle of the season. Daniher had become the second longest-serving coach in the AFL (after Kevin Sheedy), and the longest-surviving in the entire history of the VFL-AFL not to have won a premiership. The promising season was dealt a massive blow with injuries to several key players. A draw with Geelong in Round 21 at Kardinia Park saw the Demons slip out of the top four, costing them the double chance and home final. Although the Demons were guaranteed a final eight spot, a last ditch attempt to snatch the double chance by defeating Adelaide at AAMI Stadium failed. Despite this, the Demons managed to defeat St Kilda in the first Elimination Final and proceed to the Semi-Finals, but a subsequent loss to the emerging Fremantle Dockers in Perth put an end to the Demons finals campaign.
[edit] Membership base
In 2005, the Melbourne Football Club had a record number of members, but still has one of the smallest membership bases in the AFL competition. This is partly because many traditional Melbourne supporters are already members of the Melbourne Cricket Club (around 23% of MCC members have Melbourne Football Club nominated support<ref>November MCC news. pg 11</ref>), which gets them privileged access to the MCG, so they don't see the need to pay for a separate MFC membership.
Year, #members, finishing position
- 1998 17,870 (4th);
- 1999 19,713 (14th);
- 2000 18,227 (2nd);
- 2001 22,940 (11th);
- 2002 20,152 (6th);
- 2003 20,555 (14th);
- 2004 25,252 (5th);
- 2005 24,220 (7th);
- 2006 24,698 <ref>[2]</ref>
[edit] Premierships
(12)
1900
1926
1939
1940
1941
1948
1955
1956
1957
1959
1960
1964
[edit] Current dilemmas
The underlying problem for Melbourne and the other older clubs is that the new Australian Football League, a 16-team national competition, has arguably left too many clubs in Melbourne, a city which despite its great tradition of passionate support for Australian rules football, cannot financially support ten clubs competing against wealthy and successful interstate newcomers.
Like other struggling Melbourne based clubs, the Demons have sold games to interstate venues, including 1 game to Brisbane in 2005 and a game to the Gold Coast, Queensland in 2006.
Some observers wonder about the long-term future of the club, with its thin membership and supporter base, political instability, and lack of consistent on-field success. The AFL's current TV deal requires a 16-team competition and thus it is highly unlikely a team will be allowed to fold in the next few years. If such a guarantee disappeared and clubs were left to survive on their own resources, the Demons, along with the Kangaroos and Western Bulldogs, look the most financially vulnerable. Melbourne has had an additional vulnerability, in that did not have an established permanent home base, with current administration, training and social bases scattered around various venues of the MCG, Junction Oval, Trevor Barker Beach Oval and the Bentleigh Club. However, the Melbourne Football Club has established a proposal to become co-tenants at a refurbished Olympic Park with other football codes - the Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club and Melbourne Victory Football (Soccer) Club, due to be completed sometime in 2009.
[edit] Current squad
As of October 31, 2005:
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Rookies:
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[edit] Coaches
- George Haines 1919-1920
- Percy Wilson 1921-1923
- Gordon Rattray 1924
- Albert Chadwick 1925-1927
- Ivor Warne-Smith 1928-1932
- Frank "Checker" Hughes 1933-1941
- Percy Beames 1941-45
- Frank "Checker" Hughes 1945-1948
- Allan LaFontaine 1949-1951
- Norm Smith 1952-1967
- John Beckwith 1968-1970
- Ian Ridley 1971-1973
- Bob Skilton 1974-1977
- Denis Jones 1978
- Carl Ditterich 1979-1980
- Ron Barassi 1981-1985
- John Northey 1986-1992
- Neil Balme 1993-1997 (Sacked mid-season)
- Greg Hutchison 1997
- Neale Daniher 1998-(present)
[edit] Captains
- George Haines 1919-1920
- Percy Wilson 1921-1923
- Albert Chadwick 1924-1927
- Ivor Warne-Smith 1928-1931
- Percy Beames 1941-45
- Norm Smith 1945-48
- Adrian Friskin 1949-53
- Geoff Collins 1954
- Noel McMahen 1955-1956
- John Beckwith 1957-1959
- Ron Barassi 1960-1964
- Hassa Mann 1965-1972
- Stan Alves 1973-1978
- Carl Ditterich 1979-1980
- Robert Flower 1981-1987
- Greg Healy 1988-1990
- Garry Lyon 1991-1997
- Todd Viney 1998-1999
- David Neitz 2000-
[edit] Individual awards
[edit] Best and Fairest
[edit] Brownlow Medal winners
- Ivor Warne-Smith (1926)
- Don Cordner (1946)
- Brian Wilson (1982)
- Peter Moore (1984)
- Jim Stynes (1991)
- Shane Woewodin (2000)
[edit] Leigh Matthews Trophy winners
- Jim Stynes (1991)
[edit] Coleman Medal winners
- David Neitz (2002)
[edit] Mark of the Year winners
- Shaun Smith (1995) (also informally dubbed Mark of the Century)
Jeff Farmer (1998)
[edit] Goal of the Year winners
- Shane Woewodin (1998)
[edit] All-Australian players (since 1990)
- Jim Stynes (1991, 1993)
- Gary Lyon (1993, 1994, 1995)
- Stephen Tingay (1994)
- Todd Viney (1998)
- Jeff Farmer (2000)
- Adem Yze (2002)
- David Neitz (1995, 2002)
- Jeff White (2004)
- James McDonald (2006)
[edit] National team representatives (since 2003)
- Clint Bizzell (2003)
- Aaron Davey (2005, 2006)
- Brent Moloney (2005)
- Russell Robertson (2005)
- James McDonald (2006)
[edit] Club jumpers
Standard
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Clash
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- These are the current 2006 jumper designs. The club's current major sponsors are Primus Telecom and Asics
- Clash jumper worn against teams with similar design/colour.
[edit] Club Mascot
The current club mascot is Rotten Ronald Deeman (after Ron Barassi).
The mascot was changed at the end of the 2005 season from a white skinned demon with a red cape to a red skinned demon with no cape.
He carries a trident, has devil horns and has a pointed Devil tail.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official Website of the Melbourne Football Club
- Full Points Footy History of the Melbourne Football Club
- Demonology: Independent Supporters' website
- Demonland: Independent Supporters' website
- Melbourne F.C. honour board at FootyStats
- Footy Jumpers
