Melbourne Football Club

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Melbourne Football Club
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
First season 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. The club claims that it has competed at the highest level in its sport for longer than any other football club in the world, having been a foundation member of the VFA/VFL, the game's first competition, governing body and premier competition and later a foundation member of the VFL/AFL, which remains elite competition of the sport.

Contents

[edit] Club history

Some 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.[1]

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 was not always an advantage. The MCC members' automatic right to attend all events at the ground, including Demons' games, also meant that many potential members had a reduced incentive to join the club - thus, Melbourne's membership is currently among 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

Demons great Norm Smith (during his playing time at Fitzroy), many argue as being a catalyst for the club's early success, then later as a coach
Demons great Norm Smith (during his playing time at Fitzroy), many argue as being a catalyst for the club's early success, then later as a coach
Statue of Melbourne's greatest, Ron Barassi, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Statue of Melbourne's greatest, Ron Barassi, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

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 Melbourne 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 (where they avenged their loss against collingwood). With Smith as coach and Barassi as captain, Melbourne dominated the competition.

In 1964 Melbourne won its 12th flag, beating Collingwood again, 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. Although he was soon reinstated, 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, but have not won a flag since.

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. The 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 Melbourne ended a season with more wins than losses.

[edit] Decades of disappointment

Through the 1970s Melbourne, under coaches John Beckwith (1968-70), Ian Ridley (1971-73), Bob Skilton (1974-77), Denis Jones (1978) and Carl Ditterich (1979-80), Melbourne languished at the bottom of the League ladder, although in 1971 the club started the season at the top and maintained that position until it lost to Collingwood in round 6. Melbourne was still in second place at the start of the second half of the season but within five weeks was out of the top four and finished with only two more wins and a draw.

Melbourne collected Wooden spoons in 1974 and 1978, but narrowly missed the finals in 1976, the club's fate depending on Carlton beating Footscray in the final round, but the game ended in a draw. 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. In 1979 Ditterich came to the club as Captain-Coach but although the team won more games it finished second 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.

Melbourne 1980s shield logo
Melbourne 1980s shield logo

In 1981, under the chairmanship of Sir Billy Snedden, Barassi returned to Melbourne as coach and immediately appointed Robert Flower as captain. In Barassi's first year the team finished last, but this was attributed to working out who the willing players were and the club won some powerful victories in the next three seasons. But although Brian Wilson won the Brownlow in 1982, and Peter Moore won it in 1984, Barassi was unable to get the club back into premiership contention.

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. It was also the last game played by the team captain Robert Flower. In 1988 the Demons did even better, reaching the Grand Final, only to be defeated, again, by Hawthorn.

From 1987 to 1991 Melbourne had five positive win-loss ratios in successive seasons which the club had not been able to achieve since the 1954-65 era. 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, but a last game loss to Brisbane saw them drop out of the top eight in 1995, and the club lingered at or near the bottom of the ladder for most of the 1996 season.

[edit] Facing Oblivion

By 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. In 1998, under new coach Neale Daniher, the club spent most of the season in the top eight and beat the eventual premiers Adelaide in the Qualifying Final. Melbourne also eliminated St Kilda, but lost to North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. In 1999 Melbourne finished in the bottom four.

[edit] Partial revival

In 2000 Daniher took Melbourne to the Grand Final, where however the Demons were soundly beaten by Essendon. 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 was voted out by the members, who had tired of his autocratic ways.

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 its remaining four games, the club still made the finals, only to lose narrowly to Essendon.

During the 2004 post-season the Demons tragically lost defender Troy Broadbridge to the Asian tsunami, in which he was swept off Phi Phi island in Thailand. He was walking along the beach with Trisha Broadbridge when the tsunami struck. He was found on January 3, 2005, and brought home. A funeral was held on January 20, 2005 in recognition to the No. 20 guernsey he wore during his playing days. During the 2005 off-season, the whole team travelled to the island in which Broadbridge was killed to build a new school for those struck by the tsunami.

Melbourne started 2005 strongly, being in second place after Round 12, but 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, and the longest-surviving in the entire history of the VFL-AFL not to have won a premiership. The Demons managed to defeat St Kilda in the first Elimination Final and proceed to the Semi-Finals, but a subsequent loss to Fremantle in Perth put an end to the Demons' finals campaign.

[edit] Membership base

In 2004, 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[2]), which gets them privileged access to the MCG, so they don't see the need to pay for a separate MFC membership. Although previously not allowed, for the 2007 season, the Melbourne Football Club are offering MCC members the chance to become official members of the club for a heavily reduced cost, in order to entice members. It is hoped that this will significantly lift the clubs membership base to capitalise on the amount of MCC members that support the club.


Year Members Finishing position²
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 7th
2007

²following finals matches

[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 ten 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.

A Melbourne Demons "home" match at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.
A Melbourne Demons "home" match at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Like other struggling Melbourne based clubs, the Demons have sold games to interstate venues, including 1 game to Brisbane in 2005 and an extra game to the Gold Coast, Queensland in 2006 which was transferred in 2007 to Canberra. 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.

[edit] Prominent Fans

[edit] Current squad

As of December, 2006:

 view • talk • edit 

Rookies:

  • 38 Daniel Hughes
  • 39 Shane Neaves
  • 43 Jace Bode
  • 42 Daniel Hayes


[edit] Premierships

1900, 1926, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964

[edit] Coaches

[edit] Captains

[edit] Individual awards

[edit] Best and Fairest

See Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal

[edit] Brownlow Medal winners

[edit] Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

[edit] Coleman Medal winners

[edit] Mark of the Year winners

  • Shaun Smith (1995) (also informally dubbed Mark of the Century)

[edit] Goal of the Year winners

[edit] All-Australian players (since 1990)

[edit] National team representatives (since 2003)

[edit] Club jumpers

Standard
The home jumper is blue with a red "V" running down the front.
The home jumper is blue with a red "V" running down the front.
Clash
The clsh jumper is red with a blue, stylized "M" on the front.
The clsh jumper is red with a blue, stylized "M" on the front.
  • These are the current 2007 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

Main article: AFL Mascot Manor
Rotten Ronald Deeman - Melbourne Football Club's mascot at the MCG
Rotten Ronald Deeman - Melbourne Football Club's mascot at the MCG

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

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ November MCC news. pg 11

[edit] External links

Clubs in the Australian Football League
Adelaide | Brisbane Lions | Carlton | Collingwood | Essendon | Fremantle | Geelong | Hawthorn
Kangaroos | Melbourne | Port Adelaide | Richmond | St. Kilda | Sydney | West Coast | Western Bulldogs
Former clubs: Brisbane Bears | Fitzroy | University
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