In conjunction with the AFL celebrating 150 years since the sport of Australian rules football was first created, the Melbourne Football Club also celebrated its 150th anniversary since its foundation in 1858.[1] This included the celebration of their "150 Heroes", which commemorated the 150 greatest contributing players to ever play for Melbourne.[2] Despite the celebrations, the Demons were tarnished by major on and off field disasters that led to the resignation of Paul Gardiner as chairman of the club and installation of Jim Stynes midway through the season. During August, Jim Stynes attempted to eliminate Melbourne of its major debt with a program called "Debt Demolition".[3]
Melbourne hosted 10 of its 11 games at the MCG, which included its first "home game" against the Brisbane Lions outside of the Gabba since 2000. They also played a home game at Manuka Oval in the nation's capital Canberra against the Sydney Swans during Round 13. Dean Bailey coached his first year as senior coach at Melbourne. David Neitz captained his ninth year for the Demons, however after aggravating a disc in his neck during the Round 5 clash against Carlton,[4] he announced his retirement on 19 May.[5] For the remainder of the year, the captaincy was shared between Cameron Bruce and James McDonald.[6]
Melbourne's horrid year on-field form caused them to win only three matches and ensured they received their 11th wooden spoon.
13 minutes into the last quarter a power failure caused a black-out of the stadium. The match was therefore abandoned with the Western Bulldogs leading Melbourne 14.9.93 to 9.9.63.[9]
Odds of up to $34 from some betting agencies were offered for Melbourne to beat Geelong. These were the highest ever offered in a VFL/AFL game. Despite Melbourne kicking the first 3 goals of the game and staying in it for a large proportion of the game, Geelong proved to be too strong for a young Demons outfit running away with the game by 30 points.
This match was originally scheduled to be played at Carrara Stadium. However due to North Melbourne's refusal to relocate north to the Gold Coast,[16] the match was moved to the MCG.
This game marked David Neitz's last ever AFL match, due to a neck injury sustained during the second quarter when Jarrad Waite laid a heavy tackle on him.[18]
Trailing by as much as 51 points at the start of the third quarter, Melbourne kicked 14 goal to 4 in the second half to win by 6 points and give Dean Bailey a historical first win as a senior coach.
Melbourne's win was the second greatest win from a half-time deficit in VFL/AFL history.
Melbourne players received Brownlow votes from this match for the first time in 2008.
Melbourne gave a spirited effort against Hawthorn after the announcement of David Neitz's retirement[5] as well as controversial comments made by Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett against the club[25] earlier that week. Despite a full game effort by Melbourne, Hawthorn would triumph by 19 points and regain top spot on the AFL ladder.
Hawthorn's second win over Melbourne for the year allowed them to overtake Melbourne's tally in wins for all VFL/AFL games contested between the two sides.
A mark and goal in the goal square by Brad Miller followed by a charge up the ground with the ball from the half-back line by Austin Wonaeamirri allowed Melbourne to win its second game of the year by a point.
In cold and wet conditions, Melbourne was inflicted with its heaviest loss for the season (116 points) and at the time the second worst loss to Geelong in VFL/AFL history before Round 19, 2011 where Geelong thrashed Melbourne by 186 points.
Despite the West Coast Eagles kicking 3 early goals in the second quarter, Melbourne would bounce back and win their third and final game of the season comfortably in cold and rainy conditions.
Melbourne would concede only one goal in the second half to obtain their greatest winning margin for the season (34 points).
Melbourne FC announced its "150 Heroes" to celebrate its 150th birthday at Crown Casino on 7 June 2008. These were also presented during the Queen's Birthday Clash against Collingwood in Round 11. Each player, or their closest relative, were presented with an official 150 heroes medallion.
The criteria for inclusion was games played (minimum of 100), best-and-fairest awards, premierships, Brownlow Medals, contribution to the club and State representation. Those who died in the war were judged based on their achievements before their death. The heroes named were:[2]
Aside from Melbourne's on-field struggles throughout the year, they were also placed into financial turmoil and the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.
On 4 February, CEO Steve Harris announced his resignation after reportedly cutting Melbourne's pre-existing debt by 50% and increasing membership sales by 40% since 2003.[51] He was later replaced by former Wimbledon tennis champion Paul McNamee on 18 March, despite the fact that McNamee did not originally apply for the job.[52]
With no cash, no solidified training or administration base and decreased membership count from 2007, the Demons found themselves winning only one game in the first half of the season. On 23 May, Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett suggested that Melbourne should relocate to the Gold Coast if they were to have a financially stable future.[25] Melbourne was expected to lose $1–2million during the year and put their near future as an existing football club in doubt.
Melbourne had little to celebrate heading into their 150 Heroes dinner on 7 June, during which Jim Stynes announced his intention to challenge Paul Gardiner's role as Melbourne's president. Two days later, before the Queen's Birthday clash, Gardiner announced his resignation as Melbourne's president,[31] and endorsed Stynes to take over. On 12 June, Stynes was announced as the new president of the Melbourne Football Club and announced his primary intention to wipe off Melbourne's debt.[53] Three days later he announced that Melbourne was $4.5million in debt and that he would create a campaign called Debt Demolition to wipe off the debt. The campaign took place during August, beginning on 5 August during the 150 Foundation Heroes dinner. Guests and supporters were asked to dig deep and donate at least $5,000 to be considered a 150 Foundation Hero.[3]
During June, Melbourne had a late surge in membership purchases for 2008. On 30 June, Melbourne successfully increased their membership count from 2007 gaining a record high 29,619 members at the time and falling just short of their goal of 30,000.
On 23 July, Stynes sacked Paul McNamee as CEO of the club.[54] During his time as CEO, NcNamee was criticised for taking a mid-season holiday to England to play in a Wimbledon doubles match. He was also criticised for trying to lure Brisbane Lions' forward Jonathan Brown to Melbourne.[55] Stynes stated, however, that the main reason he was sacked was his lack of a football background.
Melbourne held its 150 Foundation Heroes dinner on 5 August where they launched their Debt Demolition campaign. Melbourne raised $1.3million from former players and supporters that night.[56] At the end of the month the club had raised up to $3million. Despite all the donations Melbourne received, their major sponsor Primus Telecom announced that it would not continue its $1million per year arrangements with the club in 2009.[57]
On 26 August, Melbourne announced Cameron Schwab as their new CEO.[58] Schwab left his role of CEO at Fremantle and re-joined Melbourne for the third time since 1982.
On 18 December, the AFL agreed to increase Melbourne's 2009 from $250,000 to $1million, with the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) contracted to match the AFL's offer.[25] However, financial disagreements between the MCC and AFL prevented them from co-funding all Victorian clubs temporarily until an agreement was worked out on 20 December.
Melbourne finished the year $2.5million in debt.[56] They continued with the Debt Demolition campaign in August 2009, finishing the year with a debt of $1.5million,[59] and in August 2010. On 5 August 2010 Melbourne clear all of its $4.5million debt as Jim Stynes announced the club to be debt free for the first time in 30 years.[60]
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James Peter Stynes OAM was an Irish footballer who converted from Gaelic football to Australian rules football and the first international player to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), he was one of the game's most prominent figures, breaking the record for most consecutive games of VFL/AFL football (244) and winning the sport's highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, in 1991. Off the field, he was a notable AFL administrator, philanthropist, charity worker and writer.
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