About last night! Thoughts. Join in everyone who was there.

[Primmy]

Right. Got there way too early as my cabdriverfromhell came early, and I had forgotten to factor in the Bus Lane "go fast do not stop" zip. So I made it in 20 minutes, not one hour (I kid you not).
I sat outside the event room for some time, chatting to other early arrivals, old footy friends, and watched the world go by.
. Sam has a lovely girlfriend who looks almost as tall as he is, maybe the heels, but in a backless acid green number, and she looked lovely.
. Had my 'moment' with Mal, this has been an ongoing thing for some years and its a delight to find he always recognises me. Got my big hug, we had a bit of wordless communication and big grins, and that was enough. Again forgot to get a photo.
. Rhyce has trimmed his beard and he looked positively handsome. those two boys are joined at the hip.
. LRT is still a sweet soul, but has acquired a little bit of white line fever the last year or so. Had his life membership pin on straight away.
. Reg scrubbs up well, He Shaved!!
. MikePyke got cheered each time he polled, with a bit of ooh and ahh, as he did so well. Its been fun to see him with a big grin on his face all the time, he has at times been a little dour - guess he doesn't have to prove himself now, does he.
. We have got to pay more attention to Craig Bird. He polled at about 8th. Who knew?
. Keep an eye on Luke Parker. He was pulling very reasonable numbers until he broke his shoulder.
. Ted got a lot of cheers.
. Lewie had his medal on all night, and the most delightful grin. Has surprisingly small hands.
. I like young Jed. He is an easy chat, and he scrubbed up very well indeed.
. Mrs Bolton had on a silvery thingy that I would have worn in the sixties if I had had the figure for it.
. Mrs O'Keefe had on a similarly sized green thingy, she has two children, it orten be allowed!
. Actually very short, very tight, figure hugging frocks of colour were de rigeur. Not many floaties, but on the whole the WAGs all looked beautiful. So did the mums.
. Not enough toilets for the women. Ques out the door are not an attractive look.
. Best event of the night was the presentation to Bob Skilton of the brilliant photograph of the boys on the podium all looking at him, in a sea of red confetti, and Bobby down on the grass looking up at them. They all got onto the stage to make the presentation. Brilliant picture, must be used in some banner or other.
. Next best was the standing ovation for Horse.
. And of course Joey's gong. Galloped ahead. Two x 50's Whodathortit!

Venue
. Its been better.
. After presentations the room stayed very dark with spot lights spinning around and shining into eyes - difficult to hear yourself at times, or find the guys to say hello.
. Most of the 22 disappeared very quickly and who would blame them. they looked tired and we were a rabid mob of photographers and autograph hunters. Me I just wanted to hug them.
. Didn't see any of the 44 over indulge. Must be a first!
. Lots of very very happy noise.
. Food - Tea smoked chicken, fine shaves of lettuce and beetroot was beautiful.
- Beef cheeks on pollenta and beans, quite good, but small.
- Apple crumble, well, what can you say about apple crumble. But it was the cream that took the cake. It was a quinnell of king island type and it was about the size of the top joint of my little finger. Hilarious. I have never seen such a miserly serve of anything in my life. Rationed to the max.
. Wine - very good at serving and always on the lookout for empty glasses, same with iced water. Quality? Ok. ..... and so to the table decorations
. Table - again a mirror tile and a tiny posy of blood red roses in a small square glass vase. Rose petals scattered and two tea lights.

It was a very long night, understandable, and good fun with good friends.

Sat with dimelb and jewels and that made a difference to the enjoyment of the night. Thank you one and all

[Primmy]

Forgot to mention:
Mrs McVeigh is luminous. So beautiful.
Tom Mitchell has the most beautifully formed back.
AJ was so excited; he is such a talent.

Richard Colless had a bit to say about the treatment of Goodsey at the beginning of his career by a former coach, with which I concur. An unusual statement to be honest, but having personally noted a few things that were said and done to the lovely man by said coach, he lost my support completely and I was relieved when he was removed.

[joemoore12]

Does anybody know if the live feed was recorded? I missed it last night. Would love to see some of the speeches!

[Panttz]

Yeah fingers and toes crossed they recorded the speeches and presentations!

[undy]

Richard Colless had a bit to say about the treatment of Goodsey at the beginning of his career by a former coach, with which I concur. An unusual statement to be honest, but having personally noted a few things that were said and done to the lovely man by said coach, he lost my support completely and I was relieved when he was removed.

He must have had his grumpy pants on yesterday, he bagged out the crowd at Town Hall for booing Barry O'Farrell....
(For anyone in danger of being fired or fired on as a result of Barry O'F, I reckon treating him like a panto villain is probably a fairly safe release)

[Cardinal]

He must have had his grumpy pants on yesterday, he bagged out the crowd at Town Hall for booing Barry O'Farrell....
(For anyone in danger of being fired or fired on as a result of Barry O'F, I reckon treating him like a panto villain is probably a fairly safe release)

Apparently BOF is a paid up member. So am I but I have a job too. Colless, without being alarmist, noting that we were only a couple of bad seasons (financially) away from catostrophe.

[Xie Shan]

For anyone who's been thinking of going to one of these but hasn't had the chance, I say go, it's a great way to celebrate the season, and after a year like the one we've just had, who wouldn't want to celebrate!

Horse was genuinely humbled by the standing ovation he received when given life membership. He refused to take all the credit for our success, instead choosing to pay tribute to the people around him who contributed to the premiership, he made sure he mentioned everyone at the club who played a role.

The venue was great, though a bit less intimate than when they had it at the Westin two years ago, the only other time I've been, I guess a small price to pay for allowing more people the chance to go! Maybe celebrations a bit muted this year as the people I spoke to were still recovering from the trip to Melbourne, it's been a long week!

When I watched the AFL 360 video montage on the big screen again, I realised that when Hawthorn hit the front, I probably should have been a lot more worried that I actually was at the time, maybe I knew the team's fighting qualities too well to figure that they were still likely to generate scoring chances if they kept hanging in there. The importance of hard work and never giving up was a recurring theme touched on by many on the night, several references to doing it all again next year. Think we are a huge chance, but depends on how strong the motivation still is, as Jude would say, how brightly the fire is still burning!

Didn't really know anyone there so was a bit nervous to socialise, but was pleasantly surprised to bump into an old high school friend who now works for the Swans in their fan development area. It is indeed a small world.

[pirouette]

sounds like it was a great night

Have always wanted to go, but being a student it's a bit hard to justify the cost (including hair/dress/make up and not really having anyone who would want to come with me). I will have to save up and go one of these days though!

[ScottH]

Finally got around to reading your whole review, Primmy.
Well done, as always. Sounds like a good night.
One year I will make it.

Oh and on Craig Bird. I did!!!

[albrotha]

A brilliant night that topped off a great week. All the players spoke so eloquently about the bond that the Swans have. The appreciation for all of the support staff, family, sponsors and fans shows that they are all committed to the team values and vision. The presentation of the number one ticket holder was such a buzz for Mr Macmahon who was genuinely humbled by the unexpected honour. Others have already mentioned the standing ovation for John Longmire but i also thought that awarding one to the timekeeper of tbe seconds was just fantastic. Awards for game milestones included special features for Jude and Adam that were obviouy well deserved. In Josh's acceptance speech he noted all the media references to his footballing family especially in the week prior to the GF but made special mention of the part that his mum has played in keeping him stable. He highlighted the special meals she cooked and the fact that he did not have to speak about football stuff when she was around. Horse wanted to acknowledge the part his wife has played and tried to get her to stand up. It may have not gone down too well as he was quick to point out that he may now be in the bad books. He also thanked Roos and pointed out that he was unable to attend as he had a commitment to celebrate his anniversary. The club also had an agreement that our senior coach could continue his involvement with his son's junior team only if they won the Grand Final. Horse then said he was looking forward to continuing to be the assistant to Leo Barry but may try to swap roles next year as he did not like some of the moves he made. Most improved Jessie got a rounding ovation and had the crowd laughing at his anecdotal comments. Paul Kelly ( you legend) apologised for not wearing his Swans tie and told the story about losing it at some stage of the casino celebrations last Saturday night. He also indicated that he lost a few brain cells.
When the votes were being announced for the Collingwood game the mc made the crowd laugh with his comment "one vote Eddie McGuire".
As commented elsewhere it is a not to be missed night. I met a delightful elderly supporter who was keen to talk about the history of the AFL and his involvement with the Swans. It is great to see so many people just like me getting so much enjoyment out if our GREAT team. An AWESOME night.

[albrotha]

sounds like it was a great night

Have always wanted to go, but being a student it's a bit hard to justify the cost (including hair/dress/make up and not really having anyone who would want to come with me). I will have to save up and go one of these days though!

I am very lucky having my grown up kids arrange a ticket as a Father's Day present. Would love at least one of them to also come with me in future so they can also enjoy the experience.

[Kirkari]

What a great night! Excellent write up, Primmy! Agree with most of your highlights. You may have been too hasty though, Prim, and maybe the boys disappeared for a bit and came back, but there were still lots of them around for ages after the end of official proceedings.

Top moment would be the standing ovation when Horse came to the stage - you could see he was initially surprised, and then when it went on, and on, and built even more, and on... he was clearly really moved. I am sure he is a very secure bloke, but must also be conscious of still being regarded as a stand-in for Paul Roos, but this time the love was all for him.

Next was the whole team getting up to honour Bobby Skilton. What a team of champions. All class.

Would also add JPK's "a lot has been said about my grandfather and my father, but I DO have a mother..." - what a lovely boy. We could see all year how well he was playing, but interesting to see how well he was also following his coaches instructions, based on the voting and those two fantastic 50s. Collingwood got OWNED, Kennedy-style...

Alex Johnson is one boisterous kid. I just love the way he doesn't hold back on expressing his excitement. Doesn't take much looking to find him in the footage of last week and you'll see him lean back and let out a big whoop!

Craig Bird has only been getting better and better since he overcame that foot injury, and as someone has commented before, he wasn't given number 14 for no reason. He's just hitting his straps so look out next year.

Lewis Jetta... He's matured so much this year. Last year he was always polite but clearly shy and always sticking close to the other boys. This time - so warm and relaxed in his manner, and plenty of cheek too.

Leigh Tudor - turns out he doesn't mind a chat, and he couldn't be more proud of his boys!

Jed Lamb - one of my favourites too, Primmy - as you said, was looking very clean-cut and scrubbed up, and always has a dry comment or two.

How crazy is Mal's beard up close?

Food - would disagree on the food. Entree was OK, but followed by the blandest, most repulsive main, with a tasteless beef cheek, sitting on a bit of flabby old polenta, inexplicably topped with a bit of tomato chutney. Had to eat it to avoid embarrassing myself with all the champagne (which I agree was plentiful!), but it was gross. But that's it for negatives!

Many, many more bits of magic. Great end to a great season!

[Go Swannies]

Oh and on Craig Bird. I did!!!

Me too - well I claimed that he'd been Top 10 before because I think he's that integral to the team.

[Xie Shan]

Maybe this is just me, but having had a chance to reflect further on the night I think was a bit over-awed by seeing so many of the players and coaches up close. I was standing not far from Longmire near the end, wanted to say something, even it was just a simple congratulations, but I just got tongue-tied. I think I shook Jude's hand as I was walking out. Perhaps it was because the premiership win was so fresh, I was still a bit in awe of what the guys managed to achieve and wasn't able to properly put my feelings into words at the time. I suppose I just have to go again next year, then!

[Primmy]

Kirky I was trying to be polite about the beef cheeks and decided to take a potshot at the cream quinelle. You have blown my cover. It wasn't up to standard, was it.

And thanks for the word "boisterous" for AJ. I was looking for one but it alluded me. Funny that. Luke is such a 19 going on 30, Dan is such an open hearted sweetie, and AJ still hasn't quite acquired a veneer of sophistication. For someone so cool on the ground, he is definitely not in 'real' life.

Must admit that Lewis' smile kind of melts your heart and he has definitely acquired an easy persona. Actually change that to endearing!

Now I must remember these are footballers and not my nephews and godsons, but....