Best and Fairest Count

[joemoore12]

Wow. Anyone who needs to restore their faith after last Saturday, needs to watch whatever they can from last night's B & F. Very emotionally charged night, the boys are hurting and they're determined to make things right next year. Let's get behind them, they will need us all.

[floppinab]

Fantastic to see Lockett there, for someone who doesn't like the limelight he spoke really well. Needs to lay off the pies though!!!

Loved Kelly's speech as well, they should put that up on SwansTV.

[stellation]

Youngest since Micky O in 1998. I think O'Loughlin was around 4 months younger. Both were in their 4th years.

Right you are, Michael pips him by 4 months- not bad company. From a quick look he's the second youngest since the move to Sydney.

[dimelb]

That was the cathartic couple of hours I needed....My malaise has lifted.

Just like all the players who went on stage tonight said.... I can't wait for our shot at redemption.,

Fantastic to see Plugger again in the Swans fold. I sensed it gave the club a real lift.

Congrats Swans on a much needed uplifting night.....Bring on 2015.

Same here ernie. Paul Kelly, LRT (the chant rang out) and ROK were wonderful contributors too. It was a great night, wouldn't have missed it for quids, and moved our vision from last week to next year.

[Meg]

Same here ernie. Paul Kelly, LRT (the chant rang out) and ROK were wonderful contributors too. It was a great night, wouldn't have missed it for quids, and moved our vision from last week to next year.

Is anyone who was there in person able give us a brief idea of the atmosphere from the point of view of sitting at a table? Those of us who watched online certainly caught the emotion of the speeches and presentations but it was difficult to get much feel of what the mood beyond that was.

In particular, did you feel you got any better understanding of what went so badly wrong at the GF?

[dimelb]

Is anyone who was there in person able give us a brief idea of the atmosphere from the point of view of sitting at a table? Those of us who watched online certainly caught the emotion of the speeches and presentations but it was difficult to get much feel of what the mood beyond that was.

In particular, did you feel you got any better understanding of what went so badly wrong at the GF?

Meg, in a word, no.

Horse said we couldn't judge a team by one game, that they were doing the hard task of learning from experience, and so on. Somebody said Lake wouldn't have tried his stuff on Plugger or BBBarry; true I think, and interesting to think that the missing position in our side might be "enforcer"! One on our table said the difference was that Hawthorn had more GF experience than we had; again true, but I wouldn't have thought that much more, and look what Langford did.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they did/do their review/s of the game but I suspect we'll have to wait for Teddy's memoirs or some such before we find out.

[Meg]

Thanks Don. Ah, just the thought of future Ted memoirs has cheered me up no end. What a read they will be!

[Primmy8]

Best moment for me was Kizz getting all 1,000 to stand, turn to the next person and give the. A hug. Just lifted the night.

[Bindo]

I thought the mood improved as the night went on, especially watching the highlights of each game and seeing how good they really were throughout the season (except on the day that counted of course). Plugger being there was fantastic, seeing Buddy in awe of him while accepting the Coleman was great.
ROK had nearly everyone crying along with him; such a heartfelt speech

Re what happened on the day, no real insights, except that Horse did say on Tuesday, they will all sit down together and watch the whole game. There was a collective groan from the room of 1,000 people when that came out! I'm still not convinced that Shaw and Goodes have made the right decision and hope Horse is ruthless if they go downhill.

[Doctor]

It was an absolutely fantastic night. I'll run through a few things, but I got home at 3am having been out until 1am the night before, and am exhausted, so forgive me if I miss anything! Not sure what the protocol is about talking about the event, and I don't have anything controversial to report anyway, but I'll just mention a few things that certainly won't breach anyone's privacy.

- The venue was great. I was stunned at home big a room it was and that we filled it. The whole event was run extremely professionally, with the possible exception of the Life Member presentations, which went on too long. No taking away from those deserved recipients, it just needed to be tighter. Food was great but there wasn't enough. Red wine was good as was the beer but who still makes the table white a chardonnay? Does anyone drink that anymore?
- I thought Adam Spencer was excellent. He actually asked questions and his approach had the right balance between acknowledging that we'd lost last week but recognising that it was about the whole season
- The players were generally in a reflectively positive mood. You could tell that there are a few of them who are struggling harder with getting over the result than others though, which is understandable.
- Longmire's speech was superb, as was Ireland's. The gasp around the room when Horse talked about the team watching the replay of the GF was amazing.
- Shaw's comment about his old club was the zinger of the night
- Without doubt Plugger's appearance and speech was the highlight of the evening for me. Even better was that he stayed around long after it had finished to get photos with the fans, chat to the players and the supporters and he was so upbeat and friendly. You could see what a buzz it was for the players too. I got a photo with him just after Gaz did and he was just as chuffed as I was I reckon. You could also see one of the reasons why he took so many great grabs - his hands are enormous!
- Lots of the players and staff hung around afterwards to mingle with each other and the supporters, although some left pretty quickly. I had a nice chat with Andrew Ireland, who is a very genuine man, and a chat with the always awesome Micky O and Nick Davis. Paul Kelly was also very nice and took a photo with us, although one of my friends thinks that she may have accidentally taken his beer! haha
- Big thanks to Sam Reid, who helped me work out how to take the best selfie with him that we could, and for taking it for me because his arms are longer! Gaz was also very helpful with a friend's camera.

Overall it was the perfect way to get positive about the club and our players again. My love for the club, the team and everyone involved in it is way back up into the stratosphere where it usually is. I'd say "bring on 2015" but the players deserve a break, so I won't do that. I'm looking forward to it though!

[Primmy]

Thanks Doc. Always look forward to the "I was there" feedback.

[Mel_C]

Loved seeing the video of Plugger and Buddy. That's the most I've heard Plugger say ever!

Does anyone know if Mal was there?

[RogueSwan]

...
Overall it was the perfect way to get positive about the club and our players again. My love for the club, the team and everyone involved in it is way back up into the stratosphere where it usually is. I'd say "bring on 2015" but the players deserve a break, so I won't do that. I'm looking forward to it though!

RogueSwan likes this

[Jewels]

Loved seeing the video of Plugger and Buddy. That's the most I've heard Plugger say ever!

Does anyone know if Mal was there?

Why wouldn't he be?

[Melbourne_Blood]

Brilliant move to get plugger there, smart cookies at our club