Dees fans celebrate a day 57 years in the making

Melbourne ended a 57-year drought on Saturday night by defeating the Western Bulldogs in what fans have described as a “dream come true”.

The victory some fans had waited their whole lives to witness came via Perth, where the grand final had to be played due to the ongoing lockdown that has crippled Melbourne and denied the city hosting the jewel in the AFL crown.

Angus Brayshaw’s father Mark Brayshaw, a former Melbourne player himself, said his son was “thrilled”.

“He wasn’t particularly coherent the first time I spoke to him but it was very clear to me he knew, and [the team] knew just how enormous it was,” he said.

Mark Brayshaw told ABC Radio Melbourne that Angus was “on cloud nine” when they spoke and he urged his son to “savour the moment”.

“So many fans would be waking up this morning and feeling like a million dollars,” he said.

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Back in Melbourne, some supporters gathered outside the MCG to celebrate the win in a socially distanced way.

“It’s like a dream come true; to watch us break a 57-year drought … it’s just good to see Melbourne supporters happy as Larry,” one Dees fan said.

Another beaming fan said he was in tears when he realised what was about to happen.

“I think I was crying with five minutes left to in the game,” he said.

The historic victory was something many fans had waited their whole lives for.

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“I think over the last 18 years of my life it’s just been so difficult because as a little kid going to games, along with 10,000 other Melbourne supporters, getting belted by Hawthorn and other teams, like Essendon,” one fan said.

“It hurt as a kid, but after all those years, I think this was really the season — it was just unbelievable … The last goal at the end, when the siren and all that, yeah it definitely summed up the season and was an absolute high and one to remember, certainly.”

Many Dees fans were out in force at The Tan on Sunday to celebrate the victory many dared to believe would happen.

Will said he was glad Melbourne was “back on top”.

“I’m just so happy to be a Melbourne supporter,” he said.

He said it would have been much better if the final was played in Melbourne, “but we are just so happy we got the win”.

Phoebe Rothfield said it was a “massive win”.

She could recall games where Melbourne were thrashed but said true supporters “never stopped wearing the scarf and going to the games”.

“We knew the day would come. It was a feeling of relief last night,” he said.

Belle and Luke Healy were catching up in person for the first time in a long time.

Luke said their father Greg Healy played for Melbourne so the family had “lived and breathed the club,” he said.

“It’s been a long 57 years for some people … [the win] is more for them than us,” he said.

Belle said the game was nerve-wracking.

“Halftime we weren’t in very good spirits, but to see that comeback in the last quarter was electrifying — best day of our lives, I’d say,” she said.

Family celebration

At the western edge of Victoria, Paul and Cath McDonald celebrated their son Tom being on the winning side.

Tom, who kicked the game’s last goal, hails from Edenhope, population 1,000.

The farming family also has Oscar, a Carlton midfielder, and Sasha, a Casey Demons netballer, among its protégés.

Paul says he is proud of all his children and is grateful they put to use all the time he and Cath invested during their childhoods.

“We drove them here there and everywhere, we’ll never know how many k’s we’ve done to Ballarat and Melbourne,” he says.

The family has received calls from grateful Melbourne supporters across the country in the past 24 hours.

The last Edenhope resident to play a grand final was Reg Burgess, whose Bombers lost to Melbourne in 1957 and 1959.

Now 87, Reg says he’s relieved for Tom.

“I wish I’d won one; I think a lot about if I could have done more and if it could have made a difference,” he says.

Source: AFL NEWS ABC