Neitz one of the Demons' greatest
19/05/2008 11:19 AM
is the No.1 full-forward in the competition.
That year was the highpoint of Neitz's career from an individual perspective when he not only won the Coleman Medal as the season's leading goalkicker with 75 goals (82 including finals) - the first Melbourne player to top the league's goalkicking since 1947 - but that season was also named in the All-Australian side for the second time and won his only best and fairest award.
Two years earlier he had led Melbourne into only its second grand final since its last premiership win in 1964 in his first year as captain while in all he has been Melbourne's leading goalkicker on seven occasions - again the most in the club's history.
And while Neitz might have failed to lead Melbourne to a premiership and his farewell season may even yet end with a wooden spoon, that should not be held against him.
After all, it has been some 44 years since the Demons last saluted and Neitz has come as close as anyone since then to ending the drought by leading Melbourne to the 2000 grand final.
And remember during his 16 years with the club the Demons have played in the finals on seven occasions with five of them coming once Neitz became captain in 2000.
Now all that remains is for one of the genuine nice guys of the AFL to be given the kind of farewell he deserves.