EVERY Saturday morning at 6.45am sharp, a group of famous Demons from yesteryear meet at the top of Anderson Street Hill to run a lap or two of The Tan.  The names change each week, but the Melbourne Football Club past players' run club operates rain, hail or shine. 

The run club was the brainchild of David Neitz and Clint Bizzell back in 2009 to help stay connected. This group of former Demons don't, as much as it hurts, have premiership reunions to bring players from the 1990s and 2000s back together. Instead, they have this, and they love it.  

Rod Grinter played 134 games for Melbourne and is now the president of Melbourne's past players and officials association. 'Balls' logs every running session on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet: who runs, who shouts breakfast, who is due to be shouted breakfast. He is the glue that connects the past with the present. 

Eight to 10 participants turn up to jog around the Royal Botanic Gardens each week. Guy Rigoni, Ben Holland, Stephen Powell, Chris Heffernan and Alastair Nicholson have also been there this year, while Brock McLean, Andrew Leoncelli, Brad Green, Russell Robertson, Anthony Ingerson and Steven Febey have all been involved in previous years. 

They run together and then sit down for breakfast on Domain Road. But one morning a few years back was unlike any other in the history of the MFC PP running group. 

Paul Hopgood put the word out in the group chat. There was a special guest appearance: Neale Daniher was joining that Saturday. And 'The Reverend' was shouting breakfast for whoever turned up. Get down for it. 

Daniher coached Melbourne between 1998 and 2007 and was an integral figure in the lives of many of this group of past Demons. They would have turned up regardless of who was paying, but a whopping 30 people showed up that day, much to the dismay of Daniher, who grudgingly handed over his credit card to pay in the most memorable edition of a run club that is now in its 18th year.

"At the time, we were catching up with Neale quarterly, but we wanted him to come to the running group one morning and stay involved. He said to the group: I'm in for the running group and it's my shout for breakfast," Hopgood recalled this week.

"So we got every one of the boys. And we average probably 10 a week. There's probably 30 that have been there along the way. But we had full attendance that day. Thirty turned up once they all knew it was his shout for breakfast. 

"He had asked me how many we actually get there. I said between eight and 12, you know, it sort of varies on a good morning or a bad morning, depends with school sport or whatever. He goes, oh yeah, OK, no dramas.

"And then to see his face, it was just absolutely priceless. When they bill turned up, we're all sitting around the table all ordering lattes and extra coffees and extra breakfasts. Then he got called out to pay. Watching him hand that credit card across the register was one of the fondest memories for all of us – to get one back on the old coach who had stitched us all up in some way, shape or form along the way."

Alistair Nicholson is now CEO of the AFL Coaches Association, but he spent a decade at the Demons, playing in the 2000 Grand Final loss to Essendon. That was as close as any of this group got to experiencing the ultimate success. 

Without premierships, there are no reunions. Family and work commitments haven't allowed Nicholson to be there frequently on Saturday mornings this year, but he is adamant the running group has kept this group connected.

"This is what I think a lot about it and you've gone straight there. When you're playing, the camaraderie and the connection to just a unique experience of playing AFL is fantastic. And you sort of know it at the time. That's why I think some guys find it hard to leave and retire and move on," Nicholson said.

"This brings people that maybe didn't win a premiership – but it doesn't mean you don't have a shared history, and that history is good, bad and ugly and all that, but it is shared together. Maybe because we lost a grand final, this was something we always sort of wanted; a way to keep those ties together. Not winning a flag doesn't mean the history isn't there."

Grinter organises a handful of functions at the MCG each season. Every past player, official and their guests are welcome. A newsletter is also sent out every quarter. Those events connect those who have worn the jumper with those who wear it now. But the run club provides a place to help former teammates who really need it. 

"It is great for connecting blokes who have got the same sort of history and connection with our footy club. But from a mental health point of view, it's been really great to be able to sit down over a coffee instead of catching up over a beer and all of a sudden those conversation stays relevant and don't go off track," Grinter said.

"We've had a couple of health issues with a few of the boys that are in our group that have expressed their issues over breakfast and we've been able to get around and support them through, personal or family stuff that comes up. It's just a great way of keeping everybody together."

Grinter has been president for the past 11 years and on the committee for almost 20. On the first Friday of every December he organises a Christmas drink at a pub. This year will be the 24th edition of Balls' ACU (Annual Catch-Up). Playing for Melbourne was special to him, which is why he wants to keep every past player, regardless of how many games they played, connected to a club that means so much to him. 

"I'm sure this goes along with the other guys that actually come: we love each other's company and we're linked through an experience in our lives that was pretty special playing AFL footy for the Melbourne footy club. We've got that connection and we're always going to be linked," Grinter said.

"One of the things that not a lot of us in this group experienced would be what a premiership would give you. You've got that link for the rest of your life. So what I say is we've got something special that we played with the Melbourne footy club, whether that be in the under-19s, seconds or you've played 300 games or you played one game, we treat everybody the same. Everybody has got that same link."

Daniher's courageous and inspirational fight against motor neurone disease provided his former players with a constant reason to stay connected. That hasn't changed since his passing in May. Hopgood and Neitz spoke at his funeral.  

The 2021 premiership during the pandemic also galvanised the running group at a time when Victoria was locked down. Now the Demons have surged to a surprise finals appearance in Steven King's first season in charge.

"I think Neale and his journey really bonded us. We had a reason and a cause to support Fight MND, and we've raised a lot of money and worked our way through that and supported him over 13 years. We caught up a lot and were there for each other. This year has been a really challenging one, that's for sure, Hopgood said.

"But then on-field, I think Kingy is fresh, open, authentic is the word. He has made the footy club a footy club again. I'm not saying that it wasn't a footy club, mind you, but it's just got that real footy club feel about it and that inclusivity, which we've worked really hard to make sure that past players can get to a game and stay connected with the club."

Many of the names above will have already been to The Tan by the time you read this. Then 12 hours later, they will be just down the road at the MCG to watch their beloved Demons in a wildcard final against Carlton. And win or lose, they will be back next Saturday morning at 6.45am.