DAVID Neitz says the Norm Smith curse is real, and yet it wasn’t just the event of Smith's sacking in 1965 that sent Melbourne into a spiral. Another departure, one before then, might have been even more damaging.

After lifting the cup aloft in '64, then-captain Ron Barassi departed the Dees for Carlton. The image (above) of that silverware held above the legend's head is the last moment of glory in Melbourne's history.

NOW STREAMING Grand Final Fever in AFL ON DEMAND

Fast forward 57 years, and with a current crop looking more capable than ever of putting an end to that pain, now, incredibly, you can re-live how that gripping Grand Final unfolded.

Available in extended-highlights form, the Dees’ thrilling four-point victory over Collingwood in the 1964 decider is now available to stream in AFL On Demand.

And that’s not all.

NOW STREAMING Grand Final Fever in AFL ON DEMAND

For fans wanting to immerse themselves further in the historical Dees-Dogs flavour ahead of next weekend’s showpiece, you can watch extended colour vision from 10 years earlier, when Melbourne and the Bulldogs contested the Grand Final in 1954 with the great EJ Whitten lining up for the red, white and blue.

NOW STREAMING Grand Final Fever in AFL ON DEMAND