In the middle of the 1965 season, the wise heads at Melbourne sacked their six-time premiership coach.
The curse of Norm Smith was born, and the Demons went without a premiership for 57 years.
In 2024, three years after they won a drought-breaking premiership in Perth, a curse of a different form descended on the club, one, again, seemingly self-administered.
Christian Petracca suffered serious injuries to his ribs and spleen in the King’s Birthday clash.Credit: Getty Images
There have been court cases, senator statements and sports integrity investigations to keep the spotlight on the club in the past three seasons.
The legal battle between club directors and former president Glen Bartlett remains unresolved, as does the Federal Court hearing on governance issues.
On Monday, a year will have passed since Joel Smith returned an adverse analytical finding on game …