Kate Rafi wrote a letter to the Melbourne fellows ahead of the aflw round 1 and AFL finals dear members it's an incredibly exciting time for our club first of all I would like take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude each and every one of you are loyal and passionate members we officially hit the 70 000 membership Milestone on Monday congratulations I can say Melbourne is now a great club we should all be very proud to belong to Melbourne Football Club we are in a great situation and it was your loyalty spirit and unwavering support that got us to this point together we are writing a new chapter in the rich history of our club and I hope each of you will be incredibly proud to belong to this amazing club tonight well witness a historic event as we unveil our first aflw title flag achieving ultimate success in season seven of the AFL women's competition this win 2022 after our AFL men's Premiership in 2021 makes Melbourne first Club history to win both the men's and women's Flags since start of aflw competitions this will be another Unforgettable moment in the history of our nightclub and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Icon Park I know aflw playgroup coaches are incredibly grateful for all your support I urge all of members supporters to stand behind women in red blue defend brand as we begin anew season mantle is reigning Prime Ministers our AFL team will be attending the AFL finals for the third consecutive week next week our goal at start of season was to finish in top four and get a double chance and team has done it three years in a row Melbourne is only Club to have finished in the top four for past three years and it's a significant achievement this is a testament the unwavering dedication and hard work of our players coaches and staff who continue to show an extraordinary commitment to our club IM incredibly excited to be joining the demon loyalists at the MCG Thursday night I know our players want to see and hear powerfully as our demon fills the stands with red and blue as he prepares for a tough but exciting AFL finals challenge at the MCG C demons are also starting their Premiership defense following their 2022 success and are guaranteed a spot in the vfl finals last week this Saturday fell take the field in a critical elimination final against footscray the stakes are high for this game so if you can go to Box Hill oval and cheer for rkc demons as we prepare to cheer for our strong teams off the pitch I also wanted to provide a board update first of all I would like to express my deepest gratitude and gratitude to Steve Morris and Mohan jesudasen who will end their board memberships at end of the season in accordance with directorial tenure restrictions we have recently implemented Steve and Mohan have made significant contributions to the club as managers both served as Club vice presidents chair of board committees Steve chaired our investment C