An amused Miers/Messi walked next to him,letting the sign,and his dressed-up pal,do all the talking.

Whateley – live on air on SEN at the time – reacted to the costumes with mock offence,particularly noting the wig perched atop of Holmes’ head. “He’s got very grey hair,” Whateley said. “That’s a bit of a setback for a Monday morning.”

Over at Tigerland,Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt had the last laugh on his former coach Damien Hardwick.

The recently retired Riewoldt took aim at Hardwick,whoretired from the Tigers mid-season,saying the club needed a new voice.

“I’ve pushed every button I can and I’ve tried to cook the sausages 1000 ways,” Hardwick said just a few months before he bobbed up earlier this month,signing a six-year deal to coach the Gold Coast Suns.

Dressed in a Gold Coast Suns visor,apron and polo,Riewoldt posed with his own sausages in a fry pan,making jest of Dimma’s short-lived coaching break.

Back in Geelong,those who made their way to the cafe – the kind of place Geelong retirees frequent on a Monday morning,for a cappuccino – did not seem as invested in the Cats’ festivities.

“Didn’t kill myself this year with the dress-up,” Zach Tuohy admitted sheepishly,dressed in a black tracksuit set and red reindeer ears.

Aftera season-ending loss to St Kilda,it’s perhaps no surprise this year’s theatrics were more subdued than last year’s celebrations.

On that occasion,about 11 months ago,the Cats’ playerswalked into the same cafe as 2022 premiers,many of them hobbling out of a retirement village mini-van dressed as their elderly alter-egos.

It was their way of gently returning fire at the critics who’d questioned the age of the club’s list before it became the oldest team to win an AFL premiership.

Many of the other arrivals this year were a mix of old and new pop culture references:a gaggle ofHarry Potter characters;Homer and Marge ofThe Simpsons;three Kens from the wildly successfulBarbie film;and Ted Lasso and Coach Beard from the wholesome sports comedy-dramaTed Lasso.

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