Editing Ron Barassi (section)

===Melbourne years===
[[File:Ted Whitten Ron Barassi.jpg|thumb|left|Barassi (right) and [[Western Bulldogs|Footscray]]'s [[Ted Whitten]] during a 1954 match]]
Melbourne Football Club was the dominant team of the 1950s.<ref name="sahof.org.au"/> Under the coaching of Norm Smith, Barassi developed quickly.<ref name="sahof.org.au"/> Barassi's first game was against [[Footscray Football Club|Footscray]] in [[1953 VFL season|1953]] in which he was shirtfronted by Footscray's [[Charlie Sutton]].<ref name="obituary"/> Initially unsure as to Barassi's best position, Smith played him as a second ruckman in [[1954 VFL season|1954]] despite his lack of size for the position. Barassi played more as a second rover, and the term "ruck-rover" entered the football lexicon.<ref name="sahof.org.au"/> Within a few years, most teams imitated this structure, which ultimately paved the way for a new style of quicker on-ball play.<ref name="fullpointsfooty.net">{{cite web|title=BIOGRAPHIES [Ba-Be]|publisher=fullpointsfooty.net|url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/b.htm#Ron%20Barassi%20junior%20(Melbourne,%20Carlton,%20Port%20Melbourne,%20North%20Melbourne,%20Sydney)|access-date=28 September 2010|archive-date=10 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110040524/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/b.htm#Ron%20Barassi%20junior%20(Melbourne,%20Carlton,%20Port%20Melbourne,%20North%20Melbourne,%20Sydney)|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Barassi soon proved himself as an influential footballer, and he was quickly handed leadership responsibilities. In [[1957 VFL season|1957]], he was appointed vice-captain, and he was made captain three years later.<ref name="sahof.org.au"/> After losing the [[1954 VFL grand final|1954 Grand Final]] to a more experienced Footscray football team by 51 points, the Demons dominated the VFL by winning three successive flags in [[1955 VFL grand final|1955]], [[1956 VFL grand final|1956]], and [[1957 VFL grand final|1957]], with the team at the time hailed as the best to ever play the game.<ref name="sahof.org.au"/> The image of Barassi breaking a tackle in the 1957 Grand Final is captured in [[Jamie Cooper]]'s painting ''The Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.<ref>Australian Football League, [http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/150MomentsArticle/tabid/11382/Default.aspx?newsId=55972# The Game That Made Australia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419120046/http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/150MomentsArticle/tabid/11382/Default.aspx?newsId=55972 |date=19 April 2013 }}, Retrieved 19 September 2010</ref>