Bill Allan, the founder of Allan Bros Jewellers, has come across many valuable items in his time, but there are some things in life on which no monetary amount can be placed.

The Melbourne Football Club's 57-year drought-breaking 2021 premiership fits the latter category.

So overwhelmed with the events of last night, Mr Allan was compelled to spend the bright Sunday morning walking around the lake and taking in a coffee to clear out the proverbial cobwebs and bring himself back to reality.

"I felt good on this one," Mr Allan said of the lead-up to the game.

"They beat Brisbane easily; they gave Geelong an absolute toweling. To win by 12 or 13 goals in the Grand Final when the authorities thought it was going to be a close game was absolutely huge."

Despite an atypical situation in Victoria for the second consecutive year, Mr Allan still managed to cherish the occasion with his partner.

"I was at home. We couldn't have friends because the the current circumstances," he said.

"We cooked ourselves a nice dinner, a bottle of wine, steak. The pre-match entertainment was good, half-time was great too, it was all good."

Just as herculean captain Max Gawn acknowledged tragic figures in Melbourne's recent past after the game, Mr Allan was thrilled for Melbourne icons.

"The ones I feel ecstatic for are the late Jim Stynes, who played his heart out; Neale Daniher, it's amazing to still be alive with the fight he has had with MND; and Ron Barassi, the captain in 1964," Mr Allan said.

"There's three characters put their heart and soul into the Melbourne Football Club."

Mr Allan has been fortunate to witness two Melbourne premierships having been in attendance in 1964.

"It's quite amazing. It is 57 years, but I can remember the last 10 minutes of the game," Mr Allan said.

"I've been around a while. I can remember the last one very, very clearly as a young fella."

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Mr Allan attended the 1964 Grand Final with a neighbour, an MCC member, who knew the youngster was a Melbourne fan as he was always out the front of the house kicking the football around.

The neighbour took Mr Allan as a guest and they sat in the old members stand which was levelled for the 2006 Commonwealth Games

"(When the final siren went) I wasn't looking at the ground," Mr Allan recalled.

"I was trying to work out how the hell I was going to get out of this grandstand without it falling in on top of me!

"The whole thing was wooden; most of the members those days were Melbourne and Collingwood; the whole thing absolutely shook.

"I'm looking for where the door is, where the stairs are, and everybody else is looking at the ground, cheering and shouting, applauding, or crying if they were Collingwood supporters."

While the happiness stemming from Saturday night remains palpable, Mr Allan is keeping one eye on the future with dreams of successes to come.

"The club has had its ups and downs, but looking at this team and what they've done in the three finals matches, I really think they might be around for a little while which I am hoping," he said.

"I am dying to get down to that big ground down the road, the MCG, in front of 100,000 people, which hopefully we might be able to do next year.

"That would be great."

For Mr Allan and tens of thousands of Melbourne supporters, patience is a virtue.

"It's taken a long, long while, but all good things come to those who wait," Mr Allan said.

A Ballarat local and his wife were two of very few from east lucky enough to be present at the 2021 AFL Grand Final.

Stephen Bigarelli was supporting Melbourne as a result of his father-in-law's devotion to the club.

His son and grandchildren are also Demons fans.

Mr Bigarelli retired from his job with the City of Ballarat on 9 July and he and his wife started an Australian travel odyssey on the 14 July.

In hindsight, this was a great escape from pandemic-ravaged Victoria.

The Bigarellis' initial plan was to drive to Cape York, but a Queensland lockdown led to a detour to the Northern Territory and then, down the west coast, to Perth.

Family connections resulted in access to rare tickets and attendance at the 'Big Dance'.

"It was amazing," said Mr Bigarelli, describing the occasion.

"It's 60,000 compared to the MCG, but, because it's smaller, you can see everything.

"We spoke to a lot of people who are West Coast supporters, but they just adopted a side for the night.

"It was a real mixture of Melbourne and Bulldogs supporters, probably more Melbourne, it was hard to get Melbourne merchandise."

Even though Melbourne's triumph was ultimately a landslide, there were moments of substantial doubt when the Bulldogs, led by a powerful Marcus Bontempelli, struck back in the second quarter.

"We were a little bit worried, like most people," Mr Bigarelli said.

"(Melbourne) started well, but the Dogs came out of nowhere."

The Bigarellis will begin their return journey on Monday and plan to be in Victoria in mid-October, having been outrunning lockdowns and restrictions throughout their journey.

"It's hard to believe what's going on in Victoria, but we're looking forward to (crossing the Nullarbor)," Mr Bigarelii said.

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