by Whispering Jack

A week ago they were in the nation's capital vainly seeking to shake down the opposition's thunder from the grey skies and on Sunday they return home as prodigal sons taking on the fighting fury against the odds. For Melbourne these days, it seems that every battle is against the odds.

There's an air of resignation among Demon fans as to their team's likely fate at a time of the season when every week offers up yet another meaningless encounter with little to look forward to except the end of the road that's coming into view somewhere between here and the horizon.

This is the price you pay when you first sign on to be a supporter of a football club. You have to take the bad with the good except if you happen to be fickle and decide to flit off to support whichever club is the winner for the time being. But that's not what being a true supporter entails.

In our case the bad has considerably outweighed the good for quite some time but we continue to live in hope and endure the humiliation of defeat, the injuries to key players, the rotten umpiring decisions and the endless chorus of derision from the rest of the football community. These are all part and parcel of the life of the football tragic - the fine print in the contract almost hidden from view when we make the fateful decision to support a team.

Lawyers will point out the important legal maxim that applies in such cases. It's called "caveat emptor" which loosely translated means "shit happens".

Long suffering supporters of the Melbourne Football Club will tell you that although they have been mired deeply in the poo for a number of decades, the last two or three years have been the hardest to take. The question is always when will it end and when will see our team rise out of the muck and emerge as a true power as we were once upon a time in the '50s and the '60s?

Some argued we had hit rock bottom last year; that we would turn the corner in 2009 but it's transpired that the corner is not so easy to navigate when you have a young side. You take a step or two forward and suddenly you find it's a struggle to maintain forward momentum.

We sensed it would turn out this way even at the very beginning when we ventured down the road to catch a glimpse of what we hoped was a better future for the first intraclub game with the smoke of the bushfires that ravaged the nearby countryside still hanging in the air. We were searching then for something special but what we discovered was that the groundwork for success has to be laid first and for that we need bucket loads of patience.

So that's the message that's been drilled into us continually as we've travelled on roads to grounds both near and far in 2009. They have to learn; to get games into their legs; they need time to gain experience and to get better. It never happens overnight if you want improvement to be meaningful, long lasting and permanent.

And we're patient. We know there's no instant gratification and the better times won't be starting this week or even any time soon and in the meantime we live with caveat emptor.

Shit happens.

THE GAME Melbourne v Richmond at MCG - Sunday 2 August 2009 at 1.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Melbourne 76 wins Richmond 98 wins 2 draws

At the MCG Melbourne 57 wins Richmond 64 wins 1 draw

Since 2000 Melbourne 6 wins Richmond 9 wins

The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Rawlings 0 wins

MEDIA

Fox Sports 1 (live) 12.30 pm

Radio ABC774 SEN

THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.30 Richmond $1.30 to win

LAST TIME THEY MET Richmond 14.16.100 d Melbourne 13.14.92 in Round 4, 2009 at the MCG

THE TEAMS

MELBOURNE

Backs James Frawley Matthew Warnock Kyle Cheney

Half Backs Jack Grimes Jared Rivers Cameron Bruce

Centreline Clint Bartram James McDonald Aaron Davey

Half Forwards Jamie Bennell Michael Newton Lynden Dunn

Forwards Brad Miller Matthew Bate Stefan Martin

Followers Paul Johnson Ricky Petterd Nathan Jones

Interchange Neville Jetta Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Matthew Whelan

Emergencies Simon Buckley Jake Spencer Colin Sylvia

In James Frawley Jack Grimes Neville Jetta Jake Spencer

Out Liam Jurrah (ankle) Jordie McKenzie (calf) Cale Morton (heel) Brent Moloney (groin)

RICHMOND

Backs Jake King Will Thursfield Chris Newman

Half Backs Dean Polo Luke McGuane Matthew White

Centreline Shane Edwards Trent Cotchin Brett Deledio

Half Forwards Robin Nahas Jack Riewoldt Jayden Post

Forwards Nathan Brown Mitch Morton Ben Cousins

Followers Tyrone Vickery Daniel Jackson Richard Tambling

Interchange Tom Hislop Jordan McMahon Kel Moore Adam Pattison

Emergencies Mark Coughlan Alex Rance Shane Tuck

In Kel Moore

Out Jarrod Silvester (knee)

PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Earlier this year I attended a Devil's Advocates function for Demon fans who some connection with the law. They're supposed to be a powerful group comprising judges, lawmakers, barristers and solicitors, legal clerks and law students but while they can contribute financially to the club they can't use their power in other ways to help it move its way up the ladder. That's unfortunate but as they say – caveat emptor.

So we congregated last night at the MCG for the Devil's Advocates annual dinner and with lots of good food and talk. The proceedings compered by avid Demon fan and racing identity Dr Turf who intermingled some amusing racing stories with his knowledge of all things football.

Devil's Advocate organising committee member Ralph Glezer thanked the legal eagles and their guests for assisting with the fundraising for his group's pet project - the sponsorship of specialist coach Kevin Ball, the club's kicking coach and a brilliant biomechanist who is doing some remarkable work at the club. More from him later.

Stand in club president Don McLardy spoke about how Jim Stynes was in Phuket in good spirits and recovering from the initial major surgery and will return refreshed and ready to take up his battle with cancer. Despite the way things might seem the club is making progress both on and off the field. On the field, things are slowly coming together with the young team showing regular improvement as it gains experience. Gains are being made off the field as well with focus on rebuilding the club to bring everyone back into the fold. Our relationship with the MCC is now solid and the club is proceeding with its aim of clearing debt and once this happens it can go on to acquire assets and secure the future.

Chris Connolly was at his effusive best and declared that "next year we'll have youngest list in the competition". He pointed to some of the players in the room who were drafted with first round draft picks - Cale Morton, Jack Grimes and James Frawley, to Aaron Davey (picked up in the rookie draft) and Jamie Bennell (in the '30s in last year's national draft). The club has many young players of quality like Jack Watts and our two recent pre season draft selections in Stef Martin and Liam Jurrah while we have yet to see Sam Blease and James Strauss in action. Later this year, we will gain more young talent. Connolly stressed that all this doesn't necessarily guarantee anything and that as a club we need to do more to ensure that we get the best out of our players. We need to get ahead of the pack.

This was the point where the message of caveat emptor began to sink in. Over the years, Melbourne has been a fractured club. We've been divided, we haven't looked after our own and we haven't done enough to take the lead and be innovative in the quest to become a successful club: to get ahead of the pack. We let it happen.

The fund raising aspect of the Devil's Advocates is helping raise funds for a specific project of securing a specialist to help us at the cutting edge i.e. to make something good happen. Kevin Ball is one of the leaders in the biomechanical field who works on kicking techniques and decision making. He's been at a couple of AFL clubs and also at the Melbourne Storm. He works with the AIS and is developing one of the best kicking programmes in the game - right here with the Demons.

Ball gave a fascinating presentation of his work. He demonstrated some of the state of the art techniques he is using with the players and how he has implemented programmes tailored for each individual aimed at improving kicking style, decision making and judgement. He uses videos, high speed video and 3D analysis to help players move up in skill levels. Ball demonstrated by using a split screen how the kicking styles of players like Cale Morton and Jake Spencer had improved over the past year.

And right there is the answer for those who question why the process of improvement is so slow and why we are being asked to be patient. When you are developing a young list and have no established champions of the competition, innovations such as those being introduced at the club by people such as Kevin Ball that will help it rise. In Connolly's words, they will help us "rise above the pack". But it takes time and in the meantime, we're just going to have to put up with the odd dose of caveat emptor.

Dr. Turf wrapped up the night by interviewing Aaron Davey who put his improved form this year down to a better pre season that helped him improve his fitness base and allowed him to develop his strength - the use of his pace to break the lines. The Flash also described his journey to fulfil the dream of playing AFL by moving from Darwin to Port Magpies (SANFL) to Port Melbourne and finally to the Demons through the rookie draft. There are now 88 indigenous players living their AFL dream. Aaron hopes that one day there will be 200!

James Frawley was a different subject for interview. He told of how he had worked hard on his kicking skills and this year had done a lot of work together with Matty Warnock. His toughest opponent to date has been Buddy Franklin who is so tall and strong. "Chip" has a burning desire to beat the Hawk next time they meet.

Phil Kingston of Gary Peer Estate Agents again took care of the auctioneering and his efforts not only added to the fund raising but entertained those present.

TAMING THE TIGERS?

Which brings me to the preview of the game this week against Richmond, one whose result is hardly relevant in the scheme of things other than in terms of whether or not Melbourne might finish with that coveted priority pick in the draft. The team selection at least points to the fact that this is not the club's uppermost consideration because the return of Colin Sylvia, Grimes and Frawley should serve to considerably bolster the team's stocks against the inform Tigers who felt comfortable enough to leave Matthew Richardson out the side despite his availability after injury.

Much will ride on the improving Richmond midfield and if Cousins, Deledio and Cochin can continue to thrive as they did last week in their upset win over the Bombers they will have won half the battle.

And now my own caveat emptor. I previewed the game between these teams earlier this year and suggested that we were in for a dull affair between two lowly teams and that Richmond would win by 15 points. For that, I copped some stick from some of our readers who were vindicated when the Demons ran out winners by 8 points. Unfettered by all that, I'm selecting the Tigers by 15 points again but if I'm wrong, you know what happens!

by Whispering Jack

A week ago they were in the nation's capital vainly seeking to shake down the opposition's thunder from the grey skies and on Sunday they return home as prodigal sons taking on the fighting fury against the odds. For Melbourne these days, it seems that every battle is against the odds.

There's an air of resignation among Demon fans as to their team's likely fate at a time of the season when every week offers up yet another meaningless encounter with little to look forward to except the end of the road that's coming into view somewhere between here and the horizon.

This is the price you pay when you first sign on to be a supporter of a football club. You have to take the bad with the good except if you happen to be fickle and decide to flit off to support whichever club is the winner for the time being. But that's not what being a true supporter entails.

In our case the bad has considerably outweighed the good for quite some time but we continue to live in hope and endure the humiliation of defeat, the injuries to key players, the rotten umpiring decisions and the endless chorus of derision from the rest of the football community. These are all part and parcel of the life of the football tragic - the fine print in the contract almost hidden from view when we make the fateful decision to support a team.

Lawyers will point out the important legal maxim that applies in such cases. It's called "caveat emptor" which loosely translated means "[censored] happens".

Long suffering supporters of the Melbourne Football Club will tell you that although they have been mired deeply in the poo for a number of decades, the last two or three years have been the hardest to take. The question is always when will it end and when will see our team rise out of the muck and emerge as a true power as we were once upon a time in the '50s and the '60s?

Some argued we had hit rock bottom last year; that we would turn the corner in 2009 but it's transpired that the corner is not so easy to navigate when you have a young side. You take a step or two forward and suddenly you find it's a struggle to maintain forward momentum.

We sensed it would turn out this way even at the very beginning when we ventured down the road to catch a glimpse of what we hoped was a better future for the first intraclub game with the smoke of the bushfires that ravaged the nearby countryside still hanging in the air. We were searching then for something special but what we discovered was that the groundwork for success has to be laid first and for that we need bucket loads of patience.

So that's the message that's been drilled into us continually as we've travelled on roads to grounds both near and far in 2009. They have to learn; to get games into their legs; they need time to gain experience and to get better. It never happens overnight if you want improvement to be meaningful, long lasting and permanent.

And we're patient. We know there's no instant gratification and the better times won't be starting this week or even any time soon and in the meantime we live with caveat emptor.

[censored] happens.

THE GAME Melbourne v Richmond at MCG - Sunday 2 August 2009 at 1.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Melbourne 76 wins Richmond 98 wins 2 draws

At the MCG Melbourne 57 wins Richmond 64 wins 1 draw

Since 2000 Melbourne 6 wins Richmond 9 wins

The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Rawlings 0 wins

MEDIA

Fox Sports 1 (live) 12.30 pm

Radio ABC774 SEN

THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.30 Richmond $1.30 to win

LAST TIME THEY MET Richmond 14.16.100 d Melbourne 13.14.92 in Round 4, 2009 at the MCG

THE TEAMS

MELBOURNE

Backs James Frawley Matthew Warnock Kyle Cheney

Half Backs Jack Grimes Jared Rivers Cameron Bruce

Centreline Clint Bartram James McDonald Aaron Davey

Half Forwards Jamie Bennell Michael Newton Lynden Dunn

Forwards Brad Miller Matthew Bate Stefan Martin

Followers Paul Johnson Ricky Petterd Nathan Jones

Interchange (from) Neville Jetta Brent Moloney Cale Morton Jake Spencer Colin Sylvia Shane Valenti Matthew Whelan

In James Frawley Jack Grimes Neville Jetta Jake Spencer Colin Sylvia

Out Liam Jurrah (ankle) Jordie McKenzie (calf)

RICHMOND

Backs Jake King Will Thursfield Chris Newman

Half Backs Dean Polo Luke McGuane Matthew White

Centreline Shane Edwards Trent Cotchin Brett Deledio

Half Forwards Robin Nahas Jack Riewoldt Jayden Post

Forwards Nathan Brown Mitch Morton Ben Cousins

Followers Tyrone Vickery Daniel Jackson Richard Tambling

Interchange (from) Mark Coughlan Tom Hislop Jordan McMahon Kel Moore Adam Pattison Alex Rance Shane Tuck

In Mark Coughlan Kel Moore Alex Rance Shane Tuck

Out Jarrod Silvester (knee)

PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Earlier this year I attended a Devil's Advocates function for Demon fans who some connection with the law. They're supposed to be a powerful group comprising judges, lawmakers, barristers and solicitors, legal clerks and law students but while they can contribute financially to the club they can't use their power in other ways to help it move its way up the ladder. That's unfortunate but as they say – caveat emptor.

So we congregated last night at the MCG for the Devil's Advocates annual dinner and with lots of good food and talk. The proceedings compered by avid Demon fan and racing identity Dr Turf who intermingled some amusing racing stories with his knowledge of all things football.

Devil's Advocate organising committee member Ralph Glezer thanked the legal eagles and their guests for assisting with the fundraising for his group's pet project - the sponsorship of specialist coach Kevin Ball, the club's kicking coach and a brilliant biomechanist who is doing some remarkable work at the club. More from him later.

Stand in club president Don McLardy spoke about how Jim Stynes was in Phuket in good spirits and recovering from the initial major surgery and will return refreshed and ready to take up his battle with cancer. Despite the way things might seem the club is making progress both on and off the field. On the field, things are slowly coming together with the young team showing regular improvement as it gains experience. Gains are being made off the field as well with focus on rebuilding the club to bring everyone back into the fold. Our relationship with the MCC is now solid and the club is proceeding with its aim of clearing debt and once this happens it can go on to acquire assets and secure the future.

Chris Connolly was at his effusive best and declared that "next year we'll have youngest list in the competition". He pointed to some of the players in the room who were drafted with first round draft picks - Cale Morton, Jack Grimes and James Frawley, to Aaron Davey (picked up in the rookie draft) and Jamie Bennell (in the '30s in last year's national draft). The club has many young players of quality like Jack Watts and our two recent pre season draft selections in Stef Martin and Liam Jurrah while we have yet to see Sam Blease and James Strauss in action. Later this year, we will gain more young talent. Connolly stressed that all this doesn't necessarily guarantee anything and that as a club we need to do more to ensure that we get the best out of our players. We need to get ahead of the pack.

This was the point where the message of caveat emptor began to sink in. Over the years, Melbourne has been a fractured club. We've been divided, we haven't looked after our own and we haven't done enough to take the lead and be innovative in the quest to become a successful club: to get ahead of the pack. We let it happen.

The fund raising aspect of the Devil's Advocates is helping raise funds for a specific project of securing a specialist to help us at the cutting edge i.e. to make something good happen. Kevin Ball is one of the leaders in the biomechanical field who works on kicking techniques and decision making. He's been at a couple of AFL clubs and also at the Melbourne Storm. He works with the AIS and is developing one of the best kicking programmes in the game - right here with the Demons.

Ball gave a fascinating presentation of his work. He demonstrated some of the state of the art techniques he is using with the players and how he has implemented programmes tailored for each individual aimed at improving kicking style, decision making and judgement. He uses videos, high speed video and 3D analysis to help players move up in skill levels. Ball demonstrated by using a split screen how the kicking styles of players like Cale Morton and Jake Spencer had improved over the past year.

And right there is the answer for those who question why the process of improvement is so slow and why we are being asked to be patient. When you are developing a young list and have no established champions of the competition, innovations such as those being introduced at the club by people such as Kevin Ball that will help it rise. In Connolly's words, they will help us "rise above the pack". But it takes time and in the meantime, we're just going to have to put up with the odd dose of caveat emptor.

Dr. Turf wrapped up the night by interviewing Aaron Davey who put his improved form this year down to a better pre season that helped him improve his fitness base and allowed him to develop his strength - the use of his pace to break the lines. The Flash also described his journey to fulfil the dream of playing AFL by moving from Darwin to Port Magpies (SANFL) to Port Melbourne and finally to the Demons through the rookie draft. There are now 88 indigenous players living their AFL dream. Aaron hopes that one day there will be 200!

James Frawley was a different subject for interview. He told of how he had worked hard on his kicking skills and this year had done a lot of work together with Matty Warnock. His toughest opponent to date has been Buddy Franklin who is so tall and strong. "Chip" has a burning desire to beat the Hawk next time they meet.

Phil Kingston of Gary Peer Estate Agents again took care of the auctioneering and his efforts not only added to the fund raising but entertained those present.

TAMING THE TIGERS?

Which brings me to the preview of the game this week against Richmond, one whose result is hardly relevant in the scheme of things other than in terms of whether or not Melbourne might finish with that coveted priority pick in the draft. The team selection at least points to the fact that this is not the club's uppermost consideration because the return of Colin Sylvia, Grimes and Frawley should serve to considerably bolster the team's stocks against the inform Tigers who felt comfortable enough to leave Matthew Richardson out the side despite his availability after injury.

Much will ride on the improving Richmond midfield and if Cousins, Deledio and Cochin can continue to thrive as they did last week in their upset win over the Bombers they will have won half the battle.

And now my own caveat emptor. I previewed the game between these teams earlier this year and suggested that we were in for a dull affair between two lowly teams and that Richmond would win by 15 points. For that, I copped some stick from some of our readers who were vindicated when the Demons ran out winners by 8 points. Unfettered by all that, I'm selecting the Tigers by 15 points again but if I'm wrong, you know what happens!

WJ - As usual succinct and entertaining. I hope you are right re Tiges.

Thank god you were right WJ. And thank you Jordan McMahon. Caveat Emptor Tigers.