THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION (PART ONE)

[Demonland 73,140]

by Whispering Jack

Sadly, we now live in the post football age (i.e., beyond the age of football as we once knew it). With less than a week to go before the start of the football season the focus is not on the opening round or the skills and talents of our footballers but rather on the chemical substances that some of them are taking, who supplied them and how the hell are we going to deal (no pun intended) with it all.

When we do take the time to talk about the footy nowadays, it's all about once alien tactics and strategies like "tempo football" and "run and carry". Worse still, these modern day post football age coaches have had the temerity to play around with the game so much that the traditional positions on the ground that were used to characterise a given player's role in the game are also falling by the wayside. I always used to think that one of the most important positions in football (along with that of the ruck) was centre half forward. At some time last year however, I discovered that our coaching geniuses had decided to abolish the position - virtually without any notice to us unsuspecting fans.

That's right! The CHF no longer exists except of course, on those dodgy team lists they produce on a Thursday night which mean nothing and rarely come close to matching the actual line-ups when the teams run out onto the ground at the weekend.

Then there are those pesky rule changes. It seems that every season in this post football age we have to start off with new rules and interpretations imposed on the footballing fraternity by people who seem intent on turning the game into something other than the game we grew to love as kids (i.e. before the post football age).

We all know that by mid season, the rules will be interpreted differently again and by that time, the fans will be so frustrated and confused that there will be no choice but for them to take it out on the usual scapegoats - the poor white maggots who officiate. Really, umpire baiting is probably the one constant of the post football age - we all love to abuse the white maggots except they no longer dress up in white but in such a varying pastiche of colours that we're sometimes not even sure as to who they are as they run around the ground (or, for that matter, what they're doing out there)!

So please forgive me if, in assessing the Demon players on the eve of the new season, I sound a bit confused because I am confused.

How can you assess your players when you don't know from one minute to the next, whether the style of game that's currently in vogue makes any given player a vital cog or totally superfluous to the team's game plan?

These are just some of the issues that confronted me when I sat down to prepare my traditional top ten list of MFC players in advance of the 2007 season. What I'm endeavouring to do here is not so much produce a list of the ten best players at the club - instead, it's my top ten players in order of importance towards the team's quest to win an AFL premiership. In other words, the players who I think can fire the team up to go those few extra long steps forward that are necessary to wrest West Coast's mantle away from them so that David Neitz can stand on the podium at the end of September waving that much coveted piece of silverware over his head. As the erstwhile premiership coach might well be saying at this very moment, I'm looking for the right prescription for success.

Twelve months ago, I bemoaned the fact that the club was still not quite there. The team had faded out late in 2004 after reaching the top at the end of round 18. The fadeout came a little earlier in 2005 but there was enough steely resolve to fight back with desperation in late 2005. Last year, after a poor start, the engine purred until round 17 when a series of injuries brought everything to a screeching halt for almost a month. At least the team won a finals game, although it was fortunate to strike an even more decimated team in St. Kilda in the elimination final.

The club appears to have made an effort to attack the deficiencies exposed in the finals defeats of recent years, the players appear primed to peak at the business end but it all remains so much up in the air. We need the players to perform both individually and as a team.

So here's my top ten. It's totally subjective and, like the people who change the rules of the game, I made a lot of it up as I went along so now I'm ready to cop the usual stream of invective and threatening hate mail. It comes with the territory and, after all, it's only one man's opinion:-

1. Brock McLean Jumper: [5] Date of Birth: 11.03.86, Height: 184 cm, Weight: 86 kg, Recruited from: Calder U18. Selection # 5 - 2003 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2004 Round 11 v Fremantle.

Statistics: 47 games, 479 kicks, 178 marks, 296 handballs, 775 disposals, 25 goals, 11 behinds, 3 hit outs, 163 tackles, 27 frees for, 40 frees against.

What strikes you about this kid is that he has a sense of purpose, is totally focussed on his game and on improving it in every facet. The MFC hasn't had someone of that ilk since ... well, the last game of 1964 when the great Ronald Dale Barassi bowed out of his MFC career (although we didn't know it at the time) clutching a premiership trophy - his sixth as a league footballer.

2. Travis Johnstone [16] 17.07.80 183cm 83 kg Dandenong U18 Selection # 1 - 19997 AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1998 Round 1 v Fremantle.

Statistics: 145 games, 1784 kicks, 530 marks, 610 handballs, 2,394 disposals, 104 goals, 62 behinds, 4 hit out’s, 292 tackles, 119 frees for, 105 frees against.

Trapper is an elite player in terms of talent and skill. It's hard to believe that it's taken almost a decade from him to force his way into elite AFL status but he's there now in my book. His body looks so much stronger these days and I expect this will stand him in good stead in combating the buffeting he inevitably will receive from opposition taggers.

3. Jared Rivers [27] 18.10.84 192cm 92 kg North Adelaide (SA) Selection # 26 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 19 v Geelong.

Statistics: 61 games, 398 kicks, 308 marks, 325 handballs, 723 disposals, 4 goals, 4 behinds, 3 hit outs, 138 tackles, 49 frees for, 40 frees against.

As I said above the position of CHF has disappeared from the game, so what do you need a CHB for? Well, Rivers is more than just a CHB, he's the club's number 1 defender and he's coming back to the sort of form that earned him NAB Rising Star Status in 2004. In fact, he looks so good at the moment that I expect him to transcend that form in 2007. He makes up for a lack of pace with his football nous - he can mark and spoil and his defensive timing is excellent. I really believe that Rivers can become a genuine champion in Melbourne's defence and that's a term I don't use lightly. We can also expect to see him drift forward on occasion to kick goals as he did last year on Queens Birthday against the mortal enemy.

4. Jeff White [34] 19.02.77 195cm 95 kg Southern U18.Fremantle Selection # 1 - 1994 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1995 Round 3 for Fremantle v Fitzroy (32 games). Traded in 1997 for draft selections 2 & 18. MFC Debut 1998 Round 1 v Fremantle (199 games).

Statistics: 231 games, 1884 kicks, 1180 marks, 1381 handballs, 3,265 disposals, 99 goals, 66 behinds, 4,268 hit outs, 326 tackles, 201 frees for, 185 frees against.

The high leaping ruckman's standing in the game was dealt a severe blow by the changes in the ruck centre circle rule a couple of years ago. This forced him to make some changes to his style and even so, he's no longer in the All Australian ruckman class. He gives away a lot of inches to the best in the competition and he can't ruck all day any more. However, there's a huge gape between White and our next best ruckman and that makes his role at the club even more crucial. A solid year from Jeff White is vital to the club's 2007 prospects.

5. Cameron Bruce [32] 30.09.79 190cm 88 kg MHSOB Selection # 64 - 1999 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2000 Round 1 v Richmond.

Statistics: 146 games, 1378 kicks, 704 marks, 998 handballs, 2376 disposals, 173 goals, 116 behinds, 35 hit outs, 337 tackles, 108 frees for, 100 frees against.

A gifted footballer, Bruce's importance will be seen in his versatility and athleticism - he can take out an opposition footballer (I say that in the nicest possible way) and he can also be creative in the midfield and going forward where he can kick goals.

6. David Neitz [9] 22.01.75 191cm 103 kg Parkmore VMFL Zone Selection AFL Debut 1993 Round 1 v Hawthorn.

Statistics: 286 games, 2328 kicks, 1414 marks, 795 handballs, 3123 disposals, 602 goals, 347 behinds, 308 hit outs, 258 tackles, 125 frees for, 197 frees against.

This man holds almost every record of note at the club but is fast running out of opportunities to play in a premiership. He is important because of his experience, leadership and his position as the only true reliable power forward at the club (now that CHF has been abolished). He kicked 66 goals, including bags of eight against St Kilda (Round 10) and the Kangaroos (Round 20) and six against the Hawks (Round 8). He has to stay healthy, kick goals consistently and learn to play (read as "milk") the latest hands on back interpretation when going for the mark. Who knows what might happen if the umpires deal with him as generously as they have with some of the others in the pre season games? He might even create another club record by kicking a ton in a season!

7. Brad Green [18] 13.03.81 184cm 85 kg Tassie U18 Selection # 19 1999 National AFL Draft AFL Debut 2000 Round 2 v North Melbourne.

Statistics: 148 games, 1374 kicks, 673 marks, 739 handballs, 2113 disposals, 194 goals, 107 behinds, 9 hit outs, 271 tackles, 80 frees for, 110 frees against

Green had a reasonably good season in 2006 picking up plenty of possessions in his role as a midfielder but a nasty spur in his foot and other injuries definitely affected his normally reliable kicking skills. A few post season operations now have him back as good as gold and he can build on the improved consistency he showed in 2006. Ready for a big season in 2007.

8. Aaron Davey [36] 10.06.83, 177cm 72 kg Port Melbourne Selection # 3 - 2004 Rookie Draft, 2004 rookie elevation AFL Debut 2004 Round 1 v Hawthorn.

Statistics: 64 games, 582 kicks, 149 marks, 205 handballs, 787 disposals, 95 goals, 67 behinds, 0 hit outs, 184 tackles, 53 frees for, 47 frees against.

The exciting goal kicking crumber has also been given assignments further downfield and lifted last year with the presence of Byron Pickett. That Davey magic is a vital X factor ingredient in the Melbourne make up and if he takes further steps forward in 2007, the team will benefit enormously.

9. Matthew Whelan [45] 13.11.79 180cm 84 kg Woodville – West Torrens (SA) Selection # 50 1999 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2000 Round 4 v St. Kilda.

Statistics: 123 games, 927 kicks, 453 marks, 811 handballs, 1738 disposals, 13 goals, 7 behinds, 2 hit outs, 328 tackles, 106 frees for, 76 frees against.

Whelan's importance in the role of the small, ever-reliable and courageous back pocket player with the ability to win the ball was no better emphasised when he was absent from the team's defence in its semi final defeat at Subiaco. I've said it before and I'll say it again - his presence in defence lifts his teammates and that's a vital element because of the importance of keeping the opposition's score down to a minimum in this post football age.

10. James McDonald [23] 05.10.76 180cm 78 kg Old Xaverians 1997 Rookie Draft 1997 rookie elevation AFL Debut 1997 Round 17 v Collingwood.

Statistics: 177 games, 1720 kicks, 620 marks, 1187 handballs, 2907 disposals, 45 goals, 57 behinds, 27 hit outs, 559 tackles, 196 frees for, 141 frees against

Coming off a stellar season in which he was made an All-Australian and won club best and fairest honours as a hard tackling on baller, finally gaining the recognition in the football community which he so richly deserves. A big possession winner, Junior will remain an important cog in the team's emerging midfield.

That's the top 10 but the right prescription for a team's success cannot be filled by only looking at what's on top of the crop (again, no pun intended). Melbourne is fortunate to have some very exciting emerging talent to back up its elite group and who will hopefully strongly challenge for a place among them by season's end. I'll look at the rest of the players on the list in the coming week.