Demonland

After two years on the Western Bulldogs supplementary list Powell was promoted to their senior side and played 30 games in three years - 21 of them coming in 1999. After 80 games for the Reserves over four years he finally found himself a regular spot, playing 21 straight games for the top four Dogs. Given his emergence after years on the list it was a surprise that the Bulldogs then agreed to trade him to Melbourne at the end of the year in exchange for the #35 pick in that year's draft. Seen as a replacement for the retired Todd Viney, Powell continued his good form with a breakout 2000 season in which he finished fourth in the Best and Fairest and was one of the best in his side's disappointing Grand Final loss. At the end of the 2000 season he underwent an operation for Osteitis Pubis and a slow recovery that was initially supposed to see him miss the first few weeks of the season saw him eventually missed all of 2001. Powell returned for the 2002 season and was once again one of his side's best. After a pay-dispute at the end of the 2003 season Powell walked out on Melbourne and was picked up for free by the St Kilda with the first selection of the pre-season draft. He remained with the Saints until 2006 when he retired. http://demonwiki.org/Stephen+Powell Jumper Season Club GA K M H D G B HO T FF FA BV 29 1997 Western Bulldogs 3 25 16 8 33 2 2 0 0 0 3 0 29 1998 Western Bulldogs 6 48 11 38 86 3 3 0 13 5 2 0 29 1999 Western Bulldogs 21 249 92 157 406 16 16 0 27 12 25 4 7 2000 Melbourne 25 339 109 240 579 32 20 1 29 20 22 3 7 2002 Melbourne 19 184 59 147 331 11 7 3 32 13 10 3 17 2003 St. Kilda 22 256 117 202 458 17 10 1 45 9 14 3 17 2004 St. Kilda 20 199 65 146 345 9 6 0 58 12 14 3 17 2005 St. Kilda 16 115 50 149 264 4 5 0 46 17 14 0 17 2006 St. Kilda 10 70 36 67 137 0 3 0 29 8 13 0 Totals 142 1485 555 1154 2639 94 72 10 279 96 117 16 Avg/Game 15.8 10.5 3.9 8.1 18.6 0.7 0.5 0.1 2.0 0.7 0.8

FREAKISH Jeff Garlett had a great season highlighted by his lightning speed and some freakish goals. He must have been close to All Australian selection although his form tapered off a little right at the end. Date of Birth: 3 August, 1989 Height: 180cm Weight: 75kg Games MFC 2017: 21 Career Total: 167 Goals MFC 2017: 42 Career Total: 294 Season 2017 AFL Statistics Kicks: 171 Handballs: 65 Disposals: 236 Marks: 56 Scores: 42 goals 28 behinds Goal Assists: 16 Tackles: 74 Hitouts: 0 Clearances: 8 Clangers: 33 Inside 50s: 51 Rebound 50s: 7 Frees For: 17 Frees Against: 9

NOT QUITE THERE There were times during the year when he dominated at VFL level and came close to selection for Melbourne but he never quite got there. The drinking indiscretion after the Box Hill game came at the worst time as he must have been close at that stage of the season. Date of Birth: 3 March, 1994 Height: 175cm Weight: 78kg Games MFC 2017: 0 Career Total: 40 Goals MFC 2017: 0 Career Total: 28 CDFC Games 2017: 18 CDFC Goals 2017: 13

LONG RECOVERY Mitch King returned after a missing last season with an ACL injury, his second reconstruction. He was given plenty of time to recover with the Casey Demons and started showing signs of improvement as a ruckman late in the season. Date of Birth: 1 January, 1997 Height: 200cm Weight: 99kg Games MFC 2017: 0 Career Total: 0 Goals MFC 2017: 0 Career Total: 0 CDFC Games 2017: 17 CDFC Goals 2017: 2 CDFCDL Games 2017: 1 CDFCDL Goals 2017: 1

UNDERSTUDY When Max Gawn was forced onto the sidelines with a torn hamstring, the perfect opportunity for a breakthrough presented itself to the man regarded as the perpetual ruck understudy. Unfortunately, it was not to be as Spencer suffered an AC joint injury. Weeks later and not long after his return, Spencer received a one match club suspension and by then Gawn was back. Jake spent the rest of the season going through the motions at Casey and was delisted after they went out of the VFL finals in straight sets. Date of Birth: 9 October, 1989 Height: 203cm Weight: 105kg Games MFC 2017: 2 Career Total: 38 Goals MFC 2017: 2 Career Total: 8 CDFC Games 2017: 11 CDFC Goals 2017: 0 Season 2017 AFL Statistics Kicks: 7 Handballs: 10 Disposals: 17 Marks: 4 Scores: 2 goals 0 behinds Goal Assists: 0 Tackles: 5 Hitouts: 28 Clearances: 3 Clangers: 5 Inside 50s: 2 Rebound 50s: 2 Frees For: 4 Frees Against: 4

Congratulations Clayton Oliver - The 2017 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Trophy winner.

Hopefully my Finals Brochure arrives by the end of the set.

Norm Smith Memorial Trophy for Coaches Award goes to Neville Jetta.

The Ron Barassi Jnr Trophy for Leadership goes to Jack Viney.

The James McDonald Trophy for Heart and Spirit goes to Clayton Oliver.

The Harold Ball Memorial Trophy for best young player goes to Clayton Oliver.

Neville Jetta wins the Ian Ridley Memorial Trophy for best club ambassador.

Could be breathing in a little. I'm guilty of that occasionally.

They reported on Trade Radio that not only has he had surgery to remove the cancer but he will undergo precautionary chemo. I wish him all the best.

ONE PUNCH There was a stage during the season when Tom Bugg's in your face demeanor became a feature of a team going forward. His face was on murals painted in city lanes and he was unsettling the opposition with his hardness. All that came unstuck with one stupid punch that earned him a six match suspension after the Swans game and changed him from a hero to a villain in the eyes of much of the football world. Date of Birth: 5 April, 1993 Height: 184cm Weight: 82kg Games MFC 2017: 10 Career Total: 93 Goals MFC 2017: 7 Career Total: 30 CDFC Games 2017: 5 CDFC Goals 2017: 10 Season 2017 AFL Statistics Kicks: 70 Handballs: 69 Disposals: 139 Marks: 29 Scores: 7 goals 12 behinds Goal Assists: 8 Tackles: 31 Hitouts: 0 Clearances: 10 Clangers: 23 Inside 50s: 17 Rebound 50s: 4 Frees For: 11 Frees Against: 7

He's already wearing red and blue. I like this part from the article. “I think he has given his heart and soul to the footy club over the past three seasons and people would always say he was the first to get there and last to leave."

Jake was in the building today.

I haven't been following the Taberner thing but have seen his name mentioned in his thread and saw this on Facebook.

http://demonland.com/forums/leaderboard/?time=week

It's important you cover all bases. Sorry wrong sport.

https://twitter.com/ClarkyHeraldSun/status/916768742087913472

IMPROVER We all knew that Alex Neal-Bullen was an extractor of the football but he surprised by stepping up as a hard working regular of the midfield who from time to time could move forward and kick a goal. The big improver. Date of Birth: 9 January, 1996 Height: 182cm Weight: 82kg Games MFC 2017: 19 Career Total: 34 Goals MFC: 2017 15 Career Total: 23 CDFC Games: 2017 2 CDFC Goals: 2017 2 Season 2017 AFL Statistics Kicks: 204 Handballs: 155 Disposals: 359 Marks: 61 Scores: 15 goals 9 behinds Goal Assists: 18 Tackles: 87 Hitouts: 0 Clearances: 34 Clangers: 53 Inside 50s: 65 Rebound 50s: 18 Frees For: 9 Frees Against: 7

ELECTRIC The dashing youngster with the shock of blond hair progressed well in 2017. His electric speed and long kicking often allowed him to not only break up lines, but also to greatly unsettle opposing teams. Date of Birth: 3 April, 1995 Height: 187cm Weight: 85kg Games MFC 2017: 22 Career Total: 41 Goals MFC 2017: 7 Career Total: 10 Season 2017 AFL Statistics Kicks: 254 Handballs: 142 Disposals: 396 Marks: 85 Scores: 7 goals 5 behinds Goal Assists: 7 Tackles: 69 Hitouts: 0 Clearances: 17 Clangers: 70 Inside 50s: 85 Rebound 50s: 58 Frees For: 15 Frees Against: 15

PART ONE - THE LEAVERS The AFL's free agency and exchange period for 2017 is now upon us and we can look forward to two weeks of fun and games as the AFL clubs, the players and managers of those in the mix to move home or to leave the scene altogether, have their time on trading's big stage. In the background to that action are the young hopefuls, many of who are strutting their stuff at the AFL Draft Combine and the various State Combines in the hope of attracting the attention of the recruiting staff to win themselves the opportunity to replace those who are leaving vacancies through retirements and delistings. The NAB AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period began on Friday with the first free agency transfer taking place when the Western Bulldogs took restricted free agent Jackson Trengove after that player's former club Port Adelaide, opted not to match the Doggie's offer for him. Trengove was the first of this year's "leavers" - a player wanting to seek action away from his old club, in his case back in his home town. He won't be the last. The real exchange action kicks off on Monday morning with the official opening of the NAB AFL Trade Period which will last for 10½ days through to 2.00pm on Thursday 19 October, by which time, we'll all be well and truly tired out of the machinations of the trading game. So what is it that Demon fans can look forward to over the next fortnight? Well ... if you've been out of the scene and involved in interplanetary travel over the past few months, the name Jake Lever might have escaped your attention. Otherwise, the young key defender from the Crows is going to be the centre of attention in the coming days and possibly longer if the rage of Adelaide's officialdom fails to subside. For a club that earned the respect and admiration of the football world for the magnificent way it regrouped after the tragic murder of Phil Walsh, Adelaide's tantrumous behaviour in the wake of Lever's announcement of his decision to go home has been unnecessarily churlish. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. The Demons have also been named as the preferred destination club for another "leaver" - homesick youngster Harley Balic from the Dockers but the spotlight will remain on Lever for this trade period. More of that later, but what does the Melbourne Football Club need to continue it's upward progression of recent years? The club's national recruiting manager, Jason Taylor tells us that by "the way the year finished off, we’ve got a long way to go and a lot of work to do. We don’t want to be kicking the heels up now – we want to be digging a bit deeper.” And of course, it always boils down to improving your midfield - Midfield depth a focus: Taylor. Of course, articles such as this one don't give us much detail as to how things will eventually pan out but we can be assured of one thing. To secure a big fish like Jake Lever who, despite his poor polling in Adelaide's B&F (he failed to score a top 10 finish in his time with the Crows), is a quality player and person with leadership credentials written all over him, the club will have to forget about featuring in the first round of this year's AFL National Draft. At this stage, it's looking like Melbourne will have to give pick 10 and another pick to Adelaide to get Lever to the club. The Crows might also insist on giving the youngster fifty lashes to soothe their tortured egos as punishment for the kid wanting to return home to his family (although that wasn't a major crime when Scott Thompson wanted to do the same thing in 2005 or in the case of Bryce Gibbs last year). Demon fans got a taste of missing out on the early draft action last year when they had to wait until pick # 46 (Mitch Hannan) and this scenario could be repeated in 2017. In order to give you some perspective into what your club is giving up, let's go back in time to when a very young Jake Lever was strutting his stuff with the Calder Cannons as a bottom ager capable of gaining Vic Metro selection in that year - An ACL injury cut him down in his draft year but he still earned selection in the first round of the draft - During his rehabilitation Lever showed his mental strength by setting a goal of competing in the Noosa triathlon which he did alongside Calder's strength and conditioning coach, Steve Forcone. The Demons had picks 2 and 3 at that year's draft which they used to secure Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw but they still made a play for Lever by putting former skipper Jack Trengove on the trade table - we all know how that ended up. The Trengove gambit was interesting because it demonstrated that under the current system of player acquisition and trading, there will be times when clubs will have to take some risks and make seemingly unpopular decisions to improve their lists. We need to remember this when names like that of Jack Watts are raised in the days to come. The Oracle will be back from time to time during the free agency and trade period to cover anything that might take place - spectacular or otherwise.

PART ONE - THE LEAVERS The AFL's free agency and exchange period for 2017 is now upon us and we can look forward to two weeks of fun and games as the AFL clubs, the players and managers of those in the mix to move home or to leave the scene altogether, have their time on trading's big stage. In the background to that action are the young hopefuls, many of who are strutting their stuff at the AFL Draft Combine and the various State Combines in the hope of attracting the attention of the recruiting staff to win themselves the opportunity to replace those who are leaving vacancies through retirements and delistings. The NAB AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period began on Friday with the first free agency transfer taking place when the Western Bulldogs took restricted free agent Jackson Trengove after that player's former club Port Adelaide, opted not to match the Doggie's offer for him. Trengove was the first of this year's "leavers" - a player wanting to seek action away from his old club, in his case back in his home town. He won't be the last. The real exchange action kicks off on Monday morning with the official opening of the NAB AFL Trade Period which will last for 10½ days through to 2.00pm on Thursday 19 October, by which time, we'll all be well and truly tired out of the machinations of the trading game. So what is it that Demon fans can look forward to over the next fortnight? Well ... if you've been out of the scene and involved in interplanetary travel over the past few months, the name Jake Lever might have escaped your attention. Otherwise, the young key defender from the Crows is going to be the centre of attention in the coming days and possibly longer if the rage of Adelaide's officialdom fails to subside. For a club that earned the respect and admiration of the football world for the magnificent way it regrouped after the tragic murder of Phil Walsh, Adelaide's tantrumous behaviour in the wake of Lever's announcement of his decision to go home has been unnecessarily churlish. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. The Demons have also been named as the preferred destination club for another "leaver" - homesick youngster Harley Balic from the Dockers but the spotlight will remain on Lever for this trade period. More of that later, but what does the Melbourne Football Club need to continue it's upward progression of recent years? The club's national recruiting manager, Jason Taylor tells us that by "the way the year finished off, we’ve got a long way to go and a lot of work to do. We don’t want to be kicking the heels up now – we want to be digging a bit deeper.” And of course, it always boils down to improving your midfield - Midfield depth a focus: Taylor. Of course, articles such as this one don't give us much detail as to how things will eventually pan out but we can be assured of one thing. To secure a big fish like Jake Lever who, despite his poor polling in Adelaide's B&F (he failed to score a top 10 finish in his time with the Crows), is a quality player and person with leadership credentials written all over him, the club will have to forget about featuring in the first round of this year's AFL National Draft. At this stage, it's looking like Melbourne will have to give pick 10 and another pick to Adelaide to get Lever to the club. The Crows might also insist on giving the youngster fifty lashes to soothe their tortured egos as punishment for the kid wanting to return home to his family (although that wasn't a major crime when Scott Thompson wanted to do the same thing in 2005 or in the case of Bryce Gibbs last year). Demon fans got a taste of missing out on the early draft action last year when they had to wait until pick # 46 (Mitch Hannan) and this scenario could be repeated in 2017. In order to give you some perspective into what your club is giving up, let's go back in time to when a very young Jake Lever was strutting his stuff with the Calder Cannons as a bottom ager capable of gaining Vic Metro selection in that year - An ACL injury cut him down in his draft year but he still earned selection in the first round of the draft - During his rehabilitation Lever showed his mental strength by setting a goal of competing in the Noosa triathlon which he did alongside Calder's strength and conditioning coach, Steve Forcone. The Demons had picks 2 and 3 at that year's draft which they used to secure Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw but they still made a play for Lever by putting former skipper Jack Trengove on the trade table - we all know how that ended up. The Trengove gambit was interesting because it demonstrated that under the current system of player acquisition and trading, there will be times when clubs will have to take some risks and make seemingly unpopular decisions to improve their lists. We need to remember this when names like that of Jack Watts are raised in the days to come. The Oracle will be back from time to time during the free agency and trade period to cover anything that might take place - spectacular or otherwise.