Demonland

I thought Dawes was also injured.

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Intra-Club Casey Fields 15 February 2013. I think it was Kevin Sheedy who coined the phrase dancing with your sister to describe intra-club practice matches. Both could never be taken too seriously and a lack of true physical contact would be a no no ... So what to make of a match simulation for the same event, as described in press releases from the Club? Well, they had umpires. It all looked serious enough without the serious physical aspects, but keeping score was irrelevant especially when points scored saw the ball taken to the opposing half-back line for a restart. Anyhow you looked at whatever it was called, it was more than a normal training run, but less than the real McCoy. It certainly provided the opportunity to gauge how the newer recruits would hold up in a more intense atmosphere. No shows, as would have been expected were Clark, Dawes, Trengove and Gawn. Didnt sight Jack or Max, but the other two were seen on the boundary, with Dawes doing the warm-ups. So he cant be too far away from more serious work. Joel McDonald sat out and only did slight warm-ups with one of the training staff. Four quarters of about 15-20 minutes in 30 degree temperatures was testing for everyone, but it must be said that it was hard to find anyone seriously affected by the heat and exercise. No-one lying half dead on the ground after, as the whole group just walked calmly from the oval. Good signs, and the benefits of the current fitness regime and the Darwin trip may be showing already. The two sides were in blue and white respectively, and while the blue side had the ascendancy on the day, with only a few exceptions, it would be the side that we can see on the park next week. So just some observations: ■ Jack Viney is a seriously good player. He is simply into everything and just doesnt stop. His natural ability is matched with a ferocious competitiveness that mean he makes the ball his time after time. He will play plenty this year,providing he can tolerate the demands of AFL at senior level. ■ Jimmy Toumpas is silken class and another natural footballer. Still working his way into the rhythm and speed of the game, he shows more than glimpses of his underlying talent. ■ Get excited about Hulk Hogan, and make sure you get down to Casey to see him play this year. This kid could be anything. At just 17 he is seriously scary and already can hold his own against long established players. ■ Shannon Byrnes went off in the last with icing to his calf, but probably because he overused his leg from the number of kicks he was getting. ■ David Rodan will be another positive in the mid-field with strong body and simply superb vision in the packs. He can dance through bodies and finds space effortlessly, the hallmark of a truly gifted player. ■ And Cam Pedersen will be another more than useful pick-up from last year. Strength, height and the ability to open space in front of himself produced options that we simply didnt have last year. ■ Mark Jamar is back to his best. He is jumping off the ground again, unlike last year, and gave Spencer an absolute bath in the ruck. Sadly, Spencer still is not concentrating on the ball, despite his enormous height advantage, and apart from a good single mark, he did not touch the ball in general play or at ruck contests. By that I mean he did not touch the ball ■ Overall, it was good to have so many players on the field at this time of the year. The fitness staff have to be congratulated as it will give us options in the weeks to come. ■ Impressive was the speed of movement of the ball. Yes, it is difficult to judge when we are playing amongst ourselves, but some of the change of direction and ability to break through lines with swift and accurate handball was a delight to watch. ■ Dont expect too much from Aaron Davey this year. While his delivery is simply sublime when he has it in his hands, he has simply lost the yard necessary to make the electrifying moves of years past. He was unable to open space between himself and his opponent constantly, and barely touched the ball. A loose bouncing ball in the goal-square would have been a certain 6 pointer years ago, but today only resulted in a scrimmage and ball-up. ■ Have to give Rory Taggert a rub for a beautiful 50 metre goal from the boundary line ... and because his mum wasnt too far away from where we were sitting ... Overall, the session was more than a dance ,,, it was quick, efficient and lacking in howler type blunders. There was plenty to be pleased about with lines of players like Watts, Strauss, M. Jones, Sylvia, Frawley, Barry, Tom McDonald, all showing the skills that they have consistently, repeatedly and properly. Take this into the season, and we have plenty to hope for. See you all next Friday http://bit.ly/Ydq6uD

Who says we're not immune from criticism. We've taken RGRS's point on board and merged the threads. George's article is also on our features and articles board as well ... and it's probably timely toi welcome George on board and thank him for hisDemonland debut article. Cheers folks and it's good to have the footy back.

Photos from today:

Hi Guys, I know that at times things can get heated in the threads and I know for a fact that our mods do the thankless task of cleaning up after some of the dust ups in here like digital age bouncers. What I find absolutely unacceptable is taking those fights/arguments into the PM (Private Messages) arena. I was sent a private message by one of our members that another member sent and it was absolutely disgusting. There is no way that that person would have written that in a thread so they should not be saying those things in PMs. The Code of Conduct still applies and as a result the user has been banned. This form of harassment is not tolerated and don't think you can take the fight to the PMs to hide from the moderators. We are about to embark on an exciting year and hopefully an exciting era. It would be a shame if you were banned and not able to participate in the discussion of the ongoing saga of the greatest football club in the world. Andy and the moderating team.

SERIOUS HIT OUT OR DANCING WITH YOUR SISTER? by the George on The Outer Intra-Club Casey Fields 15 February 2013. I think it was Kevin Sheedy who coined the phrase “dancing with your sister” to describe intra-club practice matches. Both could never be taken too seriously and a lack of true physical contact would be a no no ... So what to make of a “match simulation” for the same event, as described in press releases from the Club? Well, they had umpires. It all looked serious enough without the serious physical aspects, but keeping score was irrelevant especially when points scored saw the ball taken to the opposing half-back line for a restart. Anyhow you looked at whatever it was called, it was more than a normal training run, but less than the real McCoy. It certainly provided the opportunity to gauge how the newer recruits would hold up in a more intense atmosphere. No shows, as would have been expected were Clark, Dawes, Trengove and Gawn. Didn’t sight Jack or Max, but the other two were seen on the boundary, with Dawes doing the warm-ups. So he can’t be too far away from more serious work. Joel McDonald sat out and only did slight warm-ups with one of the training staff. Four quarters of about 15-20 minutes in 30 degree temperatures was testing for everyone, but it must be said that it was hard to find anyone seriously affected by the heat and exercise. No-one lying half dead on the ground after, as the whole group just walked calmly from the oval. Good signs, and the benefits of the current fitness regime and the Darwin trip may be showing already. The two sides were in blue and white respectively, and while the blue side had the ascendancy on the day, with only a few exceptions, it would be the side that we can see on the park next week. So just some observations: ■ Jack Viney is a seriously good player. He is simply into everything and just doesn’t stop. His natural ability is matched with a ferocious competitiveness that mean he makes the ball his time after time. He will play plenty this year,providing he can tolerate the demands of AFL at senior level. ■ Jimmy Toumpas is silken class and another natural footballer. Still working his way into the rhythm and speed of the game, he shows more than glimpses of his underlying talent. ■ Get excited about “Hulk Hogan”, and make sure you get down to Casey to see him play this year. This kid could be anything. At just 17 he is seriously scary and already can hold his own against long established players. ■ Shannon Byrnes went off in the last with icing to his calf, but probably because he overused his leg from the number of kicks he was getting. ■ David Rodan will be another positive in the mid-field with strong body and simply superb vision in the packs. He can dance through bodies and finds space effortlessly, the hallmark of a truly gifted player. ■ And Cam Pedersen will be another more than useful pick-up from last year. Strength, height and the ability to open space in front of himself produced options that we simply didn’t have last year. ■ Mark Jamar is back to his best. He is jumping off the ground again, unlike last year, and gave Spencer an absolute bath in the ruck. Sadly, Spencer still is not concentrating on the ball, despite his enormous height advantage, and apart from a good single mark, he did not touch the ball in general play or at ruck contests. By that I mean he did not touch the ball … ■ Overall, it was good to have so many players on the field at this time of the year. The fitness staff have to be congratulated as it will give us options in the weeks to come. ■ Impressive was the speed of movement of the ball. Yes, it is difficult to judge when we are playing amongst ourselves, but some of the change of direction and ability to break through lines with swift and accurate handball was a delight to watch. ■ Don’t expect too much from Aaron Davey this year. While his delivery is simply sublime when he has it in his hands, he has simply lost the yard necessary to make the electrifying moves of years past. He was unable to open space between himself and his opponent constantly, and barely touched the ball. A loose bouncing ball in the goal-square would have been a certain 6 pointer years ago, but today only resulted in a scrimmage and ball-up. ■ Have to give Rory Taggert a rub for a beautiful 50 metre goal from the boundary line ... and because his mum wasn’t too far away from where we were sitting ... Overall, the session was more than a dance ,,, it was quick, efficient and lacking in howler type blunders. There was plenty to be pleased about with lines of players like Watts, Strauss, M. Jones, Sylvia, Frawley, Barry, Tom McDonald, all showing the skills that they have consistently, repeatedly and properly. Take this into the season, and we have plenty to hope for. See you all next Friday …

Photos from training courtesy of Melbourne Football Club Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151562431462317&set=a.10151562431207317.537234.285839797316&type=1&theater

Behind the scenes of the team photo

Posted here: Update from the President

ON WITH THE SHOW by Whispering Jack Tomorrow, I hope to make it to training for the first time in over a year and with the anticipation of that event, I'm feeling a bit like a kid again. Back in those days (when I was a kid), I was an unabashed fan of Bugs Bunny whose character has been described as personifying "supreme heroism" and "humanity's aspirations to prevail over all difficulties and antagonists". Let's not forget that Bugs' heyday was back in the 50s and 60s when Melbourne was highly successful in fighting evil and winning premierships. Well, after enduring what was a very painful season in 2012 and having then to put up with sheer nastiness over the off season from characters like Caroline Wilson (I liken her to Elmer Fudd complete with shotgun at the ready to blow the brains out of our beloved Demons) and other media antagonists like Jon "Pepe Le Pew" Pierik, Jay "Hippety Hopper" Clark and Greg "Daffy Duck" Denham, it will be refreshing to go down to AAMI Park to watch some actual footballers, even if it's just to while away an hour or so watching the players do some pre season training drills. And how appropriate it is that the session is taking place in the shadows of Rod Laver Arena as they pack up the remnants of the tennis and close enough to the G where the curtain is about to fall on an uninspiring summer of cricket? Those sports are virtually done and dusted and the footy season beckons. All that's needed now is for the AFL head honcho Foghorn Leghorn Vlad to light up his exploding cigar and blow away the iniquitous tanking inquisition and the universe will once again be in harmony. But that's for another time and place and for now, I want to tick some (match) boxes. I want to see the box ticked that shows the players improving in their KPI's. I want to see greater enthusiasm, better skills, positive attitudes, keenness and competition for spots on the team and I want to see healthier, fitter bodies on the park. I want to see evidence that our intensity has gone up from last year's 60% of "elite" to 80% as promised. Show me Speedy Gonzales, the Road Runner and some tough guy characters, but most of all, the spirit of the hero, prevailing over all those who connive to defeat and dominate us. On with the show, this is it! (27.1.2013) PERSPECTIVE by Whispering Jack Perspective. That's what it's all about at this time of year. We see them on the park but even when they're doing the really competitive stuff like match simulation, we just don't know the extent of the improvement that must be subsumed and incorporated within the group. One player who has been mentioned as an improver in despatches is Tom McDonald and I imagined that, at 194cm and 92kg, he would loom large among the players. But when I arrived and saw the number 25 out there early with three others, including Dan Nicholson and Jack Viney, he looked tiny. That's because the fourth player in the early group was Max Gawn who is positively a monster at 208cm and 107kg. That's perspective. Max put on his GPS and after a bit of a run around he disappeared into the wild blue yonder. I don't know when he'll be ready (it's said he's still on the long term injury list), but I can't help thinking that a bloke of that size who moves so smoothly might be a damn important asset if he can get it all together. There's no "might" about the other early birds. Jack Viney is going to make a difference and his infusion into the midfield, along with that of another classy mover in Jimmy Toumpas will aid our quest to revive our stocks in this all-important part of the ground. Those two might be young and raw but, of the top ten newcomers out of the draft, they're the only ones with experience playing the game with and against men. And Jack Grimes, who will give a lot of service in the midfield this year, has the look of a captain this year. Now, if only we can get his co-skipper up and running, that midfield might well dig itself out of the third world territory it has occupied for the best part of a decade. There's a bit more run there too with Dan Nicholson and Sam Blease showing a fair bit of toe. Once I got the other early bird, Tom McDonald into the right perspective, he looked all right too. I'm not putting too high an expectation on him though. He's only 20 and while he did have some terrific break out games last year, he's still got plenty of work to do but along with James Frawley, Tom Garland and Jack Watts (and maybe James Sellar), he will add a bit of class and stability to the back half. I'm not getting carried away by all means. After all, the team was so much on the nose in 2012 after promising a lot in the pre season. We even belted Collingwood in a NAB Cup game and we thought ourselves at one with the universe until the Big Bang came and hit us on a weekly basis for months until many of us were invoking the mercy rule before midseason. We gained a lot of perspective as a consequence. I'm not going to rave about the mature age recruits on a little over an hour's exposure but Chris Dawes and Cam Pedersen, despite some detractors from the clubs they left, appear as if they are going to add lots to what was a very undermanned forward line last year, particularly after Mitch Clark fell. While we're at it, Clark ran around a bit and kicked well with his left and is supposed to be on track for a start in the first month of what they call the regular season. There's been a lot said about the failure of many of Melbourne's early draft picks to develop as quickly as we would like, but less said about the fact that many of them including Blease, Grimes, James Strauss, Luke Tapscott, Watts and a couple of others missed great slabs of what should have been development time through injuries and missed out in previous years on much needed pre season work. Well, they're getting it now and, in doing so, we're ticking that very big box that requires players to be injury free at this time of year. We should see much more advancement, better prospects of development and hence, a greater depth of talent available for selection than in the past. In that regard, I will nominate my big improver for 2013 as Neville Jetta who appears to be thriving under this new regimen. I reckon Aaron Davey might just be ready to reinvent himself as he goes around for another year: a prospect that some might have thought doubtful when he struggled through games in the past two seasons. Both players are thriving now whereas in recent years, they haven't been on the track. There were others but it was the first time in a while and I'm still learning new numbers, faces and styles. Sooner or later, I'll get it all in the right perspective. I won't venture to say how much we'll improve in 2013 but I note the AFL Prospectus has us down with the 13th best list, which even without the prospect of a good draw, a healthier list and more stability at the club, suggests we'll at least double our number of wins. Still, I'm not going to get carried away just yet. I must add two final points from what I saw. Neil Craig looked really in command at training today and what a great choice he makes in that assisting senior head honcho role? And the kid wearing # 1 looked the goods for a 17 year old, so much so that I might get myself a few extra doses of perspective at Casey Fields this year. The show rolls on into February but for now ... it's yibbida, yibbida. That's all folks! (28.1.2013)

We've just published wmth's great article MELBOURNE A VICTIM OF MEDIA LYNCH MOB in our articles and features column. The article was first published here in draft form and the final version was accepted for publication on BACK PAGE LEAD) You can also follow William on wmth's blog We already have a thread on the tanking investigation but we do invite discussion specifically on the content of wjmt's article which we think is great.

MELBOURNE A VICTIM OF MEDIA LYNCH MOB by William Thomson The tanking saga that has its hands around the throat of the Melbourne Football Club would benefit from some objective analysis - a refreshing change from the continued search for guilt. The Demons are looking more and more like a sacrificial lamb and whatever the result, the current wait is feeding the hysteria of media outlets. Melbourne fans were in uproar over Caroline Wilson's daily attack on the club before Christmas, and while noting most journalists are returning from holidays, she has been conspicuous by her absence since. The media has set up tents in the camp of the more attractive guilty result and rather than provide objectivity, have instead searched for guilt even in the most unlikely places. With the centre of focus now being on Melbourne's infamous game against Richmond in round 18 of 2009 a game in which Jordan McMahon converted after the siren to win the Herald Sun has published an excerpt of the match, complete with commentary over the questionable moments. Such dissection is ugly at best, while the analysis and search for guilt sets dangerous precedents. How long can the AFL let this fester without an answer? The commentary questions the moves made by former coach Dean Bailey, starting with why he brought in ruckman Jake Spencer for Cale Morton. There was no mention of Morton's 10-posession, zero tackle (the only player that week not to record a tackle), zero handball performance in a three-goal loss to Sydney the week prior. Why was ruckman Paul Johnson playing at full back on Richmond's Nathan Brown? Melbourne fans that saw Johnson chase down then Brisbane speedster Justin Sherman in 2008 can think of reasons why and let's not forget at this dire stage of the season, it's more a case of why not. Johnson was no lumbering ruckman and ended up retiring without ever really finding a position. Brown only kicked one goal in the quarter, which was from the boundary after he was led to the ball by Johnson only for it to bounce from its oblong point and into his hands. The video nonetheless focused on this crucial conversion. "The questions started before the game when Melbourne left out Russell Robertson and Colin Sylvia," the video's narrator reads. In fact, Robertson was dropped the week prior after a seven possession shocker against Geelong and didn't warrant a call up, while Sylvia was serving a three-match suspension for striking Scott Selwood in a recent win over West Coast. While the video claims the Dees brought Michael Newton into the game, he played against Sydney the week earlier and took six marks and kicked two goals. Why was James Frawley playing in defence? When you've won four games the year, most fans were screaming to try something and knew his defensive capabilities. Brad Miller in the ruck? Hardly a strange move at 194cm and only 16 goals for the year up forward at that point. Why did he then play in the middle? No comparison in skill or talent, but Matthew Pavlich and Jonathan Brown have bursts in the centre and with the game on the line, a big body at the bounce wasn't overly foolish. In a first, some articles have queried deliberate fumbling by players. If fumbling is a hanging defence, then most Melbourne sides since 1964 should be cast in irons. How do you measure the level of 'fumbleability' in a match? It's ludicrous. To date, any accusations have been against the Demon hierarchy but to question players' integrity with as little proof as this is concerning as the longer this saga drags on the more convoluted it becomes. The video continued, quickly glossing over Melbourne's fight back into the lead to eventually level the scores at the final siren, instead focussing on the rather glum looks in the coaching box that showed little enthusiasm about Ricky Petterd putting the Dees in front. Make no mistake, Melbourne were a horrid side in 2009 (perhaps even worse in 2008 for that matter), but what precedent do you set, or worse still, what quality of evidence is the lack of emotion in a tense finish. Should coaches be forced to read a manual and stick by it, or have their every move questioned by video analysis? To pick apart this game or any for that matter is trivial and unpleasant. To dissect a game with the intention to find foul play will only raise further questions. If Melbourne had foul motives for these moves, it has broken the game's laws in a most significant way. But without proven motive, media assertions do nothing but spread innuendo at the expense of balance. The AFL's decision to respectively investigate the Melbourne Football Club on the back of a Brock McLean comment no less has the potential to leave it dangerously exposed without more evidence than what the media is pouring over. Indeed, the implications may be far reaching. If the AFL starts opening 'cold cases' then Carlton's 2007 tactics may be placed under similar review. The Blues won four games for the year, losing the last 11 to ensure they had access to Matthew Kruezer in the draft. Further still, Richmond coach Terry Wallace confirmed he did "absolutely nothing" in the latter stages of 2007. The Tigers subsequently drafted their now captain, Trent Cotchin. "It was a no-win situation for everyone in the coach's box," Wallace said. "We decided the best way to operate was just to let the players go out. "I didn't do anything. I just let the boys play. There weren't any miracle moves in the last couple of minutes." Former Melbourne coach Dean Bailey now has to defend claims he brought the game into disrepute by failing to coach the Demons to their utmost throughout his second season in charge. The disproportion is there for all to see. The AFL knows too well the priority pick system left an all too enticing carrot for cellar dwellers, and while this does not excuse any manipulation, it has brought upon just that. Melbourne officials and Bailey are in the process of responding to the AFL's reportedly 1000-page report. Whatever the result, which will be known in a matter of weeks, it's a messy affair and one the football world should hope doesn't end up in courts or extend beyond the Melbourne Football Club. (Originally published on BACK PAGE LEAD) You can also follow William on wmth's blog Our thanks to William for this great article!

1973 - A RETROSPECTIVE by Whispering Jack The tired old football cliché of next year was in the air as the Melbourne Football Club entered 1973 with high hopes. Former Saint Carl Ditterich the star recruit had been lured to the club at the cost of $82,000 and there were the usual young hopefuls including a bespectacled callow wisp of a lad named Robert Flower waiting in the wings. The main loss was that of injury prone key forward Ross Dillon who crossed to Norwood (SA). As was becoming the norm, things simply didn't work out although, after a slow start the Demons were on six wins from eleven games and were a chance of making the final five after three consecutive victories. Alas, they won only one remaining game, finished a dismal 10th and Ian Ridley resigned with several players threatening to quit the club for what they considered poor treatment of the former coach. The matter was eventually smoothed over and the "rebel" players remained. Bob Skilton was appointed the new coach for 1974 - the first time since the 1930s and the days of Checker Hughes that the club had made an outside appointment for the senior coaching role. THE DETAIL Coach: Ian Ridley Captain: Stan Alves Finishing Position: 10th Best and Fairest: Carl Ditterich Leading Goalkicker: Ross Brewer (32) Best First Year Player: Robert Flower PREMIERSHIP SEASON ROUND BY ROUND 1 St. Kilda 9.12.66 - 14.14.98 Loss 2 Hawthorn 13.22.100 - 14.14.98 Win 3 Carlton 11.9.75 - 11.16.82 Loss 4 Fitzroy 13.16.94 - 13.9.87 Win 5 Richmond 13.13.91 - 16.14.110 Loss 6 Collingwood 10.16.76 - 15.10.100 Loss 7 South Melbourne 17.10.112 - 12.11.83 Win 8 Essendon 10.11.71 - 12.9.81 Loss 9 Footscray 10.14.74 - 9.14.68 Win 10 Geelong 20.19.139 - 11.15.81 Win 11 North Melbourne 13.12.90 - 12.9.81 Win 12 St. Kilda 6.18.54 - 11.14.80 Loss 13 Hawthorn 15.15.105 - 15.22.112 Loss 14 Fitzroy 19.20.134 - 14.13.97 Win 15 Carlton 12.9.81 - 18.14.122 Loss 16 Richmond 9.19.73 - 16.14.110 Loss 17 Collingwood 12.15.87 - 17.24.116 Loss 18 South Melbourne 11.12.78 - 12.14.86 Loss 19 Essendon 15.11.101 - 17.13.105 Loss 20 Footscray 10.13.73 - 17.8.110 Loss 21 Geelong 14.14.98 - 17.11.113 Loss 22 North Melbourne 9.12.66 - 11.5.71 Loss LADDER Collingwood 19 3 0 125.5% 76 Richmond 17 5 0 117.6% 68 Carlton 15 7 0 126.6% 60 Essendon 13 9 0 104.4% 52 St. Kilda 12 10 0 105.3% 48 North Melbourne 11 10 1 97.6% 46 Hawthorn 11 11 0 109.6% 44 Fitzroy 9 13 0 90.7% 36 Footscray 7 14 1 88.2% 30 Melbourne 7 15 0 91.8% 28 Geelong 6 16 0 78.4% 24 South Melbourne 4 18 0 79.0% 16 PLAYING LIST [Number, Player, Games, Goals] 2 Robert Flower 13 4 3 Trevor Rollinson 4 0 4 Tony Sullivan 21 0 5 John Clennett 8 3 6 Frank Davis 18 1 7 Graham Osborne 21 13 8 Peter Keenan 15 13 9 Stephen Kerley 18 2 10 Carl Ditterich 22 5 11 Greg Wells 21 20 12 Mike Collins 2 1 14 Barry Bourke 210 15 Stan Alves 22 29 17 Denis Clark 14 3 18 John Tilbrook 21 24 19 Ray Biffin 22 5 20 Shane McSpeerin 4 5 21 Graham Molloy 4 4 22 Henry Ritterman 9 5 23 Shane Fitzsimmons 14 2 24 Wayne Delmenico 7 1 26 Greg Parke 21 21 27 Ross Brewer 18 32 28 Tony Dullard 3 5 29 Noel Leary 7 0 30 Peter Williamson 7 2 33 Gary Hardeman 21 6 34 Mal Owens 3 0 35 Paul Callery 22 28 36 Glenn Swan 13 21 39 Peter Dilnot 4 3 40 John Cumming 4 0 42 John Morgan 4 0 43 Frank Giampaolo 3 4 45 Greg MacDonald 4 6 49 Ian McGuinness 2 0 54 Neil Chamberlain 3 3 BEST & FAIREST Seniors: Best and Fairest (Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy) - Carl Ditterich Runner-up Best and Fairest (Sid Anderson Memorial Trophy) - Greg Wells Third Best and Fairest (Ron Barassi Senior Memorial Trophy) - Barry Bourke Fourth Best and Fairest - Stan Alves Fifth Best and Fairest - Paul Callery Sixth Best and Fairest - Ray Biffin Best First Year Player - Robert Flower Reserves: Best and Fairest (Stan Brownbill Memorial Trophy) - Noel Leary Second Best and Fairest - John Cumming Outstanding Service Trophies - Wayne Delmenico, Ian McGuinness, Henry Ritterman Under 19s: Best and Fairest (Ray Reid Memorial Trophy) - Robert Meades Second Best and Fairest - Ray Potter Outstanding Service - Neil McMullin, James Ahern, Barry Lierich Under 17s: Best and Fairest - Shane Young Second Best and Fairest - Robert Santagada Outstanding Service - Glen Campbell, David Gough, Greg Pimm THE PASSING PARADE Legendary coach Norm Smith passed away in 1973. THE BOTTOM LINE A profit of $4,382 was announced, thanks mainly to a larger dividend from the VFL as a result of extra revenue due to a draw in the finals series. ANNUAL REPORT 1973 In presenting the Annual Report for season 1973, we record a drop from eighth to tenth position on the V.F.L. list. Since our last premiership win in 1964, the highest position we have occupied on the premiership ladder is seventh, and to find the team recording another disappointing year is both hurtful and discouraging. We won only seven matches this year after a reasonable beginning in winning six out of our first eleven matches. However, in winning one match in the last eleven games played, we failed to flatter in any degree. This dismal effort has saddened all connected with the club, but we are not sitting down in despair: we are trying to do something about it within the limits laid down by the rules. We need many more better players than were on our list in 1973, but this is easier said than done, because we are restricted to recruit within our metropolitan and country zoned areas, and are permitted to sign only two interstate players per year. We have exhaustively surveyed the country areas zoned to us by the V.F.L. and it does not appear to offer the quantity and the quality of players we require immediately. Undoubtedly there are a few youngsters who show promise and they will be encouraged, but the ready made players are not there. A similar picture is in evidence as far as our metropolitan zone is concerned, with the differ­ence being an increase in the number of good juniors available from our local district, but still no instant league players. Limited as we are in acquiring interstate ready made players, it would appear therefore that our greatest hope of progress lies with our local metropolitan junior players and they must be given the maximum assistance, and encouragement, to develop as senior players in the shortest possible time. We have been faced with the resignation of our Senior Coach, fan Ridley, and the Committee feels it better to advertise the Coaching positions of all our other eighteens and this we have done in an endeavour to find the best talent in this area. We must have the best coach available to spearhead our advance if we are to be as successful as we all would wish. More will be said about the service of Ian Ridley in a later part of the Report but it is quite obvious that the road ahead is going to be both lone and difficult. The Victorian Football League has always been a most highly competitive athletic competition and all league clubs approach their task in a dedicated manner backed with a planned business approach, and your Committee is doing this also. It is a simple matter to criticize committees and the people that comprise them and this will always be so. One can only assure our members that their committee is devoting hours of time and study to the running of our Club. The number of occasions that various sub­committees are called upon to meet throughout the year is most surprising and it is a job only for the enthusiast to undertake. As a consequence, the time they spend away from their families with no financial gain whatsoever is very considerable, and yet when success fails to arrive, they are immediately criticized. It would be a far better action for the critics to present themselves for election at this annual meeting rather than to criticise from afar and yet make no endeavour to undertake the work load that a Committeeman must undertake. For some years, our recruiting has been under the control of a member of Committee in Ken Carlon who would barely see one or two matches in Melbourne each season. Every other weekend he is touring our country areas viewing potential players in the country matches he attends. It is no fault of Ken's that at the present moment, there are very few real possibilities as players for 1974, in either the Goulburn Valley League, the Kyabram District League, the Waranga North Eastern League or the Riddell League. Our relations with these leagues are very good. Indeed, a letter of thanks received from the Waranga N.E. League at the conclusion of Season 1973, was lodged with the Victorian Country Football League as evidence of the most cordial co-operation that exists between that League and our Club and we are proud of this. But the fact still remains that the four leagues are not producing players quickly enough to immediately uplift our position. Our metropolitan zone presents the best possible source of talent and we were delighted in 1973 to have the City of Chelsea allotted to our metropolitan area and all the clubs contained in that city. It is our intention to increase even further our metropolitan recruiting staff so that we can cover the whole of our local zone even more thoroughly. The only problem that we have in relation to the interstate scene is in the selection of the two players that we are permitted to sign. The recommendations are very numerous and having regard to the priorities set down by our Match Committee, this position is at times, quite difficult. As evidence of our judgement in this regard, early in 1973 we signed Peter Carey of the Glenelg Football Club who is now hailed as the brightest youngster in Australian football. Whilst Glenelg cannot be expected to hand Carey to us on a plate, we are hopeful of securing his services in the not too distant future. On the administration side, we are taking steps to relieve the work load of our present Secretary, Mr. Jim Cardwell, and to use more fully the years he has with the Club before his retirement. To this end, we have advertised the position of Administrative Manager and we hope to have the services of this new official in January of 1974. Jim Cardwell can then return to recruiting and team managership and players' welfare with more time to attend to these problems and not be diverted by administrative matters which are ever increasing as football expands in the manner it is. In short, there is nothing more that this Club can do to try and obtain success. Our efforts are solely directed to this end. Your Club offers inducements to players that are in excess of those offered by other V.F.L. Clubs. The benefits and the privileges our players enjoy in many regards are second to none. Our winning Incentive Plan is generous, our Provident Fund equally so and yet we have the situation of this team winning only one of its last eleven encounters and this is not nearly enough. Ian Ridley continually appealed to the players to support him at the finish of the season and this they failed to do by not winning matches. Our new coach must face this task supported only by the faith of the people behind him and the hope that the players must and will support him. You can be quite certain that each and every player who will occupy a position on the final list of the Melbourne Football Club in 1974, will be dedicated and possess the required determination to materially improve our position. We can do no more than this. With the resignation of Ian Ridley as senior coach, your Commit­tee is actively canvassing the field for a suitable replacement. However, we are conscious that this will not be an easy task. Ian's record as a player is truly great. He joined the Club in 1954 and played 130 matches during which he kicked 302 goals. He played in five premiership teams for Melbourne and after he left the Club, won a premiership with Ringwood in the Eastern Suburban League. After acting as Assist­ant Secretary for some three years, in 1968, he was appointed as Coach of the Reserves and won two premierships in 1969 and 1970. It is unfortunate that Ian has seen fit to resign but it is our sincere wish that he should continue with our Club in some capacity and we are making strenuous efforts at this stage, to retain his services. Bernie Massey has acted as Reserve Eighteen Coach this year and, after an excellent beginning, the team slumped somewhat to finish in seventh position with nine wins, twelve losses and one drawn game. Bernie has proved himself to be a most conscientious coach and has also proved of great assistance to Ian Ridley. Bernie Massey's record as a player with Melbourne is well known and we are grateful for his continued support over what has been a far from easy year for him. Brian Gray was again coach of our Under Nineteen team for 1973 and proved satisfactory in this position. Our Under Nineteen's finished in sixth position, winning eleven games and losing eleven. This team, similar to the situation with our Reserve Eighteen team, was continually altered each Saturday by the demands made on them from the higher grade team because of injury and found difficulty in settling down as a permanent combination each Saturday. The brightest spot in the M.F.C. activities was the success of our under seventeen team which won a premiership within its competition. They defeated another local district team in St. Mary's, in a section of the Melbourne Boys' League. This made their third successive Premiership and the team was coached by Gordon Duff who has built up a wonderful record with this team. A proposal from the Hawthorn Foot­ball Club was put before the Victorian Football League, contemplating the formation of an under seventeen competition within the League. Our Club has supported this for a number of years and we sincerely trust that the other league clubs have enough commonsense to support this proposal. This year, we again conducted our Best and Fairest voting in public at the M.C.G. This proved to be even more successful than the original evening in 1972. From the outset of counting, it was obvious that Carl Ditterich would be the winner of our Best and Fairest award. Praise must be given to this great footballer and clubman. His play through­out the year was an example to all and we were very pleased with his performance in every respect. Carl faced many difficulties in trans­ferring from St. Kilda to Melbourne. The publicity at that time placed a tremendous load on him but he showed from the beginning the foot­ball we hoped he would produce. To win the Best and Fairest award as he did, was a fitting climax to a splendid season. Our runner-up Best and Fairest, Greg Wells, again enjoyed a splendid year in which he polled heavily in all major awards. Greg is a brilliant player but has yet to realize his true potential. It is to be hoped that he will be allowed to settle into a permanent position where it is certain, he will delight football followers for many years to come. Third Best and Fairest was won by Barry Bourke and his was truly an outstanding performance. When one considers the injuries which Barry had to struggle against throughout the entire season and the manner in which he overcame them, one can only express extreme gratitude to Barry for the long and dedicated service he has given the Melbourne Football Club. Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the season, he suffered an adverse medical report that will virtually compel him to hang up his boots and retire as a player. He will shortly enter hospital for surgical treatment which will force him to be immobilized in plaster for many weeks. We sincerely trust that he will be permitted to serve the Club in other capacities and we will not lose the support of this very valuable clubman. Our fourth Best and Fairest player, Stan Alves, had a year made difficult by his being appointed as Captain and with the added respon­sibilities of the position, Stan's form was a little below that of 1972 when he was the winner of our Best and Fairest trophy. Stan, however, displayed great team spirit and was always a very difficult player for his opponent. He well deserves his high place in our voting award. In Paul Callery and Ray Biffin, who were fifth and sixth Best and Fairest players respectively, we had two most valuable players. Paul, who for the second time in a row was fifth in our Best and Fairest voting, was a great favourite with all and thoroughly deserved this position. The same remarks can be expressed about Ray Biffin who is a most valuable member of the team. Our Best First Year player is Robert Flower who is probably the most brilliant youngster in the V.F.L. He deserves great praise for an unswerving display of courage and skill of the highest order. Our Club had another reasonably successful financial year but we again express the hope that when the gradual curtailment and easing of the financial strain in developing V.F.L Park at Mulgrave beings to take effect, all club finances will be immeasurably improved. It is high time that the clubs that comprise the V.F.L should gain more assistance from that body in our efforts to meet the increased payments to players that we are called upon to meet. CAPTAIN AND VICE-CAPTAIN Special thanks must be conveyed to Stan Alves and Gary Hardeman who were our leaders on the field. Stan, by his example and his great club spirit, led the team most successfully whilst Gary Hardeman, with his dashing play and his youthful approach, caused the players to gather behind both he and Stan and we are most grateful to them for their leadership. They are both fine young men and typical examples of the players that represent our Club. OUR COMMITTEE Dr. D. G. Duffy again presided as Chairman of the football club for season 1973, It is unfortunate that our progress was not as success­ful as it might have been because the time and effort that our Committee puts into its work for the football club deserves more success than has been enjoyed over the past few years. Football committees are invariably criticised when the team fails to perform but very often the reasons for this failure are beyond its control. During the year, certain changes were made in Committee and the Rev. P. K. Melville was elected as a replacement for Mr. F. V. (Checker) Hughes who retired. With the retirement of Mr. Hughes, our club was indeed the poorer. Checker, who has carried on almost since he first came to Melbourne in 1933 has been associated with our Committee for a long while and we were very sorry to see him retire. He will, however, continue to visit us and he was tendered a complimentary dinner by the Committees of the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Melbourne Football Club which was a great privilege for those members fortunate to be in attendance. Mr. Hughes's place on Committee has been taken by another old player, P. K. Melville. Ken, who was a magnificent vice-captain of our club, and a member of premiership teams, is a most welcome addition to our committee. He brings with him the youthfulness of approach and an experience of football that will be of great benefit. Representing M.F.C. Members: Messrs. G. A. Lenne, J. P. McGrath. Co-opted Official: Mr. G. M. Swan. The work of the respective chairmen of our sub-committees must be mentioned. These include Noel McMahen (Match Committee), G. W. Patterson (Business Committee), G. A. Lenne (Finance), K. Carlon (Recruiting), G. M. Swan (Organization and Entertainment), A. L. King (League Director), all these gentlemen deserve special mention. Our sub-committees meet constantly throughout the season, sometimes as often as twice weekly and great demands are made on their time. In the case of Mr. King as League Director, one who also controls our membership ticket sales as well as our final series reserved ticket sales, it is quite remarkable the time he devotes to football club affairs. We are sincerely grateful to all gentlemen who serve on our Committee. CONGRATULATIONS We are again pleased to report that the Hon. Sir Henry Bolte, K.C.M.G., again consented to act as our Number 1 ticket holder for 1973. Sir Henry Bolte has been in attendance on many occasions during the season and was supported as our Number 2 ticket holder by Cr. Allan Whalley as Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. We are very pleased to record the enthusiasm and support of these two distinguished gentlemen and are proud to have them associated with our Club. Our congratulations must also go to the Richmond Football Club, its Coach Tom Hafey and its hard working officials headed by President Al Boord and Secretary Allan Schwab. Richmond's outstanding per­formance in winning premierships in all sections that its teams competed, made it a wonderful year for that Club. Its performance in winning the V.F.L. senior Grand Final brought great credit to the members of the team. There were many who considered Carlton to be the most professional team in the V.F.L. Richmond dispelled this in the final series by the manner in which it set about its task. With dedication and skill, and led unswervingly by Tom Hafey, it set a standard that other clubs found impossible to reach and in a most decisive manner, proved itself to be the best team in the competition. The team reached even greater heights in Adelaide in the Australian Championships which were held the following week when in an outstanding performance, it overhauled a seven goal deficit to defeat Subiaco and become Australian Champions. Congratulations mi the success they enjoyed. Congratulations are conveyed to Keith Greig of North Melbourne for his win in this year's Brownlow Medal Count. It might also be in order to congratulate the whole of the North Melbourne Football Club for its rejuvenation. Congratulations must go to our interstate representatives in Greg Wells, Gary Hardeman and Paul Callery. They were most worthy players and represented our club with distinction. CHAIRMAN'S ADDENDUM The lack of team improvement in 1973 was as surprising as it was unexpected and so much the reverse of the reasonable expectations we confidently held at the opening of the season. In such circumstances, widespread criticism is to be expected from frustrated and disappointed supporters who naturally cast about for some clearly identifiable reason for such failure. The Committee, coach and players must all face, in some measure, the brunt of this storm which is not only a natural reaction but also serves as a stimulus to the administration to do something about the situation. If they are slow to do so they should be opposed at the ballot box. Success can only come from the endeavour of players on the field and the winning of games no other way. The committee of the club must acquire the right sort of players in sufficient numbers to do the job and insofar as we have not been successful in this direction, we are open to serious criticism by our supporters. The committee fully realises its responsibility and is already taking steps to review the entire structure and methods of operation in the Melbourne Football Club. We have appointed a deputy chairman who will provide greater supervision of sub-committee work and liaison between them. It is probable that the experimental reduction in match committee numbers will be scrapped and the five member committee reinstituted. The appointment of an administrative secretary will allow Mr. Jim Cardwell to move more fully into the team management and recruiting field where his proven talents will be of greater service to the club. We are looking more closely than ever at the possibility of recruit­ment from other clubs in the V.F.L. while continuing to develop our country and metropolitan zones. Our supporters can be assured that the Melbourne Football Club has been a very happy club for some years but this desirable situation has not resulted in success on the field nor has the provision of incentive payments been sufficient to lift the team higher up the ladder. There is only one answer to our problem and that is more and better players.

The tired old football cliché of next year was in the air as the Melbourne Football Club entered 1973 with high hopes. Former Saint Carl Ditterich the star recruit had been lured to the club at the cost of $82,000 and there were the usual young hopefuls including a bespectacled callow wisp of a lad named Robert Flower waiting in the wings. The main loss was that of injury prone key forward Ross Dillon who crossed to Norwood (SA). As was becoming the norm, things simply didn't work out although, after a slow start the Demons were on six wins from eleven games and were a chance of making the final five after three consecutive victories. Alas, they won only one remaining game, finished a dismal 10th and Ian Ridley resigned with several players threatening to quit the club for what they considered poor treatment of the former coach. The matter was eventually smoothed over and the "rebel" players remained. Bob Skilton was appointed the new coach for 1974 - the first time since the 1930s and the days of Checker Hughes that the club had made an outside appointment for the senior coaching role. THE DETAIL Coach: Ian Ridley Captain: Stan Alves Finishing Position: 10th Best and Fairest: Carl Ditterich Leading Goalkicker: Ross Brewer (32) Best First Year Player: Robert Flower PREMIERSHIP SEASON ROUND BY ROUND 1 St. Kilda 9.12.66 - 14.14.98 Loss 2 Hawthorn 13.22.100 - 14.14.98 Win 3 Carlton 11.9.75 - 11.16.82 Loss 4 Fitzroy 13.16.94 - 13.9.87 Win 5 Richmond 13.13.91 - 16.14.110 Loss 6 Collingwood 10.16.76 - 15.10.100 Loss 7 South Melbourne 17.10.112 - 12.11.83 Win 8 Essendon 10.11.71 - 12.9.81 Loss 9 Footscray 10.14.74 - 9.14.68 Win 10 Geelong 20.19.139 - 11.15.81 Win 11 North Melbourne 13.12.90 - 12.9.81 Win 12 St. Kilda 6.18.54 - 11.14.80 Loss 13 Hawthorn 15.15.105 - 15.22.112 Loss 14 Fitzroy 19.20.134 - 14.13.97 Win 15 Carlton 12.9.81 - 18.14.122 Loss 16 Richmond 9.19.73 - 16.14.110 Loss 17 Collingwood 12.15.87 - 17.24.116 Loss 18 South Melbourne 11.12.78 - 12.14.86 Loss 19 Essendon 15.11.101 - 17.13.105 Loss 20 Footscray 10.13.73 - 17.8.110 Loss 21 Geelong 14.14.98 - 17.11.113 Loss 22 North Melbourne 9.12.66 - 11.5.71 Loss LADDER Collingwood 19 3 0 125.5% 76 Richmond 17 5 0 117.6% 68 Carlton 15 7 0 126.6% 60 Essendon 13 9 0 104.4% 52 St. Kilda 12 10 0 105.3% 48 North Melbourne 11 10 1 97.6% 46 Hawthorn 11 11 0 109.6% 44 Fitzroy 9 13 0 90.7% 36 Footscray 7 14 1 88.2% 30 Melbourne 7 15 0 91.8% 28 Geelong 6 16 0 78.4% 24 South Melbourne 4 18 0 79.0% 16 PLAYING LIST [Number, Player, Games, Goals] 2 Robert Flower 13 4 3 Trevor Rollinson 4 0 4 Tony Sullivan 21 0 5 John Clennett 8 3 6 Frank Davis 18 1 7 Graham Osborne 21 13 8 Peter Keenan 15 13 9 Stephen Kerley 18 2 10 Carl Ditterich 22 5 11 Greg Wells 21 20 12 Mike Collins 2 1 14 Barry Bourke 210 15 Stan Alves 22 29 17 Denis Clark 14 3 18 John Tilbrook 21 24 19 Ray Biffin 22 5 20 Shane McSpeerin 4 5 21 Graham Molloy 4 4 22 Henry Ritterman 9 5 23 Shane Fitzsimmons 14 2 24 Wayne Delmenico 7 1 26 Greg Parke 21 21 27 Ross Brewer 18 32 28 Tony Dullard 3 5 29 Noel Leary 7 0 30 Peter Williamson 7 2 33 Gary Hardeman 21 6 34 Mal Owens 3 0 35 Paul Callery 22 28 36 Glenn Swan 13 21 39 Peter Dilnot 4 3 40 John Cumming 4 0 42 John Morgan 4 0 43 Frank Giampaolo 3 4 45 Greg MacDonald 4 6 49 Ian McGuinness 2 0 54 Neil Chamberlain 3 3 BEST & FAIREST Seniors: Best and Fairest (Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy) - Carl Ditterich Runner-up Best and Fairest (Sid Anderson Memorial Trophy) - Greg Wells Third Best and Fairest (Ron Barassi Senior Memorial Trophy) - Barry Bourke Fourth Best and Fairest - Stan Alves Fifth Best and Fairest - Paul Callery Sixth Best and Fairest - Ray Biffin Best First Year Player - Robert Flower Reserves: Best and Fairest (Stan Brownbill Memorial Trophy) - Noel Leary Second Best and Fairest - John Cumming Outstanding Service Trophies - Wayne Delmenico, Ian McGuinness, Henry Ritterman Under 19s: Best and Fairest (Ray Reid Memorial Trophy) - Robert Meades Second Best and Fairest - Ray Potter Outstanding Service - Neil McMullin, James Ahern, Barry Lierich Under 17s: Best and Fairest - Shane Young Second Best and Fairest - Robert Santagada Outstanding Service - Glen Campbell, David Gough, Greg Pimm THE PASSING PARADE Legendary coach Norm Smith passed away in 1973. THE BOTTOM LINE A profit of $4,382 was announced, thanks mainly to a larger dividend from the VFL as a result of extra revenue due to a draw in the finals series. ANNUAL REPORT 1973 In presenting the Annual Report for season 1973, we record a drop from eighth to tenth position on the V.F.L. list. Since our last premiership win in 1964, the highest position we have occupied on the premiership ladder is seventh, and to find the team recording another disappointing year is both hurtful and discouraging. We won only seven matches this year after a reasonable beginning in winning six out of our first eleven matches. However, in winning one match in the last eleven games played, we failed to flatter in any degree. This dismal effort has saddened all connected with the club, but we are not sitting down in despair: we are trying to do something about it within the limits laid down by the rules. We need many more better players than were on our list in 1973, but this is easier said than done, because we are restricted to recruit within our metropolitan and country zoned areas, and are permitted to sign only two interstate players per year. We have exhaustively surveyed the country areas zoned to us by the V.F.L. and it does not appear to offer the quantity and the quality of players we require immediately. Undoubtedly there are a few youngsters who show promise and they will be encouraged, but the ready made players are not there. A similar picture is in evidence as far as our metropolitan zone is concerned, with the differ­ence being an increase in the number of good juniors available from our local district, but still no instant league players. Limited as we are in acquiring interstate ready made players, it would appear therefore that our greatest hope of progress lies with our local metropolitan junior players and they must be given the maximum assistance, and encouragement, to develop as senior players in the shortest possible time. We have been faced with the resignation of our Senior Coach, fan Ridley, and the Committee feels it better to advertise the Coaching positions of all our other eighteens and this we have done in an endeavour to find the best talent in this area. We must have the best coach available to spearhead our advance if we are to be as successful as we all would wish. More will be said about the service of Ian Ridley in a later part of the Report but it is quite obvious that the road ahead is going to be both lone and difficult. The Victorian Football League has always been a most highly competitive athletic competition and all league clubs approach their task in a dedicated manner backed with a planned business approach, and your Committee is doing this also. It is a simple matter to criticize committees and the people that comprise them and this will always be so. One can only assure our members that their committee is devoting hours of time and study to the running of our Club. The number of occasions that various sub­committees are called upon to meet throughout the year is most surprising and it is a job only for the enthusiast to undertake. As a consequence, the time they spend away from their families with no financial gain whatsoever is very considerable, and yet when success fails to arrive, they are immediately criticized. It would be a far better action for the critics to present themselves for election at this annual meeting rather than to criticise from afar and yet make no endeavour to undertake the work load that a Committeeman must undertake. For some years, our recruiting has been under the control of a member of Committee in Ken Carlon who would barely see one or two matches in Melbourne each season. Every other weekend he is touring our country areas viewing potential players in the country matches he attends. It is no fault of Ken's that at the present moment, there are very few real possibilities as players for 1974, in either the Goulburn Valley League, the Kyabram District League, the Waranga North Eastern League or the Riddell League. Our relations with these leagues are very good. Indeed, a letter of thanks received from the Waranga N.E. League at the conclusion of Season 1973, was lodged with the Victorian Country Football League as evidence of the most cordial co-operation that exists between that League and our Club and we are proud of this. But the fact still remains that the four leagues are not producing players quickly enough to immediately uplift our position. Our metropolitan zone presents the best possible source of talent and we were delighted in 1973 to have the City of Chelsea allotted to our metropolitan area and all the clubs contained in that city. It is our intention to increase even further our metropolitan recruiting staff so that we can cover the whole of our local zone even more thoroughly. The only problem that we have in relation to the interstate scene is in the selection of the two players that we are permitted to sign. The recommendations are very numerous and having regard to the priorities set down by our Match Committee, this position is at times, quite difficult. As evidence of our judgement in this regard, early in 1973 we signed Peter Carey of the Glenelg Football Club who is now hailed as the brightest youngster in Australian football. Whilst Glenelg cannot be expected to hand Carey to us on a plate, we are hopeful of securing his services in the not too distant future. On the administration side, we are taking steps to relieve the work load of our present Secretary, Mr. Jim Cardwell, and to use more fully the years he has with the Club before his retirement. To this end, we have advertised the position of Administrative Manager and we hope to have the services of this new official in January of 1974. Jim Cardwell can then return to recruiting and team managership and players' welfare with more time to attend to these problems and not be diverted by administrative matters which are ever increasing as football expands in the manner it is. In short, there is nothing more that this Club can do to try and obtain success. Our efforts are solely directed to this end. Your Club offers inducements to players that are in excess of those offered by other V.F.L. Clubs. The benefits and the privileges our players enjoy in many regards are second to none. Our winning Incentive Plan is generous, our Provident Fund equally so and yet we have the situation of this team winning only one of its last eleven encounters and this is not nearly enough. Ian Ridley continually appealed to the players to support him at the finish of the season and this they failed to do by not winning matches. Our new coach must face this task supported only by the faith of the people behind him and the hope that the players must and will support him. You can be quite certain that each and every player who will occupy a position on the final list of the Melbourne Football Club in 1974, will be dedicated and possess the required determination to materially improve our position. We can do no more than this. With the resignation of Ian Ridley as senior coach, your Commit­tee is actively canvassing the field for a suitable replacement. However, we are conscious that this will not be an easy task. Ian's record as a player is truly great. He joined the Club in 1954 and played 130 matches during which he kicked 302 goals. He played in five premiership teams for Melbourne and after he left the Club, won a premiership with Ringwood in the Eastern Suburban League. After acting as Assist­ant Secretary for some three years, in 1968, he was appointed as Coach of the Reserves and won two premierships in 1969 and 1970. It is unfortunate that Ian has seen fit to resign but it is our sincere wish that he should continue with our Club in some capacity and we are making strenuous efforts at this stage, to retain his services. Bernie Massey has acted as Reserve Eighteen Coach this year and, after an excellent beginning, the team slumped somewhat to finish in seventh position with nine wins, twelve losses and one drawn game. Bernie has proved himself to be a most conscientious coach and has also proved of great assistance to Ian Ridley. Bernie Massey's record as a player with Melbourne is well known and we are grateful for his continued support over what has been a far from easy year for him. Brian Gray was again coach of our Under Nineteen team for 1973 and proved satisfactory in this position. Our Under Nineteen's finished in sixth position, winning eleven games and losing eleven. This team, similar to the situation with our Reserve Eighteen team, was continually altered each Saturday by the demands made on them from the higher grade team because of injury and found difficulty in settling down as a permanent combination each Saturday. The brightest spot in the M.F.C. activities was the success of our under seventeen team which won a premiership within its competition. They defeated another local district team in St. Mary's, in a section of the Melbourne Boys' League. This made their third successive Premiership and the team was coached by Gordon Duff who has built up a wonderful record with this team. A proposal from the Hawthorn Foot­ball Club was put before the Victorian Football League, contemplating the formation of an under seventeen competition within the League. Our Club has supported this for a number of years and we sincerely trust that the other league clubs have enough commonsense to support this proposal. This year, we again conducted our Best and Fairest voting in public at the M.C.G. This proved to be even more successful than the original evening in 1972. From the outset of counting, it was obvious that Carl Ditterich would be the winner of our Best and Fairest award. Praise must be given to this great footballer and clubman. His play through­out the year was an example to all and we were very pleased with his performance in every respect. Carl faced many difficulties in trans­ferring from St. Kilda to Melbourne. The publicity at that time placed a tremendous load on him but he showed from the beginning the foot­ball we hoped he would produce. To win the Best and Fairest award as he did, was a fitting climax to a splendid season. Our runner-up Best and Fairest, Greg Wells, again enjoyed a splendid year in which he polled heavily in all major awards. Greg is a brilliant player but has yet to realize his true potential. It is to be hoped that he will be allowed to settle into a permanent position where it is certain, he will delight football followers for many years to come. Third Best and Fairest was won by Barry Bourke and his was truly an outstanding performance. When one considers the injuries which Barry had to struggle against throughout the entire season and the manner in which he overcame them, one can only express extreme gratitude to Barry for the long and dedicated service he has given the Melbourne Football Club. Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the season, he suffered an adverse medical report that will virtually compel him to hang up his boots and retire as a player. He will shortly enter hospital for surgical treatment which will force him to be immobilized in plaster for many weeks. We sincerely trust that he will be permitted to serve the Club in other capacities and we will not lose the support of this very valuable clubman. Our fourth Best and Fairest player, Stan Alves, had a year made difficult by his being appointed as Captain and with the added respon­sibilities of the position, Stan's form was a little below that of 1972 when he was the winner of our Best and Fairest trophy. Stan, however, displayed great team spirit and was always a very difficult player for his opponent. He well deserves his high place in our voting award. In Paul Callery and Ray Biffin, who were fifth and sixth Best and Fairest players respectively, we had two most valuable players. Paul, who for the second time in a row was fifth in our Best and Fairest voting, was a great favourite with all and thoroughly deserved this position. The same remarks can be expressed about Ray Biffin who is a most valuable member of the team. Our Best First Year player is Robert Flower who is probably the most brilliant youngster in the V.F.L. He deserves great praise for an unswerving display of courage and skill of the highest order. Our Club had another reasonably successful financial year but we again express the hope that when the gradual curtailment and easing of the financial strain in developing V.F.L Park at Mulgrave beings to take effect, all club finances will be immeasurably improved. It is high time that the clubs that comprise the V.F.L should gain more assistance from that body in our efforts to meet the increased payments to players that we are called upon to meet. CAPTAIN AND VICE-CAPTAIN Special thanks must be conveyed to Stan Alves and Gary Hardeman who were our leaders on the field. Stan, by his example and his great club spirit, led the team most successfully whilst Gary Hardeman, with his dashing play and his youthful approach, caused the players to gather behind both he and Stan and we are most grateful to them for their leadership. They are both fine young men and typical examples of the players that represent our Club. OUR COMMITTEE Dr. D. G. Duffy again presided as Chairman of the football club for season 1973, It is unfortunate that our progress was not as success­ful as it might have been because the time and effort that our Committee puts into its work for the football club deserves more success than has been enjoyed over the past few years. Football committees are invariably criticised when the team fails to perform but very often the reasons for this failure are beyond its control. During the year, certain changes were made in Committee and the Rev. P. K. Melville was elected as a replacement for Mr. F. V. (Checker) Hughes who retired. With the retirement of Mr. Hughes, our club was indeed the poorer. Checker, who has carried on almost since he first came to Melbourne in 1933 has been associated with our Committee for a long while and we were very sorry to see him retire. He will, however, continue to visit us and he was tendered a complimentary dinner by the Committees of the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Melbourne Football Club which was a great privilege for those members fortunate to be in attendance. Mr. Hughes's place on Committee has been taken by another old player, P. K. Melville. Ken, who was a magnificent vice-captain of our club, and a member of premiership teams, is a most welcome addition to our committee. He brings with him the youthfulness of approach and an experience of football that will be of great benefit. Representing M.F.C. Members: Messrs. G. A. Lenne, J. P. McGrath. Co-opted Official: Mr. G. M. Swan. The work of the respective chairmen of our sub-committees must be mentioned. These include Noel McMahen (Match Committee), G. W. Patterson (Business Committee), G. A. Lenne (Finance), K. Carlon (Recruiting), G. M. Swan (Organization and Entertainment), A. L. King (League Director), all these gentlemen deserve special mention. Our sub-committees meet constantly throughout the season, sometimes as often as twice weekly and great demands are made on their time. In the case of Mr. King as League Director, one who also controls our membership ticket sales as well as our final series reserved ticket sales, it is quite remarkable the time he devotes to football club affairs. We are sincerely grateful to all gentlemen who serve on our Committee. CONGRATULATIONS We are again pleased to report that the Hon. Sir Henry Bolte, K.C.M.G., again consented to act as our Number 1 ticket holder for 1973. Sir Henry Bolte has been in attendance on many occasions during the season and was supported as our Number 2 ticket holder by Cr. Allan Whalley as Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. We are very pleased to record the enthusiasm and support of these two distinguished gentlemen and are proud to have them associated with our Club. Our congratulations must also go to the Richmond Football Club, its Coach Tom Hafey and its hard working officials headed by President Al Boord and Secretary Allan Schwab. Richmond's outstanding per­formance in winning premierships in all sections that its teams competed, made it a wonderful year for that Club. Its performance in winning the V.F.L. senior Grand Final brought great credit to the members of the team. There were many who considered Carlton to be the most professional team in the V.F.L. Richmond dispelled this in the final series by the manner in which it set about its task. With dedication and skill, and led unswervingly by Tom Hafey, it set a standard that other clubs found impossible to reach and in a most decisive manner, proved itself to be the best team in the competition. The team reached even greater heights in Adelaide in the Australian Championships which were held the following week when in an outstanding performance, it overhauled a seven goal deficit to defeat Subiaco and become Australian Champions. Congratulations mi the success they enjoyed. Congratulations are conveyed to Keith Greig of North Melbourne for his win in this year's Brownlow Medal Count. It might also be in order to congratulate the whole of the North Melbourne Football Club for its rejuvenation. Congratulations must go to our interstate representatives in Greg Wells, Gary Hardeman and Paul Callery. They were most worthy players and represented our club with distinction. CHAIRMAN'S ADDENDUM The lack of team improvement in 1973 was as surprising as it was unexpected and so much the reverse of the reasonable expectations we confidently held at the opening of the season. In such circumstances, widespread criticism is to be expected from frustrated and disappointed supporters who naturally cast about for some clearly identifiable reason for such failure. The Committee, coach and players must all face, in some measure, the brunt of this storm which is not only a natural reaction but also serves as a stimulus to the administration to do something about the situation. If they are slow to do so they should be opposed at the ballot box. Success can only come from the endeavour of players on the field and the winning of games no other way. The committee of the club must acquire the right sort of players in sufficient numbers to do the job and insofar as we have not been successful in this direction, we are open to serious criticism by our supporters. The committee fully realises its responsibility and is already taking steps to review the entire structure and methods of operation in the Melbourne Football Club. We have appointed a deputy chairman who will provide greater supervision of sub-committee work and liaison between them. It is probable that the experimental reduction in match committee numbers will be scrapped and the five member committee reinstituted. The appointment of an administrative secretary will allow Mr. Jim Cardwell to move more fully into the team management and recruiting field where his proven talents will be of greater service to the club. We are looking more closely than ever at the possibility of recruit­ment from other clubs in the V.F.L. while continuing to develop our country and metropolitan zones. Our supporters can be assured that the Melbourne Football Club has been a very happy club for some years but this desirable situation has not resulted in success on the field nor has the provision of incentive payments been sufficient to lift the team higher up the ladder. There is only one answer to our problem and that is more and better players.

2012: THE YEAR THAT WAS by Whispering Jack The great author and social critic Charles Dickens opened his epic novel A Tale of Two Cities in this way: The words ring loud and strong as I sit and ponder over a year whose end is almost upon us. More tough times for the club that founded the game and once ruled it, but has more recently perched uneasily on the tumbril heading for the guillotine while up there, in that far away city whose inhabitants barely care, the usurper reigns. The early optimism ever-present at the dawn of a season seemed justified in the very early days of Mark Neeld's AFL coaching career. On the first Saturday in March, his Demons overcame the Magpies by 9 points at Etihad Stadium. Despite the format and the experimental nature of those games, there was encouragement to be gained from the way they went about things that night but alas, it was short-lived and provided little more than a passing tinge of a promise of better things to come. The illusion was shattered within days when star forward Liam Jurrah, recuperating from a wrist injury, was arrested on charges relating to an alleged machete attack in an encampment in Alice Springs. The case became a complex saga with twists and turns that tormented the player, his community and his football club until he walked out late in the season leaving the beautiful story of his journey from Yuendumu to the big city in tatters. The end was an amicable divorce and in most years, his story would have been a mere distraction but in 2012, it was simply a distraction within a nest of distractions and deep wounds. There was much more to come. Two days after the breaking of the news about Jurrah, on the second Saturday in March, Hawthorn slaughtered Melbourne in the next NAB Cup game. The magical rebirth was over and, less than a week later, they lost in Adelaide to a less than well-respected Port Adelaide combination. The injuries were coming and the form was suddenly worse than poor. On 20 March, the iconic Jim Stynes, who had only recently stood down as club chairman, died at the young age of 45. A week later, he was buried at a state funeral held at St Paul's Cathedral, honoured by thousands including his players proudly wearing their red and blue blazers. On 31 March, the season proper began. At the MCG, a listless Melbourne succumbed in the heat by 41 points to the unfancied Brisbane Lions and suddenly, the club was under attack with the vultures in the media circling. The coach was less than convincing in post-match interviews, the attendance of the players at Stynes' funeral so close to the start of the season was now scoffed at and the stirrers became more and more vicious in their contempt of the club as the defeats came and the performances tended towards the insipid. Now, Melbourne was easy prey; fodder for all manner of opportunists with various agendas, some hidden and others kept deep below the surface. The new coach was falsely accused of discriminating against his indigenous players. The slur was traced to the AFL's community engagement manager Jason Mifsud who apologised to Neeld and offered his resignation but AFL chief Andrew Demetriou refused to accept it. Mifsud remains in his employment to this very day despite clear breaches of trust and dishonesty. The mystery remains as to the true origin of the allegations and as to whether parties other than Mifsud were behind them, for the controversy opened up more doors for the club's detractors who used it to question the manner of Neeld's appointment. Has a young coach ever in the history of the game been exposed more to the media blowtorch, much of it without justification, than this man? Worse was to come with the revelations of racist and sexist posts on the Facebook page of the CEO of the club's major sponsor Energy Watch. The club acted swiftly and decisively to sever ties with Energy Watch but the usual suspects were swifter in sinking more boots into the hapless Demons who admittedly did manage to cover most of the lost ground by securing Webjet and Opel as sponsors. The season dragged on, the injuries, the poor form and the defeats got worse amid a few dim rays of light amid the gloom. Nathan Jones was indefatigable, recruit Mitch Clark a revelation at full forward and some of the youngsters were showing good signs. After nine straight losses, the Demons had a night out at the MCG and finally broke the ice to beat the Bombers but the injury toll continued to mount. Clark's foot surgery was a major blow and the list of players injured never went below a dozen in number during the second half of 2012. The inevitable result was that wins were even harder to come by and the season's total of four victories consisted of three over new franchise teams, GWS and the Gold Coast, as well as that Round 10 upset over Essendon. Then came the thunderbolt known as the "tanking affair" which famously opened with suggestions by former player Brock McLean on the Fox Footy Channel that "you would have to be blind Freddy" not to realise that winning was less of a priority for the Demons than draft picks in his last season so he left to go to Carlton of all clubs. The Blues had three number one draft picks courtesy of the system including Matthew Kreuzer who was secured after a spectacular eleven game end of season losing streak that culminated in the farcical Kreuzer Cup and which is referred to these days in some circles as the "grand slam of tanking" but all this was missed by the panel of three supposedly wise inquisitors who were so lost for words that they failed to ask the glaringly obvious, leaving many suspecting that McLean was a mere patsy set up to embarrass his old club (or more precisely, certain officials of his old club). The politics behind the McLean revelations was also lost on the AFL's (now departed) Adrian Anderson who hastily launched a 5½ month long inquisition which drew to a close late in the year and out of which no charges have been laid to date. The enquiry was discriminatory in that it ignored other clubs whose own activities have been queried on the subject over a period of a decade and was confined to Melbourne and Melbourne alone. Incredibly, one of the club's detractors was former Chairman Paul Gardner who went public with this massive toe poke to the head, "I knew what they were doing and why they were doing it, but I didn't have to watch it any more." Information leaked to the media resulted in a storm of controversy in early November with an inflammatory and damning editorial knitted together by Melbourne Age chief football writer Caroline "Madame Defarge" Wilson and this led to a statement by President Don McLardy that the club would use every resource available to defend the integrity of the Melbourne Football Club. Ray Finkelstein, a prominent QC and former judge was appointed to handle the clubs defence. There have been suggestions that the possibility of a sanction against Melbourne or some of its officials but in the absence of similarly prolonged and through investigations of other clubs also suspected of tanking but not investigated, the AFL's integrity would be left in tatters carrying the smell of corruption. The saga is set to play itself out next month amid suggestions that face-saving deals will be done but I will leave further comment to Herald Sun journalist Warwick Green who recently wrote: The outcome of the enquiry will not be the end of the matter for the Melbourne Football Club. The board which has shown considerable strength and unity over a trying period still needs to deal with the core of the political maelstrom and the antipathy towards it from malcontents and disaffected supporters and from within certain segments of the media. These things are damaging and cannot be easily dealt with but they reflect deep-seated grievances and quarrels that have tracked the club through almost fifty years of disquiet that have destroyed many careers and good people and have held back its resurrection. At the other end of the spectrum, Sydney upset Hawthorn in a memorable grand final and, for the second time in a decade, the premiership cup went north while the oldest football club in the world remained in a state of disarray. We need to aspire to their level of solidarity, calm and experience within our ranks if we are to attain success. It was only when the playing season was over that we could experience some better times. Nathan Jones was a worthy winner of the Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy in recognition of him lifting his game to a point where a little more improvement next year will see him at the level of the elite, Jeremy Howe took Mark of the Year after amassing numerous nominations at the same time demonstrating that he's more than just a spring heeled Jack while the two Jacks, Grimes and Trengove had the most difficult of initiations into the world of AFL captaincy that will hold them in good stead in the years to come. Mitch Clark stuck it right up his critics with aplomb and he will be back while young Tom McDonald showed sufficient quality as a defender to warrant some striking list decisions made by the club in terms of its future defensive structure. The list changes effected in the last quarter of the calendar year was breathtaking in breadth and scope. We saw fifteen players gone including former captain and club stalwart Brad Green, Jared Rivers, Brent Moloney, Matthew Bate and some others who were good servants of the club but it was time for change. They were replaced by an eclectic mix of young and old in a sign that the football department was willing to take the steps necessary to bring about the best of times for an ailing club. The newcomers will be among the trailblazers as the team named for this great city begins its revival. Names like Viney, Dawes, Toumpas and next year Hogan will help change things forever, bringing to mind the theme of resurrection in these words, among the last to come from the unfortunate man who bears the name "Sydney" in Dickens' great tale:

2012: THE YEAR THAT WAS by Whispering Jack The great author and social critic Charles Dickens opened his epic novel A Tale of Two Cities in this way: The words ring loud and strong as I sit and ponder over a year whose end is almost upon us. More tough times for the club that founded the game and once ruled it, but has more recently perched uneasily on the tumbril heading for the guillotine while up there, in that far away city whose inhabitants barely care, the usurper reigns. The early optimism ever-present at the dawn of a season seemed justified in the very early days of Mark Neeld's AFL coaching career. On the first Saturday in March, his Demons overcame the Magpies by 9 points at Etihad Stadium. Despite the format and the experimental nature of those games, there was encouragement to be gained from the way they went about things that night but alas, it was short-lived and provided little more than a passing tinge of a promise of better things to come. The illusion was shattered within days when star forward Liam Jurrah, recuperating from a wrist injury, was arrested on charges relating to an alleged machete attack in an encampment in Alice Springs. The case became a complex saga with twists and turns that tormented the player, his community and his football club until he walked out late in the season leaving the beautiful story of his journey from Yuendumu to the big city in tatters. The end was an amicable divorce and in most years, his story would have been a mere distraction but in 2012, it was simply a distraction within a nest of distractions and deep wounds. There was much more to come. Two days after the breaking of the news about Jurrah, on the second Saturday in March, Hawthorn slaughtered Melbourne in the next NAB Cup game. The magical rebirth was over and, less than a week later, they lost in Adelaide to a less than well-respected Port Adelaide combination. The injuries were coming and the form was suddenly worse than poor. On 20 March, the iconic Jim Stynes, who had only recently stood down as club chairman, died at the young age of 45. A week later, he was buried at a state funeral held at St Paul's Cathedral, honoured by thousands including his players proudly wearing their red and blue blazers. On 31 March, the season proper began. At the MCG, a listless Melbourne succumbed in the heat by 41 points to the unfancied Brisbane Lions and suddenly, the club was under attack with the vultures in the media circling. The coach was less than convincing in post-match interviews, the attendance of the players at Stynes' funeral so close to the start of the season was now scoffed at and the stirrers became more and more vicious in their contempt of the club as the defeats came and the performances tended towards the insipid. Now, Melbourne was easy prey; fodder for all manner of opportunists with various agendas, some hidden and others kept deep below the surface. The new coach was falsely accused of discriminating against his indigenous players. The slur was traced to the AFL's community engagement manager Jason Mifsud who apologised to Neeld and offered his resignation but AFL chief Andrew Demetriou refused to accept it. Mifsud remains in his employment to this very day despite clear breaches of trust and dishonesty. The mystery remains as to the true origin of the allegations and as to whether parties other than Mifsud were behind them, for the controversy opened up more doors for the club's detractors who used it to question the manner of Neeld's appointment. Has a young coach ever in the history of the game been exposed more to the media blowtorch, much of it without justification, than this man? Worse was to come with the revelations of racist and sexist posts on the Facebook page of the CEO of the club's major sponsor Energy Watch. The club acted swiftly and decisively to sever ties with Energy Watch but the usual suspects were swifter in sinking more boots into the hapless Demons who admittedly did manage to cover most of the lost ground by securing Webjet and Opel as sponsors. The season dragged on, the injuries, the poor form and the defeats got worse amid a few dim rays of light amid the gloom. Nathan Jones was indefatigable, recruit Mitch Clark a revelation at full forward and some of the youngsters were showing good signs. After nine straight losses, the Demons had a night out at the MCG and finally broke the ice to beat the Bombers but the injury toll continued to mount. Clark's foot surgery was a major blow and the list of players injured never went below a dozen in number during the second half of 2012. The inevitable result was that wins were even harder to come by and the season's total of four victories consisted of three over new franchise teams, GWS and the Gold Coast, as well as that Round 10 upset over Essendon. Then came the thunderbolt known as the "tanking affair" which famously opened with suggestions by former player Brock McLean on the Fox Footy Channel that "you would have to be blind Freddy" not to realise that winning was less of a priority for the Demons than draft picks in his last season so he left to go to Carlton of all clubs. The Blues had three number one draft picks courtesy of the system including Matthew Kreuzer who was secured after a spectacular eleven game end of season losing streak that culminated in the farcical Kreuzer Cup and which is referred to these days in some circles as the "grand slam of tanking" but all this was missed by the panel of three supposedly wise inquisitors who were so lost for words that they failed to ask the glaringly obvious, leaving many suspecting that McLean was a mere patsy set up to embarrass his old club (or more precisely, certain officials of his old club). The politics behind the McLean revelations was also lost on the AFL's (now departed) Adrian Anderson who hastily launched a 5½ month long inquisition which drew to a close late in the year and out of which no charges have been laid to date. The enquiry was discriminatory in that it ignored other clubs whose own activities have been queried on the subject over a period of a decade and was confined to Melbourne and Melbourne alone. Incredibly, one of the club's detractors was former Chairman Paul Gardner who went public with this massive toe poke to the head, "I knew what they were doing and why they were doing it, but I didn't have to watch it any more." Information leaked to the media resulted in a storm of controversy in early November with an inflammatory and damning editorial knitted together by Melbourne Age chief football writer Caroline "Madame Defarge" Wilson and this led to a statement by President Don McLardy that the club would use every resource available to defend the integrity of the Melbourne Football Club. Ray Finkelstein, a prominent QC and former judge was appointed to handle the clubs defence. There have been suggestions that the possibility of a sanction against Melbourne or some of its officials but in the absence of similarly prolonged and through investigations of other clubs also suspected of tanking but not investigated, the AFL's integrity would be left in tatters carrying the smell of corruption. The saga is set to play itself out next month amid suggestions that face-saving deals will be done but I will leave further comment to Herald Sun journalist Warwick Green who recently wrote: The outcome of the enquiry will not be the end of the matter for the Melbourne Football Club. The board which has shown considerable strength and unity over a trying period still needs to deal with the core of the political maelstrom and the antipathy towards it from malcontents and disaffected supporters and from within certain segments of the media. These things are damaging and cannot be easily dealt with but they reflect deep-seated grievances and quarrels that have tracked the club through almost fifty years of disquiet that have destroyed many careers and good people and have held back its resurrection. At the other end of the spectrum, Sydney upset Hawthorn in a memorable grand final and, for the second time in a decade, the premiership cup went north while the oldest football club in the world remained in a state of disarray. We need to aspire to their level of solidarity, calm and experience within our ranks if we are to attain success. It was only when the playing season was over that we could experience some better times. Nathan Jones was a worthy winner of the Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy in recognition of him lifting his game to a point where a little more improvement next year will see him at the level of the elite, Jeremy Howe took Mark of the Year after amassing numerous nominations at the same time demonstrating that he's more than just a spring heeled Jack while the two Jacks, Grimes and Trengove had the most difficult of initiations into the world of AFL captaincy that will hold them in good stead in the years to come. Mitch Clark stuck it right up his critics with aplomb and he will be back while young Tom McDonald showed sufficient quality as a defender to warrant some striking list decisions made by the club in terms of its future defensive structure. The list changes effected in the last quarter of the calendar year was breathtaking in breadth and scope. We saw fifteen players gone including former captain and club stalwart Brad Green, Jared Rivers, Brent Moloney, Matthew Bate and some others who were good servants of the club but it was time for change. They were replaced by an eclectic mix of young and old in a sign that the football department was willing to take the steps necessary to bring about the best of times for an ailing club. The newcomers will be among the trailblazers as the team named for this great city begins its revival. Names like Viney, Dawes, Toumpas and next year Hogan will help change things forever, bringing to mind the theme of resurrection in these words, among the last to come from the unfortunate man who bears the name "Sydney" in Dickens' great tale:

WJ delving back into his own past? A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER TEN - SEMPER FIDELIS They were huddled together inside their winter coats on the Saturday afternoon tram that rattled up St. Kilda Road in the direction of the Junction. The two small children listened attentively as the old man in front of them rehearsed his lines, the words bursting out loudly with graceful eloquence and in a strange tongue. The few passengers in the almost empty carriage looked away sheepishly as if they were in the presence of a madman. Had they been equipped with the knowledge that the old man was a famous actor, renowned worldwide as the doyen of the Yiddish language theatre, it would have made little difference. Nor that he was saved from horrors of the Holocaust by an accident that stranded him in this far away land, half a world away from home when the hostilities of war broke out. The war was now a thing of the past for the travellers as the carriage wended its way through the cold mist of a grim wintery day. The American sitting by the door was reading an edition of that day's Sun News Pictorial bearing the date, Saturday 4th July, 1953. The pain of the smashed shoulder, the migraine headaches and the long sleepless nights were almost gone. He stared, then smiled at the actor who looked back at him to answer the question that was asked only through his dark eyes. The explanation that he was minding his granddaughter and a neighbour's son was followed by a nodding of heads and both of them returned to their roles, the American reflecting on the news of the day and the old man losing himself in a world of ancient folk tales and fire and evil spirits from distant lands. They piled on in their numbers at the Junction. The majority were men, most of them half or fully drunk and some of them angry. They were the football crowd coming from nearby Junction Oval where 12,000 had witnessed a close contest. The old actor rolled his eyes when he heard one of the newcomers cursing and swearing to the effect that the Saints had just beaten the Demons by four points. Apparently, errant kicking for goal, weak coaching and poor umpiring were offered as the causes of the defeat but it would all have been different if "that effing young 'un' Barassi would have kicked truly at the end". "Fair go mate. It was really only his first game and he's going to be a player so bugger off you drongo. Fair dinkum, when they were handing out brains, you must have been outside taking a p ..." They were fighting on a crowded tram, fists flying, bodies heaving and the old man grabbing hold of the two small children to keep them out of harm's way. By the time they made their way out of the carriage, he almost wished he would have listened to his daughter-in-law's suggestion about taking them to the afternoon matinee but he was a dramatic actor of quality and didn't want to be involved with "drek like those old Errol Flynn movies or with people dancing around and Singin' In The Rain." As they stood at the tram stop, the old man saw the American who had also alighted, thumbing through a road map and looking confused. The offer of help to find his destination was accepted and, as fate would have it, he was looking for an address in Carre Street, Elsternwick right next door to where the families of the two children lived together in shared accommodation. They walked home and the old man remembered it was American Independence Day. Congratulations were followed by shared wartime experiences. The American had fought with the Marines at Bougainville and then drifted back to the South Pacific and finally to Australia. He was bemused at the fracas they had witnessed on the tram between two supporters of the same football team. "The motto of the United States Marine Corps is 'Semper Fi' and it means 'Always Faithful' or 'Always Loyal'. We succeeded in the end because we were loyal to each other. Those guys should be on the same side. When they learn that, only then will they win." It was a simple philosophy for a time less complex than today. The last they saw of him was when he turned to salute as he took the path towards the door of number 4 while the old man and the two children moved on to number 6. TO BE CONTINUED For the record, Melbourne did play St. Kilda on Saturday, 4 July, 1953 at the Junction Oval and the Demons did lose by 4 points. St. Kilda 6.2.38 7.4.46 9.6.60 11.7.73 Melbourne 2.2.14 4.10.34 5.14.44 8.21.69 Melbourne Goalkickers: Bob McKenzie 3 Ken Albiston 2 Geoff McGivern Maurie Reeves Peter Schofield Ronald Dale Barassi made his real debut after having sat on the bench for four quarters in his 'first' game earlier in the season and had the chance to make a hero of himself in the last quarter but missed a clutch goal. He went on to become the greatest Demon ever and played in six premierships in a decade culminating in a famous victory in his last game for the club on 19 September, 1964. The hallmark of that successful team was the loyalty instilled into the club by the late Norm Smith but things changed in the following year. All that is a story for another time given that WJ has yet to make it to 1964 ...

WJ delving back into his own past? A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER TEN - SEMPER FIDELIS They were huddled together inside their winter coats on the Saturday afternoon tram that rattled up St. Kilda Road in the direction of the Junction. The two small children listened attentively as the old man in front of them rehearsed his lines, the words bursting out loudly with graceful eloquence and in a strange tongue. The few passengers in the almost empty carriage looked away sheepishly as if they were in the presence of a madman. Had they been equipped with the knowledge that the old man was a famous actor, renowned worldwide as the doyen of the Yiddish language theatre, it would have made little difference. Nor that he was saved from horrors of the Holocaust by an accident that stranded him in this far away land, half a world away from home when the hostilities of war broke out. The war was now a thing of the past for the travellers as the carriage wended its way through the cold mist of a grim wintery day. The American sitting by the door was reading an edition of that day's Sun News Pictorial bearing the date, Saturday 4th July, 1953. The pain of the smashed shoulder, the migraine headaches and the long sleepless nights were almost gone. He stared, then smiled at the actor who looked back at him to answer the question that was asked only through his dark eyes. The explanation that he was minding his granddaughter and a neighbour's son was followed by a nodding of heads and both of them returned to their roles, the American reflecting on the news of the day and the old man losing himself in a world of ancient folk tales and fire and evil spirits from distant lands. They piled on in their numbers at the Junction. The majority were men, most of them half or fully drunk and some of them angry. They were the football crowd coming from nearby Junction Oval where 12,000 had witnessed a close contest. The old actor rolled his eyes when he heard one of the newcomers cursing and swearing to the effect that the Saints had just beaten the Demons by four points. Apparently, errant kicking for goal, weak coaching and poor umpiring were offered as the causes of the defeat but it would all have been different if "that effing young 'un' Barassi would have kicked truly at the end". "Fair go mate. It was really only his first game and he's going to be a player so bugger off you drongo. Fair dinkum, when they were handing out brains, you must have been outside taking a p ..." They were fighting on a crowded tram, fists flying, bodies heaving and the old man grabbing hold of the two small children to keep them out of harm's way. By the time they made their way out of the carriage, he almost wished he would have listened to his daughter-in-law's suggestion about taking them to the afternoon matinee but he was a dramatic actor of quality and didn't want to be involved with "drek like those old Errol Flynn movies or with people dancing around and Singin' In The Rain." As they stood at the tram stop, the old man saw the American who had also alighted, thumbing through a road map and looking confused. The offer of help to find his destination was accepted and, as fate would have it, he was looking for an address in Carre Street, Elsternwick right next door to where the families of the two children lived together in shared accommodation. They walked home and the old man remembered it was American Independence Day. Congratulations were followed by shared wartime experiences. The American had fought with the Marines at Bougainville and then drifted back to the South Pacific and finally to Australia. He was bemused at the fracas they had witnessed on the tram between two supporters of the same football team. "The motto of the United States Marine Corps is 'Semper Fi' and it means 'Always Faithful' or 'Always Loyal'. We succeeded in the end because we were loyal to each other. Those guys should be on the same side. When they learn that, only then will they win." It was a simple philosophy for a time less complex than today. The last they saw of him was when he turned to salute as he took the path towards the door of number 4 while the old man and the two children moved on to number 6. TO BE CONTINUED For the record, Melbourne did play St. Kilda on Saturday, 4 July, 1953 at the Junction Oval and the Demons did lose by 4 points. St. Kilda 6.2.38 7.4.46 9.6.60 11.7.73 Melbourne 2.2.14 4.10.34 5.14.44 8.21.69 Melbourne Goalkickers: Bob McKenzie 3 Ken Albiston 2 Geoff McGivern Maurie Reeves Peter Schofield Ronald Dale Barassi made his real debut after having sat on the bench for four quarters in his 'first' game earlier in the season and had the chance to make a hero of himself in the last quarter but missed a clutch goal. He went on to become the greatest Demon ever and played in six premierships in a decade culminating in a famous victory in his last game for the club on 19 September, 1964. The hallmark of that successful team was the loyalty instilled into the club by the late Norm Smith but things changed in the following year. All that is a story for another time given that WJ has yet to make it to 1964 ...

This time last year I predicted Hawthorn would win the premiership and Melbourne would take a giant step forward by making the finals and finishing in eighth place. I was wrong on both counts but that is the way of things in the life of a new age oracle. Like most people these days, we rely far too heavily on modern technology and the result is that it's so easy to make mistakes. It wasn't until well into the 2012 AFL season that I discovered I had overset the forward drive on my reconditioned crystal ball so that all of my predictions were one year ahead of time. This came as a great relief to me on a number of counts, not the least of which was the knowledge that Stella (the name by which my crystal ball is affectionately known) is once again fully operational and I'm able to provide my fearless predictions for the future with some measure of confidence. I was also relieved when I looked through the swirling snow encased in Stella's glass orb into 2013 and beyond that those moronic Mayans got it all wrong about the world ending on 21 December, 2012. Of course, if you knew anything about what those blokes used to smoke back in their day, you wouldn't be surprised that none of their predictions ever worked out right on the button. Not that my own track record has been all that flash lately, but at least when I make my forecasts on big ticket items like the end of the world, I make sure that my research is impeccable and my prognostications are accurate enough to ensure that people listen to me the next time I open my mouth. So much for the Mayans! So looking into my crystal ball recently, I was somewhat taken aback to see Jared Rivers in horizontal navy and white stripes at Simmons Stadium and Ricky Petterd looking positively strange in yeller and black high-fiving a bunch of ferals after booting one through his backside from a pocket. While I'm at it, congratulations to James Frawley, Jeremy Howe and Lynden Dunn for taking their former teammates to Bay 13 to give them an insight into the mindset of the yobbos who will be following them for the remainder of their careers. On the other hand, when I looked to the west, I was truly gobsmacked at the sight of an overblown Cale Morton (fair dinkum, he was well over 105kg) checking into a Perth Weight Watchers clinic after what surely must have been an experiment gone wrong from the chemist who coaches the Weagles. I say it every year but it's a fact. Final eight predictions are always fraught with danger. There are always surprises with some teams unexpectedly dropping out of contention and others rising to the occasion and surprising everybody. This my top eight for 2013:- 1. Hawthorn - Clarkson and the Hawks are smarting about their lost opportunity in the 2012 grand final. They had the Swans on the ropes but some poor kicking for goal let them off the hook and Malceski and Morton (Mitch) turned out to be the unlikely heroes. I still rate Clarkson as the AFL's top coach even if he loses the plot in the coaches box and at under 9 games, and rate the Hawks a shoe in for next year's flag. Stella confirms my opinion. 2. Collingwood - the Pies have managed their list beautifully throughout the free agency/trade and draft period. They managed to trade well to get good draft picks and gained some handy replacements on the cheap through free agency. Having worked the system to perfection, they now have the added depth to make up the leeway between them and last year's grand finalists and I reckon they are going to give the flag a bit of a shake before doing what they always do best. Yes, that's play in losing grand finals. 3. Geelong - the fat lady is far from done with the Cats who utilised 2012 to bring several new faces into the game with good effect. Some critics believe they might struggle but they've still got the hunger and have recruited reasonably strongly in areas where their football department perceived they might have had some weaknesses. Geelong will remain hard to beat in 2013. 4. Fremantle - Ross Lyon managed to rejuvenate the Dockers in his first season out west. He added new steel into the team and whilst the emphasis remained on defence, his team also demonstrated some fantastic attacking capabilities when called upon to do so in the latter stages of the season. 5. Sydney - the reigning premiers didn't exactly slip under the radar in 2012 but they will come under more intense scrutiny from opposition coaches and teams determined to knock of the competition's tallest poppy. Kurt Tippett will add something to the forward division but it will be well into the season before he even appears in the colours at AFL level. I see them slipping because that's what the crystal ball's telling me. 6. West Coast - the Eagles have a classy list but I'm not satisfied that they've done enough to improve their list to the point where they can take the next step up into the top four. I worry about Wellingham and wonder what Morton and Bennell are doing on their list. 7. Carlton - they've really blown it in the past couple of years with a talented but underachieving list. Malthouse comes in with a new/old philosophy that should lift them a few notches and back into the finals but salary cap restrictions as a result of the AFL's ruling on Chris Judd's financial package, have restricted their recruiting. With Judd in his declining years and giving up the captaincy and the likes of Kreuzer and Gibbs looking decidedly shaky, this is probably the Blues last chance of reaping the dividends of their three year tanking spree (2005-7) which the AFL has curiously chosen to pretend never existed. 8. Melbourne - the Demon overhaul is now virtually complete. It's a changed list with a new attitude and every player is prepared to give his all. The squad might be young but with the massive turnover of players, a new work ethic, a high level of motivation and a reasonable draw, they should improve. Mark Neeld wants to have the hardest team to play against and while I don't think they're quite there at the moment, I think they'll be the most surprising team as well as the most unpredictable. My rough guess then is that they will get to eighth spot on the ladder. Finally, I'm sure you all want to find out about the outcome of the AFL tanking enquiry. Well, I can't say much but looking into the swirling drifts of snow, I can just detect the outline of a single object - the scales of justice. Make of that what you will but I can assure you all that whatever happens, it won't be the end of the world. I'll see you all in the future!

It was eight years ago that hundreds of thousands of people from across the rim of the Indian Ocean, some Australians and one of them our very dear Troy Broadbridge, lost their lives as a result of earthquakes and the tsunami that followed. This Boxing Day is again a day on which we reflect and remember Troy and all the victims of this tragedy. Your tributes are invited tonight, tomorrow and in fact, at any time. Troy Broadbridge: No. 20 Born: 5 October 1980 Recruited from Port Adelaide Magpies (SANFL) Died: 26 December 2004, Thailand Playing Career: Debut Round 8, May 20, 2001, Melbourne vs. Essendon, at Melbourne Cricket Ground Team: Melbourne (2001-2004) 40 games, 2 goals Melbourne Most Improved Player 2001 Sandringham Premiership Team 2000 & 2004

I think this was changed in a past software update. Nothing I can do about it. Not sure why they did it.