Demonland

by Whispering Jack Melbourne finished off its 2009 pre season campaign on a disappointing note when it failed to score in the appalling conditions that prevailed in the last quarter of its NAB Challenge against the Bulldogs at Casey Fields yesterday. The word "apalling" may not be entirely appropriate because what appeared to be the arrival of Cyclone Hamish direct from Cairns did herald an end to the state's bushfires. Unfortunately, it also put paid to any chance Melbourne had of winning this game. The Western Bulldogs had the advantage of cyclonic conditions and kicked 5.6 for the term to storm home by 38 points but the result was in no way indicative of how the game was played. For the first three quarters the Demons took it right up to last year's beaten preliminary finalists who fielded virtually a full squad while the Melbourne was without injured players Paul Johnson, Jack Grimes, Russell Robertson, Paul Wheatley, Austin Wonaemirri, Mark Jamar and Matthew Whelan as well as the suspended Colin Sylvia. It lost Ricky Petterd (corked hip), Daniel Bell (broken thumb) and Aaron Davey (bruised heel) at various stages during the course of the game. That is not making excuses but rather stating fact although I'm not sure whether any of the individuals who were out could have made a difference. The circumstances did however, make a mockery of the result and the 38 point blow out. It was an even first half in which the highly skilled Bulldogs dominated for the first ten minutes before Melbourne settled down and played some good, positive team football. The Western Bulldogs then started getting on top during the third quarter before a two goal Brad Green inspired comeback got Melbourne to within two points at the final break. I sensed that the Demons were going to be hard put to win anyway in the face of a more precise and skilful opponent but the changed conditions which gave the Doggies a distinct wind advantage made it a certainty. It's ironic that we've experienced such a severe drought and yet the team has had to brave such shocking conditions for two weeks in a row. In the end, it must have had an effect on the legs. The point however, is that last year Melbourne might have held its own for one quarter and been beaten for three quarters in a game like that but yesterday, the team was more than competitive for three quarters. I think that's a significant factor when looking at the season to come. They are not going to be world beaters but they will win more than their three games of 2008. As in previous weeks, the obvious improvement came from the defence. Colin Garland continues to shine and he is well backed up by Matthew Warnock, Stef Martin, James Frawley, Kyle Cheney, Clint Bartram and Jamie Bennell. This group probably averages no more than a dozen AFL games but they are moulding into a strong, compact hard working defensive unit. It's exactly what you need to launch a campaign to get your team off the deck. The addition of Jared Rivers who got through a full game for the first time in eons will be an important added bonus. I was really impressed with Bennell's first half. He has poise, skill and a natural football brain. But defenders also must keep their opponents in check as the slightest amount of latitude given to an opponent at this level can be deadly. I think he might have learned that lesson yesterday. The midfield performed reasonably well for the first three quarters. Brock McLean (who looked like an alien with his shaven head), James McDonald, Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney worked hard to get an advantage in the clearances but they still need to improve on their awareness and disposal skills coming out of the packs. Against this level of opposition, turnovers will always hurt you and unfortunately, the Demons had a few too many unforced turnovers in this area. Cale Morton, Daniel Bell, Cameron Bruce and Lynden Dunn all added support without being spectacular but like most of the team, went missing in the deluge (at least Bell had an excuse - he was off the ground injured!). Simon Buckley gave this division the benefit of some added run and will be an important player in 2009 while Green played a superb game both in the midfield and in attack. Jake Spencer was beaten by a strong Bulldog ruck combination but he worked hard and made Hudson and Minson earn their keep. He can only improve and looks set to lead the Demon rucks into the first third of the season. John Meesen tried but is not up to this standard. The attacking division remains problematic. Brad Miller cost the team a certain goal with his tantrum after Kyle Cheney had been awarded a fifty metre penalty. Miller remonstrated long and hard until the decision was reversed and then added insult to injury by giving away another fifty. This altered the tempo of the play at a time when the Demons were challenging to take the ascendency and Miller went missing for the rest of the game. I have no problem with flying the flag but this just wasn't smart at all. Matthew Bate had an off day. Michael Newton had his moments and was good but only in patches. At times he ran hard and chased hard and did well in conditions that would not have suited him. At other times, he seemed uninterested and didn't attack the ball hard enough. Admittedly, he was starved of opportunities after half time and the delivery to the forward line wasn't all that flash but he has a lot of work to do if he wants to become an AFL regular. Ricky Petterd played a lot out of the forward line and was probably the most impressive of the forwards until he injured his hip. Hopefully, it really is only a corked hip and he doesn't miss games. Neville Jetta is a great competitor and is looking good for a round one debut given the uncertainty about Aussie and Aaron Davey. Thankfully, the players have a well needed week's break before we get into the real stuff but there will be no rest for coach Dean Bailey. He hasn't managed to cover all of his team's deficiencies from 2008 during the off season (not that this was ever a possibility) and will have another tough assignment in 2009. Bailey's main problem again looks to be in the forward line where many of the deficiencies lie. I suspect he will have to make a decision very soon on whether to conscript Brad Green into this area because there simply doesn't enough goalkicking power up there in his absence. Melbourne 2.1.13 7.3.45 10.3.63 10.3.63 Western Bulldogs 2.7.19 5.10.40 9.11.65 14.17.101 Goals Melbourne Green 3 Miller Jetta Newton Davey McLean McDonald Jones Western Bulldogs Hill 3 Johnson 2 Higgins 2 Griffin 2 Akermanis Hahn Harbrow Cross Ward Best Melbourne Green, Jones, McDonald, Jetta, Buckley, Garland Western Bulldogs Cross, Gilbee, Griffin, Hill, Boyd, Higgins Injuries Melbourne Petterd (corked hip), Bell (suspected broken thumb), Davey (bruised heel) Western Bulldogs Nil Reports Clint Bartram for making front on contact with Daniel Giansiracusa in the fourth quarter Umpires Kennedy, Mollison, Stewart Crowd 2,500 (approx) at Casey Fields

or possibly Melbourne v Sydney in the NAB Challenge at Visy Park a couple of weeks ago.

What about the boy Hughes. Can he bat or what?

Funny that when this happens the Herald Sun runs an article "Warnock steps up" but its not about Matthew Warnock. It's about his brother Robert although he's done abolutely nothing on any football field. The article's about how Carlton is optimistic that the injury prone ruckman (who's costing them 400k a season for four years) "could run out with the Northern Bullants in their season-opener on April 12." That's news?

HAMISH AND HAPPINESS by Bananabender Moose and I had all the good intentions in the world when we embarked on Thursday monrning on what was to be a leisurely 24 plus hours 1,670 kilometre drive north to watch the Demons take on the Lions at Cazaly Stadium, Cairns on the following evening. But we never made it. The reasons for missing our first Melbourne game in tropical far north Queensland were many. Initially, engine trouble with the ute set us back by several hours. During the time the garage was attending to the repairs, Moose got stuck into our supply of frothies and promptly ruled himself out of any possible role as co-driver for the trip. Then the warnings about a looming tropical cyclone were enough to force us to turn back home. We've experienced tropical cyclones before. Driving rain and roaring winds are not a pleasant mix and you don't want to get slapped in the face by a sheet of flying corrugated iron (or even a cane toad for that matter). The decision not to push on was made a lot easier with the knowledge that we still have the opportunity to watch the Dees play this year in what will be a fair dinkum game for premiership points against St. Kilda in a couple of months time at a venue much closer to home - Carara on the Gold Coast so we ended up back in the flat in suburban Brisbane with two days supply of XXXX watching Phil Hughes and Simon Katich flaying the Protea bowling attack on a flat deck in Durban. And they were carrying out the demolition with more speed and more efficiency than what we were doing with the tinnies! The problem was the promise made to Demonland of a match report on a game that we never came within 1,500 k's of watching! We decided to fulfill our obligation by improvising i.e commenting on reports from the media and the internet and providing a story from the viewpoint of long-suffering footy starved fans who at least reside in the same state where the game was played. The problem was that the first media stories about the game were so Brisbane-centric that it wasn't funny. The Courier Mail (and the Herald Sun) ran a report by Robert Craddock - JARED BRENNAN INJURED IN PRACTICE MATCH. Bloody hell, I thought Craddock did cricket and judging by this shite he probably should have been at Durban (Moose wanted me to say Lahore or La Whore but please excuse him – he was totally shickered by this stage). Fair dinkum, we double the home team's score (well ... they were a little bit closer to home than we were) and all he can write about is Jared Brennan's injury (a quad strain), Michael Voss' lamentation that his side had played "poorly" and without "intensity" and gave away too many "free kicks" (a time honoured default excuse for losing a game), how young Lions Rich and Redden played well in the conditions and that one J. Brown got through half a game unscathed. Oh, and yes. The other team that took part was Melbourne. You call that a match report Craddock? The AFL's own site was no better and it should therefore not come as a surprise that the website editors decided to retain the author's anonymity - VOSS NOT WORRIED BY HEAVY LOSS TO DEMONS. This report tells us that Voss isn't panicking about his team's loss (as you wouldn't when you get flogged by the raging favourites for the wooden spoon), that he saw no discernible "gaping holes" in his team's makeup and that the game was played in horrible conditions on account of Tropical Cyclone Hamish (named after the bloke from Melbourne who's supposed to be promoting the Demons?). Incidentally, to round off his/her/its report, the unnamed journo let slip the fact that Dean Bailey was happy with the performance. I won't even bother commenting on the effort of Cairns Post reporter Andrew Piva - DEMONS SWOOP ON LIONS LAPSES other than to ask whether the winning side is ever going to get any credit for beating their opposition on the night and noting Moose's astute comment that the word "piva" apparently means "beer" in Polish. (although Moose is of Polish extraction, he could be wrong because he was heavily on the piss beer piva at the time he made the comment). So my last refuge was the message boards on the Demon supporter sites and, thanks to the hardy efforts of "Junior" who is apparently the offspring of correspondent "faultydet" and who was one of 4,000 spectators who got a thorough drenching at Cazaly Stadium, I can impart some information about the game. Thanks guys. The conditions were wet and windy ( no surprises there). At times visibility was down to almost zero as the rain sheeted down and Brisbane had first use of the wind. However, Melbourne kicked the first goal through Ricky Petterd before the Lions struck back to take a two point lead into the first break. Nathan Jones and Shane Valenti were prominent early and Jared Rivers was doing some nice things in his comeback game. Jonathan Brown was being well held by the Demon defence. The Demons struck early in the second term and were never headed from that point onwards. Cameron Bruce was probably the most experienced player in the team in the absence of skipper James McDonald, Matthew Whelan, Brad Green and Paul Wheatley and he starred. The goals were being evenly spread around, the coaches were pleased with the intensity and defensive efforts of the forwards and, after Michael Newton kicked the team's sixth goal, the team was able to take a 22 point lead into the main break. The only clouds on the horizon at this stage were ... well, the clouds on the horizon and an ankle injury to ruckman/forward Paul Johnson but he must have made a quick recovery because he took the ground again later in the game. Brisbane was expected to hit back hard after half time but the young Demons were ready for them and, not only matched them goal for goal but also managed to increase the lead with two late quarter goals from Michael Newton. The coaches took time to admonish young 19 year old rookie ruckman Jake Spencer for a couple of unsatisfactory efforts and this should hold him in good stead in the future. He certainly lifted his game in the final quarter so he's learning quickly. With conditions deteriorating, the Demons were not going to allow a lead of in excess of five goals slip for the second time in a fortnight and they maintained their tight grip in the ensuing slog, keeping the Lions goalless for another quarter and (I don't believe I'm writing this) winning comfortaby by 37 points in a low scoring encounter. Brock McLean was dominant in the middle which is exactly what you would expect of him in those conditions. The return to full fitness of McLean and Rivers will have wide-reaching effects on their team's performance in 2009 and beyond. Let's hope they stay fit from now on! That's about all there is to report except that Moose and I are happy that the Melbourne injury column from the game was blank, Dean Bailey was happy after the game but thinks there's room for improvement ... oh, and yes. The other team that participated was called Brisbane Lions and their coach, um ... er ... Michael Voss wasn't much concerned that his team suffered a heavy loss. MELBOURNE 2.1.13 6.3.39 10.3.63 11.7.73 BRISBANE LIONS 2.3.15 2.5.17 4.7.31 4.12.36 Goals MELBOURNE Newton 3 Dunn Petterd 2 Bruce Jetta Jones Moloney BRISBANE LIONS Brown Clark Dalziell Hooper BEST MELBOURNE Newton Warnock Dunn BRISBANE LIONS Johnstone Adcock Dalziell Injuries MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS J Brennan (quad) Umpires H Kennedy J Mollison B Ryan Crowd Approximately 4,000 at Cazaly Stadium Cairns

by Bananabender Moose and I had all the good intentions in the world when we embarked on Thursday monrning on what was to be a leisurely 24 plus hours 1,670 kilometre drive north to watch the Demons take on the Lions at Cazaly Stadium, Cairns on the following evening. But we never made it. The reasons for missing our first Melbourne game in tropical far north Queensland were many. Initially, engine trouble with the ute set us back by several hours. During the time the garage was attending to the repairs, Moose got stuck into our supply of frothies and promptly ruled himself out of any possible role as co-driver for the trip. Then the warnings about a looming tropical cyclone were enough to force us to turn back home. We've experienced tropical cyclones before. Driving rain and roaring winds are not a pleasant mix and you don't want to get slapped in the face by a sheet of flying corrugated iron (or even a cane toad for that matter). The decision not to push on was made a lot easier with the knowledge that we still have the opportunity to watch the Dees play this year in what will be a fair dinkum game for premiership points against St. Kilda in a couple of months time at a venue much closer to home - Carara on the Gold Coast so we ended up back in the flat in suburban Brisbane with two days supply of XXXX watching Phil Hughes and Simon Katich flaying the Protea bowling attack on a flat deck in Durban. And they were carrying out the demolition with more speed and more efficiency than what we were doing with the tinnies! The problem was the promise made to Demonland of a match report on a game that we never came within 1,500 k's of watching! We decided to fulfill our obligation by improvising i.e commenting on reports from the media and the internet and providing a story from the viewpoint of long-suffering footy starved fans who at least reside in the same state where the game was played. The problem was that the first media stories about the game were so Brisbane-centric that it wasn't funny. The Courier Mail (and the Herald Sun) ran a report by Robert Craddock - JARED BRENNAN INJURED IN PRACTICE MATCH. Bloody hell, I thought Craddock did cricket and judging by this shite he probably should have been at Durban (Moose wanted me to say Lahore or La Whore but please excuse him – he was totally shickered by this stage). Fair dinkum, we double the home team's score (well ... they were a little bit closer to home than we were) and all he can write about is Jared Brennan's injury (a quad strain), Michael Voss' lamentation that his side had played "poorly" and without "intensity" and gave away too many "free kicks" (a time honoured default excuse for losing a game), how young Lions Rich and Redden played well in the conditions and that one J. Brown got through half a game unscathed. Oh, and yes. The other team that took part was Melbourne. You call that a match report Craddock? The AFL's own site was no better and it should therefore not come as a surprise that the website editors decided to retain the author's anonymity - VOSS NOT WORRIED BY HEAVY LOSS TO DEMONS. This report tells us that Voss isn't panicking about his team's loss (as you wouldn't when you get flogged by the raging favourites for the wooden spoon), that he saw no discernible "gaping holes" in his team's makeup and that the game was played in horrible conditions on account of Tropical Cyclone Hamish (named after the bloke from Melbourne who's supposed to be promoting the Demons?). Incidentally, to round off his/her/its report, the unnamed journo let slip the fact that Dean Bailey was happy with the performance. I won't even bother commenting on the effort of Cairns Post reporter Andrew Piva - DEMONS SWOOP ON LIONS LAPSES other than to ask whether the winning side is ever going to get any credit for beating their opposition on the night and noting Moose's astute comment that the word "piva" apparently means "beer" in Polish. (although Moose is of Polish extraction, he could be wrong because he was heavily on the piss beer piva at the time he made the comment). So my last refuge was the message boards on the Demon supporter sites and, thanks to the hardy efforts of "Junior" who is apparently the offspring of correspondent "faultydet" and who was one of 4,000 spectators who got a thorough drenching at Cazaly Stadium, I can impart some information about the game. Thanks guys. The conditions were wet and windy ( no surprises there). At times visibility was down to almost zero as the rain sheeted down and Brisbane had first use of the wind. However, Melbourne kicked the first goal through Ricky Petterd before the Lions struck back to take a two point lead into the first break. Nathan Jones and Shane Valenti were prominent early and Jared Rivers was doing some nice things in his comeback game. Jonathan Brown was being well held by the Demon defence. The Demons struck early in the second term and were never headed from that point onwards. Cameron Bruce was probably the most experienced player in the team in the absence of skipper James McDonald, Matthew Whelan, Brad Green and Paul Wheatley and he starred. The goals were being evenly spread around, the coaches were pleased with the intensity and defensive efforts of the forwards and, after Michael Newton kicked the team's sixth goal, the team was able to take a 22 point lead into the main break. The only clouds on the horizon at this stage were ... well, the clouds on the horizon and an ankle injury to ruckman/forward Paul Johnson but he must have made a quick recovery because he took the ground again later in the game. Brisbane was expected to hit back hard after half time but the young Demons were ready for them and, not only matched them goal for goal but also managed to increase the lead with two late quarter goals from Michael Newton. The coaches took time to admonish young 19 year old rookie ruckman Jake Spencer for a couple of unsatisfactory efforts and this should hold him in good stead in the future. He certainly lifted his game in the final quarter so he's learning quickly. With conditions deteriorating, the Demons were not going to allow a lead of in excess of five goals slip for the second time in a fortnight and they maintained their tight grip in the ensuing slog, keeping the Lions goalless for another quarter and (I don't believe I'm writing this) winning comfortaby by 37 points in a low scoring encounter. Brock McLean was dominant in the middle which is exactly what you would expect of him in those conditions. The return to full fitness of McLean and Rivers will have wide-reaching effects on their team's performance in 2009 and beyond. Let's hope they stay fit from now on! That's about all there is to report except that Moose and I are happy that the Melbourne injury column from the game was blank, Dean Bailey was happy after the game but thinks there's room for improvement ... oh, and yes. The other team that participated was called Brisbane Lions and their coach, um ... er ... Michael Voss wasn't much concerned that his team suffered a heavy loss. MELBOURNE 2.1.13 6.3.39 10.3.63 11.7.73 BRISBANE LIONS 2.3.15 2.5.17 4.7.31 4.12.36 Goals MELBOURNE Newton 3 Dunn Petterd 2 Bruce Jetta Jones Moloney BRISBANE LIONS Brown Clark Dalziell Hooper BEST MELBOURNE Newton Warnock Dunn BRISBANE LIONS Johnstone Adcock Dalziell Injuries MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS J Brennan (quad) Umpires H Kennedy J Mollison B Ryan Crowd Approximately 4,000 at Cazaly Stadium Cairns

What about Roughhead's hands in the back (not paid again) for his second goal? How does he get away with it?

by The Oracle In the TV series "Lost" the main subjects are the survivors of a plane wreck who are lost on what they originally thought was a deserted tropical island. They soon discover they are not alone: that there are "others". So it is with the Melbourne Football Club. Yesterday, a squad of 26 took part in the NAB Challenge game at Vizy Park. The squad included a couple of rookies - Jake Spencer and Shane Valenti leaving 14 senior listed players and four rookies on the sidelines. For this week those 18 Demon footballers were our "others". The question remains as to whether they will still be counted among the "others" when the ball is bounced for the first time when the real season opens on 29 March? Today, I take a look at the current list of "others" and their short-term prospects from an admittedly not totally informed viewpoint - Clint Bartram - played well but damaged an eardrum against Hawthorn. Should be right for next week. Matthew Bate - apparently rested this week after booting four goals against the Hawks. Sam Blease - VCE student on a modified training programme. Will see action later in the season starting at Casey. Simon Buckley - not sure what the problem is with Bucks but he seemed to be hampered by some sort of a niggle at the intraclub game a fortnight ago. Hopefully, it's not too serious. Mark Jamar - has been hampered with a foot injury and is expected back in the next week or so. Liam Jurrah - making up for lost time and lack of conditioning with a modified training programme but all reports suggest he is something "special". Another who will eventually start at Casey. Addam Maric - an end-of-season hip operation has curtailed his pre-season and he's looking at a delayed start to his year. Tom McNamara – injured and hasn't been seen in practice match action this year. Jared Rivers - rolled an ankle during the intraclub practice match at Casey Fields a fortnight ago. Rivers is an important player who is badly needed back fit and playing at his peak if the club is to progress in 2009. Russell Robertson - out of action since round 10 last year with a torn Achilles. On the comeback trail but will still need several games at VFL level before making a return to top company. Jack Watts - the Year 12 Brighton Grammar School student is training twice a week on the same special programme as Sam Blease and will be given time to develop in his initial season at the club. Paul Wheatley - a calf injury has forced him out of action for over a month. Apparently due back in the next week or so. Matthew Whelan – suffered a calf injury in last week's NAB Cup in Launceston after a sparkling first half and missed yesterday's game. Austin Wonaeamirri - looking super fit but a hamstring injury incurred early in the game against the Hawks will see him out of action for the better part of the month. The remaining "others" from yesterday were rookies Rhys Healey, Daniel Hughes, Jordie McKenzie and Trent Zomer. The closest of this lot to getting a game is Zomer who was an emergency yesterday. These lads and some more of the "others" should be seen in action later in the month when the Casey Scorpions begin their practice match programme. As a footnote, I saw Jarod Rivers and Tom McNamara leaving the ground yesterday and they weren't carrying any noticeable injuries. McNamara appears to have grown a little taller than last year and looked to be Rivvo's height. If you can update or clarify the information above, please do.

THE OTHERS by The Oracle In the TV series "Lost" the main subjects are the survivors of a plane wreck who are lost on what they originally thought was a deserted tropical island. They soon discover they are not alone: that there are "others". So it is with the Melbourne Football Club. Yesterday, a squad of 26 took part in the NAB Challenge game at Vizy Park. The squad included a couple of rookies - Jake Spencer and Shane Valenti leaving 14 senior listed players and four rookies on the sidelines. For this week those 18 Demon footballers were our "others". The question remains as to whether they will still be counted among the "others" when the ball is bounced for the first time when the real season opens on 29 March? Today, I take a look at the current list of "others" and their short-term prospects from an admittedly not totally informed viewpoint - Clint Bartram - played well but damaged an eardrum against Hawthorn. Should be right for next week. Matthew Bate - apparently rested this week after booting four goals against the Hawks. Sam Blease - VCE student on a modified training programme. Will see action later in the season starting at Casey. Simon Buckley - not sure what the problem is with Bucks but he seemed to be hampered by some sort of a niggle at the intraclub game a fortnight ago. Hopefully, it's not too serious. Mark Jamar - has been hampered with a foot injury and is expected back in the next week or so. Liam Jurrah - making up for lost time and lack of conditioning with a modified training programme but all reports suggest he is something "special". Another who will eventually start at Casey. Addam Maric - an end-of-season hip operation has curtailed his pre-season and he's looking at a delayed start to his year. Tom McNamara – injured and hasn't been seen in practice match action this year. Jared Rivers - rolled an ankle during the intraclub practice match at Casey Fields a fortnight ago. Rivers is an important player who is badly needed back fit and playing at his peak if the club is to progress in 2009. Russell Robertson - out of action since round 10 last year with a torn Achilles. On the comeback trail but will still need several games at VFL level before making a return to top company. Jack Watts - the Year 12 Brighton Grammar School student is training twice a week on the same special programme as Sam Blease and will be given time to develop in his initial season at the club. Paul Wheatley - a calf injury has forced him out of action for over a month. Apparently due back in the next week or so. Matthew Whelan – suffered a calf injury in last week's NAB Cup in Launceston after a sparkling first half and missed yesterday's game. Austin Wonaeamirri - looking super fit but a hamstring injury incurred early in the game against the Hawks will see him out of action for the better part of the month. The remaining "others" from yesterday were rookies Rhys Healey, Daniel Hughes, Jordie McKenzie and Trent Zomer. The closest of this lot to getting a game is Zomer who was an emergency yesterday. These lads and some more of the "others" should be seen in action later in the month when the Casey Scorpions begin their practice match programme. As a footnote, I saw Jared Rivers and Tom McNamara leaving the ground yesterday and they weren't carrying any noticeable injuries. McNamara appears to have grown a little taller than last year and looked to be Rivvo's height. If you can update or clarify the information above, please do.

by Whispering Jack Another practice match; another narrow loss in a low scoring game against one of 2008's leading AFL clubs. I did say a "practice match" didn't I? Right ... in a game whose result was meaningless, the Demons showed a fair bit against a pretty strong Sydney combination but we need to forget the scoreboard and look purely at the performance of the team and how it's shaping up in comparison with last year. The narrative is starting to take on a familiar look. The defence continues to step up in leaps and bounds, the midfield is showing small signs of improvement after attracting the tag "third world" but still struggles to win enough clearances and lacks a bit of toe and a forward line that's ... well, um ... basically inept. There will be much debate as to where this will lead us to in 2009 and a great deal will depend on whether the list stays healthy. It's a list that's young and promising but those players need games in their legs before they can make a difference. Despite some promising signs, the midfield needs a lot more strengthening. There are plenty of hard nuts there but they were overwhelmed by Sydney's determination, pace and superior ball movement. That said, it appeared as though Brock McLean, Brent Moloney and James McDonald weren't being pushed hard in this game. Nathan Jones was disappointing, looked slow and was caught a bit too often. Cale Morton continued to kick on picking up a swag of possessions and Cameron Bruce was good outside but what Melbourne really needed was someone like Simon Buckley (inexplicably missing recently) who can take on the opposition and run through the lines. In the end, there was nobody there who could put his hand up high and say, "I'm taking this game on!" But if we can be critical of the midfield, what can be said of the attack? Brad Miller was the only tall forward of any note; Paul Johnson has a fair way to go either as a forward or a ruckman and Michael Newton simply isn't up to it. Matthew Bate who booted four goals last week was sorely missed. Aaron Davey had his moments, Brad Green was used sparingly and Neville Jetta added some excitement but the forwards didn't do enough to keep the ball in the team's attacking half. On what's been on display over the past fortnight, there might be some improvement in the side in 2009 but, even so, that might not translate into many more wins than last year. You don't win too many games when you average 8 or 9 goals a match. Still there was evidence of advancement – mainly in the fact that the team is not as much out of touch with the game is being played these days as it was last year and in the way the back half is developing. I won't dwell too much on the defenders other than to say that they not only performed but they also stood out. Garland, Grimes, Warnock, Martin, Frawley and Cheney - all of them look to be long term members of what could become one of the competition's leading back lines in the not too distant future. Ricky Petterd and Jamie Bennell both showed that they would challenge for places in the strongest area of the Demon armoury. And Jared Rivers and Matty Whelan are due to come back in the next week or so. The ungainly Jake Spencer again showed promise in the ruck and held his own against Darren Jolly but whether Melbourne can find a way to promote him off the rookie list is another matter. Regardless of that, the Demons might have uncovered the next big thing in the 200cm plus category and that will certainly diminish the pain of being gazumped by Carlton who paid $400k for an injury prone Docker beanpole with barely 20 games in three years to his name. It's unfortunate however, that the Blues weren't as keen on beating us to John Meesen a year earlier. Meesen just went against the Swans but he was contending against a Canadian rugby player for part of the game. Bunbury pair Jetta and Bennell and former Scotch College on baller James Strauss were used sparingly. However, despite their cameo roles they all did enough to suggest that we are going to see a lot more of them in the future. Rohan Bail got a lot of the ball when substituted on in the last half but wasted a few of his kicks by being perhaps a bit eager to impress. After a poor NAB Cup performance last week and a quiet start to this game, Colin Sylvia sparked up the team and answered his critics with a near match winning effort in the final three terms and that was despite getting some close and heavy treatment in the latter stages of the third quarter. Daniel Bell was warming up to be playing one of his better games when he hobbled off with injury in the third quarter. They're still making mistakes but thankfully, it's nothing like this time last year with its Keystone Cops clangers, the hand wringing and the grief. What the Demons need most right now is a more potent combination up forward and until that happens, they are placed in a position where they will always wonder where the next goal is coming from and therefore will continue to lag behind the procession of finals contenders. Melbourne 3.1 3.2 6.5 8.7 (55) Sydney Swans 1.3 3.5 6.7 9.9 (63) GOALS Melbourne: Sylvia 2, Miller, Morton, McDonald, Newton, Davey, Jetta Sydney Swans: Barlow, J. Bolton 2, O'Keefe, White, Moore, Pyke, Smith BEST Melbourne: Sylvia, Grimes, Martin, Warnock, Garland, Bruce Sydney Swans: Goodes, McVeigh, Bird, Buchanan, Mattner INJURIES Melbourne: Bell (corked thigh) Sydney Swans: Nil Reports: Nil Umpires: Vozzo, Statham, Gestier

JUST ANOTHER PRACTICE MATCH by Whispering Jack Another practice match; another narrow loss in a low scoring game against one of 2008's leading AFL clubs. I did say a "practice match" didn't I? Right ... in a game whose result was meaningless, the Demons showed a fair bit against a pretty strong Sydney combination but we need to forget the scoreboard and look purely at the performance of the team and how it's shaping up in comparison with last year. The narrative is starting to take on a familiar look. The defence continues to step up in leaps and bounds, the midfield is showing small signs of improvement after attracting the tag "third world" but still struggles to win enough clearances and lacks a bit of toe and a forward line that's ... well, um ... basically inept. There will be much debate as to where this will lead us to in 2009 and a great deal will depend on whether the list stays healthy. It's a list that's young and promising but those players need games in their legs before they can make a difference. Despite some promising signs, the midfield needs a lot more strengthening. There are plenty of hard nuts there but they were overwhelmed by Sydney's determination, pace and superior ball movement. That said, it appeared as though Brock McLean, Brent Moloney and James McDonald weren't being pushed hard in this game. Nathan Jones was disappointing, looked slow and was caught a bit too often. Cale Morton continued to kick on picking up a swag of possessions and Cameron Bruce was good outside but what Melbourne really needed was someone like Simon Buckley (inexplicably missing recently) who can take on the opposition and run through the lines. In the end, there was nobody there who could put his hand up high and say, "I'm taking this game on!" But if we can be critical of the midfield, what can be said of the attack? Brad Miller was the only tall forward of any note; Paul Johnson has a fair way to go either as a forward or a ruckman and Michael Newton simply isn't up to it. Matthew Bate who booted four goals last week was sorely missed. Aaron Davey had his moments, Brad Green was used sparingly and Neville Jetta added some excitement but the forwards didn't do enough to keep the ball in the team's attacking half. On what's been on display over the past fortnight, there might be some improvement in the side in 2009 but, even so, that might not translate into many more wins than last year. You don't win too many games when you average 8 or 9 goals a match. Still there was evidence of advancement – mainly in the fact that the team is not as much out of touch with the game is being played these days as it was last year and in the way the back half is developing. I won't dwell too much on the defenders other than to say that they not only performed but they also stood out. Garland, Grimes, Warnock, Martin, Frawley and Cheney - all of them look to be long term members of what could become one of the competition's leading back lines in the not too distant future. Ricky Petterd and Jamie Bennell both showed that they would challenge for places in the strongest area of the Demon armoury. And Jared Rivers and Matty Whelan are due to come back in the next week or so. The ungainly Jake Spencer again showed promise in the ruck and held his own against Darren Jolly but whether Melbourne can find a way to promote him off the rookie list is another matter. Regardless of that, the Demons might have uncovered the next big thing in the 200cm plus category and that will certainly diminish the pain of being gazumped by Carlton who paid $400k for an injury prone Docker beanpole with barely 20 games in three years to his name. It's unfortunate however, that the Blues weren't as keen on beating us to John Meesen a year earlier. Meesen just went against the Swans but he was contending against a Canadian rugby player for part of the game. Bunbury pair Jetta and Bennell and former Scotch College on baller James Strauss were used sparingly. However, despite their cameo roles they all did enough to suggest that we are going to see a lot more of them in the future. Rohan Bail got a lot of the ball when substituted on in the last half but wasted a few of his kicks by being perhaps a bit eager to impress. After a poor NAB Cup performance last week and a quiet start to this game, Colin Sylvia sparked up the team and answered his critics with a near match winning effort in the final three terms and that was despite getting some close and heavy treatment in the latter stages of the third quarter. Daniel Bell was warming up to be playing one of his better games when he hobbled off with injury in the third quarter. They're still making mistakes but thankfully, it's nothing like this time last year with its Keystone Cops clangers, the hand wringing and the grief. What the Demons need most right now is a more potent combination up forward and until that happens, they are placed in a position where they will always wonder where the next goal is coming from and therefore will continue to lag behind the procession of finals contenders. Melbourne 3.1 3.2 6.5 8.7 (55) Sydney Swans 1.3 3.5 6.7 9.9 (63) GOALS Melbourne: Sylvia 2, Miller, Morton, McDonald, Newton, Davey, Jetta Sydney Swans: Barlow, J. Bolton 2, O'Keefe, White, Moore, Pyke, Smith BEST Melbourne: Sylvia, Grimes, Martin, Warnock, Garland, Bruce Sydney Swans: Goodes, McVeigh, Bird, Buchanan, Mattner INJURIES Melbourne: Bell (corked thigh) Sydney Swans: Nil Reports: Nil Umpires: Vozzo, Statham, Gestier

Unfortunately, the majority of us here at Demonland don't find hoaxes particularly entertaining. :angry:

Strangely enough a few of our current key personnel were at Freo recently. Cameron Schwab as CEO turned the club around from a financial basket case to a profitable business and Chris Connolly got them from wooden spooners into the finals for the first time and then in 2006 to a prelim final. Would anyone have a problem with that in the near future?

Thread locked folks. The footy's started and we have more important business to discuss.

LIFE SUX by The Oracle What do we make of yesterday's debacle? A team that is seemingly in control of a game for the best part of three quarters gets overrun in the last and is beaten by a goal kicked in the last five seconds. What do you do? You put it in the category of an experience that must partly be forgotten and partly be remembered. Forget that which occurred which was beyond your control and remember the things you did that you did wrong and you can do better next time and the time after that. Melbourne was struck down in the end because its young group panicked under pressure in the late stages of the game while Hawthorn rode its luck to the hilt with two snapped goals from difficult angles and a mark to Jarryd Roughead after what should have been adjudged a free kick to Demon defender Stefan Martin when the Hawk forward put his hands in his back in the last marking duel of the day. You can't control a tunnel ball flick through the back of a pack (that might have caught the umpire's attention) or a fluky bounce of the ball through the goals and you can't change the mind of the umpire when a mark has been paid. Or that the Hawks had the majority of the 8,000 strong crowd behind them when the going got tough. Life sux but you get on with it. You forget about the missed opportunities, the fact that you would have been playing in a high profile game in front of your supporters at Telstra Dome next week instead of some far flung corner of the country. You forget the additional prestige of playing in a NAB Cup quarter final against Carlton, the excitement, the extra publicity and media exposure, the membership sales and the attraction that such a scenario might have for the potential major sponsor that you don't have and need so badly. What you remember is where you failed to lay a tackle properly, positioned yourself poorly, kicked to the wrong option, left your opponent for that split second and let your team down with poor disposal. And you remember the positives as well because, after all, yesterday was simply the first step in a long journey and it's important to remember that there are tougher and more important battles to be fought before the campaign of 2009 is over. Remember the pain and ensure that next time, it's your opponent and not you who comes out of the game screaming that "life sux". The positives were that Melbourne was more than just competitive for the bulk of a game even allowing for the fact that the Hawks were missing several of their stars from their premiership side of last year. The Demons were also missing a number of automatic senior selections and were badly hit by injuries early in the game to their skipper James McDonald and in-form forward Austin Wonaeamirri who kicked four goals last week in an intra-club game and would have been a handy crumbing player in an area of the ground where the Hawks were in control, sweeping the ball out of defence time and time again when the ball hit the ground. Forget Roughy's five goals of which four were kicked from the nether regions, it was Melbourne's failure to convert clear scoring opportunities into goals that cost it the game in the end. Those wasted chances in front of goal came back to haunt them in the end. Dean Bailey, who I thought coached well for the most part, now knows that he needs to make some changes to the forward set up and he has very little time available to get it right but a nine goal haul from the opportunities presented in this game was inadequate and inexcusable. Melbourne tackled harder and was more desperate at the contest for the first three quarters, something that has been missing in the team's makeup for the best part of two years. Put that down as a positive – particularly if it can be kept up throughout the season. A clear positive was the form of rookie ruckman Jake Spencer who stamped his influence on the game immediately. Slightly ungainly, he nevertheless used his 203cm to advantage, actually palmed the ball to his rovers, marked strongly and played with aggression. It was no co-incidence that Hawthorn took control of the game after Spencer went off the ground for a few minutes early in the final quarter after he was struck by a blow to the face at a ruck contest. The fact that Brock McLean (whose strong form in the middle after a long break with injury was another positive) also started running out of steam at the same time giving Hawthorn's on ballers control of the game was enough to swing things around. Unless one of its players is placed on the long term injury list, Spencer won't be available to play in the first half of the season but, even if that transpires, it appears that the club has found itself a ruckman and that is a huge plus in an age where there are some clubs that will pay a king's ransom to secure a player of that Ilk. One of the highlights of a dismal year in 2008 was the gradual reconstruction of Melbourne's backline. That process continued yesterday when we saw the progress of players like Colin Garland and Stefan Martin, the emergence of James Frawley and promising signs from Kyle Cheney and Jack Grimes. Matthew Whelan held it all together with a great first half but he disappeared after that, possibly because his game time was being managed after last year when his season was marred by injury. One thing is for certain in my mind, Melbourne's defence will be a huge strength with the added experience of Whelan and a fully fit Jared Rivers. We also saw the rebirth of Ricky Petterd and even a heavy knock just before half time didn't unsettle the courageous young Demon. Matthew Bate was the best of the Demon forwards with four goals, Brad Green was solid as usual and, while not outstanding Nathan Jones showed a bit yesterday. Rohan Bail made a short appearance and will benefit from the run. There were, of course, some forgettable performances. Michael Newton again failed to impress (he simply doesn't know how to present in front of goal and someone needs to teach him soon) and Colin Sylvia was very disappointing. His missed shot for goal early in the last quarter could have iced the game. What makes things so frustrating for supporters is that both players have trained well so far. After yesterday, both of them will need to pull something out of the box in the NAB Cup Challenge to retain their places in the team for round 1. Much has been said of the fact that it should have been Melbourne doing the overrunning at the end of the game because of its longer preparation time but I'm not so sure of that. I put the team's fadeout down more to inexperience and some bad breaks and it could just be that some readjustments to training patterns by the conditioning staff will take care of this problem. The main thing is that the club will learn from the experience, remember its lessons and the hurt of a narrow defeat in these circumstances so that next time we won't have to walk away from a game of football muttering that life sux. Melbourne 0.4.5 0.5.6 1.8.8 1.8.9 (66) Hawthorn 0.4.0 0.5.1 0.5.2 0.11.3 (69) GOALS Melbourne: Nine-point goal: Bartram Goals: Bate 4, Green, Bartram, Johnson, McLean Hawthorn: Nine-point goals: - Goals: Roughead 5, Stokes 2, Williams 2, Morton, Dew BEST Melbourne: McLean, Spencer, Bate, Green, Frawley, Garland Hawthorn: Roughead, Mitchell, Dew, Sewell, Young, Suckling INJURIES Melbourne: Austin Wonaeamirri (hamstring), James McDonald (leg) Hawthorn: Michael Osborne (knee), Chance Bateman (ankle) REPORTS Melbourne: Paul Johnson for striking Sam Mitchell in the first quarter Hawthorn: Clinton Young for rough contact on Aaron Davey in the first quarter FOOTNOTE: Another positive was the alternate strip - a big improvement on last year's ridiculous, silver bling item that has thankfully been consigned to the trash can. Also congratulations to the club for promoting the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. Let's not forget that while the theme of my article is that "life sux" we are commemorating today the end of 200 lives in the tragic bushfires. Please give generously.

by The Oracle What do we make of yesterday's debacle? A team that is seemingly in control of a game for the best part of three quarters gets overrun in the last and is beaten by a goal kicked in the last five seconds. What do you do? You put it in the category of an experience that must partly be forgotten and partly be remembered. Forget that which occurred which was beyond your control and remember the things you did that you did wrong and you can do better next time and the time after that. Melbourne was struck down in the end because its young group panicked under pressure in the late stages of the game while Hawthorn rode its luck to the hilt with two snapped goals from difficult angles and a mark to Jarryd Roughead after what should have been adjudged a free kick to Demon defender Stefan Martin when the Hawk forward put his hands in his back in the last marking duel of the day. You can't control a tunnel ball flick through the back of a pack (that might have caught the umpire's attention) or a fluky bounce of the ball through the goals and you can't change the mind of the umpire when a mark has been paid. Or that the Hawks had the majority of the 8,000 strong crowd behind them when the going got tough. Life sux but you get on with it. You forget about the missed opportunities, the fact that you would have been playing in a high profile game in front of your supporters at Telstra Dome next week instead of some far flung corner of the country. You forget the additional prestige of playing in a NAB Cup quarter final against Carlton, the excitement, the extra publicity and media exposure, the membership sales and the attraction that such a scenario might have for the potential major sponsor that you don't have and need so badly. What you remember is where you failed to lay a tackle properly, positioned yourself poorly, kicked to the wrong option, left your opponent for that split second and let your team down with poor disposal. And you remember the positives as well because, after all, yesterday was simply the first step in a long journey and it's important to remember that there are tougher and more important battles to be fought before the campaign of 2009 is over. Remember the pain and ensure that next time, it's your opponent and not you who comes out of the game screaming that "life sux". The positives were that Melbourne was more than just competitive for the bulk of a game even allowing for the fact that the Hawks were missing several of their stars from their premiership side of last year. The Demons were also missing a number of automatic senior selections and were badly hit by injuries early in the game to their skipper James McDonald and in-form forward Austin Wonaeamirri who kicked four goals last week in an intra-club game and would have been a handy crumbing player in an area of the ground where the Hawks were in control, sweeping the ball out of defence time and time again when the ball hit the ground. Forget Roughy's five goals of which four were kicked from the nether regions, it was Melbourne's failure to convert clear scoring opportunities into goals that cost it the game in the end. Those wasted chances in front of goal came back to haunt them in the end. Dean Bailey, who I thought coached well for the most part, now knows that he needs to make some changes to the forward set up and he has very little time available to get it right but a nine goal haul from the opportunities presented in this game was inadequate and inexcusable. Melbourne tackled harder and was more desperate at the contest for the first three quarters, something that has been missing in the team's makeup for the best part of two years. Put that down as a positive – particularly if it can be kept up throughout the season. A clear positive was the form of rookie ruckman Jake Spencer who stamped his influence on the game immediately. Slightly ungainly, he nevertheless used his 203cm to advantage, actually palmed the ball to his rovers, marked strongly and played with aggression. It was no co-incidence that Hawthorn took control of the game after Spencer went off the ground for a few minutes early in the final quarter after he was struck by a blow to the face at a ruck contest. The fact that Brock McLean (whose strong form in the middle after a long break with injury was another positive) also started running out of steam at the same time giving Hawthorn's on ballers control of the game was enough to swing things around. Unless one of its players is placed on the long term injury list, Spencer won't be available to play in the first half of the season but, even if that transpires, it appears that the club has found itself a ruckman and that is a huge plus in an age where there are some clubs that will pay a king's ransom to secure a player of that Ilk. One of the highlights of a dismal year in 2008 was the gradual reconstruction of Melbourne's backline. That process continued yesterday when we saw the progress of players like Colin Garland and Stefan Martin, the emergence of James Frawley and promising signs from Kyle Cheney and Jack Grimes. Matthew Whelan held it all together with a great first half but he disappeared after that, possibly because his game time was being managed after last year when his season was marred by injury. One thing is for certain in my mind, Melbourne's defence will be a huge strength with the added experience of Whelan and a fully fit Jared Rivers. We also saw the rebirth of Ricky Petterd and even a heavy knock just before half time didn't unsettle the courageous young Demon. Matthew Bate was the best of the Demon forwards with four goals, Brad Green was solid as usual and, while not outstanding Nathan Jones showed a bit yesterday. Rohan Bail made a short appearance and will benefit from the run. There were, of course, some forgettable performances. Michael Newton again failed to impress (he simply doesn't know how to present in front of goal and someone needs to teach him soon) and Colin Sylvia was very disappointing. His missed shot for goal early in the last quarter could have iced the game. What makes things so frustrating for supporters is that both players have trained well so far. After yesterday, both of them will need to pull something out of the box in the NAB Cup Challenge to retain their places in the team for round 1. Much has been said of the fact that it should have been Melbourne doing the overrunning at the end of the game because of its longer preparation time but I'm not so sure of that. I put the team's fadeout down more to inexperience and some bad breaks and it could just be that some readjustments to training patterns by the conditioning staff will take care of this problem. The main thing is that the club will learn from the experience, remember its lessons and the hurt of a narrow defeat in these circumstances so that next time we won't have to walk away from a game of football muttering that life sux. Melbourne 0.4.5 0.5.6 1.8.8 1.8.9 (66) Hawthorn 0.4.0 0.5.1 0.5.2 0.11.3 (69) GOALS Melbourne: Nine-point goal: Bartram Goals: Bate 4, Green, Bartram, Johnson, McLean Hawthorn: Nine-point goals: - Goals: Roughead 5, Stokes 2, Williams 2, Morton, Dew BEST Melbourne: McLean, Spencer, Bate, Green, Frawley, Garland Hawthorn: Roughead, Mitchell, Dew, Sewell, Young, Suckling INJURIES Melbourne: Austin Wonaeamirri (hamstring), James McDonald (leg) Hawthorn: Michael Osborne (knee), Chance Bateman (ankle) REPORTS Melbourne: Paul Johnson for striking Sam Mitchell in the first quarter Hawthorn: Clinton Young for rough contact on Aaron Davey in the first quarter FOOTNOTE: Another positive was the alternate strip - a big improvement on last year's ridiculous, silver bling item that has thankfully been consigned to the trash can. Also congratulations to the club for promoting the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. Let's not forget that while the theme of my article is that "life sux" we are commemorating today the end of 200 lives in the tragic bushfires. Please give generously.

Just an update on Liam Jurrah from that poster on bigfooty. Liam missed out on the All Stars team due to lack of condition (as foreshadowed in WJ's article). He probably was never going to play but he went up to Darwin to take part in the Indigenous Week being a week of events and media for communities, education, health promotions etc. in the lead up to the All Stars game tonight. All of our Aboriginal players took part and Flash and Aussie have been picked to play tonight. There was a three day training camp as well as lots of mentoring and leadership sessions for the Indigenous players (including blokes who were not in the squad). The club rightly thought it would be great for him to engage in this set of activities and meet some of the other Indigenous lads in the AFL. Liam then paid a return visit to his home community at Yuendumu for three days with full MFC support. This included plans for club officials to come with him and meet his family and the community. As mentioned above MFC had never made him available for the all-star game because of his lack of pre-season conditioning. This has been planned for three weeks and people shouldn't pay attention to rumours that he had returned home for good. They are simply not true. Those interested can catch up with the Yuendumu Magpies Football Club website here.

If you're not a fan of Doctor Who, Dylan, Buddy Holly or Don McLean look away. Likewise if you didn't go to Melbourne or Monash Universities in the '60's or '70's. It was fifty years ago that the music died and by the way, this is fiction. A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER FIVE - THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED "A long, long time ago... I can still remember how That music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, That I could make those people dance, And maybe they'd be happy for a while" - Don McLean (American Pie) The Tardis screeched and squealed as it always did when making landfall. Then came a dull thud and the Doctor made his simple announcement: "We are back on earth." The Brigadier, Romana and K9 were still on Tralfamadore with Billy Pilgrim, mopping up some unresolved issues from our last adventure when the Doctor had suddenly taken ill and left us in fear that he was suffering a mortal injury. But instead of dying, he regenerated; the Doctor's body rebuilt itself in a younger, healthier form so that he now had long, shaggy hair and, for some reason, sported a multi-coloured scarf. The renewed timelord wanted to fulfill a promise made long ago to teach me how better to understand Newton's laws of gravity. He often reminded me that "it's not all about apples falling off trees." Now I would learn what it was really all about! He kept another promise on this voyage, allowing me to be the first out of the Tardis after landing. The honour of reconnoitering the surrounds of this strange place was a dubious one, however, as I soon discovered. Out in the open and exposed to the bitter cold of a fierce storm, heavy drifts of white snow were banking against the blue telephone box exterior of the Tardis. It sat silently in a narrow lane behind a brown-brick building bearing the ominous title, "The Duluth National Guard Armory". I stood there shaking as a sheet of newspaper blew across the cobble-stones. It landed at my feet and I bent down to grab it. Leaning towards the glow of a lamp post, I read the news headlines of the day. The words and the stories were of little interest and had little impact on me but I was able to return to the Tardis and report that we were in Duluth, Minnesota and that the date was 31 January, 1959. "Good, there's not a moment to lose. We're going out there!" said the Doctor. The winds were still howling across Duluth's wide streets, carrying frozen sheets of snow and ice from the surface of Lake Superior. It was a terrible night to be out in the open but fortunately only a short distance separated us from our destination, the armory where we went not to secure arms for some forthcoming battle but to attend a rock concert! The billboard outside announced that tonight was the night of the arrival of the "The Winter Dance Party". This package tour of the American Midwest was headlined by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo. We bought tickets and were ushered to seats which turned out to be surprisingly close to the front of stage. I sat next to a young man slightly older than me and I experienced a shiver of recognition when he introduced himself with a "Hi, I'm Bobby." "Couldn't possibly be", I thought as I looked at his face for a second time, but I had learned never to be surprised at anything in the Doctor's presence. Not even the thought of being in a makeshift theatre in regional America sitting next to a pimply faced youth who was smoking funny cigarettes, contemplating his future and making eye contact with one Buddy Holly singing "I Guess It Doesn't Matter Any More". After all, Holly had died more than five years ago. Then again, I was no longer living in the present and I guess it really all didn't matter any more. "Do you remember baby, last September …" My thoughts went back to that September. If we were really back in January 1959, then last September was one of the worst months of my short life. My football team lost a grand final it should never have lost in September 1958 after finishing on top of the ladder. What made it even worse was that the defeat came at the hands of the dreaded enemy. Collingwood prevented my team, Melbourne, from equalling their record of four premierships in a row and I hated them more than the Daleks who were the worst enemies of all human kind. September 1958 was also a time when the family moved to a place across the other side of town and I said goodbye to many old friends who I was unlikely ever to see again. Not long after we made the move, I tried to go back but I was too young and it was too far. I was thinking aloud as the reality struck me that way back then, things were exacty as they stood right now: I had no direction home. "Man that's a great line," said Bobby. "Can I use it in one of my songs?" "Be my guest." It was still early when the show ended so we went to the local bowling alley with Bobby in tow and were putting on our bowling shoes when the man walked up to our lane and asked, "Mind if I join you?" Bobby and I froze but the Doctor looked straight into the eyes of the man in the familiar black horn-rimmed glasses who still had on the tuxedo that he wore for the show. "I've been expecting you. Even picked out some size 8 shoes for you. Try them on, they should fit perfectly." "How does he do it?" I asked myself. But I answered my own question with the all-embracing logic that he is the Doctor and a Timelord and that was enough. I was a reasonable, bowler having played on the school team, but Bobby simply had no idea at all. I figured that even if he wasn't half-stoned, he would be pushing it to score one hundred on a good day. But in any event, he was more preoccupied with the auburn haired girl who sat down beside him. Sweet as apple pie, she was soon sharing his hand-rolled cigarettes and cheerleading on the sidelines – even when his ball invariably skewed out of the lane. Bobby just treated it all as a joke and giggled; he was our jester. The competition between the Doctor and our musician friend was intense and the game reached the stage where Bobby and I were largely irrelevant. A crowd gathered to watch every thrust and parry of the contest as the lead see-sawed in a true battle of fluctuating fortunes. Finally, it came down to the last frame and the man in the horn-rimmed glasses needed three strikes to win the game. The first two balls were right on target and each time the pins were sent skittling in ten different directions. An expectant hush descended on the crowd as he prepared to deliver the final blow. Bobby had just rolled another one when the man in the black horn-rimmed glasses grabbed it from his hands and sucked in deeply, filling his lungs to their maximum capacity. He stepped forward casually to bowl the last ball of the night. It swung ever so gracefully from his left hand across the lane and appeared to be heading for the oblivion of the gutter but, suddenly, it swung back with precision in a slow arc as it hit the mark. Nine pins went down and the other wobbled uncertainly. The bowler nervously adjusted his glasses and the crowd froze as the final pin toppled to ground, followed by the cheers. Buddy had just scored his third strike. Pandemonium broke out as legs and fists started flying everywhere. I heard The Doctor scream, "We've got you now Davros", and the next thing I saw was the bulky presence of Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, head of UNIT holding Buddy/Davros in a hammer lock and leading him out through a side exit to the boos of the large throng of confused onlookers. The dark swarthy man named Dmitri (or something like that) who assisted the Brigadier thanked the Doctor most profusely and left shaken but relieved after the Timelord uttered his reassuring words. "Your secret's safe with us. The world will never find out about Buddy's third strike!" The rest of us remained in shock as we drank our coffees in a nearby diner. Bobby was getting along well with the auburn haired girl and the Doctor waited for them to say their goodbyes before offering his explanation of the night's events. Bobby thanked me again for finding him that line for his song, we shook hands and he and the girl from the north country drifted off arm in arm covered in soft snowflakes. The Doctor explained that Davros was the megalomaniac scientist who created the Daleks and he was using them to become the supreme ruler of the universe. His plan was to create a drug culture among the youth of the world by sending subliminal messages through the songs of popular entertainers. Earlier in the day, he and his Dalek lieutenants abducted the leading performers of The Winter Dance Party, took on their persona and then performed on stage in their place. The Doctor had learned that there was a plot brewing while recuperating on Tralfamadore. He secretly took the Brigadier along on the Tardis for insurance and it was Lethbridge-Stewart who found the real Buddy Holly, along with Valens and the Big Bopper, bound and gagged but alive and well in a back room at the armory. "But what made you certain that it was a fake Buddy you were playing with at the bowling alley?" "Davros was horribly scarred and crippled after an explosion on his planet, Skaro. He had a robotic "eye" mounted on his forehead and only one functioning arm. During the concert when we made eye contact, I immediately sensed something artificial. It unnerved me a little and you might have noticed at one time that my hands were clenched in fists of rage but I quickly settled down. "My suspicious were all confirmed when he bowled with his left arm. The real Buddy is right handed but Davros bowled with his left and it was that unusual ball movement from left to right that finally gave him away. That, and the fact that he was terribly off key while singing That'll be the Day." The story didn't end there. Two days later, as The Doctor was preparing for our return trip to collect Romana and K9, he received word that Davros and his Dalek cohorts had escaped from custody. He rummaged around in his toolbox and found the newspaper I had brought into the Tardis when we had first arrived in Duluth. Although he was a Timelord and always aware of the correct time, the Doctor looked down at his watch and thought for a nanosecond. "Good, they're appearing in a few hours time at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. There's not a second to be lost. Where's the Brigadier?" Not everything went according to plan. A malfunction in the timegears meant we missed the concert by a good few hours. Then the Tardis overshot Clear Lake and we landed in the middle of some godforsaken wilderness during yet another massive snowstorm. The Doctor was, as usual, unperturbed as he trained his itelescope™ skywards and fixed on a small moving light in the heavens. "There it is. Take a look up there!" The screen on the scope revealed an impossible sight. What appeared to be a four-seater Beechcraft Bonanza was cruising at eight miles. I was stunned. "A plane that small and light couldn't possibly be travelling at such an altitude!" I stammered. "Son, think carefully. Our own Tardis looks like a British telephone box but in truth, it's a highly sophisticated intergalactic time and space transport vehicle. Davros' getaway vehicle is much the same thing." He paused and added, "Now, the time and the co-ordinates are just right. I'm going to take a pot shot." He pointed his sonic screwdriver in the direction of the light and pressed the starter button. There was a brief flash and, in the afterglow, the light disappeared. "Eight miles high and falling fast." "And that ..." he added, "is what Newton's Laws of Gravity are all about!" An apple for the teacher. The following day's newspapers carried the story of how a Beechcraft Bonanza, chartered in Mason City, Iowa had crashed, instantly killing the pilot and three much admired musicians, Buddy Holly (aged twenty-two), Ritchie Valens (seventeen) and J. P. Richardson (twenty-four), who was also called the Big Bopper. The true story was very much different. For their own safety the real musicians were taken that night on the last train to the coast by the Brigadier to a secret sanctuary where they entered the UNIT Protective Custody Scheme. They and their families have remained hidden in this place where they have been free to sing, write and record their songs until the mandatory period of fifty years elapses at which time they can be safely released. But for the sake of the world, on that day the music had to die. "So ... Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye Singing "This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.""

If you're not a fan of Doctor Who, Dylan, Buddy Holly or Don McLean look away. Likewise if you didn't go to Melbourne or Monash Universities in the '60's or '70's. It was fifty years ago that the music died and by the way, this is fiction. A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER FIVE - THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED "A long, long time ago... I can still remember how That music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, That I could make those people dance, And maybe they'd be happy for a while" - Don McLean (American Pie) The Tardis screeched and squealed as it always did when making landfall. Then came a dull thud and the Doctor made his simple announcement: "We are back on earth." The Brigadier, Romana and K9 were still on Tralfamadore with Billy Pilgrim, mopping up some unresolved issues from our last adventure when the Doctor had suddenly taken ill and left us in fear that he was suffering a mortal injury. But instead of dying, he regenerated; the Doctor's body rebuilt itself in a younger, healthier form so that he now had long, shaggy hair and, for some reason, sported a multi-coloured scarf. The renewed timelord wanted to fulfill a promise made long ago to teach me how better to understand Newton's laws of gravity. He often reminded me that "it's not all about apples falling off trees." Now I would learn what it was really all about! He kept another promise on this voyage, allowing me to be the first out of the Tardis after landing. The honour of reconnoitering the surrounds of this strange place was a dubious one, however, as I soon discovered. Out in the open and exposed to the bitter cold of a fierce storm, heavy drifts of white snow were banking against the blue telephone box exterior of the Tardis. It sat silently in a narrow lane behind a brown-brick building bearing the ominous title, "The Duluth National Guard Armory". I stood there shaking as a sheet of newspaper blew across the cobble-stones. It landed at my feet and I bent down to grab it. Leaning towards the glow of a lamp post, I read the news headlines of the day. The words and the stories were of little interest and had little impact on me but I was able to return to the Tardis and report that we were in Duluth, Minnesota and that the date was 31 January, 1959. "Good, there's not a moment to lose. We're going out there!" said the Doctor. The winds were still howling across Duluth's wide streets, carrying frozen sheets of snow and ice from the surface of Lake Superior. It was a terrible night to be out in the open but fortunately only a short distance separated us from our destination, the armory where we went not to secure arms for some forthcoming battle but to attend a rock concert! The billboard outside announced that tonight was the night of the arrival of the "The Winter Dance Party". This package tour of the American Midwest was headlined by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo. We bought tickets and were ushered to seats which turned out to be surprisingly close to the front of stage. I sat next to a young man slightly older than me and I experienced a shiver of recognition when he introduced himself with a "Hi, I'm Bobby." "Couldn't possibly be", I thought as I looked at his face for a second time, but I had learned never to be surprised at anything in the Doctor's presence. Not even the thought of being in a makeshift theatre in regional America sitting next to a pimply faced youth who was smoking funny cigarettes, contemplating his future and making eye contact with one Buddy Holly singing "I Guess It Doesn't Matter Any More". After all, Holly had died more than five years ago. Then again, I was no longer living in the present and I guess it really all didn't matter any more. "Do you remember baby, last September …" My thoughts went back to that September. If we were really back in January 1959, then last September was one of the worst months of my short life. My football team lost a grand final it should never have lost in September 1958 after finishing on top of the ladder. What made it even worse was that the defeat came at the hands of the dreaded enemy. Collingwood prevented my team, Melbourne, from equalling their record of four premierships in a row and I hated them more than the Daleks who were the worst enemies of all human kind. September 1958 was also a time when the family moved to a place across the other side of town and I said goodbye to many old friends who I was unlikely ever to see again. Not long after we made the move, I tried to go back but I was too young and it was too far. I was thinking aloud as the reality struck me that way back then, things were exacty as they stood right now: I had no direction home. "Man that's a great line," said Bobby. "Can I use it in one of my songs?" "Be my guest." It was still early when the show ended so we went to the local bowling alley with Bobby in tow and were putting on our bowling shoes when the man walked up to our lane and asked, "Mind if I join you?" Bobby and I froze but the Doctor looked straight into the eyes of the man in the familiar black horn-rimmed glasses who still had on the tuxedo that he wore for the show. "I've been expecting you. Even picked out some size 8 shoes for you. Try them on, they should fit perfectly." "How does he do it?" I asked myself. But I answered my own question with the all-embracing logic that he is the Doctor and a Timelord and that was enough. I was a reasonable, bowler having played on the school team, but Bobby simply had no idea at all. I figured that even if he wasn't half-stoned, he would be pushing it to score one hundred on a good day. But in any event, he was more preoccupied with the auburn haired girl who sat down beside him. Sweet as apple pie, she was soon sharing his hand-rolled cigarettes and cheerleading on the sidelines – even when his ball invariably skewed out of the lane. Bobby just treated it all as a joke and giggled; he was our jester. The competition between the Doctor and our musician friend was intense and the game reached the stage where Bobby and I were largely irrelevant. A crowd gathered to watch every thrust and parry of the contest as the lead see-sawed in a true battle of fluctuating fortunes. Finally, it came down to the last frame and the man in the horn-rimmed glasses needed three strikes to win the game. The first two balls were right on target and each time the pins were sent skittling in ten different directions. An expectant hush descended on the crowd as he prepared to deliver the final blow. Bobby had just rolled another one when the man in the black horn-rimmed glasses grabbed it from his hands and sucked in deeply, filling his lungs to their maximum capacity. He stepped forward casually to bowl the last ball of the night. It swung ever so gracefully from his left hand across the lane and appeared to be heading for the oblivion of the gutter but, suddenly, it swung back with precision in a slow arc as it hit the mark. Nine pins went down and the other wobbled uncertainly. The bowler nervously adjusted his glasses and the crowd froze as the final pin toppled to ground, followed by the cheers. Buddy had just scored his third strike. Pandemonium broke out as legs and fists started flying everywhere. I heard The Doctor scream, "We've got you now Davros", and the next thing I saw was the bulky presence of Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, head of UNIT holding Buddy/Davros in a hammer lock and leading him out through a side exit to the boos of the large throng of confused onlookers. The dark swarthy man named Dmitri (or something like that) who assisted the Brigadier thanked the Doctor most profusely and left shaken but relieved after the Timelord uttered his reassuring words. "Your secret's safe with us. The world will never find out about Buddy's third strike!" The rest of us remained in shock as we drank our coffees in a nearby diner. Bobby was getting along well with the auburn haired girl and the Doctor waited for them to say their goodbyes before offering his explanation of the night's events. Bobby thanked me again for finding him that line for his song, we shook hands and he and the girl from the north country drifted off arm in arm covered in soft snowflakes. The Doctor explained that Davros was the megalomaniac scientist who created the Daleks and he was using them to become the supreme ruler of the universe. His plan was to create a drug culture among the youth of the world by sending subliminal messages through the songs of popular entertainers. Earlier in the day, he and his Dalek lieutenants abducted the leading performers of The Winter Dance Party, took on their persona and then performed on stage in their place. The Doctor had learned that there was a plot brewing while recuperating on Tralfamadore. He secretly took the Brigadier along on the Tardis for insurance and it was Lethbridge-Stewart who found the real Buddy Holly, along with Valens and the Big Bopper, bound and gagged but alive and well in a back room at the armory. "But what made you certain that it was a fake Buddy you were playing with at the bowling alley?" "Davros was horribly scarred and crippled after an explosion on his planet, Skaro. He had a robotic "eye" mounted on his forehead and only one functioning arm. During the concert when we made eye contact, I immediately sensed something artificial. It unnerved me a little and you might have noticed at one time that my hands were clenched in fists of rage but I quickly settled down. "My suspicious were all confirmed when he bowled with his left arm. The real Buddy is right handed but Davros bowled with his left and it was that unusual ball movement from left to right that finally gave him away. That, and the fact that he was terribly off key while singing That'll be the Day." The story didn't end there. Two days later, as The Doctor was preparing for our return trip to collect Romana and K9, he received word that Davros and his Dalek cohorts had escaped from custody. He rummaged around in his toolbox and found the newspaper I had brought into the Tardis when we had first arrived in Duluth. Although he was a Timelord and always aware of the correct time, the Doctor looked down at his watch and thought for a nanosecond. "Good, they're appearing in a few hours time at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. There's not a second to be lost. Where's the Brigadier?" Not everything went according to plan. A malfunction in the timegears meant we missed the concert by a good few hours. Then the Tardis overshot Clear Lake and we landed in the middle of some godforsaken wilderness during yet another massive snowstorm. The Doctor was, as usual, unperturbed as he trained his itelescope™ skywards and fixed on a small moving light in the heavens. "There it is. Take a look up there!" The screen on the scope revealed an impossible sight. What appeared to be a four-seater Beechcraft Bonanza was cruising at eight miles. I was stunned. "A plane that small and light couldn't possibly be travelling at such an altitude!" I stammered. "Son, think carefully. Our own Tardis looks like a British telephone box but in truth, it's a highly sophisticated intergalactic time and space transport vehicle. Davros' getaway vehicle is much the same thing." He paused and added, "Now, the time and the co-ordinates are just right. I'm going to take a pot shot." He pointed his sonic screwdriver in the direction of the light and pressed the starter button. There was a brief flash and, in the afterglow, the light disappeared. "Eight miles high and falling fast." "And that ..." he added, "is what Newton's Laws of Gravity are all about!" An apple for the teacher. The following day's newspapers carried the story of how a Beechcraft Bonanza, chartered in Mason City, Iowa had crashed, instantly killing the pilot and three much admired musicians, Buddy Holly (aged twenty-two), Ritchie Valens (seventeen) and J. P. Richardson (twenty-four), who was also called the Big Bopper. The true story was very much different. For their own safety the real musicians were taken that night on the last train to the coast by the Brigadier to a secret sanctuary where they entered the UNIT Protective Custody Scheme. They and their families have remained hidden in this place where they have been free to sing, write and record their songs until the mandatory period of fifty years elapses at which time they can be safely released. But for the sake of the world, on that day the music had to die. "So ... Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye Singing "This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die.""

CASEY SCORPIONS PREPARE by KC from Casey The partially declared alignment between the Melbourne and Casey Scorpions Football Clubs appears to be moving along well even though a joint announcement of the betrothal still awaits. The Demons are training at Casey Fields and, from my brief inspection at training a couple of weeks ago, I can truly say that the place is really beginning to take on the look and feel of the future sporting capital of Melbourne's outer south east. The Scorpions have been tremendously boosted by the appointment of Peter German as new senior coach. The former North Melbourne star spent some time as assistant to MFC Football Chris Connolly when he was coaching at Fremantle. The 2009 practice match schedule currently reads as follows: Saturday March 21st v Box Hill Saturday March 28th v Frankston Sunday April 5th v Coburg All matches will be played at Casey Fields and will feature both senior (2.00pm) and reserves matches (11.10am). Former Demon defender Nathan Brown finished up at Melbourne in 2007 and spent last season at West Adelaide but he's back in the fold heading up the list of newcomers for 2009 at Casey. Brown will also have some sort of development role with the club on top of being there as a player. And of course, the Scorpions list will be augmented by a number of Demons including many of the 10 newcomers to the club's senior and rookie lists whilst at a more local level, an influx of youth will arrive mainly from the strong TAC Cup Gippsland Power Under 18's which made this year's preliminary final. The runner up in the Power's Best and Fairest, Traralgon small man Michel Stockdale has joined the club after being unlucky to miss out on selection in the 2008 national draft. Stockdale is a versatile ball magnet who averaged 22 possessions and six tackles per game in 2008 and boot 22 goals. He will be joined by Rosedale's Ben MaCreadie who was one of the dominant players in the North Gippsland Football League over the past two seasons. Among the other recruits are exciting new Narre Warren premiership player Nick Scanlan, key forward Tom Carmody from Wantirna South and two players who are returning to the club after tasting some VFL experience elsewhere. Bendigo's Darren Granger played four games with Bendigo in 2008 while Andrew Oldmeadow from Nar Nar Goon had one game with Collingwood VFL. The club will also see an influx of former Calder Cannons players who join Gardner Clark Medallist James Wall. Former Sydney Swan Peter Faulks, a 194cm tall defender originally from Oak Park where he played at state level at Under 16's and Under 18's. Despite strong form with the Sydney reserves last year Faulks could not break into the club's AFL team and was delisted at the end of the season. His ex Calder Cannons teammates Rian McGough, and Chris Clay are also joining the Scorpions. It will be interesting to see how the players blend at the new alignment. The Scorpions have been developing a strong list from the ground up in recent years and this policy is expected to bring dividends in 2009 after last year's finals breakthrough. The club will lose Chris Dunne (overseas) and Adam Parker (Scoresby) but most of last year's team should remain intact except, of course, that its AFL aligned players will be Demons not Saints.

CASEY SCORPIONS PREPARE by KC from Casey The partially declared alignment between the Melbourne and Casey Scorpions Football Clubs appears to be moving along well even though a joint announcement of the betrothal still awaits. The Demons are training at Casey Fields and, from my brief inspection at training a couple of weeks ago, I can truly say that the place is really beginning to take on the look and feel of the future sporting capital of Melbourne's outer south east. The Scorpions have been tremendously boosted by the appointment of Peter German as new senior coach. The former North Melbourne star spent some time as assistant to MFC Football Chris Connolly when he was coaching at Fremantle. The 2009 practice match schedule currently reads as follows: Saturday March 21st v Box Hill Saturday March 28th v Frankston Sunday April 5th v Coburg All matches will be played at Casey Fields and will feature both senior (2.00pm) and reserves matches (11.10am). Former Demon defender Nathan Brown finished up at Melbourne in 2007 and spent last season at West Adelaide but he's back in the fold heading up the list of newcomers for 2009 at Casey. Brown will also have some sort of development role with the club on top of being there as a player. And of course, the Scorpions list will be augmented by a number of Demons including many of the 10 newcomers to the club's senior and rookie lists whilst at a more local level, an influx of youth will arrive mainly from the strong TAC Cup Gippsland Power Under 18's which made this year's preliminary final. The runner up in the Power's Best and Fairest, Traralgon small man Michel Stockdale has joined the club after being unlucky to miss out on selection in the 2008 national draft. Stockdale is a versatile ball magnet who averaged 22 possessions and six tackles per game in 2008 and boot 22 goals. He will be joined by Rosedale's Ben MaCreadie who was one of the dominant players in the North Gippsland Football League over the past two seasons. Among the other recruits are exciting new Narre Warren premiership player Nick Scanlan, key forward Tom Carmody from Wantirna South and two players who are returning to the club after tasting some VFL experience elsewhere. Bendigo's Darren Granger played four games with Bendigo in 2008 while Andrew Oldmeadow from Nar Nar Goon had one game with Collingwood VFL. The club will also see an influx of former Calder Cannons players who join Gardner Clark Medallist James Wall. Former Sydney Swan Peter Faulks, a 194cm tall defender originally from Oak Park where he played at state level at Under 16's and Under 18's. Despite strong form with the Sydney reserves last year Faulks could not break into the club's AFL team and was delisted at the end of the season. His ex Calder Cannons teammates Rian McGough, and Chris Clay are also joining the Scorpions. It will be interesting to see how the players blend at the new alignment. The Scorpions have been developing a strong list from the ground up in recent years and this policy is expected to bring dividends in 2009 after last year's finals breakthrough. The club will lose Chris Dunne (overseas) and Adam Parker (Scoresby) but most of last year's team should remain intact except, of course, that its AFL aligned players will be Demons not Saints.

Troy Broadbridge (5 October 1980 – 26 December 2004) was an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. Broadbridge began his career as a defender with Port Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), and was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club at the beginning of the 2001 AFL season. He won the club's Most Improved Player award in 2001, and became a regular in the side. He married his fiancee, Trisha on 18 December 2004. On 26 December, while spending his honeymoon in Phi Phi, Thailand, he was swept out to sea by the tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Full name Troy Broadbridge Date of Birth 5 October 1980 Recruited from Port Adelaide (SANFL) Height 191cm Weight 89kg Death 26 December 2004 (aged 24) Phi Phi Islands, Thailand AFL Playing career Melbourne Football Club 2001-2004 40 games 2 goals Most Improved Player 2001 ALWAYS REMEMBERED POST TRIBUTES HERE

Good for him. Hope has a most rewarding time there. It's disappointing that his career could not have lasted a couple more years or that he didn't go out on a high. Just unlucky to be at a club that was bottoming out late in his career. Over the years however, he gave great service to the Melbourne Football Club. Good luck Oooze!

Thanks and oops yes. Of course, 2009 (all fixed now)! Cheers