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Better if you follow the melbournefc.com.au site which has Rohan Bail in for a test which means he could play for Casey this week. Aussie can't be far either and it looks as if the Russian will be back! Round 21 injury list Rohan Bail (knee) - test Michael Evans (back) - season Jack Grimes (foot) - season Michael Newton (foot) - 1-2 weeks Jake Spencer (knee) - season James Strauss (leg) - season Luke Tapscott (neck) - test

The Melbourne selectors must have been confident when they named an unchanged side to take on the Eagles at Patterson's Curse Stadium earlier this year. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES Backs Ashley Smith Darren Glass Shannon Hurn Half backs Sam Butler Eric Mackenzie Scott Selwood Centreline Andrew Embley Matthew Priddis Matthew Rosa Half forwards Luke Shuey Josh Kennedy Mark Nicoski Forwards Mark LeCras Quinten Lynch Jack Darling Followers Dean Cox Daniel Kerr Adam Selwood Interchange Bradley Ebert Nic Naitanui Patrick McGinnity Andrew Gaff Emergencies Will Schofield Thomas Swift Gerrick Weedon In Mark LeCras Ashley Smith Patrick McGinnity Out Mitch Brown (hand) Will Schofield Bradd Dalziell MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Luke Tapscott Centreline Brad Green Nathan Jones Rohan Bail Half forwards Jordan Gysberts Colin Sylvia Aaron Davey Forwards Austin Wonaeamirri Liam Jurrah Jack Watts Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Jack Trengove Interchange Jamie Bennell Lynden Dunn Stef Martin Cale Morton Emergencies Addam Maric Ricky Petterd Matthew Warnock No Change

CASEY COMEBACK by KC from Casey The measure of a good team is in the way it responds to adversity and on Sunday, the Casey Scorpions showed tremendous spirit by turning around last week's disappointment to crush Sandringham by 63 points at Casey Fields. The Scorpions came into the game with a steely determination to erase all memory of their disastrous visit to Corio Bay and they dominated proceedings in the first half to such an extent that the Zebras failed to penetrate the goals until the early stages of the third quarter. The team flexed its muscle early with the defence taking full control. Matthew Warnock who has been shunned by the selectors at AFL level set the tone for the game, assuming the leadership role of a very powerful defence. Cale Morton, who was the top possession gatherer last week, started in the middle and repeated the dose. He was a ball magnet in a winning on ball squad. James Wall was solid as usual and showed great leadership while Danny Nicholls was lively in just his second game back after a long layoff after injury. Addam Maric booted the first goal but the forwards frittered away opportunities in front of goal. Casey stretched its lead in the second term with Brendan Fevola showing he has recovered from his bout of flu. After a quite start to the game, the enigmatic forward added three goals for the quarter in a five minute burst while Neville Jetta and Liam Jurrah added more excitement to the team's forward thrusts. The unselfish Fevola did more than just kick goals, giving a couple of goals away to his fellow forwards as the home team streaked away to go into the sheds at the main break with an unassailable 51-point lead. The Zebras were fired up after half time with tall forward Will Johnson booting the first of his three goals seven minutes into the third term to lift the visitors' spirits. In between, midfielder Tom McNamara kicked a great checkside goal. Evan Panozza was relishing his return to the senior team with a goal and, when Fevola booted his fourth, Casey had snuffed out the Zebra challenge. The three quarter time lead was 64 points by which time the star full forward had added another for his 40th goal of the season. The fourth term was a high scoring finale with the ball moving from coast to coast at great pace given the time of the game. Young defenders Sam Blease and Troy Davis were outstanding for the Scorpions who ran out comfortable winners in the end. Brad Gotch's charges have now restored their claim for a top four placing and with forthcoming games against Coburg, Werribee and the Northern Bullants, the team's destiny is in its own hands. HOW THE DEMONS FARED After Melbourne's week from hell and the less than satisfactory response of the Demons in their game against the Blues on Saturday, the spotlight was on the lads at Casey Fields. A leading performance from any of the 15 Melbourne listed players on show would enhance their prospects of gaining promotion into AFL ranks. Melon22 casts an eye on the Demons in the game and has mainly good news on how they fared. Jamie Bennell - played mainly across the half line backline for most of the game and gave a good performance. His second efforts and his intensity at the contest were a highlight of his game. Has been a consistent performer for Casey since being dropped and is giving a better four quarter effort which should see him close to senior selection. Sam Blease - played one of his best defensive games so far with some great attack on the ball and was a solid contributor for all four quarters. He still needs to clean up his game before he pushes for regular AFL spot but it is sometimes easy to forget that this is his first full year of AFL football. Some of his kicking and his tricks are a sight to behold. Blease is still a work in progress but it’s all heading in the right direction for Sammy. Robert Campbell - pitted up against another AFL premiership in Michael Gardiner and probably just edged his opponent in a very competitive display. Troy Davis – was part of a fantastic defence that was the backbone of the Casey win. Has been another very consistent performer for Casey since coming back from injury earlier in the season. He shows good anticipation, reads the play well and is surprisingly quick for such a solid kid. An outside chance to play AFL this year, he has the form and the body to play but with such strong competition for places in defence might have to bide his time. Neville Jetta- put his case forward for senior selection with his now signature tackling; was clean with his disposal and a solid contributor. Managed to bag three goals, which should have been four after a missing an easy one late in the game. Liam Jurrah - was good without being dominant, at times some of his team mates were a bit too eager to give him the ball and he was very closely watched by a nervous Sandy defence. He finished better than he started and will take some confidence from some of his work up while up the ground. Jack Fitzpatrick - deserved his spot after kicking a bag for Casey reserves last week. Played as a ruck/forward and impressed as a key forward taking a couple of very nice contested marks. Jack is amazingly quick for such a big guy and having not seen him play in a while I was very pleased to see his development. He is now stronger and more confident than this time last year. Kelvin Lawrence - extremely impressive as a small forward and played with a great intensity right until the final siren where he used his pace to create and to shut down the Sandy defenders. His defensive pressure was great and he played with a great appetite for the tackle which is a giant step forward for Kelvin. Ten tackles for the match was outstanding. Addam Maric - very clean with his disposal and seemed to have learnt from some decision-making errors in the last couple of weeks. Might need to do more to push for senior selection. Tom Mcdonald – played in defence and continues to impress, is a fantastic competitor who just contributes in whatever position he is played. Had another solid game; in the aerial contests he was rarely beaten and with the ball he was remarkably composed in traffic. Made a couple a turnovers coming out of defence in the last quarter which slightly marred another very good display. Tom McNamara - fairly quiet but contributed with two very nice goals, one a pearler from outside 50m. Cale Morton – played the entire game in the centre and played with a renewed confidence. Was outstanding in the clearances and showed the talent that we all know he has in a best on ground performance. He attacked the ball with a vigour that he has not shown in the last couple of months and it was great to see his disposal has dramatically improved with a return of confidence. Hopefully he can carry his form into the AFL where his run and disposal is a weapon. Daniel Nicholson – played in the back pocket and was solid without being spectacular, gave drive out of defence and was good defensively. Colin Sylvia – did a lot of the grunt work for Casey in the clearances but didn’t manage to influence the game as much as he would have wanted for an experienced AFL player. Kicked a nice goal in the last quarter on the run. Matthew Warnock – the dominant player for Casey in the backline leading his opponent to the ball all day. Matty is the general of a very strong Casey backline and is a dominant player at VFL level, he hardly put a foot wrong in another faultless performance. Casey Scorpions 2.4.16 8.6.54 13.8.86 18.12.120 Sandringham 0.1.1 0.3.3 3.4.22 9.5.59 Goals Casey Scorpions Fevola 5 Jetta Jurrah 3 McNamara 2 McDonald Maric Morton Panozza Sylvia Sandringham Johnson 3 Archer Coleman 2 Curren Lynch Best Casey Scorpions Morton Warnock Blease Lawrence Fevola Jetta Sandringham Simpkin Baker Gallagher Johnson Lynch Walsh The Casey Reserves have made rapid strides since losing their opening game to the Northern Bullants and continued on their winning way with an emphatic 100 point victory over Sandringham. David Bell starred with six goals and Stef Baumgartner was in prolific form as the team consolidated its place in the top four. Casey Scorpions 4.2.26 9.3.57 13.9.87 20.14.134 Sandringham 1.3.9 2.6.18 3.8.24 4.10.34 Goals Casey Scorpions Bell 6 Purves 4 Fieldsend McShane Lees 2 Allen Cook Matthews Weekes Sandringham Ferraro Lourey Wade Michaliades Best Casey Scorpions Bell Baumgartner Cleven Patti Clay Purves Sandringham Andrews Ferraro Lourey Porebski Mavric Shakallis

CASEY COMEBACK by KC from Casey The measure of a good team is in the way it responds to adversity and on Sunday, the Casey Scorpions showed tremendous spirit by turning around last week's disappointment to crush Sandringham by 63 points at Casey Fields. The Scorpions came into the game with a steely determination to erase all memory of their disastrous visit to Corio Bay and they dominated proceedings in the first half to such an extent that the Zebras failed to penetrate the goals until the early stages of the third quarter. The team flexed its muscle early with the defence taking full control. Matthew Warnock who has been shunned by the selectors at AFL level set the tone for the game, assuming the leadership role of a very powerful defence. Cale Morton, who was the top possession gatherer last week, started in the middle and repeated the dose. He was a ball magnet in a winning on ball squad. James Wall was solid as usual and showed great leadership while Danny Nicholls was lively in just his second game back after a long layoff after injury. Addam Maric booted the first goal but the forwards frittered away opportunities in front of goal. Casey stretched its lead in the second term with Brendan Fevola showing he has recovered from his bout of flu. After a quite start to the game, the enigmatic forward added three goals for the quarter in a five minute burst while Neville Jetta and Liam Jurrah added more excitement to the team's forward thrusts. The unselfish Fevola did more than just kick goals, giving a couple of goals away to his fellow forwards as the home team streaked away to go into the sheds at the main break with an unassailable 51-point lead. The Zebras were fired up after half time with tall forward Will Johnson booting the first of his three goals seven minutes into the third term to lift the visitors' spirits. In between, midfielder Tom McNamara kicked a great checkside goal. Evan Panozza was relishing his return to the senior team with a goal and, when Fevola booted his fourth, Casey had snuffed out the Zebra challenge. The three quarter time lead was 64 points by which time the star full forward had added another for his 40th goal of the season. The fourth term was a high scoring finale with the ball moving from coast to coast at great pace given the time of the game. Young defenders Sam Blease and Troy Davis were outstanding for the Scorpions who ran out comfortable winners in the end. Brad Gotch's charges have now restored their claim for a top four placing and with forthcoming games against Coburg, Werribee and the Northern Bullants, the team's destiny is in its own hands. HOW THE DEMONS FARED After Melbourne's week from hell and the less than satisfactory response of the Demons in their game against the Blues on Saturday, the spotlight was on the lads at Casey Fields. A leading performance from any of the 15 Melbourne listed players on show would enhance their prospects of gaining promotion into AFL ranks. Melon22 casts an eye on the Demons in the game and has mainly good news on how they fared. Jamie Bennell - played mainly across the half line backline for most of the game and gave a good performance. His second efforts and his intensity at the contest were a highlight of his game. Has been a consistent performer for Casey since being dropped and is giving a better four quarter effort which should see him close to senior selection. Sam Blease - played one of his best defensive games so far with some great attack on the ball and was a solid contributor for all four quarters. He still needs to clean up his game before he pushes for regular AFL spot but it is sometimes easy to forget that this is his first full year of AFL football. Some of his kicking and his tricks are a sight to behold. Blease is still a work in progress but it’s all heading in the right direction for Sammy. Robert Campbell - pitted up against another AFL premiership in Michael Gardiner and probably just edged his opponent in a very competitive display. Troy Davis – was part of a fantastic defence that was the backbone of the Casey win. Has been another very consistent performer for Casey since coming back from injury earlier in the season. He shows good anticipation, reads the play well and is surprisingly quick for such a solid kid. An outside chance to play AFL this year, he has the form and the body to play but with such strong competition for places in defence might have to bide his time. Neville Jetta- put his case forward for senior selection with his now signature tackling; was clean with his disposal and a solid contributor. Managed to bag three goals, which should have been four after a missing an easy one late in the game. Liam Jurrah - was good without being dominant, at times some of his team mates were a bit too eager to give him the ball and he was very closely watched by a nervous Sandy defence. He finished better than he started and will take some confidence from some of his work up while up the ground. Jack Fitzpatrick - deserved his spot after kicking a bag for Casey reserves last week. Played as a ruck/forward and impressed as a key forward taking a couple of very nice contested marks. Jack is amazingly quick for such a big guy and having not seen him play in a while I was very pleased to see his development. He is now stronger and more confident than this time last year. Kelvin Lawrence - extremely impressive as a small forward and played with a great intensity right until the final siren where he used his pace to create and to shut down the Sandy defenders. His defensive pressure was great and he played with a great appetite for the tackle which is a giant step forward for Kelvin. Ten tackles for the match was outstanding. Addam Maric - very clean with his disposal and seemed to have learnt from some decision-making errors in the last couple of weeks. Might need to do more to push for senior selection. Tom Mcdonald – played in defence and continues to impress, is a fantastic competitor who just contributes in whatever position he is played. Had another solid game; in the aerial contests he was rarely beaten and with the ball he was remarkably composed in traffic. Made a couple a turnovers coming out of defence in the last quarter which slightly marred another very good display. Tom McNamara - fairly quiet but contributed with two very nice goals, one a pearler from outside 50m. Cale Morton – played the entire game in the centre and played with a renewed confidence. Was outstanding in the clearances and showed the talent that we all know he has in a best on ground performance. He attacked the ball with a vigour that he has not shown in the last couple of months and it was great to see his disposal has dramatically improved with a return of confidence. Hopefully he can carry his form into the AFL where his run and disposal is a weapon. Daniel Nicholson – played in the back pocket and was solid without being spectacular, gave drive out of defence and was good defensively. Colin Sylvia – did a lot of the grunt work for Casey in the clearances but didn’t manage to influence the game as much as he would have wanted for an experienced AFL player. Kicked a nice goal in the last quarter on the run. Matthew Warnock – the dominant player for Casey in the backline leading his opponent to the ball all day. Matty is the general of a very strong Casey backline and is a dominant player at VFL level, he hardly put a foot wrong in another faultless performance. Casey Scorpions 2.4.16 8.6.54 13.8.86 18.12.120 Sandringham 0.1.1 0.3.3 3.4.22 9.5.59 Goals Casey Scorpions Fevola 5 Jetta Jurrah 3 McNamara 2 McDonald Maric Morton Panozza Sylvia Sandringham Johnson 3 Archer Coleman 2 Curren Lynch Best Casey Scorpions Morton Warnock Blease Lawrence Fevola Jetta Sandringham Simpkin Baker Gallagher Johnson Lynch Walsh The Casey Reserves have made rapid strides since losing their opening game to the Northern Bullants and continued on their winning way with an emphatic 100 point victory over Sandringham. David Bell starred with six goals and Stef Baumgartner was in prolific form as the team consolidated its place in the top four. Casey Scorpions 4.2.26 9.3.57 13.9.87 20.14.134 Sandringham 1.3.9 2.6.18 3.8.24 4.10.34 Goals Casey Scorpions Bell 6 Purves 4 Fieldsend McShane Lees 2 Allen Cook Matthews Weekes Sandringham Ferraro Lourey Wade Michaliades Best Casey Scorpions Bell Baumgartner Cleven Patti Clay Purves Sandringham Andrews Ferraro Lourey Porebski Mavric Shakallis

NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE? by the Oracle Seven days after the debacle by Corio Bay, six days after the sacking of Dean Bailey as coach, five days after the appointment of his temporary replacement Todd Vine, four days after the recriminations began in earnest, three days after Garry Lyon was dragged into the picture amid more news of the ill-health of the club's president, two days after a dramatic selection meeting saw the loss through injury of an All Australian ruckman, the omission of the club's most dynamic but erratic player, its leading goal kicker and two others and one day after a final training session attracted the football world's media voyeurs and their paparazzi who had spent the week determined to make the most of stories of rifts within the club and revive old news about the tanking issue, the Demons returned to the field and lost to the Blues by 76 points (ironically, the team that tanked hard and often not so long ago while an AFL, determined to see their return to the ranks of successful clubs, turned a blind eye). With so much bubbling in the background to the game, did anybody notice a difference in Melbourne's performance under caretaker coach Viney? There are many who would give an emphatic "no" for an answer to that question. To lose by almost 13 goals on the MCG with the memory of the "bruise-free" allegations of the earlier clash between the sides, to capitulate so badly in the second term and indeed to lose by a margin even greater than that of the round 10 "bruise-free result", was as shameful as the debacle of last week. But there was some silver lining there for sure. If I had to put it to you before the game that Melbourne would finish with a close inside 50 count and only six less scoring shots you would surely have taken it after last week's 186? There's no doubt that Carlton's superior skills against a less experienced, mentally hurt Melbourne bereft of true leadership might explain it's better accuracy in front of goal (last week it kicked 2.8 with its first 10 shots at goal, this week it was 8.1 just two minutes into the second term) but it was also just one of those days when, in addition to that, everything went right for the Blues and everything wrong for the Demons. Let's look at the first quarter when, after Mitch Robinson's opening goal, Melbourne had all of the momentum and dominated the moves forward (15 -10 inside 50's for the term) but failed to make an impact. Easy set shots were missed by Jack Watts (after receiving a brilliant pass from James Strauss), Lynden Dunn and Brad Green, a Nathan Jones helicopter went up in the air and failed to find a teammate let alone score and a Stef Martin kick sailed out of bounds on the full. What was evident at this stage of proceedings was that the Demons were more direct in their play and were less inclined to revert to overusing handball which had been a feature of their game during the Bailey regime. We were also treated with some signs of brilliance, especially when Watts sold candy to Brock McLean (who copped abuse all day from my Carlton supporting neighbour) and rammed home an inspirational goal but its impact was immediately nullified by the horrid injury to Strauss which gave the Blues the opportunity to regroup and retain their composure. With a little over two minutes left the scoreboard read: Melbourne 3.6.24 Carlton 3.1.19. Then, Max Gawn was awarded a free kick in the middle of the ground and instead of looking upfield to his forwards, he handballed laterally to Nathan Jones who had a Carlton opponent on his hammer. A few movements of the ball later, Carlton was a point in front after an Andrew Walker goal. The next play resulted in Luke Tapscott attempting a long shot for goal from outside 50 which resulted in a rushed behind. Chris Yarran's long kick off sailed over Joel Macdonald's head and found Jeff Garlett who carried the ball 100m with just two bounces (you do the math), the last 35 of which he fumbled the ball in the air, regained his balance going the distance without penalty and passing forward eventually finding Ellard for his second goal of the game. There were 54 seconds on the clock, just enough for another goal on the siren to Thornton. The quarter had lasted 35 minutes and 49 seconds and the score was: Melbourne 3.7.25 Carlton 6.1.37. I won't bore you with hard luck stories but a more mature team could easily have headed Carlton by four goals instead of trailing by two but football is full of coulda, woulda and shoulda stories and the Blues, thanks to Judd's brilliance, put Melbourne away in the second term anyway. They kicked 8.1.49 to 0.3.3 for the term and from there, it's needless to say, that they went on to win comfortably by 21.8.134 to 7.16.58. Judd finished with 31 disposals - 18 of them contested and if he didn't pick up the three Brownlow votes there will be an investigation. Had he not played, the game could have gone either way in my view. As it was, Melbourne fought it out in the second half despite being outclassed and despite a few free kicks going Carlton's way for goals. In the end, it was the last two minutes of the first quarter and the entire second that accounted for much of the difference in the two teams' scores. The faint hope that Melbourne could possibly make the finals if it somehow fell in against West Coast and then beat Richmond, Gold Coast and Port Adelaide is probably gone as a result of Essendon's win yesterday but who really relishes the prospect of going into a finals game at Patterson's Curse Oval against the Eagles in September? Only the Demons' young uns like Watts, Trengove, McKenzie, Howe, Gysberts, Tapscott (until injured) Gawn and Scully (although I suspect the latter might have other things on his mind). Players like Frawley, Garland, Martin and one or two others. They were well beaten out of the middle thanks to Warnock winning the tap outs and, well … Judd but the Blues were always going to be the winners with a clean sheet on the injury front. They were able to make 151 interchanges on the day to 117 – a significant difference and, in light of all of their advantages on the day; the final inside 50 count of 52 to 47 was incredibly close. The problem being that Carlton converted 40% of their inside 50's to Melbourne's 14%. The latter stat has generally been a highlight for the Demons this year but their forward disposal let them down this time, particularly from set shots where they were deplorable while the Blues simply couldn't miss from whatever angle or distance. The other difference between Melbourne of last week and this week is that the disposal count was nowhere near as skewed (370-332) indicating the Demons were having more of a dip and in that regard, the team's youngsters were truly impressive. Jack Watts and Jack Trengove were terrific competitors and are the club's future. Words can't express how they have come on for the club this year. But as for the team leaders, they are struggling and would have been ashamed last night that the only true leadership shown at this club was from its ailing President who insisted on going to the game and who spoke at the end of how proud he was of his players. Melbourne 3.7.25 3.10.28 6.12.48 7.16.58 Carlton 6.1.37 14.2.86 18.7.115 21.8 134 Goals Melbourne Dunn Watts 2 Green Davey Green Howe Carlton Ellard 3 Garlett Gibbs Judd Scotland Walker 2 Betts Henderson Joseph Kreutzer McLean Robinson Thornton Warnock Best Melbourne Watts Trengove Garland Frawley Macdonald Dunn Carlton Judd Gibbs Murphy Warnock Scotland Ellard Injuries Melbourne Strauss (broken leg) Tapscott (neck) Carlton Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Carlton Dennis Armfield (ankle) replaced in Carlton's selected side by Ryan Houlihan Reports Melbourne Nil Carlton Nil Umpires Donlon Bozo Jeffery Crowd 42,342 at the MCG

We're moving into the home straight and Jack Watts has poll position: 130. Jack Watts 103. Stefan Martin 104 . Jack Trengove 91. Jared Rivers 85 . Nathan Jones Brent Moloney 61 . Colin Sylvia 54 . Jordie McKenzie 47 . Ricky Petterd 37 . Mark Jamar 36 . James Frawley 35 . Rohan Bail 32 . Brad Green 29 . Jordan Gysberts Jeremy Howe 28 . Luke Tapscott 27 . Colin Garland 19 Joel Macdonald 16 . Liam Jurrah 15 . Tom Scully 13 . Neville Jetta 11 . Addam Maric 10 . Cale Morton 8 . Aaron Davey 7 . Jamie Bennell Michael Evans 4 . Lynden Dunn 3 . Clint Bartram Michael Newton 2 . Jack Grimes. Dan Nicholson 1 . Matthew Warnock

NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE? by the Oracle Seven days after the debacle by Corio Bay, six days after the sacking of Dean Bailey as coach, five days after the appointment of his temporary replacement Todd Vine, four days after the recriminations began in earnest, three days after Garry Lyon was dragged into the picture amid more news of the ill-health of the club's president, two days after a dramatic selection meeting saw the loss through injury of an All Australian ruckman, the omission of the club's most dynamic but erratic player, its leading goal kicker and two others and one day after a final training session attracted the football world's media voyeurs and their paparazzi who had spent the week determined to make the most of stories of rifts within the club and revive old news about the tanking issue, the Demons returned to the field and lost to the Blues by 76 points (ironically, the team that tanked hard and often not so long ago while an AFL, determined to see their return to the ranks of successful clubs, turned a blind eye). With so much bubbling in the background to the game, did anybody notice a difference in Melbourne's performance under caretaker coach Viney? There are many who would give an emphatic "no" for an answer to that question. To lose by almost 13 goals on the MCG with the memory of the "bruise-free" allegations of the earlier clash between the sides, to capitulate so badly in the second term and indeed to lose by a margin even greater than that of the round 10 "bruise-free result", was as shameful as the debacle of last week. But there was some silver lining there for sure. If I had to put it to you before the game that Melbourne would finish with a close inside 50 count and only six less scoring shots you would surely have taken it after last week's 186? There's no doubt that Carlton's superior skills against a less experienced, mentally hurt Melbourne bereft of true leadership might explain it's better accuracy in front of goal (last week it kicked 2.8 with its first 10 shots at goal, this week it was 8.1 just two minutes into the second term) but it was also just one of those days when, in addition to that, everything went right for the Blues and everything wrong for the Demons. Let's look at the first quarter when, after Mitch Robinson's opening goal, Melbourne had all of the momentum and dominated the moves forward (15 -10 inside 50's for the term) but failed to make an impact. Easy set shots were missed by Jack Watts (after receiving a brilliant pass from James Strauss), Lynden Dunn and Brad Green, a Nathan Jones helicopter went up in the air and failed to find a teammate let alone score and a Stef Martin kick sailed out of bounds on the full. What was evident at this stage of proceedings was that the Demons were more direct in their play and were less inclined to revert to overusing handball which had been a feature of their game during the Bailey regime. We were also treated with some signs of brilliance, especially when Watts sold candy to Brock McLean (who copped abuse all day from my Carlton supporting neighbour) and rammed home an inspirational goal but its impact was immediately nullified by the horrid injury to Strauss which gave the Blues the opportunity to regroup and retain their composure. With a little over two minutes left the scoreboard read: Melbourne 3.6.24 Carlton 3.1.19. Then, Max Gawn was awarded a free kick in the middle of the ground and instead of looking upfield to his forwards, he handballed laterally to Nathan Jones who had a Carlton opponent on his hammer. A few movements of the ball later, Carlton was a point in front after an Andrew Walker goal. The next play resulted in Luke Tapscott attempting a long shot for goal from outside 50 which resulted in a rushed behind. Chris Yarran's long kick off sailed over Joel Macdonald's head and found Jeff Garlett who carried the ball 100m with just two bounces (you do the math), the last 35 of which he fumbled the ball in the air, regained his balance going the distance without penalty and passing forward eventually finding Ellard for his second goal of the game. There were 54 seconds on the clock, just enough for another goal on the siren to Thornton. The quarter had lasted 35 minutes and 49 seconds and the score was: Melbourne 3.7.25 Carlton 6.1.37. I won't bore you with hard luck stories but a more mature team could easily have headed Carlton by four goals instead of trailing by two but football is full of coulda, woulda and shoulda stories and the Blues, thanks to Judd's brilliance, put Melbourne away in the second term anyway. They kicked 8.1.49 to 0.3.3 for the term and from there, it's needless to say, that they went on to win comfortably by 21.8.134 to 7.16.58. Judd finished with 31 disposals - 18 of them contested and if he didn't pick up the three Brownlow votes there will be an investigation. Had he not played, the game could have gone either way in my view. As it was, Melbourne fought it out in the second half despite being outclassed and despite a few free kicks going Carlton's way for goals. In the end, it was the last two minutes of the first quarter and the entire second that accounted for much of the difference in the two teams' scores. The faint hope that Melbourne could possibly make the finals if it somehow fell in against West Coast and then beat Richmond, Gold Coast and Port Adelaide is probably gone as a result of Essendon's win yesterday but who really relishes the prospect of going into a finals game at Patterson's Curse Oval against the Eagles in September? Only the Demons' young uns like Watts, Trengove, McKenzie, Howe, Gysberts, Tapscott (until injured) Gawn and Scully (although I suspect the latter might have other things on his mind). Players like Frawley, Garland, Martin and one or two others. They were well beaten out of the middle thanks to Warnock winning the tap outs and, well … Judd but the Blues were always going to be the winners with a clean sheet on the injury front. They were able to make 151 interchanges on the day to 117 – a significant difference and, in light of all of their advantages on the day; the final inside 50 count of 52 to 47 was incredibly close. The problem being that Carlton converted 40% of their inside 50's to Melbourne's 14%. The latter stat has generally been a highlight for the Demons this year but their forward disposal let them down this time, particularly from set shots where they were deplorable while the Blues simply couldn't miss from whatever angle or distance. The other difference between Melbourne of last week and this week is that the disposal count was nowhere near as skewed (370-332) indicating the Demons were having more of a dip and in that regard, the team's youngsters were truly impressive. Jack Watts and Jack Trengove were terrific competitors and are the club's future. Words can't express how they have come on for the club this year. But as for the team leaders, they are struggling and would have been ashamed last night that the only true leadership shown at this club was from its ailing President who insisted on going to the game and who spoke at the end of how proud he was of his players. Melbourne 3.7.25 3.10.28 6.12.48 7.16.58 Carlton 6.1.37 14.2.86 18.7.115 21.8 134 Goals Melbourne Dunn Watts 2 Green Davey Green Howe Carlton Ellard 3 Garlett Gibbs Judd Scotland Walker 2 Betts Henderson Joseph Kreutzer McLean Robinson Thornton Warnock Best Melbourne Watts Trengove Garland Frawley Macdonald Dunn Carlton Judd Gibbs Murphy Warnock Scotland Ellard Injuries Melbourne Strauss (broken leg) Tapscott (neck) Carlton Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Carlton Dennis Armfield (ankle) replaced in Carlton's selected side by Ryan Houlihan Reports Melbourne Nil Carlton Nil Umpires Donlon Bozo Jeffery Crowd 42,342 at the MCG

Your votes please, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...

Has Armfield chickened out? Replaced by Houlihan.

TELL ME NO STORIES by Whispering Jack What a week it's been for the Demons! The massive belting in the AFL that followed a thrashing to the VFL Scorpions in the early game at Geelong saw an unprecedented combined losing margin of in excess of 52 goals in the course of a handful of hours on the same day and in the same place. Then came the politics, the intrigue, the axing, the sound of the football world laughing at a club, the circling of the media vultures, the reinvention of history, the anger, the irony, the pathos, the hurt on the face of the president, the dignified departure of the coach, and the determination of the newly appointed caretaker. Eventually came the inevitable moment in this game of ours when one starts taking things one day at a time. What we don't know at this stage is how the players will react to the week's events but can anybody really see them shrivelling up and hiding in their shells irrespective of whether or not they are now happy with the wash-up from the week's events. Moreover, there is no breathing space for them. No struggling, lightweight, out-of-state weakling to beat up by a big margin so as to be able to gain bragging rights as a flat track bully. Carlton is certainly a quality opponent heading for a possible top four position in a little over a month's time but thanks to the Bailey sacking and the Blues' "big mouths" Armfield and Robinson, they could well be heading for a fall this week. I consider the above two issues are inextricably bound up together. Throughout the season, Melbourne's on field leadership has, from time to time, been called into question when the blowtorch has been applied. By "leadership", I refer to the coaching panel and the players making up the leadership group. Neither has been able to take ownership of all those aspects of modern team performance that matter when it counts in a tough, hard battle. The coaches have been unable to succesfully impart tactics and strategies and the leaders have lacked the qualities needed to overcome the hard press applied by stronger clubs. Against them, they played the "bruise-free" game. Bailey's short term replacement Todd Viney can't and won't work miracles overnight but his tough no nonsense approach and the knowledge he acquired on the coaching panels of Hawthorn, where he played a role in the Hawks' 2008 flag and at Adelaide, are expected to have an impact. As for the leadership group, they have been subjected to a week of soul searching. They have the ability and talent to play the game at a high level and this week's events should have given them all the motivation (as if true professionals need this). If they have any pride in themselves as professional footballers, they will be desperate to overcome the slurs of Armfield and Robinson but even more so, the utterly degrading insults heaped upon them in the public arena by the likes of Age reporter Caroline Wilson who stated earlier in the week that the senior players were so "mentally shattered from the week's off-field distractions" that they "barely fired a shot". In other words, they are so weak-minded that they allowed politics to totally distract them from doing their job on the field. Bruise free, unprofessional and disloyal to the supporters who live, breath and eat the game. A few days too many spent on an end of season football trip to China helps cause a 186 point smashing, just as it gives reason for a precious 20 year old to stow away on a boat to one of the most "unfootball friendly" parts of the country. Enough already. Tell me no stories. Tell me no lies. I don't believe all that's been said about the perceived background causes to the past week's events. There is of course some truth in the myriad tales spinning around this tragic scenario but many of them stem from elements involved with the club in the past and in the present, faceless ghouls and ghosts, gutless men who have their own agendas and will stab in the back the club they purport to support and follow. There are things at the club that need to be dealt with but for the players, its time to put an end to the stories and to produce where it matters. THE GAME Melbourne v Carlton at the MCG - Saturday 6 August, 2011 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Carlton 114 wins 2 draws Melbourne 88 wins At MCG Carlton 46 wins Melbourne 49 wins Since 2000 Carlton 8 wins Melbourne 8 wins The Coaches Ratten 4 wins Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 10 (delayed telecast at 3:00 pm) Radio THE BETTING Carlton to win $1.13 Melbourne to win $6.00 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Carlton 13.15.93 defeated Melbourne 6.10.46 at the MCG, Round 10, 2011 The Demons were injury-riddled and at a low ebb. It started off a game of total defence as coach Bailey threw Jack Watts down back as a spare man in defence. It was ugly stuff and the less talented team made the most mistakes. The result was thereby beyond doubt once Melbourne's error count built up. TEAMS CARLTON Backs Nick Duigan Lachlan Henderson Jeremy Laidler Half backs Aaron Joseph Bret Thornton Zach Tuohy Centreline Heath Scotland Chris Judd Christopher Yarran Half forwards Jeffrey Garlett Bryce Gibbs Kade Simpson Forwards Eddie Betts Matthew Kreuzer Andrew Walker Followers Robert Warnock Marc Murphy Mitch Robinson Interchange Dennis Armfield David Ellard Brock McLean Marcus Davies Emergencies Ryan Houlihan Setanta O'hAilpin Kane Lucas In Aaron Joseph Out Ryan Houlihan MELBOURNE Backs James Strauss James Frawley Clint Bartram Half backs Colin Garland Jared Rivers Joel Macdonald Centreline Jack Trengove Jordie McKenzie Aaron Davey Half forwards Lynden Dunn Jack Watts Tom Scully Forwards Brad Green Ricky Petterd Jeremy Howe Followers Max Gawn Brent Moloney Nathan Jones Interchange Matthew Bate Stefan Martin Jordan Gysberts Luke Tapscott Emergencies Tom McDonald Daniel Nicholson Colin Sylvia In Clint Bartram Aaron Davey Max Gawn Joel Macdonald Tom Scully Out Mark Jamar (Foot) Liam Jurrah Addam Maric Daniel Nicholson Colin Sylvia WE'VE BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE by Whispering Jack Last week's 186 point defeat at Skilled Stadium was not as bad numerically as the club’s Round 17, 1979 loss at the hands of Fitzroy at Waverley. The margin in that game was 190 points but there are already arguments as to which was the worst performance. Demonland poster Redleg was the Team Manager in 1979 under captain coach Carl Ditterich who had taken over the reins at the previous year's wooden spooner from Dennis Jones. He was also at Geelong on Saturday to see what was to become Dean Bailey's last as coach of the Melbourne Football Club. Redleg believes that today's style of football with its zoning and presses is far less conducive to blowout results than it was back then. The current side is also far more talented than the one that took the field against the Lions on that day of records 32 years ago. He is gobsmacked that a side containing so many top draft picks and one that had the talent to be the core of a team that has won three times this year by around 15 goals could put in such a wretched performance. Back in 1979 the club brought big Carl back for a second stint after he first crossed from St. Kilda under the controversial 10 year rule (the competition's forerunner to free agency). This time he was to be the playing coach. The club also recruited flamboyant Collingwood star Phil Carman along with Magpie Wayne Gordon, the three Elliott brothers from St. Kilda, Glen, Robert and Bruce, Stewart Gull from South Melbourne and Cameron Clayton from the Tigers. Among the promising youngsters introduced that year were Gerard Healy, Peter Giles and Tasmanian Tony Martyn. Much was expected from these players but they hardly delivered in 1979 - the team rose one place to finish 11th in a 12 team competition. By Round 17 things had turned sour for the Demons who went into the game without Ditterich, Carman and the team's star player Robert Flower. The team for the game against the Lions was: Backs L Fowler S Smith B Denny Half backs C Clayton P Giles G Hutchison Centreline A Martyn G Elliott P Seaton Half forwards G Healy A Dullard R Elliott Forwards M Byrne R Biffin P Thorne Followers G Baker G Gaunt G Wells 19/20 J Durnan K Whitfort Redleg recalls the game was an unmitigated disaster. Apart from missing those key players, the team lost one or two early with injury, the Lions seized the initiative and their momentum grew as the game went on. Nothing went right for the Demons and, as Fitzroy got on top of them, the players' heads dropped. They were trying hard but basically nothing worked. Changes were made throughout the game but the Lions were on a roll. It was a humbling experience for Redleg as team manager. The team lacked talent. There were a few who were past it and others who only got games because others were injured. Some of the better players were not playing and it told on the team but Redleg insists that they never once stopped trying. The end result was Fitzroy 36.22.238 to Melbourne 6.12.48. Goals Gaunt 2 Biffin Durnan Healy Thorne Best Gaunt Fowler G Elliott Clayton Seaton Giles It was a hollow feeling for the team manager as he entered the rooms after the loss. Ditterich was livid. One or two committee were there and that was about it. There were no supporters to console the players; they had long ago gone home. "Carl told me in no uncertain terms that it was up to me to “(expletive) talk to them”, and he collected his gear and went home. Redleg sat with the players. The mood was glum and nothing was said for about 15 minutes. "A couple of them kicked their lockers. A few others showed some anger and then I just got up, told them to shower, then move on and put this behind them. I said I'd see them at training on Tuesday and that was it. No committee meetings, a bit of bad press and Carl was there at training as if nothing had happened." On the Tuesday, Carl made no reference to the previous weekend's debacle. He had moved on, the players had moved on and all thoughts were focussed on the game against Essendon the following week at the MCG. "Let's just beat those (expletive) pricks!" And beat them, they did. "There were a few changes, Carl and Robbie were back. 'Piggy' Walters was in at full forward. Steven Smith went to centre half forward and Peter Hamilton came in to full back. The vibe was positive, confidence was restored and the team won by 29 points with Piggy kicking nine goals, Smith and Wells, four each. The turnaround that day was amazing and Carl stayed at the end to address the players in the crowded rooms." Redleg remains an optimist and believes Melbourne's result last week was an aberration and that the playing group, as it did back in 1979, has an enormous challenge to regain credibility in the eyes of their fans and the football world. "I've seen the game's most massive turnaround in the space of a week - 219 points. I know it's possible because I've seen it before and I know what a tough taskmaster Todd Viney can be. Just like Carl, it's hard for anyone to look blokes like those in the eye if they don't put their heads down or go hard at the football. "Carlton is a talented team but they've been off the boil lately, Melbourne owes them one from last time and then there's also an outside finals chance. That sounds far-fetched after 186 but I know from experience that anything could happen on Saturday." The Demons are no strangers to dramatic turnarounds on the appointment of caretaker coaches. Greg Hutchison who played on a half back flank on that ill-fated day in 1979 won his first game against the Tigers and Mark Riley did likewise against the tanking Blues ten years later. Recently deposed Adelaide coach Neil Craig coached for the first time as caretaker against raging favourites and finals bound Melbourne after Gary Ayres was sacked in 2004. The Crows who had previously been unable to raise a whimper, won by 74 points. Redleg couldn't be drawn in to make a prediction but I was at the G in 1979 when the Demons turned things around and beat the Bombers and I'm expecting similar things again this week when we'll see history repeat itself. Melbourne by 33 points.

It wasn't all that long ago - in the days when life was sweet and all that the Demons did was play bruise-free footy as opposed to netball. Every player will need to look in his team mate and his coach straight in the eye if he gives anything less than 100% during this week's game. The players need to let their bodies do the talking out on the ground this week if they have an ounce of pride in them. MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Matthew Warnock Joel Macdonald Half backs Cale Morton Jared Rivers Neville Jetta Centreline Jack Watts Brent Moloney Matthew Bate Half forwards Addam Maric Michael Newton Liam Jurrah Forwards Brad Green Colin Sylvia Jamie Bennell Followers Stef Martin Nathan Jones Jordie McKenzie Interchange Michael Evans Jordan Gysberts Daniel Nicholson Ricky Petterd Emergencies Max Gawn Jeremy Howe Austin Wonaeamirri In Jamie Bennell Cale Morton Daniel Nicholson Out Clint Bartram (hip) Aaron Davey (knee) Luke Tapscott (hamstring) CARLTON Backs Jordan Russell Bret Thornton Chris Yarran Half backs Nick Duigan Michael Jamison Jeremy Laidler Centreline Heath Scotland Brock McLean Kade Simpson Half forwards Chris Judd Jarrad Waite Eddie Betts Forwards Jeff Garlett Setanta O’hAilpin Andrew Walker Followers Shaun Hampson Bryce Gibbs Marc Murphy Interchange Dennis Armfield Andrew Carrazzo David Ellard Mitch Robinson Emergencies Lachlan Henderson Ryan Houlihan Aaron Joseph In Shaun Hampson Out Robert Warnock (concussion) PS: I have a feeling that Jack Watts will not have a loose man in defence role this time.

Jordie McKenzie got the perfect score while Jack Watts also polled well and, as a result, stretched his lead. 114 . Jack Watts 97 . Stefan Martin 91 . Jared Rivers 90 . Jack Trengove 85 . Brent Moloney Nathan Jones 61 . Colin Sylvia 54 . Jordie McKenzie 47 . Ricky Petterd 37 . Mark Jamar 36 . James Frawley 35 . Rohan Bail 32 . Brad Green 28 . Luke Tapscott 27 . Jordan Gysberts 25 . Colin Garland 21 . Jeremy Howe 16 . Liam Jurrah 15 . Tom Scully 13 . Neville Jetta 11 . Addam Maric 10 . Cale Morton 8 . Aaron Davey 7 . Jamie Bennell Michael Evans 4 . Lynden Dunn Joel Macdonald 3 . Clint Bartram Michael Newton 2. Jack Grimes Dan Nicholson 1. Matthew Warnock

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COOL CATS CANE CASEY by Ice Station With the Casey Scorpions a game out of the top four and with only five games left in the home and away season, the team faced up to a must win game against Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday morning. The Cats have been out of the top eight all season but their recent form had been good and they have come close to causing an upset or two but nobody in their wildest dreams could have anticipated the 128 point thrashing they inflicted on the hapless Scorpions. With the opening bounce taking place at 10.40am, it was an early start for the participants but only one team seemed ready to play. The home side opened with a blistering 10-goal first term in which their co-captain Troy Selwood booted three goals in the first few minutes on the way to four for the quarter and seven for the game. From there a super accurate Geelong never looked back, winning every term and finishing with an amazing score of 31.6.192 to Casey's meagre 10.4.64. The visitors appeared listless and out of sorts. Spearhead Brendan Fevola was clearly suffering from illness but still battled manfully for four goals before leaving the field halfway through the third term. It was a strong effort given his condition and the limited supply to the Scorpion forwards. Ruckman Max Gawn again worked hard against the odds, Clint Bartram battled away in defence while Troy Davis was given the task of nullifying Selwood after the first break and performed admirably. The Scorpions were however, well beaten for pace in the midfield and struck the Cats on one of those days where they could do little wrong. Casey football manager Matthew Young expressed his disappointment. "How would you describe getting belted by 130 points?" Young said. "There could be a whole number of reasons for the performance today but we don't really know. We're hoping it's just an aberration." The result was certainly a mystery but it was a bad day for any team venturing down the highway as Casey's alignment partner would readily attest. The Demons could well have done with the likes of Aaron Davey (24 touches on return from injury), Cale Morton (34 disposals) and Joel Macdonald (24) on a day when disaster management was the order of the day. Coach Brad Gotch was exasperated at the performance. "Some of the errors we made were ... I don't know if it was the early start ... the boys were there at 8.30, 8.45, some stayed in Geelong, some travelled ... we fumbled, our backs were really poor. "Just mentally, we weren't with it." The team's percentage was sent plummeting by almost 15% from 127.37 to 112.38 as a result of the loss and it will need to regain its composure in the weeks ahead if it is to have any chance of gaining a coveted top four placing. This Sunday, the Scorpions take on the Zebras at home and Gotch will no doubt be demanding more commitment and attack on the football from his charges. On a brighter note, key position player Tim Mohr has been rewarded for a stellar season in defence with an invitation to the draft camp at year's end. Casey Scorpions 4.1.25 6.1.37 6.3.39 10.4.64 Geelong 10.0.60 16.4.100 23.5.143 31.6.192 Goals Casey Scorpions Fevola 4 Waite 2 Blease Cook Corry Johnston Geelong T Selwood Simpkin 7 Schroder 4 Burbury 3 Corrigan Hollmer Johnson Stringer 2 Hogan Horlin-Smith Best Casey Scorpions Davis Bartram Gawn Morton Fevola Davey Geelong Simpkin Corrigan Guthrie Bathie Schroder T Selwood Casey reserves played at Victoria Park against Frankston at roughly the same time as their senior counterparts but with a diametrically opposite performance winning by 169 points. Jack Fitzpatrick booted six goals and was best on ground in a game in which a number of players put their hands up for senior selection. The reserves also consolidated their place in the top four with the finals on the horizon. Casey Scorpions 5.9.39 11.15.81 20.17.137 29.24.198 Frankston 1.2.8 2.3.15 2.5.17 4.5.29 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick 6 Purves 5 Fieldsend 3 Clay Collins McShane Tynan 2 Bell Lawrence Lees Pollard Purdy Riseley Wall Frankston Douglas 2 Elton Hayes Best Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Tynan Pollard Cleven Gent Frankston Boland Ongarello Sienkiewicz Anwyl Heddles Wells

COOL CATS CANE CASEY by Ice Station With the Casey Scorpions a game out of the top four and with only five games left in the home and away season, the team faced up to a must win game against Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday morning. The Cats have been out of the top eight all season but their recent form had been good and they have come close to causing an upset or two but nobody in their wildest dreams could have anticipated the 128 point thrashing they inflicted on the hapless Scorpions. With the opening bounce taking place at 10.40am, it was an early start for the participants but only one team seemed ready to play. The home side opened with a blistering 10-goal first term in which their co-captain Troy Selwood booted three goals in the first few minutes on the way to four for the quarter and seven for the game. From there a super accurate Geelong never looked back, winning every term and finishing with an amazing score of 31.6.192 to Casey's meagre 10.4.64. The visitors appeared listless and out of sorts. Spearhead Brendan Fevola was clearly suffering from illness but still battled manfully for four goals before leaving the field halfway through the third term. It was a strong effort given his condition and the limited supply to the Scorpion forwards. Ruckman Max Gawn again worked hard against the odds, Clint Bartram battled away in defence while Troy Davis was given the task of nullifying Selwood after the first break and performed admirably. The Scorpions were however, well beaten for pace in the midfield and struck the Cats on one of those days where they could do little wrong. Casey football manager Matthew Young expressed his disappointment. "How would you describe getting belted by 130 points?" Young said. "There could be a whole number of reasons for the performance today but we don't really know. We're hoping it's just an aberration." The result was certainly a mystery but it was a bad day for any team venturing down the highway as Casey's alignment partner would readily attest. The Demons could well have done with the likes of Aaron Davey (24 touches on return from injury), Cale Morton (34 disposals) and Joel Macdonald (24) on a day when disaster management was the order of the day. Coach Brad Gotch was exasperated at the performance. "Some of the errors we made were ... I don't know if it was the early start ... the boys were there at 8.30, 8.45, some stayed in Geelong, some travelled ... we fumbled, our backs were really poor. "Just mentally, we weren't with it." The team's percentage was sent plummeting by almost 15% from 127.37 to 112.38 as a result of the loss and it will need to regain its composure in the weeks ahead if it is to have any chance of gaining a coveted top four placing. This Sunday, the Scorpions take on the Zebras at home and Gotch will no doubt be demanding more commitment and attack on the football from his charges. On a brighter note, key position player Tim Mohr has been rewarded for a stellar season in defence with an invitation to the draft camp at year's end. Casey Scorpions 4.1.25 6.1.37 6.3.39 10.4.64 Geelong 10.0.60 16.4.100 23.5.143 31.6.192 Goals Casey Scorpions Fevola 4 Waite 2 Blease Cook Corry Johnston Geelong T Selwood Simpkin 7 Schroder 4 Burbury 3 Corrigan Hollmer Johnson Stringer 2 Hogan Horlin-Smith Best Casey Scorpions Davis Bartram Gawn Morton Fevola Davey Geelong Simpkin Corrigan Guthrie Bathie Schroder T Selwood Casey reserves played at Victoria Park against Frankston at roughly the same time as their senior counterparts but with a diametrically opposite performance winning by 169 points. Jack Fitzpatrick booted six goals and was best on ground in a game in which a number of players put their hands up for senior selection. The reserves also consolidated their place in the top four with the finals on the horizon. Casey Scorpions 5.9.39 11.15.81 20.17.137 29.24.198 Frankston 1.2.8 2.3.15 2.5.17 4.5.29 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick 6 Purves 5 Fieldsend 3 Clay Collins McShane Tynan 2 Bell Lawrence Lees Pollard Purdy Riseley Wall Frankston Douglas 2 Elton Hayes Best Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Tynan Pollard Cleven Gent Frankston Boland Ongarello Sienkiewicz Anwyl Heddles Wells

LOVE STORY by Whispering Jack I have this application on my iPhone which supplies up-to-date scores of every AFL game being played at any particular time. When the game is over, the result is recorded for posterity so that the final score from the match played at Skilled Stadium on the last Saturday in the month of July 2011 will stand forever as the most shameful result in the 153 year history of the Melbourne Football Club*. There is little more that needs to be written or said about the game. There might well be reasons behind the train wreck to explain or excuse the performance of particular individuals within the group. For example, Brent Moloney was ill and should not have played. There may well have been others but it matters little because, apart from the lone effort of Jordie McKenzie (25 disposals including 16 contested possessions and 8 tackles) the team was hopelessly shamed. And if it was a player protest against Cameron Schwab as is being suggested in some quarters then it is a matter of complete and utter disgrace. What's more, this was not a single, isolated instance of ineptitude on the part of the team but rather, it forms part of a pattern that has been evident since as early as February when Melbourne was unceremoniously bundled out of the NAB Cup by Essendon. This team is capable of winning against the weak but it also meekly capitulates at the slightest sign of pressure from the strong. What does this tell you about their character and about the ability of those appointed to prepare them for the hard slog of an elite sporting competition? Coach Dean Bailey has quite rightly accepted responsibility for the day's debacle. At the after match press conference, he described it as "an embarrassing day" with the potential ''to create a division or a fracture'' at the club. ''I stand here absolutely taking the whole responsibility for today, no question about that. The rest of the year it'll either be the making of us, or … we'll slowly disintegrate for the rest of the year. I'd like to think there's enough resolve within the group that this is as big a kick in the arse as you can get. We got kicked in the arse often today, we were embarrassing. We were embarrassing for the whole game. There probably aren't strong enough words to suggest how poor we were today.'' Bailey also conceded that ''a loss like today doesn't [bode] well for anyone who's in the last year of their contract'' and that while he wanted to continue as coach, the decision on that matter is with the club board. ''The board will make a decision that's in the best interests of the Melbourne Football Club, the decision will be what it is. There is no greyness in it, it's black and white.'' Earlier in the day, the morning papers told how the board was contemplating extending Bailey's contract by a year or even two. The Herald Sun carried a double page spread with the pros and cons of Bailey's three and three quarter years at the coaching helm at Melbourne. I have heard it said by some that the players all "love the coach". Really? My experience tells me that if there's one thing that's true about professional team sports these days, it's that they only constitute a love story for supporters of and for their club. Sportsmen get paid for their labour so it's more about professionalism and respect in the first instance rather than about "love". Love is often a factor in the equation but never what it's all about for the players. They have a job to do first. On this day, the entire playing group assembled at Skilled Stadium (OK with one or two exceptions) showed no love over a period of six hours from the commencement of the VFL game at 10.40 am to the end of the AFL game at 4.40 pm. Nor did they show any respect for their club, their coach or their supporters, particularly those who went to the game and paid admission to the ground to suffer not "embarrassment" as Bailey called it, but "humiliation" which more properly describes the events of this dark day for all those who truly love the club. However, there is no emotion involved in dual North Melbourne premiership player David King's telling analysis of why Bailey's game plan has been an abject failure against the competition's leading lights. This is what he said in the Herald Sun spread which appeared on the morning of the game. "There are two answers to why their game plan doesn't work against good sides. Either the coaches haven't been able to implement what they want or it simply doesn't work. "When I watch them, their set-up reminds me of an era gone by, similar to Geelong between 2007-2010, and a system that doesn't work against a properly implemented press. "When the ball is in Melbourne's defensive end, their forwards roll right up the ground, which makes it very hard to score. I do believe the talent is there. "So either that talent develops and allows them to play the way Dean wants them to, or the game plan is outdated. I think it might be the latter.'' If the game plan was outdated before the game, it is likely to soon become a part of history and, along with it, I fear will be the coach. I do care for Dean Bailey but I care more for the Demons and, since I agree with him that the decision on his future now rests with the board, I trust that they will do the right thing and move quickly and decisively to stave off what will otherwise inevitably be a very ugly week for the Melbourne Football Club. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.4.10 5.4.34 7.5.47 Geelong 8.3.51 20.4.124 28.8.176 37.11.233 Goals Melbourne Dunn 2 Bate Howe Trengove Watts Geelong Johnson 7 Hawkins Mooney 5 Hawkins 5 Duncan Stokes Varcoe 3, Bartel Corey West 2 Christensen Ling Mackie Ottens Selwood Best Melbourne McKenzie Geelong Johnson Selwood Corey Enright Mooney Bartel Varcoe Injuries Melbourne Moloney (ill) Geelong Taylor (hip) Changes Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Umpires H Ryan S Ryan Jeffery Crowd 22,716 at Skilled Stadium *History says there has only been one instance of a greater losing margin than that which was witnessed in this game - back in 1979 when Fitzroy disposed of an injury-depleted Melbourne side that was sitting close to the bottom of the ladder by 190 points but that was in a time where there was no such thing as today's sophisticated defensive strategies, zoning and presses. One of our posters, Redleg, who was team manager at Melbourne under Carl Ditterich that year, will tell the story of how and why the Demons suffered that defeat, what it meant to the club at that time and how it rebounded the following week to beat the Bombers.

Game is thankfully over ... actually it was over at 2.22 pm but now the discussion can go on in the post match thread.

Please try hard to find 6 players ...

LOVE STORY by Whispering Jack I have this application on my iPhone which supplies up-to-date scores of every AFL game being played at any particular time. When the game is over, the result is recorded for posterity so that the final score from the match played at Skilled Stadium on the last Saturday in the month of July 2011 will stand forever as the most shameful result in the 153 year history of the Melbourne Football Club*. There is little more that needs to be written or said about the game. There might well be reasons behind the train wreck to explain or excuse the performance of particular individuals within the group. For example, Brent Moloney was ill and should not have played. There may well have been others but it matters little because, apart from the lone effort of Jordie McKenzie (25 disposals including 16 contested possessions and 8 tackles) the team was hopelessly shamed. And if it was a player protest against Cameron Schwab as is being suggested in some quarters then it is a matter of complete and utter disgrace. What's more, this was not a single, isolated instance of ineptitude on the part of the team but rather, it forms part of a pattern that has been evident since as early as February when Melbourne was unceremoniously bundled out of the NAB Cup by Essendon. This team is capable of winning against the weak but it also meekly capitulates at the slightest sign of pressure from the strong. What does this tell you about their character and about the ability of those appointed to prepare them for the hard slog of an elite sporting competition? Coach Dean Bailey has quite rightly accepted responsibility for the day's debacle. At the after match press conference, he described it as "an embarrassing day" with the potential ''to create a division or a fracture'' at the club. ''I stand here absolutely taking the whole responsibility for today, no question about that. The rest of the year it'll either be the making of us, or … we'll slowly disintegrate for the rest of the year. I'd like to think there's enough resolve within the group that this is as big a kick in the arse as you can get. We got kicked in the arse often today, we were embarrassing. We were embarrassing for the whole game. There probably aren't strong enough words to suggest how poor we were today.'' Bailey also conceded that ''a loss like today doesn't [bode] well for anyone who's in the last year of their contract'' and that while he wanted to continue as coach, the decision on that matter is with the club board. ''The board will make a decision that's in the best interests of the Melbourne Football Club, the decision will be what it is. There is no greyness in it, it's black and white.'' Earlier in the day, the morning papers told how the board was contemplating extending Bailey's contract by a year or even two. The Herald Sun carried a double page spread with the pros and cons of Bailey's three and three quarter years at the coaching helm at Melbourne. I have heard it said by some that the players all "love the coach". Really? My experience tells me that if there's one thing that's true about professional team sports these days, it's that they only constitute a love story for supporters of and for their club. Sportsmen get paid for their labour so it's more about professionalism and respect in the first instance rather than about "love". Love is often a factor in the equation but never what it's all about for the players. They have a job to do first. On this day, the entire playing group assembled at Skilled Stadium (OK with one or two exceptions) showed no love over a period of six hours from the commencement of the VFL game at 10.40 am to the end of the AFL game at 4.40 pm. Nor did they show any respect for their club, their coach or their supporters, particularly those who went to the game and paid admission to the ground to suffer not "embarrassment" as Bailey called it, but "humiliation" which more properly describes the events of this dark day for all those who truly love the club. However, there is no emotion involved in dual North Melbourne premiership player David King's telling analysis of why Bailey's game plan has been an abject failure against the competition's leading lights. This is what he said in the Herald Sun spread which appeared on the morning of the game. "There are two answers to why their game plan doesn't work against good sides. Either the coaches haven't been able to implement what they want or it simply doesn't work. "When I watch them, their set-up reminds me of an era gone by, similar to Geelong between 2007-2010, and a system that doesn't work against a properly implemented press. "When the ball is in Melbourne's defensive end, their forwards roll right up the ground, which makes it very hard to score. I do believe the talent is there. "So either that talent develops and allows them to play the way Dean wants them to, or the game plan is outdated. I think it might be the latter.'' If the game plan was outdated before the game, it is likely to soon become a part of history and, along with it, I fear will be the coach. I do care for Dean Bailey but I care more for the Demons and, since I agree with him that the decision on his future now rests with the board, I trust that they will do the right thing and move quickly and decisively to stave off what will otherwise inevitably be a very ugly week for the Melbourne Football Club. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.4.10 5.4.34 7.5.47 Geelong 8.3.51 20.4.124 28.8.176 37.11.233 Goals Melbourne Dunn 2 Bate Howe Trengove Watts Geelong Johnson 7 Hawkins Mooney 5 Hawkins 5 Duncan Stokes Varcoe 3, Bartel Corey West 2 Christensen Ling Mackie Ottens Selwood Best Melbourne McKenzie Geelong Johnson Selwood Corey Enright Mooney Bartel Varcoe Injuries Melbourne Moloney (ill) Geelong Taylor (hip) Changes Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Umpires H Ryan S Ryan Jeffery Crowd 22,716 at Skilled Stadium *History says there has only been one instance of a greater losing margin than that which was witnessed in this game - back in 1979 when Fitzroy disposed of an injury-depleted Melbourne side that was sitting close to the bottom of the ladder by 190 points but that was in a time where there was no such thing as today's sophisticated defensive strategies, zoning and presses. One of our posters, Redleg, who was team manager at Melbourne under Carl Ditterich that year, will tell the story of how and why the Demons suffered that defeat, what it meant to the club at that time and how it rebounded the following week to beat the Bombers.

For skeptics who might want a somewhat more substantial preview of this match I commend the biffinator's report on bigfooty - THE MAGICAL HANDBAGGER MYSTERY TOUR.

Cheers and thanks stranga. Now corrected. PS: Good to see that nobody thinks anything else in the article might be inaccurate

FRACTURED FAIRY TALES AND OTHER FANTASIES by The Demonland Crew Back in the late 1950s there was nothing on earth that could ever instil fear in the hearts of Melbourne players or their myriad fans. No task was too difficult an assignment for the team. Not even a trip down the Princes Highway to Geelong for the club's annual visit to the Cattery. After all, the Demons were the dominant force in the competition. Those were the days. It was a time of football, meat pies, kangaroos bouncing around the countryside and Holden cars dominating streetscapes. Television had just arrived in the land and kids everywhere rushed to their sets to watch the Mickey Mouse Club, Uncle Doug, Zig and Zag, and Rocky and Bullwinkle and their Fractured Fairy Tales. By way of tribute to those long gone days, we present... THE FRACTURED FAIRYTALE by The Oracle I look into my crystal ball and see snowflakes whirling. The scene clears and I see skiers returning to their lodge after an afternoon out on the slopes. They are anxious to catch news of the day's events from Skilled Stadium where their favourite football team is doing battle against one of the most formidable opponents on hostile territory. They settle before a fireplace and one of them turns on the wireless set. The crackling of static delivers the news. Now, I know what you're thinking. It's all a fantasy and you're right but surely that's what football's all about these days. Isn't it? For example, let's take the main topic of general public interest about the Melbourne Football Club in recent times. I refer to the question of the footballing future of one Tom Scully. Not a day seems to pass without us being fed fantastic stories from the media about the young man and, with each incredible revelation, we find scenarios more and more mindboggling and farfetched than the ones that came before ... like this one received today from a correspondent. DEMON SCULLY MISSING FEARED CAPTURED BY ALIENS by Mike Sheen LET'S cut to the chase - Tom Scully has been missing since the Melbourne v Port Adelaide game in Darwin a fortnight ago and hasn't been seen or heard from ever since. They say he wasn't seen when the victorious Demons sang the club song after prevailing over the Power on that steamy , hot night, that he might have been receiving medical attention elsewhere at the time, that he was suffering from back problems, a bruised knee, amnesia or a possibly a bout of the flu. What we do know is that he was selected to play against Hawthorn last weekend but failed to make the cut after he was allegedly ruled out with a knee injury. But was it really a knee injury? The media continues to buzz about Tom, his future, whether he will play with Melbourne this week, next week, next year or will he cross over to the Dark Side: to the sprawling suburbs collectively known as Greater Western Sydney? There are others who are pointing elsewhere. There are ominous signs of the apparent disappearance of the 20-year-old youngster. Has he gone missing and has he taken Ron Barassi's famous No.31 guernsey with him? Perhaps, the rumours are true that Scully was captured by aliens on that fateful night of Saturday 16 July 2011? What we do know is that many Darwin locals reported seeing strange lights in the northern skies over TIO Stadium just minutes after Scully was subbed off with an injury late in the third quarter. This has left many in the football world clinging to one logical conclusion. According to those "insiders" the young Demon is currently swirling around in an alien spacecraft somewhere near Alpha Centauri, already four light years away from our planet. They say that if he ever came back, Tom Scully could play in Sydney under the tutelage of Kevin Sheedy where the two would have lots of time to exchange stories about aliens, seagulls and marshmallows. Meanwhile, Sheedy's employer, Andrew Demetriou, reckons he doesn't have a clue where the Demon youngster is or where he will play next year but if you ask those who should know in recruiting they would all tell you that Scully is heading north (if those little green men return their quarry back to earth). There are persistent suggestions that Scully has been retained by as the public face of Tony's Kebab franchise in Paramatta and Blacktown and that he and his family have been engaged by the Rooty Hill RSL to take part in a Tom Jones/Engelbert Revival Tour together worth upwards of $500k annually for five years, a sum that the AFL was quick to confirm will not be included in the Giants' salary cap because of a rule allowing new franchises special consideration for third party contracts. Whatever happens, I can reveal exclusively that one song Tom won't be performing is "The green, green grass of Home". AFL official, Angry Anderson denied the existence of the rule although he admitted he might have made something up to that effect for players signed last October during the AFL's mysterious window of opportunity to poach contract players coming out of contract twelve months in advance. Despite all the conjecture, Scully's management group, Velocity Sports, has said nothing about his contract situation or his current whereabouts. The silence from the Scully camp has been deafening. He's gone! Since you've all been holding out to read a preview of Saturday's fixture between Melbourne and Geelong we thought we should deliver one even though it's brief. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE by JVM Recent history tells us the Cats have beaten the Demons by an average of 58 points in their past six encounters. This week's visitors have a poor recent record at Skilled Stadium having won only once there since the late '80s. Every time they meet it's virtually a case of "Mission Impossible" and this week is no exception. The task of taking on Geelong on home soil in front of a crowd made up of 99% home team supporters is daunting, a challenge beyond comprehension and certainly beyond even the odds of $8.00 offered by the bookmakers. If there is any doubt about the identity of the winner of this match then consider this amazing piece of information: Only one current Melbourne player has polled a Brownlow Medal vote against Geelong and that player is ... Aaron Davey who is a likely starter in the curtain raiser on account of the fact that he hasn't played since he incurred a knee injury in round eight against St. Kilda. So I will just quietly tip Geelong to win by 58 points (57 if the aliens return Tom in a fit state to play) and slink away into the stratosphere looking for stray UFO's. THE GAME Geelong v Melbourne at Skilled Stadium on Saturday 30 July 2010 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Geelong 122 wins Melbourne 83 wins 2 draws At Skilled Stadium Geelong 34 wins Melbourne 17 wins 1 draw Since 2000 Geelong 12 wins Melbourne 6 wins 1 draw The Coaches Scott 0 Bailey 0 MEDIA TV Fox Sports 1 (live) RADIO ABC774 K-Rock SEN THE BETTING Geelong to win $1.05 Melbourne to win $8.00 LAST TIME THEY MET Geelong 18.13.121 defeated Melbourne 10..7.67 at Skilled Stadium in Round 10, 2010 The reigning premiers showed no mercy to the young Demons who returned to earth after a visit to tropical Darwin a week earlier. There, they had overcome a longstanding interstate hoodoo but there was no way they were going to overcome their aversion to the narrow confines of Kardinia Park. The Cats, with Podsiadly, Stokes and Hawkins finding the goals and Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood winning the ball at will, led at every change. Brad Green with three goals and Jordan Gysberts on debut were the best of the Demons. At least Ablett won't be there on Saturday. THE TEAMS GEELONG Backs David Wojcinski Matthew Scarlett Tom Lonergan Half backs Andrew Mackie Harry Taylor Corey Enright Centreline Cameron Ling Joel Selwood Jimmy Bartel Half forwards Travis Varcoe Tom Hawkins Mathew Stokes Forwards Allen Christensen Cameron Mooney Steve Johnson Followers Brad Ottens Paul Chapman Joel Corey Interchange Mitch Duncan James Kelly Darren Milburn Trent West Emergencies Josh Cowan Cameron Guthrie Steven Motlop In Steve Johnson Cameron Ling Cameron Mooney Brad Ottens Out Shannon Byrnes (calf) Josh Cowan (omitted) Josh Hunt (back) James Podsiadly (facial soreness) MELBOURNE Backs James Strauss James Frawley Nathan Jones Half backs Colin Garland Jared Rivers Daniel Nicholson Centreline Jack Trengove Jordan Gysberts Colin Sylvia Half forwards Lynden Dunn Jack Watts Jeremy Howe Forwards Brad Green Liam Jurrah Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Luke Tapscott Interchange Matthew Bate Jordie McKenzie Stef Martin Ricky Petterd, Emergencies Clint Bartram Max Gawn Tom McDonald In Liam Jurrah Out Jamie Bennell As you can see we're not particularly into the nuts and bolts of a game where only a small number of Demon fans can even get tickets to gain entry to the ground. Of course, there was a time when opposition supporters were welcome at Kardinia Park/Skilled Stadium and WJ recalls those days. KARDINIA MEMORIES by Whispering Jack Melbourne's record at Kardinia Park where Skilled Stadium is located wasn't all that bad in the early days when the Geelong Football Club first played its home games on the eastern oval at Kardinia Park. The Cats moved there when their previous home ground, Corio Oval, was requisitioned for military use in 1941 (and just for the record, I wasn't around then). When the Demons were a power house in the 1950's they rarely lost anywhere so a trip down the highway held no fear for them. Even in the sixties and seventies it was always an enjoyable trip down the Princes Highway to Sleepy Hollow although, if the team lost, the drive home in failing light always seemed to last forever. I missed the win there on Anzac Day 1983 because the wife went into labour and delivered our daughter the following day. I still remind her of the significance of that birth date - a day after our expensive recruit Kelvin Templeton kicked eight goals and played his only decent game for us in a short and undistinguished career at the club. You have to get your priorities in the right place! I can't remember much about our next win at Kardinia Park in 1988 but it was to be the last victory for a long, long time. I grew to despise the place over the years when it went through several name changes ending up as Skilled Stadium at some time in the last decade. We simply stopped winning games at the damned place! During the pre season competition ten years ago (please don't ask me what the comp or the ground was called at the time) Melbourne was drawn to play Geelong at Kardinia Park in a semi final. The Demons had a good team in 2000 and, as I drove down the highway in the direction of the Ford Factory and Corio Bay, I was feeling supremely confident of victory at last. The day was fine and even the obligatory weekend road works that usually clog up the road and turn the drive into an horrific ordeal were missing. However, I should have known something was amiss when I managed to snaffle a parking spot in Moorabool Street immediately outside the gates of the stadium. They let me into the ground for nothing because there was some doubt about whether the game would start on time, if at all. Turned out that one side of the ground was flooded when an underground pipe burst near a wing. We waited, waited and waited and nothing happened. People wandered around the ground inspecting the surface near the affected area. The PA system kept putting back the start of the game and, when a few of the players walked out, looked at the mess and shook their heads, I knew it was time to toss it in and drive home. At that stage, it was around 3.00 pm and I can truthfully say, the result was never in doubt. I was cruising past Lara when they announced the game had been called off. The remainder of the return trip was a breeze compared to my many other hard slogs back into town after a heartbreaking defeat at that cursed ground so I was still smiling when I finally got to the front door. Epilogue: A few nights later, the game was finally played at VFL Park in front of a pitiful crowd and guess what? We lost, but at least it wasn't such a long drive home.

FRACTURED FAIRY TALES AND OTHER FANTASIES by The Demonland Crew Back in the late 1950s there was nothing on earth that could ever instil fear in the hearts of Melbourne players or their myriad fans. No task was too difficult an assignment for the team. Not even a trip down the Princes Highway to Geelong for the club's annual visit to the Cattery. After all, the Demons were the dominant force in the competition. Those were the days. It was a time of football, meat pies, kangaroos bouncing around the countryside and Holden cars dominating streetscapes. Television had just arrived in the land and kids everywhere rushed to their sets to watch the Mickey Mouse Club, Uncle Doug, Zig and Zag, and Rocky and Bullwinkle and their Fractured Fairy Tales. By way of tribute to those long gone days, we present... THE FRACTURED FAIRYTALE by The Oracle I look into my crystal ball and see snowflakes whirling. The scene clears and I see skiers returning to their lodge after an afternoon out on the slopes. They are anxious to catch news of the day's events from Skilled Stadium where their favourite football team is doing battle against one of the most formidable opponents on hostile territory. They settle before a fireplace and one of them turns on the wireless set. The crackling of static delivers the news. Now, I know what you're thinking. It's all a fantasy and you're right but surely that's what football's all about these days. Isn't it? For example, let's take the main topic of general public interest about the Melbourne Football Club in recent times. I refer to the question of the footballing future of one Tom Scully. Not a day seems to pass without us being fed fantastic stories from the media about the young man and, with each incredible revelation, we find scenarios more and more mindboggling and farfetched than the ones that came before ... like this one received today from a correspondent. DEMON SCULLY MISSING FEARED CAPTURED BY ALIENS by Mike Sheen LET'S cut to the chase - Tom Scully has been missing since the Melbourne v Port Adelaide game in Darwin a fortnight ago and hasn't been seen or heard from ever since. They say he wasn't seen when the victorious Demons sang the club song after prevailing over the Power on that steamy , hot night, that he might have been receiving medical attention elsewhere at the time, that he was suffering from back problems, a bruised knee, amnesia or a possibly a bout of the flu. What we do know is that he was selected to play against Hawthorn last weekend but failed to make the cut after he was allegedly ruled out with a knee injury. But was it really a knee injury? The media continues to buzz about Tom, his future, whether he will play with Melbourne this week, next week, next year or will he cross over to the Dark Side: to the sprawling suburbs collectively known as Greater Western Sydney? There are others who are pointing elsewhere. There are ominous signs of the apparent disappearance of the 20-year-old youngster. Has he gone missing and has he taken Ron Barassi's famous No.31 guernsey with him? Perhaps, the rumours are true that Scully was captured by aliens on that fateful night of Saturday 16 July 2011? What we do know is that many Darwin locals reported seeing strange lights in the northern skies over TIO Stadium just minutes after Scully was subbed off with an injury late in the third quarter. This has left many in the football world clinging to one logical conclusion. According to those "insiders" the young Demon is currently swirling around in an alien spacecraft somewhere near Alpha Centauri, already four light years away from our planet. They say that if he ever came back, Tom Scully could play in Sydney under the tutelage of Kevin Sheedy where the two would have lots of time to exchange stories about aliens, seagulls and marshmallows. Meanwhile, Sheedy's employer, Andrew Demetriou, reckons he doesn't have a clue where the Demon youngster is or where he will play next year but if you ask those who should know in recruiting they would all tell you that Scully is heading north (if those little green men return their quarry back to earth). There are persistent suggestions that Scully has been retained by as the public face of Tony's Kebab franchise in Paramatta and Blacktown and that he and his family have been engaged by the Rooty Hill RSL to take part in a Tom Jones/Engelbert Revival Tour together worth upwards of $500k annually for five years, a sum that the AFL was quick to confirm will not be included in the Giants' salary cap because of a rule allowing new franchises special consideration for third party contracts. Whatever happens, I can reveal exclusively that one song Tom won't be performing is "The green, green grass of Home". AFL official, Angry Anderson denied the existence of the rule although he admitted he might have made something up to that effect for players signed last October during the AFL's mysterious window of opportunity to poach contract players coming out of contract twelve months in advance. Despite all the conjecture, Scully's management group, Velocity Sports, has said nothing about his contract situation or his current whereabouts. The silence from the Scully camp has been deafening. He's gone! Since you've all been holding out to read a preview of Saturday's fixture between Melbourne and Geelong we thought we should deliver one even though it's brief. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE by JVM Recent history tells us the Cats have beaten the Demons by an average of 58 points in their past six encounters. This week's visitors have a poor recent record at Skilled Stadium having won only once there since the late '80s. Every time they meet it's virtually a case of "Mission Impossible" and this week is no exception. The task of taking on Geelong on home soil in front of a crowd made up of 99% home team supporters is daunting, a challenge beyond comprehension and certainly beyond even the odds of $8.00 offered by the bookmakers. If there is any doubt about the identity of the winner of this match then consider this amazing piece of information: Only one current Melbourne player has polled a Brownlow Medal vote against Geelong and that player is ... Aaron Davey who is a likely starter in the curtain raiser on account of the fact that he hasn't played since he incurred a knee injury in round eight against St. Kilda. So I will just quietly tip Geelong to win by 58 points (57 if the aliens return Tom in a fit state to play) and slink away into the stratosphere looking for stray UFO's. THE GAME Geelong v Melbourne at Skilled Stadium on Saturday 30 July 2010 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Geelong 122 wins Melbourne 83 wins 2 draws At Skilled Stadium Geelong 34 wins Melbourne 17 wins 1 draw Since 2000 Geelong 12 wins Melbourne 6 wins 1 draw The Coaches Scott 0 Bailey 0 MEDIA TV Fox Sports 1 (live) RADIO ABC774 K-Rock SEN THE BETTING Geelong to win $1.05 Melbourne to win $8.00 LAST TIME THEY MET Geelong 18.13.121 defeated Melbourne 10..7.67 at Skilled Stadium in Round 10, 2010 The reigning premiers showed no mercy to the young Demons who returned to earth after a visit to tropical Darwin a week earlier. There, they had overcome a longstanding interstate hoodoo but there was no way they were going to overcome their aversion to the narrow confines of Kardinia Park. The Cats, with Podsiadly, Stokes and Hawkins finding the goals and Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood winning the ball at will, led at every change. Brad Green with three goals and Jordan Gysberts on debut were the best of the Demons. At least Ablett won't be there on Saturday. THE TEAMS GEELONG Backs David Wojcinski Matthew Scarlett Tom Lonergan Half backs Andrew Mackie Harry Taylor Corey Enright Centreline Cameron Ling Joel Selwood Jimmy Bartel Half forwards Travis Varcoe Tom Hawkins Mathew Stokes Forwards Allen Christensen Cameron Mooney Steve Johnson Followers Brad Ottens Paul Chapman Joel Corey Interchange Mitch Duncan James Kelly Darren Milburn Trent West Emergencies Josh Cowan Cameron Guthrie Steven Motlop In Steve Johnson Cameron Ling Cameron Mooney Brad Ottens Out Shannon Byrnes (calf) Josh Cowan (omitted) Josh Hunt (back) James Podsiadly (facial soreness) MELBOURNE Backs James Strauss James Frawley Nathan Jones Half backs Colin Garland Jared Rivers Daniel Nicholson Centreline Jack Trengove Jordan Gysberts Colin Sylvia Half forwards Lynden Dunn Jack Watts Jeremy Howe Forwards Brad Green Liam Jurrah Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Luke Tapscott Interchange Matthew Bate Jordie McKenzie Stef Martin Ricky Petterd, Emergencies Clint Bartram Max Gawn Tom McDonald In Liam Jurrah Out Jamie Bennell As you can see we're not particularly into the nuts and bolts of a game where only a small number of Demon fans can even get tickets to gain entry to the ground. Of course, there was a time when opposition supporters were welcome at Kardinia Park/Skilled Stadium and WJ recalls those days. KARDINIA MEMORIES by Whispering Jack Melbourne's record at Kardinia Park where Skilled Stadium is located wasn't all that bad in the early days when the Geelong Football Club first played its home games on the eastern oval at Kardinia Park. The Cats moved there when their previous home ground, Corio Oval, was requisitioned for military use in 1941 (and just for the record, I wasn't around then). When the Demons were a power house in the 1950's they rarely lost anywhere so a trip down the highway held no fear for them. Even in the sixties and seventies it was always an enjoyable trip down the Princes Highway to Sleepy Hollow although, if the team lost, the drive home in failing light always seemed to last forever. I missed the win there on Anzac Day 1983 because the wife went into labour and delivered our daughter the following day. I still remind her of the significance of that birth date - a day after our expensive recruit Kelvin Templeton kicked eight goals and played his only decent game for us in a short and undistinguished career at the club. You have to get your priorities in the right place! I can't remember much about our next win at Kardinia Park in 1988 but it was to be the last victory for a long, long time. I grew to despise the place over the years when it went through several name changes ending up as Skilled Stadium at some time in the last decade. We simply stopped winning games at the damned place! During the pre season competition ten years ago (please don't ask me what the comp or the ground was called at the time) Melbourne was drawn to play Geelong at Kardinia Park in a semi final. The Demons had a good team in 2000 and, as I drove down the highway in the direction of the Ford Factory and Corio Bay, I was feeling supremely confident of victory at last. The day was fine and even the obligatory weekend road works that usually clog up the road and turn the drive into an horrific ordeal were missing. However, I should have known something was amiss when I managed to snaffle a parking spot in Moorabool Street immediately outside the gates of the stadium. They let me into the ground for nothing because there was some doubt about whether the game would start on time, if at all. Turned out that one side of the ground was flooded when an underground pipe burst near a wing. We waited, waited and waited and nothing happened. People wandered around the ground inspecting the surface near the affected area. The PA system kept putting back the start of the game and, when a few of the players walked out, looked at the mess and shook their heads, I knew it was time to toss it in and drive home. At that stage, it was around 3.00 pm and I can truthfully say, the result was never in doubt. I was cruising past Lara when they announced the game had been called off. The remainder of the return trip was a breeze compared to my many other hard slogs back into town after a heartbreaking defeat at that cursed ground so I was still smiling when I finally got to the front door. Epilogue: A few nights later, the game was finally played at VFL Park in front of a pitiful crowd and guess what? We lost, but at least it wasn't such a long drive home.

It was out at Geelong and debutant Jordan Gysberts turned it on. THE TEAMS GEELONG Backs Darren Milburn Tom Lonergan Josh Hunt Half backs Andrew Mackie Harry Taylor Corey Enright Centreline James Kelly Cameron Ling Gary Ablett Half forwards Mathew Stokes Tom Hawkins Paul Chapman Forwards Travis Varcoe Cameron Mooney Steve Johnson Followers Mark Blake Joel Selwood Jimmy Bartel Interchange Shannon Byrnes Simon Hogan James Podsiadly David Wojcinski Emergencies Mitchell Duncan Taylor Hunt Dawson Simpson In Simon Hogan Out Matthew Scarlett (hamstring) MELBOURNE Backs Clint Bartram Jared Rivers Colin Garland Half backs Cameron Bruce Matthew Warnock James Frawley Centreline Brad Green Jack Grimes Aaron Davey Half forwards Jamie Bennell Brad Miller Jordan Gysberts Forwards Nathan Jones Jack Watts Neville Jetta Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Colin Sylvia Interchange Joel Macdonald James McDonald, Cale Morton Austin Wonaeamirri Emergencies Lynden Dunn Addam Maric Jake Spencer In Cameron Bruce Jordan Gysberts Matthew Warnock Out Jordie McKenzie Tom Scully (rested) Jack Trengove New Jordan Gysberts (Eastern Ranges)