Demonland

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 31 - 40] by the Professor Number 31 1913 F. Ellis (also wore No. 30, 1913) 1914 Jack Woolley 1915 A.M. ‘Max’ Hislop 1919 Leo Little (No. 3, 1920) 1920 Reginald Ellis 1921 – 1922 Fred Long 1923 – 1924 Marcus Glasscock 1925 – 1930 Colin Deane 1931 Lew Gough (No. 39, 1930) 1932 – 1934 Jack Power (No. 12, 1930 – 1931) 1936 – 1940 Ronald James Barassi 1941 – 1942 Leslie Gibbs (No. 28, 1939) 1943 Ken Levey (No. 29, 1944) 1944 Leslie Gibbs (See 1941 – 1942 above) 1944 Harry New (No. 20, 1945) 1945 Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes Jnr 1946 – 1950 Stanley Rule 1953 – 1964 Ronald Dale Barassi 1965 – 1968 Ray Groom (No. 15, 1963 – 1964) 1974 – 1975 Bill Barham 1976 Paul Goss 1978 Peter Garratt 1979 Phil Carman 1983 – 1985 Kelvin Templeton 1990 – 1992 Rod Keogh 1996 – 1998 Donald Cockatoo-Collins 2000 - Paul Wheatley Number 32 1913 Frank Lugton (No. 17, 1914) 1914 Roy Gray 1919 William Grigg 1920 Norm Henderson 1922 Pat J. Bourke (No. 30, 1921) 1926 Eric C. P. Andersen 1928 – 1937 Gordon Ogden 1938 – 1941 Dick Hingston 1942 Robert Stone (No. 7, 1943; No. 36, 1949) 1944 Jack Minnis (?, 1942; No. 29, 1943) 1945 Jim Oppy 1946 Dick Hingston (See also 1938 – 1941) 1946 – 1951 Len Dockett 1953 – 1954 Dale ‘Swede’ Anderson 1955 Fred Webster 1957 Graham Kerr 1960 – 1961 George Milner 1962 – 1969 Barrie Vagg 1970 – 1971 Barry Hodges 1974 Dennis Payne 1975 Kim Smith 1977 – 1978 Robert Walters (No. 16, 1979 – 1981) 1979 – 1980 Bruce Elliott 1981 – 1986 Shane Zantuck 1987 Steven O’Dwyer (No. 1, 1988 – 1991) 1990 – 1991 Steven Clark 1992 – 1993 Andy Goodwin 1994 – 1998 Damien Gaspar 2000 - Cameron Bruce Number 33 1914 Alf Williamson 1919 Ivor Warne-Smith (No. 14, 1925 – 1932) 1921 Alex Ogilvy 1922 - 1924 Edgar Dunbar 1925 Jack Cannan (No. 25, 1926) 1926 – 1927 Fred Dick 1930 Geoff Frood 1932 Ron Rutherford 1934 Ray ‘Bunty’ Niven 1935 Frank Halloran 1937 – 1939 Ted Buckley 1940 – 1942 Bernie Neenan 1943 Johnny Dalton 1944 Frank McGrath 1944 Warren Lewis (No. 11, 1941) 1945 Bruce Edge 1945 Ern Rowarth (No. 1, 1946 – 1947) 1947 – 1948 Des Bell (No. 36, 1946) 1948 Alan McGowan (No. 20, 1949 – 1950) 1949 – 1953 Jack Thomson 1954 – 1959 Colin Wilson 1961 – 1965 Bob Miller 1967 – 1977 Gary Hardeman (No. 11, 1981) 1978 Tony May 1979 John Dellamarta 1980 – 1983 Tony Elshaug (No. 50, 1979) 1984 – 1993 Greg Healy 1995 – 2001 Jeff Farmer (No. 8 also 1999) 2003 – 2005 Cameron Hunter 2006 – 2007 Byron Pickett Number 34 1913 Johnny Hassett (No. 1, 1915) 1914 Jack Connole (No. 27, 1919) 1919 Harry Selover 1920 Leo Dobrigh 1922 Eric Peck (No. 24, 1923) 1923 – 1924 Vern Moore (No. 24, 1922) 1926 David Duff 1927 Ernie Shaw 1928 – 1932 Ray Usher (No. 14, 1933) 1933 Jack Bennett (No. 10, 1934 – 1936) 1934 Billy Walsh 1940 – 1943 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 18, 1945;No. 28, 1946 – 1949) 1944 Neil Bencraft 1946 Arnold ‘Buddy’ Byfield 1947 – 1948 Frank Scanlan (No. 26, 1943; No. 13, 1944) 1949 Jim Shaw 1950 Arthur Pound 1951 – 1956 Ralph Lane 1960 – 1964 Len Mann 1966 Robert Russell 1967 – 1971 Brent Jones (No. 53, 1966) 1972 John Clennett (No. 5, 1973 – 1974) 1973 – 1975 Mal Owens 1977 – 1979 Tom Flower 1981 – 1982 Roger Ellingworth (No. 14, 1983 – 1984) 1985 Frank Rugolo (No. 43, 1983 – 1984; No. 17, 1986) 1986 – 1990 Stephen Newport (No. 48, 1985) 1991 Phil Egan 1994 – 1997 Dean Irving 1998 – Jeff White Number 35 1914 Jack Bacquie (No. 11, 1915, 1919 – 1920) 1919 Dave Elliman (No. 11, 1922 – 1924) 1920 Aubrey Neal 1922 – 1931, 35 Dick Taylor 1935 William Sweeney (?, 1934) 1939 Derek Symonds 1940 – 1941 Noel Ellis 1942 Danny Powell 1943 – 1945 Charles Newman 1946 – 1956 Noel McMahen 1957 – 1962 Clyde Laidlaw (No. 16, 1954 – 1956) 1964 – 1968 Don Williams (No. 25, 1953 – 1959) 1970 – 1973 Paul Callery 1974 – 1983 Steven Smith 1984 – 1986 Darryl Cox 1987 Earl Spalding (No. 5, 1988 – 1991) 1992 – 1993 Michael Pickering 1994 Brad Campbell 1995 – 1996 Trent Ormond-Allen 1997 – 2002 Anthony McDonald 2003 - 2007 Ryan Ferguson Number 36 1913 Eric Dimsey 1914 Matthew Incigneri (No. 25, 1913) 1927 Clarrie Latham (No. 39, 1928) 1935 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1939 – 1941 Sid Anderson 1942 Bryan Martin (No. 27, 1943) 1943 Ernie Hart 1944 Es Downey (No. 26, 1945) 1946 Des Bell (No. 33, 1947 – 1948) 1949 Robert Stone (No. 32, 1942; No. 7, 1943) 1950 Jack Mueller (No. 12, 1934 – 1949) 1951, 1954 Keith Robinson 1955 - 1957 Richard Atkinson 1964 - 1965 Peter McLean 1966 Kerry Ryan 1967 – 1968 Ken Osborne (No. 51, 1966) 1972 Col Anderson 1973 Glenn Swan 1975 – 1976 David Kelly 1978 Gary Cooke 1980 – 1981 Peter Maynard 1982 – 1988 Ted Fidge 1990 Robert Hickmott 1992 Grant Williams 1996 – 2002 Andrew Leoncelli 2004 - Aaron Davey Number 37 1929 – 1931 George Cassidy 1944 Brian Crimmins 1944 Jack Maher (No. 14, 1938 – 1940) 1945 Frank Kennedy (No. 39, 1944; No. 17, 1946 – 1947) 1946 – 1947 James Mitchell (No. 1, 1948) 1949 – 1953 Michael Woods 1957 Terry Mountain 1960 – 1967 Bernie Massey 1968 – 1969 Darryl Schwarz 1971 Bruce Brown 1972 - 1974 John Reid 1975 – 1977 Ted Carroll (No. 42, 1974) 1981 Glenn Giles 1985 – 1986 David Allday 1987 Jim Stynes (No. 11, 1988 – 1998) 1988 – 1991 David Flintoff 1992 – 1997 Andrew Lamprill 1999 Luke Ottens 2002 - 2003 Brad Miller (No. 7, 2004 -) 2006 – Matthew Warnock Number 38 1914 William Brunier (No. 21, 1915; No. 22, 1919) 1928 – 1932 Jim Moodie 1943 Harden Dean (No. 11, 1936; No. 29, 1938) 1944 Bill Scanlan (No. 18, 1943; No. 19, 1945 – 1948) 1945 Jack Stock (No. 39, 1944) 1953 – 1956 Ken Melville 1957 – 1959 Peter Brenchley (No. 39, 1958 – wore both 38 and 39 in 1958) 1960 – 1963 Ray Nilsson 1964 – 1965 Jim Leitch 1966 – 1967 Robert Dowsing (No. 2, 1968) 1968 Denis Clark (No. 2, 1966 – 1967; No. 17, 1971 – 1975) 1969 Phil Rhoden (No. 44, 1968) 1972 Wayne Delmenico (No. 24, 1973 – 1975) 1974 Peter Slade 1975 Terry Wilkins (No. 29, 1976) 1976 – 1979 Peter O’Keefe 1980 – 1981 Tony Barnes 1981 Shane Braddy 1985 – 1987 Nigel Kol 1991 Brent Heaver (No. 54, 1990) 1993 David Neitz (No. 9, 1994 - ) 1995 Martin Heppell 1996 – 1997 Darren O’Brien Number 39 1928 Clarrie Latham (No. 36, 1927) 1930 Lew Gough (No. 31, 1931) 1944 Frank Kennedy (No. 37, 1945; No. 17, 1946 – 1947) 1944 Jack Stock (No. 38, 1945) 1953 Maurie Reeves 1954 Tom Magee 1957 Bill Byrne 1958 Peter Brenchley (No. 38, 1957 – 1959, wore both 38 & 39 in 1958) 1961 – 1964 Herb Matthews Jnr 1966 – 1967 Rick Feldmann (No. 40, 1965) 1968 George Lakes (No. 9, 1969 – 1972) 1969 – 1971 Russell Colcott 1972 – 1973 Peter Dilnot 1974 Kevin Moore 1977 Mark Alves 1979 – 1981 Gerard Healy (No. 3, 1982 – 1985) 1983 Trevor Castles 1986 Jeremy Nichols 1987 – 1988 Doug Koop 1990 Stuart Cameron 1998 – 1999 Craig Smoker Number 40 1914 Alex Fraser (No. 17, 1915) 1932 W.H. ‘Jack’ Pickford 1953 Robert Constable 1964 Frank Davis (No. 6, 1965 – 1973) 1965 Rick Feldmann (No. 39, 1966 – 1967) 1966 Garry Wynd 1967 John Toll 1968 Ray Biffin (No. 19, 1969 – 1979) 1970 Lloyd Burgmann (No. 10, 1971 – 1972) 1973 John Cumming 1975 John Sparks (No. 26, 1977) 1978 – 1979 Peter Thorne (No. 8, 1984) 1981 – 1983 Paul O’Brien (No. 50, 1980) 1986 – 1987 Tony Campbell (No. 4, 1988 – 1991) 1992 Shane Burgmann 1998 Mark Bradly 2003-2007 Mark Jamar

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 31 - 40] by the Professor Number 31 1913 F. Ellis (also wore No. 30, 1913) 1914 Jack Woolley 1915 A.M. ‘Max’ Hislop 1919 Leo Little (No. 3, 1920) 1920 Reginald Ellis 1921 – 1922 Fred Long 1923 – 1924 Marcus Glasscock 1925 – 1930 Colin Deane 1931 Lew Gough (No. 39, 1930) 1932 – 1934 Jack Power (No. 12, 1930 – 1931) 1936 – 1940 Ronald James Barassi 1941 – 1942 Leslie Gibbs (No. 28, 1939) 1943 Ken Levey (No. 29, 1944) 1944 Leslie Gibbs (See 1941 – 1942 above) 1944 Harry New (No. 20, 1945) 1945 Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes Jnr 1946 – 1950 Stanley Rule 1953 – 1964 Ronald Dale Barassi 1965 – 1968 Ray Groom (No. 15, 1963 – 1964) 1974 – 1975 Bill Barham 1976 Paul Goss 1978 Peter Garratt 1979 Phil Carman 1983 – 1985 Kelvin Templeton 1990 – 1992 Rod Keogh 1996 – 1998 Donald Cockatoo-Collins 2000 - Paul Wheatley Number 32 1913 Frank Lugton (No. 17, 1914) 1914 Roy Gray 1919 William Grigg 1920 Norm Henderson 1922 Pat J. Bourke (No. 30, 1921) 1926 Eric C. P. Andersen 1928 – 1937 Gordon Ogden 1938 – 1941 Dick Hingston 1942 Robert Stone (No. 7, 1943; No. 36, 1949) 1944 Jack Minnis (?, 1942; No. 29, 1943) 1945 Jim Oppy 1946 Dick Hingston (See also 1938 – 1941) 1946 – 1951 Len Dockett 1953 – 1954 Dale ‘Swede’ Anderson 1955 Fred Webster 1957 Graham Kerr 1960 – 1961 George Milner 1962 – 1969 Barrie Vagg 1970 – 1971 Barry Hodges 1974 Dennis Payne 1975 Kim Smith 1977 – 1978 Robert Walters (No. 16, 1979 – 1981) 1979 – 1980 Bruce Elliott 1981 – 1986 Shane Zantuck 1987 Steven O’Dwyer (No. 1, 1988 – 1991) 1990 – 1991 Steven Clark 1992 – 1993 Andy Goodwin 1994 – 1998 Damien Gaspar 2000 - Cameron Bruce Number 33 1914 Alf Williamson 1919 Ivor Warne-Smith (No. 14, 1925 – 1932) 1921 Alex Ogilvy 1922 - 1924 Edgar Dunbar 1925 Jack Cannan (No. 25, 1926) 1926 – 1927 Fred Dick 1930 Geoff Frood 1932 Ron Rutherford 1934 Ray ‘Bunty’ Niven 1935 Frank Halloran 1937 – 1939 Ted Buckley 1940 – 1942 Bernie Neenan 1943 Johnny Dalton 1944 Frank McGrath 1944 Warren Lewis (No. 11, 1941) 1945 Bruce Edge 1945 Ern Rowarth (No. 1, 1946 – 1947) 1947 – 1948 Des Bell (No. 36, 1946) 1948 Alan McGowan (No. 20, 1949 – 1950) 1949 – 1953 Jack Thomson 1954 – 1959 Colin Wilson 1961 – 1965 Bob Miller 1967 – 1977 Gary Hardeman (No. 11, 1981) 1978 Tony May 1979 John Dellamarta 1980 – 1983 Tony Elshaug (No. 50, 1979) 1984 – 1993 Greg Healy 1995 – 2001 Jeff Farmer (No. 8 also 1999) 2003 – 2005 Cameron Hunter 2006 – 2007 Byron Pickett Number 34 1913 Johnny Hassett (No. 1, 1915) 1914 Jack Connole (No. 27, 1919) 1919 Harry Selover 1920 Leo Dobrigh 1922 Eric Peck (No. 24, 1923) 1923 – 1924 Vern Moore (No. 24, 1922) 1926 David Duff 1927 Ernie Shaw 1928 – 1932 Ray Usher (No. 14, 1933) 1933 Jack Bennett (No. 10, 1934 – 1936) 1934 Billy Walsh 1940 – 1943 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 18, 1945;No. 28, 1946 – 1949) 1944 Neil Bencraft 1946 Arnold ‘Buddy’ Byfield 1947 – 1948 Frank Scanlan (No. 26, 1943; No. 13, 1944) 1949 Jim Shaw 1950 Arthur Pound 1951 – 1956 Ralph Lane 1960 – 1964 Len Mann 1966 Robert Russell 1967 – 1971 Brent Jones (No. 53, 1966) 1972 John Clennett (No. 5, 1973 – 1974) 1973 – 1975 Mal Owens 1977 – 1979 Tom Flower 1981 – 1982 Roger Ellingworth (No. 14, 1983 – 1984) 1985 Frank Rugolo (No. 43, 1983 – 1984; No. 17, 1986) 1986 – 1990 Stephen Newport (No. 48, 1985) 1991 Phil Egan 1994 – 1997 Dean Irving 1998 – Jeff White Number 35 1914 Jack Bacquie (No. 11, 1915, 1919 – 1920) 1919 Dave Elliman (No. 11, 1922 – 1924) 1920 Aubrey Neal 1922 – 1931, 35 Dick Taylor 1935 William Sweeney (?, 1934) 1939 Derek Symonds 1940 – 1941 Noel Ellis 1942 Danny Powell 1943 – 1945 Charles Newman 1946 – 1956 Noel McMahen 1957 – 1962 Clyde Laidlaw (No. 16, 1954 – 1956) 1964 – 1968 Don Williams (No. 25, 1953 – 1959) 1970 – 1973 Paul Callery 1974 – 1983 Steven Smith 1984 – 1986 Darryl Cox 1987 Earl Spalding (No. 5, 1988 – 1991) 1992 – 1993 Michael Pickering 1994 Brad Campbell 1995 – 1996 Trent Ormond-Allen 1997 – 2002 Anthony McDonald 2003 - 2007 Ryan Ferguson Number 36 1913 Eric Dimsey 1914 Matthew Incigneri (No. 25, 1913) 1927 Clarrie Latham (No. 39, 1928) 1935 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1939 – 1941 Sid Anderson 1942 Bryan Martin (No. 27, 1943) 1943 Ernie Hart 1944 Es Downey (No. 26, 1945) 1946 Des Bell (No. 33, 1947 – 1948) 1949 Robert Stone (No. 32, 1942; No. 7, 1943) 1950 Jack Mueller (No. 12, 1934 – 1949) 1951, 1954 Keith Robinson 1955 - 1957 Richard Atkinson 1964 - 1965 Peter McLean 1966 Kerry Ryan 1967 – 1968 Ken Osborne (No. 51, 1966) 1972 Col Anderson 1973 Glenn Swan 1975 – 1976 David Kelly 1978 Gary Cooke 1980 – 1981 Peter Maynard 1982 – 1988 Ted Fidge 1990 Robert Hickmott 1992 Grant Williams 1996 – 2002 Andrew Leoncelli 2004 - Aaron Davey Number 37 1929 – 1931 George Cassidy 1944 Brian Crimmins 1944 Jack Maher (No. 14, 1938 – 1940) 1945 Frank Kennedy (No. 39, 1944; No. 17, 1946 – 1947) 1946 – 1947 James Mitchell (No. 1, 1948) 1949 – 1953 Michael Woods 1957 Terry Mountain 1960 – 1967 Bernie Massey 1968 – 1969 Darryl Schwarz 1971 Bruce Brown 1972 - 1974 John Reid 1975 – 1977 Ted Carroll (No. 42, 1974) 1981 Glenn Giles 1985 – 1986 David Allday 1987 Jim Stynes (No. 11, 1988 – 1998) 1988 – 1991 David Flintoff 1992 – 1997 Andrew Lamprill 1999 Luke Ottens 2002 - 2003 Brad Miller (No. 7, 2004 -) 2006 – Matthew Warnock Number 38 1914 William Brunier (No. 21, 1915; No. 22, 1919) 1928 – 1932 Jim Moodie 1943 Harden Dean (No. 11, 1936; No. 29, 1938) 1944 Bill Scanlan (No. 18, 1943; No. 19, 1945 – 1948) 1945 Jack Stock (No. 39, 1944) 1953 – 1956 Ken Melville 1957 – 1959 Peter Brenchley (No. 39, 1958 – wore both 38 and 39 in 1958) 1960 – 1963 Ray Nilsson 1964 – 1965 Jim Leitch 1966 – 1967 Robert Dowsing (No. 2, 1968) 1968 Denis Clark (No. 2, 1966 – 1967; No. 17, 1971 – 1975) 1969 Phil Rhoden (No. 44, 1968) 1972 Wayne Delmenico (No. 24, 1973 – 1975) 1974 Peter Slade 1975 Terry Wilkins (No. 29, 1976) 1976 – 1979 Peter O’Keefe 1980 – 1981 Tony Barnes 1981 Shane Braddy 1985 – 1987 Nigel Kol 1991 Brent Heaver (No. 54, 1990) 1993 David Neitz (No. 9, 1994 - ) 1995 Martin Heppell 1996 – 1997 Darren O’Brien Number 39 1928 Clarrie Latham (No. 36, 1927) 1930 Lew Gough (No. 31, 1931) 1944 Frank Kennedy (No. 37, 1945; No. 17, 1946 – 1947) 1944 Jack Stock (No. 38, 1945) 1953 Maurie Reeves 1954 Tom Magee 1957 Bill Byrne 1958 Peter Brenchley (No. 38, 1957 – 1959, wore both 38 & 39 in 1958) 1961 – 1964 Herb Matthews Jnr 1966 – 1967 Rick Feldmann (No. 40, 1965) 1968 George Lakes (No. 9, 1969 – 1972) 1969 – 1971 Russell Colcott 1972 – 1973 Peter Dilnot 1974 Kevin Moore 1977 Mark Alves 1979 – 1981 Gerard Healy (No. 3, 1982 – 1985) 1983 Trevor Castles 1986 Jeremy Nichols 1987 – 1988 Doug Koop 1990 Stuart Cameron 1998 – 1999 Craig Smoker Number 40 1914 Alex Fraser (No. 17, 1915) 1932 W.H. ‘Jack’ Pickford 1953 Robert Constable 1964 Frank Davis (No. 6, 1965 – 1973) 1965 Rick Feldmann (No. 39, 1966 – 1967) 1966 Garry Wynd 1967 John Toll 1968 Ray Biffin (No. 19, 1969 – 1979) 1970 Lloyd Burgmann (No. 10, 1971 – 1972) 1973 John Cumming 1975 John Sparks (No. 26, 1977) 1978 – 1979 Peter Thorne (No. 8, 1984) 1981 – 1983 Paul O’Brien (No. 50, 1980) 1986 – 1987 Tony Campbell (No. 4, 1988 – 1991) 1992 Shane Burgmann 1998 Mark Bradly 2003-2007 Mark Jamar

HAVING A KICK PK'S OBSERVATIONS ON FOOTY - with thanks to Franky I've been playing Australian Rules football for 47 years. I'm still working on my left foot which forever needs improvement. My fingers have been broken a couple of times over the years and I need them in my line of work so I haven't played competitively since 1988. On Sundays and Wednesdays, when I'm at home in Melbourne, I do circle work in the park with a loose coalition of men and a few children. This anarcho-syndicalist collective has been going for 15 years. We have no leader nor official status, no president, treasurer nor secretary. We are builders, taxi drivers, comedians, opera singers, writers, teachers, anaesthetists, IT public servants and surveyors who love footy. Someone buys a new ball once in a while then collects money. We run, kick, carry, bounce, lead, mark, handball, call and banter for an hour or so until we stagger to a stop. There are no teams. We do not tackle or compete though, once in a while, a few fellas fly for a mark or someone tries to sell a dummy. All that we are trying to do is to execute simple things perfectly; to drop the ball sweetly on the boot and watch it lob with pretty spin into the hands or chest of the leading man without him having to check his step; to be on the receiving end for the same result, running flat out for twenty or thirty metres to take the ball in outstretched hands and deliver a precise handpass to your mate who, timing his intersecting run to the dot, now demands the ball; to be cogs in a smooth machine, stringing a sequence of possessions together that feels like poetry, looping the leather round the oval without touching the grass, once, twice, three times, never too long before the inevitable error but no matter, pick it up and start again. Round and round we go in pure, purposeless pleasure, one ball and twenty odd men at physical prayer in their outdoor church making the thing that none of us can make on our own. Being a travelling salesman means I'm away a lot, sometimes months at a time, but the ragtag crew, some of whom I only know by first- or nick-name, will always be there, more or less, in the park when I return. I wake up in a motel room in Cairns, say, on a Sunday morning in July and think of my fellow parishioners, 3000km south, at their service, receiving their chilly communion. Later that day perhaps, after soundcheck when the heat of the day has dimmed a little, I take my scuffed old Sherrin out of the suitcase and seek out a sports ground or any piece of flat grass. If I can't get one of the band to come with me I run a few laps, bouncing the ball and kicking it to myself. These days I bounce the ball mostly with my left hand. The art of kicking is all about getting the drop of the ball right. My right hand does this instinctively. There is hardly any gap between where I let go of the ball and where it hits the boot. Not so on the left. I have to think about it more, about guiding the ball down. The drop always seems longer. And the longer the drop, the greater the margin for error. I’m running around an oval in Cairns trying not to think about how I release the ball from my left hand. When it goes right I’m not thinking about anything. My left foot will never quite catch up to my right but lately I've noticed some improvement. PK used to barrack for Melbourne before Adelaide got up and regularly wears a jumper given to him by Ricky Jackson. Although hitting 50 he stills shows his genuine skills.

HAVING A KICK - PK'S OBSERVATIONS ON FOOTY - with thanks to Franky I've been playing Australian Rules football for 47 years. I'm still working on my left foot which forever needs improvement. My fingers have been broken a couple of times over the years and I need them in my line of work so I haven't played competitively since 1988. On Sundays and Wednesdays, when I'm at home in Melbourne, I do circle work in the park with a loose coalition of men and a few children. This anarcho-syndicalist collective has been going for 15 years. We have no leader nor official status, no president, treasurer nor secretary. We are builders, taxi drivers, comedians, opera singers, writers, teachers, anaesthetists, IT public servants and surveyors who love footy. Someone buys a new ball once in a while then collects money. We run, kick, carry, bounce, lead, mark, handball, call and banter for an hour or so until we stagger to a stop. There are no teams. We do not tackle or compete though, once in a while, a few fellas fly for a mark or someone tries to sell a dummy. All that we are trying to do is to execute simple things perfectly; to drop the ball sweetly on the boot and watch it lob with pretty spin into the hands or chest of the leading man without him having to check his step; to be on the receiving end for the same result, running flat out for twenty or thirty metres to take the ball in outstretched hands and deliver a precise handpass to your mate who, timing his intersecting run to the dot, now demands the ball; to be cogs in a smooth machine, stringing a sequence of possessions together that feels like poetry, looping the leather round the oval without touching the grass, once, twice, three times, never too long before the inevitable error but no matter, pick it up and start again. Round and round we go in pure, purposeless pleasure, one ball and twenty odd men at physical prayer in their outdoor church making the thing that none of us can make on our own. Being a travelling salesman means I'm away a lot, sometimes months at a time, but the ragtag crew, some of whom I only know by first- or nick-name, will always be there, more or less, in the park when I return. I wake up in a motel room in Cairns, say, on a Sunday morning in July and think of my fellow parishioners, 3000km south, at their service, receiving their chilly communion. Later that day perhaps, after soundcheck when the heat of the day has dimmed a little, I take my scuffed old Sherrin out of the suitcase and seek out a sports ground or any piece of flat grass. If I can't get one of the band to come with me I run a few laps, bouncing the ball and kicking it to myself. These days I bounce the ball mostly with my left hand. The art of kicking is all about getting the drop of the ball right. My right hand does this instinctively. There is hardly any gap between where I let go of the ball and where it hits the boot. Not so on the left. I have to think about it more, about guiding the ball down. The drop always seems longer. And the longer the drop, the greater the margin for error. I’m running around an oval in Cairns trying not to think about how I release the ball from my left hand. When it goes right I’m not thinking about anything. My left foot will never quite catch up to my right but lately I've noticed some improvement. PK used to barrack for Melbourne before Adelaide got up and regularly wears a jumper given to him by Ricky Jackson. Although hitting 50 he stills shows his genuine skills.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 21 - 30] by the Professor Number 21 1912 Arthur Ferguson 1913 Charles S. ‘Buns’ Armstrong (No. 29, 1914, 1919) 1914 Herbert Roberts 1915 William Brunier (No. 38, 1914; No. 22, 1919) 1919 – 1923 Jack House 1924 – 1925 Robert Ewer 1926 Tom O’Brien 1928 Gerry Beare 1928 William London 1929 William Coomber 1930 – 1934 E.W. ‘Bill’ Vanthoff 1935 Fred Backway (No. 10, 1937) 1936 William Ralston 1938 George McNaughton 1939 – 1941 Ron Kimberley (No. 1, 1944) 1941 – 1950 Donald Cordner 1951 John Cordner 1953, 1955 Noel Baker 1956 – 1958 D.A. ‘Peter’ Cook 1960 – 1965 Brian ‘Wrecker’ Leahy 1966 Edward Burston 1967 – 1968 Edward Lees 1969 David Hone 1970 – 1975 Graham Molloy 1976 – 1977 Allan Davis 1979 – 1981 Jim Durnan 1983 – 1984 Peter Tossol (No. 46, 1982) 1985 Les Parish 1986 Mike Reynolds 1988 – 2002 Steven Febey 2003 - Daniel Bell Number 22 1912 Bernie ‘Rookie’ Nolan 1913 Laurie Brady 1913 Carlyle Kenley (No. 1, 1914) 1914 Alec Gray (No. 14, 1915, 1919 – 1921) 1915 Rupert Lowell (No. 6, 1914) 1919 William Brunier (No. 38, 1914; No. 21, 1915) 1920 Syd Hutcheson 1921 W. Harry Bruce 1922 J. ‘Charlie’ Corby 1923 Jim Makin 1925 – 1927 Harold Moyes 1928 Claud Carr (No. 19, 1929) 1929 W.O. ‘Ossie’ Green (No. 5, 1926; No. ?, 1931) 1930 Fred S. ‘Pop’ Vine (No. 23, 1926 – 1934) 1930 – 1932 Reginald E. Conole (No. 29, 1933) 1933 – 1935 William Libbis 1936 Ken Feltscheer 1938 – 1939 Harry Harley 1940 – 1941 J.P. ‘Shane’ McGrath 1942 Arthur Franklin 1943 Thomas Ferguson (No. 16, 1942) 1944 Anthony Bizzaca 1944 J.P. ‘Shane’ McGrath (See also 1940 – 1941) 1945 Roy Stabb (No. 8, 1946 – 1947) 1945 Ernie O’Rourke (No. 27, 1946 – 1948) 1946 – 1950 J.P. ‘Shane’ McGrath (See also 1940 – 1941, 1944) 1951 – 1954 John Ferguson 1955 Ivan Baumgartner 1957 Ben Crameri 1958 John Kerr 1959 – 1969 Bryan Kenneally 1970 – 1972 Ray Carr 1973 Henry Ritterman (No. 45, 1971 – 1972) 1974 Charlie Pagnoccolo 1975 – 1977 Frank Giampaolo (No. 43, 1973 – 1974) 1978 – 1979 Ken Whitfort 1982 – 1989 Chris Connolly 1992 Stephen Wearne 1993 Martin Pike (No. 10, 1994) 1994 – 1996 Jeff Hilton 1997 – 2002 Shane Woewodin 2005 - Brent Moloney Number 23 1913 Campbell Brady 1914 Vic Gordon 1915 Edward Johnston (No. 20, 1919) 1919 Alex Salvado 1920 – 1922 Les Boyd 1923 – 1924 Roy James 1925 Frank Richardson 1926 – 1934 Fred S. ‘Pop’ Vine (No. 22 – 1930 also) 1935 – 1942 Ray Wartman 1943 – 1944 M. Jack Doherty 1945 Norm Leverton 1946 Ted Cordner (No. 28, 1941 – 1943) 1948 David Hardie (No. ?, 1947) 1949 – 1950 Ken Carlon 1951 – 1952 George O’Keefe 1953 – 1954 Leigh Glourey 1957 – 1962 Geoff Tunbridge 1963 – 1966 Graham Wise 1967 Adrian Bowden (No. 46, 1966) 1968 Brian ‘Doc’ Roet (No. 18, 1961 – 1965) 1969 – 1972 Peter Sinclair 1973 – 1979 Shane Fitzsimmons 1979 – 1984 N.R. ‘Kelly’ O’Donnell 1985 – 1986 Daryl Bourke 1987 – 1989 Warren Dean 1990 – 1991 Trevor Spencer 1991 – 1995 Kevin Dyson (No. 50 – 1991 also) 1996 – 1997 Alastair Clarkson 1998 - James McDonald (No. 54, 1997) Number 24 1912 Jack S. Strong 1913 Norm R. Jordan 1914 Tim Collins (No. 4, 1915) 1915 Roy Franklin 1919 Lou Salvana 1920 William McIntyre 1920 Albert W.D. Fawcett 1922 Vern Moore (No. 34, 1923 – 1924) 1923 Eric Peck (No. 34, 1922) 1924 – 1927 Harry ‘Snowy’ Davie 1928 – 1929 M.J. ‘Jack’ Haw 1930 Colin Jackson 1931 – 1944 Percy Beames 1945 – 1946 Richard Kennedy 1947 – 1949 Frank Hanna 1950 – 1951 Ray Hutchins 1953 William Morrow 1954 – 1961 Ian ‘Tiger’ Ridley 1962 – 1963 Jim Jenkinson 1966 – 1972 Ross Dillon 1973 – 1975 Wayne Delmenico (No. 38, 1972) 1976 – 1977 Graham Osborne (No. 7, 1966 – 1975) 1978 Kelvin Richards (No. 25, 1979) 1979 – 1981 Tony Martyn 1982 Des O’Dwyer (No. 27, 1978; No. 47, 1981) 1983 Steve McCarthy (No. 52, 1982) 1984 – 1989 Bret Bailey 1990 – 1992 Luke Beveridge (No. 48, 1989) 1993 – 1994 Phil Gilbert 1995 – 1996 Clay Sampson 1998 - Russell Robertson (No. 42, 1997) Number 25 1912 Ted Politz (No. 15, 1913) 1913 Matthew Incigneri (No. 36, 1914) 1914 Cliff Burge 1915 Len Incigneri (No. 28, 1913 – 1914) 1919 Alec Farrow (No. 4, 1920; No. 28, 1921) 1919 Howard Richardson 1920 Claude Bryan (No. 26, 1915) 1921 – 1924 Percy Wilson 1925 James A. Sullivan 1926 Jack Cannan (No. 33, 1925) 1927 Peter Hannan 1929 Carlyle Jones (No. 11, 1925 – 1926) 1931 William Collins 1932 William Earle 1933 Percy Streeter 1934 – 1936 Frank Kelly 1937 Albert Chandler 1938 G.F. 'Ted' Regan 1940 – 1941 Colin McLean 1942 Doug Heywood (No. 26, 1944; No. 8, 1948 – 1951) 1942 Hugh McPherson (No. 16, 1941, 1943 – 1944) 1944 – 1949 Colin McLean (See also 1940 – 1941) 1951 – 1952 Ron McMahon 1953 – 1959 Don Williams (No. 35, 1964 – 1968) 1962 – 1963, 1965 – 1966 Kerry Rattray 1967 – 1968 Geoff Whitton 1968 – 1971 Peter Weekes 1975 Barry Ough 1979 Kelvin Richards (No. 24, 1978) 1981 – 1982 Mark Jackson 1984 – 1985 Xavier Tanner 1986 – 1992 Simon Eishold 1993 – 1994 Jason Norrish 1995 – 1996 Luke Norman 2000 - 2007 Nathan D. Brown (No. 41, 1998) Number 26 1912 Hugh Odgers (No. 16, 1920) 1912 Hugh Purse (No. ?, 1915) 1913 Charlie Edwards 1914 George Walker (No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 16, 1919; No. 28, 1920) 1915 Claude Bryan (No. 25, 1920) 1919 Cyril Hall 1920 Vern Rowe 1921 Enos J. Thomas 1922 – 1923 Jack Lord Snr (No. 11, 1921) 1924 – 1925 Max Wright 1927 Charles Young 1932 – 1934 Louis Riley 1935 Jack Carr 1936 – 1940 Jack Furniss (No. 14, 1947) 1941 Mac Wilson 1942 Gordon Kramer (No. 10, 1944 – 1945) 1943 Ron C. Hobba 1943 Frank Scanlan (No. 13, 1944; No. 34, 1947 – 1948) 1944 Doug Heywood (No. 25, 1943; No. 8, 1948 – 1951) 1945 Es Downey (No. 36, 1944) 1946 Ralph Shalless (No. 27, 1943) 1948 Colin Cox (No. 9, 1949) 1950 Dave Bedford 1951 – 1955 Noel Clarke 1957 – 1962 Ian Thorogood 1963 Anthony Thiessen 1965 – 1966 Frank Vearing 1968 – 1973 Greg Parke 1974 Graham Scott 1975 – 1976 Gary Guy 1977 John Sparks (No. 40, 1975) 1978 Mark McKeon 1979 Stewart Gull 1980 – 1984 Glenn McLean 1986 – 1987 Joe Rugolo (No. 53, 1985) 1988 – 1991 Jay Viney 1992 Wayne Henwood 1993 – 1996 Greg Doyle 1999 – 2000 Daniel Ward (No. 49, 1998 – 1999; No. 10, 2001 – 2002) 2002 - 2005 Luke Williams Number 27 1912 Les Abbott 1912 – 1913 Thomas Wellington 1914 William McKenzie (No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 6, 1912; No. 18, 1915) 1915 Jack Doubleday 1919 Jack Connole (No. 34, 1914) 1920 Harry Tampling 1921 William G. Lyte 1923 – 1924 William Carter 1924 George ‘Nugget’ Simmonds 1925 – 1933 William Tymms 1934 – 1935 Len Smith 1936 Archie Roberts (No. 6, 1932 – 1935) 1937 Stanley Penberthy 1940 – 1941 Gerry Daly (No. 16, 1939) 1942 Frank Deayton (No. 17, 1943) 1943 Ralph Shalless (No. 26, 1946) 1943 Bryan Martin (No. 36, 1942) 1944 Colin Galbraith 1945 Keith Molloy (No. 3, 1943) 1946 Gerry Daly (See 1940 – 1941 above) 1946 – 1948 Ernie O’Rourke (No. 22, 1945) 1949 – 1950 Kenneth Rollason 1951 Robert Rowse 1952 – 1953 Neil Whitaker 1956 – 1962 Dennis Jones 1965 Robin Andrew 1967 John Murnane (No. 49, 1966) 1968 – 1970 John Forster 1972 – 1973 Ross Brewer (No. 6, 1974 – 1978) 1974 Greg Wood 1976 – 1978 Colin Graham (No. 50, 1975) 1978 Des O’Dwyer (No. 47, 1981; No. 24, 1982) 1979 – 1981 Don Whitford 1984 Glenn Boland (No. 45, 1983) 1985 – 1995 J.P. 'Sean' Wight 1996 – 2001 Anthony Ingerson 2003 - Jared Rivers Number 28 1912 Clarence P. Abbott 1913 – 1914 Len Incigneri (No. 25, 1915) 1913 Percy Ellingsen 1915 Jack Huntington (No. 3, 1914; No. 19, 1919 – 1920) 1919 Matt Connors 1919 Bob Bodington (No. 18, 1920) 1919 Jack A. ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 29, 1912; No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 7, 1914) 1920 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 16, 1919) 1921 Alec Farrow (No. 25, 1919; No. 4, 1920) 1922 Harold Dunbar 1923 – 1928 Hugh Dunbar (No. 29, 1922) 1929 Henry McRae 1930 – 1932 W.T. ‘Webber’ Jackson 1933 Bill W. Robinson 1934 – 1938 Pat McNamara 1939 Leslie Gibbs (No. 31, 1941 – 1942, 1944) 1941 – 1943 Ted Cordner (No. 23, 1946) 1944 – 1945 Percy Taylor 1946 – 1949 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 34, 1940 – 1943; No. 18, 1945) 1950 Greg Lourey (No. 17, 1948) 1951 – 1952 William Smeaton 1953 – 1962 G.J. ‘Terry’ Gleeson 1963 – 1965 David Robbie 1967 – 1970 Derek Feldmann 1973 – 1981 Tony Dullard 1982 – 1987 David Cordner 1988 – 1989 Jamie Duursma 1990 – 1992 John Howat (No. 51, 1989) 1993 – 1996 Glenn Molloy 1997 Nick Pesch 1998 – 2002 Matthew Collins 2004 - 2006 Phil Read Number 29 1912 Jack A. ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 7, 1914; No. 28, 1919) 1912 – 1913 Herbert Joolen 1914 Charles S. ‘Buns’ Armstrong (No. 21, 1913) 1915 Alf George (No. 3, 1912; No. 14, 1913) 1919 Charles S. ‘Buns’ Armstrong (see 1914 above) 1919 Frank Cummins 1920 George Garlick 1921 Les Wallace 1922 Hugh Dunbar (No. 28, 1923 – 1928) 1923 Jack Robertson (?, 1924) 1925 – 1932 James Davidson (?, 1924) 1933 Reginald E. Conole (No. 22, 1930 – 1932) 1934 Jack Young 1935 – 1937 John ‘Jock’ Ball 1938 Harden Dean (No. 11, 1936; No. 38, 1943) 1939 – 1942 Jack O’Keefe 1942 Colin Bradley (No. 15, 1943 – 1944) 1943 Jack Minnis (No. ?, 1942; No. 32, 1944) 1944 Ken Levey (No. 31, 1943) 1946 Alfred Copsey 1946 Harry Rowe (No. ?, 1945) 1949 Raymond Jones 1951 – 1952 Kenneth McKaige 1953 – 1957 Anthony Bull 1957 Brian Dunsford 1959 – 1968 Hassa Mann 1969 Steven Arnott 1970 – 1973 Noel Leary 1974 David Murray 1976 Terry Wilkins (No. 38, 1975) 1977 – 1981 Andrew Moir 1982 – 1986 Dale Dickson 1987 Peter Kiel 1987 – 1989 Dean Chiron 1990 – 1994 Andrew Obst (No. 4, 1995 – 1997) 1995 – 1998 Shaun Smith 1999 – 2004 Chris Lamb 2007 – Michael Newton Number 30 1912 – 1913 Mick Maguire (No. 14, 1914) 1913 F. Ellis (also wore No. 31, 1913) 1914 Artie Best 1915 Michael McQuade 1919 Bill Shelton (No. 13, 1920 – 1924; No. 20, 1925) 1920 Bruce Campbell 1921 Pat J. Bourke (No. 32, 1922) 1922 Arthur H. Cambridge 1923 – 1924 Eric Donaldson 1926 R.G. ‘Bert’ Lawrence 1932 Dan Cunningham 1932 Howard Steel (No. 9, 1930 – 1931) 1933 Cliff Tyson 1935 – 1938 Jack Foster 1939 – 1943 Alby Rodda 1945 Norm Wilson (No. 20, 1946) 1946 – 1950 Alby Rodda (See also 1939 – 1943) 1951 – 1960 John Beckwith 1961 John Leahy 1965 – 1966 Kenneth Rowe 1967 Robert Langford (No. 52, 1966) 1969 – 1972 John Letcher 1973 – 1974 Peter Williamson (No. 49, 1971; No. 54, 1972) 1976 – 1983 Peter Hamilton 1984 – 1987 Peter Moore (No. 10, 1983) 1989 – 1990 Danny Seow 1991 – 1992 Paul Bryce 1993 Paul Hopgood 1996 – 1997 David Cockatoo-Collins 2000 - 2007 Simon Godfrey

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 21 - 30] by the Professor Number 21 1912 Arthur Ferguson 1913 Charles S. ‘Buns’ Armstrong (No. 29, 1914, 1919) 1914 Herbert Roberts 1915 William Brunier (No. 38, 1914; No. 22, 1919) 1919 – 1923 Jack House 1924 – 1925 Robert Ewer 1926 Tom O’Brien 1928 Gerry Beare 1928 William London 1929 William Coomber 1930 – 1934 E.W. ‘Bill’ Vanthoff 1935 Fred Backway (No. 10, 1937) 1936 William Ralston 1938 George McNaughton 1939 – 1941 Ron Kimberley (No. 1, 1944) 1941 – 1950 Donald Cordner 1951 John Cordner 1953, 1955 Noel Baker 1956 – 1958 D.A. ‘Peter’ Cook 1960 – 1965 Brian ‘Wrecker’ Leahy 1966 Edward Burston 1967 – 1968 Edward Lees 1969 David Hone 1970 – 1975 Graham Molloy 1976 – 1977 Allan Davis 1979 – 1981 Jim Durnan 1983 – 1984 Peter Tossol (No. 46, 1982) 1985 Les Parish 1986 Mike Reynolds 1988 – 2002 Steven Febey 2003 - Daniel Bell Number 22 1912 Bernie ‘Rookie’ Nolan 1913 Laurie Brady 1913 Carlyle Kenley (No. 1, 1914) 1914 Alec Gray (No. 14, 1915, 1919 – 1921) 1915 Rupert Lowell (No. 6, 1914) 1919 William Brunier (No. 38, 1914; No. 21, 1915) 1920 Syd Hutcheson 1921 W. Harry Bruce 1922 J. ‘Charlie’ Corby 1923 Jim Makin 1925 – 1927 Harold Moyes 1928 Claud Carr (No. 19, 1929) 1929 W.O. ‘Ossie’ Green (No. 5, 1926; No. ?, 1931) 1930 Fred S. ‘Pop’ Vine (No. 23, 1926 – 1934) 1930 – 1932 Reginald E. Conole (No. 29, 1933) 1933 – 1935 William Libbis 1936 Ken Feltscheer 1938 – 1939 Harry Harley 1940 – 1941 J.P. ‘Shane’ McGrath 1942 Arthur Franklin 1943 Thomas Ferguson (No. 16, 1942) 1944 Anthony Bizzaca 1944 J.P. ‘Shane’ McGrath (See also 1940 – 1941) 1945 Roy Stabb (No. 8, 1946 – 1947) 1945 Ernie O’Rourke (No. 27, 1946 – 1948) 1946 – 1950 J.P. ‘Shane’ McGrath (See also 1940 – 1941, 1944) 1951 – 1954 John Ferguson 1955 Ivan Baumgartner 1957 Ben Crameri 1958 John Kerr 1959 – 1969 Bryan Kenneally 1970 – 1972 Ray Carr 1973 Henry Ritterman (No. 45, 1971 – 1972) 1974 Charlie Pagnoccolo 1975 – 1977 Frank Giampaolo (No. 43, 1973 – 1974) 1978 – 1979 Ken Whitfort 1982 – 1989 Chris Connolly 1992 Stephen Wearne 1993 Martin Pike (No. 10, 1994) 1994 – 1996 Jeff Hilton 1997 – 2002 Shane Woewodin 2005 - Brent Moloney Number 23 1913 Campbell Brady 1914 Vic Gordon 1915 Edward Johnston (No. 20, 1919) 1919 Alex Salvado 1920 – 1922 Les Boyd 1923 – 1924 Roy James 1925 Frank Richardson 1926 – 1934 Fred S. ‘Pop’ Vine (No. 22 – 1930 also) 1935 – 1942 Ray Wartman 1943 – 1944 M. Jack Doherty 1945 Norm Leverton 1946 Ted Cordner (No. 28, 1941 – 1943) 1948 David Hardie (No. ?, 1947) 1949 – 1950 Ken Carlon 1951 – 1952 George O’Keefe 1953 – 1954 Leigh Glourey 1957 – 1962 Geoff Tunbridge 1963 – 1966 Graham Wise 1967 Adrian Bowden (No. 46, 1966) 1968 Brian ‘Doc’ Roet (No. 18, 1961 – 1965) 1969 – 1972 Peter Sinclair 1973 – 1979 Shane Fitzsimmons 1979 – 1984 N.R. ‘Kelly’ O’Donnell 1985 – 1986 Daryl Bourke 1987 – 1989 Warren Dean 1990 – 1991 Trevor Spencer 1991 – 1995 Kevin Dyson (No. 50 – 1991 also) 1996 – 1997 Alastair Clarkson 1998 - James McDonald (No. 54, 1997) Number 24 1912 Jack S. Strong 1913 Norm R. Jordan 1914 Tim Collins (No. 4, 1915) 1915 Roy Franklin 1919 Lou Salvana 1920 William McIntyre 1920 Albert W.D. Fawcett 1922 Vern Moore (No. 34, 1923 – 1924) 1923 Eric Peck (No. 34, 1922) 1924 – 1927 Harry ‘Snowy’ Davie 1928 – 1929 M.J. ‘Jack’ Haw 1930 Colin Jackson 1931 – 1944 Percy Beames 1945 – 1946 Richard Kennedy 1947 – 1949 Frank Hanna 1950 – 1951 Ray Hutchins 1953 William Morrow 1954 – 1961 Ian ‘Tiger’ Ridley 1962 – 1963 Jim Jenkinson 1966 – 1972 Ross Dillon 1973 – 1975 Wayne Delmenico (No. 38, 1972) 1976 – 1977 Graham Osborne (No. 7, 1966 – 1975) 1978 Kelvin Richards (No. 25, 1979) 1979 – 1981 Tony Martyn 1982 Des O’Dwyer (No. 27, 1978; No. 47, 1981) 1983 Steve McCarthy (No. 52, 1982) 1984 – 1989 Bret Bailey 1990 – 1992 Luke Beveridge (No. 48, 1989) 1993 – 1994 Phil Gilbert 1995 – 1996 Clay Sampson 1998 - Russell Robertson (No. 42, 1997) Number 25 1912 Ted Politz (No. 15, 1913) 1913 Matthew Incigneri (No. 36, 1914) 1914 Cliff Burge 1915 Len Incigneri (No. 28, 1913 – 1914) 1919 Alec Farrow (No. 4, 1920; No. 28, 1921) 1919 Howard Richardson 1920 Claude Bryan (No. 26, 1915) 1921 – 1924 Percy Wilson 1925 James A. Sullivan 1926 Jack Cannan (No. 33, 1925) 1927 Peter Hannan 1929 Carlyle Jones (No. 11, 1925 – 1926) 1931 William Collins 1932 William Earle 1933 Percy Streeter 1934 – 1936 Frank Kelly 1937 Albert Chandler 1938 G.F. 'Ted' Regan 1940 – 1941 Colin McLean 1942 Doug Heywood (No. 26, 1944; No. 8, 1948 – 1951) 1942 Hugh McPherson (No. 16, 1941, 1943 – 1944) 1944 – 1949 Colin McLean (See also 1940 – 1941) 1951 – 1952 Ron McMahon 1953 – 1959 Don Williams (No. 35, 1964 – 1968) 1962 – 1963, 1965 – 1966 Kerry Rattray 1967 – 1968 Geoff Whitton 1968 – 1971 Peter Weekes 1975 Barry Ough 1979 Kelvin Richards (No. 24, 1978) 1981 – 1982 Mark Jackson 1984 – 1985 Xavier Tanner 1986 – 1992 Simon Eishold 1993 – 1994 Jason Norrish 1995 – 1996 Luke Norman 2000 - 2007 Nathan D. Brown (No. 41, 1998) Number 26 1912 Hugh Odgers (No. 16, 1920) 1912 Hugh Purse (No. ?, 1915) 1913 Charlie Edwards 1914 George Walker (No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 16, 1919; No. 28, 1920) 1915 Claude Bryan (No. 25, 1920) 1919 Cyril Hall 1920 Vern Rowe 1921 Enos J. Thomas 1922 – 1923 Jack Lord Snr (No. 11, 1921) 1924 – 1925 Max Wright 1927 Charles Young 1932 – 1934 Louis Riley 1935 Jack Carr 1936 – 1940 Jack Furniss (No. 14, 1947) 1941 Mac Wilson 1942 Gordon Kramer (No. 10, 1944 – 1945) 1943 Ron C. Hobba 1943 Frank Scanlan (No. 13, 1944; No. 34, 1947 – 1948) 1944 Doug Heywood (No. 25, 1943; No. 8, 1948 – 1951) 1945 Es Downey (No. 36, 1944) 1946 Ralph Shalless (No. 27, 1943) 1948 Colin Cox (No. 9, 1949) 1950 Dave Bedford 1951 – 1955 Noel Clarke 1957 – 1962 Ian Thorogood 1963 Anthony Thiessen 1965 – 1966 Frank Vearing 1968 – 1973 Greg Parke 1974 Graham Scott 1975 – 1976 Gary Guy 1977 John Sparks (No. 40, 1975) 1978 Mark McKeon 1979 Stewart Gull 1980 – 1984 Glenn McLean 1986 – 1987 Joe Rugolo (No. 53, 1985) 1988 – 1991 Jay Viney 1992 Wayne Henwood 1993 – 1996 Greg Doyle 1999 – 2000 Daniel Ward (No. 49, 1998 – 1999; No. 10, 2001 – 2002) 2002 - 2005 Luke Williams Number 27 1912 Les Abbott 1912 – 1913 Thomas Wellington 1914 William McKenzie (No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 6, 1912; No. 18, 1915) 1915 Jack Doubleday 1919 Jack Connole (No. 34, 1914) 1920 Harry Tampling 1921 William G. Lyte 1923 – 1924 William Carter 1924 George ‘Nugget’ Simmonds 1925 – 1933 William Tymms 1934 – 1935 Len Smith 1936 Archie Roberts (No. 6, 1932 – 1935) 1937 Stanley Penberthy 1940 – 1941 Gerry Daly (No. 16, 1939) 1942 Frank Deayton (No. 17, 1943) 1943 Ralph Shalless (No. 26, 1946) 1943 Bryan Martin (No. 36, 1942) 1944 Colin Galbraith 1945 Keith Molloy (No. 3, 1943) 1946 Gerry Daly (See 1940 – 1941 above) 1946 – 1948 Ernie O’Rourke (No. 22, 1945) 1949 – 1950 Kenneth Rollason 1951 Robert Rowse 1952 – 1953 Neil Whitaker 1956 – 1962 Dennis Jones 1965 Robin Andrew 1967 John Murnane (No. 49, 1966) 1968 – 1970 John Forster 1972 – 1973 Ross Brewer (No. 6, 1974 – 1978) 1974 Greg Wood 1976 – 1978 Colin Graham (No. 50, 1975) 1978 Des O’Dwyer (No. 47, 1981; No. 24, 1982) 1979 – 1981 Don Whitford 1984 Glenn Boland (No. 45, 1983) 1985 – 1995 J.P. 'Sean' Wight 1996 – 2001 Anthony Ingerson 2003 - Jared Rivers Number 28 1912 Clarence P. Abbott 1913 – 1914 Len Incigneri (No. 25, 1915) 1913 Percy Ellingsen 1915 Jack Huntington (No. 3, 1914; No. 19, 1919 – 1920) 1919 Matt Connors 1919 Bob Bodington (No. 18, 1920) 1919 Jack A. ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 29, 1912; No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 7, 1914) 1920 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 16, 1919) 1921 Alec Farrow (No. 25, 1919; No. 4, 1920) 1922 Harold Dunbar 1923 – 1928 Hugh Dunbar (No. 29, 1922) 1929 Henry McRae 1930 – 1932 W.T. ‘Webber’ Jackson 1933 Bill W. Robinson 1934 – 1938 Pat McNamara 1939 Leslie Gibbs (No. 31, 1941 – 1942, 1944) 1941 – 1943 Ted Cordner (No. 23, 1946) 1944 – 1945 Percy Taylor 1946 – 1949 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 34, 1940 – 1943; No. 18, 1945) 1950 Greg Lourey (No. 17, 1948) 1951 – 1952 William Smeaton 1953 – 1962 G.J. ‘Terry’ Gleeson 1963 – 1965 David Robbie 1967 – 1970 Derek Feldmann 1973 – 1981 Tony Dullard 1982 – 1987 David Cordner 1988 – 1989 Jamie Duursma 1990 – 1992 John Howat (No. 51, 1989) 1993 – 1996 Glenn Molloy 1997 Nick Pesch 1998 – 2002 Matthew Collins 2004 - 2006 Phil Read Number 29 1912 Jack A. ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 7, 1914; No. 28, 1919) 1912 – 1913 Herbert Joolen 1914 Charles S. ‘Buns’ Armstrong (No. 21, 1913) 1915 Alf George (No. 3, 1912; No. 14, 1913) 1919 Charles S. ‘Buns’ Armstrong (see 1914 above) 1919 Frank Cummins 1920 George Garlick 1921 Les Wallace 1922 Hugh Dunbar (No. 28, 1923 – 1928) 1923 Jack Robertson (?, 1924) 1925 – 1932 James Davidson (?, 1924) 1933 Reginald E. Conole (No. 22, 1930 – 1932) 1934 Jack Young 1935 – 1937 John ‘Jock’ Ball 1938 Harden Dean (No. 11, 1936; No. 38, 1943) 1939 – 1942 Jack O’Keefe 1942 Colin Bradley (No. 15, 1943 – 1944) 1943 Jack Minnis (No. ?, 1942; No. 32, 1944) 1944 Ken Levey (No. 31, 1943) 1946 Alfred Copsey 1946 Harry Rowe (No. ?, 1945) 1949 Raymond Jones 1951 – 1952 Kenneth McKaige 1953 – 1957 Anthony Bull 1957 Brian Dunsford 1959 – 1968 Hassa Mann 1969 Steven Arnott 1970 – 1973 Noel Leary 1974 David Murray 1976 Terry Wilkins (No. 38, 1975) 1977 – 1981 Andrew Moir 1982 – 1986 Dale Dickson 1987 Peter Kiel 1987 – 1989 Dean Chiron 1990 – 1994 Andrew Obst (No. 4, 1995 – 1997) 1995 – 1998 Shaun Smith 1999 – 2004 Chris Lamb 2007 – Michael Newton Number 30 1912 – 1913 Mick Maguire (No. 14, 1914) 1913 F. Ellis (also wore No. 31, 1913) 1914 Artie Best 1915 Michael McQuade 1919 Bill Shelton (No. 13, 1920 – 1924; No. 20, 1925) 1920 Bruce Campbell 1921 Pat J. Bourke (No. 32, 1922) 1922 Arthur H. Cambridge 1923 – 1924 Eric Donaldson 1926 R.G. ‘Bert’ Lawrence 1932 Dan Cunningham 1932 Howard Steel (No. 9, 1930 – 1931) 1933 Cliff Tyson 1935 – 1938 Jack Foster 1939 – 1943 Alby Rodda 1945 Norm Wilson (No. 20, 1946) 1946 – 1950 Alby Rodda (See also 1939 – 1943) 1951 – 1960 John Beckwith 1961 John Leahy 1965 – 1966 Kenneth Rowe 1967 Robert Langford (No. 52, 1966) 1969 – 1972 John Letcher 1973 – 1974 Peter Williamson (No. 49, 1971; No. 54, 1972) 1976 – 1983 Peter Hamilton 1984 – 1987 Peter Moore (No. 10, 1983) 1989 – 1990 Danny Seow 1991 – 1992 Paul Bryce 1993 Paul Hopgood 1996 – 1997 David Cockatoo-Collins 2000 - 2007 Simon Godfrey

I found this tribute written by Whispering Jack on the first anniversary of the tsunami ... ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Whispering Jack Three hundred and sixty-five days ago the earth moved, the seas split and a wave was sent across the ocean leaving a trail of devastation that took with it a quarter of a million lives across two continents. We were touched by the tragedy; we felt its sadness and then life went on. Soon after, we could have been forgiven for thinking that despite the enormity of the event, the world remained unchanged. Seemingly, nothing did change our world in 2005. People still died whether by natural causes, by natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, by epidemics such as AIDS or by man’s own hand everywhere on the planet but most notably in the deserts of Darfur, in the streets of Baghdad and even in the London Underground. "Nothing's gonna change my world" These are the words of the late John Lennon. Perhaps a single individual in a vast universe may feel that there is nothing he or she can do to change our world. But we are not totally helpless - we can make a difference. Trish Broadbridge, the Melbourne Football Club and friends proved this at Phi Phi Island - at the very place where their fallen husband and comrade Troy perished in the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Their persistence and endeavour enabled the building of a school for the children of the devastated island - the finishing touches were applied with their own bare hands. That generations of young Thai children to come will benefit from their labour bears testament to the fact that all of us can make a difference. We can change the world. We can change the world

Today is the third anniverary of the tragic Asian tsunami that took the lives of hundreds of thousands including our own Troy Broadbridge. It's a time for us all to remember with respect. Readers may wish to start working on their own compositions in honour of Troy to be posted today. Troy Broadbridge # 20 Born: 5 October 1980 Recruited from Port Adelaide Magpies (SANFL) Died: 26 December 2004, Thailand Playing Career: Debut Round 8, May 20, 2001, Melbourne vs. Essendon, at Melbourne Cricket Ground Team: Melbourne (2001-2004) 40 games, 2 goals Melbourne Most Improved Player 2001 Sandringham Premiership Team 2000 & 2004 A smile that will never be forgotten

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 11 to 20] by the Professor Number 11 1912 Hedley Tomkins (No. 17, 1913) 1913 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1914 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1915, 1919 – 1920 Jack Bacquie (No. 35, 1914) 1921 Jack Lord Snr (No. 26, 1922 – 1923) 1922 – 1924 Dave Elliman (No. 35, 1919) 1925 – 1928 CD ‘Derek’ Mollison (No. 16, 1923 – 1925) wore both 11 and 16 in 1925 1925 – 1926 Carlyle Jones (No. 25, 1929) 1926 Bruce Pie 1929 Art Beaumont 1931 – 1932 Frank Smith 1932 Terry Ogden 1933 Robert C Johnson (No. 16, 1926 – 1932) 1934 – 1936 Sid Meehl 1936 Harden Dean (No. 29, 1938; No. 38, 1943) 1937 Beres Reilly 1938 Sid Meehl (see also 1934 – 1936) 1939 – 1940 Harold C Ball 1941 Warren Lewis (No. 33, 1944) 1942 – 1944 Norm Matthews (?, 1935) 1945 – 1950 Gordon Bowman 1952 – 1953 Jim Wilson 1954 – 1962 Laurie Mithen 1963 – 1969 TG ‘Tony’ Anderson 1970 – 1980 Greg Wells (No. 50, 1969) 1981 Gary Hardeman (No. 33, 1967 – 1977) 1982 – 1987 Steven Icke 1988 – 1998 Jim Stynes (No. 37, 1987) 2001 Troy Simmonds (No. 46, 1999 – 2000) 2002 - 2004 Darren Jolly (No. 41, 2001) 2005 - Paul Johnson Number 12 1912 Malcolm Kennedy 1913 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 4, 1912) 1914 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914) 1919 Allan McLean 1920 – 1929 Bob Corbett 1930 – 1931 Jack Power (No. 31, 1932 – 1934) 1932 EH ‘Ted’ Thomas (No. 3, 1921 – 1928) 1932 – 1933 Alan ‘Ginger’ Ryan 1934 – 1949 Jack Mueller (No. 36, 1950) 1950 – 1956 Stuart Spencer 1957 – 1960 Neil Crompton (No. 5, 1962 – 1966) 1961 – 1962 Michael Joseph Collins 1965 Hugh Bromell 1967 – 1969 Chris Fowler 1970 Rod Payne 1972 – 1974 Michael John Collins (No. 48, 1971) 1975 – 1977 Martin Lyons 1977 – 1979 Barry Norsworthy 1979 – 1982 Cameron Clayton 1983 – 1986 David Williams (No. 15, 1987 – 1988) 1987 – 1999 Todd Viney 2004 - Colin Sylvia Number 13 1912 H ‘Bert’ Francis 1913 Fen McDonald 1914 Stanley J Fairbairn 1919 Lindsay Nichol 1920 – 1924 Bill Shelton (No. 30, 1919; No. 20, 1925) 1931 Gordon Lindsay 1932 Joe Hogan 1933 – 1941 Les Jones 1941 – 1942 George Lenne (No. 20, 1945) 1944 Frank Scanlan (No. 26, 1943; No. 34, 1947 – 1948) 1947 – 1950 Max Spittle 1951 – 1953 Alan Krause 1975 – 1978 Henry Coles (No. 3, 1979 – 1980) 1979 – 1981 Wayne Gordon 1989 Tom Kavanagh 1991 – 1994 Allen Jakovich 1996 - Adem Yze Number 14 1912 Jack Bristow (No. 18, 1913) 1913 Alf George (No. 3, 1912; No. 29, 1915) 1914 Mick Maguire (No. 30, 1912 – 1913) 1915, 1919 – 1921 Alec Gray (No. 22, 1914) 1923 – 1924 Jim Abernethy (No. 4, 1926 – 1932) 1925 – 1932 Ivor Warne-Smith (No. 33, 1919) 1932 Jack Richardson 1933 Ray Usher (No. 34, 1928 – 1932) 1934 – 1937 Maurie Gibb (No. 10, 1937 – 1943) 1938 – 1940 Jack Maher (No. 37, 1944) 1941 – 1945 George Archibald 1945 – 1947 Ron Hall (?, 1944) 1947 Jack Furniss (No. 26, 1936 – 1940) 1948 – 1949 Eric Roscoe 1950 – 1952 Robert Johnston 1955 – 1962 Trevor Johnson 1963 – 1973 Barry Bourke 1974 – 1976 Neil Chamberlain (No. 54, 1973) 1977 Chris Aitken (No. 5, 1967, 1969) 1977 – 1982 Michael Byrne 1983 – 1984 Roger Ellingworth (No. 34, 1981 – 1982) 1985 – 1994 Rodney Grinter 1996 Michael Polley 1997 Leigh Newton 2000 - 2002 Steven Pitt 2006 – 2007 Lynden Dunn Number 15 1912 Tim Lane (No. 25, 1912) 1913 Ted Politz 1914 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 11, 1913; No. 12, 1915) 1915 Ed Buckley 1919 – 1925 George Haines (Heinz) 1927 – 1929 Charlie Barnes (No. 18, also 1928) 1930 – 1931 Harry S Crapper 1932 Tom McMahon 1933 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1934 Edwin Pemberton (No. 19, 1930 – 1933) 1935 Audley Gillespie-Jones 1935 – 1942 Ron Baggott 1943 – 1944 Colin Bradley (No. 29, 1942) 1945 Ron Baggott (see also 1935 – 1942) 1946 Jack Quinn 1947 – 1948 Frank O’Connor 1949 Len Toyne 1950 Max Jeffers 1951 Geoff Mason 1951 – 1952 Terry Pierce 1955 – 1959 Athol Webb 1963 – 1964 Ray Groom (No. 31, 1965 – 1968) 1965 – 1976 Stan Alves 1977 Darryl Cumming 1978 – 1980 Phil Seaton 1981 – 1982 Vin Catoggio 1984 – 1986 Mark Withers 1987 – 1988 David Williams (No. 12, 1983 – 1984, 1986) 1990 – 1991 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 2, 1992 – 1998) 1993 Haydn Robins (No. 46, 1992) 1994 – 1999 Paul Hopgood (No. 30, 1993) 2001 – 2002 Ross Funcke 2003 – 2006 Nick Smith 2007 – Ricky Petterd Number 16 1912 Bill Flintoft 1913 Bill Angwin 1914 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 5, 1913) 1915 Roy L Park 1919 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 28, 1920 also) 1920 Hugh Odgers (No. 26, 1912) 1921 Clarrie L Lethlean 1923 – 1925 CD ‘Derek’ Mollison (No. 11, 1926 – 1928; wore both 11 and 16 in 1925) 1926 – 1932 Robert C Johnson (No. 11, 1933) 1933 – 1938 Eric ‘Tarzan’ Glass 1939 Gerry Daly (No. 27, 1940 – 1941, 1946) 1940 Jack Atkins 1941 Hugh McPherson (No. 25, 1942) 1942 Tom Ferguson (No. 22, 1943) 1943 – 1944 Hugh McPherson (see 1941 above) 1945 – 1952 George Bickford 1954 – 1956 Clyde Laidlaw (No. 35, 1957 – 1962) 1957 – 1961 Robert B Johnson (No. 18, 1954 – 1956) 1962 – 1972 John Townsend 1975 – 1977 Peter Keays (No. 51, 1974) 1979 – 1981 Robert Walters (No. 32, 1977 – 1978) 1982 – 1987 Adrian Battiston 1988 – 1995 Anthony ‘Andy’ Lovell 1996 David Grant 1997 Robert Pyman 1998 – 2007 Travis Johnstone Number 17 1912 Wally Naismith 1913 Hedley Tomkins (No. 11, 1912) 1914 Frank Lugton (No. 32, 1913) 1915 Alex Fraser (No. 40, 1914) 1919 Con Kenney 1920 – 1928 Albert Chadwick 1929 – 1931 William MacDonald 1932 Joe Kinnear (No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1933 Geoff McInnes (No. 10, 1932) 1934 – 1942 Allan La Fontaine 1943 Denis Cordner (No. 1, 1948 – 1956) 1943 Frank Deayton (No. 27, 1942) 1944 Tom Bush (No. 5, 1942) 1945 Allan La Fontaine (see 1934 – 1942) 1946 – 1947 Frank Kennedy (No. 39, 1944; No. 37, 1945) 1948 Greg Lourey (No. 28, 1950) 1949 Jim Dorgan 1950 – 1956 Geoff McGivern 1958 Graeme Wilkinson 1961 – 1963 Ray Dawson 1964 – 1965 Graeme Watson 1966 Jeff Chapman 1967 John Comben 1968 – 1970 Kelvin Clarke 1971 – 1975 Denis Clark 1976 – 1979 Shane Grambeau 1980 – 1983 Michael Seddon 1986 Frank Rugolo (No. 43, 1983 – 1984; No. 34, 1985) 1987 – 1997 Brett Lovett (No. 50, 1986) 2002 Michael Clark 2005 - Chris Johnson Number 18 1912 Harry ‘Waratah’ Cope (No. 20, 1913) 1913 Jack Bristow (No. 14, 1912) 1913 Jim Mackie 1913 Bill Daly (No. 10, 1914) 1914 Les A. Smith 1915 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914) 1919 Stan Huntington 1920 Bob Bodington (No. 28, 1919) 1921 – 1927 ‘Percy’ A Tulloh 1928 Charlie Barnes (No. 15, 1927 – 1929; wore both 15 and 18 in 1928) 1929 Alec Proudfoot 1930 – 1931 William Cutler 1932 – 1935 Don Hooper (No. 1, 1943) 1936 – 1941 Wally Lock 1942 – 1944 David Walsh 1943 Bill Scanlan (No. 38, 1944; No. 19, 1945 – 1948) 1945 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 34, 1940 – 1943; No. 28, 1946 – 1949) 1946 – 1949 Wally Lock (See also 1936 – 1941) 1950 – 1951 Nevin Paynter 1952 Harry Lack 1953 Nevin Paynter (See also 1950 – 1951) 1954 – 1956 Robert B. Johnson (No. 16, 1957 – 1961) 1957 – 1958 Kevin Mithen 1961 – 1965 Brian ‘Doc’ Roet (No. 23, 1968) 1966 – 1969 Neville Stone 1970 Des Campbell (No. 5, 1975 – 1977) 1971 – 1975 John Tilbrook 1976 – 1980 Maurice Wingate 1982 – 1984 Greg Hutchison (No. 52, 1975; No. 43, 1976 – 1981) 1986 – 1993 Steven Stretch 1994 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 1, 1995 – 1997) 1996 – 1997 Craig Nettelbeck 1999 Matthew Bishop (No. 48, 1998) 2000 - Brad Green Number 19 1912 – 1913 A.M. ‘Joe’ Pearce 1914 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 9, 1913, 1915) 1915 Reg Gibb (No. 7, 1919) 1919 – 1920 Jack Huntington (No. 3, 1914; No. 28, 1915) 1921 – 1928 Harry Coy 1929 Claud Carr (No. 22, 1928) 1930 – 1933 Edwin Pemberton (No. 15, 1934) 1934 Ron Wilson 1936 – 1941 Frank Roberts 1942 Robert Shearer 1944 R.G.W. ‘Lloyd’ Bennett 1945 – 1948 Bill Scanlan (No. 18, 1943; No. 38, 1944) 1949 – 1952 Colin Love 1952 – 1958 Keith Carroll 1961 – 1964 Robert Carroll 1966 – 1967 Terry Leahy 1969 – 1979 Ray Biffin (No. 40, 1968) 1980 – 1982 Bill Nettlefold 1983 – 1986 Rodney Wright 1986 – 1988 Paul Payne 1989 – 1993 Darren Bennett 1994 – 1997 Paul Prymke 1999 – 2000 Scott Chisholm 2001 Ben Beams (No. 47, 1999 – 2000) 2002 - 2004 Peter Vardy 2006 – 2007 Clint Bartram (No. 3, 2008-) Number 20 1912 Wally Sykes 1913 Harry ‘Waratah’ Cope (No. 18, 1912) 1913 Thornton Hosking 1914 Aubrey MacKenzie 1914 Eric Parsons 1915 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 16, 1919) 1919 Edward Johnston (No. 23, 1915) 1919 Art McWhinney 1920 – 1921 George Walker (No. 28 – 1920 also; see also 1915 above) 1920 Joe O’Carroll 1921 – 1925 Alf Wilson 1925 Bill Shelton (No. 30, 1919; No. 13, 1920 – 1924) 1927 – 1928 Les Meade 1929 – 1937 Harry Long 1937 Jack ‘Cactus’ Coolahan 1938 – 1939, 1941 Frank Williams 1942 Ted Wood 1943 – 1944 H.A. ‘Bob’ Herbert 1945 Harry New (No. 31, 1944) 1945 George Lenne (No. 13, 1941 – 1942) 1946 Norm Wilson (No. 30, 1945) 1947 – 1948 Russell Robinson 1949 – 1950 Alan McGowan (No. 33, 1948) 1951 – 1952 Tom McLean 1957 – 1961 Graeme Pinfold 1964 – 1967 Graeme Jacobs 1969 – 1970 Paul Rowlands 1972 Laurie Queay 1973 Shane McSpeerin (No. 50, 1971 – 1972) 1975 – 1977 Paul Hurst 1977 Brian Cook 1978 – 1982 Graeme Gaunt 1983 – 1987 Russell Richards 1992 – 2000 Matthew Febey 2001 – 2004 Troy Broadbridge 2007 – Colin Garland

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 11 to 20] by the Professor Number 11 1912 Hedley Tomkins (No. 17, 1913) 1913 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1914 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1915, 1919 – 1920 Jack Bacquie (No. 35, 1914) 1921 Jack Lord Snr (No. 26, 1922 – 1923) 1922 – 1924 Dave Elliman (No. 35, 1919) 1925 – 1928 CD ‘Derek’ Mollison (No. 16, 1923 – 1925) wore both 11 and 16 in 1925 1925 – 1926 Carlyle Jones (No. 25, 1929) 1926 Bruce Pie 1929 Art Beaumont 1931 – 1932 Frank Smith 1932 Terry Ogden 1933 Robert C Johnson (No. 16, 1926 – 1932) 1934 – 1936 Sid Meehl 1936 Harden Dean (No. 29, 1938; No. 38, 1943) 1937 Beres Reilly 1938 Sid Meehl (see also 1934 – 1936) 1939 – 1940 Harold C Ball 1941 Warren Lewis (No. 33, 1944) 1942 – 1944 Norm Matthews (?, 1935) 1945 – 1950 Gordon Bowman 1952 – 1953 Jim Wilson 1954 – 1962 Laurie Mithen 1963 – 1969 TG ‘Tony’ Anderson 1970 – 1980 Greg Wells (No. 50, 1969) 1981 Gary Hardeman (No. 33, 1967 – 1977) 1982 – 1987 Steven Icke 1988 – 1998 Jim Stynes (No. 37, 1987) 2001 Troy Simmonds (No. 46, 1999 – 2000) 2002 - 2004 Darren Jolly (No. 41, 2001) 2005 - Paul Johnson Number 12 1912 Malcolm Kennedy 1913 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 4, 1912) 1914 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914) 1919 Allan McLean 1920 – 1929 Bob Corbett 1930 – 1931 Jack Power (No. 31, 1932 – 1934) 1932 EH ‘Ted’ Thomas (No. 3, 1921 – 1928) 1932 – 1933 Alan ‘Ginger’ Ryan 1934 – 1949 Jack Mueller (No. 36, 1950) 1950 – 1956 Stuart Spencer 1957 – 1960 Neil Crompton (No. 5, 1962 – 1966) 1961 – 1962 Michael Joseph Collins 1965 Hugh Bromell 1967 – 1969 Chris Fowler 1970 Rod Payne 1972 – 1974 Michael John Collins (No. 48, 1971) 1975 – 1977 Martin Lyons 1977 – 1979 Barry Norsworthy 1979 – 1982 Cameron Clayton 1983 – 1986 David Williams (No. 15, 1987 – 1988) 1987 – 1999 Todd Viney 2004 - Colin Sylvia Number 13 1912 H ‘Bert’ Francis 1913 Fen McDonald 1914 Stanley J Fairbairn 1919 Lindsay Nichol 1920 – 1924 Bill Shelton (No. 30, 1919; No. 20, 1925) 1931 Gordon Lindsay 1932 Joe Hogan 1933 – 1941 Les Jones 1941 – 1942 George Lenne (No. 20, 1945) 1944 Frank Scanlan (No. 26, 1943; No. 34, 1947 – 1948) 1947 – 1950 Max Spittle 1951 – 1953 Alan Krause 1975 – 1978 Henry Coles (No. 3, 1979 – 1980) 1979 – 1981 Wayne Gordon 1989 Tom Kavanagh 1991 – 1994 Allen Jakovich 1996 - Adem Yze Number 14 1912 Jack Bristow (No. 18, 1913) 1913 Alf George (No. 3, 1912; No. 29, 1915) 1914 Mick Maguire (No. 30, 1912 – 1913) 1915, 1919 – 1921 Alec Gray (No. 22, 1914) 1923 – 1924 Jim Abernethy (No. 4, 1926 – 1932) 1925 – 1932 Ivor Warne-Smith (No. 33, 1919) 1932 Jack Richardson 1933 Ray Usher (No. 34, 1928 – 1932) 1934 – 1937 Maurie Gibb (No. 10, 1937 – 1943) 1938 – 1940 Jack Maher (No. 37, 1944) 1941 – 1945 George Archibald 1945 – 1947 Ron Hall (?, 1944) 1947 Jack Furniss (No. 26, 1936 – 1940) 1948 – 1949 Eric Roscoe 1950 – 1952 Robert Johnston 1955 – 1962 Trevor Johnson 1963 – 1973 Barry Bourke 1974 – 1976 Neil Chamberlain (No. 54, 1973) 1977 Chris Aitken (No. 5, 1967, 1969) 1977 – 1982 Michael Byrne 1983 – 1984 Roger Ellingworth (No. 34, 1981 – 1982) 1985 – 1994 Rodney Grinter 1996 Michael Polley 1997 Leigh Newton 2000 - 2002 Steven Pitt 2006 – 2007 Lynden Dunn Number 15 1912 Tim Lane (No. 25, 1912) 1913 Ted Politz 1914 William Hendrie (No. 5, 1912; No. 11, 1913; No. 12, 1915) 1915 Ed Buckley 1919 – 1925 George Haines (Heinz) 1927 – 1929 Charlie Barnes (No. 18, also 1928) 1930 – 1931 Harry S Crapper 1932 Tom McMahon 1933 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1934 Edwin Pemberton (No. 19, 1930 – 1933) 1935 Audley Gillespie-Jones 1935 – 1942 Ron Baggott 1943 – 1944 Colin Bradley (No. 29, 1942) 1945 Ron Baggott (see also 1935 – 1942) 1946 Jack Quinn 1947 – 1948 Frank O’Connor 1949 Len Toyne 1950 Max Jeffers 1951 Geoff Mason 1951 – 1952 Terry Pierce 1955 – 1959 Athol Webb 1963 – 1964 Ray Groom (No. 31, 1965 – 1968) 1965 – 1976 Stan Alves 1977 Darryl Cumming 1978 – 1980 Phil Seaton 1981 – 1982 Vin Catoggio 1984 – 1986 Mark Withers 1987 – 1988 David Williams (No. 12, 1983 – 1984, 1986) 1990 – 1991 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 2, 1992 – 1998) 1993 Haydn Robins (No. 46, 1992) 1994 – 1999 Paul Hopgood (No. 30, 1993) 2001 – 2002 Ross Funcke 2003 – 2006 Nick Smith 2007 – Ricky Petterd Number 16 1912 Bill Flintoft 1913 Bill Angwin 1914 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 5, 1913) 1915 Roy L Park 1919 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 20, 1915, 1920 – 1921; No. 28, 1920 also) 1920 Hugh Odgers (No. 26, 1912) 1921 Clarrie L Lethlean 1923 – 1925 CD ‘Derek’ Mollison (No. 11, 1926 – 1928; wore both 11 and 16 in 1925) 1926 – 1932 Robert C Johnson (No. 11, 1933) 1933 – 1938 Eric ‘Tarzan’ Glass 1939 Gerry Daly (No. 27, 1940 – 1941, 1946) 1940 Jack Atkins 1941 Hugh McPherson (No. 25, 1942) 1942 Tom Ferguson (No. 22, 1943) 1943 – 1944 Hugh McPherson (see 1941 above) 1945 – 1952 George Bickford 1954 – 1956 Clyde Laidlaw (No. 35, 1957 – 1962) 1957 – 1961 Robert B Johnson (No. 18, 1954 – 1956) 1962 – 1972 John Townsend 1975 – 1977 Peter Keays (No. 51, 1974) 1979 – 1981 Robert Walters (No. 32, 1977 – 1978) 1982 – 1987 Adrian Battiston 1988 – 1995 Anthony ‘Andy’ Lovell 1996 David Grant 1997 Robert Pyman 1998 – 2007 Travis Johnstone Number 17 1912 Wally Naismith 1913 Hedley Tomkins (No. 11, 1912) 1914 Frank Lugton (No. 32, 1913) 1915 Alex Fraser (No. 40, 1914) 1919 Con Kenney 1920 – 1928 Albert Chadwick 1929 – 1931 William MacDonald 1932 Joe Kinnear (No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937) 1933 Geoff McInnes (No. 10, 1932) 1934 – 1942 Allan La Fontaine 1943 Denis Cordner (No. 1, 1948 – 1956) 1943 Frank Deayton (No. 27, 1942) 1944 Tom Bush (No. 5, 1942) 1945 Allan La Fontaine (see 1934 – 1942) 1946 – 1947 Frank Kennedy (No. 39, 1944; No. 37, 1945) 1948 Greg Lourey (No. 28, 1950) 1949 Jim Dorgan 1950 – 1956 Geoff McGivern 1958 Graeme Wilkinson 1961 – 1963 Ray Dawson 1964 – 1965 Graeme Watson 1966 Jeff Chapman 1967 John Comben 1968 – 1970 Kelvin Clarke 1971 – 1975 Denis Clark 1976 – 1979 Shane Grambeau 1980 – 1983 Michael Seddon 1986 Frank Rugolo (No. 43, 1983 – 1984; No. 34, 1985) 1987 – 1997 Brett Lovett (No. 50, 1986) 2002 Michael Clark 2005 - Chris Johnson Number 18 1912 Harry ‘Waratah’ Cope (No. 20, 1913) 1913 Jack Bristow (No. 14, 1912) 1913 Jim Mackie 1913 Bill Daly (No. 10, 1914) 1914 Les A. Smith 1915 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914) 1919 Stan Huntington 1920 Bob Bodington (No. 28, 1919) 1921 – 1927 ‘Percy’ A Tulloh 1928 Charlie Barnes (No. 15, 1927 – 1929; wore both 15 and 18 in 1928) 1929 Alec Proudfoot 1930 – 1931 William Cutler 1932 – 1935 Don Hooper (No. 1, 1943) 1936 – 1941 Wally Lock 1942 – 1944 David Walsh 1943 Bill Scanlan (No. 38, 1944; No. 19, 1945 – 1948) 1945 Adrian ‘Spud’ Dullard (No. 34, 1940 – 1943; No. 28, 1946 – 1949) 1946 – 1949 Wally Lock (See also 1936 – 1941) 1950 – 1951 Nevin Paynter 1952 Harry Lack 1953 Nevin Paynter (See also 1950 – 1951) 1954 – 1956 Robert B. Johnson (No. 16, 1957 – 1961) 1957 – 1958 Kevin Mithen 1961 – 1965 Brian ‘Doc’ Roet (No. 23, 1968) 1966 – 1969 Neville Stone 1970 Des Campbell (No. 5, 1975 – 1977) 1971 – 1975 John Tilbrook 1976 – 1980 Maurice Wingate 1982 – 1984 Greg Hutchison (No. 52, 1975; No. 43, 1976 – 1981) 1986 – 1993 Steven Stretch 1994 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 1, 1995 – 1997) 1996 – 1997 Craig Nettelbeck 1999 Matthew Bishop (No. 48, 1998) 2000 - Brad Green Number 19 1912 – 1913 A.M. ‘Joe’ Pearce 1914 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 9, 1913, 1915) 1915 Reg Gibb (No. 7, 1919) 1919 – 1920 Jack Huntington (No. 3, 1914; No. 28, 1915) 1921 – 1928 Harry Coy 1929 Claud Carr (No. 22, 1928) 1930 – 1933 Edwin Pemberton (No. 15, 1934) 1934 Ron Wilson 1936 – 1941 Frank Roberts 1942 Robert Shearer 1944 R.G.W. ‘Lloyd’ Bennett 1945 – 1948 Bill Scanlan (No. 18, 1943; No. 38, 1944) 1949 – 1952 Colin Love 1952 – 1958 Keith Carroll 1961 – 1964 Robert Carroll 1966 – 1967 Terry Leahy 1969 – 1979 Ray Biffin (No. 40, 1968) 1980 – 1982 Bill Nettlefold 1983 – 1986 Rodney Wright 1986 – 1988 Paul Payne 1989 – 1993 Darren Bennett 1994 – 1997 Paul Prymke 1999 – 2000 Scott Chisholm 2001 Ben Beams (No. 47, 1999 – 2000) 2002 - 2004 Peter Vardy 2006 – 2007 Clint Bartram (No. 3, 2008-) Number 20 1912 Wally Sykes 1913 Harry ‘Waratah’ Cope (No. 18, 1912) 1913 Thornton Hosking 1914 Aubrey MacKenzie 1914 Eric Parsons 1915 George Walker (No. 26, 1914; No. 16, 1919) 1919 Edward Johnston (No. 23, 1915) 1919 Art McWhinney 1920 – 1921 George Walker (No. 28 – 1920 also; see also 1915 above) 1920 Joe O’Carroll 1921 – 1925 Alf Wilson 1925 Bill Shelton (No. 30, 1919; No. 13, 1920 – 1924) 1927 – 1928 Les Meade 1929 – 1937 Harry Long 1937 Jack ‘Cactus’ Coolahan 1938 – 1939, 1941 Frank Williams 1942 Ted Wood 1943 – 1944 H.A. ‘Bob’ Herbert 1945 Harry New (No. 31, 1944) 1945 George Lenne (No. 13, 1941 – 1942) 1946 Norm Wilson (No. 30, 1945) 1947 – 1948 Russell Robinson 1949 – 1950 Alan McGowan (No. 33, 1948) 1951 – 1952 Tom McLean 1957 – 1961 Graeme Pinfold 1964 – 1967 Graeme Jacobs 1969 – 1970 Paul Rowlands 1972 Laurie Queay 1973 Shane McSpeerin (No. 50, 1971 – 1972) 1975 – 1977 Paul Hurst 1977 Brian Cook 1978 – 1982 Graeme Gaunt 1983 – 1987 Russell Richards 1992 – 2000 Matthew Febey 2001 – 2004 Troy Broadbridge 2007 – Colin Garland

On behalf of all involved at Demonland ... our best wishes for a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. AND TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR BY ARTICLES, POSTS OR BY COMING HERE AND SUPPORTING THE MELBOURNEFC - OUR THANKS GO TO YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU...

Over the summer months we're giving our readers the opportunity to put together their own stories for Demonland. Here's one from Deeman who admits that not all of his material is original ... SOURCING OUR NEXT RECRUITING GURU by Deeman With the departure of Craig Cameron after 11 years at the job, some Demon fans are despairing at the prospect of an MFC bereft of a true recruiting guru to head up one of the most important aspects of an AFL club's operations. However, I have discovered that just as the MFC went through an exhaustive selection process earlier this year to replace Neale Daniher as the club's head coach, the wheels are in motion in a similar direction as we speak. The process is virtually identical to the one that unearthed Dean Bailey as Melbourne's coaching el supremo a few months ago. It includes simulated interviews between prospective candidates for the job and possible draftees which took place this weekend at the Australian Institute of Sport. Here, exclusively for Demonland is a transcript of a simulated interview between a candidate for the position of head of club recruiting and list management and 17 year old key position sensation from Frankston, George Shmuck who will line up for the Dandenong Stingrays in 2008. Candidate: Hi George, how are you going? George Schmuck: Hey, rack off man. I don't get no regard or esteem here so I don't need to waste my time talking to bozos like you. Who are you anyway, my new parole officer? Candidate: No George, I'm here to discuss your football future. We've watched you playing the game since you were 13 but I'd like you to tell me a little about yourself, your family life, your parents and childhood? George Schmuck: My parents hated me. I could tell that from the start. My mother never breast-fed me; she told me she liked me as a friend. She always thought I was ugly so she fed me with a sling shot. My father wasn't any better. He carried around the picture of the kid that came when he stole obtained the wallet. Both of them hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio. Candidate: OK... how about you telling me something about the place where you grew up? George Schmuck: When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them. We always lived in downtrodden neighbourhoods. Our first house had to be renovated before it could be condemned. It was so bad they pulled it down to build a slum. Then another time we couldn't afford a Christmas tree – we lived in one. It was a really tough area. Once, I put my hand in some cement in the footpath and I felt another hand. I remember the time I was kidnapped they sent a piece of my finger to my father, he said he wanted more proof that it was me. Candidate: That sounds very difficult...how about pets and life outside the home? George Schmuck: I had a great dog. It was a bullpit terrier, his favourite bone was my arm. When I played in the sandpit, the cat kept covering me up. I had plenty of pimples as a kid, one day I fell asleep in a library and when I woke up a blind man was reading my face. Candidate: Right, well let's move on. Should we draft you to Melbourne most of our young players cop a lot of criticism. Often it's just argumentative stuff and the ranting of tragic individuals. Have you heard of Demonland? George Schmuck: Yeah. I've been there a few times. Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, owing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about. Candidate: So you do know it. There have been high profile scandals in football recently and we want to be sure you have no untoward drug or sexual history. You know, so that you're suitable for club promotions and the like. George Schmuck: If you read my profile on the AFL site you would know that I've modelled every aspect of my football on Benny Cousins. What sort of drugs do you want me to...? Candidate: Err, no just tell me about the other thing. George Schmuck: Sex? I saved a girl from being attacked last night by controlling myself. But I’m not that big on sex. In fact, if it wasn't for pick-pockets I'd have no sex life at all. I got a job last year as a poster boy - for birth control. Candidate: I think we’re finished. George Schmuck: No problem. I've already spoken to the Eagles and they told me they're going to select me before your pick comes up anyway. Apparently, I fit their profile to a tee. Anyway, I hope you get run over by a f...ing car.

Over the summer months we're giving our readers the opportunity to put together their own stories for Demonland. Here's one from Deeman who admits that not all of his material is original ... SOURCING OUR NEXT RECRUITING GURU by Deeman With the departure of Craig Cameron after 11 years at the job, some Demon fans are despairing at the prospect of an MFC bereft of a true recruiting guru to head up one of the most important aspects of an AFL club's operations. However, I have discovered that just as the MFC went through an exhaustive selection process earlier this year to replace Neale Daniher as the club's head coach, the wheels are in motion in a similar direction as we speak. The process is virtually identical to the one that unearthed Dean Bailey as Melbourne's coaching el supremo a few months ago. It includes simulated interviews between prospective candidates for the job and possible draftees which took place this weekend at the Australian Institute of Sport. Here, exclusively for Demonland is a transcript of a simulated interview between a candidate for the position of head of club recruiting and list management and 17 year old key position sensation from Frankston, George Shmuck who will line up for the Dandenong Stingrays in 2008. Candidate: Hi George, how are you going? George Schmuck: Hey, rack off man. I don't get no regard or esteem here so I don't need to waste my time talking to bozos like you. Who are you anyway, my new parole officer? Candidate: No George, I'm here to discuss your football future. We've watched you playing the game since you were 13 but I'd like you to tell me a little about yourself, your family life, your parents and childhood? George Schmuck: My parents hated me. I could tell that from the start. My mother never breast-fed me; she told me she liked me as a friend. She always thought I was ugly so she fed me with a sling shot. My father wasn't any better. He carried around the picture of the kid that came when he stole obtained the wallet. Both of them hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio. Candidate: OK... how about you telling me something about the place where you grew up? George Schmuck: When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them. We always lived in downtrodden neighbourhoods. Our first house had to be renovated before it could be condemned. It was so bad they pulled it down to build a slum. Then another time we couldn't afford a Christmas tree – we lived in one. It was a really tough area. Once, I put my hand in some cement in the footpath and I felt another hand. I remember the time I was kidnapped they sent a piece of my finger to my father, he said he wanted more proof that it was me. Candidate: That sounds very difficult...how about pets and life outside the home? George Schmuck: I had a great dog. It was a bullpit terrier, his favourite bone was my arm. When I played in the sandpit, the cat kept covering me up. I had plenty of pimples as a kid, one day I fell asleep in a library and when I woke up a blind man was reading my face. Candidate: Right, well let's move on. Should we draft you to Melbourne most of our young players cop a lot of criticism. Often it's just argumentative stuff and the ranting of tragic individuals. Have you heard of Demonland? George Schmuck: Yeah. I've been there a few times. Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, owing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about. Candidate: So you do know it. There have been high profile scandals in football recently and we want to be sure you have no untoward drug or sexual history. You know, so that you're suitable for club promotions and the like. George Schmuck: If you read my profile on the AFL site you would know that I've modelled every aspect of my football on Benny Cousins. What sort of drugs do you want me to...? Candidate: Err, no just tell me about the other thing. George Schmuck: Sex? I saved a girl from being attacked last night by controlling myself. But I’m not that big on sex. In fact, if it wasn't for pick-pockets I'd have no sex life at all. I got a job last year as a poster boy - for birth control. Candidate: I think we’re finished. George Schmuck: No problem. I've already spoken to the Eagles and they told me they're going to select me before your pick comes up anyway. Apparently, I fit their profile to a tee. Anyway, I hope you get run over by a f...ing car.

We should have reprised this a few weeks ago but here's a post from our Classic Demonland Series which we're starting over the summer period. Basically, we're bringing back some golden oldies and here is one from an anonymous source but it's worth reading in the context of the AFL Draft:- DRAFT TALK by Anonymous This guide may help you decipher those draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. Here is what they really mean when they say: "Outside player with good pace" - A receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - He's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - Slow. "He's an elusive type" - Like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - Has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - Unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - Will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - He has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - Tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - Private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - Has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - Complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - He can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - We needed someone to practice tackling on "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - "Did you know that this kid is 200cm tall?" "We believe he has unlimited potential" - We've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - My wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - He'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - Unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - Hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - Either 15 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - He's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - He weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - He may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - You should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - We haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - We are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department.

We should have reprised this a few weeks ago but here's a post from our Classic Demonland Series which we're starting over the summer period. Basically, we're bringing back some golden oldies and here is one from an anonymous source but it's worth reading in the context of the AFL Draft:- DRAFT TALK by Anonymous This guide may help you decipher those draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. Here is what they really mean when they say: "Outside player with good pace" - A receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - He's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - Slow. "He's an elusive type" - Like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - Has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - Unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - Will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - He has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - Tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - Private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - Has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - Complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - He can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - We needed someone to practice tackling on "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - "Did you know that this kid is 200cm tall?" "We believe he has unlimited potential" - We've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - My wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - He'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - Unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - Hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - Either 15 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - He's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - He weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - He may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - You should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - We haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - We are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department.

The Melbournefc is about to issue the new jumper numbers for 2008. Demonland brings you the updated list of all numbers worn by players in the club's AFL/VFL teams (qualification - at least one senior game wearing the jumper number): THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 1 to 10] by the Professor Number 1 1912 William Allan (No. 9, 1913; No. 19, 1914) 1913 Douglas Chapman 1914 Des McDonald/Carlyle Kenley (No. 22, 1913) 1915 Johnny Hassett (No. 34, 1913) 1919 – 1923 William Allan (see 1912 above) 1924 – 1931 Stan Wittman 1932 Leo Nolan 1933 Noel Barnett 1934 Col Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 2, 1935) 1935 – 1940 Gordon Jones 1941 Stan 'Pop' Heal 1942 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 5, 1937 – 1940) 1943 Keith Shadbolt/Don Hooper (No. 18, 1932 – 1935) 1944 Ron Kimberley (No. 21, 1939 – 1941)/Jack Compton 1946 – 1947 Ern Rowarth (No. 33, 1945) 1948 James Mitchell (No. 37, 1946 – 1947) 1948 – 1956 Denis Cordner (No. 17, 1943) 1957 – 1959 Dick Fenton-Smith 1961 Bruce Leslie 1963 Garry Byers (No. 50, 1962) 1964 – 1967 Robert Foster 1968 – 1972 Max Walker (No. 46, 1967) 1974 – 1981 Garry Baker 1984 – 1985 Steven Smith (No. 35, 1974 – 1983) 1988 – 1991 Steven O’Dwyer (No. 32, 1987) 1993 – 1994 Adrian Campbell 1995 – 1997 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 18, 1994) 1998 – 1999 Jamie Shanahan 2003 – 2005 Chris Heffernan 2006 – Simon Buckley Number 2 1912 Harry Brereton (No. 7, 1915) 1913 Algernon Millhouse 1914 William Quinn 1915 Percy Rodriguez 1919 – 1920 Eric Tonkin 1921 – 1924 Joe Flanagan 1925 Clarrie Wyatt 1928 PB ‘Barney’ Wood 1929 – 1934 Wyn Murray 1934 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937 1935 Colin Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 1, 1934) 1936 – 1939 Lou Reiffel 1939 – 1940, 1942 – 1946 Roy Dowsing 1947 David Newman 1948 – 1955 Robert McKenzie Snr 1958 – 1963 Alan Rowarth 1966 – 1967 Robert Stewart 1968 Robert Dowsing (No. 38, 1966 – 1967) 1969 – 1970 Denis Clark (No. 38, 1968; No. 17, 1971 – 1975) 1971 – 1972 Robert D. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 10, 1970) 1973 – 1987 Robert Flower 1992 – 1999 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 15, 1990 – 1991) 2002 – 2005 Steven Armstrong 2006 – Nathan Jones Number 3 1912 Alf George (No. 14, 1913; No. 29, 1915) 1913 Jack D. Robertson (No. 10, 1912) 1914 Jack Huntington (No. 28, 1915; No. 19, 1919 – 1920) 1915 Jack McKenzie 1919 Percy Love 1920 Leo Little (No. 31, 1919) 1921 – 1929 EH 'Ted' Thomas (No. 12, 1932) 1930 – 1934 George Margitich 1935 Ken Feltscheer (No. 22, 1936) 1936 – 1938 John Lewis 1939 – 1941 William Baxter 1942 Robert Spargo 1943 Keith Molloy (No. 27, 1945) 1943 – 1947 Ron Irwin 1948 – 1952 Geoff Collins (No. 8, 1954) 1953 – 1958 Peter Marquis 1964, 1966 Maurie Bartlett 1966, 1968 Sid Catlin 1969 – 1973 Trevor Rollinson 1976 – 1978 Barry Tippett 1979 – 1980 Henry Coles (No. 13, 1975 – 1978) 1982 – 1985 Gerard Healy (No. 39, 1979 – 1981) 1986 – 1999 Garry Lyon 2002 – 2007 Clint Bizzell Number 4 1912 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 12, 1913) 1913 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1914 Percy Colee 1915 Tim Collins (No. 24, 1914) 1919 William McKenzie (see above) 1920 Alec Farrow (No. 25, 1919; No. 28, 1921) 1921 Francis Lyon 1922 Alf Oldham 1923 – 1924 Tom Elliott 1926 – 1932 Jim Abernethy (No. 14, 1923 – 1924) 1933 – 1934 Jack Sambell 1935 – 1948 Norman Smith 1949 Robert Chadwick 1950 Jack Hiscock 1951 – 1955 Ken Christie 1957 – 1965 John Lord 1966 – 1967 Peter Smith 1968 – 1979 Tony Sullivan (No. 43, 1967) 1980 – 1987 Peter Giles (No. 45, 1979) 1988 – 1991 Tony Campbell (No. 40, 1986 – 1987) 1992, 1994 Chris Sullivan 1995 – 1997 Andrew Obst (No. 29, 1990 – 1994) 1998 – 2001 Brent Grgic (No. 48, 1997) 2002 - 2003 Craig Ellis 2004 – Ben Holland Number 5 1912 William Hendrie (No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1913 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 16, 1914) 1914 Wal Riddington 1919 RJ 'Bob' Love 1920 – 1924 Harry Harker 1925 Gerry Donnelly 1926 WO 'Ossie' Green (No. 22, 1929; ?, 1931) 1927 – 1929 E 'Tommy' McConville 1930 – 1932 HA 'Hec' Davidson 1932 – 1936 William Deague 1937 – 1940 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 1, 1942) 1941 Ron White 1942 Tom Bush (No. 17, 1944) 1943 Ron White 1943 – 1950 William 'Billy' Deans (?, 1942) 1951 – 1960 Ian McLean 1962 – 1966 Neil Crompton (No. 12, 1957 – 1960) 1967, 1969 Chris Aitken (No. 14, 1977) 1971 – 1972 John Gallus 1973 – 1974 John Clennett (No. 34, 1972) 1975 – 1977 Des Campbell (No. 18, 1970) 1978 – 1980 Graham Hunnibell 1981 – 1982 Michael Young 1984 Ray Holden 1985 – 1987 Robin White 1988 – 1991 Earl Spalding (No. 35, 1987) 1992 – 2002 David Schwarz 2004 – Brock McLean Number 6 1912 William McKenzie (No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1913 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 11, 1914; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1914 Rupert Lowell 1915 Charlie H. Lilley (see above) 1919 – 1922 E ‘Herb’ Matthews 1923 LC ‘Bob’ Abernethy 1924 WJ ‘Johnny’ Egan 1925 Edward Parker 1926 – 1927 Jim Veal 1928 Allan Hope 1929 – 1932 Ted Esposito 1932 – 1935 Archie Roberts (No. 27, 1936) 1936 – 1937 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935) 1936 Jack Harrison (?, 1933) 1939 Ian Giles 1940, 1942 – 1947 Fred Fanning 1948 – 1950 Eddie Craddock (No. 9, 1947) 1951 Kevin Webb 1952 – 1954 Ken Albiston 1955 – 1964 Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams (No. 41, 1953 – 1954) 1965 – 1973 Frank Davis (No. 40, 1964) 1974 – 1978 Ross Brewer (No. 27, 1972 – 1973) 1979 Ken Roberts (No. 10, 1978) 1979 – 1981 Robert Elliott 1982 – 1986 Michael O’Sullivan 1989 – 1999 Glenn Lovett (No. 51, 1987) 2001 - 2004 Scott Thompson 2006 - Matthew Bate Number 7 1912 WD ‘Bill’ Hickey 1913 Norm McDougall 1914 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 29, 1912; No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 28, 1919) 1915 Harry Brereton (No. 2, 1912) 1919 Reg Gibb (No. 19, 1915) 1919 William Hore 1920 – 1924 Mick Anthony 1925 – 1927 Frank Jorgensen 1928 – 1930 Vince Driver 1931 – 1933 H ‘Bert’ Avery 1934 – 1936 AE ‘Bert’ Taylor 1937 – 1940 Hugh Murnane 1942 Jack Heal 1943 Robert Stone (No. 32, 1942; No. 36, 1949) 1944 – 1946 Clem Conroy 1947 – 1952 Eddie Jackson 1953 – 1962 Geoff Case 1963 – 1964 Owen Zinko 1966 – 1975 Graham Osborne (No. 24, 1976 – 1977) 1976 Ray Smith (No. 43, 1975) 1977 – 1979 Barry Denny 1980 – 1981 Phil Pinnell 1982 – 1990 Brian Wilson 1991 Rod Owen 1992 – 1999 Darren Kowal 2000 - 2002 Stephen Powell 2003 Gary Moorcroft 2004 - Brad Miller (No. 37, 2002 – 2003) Number 8 1912 Fred Harris (No. 29, 1912; No. 7, 1914; No. 28, 1919) 1913 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans 1914 A ‘Bert’ Trahair 1915 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (see 1913 above) 1919 – 1925 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 11, 1914) 1926 – 1929 Herbie J. White 1931 – 1932 W ‘Bull’ Adams 1933 – 1941 Rowley Fischer 1942 – 1943 Don Hewson (?, 1944) 1945 Ralph Latham 1946 – 1947 Roy Stabb (No. 22, 1945) 1948 – 1951 Doug Heywood (No. 25,1943; No. 26, 1944) 1952 Ian Toyne 1952 Maurie Lehmann 1953 Don Cameron 1954 Geoff Collins (No. 3, 1948 – 1952) 1955 Kevin Clark 1956 – 1957 Jim Sandral 1959 – 1969 R ‘Tassie’ Johnson 1970 – 1975 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 10, 1981 – 1982) 1976 – 1978 Peter Johnston 1979 Glenn Elliott 1980 – 1982 Brent Crosswell 1983 Les Bamblett 1984 Peter Thorne (No. 40, 1978 – 1979) 1985 – 1995 Graeme Yeats (No. 45, 1984) 1996 Craig Turley 1999 Jeff Farmer 2000 James Cook 2001 – 2006 Alistair Nicholson (No. 44, 1997 – 2000) 2007 – James Frawley Number 9 1912 Bobby Monk (No. 5, 1913; No. 16, 1914) 1913 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 19, 1914) 1914 Harry Britter 1915 William ‘Bill’ Allan (see 1913 above) 1919 John McMahon 1920 – 1928 Charles ‘Brum’ Streeter 1930 – 1931 Howard Steel (No. 30, 1932) 1932 HA ‘Arch’ Dickens 1933 – 1936 Charlie Longhurst 1937 – 1943 Richard Emselle 1944 – 1946 Ivan Porter 1947 Eddie Craddock (No. 6, 1948 – 1950) 1948 Les Crawley 1949 Colin Cox (No. 26, 1948) 1949 Ray Harvey 1950 Con O’Toole 1951 Alan Daly 1952 – 1953 Max Orr 1953 Peter Schofield 1954 – 1968 Brian Dixon 1969 – 1972 George Lakes (No. 39, 1968) 1972 Peter Yeo 1973 – 1974 Steve Kerley (No. 49, 1971; No. 41, 1972) 1975 – 1981 Laurie Fowler 1982 – 1990 Alan Johnson 1992 – 1993 Darren Cuthbertson (No. 48, 1991) 1994 - David Neitz (No. 38, 1993) Number 10 1912 Jack D. Robertson (No. 3, 1913) 1913 J Watt 1914 Bill Daly (No. 18, 1913) 1915 J Watt (see above, 1913) 1919 Gordon Coulter 1920 – 1921 Jack Brake (see also 1915) 1923 – 1931 Jack Collins 1932 Geoff McInnes (No. 17, 1933) 1933 Colin Niven (No. 1, 1934; No. 2, 1935) 1934 – 1936 Jack Bennett (No. 34, 1933) 1937 Fred Backway (No. 21, 1935) 1937 – 1943 Maurie Gibb (No. 14, 1934 – 1937) 1938 (also) Len Catton 1944 – 1945 Gordon Kramer (No. 26, 1942) 1946 – 1954 Lance Arnold 1957 – 1961 Robert S. Turner 1962 – 1967, 1969 Ken Emselle 1970 Robert B. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 2, 1971 – 1972) 1971 – 1972 Lloyd Burgmann (No. 40, 1970) 1973 – 1975 Carl Ditterich 1976 – 1978 Craig McKellar 1978 Ken Roberts (No. 6, 1979) 1979 – 1980 Carl Ditterich (see also 1973 – 1975) 1981 – 1982 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 8, 1970 – 1975) 1983 Peter Moore (No. 30, 1984 – 1987) 1984 – 1990 Danny Hughes 1992 Matthew Mahoney (No. 46, 1990) 1994 Martin Pike (No. 22, 1993) 1995 – 2000 Marcus Seecamp 2001 - 2007 Daniel Ward (No. 49, 1998 – 1999; No. 26, 1999 – 2000)

The Melbournefc is about to issue the new jumper numbers for 2008. Demonland brings you the updated list of all numbers worn by players in the club's AFL/VFL teams (qualification - at least one senior game wearing the jumper number): THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 1 to 10] by the Professor Number 1 1912 William Allan (No. 9, 1913; No. 19, 1914) 1913 Douglas Chapman 1914 Des McDonald/Carlyle Kenley (No. 22, 1913) 1915 Johnny Hassett (No. 34, 1913) 1919 – 1923 William Allan (see 1912 above) 1924 – 1931 Stan Wittman 1932 Leo Nolan 1933 Noel Barnett 1934 Col Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 2, 1935) 1935 – 1940 Gordon Jones 1941 Stan 'Pop' Heal 1942 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 5, 1937 – 1940) 1943 Keith Shadbolt/Don Hooper (No. 18, 1932 – 1935) 1944 Ron Kimberley (No. 21, 1939 – 1941)/Jack Compton 1946 – 1947 Ern Rowarth (No. 33, 1945) 1948 James Mitchell (No. 37, 1946 – 1947) 1948 – 1956 Denis Cordner (No. 17, 1943) 1957 – 1959 Dick Fenton-Smith 1961 Bruce Leslie 1963 Garry Byers (No. 50, 1962) 1964 – 1967 Robert Foster 1968 – 1972 Max Walker (No. 46, 1967) 1974 – 1981 Garry Baker 1984 – 1985 Steven Smith (No. 35, 1974 – 1983) 1988 – 1991 Steven O’Dwyer (No. 32, 1987) 1993 – 1994 Adrian Campbell 1995 – 1997 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 18, 1994) 1998 – 1999 Jamie Shanahan 2003 – 2005 Chris Heffernan 2006 – Simon Buckley Number 2 1912 Harry Brereton (No. 7, 1915) 1913 Algernon Millhouse 1914 William Quinn 1915 Percy Rodriguez 1919 – 1920 Eric Tonkin 1921 – 1924 Joe Flanagan 1925 Clarrie Wyatt 1928 PB ‘Barney’ Wood 1929 – 1934 Wyn Murray 1934 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937 1935 Colin Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 1, 1934) 1936 – 1939 Lou Reiffel 1939 – 1940, 1942 – 1946 Roy Dowsing 1947 David Newman 1948 – 1955 Robert McKenzie Snr 1958 – 1963 Alan Rowarth 1966 – 1967 Robert Stewart 1968 Robert Dowsing (No. 38, 1966 – 1967) 1969 – 1970 Denis Clark (No. 38, 1968; No. 17, 1971 – 1975) 1971 – 1972 Robert D. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 10, 1970) 1973 – 1987 Robert Flower 1992 – 1999 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 15, 1990 – 1991) 2002 – 2005 Steven Armstrong 2006 – Nathan Jones Number 3 1912 Alf George (No. 14, 1913; No. 29, 1915) 1913 Jack D. Robertson (No. 10, 1912) 1914 Jack Huntington (No. 28, 1915; No. 19, 1919 – 1920) 1915 Jack McKenzie 1919 Percy Love 1920 Leo Little (No. 31, 1919) 1921 – 1929 EH 'Ted' Thomas (No. 12, 1932) 1930 – 1934 George Margitich 1935 Ken Feltscheer (No. 22, 1936) 1936 – 1938 John Lewis 1939 – 1941 William Baxter 1942 Robert Spargo 1943 Keith Molloy (No. 27, 1945) 1943 – 1947 Ron Irwin 1948 – 1952 Geoff Collins (No. 8, 1954) 1953 – 1958 Peter Marquis 1964, 1966 Maurie Bartlett 1966, 1968 Sid Catlin 1969 – 1973 Trevor Rollinson 1976 – 1978 Barry Tippett 1979 – 1980 Henry Coles (No. 13, 1975 – 1978) 1982 – 1985 Gerard Healy (No. 39, 1979 – 1981) 1986 – 1999 Garry Lyon 2002 – 2007 Clint Bizzell Number 4 1912 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 12, 1913) 1913 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1914 Percy Colee 1915 Tim Collins (No. 24, 1914) 1919 William McKenzie (see above) 1920 Alec Farrow (No. 25, 1919; No. 28, 1921) 1921 Francis Lyon 1922 Alf Oldham 1923 – 1924 Tom Elliott 1926 – 1932 Jim Abernethy (No. 14, 1923 – 1924) 1933 – 1934 Jack Sambell 1935 – 1948 Norman Smith 1949 Robert Chadwick 1950 Jack Hiscock 1951 – 1955 Ken Christie 1957 – 1965 John Lord 1966 – 1967 Peter Smith 1968 – 1979 Tony Sullivan (No. 43, 1967) 1980 – 1987 Peter Giles (No. 45, 1979) 1988 – 1991 Tony Campbell (No. 40, 1986 – 1987) 1992, 1994 Chris Sullivan 1995 – 1997 Andrew Obst (No. 29, 1990 – 1994) 1998 – 2001 Brent Grgic (No. 48, 1997) 2002 - 2003 Craig Ellis 2004 – Ben Holland Number 5 1912 William Hendrie (No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1913 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 16, 1914) 1914 Wal Riddington 1919 RJ 'Bob' Love 1920 – 1924 Harry Harker 1925 Gerry Donnelly 1926 WO 'Ossie' Green (No. 22, 1929; ?, 1931) 1927 – 1929 E 'Tommy' McConville 1930 – 1932 HA 'Hec' Davidson 1932 – 1936 William Deague 1937 – 1940 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 1, 1942) 1941 Ron White 1942 Tom Bush (No. 17, 1944) 1943 Ron White 1943 – 1950 William 'Billy' Deans (?, 1942) 1951 – 1960 Ian McLean 1962 – 1966 Neil Crompton (No. 12, 1957 – 1960) 1967, 1969 Chris Aitken (No. 14, 1977) 1971 – 1972 John Gallus 1973 – 1974 John Clennett (No. 34, 1972) 1975 – 1977 Des Campbell (No. 18, 1970) 1978 – 1980 Graham Hunnibell 1981 – 1982 Michael Young 1984 Ray Holden 1985 – 1987 Robin White 1988 – 1991 Earl Spalding (No. 35, 1987) 1992 – 2002 David Schwarz 2004 – Brock McLean Number 6 1912 William McKenzie (No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1913 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 11, 1914; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1914 Rupert Lowell 1915 Charlie H. Lilley (see above) 1919 – 1922 E ‘Herb’ Matthews 1923 LC ‘Bob’ Abernethy 1924 WJ ‘Johnny’ Egan 1925 Edward Parker 1926 – 1927 Jim Veal 1928 Allan Hope 1929 – 1932 Ted Esposito 1932 – 1935 Archie Roberts (No. 27, 1936) 1936 – 1937 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935) 1936 Jack Harrison (?, 1933) 1939 Ian Giles 1940, 1942 – 1947 Fred Fanning 1948 – 1950 Eddie Craddock (No. 9, 1947) 1951 Kevin Webb 1952 – 1954 Ken Albiston 1955 – 1964 Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams (No. 41, 1953 – 1954) 1965 – 1973 Frank Davis (No. 40, 1964) 1974 – 1978 Ross Brewer (No. 27, 1972 – 1973) 1979 Ken Roberts (No. 10, 1978) 1979 – 1981 Robert Elliott 1982 – 1986 Michael O’Sullivan 1989 – 1999 Glenn Lovett (No. 51, 1987) 2001 - 2004 Scott Thompson 2006 - Matthew Bate Number 7 1912 WD ‘Bill’ Hickey 1913 Norm McDougall 1914 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 29, 1912; No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 28, 1919) 1915 Harry Brereton (No. 2, 1912) 1919 Reg Gibb (No. 19, 1915) 1919 William Hore 1920 – 1924 Mick Anthony 1925 – 1927 Frank Jorgensen 1928 – 1930 Vince Driver 1931 – 1933 H ‘Bert’ Avery 1934 – 1936 AE ‘Bert’ Taylor 1937 – 1940 Hugh Murnane 1942 Jack Heal 1943 Robert Stone (No. 32, 1942; No. 36, 1949) 1944 – 1946 Clem Conroy 1947 – 1952 Eddie Jackson 1953 – 1962 Geoff Case 1963 – 1964 Owen Zinko 1966 – 1975 Graham Osborne (No. 24, 1976 – 1977) 1976 Ray Smith (No. 43, 1975) 1977 – 1979 Barry Denny 1980 – 1981 Phil Pinnell 1982 – 1990 Brian Wilson 1991 Rod Owen 1992 – 1999 Darren Kowal 2000 - 2002 Stephen Powell 2003 Gary Moorcroft 2004 - Brad Miller (No. 37, 2002 – 2003) Number 8 1912 Fred Harris (No. 29, 1912; No. 7, 1914; No. 28, 1919) 1913 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans 1914 A ‘Bert’ Trahair 1915 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (see 1913 above) 1919 – 1925 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 11, 1914) 1926 – 1929 Herbie J. White 1931 – 1932 W ‘Bull’ Adams 1933 – 1941 Rowley Fischer 1942 – 1943 Don Hewson (?, 1944) 1945 Ralph Latham 1946 – 1947 Roy Stabb (No. 22, 1945) 1948 – 1951 Doug Heywood (No. 25,1943; No. 26, 1944) 1952 Ian Toyne 1952 Maurie Lehmann 1953 Don Cameron 1954 Geoff Collins (No. 3, 1948 – 1952) 1955 Kevin Clark 1956 – 1957 Jim Sandral 1959 – 1969 R ‘Tassie’ Johnson 1970 – 1975 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 10, 1981 – 1982) 1976 – 1978 Peter Johnston 1979 Glenn Elliott 1980 – 1982 Brent Crosswell 1983 Les Bamblett 1984 Peter Thorne (No. 40, 1978 – 1979) 1985 – 1995 Graeme Yeats (No. 45, 1984) 1996 Craig Turley 1999 Jeff Farmer 2000 James Cook 2001 – 2006 Alistair Nicholson (No. 44, 1997 – 2000) 2007 – James Frawley Number 9 1912 Bobby Monk (No. 5, 1913; No. 16, 1914) 1913 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 19, 1914) 1914 Harry Britter 1915 William ‘Bill’ Allan (see 1913 above) 1919 John McMahon 1920 – 1928 Charles ‘Brum’ Streeter 1930 – 1931 Howard Steel (No. 30, 1932) 1932 HA ‘Arch’ Dickens 1933 – 1936 Charlie Longhurst 1937 – 1943 Richard Emselle 1944 – 1946 Ivan Porter 1947 Eddie Craddock (No. 6, 1948 – 1950) 1948 Les Crawley 1949 Colin Cox (No. 26, 1948) 1949 Ray Harvey 1950 Con O’Toole 1951 Alan Daly 1952 – 1953 Max Orr 1953 Peter Schofield 1954 – 1968 Brian Dixon 1969 – 1972 George Lakes (No. 39, 1968) 1972 Peter Yeo 1973 – 1974 Steve Kerley (No. 49, 1971; No. 41, 1972) 1975 – 1981 Laurie Fowler 1982 – 1990 Alan Johnson 1992 – 1993 Darren Cuthbertson (No. 48, 1991) 1994 - David Neitz (No. 38, 1993) Number 10 1912 Jack D. Robertson (No. 3, 1913) 1913 J Watt 1914 Bill Daly (No. 18, 1913) 1915 J Watt (see above, 1913) 1919 Gordon Coulter 1920 – 1921 Jack Brake (see also 1915) 1923 – 1931 Jack Collins 1932 Geoff McInnes (No. 17, 1933) 1933 Colin Niven (No. 1, 1934; No. 2, 1935) 1934 – 1936 Jack Bennett (No. 34, 1933) 1937 Fred Backway (No. 21, 1935) 1937 – 1943 Maurie Gibb (No. 14, 1934 – 1937) 1938 (also) Len Catton 1944 – 1945 Gordon Kramer (No. 26, 1942) 1946 – 1954 Lance Arnold 1957 – 1961 Robert S. Turner 1962 – 1967, 1969 Ken Emselle 1970 Robert B. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 2, 1971 – 1972) 1971 – 1972 Lloyd Burgmann (No. 40, 1970) 1973 – 1975 Carl Ditterich 1976 – 1978 Craig McKellar 1978 Ken Roberts (No. 6, 1979) 1979 – 1980 Carl Ditterich (see also 1973 – 1975) 1981 – 1982 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 8, 1970 – 1975) 1983 Peter Moore (No. 30, 1984 – 1987) 1984 – 1990 Danny Hughes 1992 Matthew Mahoney (No. 46, 1990) 1994 Martin Pike (No. 22, 1993) 1995 – 2000 Marcus Seecamp 2001 - 2007 Daniel Ward (No. 49, 1998 – 1999; No. 26, 1999 – 2000)

The Professor who is bringing us that interesting series on club jumper numbers sent me an email today warning of the dangers of wearing the number 38 based on the experience of recent years. Back in 1993, David Neitz wore the jumper in his debut season but he soon grabbed the number 9 and made it famous at the club. Martin Heppell from St. Kilda took it over in 1995 and he was followed by Darren O'Brien (1996-7) who was the last player to wear the number in a senior AFL game with the Demons. Since that time the jumper has been held by - 1998 Brent Williams 1999 -2000 Luke Taylor ® 2001 - 2003 Daniel Breese 2004 Joel Campbell ® 2005 Brendan Van Schaik ® 2006 - 2007 Daniel Hughes ® Jumper 39 hasn't fared much better since it was last worn by Craig Smoker in 1999. The # 39 locker has been occupied this century by - 2000 Michael Clark (who finally got a game in 2002 but only after switching to number 17) 2001 Mitchell Craig 2003 Ezra Poyas ® 2006 - 2007 Shane Neaves ® Moral of the story - stay away from these numbers?

SLAM DUNKS AND SNAKE BAY by Whispering Jack There was a time not so long ago when AFL recruiting scouts were bemoaning the lack of big men coming through the ranks and blaming basketball for spiriting away the best of our young, tall talent. It seems now that the wheel has turned 180 degrees with players like Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan setting the standards and other clubs following suit in their drive to bolster their stocks of tall players. Melbourne joined in this trend with its selections in last week's drafts when it took three out of five players from basketball backgrounds. The fact that they have played another sport and not concentrated solely on football might well mean that their skills are not as advanced as some of their contemporaries but it also raises the possibility that with the right education, such players could rise to the ability levels of some of the more accomplished and better credentialed contemporaries. After all, we marvelled this year at the accomplishments of Collingwood's 19 year old Irish recruit, Martin Clark who came from nowhere to be a very valuable member of a Preliminary Final side that was within a goal of making a Grand Final and probably becoming the AFL's premier team. In Clark's case "nowhere" is actually County Down, Ireland and his background is that he was an outstanding Gaelic football talent who starred for his junior side and led them to the 2005 All Ireland Championship. A year ago, Clark had never played a game of Australian football but now he is being hailed as "the Irish equivalent of Nathan Buckley". Last week the Magpies added a second Irishman as an international rookie selection and three other clubs did likewise. At roughly the same time when Clark was helping his team win the All Ireland Championship, Stefan Martin was a member of the National Under 20 Basketball squad here in Australia, Trent Zomer was on the verge of deciding where his sporting future lay (he chose basketball and represented Victoria in 2006) and Townsville's Jake Spencer was nudging his way past 200 cm in height and also tossing round balls into high baskets. All three have been lured back to football and joined the Demons as draftees last week. Stefan Martin's mates persuaded him to join them and make up the numbers at Old Haileybury six weeks into the VAFA Under 19 season in early 2006. Martin told the VFL Record that his friends wanted him to play socially with them. "I turned them down a few times, but I got a bit bored with basketball and wanted something new," Martin said. Without a pre season or anything like that, Martin ended the season in Old Haileybury's senior side after winning the Under 19 Best and Fairest polling 23 out of a possible 24 votes. He was invited to train for a week with the Melbourne side after the season and I recall watching him, still very raw and with a poor kicking action, running around against hopefuls like Magpie reject David Fanning who were aiming for selection in last year's Pre Season Draft. Martin was jumping all over Fanning in the boundary ruck duels but he still had a long way to go. Sandringham coach Mark Williams grabbed Martin who made the Zebras' list but thought he would be lucky to do any better than play out 2007 in the reserves. Instead, he showed steady improvement throughout the year and by season's end was a regular in the reigning premier's senior team managing a dozen games at VFL level and showing out with his mobility and strong marking. Now, he's a senior listed AFL player. Trent Zomer hails from South Croydon in Matthew Bate territory. Last year, he tried to combine both football and basketball but the schedule for the latter sport was highly demanding. He switched back to football and joined the Eastern Ranges earlier this year. The Ranges' Regional Manager Ian Flack told the TAC Cup Record that Zomer "never really wanted to burn his bridges and was always fair dinkum about his football, but he couldn’t do both. It was always in the back of his mind that he would play football with us this year, and that's what has happened." Zomer, a solid lad with a strong body and an outstanding leap, began this year as a key defender and tried out for the Vic Metro Under 18 squad but failed to make the final cut. He finished the season playing up forward and spent a bit of time in the ruck. His best form was as a forward and he was his team's leading goal kicker for the 2007 season. Jake Spencer also chose football ahead of basketball and moved to Brisbane where he made the Queensland Under 18 team. The 203 cm tall hard working youngster moves pretty well for a big man, seems to have reasonable endurance, and has developed well at Redlands in the AFLQ where he was really showing out with his aggressive ruckwork by the end of the year. He is a palm ruck who can ruck with either hand and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He still has a lot of improvement in him and his development will be watched with great interest. Melbourne's recruiting in the rookie draft wasn't totally focussed on talls. The club also picked up a couple of smaller types, one from way up north and the other close to home. I think they could write a book about Austin Wonaeamirri and I'm thrilled that he’s come to the club. A little over a year ago, I became a real devotee of Northern Territory football and in particular the Bombers, the new team from the Tiwi Islands [see THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ]. Wonaeamirri was one of the youngsters who captured my attention as being an X factor type even in the wonderfully whacky NTFL competition. The standard of play there is all over the place and many of its players would not be suited to AFL football but Austin stood out in his own way as a youngster possessing strong pace and great vision. He hails from the Milakapiti community in Snake Bay on Melville Island some 100 kilometres north of Darwin and he moved to the mainland to play for St. Marys in the NTFL before joining the Tiwi Island Bombers for their brief debut stint in the competition last year. His uncle Thomas Simon is skipper of that team which currently heads the NTFL ladder. Wonaeamirri was starring for the Bombers against Palmerston just a little over a week ago. He represented the NT Under 18's in 2006 and returned as an overage player this year where he was voted the Northern Territory's best player at the Championships and gave them great run with his hard-at-it ball winning skills. Wonaeamirri also wore the red and the blue this year for Norwood in the SANFL making his debut in Round 1 against the Port Adelaide Magpies at Coopers Stadium where he quickly established a cult following amongst the Norwood faithful. According to the official site of the Norwood Football Club he "lit up suburban ovals with his pace, skill and brilliance". His coach Trevor Hill summed him up beautifully in The Sunday Mail on August 19, "He's a special young man. It's amazing what you can achieve if you haven't got an ego. Aussie just loves playing and he just loves the Norwood Footy Club. When you just go back to the true essence of playing, it brings out the best in anyone." He is noted for doing the one per centers and has ability to run and chase opponents down and has a great ability to burst through opponents' tackles. He will be an exciting player to watch and, while we know that the percentage of rookies who make the grade is way below the 50 mark, the Austin Wonaeamirri story promises to be interesting to say the least. And he won't be lonely at the club either as he joins fellow Territorians Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan and also renews acquaintances with Isaac Weetra with who he toured South Africa on an indigenous schoolboys tour in early 2006 - STH AFRICAN TOUR A TASTE OF MORE TO COME. Shane Valenti is well known to Demon fans who venture down to Sandringham games. He won this year's Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising youngster in VFL ranks after giving it a close shake last year on debut. He's a real hard at it midfielder who is persistent and tenacious but is downgraded by some because of his size and lack of leg speed. However, I made a quick calculation and worked out that 125 players were drafted this year ahead of Valenti. Anyone who expects a Chris Judd to emerge after that number of selections would also have strong beliefs about the existence of the tooth fairy. The point is that if Valenti works on those skills that he has together with his courage and his attitude, he certainly won't fail for lack of heart or endeavour. As with the National Draft selections I discussed previously, here are some pen pictures of Melbourne's draftees from the 2008 Pre Season and Rookie Drafts with some bios from melbournefc.com and the quotes that follow are taken (where available) from the November issue of Inside Football (with one or two minor corrections). Hopefully, their emergence at the club will assist in slam-dunking our opposition. Pre Season Draft Selection 3 - Stefan Martin 17 November 1986 198 cm 95 kg "We were really happy that we were able to obtain Stefan. At 198 cm, he is a quick and athletic big man. He is reasonably new to the game, after playing junior basketball for Australia. He has a very strong mark, and played a full season in the seniors for our affiliate side, Sandringham." - Craig Cameron. "Ex-basketballer who last year won the league best and fairest for Old Haileybury despite not playing a full year. He has amazing agility and athleticism for someone of his size." - from Sandringham VFL. Rookie Draft Selection 3 - Trent Zomer 9 June 1989 197 cm 95 kg "Zomer is a powerful key position player. Standing at 197 cm, he possesses a very strong mark, and has the potential to become a power forward for the Melbourne Football Club. He is also a very talented basketballer, and played for the Victorian junior side." - Craig Cameron. "Trent comes from a basketball background and wasn't in our system last year. He's still very raw but played centre half back for us and later in the year played up forward and in the ruck. He has a great leap and had a terrific end to the year. I reckon he's got a huge upside." - Eastern Ranges' coach Shane Watson Rookie Draft Selection 19 - Austin Wonaeamirri 2 October 1988 178 cm 78 kg "Austin Wonaeamirri is a quick indigenous small forward. He is a good kick for goal, and loves to tackle and apply forward line pressure. He is known for his for his 1%ers, and his ability to break through the lines" - Craig Cameron. "Austin came from the Tiwi Islands and played for the NT team at last year's national championships. After playing for us all year he played again at the national champs as an over-age player for the NT. A small forward or rover who is very quick with good run down speed - a bit like Aaron Davey." - Norwood development manager Ben Porter. Originally from St. Marys and Tiwi Island Bombers (NTFL). Rookie Draft Selection 35 - Jake Spencer 9 October 1989 203 cm 93 kg "Spencer is an aggressive ruckman, who really enjoys the physical side of the game. He is originally from Townsville, and played basketball and rugby union as a junior. He has good potential, and will be given time to further develop his skills through the VFL." - Craig Cameron. "A tap ruckman who can ruck with either hand, and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He is a legitimate 203cm, and he uses his height to good advantage. He moves well for a big man, and has a solid endurance tank. He has a "hard at it" attitude, and has a lot of potential for improvement." - Melbournefc.com.au Rookie Draft Selection 49 - Shane Valenti 29 January 1987 176 cm 80 kg "Valenti is a small midfielder, who is a very clever reader of the play. He rarely makes a bad decision, and played a full season with Sandringham in the seniors in 2007. He impressed us over the pre-season with his hard work, and really deserves his chance at the Melbourne Football Club." - Craig Cameron. "Skilful rover who enjoyed a great second year with the Zebras after crossing from the Dragons. Won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising player in the VFL, was runner up in the Liston Trophy and Sandy's best and fairest. Wins the ball and finishes superbly." - from Sandringham VFL.

by Whispering Jack There was a time not so long ago when AFL recruiting scouts were bemoaning the lack of big men coming through the ranks and blaming basketball for spiriting away the best of our young, tall talent. It seems now that the wheel has turned 180 degrees with players like Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan setting the standards and other clubs following suit in their drive to bolster their stocks of tall players. Melbourne joined in this trend with its selections in last week's drafts when it took three out of five players from basketball backgrounds. The fact that they have played another sport and not concentrated solely on football might well mean that their skills are not as advanced as some of their contemporaries but it also raises the possibility that with the right education, such players could rise to the ability levels of some of the more accomplished and better credentialed contemporaries. After all, we marvelled this year at the accomplishments of Collingwood's 19 year old Irish recruit, Martin Clark who came from nowhere to be a very valuable member of a Preliminary Final side that was within a goal of making a Grand Final and probably becoming the AFL's premier team. In Clark's case "nowhere" is actually County Down, Ireland and his background is that he was an outstanding Gaelic football talent who starred for his junior side and led them to the 2005 All Ireland Championship. A year ago, Clark had never played a game of Australian football but now he is being hailed as "the Irish equivalent of Nathan Buckley". Last week the Magpies added a second Irishman as an international rookie selection and three other clubs did likewise. At roughly the same time when Clark was helping his team win the All Ireland Championship, Stefan Martin was a member of the National Under 20 Basketball squad here in Australia, Trent Zomer was on the verge of deciding where his sporting future lay (he chose basketball and represented Victoria in 2006) and Townsville's Jake Spencer was nudging his way past 200 cm in height and also tossing round balls into high baskets. All three have been lured back to football and joined the Demons as draftees last week. Stefan Martin's mates persuaded him to join them and make up the numbers at Old Haileybury six weeks into the VAFA Under 19 season in early 2006. Martin told the VFL Record that his friends wanted him to play socially with them. "I turned them down a few times, but I got a bit bored with basketball and wanted something new," Martin said. Without a pre season or anything like that, Martin ended the season in Old Haileybury's senior side after winning the Under 19 Best and Fairest polling 23 out of a possible 24 votes. He was invited to train for a week with the Melbourne side after the season and I recall watching him, still very raw and with a poor kicking action, running around against hopefuls like Magpie reject David Fanning who were aiming for selection in last year's Pre Season Draft. Martin was jumping all over Fanning in the boundary ruck duels but he still had a long way to go. Sandringham coach Mark Williams grabbed Martin who made the Zebras' list but thought he would be lucky to do any better than play out 2007 in the reserves. Instead, he showed steady improvement throughout the year and by season's end was a regular in the reigning premier's senior team managing a dozen games at VFL level and showing out with his mobility and strong marking. Now, he's a senior listed AFL player. Trent Zomer hails from South Croydon in Matthew Bate territory. Last year, he tried to combine both football and basketball but the schedule for the latter sport was highly demanding. He switched back to football and joined the Eastern Ranges earlier this year. The Ranges' Regional Manager Ian Flack told the TAC Cup Record that Zomer "never really wanted to burn his bridges and was always fair dinkum about his football, but he couldn’t do both. It was always in the back of his mind that he would play football with us this year, and that's what has happened." Zomer, a solid lad with a strong body and an outstanding leap, began this year as a key defender and tried out for the Vic Metro Under 18 squad but failed to make the final cut. He finished the season playing up forward and spent a bit of time in the ruck. His best form was as a forward and he was his team's leading goal kicker for the 2007 season. Jake Spencer also chose football ahead of basketball and moved to Brisbane where he made the Queensland Under 18 team. The 203 cm tall hard working youngster moves pretty well for a big man, seems to have reasonable endurance, and has developed well at Redlands in the AFLQ where he was really showing out with his aggressive ruckwork by the end of the year. He is a palm ruck who can ruck with either hand and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He still has a lot of improvement in him and his development will be watched with great interest. Melbourne's recruiting in the rookie draft wasn't totally focussed on talls. The club also picked up a couple of smaller types, one from way up north and the other close to home. I think they could write a book about Austin Wonaeamirri and I'm thrilled that he’s come to the club. A little over a year ago, I became a real devotee of Northern Territory football and in particular the Bombers, the new team from the Tiwi Islands [see THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ]. Wonaeamirri was one of the youngsters who captured my attention as being an X factor type even in the wonderfully whacky NTFL competition. The standard of play there is all over the place and many of its players would not be suited to AFL football but Austin stood out in his own way as a youngster possessing strong pace and great vision. He hails from the Milakapiti community in Snake Bay on Melville Island some 100 kilometres north of Darwin and he moved to the mainland to play for St. Marys in the NTFL before joining the Tiwi Island Bombers for their brief debut stint in the competition last year. His uncle Thomas Simon is skipper of that team which currently heads the NTFL ladder. Wonaeamirri was starring for the Bombers against Palmerston just a little over a week ago. He represented the NT Under 18's in 2006 and returned as an overage player this year where he was voted the Northern Territory's best player at the Championships and gave them great run with his hard-at-it ball winning skills. Wonaeamirri also wore the red and the blue this year for Norwood in the SANFL making his debut in Round 1 against the Port Adelaide Magpies at Coopers Stadium where he quickly established a cult following amongst the Norwood faithful. According to the official site of the Norwood Football Club he "lit up suburban ovals with his pace, skill and brilliance". His coach Trevor Hill summed him up beautifully in The Sunday Mail on August 19, "He's a special young man. It's amazing what you can achieve if you haven't got an ego. Aussie just loves playing and he just loves the Norwood Footy Club. When you just go back to the true essence of playing, it brings out the best in anyone." He is noted for doing the one per centers and has ability to run and chase opponents down and has a great ability to burst through opponents' tackles. He will be an exciting player to watch and, while we know that the percentage of rookies who make the grade is way below the 50 mark, the Austin Wonaeamirri story promises to be interesting to say the least. And he won't be lonely at the club either as he joins fellow Territorians Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan and also renews acquaintances with Isaac Weetra with who he toured South Africa on an indigenous schoolboys tour in early 2006 - STH AFRICAN TOUR A TASTE OF MORE TO COME. Shane Valenti is well known to Demon fans who venture down to Sandringham games. He won this year's Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising youngster in VFL ranks after giving it a close shake last year on debut. He's a real hard at it midfielder who is persistent and tenacious but is downgraded by some because of his size and lack of leg speed. However, I made a quick calculation and worked out that 125 players were drafted this year ahead of Valenti. Anyone who expects a Chris Judd to emerge after that number of selections would also have strong beliefs about the existence of the tooth fairy. The point is that if Valenti works on those skills that he has together with his courage and his attitude, he certainly won't fail for lack of heart or endeavour. As with the National Draft selections I discussed previously, here are some pen pictures of Melbourne's draftees from the 2008 Pre Season and Rookie Drafts with some bios from melbournefc.com and the quotes that follow are taken (where available) from the November issue of Inside Football (with one or two minor corrections). Hopefully, their emergence at the club will assist in slam-dunking our opposition. Pre Season Draft Selection 3 - Stefan Martin 17 November 1986 198 cm 95 kg "We were really happy that we were able to obtain Stefan. At 198 cm, he is a quick and athletic big man. He is reasonably new to the game, after playing junior basketball for Australia. He has a very strong mark, and played a full season in the seniors for our affiliate side, Sandringham." - Craig Cameron. "Ex-basketballer who last year won the league best and fairest for Old Haileybury despite not playing a full year. He has amazing agility and athleticism for someone of his size." - from Sandringham VFL. Rookie Draft Selection 3 - Trent Zomer 9 June 1989 197 cm 95 kg "Zomer is a powerful key position player. Standing at 197 cm, he possesses a very strong mark, and has the potential to become a power forward for the Melbourne Football Club. He is also a very talented basketballer, and played for the Victorian junior side." - Craig Cameron. "Trent comes from a basketball background and wasn't in our system last year. He's still very raw but played centre half back for us and later in the year played up forward and in the ruck. He has a great leap and had a terrific end to the year. I reckon he's got a huge upside." - Eastern Ranges' coach Shane Watson Rookie Draft Selection 19 - Austin Wonaeamirri 2 October 1988 178 cm 78 kg "Austin Wonaeamirri is a quick indigenous small forward. He is a good kick for goal, and loves to tackle and apply forward line pressure. He is known for his for his 1%ers, and his ability to break through the lines" - Craig Cameron. "Austin came from the Tiwi Islands and played for the NT team at last year's national championships. After playing for us all year he played again at the national champs as an over-age player for the NT. A small forward or rover who is very quick with good run down speed - a bit like Aaron Davey." - Norwood development manager Ben Porter. Originally from St. Marys and Tiwi Island Bombers (NTFL). Rookie Draft Selection 35 - Jake Spencer 9 October 1989 203 cm 93 kg "Spencer is an aggressive ruckman, who really enjoys the physical side of the game. He is originally from Townsville, and played basketball and rugby union as a junior. He has good potential, and will be given time to further develop his skills through the VFL." - Craig Cameron. "A tap ruckman who can ruck with either hand, and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He is a legitimate 203cm, and he uses his height to good advantage. He moves well for a big man, and has a solid endurance tank. He has a "hard at it" attitude, and has a lot of potential for improvement." - Melbournefc.com.au Rookie Draft Selection 49 - Shane Valenti 29 January 1987 176 cm 80 kg "Valenti is a small midfielder, who is a very clever reader of the play. He rarely makes a bad decision, and played a full season with Sandringham in the seniors in 2007. He impressed us over the pre-season with his hard work, and really deserves his chance at the Melbourne Football Club." - Craig Cameron. "Skilful rover who enjoyed a great second year with the Zebras after crossing from the Dragons. Won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising player in the VFL, was runner up in the Liston Trophy and Sandy's best and fairest. Wins the ball and finishes superbly." - from Sandringham VFL.

The Oracle gives him quite a good wrap in his article CHANGES 2007: TRADING AND DRAFTING - PART THREE which I've just put up on the Drafting and Trading Board. "The club's final rookie selection was Shane Valenti who has been rewarded for two excellent seasons of hard work and dedication at Sandringham. The youngster did not finish runner up in the Liston Trophy and overall winner of the Fothergill-Round Medal for nothing. He also follows Aaron Davey onto the rookie list after winning the latter award so those pundits who write him off because they consider him too small and too slow for AFL football do so at their own peril."

by The Oracle The seasons have come and gone and, as we move into the early days of summer in our still drought stricken land, I am bemused by the fact that football continues to grab so much attention in the media. The newspapers are full of it and when I was on the road during the week, the radio commentators were still focussing on our winter game rather than on cricket, golf and tennis. If it wasn't the fate of the Kangaroos or Ben Cousins, it was the Madden Medal or the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts – news that one would think should not normally be the focus of our attention when the mercury nudges 32 Celsius (as if we're normal!). Like it or not, the public obsession with the game continues and while we've all forgotten about the Federal election (after all Kevin 07 doesn't look all that dissimilar to John 96 give or take a few grey hairs and a decade or so in age) we're still excited about the changes to our footy team lists. In Melbournefc's case, the changes have been a plenty. One quarter of the 2007 list is gone. That's eleven players (although a dozen places have changed if you allow for Jace Bode’s elevation from the Rookie to the Senior list). The changes read as follows:- Arrivals: John Meesen (traded) Cale Morton (National Draft) Jack Grimes (National Draft) Addam Maric (National Draft) Kyle Cheney (National Draft) Tom McNamara (National Draft) Stefan Martin (Pre Season Draft) Jace Bode (Rookie Upgrade) Rookie List Jake Spencer® Shane Valenti® Austin Wonaeamirri® Trent Zomer® Departures: Senior List - Clint Bizzell (retired) Nathan Brown (retired) Ryan Ferguson (delisted) Simon Godfrey (delisted) Travis Johnstone (traded) Heath Neville (delisted) Byron Pickett (retired) Daniel Ward (delisted) Rookie List - Jace Bode® (Rookie Upgrade) Daniel Hayes® (delisted) Daniel Hughes® (delisted) Shane Neaves® (delisted) The obvious questions are whether there has been an improvement to the club's list and whether the changes will allow for it to climb back into contention for a finals place after a horror season in 2007. The answers lie in the future. Firstly, it is to be hoped that the injury curse which struck the club this year will move on to another club (Carlton or Collingwood perhaps?) and that many of the team's younger players who have shown lots of as yet unfulfilled promise step up to the plate as they approach fifty games and beyond. As for the list itself, there seems to be no reason why we can't see some benefits in the short to medium term. The major losses on last year's form would appear to be Travis Johnstone and Nathan Brown but the former was very much a hot and cold proposition and rarely gave consistently to the team effort while the latter was winding down after a long career and whose disposal skills were questionable at best. In their places, we have a young group with varied credentials. The National Draftees all come with impressive CV's. Four of them – Morton, Grimes, Maric and McNamara – are graduates of the elite AIS/AFL Academy and the fifth (Cheney) won selection in the TAC Cup Team of the Year on a half back flank. Meesen was a top ten draft selection three years ago and we know that big men take time to develop. He's big, strong, fit and athletic, has served his apprenticeship on an AFL list and, by all accounts, is relishing the return to his home state. While the emphasis in the National Draft was clearly on selecting players of quality among the elite players available, the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts enabled the club to delve into the area of speculative recruiting – they are all considered rough and raw diamonds in need of polishing and refinement and will put the club's new coaching structure to the test; they are development players who, past records will tell us, are less likely to make the grade but if they do, they can become every bit as valuable AFL players as some of the early draft picks. For proof of that you only need to look at Dean Cox (West Coast), Ben Rutten (Adelaide) and Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) or our own recent Bluey Truscott Medallists, James McDonald (twice in a row) and Russell Robertson as well as speedster Aaron Davey and three or four other former rookies who help make up the Melbournefc list. The club has certainly addressed the need to bolster its big man stocks with the recruitment of Spencer who joins Meesen in its pool of tall ruckmen. Martin and Zomer could also fulfil that role but are more likely to be developed as key position players. The recruiters may have shunned Ashley Sampi because he didn't show enough improvement in his fitness during the pre season but made up for it with the recruitment of young Tiwi Islander Austin Wonaeamirri who follows the path of fellow Northern Territorian Aaron Davey onto the rookie list. Like the Davey brothers, Austin moved south to play and he impressed the citizens of Adelaide with similar qualities at Norwood in the SANFL. The club's final rookie selection was Shane Valenti who has been rewarded for two excellent seasons of hard work and dedication at Sandringham. The youngster did not finish runner up in the Liston Trophy and overall winner of the Fothergill-Round Medal for nothing. He also follows Aaron Davey onto the rookie list after winning the latter award so those pundits who write him off because they consider him too small and too slow for AFL football do so at their own peril. I set out below, the club's playing list for the coming season and, to allow you a comparison of how an AFL's team list can change over a short period of time, I also present the list from the last Olympic Year (new players names in bold). MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2008) SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jace Bode Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Nathan Carroll Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn James Frawley Colin Garland Brad Green Jack Grimes Ben Holland Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Paul Johnson Nathan Jones James McDonald Brock McLean Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin John Meesen Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Matthew Warnock Isaac Weetra Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White VETERAN LIST David Neitz Adem Yze ROOKIE LIST: Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Trent Zomer MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2004) SENIOR LIST: Steven Armstrong Daniel Bell Clint Bizzell Troy Broadbridge Nathan Brown Cameron Bruce Nathan Carroll Ryan Ferguson Simon Godfrey Brad Green Chris Heffernan Ben Holland Cameron Hunter Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Travis Johnstone Darren Jolly Chris Lamb James McDonald Brock McLean Brad Miller David Neitz Alistair Nicholson Phil Read Guy Rigoni Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Nick Smith Colin Sylvia Scott Thompson Peter Vardy Peter Walsh Daniel Ward Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White Luke Williams Adem Yze VETERAN LIST:- ROOKIE LIST: Joel Campbell Dale Carson Aaron Davey Adam Fisher Luke Molan Paul Newman We wave goodbye to 2007 and look forward to 2008 knowing well that life is all about changes. We've seen wholesale changes throughout the club's coaching set up and a considerable change in its playing list. The effect of those changes remain an unknown but as always the Demon faithful are hopeful that the changes made will bring better things next year.

CHANGES 2007: TRADING AND DRAFTING - PART THREE by The Oracle The seasons have come and gone and, as we move into the early days of summer in our still drought stricken land, I am bemused by the fact that football continues to grab so much attention in the media. The newspapers are full of it and when I was on the road during the week, the radio commentators were still focussing on our winter game rather than on cricket, golf and tennis. If it wasn't the fate of the Kangaroos or Ben Cousins, it was the Madden Medal or the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts – news that one would think should not normally be the focus of our attention when the mercury nudges 32 Celsius (as if we're normal!). Like it or not, the public obsession with the game continues and while we've all forgotten about the Federal election (after all Kevin 07 doesn't look all that dissimilar to John 96 give or take a few grey hairs and a decade or so in age) we're still excited about the changes to our footy team lists. In Melbournefc's case, the changes have been a plenty. One quarter of the 2007 list is gone. That's eleven players (although a dozen places have changed if you allow for Jace Bode’s elevation from the Rookie to the Senior list). The changes read as follows:- Arrivals: John Meesen (traded) Cale Morton (National Draft) Jack Grimes (National Draft) Addam Maric (National Draft) Kyle Cheney (National Draft) Tom McNamara (National Draft) Stefan Martin (Pre Season Draft) Jace Bode (Rookie Upgrade) Rookie List Jake Spencer® Shane Valenti® Austin Wonaeamirri® Trent Zomer® Departures: Senior List - Clint Bizzell (retired) Nathan Brown (retired) Ryan Ferguson (delisted) Simon Godfrey (delisted) Travis Johnstone (traded) Heath Neville (delisted) Byron Pickett (retired) Daniel Ward (delisted) Rookie List - Jace Bode® (Rookie Upgrade) Daniel Hayes® (delisted) Daniel Hughes® (delisted) Shane Neaves® (delisted) The obvious questions are whether there has been an improvement to the club's list and whether the changes will allow for it to climb back into contention for a finals place after a horror season in 2007. The answers lie in the future. Firstly, it is to be hoped that the injury curse which struck the club this year will move on to another club (Carlton or Collingwood perhaps?) and that many of the team's younger players who have shown lots of as yet unfulfilled promise step up to the plate as they approach fifty games and beyond. As for the list itself, there seems to be no reason why we can't see some benefits in the short to medium term. The major losses on last year's form would appear to be Travis Johnstone and Nathan Brown but the former was very much a hot and cold proposition and rarely gave consistently to the team effort while the latter was winding down after a long career and whose disposal skills were questionable at best. In their places, we have a young group with varied credentials. The National Draftees all come with impressive CV's. Four of them – Morton, Grimes, Maric and McNamara – are graduates of the elite AIS/AFL Academy and the fifth (Cheney) won selection in the TAC Cup Team of the Year on a half back flank. Meesen was a top ten draft selection three years ago and we know that big men take time to develop. He's big, strong, fit and athletic, has served his apprenticeship on an AFL list and, by all accounts, is relishing the return to his home state. While the emphasis in the National Draft was clearly on selecting players of quality among the elite players available, the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts enabled the club to delve into the area of speculative recruiting – they are all considered rough and raw diamonds in need of polishing and refinement and will put the club's new coaching structure to the test; they are development players who, past records will tell us, are less likely to make the grade but if they do, they can become every bit as valuable AFL players as some of the early draft picks. For proof of that you only need to look at Dean Cox (West Coast), Ben Rutten (Adelaide) and Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) or our own recent Bluey Truscott Medallists, James McDonald (twice in a row) and Russell Robertson as well as speedster Aaron Davey and three or four other former rookies who help make up the Melbournefc list. The club has certainly addressed the need to bolster its big man stocks with the recruitment of Spencer who joins Meesen in its pool of tall ruckmen. Martin and Zomer could also fulfil that role but are more likely to be developed as key position players. The recruiters may have shunned Ashley Sampi because he didn't show enough improvement in his fitness during the pre season but made up for it with the recruitment of young Tiwi Islander Austin Wonaeamirri who follows the path of fellow Northern Territorian Aaron Davey onto the rookie list. Like the Davey brothers, Austin moved south to play and he impressed the citizens of Adelaide with similar qualities at Norwood in the SANFL. The club's final rookie selection was Shane Valenti who has been rewarded for two excellent seasons of hard work and dedication at Sandringham. The youngster did not finish runner up in the Liston Trophy and overall winner of the Fothergill-Round Medal for nothing. He also follows Aaron Davey onto the rookie list after winning the latter award so those pundits who write him off because they consider him too small and too slow for AFL football do so at their own peril. I set out below, the club's playing list for the coming season and, to allow you a comparison of how an AFL's team list can change over a short period of time, I also present the list from the last Olympic Year (new players names in bold). MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2008) SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jace Bode Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Nathan Carroll Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn James Frawley Colin Garland Brad Green Jack Grimes Ben Holland Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Paul Johnson Nathan Jones James McDonald Brock McLean Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin John Meesen Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Matthew Warnock Isaac Weetra Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White VETERAN LIST David Neitz Adem Yze ROOKIE LIST: Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Trent Zomer MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2004) SENIOR LIST: Steven Armstrong Daniel Bell Clint Bizzell Troy Broadbridge Nathan Brown Cameron Bruce Nathan Carroll Ryan Ferguson Simon Godfrey Brad Green Chris Heffernan Ben Holland Cameron Hunter Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Travis Johnstone Darren Jolly Chris Lamb James McDonald Brock McLean Brad Miller David Neitz Alistair Nicholson Phil Read Guy Rigoni Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Nick Smith Colin Sylvia Scott Thompson Peter Vardy Peter Walsh Daniel Ward Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White Luke Williams Adem Yze VETERAN LIST:- ROOKIE LIST: Joel Campbell Dale Carson Aaron Davey Adam Fisher Luke Molan Paul Newman We wave goodbye to 2007 and look forward to 2008 knowing well that life is all about changes. We've seen wholesale changes throughout the club's coaching set up and a considerable change in its playing list. The effect of those changes remain an unknown but as always the Demon faithful are hopeful that the changes made will bring better things next year.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER THIRTY-FIVE by the Professor The last of a large number of delistings by Melbourne at the end of the 2007 season was Ryan Ferguson whose departure means the club will soon select a player to take the number 35 jumper. The number has not always been fashionable at the club and not all previous wearers of the number have set the world on fire since jumper numbers were introduced in 1914 but there will nevertheless be plenty of interest in who becomes its next owner. Although very few star players have held the number 35 guernsey since it was first claimed by a rather excitable character named Jack Bacquie almost a century ago, the list of a little over two dozen wearers reveals a collection of serviceable players at the club and one or two outstanding footballers and club personalities. Those who have been assigned the number 35 and over the years have collected two best and fairest trophies, the captaincy for two seasons, one club leading goal kicker, three state representatives and more importantly, it has been worn in nine premierships. Jack Baquie came to the club from Brunswick in 1907 but he crossed to Carlton in 1909 where he suffered the misfortune of being rubbed out for fighting in the 1910 grand final. After 42 games and 20 goals with the Blues he returned to Melbourne and claimed the number 35 in 1914. He switched to number 11 in 1915 but his career with Melbourne was interrupted again when the club went into recess for the First World War and it finally ended in 1920 with the forward finishing with a record of 49 games (14 goals). Curiously, the next wearer of the number 35 also had interrupted career and like Baquie, wore the number for one year only and then changed to the number 11. Dave Elliman from Malvern and Armadale Presbyterians came to the club in 1919 as a 17 year old but missed the next two seasons before returning for three more years at the club. He played a total of 20 games (10 goals) before moving to VFL newcomer Hawthorn in its debut season but played only three games there. Little is know of the next number 35 Aubrey Neal who played only one game for the Melbourne Football Club in 1920. Dick Taylor claimed guernsey number 35 in 1923 and held it until he transferred to North Melbourne as captain/coach in 1932. He returned to Melbourne for his final season in the VFL in 1935. Taylor was a star midfielder with the club and proudly wore the number in its premiership of 1926 when he played on a wing alongside the great Ivor Warne-Smith who occupied the centre and won that year's Brownlow Medal. It was a champion centreline with Jack Collins on the other wing. Taylor had magnificent ground skills, the ability to pick the ball up a pace and deliver it with precision with a magnificent stab kick. His pairing with flanker "Bunny" Wittman was said to have caused havoc amongst opposition defences. Taylor played a total of 164 games with Melbourne (for 100 goals), and a further 40 games (25 goals) with North Melbourne. He represented Victoria 15 times, and was awarded Life Membership in 1943. Bill Sweeney from Wonthaggi wore the number for in Taylor’s absence. He only managed four games (3 goals) in a brief career with the club in 1934-5. Derek Symonds from Yea had an even shorter stint of one game in 1939. (Arthur) Noel Ellis from Wesley College wore the number in 1940 and 1941 but managed to play only three games before becoming a sergeant in the Royal Australian Artillery. He was killed in a training accident in Queensland only days before his 21st birthday. The jumper was also briefly worn in the war years by Danny Powell (in 1942) who managed 7 games and six goals and ex-Magpie Charles Newman (1943 – 1945) who played 15 games for the Demons. The next claimant for number 35 arrived at the club in 1946 from Mordialloc. Although he came to be one of football's most feared defenders, Noel McMahen played in the club's 1948 premiership team on a half forward flank. Before that he was laid low by an attack of Bell's Palsy which kept him out of his first season. He then took some time to find his real spot before finally claiming the half back flank and winning the best and fairest in 1951. McMahen became renowned for his vigour, skill and straight-ahead style as attested by his "collision" with Collingwood’s Bob Rose in the 1955 Grand Final. He represented Victoria four times and was made skipper of the Demons in 1955, leading the club to premierships that year and in the next for a total of three flags in his eleven-year career. He left in 1957 for a successful coaching stint with Rochester and later coached South Melbourne in 1962-1964 and came back to serve on the club's committee. McMahen is a Life Member, was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000, and was an inaugural inductee into the Club's Hall of Fame in 2001 ranking him among the club's "greats" and making him its most influential wearer of the number 35. Clyde Laidlaw wore the number 16 guernsey when he first came to Melbourne in 1954 as a highly sought-after left-footed centreman from Portland who had shared the Western District Football League's Best and Fairest award (the Munro Medal) with Ian Ridley of Hamilton Imperials a year earlier. On McMahen's departure he took over the number 35. He also made the centre half forward position at the club his own despite his lack of inches at just six feet tall. However, he was a strong mark and a courageous and determined team player who played in the winning Grand Final sides of 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960. He missed the 1957 and 1958 Grand Finals due to torn hamstrings and retired at the end of 1962 with 124 games and 59 goals to his credit. Don Williams from Elsternwick Amateurs wore guernsey 25 for the first half of his brilliant career with Melbourne in the years 1953 to 1959. The dashing half back flanker started out with the club's thirds in 1953 before breaking into the senior team in the following season. He was a fine athlete blessed with blistering speed and a terrific leap playing in the premiership sides of 1955, 1956 and 1957 and the losing Grand Final of 1958 against Collingwood before being named on the bench for the 1959 Grand Final. His displeasure at this resulted in him transferring to West Perth the following year but he later admitted it was "the silliest move" he had ever made. He played in the WA team that beat the "Big V" in the Carnival in Brisbane in 1961, and returned to Victoria in 1963 to coach Sale but was enticed back to the Demons in 1964. Williams was handed the number 35 on his return to the club and was good enough to claim the centre position in the famous 1964 Grand Final which was won by the Demons in an exciting finish that saw "Froggy" Crompton kick a last-gasp goal against the Magpies. He remained a club stalwart as the club lost many of its stars and went into decline before a knee injury ended his 205 game career in 1968. He made the "Big V" in both periods - 1957-58 and 1965, was awarded Life Membership in 1966, and named on a half back flank in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000. The solidly built but tiny (at 165cm) rover) Paul Callery from Oakleigh YCW rose through the Under 19 ranks and made his debut wearing the number 35 in 1970. He was smallest senior player in the competition at that time but fitness, hard work and courage made him a favourite of the fans. He led the club’s goal kicking with 44 in 1971 and by the end of 1973 he had notched up 76 games and 102 goals. He transferred to St. Kilda and played there for seven seasons and finished with South Melbourne in 1980. A 193 cm tall young recruit from the club's local zone came to the club in 1974, took over the number 35 guernsey and wore it with distinction for most of his 203 game (144 goals) career. Steven Smith from Ormond Amateurs was the first "little leaguer" to play in a VFA/AFL senior team and was a reliable player for the club over many seasons. He occupied a key forward position for most of his early career and also was given the occasional stint in the ruck but he found his niche at full back and won the best and fairest in 1981 He was awarded Life Membership in 1984 and retired a year later. He has served as a Director of the Club, and is presently a member of the MCC Committee. Late in his career Smith switched to the number 1 which he wore for his last 23 games. Darryl Cox, a strong, tough defender from Fitzroy was the next claimant of the number 35 but his career at the club was short-lived (1984-6) and largely uneventful yielding only 13 games and 7 goals before he switched clubs again to be a foundation member of the Brisbane Bears where played only one game. The Melbourne Football Club had been in the doldrums for over two decades when a trio of interstaters joined the club at the beginning of 1987 to play under John Northey at a time of revival for the club's fortunes. Todd Viney came from Sturt, SA, Warren Dean from Subiaco WA and Earl Spalding from Perth WA. A strongly built key position player, the 198cm tall Spalding claimed the vacant number 35 jumper and played 109 games (63 goals) to 1991 before transferring to Carlton where he played a further 102 games (106 goals). The interstaters immediately made their mark and the Demons won the night premiership, made the finals for the first time since 1964 and played off in the 1988 Grand Final (albeit with the disastrous result of a then record losing 96 point margin). Spalding played key defence, key forward and occasionally in the ruck but whilst he was a strong mark, he was not the most reliable kick in the game. He went on to play in Carlton's 1995 premiership team. He was a frequent selection in WA's State of Origin team and was also a versatile sportsman who represented WA as a pace bowler at Sheffield Shield level. Michael Pickering was a 100 game player and a team leader when he fell out of favour with the Tigers at the end of 1991 and found a new home at Melbourne where he wore the number 35 Guernsey in 15 games for 12 goals in 1992 and 1993. Tall forward Brad Campbell, son a former player Des Campbell followed him in 1994 but the youngster never really settled into city life and left after one season and one solitary game. The Demons had high hopes for Port Adelaide Magpies' Trent Ormond-Allen, an early draft pick at number 10 in the 1993 National Draft and were prepared to be patient with the talented youngster. Unfortunately, Ormond-Allen failed to live up to expectations and managed only eight games in a struggling Demons’ side before being released at the end of 1996 when he was drafted by Adelaide where he played a further 42 games. The next (and last) 100 gamer to wear the number 35 at the club was Anthony McDonald whose career was a perfect example of persistence and determination. Born on 13 June 1972, the 182 cm tall McDonald hailed from Ballarat YCW and was selected by Carlton at pick 73 in the 1990 National Draft. He was dropped from the Blues list but redrafted in the 1991 National Draft at number 57 but managed a total of only 9 games with Carlton Reserves before his next delisting. The Hawks, who had drafted his older brother Alex at number 1 in the 1988 National Draft, selected Anthony in the 1992 Mid-Season Draft at 41, but he could only add another 11 reserves matches to his tally of games before the end of 1993. McDonald spent time with both Coburg in the VFL and Old Xaverians in the VAFA before receiving the call to play on Melbourne’s supplementary list and he played in all of the club’s reserves games and won their best and fairest in 1996, a performance that saw him taken by Melbourne at No.59 in the 1996 National Draft. He finally made his AFL senior debut at the age of 24 in 1997 wearing the number 35. McDonald, a hard working utility who used principally in a mid-field role was the club's Best First Year Player award in his senior debut season. After a disappointing season in 1999 when he also suffered a knee injury, McDonald knuckled down and came back fitter than ever to play an important role as a high possession winner in the Demon midfield of 2000 and was named on the wing in the team's losing Grand Final against the Bombers. Despite his late start to senior AFL football, he managed to notch up the century of games in his final year of 2002 and he bowed out of the game with 104 games (41 goals). Younger brother, James who also made his debut in 1997, is still a senior player with the club and has won the last two club best and fairests. Ryan Ferguson was another late developer to wear the number 35. Drafted from Frankston with National Draft selection number 66, the 195cm tall rebounding defender was 21 years of age when he made his debut with the club. His career was studded with injury woes and despite his courage and some promising signs at the end of 2007, he was cut from the list in October and recently nominated for the end of the year drafts. He managed 47 games and 5 goals at the club. And so for the time being, the 35 guernsey number is vacant and we are left to wait the announcement of who will be its next custodian. [With thanks to the Melbourne Past Players and Officials Newsletter from which some of the information contained in this article was adapted] FOOTNOTE: Earlier in the year, The Professor featured an article on another number that has now become vacant - the number 3. Read that article here - THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER THREE.

by the Professor The last of a large number of delistings by Melbourne at the end of the 2007 season was Ryan Ferguson whose departure means the club will soon select a player to take the number 35 jumper. The number has not always been fashionable at the club and not all previous wearers of the number have set the world on fire since jumper numbers were introduced in 1914 but there will nevertheless be plenty of interest in who becomes its next owner. Although very few star players have held the number 35 guernsey since it was first claimed by a rather excitable character named Jack Bacquie almost a century ago, the list of a little over two dozen wearers reveals a collection of serviceable players at the club and one or two outstanding footballers and club personalities. Those who have been assigned the number 35 and over the years have collected two best and fairest trophies, the captaincy for two seasons, one club leading goal kicker, three state representatives and more importantly, it has been worn in nine premierships. Jack Baquie came to the club from Brunswick in 1907 but he crossed to Carlton in 1909 where he suffered the misfortune of being rubbed out for fighting in the 1910 grand final. After 42 games and 20 goals with the Blues he returned to Melbourne and claimed the number 35 in 1914. He switched to number 11 in 1915 but his career with Melbourne was interrupted again when the club went into recess for the First World War and it finally ended in 1920 with the forward finishing with a record of 49 games (14 goals). Curiously, the next wearer of the number 35 also had interrupted career and like Baquie, wore the number for one year only and then changed to the number 11. Dave Elliman from Malvern and Armadale Presbyterians came to the club in 1919 as a 17 year old but missed the next two seasons before returning for three more years at the club. He played a total of 20 games (10 goals) before moving to VFL newcomer Hawthorn in its debut season but played only three games there. Little is know of the next number 35 Aubrey Neal who played only one game for the Melbourne Football Club in 1920. Dick Taylor claimed guernsey number 35 in 1923 and held it until he transferred to North Melbourne as captain/coach in 1932. He returned to Melbourne for his final season in the VFL in 1935. Taylor was a star midfielder with the club and proudly wore the number in its premiership of 1926 when he played on a wing alongside the great Ivor Warne-Smith who occupied the centre and won that year's Brownlow Medal. It was a champion centreline with Jack Collins on the other wing. Taylor had magnificent ground skills, the ability to pick the ball up a pace and deliver it with precision with a magnificent stab kick. His pairing with flanker "Bunny" Wittman was said to have caused havoc amongst opposition defences. Taylor played a total of 164 games with Melbourne (for 100 goals), and a further 40 games (25 goals) with North Melbourne. He represented Victoria 15 times, and was awarded Life Membership in 1943. Bill Sweeney from Wonthaggi wore the number for in Taylor’s absence. He only managed four games (3 goals) in a brief career with the club in 1934-5. Derek Symonds from Yea had an even shorter stint of one game in 1939. (Arthur) Noel Ellis from Wesley College wore the number in 1940 and 1941 but managed to play only three games before becoming a sergeant in the Royal Australian Artillery. He was killed in a training accident in Queensland only days before his 21st birthday. The jumper was also briefly worn in the war years by Danny Powell (in 1942) who managed 7 games and six goals and ex-Magpie Charles Newman (1943 – 1945) who played 15 games for the Demons. The next claimant for number 35 arrived at the club in 1946 from Mordialloc. Although he came to be one of football's most feared defenders, Noel McMahen played in the club's 1948 premiership team on a half forward flank. Before that he was laid low by an attack of Bell's Palsy which kept him out of his first season. He then took some time to find his real spot before finally claiming the half back flank and winning the best and fairest in 1951. McMahen became renowned for his vigour, skill and straight-ahead style as attested by his "collision" with Collingwood’s Bob Rose in the 1955 Grand Final. He represented Victoria four times and was made skipper of the Demons in 1955, leading the club to premierships that year and in the next for a total of three flags in his eleven-year career. He left in 1957 for a successful coaching stint with Rochester and later coached South Melbourne in 1962-1964 and came back to serve on the club's committee. McMahen is a Life Member, was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000, and was an inaugural inductee into the Club's Hall of Fame in 2001 ranking him among the club's "greats" and making him its most influential wearer of the number 35. Clyde Laidlaw wore the number 16 guernsey when he first came to Melbourne in 1954 as a highly sought-after left-footed centreman from Portland who had shared the Western District Football League's Best and Fairest award (the Munro Medal) with Ian Ridley of Hamilton Imperials a year earlier. On McMahen's departure he took over the number 35. He also made the centre half forward position at the club his own despite his lack of inches at just six feet tall. However, he was a strong mark and a courageous and determined team player who played in the winning Grand Final sides of 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960. He missed the 1957 and 1958 Grand Finals due to torn hamstrings and retired at the end of 1962 with 124 games and 59 goals to his credit. Don Williams from Elsternwick Amateurs wore guernsey 25 for the first half of his brilliant career with Melbourne in the years 1953 to 1959. The dashing half back flanker started out with the club's thirds in 1953 before breaking into the senior team in the following season. He was a fine athlete blessed with blistering speed and a terrific leap playing in the premiership sides of 1955, 1956 and 1957 and the losing Grand Final of 1958 against Collingwood before being named on the bench for the 1959 Grand Final. His displeasure at this resulted in him transferring to West Perth the following year but he later admitted it was "the silliest move" he had ever made. He played in the WA team that beat the "Big V" in the Carnival in Brisbane in 1961, and returned to Victoria in 1963 to coach Sale but was enticed back to the Demons in 1964. Williams was handed the number 35 on his return to the club and was good enough to claim the centre position in the famous 1964 Grand Final which was won by the Demons in an exciting finish that saw "Froggy" Crompton kick a last-gasp goal against the Magpies. He remained a club stalwart as the club lost many of its stars and went into decline before a knee injury ended his 205 game career in 1968. He made the "Big V" in both periods - 1957-58 and 1965, was awarded Life Membership in 1966, and named on a half back flank in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000. The solidly built but tiny (at 165cm) rover) Paul Callery from Oakleigh YCW rose through the Under 19 ranks and made his debut wearing the number 35 in 1970. He was smallest senior player in the competition at that time but fitness, hard work and courage made him a favourite of the fans. He led the club’s goal kicking with 44 in 1971 and by the end of 1973 he had notched up 76 games and 102 goals. He transferred to St. Kilda and played there for seven seasons and finished with South Melbourne in 1980. A 193 cm tall young recruit from the club's local zone came to the club in 1974, took over the number 35 guernsey and wore it with distinction for most of his 203 game (144 goals) career. Steven Smith from Ormond Amateurs was the first "little leaguer" to play in a VFA/AFL senior team and was a reliable player for the club over many seasons. He occupied a key forward position for most of his early career and also was given the occasional stint in the ruck but he found his niche at full back and won the best and fairest in 1981 He was awarded Life Membership in 1984 and retired a year later. He has served as a Director of the Club, and is presently a member of the MCC Committee. Late in his career Smith switched to the number 1 which he wore for his last 23 games. Darryl Cox, a strong, tough defender from Fitzroy was the next claimant of the number 35 but his career at the club was short-lived (1984-6) and largely uneventful yielding only 13 games and 7 goals before he switched clubs again to be a foundation member of the Brisbane Bears where played only one game. The Melbourne Football Club had been in the doldrums for over two decades when a trio of interstaters joined the club at the beginning of 1987 to play under John Northey at a time of revival for the club's fortunes. Todd Viney came from Sturt, SA, Warren Dean from Subiaco WA and Earl Spalding from Perth WA. A strongly built key position player, the 198cm tall Spalding claimed the vacant number 35 jumper and played 109 games (63 goals) to 1991 before transferring to Carlton where he played a further 102 games (106 goals). The interstaters immediately made their mark and the Demons won the night premiership, made the finals for the first time since 1964 and played off in the 1988 Grand Final (albeit with the disastrous result of a then record losing 96 point margin). Spalding played key defence, key forward and occasionally in the ruck but whilst he was a strong mark, he was not the most reliable kick in the game. He went on to play in Carlton's 1995 premiership team. He was a frequent selection in WA's State of Origin team and was also a versatile sportsman who represented WA as a pace bowler at Sheffield Shield level. Michael Pickering was a 100 game player and a team leader when he fell out of favour with the Tigers at the end of 1991 and found a new home at Melbourne where he wore the number 35 Guernsey in 15 games for 12 goals in 1992 and 1993. Tall forward Brad Campbell, son a former player Des Campbell followed him in 1994 but the youngster never really settled into city life and left after one season and one solitary game. The Demons had high hopes for Port Adelaide Magpies' Trent Ormond-Allen, an early draft pick at number 10 in the 1993 National Draft and were prepared to be patient with the talented youngster. Unfortunately, Ormond-Allen failed to live up to expectations and managed only eight games in a struggling Demons’ side before being released at the end of 1996 when he was drafted by Adelaide where he played a further 42 games. The next (and last) 100 gamer to wear the number 35 at the club was Anthony McDonald whose career was a perfect example of persistence and determination. Born on 13 June 1972, the 182 cm tall McDonald hailed from Ballarat YCW and was selected by Carlton at pick 73 in the 1990 National Draft. He was dropped from the Blues list but redrafted in the 1991 National Draft at number 57 but managed a total of only 9 games with Carlton Reserves before his next delisting. The Hawks, who had drafted his older brother Alex at number 1 in the 1988 National Draft, selected Anthony in the 1992 Mid-Season Draft at 41, but he could only add another 11 reserves matches to his tally of games before the end of 1993. McDonald spent time with both Coburg in the VFL and Old Xaverians in the VAFA before receiving the call to play on Melbourne’s supplementary list and he played in all of the club’s reserves games and won their best and fairest in 1996, a performance that saw him taken by Melbourne at No.59 in the 1996 National Draft. He finally made his AFL senior debut at the age of 24 in 1997 wearing the number 35. McDonald, a hard working utility who used principally in a mid-field role was the club's Best First Year Player award in his senior debut season. After a disappointing season in 1999 when he also suffered a knee injury, McDonald knuckled down and came back fitter than ever to play an important role as a high possession winner in the Demon midfield of 2000 and was named on the wing in the team's losing Grand Final against the Bombers. Despite his late start to senior AFL football, he managed to notch up the century of games in his final year of 2002 and he bowed out of the game with 104 games (41 goals). Younger brother, James who also made his debut in 1997, is still a senior player with the club and has won the last two club best and fairests. Ryan Ferguson was another late developer to wear the number 35. Drafted from Frankston with National Draft selection number 66, the 195cm tall rebounding defender was 21 years of age when he made his debut with the club. His career was studded with injury woes and despite his courage and some promising signs at the end of 2007, he was cut from the list in October and recently nominated for the end of the year drafts. He managed 47 games and 5 goals at the club. And so for the time being, the 35 guernsey number is vacant and we are left to wait the announcement of who will be its next custodian. [With thanks to the Melbourne Past Players and Officials Newsletter from which some of the information contained in this article was adapted]