Demonland

Cameron Bruce regains top place - 65. Cameron Bruce 64. Nathan Jones 57. Aaron Davey James McDonald 54. Daniel Bell 49. Jeff White 46. Colin Sylvia 44. Brad Green 41. Travis Johnstone 39. Matthew Bate 37. Simon Godfrey 35. Brent Moloney 30. Ben Holland 29. Russell Robertson 25. David Neitz 24. Adem Yze 20. Brad Miller Ricky Petterd 18. Clint Bizzell Jared Rivers 15. Nathan Brown 10. Brock McLean 9. Nathan Carroll 6. Paul Wheatley 4. Daniel Ward 2. Paul Johnson 1. Lynden Dunn

Yes, it would and I'll take the Flash for the 1 vote

The Cabbie holds his narrow lead over Whispering Jack with canberrademon(herb) and deesthis year (unfortunately not) another two behind. 1. (1) 64 Clyde_Cabbie 2. (2) 63 Whispering_Jack 3. (4) 61 canberrademon(herb) 3. (3) 61 deesthisyear 5. (6) 60 demon_davey 5. (4) 60 great_gatsby 7. (6) 59 Demonland 8. (10) 58 BigKev Demon 8. (6) 58 deanox 8. (17) 58 DeMoNiC 8. (17) 58 Go_Ds 8. (10) 58 Scoop Junior 8. (17) 58 slamevil 8. (10) 58 snarler_0 15. (10) 57 Alpha_33 15. (6) 57 bl3281 17. (10) 56 paliosiana 17. (15) 56 Pinball_Wizard 19. (20) 55 achirnside 19. (15) 55 Rivers Run Red 21. (22) 54 frangas 21. (20) 54 petejh2000 23. (22) 52 Jackieboy_0 23. (22) 52 KrazyJay 23. (22) 52 TimDees 26. (27) 50 dee'viator 26. (26) 50 Goodvibes 28. (28) 48 rusty_corner 29. (29) 44 No Cigar 30. (29) 42 Kieranbj 31. (31) 41 demon_fanatic 32. (32) 40 Dees_Fan16 33. (33) 38 Fingers Power 34. (34) 37 Dappadan 35. (35) 34 CarnTheDees 36. (36) 31 melon22 37. (37) 30 jaded24 38. (38) 22 rusty_kingswood Rusty_kingswood is in trouble.

I'm looking for the first three serious set of voting from Friday night's game. You know the drill - 6,5,4,3,2,1

by Whispering Jack It was a night when the clock should have stopped ticking six or seven seconds earlier but things never happen that way. They say after all, that nothing can change the shape of things to come. The dream finish to Neale Daniher's coaching career didn't take place; his team lost in the inevitable way that was seemingly always scripted through his time at the club. For a decade his team lurched forward and backward, from one extreme to another waiting for the inevitable accident to happen and on this last night, it happened again. Throughout his term as coach, Daniher has been fond of expounding the "time clock theory" to explain precisely where any given team list is placed in terms of its development and its capacity to challenge for a premiership. However, the theory has its flaws and doesn't contend with the vagaries of football and of matters beyond the control of a coach, be they injury crises, boardroom revolts, salary cap penalties, financial setbacks, weather conditions, rule changes, umpiring, fixturing issues and even the death of a player. Daniher has faced them all in his time. He took them in his stride, gave his all with passion and commitment, promoted his club vigorously, did his best for his players and his team and came out of it last night with dignity if not victory. After a week of high drama the dream script should have seen Daniher's men come out and tear the Bombers apart but if 2007 has been a dream for Melbourne, then that dream was a wild nightmare from the very beginning. Playing against a full strength Essendon side, Melbourne's woeful run with injuries continued when Daniel Bell's hamstring went before the big crowd at the Telstra Dome had barely settled into their seats. One of the Demons' big improvers of the season, Bell brilliantly intercepted a pass meant for his opponent Scott Lucas, took his kick and then disappeared from the game. Melbourne's defence, already undermanned and undersized, was unable to contain the Bomber tall timber and Lucas was to become the match winner. By the end of the night, at least four others were struggling with their fitness. Meanwhile, the remainder of the first quarter was a repeat of the horrors of the first half against Richmond that provided the nail for the coffin of a coaching career at the club. Trailing by 37 points at the first change, Daniher desperately made some moves in an attempt to inspire his charges and they came to the party. The game was a freewheeling affair and, in the absence of the modern day tactics of pushing players behind the ball to flood defences, Melbourne was able to fight its way back. David Neitz and Travis Johnstone, who both missed the Tiger debacle, hit their straps and James McDonald continued working hard around the stoppages where Melbourne was getting on top. The Demons ran and ran, created numerous scoring opportunities, got to within a point but fell away in the dying moments of the first half to concede three late goals. Still, they went into the half time break in much better shape than we feared after the first half hour. The all-important third quarter was all Melbourne's. It comprehensively outplayed Essendon and, with Russell Robertson coming out of his early shell and booting three goals for the term, the Dees were on the brink of an historic and famous victory. All that was needed was that final death blow from which the Bombers, who were literally on their knees, would surely not be able to recover. Instead, the epitaph for Daniher's long coaching stint at the club was written in much the same way that his years at the club would come to be remembered. Skipper David Neitz, still not at 100% following his injury woes of the season, suddenly acquired the kicking yips missing three shots at goal from within fifty metres that would have been routine if he were at the height of his powers. One of them slewed across the face of goals and didn't even score. Likewise, Russell Robertson missed a set shot that he should have gobbled up. Emerging youngsters Colin Sylvia and Matthew Bate also messed up an opportunity that should have seen a goal rammed home but the ball went astray. Debutant, Michael Newton, who was impressive but undertandably nervous in his first game at this level, dropped a simple chest mark in front of goal. Still, when Aaron Davey put Melbourne 17 points in front with a few minutes left to play, it should have been all over. But the game unravelled for Melbourne and the accidents just kept on coming for Neale Daniher in the dying moments of his coaching career. A few lucky bounces went Essendon's way, there was some poor decision making from Melbourne players, horrific umpiring from a group that gave the Bombers an enormous 27-18 free kick advantage on the night (did not one of them see what 47,552 others saw when Cameron Bruce was tripped late in the game or were they just pulling our legs?) and Scott Lucas and fate stepped in for the final goal with six seconds left on the clock. For the second time, the Bombers had kicked three straight goals at the Lockett End of the Telstra Dome to finish off a quarter. So time has finally run out for Neale Daniher. I can't say that he was a great coach. That is a description reserved for those who win premiership flags. I will say however, that he was a good coach and that he changed the shape of the club in his time at Melbourne. One only hopes that he leaves it a far better place than it was when he entered ten years ago but his true legacy will only be understood in the fullness of time. Melbourne 2.2.14 9.4.58 16.9.105 18.15.123 Essendon 8.3.51 12.5.77 14.8.92 19.11.125 Goals Melbourne Neitz Robertson 3 Davey Petterd Sylvia 2 Bate Bruce Godfrey Johnstone Newton Ward Essendon Lucas 5 Lloyd 4 Davey Laycock Lovett McVeigh 2 Hird McPhee Best Melbourne McDonald Bruce Bate Jones Neitz Sylvia Essendon Hird Laycock Lucas Lloyd Watson Fletcher Injuries Melbourne Neitz (knee) Green (knee) Bell (hamstring) Essendon - nil Reports - nil Changes – nil Umpires Margetts Grun Ryan Crowd 47,552 at Telstra Dome

NOTHING CAN CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME - A POSTSCRIPT by Whispering Jack "There are changes Lyin' ahead in every road And there are new thoughts Ready and waiting to explode When tomorrow is today The bells may toll for some But nothing can change the shape of things to come" by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil - "Shape of Things to Come" most famously performed by Max Frost and the Troopers for the 1968 movie "Wild in the Streets". The theme for the revival of the Melbourne Football Club may well have been written forty years ago when the cult movie Wild in the Streets was conceived. The "anti-hero" of the film is Christopher Jones starring as the revolutionary Max Frost who gets elected as President of the United States and enacts a law that makes thirty the mandatory retirement age. "If you’re thirty, your through!" Before you jump to the wrong conclusion that I'm suggesting Melbourne should cull anyone on its list who has celebrated or is about to celebrate his thirtieth birthday, let me explain the basic premise of the movie. This was a film that looked at the contemporary issues of the time - Vietnam, civil rights, political assassinations, the population explosion, the emergence of the baby boomer generation and rioting and unrest in urban America - by using the device of "reductio ad absurdum", i.e. to reduce something to absurdity by taking it to extremes. It would fanciful and far too extreme to suggest that any given footballer is finished as soon as he reaches the magical age of thirty. One only has to look at the best players on the ground in last night's game at the Dome. James Hird is 34 years of age, Scott Lucas turns 30 before year's end while James McDonald will be 31 in October. Demon skipper David Neitz, who went into the game below full fitness, still managed to inspire the team with two goals in the second term and he could have won the game off his own boot had he kicked with some accuracy in the final quarter. So I'm not suggesting that all of the thirty somethings at the club should go at once. However, there are far too many at the club who have seen their best days and who will never perform the sort of magic we saw last night from James Hird. To retain upwards of nine of them - the most in the competition - would be unsustainable if the Demons were to progress in the future. The inevitable result of the coaching upheaval at the club must be translated into a new policy of bringing in the youngsters. The final nine weeks of the season will be a time of innovation and experimentation as we wait for the decision as to who will hold the coaching reins in his hands in 2008 and beyond. The trading period and the drafts in November and December will also bring regeneration and youth to the club. Nothing can change the shape of things to come.

by Whispering Jack "There are changes Lyin' ahead in every road And there are new thoughts Ready and waiting to explode When tomorrow is today The bells may toll for some But nothing can change the shape of things to come" by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil - "Shape of Things to Come" most famously performed by Max Frost and the Troopers for the 1968 movie "Wild in the Streets". The theme for the revival of the Melbourne Football Club may well have been written forty years ago when the cult movie Wild in the Streets was conceived. The "anti-hero" of the film is Christopher Jones starring as the revolutionary Max Frost who gets elected as President of the United States and enacts a law that makes thirty the mandatory retirement age. "If you’re thirty, your through!" Before you jump to the wrong conclusion that I'm suggesting Melbourne should cull anyone on its list who has celebrated or is about to celebrate his thirtieth birthday, let me explain the basic premise of the movie. This was a film that looked at the contemporary issues of the time - Vietnam, civil rights, political assassinations, the population explosion, the emergence of the baby boomer generation and rioting and unrest in urban America - by using the device of "reductio ad absurdum", i.e. to reduce something to absurdity by taking it to extremes. It would fanciful and far too extreme to suggest that any given footballer is finished as soon as he reaches the magical age of thirty. One only has to look at the best players on the ground in last night's game at the Dome. James Hird is 34 years of age, Scott Lucas turns 30 before year's end while James McDonald will be 31 in October. Demon skipper David Neitz, who went into the game below full fitness, still managed to inspire the team with two goals in the second term and he could have won the game off his own boot had he kicked with some accuracy in the final quarter. So I'm not suggesting that all of the thirty somethings at the club should go at once. However, there are far too many at the club who have seen their best days and who will never perform the sort of magic we saw last night from James Hird. To retain upwards of nine of them - the most in the competition - would be unsustainable if the Demons were to progress in the future. The inevitable result of the coaching upheaval at the club must be translated into a new policy of bringing in the youngsters. The final nine weeks of the season will be a time of innovation and experimentation as we wait for the decision as to who will hold the coaching reins in his hands in 2008 and beyond. The trading period and the drafts in November and December will also bring regeneration and youth to the club. Nothing can change the shape of things to come.

NOTHING CAN CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME by Whispering Jack It was a night when the clock should have stopped ticking six or seven seconds earlier but things never happen that way. They say after all, that nothing can change the shape of things to come. The dream finish to Neale Daniher's coaching career didn't take place; his team lost in the inevitable way that was seemingly always scripted through his time at the club. For a decade his team lurched forward and backward, from one extreme to another waiting for the inevitable accident to happen and on this last night, it happened again. Throughout his term as coach, Daniher has been fond of expounding the "time clock theory" to explain precisely where any given team list is placed in terms of its development and its capacity to challenge for a premiership. However, the theory has its flaws and doesn't contend with the vagaries of football and of matters beyond the control of a coach, be they injury crises, boardroom revolts, salary cap penalties, financial setbacks, weather conditions, rule changes, umpiring, fixturing issues and even the death of a player. Daniher has faced them all in his time. He took them in his stride, gave his all with passion and commitment, promoted his club vigorously, did his best for his players and his team and came out of it last night with dignity if not victory. After a week of high drama the dream script should have seen Daniher's men come out and tear the Bombers apart but if 2007 has been a dream for Melbourne, then that dream was a wild nightmare from the very beginning. Playing against a full strength Essendon side, Melbourne's woeful run with injuries continued when Daniel Bell's hamstring went before the big crowd at the Telstra Dome had barely settled into their seats. One of the Demons' big improvers of the season, Bell brilliantly intercepted a pass meant for his opponent Scott Lucas, took his kick and then disappeared from the game. Melbourne's defence, already undermanned and undersized, was unable to contain the Bomber tall timber and Lucas was to become the match winner. By the end of the night, at least four others were struggling with their fitness. Meanwhile, the remainder of the first quarter was a repeat of the horrors of the first half against Richmond that provided the nail for the coffin of a coaching career at the club. Trailing by 37 points at the first change, Daniher desperately made some moves in an attempt to inspire his charges and they came to the party. The game was a freewheeling affair and, in the absence of the modern day tactics of pushing players behind the ball to flood defences, Melbourne was able to fight its way back. David Neitz and Travis Johnstone, who both missed the Tiger debacle, hit their straps and James McDonald continued working hard around the stoppages where Melbourne was getting on top. The Demons ran and ran, created numerous scoring opportunities, got to within a point but fell away in the dying moments of the first half to concede three late goals. Still, they went into the half time break in much better shape than we feared after the first half hour. The all-important third quarter was all Melbourne's. It comprehensively outplayed Essendon and, with Russell Robertson coming out of his early shell and booting three goals for the term, the Dees were on the brink of an historic and famous victory. All that was needed was that final death blow from which the Bombers, who were literally on their knees, would surely not be able to recover. Instead, the epitaph for Daniher's long coaching stint at the club was written in much the same way that his years at the club would come to be remembered. Skipper David Neitz, still not at 100% following his injury woes of the season, suddenly acquired the kicking yips missing three shots at goal from within fifty metres that would have been routine if he were at the height of his powers. One of them slewed across the face of goals and didn't even score. Likewise, Russell Robertson missed a set shot that he should have gobbled up. Emerging youngsters Colin Sylvia and Matthew Bate also messed up an opportunity that should have seen a goal rammed home but the ball went astray. Debutant, Michael Newton, who was impressive but undertandably nervous in his first game at this level, dropped a simple chest mark in front of goal. Still, when Aaron Davey put Melbourne 17 points in front with a few minutes left to play, it should have been all over. But the game unravelled for Melbourne and the accidents just kept on coming for Neale Daniher in the dying moments of his coaching career. A few lucky bounces went Essendon's way, there was some poor decision making from Melbourne players, horrific umpiring from a group that gave the Bombers an enormous 27-18 free kick advantage on the night (did not one of them see what 47,552 others saw when Cameron Bruce was tripped late in the game or were they just pulling our legs?) and Scott Lucas and fate stepped in for the final goal with six seconds left on the clock. For the second time, the Bombers had kicked three straight goals at the Lockett End of the Telstra Dome to finish off a quarter. So time has finally run out for Neale Daniher. I can't say that he was a great coach. That is a description reserved for those who win premiership flags. I will say however, that he was a good coach and that he changed the shape of the club in his time at Melbourne. One only hopes that he leaves it a far better place than it was when he entered ten years ago but his true legacy will only be understood in the fullness of time. Melbourne 2.2.14 9.4.58 16.9.105 18.15.123 Essendon 8.3.51 12.5.77 14.8.92 19.11.125 Goals Melbourne Neitz Robertson 3 Davey Petterd Sylvia 2 Bate Bruce Godfrey Johnstone Newton Ward Essendon Lucas 5 Lloyd 4 Davey Laycock Lovett McVeigh 2 Hird McPhee Best Melbourne McDonald Bruce Bate Jones Neitz Sylvia Essendon Hird Laycock Lucas Lloyd Watson Fletcher Injuries Melbourne Neitz (knee) Green (knee) Bell (hamstring) Essendon - nil Reports - nil Changes – nil Umpires Margetts Grun Ryan Crowd 47,552 at Telstra Dome

THE WEEK THE EARTH MOVED by Scoop Junior By half time last Friday night, it was pretty clear that this was going to be an earth shattering week for the Melbourne Football Club. There was simply no other possibility after such a dispirited, insipid and unprofessional performance from the team up to that stage of the game. However, nobody could have envisaged the events that took place from Saturday morning to Thursday afternoon. Starting with Paul Gardner's fervent criticism of the football department, to media speculation about Neale Daniher's future, to an announcement of a five-week review of the on-field staff, to rumours of a discontented Daniher and then to Daniher calling a press conference on Wednesday afternoon and announcing that he will not seek re-appointment at the end of the year. The momentum was building with each event and the big shockwave was the revelation that Daniher would not be coaching the Demons in 2008. And there was more... As Melbourne supporters gathered their thoughts about the end of the Daniher era and the fact that it would now occur over the remaining 10 rounds of the season, there was one more earthquake - the news that Friday night's match against the Bombers would be Daniher's last as coach of the Melbourne Football Club. It is amazing how quickly things can turn in footy. After a great win over Collingwood on Queen's Birthday, it appeared as though the Demons were back in town. While the heat would have been on Daniher at the end of the season even if the team finished off the year well, it seemed as though the side had turned the corner. A win over Richmond, followed by winnable matches against the Dons, Blues, Lions and Roos, and the Dees could well have built some momentum and a case for Daniher in 2008. While one game will never be determinative of a coach’s future, the performance against Richmond was unfortunately the straw that broke the camel's back. The problem for Daniher was that it was not a performance out of the blue. Too often in the past, Melbourne has failed to turn up to a game with the attitude, intensity and desire necessary to win a game of football. Losing to the bottom team by 49 points after being 10 goals down at half time, playing some of the most disgraceful footy you would like to see, is never going to bode well for a coach. When the coach is already under the microscope for similar performances in the past, is enduring an immensely disappointing season and is out of contract at the end of the year, it augurs very badly indeed. While the writing was on the wall for Daniher, no one would have predicted the swift fall from grace. For Daniher to be coaching his last game on Friday night is not only an astounding change in position but is also a very sad moment for the Melbourne Football Club. Neale Daniher has given his heart and soul to Melbourne since 1998. He spruiked the club at a time that it was held in low regard by the media and the general footy public. He talked up Melbourne and was proud of his club. He has built up a good list over the years, never sacrificing early draft choices for instant success. He has helped develop the club from the laughing stock of the competition in 1997 to a team that had been regarded by many experts as a genuine premiership threat for the 2007 season. There have been plenty of highs and lows under Daniher, right from his first game in charge – an Ansett Cup game against the Swans in New Zealand – to this, his last this weekend. The highs have been scintillating. My favourite moment of the Daniher era was the 2000 Qualifying Final win over Carlton. Down and out at three-quarter time against a powerhouse opposition, the young Melbourne side fought back and overran the Blues, with first-year players Bruce and Green kicking vital last-quarter goals. It was a special moment and one I will cherish forever. But the best thing about Daniher's reign was that he always had the interests of the club at heart and never swayed from his determination to build a premiership side. Many thought the Demons would go close this year and while seemingly far away sitting in 15th position, it must be understood that only a few things need to go wrong for a team for the wheels to drop off. As Daniher said, some of these factors were in his control and others were not, but that's just the way it goes. So thank you, Neale Daniher, for providing us supporters with enduring memories. Hopefully, the side can take the next step and stake a claim for a top four position, something that has eluded us since 2000. If we do, all supporters will know and appreciate that it was due to the hard work Daniher has put in over the years. Friday night will be a sad occasion but, at the same time, it marks the beginning of a new era for the Demons. Hopefully, plenty of Melbourne fans get down to Telstra Dome to give Daniher due recognition for the work he has put in and to farewell a very good coach and a great bloke. He has without question left the Melbourne Football Club in far better position than he found it. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at Telstra Dome – 29 June 2007 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 123 wins Melbourne 77 wins 2 draws At the Dome Essendon 1 win Melbourne 1 win Since 2000: Essendon 7 wins Melbourne 4 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 at 8.30pm (delayed telecast) RADIO 3AW MMM 774ABC SEN K-Rock THE BETTING Essendon to win $1.55 Melbourne to win $2.30 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 16.15.111 d Essendon 10.15.75, Round 12, 2006, at Telstra Dome It's hard to believe that only twelve months ago, Melbourne was within striking distance of a top four place when it routinely disposed of a ragged, bottom of the ladder Essendon team. The Demons opened the game slowly and didn't get into gear until midway through the second quarter. At the main break they held the lead by a slender one point margin but after half time it was something of a cakewalk. James McDonald starred with 29 possessions and five tackles, Russell Robertson kicked a lazy four and David Neitz booted three goals as the Dees waltzed home against a ragged Bomber outfit to record the club's third consecutive victory over Sheedy's men. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Jay Nash Mal Michael Mark McVeigh Half backs Andrew Welsh Dustin Fletcher Adam McPhee Centreline Mark Bolton Jobe Watson Scott Camporeale Half forwards James Hird Scott Lucas Henry Slattery Forwards Jason Johnson Matthew Lloyd Alywn Davey Followers Patrick Ryder Damien Peverill Jason Winderlich Interchange Mark Johnson Jason Laycock Andrew Lovett Brent Stanton Emergencies Kepler Bradley Ricky Dyson Angus Monfries In Scott Camporeale Andrew Lovett Brent Stanton Out David Hille (suspended) Chris Heffernan Angus Monfries MELBOURNE Backs Daniel Ward Nathan Carroll Paul Wheatley Half backs Simon Godfrey Clint Bizzell Daniel Bell Centreline Cameron Bruce James McDonald Travis Johnstone Half forwards Brad Green Russell Robertson Aaron Davey Forwards Colin Sylvia David Neitz Matthew Bate Followers Jeff White Brock McLean Nathan Jones Interchange Nathan Brown Paul Johnson Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Emergencies Simon Buckley Chris Johnson Brad Miller In Nathan Brown Travis Johnstone Michael Newton David Neitz Out Adem Yze (hernia) Ben Holland (broken nose) James Byron Pickett New Michael Newton (20 Murray Bushrangers) THE FINAL CURTAIN FALLS There is little doubt that the events of the past few days and particularly the fall of the final curtain of a ten year coaching career will overshadow the contest from Melbourne’s perspective. After all, there's very little to play for this season other than development for 2008. Nevertheless, there will be plenty to watch for Demons fans. Young forward Michael Newton will make his long-awaited debut after 2½ years at the club. How he handles his first game, on the big stage against a determined Essendon outfit, will be interesting to observe. Ricky Petterd has maintained his position and should be given increased game time to help speed up his development but James Frawley has been dropped for this game along with Byron Pickett whose fitness did not measure up last week. Matthew Bate has shown good signs as a permanent forward and will be looking to continue his form, while Brock McLean will be hungry to respond after his worst game for the club last week especially as he had the leadership role in David Neitz' absence. Melbourne is clearly not as bad as the train wreck that was on display last week. It is inevitable that the Dees will be desperate from the get-go tomorrow night, but what will be interesting is how they respond if the Bombers skip ahead early. Last week, they capitulated and barely put up a fight as Richmond ran all over them in the first half. The least the team can do is fight to the very end for their coach, since they have been partially blamed for the situation he now finds himself in. For Essendon, this is a big game. The Dons are 7-5 and fighting for a position in the top 8. They traditionally have an excellent record over the Dees, however, the last few years has seen Melbourne reversing the trend, winning four out of the past five encounters. Essendon was trounced in its last game by a motivated Port Adelaide outfit and will want to perform better against a similarly motivated opponent tomorrow night. The result hardly means much at all for the Demons. What supporters want to see is a team fighting hard all night for their outgoing coach. They need to prove that last week's loss was an aberration and that the Melbourne Football Club will not tolerate that level of performance. The pressure is off, finals are gone, so hopefully the players can just come out and have a crack. Also of interest to the fans will be the clash of brothers Aaron and Alwyn Davey and the 100th AFL game of a tough as nails footballer who, like Daniher, has given his all for the Demons - Simon Godfrey. It's a pity that this milestone will be overshadowed by other things. As an era comes to a close, let’s reflect on the last 10 years and the many highlights under Neale Daniher because, by 10:15pm on Friday night, the final curtain will come down and it will all be over.

by Scoop Junior By half time last Friday night, it was pretty clear that this was going to be an earth shattering week for the Melbourne Football Club. There was simply no other possibility after such a dispirited, insipid and unprofessional performance from the team up to that stage of the game. However, nobody could have envisaged the events that took place from Saturday morning to Thursday afternoon. Starting with Paul Gardner's fervent criticism of the football department, to media speculation about Neale Daniher's future, to an announcement of a five-week review of the on-field staff, to rumours of a discontented Daniher and then to Daniher calling a press conference on Wednesday afternoon and announcing that he will not seek re-appointment at the end of the year. The momentum was building with each event and the big shockwave was the revelation that Daniher would not be coaching the Demons in 2008. And there was more... As Melbourne supporters gathered their thoughts about the end of the Daniher era and the fact that it would now occur over the remaining 10 rounds of the season, there was one more earthquake - the news that Friday night's match against the Bombers would be Daniher's last as coach of the Melbourne Football Club. It is amazing how quickly things can turn in footy. After a great win over Collingwood on Queen's Birthday, it appeared as though the Demons were back in town. While the heat would have been on Daniher at the end of the season even if the team finished off the year well, it seemed as though the side had turned the corner. A win over Richmond, followed by winnable matches against the Dons, Blues, Lions and Roos, and the Dees could well have built some momentum and a case for Daniher in 2008. While one game will never be determinative of a coach’s future, the performance against Richmond was unfortunately the straw that broke the camel's back. The problem for Daniher was that it was not a performance out of the blue. Too often in the past, Melbourne has failed to turn up to a game with the attitude, intensity and desire necessary to win a game of football. Losing to the bottom team by 49 points after being 10 goals down at half time, playing some of the most disgraceful footy you would like to see, is never going to bode well for a coach. When the coach is already under the microscope for similar performances in the past, is enduring an immensely disappointing season and is out of contract at the end of the year, it augurs very badly indeed. While the writing was on the wall for Daniher, no one would have predicted the swift fall from grace. For Daniher to be coaching his last game on Friday night is not only an astounding change in position but is also a very sad moment for the Melbourne Football Club. Neale Daniher has given his heart and soul to Melbourne since 1998. He spruiked the club at a time that it was held in low regard by the media and the general footy public. He talked up Melbourne and was proud of his club. He has built up a good list over the years, never sacrificing early draft choices for instant success. He has helped develop the club from the laughing stock of the competition in 1997 to a team that had been regarded by many experts as a genuine premiership threat for the 2007 season. There have been plenty of highs and lows under Daniher, right from his first game in charge – an Ansett Cup game against the Swans in New Zealand – to this, his last this weekend. The highs have been scintillating. My favourite moment of the Daniher era was the 2000 Qualifying Final win over Carlton. Down and out at three-quarter time against a powerhouse opposition, the young Melbourne side fought back and overran the Blues, with first-year players Bruce and Green kicking vital last-quarter goals. It was a special moment and one I will cherish forever. But the best thing about Daniher's reign was that he always had the interests of the club at heart and never swayed from his determination to build a premiership side. Many thought the Demons would go close this year and while seemingly far away sitting in 15th position, it must be understood that only a few things need to go wrong for a team for the wheels to drop off. As Daniher said, some of these factors were in his control and others were not, but that's just the way it goes. So thank you, Neale Daniher, for providing us supporters with enduring memories. Hopefully, the side can take the next step and stake a claim for a top four position, something that has eluded us since 2000. If we do, all supporters will know and appreciate that it was due to the hard work Daniher has put in over the years. Friday night will be a sad occasion but, at the same time, it marks the beginning of a new era for the Demons. Hopefully, plenty of Melbourne fans get down to Telstra Dome to give Daniher due recognition for the work he has put in and to farewell a very good coach and a great bloke. He has without question left the Melbourne Football Club in far better position than he found it. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at Telstra Dome – 29 June 2007 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 123 wins Melbourne 77 wins 2 draws At the Dome Essendon 1 win Melbourne 1 win Since 2000: Essendon 7 wins Melbourne 4 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 at 8.30pm (delayed telecast) RADIO 3AW MMM 774ABC SEN K-Rock THE BETTING Essendon to win $1.55 Melbourne to win $2.30 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 16.15.111 d Essendon 10.15.75, Round 12, 2006, at Telstra Dome It's hard to believe that only twelve months ago, Melbourne was within striking distance of a top four place when it routinely disposed of a ragged, bottom of the ladder Essendon team. The Demons opened the game slowly and didn't get into gear until midway through the second quarter. At the main break they held the lead by a slender one point margin but after half time it was something of a cakewalk. James McDonald starred with 29 possessions and five tackles, Russell Robertson kicked a lazy four and David Neitz booted three goals as the Dees waltzed home against a ragged Bomber outfit to record the club's third consecutive victory over Sheedy's men. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Jay Nash Mal Michael Mark McVeigh Half backs Andrew Welsh Dustin Fletcher Adam McPhee Centreline Mark Bolton Jobe Watson Scott Camporeale Half forwards James Hird Scott Lucas Henry Slattery Forwards Jason Johnson Matthew Lloyd Alywn Davey Followers Patrick Ryder Damien Peverill Jason Winderlich Interchange Mark Johnson Jason Laycock Andrew Lovett Brent Stanton Emergencies Kepler Bradley Ricky Dyson Angus Monfries In Scott Camporeale Andrew Lovett Brent Stanton Out David Hille (suspended) Chris Heffernan Angus Monfries MELBOURNE Backs Daniel Ward Nathan Carroll Paul Wheatley Half backs Simon Godfrey Clint Bizzell Daniel Bell Centreline Cameron Bruce James McDonald Travis Johnstone Half forwards Brad Green Russell Robertson Aaron Davey Forwards Colin Sylvia David Neitz Matthew Bate Followers Jeff White Brock McLean Nathan Jones Interchange Nathan Brown Paul Johnson Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Emergencies Simon Buckley Chris Johnson Brad Miller In Nathan Brown Travis Johnstone Michael Newton David Neitz Out Adem Yze (hernia) Ben Holland (broken nose) James Byron Pickett New Michael Newton (20 Murray Bushrangers) THE FINAL CURTAIN FALLS There is little doubt that the events of the past few days and particularly the fall of the final curtain of a ten year coaching career will overshadow the contest from Melbourne’s perspective. After all, there's very little to play for this season other than development for 2008. Nevertheless, there will be plenty to watch for Demons fans. Young forward Michael Newton will make his long-awaited debut after 2½ years at the club. How he handles his first game, on the big stage against a determined Essendon outfit, will be interesting to observe. Ricky Petterd has maintained his position and should be given increased game time to help speed up his development but James Frawley has been dropped for this game along with Byron Pickett whose fitness did not measure up last week. Matthew Bate has shown good signs as a permanent forward and will be looking to continue his form, while Brock McLean will be hungry to respond after his worst game for the club last week especially as he had the leadership role in David Neitz' absence. Melbourne is clearly not as bad as the train wreck that was on display last week. It is inevitable that the Dees will be desperate from the get-go tomorrow night, but what will be interesting is how they respond if the Bombers skip ahead early. Last week, they capitulated and barely put up a fight as Richmond ran all over them in the first half. The least the team can do is fight to the very end for their coach, since they have been partially blamed for the situation he now finds himself in. For Essendon, this is a big game. The Dons are 7-5 and fighting for a position in the top 8. They traditionally have an excellent record over the Dees, however, the last few years has seen Melbourne reversing the trend, winning four out of the past five encounters. Essendon was trounced in its last game by a motivated Port Adelaide outfit and will want to perform better against a similarly motivated opponent tomorrow night. The result hardly means much at all for the Demons. What supporters want to see is a team fighting hard all night for their outgoing coach. They need to prove that last week's loss was an aberration and that the Melbourne Football Club will not tolerate that level of performance. The pressure is off, finals are gone, so hopefully the players can just come out and have a crack. Also of interest to the fans will be the clash of brothers Aaron and Alwyn Davey and the 100th AFL game of a tough as nails footballer who, like Daniher, has given his all for the Demons - Simon Godfrey. It's a pity that this milestone will be overshadowed by other things. As an era comes to a close, let’s reflect on the last 10 years and the many highlights under Neale Daniher because, by 10:15pm on Friday night, the final curtain will come down and it will all be over.

Continuing Whispering Jack's epic work of fiction:- A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER THREE – PITY THE POOR IMMIGRANT "I pity the poor immigrant Who tramples through the mud, Who fills his mouth with laughing And who builds his town with blood, Whose visions in the final end Must shatter like the glass. I pity the poor immigrant When his gladness comes to pass." Bob Dylan [i Pity the Poor Immigrant] I may almost have forgotten about the old necktie but recollections of it still jump out at me every once in a while, bringing with them unexpected memories I thought long buried. These are memories of long, hot summer days, of trips to the city with uncles, aunts and cousins. Sitting on Santa's lap, squirming there with him sweating away in that ridiculous red outfit in century plus heat, and me accepting my cousin’s dare to grab a handful of white beard, tugging hard as if it was somehow an affirmation of my own identity to reveal the pale white skin of the man's face behind the mask. Did we really hear Santa say, "shit"? I can laugh about it now, but that was a time less than a decade removed from the liberation of my people from the death camps, of the bombing of Dresden, of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Cold War was upon us. People who were different in this land were welcomed after a fashion but still looked upon with suspicion. And I had been alive for less than the span of that decade. There had been a journey across a wide ocean, landfall at Fremantle a day or two short of my second birthday, a joyful reunion with family a week later, settling down in a new land, hardworking parents, new businesses, sharing homes with strange new people whose faces I no longer remember. The sad death of a long-awaited baby sister at just two days of age was almost more easily forgotten than the bloodied nose I received from the next door neighbour because my folks spoke a strange language and we ate unusual food at the dinner table. Those events were well behind us as we emerged through the glass doors of the Lonsdale Street exit of the Myer Emporium, squinting into the blinding sunlight. It was one of those hot summer days when the mercury passed through the century mark on the Fahrenheit scale and the northerly wind blew hot Mallee dust at my face and eyes. In my hands, I lovingly clutched a pale blue necktie. My cousin held its identical counterpart and, as we sat on the green tram that rattled down Swanston Street and pushed its away across a bridge that traversed the murky brown river, we marvelled at the image emblazoned on the silky surface of what was clearly the fashion statement of 1954: a man wearing black shorts and a navy blue guernsey with red yoke in the shape of a "V", kicking a leather egg-shaped object long and far into the distance. So this was the beginning: a random decision by my mother, who had worked so many hard hours on a factory floor, to spend some of the pennies she earned on the purchase of a necktie. She could not know how important a moment this was to become in the life of her young son. If you live in this city, ownership of such a garment is the ultimate determinant of friendships, acquaintanceships, timetables, celebrations, commiserations, remembrances and every other conceivable aspect of a person's life cycle. I looked down at the tie and rolled it up towards my face. I noticed the imprint of the man whose muscular right leg was pushed so high that the toe of his boot pointed towards the heavens. ... A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER FOUR - TIME OUT OF MIND "The end of time has just begun Oh honey, after all these years you're still the one Well I'm strollin' through the lonely graveyard of my mind I left my life with you Somewhere back there along the line." Bob Dylan [Time Out Of Mind] Looking out through the glass windows of the Tardis and into the mist of the million galaxies through which we were now floating, I recalled the tram ride home. I remembered the necktie and the way I rolled it up to my face and how the man's boot pointed to the skies. It occurred to me that it might have been angled in the very direction of our spaceship as we swirled through space. We were spinning in much the same way as a well-directed punt kick but there were no goalposts in our sights. We seemed to have no direction at all as we headed toward unknown destinations, spiraling backwards and forward through space and time. And yet, the destination wasn't entirely unknown. I was not trained in the mysteries of the laws of physics despite the fact that the great Albert Einstein and I have shared birthplaces (but that's another story altogether). The Doctor knew where we were heading. I was his passenger and we were not alone. Back on the Tardis after the Las Vegas fiasco, I discovered that the Doctor had other companions with him. There was the tall, leggy Romana, a magnificent Amazon of a woman who wore slinky leather outfits and looked at you with dreamy eyes that sent waves of soft pinkish light piercing through your brain. She joined the crew from Calufrax Zanak, an outpost in a distant galaxy. I was fifteen years old and in love. Then there was Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, a member of the Scots Guards who we called "the Brig". He was a tall, stiff upper lipped, professional soldier seconded to UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) which apparently is an international organisation that defends the Earth from alien threats. I was never informed as to how the Brigadier came to be a member of the crew; it was all top-secret stuff and would remain that way. He often communicated with The Doctor by way of what they described as a "mobile phone" which was a small slender version of a walkie talkie. The Doctor advised me that if I survived into the 21st Century I would learn all about mobile phones. Early in the piece, I learned that it wise to give Lethbridge-Stewart a wide berth, particularly when there were threatening alien creatures in our presence. He was clearly a madman whose motto was, "shoot first, and try to ask questions later if those blasted things are still alive!" This rather gung-ho attitude philosophy often led to some messy outcomes. The other member of our crew was the Doctor's pet mechanical dog known as K9. He was supposed to be a lifelike facsimile of a dog and he certainly befriended me from the very beginning. Indeed, the little mutt rarely left my side which could be somewhat annoying because the Doctor had never found the time for toilet training. This would inevitably cause problems when K9's batteries ran low. He once wiped out an entire race of desert dwelling androids which had an intolerance to moisture, and led us, rather embarrassingly, to abort an important mission to thwart the Black Guardian. Of course, it's no longer politically correct to make any reference whatsoever to that calamitous episode. Despite all of their oddities, my new companions and I soon formed one big happy family and I enjoyed the subsequent period of exploration which took us to the outer reaches of the cosmos, or, as the Doctor correctly put it, the "time-space continuum." Once, when we were enjoying our days in the suns of a binary star system in the constellation Orion, the Doctor suddenly became agitated and called us all into the Tardis. He hurried us into the craft and we took off without even saying farewell to our kind hosts on the Planet Epsilon where we had spent what seemed like at least a month of blissful rest from our hectic adventures. An hour into the flight our craft began to shake uncontrollably and the Doctor began working frantically to steady the ship. His face showed concern. "Damn, it's been broken," he said. "Newton's First Law. It's been broken. We have to get back to Earth. Right now!" At the mention of Newton's First Law, I took the opportunity to demonstrate to the Doctor the fruits of my fourth form education in the field of the sciences. "Newton's Law. That means that if an object is moving along, untouched by a force of any kind, it will continue to move along in a perfectly straight line at a constant speed…" The Doctor pulled a lever on the controls of the Tardis, paused and glared angrily at me. The tremor of his voice barely concealed a touch of panic. "No, not Isaac Newton. I'm talking about Michael Newton. Someone has broken Newton's First Law of Natural Selection. They've gone and picked him to play for that football team of yours and we have to do something about that or else …" "Or else what?" "Or else time could come to an end. That's what!" [TO BE CONTINUED...]

A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER FOUR - TIME OUT OF MIND "The end of time has just begun Oh honey, after all these years you're still the one Well I'm strollin' through the lonely graveyard of my mind I left my life with you Somewhere back there along the line." Bob Dylan [Time Out Of Mind] Looking out through the glass windows of the Tardis and into the mist of the million galaxies through which we were now floating, I recalled the tram ride home. I remembered the necktie and the way I rolled it up to my face and how the man's boot pointed to the skies. It occurred to me that it might have been angled in the very direction of our spaceship as we swirled through space. We were spinning in much the same way as a well-directed punt kick but there were no goalposts in our sights. We seemed to have no direction at all as we headed toward unknown destinations, spiraling backwards and forward through space and time. And yet, the destination wasn't entirely unknown. I was not trained in the mysteries of the laws of physics despite the fact that the great Albert Einstein and I have shared birthplaces (but that's another story altogether). The Doctor knew where we were heading. I was his passenger and we were not alone. Back on the Tardis after the Las Vegas fiasco, I discovered that the Doctor had other companions with him. There was the tall, leggy Romana, a magnificent Amazon of a woman who wore slinky leather outfits and looked at you with dreamy eyes that sent waves of soft pinkish light piercing through your brain. She joined the crew from Calufrax Zanak, an outpost in a distant galaxy. I was fifteen years old and in love. Then there was Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, a member of the Scots Guards who we called "the Brig". He was a tall, stiff upper lipped, professional soldier seconded to UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) which apparently is an international organisation that defends the Earth from alien threats. I was never informed as to how the Brigadier came to be a member of the crew; it was all top-secret stuff and would remain that way. He often communicated with The Doctor by way of what they described as a "mobile phone" which was a small slender version of a walkie talkie. The Doctor advised me that if I survived into the 21st Century I would learn all about mobile phones. Early in the piece, I learned that it wise to give Lethbridge-Stewart a wide berth, particularly when there were threatening alien creatures in our presence. He was clearly a madman whose motto was, "shoot first, and try to ask questions later if those blasted things are still alive!" This rather gung-ho attitude philosophy often led to some messy outcomes. The other member of our crew was the Doctor's pet mechanical dog known as K9. He was supposed to be a lifelike facsimile of a dog and he certainly befriended me from the very beginning. Indeed, the little mutt rarely left my side which could be somewhat annoying because the Doctor had never found the time for toilet training. This would inevitably cause problems when K9's batteries ran low. He once wiped out an entire race of desert dwelling androids which had an intolerance to moisture, and led us, rather embarrassingly, to abort an important mission to thwart the Black Guardian. Of course, it's no longer politically correct to make any reference whatsoever to that calamitous episode. Despite all of their oddities, my new companions and I soon formed one big happy family and I enjoyed the subsequent period of exploration which took us to the outer reaches of the cosmos, or, as the Doctor correctly put it, the "time-space continuum." Once, when we were enjoying our days in the suns of a binary star system in the constellation Orion, the Doctor suddenly became agitated and called us all into the Tardis. He hurried us into the craft and we took off without even saying farewell to our kind hosts on the Planet Epsilon where we had spent what seemed like at least a month of blissful rest from our hectic adventures. An hour into the flight our craft began to shake uncontrollably and the Doctor began working frantically to steady the ship. His face showed concern. "Damn, it's been broken," he said. "Newton's First Law. It's been broken. We have to get back to Earth. Right now!" At the mention of Newton's First Law, I took the opportunity to demonstrate to the Doctor the fruits of my fourth form education in the field of the sciences. "Newton's Law. That means that if an object is moving along, untouched by a force of any kind, it will continue to move along in a perfectly straight line at a constant speed…" The Doctor pulled a lever on the controls of the Tardis, paused and glared angrily at me. The tremor of his voice barely concealed a touch of panic. "No, not Isaac Newton. I'm talking about Michael Newton. Someone has broken Newton's First Law of Natural Selection. They've gone and picked him to play for that football team of yours and we have to do something about that or else …" "Or else what?" "Or else time could come to an end. That's what!" [TO BE CONTINUED...]

Continuing Colin Wisbey's 2006 Draft Predictions (PART ONE) CATEGORY THREE - THE FOLLOWING WILL PLAY PLENTY OF AFL AND MAY WELL TURN OUT TO BE GOOD BUT I DOUBT WILL BE AS GOOD AS TOUTED (in draft order):- GUMBLETON, Scott (2 ESS) [14] Physical, pack-crunching competitive worker KP. Big mark with a big motor and the heart of Phar Lap. More crunch than class but 101% commitment to team every time and a quality person. Leads by example, on and off-field. In '06, although only 17yo, was named in WA Seniors squad for interstate game and also got 9 votes in Sandover Medal, incl BOG in R1 and 2nd best in R22. 42 goals in '05 Colts. Big leap, courageous, quite clean below the knee, very good endurance. Goes for many pack marks and does take some rippers but doesn't hold as many as I think he needs to and I feel his overhead "reliability" is somewhat overrated. His hands are fairly good and he really attacks his marks but too often struggles for balance and/or ability to hold his ground / keep his feet body on body. Gumby murders an ordinary opponent but often struggles against a quality peer. On the right opponent, he can play KP forward or back but is also handy in the ruck (197cm with big leap, natural ruck skills, and good judgement and decision-making). However he definitely lacks zip and his recovery agility isn't flash. All of that makes him vulnerable against a KP opponent who has some zip or is very strong body on body. In the 3 '06 U18 Champs games, at various times he played key defender on Hansen and Hawkins and CHF on Sellar. IMHO, all beat him. Hawkins looked a class above him. When Sellar played close he glove-foiled Gumbleton's marking efforts almost every time (albeit in terrible conditions) and caught him out a number of times by running off him to create an option. In their duel, Sellar 15 disposals to Gumby 8. I've watched Gumby for 3 years, from U16s and Colts to WAFL Seniors. In the '04 U16 Champs, he was very impressive and looked a top AFL prospect but I suspect his peers have since improved at a faster rate, AFL-wise. Kicking technique needs work. (For a set kick his release is too early, costing him accuracy, and his COM is too far back on contact, costing him depth. Tends to kick under the ball, and too often off "one" step, rather than through it). I'm confident he will play plenty of AFL games, including some good ones, but I can't see him being a gun (although I'm at odds with popular opinion). He still got a healthy ranking from me and was always going to get taken inside the very first few picks but there are quite a few players, including almost all the "name" KPPs, who I would have drafted ahead him. In '05 (a much shallower draft, esp for KPPs), I ranked Josh Kennedy at 14 (same as Gumby this year) and both went top 4 as expected. However, I have always considered Gumby to be by far the better prospect. BOAK, Travis (5 POR) [25] Hard to be confident what his best injury-free capability is. Is coming off a very difficult couple of years (family tragedy, injuries). Back stress fractures during '05 and early '06, groin problems following '06 Champs, and missed 1st TAC final also. Even allowing for all this though, I'm somewhat agnostic and wouldn't have drafted him myself, not only because of the high price required but also due to a combination of factors (including, but not especially, his injury history). He is certainly a smooth mover, clean, with good pace (although I'd like to see him use it more), very good endurance when injury-free, good tackle count, and usually runs to the right spots. I'm sceptical re his ability to become a genuinely top AFL player as touted but he "moves" like a classy AFL type, finds the ball, and is athletic so I do assume he will play plenty of AFL games. His basic stats also read as consistently healthy. However, he is one of those players who can have 25 disposals (even 10 in a quarter) without having nearly the impact on the game that his stats might suggest. He also doesn't have a record of really shining in big games (albeit with excuses in some games). He is regularly described as "classy" yet his decision-making can be iffy and he misses way too many targets by foot (even allowing for injury). (Kicking style looks relaxed but his drop is too forward of his plant foot so COM stays too far behind, costing him depth, and his arm actions need work). Style somewhat like Kane Johnson. For current family reasons, I suspect a Victorian club would have been a better short-term fit for his needs than an interstate one. CATEGORY FOUR - EARLY PICK QUERIES (in draft order) – In some cases (mainly Reid and Frawley) I wouldn’t be all that surprised if they make it but I have major concerns whereas many people would label them "definite" or nearly so: REID, Ben (8 COL) [49] Courageous skinny tall with good pace. 2 days younger and he would have been too young for '06 draft and is also still growing into his body so plenty of allowance needs to be made (although he has been through all the system - AIS, U16 Champs, U18 Champs, TAC). My main concern is "What AFL role (might he become capable of owning)?". That's the show-stopper for me. Other concerns are poor balance, recovery and defensive agility, skinniness. Trademarks are (1) Anything to do with courage, including launching himself at the ground ball, (2) Clean hands to take an uncontested mark or gather a loose ball or receive out wide, then deliver a probably fairly accurate feed or kick, quite possibly a floater, to a well-spotted team mate, (3) Getting squeezed out of a pack marking contest or not being able to keep his balance in some other balance-testing situations. Ben, like Kepler Bradley, lacks natural balance in a host of circumstances. I rate balance among the top requirements for AFL and especially for KPP. If he is to be a potential KPP because he is 196cm and quicker than most KPPs, how competitive can he be in body contests if he struggles through lack of NATURAL balance to keep his feet and/or hold his ground? We have seen this with Bradley (whose balance admittedly is worse). Ben is skinny - needs to bulk up a helluva lot to have the strength for KPP. If he can (and I'm somewhat sceptical), can he do so without losing his main current advantage re KPP, namely pace? OK, let's consider him as a tall flanker/wingman. On paper it sounds great. A 196cm guy whose speed tests indicate he has the pace to go with many flankers/ wingmen, is quite clean at ground level and is fairly good overhead if not under great pressure. However, slippery opponents will be too nimble in general play and too zippy (especially off the mark, despite Ben's DC times suggesting otherwise). Further, Ben's lack of natural balance will be exploited even by much smaller opponents, mainly in running to the ball and inside traffic but, in some cases, even overhead. A smaller guy typically won't be able to match Ben overhead per se but many/most are still adept at laying a bump and body-on-body. If they can nudge Ben off his line, as many will be able to do, then it no longer becomes a marking contest but a fight for the spill/ground ball. Yes, Ben is good below the knees (at least in space or not inside traffic) for such a tall guy ... but he is not "contested midfielder good". Once the ball is on the carpet, especially inside traffic but also one-on-one, Ben, against most much shorter opponents will lose many more than he wins. We have seen this even at underage level when he has played non-KP roles (typically wing). People get excited about the prospect of a tall who has some small-man attributes. I am never seduced by "bonus" attributes if the kid doesn't look likely to be near enough to the real deal in his core requirement. The 198cm Paul Johnson was rightly lauded for small-man ability in many areas. What Paul lacked was big-man ability, especially overhead marking. I expect a potential KPP to be good as a tall. Anything on top of that adds value to his core contribution. You don't see many AFL long-termers who defy that rule, although many "in betweeners" get drafted/rookied ... then delisted. The lucky tall ones (eg Tristan Walker) stay on a list beyond their use-by date because we can be tempted to think it is just a matter of time before it all comes together. Occasionally it does. Usually it finishes up being a poor return on investment. Trying to picture Ben as a mid-age U18 in '07 he might make huge improvement, as some do, from one year to the next. As very bottom-age, I'm not categorically stating that Reid will never make AFL. However, IMHO he has critical issues that I am highly sceptical about being addressable and that he has no "above average" footy smarts or skill attribute and so represents a much greater risk than I would be prepared to take. Terrific kid and will play AFL games but I feel his upside is overrated (or too taken for granted) by most people and his risk underrated. His combination of the above assets will probably enable him to pinch-hit in various roles on the right opponent. However, I don't believe in drafting kids you think will be able to just pinch-hit. FRAWLEY, James (12 MEL) [57] 193cm (although perhaps with a reach disadvantage) defender. Shows poise but sub-standard kicking and decision-making are almost show-stoppers. Has a fair bit wrong with his kicking action, including low take, being hunched (resulting in limited backswing and need to "rush punch" his kicks), and negligible arm movement. No left foot sometimes costs him. Currently slim and might (?) always be (added only 2kg in 2 years) but weight will be at least flanker-OK. Reliable overhead (in all respects). Gets his own ball but links well too. Pace has improved a lot but, despite some people saying otherwise, to no better than at best "handy" IMHO (and still sub par off the mark). He's a bit "neither one thing nor the other". Looked serious AFL in a couple of games (esp vs Geelong R 12) and sounds versatile but is prone to periods in various games where his opponent cuts him up damagingly. Frawley reads the play very well in defence, is very balanced and cool, and runs to the right spots (both defensively and offensively). He's built more as a tall flanker but he can get turned inside out by a quick/slippery opponent. He's competitive overhead for a flanker but someone like Hansen (among many others) would outmark him virtually every time as a KPP. If I had a hypothetical guarantee that both his kicking and decision-making would improve dramatically, he'd be definite "handy AFL" and earlier in my rankings. Although I think his kicking problems are addressable, it's hard, in the absence of real evidence, to justify confidence in him sufficiently improving his decision-making and kicking. Vision and awareness aren't flash either. I don't see him ever being top notch but he might become a solid type. I wouldn't have taken him myself though, let alone as a first rounder, although various clubs rated him fairly early. I do expect him to play a fair few AFL games however, perhaps even debuting in year 1, and he does have AFL ethic and some leadership traits. RENOUF, Brent (24 HAW) [] Athleticism good, ethic very good but is he a small man trapped in a big man's body? NQR as a tall. Main selling points are small-man ethic and skills, athleticism (incl endurance). Has among the best small-man attributes of any of the serious talls in this draft. However, huge men should get drafted for what they offer in the big-man department, small-man attributes being a bonus, and I'm far from convinced about Brent in the big-man stuff, especially contested marking and ruck ability. Big leap but regularly jumps too early at centre bounce (and other ball-ups), resulting in him meeting the ball when he is well on the way down. The early jump allows him to partially command the space under the ball and has worked well for him against shorter rucks but leaves him vulnerable to a later-jumping ruck being able to connect with the ball at a point higher than what Renouf is by that stage. This is not an occasional thing. He has been doing it for at least the last 2 years. Brent has to modify his timing if he is to be competitive against good AFL rucks, let alone giants. Overhead concerns are positioning (tends to move to a spot directing under the ball and jump straight up, leaving him vulnerable to a spoil from behind.), ability to hold his ground, hands (he often seems to position them as if trying to grab a basketball, although his background is rugby) and judgement. Hard to criticise his '06 form (eg 7 Morrish Medal votes from a possible 9 in his 3 TAC games) but a recruiter's job is to assess AFL capability, not lower level form per se. Brent doesn't get a lot of ball but earns what he gets. Very impressive (hands, intensity, decisions) when at or near a "ground-level" play of any sort but he is too often where the play ain't. In 6 U18 Champs games '05-06, never more than 8 disposals in a game. His 3 TAC '06 games, although he played well, yielded only 8, 11, 13 (the 13 against a bottom team). Tends to be hard on himself and his confidence can be fragile. Some players respond well when criticised, using it as a spur to do better. However, some other players need to be emotionally "nursed" (continual positive reinforcement) and can lose confidence when criticised. Brent is in the latter category. That's certainly not a showstopper but it does bother me in any player. He was always going to get drafted based mainly on impressive "small man" ethic/capability (which is not the main thing I'm after in a huge man) and impressive QAFL Seniors form (including/especially a good game at CHB on ex Brisbane/Richmond player Luke Weller at season-end). I'm sceptical though. I don't see him cutting it as AFL ruck and can't see him as any chance of being a 200cm CHB at AFL level. (Better giants than Brent have been touted, without result, for such role). DAWES, Chris (28 COL) [] Strongly-built blue collar tall who has really only been playing footy for about 3 years. Likely to miss all '07 due to knee reco late '06. That would be a problem for any kid but a relative newcomer to footy needs to get as many games under his belt as quickly as possible to make up for the start most of his peers have on him. In that context, Chris' knee injury is an even bigger misfortune for him than it would be for most kids. Quality person. Usually marks well on a lead (times leads well, prepared to make multiple leads, and has deceptive straight-linepace) but is not so good when he can't mark the ball out in front of his face (also has a tendency to duck, although I'm not suggesting through lack of courage). Officially has about a 9cm reach advantage - a huge help, especially for KPP. Murders U18 opponents and average-quality talls (although he also gave Jarryd Allen a bath) but I'm not convinced about him against decent opponents generally (struggles to avoid being spoiled, can tend to be 2-grab, and is not great at holding his ground). Team man who usually displays good vision, poise, decision-making. Recovery and defensive agility (big turning circle) is a concern. 2nd efforts are mixed bag but has high tackle count. It's not that he is very poor at anything, just that he isn't really above average at anything either. MACKENZIE, Eric (29 WCE) [50] Well-built 196cm athlete. Good pace, excellent endurance. Runs very hard to link and is a thumping kick but is very lacking in intensity and smarts (esp on the run, in which situation he regularly just blazes away without looking for or noticing best option). Somewhat of a small man trapped in a big man's body. Will get AFL games due to his sexy size, very impressive athleticism (has done sub 3sec 20m and 15+ beep), thumping kick and his very hard running to link. However, IMHO (1) he is not nearly intense or smart enough for key defender (although I feel he needs the straight ahead, "play unfolding in front of him", benefits of defender; (2) despite handy onball stints at Colts level, he is and not smart enough or reliably clean (getting or delivering) for a linker or giant onballer. His hurt factors (all three) are sub-standard. My specific major concerns are intensity (re 2nd efforts, spoiling, desperation, attack on the man or ball), decision-making, vision, awareness (too often gets nailed/rushed taking too long to dispose through poor awareness). He works hard forward of the ball but much less so going the other way. His '06 performances are hard to assess as carried groin problem most of the year but I've seen a lot of him over 3 years and, although I was impressed at '04 U16 Champs, I've been increasingly underwhelmed since. Many believe he will be very AFL versatile but I'm of an opposing view, viz "What AFL role can he prove capable of owning?". CATEGORY FIVE - These players caused me MUCH ANGST in assessing their AFL potential Every recruiter has some kids whose AFL potential he is just not confident in nailing, one way or the other, no matter how much he has studied them or due to lack of exposure. These are mine (in draft order): BROWN, Nathan (10 COL) [30] and BROWN, Mitchell (16 WCE) [31]. I know this isn't fair and twins must hate it but I find insufficient differences between these twins to justify separate comments on each. Athletic improving late starters. Nathan significantly the better in '05 but IMHO Mitch caught up in '06. Determined, ultra-committed (excellent ethic, on and off-field, and will get the absolute most out of themselves) talls. Strong, mobile, competitive. Thumping kicks. Pace queries in '05 but both improved it in '06 and now have nice running styles. Similar "handy", sometimes "good", pace (Mitch quicker than his DC times suggest, Nathan not as quick as his DC times suggest), although lack some zip off the mark. Sometimes quick thinking / creative but not consistently good poise, vision or decision-making. Attack man and ball, have the 1%ers covered. Can certainly take some strong grabs but marking hands, judgement and ability to hold their ground / keep their feet are not particularly reliable. Neither (particularly Nathan) has a good tackle count. (eg Nathan was credited with no tackles in 3 U18 Champs games). In fairness, they do a lot of spoiling but, tackling-wise, they are susceptible to being wrong-footed by a slippery opponent. I believe best role for both will be key defender (perhaps FB). I don't foresee either twin getting particularly impressive stats but they play a team game, give their all, run hard both ways, are accountable, and have high pain threshold. I'd like to see them be proactive more often (which will probably eventuate). Forced to call, I'm confident both will play AFL games, I suspect both will be on AFL lists for some years (mainly because they will leave no stone unturned) but I shall be very surprised if either turns out to be A-grade AFL, although not surprised if both turn out to be solid indians or at least good backup. Depending on need and options, I'd have been prepared to draft either of them but with a pick certainly no earlier than where I ranked them, which is not as early as they were likely to go. O'KEEFE, Daniel (15 SYD) [36] Improver since '05 and especially since mid '06. Backs his own judgement, plays on his own terms, with a style(!) that has elements of Dal Santo and S Grant. In some other respects (reliably strong overhead and goal-creation) he is not unlike his namesake and now Sydney team-mate. Pace is only borderline acceptable for his size and type and he is not flash off the mark. Can definitely get the hardball but he is not big on handballing and, due to lack of zip, is prone to getting nailed when he tries to break away from traffic. A lot of his possessions are virtually uncontested, often from sitting just off the play, ready to capitalise, and without being too fussed about his opponent. He reads such situations extremely well and really hurts the opposition when he gains possession from such plays or from backing himself to attack the oncoming ball. At AFL, his opponent will have plenty of opportunities to have first crack and cause damage too though. O'Keefe can play (at least pinch hit) in many roles but is perhaps best setting up play from half-back, often with quarterback efficiency. (Is not a failsafe kick but is usually good, often excellent). He calls for the ball a lot but doesn't do much hard running to link and he needs to handball more for AFL. Smart, balanced, unruffled. Handy around goals. (More noted for goals from strong marks within shortish range but is no slouch with other goal-kicking either. Kicked 32-15 in his "15" TAC games in '06, despite spending plenty of time upfield). No questioning his '06 U18 form or consistency (Morrish or Coaches votes in 10 of his completed 15 TAC games) but is he a bit too vanilla to be seriously good AFL?. He knows how to get good stats, his best is definite AFL, he will play AFL games, and he is likely to create a good initial impression at AFL. My concerns are pace and whether he will produce the right on-field work rate and ethic (including hard running and accountability) to be able to sustain an impressive long-term career. (eg) StKilda (in previous years), Carlton or Richmond would have suited his style but he will have to play less on his own terms to succeed long-term in a team that plays a primarily accountable game plan. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out good, even very good, but I'm just not confident enough to lock in a strong conviction about him, one way or the other. HAMPSON, Shaun (17 CAR) [41] Raw, very athletic 201cm newby with good ethic. Currently very NQR but improvement curve very encouraging over the past year and even since the U18 Champs. No sure bet - you are punting on what you think you may be able to develop him into. A reasonable comparison for where Shaun is right now would be Roberts-Thomson when he first played AFL - a raw footy newby who would walk over hot coals but was more frenetic energy than science. (LRT had much better U18 credentials). Main selling points are pace/athleticism at 201cm and upside. Main query is footy smarts. If you were looking to draft Shaun as potential KPP, he is not worth the risk. As a potential ruck, he was worth a mid-latish pick IMHO. If he develops really well footy-wise, perhaps he may furnish into a key defender anyway but you should treat that possibility as an outside-bet bonus, especially given the historical record of 201cm AFL KPPs, no matter how athletic. Only played footy 2 years (soccer background). Some examples of what you are buying, good and not so good:- (1) In a late '06 QAFL Seniors game, he scooped the ball off the carpet one-handed at pace, dashed at serious pace towards goals, sold the dummy without breaking stride then goaled. (2) In U18 Champs vs Tas, his ruckwork was outstanding, best of either side, including the quite highly rated below-age Bellchambers, and much better than Renouf's - high, well-timed leaps, clear hitouts - looked AFL in ruck contests but only in ruck contests, (3) 3 days earlier he didn't do a lot or anything special but ethic was promising - kept pushing himself, including a few 40m searching leads even though the ball was 70m upfield, (4) In a Challenge Cup game, his ruckwork had been impressive but he had done nothing else til 3/4 time, then very impressive Q4 (except for kicking), including 2 separate incidents in which he gave a small opponent 2m start and ran him down within 20m with a combination of closing speed and desperation, (5) I've seen him miss a gimme 25m/dead virtually set goal that saw the ball go way RHS and I've seen him kick a 50m 75degree goal with a very fluent kicking style, guiding ball to boot nicely and kick having plenty of power and straight as a die. I had no idea where to rank Shaun. Certainly not nearly as early as he was taken (he's way too raw and uncredentialled for me to justify early ranking). However he does show some real ability albeit, other than ruckwork and speed, only in cameo. You are buying upside in a genuinely quick, well-built giant. You'll have cause to groan on occasions as he finds his footy legs. However, great kid with intelligence, enthusiasm, the right intentions and a willingness to learn. Forced to call, I suspect he will make a handy AFL ruck, with an outside chance of FB (at least against the right opponent) and capable of pinch-hitting elsewhere (on the right opponent). PETTERD, Ricky (30 MEL) [51] Running, marking versatile 185cm. I had ranked him at 26 until late in the piece but studying his QAFL Seniors games highlighted a pattern of a couple of significant concerns which were only occasional occurrences at underage level so I dropped off him a fair bit. I'm no longer sold on him but he does tick many boxes. Great '06 form (QAFL seniors and Div 2 B&F at U18 Champs), gets plenty of ball, is strong overhead (although with a disconcerting tendency to sometimes instinctively duck his head), has a big leap, and covers ground. Trademark is gather the spill, either at edge of or inside traffic, or link up out wide, then perhaps take an opponent on, have a bounce then kick across his body to a targeted option (perhaps fairly accurately but not necessarily) then keep running on. I get the impression (might be unfair to him but it's how it looks to me) that he tends to play for his stats and I'm not convinced he is a team player. Reads the play and ball well. Poise, vision, evasion (and he likes to take them on), traffic management, and decision-making are usually quite good but kicking and it's hurt factor are iffy. Habit of kicking around corners (which I dislike) and does too many high floaters. Max range seems about 50m. I'm not convinced he has a left hand either. Plays mainly as Predator. Shows real courage at times (mainly overhead) but, overall, doesn't commit his body often enough for my liking. I'm now not convinced that his good poise and decision-making at U18 will as good when he is faced with the tempo and physical pressure of AFL. He is also quite unaccountable. Will have good endurance for AFL and make full use of it (at least in one direction) but pace is usually only average and he can be fairly slow over a distance. I've no doubt he will play AFL games and possibly look quite good in the early ones. Unless he addresses my main concerns though, I'm not confident he will be a long-termer. What I like in him, I really like, and there's a fair bit to like. What I don't like in him, I really don't like, albeit that the likes outnumber the dislikes. GOLDSTEIN, Todd (37 KAN) [40] Newby even compared to other newbies. Raw, ungainly, sometimes newby-unsure but often displays good ball control and some other encouraging ability in small-man aspects including below the waist, evasion and deceptive agility at times. (He was not recognised as a national-level basketballer for nothing). Biggest concern is that he struggles body on body in ruck contests, at least currently, which worries the heck out of me in a ruck. I'm cutting him slack because he is not used to ruck contests but he is a draft risk in this regard as there is no guarantee he will not always be that way. I'd take that risk myself but not with any degree of comfort. Currently a long way off the pace but has shown in cameo some really promising signs and he plays keen. His improvement trend has been rapid, and week by week, and that's the key to my interest, not where he is at now. Promising TAC finals series but his ruck opponents weren't good yardsticks. (Dominated against Gippsand but Hansen was their only effective ruck option and not a recognised tap ruck. Dominated in GF but Calder had no-one over 193cm. Beat Sandringham's Shaw but not resoundingly and he had help. "Competitive" against the genuine Geelong ruck Banjanin and Stavenuiter). You can only beat who the opposition throws at you though and Goldstein couldn't have done a lot more for such a newby. At 201cm, worth a late punt but pick 37 was a little early for the risk I'd be prepared to take. My ranking was similar to the pick used on him but that ranking was based on "suspected" upside and improvement trend without a strong body of evidence (basketballer until mid '06 and has played only 8 games in his life) to justify great confidence. Currently poor pace and endurance but is in very soft physical condition at this stage so AFL conditioning is likely to result in marked improvement. Forced to call, I suspect he will make AFL but I would rather he had gone to a club that has fewer young rucks ahead of him so he could get more opportunity to learn his craft quicker. KRAKOUER, Nathan (39 POR) [48] (see above). Extreme skinniness was the only factor that caused me any angst but it caused me plenty (else I'd have ranked him quite early and without hesitation). GARLAND, Colin (46 MEL) [53] Was initially reluctant to play '06 U18 Champs but simply had never seen himself as being good enough and had to be convinced otherwise. Is now committed to AFL. 2 VFL Seniors games late '06. Nice, intelligent kid. No concerns about him re character or off-field ethic. He's a hard cat to assess because, in a game, he tends to be on fire for a while and then just drift almost completely out of the game. His best looks serious AFL and his worst looks serious VFL Reserves. Allowing for current lack of bulk, is very good overhead. Kicking is very mixed bag (one extreme to the other). Kicking style is loose release but fluent. No left foot - sometimes when a left is called for, he tries to do "too cute" party-trick right-foot squeeze kicks, occasionally even when he has time to straighten up properly onto his right. Disposal in general needs to be more reliable but I suspect it will become so. Usually good poise, vision and clean hands all levels. "OK" pace, quick on a lead (and times it well), although not flash over the first few metres in general play. Good recovery and defensive agility. Falls to ground a bit too easily and also has a little bit of a habit of getting in the way of a team-mate (no drama but a bit disconcerting). If he turns out to be good enough for AFL, should be very versatile. Plenty of scope for improvement as he hasn't had the development and particularly the physical conditioning of many peers and I also suspect he will show a lot of improvement via confidence once he starts believing he belongs at AFL. Div 2 standard of U18 Champs can make some kids look better than they are but he did show promise in cameo and looked promising in his one genuine TAC test (vs Oakleigh). I initially ranked him in my 30s but he slipped down the further I analysed him. His 2nd VFL game impressed AFL-wise and almost swayed me back somewhat but, in the end, I ranked him conservatively. At this stage, there is too big a gap between his best (which is AFL) and worst (including intensity and involvement) so he is a punt. Forced to call, I suspect he will make AFL, such is the improvement I think he has in him once conditioned and confident. O'BRIEN, Brock (52 FRE) [18] Tough (albeit with a temper he needs to watch), very quick defender. Thumping, and often very good, kick. Runs hard, hits hard. Genuine footballer, consistent. Not X-factor but appealing combination of genuine speed and aggression at both man and ball. Good leap, good evasion. No X-factor but has the potential to be AFL-reliable. Injured hammy very early in game 2 '06 U18 Champs so really only played one U18 Champs game in '06. Resumed mid-July but re-injured hammy immediately. Plays the game on his own terms and seems to have some personality issues he needs to address so, along with derailed '06 exposure, very hard to rank. I rated him highly in '04 U16s and, although my confidence is now shakier, in the end I still ranked him purely on his best capability (which is AFL) rather than as a reflection of any great confidence and I just hope he can "fit in" within an AFL environment and stay on top of injury. Might take a bit of time to regain confidence in hammies. Forced to call, I suspect he will be a handy AFL HBF/BP. GRAY, Robert (55 POR) [55] Poor man's Gary Ablett Jnr in style, physical appearance, play/ball reading, reflexes and freakish traits and is similarly clean, slippery and nimble. Played mainly midfield 1st half of '06 then mainly FF. 33g-8b in 6 consecutive TAC H&A games late '06 as a 180cm FF, incl bags of 7 twice and an 8. 58-31 for the year. That's impressive in itself but what published stats don't divulge is his value-adding high rate of goal assists. I work on talent analysis 7 days a week 11 months of the year and most people who are full-time in recruiting would agree that heading off to games is often like a factory worker going to work. Dispassionate observers. It's the Robbie Grays and Gary Abbetts that actually lift my adrenalin. I love Robbie. Love watching the ways he plays and also admire his willingness to improve his weaknesses. Terrific kid and can do things most other players, even at AFL, can't. Instinctive smarts that you can't teach. In an era where creative flair is giving way to robotic adherence to rigid team game plans, Robbie never plays a game in which his flair doesn't excite at some stage(s). Not through breaking the lines (he lacks pace over a distance, although sharp on a lead), not through 60m goals on the run (he really struggles for depth, although improving a bit), not through linking up from one end of the ground to the other (he doesn't have a big tank and probably never will), and not through Sampi-like low percentage attempts to only try for the spectacular. Rather, Robbie has an instinctive ability to very sharply, cleanly and nimbly create something out of nothing, overhead or ground, regardless of pressure, and make other players on the scene appear to be mentally 2 steps behind. Importantly, he has good ethic both ways, attacks ball and man (fierce tackler), is mentally tough and is unselfish. I would have liked the chance to Rookie him to see after one year what improvement we could have made to his pace, depth and tank. They are the obstacles in his AFL path. His U18 club has worked hard with him on his kicking. Technique problems I've identified include (1) COM too far back, leaning too far back on contact, so he tends to kick under rather than through, (2) leg action too quick, allowing insufficient time for decent backswing, (3) tilts LHS, left arm too far back and right arm does nothing, (4) body is too tense. Running-wise, he holds his head too low. I'm highly confident his ability around goals (not only creating his own but also creating opportunities for team-mates) will translate well to AFL. It is what he doesn't bring to the table that made me reluctantly rank him much lower than I would have liked and behind various other players I would not have considered drafting. Will he ever have the pace, tank or all-round kicking ability (eg current comfortable range wouldn't be much more than 40m) to be more than a FP type? (And he hasn't looked AFL upfield). Will opponents find it too easy to run off him over a distance? Was carrying groin injury through '06 finals and last couple of weeks of H&A. Had also apparently been carrying injury leading into U18 Champs so his fitness had been down. It's just that I'm not confident he has the body structure to ever have much leg speed over ground or a decent tank. He's built for explosive impact, not ground coverage. Forced to call, I expect he will play AFL quite early and immediately become a cult figure among fans as Ablett Jnr did but (and I'd love to be wrong) I suspect that when opposition coaches work him out, his inherent weaknesses will be too readily exposable so I am dubious about him sustaining a long-term career. (And footy entertainment will be the poorer if he doesn't last). CONNORS, Daniel (58 RIC) [32] Very ordinary '05 but huge improver in '06. Vision, poise, clean hands. Can be very good both one-on-one and inside traffic. Can be very slick and left-field clever. Good (but often too ambitious) overhead (and has a significant reach advantage). Soso pace. Plays too much on his own terms. Current endurance is poor, I suspect due to a combination of bulking up 10kg in '06, lack of off-field application, and perhaps not naturally having a big tank. Hypothetically, if I had some guarantee he would work hard (especially off-field but also on-field), I might have included him in my "Will be at least good" category as his best is AFL. Given his current physical condition, application has to be questioned. (Oddly enough, despite all that, he occasionally displays the odd leadership trait). I like on-field arrogance but he overdoes it. He needs to play the percentages more, less millionairish and respect his limitations. By way of comparison, Connors' kicking, although he is no stranger to clangers, is miles better (overall reliability and best kicks) than Grigg's (whose kicking reliability and quality are both sub-standard). However, I identified major flaws in Grigg's kicking action that should be addressable, making Grigg a fairly attractive package overall and I can identify a number of AFL roles (especially onball) that I could see Griggs being able to fill. Even though Connors' best attributes are more AFL-impressive than Grigg's, I find it harder to identify either scope for Connors to lift his pace or, in particular, reasons to automatically assume he will develop good endurance and work ethic, so Connors as a total package (strengths and concerns) ultimately had less appeal to me due to concerns over "What AFL role can I, with any confidence(!), see him making his own?" (although he could at least pinch-hit in various roles forward, back and mid). That said, I would not be surprised if he makes AFL or even becomes quite good AFL. It's mainly up to him and how much he wants to make it. I do rate his best qualities (his best efforts reek of class) but the risks (or really the degree of speculation required) were too great for me to consider drafting him at my ranking number (which reflects his upside more than my confidence in him achieving it). However, he was a reasonable pick-up at #58, although I wouldn't have been personally keen to take on the risks, given other options available at that pick. LYNCH, Malcolm (66 WBD) [52] Very skinny, very quick 178cm. Quite one-sided but quick of hand and brain (left-field creative) and has elite vision. Surprisingly good ethic (esp chases, tackles) for a player of his creative type. Trademark is clean gather, sharp acceleration off the mark, then lookaway feed (perhaps on the run), displaying excellent vision, even under great pressure. Tiwi Islander but his secondary schooling has been in NSW, who he represented in '05-'06. I liked him in '05 but back, hammy and hand (IIRC) injuries ruined his 2nd 1/2 of '06 and I only saw him once at a recognised level in '06 (pre-draft) so I couldn't justify ranking him as early as my pre-'06 impressions would have warranted. Seems articulate, mature and sensible (eg Impressively narrated a doco on indigenous team representing Aust in Sth Africa tour). Forced to call, I'm quietly confident he will make it. My angst wasn't about whether I liked him (I do) but where to rank him.

Continuing Colin Wisbey's 2006 Draft Predictions (PART ONE) CATEGORY THREE - THE FOLLOWING WILL PLAY PLENTY OF AFL AND MAY WELL TURN OUT TO BE GOOD BUT I DOUBT WILL BE AS GOOD AS TOUTED (in draft order):- GUMBLETON, Scott (2 ESS) [14] Physical, pack-crunching competitive worker KP. Big mark with a big motor and the heart of Phar Lap. More crunch than class but 101% commitment to team every time and a quality person. Leads by example, on and off-field. In '06, although only 17yo, was named in WA Seniors squad for interstate game and also got 9 votes in Sandover Medal, incl BOG in R1 and 2nd best in R22. 42 goals in '05 Colts. Big leap, courageous, quite clean below the knee, very good endurance. Goes for many pack marks and does take some rippers but doesn't hold as many as I think he needs to and I feel his overhead "reliability" is somewhat overrated. His hands are fairly good and he really attacks his marks but too often struggles for balance and/or ability to hold his ground / keep his feet body on body. Gumby murders an ordinary opponent but often struggles against a quality peer. On the right opponent, he can play KP forward or back but is also handy in the ruck (197cm with big leap, natural ruck skills, and good judgement and decision-making). However he definitely lacks zip and his recovery agility isn't flash. All of that makes him vulnerable against a KP opponent who has some zip or is very strong body on body. In the 3 '06 U18 Champs games, at various times he played key defender on Hansen and Hawkins and CHF on Sellar. IMHO, all beat him. Hawkins looked a class above him. When Sellar played close he glove-foiled Gumbleton's marking efforts almost every time (albeit in terrible conditions) and caught him out a number of times by running off him to create an option. In their duel, Sellar 15 disposals to Gumby 8. I've watched Gumby for 3 years, from U16s and Colts to WAFL Seniors. In the '04 U16 Champs, he was very impressive and looked a top AFL prospect but I suspect his peers have since improved at a faster rate, AFL-wise. Kicking technique needs work. (For a set kick his release is too early, costing him accuracy, and his COM is too far back on contact, costing him depth. Tends to kick under the ball, and too often off "one" step, rather than through it). I'm confident he will play plenty of AFL games, including some good ones, but I can't see him being a gun (although I'm at odds with popular opinion). He still got a healthy ranking from me and was always going to get taken inside the very first few picks but there are quite a few players, including almost all the "name" KPPs, who I would have drafted ahead him. In '05 (a much shallower draft, esp for KPPs), I ranked Josh Kennedy at 14 (same as Gumby this year) and both went top 4 as expected. However, I have always considered Gumby to be by far the better prospect. BOAK, Travis (5 POR) [25] Hard to be confident what his best injury-free capability is. Is coming off a very difficult couple of years (family tragedy, injuries). Back stress fractures during '05 and early '06, groin problems following '06 Champs, and missed 1st TAC final also. Even allowing for all this though, I'm somewhat agnostic and wouldn't have drafted him myself, not only because of the high price required but also due to a combination of factors (including, but not especially, his injury history). He is certainly a smooth mover, clean, with good pace (although I'd like to see him use it more), very good endurance when injury-free, good tackle count, and usually runs to the right spots. I'm sceptical re his ability to become a genuinely top AFL player as touted but he "moves" like a classy AFL type, finds the ball, and is athletic so I do assume he will play plenty of AFL games. His basic stats also read as consistently healthy. However, he is one of those players who can have 25 disposals (even 10 in a quarter) without having nearly the impact on the game that his stats might suggest. He also doesn't have a record of really shining in big games (albeit with excuses in some games). He is regularly described as "classy" yet his decision-making can be iffy and he misses way too many targets by foot (even allowing for injury). (Kicking style looks relaxed but his drop is too forward of his plant foot so COM stays too far behind, costing him depth, and his arm actions need work). Style somewhat like Kane Johnson. For current family reasons, I suspect a Victorian club would have been a better short-term fit for his needs than an interstate one. CATEGORY FOUR - EARLY PICK QUERIES (in draft order) – In some cases (mainly Reid and Frawley) I wouldn’t be all that surprised if they make it but I have major concerns whereas many people would label them "definite" or nearly so: REID, Ben (8 COL) [49] Courageous skinny tall with good pace. 2 days younger and he would have been too young for '06 draft and is also still growing into his body so plenty of allowance needs to be made (although he has been through all the system - AIS, U16 Champs, U18 Champs, TAC). My main concern is "What AFL role (might he become capable of owning)?". That's the show-stopper for me. Other concerns are poor balance, recovery and defensive agility, skinniness. Trademarks are (1) Anything to do with courage, including launching himself at the ground ball, (2) Clean hands to take an uncontested mark or gather a loose ball or receive out wide, then deliver a probably fairly accurate feed or kick, quite possibly a floater, to a well-spotted team mate, (3) Getting squeezed out of a pack marking contest or not being able to keep his balance in some other balance-testing situations. Ben, like Kepler Bradley, lacks natural balance in a host of circumstances. I rate balance among the top requirements for AFL and especially for KPP. If he is to be a potential KPP because he is 196cm and quicker than most KPPs, how competitive can he be in body contests if he struggles through lack of NATURAL balance to keep his feet and/or hold his ground? We have seen this with Bradley (whose balance admittedly is worse). Ben is skinny - needs to bulk up a helluva lot to have the strength for KPP. If he can (and I'm somewhat sceptical), can he do so without losing his main current advantage re KPP, namely pace? OK, let's consider him as a tall flanker/wingman. On paper it sounds great. A 196cm guy whose speed tests indicate he has the pace to go with many flankers/ wingmen, is quite clean at ground level and is fairly good overhead if not under great pressure. However, slippery opponents will be too nimble in general play and too zippy (especially off the mark, despite Ben's DC times suggesting otherwise). Further, Ben's lack of natural balance will be exploited even by much smaller opponents, mainly in running to the ball and inside traffic but, in some cases, even overhead. A smaller guy typically won't be able to match Ben overhead per se but many/most are still adept at laying a bump and body-on-body. If they can nudge Ben off his line, as many will be able to do, then it no longer becomes a marking contest but a fight for the spill/ground ball. Yes, Ben is good below the knees (at least in space or not inside traffic) for such a tall guy ... but he is not "contested midfielder good". Once the ball is on the carpet, especially inside traffic but also one-on-one, Ben, against most much shorter opponents will lose many more than he wins. We have seen this even at underage level when he has played non-KP roles (typically wing). People get excited about the prospect of a tall who has some small-man attributes. I am never seduced by "bonus" attributes if the kid doesn't look likely to be near enough to the real deal in his core requirement. The 198cm Paul Johnson was rightly lauded for small-man ability in many areas. What Paul lacked was big-man ability, especially overhead marking. I expect a potential KPP to be good as a tall. Anything on top of that adds value to his core contribution. You don't see many AFL long-termers who defy that rule, although many "in betweeners" get drafted/rookied ... then delisted. The lucky tall ones (eg Tristan Walker) stay on a list beyond their use-by date because we can be tempted to think it is just a matter of time before it all comes together. Occasionally it does. Usually it finishes up being a poor return on investment. Trying to picture Ben as a mid-age U18 in '07 he might make huge improvement, as some do, from one year to the next. As very bottom-age, I'm not categorically stating that Reid will never make AFL. However, IMHO he has critical issues that I am highly sceptical about being addressable and that he has no "above average" footy smarts or skill attribute and so represents a much greater risk than I would be prepared to take. Terrific kid and will play AFL games but I feel his upside is overrated (or too taken for granted) by most people and his risk underrated. His combination of the above assets will probably enable him to pinch-hit in various roles on the right opponent. However, I don't believe in drafting kids you think will be able to just pinch-hit. FRAWLEY, James (12 MEL) [57] 193cm (although perhaps with a reach disadvantage) defender. Shows poise but sub-standard kicking and decision-making are almost show-stoppers. Has a fair bit wrong with his kicking action, including low take, being hunched (resulting in limited backswing and need to "rush punch" his kicks), and negligible arm movement. No left foot sometimes costs him. Currently slim and might (?) always be (added only 2kg in 2 years) but weight will be at least flanker-OK. Reliable overhead (in all respects). Gets his own ball but links well too. Pace has improved a lot but, despite some people saying otherwise, to no better than at best "handy" IMHO (and still sub par off the mark). He's a bit "neither one thing nor the other". Looked serious AFL in a couple of games (esp vs Geelong R 12) and sounds versatile but is prone to periods in various games where his opponent cuts him up damagingly. Frawley reads the play very well in defence, is very balanced and cool, and runs to the right spots (both defensively and offensively). He's built more as a tall flanker but he can get turned inside out by a quick/slippery opponent. He's competitive overhead for a flanker but someone like Hansen (among many others) would outmark him virtually every time as a KPP. If I had a hypothetical guarantee that both his kicking and decision-making would improve dramatically, he'd be definite "handy AFL" and earlier in my rankings. Although I think his kicking problems are addressable, it's hard, in the absence of real evidence, to justify confidence in him sufficiently improving his decision-making and kicking. Vision and awareness aren't flash either. I don't see him ever being top notch but he might become a solid type. I wouldn't have taken him myself though, let alone as a first rounder, although various clubs rated him fairly early. I do expect him to play a fair few AFL games however, perhaps even debuting in year 1, and he does have AFL ethic and some leadership traits. RENOUF, Brent (24 HAW) [] Athleticism good, ethic very good but is he a small man trapped in a big man's body? NQR as a tall. Main selling points are small-man ethic and skills, athleticism (incl endurance). Has among the best small-man attributes of any of the serious talls in this draft. However, huge men should get drafted for what they offer in the big-man department, small-man attributes being a bonus, and I'm far from convinced about Brent in the big-man stuff, especially contested marking and ruck ability. Big leap but regularly jumps too early at centre bounce (and other ball-ups), resulting in him meeting the ball when he is well on the way down. The early jump allows him to partially command the space under the ball and has worked well for him against shorter rucks but leaves him vulnerable to a later-jumping ruck being able to connect with the ball at a point higher than what Renouf is by that stage. This is not an occasional thing. He has been doing it for at least the last 2 years. Brent has to modify his timing if he is to be competitive against good AFL rucks, let alone giants. Overhead concerns are positioning (tends to move to a spot directing under the ball and jump straight up, leaving him vulnerable to a spoil from behind.), ability to hold his ground, hands (he often seems to position them as if trying to grab a basketball, although his background is rugby) and judgement. Hard to criticise his '06 form (eg 7 Morrish Medal votes from a possible 9 in his 3 TAC games) but a recruiter's job is to assess AFL capability, not lower level form per se. Brent doesn't get a lot of ball but earns what he gets. Very impressive (hands, intensity, decisions) when at or near a "ground-level" play of any sort but he is too often where the play ain't. In 6 U18 Champs games '05-06, never more than 8 disposals in a game. His 3 TAC '06 games, although he played well, yielded only 8, 11, 13 (the 13 against a bottom team). Tends to be hard on himself and his confidence can be fragile. Some players respond well when criticised, using it as a spur to do better. However, some other players need to be emotionally "nursed" (continual positive reinforcement) and can lose confidence when criticised. Brent is in the latter category. That's certainly not a showstopper but it does bother me in any player. He was always going to get drafted based mainly on impressive "small man" ethic/capability (which is not the main thing I'm after in a huge man) and impressive QAFL Seniors form (including/especially a good game at CHB on ex Brisbane/Richmond player Luke Weller at season-end). I'm sceptical though. I don't see him cutting it as AFL ruck and can't see him as any chance of being a 200cm CHB at AFL level. (Better giants than Brent have been touted, without result, for such role). DAWES, Chris (28 COL) [] Strongly-built blue collar tall who has really only been playing footy for about 3 years. Likely to miss all '07 due to knee reco late '06. That would be a problem for any kid but a relative newcomer to footy needs to get as many games under his belt as quickly as possible to make up for the start most of his peers have on him. In that context, Chris' knee injury is an even bigger misfortune for him than it would be for most kids. Quality person. Usually marks well on a lead (times leads well, prepared to make multiple leads, and has deceptive straight-linepace) but is not so good when he can't mark the ball out in front of his face (also has a tendency to duck, although I'm not suggesting through lack of courage). Officially has about a 9cm reach advantage - a huge help, especially for KPP. Murders U18 opponents and average-quality talls (although he also gave Jarryd Allen a bath) but I'm not convinced about him against decent opponents generally (struggles to avoid being spoiled, can tend to be 2-grab, and is not great at holding his ground). Team man who usually displays good vision, poise, decision-making. Recovery and defensive agility (big turning circle) is a concern. 2nd efforts are mixed bag but has high tackle count. It's not that he is very poor at anything, just that he isn't really above average at anything either. MACKENZIE, Eric (29 WCE) [50] Well-built 196cm athlete. Good pace, excellent endurance. Runs very hard to link and is a thumping kick but is very lacking in intensity and smarts (esp on the run, in which situation he regularly just blazes away without looking for or noticing best option). Somewhat of a small man trapped in a big man's body. Will get AFL games due to his sexy size, very impressive athleticism (has done sub 3sec 20m and 15+ beep), thumping kick and his very hard running to link. However, IMHO (1) he is not nearly intense or smart enough for key defender (although I feel he needs the straight ahead, "play unfolding in front of him", benefits of defender; (2) despite handy onball stints at Colts level, he is and not smart enough or reliably clean (getting or delivering) for a linker or giant onballer. His hurt factors (all three) are sub-standard. My specific major concerns are intensity (re 2nd efforts, spoiling, desperation, attack on the man or ball), decision-making, vision, awareness (too often gets nailed/rushed taking too long to dispose through poor awareness). He works hard forward of the ball but much less so going the other way. His '06 performances are hard to assess as carried groin problem most of the year but I've seen a lot of him over 3 years and, although I was impressed at '04 U16 Champs, I've been increasingly underwhelmed since. Many believe he will be very AFL versatile but I'm of an opposing view, viz "What AFL role can he prove capable of owning?". CATEGORY FIVE - These players caused me MUCH ANGST in assessing their AFL potential Every recruiter has some kids whose AFL potential he is just not confident in nailing, one way or the other, no matter how much he has studied them or due to lack of exposure. These are mine (in draft order): BROWN, Nathan (10 COL) [30] and BROWN, Mitchell (16 WCE) [31]. I know this isn't fair and twins must hate it but I find insufficient differences between these twins to justify separate comments on each. Athletic improving late starters. Nathan significantly the better in '05 but IMHO Mitch caught up in '06. Determined, ultra-committed (excellent ethic, on and off-field, and will get the absolute most out of themselves) talls. Strong, mobile, competitive. Thumping kicks. Pace queries in '05 but both improved it in '06 and now have nice running styles. Similar "handy", sometimes "good", pace (Mitch quicker than his DC times suggest, Nathan not as quick as his DC times suggest), although lack some zip off the mark. Sometimes quick thinking / creative but not consistently good poise, vision or decision-making. Attack man and ball, have the 1%ers covered. Can certainly take some strong grabs but marking hands, judgement and ability to hold their ground / keep their feet are not particularly reliable. Neither (particularly Nathan) has a good tackle count. (eg Nathan was credited with no tackles in 3 U18 Champs games). In fairness, they do a lot of spoiling but, tackling-wise, they are susceptible to being wrong-footed by a slippery opponent. I believe best role for both will be key defender (perhaps FB). I don't foresee either twin getting particularly impressive stats but they play a team game, give their all, run hard both ways, are accountable, and have high pain threshold. I'd like to see them be proactive more often (which will probably eventuate). Forced to call, I'm confident both will play AFL games, I suspect both will be on AFL lists for some years (mainly because they will leave no stone unturned) but I shall be very surprised if either turns out to be A-grade AFL, although not surprised if both turn out to be solid indians or at least good backup. Depending on need and options, I'd have been prepared to draft either of them but with a pick certainly no earlier than where I ranked them, which is not as early as they were likely to go. O'KEEFE, Daniel (15 SYD) [36] Improver since '05 and especially since mid '06. Backs his own judgement, plays on his own terms, with a style(!) that has elements of Dal Santo and S Grant. In some other respects (reliably strong overhead and goal-creation) he is not unlike his namesake and now Sydney team-mate. Pace is only borderline acceptable for his size and type and he is not flash off the mark. Can definitely get the hardball but he is not big on handballing and, due to lack of zip, is prone to getting nailed when he tries to break away from traffic. A lot of his possessions are virtually uncontested, often from sitting just off the play, ready to capitalise, and without being too fussed about his opponent. He reads such situations extremely well and really hurts the opposition when he gains possession from such plays or from backing himself to attack the oncoming ball. At AFL, his opponent will have plenty of opportunities to have first crack and cause damage too though. O'Keefe can play (at least pinch hit) in many roles but is perhaps best setting up play from half-back, often with quarterback efficiency. (Is not a failsafe kick but is usually good, often excellent). He calls for the ball a lot but doesn't do much hard running to link and he needs to handball more for AFL. Smart, balanced, unruffled. Handy around goals. (More noted for goals from strong marks within shortish range but is no slouch with other goal-kicking either. Kicked 32-15 in his "15" TAC games in '06, despite spending plenty of time upfield). No questioning his '06 U18 form or consistency (Morrish or Coaches votes in 10 of his completed 15 TAC games) but is he a bit too vanilla to be seriously good AFL?. He knows how to get good stats, his best is definite AFL, he will play AFL games, and he is likely to create a good initial impression at AFL. My concerns are pace and whether he will produce the right on-field work rate and ethic (including hard running and accountability) to be able to sustain an impressive long-term career. (eg) StKilda (in previous years), Carlton or Richmond would have suited his style but he will have to play less on his own terms to succeed long-term in a team that plays a primarily accountable game plan. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out good, even very good, but I'm just not confident enough to lock in a strong conviction about him, one way or the other. HAMPSON, Shaun (17 CAR) [41] Raw, very athletic 201cm newby with good ethic. Currently very NQR but improvement curve very encouraging over the past year and even since the U18 Champs. No sure bet - you are punting on what you think you may be able to develop him into. A reasonable comparison for where Shaun is right now would be Roberts-Thomson when he first played AFL - a raw footy newby who would walk over hot coals but was more frenetic energy than science. (LRT had much better U18 credentials). Main selling points are pace/athleticism at 201cm and upside. Main query is footy smarts. If you were looking to draft Shaun as potential KPP, he is not worth the risk. As a potential ruck, he was worth a mid-latish pick IMHO. If he develops really well footy-wise, perhaps he may furnish into a key defender anyway but you should treat that possibility as an outside-bet bonus, especially given the historical record of 201cm AFL KPPs, no matter how athletic. Only played footy 2 years (soccer background). Some examples of what you are buying, good and not so good:- (1) In a late '06 QAFL Seniors game, he scooped the ball off the carpet one-handed at pace, dashed at serious pace towards goals, sold the dummy without breaking stride then goaled. (2) In U18 Champs vs Tas, his ruckwork was outstanding, best of either side, including the quite highly rated below-age Bellchambers, and much better than Renouf's - high, well-timed leaps, clear hitouts - looked AFL in ruck contests but only in ruck contests, (3) 3 days earlier he didn't do a lot or anything special but ethic was promising - kept pushing himself, including a few 40m searching leads even though the ball was 70m upfield, (4) In a Challenge Cup game, his ruckwork had been impressive but he had done nothing else til 3/4 time, then very impressive Q4 (except for kicking), including 2 separate incidents in which he gave a small opponent 2m start and ran him down within 20m with a combination of closing speed and desperation, (5) I've seen him miss a gimme 25m/dead virtually set goal that saw the ball go way RHS and I've seen him kick a 50m 75degree goal with a very fluent kicking style, guiding ball to boot nicely and kick having plenty of power and straight as a die. I had no idea where to rank Shaun. Certainly not nearly as early as he was taken (he's way too raw and uncredentialled for me to justify early ranking). However he does show some real ability albeit, other than ruckwork and speed, only in cameo. You are buying upside in a genuinely quick, well-built giant. You'll have cause to groan on occasions as he finds his footy legs. However, great kid with intelligence, enthusiasm, the right intentions and a willingness to learn. Forced to call, I suspect he will make a handy AFL ruck, with an outside chance of FB (at least against the right opponent) and capable of pinch-hitting elsewhere (on the right opponent). PETTERD, Ricky (30 MEL) [51] Running, marking versatile 185cm. I had ranked him at 26 until late in the piece but studying his QAFL Seniors games highlighted a pattern of a couple of significant concerns which were only occasional occurrences at underage level so I dropped off him a fair bit. I'm no longer sold on him but he does tick many boxes. Great '06 form (QAFL seniors and Div 2 B&F at U18 Champs), gets plenty of ball, is strong overhead (although with a disconcerting tendency to sometimes instinctively duck his head), has a big leap, and covers ground. Trademark is gather the spill, either at edge of or inside traffic, or link up out wide, then perhaps take an opponent on, have a bounce then kick across his body to a targeted option (perhaps fairly accurately but not necessarily) then keep running on. I get the impression (might be unfair to him but it's how it looks to me) that he tends to play for his stats and I'm not convinced he is a team player. Reads the play and ball well. Poise, vision, evasion (and he likes to take them on), traffic management, and decision-making are usually quite good but kicking and it's hurt factor are iffy. Habit of kicking around corners (which I dislike) and does too many high floaters. Max range seems about 50m. I'm not convinced he has a left hand either. Plays mainly as Predator. Shows real courage at times (mainly overhead) but, overall, doesn't commit his body often enough for my liking. I'm now not convinced that his good poise and decision-making at U18 will as good when he is faced with the tempo and physical pressure of AFL. He is also quite unaccountable. Will have good endurance for AFL and make full use of it (at least in one direction) but pace is usually only average and he can be fairly slow over a distance. I've no doubt he will play AFL games and possibly look quite good in the early ones. Unless he addresses my main concerns though, I'm not confident he will be a long-termer. What I like in him, I really like, and there's a fair bit to like. What I don't like in him, I really don't like, albeit that the likes outnumber the dislikes. GOLDSTEIN, Todd (37 KAN) [40] Newby even compared to other newbies. Raw, ungainly, sometimes newby-unsure but often displays good ball control and some other encouraging ability in small-man aspects including below the waist, evasion and deceptive agility at times. (He was not recognised as a national-level basketballer for nothing). Biggest concern is that he struggles body on body in ruck contests, at least currently, which worries the heck out of me in a ruck. I'm cutting him slack because he is not used to ruck contests but he is a draft risk in this regard as there is no guarantee he will not always be that way. I'd take that risk myself but not with any degree of comfort. Currently a long way off the pace but has shown in cameo some really promising signs and he plays keen. His improvement trend has been rapid, and week by week, and that's the key to my interest, not where he is at now. Promising TAC finals series but his ruck opponents weren't good yardsticks. (Dominated against Gippsand but Hansen was their only effective ruck option and not a recognised tap ruck. Dominated in GF but Calder had no-one over 193cm. Beat Sandringham's Shaw but not resoundingly and he had help. "Competitive" against the genuine Geelong ruck Banjanin and Stavenuiter). You can only beat who the opposition throws at you though and Goldstein couldn't have done a lot more for such a newby. At 201cm, worth a late punt but pick 37 was a little early for the risk I'd be prepared to take. My ranking was similar to the pick used on him but that ranking was based on "suspected" upside and improvement trend without a strong body of evidence (basketballer until mid '06 and has played only 8 games in his life) to justify great confidence. Currently poor pace and endurance but is in very soft physical condition at this stage so AFL conditioning is likely to result in marked improvement. Forced to call, I suspect he will make AFL but I would rather he had gone to a club that has fewer young rucks ahead of him so he could get more opportunity to learn his craft quicker. KRAKOUER, Nathan (39 POR) [48] (see above). Extreme skinniness was the only factor that caused me any angst but it caused me plenty (else I'd have ranked him quite early and without hesitation). GARLAND, Colin (46 MEL) [53] Was initially reluctant to play '06 U18 Champs but simply had never seen himself as being good enough and had to be convinced otherwise. Is now committed to AFL. 2 VFL Seniors games late '06. Nice, intelligent kid. No concerns about him re character or off-field ethic. He's a hard cat to assess because, in a game, he tends to be on fire for a while and then just drift almost completely out of the game. His best looks serious AFL and his worst looks serious VFL Reserves. Allowing for current lack of bulk, is very good overhead. Kicking is very mixed bag (one extreme to the other). Kicking style is loose release but fluent. No left foot - sometimes when a left is called for, he tries to do "too cute" party-trick right-foot squeeze kicks, occasionally even when he has time to straighten up properly onto his right. Disposal in general needs to be more reliable but I suspect it will become so. Usually good poise, vision and clean hands all levels. "OK" pace, quick on a lead (and times it well), although not flash over the first few metres in general play. Good recovery and defensive agility. Falls to ground a bit too easily and also has a little bit of a habit of getting in the way of a team-mate (no drama but a bit disconcerting). If he turns out to be good enough for AFL, should be very versatile. Plenty of scope for improvement as he hasn't had the development and particularly the physical conditioning of many peers and I also suspect he will show a lot of improvement via confidence once he starts believing he belongs at AFL. Div 2 standard of U18 Champs can make some kids look better than they are but he did show promise in cameo and looked promising in his one genuine TAC test (vs Oakleigh). I initially ranked him in my 30s but he slipped down the further I analysed him. His 2nd VFL game impressed AFL-wise and almost swayed me back somewhat but, in the end, I ranked him conservatively. At this stage, there is too big a gap between his best (which is AFL) and worst (including intensity and involvement) so he is a punt. Forced to call, I suspect he will make AFL, such is the improvement I think he has in him once conditioned and confident. O'BRIEN, Brock (52 FRE) [18] Tough (albeit with a temper he needs to watch), very quick defender. Thumping, and often very good, kick. Runs hard, hits hard. Genuine footballer, consistent. Not X-factor but appealing combination of genuine speed and aggression at both man and ball. Good leap, good evasion. No X-factor but has the potential to be AFL-reliable. Injured hammy very early in game 2 '06 U18 Champs so really only played one U18 Champs game in '06. Resumed mid-July but re-injured hammy immediately. Plays the game on his own terms and seems to have some personality issues he needs to address so, along with derailed '06 exposure, very hard to rank. I rated him highly in '04 U16s and, although my confidence is now shakier, in the end I still ranked him purely on his best capability (which is AFL) rather than as a reflection of any great confidence and I just hope he can "fit in" within an AFL environment and stay on top of injury. Might take a bit of time to regain confidence in hammies. Forced to call, I suspect he will be a handy AFL HBF/BP. GRAY, Robert (55 POR) [55] Poor man's Gary Ablett Jnr in style, physical appearance, play/ball reading, reflexes and freakish traits and is similarly clean, slippery and nimble. Played mainly midfield 1st half of '06 then mainly FF. 33g-8b in 6 consecutive TAC H&A games late '06 as a 180cm FF, incl bags of 7 twice and an 8. 58-31 for the year. That's impressive in itself but what published stats don't divulge is his value-adding high rate of goal assists. I work on talent analysis 7 days a week 11 months of the year and most people who are full-time in recruiting would agree that heading off to games is often like a factory worker going to work. Dispassionate observers. It's the Robbie Grays and Gary Abbetts that actually lift my adrenalin. I love Robbie. Love watching the ways he plays and also admire his willingness to improve his weaknesses. Terrific kid and can do things most other players, even at AFL, can't. Instinctive smarts that you can't teach. In an era where creative flair is giving way to robotic adherence to rigid team game plans, Robbie never plays a game in which his flair doesn't excite at some stage(s). Not through breaking the lines (he lacks pace over a distance, although sharp on a lead), not through 60m goals on the run (he really struggles for depth, although improving a bit), not through linking up from one end of the ground to the other (he doesn't have a big tank and probably never will), and not through Sampi-like low percentage attempts to only try for the spectacular. Rather, Robbie has an instinctive ability to very sharply, cleanly and nimbly create something out of nothing, overhead or ground, regardless of pressure, and make other players on the scene appear to be mentally 2 steps behind. Importantly, he has good ethic both ways, attacks ball and man (fierce tackler), is mentally tough and is unselfish. I would have liked the chance to Rookie him to see after one year what improvement we could have made to his pace, depth and tank. They are the obstacles in his AFL path. His U18 club has worked hard with him on his kicking. Technique problems I've identified include (1) COM too far back, leaning too far back on contact, so he tends to kick under rather than through, (2) leg action too quick, allowing insufficient time for decent backswing, (3) tilts LHS, left arm too far back and right arm does nothing, (4) body is too tense. Running-wise, he holds his head too low. I'm highly confident his ability around goals (not only creating his own but also creating opportunities for team-mates) will translate well to AFL. It is what he doesn't bring to the table that made me reluctantly rank him much lower than I would have liked and behind various other players I would not have considered drafting. Will he ever have the pace, tank or all-round kicking ability (eg current comfortable range wouldn't be much more than 40m) to be more than a FP type? (And he hasn't looked AFL upfield). Will opponents find it too easy to run off him over a distance? Was carrying groin injury through '06 finals and last couple of weeks of H&A. Had also apparently been carrying injury leading into U18 Champs so his fitness had been down. It's just that I'm not confident he has the body structure to ever have much leg speed over ground or a decent tank. He's built for explosive impact, not ground coverage. Forced to call, I expect he will play AFL quite early and immediately become a cult figure among fans as Ablett Jnr did but (and I'd love to be wrong) I suspect that when opposition coaches work him out, his inherent weaknesses will be too readily exposable so I am dubious about him sustaining a long-term career. (And footy entertainment will be the poorer if he doesn't last). CONNORS, Daniel (58 RIC) [32] Very ordinary '05 but huge improver in '06. Vision, poise, clean hands. Can be very good both one-on-one and inside traffic. Can be very slick and left-field clever. Good (but often too ambitious) overhead (and has a significant reach advantage). Soso pace. Plays too much on his own terms. Current endurance is poor, I suspect due to a combination of bulking up 10kg in '06, lack of off-field application, and perhaps not naturally having a big tank. Hypothetically, if I had some guarantee he would work hard (especially off-field but also on-field), I might have included him in my "Will be at least good" category as his best is AFL. Given his current physical condition, application has to be questioned. (Oddly enough, despite all that, he occasionally displays the odd leadership trait). I like on-field arrogance but he overdoes it. He needs to play the percentages more, less millionairish and respect his limitations. By way of comparison, Connors' kicking, although he is no stranger to clangers, is miles better (overall reliability and best kicks) than Grigg's (whose kicking reliability and quality are both sub-standard). However, I identified major flaws in Grigg's kicking action that should be addressable, making Grigg a fairly attractive package overall and I can identify a number of AFL roles (especially onball) that I could see Griggs being able to fill. Even though Connors' best attributes are more AFL-impressive than Grigg's, I find it harder to identify either scope for Connors to lift his pace or, in particular, reasons to automatically assume he will develop good endurance and work ethic, so Connors as a total package (strengths and concerns) ultimately had less appeal to me due to concerns over "What AFL role can I, with any confidence(!), see him making his own?" (although he could at least pinch-hit in various roles forward, back and mid). That said, I would not be surprised if he makes AFL or even becomes quite good AFL. It's mainly up to him and how much he wants to make it. I do rate his best qualities (his best efforts reek of class) but the risks (or really the degree of speculation required) were too great for me to consider drafting him at my ranking number (which reflects his upside more than my confidence in him achieving it). However, he was a reasonable pick-up at #58, although I wouldn't have been personally keen to take on the risks, given other options available at that pick. LYNCH, Malcolm (66 WBD) [52] Very skinny, very quick 178cm. Quite one-sided but quick of hand and brain (left-field creative) and has elite vision. Surprisingly good ethic (esp chases, tackles) for a player of his creative type. Trademark is clean gather, sharp acceleration off the mark, then lookaway feed (perhaps on the run), displaying excellent vision, even under great pressure. Tiwi Islander but his secondary schooling has been in NSW, who he represented in '05-'06. I liked him in '05 but back, hammy and hand (IIRC) injuries ruined his 2nd 1/2 of '06 and I only saw him once at a recognised level in '06 (pre-draft) so I couldn't justify ranking him as early as my pre-'06 impressions would have warranted. Seems articulate, mature and sensible (eg Impressively narrated a doco on indigenous team representing Aust in Sth Africa tour). Forced to call, I'm quietly confident he will make it. My angst wasn't about whether I liked him (I do) but where to rank him.

Casey Radio's Anthony Brady has comprehensive report on vflfooty.com.

by The Oracle Melbourne's season is lurching in a downward spiral and it's not surprising in the circumstances to learn that 36 of the club's 40 senior listed players have worn the red and blue in 2007 - a season high for all AFL clubs. This leaves four seniors and four rookies left at the club who haven't yet tasted the big time and this is despite the fact that we've only just passed the half way mark of the season. Who are these players and what are their prospects for AFL selection this season and beyond? SENIOR LIST PLAYERS Simon Buckley - Jumper # 1, 189 cm, 81 kg, Born 18 April 1987. From Sandringham Dragons Under 18 Buckley was drafted at 53 (4th Round) in the 2005 National Draft and is a pacy midfielder with good skills. He spent most of 2006 rotating between Sandringham firsts and seconds but has played every game in the senior side this year, mainly on a wing. He gained some AFL experience in the NAB Cup game against Hawthorn in February and, while he yet to set the world on fire, has been knocking on the door to selection. The Demons could do with some extra pace in the midfield so it wouldn’t surprise if his chance came soon. Heath Neville – Jumper # 26, 186 cm, 83 kg, Born 2 February 1988. From Clarence, Tasmania. Neville was the last of the club's 2005 National Draft picks going in the 5th round at 68 and has played most of his football in the Sandringham seconds. He was restricted by OP in his first year at the club and has only broken through for senior VFL selection once this year. A medium sized defender, Neville hasn't done enough and is likely to be released at the end of the season. His best bet would be a possible redraft as a rookie for 2008 but that might also be an outside chance. Michael Newton - Jumper # 29, 193 cm, 90 kg, Born 27 April 1987. From Murray Bushrangers Under 18 A speculative third round selection at 43 in the 2004 National Draft, Newton has become a popular figure at Sandringham where he narrowly trails Nick Sautner as top goalkicker with 29 goals from all 10 matches, a top effort given that he has been selected in various positions from defence to the wing and forward pocket. Newton hails from the small country town of Whorouly in North Eastern Victoria - Kelly Country. His first season at the club was plagued by back injuries and like Buckley, he spent last year moving about from the Sandy firsts to the seconds where he topped the competition's goalkicking with over 50 goals. His ability to do the freakish has captured the imagination of Sandringham fans who are scratching their heads over his inability to break into a Melbourne team lacking in goalscoring options, particularly with injuries to David Neitz and Russell Robertson and the indifferent form of Brad Miller. An emergency against Richmond in round 12, Newton couldn't possibly be far away from selection in the AFL. Isaac Weetra - Jumper # 28, 184 cm, 76 kg, Born 27 February 1989. From Port Adelaide magpies, South Australia Weetra is the youngest player on Melbourne's list and hails from West Whyalla in country South Australia. He has already represented his country overseas as a member of the Indigenous tour of 2006 to South Africa and he was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 national Draft at 62. He was dogged by injury earlier this year and missed much of the practice match series and the early rounds with a hamstring injury, which was followed by a broken wrist. Currently finding his way in the Zebra seconds where he is being used mainly off halfback. He is a strong mark, has a huge vertical and possess good aerobic capacity but is not expected to emerge as a senior player until 2009. ROOKIE LIST PLAYERS Rookies are ineligible for AFL selection unless promoted off the rookie list to replace a senior list player who is classified as having a long-term injury. Some clubs are reluctant to elevate such players because of the costs involved and it is unlikely that any of the Demon rookies of 2007 will gain promotion. The player with the best chance at present is tall ruckman Shane Neaves who is in his second year at the club. Ruckmen take time to develop and Neaves has been no exception although, with added responsibility as the number one ruckman at Sandringham, he has blossomed this year and has played in all 10 matches. Jace Bode, another second year rookie, has only recently made his way into the senior team at Sandringham where he has been used in a tagging role but his chances of remaining on the list for another season are not strong. Strong marking forward Daniel Hughes has been battling OP and is apparently weeks away from returning while exciting Indigenous player Daniel Hayes is working his way back into the game after missing most of the action this year because of personal family problems. He is an exciting prospect however, and the reports from the Zebra reserves have been all good. Despite his lack of a pre season, he is considered a chance for promotion into the Zebra seniors, where a small crumbing forward would be handy, at some stage this season. THE VERDICT Buckley and Newton are not far away from selection with the Demons especially considering the view that the club's finals prospects are "done and dusted" while Neaves is an outside chance of playing if he can find a way in at the expense of a player with a long-term injury. Weetra will need to bide his time, Hayes is an erratic but exciting prospect and the rest will struggle to make the grade.

THE EIGHT by The Oracle Melbourne's season is lurching in a downward spiral and it's not surprising in the circumstances to learn that 36 of the club's 40 senior listed players have worn the red and blue in 2007 - a season high for all AFL clubs. This leaves four seniors and four rookies left at the club who haven't yet tasted the big time and this is despite the fact that we've only just passed the half way mark of the season. Who are these players and what are their prospects for AFL selection this season and beyond? SENIOR LIST PLAYERS Simon Buckley - Jumper # 1, 189 cm, 81 kg, Born 18 April 1987. From Sandringham Dragons Under 18 Buckley was drafted at 53 (4th Round) in the 2005 National Draft and is a pacy midfielder with good skills. He spent most of 2006 rotating between Sandringham firsts and seconds but has played every game in the senior side this year, mainly on a wing. He gained some AFL experience in the NAB Cup game against Hawthorn in February and, while he yet to set the world on fire, has been knocking on the door to selection. The Demons could do with some extra pace in the midfield so it wouldn’t surprise if his chance came soon. Heath Neville – Jumper # 26, 186 cm, 83 kg, Born 2 February 1988. From Clarence, Tasmania. Neville was the last of the club's 2005 National Draft picks going in the 5th round at 68 and has played most of his football in the Sandringham seconds. He was restricted by OP in his first year at the club and has only broken through for senior VFL selection once this year. A medium sized defender, Neville hasn't done enough and is likely to be released at the end of the season. His best bet would be a possible redraft as a rookie for 2008 but that might also be an outside chance. Michael Newton - Jumper # 29, 193 cm, 90 kg, Born 27 April 1987. From Murray Bushrangers Under 18 A speculative third round selection at 43 in the 2004 National Draft, Newton has become a popular figure at Sandringham where he narrowly trails Nick Sautner as top goalkicker with 29 goals from all 10 matches, a top effort given that he has been selected in various positions from defence to the wing and forward pocket. Newton hails from the small country town of Whorouly in North Eastern Victoria - Kelly Country. His first season at the club was plagued by back injuries and like Buckley, he spent last year moving about from the Sandy firsts to the seconds where he topped the competition's goalkicking with over 50 goals. His ability to do the freakish has captured the imagination of Sandringham fans who are scratching their heads over his inability to break into a Melbourne team lacking in goalscoring options, particularly with injuries to David Neitz and Russell Robertson and the indifferent form of Brad Miller. An emergency against Richmond in round 12, Newton couldn't possibly be far away from selection in the AFL. Isaac Weetra - Jumper # 28, 184 cm, 76 kg, Born 27 February 1989. From Port Adelaide magpies, South Australia Weetra is the youngest player on Melbourne's list and hails from West Whyalla in country South Australia. He has already represented his country overseas as a member of the Indigenous tour of 2006 to South Africa and he was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 national Draft at 62. He was dogged by injury earlier this year and missed much of the practice match series and the early rounds with a hamstring injury, which was followed by a broken wrist. Currently finding his way in the Zebra seconds where he is being used mainly off halfback. He is a strong mark, has a huge vertical and possess good aerobic capacity but is not expected to emerge as a senior player until 2009. ROOKIE LIST PLAYERS Rookies are ineligible for AFL selection unless promoted off the rookie list to replace a senior list player who is classified as having a long-term injury. Some clubs are reluctant to elevate such players because of the costs involved and it is unlikely that any of the Demon rookies of 2007 will gain promotion. The player with the best chance at present is tall ruckman Shane Neaves who is in his second year at the club. Ruckmen take time to develop and Neaves has been no exception although, with added responsibility as the number one ruckman at Sandringham, he has blossomed this year and has played in all 10 matches. Jace Bode, another second year rookie, has only recently made his way into the senior team at Sandringham where he has been used in a tagging role but his chances of remaining on the list for another season are not strong. Strong marking forward Daniel Hughes has been battling OP and is apparently weeks away from returning while exciting Indigenous player Daniel Hayes is working his way back into the game after missing most of the action this year because of personal family problems. He is an exciting prospect however, and the reports from the Zebra reserves have been all good. Despite his lack of a pre season, he is considered a chance for promotion into the Zebra seniors, where a small crumbing forward would be handy, at some stage this season. THE VERDICT Buckley and Newton are not far away from selection with the Demons especially considering the view that the club's finals prospects are "done and dusted" while Neaves is an outside chance of playing if he can find a way in at the expense of a player with a long-term injury. Weetra will need to bide his time, Hayes is an erratic but exciting prospect and the rest will struggle to make the grade.

by Ice Station Zebra Sandringham bounced back from last week's loss to Box Hill by recording a convincing 11-goal rout of traditional rival Port Melbourne at the TEAC Oval on Sunday. Following their poor display in the rain at home, coach Mark Williams required his charges to refocus their efforts during the week and they rewarded him by coming out and showing great spirit and playing a far more committed brand of football on the day. This was despite an unproductive start to the game when they failed to score a goal in the opening quarter thanks to some more wayward kicking for goal. The game was played in blustery conditions and both sides struggled to kick goals early. The Borough had first use of the wind but managed just one goal but that was enough to hold down a five-point lead in a battle of defences. Both teams played wide and kept away from the corridor, which explains the fact that a single goal was scored from more than a dozen shots at the big sticks. Zebra defender Andy Biddlecombe had the job of holding down Port danger man Jeremy Dukes, who booted six goals last week. He stuck to the task manfully all day and kept his opponent down to just one goal. At the other end of the ground, Nick Sautner was also well held to just one major for the match – kicked on the siren at three quarter time. After the first break, things changed dramatically. First Michael Newton and then Ezra Poyas lit up the Zebra forward line with a swag of goals as the team maintained a relentless attack on the football and took away the initiative from the home side. Newton kicked three in the second term and produced a magnificent display of marking, tackling and application marred only by some erratic kicking for goal. His tally at the half time break was three goals four behinds with two shots out of bounds. While he continued to play well into the third term, he copped a corkie and sat out the last. By half time, Sandy had kicked six goals to open up a handy lead of 28 points. Poyas had been relatively subdued since incurring a hamstring injury in the state match against WA was back in his element in this game and he was inspired in the third term as he piled on the goals after having been taken off earlier for an indiscretion. He finished with five goals for the game. Sandringham's defence did its job in the first three quarters, particularly Biddlecombe, Chris Lamb at centre half back and Demons Nathan Brown and Matthew Whelan. They gave plenty of run out of the backline finding space and setting up many attacking moves. Whelan unfortunately sustained a hand injury in the third quarter and also sat out the final term. The team also received great drive from the likes of Peter Summers, Shane Valenti and David Gallagher who was back to his usual lively self. They, in turn, had the benefit of an armchair ride from Shane Neaves who staved off Port ruckman David Fanning and was well assisted in his task by Mark Jamar coming back from injury. The last quarter was an attacking free for all with Rod Crowe, Chris Johnson and Lynden Dunn proving to be very productive and Brad Miller kicking a couple to close off a high scoring quarter which contrasted greatly with the way the game started. Coach Williams went into the game with a tall forward line but managed the rotation of his men well. After quarter time his efforts to develop a winning set up was assisted by the fact that he had a team playing with confidence, that was fluent in its disposal and excellent in its decision-making. For all that however, the Zebras will not want a lapse in concentration again. They have a bye coming up followed by some hard tasks away from home in the coming weeks. HOW THE DEMONS FARED (with thanks to Demonland contributors) Immediately after the game coach Williams was pleased with the contribution of the Melbourne players. "Buckley, Whelan, Brown, Johnson, Garland were all fantastic . . . Newton," he said. Surely that last name after the dramatic pause wasn't an afterthought, was it? Sandringham used the maximum possible number of Melbourne listed players. Ryan Ferguson also came back through the Sandy Reserves where he joined Heath Neville, Isaac Weetra and Daniel Hayes. Ferguson was the pick of the Melbourne players in that side. Here's how the Demon Dozen went in the Zebra seniors - Jace Bode - although not prominent, he had a tagging role and performed it well. Nathan Brown - was his usual self playing the typical Doggy game linking up out of defence into attack. Simon Buckley- flashed in an out, using his speed and skills but without dominating. Lynden Dunn - had an excellent game. Was initially played as a half forward, but was also moved into midfield on a wing, continually pushing up. It was a good four quarter effort and he was terrific in the second half when he got a heap of the ball. Colin Garland - had a super first half across half-back but went missing in the third before he snuck forward and kicked a great long goal in the last. Still learning the game both in defence and up forward but is developing nicely. Mark Jamar - this was his first game back from injury and did a good job when on although really only used to give Neaves a break. The main thing is that it was good for him to get the run under his belt. Took a few of his big marks but really needed the run and seemed tired late in the game. Chris Johnson - a fairly subdued opening but improved as the game progressed and blossomed in the second half with his characteristic long left-footers, including a goal. Must be close to getting a run at Melbourne from just this week's performance Brad Miller - a reasonable game at centre half forward where he presented up well and his ball use and decision making were pretty good. Kicked a couple of goals when he pushed forward late in the game. Shane Neaves - did an excellent job the ruck beating Fanning who had a big say in Port's win last week. Michael Newton - had a super first half marking everything that came his way. Also put on some strong tackles including a sensational run down early in the match which set the tone for his day. Had less of an impact after half time and spent the entire final quarter on the bench. A chance to break into the Melbourne side some time soon. Matthew Warnock - his was a solid defensive game without being spectacular. The main thing was that he beat his opponent which is what a coach asks of a defender. Matthew Whelan - a great game from Whelan who was playing his third since his last injury and looked set for a recall but missed the final quarter and seemed to be favouring an injured wrist at the end of the game. Sandringham 0.6.6 6.11.47 13.16.94 20.19.139 Port Melbourne 1.5.11 2.7.19 4.11.35 10.13.73 Goals Sandringham Poyas 5 Newton 3 Dunn Liddell Miller Summers 2 Bode Garland C Johnson Sautner Port Melbourne Pitt 5 Bonaddio 2 Dukes Nahas Rowe Best Sandringham Biddlecombe Whelan Brown Johnson Newton Garland Port Melbourne Milhuisen Fanning Hazell Shaw Spriggs Pitt The Sandy reserves took on the undefeated Borough reserves at TEAC Oval and, after a poor second quarter managed not only to make up a five goal deficit but actually held a lead of 15 points going into time on before allowing the home side back into the game with some late goals. Port went on to win by four points. Guy Martyn was in outstanding form and big man Stefan Martin was also good. Both booted three goals. Ryan Ferguson's work in defence was a major bonus for the team on comeback. Sandringham 3.3.21 4.7.31 10.11.71 14.12.96 Port Melbourne 3.6.24 9.8.62 11.11.77 14.16.100 Goals Port Melbourne Pearce 4 Dalton 3 Gilham Nayna 2 Cain Henshaw Thomas Sandringham S Martin Martyn 3 Ferguson Gileno Monoghan 2 Dunne Gribbin Best Sandringham Martyn Martin Ferguson Dunne Tregear Paul Port Melbourne Pearce Plymin Monteath Dalton Debruin Cain

BOUNCING BACK by Ice Station Zebra Sandringham bounced back from last week's loss to Box Hill by recording a convincing 11-goal rout of traditional rival Port Melbourne at the TEAC Oval on Sunday. Following their poor display in the rain at home, coach Mark Williams required his charges to refocus their efforts during the week and they rewarded him by coming out and showing great spirit and playing a far more committed brand of football on the day. This was despite an unproductive start to the game when they failed to score a goal in the opening quarter thanks to some more wayward kicking for goal. The game was played in blustery conditions and both sides struggled to kick goals early. The Borough had first use of the wind but managed just one goal but that was enough to hold down a five-point lead in a battle of defences. Both teams played wide and kept away from the corridor, which explains the fact that a single goal was scored from more than a dozen shots at the big sticks. Zebra defender Andy Biddlecombe had the job of holding down Port danger man Jeremy Dukes, who booted six goals last week. He stuck to the task manfully all day and kept his opponent down to just one goal. At the other end of the ground, Nick Sautner was also well held to just one major for the match – kicked on the siren at three quarter time. After the first break, things changed dramatically. First Michael Newton and then Ezra Poyas lit up the Zebra forward line with a swag of goals as the team maintained a relentless attack on the football and took away the initiative from the home side. Newton kicked three in the second term and produced a magnificent display of marking, tackling and application marred only by some erratic kicking for goal. His tally at the half time break was three goals four behinds with two shots out of bounds. While he continued to play well into the third term, he copped a corkie and sat out the last. By half time, Sandy had kicked six goals to open up a handy lead of 28 points. Poyas had been relatively subdued since incurring a hamstring injury in the state match against WA was back in his element in this game and he was inspired in the third term as he piled on the goals after having been taken off earlier for an indiscretion. He finished with five goals for the game. Sandringham's defence did its job in the first three quarters, particularly Biddlecombe, Chris Lamb at centre half back and Demons Nathan Brown and Matthew Whelan. They gave plenty of run out of the backline finding space and setting up many attacking moves. Whelan unfortunately sustained a hand injury in the third quarter and also sat out the final term. The team also received great drive from the likes of Peter Summers, Shane Valenti and David Gallagher who was back to his usual lively self. They, in turn, had the benefit of an armchair ride from Shane Neaves who staved off Port ruckman David Fanning and was well assisted in his task by Mark Jamar coming back from injury. The last quarter was an attacking free for all with Rod Crowe, Chris Johnson and Lynden Dunn proving to be very productive and Brad Miller kicking a couple to close off a high scoring quarter which contrasted greatly with the way the game started. Coach Williams went into the game with a tall forward line but managed the rotation of his men well. After quarter time his efforts to develop a winning set up was assisted by the fact that he had a team playing with confidence, that was fluent in its disposal and excellent in its decision-making. For all that however, the Zebras will not want a lapse in concentration again. They have a bye coming up followed by some hard tasks away from home in the coming weeks. HOW THE DEMONS FARED (with thanks to Demonland contributors) Immediately after the game coach Williams was pleased with the contribution of the Melbourne players. "Buckley, Whelan, Brown, Johnson, Garland were all fantastic . . . Newton," he said. Surely that last name after the dramatic pause wasn't an afterthought, was it? Sandringham used the maximum possible number of Melbourne listed players. Ryan Ferguson also came back through the Sandy Reserves where he joined Heath Neville, Isaac Weetra and Daniel Hayes. Ferguson was the pick of the Melbourne players in that side. Here's how the Demon Dozen went in the Zebra seniors - Jace Bode - although not prominent, he had a tagging role and performed it well. Nathan Brown - was his usual self playing the typical Doggy game linking up out of defence into attack. Simon Buckley- flashed in an out, using his speed and skills but without dominating. Lynden Dunn - had an excellent game. Was initially played as a half forward, but was also moved into midfield on a wing, continually pushing up. It was a good four quarter effort and he was terrific in the second half when he got a heap of the ball. Colin Garland - had a super first half across half-back but went missing in the third before he snuck forward and kicked a great long goal in the last. Still learning the game both in defence and up forward but is developing nicely. Mark Jamar - this was his first game back from injury and did a good job when on although really only used to give Neaves a break. The main thing is that it was good for him to get the run under his belt. Took a few of his big marks but really needed the run and seemed tired late in the game. Chris Johnson - a fairly subdued opening but improved as the game progressed and blossomed in the second half with his characteristic long left-footers, including a goal. Must be close to getting a run at Melbourne from just this week's performance Brad Miller - a reasonable game at centre half forward where he presented up well and his ball use and decision making were pretty good. Kicked a couple of goals when he pushed forward late in the game. Shane Neaves - did an excellent job the ruck beating Fanning who had a big say in Port's win last week. Michael Newton - had a super first half marking everything that came his way. Also put on some strong tackles including a sensational run down early in the match which set the tone for his day. Had less of an impact after half time and spent the entire final quarter on the bench. A chance to break into the Melbourne side some time soon. Matthew Warnock - his was a solid defensive game without being spectacular. The main thing was that he beat his opponent which is what a coach asks of a defender. Matthew Whelan - a great game from Whelan who was playing his third since his last injury and looked set for a recall but missed the final quarter and seemed to be favouring an injured wrist at the end of the game. Sandringham 0.6.6 6.11.47 13.16.94 20.19.139 Port Melbourne 1.5.11 2.7.19 4.11.35 10.13.73 Goals Sandringham Poyas 5 Newton 3 Dunn Liddell Miller Summers 2 Bode Garland C Johnson Sautner Port Melbourne Pitt 5 Bonaddio 2 Dukes Nahas Rowe Best Sandringham Biddlecombe Whelan Brown Johnson Newton Garland Port Melbourne Milhuisen Fanning Hazell Shaw Spriggs Pitt The Sandy reserves took on the undefeated Borough reserves at TEAC Oval and, after a poor second quarter managed not only to make up a five goal deficit but actually held a lead of 15 points going into time on before allowing the home side back into the game with some late goals. Port went on to win by four points. Guy Martyn was in outstanding form and big man Stefan Martin was also good. Both booted three goals. Ryan Ferguson's work in defence was a major bonus for the team on comeback. Sandringham 3.3.21 4.7.31 10.11.71 14.12.96 Port Melbourne 3.6.24 9.8.62 11.11.77 14.16.100 Goals Port Melbourne Pearce 4 Dalton 3 Gilham Nayna 2 Cain Henshaw Thomas Sandringham S Martin Martyn 3 Ferguson Gileno Monoghan 2 Dunne Gribbin Best Sandringham Martyn Martin Ferguson Dunne Tregear Paul Port Melbourne Pearce Plymin Monteath Dalton Debruin Cain

And we have a new leader!!! 63. Nathan Jones 56. Cameron Bruce 54. Daniel Bell 52. Aaron Davey 49. Jeff White 44. Brad Green 39. James McDonald 36. Colin Sylvia 35. Brent Moloney 34. Matthew Bate Simon Godfrey Travis Johnstone 30. Ben Holland 29. Russell Robertson 24. Adem Yze 21. David Neitz 20. Brad Miller Ricky Petterd 18. Clint Bizzell Jared Rivers 15. Nathan Brown 10. Brock McLean 9. Nathan Carroll 6. Paul Wheatley 3. Daniel Ward 2. Paul Johnson 1. Lynden Dunn

Point taken deanox however, we have to be consistent throughout the season. Let's face it, we've had a few shockers this year and paid 6-5-4-3-2-1 for all of them. I'm calling for two more Dmonlanders to seriously have a crack at the best six players v Richmond. You have to be serious and I will acccept deanox' selections and the next two who complete the task. Naturally, votes from anyone who treats it as a joke will be ignored.

WRITING ON THE WALL by The Oracle It was early in the final quarter and the game was well and truly over. Matthew Richardson marked the ball in front of Nathan Carroll at a little over fifty metres from goal. Noticing that his opponent's attention was elsewhere, he took advantage of the situation, ran around Carroll and booted a goal that put the Tigers back to eight goals in front. The next thing that happened was that a kindly trainer came along and gave the Demon defender a drink. And that was it. An hour later, the coach fronted the media and slammed his players for an "embarrassing and insipid effort"; the loss was "the team's worst in a long time" and he vowed his side would respond to the defeat. The how and the why of the promised response was not explained but I suspect that the details have not yet reached the drawing board stage. After all, the blueprint for the entire 2007 season has long been declared a total failure and, in its place, there are no Plans B, C or D. Had there been a Plan B, C or D then it should have been employed at the ten-minute mark of the first quarter which was the time when the coach said he knew "the writing was on the wall". In the context of this match, that was about five minutes after it had become obvious to the rest of us. Melbourne's first two or three forays up forward were easily thwarted due to a lack of marking targets. Two of Richmond's early goals came as a result of coast-to-coast movement of the ball from defence to attack to goal without challenge. This pattern had been well and truly set for the night. In the context of the season of course, the writing had been well and truly engraved on the wall a long time ago. The problem is that the pattern has hardly been altered as the club's season lurched out of control. Last night's game was allowed to become a training drill for the bottom side - one which had not won a game in the first two and half months of the season. Richmond's last goal of the first half from Shane Tuck said it all. He took the ball in the middle and ran unimpeded to forty metres to slot it through. Shamefully, as was the case for most of that half of football, not a single opponent came near him. Yes, blame the players by all means for the lack of pressure on their opponents because they were absolutely pathetic. There was no application, intensity or hunger for the football and there was no sense or purpose in the way they played but the same can be said for the people pulling the strings up there in stratosphere. They were equally insipid starting with their team selection and ending with their slow reaction to the initial Tiger onslaught. After that, they were simply rotating deckchairs on a fast sinking Titanic. There's no use in hanging your hat on the fact that Melbourne won the second half because a young team like Richmond is always going to tire after the effort it expended in the first. The Demons had the wrong combination out there from the start but, in any event, they were switched off when they came out onto the ground. And that brings me to ask the fundamental question which this game raised. What is wrong with this club? When the team won what was only its second game for the first half of the season, the playing group was falling over itself to declare Neale Daniher the best thing since sliced bread. Russell Robertson used his post-match interview following his seven goals against Collingwood to give "a resounding thumbs up to the prospect of Daniher being offered another contract." We were treated to a virtual chorus of Demons singing Daniher's praises and telling us how much respect they had for him. Well, they stopped singing last night because, by their performance - and that's what counts in this caper - all they could do was to show that they hold him in utter contempt. Perhaps the players will one day realise that if you can't walk the walk on a regular basis, you don't talk the talk. In the meantime, they should leave it to those who have been charged with making the hard decisions about running the club to make those decisions. I trust that the Board has already made this fact known to the playing group, otherwise it will come back to embarrass them when they have to make some hard decisions in the near future. I am not even going to mention Melbourne's better players, and they were few and far between, because that was another heartbreaking aspect of this game. The sad fact of the matter is that a lot of them are at the end of their careers and won't be part of the club when the next coach comes along to pick up the pieces. Hopefully, the person in question will have what it takes to give his full back his proper dues and not hesitate to remove him from the ground if he ever takes his eyes off an opponent after being outmarked. Melbourne 2.2.14 2.4.16 8.6.54 11.9.75 Richmond 6.3.39 12.8.80 14.12.96 18.16.124 Goals Melbourne B Holland 3 A Davey 2 M Bate P Johnson N Jones B McLean R Petterd R Robertson Richmond N Brown K Pettifer M Richardson G Tivendale 3 B Deledio C Hyde 2 K Johnson S Tuck Best Melbourne not this week thank you Richmond S Tuck N Foley G Tivendale J Bowden M Richardson G Polak Umpires C Donlon M James B Rosebury Crowd: 46,161 at the MCG

by The Oracle It was early in the final quarter and the game was well and truly over. Matthew Richardson marked the ball in front of Nathan Carroll at a little over fifty metres from goal. Noticing that his opponent's attention was elsewhere, he took advantage of the situation, ran around Carroll and booted a goal that put the Tigers back to eight goals in front. The next thing that happened was that a kindly trainer came along and gave the Demon defender a drink. And that was it. An hour later, the coach fronted the media and slammed his players for an "embarrassing and insipid effort"; the loss was "the team's worst in a long time" and he vowed his side would respond to the defeat. The how and the why of the promised response was not explained but I suspect that the details have not yet reached the drawing board stage. After all, the blueprint for the entire 2007 season has long been declared a total failure and, in its place, there are no Plans B, C or D. Had there been a Plan B, C or D then it should have been employed at the ten-minute mark of the first quarter which was the time when the coach said he knew "the writing was on the wall". In the context of this match, that was about five minutes after it had become obvious to the rest of us. Melbourne's first two or three forays up forward were easily thwarted due to a lack of marking targets. Two of Richmond's early goals came as a result of coast-to-coast movement of the ball from defence to attack to goal without challenge. This pattern had been well and truly set for the night. In the context of the season of course, the writing had been well and truly engraved on the wall a long time ago. The problem is that the pattern has hardly been altered as the club's season lurched out of control. Last night's game was allowed to become a training drill for the bottom side - one which had not won a game in the first two and half months of the season. Richmond's last goal of the first half from Shane Tuck said it all. He took the ball in the middle and ran unimpeded to forty metres to slot it through. Shamefully, as was the case for most of that half of football, not a single opponent came near him. Yes, blame the players by all means for the lack of pressure on their opponents because they were absolutely pathetic. There was no application, intensity or hunger for the football and there was no sense or purpose in the way they played but the same can be said for the people pulling the strings up there in stratosphere. They were equally insipid starting with their team selection and ending with their slow reaction to the initial Tiger onslaught. After that, they were simply rotating deckchairs on a fast sinking Titanic. There's no use in hanging your hat on the fact that Melbourne won the second half because a young team like Richmond is always going to tire after the effort it expended in the first. The Demons had the wrong combination out there from the start but, in any event, they were switched off when they came out onto the ground. And that brings me to ask the fundamental question which this game raised. What is wrong with this club? When the team won what was only its second game for the first half of the season, the playing group was falling over itself to declare Neale Daniher the best thing since sliced bread. Russell Robertson used his post-match interview following his seven goals against Collingwood to give "a resounding thumbs up to the prospect of Daniher being offered another contract." We were treated to a virtual chorus of Demons singing Daniher's praises and telling us how much respect they had for him. Well, they stopped singing last night because, by their performance - and that's what counts in this caper - all they could do was to show that they hold him in utter contempt. Perhaps the players will one day realise that if you can't walk the walk on a regular basis, you don't talk the talk. In the meantime, they should leave it to those who have been charged with making the hard decisions about running the club to make those decisions. I trust that the Board has already made this fact known to the playing group, otherwise it will come back to embarrass them when they have to make some hard decisions in the near future. I am not even going to mention Melbourne's better players, and they were few and far between, because that was another heartbreaking aspect of this game. The sad fact of the matter is that a lot of them are at the end of their careers and won't be part of the club when the next coach comes along to pick up the pieces. Hopefully, the person in question will have what it takes to give his full back his full dues and not hesitate to remove him from the ground if he ever takes his eyes off an opponent after being outmarked. Melbourne 2.2.14 2.4.16 8.6.54 11.9.75 Richmond 6.3.39 12.8.80 14.12.96 18.16.124 Goals Melbourne B Holland 3 A Davey 2 M Bate P Johnson N Jones B McLean R Petterd R Robertson Richmond N Brown K Pettifer M Richardson G Tivendale 3 B Deledio C Hyde 2 K Johnson S Tuck Best Melbourne not this week thank you Richmond S Tuck N Foley G Tivendale J Bowden M Richardson G Polak Umpires C Donlon M James B Rosebury Crowd: 46,161 at the MCG

by J. V. McKay Barring a drawn grand final, an AFL season consists of 185 games. If you ask the average punter to nominate which of these fixtures would garner the least possible interest from football fans this year, the answer would almost certainly be tomorrow night's clash of the 16th v 15th - Richmond against Melbourne. This contest is already shaping up as one where the care factor among the football public is virtually non-existent. Things are that bad that the AFL is seriously considering locking the gates at the start of the game to keep the crowd inside. In order to maintain interest, the MCG management is organising a competition for the best dressed streaker and Connex has reduced the number of trains to and from Richmond station in order that it should adequately cater for the expected attendance. The prospect of this game between the AFL's cellar dwellers has generated such a lack of excitement that while writing the first paragraph of this review I nodded off to sleep twice. Let's face it, I'm writing the preview from hell. There is very little to say for both teams on their performances so far this year and while my introduction might sound a bit cruel, what is there about this game that could possibly induce any sane, rational, human being to come out of doors in freezing temperatures to risk the possibility of contracting something like pneumonia? I once said that the day I go to watch the two lowest ranked football teams in the land play against each other will be the day that hell freezes over. Well, judging by the weather report, there's a fair chance of that happening tomorrow night! So what on earth is there to attract someone to a contest where the teams out in the middle have collectively won two and a half games out of 22? I thought long and hard about that question scratching around desperately for an answer. One possibility is that there might be some interest in which team would collect the first draft pick at the end of the year. However, recruiting gurus tell me that there are no stand out players this year like Bryce Gibbs. They say that any one of five players might go number one in the November player lottery so there's not that much advantage in finishing last. Which leaves us with precious little. A finals place is out of the question and there’s not much likelihood of individual honours like Brownlow or a Coleman Medal for the members of either club. All I can say then is that there's little more than pride at stake tomorrow night. The two combatants began the season with high hopes. Melbourne was hopeful of finishing top four after three consecutive seasons in the 5 to 8 range. Similarly, and despite Terry Wallace's denials to the contrary and some mumbling about 2011 being the Tigers' year, Richmond was hoping to go at least one better than its 9th placing of 2006. For various reasons, mainly injury but also a lack of talent on the field, the hopes of both sides were shattered early in the piece and it's only been in the last couple of rounds that either side has collected any premiership points at all. Tomorrow night one of the sides will reap a bonanza – four premiership points, some bragging rights and a weekend in which the coach, players and supporters can hold their heads high and say, "we won!" That beats losing and even if it's the most exciting thing they can say about Friday night at the G, it's the reason that I'll be there (albeit in my thermals). THE GAME Richmond v. Melbourne at the MCG – 22 June 2007 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Richmond 95 wins Melbourne 75 wins 2 draws At the G: Richmond 62 wins Melbourne 55 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Richmond 6 wins Melbourne 5 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 at 8.30pm (delayed telecast) RADIO 3AW MMM 774ABC SEN K-Rock THE BETTING Richmond to win $2.50 Melbourne to win $1.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 9.16.70 d Richmond 7.10.52, Round 15, 2006, at MCG. The game was an absolute stinker and but for Russell Robertson's superlative marking performance including a hanger or two, many of the spectators would have fallen asleep. The game was characterised by its errors, Richmond's negative style and Melbourne's inaccuracy in front of goal. James McDonald and Matthew Whelan worked hard for the Demon victory but the game was as forgettable as they come. THE TEAMS RICHMOND Backs Jake King Will Thursfield Joel Bowden Half backs Andrew Raines Graham Polak Chris Newman Centreline Dean Polo Shane Tuck Richard Tambling Half forwards Kayne Pettifer Matthew Richardson Chris Hyde Forwards Nathan Brown Cleve Hughes Brett Deledio Followers Adam Pattison Kane Johnson Nathan Foley Interchange Shane Edwards Cam Howat Daniel Jackson Matthew White Emergencies Greg Tivendale Andrew Krakouer Jack Riewoldt In Nathan Brown Out Kent Kingsley (omitted) MELBOURNE Backs Daniel Ward Nathan Carroll Ben Holland Half backs Paul Wheatley Clint Bizzell Daniel Bell Centreline Cameron Bruce James McDonald Simon Godfrey Half forwards Brad Green Russell Robertson Aaron Davey Forwards Colin Sylvia David Neitz Matthew Bate Followers Jeff White Brock McLean Nathan Jones Interchange James Frawley Paul Johnson Ricky Petterd Byron Pickett Emergencies Nathan Brown Michael Newton Adem Yze In Byron Pickett Out Travis Johnstone (Achilles soreness) THE BATTLE OF THE SURVIVORS It has been well documented that both of these teams have had their share of injury woes this season. The Tigers main ruckmen in Troy Simmonds and Trent Knobel have been sidelined for a while and Ray Hall is both injured and suspended by the club. Their best midfielder Mark Coghlan is out for the season with a knee injury and Patrick Bowden is another regular out of the side. We know Melbourne's injury story from back to front and it got worse after the Collingwood game with Travis Johnstone out and David Neitz unlikely to lead the team after surgery last week. That comes on top of the news that Clint Bartram, Brent Moloney and Jared Rivers may all be long term injury list prospects. These add to the hellishness of the exercise of previewing a game when you must to decide which team will prevail with what they have left standing. It's not easy sifting through the names of the players who have escaped from their respective clubs' infirmaries. On the credit side, each of the teams is welcoming back a big name. Richmond's Nathan Brown has been missing as a result of complications from that terrible leg injury he incurred a couple of years ago against the Demons on a midwinter Friday night at the Telstra Dome. He has had very little football in his recovery but has shown recently at VFL level that he hasn't lost his talent for kicking goals and he will be a danger man on the Tiger forward line. Melbourne's Byron Pickett has served his penance for that hangover that prevented him from taking his place as an emergency against the Bulldogs about five weeks ago and he is back in the side allegedly at his slimmest ever. However, I saw footage of him at training and to my untrained eye he looked more like the "before" part than the "after" in a Jenny Craig advertisement. The club reckons he’s been going like a steam train in the VFL but I think the train’s called "Puffing Billy". Despite their lowly positions, both sides have shown impressive form in their last two matches with Melbourne winning both and Richmond sharing the points with Brisbane and then heading the Dockers for three quarters at Subiaco before succumbing to some Pavlich magic at the end. The one thing that the Tigers really lacked over the four quarters was a quality ruckman. Melbourne has Jeff White and the emerging Paul Johnson while Richmond is banking on makeshift key forwards who are more pinch hitters in this division. That is normally a major disadvantage to a team and, to my mind, it's what tips the balance in favour of the Demons. A lot will depend on the form of Tiger forward Matthew Richardson. If he can reproduce his best then Richmond is a definite chance to pick up its first win of the season. Melbourne has Ben Holland fresh from working over Anthony Rocca and if Benny doesn't work, there's always Nathan Carroll. There has been much public discussion of late as to who will be Melbourne’s next on field leader and the name "Brock McLean" has been mentioned in a few despatches. After missing most of the first half of the season Brocky's back to his near best and he's sworn off smashing up plastic chairs forever. Along with fellow young on baller Nathan Jones, he adds hardness to the Demon midfield and that is where I think the Demons will gain the impetus to continue their winning streak and make it three in a row. Melbourne by 12 points in a game that will make the hapless Tigers feel as if they are moving deeper into their own private little hell.

THE PREVIEW FROM HELL by J. V. McKay Barring a drawn grand final, an AFL season consists of 185 games. If you ask the average punter to nominate which of these fixtures would garner the least possible interest from football fans this year, the answer would almost certainly be tomorrow night's clash of the 16th v 15th - Richmond against Melbourne. This contest is already shaping up as one where the care factor among the football public is virtually non-existent. Things are that bad that the AFL is seriously considering locking the gates at the start of the game to keep the crowd inside. In order to maintain interest, the MCG management is organising a competition for the best dressed streaker and Connex has reduced the number of trains to and from Richmond station in order that it should adequately cater for the expected attendance. The prospect of this game between the AFL's cellar dwellers has generated such a lack of excitement that while writing the first paragraph of this review I nodded off to sleep twice. Let's face it, I'm writing the preview from hell. There is very little to say for both teams on their performances so far this year and while my introduction might sound a bit cruel, what is there about this game that could possibly induce any sane, rational, human being to come out of doors in freezing temperatures to risk the possibility of contracting something like pneumonia? I once said that the day I go to watch the two lowest ranked football teams in the land play against each other will be the day that hell freezes over. Well, judging by the weather report, there's a fair chance of that happening tomorrow night! So what on earth is there to attract someone to a contest where the teams out in the middle have collectively won two and a half games out of 22? I thought long and hard about that question scratching around desperately for an answer. One possibility is that there might be some interest in which team would collect the first draft pick at the end of the year. However, recruiting gurus tell me that there are no stand out players this year like Bryce Gibbs. They say that any one of five players might go number one in the November player lottery so there's not that much advantage in finishing last. Which leaves us with precious little. A finals place is out of the question and there’s not much likelihood of individual honours like Brownlow or a Coleman Medal for the members of either club. All I can say then is that there's little more than pride at stake tomorrow night. The two combatants began the season with high hopes. Melbourne was hopeful of finishing top four after three consecutive seasons in the 5 to 8 range. Similarly, and despite Terry Wallace's denials to the contrary and some mumbling about 2011 being the Tigers' year, Richmond was hoping to go at least one better than its 9th placing of 2006. For various reasons, mainly injury but also a lack of talent on the field, the hopes of both sides were shattered early in the piece and it's only been in the last couple of rounds that either side has collected any premiership points at all. Tomorrow night one of the sides will reap a bonanza – four premiership points, some bragging rights and a weekend in which the coach, players and supporters can hold their heads high and say, "we won!" That beats losing and even if it's the most exciting thing they can say about Friday night at the G, it's the reason that I'll be there (albeit in my thermals). THE GAME Richmond v. Melbourne at the MCG – 22 June 2007 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Richmond 95 wins Melbourne 75 wins 2 draws At the G: Richmond 62 wins Melbourne 55 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Richmond 6 wins Melbourne 5 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 at 8.30pm (delayed telecast) RADIO 3AW MMM 774ABC SEN K-Rock THE BETTING Richmond to win $2.50 Melbourne to win $1.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 9.16.70 d Richmond 7.10.52, Round 15, 2006, at MCG. The game was an absolute stinker and but for Russell Robertson's superlative marking performance including a hanger or two, many of the spectators would have fallen asleep. The game was characterised by its errors, Richmond's negative style and Melbourne's inaccuracy in front of goal. James McDonald and Matthew Whelan worked hard for the Demon victory but the game was as forgettable as they come. THE TEAMS RICHMOND Backs Jake King Will Thursfield Joel Bowden Half backs Andrew Raines Graham Polak Chris Newman Centreline Dean Polo Shane Tuck Richard Tambling Half forwards Kayne Pettifer Matthew Richardson Chris Hyde Forwards Nathan Brown Cleve Hughes Brett Deledio Followers Adam Pattison Kane Johnson Nathan Foley Interchange Shane Edwards Cam Howat Daniel Jackson Matthew White Emergencies Greg Tivendale Andrew Krakouer Jack Riewoldt In Nathan Brown Out Kent Kingsley (omitted) MELBOURNE Backs Daniel Ward Nathan Carroll Ben Holland Half backs Paul Wheatley Clint Bizzell Daniel Bell Centreline Cameron Bruce James McDonald Simon Godfrey Half forwards Brad Green Russell Robertson Aaron Davey Forwards Colin Sylvia David Neitz Matthew Bate Followers Jeff White Brock McLean Nathan Jones Interchange James Frawley Paul Johnson Ricky Petterd Byron Pickett Emergencies Nathan Brown Michael Newton Adem Yze In Byron Pickett Out Travis Johnstone (Achilles soreness) THE BATTLE OF THE SURVIVORS It has been well documented that both of these teams have had their share of injury woes this season. The Tigers main ruckmen in Troy Simmonds and Trent Knobel have been sidelined for a while and Ray Hall is both injured and suspended by the club. Their best midfielder Mark Coghlan is out for the season with a knee injury and Patrick Bowden is another regular out of the side. We know Melbourne's injury story from back to front and it got worse after the Collingwood game with Travis Johnstone out and David Neitz unlikely to lead the team after surgery last week. That comes on top of the news that Clint Bartram, Brent Moloney and Jared Rivers may all be long term injury list prospects. These add to the hellishness of the exercise of previewing a game when you must to decide which team will prevail with what they have left standing. It's not easy sifting through the names of the players who have escaped from their respective clubs' infirmaries. On the credit side, each of the teams is welcoming back a big name. Richmond's Nathan Brown has been missing as a result of complications from that terrible leg injury he incurred a couple of years ago against the Demons on a midwinter Friday night at the Telstra Dome. He has had very little football in his recovery but has shown recently at VFL level that he hasn't lost his talent for kicking goals and he will be a danger man on the Tiger forward line. Melbourne's Byron Pickett has served his penance for that hangover that prevented him from taking his place as an emergency against the Bulldogs about five weeks ago and he is back in the side allegedly at his slimmest ever. However, I saw footage of him at training and to my untrained eye he looked more like the "before" part than the "after" in a Jenny Craig advertisement. The club reckons he’s been going like a steam train in the VFL but I think the train’s called "Puffing Billy". Despite their lowly positions, both sides have shown impressive form in their last two matches with Melbourne winning both and Richmond sharing the points with Brisbane and then heading the Dockers for three quarters at Subiaco before succumbing to some Pavlich magic at the end. The one thing that the Tigers really lacked over the four quarters was a quality ruckman. Melbourne has Jeff White and the emerging Paul Johnson while Richmond is banking on makeshift key forwards who are more pinch hitters in this division. That is normally a major disadvantage to a team and, to my mind, it's what tips the balance in favour of the Demons. A lot will depend on the form of Tiger forward Matthew Richardson. If he can reproduce his best then Richmond is a definite chance to pick up its first win of the season. Melbourne has Ben Holland fresh from working over Anthony Rocca and if Benny doesn't work, there's always Nathan Carroll. There has been much public discussion of late as to who will be Melbourne’s next on field leader and the name "Brock McLean" has been mentioned in a few despatches. After missing most of the first half of the season Brocky's back to his near best and he's sworn off smashing up plastic chairs forever. Along with fellow young on baller Nathan Jones, he adds hardness to the Demon midfield and that is where I think the Demons will gain the impetus to continue their winning streak and make it three in a row. Melbourne by 12 points in a game that will make the hapless Tigers feel as if they are moving deeper into their own private little hell.