Demonland

SUMMER TIME AND THE DRAFTING'S EASY – PART THREE by Whispering Jack Our draft expert Stevo has me convinced that the Demons will take a medium sized player in next week's AFL National Draft. "That's where the best available talent lies in what's left of the draft pool after the new franchise gobbles up the best of the best. "It's an even field among the medium sized players but don't let me give you the impression that they're all the same types. There are inside and outside midfielders, medium defenders and medium forwards and the beauty for a club like Melbourne is that there's an evenness among the bunch of players within the Demons' range so that the fact we're at pick 12 doesn't put us at that much of a disadvantage to say, Richmond's pick 6. "I definitely subscribe to the view that the difference between the quality of say, pick 4 and pick 12 is not going to be all that great, if at all. "There are four players within this mid range group of players who I think will be taken before Barry Prendergast gets his big chance to call out Melbourne's first selection in what, for him will be the rather unfamiliar position of pick 12. Although he had pick 11 last year, I say "unfamiliar" because this is his first selection while last year, he had already called out three names before he got to this juncture. Also, there was no first bite of the cherry then that removed the likes of Toy, Matera and company from the equation before things even got started. "The four who will find themselves out of Melbourne's reach in my view are Shaun Atley, Andrew Gaff, Dyson Heppell and Jared Polec (I've already eliminated a few talls previously)." Stevo says he hasn't deliberately resorted to the safety of alphabetical order. He really rates Atley highly and was a big fan long before this year's national championships in which, according to Stevo, Atley was the major contributor in Vic Country's triumph. "He's 187cm tall, can play inside and out, has terrific endurance and is simply a no nonsense performer with lots of grunt. "Gaff is a hard working accumulator of the football who kicks on both sides and like another draft hopeful in Dion Prestia, supports the Demons but won't be able to live the Jack Grimes dream of playing for the team of his boyhood dreams. In Gaff's case, he should be taken inside the top 10. "Heppell played most of the year as a defender providing the Gippsland Power with run off half back and was Victoria's MVP in the championships and won the Morrish Medal in the TAC Cup Under 18's. When moved into the middle, he was instrumental in his team's upsurge in the TAC Cup finals and almost singlehandedly got them into the grand final with a 40 possession game in the Preliminary Final. That final series saw him rise in the ratings to a top six prospect. "Polec is a class act who has played senior football in the SANFL since age 16 and had finals experience this year with Woodville-West Torrens. Beautifully balanced, a nice long kick on his left foot, he will be an excitement machine at AFL level - but alas, not with the Demons. I sense that Stevo is homing in on the player or players who he believes will be selected by Melbourne at pick twelve. After all, he's eliminated almost a dozen players already. He's narrowed it down to eight medium sized players and I would have liked to have provided the Inside Football pen pictures of all of Josh Caddy, Reece Conca, Kieran Harper, Ben Jacobs, Luke Parker, Jayden Pitt, Billie Smedts and Brodie Smith (alphabetical order intentional this time) but Caddy and Jacobs were ignored. In their cases, Stevo has provided his own in italics:- I think I'm convinced by Stevo that it must be one of the above, but I ask the burning question anyway. "Is there any tall key position player who might come under Melbourne's consideration at 12 assuming the club is inclined to go that way? Put more correctly, could any such player be considered to be best available at that stage? Stevo thinks for a moment and says, "Lucas Cook, Patrick McCarthy perhaps ... but the one I like from my list is Billie Smedts ... or maybe Smith ..." Ignoring the comment about Smedts and Smith, I search for Cook's pen picture in Inside Football but it's not there ... Next time, Stevo tells me why he can't enlighten us on who the remaining selections might be, although we can guess that it's just all too hard! [TO BE CONTINUED]

SUMMER TIME AND THE DRAFTING'S EASY – PART THREE by Whispering Jack Our draft expert Stevo has me convinced that the Demons will take a medium sized player in next week's AFL National Draft. "That's where the best available talent lies in what's left of the draft pool after the new franchise gobbles up the best of the best. "It's an even field among the medium sized players but don't let me give you the impression that they're all the same types. There are inside and outside midfielders, medium defenders and medium forwards and the beauty for a club like Melbourne is that there's an evenness among the bunch of players within the Demons' range so that the fact we're at pick 12 doesn't put us at that much of a disadvantage to say, Richmond's pick 6. "I definitely subscribe to the view that the difference between the quality of say, pick 4 and pick 12 is not going to be all that great, if at all. "There are four players within this mid range group of players who I think will be taken before Barry Prendergast gets his big chance to call out Melbourne's first selection in what, for him will be the rather unfamiliar position of pick 12. Although he had pick 11 last year, I say "unfamiliar" because this is his first selection while last year, he had already called out three names before he got to this juncture. Also, there was no first bite of the cherry then that removed the likes of Toy, Matera and company from the equation before things even got started. "The four who will find themselves out of Melbourne's reach in my view are Shaun Atley, Andrew Gaff, Dyson Heppell and Jared Polec (I've already eliminated a few talls previously)." Stevo says he hasn't deliberately resorted to the safety of alphabetical order. He really rates Atley highly and was a big fan long before this year's national championships in which, according to Stevo, Atley was the major contributor in Vic Country's triumph. "He's 187cm tall, can play inside and out, has terrific endurance and is simply a no nonsense performer with lots of grunt. "Gaff is a hard working accumulator of the football who kicks on both sides and like another draft hopeful in Dion Prestia, supports the Demons but won't be able to live the Jack Grimes dream of playing for the team of his boyhood dreams. In Gaff's case, he should be taken inside the top 10. "Heppell played most of the year as a defender providing the Gippsland Power with run off half back and was Victoria's MVP in the championships and won the Morrish Medal in the TAC Cup Under 18's. When moved into the middle, he was instrumental in his team's upsurge in the TAC Cup finals and almost singlehandedly got them into the grand final with a 40 possession game in the Preliminary Final. That final series saw him rise in the ratings to a top six prospect. "Polec is a class act who has played senior football in the SANFL since age 16 and had finals experience this year with Woodville-West Torrens. Beautifully balanced, a nice long kick on his left foot, he will be an excitement machine at AFL level - but alas, not with the Demons. I sense that Stevo is homing in on the player or players who he believes will be selected by Melbourne at pick twelve. After all, he's eliminated almost a dozen players already. He's narrowed it down to eight medium sized players and I would have liked to have provided the Inside Football pen pictures of all of Josh Caddy, Reece Conca, Kieran Harper, Ben Jacobs, Luke Parker, Jayden Pitt, Billie Smedts and Brodie Smith (alphabetical order intentional this time) but Caddy and Jacobs were ignored. In their cases, Stevo has provided his own in italics:- I think I'm convinced by Stevo that it must be one of the above, but I ask the burning question anyway. "Is there any tall key position player who might come under Melbourne's consideration at 12 assuming the club is inclined to go that way? Put more correctly, could any such player be considered to be best available at that stage? Stevo thinks for a moment and says, "Lucas Cook, Patrick McCarthy perhaps ... but the one I like from my list is Billie Smedts ... or maybe Smith ..." Ignoring the comment about Smedts and Smith, I search for Cook's pen picture in Inside Football but it's not there ... Next time, Stevo tells me why he can't enlighten us on who the remaining selections might be, although we can guess that it's just all too hard! [TO BE CONTINUED]

You can add 8 more to the Tally as I sent my family's memberships in the other day.

CHANGES 2010 - TILL WE MEET AGAIN by The Oracle The recurring theme of the CHANGES series is that nothing stands still in team sport and this has certainly been evident in the events of the past month or so. At Melbourne, we've seen retirements, delistings, a player switching clubs and two rookies upgraded to the primary list. This is how the club's lists looked during the 2010 season:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2010) SENIOR LIST: Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Brad Green Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Paul Johnson Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Tom Scully James Strauss Colin Sylvia Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Matthew Warnock Jack Watts Austin Wonaeamirri VETERAN LIST Cameron Bruce James McDonald ROOKIE LIST: Rhys Healey Daniel Hughes John Meesen Jordie McKenzie Michael Newton Jake Spencer The season was in its dying days when we learned of skipper James McDonald's retirement after 14 years and we saluted our "accidental hero" with his final round farewell. Stalwarts Brad Miller and Daniel Bell were delisted at about the same time and ended their time at the club as members of the Scorpion's losing VFL semi final team at TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne. More recently we learned of the delisting of Paul Johnson and Tom McNamara from the primary list along with a clean out of rookies Rhys Healy, Daniel Hughes and the perennially injured ruckman John Meesen. Jordie McKenzie and Jake Spencer were promoted off the rookie list and Brad Green was moved to the veterans list where he temporarily joined his good friend Cameron Bruce. Then came the bombshell last weekend when life member Cameron Bruce walked out on the club after telling coach Dean Bailey that his time at the club had come to an end after eleven seasons, 224 games and 216 goals. The sudden departure on the eve of the commencement of pre season training left Bailey shocked and Demon fans divided on the impact which the surprise move by the 31 year old utility will have on the club. Some say he had passed his prime and was no longer indispensable; that he eventually had to make way for the club's emerging crop of youngsters. Others bemoaned the loss of yet another experienced player and team leader on the back of the recent retirement of skipper James McDonald and the delisting of Brad Miller. Cameron Bruce was recruited from VAFA team Melbourne High Old Boys and did not go through the usual TAC Cup pathway. He spent 1999 as a supplementary list player at Melbourne and the Demons snapped him up at pick 64 at the end of that year in what turned out to be one of the club's best ever draft selections. At 190 cm 85 kg, Bruce was a picture of fitness and could run all day. He made his senior debut wearing the number 32 against Richmond in Round 1 of season 2000, kicked a goal with his first kick in AFL football and quickly established himself as a regular in the team's midfield gaining an early rising star nomination. He combined with close mate Brad Green who was also picked in the same draft at 19 in a memorable semi final victory against Carlton but he missed the 2000 Grand Final because of injury. Ironically, Green was put out of that game early in the proceedings by an errant blow to the windpipe. In just his third season at the club, 2002, Bruce was runner up in his club's best and fairest to that year's Coleman Medallist, David Neitz. He was also a member of the International Rules sides of 2002 and 2004 against Ireland. Melbourne opened season 2005 brilliantly with Bruce dominating the club's three opening games until he was crunched by St. Kilda tagger, Brent Guerra early in a round four game at the Docklands suffering a serious shoulder injury that severely curtailed his season. At the time of the injury, he had already polled eight Brownlow Medal votes and his team sat on top of the ladder. In his absence, the Demons stumbled into the finals but neither the club nor the player managed to overcome the effects of the incident. On his return later in the season, Bruce's role changed to more of a negative tagging role and, at other times, he was used across half-back. He was still effective in both roles but fans would rarely see him the brilliant attacking form he displayed at times in 2004 (he booted seven goals against the Blues early in the season) and in those big wins of early 2005. This is not to say that he suffered a decline in form but rather that his career took a different direction. He was still an invaluable member of the team but instead of making the play he was stopping others. He became an excellent tagger and took on and beat such high-profile players as James Hird, Chris Judd, Adam Goodes, Peter Bell and Nathan Buckley. Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson spoke of him as his most difficult opponent. The versatile utility continued to produce highlights, of which his match winning goal against the Swans at the SCG in round 4 of 2006 was just one in a year in which his team was acknowledged as the best Victorian side in the AFL after finishing in fifth place behind four clubs from outside the State. Bruce was again runner up in the club's best and fairest that year. After a disappointing year for the club and player in 2007 during which he incurred a nagging hamstring injury, Cameron Bruce took on a more defensive role under new coach Dean Bailey at the start of 2008 - probably of necessity given the club's difficult season. When David Neitz retired eight games into the season, he became co-captain with James McDonald and he was soon switched to more attacking roles as the club's injury toll mounted before capping the year off by winning the Bluey Truscott Memorial Trophy with an average of more than 24 disposals per game. Bruce continued to fill a number of roles over his last two years at the club in his capacity as vice captain to McDonald and maintained a consistently high standard of play in a number of roles. Despite criticism of his disposal and kicking for goal which seemed to have dropped off over the years, he still managed to finish sixth in the best and fairest for the 2010 season, his last under a five year contract with the club. At 31 years of age, Bruce was offered a new one year contract but he failed to come to terms with the club in the wake of his apparent concerns about his place in a young emerging team. The move to another club (probably Hawthorn)means he will be denied the honour of being a one-club player. It will also be an eerie feeling after so many years of good service to the Demons to see someone else wearing the number 32 on his back. It's sad to see a player of his longevity leaving in the circumstances, especially in light of comments attributed to him in a media article during the week. The other 100 gamer to depart the club was Brad Miller. The son of a South Melbourne player who moved around the country a bit, Miller was drafted by the Demons at number 55 in the 2001 AFL Draft from Mount Gravatt in Queensland as a key position forward. It took him a while to get going and he played mainly in defence in his early days and for the first few years he was switched from defence to attack on a number of occasions. Early in his career, he became best known for stopping big forwards like Barry Hall, but he was inconsistent in defence and finally hit his straps with a four goal haul against the Tigers in round 17 of 2004, he kicked a rare bag of four goals. However, he gained a reputation as a tough man and some visits to the tribunal resulted in the call to curb his aggressive attacks on the ball which sometimes achieved unintended results. Miller's form slumped in 2006 and he was dropped to the VFL where he was a member of the Zebras' flag winning team but not before saving his skin with a great performance at centre half forward for Melbourne in a losing semi final team at Subiaco. He struck a purple patch in 2008 with several fine games and soon joined the team's leadership group but struggled as a forward in a weak team in 2009 and, in his final year at the club, he was more usually back in the VFL. Miller showed great loyalty to his teammates at Casey by shunning a farewell game in favour of playing finals football with them. Earlier, he entered the record books when he kicked 10 goals in a VFL match against Gold Coast Suns in his team's come from behind four point victory. Brad Miller who played 133 games for 89 goals with the club is likely to play next year as a mature age rookie with Richmond and we wish him well. Daniel Bell, a defender, was drafted in the 2002 AFL Draft at pick 14 from SANFL club Glenelg and made his debut in round 15, 2004. For various reasons including injury, it took until 2007 for him to achieve regular match status. Late that season he was involved in an incident with Ben Johnson in round 20 at the MCG against Collingwood in David Neitz' 300th game. Bell had his head over the ball when Johnson crashed into his head and there were grave concerns for his wellbeing lay motionless on the ground in the hands of medical staff. Bell was eventually stretchered off the ground and taken to hospital and missed the rest of the season. Johnson was suspended for six weeks for head high contact Bell played returned 18 games in 2008, mainly as a half back flanker but managed just three games in 2009 and none this year and was delisted ar the end of the season after 66 games. He kicked one goal in a rare foray up forward. Ruckman Paul Johnson who crossed over from West Coast in 2005 after just one game at that club and played 69 games for 20 goals mainly as a back up ruckman and forward. He won the VFL's JJ Liston Medal best and fairest with then affiliate club Sandringham in his first season at Melbourne. He was delisted this year along with young South Australian defender Tom McNamara (3 games, 1 goal) although the latter is still in training in the hope of being redrafted in the rookie draft. Kyle Cheney leaves the club after 14 games in three seasons. He was traded to Hawthorn during the exchange period. Rookies Danny Hughes, Rhys Healey and the perenially injured John Meesen are also off the list. Thus, as we near next week's 2010 AFL National Draft the club's list looks like this:- SENIOR LIST: Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Addam Maric Stefan Martin Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Tom Scully James Strauss Colin Sylvia Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Matthew Warnock Jack Watts Austin Wonaeamirri National Draft Picks 12 33 50 and 53 VETERAN LIST Brad Green ROOKIE LIST: Michael Newton plus six selections

CHANGES 2010 - TILL WE MEET AGAIN by The Oracle The recurring theme of the CHANGES series is that nothing stands still in team sport and this has certainly been evident in the events of the past month or so. At Melbourne, we've seen retirements, delistings, a player switching clubs and two rookies upgraded to the primary list. This is how the club's lists looked during the 2010 season:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2010) SENIOR LIST: Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Brad Green Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Paul Johnson Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Tom Scully James Strauss Colin Sylvia Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Matthew Warnock Jack Watts Austin Wonaeamirri VETERAN LIST Cameron Bruce James McDonald ROOKIE LIST: Rhys Healey Daniel Hughes John Meesen Jordie McKenzie Michael Newton Jake Spencer The season was in its dying days when we learned of skipper James McDonald's retirement after 14 years and we saluted our "accidental hero" with his final round farewell. Stalwarts Brad Miller and Daniel Bell were delisted at about the same time and ended their time at the club as members of the Scorpion's losing VFL semi final team at TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne. More recently we learned of the delisting of Paul Johnson and Tom McNamara from the primary list along with a clean out of rookies Rhys Healy, Daniel Hughes and the perennially injured ruckman John Meesen. Jordie McKenzie and Jake Spencer were promoted off the rookie list and Brad Green was moved to the veterans list where he temporarily joined his good friend Cameron Bruce. Then came the bombshell last weekend when life member Cameron Bruce walked out on the club after telling coach Dean Bailey that his time at the club had come to an end after eleven seasons, 224 games and 216 goals. The sudden departure on the eve of the commencement of pre season training left Bailey shocked and Demon fans divided on the impact which the surprise move by the 31 year old utility will have on the club. Some say he had passed his prime and was no longer indispensable; that he eventually had to make way for the club's emerging crop of youngsters. Others bemoaned the loss of yet another experienced player and team leader on the back of the recent retirement of skipper James McDonald and the delisting of Brad Miller. Cameron Bruce was recruited from VAFA team Melbourne High Old Boys and did not go through the usual TAC Cup pathway. He spent 1999 as a supplementary list player at Melbourne and the Demons snapped him up at pick 64 at the end of that year in what turned out to be one of the club's best ever draft selections. At 190 cm 85 kg, Bruce was a picture of fitness and could run all day. He made his senior debut wearing the number 32 against Richmond in Round 1 of season 2000, kicked a goal with his first kick in AFL football and quickly established himself as a regular in the team's midfield gaining an early rising star nomination. He combined with close mate Brad Green who was also picked in the same draft at 19 in a memorable semi final victory against Carlton but he missed the 2000 Grand Final because of injury. Ironically, Green was put out of that game early in the proceedings by an errant blow to the windpipe. In just his third season at the club, 2002, Bruce was runner up in his club's best and fairest to that year's Coleman Medallist, David Neitz. He was also a member of the International Rules sides of 2002 and 2004 against Ireland. Melbourne opened season 2005 brilliantly with Bruce dominating the club's three opening games until he was crunched by St. Kilda tagger, Brent Guerra early in a round four game at the Docklands suffering a serious shoulder injury that severely curtailed his season. At the time of the injury, he had already polled eight Brownlow Medal votes and his team sat on top of the ladder. In his absence, the Demons stumbled into the finals but neither the club nor the player managed to overcome the effects of the incident. On his return later in the season, Bruce's role changed to more of a negative tagging role and, at other times, he was used across half-back. He was still effective in both roles but fans would rarely see him the brilliant attacking form he displayed at times in 2004 (he booted seven goals against the Blues early in the season) and in those big wins of early 2005. This is not to say that he suffered a decline in form but rather that his career took a different direction. He was still an invaluable member of the team but instead of making the play he was stopping others. He became an excellent tagger and took on and beat such high-profile players as James Hird, Chris Judd, Adam Goodes, Peter Bell and Nathan Buckley. Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson spoke of him as his most difficult opponent. The versatile utility continued to produce highlights, of which his match winning goal against the Swans at the SCG in round 4 of 2006 was just one in a year in which his team was acknowledged as the best Victorian side in the AFL after finishing in fifth place behind four clubs from outside the State. Bruce was again runner up in the club's best and fairest that year. After a disappointing year for the club and player in 2007 during which he incurred a nagging hamstring injury, Cameron Bruce took on a more defensive role under new coach Dean Bailey at the start of 2008 - probably of necessity given the club's difficult season. When David Neitz retired eight games into the season, he became co-captain with James McDonald and he was soon switched to more attacking roles as the club's injury toll mounted before capping the year off by winning the Bluey Truscott Memorial Trophy with an average of more than 24 disposals per game. Bruce continued to fill a number of roles over his last two years at the club in his capacity as vice captain to McDonald and maintained a consistently high standard of play in a number of roles. Despite criticism of his disposal and kicking for goal which seemed to have dropped off over the years, he still managed to finish sixth in the best and fairest for the 2010 season, his last under a five year contract with the club. At 31 years of age, Bruce was offered a new one year contract but he failed to come to terms with the club in the wake of his apparent concerns about his place in a young emerging team. The move to another club (probably Hawthorn)means he will be denied the honour of being a one-club player. It will also be an eerie feeling after so many years of good service to the Demons to see someone else wearing the number 32 on his back. It's sad to see a player of his longevity leaving in the circumstances, especially in light of comments attributed to him in a media article during the week. The other 100 gamer to depart the club was Brad Miller. The son of a South Melbourne player who moved around the country a bit, Miller was drafted by the Demons at number 55 in the 2001 AFL Draft from Mount Gravatt in Queensland as a key position forward. It took him a while to get going and he played mainly in defence in his early days and for the first few years he was switched from defence to attack on a number of occasions. Early in his career, he became best known for stopping big forwards like Barry Hall, but he was inconsistent in defence and finally hit his straps with a four goal haul against the Tigers in round 17 of 2004, he kicked a rare bag of four goals. However, he gained a reputation as a tough man and some visits to the tribunal resulted in the call to curb his aggressive attacks on the ball which sometimes achieved unintended results. Miller's form slumped in 2006 and he was dropped to the VFL where he was a member of the Zebras' flag winning team but not before saving his skin with a great performance at centre half forward for Melbourne in a losing semi final team at Subiaco. He struck a purple patch in 2008 with several fine games and soon joined the team's leadership group but struggled as a forward in a weak team in 2009 and, in his final year at the club, he was more usually back in the VFL. Miller showed great loyalty to his teammates at Casey by shunning a farewell game in favour of playing finals football with them. Earlier, he entered the record books when he kicked 10 goals in a VFL match against Gold Coast Suns in his team's come from behind four point victory. Brad Miller who played 133 games for 89 goals with the club is likely to play next year as a mature age rookie with Richmond and we wish him well. Daniel Bell, a defender, was drafted in the 2002 AFL Draft at pick 14 from SANFL club Glenelg and made his debut in round 15, 2004. For various reasons including injury, it took until 2007 for him to achieve regular match status. Late that season he was involved in an incident with Ben Johnson in round 20 at the MCG against Collingwood in David Neitz' 300th game. Bell had his head over the ball when Johnson crashed into his head and there were grave concerns for his wellbeing lay motionless on the ground in the hands of medical staff. Bell was eventually stretchered off the ground and taken to hospital and missed the rest of the season. Johnson was suspended for six weeks for head high contact Bell played returned 18 games in 2008, mainly as a half back flanker but managed just three games in 2009 and none this year and was delisted ar the end of the season after 66 games. He kicked one goal in a rare foray up forward. Ruckman Paul Johnson who crossed over from West Coast in 2005 after just one game at that club and played 69 games for 20 goals mainly as a back up ruckman and forward. He won the VFL's JJ Liston Medal best and fairest with then affiliate club Sandringham in his first season at Melbourne. He was delisted this year along with young South Australian defender Tom McNamara (3 games, 1 goal) although the latter is still in training in the hope of being redrafted in the rookie draft. Kyle Cheney leaves the club after 14 games in three seasons. He was traded to Hawthorn during the exchange period. Rookies Danny Hughes, Rhys Healey and the perenially injured John Meesen are also off the list. Thus, as we near next week's 2010 AFL National Draft the club's list looks like this:- SENIOR LIST: Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Addam Maric Stefan Martin Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Tom Scully James Strauss Colin Sylvia Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Matthew Warnock Jack Watts Austin Wonaeamirri National Draft Picks 12 33 50 and 53 VETERAN LIST Brad Green ROOKIE LIST: Michael Newton plus six selections

We can't have everyone!

I agree a fade to blue would be nice a blend better.

I prefer the red too.

I think I prefer it without the Welcome to .... Is there anyway to sharpen the "est 2000" banner. It looks a tad pixelated. Perhaps this is a result of blowing up the banner from from the dees logo. Maybe if it was smaller the pixelation might not be as obvious. Sorry to request all these changes. i know how frustrating WIPs can be. We'll get there in the end.

I think it depends on the size of your browser window. Also it will do that when viewing it on the iPhone.

Any size will do. Could I ask one more favour. Any chance of also doing the same banner but with the red writing back for Welcome to Demonland. Just want to compare the two.

Fantastic Job DeezMan. If you want to do a bigger banner then that would be great.

SUMMER TIME AND THE DRAFTING EASY – PART TWO by Whispering Jack Our draft guru Stevo gunned me down when I suggested that Melbourne should be aiming for a tall key position player with its first selection at number 12. "That can wait until later in the draft", he told me. "The Demons aren't that badly off in terms of forward talent for the future. They invested first pick in Jack Watts two years ago and would no doubt expect him to blossom over the next couple of seasons. They have Liam Jurrah and Matthew Bate and Cale Morton, who could take any number of roles might one day be a key position player. Then there's Jack Fitzpatrick and Max Gawn waiting and developing in the wings. "A good marking forward would be handy but there are other priorities and a number of midsized players who present themselves as strong candidates for selection in this draft after Gold Coast's three initial picks". Well, that was reassuring but Stevo also added recent history to back up his point. He reminded me of last year's national draft which produced the following top twelve and which included only one tall key position player who, due to injury, has yet to make his AFL debut:- 1. Tom Scully – Melbourne 2. Jack Trengove - Melbourne 3. Dustin Martin - Richmond 4. Anthony Morabito - Fremantle 5. Ben Cunnington - North Melbourne 6. Gary Rohan - Sydney 7. Brad Sheppard - West Coast 8. John Butcher - Port Adelaide 9. Andrew Moore - Port Adelaide 10. Jake Melksham - Essendon 11. Jordan Gysberts - Melbourne 12. Kane Lucas - Carlton "The first six selections were predictable, West Coast went for a local and many had Port Adelaide, which had consecutive choices, down as the one to take a tall with one of those picks. In many respects, I don't see things going much differently this year but with the new player in the Suns going with a diverse range when they exercise four out of five selections between seven and eleven". "As things stand, the Suns have already chosen a tall forward in their nominated top three which includes Sam Day. I haven't seen much of him but the glimpses I got during the National Under 18 Carnival games I attended suggested he's deserving of such high selection." Stevo has left aside the medium sized players for the moment to look at those who might come in and break the mould. His first target is the enigmatic Jack Darling, an All Australian from West Perth who twelve months ago would have been considered a likely inclusion in the Gold Coast top three after his All Australian selection at centre half forward. Stevo says Darling has him and several draft watchers completely stumped. "He could go to West Coast at four or he could slide to Fremantle at twenty. The kid has been questioned on a number of issues, not the least of which has been his behaviour and attitude arising from an incident while still at school. He has also had injury problems, form slumps which saw him miss out on back to back All Australian honours at Under 18 level and incurred a fractured skull in an off field attack. There are some question marks as to whether he's tall enough to play key position at the highest level and he has also been trying to establish his versatility in the midfield. And all that time he became a useful performer at WAFL level. "I think he has the makings of a star and the Eagles must be sorely tempted to select the player who many think is a round peg in a square hole." Here's how his WAFL team football manager described him to Inside Football - And while Stevo is impressed with Darling's strengths, he feels those off field weaknesses will have deterred a few clubs, including Melbourne. The others who Stevo considers are capable of breaking the mid size mould for a top dozen selection in this year's draft are Dandenong Stingray Tom Lynch South Australian pair Daniel Gorringe and Scott Lycett. All can play as tall forwards but the Croweaters have also cut their teeth as ruckmen. Stevo believes that Lynch and Gorringe are likely to be taken before Melbourne's pick at twelve (most likely by the Suns) and Lycett might not be a priority for the Demons even if available. Here are the Inside Football pen pictures of this trio of talls:- TO BE CONTINUED

SUMMER TIME AND THE DRAFTING'S EASY – PART TWO by Whispering Jack Our draft guru Stevo gunned me down when I suggested that Melbourne should be aiming for a tall key position player with its first selection at number 12. "That can wait until later in the draft", he told me. "The Demons aren't that badly off in terms of forward talent for the future. They invested first pick in Jack Watts two years ago and would no doubt expect him to blossom over the next couple of seasons. They have Liam Jurrah and Matthew Bate and Cale Morton, who could take any number of roles might one day be a key position player. Then there's Jack Fitzpatrick and Max Gawn waiting and developing in the wings. "A good marking forward would be handy but there are other priorities and a number of midsized players who present themselves as strong candidates for selection in this draft after Gold Coast's three initial picks". Well, that was reassuring but Stevo also added recent history to back up his point. He reminded me of last year's national draft which produced the following top twelve and which included only one tall key position player who, due to injury, has yet to make his AFL debut:- 1. Tom Scully – Melbourne 2. Jack Trengove - Melbourne 3. Dustin Martin - Richmond 4. Anthony Morabito - Fremantle 5. Ben Cunnington - North Melbourne 6. Gary Rohan - Sydney 7. Brad Sheppard - West Coast 8. John Butcher - Port Adelaide 9. Andrew Moore - Port Adelaide 10. Jake Melksham - Essendon 11. Jordan Gysberts - Melbourne 12. Kane Lucas - Carlton "The first six selections were predictable, West Coast went for a local and many had Port Adelaide, which had consecutive choices, down as the one to take a tall with one of those picks. In many respects, I don't see things going much differently this year but with the new player in the Suns going with a diverse range when they exercise four out of five selections between seven and eleven". "As things stand, the Suns have already chosen a tall forward in their nominated top three which includes Sam Day. I haven't seen much of him but the glimpses I got during the National Under 18 Carnival games I attended suggested he's deserving of such high selection." Stevo has left aside the medium sized players for the moment to look at those who might come in and break the mould. His first target is the enigmatic Jack Darling, an All Australian from West Perth who twelve months ago would have been considered a likely inclusion in the Gold Coast top three after his All Australian selection at centre half forward. Stevo says Darling has him and several draft watchers completely stumped. "He could go to West Coast at four or he could slide to Fremantle at twenty. The kid has been questioned on a number of issues, not the least of which has been his behaviour and attitude arising from an incident while still at school. He has also had injury problems, form slumps which saw him miss out on back to back All Australian honours at Under 18 level and incurred a fractured skull in an off field attack. There are some question marks as to whether he's tall enough to play key position at the highest level and he has also been trying to establish his versatility in the midfield. And all that time he became a useful performer at WAFL level. "I think he has the makings of a star and the Eagles must be sorely tempted to select the player who many think is a round peg in a square hole." Here's how his WAFL team football manager described him to Inside Football - And while Stevo is impressed with Darling's strengths, he feels those off field weaknesses will have deterred a few clubs, including Melbourne. The others who Stevo considers are capable of breaking the mid size mould for a top dozen selection in this year's draft are Dandenong Stingray Tom Lynch South Australian pair Daniel Gorringe and Scott Lycett. All can play as tall forwards but the Croweaters have also cut their teeth as ruckmen. Stevo believes that Lynch and Gorringe are likely to be taken before Melbourne's pick at twelve (most likely by the Suns) and Lycett might not be a priority for the Demons even if available. Here are the Inside Football pen pictures of this trio of talls:- TO BE CONTINUED

Great job! I agree with the above suggestions. Also I prefer the Demonland on the left side. Other than that it's fantastic!

Round 7, 2000.

I like this one of Grimes better.

Looks good so far but you've left out the most important bit; DEMONLAND

Everyone is welcome to submit a design. If we get multiple entries then we'll put it to a vote. Please keep it 100 pixels high and no more than 800 pixels wide. Post them here or email them to demonland @ demonland dot com (obviously without the spaces and replace dot with .) Try to use the same colour scheme too but we welcome all suggestions.