Demonland

At this point in time, I think it's worth reviving an article written by Whispering Jack following Neale Daniher's last game as coach of the Melbourne Football Club in June 2007. 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.

I will be redoing the banner for 2011 so keep the suggestions coming. Need 7 players.

You let us know who takes Cam Bruce's place on the Demonland banner?

Demonland is proud to announce that it has again secured the services of "Stevo" who knows the ins and outs of the Under 18 TAC Cup scene from an insider's point of view. He attended most of those of the National Under 18 championship games played in Melbourne and Geelong over the winter, has been involved with two TAC Clubs over the years and teaches physical education and sport. He discussed his views on the 2010 draft prospects from a Melbourne Football Club perspective with Whispering Jack (and yes, we know it's not technically summmertime yet but couldn't come up with another title) ... SUMMER TIME AND THE DRAFTING'S EASY - PART ONE by Whispering Jack There are only eight names standing between the start of this year's AFL National Draft and Melbourne's first selection at number twelve. The AFL's new franchise, the Gold Coast Suns, has virtually revealed its hand by already naming the first three players to be selected - David Swallow, Harley Bennell and Sam Day and our resident draft guru Stevo and every other draft analyst therefore already has them down as a given for draft day which will fittingly be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre later this month. Indeed, David Swallow, who finished fourth in the VFL's 2010 JJ Liston Trophy playing for the Suns, was nominated even before Melbourne's Barry Prendergast called out Tom Scully's name as Melbourne's first pick in 2009. There was no need therefore for Stevo to extol Swallow's virtues although the words "potential Brownlow Medallist" almost passed through his lips when he fleetingly mentioned his name. The only mystery remaining is whether Bennell or Day's name will be called out for second choice. We decided to take the diplomatic line of alphabetic order in presenting you the Inside Football pen pictures of the two, who Stevo agrees, select themselves as the remaining Gold Coast initial choices:- .There was no way that we could set Gold Coast aside in our discussions on the forthcoming draft. When we discussed the unpredictability of the top end of this year's draft compared to last year, Stevo agreed insofar as the top seven or eight were concerned (noting as we have already done that this year's top three picks are set in stone). In terms of Melbourne's first choice at 12, he sees the fact that one club (Gold Coast) holds four of the five preceding selections as a major determinant in that unpredictability and one that could work in the club's favour. "The reason for this is that whereas the other clubs would almost certainly be focussing on that 'best available' player, the Gold Coast's embarrassment of riches in terms of the number of early choices available to it will, of necessity, lead it along different paths. "I'm not giving away any secrets when I describe this draft as 'highly compromised'. Not only do the Suns dominate the top half of the first round of the draft but the draft pool itself has been compromised in a number of ways starting with the rule that allowed them to pre-sign a dozen 17-year-olds last year. "They picked the eyes out of some exceptional talent in Josh Toy, Trent McKenzie, Brandon Matera, Maverick Weller and others but they do lack talent in key positions and could do with some more talls and specialist defenders. "Their recruiters will therefore be tempted to look at needs with choices far earlier than other clubs might do in these circumstances." Stevo was firmly of the view that most of the best players available in the top dozen are medium sized players, many of who will be "close to or ready to go in 2011". He is aware that Dean Bailey has hinted on a number of occasions about the club's need for a strong, tall marking forward but believes it's more likely that when the time comes for Melbourne to make its first selection, that player will be a "mid". To support this, Stevo cites the following as medium sized candidates within the range of eight players after Gold Coast's initial three selections and pick twelve:- Shaun Atley, Josh Caddy, Reece Conca, Andrew Gaff, Kieran Harper, Dyson Heppell, Ben Jacobs, Jayden Pitt, Jared Polec, Billie Smedts and Brodie Smith. That's on top of Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore who have both gone to the Western Bulldogs under the father/son rule but omits Dion Prestia who, at 175cm is a bit too short to qualify as medium sized in Stevo's estimation but still, a player who could go early. I've gone on record as saying that I support the tall marking forward option and I expressed my disappointment to Stevo who pointed out that there were few talls around who he classed as having the ability of the players he had mentioned. There was South Australian Daniel Gorringe and the fast rising Tom Lynch and young ruckman/forward Scott Lycett but nothing much else on the horizon other than the player he termed "the draft's mystery man", Jack Darling, a player who he said "could go anywhere". That's where we stop for the time being but I'll be back with more of Stevo soon. TO BE CONTINUED ...

Demonland is proud to announce that it has again secured the services of "Stevo" who knows the ins and outs of the Under 18 TAC Cup scene from an insider's point of view. He attended most of those of the National Under 18 championship games played in Melbourne and Geelong over the winter, has been involved with two TAC Clubs over the years and teaches physical education and sport. He discussed his views on the 2010 draft prospects from a Melbourne Football Club perspective with Whispering Jack (and yes, we know it's not technically summmertime yet but couldn't come up with another title) ... SUMMER TIME AND THE DRAFTING'S EASY - PART ONE by Whispering Jack There are only eight names standing between the start of this year's AFL National Draft and Melbourne's first selection at number twelve. The AFL's new franchise, the Gold Coast Suns, has virtually revealed its hand by already naming the first three players to be selected - David Swallow, Harley Bennell and Sam Day and our resident draft guru Stevo and every other draft analyst therefore already has them down as a given for draft day which will fittingly be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre later this month. Indeed, David Swallow, who finished fourth in the VFL's 2010 JJ Liston Trophy playing for the Suns, was nominated even before Melbourne's Barry Prendergast called out Tom Scully's name as Melbourne's first pick in 2009. There was no need therefore for Stevo to extol Swallow's virtues although the words "potential Brownlow Medallist" almost passed through his lips when he fleetingly mentioned his name. The only mystery remaining is whether Bennell or Day's name will be called out for second choice. We decided to take the diplomatic line of alphabetic order in presenting you the Inside Football pen pictures of the two, who Stevo agrees, select themselves as the remaining Gold Coast initial choices:- .There was no way that we could set Gold Coast aside in our discussions on the forthcoming draft. When we discussed the unpredictability of the top end of this year's draft compared to last year, Stevo agreed insofar as the top seven or eight were concerned (noting as we have already done that this year's top three picks are set in stone). In terms of Melbourne's first choice at 12, he sees the fact that one club (Gold Coast) holds four of the five preceding selections as a major determinant in that unpredictability and one that could work in the club's favour. "The reason for this is that whereas the other clubs would almost certainly be focussing on that 'best available' player, the Gold Coast's embarrassment of riches in terms of the number of early choices available to it will, of necessity, lead it along different paths. "I'm not giving away any secrets when I describe this draft as 'highly compromised'. Not only do the Suns dominate the top half of the first round of the draft but the draft pool itself has been compromised in a number of ways starting with the rule that allowed them to pre-sign a dozen 17-year-olds last year. "They picked the eyes out of some exceptional talent in Josh Toy, Trent McKenzie, Brandon Matera, Maverick Weller and others but they do lack talent in key positions and could do with some more talls and specialist defenders. "Their recruiters will therefore be tempted to look at needs with choices far earlier than other clubs might do in these circumstances." Stevo was firmly of the view that most of the best players available in the top dozen are medium sized players, many of who will be "close to or ready to go in 2011". He is aware that Dean Bailey has hinted on a number of occasions about the club's need for a strong, tall marking forward but believes it's more likely that when the time comes for Melbourne to make its first selection, that player will be a "mid". To support this, Stevo cites the following as medium sized candidates within the range of eight players after Gold Coast's initial three selections and pick twelve:- Shaun Atley, Josh Caddy, Reece Conca, Andrew Gaff, Kieran Harper, Dyson Heppell, Ben Jacobs, Jayden Pitt, Jared Polec, Billie Smedts and Brodie Smith. That's on top of Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore who have both gone to the Western Bulldogs under the father/son rule but omits Dion Prestia who, at 175cm is a bit too short to qualify as medium sized in Stevo's estimation but still, a player who could go early. I've gone on record as saying that I support the tall marking forward option and I expressed my disappointment to Stevo who pointed out that there were few talls around who he classed as having the ability of the players he had mentioned. There was South Australian Daniel Gorringe and the fast rising Tom Lynch and young ruckman/forward Scott Lycett but nothing much else on the horizon other than the player he termed "the draft's mystery man", Jack Darling, a player who he said "could go anywhere". That's where we stop for the time being but I'll be back with more of Stevo soon. TO BE CONTINUED ...

I'm not experiencing any of these issue on both a Mac and Windows or Firefox or Internet Explorer. Let me know if the problem persists but as Nasher said earlier it is hard to diagnose the problem if it is not happening for me.

by the Professor REAWAKENING ... The once proud Melbourne Football Club had endured more than two decades in the football wilderness when the new era of national football began in 1987. After the golden era of the 1950's and early sixties ended with a flag in 1964 Melbourne fans had watched as clubs such as Richmond, Carlton and then Hawthorn and North Melbourne took over the reins as V.F.L powers. Sound administrations and solid financial backing enabled these clubs to recruit the personnel necessary to build footballing dynasties. Melbourne was lagging behind them in almost every facet of the game. One positive legacy of the five years under Ron Barassi's coaching was the strength of the club's junior development programme, which saw the Demons competing regularly in Under 19 finals in the early 1980's. This provided Melbourne with a constant stream of new talent such as Greg Healy, Bret Bailey, Chris Connolly, Rod Grinter and Graeme Yeats. Melbourne had also instigated the experiment of recruiting talent from Ireland, which brought Sean Wight and Jim Stynes to the club. It was ironic that in the final years of country zoning, the previously unproductive Goulburn Valley zone suddenly produced a young champion in Garry Lyon. The appointment of a young administrator in Cameron Schwab was also invaluable in assisting the Demons to attain a long awaited return to finals football. Schwab was instrumental in bringing players of the calibre of Warren Dean, Ricky Jackson, Brett Lovett, Steven O'Dwyer, Earl Spalding and Todd Viney to the club by the start of the 1987 season. The emergence of young talented recruits brought immediate results. The Demons had won night premierships in the sixties when that competition was an end of season affair and not open to the finals teams. In 1987 they won an "open" night premiership defeating Essendon 8.10.58 to 8.6.54 in a superb team performance. In the home and away season the Demons were inconsistent but finished strongly to win the last 6 home and away games and sneak into fifth spot. The euphoric scenes at Footscray when Melbourne secured a place in the finals were repeated in the following weeks as some brilliant football in the Elimination Final (against North Melbourne) and the First Semi Final (Sydney) saw the team earn the right to play in the Preliminary Final. The Melbourne run was tragically ended in the Preliminary final against Hawthorn. After leading all day, the Demons were denied a grand final appearance when a 15 metre penalty awarded to Hawk forward Gary Buckenara gave Hawthorn a goal after the siren. Robert Flower retired that day after achieving a new club record of 274 games. Having tasted the experience of competing in finals Melbourne went one step further in 1988. They won twelve of their first sixteen games but five straight losses followed and Demons just managed to squeeze into the five after a great win over Carlton. Melbourne beat the West Coast Eagles by a kick in the Elimination Final and then earned their first grand final berth in 24 years after victories over Collingwood and Carlton. Sadly, Melbourne performed poorly against a rampant Hawthorn and was not experience a grand final again until the year 2000. After winning the night competition for the second time in three years, Melbourne started the 1989 season well but some inconsistent form late in the year cost it a vital top three finish going into the finals. After beating Collingwood in the Elimination Final, the Demons lost the First Semi Final to Geelong and to finish in fourth position. Melbourne was again in the top bracket of teams in 1990 and despite winning 16 games the club still missed a top three spot. Despite a strong win over Hawthorn in the Elimination Final, the Demons lost momentum with a week's break caused by the drawn Qualifying Final between West Coast and Collingwood. A loss to the Eagles in the First Semi Final saw the club finish again in fourth position. The Demons reached the finals for the fifth successive year in 1991 but were unable to win the First Semi Final against an eventual Grand Finalist, the West Coast Eagles. The Irish experiment proved its success when ruckman Jim Stynes won the Brownlow Medal. Melbourne's form fell away in 1992 and John Northey resigned as senior coach completing the most successful coaching stint at the club since the days of the great Norm Smith. His replacement, Neil Balme lifted the side in 1993 and in the following year the Demons were back playing finals football. Garry Lyon, Allen Jakovich and David Schwarz formed a strong high marking forward line and with exciting midfielders in Stephen Tingay, Todd Viney, Andy Lovell and Sean Charles Melbourne stormed through two finals wins over Carlton and Footscray before having to travel to Perth to take on the Eagles in the Preliminary Final. The Demons were flat in that game losing to the eventual premiers. During the season there were rumours of a possible merger with the ailing Fitzroy Football Club. The two seasons following were punctuated by the disappointment of injuries and a collapse in morale as a result of the loss of many of the team's stars. The high flying David Schwarz suffered three knee reconstructions in a short period of time, Captain Gary Lyon, the flamboyant Allen Jakovich, exciting wingers Stephen Tingay and Sean Charles and emerging defender Paul Prymke all were struck down by debilitating injuries. Todd Viney left the club briefly for a short stint to coach in the international tennis arena. Ruckman Jim Stynes seemed to be the only durable performer at the club as he achieved the feat of playing more than 200 consecutive games. But the ravages of injury took their toll on the club and Melbourne plunged to 14th place by the end of 1996. During 1996 the club's administration, led by Ian Ridley, commenced merger negotiations with Hawthorn. The matter was left to the members of both clubs at end of season polls. In the turmoil that followed, Hawk supporters voted to kill off the merger. A majority of Melbourne votes were cast in favour of the move although there have been strong doubts about the legality of the poll with many members locked out of the crowded merger meeting and unable to vote. A strong group - the "Demon Alternative" - led by Brian Dixon and mining magnate Joseph Gutnick had opposed the merger and gained sufficient support for Gutnick to become the new club Chairman after Ridley resigned his position. Former star wingman Brian Dixon was one of the instrumental personalities in the anti-merger group. Gutnick's administration inherited a football basket case in 1997 . The team was deficient in talent and further wracked by injuries and off field drama. There was concern too with Balme's coaching methods, which had to be tailored to suit its obvious lack of ability. Balme was sacked in mid season and replaced by reserves coach, Greg Hutchison. With Melbourne finishing last for the first time since 1981, the Gutnick administration took steps to turn around the club's fortunes. Cameron Schwab was appointed Chief Executive in mid-season, replacing Hassa Mann. Essendon's Football Manager, Danny Corcoran, was secured late in the season, and Neale Daniher was appointed coach for 1998. With Gutnick's financial assistance the Club expanded its operations in important revenue raising areas securing major sponsorships and opening a second social and gaming venue at The Bentleigh Club. The club recruited heavily for 1998 securing Jeff White, Jamie Shanahan and promising junior Travis Johnstone. Under Daniher's guidance, Melbourne rose a record-breaking 12 places in 1998 to finish fourth on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season. The team hit form late in the season with Jeff Farmer displaying great wizardry in front of goals as the team swept away Adelaide and St. Kilda in the finals before going down to North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. Jim Stynes completed an unprecedented run of consecutive games at 244. The confidence generated by 1999 disappeared as age and injury took its toll on the team. Veterans Jim Stynes and Brett Lovett had retired by the end of 1998 while Garry Lyon, Todd Viney and Glenn Lovett all announced their retirements during the season. A voluntary salary cap disclosure to the AFL resulted in a substantial fine, severe draft penalties and the constant adverse publicity destabilised the club. Chief Executive, Cameron Schwab, was replaced mid season by John Anderson. An injury depleted Melbourne limped into 14th place. Melbourne's fortunes improved considerably during the 2000 season. The club recruited well gaining Stephen Powell from the Western Bulldogs in a trade and picking up some classy newcomers in Cameron Bruce, Brad Greed, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan and Simon Godfrey in the draft. The Demon revival was clearly evident in the last half of the season as the team stormed up the ladder to finish third. They then disposed of Carlton and the Kangaroos and enjoyed a great build up to the Grand Final when Shane Woewodin won the Brownlow Medal. The Bombers who had lost only once during the season proved too strong in the grand final but many left the M.C.G that day convinced that the Demons were on the cusp of a new golden era - a dream that once again turned into a nightmare when, early in the 2001 season, the club was overcome by a major political upheaval which saw Gutnick ousted in a boardroom battle that shook the club's very foundations. With politics dictating the club agenda, the team fell away badly and missed the finals. Gabriel Szondy led the new board that emerged from the political battles but within two years he was gone, having resigned after presiding over consecutive seasons of rapidly deteriorating club finances. Paul Gardner, hitherto a virtual unknown at the club, took the helm and gradually reversed the club's off field fortunes. The Demons' on field performances had been as volatile as they were off the field. They experienced solid improvement and earned a finals berth in 2002 with skipper David Neitz becoming the club's first John Coleman Medallist when he headed the AFL's goalkicking. However, a poor finish to an exciting semi final against the Crows led the football department to review its thinking on the team's direction and leading midfielders Powell and Woewodin left the club as it sought to rebuild its midfield to match those of the power clubs. After a poor 2003, the team returned to the finals stage in 2004 when, as late as Round 18, it topped the competition ladder before dropping back in the wake of a late slump in form. Inconsistent form was a feature of the club in 2005 when it fell into the finals but in the following year, the club appeared to have been regenerated in many key areas and it was poised once again to reach for the footballing stars. Although Melbourne finished fifth on the ladder, it was the best performed of the Victorian teams in 2006. The Demons made a dramatic fall from grace in 2007 and finished a lowly fourteenth in a season which saw the sacking of coach Neale Daniher. He was replaced by an assistant, Mark Riley in mid season. Former Bomber Dean Bailey became coach for 2008, the club's 150th year, and immediately instituted a long rebuilding programme. There were changes aplenty as one by one the older brigade disappeared. Long term skipper Neitz, who became the first from his club to reach the 300 game milestone late the year before, succumbed to injury and retired before the middle of 2008. There were other changes taking place at most levels of the club with a board shakeup bringing Jim Stynes to the position of chairman with an almost fresh group in support. Within two years, the club's burdensome debt was erased and although it went through further on field pain with consecutive wooden spoons in 2008-9, there were signs in 2010 that the new, young Demon team was undergoing a real awakening that was about to bring the club a new period of long lasting success.

At last, the Doctor's back but will WJ get to see the '64 grand final? A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER SEVEN - PRETTY MARY It was such a simple plan. The Tardis was supposed to drop us off outside the ABC's Ripponlea studios on Saturday, 19 September, 1964 at as near as possible to 2.30pm. I was to be returned to the precise place where it had collected me long ago in the faraway past. The Doctor had given his assurance that, when this happened, my appearance would again be of a fifteen year old; the beard would be gone and the scars healed. I could return home to my parents and my sister and nobody would be any the wiser about our long sojourn in time and space ... but of course, only after I finally availed myself of the opportunity to attend the Grand Final. I wanted so much to discover how my beloved Demons had fared against the dreaded Magpies and whether they did indeed win their twelfth VFL premiership flag on that famous day in history. I should have realised that, as with the great majority of the simple schemes hatched in the brilliant but erratic mind of The Doctor in the time I had known him, nothing ever went as planned. For all I knew, we might well have landed in 1964 this time but we were certainly not in Melbourne, Australia. My guess was that we were in foggy London because somewhere behind us was the shadow of Big Ben. The three of us, the Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and I, stood there in a state of confusion as the big clock struck the hour of four o'clock. Darkness was already beginning to set in and we were shivering; clothed only in the attire of eternally sub tropical Gallifrey. The Doctor muttered somewhat sheepishly and in unconvincing terms of a defective sonic screwdriver being thrown out of kilter by the proximity of the coming equinox but he stopped with the gibberish as he drew my attention to the building across the road. It was a music hall and I instantly recognised the main act whose performance was advertised for that very night. I closed my eyes and listened to the music. The acoustic guitars, the perfect harmony and the inspiration of the words lifted my spirits. Back home, their music had long ago worn out the needle of my record player but now I was in their actual presence. No longer would I have to content myself with the remembrance of a grainy black and white image of the first time I saw her face. I was floating in space. "I'm the kid who ran away with the circus, Now I'm watering elephants, But I sometimes lie awake in the sawdust, Dreaming I'm in a suit of light." Just a minute! I suddenly realised that they weren't singing this repertoire back in 1964 when I left. Wasn't it all about marvellous little toys that go zip when they move, about Stewball the racehorse and about magic dragons named Puff that sadly disappeared from Jackie Paper's life? Before I had an opportunity to reflect on this conundrum, the gray haired gentleman sitting behind us tapped The Doctor on the shoulder. In a clipped accent that could have been anything between American Yankee and East End cockney, he greeted my mentor. "Who, it's you!" "Charles. My lord, what a co-incidence. I haven't seen you since I left you in Hong Kong with the countess. You look positively distraught. What's the matter with you man?" It transpired that we were in the presence of one of the greatest comic actors the universe had ever known – an elderly Charlie Chaplin, whose classic role as The Tramp from moviedom's silent age was legendary. He could speak! Far too loudly it would seem because, we were very quickly ushered out of the music hall by some burly attendants and we found ourselves sitting in a nearby tavern. My dream of meeting Pretty Mary was over and I had this feeling that I wasn't going to witness the 1964 Grand Final at any time soon. "Time was talking, Guess I just wasn't listening, No surprise if you know me well." Chaplin needed The Doctor's help. He was in the latter years of his life, ailing in health and he had a problem in the shape of a family heirloom, an emerald brooch, bequeathed to him in his mother's Last Will and Testament. He had recently discovered that the one that he had in his possession was a fake. "The only time it could have possibly been substituted was while we were filming 'The Circus' back in 1927. I had befriended one of the bit actors who showed a liking for the brooch so I entrusted it to him for a while. It was during the time we were filming the scene with the zebra. Now that I think of it, he must have stuffed the real emerald inside the animal, made the exchange and removed it later. That's why I need to get back in time to recover my jewel – so that I can pass it on to my daughter Geraldine before I die. " "Too risky for you, Charles. Time travellers aren't allowed to come face to face with their former selves, but we'll go back and get that emerald back to you in time for us to catch this evening's performance. It's a promise!" And that my friends, is how I managed to witness the 1926 Grand Final, also played between Melbourne and Collingwood. In his haste to travel back in time, The Doctor neglected to repair that faulty sonic screwdriver and, after leaving an ecstatic and very grateful Charlie Chaplin behind us in the bar of London's Fiddlers Arms, we managed to overshoot our target again - this time by almost a year and three continents. We landed in Melbourne in September, 1926, during grand final week. I pleaded with The Doctor to allow me to remain there so I could go to the big game and he acquiesced. It took him no time to find some lodgings in Swan Street and a ticket in the member's stand (in another incarnation, The Doctor had been a teammate of the great W.G. Grace) and then he took off to the States with Lethbridge-Stewart in their quest to solve the mystery of Chaplin's missing emerald, leaving me in what had been my home town four decades before all this started. The Fuschias (as they were then known) played a very stop, start game from my point of view but, as they drew away from the Magpies in the second half of the game, the feeling in my heart was one of sheer exhilaration. Bob Johnson, a tall centre half forward whose son I remembered as a player in the fifties, kicked six goals, Herbie White was a brilliant rover and captain coach Bert Chadwick simply controlled the proceedings. We were treated to an exhibition of delightful skills from Ivor Warne Smith, the Brownlow Medallist of the year and, much to the chagrin of the Collingwood rabble, Melbourne went on to win by 57 points and to record its second premiership after 26 years of waiting. The long drought was over. I sat in the stands beside an elderly man who introduced himself as Henry Harrison. It was only later, as I meandered down Yarra Park in the direction of Punt Road that it dawned on me that I had been sitting in the presence of one of the game's co-founders. Henry Colden Antill Harrison had written down the rules of the game with his cousin Thomas Wentworth Wills back in 1858. What's more, sitting next to him had been a man named Dick Wardill. Surely, he must have been the captain of the 1900 side that captured the club's first premiership? I really had been in the presence of legends. My reverie was interrupted when I bumped into the familiar blue police box shape of the Tardis. The Brigadier grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and we were off into the ether. On the way back to London, I learned that The Doctor and the Brig had apprehended the thief on the set of The Circus as it was being filmed. The jewel had been stuffed into the eye of the zebra and the Brig, disguised as an elderly woman extra had communicated the news to The Doctor through one of those mobile phones they had mentioned were the sensations of the early Twenty-first Century. The thief had been caught and the real jewel was on its way back to its rightful owner. Back in the London music hall, Chaplin was reunited with his long lost emerald and we enjoyed the second half of the evening's performance. At one point, a bearded Peter Yarrow appeared to glance in my direction and, with his buddy Paul Stookey, they started strumming their duelling guitars to a tune that sounded very much like, "It's a grand old flag". I was sure that when they stopped playing Mary Travers winked straight at me. By the time the evening was over, the spring of 1964 was the last thing on my mind. "I'm the kid who has this habit of dreaming, It sometimes gets me in trouble too, But the truth is I can no more stop dreaming, Than I could make them all come true." [From "The Kid" written by Buddy Mondlock] The opportunity to live your dreams might not come very often, so when it comes, grasp it with all your might. Epilogue This part of the story would never have been told but for an interesting discovery made by an Irish film buff whose persistence uncovered some unintended vision of Lethbridge-Stewart in the course of apprehending the villainous thief. Here it is on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6a4T2tJaSU. Now that the story has been well and truly exposed, I suppose The Doctor will come back to get me so that together we can find a way to erase the Brigadier's bungling efforts. With a bit of luck, I might also have the opportunity to describe to you the euphoria of 2014 when we … no, that's a bit too close to home. Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas Day, 1977. The legend is that his daughter refused to accept his bequest of the green emerald and that it was buried with him. Not long after his body was interred in Corsier-Sur-Vevey Cemetery, Vaud, Switzerland, his corpse was stolen. The body was recovered but the jewel was never accounted for and I suppose that's another reason why we will have to go back one day. Mary Travers passed away on September 16th, 2009. After successful recovery from leukaemia through a bone marrow/stem cell transplant, Mary succumbed to the side effects of one of the chemotherapy treatments. We all loved her deeply and miss her beyond words. TO BE CONTINUED

At last, the Doctor's back but will WJ get to see the '64 grand final? A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER SEVEN - PRETTY MARY It was such a simple plan. The Tardis was supposed to drop us off outside the ABC's Ripponlea studios on Saturday, 19 September, 1964 at as near as possible to 2.30pm. I was to be returned to the precise place where it had collected me long ago in the faraway past. The Doctor had given his assurance that, when this happened, my appearance would again be of a fifteen year old; the beard would be gone and the scars healed. I could return home to my parents and my sister and nobody would be any the wiser about our long sojourn in time and space ... but of course, only after I finally availed myself of the opportunity to attend the Grand Final. I wanted so much to discover how my beloved Demons had fared against the dreaded Magpies and whether they did indeed win their twelfth VFL premiership flag on that famous day in history. I should have realised that, as with the great majority of the simple schemes hatched in the brilliant but erratic mind of The Doctor in the time I had known him, nothing ever went as planned. For all I knew, we might well have landed in 1964 this time but we were certainly not in Melbourne, Australia. My guess was that we were in foggy London because somewhere behind us was the shadow of Big Ben. The three of us, the Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and I, stood there in a state of confusion as the big clock struck the hour of four o'clock. Darkness was already beginning to set in and we were shivering; clothed only in the attire of eternally sub tropical Gallifrey. The Doctor muttered somewhat sheepishly and in unconvincing terms of a defective sonic screwdriver being thrown out of kilter by the proximity of the coming equinox but he stopped with the gibberish as he drew my attention to the building across the road. It was a music hall and I instantly recognised the main act whose performance was advertised for that very night. I closed my eyes and listened to the music. The acoustic guitars, the perfect harmony and the inspiration of the words lifted my spirits. Back home, their music had long ago worn out the needle of my record player but now I was in their actual presence. No longer would I have to content myself with the remembrance of a grainy black and white image of the first time I saw her face. I was floating in space. "I'm the kid who ran away with the circus, Now I'm watering elephants, But I sometimes lie awake in the sawdust, Dreaming I'm in a suit of light." Just a minute! I suddenly realised that they weren't singing this repertoire back in 1964 when I left. Wasn't it all about marvellous little toys that go zip when they move, about Stewball the racehorse and about magic dragons named Puff that sadly disappeared from Jackie Paper's life? Before I had an opportunity to reflect on this conundrum, the gray haired gentleman sitting behind us tapped The Doctor on the shoulder. In a clipped accent that could have been anything between American Yankee and East End cockney, he greeted my mentor. "Who, it's you!" "Charles. My lord, what a co-incidence. I haven't seen you since I left you in Hong Kong with the countess. You look positively distraught. What's the matter with you man?" It transpired that we were in the presence of one of the greatest comic actors the universe had ever known – an elderly Charlie Chaplin, whose classic role as The Tramp from moviedom's silent age was legendary. He could speak! Far too loudly it would seem because, we were very quickly ushered out of the music hall by some burly attendants and we found ourselves sitting in a nearby tavern. My dream of meeting Pretty Mary was over and I had this feeling that I wasn't going to witness the 1964 Grand Final at any time soon. "Time was talking, Guess I just wasn't listening, No surprise if you know me well." Chaplin needed The Doctor's help. He was in the latter years of his life, ailing in health and he had a problem in the shape of a family heirloom, an emerald brooch, bequeathed to him in his mother's Last Will and Testament. He had recently discovered that the one that he had in his possession was a fake. "The only time it could have possibly been substituted was while we were filming 'The Circus' back in 1927. I had befriended one of the bit actors who showed a liking for the brooch so I entrusted it to him for a while. It was during the time we were filming the scene with the zebra. Now that I think of it, he must have stuffed the real emerald inside the animal, made the exchange and removed it later. That's why I need to get back in time to recover my jewel – so that I can pass it on to my daughter Geraldine before I die. " "Too risky for you, Charles. Time travellers aren't allowed to come face to face with their former selves, but we'll go back and get that emerald back to you in time for us to catch this evening's performance. It's a promise!" And that my friends, is how I managed to witness the 1926 Grand Final, also played between Melbourne and Collingwood. In his haste to travel back in time, The Doctor neglected to repair that faulty sonic screwdriver and, after leaving an ecstatic and very grateful Charlie Chaplin behind us in the bar of London's Fiddlers Arms, we managed to overshoot our target again - this time by almost a year and three continents. We landed in Melbourne in September, 1926, during grand final week. I pleaded with The Doctor to allow me to remain there so I could go to the big game and he acquiesced. It took him no time to find some lodgings in Swan Street and a ticket in the member's stand (in another incarnation, The Doctor had been a teammate of the great W.G. Grace) and then he took off to the States with Lethbridge-Stewart in their quest to solve the mystery of Chaplin's missing emerald, leaving me in what had been my home town four decades before all this started. The Fuschias (as they were then known) played a very stop, start game from my point of view but, as they drew away from the Magpies in the second half of the game, the feeling in my heart was one of sheer exhilaration. Bob Johnson, a tall centre half forward whose son I remembered as a player in the fifties, kicked six goals, Herbie White was a brilliant rover and captain coach Bert Chadwick simply controlled the proceedings. We were treated to an exhibition of delightful skills from Ivor Warne Smith, the Brownlow Medallist of the year and, much to the chagrin of the Collingwood rabble, Melbourne went on to win by 57 points and to record its second premiership after 26 years of waiting. The long drought was over. I sat in the stands beside an elderly man who introduced himself as Henry Harrison. It was only later, as I meandered down Yarra Park in the direction of Punt Road that it dawned on me that I had been sitting in the presence of one of the game's co-founders. Henry Colden Antill Harrison had written down the rules of the game with his cousin Thomas Wentworth Wills back in 1858. What's more, sitting next to him had been a man named Dick Wardill. Surely, he must have been the captain of the 1900 side that captured the club's first premiership? I really had been in the presence of legends. My reverie was interrupted when I bumped into the familiar blue police box shape of the Tardis. The Brigadier grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and we were off into the ether. On the way back to London, I learned that The Doctor and the Brig had apprehended the thief on the set of The Circus as it was being filmed. The jewel had been stuffed into the eye of the zebra and the Brig, disguised as an elderly woman extra had communicated the news to The Doctor through one of those mobile phones they had mentioned were the sensations of the early Twenty-first Century. The thief had been caught and the real jewel was on its way back to its rightful owner. Back in the London music hall, Chaplin was reunited with his long lost emerald and we enjoyed the second half of the evening's performance. At one point, a bearded Peter Yarrow appeared to glance in my direction and, with his buddy Paul Stookey, they started strumming their duelling guitars to a tune that sounded very much like, "It's a grand old flag". I was sure that when they stopped playing Mary Travers winked straight at me. By the time the evening was over, the spring of 1964 was the last thing on my mind. "I'm the kid who has this habit of dreaming, It sometimes gets me in trouble too, But the truth is I can no more stop dreaming, Than I could make them all come true." [From "The Kid" written by Buddy Mondlock] The opportunity to live your dreams might not come very often, so when it comes, grasp it with all your might. Epilogue This part of the story would never have been told but for an interesting discovery made by an Irish film buff whose persistence uncovered some unintended vision of Lethbridge-Stewart in the course of apprehending the villainous thief. Here it is on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6a4T2tJaSU. Now that the story has been well and truly exposed, I suppose The Doctor will come back to get me so that together we can find a way to erase the Brigadier's bungling efforts. With a bit of luck, I might also have the opportunity to describe to you the euphoria of 2014 when we … no, that's a bit too close to home. Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas Day, 1977. The legend is that his daughter refused to accept his bequest of the green emerald and that it was buried with him. Not long after his body was interred in Corsier-Sur-Vevey Cemetery, Vaud, Switzerland, his corpse was stolen. The body was recovered but the jewel was never accounted for and I suppose that's another reason why we will have to go back one day. Mary Travers passed away on September 16th, 2009. After successful recovery from leukaemia through a bone marrow/stem cell transplant, Mary succumbed to the side effects of one of the chemotherapy treatments. We all loved her deeply and miss her beyond words. TO BE CONTINUED

Games CSFC 2010 9 Goals CSFC 2010 5 Games CSFC (res) 2010 4 Goals CSFC (res) 2010 0

Games CSFC 2010 8 Goals CSFC 2010 3 Games CSFC (res) 2010 4 Goals CSFC (res) 2010 5

Games MFC 2010 2 Total 2 Goals MFC 2010 0 Total 0 Games CSFC 2010 13 Goals CSFC 2010 0 Games CSFC (res) 2010 1 Goals CSFC (res) 2010 0

According to the MFC website, "the players are currently on leave. Pre season training will commence in early November".

Games CSFC 2010 4 Goals CSFC 2010 0 Games CSFC (res) 2010 8 Goals CSFC (res) 2010 3

The following rules apply: 21.4 Retention of Rookie List Players (a) A Club may retain a Player on its Rookie List for a second season provided it nominates such Player or Players using Form 32, prior to advising the AFL of its Primary List under Rule 4.1.1 and such Player consents to being nominated on the Rookie List for a second season. (B) A Club may retain a Player on its Rookie List for a third season provided it nominates such Player or Players using Form 32 prior to advising the AFL of its Primary List under Rule 4.1.1 and such Player consents to being nominated on the Rookie List for a third season. If a Player is retained under this Rule 21.4(B), any amount he is paid in excess of the 1st year third round draft selection Player payment will be included in the Club’s Total Player Payments. © A Club may retain a Player included on a Club’s Rookie List under Rule 21.3.4(a)(i) and (ii) for a third season, using Form 32, provided it nominates such Player prior to advising the AFL of its Primary List under Rule 4.1.1 and such Player consents to being nominated on the Rookie List for a third season.

Games MFC 2010 8 Total 9 Goals MFC 2010 4 Total 4 Games CSFC 2010 4 Goals CSFC 2010 3

Games MFC 2010 19 Total 35 Goals MFC 2010 13 Total 15 Games CSFC 2010 2 Goals CSFC 2010 1

Max has a good head and time on his side. He's 208 cm tall and we have to be patient as he gets his body right.

Games MFC 2010 2 Total 8 Goals MFC 2010 0 Total 0 Games CSFC 2010 7 Goals CSFC 2010 2 Games CSFC (res) 2010 1 Goals CSFC (res) 2010 1

Games MFC 2010 22 Total 95 Goals MFC 2010 12 Total 40

Games MFC 2010 6 Total 21 Goals MFC 2010 6 Total 13 Games CSFC 2010 10 Goals CSFC 2010 8

The Oracle ponders on life between trade week and the drafts... WHERE TO FROM HERE? by the Oracle Now that the Demons have demonstrated their awesome talents once again on the international stage, I hereby declare the football season over. We've already had plenty of time to get over the exchange period (aka Gold Coast Suns Benefit Week) and there's not much happening elsewhere. The Aussies lost two Tests in India but came home with a swag of gold medals from India, 33 miners were rescued in Chile, the Spring Racing Carnival is under way and, despite the Jurrahcane's hair-raising heroics, the novelty of the Kaspersky Cup Shanghai Showdown is already wearing off less than twenty-four hours after the event. Mind you, I attribute this to the pathetic, pixellated and tragic excuse for vision of the match that local supporters were treated to over here. Here's an example of that:- We have to come to terms with the fact that there's no footy in sight for months unless we're prepared to endure the heat and humidity of Darwin in summertime and I'm not counting as footy the nonsense they are due to play next week at the aptly named Croke Park in Dublin. The only footy fix available in the near future for the diehard fan is the National Draft set to take part on the Gold Coast but even that's exactly a month away. So where to from here? Surely, for those of us who aren't racing fans, there's more to look forward to than the odd snippet about a club announcing its delistings? I mean, apart from the Jordan McMahon announcement, did any of us shed a tear when we discovered this week that the Bombers had cut Jason Laycock loose or that the Tigers had dispensed with Alroy Gilligan? I concede we're all waiting with bated breath to discover who the Demons will be delisting to make room on their list for some more picks in this year's drafts but there's precious little else that concerns me other than the fate of Travis Johnstone and the location of the particular Brisbane River bridge under which he'll be taking residence when they finally break the news to him. Other than that, the most exciting news we're likely to hear about is that of the appointment of the odd new assistant coach, the posting of various clubs' profits and losses and the inevitable drunken spree (or worse) of a player all of us hope and pray is not on our team's list. On an official level, the action continues on Friday week when the clubs must provide what's called "list lodgement one". Please don't ask me what that means but included are rookie promotions to the primary list, other rules relating to retained second year and third year rookies, scholarship players and international scholarship players and a raft of rules relating to Gold Coast players. It wouldn't surprise me if the AFL aren't still making up those rules as we go along so don't be surprised to discover that James Frawley and Jack Riewoldt have suddenly become Gold Coast Suns players under rule 69.2 (we can do what we want to because we can). A week later on November 5, its time to get a few more formalities out of the way. This is the deadline for out of contract listed primary list players (e.g. if a Brad Miller wishes to nominate to be drafted) and for new or expired (after three years) draft nominations. The same date is the deadline for clubs that hold compensatory selections for loss of uncontracted players to the Gold Coast Suns to nominate whether they will use them in this year's draft or defer their use for future drafts. Given that the selections will be so much better in future uncompromised drafts, one wonders whether many will be used if any at all. The following week sees more deadlines for another list lodgement, delisted primary list draft and non-retained rookie draft nominations and priority zone selections from Queensland and NT. During that time you will be bombarded with names, faces and You Tube highlights as well as a litany of quaint phrases describing prospective draftees. To help you through this period I've dug out an old Demonland favourite from an unknown but wise author. DRAFT TALK by Anonymous* In anticipation of the upcoming draft, this guide may help you decipher those draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. Here is what they really mean when they say: "Outside player with good pace" - A receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - He's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - Slow. "He's an elusive type" - Like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - Has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - Unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - Will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - He has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - Tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - Private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - Has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - Complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - He can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - We needed someone to practice tackling on "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - "Did you know that this kid is 200cm tall?" "We believe he has unlimited potential" - We've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - My wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - He'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - Unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - Hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - Either 16 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - He's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - He weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - He may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - You should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - We haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - We are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department. * I have no idea where this gem came from but I love it.

The Oracle ponders on life between trade week and the drafts... WHERE TO FROM HERE? by the Oracle Now that the Demons have demonstrated their awesome talents once again on the international stage, I hereby declare the football season over. We've already had plenty of time to get over the exchange period (aka Gold Coast Suns Benefit Week) and there's not much happening elsewhere. The Aussies lost two Tests in India but came home with a swag of gold medals from India, 33 miners were rescued in Chile, the Spring Racing Carnival is under way and, despite the Jurrahcane's hair-raising heroics, the novelty of the Kaspersky Cup Shanghai Showdown is already wearing off less than twenty-four hours after the event. Mind you, I attribute this to the pathetic, pixellated and tragic excuse for vision of the match that local supporters were treated to over here. Here's an example of that:- We have to come to terms with the fact that there's no footy in sight for months unless we're prepared to endure the heat and humidity of Darwin in summertime and I'm not counting as footy the nonsense they are due to play next week at the aptly named Croke Park in Dublin. The only footy fix available in the near future for the diehard fan is the National Draft set to take part on the Gold Coast but even that's exactly a month away. So where to from here? Surely, for those of us who aren't racing fans, there's more to look forward to than the odd snippet about a club announcing its delistings? I mean, apart from the Jordan McMahon announcement, did any of us shed a tear when we discovered this week that the Bombers had cut Jason Laycock loose or that the Tigers had dispensed with Alroy Gilligan? I concede we're all waiting with bated breath to discover who the Demons will be delisting to make room on their list for some more picks in this year's drafts but there's precious little else that concerns me other than the fate of Travis Johnstone and the location of the particular Brisbane River bridge under which he'll be taking residence when they finally break the news to him. Other than that, the most exciting news we're likely to hear about is that of the appointment of the odd new assistant coach, the posting of various clubs' profits and losses and the inevitable drunken spree (or worse) of a player all of us hope and pray is not on our team's list. On an official level, the action continues on Friday week when the clubs must provide what's called "list lodgement one". Please don't ask me what that means but included are rookie promotions to the primary list, other rules relating to retained second year and third year rookies, scholarship players and international scholarship players and a raft of rules relating to Gold Coast players. It wouldn't surprise me if the AFL aren't still making up those rules as we go along so don't be surprised to discover that James Frawley and Jack Riewoldt have suddenly become Gold Coast Suns players under rule 69.2 (we can do what we want to because we can). A week later on November 5, its time to get a few more formalities out of the way. This is the deadline for out of contract listed primary list players (e.g. if a Brad Miller wishes to nominate to be drafted) and for new or expired (after three years) draft nominations. The same date is the deadline for clubs that hold compensatory selections for loss of uncontracted players to the Gold Coast Suns to nominate whether they will use them in this year's draft or defer their use for future drafts. Given that the selections will be so much better in future uncompromised drafts, one wonders whether many will be used if any at all. The following week sees more deadlines for another list lodgement, delisted primary list draft and non-retained rookie draft nominations and priority zone selections from Queensland and NT. During that time you will be bombarded with names, faces and You Tube highlights as well as a litany of quaint phrases describing prospective draftees. To help you through this period I've dug out an old Demonland favourite from an unknown but wise author. DRAFT TALK by Anonymous* In anticipation of the upcoming draft, this guide may help you decipher those draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. Here is what they really mean when they say: "Outside player with good pace" - A receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - He's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - Slow. "He's an elusive type" - Like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - Has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - Unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - Will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - He has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - Tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - Private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - Has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - Complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - He can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - We needed someone to practice tackling on "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - "Did you know that this kid is 200cm tall?" "We believe he has unlimited potential" - We've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - My wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - He'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - Unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - Hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - Either 16 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - He's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - He weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - He may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - You should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - We haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - We are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department. * I have no idea where this gem came from but I love it.

Games MFC 2010 2 Total 2 Goals MFC 2010 2 Total 2 Games CSFC 2010 9 Goals CSFC 2010 8 Games CSFC (res) 2010 1 Goals CSFC (res) 2010 1

Dees Win! Melbourne 1.4.10 4.7.31 6.9.45 12.12.84 Brisbane Lions 3.5.23 5.8.38 10.11.71 11.13.79 Goals Melbourne Jurrah, 5 Morton Sylvia 2 Bennell Jamar Spencer Brisbane Lions Beams Rockliff 3 Dyson 2 Buchanan Harwood Rich Best Melbourne Jurrah Bartram Newton Sylvia Dunn Brisbane Lions Rockliff Dyson Beams Merrett Rich