Demonland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good Get Madness. Barry just rang in to confirm that he was in fact selected to play for Sandringham Seniors.

Good get Deeman.

by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham succumbed to the wind, the rain and a far more committed and disciplined Box Hill Hawks at the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval on Sunday. The Hawks won the hard slog in difficult conditions by 15 points pushing the Zebras from first to third place on the VFL ladder. Box Hill took advantage of the best conditions of a bad day for football and booted eight goals to virtually seal the game by quarter time. After Sandy spearhead Nick Sautner scored the first goal of the day against the wind, a touch of arrogance crept into the Zebra makeup. The team dropped its guard for a fatal ten minutes and was ambushed by a determined Box Hill combination. During that period, the visitors had all the answers while the home side stumbled and made some fundamental errors like kicking short into the wind and to a contest, leaving the goal square unguarded for a couple of goals and giving away needless free kicks within scoring distance of the opposition's goal. They fell right into Box Hill's trap and by the time the siren sounded to end the opening stanza, trailed by 38 points. There were very few players able to hold their heads high in the huddle but to their credit the Zebras managed to regroup after the first break but there was a problem. They had given away too great a lead and had to play catch up football all the way to the final siren and while they managed to whittle down the Box Hill lead in every quarter, poor kicking for goal dented any chance they may have held for victory. The fact that Box Hill kicked only four goals after the first break and still managed a relatively comfortable winning margin tells most of the story. The rest of the story is that Sandringham was sloppy in front of goal and, despite looking stronger around the ground for the last three quarters, it allowed the Hawks to dictate how the game was being played. Sandy was often forced wide and struggled to go direct even with the wind. The result was a wasteful result on the scoreboard. This wastefulness was accentuated when Box Hill kicked the last two goals of the opening half against the wind. These goals were to prove invaluable in the final wash up. The Zebra cause was not assisted by the elements, particularly after half time when the rains came down and scoring was made all the more difficult. Sandy had more of the play and even outscored Box Hill when kicking against the wind in the third quarter, but the top heavy forward line simply couldn't find the goals often enough. Perhaps, a smaller crumber like Tomi Johnston who booted five in the reserves might have helped on the day. Meanwhile, Box Hill's only goal of the second half was a long booming shot with the wind after a free kick was awarded against the Zebras for a ruck infringement Despite a noticeable lift in intensity in the final term from the likes of Peter Summers and Matthew Whelan, the Zebra efforts were smothered and stifled by a disciplined defensive Box Hill outfit intent on keeping them at bay. The strategy worked with the Hawks wasting away the final minutes while Sandringham tried unsuccessfully to push for goals. They managed to score one solitary major with a strong wind at their backs in the final quarter. Better Sandy players on the day were Matthew Warnock and Andy Biddlecombe (although outsized by bigger opponents). They held the defence together under difficult conditions along with young Colin Garland who assisted them manfully and showed loads of promise. Summers in the middle and Rod Crowe up forward were good contributors. Unfortunately, eight goals from 28 shots at goal (more if you count a couple that went out of bounds on the full) is not the sort of dividend that helps to secure victory. In its past two matches Sandringham has posted 23 goals 37 behinds to 24.17. The forwards will need to be more accurate with their disposal if they are to overcome old rival Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval on Sunday. The Borough hit top form and destroyed Werribee at the same ground last week while Sandy has lost two out of its last three outings putting it under more intense pressure than at any time since its triple premiership run began in 2004. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Jace Bode - tried hard but failed to impress and finished on the umpire's report sheet. Simon Buckley - flashed in and out of the play and looked good at times but wasn't able to stamp his authority on the game. Lynden Dunn - just went in the dismal conditions and never looked like being a threatening player. Colin Garland - you would expect a Tasmanian to do well in these conditions and he didn't let the team down. Played exceptionally well when his side was under fire in the first half. Chris Johnson - started at half back, was injured early in the game and replaced before quarter time not to be seen again for the day. The injury appears to be a hamstring and he looks like being out for a few weeks. Brad Miller - frozen out early, then on and off the ground as coach Williams juggled his top heavy forward line around. Never really got going which was a major disappointment after last week's six goal performance. Shane Neaves - lowered his colours in the ruck and was, at best, patchy around the ground. Michael Newton - started the game on the bench but when he got his opportunity on the ground he was more than useful. Kicked three goals, worked his butt off and went in hard enough for the ball in an attempt to satisfy his AFL coach to consider him this week given the skipper's out with a broken thumb. Would be better if he could time his leaps for the big marks a bit better and not attempt a screamer at every available half opportunity. Byron Pickett - not even the striped jumper could hide the fact that he's still carrying a bit too much in the girth. Was among the best early, intimidated a few Box Hill defenders and kicked a magnificent goal on the run in the second quarter. However, by the final quarter, he seemed spent so I can't see him getting up for AFL selection on a five day break! Matthew Warnock - the pick of the defenders. Played with dash and handled the conditions reasonably well all day. Matthew Whelan - not his best game although he did get better as proceedings went on. Probably needs another run at this level. Sandringham 2.2.14 6.9.45 7.14.56 8.20.68 Box Hill Hawks 8.4.52 11.5.71 12.8.80 12.11.83 Goals Sandringham Newton Sautner 3 Pickett 2 Box Hill Hawks Thorp 4 Little 2 Breese Gibson McEntee Marguccio Moss Tuck Best Sandringham Warnock Pickett Whelan Summers Crowe Garland Box Hill Hawks Kennedy Renouf Thorp Breese Thurgood Smith Report Sandringham Jace Bode for misconduct (kneeing) G. Moss from Box Hill in the first quarter. The reserves turned the tables on Box Hill when they led all day to run out 21 point victors. Tomi Johnston picked up five goals and was the best small man on the ground while his former Sandringham Dragons teammate and Victorian Under 18 representative Sam Monaghan shone all day. Daniel Hayes was again prominent and looks full of promise. Sandringham 4.5.29 10.8.68 12.12.84 14.20.104 Box Hill Hawks 3.6.24 6.7.43 9.10.64 12.11.83 Goals Sandringham Johnston 5 Gileno Gribbin 2 Gilchrist Hayes Martyn Turcarelli Zarra Box Hill Hawks Cook Conyers 3 Hill 2 Collins Daniher King Marcius Best Sandringham Monaghan Hayes Martyn Johnston Gilchrist Tregear Box Hill Hawks O'Sullivan Marcius Augustin Weinert King Conyers

AMBUSHED by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham succumbed to the wind, the rain and a far more committed and disciplined Box Hill Hawks at the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval on Sunday. The Hawks won the hard slog in difficult conditions by 15 points pushing the Zebras from first to third place on the VFL ladder. Box Hill took advantage of the best conditions of a bad day for football and booted eight goals to virtually seal the game by quarter time. After Sandy spearhead Nick Sautner scored the first goal of the day against the wind, a touch of arrogance crept into the Zebra makeup. The team dropped its guard for a fatal ten minutes and was ambushed by a determined Box Hill combination. During that period, the visitors had all the answers while the home side stumbled and made some fundamental errors like kicking short into the wind and to a contest, leaving the goal square unguarded for a couple of goals and giving away needless free kicks within scoring distance of the opposition's goal. They fell right into Box Hill's trap and by the time the siren sounded to end the opening stanza, trailed by 38 points. There were very few players able to hold their heads high in the huddle but to their credit the Zebras managed to regroup after the first break but there was a problem. They had given away too great a lead and had to play catch up football all the way to the final siren and while they managed to whittle down the Box Hill lead in every quarter, poor kicking for goal dented any chance they may have held for victory. The fact that Box Hill kicked only four goals after the first break and still managed a relatively comfortable winning margin tells most of the story. The rest of the story is that Sandringham was sloppy in front of goal and, despite looking stronger around the ground for the last three quarters, it allowed the Hawks to dictate how the game was being played. Sandy was often forced wide and struggled to go direct even with the wind. The result was a wasteful result on the scoreboard. This wastefulness was accentuated when Box Hill kicked the last two goals of the opening half against the wind. These goals were to prove invaluable in the final wash up. The Zebra cause was not assisted by the elements, particularly after half time when the rains came down and scoring was made all the more difficult. Sandy had more of the play and even outscored Box Hill when kicking against the wind in the third quarter, but the top heavy forward line simply couldn't find the goals often enough. Perhaps, a smaller crumber like Tomi Johnston who booted five in the reserves might have helped on the day. Meanwhile, Box Hill's only goal of the second half was a long booming shot with the wind after a free kick was awarded against the Zebras for a ruck infringement Despite a noticeable lift in intensity in the final term from the likes of Peter Summers and Matthew Whelan, the Zebra efforts were smothered and stifled by a disciplined defensive Box Hill outfit intent on keeping them at bay. The strategy worked with the Hawks wasting away the final minutes while Sandringham tried unsuccessfully to push for goals. They managed to score one solitary major with a strong wind at their backs in the final quarter. Better Sandy players on the day were Matthew Warnock and Andy Biddlecombe (although outsized by bigger opponents). They held the defence together under difficult conditions along with young Colin Garland who assisted them manfully and showed loads of promise. Summers in the middle and Rod Crowe up forward were good contributors. Unfortunately, eight goals from 28 shots at goal (more if you count a couple that went out of bounds on the full) is not the sort of dividend that helps to secure victory. In its past two matches Sandringham has posted 23 goals 37 behinds to 24.17. The forwards will need to be more accurate with their disposal if they are to overcome old rival Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval on Sunday. The Borough hit top form and destroyed Werribee at the same ground last week while Sandy has lost two out of its last three outings putting it under more intense pressure than at any time since its triple premiership run began in 2004. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Jace Bode - tried hard but failed to impress and finished on the umpire's report sheet. Simon Buckley - flashed in and out of the play and looked good at times but wasn't able to stamp his authority on the game. Lynden Dunn - just went in the dismal conditions and never looked like being a threatening player. Colin Garland - you would expect a Tasmanian to do well in these conditions and he didn't let the team down. Played exceptionally well when his side was under fire in the first half. Chris Johnson - started at half back, was injured early in the game and replaced before quarter time not to be seen again for the day. The injury appears to be a hamstring and he looks like being out for a few weeks. Brad Miller - frozen out early, then on and off the ground as coach Williams juggled his top heavy forward line around. Never really got going which was a major disappointment after last week's six goal performance. Shane Neaves - lowered his colours in the ruck and was, at best, patchy around the ground. Michael Newton - started the game on the bench but when he got his opportunity on the ground he was more than useful. Kicked three goals, worked his butt off and went in hard enough for the ball in an attempt to satisfy his AFL coach to consider him this week given the skipper's out with a broken thumb. Would be better if he could time his leaps for the big marks a bit better and not attempt a screamer at every available half opportunity. Byron Pickett - not even the striped jumper could hide the fact that he's still carrying a bit too much in the girth. Was among the best early, intimidated a few Box Hill defenders and kicked a magnificent goal on the run in the second quarter. However, by the final quarter, he seemed spent so I can't see him getting up for AFL selection on a five day break! Matthew Warnock - the pick of the defenders. Played with dash and handled the conditions reasonably well all day. Matthew Whelan - not his best game although he did get better as proceedings went on. Probably needs another run at this level. Sandringham 2.2.14 6.9.45 7.14.56 8.20.68 Box Hill Hawks 8.4.52 11.5.71 12.8.80 12.11.83 Goals Sandringham Newton Sautner 3 Pickett 2 Box Hill Hawks Thorp 4 Little 2 Breese Gibson McEntee Marguccio Moss Tuck Best Sandringham Warnock Pickett Whelan Summers Crowe Garland Box Hill Hawks Kennedy Renouf Thorp Breese Thurgood Smith Report Sandringham Jace Bode for misconduct (kneeing) G. Moss from Box Hill in the first quarter. The reserves turned the tables on Box Hill when they led all day to run out 21 point victors. Tomi Johnston picked up five goals and was the best small man on the ground while his former Sandringham Dragons teammate and Victorian Under 18 representative Sam Monaghan shone all day. Daniel Hayes was again prominent and looks full of promise. Sandringham 4.5.29 10.8.68 12.12.84 14.20.104 Box Hill Hawks 3.6.24 6.7.43 9.10.64 12.11.83 Goals Sandringham Johnston 5 Gileno Gribbin 2 Gilchrist Hayes Martyn Turcarelli Zarra Box Hill Hawks Cook Conyers 3 Hill 2 Collins Daniher King Marcius Best Sandringham Monaghan Hayes Martyn Johnston Gilchrist Tregear Box Hill Hawks O'Sullivan Marcius Augustin Weinert King Conyers

COLIN WISBEY'S 2006 NATIONAL DRAFT PREDICTIONS - PART ONE Internet draft wizz kid Colin Wisbey has finally put together his predictions for the 2006 AFL National Draft selections. Here they are in full (and look out for the surprise twist at the end for Demon fans): PREFACE Because I pulled the plug early on posting my profiles at draft time, I've been re-writing my predictions list to include more comprehensive detail for most players than I normally would. This is taking a lot longer than I had anticipated, having to fit it in with more important work priorities. My predictions are based entirely on pre-draft. No consideration has been given to anything that has occurred since then. PREDICTIONS FOR "UNDER 18" 2006 AFL DRAFTEES I judge them to have "made AFL" when they have played a decent number of good AFL games over a sustained period (i.e. not merely getting games when their club's list is decimated by injuries, or due to just their size or pace presenting them with premature opportunities). The categories generally reflect players about whom I feel most confident in making predictions. This was a terrific draft, somewhat like 2001 but with greater depth. I believe there are many serious bargains in that I feel some clubs paid a very high price for certain players and that some others who I consider "sure fire" AFL were allowed to slip because they weren't a sexy height etc. In my honest opinion Essendon did very well in this "bargains" area. The following format is "Player (actual draft pick and club) [my pre-draft ranking]". Note: My ranking number does not necessarily reflect the draft pick I would use or would be necessary. (eg You don't pay a higher draft pick price than you think will be needed to get the player). In designating a ranking number, I try to come up a number that reflects both the relative upside and risk/concerns. Every Recruiting Manager (and staff) wrestles with the same exercise. eg You might think a player has great upside but that there is a significant doubt/concern about his likelihood of achieving it (perhaps through concerns about his current commitment or ability to overcome a current chronic injury etc). You might think another player has less upside but you are far more confident of him achieving it. Which player do you rank higher / get keener on? Furthermore, as of this draft I'm against ranking any specialist ruck in top 15 anyway. (Rucks tend to be more injury prone, take longer to return on investment, are more likely to have queries re bulking up, and there is historically a disproportionate success rate of late ruck picks over early ones). CATEGORY ONE - WILL BE TOP SHELF (roughly in the order of their upside but allowing for my level of confidence in them achieving it): GIBBS, Bryce (1 Carlton) [1] Standout. The footballer's footballer. Class midfielder. Very bottom-age but plug 'n play. Rises to the occasion. Quality kid with a professional approach to his footy already. Only flaws are "somewhat" one-sidedness (although he is one of those smart footballers who, through ability to think his way out of trouble, manages to avoid getting exposed) and lack of zip. Neither will cause him great concern at AFL level because he is smart enough to know where to run and how to cut the angles, and he has a great work-rate both ways (although needs to pay his own opponent more respect). He is neither as slow as his reputation would suggest nor quite as quick as his DC times suggest. The type who will surprise you by finishing up with 30 disposals when you might have guessed about 18. Not the type to carry the ball 50m or break the play open in the manner of a Judd but he just keeps on getting his own ball, keeps being in the right place at the right time, and routinely makes the smart decisions and has all the right hurt factors. There has been no more fail-safe AFL gun prospect since Griffen who I rate the most fail-safe since Hodge/Judd/Ball. In '06 SANFL Seniors, was named in the best in an incredible 10 of his 16 games (although surprisingly receiving Margery Medal votes in just 2), despite only turning 17 in March '06. Classy players are sometimes not noted for their tackling. Gibbs however regularly has a high tackle count and he is a very effective tackler. HAWKINS, Tom (41 Geelong) [2] Will be a gun FF/CHF. Already a man mountain but huge scope once chiselled down and conditioned. Style-wise, think of an early Lockett but who is team-orientated and works very hard both ways. Will take plenty of marks and kick plenty of goals but his career will also be noted for what he does to create opportunities for team-mates. Good hurt factors. Right footer (thumping kick) who rarely uses his left although he is actually quite good on it. Is often described as slow. He is no gazelle but his pace is underrated and I have no concerns whatsoever re his pace for AFL. He does nothing half-paced - he goes full bore and gets the most out of whatever his legs can produce. Terrific ethic and intensity, and not just for a huge man. Routinely chases and chases full bore. eg In game 2 of U18 Champs, chased a WA player for 70m, passing a team mate who couldn't be bothered - opponent had 15m start but Hawkins chased desperately and actually almost caught the opponent (who admittedly was running 3/4 pace). Mouth-watering prospect. JETTA, Leroy (18 Essendon) [5] Great talent if chooses to apply himself. X-factor. Better know by some as a quick, creative, flashy forward but, once he gets his tank right, I believe he will be a gun mid-fielder. Clever, courageous game-breaker. Fairly good decision-making and disposal (although sometimes bites off more than he can chew). Unaccountable, perhaps selfish, and off-field ethic (including time management, commitment) needs improvement. Jetta has been mad keen for AFL centre stage but has yet to embrace the same level of enthusiasm for the hard work and off-field self discipline required for AFL success. His natural game is based more on flamboyance than work ethic but, if he is prepared to get himself in top condition, there is no reason why he can't be very consistent. Immature personality but I've always felt he needed the AFL stage to bring out the best in him. Potential to be the next Kerr (and not just in style). Bargain pick, despite current immaturity. PROUD, Albert (22 Brisbane) [4] Tough, pacy, aggressive, consistent. Ethic, intensity, smarts, physical presence. Chases hard (excellent closing speed), hits hard. Because of his late start to '06 (foot operation) and O.P., he was in poor condition at DC (albeit probably too poor) so I'm not reading anything into his DC athletic results, especially poor endurance times. In my pre-draft profile I suggested "those results might encourage enough clubs to overlook him early draft and see him slipping in the order a bit, providing a bargain to the club who takes him". Would be plug 'n play if free of injury (esp O.P.) and fit. Showed better temper control in '06. Will lift his team when all around him are falling. Style-wise, picture an early Ricciuto. Is somewhat one-sided but his disposal, although not faultless, is fairly reliable. Genuine footballer and has the pace that many of the touted mids this year lack. HOULI, Bachar (42 Essendon) [8] Injury-prone (only major AFL query is durability) but smart, classy midfielder/HFF. Very good OHF and NHF (negative hurt factor). Not outside per se but, so far, has played the game on his own terms at his own pace, Predator style "off the pack" a la Shakleton,, and is on good terms with himself. Very footy-smart and potentially more athletic than his appearance/style have suggested. I've always suspected he treated underage footy with almost contempt. Will leave no stone unturned and I believe he will not only shine at AFL level but show us a more rounded game (re on-field work rate). Historical concerns re his endurance and pace but I am convinced that, when injury-free, he will have excellent endurance and quite good pace. Absolute bargain. DJERRKURA, Nathan (25 Geelong) [9] 176cm electrifying, fierce, dynamic, quick, clean, take-them-on, relentless ball-carrying dasher. Byron Picket with some Wirrpanda. Breaks the play open. Exciting combination of speed, motor, attack, physicality and natural footballer ability. Despite his height, I think he is likely to be something special. X-factor. Trademarks are (1) Come from nowhere to run opponent down with excellent closing speed and fierce tackle ("silent assassin" ), (2) Take-them-on dash then kick into forward 50 (if not nailed in the process!). Other main selling points are intensity, balance, contested ball ability, agility, endurance, overhead, consistency, evasion, traffic management, versatility. Gives away an avg 3 frees per game, virtually all through either (over-)ambitiously taking opponents on and getting nailed, or through over-zealous tackles. He's a smart kid and I'm confident he will learn to be more judicious. Regardless, even though 3 FAs a game is not what a coach would normally like to see, I think it is more than balanced by the pressure he puts opponents under (a la Davey, but with brutality) and the number of times he is actually successful in breaking the play open with his daring. i.e. If you want the benefits of his attack on the man and opening up of the play, you should expect to have to wear occasional slip-ups. Benefit greatly outweighs cost in Djerrkura's case. (I'd rather a kid who dares to dare than one who plays introverted). He is as quick as any '06 draftee. He is as good and as reliable in the air as most of the other good smalls/mediums who are good overhead. Usually a good kick and his disposals often hurt. Has the dash, daring and hurt factor you want from an outside player, the hardness and in-close ability you want from an inside player, plays tall, is versatile, is footballer and athlete in equal doses, is a great kid who will be very coachable, and doesn't have a "go home" query. Add endurance, physicality and ethic (both ways) to that and IMHO no other kid in this draft can lay better claim to that package of traits. I'm less hung up on height than many people are. Recent premiership teams, Brownlow high voters and AA teams prove there is always a place for a smaller player if he is special enough in certain areas or as a package. I rated Djerrkura quite a lot earlier than I knew he would go but am very confident he will be very good AFL. Except for (arguably) height, he is made for today's game and could play anywhere down the flanks. Probably best suited to HBF or wing in his early AFL days. Could play BP too but I believe his talents are best utilised where he can afford more risks. In the backline, will be able to supply both Pickett-like pressure as well as plenty of run out of defence and hardball get ability. Down the track I think he could be a good AFL onballer. Has the capacity to potentially be a run-with or even an inside mid. No doubts about his tank or speed or hardness and he is quite clean under pressure (both getting and disposing). And he should be virtually plug 'n play. Bargain. SELWOOD, Joel (7 Geelong) [11] First Dibs midfielder. Elite play-reader with great ability to win the ball and to pressure opponents from winning it cleanly. Very balanced genuine footballer. Excellent vision, smarts, very good by hand, strong overhead. Gets to a helluva lot of contests and very competitive in any type of contest, ground level or overhead, regardless of pressure, and against different types of opponents. If I had to describe him in "one" word it would probably be either "relentless" or "highly-competitive". Has most of the typical Selwood traits (courage, ethic, endurance, competitiveness, overhead, lack of pace) but has much better decision-making than the twins. His kicking is also better, albeit not one of his strengths. SELLAR, James (14 Adelaide) [3] 195cm skilled, well-built footballer with athleticism, smarts, hands, disposal. Flaky '06, intensity query but you don't physically lose what he had displayed prior. Very bottom-age. I'm prepared to virtually ignore '06 as he apparently had to endure various on and off-field difficulties. In the '04 and '05 U16 Champs, I considered him even more impressive than Gibbs. Started 2006 as #1 in my rankings (Gibbs #2). In the end, Gibbs' performances were just so compelling, and without the queries that Sellar's '06 form raised, that I had to slip Sellar behind but I dropped off him only marginally. Even in his "disappointing" '06, he kicked 4g in 1st half of his 1st SANFL Seniors game (as CHF!), beat the highly rated Gumbleton as CHB, and averaged 17 disposals in the U18 Champs. (How many 195cm types, let alone any who had just lost 8kg through illness, do that in any U18 Champs?). By comparison, we were all quite satisfied with the Champs form of Gumbleton, Hansen and Leunberger, and they averaged 15, 13, and 11 disposals respectively and Sellar's disposal was the best of the lot. He even had 15d in just the 2nd 1/2 of one Champs game (albeit as virtually a loose wingman). Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. He did NOT have a disappointing year for a bottom-age 195cm kid, even a highly rated one. He just had a disappointing year for Sellar, based on our expectations of him specifically. Why did we have such high expectations? Because of the talent he had shown over a 2 year period prior to that. I suspect he has a personal issue to conquer but I would have taken him on the assumption that he can, such is his upside. Should be very versatile but especially has the makings of an outstanding CHB (although his preference is CHF). An exciting, and rare, combination of not only leap, 195cm, marking strength, defensive and negating skills, cool head and smarts but, importantly, the pace and confidence to give regular run and linking out of defence and roost the ball long to a target. I foresee him regularly turning defence into goal-scoring opportunities. I also think he is more suited to the straight ahead aspects of CHB than the "stop/start" of CHF. Excellent ruck skills and could well be a good AFL ruckman/follower a la Goodes (without the freakishness), despite being only 195cm, as he has such a big leap and athleticism and he seems to enjoy ruck contests. Has virtually all the attributes of a modern CHF also and I do rate him highly in that role. Makes the right decisions. Good evasion. Good vision and disposal (including depth), even on the run. Good hurt factors. Trademarks are (1) Fluency - in everything. (Always looks to be doing every action "on the bit", effortlessly). (2) One-grab mark, positioning and timing well, then either a quick, accurate feed or immediately run off his opponent and do a fluent, long, probably accurate kick. (3) Run to link, moving with arms stiff and hanging down, seemingly moving in slow motion until you notice the opponent struggling to keep up. THORP, Mitchell (6 Hawthorn) [6] Versatile tall. Main selling points are contested marking, fantastic endurance / ground coverage, clean hands, vision, spoiling. Accountable, footy smart in many respects. Good courage and wins more than his share of hardball/contested gets. '06 form overall was good but not quite as impressive as I'd hoped but he didn't really do a pre-season (due to O.P., which he is now on top of). Huge leap, very strong overhead (although I would like to see him try to protect the ball a bit more often when possible, a la Carey, instead of taking the ball directly above or a bit behind his head). Young for his age but potential Chris Grant if he stops getting ahead of himself. I rate Thorp behind only Hawkins and Sellar as the best KPP "potential package" in this draft. Capable of making CHF a "permanent" role at AFL but might be best suited to CHB. Main query as a defender would be whether a quick leading forward might show him up for pace over the first few metres. His pace is a little hard to judge as he has had O.P. and also, although he covers a lot of ground, he is not noted for hard chasing or ball-carrying and he sometimes, at least at U18 level, seems casual. I'm comfortable with his pace over a distance - for his size. There have been times when he has looked a little tardy and the main concern would be the 1st few metres. Some surprising pace when he wants to pull it out. eg in a 40m run to the loose ball, Thorp gave Petterd a few metres start but got there first and both seemed flat out. In a VFL game, Thorp kept up with Baird (his opponent) in a 25m run to the ball. Baird recorded a 3.00sec 20m and a 0.96sec 5m time a few years ago. On the other hand, Thorp was left in the wake of another VFL player on a number of occasions in one game when playing FB(?) whenever that player was on a lead. I query there though, how much was due to lack of pace on Thorp's part and how much was due to poor anticipation of, and reaction to, the opponent's take-off on the lead. Kicking is currently mixed bag but has the potential to be very good and I'm confident will be. Sometimes he seems a bit too casual under no pressure. Genuinely dual-sided. Nice economical, fluent kicking style, good depth. I noticed at 1/4, 3/4 time huddles that he seemed intelligent and very switched on. When deciding to carry the ball, he has a fairly regular tendency (more often at U18 level than VFL) to ignore the nearby presence of an opponent and approach his kick preparation as if he was in complete space (through arrogance? lack of awareness?) and becomes vulnerable to being bumped from the side as he kicks, to the detriment of his kicking effectiveness. He has some evasive ability and I'd like to see him work harder in those situations to create space before kicking. At the very least, he often takes a bit too long to dispose and his lateral awareness in such situations is not great. Thorp is very committed and I would have drafted him myself and prepared to part with a pick as early as #3 (Hawkins not being available) if I strongly wanted a KP and felt such an early pick was necessary. However, if height didn't need to factor into drafting considerations, I would prefer to take either Jetta or Proud (not that anything like pick #3 was ever going to be needed for them). CATEGORY TWO - WILL BE AT LEAST GOOD (I didn't bother too much about the order but its very (!) roughly in the order of their upside, with some allowance for my level of confidence in them achieving it): (Some are extremely late picks but I call it as I see it). HANSEN, Lachlan (3 Kangaroos) [7] Likely AFL long-termer (probably CHB) and would have been my #4 if not for disappointing OHF (offensive hurt factor) due to iffy kicking and tunnel vision on the run. (Needs to more frequently look for options to feed off to, tends to too often just get and kick long and direct without displaying good vision or looking for best option). Even when not on the run, is too inclined to kick off virtually one step. Very strong overhead (hands, judgement, balance). Excellent endurance / coverage, ethic, courage. Pace when injury-free is at least "OK", although a bit slower than his DC times suggest. Backs his endurance and loves to run his opponent up and around the ground. Missed a couple of weeks with a hip complaint prior to '06 U18 Champs (cleaned up post-draft) and I felt he never looked completely free in his movement for the rest of the season, despite generally good form. HISLOP, Tom (20 Essendon) [10] Aggressive powerhouse. Plug n play. Versatile bullish onballer/flanker who can play small or above his height, has fairly good pace, takes no prisoners, always gives a contest and gets a lot of contested ball but currently doesn't look for, take or hit the right option often enough - too often kicks long instead of looking for short options (hand or foot). Other main concern AFL-wise might be over-aggression. Main selling points are physicality, competitiveness, courage, intensity, overhead, endurance, balance, strength, consistency. Trademarks are (1) Hardball get, then hurried disposal, (2) Crunch a pack or an opponent, perhaps taking a very strong mark that he has no right to take. Often clean, especially at ground level in "static" situations (although not "routinely: clean overall). If not for the somewhat high number of blind and other inaccurate kicks, I would rank him about #5. I love his competitiveness and aggression at both man and ball but he must start getting better return from his possession tally. Kicking was better in VFL than at U18. He is not a bad kick per se. Good depth and dual-sided. The issue is reliability. Kicking style needs work. He tilts to the left, which limits your error margin over a short distance, and his arm movements need work. IMHO it is important for both arms to work virtually in sync, helping your body stay balanced, both laterally and vertically. Hislop's arms are way out of synch and affect his centre-of-mass transfer and his ability to kick directly through the ball. Left arm often spends time bent at 90 degrees upwards then comes forward and across his body, while his right arm stays back, hangs down and does nothing. By the end of his kick he is often off-balance. Those faults should be fairly "easily" fixed and will make a big difference to his kicking reliability. Hislop and Armitage are similar types, age, great endurance and both are virtually plug 'n play. Both courageous hardnuts with good work rate and both with sub-optimal disposal. Hislop has more pace, is a bit physically stronger, and is the better kick. Hislop arguably has greater impact too. I would definitely take Hislop over Armitage, much as I admire Armitage. Jetta is X-factor vs risk but is a very quick, electrifying magician and is capable of being a quality user (not that he is yet). Hislop is none of those but he will deliver for you every time, whereas Jetta will switch on when it suits him. Jetta's pace, daring, flair and disposal makes him potentially much more of an impact player. Hislop is more a player who stops the opposition having impact through his hardness at man and ball but he too can turn a game. Likes to take opponents on and carry the ball and is often, although not routinely, judicious. Astute in corralling an opponent but usually prefers the bone-crunching tackle or bump. I have been impressed re how very switched on and intelligent he is at the 1/4, 3/4 huddles. With ever-increasing sophistication of team game plans, being able to be on the same page as the coach is more important than ever. Exceptionally strong overhead for his size, especially the big screamer from behind but can mark from any angle/position and attacks his marks / hits the pack like there's no tomorrow. He is on the slower end of the "quick midfielder" scale rather than the quicker end of the "slightly slowish midfielder" scale. Probably best suited to HBF or onball but, despite being only 184cm, is versatile enough to play anywhere down the flanks. Could be exposed by a very quick or very tall opponent but, even then, is likely to be at least mainly competitive, such is his ability to play tall yet also have enough pace and smarts to know where to run, how to cut angles and how to pressure both aerially and at ground level. Has the motor and competitiveness to become an excellent run-with (in time) and that's the role in which I possibly favour him. ARMITAGE, David (9 St. Kilda) [19] Smart goer with heart, motor. Iffy pace. Definite AFL but MUST improve kicking. TIPPETT, Kurt (32 Adelaide) [12] Versatile, mobile newby ruck/KP. Works hard. No very major fault. 19yo but big upside. I'm generally sceptical about kids who are in their first year of footy. That's because such kids usually show only tiny snippets that excite you. I'm far less willing than many are to extrapolate from such little data, no matter how impressed I may have been with the kid's snippets. With Tippett, he has shown a lot, not just random cameos. I think he has terrific potential. What really impresses me is the amount of footy smarts he already has, albeit that he is still in the early stages of the learning curve. Although still raw, I doubt anyone who knew nothing about him would realise when they first saw him play that he was new to footy. 201cm types who are likely to be able to play any KP or ruck, have the pace of a quite quick midfielder, are physically virtually plug 'n play, can leap over tall buildings, can get their own ball, are at least competitive overhead, have a sharp brain and have the ethics/intensity of an inside mid don't grow on trees. Many of the things I like about Tippett would be good in any player but I could add "especially for 201cm" to a lot of my comments. I am rating him as a ruck who can play KP but I would be almost as confident rating him as a KPP who can ruck. I rate him "definite" AFL, despite being a newby. DICK, Brad (44 Collingwod) [24] Enigmatic but magical when en song. Risky ranking but huge upside EDWARDS, Shane (26 Richmond) [26] Skinny but nimble, slick, innovative, goes hard. Ranked on upside COLLARD, Clayton (31 Fremantle) [13] Highly skilled midfielder/ flanker. Painfully shy and naive about the workload required for AFL so will need quality mentoring but definitely has AFL ability. Query re ability to adapt so is some risk but he has big upside, class and some X-factor. Other main selling points are X-factor, smarts / vision, clean hands, evasion, balance, overhead. Trademarks are (1) Vacuum the ball off the carpet on the run, take on and perhaps make a fool of the oncoming opponent, then dob a nice goal or set a team mate up to do so, (2) Screamer. He might lose concentration before getting to the last page of the team's play book but, for every hair he might make you tear out, he'll give you a moment where you will feel smug that he is on your list. Has mainly played outside roles (HFF) but I am confident he will furnish into an inside mid option in time if/when he can get his endurance up enough. I compare him in style somewhat to Tyson Edwards but I also think he will be able (in time) to play all the roles that Tyson has played. Has always lived in the shadow, on and off-field, of his best mate, Jetta, It's often "Jetta, the star footballer, and his mate Collard". If both play AFL and get the most out of themselves, I believe Jetta will be the better player but with Collard probably not far behind. There seems a tendency in recruiting circles to talk as if Jetta is Collard's better performed younger brother. However Collard was the better performed in WAFL Seniors, was also named in '06 WA Seniors (!) state squad, and Jetta is actually 5 months older. On sheer ability, I rate Collard's AFL potential as "Definite" and only one aspect made me downgrade him to "Likely", viz "How well and quickly is he likely to settle in and feel like he belongs?". My only other significantly concern is the O.P. he has been battling. His DC weight was listed as 86kg but his fighting weight would currently be around 80kg. He "couldn't" (?) keep himself in good condition while suffering O.P. late season. Career-wise, Collard and Jetta getting split up into different states may be the best thing for both boys. Clayton can stop living in Leroy's shadow and that will be a watershed point in his development. I would definitely have been prepared to draft him with a pick around my ranking if necessary (not that it ever would have been). Assuming he settles in reasonably OK (!!), I am confident Collard will make as big a splash as most of this draft's first rounders, perhaps ready to debut in '07. HARBROW, Jarrod (R27 Western Bulldogs) [29] Clever slick improver. Risk but I'm more a fan than others are. GRIGG, Shaun (19 Carlton) [39] Consistent tall mid but burns ball way too often by foot. I have identified basic flaws in his kicking technique which should be fixable. If I somehow knew for certain that such flaws would be identified and fixed, he'd be one of the first be in this category, would have earned a very much earlier ranking from me, and I would have confidently labelled him "definite AFL 200 gamer". Kicking is probably his only major flaw as he is otherwise a very attractive package. His current kicking reliability is almost a show-stopper though. THOMAS, Lindsay (53 Kangaroos) [27] Top-age surprise early ranking but clever & works both ways. Needs endurance ADAMS, Leigh (R 3 Kangaroos) [35] Rover/FP/BP. Smart, inside. Honesty over class but no real flaw. LEUENBERGER, Matthew (4 Brisbane) [16] Promising ruck. Query balance but ... KRAKOUER, Nathan (39 Port Adelaide) [48] Lightning. Great user, smarts. If 75kg, serious AFL and would be in my top category. 61kg the only worry but a huge one. He will literally have to create history (re the modern era) as his BMI represents easily the skinniest build on record. His diet opportunities will be better now and that's the big hope. MOSS, Gary (56 Hawthorn) [17] Skinny & not lightning but every kg is footballer. Likely bargain due to build. URQUHART, Gavin (21 Kangaroos) [28] OP killed his '06 but definite AFL potential HBF. O.P. worries me and he makes this category on the explicit assumption that he overcomes his O.P.. REIMERS, Kyle (47 Essendon) [21] Take-them-on ball-carrying utility. Good overhead. Iffy decision-making but has real flair and presence and has been a rapid improver both on and off-field (and the latter in particular needed to improve). Still has to be a query re ability to meet the off-field demands of a professional AFL footballer so I can understand why he wasn't taken until pick 47 but I ranked him much earlier on the assumption that he will choose to sustain his recent improvement trend in this aspect. ANDERSON, Joseph (67 Carlton) [15] Rapidly improving 188cm, virtually bottom-age, hard-running utility. Still raw, not silky, but made for today's game. Great endurance, "handy" pace, huge leap, reads the play well, knows how to find the pill, routinely looks for best option, fairly often delivers accurately, is courageous and crashes packs. Proven himself against men. Main queries (all mentality-related) are: plays off the pack / too reactive / too Predator, defensive smarts, accountability. I've ranked him mainly on upside. He still has a heap of improvement in him. The sealers for me were (1) he will leave no stone unturned (2) his rapid improvement since mid '05 including radical changes to his on-field presence, impact, and physical attributes. Even if he can't fix the flaws I've identified, he still has enough going for him to be a fairly handy 60-100 gamer. In the '05 U18 and subsequent '05 U16 Champs I observed he was vanilla-size and build, introverted and played vanilla and introverted. I was staggered to hear that, just 8 months later, he won Darwin Seniors B&F (as 17yo) and was runner-up to Daryl White for B&F medal in the '06 NT Seniors GF. Come the '06 TAC trials, I couldn't believe the dramatic transformation. He was now a few centimetres taller, had filled out really well, had significantly lifted his pace, and played with a flair, confidence and physicality that were virtually non-existent a year earlier. Even his appearance and persona were markedly different. I was very impressed with what he did at the '06 U18 Champs, and quite impressed with much from his lead-up games. However I was still less than impressed with what he did NOT do. Much of the time, he played virtually loose man across half-back, presumably to coach's instructions, which makes assessing him a bit more difficult. He was still too reactive a bit too often and still a bit too often "played off the pack". In AFL he won't be able to wait to see how the play in his immediate area unfolds before deciding to involve himself, or letting an opponent have first crack, or not displaying appropriate defensive effort or defensive smarts. He is not a "natural footy brain for all situations" type like M Voss but he does sometimes displays a quickish brain. He strikes me as the 2yo colt who has all the energy in the world and looks a real prospect but needs more racing experience to knock some rough edges off and you're not quite sure what distance will suit him best in the long term but you reckon he moves better than most of the other colts in the paddock. His package has so many potential goodies in it that are at least at the 80% stage that, even if he doesn't later shine in a couple of the aspects I expect him to, he will still be value for his other attributes. I would have drafted him myself, although he was never going to need a pick as early as my ranking denoted. Suited to HBF where he can give some run and linking. "Wing" should suit too. Unlikely onballer (unless perhaps as run-with, in time). Will probably turn out to be a bargain. WELLINGHAM, Sharrod (R10 Collingwood) [37] Promising ball magnet. Slippery, smart. Quick but should carry ball more. Upside BEDFORD, Liam (R23 Geelong) [38] Skinny, outside, slippery, quick, clean. Needs to do more. Punt on upside vs wt SMITH, Chris (R13 Fremantle) [34] Honest, committed, versatile. No obvious fault, no special strength. Underrated. Additional comments: HAYES, Daniel (R12 MEL) [] Has the football ability to be in this group. A troubled outside flashy wing/HFF who, regardless of ability, needs 10 mentors. Way too risky for me to even consider including in my rankings, let alone have confidence in him adapting to AFL requirements.

by the Oracle I've always regarded myself as one of those people who doesn't sit around philosophising on whether my glass is either half full or half empty. However, at this stage of the footy season I'm beginning to have my doubts. I am looking at the Melbourne Football Club's performance to this stage of the year and I find myself staring at a glass so scarce in liquid matter that I can only discern a few drops and that is so disappointing given the high hopes I had just a few months ago. Back in March, I had Melbourne pegged for a third place finish at the end of the home and away series behind Fremantle and Sydney with West Coast making up the top four. It all looked so easy then - beat the Swans first up at Telstra Stadium (where we have never been beaten!), storm into a home Preliminary Final and then knock off the Dockers in front of 100,000 punters at the G to not only avenge last year's semi final humiliation at Subiaco but to recapture the Holy Grail after more than four decades of wallowing in the mire. I now accept that I was badly mistaken. Fremantle win not finish on top of the ladder. In fact, they will struggle to make the finals. As for Melbourne, I'm having my doubts as well. To tell you the truth, I've reached the point of admitting that, despite the mathematical possibility guff I hear, it's over and we're back in wallowing mode. It's a pipedream to suggest that Melbourne might even come close this year - the season's shot and I say that knowing that the Demons don't have to play the three best performed teams in the competition in the run home (four if you count Adelaide after last night's walloping of the Kangaroos). Here's why the mathematics don't work. After eleven completed rounds, the top two sides are Geelong and West Coast with 8 wins and 3 defeats. A rejuvenated Melbourne simply cannot be expected to perform better in the second half than the Cats and the Eagles have done in the first half so the best case scenario for Melbourne is going to be 10 wins for the season. Given that Port Adelaide is currently in 10th place with 6 wins at the half way mark, the best we can hope for is to finish eleventh or twelfth. The only good news that brings with it is that to finish 10/12 after a 0/9 start would make a good springboard for 2008; it would still give the club the 5th or 6th choice in the National Draft. Brock McLean was picked at number 5 in 2003! Speaking about 2003, Melbourne's first half of 2007 is even worse than that year which we all regarded as a horror season. At the halfway mark of that last annus horribilus, the Demons were 14th on the ladder with 3 wins and 8 losses. You have to go back further to 1997 when Joseph Gutnick was President, Neil Balme had just been deposed as coach, Greg Hutchison had a 1 win 1 loss ratio and Garry Lyon was struggling with a bulging disc in his back to find a first half worse than that of 2007. It was only marginally worse however, because ten years ago it was last with a 2/9 record and a percentage of 60.9. There was a mathematic possibility then that the Dees would get up off the floor to make the finals but things didn't work out that way and they finished 4/18 with a percentage of 60.8! In the past three seasons, Melbourne's half way record was at least consistent – 8/3, 8/3 and 7/4 so what went wrong this year and why were we unable to pick it? It probably stems from our wanting to believe what we're told about the club's aims and from accepting that they were capable of being achieved. The reality however, is that all the signs were there that the policy of introducing "run and carry style" might not work. This is not to say that it wasn't worth experimenting with a different style and a different fitness regime in order to achieve it but the problem was that we weren't flexible enough to alter the style when it was clearly not working. We had too much faith! The problems emerged early but we didn't see them clearly enough. The club went into the pre season matches without the benefit of sufficient preparation. The drought curtailed the first intra club match practice during the club's week in the bush. The heat restricted the next hit out at Moorabbin to some shortened quarters that were of little use and the Telstra Dome practice match before Channel 7's watchful cameras was also far too brief. Melbourne went into its the opening NAB Cup match against Hawthorn which had already gone through a few full scale hit outs with close to their best on the park while it had up to 10 of what one would regard as its best 22 missing. Despite that, the Demons were well in control with a few minutes to go in the third quarter with a lead in excess of thirty points. Fact is, they could have been much further in front but for their pitiful execution of the run and carry style. Handballs were landing at players' feet, short passes went nowhere and there was no semblance of cohesion. What happened next is what, in my view, defined the season. In the shadows of a hot three quarter time break, the team relaxed and allowed two 9 pointers and suddenly the Hawks had a sniff. They went on to win and we were making excuses. The experiment continued unabated in the coming weeks as Melbourne took run and carry into the country. While commentating on 5AA during the Mount Gambier practice match against the Crows, Chris McDermott scoffed at what the Demons were doing and declared they "wouldn’t make the eight". Those comments were made relatively early in the piece in a game where Melbourne was slaughtered. The writing was already on the wall. Further, as the practice match series continued, players were starting to succumb to injury and it was becoming obvious that we weren't going to have a full list of players available for the start of the season. The injuries really hit home immediately the season started but they were no excuse for the appalling displays of ineptitude of the opening two or three rounds as Melbourne stumbled and bumbled its way around the ground turning the science of trigonometry on its head seeking to travel short distances by the longest possible route. Any possible momentum for the coming season was lost and, unlike in 2006, there was no chance for recovery after the early defeats. The staggering thing to my mind was that run and carry was persisted with for so long. It should have been shelved or modified well before the opening round. If it was designed to better the team's performances on the longer, narrower grounds interstate, it failed at Subiaco even more badly than it did on the MCG. I believe the problems with the team's playing style have now been checked for the most part. The team is playing more direct football and is executing its moves more precisely than was the case early in the season. Unfortunately, unless miracles happen, it's too late. The horse has bolted.

THE HORSE HAS BOLTED - A MID YEAR REPORT by the Oracle I've always regarded myself as one of those people who doesn't sit around philosophising on whether my glass is either half full or half empty. However, at this stage of the footy season I'm beginning to have my doubts. I am looking at the Melbourne Football Club's performance to this stage of the year and I find myself staring at a glass so scarce in liquid matter that I can only discern a few drops and that is so disappointing given the high hopes I had just a few months ago. Back in March, I had Melbourne pegged for a third place finish at the end of the home and away series behind Fremantle and Sydney with West Coast making up the top four. It all looked so easy then - beat the Swans first up at Telstra Stadium (where we have never been beaten!), storm into a home Preliminary Final and then knock off the Dockers in front of 100,000 punters at the G to not only avenge last year's semi final humiliation at Subiaco but to recapture the Holy Grail after more than four decades of wallowing in the mire. I now accept that I was badly mistaken. Fremantle win not finish on top of the ladder. In fact, they will struggle to make the finals. As for Melbourne, I'm having my doubts as well. To tell you the truth, I've reached the point of admitting that, despite the mathematical possibility guff I hear, it's over and we're back in wallowing mode. It's a pipedream to suggest that Melbourne might even come close this year - the season's shot and I say that knowing that the Demons don't have to play the three best performed teams in the competition in the run home (four if you count Adelaide after last night's walloping of the Kangaroos). Here's why the mathematics don't work. After eleven completed rounds, the top two sides are Geelong and West Coast with 8 wins and 3 defeats. A rejuvenated Melbourne simply cannot be expected to perform better in the second half than the Cats and the Eagles have done in the first half so the best case scenario for Melbourne is going to be 10 wins for the season. Given that Port Adelaide is currently in 10th place with 6 wins at the half way mark, the best we can hope for is to finish eleventh or twelfth. The only good news that brings with it is that to finish 10/12 after a 0/9 start would make a good springboard for 2008; it would still give the club the 5th or 6th choice in the National Draft. Brock McLean was picked at number 5 in 2003! Speaking about 2003, Melbourne's first half of 2007 is even worse than that year which we all regarded as a horror season. At the halfway mark of that last annus horribilus, the Demons were 14th on the ladder with 3 wins and 8 losses. You have to go back further to 1997 when Joseph Gutnick was President, Neil Balme had just been deposed as coach, Greg Hutchison had a 1 win 1 loss ratio and Garry Lyon was struggling with a bulging disc in his back to find a first half worse than that of 2007. It was only marginally worse however, because ten years ago it was last with a 2/9 record and a percentage of 60.9. There was a mathematic possibility then that the Dees would get up off the floor to make the finals but things didn't work out that way and they finished 4/18 with a percentage of 60.8! In the past three seasons, Melbourne's half way record was at least consistent – 8/3, 8/3 and 7/4 so what went wrong this year and why were we unable to pick it? It probably stems from our wanting to believe what we're told about the club's aims and from accepting that they were capable of being achieved. The reality however, is that all the signs were there that the policy of introducing "run and carry style" might not work. This is not to say that it wasn't worth experimenting with a different style and a different fitness regime in order to achieve it but the problem was that we weren't flexible enough to alter the style when it was clearly not working. We had too much faith! The problems emerged early but we didn't see them clearly enough. The club went into the pre season matches without the benefit of sufficient preparation. The drought curtailed the first intra club match practice during the club's week in the bush. The heat restricted the next hit out at Moorabbin to some shortened quarters that were of little use and the Telstra Dome practice match before Channel 7's watchful cameras was also far too brief. Melbourne went into its the opening NAB Cup match against Hawthorn which had already gone through a few full scale hit outs with close to their best on the park while it had up to 10 of what one would regard as its best 22 missing. Despite that, the Demons were well in control with a few minutes to go in the third quarter with a lead in excess of thirty points. Fact is, they could have been much further in front but for their pitiful execution of the run and carry style. Handballs were landing at players' feet, short passes went nowhere and there was no semblance of cohesion. What happened next is what, in my view, defined the season. In the shadows of a hot three quarter time break, the team relaxed and allowed two 9 pointers and suddenly the Hawks had a sniff. They went on to win and we were making excuses. The experiment continued unabated in the coming weeks as Melbourne took run and carry into the country. While commentating on 5AA during the Mount Gambier practice match against the Crows, Chris McDermott scoffed at what the Demons were doing and declared they "wouldn’t make the eight". Those comments were made relatively early in the piece in a game where Melbourne was slaughtered. The writing was already on the wall. Further, as the practice match series continued, players were starting to succumb to injury and it was becoming obvious that we weren't going to have a full list of players available for the start of the season. The injuries really hit home immediately the season started but they were no excuse for the appalling displays of ineptitude of the opening two or three rounds as Melbourne stumbled and bumbled its way around the ground turning the science of trigonometry on its head seeking to travel short distances by the longest possible route. Any possible momentum for the coming season was lost and, unlike in 2006, there was no chance for recovery after the early defeats. The staggering thing to my mind was that run and carry was persisted with for so long. It should have been shelved or modified well before the opening round. If it was designed to better the team's performances on the longer, narrower grounds interstate, it failed at Subiaco even more badly than it did on the MCG. I believe the problems with the team's playing style have now been checked for the most part. The team is playing more direct football and is executing its moves more precisely than was the case early in the season. Unfortunately, unless miracles happen, it's too late. The horse has bolted.

MANO DE DIOS by Whispering Jack More than twenty years have elapsed since Argentinian Diego Maradona scored his "Hand of God" goal in a FIFA World Cup quarter final against England in Mexico. The goal happened because of a simple error from the referee who missed seeing the outside of the Argentinian's left fist as it made contact with the ball that subsequently careered into the net for a goal. Five minutes later, Maradona scored another one - later voted the greatest goal in World Cup history - when he eluded five English outfield players (Hoddle, Reid, Sansom, Butcher and Fenwick) as well as goalkeeper Shilton. Although England scored through Gary Lineker in the 81st minute, Argentina won the match 2-1, went on to take the 1986 World Cup and ever since, the English have been moaning and groaning about that infamous goal. I have a feeling that, in the decades to come, Collingwood supporters will also be complaining about Russell Robertson's hands on the back of Magpie defender Alan Toovey and how he was able to escape detection at a vital point in the last quarter of the Melbourne v Collingwood game on Queens Birthday 2007. Robbo kicked the goal after being awarded the controversial mark and the Demons regained their control over the game. When asked on 3AW after the game if he "got away with one", he replied: "Yeah, I think I did." "Them's the breaks," as they say in the classics. The umpire didn't see Robbo's Hand of God so the decision to pay him the mark was a correct one. The umpires can't be relied upon to make guesses and these things ebb and flow from game to game and during any particular game. Anyway, the record shows that Collingwood had a good run from the umpires on the day kicking three of their 11 goals from frees while Melbourne received none. Like Diego Maradonna all those years before him, Robbo was the match-winner on this day for more reasons than the Hand of God; there was plenty of brilliance from the high flyer who saw off at least three opponents and could easily have kicked ten for the day bar for some goalkicking yippery in the third quarter when he scored three points in a row. Melbourne's 13 point victory has been threatening for a while now. Leaving aside its disasterous trip to Perth, the form line has been encouraging as the team struggled to salvage something out of a season partly derailed by a spate of injuries to key players and partly through a new game style they struggled to get right. Robbo himself missed several games as a result of a knee injury incurred in Round 2, as did David Neitz. The inspirational Brock McLean was also missing for most of the first half of the season, his value to the team only becoming apparent by his exploits on the field once he returned a few weeks ago. Others like Jared Rivers, Matthew Whelan and Brent Moloney are still out of the side but things have been coming together nicely and, for at least one quarter of each of their last three games, the team has clicked. Heaven help an opponent, if they can do it for four quarters! While Robbo was THE hero, there were many unsung heroes on the day. The Demons' makeshift defence, filled with players who are either very young or alternatively, unfashionable as footballers performed magnificently. At the start of the season, we thought we might see very little of Ben Holland, Clint Bizzell and Daniel Ward - they're certainly not in the silky smooth department and yet they gave their all and a lot more on Monday. Blue collar Nathan Carroll belied his connection with the silver tailed Demons against the working class Magpies and Simon Godfrey added yet another scalp to his belt (and his finessing for a goal early in the game was sensational). Daniel Bell turned the tables on Alan Didak (who might have gone home wishing the Tribunal hadn't let him off the hook last week) and he is fast gaining recognition as one of the competition's rising defenders. Then there were youngsters in Ricky Petterd and James Frawley, both in their debut seasons and with plenty to learn. Sure, they made some mistakes but they also contributed to their team's win against yet another top four challenger. Melbourne also had the ascendancy in the ruck for most of the game but that wasn't due to Jeff White's performance alone this time. Paul Johnson continues to grow in stature as a ruckman and is dispelling the view held back in his West Coast days that he is not strong overhead. Not only can he take a mark but he moves well around the ground and his ruckwork is getting better all the time. He was a bit iffy with his kicking for goal but I don't think this is a problem area for him normally. We are also beginning to see the emergence of a couple of first round draft choices on the forward line in Colin Sylvia who was a good contributor and Matthew Bate whose strong hands and long left foot kicking were a feature. Brad Green was below the standards he set last week but still chipped in with some great marks in defence late in the game and Cam Bruce has the stutters with his kicking. Once a very reliable kick for goal, he's been well off direction and now has problems kicking over a jam tin. His contribution was still sold but he can do a hell of a lot better. Travis Johnstone's influence was limited by a hamstring twinge which had him back in the rooms putting on a track suit long before the game was won. Enter a couple of hard nosed youngsters in Brock McLean and Nathan Jones assisted by veteran James McDonald to take over the centre and work the Magpie midfield over nicely. McLean's determination and his single minded mental strength was no better summed up by his anger and self-criticism that led to his being penalised for time wasting when he just failed in his pursuit of the football near the boundary late in the game. Yes, it was noticed by the umpire, it did cost a goal in the end and it was stupid of him to let off steam in that way and at that point in time. However, it demonstrated just where this kid is headed because very few who play the game have that intensity and desire for the ball combined with those skills. He is only going to get much, much better. But the hero of the day was Robbo. He marked strongly and added bite and enthusiasm as well as inspiration alongside his wounded skipper. He was devastating when the team was devastating early in the game, he was steady when steady was required and he was brilliant in the end, finishing the game off with a flourish as he threaded the ball through with his after the siren kick for goal number seven. And, as he lifted his arms in triumph to celebrate the victory, I could almost imagine that I heard the Hand of God clapping along with the crowd. Melbourne 6.6.42 8.9.57 9.14.68 13.16.94 Collingwood 2.3.15 6.5.41 9.11.65 11.15.81 Goals Melbourne Robertson 7 Bate 2 Davey Godfrey Johnstone McDonald Collingwood Cloke Johnson 3 Davis 2 Fraser Lockyer Medhurst Best Melbourne Robertson McLean Bate McDonald Wheatley Jones Holland Collingwood: Johnson H Shaw Holland Burns Cloke Lockyer Changes Melbourne Yze (groin) replaced in the selected side by Holland Collingwood R Shaw (hamstring) replaced in the selected side by Stanley Injuries Melbourne Johnstone (hamstring) Neitz (knee) Collingwood O'Brien (ankle/shoulder) Umpires Grun Jeffery McLaren Crowd 70,660 at MCG