Demonland

by Barry from Beach Road A well rested Sandringham returned from the week's bye and raced out of the blocks to demolish Williamstown with fifteen minutes of brilliance in the opening term at Burbank Oval on Sunday. That's how long it took for the Zebras to amass the first six unanswered goals and effectively end the contest between two of the VFL's best credentialed teams. As it has been for most of the year, Sandy's midfield dominance was clear from the beginning. This time it was Nick Smith opening in the ruck, a possible pointer to a change in tack by the Zebras' senior partner, and dominating to give his onballers first use of the footy. Phil Read, Guy Rigoni, Peter Summers and youngster Shane Valenti invariably took the ball out of the middle and delivered it superbly to key forwards Nick Sautner and Lynden Dunn. Dunn was in superb form booting three goals in the opening term with Sautner booting two. By the first break it was virtually a foregone conclusion with the visitors 38 points ahead. Williamstown tried hard to bridge the gap in the second term but the Zebra defence, solid as usual, held firm. Biddlecombe, Ferguson and Chris Johnson formed a brilliant attacking half back line while deeper in defence, the likes of Chris Lamb, Matthew Warnock and Alistair Nicholson mopped up what little of the ball they allowed through. Later in the quarter, Clint Bizzell made his return to senior football after a long lay off with injury and a couple of ill fated attempts to return through the reserves. Bizzell was almost his old self and that can only be good news for Sandy, if not for the Melbourne Football Club. By the main break, the Zebs had increased their lead to 41 points. With a handy leady, Zebra coach Mark Williams moved his players around the ground and we saw Brad Miller run into some form with a couple of nice goals and Rod Crowe working hard to set up scoring opportunities. Late in the game Bizzell celebrated his return with a goal while utility Ezra Poyas was dominant in a good all round performance as Sandringham coasted to an easy 56 point victory. Special kudos go to skipper Chad Liddell, with his courage and long left foot kicking as Sandringham wrapped up a top four position in a classy performance on what was once difficult and hostile territory. As the coach put it so aptly: "A 10-goal win down there (at Burbank Oval) is worth its weight in gold." This weekend the team plays its last game at home for the season against Geelong. The Cats have moved up to third place in place of Williamstown and Williams and his players will be highly motivated to win this one given that they were well beaten earlier in the season when the teams met at Skilled Stadium. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Our guest analyst this week is Deefan:- Clint Bizzell - started on the bench and would have played about three quarters. Worked his way into the game well and got a bit of pill as the game went on. Looking like he's getting a bit of touch back. Will be interesting to see where he goes from here with both Wheatley and Bell putting in ordinary performances on Saturday. Lynden Dunn – ended up with five goals. Was very good and was rested/taken off/saved for next week(?) for most of the last quarter. Kicked very well, covered lots of ground and now just look a class or two above this level. Played most of the game on Anthony of Collingwood who has plenty of raps on him. Just an excellent game. Ryan Ferguson - would have been close to BOG for mine. Just another really good game and I'm confident that he could adequately replace Rivers as the zoning back. Not fast enough for the leading forward, not strong enough for the gorilla, but plays really well. Chris Johnson - didn't dominate but showed his class in what he did and was a solid contributor. I really like him so maybe I'm not critical enough. He's developed a toughness at the ball that I like. I was still "out" on this issue at the beginning of the season but I'm not now. Brad Miller - a serviceable game without dominating. Kicked a couple of goals and seemed to be playing closer to goal that he usually does which surprised me as Willy's ground is wide and I would have though I'd have seen the hard leading dish it off player of past years. His kicking for goal has definitely improved. Shannon Motlop- kicked a brilliant long goal and was involved in some very smart bits of play. A class act in small doses. He's a player that needs to get it 20 times a game. He's not doing it. Shane Neaves – another good development game. Played against Fanning and Richards who have both had AFL exposure and he held his own. Is not getting as much of the ball around the ground as he did earlier in the season but he's developing nicely. Would be mauled if thrown into AFL rucks at the moment but will definitely be retained for the future. Alistair Nicholson - played your typical Nicho game. Rotated off the bench a bit as Sandy have so many talls. Looked a bit rusty but he'd do the job on a gorilla if it came up and Holland wasn't available. Phil Read - got it a million times, used it a lot less than that. But an excellent game at this level. He just has this habit of getting the ball and dancing on the spot trying to find an option. And the frustration is that he will have already rejected a couple. Perhaps he thinks he's TJ, but he's not. He turned it over a few times but he got it so often that's going to happen. Can't warm to him really. Nick Smith - was good. Played as the first ruckman and did OK in that role but I was very impressed with his clean hands and his ability to get involved in the play around the ground. The shame is we don't want him to do this, we want him to be a key forward. He didn't get a chance to do that given all the talls all over the ground. Thank heavens it wasn't a wet day! I don't believe he could ruck at AFL level. Interesting issue for the club come end of season. Matthew Warnock - not all that noticeable but didn't make any mistakes. Good athlete and very good kick. Where does he fit in? I don't know but I'd keep him around as I don't think he's finished developing yet and he's got some good attributes. Sandringham 8.3.51 12.3.75 15.6.96 18.6.114 Williamstown 2.1.13 5.4.34 8.6.54 8.10.58 Goals Dunn 5 Sautner 3 Miller Motlop 2 Bizzell Crowe Poyas Read Rigoni Valenti Best Biddlecombe Read Ferguson Gallagher Dunn Smith The Reserves put in their best performance of the year against the unbeaten Williamstown at Williamstown and nearly caused the upset of the season after leading in the last quarter. However, the Seagulls' strength prevailed but it was a close call with only two goals separating the teams at the final bell – a far cry from the 146 point thrashing sufferer by Sandy at home earlier in the season. Tom Paterakis took a midfield role and was Sandy’s best while Michael Newton was solid up forward with four goals. Daniel Hughes and Daniel Corp were strong in attack while Ewan McKenzie put in another excellent performance in ruck. The midfield is improving as a unit with every passing week and Mark Johnston, Leigh Fletcher and Guy Martyn all continue to impress. Mark Gibb and Jace Bode were the pick of the defenders. The team has a make or break game against Werribee this week. Sandringham 3.1.19 7.4.46 12.7.79 16.12.108 Williamstown 5.1.31 9.4.58 13.11.89 18.12.120 Goals Newton 4 Fletcher 3 Johnston Paule Turcarelli 2 Corp Martyn Paterakis Best Paterakis Bode Gibb Hughes McKenzie Martyn

by The Oracle Until Saturday afternoon came along, I fully believed that Melbourne had done it after all these years! I thought that finally we were over the syndrome that had afflicted the club for so long; the feeling that you could arrive at a game and not have to ask which Melbourne was going to turn up on the particular day. You know the feeling? You turn up asking whether today was the day for the hard tough Melbourne that would fight tooth and nail to achieve the advantage over its opposition and prevail with its skills or would it be the Keystone Cops Melbourne that would fumble away and ultimately drown in its own ineptitude even when the opposition was a bottom of the ladder outfit destined to win the prize of the number one draft pick? I honestly thought I would never have to ask that question again – at least not this year or in the foreseeable future. But early in the opening quarter, the big question mark loomed large over the Telstra Dome's slippery surface.. ? There it was. Up in the sky. It's a bird, it's a plane, no. It's the big question mark! ? And there they were. All the old doubts came flooding back giving the appearance that those old cracks had just been wallpapered over for a few months. The poor team selection, the baffling positional moves, the unfathomable matchups, the pathetic decision-making, the lack of purpose, enthusiasm, skills and desire. Have I missed something? Melbourne might not have taken the field with the aim of deliberately throwing away the four points or jeopardising its top four prospects but it certainly did a good job of convincing us that someone lost the plot this week. Yes. In one fell swoop, the team was slip sliding away on the Telstra Dome turf and we started losing our faith and our trust in them just in time for the business end of the season. It wasn't even the grass that the team had difficulty running over - it seemed as if the selectors had problems of their own as well! Of course, it didn't help that we lost the services of Aaron Davey, Byron Pickett and Travis Johnstone but who was responsible for picking that opening line up? When the team lined up at Telstra Dome, it spelled one word - negativity! Attacking players like Cam Bruce and Adem Yze on the backline and defenders like Nathan Brown and Simon Godfrey up forward. There was no obvious match up down back for Ben Holland so, for the second week in a row he lined up forward in close proximity to David Neitz limiting the team's forward line mobility to a snail's pace. I wonder why Brad Miller and Lynden Dunn or at least one of them wasn't given a game? If there is one thing that Miller does well, it is when he plays on Sydney's Barry Hall in defence. If that's the idea, then why not play him against Carlton on Saturday? Why leave him at Sandy, where he plays on the Sunday and then has a six day break before the Sydney game? Or is there some other reason why he isn't getting a run after showing good form in consecutive weeks with the Zebras? Melbourne was aching for a target in the key forward positions and could have done with Dunn if Miller wasn't preferred. The kid showed out at Sandy on Sunday and, although the VFL is a long way south of the AFL as far as the standard and pressure of the game is concerned, he surely would have done better than what Melbourne had on offer. And there's nothing wrong with plumping for youth is there? Of Melbourne's three best players on the day, two were teenagers in Matthew Bate and Nathan Jones. The other was James McDonald who continues to have a brilliant season - even when his teammates fall around him. The fact that a couple of youngsters like Bate and Jones stood out, simply emphasises the team's failing - there was nothing from the leaders, the experienced players and this was fatal in the end. The game was screaming out for some leadership on Melbourne's part. It needed someone to come out and set the example. Instead we got a mirror image of the first game where the team was out thought and outplayed by a Carlton which got behind the ball and then ran it out of defence with purpose always finishing in a position where a shot for goal was on the cards rather than on difficult angles as when the Demons went forward. Four months later, they showed they had learned nothing whatsoever. You simply don't play an MCG game at the Telstra Dome. My other question mark is not so much about the poor form of the players who we know are probably on the fringe when a full list of players is available. It's more about the much vaunted four horsemen - the four blokes in their third and fourth seasons at AFL level who we expected to step up a few notches by now and become regular top line players but it's not happening, is it? Of the four, Brock McLean, Colin Sylvia, Daniel Bell and Brent Moloney, only McLean has truly stepped up a notch this year but on Sunday, he looked tentative and unfit. Sylvia is going backwards, Bell's career is static and suffering from poor disposal and inept decision making when under pressure (he looks good at Sandy but it's another thing in the bigtime) and Moloney is suffering form osteitis pubis and looks a spent force this year. Suddenly, Melbourne looks extremely vulnerable and history threatens to repeat. Can the Demons be trusted to come out and play next week? I hope they can and they do but for the rest of 2006, the old doubts will linger and our hopes and dreams are now full of them ? ? ? ? Melbourne 1.5.11 4.8.32 7.10.52 10.13.73 Carlton 4.1.25 7.5.47 9.7.61 12.8.80 Goals Neitz White 2 Bate, Jamar, Jones, McDonald, Whelan, Rivers Best Bate McDonald Jones Whelan Carroll White Injury Robertson (shoulder) Change Johnstone out (leg soreness) replaced in selected side by Bell Reports Nil Umpires Quigley Nicholls Wenn Crowd 24,113 at Telstra Dome

by The Oracle Things have changed enormously since Melbourne and Carlton last crossed paths at Telstra Dome for the opening match of the season. In fact, the two clubs have turned a full circle since the wooden spoon favourites upset the Demons to win 13.15.93 to 10.12.72. After that game, I suggested that Melbourne was out coached by a "master coach" and outplayed by a team that wasn't exactly recognised for its skill and talent. The Blues had the better of most of the match ups, the Demons were top heavy and under prepared and they played into the Blues' hands by being too reactive rather than setting the agenda for the match. I also wrote at the time that Melbourne came out with an arrogant attitude and contempt for the opposition; that the Demons had been reading all the newspaper reports about the demise of the Carlton Football Club and merely had to turn up and the four points would be delivered on a silver platter. The Demons were woeful on the day, deserved their 21 point belting and the embarrassment that went with the defeat and, ever since have lived with the knowledge that the loss of the four premiership points on offer was going to prove ever so costly as the team started its move up the ladder towards a finals berth and a top four placing. Yes, the circle has definitely turned for these clubs in the intervening four months. Carlton players have only once been able to sing their club song since that fateful opening round and are they are on course to win the hand of a number one draft selection for the second year running. The name "Bryce Gibbs" is on the lips of most Blues supporters these days. Melbourne, on the other hand, lost the next two but has won 12 out of 14 since then and is now closing in on a top two placing that would guarantee it of a home final in the first week of the major action next month. The older Demon fans are even dreaming of that day in September 1964 when their champion skipper of old last held aloft a Melbourne premiership cup at a moment in time that, as it turned out, that marked the turning of an even larger circle of fortune for these two traditional clubs. Season 1964 marked the end of the Melbourne Football Club’s most successful era ever, one that brought six flags, many grand finals appearances and countless victories. Carlton finished 10th that year and was at the lowest ebb of its long history. Some weeks after the grand final however, the Blues shocked the football world by snaring the Demons’ skipper, Ron Barassi, as its captain coach. That was the catalyst that saw the turn of the circle over the coming years and it was Carlton that won the premierships while Melbourne dwelled in football's cellars. Now, at last, the circle has turned again. And if the circle has turned again then surely the greatest danger facing the Demons is that which brought them undone in Round 1 - arrogance and contempt for the opposition, taking for granted that the four points are there for the taking on a silver platter. Given that the bookmakers have Carlton at $4.15 odds to win against Melbourne's $1.18 that seems to be the likely scenario. There are however, some circumstances that might suggest these odds are a trifle misleading. Undoubtedly, Melbourne's best form for the year has been on the wide, open spaces of the MCG where it has won all nine of its matches this season. Away from home however, the Demons are in negative territory with just three from eight and with their last three losses having been incurred outside Victoria. At Telstra Dome, the record is 1-2 with the only victory coming against lowly Essendon and even then, the Bombers let them out of gaol with some shoddy kicking for goal in the first half of that encounter. The Dome is a place where Melbourne's game plan can be exposed and the Blues have done that twice since in the past two seasons (albeit that the first of those was a Wizard Cup in the 2005 pre season). There is another great unknown about Melbourne and that is how the team will fare in the absence of the double X factors of Aaron Davey and Byron Pickett who have jointly weaved their magic throughout the season. Saturday's game will mark the first time this season that either of them will be missing for the team. Then there is the "hunter v the hunted" factor. Melbourne seems to do so much better when it's on the hunt. This week however, the Demons will definitely be the hunted as they were late in 2004 when the Blues shocked them at Optus Oval even though a win would have kept the team’s double chance prospects alive. Against that is the fact that there is far too much at stake for Melbourne to let this game slip. The race for a top four berth is one of the most intriguing aspects of the run home. Further, Adelaide's major stumble out west last week has signalled that the race for the flag is far from a one horse race. In those circumstances, the Demons will call on their midfield firepower, augmented since the opening round by the stunning improvement of Brock McLean, the steady form of James McDonald and the emergence of Matthew Bate, to make a lot of the difference compared to their round performance. Add the presence of Jared Rivers in defence and the all-powerful multi pronged attack and the drive generated by the team’s twin ruckmen and Melbourne should get home by a comfortable margin - as long as it attacks the game with purpose from the very beginning. And finally, it's another Demon milestone game and we all know how well Melbourne has performed lately when there's a milestone to celebrate. This time it’s skipper David Neitz' 150th game as captain of the club and to celebrate I'm selecting Melbourne to win by 34 points in a game that will mark the completion of the turning of the circle of football fortune for the two clubs since Round 1. THE GAME - Melbourne v Carlton at Telstra Dome on Saturday 5 August 2006 at 2.10pm AEST TV & Radio Fox Footy Vic/ACT (2pm) NSW (2pm) QLD (2pm) SA (1.30pm) WA (12pm) ABC Head to Head Played 196 Carlton 108 Melbourne 86 2 drawn Last time they met Carlton 13.15.93 defeated Melbourne 10.12.72 d in Round 1, 2006 at Telstra Dome Want a bet? Carlton $4.15 Melbourne $1.18 Teams: MELBOURNE B: Whelan Carroll Holland HB: Ward Rivers Bartram C: Green Johnstone Wheatley HF: Sylvia Robertson Bruce F: Jamar Neitz Yze R: White McLean McDonald IC: Bate Brown Godfrey Jones Em: Bell Miller Motlop IN Green Wheatley OUT Davey (hamstring) Pickett (hamstring) CARLTON B: Carrazzo Thornton S O'hAilpin HB: Scotland Whitnall Walker C: Simpson Bentick Wiggins HF: Houlihan Fisher Fevola F: Betts Waite Lappin R: French Koutoufides Stevens IC: Blackwell Bryan McGrath Russell Em: Bannister Deluca Teague IN Lappin OUT Bannister Field umpires: Quigley, M.Nicholls, Wenn CHANGES FROM ROUND 1: MELBOURNE IN Bate Godfrey Holland Jones McLean Rivers Wheatley OUT Davey Ferguson Johnson Pickett Miller Moloney Motlop CARLTON IN Blackwell Bryan S O'hAilpin Russell Wiggins OUT Deluca Livingston McLaren Murphy Sporn

by Scoop Junior Melbourne has bounced back from a loss in Perth for the second time this season to record a critical victory at home on the MCG. This time, it was the Western Bulldogs who were on the receiving end of the angry Demons desperate to atone for their poor showing at Subiaco last week. It was not a game of two halves, but rather a match of one quarter and three quarters. The first term was an open, free-flowing affair, which suited the game style of the pacy Dogs. With their small forward set-up, the Bullies require plenty of space to lead into as well as precise delivery from midfield to spot up leading targets. The Dees jumped out of the blocks with some quick goals but the second half of the first term belonged to the Bulldogs, who ran hard off half back and used the footy well. At quarter time, it was clear what the Demons had to do: increase the pressure on the Dogs’ ball carriers and force them into either making errors or bombing away inside 50. Melbourne lifted its work rate and shut down the fast running style of its opposition and in the process kicked four goals to zero for the term. The second half went much the same way as the second term; the Demons pressuring the Bulldogs into rushed kicks inside 50, which played into the hands of the home side’s defence. With smalls such as Johnson and Robbins close to goals, the Dogs did not have a pack marking threat and such bombs inside 50 usually resulted in an easy defensive clearance to Melbourne. Up the other end, the Demons had a pack presence in David Neitz and Ben Holland and while the latter did not really look like taking a pack mark, his contesting work enabled a spillage rather than a defensive rebound by the Dogs. The Dees also had the X factor that the Bulldogs lacked in Adem Yze and Aaron Davey; the former starring with five goals in game number 250 and the Flash terrorising the Doggies' backline with amazing bursts of speed and mesmerising vision. Some early Bulldog goals in the last brought them within 26 points, but they never looked like pulling off a result given that they could only manage three goals since quarter time. Like a good side, Melbourne upped the ante and stormed home, kicking the last four goals of the game to bury the fading Dogs. Despite looking a little shaky early, the Demon defence, ranked 4th in the league on points conceded, got the job done comfortably. In a surprise move, Cameron Bruce was assigned the dangerous Johnson. He was excellent in adapting to the task, matching Johnson on the lead and using his height to advantage in the one-on-one contests. Johnson usually has the luxury of being too quick for taller defenders and too strong in the air for shorter opponents; however, he did not enjoy these advantages against Bruce. Nathan Carroll continued his fantastic season with a solid job on Robbins. As testament to his confidence, Carroll not only did the defensive job well but in the second half he became a vital rebounding defender, setting up many forward thrusts for the Dees with his robust style. Jared Rivers battled early before finding his feet and finished off the game well, enhancing his reputation as one of the best readers of opposition kicks in the league. It was, though, the day for the small defenders, with Matty Whelan and Daniel Ward accumulating 30 possessions each. Whelan was tremendous in picking off Bulldog kicks, winning the one-on-ones, using the ball well and generating attacking drive. Ward showed great appetite for the contest and ran hard all day. While his ball use let him down occasionally, it was his preparedness to run that assisted the Demons greatly in overcoming an opposition side itself known for its running prowess. Clint Bartram also played a great game, shutting down the dangerous Eagleton and attacking the contest with his usual courage and ferocity. His chase and pressure on Cooney when the talented Dog stormed into an open goal was a highlight of his game. In midfield, Simon Godfrey was given the task of negating Scott West. West is always going to accumulate many possessions, so limiting the effectiveness of his disposal is a key. After West dominated the early going, Godfrey rebounded well to keep the prolific Bulldog in check for most of the day. Brock McLean came back into the side and showed why he is already rated by many as one of Melbourne's most important players. He burned early inside the packs and on the outside, adding two goals to his dominant first half performance. He tapered off a little in the second half but was still a very good player on the day. His clearance mate James McDonald accumulated a lazy 30-odd touches in another excellent performance. His intensity and attack on the ball has just gone to another level this season and somehow he continually slips under the guard of opposition teams. What I like about Junior is he knows his limitations and is prepared to do the grunt work and dish off by hand to a better finisher rather than kick the ball himself. It is unselfish footy and typifies his approach. Travis Johnstone helped fill the midfield void left by Bruce (Johnson) and Green (suspended). Without these two class players, Melbourne could have been exposed in midfield. However, Johnstone played a good game and while not dominating, used the ball effectively enough. Matthew Bate, back in the side after a hamstring injury, took a while to get going but did some nice things and took a strong contested mark in the last quarter to display his versatility as a footballer. But without doubt the major midfield focus was on Nathan Jones, the first gamer from Dandenong Stingrays. Jones found the ball 17 times and exhibited his precise kicking skills. One piece of play which involved a Colin Sylvia handball to Jones, followed by a Jones kick to McLean, resulted in a Demons’ goal and was a sign of the future for these young and exciting Demon midfielders. Jones did enough to earn his spot next week, with the strongly built number 2 a very good chance to take on Carlton. The skipper contributed three goals and some excellent second efforts in the third quarter which resulted in goals to teammates. His contesting work was first rate. Holland was given a forward role to stretch the Dogs' defence and while he struggled to take marks close to goal, he provided a strong contest. His best footy, though, appears to be in defence and a move back there appears to be on the cards next week. Russell Robertson was quiet but contributed a couple goals, while Sylvia played a good first half, presenting hard as a target across half forward, before fading later in the game. But the star of the show was the man affectionately known as OOOOZE! He kicked five goals, including one absolute gem from the boundary line in the third term. His effort reinforces all that's dangerous about the Melbourne forward set-up: you may contain Neitz to 3, Robbo to 2 and Davey to 2, but then up bobs Yze with 5. This multi-faceted structure is critical to Melbourne's success and makes it a tough job for opposition coaches to contain all these potentially game-breaking players. In the end, it was a comfortable 51-point win. 3rd spot on the ladder has been reclaimed but other results did not go the Demons' way. West Coast retains its one game lead and closed in on percentage with a thumping win over the Crows, while St Kilda’s percentage skyrocketed with a demolition of Richmond. While Collingwood appears a rung below the Eagles, Demons and Saints, its easy draw makes it a key player in the race for positions in the top four. Then there’s Sydney – which has three relatively simple home games in the run home – on 10 wins and a healthy percentage and still right in the race for a top four spot. With the losses of Pickett and Davey, Melbourne will lack that bite around the half forward line. They are indeed significant blows, and while Davey should be back for Round 21 or 22, hopefully Pickett will be back by finals where his experience and aggression could be a decisive factor. Nevertheless, the Dees know that they will probably have to win a minimum of four of their last five to have a chance of finishing second and may even need to win this many just to retain a spot in the top four. It promises to be an exciting finish to the home and away season and hopefully the Saints do the right thing and knock over West Coast to kick-start a fascinating final five rounds. Melbourne 5.2.32 9.5.59 13.9.87 18.11.119 Western Bulldogs 6.3.39 6.7.43 7.12.54 9.14.68 Goals Yze 5 Neitz 3 Davey McLean Robertson 2 Bartram Bate Godfrey Holland Best Whelan Yze McDonald Bruce Carroll Ward McLean Injuries Davey (hamstring) Pickett (hamstring) Changes Dunn replaced in selected side by Brown. Umpires James Head Ellis Crowd 36,466 at MCG

by Barry from Beach Road With the senior team enjoying the weekend off with a bye, the only game in town as far as Sandringham was concerned was the reserves' clash with bottom side Casey Scorpions at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval on Saturday morning. A fair bit of interest and spice was added to the event by the inclusion in both sides of a greater than usual number of AFL listed players with the Zebras using 10 Demons and the Scorpions some six or seven Saints. The end result was a one sided game that was nevertheless an interesting spectacle. The embattled Zebras managed to return to the winning list and grab fifth spot on the VFL reserves ladder with an emphatic 108 point victory. The Scorpions were really never in the hunt apart from a fight back from late in the first quarter until midway through the second but they were always destined to play catch up football after full forward Michael Newton opened up with a blaze of glory and four goals in the first stanza. Sandy was just too good around the ground with Chris Johnson moving up into the midfield where the likes of Marc Johnston, Andrew Fleming, Daniel Corp and Mark Corrigan were dominating aided by a winning ruck combination of Stephen Ott and Ewen McKenzie. This enabled a constant supply of the ball to the forward line where Newton, Danny Hughes, Brad Miller and Guy Martyn were dominant. Newton finished with seven for the day most of which were against a solid opponent with AFL experience in Ben Schwarze. The result was an excellent one for the Zebra reserves after a tough month or two but they still have a fight on their hands to make the finals with next week's away game against the undefeated Williamstown looming. HOW THE DEMONS FARED The day was one where supporters were provided with a bit of good, a bit of bad and a bit of ugly but on the whole a positive one for the Demons. The ugly was not Alistair Nicholson's head as some might argue but rather the very brief ground time of Brent Moloney who went off with a touch of osteitis pubis and an injury to Simon Buckley (possibly concussion) was the bad. The good was the almost faultless display of Chris Johnson across half back and on the ball, another solid performance from Brad Miller at centre half forward and twin goalkicking performances from Michael Newton with seven and Danny Hughes with six. Jace Bode - an impressive left footer whose skills showed out at this level. Got plenty of the ball. Simon Buckley - impressed early with his good ball control and long kicking but apparently suffered a knock and was off at the start of the second quarter. Clint Bizzell - on the comeback trail after suffering a broken leg and warmed up as the game went on. By the end of the game he was a significant controlling influence in the Zebra defence. Danny Hughes - an excellent game where he not only showed great strength in the air but was solid around the ground. Chris Johnson - a superb performance whether running the ball out of defence or playing in the midfield in a game where he was constantly in the action, marking the ball well, gathering it in the contests and disposing with great skill. Brad Miller - dominated a key position for the second week in a row, marked strongly, kicked accurately and moved around the forward line with plenty of authority. Brent Moloney - made only a brief appearance for the day before he retired with a sore groin. He said later that he woke up with the soreness and it didn't feel right after he had a few kicks early in the game. Stated that it was one of those injuries and hoped he would be right next week. Heath Neville- has pace, courage, a good mark, excellent disposal and decision making skills. He was a bit of a surprise packet on the day and definitely showed promise for the future. Michael Newton - seven goals for the day wasn't a bad haul but it could've been more. He started off like a house on fire marking everything and converting well. His fifth came early in the second quarter but after that the opposition tightened up on him, he suffered from a bit of double teaming, dropped a few easy marks and didn't get much protection from the umpires (this included the goal umpire who failed to award as a goal one kick that went straight through the middle. The fans in the crowd were most impressed when he led to take a mark in the second quarter and drilled a 45 metre pass straight onto a teammates chest. Also strong below the knees for a tall man and will get better with an additional year of gym work and an extra 5kgs. Alistair Nicholson - broke even in the battle of the dinosaurs against Fergus Watts. Neither player looked particularly agile or capable of playing pretty football and sadly, Nicho might struggle to get a game at the highest level the way the game is played these days. Sandringham 8.2.50 11.4.70 18.7.125 26.9.165 Casey Scorpions 4.2.26 7.4.46 7.7.49 8.9.57 Goals Newton 7 Hughes 6 Martyn 4 Miller 3 Corp Lockwood 2 Corrigan Fletcher Best McKenzie Bizzell Johnson Fleming Johnston Newton

by the Demonland Team Once again, we present a preview compilation from Demonland writers and bloggers in advance of this weekend's game. The Oracle kicks things off - BLOGS OF WAR by the Oracle The news has been gloomy all week what with the fracas in the Middle East, bombs going off everywhere, earthquakes in Indonesia, inflation rising (when does inflation ever fall?), excitement in the Big Brother household reaching fever pitch and the Demons losing badly last weekend. That last one was a real bummer considering that we could have grabbed a top two spot on the ladder had we only kept our form, our discipline and had we kicked straight. I don't want to seem to be belittling war and all of the tragic consequences that such violent conflict brings and I won't do that here. Indeed, I hope and I pray for a speedy resolution of all the world's conflicts and an end to all wars but just below that on the emotional scale I'm also hoping the Demons can revive their tilt for the all important home final by beating the Bulldogs and beating them well on Sunday. In order to achieve that, Melbourne needs to overturn its humiliating 47 point loss from Round 2 when the Demons were not prepared for their encounter at the Telstra Dome. Since then, the Doggies have been hit bit injury and several of their better players from that game, notably Robert Murphy who starred with four goals and was the difference between the two sides. On the other hand, Melbourne is close to having a full team, aside from the surprisingly undisciplined Brad Green who is sitting it out thanks to an uncharacteristic head butt on Ryan Crowley. Last week, Melbourne's rucks were thrashed by a seven foot giant in Sandilands. The Bulldogs might have Street and Minson but you don't often beat the Demon ruck combo two weeks running. With the game taking place at the MCG and Brock McLean back in the Melbourne team, the scales appear to be tipped in the Demons' favour. I desperately sought confirmation of this conclusion inside my crystal ball but the darn thing wasn't providing any assistance whatsoever because all that I could see was the fog of war. I'm still tipping Melbourne by 18 points. An interesting sideline to this week is the fact that the game is between the two AFL clubs were graced by the presence of the great Allen Jakovich. Here is our Demonland Blogger Slander's take on the Allen Jakovich Cup MarkII for 2006 - THE ALLEN JAKOVICH CUP by Slander So we face the Bulldogs at the MCG to try and wrest back the title of Allen Jakovich Cup holders for this season. On an unimportant side issue a win will probably see us get a top two spot or at the very least further entrench us in the four. A loss and well take out your opera glasses ladies as I'll be the one swinging from the rafters of the newPonsford Stand Jakovich End strung up by my 2006 privilege scarf. It's not without a touch of irony that the man received as a draft pick from the Dishlickers for Lord Jakovich's services and wears the # 13 He made famous plays his 250th game on the weekend. In 12 seasons of heartbreak, attempted mergers, financial mismanagement, botched finals campaigns as well as home and away season failures Adem Yze has been a star for the MFC. From being the skinny 17 year old back pocket punching above his weight division, getting Andy Collins suspended ensuring the MFC's grip on consecutive games records from individuals, becoming a class midfielder at the turn of the century to today being one of the few forward/utilities in comp capable of destroying teams from anywhere on the ground. The Ooze deserves a win this weekend I think I'll cry if we don't deliver. The History of The Jakovich Cup With thanks to allthestats.com Head to Head Bulldogs lead 10 - 9 in the AJE (*After Jakovich Era) Although Melbourne have won 8 of the last 10 battles. Last time Bulldogs 20-17-137 d Melbourne 12-18-90 After an even first half the kings of sexy football turned it on in the second half kicking 14.9 to 4.9 THE GAME In the spirit of The Great One's 11.8 against North Melbourne in 92 these games are generally see sawing, brilliant and farcical. As mentioned Yze plays his 250th, for the opposition Chris Grant equals the Dogs club games record of 329. Both teams have contrasting game plans; the Bulldogs' relies on quick movement, hard running, attacking and precision delivery to small leading forwards whereas the Dees is more workmanlike relying on clogging the oppositions forward line, slowing the tempo of the game when in possession, hard tacking on opposition ball carriers and thoughtful switches in play that create space in setting up attacks. The venue will also be a factor Melbourne are undefeated (despite some early shitting bricks close calls) at the MCG this year whereas the Dogs have been unsuccessful in their two outings there in 06. Slander's Prediction:- The stakes are higher than the infamous R21 2005 'Elimination Final' both teams have a pretty hard run home and a loss will put a dent in either side's top 4 aspirations. The Bulldogs are fast, slick, exciting and young however I believe the combination of Melbourne's physical pressure, defence and experience on the MCG will win out in a tight encounter. Melbourne by 10 points and the Allen Jakovich cup to come home. A Demonland team effort wouldn't be complete without a contribution from Sam the Stats Man who takes yet another look at the Melbourne list to see where each individual stands. The following list of players is in alphabetical order and it sets out where the 44 Demons are at with six rounds to go before the AFL finals and who knows how many before the VFL season ends. The Sandringham seniors have a bye this weekend and the Zebras have loaded their reserves team with Demons. Here' Sam's statistical update:- STASTIS... STATIS ... STUTST... ER FACTS AND FIGURES - DEMONS IN 2006 by Sam the Stuttering Stats Man BARTRAM, Clint - AFL 16 games 4 goals - the # 60 pick at the 2005 National Draft and the only Demon to gain a Rising Star Award nomination this year, Bartram has tagged the best and done well on most of them. BATE, Matthew - AFL 7 games 4 goals, VFL 4 games 3 goals, VFL Reserves 1 game 0 goals – one of the revelations of the year, Bate has pace, size and excitement on his side. A hamstring strain has kept him out for the past four weeks. BELL, Daniel - AFL 6 games 0 goals, VFL 6 games 1 goal, VFL Reserves 1 game 1 goal - a lapse in concentration against Collingwood saw him consigned to several weeks at Sandringham where he has gradually returned to top form. BIZZELL, Clint - VFL Reserves 4 games 0 goals - restricted to Sandy reserves as he desperately tries to resurrect his season after a leg injury. BODE, Jace ® - VFL 1 game 1 goal, VFL Reserves 10 games 0 goals - injury and suspension have held him back but he did impress a fortnight ago with his only senior VFL game for the season. BROWN, Nathan - AFL 5 games 2 goals, VFL 4 games 3 goals, VFL Reserves 1 game 0 goals - a hamstring injury has kept him out of the Melbourne team for some time and like some others he has gradually worked his way back with some good VFL form. BRUCE, Cameron - AFL 16 games 17 goals - consistently brilliant until the last two matches but would still win the "Bluey" if votes were counted now. BUCKLEY, Simon - VFL 7 games 1 goal, VFL Reserves 5 games 1 goal - dropped to the Zebra reserves after showing some early promise and has been out for the past few weeks with injury. CARROLL, Nathan - AFL 16 games 1 goal - his recent form, with the exception of a pasting at the hands of Brisbane's Darren Bradshaw, has been sensational and, although he's not quite in the All Australian full back class, Carroll is the Demons’ big improver of 2006. DAVEY, Aaron - AFL 16 games 27 goals - has had some great goal kicking moments and continues to improve since the arrival of Byron Pickett. DUNN, Lynden - AFL 10 games 13 goals, VFL 5 games 11 goals - is fitting in well in the AFL scene although, as with many young players, his form is still a bit hot and cold. FERGUSON, Ryan - AFL 2 games 0 goals, VFL 8 games 0 goals - incurred broken ribs and a punctured lung in round 2 at the Telstra Dome but has been unable to fight his way back into the side despite some typical courageous performances at Sandringham. GIANFAGNA, Andre® - VFL 1 game 0 goals, 11 games 8 - the quicksilver rookie has spent most of the year with the Zebra reserves but is now out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. GODFREY, Simon - AFL 10 games 1 goal, 5 games 5 goals - not everybody's favourite because his disposal skills sometimes let him down but he's all heart and endeavour and his last fortnight has seen him in top form. GREEN, Brad - AFL 16 games 10 goals - has had a stellar season until last weekend's indiscretion and will have time to think about this weekend as he watches from the stands. HOLLAND, Ben - AFL 9 games 0, VFL 3 games 2 goals, VFL Reserves 2 games 3 goals - has collected a few big scalps this year including Fraser Gehrig and Anthony Rocca and some might include the beleaguered Brad Miller in with that lot as well. HUGHES, Daniel® - VFL 12 games 11 2 games 5 goals - the high marking flanker whose best efforts were his six goals against Tassie has gone off the boil a little and is back in the Zebra reserves. JAMAR, Mark - AFL 15 games 7 goals - the Demons are trying to develop the Russian as a back up for Jeff White and while Jamar is coming along with his ruck skills, he needs top do more around the ground. Rarely gets more than a handful of possessions each week and this is a bit of a worry. JOHNSON, Chris - AFL 8 goals 0, VFL 4 games 1 goals - has shown some promise but recently dropped from the side and probably will benefit from some extra game time in the VFL. JOHNSON, Paul - AFL 2 games 2 goals, VFL 2 games 0 goals, VFL Reserves 1 game 1 goal - out for the year with a shoulder injury after showing some good signs early. JOHNSTONE, Travis - AFL 16 games 9 goals - magnificent ball handling and disposal skills and great awareness. Well and truly living up to the promise he had when he went #1 at the 1997 National Draft. JONES, Nathan - VFL 14 games 5 goals - the hard running Jones has been improving at a rapid rate with the Zebras and is due for an AFL debut. MCDONALD, James - AFL 16 games 1 goal - the competition's leading tackler and most underrated performer. He has stepped up this year and is one of the reasons for the team's rapid improvement since the early part of the season. MCLEAN, Brock - AFL 10 games 8 goals - one of the new emerging stars of the Demon midfield has been limited by some nagging injuries and will be welcomed back with open arms this week. MILLER, Brad - AFL 9 games 1 goal, VFL 3 games 4 goals - has paid a heavy price for an indiscretion which led to a two week suspension and has been languishing in the Sandringham team where his form was very good last week but apparently not good enough for promotion. MOLONEY, Brent - AFL 7 games 1 goal, VFL Reserves 1 game 0 goals - has had a limited impact due to injury and is just starting on the comeback trail. MOTLOP, Shannon - AFL 1 game 0 goals, VFL 14 games 14 goals - has not produced enough consistently good form with Sandy to fight his way back into the AFL. NEAVES, Shane® - VFL 10 games 2 goals, VFL Reserves 2 games 0 goals - a promising ruckman who is coming on in leaps and bounds in the Sandringham team. NEITZ, David - AFL 14 games 39 goals - is struggling at full forward after a bright patch netted him some good goal hauls in mid season. Needs to lift this week against one of the competition's best full backs. NEVILLE, Heath - VFL Reserves 12 games 0 goals - missed most of the pre season and is biding his time in defence with the Zebra reserves. NEWTON, Michael - VFL 9 games 5 goals, VFL Reserves 6 games 18 goals - a bit of an enigma who has shown some outstanding form in brief bursts with Sandringham. Looks a player. NICHOLSON, Alistair - VFL 2 games 0 goals, VFL Reserves 2 games 0 goals - has been out for most of the season with a foot injury and some were even asking, "Alistair who?" Had a reasonable game last week at Sandringham. PICKETT, Byron - AFL 16 games 7 goals - one of the catalysts for Melbourne's good form, he has been quiet in recent weeks and his poor form last week might sting him into action on Sunday. READ, Phillip - AFL 5 games 1 goals, VFL 9 games 5 goals - is in the twilight zone between being a good VFL player and a borderline performer at AFL level. Out of the side this week. RIVERS, Jared - AFL 14 games 3 goals, VFL 1 game 0 goals - generally a shining light at centre half back but was uncharacteristically quiet last week. ROBERTSON, Russell - AFL 16 games 33 goals - that nagging knee injury that hampered him throughout the season is possibly the reason for an inconsistent season from Robbo. When he's hot (as he was against the Tigers), he's hot! SMITH, Nick - VFL 14 games 20 goals - a real consistent performer and improver at VFL level but can't crack it into the Demon line up. SYLVIA, Colin - AFL 11 games 7 goals, VFL 2 games 4 goals - some injury woes have affected his season but is showing signs that he is ready to emerge at AFL level. WARD, Daniel - AFL 9 games 1 goal, VFL 6 games 4 goals - has surprised some with his resilience on return to the Demon team. Has shown some good run in recent weeks but would like to forget that kick backwards against Richmond. WARNOCK, Matthew® - AFL 2 games 0 goals, VFL 9 games 0 goals - managed a couple of games with the Demons early but has spent most of the season cooling his heels with the Zebras and going about his work in their back line quietly but effectively. WHEATLEY, Paul - AFL 6 games 1 goal, VFL 6 games 2 goals, VFL Reserves 1 game 0 goals- returned to the Demons after missing with a hamstring injury but is yet to come back to his best. WHELAN, Matthew - AFL 14 games 2 goals - an important cog in the Demon defence, Wheels was another of the quiet brigade last weekend and will be determined to set things right this weekend. WHITE, Jeff - AFL 16 games 18 goals - one of the league's leading ruckmen, he is relishing his new partnership with Mark Jamar. YZE, Adem - AFL 16 games 18 goals - has returned to his best form as he continues to rack up consecutive games of high quality." MELBOURNE V WESTERN BULLDOGS Where & When Sunday, MCG, 2:10pm (AEST) TV & Radio Head to Head Melbourne 81, Western Bulldogs 63, 1 Draw. The Betting Melbourne $1.51, Western Bulldogs $2.45 The last time they met Western Bulldogs 20.17.137 defeated Melbourne 12.18.90 The Teams MELBOURNE B Whelan Carroll Holland HB Ward Rivers Bartram C Davey Johnstone Bruce HF Sylvia Robertson Pickett F Jamar Neitz Yze FOLL White McLean McDonald I/C (from) Bate Bell Brown Dunn Godfrey Jones Wheatley IN Bate Bell Brown Jones McLean OUT Green (suspension) Read NEW Nathan Jones (Dandenong Stingrays) WESTERN BULLDOGS B McMahon Harris Morris HB Griffen Hargrave Gilbee C Eagleton S West Ray HF Boyd Johnson Smith F Robbins Grant Minson FOLL Street Cross Cooney I/C (from) Addison Baird Faulkner McCormack McGuinness Power Wight IN Addison Faulkner McGuinness OUT - NEW Dylan Addison (NSW/ACT Rams) Field umpires James Head Ellis

by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham didn't waste any time to effortlessly blow away the Coburg Tigers - its nearest rival for a top two finish – at Trevor Barker Oval on Sunday booting nine goals to three in the first quarter. After that, it was a one horse race and, but for a minor shut down in the final quarter the Zebra winning margin could easily have been far greater than 10 goals. As usually happens, the Zebras gained their drive from the centre bounces with Shane Neaves impressing with his ruckwork and Nick Smith backing him up to the hilt. From there, it was the dominant midfield of Nathan Jones, Shane Valenti, Peter Summers and co who just kept pushing the ball to where winning key forwards Nick Sautner and Brad Miller were literally having a picnic and were well backed up by Rod Crowe. Sautner had seven of his daily return of eight by half time as he sent a number of different mesmerised opponents packing. There was hardly a poor Zebra performance on the ground in a very even team performance. The defence was headed by Ferguson, Lamb and Biddlecome, who were all brilliant, Nathan Brown and David Gallagher were on top on their wings and Ezra Poyas controlled his position brilliantly. Daniel Bell was strong coming out of the backline even if his opponent was knee high to a grasshopper. Mark Corrigan played another good game in the early part of his comeback and showed that he should be a fixture in the team for the remainder of the season. Chad Liddell led the team from the front and the crowd really loved his goal when he grabbed it out of a pack and waltzed through the goal square for an easy one late in the game. Although Sautner was the star of the day with eight goals to recapture the lead in the race for the Frosty Miller trophy, it was the carrot topped Matthew Bate who added a touch of brilliance to the game. On that performance it is doubtful that we will see much more of him at VFL level. Coach Mark Williams wasn’t too concerned at the team’s slowdown in the latter stages of the game when Coburg came back and outscored them. Sandy still had plenty of the play in the final term kicking 4.6 to 6.0 and it was more a sign of how strong an effort his charges had put into the first three quarters. The Tigers had plenty of experienced Richmond listed players and the game was a good solid test of where the Zebras are at this time of the year. In good shape! The team will have a well-earned rest this weekend with a bye before it enters the run up to the finals. There is a long list of VFL players to choose from and a lot of competition among the Demons for places in their side so it augurs well for the coming months. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Matthew Bate – started on the bench but when he came on he was brilliant at times and set up plenty of scoring opportunities. A must to return to the Demons for next week's game. Daniel Bell – played on a midget but beat him pointlessly. Tackled strongly (at one stage he had two opponents in terrifying bear hugs in the space of a few seconds) and will get back into the AFL team if he keeps up that sort of form. Nathan Brown – dominated the wing and half back flank for most of the day and gave great drive although his kicking wasn't always on target. Ryan Ferguson – a strong showing doing what he does best – defending with courage and doing it so well. Nathan Jones – continues to step up a notch every week and his claims for selection in the Demons' team are starting to prove irresistible. Tough, hard, relentless and strong inside. Uses the ball very well. Brad Miller – was one of the dominant players on the ground. Marked and led strongly and kicked well for his four goals. Will be back in town next weekend. Shannon Motlop – a so so day from Motlop. Menacing at times but didn't do quite enough. Shane Neaves – another good, strong game in the ruck from the youngster who keeps on improving. Alistair Nicholson – a bit rusty early but got on top of Stafford who had to be moved to get some of the ball. Nick Smith – marked strongly around the ground and provided some good back up for Neaves in the ruck. Matthew Warnock – a nice quiet, unobtrusive game from Warnock but he did what he had to do and appeared to be on top of his man for most of the day. Sandringham 9.1.55 13.5.83 17.5.107 21.11.137 Coburg Tigers 3.4.22 4.5.29 6.5.41 12.5.77 Goals Sautner 8 Miller 4 Crowe Poyas 2 Brown Corrigan Liddell Summers Valenti Best Miller Ferguson Bell Sautner Brown Summers The reserves played their third close match in four weeks and had plenty of opportunities to win this time but had to settle for a draw in the end. Leigh Fletcher and Kenton Hall provided lots of drive all day and Michael Newton was the pick of the forwards with four goals although he appeared to injure an ankle going for a speccie late in the game. Daniel Corp showed sound form coming back from injury as did Clint Bizzell who got better as the game went on. Daniel Hughes was good in patches while Brent Moloney made his comeback with a solid first half. He is set to play the full four quarters next Saturday against the Casey Scorpions in a game which could also see the return of St. Kilda's walking accident about to happen Justin Koschitzke. Sandringham 2.1.13 5.5.35 7.8.50 10.14.74 Coburg Tigers 1.6.12 4.9.33 7.13.55 10.14.74 Goals Newton 4 Corp Hughes 2 Ott Johnston Best Fletcher Hall Corp Bizzell Fleming Newton

by Whispering Jack When I first learned that Melbourne had decided to go retro for the AFL's Heritage Round game against Fremantle I thought it was a joke. Why on earth would a club which is on the brink of a new successful era even consider wearing a uniform synonymous with failure; one that was adopted in the mid 70's to cater for the innovation of colour television and then spurned at the end of 1986 precisely coinciding with its rise after more than two decades of mediocrity? Why indeed! Why go back to the eighties? After all, that was a time of dingoes and babies at Ayres Rock, Darryl and Ozzie, mullet hair dos, bad music, Ronald Reagan, poor fashion, a losing Aussie Test side and, for the early part of the '80's at least, the Demons were the duds of football. We need those memories like a hole in the head! I felt troubled from the very first and that feeling was not improved when the team to take on the Dockers was named on Thursday night. The philosophy behind the team's selection had surely also gone retro along with everything else about this game. Earlier in the season, the club was buoyed by the form of the young guns - the likes of Brock McLean, Colin Sylvia, Matthew Bate, Clint Bartram, Lyden Dunn and Chris Johnson adding some excitement to the mix. The momentum was all on our side. However, in recent weeks, injuries have cost us the excitement of McLean and Bate while Dunn, Bartram and Johnson have been showing some signs of tiredness. The selectors decided in their wisdom to drop Johnson and replace him with Phil Read who admittedly was best on ground for the Zebras a week ago. Problem was that performance was achieved in all too different different conditions – the wind, rain and sleet of midwinter Ballarat which suited Chopper to a tee. But this game was at Subiaco Oval. We needed Matthew Bate, recovered from a hamstring injury, but the selectors passed on him. They also passed on an in form Nathan Jones who has been a regular among Sandringham's best for several weeks. Brad Miller was shunned as well. So we went into the game without as many potential excitement machines as I would have liked and instead we plumped for the standard line and length approach. The same olds. It was back to the eighties with a lack of imagination and half a dozen players who really aren't part of our future. Still, it was Melbourne that started full of running and but for some early missed opportunities and a gift free kick and goal to the Wizard, Melbourne could easily have broken away to an early three or four goal lead. Instead it relied on individual efforts to pull back to lead by a point at quarter time. Then, the team self-destructed. An early second term goal to the Dockers was followed by some pitiful forward play and two or three shocking misses in front of goal. A second opportunity to press home the lead was missed and, as invariably happens Fremantle was on target and pushed to a 14 point lead when Brad Green suffered brain fade and decided to imitate another boundary line headbutter of the early eighties in Phil Carmen. All I can say is that we should all be thankful that it was a Docker who was the victim and not one of the white maggots. And as luck would have it, Crowley slotted a difficult shot from the boundary line from the resultant free to dent the Demons' confidence going in at the main break. Things didn't get any better in the third term with so many players putting together their worst efforts for the year that it's best not to dwell too much further on the game. Let's just say that we crossed the Nullarbor and somewhere on the way, the team's spirit of excitement that burned so brightly a little while ago, was snuffed out. Melbourne lapsed in its kicking for the second week in a row. Last week, it scored 9.16, this week 9.13 but it was a lot worse than that. Kicks for goal that should have hit their mark didn't even register, Cam Bruce kicked into the man on the mark from 20 metres out, Neita who hasn't kicked a goal in a fortnight, couldn't hit the side of a barn door and Green of all people missed a sitter. Then there was the team discipline that's been so strong all year. It must have escaped from the airplane window when the team travelled west. Some of the stupid free kicks given away were simply horrendous. But then, that's what that aweful royal blue get up does to people, I'm sure! It went on and on as the Demons produced the sort of football that was their hallmark when they wore that abomination of a jumper in the eighties. And it wasn't confined to the out of sorts forwards either. Jeff White and Mark Jamar have had a big week publicity-wise but they were done like a dinner in the ruck by Sandilands; Jared Rivers was in career worst form; Byron Pickett couldn't raise a gallop and they had many friends all over the ground. Thankfully Ben Holland and Nathan Carroll were able to stem some of the flow in defence but that was just about it apart from the continued bright form of James McDonald, the prolific Travis (whose kicking wasn't as sharp as usual though) and the fact that we might just have won the half time melee. Hopefully, we'll return home to the MCG next weekend, don our real colours again and come back to the future with some impact against the Bulldogs to atone for the lost opportunity of grabbing second place on the ladder and the luxury of putting two games between ourselves and the rest of the pack pushing for a double chance in the finals. Melbourne 4.3.27 4.7.31 5.12.42 9.13.67 Fremantle 4.2.26 8.3.51 12.4.76 15.6.96 Goals Davey 3 Dunn Robertson 2 Jamar Johnstone Best McDonald Carroll Johnstone Yze Godfrey, Bruce Injuries Nil Reports Green (Melb) reported for head-butting Crowley, Yze (Melb) for abusive language towards an umpire. Umpires Vozzo Ryan Jeffery Crowd 36,244 at Subiaco Oval, Perth

by Slander So the Demon juggernaut rolls west this week to football's Bermuda Triangle to face football's reverse take on the Harlem Globetrotters. What is it about Freo that commands such disrespect? They've won 5 from 7 at Subi this year, are in the eight and have probably the best power/small forward combination in the league in Pavlich and Farmer. Maybe we just can't take a team seriously that parade around an anchor (maybe that's what has held them back since 95?) and wears purple! The outcome of this encounter will be most interesting because in the past two seasons this is around about the mark where both Fremantle and Melbourne have choked as bad as Jimi Hendrix's last hurrah (or more accurately pronounced: "hlahwah") f*cking up what looked like decent tilts at the finals. The script is set for a world famous Freo slip up at home or a bad Melbourne loss followed by countless more. THE HISTORY We are 3 and 3 at Subiaco against Freo. 2004 saw a nice victory in wet conditions (bring back Vardy!), 2005 saw a comical performance of poor skills, ridiculous home town charity umpiring, our defenders attempting to kill each other and a Freo victory by 5 goals. Earlier this year at the MCG we put them to the sword by a colossal margin, more of that would be appreciated this weekend. THE GAME As with every game the battle will be won in the midfield the absence of Brock McLean will hurt and I wouldn't bank on Godfrey playing a blinder like last week. Pavlich is a massive threat and Carroll, Holland and Rivers will all have roles in directly or indirectly nullifying him. On the Farmer front the terror warning is medium as I don't think Matty W will give him the kind of leeway he enjoyed last week against the Colliwobbles. THE PREDICTION It's a danger game (what isn't you idiot?) but I think our hardness at the ball and strong tackling will win out. Melbourne by 3 points in another scrappy game. HERITAGE ROUND Well it's that time of year again where everybody plays dress ups this year is an 80's theme. God knows why Freo are wearing that rubbish try hard South Melbourne strip again, something to do with South and East Fremantle in the 1900's. Meh. We'll be wearing the royal blue that was donned by the Dees up until 1987. The truth behind this strip is that when 'Melbourne' was wearing this strip it wasn't the Melbourne Football Club. It was actually Robbie Flower Football Club with several life size manikins painted to look like footballers and some cameo performances along the way from Carl Ditterich, Peter Moore, Mark Jackson and Ron Barrassi. It was a conspiracy by the VFL because everyone knew if you had any decent footballers around Robbie Flower that there would be no point in having a competition. All hell wouldn't stop the Demons. For this and other conspiracies of how the Moon Landing was fake, the ABC is the last communist state and Toadie from Neighbours is really an extra-terrestrial that landed at Roswell in the 1970's stay tuned! FREMANTLE v MELBOURNE Where & When: Subiaco, 2.40pm (4.40pm AEST), Sunday 23 July, 2006 TV & Radio: Fox Footy Fox Footy Channel, 6PR, ABC Radio, 3AW (from quarter-time) Head to Head: Played 18, Fremantle: 8, Melbourne: 10 Last time they met: Melbourne 17.15.117 def. Fremantle 8.10.58 Round 7, 2006, at the MCG The betting: Fremantle $1.87 Melbourne $1.86 The Teams: FREMANTLE B Mundy Johnson Parker HB M Carr McPharlin Dodd C Peake J Carr Headland HF Schammer Pavlich Crowley F Longmuir Murphy Farmer FOLL Sandilands Hasleby Bell I/C Drum Hayden McManus Webster EM Black Gilmore Cook IN Longmuir OUT Cook MELBOURNE B Whelan Carroll Holland HB Ward Rivers Bartram C Davey Johnstone Green HF Sylvia Bruce Pickett F Robertson Neitz Yze FOLL White Godfrey McDonald I/C Dunn Jamar Read Wheatley EM Bell C Johnson Motlop IN Read OUT C Johnson

by Scoop Junior Most of those in attendance on Friday would have walked away fairly disappointed with what they had witnessed over the evening. For Tigers fans, it was a case of cold, hard reality hitting them flush in the face. While certainly an improving team, they simply are not up to the class of the elite teams in the competition. Their shortcomings were ruthlessly exposed by a tenacious Demons outfit and but for a few late Tiger goals and poor accuracy by their opposition, they would have suffered a reasonably heavy defeat. Melbourne supporters, on the other hand, would have been slightly disappointed to go home with only a 3-goal win and a game that will not live long in the memory bank. Richmond's defensive tactics ensured the game was a low-scoring scrap and apart from a burst of exciting footy by the Dees in the second term, there were few highlights. While at face value the game was a shocker, closer analysis reveals the significance of the win. Footy is a different game these days, no doubt influenced by international sports such as basketball and soccer. Speaking of the round ball code, an analogy can be drawn between the World Cup winners and the way our game is evolving. No, diving is not a critical ingredient of a premiership side - although Matty Lloyd may argue differently. What I refer to is the fact that the Italians conceded just two goals in their seven World Cup fixtures; one of which was an own goal and the other came from a dubious penalty. No opposition player therefore scored a goal in open play against the Italians. The old saying of "you can't lose if you keep a clean sheet" appears to have found its way to footy. No side has adopted this defensive approach better than current league leader Adelaide. In footy terms, the saying can be adapted to "you generally can’t lose if you keep a side to under 8 goals." While the Demons have, under Neale Daniher, always appeared capable of scoring a bag of goals on their day, they have rarely looked like a side that could consistently keep things in check at the back and produce footy's equivalent of a clean sheet. Melbourne was not able in the past to consistently tackle strongly and apply pressure through the midfield and was averse to sending numbers back to assist the backline. As Sydney and Adelaide - two of the best sides of last season - showed in 2005 these defensive elements are critical to success. However, Melbourne had been an attacking, direct side that played mostly one brand of footy. Clearly, this defensive focus was one of the major issues facing the side as it prepared for season 2006. If you cast your mind back to Round 1 (the Dees' infamous loss to Carlton - and doesn't that seem light years ago?), all that was exciting about Melbourne - attacking, direct, long-kicking footy - came unstuck as the Demons drowned in the Blues' flood. Time and time again the players bombed away to the hot spot, despite the numbers advantage in favour of the Blues. Carlton's goal bursts were not countered with an adjustment in style from Melbourne, such as maintaining possession. Rather, the Demons continued to try to attack and kick long and went down in the process. How does this all fit in with the Richmond game? Well, it is true that the Dome is a more convenient flooding venue than the MCG. But this does not take anything away from the Demons' newfound ability to play multi-style footy, which focuses on a strong defensive work rate. Melbourne is currently the number one tackling side in the league and is probably only behind Adelaide as the team that applies the most pressure to opposition midfields. The Dees are more willing to push numbers back and there is a greater understanding between midfielders and defenders about filling gaps and creating two-on-ones in defensive 50. Not only has this defensive mindset been incorporated into the game plan, but Melbourne has developed the multi-style footy that has found its way into the modern game. The Dees can switch from an attacking free-flowing style to defensive lockdown mode. Momentum is like a pendulum and swings back and forth in games. Not only is capitalising when you have the momentum important (something Melbourne has been generally good at over the years), but restricting the opposition when they have momentum is critical (something we have clearly struggled at over the years). Possession footy is ugly, but it slows the opposition's momentum and ensures that their burst period produces say only three goals, rather than six. Against Brisbane last round, Melbourne successfully restricted their output despite their first quarter momentum by utilising the chip-chip tactic. This was, in my opinion, the most significant tactical move of the game, as it ensured they went in at quarter time within range of the Lions. The Demons thankfully didn't need to slow Richmond's momentum on Friday night because the Tigers never really had any. But, they still had to adjust our style. With the Tigers flooding heavily, Melbourne was able to construct a boat and navigate its way through the rough sea with its ability to apply fierce pressure, spot up short targets rather than bomb long and work numbers back in defence to thwart Richmond's counter-attacks. Whereas the old Melbourne might have panicked with its 1-goal first quarter, the Demons of 2006 remained patient, adjusted their game style and found a way to win. This style of footy made the game ugly, as the teams attempted to retain possession and take uncontested marks. But do you think the Italians cared that their defensive style of soccer wasn't as exciting as Brazil's attacking flair? Not in the slightest! It is probably sad that footy is moving closer towards soccer, but there's still a premiership to be won and it is the team that is able to adapt to the modern style that will be in the best position to win one. This modern style is tempo footy with strong defensive pressure. Above all, though, the modern style requires flexibility and a playing group with the ability to adjust from chip-chip mode to all guns blazing mode. Whereas Melbourne's previous reluctance to play tempo footy meant that they were not equipped with the tools necessary to win finals footy, the Dees this year have shown that they are now willing and able to win ugly. We are conceding far lower scores against and are much more reliable down back. This is the style of footy that holds up in finals. Kicking 20 goals a week and conceding 18 may be prettier, but it does not translate to winning finals footy. So, as the Demons prepare for the critical run home having playing each side once, be prepared for some more ugly wins. While it would be nice to win pretty, similar to the Collingwood and Hawthorn games earlier this year, the main objective is to win the four points and, quite simply, teams are not going to allow them to win pretty. They will attempt to make the game a scrap and, as a result, will need to invoke the multi-style brand of footy to get over the line. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps, then, while some viewed Friday night's win as ugly, others would say that the ugliness is only skin deep. Like me, they would have seen the win as a thing of beauty because it gave further evidence of Melbourne's adjustment to the demands of the modern game. RICHMOND: 1.2.8 2.3.15 3.8.26 7.10.52 MELBOURNE: 1.4.10 5.9.39 8.12.60 9.16.70 Goals Robertson 4 Davey Dunn Rivers Sylvia Ward Best Robertson McDonald Whelan Godfrey Green Rivers Wheatley Injuries McLean (quad) replaced in selected side by Simon Godfrey, Holland (groin) Reports Nil Umpires Vozzo Stevic Allen Crowd 60,086 at the MCG

by The Zebraman There is no tougher visit on the VFL calendar than a trip to Ballarat in mid July when the icy cold winds come off the ranges and it doesn't stop raining all day. That was the scenario that Sandringham confronted at Austar Arena on Saturday and to its credit, it managed to come away with a hard fought 23-point victory over North Ballarat to retain its grip on second position on the VFL ladder. The conditions were difficult, the surface slippery and wet and Sandy began well against the wind which would have been a relief to coach Mark Williams in view of previous sluggish starts in wet conditions earlier in the season. The cause was not helped by the loss before the game of Demon pair Nathan Brown and Matthew Warnock to illness and injury respectively leaving a gaping hole in his team's defence. Young Demon rookie Jace Bode stepped into one of those gaps in his senior debut and came under notice early when he slipped through from defence into attack to boot Sandy's first goal. Ruckman Shane Neaves was making a welcome return after missing two games through injury and was in control of the rucks early generating great drive. The Zebras had three goals on the board and although it was early in the piece, they had achieved a significant lead – enough to enable them to keep the Roosters at arm's length with the opposition rarely threatening all day. The quarter time lead was 11 points and that was stretched by a further three points at the main break. The star of the day was the prolific Phil Read who amassed 25 disposals for the day. He led a very strong midfield with Nathan Jones, Guy Rigoni, Peter Summers and Shane Valenti displaying some good in and under work in conditions that suited their style of play. Jones in particular showed a mature football brain and was very impressive around the ground while Shannon Motlop revelled in the conditions with his good disposal skills. The game also marked an excellent senior return game from Mark Corrigan who showed great promise after missing more than twelve months through a knee injury. It was certainly not a day for forwards as the teams slogged it out in worsening conditions as the game wore on. Nick Sautner struggled up forward for the visitors while at the other end of the ground, Saverio Rocca, who kicked 10 goals the last time he ran out against the Zebras (in 2005 when playing for Port Melbourne) was starved of opportunities by Chris Lamb who was capably assisted by Ryan Ferguson, Chad Liddell, Daniel Bell and Andy Biddlecombe in defence. Rocca ultimately had to go onto the ball to get some of the ball and finished the game without a goal. Sandy retained its 14 point lead through to the final break David Gallagher and Ezra Poyas were showing their opponents a clean pair of heels and it was Poyas who ultimately put the game beyond doubt with a mark and goal halfway through the final term. The team will hopefully return to friendlier conditions this weekend when it meets the well credentialled Coburg Tigers at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval. The Tigers are in fourth place on the VFL ladder and will test the Zebras in the week before the break for a bye. Sandringham 3.0.18 4.5.29 5.8.38 7.10.52 North Ballarat 1.1.7 2.3.15 3.6.24 3.10.28 Goals Summers 2 Bode Gallagher Poyas Smith Valenti Best Read Jones Summers Valenti Biddlecombe Motlop The reserves had a day to forget with an early morning start arriving in Ballarat at 8.45am after a 90 minute drive from Melbourne. They had barely thawed out for the 10.10am start and with Marc Johnston having to take his place in the senior team and Clint Bizzell confined to the first half only, the team was in trouble before the game started. The early loss of Andre Gianfagna (shoulder) and Tom Mentiplay (hamstring) didn't help and the Zebras simply couldn't switch on. Guy Martyn kicked the team's first goal in the final quarter. By that time, the team was literally gone and North Ballarat swept to a 95-point victory. Sandringham 0.0.0 0.0.0 0.0.0 1.1.7 North Ballarat 2.7.19 4.10.34 6.15.51 14.18.102 Goal Martyn Best Martyn Fletcher Paterakis Evans Nicholson Lockwood

by J.V. McKay It was Malcolm Blight who famously said after his Cats were trounced by the Demons to the tune of 10 goals in the opening round of 1994 that football's "not a sprint, it's a marathon". He was pointing out that the old cliché from Aesop's fable about the Hare and the Tortoise applied very aptly to AFL football, "Slow but steady wins the race!" History tells us that the tortoise Geelong steadily improved its position throughout that season and made the grand final where unfortunately, it was devoured not by a hare but by an eagle which turned out to be swifter and steadier than Blight's team and far superior to the hares that jumped out at the gun but during the course of the season lay down by the wayside and fell fast asleep. One senses that a similar thing is happening in 2006. This time the two tortoises are Melbourne and Richmond which appeared to be rather short in the legs early, each giving away a significant start. This is how things looked after Round 3:- Position Club Wins Losses Drawn Points Scored For Scored Against Percentage Points 15 MELBOURNE 0 3 0 259 332 78.0 0 16 RICHMOND 0 3 0 219 391 56.0 0 The following weekend Richmond broke the ice by winning against the Brisbane Lions at Carrara. Tiger coach Terry Wallace told the story this week about how he contacted Neale Daniher after the win and wished him good luck for his team's game the following day against the reigning premiers in Sydney. At that point in time, the Demons were sitting at the bottom of the ladder, the only winless team in the competition. It would be fair to say that both these clubs, which I have designated as the "tortoises" of the AFL have improved their positions on the ladder since that time. The Demons have won 10 of their last 11 while the Tigers' 8 from 11 is an excellent achievement given their horrible start. What we are witnessing at the moment is a gradual realignment of positions as the teams jostle for their places in the top eight. Melbourne and Richmond have moved slowly up the ladder as some of the "hares" are starting to fall by that wayside. This is where they stand now:- Position Club Wins Losses Drawn Points Scored For Scored Against Percentage Points 3 MELBOURNE 10 4 0 1434 1238 115.8 40 8 RICHMOND 8 6 0 1184 1359 87.1 32 The Tigers haven’t been as consistent as the Demons during this run. The losses they suffered have been quite shattering including a 115-point thumping from Sydney at the Telstra Dome and a belting by Hawthorn in Tasmania. Their wins have however, been impressive. They were the last side to prevail over the Crows – also at the Dome and their form in the past fortnight has been hot. Those wins against Collingwood in the wet and Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium stand up well compared to the recent performances of just about any club in the competition. They certainly compare favourably to Melbourne’s recent efforts which, while you wouldn't call them shaky, were hardly convincing against teams outside the top eight in Essendon, Port Adelaide and Brisbane. Indeed, some have even compared those efforts with the club’s run in 2004 leading up to its fall from grace after it hit top of the ladder at the end of Round 18. I think that's a harsh judgment but time will tell… In the meantime, the "hares" of the competition are starting to drop back a little. Where will Collingwood, West Coast, the Bulldogs and the Swans be in a few weeks' time if they don't wake up from their recent slumbers? The only club that stands out from the rest is Adelaide, much like the Eagles of 1994. But there's still a fair way to go. The game between the AFL's tortoises is shaping up as a real blockbuster. The Demons have had the wood over their opponents in recent years and the Tigers would like to forget last year's encounter at the Telstra Dome when Adem Yze booted five goals and the Tigers' Nathan Brown unfortunately smashed his leg in an accidental clash with Matthew Whelan. However, past matches will count for little this time around. Richmond is a far better side now than it was last year and the year before. It has some excellent young players coming up through the ranks and a few of the old hands are starting to play at the top of their games. Their defence and on ball brigades are improving every week and, as Terry Wallace keeps telling us, they have the guaranteed All Australian ruckman in Troy "Snake" Simmonds ready to wreak havoc against the Melbourne big men. What I like about Melbourne however, is their persistence, skill and tackling. It should get them home once again this week but not by much. Melbourne by 19 points Thank you very much. RICHMOND v MELBOURNE Where & When: MCG, 7.40pm, Friday 14 July, 2006 TV & Radio: Channel Nine (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane), 3AW, Triple M, ABC Radio, NIRS Head to Head: Played 171, Richmond: 95, Melbourne: 74, Drawn 2 Last time they met: Melbourne 20.11.131 d Richmond 11.8.74 Round 10 2005, at Telstra Dome The betting: Richmond $2.80 Melbourne $1.38 The Teams: RICHMOND B: Raines Gaspar Kellaway HB: Tivendale P Bowden J Bowden C: Hyde Tuck Deledio HF: Polo Richardson Pettifer F: Tambling Brown Krakouer FOLL: Simmonds Johnson Foley I/C: Moore Pattison Schulz White EM: Meyer Oakley-Nicholls Rodan IN: Moore OUT: Oakley-Nicholls MELBOURNE B: Whelan Carroll Holland HB: Ward Rivers C Johnson C: Davey Johnstone Green HF: Sylvia Bruce Pickett F: Robertson Neitz Yze FOLL: White McLean McDonald I/C: Bartram Dunn Jamar Wheatley EM: Bell Ferguson Godfrey IN: Dunn Wheatley OUT: Miller (Hip Flexor) Read

by Barry from Beach Road After a difficult week for all at the club, the Sandringham team honoured the memory of their Club President Gary Gilchrist, who passed away suddenly and tragically during the week, by returning to the winning list in emphatic fashion by 70 points in bitterly cold and windy conditions against old rival Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval. The day started with a fitting eulogy and a minute's silence for the club's inspirational leader of nine years. In that time he steered the Zebras through the union with the Melbourne Football Club, three flags including back-to-back premierships for the first time in its history and gained great respect from the whole football world for the Sandringham Football Club. Special thanks must go to the VFL, the Port Melbourne Football Club and the Werribee Football Club, the umpires and the crowd for their part in the presentation of the brief but moving service in Gary's honour. Sandy captain Chad Liddell won the toss and kicked with the wind to the City Road end and the Zebras swung into action early with goals to David Gallagher playing forward and the skipper whose long goal set the tone for the quarter. After a reply from the Borough, Sandy moved up from cruise mode and, with Paul Wheatley dominating with his long kicking and Ryan Ferguson, Nick Smith and midfielder Nathan Jones all in good form, they skipped away to a 33 point lead at the first break. The result was never in doubt after that! Port Melbourne however, was primed to fight back and started the second quarter with great enthusiasm but the Zebra defence, led by Ferguson, Matthew Warnock, Andy Biddlecombe and Chris Lamb was too strong and held on tightly continually pushing the ball back forward to set up scoring opportunities against the wind. Their efforts were rewarded two fold - they kept the Borough down to just two goals for the quarter and saw their team stretch its lead to 41 points at half-time. Sandringham continued where it left off before the break but some poor kicking in front of goal prevented the outcome from becoming ugly for the bottom of the ladder stand alone Borough which was clearly struggling through a lack of height, strength and experience. Daniel Bell, Nathan Brown and Wheatley kept pumping the ball forward while the Zebra midfield of Jones, Peter Summers and Shane Valenti were running rings around their opponents. The loss of Rod Crowe and Simon Godfrey through injury could not stop the flow and Sandy led by 53 points at three-quarter time. The Borough players displayed their traditional never-give-in spirit with a couple of early goals in the final term but Sandy had all the answers but it peppered the goals with little reward. Nick Sautner finished with three goals but it could so easily have been double that, his normal accuracy in front of the big sticks eluding him on the day. Lynden Dunn returned from his duties as emergency for the Demons in Brisbane with a great display of running, marking and pinpoint passing and he also booted two goals for the game. The Zebras outscored the Borough in every quarter - an excellent result given the strong northerly wind and they eventually ran out 70-point winners to consolidate second place on the VFL ladder. They can now look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence and this week travel to North Ballarat to take on the Roosters in what promises to be an interesting match up. HOW THE DEMONS FARED The 12 strong Melbourne contingent was terrific on Sunday with every one of them making a contribution towards the Sandringham victory. The following comments might be tempered by the fact that the opposition was not very strong but you can only beat what's out there. In different days, there would be more than half a dozen players banging down the doors for selection with the Demons. However, the fact that there are only five days between the VFL game and Friday’s match against the Tigers, we can realistically expect no more than two players to be promoted and they are Lynden Dunn and Paul Wheatley who were standouts. Daniel Bell – took on and a strong and wily VFL opponent in Steven Lawrence and beat him hands down. Often backed his judgement and played an attacking game coming out of the last line of defence. Nathan Brown – another player who ran and contested strongly using his experience to his team's advantage. A courageous and gutsy player who will prove very handy for the Demons later in the season. Lynden Dunn – roamed far and wide across the forward line and stood out with his strong leading and marking and some excellent disposal of the ball. Also chipped in to kick two goals and did enough to suggest that he has earned a very quick return to top company. Ryan Ferguson – played an excellent blinder at half back where he showed out not only with his characteristic courage in marking contests but also provided lots of run out of defence and even setting up a good few goals. Also spent a bit of time in attack and demonstrated conclusively that he’s over his rib injury problem. Simon Godfrey – a gutsy hard nut performance and was in everything and accumulated a number of possessions until he left the field with what the Age described as "tightness in his knee, but the club is confident he will not miss matches". Danny Hughes – spent a fair amount of time on the interchange but contributed when he came on with a few strong marks and also showed that he is working on his ground skills. Nathan Jones – another really tough in and under display from Jones who showed clean hands and good decision making skills. Often worked the ball out of packs to his team’s advantage and gave it a great advantage at the stoppages. His kicking was good as well and he must be close to AFL selection. Shannon Motlop – a very solid workmanlike game in which he showed touches of brilliance and good long kicking for goal. Would struggle for promotion however, because his performance on the whole was patchy. Michael Newton – coming off the interchange Newton had limited opportunities in the first half but showed that he was willing to chase hard to get the ball – something that was not evident when he was with the reserves last year. Although it’s difficult to play as the third or fourth tall in the team's forward line, Newton again showed some flashes of absolute class and natural ability in so many facets of the game. While Dunn is well ahead of him at this stage of their development, it won't be long before the two young twin towers will be wowing them in the big time. Nick Smith – often criticised for not performing for four quarters, he defied his critics on Sunday, taking countless strong marks around the ground and holding his own in the ruck. Not a classic ruckman but would be a handy back up if something were to happen to the Melbourne duo. Matthew Warnock – was one of a number of solid performers in the Sandy defence. Whilst he didn't do anything flashy, Warnock beat his opponent comfortably. Paul Wheatley – a great game for Wheatley who has had to work hard since he was put of business by a hamstring injury earlier in the season. Showed great skills, pace, and produced some brilliant long kicking including a sensational goal from almost in the centre. The Reserves game saw Alistair Nicholson back after a long lay off with injury. It was his first game of football since he played with the Zebra seniors in Round 1, also against Port Melbourne. Simon Buckley was the pick of the remaining Demons which included Heath Neville and rookies Jace Bode and Andre Gianfagna. Sandringham 6.4.40 9.9.63 13.15.93 18.19.127 Port Melbourne 1.1.7 3.4.22 4.6.30 8.9.57 Goals Gallagher Sautner 3 Dunn Motlop Wheatley 2 Bell Jones Liddell Smith Summers Valenti Best Wheatley Brown Ferguson Gallagher Dunn Smith RESERVES FALTER AT FINISH A superb display by Mark Corrigan who booted four goals in a best on ground performance was not enough to win the points for Sandy Reserves which led for all but the last minute or so of their game against Werribee also played at TEAC Oval on Sunday. The Zebras held a six goal lead at the final break but for the second week in a row were unable to hold off a fast finishing opponent which snatched the game late in the time on period. Ewan McKenzie again proved an invaluable fill in for Stephen Ott in the ruck and is starting to fulfil the promise he has shown in his time at the club while Marc Johnston was very solid in the midfield. Tom Mentiplay also made a welcome return with three goals but the team is now up against it in its quest for a finals appearance after losing three games in a row. Sandringham 5.2.32 8.5.53 14.14.98 14.16.100 Werribee 2.2.14 7.7.49 9.8.62 15.12.102 Goals Corrigan Lockwood 4 Mentiplay 3 Fletcher Gianfagna McGettigan Best Corrigan McKenzie Johnston Buckley Paterakis Lockwood FOOTNOTE: All at DEMONLAND send their sincere condolences to Gary's family, friends and the Sandringham Football Club. The funeral details are as follows: Wednesday 12 July 2006 10: 30am Moorabbin Town Hall

by Banana Bender I was really pumped up yesterday afternoon as I drove across to Brisbane for the first time in almost twelve months to enjoy a game of football in my adopted home state. The Demons were coming here for a "home" game and I had to miss their last venture to this region when they went down to Adelaide by five points. They've improved a fair bit since then and, although I have learned the hard way to be wary of in form Melbourne teams that travel interstate enjoying hot favouritism with the bookies, I was lulled into the false sense of security for the hundredth time in my life. I really believed that we would win and win handsomely against this injury depleted Lions outfit and I suffered agonisingly for what was almost an eternity while my team seemed to be doing everything in its power to spoil the party in what I can only describe as sub tropical madness. After all, this was Neale Daniher's 200th game as coach and we wanted to celebrate a victory for the club after a few consecutive soul-shattering thumpings inflicted by the home town heroes up here in recent years. I desperately needed something that would give me the enormous bragging rights over my fellow workmates that victory would bring and I knew they were already suffering as a result of Melbourne Storm defeating the Broncos the night before. I simply couldn't afford to give them any comebacks and I knew that a Demon win would make me as popular at work as a horde of cane toads descending on a sugar plantation. In the event, I came away from the Gabba firmly believing that Melbourne must be a very, very good team because you had to be that way if you played so poorly, were beaten in so many positions on the ground, made so many errors, coughed up the ball so regularly and trailed at every break in the game, yet still came away with the four point to record your 10th win from 11 matches. At the end, it wasn't the eight-point victory that was so significant; it was more the way that the team persisted in pushing together to achieve a win that kept its top four hopes alive and well. The signs weren't good from the very beginning. Brisbane ruckman Jamie Charman was getting the ball down to the ubiquitous Simon Black, skipper Michael Voss and a couple of young guns in Michael Rischitelli and Cheynee Stiller and they simply smashed the Demon midfield in the early clearances. Black was everywhere as he amassed 13 possessions in the first quarter while Voss, who was under an injury cloud earlier in the week and seemed to be immobile, nevertheless was in the right places at the right time and just directed traffic at the stoppages. Where was Brock? Where was Travis? Where was Junior? I kept asking myself these questions as the Brisbane tide kept moving the ball forward to where Daniel Bradshaw decimated our "Chopper" Read look alike Nathan Carroll with such strength that I was moved to feel sorry for our full back because I was worried that the real "Chopper" might take deep offence at such a feeble effort at impersonation. This was Groundhog Day for Bradshaw because last year he booted five in the first quarter on his way to nine for the night. Tonight he would be one off last year's pace in both respects. I kept asking myself why was Bradshaw allowed to contest the ball so many times in a one on one situation. After taking a brilliant and courageous mark deep down back, Jared Rivers was being drawn away from the fray and Ben Holland wasn't near enough to spoil Bradshaw's party either. Why didn't they bring in the cavalry? And where was the forward line? Where was Neita and where was Robbo who booted four last year to keep us in the game at least for half the match? Well, in spite of what seemed to be a fair amount of panic going on, there were a few cool heads around and the team regrouped and fought their way back in a patchy sort of way. Travis started to get his hands on the football in the second quarter, Brad Green got his act together after a couple of early bloopers and Rivers and Matty Whelan continued to do well in defence. The midfield was still losing the clearances but not nearly so badly and besides, the Lions were starting to show a little sloppiness themselves. Melbourne nosed in front by a point nearing time on in the second term but the Lions weren't going to easily give up the fruits of their early efforts and they came back with two late goals to hold a seven point half time lead. Voss provided a bit of biffo as a melee erupted after the siren but if the clubs or the players are charged with any offences they can always plead insanity based on the local disease of sub tropical madness which reared its head a few times during the match. But more of that later. Melbourne turned it on four the first ten minutes of the third quarter and threatened to blow the Lions into Moreton Bay after David Neitz took three strong marks for goals thanks to some brilliant pin-point passing from Johnstone and Green and it could have been more as Neitz missed an easy mark and then appeared to have kicked a goal that was paid a point in a typical example of Queensland goal umpiring. That set the scene however, for Aaron Davey's mid-air soccer goal which blew our socks off. With Neitz leading Mal Michael a merry dance, the Demons looked like a top side for the first time in the game. Michael must still have been smarting from his own bout of sub tropical madness in the previous quarter when he grabbed the ball 20 metres out of Melbourne's goals and kicked truly for a rushed point. The stunned mullet looks on his nearest opponents said it all. But if you thought they looked strange when that happened, then you should have seen my expression when, late in the third quarter, with the Demons still leading by five points, Brad Miller, who had been moved onto Bradshaw, went through his mad sub tropical moment in deciding it was necessary to provide some extra enticement for Jason Akermanis to join the club next year by gift wrapping him as easy a goal that he has ever gotten in his career. With Byron Pickett defending on the goal line, he picked Miller out for a handball, but the Demon vice captain simply thumped the ball into the waiting hands of Aker for a goal seconds before the three quarter time siren sounded simultaneously with the popping of the veins in my neck. It must have had the same effect on Neale Daniher because that was the last we saw of Miller and "Chopper" was put back on Bradshaw for the remainder of the game. Melbourne lifted again at the start of the last quarter with Adem Yze, Colin Sylvia, Cameron Bruce and Phil (not the real "Chopper" either) Read all working hard to overcome the Brisbane tide. The Demons were turning their clearance deficit around considerably (it went from 5-17 at quarter time to 11-28 at half time and finished at 34-39) and when Robbo finally goaled to give them a three goal plus lead deep into the final term, it looked all over. However, just as they had done in every previous quarter of the game, the Lions lifted in time on. They were helped by a questionable mark paid to Carman on the goal line which put them six points down but Melbourne steadied to run out winners by eight points. I'm saving my money to buy myself some airline tickets for a visit to the southern capital later in the year. I'm yet to be convinced that a late September date would be a good idea and based on the evidence before me last night, some would say it would be a touch mad to even contemplate the thought. Certainly, the team will need to play much better if it wants to negotiate its next few games and retain a touch of sanity. Fortunately, for them there are no more scheduled visits to sub tropical regions this year. MELBOURNE 2.2.14 5.6.36 10.9.69 14.14.98 BRISBANE 5.2.32 7.5.47 10.10.70 13.12.90 Goals Neitz 4 Green Sylvia 2 Davey McLean Robertson Whelan White Yze Best Whelan Green Sylvia Rivers Johnstone Neitz McDonald Ward Bruce Injuries: Nil. Reports: Nil. Crowd 25, 541 at The Gabba.

by Whispering Jack I join the crowd as it shuffles its way out of the MCG after the Port Adelaide game and sense that an old, familiar feeling is about to return. The finals are two months away. We are sitting nicely placed at 9 and 4. Once again, the opportunity presents itself to consolidate a strong position towards the business end of the season. Yes, we've been here before. It's called the "crossroads". The vision that confronts us is of a roadway deep in a vast sea of open fields. We reach a junction but what road should we take to bring us home? Should we go left, right or straight ahead? The roads all look the same and we know that only one will take us where we want to go; the others lead nowhere. We know also that the last time we travelled here, we erred and took the wrong road and discovered a dead end. That was the last time, the time before that … and … The thing is that we're always confident that this time things will be different so we move ahead. And as it has done so many times in recent years, the path leads us north to Brisbane. Will it bring us home safely this time? Some years ago, Melbourne's financial predicament caused the club to sell a part of its soul to the Brisbane Lions and so, for three hundred thousand pieces of silver, it forsook the true home of football once a year to play a home match at the Gabba where it has a measly 20% success rate since that deal was struck. History shows that Melbourne had a reasonable record against Brisbane at the Gabba before 2001. In their first "home" clash, the warm weather and a 33 year old full forward in Alastair Lynch conspired to bring the Demons undone with Lynch booting eight goals in the Lions' Round 12 mauling of Melbourne, 23.10.148 to 14.15.99. The Lions went on to win the first of three successive premiership flags that September. A year later, the Dees came back from an early eight goal deficit to prevail over the reigning premiers by 20.11.131 to 16.14.100. It was a memorable day with David Neitz starring with seven goals and Daniel Ward playing the game of his life with four goals running through the lines and kicking the ball far and straight. Clint Bizzell and Peter Walsh were among the best players. But the Gabba going has been tough for Melbourne since that famous victory in Round 14 of 2002. In its last three outings at the Gabba, the club has suffered an average losing margin of 58 points at the hands of the Lions. In Round 10 of 2003 Lynch, now approaching the age of 35, booted five goals as the "visitors" strangled a dismal Melbourne in the first half and went on to deliver a 10 goal thrashing, 18.15.123 to 9.9.63. Of course, that was another Brisbane premiership year. Twelve months later, the Demons were back for some more punishment in Round 10 of 2004. The warmer northern climate did not suit them and the Lions led all day to win by forty points, 18.15.123 to 12.11.83. Again, the Brisbane elders did much of the damage with Hart, Leppitsch and Pike booting three goals each and veteran midfielder Michael Voss dominating. James McDonald was Melbourne's best. After winning three premierships and competing in four consecutive grand finals, it seemed that the Brisbane reign was over in 2005. But things didn't necessarily get better for the Demons when the Lion machine started to unravel with retirements, loss of form and injuries. Lynch, McRae and Hart were gone, some of its remaining stars were struggling on tired old legs while others were struck by injury and we heaved a sigh of relief with the news that key Lion forward Jonathan Brown was out. We travelled north coming off a 9/4 record, three games ahead of the 10th placed Lions who had been struggling to win games, even at the Gabba. True, they were on a bit of a roll having thrashed the Cats at the same venue in their previous game but surely, the second on the ladder Demons would prevail this time around? Well, it didn't quite work out that way. The Lions handed Melbourne an absolute pasting to the tune of 74 points, 25.16.166 to 13.14.92. Its only bigger defeat that season was the 88 point margin that St. Kilda inflicted on the injury wracked Demons a month or so later. Lynch's replacement at full forward, Daniel Bradshaw, was on fire with five first quarter goals and a total of nine for the night. Jason Akermanis was his usual pesky self with another five as the Lions demolished their "hosts" in a devastating final half. All things considered, this history and these figures would suggest that the road to Brisbane is fraught with extreme danger for the 2006 Demons. Unfortunately, as our wise coach, the Reverend Neale Daniher explains, it is the apathy of the Melbourne fans that has led us north once every year since 2001 and indeed the Gabba solution is set in stone until 2009 when the current deal runs out - even if we can increase our membership numbers by the 3,000 required to cover the revenue differential. But things aren't all negative in this for the Demons. Not at all. In the first instance, all of the above happened in the past. Done, dusted and consigned to the history books. The Brisbane Lions of 2006 are a different proposition to the Brisbane Lions of the past five seasons. While they remain an opponent to be respected, they are a shadow of the side that terrorised the rest of the competition in the early years of the 21st Century. They simply don't have the fire power that they once possessed. On the other hand, the Demons are stronger than they have been for many a long year. If both clubs are at the crossroads, then it is clear that Melbourne is set upon the high road to better times while Brisbane is on the downward path to football oblivion. To add to the Lions' woes is the current state of affairs at the club. My spies tell me that Brisbane's training run earlier in the week was diabolical. They could barely drum up a quorum as a long injury list continues to drain the lifeblood of the team with only 25 taking part including a group of about six players who were restricted to light duties. Michael Voss received treatment on his hamstring throughout last Saturday's game against Carlton and missed Tueday’s training run. He has been selected in the middle but if he plays, it’s doubtful whether he will be anywhere near 100% fitness. Jonathan Brown (hip), Beau McDonald (hamstring) and Nigel Lappin (ankle), are all a month away. Chris Johnson (groin) and Ash McGrath (hamstring) are both about six weeks away, while Mitch Clark (groin) and Chris Scott (hip) are both indefinite. Richard Hadley, Anthony Corrie, Joel Macdonald and Pat Garner have all suffered season-ending knee injuries and won't be back until next year. The Lions are in 12th place with five wins coming off an uninspiring win against the Blues in a contest almost totally devoid of skills. Little wonder that the Brisbane press is full of stories about the many selection dilemmas facing Leigh Matthews. I know well that a damaged Lion can be a difficult opponent but this crowd is down on its knees. With their depth under attack. you don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to understand why he can't afford to drop Akermanis despite the fact that coach and player have obviously not been seeing eye to eye and are about to announce a divorce. On Melbourne's side, there are selection problems as well but these derive from a far happier situation. With the team in red hot form, Daniher had the dilemma of which of several seasoned players running around at Sandringham should be promoted this week? It's a good problem to have and it's the sort of form and playing depth that should ensure that the Demons will continue on the correct path beyond the crossroads and onward to a the prospect of a successful outcome in 2006. I have precious little else to say about the Melbourne of 2006 because I’m trying my hardest to keep the lid tightly on - other than it has far too much talented and is fitter than its opponents both mentally and physically - and that it will win by 57 points. Farewell to Brisbane and the Gabba for another year and thanks for the money! MELBOURNE v BRISBANE on Saturday 8 July 2006 at the Gabba, 7.10pm TV & RADIO TV - Channel 10 (Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane), Fox Footy Channel (Adelaide), Radio - ABC HEAD TO HEAD Played – 28 Melbourne: 16 Brisbane: 12 LAST TIME Brisbane 25.16.166 defeated Melbourne 13.14.92 at the Gabba, Round 14, 2005. Having a bet? Melbourne $1.36 Brisbane $3.00. The Teams: MELBOURNE B: Whelan Carroll Holland HB: Ward Rivers C Johnson C: Davey Johnstone Green HF: Sylvia Bruce Pickett F: Robertson Neitz Yze FOLL: White McLean McDonald I/C: Bartram Jamar Miller Read EMG: Dunn Godfrey Jones IN: Miller OUT: Dunn BRISBANE LIONS B: Copeland Michael Roe HB: B.Scott Notting Akermanis C: Rischitelli Voss Stiller HF: Power Brennan Moody F: Sherman Bradshaw Patfull FOLL: Charman Black Selwood I/C: Fixter Harding Merrett Pask EMG: Drummond Hooper Wood IN: Merrett OUT: Wood Field umpires: Kennedy Quigley Kamolins

by Barry from Beach Road Trevor Barker Oval was the scene of a dour struggle as the top two dogs of the VFL competition slogged it out in dark, dismal and drizzly conditions yesterday. The result after two hours of play was that the Northern Bullants prevailed over Sandringham by a mere three points with the home side running out of time and space in their last ditch comeback late in the game. The visitors opened proceedings kicking with the aid of the breeze as a light rain drizzled, the wet conditions making it difficult for players to handle the ball and the narrow ground making it easy for defenders to bottle up play. The Bullants pushed forward early and a strong mark and goal from former Kangaroo and Blue Digby Morell set the scene for the first quarter. Morell goaled again soon after and the northerners were away to an excellent start. Most of the play for the quarter was in their half of the ground and the Zebras rarely went forward in a display reminiscent of the opening quarter of the game against Frankston earlier in the season. By quarter time they trailed by 20 points. When Sandy attacked with the wind in the second quarter the Bullants bottled up the game which developed into a real slog. Simon Godfrey and Nathan Jones were the best of the home team's players and they worked hard on the ball against an experienced battle-hardened outfit. Daniel Harford and Callum Chambers provided them with plenty of opposition and the Bullant back line stood firm in dogged defence. Blues' defender Luke Livingston was giving Nick Sautner no quarter and the Zebras were finding it difficult to find an avenue to goal until Shannon Motlop eventually broke through for Sandy's only major for the half. It was more of the same after the break, although as the weather began to moderate, the Zebras started finding their feet and they managed to hold the Bullant lead to 28 points going into the final break after scoring the only two goals kicked at the southern end of the ground during the third quarter. The conditions in the final term were the best of the day and Sandy fought hard and raised its supporters hopes by getting to within three points with five minutes to spare. The Zebras attacked constantly but the Northern Bullants fought hard all the way and managed to smother the ball on a couple of occasions when a clean kick from a Zebra forward might have changed the result. The Sandringham team missed the excellent ruckwork of young Shane Neaves but had a reasonable back up in Stephen Ott playing his first game for the season after coming up from the reserves. Midfielder Guy Rigoni could not take place in the team and he was sorely missed as the conditions on the day would have suited him. Chad Liddell was, as ever strong and courageous, and his lion hearted efforts were instrumental in his team's late comeback. Andy Biddlecombe and Chris Lamb were solid in defence and they were well backed up by Ryan Ferguson who recovered from a shaky start against Morell. Ezra Poyas chipped in with two goals and David Gallagher was busy but, all in all, it was a case of the opposition playing the better football for most of the game. The Zebras travel to Port Melbourne for a clash against a traditional rival that has struggled as a stand alone side this year. It's one game that is not to be taken lightly however as a number of rivals are breathing down their necks for a top two spot on the ladder. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Daniel Bell - a solid performance all day. Handled the conditions with a lot of strength and poise backing his judgement and, although he made a few mistakes, that comes with the territory when you take some risks. Nathan Brown - quiet early but started to make a bit of an impact in the second term. Still working his way up to speed after a longish lay off and will need at least another run at this level. Ryan Ferguson - an excellent performance in a key defensive position after a poor start when Digby Morell out positioned him in the early going. After that however, he came back well and played with dash and courage in conditions that suited defenders. Simon Godfrey - played his heart out in conditions that were to his liking. Got a lot of the ball and made a few disposal errors but that can be expected in the wet. Hard and tough at the ball, he was Sandy's best. Daniel Hughes - started on the interchange and was quiet when on the ground although he improved in the latter part of the game and kicked a crucial goal. Nathan Jones - like Godders, was a real tough nut in the midfield. At times, he showed exceptional poise, balance and hardness for a player who was perhaps the youngest on the park. Brad Miller - matched up early against Blues' forward Ian Prendergast and had the better of him but was shunted around the ground during the day spending some time at centre half forward where he did not show out. It was tough going for key position forwards and Miller struggled at times. Shannon Motlop - flashed in and out of the play and had too many flat spots. Michael Newton - had very little time on the ground until the last quarter. Did a few nice things that underline his potential but that was about it. Nick Smith - rarely sighted all day and was well below his best. He played better later in the day when the rain stopped and he took a nice strong grab towards the end of the game and kicked a goal that restored Sandy's hope for victory. Matthew Warnock - a good solid backman's performance without being spectacular. It was however, a perfect day for defenders of his ilk. Paul Wheatley - handled the difficult conditions surprisingly well and must be pressing for inclusion into the Demons side. In the reserves, Paul Johnson's attempted comeback turned into tragedy when he re-injured his unstable right shoulder. Johnson will have reconstructive surgery later this week and will miss the rest of the season. Simon Buckley impressed with his good ball handling skills in the wet conditions while Jace Bode and Heath Neville defended strongly all day. Andre Gianfagna got plenty of the football in conditions that really didn't suit. Sandringham 0.1.1 1.2.8 3.4.22 7.7.49 Northern Bullants 3.3.21 3.5.23 7.8.50 7.10.52 Goals Poyas 2 Crowe Gallagher Hughes Motlop Smith Best Godfrey Jones Ferguson Ott Biddlecombe Liddell The Reserves were unlucky to go down after a hard fought battle with the Bullants. Kicking with the wind in the first term, they were off to a good start with wingman Mark Corrigan showing great skills in the wet conditions and he produced his best form since coming back from his knee injury. Paul Johnson was in the thick of things in the ruck and kicked an early goal but went off in the second quarter with a recurrence of his shoulder problems. At half time, the visitors had their noses in front by just two points Sandy worked hard in the third quarter but was still down by 5 points at the final break and kicking into the breeze in the last. However, the Zebras were not going to go down without a fight and, after an early Bullant goal, the home side fought valiantly and broke away to a two goal lead by mid quarter and despite pushing against the tide they led by 7 points deep into the final term. The visitors were assisted by a couple of lucky decisions including one dubious one late in the game for deliberate out of bounds when the ball already appeared to be out. To make matters worse the Bullant forward was given a very generous angle to kick for goal from the pocket and he ran off the mark to kick the winning goal. Tom Paule and Tom Paterakis revelled in the conditions and Andrew Taranto booted three goals while Ewen McKenzie worked hard in the ruck after Johnson left the field. The loss will make it difficult for the Zebras in the run home to the finals and they remain in sixth place. Sandringham 5.3.33 7.4.46 10.6.66 14.6.90 Northern Bullants 2.3.15 7.6.48 10.11.71 14.11.95 Goals Taranto 3 Corrigan Lockwood Turcarelli 2 Dean Gianfagna Goold Johnson Paule Best Paule Corrigan McKenzie Neville Martin Lockwood BUS TO NORTH BALLARAT The Zebras are planning a bus ride for supporters for their round 14 clash against the North Ballarat Roosters. The game is to be played on Saturday 15 July at 1pm. The bus will leave Trevor Barker Beach Oval to transport supporters to and from the match. To book your seat on the bus please send an email to [email protected] or ring the club on 9598 8629. (Price will be dependent upon numbers)

by Scoop Junior Rarely, if ever in recent history, has it been possible for a Melbourne supporter to feel confident that his or her side would come through with the four points when leading by a solitary kick at half-time. To the contrary, it has been usual in those circumstances for pessimistic thoughts to creep in and for a win at the end of the game to be seen as the lesser rather than the more likely scenario. It is a mark of the team's development over the past year however, that this was not the case on Saturday afternoon at the G. You just knew that the team would rise to the occasion. In similar fashion to the Demons' last round match against the Bombers, they held a narrow lead at half time after playing some patchy footy in the opening half. The opposition had worked hard and pressured about as well as possible, while the Dees appeared capable of lifting a few levels. It took until about midway through the third term for the Demons to click into gear - at about the same time in the match that the men in the red and blue gained the ascendancy over Essendon. Good teams have the ability to keep their noses in front even when not at their best. Better teams are able to lift a gear when the game is in the balance and blow the opposition off the park. Melbourne displayed that capability against Port Adelaide and, but for the resting of names such as McLean and Neitz late in the game, could have finished with a 10 goal plus victory. It was another fairly even performance from Demons. Perhaps the most impressive aspect was the pressure they exerted on the Power. While the South Australians dropped off in their pressuring and harassment after half time, the Dees again displayed their strong focus on the defensive aspects of their game, maintaining a solid work rate throughout the match. Cam Bruce not only led the way in the attacking facets of the game with 29 possessions and classy disposal, but he also laid 9 strong tackles and ran hard all afternoon. James McDonald was also high up in the tackle count (as he usually is), but despite finding a fair amount of footy, was shown up at times by the classy Shaun Burgoyne (but then who doesn’t these days?). Brock McLean slotted back into the side with consummate ease. He looked anything but a player who had not played for a month. His two goals and some typically precise passing of the ball capped off an excellent day for this dependable midfield rock. Travis Johnstone let himself down with some woeful decision-making early in the game, but bounced back strongly in the second half with his customary pinpoint delivery. It's almost becoming a trend with Travis; slow starts that precede white-hot finishes. Brad Green turned in a solid performance without dominating, while Jeff White and Mark Jamar performed well in the ruck against the in-form Brendan Lade. Up forward the skipper led the way with 5 goals. Like the team, he loves playing at the home of football and his record there this season is impressive. Pickett started strongly against his former side and was more than willing to make a powerful impact on the contest. He faded as the game wore on but was a good contributor on the day. Adem Yze kicked two classy goals from tight angles at important stages of the game and found plenty of the ball when pushed further up the ground. His application has improved markedly this season after a couple of down years. Robbo was also handy up forward, booting three goals. The back line stood up again, once again keeping the opposition under 100 points. Nathan Carroll and Jared Rivers have developed a great understanding and always seem to select the right situation when to zone off and when to stay close to their man. Rivers made a few mistakes and Carroll was beaten early by Motlop, but neither dropped their head and their performances improved as the game wore on. Matthew Whelan was terrific, attacking the ball ferociously and starting many attacking moves out of the back line. The back line just appears a far more solid unit when Whelan is back there strutting his stuff. While the senior players performed particularly well, a few of the youngsters failed to have an impact on the game. Chris Johnson was quiet, but did display his neat foot skills on a couple of occasions. Colin Sylvia worked into the game and looked better running through the middle later in the game, but he appears to be lacking power off the mark and fitness at this stage. Given that he is a powerful athlete, perhaps he is still carrying an injury which is restricting his burst power, as his first few steps have not been very quick recently. He also blows up quite a bit after sprinting and it appears he is still working his way towards match fitness after sustaining that rib injury in Round 6. He was not suffering such problems early in the year when his form was excellent. Lynden Dunn also struggled and has been a bit off the boil in the last few weeks. Perhaps the heavy workload required of an AFL centre half forward is taking its toll and he may be given a week or two to freshen up in the VFL in the coming weeks. While the side is flying at 9-4, having won 9 out of 10 games, the last two weeks have displayed that any team can match it with us when we are down on form. Bottom side Essendon should have been ahead at half time and Port, a middle of the road side, was right in the match at the same point in time. So there are still things that need working on and the team cannot fall into the same old trap of believing the media hype and relaxing their state of mind. Apart from the Carlton game, mental issues have not really been a problem this year, which is an enormous improvement on the mentally fragile teams of the past few years. While the team operates in a tough competition where teams can come crashing back to earth in an instant, it appears as though the players have developed a stronger mental attitude and are intent on not dropping away as they have done in the past. The task is now to not look too far ahead and focus solely on Brisbane at the Gabba, a ground (and team) that has caused us some significant pain in the last three years. Let’s keep the momentum going! MELBOURNE 5.1.31 7.5.47 13.10.88 18.12.120 PORT ADELAIDE 3.3.21 6.5.41 9.5.59 12.10.82 Goals D Neitz 5 R Robertson 3 A Yze 2 B Green 2 B McLean 2 A Davey 2 J White C Sylvia Best T Johnstone C Bruce B McLean D Neitz A Yze J Rivers B Pickett Umpires A Davis S McInerney S Wenn Crowd 24,283 at MCG

Whispering's having trouble uploading a picture onto the message board.

Why not take them to the Elwood Canal and let them loose?

by the Oracle Had I written earlier in the season, that the two combatants in Saturday’s MCG match of the day between Melbourne and Port Adelaide would both be in the top eight of the AFL as the competition began to make its swing into the run up to the finals, I would been accused of stretching the imagination way beyond reality. Surely, I would have been pulling your leg if I made such an outlandish suggestion? But that’s exactly what’s transpired with both clubs – they have come from the clouds and now both are commanding respect and attention. It's been well documented around here how the Demons lost their first three games and how things were looking bleak with an appointment against reigning premier Sydney in round four. But a narrow victory in that game set the stage for the club's great revival and we now find it in fifth place with an 8/4 record after the break. If you've been watching Melbourne’s recent performances – particularly the 47 point demolition of Collingwood – you would be wondering how on earth the team could have played so dismally in going down to Carlton in the opening round of the season. Port Adelaide also did it tough early in the season losing four of its first six matches before it began a four match winning streak that culminated with an emphatic victory against the West Coast a fortnight ago. Suddenly, Port has grabbed eighth spot on the ladder and it is also now a serious finals contender. Again, if you witnessed that stunning 37 point win at AAMI Stadium over the Eagles, you would be wondering again how on earth that team could have lost at home by almost seven goals in round 1 against the Kangaroos. The similarity between the two clubs is that both have introduced fresh blood into their teams since the season started and both have gone on to thrive on a combination of experience and youthful exuberance. Which leads us to the difficult question of which of the two will continue its run when they meet at the MCG on Saturday. And this is where I have no hesitation in relying on the old fallback position for those in the business of making predictions whenever there is any doubt as to the possible outcome of a game – home ground advantage. In this respect history is on Melbourne's side despite the fact that Port Adelaide has won at its last four outings at the home of football. One of the reasons for this is that for some strange reason the Power has managed to avoid playing very often against Melbourne there. Saturday’s match will be only the sixth clash between the teams over the past decade of Port's existence with the Dees undefeated in all five previous games. During the same period, the teams have met once every year in Adelaide so for the first time ever, the Demons won't have to make the trip this year to the City of Churches to play the former SA magpies. Which is handy, because they have fallen victim to some horrible pastings there in recent years. But it's a different story altogether at the MCG where Melbourne remains undefeated for 2006 and where it plays its most impressive football. In addition, I'll add the following factors – 1. The Byron Pickett Factor – there's no doubt that the recruitment of the Byronator has added a harder edge to the Melbourne Football Club. The man who Power coach Mark Williams discarded because he was considered unemployable is having a fantastic season and will no doubt be out to show his former mentor that he was wrong. And why not? This bloke is a dual premiership player and won the Norm Smith Medal twelve months before Williams dumped him. 2. The Brock McLean Factor – with the weather bureau predicting a wet day, what more could Melbourne ask for but the return of one of the competition's best wet weather players – another hard nut and a wonderful performer for the club in season 2006. 3. The Warren Tredrea Factor – when the teams last met at AAMI Stadium he booted five goals. The year before he destroyed Melbourne at the same venue with six majors. The WT Factor will not apply this week because he's out with a knee injury. The fact that the in form Damon White is out could also be significant because it leaves Port short of talls. The predicted rain might limit the advantage Melbourne might gain from Port's loss of Tredrea and White but let's not forget that when the going gets heavy you need big strong bodies. The Dees will have the first two factors in operation so if the clouds open up, they should be in the box seat. There will of course be some classic battles around the ground. Jeff White and Mark Jamar v Lade and Brogan should be a ripper and so should David Neitz v Darryl Wakelin. Aaron Davey and Danyle Pearce might not match up against each other but they will provide pace to burn. And the midfield matchups will be worth going a long way to see and the introduction of another Burgoyne will help the visitors. On the other hand, I wonder how often in the past it could have been said of Melbourne that players of the ilk of Brad Miller, Paul Wheatley and Ryan Ferguson who all played so well last week at Sandringham are unable to break into the team. That's a sign of confidence if there ever was one. So it's a case of home sweet home for Melbourne and I’m tipping a 38 point victory for the Demon juggernaut. May it keep on rolling along! MELBOURNE v PORT ADELAIDE Where & When: MCG, 2:10pm (AEST), Saturday, 1 July, 2006 TV & Radio: TV - Fox Footy (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney), Channel 10 (Adelaide) Radio - 774 Grandstand with Gerard Whateley, Drew Morphett, Stan Alves , Mark Maclure & Peter Brukner Head to Head: Played - 14, Melbourne 7, Port Adelaide 7 MCG: Played – 5, Melbourne 5, Port Adelaide 0 Last time they met: Port Adelaide 20.17.137 defeated Melbourne 11.9.75 in Round 15, 2005, at AAMI Stadium – the Melbourne slump was well and truly on as Port kicked 11 goals to 3 in the first half. Brad Miller was off with a hamstring injury by quarter time and the Demons had few winners on a terrible day in Adelaide. And things were only going to get worse. The betting: Melbourne $1.40 Port Adelaide $2.75 The Teams: MELBOURNE B: Whelan Carroll Holland HB: Ward Rivers C Johnson C: Davey Johnstone Green HF: Bruce Dunn Pickett F: Robertson Neitz Yze FOLL: White McLean McDonald I/C: Bartram Jamar Read Sylvia EMG: Ferguson Godfrey Wheatley IN: McLean OUT: Bate (hamstring) PORT ADELAIDE B: Wilson Wakelin Symes HB: Lonie Chaplin S Burgoyne C: Salopek K Cornes Surjan HF: Dew C Cornes Mahoney F: P Burgoyne Brogan Ebert FOLL: Lade Cassisi Pearce I/C: Motlop Pettigrew Thomson Ware EMG: Thomas Thurstans Walsh IN: P Burgoyne Motlop OUT: Tredrea (knee) White (thumb) Field umpires: Davis McInerney Wenn

by Whispering Jack The AFL National Under 18 Championships currently being played at MCLabour and Skilled Stadiums are showcasing 200 of the country's best prospects. History tells us that about one third of them will have earned a place on an AFL club list – either senior or rookie - by Christmas time. That fact alone enables me to paraphrase the words of some big time television sports presenters and make the claim that this is a big week in football for our elite youngsters. In the space of a few days the likes of Bryce Gibbs, James Sellar, Tom Hawkins, Scott Gumbleton, Leroy Jetta and Lachlan Hansen have fast become household names (well, at least in some households) and endless debate has been sparked about which club will take which of these and countless others on show this week at the forthcoming drafts. But at the same time, one has to be aware that there's an awful lot of hype out there about many of the players running around during the week. In fact, there are so many and varied opinions about the participants that it's difficult for the casual observer to sort out which of these players is the real deal and which is not. And the true answer is often that we will only be in a position to separate the wheat from the chaff a long way down the track – perhaps in two or three year's time or even longer by which time the prospects will have either established themselves in the big time or have found their places on the footballing scrap heap. I decided a long time ago that you need to be wary about some of the claims that are made about certain players at this time of year and while the championships are a good pointer to who will be picked up come draft time, they are not necessarily the be all and end all of ALF recruiting. As an example, I want to look at the National Draft of 2004 and, in particular, at the recruiting approach of the Melbourne Football Club that year. The Demons had a bumper 2004 but fell away late in the season after at one stage holding top spot. After losing an elimination final, they finished in seventh place which put them in tenth position in the draft order. However, three clubs – Richmond, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs – were all entitled to priority picks so that Melbourne's first selection came in at number 13. The club temporarily held the number 12 pick when it traded Scott Thompson to Adelaide but then shipped that selection off to Richmond via Geelong in the trade deal that netted Brad Ottens to the Cats and Brent Moloney to the Demons. Another club trade saw it take choice number 15 from Sydney in exchange for Darren Jolly. A low level switch of draft positions saw Peter Walsh off to Port Adelaide and Melbourne had its third pick at number 43. The club surprised many in the football world at the November 2004 National Draft by "going young" and drafting the youngest, second youngest and fourth youngest players in the draft – Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn and Michael Newton with picks 13, 15 and 43. All were tallish players capable of playing in key positions and all were "bottom-aged" meaning they could have had another year in the Under 18 system. The record also shows that none of the three players selected by Melbourne had taken part in that year's AFL National Under 18 Championships. In fact, the Demons were the only club not to draft any player who participated. The other 15 clubs concentrated very heavily on graduates from the 2004 AFL National Under 18 Championships. Forty-three of them were drafted in the National Draft, one in the Pre-Season Draft and a further 26 were rookied. Many of those drafted in 2004 have already established a niche at their clubs – names like Deledio, Roughhead, Griffen, Tambling, Franklin, Monfries, Travis Cloke, Sherman (all from the National Draft), Betts (Pre Season Draft) and Pearce (Rookie Draft) are regulars these days. All of them played for their respective states in the Championships. Of the top 15 draft choices at the national draft, Bate and Dunn were the only ones not selected to take part in the Championships. In other words, Demon recruiter Craig Cameron took a longer term view and used his selections to take players with a fair bit of upside – players who had the capacity for greater development and who might have been picked at a much higher level had they remained in the system for another year. And that's how it seems to be working out for the Demons. Matthew Bate, from the Eastern Ranges, spent most of 2005 playing in the VFL with Sandringham and was a member of its premiership team. After showing great promise in this year's pre season nab Cup, he was introduced into the AFL in round five and the young utility with the penetrating left foot has played in every game since with the exception of the match against the Eagles at Subiaco when he was emergency. He is yet to play in a losing Melbourne team and has been super impressive in most of his games. Lynden Dunn, who spent last year going back and forward between the VFL reserves and seniors, came on strongly in the new season and won his club guernsey a week after Bate. He too, has impressed with his sharpness up forward, holding down a key position in a winning team and scoring at least a goal in every game. With every passing week, the young Demon pair continue to show promise and to gather accolades from the football world. But what of the third man in this equation? Selected at number 43 from the Murray Bushrangers, Michael Newton was a slightly different proposition to the other two draftees who came from metropolitan Melbourne and were members of opposing TAC Cup Under 18 Grand Final Teams. Newton, from the small country club Whorouly in Victoria's northeast had been picked in the Vic Country Under 16 team in 2003. He was lightly built but known as a good mark and a player who could play forward or back but wasn't considered by many as a major target in the 2004 draft. Most thought 2005 would be his year. After being drafted by the Demons he spent the whole year with the Zebra reserves and started there in 2006. He is slowly working his way up and has played a couple of highly encouraging cameo roles with the senior side in the past month. There are big wraps on Newton and some feel that he has every bit of talent as fellow key position forward Dunn. However, coming from the bush, he will need more time to acclimatize and develop his football. Another draftee that year, Matthew Warnock came up the hard way from the Sandringham Dragons, into the Zebra reserves, from where he gradually claimed senior status and impressed the Demons enough to be listed along with another Murray Bushranger in Brendan Van Schaik in the rookie draft of 2004. So despite all the hype that surrounds the National Under 18 Championships, Melbourne's policy of looking beyond the square and outside the impressive list of players who contest that competition, looks like paying dividends. Certainly, this is not necessarily the template for all future recruiting policies but given the fact that the club's early choices were outside the top ten, it was a worthwhile exercise in risk taking – although Craig Cameron would probably say that he wasn't taking risks with selecting the likes of Bate and Dunn. After all, Bate was the 2004 TAC Cup Morrish Medallist and Dunn a premiership player with the highly respected and successful Calder Cannons. Another consideration that year was also the depth of the draft. Like 2005 and unlike the current crop, the playing strength of the group at the 2004 championships was not considered as deep as this year's group.

by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham fought hard to overcome a determined Bendigo Bombers outfit by 29 points at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval on Saturday to record its eighth win of the season and maintain its hold on second position of the VFL ladder. With no AFL games on during the weekend and conditions generally fine, the match attracted a big crowd and the game was worthy of the attention it received. Although the final margin might give the appearance of a comfortable victory, it was not as clear cut as it looked. The game was a hard fought struggle in which the Bombers never gave up and kept coming back on a number of occasions when the Zebras appeared to have taken control and it was Sandy's superior game style, the potency of its forward line and greater accuracy in front of goal that got it comfortably home in the end. Sandy has a quite a few people to thank for that. Firstly, its dominant forward line including two six goal forwards Nick Sautner and Ezra Poyas and a centre half forward Nick Smith who booted three in a stunning final quarter after being unsighted for much of the rest of the game. Then there was the midfield led by a dominant ruckman in Shane Neaves, on ballers Peter Summers, Simon Godfrey and youngsters Nathan Jones and Shane Valentil. Together with Paul Wheatley who controlled his wing all day, they kept up a constant source of supply deep into attack throughout the game. The defence was its usual solid self capably led by Ryan Ferguson. The Bombers were assisted by the inclusion of Scott Camporeale and Paddy Ryder who both played for Essendon last week and were given permission to play by the VFL because of their earlier layoff time with injury. Although placed second last on the VFL ladder, the Bombers were able to field a strong team that included 14 AFL listed players. Camporeale in particular, was a useful inclusion amassing 35 touches and he, along with fellow regular AFL Bombers Dyson and Lovett, helped make the game an interesting and at times exciting contest after Sandy had edged away to a four goal break by the end of the first quarter. It took Bendigo just seven minutes of constant attacking at the beginning of the second term to grab a narrow lead, before the Zebras, with Sautner starring at full forward, struck back to regain control at the main break. Sandringham’s defence led by the courageous Ryan Ferguson, his sidekick Matty Warnock, the enforcer Brad Miller, the dour Andy Biddlecombe and the safe and steady Chris Lamb gradually got on top of the Bombers allowing the Zebras to stretch their led to almost five goals before a flurry of late goals from the Bombers. An early final quarter goal brought the visitors to within striking distance but Sandy, again well led by the courageous Chad Liddell stood firm. It was now Smith’s turn to show his marking prowess and his several strong marks inside 50 netted him three goals and put the issue beyond doubt. Poyas, who was the star of the game, put the icing on the cake with a brilliant goal (his sixth) from a pocket after being denied what would have been his eleventh mark in a dazzling 26 possession display. Sandringham faces some big tests in the coming weeks but none will serve as a better pointer for the remainder of the season than Sunday’s big game at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval against ladder leader, the Northern Bullants in what should be the VFL match of the year so far. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Daniel Bell - not one of his better games. Was off by three quarter time with what is apparently a recurrence of the groin problem he's had since earlier in the season. Ryan Ferguson - a close to best on ground performance in defence where he let nothing through and provided an afternoon of his usual courageous and death defying aerobatics. Nineteen touches at centre half back is a solid game in anyone's language. Simon Godfrey - a strong, hard and tough midfield performance from Godfrey that was supplemented with some good work around goal. A useful back up player for the Demon midfield if required. Daniel Hughes - useful in his limited time on the ground. Took some strong marks and showed versatility with some good ground play as well. Nathan Jones - a balanced performance from the hard working midfielder who showed that he is on the brink of a long AFL career. He would, in all likelihood, have made his debut at the top level if he was at most other clubs. Brad Miller - provided a hard edge to the defensive unit and, although possible overshadowed by Ferguson, also put forward a strong case for inclusion in the Melbourne team to take on Port Adelaide this coming weekend. Shannon Motlop - did a few useful things but was a bit too hot and cold for my liking. He should be more consistent in his performances at this level. Shane Neaves - apart from a case of brain fade when he was called to play on late in the game and got caught holding the ball, he was the best big man on the field in yet another excellent performance. Michael Newton - due to the composition of the team, he was restricted to a few minor cameos in which he showed glimpses of his potential. Still getting an education in the game and supporters will need to have patience. Nick Smith - had a super final quarter after a quiet first three quarters. If only he can consistently dominate in the way he did in the last! Matthew Warnock - a nice, quiet and unobtrusive game in defence where he backed up his team's key position players well and formed part of a winning defence. Paul Wheatley - a welcome return to form after a few quiet games following a lay off with a groin injury. Picked up 26 disposals on a wing ran hard and deep into the forward line and was generally pinpoint accurate with his disposal. Sandringham 7.4.46 11.5.71 17.8.120 22.10.142 Bendigo Bombers 3.4.22 9.6.60 14.9.93 17.11.113 Goals Poyas Sautner 6 Godfrey 3 Smith 3 Corp Gallagher Liddell Summers Best Poyas Summers Ferguson Wheatley Godfrey Biddlecombe When Sandringham reserves took on the Bendigo reserves at Windy Hill a month ago they were untroubled to beat the home team by 15 goals. Things were different this week when significantly different Sandy lineup took on the same opposition at home. Without their two leading goalkickers for the season in Tom Mentiplay and Michael Newton (who kicked eight goals at Windy Hill), the home side struggled after wasting a number of opportunities in the first quarter. Mark Corrigan, who is recovering after serious knee injury, was Sandringham’s best and is pressing for promotion. The Zebras will be desperate to keep their finals hopes alive with a win over fifth placed Northern Bullants this Sunday. Sandringham 1.6.12 4.8.32 6.13.49 10.16.76 Bendigo Bombers 3.3.21 8.6.54 11.10.76 15.13.103 Goals Taranto 4 Paule Turcarelli 2 Corrigan Gianfagna Best Corrigan Paterakis Paule Lockwood Taranto Johnston

MELBOURNE'S TOUGHEST TEST FOR 2006 - THE BYE by Randy M.M. Savage Dejavu! It's almost nine months since I left the country to do some valuable work for my country offshore (and for viewers of Prison Break - no, I have not been in Irak or in jail!) and, for the second time in three years, I arrive back home, the appetite whetted for a decent game of footy live in the flesh only to find out that the Demons have taken their annual leave this week. Being jet lagged makes it hard to get up at some ungodly hour of the night to watch a game of soccer and besides, there was plenty of that where I've been and I'm sick of nil all draws and the sight of grown men fainting in broad daylight for no apparent reason at all. So I take myself off to the local newsagent where I buy every available newspaper - especially Inside Football - where I discover that lo and behold, we're eight wins, four defeats and poised to grab a spot in the top four. Well, based on that information and what little video action I manage to catch since my return, I reckon they don't need a break at all and neither do I because who needs to spend their first weekend back home mowing the bloody lawn? And contrary to the image of the stereotypical Demon fan, I don't even know how to ski let alone how to locate Falls Creek or Thredbo, even with the aid of my outdated edition of the Melways. I've spent the week enmeshing myself in the happenings of the season to date and I come to the same conclusion as I did last year and the year before that - Melbourne's biggest challenge is to get over the bye and to perform better after the break than before. Really, that's what the premiership teams generally do. You only need to look at the 2005 premiers, the Sydney Swans. Prior to their bye last year they were sitting in sixth spot with seven wins and five losses before winning eight out of the last ten home and away matches to finish third. During that period their percentage soared from 98.9% to 116.4%. The rest of course is history. The mid season break has been the bane of Melbourne's existence in recent years. Back in 2003 when the team was going through the doldrums, it travelled to Adelaide before the break and was flogged mercilessly by 73 points giving it a 3-9 win-loss ratio and a percentage of 77.1, ahead only of the Western Bulldogs. The Demons returned refreshed to surprise St. Kilda by 7 goals at the G and Carlton by 7 points at Optus Oval but failed to win another game and finished 14th, thereby earning the priority pick that netted Colin Sylvia in that year's draft. Essendon was the only team outside the eight to break into finals action replacing the Kangaroos. The following year saw Melbourne in second place at 10-3 after their 26-point victory over Essendon (ironically, they beat the Magpies on Queens Birthday a week earlier). They were just one game behind the pacemakers St. Kilda. After the break, the Demons faltered against the Crows, which had just sacked Garry Ayres as coach replacing him with the virtually unknown Neil Craig. The 12-goal defeat at AAMI Stadium saw Melbourne's percentage drop from 124.8 to 116 but it recovered with a 57-point victory over the Saints. After that however, the Demons were unconvincing against some of the lowly teams but they still managed to grab top spot after 18 rounds before going into free fall and losing their remaining five games for the year including am elimination final against the Bombers. On their way down, they slipped to fifth after the home and away series and seventh after the finals. Fremantle was the only top eight team at the break to lose its place when the Eagles grabbed a finals berth with five wins on end late in the season. Last year, the Demons were again in second place at the break with 9 wins and 4 losses having gone down by 15 points to the Eagles on the MCG, just five days after playing winning against the Pies on Queens Birthday. Before the West Coast game Melbourne had 36 premiership points and a percentage of 121.5. Seven defeats later they were still on 9 wins and their percentage had dropped to 94.4 after a horror run that saw them drop as low as tenth. A few last gasp victories saw them back into the eight but injuries took their toll and they were eliminated from the race by Geelong. Of the teams outside the eight after the break, only the fast finishing Saints made the finals displacing Richmond. So what now? I'm told that there's been something different about the Dees in 2006. I'm a believer so I'll go along with the theory put forward by many of the experts at Demonland and agree that this year the team will not falter, that it will win more than it's share of games for the remainder of the season and that it will finally have a big crack at winning the flag in September. In the meantime, I'm that desperate for some footy that I'm going to turn up at the G on Sunday just to watch the grass grow on my favourite paddock. After all, I spent my hard earned cash on a membership ticket and have yet to watch the boys in action. Here's my preview of this week's bye: - THE GAME Bye at M.C.G on Sunday, June 25 2004 at 2:10pm AEST HEAD TO HEAD OVERALL Byes 11 Melbourne drawn 11 AT THE MCG Byes 11 Melbourne drawn 11 THIS CENTURY Byes 6 Melbourne drawn 6 THE COACHES Played 6 Neale Daniher drawn 6 WANT A BET? Even money. Each of 2 THE MEDIA TELEVISION - Channel 31 watch the fish and/or the pensioners go round. RADIO Radio Moldova will be playing martial music followed by three hours of silence while the technicians attempt to effect repairs during a scheduled equipment breakdown. RECENT HISTORY Melbourne has done it a bit too easily when they have had the bye in recent years. Neale The Reverend Daniher will use all of his wily skills to motivate his charges for this week's inactivity. LAST TIME THEY MET I seriously can't remember last year's bye. It must have been pretty uneventful. THE TEAMS Melbourne - not selected at the time of writing Umpires attending seeing eye dog training school all weekend. THE TACTICS Because of the bye, things will be very low key. The coach will not do any spruiking at all over the weekend, players will not be available for interviews with the media and Caroline Wilson will refrain from slagging off at any AFL club other than the one she supports and Sammy Newman won't complain about the umpires or about how the game has deteriorated since he retired. SHOCK FACTOR The AFL is always full of surprises. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if one or two of the clubs decided to sack their coach on the pretext of the team's failure to reach the required standard during the week of the bye. THE TIP Stay home, borrow tapes of all of the Demon victories so far this season, watch them and then check if you have enough fly buy points to book a flight to Brisbane in a couple of week's time. [Demonland: there is a game on in town on Saturday. Sandringham v Bendigo Bombers at the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval Sandringham at 1.10pm. The game will be televised on the ABC and broadcast on SEN. At least a dozen Demons will be in action. MFC members might get a discount as visiting members so bring your membership card. Demonland will bring you reports of all the action from Barry from Beach Road.]

by Whispering Jack I felt a lot of empathy for the good folk of Essendon on Sunday. They must have been seeing red as they spent the afternoon watching as their team dominated the first quarter and a bit of the game against Melbourne, hold their own in the second term and the early part of the second half and then they folded like a bad poker hand - very quickly and without a whimper. The Bombers should have had a good lead at the main break. They did not thanks to some poor fionishing in front of goal and some dubious umpiring decisions - instead they trailed by a point. After that, it was all Melbourne and in the end, the Demons probably should have won by a lot more than the final six-goal margin. Why the empathy? Because the game reminded me so much of the way the good sides would often treat Melbourne when it was a bad side. The Dees of twenty years and more ago would, on the odd occasion (i.e. once every 3 or 4 weeks) play their hearts out, promise so much and then die a slow and embarrassing death. The fact was they were simply not good enough to play out four quarters under pressure. That is where the Bombers are now. At the end of a long day for them, their losing streak was stretched to eleven and they were stone motherless last on the AFL ladder, their season virtually over. The pendulum has swung against them and they, along with another former power in Carlton, are in for some hard times in the coming years. Well, at least a top draft pick or two (or even possibly three). On the other side of the ledger, we have Melbourne looking ominously like a modern day version of the Essendon teams that Kevin Sheedy developed in the early eighties - strong, skillful, resilient and able to rise to the occasion when required, as they were in the second half. That was the story of an otherwise humdrum affair that never rose to any great heights and would be best forgotten by all participants. The fact that the Demons were on such a downer and still won by six goals is probably indicative of their superiority over the bottom side and coach Neale Daniher was correct when he said after the game that his team would get beaten if it started in the same manner when it tackles Port Adelaide on Saturday week. The game also highlighted the way in which Melbourne's style has changed in the past couple of seasons. The Demons are now a better team on the big grounds where the majority of finals are played and particularly at the MCG where they are undefeated this season. They have struggled recently at the Telstra Dome and have not played well there since the win over Richmond a little more than 12 months ago. The smaller ground, the substandard surface with its uneven bounce and the general lack of atmosphere simply don't suit the Demons as much as the MCG does these days. Still, there were some fine performances, none of them better than that of James McDonald who is the best kept secret of the Demon midfield. He may not be on the same level as Scott West of the Bulldogs but he's closer than most of the pundits would allow. Yes, he's that good! Close behind him were Travis Johnstone who had a quiet first half and then stormed the barricades in the second, Brad Green and Cameron Bruce who were solid, dependable and often brilliant through the game. Russell Robertson was the hero of the attack in the first half while skipper David Neitz had the honours in the second. Aaron Davey was always on the brink of being dangerous, even when his mentor Byron Pickett left the field with a corked hip. Nathan Carroll continued his superlative form in defence aided by Jared Rivers and Ben Holland who controlled the opposition forward line after that slow start. Lynden Dunn impressed at centre half forward but still has a lot to learn and a very big upside, Clint Bartram did his job nicely and showed that he can take a nice grab while Matthew Bate, playing his first AFL game away from the MCG and Colin Sylvia were both subdued. The Demons now have a week's break to freshen up for the business end of the home and away series. They have an opportunity over the next three weeks against three middle tier sides that will be desperate for wins to keep their finals aspirations alive. None of those games are easy but the run home appears to be a lot easier than that which they faced at the corresponding stage of 2005 when the team went into that well documented collapse after winning nine of the first twelve games. Melbourne is also far better equipped than its counterpart of last year, as is attested by the number of quality players outside the current 22 who will be available for selection when the season resumes on the first day of next month. Melbourne 2.3.15 5.7.37 12.10.82 16.15.111 Essendon 2.8.20 4.12.36 7.13.55 10.15.75 Goals R Robertson 4 D Neitz 3 C Bruce L Dunn 2 C Bartram A Davey T Johnstone P Read C Sylvia Best J McDonald T Johnstone C Bruce B Green R Robertson N Carroll B Holland J White Injuries B Pickett (corked hip) C Sylvia (ankle) Reports Nil Umpires C Kamolins C Hendrie M Ellis Crowd: 35,019 at Telstra Dome FOOTNOTE: The AFL's handling of the yellow armband controversy is a complete and utter disgrace. The imbeciles running the organisation were wrong to refuse Essendon permission to wear yellow armbands to highlight the Cancer Council's campaign for greater awareness about the disease that affects thousands of Victorians and their families every year. The game was billed as the Clash for Cancer and the idea behind the wearing of these armbands was for charitable - not commercial purposes. The AFL has commercialised the game to the hilt but this intrusion into a worthwhile charitable effort form one of its clubs crossed the red line (the AFL also wrong when they refused Melbourne permission to wear pink armbands in aid of breast cancer awareness earlier this year). The AFL probably had no alternative in the end to impose a fine when Essendon players correctly decided to defy the ban as a mark of respect to their cancer stricken teammate Adam Ramanauskas but the situation should never have arisen and the decision to pass on the fine to the Cancer Council is a pathetic gesture from a bunch of heartless, mean spirited and dumb bureaucrats who have shown they don't deserve our confidence to run our great game. I urge all supporters to contact the Cancer Council [http://www.cancervic.org.au/] to make a donation to the cause. For my part I'm buying a yellow wristband and hope to wear it for the rest of the season as a show of support for this worthwhile charity as well as a sign of contempt on my behalf for those in control of our great sport for their miserable conduct in this matter.

by Whispering Jack A little under twelve months ago, two young midfielders were starring for the Victorian Metropolitan team that won the All Australian Under 18 Championships. They were both measured at around 178cm in height, both were prolific possession gatherers during the series and both achieved All Australian status. Thanks to Foxtel and my VCR, I watched them playing in one of the opening championship games against Western Australia. Needless to say, both starred. Along with blond key forward Beau Dowler, I judged Marc Murphy and Nathan Jones as the best three players on the ground. It would have been a difficult task assessing who was the best of the three and I'm glad it wasn't my job although, in the end I might have even plumbed for Jones because he was the tough in and under player who are so hard to find these days - the type Melbourne badly needed at the time if the club was to make its move into the upper echelons of the AFL. Foxtel and my trusty VCR came in handy again on grand final day when I recorded the TAC Cup curtain raiser to the biggest show on the football calendar. The brightest star on the day was Jones who played a defensive role but also had his share on runs on the ball. He excelled with 36 touches in a losing team showing fantastic strength, toughness and endurance, great hands and excellent decision-making ability. I was impressed. A couple of months later, the Vic Metro trio were all selected in the 2005 AFL National Draft. Murphy went at number 1, taken by Carlton. Dowler went to the Hawks at pick 6 despite suffering a serious injury (pelvis) as a result of a car accident some weeks before the draft. Jones was taken at 12 by Melbourne – it's only selection in the top fifty thanks to the decision to recruit Byron Pickett with its second round pick and an adjustment of other lower selections (one of these was pick 60 which the Demons used to draft Clint Bartram but that's a story for another day). I'm a big fan of internet drafting guru Colin Wisbey so I looked forward to his assessment of Jones on The Extreme Black and White Bullet In Board. His views vindicated my earlier enthusiasm for the Jones boy:- "Indestructible, indefatigable self-made tank who runs hard all day, never gives up, is very clean, and drives the ball forward relentlessly. Ultra-consistent, running, inside ball magnet with great work rate. Routinely runs hard and smart to get, to link and to apply pressure. Hits the contest hard and with purpose and efficiency. What you are buying is not just a hard working genuine footballer with physical presence but an impact player - impacts for 4 quarters each and every week like clockwork. And a quality kid with leadership potential." Not a bad wrap even if he compared Jones to a "Ute" rather than a Rolls Royce which might be an apt metaphor for the number one draft choice. As I read the Wiz' assessment I thought I was visiting a used car yard, "Clean. Low km. Extra bull-bar. Current RWC". Whatever! I looked forward to seeing Nathan Jones during one of my irregular visits to Melbourne pre season training and then in the Nab Cup and my enthusiasm didn't wane. The only problem was that he wasn't selected in the early games while Carlton chose their first round pick straight off for the opening game of the season (and he looked pretty good too)! But then I thought, "what the hell, he's young (about six months younger than Murphy)" and the Demons had other young midfielders who were entitled to priority. Jones would just have to wait. His time would come. We fast forward to the halfway mark of the 2006 AFL season and Murphy has established his place in the Carlton team having played all eleven games to date including some impressive performances in the Blues' midfield. He was an early Rising Star nomination and is one of the favourites for that coveted award. Meanwhile, Dowler has recovered and played a handful of games with the Box Hill Hawks and Jones has spent his first half season on an AFL list playing in the VFL with Sandringham. This week he was named as an emergency for the Demons' clash with Essendon at the Telstra Dome. He's getting closer. The question arises as to which player is better off – the one who has been pushed up and is already an AFL regular or the one who is learning the ropes at the next level below. It's a question that cannot really be answered in the short term. On the face of it, you'd say Murphy by a long way at the moment. He's already established himself, has the experience in top company and will surely hold down a regular spot in the Carlton team for many years to come. I think however, that Jones' development is not being hurt by spending this time at Sandringham under the eye of a number of coaches who will help make him a more complete footballer. Last week, I saw him put in a best afield performance on the windswept Casey Fields in front of perhaps a thousand spectators. It would have been a great experience for him to strut his stuff in front of eighty times that number but it doesn't really matter for now. He showed us that he is learning fast. He might have been an young ute when he came to the club six or so months ago but, in the not too distant future, he is going to prove to be of vintage quality in a strong team. That's what matters in the end.