Demonland

Three sets of votes on a 6,5,4,3,2,1 basis required. Today's weighting is .7143.

THE TEAMS NORTH MELBOURNE Backs Josh Gibson Michael Firrito Drew Petrie Half Backs Daniel Pratt Shannon Watt Jess Smith Centreline Daniel Wells Adam Simpson Ed Lower Half Forwards Nathan Thompson Aaron Edwards Brent Harvey Forwards Ben Ross Corey Jones Matt Campbell Followers Hamish McIntosh Brady Rawlings Daniel Harris Interchange Sam Power Shannon Grant Lindsay Thomas Leigh Brown Emergencies Leigh Harding Eddie Sansbury Gavin Urquhart In Ed Lower Ben Ross Jess Smith Out David Hale (quad) Leigh Harding Andrew Swallow (both omitted) New Ben Ross (Gippsland U18) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Nathan Carroll Jared Rivers Half Backs Paul Wheatley Brad Miller Daniel Bell Centreline Brad Green Brock McLean Clint Bartram Half Forwards Cameron Bruce Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Forwards Aaron Davey David Neitz Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Jeff White James McDonald Nathan Jones Interchange Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Lynden Dunn Cale Morton Emergencies James Frawley Colin Garland Brent Moloney In Whelan Jamar Out Colin Garland (omitted) Paul Johnson (hand)

by Whispering Jack Earlier this week, I attended a drawing room meeting at the home of a Melbourne Football Club Board member. The object was to whip up support for the club's Debt Demolition strategy and in particular for its major fundraising function to be held early next month. MFC Chairman Jimmy Stynes was the only speaker and he made a brief and impressive presentation about how he came to be in his current position, about the Board he put together, about the coach and the team and his aspirations for the future. There were questions afterwards and, though Jimmy obviously had pressing business elsewhere (it turned out to be Paul McNamee’s last night as his CEO), he stayed on for a short while to take part in the host's refreshments with the gathering. It was during this time, that he was asked the question whether the club was going to draft Jack Watts, one of the heroes of the Victoria Metro's Under 18 National Championship winning team to which he responded that this was not his decision, that it was within the jurisdiction of the club's football department and more particularly its recruiting people in whom he placed his implicit faith. I was thinking of that particular response this morning when I read Caroline Wilson's article in the Age about McNamee's departure from the club - Sharp words before knife. Wilson, who has been has been chief football writer for The Age since 1999, wrote that prior to his departure McNamee had been "deep in talks with [Jonathan] Brown's management" and that an offer of a five-year $5 million-plus contract had been made to bring the triple premiership forward home to Victoria. She quoted McNamee as follows: "I believed we could take on Collingwood … I was sick of making up the numbers as a football club and I felt … we could be the first, the premier club. "I was going to be audacious in the player area and it was an area familiar to me. Federer, Agassi, Graf — the works. I've done it before. I said to them: What about Jonathan Brown? He stands for everything we are working towards and we have to work quickly. We don't have much time. But he didn't fit into their game plan." Stynes quite rightly scuppered the plan when he was told about it. The plan might have been audacious but it simply did not reflect the way in which the club, under coach Dean Bailey, has been going about rebuilding the team; nor does it reflect the time, place or space that the Melbourne playing list currently occupies. Rather, it reflects the vision of a CEO who is not football savvy and that the judgement of Stynes and his board about McNamee's place at the club was an accurate one. We would all love a "quick fix" solution to the club's playing list problems but to throw money at a player who has his share of injury problems and will be 27 years old when the 2009 season opens would fly in the face of everything that Bailey and his team have been trying to achieve at the club. The Demons will cop plenty of flak from the media about the McNamee departure and the way it was handled. They are an easy target at the moment. Stynes and his team should shrug that all off and stick to their plan for the club's revival. We don't want to be the "premier club" but rather the premiership club. To do that it takes time, patience, perseverance and yes - ruthlessness. Toes were trodden upon in a ruthless manner when the so-called "premier club" Collingwood, then considered a basket case, came under the control of Eddie McGuire and his team. Likewise, with the Bulldogs and David Smorgon and, more recently, Melbourne's opponent for this week, North Melbourne. That "R" word has finally found a meaning at the Melbourne Football Club. We need more of it - not less.

THE R WORD by Whispering Jack Earlier this week, I attended a drawing room meeting at the home of a Melbourne Football Club Board member. The object was to whip up support for the club's Debt Demolition strategy and in particular for its major fundraising function to be held early next month. MFC Chairman Jimmy Stynes was the only speaker and he made a brief and impressive presentation about how he came to be in his current position, about the Board he put together, about the coach and the team and his aspirations for the future. There were questions afterwards and, though Jimmy obviously had pressing business elsewhere (it turned out to be Paul McNamee’s last night as his CEO), he stayed on for a short while to take part in the host's refreshments with the gathering. It was during this time, that he was asked the question whether the club was going to draft Jack Watts, one of the heroes of the Victoria Metro's Under 18 National Championship winning team to which he responded that this was not his decision, that it was within the jurisdiction of the club's football department and more particularly its recruiting people in whom he placed his implicit faith. I was thinking of that particular response this morning when I read Caroline Wilson's article in the Age about McNamee's departure from the club - Sharp words before knife. Wilson, who has been has been chief football writer for The Age since 1999, wrote that prior to his departure McNamee had been "deep in talks with [Jonathan] Brown's management" and that an offer of a five-year $5 million-plus contract had been made to bring the triple premiership forward home to Victoria. She quoted McNamee as follows: "I believed we could take on Collingwood … I was sick of making up the numbers as a football club and I felt … we could be the first, the premier club. "I was going to be audacious in the player area and it was an area familiar to me. Federer, Agassi, Graf — the works. I've done it before. I said to them: What about Jonathan Brown? He stands for everything we are working towards and we have to work quickly. We don't have much time. But he didn't fit into their game plan." Stynes quite rightly scuppered the plan when he was told about it. The plan might have been audacious but it simply did not reflect the way in which the club, under coach Dean Bailey, has been going about rebuilding the team; nor does it reflect the time, place or space that the Melbourne playing list currently occupies. Rather, it reflects the vision of a CEO who is not football savvy and that the judgement of Stynes and his board about McNamee's place at the club was an accurate one. We would all love a "quick fix" solution to the club's playing list problems but to throw money at a player who has his share of injury problems and will be 27 years old when the 2009 season opens would fly in the face of everything that Bailey and his team have been trying to achieve at the club. The Demons will cop plenty of flak from the media about the McNamee departure and the way it was handled. They are an easy target at the moment. Stynes and his team should shrug that all off and stick to their plan for the club's revival. We don't want to be the "premier club" but rather the premiership club. To do that it takes time, patience, perseverance and yes - ruthlessness. Toes were trodden upon in a ruthless manner when the so-called "premier club" Collingwood, then considered a basket case, came under the control of Eddie McGuire and his team. Likewise, with the Bulldogs and David Smorgon and, more recently, Melbourne's opponent for this week, North Melbourne. That "R" word has finally found a meaning at the Melbourne Football Club. We need more of it - not less.

SANDY AND SAUTNER SIZZLE by Barry from Beach Road The Zebras returned to the winning list with a vengeance yesterday when they gave the Tasmanian Devils an 87 point spanking to put an end to a five-game losing streak on a day for the history books at the Sandringham Football Club. Champion spearhead Nick Sautner was the centre of attention and the star of the game booting seven goals as he surpassed Anthony Allen's games record to become the club's longest-serving player with 166 games. The win sees Sandy move up a place on the VFL ladder at this stage of the split 15th round and, for the time being at least, secures its place in the VFL top eight. The Devils were a different side to the one that succumbed by 152 points to the Zebras at Aurora Stadium in Round 7. A change in coach and a number of playing personnel meant that it was a far more determined outfit that crossed the Bass Strait for this meeting between the clubs. The AFL scouts were also out in force looking at four of Tassie's Under 18 contingent including All Australian Mitch Robinson in action for their senior team. While the Apple Islanders approached the game with great determination, they were simply outgunned on the day by the superior fire power of the home team. Sandy was clearly on top from the first bounce and Sautner was soon in the thick of things with the first goal of the day. Tassie squandered what wind advantage existed and were already 14 points in arrears at the first break. Then, Sandy piled on the goals with the first five of the second term to coast to a 55 point lead at the main break and effectively put an end to the game as a contest. The home side dominated the rucks and the middle through Jeff White and skipper Peter Summers and its forward line of Sautner, Ben Holland and Rod Crowe had a field day in the air. When the ball did spill to the ground it was the Sandy little men like Guy Martyn and Addam Maric who took full advantage of the crumbs. Chad Liddell seems to have a new lease of life up forward and he finished with three strong goals for the game. The Zebras continued on their merry way after half time with the defence, led by Nathan Carroll, Andy Biddlecome and impressive youngsters in James Frawley, Jace Bode and Ricky Petterd giving no quarter and mopping up everything that came their way. But it was Nick Sautner's day as he feasted on the Tassie defence to finish with seven goals for a very productive afternoon to bring his season's tally to 60 and stretch his lead on the VFL goal kicking ladder. Sautner's career in the VFA/VFL began a dozen years ago as a struggling defender with the Springvale reserves. He moved to Sandringham in 1997 and arrived at the Trevor Barker Oval just in time to take his place at centre half back in its premiership side of that year. Two years later Sautner switched to the forward line and won the first of his seven Jim "Frosty" Miller Medals as the competition's leading goal kicker. The next season was the first year of the club’s alignment with Melbourne and Sautner repeated the dose and played in the club’s 2000 premiership team. Sautner switched allegiances in 2001 when he moved to bayside rival Frankston and again in 2003 when he was lured to the Northern Bullants. He played a total of 58 games with those clubs and was the league's leading goal kicker in each of his three seasons in self-imposed exile from Beach Road. He returned to Sandringham and played in consecutive premierships from 2004 to 2006 so that he also now holds the crown for the most premierships with the Zebras (five). The three-time Victorian representative has been nominated for a record seven VFL team-of-the-year selections and his nine goals against the WAFL last year were the most for the VFL in an interstate game. The thirty-one year old king of the Sandringham goal square who trialled with St Kilda and Melbourne but never made an AFL list hopes to go around again next year. He is already seventh on the all time list of VFL/VA goal kickers table and in recent times, he has surpassed the records of greats Ron Todd, Jamie Shaw, Joe Radojevic and Peter Neville. Nick Sautner continues to break VFL records and his overall tally of 224 games and 746 goals at an average of 3.33 per game place him as one of the greats of the oldest football competition in the country. Sandringham now has a week's break as it prepares for the run home. Clever utility Ezra Poyas should be back for the team's next challenge - a difficult assignment against eighth placed Northern Bullants in a game that will be pivotal to the club's finals aspirations. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Thanks to Axis of Bob who has provided his insights into the Demons at Sandy this week. Jace Bode - played a good, clean game in the back pocket providing a lot of drive from defence. Used the ball well showing that he is still pushing for an AFL spot next week. Stats: 11 Kicks, 19 Handballs, 7 Marks, 6 Tackles Nathan Carroll - played at half back and back pocket and was good. Took a lot of marks dropping into the hole and swept the ball well when it hit the ground. Certainly still knocking on the door, but it will be tough to break into the Melbourne side with Garland, Martin and Warnock all playing well. Stats: 11 Kicks, 14 Handballs, 8 Marks James Frawley - excellent game in a key defensive post. Played on talented youngster Aaron Cornelius (a probable first round pick this year) for most of the game and kept him to a single possession (from a debatable mark) during that match up. Provided good rebound and skills too. Very good game on a mobile, leading forward. Stats: 6 Kicks, 9 Handballs, 1 Mark Ben Holland - looked like he was going to spoil Sautner's big day when he was plucking marks from everywhere in the first quarter. Continued to dominate in the air as Tassie had no answers to his size and strength. Very good first game back, ending up with four majors. Stats: 13 Kicks, 4 Handballs, 14 Marks, 4 Goals Addam Maric - a classy, skilful little player who finds space very easily in traffic and out wide. Looks to be improving his work rate which is encouraging although there are still stages where his defensive intensity is inconsistent (but definitely much better). Played at half forward and occasionally in the midfield, getting quite a lot of the ball and almost pulling off a magical goal in the pocket after several efforts. Stats: 20 Kicks, 11 Handballs, 8 Marks, 1 Goal Ricky Petterd - played at half back and collected a fair bit of the ball sweeping loose balls. Very clean hands and good overhead, making him a very good defender when he plays man on man. His kicking was generally good, but a bit hit and miss. Did well as part of a very strong and attacking defence. Stats: 20 Kicks, 8 Handballs, 6 Marks Jake Spencer - started relatively slowly with White taking the majority of the responsibility in the first half, but was more than competitive in the ruck contests. In the second half (and particularly the last quarter) he began taking marks around the ground including some very good contested marks, which was very promising. Not exactly getting leather poisoning, but very promising performance from the young ruckman. Stats: 2 Kicks, 4 Handballs, 4 Marks Jeff White - good in the ruck, where he was definitely a class above the Tassie boys. Went forward and took some good grabs too and is not far away from a recall should either of Johnson or Jamar falter. Stats: 15 Kicks, 5 Handballs, 6 Marks, 2 Goals Adem Yze - maintained his consistently good form against Tassie, where he was very good at half forward. Kicked very well and it is amazing to see the difference between his efforts at AFL level and VFL level. Certainly putting in the hard yards with his tackling, harassing and took some courageous marks. Certainly doing everything he can to force his way back into Melbourne's side, which is a credit to him. Stats: 21 Kicks, 7 Handballs, 8 Marks, 2 Goals Sandringham 4.5.29 12.13.85 18.17.125 24.19.163 Tasmania 2.3.15 4.6.30 7.7.49 11.10.76 Goals Sandringham Sautner 7 Holland 4 Liddell 3 Martyn White Yze 2 Crowe M Johnston Maric Summers Best Tasmania Cornelius Richter Taylor 2 Bielski Hardy Plummer Robinson Shackleton Best Sandringham Carroll Sautner Holland Crowe Biddlecombe Bode Tasmania Andrews Richter Setchell Robinson Koulouriotis Shackleton The Sandy Reserves blew a big chance to cement their place in the finals with poor kicking for goal in the final quarter when they could manage only 2.8 with the aid of a strong breeze. Sam Monaghan and Rennie Gilchrist pressed their claims for senior selection with strong performances and young Demon Jack Grimes showed some excellent skills. HOW THE DEMONS FARED by Axis of Bob Jack Grimes - played at half back, playing about 20 minute a quarter. Was very clean with his skills, showing excellent decision making and also worked well in close. Not a dominant game, but his decision making shows you why he was a first round pick last year. Stats: 12 Kicks, 11 Handballs, 5 Marks Tom McNamara - also played across half back and was solid without dominating. Used the ball very well, in general, and was very clean. Stats: 16 Kicks, 6 handballs, 6 Marks , 2 Goals Isaac Weetra - played very well, especially in the first half. Played half forward and midfield, showing some real class as well as providing a good hit up target going forward. Kicked a very nice goal from an interception too. Stats: 15 Kicks, 4 Handballs, 8 Marks, 1 Goal Trent Zomer - was more involved this week, showing that he can take some good marks when his work rate is higher. Just needs to maintain that work rate across the full four quarters. Stats: 10 Kicks, 3 Handballs, 7 Marks, 2 Goals Sandringham 1.3.9 6.10.46 8.11.59 10.19.79 North Ballarat 3.3.21 8.6.54 12.10.82 13.13.91 Goals Sandringham Zomer 2 Gilchrist Weetra Hardiman Gilder Monaghan Lockwood Hine Kondarovskis North Ballarat Faure 3 Luke Taylor 2 Caldow George Gregg Orvis Tarrant Tickner Best Sandringham Monaghan Gilchrist Gribbin Waller Fleming Hardiman North Ballarat George Peace Caldow Peters Luke Tickner

by Barry from Beach Road The Zebras returned to the winning list with a vengeance yesterday when they gave the Tasmanian Devils an 87 point spanking to put an end to a five-game losing streak on a day for the history books at the Sandringham Football Club. Champion spearhead Nick Sautner was the centre of attention and the star of the game booting seven goals as he surpassed Anthony Allen's games record to become the club's longest-serving player with 166 games. The win sees Sandy move up a place on the VFL ladder at this stage of the split 15th round and, for the time being at least, secures its place in the VFL top eight. The Devils were a different side to the one that succumbed by 152 points to the Zebras at Aurora Stadium in Round 7. A change in coach and a number of playing personnel meant that it was a far more determined outfit that crossed the Bass Strait for this meeting between the clubs. The AFL scouts were also out in force looking at four of Tassie's Under 18 contingent including All Australian Mitch Robinson in action for their senior team. While the Apple Islanders approached the game with great determination, they were simply outgunned on the day by the superior fire power of the home team. Sandy was clearly on top from the first bounce and Sautner was soon in the thick of things with the first goal of the day. Tassie squandered what wind advantage existed and were already 14 points in arrears at the first break. Then, Sandy piled on the goals with the first five of the second term to coast to a 55 point lead at the main break and effectively put an end to the game as a contest. The home side dominated the rucks and the middle through Jeff White and skipper Peter Summers and its forward line of Sautner, Ben Holland and Rod Crowe had a field day in the air. When the ball did spill to the ground it was the Sandy little men like Guy Martyn and Addam Maric who took full advantage of the crumbs. Chad Liddell seems to have a new lease of life up forward and he finished with three strong goals for the game. The Zebras continued on their merry way after half time with the defence, led by Nathan Carroll, Andy Biddlecome and impressive youngsters in James Frawley, Jace Bode and Ricky Petterd giving no quarter and mopping up everything that came their way. But it was Nick Sautner's day as he feasted on the Tassie defence to finish with seven goals for a very productive afternoon to bring his season's tally to 60 and stretch his lead on the VFL goal kicking ladder. Sautner's career in the VFA/VFL began a dozen years ago as a struggling defender with the Springvale reserves. He moved to Sandringham in 1997 and arrived at the Trevor Barker Oval just in time to take his place at centre half back in its premiership side of that year. Two years later Sautner switched to the forward line and won the first of his seven Jim "Frosty" Miller Medals as the competition's leading goal kicker. The next season was the first year of the club’s alignment with Melbourne and Sautner repeated the dose and played in the club’s 2000 premiership team. Sautner switched allegiances in 2001 when he moved to bayside rival Frankston and again in 2003 when he was lured to the Northern Bullants. He played a total of 58 games with those clubs and was the league's leading goal kicker in each of his three seasons in self-imposed exile from Beach Road. He returned to Sandringham and played in consecutive premierships from 2004 to 2006 so that he also now holds the crown for the most premierships with the Zebras (five). The three-time Victorian representative has been nominated for a record seven VFL team-of-the-year selections and his nine goals against the WAFL last year were the most for the VFL in an interstate game. The thirty-one year old king of the Sandringham goal square who trialled with St Kilda and Melbourne but never made an AFL list hopes to go around again next year. He is already seventh on the all time list of VFL/VA goal kickers table and in recent times, he has surpassed the records of greats Ron Todd, Jamie Shaw, Joe Radojevic and Peter Neville. Nick Sautner continues to break VFL records and his overall tally of 224 games and 746 goals at an average of 3.33 per game place him as one of the greats of the oldest football competition in the country. Sandringham now has a week's break as it prepares for the run home. Clever utility Ezra Poyas should be back for the team's next challenge - a difficult assignment against eighth placed Northern Bullants in a game that will be pivotal to the club's finals aspirations. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Thanks to Axis of Bob who has provided his insights into the Demons at Sandy this week. Jace Bode - played a good, clean game in the back pocket providing a lot of drive from defence. Used the ball well showing that he is still pushing for an AFL spot next week. Stats: 11 Kicks, 19 Handballs, 7 Marks, 6 Tackles Nathan Carroll - played at half back and back pocket and was good. Took a lot of marks dropping into the hole and swept the ball well when it hit the ground. Certainly still knocking on the door, but it will be tough to break into the Melbourne side with Garland, Martin and Warnock all playing well. Stats: 11 Kicks, 14 Handballs, 8 Marks James Frawley - excellent game in a key defensive post. Played on talented youngster Aaron Cornelius (a probable first round pick this year) for most of the game and kept him to a single possession (from a debatable mark) during that match up. Provided good rebound and skills too. Very good game on a mobile, leading forward. Stats: 6 Kicks, 9 Handballs, 1 Mark Ben Holland - looked like he was going to spoil Sautner's big day when he was plucking marks from everywhere in the first quarter. Continued to dominate in the air as Tassie had no answers to his size and strength. Very good first game back, ending up with four majors. Stats: 13 Kicks, 4 Handballs, 14 Marks, 4 Goals Addam Maric - a classy, skilful little player who finds space very easily in traffic and out wide. Looks to be improving his work rate which is encouraging although there are still stages where his defensive intensity is inconsistent (but definitely much better). Played at half forward and occasionally in the midfield, getting quite a lot of the ball and almost pulling off a magical goal in the pocket after several efforts. Stats: 20 Kicks, 11 Handballs, 8 Marks, 1 Goal Ricky Petterd - played at half back and collected a fair bit of the ball sweeping loose balls. Very clean hands and good overhead, making him a very good defender when he plays man on man. His kicking was generally good, but a bit hit and miss. Did well as part of a very strong and attacking defence. Stats: 20 Kicks, 8 Handballs, 6 Marks Jake Spencer - started relatively slowly with White taking the majority of the responsibility in the first half, but was more than competitive in the ruck contests. In the second half (and particularly the last quarter) he began taking marks around the ground including some very good contested marks, which was very promising. Not exactly getting leather poisoning, but very promising performance from the young ruckman. Stats: 2 Kicks, 4 Handballs, 4 Marks Jeff White - good in the ruck, where he was definitely a class above the Tassie boys. Went forward and took some good grabs too and is not far away from a recall should either of Johnson or Jamar falter. Stats: 15 Kicks, 5 Handballs, 6 Marks, 2 Goals Adem Yze - maintained his consistently good form against Tassie, where he was very good at half forward. Kicked very well and it is amazing to see the difference between his efforts at AFL level and VFL level. Certainly putting in the hard yards with his tackling, harassing and took some courageous marks. Certainly doing everything he can to force his way back into Melbourne's side, which is a credit to him. Stats: 21 Kicks, 7 Handballs, 8 Marks, 2 Goals Sandringham 4.5.29 12.13.85 18.17.125 24.19.163 Tasmania 2.3.15 4.6.30 7.7.49 11.10.76 Goals Sandringham Sautner 7 Holland 4 Liddell 3 Martyn White Yze 2 Crowe M Johnston Maric Summers Best Tasmania Cornelius Richter Taylor 2 Bielski Hardy Plummer Robinson Shackleton Best Sandringham Carroll Sautner Holland Crowe Biddlecombe Bode Tasmania Andrews Richter Setchell Robinson Koulouriotis Shackleton The Sandy Reserves blew a big chance to cement their place in the finals with poor kicking for goal in the final quarter when they could manage only 2.8 with the aid of a strong breeze. Sam Monaghan and Rennie Gilchrist pressed their claims for senior selection with strong performances and young Demon Jack Grimes showed some excellent skills. HOW THE DEMONS FARED by Axis of Bob Jack Grimes - played at half back, playing about 20 minute a quarter. Was very clean with his skills, showing excellent decision making and also worked well in close. Not a dominant game, but his decision making shows you why he was a first round pick last year. Stats: 12 Kicks, 11 Handballs, 5 Marks Tom McNamara - also played across half back and was solid without dominating. Used the ball very well, in general, and was very clean. Stats: 16 Kicks, 6 handballs, 6 Marks , 2 Goals Isaac Weetra - played very well, especially in the first half. Played half forward and midfield, showing some real class as well as providing a good hit up target going forward. Kicked a very nice goal from an interception too. Stats: 15 Kicks, 4 Handballs, 8 Marks, 1 Goal Trent Zomer - was more involved this week, showing that he can take some good marks when his work rate is higher. Just needs to maintain that work rate across the full four quarters. Stats: 10 Kicks, 3 Handballs, 7 Marks, 2 Goals Sandringham 1.3.9 6.10.46 8.11.59 10.19.79 North Ballarat 3.3.21 8.6.54 12.10.82 13.13.91 Goals Sandringham Zomer 2 Gilchrist Weetra Hardiman Gilder Monaghan Lockwood Hine Kondarovskis North Ballarat Faure 3 Luke Taylor 2 Caldow George Gregg Orvis Tarrant Tickner Best Sandringham Monaghan Gilchrist Gribbin Waller Fleming Hardiman North Ballarat George Peace Caldow Peters Luke Tickner

by Western Demon We often hear it said about a football match that it was a "game of two halves" and that certainly applies to yesterday's encounter between Melbourne and Fremantle at Subiaco. The problem for the visiting team was that its dominant "half" only lasted for a quarter while the Dockers held sway for the remaining three quarters. The result – a 46-point Fremantle win over a pathetic Melbourne side that descended into the category of a rabble well before the final siren. The young Demons, decked out in their putrid looking silver attire, belied their inexperience in the first term when they shot out of the blocks like a house on fire. They were wining all over the ground and had the locals totally mesmerised as unfamiliar names and faces ran riot to score five goals to nil by the first change. I was particularly impressed by the young talls in defence led by Colin Garland, Matthew Warnock and Stef Martin. Chris Johnson was in dazzling form, creating lots of run off the flank. Freo skipper Matthew Pavlich was getting close attention from Lynden Dunn in the middle, the Melbourne rucks were holding their own against the Docker twin towers and former Sandgroper Cale Morton was treating his former home town with a dazzling display of skill, kicking two goals and amassing ten possessions in the opening term. Then there was the red headed shock of hair of Matty Bate as he flashed across the ground picking up eight touches and Simon Buckley's pace was causing havoc, Brad Miller and Michael Newton were getting away from their defenders and, in the centre of it all orchestrating proceedings with his brilliance was Aaron Davey returning from a week’s "holiday" at Sandringham courtesy of a touch of too much demon drink at a wake for a family member in Darwin. With Melbourne leading by 5.1.31 to 0.2.2 at the quarter time break, I was regretting the fact that the booing of the home crowd was affecting my concentration so much that I wasn't able to master the mental arithmetic needed to calculate by how much it had outscored Fremantle in its last three quarters of game time against that club. I was however, looking forward to the next three quarters and any self respecting supporter at the ground (and no doubt those at home or in pubs watching on their television screens) would be forgiven for asking the question: By how much are we going to smash this mob? Well, it took that mob until 10 minutes into the second term (when the Dees already had six) to manage their first goal for the game and that was partly thanks to all three blind mice officiating at the game missing what appeared to be a Docker throw in the goal square. At that stage, the floodgates opened and the Demons hit the wall. I'm not sure whether the folks living to the east of Australia's largest state would be aware of this, but last month there was a large explosion and fire a major gas processing plant over here that not only threatened our gas supplies but also raised the possibility of an end to the economic boom in the west. Something like the same scare ran through the Melbourne camp at about the half way mark of the second quarter because they simply running out of gas. Fremantle, with their stronger bodied players, their greater experience, their superior knowledge of the ground and its conditions, simply pummelled the hapless Demons into submission. The opposition simply wanted it more, their strength came to the fore, they dominated the midfield clearances and, with those substantial advantages, there was nothing Melbourne’s young team could to stem the tide. Instead, they reverted back to turning the ball over and committing a massive amount of clangers as they turned a 34 point lead into a 46 point deficit by the end of the game. A lot has been said of Melbourne’s famous round 7 come from behind victory but the truth is that many of the instigators behind that win were missing yesterday – players like Brock McLean, Brad Green, Brent Moloney, James McDonald, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson and Jeff White to name a few. In their place, the club sent a team of promising youngsters - boys on mens' errands. Many of them had light frames that are currently not able to go the distance physically or mentally with the more experienced Docker contingent and a pre season of gym work and the return of some of the Demons’ more seasoned players should hold them in much better stead next time they head out this way. I was bemused by comments from some quarters that Melbourne might be chasing Docker beanpole Robert Warnock, brother of Matthew, because his physical shape would fit in well with the lightweight Demons. If young Robert comes back to Victoria to play with his brother, let's hope that the folks have a decent home gym installed for the pair. When Matthew Bate hit the post from close range in the final term, it summed up the Demons' pathetic second half when its forward fire power fizzled out to virtually nothing. The problem with Melbourne's games was that its second half was much longer than the first and very few of their players could hold their heads high at the end although credit must be given to Cameron Bruce, Davey and Chris Johnson for hanging tough throughout the day. Melbourne returns home with a place in the bottom two of the competition virtually parcelled up and facing a difficult assignment next week against the Kangaroos. That task might seem daunting but, although it might not mean much, it is probably worthwhile to remember that the Dockers' previous win was against the Shinboners at Subiaco in Round 12 when they won by 53 points. All the Demons have to do next week is to make sure that they can player a longer half of good football next time! Melbourne 5.1.31 6.3.39 7.5.47 10.8.68 Fremantle 0.2.2 5.9.39 11.15.81 16.18.114 Goals Melbourne Bate Miller Morton Newton 2 Jamar P Johnson Fremantle Pavlich 5 McPharlin 3 Carr Ibbotson McManus O'Brien Peake Sandilands Schammer Tarrant Best Fremantle Pavlich Schammer Ibbotson Crowley McPharlin McManus Melbourne C Johnson Wheatley Buckley Bruce Bate Jones Injuries Melbourne Nil Fremantle Brock O'Brien (hamstring) Changes Nil Reports Nil Umpires Kennedy Hendrie Avon Official crowd 31,638 at Subiaco Oval

THE WRONG HALF THIS TIME by Western Demon We often hear it said about a football match that it was a "game of two halves" and that certainly applies to yesterday's encounter between Melbourne and Fremantle at Subiaco. The problem for the visiting team was that its dominant "half" only lasted for a quarter while the Dockers held sway for the remaining three quarters. The result – a 46-point Fremantle win over a pathetic Melbourne side that descended into the category of a rabble well before the final siren. The young Demons, decked out in their putrid looking silver attire, belied their inexperience in the first term when they shot out of the blocks like a house on fire. They were wining all over the ground and had the locals totally mesmerised as unfamiliar names and faces ran riot to score five goals to nil by the first change. I was particularly impressed by the young talls in defence led by Colin Garland, Matthew Warnock and Stef Martin. Chris Johnson was in dazzling form, creating lots of run off the flank. Freo skipper Matthew Pavlich was getting close attention from Lynden Dunn in the middle, the Melbourne rucks were holding their own against the Docker twin towers and former Sandgroper Cale Morton was treating his former home town with a dazzling display of skill, kicking two goals and amassing ten possessions in the opening term. Then there was the red headed shock of hair of Matty Bate as he flashed across the ground picking up eight touches and Simon Buckley's pace was causing havoc, Brad Miller and Michael Newton were getting away from their defenders and, in the centre of it all orchestrating proceedings with his brilliance was Aaron Davey returning from a week’s "holiday" at Sandringham courtesy of a touch of too much demon drink at a wake for a family member in Darwin. With Melbourne leading by 5.1.31 to 0.2.2 at the quarter time break, I was regretting the fact that the booing of the home crowd was affecting my concentration so much that I wasn't able to master the mental arithmetic needed to calculate by how much it had outscored Fremantle in its last three quarters of game time against that club. I was however, looking forward to the next three quarters and any self respecting supporter at the ground (and no doubt those at home or in pubs watching on their television screens) would be forgiven for asking the question: By how much are we going to smash this mob? Well, it took that mob until 10 minutes into the second term (when the Dees already had six) to manage their first goal for the game and that was partly thanks to all three blind mice officiating at the game missing what appeared to be a Docker throw in the goal square. At that stage, the floodgates opened and the Demons hit the wall. I'm not sure whether the folks living to the east of Australia's largest state would be aware of this, but last month there was a large explosion and fire a major gas processing plant over here that not only threatened our gas supplies but also raised the possibility of an end to the economic boom in the west. Something like the same scare ran through the Melbourne camp at about the half way mark of the second quarter because they simply running out of gas. Fremantle, with their stronger bodied players, their greater experience, their superior knowledge of the ground and its conditions, simply pummelled the hapless Demons into submission. The opposition simply wanted it more, their strength came to the fore, they dominated the midfield clearances and, with those substantial advantages, there was nothing Melbourne’s young team could to stem the tide. Instead, they reverted back to turning the ball over and committing a massive amount of clangers as they turned a 34 point lead into a 46 point deficit by the end of the game. A lot has been said of Melbourne’s famous round 7 come from behind victory but the truth is that many of the instigators behind that win were missing yesterday – players like Brock McLean, Brad Green, Brent Moloney, James McDonald, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson and Jeff White to name a few. In their place, the club sent a team of promising youngsters - boys on mens' errands. Many of them had light frames that are currently not able to go the distance physically or mentally with the more experienced Docker contingent and a pre season of gym work and the return of some of the Demons’ more seasoned players should hold them in much better stead next time they head out this way. I was bemused by comments from some quarters that Melbourne might be chasing Docker beanpole Robert Warnock, brother of Matthew, because his physical shape would fit in well with the lightweight Demons. If young Robert comes back to Victoria to play with his brother, let's hope that the folks have a decent home gym installed for the pair. When Matthew Bate hit the post from close range in the final term, it summed up the Demons' pathetic second half when its forward fire power fizzled out to virtually nothing. The problem with Melbourne's games was that its second half was much longer than the first and very few of their players could hold their heads high at the end although credit must be given to Cameron Bruce, Davey and Chris Johnson for hanging tough throughout the day. Melbourne returns home with a place in the bottom two of the competition virtually parcelled up and facing a difficult assignment next week against the Kangaroos. That task might seem daunting but, although it might not mean much, it is probably worthwhile to remember that the Dockers' previous win was against the Shinboners at Subiaco in Round 12 when they won by 53 points. All the Demons have to do next week is to make sure that they can player a longer half of good football next time! Melbourne 5.1.31 6.3.39 7.5.47 10.8.68 Fremantle 0.2.2 5.9.39 11.15.81 16.18.114 Goals Melbourne Bate Miller Morton Newton 2 Jamar P Johnson Fremantle Pavlich 5 McPharlin 3 Carr Ibbotson McManus O'Brien Peake Sandilands Schammer Tarrant Best Fremantle Pavlich Schammer Ibbotson Crowley McPharlin McManus Melbourne C Johnson Wheatley Buckley Bruce Bate Jones Injuries Melbourne Nil Fremantle Brock O'Brien (hamstring) Changes Nil Reports Nil Umpires Kennedy Hendrie Avon Official crowd 31,638 at Subiaco Oval

This week's weighting is an incredible .5965. Incredible only because it would have been >15 had we kept going as we did in the first quarter! With our two leaders out it gave the opportunity for others to poll but, as expected, Brocky and Greeny retain their first and second places comfortably. 78.366 Brock McLean 69.590 Brad Green 51.371 Brad Miller 44.698 Paul Wheatley 42.809 Colin Garland 40.082 Austin Wonaemirri 37.636 Cameron Bruce 31.490 Aaron Davey 29.052 Paul Johnson 27.203 Chris Johnson 25.733 Matthew Bate 25.458 Colin Sylvia 24.347 Nathan Jones 20.946 Cale Morton 16.154 Lynden Dunn 14.482 James McDonald 12.282 Brent Moloney 10.684 Jared Rivers 10.482 Nathan Carroll 10.346 Matthew Warnock 8.217 Stef Martin 8.132 Clint Bartram 7.770 Simon Buckley 5.904 Matthew Whelan 5.265 Russell Robertson 5.087 Jeff White 3.579 Mark Jamar 3.474 Shane Valenti 2.845 Adem Yze

by Whispering Jack Melbourne coach Dean Bailey has faced many difficult challenges in his debut season. His team currently occupies the last place on the AFL ladder so it would be fair to say that most of those challenges remain unfulfilled and that any moves in a forward direction have been small steps on what is a very long journey. One thing Bailey has done is that he has honoured his pledge to focus on youth and to rebuild the club so that his new look Demons have managed to show glimpses of improvement each week and this has provided supporters with hope for the club's future in what has been an otherwise dismal season. This week Bailey and his team face up to a challenge that caused great heartburn to his predecessor in his latter years as coach. The Demons made the finals in three of Neale Daniher's last four seasons but the challenge of distance was never really countered in any meaningful way during that time. Melbourne continues to struggle whenever it crosses the western border of the home state. Victory in South Australia has been elusive for more than seven years while its last win in the West came during a raging storm in Round 11, 2004 against Fremantle. A young Brock McLean was the hero that day in what was his break out game. Things have changed considerably since then. While the Demons languish on the bottom of the ladder, the Western Australian teams have also fallen on hard times and the days when the very thought of a visit to Subiaco Oval would fill the hearts of the other AFL teams and their supporters with fear, dread and loathing are well and truly over. Not only have the two WA sides collectively failed to win a single game in 2008 outside their home state but they also barely raise a whimper on their own turf these days. Leaving aside the Round 3 Derby from which Fremantle emerged victorious by 14 points, the once devastating Sandgroper home advantage has produced only three wins this season – two for the Eagles, Brisbane (Round 1) and Adelaide (Round 9) and one for the Dockers against North Melbourne in Round 12. Bailey is trying something new for Melbourne's return game with the Dockers - a new travel plan that he hopes will turn around his team's poor record in the west. The Demons will leave a day earlier than usual - on Friday afternoon - in the hope that the additional time spent in Perth will give them the extra edge that has been missing so often in the past. The visitors will need that extra edge on Sunday because Fremantle is still smarting from the embarrassment of their Round 7 fiasco when they allowed a rank underdog to storm home from a long way down and win by six points at the MCG. Melbourne continues its painfully slow improvement since breaking the ice that day but apart from that narrow victory over Brisbane just before the last break, they have had precious little to celebrate in their own season from hell. This game takes on even greater significance in that a win for either side ensures that it will make a slight progression in the battle to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon (although the Eagles seem to have a mortgage on that "prize" if one goes by their form and attitude in recent games). Melbourne also has a significantly softer programme in the remaining 7 weeks of the season with only one assignment against a top eight side. The poor records of both the Dees and the Dockers mean that 2008 is unlikely to provide supporters with happy memories in the years to come. The best that the Melbourne faithful can hope for is that they will look back on it as the time when the seeds for revival were planted and when its new look youth oriented team finally conquered that last frontier in the west. THE GAME Fremantle v Melbourne at Subiaco - Sunday 20 July 2008 at 4:40pm (AEST) HEAD TO HEAD Overall Fremantle 12 wins Melbourne 11 wins At Subiaco Fremantle 6 wins Melbourne 3 wins Since 2000 Fremantle 8 wins Melbourne 6 wins The Coaches Harvey 0 wins Bailey 1 win MEDIA TV Fox Sports 1 (Live at 4.30pm AEST) RADIO ABC774 SEN THE BETTING Fremantle to win $1.47 Melbourne to win $2.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 17.17.119 defeated Fremantle 15.23.113 at the MCG Round 7, 2008. Melbourne trailed by 51 points at the main break and appeared down and out for the count. The last half was extraordinary with the home side producing the second greatest comeback in the game's history. Brock McLean dominated in the middle and Russell Robertson and Austin Wonaeamirri booted four goals each to leave the Dockers and the rest of the football world stunned by the Demons' six point victory against all the odds. THE TEAMS FREMANTLE Backs Scott Thornton Luke McPharlin Antoni Grover Half backs Josh Head Michael Johnson Steven Dodd Centreline Shaun McManus Josh Carr David Mundy Half forwards Mark Johnson Matthew Pavlich Andrew Browne Forwards Chris Mayne Chris Tarrant Robert Warnock Followers Aaron Sandilands Ryan Crowley Garrick Ibbotson Interchange Jeff Farmer Brock O'Brien Brett Peake Byron Schammer Emergencies Kepler Bradley Paul Duffield Ryan Murphy In Josh Head Shaun McManus Brock O'Brien Out Clayton Hinkley Rhys Palmer (general soreness) Dean Solomon (suspended) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Chris Johnson Paul Wheatley Lynden Dunn Centreline Cale Morton Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Half forwards Colin Sylvia Matthew Bate Aaron Davey Forwards Paul Johnson Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Mark Jamar Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange Daniel Bell Stefan Martin Michael Newton Shane Valenti Emergencies James McDonald Jeff White Adem Yze In Aaron Davey Out Brad Green (hamstring) Umpires Kennedy Hendrie Avon THE SHOOTOUT We are entering a round of matches that presents some fascinating contests that promise to play a major role in shaping the make up of the top four and the final eight. Sunday's game between Fremantle and Melbourne is not one of them although it is also not without interest (especially if you happen to be a fan of one of the clubs). The fixtures will certainly be focal in determining where these clubs finish at the end of the year and the cynics will say it’s all about losing and shoring up a better position when draft day comes around in November. For Melbourne’s part however, it is clear that this game is being taken seriously and the object of the exercise is to bring home the four premiership points that are on offer. The Demons suffered a major blow with the hamstring injury to Brad Green who has been in superlative form whether playing forward, down back or in the midfield. His loss will be partly covered by the return of Aaron Davey after his Darwin indiscretion. The selectors have also shown they mean business by including the experienced trio of James McDonald, Jeff White and Adem Yze in the initial squad for the game. The Dockers have been in a winning position on a number of occasions this year but have lacked the fitness and/or the discipline to secure the points. They lost Dean Solomon as a result of his errant elbow and, in a surprise move, omitted young gun Rhys Palmer who is suffering from "general soreness". Granted that a young player can be sore but Palmer has been one of Freo's better midfielders in the absence of Hasleby, Headland and now Bell and you would think an eight day break would be enough to overcome the sore spots. Further, why rest a kid from a game that's eminently winnable and why do that after he's been given a bit of a touch up by the physical Cats? Still, that's their problem - for Sunday's game it means the Docker midfield is that extra bit weaker and, as a result, the supply to its match winning power forward will be even more diminished. That power forward features in most peoples' key match up for this game. Matthew Pavlich is the one man who can make or break the game as far as Fremantle is concerned. Colin Garland will get the first crack based on his sensational rise to prominence as a defender of note at Demonland. The assignment on Pavlich looms as his toughest - even more of a test than when Garland kept Buddy Franklin in check against the Hawks. The young Demon's cause will naturally be assisted greatly if Melbourne can will the battle of the midfield but if Pav is causing damage, the Dees have Matty Warnock and Stef Martin in the wings to lend their assistance. The ruck duels will certainly stretch the Demon duo of Mark Jamar and Paul Johnson. Sandilands and Robert Warnock have an enormous height advantage over them and if big Aaron is on song, it could spell trouble. I'd like to see M Warnock line up on brother R Warnock for reasons of promoting family values but the height difference looks a little beyond the improving Demon defender. The Demons might miss out in the ruck but they have the weapons in the midfield to nullify the Dockers' advantage in height. Cameron Bruce is coming good in the midfield and the little terriers in Nathan Jones and Shane Valenti should enjoy the conditions and any residual rough stuff that Freo might want to hand out after last week's fiasco. Melbourne's weak spot this year has been in its attack where the loss of some major figures earlier in the year left it short in talent and floundering in the key positions. Brad Miller is slowly re-emerging in the centre half forward position and looks to have regained the confidence that went missing for a couple of years when the club experimented with him as a defender. If Michael Newton, who is on the second week of his comeback trail, can do much the same thing then the Demons will be on the road to only their third win for the season. And that leads to my prediction that Melbourne will make its break through in the west and win this game by the slender margin of 6 points.

THE LAST FRONTIER by Whispering Jack Melbourne coach Dean Bailey has faced many difficult challenges in his debut season. His team currently occupies the last place on the AFL ladder so it would be fair to say that most of those challenges remain unfulfilled and that any moves in a forward direction have been small steps on what is a very long journey. One thing Bailey has done is that he has honoured his pledge to focus on youth and to rebuild the club so that his new look Demons have managed to show glimpses of improvement each week and this has provided supporters with hope for the club's future in what has been an otherwise dismal season. This week Bailey and his team face up to a challenge that caused great heartburn to his predecessor in his latter years as coach. The Demons made the finals in three of Neale Daniher's last four seasons but the challenge of distance was never really countered in any meaningful way during that time. Melbourne continues to struggle whenever it crosses the western border of the home state. Victory in South Australia has been elusive for more than seven years while its last win in the West came during a raging storm in Round 11, 2004 against Fremantle. A young Brock McLean was the hero that day in what was his break out game. Things have changed considerably since then. While the Demons languish on the bottom of the ladder, the Western Australian teams have also fallen on hard times and the days when the very thought of a visit to Subiaco Oval would fill the hearts of the other AFL teams and their supporters with fear, dread and loathing are well and truly over. Not only have the two WA sides collectively failed to win a single game in 2008 outside their home state but they also barely raise a whimper on their own turf these days. Leaving aside the Round 3 Derby from which Fremantle emerged victorious by 14 points, the once devastating Sandgroper home advantage has produced only three wins this season – two for the Eagles, Brisbane (Round 1) and Adelaide (Round 9) and one for the Dockers against North Melbourne in Round 12. Bailey is trying something new for Melbourne's return game with the Dockers - a new travel plan that he hopes will turn around his team's poor record in the west. The Demons will leave a day earlier than usual - on Friday afternoon - in the hope that the additional time spent in Perth will give them the extra edge that has been missing so often in the past. The visitors will need that extra edge on Sunday because Fremantle is still smarting from the embarrassment of their Round 7 fiasco when they allowed a rank underdog to storm home from a long way down and win by six points at the MCG. Melbourne continues its painfully slow improvement since breaking the ice that day but apart from that narrow victory over Brisbane just before the last break, they have had precious little to celebrate in their own season from hell. This game takes on even greater significance in that a win for either side ensures that it will make a slight progression in the battle to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon (although the Eagles seem to have a mortgage on that "prize" if one goes by their form and attitude in recent games). Melbourne also has a significantly softer programme in the remaining 7 weeks of the season with only one assignment against a top eight side. The poor records of both the Dees and the Dockers mean that 2008 is unlikely to provide supporters with happy memories in the years to come. The best that the Melbourne faithful can hope for is that they will look back on it as the time when the seeds for revival were planted and when its new look youth oriented team finally conquered that last frontier in the west. THE GAME Fremantle v Melbourne at Subiaco - Sunday 20 July 2008 at 4:40pm (AEST) HEAD TO HEAD Overall Fremantle 12 wins Melbourne 11 wins At Subiaco Fremantle 6 wins Melbourne 3 wins Since 2000 Fremantle 8 wins Melbourne 6 wins The Coaches Harvey 0 wins Bailey 1 win MEDIA TV Fox Sports 1 (Live at 4.30pm AEST) RADIO ABC774 SEN THE BETTING Fremantle to win $1.47 Melbourne to win $2.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 17.17.119 defeated Fremantle 15.23.113 at the MCG Round 7, 2008. Melbourne trailed by 51 points at the main break and appeared down and out for the count. The last half was extraordinary with the home side producing the second greatest comeback in the game's history. Brock McLean dominated in the middle and Russell Robertson and Austin Wonaeamirri booted four goals each to leave the Dockers and the rest of the football world stunned by the Demons' six point victory against all the odds. THE TEAMS FREMANTLE Backs Scott Thornton Luke McPharlin Antoni Grover Half backs Josh Head Michael Johnson Steven Dodd Centreline Shaun McManus Josh Carr David Mundy Half forwards Mark Johnson Matthew Pavlich Andrew Browne Forwards Chris Mayne Chris Tarrant Robert Warnock Followers Aaron Sandilands Ryan Crowley Garrick Ibbotson Interchange Jeff Farmer Brock O'Brien Brett Peake Byron Schammer Emergencies Kepler Bradley Paul Duffield Ryan Murphy In Josh Head Shaun McManus Brock O'Brien Out Clayton Hinkley Rhys Palmer (general soreness) Dean Solomon (suspended) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Chris Johnson Paul Wheatley Lynden Dunn Centreline Cale Morton Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Half forwards Colin Sylvia Matthew Bate Aaron Davey Forwards Paul Johnson Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Mark Jamar Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange Daniel Bell Stefan Martin Michael Newton Shane Valenti Emergencies James McDonald Jeff White Adem Yze In Aaron Davey Out Brad Green (hamstring) Umpires Kennedy Hendrie Avon THE SHOOTOUT We are entering a round of matches that presents some fascinating contests that promise to play a major role in shaping the make up of the top four and the final eight. Sunday's game between Fremantle and Melbourne is not one of them although it is also not without interest (especially if you happen to be a fan of one of the clubs). The fixtures will certainly be focal in determining where these clubs finish at the end of the year and the cynics will say it’s all about losing and shoring up a better position when draft day comes around in November. For Melbourne’s part however, it is clear that this game is being taken seriously and the object of the exercise is to bring home the four premiership points that are on offer. The Demons suffered a major blow with the hamstring injury to Brad Green who has been in superlative form whether playing forward, down back or in the midfield. His loss will be partly covered by the return of Aaron Davey after his Darwin indiscretion. The selectors have also shown they mean business by including the experienced trio of James McDonald, Jeff White and Adem Yze in the initial squad for the game. The Dockers have been in a winning position on a number of occasions this year but have lacked the fitness and/or the discipline to secure the points. They lost Dean Solomon as a result of his errant elbow and, in a surprise move, omitted young gun Rhys Palmer who is suffering from "general soreness". Granted that a young player can be sore but Palmer has been one of Freo's better midfielders in the absence of Hasleby, Headland and now Bell and you would think an eight day break would be enough to overcome the sore spots. Further, why rest a kid from a game that's eminently winnable and why do that after he's been given a bit of a touch up by the physical Cats? Still, that's their problem - for Sunday's game it means the Docker midfield is that extra bit weaker and, as a result, the supply to its match winning power forward will be even more diminished. That power forward features in most peoples' key match up for this game. Matthew Pavlich is the one man who can make or break the game as far as Fremantle is concerned. Colin Garland will get the first crack based on his sensational rise to prominence as a defender of note at Demonland. The assignment on Pavlich looms as his toughest - even more of a test than when Garland kept Buddy Franklin in check against the Hawks. The young Demon's cause will naturally be assisted greatly if Melbourne can will the battle of the midfield but if Pav is causing damage, the Dees have Matty Warnock and Stef Martin in the wings to lend their assistance. The ruck duels will certainly stretch the Demon duo of Mark Jamar and Paul Johnson. Sandilands and Robert Warnock have an enormous height advantage over them and if big Aaron is on song, it could spell trouble. I'd like to see M Warnock line up on brother R Warnock for reasons of promoting family values but the height difference looks a little beyond the improving Demon defender. The Demons might miss out in the ruck but they have the weapons in the midfield to nullify the Dockers' advantage in height. Cameron Bruce is coming good in the midfield and the little terriers in Nathan Jones and Shane Valenti should enjoy the conditions and any residual rough stuff that Freo might want to hand out after last week's fiasco. Melbourne's weak spot this year has been in its attack where the loss of some major figures earlier in the year left it short in talent and floundering in the key positions. Brad Miller is slowly re-emerging in the centre half forward position and looks to have regained the confidence that went missing for a couple of years when the club experimented with him as a defender. If Michael Newton, who is on the second week of his comeback trail, can do much the same thing then the Demons will be on the road to only their third win for the season. And that leads to my prediction that Melbourne will make its break through in the west and win this game by the slender margin of 6 points.

We all know what happened the last time Melbourne met Fremantle - here are the respective teams for that day:- MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Nathan Carroll Matthew Whelan Half backs Clint Bartram, Jared Rivers Brent Moloney Centreline Aaron Davey Brock McLean Paul Wheatley Half forwards: Cale Morton Russell Robertson Nathan Jones Forwards: Brad Green Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers: Jeff White, James McDonald, Cameron Bruce Interchange Matthew Bate Colin Garland Mark Jamar Matthew Warnock Emergencies Daniel Bell Simon Buckley Lynden Dunn In Matthew Bate Colin Garland Matthew Whelan Out Daniel Bell Lynden Dunn (both omitted) Colin Sylvia (hamstring) FREMANTLE Backs Steven Dodd Luke McPharlin Scott Thornton Half backs Marcus Drum Michael Johnson Brock O’Brien Centreline David Mundy Rhys Palmer Ryan Crowley Half forwards Garrick Ibbotson Chris Tarrant Dean Solomon Forwards Ryan Murphy Matthew Pavlich Jeff Farmer Followers Aaron Sandilands Des Headland Peter Bell Interchange (from) Andrew Foster Mark Johnson Shaun McManus Byron Schammer Emergencies Paul Duffield Daniel Gilmore Robert Warnock In Andrew Foster Des Headland Mark Johnson Brock O’Brien Chris Tarrant Out Josh Carr (suspended) Daniel Gilmore (omitted) Antoni Grover (quad) Roger Hayden (hamstring) Clayton Hinkley (omitted)

Andy Lovell's Player Review is HERE: I like what he said about Ricky Petterd's progress - Stats: Possessions 25, Kicks 12, Handballs 13, Ricky played primarily off half back, and was matched up on the Bulldogs' listed Callum Ward. He had a really good game defensively, and kept his opponent pretty quiet. He finished with 25 possessions and used the ball well, but turned it over on occasions off one step kicks. He did attack the game, and gave us some good run off half back. For small parts of the game, we put him into the midfield and he did well getting his hands on the ball at stoppages. Overall, Ricky just had a really good game. He is back to playing around 80% of game time, and is on track for where we want his body to be.

by Whispering Jack The American burlesque comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are famous for their baseball name play skit "Who's on First?" which centres on a wordplay about the occupants of the sport's bases — "Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third." Their work has inspired this coverage of the recently completed NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, an event lasting several weeks that provided we football aficionados with a true smorgasbord of young footballing talent from across the nation. It also left many unanswered questions as to their final destinations in AFL football although, for some of course, there will be no such destination at all. So who's first? Well ... possibly Watts, meaning Jack Watts, the Victorian key forward with speed, a good leap, marking power and seemingly, a mature head to go with all of those other assets. Like Melbourne's 2007 first round draft selection Cale Morton, Watts won this year's Larke medal as the best player of the Championships. A 194cm tall bottom age player who will do his 12th year of schooling in 2009 when he turns 18, Watts first impressed me with his play in the first round against Vic Country at the MCG, capping off the game by kicking a match winning clutch goal; it was a great sign that he not only achieved it but that he did so with such confidence. I was also impressed when I heard him speak briefly during a recent television news interview - again he exuded confidence and sounded self-assured. That all suggests that if everything else were to fall into place, he could one day be a team leader at AFL level. But Watts also indicated publicly that he might not even nominate for this year's national draft. So who's on first then? I Don't Know! Now before anyone says I Don’t Know is on third, let me announce who I think is far and away the best player in this draft on what I have seen in the games at the MCG earlier this year and then at Casey Fields and Telstra Dome last week. The Rich kid! Who? Daniel Rich — the blond midfielder from WA is a real gun; he has poise, is a good decision maker, has all the football smarts and is a powerful and accurate kick of the football. He will be ready to go in round 1 next year, Rich has Brownlow Medal potential written all over him. If clubs are true to their word and go for the best player available when they make their selections on draft day, this is a real no brainer. Rich is THE best player available. The reason why I said I don't know if Rich will go first is the uncertainty as to who will have the first pick, the feeling that I'm not sure whether clubs really go for the best available or whether they fudge that call a little when faced with the special and the unusual. In the case of the 2008 crop, I'm talking about the unusual in the form of the player who everyone was touting as the # 1 pick because of his freakish, raw athletic talent – WA ruck sensation Nick Naitanui. The young kid with a Fijian background, about 197cm tall (perhaps even taller if you add the dreadlocks), is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He dominated the ruckwork at the championships and impressed with his speed and ferocious tackling. He didn't take many high marks for such a tall player, his kicking is a bit iffy (he uses a lot of handball) and there's a question mark on whether he has what they call "a football brain" but he will certainly go early. He will also provide some interesting challenges to the development coach of the club that takes him. These are my impressions of names of the guns who will go earliest – there are also some good wraps on SA midfielder Hamish Hartlett, Vic Metro full back Michael Hurley and WA utility Chris Yarran. Then there's Vic Country boys Jack Ziebell and Steele Sidebottom, Vic Metro talls Tyrone Vickery and Shaun McKernan. Tassie's Aaron Cornelius and SA's Lewis Johnston look to be key forwards of the future and I was really impressed with the pace and aggression of Vic Metro wingers Sam Blease and David Zaharakis. There are lots of other names and you'll find 101 opinions on each of them on the internet [there's a good overview of the leaders of the draft pack here - YOUNGSTERS SHOW CLASS THAT WILL WIN THEM AFL SPOTS] and more will be bandied about over the next four months. I still have some misgivings however, about the depth of this draft and note that, of the three games I saw on the final day of the championships, the Vic Metro v WA game was played on a much higher plane in terms of its intensity. There will be players from elsewhere (particularly SA which showed good progress as the carnival continued) but I suspect the best will come from Victoria. The other part of the puzzle is the question of the order of the clubs at draft time. The way some of the clubs are travelling at the moment would make us all wonder about Andrew Demetriou's definitive view that AFL clubs don't tank games to give them the early draft picks but who am I to question this great man's wisdom? For a dissenting view, read this! In many ways, the very choices at draft time is going to be easy – the big challenge of recruiters is to find hidden gems deeper in the draft. As all that is still four months away, I'll leave that to the experts to ponder on such vexing questions like who's on first? ABC GRANDSTAND INTERVIEW WITH JACK WATTS [NATIONAL UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS - 2008 DIVISION TWO Round 1 NSW/ACT 2.2.14 4.4.28 8.5.53 11.8.74 Northern Territory 3.0.18 4.1.25 5.1.31 7.4.46 Goals NSW/ACT Breust 4 Foster 3 Duryea 2 McNeil Wilson Northern Territory Farmer Gugliotta Hale May Shannon Rioli Sibosado Tungatalum Best NSW/ACT Breust McMahon Klemke Ediriwickrama Reed Foster Wilson Northern Territory Ah Chee Taylor Wooding Hale Rioli Heenan Tasmania 4.2.26 6.4.40 7.5.47 12.5.77 Queensland 2.3.15 3.6.24 6.10.46 7.11.53 Goals Tasmania Mihocek 5 Cornelius 2 Cox Groenwegen Harwood Hislop Robinson Queensland Reid 2 Dixon Haberfield Holman JamesMyers Best Tasmania Mihocek Groenewegan Trevena Salter Robinson Hislop Cornelius Queensland Thomson Myers Beams Haberfield Holman Bevan Round 2 Tasmania 3.5.23 6.7.43 10.9.69 11.11.77 Northern Territory 2.1.13 5.1.31 5.3.33 10.4.64 Goals Tasmania Cornelius 3 Mihocek Shade 2 Brakey Cox Hislop Salter Northern Territory Rolfe 5 Hampton May Sharples Taylor Tungatalum Best Tasmania Robinson Harwood Salter Cornelius Shade Hislop Milne Northern Territory Rolfe Sharples Hale Heenan May Ah Chee NSW/ACT 2.3.15 4.4.28 6.11.47 9.13.67 Queensland 2.1.13 3.3.21 4.5.29 5.6.36 Goals NSW/ACT Foster 3 Duryea Gordon 2 Clisby Ediriwickrama Queensland Fowler Myers 2 Keefe Best NSW/ACT Ediriwickrama Gordon Reed Duncan Foster Clisby Wilson Queensland Thomson Daye Myers Beams Haberfield Fowler Round 3 NSW/ACT 1.1.7 5.3.33 6.6.42 8.7.55 Tasmania 2.1.13 5.1.31 7.5.47 13.6.84 Goals NSW/ACT Duryea 3 Breust 2 Foster Gilchrist Gordon Tasmania Cornelius Hislop Robinson 2 Cox Crichton Groenewegen McCulloch Michocek O'Brien Symmons Best NSW/ACT Ediriwickrama Breust Stubbs Duryea Duncan Kirkwood McNeil Tasmania Cox Williams Robinson O'Brien Groenewegen Allwright Northern Territory 4.3.27 9.4.58 13.6.84 14.7.91 Queensland 1.3.9 3.3.21 4.4.28 5.7.37 Goals Northern Territory Farmer Rolfe 3 Sibosado Tungatalun 2 Gugliotta Heenan Phoenix Schaper Queensland Green Myers 2 Fowler Best Northern Territory Sharples Rolfe Sibosado Heenan Farmer Hale Ah Chee Queensland Beams Holman Myers Thomson James Stanley The Division Two Hunter Harrison Medal was won by Mitch Robinson from Tasmania. The NAB MVP Awards were awarded to Luke Breust [NSW/ACT], Mitch Robinson [Tasmania] Patrick Heenan [Northern Territory] and Matt Thomson [Queensland]. NSW/ACT and Tasmania progress to Division One NATIONAL UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS - 2008 DIVISION ONE Round 1 Vic Country 2.2.14 4.3.27 8.5.53 11.7 73 Vic Metropolitan 4.0.24 7.1.43 9.3.57 12.4 76 Goals Vic Country Rockliff 4 Young 3 Heyne 2 Christensen Suban Vic Metropolitan Watts 4 McKernan 2 Banner Lisle McGarry Martin Purves Shuey Best Vic Country Rockliff Suban Heyne Hooper Young Sidebottom Vic Metropolitan Watts Zaharakis Hurley McKernan Lisle Gotch South Australia 17.6 108 d Tasmania 9.9 63 Goals South Australia Johnston 4 Broadbent 2 Cahill 2 Hall 2 Hartlett 2 Mardling 2 Blesing Lane McAdam Tasmania McCulloch 3 Cox 2 Allwright Cornelius Hislop Robinson Best South Australia O’Keefe Cahill Blesing Martin Broadbent Hall Armstrong Jones Tasmania Allwright Robinson Salter Hislop O’Brien Harwood Crichton Milne Western Australia 4.2 8.2 10.4 15.7 97 NSW/ACT 1.0 2.0 3.3 4.3 27 Goals Western Australia Daly 5 Bennell 4 Walters 3 Garlett 2 Marsh NSW/ACT Kirkwood McNeil Ruffles Sleeth Best Western Australia Walters DeBoer Lucas Hill Daly Bennell Pearce Mather Warner NSW/ACT Clisby Ediriwickrama Klemke Fenaroli Bryce Gumley McNeil Frail Kirkwood Round 2 NSW/ACT 3.1 3.1 9.5 11.6 72 Vic Country 2.3 7.4 8.6 10.7 67 Goals NSW/ACT Foster 3 Breust 2 Frail 2 Reed Kirkwood Ediriwickrama Vic Country Butcher 4 Rockliff 2 McKenzie 2 Ziebell Stevens Best NSW/ACT Ediriwickrama Duryea Frail Klemke Clisby Reed Vic Country Butcher Sheahan Hooper Ziebell Sidebottom Western Australia 5.2 6.4 11.9 15.12 102 South Australia 1.3 3.7 4.9 4.13 37 Goals Western Australia Olds 4 Yarran 2 Bennell Naitanui Daly Pearce Jetta Marsh Warner Hill Ross South Australia Hartlett Mardling Cahill Redden Best Western Australia Hill Pearce Laurie Jetta Naitanui South Australia Johnston Schoenmakers Cahill O’Keefe Tasmania 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.7 13 Vic Metropolitan 6.3 7.4 12.5 12.8 80 Goals Tasmania Mihocek Vic Metropolitan Lynch 4 Purves 3 Watts 2 Joyce Gilchrist Stanton Best Tasmania Robinson Salter Crichton Davies Hislop Milverton Allwright Vic Metropolitan Lynch Banner Shuey Sloane Hurley Strauss Ladder after Round 2 Western Australia 2 0 310.9% Vic Metropolitan 2 0 181.4% South Australia 1 1 87.9% NSW/ACT 1 1 60.4% Vic Country 0 2 94.6% Tasmania 0 2 40.4% Round 3 NSW/ACT 2.2 5.4 8.7 11.8 74 Tasmania 2.2 5.3 7.4 9.8 62 Goals NSW/ACT Foster 3 Gordon 2 Clisby Spiteri Ruffles Klemke Duryea McNeil Tasmania Robinson 2 McCulloch 2 Harwood 2 Cox Archer Milne Best NSW/ACT Bryce McNeil Frail Reed Foster Kirkwood Klemke Tasmania Salter Williams Allwright Crichton Symmons O’Brien Vic Country 3.3.21 8.3.51 8.3.51 11.4.70 Western Australia 0.0.0 1.1.7 4.4.28 6.7.43 Goals Vic Country Heyne 3 Browne 2 Bucovaz Christensen McKenzie Rockliff Roughead Sheahan Western Australia Daly 2 Hill Rich Walters Yarran Best Vic Country Heyne Sheahan Ziebell Browne Western Australia Naitanui DeBoer Jetta Daly Vic Metropolitan 4.1.25 9.3.57 12.4.76 17.5.107 South Australia 2.0.12 3.1.19 8.3.51 8.6.54 Goals Vic Metropolitan Watts 5 Joyce Shuey Scully Vickery 2 Fitzpatrick Hunt McKernan Zaharakis South Australia Boras 3 Cahill 2 Mardling O'Keeffe Shannon Best Vic Metropolitan Watts Shuey Zaharkis Scully Hunt Sloane South Australia Clarke Shannon O’Keeffe Armstrong Hall Broadbent Round 4 Western Australia 3.6.24 7.8.50 10.12.72 14.16.100 Tasmania 0.0.0 3.3.21 4.3.27 6.4.40 Goals Western Australia Marsh 4 Walters 3 Yarran 2 DeBoer Duncan Jetta Lucas Rich Tasmania Crichton 2 Cornelius McCulloch Salter Shade Best Western Australia Yarran Lucas Naitanui Fiegert DeBoer Rich Tasmania Robinson Crichton Allwright Cornelius Weller Salter South Australia 5.4.34 8.7.55 11.12.78 14.14 98 Vic Country 1.1.7 3.3.21 4.5.29 9.10 64 Goals South Australia Tapscott 5 Cahill 3 Speight 2 Hall Hartlett Johnston Schoenmakers Vic Country Rockliff 3 Butcher 2 Browne Roughead Sheehan Ziebell Best South Australia Hartlett Tapscott Hall O'Keeffe Speight Cahill Shannon Vic Country Ziebell Suban Sidebottom Sheehan Rockliff Roughead Vic Metropolitan 4.6.30 6.8.44 10.12.72 11.14 80 NSW/ACT 1.2.8 3.2.20 3.2.20 4.5 29 Goals Vic Metropolitan Lisle Scully Watts 2 Banner Fitzpatrick Gilchrist Hurley Lynch NSW/ACT A'Vard Foster Spiteri Wilson Best Vic Metropolitan Watts Gotch Lisle Hurley Vickery Scully Blease NSW/ACT Klemke Reed Kirkwood McNeil Duncan Round 5 South Australia 6.3.39 12.6.72 13.9.87 20.12.132 NSW/ACT 1.0.6 2.0.12 7.2.44 8.4.52 Goals South Australia Johnston 4 Tapscott 4 Hynes 3 Cahill 2 O'Keeffe 2 Davoren Hall Hartlett Schoenmakers Speight NSW/ACT Van Muers 3 Bryce 2 Gumley McMahon Spiteri Best South Australia Hartlett Johnston Tapscott O'Keeffe Hynes Hall Schoenmakers Blesing Redden Stanley Wilson NSW/ACT Duncan Reed Kirkwood Klemke Van Muers Bryce Tasmania 2.3.15 4.3.27 6.3.39 6.4.40 Vic Country 4.3.27 7.4.46 14.6.90 22.6 138 Goals Tasmania Cornelius 4 Mihocek Symmons Vic Country Butcher 5 Hughes McKenzie Sheehan 3 Blair 2 Browne Hooper Jones Martiniello Rockliff Young Best Tasmania Robinson Cornelius Allwright Williams Vic Country Butcher Sheehan Sidebottom McKenzie Hooper Suban Heyne Hughes Jones Vic Metropolitan 5.1.31 8.3.51 11.6.72 14.9.93 Western Australia 2.1.13 3.4.22 5.7.37 9.10.64 Goals Vic Metropolitan Vickery 3 Banner Blease McKernan Watts Zaharakis 2 Lynch Western Australia Yarran 3 Hill Jetta Klause Lucas Naitanui Rich Best Vic Metropolitan Vickery Zaharakis Banner Blease Hurley Shuey Scully Gotch Western Australia Rich Hill Pearce Walters Jetta Yarran Naitanui FINAL LADDER Vic Metropolitan 5-0 187.1% Western Australia 3-2 152.1% South Australia 3-2 110.6% Vic Country 2-3 125.2% NSW/ACT 2-3 68% Tasmania 0-5 43.6% Larke Medallist Jack Watts (Victoria Metro) MVP's for Each Team Vic Metropolitan Michael Hurley Vic Country Andrew Hopper Western Australia Clancee Pearce South Australia Rhys O'Keefe NSW/ACT Kade Klemke Tasmania Mitch Robinson

WATTS ON FIRST? by Whispering Jack The American burlesque comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are famous for their baseball name play skit "Who's on First?" which centres on a wordplay about the occupants of the sport's bases — "Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third." Their work has inspired this coverage of the recently completed NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, an event lasting several weeks that provided we football aficionados with a true smorgasbord of young footballing talent from across the nation. It also left many unanswered questions as to their final destinations in AFL football although, for some of course, there will be no such destination at all. So who's first? Well ... possibly Watts, meaning Jack Watts, the Victorian key forward with speed, a good leap, marking power and seemingly, a mature head to go with all of those other assets. Like Melbourne's 2007 first round draft selection Cale Morton, Watts won this year's Larke medal as the best player of the Championships. A 194cm tall bottom age player who will do his 12th year of schooling in 2009 when he turns 18, Watts first impressed me with his play in the first round against Vic Country at the MCG, capping off the game by kicking a match winning clutch goal; it was a really good sign from the youngster that he did it with such confidence. I was also impressed when I heard him speak briefly during a recent television news interview - again he exuded confidence and sounded self-assured. That all suggests that if everything else were to fall into place, he could one day even be a team leader at AFL level. But Watts also indicated publicly that he might not even nominate for this year's national draft. So who's on first then? I Don't Know! Now before anyone says I Don’t Know is on third, let me announce who I think is far and away the best player in this draft on what I have seen in the games at the MCG earlier this year and then at Casey Fields and Telstra Dome last week. The Rich kid! Who? Daniel Rich — the blond midfielder from WA is a real gun; he has poise, is a good decision maker, has all the football smarts and is a powerful and accurate kick of the football. He will be ready to go in round 1 next year, Rich has Brownlow Medal potential written all over him. If clubs are true to their word and go for the best player available when they make their selections on draft day, this is a real no brainer. Rich is THE best player available. The reason why I said I don't know if Rich will go first is the uncertainty as to who will have the first pick, the feeling that I'm not sure whether clubs really go for the best available or whether they fudge that call a little when faced with the special and the unusual. In the case of the 2008 crop, I'm talking about the unusual in the form of the player who everyone was touting as the # 1 pick because of his freakish, raw athletic talent – WA ruck sensation Nick Naitanui. The young kid with a Fijian background, about 197cm tall (perhaps even taller if you add the dreadlocks), is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He dominated the ruckwork at the championships and impressed with his speed and ferocious tackling. He didn't take many high marks for such a tall player, his kicking is a bit iffy (he uses a lot of handball) and there's a question mark on whether he has what they call "a football brain" but he will certainly go early. He will also provide some interesting challenges to the development coach of the club that takes him. These are my impressions of names of the guns who will go earliest – there are also some good wraps on SA midfielder Hamish Hartlett, Vic Metro full back Michael Hurley and WA utility Chris Yarran. Then there's Vic Country boys Jack Ziebell and Steele Sidebottom, Vic Metro talls Tyrone Vickery and Shaun McKernan. Tassie's Aaron Cornelius and SA's Lewis Johnston look to be key forwards of the future and I was really impressed with the pace and aggression of Vic Metro wingers Sam Blease and David Zaharakis. There are lots of other names and you'll find 101 opinions on each of them on the internet [there's a good overview of the leaders of the draft pack here - YOUNGSTERS SHOW CLASS THAT WILL WIN THEM AFL SPOTS ]and more will be bandied about over the next four months. I still have some misgivings however, about the depth of this draft and note that, of the three games I saw on the final day of the championships, the Vic Metro v WA game was played on a much higher plane in terms of its intensity. There will be players from elsewhere (particularly SA which showed good progress as the carnival continued) but I suspect the best will come from Victoria. The other part of the puzzle is the question of the order of the clubs at draft time. The way some of the clubs are travelling at the moment would make us all wonder about Andrew Demetriou's definitive view that AFL clubs don't tank games to give them the early draft picks but who am I to question this great man's wisdom? For a dissenting view, read this! In many ways, the very choices at draft time is going to be easy – the big challenge of recruiters is to find hidden gems deeper in the draft. As all that is still four months away, I'll leave that to the experts to ponder on the vexing question as to who's on first. ABC GRANDSTAND INTERVIEW WITH JACK WATTS NATIONAL UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS - 2008 DIVISION TWO Round 1 NSW/ACT 2.2.14 4.4.28 8.5.53 11.8.74 Northern Territory 3.0.18 4.1.25 5.1.31 7.4.46 Goals NSW/ACT Breust 4 Foster 3 Duryea 2 McNeil Wilson Northern Territory Farmer Gugliotta Hale May Shannon Rioli Sibosado Tungatalum Best NSW/ACT Breust McMahon Klemke Ediriwickrama Reed Foster Wilson Northern Territory Ah Chee Taylor Wooding Hale Rioli Heenan Tasmania 4.2.26 6.4.40 7.5.47 12.5.77 Queensland 2.3.15 3.6.24 6.10.46 7.11.53 Goals Tasmania Mihocek 5 Cornelius 2 Cox Groenwegen Harwood Hislop Robinson Queensland Reid 2 Dixon Haberfield Holman JamesMyers Best Tasmania Mihocek Groenewegan Trevena Salter Robinson Hislop Cornelius Queensland Thomson Myers Beams Haberfield Holman Bevan Round 2 Tasmania 3.5.23 6.7.43 10.9.69 11.11.77 Northern Territory 2.1.13 5.1.31 5.3.33 10.4.64 Goals Tasmania Cornelius 3 Mihocek Shade 2 Brakey Cox Hislop Salter Northern Territory Rolfe 5 Hampton May Sharples Taylor Tungatalum Best Tasmania Robinson Harwood Salter Cornelius Shade Hislop Milne Northern Territory Rolfe Sharples Hale Heenan May Ah Chee NSW/ACT 2.3.15 4.4.28 6.11.47 9.13.67 Queensland 2.1.13 3.3.21 4.5.29 5.6.36 Goals NSW/ACT Foster 3 Duryea Gordon 2 Clisby Ediriwickrama Queensland Fowler Myers 2 Keefe Best NSW/ACT Ediriwickrama Gordon Reed Duncan Foster Clisby Wilson Queensland Thomson Daye Myers Beams Haberfield Fowler Round 3 NSW/ACT 1.1.7 5.3.33 6.6.42 8.7.55 Tasmania 2.1.13 5.1.31 7.5.47 13.6.84 Goals NSW/ACT Duryea 3 Breust 2 Foster Gilchrist Gordon Tasmania Cornelius Hislop Robinson 2 Cox Crichton Groenewegen McCulloch Michocek O'Brien Symmons Best NSW/ACT Ediriwickrama Breust Stubbs Duryea Duncan Kirkwood McNeil Tasmania Cox Williams Robinson O'Brien Groenewegen Allwright Northern Territory 4.3.27 9.4.58 13.6.84 14.7.91 Queensland 1.3.9 3.3.21 4.4.28 5.7.37 Goals Northern Territory Farmer Rolfe 3 Sibosado Tungatalun 2 Gugliotta Heenan Phoenix Schaper Queensland Green Myers 2 Fowler Best Northern Territory Sharples Rolfe Sibosado Heenan Farmer Hale Ah Chee Queensland Beams Holman Myers Thomson James Stanley The Division Two Hunter Harrison Medal was won by Mitch Robinson from Tasmania. The NAB MVP Awards were awarded to Luke Breust [NSW/ACT], Mitch Robinson [Tasmania] Patrick Heenan [Northern Territory] and Matt Thomson [Queensland]. NSW/ACT and Tasmania progress to Division One NATIONAL UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS - 2008 DIVISION ONE Round 1 Vic Country 2.2.14 4.3.27 8.5.53 11.7 73 Vic Metropolitan 4.0.24 7.1.43 9.3.57 12.4 76 Goals Vic Country Rockliff 4 Young 3 Heyne 2 Christensen Suban Vic Metropolitan Watts 4 McKernan 2 Banner Lisle McGarry Martin Purves Shuey Best Vic Country Rockliff Suban Heyne Hooper Young Sidebottom Vic Metropolitan Watts Zaharakis Hurley McKernan Lisle Gotch South Australia 17.6 108 d Tasmania 9.9 63 Goals South Australia Johnston 4 Broadbent 2 Cahill 2 Hall 2 Hartlett 2 Mardling 2 Blesing Lane McAdam Tasmania McCulloch 3 Cox 2 Allwright Cornelius Hislop Robinson Best South Australia O’Keefe Cahill Blesing Martin Broadbent Hall Armstrong Jones Tasmania Allwright Robinson Salter Hislop O’Brien Harwood Crichton Milne Western Australia 4.2 8.2 10.4 15.7 97 NSW/ACT 1.0 2.0 3.3 4.3 27 Goals Western Australia Daly 5 Bennell 4 Walters 3 Garlett 2 Marsh NSW/ACT Kirkwood McNeil Ruffles Sleeth Best Western Australia Walters DeBoer Lucas Hill Daly Bennell Pearce Mather Warner NSW/ACT Clisby Ediriwickrama Klemke Fenaroli Bryce Gumley McNeil Frail Kirkwood Round 2 NSW/ACT 3.1 3.1 9.5 11.6 72 Vic Country 2.3 7.4 8.6 10.7 67 Goals NSW/ACT Foster 3 Breust 2 Frail 2 Reed Kirkwood Ediriwickrama Vic Country Butcher 4 Rockliff 2 McKenzie 2 Ziebell Stevens Best NSW/ACT Ediriwickrama Duryea Frail Klemke Clisby Reed Vic Country Butcher Sheahan Hooper Ziebell Sidebottom Western Australia 5.2 6.4 11.9 15.12 102 South Australia 1.3 3.7 4.9 4.13 37 Goals Western Australia Olds 4 Yarran 2 Bennell Naitanui Daly Pearce Jetta Marsh Warner Hill Ross South Australia Hartlett Mardling Cahill Redden Best Western Australia Hill Pearce Laurie Jetta Naitanui South Australia Johnston Schoenmakers Cahill O’Keefe Tasmania 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.7 13 Vic Metropolitan 6.3 7.4 12.5 12.8 80 Goals Tasmania Mihocek Vic Metropolitan Lynch 4 Purves 3 Watts 2 Joyce Gilchrist Stanton Best Tasmania Robinson Salter Crichton Davies Hislop Milverton Allwright Vic Metropolitan Lynch Banner Shuey Sloane Hurley Strauss Ladder after Round 2 Western Australia 2 0 310.9% Vic Metropolitan 2 0 181.4% South Australia 1 1 87.9% NSW/ACT 1 1 60.4% Vic Country 0 2 94.6% Tasmania 0 2 40.4% Round 3 NSW/ACT 2.2 5.4 8.7 11.8 74 Tasmania 2.2 5.3 7.4 9.8 62 Goals NSW/ACT Foster 3 Gordon 2 Clisby Spiteri Ruffles Klemke Duryea McNeil Tasmania Robinson 2 McCulloch 2 Harwood 2 Cox Archer Milne Best NSW/ACT Bryce McNeil Frail Reed Foster Kirkwood Klemke Tasmania Salter Williams Allwright Crichton Symmons O’Brien Vic Country 3.3.21 8.3.51 8.3.51 11.4.70 Western Australia 0.0.0 1.1.7 4.4.28 6.7.43 Goals Vic Country Heyne 3 Browne 2 Bucovaz Christensen McKenzie Rockliff Roughead Sheahan Western Australia Daly 2 Hill Rich Walters Yarran Best Vic Country Heyne Sheahan Ziebell Browne Western Australia Naitanui DeBoer Jetta Daly Vic Metropolitan 4.1.25 9.3.57 12.4.76 17.5.107 South Australia 2.0.12 3.1.19 8.3.51 8.6.54 Goals Vic Metropolitan Watts 5 Joyce Shuey Scully Vickery 2 Fitzpatrick Hunt McKernan Zaharakis South Australia Boras 3 Cahill 2 Mardling O'Keeffe Shannon Best Vic Metropolitan Watts Shuey Zaharkis Scully Hunt Sloane South Australia Clarke Shannon O’Keeffe Armstrong Hall Broadbent Round 4 Western Australia 3.6.24 7.8.50 10.12.72 14.16.100 Tasmania 0.0.0 3.3.21 4.3.27 6.4.40 Goals Western Australia Marsh 4 Walters 3 Yarran 2 DeBoer Duncan Jetta Lucas Rich Tasmania Crichton 2 Cornelius McCulloch Salter Shade Best Western Australia Yarran Lucas Naitanui Fiegert DeBoer Rich Tasmania Robinson Crichton Allwright Cornelius Weller Salter South Australia 5.4.34 8.7.55 11.12.78 14.14 98 Vic Country 1.1.7 3.3.21 4.5.29 9.10 64 Goals South Australia Tapscott 5 Cahill 3 Speight 2 Hall Hartlett Johnston Schoenmakers Vic Country Rockliff 3 Butcher 2 Browne Roughead Sheehan Ziebell Best South Australia Hartlett Tapscott Hall O'Keeffe Speight Cahill Shannon Vic Country Ziebell Suban Sidebottom Sheehan Rockliff Roughead Vic Metropolitan 4.6.30 6.8.44 10.12.72 11.14 80 NSW/ACT 1.2.8 3.2.20 3.2.20 4.5 29 Goals Vic Metropolitan Lisle Scully Watts 2 Banner Fitzpatrick Gilchrist Hurley Lynch NSW/ACT A'Vard Foster Spiteri Wilson Best Vic Metropolitan Watts Gotch Lisle Hurley Vickery Scully Blease NSW/ACT Klemke Reed Kirkwood McNeil Duncan Round 5 South Australia 6.3.39 12.6.72 13.9.87 20.12.132 NSW/ACT 1.0.6 2.0.12 7.2.44 8.4.52 Goals South Australia Johnston 4 Tapscott 4 Hynes 3 Cahill 2 O'Keeffe 2 Davoren Hall Hartlett Schoenmakers Speight NSW/ACT Van Muers 3 Bryce 2 Gumley McMahon Spiteri Best South Australia Hartlett Johnston Tapscott O'Keeffe Hynes Hall Schoenmakers Blesing Redden Stanley Wilson NSW/ACT Duncan Reed Kirkwood Klemke Van Muers Bryce Tasmania 2.3.15 4.3.27 6.3.39 6.4.40 Vic Country 4.3.27 7.4.46 14.6.90 22.6 138 Goals Tasmania Cornelius 4 Mihocek Symmons Vic Country Butcher 5 Hughes McKenzie Sheehan 3 Blair 2 Browne Hooper Jones Martiniello Rockliff Young Best Tasmania Robinson Cornelius Allwright Williams Vic Country Butcher Sheehan Sidebottom McKenzie Hooper Suban Heyne Hughes Jones Vic Metropolitan 5.1.31 8.3.51 11.6.72 14.9.93 Western Australia 2.1.13 3.4.22 5.7.37 9.10.64 Goals Vic Metropolitan Vickery 3 Banner Blease McKernan Watts Zaharakis 2 Lynch Western Australia Yarran 3 Hill Jetta Klause Lucas Naitanui Rich Best Vic Metropolitan Vickery Zaharakis Banner Blease Hurley Shuey Scully Gotch Western Australia Rich Hill Pearce Walters Jetta Yarran Naitanui FINAL LADDER Vic Metropolitan 5-0 187.1% Western Australia 3-2 152.1% South Australia 3-2 110.6% Vic Country 2-3 125.2% NSW/ACT 2-3 68% Tasmania 0-5 43.6% Larke Medallist Jack Watts (Victoria Metro) MVP's for Each Team Vic Metropolitan Michael Hurley Vic Country Andrew Hopper Western Australia Clancee Pearce South Australia Rhys O'Keefe NSW/ACT Kade Klemke Tasmania Mitch Robinson

Watch out for Whispering's take on the top draft hopefuls after the national carnival - coming soon.

by The Oracle Melbourne was no match for the second placed Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome on Sunday but the score line of 14.11.95 to 9.10.64 served to emphasise that the team is on the improve. The Demons kept the Doggies down to their lowest score of the season in a performance that was light years in advance of the dismal effort put up when it met the same opponent earlier in the year in round 2 at the MCG. Back then, the number 95 also figured – but it represented the margin between the teams at the end of the game. In those days, the Melbourne line up resembled more closely that of the bygone era of the previous coaching regime whereas what we see now is a team developing under the mark of a new coach with a different philosophy. That is not to say that the group who took the field at Telstra Dome is ready to lead the club out of the wilderness and into a new era of success but rather, that it is starting to represent the shape of things to come. For one reason or another, the following players who wore the Demon colours back on the last Sunday in March were not there by mid-July: Jace Bode, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, James McDonald, Brock McLean, David Neitz, Russell Robertson, Isaac Weetra and Jeff White They were replaced by this group: Matthew Bate, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Stefan Martin, Michael Newton, Shane Valenti, Matthew Warnock, Matthew Whelan and Austin Wonaemirri. The new look Demon side is by no means perfect. Against the Bullies, it was a battle early just to get a score on the board and it managed to do so only thanks to a goal square infringement on Lynden Dunn late in the first quarter. They then struggled hard for the next quarter and a half to stay in touch with the Bulldogs whose season to date has been highlighted by its added strength, consistency and a potent attack that surpassed 100 points in every one of the first thirteen rounds and narrowly missed the ton in their last game a fortnight earlier. Early in the third term the margin between the sides had narrowed to 14 points but half an hour later, a blow out threatened. The Melbourne of March would have laid down and submitted but the new Demons of July were prepared to fight to hold their own - even when the dishlickers pushed the lead to 49 points early in the final term. The result was still a defeat of a dimension that should be regarded as totally unacceptable (even if it was such an improvement on paper), but also one that could have been far less but for the turnovers and some errors in front of goal, particularly in the final term. The bulk of the team's improvement from March can be measured in terms of defensive efforts. Dunn is already gaining recognition as a stopper. Despite Adam Cooney breaking away from him to get the first clearance of the game and setting up a goal in the opening minute, he nullified the effectiveness of the Bulldog's Brownlow aspirant throughout the day. Daniel Bell had a good duel with Brad Johnson and constantly frustrated him. Perhaps, if he has learned one thing from his latest stint in the VFL, it is how to shadow an opponent. Others in defence who played strongly were Matthew Whelan and the new breed in Colin Garland and Matthew Warnock who had an impressive new mate in Stef Martin who gave the club added height in the last line defence. It was all not enough to prevent a dangerous attack from kicking the winning score but put another 30 or 40 games into their legs and then we'll see something. So there is a case for the Demon defence but alas, even if developing this area is the first building block towards an improved team, there is still a long way to go for the Demons. The rucks, led by Mark Jamar dominated the hit outs but the midfielders were dominated in the clearances. They certainly missed Brock McLean and Aaron Davey but the former won't be seen till next year so there's a lot of work to do in this area. This is particularly so with their disposal of the football and their decision making which was horrible. That said you could understand exactly why the forward line was so starved of opportunities that it failed (albeit by 2 points) to match its round 2 total against the Bulldogs. This time around however, it was Brad Miller and not Russell Robertson kicking the junk time goals. Brad Green was dangerous when he was up forward but Colin Sylvia and Austin Wonaemirri were well covered and they were dragged too far away from the goals to be effective. Michael Newton, on his return after three months of languishing outside the team with injuries and a slow return through the Zebra reserves and seniors provided a target of sorts and took some strong marks but they were often taken in positions where goals were not going to result and, in any event, his kicking was generally below standard. Still, it was his first game back and he must be persevered with. Perhaps, some confidence and a more lively approach to his game, could see him produce something special in the final phase of the season. The final phase starts on Sunday when the team travels to Perth for a rematch with the Dockers who were its first of two victims to date this year. The last seven matches on the club's appointment board present six against teams in the bottom eight and (go figure this) three of which its has yet to meet this year. I fully expect the Demons to be off the bottom of the ladder even before the opening bounce of the game, courtesy of what will be the inevitable slaughter of Freo's cross town rival on Saturday night. A win would mark a meteoric rise in one week from last to 14th place on the ladder for a team that lost its first two games by an aggregate of 199 points and always looked to be the likely wooden spooner – until now. Melbourne 1.0.6 4.2.26 5.6.36 9.10.64 Western Bulldogs 3.2.20 7.4.46 12.7.79 14.11.95 Goals Melbourne Miller 3 Green 2 Buckley Dunn C Johnson Newton Western Bulldogs Akermanis Minson 3 Eagleton Giansiracusa Hahn 2 Cross Harbrow Best Melbourne Bruce Garland C Johnson Wheatley Martin Miller Western Bulldogs Cross Boyd Lake Gilbee Akermanis Eagleton Hill Everitt Injuries Melbourne nil Western Bulldogs nil Changes Melbourne nil Western Bulldogs Welsh (back) out replaced in selected side by Wight Reports nil Umpires Farmer McLaren Keating Crowd 27,446 at Telstra Dome

THE CASE FOR THE DEFENCE by The Oracle Melbourne was no match form the second placed Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome on Sunday but the score line of 14.11.95 to 9.10.64 served to emphasise that the team is on the improve. The Demons kept the Doggies down to their lowest score of the season in a performance that was light years in advance of the dismal effort put up when it met the same opponent earlier in the year in round 2 at the MCG. Back then, the number 95 also figured – but it represented the margin between the teams at the end of the game. In those days, the Melbourne line up resembled more closely that of the bygone era of the previous coaching regime whereas what we see now is a team developing under the mark of a new coach with a different philosophy. That is not to say that the group who took the field at Telstra Dome is ready to lead the club out of the wilderness and into a new era of success but rather, that it is starting to represent the shape of things to come. For one reason or another, the following players who wore the Demon colours back on the last Sunday in March were not there by mid-July: Jace Bode, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, James McDonald, Brock McLean, David Neitz, Russell Robertson, Isaac Weetra and Jeff White They were replaced by this group: Matthew Bate, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Stefan Martin, Michael Newton, Shane Valenti, Matthew Warnock, Matthew Whelan and Austin Wonaemirri. The new look Demon side is by no means perfect. Against the Bullies, it was a battle early just to get a score on the board and it managed to do so only thanks to a goal square infringement on Lynden Dunn late in the first quarter. They then struggled hard for the next quarter and a half to stay in touch with the Bulldogs whose season to date has been highlighted by its added strength, consistency and a potent attack that surpassed 100 points in every one of the first thirteen rounds and narrowly missed the ton in their last game a fortnight earlier. Early in the third term the margin between the sides had narrowed to 14 points but half an hour later, a blow out threatened. The Melbourne of March would have laid down and submitted but the new Demons of July were prepared to fight to hold their own - even when the dishlickers pushed the lead to 49 points early in the final term. The result was still a defeat of a dimension that should be regarded as totally unacceptable (even if it was such an improvement on paper), but also one that could have been far less but for the turnovers and some errors in front of goal, particularly in the final term. The bulk of the team's improvement from March can be measured in terms of defensive efforts. Dunn is already gaining recognition as a stopper. Despite Adam Cooney breaking away from him to get the first clearance of the game and setting up a goal in the opening minute, he nullified the effectiveness of the Bulldog's Brownlow aspirant throughout the day. Daniel Bell had a good duel with Brad Johnson and constantly frustrated him. Perhaps, if he has learned one thing from his latest stint in the VFL, it is how to shadow an opponent. Others in defence who played strongly were Matthew Whelan and the new breed in Colin Garland and Matthew Warnock who had an impressive new mate in Stef Martin who gave the club added height in the last line defence. It was all not enough to prevent a dangerous attack from kicking the winning score but put another 30 or 40 games into their legs and then we’ll see something. So there is a case for the Demon defence but alas, even if developing this area is the first building block towards an improved team, there is still a long way to go for the Demons. The rucks, led by Mark Jamar dominated the hit outs but the midfielders were dominated in the clearances. They certainly missed Brock McLean and Aaron Davey but the former won't be seen till next year so there’s a lot of work to do in this area. This is particularly so with their disposal of the football and their decision making which was horrible. That said you could understand exactly why the forward line was so starved of opportunities that it failed (albeit by 2 points) to match its round 2 total against the Bulldogs. This time around however, it was Brad Miller and not Russell Robertson kicking the junk time goals. Brad Green was dangerous when he was up forward but Colin Sylvia and Austin Wonaemirri were well covered and they were dragged too far away from the goals to be effective. Michael Newton, on his return after three months of languishing outside the team with injuries and a slow return through the Zebra reserves and seniors provided a target of sorts and took some strong marks but they were often taken in positions where goals were not going to result and, in any event, his kicking was generally below standard. Still, it was his first game back and he must be persevered with. Perhaps, some confidence and a more lively approach to his game, could see him produce something special in the final phase of the season. The final phase starts on Sunday when the team travels to Perth for a rematch with the Dockers who were its first of two victims to date this year. The last seven matches on the club's appointment board present six against teams in the bottom eight and (go figure this) three of which its has yet to meet this year. I fully expect the Demons to be off the bottom of the ladder even before the opening bounce of the game, courtesy of what will be the inevitable slaughter of Freo's cross town rival on Saturday night. A win would mark a meteoric rise in one week from last to 14th place on the ladder for a team that lost its first two games by an aggregate of 199 points and always looked to be the likely wooden spooner – until now. Melbourne 1.0.6 4.2.26 5.6.36 9.10.64 Western Bulldogs 3.2.20 7.4.46 12.7.79 14.11.95 Goals Melbourne Miller 3 Green 2 Buckley Dunn C Johnson Newton Western Bulldogs Akermanis Minson 3 Eagleton Giansiracusa Hahn 2 Cross Harbrow Best Melbourne Bruce Garland C Johnson Wheatley Martin Miller Western Bulldogs Cross Boyd Lake Gilbee Akermanis Eagleton Hill Everitt Injuries Melbourne nil Western Bulldogs nil Changes Melbourne nil Western Bulldogs Welsh (back) out replaced in selected side by Wight Reports nil Umpires Farmer McLaren Keating Crowd 27,446 at Telstra Dome

Brad Green is slowly closing in on Brock's lead ... 78.366 Brock McLean 69.590 Brad Green 44.698 Paul Wheatley 43.617 Brad Miller 40.423 Colin Garland 40.082 Austin Wonaemirri 37.636 Cameron Bruce 29.701 Aaron Davey 26.666 Paul Johnson 25.733 Matthew Bate 25.458 Colin Sylvia 24.347 Nathan Jones 20.642 Chris Johnson 19.753 Cale Morton 16.154 Lynden Dunn 14.482 James McDonald 12.282 Brent Moloney 10.684 Jared Rivers 10.482 Nathan Carroll 10.346 Matthew Warnock 8.132 Clint Bartram 5.904 Matthew Whelan 5.265 Russell Robertson 5.087 Jeff White 4.042 Stef Martin 2.845 Adem Yze 1.805 Simon Buckley 1.685 Shane Valenti

Very quick off the mark Grimesy. Weighting this week is .6737! Next two genuine vote givers will be included in this year's Demonland Player of the Year Voting.

by Barry from Beach Road The gusty northerly blowing straight down the spine of the Trevor Barker Beach Oval yesterday proved an ill wind for the Sandringham Football Club when ladder leader and traditional rival Williamstown took full advantage of its benefit and booted the opening nine goals to take a match winning stranglehold on their game. The Zebras fought back to win the remaining three quarters but it was all in vain as their slow start had again given their opponent too great a lead. They went down fighting by 14 points and now have a battle to hold their tenuous spot in the top eight after their fifth defeat on the trot, four of them to teams in the top four. The team was strengthened by the inclusion of Melbourne’s Jeff White, Aaron Davey and Adem Yze and leading goal kicker Nick Sautner but the highlight for Zebra fans was the return of David Gallagher after almost a year out after knee surgery. Gags played with his customary skill and desperation and he received rousing acclamation from team mates and supporters alike when he booted his first goal on return during the game. Sandringham has become known lately as a slow starter and this game, played in freezing cold conditions, was no exception to the rule. The Seagulls opened with 211cm tall Peter Street dominating in the ruck duels (he did so virtually unchanged all day) and giving his team first use of the ball at clearances enabling them to stream forward for goal after goal as they cut a swathe in the Sandy defences to boot the first nine for the game. The wind advantage was at its strongest early and Willy was moving the ball forward so quickly that the home side had little opportunity to get numbers behind the ball. At one stage the stiff breeze was so strong that a rare foray forward for a Sautner shot at goal from thirty metres out was held back from scoring by its sheer force and it took until late in the quarter for the Zebras to finally get some system going with goals to Yze and Sautner. Unfortunately, the nine goal start was to prove crucial later in the day. At the first break, coach Andy Lovell called for at least six goals for the term but the Seagulls booted the first for the quarter before his team was able to mount its response. The mantle of responsibility for the team's recovery rested, as it has so often in the past, with Sautner. He was in sparkling marking form and his strong work helped peg back a few goals and give the supporters some hope but the Zebras kicked poorly and Williamstown regrouped to steady and goal against the run of play. At the main break, the margin was still 26 points. The third quarter was Sandy's best with Andy Biddlecome, Gallagher and Ricky Petterd all lifting and Peter Summers breaking his heavy tag to give the team some much needed drive in the difficult conditions against the stiff breeze. The Zebras outscored the visitors by four points for the term and the atmosphere was optimistic and full of determination in the huddle at the final break. Sandringham attacked vigorously at the start of the quarter with Yze, Petterd and Gallagher proving the inspiration and Nathan Carroll the strength. Aaron Davey showed his great pace and skill to give the Zebras some run and the fans were starting to sense victory. Williamstown however, had other ideas and their clever midfielders were able to force the ball forward for goals whenever the margin was narrowed. They also had the advantage of the best conditions of the day as the wind moderated and they ultimately held sway for a well earned victory. For the Zebras it was again a case of no points but they did come away with the knowledge that the gap between themselves and the leaders is narrow and not insurmountable. They play host to a much improved Tassie Devils next Sunday and will be desperate to get back on the winning list. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Jace Bode –beaten in defence. Nathan Carroll – like most of his team mates, Carroll struggled early in the game but was a major factor in Sandy's turnaround when he went forward. Ruffled a few feathers and kicked a nice goal to finish among his team's best. Aaron Davey – clearly a cut above this standard, Davey worked hard and showed some of his genuine pace at times and accumulated 21 possessions but was hampered overall by the confined spaces of the TBBO. James Frawley – lowered his colours in a defence that was under the pump all day and made some crucial mistakes under that immense pressure during the course of the game. Addam Maric – since his brief stint in the reserves has shown a much harder work rate and again had an impact both in the midfield and up forward where his crumbing was always dangerous. His kicking for goal, normally clever and accurate, was off beam in the windy conditions - he kicked 1.4, hit the post twice and a couple of his shots went out of bounds. John Meesen – after a patchy start, Meesen started coming into his own after quarter time and was a useful contributor despite being part of a losing ruck combination. Ricky Petterd – a heavy knock early in the game saw him in the hands of the trainers but he showed great composure to not only recover but also display his sublime skills off half back and underlined his enormous potential. Looks to be recovering well from his early season injury woes and can be expected to have a substantial impact at AFL level with a full pre season next year. Jeff White –beaten in the ruck by Peter Street, but worked tirelessly around the ground and marked strongly in a vain attempt to turn the game around for his team. Adem Yze – put in a good case for a return to the red and blue with a strong performance showing desperation, winning a lot of the football (22 touches) and kicking three telling goals. Sandringham 2.3.15 7.8.50 10.10.70 15.15.105 Williamstown 9.3.57 12.4.76 14.8.92 18.11.119 Goals Sandringham Sautner 5 Yze 3 Liddell 2 Carroll Davey Gallagher Maric White Williamstown Rose 4 Little 3 Cook 2 Cloke Galea Johnson O'Keefe Picken Reid Stack Street Stretton Best Sandringham Yze Petterd Biddlecombe Gallagher Sautner Carroll Williamstown Picken Street Rose Johnson Stretton Little The undefeated Seagulls dominated the Zebra Reserves for the second time this year. The home side was outscored in the opening term and was no match for the brilliance of the opposition in the second. They fought hard after half time but Willy had too much system, strength and teamwork and ran out winners by 95 points. Andrew Fleming and Marc Johnston were the team's best players. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Not particularly well. Jack Grimes played off half back and looked a player but found it tough to get any system working. Often he ran hard to make the play but failed to get a response from struggling team mates. Tom McNamara was beaten early but came back and finished the game off well but after the game, he was seen with his arm in a sling. Isaac Weetra and Trent Zomer struggled and Jake Spencer showed some aggression in the ruck. Former Demon rookie Daniel Hughes was at the game and could soon make his return after a long lay off with injury. Sandringham 2.2.14 2.2.14 4.7.31 4.10.34 Williamstown 4.2.26 11.7.73 14.11,95 19.15.129 Goals Sandringham Cleeve Fleming Hardiman Weetra Williamstown Mulligan Wood 3 Boumann Miller Smith Urch Young 2 Cartelli Georgiadis Langlands Best Sandringham Fleming M Johnston Lockwood Gilchrist Monaghan Calder Williamstown Boumann Young Tanner Boyd Wood Chiu

AN ILL WIND FOR SANDY by Barry from Beach Road The gusty northerly blowing straight down the spine of the Trevor Barker Beach Oval yesterday proved an ill wind for the Sandringham Football Club when ladder leader and traditional rival Williamstown took full advantage of its benefit and booted the opening nine goals to take a match winning stranglehold on their game. The Zebras fought back to win the remaining three quarters but it was all in vain as their slow start had again given their opponent too great a lead. They went down fighting by 14 points and now have a battle to hold their tenuous spot in the top eight after their fifth defeat on the trot, four of them to teams in the top four. The team was strengthened by the inclusion of Melbourne’s Jeff White, Aaron Davey and Adem Yze and leading goal kicker Nick Sautner but the highlight for Zebra fans was the return of David Gallagher after almost a year out after knee surgery. Gags played with his customary skill and desperation and he received rousing acclamation from team mates and supporters alike when he booted his first goal on return during the game. Sandringham has become known lately as a slow starter and this game, played in freezing cold conditions, was no exception to the rule. The Seagulls opened with 211cm tall Peter Street dominating in the ruck duels (he did so virtually unchanged all day) and giving his team first use of the ball at clearances enabling them to stream forward for goal after goal as they cut a swathe in the Sandy defences to boot the first nine for the game. The wind advantage was at its strongest early and Willy was moving the ball forward so quickly that the home side had little opportunity to get numbers behind the ball. At one stage the stiff breeze was so strong that a rare foray forward for a Sautner shot at goal from thirty metres out was held back from scoring by its sheer force and it took until late in the quarter for the Zebras to finally get some system going with goals to Yze and Sautner. Unfortunately, the nine goal start was to prove crucial later in the day. At the first break, coach Andy Lovell called for at least six goals for the term but the Seagulls booted the first for the quarter before his team was able to mount its response. The mantle of responsibility for the team's recovery rested, as it has so often in the past, with Sautner. He was in sparkling marking form and his strong work helped peg back a few goals and give the supporters some hope but the Zebras kicked poorly and Williamstown regrouped to steady and goal against the run of play. At the main break, the margin was still 26 points. The third quarter was Sandy's best with Andy Biddlecome, Gallagher and Ricky Petterd all lifting and Peter Summers breaking his heavy tag to give the team some much needed drive in the difficult conditions against the stiff breeze. The Zebras outscored the visitors by four points for the term and the atmosphere was optimistic and full of determination in the huddle at the final break. Sandringham attacked vigorously at the start of the quarter with Yze, Petterd and Gallagher proving the inspiration and Nathan Carroll the strength. Aaron Davey showed his great pace and skill to give the Zebras some run and the fans were starting to sense victory. Williamstown however, had other ideas and their clever midfielders were able to force the ball forward for goals whenever the margin was narrowed. They also had the advantage of the best conditions of the day as the wind moderated and they ultimately held sway for a well earned victory. For the Zebras it was again a case of no points but they did come away with the knowledge that the gap between themselves and the leaders is narrow and not insurmountable. They play host to a much improved Tassie Devils next Sunday and will be desperate to get back on the winning list. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Jace Bode –beaten in defence. Nathan Carroll – like most of his team mates, Carroll struggled early in the game but was a major factor in Sandy's turnaround when he went forward. Ruffled a few feathers and kicked a nice goal to finish among his team's best. Aaron Davey – clearly a cut above this standard, Davey worked hard and showed some of his genuine pace at times and accumulated 21 possessions but was hampered overall by the confined spaces of the TBBO. James Frawley – lowered his colours in a defence that was under the pump all day and made some crucial mistakes under that immense pressure during the course of the game. Addam Maric – since his brief stint in the reserves has shown a much harder work rate and again had an impact both in the midfield and up forward where his crumbing was always dangerous. His kicking for goal, normally clever and accurate, was off beam in the windy conditions - he kicked 1.4, hit the post twice and a couple of his shots went out of bounds. John Meesen – after a patchy start, Meesen started coming into his own after quarter time and was a useful contributor despite being part of a losing ruck combination. Ricky Petterd – a heavy knock early in the game saw him in the hands of the trainers but he showed great composure to not only recover but also display his sublime skills off half back and underlined his enormous potential. Looks to be recovering well from his early season injury woes and can be expected to have a substantial impact at AFL level with a full pre season next year. Jeff White –beaten in the ruck by Peter Street, but worked tirelessly around the ground and marked strongly in a vain attempt to turn the game around for his team. Adem Yze – put in a good case for a return to the red and blue with a strong performance showing desperation, winning a lot of the football (22 touches) and kicking three telling goals. Sandringham 2.3.15 7.8.50 10.10.70 15.15.105 Williamstown 9.3.57 12.4.76 14.8.92 18.11.119 Goals Sandringham Sautner 5 Yze 3 Liddell 2 Carroll Davey Gallagher Maric White Williamstown Rose 4 Little 3 Cook 2 Cloke Galea Johnson O'Keefe Picken Reid Stack Street Stretton Best Sandringham Yze Petterd Biddlecombe Gallagher Sautner Carroll Williamstown Picken Street Rose Johnson Stretton Little The undefeated Seagulls dominated the Zebra Reserves for the second time this year. The home side was outscored in the opening term and was no match for the brilliance of the opposition in the second. They fought hard after half time but Willy had too much system, strength and teamwork and ran out winners by 95 points. Andrew Fleming and Marc Johnston were the team's best players. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Not particularly well. Jack Grimes played off half back and looked a player but found it tough to get any system working. Often he ran hard to make the play but failed to get a response from struggling team mates. Tom McNamara was beaten early but came back and finished the game off well but after the game, he was seen with his arm in a sling. Isaac Weetra and Trent Zomer struggled and Jake Spencer showed some aggression in the ruck. Former Demon rookie Daniel Hughes was at the game and could soon make his return after a long lay off with injury. Sandringham 2.2.14 2.2.14 4.7.31 4.10.34 Williamstown 4.2.26 11.7.73 14.11,95 19.15.129 Goals Sandringham Cleeve Fleming Hardiman Weetra Williamstown Mulligan Wood 3 Boumann Miller Smith Urch Young 2 Cartelli Georgiadis Langlands Best Sandringham Fleming M Johnston Lockwood Gilchrist Monaghan Calder Williamstown Boumann Young Tanner Boyd Wood Chiu

by The Oracle (with a little help from Sam the Stats Man) They say that a fortnight is a long time in football and the past two weeks have been a lot better than most for the Melbourne faithful whose team seems to be gaining some respect among their peers at long last. It's not the loud sort of respect that comes to mind when you hear someone belting out that old Aretha Franklin rocker but it's still a feel good emotion when you can spell out the seven letters of that word: R - E - S - P - E - C - T How amazing it is that one winning effort can do so much for a psyche damaged by some shattering results on the football field over the first half of the season! And it wasn't just the victory but it was the way in which the victory was achieved. After holding the lead for most of the game, the Demons saw the game almost slip out of their grasp courtesy of the twin towers Brown and Bradshaw. Suddenly, the Dees were down by 11 points with almost three minutes remaining but they fought back emphatically to score two late goals and win the game by the slender margin of one solitary point. While most true red and blue Demons have been basking in the warm glow of Melbourne's magnificent victory over the Brisbane Lions, others have been working hard analysing the club's season to date and looking at ways of finding some more improvement in the team in order to win even more respect from the football world. Most of the latter group are expert professionals at the club but one of the "others" is our very own Sam the Stats Man who this week brings us his own simple statistical analysis of each player on the Melbourne list followed by his own brief summaries of where the individual players are at this particular moment. Sam's work suggests that the Demons are continuing the pattern of last year where fitness and injuries have played a major role in getting the team to the position in which it currently sits - in last place! Of course, injuries can't always be used as an excuse for poor displays and it's clear that Melbourne is a long way from Geelong in terms of the skill and experience but the Cats also have the advantage of a full side bar Matthew Egan to place on the field each week. Similarly, the Western Bulldogs who are Melbourne's opponents this week, haven't fared badly in terms of injuries. True, they have a couple of quality players in Scott West and Shaun Higgins missing but that's about all and the depth of their playing list has hardly been tested in the way that Melbourne's has over the past season and a half. The signs are there however, that Dean Bailey is slowly chipping away at most of the team's glaring deficiencies. A few shining lights are emerging out of yet another season from hell and while there's clearly a long way to go, the other clubs in the competition must now realise that they have to show the Demons at least some of that respect - particularly after they upset a top eight side with final four aspirations in the Brisbane Lions. The big question this week is whether the Bulldogs will fall into the same trap this week at Telstra Dome? But before we consider that question, let's take in Sam's famous statistical look at the Melbourne list to date in 2008 (a feature which will be repeated again at the end of the season): - BARTRAM, Clint MFC - 13 games 3 goals - making a steady but if not spectacular return to the game after a long layoff with injury. Expect him to be even better next year. BATE, Matthew MFC - 8 games 7 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 2 goals SFC Reserves - 1 game 0 goals – his start to the season was curtailed by a hamstring injury that kept him out for the first six games. Returned for the win against Fremantle and has been making steady progress to the point where he has been among the team’s best over the past month. BELL, Daniel MFC - 11 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 3 games 1 goal – has struggled in defence most of the year and has been going through a stint at Sandringham where the emphasis has been on honing his defensive skills and decision making. BODE, Jace MFC - 5 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 5 games 2 goals - was given an opportunity at AFL level in recent matches and has been steady without producing any stand out performances. BRUCE, Cameron MFC - 14 games 10 goals - took a long time to recover from the pre season knee injury that curtailed his preparation. Has returned to strong form in recent weeks and has shown some good leadership in that time. BUCKLEY, Simon MFC - 6 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 8 games 5 goals – had his ups and downs this season. Some good form at Sandringham saw a return to the Melbourne side in recent weeks. CARROLL, Nathan MFC - 7 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 4 games 1 goal – dropped after some inconsistent form in defence and has shown some good form in recent games with the Zebras. CHENEY, Kyle SFC Seniors - 6 games 0 goals SFC Reserves - 4 games 2 goals – still learning the ropes at Sandringham and is currently out with a broken hand. DAVEY, Aaron MFC - 12 games 9 goals – still not back to his devastating best of two or three years ago but has had some good patches. Incurred a one match suspension from the AFL side on the insistence of the leadership group due to "lack of preparation and unprofessionalism” when he in Darwin to attend a funeral incurring and will therefore play this week at Sandringham. DUNN, Lynden MFC - 10 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 3 games 3 goals - relishing a new role as a run with player where he is starting to accumulate some big scalps. FRAWLEY, James MFC - 8 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 5 games 0 goals – has been working hard as virtually the third tall in defence but recently found himself back at Sandy where he has produced some handy performances. GARLAND, Colin MFC - 11 games 2 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 0 goals – one of the club’s big improvers and a shining light in a hard working and heavily stretched defensive unit. Recently gained recognition form the AFL with a NAB Rising Star nomination. GREEN, Brad MFC - 14 games 15 goals – showing outstanding leadership qualities and is one of the club’s best on a weekly basis. GRIMES, Jack SFC Reserves - 2 games 0 goals – has recently returned from the long term injury list and has shown rare ball winning skills albeit at VFL reserves level. HOLLAND, Ben MFC - 1 game 3 goals SFC Seniors - 5 games 12 goals - seems to have disappeared off the radar with a shoulder ailment that has kept him off the track for several weeks. JAMAR, Mark MFC - 8 games 1 goal SFC Seniors - 4 games 2 goals – worked hard on his game and, despite a slow start and some inconsistent performances has recently been strongly pushing his claim for the number one rock berth at the club. JOHNSON, Chris MFC - 5 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 7 games 6 goals – was given an opportunity after several outstanding performances at Sandringham and showed his career could have turned the corner with a quality high possession game mainly off half back against the Brisbane Lions. JOHNSON, Paul MFC - 10 games 2 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 1 goal – one of the club’s most improved this season, Johnson missed some games earlier in the year with a broken hand but has cemented his place in the team as a ruckman/forward. JONES, Nathan MFC - 14 games 9 goals – a solid contributor in the team’s midfield, he has shown some touches of brilliance but now has to work on improving his disposal to move his game up to a higher plane. MARIC, Addam MFC - SFC Seniors - 10 games 18 goals SFC Reserves - 1 game 0 goals – youngster with some brilliant attacking skills who is learning the trade at Sandringham. With some work on his overall fitness, he could also be a midfield contender. MARTIN, Stefan MFC - 1 game 0 goals SFC Seniors - 11 games 0 goals – the former basketballer finally broke through for his first game against Brisbane Lions after some very impressive. displays in defence at Sandringham. While he has a lot to learn, the potential is enormous. McDONALD, James MFC - 13 games 1 goal - – the work horse and club leader assigned a more defensive role in recent games. Missed the Lions’ game before the break because of injury. McLEAN, Brock MFC - 14 games 3 goals - was on track to win the “Bluey” by a big margin before breaking down with an ankle injury in round 14. Now out for the rest of the season. McNAMARA, Tom MFC - SFC Seniors - 3 games 0 goals SFC Reserves - 7 games 1 goal – starting to show some good signs with the Zebras. MEESEN, John MFC - SFC Seniors - 12 games 2 goals - his form at Sandy has been indifferent and he is still a fair way from breaking into the AFL. MILLER, Brad MFC - 13 games 15 goals - has regained his confidence this year and responded well to a leadership role at the club. MOLONEY, Brent MFC - 8 games 2 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 0 goals - showed good form after a couple of difficult years when he was off the track more often than on it due to injury. Just when he looked to be nearing full fitness, he sustained a shoulder injury against Collingwood and is out for the rest of the season. MORTON, Cale MFC - 11 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 3 goals - was impressive in his debut season but his form tapered away and recently was dropped to the VFL where he has amassed high possessions at Sandy and earned praise as a player of the future. NEITZ, David MFC - 5 games 3 goals - a neck injury forced Neita to retire from the game after five unproductive games at the start of the season. NEWTON, Michael MFC - 1 games 1 goal SFC Seniors - 5 games 9 goals SFC Reserves - 2 games 4 goals – injuries and suspension have forced Newton's slow return through the Zebra reserves and more lately to their senior side where he has presented well and marked strongly although he has been erratic in front of goal. PETTERD, Ricky MFC - 1 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 2 game 0 goals SFC Reserves - 3 games 0 goals – another who is making slow progress in the VFL after returning from injury. In Petterd’s case, it has been a touch of osteitis pubis this year after his well documented lung problem in 2007. RIVERS, Jared MFC - 6 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 0 goals - hardly had a chance to reassert himself on the scene before an abdominal muscle injury prematurely put an end to his season again. ROBERTSON, Russell MFC - 10 games 20 goals - another Demon sitting on the sidelines for the remainder of the year – in this case with an Achilles’ injury. SPENCER, Jake ® MFC - SFC Seniors - 7 games 2 goals SFC Reserves - 5 games 1 goal - continues to showing enthusiasm and aggression in the ruck and remains a long term project. SYLVIA, Colin MFC - 10 games 10 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 2 goals - could he be finally coming of age as a goal kicking forward? VALENTI, Shane ® MFC - 3 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 8 games 8 goals - worked hard to gain promotion off the rookie list and although he has his limitations in terms of a lack of height and pace, he has been impressive in his brief appearances in the red and blue. WARNOCK, Matthew MFC - 9 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 4 games 0 goals - has had some difficult assignments against some the competition’s best players and while he may have lowered his colours on a few occasions, he continues to make headway as a key defender. WEETRA, Isaac MFC - 2 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 0 goals SFC Reserves - 9 games 7 goals – is struggling with his confidence in the Sandy reserves at the moment . WHEATLEY, Paul MFC - 12 games 2 goals - one of the team’s most consistent performers, Wheats is getting a lot of the ball and has played some excellent games in defence. WHELAN, Matthew MFC - 4 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 6 games 2 goals - had a tough run with injuries and only recently broke his way back into the Melbourne team where his experience and defensive skills have been sorely missed. WHITE, Jeff MFC - 12 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 0 goals - dropped from the Melbourne side for the first time recently and is nearing the end of the road as he makes way for younger and taller ruckmen. WONAEMIRRI, Austin ® MFC - 12 games 21 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 1 goal - one of the season’s revelations, Aussie became the club’s goal kicking crumber when he came off the rookie list and established himself as a dangerous and exciting forward who is likely to win the club’s goal kicking this season. YZE, Adem MFC - 4 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 9 games 10 goals - nearing the end of his career and we can only expect the odd cameo role in Demon colours for the remainder of the season. ZOMER, Trent ® MFC - SFC Seniors - 2 games 4 goals SFC Reserves - 7 games 21 goals – a young development player, Zomer has had a sniff of senior VFL football but is a fair way off becoming a regular at that level. THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Telstra Dome Sunday 13 July 2008 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Western Bulldogs 66 wins Melbourne 83 wins At Telstra Dome Western Bulldogs 4 wins Melbourne 6 wins Since 2000 Western Bulldogs 6 wins Melbourne 10 wins The Coaches Eade 1 win Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 (delayed telecast starting at 3pm) RADIO 3AW MMM K-Rock THE BETTING Western Bulldogs to win $1.07 Melbourne to win $7.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Western Bulldogs 24.17.161 d Melbourne 9.12.66 Round 2, 2008, at the MCG. Melbourne received its second mauling in consecutive weeks as the Bulldogs brushed them aside with consummate ease and then smashed them to the tune of 95 points. It was not a pretty sight and the less said about this game, the better we will all be for it. THE TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS Backs Dale Morris Brian Lake Dylan Addison Half backs Ryan Hargrave Andrejs Everitt Lindsay Gilbee Centreline Daniel Cross Matthew Boyd Farren Ray Half forwards Brad Johnson Mitch Hahn Robert Murphy Forwards Scott Welsh Will Minson Jason Akermanis Followers Ben Hudson Daniel Giansiracusa Adam Cooney Interchange Nathan Eagleton Jarrod Harbrow Josh Hill Stephen Tiller Emergencies Peter Street Callan Ward Cameron Wight In Jarrod Harbrow Out Ryan Griffen (family reasons) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Brad Green Paul Wheatley Cameron Bruce Centreline Colin Sylvia Cale Morton Lynden Dunn Half forwards Chris Johnson Matthew Bate Simon Buckley Forwards Paul Johnson Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Mark Jamar Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange Daniel Bell Jace Stefan Martin Michael Newton Shane Valenti Emergencies Jace Bode Nathan Carroll Jeff White In Daniel Bell Cale Morton Michael Newton Out Brock McLean (ankle) Jace Bode Aaron Davey (both omitted). Field umpires Farmer McLaren Keating JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE … I could write a book on how often this happens but just when you and I were starting to feel confident about the team having turned the corner, there was a surprise or two waiting around that very same corner. It turns out that the injury sustained against the Lions by the man universally regarded as the club's leading contender for the club champion award, Brock McLean, was a lot worse than first thought. In fact, it has ended his season. Then there's Aaron Davey whose little misdemeanour in Darwin a couple of weeks ago, has earned him a one game suspension which means he's off to Sandringham this week. On top of all that, the club's most experienced midfielder, James McDonald still hasn't recovered from his injury. These setbacks are party compensated for by the absence of Bulldog Ryan Griffen due to a family illness back home in Adelaide but I’m sorry to say, his loss won’t even up the ledger this week. The Doggies have their eyes firmly set on the top spot on the ladder. They recruited well at the start of the year with former Crows Ben Hudson and Scott Welsh fitting in well and Will Minson has finally established himself in their forward line. The potency of the Bulldog attack is evident from the fact that they kicked over 100 points for their first 13 matches (in their last game they managed a paltry 99 in a winning score against Collingwood). Against that, the Demons have a young defence and, although I expect them to acquit themselves well, I can’t see them doing enough to completely turn around the 95 point losing margin from round two. Colin Garland has been a revelation this season taking on opposition tall and small forwards and he will have his work cut out this week with dynamic veteran Brad Johnson. Paul Wheatley could be a good match on another danger man in Robert Murphy and Matty Whelan is primed for Jason Akermanis who could possibly have his mind on other things – such as teaching the Chinese how to do handstands after an exhibition game in Shanghai. The problem is that even in the Melbourne defence holds firm, the Bulldogs will still have the edge in the midfield through Adam Cooney who has been in brilliant form. Gilbee and Cross give their team a lot of run and without, McLean and Davey, the Demons don’t have the class to win this game. Nor will Rodney Eade allow his team to fall into the same trap that befell Brisbane in the last round so I’m tipping the Western Bulldogs to win this game over a much improved Melbourne but at least the margin of 25 points will be respectable in comparison to the one we saw at the end of that game earlier in the year.

RESPECT by The Oracle (with a little help from Sam the Stats Man) They say that a fortnight is a long time in football and the past two weeks have been a lot better than most for the Melbourne faithful whose team seems to be gaining some respect among their peers at long last. It's not the loud sort of respect that comes to mind when you hear someone belting out that old Aretha Franklin rocker but it's still a feel good emotion when you can spell out the seven letters of that word: R - E - S - P - E - C - T How amazing it is that one winning effort can do so much for a psyche damaged by some shattering results on the football field over the first half of the season! And it wasn't just the victory but it was the way in which the victory was achieved. After holding the lead for most of the game, the Demons saw the game almost slip out of their grasp courtesy of the twin towers Brown and Bradshaw. Suddenly, the Dees were down by 11 points with almost three minutes remaining but they fought back emphatically to score two late goals and win the game by the slender margin of one solitary point. While most true red and blue Demons have been basking in the warm glow of Melbourne's magnificent victory over the Brisbane Lions, others have been working hard analysing the club's season to date and looking at ways of finding some more improvement in the team in order to win even more respect from the football world. Most of the latter group are expert professionals at the club but one of the "others" is our very own Sam the Stats Man who this week brings us his own simple statistical analysis of each player on the Melbourne list followed by his own brief summaries of where the individual players are at this particular moment. Sam's work suggests that the Demons are continuing the pattern of last year where fitness and injuries have played a major role in getting the team to the position in which it currently sits - in last place! Of course, injuries can't always be used as an excuse for poor displays and it's clear that Melbourne is a long way from Geelong in terms of the skill and experience but the Cats also have the advantage of a full side bar Matthew Egan to place on the field each week. Similarly, the Western Bulldogs who are Melbourne's opponents this week, haven't fared badly in terms of injuries. True, they have a couple of quality players in Scott West and Shaun Higgins missing but that's about all and the depth of their playing list has hardly been tested in the way that Melbourne's has over the past season and a half. The signs are there however, that Dean Bailey is slowly chipping away at most of the team's glaring deficiencies. A few shining lights are emerging out of yet another season from hell and while there's clearly a long way to go, the other clubs in the competition must now realise that they have to show the Demons at least some of that respect - particularly after they upset a top eight side with final four aspirations in the Brisbane Lions. The big question this week is whether the Bulldogs will fall into the same trap this week at Telstra Dome? But before we consider that question, let's take in Sam's famous statistical look at the Melbourne list to date in 2008 (a feature which will be repeated again at the end of the season): - BARTRAM, Clint MFC - 13 games 3 goals - making a steady but if not spectacular return to the game after a long layoff with injury. Expect him to be even better next year. BATE, Matthew MFC - 8 games 7 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 2 goals SFC Reserves - 1 game 0 goals – his start to the season was curtailed by a hamstring injury that kept him out for the first six games. Returned for the win against Fremantle and has been making steady progress to the point where he has been among the team’s best over the past month. BELL, Daniel MFC - 11 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 3 games 1 goal – has struggled in defence most of the year and has been going through a stint at Sandringham where the emphasis has been on honing his defensive skills and decision making. BODE, Jace MFC - 5 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 5 games 2 goals - was given an opportunity at AFL level in recent matches and has been steady without producing any stand out performances. BRUCE, Cameron MFC - 14 games 10 goals - took a long time to recover from the pre season knee injury that curtailed his preparation. Has returned to strong form in recent weeks and has shown some good leadership in that time. BUCKLEY, Simon MFC - 6 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 8 games 5 goals – had his ups and downs this season. Some good form at Sandringham saw a return to the Melbourne side in recent weeks. CARROLL, Nathan MFC - 7 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 4 games 1 goal – dropped after some inconsistent form in defence and has shown some good form in recent games with the Zebras. CHENEY, Kyle SFC Seniors - 6 games 0 goals SFC Reserves - 4 games 2 goals – still learning the ropes at Sandringham and is currently out with a broken hand. DAVEY, Aaron MFC - 12 games 9 goals – still not back to his devastating best of two or three years ago but has had some good patches. Incurred a one match suspension from the AFL side on the insistence of the leadership group due to "lack of preparation and unprofessionalism” when he in Darwin to attend a funeral incurring and will therefore play this week at Sandringham. DUNN, Lynden MFC - 10 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 3 games 3 goals - relishing a new role as a run with player where he is starting to accumulate some big scalps. FRAWLEY, James MFC - 8 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 5 games 0 goals – has been working hard as virtually the third tall in defence but recently found himself back at Sandy where he has produced some handy performances. GARLAND, Colin MFC - 11 games 2 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 0 goals – one of the club’s big improvers and a shining light in a hard working and heavily stretched defensive unit. Recently gained recognition form the AFL with a NAB Rising Star nomination. GREEN, Brad MFC - 14 games 15 goals – showing outstanding leadership qualities and is one of the club’s best on a weekly basis. GRIMES, Jack SFC Reserves - 2 games 0 goals – has recently returned from the long term injury list and has shown rare ball winning skills albeit at VFL reserves level. HOLLAND, Ben MFC - 1 game 3 goals SFC Seniors - 5 games 12 goals - seems to have disappeared off the radar with a shoulder ailment that has kept him off the track for several weeks. JAMAR, Mark MFC - 8 games 1 goal SFC Seniors - 4 games 2 goals – worked hard on his game and, despite a slow start and some inconsistent performances has recently been strongly pushing his claim for the number one rock berth at the club. JOHNSON, Chris MFC - 5 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 7 games 6 goals – was given an opportunity after several outstanding performances at Sandringham and showed his career could have turned the corner with a quality high possession game mainly off half back against the Brisbane Lions. JOHNSON, Paul MFC - 10 games 2 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 1 goal – one of the club’s most improved this season, Johnson missed some games earlier in the year with a broken hand but has cemented his place in the team as a ruckman/forward. JONES, Nathan MFC - 14 games 9 goals – a solid contributor in the team’s midfield, he has shown some touches of brilliance but now has to work on improving his disposal to move his game up to a higher plane. MARIC, Addam MFC - SFC Seniors - 10 games 18 goals SFC Reserves - 1 game 0 goals – youngster with some brilliant attacking skills who is learning the trade at Sandringham. With some work on his overall fitness, he could also be a midfield contender. MARTIN, Stefan MFC - 1 game 0 goals SFC Seniors - 11 games 0 goals – the former basketballer finally broke through for his first game against Brisbane Lions after some very impressive. displays in defence at Sandringham. While he has a lot to learn, the potential is enormous. McDONALD, James MFC - 13 games 1 goal - – the work horse and club leader assigned a more defensive role in recent games. Missed the Lions’ game before the break because of injury. McLEAN, Brock MFC - 14 games 3 goals - was on track to win the “Bluey” by a big margin before breaking down with an ankle injury in round 14. Now out for the rest of the season. McNAMARA, Tom MFC - SFC Seniors - 3 games 0 goals SFC Reserves - 7 games 1 goal – starting to show some good signs with the Zebras. MEESEN, John MFC - SFC Seniors - 12 games 2 goals - his form at Sandy has been indifferent and he is still a fair way from breaking into the AFL. MILLER, Brad MFC - 13 games 15 goals - has regained his confidence this year and responded well to a leadership role at the club. MOLONEY, Brent MFC - 8 games 2 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 0 goals - showed good form after a couple of difficult years when he was off the track more often than on it due to injury. Just when he looked to be nearing full fitness, he sustained a shoulder injury against Collingwood and is out for the rest of the season. MORTON, Cale MFC - 11 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 3 goals - was impressive in his debut season but his form tapered away and recently was dropped to the VFL where he has amassed high possessions at Sandy and earned praise as a player of the future. NEITZ, David MFC - 5 games 3 goals - a neck injury forced Neita to retire from the game after five unproductive games at the start of the season. NEWTON, Michael MFC - 1 games 1 goal SFC Seniors - 5 games 9 goals SFC Reserves - 2 games 4 goals – injuries and suspension have forced Newton's slow return through the Zebra reserves and more lately to their senior side where he has presented well and marked strongly although he has been erratic in front of goal. PETTERD, Ricky MFC - 1 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 2 game 0 goals SFC Reserves - 3 games 0 goals – another who is making slow progress in the VFL after returning from injury. In Petterd’s case, it has been a touch of osteitis pubis this year after his well documented lung problem in 2007. RIVERS, Jared MFC - 6 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 0 goals - hardly had a chance to reassert himself on the scene before an abdominal muscle injury prematurely put an end to his season again. ROBERTSON, Russell MFC - 10 games 20 goals - another Demon sitting on the sidelines for the remainder of the year – in this case with an Achilles’ injury. SPENCER, Jake ® MFC - SFC Seniors - 7 games 2 goals SFC Reserves - 5 games 1 goal - continues to showing enthusiasm and aggression in the ruck and remains a long term project. SYLVIA, Colin MFC - 10 games 10 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 2 goals - could he be finally coming of age as a goal kicking forward? VALENTI, Shane ® MFC - 3 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 8 games 8 goals - worked hard to gain promotion off the rookie list and although he has his limitations in terms of a lack of height and pace, he has been impressive in his brief appearances in the red and blue. WARNOCK, Matthew MFC - 9 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 4 games 0 goals - has had some difficult assignments against some the competition’s best players and while he may have lowered his colours on a few occasions, he continues to make headway as a key defender. WEETRA, Isaac MFC - 2 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 2 games 0 goals SFC Reserves - 9 games 7 goals – is struggling with his confidence in the Sandy reserves at the moment . WHEATLEY, Paul MFC - 12 games 2 goals - one of the team’s most consistent performers, Wheats is getting a lot of the ball and has played some excellent games in defence. WHELAN, Matthew MFC - 4 games 0 goals SFC Seniors - 6 games 2 goals - had a tough run with injuries and only recently broke his way back into the Melbourne team where his experience and defensive skills have been sorely missed. WHITE, Jeff MFC - 12 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 0 goals - dropped from the Melbourne side for the first time recently and is nearing the end of the road as he makes way for younger and taller ruckmen. WONAEMIRRI, Austin ® MFC - 12 games 21 goals SFC Seniors - 1 game 1 goal - one of the season’s revelations, Aussie became the club’s goal kicking crumber when he came off the rookie list and established himself as a dangerous and exciting forward who is likely to win the club’s goal kicking this season. YZE, Adem MFC - 4 games 5 goals SFC Seniors - 9 games 10 goals - nearing the end of his career and we can only expect the odd cameo role in Demon colours for the remainder of the season. ZOMER, Trent ® MFC - SFC Seniors - 2 games 4 goals SFC Reserves - 7 games 21 goals – a young development player, Zomer has had a sniff of senior VFL football but is a fair way off becoming a regular at that level. THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Telstra Dome Sunday 13 July 2008 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Western Bulldogs 66 wins Melbourne 83 wins At Telstra Dome Western Bulldogs 4 wins Melbourne 6 wins Since 2000 Western Bulldogs 6 wins Melbourne 10 wins The Coaches Eade 1 win Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 (delayed telecast starting at 3pm) RADIO 3AW MMM K-Rock THE BETTING Western Bulldogs to win $1.07 Melbourne to win $7.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Western Bulldogs 24.17.161 d Melbourne 9.12.66 Round 2, 2008, at the MCG. Melbourne received its second mauling in consecutive weeks as the Bulldogs brushed them aside with consummate ease and then smashed them to the tune of 95 points. It was not a pretty sight and the less said about this game, the better we will all be for it. THE TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS Backs Dale Morris Brian Lake Dylan Addison Half backs Ryan Hargrave Andrejs Everitt Lindsay Gilbee Centreline Daniel Cross Matthew Boyd Farren Ray Half forwards Brad Johnson Mitch Hahn Robert Murphy Forwards Scott Welsh Will Minson Jason Akermanis Followers Ben Hudson Daniel Giansiracusa Adam Cooney Interchange Nathan Eagleton Jarrod Harbrow Josh Hill Stephen Tiller Emergencies Peter Street Callan Ward Cameron Wight In Jarrod Harbrow Out Ryan Griffen (family reasons) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Brad Green Paul Wheatley Cameron Bruce Centreline Colin Sylvia Cale Morton Lynden Dunn Half forwards Chris Johnson Matthew Bate Simon Buckley Forwards Paul Johnson Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Mark Jamar Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange Daniel Bell Jace Stefan Martin Michael Newton Shane Valenti Emergencies Jace Bode Nathan Carroll Jeff White In Daniel Bell Cale Morton Michael Newton Out Brock McLean (ankle) Jace Bode Aaron Davey (both omitted). Field umpires Farmer McLaren Keating JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE … I could write a book on how often this happens but just when you and I were starting to feel confident about the team having turned the corner, there was a surprise or two waiting around that very same corner. It turns out that the injury sustained against the Lions by the man universally regarded as the club's leading contender for the club champion award, Brock McLean, was a lot worse than first thought. In fact, it has ended his season. Then there's Aaron Davey whose little misdemeanour in Darwin a couple of weeks ago, has earned him a one game suspension which means he's off to Sandringham this week. On top of all that, the club's most experienced midfielder, James McDonald still hasn't recovered from his injury. These setbacks are party compensated for by the absence of Bulldog Ryan Griffen due to a family illness back home in Adelaide but I’m sorry to say, his loss won’t even up the ledger this week. The Doggies have their eyes firmly set on the top spot on the ladder. They recruited well at the start of the year with former Crows Ben Hudson and Scott Welsh fitting in well and Will Minson has finally established himself in their forward line. The potency of the Bulldog attack is evident from the fact that they kicked over 100 points for their first 13 matches (in their last game they managed a paltry 99 in a winning score against Collingwood). Against that, the Demons have a young defence and, although I expect them to acquit themselves well, I can’t see them doing enough to completely turn around the 95 point losing margin from round two. Colin Garland has been a revelation this season taking on opposition tall and small forwards and he will have his work cut out this week with dynamic veteran Brad Johnson. Paul Wheatley could be a good match on another danger man in Robert Murphy and Matty Whelan is primed for Jason Akermanis who could possibly have his mind on other things – such as teaching the Chinese how to do handstands after an exhibition game in Shanghai. The problem is that even in the Melbourne defence holds firm, the Bulldogs will still have the edge in the midfield through Adam Cooney who has been in brilliant form. Gilbee and Cross give their team a lot of run and without, McLean and Davey, the Demons don’t have the class to win this game. Nor will Rodney Eade allow his team to fall into the same trap that befell Brisbane in the last round so I’m tipping the Western Bulldogs to win this game over a much improved Melbourne but at least the margin of 25 points will be respectable in comparison to the one we saw at the end of that game earlier in the year.

HISTORY OF THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PART TEN REAWAKENINGS ... by The Professor The once proud Melbourne Football Club had endured more than two decades in the football wilderness when the new era of national football began in 1987. After the golden era of the 1950's and early sixties ended with a flag in 1964 Melbourne fans had watched as clubs such as Richmond, Carlton and then Hawthorn and North Melbourne took over the reins as V.F.L powers. Sound administrations and solid financial backing enabled these clubs to recruit the personnel necessary to build footballing dynasties. Melbourne was lagging behind them in almost every facet of the game. One positive legacy of the five years under Ron Barassi's coaching was the strength of the club's junior development programme, which saw the Demons competing regularly in Under 19 finals in the early 1980's. This provided Melbourne with a constant stream of new talent such as Greg Healy, Bret Bailey, Chris Connolly, Rod Grinter and Graeme Yeats. Melbourne had also instigated the experiment of recruiting talent from Ireland, which brought Sean Wight and Jim Stynes to the club. It was ironic that in the final years of country zoning, the previously unproductive Goulburn Valley zone suddenly produced a young champion in Garry Lyon. The appointment of a young administrator in Cameron Schwab was also invaluable in assisting the Demons to attain a long awaited return to finals football. Schwab was instrumental in bringing players of the calibre of Warren Dean, Ricky Jackson, Brett Lovett, Steven O'Dwyer, Earl Spalding and Todd Viney to the club by the start of the 1987 season. The emergence of young talented recruits brought immediate results. The Demons had won night premierships in the sixties when that competition was an end of season affair and not open to the finals teams. In 1987 they won an "open" night premiership defeating Essendon 8.10.58 to 8.6.54 in a superb team performance. In the home and away season the Demons were inconsistent but finished strongly to win the last 6 home and away games and sneak into fifth spot. The euphoric scenes at Footscray when Melbourne secured a place in the finals were repeated in the following weeks as some brilliant football in the Elimination Final (against North Melbourne) and the First Semi Final (Sydney) saw the team earn the right to play in the Preliminary Final. The Melbourne run was tragically ended in the Preliminary final against Hawthorn. After leading all day, the Demons were denied a grand final appearance when a 15 metre penalty awarded to Hawk forward Gary Buckenara gave Hawthorn a goal after the siren. Robert Flower retired that day after achieving a new club record of 274 games. Having tasted the experience of competing in finals Melbourne went one step further in 1988. They won twelve of their first sixteen games but five straight losses followed and Demons just managed to squeeze into the five after a great win over Carlton. Melbourne beat the West Coast Eagles by a kick in the Elimination Final and then earned their first grand final berth in 24 years after victories over Collingwood and Carlton. Sadly, Melbourne performed poorly against a rampant Hawthorn and was not experience a grand final again until the year 2000. After winning the night competition for the second time in three years, Melbourne started the 1989 season well but some inconsistent form late in the year cost it a vital top three finish going into the finals. After beating Collingwood in the Elimination Final, the Demons lost the First Semi Final to Geelong and to finish in fourth position. Melbourne was again in the top bracket of teams in 1990 and despite winning 16 games the club still missed a top three spot. Despite a strong win over Hawthorn in the Elimination Final, the Demons lost momentum with a week's break caused by the drawn Qualifying Final between West Coast and Collingwood. A loss to the Eagles in the First Semi Final saw the club finish again in fourth position. The Demons reached the finals for the fifth successive year in 1991 but were unable to win the First Semi Final against an eventual Grand Finalist, the West Coast Eagles. The Irish experiment proved its success when ruckman Jim Stynes won the Brownlow Medal. Melbourne's form fell away in 1992 and John Northey resigned as senior coach completing the most successful coaching stint at the club since the days of the great Norm Smith. His replacement, Neil Balme lifted the side in 1993 and in the following year the Demons were back playing finals football. Garry Lyon, Allen Jakovich and David Schwarz formed a strong high marking forward line and with exciting midfielders in Stephen Tingay, Todd Viney, Andy Lovell and Sean Charles Melbourne stormed through two finals wins over Carlton and Footscray before having to travel to Perth to take on the Eagles in the Preliminary Final. The Demons were flat in that game losing to the eventual premiers. During the season there were rumours of a possible merger with the ailing Fitzroy Football Club. The two seasons following were punctuated by the disappointment of injuries and a collapse in morale as a result of the loss of many of the team's stars. The high flying David Schwarz suffered three knee reconstructions in a short period of time, Captain Gary Lyon, the flamboyant Allen Jakovich, exciting wingers Stephen Tingay and Sean Charles and emerging defender Paul Prymke all were struck down by debilitating injuries. Todd Viney left the club briefly for a short stint to coach in the international tennis arena. Ruckman Jim Stynes seemed to be the only durable performer at the club as he achieved the feat of playing more than 200 consecutive games. But the ravages of injury took their toll on the club and Melbourne plunged to 14th place by the end of 1996. During 1996 the club's administration, led by Ian Ridley, commenced merger negotiations with Hawthorn. The matter was left to the members of both clubs at end of season polls. In the turmoil that followed, Hawk supporters voted to kill off the merger. A majority of Melbourne votes were cast in favour of the move although there have been strong doubts about the legality of the poll with many members locked out of the crowded merger meeting and unable to vote. A strong group - the "Demon Alternative" - led by Brian Dixon and mining magnate Joseph Gutnick had opposed the merger and gained sufficient support for Gutnick to become the new club Chairman after Ridley resigned his position. Former star wingman Brian Dixon was one of the instrumental personalities in the anti-merger group. Gutnick's administration inherited a football basket case in 1997 . The team was deficient in talent and further wracked by injuries and off field drama. There was concern too with Balme's coaching methods, which had to be tailored to suit its obvious lack of ability. Balme was sacked in mid season and replaced by reserves coach, Greg Hutchison. With Melbourne finishing last for the first time since 1981, the Gutnick administration took steps to turn around the club's fortunes. Cameron Schwab was appointed Chief Executive in mid-season, replacing Hassa Mann. Essendon's Football Manager, Danny Corcoran, was secured late in the season, and Neale Daniher was appointed coach for 1998. With Gutnick's financial assistance the Club expanded its operations in important revenue raising areas securing major sponsorships and opening a second social and gaming venue at The Bentleigh Club. The club recruited heavily for 1998 securing Jeff White, Jamie Shanahan and promising junior Travis Johnstone. Under Daniher's guidance, Melbourne rose a record-breaking 12 places in 1998 to finish fourth on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season. The team hit form late in the season with Jeff Farmer displaying great wizardry in front of goals as the team swept away Adelaide and St. Kilda in the finals before going down to North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. Jim Stynes completed an unprecedented run of consecutive games at 244. The confidence generated by 1999 disappeared as age and injury took its toll on the team. Veterans Jim Stynes and Brett Lovett had retired by the end of 1998 while Garry Lyon, Todd Viney and Glenn Lovett all announced their retirements during the season. A voluntary salary cap disclosure to the AFL resulted in a substantial fine, severe draft penalties and the constant adverse publicity destabilised the club. Chief Executive, Cameron Schwab, was replaced mid season by John Anderson. An injury depleted Melbourne limped into 14th place. Melbourne's fortunes improved considerably during the 2000 season. The club recruited well gaining Stephen Powell from the Western Bulldogs in a trade and picking up some classy newcomers in Cameron Bruce, Brad Greed, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan and Simon Godfrey in the draft. The Demon revival was clearly evident in the last half of the season as the team stormed up the ladder to finish third. They then disposed of Carlton and the Kangaroos and enjoyed a great build up to the Grand Final when Shane Woewodin won the Brownlow Medal. The Bombers who had lost only once during the season proved too strong in the grand final but many left the M.C.G that day convinced that the Demons were on the cusp of a new golden era - a dream that once again turned into a nightmare when, early in the 2001 season, the club was overcome by a major political upheaval which saw Gutnick ousted in a boardroom battle that shook the club's very foundations. With politics dictating the club agenda, the team fell away badly and missed the finals. Gabriel Szondy led the new board that emerged from the political battles but within two years he was gone, having resigned after presiding over consecutive seasons of rapidly deteriorating club finances. Paul Gardner, hitherto a virtual unknown at the club, took the helm and gradually reversed the club's off field fortunes. The Demons' on field performances had been as volatile as they were off the field. They experienced solid improvement and earned a finals berth in 2002 with skipper David Neitz becoming the club's first John Coleman Medallist when he headed the AFL's goal kicking. However, a poor finish to an exciting semi final against the Crows led the football department to review its thinking on the team's direction and leading midfielders Powell and Woewodin left the club as it sought to rebuild its midfield to match those of the power clubs. After a poor 2003, the team returned to the finals stage for three consecutive seasons but only advanced beyond the first week once – in 2006. The following season saw the club wracked by injury and it fell to 14th place ahead only of Carlton and Richmond. Neale Daniher was replaced as coach halfway through the season by a caretaker in Mark Reilly. David Neitz became the first player in the club’s history to pass the 300 game mark in round 20. He retired early in the following season after sustaining a career ending neck injury. Dean Bailey took over the coaching reins in 2008 and promised a new youthful outlook and a different style of game as the club celebrated its 150th year without achieving much success on field. Off the field, things did not look good either as the club’s debt moved back upwards after a few years of financial consolidation. Jimmy Stynes took over the presidency in mid season and the almost totally new board promised a new awakening for the oldest football club in the land.