Demonland

Matt Granland of SEN had the originator of the Burgatron AFL Phantom Draft, Matt Burgan as his studio guest today. Pinball Wizard has put together this summary of the programme. SEN INTERVIEW WITH THE BURGATRON Matt Granland wanted to talk to Burgan about the forthcoming national draft because it was something that brought out some good news stories about the game and in the light of the negative stories like the Ben Cousins saga it was refreshing to talk about something on a more positive note. He congratulated Burgan for his award at this year’s AFL media awards for his work on the AFL Draft and asked about the concept of the Phantom Draft. Burgan said that he first put it together in 2000 on the AFL website and since then it has grown from that point. Basically, it's a guide - a lot of research is put into it in terms of how it will pan out and every attempt is made to make it an accurate guide as possible. In reality however, you would probably have a better chance of winning Tattslotto than predicting every single selection. You get 1,500 to 1,700 names nominating and you might get a situation where one club likes a player and takes him at number 70 and there are still instances of that happening today. Granland asked about the positive news side of the draft and Burgan said that the draft is growing and interest in the draft is growing. Its importance is absolutely critical terms of improving the list. Look at Geelong for example with their drafts of 1999 to 2001. The real bulk of their premiership players of this year came from those drafts. Of course there were a lot of other factors involved in building their list but that was integral to that premiership. Granland said he had heard one official say that draft day and getting it right is second only to grand final day and if you have a look at Geelong's grand final team – they drafted Jimmy Bartel, the Brownlow Medallist, James Kelly, Gary Ablett was drafted father/son and Steve Johnson who won the Norm Smith Medal all in the one year. This shows how important the draft is. Burgan: Exactly and if you can pick up guys of that calibre in one meeting it can really set you up and if you look at Hawthorn in recent years they've picked a few guys in one draft – Franklin, Roughhead and Lewis and the key is to keep them together long term and make sure you can retain that group and they don't get poached. Managing your list is such a critical part of the game. Burgan was asked whether when researching for his Phantom Draft, he spoke to a lot of the club officials and recruiters? Burgan: As many as I can. Granland Were they open? Burgan: As a group I find they're absolutely fantastic. Some of them are fantastic in the information that they reveal and I know that it's factual because it's proven that way on draft day. Some of them like to keep their cards close to their chests and I perfectly understand that. Some are just massive information soakers and they just want to get anything from anywhere and whether it's right or wrong it's another piece of the puzzle they can then further research themselves or store away for future reference. Granland said he was staggered by the number of recruiting staff each club had and Burgan replied that it's growing annually. Some clubs have got a dozen including part timers. Every club has its recruiting guy and others who are right into it as well e.g. West Coast have Trevor Woodhouse in WA and a person in Victoria. Hawthorn has Chris Pelchan who oversees recruiting while Gary Buckenara does the West Coast of Australia and Graeme Wright does the East Coast of Australia. Clubs are starting to structure things differently too – they want to see every part of the country explored and some clubs are going to Ireland and want to explore that as well and some are seeing the fruits of that as well. Granland Let's talk about this year's draft. Matt Kreuzer is the name on everybody's lips at the moment. He'll probably go to Carlton? Burgan: That's the one that I'm probably quite certain about. I'd be very surprised if Kreuzer wasn't number one but it's interesting in doing the research that some people are saying guys like Trent Cotchin and Cale Morton could clearly go number 1 as well. You're always going to get a good player and even if 3 or 4 are outstanding the reality is you can only get one number 1. I think Kreuzer will go at number 1 but there are definitely clubs out that that have said that if they had pick number 1 they'd certainly look at Cotchin or Morton as well. But for Carlton, I'd definitely say Kreuzer. Granland How does Kreuzer stack up compared to previous number 1 picks through the years? Burgan: It's a little difficult to assess because you can only compare on what they've done in junior days and Kreuzer ticks all the boxes. He's achieved plenty as a junior footballer and really is a standout in a lot of ways. There are not a lot of ruckmen bordering 200cm who are good and of that size. They're a rare commodity and that's why they go early. A question was taken from a listener who is a Hawthorn supporter and who asked about Ryan Ferguson. Burgan explained that a few years ago there was swap being organised between Melbourne and Hawthorn whereby Ferguson was to go to the Hawks and Brad Sewell to Melbourne but Ferguson was in contract and didn't want to go. Ferguson played the last seven matches for Melbourne, he's had a ton of injuries. He's actually an extremely courageous player, very underrated in terms of his courage but hasn’t quite cemented his spot. Hawks may look at him again but he hadn't heard anything. Matt Granland: Richmond have got pick number two. There's a couple of midfielders like Cotchin or Morton whose brother Mitch came across from West Coast. Would they take him or stay with a local boy? Burgan: At this stage it's got to be out of those two and the fact that Mitch has gone in throws a bit of intrigue into the situation. It's a tough one to get a bit of a handle on which way it's going to go. You would think in some ways that with Mitch coming across he might go. He's a tall midfielder, can play forward and had a cracking championships, won the Larke Medal for the best player in Division 1 so he's a great prospect but whether he goes 2, or it's Cotchin, the Victorian local, it's still a very hard one to know. Granland: Trent Cotchin, the Victorian. Everyone's talking him up too. Burgan: That's right. He’s a quality kid. Both he and Morton are both really impressive kids. Cotchin was on crutches at the draft camp but he kept presenting all the time and wanted to be involved and to do anything he could while he was up there. It will be interesting to see and at this stage it will be Cotchin/Morton or Morton/Cotchin. Granland: Do you find many of the youngsters have a look at the Phantom Draft before draft day? Burgan: They do a little bit these days. You meet some of them at the draft camp and they ask about it sometimes and sometimes when they're drafted it does get talked about. A caller asked about the Victorian Under 18 boys being boys were smashed by WA. Burgan: WA were great. Rhys Palmer was outstanding and he is looming as a top 10 prospect. He was unlucky to miss out on the Larke Medal to Morton by one vote. WA's midfield was just outstanding. It had a genuine AFL feel and some of those midfielders didn't look like juniors. They looked like they were playing an incredibly slick brand of footy. Another caller asked whether the Pies could pick up a good ruckman with their selection? Burgan: Collingwood's first pick is at number 31 and they're just going to have to wait and see what happens, to see who's fallen through. They will be doing an enormous amount of research to see who might still be available. Sometimes, some good players might fall through. A few years ago Cameron Wood, who's now there (at Collingwood) was expected to go around the 7 or 8 mark and slipped through to 18. The Brisbane Lions couldn't believe it so they pounced on him. Sometimes players do get through unexpectedly. Granland: We've mentioned Kreuzer, Cotchin, Morton and Palmer but what are some of the other names that we are going to see in the top 10? Burgan: Those players that you mentioned are going to shape it but there are some others. Guys like Brad Ebert SA's best prospect this year. He's the cousin of Port Adelaide's Brett. Also Cyril Rioli is an interesting one. He's a standout from the Northern Territory and his uncles are the great Maurice Rioli and Michael Long and he's going to be in that sort of mix. It will be interesting to see exactly where but he's another one top watch out for early. There are others such as Lauchlan Henderson, one of the talls from the Geelong Falcons. I think he'll create a bit of interest early and will certainly be a top 10 or 12 pick. Alex Rance is another boy from WA and he's a tall. He'll probably be in the top dozen or so. A caller asked about Pat Vezpremi and mentioned that he had heard he was a Luke Hodge type of player. Burgan: Vezpremi has had a bit of an injury with a shoulder. He's going to be a top 20 pick. He's a little difficult to assess but between 10 and 20. Clubs in the mix in that area such as West Coast at 13 or Melbourne at 14 would probably get him. Another caller asked what does it mean when it's said that players are "putting themselves in the draft late"? Burgan responded that this probably means a reference to players with previous AFL list experience nominating for the PSD to help clubs draft them as a delisted uncontracted player in the draft to make it easier for a particular club to draft them. Granland asked about the kids coming out of Qld this year. Were they as good as last year's batch? Burgan: Last year was fantastic and it won't be as good as last year when Ricky Petterd was picked in the late 20's. A couple of names to look out for are Sam Reid, Brendan Whitecross and another kid who went to the draft camp called John Williams who played in their Under 21’s. He's a bit older and had a bit of a shoulder injury. Granland When does your Phantom Draft go up? Burgan: It goes up on the AFL website on the Thursday before draft day. It can’t be any earlier because the final nominations for delisted players takes place the day before. The next caller asked about whether the Melbourne Football Club might draft some talls like Ben McEvoy and Dawson Simpson. Burgan: I'm having trouble where to fit McEvoy. He’s a ruckman/forward 199cm. I don't think he'd be at Melbourne at number 4 but if he was still available at 14 then maybe. Dawson Simpson is a 205cm ruckman and about the tallest player in the mix this year. He's an interesting one. I'm a little bit divided on where he might go because players of that height are so hard to find. He could go at 21 but clubs these days are taking tall ruckmen through the rookie system. Dean Cox went to West Coast as a rookie and Simpson could be fascinating to watch because all clubs need talls. Granland then asked him to go through the other clubs and this is essentially a summary – Geelong have got four live picks.. They've already committed to Adam Donohue under the father/son at 59 at the moment (a second list lodgement is coming out next week that might change the order a little). Collingwood have 31 and 47 – it's difficult to say who they're going to pick. At 47 they might have someone specific in mind. Bombers have pick 6. It's been a bit of an indifferent pick. The best pick has been James Walker of Fremantle. The talk with the Bombers is midfield pace or a taller running defender. Hawthorn – have been a big player in the draft in the last couple of years. This year they only have three picks at this stage. At this stage I can't quite get a handle on the way they're going to go – a tall defender perhaps. Blues – After number one, their next pick is 36 which is a little like the Collingwood situation with 31. Kangaroos – also have three picks and don't enter till pick 15. In that first batch they have to wait and see who slides through. They'll still get a quality player. Tigers – after 2, they have a priority pick at 18, then 50 and 62. They're going to great player at number 2 but they will also miss out on a great player. That's the way it goes. WCE – have picks 3, 13, 20 and 22 which puts them in the best position which is a reflection of losing Judd, probably the games best player. To have four picks inside 22, every club will be envious. Will they stick with a local? There's a stack of WA kids going to get drafted anyway because WA's blessed with great talent this year. There's a school of thought that if you pick the best player and he does want to go home, you'll be well compensated if and when that happens. Dockers – have six picks starting at 7. Suggest they would pass on their last pick to get Kepler Bradley in the PSD. Port Adelaide – had a lot of picks last year and did well with late picks like Westhoff but this year. Local knowledge helped them through this. Adelaide have six picks. Have used one to elevate Taylor Walker, a NSW scholarship player. Their first pick is at ten and I'm not sure yet what they'll do. They might be hoping to pounce on Ebert. Swans have also elevated a scholarship boy and have only a couple of live choices and will hope for a slider as well. Brisbane enter at pick 8. Will probably look at some of the Queensland boys with their mid picks. Granland: What do you think on the draft overall? Burgan: It's a mixed view because although not regarded as strong as last year but others think there might be some good ones to get in the mid 40's. Granland: Which is your best pick in one of your Phantom Drafts? Burgan: I was really happy to pick Sean Rusling early a few years ago. I'd heard some things about him and went for him to be selected early and I was also happy about picking Andrew Collins to Richmond last year at 73. See: Burgatron VII – the full list (2006 Draft) and watch for Burgatron VIII on Thursday 22 November on www.afl.com.au. Also coming soon on Demonland - Stevo looks at melbournefc's draft picks 14 and 21 and Melon's Phantom Draft (top 21)

Guarantee you Stevo is not either of those gentlemen and is not involved with MFC recruiting in any way either.

We've received an article from a Demon supporter who works inside the Under 18 system on this very topic. It's being workshopped in conjunction with Whispering Jack and we'll put it out in two parts - the first in the next day or so with possibles for Pick 4 followed by 14 and 21. It's interesting stuff from someone who's seen most of the locals and the interstaters during the Under 18 Carnival.

by Whispering Jack So the AFL has decided to charge Ben Cousins with bringing the game into disrepute after something like six years in which the kid's been involved with members of the underworld, fled from a breath test, been found blotto in a gutter outside the Casino, admitted to being a drug addict, refused a blood test and sneered and sniggered his way on and off football fields, airport lounges and who knows what else? Back in July, the AFL allowed Cousins back into the game although there was no satisfactory public statement from Cousins or genuine assurance that he was, in fact, drug-free and over his addiction - the preconditions originally laid out by his club for a return. The same AFL which once claimed to be Mr. Nice Guy and so very concerned for his health and welfare now charges Cousins at a time when he's been dumped by his club and is about to enter a Los Angeles drug rehabilitation clinic for a second time. That's magnificent timing but where's the charge against his former club which allowed this farce to be played out after being warned by the AFL that any more would see it sanctioned with a possible heavy monetary penalty and a loss of draft picks? And what responsibility did the AFL itself have in this sordid little episode? The game's peak administrative body certainly looks foolish now in the way in which it has completely mismanaged the drug issue and particularly by the way it allowed Cousins an easy and premature return to the field of play. Meanwhile, on the same day and in a different place, Dick Pratt, the President of an AFL club now officially called the "Caaarton Football Caaartel" and his company receive the heaviest fine for corporate price-fixing (many people regard that as a form of "theft"). The AFL won't bat an eyelid about that because, well ... that scam occurred long before Pratt became President but at about the same time that Caaarton was carrying out a different type of scam involving the salary cap. Of course, Pratt was President of Caaarton when it was the highest bidder for Chris Judd and his golden groin after he defected from the West Coast Eagles amid concerns in some circles that there might be another salary cap scam brewing and he remains in the position today after being exposed as the country's biggest ever corporate lawbreaker. Would the AFL ever bat any eyelid over that? Or will its head honcho Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli merely sigh softly, turn his head up to the skies and mutter ... "such is life"?

SUCH IS LIFE by Whispering Jack So the AFL has decided to charge Ben Cousins with bringing the game into disrepute after something like six years in which the kid's been involved with members of the underworld, fled from a breath test, been found blotto in a gutter outside the Casino, admitted to being a drug addict, refused a blood test and sneered and sniggered his way on and off football fields, airport lounges and who knows what else? Back in July, the AFL allowed Cousins back into the game although there was no satisfactory public statement from Cousins or genuine assurance that he was, in fact, drug-free and over his addiction - the preconditions originally laid out by his club for a return. The same AFL which once claimed to be Mr. Nice Guy and so very concerned for his health and welfare now charges Cousins at a time when he's been dumped by his club and is about to enter a Los Angeles drug rehabilitation clinic for a second time. That's magnificent timing but where's the charge against his former club which allowed this farce to be played out after being warned by the AFL that any more would see it sanctioned with a possible heavy monetary penalty and a loss of draft picks? And what responsibility did the AFL itself have in this sordid little episode? The game's peak administrative body certainly looks foolish now in the way in which it has completely mismanaged the drug issue and particularly by the way it allowed Cousins an easy and premature return to the field of play. Meanwhile, on the same day and in a different place, Dick Pratt, the President of an AFL club now officially called the "Caaarton Football Caaartel" and his company receive the heaviest fine for corporate price-fixing (many people regard that as a form of "theft"). The AFL won't bat an eyelid about that because, well ... that scam occurred long before Pratt became President but at about the same time that Caaarton was carrying out a different type of scam involving the salary cap. Of course, Pratt was President of Caaarton when it was the highest bidder for Chris Judd and his golden groin after he defected from the West Coast Eagles amid concerns in some circles that there might be another salary cap scam brewing and he remains in the position today after being exposed as the country's biggest ever corporate lawbreaker. Would the AFL ever bat any eyelid over that? Or will its head honcho Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli merely sigh softly, turn his head up to the skies and mutter ... "such is life"?

CHANGES 2007: TRADING AND DRAFTING - PART TWO by The Oracle The month of October has come and almost gone and there are 109 more days to go before we again see a team representing the Melbourne Football Club in an official game. The bad news is that the game in question will be played at Skilled Stadium against the reigning AFL premiers but the good news is that the Demons haven't lost at this venue for a while (actually not since early 2004). Those who follow the club come hell or high water might also recall the last time that these teams were matched up in a pre season competition fixture. That was back in 2000 when an underground pipe burst on the members' wing causing proceedings to be abandoned. You could say that high water came on that occasion! Still, it was a great feeling driving back home along the Princes Highway and away from Sleepy Hollow knowing the home side failed to taste victory. Nobody got to taste victory either when the teams last met at the same venue in a home and away clash in round 21 of 2006 so the Cats don't scare me at all. I suppose I might be getting a little ahead of myself thinking in terms of what might happen in the middle of February given that we don't even know the identity of a quarter of the club's list for next year. Remember, the theme of this series is about changes and while there have already been many at Demonland since the end of the 2007 season, there are many more on the way. The most significant set of changes to date has been not so much with regard to the playing list but with the coaching set up. After almost a decade of stability and the same head coach in Neale Daniher, the 2007 season witnessed a turbulent period in terms of the club coaching. The Reverend gambled and lost with the innovation of "run and carry" and, after opening with nine consecutive defeats in the final year of a coaching contract, the writing was on the wall. A couple of victories in a row couldn't help him resurrect his position when the team flopped miserably against bottom side Richmond. Also gone from the club is his caretaker replacement Mark Riley who is off to Carlton and long time Football Manager Chris Fagan who has joined the Hawks. Peter Curran has also departed. New coach Dean Bailey has installed a virtually all-new group of personnel into the football department. Chris Connolly becomes the Football Manager, and Josh Mahoney and Sean Wellman join Paul Williams as Assistant Coaches while Kelly O’Donnell and former Zebras premiership coach Mark Williams have been added as Development Coaches. The changes in coaching structure add to the interest and excitement with the promise of a fresh approach and a younger, more switched on coaching group that is expected to rejuvenate the Demons in the coming years. These changes will be matched by a large turnover of players at the club but while a number have gone, there has only been one addition to the actual playing list to date - ruckman John Meesen who joined the club by way of a trade from Adelaide. Meesen is a 201 cm tall ruckman who has strong endurance capacity but was unable to show his worth at Adelaide as he was plagued by injury at the Crows. Originally drafted with pick 8 in 2004, he had a long wait to play his first senior AFL game making his debut in round 20 of 2007 but he managed only one other game before being traded to Melbourne for its third round National Draft selection. Meesen is no stranger to the red and blue colours having been the leading ruckman for SANFL club Norwood over the past three seasons. Ruckmen often take longer to develop than mid size players and the Demons are no doubt hoping he will make the step up to become a regular AFL senior player with the added maturity and the opportunity to settle down in his home state. Demonland welcomes John Meesen to the Melbourne Football Club as the first of the incoming changes to the club's lists for 2008. Ten others will join the young ruckman at the club over the next month and a half as it completes the task of replacing the following eleven players who have departed:- Senior List - Ryan Ferguson, Simon Godfrey, Heath Neville, Daniel Ward (delisted), Travis Johnstone (traded to Brisbane), Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown, Byron Pickett (retired). Rookies - Daniel Hayes, Daniel Hughes and Shane Neaves (delisted). Jace Bode has been officially elevated from the Rookie List to the Senior List leaving the club lists looking like this:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST SEASON as at 31 October 2007: SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram, Matthew Bate, Daniel Bell, Jace Bode, Cameron Bruce, Simon Buckley, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Colin Garland, Brad Green, Ben Holland, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Paul Johnson, Nathan Jones, James McDonald, Brock McLean, John Meesen, Brad Miller, Brent Moloney, Michael Newton, Ricky Petterd, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia, Matthew Warnock, Isaac Weetra, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan, Jeff White and ADD future Draft Picks (6 in total). VETERAN LIST: David Neitz, Adem Yze. ROOKIE LIST: ADD future Draft Picks (4 in total). Assuming no further delistings, the club can add a further six players to the Senior List and four to the Rookie List. The available selections for the National Draft on 24 November stand at 4, 14, 21, 53, 69 and 85 but this could change. The club can also pass on its last National Draft selection or two and take Pre Season Draft pick 3 and, if necessary another likely to be no higher than about 10. The National Draft provides some exciting challenges for the club's recruiting and list manager Craig Cameron and his team. Conventional wisdom says the best players in this draft will come from the first two dozen players on offer and after that the talent pool drops offs considerably although there is always a hidden gem or two somewhere deep in the draft. Melbourne is well placed with three picks in the top 21 - only the Eagles have more selections up to that point and they had to give away Chris Judd to get some of them. There's every chance that Melbourne will pick up some really talented players with its selections and we all await the coming month and a half with interest. The full list of remaining key dates for the 2007 NAB AFL Draft Process are: - Wednesday 14 November 2.00 pm Draft Nominations Close Friday 16 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Two Wednesday 21 November 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Saturday 24 November 10.00 am NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 27 November 27 2.00 pm Uncontracted Listed Player Nominations Close Friday 30 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Three and TPP Estimates Friday 7 December 7 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Tuesday 11 December 10.00 am NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 11 December 10.15 am Nomination of Brisbane Lions and Sydney eligible rookie list players Tuesday 11 December 10.30am NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting

by The Oracle The month of October has come and almost gone and there are 109 more days to go before we again see a team representing the Melbourne Football Club in an official game. The bad news is that the game in question will be played at Skilled Stadium against the reigning AFL premiers but the good news is that the Demons haven't lost at this venue for a while (actually not since early 2004). Those who follow the club come hell or high water might also recall the last time that these teams were matched up in a pre season competition fixture. That was back in 2000 when an underground pipe burst on the members' wing causing proceedings to be abandoned. You could say that high water came on that occasion! Still, it was a great feeling driving back home along the Princes Highway and away from Sleepy Hollow knowing the home side failed to taste victory. Nobody got to taste victory either when the teams last met at the same venue in a home and away clash in round 21 of 2006 so the Cats don't scare me at all. I suppose I might be getting a little ahead of myself thinking in terms of what might happen in the middle of February given that we don't even know the identity of a quarter of the club's list for next year. Remember, the theme of this series is about changes and while there have already been many at Demonland since the end of the 2007 season, there are many more on the way. The most significant set of changes to date has been not so much with regard to the playing list but with the coaching set up. After almost a decade of stability and the same head coach in Neale Daniher, the 2007 season witnessed a turbulent period in terms of the club coaching. The Reverend gambled and lost with the innovation of "run and carry" and, after opening with nine consecutive defeats in the final year of a coaching contract, the writing was on the wall. A couple of victories in a row couldn't help him resurrect his position when the team flopped miserably against bottom side Richmond. Also gone from the club is his caretaker replacement Mark Riley who is off to Carlton and long time Football Manager Chris Fagan who has joined the Hawks. New coach Dean Bailey has installed a virtually all-new group of personnel into the football department. Chris Connolly becomes the Football Manager, and Josh Mahoney and Sean Wellman join Paul Williams as Assistant Coaches while Kelly O’Donnell and former Zebras premiership coach Mark Williams have been added as Development Coaches. The changes in coaching structure add to the interest and excitement with the promise of a fresh approach and a younger, more switched on coaching group that is expected to rejuvenate the Demons in the coming years. These changes will be matched by a large turnover of players at the club but while a number have gone, there has only been one addition to the actual playing list to date - ruckman John Meesen who joined the club by way of a trade from Adelaide. Meesen is a 201 cm tall ruckman who has strong endurance capacity but was unable to show his worth at Adelaide as he was plagued by injury at the Crows. Originally drafted with pick 8 in 2004, he had a long wait to play his first senior AFL game making his debut in round 20 of 2007 but he managed only one other game before being traded to Melbourne for its third round National Draft selection. Meesen is no stranger to the red and blue colours having been the leading ruckman for SANFL club Norwood over the past three seasons. Ruckmen often take longer to develop than mid size players and the Demons are no doubt hoping he will make the step up to become a regular AFL senior player with the added maturity and the opportunity to settle down in his home state. Demonland welcomes John Meesen to the Melbourne Football Club as the first of the incoming changes to the club's lists for 2008. Ten others will join the young ruckman at the club over the next month and a half as it completes the task of replacing the following eleven players who have departed:- Senior List - Ryan Ferguson, Simon Godfrey, Heath Neville, Daniel Ward (delisted), Travis Johnstone (traded to Brisbane), Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown, Byron Pickett (retired). Rookies - Daniel Hayes, Daniel Hughes and Shane Neaves (delisted). Jace Bode has been officially elevated from the Rookie List to the Senior List leaving the club lists looking like this:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST SEASON as at 31 October 2007: SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram, Matthew Bate, Daniel Bell, Jace Bode, Cameron Bruce, Simon Buckley, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Colin Garland, Brad Green, Ben Holland, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Paul Johnson, Nathan Jones, James McDonald, Brock McLean, John Meesen, Brad Miller, Brent Moloney, Michael Newton, Ricky Petterd, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia, Matthew Warnock, Isaac Weetra, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan, Jeff White and ADD future Draft Picks (6 in total). VETERAN LIST: David Neitz, Adem Yze. ROOKIE LIST: ADD future Draft Picks (4 in total). Assuming no further delistings, the club can add a further six players to the Senior List and four to the Rookie List. The available selections for the National Draft on 24 November stand at 4, 14, 21, 57, 63 and 89 but this could change. The club can also pass on its last National Draft selection or two and take Pre Season Draft pick 3 and, if necessary another likely to be no higher than about 10. The National Draft provides some exciting challenges for the club's recruiting and list manager Craig Cameron and his team. Conventional wisdom says the best players in this draft will come from the first two dozen players on offer and after that the talent pool drops offs considerably although there is always a hidden gem or two somewhere deep in the draft. Melbourne is well placed with three picks in the top 21 - only the Eagles have more selections up to that point and they had to give away Chris Judd to get some of them. There's every chance that Melbourne will pick up some really talented players with its selections and we all await the coming month and a half with interest. The full list of remaining key dates for the 2007 NAB AFL Draft Process are: - Wednesday 14 November 2.00 pm Draft Nominations Close Friday 16 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Two Wednesday 21 November 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Saturday 24 November 10.00 am NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 27 November 27 2.00 pm Uncontracted Listed Player Nominations Close Friday 30 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Three and TPP Estimates Friday 7 December 7 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Tuesday 11 December 10.00 am NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 11 December 10.15 am Nomination of Brisbane Lions and Sydney eligible rookie list players Tuesday 11 December 10.30am NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting

by Whispering Jack In today's Australian, Chip Le Grand reports (Kangaroos leap final hurdle on way to Gold Coast) that the Kangaroos are to become the third of the Victorian clubs to move interstate with a decision expected to commit to a permanent move to the Gold Coast in 2010 before Christmas. They will follow South Melbourne which was relocated to Sydney in 1981 and became the Swans and Fitzroy which was virtually bludgeoned out of existence in 1996 to become part of the merged Brisbane Lions. There is talk of the possibility of a legal challenge but Kangaroos fans should be bracing themselves for the move. There will be another AFL team in southeast Queensland by the end of the decade and it will be the Northern Kangaroos playing out of Gold Coast Stadium at Carrara. When the Demons make their first interstate trip of the AFL 2008 home and away season to meet the Kangaroos at the above venue, there will be plenty to think about for those who have our club's interests at heart, not the least of which is whether it is possible the Melbourne Football Club might one day suffer a similar fate to that of the Swans, the Lions and the Kangaroos and find itself bound for somewhere else. The AFL is surely looking at the potentially lucrative markets of Sydney's burgeoning westen suburbs for its next foothold and with mergers now firmly off the AFL agenda, there is one major and compelling reason which is the basis for the relocation of AFL clubs – poverty! As Le Grand states - "A report commissioned by the Kangaroos and conducted by sports consultancy Gemba found the economic climate was tough for North Melbourne and would get tougher as its traditional supporter base continued to atrophy. "The Kangaroos this season attracted 22,196 members, the fewest of any Melbourne-based club and a 10 per cent decline on last season's tally. More alarming, it has a shrinking supporter base of just 176,000 people, the smallest in the competition. According to Roy Morgan Research, the Kangaroos had 50,000 more supporters six years ago." Here is a club which was considered as the AFL club of the 'nineties - the most successful of the decade - incredibly consigned interstate because of lack of interest among supporters and a lack of money. The concern for Melbourne, the foundation club of the AFL entering its 150th year, is that the Demons are not that far in front of the Kangaroos. The club will post a financial loss this season after budgeting for a sizable profit and it faces an uphill struggle to increase membership numbers on the back of a poor season on the field in 2007. The club received no assistance from the AFL in terms of the fixture which was released yesterday and which gave the club just one Friday night fixture for the year giving it 70 per cent of its games on Sundays, including 12 out of 13 from rounds five to 17. Commercially, the Demons have been sent to the trash heap even if the draw might be relatively more favourable in playing terms compared with the horrors of what was served up in 2007. Meanwhile, the blockbuster clubs like Collingwoood will once again receive their good share of free kicks both in terms of commercial and on-field benefit. The club has no contol over the matter now and if Dean Bailey's charges can produce their best the draw will be the least of their worries. The lesson of the Kangaroos is there for all to see. The club must dig in and work harder than ever not just to achieve success on the field but off it as well. There is no easy route – a better season on the field might help but we need even more than a red and blue facsimile of the "shinboner" spirit both on and off the ground in 2008 and beyond to ensure that the Melbourne Football Club remains at the spritual home of the M.C.G where it all began some 150 years ago!

BOUND FOR SOMEWHERE ELSE by Whispering Jack In today's Australian, Chip Le Grand reports (Kangaroos leap final hurdle on way to Gold Coast) that the Kangaroos are to become the third of the Victorian clubs to move interstate with a decision expected to commit to a permanent move to the Gold Coast in 2010 before Christmas. They will follow South Melbourne which was relocated to Sydney in 1981 and became the Swans and Fitzroy which was virtually bludgeoned out of existence in 1996 to become part of the merged Brisbane Lions. There is talk of the possibility of a legal challenge but Kangaroos fans should be bracing themselves for the move. There will be another AFL team in southeast Queensland by the end of the decade and it will be the Northern Kangaroos playing out of Gold Coast Stadium at Carrara. When the Demons make their first interstate trip of the AFL 2008 home and away season to meet the Kangaroos at the above venue, there will be plenty to think about for those who have our club's interests at heart, not the least of which is whether it is possible the Melbourne Football Club might one day suffer a similar fate to that of the Swans, the Lions and the Kangaroos and find itself bound for somewhere else. The AFL is surely looking at the potentially lucrative markets of Sydney's burgeoning westen suburbs for its next foothold and with mergers now firmly off the AFL agenda, there is one major and compelling reason which is the basis for the relocation of AFL clubs – poverty! As Le Grand states - "A report commissioned by the Kangaroos and conducted by sports consultancy Gemba found the economic climate was tough for North Melbourne and would get tougher as its traditional supporter base continued to atrophy. "The Kangaroos this season attracted 22,196 members, the fewest of any Melbourne-based club and a 10 per cent decline on last season's tally. More alarming, it has a shrinking supporter base of just 176,000 people, the smallest in the competition. According to Roy Morgan Research, the Kangaroos had 50,000 more supporters six years ago." Here is a club which was considered as the AFL club of the 'nineties - the most successful of the decade - incredibly consigned interstate because of lack of interest among supporters and a lack of money. The concern for Melbourne, the foundation club of the AFL entering its 150th year, is that the Demons are not that far in front of the Kangaroos. The club will post a financial loss this season after budgeting for a sizable profit and it faces an uphill struggle to increase membership numbers on the back of a poor season on the field in 2007. The club received no assistance from the AFL in terms of the fixture which was released yesterday and which gave the club just one Friday night fixture for the year giving it 70 per cent of its games on Sundays, including 12 out of 13 from rounds five to 17. Commercially, the Demons have been sent to the trash heap even if the draw might be relatively more favourable in playing terms compared with the horrors of what was served up in 2007. Meanwhile, the blockbuster clubs like Collingwoood will once again receive their good share of free kicks both in terms of commercial and on-field benefit. The club has no contol over the matter now and if Dean Bailey's charges can produce their best the draw will be the least of their worries. The lesson of the Kangaroos is there for all to see. The club must dig in and work harder than ever not just to achieve success on the field but off it as well. There is no easy route – a better season on the field might help but we need even more than a red and blue facsimile of the "shinboner" spirit both on and off the ground in 2008 and beyond to ensure that the Melbourne Football Club remains at the spritual home of the M.C.G where it all began some 150 years ago!

It's being reported that the Eagles will hold an emergency board meeting this evening. There could be some delistings to minimise the possibility of harsh AFL sanctions. They are still up for a heavy penalty, possibly involving at least one draft pick and a monetary fine.

CRAIG CAMERON - THE INTERVIEW Dwayne Russell and Tony Leonard on 3AW’s Sorts Today Saturday Edition interviewed Melbournefc General Manager of Recruiting and List Management Craig Cameron today. With thanks to poster Alpha 33 we bring you the transcript of the interview: DR: Craig Cameron the Demons recruiting manager has been good enough to join us. Welcome to the programme Craig. How are you? CAC: Good Dwayne and Tony. How are you guys? TL: Very well thank you Craig. The first question to get out into the open is Travis Johnstone, pick number one in what was it 1997? Now on his way to Brisbane. At what stage did you know that the union was going to part? CAC: When you decide to trade a player like Travis it's not a five minute decision so we spent a fair bit of time thinking about it, looking at what we were trying to do with Dean coming on board and Chris Connolly as the new football manager and thinking what our strategy was over the next three years as a football club. The thing that was unanimous was that we were trying to build around the under 23 age group and if we could get more early draft selections particularly another first round selection in this year's draft we'd be happy because that just gives us a good group of youngsters coming through in the next few years. So when we decided that that was the direction we were going to go Travis was probably the player that we thought was most likely to deliver a first round selection to us. DR: Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly are both new to the club. Were they the ones who made the decision that Travis Johnstone was tradeable or should be traded because you wouldn’t think they knew Travis Johnstone and his history that well in comparison to those at the club. Was it suggested to Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly that Travis Johnstone was expendable? CAC: I think it was pretty much a group decision. Dean was obviously excited by Travis' talent but when we actually sat down and thought about where our list was at and what we needed to do to rejuvenate it or to keep the guys 23 and under coming through with more talent underneath them the long-term view was taken. It was not an easy decision. It's not an easy decision to move somebody of the quality Travis who was a best and fairest winner and a first round draft pick in the draft. It's not easy but I reckon in the end that everyone came to the conclusion that that was the best way to go. TL: In the finish Cameron, not a lot of trading's been done. People would look at Melbourne season and suggest a lot more should have been done. How would you respond to that? CAC: Well we traded a player out and a player in and we got another first round selection. Last year we didn't do any trading at all. I don't know. Does the history of trading suggest that it makes a difference to a side's short term or long-term future? I mean you guys can look up the records and decide whether that's the case but I would suggest on face value that doing a lot of trades makes a big difference to your outcome. TL: I suppose the companion question to that Craig is how does Melbourne become a better side in 2008 with Travis Johnstone out of the side, John Meesen as your ruckman coming in and obviously there's a draft pick that comes with it. CAC: Yeah. Well, we've got three early selections in this year's draft, we’ve got young fellers who we drafted last year who will be better for a run from last year's season. Ricky Petterd look like he was going to have a boomer season and unfortunately had that lung injury which cut it short. We've got a lot of young guys as we keep harping on that are 23 and under and that will continue to improve and we'll be putting a lot more resources into our development and coaching structure than we have in the past. This is not really my area to talk about but we’ll have probably a couple of development coaches, an innovations coach so we’ll be putting a lot more into our playing group to help them improve. TL: Craig, I know you can't put it to numbers but just going back to question of one in and one out, was Melbourne willing to trade more if the right player was there and if so what sort of players would you have been prepared to look at to be a bit more active in the trade week? CAC Well I'm not going to talk about names obviously but we were in a position if the right deal was available then we would have looked at players to trade out because as I keep saying for the next three years our strategy is to try and bring a fresh group of youngsters through. But you've got to balance that up with competing each year. You've got to make sure that your fans have a feeling that you're going out and competing each year. We've got to remember that we’ve played through the last four or five finals series and last year was a complete aberration, or so we're hoping. So we don't want to completely cut the guts out of our group because as I said we've got more support coming for our players in terms of coaching staff so we're hoping that will give us a lift. DR: Craig, now all about the draft. You've got pick four in the draft. No doubt you'd hope that Matthew Kreuzer or Trent Cotchin is available when your pick comes around. Who do you think Carlton will draft with pick one, Kreuzer or Cotchin? CAC: I think it's a very hard choice Dwayne but if either of them are there when it comes down to pick four one of them will very quickly come out my mouth I promise you. I think it's a hard choice. Carlton will probably are looking to get a young ruckman into the system so Kreuzer seems to be the favourite one but Trent Cotchin is a very talented player. DR: There's word that Richmond might go with the two Mortons and take Cale Morton with pick two and leave Trent Cotchin to go to the West Coast Eagles with pick three. You’ll be no doubt investigating that kind of thing over the next few weeks. Is that what you're hearing? CAC: I'm hearing that. I'm also hearing that they're very keen on Trent Cotchin. Look, Cale Morton is a very good player and I've got no doubt that if he gets selected at pick 2 he gets selected on his merits rather than because his brother's there. He won the medal at the Under 18 championships, he's close enough to 192 centimetres, he can run a 15.2 beep. He's outstanding in his talent so either selection, Cotchin or Morton, I don't think you could question it to be honest. TL: Yeah. And the point you make is good too. Three in the first twenty-one. Just as a general question. Two players. You've assessed them as being of equal ability, maybe a slight leaning but not much to the interstate player do you go with them or do you have to sort of catch your breath. We've just seen even with Chris Judd, I know he's mature in his career but wanting to return home. Will that come into your thinking whether you go for the local lad as opposed to someone from interstate who, for all intents and purposes just might be slightly better? CAC: Yeah, look that's the old chestnut Tony. Understand that we worry about that a little bit but rarely do you get the situation where two players are equal. I've got to say that I know this programme doesn't go to Perth but that doesn't matter. When I was at Fremantle in 1996 I sat on a draft table and a decision was made on Michael Braun or a local East Fremantle fellow and I think the leaning was always towards Michael Braun but in the end they chose the local feller because he was local. Michael Braun has gone on to play 200 games of AFL footy and Matthew Clucas was the other player. I'm not sure that he even played 20 games of AFL football. I was only working part time for Fremantle at the time but it taught me a good lesson that you think the player who you think is the best regardless of where they come from and back your system to keep them. TL: And just a last one on TJ because he was probably the second biggest move of the last week. How did TJ take the news? Was he ready to go or disappointed with what happened? CAC: Look I think he was shattered initially as you would be. He was only 17 when he came to our footy club. He was still going to school. He's basically grown up at Melbourne. I had a good chat with Travis yesterday before the finish of the trade and I said, "Mate, you've got a really good opportunity at Brisbane." They've still got a better than solid midfield so he's not going to attract the tags as he necessarily attracts them with us and I said that it's really important for him to finish off his career and be recognised as Travis Johnstone the star. That's what I think his challenge is – to take all the talent that he's got and we've seen from time to time - actually bundle it up together and become a star. And leave the game when people say "that Travis Johnstone he was a really good player." DR: How much of his total greatness, his talent did he show at Melbourne? 90%? 92%? CAC: Oh Dwayne, I really couldn't put a number on that. You could probably answer that as well as I could. We probably think there's a little bit more for him to give. DR: That was the point of the question to see if you said 100% and I think the majority of the people would suggest that it's somewhere below that? CAC: I've got no doubt and there’s been a number of issues surrounding that. His body hasn't allowed him to train as hard as you need a midfielder to train these days. Travis is a lad and enjoys his life as young blokes do and from time to time that may have held him back. I just really hope that he goes to Brisbane and ends up Travis Johnstone the star. As I said to him yesterday, he was the first selection I had in a national draft when I was at Melbourne and so it's hard to move those guys because they grow up in your system and I've known him for ten years. DR: Craig, we thank you for your time and good luck with pick four. CAC: Thank you very much. TL: And 14 and 21. DR: Well it's a 4, Kreuzer won't be there and probably not Cotchin or Morton. Sports Today Saturday Edition can be heard every Saturday from noon to 2.00pm on 3AW - 693 on your AM dial.

CRAIG CAMERON - THE INTERVIEW Dwayne Russell and Tony Leonard on 3AW’s Sorts Today Saturday Edition interviewed Melbournefc General Manager of Recruiting and List Management Craig Cameron today. With thanks to poster Alpha 33 we bring you the transcript of the interview: DR: Craig Cameron the Demons recruiting manager has been good enough to join us. Welcome to the programme Craig. How are you? CAC: Good Dwayne and Tony. How are you guys? TL: Very well thank you Craig. The first question to get out into the open is Travis Johnstone, pick number one in what was it 1997? Now on his way to Brisbane. At what stage did you know that the union was going to part? CAC: When you decide to trade a player like Travis it's not a five minute decision so we spent a fair bit of time thinking about it, looking at what we were trying to do with Dean coming on board and Chris Connolly as the new football manager and thinking what our strategy was over the next three years as a football club. The thing that was unanimous was that we were trying to build around the under 23 age group and if we could get more early draft selections particularly another first round selection in this year's draft we'd be happy because that just gives us a good group of youngsters coming through in the next few years. So when we decided that that was the direction we were going to go Travis was probably the player that we thought was most likely to deliver a first round selection to us. DR: Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly are both new to the club. Were they the ones who made the decision that Travis Johnstone was tradeable or should be traded because you wouldn’t think they knew Travis Johnstone and his history that well in comparison to those at the club. Was it suggested to Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly that Travis Johnstone was expendable? CAC: I think it was pretty much a group decision. Dean was obviously excited by Travis' talent but when we actually sat down and thought about where our list was at and what we needed to do to rejuvenate it or to keep the guys 23 and under coming through with more talent underneath them the long-term view was taken. It was not an easy decision. It's not an easy decision to move somebody of the quality Travis who was a best and fairest winner and a first round draft pick in the draft. It's not easy but I reckon in the end that everyone came to the conclusion that that was the best way to go. TL: In the finish Cameron, not a lot of trading's been done. People would look at Melbourne season and suggest a lot more should have been done. How would you respond to that? CAC: Well we traded a player out and a player in and we got another first round selection. Last year we didn't do any trading at all. I don't know. Does the history of trading suggest that it makes a difference to a side's short term or long-term future? I mean you guys can look up the records and decide whether that's the case but I would suggest on face value that doing a lot of trades makes a big difference to your outcome. TL: I suppose the companion question to that Craig is how does Melbourne become a better side in 2008 with Travis Johnstone out of the side, John Meesen as your ruckman coming in and obviously there's a draft pick that comes with it. CAC: Yeah. Well, we've got three early selections in this year's draft, we’ve got young fellers who we drafted last year who will be better for a run from last year's season. Ricky Petterd look like he was going to have a boomer season and unfortunately had that lung injury which cut it short. We've got a lot of young guys as we keep harping on that are 23 and under and that will continue to improve and we'll be putting a lot more resources into our development and coaching structure than we have in the past. This is not really my area to talk about but we’ll have probably a couple of development coaches, an innovations coach so we’ll be putting a lot more into our playing group to help them improve. TL: Craig, I know you can't put it to numbers but just going back to question of one in and one out, was Melbourne willing to trade more if the right player was there and if so what sort of players would you have been prepared to look at to be a bit more active in the trade week? CAC Well I'm not going to talk about names obviously but we were in a position if the right deal was available then we would have looked at players to trade out because as I keep saying for the next three years our strategy is to try and bring a fresh group of youngsters through. But you've got to balance that up with competing each year. You've got to make sure that your fans have a feeling that you're going out and competing each year. We've got to remember that we’ve played through the last four or five finals series and last year was a complete aberration, or so we're hoping. So we don't want to completely cut the guts out of our group because as I said we've got more support coming for our players in terms of coaching staff so we're hoping that will give us a lift. DR: Craig, now all about the draft. You've got pick four in the draft. No doubt you'd hope that Matthew Kreuzer or Trent Cotchin is available when your pick comes around. Who do you think Carlton will draft with pick one, Kreuzer or Cotchin? CAC: I think it's a very hard choice Dwayne but if either of them are there when it comes down to pick four one of them will very quickly come out my mouth I promise you. I think it's a hard choice. Carlton will probably are looking to get a young ruckman into the system so Kreuzer seems to be the favourite one but Trent Cotchin is a very talented player. DR: There's word that Richmond might go with the two Mortons and take Cale Morton with pick two and leave Trent Cotchin to go to the West Coast Eagles with pick three. You’ll be no doubt investigating that kind of thing over the next few weeks. Is that what you're hearing? CAC: I'm hearing that. I'm also hearing that they're very keen on Trent Cotchin. Look, Cale Morton is a very good player and I've got no doubt that if he gets selected at pick 2 he gets selected on his merits rather than because his brother's there. He won the medal at the Under 18 championships, he's close enough to 192 centimetres, he can run a 15.2 beep. He's outstanding in his talent so either selection, Cotchin or Morton, I don't think you could question it to be honest. TL: Yeah. And the point you make is good too. Three in the first twenty-one. Just as a general question. Two players. You've assessed them as being of equal ability, maybe a slight leaning but not much to the interstate player do you go with them or do you have to sort of catch your breath. We've just seen even with Chris Judd, I know he's mature in his career but wanting to return home. Will that come into your thinking whether you go for the local lad as opposed to someone from interstate who, for all intents and purposes just might be slightly better? CAC: Yeah, look that's the old chestnut Tony. Understand that we worry about that a little bit but rarely do you get the situation where two players are equal. I've got to say that I know this programme doesn't go to Perth but that doesn't matter. When I was at Fremantle in 1996 I sat on a draft table and a decision was made on Michael Braun or a local East Fremantle fellow and I think the leaning was always towards Michael Braun but in the end they chose the local feller because he was local. Michael Braun has gone on to play 200 games of AFL footy and Matthew Clucas was the other player. I'm not sure that he even played 20 games of AFL football. I was only working part time for Fremantle at the time but it taught me a good lesson that you think the player who you think is the best regardless of where they come from and back your system to keep them. TL: And just a last one on TJ because he was probably the second biggest move of the last week. How did TJ take the news? Was he ready to go or disappointed with what happened? CAC: Look I think he was shattered initially as you would be. He was only 17 when he came to our footy club. He was still going to school. He's basically grown up at Melbourne. I had a good chat with Travis yesterday before the finish of the trade and I said, "Mate, you've got a really good opportunity at Brisbane." They've still got a better than solid midfield so he's not going to attract the tags as he necessarily attracts them with us and I said that it's really important for him to finish off his career and be recognised as Travis Johnstone the star. That's what I think his challenge is – to take all the talent that he's got and we've seen from time to time - actually bundle it up together and become a star. And leave the game when people say "that Travis Johnstone he was a really good player." DR: How much of his total greatness, his talent did he show at Melbourne? 90%? 92%? CAC: Oh Dwayne, I really couldn't put a number on that. You could probably answer that as well as I could. We probably think there's a little bit more for him to give. DR: That was the point of the question to see if you said 100% and I think the majority of the people would suggest that it's somewhere below that? CAC: I've got no doubt and there’s been a number of issues surrounding that. His body hasn't allowed him to train as hard as you need a midfielder to train these days. Travis is a lad and enjoys his life as young blokes do and from time to time that may have held him back. I just really hope that he goes to Brisbane and ends up Travis Johnstone the star. As I said to him yesterday, he was the first selection I had in a national draft when I was at Melbourne and so it's hard to move those guys because they grow up in your system and I've known him for ten years. DR: Craig, we thank you for your time and good luck with pick four. CAC: Thank you very much. TL: And 14 and 21. DR: Well it's a 4, Kreuzer won't be there and probably not Cotchin or Morton. Sports Today Saturday Edition can be heard every Saturday from noon to 2.00pm on 3AW - 693 on your AM dial.

Alpha33 is putting together a full transcript of the interview. It will be up on the site tonight or tomorrow morning. Edit: It's now up - CRAIG CAMERON: THE INTERVIEW.

Be careful YM!

Nasher, Happy Birthday and thanks for all you do to help make this a great site! Cheers, Andy

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY FIVE by The Oracle MUCH ADO ABOUT "WHAT"? Adelaide Advertiser, columnist Michelangelo Rucci summed up trade week by writing yesterday that the week is "about false hope" and that leaving aside Chris Judd's move to Carlton, it has been "much ado about nothing." Rucci maintains that despite the enormous amount of the public attention on AFL players during the week, it is essentially a period that brings forward only three themes encompassing players. They have either - (1) "lost currency at their clubs get to find more opportunities elsewhere" – e.g the move of Melbourne’s Travis Johnstone to Brisbane, (2) "lost patience at their clubs - usually with the coach" and move on e.g Adelaide’s Ben Hudson to the Western Bulldogs, or (3) "annoyed their coaches" and are moved on – e.g. Brad Moran from the Kangaroos to Adelaide. He concluded that the reason why the week is one of unfulfilled expectation is that no trade, not even the move of a Brownlow Medallist and the game's number one player will tip a club from contender to premier. The trade week simply does not work that way in practice. When the clock struck the hour of two in the afternoon yesterday, the feeling was generally one of anti-climax as supporters of the various AFL clubs sat down to assess how their teams had fared over the AFL Trade Week. I suspect that the overwhelming majority would agree with Rucci's assessment that the week was much ado about nothing. Certainly, the supporters of three clubs – Essendon, Fremantle and Hawthorn would feel that way because their clubs ended the week completing no trades. A number of others managed to engage in what you might describe as "low level" trading involving players with lesser profiles and their fans might also be feeling empty handed now that the dust has settled. However, Rucci's "false hope" scenario can't yet be seen to apply to the likes of Carlton, a club that clearly achieved its main objectives over the exchange period. The Blues netted Judd, retained the top selection in the National Draft, snared premiership midfielder Richard Hadley (admittedly now an AFL "lesser light") from Brisbane and still retain the leverage and power of pick 2 in the Pre season Draft which promises the possibility of attaining a handy uncontracted player in December. There's plenty of hope there as long as the golden groin stands up! Paradoxically, the hopes and aspirations of West Coast Eagle fans should also be flying high right now. Although they have lost their brilliant skipper, they will go into 2008 with four of the best 22 young players in the land courtesy of National Draft picks numbered 3, 13, 20 and 22 together with a player who might just fill the bill in their desperate search for a much needed key forward in Josh Kennedy. Deep in the gloom created by the loss of Judd, the drug and crime related scandals and the death of a club icon, these prospects also fill the WA club with renewed hope for the future. St. Kilda fans would also be brim full of hope for 2008 because their club gained four players - Adam Schneider and Sean Dempster from Sydney and Charlie Gardiner and 2007 premiership player Steven King from Geelong – for peanuts thanks mainly to salary cap concerns at their old clubs. The Saints have milked the system well! Even Sydney coach Paul Roos came out and stated that "his club achieved all of its trade week goals". That's one that I simply can't work out but then again, Roos is a successful premiership coach so who am I to argue with that? Roos did however make the most profound comment about the exchange period and the system in general when he described Carlton's reward at trade week (Chris Judd and the keeping of the number 1 draft pick) after losing its last 11 games of the season as the "ugly side of football we don't need". Amen to that! Which brings me to Melbournefc. There was a lot said and written about its aims for trade week. A lot of names have been bandied about but the reality is that at week's end, the only new face at the club is a young ruckman who once was a first round draft selection but has spent three years in the wilderness at Adelaide which he represented only twice in AFL company. John Meesen joins the trio of Jeff White, Mark Jamar and Paul Johnson to augment the club's ruck strength but will have a battle on his hands to break into the ranks. On the other hand, the Demons have lost a former best and fairest winner who was the number 1 draft pick when he arrived. Many will feel entitled to ask, where's the hope there? That question is not an easy one to answer other than to say the expectations can only be fulfilled in the future. We all need to take deep breaths, sit back and see what the many changes at the cub will bring over the coming months and years. The club is pinning its faith on its as yet undeveloped cluster of promising players in the under 23 age group. We all know who they are, we all know that they are full of potential and we all know that "potential" is a dirty word at a club where so much potential has gone unfulfilled for so long. But that's where the hope lies at the Melbournefc – in the very fact that change is taking place.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY FIVE by The Oracle MUCH ADO ABOUT "WHAT"? Adelaide Advertiser, columnist Michelangelo Rucci summed up trade week by writing yesterday that the week is "about false hope" and that leaving aside Chris Judd's move to Carlton, it has been "much ado about nothing." Rucci maintains that despite the enormous amount of the public attention on AFL players during the week, it is essentially a period that brings forward only three themes encompassing players. They have either - (1) "lost currency at their clubs get to find more opportunities elsewhere" – e.g the move of Melbourne’s Travis Johnstone to Brisbane, (2) "lost patience at their clubs - usually with the coach" and move on e.g Adelaide’s Ben Hudson to the Western Bulldogs, or (3) "annoyed their coaches" and are moved on – e.g. Brad Moran from the Kangaroos to Adelaide. He concluded that the reason why the week is one of unfulfilled expectation is that no trade, not even the move of a Brownlow Medallist and the game's number one player will tip a club from contender to premier. The trade week simply does not work that way in practice. When the clock struck the hour of two in the afternoon yesterday, the feeling was generally one of anti-climax as supporters of the various AFL clubs sat down to assess how their teams had fared over the AFL Trade Week. I suspect that the overwhelming majority would agree with Rucci's assessment that the week was much ado about nothing. Certainly, the supporters of three clubs – Essendon, Fremantle and Hawthorn would feel that way because their clubs ended the week completing no trades. A number of others managed to engage in what you might describe as "low level" trading involving players with lesser profiles and their fans might also be feeling empty handed now that the dust has settled. However, Rucci's "false hope" scenario can't yet be seen to apply to the likes of Carlton, a club that clearly achieved its main objectives over the exchange period. The Blues netted Judd, retained the top selection in the National Draft, snared premiership midfielder Richard Hadley (admittedly now an AFL "lesser light") from Brisbane and still retain the leverage and power of pick 2 in the Pre season Draft which promises the possibility of attaining a handy uncontracted player in December. There's plenty of hope there as long as the golden groin stands up! Paradoxically, the hopes and aspirations of West Coast Eagle fans should also be flying high right now. Although they have lost their brilliant skipper, they will go into 2008 with four of the best 22 young players in the land courtesy of National Draft picks numbered 3, 13, 20 and 22 together with a player who might just fill the bill in their desperate search for a much needed key forward in Josh Kennedy. Deep in the gloom created by the loss of Judd, the drug and crime related scandals and the death of a club icon, these prospects also fill the WA club with renewed hope for the future. St. Kilda fans would also be brim full of hope for 2008 because their club gained four players - Adam Schneider and Sean Dempster from Sydney and Charlie Gardiner and 2007 premiership player Steven King from Geelong – for peanuts thanks mainly to salary cap concerns at their old clubs. The Saints have milked the system well! Even Sydney coach Paul Roos came out and stated that "his club achieved all of its trade week goals". That's one that I simply can't work out but then again, Roos is a successful premiership coach so who am I to argue with that? Roos did however make the most profound comment about the exchange period and the system in general when he described Carlton's reward at trade week (Chris Judd and the keeping of the number 1 draft pick) after losing its last 11 games of the season as the "ugly side of football we don't need". Amen to that! Which brings me to Melbournefc. There was a lot said and written about its aims for trade week. A lot of names have been bandied about but the reality is that at week's end, the only new face at the club is a young ruckman who once was a first round draft selection but has spent three years in the wilderness at Adelaide which he represented only twice in AFL company. John Meesen joins the trio of Jeff White, Mark Jamar and Paul Johnson to augment the club's ruck strength but will have a battle on his hands to break into the ranks. On the other hand, the Demons have lost a former best and fairest winner who was the number 1 draft pick when he arrived. Many will feel entitled to ask, where's the hope there? That question is not an easy one to answer other than to say the expectations can only be fulfilled in the future. We all need to take deep breaths, sit back and see what the many changes at the cub will bring over the coming months and years. The club is pinning its faith on its as yet undeveloped cluster of promising players in the under 23 age group. We all know who they are, we all know that they are full of potential and we all know that "potential" is a dirty word at a club where so much potential has gone unfulfilled for so long. But that's where the hope lies at the Melbournefc – in the very fact that change is taking place.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY FOUR by The Oracle ON SOLID GROUND The first thing I remember about footy is the peanut seller who used to ply his trade at Princes Park carrying a large Hessian bag full of shelled peanuts but there's nothing else about my debut appearance at a VFL ground that rebounds from the memory banks. I remember things from my teenage days like the rough and tumble gasometer wing at Arden Street, the foul stench of the toilets in the outer at Windy Hill, the tasteless, colourless hot dogs at Victoria Park, the engine drivers sounding their sirens as the trains whizzed past the sardine can shaped Glenferrie Oval and the creaky wooden stands at Albert Park where South Melbourne used to play. Later still, there was the perpetually boggy Moorabbin Oval and the rain swept VFL Park at Waverley while nowadays you have the toffy bars at the Dome but there's absolutely nothing like the M.C.G. The place is the very pinnacle not only of football grounds but also of international cricket and other sports. I reflect on the ground at this time because it's only a matter of weeks since it held crowds of close to a hundred thousand on successive weekends of the AFL finals series. However, the one ingredient that was sadly missed at the MCG was the presence of the club that was founded there and that has called the ground its home for almost 150 years. Are we ever going to relive the glory days of the Melbourne Football Club when the team was a power of the competition playing at the best ground in the country, the best in the world? Yesterday, on the fourth day of trade week, the new Demon regime headed by coach Dean Bailey sent a message to its players, supporters and the football world at large. The players who represent the club will be part of a brave new world of football – a changed landscape where the team will be expected to play the game with passion. The game of football will no longer be simply a ritual at Melbourne – the new management means business. The kind of business you do in the month of September at the M.C.G. On the day when Carlton and the Eagles finally put the Judd Saga to rest, the Demons completed two deals of their own. In the first, they gave away their most talented footballer, a man with silken skills and unbridled ability to play the game at the highest level. Travis Johnstone put in ten years at the club but for all of his ability, he never really reached the dizzy heights one expects these days from a number one draft pick. Recently Paul Roos was talking up Jude Bolton and he mentioned that his player would not be traded cheaply because he had finished in the top ten of the club best and fairest for three years in succession. Despite his undoubted talents, Johnstone had done that on only three occasions in his decade at the club, albeit that in 2005 he actually took home the "Bluey". However, given that when the 2008 season starts he will be nudging 28 years of age -well past the club's under 23 benchmark for the concentration of its football talent - Trapper was let go to Brisbane after representing the club 160 times for a first round draft selection at number 14. That's life in modern day football. On the same day that it shed itself of a player recruited in the first round of a national draft, Melbourne also gained a first rounder in 21 year old 201 cm tall ruckman John Meesen who has had an altogether different history to that of Johnstone. Originally from the Geelong Falcons, Meesen was a first round selection for Adelaide at pick number 8 in the 2004 National Draft but he managed to feature in only two AFL games for the Crows and neither of them was anything to write home about. He played most of his football in the City of Churches playing for the SANFL's Redlegs – Norwood Football Club where he must have come under Bailey's notice when the new Demon coach was an assistant at Port Adelaide. Hopefully, he can bring out the best in what he saw at that level and manage to develop his player into a leading ruckman in the AFL competition because Melbourne's ruck stocks badly need a boost with Jeff White entering the twilight of his career. Given that big men take a while to develop, the Demons are banking on him coming of age and blossoming as an AFL ruckman in the next couple of seasons. Meesen is ready, willing and keen and displayed that by telling the club’s website Melbournefc.com.au, "I am really thrilled to be joining the Melbourne Football Club and can't wait to get stuck into pre-season training on October 31." General Manager of Recruiting and List Management Craig Cameron said, "[w]e are very pleased that we were able to strike a deal to get John to join the Club. John is an outstanding runner and at only 21 years of age, has plenty of potential to become a long term player with the Melbourne Football Club." A nice welcome but the trading away of a talented footballer and introduction of a relatively untried young ruckman are not of themselves enough to inspire the possibility of a return to the finals. Surely, there's more? Speaking on SEN however, Cameron indicated that that there was nothing on the table for tomorrow's final four hours of trading before the week's activities draw to a close at 2.00pm. Naturally, he couldn't entirely rule out the possibility of more exchanges because there's always a chance of a last minute deal on the final day of trade week. Whether or not there is more to come as a result of the final day's trading really begs the question where Melbourne is concerned. Since Bailey was appointed coach, he has signalled a change in (I hate using this word but I will here) "culture" at the Melbourne Football Club with his delistings and his fearless approach to trading. The main problem with the club on the field in recent years has been the inconsistency of its performance. There are moves afoot to ensure that the problem is overcome and that the team will finally find itself on more solid ground.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY FOUR by The Oracle ON SOLID GROUND The first thing I remember about footy is the peanut seller who used to ply his trade at Princes Park carrying a large Hessian bag full of shelled peanuts but there's nothing else about my debut appearance at a VFL ground that rebounds from the memory banks. I remember things from my teenage days like the rough and tumble gasometer wing at Arden Street, the foul stench of the toilets in the outer at Windy Hill, the tasteless, colourless hot dogs at Victoria Park, the engine drivers sounding their sirens as the trains whizzed past the sardine can shaped Glenferrie Oval and the creaky wooden stands at Albert Park where South Melbourne used to play. Later still, there was the perpetually boggy Moorabbin Oval and the rain swept VFL Park at Waverley while nowadays you have the toffy bars at the Dome but there's absolutely nothing like the M.C.G. The place is the very pinnacle not only of football grounds but also of international cricket and other sports. I reflect on the ground at this time because it's only a matter of weeks since it held crowds of close to a hundred thousand on successive weekends of the AFL finals series. However, the one ingredient that was sadly missed at the MCG was the presence of the club that was founded there and that has called the ground its home for almost 150 years. Are we ever going to relive the glory days of the Melbourne Football Club when the team was a power of the competition playing at the best ground in the country, the best in the world? Yesterday, on the fourth day of trade week, the new Demon regime headed by coach Dean Bailey sent a message to its players, supporters and the football world at large. The players who represent the club will be part of a brave new world of football – a changed landscape where the team will be expected to play the game with passion. The game of football will no longer be simply a ritual at Melbourne – the new management means business. The kind of business you do in the month of September at the M.C.G. On the day when Carlton and the Eagles finally put the Judd Saga to rest, the Demons completed two deals of their own. In the first, they gave away their most talented footballer, a man with silken skills and unbridled ability to play the game at the highest level. Travis Johnstone put in ten years at the club but for all of his ability, he never really reached the dizzy heights one expects these days from a number one draft pick. Recently Paul Roos was talking up Jude Bolton and he mentioned that his player would not be traded cheaply because he had finished in the top ten of the club best and fairest for three years in succession. Despite his undoubted talents, Johnstone had done that on only three occasions in his decade at the club, albeit that in 2005 he actually took home the "Bluey". However, given that when the 2008 season starts he will be nudging 28 years of age -well past the club's under 23 benchmark for the concentration of its football talent - Trapper was let go to Brisbane after representing the club 160 times for a first round draft selection at number 14. That's life in modern day football. On the same day that it shed itself of a player recruited in the first round of a national draft, Melbourne also gained a first rounder in 21 year old 201 cm tall ruckman John Meesen who has had an altogether different history to that of Johnstone. Originally from the Geelong Falcons, Meesen was a first round selection for Adelaide at pick number 8 in the 2004 National Draft but he managed to feature in only two AFL games for the Crows and neither of them was anything to write home about. He played most of his football in the City of Churches playing for the SANFL's Redlegs – Norwood Football Club where he must have come under Bailey's notice when the new Demon coach was an assistant at Port Adelaide. Hopefully, he can bring out the best in what he saw at that level and manage to develop his player into a leading ruckman in the AFL competition because Melbourne's ruck stocks badly need a boost with Jeff White entering the twilight of his career. Given that big men take a while to develop, the Demons are banking on him coming of age and blossoming as an AFL ruckman in the next couple of seasons. Meesen is ready, willing and keen and displayed that by telling the club’s website Melbournefc.com.au, "I am really thrilled to be joining the Melbourne Football Club and can't wait to get stuck into pre-season training on October 31." General Manager of Recruiting and List Management Craig Cameron said, "[w]e are very pleased that we were able to strike a deal to get John to join the Club. John is an outstanding runner and at only 21 years of age, has plenty of potential to become a long term player with the Melbourne Football Club." A nice welcome but the trading away of a talented footballer and introduction of a relatively untried young ruckman are not of themselves enough to inspire the possibility of a return to the finals. Surely, there's more? Speaking on SEN however, Cameron indicated that that there was nothing on the table for tomorrow's final four hours of trading before the week's activities draw to a close at 2.00pm. Naturally, he couldn't entirely rule out the possibility of more exchanges because there's always a chance of a last minute deal on the final day of trade week. Whether or not there is more to come as a result of the final day's trading really begs the question where Melbourne is concerned. Since Bailey was appointed coach, he has signalled a change in (I hate using this word but I will here) "culture" at the Melbourne Football Club with his delistings and his fearless approach to trading. The main problem with the club on the field in recent years has been the inconsistency of its performance. There are moves afoot to ensure that the problem is overcome and that the team will finally find itself on more solid ground.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY THREE by The Oracle THE EMPTY PASSENGER SEAT Yesterday was one of the toughest days of my working life. For the past week and a half I've been dreading the prospect of facing up to the coming ordeal but I knew that the day would eventually come and when it came, I was going to hurt badly ... The organisation for which I work has two or three regional offices and yesterday was the day when I had to make my monthly trip down Princes Highway to Corio Bay and our branch office in the very heart of Cat country. It was my first visit since the team that the locals call the "greatest team of all" won the AFL Premiership Cup and the Norm Smith Medal and the Brownlow Medal and the VFL Premiership and the JJ Liston Medal and the Nab Rising Star Award and weren't the locals going to be keen to tell me all about it? I was set to travel down with a junior staff member but I received a call from management the evening before advising I would be travelling solo. Something about the company cutting costs and the lad had been given the pink slip. That was fine by me because the kid is a Blues fan and I much preferred having an empty passenger seat to an hour of earbashing about the man with the golden groin as an entree to what was going to hit me at the end of the ride. The blue and white streamers were evident even before the Ford Factory came into sight. The locals carried ear to ear grins and the entire flock of them weren't backward in coming forward about their recent triumph. Once the usual formalities were over, I was on the receiving end of sufficient earfuls about the local football team to last me a lifetime. I stopped them all in their tracks when I mentioned the fact that head office was currently heavily into cost cutting. They understood that part well because as delightful as it might be for their team to win a flag, it was less fun to celebrate it while on the dole! So we rolled up our sleeves and got down to some work. Everyone tried their hardest but such is the extent of the euphoria around the place that eventually our concentration lapsed and it was back to some sort of football related discussion. The thing that I learned was that Geelong's triumphant football season was working wonders for the psyche of Victoria's second city. The average citizen here has undergone an enormous boost in morale and I was happy for them because they've been through some tough times over the years. I found it strange however, that nobody was interested in what was going on in the rest of the country during the trade week. They simply didn't care. Mention the possible trading of Steven King to the Saints and you were met with a yawn. Bring up Henry Playfair or Charlie Gardiner and the subject would turn back to a description of Steve Johnson's miracle goals and Paul Chapman's aerial display in taking that hanger. As for Chris Judd, who in hell was he? The locals were happy with life, with the reappointment of Bomber Thompson as coach and with their football team. It was perfect just as it was thank you. They were content to grab Larry Donohue's boy as a father/son selection and maybe they would pick up another couple of locals in the draft, hopefully from the Geelong Falcons, and that was it. It was as if the rest of the world simply doesn't exist. The only person wanting to discuss anything other than the Cats' premiership victory was a relative newcomer to the organisation, a young lady from New South Wales who said she didn't know much about the game but she did have a football scoop for me. Suddenly, I was all ears. It seems that the son of someone from home has been offered a position on the Eagles' rookie list for 2008. His name is Ryan Davis and apparently he is their NSW scholarship holder. She wanted to know if he might step straight into the team to replace Chris Judd. I'm such a terrible liar so when I eventually stopped laughing, I simply responded in the negative. At least she was right about not knowing much about the game! It dawned upon me that as long as I remained in Sleepy Hollow the exchange week was going be a non-event. I had entered a time warp and had travelled back to last year when, at the half way mark of the same week nothing had happened - not even in the background and certainly not in the corridors of football power. But back in 2007 and in the real world outside, things were stirring. I knocked back the opportunity to take part in a liquid lunch at a fashionable bar near the office, worked through lunchtime and was on my way back in the direction of town by mid afternoon. I tuned into SEN and suddenly found that I was in a different world – a world that was buzzing with rumours as many new names were surfacing in connection with the trades. The trade week was gathering a momentum of its own and, by the end of the day, the key stories were: Judd was just about over the line in precisely the trade that certain Carlton fans in the know were boasting about almost a month ago when the Juddster announced he was walking out of Perth. Draft picks 3 and 20 plus Josh Kennedy. I needed no further convincing that the claims they had made at the time about it being a done deal were true from the start. It was the Carlton of old – "whatever we want we get because we’ve got the money and we’re prepared to splash it around to get what we want." The rest of Juddmania was a mere charade. Ironically, there was also a story about the multi-million dollar out-of-court settlement that had been brokered for Vizy with the ACCC – the group belonging to the Blues' chairman over some alleged collusion over price fixing. I was wondering what the kid might have been saying had he been in occupation of the empty front passenger seat of my vehicle. Port Adelaide was being offered Richmond forward Jay Schulz in a deal that would see Jordan McMahon end up with the Power and Damon White off to Whitten Oval. Adelaide was figuring strongly in a move for the Kangaroos' big man Brad Moran and Port Adelaide half-back Brad Symes while Crows' ruckman Ben Hudson was virtually signed, sealed and delivered by the Western Bulldogs. Sydney midfielders Jude Bolton and Adam Schneider were on the move, the latter bound for St Kilda. There was significant enquiry about Hawthorn forward Tim Boyle. In turn, the Hawks had their eyes on out-of-contract Richmond onballer Danny Meyer. Melbourne was active on a number of fronts but, like most of the other trades, nothing had yet been officially consummated. The big news from Demonland was that Travis Johnstone and his manager were in Brisbane while the Lions were seeking to pull off a trade coup that involved a trade for ruckman Cameron Wood who was to go to Collingwood in return for pick number 14 and Magpie defender Rhyce Shaw. Chris Johnson's name was associated with a possible move to St. Kilda in return for a third round draft pick. The Demons would then have two of those, one of which would surely be sent in the direction of Adelaide for ruckman John Meesen. Ironically, Johnson was due to leave next week on a 10 day trip to China with the Demons as part of a leadership program. I glanced at the empty passenger seat to my left, wondered whether there would be a similar void on Monday's flight and reflected on how much the sport of football had become like any other part of the business world. It could well be that Brad Miller might take Johnson's seat on the flight to the Orient because the Demons seem to be adamant that he will remain at the club as will Brock McLean who has shrugged off the flak from a couple of incidents in Europe and re-signed for another two years. The view from the outside seems to be that the club is heading in the right direction as Dean Bailey continues to imbue it with his own particular down to earth philosophy based on a strong work ethic. The first training session under the new regime at the end of the month promises to be full of interest. The drive home in the direction of the city end of the highway was nearing its end. I couldn't help but feel the hope welling in my heart that perhaps this time next year, I would be like the folk down in Geelong - celebrating an event that hasn't happened for 44 years and not having a care about the trade winds blowing all around me.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY THREE by The Oracle THE EMPTY PASSENGER SEAT Yesterday was one of the toughest days of my working life. For the past week and a half I've been dreading the prospect of facing up to the coming ordeal but I knew that the day would eventually come and when it came, I was going to hurt badly ... The organisation for which I work has two or three regional offices and yesterday was the day when I had to make my monthly trip down Princes Highway to Corio Bay and our branch office in the very heart of Cat country. It was my first visit since the team that the locals call the "greatest team of all" won the AFL Premiership Cup and the Norm Smith Medal and the Brownlow Medal and the VFL Premiership and the JJ Liston Medal and the Nab Rising Star Award and weren't the locals going to be keen to tell me all about it? I was set to travel down with a junior staff member but I received a call from management the evening before advising I would be travelling solo. Something about the company cutting costs and the lad had been given the pink slip. That was fine by me because the kid is a Blues fan and I much preferred having an empty passenger seat to an hour of earbashing about the man with the golden groin as an entree to what was going to hit me at the end of the ride. The blue and white streamers were evident even before the Ford Factory came into sight. The locals carried ear to ear grins and the entire flock of them weren't backward in coming forward about their recent triumph. Once the usual formalities were over, I was on the receiving end of sufficient earfuls about the local football team to last me a lifetime. I stopped them all in their tracks when I mentioned the fact that head office was currently heavily into cost cutting. They understood that part well because as delightful as it might be for their team to win a flag, it was less fun to celebrate it while on the dole! So we rolled up our sleeves and got down to some work. Everyone tried their hardest but such is the extent of the euphoria around the place that eventually our concentration lapsed and it was back to some sort of football related discussion. The thing that I learned was that Geelong's triumphant football season was working wonders for the psyche of Victoria's second city. The average citizen here has undergone an enormous boost in morale and I was happy for them because they've been through some tough times over the years. I found it strange however, that nobody was interested in what was going on in the rest of the country during the trade week. They simply didn't care. Mention the possible trading of Steven King to the Saints and you were met with a yawn. Bring up Henry Playfair or Charlie Gardiner and the subject would turn back to a description of Steve Johnson's miracle goals and Paul Chapman's aerial display in taking that hanger. As for Chris Judd, who in hell was he? The locals were happy with life, with the reappointment of Bomber Thompson as coach and with their football team. It was perfect just as it was thank you. They were content to grab Larry Donohue's boy as a father/son selection and maybe they would pick up another couple of locals in the draft, hopefully from the Geelong Falcons, and that was it. It was as if the rest of the world simply doesn't exist. The only person wanting to discuss anything other than the Cats' premiership victory was a relative newcomer to the organisation, a young lady from New South Wales who said she didn't know much about the game but she did have a football scoop for me. Suddenly, I was all ears. It seems that the son of someone from home has been offered a position on the Eagles' rookie list for 2008. His name is Ryan Davis and apparently he is their NSW scholarship holder. She wanted to know if he might step straight into the team to replace Chris Judd. I'm such a terrible liar so when I eventually stopped laughing, I simply responded in the negative. At least she was right about not knowing much about the game! It dawned upon me that as long as I remained in Sleepy Hollow the exchange week was going be a non-event. I had entered a time warp and had travelled back to last year when, at the half way mark of the same week nothing had happened - not even in the background and certainly not in the corridors of football power. But back in 2007 and in the real world outside, things were stirring. I knocked back the opportunity to take part in a liquid lunch at a fashionable bar near the office, worked through lunchtime and was on my way back in the direction of town by mid afternoon. I tuned into SEN and suddenly found that I was in a different world – a world that was buzzing with rumours as many new names were surfacing in connection with the trades. The trade week was gathering a momentum of its own and, by the end of the day, the key stories were: Judd was just about over the line in precisely the trade that certain Carlton fans in the know were boasting about almost a month ago when the Juddster announced he was walking out of Perth. Draft picks 3 and 20 plus Josh Kennedy. I needed no further convincing that the claims they had made at the time about it being a done deal were true from the start. It was the Carlton of old – "whatever we want we get because we’ve got the money and we’re prepared to splash it around to get what we want." The rest of Juddmania was a mere charade. Ironically, there was also a story about the multi-million dollar out-of-court settlement that had been brokered for Vizy with the ACCC – the group belonging to the Blues' chairman over some alleged collusion over price fixing. I was wondering what the kid might have been saying had he been in occupation of the empty front passenger seat of my vehicle. Port Adelaide was being offered Richmond forward Jay Schulz in a deal that would see Jordan McMahon end up with the Power and Damon White off to Whitten Oval. Adelaide was figuring strongly in a move for the Kangaroos' big man Brad Moran and Port Adelaide half-back Brad Symes while Crows' ruckman Ben Hudson was virtually signed, sealed and delivered by the Western Bulldogs. Sydney midfielders Jude Bolton and Adam Schneider were on the move, the latter bound for St Kilda. There was significant enquiry about Hawthorn forward Tim Boyle. In turn, the Hawks had their eyes on out-of-contract Richmond onballer Danny Meyer. Melbourne was active on a number of fronts but, like most of the other trades, nothing had yet been officially consummated. The big news from Demonland was that Travis Johnstone and his manager were in Brisbane while the Lions were seeking to pull off a trade coup that involved a trade for ruckman Cameron Wood who was to go to Collingwood in return for pick number 14 and Magpie defender Rhyce Shaw. Chris Johnson's name was associated with a possible move to St. Kilda in return for a third round draft pick. The Demons would then have two of those, one of which would surely be sent in the direction of Adelaide for ruckman John Meesen. Ironically, Johnson was due to leave next week on a 10 day trip to China with the Demons as part of a leadership program. I glanced at the empty passenger seat to my left, wondered whether there would be a similar void on Monday's flight and reflected on how much the sport of football had become like any other part of the business world. It could well be that Brad Miller might take Johnson's seat on the flight to the Orient because the Demons seem to be adamant that he will remain at the club as will Brock McLean who has shrugged off the flak from a couple of incidents in Europe and re-signed for another two years. The view from the outside seems to be that the club is heading in the right direction as Dean Bailey continues to imbue it with his own particular down to earth philosophy based on a strong work ethic. The first training session under the new regime at the end of the month promises to be full of interest. The drive home in the direction of the city end of the highway was nearing its end. I couldn't help but feel the hope welling in my heart that perhaps this time next year, I would be like the folk down in Geelong - celebrating an event that hasn't happened for 44 years and not having a care about the trade winds blowing all around me.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY TWO by the Oracle A BUTTERFLY FLAPS ITS WINGS The trade week continued to throw up surprises yesterday with Sydney premiership player Jude Bolton joining Travis Johnstone on the growing list of midfield talent whose names have come up for mention by the men who sit at AFL club negotiating tables. The pair will always pale into insignificance however, when compared to the big midfield name of trade week whose status still remains up in the air. The Blues and the Eagles remained deadlocked overnight on Chris Judd although officials of both clubs are optimistic about their negotiations reaching a conclusion some time soon. Richmond is hovering in the background with an offer of draft picks number 2, 18 and 19 for the 24-year-old Brownlow Medallist but the Juddster remains committed to the Blues and it has been suggested that he would bypass the Tigers if he went into the Pre season Draft by putting in a demand for a first year salary of $2million. Will someone please tell me that it's not all about the money and that he's really leaving Perth for "family reasons"? The first official deal was concluded yesterday with the Sydney Swans taking Adelaide running defender Martin Mattner in exchange for their second national draft pick, the 28th overall while the Western Bulldogs are closing in on two deals. Ben Hudson is headed to the Whitten Oval with Adelaide agreeing to accept an unspecified second-round pick for the ruckman. Whilst the Dogs have pick number 22 in the second round they are seeking to acquire a later pick in the round to pass on to the Crows. They are also set to snare Geelong's Tim Callan with their last pick. A plethora of other trade deals were being bandied about yesterday. Among them were: - The Saints, who lead the list of clubs crying out for more ruck strength, were linked with former Geelong captain and premiership ruckman Steven King. The Cats are likely to get pick number 26 in exchange. This would also ensure that Mark Blake remains with Geelong. Meanwhile Collingwood is pursuing Brisbane Lion ruckman Cameron Wood and are prepared to offer their first-round selection, pick number 14. If that deal is done, Travis Johnstone could leave Melbourne for northern climes with the Lions on-trading their newly acquired selection to the Demons. Johnstone is due back from Bangkok today to discuss his future with manager Alex McDonald. It could well be that he will remember his 42 possession game against the Blues in round 22 as his last in the red and blue. Hawthorn is desperate for a key defender and has rekindled its interest in Carlton's Bret Thornton who, at one stage last year, committed himself to join the Hawks. The name of Brisbane Lions' small man, Rhan Hooper emerged on the trade scene after the Tigers showed interest. Amon Buchanan and Adam Schneider joined Jude Bolton on the Harbour City "for sale" list. Kepler Bradley could be headed home with a place at Fremantle on offer. The number of names being named is mind-boggling but we know that many mooted trades will fizzle out and die by the end of the week. The main interest remains on the high profile Judd Saga but there are other trades which have a much lower profile and yet could end up having far reaching consequences going far beyond the apparent importance of the concluded trade. One example of this could be West Coast's possible trading of out-of-contract forward Mitch Morton to Richmond in a deal that could involve the clubs in exchanging their second round draft picks. Morton's brother Cale is a highly rated utility who won the Larke medal as the best and fairest player in Division One in this year's Under 18 National Championships. The 192 cm Morton, who has been likened to retiring Bomber James Hird, is a long kicking, one touch playmaker who would most likely be targeted to join his brother at Tigerland via the second pick overall in the national draft. This would leave the Eagles in a bit of a quandary. Assuming the Blues retain their number one pick and go according to the book by selecting Northern Knights ruckman Matthew Kreuzer, the next best available player would arguably be another Knight in brilliant midfield prospect Trent Cotchin. Cotchin is all class and matches his great skills with pace to burn. Unfortunately, his form at the national carnival was ordinary as he laboured under heavy tagging tactics and, just when things were looking up again, he broke a foot during the Nab Cup Under 18 finals series. Such things would not of themselves normally diminish his status as a desirable early draft selection but if the Eagles snare pick number 3 in the Judd trade, then they face a dilemma. The problem will be whether they should take Cotchin (who may not be all that keen to travel west) as the best player available or should they overlook him in favour of the home grown talented bunch of young Sandgropers who played a major role in WA's brilliant showing in the NAB AFL Under-18 championships this year when it won the division one title in devastating fashion. A total of eight West Australians were rewarded with All Australian representation from the carnival including Morton, Chris Masten, Rhys Palmer, Patrick McGinnity, David Myers, Alex Rance, Daniel Rich and Nicholas Naitanui. The two latter players are ineligible because of their age but the others are all potential first round selections at this year's national draft and any one of Masten, Palmer and Rance could finish in the top five. The Eagles have been sadly disappointed by the defection of their skipper in Judd and they might be reluctant to travel down the same path with a reluctant Cotchin particularly if they take a liking to a Masten or a Palmer. That could see Cotchin falling to pick four in the draft allowing the Demons to reap a very handy bonus because they would surely pick him without much hesitation. That possibility is not a strong one but the situation highlights the fact that there are many facets to the trade week activities and that not all of them are manifested directly in the trades themselves. What was that about butterflies flapping their wings somewhere above the Amazon River?

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY TWO by the Oracle A BUTTERFLY FLAPS ITS WINGS The trade week continued to throw up surprises yesterday with Sydney premiership player Jude Bolton joining Travis Johnstone on the growing list of midfield talent whose names have come up for mention by the men who sit at AFL club negotiating tables. The pair will always pale into insignificance however, when compared to the big midfield name of trade week whose status still remains up in the air. The Blues and the Eagles remained deadlocked overnight on Chris Judd although officials of both clubs are optimistic about their negotiations reaching a conclusion some time soon. Richmond is hovering in the background with an offer of draft picks number 2, 18 and 19 for the 24-year-old Brownlow Medallist but the Juddster remains committed to the Blues and it has been suggested that he would bypass the Tigers if he went into the Pre season Draft by putting in a demand for a first year salary of $2million. Will someone please tell me that it's not all about the money and that he's really leaving Perth for "family reasons"? The first official deal was concluded yesterday with the Sydney Swans taking Adelaide running defender Martin Mattner in exchange for their second national draft pick, the 28th overall while the Western Bulldogs are closing in on two deals. Ben Hudson is headed to the Whitten Oval with Adelaide agreeing to accept an unspecified second-round pick for the ruckman. Whilst the Dogs have pick number 22 in the second round they are seeking to acquire a later pick in the round to pass on to the Crows. They are also set to snare Geelong's Tim Callan with their last pick. A plethora of other trade deals were being bandied about yesterday. Among them were: - The Saints, who lead the list of clubs crying out for more ruck strength, were linked with former Geelong captain and premiership ruckman Steven King. The Cats are likely to get pick number 26 in exchange. This would also ensure that Mark Blake remains with Geelong. Meanwhile Collingwood is pursuing Brisbane Lion ruckman Cameron Wood and are prepared to offer their first-round selection, pick number 14. If that deal is done, Travis Johnstone could leave Melbourne for northern climes with the Lions on-trading their newly acquired selection to the Demons. Johnstone is due back from Bangkok today to discuss his future with manager Alex McDonald. It could well be that he will remember his 42 possession game against the Blues in round 22 as his last in the red and blue. Hawthorn is desperate for a key defender and has rekindled its interest in Carlton's Bret Thornton who, at one stage last year, committed himself to join the Hawks. The name of Brisbane Lions' small man, Rhan Hooper emerged on the trade scene after the Tigers showed interest. Amon Buchanan and Adam Schneider joined Jude Bolton on the Harbour City "for sale" list. Kepler Bradley could be headed home with a place at Fremantle on offer. The number of names being named is mind-boggling but we know that many mooted trades will fizzle out and die by the end of the week. The main interest remains on the high profile Judd Saga but there are other trades which have a much lower profile and yet could end up having far reaching consequences going far beyond the apparent importance of the concluded trade. One example of this could be West Coast's possible trading of out-of-contract forward Mitch Morton to Richmond in a deal that could involve the clubs in exchanging their second round draft picks. Morton's brother Cale is a highly rated utility who won the Larke medal as the best and fairest player in Division One in this year's Under 18 National Championships. The 192 cm Morton, who has been likened to retiring Bomber James Hird, is a long kicking, one touch playmaker who would most likely be targeted to join his brother at Tigerland via the second pick overall in the national draft. This would leave the Eagles in a bit of a quandary. Assuming the Blues retain their number one pick and go according to the book by selecting Northern Knights ruckman Matthew Kreuzer, the next best available player would arguably be another Knight in brilliant midfield prospect Trent Cotchin. Cotchin is all class and matches his great skills with pace to burn. Unfortunately, his form at the national carnival was ordinary as he laboured under heavy tagging tactics and, just when things were looking up again, he broke a foot during the Nab Cup Under 18 finals series. Such things would not of themselves normally diminish his status as a desirable early draft selection but if the Eagles snare pick number 3 in the Judd trade, then they face a dilemma. The problem will be whether they should take Cotchin (who may not be all that keen to travel west) as the best player available or should they overlook him in favour of the home grown talented bunch of young Sandgropers who played a major role in WA's brilliant showing in the NAB AFL Under-18 championships this year when it won the division one title in devastating fashion. A total of eight West Australians were rewarded with All Australian representation from the carnival including Morton, Chris Masten, Rhys Palmer, Patrick McGinnity, David Myers, Alex Rance, Daniel Rich and Nicholas Naitanui. The two latter players are ineligible because of their age but the others are all potential first round selections at this year's national draft and any one of Masten, Palmer and Rance could finish in the top five. The Eagles have been sadly disappointed by the defection of their skipper in Judd and they might be reluctant to travel down the same path with a reluctant Cotchin particularly if they take a liking to a Masten or a Palmer. That could see Cotchin falling to pick four in the draft allowing the Demons to reap a very handy bonus because they would surely pick him without much hesitation. That possibility is not a strong one but the situation highlights the fact that there are many facets to the trade week activities and that not all of them are manifested directly in the trades themselves. What was that about butterflies flapping their wings somewhere above the Amazon River?

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY ONE by the Oracle BEHIND THE SCENES Who said nothing ever happens on the first day of trade week? Well, er … I did. It's true that there were no deals done on the opening day of proceedings and it may well be that the number of trades finalised by the end of the week will fail to reach double figures again but there was certainly a lot going on behind the scenes at Telstra Dome yesterday. Apart from the wheeling and dealing that always transpires when club recruiting officers meet formally for the first time in trade week, you could also get a feel of the direction some of the clubs are about to take in the future. Some will remain constant in their approach while others will change dramatically. The Swans, for instance, are still travelling along the old road that they have comfortably travelled upon throughout the Paul Roos years – the building up of their side through the recruitment of mature players. They offered their third-round draft pick for Crows defender Martin Mattner and naturally, Adelaide wants more for the player they didn't have sufficient faith in to select in their team when the finals came along this year. That's good old fashioned horse trading at its best! But the winds of change are also blowing. Essendon is intent on accumulating draft picks to allow new coach Matthew Knights to concentrate on redeveloping with youth. The Bombers kicked off with the drafting of key position prospect Darcy Daniher under the AFL's new father/son bidding system after they trumped a bid by the Kangaroos. Daniher will go to the Bombers for their third round national draft pick, number 39 overall. We learned a lot about Melbourne and the direction it is intent on taking under new coach Dean Bailey. When he arrived on the scene, we were promised an interesting ride and a new emphasis on youth and on the group of mainly under 23 players upon whose shoulders the new coach hopes to pin the club's future. The mooted change of direction was sharply pushed into focus with the news that contracted players Travis Johnstone and Nathan Carroll have both been put up for trade. Yesterday recruiting manager Craig Cameron said that 27 year old Johnstone, the Demons' 2005 best-and-fairest winner, has not yet attracted much interest from the other clubs but it is reported this morning that at least two clubs have made enquiries. Football manager Chris Connolly said, "There's been a lot of interest. Solid interest." Connolly would not name clubs, but it is understood Sydney is one of them. Key defender Carroll, who turns 27 next week and was in contention for All Australian honours last year, has not yet sparked significant interest but now that his name's out there, the wheels are sure to start turning. Brad Miller is also attracting interest from … who else? Sydney. Meanwhile, it was revealed that Melbourne offered its third round-selection, pick number 37, for Adelaide ruckman John Meesen. The offer was refused by the Crows who want a second-round selection for the player chosen with pick eight in the 2004 national draft. Since then Meesen has played two AFL games. With a record like that, he'll go for a third rounder or something thereabouts or be picked up for nothing in the pre season draft. The influence of Bailey was clearly seen in the vision of his body language and the confident manner in which he strode into the Telstra Dome to herald the start of trade week. He exuded confidence and it's clear that he is taking over the team with a definite purpose and direction. His position on the silky skilled Johnstone is one that suggests he will follow through with his intentions. He has "spoken to him clearly", Connolly indicated. If Johnstone does stay, he will be a different player to the talented footballer who has largely underachieved in the decade since he was selected with the number one draft pick in 1997. If he goes, his new club will have to pay the right price. I couldn't help but contrast Bailey's demeanour with that of Blues coach Brett Ratten who seemed a little out of place and remained very much in the background as his club's chief executive Greg Swann revealed that negotiations with West Coast over Chris Judd would be kept simple and that the trade week's biggest deal would be done with minimal fuss. The Blues last night were asking Josh Kennedy to move back home to Perth along with picks number 3 and 20 for the Eagles to make way for the man with the golden groin. Carlton has also shown an interest in Brisbane's Richard Hadley, who is out of contract. In other news:- In addition to Darcy Daniher going to Essendon, two other players will also be heading to the clubs where their fathers played. Jaxson Barham, son of Ricky, will go to Collingwood and Adam Donohue, son of Larry, is bound for Geelong. Both clubs will get their players in return for their final selections in the national draft as no other clubs bid for them in yesterday's pre trade week auction of father/sons. West Coast is also well down the track on trading out-of-contract forward Mitch Morton to Richmond in a deal involving the Tigers giving the Eagles selection number 18 in return for pick number 30. The Crows want a second round draft pick for out-of-contract ruckman Ben Hudson, who wants to join the Western Bulldogs who are offering Sam Power and Jordan McMahon up for trade - to Brisbane and Port respectively - to get draft picks to appease Adelaide. Hawk key forward Tim Boyle drew the interest of many clubs and could be on his way to Adelaide while Port Adelaide's Damon White also drew the attention of several clubs. The most sought after group of players are the ruckmen with Geelong's Mark Blake and Steven King, Brisbane's Cameron Wood joining Hudson and Meesen as players of interest. There's still a long way to go and club recruiting people were showing no sign of tiredness as the week's activities opened. If you're still not tired of the trade news, you can follow the trade action from Monday of Trade Week with Peter Donegan and Graeme Bond here - AFL TRADE WEEK NEWSDESK - PART ONE That is, if you have another twenty minutes or so to spare!

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: DAY ONE by the Oracle BEHIND THE SCENES Who said nothing ever happens on the first day of trade week? Well, er … I did. It's true that there were no deals done on the opening day of proceedings and it may well be that the number of trades finalised by the end of the week will fail to reach double figures again but there was certainly a lot going on behind the scenes at Telstra Dome yesterday. Apart from the wheeling and dealing that always transpires when club recruiting officers meet formally for the first time in trade week, you could also get a feel of the direction some of the clubs are about to take in the future. Some will remain constant in their approach while others will change dramatically. The Swans, for instance, are still travelling along the old road that they have comfortably travelled upon throughout the Paul Roos years – the building up of their side through the recruitment of mature players. They offered their third-round draft pick for Crows defender Martin Mattner and naturally, Adelaide wants more for the player they didn't have sufficient faith in to select in their team when the finals came along this year. That's good old fashioned horse trading at its best! But the winds of change are also blowing. Essendon is intent on accumulating draft picks to allow new coach Matthew Knights to concentrate on redeveloping with youth. The Bombers kicked off with the drafting of key position prospect Darcy Daniher under the AFL's new father/son bidding system after they trumped a bid by the Kangaroos. Daniher will go to the Bombers for their third round national draft pick, number 39 overall. We learned a lot about Melbourne and the direction it is intent on taking under new coach Dean Bailey. When he arrived on the scene, we were promised an interesting ride and a new emphasis on youth and on the group of mainly under 23 players upon whose shoulders the new coach hopes to pin the club's future. The mooted change of direction was sharply pushed into focus with the news that contracted players Travis Johnstone and Nathan Carroll have both been put up for trade. Yesterday recruiting manager Craig Cameron said that 27 year old Johnstone, the Demons' 2005 best-and-fairest winner, has not yet attracted much interest from the other clubs but it is reported this morning that at least two clubs have made enquiries. Football manager Chris Connolly said, "There's been a lot of interest. Solid interest." Connolly would not name clubs, but it is understood Sydney is one of them. Key defender Carroll, who turns 27 next week and was in contention for All Australian honours last year, has not yet sparked significant interest but now that his name's out there, the wheels are sure to start turning. Brad Miller is also attracting interest from … who else? Sydney. Meanwhile, it was revealed that Melbourne offered its third round-selection, pick number 37, for Adelaide ruckman John Meesen. The offer was refused by the Crows who want a second-round selection for the player chosen with pick eight in the 2004 national draft. Since then Meesen has played two AFL games. With a record like that, he'll go for a third rounder or something thereabouts or be picked up for nothing in the pre season draft. The influence of Bailey was clearly seen in the vision of his body language and the confident manner in which he strode into the Telstra Dome to herald the start of trade week. He exuded confidence and it's clear that he is taking over the team with a definite purpose and direction. His position on the silky skilled Johnstone is one that suggests he will follow through with his intentions. He has "spoken to him clearly", Connolly indicated. If Johnstone does stay, he will be a different player to the talented footballer who has largely underachieved in the decade since he was selected with the number one draft pick in 1997. If he goes, his new club will have to pay the right price. I couldn't help but contrast Bailey's demeanour with that of Blues coach Brett Ratten who seemed a little out of place and remained very much in the background as his club's chief executive Greg Swann revealed that negotiations with West Coast over Chris Judd would be kept simple and that the trade week's biggest deal would be done with minimal fuss. The Blues last night were asking Josh Kennedy to move back home to Perth along with picks number 3 and 20 for the Eagles to make way for the man with the golden groin. Carlton has also shown an interest in Brisbane's Richard Hadley, who is out of contract. In other news:- In addition to Darcy Daniher going to Essendon, two other players will also be heading to the clubs where their fathers played. Jaxson Barham, son of Ricky, will go to Collingwood and Adam Donohue, son of Larry, is bound for Geelong. Both clubs will get their players in return for their final selections in the national draft as no other clubs bid for them in yesterday's pre trade week auction of father/sons. West Coast is also well down the track on trading out-of-contract forward Mitch Morton to Richmond in a deal involving the Tigers giving the Eagles selection number 18 in return for pick number 30. The Crows want a second round draft pick for out-of-contract ruckman Ben Hudson, who wants to join the Western Bulldogs who are offering Sam Power and Jordan McMahon up for trade - to Brisbane and Port respectively - to get draft picks to appease Adelaide. Hawk key forward Tim Boyle drew the interest of many clubs and could be on his way to Adelaide while Port Adelaide's Damon White also drew the attention of several clubs. The most sought after group of players are the ruckmen with Geelong's Mark Blake and Steven King, Brisbane's Cameron Wood joining Hudson and Meesen as players of interest. There's still a long way to go and club recruiting people were showing no sign of tiredness as the week's activities opened. If you're still not tired of the trade news, you can follow the trade action from Monday of Trade Week with Peter Donegan and Graeme Bond here - AFL TRADE WEEK NEWSDESK - PART ONE That is, if you have another twenty minutes or so to spare!