Demonland

Spread the word that he's interested in the environment and cardbord boxes for starters.

Demonland presents the third in the series on the forthcoming drafts by "Stevo" as told to Whispering Jack ... ANOTHER YEAR OF DRAFTING DANGEROUSLY – PART THREE by Stevo THE LANGUAGE OF THE DRAFT The 2008 National Draft is now a little over a week away and, in the coming week or so, the football world will be swept with a plethora of draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. I thought it would be a good idea to break up my preview of the draft by providing you with this guide to help you decipher them in order that you can understand what these people are really saying (note: not all of this material is original and some might think it's all tripe but what the heck!) - "Outside player with good pace" - a receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - he's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - slow. "He's an elusive type" - like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - he has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - he can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - we needed someone to practice tackling on. "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - did you know this kid is 200cm tall? "We believe he has unlimited potential" - we've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - my wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - he'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - either 15 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - he's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - he is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - he weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - he may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - you should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - we haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - we are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department.

Demonland presents the third in the series on the forthcoming drafts by "Stevo" as told to Whispering Jack ... ANOTHER YEAR OF DRAFTING DANGEROUSLY – PART THREE by Stevo THE LANGUAGE OF THE DRAFT The 2008 National Draft is now a little over a week away and, in the coming week or so, the football world will be swept with a plethora of draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. I thought it would be a good idea to break up my preview of the draft by providing you with this guide to help you decipher them in order that you can understand what these people are really saying (note: not all of this material is original and some might think it's all tripe but what the heck!) - "Outside player with good pace" - a receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - he's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - slow. "He's an elusive type" - like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - he has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - he can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - we needed someone to practice tackling on. "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - did you know this kid is 200cm tall? "We believe he has unlimited potential" - we've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - my wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - he'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - either 15 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - he's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - he is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - he weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - he may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - you should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - we haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - we are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department.

Demonland presents the second in the series on the forthcoming drafts by "Stevo" as told to Whispering Jack ... ANOTHER YEAR OF DRAFTING DANGEROUSLY – PART TWO by Stevo SWIFT FLOWS THE DRAFT - THE WILD CARDS It was a little over 19 months ago that Tom Swift was sitting on top of the world. The young Western Australian was already making a name for himself as an elite junior footballer after starring in the previous year's national carnival for under 16 players. Then disaster struck. A member of the AIS-AFL academy squad about to embark on a tour of South Africa, Swift was the youngest of five team leaders of the touring group, the others being Trent Cotchin, Brad Ebert, Jack Grimes and Brendan Whitecross. Before the touring side left the country it assembled in Perth where it played an exhibition match on 7 April 2007 against WAFL team Perth at Subiaco Oval as a curtain raiser to the round 3 West Coast-Collingwood AFL match. Swift started the game well but late in the first quarter he landed awkwardly on his left leg which buckled at the knee and his ACL snapped. The injury put him out of football for 12 months but that wasn't the end of his troubles. An injury to the right knee which, while not as serious, managed to curtail most of his 2008 season. In the interim, Swift saw two of his WA team mates and fellow academy members Nick Naitanui and Daniel Rich play in two national under 18 carnivals, achieve All Australian honours and championship medallions, ease themselves into senior football playing in WAFL grand finals (in Rich's case he has two premiership medallions with Subiaco) and assume favouritism for early selection with their own local AFL clubs for this month's national draft. Swift's name however, was not entirely forgotten by AFL recruiters despite the limited number of appearances on the football field. Last month he made it to the national draft camp in Canberra where he excelled in a number of tests and he is now back on the draft radar with a vengeance. There are strong indications that he will go somewhere in the top twenty and, since I'm a real stickler for an omen bet, the clincher for me was the win at Rose Hill last Saturday by the Gai Waterhouse trained Swift Alliance (@$1.40), his second win from as many starts! The Tom Swift story highlights the quirkiness of the field for this month's national draft. He is one of a handful of hopefuls who are true draft wild cards - capable of being picked very early but also possible drifters who could fall to late in the first round or beyond. The other "wild cards" are Phil Davis, Stephen Hill, Steele Sidebottom, Jackson Trengove and Chris Yarran. Ayce Cordy, a 202cm ruckman from the Geelong Falcons who spent most of 2008 on the sidelines with injury would have been on the list but has been snapped up as a father-son selection by the Bulldogs. Phil Davis from St Peters College in Adelaide is tall (193cm), athletic and capable of playing in virtually any key position on the ground but like Swift, played very little football this year. Davis suffered a shoulder injury early in the season, came back and played and was selected for the South Australian Under 18 side but a recurrence of the injury meant surgery on the shoulder and an end to his season. The Crows have been keeping tabs on Davis for some time and his talent has not gone unnoticed in several other quarters. He is a real dark horse for selection in the first round of the national draft. Stephen Hill was one of WA's stand out players in the national carnival as a half back flanker/wingman with the ability to play in the middle. He was selected in the All-Australian team but most ranked him well below fellow Sandgropers in Rich, Naitanui and Chris Yarran. However, his star rose to great heights after draft camp testing revealed the extent of his sheer pace and agility. Suddenly the draft camp record breaker (2.77 in the 0m sprint) appeared in great demand with an article in the West Australian newspaper indicating that Fremantle might consider him ahead of Rich at #3 while another newspaper report suggested he was a good chance to go at 5 to Essendon. Steele Sidebottom had a consistent year with the premiership winning Murray Bushrangers and the Victorian Country team in national championships. He won All-Australian honours and capped his year off with an excellent TAC Cup finals series and a sensational 32 possessions and 10 goals in the grand final. On that basis, he should have been considered a certainty for top 10 selection. A clever player whose skills are good on both sides, has great endurance and a quick thinker, Sidebottom's draft camp speed tests were however, not to the liking of many observers and suddenly (and inexplicably to some people) his draft stocks have fallen somewhat. The draft camp seems to have had the reverse effect on Sidebottom's prospects to those of Hill but he's a true footballer and I still expect him to be taken in the top ten or very close to that mark. Twelve months ago Jackson Trengove was one of the stars of the Calder Cannons premiership side. He had just completed an outstanding finals series and, but for the fact that he was ineligible because of his young age might well have been selected in the top 10 last November. Flash forward another six months and Trengove was on track for a top 5 draft berth after gaining selection as a ruckman/forward for Victoria Metro for the Under 18 championships. After playing the first game of the series, his hamstring tore so badly off the bone in a training mishap that he required surgery in June. The injury took its time healing (there was a follow up operation in July) and it was only recently that he was given a positive medical report suggesting he was healing well enough for him to come into high draft calculations again. Chris Yarran is an enigma but not for reasons of injury but rather because there are some that question his attitude and his application to the game. Yarran has been a stand out in the WAFL runner up team Swan Districts alongside Naitanui and another young up and comer in Clancee Pearce. He kicks the impossible goal and has been compared with Port Power's Shaun Burgoyne but the doubters have cast a slight pall over his draft prospects. He'll certainly be taken but perhaps not as early as we might have thought earlier in the year. This group of players whose draft destinations are unknown and slightly problematic is indicative of why this draft is so unpredictable. At one stage or another they might have been considered early selections or possibilities to go in the range of the Demons' second round selections at 17 and 19. One or two still might be there but quite a few of them will be selected well before Melbourne's Barry Prendergast calls out his second selection of the draft meeting. Last year, some observers were successful in calling most of the top ten selections in advance. Thanks to this year's wild cards, that prospect is highly unlikely in 2008.

Demonland presents the second in the series on the forthcoming drafts by "Stevo" as told to Whispering Jack ... ANOTHER YEAR OF DRAFTING DANGEROUSLY – PART TWO by Stevo SWIFT FLOWS THE DRAFT - THE WILD CARDS It was a little over 19 months ago that Tom Swift was sitting on top of the world. The young Western Australian was already making a name for himself as an elite junior footballer after starring in the previous year's national carnival for under 16 players. Then disaster struck. A member of the AIS-AFL academy squad about to embark on a tour of South Africa, Swift was the youngest of five team leaders of the touring group, the others being Trent Cotchin, Brad Ebert, Jack Grimes and Brendan Whitecross. Before the touring side left the country it assembled in Perth where it played an exhibition match on 7 April 2007 against WAFL team Perth at Subiaco Oval as a curtain raiser to the round 3 West Coast-Collingwood AFL match. Swift started the game well but late in the first quarter he landed awkwardly on his left leg which buckled at the knee and his ACL snapped. The injury put him out of football for 12 months but that wasn't the end of his troubles. An injury to the right knee which, while not as serious, managed to curtail most of his 2008 season. In the interim, Swift saw two of his WA team mates and fellow academy members Nick Naitanui and Daniel Rich play in two national under 18 carnivals, achieve All Australian honours and championship medallions, ease themselves into senior football playing in WAFL grand finals (in Rich's case he has two premiership medallions with Subiaco) and assume favouritism for early selection with their own local AFL clubs for this month's national draft. Swift's name however, was not entirely forgotten by AFL recruiters despite the limited number of appearances on the football field. Last month he made it to the national draft camp in Canberra where he excelled in a number of tests and he is now back on the draft radar with a vengeance. There are strong indications that he will go somewhere in the top twenty and, since I'm a real stickler for an omen bet, the clincher for me was the win at Rose Hill last Saturday by the Gai Waterhouse trained Swift Alliance (@$1.40), his second win from as many starts! The Tom Swift story highlights the quirkiness of the field for this month's national draft. He is one of a handful of hopefuls who are true draft wild cards - capable of being picked very early but also possible drifters who could fall to late in the first round or beyond. The other "wild cards" are Phil Davis, Stephen Hill, Steele Sidebottom, Jackson Trengove and Chris Yarran. Ayce Cordy, a 202cm ruckman from the Geelong Falcons who spent most of 2008 on the sidelines with injury would have been on the list but has been snapped up as a father-son selection by the Bulldogs. Phil Davis from St Peters College in Adelaide is tall (193cm), athletic and capable of playing in virtually any key position on the ground but like Swift, played very little football this year. Davis suffered a shoulder injury early in the season, came back and played and was selected for the South Australian Under 18 side but a recurrence of the injury meant surgery on the shoulder and an end to his season. The Crows have been keeping tabs on Davis for some time and his talent has not gone unnoticed in several other quarters. He is a real dark horse for selection in the first round of the national draft. Stephen Hill was one of WA's stand out players in the national carnival as a half back flanker/wingman with the ability to play in the middle. He was selected in the All-Australian team but most ranked him well below fellow Sandgropers in Rich, Naitanui and Chris Yarran. However, his star rose to great heights after draft camp testing revealed the extent of his sheer pace and agility. Suddenly the draft camp record breaker (2.77 in the 0m sprint) appeared in great demand with an article in the West Australian newspaper indicating that Fremantle might consider him ahead of Rich at #3 while another newspaper report suggested he was a good chance to go at 5 to Essendon. Steele Sidebottom had a consistent year with the premiership winning Murray Bushrangers and the Victorian Country team in national championships. He won All-Australian honours and capped his year off with an excellent TAC Cup finals series and a sensational 32 possessions and 10 goals in the grand final. On that basis, he should have been considered a certainty for top 10 selection. A clever player whose skills are good on both sides, has great endurance and a quick thinker, Sidebottom's draft camp speed tests were however, not to the liking of many observers and suddenly (and inexplicably to some people) his draft stocks have fallen somewhat. The draft camp seems to have had the reverse effect on Sidebottom's prospects to those of Hill but he's a true footballer and I still expect him to be taken in the top ten or very close to that mark. Twelve months ago Jackson Trengove was one of the stars of the Calder Cannons premiership side. He had just completed an outstanding finals series and, but for the fact that he was ineligible because of his young age might well have been selected in the top 10 last November. Flash forward another six months and Trengove was on track for a top 5 draft berth after gaining selection as a ruckman/forward for Victoria Metro for the Under 18 championships. After playing the first game of the series, his hamstring tore so badly off the bone in a training mishap that he required surgery in June. The injury took its time healing (there was a follow up operation in July) and it was only recently that he was given a positive medical report suggesting he was healing well enough for him to come into high draft calculations again. Chris Yarran is an enigma but not for reasons of injury but rather because there are some that question his attitude and his application to the game. Yarran has been a stand out in the WAFL runner up team Swan Districts alongside Naitanui and another young up and comer in Clancee Pearce. He kicks the impossible goal and has been compared with Port Power's Shaun Burgoyne but the doubters have cast a slight pall over his draft prospects. He'll certainly be taken but perhaps not as early as we might have thought earlier in the year. This group of players whose draft destinations are unknown and slightly problematic is indicative of why this draft is so unpredictable. At one stage or another they might have been considered early selections or possibilities to go in the range of the Demons' second round selections at 17 and 19. One or two still might be there but quite a few of them will be selected well before Melbourne's Barry Prendergast calls out his second selection of the draft meeting. Last year, some observers were successful in calling most of the top ten selections in advance. Thanks to this year's wild cards, that prospect is highly unlikely in 2008.

Demonland is again proud to present the views of "Stevo" who knows the ins and outs of the Under 18 TAC Cup scene from an insider's point of view. He was there at the National Under 18 championship games played in Melbourne this winter and here are his views on the 2008 draft prospects from a Melbourne Football Club perspective as told to Whispering Jack ... ANOTHER YEAR OF DRAFTING DANGEROUSLY – PART ONE by Stevo SEND IN THE CLOWNS Cast your mind back to a Saturday evening back in 2007. To be exact, the evening of 11 August 2007 when the Demons were ever so generously permitted by the AFL to play a home game on a Saturday night in Melbourne (probably the last time it happened). The problem was that for some unknown reason, this fixture took place at Telstra Dome, the home ground of its opponent for the night, the Western Bulldogs, but in the end it probably didn't matter anyway. The Doggies were in a slight slump but a win that night would have put them into the top eight by a clear game. The Demons were in fifteenth position with just three wins. They had absolutely nothing to play for and were being quoted at $4.00 the win in a two horse race which made them rank outsiders. So what happened? In front of 18,946 witnesses they stunned the Western Bulldogs into submission to lead from start to finish and win by 42 points in a round 19 result that turned out to be more significantly to their own detriment because the four points gained from the match virtually ruled out their prospects of gaining a priority draft pick in 2007 (#19) and, as it turns out, the very succulent thought of having the first two picks at the forthcoming 2008 national draft. Just think about that for a moment or two. Had Melbourne done what everyone believed its fellow cellar dweller Carlton was doing at this time of the season (i.e. tanking games to ensure a better draft position), its supporters would now be spending their nights listening to some beautiful music and dreaming about the moment when their club's new recruiting officer Barry Prendergast calls out the first two names at a minute or so past 11 o'clock on the morning of Saturday 29 November 2008: - "Selection No 1 Melbourne [insert number] Jack Watts … Selection No 2 Melbourne [insert number] Daniel Rich" And then they could all rapturously break out into the opening lines of that wonderful song from the musical "A Little Night Music" at the thought of these two players in action together on the field in the red and navy blue colours:- Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground, You in mid-air. But alas, that won’t happen because, at exactly 7.10 pm on the night of Saturday 11 August 2007, the folk at melbournefc.com.au decided to send in the bloody clowns to win a game of football that was meaningless while elsewhere on this continent the boys in the navy blue were literally fumbling, stumbling and tripping over their feet losing the football on the way to eleven successive defeats to finish on four wins for the season. The exact number to earn them a priority pick at # 1 over Richmond which is precisely what Melbourne would have received this year had it lost to either the Bulldogs that night or to Carlton in Round 22, the latter of which was well nigh on impossible. As Whispering Jack put it to me recently, this was the night when "Melbourne snatched victory from the jaws of victory and ended up suffering a defeat!" Selection One - Isn't it Rich? I watched the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships with great interest and was very much taken by a young blond midfielder in Daniel Rich. The kid with the thumping, long and accurate left foot won All Australian selection but was too young for that year's draft. I marked him down as a certainty for # 1 this year and, though another WA youngster in Nick Naitanui was exciting many others, my mind never wavered until another blond youngster, this time from Victoria, emerged on the scene. Together the trio are my favourites for Selection One which is held by the Melbourne Football Club – to my mind, they are head and shoulders above the rest of the field. I also noted last year in the wake of the move to Carlton of West Coast star midfielder Chris Judd, that the "go home" factor was an issue that all club recruiting officers had to contend with when formulating their plans on draft day. It might not be considered the right thing to do but, in making my assessment as to where the top three will be selected this aspect was the sealer. That makes the choices pretty obvious. Melbourne will take Jack Watts first, West Coast will probably opt for Naitanui and Fremantle will happily take Rich. So, in answer to the question asked in the song: No, it isn’t Rich! Here are some pen pictures of the three draft specials of 2008 taken from the November edition of Inside Football. I don’t think I can add any more to the observations made by those who are close to the players themselves: JACK WATTS - tall forward, Sandringham Dragons, Vic DOB: 26/3/91 Ht 194cm* Wt: 85kg "Jack is just an exceptional player. It's hard to find an area he is isn't good at. He's an enormous reader of the game and makes good decisions in no time whatsoever. Type of player no-one can lay a hand on and has the ability to work in a phone box. Any cliché you care to come up with applies to Jack. If Melbourne was to take him with the No. 1 pick then they hopefully wouldn't allow the pressure of fans and whoever else to ruin a marquee player. I think if they are exceptionally patient then they will be repaid in spades. He's only 17 and has only played school footy. He's played more basketball than football. The one condition a side like Melbourne might have if they take him is that he doesn't play school football and he plays VFL next season. He blew the draft camp away with his testing. To watch him on the training track, we could nearly have charged to watch him train. Some of the things he does in close in handball drills and the like - he dances. There is massive upside to a kid who played basketball up until this year but I think he might be up to playing next year but completing his VCE will take precedence over that" - Sandringham Dragons region manager Wayne Oswald. Vic Metro rep 2008. Larke Medal All Australian 2008. AIS-AFL Academy graduate. From Brighton Grammar. NICHOLAS NAITANUI - ruckman, Swan Districts, WA DOB: 4/5/90 Ht: 197cm Wt: 95kg "Nicholas is just a freak. He's not a natural footballer but on pure athletic ability he is in a class of his own. Has great closing speed, is a great jump and is starting to learn more about winning the ball around the ground but there is plenty to come. Needs to work on his foot skills as they still, have a way to go but his improvement has been pretty sharp over the last two years. He's certainly not a natural footballer and you'd expect whichever club takes him to spend a lot of time with him developing his decision making, but we think he could play some AFL footy next year, although probably not a whole season. We juggled things around with him later in the year and played him in some key positions, including full back, and he did it very effectively. There is really no one like him and I don't think anyone has seen anything like him. Athletically he's one of the best players ever to come through this club. Long term he'll probably be a ruckman but that's not to say a club couldn't develop another string to his bow because he has all the tools to work with." - Swan Districts football manager Matt Peach. WA rep 2007/2008. All Australian 2007/08. From Midvale JFC DANIEL RICH - midfielder, Subiaco, WA DOB: 7/6/90 Ht: 183cm Wt: 83kg "Daniel played in the league side all year so I only coached him in half a dozen games in the Colts last season. He played senior footy in a quality side with a quality midfield that is classes above anything else in the competition and he more than held his own. He mixed and matched through the midfield and half forward but because he played with onballers like Phil Read, Mark Haynes and Daniel Chick he wasn't thrown in there and expected to play every minute of every game of every week. Scott Watters (senior coach) made it a point to bring him along slowly and didn't throw him to the wolves. His greatest attributes are he's smart, he just knows where to go, he's very quick by hand, he knows when to give off, he knows when to bring others into the game and he can kick 60 metres on the fly - that's what sets him apart from any kid of his age. He's just got a thumping left foot I put him up there with (Rhys) Palmer as a player but the difference between them is that Rich can kick the ball a long, long way and turn defences around with it. He's got a man's body with big hips and strong shoulders. His other great quality is that he's a great listener and a great learner. He knows what's ahead and he's very grounded." - Subiaco Colts coach Tim Gossage WA rep 2007/08/ All Australian 2007/08. AIS-AFL Academy graduate. From Sorrento Duncraig FC. * at the October draft camp Watts was measured at close to 196 cm tall.

Demonland is again proud to present the views of "Stevo" who knows the ins and outs of the Under 18 TAC Cup scene from an insider's point of view. He was there at the National Under 18 championship games played in Melbourne this winter and here are his views on the 2008 draft prospects from a Melbourne Football Club perspective as told to Whispering Jack ... ANOTHER YEAR OF DRAFTING DANGEROUSLY – PART ONE by Stevo SEND IN THE CLOWNS Cast your mind back to a Saturday evening back in 2007. To be exact, the evening of 11 August 2007 when the Demons were ever so generously permitted by the AFL to play a home game on a Saturday night in Melbourne (probably the last time it happened). The problem was that for some unknown reason, this fixture took place at Telstra Dome, the home ground of its opponent for the night, the Western Bulldogs, but in the end it probably didn't matter anyway. The Doggies were in a slight slump but a win that night would have put them into the top eight by a clear game. The Demons were in fifteenth position with just three wins. They had absolutely nothing to play for and were being quoted at $4.00 the win in a two horse race which made them rank outsiders. So what happened? In front of 18,946 witnesses they stunned the Western Bulldogs into submission to lead from start to finish and win by 42 points in a round 19 result that turned out to be more significantly to their own detriment because the four points gained from the match virtually ruled out their prospects of gaining a priority draft pick in 2007 (#19) and, as it turns out, the very succulent thought of having the first two picks at the forthcoming 2008 national draft. Just think about that for a moment or two. Had Melbourne done what everyone believed its fellow cellar dweller Carlton was doing at this time of the season (i.e. tanking games to ensure a better draft position), its supporters would now be spending their nights listening to some beautiful music and dreaming about the moment when their club's new recruiting officer Barry Prendergast calls out the first two names at a minute or so past 11 o'clock on the morning of Saturday 29 November 2008: - "Selection No 1 Melbourne [insert number] Jack Watts … Selection No 2 Melbourne [insert number] Daniel Rich" And then they could all rapturously break out into the opening lines of that wonderful song from the musical "A Little Night Music" at the thought of these two players in action together on the field in the red and navy blue colours:- Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground, You in mid-air. But alas, that won’t happen because, at exactly 7.10 pm on the night of Saturday 11 August 2007, the folk at melbournefc.com.au decided to send in the bloody clowns to win a game of football that was meaningless while elsewhere on this continent the boys in the navy blue were literally fumbling, stumbling and tripping over their feet losing the football on the way to eleven successive defeats to finish on four wins for the season. The exact number to earn them a priority pick at # 1 over Richmond which is precisely what Melbourne would have received this year had it lost to either the Bulldogs that night or to Carlton in Round 22, the latter of which was well nigh on impossible. As Whispering Jack put it to me recently, this was the night when "Melbourne snatched victory from the jaws of victory and ended up suffering a defeat!" Selection One - Isn't it Rich? I watched the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships with great interest and was very much taken by a young blond midfielder in Daniel Rich. The kid with the thumping, long and accurate left foot won All Australian selection but was too young for that year's draft. I marked him down as a certainty for # 1 this year and, though another WA youngster in Nick Naitanui was exciting many others, my mind never wavered until another blond youngster, this time from Victoria, emerged on the scene. Together the trio are my favourites for Selection One which is held by the Melbourne Football Club – to my mind, they are head and shoulders above the rest of the field. I also noted last year in the wake of the move to Carlton of West Coast star midfielder Chris Judd, that the "go home" factor was an issue that all club recruiting officers had to contend with when formulating their plans on draft day. It might not be considered the right thing to do but, in making my assessment as to where the top three will be selected this aspect was the sealer. That makes the choices pretty obvious. Melbourne will take Jack Watts first, West Coast will probably opt for Naitanui and Fremantle will happily take Rich. So, in answer to the question asked in the song: No, it isn’t Rich! Here are some pen pictures of the three draft specials of 2008 taken from the November edition of Inside Football. I don’t think I can add any more to the observations made by those who are close to the players themselves: JACK WATTS - tall forward, Sandringham Dragons, Vic DOB: 26/3/91 Ht 194cm* Wt: 85kg "Jack is just an exceptional player. It's hard to find an area he is isn't good at. He's an enormous reader of the game and makes good decisions in no time whatsoever. Type of player no-one can lay a hand on and has the ability to work in a phone box. Any cliché you care to come up with applies to Jack. If Melbourne was to take him with the No. 1 pick then they hopefully wouldn't allow the pressure of fans and whoever else to ruin a marquee player. I think if they are exceptionally patient then they will be repaid in spades. He's only 17 and has only played school footy. He's played more basketball than football. The one condition a side like Melbourne might have if they take him is that he doesn't play school football and he plays VFL next season. He blew the draft camp away with his testing. To watch him on the training track, we could nearly have charged to watch him train. Some of the things he does in close in handball drills and the like - he dances. There is massive upside to a kid who played basketball up until this year but I think he might be up to playing next year but completing his VCE will take precedence over that" - Sandringham Dragons region manager Wayne Oswald. Vic Metro rep 2008. Larke Medal All Australian 2008. AIS-AFL Academy graduate. From Brighton Grammar. NICHOLAS NAITANUI - ruckman, Swan Districts, WA DOB: 4/5/90 Ht: 197cm Wt: 95kg "Nicholas is just a freak. He's not a natural footballer but on pure athletic ability he is in a class of his own. Has great closing speed, is a great jump and is starting to learn more about winning the ball around the ground but there is plenty to come. Needs to work on his foot skills as they still, have a way to go but his improvement has been pretty sharp over the last two years. He's certainly not a natural footballer and you'd expect whichever club takes him to spend a lot of time with him developing his decision making, but we think he could play some AFL footy next year, although probably not a whole season. We juggled things around with him later in the year and played him in some key positions, including full back, and he did it very effectively. There is really no one like him and I don't think anyone has seen anything like him. Athletically he's one of the best players ever to come through this club. Long term he'll probably be a ruckman but that's not to say a club couldn't develop another string to his bow because he has all the tools to work with." - Swan Districts football manager Matt Peach. WA rep 2007/2008. All Australian 2007/08. From Midvale JFC DANIEL RICH - midfielder, Subiaco, WA DOB: 7/6/90 Ht: 183cm Wt: 83kg "Daniel played in the league side all year so I only coached him in half a dozen games in the Colts last season. He played senior footy in a quality side with a quality midfield that is classes above anything else in the competition and he more than held his own. He mixed and matched through the midfield and half forward but because he played with onballers like Phil Read, Mark Haynes and Daniel Chick he wasn't thrown in there and expected to play every minute of every game of every week. Scott Watters (senior coach) made it a point to bring him along slowly and didn't throw him to the wolves. His greatest attributes are he's smart, he just knows where to go, he's very quick by hand, he knows when to give off, he knows when to bring others into the game and he can kick 60 metres on the fly - that's what sets him apart from any kid of his age. He's just got a thumping left foot I put him up there with (Rhys) Palmer as a player but the difference between them is that Rich can kick the ball a long, long way and turn defences around with it. He's got a man's body with big hips and strong shoulders. His other great quality is that he's a great listener and a great learner. He knows what's ahead and he's very grounded." - Subiaco Colts coach Tim Gossage WA rep 2007/08/ All Australian 2007/08. AIS-AFL Academy graduate. From Sorrento Duncraig FC. * at the October draft camp Watts was measured at close to 196 cm tall.

Alpha33 reports that Caroline Wilson was on 3AW last night and her segment opened with discussion on some of the difficulties the MFC is encountering in trying to resolve matters relating to the location of its new home. It's all highly political and involves the MCC, the AFL and the State Government. It's all a hard slog for the club but with resolution there will be a way ahead. BRINGING THEM BACK HOME - CARO ON 3AW Gerard Healy: There's plenty to talk about tonight but let's address what you wrote about in the Age this morning and that is the Demons. Reading your article and just listening and reading between the lines among various little snippets I've picked up it would appear as if the Demons are a pawn in a very big game at the present time involving the State Government, the MCC and the AFL. Caroline Wilson: I think that's right and they're trying to create their own destiny but of course it's difficult when you're waiting on money from the AFL and I think there was a meeting yesterday morning between Melbourne and the AFL. Well, I know there was. I don’t think it was a particularly pleasant meeting and a lot of that goes back to what previous Melbourne administrations did in the AFL’s eyes and the Commission's eyes with the money they were given but Melbourne need to know what they're getting next year from the AFL and I think they’ll know that … they won't know next week when the Commission meets. There’ll be other stuff discussed next week, Ben Cousins and the Gold Coast primarily but before Christmas they will know. I think they've asked for about $2m next year and I think in the short term they need it. In the long term this new board and this new chief executive Cameron Schwab, there is no doubt in my mind they see the MCG as their home. They want to set up a training base there, even if they move in part terms to the rectangular stadium which is also going to house Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Victory I believe it will only be in part terms … Gerard Healy: Surely they'll outgrow that. If Melbourne are successful they’ll outgrow that office in a very short period of time if they go to the rectangular stadium. Caroline Wilson: They already have. There's room in that design for 45 people, already Melbourne’s staff is 50. The West Coast equivalent that they're going to build hopefully if the government allows it under this new political party in Subiaco has room for 150. It's ridiculous. Gerard Healy: So tell me the forces that are weighing on the Melbourne situation. Caroline Wilson: It's a bureaucratic thicket as we wrote today but I mean what you’ve got is an AFL trying to curry favour with the state government because the AFL needs the state government to put pressure on the MCG so it can get a better stadium better stadium built for Melbourne and Richmond and Collingwood and Hawthorn and all the clubs that play there. You’ve also got a situation where the state government wants an AFL team in that rectangular stadium spending all this money. Gerard Healy: At what about $800,000.00 rent a year? Caroline Wilson: It's too much. It's far too much. Melbourne wants subsidised rent at the rectangular stadium, they want the AFL to subsidise it and what the government and what the Melbourne Olympic Park Trust is saying to Melbourne that if you want to train at Gosch's Paddock or at one of these training areas out of Olympic Park we want you in the new rectangular stadium. Melbourne are saying, "we were born out of the MCG, we don't have a suburb to hang our hat on and they have a blueprint for the future and it is very definitely saying bring the boys back home and home is the MCG. Keep Casey. Always go out to Casey. They are training there at the moment three times a week, they're very happy there but that is very much a community enterprise in the manner that a lot of clubs are doing. I think Richmond is trying to do the same one at Craigieburn Gerard Healy: Isn't it a time though that Melbourne got a home? And one home? Caroline Wilson: Gerard. It's the MCG. Gerard Healy: If they go to the MCG they’ll still be in bits and pieces. They’ll be out at Casey; they’ll be in at the MCG … Caroline Wilson: No they want to have, short term, move into those two largely unused training rooms in the Southern Stand. Dwayne Russell: They're not allowed to train on the MCG. They’ll never be able to do that … Caroline Wilson: No. Gosch’s Paddock is a short walk. Collingwood are doing it at the moment, they’re doing the same. They’re walking from their training ground at Lexus and keep the community facility in the outer suburbs, which is what a lot of clubs are trying to do now, Dwayne. They want the MCG to be their home and in the long term, in the next ten years, when the AFL, the state government and the MCG develop the Great Southern Stand there'll be this huge elite training facility. Brunton Avenue will probably be underground and over it be Melbourne hope will be the Melbourne Football Club and I think it's a very worth strategy, I really do. Caroline Wilson's article in the Age: Demons plan to turn MCG into elite facility Thanks to Alpha33 for providing the transcript to an important interview about the club.

This of course, could all be somewhat premature but from this point in time, the numbers game will become interesting. On my reckoning we have to fill the following:- 4, 9, 13, 17, 28, 34 and 43 and possibly one or two others.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER FOUR by the Professor Two dozen players have worn the number four guernsey in senior games for the Melbourne Football Club since the inception of jumper numbers in 1912. Players wearing the number have appeared in nine premierships, led the club's goal kicking in three years and made assorted state teams. The full list of wearers of the number four is: 1912 Jim Fitzpatrick (12 in 1913) 1913 William McKenzie (6 in 1912, 27 in 1914, 18 in 1915) 1914 Percy Colee 1915 Tim Collins (24 in 1914) 1919 William McKenzie (see above) 1920 Alec Farrow (25 in 1919, 28 in 1921) 1921 Francis Lyon 1922 Alf Oldham 1923 – 1924 Tom Elliott 1926 – 1932 Jim Abernethy (14 in 1923 – 1924) 1933 – 1934 Jack Sambell 1935 – 1948 Norman Smith 1949 Robert Chadwick 1950 Jack Hiscock 1951 – 1955 Ken Christie 1957 – 1965 John Lord 1966 – 1967 Peter Smith 1968 – 1979 Tony Sullivan (43 in 1967) 1980 – 1987 Peter Giles (45 in 1979) 1988 – 1991 Tony Campbell (40 in 1986 – 1987) 1992, 1994 Chris Sullivan 1995 – 1997 Andrew Obst (29 in 1990 – 1994) 1998 – 2001 Brent Grgic (48 in 1997) 2002 - 2003 Craig Ellis 2004 – 2008 Ben Holland THE RED FOX - NORM SMITH The above list includes some handy footballers who have represented the club over the years but one name stands above all as one of the most significant personalities in the history of the Melbourne Football Club. The Red Fox, Norman Walter "Norm" Smith proudly wore the number four with distinction over fourteen years (1935 – 1948) during which his team won four premierships. Smith also went on to become the greatest coach in the sport of Australian football leading the Demons to an unprecedented six premierships in the decade from 1955 to 1964. The story of this icon of the Melbourne Football Club is told in the recently released "The Red Fox: The Biography of Norm Smith, Legendary Melbourne Coach" by Ben Collins. Norm Smith and his brother Len were brought up in the tough, working-class suburb of Northcote and recruited in the latter part of the great depression years to the Melbourne Football Club. Norm's career began with the club at the age of 19 under the legendary "Checker" Hughes in 1935 and his career soon blossomed but older brother Len moved on to the VFA and subsequently made his name with Fitzroy both as a player and a coach before finishing with Richmond. When the Smiths arrived on the scene, Hughes was in the process of developing a team from the ground up, turning them gradually from the meek Fuschias to the mighty Demons. Norm Smith was versatile. He could play in the middle but soon established a place as full forward in a dangerous attack that included club greats in Jack Mueller and Ron Baggott. The club's reign as VFL powerhouse began in 1939 when it won that season's premiership against Collingwood with a record grand final score and record winning margin. Smith was the star of the following year's grand final booting a record seven goals. The Demons completed the hat trick of flags in 1941 even though many players were missing due to war service and injury on grand final day. Smith won the best and fairest in 1938, headed the club’s goal kicking from 1938 to 1941, was leading VFL goal kicker in 1938 and 1939 and his record of 546 goals at the club was only recently surpassed by former skipper David Neitz. Smith was already a life member of the club when he was elevated to the captaincy in 1945 and, in the following year, he led the team to a grand final defeat against Essendon. Two years later, he would avenge that loss when his underdog Demons managed to scrape a draw in the grand final and then dominate the replay a week later in what was the last of his 210 games with the Melbourne Football Club. After a brief stint as coach of Fitzroy, Smith returned to the club as coach in 1952 and soon lifted the team to a grand final in 1954. What followed was a decade of dominance that saw Melbourne win six premierships: 1955-56-57, 1959-60 and 1964 – in the most successful era achieved by any AFL/VFL club. In the eleven years from 1954, the club never finished lower than fourth and played off in seven consecutive grand finals. The wheels fell off after the club won its twelfth and last premiership in 1964. At the end of that year, Melbourne's skipper and star player Ron Barassi, who had lived with Smith and his wife as a teenager, dropped a bombshell when he announced he was moving to Carlton where he had been appointed captain-coach. Smith offered to resign but Barassi insisted on moving to Carlton and from then on tensions developed within the club and its coach. An umpire sued Smith for defamation but he had no support from the club committee. Then, on the Friday evening before the match against North Melbourne at Coburg, Smith was sacked as coach via notice delivered by a courier despite the fact that his team had won 10 of the first 12 games of 1965. A dramatic week ensued after which Smith was reinstated but Melbourne won just one more game for the year and missed out on the finals. The club's most successful era was over and it took over two decades for the Demons to reappear in the finals. Some even say that the club is suffering a curse as a result of the dramatic events of 1965. Health problems forced Smith to resign at the end of 1967 but within two years he was back coaching South Melbourne which he took to the finals for the first time since 1945 when the Swans made the first semi of 1971. A year later Smith resigned his duties and on 29 July 1973, a stunned football world heard that Norm Smith had died of a cerebral tumour at the age of 61. Smith was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000 as a player (at full forward) and as coach. The following year he was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame, its first "Legend". THANK THE LORD! During most of Smith's reign as football’s super coach, the custodian of the number four guernsey at Melbourne was another big man in John Lord who played 132 games (80 goals) for the club between 1957 and 1965. The son of a former player, Lord arrived at Melbourne in time to play in a premiership in his debut season. He was a big man who could play in defence or attack with the occasional run in the ruck and his forte was his strong marking. He played in four premiership teams - 1957, 1959, 1960 and 1964. Lord has had a long involvement with the club's past players and officials association. THE NUMBER FOUR Long before the days of Smith and Lord, the number 4 was first worn by Jim Fitzpatrick who played 81 games from after crossing as a defender from the then junior club in Hawthorn. He was the first to take the number in 1912, then changed to 12 in 1913. It seems that there was little loyalty to any particular jumper number because the next wearer of number 4, William McKenzie held it for just one year (1913) after starting with the number six, moving to 27 in 1914, 18 in 1915 before returning to the number four for his final season in 1919. McKenzie was a dashing winger full of skill and poise who played 112 games (11 goals) for the club between 1909 and 1915 and in 1919. Percival W. Colee from Coburg wore the number 4 guernsey in 1914 and in the following season another ex-Hawthorn player in Tim Collins switched to that jumper from the number 24. In all, Collins played 20 games for 20 goals. Alec Farrow was a clever half forward who moved to Melbourne in 1919 and wore 25 that year before replacing William McKenzie as the holder of number four in 1920. Farrow represented his state in 1920 and 1921. Another jumper switcher, Farrow wore 28 in his final season of 1921 and represented Melbourne a total of 33 times for 10 goals. The number four continued to move around as it was worn by Francis Lyon (1921), Alf Oldham (1922) and Tom Elliott (1923-1924). Between them, these gentlemen could only manage 15 games and after a hiatus of one year, the jumper was handed over to Jim Abernethy in 1926 and was finally worn by a Melbourne premiership player. Abernethy was a rugged half back flanker from Wesley College who originally wore number 14 in 1923-1924. He was a member of the club's second premiership side in 1926 and gave great service in a 130 game (61 goal) career that ended in 1932. Jack Sambell , who hailed from Glen Iris was the next wearer of the number four which he did over the years 1933 and 1934 in 24 games during which time he kicked 6 goals. He was succeeded by Norm Smith. A decade and a half later, in 1949, Melbourne Grammarian, Robert Chadwick wore guernsey four on two occasions before handing it over to Jack Hiscock from Sandringham who wore it on four occasions. Ken Christie, a strong ruckman/defender from Echuca, arrived at Melbourne in 1951. He played 70 games (9 goals) including the losing grand final of 1954 before retiring in 1955. After a year's break, the number four was taken by a fellow big man from Echuca in John Lord who handed the number to the son of the Red Fox in 1966. Peter Smith was a forward who played 23 games (23 goals) to the end of 1967 when he crossed over to Carlton where he played out another three seasons. The jumper was next worn by a dour and dogged defender from St. Patricks College Ballarat who played two games in 1967 wearing the number 43, For the next dozen years, Sullivan was a leading presence in Melbourne's back line who stood out as a consistent performer over 191 games(during which time he kicked a solitary goal) until 1979. He won state selection in 1971. Pony tailed blond defender Peter Giles arrived at the Melbourne Football Club from VFA side Sandringham in 1979 and wore the number 45 in his first season before inheriting the number four from Sullivan. A player who did not always see things eye to eye with coach Ron Barassi, Giles survived a number of injury problems before his VFL career ended in 1987 when he returned to the VFA to play with Prahran after 124 games and 32 goals. Next cab off the rank was the colourful Tony Campbell who switched from 40 to 4 in 1988. Campbell, who could play both forward and down back, was eventually traded to Footscray after 75 games (61 goals). He was entrepreneurial in marketing gloves for footballers and also tried his hand later at the American sport of gridiron. When he left the club at the end of 1991, the number four was given to Chris Sullivan, the son of Tony, who played 27 games (22 goals) before crossing to Richmond. South Australian dasher Andrew Obst wore the number 29 for the early part of his career at Melbourne between 1990 and 1994 but switched to the number four for the remainder of his time at the club until the end of 1997. A skilful wingman, Obst played a total of 149 games and booted 60 goals for the Demons. Brent Grgic was an early draft pick from Bell Post Hill near Geelong who came to the club with great wraps in 1997. The expectation was that he would eventually replace Garry Lyon as a leading key position player but Grgic's time at the club was marred by groin problems and other injuries. After wearing 48 in his debut year, he took number four and wore it until the end of 2001 when he was traded to the Cats. He finished with 77 games and 29 goals and never fulfilled the hopes of many at the club. Craig Ellis from the Western Bulldogs was picked up by Melbourne in the same trade period that saw Grgic go to Geelong and he took the number four but managed to wear it only 15 times in the two seasons to the end of 2003 after being hampered by knee injuries. The mantle of jumper four was then taken by Ben Holland who crossed from Richmond and played at Melbourne for five years as a big bodied defender who could occasionally pinch hit in a key forward position. He recently announced his retirement after 66 games and 55 goals with the club. NEXT! With the departure of Ben Holland the number four guernsey is vacant again and, in view of the fact that its two greatest wearers were big key forwards, one wonders if it might not be handed over to a tall, young recruit in a few week's time. But of course, that remains in the future …

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER FOUR by the Professor Two dozen players have worn the number four guernsey in senior games for the Melbourne Football Club since the inception of jumper numbers in 1912. Players wearing the number have appeared in nine premierships, led the club's goal kicking in three years and made assorted state teams. The full list of wearers of the number four is: 1912 Jim Fitzpatrick (12 in 1913) 1913 William McKenzie (6 in 1912, 27 in 1914, 18 in 1915) 1914 Percy Colee 1915 Tim Collins (24 in 1914) 1919 William McKenzie (see above) 1920 Alec Farrow (25 in 1919, 28 in 1921) 1921 Francis Lyon 1922 Alf Oldham 1923 – 1924 Tom Elliott 1926 – 1932 Jim Abernethy (14 in 1923 – 1924) 1933 – 1934 Jack Sambell 1935 – 1948 Norman Smith 1949 Robert Chadwick 1950 Jack Hiscock 1951 – 1955 Ken Christie 1957 – 1965 John Lord 1966 – 1967 Peter Smith 1968 – 1979 Tony Sullivan (43 in 1967) 1980 – 1987 Peter Giles (45 in 1979) 1988 – 1991 Tony Campbell (40 in 1986 – 1987) 1992, 1994 Chris Sullivan 1995 – 1997 Andrew Obst (29 in 1990 – 1994) 1998 – 2001 Brent Grgic (48 in 1997) 2002 - 2003 Craig Ellis 2004 – 2008 Ben Holland THE RED FOX - NORM SMITH The above list includes some handy footballers who have represented the club over the years but one name stands above all as one of the most significant personalities in the history of the Melbourne Football Club. The Red Fox, Norman Walter "Norm" Smith proudly wore the number four with distinction over fourteen years (1935 – 1948) during which his team won four premierships. Smith also went on to become the greatest coach in the sport of Australian football leading the Demons to an unprecedented six premierships in the decade from 1955 to 1964. The story of this icon of the Melbourne Football Club is told in the recently released "The Red Fox: The Biography of Norm Smith, Legendary Melbourne Coach" by Ben Collins. Norm Smith and his brother Len were brought up in the tough, working-class suburb of Northcote and recruited in the latter part of the great depression years to the Melbourne Football Club. Norm's career began with the club at the age of 19 under the legendary "Checker" Hughes in 1935 and his career soon blossomed but older brother Len moved on to the VFA and subsequently made his name with Fitzroy both as a player and a coach before finishing with Richmond. When the Smiths arrived on the scene, Hughes was in the process of developing a team from the ground up, turning them gradually from the meek Fuschias to the mighty Demons. Norm Smith was versatile. He could play in the middle but soon established a place as full forward in a dangerous attack that included club greats in Jack Mueller and Ron Baggott. The club's reign as VFL powerhouse began in 1939 when it won that season's premiership against Collingwood with a record grand final score and record winning margin. Smith was the star of the following year's grand final booting a record seven goals. The Demons completed the hat trick of flags in 1941 even though many players were missing due to war service and injury on grand final day. Smith won the best and fairest in 1938, headed the club’s goal kicking from 1938 to 1941, was leading VFL goal kicker in 1938 and 1939 and his record of 546 goals at the club was only recently surpassed by former skipper David Neitz. Smith was already a life member of the club when he was elevated to the captaincy in 1945 and, in the following year, he led the team to a grand final defeat against Essendon. Two years later, he would avenge that loss when his underdog Demons managed to scrape a draw in the grand final and then dominate the replay a week later in what was the last of his 210 games with the Melbourne Football Club. After a brief stint as coach of Fitzroy, Smith returned to the club as coach in 1952 and soon lifted the team to a grand final in 1954. What followed was a decade of dominance that saw Melbourne win six premierships: 1955-56-57, 1959-60 and 1964 – in the most successful era achieved by any AFL/VFL club. In the eleven years from 1954, the club never finished lower than fourth and played off in seven consecutive grand finals. The wheels fell off after the club won its twelfth and last premiership in 1964. At the end of that year, Melbourne's skipper and star player Ron Barassi, who had lived with Smith and his wife as a teenager, dropped a bombshell when he announced he was moving to Carlton where he had been appointed captain-coach. Smith offered to resign but Barassi insisted on moving to Carlton and from then on tensions developed within the club and its coach. An umpire sued Smith for defamation but he had no support from the club committee. Then, on the Friday evening before the match against North Melbourne at Coburg, Smith was sacked as coach via notice delivered by a courier despite the fact that his team had won 10 of the first 12 games of 1965. A dramatic week ensued after which Smith was reinstated but Melbourne won just one more game for the year and missed out on the finals. The club's most successful era was over and it took over two decades for the Demons to reappear in the finals. Some even say that the club is suffering a curse as a result of the dramatic events of 1965. Health problems forced Smith to resign at the end of 1967 but within two years he was back coaching South Melbourne which he took to the finals for the first time since 1945 when the Swans made the first semi of 1971. A year later Smith resigned his duties and on 29 July 1973, a stunned football world heard that Norm Smith had died of a cerebral tumour at the age of 61. Smith was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000 as a player (at full forward) and as coach. The following year he was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame, its first "Legend". THANK THE LORD! During most of Smith's reign as football’s super coach, the custodian of the number four guernsey at Melbourne was another big man in John Lord who played 132 games (80 goals) for the club between 1957 and 1965. The son of a former player, Lord arrived at Melbourne in time to play in a premiership in his debut season. He was a big man who could play in defence or attack with the occasional run in the ruck and his forte was his strong marking. He played in four premiership teams - 1957, 1959, 1960 and 1964. Lord has had a long involvement with the club's past players and officials association. THE NUMBER FOUR Long before the days of Smith and Lord, the number 4 was first worn by Jim Fitzpatrick who played 81 games from after crossing as a defender from the then junior club in Hawthorn. He was the first to take the number in 1912, then changed to 12 in 1913. It seems that there was little loyalty to any particular jumper number because the next wearer of number 4, William McKenzie held it for just one year (1913) after starting with the number six, moving to 27 in 1914, 18 in 1915 before returning to the number four for his final season in 1919. McKenzie was a dashing winger full of skill and poise who played 112 games (11 goals) for the club between 1909 and 1915 and in 1919. Percival W. Colee from Coburg wore the number 4 guernsey in 1914 and in the following season another ex-Hawthorn player in Tim Collins switched to that jumper from the number 24. In all, Collins played 20 games for 20 goals. Alec Farrow was a clever half forward who moved to Melbourne in 1919 and wore 25 that year before replacing William McKenzie as the holder of number four in 1920. Farrow represented his state in 1920 and 1921. Another jumper switcher, Farrow wore 28 in his final season of 1921 and represented Melbourne a total of 33 times for 10 goals. The number four continued to move around as it was worn by Francis Lyon (1921), Alf Oldham (1922) and Tom Elliott (1923-1924). Between them, these gentlemen could only manage 15 games and after a hiatus of one year, the jumper was handed over to Jim Abernethy in 1926 and was finally worn by a Melbourne premiership player. Abernethy was a rugged half back flanker from Wesley College who originally wore number 14 in 1923-1924. He was a member of the club's second premiership side in 1926 and gave great service in a 130 game (61 goal) career that ended in 1932. Jack Sambell , who hailed from Glen Iris was the next wearer of the number four which he did over the years 1933 and 1934 in 24 games during which time he kicked 6 goals. He was succeeded by Norm Smith. A decade and a half later, in 1949, Melbourne Grammarian, Robert Chadwick wore guernsey four on two occasions before handing it over to Jack Hiscock from Sandringham who wore it on four occasions. Ken Christie, a strong ruckman/defender from Echuca, arrived at Melbourne in 1951. He played 70 games (9 goals) including the losing grand final of 1954 before retiring in 1955. After a year's break, the number four was taken by a fellow big man from Echuca in John Lord who handed the number to the son of the Red Fox in 1966. Peter Smith was a forward who played 23 games (23 goals) to the end of 1967 when he crossed over to Carlton where he played out another three seasons. The jumper was next worn by a dour and dogged defender from St. Patricks College Ballarat who played two games in 1967 wearing the number 43, For the next dozen years, Sullivan was a leading presence in Melbourne's back line who stood out as a consistent performer over 191 games(during which time he kicked a solitary goal) until 1979. He won state selection in 1971. Pony tailed blond defender Peter Giles arrived at the Melbourne Football Club from VFA side Sandringham in 1979 and wore the number 45 in his first season before inheriting the number four from Sullivan. A player who did not always see things eye to eye with coach Ron Barassi, Giles survived a number of injury problems before his VFL career ended in 1987 when he returned to the VFA to play with Prahran after 124 games and 32 goals. Next cab off the rank was the colourful Tony Campbell who switched from 40 to 4 in 1988. Campbell, who could play both forward and down back, was eventually traded to Footscray after 75 games (61 goals). He was entrepreneurial in marketing gloves for footballers and also tried his hand later at the American sport of gridiron. When he left the club at the end of 1991, the number four was given to Chris Sullivan, the son of Tony, who played 27 games (22 goals) before crossing to Richmond. South Australian dasher Andrew Obst wore the number 29 for the early part of his career at Melbourne between 1990 and 1994 but switched to the number four for the remainder of his time at the club until the end of 1997. A skilful wingman, Obst played a total of 149 games and booted 60 goals for the Demons. Brent Grgic was an early draft pick from Bell Post Hill near Geelong who came to the club with great wraps in 1997. The expectation was that he would eventually replace Garry Lyon as a leading key position player but Grgic's time at the club was marred by groin problems and other injuries. After wearing 48 in his debut year, he took number four and wore it until the end of 2001 when he was traded to the Cats. He finished with 77 games and 29 goals and never fulfilled the hopes of many at the club. Craig Ellis from the Western Bulldogs was picked up by Melbourne in the same trade period that saw Grgic go to Geelong and he took the number four but managed to wear it only 15 times in the two seasons to the end of 2003 after being hampered by knee injuries. The mantle of jumper four was then taken by Ben Holland who crossed from Richmond and played at Melbourne for five years as a big bodied defender who could occasionally pinch hit in a key forward position. He recently announced his retirement after 66 games and 55 goals with the club. NEXT! With the departure of Ben Holland the number four guernsey is vacant again and, in view of the fact that its two greatest wearers were big key forwards, one wonders if it might not be handed over to a tall, young recruit in a few week's time. But of course, that remains in the future …

Well, considering it was such a historic day, it's a bit disappointing that we couldn't get anyone down there to report on proceedings. Still, I guess that's the low key approach the club wants to its activities.

Thursday morning 8am and a brand new era begins. No, not the era of Obama but the era of Melbourne at Casey Fields and a new partnership with the Casey Scorpions, a team whose colours are predominantly red and blue. We welcome training reports from Demon fans from down that way at Melbourne's first ever training session at Casey Fields. on Thursday 6 November 2008.

DEMONLAND/DEMONOLOGY v TALKING CARLTON – Forum Game - Sunday, 2 November, 2008 by Rollinson 65 This game was equal to, or better than, our first stoush with Sainsational. The game was so good, and played in such great spirit, that I have to admit I would not have cared all that much if we had lost, and the blues would have been worthy winners. Gosch's paddock was not available, owing to some serious construction work in the middle of the field. We moved to a combined rugby/soccer oval (or square) next door, played without wings, and used the rugby goals, with some bags to give some guidance to the goal umpys. Paul (Do it for Robbie) did a great job for us, even standing up to the field umpire over a disputed goal call. When we moved over, there were some soccer guys doing a bit of kick-to-kick, but they soon scarpered when they saw our numbers. Our initial 19-20 grew to 23-24 during the match, and the Blues matched our numbers. Wise Monkey strolled up casually at the start and informed us that Blessed_hands would "not be running with us today". Wise then proceeded to fill in for Billy, who came to watch, and did not stop running all day. With Oxxx's absence on Sunday, I think I may be the only person who has seen all of Wise's games for us. There are other candidates, but this was arguably his very best, and he undoubtedly deserved his share of the Vinnie Catoggio Medal for best Dees player. First quarter It became obvious in the first 5 minutes that this was going to be a serious contest, with good quality players on both sides, and the blues matching our passion and commitment. At the same time, it was a forum footy game, so there were many occasions on which players on both sides held back when they could have legitimately presented their bodies and caused injury. It was another indication of a game played in great spirit. The injury to Rivvo (from demonology) was entirely fortuitous, and we are hoping for news that the knee injury is not serious. The mid-fields were evenly matched. During the day, ours included Wise, Imtoohot and Scotty (Mclean4brownlow's older brother), with Rusty_kingswood and Doggo alternating in the ruck. Many other players did mid-field duties but - and this applies to the entire match report - I never tire of saying that it is hard to keep track when the coaches keep rotating the players and every other player is wearing number 5! Mclean4brownlow slotted our fist goal, and Scotty our second for the quarter. In this first quarter, Mickrocks1 provided tremendous run out of the back line, and his winning of the contested ball was fantastic all day. Mick is severe on himself for his lack of ability deal with the pill once he gets it, but yesterday I did not agree with him. He and the rest of the back line saved us from severe embarrassment in this quarter. Back to the mid-field contest. The skills and bravery displayed by both sides in heavy traffic made for an entertaining game. Many times, the Dees supporters' group (we could not help ourselves) erupted into cheers and applause for the efforts of the opposition, as well as for our own guys (and girl). The spectators were privileged to witness yesterday's game. It cost us nothing but a bit of sunburn, and the footy skills on display were at times breathtaking. At quarter time, it was even stevens, Dees 2.5. 17, Blues 2.5. 17. Second quarter People talked about a wind advantage, but I couldn't see it or feel it. In this quarter, we were supposedly kicking against the wind, but there were really no excuses for what happened. Hards had admonished us not to overuse the ball, but nobody listened to him or the coaches. We dominated possession for most of the quarter, and had the blues very much on the back foot, but we couldn’t score any "overs". It was bloody frustrating for the spectators, and must have been even more frustrating for the players. The Blues occasionally went forward, and scored goals. The game was played in this quarter mostly in our crowded forward line, but we could only score behinds. The blues were canny and kicked long and straight. We peppered the goals and over-used the footy. Scotty dodged and weaved, and kicked truly again. Thank god! And Rusty_kingswood bullied another. We got great service out of Pringle, Demon tingles and, basically, the whole team were out-playing the opposition all over the park. The Blues were canny and scored 4.1 for the quarter. We were shocking in front of goal and scored 2.13! So, at half-time, it was Dees, 4.18. 42 to Blues 6.6. 42. Third quarter Surprisingly, the third quarter became an arm-wrestle. Our dominance in general play disappeared and the Blues stepped up a notch or three. We couldn't shake the bastards, and neither team could get a clear break. The Blues really came back at us in this quarter, and we had to grudgingly begin to respect their passion and their commitment. Both sides were playing passionate "take no prisoners" footy, there were some fantastic marks and some superb marking contests. Melbourne had promised us storms and rain. All the players had was clear skies and relentless heat. It told on everybody, particularly on your courageous reporter, who had to walk (briskly mind) across the ground each quarter to compare scores with the blues' scorekeeper. Well, we won the quarter, but it was a near thing, and we went into the final break with a slender 5 point lead. When Rivvo went down with his knee, Benno realised the umpy had not stopped play, and soccered a valuable goal. Scotty ducked and weaved (and then surprised a blues player by running straight through him) to score again. And it was in this quarter that Rusty's mate, James, was sent forward to provide a target in Rivvo's absence. He slotted his first and our third for the quarter. I may have got the wrong quarter, but Doggo provided a real highlight with a great speccie. He judged the mark so well, and hung in the air for so long. It was a genuine screamer. In this quarter, too, we started to really notice Grant in the last line of defence. Time and time again, he took crisp, clean marks and held the blues out. This was not modern footy. It was 60's or 70's footy. Grant backed himself and won marking contest after marking contest. He played so well that he shared the Vinnie with Wise. Mick, a mate of Wise, came on in this quarter to give us more drive, and Pringles’ brother Dookie also came on to give us fresh run out of the back line. In this quarter, too, we noticed the fearless footy of Cameronthebruce, a humble bloke but one who shirks no contest and is something of a ball magnet. We kicked 3.3 for the quarter against the Blues' 2.4. Still anybody's game. 3 quarter time, it was Dees 7.21 63 to Blues 8.10.58 Final quarter. In the last quarter, James really stood up, and kicked 2 very (very) good goals for us. But the highlight of the quarter (and the game) came from a skinny young kid in the blues' forward line. He soccered an amazing Yze-like goal to give the blues the lead with 5 minutes to play. We opened the glass ceiling with the entry onto the ground in this quarter of our first female player, Jo who tackled her task with great gusto. Relentless, tough footy followed until James took a mark on a (very) difficult angle about 30 metres out, ignored all leads, and calmly sent the ball straight through to give us the lead with seconds to play. The Dees supporters loudly chanted a countdown of the remaining seconds that the umpy couldn’t miss. Final score - Dees 9.24 78 to Blues 10.16.76 ESCAPE! We have regular players to come back, and we were admirably served by our fist-gamers yesterday. But the blues were missing regulars too. This game obviously could have gone either way. I think that (as with Saintsational) we have to acknowledge that the next game could easily be won by the Blues. I agree with Pringle. The people who played their hearts out for the Blues yesterday seem like decent blokes. And (somehow), they are as committed and passionate about their jumper as we are about ours. Congratulations to our guys (and girl) for battling so hard in the heat to bring us a first victory over the blues. I really hope there will be more games with them in the future. And a word about the umpy. Luke was fantastic, stamped his authority early, made good and clear decisions, and I hope he will agree to umpire for us again. And a word about the coaches. Redleg and WJ were superb again yesterday, and really give us an edge. And a word about the helpers and water-bringers. Legend and Dee knees (from demonology) and do it for Robbie - we couldn’t do without you. Argue with me if you like, and add in any players you think I've missed, but I thought our best included Wise, Grant, Scotty, James, rusty, imtoohot, Pingle, Demon tingles, Doggo, Cameronthebruce, 45hotgod, Mclean4brownlow and Benno, but thanks to all for a great day and special thanks to Melbourne for all the time and effort spent on organising. Joint winners of the Vinnie Catoggio Medal for BOG's were Wise Monkey and Grant. Goal kickers were James and Scotty (3 each) and Benno, McLean4Brownlow and Rusty Kingswood. Melbourne 2.5.17 4.18.42 7.21.53 9.24.78 Carlton 2.5.17 6.6.42 8.10.58 10.16.76 Joint winners of the Vinnie Catoggio Medal for BOG's were Wise Monkey and Grant. Goal kickers were James and Scotty (3 each) and Benno, McLean4Brownlow and Rusty Kingswood. Injuries Melbourne Rivvo (knee) Carlton Nil Umpire Luke Official Crowd 15 at Gosch’s Paddock (#2) See the pictures: Demonland 9 24 78 d Talking Carlton 10 16 76 at Punt Road 2nd November, 2008 http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=X2wo8DdrOdM Demonland 21 18 144 d Saintsational 6 4 40 at Gosch's Paddock 17th February, 2008 Demonland sing Grand Old Flag after beating Saintsational 139 -100 at Glenferrie Oval 26th November, 2006

You can read parts of Nathan Buckley's Book HERE, HERE and HERE and excerpts from the Emma Quayle book on line here - THE DRAFT

READING IN THE DARK by Whispering Jack I recently took what was supposed to be a ten-day break from work and went up north to laze in the sun and read a book or two. My holiday co-incided with the gloom and doom of the collapse of the world’s economic markets and, at the same time, the news about my football team wasn’t all that flash either. No major sponsor, no visible progress with the MCC talks, the potential collapse of the Casey Fields deal, no gains in the trade week and acrimony over the future of Nathan Carroll. It seemed as if Melbourne was as much on the nose as any of the thousands of stocks that were plummeting on the All Ordinaries index. Gloom and doom. Thankfully, I enjoy reading books and this time I was well stocked. I had two football books and a fine piece of pulp fiction that goes under the heading of "crime thriller". I couldn't entirely escape the footy with that one because the author's name is Connolly (but not Chris - Michael). The reading was good and the contents of the books were in a sense inspiring and helped counter that gloom and doom in the news headlines both business and sporting. The first of the footy books was Nathan Buckley's All I Can Be written with Ben Collins. It's an autobiography of sorts, one which is both triumphant in that it chronicles the illustrious career of a champion footballer who became captain of his club and won a Brownlow Medal and somewhat tragic in that it also covers the difficult relationship between Buckley and his father and his unfulfilled desire to be an AFL premiership player. Just as he did throughout his career, Buckley pulled no punches in writing his book. As the title indicates, he wanted to be all he could be but was denied a premiership and the irony is that had a chosen to complete his original contract to play with North Melbourne, or had he remained with Brisbane, he would in all likelihood, have achieved that objective – and done it more than once. The Kangaroos won the flag in 1996 and 1999 while Brisbane, which was a footballing basket case in Buckley’s only season with that club (1993) went on to score a hat trick of premierships between 2001 and 2003. I couldn't help but reflect on this during my reading of the book and, for selfish reasons, would like to see others of more recent history who spurned a lowly club for the glamour and the money suffer the same fate when their own careers come to an end. Trust a book by and about a Collingwood player to bring out the mean and nasty streak in me! Another side of Nathan Buckley was his transition from a youngster who some regarded as arrogant and a bit of a larrikin (FIGJAM) into the complete footballer and a leader of men as he matured at Collingwood. An uncompromising figure as a footballer, he became the ideal captain. In that respect, I can see a bit of him in Brock McLean and for some reason, I kept thinking as I read the Buckley story how the time is right for him take over the duties of leadership of the Melbourne Football Club. In saying that I understand fully that McLean blotted his copybook with some errant behaviour in last year's off-season. Perhaps, he came under the influence of the wrong person or perhaps his head got a bit too big, but I have faith in McLean's ability to come back mentally and physically from last year's woes (which included an injury that ended his 2008 season early) and to demonstrate that he has what it takes to take this club's emerging young side into what will hopefully be its next phase of success. His appointment as skipper would welcome in a new chapter in our history and put an end to what has been a disappointing few years for the Melbourne Football Club. I highly recommend Emma Quayle's The Draft. It's an enjoyable read that gives an insight into many aspects of the AFL's recruiting processes and it's one of the best books I have read on the subject of football, behind Richard Stremski's Kill for Collingwood and a couple of books by Garry Linnell (Football LTD: The Inside Story of the AFL and Playing God: The Rise & Fall of Gary Ablett). Quayle, who is a respected sports writer for the Age, spent 2007 following the lives of five young draft hopefuls, all of who were ultimately drafted in that year's National Draft - Trent Cotchin (Richmond), Cyril Junior Rioli (Hawthorn), Brad Ebert (West Coast), Ben McEvoy (St Kilda) and Patrick Veszpremi (Sydney). She takes us through their experiences covering every day matters as well as the football side of their lives, culminating in their drafting and settling in at the clubs that chose them. Each of the players has his own issues. Cotchin is dealing with the pressure of being regarded as close to the number one draft pick who is tagged out of the limelight in the national championships and not only fails to make All Australian but sees one of his taggers gain this honour. He also has to contend with the fact that his girlfriend is spending a great part of the year overseas at an equestrian academy. Rioli was taken away from home (Northern Territory) in his early teens and has to contend with life as a boarder in an exclusive private school in Melbourne. He doesn't interview well with many club recruiting officers. Ebert has to cope with being a member of a prominent South Australian footballing family. McEvoy lives in the bush and has to spend hours travelling to and from his TAC Cup team's training. Veszpremi is struggling with his fitness and needs a shoulder operation. Their stories come together on draft day when the hopes of a couple of thousand youngsters are on the line and only about sixty will make it through at the first opportunity. A similar number get taken at the pre season and rookie drafts and some have another year to make the grade but the rest emerge with dashed hopes and disappointment. Quayle weaves another aspect of the draft into the narrative by introducing the story of Hawthorn's recruiters as they follow the fortunes of hundreds of potential draftees in their quest to determine who will be chosen to wear the brown and gold. In doing so, she covers that club's long term planning going back to 2004 when the football department was restructured and Alastair Clarkson appointed as coach. At that time, the Hawks took an unorthodox approach to restructure their team by building up through the draft. We know that in the end, the youth-led development plan paid off and it did so ahead of time thanks in part to an element of luck that saw them recruit Jarryd Roughead, Buddy Franklin and Jordan Lewis early in the 2004 national draft all the way to Rioli and the controverial selection of Stuart Dew with their final pick in 2007 and (as we now know) culminating in the ultimate success in 2008. We even get a few insights into some of the potential 2008 draftees. Quayle was there when talented West Australian Tom Swift injured his knee in a warm up match in Perth on the eve of the AIS tour of South Africa. Among the players on that tour who were too young for the 2007 draft were the likes of Nick Naitanui and Daniel Rich. We also learn that bottom ager David Zaharakis, now a captain at Cotchin's TAC Club the Northern Knights, was under the Hawks' microscope but not picked last year. Could Hawthorn take him this year? The Hawthorn formula is now in vogue and, although the circumstances can't all be repeated (for example, the priority pick now comes before the draft's second round and not the first) it's the pathway that Melbourne appears to be going down in preference to the cheque book acquisition of players through trades and other means currently being employed by Carlton. And it's noteworthy that Hawthorn had only one player in its 2008 premiership side who was recruited through the trades. From Melbourne's perspective, all five of its 2007 national draftees rated at least one mention in the Quayle book with our top three rating several mentions. Cale Morton gets the most kudos but Jack Grimes' leadership capabilities do not go unnoticed. Early in the book, Quayle follows the AIS squad on its tour of South Africa. This paragraph comes at the end of the tour: "At the post-match dinner, the boys had a final job to do. Each player had been assigned a quality and had to vote for the team member that best personified it. The award was named after Ben Mitchell, a member of the 2001 intake, who died in a car accident the following year aged only 17. The qualities were things like pride, patience, poise, care, trust, skill and sacrifice; the boys could interpret these things any way they chose to and the winner was Jack Grimes." Here is a potted summary of the coverage each of the Demon draftees gets in Quayle's book:- Cale Morton - AIS tour of Africa, AA and National Carnival B & F. Looked upon has having good pace and quality delivery of the football and ranked by most as next in line behind the big 2 of Kreuzer and Cotchin from the Northern Knights. Fell to 4th because he was never going to be picked by WCE which had had enough of the Mortons after their experience with Mitch Morton. Highly regarded by recruiting people. Jack Grimes - AIS tour of Africa, AA and leadership and character written all over him. Some clubs rated him higher than his eventual 14th and the feeling was that his back injury caused him to slide a little in calculations. Addam Maric - AIS tour of Africa, AA and considered the best and most reliable kick in the draft. Some concerns that he was limited in the fact that he was a small forward and the challenge would be to ensure that he could develop into a more rounded footballer capable of playing in the midfield (I believe Melbourne's football department worked on this during the year and that the result will be one of the club's few notable successes for 2008). Kyle Cheney - mentioned only briefly during discussions by the Hawthorn drafting people as one of the draft possibilities from North Ballarat. Tom McNamara - AIS tour of Africa, SA rep in the National Champs and mentioned here and there in despatches (he's the youngest of all the draftees from all of the clubs so I wouldn't prematurely dismiss his future prospects). On the eve of last year's draft Quayle wrote this article which appeared in the Age - Draft day is like Christmas for 16 AFL clubs. In it, she predicted her top 25 from the draft and Melbourne finished with four of her top 23. The Demons also picked up Stefan Martin in the pre season draft and Aussie Wonaeamirri and Shane Valenti as rookies on top of that. If we can repeat that sort of effort again this year, we are well on the way to a revival that will come earlier than many might think and that thought leaves us with a lot less gloom and doom than many might otherwise be suggesting.

by Whispering Jack I recently took what was supposed to be a ten-day break from work and went up north to laze in the sun and read a book or two. My holiday co-incided with the gloom and doom of the collapse of the world’s economic markets and, at the same time, the news about my football team wasn’t all that flash either. No major sponsor, no visible progress with the MCC talks, the potential collapse of the Casey Fields deal, no gains in the trade week and acrimony over the future of Nathan Carroll. It seemed as if Melbourne was as much on the nose as any of the thousands of stocks that were plummeting on the All Ordinaries index. Gloom and doom. Thankfully, I enjoy reading books and this time I was well stocked. I had two football books and a fine piece of pulp fiction that goes under the heading of "crime thriller". I couldn't entirely escape the footy with that one because the author's name is Connolly (but not Chris - Michael). The reading was good and the contents of the books were in a sense inspiring and helped counter that gloom and doom in the news headlines both business and sporting. The first of the footy books was Nathan Buckley's All I Can Be written with Ben Collins. It's an autobiography of sorts, one which is both triumphant in that it chronicles the illustrious career of a champion footballer who became captain of his club and won a Brownlow Medal and somewhat tragic in that it also covers the difficult relationship between Buckley and his father and his unfulfilled desire to be an AFL premiership player. Just as he did throughout his career, Buckley pulled no punches in writing his book. As the title indicates, he wanted to be all he could be but was denied a premiership and the irony is that had a chosen to complete his original contract to play with North Melbourne, or had he remained with Brisbane, he would in all likelihood, have achieved that objective – and done it more than once. The Kangaroos won the flag in 1996 and 1999 while Brisbane, which was a footballing basket case in Buckley’s only season with that club (1993) went on to score a hat trick of premierships between 2001 and 2003. I couldn't help but reflect on this during my reading of the book and, for selfish reasons, would like to see others of more recent history who spurned a lowly club for the glamour and the money suffer the same fate when their own careers come to an end. Trust a book by and about a Collingwood player to bring out the mean and nasty streak in me! Another side of Nathan Buckley was his transition from a youngster who some regarded as arrogant and a bit of a larrikin (FIGJAM) into the complete footballer and a leader of men as he matured at Collingwood. An uncompromising figure as a footballer, he became the ideal captain. In that respect, I can see a bit of him in Brock McLean and for some reason, I kept thinking as I read the Buckley story how the time is right for him take over the duties of leadership of the Melbourne Football Club. In saying that I understand fully that McLean blotted his copybook with some errant behaviour in last year's off-season. Perhaps, he came under the influence of the wrong person or perhaps his head got a bit too big, but I have faith in McLean's ability to come back mentally and physically from last year's woes (which included an injury that ended his 2008 season early) and to demonstrate that he has what it takes to take this club's emerging young side into what will hopefully be its next phase of success. His appointment as skipper would welcome in a new chapter in our history and put an end to what has been a disappointing few years for the Melbourne Football Club. I highly recommend Emma Quayle's The Draft. It's an enjoyable read that gives an insight into many aspects of the AFL's recruiting processes and it's one of the best books I have read on the subject of football, behind Richard Stremski's Kill for Collingwood and a couple of books by Garry Linnell (Football LTD: The Inside Story of the AFL and Playing God: The Rise & Fall of Gary Ablett). Quayle, who is a respected sports writer for the Age, spent 2007 following the lives of five young draft hopefuls, all of who were ultimately drafted in that year's National Draft - Trent Cotchin (Richmond), Cyril Junior Rioli (Hawthorn), Brad Ebert (West Coast), Ben McEvoy (St Kilda) and Patrick Veszpremi (Sydney). She takes us through their experiences covering every day matters as well as the football side of their lives, culminating in their drafting and settling in at the clubs that chose them. Each of the players has his own issues. Cotchin is dealing with the pressure of being regarded as close to the number one draft pick who is tagged out of the limelight in the national championships and not only fails to make All Australian but sees one of his taggers gain this honour. He also has to contend with the fact that his girlfriend is spending a great part of the year overseas at an equestrian academy. Rioli was taken away from home (Northern Territory) in his early teens and has to contend with life as a boarder in an exclusive private school in Melbourne. He doesn't interview well with many club recruiting officers. Ebert has to cope with being a member of a prominent South Australian footballing family. McEvoy lives in the bush and has to spend hours travelling to and from his TAC Cup team's training. Veszpremi is struggling with his fitness and needs a shoulder operation. Their stories come together on draft day when the hopes of a couple of thousand youngsters are on the line and only about sixty will make it through at the first opportunity. A similar number get taken at the pre season and rookie drafts and some have another year to make the grade but the rest emerge with dashed hopes and disappointment. Quayle weaves another aspect of the draft into the narrative by introducing the story of Hawthorn's recruiters as they follow the fortunes of hundreds of potential draftees in their quest to determine who will be chosen to wear the brown and gold. In doing so, she covers that club's long term planning going back to 2004 when the football department was restructured and Alastair Clarkson appointed as coach. At that time, the Hawks took an unorthodox approach to restructure their team by building up through the draft. We know that in the end, the youth-led development plan paid off and it did so ahead of time thanks in part to an element of luck that saw them recruit Jarryd Roughead, Buddy Franklin and Jordan Lewis early in the 2004 national draft all the way to Rioli and the controverial selection of Stuart Dew with their final pick in 2007 and (as we now know) culminating in the ultimate success in 2008. We even get a few insights into some of the potential 2008 draftees. Quayle was there when talented West Australian Tom Swift injured his knee in a warm up match in Perth on the eve of the AIS tour of South Africa. Among the players on that tour who were too young for the 2007 draft were the likes of Nick Naitanui and Daniel Rich. We also learn that bottom ager David Zaharakis, now a captain at Cotchin's TAC Club the Northern Knights, was under the Hawks' microscope but not picked last year. Could Hawthorn take him this year? The Hawthorn formula is now in vogue and, although the circumstances can't all be repeated (for example, the priority pick now comes before the draft's second round and not the first) it's the pathway that Melbourne appears to be going down in preference to the cheque book acquisition of players through trades and other means currently being employed by Carlton. And it's noteworthy that Hawthorn had only one player in its 2008 premiership side who was recruited through the trades. From Melbourne's perspective, all five of its 2007 national draftees rated at least one mention in the Quayle book with our top three rating several mentions. Cale Morton gets the most kudos but Jack Grimes' leadership capabilities do not go unnoticed. Early in the book, Quayle follows the AIS squad on its tour of South Africa. This paragraph comes at the end of the tour: "At the post-match dinner, the boys had a final job to do. Each player had been assigned a quality and had to vote for the team member that best personified it. The award was named after Ben Mitchell, a member of the 2001 intake, who died in a car accident the following year aged only 17. The qualities were things like pride, patience, poise, care, trust, skill and sacrifice; the boys could interpret these things any way they chose to and the winner was Jack Grimes." Here is a potted summary of the coverage each of the Demon draftees gets in Quayle's book:- Cale Morton - AIS tour of Africa, AA and National Carnival B & F. Looked upon has having good pace and quality delivery of the football and ranked by most as next in line behind the big 2 of Kreuzer and Cotchin from the Northern Knights. Fell to 4th because he was never going to be picked by WCE which had had enough of the Mortons after their experience with Mitch Morton. Highly regarded by recruiting people. Jack Grimes - AIS tour of Africa, AA and leadership and character written all over him. Some clubs rated him higher than his eventual 14th and the feeling was that his back injury caused him to slide a little in calculations. Addam Maric - AIS tour of Africa, AA and considered the best and most reliable kick in the draft. Some concerns that he was limited in the fact that he was a small forward and the challenge would be to ensure that he could develop into a more rounded footballer capable of playing in the midfield (I believe Melbourne's football department worked on this during the year and that the result will be one of the club's few notable successes for 2008). Kyle Cheney - mentioned only briefly during discussions by the Hawthorn drafting people as one of the draft possibilities from North Ballarat. Tom McNamara - AIS tour of Africa, SA rep in the National Champs and mentioned here and there in despatches (he's the youngest of all the draftees from all of the clubs so I wouldn't prematurely dismiss his future prospects). On the eve of last year's draft Quayle wrote this article which appeared in the Age - Draft day is like Christmas for 16 AFL clubs. In it, she predicted her top 25 from the draft and Melbourne finished with four of her top 23. The Demons also picked up Stefan Martin in the pre season draft and Aussie Wonaeamirri and Shane Valenti as rookies on top of that. If we can repeat that sort of effort again this year, we are well on the way to a revival that will come earlier than many might think and that thought leaves us with a lot less gloom and doom than many might otherwise be suggesting. FOOTNOTE: You can read parts of Nathan Buckley's Book HERE, HERE and HERE and excerpts from the Emma Quayle book on line here - THE DRAFT

It would help if we got some home games at night.

WE SHALL OVERCOME by The Demonland Crew One hundred and fifty years ago today, the Melbourne Football Club was the only football club in the land. There were no others. Today, our football code is the strongest in the land but, among the elite clubs (and that includes Gold Coast which hasn’t really seen the light of day yet), our club is being treated with utter contempt by those who sit in charge of the Australian Football League. The problem is that in 1858, our fledgling game was a sport, based on principles of fairness and sportsmanship. Today, it is a business, based on no principles but rather, a lack of principles and more on the greed that has seen economies around the world reeling in the wake of what looms as the biggest financial crisis since the 1930's. And we have become its poorest franchise. The issue by the AFL of what it laughingly calls its fixture is a case in point. It highlights what can only be described as a premeditated plan to murder the Melbourne Football Club. And our own club leadership and officials have been bound and gagged, unable to utter a word in self-defence lest Big Brother at the AFL cuts off one of its vital financial lifelines in the form of the compensation to which its is entitled as a result of the inequities in the AFL's programme (even then, on the basis of the programme set out by the AFL, we believe will get only a third of the compensation to which we should be entitled). If you think that's a paranoid view, don’t take our word for it – listen to what these respected journalists have to say: - CAROLINE WILSON – SUNDAY AGE STEPHEN REILLY – AUSTRALIAN MARK ROBINSON - HERALD SUN These are senior writers with three out of the three major newspapers that deal extensively with the sport - all of them unanimous in the view that the AFL has shafted the Melbourne Football Club. Wilson sums up the Kremlin's duplicity well: And we don't accept the garbage we are being told about the fact that we will get better treatment when our team performs better. Melbourne made it through to the second week of the finals in 2006. It didn't get the exclusive treatment in the following year's draw that one club - a recent basket case that hasn't made the finals (or finished better than 10th for that mater) since 2001 - is getting in 2009. We also don't accept the official line that fairness is being achieved because Melbourne was handed out a good football draw. That's utter rubbish. A good football draw is what Collingwood was given this year – what it is given every year: the least number of interstate trips, no travel to Skilled Stadium and drawn to play only three teams from last year's top eight twice including single games against the two dominant sides in the competition. Melbourne, on the other hand, finished last but meets four of last year's top eight teams twice. And for removal of doubt, look at the AFL's stated attitude with respect to giving the Brisbane Lions any perceived home turf advantage next year for games at Carrara. From the mouth of AFL apparatchik Gillon McLachlan in the Gold Coast Bulletin. That principle apparently was thrown out with the trash when it came to giving Sydney a home state advantage in its back yard for Melbourne’s "home" game at Manuka in Canberra. So what to do about it? We grit our teeth and fight back. We fight back by sticking fat and confirming our identity not only as supporters of the club but by becoming members – now! BECOME A MEMBER NOW We fight back in the spirit of the Demons as we did in the past – both on and off the field. We fight back by getting behind our club which is rebuilding our links with the MCC, working hard on establishing a community base and training facilities and continuing the process of rebuilding our side. In other words, by accepting the challenge as Hawthorn did when it was down just a few years ago. Last year, the AFL's knives were aimed squarely at the back of the North Melbourne Football Club. The media and the football public pronounced the Kangaroos as being near to death. That club gained the respect and admiration of the football world as it fought back both on and off the field. Its football team produced some magnificent performances during 2008 – including one in which they beat the competition’s ultimate premier. They called it the "shinboner spirit" and while it’s debatable whether an intangible item called “spirit” is ever enough to bring about ultimate success, there is no doubt that we can only survive as a club by taking the fight to the rest of the competition with an attitude that demands victory and not with defeatism. We have a talented group of young players coming through the ranks and, in a month's time, will have another infusion of top talent. We have several of our better players coming back from injury and their return will strengthen our team and make it far more competitive. It will take time but we will fight back. We shall overcome!

WE SHALL OVERCOME by The Demonland Crew One hundred and fifty years ago today, the Melbourne Football Club was the only football club in the land. There were no others. Today, our football code is the strongest in the land but, among the elite clubs (and that includes Gold Coast which hasn’t really seen the light of day yet), our club is being treated with utter contempt by those who sit in charge of the Australian Football League. The problem is that in 1858, our fledgling game was a sport, based on principles of fairness and sportsmanship. Today, it is a business, based on no principles but rather, a lack of principles and more on the greed that has seen economies around the world reeling in the wake of what looms as the biggest financial crisis since the 1930's. And we have become its poorest franchise. The issue by the AFL of what it laughingly calls its fixture is a case in point. It highlights what can only be described as a premeditated plan to murder the Melbourne Football Club. And our own club leadership and officials have been bound and gagged, unable to utter a word in self-defence lest Big Brother at the AFL cuts off one of its vital financial lifelines in the form of the compensation to which its is entitled as a result of the inequities in the AFL's programme (even then, on the basis of the programme set out by the AFL, we believe will get only a third of the compensation to which we should be entitled). If you think that's a paranoid view, don’t take our word for it – listen to what these respected journalists have to say: - CAROLINE WILSON – SUNDAY AGE STEPHEN REILLY – AUSTRALIAN MARK ROBINSON - HERALD SUN These are senior writers with three out of the three major newspapers that deal extensively with the sport - all of them unanimous in the view that the AFL has shafted the Melbourne Football Club. Wilson sums up the Kremlin's duplicity well: And we don't accept the garbage we are being told about the fact that we will get better treatment when our team performs better. Melbourne made it through to the second week of the finals in 2006. It didn't get the exclusive treatment in the following year's draw that one club - a recent basket case that hasn't made the finals (or finished better than 10th for that mater) since 2001 - is getting in 2009. We also don't accept the official line that fairness is being achieved because Melbourne was handed out a good football draw. That's utter rubbish. A good football draw is what Collingwood was given this year – what it is given every year: the least number of interstate trips, no travel to Skilled Stadium and drawn to play only three teams from last year's top eight twice including single games against the two dominant sides in the competition. Melbourne, on the other hand, finished last but meets four of last year's top eight teams twice. And for removal of doubt, look at the AFL's stated attitude with respect to giving the Brisbane Lions any perceived home turf advantage next year for games at Carrara. From the mouth of AFL apparatchik Gillon McLachlan in the Gold Coast Bulletin. That principle apparently was thrown out with the trash when it came to giving Sydney a home state advantage in its back yard for Melbourne’s "home" game at Manuka in Canberra. So what to do about it? We grit our teeth and fight back. We fight back by sticking fat and confirming our identity not only as supporters of the club but by becoming members – now! BECOME A MEMBER NOW We fight back in the spirit of the Demons as we did in the past – both on and off the field. We fight back by getting behind our club which is rebuilding our links with the MCC, working hard on establishing a community base and training facilities and continuing the process of rebuilding our side. In other words, by accepting the challenge as Hawthorn did when it was down just a few years ago. Last year, the AFL's knives were aimed squarely at the back of the North Melbourne Football Club. The media and the football public pronounced the Kangaroos as being near to death. That club gained the respect and admiration of the football world as it fought back both on and off the field. Its football team produced some magnificent performances during 2008 – including one in which they beat the competition’s ultimate premier. They called it the "shinboner spirit" and while it’s debatable whether an intangible item called “spirit” is ever enough to bring about ultimate success, there is no doubt that we can only survive as a club by taking the fight to the rest of the competition with an attitude that demands victory and not with defeatism. We have a talented group of young players coming through the ranks and, in a month's time, will have another infusion of top talent. We have several of our better players coming back from injury and their return will strengthen our team and make it far more competitive. It will take time but we will fight back. We shall overcome!

If we're going to make a big money play for an uncontracted player, let's not forget that Marc Murphy of Carlton has reportedly not signed on yet. Why not him?

I would suggest for the purposes of this discussion that people remember our Code of Conduct. Please do not put up any unsubstaniated rumours connecting and identifying people with any illegal activities as your post will be deleted.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES: DAY FIVE THE BIG FIZZER by The Oracle With the world's financial crisis completely overshadowing events, football's own exchange period was always going to pale into insignificance against a backdrop of confusion and crisis on global markets. The week's activities however, produced even less result than most of us thought with only six player trades completed and not a single player of any note changing clubs. It was not for lack of trying among the clubs that the output was so poor. For every completed trade there were probably at least ten names bandied about during the lead up and the week of trading but there were factors at play that influenced the market. These included economic factors and the gloomy economic outlook, the high price tags some managers put on their players, the perception that this year's draft pool was strong and deep and the imminent changes to the draft, particularly those that will apply with the imminent inclusion of teams from the Gold Coast and West Sydney. Clubs valued their draft picks more than ever this year and many deals that might have been consummated in other years simply were left on the shelf. The highest draft pick to change hands was # 24 as part of the final day deal that saw Robert Warnock move from Fremantle to Carlton. It would be safe to say that this would have been Warnock was the most expensive player to be traded for a selection outside the top 20 but more of that later. Other trades yesterday involved Bulldog Farren Ray joining the Saints in a trade that saw picks 31 and 48 rotated between the clubs and Brent Prismall moved to the Bombers for draft pick # 93. The draft took on a ridiculous face with Brisbane's gift of Anthony Corrie to Collingwood for selection 93 (I wonder who they have in mind to use that one on) and the Pies offloaded the troublesome Rhyce Shaw for an exchange of insignificant draft picks. From Melbourne's point of view, the club worked hard but failed to secure Warnock and Prismall and Brad Green stayed put and finally signed a new three year deal. The so-called "failure" to convince the Docker giant and the injured Cat, who were fringe players at best at their former clubs, is no disaster and probably a blessing in disguise for the club which can now concentrate on the forthcoming National Draft where it has three selections in the top twenty and possibly, on the Pre Season Draft (but I wouldn't be holding my breath over that one). The PSD already promises to be as big a fizzer as the exchange period – all of which spells the likelihood of a strong push towards free agency to protect the interests of the uncontracted player. From Melbourne’s point of view, it is to be hoped that the club embraces the changes that will come and that it won’t shy away from taking the lead in aggressive trading in future years. For this year however, it was a time best to stay away from the major trades and the results of the week prove that conclusively. Missing out on Warnock was no big deal. Carlton came in with such a knockout offer to the young ruckman who has 21 games of AFL experience under his belt that he was virtually priced out of dealing with any other club. The Blues applied the Pythagoras theory of bidding for this player. When early suitors Richmond and Melbourne came in with reported offers of around $900,000 for three years, they added a year to the contract, squared the number four to get 16 and added the requisite number of naughts to come up with figure so ridiculous for a ruckman in the current era that it would have been irresponsible of the other clubs to match. On the very day when the current Gordon Gekkos of this world were getting their comeuppance across the globe you could rely on Carlton to promote the culture of greed to the nth degree. As for Prismall, it would have been dangerous for a club like Melbourne to have taken the risk on an injury ravaged player of such inconsequence and pay the amount the Bombers finally coughed up for him. Essendon also had a tough 2008 on the injury front. At least the price they paid for their new disabled wingman was cheap at selection # 39. And so we move on into the brave new world. There are only six weeks to go before the National Draft, following which we might all be better placed to reflect on whether it was better to hold on to that valuable commodity – a top twenty draft pick.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES: DAY FIVE THE BIG FIZZER by The Oracle With the world's financial crisis completely overshadowing events, football's own exchange period was always going to pale into insignificance against a backdrop of confusion and crisis on global markets. The week's activities however, produced even less result than most of us thought with only six player trades completed and not a single player of any note changing clubs. It was not for lack of trying among the clubs that the output was so poor. For every completed trade there were probably at least ten names bandied about during the lead up and the week of trading but there were factors at play that influenced the market. These included economic factors and the gloomy economic outlook, the high price tags some managers put on their players, the perception that this year's draft pool was strong and deep and the imminent changes to the draft, particularly those that will apply with the imminent inclusion of teams from the Gold Coast and West Sydney. Clubs valued their draft picks more than ever this year and many deals that might have been consummated in other years simply were left on the shelf. The highest draft pick to change hands was # 24 as part of the final day deal that saw Robert Warnock move from Fremantle to Carlton. It would be safe to say that this would have been Warnock was the most expensive player to be traded for a selection outside the top 20 but more of that later. Other trades yesterday involved Bulldog Farren Ray joining the Saints in a trade that saw picks 31 and 48 rotated between the clubs and Brent Prismall moved to the Bombers for draft pick # 93. The draft took on a ridiculous face with Brisbane's gift of Anthony Corrie to Collingwood for selection 93 (I wonder who they have in mind to use that one on) and the Pies offloaded the troublesome Rhyce Shaw for an exchange of insignificant draft picks. From Melbourne's point of view, the club worked hard but failed to secure Warnock and Prismall and Brad Green stayed put and finally signed a new three year deal. The so-called "failure" to convince the Docker giant and the injured Cat, who were fringe players at best at their former clubs, is no disaster and probably a blessing in disguise for the club which can now concentrate on the forthcoming National Draft where it has three selections in the top twenty and possibly, on the Pre Season Draft (but I wouldn't be holding my breath over that one). The PSD already promises to be as big a fizzer as the exchange period – all of which spells the likelihood of a strong push towards free agency to protect the interests of the uncontracted player. From Melbourne’s point of view, it is to be hoped that the club embraces the changes that will come and that it won’t shy away from taking the lead in aggressive trading in future years. For this year however, it was a time best to stay away from the major trades and the results of the week prove that conclusively. Missing out on Warnock was no big deal. Carlton came in with such a knockout offer to the young ruckman who has 21 games of AFL experience under his belt that he was virtually priced out of dealing with any other club. The Blues applied the Pythagoras theory of bidding for this player. When early suitors Richmond and Melbourne came in with reported offers of around $900,000 for three years, they added a year to the contract, squared the number four to get 16 and added the requisite number of naughts to come up with figure so ridiculous for a ruckman in the current era that it would have been irresponsible of the other clubs to match. On the very day when the current Gordon Gekkos of this world were getting their comeuppance across the globe you could rely on Carlton to promote the culture of greed to the nth degree. As for Prismall, it would have been dangerous for a club like Melbourne to have taken the risk on an injury ravaged player of such inconsequence and pay the amount the Bombers finally coughed up for him. Essendon also had a tough 2008 on the injury front. At least the price they paid for their new disabled wingman was cheap at selection # 39. And so we move on into the brave new world. There are only six weeks to go before the National Draft, following which we might all be better placed to reflect on whether it was better to hold on to that valuable commodity – a top twenty draft pick.

44. Shane Valenti [176cm 80kg 29.01.87 - 9 games 3 goals] - considered by many to be too slow and too small the young on baller did well coming off the rookie list and managing nine games in his debut season.