Demonland

Track the Trades here: TRADE TRACKER

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: DAY FOUR TRADING THROUGH HISTORY by the Oracle The whole trade week is descending into a shambles with the pitfalls of the system exposed for all to see. After four days, there's been just one deal done and that one is nothing to write home about. Even Jack Hill the blind miner will tell you that the Adam Thomson to Richmond for pick 42 trade sits a best at about 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. Clearly, what has been going on over the past our days is unsatisfactory, unsavoury and certainly not achieving the intended purpose of the exchange week. Clubs, players, managers, fans and the AFL itself are all unhappy with the state of affairs and, combined with the failure of the Pre Season Draft in recent years, all this is leading us up the path towards free agency – another outcome that will suit the rich and harm the poor. It's a waste of time speculating about what will happen today – the last day of the trade week - other than perhaps Brad Green might finally make up his mind what he wants to do next year. You would like to think that the spirit of the exchange period was to achieve deals that are a win/win for all parties concerned. However, I suspect that somewhere within the heart of the current system lies the belief on the part of clubs, managers and players that you have to screw the other in your dealings. Perhaps this is why we're not seeing as much business done – because some of the parties want to be seen as the winners of every particular transaction they might complete. That is why I'm fast reaching the point where I regard it as a waste of time to speculate. Instead, I will reserve my judgement on this week until the results are known and I've had the time to digest the outcome of exchange week. In the meantime, I'd like to take you on a trip down memory lane to look at some outstanding trades of the past that were spectacular in that they were wins for one side only. Hopefully, Melbourne can knock a couple off like these (on the winning side) rippers from the past: In 1998, Port Adelaide traded Tom Harley who had one AFL game under his belt to Geelong for pick 37 in the National Draft. The Power used that pick to select young key position player Adam Morgan from Oakleigh Under 18’s. Morgan had injury problems and hung around at Alberton for five years and played just 3 games before he was traded to the Bulldogs where he managed another inauspicious 14 games before fading off the scene. Harley has added another 182 games to his resume at Geelong and in 2007 held the premiership cup aloft in front of his old club, vanquished by 119 points – the biggest margin ever in an AFL/VFL grand final. Most of the experts consider Harley one of the best skippers in the competition. Fremantle supporters shudder at the very word "trade" because they've been on the receiving end of many exchanges gone badly for them. Perhaps that's why their club seems to be digging in its heels over Robert Warnock. Their worst gaffes were in the early days of the club. Peter Bell was released after just one game to North Melbourne where he played in a couple of premierships before returning home. Before their inaugural playing season of 1995, the Dockers gave away some beauties. They released Jeff Farmer for Melbourne defender Phil Gilbert when the young Wizard was just a 17-year-old schoolboy and released draft pick four to Essendon for Tony Delaney who managed just 28 games with the Dockers. Essendon used its selection on Geelong Falcons youngster Scott Lucas who is still around today after an illustrious career that currently stands at 256 games, 449 goals and includes a berth at centre half forward in the Bombers’ premiership team of 2000. More lately there has been the Chris Tarrant trade from Collingwood to Fremantle in return for Paul Medhurst and National Draft pick 8 which secured Ben Reid. Before that the Pies took some handy players in James Clement and Brodie Holland for cheap pickings. But the winner is … the swap of a good, ordinary key position player in Chris Groom who had played 12 games with Adelaide in return for a youngster from the Northern Territory, Andrew McLeod. Groom's career at Fremantle was hampered by injuries and he was moved on to North Melbourne after just seven games. He fared even worse with the Kangaroos and managed only two more games before his career ended with a whimper. McLeod's career has been well documented. He played in two premierships with Adelaide and won the Norm Smith Medal on both occasions (1997 and 1998). A decade later and McLeod is still a damaging player for the Crows with 304 games and 256 goals behind him and more to come. No wonder AFL clubs are lining up to do business with the Dockers. Their trading track record raises the distinct possibility that they might take another fall tomorrow. We'll all know the answer to that very soon!

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: DAY FOUR TRADING THROUGH HISTORY by the Oracle The whole trade week is descending into a shambles with the pitfalls of the system exposed for all to see. After four days, there's been just one deal done and that one is nothing to write home about. Even Jack Hill the blind miner will tell you that the Adam Thomson to Richmond for pick 42 trade sits a best at about 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. Clearly, what has been going on over the past our days is unsatisfactory, unsavoury and certainly not achieving the intended purpose of the exchange week. Clubs, players, managers, fans and the AFL itself are all unhappy with the state of affairs and, combined with the failure of the Pre Season Draft in recent years, all this is leading us up the path towards free agency – another outcome that will suit the rich and harm the poor. It's a waste of time speculating about what will happen today – the last day of the trade week - other than perhaps Brad Green might finally make up his mind what he wants to do next year. You would like to think that the spirit of the exchange period was to achieve deals that are a win/win for all parties concerned. However, I suspect that somewhere within the heart of the current system lies the belief on the part of clubs, managers and players that you have to screw the other in your dealings. Perhaps this is why we're not seeing as much business done – because some of the parties want to be seen as the winners of every particular transaction they might complete. That is why I'm fast reaching the point where I regard it as a waste of time to speculate. Instead, I will reserve my judgement on this week until the results are known and I've had the time to digest the outcome of exchange week. In the meantime, I'd like to take you on a trip down memory lane to look at some outstanding trades of the past that were spectacular in that they were wins for one side only. Hopefully, Melbourne can knock a couple off like these (on the winning side) rippers from the past: In 1998, Port Adelaide traded Tom Harley who had one AFL game under his belt to Geelong for pick 37 in the National Draft. The Power used that pick to select young key position player Adam Morgan from Oakleigh Under 18’s. Morgan had injury problems and hung around at Alberton for five years and played just 3 games before he was traded to the Bulldogs where he managed another inauspicious 14 games before fading off the scene. Harley has added another 182 games to his resume at Geelong and in 2007 held the premiership cup aloft in front of his old club, vanquished by 119 points – the biggest margin ever in an AFL/VFL grand final. Most of the experts consider Harley one of the best skippers in the competition. Fremantle supporters shudder at the very word "trade" because they've been on the receiving end of many exchanges gone badly for them. Perhaps that's why their club seems to be digging in its heels over Robert Warnock. Their worst gaffes were in the early days of the club. Peter Bell was released after just one game to North Melbourne where he played in a couple of premierships before returning home. Before their inaugural playing season of 1995, the Dockers gave away some beauties. They released Jeff Farmer for Melbourne defender Phil Gilbert when the young Wizard was just a 17-year-old schoolboy and released draft pick four to Essendon for Tony Delaney who managed just 28 games with the Dockers. Essendon used its selection on Geelong Falcons youngster Scott Lucas who is still around today after an illustrious career that currently stands at 256 games, 449 goals and includes a berth at centre half forward in the Bombers’ premiership team of 2000. More lately there has been the Chris Tarrant trade from Collingwood to Fremantle in return for Paul Medhurst and National Draft pick 8 which secured Ben Reid. Before that the Pies took some handy players in James Clement and Brodie Holland for cheap pickings. But the winner is … the swap of a good, ordinary key position player in Chris Groom who had played 12 games with Adelaide in return for a youngster from the Northern Territory, Andrew McLeod. Groom's career at Fremantle was hampered by injuries and he was moved on to North Melbourne after just seven games. He fared even worse with the Kangaroos and managed only two more games before his career ended with a whimper. McLeod's career has been well documented. He played in two premierships with Adelaide and won the Norm Smith Medal on both occasions (1997 and 1998). A decade later and McLeod is still a damaging player for the Crows with 304 games and 256 goals behind him and more to come. No wonder AFL clubs are lining up to do business with the Dockers. Their trading track record raises the distinct possibility that they might take another fall tomorrow. We'll all know the answer to that very soon!!

It's on our Drafting and Trading Board where I'm moving this thread. Then, I'm going to merge it with the other one on Brad Green.

42. Jake Spencer [203cm 98kg 09.10.89 - 0 games 0 goals] - the rookie listed beanpole ruckman has a lot of grunt and endeavour in him. Jake is developing quite nicely in the VFL and is a prospect for the future.

41. Nathan Carroll [191cm 91kg 20.10.80 - 71 games (9 in 2008) 1 goal (0 in 2008)] - at the start of the season was one of the club's leading key position defenders but a combination of discipline problems and the emergence of other younger players sees him out in the cold and unlikely to play for the club again.

The 100% bulldust comment was made about the rumour concerning Melbourne trading Aaron Davey to Port Adelaide for pick 4.

You won't have to wait too long because I'm stepping up the programme so that we can finish the full list of player reviews for the weekend. Melbourne's new season begins on Monday with the start of the pre season and so does our!

40.Mark Jamar [198cm 103kg 08.09.83 - 66 games (21 in 2008) 14 goals (4 in 2008)] – after several years as understudy to Jeff White, Mark Jamar took over the mantle of the club's first ruckman when White fell out of favour with selectors half way through the season and was given a stint at Sandringham. Jamar's ruckwork was generally good but he doesn’t pick up enough possessions around the ground and must make more of an impact on games in the way he did when he beat Essendon’s David Hille late in the season.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: DAY THREE PLANET WARNOCK by the Oracle The big lunch is almost a national institution and a pastime that I normally enjoy but yesterday the company was almost unbearable. Last year, the client was in a jovial mood, ate like a pig, drank like a fish and handed out enough business to more than justify the opulent meal that I had lavished upon him courtesy of my expense account (of course). This time however, the bloke sat over his veal parma and a glass of some slimy looking concoction and sulked for the better part of an hour, the epitome of a stunned mullet. A Geelong supporter suffering post grand final depression. I couldn't stand it! Here I was, a Melbourne supporter whose club had just finished stone motherless last, won three games for the season – two of them by narrow margins and the other to a team that played with the intent and purpose of a collection of zombies on Zoloft – and this fellow is shedding tears over a team that lost only twice in a span of 25 matches. Go figure! Finally, he uttered a sentence. "Do youse want Prismall?" he said in slurred tones as he knocked over his glass and spilled most of the slimy looking liquid onto the lapel of his shirt. "Beg your pardon." "Do youse want Prismall?" I realised then that I was all traded out. I didn't want to hear any more about the AFL, the trades, drafts, grand finals, umpires and other assorted hard luck stories. I politely told him, I didn't think our club could carry another wounded player and changed the subject. We did some business (but not as much as last year) and he left, stumbling over his chair. I wondered whether he was driving home or catching a cab but then it occurred to me that I really didn't care about that either. I was suffering from PTTPS – post traumatic trade period syndrome. Back at the office, I immersed myself in my work which involves catching up on international trends in my industry and I did this by following up articles in the overseas media. It was while reading a recent article in the London Daily Mail about some of the latest in insurance products that something familiar caught my eye on another part of the page. That something was almost a blur but it was definitely there and it attracted my interest - The dehumanised landscape of Planet Warnock The writer of the article is concerned that we are creating a dehumanised society where the weakest are being steadily sacrificed for the benefit of the strong and she really sticks her fangs into a biddy over in the U.K called Baroness Warnock who has "declared that elderly people with dementia are 'wasting' the lives of those who care for them, and have a duty to die in order to stop being a burden to others." Wow! I wondered whether she was related to the AFL's Warnock brothers and whether her sad philosophies had any impact on young Robert who is a much sought after ruckman, ostensibly headed for Carlton if the AFL and the Visy millions have their way. I mean, here's a young bloke who would rather play for a cardboard box baron who not long ago copped a whopping $38m fine for some sort of corporate crime or misdemeanour than with his own kith and kin in the form of his older brother. That's inhuman, indecent and bloody well unAustralian if you ask me. And on top of that, the AFL is aiding him in his cause and it concerns me that the integrity of the competition is being impugned when the ruling body takes a role in seeking to mediate the differences between two clubs over the release of a young player. Surely, the free market should decide his fate? After all, that's the market in which the Blues waved lots of green folding stuff under Warnock's nose. Now they offer that player's club compensation for him that others can better and the AFL steps in? Unless you so involve yourself in all such cases, you are going to lay yourself open to charges of bias and unfair dealing. Do butt out AFL! I suddenly realised that I was not only getting mad about this but I was also over my bout of PTTPS. I was ready to jump back into the machinations of trade week but the only problem was that nothing was really happening except for the daily news item to the effect that Melbourne general manager of football operations Chris Connolly is still waiting for word of Brad Green's intentions and that he expects that word to come tomorrow which also just happens to be groundhog day. Still, tomorrow's Thursday and the exchange period ends early on Friday afternoon - something has to happen soon. Surely?

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: DAY THREE PLANET WARNOCK by the Oracle The big lunch is almost a national institution and a pastime that I normally enjoy but yesterday the company was almost unbearable. Last year, the client was in a jovial mood, ate like a pig, drank like a fish and handed out enough business to more than justify the opulent meal that I had lavished upon him courtesy of my expense account (of course). This time however, the bloke sat over his veal parma and a glass of some slimy looking concoction and sulked for the better part of an hour, the epitome of a stunned mullet. A Geelong supporter suffering post grand final depression. I couldn't stand it! Here I was, a Melbourne supporter whose club had just finished stone motherless last, won three games for the season – two of them by narrow margins and the other to a team that played with the intent and purpose of a collection of zombies on Zoloft – and this fellow is shedding tears over a team that lost only twice in a span of 25 matches. Go figure! Finally, he uttered a sentence. "Do youse want Prismall?" he said in slurred tones as he knocked over his glass and spilled most of the slimy looking liquid onto the lapel of his shirt. "Beg your pardon." "Do youse want Prismall?" I realised then that I was all traded out. I didn't want to hear any more about the AFL, the trades, drafts, grand finals, umpires and other assorted hard luck stories. I politely told him, I didn't think our club could carry another wounded player and changed the subject. We did some business (but not as much as last year) and he left, stumbling over his chair. I wondered whether he was driving home or catching a cab but then it occurred to me that I really didn't care about that either. I was suffering from PTTPS – post traumatic trade period syndrome. Back at the office, I immersed myself in my work which involves catching up on international trends in my industry and I did this by following up articles in the overseas media. It was while reading a recent article in the London Daily Mail about some of the latest in insurance products that something familiar caught my eye on another part of the page. That something was almost a blur but it was definitely there and it attracted my interest - The dehumanised landscape of Planet Warnock The writer of the article is concerned that we are creating a dehumanised society where the weakest are being steadily sacrificed for the benefit of the strong and she really sticks her fangs into a biddy over in the U.K called Baroness Warnock who has "declared that elderly people with dementia are 'wasting' the lives of those who care for them, and have a duty to die in order to stop being a burden to others." Wow! I wondered whether she was related to the AFL's Warnock brothers and whether her sad philosophies had any impact on young Robert who is a much sought after ruckman, ostensibly headed for Carlton if the AFL and the Visy millions have their way. I mean, here's a young bloke who would rather play for a cardboard box baron who not long ago copped a whopping $38m fine for some sort of corporate crime or misdemeanour than with his own kith and kin in the form of his older brother. That's inhuman, indecent and bloody well unAustralian if you ask me. And on top of that, the AFL is aiding him in his cause and it concerns me that the integrity of the competition is being impugned when the ruling body takes a role in seeking to mediate the differences between two clubs over the release of a young player. Surely, the free market should decide his fate? After all, that's the market in which the Blues waved lots of green folding stuff under Warnock's nose. Now they offer that player's club compensation for him that others can better and the AFL steps in? Unless you so involve yourself in all such cases, you are going to lay yourself open to charges of bias and unfair dealing. Do butt out AFL! I suddenly realised that I was not only getting mad about this but I was also over my bout of PTTPS. I was ready to jump back into the machinations of trade week but the only problem was that nothing was really happening except for the daily news item to the effect that Melbourne general manager of football operations Chris Connolly is still waiting for word of Brad Green's intentions and that he expects that word to come tomorrow which also just happens to be groundhog day. Still, tomorrow's Thursday and the exchange period ends early on Friday afternoon - something has to happen soon. Surely?

THE TRADING CHRONICLES – DAY TWO A BRAND NEW WORLD OUT THERE by the Oracle In an ideal world, one would like to think that the Melbourne Football Club will show a fair amount of improvement on the field in 2009. Possibly, the team might even have a crack at winning a finals berth or do something even better than that. But let's be realistic; the world is not ideal and the Demons, under new coach Dean Bailey, have their work cut out for them over the coming seasons. The club has hit rock bottom and it's a long way to the top. Yesterday, Geoff McLure's Sporting Life column in the Melbourne Age produced a stunning statistic that demonstrated clearly the depths to which the club's fortunes have plumbed in just two seasons since it last made the finals back in 2006. During the recently completed 2008 season, Geelong won 72 and drew 4 quarters out of 100 played (74%). At the other end of the scale Melbourne won just 23 out of 88 (26.14%) – the biggest gap between top (after the home and away season) and bottom in 58 years. The Demons seem to be the masters at this because their ratio of quarters won was 23.53% in 1906 and an even worse 19.53% way back in 1919. This year's figure was matched by the club in 1997 (which I suppose is good news because Melbourne bounced back and made a preliminary final in 1998). Of course, the dominant Cats didn't win the flag. Those honours went to Hawthorn and that's also a sobering thought because it was only two years ago when the Hawks were struggling that the Demons thrashed them by plenty in a night fixture at the MCG. Still, they have their work cut out for them. From a trading and drafting perspective, the club is confronted with a major task to assemble a list that will one day be capable of competing with the best in the competition and that's why the slow start to the trade period is probably a source of more frustration for Melbourne supporters than it is for most others. We want to see some action - something concrete and visible to raise the spirits after the dreadful season from hell that we've just experienced. Melbourne coach Dean Bailey is unfussed and remains level headed when it comes to this time of year. He's fully aware that Rome wasn't built in a day. It took four years for the Hawks to find their way into the upper echelon and that was a year or two ahead of what was anticipated. So you won't see a rash scorched earth programme applied to the club's recruiting. The list is getting younger but it requires a patient approach to ensure that ultimate success will come our way. As Bailey puts it - – TRADE WEEK PRIMER: MELBOURNE This all brings us to where the Demons are going at this stage of the exchange period. As those who are following the trade proceedings would be painfully aware, there is precious little of any substance happening despite an enormous amount of speculation (most of it misguided guesswork and plain wrong). There have been some names mentioned but no deals have been done yet after two days of trading. Most of the interest from a Melbourne point of view is the club's out-of-contract man for all seasons Brad Green who has yet to sign a new deal with the club and is being closely eyed by Collingwood. Hawthorn, Sydney and Port Adelaide have also sounded expressed an interest while the club is saying that it is hopeful of re-signing him. Most supporters have nothing but admiration for the 27 year old Green and would hate to see him go. A member of the club's leadership (although surprisingly left out at the start of the year), he is its most versatile player. He can play in the midfield or up forward where is accurate left foot is deadly or he can go down back where he is normally a reliable stopper and also capable of setting up attacking moves from deep in defence. The hallmark of his play in recent years has been the courage he has shown when backing into packs to mark the ball. In the absence of this current contractual dispute, I would have thought him to be clear favourite to hold the Melbourne captaincy for at least the next two years. But it’s 2008 and times are changing. The perception is that the team is not within the premiership window. The Magpies are considered to be within that range so Green might well find himself a new home in the next couple of days. From my perspective, it would be a shame and the draft pick (or player) received in compensation would be of little consolation (well … at least not until November when we see what the club gets in return). Sadly, that is the way of football in the early part of the 21st Century. Last year it was Travis Johnstone and we got used to it. The player obtained with the replacement drat pick # 14, Jack Grimes, has only graced the field at senior level on one occassion but promises to be a 200 game player of quality for the club. The same thing could well happen if Green decides to leave the fold. It's a brand, new world out there!

THE TRADING CHRONICLES – DAY TWO A BRAND NEW WORLD OUT THERE by the Oracle In an ideal world, one would like to think that the Melbourne Football Club will show a fair amount of improvement on the field in 2009. Possibly, the team might even have a crack at winning a finals berth or do something even better than that. But let's be realistic; the world is not ideal and the Demons, under new coach Dean Bailey, have their work cut out for them over the coming seasons. The club has hit rock bottom and it's a long way to the top. Yesterday, Geoff McLure's Sporting Life column in the Melbourne Age produced a stunning statistic that demonstrated clearly the depths to which the club's fortunes have plumbed in just two seasons since it last made the finals back in 2006. During the recently completed 2008 season, Geelong won 72 and drew 4 quarters out of 100 played (74%). At the other end of the scale Melbourne won just 23 out of 88 (26.14%) – the biggest gap between top (after the home and away season) and bottom in 58 years. The Demons seem to be the masters at this because their ratio of quarters won was 23.53% in 1906 and an even worse 19.53% way back in 1919. This year's figure was matched by the club in 1997 (which I suppose is good news because Melbourne bounced back and made a preliminary final in 1998). Of course, the dominant Cats didn't win the flag. Those honours went to Hawthorn and that's also a sobering thought because it was only two years ago when the Hawks were struggling that the Demons thrashed them by plenty in a night fixture at the MCG. Still, they have their work cut out for them. From a trading and drafting perspective, the club is confronted with a major task to assemble a list that will one day be capable of competing with the best in the competition and that's why the slow start to the trade period is probably a source of more frustration for Melbourne supporters than it is for most others. We want to see some action - something concrete and visible to raise the spirits after the dreadful season from hell that we've just experienced. Melbourne coach Dean Bailey is unfussed and remains level headed when it comes to this time of year. He's fully aware that Rome wasn't built in a day. It took four years for the Hawks to find their way into the upper echelon and that was a year or two ahead of what was anticipated. So you won't see a rash scorched earth programme applied to the club's recruiting. The list is getting younger but it requires a patient approach to ensure that ultimate success will come our way. As Bailey puts it - – TRADE WEEK PRIMER: MELBOURNE This all brings us to where the Demons are going at this stage of the exchange period. As those who are following the trade proceedings would be painfully aware, there is precious little of any substance happening despite an enormous amount of speculation (most of it misguided guesswork and plain wrong). There have been some names mentioned but no deals have been done yet after two days of trading. Most of the interest from a Melbourne point of view is the club's out-of-contract man for all seasons Brad Green who has yet to sign a new deal with the club and is being closely eyed by Collingwood. Hawthorn, Sydney and Port Adelaide have also sounded expressed an interest while the club is saying that it is hopeful of re-signing him. Most supporters have nothing but admiration for the 27 year old Green and would hate to see him go. A member of the club's leadership (although surprisingly left out at the start of the year), he is its most versatile player. He can play in the midfield or up forward where is accurate left foot is deadly or he can go down back where he is normally a reliable stopper and also capable of setting up attacking moves from deep in defence. The hallmark of his play in recent years has been the courage he has shown when backing into packs to mark the ball. In the absence of this current contractual dispute, I would have thought him to be clear favourite to hold the Melbourne captaincy for at least the next two years. But it’s 2008 and times are changing. The perception is that the team is not within the premiership window. The Magpies are considered to be within that range so Green might well find himself a new home in the next couple of days. From my perspective, it would be a shame and the draft pick (or player) received in compensation would be of little consolation (well … at least not until November when we see what the club gets in return). Sadly, that is the way of football in the early part of the 21st Century. Last year it was Travis Johnstone and we got used to it. The player obtained with the replacement drat pick # 14, Jack Grimes, has only graced the field at senior level on one occassion but promises to be a 200 game player of quality for the club. The same thing could well happen if Green decides to leave the fold. It's a brand, new world out there!

39. Austin Wonaeamirri [176cm 76kg 02.10.88 18 games 24 goals] - selected by Melbourne in the 2008 Rookie Draft fresh from the Tiwi Bombers team in the Northern Territory, Wonaeamirri created a big splash early in the season when elevated from rookie status and given a senior game as a long term injury replacement. He immediately added some much needed spark and enthusiasm to the Demon forward line and his crumbing work took him to second on the club's goal kicking although his output declined late in the season. It will be interesting to see how he goes with a full pre season under his belt.

Apparently, there are some problems with this function and we are working on how to fix it.

Agreed. After reading this thread I've decided that it's a candidate for the absolute lock and I've locked it up. Put simply, it's become a personal slanging match that really doesn't serve the interests of the site and the fans who visit here. If either of the predictions made in the first post by Y_M comes to fruition, I'll unlock it and leave it open to everyone to give him the congratulatory slaps on the back for some excellent detective work.

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: DAY ONE THE AYCE IN THE DOG PACK by the Oracle Well, things went according to plan on the opening day of the AFL's trade period. Not a single player found a new home although one young pup found himself a new kennel. The Saints opened proceedings by making a bid for father/son prospect Ayce Cordy and offered their first round pick for the young 202 cm ruckman and son of former Bulldog Brian Cordy who spent most of the year on the injured list after undergoing shoulder surgery. The Dogs had the joker in the pack and trumped that offer by drafting him under the father/son rule with their first round pick at number 14 and despite the hefty price tag attached to the youngster, his new coach Rodney Eade was happy to have him on board. Cordy was the only father/son nomination for 2008 and the first ever to go for a first round draft selection. The clubs then got down to the usual day one argy bargy and, at the end of proceedings, everyone left empty handed. There were no deals done and precious little news came out of the day's proceeding but that doesn't mean that the clubs weren't talking to each other. The problem is that there wasn't a great deal on offer in terms of players of any substance. The highlights of draft talk were:- Hawthorn is keen to meet Ryan O'Keefe and will seek to fit him within the club's salary cap. At the same time, the Blues seem to have mysteriously lost interest in the uncontracted Sydney forward. The Hawks are prepared to discuss out of favour ruckman Simon Taylor, while second string full forward Tim Boyle might be on the move to the Bulldogs and young forwards Mitch Thorp and Beau Dowler have also attracted some interest from clubs. North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley dropped the major surprise of the day by indicating he would be willing to look at a trade for ruckman Hamish McIntosh, forward Corey Jones and midfielder Daniel Harris. Carlton football manager Steven Icke confirmed football's worst kept secret i.e that his club had offered its second-round pick for uncontracted ruckman Robert Warnock. Fremantle duly knocked back the offer. The Western Bulldogs have also expressed an express interest in Richmond key position player Jay Schulz while the Tigers are said to lead the race for Port's out-of-contract midfielder Adam Thomson. Essendon is apparently the preferred destination of injured Geelong midfielder Brent Prismall. And so on, and so on … The news filtering through from Telstra Dome was so underwhelming that it was inevitable for some not so elaborate hoaxes to gain momentum around the traps and particularly in cyberspace. One rumour had Paul Wheatley going to the Swans for a second round pick; another involved Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin moving to Melbourne for selection number 51. I received a few calls from some distraught Demon fans so I took it in my hands to go directly to the one impeccable source of news on the subject. I went straight to the White Pages telephone directory and looked up the name ”Connolly” and took a punt and dialled the first person with that name whose first initial was a "C". Bingo! The bloke on the line was Chris and he was very forthcoming about the day's trading. He told me he found it all a little boring and, in fact, he couldn't stop yawning through most of the proceedings. Had a big laugh about the rumours concerning Paul Wheatley and Setanta O'hAilpin and told me that he felt some "jock on the internet made them all up". Then he confirmed that other clubs had shown interest in Brad Green, Chris Johnson and Mark Jamar and that Carlton wanted all three of them. He said the Blues were incredible – they were negotiating with seven of the clubs over a list of about twelve players. Apparently, they were confident they could fit all of them comfortably within their existing salary cap. Word is that Visy is beefing up its environmental sanitation department and has the capacity to employ about a dozen beefy toilet cleaners at a solid wage in their local plant. At this stage the speaker on the other end of the line started cracking up with laughter and confessed he was a Connolly but not the Chris Connolly, that this was the fifth call he'd taken on the subject during the day and that he really knew very little about football. Nevertheless, I was suitably enlightened about the day's events as a result of this conversation.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES – DAY ONE THE AYCE IN THE DOG PACK by the Oracle Well, things went according to plan on the opening day of the AFL's trade period. Not a single player found a new home although one young pup found himself a new kennel. The Saints opened proceedings by making a bid for father/son prospect Ayce Cordy and offered their first round pick for the young 202 cm ruckman and son of former Bulldog Brian Cordy who spent most of the year on the injured list after undergoing shoulder surgery. The Dogs had the joker in the pack and trumped that offer by drafting him under the father/son rule with their first round pick at number 14 and despite the hefty price tag attached to the youngster, his new coach Rodney Eade was happy to have him on board. Cordy was the only father/son nomination for 2008 and the first ever to go for a first round draft selection. The clubs then got down to the usual day one argy bargy and, at the end of proceedings, everyone left empty handed. There were no deals done and precious little news came out of the day's proceeding but that doesn't mean that the clubs weren't talking to each other. The problem is that there wasn't a great deal on offer in terms of players of any substance. The highlights of draft talk were:- Hawthorn is keen to meet Ryan O'Keefe and will seek to fit him within the club's salary cap. At the same time, the Blues seem to have mysteriously lost interest in the uncontracted Sydney forward. The Hawks are prepared to discuss out of favour ruckman Simon Taylor, while second string full forward Tim Boyle might be on the move to the Bulldogs and young forwards Mitch Thorp and Beau Dowler have also attracted some interest from clubs. North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley dropped the major surprise of the day by indicating he would be willing to look at a trade for ruckman Hamish McIntosh, forward Corey Jones and midfielder Daniel Harris. Carlton football manager Steven Icke confirmed football's worst kept secret i.e that his club had offered its second-round pick for uncontracted ruckman Robert Warnock. Fremantle duly knocked back the offer. The Western Bulldogs have also expressed an express interest in Richmond key position player Jay Schulz while the Tigers are said to lead the race for Port's out-of-contract midfielder Adam Thomson. Essendon is apparently the preferred destination of injured Geelong midfielder Brent Prismall. And so on, and so on … The news filtering through from Telstra Dome was so underwhelming that it was inevitable for some not so elaborate hoaxes to gain momentum around the traps and particularly in cyberspace. One rumour had Paul Wheatley going to the Swans for a second round pick; another involved Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin moving to Melbourne for selection number 51. I received a few calls from some distraught Demon fans so I took it in my hands to go directly to the one impeccable source of news on the subject. I went straight to the White Pages telephone directory and looked up the name ”Connolly” and took a punt and dialled the first person with that name whose first initial was a "C". Bingo! The bloke on the line was Chris and he was very forthcoming about the day's trading. He told me he found it all a little boring and, in fact, he couldn't stop yawning through most of the proceedings. Had a big laugh about the rumours concerning Paul Wheatley and Setanta O'hAilpin and told me that he felt some "jock on the internet made them all up". Then he confirmed that other clubs had shown interest in Brad Green, Chris Johnson and Mark Jamar and that Carlton wanted all three of them. He said the Blues were incredible – they were negotiating with seven of the clubs over a list of about twelve players. Apparently, they were confident they could fit all of them comfortably within their existing salary cap. Word is that Visy is beefing up its environmental sanitation department and has the capacity to employ about a dozen beefy toilet cleaners at a solid wage in their local plant. At this stage the speaker on the other end of the line started cracking up with laughter and confessed he was a Connolly but not the Chris Connolly, that this was the fifth call he'd taken on the subject during the day and that he really knew very little about football. Nevertheless, I was suitably enlightened about the day's events as a result of this conversation.

In the interests of everyone's blood pressure, may I suggest that these posts include the heading (rumour only) until the facts are fully confirmed.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: ZERO HOUR by the Oracle NEW HOME GUIDE The stock market is in free fall, the economy is crook and the business pages of the newspapers are full of gloom, doom and bankrupt companies. Yet, despite all that, there are always people around who believe the best strategy is to buck the trend. Times are bad? Go out and find a new home. That's exactly what some AFL footballers will be doing this week and, if the price tags being touted for the likes of Sydney player Ryan O'Keefe and young Docker ruckman Robert Warnock are correct, then its an excellent strategy because all 16 AFL clubs seem to have plenty of the green folding notes to throw at almost any player of note who can still draw breath. The representatives of those clubs will meet this morning to discuss their options for the Exchange Period which concludes at 2.00pm on Friday 10 October 2008. As usual, the week ahead promises a lot and is most likely going to deliver very little. That's the vision I have for the next five days and, on the basis, today should provide almost no entertainment for the punters out there who might be hanging out for some good news from their club on player movements. Sure, there will be lots of AFL type heads involved close discussion with their compatriots from the various clubs, a small dose of posturing from some of them and from the managers of players who either want to go elsewhere or just want a better deal. But very little of a concrete nature will get done today. You might also cop a glimpse or two of the club coaches wandering aimlessly about the place looking very concerned and serious about the proceedings except for Port Adelaide's Mark Williams who will be grinning like a Cheshire cat and mumbling something about how he's prepared to let go of draft picks 4 and 22 if the right deal comes along. Williams should be flogging steak knives on late night television these days rather than coaching. Today is the day for preparation, for setting the scene and wrinkling out some information as to who and what's available and on the table for discussion - an introduction to the real estate market. Most of the meaty stuff will start coming out by midweek and the bulk of the trades will be cemented with the signing of contracts in the frenetic final hours before the gates and the fax machines at AFL House are shut tight on Friday afternoon. A couple of years ago the opening day proceedings saw one big deal consummated when Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs agreed on trade terms over Jason Akermanis but that wasn't such a stunning outcome because every man and his dog in the football world knew that the Lions wanted to see the back of their Brownlow Medallist sooner rather than later and the feeling was mutual. Most of the time however, things don't happen so quickly because there are always a couple of major trades in the offing that are intricate and require a substantial amount of fine tuning and a bit of argy bargy along the way. This year, there is a difference of opinion as to how many trades will be concluded over the week. It seems that most clubs are eager to hold onto their early draft picks as they are wary of the changes being introduced to allow for new players in the market - clubs from the Gold Coast and West Sydney that will come into the competition in 2011 and 2012. Next year, the minimum draft age will be increased by four months so the pool of new players available in the 2009 draft will be less than usual. The following year, the Goald Coasters will have the Lion's share (no pun intended) of early draft picks. After that it will be West Sydney's turn (if the AFL can get that outfit off the ground by then). In any event, the uncertainty surrounding the mooted changes has many clubs looking on the trade period with a fair deal of caution. The first business that actually gets done is the bidding for father/son selections and this year, the sole nominee is young ruckman Ayce Cordy who wants to go to the Western Bulldogs but must wait on a bidding process to be undertaken whereby any other club can bid for him by nominating a round in the draft in which it wants to select him. If that happens the Bulldogs must use their next available selection if they wish to retain hold of Cordy. If not, the club with the successful bid must use that selection at the Draft. Once the father/son issue is out of the way, proceedings will start in earnest. The key rules to note in the trading/drafting process are:- A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a player or players on the primary list of another club; A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for the draft selection or draft selections of another club; A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a combination of a player, players, draft selection or draft selection of another club; A club may exchange a draft selection or draft selections for a draft selection or draft selections of another club; No more than five players shall be exchanged by any one club. No more than three players shall be exchanged by any one club in any one transaction, or series of related or interdependent transactions. A club cannot on-trade a player received in any exchange until the following year. A club may exchange a draft selection it has received from another club, provided that the selection is not traded directly back to that club. Where the exchange of a player(s) and draft selection(s) involves more than two clubs, it is not a requirement that each club involved in the transaction make an exchange between each other. Any draft selection received in an exchange does not need to be exercised. However, any club that passes on a draft selection shall be excluded from exercising any remaining selections at that same meeting. For the first time in over a decade Melbourne will have a new man in charge of its recruiting – Barry Prendergast who will have the honour of kicking off proceedings when the 2008 AFL Nation Draft meeting takes place at the end of next month. Prendergast has the role of presiding over the changes to the club’s playing list which, at the end of the 2008 playing season read as follows:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2008) SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jace Bode Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Nathan Carroll Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn James Frawley Colin Garland Brad Green Jack Grimes Ben Holland Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Paul Johnson Nathan Jones James McDonald Brock McLean Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin John Meesen Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Matthew Warnock Isaac Weetra Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White VETERAN LIST David Neitz Adem Yze ROOKIE LIST: Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Trent Zomer The club's list has already been trimmed with the retirements of former skipper David Neitz and Ben Holland, the announcements that new contracts would not be offered to Jeff White and Adem Yze and the delisting of Jace Bode and Isaac Weetra. No decision has yet been made as to the elevation of rookies Valenti and Wonaeamirri who both were given senior status as long term injury replacements. The other bargaining chips of trade week are the draft picks themselves. This is how they line up before the exchange period starts – Round One - 1. Melbourne 2. West Coast 3. Fremantle 4. Port Adelaide 5. Essendon 6. Carlton 7. Brisbane 8. Richmond 9. North Melbourne 10. Adelaide 11. Collingwood 12. Sydney 13. St. Kilda 14. Western Bulldogs 15. Geelong 16. Hawthorn Priority Round - 17. Melbourne 18. West Coast Round Two - 19. Melbourne 20. West Coast 21. Fremantle 22. Port Adelaide 23. Essendon 24. Carlton 25. Brisbane 26. Richmond 27. North Melbourne 28. Adelaide 29. Collingwood 30. Sydney 31. St. Kilda 32. Western Bulldogs 33. Geelong 34. Hawthorn Round Three - 35. Melbourne 36. West Coast 37. Fremantle 38. Port Adelaide 39. Essendon 40. Carlton 41. Brisbane 42. Richmond 43. North Melbourne 44. Adelaide 45. Collingwood 46. Sydney 47. St. Kilda 48. Western Bulldogs 49. Geelong 50. Hawthorn Round Four - 51. Melbourne 52. West Coast 53. Fremantle 54. Port Adelaide 55. Essendon 56. Carlton 57. Brisbane 58. Richmond 59. North Melbourne 60. Adelaide 61. Collingwood 62. Sydney 63. St. Kilda 64. Western Bulldogs 65. Geelong 66. Hawthorn Round Five - 67. Melbourne 68. West Coast 69. Fremantle 70. Port Adelaide 71. Essendon 72. Carlton 73. Brisbane 74. Richmond 75. North Melbourne 76. Adelaide 77. Collingwood 78. Sydney 79. St. Kilda 80. Western Bulldogs 81. Geelong 82. Hawthorn The draft will go to further rounds as required to fulfil each club's quota of players. Once the big names like Jonathan Brown and Daniel Kerr decided that their old homes were nice and comfortable (and their own clubs helped pay off their mortgages), the main trade interest in the market has been on Warnock and more lately O'Keefe. Melbourne's own Brad Green has been mentioned in despatches along with others such as disgruntled West Coast ruckman Mark Seaby, injured Geelong midfielder Brent Prismall, Kangaroo Daniel Harris, the Western Bulldogs' Farren Ray and Essendon's Andrew Lovett. Other names will emerge as the week unfolds. So the housing market is about to hot up. The scene is set and let the trade week begin ...

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: ZERO HOUR by the Oracle NEW HOME GUIDE The stock market is in free fall, the economy is crook and the business pages of the newspapers are full of gloom, doom and bankrupt companies. Yet, despite all that, there are always people around who believe the best strategy is to buck the trend. Times are bad? Go out and find a new home. That's exactly what some AFL footballers will be doing this week and, if the price tags being touted for the likes of Sydney player Ryan O'Keefe and young Docker ruckman Robert Warnock are correct, then its an excellent strategy because all 16 AFL clubs seem to have plenty of the green folding notes to throw at almost any player of note who can still draw breath. The representatives of those clubs will meet this morning to discuss their options for the Exchange Period which concludes at 2.00pm on Friday 10 October 2008. As usual, the week ahead promises a lot and is most likely going to deliver very little. That's the vision I have for the next five days and, on the basis, today should provide almost no entertainment for the punters out there who might be hanging out for some good news from their club on player movements. Sure, there will be lots of AFL type heads involved close discussion with their compatriots from the various clubs, a small dose of posturing from some of them and from the managers of players who either want to go elsewhere or just want a better deal. But very little of a concrete nature will get done today. You might also cop a glimpse or two of the club coaches wandering aimlessly about the place looking very concerned and serious about the proceedings except for Port Adelaide's Mark Williams who will be grinning like a Cheshire cat and mumbling something about how he's prepared to let go of draft picks 4 and 22 if the right deal comes along. Williams should be flogging steak knives on late night television these days rather than coaching. Today is the day for preparation, for setting the scene and wrinkling out some information as to who and what's available and on the table for discussion - an introduction to the real estate market. Most of the meaty stuff will start coming out by midweek and the bulk of the trades will be cemented with the signing of contracts in the frenetic final hours before the gates and the fax machines at AFL House are shut tight on Friday afternoon. A couple of years ago the opening day proceedings saw one big deal consummated when Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs agreed on trade terms over Jason Akermanis but that wasn't such a stunning outcome because every man and his dog in the football world knew that the Lions wanted to see the back of their Brownlow Medallist sooner rather than later and the feeling was mutual. Most of the time however, things don't happen so quickly because there are always a couple of major trades in the offing that are intricate and require a substantial amount of fine tuning and a bit of argy bargy along the way. This year, there is a difference of opinion as to how many trades will be concluded over the week. It seems that most clubs are eager to hold onto their early draft picks as they are wary of the changes being introduced to allow for new players in the market - clubs from the Gold Coast and West Sydney that will come into the competition in 2011 and 2012. Next year, the minimum draft age will be increased by four months so the pool of new players available in the 2009 draft will be less than usual. The following year, the Goald Coasters will have the Lion's share (no pun intended) of early draft picks. After that it will be West Sydney's turn (if the AFL can get that outfit off the ground by then). In any event, the uncertainty surrounding the mooted changes has many clubs looking on the trade period with a fair deal of caution. The first business that actually gets done is the bidding for father/son selections and this year, the sole nominee is young ruckman Ayce Cordy who wants to go to the Western Bulldogs but must wait on a bidding process to be undertaken whereby any other club can bid for him by nominating a round in the draft in which it wants to select him. If that happens the Bulldogs must use their next available selection if they wish to retain hold of Cordy. If not, the club with the successful bid must use that selection at the Draft. Once the father/son issue is out of the way, proceedings will start in earnest. The key rules to note in the trading/drafting process are:- A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a player or players on the primary list of another club; A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for the draft selection or draft selections of another club; A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a combination of a player, players, draft selection or draft selection of another club; A club may exchange a draft selection or draft selections for a draft selection or draft selections of another club; No more than five players shall be exchanged by any one club. No more than three players shall be exchanged by any one club in any one transaction, or series of related or interdependent transactions. A club cannot on-trade a player received in any exchange until the following year. A club may exchange a draft selection it has received from another club, provided that the selection is not traded directly back to that club. Where the exchange of a player(s) and draft selection(s) involves more than two clubs, it is not a requirement that each club involved in the transaction make an exchange between each other. Any draft selection received in an exchange does not need to be exercised. However, any club that passes on a draft selection shall be excluded from exercising any remaining selections at that same meeting. For the first time in over a decade Melbourne will have a new man in charge of its recruiting – Barry Prendergast who will have the honour of kicking off proceedings when the 2008 AFL Nation Draft meeting takes place at the end of next month. Prendergast has the role of presiding over the changes to the club’s playing list which, at the end of the 2008 playing season read as follows:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2008) SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jace Bode Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Nathan Carroll Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn James Frawley Colin Garland Brad Green Jack Grimes Ben Holland Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Paul Johnson Nathan Jones James McDonald Brock McLean Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin John Meesen Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Matthew Warnock Isaac Weetra Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White VETERAN LIST David Neitz Adem Yze ROOKIE LIST: Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Trent Zomer The club's list has already been trimmed with the retirements of former skipper David Neitz and Ben Holland, the announcements that new contracts would not be offered to Jeff White and Adem Yze and the delisting of Jace Bode and Isaac Weetra. No decision has yet been made as to the elevation of rookies Valenti and Wonaeamirri who both were given senior status as long term injury replacements. The other bargaining chips of trade week are the draft picks themselves. This is how they line up before the exchange period starts – Round One - 1. Melbourne 2. West Coast 3. Fremantle 4. Port Adelaide 5. Essendon 6. Carlton 7. Brisbane 8. Richmond 9. North Melbourne 10. Adelaide 11. Collingwood 12. Sydney 13. St. Kilda 14. Western Bulldogs 15. Geelong 16. Hawthorn Priority Round - 17. Melbourne 18. West Coast Round Two - 19. Melbourne 20. West Coast 21. Fremantle 22. Port Adelaide 23. Essendon 24. Carlton 25. Brisbane 26. Richmond 27. North Melbourne 28. Adelaide 29. Collingwood 30. Sydney 31. St. Kilda 32. Western Bulldogs 33. Geelong 34. Hawthorn Round Three - 35. Melbourne 36. West Coast 37. Fremantle 38. Port Adelaide 39. Essendon 40. Carlton 41. Brisbane 42. Richmond 43. North Melbourne 44. Adelaide 45. Collingwood 46. Sydney 47. St. Kilda 48. Western Bulldogs 49. Geelong 50. Hawthorn Round Four - 51. Melbourne 52. West Coast 53. Fremantle 54. Port Adelaide 55. Essendon 56. Carlton 57. Brisbane 58. Richmond 59. North Melbourne 60. Adelaide 61. Collingwood 62. Sydney 63. St. Kilda 64. Western Bulldogs 65. Geelong 66. Hawthorn Round Five - 67. Melbourne 68. West Coast 69. Fremantle 70. Port Adelaide 71. Essendon 72. Carlton 73. Brisbane 74. Richmond 75. North Melbourne 76. Adelaide 77. Collingwood 78. Sydney 79. St. Kilda 80. Western Bulldogs 81. Geelong 82. Hawthorn The draft will go to further rounds as required to fulfil each club's quota of players. Once the big names like Jonathan Brown and Daniel Kerr decided that their old homes were nice and comfortable (and their own clubs helped pay off their mortgages), the main trade interest in the market has been on Warnock and more lately O'Keefe. Melbourne's own Brad Green has been mentioned in despatches along with others such as disgruntled West Coast ruckman Mark Seaby, injured Geelong midfielder Brent Prismall, Kangaroo Daniel Harris, the Western Bulldogs' Farren Ray and Essendon's Andrew Lovett. Other names will emerge as the week unfolds. So the housing market is about to hot up. The scene is set and let the trade week begin ...

37. Matthew Warnock [192cm 92kg 03.04.84 – games (in 2008) goals (in 2008] – the tall defender surprised most of us by not only claiming a regular spot in the Demons’ defence but by performing admirably against some top opponents and capping off a fine season by finishing fourth in the voting for the "Bluey" Truscott Trophy.

ONCE WE WERE DEMONS ... by Whispering Jack PART ONE Speaking at the club's best and fairest on Thursday night, Melbourne President Jim Stynes told 650 ardent Demon fans that "he plans to see the club become a premiership contender before his tenure is up". He warned the assembled faithful that the challenge would not be an easy one because the club has in recent years been held back both on and off the field but … Stynes spoke of some of the clubs well-documented recent setbacks including its financial plight, the losing of major sponsor iPrimus and twice changing its CEO. Then there was the matter of the team's on field performances and the fact that it finished a dismal last in the 16 team AFL competition. "The Hawks this year in their Grand final had nine players taken in the top 20. At the start of next year we will have 14 players who were taken in the top 20 draft picks on our list," he said in support of his belief that Melbourne’s young squad has the ability to emulate the Hawks at some time in the not too distant future. The road back up to the top is long and steep but Stynes and his new board know exactly what’s involved in bringing about the club's rejuvenation. Off the field, the club needs to re-establish its financial position (the debt reduction of over $3m raised to date has been merely a first step), relationships with the MCC and the AFL need to be secured, redefined and improved and a final decision needs to be made about its home and its training base. This requires some tough decision making, a good measure of strong discipline and a lot of patience. In many ways, the club is following the formula laid out by the Hawks including the planned setting up of training facilities at Casey Fields, which Stynes sees as going some way to solving the Demons’ identity crisis. The Melbourne Age reported that Stynes was encouraging the club to "embrace its history and look forward to the future": While one of the innovations of the new Stynes board has been the restoration of the Demon identity that was shunned by the club in some recent marketing and while I have no problem with "embracing" our history and recognising and honouring the past, by far the more important part of the Synes plan is the need to consolidate the club's future. We neeed to look at the conditions and requirements for success in the 21st century and not back to the ‘fifties and 'sixties as we have done for so long in our recent past. In many ways, we need to look at the most recent success stories at clubs like Geelong and Hawthorn who not long ago also were experiencing the pain of our current situation. At the same time, we will need to do things in our own way and always remain the Demons. PART TWO There was something inspirational about the way in which Hawthorn's 2008 premiership came about that transcended a booming Buddy Franklin goal from outside 50 metres or a desperate lunge from Luke Hodge to smother and prevent an opposition scoring opportunity. That something was the way the Hawks went about setting the scene for success, for they did so without being hidebound and restricted by past glories and traditions. I'm convinced that the formula laid out by the Hawthorn board some four years ago, based on an innovative approach to modern conditions, could not have worked at some other traditional clubs that cling on to their past as if it was some sort of security blanket clutched forever in uncertain hands. Hawthorn dared to do something new and clever, something simple and logical, yet daring and requiring discipline, nerve and patience. And it paid off! The Hawk formula has been well publicised over recent weeks. In her excellent new book "The Draft", Emma Quayle's devotes an entire chapter to the process that began in 2004 when the club was in a shambolic state both on and off the field. The entire club was rebuilt from its very roots and we've seen the results of that process over the past week - a premiership victory, a $4m plus profit, elation from the Hawk faithful and admiration from the great bulk of the football world. Why couldn't we do that? The clubs that hold tightly to their traditions simply could never do it while they remain steeped in their past - not Collingwood, which knows better than anyone else, and not Carlton, which just throws money at its problems. As an aside, one of the things I loved about Hawthorn winning this flag was the fact that 12 months ago Chris Judd wasn't even prepared to deign the Hawks worthy of an audience when he went through his farcical "club selection" process. In return, they showed the Visy environmentalist what football's all about and it doesn't come in paper bags or cardboard boxes! Of course the old conservative Melbourne (ah, let someone else try it first) couldn't have done what Hawthorn did - we've been stuck in the fifties/sixties time warp for far too long! The lessons are there for the future but if anyone thinks it's all just about following the Hawthorn pattern they would be wrong. Times have changed; the economic situation today is different now making it more difficult to raise funds to build a secure club. The drafting and trading conditions are different making it more difficult to secure early draft picks in bulk with which to custom build a team in double quick time. Priority draft selections are harder to come by and clubs are less likely today to hand out first round picks for the likes of a Hay or a Thompson. But the principle still stands. You need to have a vision and be brave and innovative and above all, your club has to be united. Much has been made of Hawthorn's financial bonanza resulting from its connection with the Tasmanian government. Most of us have forgotten however, that this sort of initiative was floated at Melbourne early this decade when Joe Gutnick was chairman of the club and before he was summarily deposed by his disjointed board. How many opportunities did the club miss while it was pre-occupied with the in fighting and instability of those times? So, once we were Demons. We can be Demons again but not the Demons of bygone years. We have a young group of players and more young talent is on its way to the club soon. For inspiration, we can only look forward, be innovative and be aware as the faithful heard on Thursday night that this is a time of tough decision making, strong discipline and a lot of patience.

by Whispering Jack PART ONE Speaking at the club's best and fairest on Thursday night, Melbourne President Jim Stynes told 650 ardent Demon fans that "he plans to see the club become a premiership contender before his tenure is up". He warned the assembled faithful that the challenge would not be an easy one because the club has in recent years been held back both on and off the field but … Stynes spoke of some of the clubs well-documented recent setbacks including its financial plight, the losing of major sponsor iPrimus and twice changing its CEO. Then there was the matter of the team's on field performances and the fact that it finished a dismal last in the 16 team AFL competition. "The Hawks this year in their Grand final had nine players taken in the top 20. At the start of next year we will have 14 players who were taken in the top 20 draft picks on our list," he said in support of his belief that Melbourne’s young squad has the ability to emulate the Hawks at some time in the not too distant future. The road back up to the top is long and steep but Stynes and his new board know exactly what’s involved in bringing about the club's rejuvenation. Off the field, the club needs to re-establish its financial position (the debt reduction of over $3m raised to date has been merely a first step), relationships with the MCC and the AFL need to be secured, redefined and improved and a final decision needs to be made about its home and its training base. This requires some tough decision making, a good measure of strong discipline and a lot of patience. In many ways, the club is following the formula laid out by the Hawks including the planned setting up of training facilities at Casey Fields, which Stynes sees as going some way to solving the Demons’ identity crisis. The Melbourne Age reported that Stynes was encouraging the club to "embrace its history and look forward to the future": While one of the innovations of the new Stynes board has been the restoration of the Demon identity that was shunned by the club in some recent marketing and while I have no problem with "embracing" our history and recognising and honouring the past, by far the more important part of the Synes plan is the need to consolidate the club's future. We neeed to look at the conditions and requirements for success in the 21st century and not back to the ‘fifties and 'sixties as we have done for so long in our recent past. In many ways, we need to look at the most recent success stories at clubs like Geelong and Hawthorn who not long ago also were experiencing the pain of our current situation. At the same time, we will need to do things in our own way and always remain the Demons. PART TWO There was something inspirational about the way in which Hawthorn's 2008 premiership came about that transcended a booming Buddy Franklin goal from outside 50 metres or a desperate lunge from Luke Hodge to smother and prevent an opposition scoring opportunity. That something was the way the Hawks went about setting the scene for success, for they did so without being hidebound and restricted by past glories and traditions. I'm convinced that the formula laid out by the Hawthorn board some four years ago, based on an innovative approach to modern conditions, could not have worked at some other traditional clubs that cling on to their past as if it was some sort of security blanket clutched forever in uncertain hands. Hawthorn dared to do something new and clever, something simple and logical, yet daring and requiring discipline, nerve and patience. And it paid off! The Hawk formula has been well publicised over recent weeks. In her excellent new book "The Draft", Emma Quayle's devotes an entire chapter to the process that began in 2004 when the club was in a shambolic state both on and off the field. The entire club was rebuilt from its very roots and we've seen the results of that process over the past week - a premiership victory, a $4m plus profit, elation from the Hawk faithful and admiration from the great bulk of the football world. Why couldn't we do that? The clubs that hold tightly to their traditions simply could never do it while they remain steeped in their past - not Collingwood, which knows better than anyone else, and not Carlton, which just throws money at its problems. As an aside, one of the things I loved about Hawthorn winning this flag was the fact that 12 months ago Chris Judd wasn't even prepared to deign the Hawks worthy of an audience when he went through his farcical "club selection" process. In return, they showed the Visy environmentalist what football's all about and it doesn't come in paper bags or cardboard boxes! Of course the old conservative Melbourne (ah, let someone else try it first) couldn't have done what Hawthorn did - we've been stuck in the fifties/sixties time warp for far too long! The lessons are there for the future but if anyone thinks it's all just about following the Hawthorn pattern they would be wrong. Times have changed; the economic situation today is different now making it more difficult to raise funds to build a secure club. The drafting and trading conditions are different making it more difficult to secure early draft picks in bulk with which to custom build a team in double quick time. Priority draft selections are harder to come by and clubs are less likely today to hand out first round picks for the likes of a Hay or a Thompson. But the principle still stands. You need to have a vision and be brave and innovative and above all, your club has to be united. Much has been made of Hawthorn's financial bonanza resulting from its connection with the Tasmanian government. Most of us have forgotten however, that this sort of initiative was floated at Melbourne early this decade when Joe Gutnick was chairman of the club and before he was summarily deposed by his disjointed board. How many opportunities did the club miss while it was pre-occupied with the in fighting and instability of those times? So, once we were Demons. We can be Demons again but not the Demons of bygone years. We have a young group of players and more young talent is on its way to the club soon. For inspiration, we can only look forward, be innovative and be aware as the faithful heard on Thursday night that this is a time of tough decision making, strong discipline and a lot of patience.