Demonland

Dear Demonlanders, I'm holidaying at the moment with my wife in Fiji where I uncovered in a bookstore an old volume containing the Diary of Captain James Cook's last voyage. The book was edited by his midshipman R.M.M. Savage. AN EXCERPT FROM THE DIARY OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK edited by R.M.M. Savage Saturday June 28th 1777 A full year has passed since The Resolution sailed from the Nore on June 25th 1776 and a month has gone by since I made my reluctant decision to bear away from the Easterly Wind and make for the Friendly Islands,* which were to the W. Knowing from my previous voyage that these islands would give good anchorage and provide us with all that we are in such urgent need of, I planned to remain there for 2½ months before proceeding on the expedition to Tahiti and the Americas. One of my official duties is to carry out a search for the legendary NW Passage but I also yearn to locate some paradise that I can name after my sponsor, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich where I, like all good gentlemen of England, might have the opportunity to luxuriate in a warm temperate climate among friendly native women. Tongatapu is the most populous of the Friendly islands. It was there that I came upon a curious group of people from the nearby islands of Fiji. Curious, not just because of their pleasant disposition and their friendly nature which are common features in these regions but because of their very strange customs and mannerisms. In my acquaintance, they soon acquired some additional habits and were constantly obliging in my company. They would often smile when presented with gifts and nod to each other saying, "tank you" which immediately elicited the response, "you velcome." This pleased me greatly. I was also pleased at the gifts they game me which included a store of Fijian red and blue feathers, a very highly prized possession whose main source of supply is the "Collared Lory", a red parrot native to their lands. In return for this generous gift, I agreed to give passage home to the west coast of Viti Levu (the main island in Fiji) to one of their young retinue. He was a tall, spritely lad of seventeen years who stood taller than the tallest of trees that we had witnessed standing high on the shores of Terra Australis, which we had lately visited. We conferred upon the boy the appellation "Nicholas" after Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker because of the many miracles attributed to him. Our new Nicholas was also capable of miracles as he was endowed of great spring and the swiftness of a deer. At this time, I had been suffering from the rheumatics, the pain beginning at the hip and extending across my groin and right down to the heel. The Resolution was navigated by a young master named Bligh. As we neared the outskirts of the island of Viti Levu a great storm approached from the SE and Bligh counselled against us venturing near the island. When I broke this news to Nicholas, he smiled at me, beckoned farewell and took one almighty leap right off the ship’s fo'c'sle and into the foaming white seas below. As one of the few in the ship's company who was able to swim, I momentarily entertained the idea of jumping in to save him but my affliction and a belly full of the native beverage kava caused great unsteadiness in my mind and my body and prevented me from doing so. The last we saw of young Nicholas was a flash of long arms and legs stroking perfectly towards the shore. This evening, as my eyes gazed upwards in the direction of the constellation of the Southern Cross, I wondered whether I would ever see his likes again for such specimens of human magnificence and athleticism are indeed rare commodities. I will always remember fondly this young man Nicholas Tankanui and I swear to the Lord above that I will never in all my remaining days on this earth forget how his countrymen and his family members took so fondly to the use of the expression "tank you". * Now known as the Tonga Islands.

FORGET THE QUICK FIX Give me kids, kids and more kids says Dean Bailey.

by Demon Head It wasn't fun growing up as a Melbourne supporter in the early 1980's. Wins were few and far between and when the team tasted victory, you savoured it. Winning matches was a matter of pride for the embattled Demon supporter and even when the season was virtually done and dusted and your team was sitting in tenth place (they had a final five in those days) all you hoped for if you were an optimist like me was that the Dees would string together a couple of late wins and finish eighth so that you might salvage some honour out of a season. Things have changed these days as I discovered during my recent holiday out west where both of the local sides are struggling this year and a heated controversy rages about whether the Eagles, in particular, are trying to win or whether they are (ahem) "tanking" in order to take advantage of an early draft pick at the end of the year. As a Demon fan, I must confess that I don't feel as bad as I should when I watch my team struggling for wins, as it has in the past months, because I am also aware of the potential pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the form of an early national draft selection. On that note, I was surprised and amused to read the headline on an article this week - "Bailey plans changes for consistency." What does that mean? We've been losing games consistently this year, so do we really need to make changes to maintain our consistent losing record? That's obviously not the tack that Dean Bailey is taking but my immediate reaction was indicative of the effect of all this talk about teams losing to get a better position in the draft. It's wrong and it's about time the AFL pulled its head out of the sand and did something to change the system. It’s all about perception and as long as the perception is that some clubs are producing mediocre performances and being rewarded for it, then the AFL must act to produce a better draft system. Getting rid of the two year priority system is one way of reducing the effects of the problem. A lottery system would also help. The irony is that the pot of draft gold may not be all that significant in the real world anyway. In the case of the Melbourne Football Club, an early draft pick would be handy but there are a lot of other things that need to happen, apart from picking up one player among the best of the young kids in the land, in order for a team to improve beyond its current levels. There have been some recent signs that Dean Bailey has the club on the right track and, though the results might not show it yet, I'm confident we are about to start winning games soon - and it might even be sooner than we think. That's the optimist in me talking but I just have this feeling... THE GAME Brisbane v. Melbourne at the MCG, Sunday 29 June 2008 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 17 wins Brisbane 14 wins At the MCG Melbourne wins Brisbane wins Since 2000 Melbourne 3 wins Brisbane 6 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Matthews 1 win MEDIA TV - Fox Sports 1 live at 1.00pm RADIO - 774ABC K-Rock SEN Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Brisbane to win $1.20 Melbourne to win $4.20 LAST TIME THEY MET Brisbane 19.23.137 defeated Melbourne 13.7.85, Round 6, 2008, at the Gabba History tells that this was the first game of the post David Neitz era. During the preceding week, the skipper was placed on the long-term injury list and a few weeks later, he announced his retirement. Without their long term leader, the team performed as you would expect a young side to do in the absence of strong leadership - it floundered and without any tall targets, it was left to small men, Nathan Jones (4) and Austin Wonaeamirri (3) to score the goals. The inevitable losing margin was 52 points but it could easily have been double that but for the home side's inaccuracy in front of goal. Former Demon Travis Johnstone rubbed it in by kicking the first and last goals for the game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Brad Green Paul Wheatley Cameron Bruce Centreline Colin Sylvia Brock McLean Lynden Dunn Half forwards Chris Johnson Matthew Bate Aaron Davey Forwards Stefan Martin Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Paul Johnson Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange Jace Bode Simon Buckley Mark Jamar Shane Valenti Emergencies Nathan Carroll Cale Morton Jeff White In Simon Buckley Stefan Martin Shane Valenti Out James Frawley (omitted) James McDonald (groin) Jeff White (omitted) New Stefan Martin (21, Sandringham) BRISBANE LIONS Backs Josh Drummond Daniel Merrett Joel Patfull Half Backs Joel Macdonald Mitch Clark Justin Sherman Centreline Anthony Corrie Simon Black Tim Notting Half Forwards Michael Rischitelli Jonathan Brown Ashley McGrath Forwards Robert Copeland Daniel Bradshaw Jared Brennan Followers Jamie Charman Luke Power Jed Adcock Interchange Tom Collier Rhan Hooper Travis Johnstone Troy Selwood Emergencies Scott Clouston James Polkinghorne Cheynee Stiller In Daniel Bradshaw Travis Johnstone Justin Sherman Out Lachlan Henderson James Polkinghorne Cheynee Stiller (all omitted) AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Q: When was the last time Brisbane played Melbourne on the MCG? A: Certainly not at any time during this century. Melbourne has only played one game against the Lions in its home state since the turn of the century and that was in Round 10 of 2000 in a game played at Telstra Dome. The last eight meetings have been at the Gabba and Brisbane has won six of those games. Now, for the first time since Round 21, 1999 the Demons finally have a true home ground advantage over Lethal's mob. So, after all these years, they have a real chance of beating Brisbane in front of a true home crowd and let's hope that Melbourne fans turn up in their numbers so that Paul McNamee doesn't have to write out a cheque for the privilege of playing on our home soil! The sceptics will argue that home ground advantage means very little against a side that clearly has the edge in terms of personnel, strength and experience. They will point to the Lions’ on ball brigade headed by the in form Simon Black and Luke Power and the dangerous forward combination of Brown and Bradshaw (the latter has averaged 8 goals at the last three meetings of these clubs). They will also point to the fact that the MCG doesn’t engender fear in the hearts of the boys from Brisbane who completed an 83 point thrashing of Collingwood at that venue late last year just before the Pies started their run that ended with the falling just short of a grand final appearance. And the Lions also gave Melbourne a towelling not all that long ago when the teams met in late April when their midfield completely dominated over the young Demons that day and set up a 52 point win that could easily have been a far greater but for their shocking inaccuracy. All that aside, and I'm acting more than on just a hunch, I believe that there has been a fair amount of improvement in this young Demon team over the past couple of months despite the injury woes that have seen important players in David Neitz, Russell Robertson, Brent Moloney and now Jared Rivers outed for the season. The introduction of new blood has helped to stiffen the team’s back line and is beginning to fill the enormous holes caused to its attack by the loss of its backbone of many years. The team's performances remain inconsistent both between and during games but it's their last three games on the home turf of the MCG that has me more than a little impressed. The games were the stirring come from behind victory against the Fremantle Dockers and the two defeats at the hands of Hawthorn and Collingwood. Against the Hawks Melbourne held a 14 point lead with 5 minutes left in the third term. A lucky break set up a Hawthorn goal and three more followed before the final change. Those 5 minutes cost Melbourne the game. Despite that, they came back to regain the lead twice and give the Hawks an almighty fright before they got home by 19 points. It was much the same against the Magpies with the result in doubt until the last five or so minutes. The Demons are losing but they are doing so because of lapses in parts of games and not for the whole of games as they were in the opening rounds of the season. The time will come soon when Melbourne puts a full game together or one that's close enough to 100% of match time. When this happens, many will be surprised but not I won’t be because these things go with the territory of being a young developing side. Why should the victim be Brisbane? I saw the Lions when they played their last game down here in Melbourne a fortnight ago (and their only game at the G so far this year), and while their opposition that day was all class and a top four combination in the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane was troubled all day. The Lions looked uncomfortable on the G in much the same way as they looked uncomfortable when a young, developing Hawthorn surprised them to win by 8 goals on this very same ground a few years ago. Therefore, I’m tipping history to repeat itself and that Melbourne will cause a major upset and win this game. The margin will be by a lucky 13 points. After all, I'm an optimist!

THE OPTIMIST by Demon Head It wasn't fun growing up as a Melbourne supporter in the early 1980's. Wins were few and far between and when the team tasted victory, you savoured it. Winning matches was a matter of pride for the embattled Demon supporter and even when the season was virtually done and dusted and your team was sitting in tenth place (they had a final five in those days) all you hoped for if you were an optimist like me was that the Dees would string together a couple of late wins and finish eighth so that you might salvage some honour out of a season. Things have changed these days as I discovered during my recent holiday out west where both of the local sides are struggling this year and a heated controversy rages about whether the Eagles, in particular, are trying to win or whether they are (ahem) "tanking" in order to take advantage of an early draft pick at the end of the year. As a Demon fan, I must confess that I don't feel as bad as I should when I watch my team struggling for wins, as it has in the past months, because I am also aware of the potential pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the form of an early national draft selection. On that note, I was surprised and amused to read the headline on an article this week - "Bailey plans changes for consistency." What does that mean? We've been losing games consistently this year, so do we really need to make changes to maintain our consistent losing record? That's obviously not the tack that Dean Bailey is taking but my immediate reaction was indicative of the effect of all this talk about teams losing to get a better position in the draft. It's wrong and it's about time the AFL pulled its head out of the sand and did something to change the system. It’s all about perception and as long as the perception is that some clubs are producing mediocre performances and being rewarded for it, then the AFL must act to produce a better draft system. Getting rid of the two year priority system is one way of reducing the effects of the problem. A lottery system would also help. The irony is that the pot of draft gold may not be all that significant in the real world anyway. In the case of the Melbourne Football Club, an early draft pick would be handy but there are a lot of other things that need to happen, apart from picking up one player among the best of the young kids in the land, in order for a team to improve beyond its current levels. There have been some recent signs that Dean Bailey has the club on the right track and, though the results might not show it yet, I'm confident we are about to start winning games soon - and it might even be sooner than we think. That's the optimist in me talking but I just have this feeling... THE GAME Brisbane v. Melbourne at the MCG, Sunday 29 June 2008 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 17 wins Brisbane 14 wins At the MCG Melbourne wins Brisbane wins Since 2000 Melbourne 3 wins Brisbane 6 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Matthews 1 win MEDIA TV - Fox Sports 1 live at 1.00pm RADIO - 774ABC K-Rock SEN Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Brisbane to win $1.20 Melbourne to win $4.20 LAST TIME THEY MET Brisbane 19.23.137 defeated Melbourne 13.7.85, Round 6, 2008, at the Gabba History tells that this was the first game of the post David Neitz era. During the preceding week, the skipper was placed on the long-term injury list and a few weeks later, he announced his retirement. Without their long term leader, the team performed as you would expect a young side to do in the absence of strong leadership - it floundered and without any tall targets, it was left to small men, Nathan Jones (4) and Austin Wonaeamirri (3) to score the goals. The inevitable losing margin was 52 points but it could easily have been double that but for the home side's inaccuracy in front of goal. Former Demon Travis Johnstone rubbed it in by kicking the first and last goals for the game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Brad Green Paul Wheatley Cameron Bruce Centreline Colin Sylvia Brock McLean Lynden Dunn Half forwards Chris Johnson Matthew Bate Aaron Davey Forwards Stefan Martin Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Paul Johnson Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange Jace Bode Simon Buckley Mark Jamar Shane Valenti Emergencies Nathan Carroll Cale Morton Jeff White In Simon Buckley Stefan Martin Shane Valenti Out James Frawley (omitted) James McDonald (groin) Jeff White (omitted) New Stefan Martin (21, Sandringham) BRISBANE LIONS Backs Josh Drummond Daniel Merrett Joel Patfull Half Backs Joel Macdonald Mitch Clark Justin Sherman Centreline Anthony Corrie Simon Black Tim Notting Half Forwards Michael Rischitelli Jonathan Brown Ashley McGrath Forwards Robert Copeland Daniel Bradshaw Jared Brennan Followers Jamie Charman Luke Power Jed Adcock Interchange (from) Tom Collier Scott Clouston Rhan Hooper James Polkinghorne Cheynee Stiller Travis Johnstone Troy Selwood In Daniel Bradshaw Scott Clouston Travis Johnstone Justin Sherman Out Lachlan Henderson (omitted) AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Q: When was the last time Brisbane played Melbourne on the MCG? A: Certainly not at any time during this century. Melbourne has only played one game against the Lions in its home state since the turn of the century and that was in Round 10 of 2000 in a game played at Telstra Dome. The last eight meetings have been at the Gabba and Brisbane has won six of those games. Now, for the first time since Round 21, 1999 the Demons finally have a true home ground advantage over Lethal's mob. So, after all these years, they have a real chance of beating Brisbane in front of a true home crowd and let's hope that Melbourne fans turn up in their numbers so that Paul McNamee doesn't have to write out a cheque for the privilege of playing on our home soil! The sceptics will argue that home ground advantage means very little against a side that clearly has the edge in terms of personnel, strength and experience. They will point to the Lions’ on ball brigade headed by the in form Simon Black and Luke Power and the dangerous forward combination of Brown and Bradshaw (the latter has averaged 8 goals at the last three meetings of these clubs). They will also point to the fact that the MCG doesn’t engender fear in the hearts of the boys from Brisbane who completed an 83 point thrashing of Collingwood at that venue late last year just before the Pies started their run that ended with the falling just short of a grand final appearance. And the Lions also gave Melbourne a towelling not all that long ago when the teams met in late April when their midfield completely dominated over the young Demons that day and set up a 52 point win that could easily have been a far greater but for their shocking inaccuracy. All that aside, and I'm acting more than on just a hunch, I believe that there has been a fair amount of improvement in this young Demon team over the past couple of months despite the injury woes that have seen important players in David Neitz, Russell Robertson, Brent Moloney and now Jared Rivers outed for the season. The introduction of new blood has helped to stiffen the team’s back line and is beginning to fill the enormous holes caused to its attack by the loss of its backbone of many years. The team's performances remain inconsistent both between and during games but it's their last three games on the home turf of the MCG that has me more than a little impressed. The games were the stirring come from behind victory against the Fremantle Dockers and the two defeats at the hands of Hawthorn and Collingwood. Against the Hawks Melbourne held a 14 point lead with 5 minutes left in the third term. A lucky break set up a Hawthorn goal and three more followed before the final change. Those 5 minutes cost Melbourne the game. Despite that, they came back to regain the lead twice and give the Hawks an almighty fright before they got home by 19 points. It was much the same against the Magpies with the result in doubt until the last five or so minutes. The Demons are losing but they are doing so because of lapses in parts of games and not for the whole of games as they were in the opening rounds of the season. The time will come soon when Melbourne puts a full game together or one that's close enough to 100% of match time. When this happens, many will be surprised but not I won’t be because these things go with the territory of being a young developing side. Why should the victim be Brisbane? I saw the Lions when they played their last game down here in Melbourne a fortnight ago (and their only game at the G so far this year), and while their opposition that day was all class and a top four combination in the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane was troubled all day. The Lions looked uncomfortable on the G in much the same way as they looked uncomfortable when a young, developing Hawthorn surprised them to win by 8 goals on this very same ground a few years ago. Therefore, I’m tipping history to repeat itself and that Melbourne will cause a major upset and win this game. The margin will be by a lucky 13 points. After all, I'm an optimist!

by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham's form slump deepened on Sunday at Trevor Barker Beach Oval with the team hardly raising a whimper when it took on traditional rival Port Melbourne. The visitors led from start to finish and completely outclassed the Zebras by 67 points. The Zebras welcomed back some of their important goal kicking power with the return of Nick Sautner, Ezra Poyas and Addam Maric who were all missing last week but it was all to no avail. Sautner finished with four goals but these mostly came when the game was virtually over while Poyas was well below his best and managed only one goal for the day. The enthusiastic Borough under Garry Ayres played with the aggression and commitment that typified their coach's playing career and proved far too strong and skilful on the day. Port was untroubled early as it scooted away to a three goal lead by quarter time and then completely dominated the second quarter making Sandy look second rate when it stretched its lead to 10 goals before the home team scored its first for the term just on the bell at half time. The visitors were winning all over the ground; they hunted in packs and usually took front position in contests. They often would brush aside their opponents with ease as they streamed forward time and again and, though Sandy made a fist of it in the final quarter with five goals to six, it was a dismal lowering of the colours as the team fell another game adrift from a top four position. Sandy relied heavily on too few players. Its much vaunted defence was in tatters by the main break with only Andy Biddlecombe on hand to save the team from even greater embarrassment. Stefan Martin tried hard but the back line was generally under enormous pressure as it tried to stop the onslaught from a Port midfield that won most of the stoppages and was more direct and purposeful in its forward movement. The Zebras sorely missed Shane Valenti's hard work in and under the packs and relied heavily on skipper Peter Summers to provide drive in the midfield. Unfortunately, he was left to play what was virtually a lone hand as the team produced one of its poorest games in years. Sandringham must now work very hard during the coming week in order to regain its confidence and the purpose that it showed earlier this year when it was winning its games by comfortable margins. A loss to Werribee away this Sunday could even put the team's finals prospects under pressure so coach Andy Lovell will be keen to see his charges regroup this week as it prepare for a solid performance to turn their season around at Bartercard Oval. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Simon Buckley – given a run with role and applied himself well to the task under difficult conditions. Kyle Cheney - had a real shocker after a couple of promising games. He was often caught out of position and made fundamental errors which can are deadly in defence against a team that has its tails up. Hopefully, he has gained a valuable lesson learn from the experience of this game. Addam Maric - at times he showed some real glimpses of skill and class. Played in a number of positions on the ground and was always interesting when he had the pill but he really needs to get more of it over a full game and not just play in patches. Stefan Martin - played a steady game and tried valiantly to hold together a back line that was under fire consistently through the afternoon. Tom McNamara - the youngest player on any AFL list this year, he showed plenty of run off halfback and took the step up from reserves to seniors without missing a beat. He has a lot of poise and skill that suggests he has the makings of a quality player of the future. John Meesen - was given a bath early and worked hard to get himself back into the game both in the ruck contests and around the ground but still well beaten on the day. Cale Morton – a player who finds the ball a lot during a game and, although he made a few errors, he showed that he is all class and will be a long time AFL player of some stature once he fills out that lean body of his and gets more game time under his belt. Jake Spencer - showed some promise with his enthusiasm around the ground. His tap ruckwork was reasonable. Adem Yze - like most of his teammates, he put in a patchy effort and his afternoon was not particularly productive. Sandringham 2.2.14 3.3.21 6.6.42 11.9.75 Port Melbourne 5.2.32 11.10.76 15.13.103 21.16.142 Goals Sandringham Sautner 4 Morton 2 Buckley Crowe Lamb Poyas Yze Port Melbourne Nahas 6 Dwyer 3 Bonaddio Pinwill Sutcliffe 2 Baird Brewer Dillon Pitt Thomas Smith Best Sandringham Biddlecombe Summers Liddell Buckley Crowe Poyas Port Melbourne Nahas Cotchett Pleming Sutcliffe McMahon Livingston Sandringham Reserves started the day off on the wrong foot when they lost to Port Melbourne by the narrowest of margins. It was a disappointing result as the young Zebras beat the same opposition two months ago by 15 goals at North Port. Daniel Gribbin was the team’s stand out player. Sandringham 1.1.7 4.6.30 8.10.58 10.10.70 Port Melbourne 2.4.16 5.7.37 7.8.50 10.11.71 Goals Sandringham Martyn Zomer 2 Gilchrist Lockwood Lyall Monaghan Petterd Williams Port Melbourne Schultz 3 Bonnici Hassett 2 Francis Mullins Siciliano Best Sandringham Gribbin Curcio Williams Fleming Petterd Monaghan Port Melbourne deBruin Wall Schultz Siciliano Sheldon Pearce

SANDY SLUMPS, PORT SIZZLES by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham's form slump deepened on Sunday at Trevor Barker Beach Oval with the team hardly raising a whimper when it took on traditional rival Port Melbourne. The visitors led from start to finish and completely outclassed the Zebras by 67 points. The Zebras welcomed back some of their important goal kicking power with the return of Nick Sautner, Ezra Poyas and Addam Maric who were all missing last week but it was all to no avail. Sautner finished with four goals but these mostly came when the game was virtually over while Poyas was well below his best and managed only one goal for the day. The enthusiastic Borough under Garry Ayres played with the aggression and commitment that typified their coach's playing career and proved far too strong and skilful on the day. Port was untroubled early as it scooted away to a three goal lead by quarter time and then completely dominated the second quarter making Sandy look second rate when it stretched its lead to 10 goals before the home team scored its first for the term just on the bell at half time. The visitors were winning all over the ground; they hunted in packs and usually took front position in contests. They often would brush aside their opponents with ease as they streamed forward time and again and, though Sandy made a fist of it in the final quarter with five goals to six, it was a dismal lowering of the colours as the team fell another game adrift from a top four position. Sandy relied heavily on too few players. Its much vaunted defence was in tatters by the main break with only Andy Biddlecombe on hand to save the team from even greater embarrassment. Stefan Martin tried hard but the back line was generally under enormous pressure as it tried to stop the onslaught from a Port midfield that won most of the stoppages and was more direct and purposeful in its forward movement. The Zebras sorely missed Shane Valenti's hard work in and under the packs and relied heavily on skipper Peter Summers to provide drive in the midfield. Unfortunately, he was left to play what was virtually a lone hand as the team produced one of its poorest games in years. Sandringham must now work very hard during the coming week in order to regain its confidence and the purpose that it showed earlier this year when it was winning its games by comfortable margins. A loss to Werribee away this Sunday could even put the team's finals prospects under pressure so coach Andy Lovell will be keen to see his charges regroup this week as it prepare for a solid performance to turn their season around at Bartercard Oval. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Simon Buckley – given a run with role and applied himself well to the task under difficult conditions. Kyle Cheney - had a real shocker after a couple of promising games. He was often caught out of position and made fundamental errors which can are deadly in defence against a team that has its tails up. Hopefully, he has gained a valuable lesson learn from the experience of this game. Addam Maric - at times he showed some real glimpses of skill and class. Played in a number of positions on the ground and was always interesting when he had the pill but he really needs to get more of it over a full game and not just play in patches. Stefan Martin - played a steady game and tried valiantly to hold together a back line that was under fire consistently through the afternoon. Tom McNamara - the youngest player on any AFL list this year, he showed plenty of run off halfback and took the step up from reserves to seniors without missing a beat. He has a lot of poise and skill that suggests he has the makings of a quality player of the future. John Meesen - was given a bath early and worked hard to get himself back into the game both in the ruck contests and around the ground but still well beaten on the day. Cale Morton – a player who finds the ball a lot during a game and, although he made a few errors, he showed that he is all class and will be a long time AFL player of some stature once he fills out that lean body of his and gets more game time under his belt. Jake Spencer - showed some promise with his enthusiasm around the ground. His tap ruckwork was reasonable. Adem Yze - like most of his teammates, he put in a patchy effort and his afternoon was not particularly productive. Sandringham 2.2.14 3.3.21 6.6.42 11.9.75 Port Melbourne 5.2.32 11.10.76 15.13.103 21.16.142 Goals Sandringham Sautner 4 Morton 2 Buckley Crowe Lamb Poyas Yze Port Melbourne Nahas 6 Dwyer 3 Bonaddio Pinwill Sutcliffe 2 Baird Brewer Dillon Pitt Thomas Smith Best Sandringham Biddlecombe Summers Liddell Buckley Crowe Poyas Port Melbourne Nahas Cotchett Pleming Sutcliffe McMahon Livingston Sandringham Reserves started the day off on the wrong foot when they lost to Port Melbourne by the narrowest of margins. It was a disappointing result as the young Zebras beat the same opposition two months ago by 15 goals at North Port. Daniel Gribbin was the team’s stand out player. Sandringham 1.1.7 4.6.30 8.10.58 10.10.70 Port Melbourne 2.4.16 5.7.37 7.8.50 10.11.71 Goals Sandringham Martyn Zomer 2 Gilchrist Lockwood Lyall Monaghan Petterd Williams Port Melbourne Schultz 3 Bonnici Hassett 2 Francis Mullins Siciliano Best Sandringham Gribbin Curcio Williams Fleming Petterd Monaghan Port Melbourne deBruin Wall Schultz Siciliano Sheldon Pearce

IT'S A HORROR MOVIE by Grazman (our man on the spot in the National Capital) If I were to describe Sunday's game at Manuka Oval between Melbourne and Sydney I would label it "Horror Movie" This wasn't because our forward line had as much life in its as the late and lamented former front man of Skyhooks, but rather, because like most Hollywood schlock that is passed off as horror, it was just oh so predictable! Even though he was at Port Adelaide at the time, I'm sure someone at the club slipped Dean Bailey a copy of "The Demons House of Manuka Horrors circa 2007". Like all Hollywood sequels there was no need to dig to deep for originality - there wasn't any. The setting hadn't changed (it was still cold and inhospitable), there was a relatively new cast of young innocent characters for the blooding, and the plot borrowed heavily from it's predecessor. Against a professional and well drilled outfit, to be any chance of surviving on the scoreboard we'd have to go toe to toe in the intensity stakes. Unfortunately the first quarter was pretty much what we've come to expect of the Demons lately. MIA for 20 minutes... game over. I was bemoaning the fact that PJ would never ever take another mark above his head, that Barry Hall was monstering poor Matty Warnock and Colin Garland was being torn to pieces by Micky O. Just like the horror movie when you think the young innocent is finally safe, so too we would conspire to turn potentially exciting passages of plays at the last gasp into costly turnovers due to poor skills. That was the story of the afternoon. Sydney had two marking forwards, with over 1,000 AFL goals and 500 AFL games between them while Melbourne had a makeshift forward come ruckman as its one genuine marking option inside the forward fifty while Matthew Bate and Brad Miller had to push hard up the ground in search of kicks because the midfield was given a lesson about intensity and taking the front position. While it was not necessarily reflected on the scoreboard, the second quarter showed a marked increase in work rate, effort and intensity. Bate and Lynden Dunn were the stand outs; these kids are going to be good. Bate was in everything, and while Goodes looked set to have another typical outing for him at Manuka as he got off to a flyer courtesy of some dumb free kicks and umpiring generosity, Dunn did well to negate his effect. CJ was doing a job on O'Keefe which he did well all day and while Warnock and Garland were clearly not strong enough to compete in one on ones with the Swans forwards, they ran to provide options and showed some real poise coming out of defence. The most surprising thing for me was that PJ actually started to take some marks in front of his face and was presenting really well. In general I would say he had the better of Leo Barry who found him just too tall to spoil. The third quarter was easily Melbourne's best with the boys actually moving to make space and leading their opponents to the ball. The midfield started to break even and the Swans looked a little lacklustre when it was their turn to chase. The Dees continued to push, and the script suddenly took a new turn. The Dees were up and about and looked to have found some self-belief. The start of the fourth quarter was a continuation of the third, but unfortunately the wind was taken out of the Demons' sails by some desperately unlucky breaks and a couple of Swan goals against the tide. By the end both sides were playing out time, and while this wasn't quite the one that got away for the boys, there was definitely a sense they were the architects of their own demise by letting their fears take control. It's clear where the team is heading and how Dean Bailey wants them to play and there are some very encouraging signs for the future. In general it was a day where the midfield was well beaten, where the forward line functioned sporadically though not always systematically and the backline was under constant seige, yet we were able to close to within 2 goals and keep the final margin respectable. It was a horror movie alright, it didn't end well for the young innocents and it was predictable, but at least for this Demon fan this was offset because at least this weekend I didn't have to "Watch it right there on my TV." Melbourne 2.2.14 5.3.33 10.5.65 11.8.74 Sydney Swans 7.2.44 10.5.65 12.10.82 17.12.114 Goals Melbourne Bate 4 Wonaeamirri 3 Bruce P Johnson McLean Miller Sydney Swans Hall 5 Buchanan Mattner O'Loughlin 2 Goodes Jolly Malceski R O'Keefe Playfair Roberts-Thomson Best Melbourne Bate Dunn Garland C Johnson P Johnson Warnock Sydney Swans Hall Kirk Mattner Jolly C Bolton O'Loughlin Injuries Melbourne nil Sydney Swans nil Reports Nil Umpires Sully Grun Head Official crowd 11,437 at Manuka Oval

A TEST FOR THE MEMORY BANK by Scoop Junior On a great day for footy in the nation's capital, the Melbourne Football Club went down to top four fancy the Sydney Swans. It was a game that probably won't last too long in the memory bank. As good sides do against lowly opposition, the Swans killed off the contest early with a barnstorming start. They kicked the first five goals of the match and, in doing so, put paid to Melbourne's hopes of an upset victory. During that opening period, the Demons struggled to get their hands on the ball, taking until the fifth minute of the opening term to register their first possession. While it is symptomatic of a young side to go missing at times, this trait is one that the Dees have possessed for far too long and one that has punishing effects as opposition teams pile on the goals with ease dutring such periods. Richmond did it in the second quarter last week with an eight-goal burst; this time it was the Swans. To its credit, Melbourne did fight back in the second term to make it a more even contest. A few goals to each side kept the margin at five goals, with the Demons' improved tackling and pressure making it more difficult for the Swans to score. After half time, Melbourne lifted another gear and for the first time in the match started to produce fluent attacking football. So efficient were the Demons during this quarter that nearly every forward 50 entry resulted in a score. The Dees closed to within 11 points but a late goal to Sydney extended the margin to three goals at the final change. While Melbourne was in the game at three-quarter time, catch-up footy takes it toll. The energy expended in reeling in the deficit was too much for the young team and a lift in application from the Swans resulted in a dominant term for the Sydneysiders. Melbourne could hardly generate any offensive pressure and the Swans' high-pressure high-intensity style wore them out as they fell away to a 40-point defeat. For the Dees, Matthew Bate performed exceptionally well from limited opportunities to boot four goals. With the team limited to a paltry 30 forward entries, Bate did well to make the most of his opportunities in kicking the biggest bag of his career thus far. Brad Miller worked hard at centre half forward and Paul Johnson was particularly influential in the third term, leading up and showing a clean pair of heels to his opponents. Like Bate, Austin Wonaeamirri made the most of his opportunities to boot three majors. It was a great effort in the circumstances, given that Melbourne's lack of forward entries and dearth of big marking targets provided few crumbing opportunities for the little blokes. The midfield was well beaten by a more experienced, hardened outfit. With the likes of Kirk, Jude Bolton, Buchanan and Goodes, the Swans have a multitude of seasoned premiership midfielders who more often than not overcome what opposition clubs throw at them. The young Melbourne midfield was no match, coming up desperately short in the clearances. Brock McLean was nullified by Kirk, Bruce didn't see a lot of it and Jones lacked his usual output. Aaron Davey was quiet for most of the game but played a ripping third quarter, which was one of the main reasons for the Dees’ resurgence during this term. Melbourne looks a different team when the ball is in Flash’s hands, as he not only breaks the lines but delivers with pinpoint accuracy. On a brighter note for the Demons was the performance of Lynden Dunn, who restricted the dangerous Goodes to 12 disposals. It was a fine performance from Dunn, who has now had the better of Goodes, Foley and Swan in the past three weeks. What I like about this list of scalps is that these three players all possess pace, an attribute seriously lacking in Melbourne’s midfield. Dunn's ability to match them adds another dimension to the midfield. However, he now needs to learn how to find more of the footy himself and to provide an attacking influence if he wants to establish a permanent spot in the midfield. Brad Green and Paul Wheatley played well sweeping out of defence, with the formers' sure hands and crisp disposal helping to set up the play, while Chris Johnson played one of his better games for the club, nullifying the hard-working O'Keefe and using his sound kicking skills to initiate attack off half back. Colin Garland was effective without dominating, playing a decent game on O'Loughlin, while fellow young key back James Frawley did some nice things although he is still a number of games and many kilograms away from holding down a key position. Matthew Warnock, who has been somewhat of a revelation in recent weeks, was comprehensively beaten by Barry Hall. The Swans' spearhead had far too much strength and know-how and had he kicked more accurately would have booted 8 goals. In the end, it was a decent effort to limit the margin to 40 points, given Sydney's fast start, their dominance at the stoppages and the limited forward 50 entries from the Demons. While still nowhere near the elite teams, Melbourne's skill level has improved drastically since the early rounds (admittedly it couldn’t get much worse!) and this was highlighted by their efficiency in scoring, particularly in the third quarter. However, Sydney was well below its best for periods of the game and the match did indicate a number of key areas where the Demons need to improve if they are to move up the ladder in the coming years. Nevertheless, this honourable loss will not harm Melbourne's prospects of securing the number 1 pick in the National Draft, a draft which the Dees must extract some top-grade talent if they are to improve their list for the future. Despite the improvement since the early rounds, Melbourne lacks the talent of the top clubs and the best way to address this is with early draft choices and astute drafting and trading. With games against the impressive Lions, the second-placed Bulldogs, Fremantle away and the Kangaroos in the next for weeks, a win looks a fair way away, which is not all bad news given the draft prize of finishing near the bottom of the ladder. Despite only one win for the season thus far, it does promise to be an interesting final nine weeks! Melbourne 2.2.14 5.3.33 10.5.65 11.8.74 Sydney Swans 7.2.44 10.5.65 12.10.82 17.12.114 Goals Melbourne Bate 4 Wonaeamirri 3 Bruce P Johnson McLean Miller Sydney Swans Hall 5 Buchanan Mattner O'Loughlin 2 Goodes Jolly Malceski R O'Keefe Playfair Roberts-Thomson Best Melbourne Green Bate Dunn P Johnson C Johnson Wheatley Sydney Swans Hall Kirk Mattner Jolly C Bolton O'Loughlin For another view of the game from our man in the nation's capital see - IT'S A HORROR MOVIE Current standing is the Demonland Player of the Year Award are: 78.366 Brock McLean 44.657 Brad Green 40.082 Austin Wonaemirri 37.622 Paul Wheatley 34.023 Colin Garland 30.899 Cameron Bruce 29.701 Aaron Davey 25.733 Matthew Bate 24.644 Paul Johnson 24.347 Nathan Jones 22.728 Brad Miller 19.753 Cale Morton 16.360 Colin Sylvia 14.482 James McDonald 12.282 Brent Moloney 10.684 Jared Rivers 10.482 Nathan Carroll 10.346 Matthew Warnock 8.132 Clint Bartram 7.059 Lynden Dunn 6.491 Chris Johnson 5.904 Matthew Whelan 5.265 Russell Robertson 5.087 Jeff White 2.845 Adem Yze 1.805 Simon Buckley

Just a reminder that Demonland is about the Melbourne Football Club and not individual upporters. This thread is locked. See you in October YM.

There will definitely be a match report. Barry is just collecting his thoughts. He's a bit of a shattered man at the moment given that Sandy lost the seniors and the reserves to his hated old rivals from the Burra, not to mention that Mavis, his wife of 26 years, is threatening to leave him if he doesn't stay home, clean the house and mow the lawns next weekend. Please be patient and give the poor man some time.

by Whispering Jack Mick Malthouse has been coaching in the AFL/VFL for two and a half decades. He started as a young coach with the Bulldogs, moved to the West Coast Eagles where he was instrumental in building a team that earned two premiership cups and then took over a basket case at Collingwood to become runner up two years in a row and is now in the course of reshaping and redeveloping his team after some more lean years. Like most of his kind, he has his supporters and his detractors and many of the latter category often say that he makes no sense at all. After reading his latest column in this Friday's Australian newspaper - SHAW-FIRE WORLD OF THE MONDAY COACHES - I'm firmly placed in the former category. At first brush, the article appears to be nothing more than the writer's response to a broadside fired at him by his predecessor Tony Shaw over his recent handling of Shaw's nephew and Magpies defender Heath Shaw. Tony Shaw has previously criticised Malthouse over the handling of Heath's brother Rhyce and there were also mutterings heard when Tony's own son, Brayden spent a single, unsuccesful season in the land of the Lexus. Malthouse put Tony Saw back in his place with this cleverly placed barb: "Tony, in particular, would have been almost punch-drunk, having coached Collingwood from 1996 to 1999, the club's darkest period for more than 50 years." Touche! Those who read the Malthouse article as merely being Malthouse's way of settling a personal core with one of his harshest critics who might also be seen as having a personal vendetta against him would be missing out on something far deeper and more profound about the way AFL clubs are coached these days. As I read the article, I couldn't help but think of our own coach Dean Bailey, of the many young players at the club whose football careers are his responsibility and of the club itself, which is going through the deepest of troughs in the football cycle. We're doing it tough and Bailey must be under some pressure as the team continues to lose games on a regular basis. What many of the critics don't see is the work going on to rebuild our young team and the fact that the fruits of that effort might take some time in the reaping. Malthouse makes the point that every Monday he is the recipient of complaints from the know alls. Even when his team wins by 100 points, as it recently did against West Coast, there's always a smart arse who has the answer to the question why they didn't win by 120 points. Mick's answer to the smart arses is as follows (and we all would do well to take this in): "But the fundamental thing about coaching is to stick to your plans. Our plan at Collingwood, and I dare say at most clubs, is to develop the individual first, which in turn helps to develop the team, which in turn provides the football club and its supporters with a highly competitive combination that will represent at its highest level for a long and sustained period." I must confess that I, like many others, overestimated the strength of the Melbourne list some two years ago when it was cruising towards its third finals series in a row. We couldn't foresee the injury plague that was about to hit the club but even this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it exposed many of our fundamental weaknesses and hastened the move towards a total reconstruction of the playing list. That transition is now well under way under the club's present coaching regime but we are witnessing the inevitable ugly face of the early stages of a club's redevelopment. As the team becomes more and more reliant on its youth, there will be performances that are full of inconsistency and disappointment. We will also suffer scorn and derision from the rest of the football world and our coach and our players will undergo intense scrutiny. Like Malthouse, Bailey will no doubt get the usual letters suggesting his coaching on the weekend ranged from ordinary to pathetic. There is an upside to this whole process which is that, despite the defeats and the criticism, we are witnessing the slow and steady development of many younsters in the team whose average age keeps falling and whose more senior faces keep disappearing. In addition, there are half a dozen recent draftees including All Australian Under 18 players and elite AIS graduates waiting in the wings who have yet to play an AFL game and who are learning the ropes this year at VFL level. They form part of the club's growing young player bank that will be augmented at the end of the season with more draft picks including some very early selections. I know the word "tanking" is on everyone's lips but it would be absurd to think, as some people do, that the club's future depends entirely upon the necessity to have the first draft choice. Having pick 1 might be better than having pick 4 but it's more important that the coach is focussed firmly on what is, was and always be his primary role at a club. As Malthouse clearly puts it in his conclusion: "... current coaches and players have to prove time and again they can either play or they can coach - it goes with the title."

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT? by Whispering Jack Mick Malthouse has been coaching in the AFL/VFL for two and a half decades. He started as a young coach with the Bulldogs, moved to the West Coast Eagles where he was instrumental in building a team that earned two premiership cups and then took over a basket case at Collingwood to become runner up two years in a row and is now in the course of reshaping and redeveloping his team after some more lean years. Like most of his kind, he has his supporters and his detractors and many of the latter category often say that he makes no sense at all. After reading his latest column in this Friday's Australian newspaper - SHAW-FIRE WORLD OF THE MONDAY COACHES - I'm firmly placed in the former category. At first brush, the article appears to be nothing more than the writer's response to a broadside fired at him by his predecessor Tony Shaw over his recent handling of Shaw's nephew and Magpies defender Heath Shaw. Tony Shaw has previously criticised Malthouse over the handling of Heath's brother Rhyce and there were also mutterings heard when Tony's own son, Brayden spent a single, unsuccesful season in the land of the Lexus. Malthouse put Tony Saw back in his place with this cleverly placed barb: "Tony, in particular, would have been almost punch-drunk, having coached Collingwood from 1996 to 1999, the club's darkest period for more than 50 years." Touche! Those who read the Malthouse article as merely being Malthouse's way of settling a personal core with one of his harshest critics who might also be seen as having a personal vendetta against him would be missing out on something far deeper and more profound about the way AFL clubs are coached these days. As I read the article, I couldn't help but think of our own coach Dean Bailey, of the many young players at the club whose football careers are his responsibility and of the club itself, which is going through the deepest of troughs in the football cycle. We're doing it tough and Bailey must be under some pressure as the team continues to lose games on a regular basis. What many of the critics don't see is the work going on to rebuild our young team and the fact that the fruits of that effort might take some time in the reaping. Malthouse makes the point that every Monday he is the recipient of complaints from the know alls. Even when his team wins by 100 points, as it recently did against West Coast, there's always a smart arse who has the answer to the question why they didn't win by 120 points. Mick's answer to the smart arses is as follows (and we all would do well to take this in): "But the fundamental thing about coaching is to stick to your plans. Our plan at Collingwood, and I dare say at most clubs, is to develop the individual first, which in turn helps to develop the team, which in turn provides the football club and its supporters with a highly competitive combination that will represent at its highest level for a long and sustained period." I must confess that I, like many others, overestimated the strength of the Melbourne list some two years ago when it was cruising towards its third finals series in a row. We couldn't foresee the injury plague that was about to hit the club but even this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it exposed many of our fundamental weaknesses and hastened the move towards a total reconstruction of the playing list. That transition is now well under way under the club's present coaching regime but we are witnessing the inevitable ugly face of the early stages of a club's redevelopment. As the team becomes more and more reliant on its youth, there will be performances that are full of inconsistency and disappointment. We will also suffer scorn and derision from the rest of the football world and our coach and our players will undergo intense scrutiny. Like Malthouse, Bailey will no doubt get the usual letters suggesting his coaching on the weekend ranged from ordinary to pathetic. There is an upside to this whole process which is that, despite the defeats and the criticism, we are witnessing the slow and steady development of many younsters in the team whose average age keeps falling and whose more senior faces keep disappearing. In addition, there are half a dozen recent draftees including All Australian Under 18 players and elite AIS graduates waiting in the wings who have yet to play an AFL game and who are learning the ropes this year at VFL level. They form part of the club's growing young player bank that will be augmented at the end of the season with more draft picks including some very early selections. I know the word "tanking" is on everyone's lips but it would be absurd to think, as some people do, that the club's future depends entirely upon the necessity to have the first draft choice. Having pick 1 might be better than having pick 4 but it's more important that the coach is focussed firmly on what is, was and always be his primary role at a club. As Malthouse clearly puts it in his conclusion: "... current coaches and players have to prove time and again they can either play or they can coach - it goes with the title."

My admiration for Dean Laidley has grown considerably in the light of what he had to say to Big Mouth here - Butt out, Jeff- Laidley

Folks. Let's keep the discussion civil and please no personal attacks on each other. Hannabal, please note that if you have a point to make about a subject, your argument would be far more credible if you addressed the point rather than attacking the poster whose views might differ from yours. There's no place here for ad hominem insults. The same goes for everyone else. Thank you and cheers. Andy

Folks. Let's keep the discussion civil and please no personal attacks on each other. Hannabal, please note that if you have a point to make about a subject, your argument would be far more credible if you addressed the point rather than attacking the poster whose views might differ from yours. There's no place here for ad hominem insults. The same goes for everyone else. Thank you and cheers. Andy

Please note. He has not yet been found guilty so he should not be called a "criminal" or a cheat until such time as the law says so.

ANYONE BUT SYDNEY!!! by The Oracle One of the first initiatives announced under the new regime at Melbourne was the push for two matches in Canberra next year to enable the club to pocket more than $600,000 if the AFL allows it to double up on its presence in the national capital. According to Melbourne CEO Paul McNamee, Canberra is the place where the Demons have a "preference to build a little hub." From the point of view of making money it's not a bad idea to make 600k by playing away instead of losing money at home. Any organisation that finds itself $4.5m in debt and with mounting losses needs to have an eye on the bottom line and given that Melbourne is at rock bottom, it's well placed to look fairly, squarely and closely at that line. But the club’s application for an additional presence in the ACT should also be also be made on the understanding that Melbourne is part of a national competition and it's important in that context for it to be competitive. For that to happen, it has to compete on more or less a level playing field. Now, I'm not suggesting that Manuka Oval slopes one way or another but I do think that the club's request for another Canberra game should be predicated on it playing against two of the interstate clubs that have lesser drawing power in Melbourne such as the Dockers, Port Power or the future GC17 and WS18 teams. The Sydney Swans, with their association with the old South Melbourne Football Club, still have a significant base of supporters in Melbourne so it makes sense for the Dees to play their home games against them here in Melbourne to take advantage of those numbers. Playing the Swans in Canberra also gives the supposed "away" team a virtual home ground advantage. At Manuka, Sydney is much closer to its own home as the crow flies than Melbourne and the Swans also field their reserves team in the local Canberra competition. This effectively gives Sydney an enormous advantage over the so-called "home side" in terms of crowd support, travel time and local knowledge. The Demons need to build an identity in the ACT as a team in its own right and it must maximise its winning chances playing at the ground - something that won't happen as often if they give away any advantage and play there against the Swans who are perennially in the top four. So, I'm all for making some dough out of a couple of trips a year to the national capital but let's be smart about who we have to play against in those games. Just imagine a future match up against the Gold Coast Dolphins in Canberra with all those pretty boy blond haired surfers freezing their you know what’s off. We would have the clear advantage over our opponents in the wintry conditions in the national capital, make some money and bring home the four points - all while I'm lounging on my living room couch with the fire blazing away and me sipping away on a tinnie fully of the frothy stuff. Sounds good to me - as long as we're not playing the Swans! On the question of Sydney, I wonder what happened to the rivalry that the clubs were trying to build up around Anzac Day? The quest to build up a blockbuster game around the clubs named after and representing the two most populous cities in the land seems to have fallen by the wayside. The Demons should look to bring this concept back with the clubs alternating their Anzac Day appearances between cities every year (with the game on Anzac eve at the G every year when it's in Melbourne). If promoted well we could develop a blockbuster our own without the need to always attract opposition supporters like the one who slagged off at Fev last Sunday. I'd like to see that! THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney at the Manuka Oval 22 June 2008 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 91 wins Sydney 107 wins 1 draw At Manuka Melbourne 0 wins Sydney 1 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 6 wins Sydney 10 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 Roos 0 MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 1 pm (live) RADIO SEN 774 ABC THE BETTING Melbourne to win $8.00 - Sydney to win $1.06 LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 17.10.112 defeated Melbourne 9.10.64 Round 18, 2007. Melbourne travelled a long way to play this "home" game but it certainly didn't take long for the Swans to snuff them out. The Demons failed to kick a goal in the opening stanza and the Swans kept them in a vice-like grip for the rest of the games with Adam Goodes in outstanding form. The best of the Demons that day were Nathan Brown and Nathan Carroll. Ironically, neither of them will be in the nation's capital for Sunday’s rematch. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs James McDonald Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Brad Green Paul Wheatley Cameron Bruce Centreline Colin Sylvia Brock McLean Lynden Dunn Half forwards Jace Bode Matthew Bate Aaron Davey Forwards Paul Johnson Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Jeff White Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange James Frawley Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Matthew Whelan Emergencies Cale Morton Shane Valenti Adem Yze In Mark Jamar Matthew Whelan Out Cale Morton Adem Yze (both omitted) SYDNEY SWANS Backs Nick Malceski Leo Barry Martin Mattner Half backs Craig Bolton Ted Richards Tadhg Kennelly Centreline Adam Goodes Jarrad McVeigh Amon Buchanan Half forwards Ryan O’Keefe Barry Hall Luke Ablett Forwards Paul Bevan Michael O’Loughlin Lewis Roberts-Thomson Followers Darren Jolly Brett Kirk Jude Bolton Interchange Craig Bird Kieren Jack Jarred Moore Henry Playfair Emergencies Luke Brennan Nic Fosdike Ben Mathews No change Umpires Sully Grun Head SWAN DIVING We are barely beyond the halfway mark of the season and already they're talking about tanking. The talk at the moment centres on the West Coast Eagles and the way their team was structured for last Friday night's game against Essendon - especially the omission of some key premiership players such as Daniel Kerr, Braun and Fletcher. It's just as well people aren't accusing Melbourne of tanking because this year's Demons have proved conclusively that they can lose with the best of them without even doing anything that looks remotely suspicious. When will people ever learn and understand the truth of Andrew Demetriou's AFL 11th commandment - thou shalt not, will not and do not tank? It just doesn't happen. End of story. That said, Sunday's game at Manuka looks like a mismatch to me. The Swans have been cruising along nicely over recent weeks and the inclusion of Barry Hall, back from suspension last week, was virtually seamless. Sydney went on its merry way and demolished the Saints to grab fourth position on the AFL ladder. Unlike the dour Swans of old, they did it in the attractive, high scoring style which they have adopted of late. This spells a lot of trouble for Melbourne because you can't just shut the Swans down by pushing your players back and hoping for the best. They will smash you if you try that - just ask the Tigers who were held to one goal in the first half of their game in Sydney a few weeks ago. The game will give Melbourne the opportunity to see how its new look young defence can withstand the slings and arrows of a professional attacking unit containing the likes of Hall, Michael O'Loughlin and O'Keefe to name a few. The challenge will be absorbing, interesting and give the club an idea of where youngsters like Colin Garland, James Frawley and the resurgent Matthew Warnock (fresh from a tough gig against Richo) really sit at this early stage of their careers. There was a time when I would review games and pick some of the more fascinating match ups - the ones that were crucial in determining the direction of any particular game. This has unfortunately become a useless exercise of late because players are rotated one and off so often during a game that the match ups often mean little. These days, players aren't always matched up upon each other for large portions of a game. The exceptions might be the rucks and the key back and forward positions but otherwise, players generally have a larger roving (or roaming) commission than in the past. My fascinating match up for this week is in one position where I think the Demons will win - the contest between Jeff White and Darren Jolly who left the Dees a few years ago because he didn't want to play in Jeff White's shadow. He has done exceptionally well for himself up in Sydney and has a premiership medallion to prove that proposition but he's never quite had the wood over White. I expect the master to control the rucks despite giving away plenty in terms of height and size. I look everywhere else on the field and I find the Swans holding a significant edge over the Demons. Brock McLean has been good in the middle and has a few capable back ups but they're competing with the likes of dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton and Jarrad McVeigh who have been in sparkling form of late. Melbourne has been competitive in its last two games against Collingwood and Richmond but the worry is the spectre of a total collapse such as the 16 minute breakdown it suffered in the second term against the Tigers when the Demons looked like a junior school ballet troupe rather than an elite football team. Take away the black hole of those 16 minutes and Melbourne would have been back in town but with it, they're somewhere in the backblocks beyond the dog on the tucker box at Gundagai. So until they prove they can perform for four quarters, week in, week out, I can't select them to beat a team with the class of the Sydney Swans which is settled with an unchanged line up. Sydney by 57 points

by The Oracle One of the first initiatives announced under the new regime at Melbourne was the push for two matches in Canberra next year to enable the club to pocket more than $600,000 if the AFL allows it to double up on its presence in the national capital. According to Melbourne CEO Paul McNamee, Canberra is the place where the Demons have a "preference to build a little hub." From the point of view of making money it's not a bad idea to make 600k by playing away instead of losing money at home. Any organisation that finds itself $4.5m in debt and with mounting losses needs to have an eye on the bottom line and given that Melbourne is at rock bottom, it's well placed to look fairly, squarely and closely at that line. But the club’s application for an additional presence in the ACT should also be also be made on the understanding that Melbourne is part of a national competition and it's important in that context for it to be competitive. For that to happen, it has to compete on more or less a level playing field. Now, I'm not suggesting that Manuka Oval slopes one way or another but I do think that the club's request for another Canberra game should be predicated on it playing against two of the interstate clubs that have lesser drawing power in Melbourne such as the Dockers, Port Power or the future GC17 and WS18 teams. The Sydney Swans, with their association with the old South Melbourne Football Club, still have a significant base of supporters in Melbourne so it makes sense for the Dees to play their home games against them here in Melbourne to take advantage of those numbers. Playing the Swans in Canberra also gives the supposed "away" team a virtual home ground advantage. At Manuka, Sydney is much closer to its own home as the crow flies than Melbourne and the Swans also field their reserves team in the local Canberra competition. This effectively gives Sydney an enormous advantage over the so-called "home side" in terms of crowd support, travel time and local knowledge. The Demons need to build an identity in the ACT as a team in its own right and it must maximise its winning chances playing at the ground - something that won't happen as often if they give away any advantage and play there against the Swans who are perennially in the top four. So, I'm all for making some dough out of a couple of trips a year to the national capital but let's be smart about who we have to play against in those games. Just imagine a future match up against the Gold Coast Dolphins in Canberra with all those pretty boy blond haired surfers freezing their you know what’s off. We would have the clear advantage over our opponents in the wintry conditions in the national capital, make some money and bring home the four points - all while I'm lounging on my living room couch with the fire blazing away and me sipping away on a tinnie fully of the frothy stuff. Sounds good to me - as long as we're not playing the Swans! On the question of Sydney, I wonder what happened to the rivalry that the clubs were trying to build up around Anzac Day? The quest to build up a blockbuster game around the clubs named after and representing the two most populous cities in the land seems to have fallen by the wayside. The Demons should look to bring this concept back with the clubs alternating their Anzac Day appearances between cities every year (with the game on Anzac eve at the G every year when it's in Melbourne). If promoted well we could develop a blockbuster our own without the need to always attract opposition supporters like the one who slagged off at Fev last Sunday. I'd like to see that! THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney at the Manuka Oval 22 June 2008 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 91 wins Sydney 107 wins 1 draw At Manuka Melbourne 0 wins Sydney 1 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 6 wins Sydney 10 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 Roos 0 MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 1 pm (live) RADIO SEN 774 ABC THE BETTING Melbourne to win $8.00 - Sydney to win $1.06 LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 17.10.112 defeated Melbourne 9.10.64 Round 18, 2007. Melbourne travelled a long way to play this "home" game but it certainly didn't take long for the Swans to snuff them out. The Demons failed to kick a goal in the opening stanza and the Swans kept them in a vice-like grip for the rest of the games with Adam Goodes in outstanding form. The best of the Demons that day were Nathan Brown and Nathan Carroll. Ironically, neither of them will be in the nation's capital for Sunday’s rematch. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs James McDonald Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Brad Green Paul Wheatley Cameron Bruce Centreline Colin Sylvia Brock McLean Lynden Dunn Half forwards Jace Bode Matthew Bate Aaron Davey Forwards Paul Johnson Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Jeff White Clint Bartram Nathan Jones Interchange James Frawley Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Matthew Whelan Emergencies Cale Morton Shane Valenti Adem Yze In Mark Jamar Matthew Whelan Out Cale Morton Adem Yze (both omitted) SYDNEY SWANS Backs Nick Malceski Leo Barry Martin Mattner Half backs Craig Bolton Ted Richards Tadhg Kennelly Centreline Adam Goodes Jarrad McVeigh Amon Buchanan Half forwards Ryan O’Keefe Barry Hall Luke Ablett Forwards Paul Bevan Michael O’Loughlin Lewis Roberts-Thomson Followers Darren Jolly Brett Kirk Jude Bolton Interchange Craig Bird Kieren Jack Jarred Moore Henry Playfair Emergencies Luke Brennan Nic Fosdike Ben Mathews No change Umpires Sully Grun Head SWAN DIVING We are barely beyond the halfway mark of the season and already they're talking about tanking. The talk at the moment centres on the West Coast Eagles and the way their team was structured for last Friday night's game against Essendon - especially the omission of some key premiership players such as Daniel Kerr, Braun and Fletcher. It's just as well people aren't accusing Melbourne of tanking because this year's Demons have proved conclusively that they can lose with the best of them without even doing anything that looks remotely suspicious. When will people ever learn and understand the truth of Andrew Demetriou's AFL 11th commandment - thou shalt not, will not and do not tank? It just doesn't happen. End of story. That said, Sunday's game at Manuka looks like a mismatch to me. The Swans have been cruising along nicely over recent weeks and the inclusion of Barry Hall, back from suspension last week, was virtually seamless. Sydney went on its merry way and demolished the Saints to grab fourth position on the AFL ladder. Unlike the dour Swans of old, they did it in the attractive, high scoring style which they have adopted of late. This spells a lot of trouble for Melbourne because you can't just shut the Swans down by pushing your players back and hoping for the best. They will smash you if you try that - just ask the Tigers who were held to one goal in the first half of their game in Sydney a few weeks ago. The game will give Melbourne the opportunity to see how its new look young defence can withstand the slings and arrows of a professional attacking unit containing the likes of Hall, Michael O'Loughlin and O'Keefe to name a few. The challenge will be absorbing, interesting and give the club an idea of where youngsters like Colin Garland, James Frawley and the resurgent Matthew Warnock (fresh from a tough gig against Richo) really sit at this early stage of their careers. There was a time when I would review games and pick some of the more fascinating match ups - the ones that were crucial in determining the direction of any particular game. This has unfortunately become a useless exercise of late because players are rotated one and off so often during a game that the match ups often mean little. These days, players aren't always matched up upon each other for large portions of a game. The exceptions might be the rucks and the key back and forward positions but otherwise, players generally have a larger roving (or roaming) commission than in the past. My fascinating match up for this week is in one position where I think the Demons will win - the contest between Jeff White and Darren Jolly who left the Dees a few years ago because he didn't want to play in Jeff White's shadow. He has done exceptionally well for himself up in Sydney and has a premiership medallion to prove that proposition but he's never quite had the wood over White. I expect the master to control the rucks despite giving away plenty in terms of height and size. I look everywhere else on the field and I find the Swans holding a significant edge over the Demons. Brock McLean has been good in the middle and has a few capable back ups but they're competing with the likes of dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton and Jarrad McVeigh who have been in sparkling form of late. Melbourne has been competitive in its last two games against Collingwood and Richmond but the worry is the spectre of a total collapse such as the 16 minute breakdown it suffered in the second term against the Tigers when the Demons looked like a junior school ballet troupe rather than an elite football team. Take away the black hole of those 16 minutes and Melbourne would have been back in town but with it, they're somewhere in the backblocks beyond the dog on the tucker box at Gundagai. So until they prove they can perform for four quarters, week in, week out, I can't select them to beat a team with the class of the Sydney Swans which is settled with an unchanged line up. Sydney by 57 points

This is strange but Ricky Petterd is named as part of the interchange for the reserves. It suggests possibly that there might be a doubt over his fitness. The fact that Newton's not there suggests that he's unfit for one reason or other (I suppose that's pretty obvious isn't it?) SANDRINGHAM v PORT MELBOURNE (Reserves) Sunday 22nd June Trevor Barker Beach Oval at 11:10 AM SANDRINGHAM Backs Cannon Curcio Sargent Half backs Plymin Shakaib McNamara Centreline Hine McConnell Kondarovskis Half forwards Hardiman Cleeve Lyall Forwards Lockwood Zomer Weetra Followers Spencer Williams Fleming Interchange (from) Dean Eaton Gribbin B Liddell Monaghan Petterd Summons Torcasio

These were the team for Melbourne and Sydney when they last met in Canberra on 5 August 2007. It will be interesting when the teams are named to see just how much change has taken place in less than 11 months. MELBOURNE Backs Ben Holland Nathan Carroll Ryan Ferguson Half backs Daniel Bell Brad Miller James Frawley Centreline Brad Green James McDonald Paul Wheatley Half forwards Nathan Brown Russell Robertson Simon Godfrey Forwards Bryon Pickett David Neitz Matthew Bate Followers Jeff White Brock McLean Nathan Jones Interchange Aaron Davey Brent Moloney Michael Newton Daniel Ward Emergencies Jace Bode Simon Buckley Mark Jamar In Nathan Carroll Aaron Davey Byron Pickett Out Cameron Bruce (hamstring) Colin Sylvia (groin) Simon Buckley SYDNEY SWANS Backs Tadhg Kennelly Craig Bolton Nick Malceski Half backs Paul Bevan Adam Goodes Ben Mathews Centreline Luke Ablett Brett Kirk Amon Buchanan Half forwards Ryan O’Keefe Michael O’Loughlin Jarrad McVeigh Forwards Adam Schneider Barry Hall Nick Davis Followers Darren Jolly Jude Bolton Nic Fosdike Interchange Luke Brennan Peter Everitt Heath Grundy Ted Richards Emergencies Sean Dempster Matthew Laidlaw Tim Schmidt In Luke Ablett Out Tim Schmidt

by Kevin Hawkins aka Dee man [12 June 2008] It was a fitting decision for Melbourne to abandon their Demon image for season 2008, because Dean Bailey and his troops desperately need to start saying their prayers. This year’s 150th Birthday celebrations have been nothing more than a tumultuous shambles for the Melbourne football club; it seems only a miracle from the heavens could turn their poor fortunes around. Off-field, things haven't been looking too grand. The poorly timed departure of Steve Harris, decreased membership sales and ineffective marketing have thrown up a few unwanted birthday surprises. But it is Melbourne’s on-field performance that is most alarming, with the team’s performance being likened to that of Fitzroy. Sitting 16th on the ladder with just one win and a paltry 60.56 percentage, some critics have been yelling for the Demons to relocate north to the Gold Coast. The retirement of captain David Neitz and the freak injury to fellow 150 Hero Russell Robertson haven’t helped, but injuries can’t be held responsible for Melbourne’s failure as they were in 2007. Interestingly though, before this duo fell victim to injuries, their impact on the game was minimal. Neitz managed must three goals, while a large majority of Robertson’s 20 were kicked in the last quarter of games when games were dead and buried. Call me irreverent, but even Melbourne’s so-called stars have let the team down badly this year. In spite of all this, one must remember that first year coach "Yoda" Bailey had labelled the season a development year before the ball was even bounced. The early impressions shown by early draftee Cale Morton and the rookie-elevated Austin Wonaeamirri have given supporters a reason to smile, while the continuing improvements of Nathan Jones, Matthew Bate, Simon Buckley, Colin Garland, Matthew Warnock and Paul Johnson have been a much overlooked blessing. Meanwhile, Brad Green has begun asserting himself as a potential leadership replacement for Neitz, as has Brock McLean – still seeking atonement for his pre-season indiscretions. What is a major concern, however, is the backwards steps being taken by many of Melbourne’s young players. Many hoped that a development year would mark the maturing stage for Melbourne’s promising youth. On the contrary, none of Lynden Dunn, Michael Newton, James Frawley, Clint Bartram, Daniel Bell, Chris Johnson, Jace Bode and Ricky Petterd have taken their game to the next level as one would hope. That’s eight players, or two years worth of drafting. While it would be unfair to write off that group at such an early stage of their career, one can’t help but be concerned. Newton and Dunn (currently being used as a tagger) are supposed to be the focal points of Melbourne’s forward line for the next decade; Frawley is expected to become Melbourne’s first genuine key position defender since the 90s. They still have time on their side, but how patient will Bailey and co. be before throwing the axe? Let's state the obvious: Melbourne aren’t going to make the finals this year. At best, they may win 2-3 more games. With this in mind, there is little point in persisting with senior players Adem Yze and Ben Holland. It could well be argued that both are in the team's best 22 and could definitely contribute to the team's short-term success, but in reality a farewell game in Round 22 is the most Bailey can afford to give either of them. Yze is a legend of the Melbourne football club – there is no doubting that – however one can't help but wonder whether his position in the team is depriving a young player of an opportunity. Arguably the same could be said about Matthew Whelan – now 28 - whose body hasn't be right for years. Whelan is a fantastic footballer and one of the most capable back pockets in the league when fit. However, reality is that he is past his prime, in terms of both ability and physical endurance and will not be a component of Melbourne's next premiership team. Fellow defender Nathan Carroll is another who looks to be closing in on the end of his career after he was dropped from the senior side the week the coaching panel analysed the playing list. Carroll is an aggressive and bold competitor, but key forwards are now finding him far too easy to defeat. As I write, Warnock and Garland are overtaking him in Melbourne’s defensive hierarchy, while Stefan Martin could well join that duo by season’s end. The only thing that may keep Carroll on the Melbourne list in 2009 is if the talented, albeit injury-prone, Jared Rivers can't get his body right – a frightening prospect. From now until the end of the year, Bailey and his coaching staff must be given the licence to experiment. Players like Dunn, Newton, C Johnson, Bode and Buckley - who all seem to fit into Bailey's run and carry game plan - must consistently be given opportunities, while permanent positions must be found for Green, Bell, Bartram and the much maligned Colin Sylvia. While Green has been Melbourne's standout player this year, his desperation and courageous marking ability is being wasted as a loose man in defence. For years, supporters have been screaming for him to return to the forward line. Perhaps Bailey should take note. Since injuring himself late last year, Bell has not returned to the form expected of him. His decision making has been mediocre, while his one-on-one efforts have been below par. A spell as an outside midfielder, or even a small forward, could rejuvenate his career. A spell at Sandringham may also be appropriate. Bartram could become one of the best taggers in the league, if only he was assigned that role more regularly. He has a superb engine, but still has one of the most unreliable kicks in the business. Bailey must make use of Bartram’s strengths and play him on the opposition’s best midfielder each week, rather than waste him as a rebounding defender – a position Melbourne has a surplus supply of. Finally, we come to Sylvia. Let’s not lie; Sylvia's selection as pick 3 in the draft will probably never be justified. Nonetheless, Sylvia could still become a very handy footballer. If one removes all prior expectations, then Sylvia's progress could be considered relatively exciting. He is currently having his most influential season to date, however he is constantly being switched from defence to midfield to forward. By season’s end, Sylvia must be able to call a specific position his own, otherwise he may have to be put up for trade. The absence of Neitz and Robertson opens the door up in the forward line; a 30-40 goal return could reinvigorate the hopes held by so many Demon supporters. Some of Bailey's experimentations have worked thus far, with several players who appeared lost now finding their feet. Although Cameron Bruce's kicking still hasn't re-gained its potency of seasons past, the team’s co-captain is having a relatively successful year. Playing as a medium-sized defender-cum-creative midfielder has worked a treat; Bruce is practically playing two positions in the one side. What he must do now is provide greater leadership and prove to critics that he can permanently take over Neitz’s prized mantle. Some added hardness could help as well. The phasing out of club stalwarts and 150 Heroes Jeff White and James McDonald has also been a noteworthy process. White is no longer starting every game in the centre, with Jamar and Johnson been given much greater responsibility. One could interpret this changing-of-the-guard purely as an indication of White’s form; these days, few of White’s taps hit teammates. Johnson has made the most of this opportunity, showing class all over the ground, but Jamar still lacks the confidence needed for an AFL player. His ruckwork, physical presence and disposal tally have lifted significantly from previous seasons, however his reluctance to kick or gather contested possessions makes him a liability. If John Meesen can develop into the player DB wants him to be within the next few months, Jamar's playing days may be over. Following two years of midfield brilliance, McDonald has taken a less demanding role this season, assigning greater workload to hard-at-it on-ballers Jones, McLean and Brent Moloney. Almost every week, this trio aggressively attack the opposition in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Fittingly, they are all ranked in the league’s top 30 for contested possessions, in addition to ranking highly in clearances and first possessions (average per round, as of Round 11, Pro-Stats). Rookie Shane Valenti could soon add his name to that centre square on a regular basis; in his two appearance thus far, he has laid 12 tackles and completed 13 one percenters. (Pro-Stats) Brad Miller's permanent move to Centre Half Forward has, as expected, been a success; the inconsistent leader is enjoying his finest season to date. Nonetheless, Miller still has one element of his game to conquer before he can start considering himself a reliable footballer: goals. If Miller, and his partner in crime Bate, can average 2 goals a game, then Melbourne’s half forward line could start looking very dangerous, as it briefly did against Fremantle in Round 7. Before injury, Aaron Davey was beginning to adapt to his new role on the wing, being a key playmaker against the Kangaroos, Fremantle and Hawthorn. What Davey must do now is maintain consistency; if he can produce four effective quarters a game, rather than the occasional bursts of brilliance, he could become the team’s most important player. Playing Davey in the midfield has allowed his protégée Wonaeamirri to play as a permanent forward pocket, a role he has relished. Wonaeamirri has been nothing short of brilliant in his debut year, having picked up a Rising Star Nomination and been a multiple goalkicker on five occasions. As good as Wonaeamirri has been, however, the biggest success story of the year thus far has been that of Warnock and Garland. Five weeks ago, this duo were rejected as duds by Demon fans, while their names didn't mean anything to the average football follower. Now, all of a sudden, these two have almost pencilled in the Full Back and Centre Half Back positions for the next decade after some promising performances on the likes of Buddy Franklin (3 goals – his 2nd lowest tally all season), Jarryd Roughead (1 goal), Justin Koschitzke (2 goals but no influence) and Travis Cloke (goalless). Furthermore, Garland has shown an ability to run and carry; his kicking has been floorless in recent games, disregarding a perfect spear to a St Kilda player when the young defender believed he was kicking to a teammate. After eleven weeks, it is still too early to fully assess Bailey's efforts. We are being told that he has an impressive game plan, but there has been little evidence of its effectiveness. A freakish half against Fremantle and three spirited three-quarter efforts against Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood simply aren't enough, but patience is the key. Who knows; Bailey could well become the saviour that the MFC has been searching for since the days of Norm Smith, but one shouldn’t be expecting any miracles from him any time soon. Expected finish: 16th (2 wins, 20 losses) From the blog of Kevin Hawkins

Probably thanked you for being team manager of the only Demon team to win a game by over 100 points this year and for bringing back the Big Carl Cup to Demonland (and Demonology!)

REACHING FOR THE STARS by The Oracle There were two AFL games played in Melbourne yesterday. The one between Carlton and Collingwood attracted a crowd of 80,310 to the MCG and the other, between Richmond and Melbourne, a modest 27,348 to Telstra Dome. The results of both were decided by star players in the winning teams - in Carlton's case it was the result of an eight goal performance from full forward Brendan Fevola and in Richmond's case it was from wingman, come forward, come backman Matthew Richardson. Without a doubt, Richardson was the difference between the two sides at the Docklands; he instigated the Tigers' comeback with two goals when they were in danger of falling away and trailling by 21 points late in the opening quarter, he was instrumental in his team's 16 minutes of sheer dominance in the second quarter when they scored eight unanswered goals after Melbourne scored the first of the term and he took a number of timely saving marks deep in defence when the Demons looked like stealing the game near the end. The rest of the time, he went well enough but he really made things happen when they mattered the most and he finished with five goals. That's a star! The rest of the time, which was about 75% of the game, Melbourne was the better team but it was the lack of a single player with star quality and the ability to stamp his name on the game that, as happens ever so often with the Demons, proved to be its undoing. The young Melbourne side had its best start for the season with five goals for the opening term but all of its good work was undone in the second quarter when the entire team went into hibernation and reverted to all of the sins and omissions of the very dark days early in the season when they performed so miserably against the Hawks and the Bulldogs in the opening two rounds. By half time the Tigers held a lead of 38 points and appeared headed for a victory of mammoth proportions after a devastating eight goal burst brought about by complete dominance of the midfield and the Richardson effect. But Melbourne fought back with a counter offensive of its own and narrowed the deficit to 19 points at the last change. That they did so was due to the efforts of Brock McLean, with face swathed in bandages, who came out with a burst to retake control of the midfield and the uncharacteristically quiet Aaron Davey, who ignited the game with a sparkling running goal followed by the mark of year and then a goal to give the team a sniff. The Demon surge continued in the final quarter and they drew to within 8 points as it all came down to an arm wrestle which was eventually won by the Tigers with the last two goals of the game. Melbourne was well served by midfielders Brad Green, Cameron Bruce and the run and carrry of Paul Wheatley whose persistence throughout the game was important. Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate also flashed in and out of the play while Clint Bartram showed some glimpses of the form he was capable of producing in his debut season before his injury woes began. Brad Miller's three goal performance might pale into insignificance when measured next to that of Richo but it was nevertheless an important contribution. Miller had to go far and wide to get his possessions but his kicking for goal in terms of both depth and accuracy have improved markedly this year. He was however, Melbourne's only forward target in an attack bereft of players capable of taking a contested mark in the way that Richardson does for the Tigers. That is understandable in view of the demise of David Neitz and injuries to Russell Robertson, Ben Holland and Michael Newton - the latter is coming back from injury through the Sandringham reserves of all places! In a game dominated by Richmond's star, a special mention must be made of two players from Melbourne who might aspire to such greatness at some stage in the future. Colin Garland's breathtaking improvement continues and I sense that some day soon we will look at how his game has developed and marvel at the inspiration behind giving him the very special number 20 at this club to wear on his back. The dash and poise that he is showing week in and week out is something that we rarely see from young players who have graced the football field on such few occasions. He can only get better and better. And so too will Cale Morton, although his performance at the Telstra Dome was admittedly flawed by some poor disposal and decision making. Having seen him hit targets with pinpoint precision and kick goals prodigiously from long distances on his way to winning the highest individual honours at last year's national under 18 championships, I'm willing to cut him a fair amount of slack. The lad is still only eighteen years old but showed that he can really find the football - 20 possessions with only 64% of game time - is a handy result in anyone's language. He's a fantastic work in progress and, with a year or two's experience and a few extra kilograms on his upper body and shoulders, Morton will be a very special player for the club. Melbourne did not achieve victory against the Tigers at the Dome yesterday - not even an honourable defeat. However, the Demons showed that they have the potential and the material to one day reach for the stars. The voyage has begun. Melbourne 5.3.33 6.5.41 11.8.74 14.10.94 Richmond 3.6.24 11.13.79 13.15.93 16.20.116 Goals Melbourne Miller 3 Bartram Bruce Davey 2 Bate Garland Green White Wonaeamirri Richmond Richardson 5 Brown 3 Cotchin Hyde Moore Morton Polak Simmonds Tuck White Best Melbourne McLean Garland Wheatley Bruce Jones Bate Richmond Richardson Deledio Brown Tuck Foley Injuries Melbourne Nil Richmond Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Richmond Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Richmond Nil Umpires Sully Nicholls Ryan Crowd 27,348 at Telstra Dome

by The Oracle There were two AFL games played in Melbourne yesterday. The one between Carlton and Collingwood attracted a crowd of 80,310 to the MCG and the other, between Richmond and Melbourne, a modest 27,348 to Telstra Dome. The results of both were decided by star players in the winning teams - in Carlton's case it was the result of an eight goal performance from full forward Brendan Fevola and in Richmond's case it was from wingman, come forward, come backman Matthew Richardson. Without a doubt, Richardson was the difference between the two sides at the Docklands; he instigated the Tigers' comeback with two goals when they were in danger of falling away and trailling by 21 points late in the opening quarter, he was instrumental in his team's 16 minutes of sheer dominance in the second quarter when they scored eight unanswered goals after Melbourne scored the first of the term and he took a number of timely saving marks deep in defence when the Demons looked like stealing the game near the end. The rest of the time, he went well enough but he really made things happen when they mattered the most and he finished with five goals. That's a star! The rest of the time, which was about 75% of the game, Melbourne was the better team but it was the lack of a single player with star quality and the ability to stamp his name on the game that, as happens ever so often with the Demons, proved to be its undoing. The young Melbourne side had its best start for the season with five goals for the opening term but all of its good work was undone in the second quarter when the entire team went into hibernation and reverted to all of the sins and omissions of the very dark days early in the season when they performed so miserably against the Hawks and the Bulldogs in the opening two rounds. By half time the Tigers held a lead of 38 points and appeared headed for a victory of mammoth proportions after a devastating eight goal burst brought about by complete dominance of the midfield and the Richardson effect. But Melbourne fought back with a counter offensive of its own and narrowed the deficit to 19 points at the last change. That they did so was due to the efforts of Brock McLean, with face swathed in bandages, who came out with a burst to retake control of the midfield and the uncharacteristically quiet Aaron Davey, who ignited the game with a sparkling running goal followed by the mark of year and then a goal to give the team a sniff. The Demon surge continued in the final quarter and they drew to within 8 points as it all came down to an arm wrestle which was eventually won by the Tigers with the last two goals of the game. Melbourne was well served by midfielders Brad Green, Cameron Bruce and the run and carrry of Paul Wheatley whose persistence throughout the game was important. Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate also flashed in and out of the play while Clint Bartram showed some glimpses of the form he was capable of producing in his debut season before his injury woes began. Brad Miller's three goal performance might pale into insignificance when measured next to that of Richo but it was nevertheless an important contribution. Miller had to go far and wide to get his possessions but his kicking for goal in terms of both depth and accuracy have improved markedly this year. He was however, Melbourne's only forward target in an attack bereft of players capable of taking a contested mark in the way that Richardson does for the Tigers. That is understandable in view of the demise of David Neitz and injuries to Russell Robertson, Ben Holland and Michael Newton - the latter is coming back from injury through the Sandringham reserves of all places! In a game dominated by Richmond's star, a special mention must be made of two players from Melbourne who might aspire to such greatness at some stage in the future. Colin Garland's breathtaking improvement continues and I sense that some day soon we will look at how his game has developed and marvel at the inspiration behind giving him the very special number 20 at this club to wear on his back. The dash and poise that he is showing week in and week out is something that we rarely see from young players who have graced the football field on such few occasions. He can only get better and better. And so too will Cale Morton, although his performance at the Telstra Dome was admittedly flawed by some poor disposal and decision making. Having seen him hit targets with pinpoint precision and kick goals prodigiously from long distances on his way to winning the highest individual honours at last year's national under 18 championships, I'm willing to cut him a fair amount of slack. The lad is still only eighteen years old but showed that he can really find the football - 20 possessions with only 64% of game time - is a handy result in anyone's language. He's a fantastic work in progress and, with a year or two's experience and a few extra kilograms on his upper body and shoulders, Morton will be a very special player for the club. Melbourne did not achieve victory against the Tigers at the Dome yesterday - not even an honourable defeat. However, the Demons showed that they have the potential and the material to one day reach for the stars. The voyage has begun. Melbourne 5.3.33 6.5.41 11.8.74 14.10.94 Richmond 3.6.24 11.13.79 13.15.93 16.20.116 Goals Melbourne Miller 3 Bartram Bruce Davey 2 Bate Garland Green White Wonaeamirri Richmond Richardson 5 Brown 3 Cotchin Hyde Moore Morton Polak Simmonds Tuck White Best Melbourne McLean Garland Wheatley Bruce Jones Bate Richmond Richardson Deledio Brown Tuck Foley Injuries Melbourne Nil Richmond Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Richmond Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Richmond Nil Umpires Sully Nicholls Ryan Crowd 27,348 at Telstra Dome

Brock McLean has consolidated his firm grip on this award: 78.366 Brock McLean 40.082 Austin Wonaemirri 36.973 Paul Wheatley 36.868 Brad Green 30.899 Cameron Bruce 29.701 Aaron Davey 29.479 Colin Garland 24.347 Nathan Jones 22.728 Brad Miller 19.753 Cale Morton 18.802 Paul Johnson 16.360 Colin Sylvia 15.996 Matthew Bate 14.482 James McDonald 12.282 Brent Moloney 10.684 Jared Rivers 10.482 Nathan Carroll 9.697 Matthew Warnock 8.132 Clint Bartram 5.904 Matthew Whelan 5.265 Russell Robertson 5.087 Jeff White 2.845 Adem Yze 1.866 Lynden Dunn 1.805 Simon Buckley