Demonland

WINNING START FOR ZEBRAS by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham opened the season in style with good win against the Casey Scorpions after a strong 14 goal final half negated a second quarter scare that had the Zebras struggling and 20 points in arrears at half time. Sandy was led out for the first time by new skipper Peter Summers and kicked with the aid of a stiff breeze favouring the Alf Beus can hill end. It was a strong contingent with 14 AFL listed players and the team started well with an early goal from young Demon recruit Addam Maric. Two more followed from Ben Holland and the Zebras were now looking chock full of confidence. Mark Jamar was dominating the early ruck duels and Jared Rivers was in imposing form down back, often linking up strongly with Ezra Poyas who surprised the crowd with a new hairstyle - one that actually incorporates hair and not a bald pate. Sandringham was playing a team-oriented game and threatened to break further ahead but Casey regrouped and held its own in the latter part of the quarter kicking their first goal before Nick Sautner chimed in with his first for the season. There was a marked turn around in the second stanza and it was now Casey's turn to dominate and Sandy's turn to struggle. By mid term the scores were locked together at 28 points apiece but the Scorpion midfield started to dominate and kicked the ball long into their forward line to establish a dominant position at the main break. The only excitement for the quarter came when Mark Johnston was hit hard and his opponent Armitage reported for charging. Johnston got up and continued to play after receiving his heavy knock and to his great credit finished up in his team's best players. Johnston's bravery set the example and Sandringham regained its composure during the half time break to produce one of those special quarters of football that the players have become renowned for when their tails are up and the wind at their backs. With Mark Jamar and John Meesen dominating the rucks, the Zebra on ball brigade headed by Summers and new Demon rookie Shane Valenti kept pushing the ball forward and the likes of Sautner and Maric did the rest. Valenti was also damaging when moved forward and by the final break, Sandy was well on top after a stunning nine goal quarter. The Zebras were at their best in the final term with the defence led by Jared Rivers and Matthew Whelan held the Scorpions and, in the end, outscored their opponents by five goals to three to canter away to a fine victory - 18.11.119 to 11.16.82. Sandringham has a tough challenge ahead of it next week when it takes on old rival Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval, North Port. The Zebras will lose some Melbourne players to the AFL as the Demons continue to struggle forcing inevitable changes. The 12-10 rule applies to games against the Borough so a couple more Sandy listed players will come into the team for what should be a close tussle. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Brent Moloney and Ricky Petterd did not take their places in the team; both were reported as carrying minor injuries. Michael Newton came in to the selected side after being replaced by Jace Bode in the Melbourne team that played the Western Bulldogs. James Frawley - was very serviceable in defence without being outstanding but given that he is quite athletic and at a similar stage of his development as Magpie key defender Nathan Brown, he is worth a look in defence for the Demons. Ben Holland - looked set for a big day when he marked strongly and kicked two early goals but went down with a back strain and wasn't seen at all in the second half. Mark Jamar - dominated the ruck hit outs and stood out around the ground where he took big marks and competed strongly. His capacity to come into the Melbourne team is limited by Paul Johnson's excellent start to the season. Chris Johnson - played well and, as usual, looked good at this level. A question mark remains however, as to whether he can produce the goods in the big time. Addam Maric - if there is something that Melbourne lacks at the moment it is a player who carries with him the x factor. In Maric's case, that factor comes with a capital X. He's small but can take a good grab and he's lively, particularly around goals in places where we have rarely seen any player of his size go on the Demon forward line. Oh, and he's a deadly kick for goal. On that basis, an AFL debut for this youngster is beckoning. Stefan Martin - the former basketballer has the height and athleticism and can take a strong mark. He still has some work to do on his disposal skills but is certain to get a call up at some stage during the year. John Meesen - moves well and rucks reasonably well but needs some more time at VFL level. Michael Newton - roamed far and wide and really didn't get into the game as he was often caught in "no man's land". Likely to remain in the VFL for a couple of weeks until he can get his confidence up again. Jared Rivers - a shoe in to return to the Demon line up for the game at Skilled Stadium if his form in this game is any guide. Should also be considered for elevation to the club's leadership group given that a vacancy exists there. Shane Valenti - was more and more influential as the game wore on and got a lot of the ball. His detractors say he is small and slow but he moves the ball quickly and he is a ball magnet. Matthew Warnock - played a dour defender's role but there are a few others ahead of him for a place in the Melbourne line up. Matthew Whelan - played his standard strong game with lots of run and will add a harder edge to the Melbourne side on his return. There is a view that this won't happen for a couple of weeks but he looks ready to me. Austin Wonaemirri - a slippery customer who is on a steep learning curve at the club. Showed some flashes that suggest he will be a player in time. Adem Yze - took a while to settle down but he was certainly influential in the second half and was one of the reasons why the Zebras ended up overrunning an opposition that took it right up to them in the first half. Line ball as to whether he will be recalled to play against Geelong this week. Sandringham 4.3.27 4.4.28 13.8.86 18.11.119 Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.6.48 8.10.58 11.16.82 Goals Sandringham Sautner 4 Maric Valenti 3 Holland 2 C Johnson Poyas Summers Whelan Wonaemirri Yze Casey Scorpions Gardiner 3 McQualter 2 Allen Armitage Birss Dunne Goddard Steven Best Sandringham Summers Valenti Poyas Yze Johnston Rivers Casey Scorpions McQualter Gardiner Rix Gwilt Wall Silvagni Reported Sandringham Nil Casey Scorpions D. Armitage (Casey Scorpions) for charging M. Johnston (Sandringham)in the 2nd quarter. The reserves competition starts next week but a practice match was played against the Scorpions and Sandy won easily. A few Demons were on show but there were no stand outs during the time I was present.

Bazza reports it's Sandy leading 16.11.107 to 10.13.73 halfway through the last. Aussie's just kicked his first.

Three quarter time and Sandy leading but Casey have the big wind advantage in the last. Report from Bazza is that Jared Rivers is starring down back, Whelan is solid and Maric has kicked a few but Benny Holland looks likes he's injured a hand after kicking a couple of early goals. Newton playing up forward but doing little. Moloney and Petterd didn't take their places in the team - looks like both are injured. Sandringham 4.3.27 4.4.28 13.8.86 Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.6.48 8.10.58

PATTERNS by Whispering Jack "From the moment of my birth To the instant of my death, There are patterns I must follow Just as I must breathe each breath. Like a rat in a maze The path before me lies, And the pattern never alters Until the rat dies" - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel – "Patterns" I gave up looking for the ultimate answers about life a long, long time ago. I prefer to leave that sort of stuff to the existentialists while I enjoy my family, go to a good movie, listen to my music, discuss and debate politics, eat decent tucker and enjoy my footy. The rest of the time, I work for a living and occasionally do charitable work. I should have been a Saint but I'm a Demon – I can't help it. I think I was born that way. This all means that if you happen to be looking for the ultimate answer as to why Melbourne is performing so badly entering its 150th season, you might have to look elsewhere. All I can do is give my opinion to the effect that yesterday's second consecutive thrashing at the MCG – this time at the hands of the Western Bulldogs by 24.17.161 to 9.12.66 followed a pattern that was set a long time ago. And the pattern is not likely to alter until a certain event happens. Until the rat dies. Yesterday's game followed a predictable course for the most part. That course was set through the pre season and was firmly established last week when the team capitulated to the Hawks by 104 points. Yesterday's game saw a similar result although the opposition was in my estimation, only a middle of the range side that will struggle to make the eight. The Bulldogs did however, have the benefit of entering the game on a high after a last gasp victory over Adelaide the week before. It helps when you come into a game chock full of confidence and with your leaders setting the sort of example that the likes of Brad Johnson and Scott West set for their club. The game itself was not one of two halves but more one of three phases: - Phase 1 – The Competitive Phase The game opened up in positive fashion. Dean Bailey had set the team up well with his best 18 on the ground, a spare man in defence, had discarded one of his talls from the forward line and replaced him with a crumbing forward in Aaron Davey. It worked for most of the first quarter while the players showed some accountability. The midfield won the early clearances and Davey booted the first goal. Had Paul Johnson been more accurate, the Demons could have even opened up a nice early lead. Still, one could notice a tiny bit of passion, aggression and even a flicker of inspiration but sadly, it lasted only a brief moment in time. The mistakes slowly started creeping in and these resulted in a couple of self-inflicted Demon wounds that were the Bulldogs' only goals for the quarter. The competitive phase ended with the siren and Melbourne was unlucky not to have won its first quarter for the season. The Western Bulldogs were in front by a solitary point. The Demons were well served by Nathan Jones who was a terrier in the middle and by defenders Nathan Carroll and Paul Wheatley (the spare man in defence). Phase 2 – The Decline Phase The onset of decline came almost imperceptively. Early in the second term you started to get the feeling that the Bulldogs were going to gradually take control and they did. Again, it started with the help of some own goals on Melbourne's part. When you're in danger of entering the decline phase, you need your leaders to stand up, be unselfish and not fumble or drop marks or handpass direct to the opposition. Let's just say that while they fared a little better than last week, the leaders still failed to live up to the expectation. Despite maintaining control of the clearances, the team was breaking down across half forward. The pattern was set for slow, stop-start football and the mistakes kept coming with greater frequency. This is another part of the pattern that we have to expect because of the presence of several youngsters in a team that's not really playing as a team but more as a group that shows little semblance of passion or unity of purpose. By half time, the Doggies had moved to a 25 point lead but, in my estimation, they were a little fortunate to be that far in front as a couple of their goals came gift wrapped courtesy of fundamental errors by their opponents and at least one from a poor umpiring decision. That's life and you take those advantages when you'e given them. Phase 3 – The Earth Hour Phase The main feature of the pattern is in that the final half of each game the team enters its own "Earth Hour" – an hour in which the power is turned off and the team is completely overrun. There may be some variations to the theme before that event but the final half score line of 15.8.98 to 4.4.28 in favour of the Bulldogs is a pattern that Melbourne fans will have to get used to as the season unfolds. The good news is that this pattern will moderate and things won't always be that bad but for the moment, the Demons are suffering from the fact that so many of their key players had interrupted pre seasons. Too many of them are underdone, a result of not enough hard work and match conditioning. Last week it was Cameron Bruce who came back with limited pre-season preparation, this week it was Clint Bartram, Lynden Dunn and Colin Sylvia. Next week it's likely to be Jared Rivers and possibly Matthew Whelan. Further, there are a few youngsters in the side at the moment, notably Jace Bode, Colin Garland and Isaac Weetra who are clearly not ready for the big stage. All of these factors, with the added problem of an aging leadership group that has shown itself to be unable to get fired up or set an example of accountability to the rest of the side will ensure that the pattern of decline and fade out will continue for a little while yet until the elders either shape up or are culled from the group and the younger players learn what it's all about. That might still take more than a little time so Melbourne supporters will feel some more pain in the months to come. The game was a sad 200th for James McDonald who played his heart out as usual but the good form of Paul Johnson and the continuing improvement of Cale Morton were both encouraging. Less encouraging was the form of Brock McLean, a youngster who has an enormous weight of expectation on his shoulders and is looking decidedly sluggish. He seemed to be running faster and harder when he was being interchanged on and off the ground than while in general play. One has to wonder whether he's enjoying his football these days. I know this business of interchanging and rotation is in vogue at the moment but I just don't get it. If the idea is to keep your players fresh so that they can see out a game of football, why do the Melbourne players look so washed up in that final phase of the game? I don't have the answer to that question and, as I indicated earlier, I don’t have the ultimate answer either. But I've been told that looking for ultimate answers is a little like looking for a black cat in a dark basement at night when the black cat isn't really there. It's an absurd quest and it certainly can't be answered overnight and most definitely not next Sunday when the team travels to Geelong where they will find some real cats. To achieve success from Melbourne's position, it is necessary to bring in a complete sea change and that takes time. To understand that, you only had to watch St. Kilda overrun Carlton last night. The Saints have been learning their style of game for over a year under Ross Lyon and last night, they played a type of game that was not that dissimilar to the one that Melbourne is attempting to play - except that they got every split second decision right while the Demons get most of them wrong at the moment. When they finally get things right, they will have crossed the fine line that you need to cross in order to alter the pattern. At that point, the rat dies. Melbourne 2.4.16 5.8.38 7.9.51 9.12.66 Western Bulldogs 2.5.17 9.9.63 18.13.121 24.17.161 Goals Melbourne Neitz Robertson White 2 Davey Green Jones Western Bulldogs Murphy 4 Akermanis Cross Hill Johnson Welsh 3 Giansiracusa Gilbee Griffen Hahn Wight Best Melbourne Wheatley Carroll Jones P Johnson Morton McDonald Western Bulldogs Cross Murphy Cooney Hill Gilbee Griffen Injuries Melbourne Davey (ankle) Western Bulldogs Higgins (ankle) Reports nil Changes Jace Bode replaced Michael Newton in Melbourne's selected line-up; Tim Callan replaced Nathan Eagleton (ankle) in the Western Bulldogs' selected line-up Umpires Farmer Kamolins Ryan Crowd 27,821 at the MCG

by Whispering Jack "From the moment of my birth To the instant of my death, There are patterns I must follow Just as I must breathe each breath. Like a rat in a maze The path before me lies, And the pattern never alters Until the rat dies" - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel – "Patterns" I gave up looking for the ultimate answers about life a long, long time ago. I prefer to leave that sort of stuff to the existentialists while I enjoy my family, go to a good movie, listen to my music, discuss and debate politics, eat decent tucker and enjoy my footy. The rest of the time, I work for a living and occasionally do charitable work. I should have been a Saint but I'm a Demon – I can't help it. I think I was born that way. This all means that if you happen to be looking for the ultimate answer as to why Melbourne is performing so badly entering its 150th season, you might have to look elsewhere. All I can do is give my opinion to the effect that yesterday's second consecutive thrashing at the MCG – this time at the hands of the Western Bulldogs by 24.17.161 to 9.12.66 followed a pattern that was set a long time ago. And the pattern is not likely to alter until a certain event happens. Until the rat dies. Yesterday's game followed a predictable course for the most part. That course was set through the pre season and was firmly established last week when the team capitulated to the Hawks by 104 points. Yesterday's game saw a similar result although the opposition was in my estimation, only a middle of the range side that will struggle to make the eight. The Bulldogs did however, have the benefit of entering the game on a high after a last gasp victory over Adelaide the week before. It helps when you come into a game chock full of confidence and with your leaders setting the sort of example that the likes of Brad Johnson and Scott West set for their club. The game itself was not one of two halves but more one of three phases: - Phase 1 – The Competitive Phase The game opened up in positive fashion. Dean Bailey had set the team up well with his best 18 on the ground, a spare man in defence, had discarded one of his talls from the forward line and replaced him with a crumbing forward in Aaron Davey. It worked for most of the first quarter while the players showed some accountability. The midfield won the early clearances and Davey booted the first goal. Had Paul Johnson been more accurate, the Demons could have even opened up a nice early lead. Still, one could notice a tiny bit of passion, aggression and even a flicker of inspiration but sadly, it lasted only a brief moment in time. The mistakes slowly started creeping in and these resulted in a couple of self-inflicted Demon wounds that were the Bulldogs' only goals for the quarter. The competitive phase ended with the siren and Melbourne was unlucky not to have won its first quarter for the season. The Western Bulldogs were in front by a solitary point. The Demons were well served by Nathan Jones who was a terrier in the middle and by defenders Nathan Carroll and Paul Wheatley (the spare man in defence). Phase 2 – The Decline Phase The onset of decline came almost imperceptively. Early in the second term you started to get the feeling that the Bulldogs were going to gradually take control and they did. Again, it started with the help of some own goals on Melbourne's part. When you're in danger of entering the decline phase, you need your leaders to stand up, be unselfish and not fumble or drop marks or handpass direct to the opposition. Let's just say that while they fared a little better than last week, the leaders still failed to live up to the expectation. Despite maintaining control of the clearances, the team was breaking down across half forward. The pattern was set for slow, stop-start football and the mistakes kept coming with greater frequency. This is another part of the pattern that we have to expect because of the presence of several youngsters in a team that's not really playing as a team but more as a group that shows little semblance of passion or unity of purpose. By half time, the Doggies had moved to a 25 point lead but, in my estimation, they were a little fortunate to be that far in front as a couple of their goals came gift wrapped courtesy of fundamental errors by their opponents and at least one from a poor umpiring decision. That's life and you take those advantages when you'e given them. Phase 3 – The Earth Hour Phase The main feature of the pattern is in that the final half of each game the team enters its own "Earth Hour" – an hour in which the power is turned off and the team is completely overrun. There may be some variations to the theme before that event but the final half score line of 15.8.98 to 4.4.28 in favour of the Bulldogs is a pattern that Melbourne fans will have to get used to as the season unfolds. The good news is that this pattern will moderate and things won't always be that bad but for the moment, the Demons are suffering from the fact that so many of their key players had interrupted pre seasons. Too many of them are underdone, a result of not enough hard work and match conditioning. Last week it was Cameron Bruce who came back with limited pre-season preparation, this week it was Clint Bartram, Lynden Dunn and Colin Sylvia. Next week it's likely to be Jared Rivers and possibly Matthew Whelan. Further, there are a few youngsters in the side at the moment, notably Jace Bode, Colin Garland and Isaac Weetra who are clearly not ready for the big stage. All of these factors, with the added problem of an aging leadership group that has shown itself to be unable to get fired up or set an example of accountability to the rest of the side will ensure that the pattern of decline and fade out will continue for a little while yet until the elders either shape up or are culled from the group and the younger players learn what it's all about. That might still take more than a little time so Melbourne supporters will feel some more pain in the months to come. The game was a sad 200th for James McDonald who played his heart out as usual but the good form of Paul Johnson and the continuing improvement of Cale Morton were both encouraging. Less encouraging was the form of Brock McLean, a youngster who has an enormous weight of expectation on his shoulders and is looking decidedly sluggish. He seemed to be running faster and harder when he was being interchanged on and off the ground than while in general play. One has to wonder whether he's enjoying his football these days. I know this business of interchanging and rotation is in vogue at the moment but I just don't get it. If the idea is to keep your players fresh so that they can see out a game of football, why do the Melbourne players look so washed up in that final phase of the game? I don't have the answer to that question and, as I indicated earlier, I don’t have the ultimate answer either. But I've been told that looking for ultimate answers is a little like looking for a black cat in a dark basement at night when the black cat isn't really there. It's an absurd quest and it certainly can't be answered overnight and most definitely not next Sunday when the team travels to Geelong where they will find some real cats. To achieve success from Melbourne's position, it is necessary to bring in a complete sea change and that takes time. To understand that, you only had to watch St. Kilda overrun Carlton last night. The Saints have been learning their style of game for over a year under Ross Lyon and last night, they played a type of game that was not that dissimilar to the one that Melbourne is attempting to play - except that they got every split second decision right while the Demons get most of them wrong at the moment. When they finally get things right, they will have crossed the fine line that you need to cross in order to alter the pattern. At that point, the rat dies. Melbourne 2.4.16 5.8.38 7.9.51 9.12.66 Western Bulldogs 2.5.17 9.9.63 18.13.121 24.17.161 Goals Melbourne Neitz Robertson White 2 Davey Green Jones Western Bulldogs Murphy 4 Akermanis Cross Hill Johnson Welsh 3 Giansiracusa Gilbee Griffen Hahn Wight Best Melbourne Wheatley Carroll Jones P Johnson Morton McDonald Western Bulldogs Cross Murphy Cooney Hill Gilbee Griffen Injuries Melbourne Davey (ankle) Western Bulldogs Higgins (ankle) Reports nil Changes Jace Bode replaced Michael Newton in Melbourne's selected line-up; Tim Callan replaced Nathan Eagleton (ankle) in the Western Bulldogs' selected line-up Umpires Farmer Kamolins Ryan Crowd 27,821 at the MCG

Our nominated vote givers for today's game were:- dees_rule_4eva Maybe next year demondomination dees_rule_4eva has already voted. Maybe next year and demondomination must place their votes on the site by midnight tonight. Otherwise, I will accept the next two serious set of votes for the official counting. As a result of our team's efforts today the weighted percentage for today's game is 41% - a minor improvement on last week.

MEDIA WATCH: THAT SINKING FEELING by Whispering Jack According to Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia, ABC TV’s programme Media Watch is "viewed by some as a watchdog of the Australian media, that investigates and exposes media bias and breaches of journalistic ethics and standards." On what we've seen in the past week or so, we desperately need a media watchdog to monitor some of the information (or should I say misinformation) being fed to unsuspecting consumers of news on matters football and in particular on some of the things that are being written and said about the Melbourne Football Club. The impression given that the Demons are sinking faster than the Titanic is not just wild exaggeration but mischievous sensationalism at its lowest level. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that we shoot the messenger but we do need to examine some of the things that have been published about the state of the Demons and to expose where errors of fact have been made and why some of the opinions being expressed out there in the media are simply wrong and without any basis in logic or fact. We need a Media Watch to expose some of the untruthful and damaging comments being passed on about the club including the disgraceful statements made to the effect that Melbourne is the next "Fitzroy" - a claim levelled in the past year at both Carlton and the Kangaroos. Now, it's our turn. There has been a need for a media watchdog since the days when man received his news on papyrus but as the information revolution has expanded so the scope for breaches of journalistic standards continues to grow exponentially. There is so much pressure on reporters to get THE story of the day and there are so many reporters who are driven by agendas instead of reporting THE truth that we are seeing more and more examples of the public, wittingly or unwittingly, being fed false and misleading information in all matters of news from war reporting, to finance, social events and yes … even in sport. What's really worrying is that the misinformation often comes from trusted sources such as established newspapers and experienced journalists. The famous newsagency Reuters, one of the main agencies for news on the international stage developed a reputation for dispensing the news honestly for over a hundred years but has recently been beset by criticism for presenting biased news reporting and even publishing doctored photographs of war scenes. Then, in August last year, it was forced to admit that footage it released purportedly showing Russian submersibles on the seabed of the North Pole actually came from the movie Titanic. The mistake was picked up by a 13 year old Finnish schoolboy who contacted a local newspaper to tell them the images looked identical to those used in the movie and, as a result, the story and Reuters' reputation along with it, sank faster than the Titanic. So it pays for reporters to check and recheck their facts before they go to press yet in these days of a media hungry to be the first with a sensational story, that isn't always the case. This applies particularly to the world of sport where competition is tough especially when it comes to our own game of football and the latest victim of that media hunger is the Melbourne Football Club. A club in transition, thirsting for success, and doing it tough is an easy target and, with a few notable exceptions like this one, the sporting media vultures who feasted during the summer months on the supposedly decaying carcass of the Kangaroos, have now turned their attention elsewhere and are circling delightedly around their new prey – the Demons. The club's poor pre-season practice match form and that resounding 104 thumping at the hands of Hawthorn in the opening round just made the club easy meat for lazy journalists looking for a sensationalist story. Still, this doesn't relieve them of the responsibility of reporting with honesty as otherwise, their own reputations will sink like the Titanic - especially when their errors are so obvious that even a 13 year-old could expose them!. Today is the start of the Melbourne Football Club's fight back against this nonsense. The best way to respond to the vultures is of course, on the field with a Demonlike performance against the Western Bulldogs but, since the blame for the club's current woes has been attached to its off field leadership and administration, the first response should rightfully come from the top. And so it will - during the Pre Match at today's Presidents Lunch and a subsequent press conference by club President Paul Gardner. The following document, "The Melbourne Football Club - Fact or Fiction" has been distributed to all MFC staff members and will be distributed to the press today after the President's address. The Demons are fighting back off the field and that should set the stage for the players to join the party. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION FINANCES FICTION - The Club has no money FACT The Club has recorded four consecutive years of profit and has reduced debt by over 50% from $5.5m to $2.7m since 2004. The Club recorded aggregate losses of $8.52 million between 1999-2003 (Ave $1.42million/annum). The Club has invested profits from recent years into both debt reduction and football department spending (increased by $500k in 2007 and again in 2008). The Club has increased non-AFL sourced revenue by 35% in last 4 years (Vic Club average 29%). The Clubs annual revenue is approximately $29 million/annum or $552k/week lower than the highest revenue Club (Collingwood). Over time this seriously compromises the ability of Melbourne to be competitive. The financial result for 2007 ($96K profit) was adversely impacted by player injuries ($400K), reduced match related revenue ($550K) and gaming performance ($500k). The Board considered this result to be unacceptable and took appropriate steps. FICTION - "Raise money or sink Auditor warns Dees" (Deborah Gough The Age 23 March) FACTThe Club Auditor has said nothing of the sort. Auditors Ernst and Young have issued the same qualified audit opinion referring to “inherent uncertainty regarding going concern” in every set of published accounts for the Melbourne Football Club since 2001. The qualification refers to the Club’s reliance on ongoing AFL funding and the Club’s net asset position. A similar qualification appears in the Audit opinion of three other Clubs (Carlton, St Kilda, North Melbourne) who also have negative net assets. FICTION The Club is reliant on AFL Funding / Welfare / Life Support FACT Under the current industry-funding model all 16 Clubs are reliant on AFL funding. Without this funding no Club would be viable. In 2007, 3 Clubs (Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Carlton) received more AFL funding than Melbourne. AFL Funding to Melbourne ($8.239 Million) was $32k more than AFL funding to Collingwood ($8.207) in 2007. The competitive balance fund (CBF) was abolished by the AFL some years ago and replaced by the Annual Special Distribution (ASD). Melbourne is one of ten Clubs to participate in the ASD in 2007. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION MEMBERSHIP / SUPPORTER BASE FICTION - The Club has no members / fickle supporters FACT The Club’s supporter base (214,000) is the smallest in the AFL. The Club’s membership (28,077 in 2007) is the 2nd smallest. The supporter demographic is ageing. Melbourne FC is seriously under represented in Auskick Club allegiance statistics. Dwindling / ageing supporter base is a legacy of 43 years of underachievement in football. The Club recognises this as a major strategic threat to the future strength of the Club. The Club has grown membership by 36% (20,647 to 28,077) between 2004-2007 (Vic Club average 9%). Melbourne has the highest conversion of supporters to paid up members of all AFL Clubs. 28% or 25,000 of the MCC’s 90,000 members support the Melbourne Football Club. 4000 of these take out membership of the football Club. The remainder notionally support the Melbourne Football Club through the Annual Grant (currently $500K) from the MCC to the MFC. Membership target 30K for 2008. As at 27 March, memberships sold are 22,870 (vs 2007 YTD 24,209 and budget 25,867). MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION GOVERNANCE FICTION - The Board is the second worst in the AFL / Board instability FACT The Club has a history of bitter divisions and infighting including the merger debate (1996) and contested elections in 2001 and 2003. Since election of Paul Gardner as Chairman 4 years ago, the following has occurred: * No contested elections *Retirement and replacement of 8 (of 11) Directors through seamless and managed succession planning, maximising Board skill mix and providing fresh ideas. *Appointment of past player Andrew Leoncelli and Businessman / MCC Member Peter Spargo in recent months has continued this process. Appointment of 3 female Directors – leading the industry Comprehensive constitutional reform ensuring best practice governance and compliance – 3 years in advance of AFL’s issuing governance guidelines to Clubs. Robust performance management process for Directors and staff. Cohesive and unified Board with no leaks. Effective Finance Audit and Risk Committee MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATION FACILITIES – THE HOME FICTION - Melbourne is homeless FACT Melbourne has not had an exclusive 52-week training facility for 150 years of the Club’s existence. Prior to 1985 the Club has trained on the MCG in winter and an over in Swan Street in summer. In 1994 the then Club administration signed a long-term lease on Junction Oval. This decision condemned the Club to more than a decade of separation of football department from administration, substandard training / rehab / medical faculties and a training surface available only between April-September. This required the Club to access multiple suburban grounds for summer training. In 2004 the current Board entered into a memorandum of understanding to become an anchor tenant in the $268 million Melbourne rectangular stadium in the Melbourne Olympic Park precinct. Initially the Club was to occupy its new training /admin home in April 2008. Delays in the completion of the project (now estimated late 2009) have been caused by issues relating to other tenants and have been beyond the control of Melbourne FC. In addition to occupancy of the new MOPT home with state of the art administration, training and medical/rehab facilities, Melbourne has commenced discussions with the City of Casey regarding provision of a summer training base in Cranbourne giving the Club access to a new demographic in one of Australia’s fastest growing municipalities. Funding for the MOPT "Home" ($2.7 million total) has been secured by a combination of Club fundraising ($816k raised to date towards target of $1.8 million), State Government ($1 million grant announced 17 March) and AFL. Rather than depicting the Club as homeless, the correct position is that within 18 months the Club will take up occupancy in a state of the art training and administration base, located in the MCG/MOPT precinct for the first time in 150 years. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION FOOTBALL FICTION - Melbourne has no credibility as a football team FACT The Club has not won a Premiership since 1964. This 43 year Premiership drought is the 2nd longest in this competition. It explains the disillusionment and cynicism of many supporters which can only be exorcised by a Premiership win. Striving for a Premiership drives every action and decision taken by the Club and is at the heart of our football credibility. Since 1987, Melbourne has played in 12 finals series. This is bettered only by West Coast (17) and Essendon (13). In the same period, Collingwood and Carlton have seen finals action in 9 seasons, Richmond twice. Melbourne will continue to make changes in its Premiership quest. For season 2008, we have a new Senior Coach, two (of three) new Assistant Coaches, two new Development Coaches, a new Football Operations Manager (Chris Connolly) and a new Manager of Recruitment and List Management. There are 8 new additions to our Senior List and 11 introductions to the Club in our expanded list of 44. The Sandringham alliance is the industry "Gold Standard". It has served Melbourne well with development of young players, many of whom have played in Sandringham's four post-alignment VFL Premiership teams. FICTION - The Football Department is under-resourced FACT Training facilities are substandard; this will be rectified by the Casey Fields Project (planned to be available for the 2009 pre-season) and the MOPT home (available late 2009). Football department expenditure ($13 million in 2007) is midrange for the AFL (9th of 16). FICTION - "Dees Cut Coaching Budget" (The Australian, 2 August 2007) FACT An additional $500k was added to the Football department in 2008. Following a further $500k additional investment in 2007. The additional funding was applied to the creation of additional Development Coaching positions (Kelly O'Donnell and Mark Williams), expansion of List Management and Recruiting network (Recruiting Officer based in Darwin) and leadership development through Leading Teams. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION MANAGEMENT FICTION - The Club is poorly managed FACT Management of the Club improved significantly following Steve Harris' appointment in June 2004. This improvement will continue with the appointment of new CEO Paul MacNamee, one of Australia’s leading Sports Administrators. Priority areas identified for Paul include staff morale/retention, stakeholder relations (especially AFL and MCC) and brand enhancement. Long term initiatives such as China and Team Melbourne remain as key items on the Club agenda. Embracing broad community issues is a key to the Club’s brand strategy. Melbourne's pioneering of the memorable "Pink Lady" initiative established the Club as an industry leader. FICTION - The Club’s relationship with the AFL is poor FACT The Club enjoys an excellent and supportive relationship with AFL Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, the Commission, Andrew Demetriou and his executives. The Club meets with the AFL monthly to review Club finances. These meetings have been conducted for the last 4 years and are a condition of ASD funding. The Club and the AFL – in conjunction with the MCC – are collaborating on a new 5 year strategic plan for the Club, replacing the last plan which was comprehensively overhauled in 2004. Notwithstanding the closeness of the relationship with the AFL, the Club operates as an autonomous entity – as much as any other Club – without outside "interference" in our affairs.

by Whispering Jack According to Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia, ABC TV’s programme Media Watch is "viewed by some as a watchdog of the Australian media, that investigates and exposes media bias and breaches of journalistic ethics and standards." On what we've seen in the past week or so, we desperately need a media watchdog to monitor some of the information (or should I say misinformation) being fed to unsuspecting consumers of news on matters football and in particular on some of the things that are being written and said about the Melbourne Football Club. The impression given that the Demons are sinking faster than the Titanic is not just wild exaggeration but mischievous sensationalism at its lowest level. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that we shoot the messenger but we do need to examine some of the things that have been published about the state of the Demons and to expose where errors of fact have been made and why some of the opinions being expressed out there in the media are simply wrong and without any basis in logic or fact. We need a Media Watch to expose some of the untruthful and damaging comments being passed on about the club including the disgraceful statements made to the effect that Melbourne is the next "Fitzroy" - a claim levelled in the past year at both Carlton and the Kangaroos. Now, it's our turn. There has been a need for a media watchdog since the days when man received his news on papyrus but as the information revolution has expanded so the scope for breaches of journalistic standards continues to grow exponentially. There is so much pressure on reporters to get THE story of the day and there are so many reporters who are driven by agendas instead of reporting THE truth that we are seeing more and more examples of the public, wittingly or unwittingly, being fed false and misleading information in all matters of news from war reporting, to finance, social events and yes … even in sport. What's really worrying is that the misinformation often comes from trusted sources such as established newspapers and experienced journalists. The famous newsagency Reuters, one of the main agencies for news on the international stage developed a reputation for dispensing the news honestly for over a hundred years but has recently been beset by criticism for presenting biased news reporting and even publishing doctored photographs of war scenes. Then, in August last year, it was forced to admit that footage it released purportedly showing Russian submersibles on the seabed of the North Pole actually came from the movie Titanic. The mistake was picked up by a 13 year old Finnish schoolboy who contacted a local newspaper to tell them the images looked identical to those used in the movie and, as a result, the story and Reuters' reputation along with it, sank faster than the Titanic. So it pays for reporters to check and recheck their facts before they go to press yet in these days of a media hungry to be the first with a sensational story, that isn't always the case. This applies particularly to the world of sport where competition is tough especially when it comes to our own game of football and the latest victim of that media hunger is the Melbourne Football Club. A club in transition, thirsting for success, and doing it tough is an easy target and, with a few notable exceptions like this one, the sporting media vultures who feasted during the summer months on the supposedly decaying carcass of the Kangaroos, have now turned their attention elsewhere and are circling delightedly around their new prey – the Demons. The club's poor pre-season practice match form and that resounding 104 thumping at the hands of Hawthorn in the opening round just made the club easy meat for lazy journalists looking for a sensationalist story. Still, this doesn't relieve them of the responsibility of reporting with honesty as otherwise, their own reputations will sink like the Titanic - especially when their errors are so obvious that even a 13 year-old could expose them!. Today is the start of the Melbourne Football Club's fight back against this nonsense. The best way to respond to the vultures is of course, on the field with a Demonlike performance against the Western Bulldogs but, since the blame for the club's current woes has been attached to its off field leadership and administration, the first response should rightfully come from the top. And so it will - during the Pre Match at today's Presidents Lunch and a subsequent press conference by club President Paul Gardner. The following document, "The Melbourne Football Club - Fact or Fiction" has been distributed to all MFC staff members and will be distributed to the press today after the President's address. The Demons are fighting back off the field and that should set the stage for the players to join the party. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION FINANCES FICTION - The Club has no money FACT The Club has recorded four consecutive years of profit and has reduced debt by over 50% from $5.5m to $2.7m since 2004. The Club recorded aggregate losses of $8.52 million between 1999-2003 (Ave $1.42million/annum). The Club has invested profits from recent years into both debt reduction and football department spending (increased by $500k in 2007 and again in 2008). The Club has increased non-AFL sourced revenue by 35% in last 4 years (Vic Club average 29%). The Clubs annual revenue is approximately $29 million/annum or $552k/week lower than the highest revenue Club (Collingwood). Over time this seriously compromises the ability of Melbourne to be competitive. The financial result for 2007 ($96K profit) was adversely impacted by player injuries ($400K), reduced match related revenue ($550K) and gaming performance ($500k). The Board considered this result to be unacceptable and took appropriate steps. FICTION - "Raise money or sink Auditor warns Dees" (Deborah Gough The Age 23 March) FACTThe Club Auditor has said nothing of the sort. Auditors Ernst and Young have issued the same qualified audit opinion referring to “inherent uncertainty regarding going concern” in every set of published accounts for the Melbourne Football Club since 2001. The qualification refers to the Club’s reliance on ongoing AFL funding and the Club’s net asset position. A similar qualification appears in the Audit opinion of three other Clubs (Carlton, St Kilda, North Melbourne) who also have negative net assets. FICTION The Club is reliant on AFL Funding / Welfare / Life Support FACT Under the current industry-funding model all 16 Clubs are reliant on AFL funding. Without this funding no Club would be viable. In 2007, 3 Clubs (Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Carlton) received more AFL funding than Melbourne. AFL Funding to Melbourne ($8.239 Million) was $32k more than AFL funding to Collingwood ($8.207) in 2007. The competitive balance fund (CBF) was abolished by the AFL some years ago and replaced by the Annual Special Distribution (ASD). Melbourne is one of ten Clubs to participate in the ASD in 2007. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION MEMBERSHIP / SUPPORTER BASE FICTION - The Club has no members / fickle supporters FACT The Club’s supporter base (214,000) is the smallest in the AFL. The Club’s membership (28,077 in 2007) is the 2nd smallest. The supporter demographic is ageing. Melbourne FC is seriously under represented in Auskick Club allegiance statistics. Dwindling / ageing supporter base is a legacy of 43 years of underachievement in football. The Club recognises this as a major strategic threat to the future strength of the Club. The Club has grown membership by 36% (20,647 to 28,077) between 2004-2007 (Vic Club average 9%). Melbourne has the highest conversion of supporters to paid up members of all AFL Clubs. 28% or 25,000 of the MCC’s 90,000 members support the Melbourne Football Club. 4000 of these take out membership of the football Club. The remainder notionally support the Melbourne Football Club through the Annual Grant (currently $500K) from the MCC to the MFC. Membership target 30K for 2008. As at 27 March, memberships sold are 22,870 (vs 2007 YTD 24,209 and budget 25,867). MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION GOVERNANCE FICTION - The Board is the second worst in the AFL / Board instability FACT The Club has a history of bitter divisions and infighting including the merger debate (1996) and contested elections in 2001 and 2003. Since election of Paul Gardner as Chairman 4 years ago, the following has occurred: * No contested elections *Retirement and replacement of 8 (of 11) Directors through seamless and managed succession planning, maximising Board skill mix and providing fresh ideas. *Appointment of past player Andrew Leoncelli and Businessman / MCC Member Peter Spargo in recent months has continued this process. Appointment of 3 female Directors – leading the industry Comprehensive constitutional reform ensuring best practice governance and compliance – 3 years in advance of AFL’s issuing governance guidelines to Clubs. Robust performance management process for Directors and staff. Cohesive and unified Board with no leaks. Effective Finance Audit and Risk Committee MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATION FACILITIES – THE HOME FICTION - Melbourne is homeless FACT Melbourne has not had an exclusive 52-week training facility for 150 years of the Club’s existence. Prior to 1985 the Club has trained on the MCG in winter and an over in Swan Street in summer. In 1994 the then Club administration signed a long-term lease on Junction Oval. This decision condemned the Club to more than a decade of separation of football department from administration, substandard training / rehab / medical faculties and a training surface available only between April-September. This required the Club to access multiple suburban grounds for summer training. In 2004 the current Board entered into a memorandum of understanding to become an anchor tenant in the $268 million Melbourne rectangular stadium in the Melbourne Olympic Park precinct. Initially the Club was to occupy its new training /admin home in April 2008. Delays in the completion of the project (now estimated late 2009) have been caused by issues relating to other tenants and have been beyond the control of Melbourne FC. In addition to occupancy of the new MOPT home with state of the art administration, training and medical/rehab facilities, Melbourne has commenced discussions with the City of Casey regarding provision of a summer training base in Cranbourne giving the Club access to a new demographic in one of Australia’s fastest growing municipalities. Funding for the MOPT "Home" ($2.7 million total) has been secured by a combination of Club fundraising ($816k raised to date towards target of $1.8 million), State Government ($1 million grant announced 17 March) and AFL. Rather than depicting the Club as homeless, the correct position is that within 18 months the Club will take up occupancy in a state of the art training and administration base, located in the MCG/MOPT precinct for the first time in 150 years. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION FOOTBALL FICTION - Melbourne has no credibility as a football team FACT The Club has not won a Premiership since 1964. This 43 year Premiership drought is the 2nd longest in this competition. It explains the disillusionment and cynicism of many supporters which can only be exorcised by a Premiership win. Striving for a Premiership drives every action and decision taken by the Club and is at the heart of our football credibility. Since 1987, Melbourne has played in 12 finals series. This is bettered only by West Coast (17) and Essendon (13). In the same period, Collingwood and Carlton have seen finals action in 9 seasons, Richmond twice. Melbourne will continue to make changes in its Premiership quest. For season 2008, we have a new Senior Coach, two (of three) new Assistant Coaches, two new Development Coaches, a new Football Operations Manager (Chris Connolly) and a new Manager of Recruitment and List Management. There are 8 new additions to our Senior List and 11 introductions to the Club in our expanded list of 44. The Sandringham alliance is the industry "Gold Standard". It has served Melbourne well with development of young players, many of whom have played in Sandringham's four post-alignment VFL Premiership teams. FICTION - The Football Department is under-resourced FACT Training facilities are substandard; this will be rectified by the Casey Fields Project (planned to be available for the 2009 pre-season) and the MOPT home (available late 2009). Football department expenditure ($13 million in 2007) is midrange for the AFL (9th of 16). FICTION - "Dees Cut Coaching Budget" (The Australian, 2 August 2007) FACT An additional $500k was added to the Football department in 2008. Following a further $500k additional investment in 2007. The additional funding was applied to the creation of additional Development Coaching positions (Kelly O'Donnell and Mark Williams), expansion of List Management and Recruiting network (Recruiting Officer based in Darwin) and leadership development through Leading Teams. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FACT OR FICTION MANAGEMENT FICTION - The Club is poorly managed FACT Management of the Club improved significantly following Steve Harris' appointment in June 2004. This improvement will continue with the appointment of new CEO Paul MacNamee, one of Australia’s leading Sports Administrators. Priority areas identified for Paul include staff morale/retention, stakeholder relations (especially AFL and MCC) and brand enhancement. Long term initiatives such as China and Team Melbourne remain as key items on the Club agenda. Embracing broad community issues is a key to the Club’s brand strategy. Melbourne's pioneering of the memorable "Pink Lady" initiative established the Club as an industry leader. FICTION - The Club’s relationship with the AFL is poor FACT The Club enjoys an excellent and supportive relationship with AFL Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, the Commission, Andrew Demetriou and his executives. The Club meets with the AFL monthly to review Club finances. These meetings have been conducted for the last 4 years and are a condition of ASD funding. The Club and the AFL – in conjunction with the MCC – are collaborating on a new 5 year strategic plan for the Club, replacing the last plan which was comprehensively overhauled in 2004. Notwithstanding the closeness of the relationship with the AFL, the Club operates as an autonomous entity – as much as any other Club – without outside "interference" in our affairs.

EVERY MAN AND HIS BULLDOG by JVM Even before Melbourne's pathetic capitulation to Hawthorn last Sunday evening, the experts were lining up with their own two bobs' worth to explain everything there is to know about its current malaise. And, as if to justify their "expert" credentials, every man and his Bulldog claimed to have the intimate background knowledge, the authentic reason for the decline of the Demons in the public's lowly perception about the club and his own remedy. The common view among most was that not only was Melbourne the red hot favourite for this season's wooden spoon, it was now THE prime candidate for shipment up to the Gold Coast, the western suburbs of Sydney and if that wasn't an option, they were being consigned to play some of their home games among the cow pats and the market gardens in the wilds of Casey Fields in Cranbourne. There were all manner of explanations for the club's problems, some of them close to the mark but others were quite exotic. The problem was, according to one scribe, the proclivity of some players to drunkenness and unruliness. Others said the club lacked of brand identity and needed a new jumper - as if the Demons don't know who they are and what they stand for! Well, perhaps they don’t these days? One or two commentators even came up with the view that the team was so poor because the players were no good. Fancy that? So this week Melbourne confronts the Western Bulldogs and there are people going around thinking that the club's season is over already; that there is no chance that it can win a chook raffle let alone a game of AFL football. That view is based on a shoddy pre season and an uncomfortably poor first up display against the Hawks who were brim full of confidence and had a tall key forward who could do no wrong. Some people were even saying they hadn't seen a poorer performance from the boys in the red and blue ever in their lifetimes. Now that's a stretch because those people either have a poor memory or weren't around last year for the Richmond v Melbourne game of Round 12. In my estimation, the Demons were just as bad, if not worse, that day as they were last Sunday. We know that this was the game that virtually saw off Neale Daniher's coaching career at the club but a week later in his final game at the helm, Melbourne came just three seconds shy of a stunning turnaround victory against the Bombers at Telstra Dome. And the following week they tasted victory against Carlton! Not long after that they faced off against Saturday's opponent, the Western Bulldogs whose confidence was also at a low ebb and yet, nobody expected Melbourne to win. The fact that the Demons won so handsomely against the Bulldogs in Round 19 of 2007 means nothing in this new season but it does go to show how important confidence can be in this game of ours. In that game, it was the Doggies who were low on confidence and they struggled to match it with the Demons. Rodney Eade's team copped some monumental floggings late in the season so it might be a tad early to measure the significance of their late charge to victory at home against the Crows last Sunday. Certainly that was a better performance than that produced by the Demons later that afternoon but this week Melbourne will field a different tem to the one that fell in such a heap last week. The entire club including its supporters have been the butt of ridicule and disdain and there are questions that need to be answered by the Melbourne playing group. As always in these situations they relate to its resolve, its spirit and its will to win. THE GAME Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at MCG Saturday 29 March 2008 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins Western Bulldogs 65 wins At the MCG Melbourne 43 wins Western Bulldogs 22 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 10 wins Western Bulldogs 5 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Eade 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 10 (delayed telecast starting at 3pm) RADIO 3AW 774ABC MMM THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.00 Western Bulldogs to win $1.33 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 19.15.129 d Western Bulldogs 12.15.87 Round 19, 2007, at Telstra Dome. The Bulldogs were raging favourites despite the fact that they were going through a form slump. The Demons were in an even deeper trough and had nothing to play for but a priority draft pick. That they ultimately failed in achieving that simply task was due in part to the fact that they dominated this game from start to finish. Nathan Jones played a blinder in the midfield and the likes of Holland, Robertson and Davey found the goals enough times for their team to finish seven goals up when the final siren blew. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B Paul Wheatley Nathan Carroll Colin Garland HB Clint Bartram Daniel Bell Simon Buckley C Brad Green Brock McLean Cale Morton HF Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Lynden Dunn F Michael Newton David Neitz Russell Robertson Foll Jeff White James McDonald Nathan Jones I/C Isaac Weetra Colin Sylvia Aaron Davey Paul Johnson Emerg Ben Holland Ricky Petterd Brent Moloney In Bartram Dunn Sylvia Out Brent Moloney Ricky Petterd Adem Yze WESTERN BULLDOGS B Dale Morris Lindsay Gilbee Brian Lake HB Ryan Griffen Cameron Wight Ryan Hargrave C Nathan Eagleton Scott West Daniel Cross HF Robert Murphy Mitch Hahn Brad Johnson F Jason Akermanis Will Minson Scott Welsh Foll Ben Hudson Matthew Boyd Adam Cooney I/C Josh Hill Shaun Higgins Daniel Giansiracusa Dylan Addison Emerg Tim Callan Stephen Tiller Peter Street No change Field umpires: Farmer Kamolins Ryan THE STAGGERS When the teams last met, the Demons were going through their worst run with injury in recent memory. I wrote at the time that the club was like a boxer who has already been knocked down twice and is staggering on the ropes waiting for the bell to ring and put an end to proceedings. That's not an option at this time of the year. We are still in the month of March and there is time to control those staggers, to straighten up and throw some more punches. This week, we see some new firepower with which to throw those extra punches and we know that there are a number of players in the side who will be out to redeem themselves. Some will be playing for their careers over the coming few weeks. One of the club's veterans in Adem Yze has already paid the price for last week’s performance and others in the club's 30-year plus age group know that they must perform if they don’t wish to join him at Sandringham. Two other players dropped along with Yze are Ricky Petterd and midfielder Brent Moloney. The latter might be a surprise but the club had to do something about its lack of pace in the sense of the ability to run and in the actual movement of the football – an area where it was completely shown up against the Hawks. Their replacements are Colin Sylvia returning from a one-match suspension imposed by the leadership group and Lynden Dunn (who kicked five goals at Sandringham last week) and Clint Bartram after an absence of exactly one whole season. These changes should give the team added mobility but the club also failed last week in its key forward and key back positions. Clearly, the club did not believe that its best defender Jared Rivers was ready to play yet on return from a groin injury that restricted him to three games last year or that another tall option, James Frawley, was ready for the rigours of senior AFL football. Or perhaps it was the belief that the problem in this area might go away by itself because the Bulldogs don't have as many taller options as the Hawks. I think Melbourne's selectors have only gotten it half right and that they have taken too safe an approach to team selection. There should have been at least two more changes to a line up that received a 104-point mauling in the opening game of the season. There are still too many "comfort zone" players in a side whose major problem has been that it was allowed for too long to remain in that self-same comfort zone. At least the Demons will be exposed to a team whose veterans like Brad Johnson and Scott West know how to lead by example. Johnson played his 300th AFL game last week and, at times, was not at his best. He never stopped trying however, and ended the game a hero with three late goals that helped the bulldogs over the line. Let’s hope that James McDonald can do likewise for the Demons in his 200th game this Saturday! Unfortunately, hope is not enough to win games these days and I expect the Bulldogs with their superior pace, commitment and confidence to score an easy victory against a team that still has the staggers. The only good news for the Demons is that come the end of Round 2, they will still only be one game (and a truckload of percentage) out of the eight with still plenty of time for a revival – even though that might be against all the odds. And because the Demons got their team selection half right, I'm tipping that they will halve their losing margin from last week. Western Bulldogs by 52 points.

by JVM Even before Melbourne's pathetic capitulation to Hawthorn last Sunday evening, the experts were lining up with their own two bobs' worth to explain everything there is to know about its current malaise. And, as if to justify their "expert" credentials, every man and his Bulldog claimed to have the intimate background knowledge, the authentic reason for the decline of the Demons in the public's lowly perception about the club and his own remedy. The common view among most was that not only was Melbourne the red hot favourite for this season's wooden spoon, it was now THE prime candidate for shipment up to the Gold Coast, the western suburbs of Sydney and if that wasn't an option, they were being consigned to play some of their home games among the cow pats and the market gardens in the wilds of Casey Fields in Cranbourne. There were all manner of explanations for the club's problems, some of them close to the mark but others were quite exotic. The problem was, according to one scribe, the proclivity of some players to drunkenness and unruliness. Others said the club lacked of brand identity and needed a new jumper - as if the Demons don't know who they are and what they stand for! Well, perhaps they don’t these days? One or two commentators even came up with the view that the team was so poor because the players were no good. Fancy that? So this week Melbourne confronts the Western Bulldogs and there are people going around thinking that the club's season is over already; that there is no chance that it can win a chook raffle let alone a game of AFL football. That view is based on a shoddy pre season and an uncomfortably poor first up display against the Hawks who were brim full of confidence and had a tall key forward who could do no wrong. Some people were even saying they hadn't seen a poorer performance from the boys in the red and blue ever in their lifetimes. Now that's a stretch because those people either have a poor memory or weren't around last year for the Richmond v Melbourne game of Round 12. In my estimation, the Demons were just as bad, if not worse, that day as they were last Sunday. We know that this was the game that virtually saw off Neale Daniher's coaching career at the club but a week later in his final game at the helm, Melbourne came just three seconds shy of a stunning turnaround victory against the Bombers at Telstra Dome. And the following week they tasted victory against Carlton! Not long after that they faced off against Saturday's opponent, the Western Bulldogs whose confidence was also at a low ebb and yet, nobody expected Melbourne to win. The fact that the Demons won so handsomely against the Bulldogs in Round 19 of 2007 means nothing in this new season but it does go to show how important confidence can be in this game of ours. In that game, it was the Doggies who were low on confidence and they struggled to match it with the Demons. Rodney Eade's team copped some monumental floggings late in the season so it might be a tad early to measure the significance of their late charge to victory at home against the Crows last Sunday. Certainly that was a better performance than that produced by the Demons later that afternoon but this week Melbourne will field a different tem to the one that fell in such a heap last week. The entire club including its supporters have been the butt of ridicule and disdain and there are questions that need to be answered by the Melbourne playing group. As always in these situations they relate to its resolve, its spirit and its will to win. THE GAME Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at MCG Saturday 29 March 2008 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins Western Bulldogs 65 wins At the MCG Melbourne 43 wins Western Bulldogs 22 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 10 wins Western Bulldogs 5 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Eade 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 10 (delayed telecast starting at 3pm) RADIO 3AW 774ABC MMM THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.00 Western Bulldogs to win $1.33 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 19.15.129 d Western Bulldogs 12.15.87 Round 19, 2007, at Telstra Dome. The Bulldogs were raging favourites despite the fact that they were going through a form slump. The Demons were in an even deeper trough and had nothing to play for but a priority draft pick. That they ultimately failed in achieving that simply task was due in part to the fact that they dominated this game from start to finish. Nathan Jones played a blinder in the midfield and the likes of Holland, Robertson and Davey found the goals enough times for their team to finish seven goals up when the final siren blew. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B Paul Wheatley Nathan Carroll Colin Garland HB Clint Bartram Daniel Bell Simon Buckley C Brad Green Brock McLean Cale Morton HF Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Lynden Dunn F Michael Newton David Neitz Russell Robertson Foll Jeff White James McDonald Nathan Jones I/C Isaac Weetra Colin Sylvia Aaron Davey Paul Johnson Emerg Ben Holland Ricky Petterd Brent Moloney In Bartram Dunn Sylvia Out Brent Moloney Ricky Petterd Adem Yze WESTERN BULLDOGS B Dale Morris Lindsay Gilbee Brian Lake HB Ryan Griffen Cameron Wight Ryan Hargrave C Nathan Eagleton Scott West Daniel Cross HF Robert Murphy Mitch Hahn Brad Johnson F Jason Akermanis Will Minson Scott Welsh Foll Ben Hudson Matthew Boyd Adam Cooney I/C Josh Hill Shaun Higgins Daniel Giansiracusa Dylan Addison Emerg Tim Callan Stephen Tiller Peter Street No change Field umpires: Farmer Kamolins Ryan THE STAGGERS When the teams last met, the Demons were going through their worst run with injury in recent memory. I wrote at the time that the club was like a boxer who has already been knocked down twice and is staggering on the ropes waiting for the bell to ring and put an end to proceedings. That's not an option at this time of the year. We are still in the month of March and there is time to control those staggers, to straighten up and throw some more punches. This week, we see some new firepower with which to throw those extra punches and we know that there are a number of players in the side who will be out to redeem themselves. Some will be playing for their careers over the coming few weeks. One of the club's veterans in Adem Yze has already paid the price for last week’s performance and others in the club's 30-year plus age group know that they must perform if they don’t wish to join him at Sandringham. Two other players dropped along with Yze are Ricky Petterd and midfielder Brent Moloney. The latter might be a surprise but the club had to do something about its lack of pace in the sense of the ability to run and in the actual movement of the football – an area where it was completely shown up against the Hawks. Their replacements are Colin Sylvia returning from a one-match suspension imposed by the leadership group and Lynden Dunn (who kicked five goals at Sandringham last week) and Clint Bartram after an absence of exactly one whole season. These changes should give the team added mobility but the club also failed last week in its key forward and key back positions. Clearly, the club did not believe that its best defender Jared Rivers was ready to play yet on return from a groin injury that restricted him to three games last year or that another tall option, James Frawley, was ready for the rigours of senior AFL football. Or perhaps it was the belief that the problem in this area might go away by itself because the Bulldogs don't have as many taller options as the Hawks. I think Melbourne's selectors have only gotten it half right and that they have taken too safe an approach to team selection. There should have been at least two more changes to a line up that received a 104-point mauling in the opening game of the season. There are still too many "comfort zone" players in a side whose major problem has been that it was allowed for too long to remain in that self-same comfort zone. At least the Demons will be exposed to a team whose veterans like Brad Johnson and Scott West know how to lead by example. Johnson played his 300th AFL game last week and, at times, was not at his best. He never stopped trying however, and ended the game a hero with three late goals that helped the bulldogs over the line. Let’s hope that James McDonald can do likewise for the Demons in his 200th game this Saturday! Unfortunately, hope is not enough to win games these days and I expect the Bulldogs with their superior pace, commitment and confidence to score an easy victory against a team that still has the staggers. The only good news for the Demons is that come the end of Round 2, they will still only be one game (and a truckload of percentage) out of the eight with still plenty of time for a revival – even though that might be against all the odds. And because the Demons got their team selection half right, I'm tipping that they will halve their losing margin from last week. Western Bulldogs by 55 points.

Demonology – Demonland Player Sponsorship Yes, once again the twin web sites of Demonology and Demonland have teamed together to support the club with player sponsorship of Clint Bartram for Season 2008. Not only that but we have arranged that the clubs recruiting manager – Barry Prendergast will address the group post season and post draft to give us the "inside" story of our recruits for the 2009 Season. Not to mention all the juicy bits about the goings on at the draft and what the other clubs are up to. For those that have been with us before, we will be arranging a get-together with Clint during the season. In the past this has been before one of the MCG games. This presents problems in itself as it cannot be done if Clint is playing. We remember that in his first year he played 22 games so it meant that we were left waiting for an opportunity that never came. So it may be that we will try to organise something during the week, around his training and recovery schedule. Barry Prendergast has agreed to pick up where Craig Cameron left off, and it is agreed by all who have attended these functions in the past that this is the greatest value for money possible. Ordinary supporters simply don’t get access to the information made available to our group so join up to become one of the privileged!! Whispering Jack and George will also try to organise a 3rd event and we will let you know about this after we kick around some ideas. All members of our group will receive player sponsorship pins in recognition of their support. But most importantly it is the support that you and our sites provide to the player and the club through this scheme. And all for only $125!! To be part of the scheme, simply send a cheque, cash or postal note to: Player sponsorship P.O. Box 394 Port Melbourne 3207 If you could make the cheques to "cash" it would be appreciated, since the organisers have posted the sponsorship monies up-front. Any surplus is always forwarded to the club. Hoping to see you join with us for Season 2008.

I've merged the two threads we had running on this topic. Our nominated vote givers for Saturday's game v. Western Bulldogs are the first three in this thread:- dees_rule_4eva Maybe next year demondomination But you must have your votes placed on the site by midnight on Saturday night. Good luck and hopefully, your votes will weigh a lot more than Sunday's votes!

Rank (LW) Total Tipster 1 - 7 rjhrjh 2 - 6 achirnside 2 - 6 Alpha33 2 - 6 DeMoNiC 2 - 6 petejh2000 2 - 6 Pinball_Wizard 2 - 6 Scoop Junior 2 - 6 Tim - Go Dees 9 - 5 aronbrandon 9 - 5 barpen 9 - 5 bl3281 9 - 5 BrockMclean 9 - 5 Dappadan 9 - 5 deanox 9 - 5 deesthisyear 9 - 5 Demonland 9 - 5 demonsflag555657 9 - 5 glamorizeme 9 - 5 great_gatsby 9 - 5 Kieranbj 9 - 5 KrazyJay78 9 - 5 mo64 9 - 5 mpinnell 9 - 5 old man rivers 9 - 5 paliosiana 9 - 5 slamevil 9 - 5 Super_Slater 9 - 5 The Natural 9 - 5 Whispering_Jack 30 - 4 belzebub59 30 - 4 BigKev Demon 30 - 4 CarnTheDees 30 - 4 Clyde_Cabbie 30 - 4 dee'luded 30 - 4 DEE32 30 - 4 DeeReaming 30 - 4 Joe_Gutnick64 38 - 3 Davey's sugar daddy 38 - 3 The Little Devils 38 - 3 thegoldenmonkey 41 - 2 -FitZ^ 41 - 2 Edorion

THE CALL OF NATURE by Whispering Jack Please forgive me for resorting to this but it has been a big wee(k) in the world of toilet humour. First there was Fev's performance a few days before Carlton's opening game of the season, then there was Kane Johnson's big effort in relieving himself on the St Kilda Road Police Station at the weekend but that wasn't the end of it! The legend goes that a particular junior football coach would select a different captain to lead his under 10 football team each week. The day he chose young Freddie, he told his players to get behind their skipper and follow him out onto the ground and they followed their instructions to the letter. The problem was that little Freddie received the call of nature as he ran out onto the park and headed straight back to the conveniences … followed by twenty nine and ten year olds who dutifully stayed there until their skipper had relieved himself. Meanwhile, parents and friends, umpires, the oppositon team and one red-faced coach waited … I always suspected that this story was untrue - that it was one of the urban myths of junior sport. It couldn’t have possibly happened that way, surely? Now I'm not so sure because I would never have believed what Melbourne dished out to its supporters yesterday either. The Demons' abysmal performance was so reminiscent of those under 10's as to be uncanny. The skipper led them out and took them (and several thousand supporters) with him to the toilet. From go to whoa it was a deeply embarrassing display characterised by a lack of leadership – not just from Neita but from the entire leadership group who should be hanging their collective heads in shame today because, like Freddie's under 10's before his big match, they certainly left their coach and their supporters totally red-faced. Indeed, the day highlighted what has been so patently obvious for a long time. The club's aging players have lost the drive and the zest needed to lead the younger members of the team by example in the heat of battle. The decision to retain as captain a player who has seen one too many afternoons and evenings of football and the general "oldish" nature of the leadership appeared a risky strategy when it was announced. It came home to roost yesterday in practice as an abysmal failure. If the leadership group wants to show some leadership they should gather themselves together and fine every player the amount of their earnings and give the money to the Royal Children's Hospital. Then at least something good will have come from the day. And some of them should prepare to see out the remainder of the season at Sandringham while the club starts the process of rebuilding its list and finding 22 players who have some pride in their performances as professional footballers. There is no quick fix solution at a club with a broken list, no apparent game plan or the skills and desire to execute it if it existed. Perhaps now, I think I can understand the cloak of secrecy over training and why there have been so many sessions closed to the public over the off season. Were they hiding the panic and fear of the football department at the lack of skills and ability of the playing list or their own inability to do something about it? What have they been doing while the world wasn't watching? The greatest insult delivered by those who wore the jumper yesterday was the lack of team spirit. Of all of the rubbish I have seen dished out by our club in the past, this was the most disappointing and not just because it happens to be the freshest in my memory. Where was the talking when player after player was run down by an opponent? Where was the effort like the one I saw from a virtually unknown Hawk defender Tom Murphy who, despite the fact that his team was more than 100 points ahead and it was late in the game, chased and caught Russell Robertson when a certain Demon goal beckoned? Here was a young kid from the opposition demonstrating more of what the game is about than our leadership group with a thousand games under its belt. Shameful! If there is one silver lining on the horizon it is the fact that there are half a dozen players on the comeback trail after spending most of the pre-season recuperating from injury and one who was out yesterday (rightfully) suspended for disciplinary reasons. They might be a little underdone and lacking in match practice but they could not have done any worse than the 100 point flogging Melbourne received from Hawthorn yesterday. We need the football department to do what it failed to do in the past couple of years – to bite the bullet and start handing out some pink retirement slips to those who are resting on the laurels of the past. We desperately need to find and develop players on the list who have the pride and the fight and yes, … ahem … the shit in them to match it out on the ground with the other fifteen teams in the competition. Hawthorn 5.5.35 7.10.52 15.12.102 23.16.154 Melbourne 1.1.7 1.5.11 2.10.22 6.14.50 Goals Hawthorn Franklin 6 Roughead 3 Osborne 3 Dew 2 Boyle 2 Stokes 2 Campbell 2 Taylor Young Rioli Melbourne Robertson 3 Green 2 Newton Best Hawthorn Bateman Franklin Mitchell Gilham Osborne Ladson Dew Birchall Melbourne Jones P Johnson Moloney Buckley McLean and the doorkeeper. Injuries Hawthorn Croad (wrist) Melbourne How do you suffer injuries when you're always five metres behind your opponents? Reports Nil Umpires Farmer Kennedy Nicholls Crowd 40,141 at the MCG

by Whispering Jack Please forgive me for resorting to this but it has been a big wee(k) in the world of toilet humour. First there was Fev's performance a few days before Carlton's opening game of the season, then there was Kane Johnson's big effort in relieving himself on the St Kilda Road Police Station at the weekend but that wasn't the end of it! The legend goes that a particular junior football coach would select a different captain to lead his under 10 football team each week. The day he chose young Freddie, he told his players to get behind their skipper and follow him out onto the ground and they followed their instructions to the letter. The problem was that little Freddie received the call of nature as he ran out onto the park and headed straight back to the conveniences … followed by twenty nine and ten year olds who dutifully stayed there until their skipper had relieved himself. Meanwhile, parents and friends, umpires, the oppositon team and one red-faced coach waited … I always suspected that this story was untrue - that it was one of the urban myths of junior sport. It couldn’t have possibly happened that way, surely? Now I'm not so sure because I would never have believed what Melbourne dished out to its supporters yesterday either. The Demons' abysmal performance was so reminiscent of those under 10's as to be uncanny. The skipper led them out and took them (and several thousand supporters) with him to the toilet. From go to whoa it was a deeply embarrassing display characterised by a lack of leadership – not just from Neita but from the entire leadership group who should be hanging their collective heads in shame today because, like Freddie's under 10's before his big match, they certainly left their coach and their supporters totally red-faced. Indeed, the day highlighted what has been so patently obvious for a long time. The club's aging players have lost the drive and the zest needed to lead the younger members of the team by example in the heat of battle. The decision to retain as captain a player who has seen one too many afternoons and evenings of football and the general "oldish" nature of the leadership appeared a risky strategy when it was announced. It came home to roost yesterday in practice as an abysmal failure. If the leadership group wants to show some leadership they should gather themselves together and fine every player the amount of their earnings and give the money to the Royal Children's Hospital. Then at least something good will have come from the day. And some of them should prepare to see out the remainder of the season at Sandringham while the club starts the process of rebuilding its list and finding 22 players who have some pride in their performances as professional footballers. There is no quick fix solution at a club with a broken list, no apparent game plan or the skills and desire to execute it if it existed. Perhaps now, I think I can understand the cloak of secrecy over training and why there have been so many sessions closed to the public over the off season. Were they hiding the panic and fear of the football department at the lack of skills and ability of the playing list or their own inability to do something about it? What have they been doing while the world wasn't watching? The greatest insult delivered by those who wore the jumper yesterday was the lack of team spirit. Of all of the rubbish I have seen dished out by our club in the past, this was the most disappointing and not just because it happens to be the freshest in my memory. Where was the talking when player after player was run down by an opponent? Where was the effort like the one I saw from a virtually unknown Hawk defender Tom Murphy who, despite the fact that his team was more than 100 points ahead and it was late in the game, chased and caught Russell Robertson when a certain Demon goal beckoned? Here was a young kid from the opposition demonstrating more of what the game is about than our leadership group with a thousand games under its belt. Shameful! If there is one silver lining on the horizon it is the fact that there are half a dozen players on the comeback trail after spending most of the pre-season recuperating from injury and one who was out yesterday (rightfully) suspended for disciplinary reasons. They might be a little underdone and lacking in match practice but they could not have done any worse than the 100 point flogging Melbourne received from Hawthorn yesterday. We need the football department to do what it failed to do in the past couple of years – to bite the bullet and start handing out some pink retirement slips to those who are resting on the laurels of the past. We desperately need to find and develop players on the list who have the pride and the fight and yes, … ahem … the shit in them to match it out on the ground with the other fifteen teams in the competition. Hawthorn 5.5.35 7.10.52 15.12.102 23.16.154 Melbourne 1.1.7 1.5.11 2.10.22 6.14.50 Goals Hawthorn Franklin 6 Roughead 3 Osborne 3 Dew 2 Boyle 2 Stokes 2 Campbell 2 Taylor Young Rioli Melbourne Robertson 3 Green 2 Newton Best Hawthorn Bateman Franklin Mitchell Gilham Osborne Ladson Dew Birchall Melbourne Jones P Johnson Moloney Buckley McLean and the doorkeeper. Injuries Hawthorn Croad (wrist) Melbourne How do you suffer injuries when you're always five metres behind your opponents? Reports Nil Umpires Farmer Kennedy Nicholls Crowd 40,141 at the MCG

THE GREATEST ... by Whispering Jack The park in my neighbourhood is a popular haunt for walkers, joggers, runners and even elite athletes. One of its users, a woman in her sixties who is often seen shuffling around its perimeter, was once a champion athlete and is part of my tenuous link to a man who stands among the greatest Demons of them all. Her name is Adrienne Beames, the daughter of pint sized Melbourne rover Percy James Beames who died four years ago this week at the age of 92. For those of my generation who grew up in the club's golden era of the fifties and sixties it's virtually a blasphemy to declare anyone other than Ronald Dale Barassi as the man to rightfully occupy the loftiest point in the stratosphere of the oldest football club which is about to celebrate its 150th year of existence. Barassi was a dynamic footballer whose steely-eyed determination, strength and courage swayed many a game in his team's favour. He was a true champion and played 204 games for the club including six winning grand finals in a decade - 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960 and 1964. He was captain of the last two premiership sides and, his departure to Carlton after the last, marked the beginning of Melbourne's steep decline from powerhouse to also ran. When talk comes around to who was the greatest Demon of all time, there is never an issue in my mind - it has to be Barassi. There could never be any other in the past, certainly (with all due respect to Skipper David Neitz) no one in the present and none in the foreseeable future. There are some who hold out high hopes for a Brock McLean or even a Cale Morton (who makes his debut today) to one day step up and wrench away the mantle but, for now, that day remains a far off dream. Recently however, I came across a book by Ken Piesse, "The Greatest Game" and read an article that caused me to somewhat rethink my position. The item was about the Norm Smith Medal – an award for the best man afield in a VFL/AFL Grand Final and the end result is that Percy Beames has been elevated considerably in my estimation. The medal (ironically named after another Demon great who coached those premiership winning teams of the fifties and sixties and was Barassi's mentor) was inaugurated in 1979 but some newspaper writers got together later and compiled a retrospective list going back to the first VFL grand final in 1898 (there was no grand final under the system used by the VFL in its first season, 1897). Barassi featured as the best player in 1957 and 1959 but Percy Beames went one better and was judged to be best afield in three grand finals in a row from 1939 to 1941. That's a feat that makes him unique among the thousands of footballers who have played among the elite of the sport in its entire history – a premier player in three premiership teams at the very highest level! Percy Beames was born almost a century ago, on 27 July 1911, in Ballarat. He was a pint-sized rover (170cm, 70kg) and an all round sportsman who played over 200 games of both VFL football and District cricket – the only man to do so. He played 213 games for Melbourne between 1931 and 1944, captain-coached the club (1942-44), played in three premiership teams (1939-41), represented Victoria and was named in the Demons' team of the century as a forward pocket rover. He also played 205 cricket matches for Melbourne and Victoria, averaging 51.5 in 18 matches for the state team including three centuries and a highest score of 226 not out against Tasmania in Launceston in 1938. Some say that, but for the advent of war, he would have gone on to higher honours; he might have had the privilege of batting with the great Donald Bradman in the Australian Test team. Beames retired from playing football and cricket in 1945 and turned his hand to sports writing. Naturally, he became a high achiever in that field as well - he was the highly respected chief football and cricket writer with the Melbourne Age for thirty years until 1976. He was also a regular panellist on the ABC's legendary football programme, which featured icons of the early days of television's football broadcasting in the likes of Doug Bigelow, Thorold Merrett, "Chicken" Smallhorn, Doug Heywood and Tony Ongarello. Percy Beames was a life member of the Melbourne Football Club, the Melbourne Cricket Club, the Australian Football Media Association and a member of the AFL Hall of Fame. They even named a bar after him in the MCC Members and he always remained an enthusiastic Demon fan. I recall sitting near to Percy on occasion in his later years watching games and sharing the odd nod of appreciation of a victory with him at the end of a game. It is the same nod of appreciation that I still give his daughter Adrienne as she shuffles by in the course of doing her laps around the park near my home. You wouldn't know it now but almost 37 years ago, on 31 August 1971 she performed one of the greatest feats in the history of women's sport. On that day, she became the first woman ever to run a sub-three-hour marathon, smashing that barrier by almost a quarter of an hour with a time of 2:46:30. She inherited her father's sporting genes: both were winners in their time! These days, we all move a little slower but her presence continues to serve a reminder to me of one of the club's greatest ever as it enters its 150th year – a man who rose to the occasion when it mattered most. Percy Beames hasn't quite removed the great Ronald Dale Barassi from his high place on the pedestal of Demon sporting heroes that I established as a young boy. It's not really possible to replace the heroes of a childhood lived in such a golden era but in that time, Barassi was the epitome of a winner as was Percy in his time. Their combined accomplishments of five best on grounds in grand finals set the benchmark for the generations to come. My point is that each was the greatest Demon of his time but too many of our heroes are from a time in the far too distant past. As we enter our 150th year, will someone from the new generation step up, meet the challenge and stake his claim for the title of the greatest Demon of them all? MELBOURNE'S TEAM OF THE CENTURY, 24 JUNE 2000 Full Back - Robert "Tassie" Johnson Back Pocket (Rover) - John Beckwith Back Pocket (Ruck) - Donald Cordner Half Back Flank - Noel McMahen Centre Half Back - Gary Hardeman Half Back Flank - Don Williams Wing - Brian Dixon Centre - Allan La Fontaine Wing - Robert Flower Half Forward Flank - Hassa Mann Centre Half Forward - Ivor Warne-Smith Half Forward Flank - Garry Lyon Forward Pocket (Ruck) - Jack Mueller Full Forward - Norm Smith Forward Pocket (Rover) - Percy Beames Ruck - Denis Cordner Ruck Rover - Ron Barassi Junior Rover - Stuart Spencer Coach - Norm Smith Captain - Ron Barassi Junior Vice-Captain - Robert Flower Interchange - Frank Adams, Albert Chadwick, Wally Lock, Laurie Mithen, Jim Stynes, Todd Viney Emergencies - Stan Alves, Bob Johnson Jnr, Ian Ridley, Greg Wells MELBOURNE'S BEST ON GROUND - VFL/AFL GRAND FINALS 1900 - Vic Cumberland 1926 - Jim Abernethy 1939 - Percy Beames 1940 - Percy Beames 1941 - Percy Beames 1948 - Alby Rodda 1948 (replay) - Jack Mueller 1955 - Denis Cordner 1956 - Stuart Spencer 1957 - Ron Barassi Junior 1959 - Ron Barassi Junior 1960 - Laurie Mithen 1964 - Frank Adams

by Whispering Jack The park in my neighbourhood is a popular haunt for walkers, joggers, runners and even elite athletes. One of its users, a woman in her sixties who is often seen shuffling around its perimeter, was once a champion athlete and is part of my tenuous link to a man who stands among the greatest Demons of them all. Her name is Adrienne Beames, the daughter of pint sized Melbourne rover Percy James Beames who died four years ago this week at the age of 92. For those of my generation who grew up in the club's golden era of the fifties and sixties it's virtually a blasphemy to declare anyone other than Ronald Dale Barassi as the man to rightfully occupy the loftiest point in the stratosphere of the oldest football club which is about to celebrate its 150th year of existence. Barassi was a dynamic footballer whose steely-eyed determination, strength and courage swayed many a game in his team's favour. He was a true champion and played 204 games for the club including six winning grand finals in a decade - 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960 and 1964. He was captain of the last two premiership sides and, his departure to Carlton after the last, marked the beginning of Melbourne’s steep decline from powerhouse to also ran. When talk comes around to who was the greatest Demon of all time, there is never an issue in my mind - it has to be Barassi. There could never be any other in the past, certainly (with all due respect to Skipper David Neitz) no one in the present and none in the foreseeable future. There are some who hold out high hopes for a Brock McLean or even a Cale Morton (who makes his debut today) to one day step up and wrench away the mantle but, for now, that day remains a far off dream. Recently however, I came across a book by Ken Piesse, "The Greatest Game" and read an article that caused me to somewhat rethink my position. The item was about the Norm Smith Medal – an award for the best man afield in a VFL/AFL Grand Final and the end result is that Percy Beames has been elevated considerably in my estimation. The medal (ironically named after another Demon great who coached those premiership winning teams of the fifties and sixties and was Barassi's mentor) was inaugurated in 1979 but some newspaper writers got together later and compiled a retrospective list going back to the first VFL grand final in 1898 (there was no grand final under the system used by the VFL in its first season, 1897). Barassi featured as the best player in 1957 and 1959 but Percy Beames went one better and was judged to be best afield in three grand finals in a row from 1939 to 1941. That's a feat that makes him unique among the thousands of footballers who have played among the elite of the sport in its entire history – a premier player in three premiership teams at the very highest level! Percy Beames was born almost a century ago, on 27 July 1911, in Ballarat. He was a pint-sized rover (170cm, 70kg) and an all round sportsman who played over 200 games of both VFL football and District cricket – the only man to do so. He played 213 games for Melbourne between 1931 and 1944, captain-coached the club (1942-44), played in three premiership teams (1939-41), represented Victoria and was named in the Demons' team of the century as a forward pocket rover. He also played 205 cricket matches for Melbourne and Victoria, averaging 51.5 in 18 matches for the state team including three centuries and a highest score of 226 not out against Tasmania in Launceston in 1938. Some say that, but for the advent of war, he would have gone on to higher honours; he might have had the privilege of batting with the great Donald Bradman in the Australian Test team. Beames retired from playing football and cricket in 1945 and turned his hand to sports writing. Naturally, he became a high achiever in that field as well - he was the highly respected chief football and cricket writer with the Melbourne Age for thirty years until 1976. He was also a regular panellist on the ABC's legendary football programme, which featured icons of the early days of television's football broadcasting in the likes of Doug Bigelow, Thorold Merrett, "Chicken" Smallhorn, Doug Heywood and Tony Ongarello. Percy Beames was a life member of the Melbourne Football Club, the Melbourne Cricket Club, the Australian Football Media Association and a member of the AFL Hall of Fame. They even named a bar after him in the MCC Members and he always remained an enthusiastic Demon fan. I recall sitting near to Percy on occasion in his later years watching games and sharing the odd nod of appreciation of a victory with him at the end of a game. It is the same nod of appreciation that I still give his daughter Adrienne as she shuffles by in the course of doing her laps around the park near my home. You wouldn't know it now but almost 37 years ago, on 31 August 1971 she performed one of the greatest feats in the history of women's sport. On that day, she became the first woman ever to run a sub-three-hour marathon, smashing that barrier by almost a quarter of an hour with a time of 2:46:30. She inherited her father's sporting genes: both were winners in their time! These days, we all move a little slower but her presence continues to serve a reminder to me of one of the club's greatest ever as it enters its 150th year – a man who rose to the occasion when it mattered most. Percy Beames hasn't quite removed the great Ronald Dale Barassi from his high place on the pedestal of Demon sporting heroes that I established as a young boy. It's not really possible to replace the heroes of a childhood lived in such a golden era but in that time, Barassi was the epitome of a winner as was Percy in his time. Their combined accomplishments of five best on grounds in grand finals set the benchmark for the generations to come. My point is that each was the greatest Demon of his time but too many of our heroes are from a time in the far too distant past. As we enter our 150th year, will someone from the new generation step up, meet the challenge and stake his claim for the title of the greatest Demon of them all? MELBOURNE'S TEAM OF THE CENTURY, 24 JUNE 2000 Full Back - Robert "Tassie" Johnson Back Pocket (Rover) - John Beckwith Back Pocket (Ruck) - Donald Cordner Half Back Flank - Noel McMahen Centre Half Back - Gary Hardeman Half Back Flank - Don Williams Wing - Brian Dixon Centre - Allan La Fontaine Wing - Robert Flower Half Forward Flank - Hassa Mann Centre Half Forward - Ivor Warne-Smith Half Forward Flank - Garry Lyon Forward Pocket (Ruck) - Jack Mueller Full Forward - Norm Smith Forward Pocket (Rover) - Percy Beames Ruck - Denis Cordner Ruck Rover - Ron Barassi Junior Rover - Stuart Spencer Coach - Norm Smith Captain - Ron Barassi Junior Vice-Captain - Robert Flower Interchange - Frank Adams, Albert Chadwick, Wally Lock, Laurie Mithen, Jim Stynes, Todd Viney Emergencies - Stan Alves, Bob Johnson Jnr, Ian Ridley, Greg Wells MELBOURNE'S BEST ON GROUND - VFL/AFL GRAND FINALS 1900 - Vic Cumberland 1926 - Jim Abernethy 1939 - Percy Beames 1940 - Percy Beames 1941 - Percy Beames 1948 - Alby Rodda 1948 (replay) - Jack Mueller 1955 - Denis Cordner 1956 - Stuart Spencer 1957 - Ron Barassi Junior 1959 - Ron Barassi Junior 1960 - Laurie Mithen 1964 - Frank Adams

Is there any special seating for Redlegs members?

THE WINNING STREAK by the Oracle Why is everyone dumping on Melbourne? I don't understand why the Demons are so on the nose that they are just about everybody's favourite for the wooden spoon when this time last year they were considered a leading contender for the flag and certainly, the best of the Victorian teams and ahead of Geelong who eventually won the flag. So they had a bad year - due greatly to a horror run with injuries but, in a sport where the cliché tells us that you're only as good as your last game, they are among the few who can boast such a win as we enter the new AFL season. After much speculation, it's now official that back in Round 22, Melbourne won its last game in brilliant fashion when it overran Carlton. The AFL has dispelled any doubts about that last round victory by making the definitive pronouncement that the Blues weren't tanking as scurrilously alleged by some observers of the game. The win against them was our last game for 2007. We won it and we were officially very, very good despite an injury list that saw some 15 or so senior listed players sitting on the sidelines. Things should be so much better now. The pundits say that the club has recruited well and we know the injury list has been pared back from the astronomical numbers of last year. The club has dispensed with its makeshift coach, it has ditched that god-awful old game plan that never worked, said farewell to one or two of its lazier types, rid itself of players whose disposal of the football and general decision making were nothing short of pathetic and it changed tea ladies in the office (we know that because the redundancy pay out was massive). The Melbourne Football Club is celebrating its 150th year and it's going to do it in style. There's a new broom sweeping through the club bringing new faces with it both on and off the field. We have a new CEO who has tasted success at the top of his own chosen sport and then as an administrator, a new general manager of football, a new head coach, an almost new coaching panel and hallelujah – a new game plan! There should be so much excitement and anticipation ahead of the new football season but, alas, there isn't. In fact, things are so bad that I was accosted in the street yesterday by a person who described me as "the last Melbourne fan left in the world". Why the doom and gloom? You might point to four forgettable pre season games in which the team was totally crushed and outplayed but for heaven's sake – they were only Mickey Mouse stuff - a NAB Cup game with its bells, whistles, nine point goals and whacky rules at Skilled Stadium and the rest were practice matches played at bush venues where the mozzies outnumbered spectators! Get real Demon fans – the season starts on Sunday. What's gone before is just the foundation for a marathon of football that lasts for over six months. It's just a warm up and we all know that you never show your real hand too early. When a new season starts, everything that has come before is history. The first true test for the Melbourne Football Club in its 150th year will come this Sunday at the MCG. THE GAME: Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG - 23 March 2008 at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Hawthorn 73 wins Melbourne 74 wins At the G: Hawthorn 33 wins Melbourne 36 wins Since 2000: Hawthorn 6 wins Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches: Clarkson 0 Bailey 0 MEDIA: TV: Fox Sports 1 at 4.00pm RADIO: 3AW, SEN, TripleM, ABC774. THE BETTING: Hawthorn to win $1.30 - Melbourne to win $3.25. LAST TIME THEY MET: Hawthorn 17.14.116 defeated Melbourne 14.10.94 at the MCG in Round 2, 2007. The game was to become a metaphor for Melbourne 2007. The Demons had lost Matthew Whelan and Brock McLean to injury the week before in Round 1 against St. Kilda and Clint Bartram to what became a season ending knee injury at training during the week. By quarter time in this game, David Neitz had gone down with a knee injury and Russell Robertson followed suit later in the game. There was a spirited fight back near the end but it was not to be and some ordinary umpiring decisions killed whatever sprit was left in the team. The season was shot there and then. THE TEAMS: HAWTHORN B Brent Guerra Stephen Gilham Grant Birchall HB Rick Ladson Trent Croad Thomas Murphy C Stuart Dew Sam Mitchell Clinton Young HF Cyril Rioli Tim Boyle Chance Bateman F Mark Williams Jarryd Roughead Lance Franklin Foll Simon Taylor Brad Sewell Travis Tuck I/C Robert Campbell Xavier Ellis Michael Osborne Cameron Stokes EMG Tim Clarke Josh Kennedy Jarryd Morton New Stuart Dew (Selection 45 - 2007 National AFL Draft from Port Adelaide) Cameron Stokes (Rookie Selection - 2007 National AFL Rookie Draft from Darwin) Cyril Rioli (Selection 12 - 2007 National AFL Draft from St Marys NT) MELBOURNE B Paul Wheatley Nathan Carroll Colin Garland HB Ricky Petterd Daniel Bell James McDonald C Brad Green Brock McLean Simon Buckley HF Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Adem Yze F Michael Newton David Neitz Russell Robertson Foll Jeff White Aaron Davey Nathan Jones I/C Paul Johnson Brent Moloney Cale Morton Isaac Weetra EMG Jace Bode James Frawley Mark Jamar New Cale Morton (Selection 4 - 2007 National AFL Draft from Claremont) Isaac Weetra (Selection 62 - 2006 National AFL Draft from Port Adelaide Magpies) FIELD UMPIRES Farmer Kennedy M Nicholls WHO WILL WIN AND WHY: I indicated above that everything that has come before is history and, on that basis, I am discounting the fact that Hawthorn is starting as the firm favourite paying just $1.30 for the win. So what? When the teams me early last season, it was the Demons who were the raging hot favourites against the Hawks who had been thrashed mercilessly up in Brisbane. It was less than twelve months before that when Melbourne beat Hawthorn by 75 points in a Round 8 game under lights. Things change rapidly and overnight in this sport. Despite its shaky start, Hawthorn soon became one of the glamour sides of 2007 and was headed for a top four placing until some heads started getting a little big and a lack of discipline crept into their makeup. That's one of the reasons why they are going into this game minus four of their biggest names – Luke Hodge, Shane Crawford, Jordan Lewis and Campbell Brown. Melbourne has had its share of recent discipline problems as well with Nathan Carroll, Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia all transgressing off the field and suffering the club's self-imposed discipline as a result. Sylvia will miss this week due to a one-week suspension for missing a training session. That sort of discipline might be considered by some as penalising the team but that's a piss weak excuse for use by losers like Carlton, which went soft on Brendan Fevola and paid the price last night. On the other hand, Melbourne will benefit from the stand it has taken both in the short and the long run. On that subject, even if you look at the exposed form of the two clubs over the last month, the Hawks don't stand up all that impressively. In the opening round of the NAB Cup, they fell in by less than a goal against the heavily undermanned Swans in a result that was so suspect that it warranted an official AFL investigation. They then thrashed Carlton but big deal! The Blues were without the Me$$iah and their full forward spent most of the night standing around contemplating the goal posts as if they were trees or a perhaps a nightclub window. The Hawks last two practice matches saw them on the losing end both times and we shouldn't forget that they were allowed to use their suspended players for those games. The battle of the midfields will be telling on Sunday and this is where I think the Demons will come up trumps. With Brock McLean, Nathan Jones, James McDonald and Aaron Davey in the middle and backed up by the likes of Cameron Bruce, Brad Green and speedsters Paul Wheatley and Simon Buckley, I expect the Dees to have too much class and pace for a Hawk midfield bereft of three players who are worth 75 possessions a week. The Hawks will be left relying on skipper Sam Mitchell and a bevy of second stringers. I can't see them managing the workload and preventing the Demons from controlling the corridor. The Demon midfield lineup will be far superior to what it has put on the field so far in the practice match games, which were, as I said above, really Mickey Mouse stuff. That was the feeling I got when I saw the game at Casey Fields a fortnight ago. For instance, coach Dean Bailey had Davey and Jones operating in tandem in the midfield early in a closely fought game but then he simply packed them away for when the real stuff starts. Melbourne will need to be on top of its game up forward and, if David Neitz can regain his touch and beat Trent Croad, the Demon forward line should be well on its way to posting a winning total. It's time for Michael Newton to come out of his shell and display the freakish magic he showed to some of the fans who followed him at Sandringham. If he happens to arrive this week, the rest of us are in for a treat. The other forward worry for the Hawks is Robbo. The big rumour sweeping the entertainment industry is that the It Takes Two camera crew are booked to film his duet with Kate Ceberano in the club rooms after the game singing "It's a Grand Old Flag". There's been a lot said about the Hawks' twin towers of Franklin and Roughhead and you can't get away from the fact that it's a big gig to prevent them from stamping their class over this game. Sometimes however, the weight of expectation can do strange things to players. In the absence of the big four suspended Hawks, the burden of having to be their game breaker could prove too much for Buddy who will receive more attention than normal for his troubles. Now that we are in "fair dinkum mode", I expect a change in the team's overall intensity and attack on the ball, which was somewhat lacking in the rural settings the club was forced to play on throughout the pre-season. This week they are back at the home of football and the home of the Melbourne Football Club for virtually all of the past century and a half. This is where the Demons thrive and I'm tipping Melbourne to revive its supporters' hopes for the season, shock the football world and continue on with its winning streak by beating the Hawks by 27 points.

by the Oracle Why is everyone dumping on Melbourne? I don't understand why the Demons are so on the nose that they are just about everybody's favourite for the wooden spoon when this time last year they were considered a leading contender for the flag and certainly, the best of the Victorian teams and ahead of Geelong who eventually won the flag. So they had a bad year - due greatly to a horror run with injuries but, in a sport where the cliché tells us that you're only as good as your last game, they are among the few who can boast such a win as we enter the new AFL season. After much speculation, it's now official that back in Round 22, Melbourne won its last game in brilliant fashion when it overran Carlton. The AFL has dispelled any doubts about that last round victory by making the definitive pronouncement that the Blues weren't tanking as scurrilously alleged by some observers of the game. The win against them was our last game for 2007. We won it and we were officially very, very good despite an injury list that saw some 15 or so senior listed players sitting on the sidelines. Things should be so much better now. The pundits say that the club has recruited well and we know the injury list has been pared back from the astronomical numbers of last year. The club has dispensed with its makeshift coach, it has ditched that god-awful old game plan that never worked, said farewell to one or two of its lazier types, rid itself of players whose disposal of the football and general decision making were nothing short of pathetic and it changed tea ladies in the office (we know that because the redundancy pay out was massive). The Melbourne Football Club is celebrating its 150th year and it's going to do it in style. There's a new broom sweeping through the club bringing new faces with it both on and off the field. We have a new CEO who has tasted success at the top of his own chosen sport and then as an administrator, a new general manager of football, a new head coach, an almost new coaching panel and hallelujah – a new game plan! There should be so much excitement and anticipation ahead of the new football season but, alas, there isn't. In fact, things are so bad that I was accosted in the street yesterday by a person who described me as "the last Melbourne fan left in the world". Why the doom and gloom? You might point to four forgettable pre season games in which the team was totally crushed and outplayed but for heaven's sake – they were only Mickey Mouse stuff - a NAB Cup game with its bells, whistles, nine point goals and whacky rules at Skilled Stadium and the rest were practice matches played at bush venues where the mozzies outnumbered spectators! Get real Demon fans – the season starts on Sunday. What's gone before is just the foundation for a marathon of football that lasts for over six months. It's just a warm up and we all know that you never show your real hand too early. When a new season starts, everything that has come before is history. The first true test for the Melbourne Football Club in its 150th year will come this Sunday at the MCG. THE GAME: Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG - 23 March 2008 at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Hawthorn 73 wins Melbourne 74 wins At the G: Hawthorn 33 wins Melbourne 36 wins Since 2000: Hawthorn 6 wins Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches: Clarkson 0 Bailey 0 MEDIA: TV: Fox Sports 1 at 4.00pm RADIO: 3AW, SEN, TripleM, ABC774. THE BETTING: Hawthorn to win $1.30 - Melbourne to win $3.25. LAST TIME THEY MET: Hawthorn 17.14.116 defeated Melbourne 14.10.94 at the MCG in Round 2, 2007. The game was to become a metaphor for Melbourne 2007. The Demons had lost Matthew Whelan and Brock McLean to injury the week before in Round 1 against St. Kilda and Clint Bartram to what became a season ending knee injury at training during the week. By quarter time in this game, David Neitz had gone down with a knee injury and Russell Robertson followed suit later in the game. There was a spirited fight back near the end but it was not to be and some ordinary umpiring decisions killed whatever sprit was left in the team. The season was shot there and then. THE TEAMS: HAWTHORN B Brent Guerra Stephen Gilham Grant Birchall HB Rick Ladson Trent Croad Thomas Murphy C Stuart Dew Sam Mitchell Clinton Young HF Cyril Rioli Tim Boyle Chance Bateman F Mark Williams Jarryd Roughead Lance Franklin Foll Simon Taylor Brad Sewell Travis Tuck I/C Robert Campbell Xavier Ellis Michael Osborne Cameron Stokes EMG Tim Clarke Josh Kennedy Jarryd Morton New Stuart Dew (Selection 45 - 2007 National AFL Draft from Port Adelaide) Cameron Stokes (Rookie Selection - 2007 National AFL Rookie Draft from Darwin) Cyril Rioli (Selection 12 - 2007 National AFL Draft from St Marys NT) MELBOURNE B Paul Wheatley Nathan Carroll Colin Garland HB Ricky Petterd Daniel Bell James McDonald C Brad Green Brock McLean Simon Buckley HF Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Adem Yze F Michael Newton David Neitz Russell Robertson Foll Jeff White Aaron Davey Nathan Jones I/C Paul Johnson Brent Moloney Cale Morton Isaac Weetra EMG Jace Bode James Frawley Mark Jamar New Cale Morton (Selection 4 - 2007 National AFL Draft from Claremont) Isaac Weetra (Selection 62 - 2006 National AFL Draft from Port Adelaide Magpies) FIELD UMPIRES Farmer Kennedy M Nicholls WHO WILL WIN AND WHY: I indicated above that everything that has come before is history and, on that basis, I am discounting the fact that Hawthorn is starting as the firm favourite paying just $1.30 for the win. So what? When the teams me early last season, it was the Demons who were the raging hot favourites against the Hawks who had been thrashed mercilessly up in Brisbane. It was less than twelve months before that when Melbourne beat Hawthorn by 75 points in a Round 8 game under lights. Things change rapidly and overnight in this sport. Despite its shaky start, Hawthorn soon became one of the glamour sides of 2007 and was headed for a top four placing until some heads started getting a little big and a lack of discipline crept into their makeup. That's one of the reasons why they are going into this game minus four of their biggest names – Luke Hodge, Shane Crawford, Jordan Lewis and Campbell Brown. Melbourne has had its share of recent discipline problems as well with Nathan Carroll, Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia all transgressing off the field and suffering the club's self-imposed discipline as a result. Sylvia will miss this week due to a one-week suspension for missing a training session. That sort of discipline might be considered by some as penalising the team but that's a piss weak excuse for use by losers like Carlton, which went soft on Brendan Fevola and paid the price last night. On the other hand, Melbourne will benefit from the stand it has taken both in the short and the long run. On that subject, even if you look at the exposed form of the two clubs over the last month, the Hawks don't stand up all that impressively. In the opening round of the NAB Cup, they fell in by less than a goal against the heavily undermanned Swans in a result that was so suspect that it warranted an official AFL investigation. They then thrashed Carlton but big deal! The Blues were without the Me$$iah and their full forward spent most of the night standing around contemplating the goal posts as if they were trees or a perhaps a nightclub window. The Hawks last two practice matches saw them on the losing end both times and we shouldn't forget that they were allowed to use their suspended players for those games. The battle of the midfields will be telling on Sunday and this is where I think the Demons will come up trumps. With Brock McLean, Nathan Jones, James McDonald and Aaron Davey in the middle and backed up by the likes of Cameron Bruce, Brad Green and speedsters Paul Wheatley and Simon Buckley, I expect the Dees to have too much class and pace for a Hawk midfield bereft of three players who are worth 75 possessions a week. The Hawks will be left relying on skipper Sam Mitchell and a bevy of second stringers. I can't see them managing the workload and preventing the Demons from controlling the corridor. The Demon midfield lineup will be far superior to what it has put on the field so far in the practice match games, which were, as I said above, really Mickey Mouse stuff. That was the feeling I got when I saw the game at Casey Fields a fortnight ago. For instance, coach Dean Bailey had Davey and Jones operating in tandem in the midfield early in a closely fought game but then he simply packed them away for when the real stuff starts. Melbourne will need to be on top of its game up forward and, if David Neitz can regain his touch and beat Trent Croad, the Demon forward line should be well on its way to posting a winning total. It's time for Michael Newton to come out of his shell and display the freakish magic he showed to some of the fans who followed him at Sandringham. If he happens to arrive this week, the rest of us are in for a treat. The other forward worry for the Hawks is Robbo. The big rumour sweeping the entertainment industry is that the It Takes Two camera crew are booked to film his duet with Kate Ceberano in the club rooms after the game singing "It's a Grand Old Flag". There's been a lot said about the Hawks' twin towers of Franklin and Roughhead and you can't get away from the fact that it's a big gig to prevent them from stamping their class over this game. Sometimes however, the weight of expectation can do strange things to players. In the absence of the big four suspended Hawks, the burden of having to be their game breaker could prove too much for Buddy who will receive more attention than normal for his troubles. Now that we are in "fair dinkum mode", I expect a change in the team's overall intensity and attack on the ball, which was somewhat lacking in the rural settings the club was forced to play on throughout the pre-season. This week they are back at the home of football and the home of the Melbourne Football Club for virtually all of the past century and a half. This is where the Demons thrive and I'm tipping Melbourne to revive its supporters' hopes for the season, shock the football world and continue on with its winning streak by beating the Hawks by 27 points.

BUMP

BUMP - ONLY AN HOUR AND 15 MINS TIL THE ROUND CLOSES. LATE STARTERS CAN START NEXT WEEK BUT WILL BE PENALISED

Hurry up DEMONLANDERS! Only a few hours left to join. The Round closes 5 mins before the first bounce.

Demonland's own Whispering Jack is on that DVD in the crowd after one of those magnificent goals.

WHY I WON'T PRODUCE A LIST OF MFC BEST PLAYERS ... YET but I remain an optimist by Whispering Jack This is the time of year when I usually sit down and compile my list of Melbourne's top players from 1 to 10 in the lead up to the coming footy season. However, after what has probably been one of the most lacklustre and disappointing off seasons for the club in recent memory, I'm not all that keen to even contemplate the task let alone start and complete it. Mike Sheahan of the Herald Sun must agree with me because he not only snubbed the Demons in yesterday's annual list of pre season Top 50 players but he also left them out of his list of those who were unlucky to miss out and included only Aaron Davey among his up and coming contenders. The bookies have taken note of Melbourne's poor fortunes as well. Off the field, Melbourne lags well behind the rest in membership numbers and the club is firming as the selection to finish in sixteenth position in Dean Bailey's maiden season as coach. What more can you expect after a less than uplifting off season and a pre season that saw the club finish last on "the pre season ladder" with an average losing margin of around 50 points? The disappointment of the pre season lies not so much in the results of the games played because these games are not really for winning but for preparing a team for the year ahead. My disappointment stems from the near lifelessness of the team's performances – particularly the abysmal attitude apparent in its last two outings - against the Bulldogs where a five goal lead was reduced to a five goal deficit and only after it was put out of its misery by a lighting failure halfway through the final quarter and against North Melbourne when the team was blown away after quarter time. Both times, there was little evidence of passion, improvement in skills and a change of direction or even the basic desire to provide some attack on the football - all things that you want to see at this time of the year. What we have witnessed throughout the off season is an appalling lack of discipline and sadly, little leadership evident both on and off the field. For all that however, the ray of hope on the horizon is the impending appointment of a new CEO - hopefully, the successful candidate brings with him (I'm assuming it will be a "he" based on the names on the short list put forward in the media) an infusion of all the things that are necessary to rejuvenate a club from top to bottom, inside and out. The fact also remains that if it can get its best 22 out on the park, Melbourne would be fielding a side not all that dissimilar to the one that had it feted as the best of all the Victorian clubs and that was just twelve months ago. If I scratch around long enough, I can come up with some redeeming features: - The Walking Wounded Start Walking Melbourne's 2007 season was scuppered by its injury problems and this has been reflected in its pre season as the club has taken a cautious approach with those players returning from injury. Last Saturday, we saw defenders Jared Rivers, Clint Bartram, Matthew Whelan, Ricky Petterd and Paul Wheatley making cautious steps forward in their quest to return. The return of Rivers, who played only three games last year, will make an enormous difference to the defence - the club's most glaring weakness in 2007 and in the pre season games of this year. The midfield will also be boosted with the return to full fitness of the likes of Brock McLean, Cameron Bruce, Brent Moloney and Aaron Davey who played injured for most of last year. And if Brock and Colin can get their heads out of whatever regions they currently occupy, it would also be a help. Shoring up The Weaknesses Most of the pundits regard Melbourne’s forward line as its strength but I disagree. The key will be the club's midfield and a fit Davey, the emergence of Nathan Jones, the return of the injured players and the infusion of a little extra pace from the likes of possibly Simon Buckley, the skills of youngster Cale Morton and even Austin Wonaeamirri will help to give the forwards improved supply of the football in terms of quality and quantity. The club's rucks need to get cracking as well because they have been disappointing for the last two seasons and time is running out for Jeff White. The Start I'm probably clutching at straws here but the club has four of its first five games at the MCG including the season opener against a weakened Hawthorn without four key players suspended. I know that's a crutch that could blow up in its face but the opportunity is there for the taking. The following week's game is against the Bulldogs and hopefully, the team will start as it did in Bendigo and not come to a dead stop at the 22 minute mark of the first quarter. A couple of early wins and a bit of momentum can do wonders around a club that seems to lack confidence and aggression in its attitude. History This time last year, the experts had Collingwood and the Kangaroos down as the prime wooden spoon candidates. They both performed abysmally in their first round game at the MCG and Collingwood got the four points thanks only to an umpiring brain fade. The Roos lost their first three games. Both sides were still alive on Preliminary Final day so that's how much the experts know about this game. Moreover, last year's "pre season ladder" wooden spooner was St. Kilda which fell at every hurdle but thumped the more highly favoured Melbourne in Round 1 of the regular season. Obviously, I'm hoping for a repeat of history and that Melbourne is the one that upsets the critics this time round. The CEO We need a breath of fresh wind and someone from outside to come in and give the whole club a kick in the pants. That includes all of us including those supporters who haven't signed up as members. I may be clutching at straws again but it has happened in the past where such an appointment has enabled things to turn around quickly at sporting clubs. Given that I hold the view that our current malaise is largely one of attitude and not lack of talent, I’m hoping that the new boss will strike the right cords from the outset and get our engines running again. The Ultimate Con Job I'm getting desperate here but I wonder if the coaching panel might have been shrewd enough to devise a plan for the team to tank its way through the pre season so as to catch the opposition completely unaware of its true potential. The AFL doesn't mind it if you tank as long as the coach doesn't joke about it in front the interchange stewards but those types aren't around when you hold your training in closed session. Who knows what's been going on away from the prying eyes of the usual track watchers? Perhaps something really new, exciting and innovative is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting football public but why am I desperately clutching at so many straws in these hands of mine? It's all a waiting game now but, for the time being, I simply decline to put out my list of ten best players until I see some indication of performances from the players that are worthy of inclusion on such a list.