Demonland

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. You know who you are. It definitely goes along way to keeping DEMONLAND around and is greartly appreciated by the site administrators and contributors. Cheers and Go Dees, Andy

Definitely! PM me and I'm sure we can arrange something.

Thank you. It is very much appreciated.

It personally cost me $30 each month for the hosting of the site. The domain name registration costs me about $150 every 2 years. When our message board was with Aimoo, it used to cost me about $360 a year so that we wouldn't have any pop up ads. Now that Nasher is hosting the Message Boards I'm not sure what his costs are but I would like to send some of the donation money his way to attempt to cover his costs. I reckon I have spent approx. $5,000 over the last 8 years not to mention the countless hours creating, updating, moderating and maintaining this site. I know I have probably overspent over the years but I did it all for the love of our great club. I hope that helps. Cheers and thanks to those of you who have already donated. It is greatly appreciated. Andy

Hi Guys, As you know over the last 8 years DEMONLAND has always been (and always will remain) FREE despite the fact that it costs us to run the site. We have to pay hosting fees, domain name registration as well as the time it takes to upload and maintain the site. I have set up a donation link on the homepage in order to encourage the members of this site to help us contribute towards the maintaining of this site that you all love. It will direct you to the PAY PAL site which is completely secure. I don't expect to make money from this and any funds not used directly towards covering the costs of this site will be donated back to the club. I appreciate and thank everyone who assists us in this. Cheers and GO DEMONS, Andy --- In order to donate please visit www.demonland.com and click on the Donate buttons to Donate.

BEATEN BY BULLDOGS IN BENDIGO - a not nearly as well alliterated report by Diablo So it was on the afternoon of February 29th, the girlfriend and I made our way up to Bendigo to have a look at the Dees taking on the Doggies at the magnificent Queen Elizabeth Oval. I had high hopes for this game, even against a strong Dogs' lineup, as another posse of front-liners returned to the team. Even as, a couple of hours before the bounce, we made our way to the Rifle Brigade across the street to take in a few bevies and a meal, I was pumped. As we took our place in the main Grandstand at the park, it wasn't overly surprising to see that the Dogs' supporters heavily outnumbered us. What was mildly disappointing was that the Dees didn't appear to have any sort of merchandising or membership tent at the ground. I could be wrong, of course, but the Doggies' one was glaringly obvious as it was plonked right in front of the main gate. It does seem ridiculous that we wouldn't at least have a small setup somewhere, so I'll put it down to poor eyesight on my behalf. Anyway, the first quarter began and my positive attitude (a rarity for me, I'll admit) was vindicated as the Dees FLEW out of the blocks. After a few wayward efforts from both teams, including Will Minson missing an absolute pudding from 15m out, Robbo won a free kick and goaled from 25m out in the pocket. A lovely kick from Flash to a leading Neitz set the skipper up for his first kick in anger of 2008, and he didn't disappoint, drilling it from a tight angle in the right pocket. Chook got amongst it in his first hit-out for the year, gathering a couple of touches and taking a strong grab at half-forward, but it was Jones, Davey and Bate who were impressive from the get-go. Jones racked up touches and Davey's pace and skills were on display all night, whilst Bater was by far our best forward, leading hard and linking up the play. Bater kicked a sausage, some good interplay with Yze led to a running goal for Davey, and then good hands from Weetra and then Morton in traffic released Bate to kick a big bomb for our fifth. We were playing all over the dogs at this stage and they didn't look like getting near us. Then fate conspired to screw us into the ground yet again. The last 2 goals went to the Dogs after soft free kicks, and a 50m penalty. Now, before I go any further, I want to get the umpiring off my chest. To be fair, I'm just going to say it was poor, when in fact I felt like they castigated us. Without replays, it's hard to totally criminalise the umps, but suffice to say there were about four very tiggy touchwood 50m penalties, and I can't think of more than 3 Bulldog goals that were not from free kicks. It was exceptionally frustrating, but I won't dwell. Reading the commentary this morning, I can see I wasn't the only one who thought the maggots were in rare form last night. So, quarter time rolled around and we were still comfortably ahead, 5.4 to 2.3. Jones, Bate, and Davey had been our best, with Sylvia also getting amongst it late in the term. Moloney was solid coming off half-back and through the middle, and Miller and Carroll had repelled everything that it was in their power to deal with. All in all, a great opening. The first goal of the second term went our way, with Jones delivering the goods after some swash-buckling, tackle-busting run and carry that would please even the cynics. That's when the wheels fell off. Apparently delighted that they had finally managed to use run and carry effectively, after failing to do so for the entirety of last season, the boys went into hibernation. Jones and Beama, both good contributors in the middle, came off, and the Dogs finally got the ascendancy. Sylvia had a great quarter though, tearing through the middle with strength and pace. The Dogs had a good portion of help from the umpires, but they swamped us and whilst the backline, at least, battled manfully, they couldn't halt the tide. We were able to spoil virtually every time, only for the umpires to penalize us for some innocuous infringement. I've got no doubt that some of them were warranted, but some of them were bloody rubbish… Sorry, forget the umpires. Anyway, we conceded six goals with no answer, and the tables were not only turned, but well and truly lying on top of us at half time, as we went in 6.6 to 8.4 down. Our tackling and ferocity, which had been prominent early, had evaporated and we looked lackluster for much of the second quarter. The second half began as the first had ended, with the Dogs goaling from a free kick straight away. It seemed to wake us up, however, and we fought back strongly, hitting the post twice before Davey snapped truly after a ball up. Neitz jagged his second shortly afterwards. More free kicks, 50m penalties and the inevitably-ensuing goals to the Dogs left us 3 goals down, before Robbo took a fine grab and bagged a sausage from a tight angle. After that, things went very sour for us pretty quickly. Aker, who had cut us to ribbons all night, had a party in the rest of the third and what was played of the last. Robbo was reported after sending a Dog defender base over apex, though it looked a soft report at worst. Not too many positives for us to take from the second half really, though Jones, Davey and Sylvia all battled to the death. Cale Morton found a bit of the ball and had some good touches. Unfortunately, our forward line was more stagnant than a stubbie in a Mosque. The match ended in (for us, anyway) suitable ignominy, as the lights at the ground took a dump and the umpires finally cut us some slack by ending the game early. All in all, it was not a diabolical performance by Melbourne, but after the first quarter, I was expecting a bigger effort. Our first quarter was excellent, however, and our third quarter was also competitive, and saw us well within striking distance at the last change. Unfortunately, we capitulated in the final term, and the Dogs surged ahead of us. They may have just, on the balance of play, deserved to win the game, but the umpires gave us a bath. Western Bulldogs 2.3.15 8.4.52 11.7.73 14.9.93 Melbourne 5.4.34 6.6.42 9.9.63 9.9.63 Goals Western Bulldogs Akermanis Murphy 2 Boyd Eagleton Griffen Hahn Johnson Minson Mulligan O'Keefe Ward Welsh Melbourne Bate Davey Neitz Robertson 2 Jones Best Western Bulldogs Akermanis Eagleton Higgins Hill Cooney Johnson Melbourne Jones Davey Bate Sylvia Miller (Get out of town, Diablo, surely ye jest? Maybe, but he battled hard and had some fine moments), Valenti (I know I haven’t mentioned him; he bobbed up at times throughout the game with plenty of poise and is just naturally able to read the play. Get this boy on the senior list ASAP) Reports R Robertson (Melbourne) for charging J Mulligan (Western Bulldogs) Umpires M Head C Kamolins J Mollison. Crowd 7000 (approx) at Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo

Hillary Clinton?

Western Bulldogs best and fairest Brian Lake (formerly Harris) will miss the remaining matches of the NAB Challenge series, but is expected to be fit for the Dogs’ clash with Adelaide in Round 1 of the home and away season. Lake underwent hip surgery on Tuesday morning after sustaining an injury against Essendon in the NAB Cup quarter-final against Essendon last Friday night. Lake has played 97 matches for the Dogs since making his debut in 2002.

First of all thanks to Diablo for volunteering to do a report and SMS the scores from Bendigo. I'm not sure why we had the outage on Friday night, perhaps it was due to the system getting fatigue about our loss. I hope that Nasher can use some psychology with the system in the future so that it doesn't get upset at these things or better still that we win and it doesn't get upset at all. Perhaps we could have one person at Demonology designated to get the scores and relay them onto the site over there. It would probably be more efficient than having everybody to log onto both sites and jam both systems (in which case we won't find out the scores until well into Satruday evening going by the publicity we get from the media compared with Collingwood that scored write ups bigger than for our senior game for its VFL team). Haydo - thanks for your offer as well. All reports will eb welcome and Go Dees!

If there's anybody going out there and willing to write a report for Demonland (ghost writing assistance and editing provided) please contact me by PM.

DEMON CHANGE by Bananabender This climate change thing is really getting to me. I live in a part of Queensland that until recently has been drought stricken yet at one stage our place was subject to severe water restrictions even though the local dam was 100% full. I drive almost all the way up the coast through flooded communities and in mostly rain soaked conditions and end up in the far north of the state to watch a game designed to be played in the cold of winter in the southern parts of this continent. The conditions are hot and humid but no rain when I arrive at Cazaly Stadium, Cairns with my mates to witness the NAB Challenge between Melbourne and Richmond. I am however, confronted with something even more frightening that climate change - I call it "Demon Change". Fair dinkum! The team is barely recognisable when they run out onto the ground. You can work Richmond out from the yellow and mainly black gear, but my first impression when the Demons emerge from the rooms is that they're wearing pyjamas; a mainly silver outfit reminiscent of my own night time attire as a five year old. Totally shocking and in no way matching club officials who are decked out in mainly red regalia. And it's not long before the faces of the coaching staff turn an appropriate shade of red to match the colours of their shirts. It is at this same point that I notice the true effects of Demon Change. There are so many new faces out there! I am too late to find a footy record on sale so it is hard keeping up with who's who out there on the field. I can say that most of the better known faces at Demonland are missing. No Neita, Robbo, Whitey, Brock, Bruce, Rivers, Wheels, Wheats or Carroll and they are only the names I can remember after consuming my full ration of frothies from plastic cups as the evening wears on to a painful end. The spectacle is pretty well hopeless but I suppose that is made inevitable by Demon Change. There is a smattering of players I recognise but many who I don't. The Tigers kick the first but it's a promising start as the Dees counter with a couple of goals to Michael Newton and newcomer Trent Zomer. Soon the inexperience and brittleness in the defence lets the Tigers through for some easy goals. Nathan Jones is our best early in the piece and Newton looks dangerous up forward. Aaron Davey and Brent Moloney start on the bench but once out on the field their presence helps. Still, the more accurate Tigers have the aid of the breeze and dominate the latter part of the first term (thanks to some loose defence) to hold sway to the tune of 16 points by quarter time. Melbourne mounts a comeback early in the second term with goals to Isaac Weetra and Newton but both are wasteful and fail to take full advantage of the opportunties presented to them through the midfield drive of Jones and Moloney whose penetrating kicks forward set up a number of scoring chances. Colin Sylvia is also at his best at this stage with some strong tackling and kicks to advantage. The Dees are five points down at the main break but they should be well in front. This is the end of the penny section as they say because after half time, the Demons are disappointing, wasteful in front of goal and tending towards a rabble although it must be said that some of the more experienced players are interchanged after half time and the younger players seem a little overawed. That could not be said of Addam Maric who shows his capacity to be a dangerous crumbing forward with a nice goal. The Tigers however, are playing with more purpose and with greater accuracy in front of goal as they skip to a 26 point lead at three quarter time but not before another disaster occurs with Newton going down with a head injury. His head is put in a neck brace and he is stretchered off and headed for Cairns Base Hospital. With our only effective key position forward out of the game, the team's confidence and its ability to mount a fightback seem to have been snuffed out. They fail to take advantage of the favouring breeze and the Tiger machine rolls on to a 35 point victory. Brad Green, Davey and Matty Bate lead the troops but there is not enough in the tank as the ship goes down in the steamy tropical night. I later learn that Juice Newton is cleared of any serious neck injury and is released from hospital where they must have been confused to see a patient admitted with such an injury already dressed in his PJ's. Speaking of PJ's, Paul Johnson plays a virtual lone hand against Simmonds and Pattison with John Meesen, well beaten in the ruck and later moved forward. Meesen looks mobile and might be a chance for a tall key position possibly in defence but is not the answer as a ruckman on what I have seen. Dean Bailey has stated that Brad Miller will be tried at both ends of the ground during the season but, after playing him at full back in this game, I think the best bet for him is at centre half forward. Miller has as many good games in defence under his belt as Heather Mills has toes and it's about time we forget about that one winning performance against Barry Hall a few years back. Cale Morton, Maric and Shane Valenti show some promise for the future but most of the other youngsters need time. I would suggest that it's also time to get serious about the forthcoming season and that the regulars start filtering back in the next few weeks as, without a solid core of experienced players, it's difficult to expect a cohesive and winning game plan to develop. My verdict therefore is that while change is always necessary, too much Demon Change is not necessarily such a good thing. Richmond 5.1.31, 6.4.40, 11.5.71 14.10.94 Melbourne 2.3.15 5.5.35 6.9.45 8.11.59 Goals Richmond Pettifer 3 Howat Hughes Schulz 2 Brown Foley Morton Pattison Raines Melbourne Newton 2 Davey Green Maric Petterd Weetra Zomer Best Richmond Pettifer Newman Simmonds Tambling Foley Bowden Melbourne Davey Jones Moloney Newton Sylvia P Johnson Valenti Umpires Armstrong Kamolins Kennedy

by Bananabender This climate change thing is really getting to me. I live in a part of Queensland that until recently has been drought stricken yet at one stage our place was subject to severe water restrictions even though the local dam was 100% full. I drive almost all the way up the coast through flooded communities and in mostly rain soaked conditions and end up in the far north of the state to watch a game designed to be played in the cold of winter in the southern parts of this continent. The conditions are hot and humid but no rain when I arrive at Cazaly Stadium, Cairns with my mates to witness the NAB Challenge between Melbourne and Richmond. I am however, confronted with something even more frightening that climate change - I call it "Demon Change". Fair dinkum! The team is barely recognisable when they run out onto the ground. You can work Richmond out from the yellow and mainly black gear, but my first impression when the Demons emerge from the rooms is that they're wearing pyjamas; a mainly silver outfit reminiscent of my own night time attire as a five year old. Totally shocking and in no way matching club officials who are decked out in mainly red regalia. And it's not long before the faces of the coaching staff turn an appropriate shade of red to match the colours of their shirts. It is at this same point that I notice the true effects of Demon Change. There are so many new faces out there! I am too late to find a footy record on sale so it is hard keeping up with who's who out there on the field. I can say that most of the better known faces at Demonland are missing. No Neita, Robbo, Whitey, Brock, Bruce, Rivers, Wheels, Wheats or Carroll and they are only the names I can remember after consuming my full ration of frothies from plastic cups as the evening wears on to a painful end. The spectacle is pretty well hopeless but I suppose that is made inevitable by Demon Change. There is a smattering of players I recognise but many who I don't. The Tigers kick the first but it's a promising start as the Dees counter with a couple of goals to Michael Newton and newcomer Trent Zomer. Soon the inexperience and brittleness in the defence lets the Tigers through for some easy goals. Nathan Jones is our best early in the piece and Newton looks dangerous up forward. Aaron Davey and Brent Moloney start on the bench but once out on the field their presence helps. Still, the more accurate Tigers have the aid of the breeze and dominate the latter part of the first term (thanks to some loose defence) to hold sway to the tune of 16 points by quarter time. Melbourne mounts a comeback early in the second term with goals to Isaac Weetra and Newton but both are wasteful and fail to take full advantage of the opportunties presented to them through the midfield drive of Jones and Moloney whose penetrating kicks forward set up a number of scoring chances. Colin Sylvia is also at his best at this stage with some strong tackling and kicks to advantage. The Dees are five points down at the main break but they should be well in front. This is the end of the penny section as they say because after half time, the Demons are disappointing, wasteful in front of goal and tending towards a rabble although it must be said that some of the more experienced players are interchanged after half time and the younger players seem a little overawed. That could not be said of Addam Maric who shows his capacity to be a dangerous crumbing forward with a nice goal. The Tigers however, are playing with more purpose and with greater accuracy in front of goal as they skip to a 26 point lead at three quarter time but not before another disaster occurs with Newton going down with a head injury. His head is put in a neck brace and he is stretchered off and headed for Cairns Base Hospital. With our only effective key position forward out of the game, the team's confidence and its ability to mount a fightback seem to have been snuffed out. They fail to take advantage of the favouring breeze and the Tiger machine rolls on to a 35 point victory. Brad Green, Davey and Matty Bate lead the troops but there is not enough in the tank as the ship goes down in the steamy tropical night. I later learn that Juice Newton is cleared of any serious neck injury and is released from hospital where they must have been confused to see a patient admitted with such an injury already dressed in his PJ's. Speaking of PJ's, Paul Johnson plays a virtual lone hand against Simmonds and Pattison with John Meesen, well beaten in the ruck and later moved forward. Meesen looks mobile and might be a chance for a tall key position possibly in defence but is not the answer as a ruckman on what I have seen. Dean Bailey has stated that Brad Miller will be tried at both ends of the ground during the season but, after playing him at full back in this game, I think the best bet for him is at centre half forward. Miller has as many good games in defence under his belt as Heather Mills has toes and it's about time we forget about that one winning performance against Barry Hall a few years back. Cale Morton, Maric and Shane Valenti show some promise for the future but most of the other youngsters need time. I would suggest that it's also time to get serious about the forthcoming season and that the regulars start filtering back in the next few weeks as, without a solid core of experienced players, it's difficult to expect a cohesive and winning game plan to develop. My verdict therefore is that while change is always necessary, too much Demon Change is not necessarily such a good thing. Richmond 5.1.31, 6.4.40, 11.5.71 14.10.94 Melbourne 2.3.15 5.5.35 6.9.45 8.11.59 Goals Richmond Pettifer 3 Howat Hughes Schulz 2 Brown Foley Morton Pattison Raines Melbourne Newton 2 Davey Green Maric Petterd Weetra Zomer Best Richmond Pettifer Newman Simmonds Tambling Foley Bowden Melbourne Davey Jones Moloney Newton Sylvia P Johnson Valenti Umpires Armstrong Kamolins Kennedy

Confirmation on the AFL site - Melbourne’s Newton cleared of neck injury

Our correspondent Bananabender who promises he'll do a report when he sobers up has emailed his goalkickers as follows:- Newton 2 Davey Green Maric Petterd Weetra Zomer At this point in time he doesn't recall seeing anyone who resembles Clint Bartram at the ground.

Reported by twodogs on Demonology that Michael Newton is fine and in the pool of his motel with the rest of the team - "Petterd is getting his fore arm strapped, Wonaeamirri has some sort of finger injury, the good news is that Newton is in the pool with the rest of them, what a beefcake parade, come back inside Lorraine, you're embarrassing yourself. They all look incredibly fit. Missus says she is now an ex saints supporter. Will post a detailed match report when I get back to Mission this afternoon. Just had a quick word with PJ, Newton's neck is fine, is hoooning and wrestling in the pool with half a dozen others." We're also hoping to hear from Bananabender who has covered some Qld games in the past to find out if he made it to Cairns to provide a report on the game.

Thanks H. Will start a separate thread as many people have expressed concern about Juice.

Nice spin. It was also the closest game we've played in so far this year .

or perhaps it's our Nathan Brown making a comeback?

Thanks guys and keep the scores rolling in! [The above is the quarter time score]

THE SILVER LINING by The Oracle Those who turned up to Skilled Stadium yesterday (or watched it on television) expecting Melbourne to win against a reasonably strong Geelong combination with the final selected line up of 26, please stand up. It's good to see you all remain seated. That's right, although the objective in most matches is to win the four points or to go on to the next round of competition, this was highly unlikely given the unavailability through rest, rehab, injury and club imposed suspension of 18 MFC listed players. And that was reflected accurately in the result of the game. The rest of the list all played against the Cats, eight of them in the first AFL games ever - Kyle Cheney, Tom McNamara, Adamm Maric, Stef Martin, Shane Valenti, Isaac Weetra, Austin Wonaeamirri and Trent Zomer while another, John Meesen (2 games for Adelaide) was wearing the red and blue (and silver) for the first time ever. Then we had Jace Bode, Simon Buckley, Colin Garland, Michael Newton and Matthew Warnock whose senior AFL experience is yet to pass double figures. And it doesn't stop there because included in the team was also a couple of seasoned 20 year olds in Matthew Bate and Nathan Jones, the latter having moved out of his teens less than a month ago. And in the stands watching sat at least a dozen of the more talented players including a majority of those in the leadership group. That sounds like game set and match to me when, despite signalling his indifference to the Nab Cup concept and particularly some of its rules, Mark Bomber Thompson then chose close to his strongest team. Geelong was on show on its own patch of turf and in front of the faithful for the first time since it crushed Port Adelaide to win last year's premiership. The Cats were on song from the beginning while the young Demons were a bundle of nerves. The predictable happened and the home team blew them away in the first 10 to 15 minutes despite Melbourne enjoying the wind advantage. With their greater skill and experience all over the ground and with their control over the centre bounces and the stoppages, they kicked 8 goals to 2 in the opening stanza and late in the second term the margin was 63 points. Melbourne played its best football to reduce that margin to 48 points at the main break and reduced it even further to 26 points after that before Geelong surged again. In the final term, the stronger bodied Cats took complete control again and Steve Johnson added to his highlights package to finish with six goals. There were few highlights from Melbourne's point of view but there was some silver lining (apart from the obvious silver material in it's hideous uniform). The Demons did achieve something. They managed to get through the game with no apparent injuries and will now move into the NAB Cup Challenge where there is no limitation on interchanges and the list of players being nursed through their pre season can build their on their preparation for the coming season. Coach Dean Bailey was also given a pointer as to where some of his teams strengths and weaknesses lie and he also had the opportunity of looking closely at how his younger players are progressing (although his top two draft picks in Cale Morton and Jack Grimes were also out injured and Adamm Maric was a late inclusion after missing last week's community camp in Canberra with school commitments). After the game, Bailey told reporters – "We played a lot of kids. We put them in important positions on the ground and that's the only way you can learn and develop – don't hide them and don't put them on the bench." He would have been impressed with some of the youngsters and knows that he goes away with a lot of the raw material for success in the future. The big plus to my mind was the way 17-year-old Tom McNamara went about his game. He's the youngest player in the AFL competition and possibly might have even been lucky to get a run but he held up well in the back line in a true baptism of fire. He showed he can mark, kick and he contests the ball well. Rookie Shane Valenti has his detractors who claim that he is too small and too slow but he certainly burrowed in for the football and gained a lot of fans from a performance that saw him at the top of his team's possession gatherers. If he doesn't make it then it won’t be for the lack of trying. Basketball convert Stef Martin showed a bit and, if he can work on his kicking, he could become a key tall. Colin Garland showed that he has improved his game over the summer and his three goals (including a super goal) highlighted his potential and versatility. The other youngsters flashed all in and out of play. Bailey would also have been pleased with the performance of three 20 year olds in Nathan Jones, Simon Buckley and Matthew Bate who all stepped up to the plate in difficult circumstances. In the absence of most of the club's midfield stars of last year, it was Jones who copped the brunt of the tagging and he proved himself under intense fire. Former Adelaide (and before that Geelong Falcons) ruckman John Meesen, returned to home territory and played in a number of positions around the ground. Whilst he didn't star, the big man looks to be a real acquisition and given the poor form of the Demon rucks on the day he will be a much-needed one. When you get beaten as badly as Melbourne did in the end, there's usually a lot about which you can’t get excited and there were quite a few lowlights for the afternoon. I thought the rump of the club's more experienced players were poor, the rucks in particular disappointing. They were easily brushed aside by Geelong's big men and failed to give their mainly inexperienced on ballers the service they required. Although Jeff White managed to get a bit of the ball around the ground, I'm concerned about how he will fare against the AFL's powerhouse ruckmen on a weekly basis throughout the season. The experienced Russell Robertson and Brad Green were disappointing. Robbo hit higher notes with Kate Ceberano during the week on television than he did yesterday at Skilled Stadium and Greenie's disposal let him and his team mates down on the day although to his credit, he improved his output later in the game. Adem Yze, in his comeback game after last year's hernia and last week's poke in the eye, toiled hard in defence and should be much better from the run. The umpires were as rusty as the players and produced an ordinary display with some inconsistency in decision making and the level of confusion at their decisions among the crowd was high. The other lowlight for mine was the innocuous combined Nab Cup/clash strip, which was an absolute shocker and actually clashed more with the Cats' colours than the club's traditional jumper. The club does penance for losing to Geelong by travelling to the far reaches of the country next week so thankfully, I probably won't see that abomination for a while. Geelong: 0.8.1, 1.12.4, 1.15.7, 2.22.10 (160) Melbourne: 0.2.4, 1.4.4, 2.8.5, 2.11.5 (89) Super Goals: Geelong: Byrnes Wojcinski Melbourne: Buckley Garland Goals: Geelong: S Johnson 6 Davenport 2 Lonergan 2 Gamble 2 Byrnes 2 Kelly 2 Mooney Milburn Hunt Stokes Prismall Wojcinski Melbourne: Newton 2 Garland 2 Robertson Green Weetra Meesen Valenti Zomer Sylvia Best: Geelong: S Johnson Ling Prismall Stokes Bartel Byrnes Wojcinski Milburn Taylor Melbourne: Jones Buckley Valenti Yze Meesen Garland Injuries: Geelong: G Ablett (calf) Melbourne: Nil Reports: Nil Umpires: Rosebury Sully Kamolins M Nicholls

by The Oracle Those who turned up to Skilled Stadium yesterday (or watched it on television) expecting Melbourne to win against a reasonably strong Geelong combination with the final selected line up of 26, please stand up. It's good to see you all remain seated. That's right, although the objective in most matches is to win the four points or to go on to the next round of competition, this was highly unlikely given the unavailability through rest, rehab, injury and club imposed suspension of 18 MFC listed players. And that was reflected accurately in the result of the game. The rest of the list all played against the Cats, eight of them in the first AFL games ever - Kyle Cheney, Tom McNamara, Adamm Maric, Stef Martin, Shane Valenti, Isaac Weetra, Austin Wonaeamirri and Trent Zomer while another, John Meesen (2 games for Adelaide) was wearing the red and blue (and silver) for the first time ever. Then we had Jace Bode, Simon Buckley, Colin Garland, Michael Newton and Matthew Warnock whose senior AFL experience is yet to pass double figures. And it doesn't stop there because included in the team was also a couple of seasoned 20 year olds in Matthew Bate and Nathan Jones, the latter having moved out of his teens less than a month ago. And in the stands watching sat at least a dozen of the more talented players including a majority of those in the leadership group. That sounds like game set and match to me when, despite signalling his indifference to the Nab Cup concept and particularly some of its rules, Mark Bomber Thompson then chose close to his strongest team. Geelong was on show on its own patch of turf and in front of the faithful for the first time since it crushed Port Adelaide to win last year's premiership. The Cats were on song from the beginning while the young Demons were a bundle of nerves. The predictable happened and the home team blew them away in the first 10 to 15 minutes despite Melbourne enjoying the wind advantage. With their greater skill and experience all over the ground and with their control over the centre bounces and the stoppages, they kicked 8 goals to 2 in the opening stanza and late in the second term the margin was 63 points. Melbourne played its best football to reduce that margin to 48 points at the main break and reduced it even further to 26 points after that before Geelong surged again. In the final term, the stronger bodied Cats took complete control again and Steve Johnson added to his highlights package to finish with six goals. There were few highlights from Melbourne's point of view but there was some silver lining (apart from the obvious silver material in it's hideous uniform). The Demons did achieve something. They managed to get through the game with no apparent injuries and will now move into the NAB Cup Challenge where there is no limitation on interchanges and the list of players being nursed through their pre season can build their on their preparation for the coming season. Coach Dean Bailey was also given a pointer as to where some of his teams strengths and weaknesses lie and he also had the opportunity of looking closely at how his younger players are progressing (although his top two draft picks in Cale Morton and Jack Grimes were also out injured and Adamm Maric was a late inclusion after missing last week's community camp in Canberra with school commitments). After the game, Bailey told reporters – "We played a lot of kids. We put them in important positions on the ground and that's the only way you can learn and develop – don't hide them and don't put them on the bench." He would have been impressed with some of the youngsters and knows that he goes away with a lot of the raw material for success in the future. The big plus to my mind was the way 17-year-old Tom McNamara went about his game. He's the youngest player in the AFL competition and possibly might have even been lucky to get a run but he held up well in the back line in a true baptism of fire. He showed he can mark, kick and he contests the ball well. Rookie Shane Valenti has his detractors who claim that he is too small and too slow but he certainly burrowed in for the football and gained a lot of fans from a performance that saw him at the top of his team's possession gatherers. If he doesn't make it then it won’t be for the lack of trying. Basketball convert Stef Martin showed a bit and, if he can work on his kicking, he could become a key tall. Colin Garland showed that he has improved his game over the summer and his three goals (including a super goal) highlighted his potential and versatility. The other youngsters flashed all in and out of play. Bailey would also have been pleased with the performance of three 20 year olds in Nathan Jones, Simon Buckley and Matthew Bate who all stepped up to the plate in difficult circumstances. In the absence of most of the club's midfield stars of last year, it was Jones who copped the brunt of the tagging and he proved himself under intense fire. Former Adelaide (and before that Geelong Falcons) ruckman John Meesen, returned to home territory and played in a number of positions around the ground. Whilst he didn't star, the big man looks to be a real acquisition and given the poor form of the Demon rucks on the day he will be a much-needed one. When you get beaten as badly as Melbourne did in the end, there's usually a lot about which you can’t get excited and there were quite a few lowlights for the afternoon. I thought the rump of the club's more experienced players were poor, the rucks in particular disappointing. They were easily brushed aside by Geelong's big men and failed to give their mainly inexperienced on ballers the service they required. Although Jeff White managed to get a bit of the ball around the ground, I'm concerned about how he will fare against the AFL's powerhouse ruckmen on a weekly basis throughout the season. The experienced Russell Robertson and Brad Green were disappointing. Robbo hit higher notes with Kate Ceberano during the week on television than he did yesterday at Skilled Stadium and Greenie's disposal let him and his team mates down on the day although to his credit, he improved his output later in the game. Adem Yze, in his comeback game after last year's hernia and last week's poke in the eye, toiled hard in defence and should be much better from the run. The umpires were as rusty as the players and produced an ordinary display with some inconsistency in decision making and the level of confusion at their decisions among the crowd was high. The other lowlight for mine was the innocuous combined Nab Cup/clash strip, which was an absolute shocker and actually clashed more with the Cats' colours than the club's traditional jumper. The club does penance for losing to Geelong by travelling to the far reaches of the country next week so thankfully, I probably won't see that abomination for a while. Geelong: 0.8.1, 1.12.4, 1.15.7, 2.22.10 (160) Melbourne: 0.2.4, 1.4.4, 2.8.5, 2.11.5 (89) Super Goals: Geelong: Byrnes Wojcinski Melbourne: Buckley Garland Goals: Geelong: S Johnson 6 Davenport 2 Lonergan 2 Gamble 2 Byrnes 2 Kelly 2 Mooney Milburn Hunt Stokes Prismall Wojcinski Melbourne: Newton 2 Garland 2 Robertson Green Weetra Meesen Valenti Zomer Sylvia Best: Geelong: S Johnson Ling Prismall Stokes Bartel Byrnes Wojcinski Milburn Taylor Melbourne: Jones Buckley Valenti Yze Meesen Garland Injuries: Geelong: G Ablett (calf) Melbourne: Nil Reports: Nil Umpires: Rosebury Sully Kamolins M Nicholls

On the subject of sports from the other side of the big pond, here's the German viewpoint about this year's Super Bowl (with thanks to Deeman) - The Schicklegruber Moment. As WJ said, we hope no one is offended .

LESSONS FROM GOTHAM by Whispering Jack Ten years ago last October I visited relatives and friends in the United States and was brought face to face with American culture. I'd travelled to the States before but that was to do the Disneyland thing when the kids were younger. This time I spent some of the trip in a private home where my hosts were sports mad and eager to show off their own native games with which I was relatively unfamiliar. I came to appreciate how much you can learn from these quirky Yanks and their sports even if most of their political leaders aren't such endearing characters. The Baseball World Series is played at that time of the year and, in late October of 1997, the Florida Marlins were the underdogs. They sparred against the Cleveland Indians in an intriguing set of matches that took them from one weather extreme to another. It was fantastic television viewing to see the teams slugging it out one day in sunny Miami and then, on the next, they were freezing their you know whats in snowbound Cleveland. The "Fish" were financed and run by H. Wayne Huizenga, a wealthy entrepreneur type who spent heavily to put together a team that ultimately won the title but the franchise was losing money so he sold out very quickly after savouring the victory. Literally. Huizenga dismantled the team by trading off most of the club's best players. The next year, the Marlins struggled at the bottom of the table. We took a night off to see a National Hockey League game. Our hosts took us across the New Jersey state line into Pennsylvania where we saw the local team, the Philadelphia Flyers, take to the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those were the days when the only meaning of ice was frozen water. It was a real eye opener but not so much for what was happening in play - more so it was about the eating habits of my fellow spectators which was a demonstration of consumerism at its most gross. The sight of obese parents putting away bucket loads of hot dogs, pretzels and ice creams in between swigs of full premium beer in gargantuan plastic cups was matched only by the copious amounts of fast foods fed at alarming rates into the mouths of their equally obese offspring. Some fights broke out on the arena but there was also lots of mayhem among the boofheads in the bleachers as well. Luckily, I was a safe distance away from all that and in the company of my host's business partner – a former pro boxer from Mexico. When we were finally able to focus our attention on the game itself, one of the Flyers stood out head and shoulders above the rest. I didn't have to ask to find out that Eric Lindros was a star of the sport. In fact, it turned out that he was just about THE star of the sport, the premier power forward in the NHL. With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability, he exuded presence with a capital P. "The Big E" was clearly in control on the arena, the difference between the teams and, at 6'4", he reminded me of … um … well … Wayne Carey in the way he dominated proceedings. I was reminded of that visit this week when I watched in awe as another underdog, the New York Giants pulled off a last gasp victory in Glendale, Arizona over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Throughout the season, the Pats had performed at a different level to all of the other teams in the NFL, their legendary quarterback Tom Brady had been breaking records and they stretched their record to 18-0 a fortnight before the Super Bowl. Most Americans believed they only had to show up to claim claimed the Vince Lombardi Trophy. There were some warning signs however, when Brady was seen limping in his hotel foyer only days before the big dance but the bookies, the fans and the pundits still had them as raging favourites. When the day came, the Giants were ready. Their coaches were well prepared and had an innovative and flexible game plan for the offensive team and one for the defensive team. Their harassing tactics and strategies were applied relentlessly without let up; the players applied themselves with persistence, passion and hard work. Like all of the better teams in this competition, they had a blending of youth and experience but they also had a number of players in their line up who had improved beyond expectations. All of that seemed to be insufficient as the favourites took a 14-10 lead with less than three minutes to go but it was then that the reality set in - the Giants wanted the ball more than their cocky opponents. We saw a series of inspirational plays driven by their own quarterback Eli Manning who looks more like a mere mortal than a no neck American footballer. His perfectly executed long throw to David Tyree was caught perfectly under pressure and set up the ultimate winning touchdown. Dennis Cometti would have labeled the throw as "centimeter perfect" and perfect it had to be because the result virtually depended on the outcome of that play. Some of the pundits are calling it the "Immaculate Reception" but it was man made and certainly not divinely inspired. On return from my Stateside visit those many years ago, my own football club was being presided over by an orthodox rabbi who had made a fortune on paper from mining exploration in outback Australia and it had a newly appointed coach who hailed from N.S.W, had once studied Divinity and came to be called the "Reverend". Our hopes were high but they all came to nothing in the end. I hope therefore, that I don't cause offence when I reveal my suspicions that the club might have wasted the ensuing years looking for some sort of divine inspiration rather than getting down to the basics and finding the right formula to put the Lessons from Gotham into practice. After all, we still are the Demons, aren't we?

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER SIXTEEN by the Professor The number 16 has been worn by 25 players in senior games for the Melbourne Football Club since 1912 when jumper numbers were first allocated. Players wearing the number have appeared in nine premierships, led the club's goal kicking in six years, won three best and fairests and made four state teams. But while its latest recipient, Jack Grimes from the Northern Knights Under 18 TAC Cup team, comes highly credentialed as a leader in junior football ranks, his new number has never been graced by a club skipper in all those years! The first wearer of the number was half forward/centreman Bill Flintoft who played 42 games (18 goals) with Melbourne in the years 1909-1912 (and one further game with St Kilda in 1913). He later served on the club committee, was awarded Life Membership in 1945 and became President of the Club from 1947-1949. Flintoft passed the jumper on to Bill Angwin (3 games in 1913) and then it went to Bobby Monk who had joined the club in 1907 and wore it in 13 times in his final year at the club. In all, the strongly built and reliable defender played 125 games (5 goals). When the University club was disbanded for the duration of World War 1 in 1915, Dr. Roy Park joined Melbourne and was given the number 16. He played 13 games and kicked 35 goals for the club but a disagreement with a Tribunal decision saw him move to then VFA club Footscray. Park went on to play test cricket for Australia in 1920 and 1921. George Walker, a defender from Melbourne Districts liked to change his numbers, wearing 26 on debut in 1914, 20 in 1915, 16 when Melbourne resumed in the VFL after the war in 1919, 28 in the early part of 1920 and 20 for the remainder of that year and 1921. He played a total of 49 games, 10 of them in the number 16 in 1919 but never scored a goal in any of his many numbers. Like Walker, Hugh Odgers wore the number 26 early in his career. He had arrived in 1909 and wore that number in 1912. A centreman, he had been skipper for part of 1911 but wasn't seen until 1920, when he wore the number 16 jumper in 15 of the 16 games the club played that year. He played a total of 59 games and kicked two goals. The number was passed on to defender Clarrie Lethlean in 1921. He played 9 games that year and ultimately moved on to Hawthorn. "Derek" Mollison, a talented follower/forward inherited the number in 1923 and held it until part way through 1925 when he switched to the number 11. He played 66 games in his career with the club (30 goals) to 1928 and wore the "Big V" in 1924 and 1925. The next wearer also made the switch to eleven but Bob Johnson Senior wore 16 for most of his career after arriving from Quambatook in 1926 only making the change in his final year, 1933. A versatile, comparatively lightly-framed big man, Johnson Snr. made an immediate impact on the club and he was a star in the 1926 Grand Final when he booted six goals from centre half forward in Melbourne's crushing win over Collingwood. A renowned high mark and a long, raking left foot kick, he led the club's goal kicking twice and represented the state in 1928 and 1931, He played a total of 113 games - in which he kicked 302 goals. Left footed Sandgroper, Eric "Tarzan" Glass was assigned the number 16 in 1933and held it through to 1938, playing 78 games (135 goals). Glass combined well with Norm Smith and was the club's leading goal kicker in 1936. The guernsey was worn briefly by Gerry Daly (1939) and Old Melburnian Jack Atkins (4 games in 1940) who served in World War 2 where he sacrificed his life for his country. Hugh McPherson wore the number 16 in 1941, 1943 and 1944 but wore 25 in between in 1942. The ruckman who "spelled" in defence, came from Footscray (13 games/4 goals in 1929 and 1940) and went on to play a further 37 games/14 goals with the Demons. He later became a trainer with the Club, and was awarded Life Membership in 1964. He was also a member of the club’s past player’s association. The wearer in 1942 was ruckman/forward Tom Ferguson who played 5 games in 1942. He managed a further 9 in number 22 the following year before crossing to Hawthorn - where he played a further 38 senior games. Premiership player George Bickford, an accomplished centreman with exceptional disposal skills, particularly his long, accurate drop kicks came to the club from Wesley College in 1945 and wore the number 16 until his retirement in 1952. He was one of the club's best in the 1948 Grand Final replay and was vice-captain in 1951 and 1952. One of his sons, Stephen, later played for the Demons and is currently a Director of the Club. The following seasons, 1953 and 1954, were watershed years in the club’s recruiting history when many future premiership players made their senior debuts. One of them was Clyde Laidlaw who started his career with the number 16 jumper in 1954 and wore it in 44 of his total 124 games until 1956 (including the winning premierships of 1955 and 1956). He switched numbers in 1957 to number 35. Laidlaw’s switch allowed "Big Bob" Johnson to wear the jumper his father, Bob Senior, had made famous three decades before. "Big Bob" was a gangly 198cm ruckman from the thirds who made his debut in the number 18 in 1954 and had already played 49 games before he took his father’s number. He eventually grew into a big man, a real character and a VFL personality. He was a strong mark and a deadly left foot kick and his record at Melbourne was imposing – seven grand finals for five Premierships, leading goalkicker in 1961, state representative in 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960 with 267 goals in 140 games before moving to East Fremantle as captain/coach in 1962, where he guided them to 4 successive Grand Finals, including the Premiership in 1965. in 1966 he headed the WAFL goalkicking with 89, and a year later kicked 5 goals for W.A. against Victoria. He then returned to Victoria where, in turn he captained and coached Hamilton, McKinnon, Oakleigh and Greensborough - where he ended his playing days. He was also club Director for a time, was awarded Life Membership in 1998, named an emergency in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000 and inducted into the Club's Hall of Fame in 2003. Ironically, the big man's number was inherited by a rover, John Townsend, from St Patrick's College in Sale who wore it in 153 games (182 goals) through to 1972. He was twice Best & Fairest (1965 and 1969), twice leading goal kicker (1964 and 1965) and a member of the winning 1964 Grand Final team. He suffered a serious knee injury after the 1965 season which restricted him to only 7 games in the next 2 years, but he persisted - and played a further 92 before transferring to VFA club Prahran where he played over 50 games and was named in its Team of the Century. He was awarded Life Membership of the MFC in 1971. Peter Keays, a defender who played on the flank and the key positions, came from Broadford in 1974 and took over the number 16 in 1975 after wearing 51 in his first year. He played 40 games (4 goals) for the Demons to 1977 when he moved to Fitzroy for a further 49 games. Romsey forward Robert Walters, wore number 32 when he started in 1977 but switched to 16 in 1979. He played a total of 25 games for 86 goals until 1981 including a bag of nine goals in a game against Essendon in 1979. Adrian Battiston, a tenacious rover from Tatura, won the Morrish Medal in the Melbourne Under 19 premiership season of 1981, and was awarded the number 16 when placed on the senior list the following year. He played 46 games (75 goals) until he transferred to Svdney at the end of 1987. He played a further 9 games in the harbor city over the next 2 years. Glenorchy’s Anthony "Andy" Lovell was one of the club’s earliest draftees after the introduction of the national draft. His father was a World Champion woodchopper so it was not surprising that he carried the tag "Chopper". A strongly-built ruck-rover, Lovell was a tireless mid-fielder through eight years with the club from 1988 for 121 games (146 goals) – all of them in the 16 guernsey. He represented Tasmania in interstate contests, played in Melbourne's losing Grand Final team in 1988 and was runner-up in the best & fairest in 1992. At the end of 1995, he was traded to the West Coast Eagles where played the next 3 for 43 games (20 goals). His coaching career continued in the west but he is back home now coaching the club’s VFL affiliate Sandringham. The next two wearers of the number spent only a year each at the Demons after crossing from other clubs. David Grant from St. Kilda played seven games in 1996 and Robert Pyman from Collingwood via North Melbourne managed 19 games (8 goals) in 1997. The club then awarded the number 16 the first selection in the 1997 National Draft – Travis Johnstone from Under 18 TAC Cup club Dandenong Stingrays, The grandson of former Fitzroy strongman Norm Johnstone, Travis was one of Melbourne’s most skilled players over the following decade but injuries and a shortage of application hampered his progress. It wasn't until 2002 - when he finished third in the best & fairest and equal fourth in the Brownlow Medal - that his real form was consistently on display. He broke through for a "Bluey" Truscott club champion award in 2005 but remained unable to translate his undoubted brilliance into the consistent elite status that the football world expected from him. At the end of 2007, after 160 games and 111 goals, he was traded to Brisbane for the first round pick (14) with which Melbourne claimed the next wearer of the famous number 16 guernsey. JACK GRIMES - IN THE MAKING [With thanks to the Melbourne Past Players and Officials Newsletter from which some of the information contained in this article was adapted]

by the Professor The number 16 has been worn by 25 players in senior games for the Melbourne Football Club since 1912 when jumper numbers were first allocated. Players wearing the number have appeared in nine premierships, led the club's goal kicking in six years, won three best and fairests and made four state teams. But while its latest recipient, Jack Grimes from the Northern Knights Under 18 TAC Cup team, comes highly credentialed as a leader in junior football ranks, his new number has never been graced by a club skipper in all those years! The first wearer of the number was half forward/centreman Bill Flintoft who played 42 games (18 goals) with Melbourne in the years 1909-1912 (and one further game with St Kilda in 1913). He later served on the club committee, was awarded Life Membership in 1945 and became President of the Club from 1947-1949. Flintoft passed the jumper on to Bill Angwin (3 games in 1913) and then it went to Bobby Monk who had joined the club in 1907 and wore it in 13 times in his final year at the club. In all, the strongly built and reliable defender played 125 games (5 goals). When the University club was disbanded for the duration of World War 1 in 1915, Dr. Roy Park joined Melbourne and was given the number 16. He played 13 games and kicked 35 goals for the club but a disagreement with a Tribunal decision saw him move to then VFA club Footscray. Park went on to play test cricket for Australia in 1920 and 1921. George Walker, a defender from Melbourne Districts liked to change his numbers, wearing 26 on debut in 1914, 20 in 1915, 16 when Melbourne resumed in the VFL after the war in 1919, 28 in the early part of 1920 and 20 for the remainder of that year and 1921. He played a total of 49 games, 10 of them in the number 16 in 1919 but never scored a goal in any of his many numbers. Like Walker, Hugh Odgers wore the number 26 early in his career. He had arrived in 1909 and wore that number in 1912. A centreman, he had been skipper for part of 1911 but wasn't seen until 1920, when he wore the number 16 jumper in 15 of the 16 games the club played that year. He played a total of 59 games and kicked two goals. The number was passed on to defender Clarrie Lethlean in 1921. He played 9 games that year and ultimately moved on to Hawthorn. "Derek" Mollison, a talented follower/forward inherited the number in 1923 and held it until part way through 1925 when he switched to the number 11. He played 66 games in his career with the club (30 goals) to 1928 and wore the "Big V" in 1924 and 1925. The next wearer also made the switch to eleven but Bob Johnson Senior wore 16 for most of his career after arriving from Quambatook in 1926 only making the change in his final year, 1933. A versatile, comparatively lightly-framed big man, Johnson Snr. made an immediate impact on the club and he was a star in the 1926 Grand Final when he booted six goals from centre half forward in Melbourne's crushing win over Collingwood. A renowned high mark and a long, raking left foot kick, he led the club's goal kicking twice and represented the state in 1928 and 1931, He played a total of 113 games - in which he kicked 302 goals. Left footed Sandgroper, Eric "Tarzan" Glass was assigned the number 16 in 1933and held it through to 1938, playing 78 games (135 goals). Glass combined well with Norm Smith and was the club's leading goal kicker in 1936. The guernsey was worn briefly by Gerry Daly (1939) and Old Melburnian Jack Atkins (4 games in 1940) who served in World War 2 where he sacrificed his life for his country. Hugh McPherson wore the number 16 in 1941, 1943 and 1944 but wore 25 in between in 1942. The ruckman who "spelled" in defence, came from Footscray (13 games/4 goals in 1929 and 1940) and went on to play a further 37 games/14 goals with the Demons. He later became a trainer with the Club, and was awarded Life Membership in 1964. He was also a member of the club’s past player’s association. The wearer in 1942 was ruckman/forward Tom Ferguson who played 5 games in 1942. He managed a further 9 in number 22 the following year before crossing to Hawthorn - where he played a further 38 senior games. Premiership player George Bickford, an accomplished centreman with exceptional disposal skills, particularly his long, accurate drop kicks came to the club from Wesley College in 1945 and wore the number 16 until his retirement in 1952. He was one of the club's best in the 1948 Grand Final replay and was vice-captain in 1951 and 1952. One of his sons, Stephen, later played for the Demons and is currently a Director of the Club. The following seasons, 1953 and 1954, were watershed years in the club’s recruiting history when many future premiership players made their senior debuts. One of them was Clyde Laidlaw who started his career with the number 16 jumper in 1954 and wore it in 44 of his total 124 games until 1956 (including the winning premierships of 1955 and 1956). He switched numbers in 1957 to number 35. Laidlaw’s switch allowed "Big Bob" Johnson to wear the jumper his father, Bob Senior, had made famous three decades before. "Big Bob" was a gangly 198cm ruckman from the thirds who made his debut in the number 18 in 1954 and had already played 49 games before he took his father’s number. He eventually grew into a big man, a real character and a VFL personality. He was a strong mark and a deadly left foot kick and his record at Melbourne was imposing – seven grand finals for five Premierships, leading goalkicker in 1961, state representative in 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960 with 267 goals in 140 games before moving to East Fremantle as captain/coach in 1962, where he guided them to 4 successive Grand Finals, including the Premiership in 1965. in 1966 he headed the WAFL goalkicking with 89, and a year later kicked 5 goals for W.A. against Victoria. He then returned to Victoria where, in turn he captained and coached Hamilton, McKinnon, Oakleigh and Greensborough - where he ended his playing days. He was also club Director for a time, was awarded Life Membership in 1998, named an emergency in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000 and inducted into the Club's Hall of Fame in 2003. Ironically, the big man's number was inherited by a rover, John Townsend, from St Patrick's College in Sale who wore it in 153 games (182 goals) through to 1972. He was twice Best & Fairest (1965 and 1969), twice leading goal kicker (1964 and 1965) and a member of the winning 1964 Grand Final team. He suffered a serious knee injury after the 1965 season which restricted him to only 7 games in the next 2 years, but he persisted - and played a further 92 before transferring to VFA club Prahran where he played over 50 games and was named in its Team of the Century. He was awarded Life Membership of the MFC in 1971. Peter Keays, a defender who played on the flank and the key positions, came from Broadford in 1974 and took over the number 16 in 1975 after wearing 51 in his first year. He played 40 games (4 goals) for the Demons to 1977 when he moved to Fitzroy for a further 49 games. Romsey forward Robert Walters, wore number 32 when he started in 1977 but switched to 16 in 1979. He played a total of 25 games for 86 goals until 1981 including a bag of nine goals in a game against Essendon in 1979. Adrian Battiston, a tenacious rover from Tatura, won the Morrish Medal in the Melbourne Under 19 premiership season of 1981, and was awarded the number 16 when placed on the senior list the following year. He played 46 games (75 goals) until he transferred to Svdney at the end of 1987. He played a further 9 games in the harbor city over the next 2 years. Glenorchy’s Anthony "Andy" Lovell was one of the club’s earliest draftees after the introduction of the national draft. His father was a World Champion woodchopper so it was not surprising that he carried the tag "Chopper". A strongly-built ruck-rover, Lovell was a tireless mid-fielder through eight years with the club from 1988 for 121 games (146 goals) – all of them in the 16 guernsey. He represented Tasmania in interstate contests, played in Melbourne's losing Grand Final team in 1988 and was runner-up in the best & fairest in 1992. At the end of 1995, he was traded to the West Coast Eagles where played the next 3 for 43 games (20 goals). His coaching career continued in the west but he is back home now coaching the club’s VFL affiliate Sandringham. The next two wearers of the number spent only a year each at the Demons after crossing from other clubs. David Grant from St. Kilda played seven games in 1996 and Robert Pyman from Collingwood via North Melbourne managed 19 games (8 goals) in 1997. The club then awarded the number 16 the first selection in the 1997 National Draft – Travis Johnstone from Under 18 TAC Cup club Dandenong Stingrays, The grandson of former Fitzroy strongman Norm Johnstone, Travis was one of Melbourne’s most skilled players over the following decade but injuries and a shortage of application hampered his progress. It wasn't until 2002 - when he finished third in the best & fairest and equal fourth in the Brownlow Medal - that his real form was consistently on display. He broke through for a "Bluey" Truscott club champion award in 2005 but remained unable to translate his undoubted brilliance into the consistent elite status that the football world expected from him. At the end of 2007, after 160 games and 111 goals, he was traded to Brisbane for the first round pick (14) with which Melbourne claimed the next wearer of the famous number 16 guernsey. JACK GRIMES - IN THE MAKING [With thanks to the Melbourne Past Players and Officials Newsletter from which some of the information contained in this article was adapted]