Demonland

We should have reprised this a few weeks ago but here's a post from our Classic Demonland Series which we're starting over the summer period. Basically, we're bringing back some golden oldies and here is one from an anonymous source but it's worth reading in the context of the AFL Draft:- DRAFT TALK by Anonymous This guide may help you decipher those draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. Here is what they really mean when they say: "Outside player with good pace" - A receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - He's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - Slow. "He's an elusive type" - Like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - Has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - Unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - Will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - He has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - Tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - Private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - Has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - Complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - He can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - We needed someone to practice tackling on "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - "Did you know that this kid is 200cm tall?" "We believe he has unlimited potential" - We've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - My wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - He'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - Unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - Hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - Either 15 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - He's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - He weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - He may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - You should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - We haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - We are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department.

We should have reprised this a few weeks ago but here's a post from our Classic Demonland Series which we're starting over the summer period. Basically, we're bringing back some golden oldies and here is one from an anonymous source but it's worth reading in the context of the AFL Draft:- DRAFT TALK by Anonymous This guide may help you decipher those draft profiles and club recruiters' assessments of their selections. Here is what they really mean when they say: "Outside player with good pace" - A receiver, afraid to get his jumper dirty. "He's a real athlete" - He's played mostly basketball or soccer. Absolutely no idea about footy. "Quick hands" or "Great vision" or "Has footy smarts" - Slow. "He's an elusive type" - Like a frightened rabbit. "Great goal sense and finishing skills" - Has never handballed in his life. "He's a burst player" - Unfortunately it's just the one burst. "Has skills, needs to work on his fitness" - Will be a blimp before season's end. "He has a great upside" - He has an even greater downside. "Tremendous work ethic and a great competitor" - Tries hard, no skills though. "Solid citizen, from a good family" - Private schoolboy. "Natural forward" - Has never tackled, shepherded or manned up in his life. "Raking left-foot kick" - Complete dud on his right. "Suited to a tagging role" - He can run and hold a jumper at the same time. "He will add to our depth" - We needed someone to practice tackling on "He's a bit of a punt, but we needed a third ruckman" - "Did you know that this kid is 200cm tall?" "We believe he has unlimited potential" - We've never seen him play, but his draft camp profile sounded good. "He is a Trent Croad type player" - My wife likes the look of him. "We were sure he would be taken by St Kilda" - He'll be arrested for public drunkenness before the year is out. "He has the knack of being able to produce something out of nothing" - Unfortunately he also has a habit of producing nothing out of something. "A very disciplined old-fashioned defender" - Hasn't thought laterally in his life. "We had him listed in our top 3" - Either 15 other clubs don't know what they are doing, or we severely overrated him. "He has played down back, in the midfield and up forward" - He's too small to play key position, too slow to play on the wing, and too unfit to play on the ball. "He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year" - He is a fine cricketer, having represented Western Australia at U17 level this year. "Lightly built ruckman" - He weighs as much as my sister. "He is the best NSW player on offer" - He may as well be the best Ethiopian player on offer. "The most impressive tall player at the Draft Camp" - You should have seen the rest of the hacks. "We can't believe we got him at 52" - We haven't seen the X-rays or spoken to his parole officer yet. "He is the son of a former club legend" - We are hoping his dad will start attending club functions again, speak to the President without swearing and sign some jumpers for our marketing department.

The Melbournefc is about to issue the new jumper numbers for 2008. Demonland brings you the updated list of all numbers worn by players in the club's AFL/VFL teams (qualification - at least one senior game wearing the jumper number): THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 1 to 10] by the Professor Number 1 1912 William Allan (No. 9, 1913; No. 19, 1914) 1913 Douglas Chapman 1914 Des McDonald/Carlyle Kenley (No. 22, 1913) 1915 Johnny Hassett (No. 34, 1913) 1919 – 1923 William Allan (see 1912 above) 1924 – 1931 Stan Wittman 1932 Leo Nolan 1933 Noel Barnett 1934 Col Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 2, 1935) 1935 – 1940 Gordon Jones 1941 Stan 'Pop' Heal 1942 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 5, 1937 – 1940) 1943 Keith Shadbolt/Don Hooper (No. 18, 1932 – 1935) 1944 Ron Kimberley (No. 21, 1939 – 1941)/Jack Compton 1946 – 1947 Ern Rowarth (No. 33, 1945) 1948 James Mitchell (No. 37, 1946 – 1947) 1948 – 1956 Denis Cordner (No. 17, 1943) 1957 – 1959 Dick Fenton-Smith 1961 Bruce Leslie 1963 Garry Byers (No. 50, 1962) 1964 – 1967 Robert Foster 1968 – 1972 Max Walker (No. 46, 1967) 1974 – 1981 Garry Baker 1984 – 1985 Steven Smith (No. 35, 1974 – 1983) 1988 – 1991 Steven O’Dwyer (No. 32, 1987) 1993 – 1994 Adrian Campbell 1995 – 1997 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 18, 1994) 1998 – 1999 Jamie Shanahan 2003 – 2005 Chris Heffernan 2006 – Simon Buckley Number 2 1912 Harry Brereton (No. 7, 1915) 1913 Algernon Millhouse 1914 William Quinn 1915 Percy Rodriguez 1919 – 1920 Eric Tonkin 1921 – 1924 Joe Flanagan 1925 Clarrie Wyatt 1928 PB ‘Barney’ Wood 1929 – 1934 Wyn Murray 1934 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937 1935 Colin Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 1, 1934) 1936 – 1939 Lou Reiffel 1939 – 1940, 1942 – 1946 Roy Dowsing 1947 David Newman 1948 – 1955 Robert McKenzie Snr 1958 – 1963 Alan Rowarth 1966 – 1967 Robert Stewart 1968 Robert Dowsing (No. 38, 1966 – 1967) 1969 – 1970 Denis Clark (No. 38, 1968; No. 17, 1971 – 1975) 1971 – 1972 Robert D. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 10, 1970) 1973 – 1987 Robert Flower 1992 – 1999 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 15, 1990 – 1991) 2002 – 2005 Steven Armstrong 2006 – Nathan Jones Number 3 1912 Alf George (No. 14, 1913; No. 29, 1915) 1913 Jack D. Robertson (No. 10, 1912) 1914 Jack Huntington (No. 28, 1915; No. 19, 1919 – 1920) 1915 Jack McKenzie 1919 Percy Love 1920 Leo Little (No. 31, 1919) 1921 – 1929 EH 'Ted' Thomas (No. 12, 1932) 1930 – 1934 George Margitich 1935 Ken Feltscheer (No. 22, 1936) 1936 – 1938 John Lewis 1939 – 1941 William Baxter 1942 Robert Spargo 1943 Keith Molloy (No. 27, 1945) 1943 – 1947 Ron Irwin 1948 – 1952 Geoff Collins (No. 8, 1954) 1953 – 1958 Peter Marquis 1964, 1966 Maurie Bartlett 1966, 1968 Sid Catlin 1969 – 1973 Trevor Rollinson 1976 – 1978 Barry Tippett 1979 – 1980 Henry Coles (No. 13, 1975 – 1978) 1982 – 1985 Gerard Healy (No. 39, 1979 – 1981) 1986 – 1999 Garry Lyon 2002 – 2007 Clint Bizzell Number 4 1912 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 12, 1913) 1913 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1914 Percy Colee 1915 Tim Collins (No. 24, 1914) 1919 William McKenzie (see above) 1920 Alec Farrow (No. 25, 1919; No. 28, 1921) 1921 Francis Lyon 1922 Alf Oldham 1923 – 1924 Tom Elliott 1926 – 1932 Jim Abernethy (No. 14, 1923 – 1924) 1933 – 1934 Jack Sambell 1935 – 1948 Norman Smith 1949 Robert Chadwick 1950 Jack Hiscock 1951 – 1955 Ken Christie 1957 – 1965 John Lord 1966 – 1967 Peter Smith 1968 – 1979 Tony Sullivan (No. 43, 1967) 1980 – 1987 Peter Giles (No. 45, 1979) 1988 – 1991 Tony Campbell (No. 40, 1986 – 1987) 1992, 1994 Chris Sullivan 1995 – 1997 Andrew Obst (No. 29, 1990 – 1994) 1998 – 2001 Brent Grgic (No. 48, 1997) 2002 - 2003 Craig Ellis 2004 – Ben Holland Number 5 1912 William Hendrie (No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1913 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 16, 1914) 1914 Wal Riddington 1919 RJ 'Bob' Love 1920 – 1924 Harry Harker 1925 Gerry Donnelly 1926 WO 'Ossie' Green (No. 22, 1929; ?, 1931) 1927 – 1929 E 'Tommy' McConville 1930 – 1932 HA 'Hec' Davidson 1932 – 1936 William Deague 1937 – 1940 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 1, 1942) 1941 Ron White 1942 Tom Bush (No. 17, 1944) 1943 Ron White 1943 – 1950 William 'Billy' Deans (?, 1942) 1951 – 1960 Ian McLean 1962 – 1966 Neil Crompton (No. 12, 1957 – 1960) 1967, 1969 Chris Aitken (No. 14, 1977) 1971 – 1972 John Gallus 1973 – 1974 John Clennett (No. 34, 1972) 1975 – 1977 Des Campbell (No. 18, 1970) 1978 – 1980 Graham Hunnibell 1981 – 1982 Michael Young 1984 Ray Holden 1985 – 1987 Robin White 1988 – 1991 Earl Spalding (No. 35, 1987) 1992 – 2002 David Schwarz 2004 – Brock McLean Number 6 1912 William McKenzie (No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1913 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 11, 1914; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1914 Rupert Lowell 1915 Charlie H. Lilley (see above) 1919 – 1922 E ‘Herb’ Matthews 1923 LC ‘Bob’ Abernethy 1924 WJ ‘Johnny’ Egan 1925 Edward Parker 1926 – 1927 Jim Veal 1928 Allan Hope 1929 – 1932 Ted Esposito 1932 – 1935 Archie Roberts (No. 27, 1936) 1936 – 1937 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935) 1936 Jack Harrison (?, 1933) 1939 Ian Giles 1940, 1942 – 1947 Fred Fanning 1948 – 1950 Eddie Craddock (No. 9, 1947) 1951 Kevin Webb 1952 – 1954 Ken Albiston 1955 – 1964 Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams (No. 41, 1953 – 1954) 1965 – 1973 Frank Davis (No. 40, 1964) 1974 – 1978 Ross Brewer (No. 27, 1972 – 1973) 1979 Ken Roberts (No. 10, 1978) 1979 – 1981 Robert Elliott 1982 – 1986 Michael O’Sullivan 1989 – 1999 Glenn Lovett (No. 51, 1987) 2001 - 2004 Scott Thompson 2006 - Matthew Bate Number 7 1912 WD ‘Bill’ Hickey 1913 Norm McDougall 1914 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 29, 1912; No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 28, 1919) 1915 Harry Brereton (No. 2, 1912) 1919 Reg Gibb (No. 19, 1915) 1919 William Hore 1920 – 1924 Mick Anthony 1925 – 1927 Frank Jorgensen 1928 – 1930 Vince Driver 1931 – 1933 H ‘Bert’ Avery 1934 – 1936 AE ‘Bert’ Taylor 1937 – 1940 Hugh Murnane 1942 Jack Heal 1943 Robert Stone (No. 32, 1942; No. 36, 1949) 1944 – 1946 Clem Conroy 1947 – 1952 Eddie Jackson 1953 – 1962 Geoff Case 1963 – 1964 Owen Zinko 1966 – 1975 Graham Osborne (No. 24, 1976 – 1977) 1976 Ray Smith (No. 43, 1975) 1977 – 1979 Barry Denny 1980 – 1981 Phil Pinnell 1982 – 1990 Brian Wilson 1991 Rod Owen 1992 – 1999 Darren Kowal 2000 - 2002 Stephen Powell 2003 Gary Moorcroft 2004 - Brad Miller (No. 37, 2002 – 2003) Number 8 1912 Fred Harris (No. 29, 1912; No. 7, 1914; No. 28, 1919) 1913 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans 1914 A ‘Bert’ Trahair 1915 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (see 1913 above) 1919 – 1925 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 11, 1914) 1926 – 1929 Herbie J. White 1931 – 1932 W ‘Bull’ Adams 1933 – 1941 Rowley Fischer 1942 – 1943 Don Hewson (?, 1944) 1945 Ralph Latham 1946 – 1947 Roy Stabb (No. 22, 1945) 1948 – 1951 Doug Heywood (No. 25,1943; No. 26, 1944) 1952 Ian Toyne 1952 Maurie Lehmann 1953 Don Cameron 1954 Geoff Collins (No. 3, 1948 – 1952) 1955 Kevin Clark 1956 – 1957 Jim Sandral 1959 – 1969 R ‘Tassie’ Johnson 1970 – 1975 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 10, 1981 – 1982) 1976 – 1978 Peter Johnston 1979 Glenn Elliott 1980 – 1982 Brent Crosswell 1983 Les Bamblett 1984 Peter Thorne (No. 40, 1978 – 1979) 1985 – 1995 Graeme Yeats (No. 45, 1984) 1996 Craig Turley 1999 Jeff Farmer 2000 James Cook 2001 – 2006 Alistair Nicholson (No. 44, 1997 – 2000) 2007 – James Frawley Number 9 1912 Bobby Monk (No. 5, 1913; No. 16, 1914) 1913 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 19, 1914) 1914 Harry Britter 1915 William ‘Bill’ Allan (see 1913 above) 1919 John McMahon 1920 – 1928 Charles ‘Brum’ Streeter 1930 – 1931 Howard Steel (No. 30, 1932) 1932 HA ‘Arch’ Dickens 1933 – 1936 Charlie Longhurst 1937 – 1943 Richard Emselle 1944 – 1946 Ivan Porter 1947 Eddie Craddock (No. 6, 1948 – 1950) 1948 Les Crawley 1949 Colin Cox (No. 26, 1948) 1949 Ray Harvey 1950 Con O’Toole 1951 Alan Daly 1952 – 1953 Max Orr 1953 Peter Schofield 1954 – 1968 Brian Dixon 1969 – 1972 George Lakes (No. 39, 1968) 1972 Peter Yeo 1973 – 1974 Steve Kerley (No. 49, 1971; No. 41, 1972) 1975 – 1981 Laurie Fowler 1982 – 1990 Alan Johnson 1992 – 1993 Darren Cuthbertson (No. 48, 1991) 1994 - David Neitz (No. 38, 1993) Number 10 1912 Jack D. Robertson (No. 3, 1913) 1913 J Watt 1914 Bill Daly (No. 18, 1913) 1915 J Watt (see above, 1913) 1919 Gordon Coulter 1920 – 1921 Jack Brake (see also 1915) 1923 – 1931 Jack Collins 1932 Geoff McInnes (No. 17, 1933) 1933 Colin Niven (No. 1, 1934; No. 2, 1935) 1934 – 1936 Jack Bennett (No. 34, 1933) 1937 Fred Backway (No. 21, 1935) 1937 – 1943 Maurie Gibb (No. 14, 1934 – 1937) 1938 (also) Len Catton 1944 – 1945 Gordon Kramer (No. 26, 1942) 1946 – 1954 Lance Arnold 1957 – 1961 Robert S. Turner 1962 – 1967, 1969 Ken Emselle 1970 Robert B. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 2, 1971 – 1972) 1971 – 1972 Lloyd Burgmann (No. 40, 1970) 1973 – 1975 Carl Ditterich 1976 – 1978 Craig McKellar 1978 Ken Roberts (No. 6, 1979) 1979 – 1980 Carl Ditterich (see also 1973 – 1975) 1981 – 1982 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 8, 1970 – 1975) 1983 Peter Moore (No. 30, 1984 – 1987) 1984 – 1990 Danny Hughes 1992 Matthew Mahoney (No. 46, 1990) 1994 Martin Pike (No. 22, 1993) 1995 – 2000 Marcus Seecamp 2001 - 2007 Daniel Ward (No. 49, 1998 – 1999; No. 26, 1999 – 2000)

The Melbournefc is about to issue the new jumper numbers for 2008. Demonland brings you the updated list of all numbers worn by players in the club's AFL/VFL teams (qualification - at least one senior game wearing the jumper number): THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - INDEX [Numbers 1 to 10] by the Professor Number 1 1912 William Allan (No. 9, 1913; No. 19, 1914) 1913 Douglas Chapman 1914 Des McDonald/Carlyle Kenley (No. 22, 1913) 1915 Johnny Hassett (No. 34, 1913) 1919 – 1923 William Allan (see 1912 above) 1924 – 1931 Stan Wittman 1932 Leo Nolan 1933 Noel Barnett 1934 Col Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 2, 1935) 1935 – 1940 Gordon Jones 1941 Stan 'Pop' Heal 1942 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 5, 1937 – 1940) 1943 Keith Shadbolt/Don Hooper (No. 18, 1932 – 1935) 1944 Ron Kimberley (No. 21, 1939 – 1941)/Jack Compton 1946 – 1947 Ern Rowarth (No. 33, 1945) 1948 James Mitchell (No. 37, 1946 – 1947) 1948 – 1956 Denis Cordner (No. 17, 1943) 1957 – 1959 Dick Fenton-Smith 1961 Bruce Leslie 1963 Garry Byers (No. 50, 1962) 1964 – 1967 Robert Foster 1968 – 1972 Max Walker (No. 46, 1967) 1974 – 1981 Garry Baker 1984 – 1985 Steven Smith (No. 35, 1974 – 1983) 1988 – 1991 Steven O’Dwyer (No. 32, 1987) 1993 – 1994 Adrian Campbell 1995 – 1997 Sean Charles (No. 44, 1992 – 1993; No. 18, 1994) 1998 – 1999 Jamie Shanahan 2003 – 2005 Chris Heffernan 2006 – Simon Buckley Number 2 1912 Harry Brereton (No. 7, 1915) 1913 Algernon Millhouse 1914 William Quinn 1915 Percy Rodriguez 1919 – 1920 Eric Tonkin 1921 – 1924 Joe Flanagan 1925 Clarrie Wyatt 1928 PB ‘Barney’ Wood 1929 – 1934 Wyn Murray 1934 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 36, 1935; No. 6, 1936 – 1937 1935 Colin Niven (No. 10, 1933; No. 1, 1934) 1936 – 1939 Lou Reiffel 1939 – 1940, 1942 – 1946 Roy Dowsing 1947 David Newman 1948 – 1955 Robert McKenzie Snr 1958 – 1963 Alan Rowarth 1966 – 1967 Robert Stewart 1968 Robert Dowsing (No. 38, 1966 – 1967) 1969 – 1970 Denis Clark (No. 38, 1968; No. 17, 1971 – 1975) 1971 – 1972 Robert D. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 10, 1970) 1973 – 1987 Robert Flower 1992 – 1999 Stephen Tingay (No. 52, 1989; No. 15, 1990 – 1991) 2002 – 2005 Steven Armstrong 2006 – Nathan Jones Number 3 1912 Alf George (No. 14, 1913; No. 29, 1915) 1913 Jack D. Robertson (No. 10, 1912) 1914 Jack Huntington (No. 28, 1915; No. 19, 1919 – 1920) 1915 Jack McKenzie 1919 Percy Love 1920 Leo Little (No. 31, 1919) 1921 – 1929 EH 'Ted' Thomas (No. 12, 1932) 1930 – 1934 George Margitich 1935 Ken Feltscheer (No. 22, 1936) 1936 – 1938 John Lewis 1939 – 1941 William Baxter 1942 Robert Spargo 1943 Keith Molloy (No. 27, 1945) 1943 – 1947 Ron Irwin 1948 – 1952 Geoff Collins (No. 8, 1954) 1953 – 1958 Peter Marquis 1964, 1966 Maurie Bartlett 1966, 1968 Sid Catlin 1969 – 1973 Trevor Rollinson 1976 – 1978 Barry Tippett 1979 – 1980 Henry Coles (No. 13, 1975 – 1978) 1982 – 1985 Gerard Healy (No. 39, 1979 – 1981) 1986 – 1999 Garry Lyon 2002 – 2007 Clint Bizzell Number 4 1912 Jim Fitzpatrick (No. 12, 1913) 1913 William McKenzie (No. 6, 1912; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1914 Percy Colee 1915 Tim Collins (No. 24, 1914) 1919 William McKenzie (see above) 1920 Alec Farrow (No. 25, 1919; No. 28, 1921) 1921 Francis Lyon 1922 Alf Oldham 1923 – 1924 Tom Elliott 1926 – 1932 Jim Abernethy (No. 14, 1923 – 1924) 1933 – 1934 Jack Sambell 1935 – 1948 Norman Smith 1949 Robert Chadwick 1950 Jack Hiscock 1951 – 1955 Ken Christie 1957 – 1965 John Lord 1966 – 1967 Peter Smith 1968 – 1979 Tony Sullivan (No. 43, 1967) 1980 – 1987 Peter Giles (No. 45, 1979) 1988 – 1991 Tony Campbell (No. 40, 1986 – 1987) 1992, 1994 Chris Sullivan 1995 – 1997 Andrew Obst (No. 29, 1990 – 1994) 1998 – 2001 Brent Grgic (No. 48, 1997) 2002 - 2003 Craig Ellis 2004 – Ben Holland Number 5 1912 William Hendrie (No. 11, 1913; No. 15, 1914; No. 12, 1915) 1913 Bobby Monk (No. 9, 1912; No. 16, 1914) 1914 Wal Riddington 1919 RJ 'Bob' Love 1920 – 1924 Harry Harker 1925 Gerry Donnelly 1926 WO 'Ossie' Green (No. 22, 1929; ?, 1931) 1927 – 1929 E 'Tommy' McConville 1930 – 1932 HA 'Hec' Davidson 1932 – 1936 William Deague 1937 – 1940 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (No. 1, 1942) 1941 Ron White 1942 Tom Bush (No. 17, 1944) 1943 Ron White 1943 – 1950 William 'Billy' Deans (?, 1942) 1951 – 1960 Ian McLean 1962 – 1966 Neil Crompton (No. 12, 1957 – 1960) 1967, 1969 Chris Aitken (No. 14, 1977) 1971 – 1972 John Gallus 1973 – 1974 John Clennett (No. 34, 1972) 1975 – 1977 Des Campbell (No. 18, 1970) 1978 – 1980 Graham Hunnibell 1981 – 1982 Michael Young 1984 Ray Holden 1985 – 1987 Robin White 1988 – 1991 Earl Spalding (No. 35, 1987) 1992 – 2002 David Schwarz 2004 – Brock McLean Number 6 1912 William McKenzie (No. 4, 1913, 1919; No. 27, 1914; No. 18, 1915) 1913 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 11, 1914; No. 8, 1919 – 1925) 1914 Rupert Lowell 1915 Charlie H. Lilley (see above) 1919 – 1922 E ‘Herb’ Matthews 1923 LC ‘Bob’ Abernethy 1924 WJ ‘Johnny’ Egan 1925 Edward Parker 1926 – 1927 Jim Veal 1928 Allan Hope 1929 – 1932 Ted Esposito 1932 – 1935 Archie Roberts (No. 27, 1936) 1936 – 1937 Joe Kinnear (No. 17, 1932; No. 15, 1933; No. 2, 1934; No. 36, 1935) 1936 Jack Harrison (?, 1933) 1939 Ian Giles 1940, 1942 – 1947 Fred Fanning 1948 – 1950 Eddie Craddock (No. 9, 1947) 1951 Kevin Webb 1952 – 1954 Ken Albiston 1955 – 1964 Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams (No. 41, 1953 – 1954) 1965 – 1973 Frank Davis (No. 40, 1964) 1974 – 1978 Ross Brewer (No. 27, 1972 – 1973) 1979 Ken Roberts (No. 10, 1978) 1979 – 1981 Robert Elliott 1982 – 1986 Michael O’Sullivan 1989 – 1999 Glenn Lovett (No. 51, 1987) 2001 - 2004 Scott Thompson 2006 - Matthew Bate Number 7 1912 WD ‘Bill’ Hickey 1913 Norm McDougall 1914 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (No. 29, 1912; No. 8, 1913, 1915; No. 28, 1919) 1915 Harry Brereton (No. 2, 1912) 1919 Reg Gibb (No. 19, 1915) 1919 William Hore 1920 – 1924 Mick Anthony 1925 – 1927 Frank Jorgensen 1928 – 1930 Vince Driver 1931 – 1933 H ‘Bert’ Avery 1934 – 1936 AE ‘Bert’ Taylor 1937 – 1940 Hugh Murnane 1942 Jack Heal 1943 Robert Stone (No. 32, 1942; No. 36, 1949) 1944 – 1946 Clem Conroy 1947 – 1952 Eddie Jackson 1953 – 1962 Geoff Case 1963 – 1964 Owen Zinko 1966 – 1975 Graham Osborne (No. 24, 1976 – 1977) 1976 Ray Smith (No. 43, 1975) 1977 – 1979 Barry Denny 1980 – 1981 Phil Pinnell 1982 – 1990 Brian Wilson 1991 Rod Owen 1992 – 1999 Darren Kowal 2000 - 2002 Stephen Powell 2003 Gary Moorcroft 2004 - Brad Miller (No. 37, 2002 – 2003) Number 8 1912 Fred Harris (No. 29, 1912; No. 7, 1914; No. 28, 1919) 1913 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans 1914 A ‘Bert’ Trahair 1915 Jack A ‘Dodger’ Evans (see 1913 above) 1919 – 1925 Charlie H. Lilley (No. 6, 1913, 1915; No. 11, 1914) 1926 – 1929 Herbie J. White 1931 – 1932 W ‘Bull’ Adams 1933 – 1941 Rowley Fischer 1942 – 1943 Don Hewson (?, 1944) 1945 Ralph Latham 1946 – 1947 Roy Stabb (No. 22, 1945) 1948 – 1951 Doug Heywood (No. 25,1943; No. 26, 1944) 1952 Ian Toyne 1952 Maurie Lehmann 1953 Don Cameron 1954 Geoff Collins (No. 3, 1948 – 1952) 1955 Kevin Clark 1956 – 1957 Jim Sandral 1959 – 1969 R ‘Tassie’ Johnson 1970 – 1975 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 10, 1981 – 1982) 1976 – 1978 Peter Johnston 1979 Glenn Elliott 1980 – 1982 Brent Crosswell 1983 Les Bamblett 1984 Peter Thorne (No. 40, 1978 – 1979) 1985 – 1995 Graeme Yeats (No. 45, 1984) 1996 Craig Turley 1999 Jeff Farmer 2000 James Cook 2001 – 2006 Alistair Nicholson (No. 44, 1997 – 2000) 2007 – James Frawley Number 9 1912 Bobby Monk (No. 5, 1913; No. 16, 1914) 1913 William ‘Bill’ Allan (No. 1, 1912, 1919 – 1923; No. 19, 1914) 1914 Harry Britter 1915 William ‘Bill’ Allan (see 1913 above) 1919 John McMahon 1920 – 1928 Charles ‘Brum’ Streeter 1930 – 1931 Howard Steel (No. 30, 1932) 1932 HA ‘Arch’ Dickens 1933 – 1936 Charlie Longhurst 1937 – 1943 Richard Emselle 1944 – 1946 Ivan Porter 1947 Eddie Craddock (No. 6, 1948 – 1950) 1948 Les Crawley 1949 Colin Cox (No. 26, 1948) 1949 Ray Harvey 1950 Con O’Toole 1951 Alan Daly 1952 – 1953 Max Orr 1953 Peter Schofield 1954 – 1968 Brian Dixon 1969 – 1972 George Lakes (No. 39, 1968) 1972 Peter Yeo 1973 – 1974 Steve Kerley (No. 49, 1971; No. 41, 1972) 1975 – 1981 Laurie Fowler 1982 – 1990 Alan Johnson 1992 – 1993 Darren Cuthbertson (No. 48, 1991) 1994 - David Neitz (No. 38, 1993) Number 10 1912 Jack D. Robertson (No. 3, 1913) 1913 J Watt 1914 Bill Daly (No. 18, 1913) 1915 J Watt (see above, 1913) 1919 Gordon Coulter 1920 – 1921 Jack Brake (see also 1915) 1923 – 1931 Jack Collins 1932 Geoff McInnes (No. 17, 1933) 1933 Colin Niven (No. 1, 1934; No. 2, 1935) 1934 – 1936 Jack Bennett (No. 34, 1933) 1937 Fred Backway (No. 21, 1935) 1937 – 1943 Maurie Gibb (No. 14, 1934 – 1937) 1938 (also) Len Catton 1944 – 1945 Gordon Kramer (No. 26, 1942) 1946 – 1954 Lance Arnold 1957 – 1961 Robert S. Turner 1962 – 1967, 1969 Ken Emselle 1970 Robert B. McKenzie (No. 50, 1969; No. 2, 1971 – 1972) 1971 – 1972 Lloyd Burgmann (No. 40, 1970) 1973 – 1975 Carl Ditterich 1976 – 1978 Craig McKellar 1978 Ken Roberts (No. 6, 1979) 1979 – 1980 Carl Ditterich (see also 1973 – 1975) 1981 – 1982 Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan (No. 8, 1970 – 1975) 1983 Peter Moore (No. 30, 1984 – 1987) 1984 – 1990 Danny Hughes 1992 Matthew Mahoney (No. 46, 1990) 1994 Martin Pike (No. 22, 1993) 1995 – 2000 Marcus Seecamp 2001 - 2007 Daniel Ward (No. 49, 1998 – 1999; No. 26, 1999 – 2000)

The Professor who is bringing us that interesting series on club jumper numbers sent me an email today warning of the dangers of wearing the number 38 based on the experience of recent years. Back in 1993, David Neitz wore the jumper in his debut season but he soon grabbed the number 9 and made it famous at the club. Martin Heppell from St. Kilda took it over in 1995 and he was followed by Darren O'Brien (1996-7) who was the last player to wear the number in a senior AFL game with the Demons. Since that time the jumper has been held by - 1998 Brent Williams 1999 -2000 Luke Taylor ® 2001 - 2003 Daniel Breese 2004 Joel Campbell ® 2005 Brendan Van Schaik ® 2006 - 2007 Daniel Hughes ® Jumper 39 hasn't fared much better since it was last worn by Craig Smoker in 1999. The # 39 locker has been occupied this century by - 2000 Michael Clark (who finally got a game in 2002 but only after switching to number 17) 2001 Mitchell Craig 2003 Ezra Poyas ® 2006 - 2007 Shane Neaves ® Moral of the story - stay away from these numbers?

SLAM DUNKS AND SNAKE BAY by Whispering Jack There was a time not so long ago when AFL recruiting scouts were bemoaning the lack of big men coming through the ranks and blaming basketball for spiriting away the best of our young, tall talent. It seems now that the wheel has turned 180 degrees with players like Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan setting the standards and other clubs following suit in their drive to bolster their stocks of tall players. Melbourne joined in this trend with its selections in last week's drafts when it took three out of five players from basketball backgrounds. The fact that they have played another sport and not concentrated solely on football might well mean that their skills are not as advanced as some of their contemporaries but it also raises the possibility that with the right education, such players could rise to the ability levels of some of the more accomplished and better credentialed contemporaries. After all, we marvelled this year at the accomplishments of Collingwood's 19 year old Irish recruit, Martin Clark who came from nowhere to be a very valuable member of a Preliminary Final side that was within a goal of making a Grand Final and probably becoming the AFL's premier team. In Clark's case "nowhere" is actually County Down, Ireland and his background is that he was an outstanding Gaelic football talent who starred for his junior side and led them to the 2005 All Ireland Championship. A year ago, Clark had never played a game of Australian football but now he is being hailed as "the Irish equivalent of Nathan Buckley". Last week the Magpies added a second Irishman as an international rookie selection and three other clubs did likewise. At roughly the same time when Clark was helping his team win the All Ireland Championship, Stefan Martin was a member of the National Under 20 Basketball squad here in Australia, Trent Zomer was on the verge of deciding where his sporting future lay (he chose basketball and represented Victoria in 2006) and Townsville's Jake Spencer was nudging his way past 200 cm in height and also tossing round balls into high baskets. All three have been lured back to football and joined the Demons as draftees last week. Stefan Martin's mates persuaded him to join them and make up the numbers at Old Haileybury six weeks into the VAFA Under 19 season in early 2006. Martin told the VFL Record that his friends wanted him to play socially with them. "I turned them down a few times, but I got a bit bored with basketball and wanted something new," Martin said. Without a pre season or anything like that, Martin ended the season in Old Haileybury's senior side after winning the Under 19 Best and Fairest polling 23 out of a possible 24 votes. He was invited to train for a week with the Melbourne side after the season and I recall watching him, still very raw and with a poor kicking action, running around against hopefuls like Magpie reject David Fanning who were aiming for selection in last year's Pre Season Draft. Martin was jumping all over Fanning in the boundary ruck duels but he still had a long way to go. Sandringham coach Mark Williams grabbed Martin who made the Zebras' list but thought he would be lucky to do any better than play out 2007 in the reserves. Instead, he showed steady improvement throughout the year and by season's end was a regular in the reigning premier's senior team managing a dozen games at VFL level and showing out with his mobility and strong marking. Now, he's a senior listed AFL player. Trent Zomer hails from South Croydon in Matthew Bate territory. Last year, he tried to combine both football and basketball but the schedule for the latter sport was highly demanding. He switched back to football and joined the Eastern Ranges earlier this year. The Ranges' Regional Manager Ian Flack told the TAC Cup Record that Zomer "never really wanted to burn his bridges and was always fair dinkum about his football, but he couldn’t do both. It was always in the back of his mind that he would play football with us this year, and that's what has happened." Zomer, a solid lad with a strong body and an outstanding leap, began this year as a key defender and tried out for the Vic Metro Under 18 squad but failed to make the final cut. He finished the season playing up forward and spent a bit of time in the ruck. His best form was as a forward and he was his team's leading goal kicker for the 2007 season. Jake Spencer also chose football ahead of basketball and moved to Brisbane where he made the Queensland Under 18 team. The 203 cm tall hard working youngster moves pretty well for a big man, seems to have reasonable endurance, and has developed well at Redlands in the AFLQ where he was really showing out with his aggressive ruckwork by the end of the year. He is a palm ruck who can ruck with either hand and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He still has a lot of improvement in him and his development will be watched with great interest. Melbourne's recruiting in the rookie draft wasn't totally focussed on talls. The club also picked up a couple of smaller types, one from way up north and the other close to home. I think they could write a book about Austin Wonaeamirri and I'm thrilled that he’s come to the club. A little over a year ago, I became a real devotee of Northern Territory football and in particular the Bombers, the new team from the Tiwi Islands [see THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ]. Wonaeamirri was one of the youngsters who captured my attention as being an X factor type even in the wonderfully whacky NTFL competition. The standard of play there is all over the place and many of its players would not be suited to AFL football but Austin stood out in his own way as a youngster possessing strong pace and great vision. He hails from the Milakapiti community in Snake Bay on Melville Island some 100 kilometres north of Darwin and he moved to the mainland to play for St. Marys in the NTFL before joining the Tiwi Island Bombers for their brief debut stint in the competition last year. His uncle Thomas Simon is skipper of that team which currently heads the NTFL ladder. Wonaeamirri was starring for the Bombers against Palmerston just a little over a week ago. He represented the NT Under 18's in 2006 and returned as an overage player this year where he was voted the Northern Territory's best player at the Championships and gave them great run with his hard-at-it ball winning skills. Wonaeamirri also wore the red and the blue this year for Norwood in the SANFL making his debut in Round 1 against the Port Adelaide Magpies at Coopers Stadium where he quickly established a cult following amongst the Norwood faithful. According to the official site of the Norwood Football Club he "lit up suburban ovals with his pace, skill and brilliance". His coach Trevor Hill summed him up beautifully in The Sunday Mail on August 19, "He's a special young man. It's amazing what you can achieve if you haven't got an ego. Aussie just loves playing and he just loves the Norwood Footy Club. When you just go back to the true essence of playing, it brings out the best in anyone." He is noted for doing the one per centers and has ability to run and chase opponents down and has a great ability to burst through opponents' tackles. He will be an exciting player to watch and, while we know that the percentage of rookies who make the grade is way below the 50 mark, the Austin Wonaeamirri story promises to be interesting to say the least. And he won't be lonely at the club either as he joins fellow Territorians Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan and also renews acquaintances with Isaac Weetra with who he toured South Africa on an indigenous schoolboys tour in early 2006 - STH AFRICAN TOUR A TASTE OF MORE TO COME. Shane Valenti is well known to Demon fans who venture down to Sandringham games. He won this year's Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising youngster in VFL ranks after giving it a close shake last year on debut. He's a real hard at it midfielder who is persistent and tenacious but is downgraded by some because of his size and lack of leg speed. However, I made a quick calculation and worked out that 125 players were drafted this year ahead of Valenti. Anyone who expects a Chris Judd to emerge after that number of selections would also have strong beliefs about the existence of the tooth fairy. The point is that if Valenti works on those skills that he has together with his courage and his attitude, he certainly won't fail for lack of heart or endeavour. As with the National Draft selections I discussed previously, here are some pen pictures of Melbourne's draftees from the 2008 Pre Season and Rookie Drafts with some bios from melbournefc.com and the quotes that follow are taken (where available) from the November issue of Inside Football (with one or two minor corrections). Hopefully, their emergence at the club will assist in slam-dunking our opposition. Pre Season Draft Selection 3 - Stefan Martin 17 November 1986 198 cm 95 kg "We were really happy that we were able to obtain Stefan. At 198 cm, he is a quick and athletic big man. He is reasonably new to the game, after playing junior basketball for Australia. He has a very strong mark, and played a full season in the seniors for our affiliate side, Sandringham." - Craig Cameron. "Ex-basketballer who last year won the league best and fairest for Old Haileybury despite not playing a full year. He has amazing agility and athleticism for someone of his size." - from Sandringham VFL. Rookie Draft Selection 3 - Trent Zomer 9 June 1989 197 cm 95 kg "Zomer is a powerful key position player. Standing at 197 cm, he possesses a very strong mark, and has the potential to become a power forward for the Melbourne Football Club. He is also a very talented basketballer, and played for the Victorian junior side." - Craig Cameron. "Trent comes from a basketball background and wasn't in our system last year. He's still very raw but played centre half back for us and later in the year played up forward and in the ruck. He has a great leap and had a terrific end to the year. I reckon he's got a huge upside." - Eastern Ranges' coach Shane Watson Rookie Draft Selection 19 - Austin Wonaeamirri 2 October 1988 178 cm 78 kg "Austin Wonaeamirri is a quick indigenous small forward. He is a good kick for goal, and loves to tackle and apply forward line pressure. He is known for his for his 1%ers, and his ability to break through the lines" - Craig Cameron. "Austin came from the Tiwi Islands and played for the NT team at last year's national championships. After playing for us all year he played again at the national champs as an over-age player for the NT. A small forward or rover who is very quick with good run down speed - a bit like Aaron Davey." - Norwood development manager Ben Porter. Originally from St. Marys and Tiwi Island Bombers (NTFL). Rookie Draft Selection 35 - Jake Spencer 9 October 1989 203 cm 93 kg "Spencer is an aggressive ruckman, who really enjoys the physical side of the game. He is originally from Townsville, and played basketball and rugby union as a junior. He has good potential, and will be given time to further develop his skills through the VFL." - Craig Cameron. "A tap ruckman who can ruck with either hand, and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He is a legitimate 203cm, and he uses his height to good advantage. He moves well for a big man, and has a solid endurance tank. He has a "hard at it" attitude, and has a lot of potential for improvement." - Melbournefc.com.au Rookie Draft Selection 49 - Shane Valenti 29 January 1987 176 cm 80 kg "Valenti is a small midfielder, who is a very clever reader of the play. He rarely makes a bad decision, and played a full season with Sandringham in the seniors in 2007. He impressed us over the pre-season with his hard work, and really deserves his chance at the Melbourne Football Club." - Craig Cameron. "Skilful rover who enjoyed a great second year with the Zebras after crossing from the Dragons. Won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising player in the VFL, was runner up in the Liston Trophy and Sandy's best and fairest. Wins the ball and finishes superbly." - from Sandringham VFL.

by Whispering Jack There was a time not so long ago when AFL recruiting scouts were bemoaning the lack of big men coming through the ranks and blaming basketball for spiriting away the best of our young, tall talent. It seems now that the wheel has turned 180 degrees with players like Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan setting the standards and other clubs following suit in their drive to bolster their stocks of tall players. Melbourne joined in this trend with its selections in last week's drafts when it took three out of five players from basketball backgrounds. The fact that they have played another sport and not concentrated solely on football might well mean that their skills are not as advanced as some of their contemporaries but it also raises the possibility that with the right education, such players could rise to the ability levels of some of the more accomplished and better credentialed contemporaries. After all, we marvelled this year at the accomplishments of Collingwood's 19 year old Irish recruit, Martin Clark who came from nowhere to be a very valuable member of a Preliminary Final side that was within a goal of making a Grand Final and probably becoming the AFL's premier team. In Clark's case "nowhere" is actually County Down, Ireland and his background is that he was an outstanding Gaelic football talent who starred for his junior side and led them to the 2005 All Ireland Championship. A year ago, Clark had never played a game of Australian football but now he is being hailed as "the Irish equivalent of Nathan Buckley". Last week the Magpies added a second Irishman as an international rookie selection and three other clubs did likewise. At roughly the same time when Clark was helping his team win the All Ireland Championship, Stefan Martin was a member of the National Under 20 Basketball squad here in Australia, Trent Zomer was on the verge of deciding where his sporting future lay (he chose basketball and represented Victoria in 2006) and Townsville's Jake Spencer was nudging his way past 200 cm in height and also tossing round balls into high baskets. All three have been lured back to football and joined the Demons as draftees last week. Stefan Martin's mates persuaded him to join them and make up the numbers at Old Haileybury six weeks into the VAFA Under 19 season in early 2006. Martin told the VFL Record that his friends wanted him to play socially with them. "I turned them down a few times, but I got a bit bored with basketball and wanted something new," Martin said. Without a pre season or anything like that, Martin ended the season in Old Haileybury's senior side after winning the Under 19 Best and Fairest polling 23 out of a possible 24 votes. He was invited to train for a week with the Melbourne side after the season and I recall watching him, still very raw and with a poor kicking action, running around against hopefuls like Magpie reject David Fanning who were aiming for selection in last year's Pre Season Draft. Martin was jumping all over Fanning in the boundary ruck duels but he still had a long way to go. Sandringham coach Mark Williams grabbed Martin who made the Zebras' list but thought he would be lucky to do any better than play out 2007 in the reserves. Instead, he showed steady improvement throughout the year and by season's end was a regular in the reigning premier's senior team managing a dozen games at VFL level and showing out with his mobility and strong marking. Now, he's a senior listed AFL player. Trent Zomer hails from South Croydon in Matthew Bate territory. Last year, he tried to combine both football and basketball but the schedule for the latter sport was highly demanding. He switched back to football and joined the Eastern Ranges earlier this year. The Ranges' Regional Manager Ian Flack told the TAC Cup Record that Zomer "never really wanted to burn his bridges and was always fair dinkum about his football, but he couldn’t do both. It was always in the back of his mind that he would play football with us this year, and that's what has happened." Zomer, a solid lad with a strong body and an outstanding leap, began this year as a key defender and tried out for the Vic Metro Under 18 squad but failed to make the final cut. He finished the season playing up forward and spent a bit of time in the ruck. His best form was as a forward and he was his team's leading goal kicker for the 2007 season. Jake Spencer also chose football ahead of basketball and moved to Brisbane where he made the Queensland Under 18 team. The 203 cm tall hard working youngster moves pretty well for a big man, seems to have reasonable endurance, and has developed well at Redlands in the AFLQ where he was really showing out with his aggressive ruckwork by the end of the year. He is a palm ruck who can ruck with either hand and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He still has a lot of improvement in him and his development will be watched with great interest. Melbourne's recruiting in the rookie draft wasn't totally focussed on talls. The club also picked up a couple of smaller types, one from way up north and the other close to home. I think they could write a book about Austin Wonaeamirri and I'm thrilled that he’s come to the club. A little over a year ago, I became a real devotee of Northern Territory football and in particular the Bombers, the new team from the Tiwi Islands [see THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ]. Wonaeamirri was one of the youngsters who captured my attention as being an X factor type even in the wonderfully whacky NTFL competition. The standard of play there is all over the place and many of its players would not be suited to AFL football but Austin stood out in his own way as a youngster possessing strong pace and great vision. He hails from the Milakapiti community in Snake Bay on Melville Island some 100 kilometres north of Darwin and he moved to the mainland to play for St. Marys in the NTFL before joining the Tiwi Island Bombers for their brief debut stint in the competition last year. His uncle Thomas Simon is skipper of that team which currently heads the NTFL ladder. Wonaeamirri was starring for the Bombers against Palmerston just a little over a week ago. He represented the NT Under 18's in 2006 and returned as an overage player this year where he was voted the Northern Territory's best player at the Championships and gave them great run with his hard-at-it ball winning skills. Wonaeamirri also wore the red and the blue this year for Norwood in the SANFL making his debut in Round 1 against the Port Adelaide Magpies at Coopers Stadium where he quickly established a cult following amongst the Norwood faithful. According to the official site of the Norwood Football Club he "lit up suburban ovals with his pace, skill and brilliance". His coach Trevor Hill summed him up beautifully in The Sunday Mail on August 19, "He's a special young man. It's amazing what you can achieve if you haven't got an ego. Aussie just loves playing and he just loves the Norwood Footy Club. When you just go back to the true essence of playing, it brings out the best in anyone." He is noted for doing the one per centers and has ability to run and chase opponents down and has a great ability to burst through opponents' tackles. He will be an exciting player to watch and, while we know that the percentage of rookies who make the grade is way below the 50 mark, the Austin Wonaeamirri story promises to be interesting to say the least. And he won't be lonely at the club either as he joins fellow Territorians Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan and also renews acquaintances with Isaac Weetra with who he toured South Africa on an indigenous schoolboys tour in early 2006 - STH AFRICAN TOUR A TASTE OF MORE TO COME. Shane Valenti is well known to Demon fans who venture down to Sandringham games. He won this year's Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising youngster in VFL ranks after giving it a close shake last year on debut. He's a real hard at it midfielder who is persistent and tenacious but is downgraded by some because of his size and lack of leg speed. However, I made a quick calculation and worked out that 125 players were drafted this year ahead of Valenti. Anyone who expects a Chris Judd to emerge after that number of selections would also have strong beliefs about the existence of the tooth fairy. The point is that if Valenti works on those skills that he has together with his courage and his attitude, he certainly won't fail for lack of heart or endeavour. As with the National Draft selections I discussed previously, here are some pen pictures of Melbourne's draftees from the 2008 Pre Season and Rookie Drafts with some bios from melbournefc.com and the quotes that follow are taken (where available) from the November issue of Inside Football (with one or two minor corrections). Hopefully, their emergence at the club will assist in slam-dunking our opposition. Pre Season Draft Selection 3 - Stefan Martin 17 November 1986 198 cm 95 kg "We were really happy that we were able to obtain Stefan. At 198 cm, he is a quick and athletic big man. He is reasonably new to the game, after playing junior basketball for Australia. He has a very strong mark, and played a full season in the seniors for our affiliate side, Sandringham." - Craig Cameron. "Ex-basketballer who last year won the league best and fairest for Old Haileybury despite not playing a full year. He has amazing agility and athleticism for someone of his size." - from Sandringham VFL. Rookie Draft Selection 3 - Trent Zomer 9 June 1989 197 cm 95 kg "Zomer is a powerful key position player. Standing at 197 cm, he possesses a very strong mark, and has the potential to become a power forward for the Melbourne Football Club. He is also a very talented basketballer, and played for the Victorian junior side." - Craig Cameron. "Trent comes from a basketball background and wasn't in our system last year. He's still very raw but played centre half back for us and later in the year played up forward and in the ruck. He has a great leap and had a terrific end to the year. I reckon he's got a huge upside." - Eastern Ranges' coach Shane Watson Rookie Draft Selection 19 - Austin Wonaeamirri 2 October 1988 178 cm 78 kg "Austin Wonaeamirri is a quick indigenous small forward. He is a good kick for goal, and loves to tackle and apply forward line pressure. He is known for his for his 1%ers, and his ability to break through the lines" - Craig Cameron. "Austin came from the Tiwi Islands and played for the NT team at last year's national championships. After playing for us all year he played again at the national champs as an over-age player for the NT. A small forward or rover who is very quick with good run down speed - a bit like Aaron Davey." - Norwood development manager Ben Porter. Originally from St. Marys and Tiwi Island Bombers (NTFL). Rookie Draft Selection 35 - Jake Spencer 9 October 1989 203 cm 93 kg "Spencer is an aggressive ruckman, who really enjoys the physical side of the game. He is originally from Townsville, and played basketball and rugby union as a junior. He has good potential, and will be given time to further develop his skills through the VFL." - Craig Cameron. "A tap ruckman who can ruck with either hand, and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He is a legitimate 203cm, and he uses his height to good advantage. He moves well for a big man, and has a solid endurance tank. He has a "hard at it" attitude, and has a lot of potential for improvement." - Melbournefc.com.au Rookie Draft Selection 49 - Shane Valenti 29 January 1987 176 cm 80 kg "Valenti is a small midfielder, who is a very clever reader of the play. He rarely makes a bad decision, and played a full season with Sandringham in the seniors in 2007. He impressed us over the pre-season with his hard work, and really deserves his chance at the Melbourne Football Club." - Craig Cameron. "Skilful rover who enjoyed a great second year with the Zebras after crossing from the Dragons. Won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising player in the VFL, was runner up in the Liston Trophy and Sandy's best and fairest. Wins the ball and finishes superbly." - from Sandringham VFL.

The Oracle gives him quite a good wrap in his article CHANGES 2007: TRADING AND DRAFTING - PART THREE which I've just put up on the Drafting and Trading Board. "The club's final rookie selection was Shane Valenti who has been rewarded for two excellent seasons of hard work and dedication at Sandringham. The youngster did not finish runner up in the Liston Trophy and overall winner of the Fothergill-Round Medal for nothing. He also follows Aaron Davey onto the rookie list after winning the latter award so those pundits who write him off because they consider him too small and too slow for AFL football do so at their own peril."

by The Oracle The seasons have come and gone and, as we move into the early days of summer in our still drought stricken land, I am bemused by the fact that football continues to grab so much attention in the media. The newspapers are full of it and when I was on the road during the week, the radio commentators were still focussing on our winter game rather than on cricket, golf and tennis. If it wasn't the fate of the Kangaroos or Ben Cousins, it was the Madden Medal or the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts – news that one would think should not normally be the focus of our attention when the mercury nudges 32 Celsius (as if we're normal!). Like it or not, the public obsession with the game continues and while we've all forgotten about the Federal election (after all Kevin 07 doesn't look all that dissimilar to John 96 give or take a few grey hairs and a decade or so in age) we're still excited about the changes to our footy team lists. In Melbournefc's case, the changes have been a plenty. One quarter of the 2007 list is gone. That's eleven players (although a dozen places have changed if you allow for Jace Bode’s elevation from the Rookie to the Senior list). The changes read as follows:- Arrivals: John Meesen (traded) Cale Morton (National Draft) Jack Grimes (National Draft) Addam Maric (National Draft) Kyle Cheney (National Draft) Tom McNamara (National Draft) Stefan Martin (Pre Season Draft) Jace Bode (Rookie Upgrade) Rookie List Jake Spencer® Shane Valenti® Austin Wonaeamirri® Trent Zomer® Departures: Senior List - Clint Bizzell (retired) Nathan Brown (retired) Ryan Ferguson (delisted) Simon Godfrey (delisted) Travis Johnstone (traded) Heath Neville (delisted) Byron Pickett (retired) Daniel Ward (delisted) Rookie List - Jace Bode® (Rookie Upgrade) Daniel Hayes® (delisted) Daniel Hughes® (delisted) Shane Neaves® (delisted) The obvious questions are whether there has been an improvement to the club's list and whether the changes will allow for it to climb back into contention for a finals place after a horror season in 2007. The answers lie in the future. Firstly, it is to be hoped that the injury curse which struck the club this year will move on to another club (Carlton or Collingwood perhaps?) and that many of the team's younger players who have shown lots of as yet unfulfilled promise step up to the plate as they approach fifty games and beyond. As for the list itself, there seems to be no reason why we can't see some benefits in the short to medium term. The major losses on last year's form would appear to be Travis Johnstone and Nathan Brown but the former was very much a hot and cold proposition and rarely gave consistently to the team effort while the latter was winding down after a long career and whose disposal skills were questionable at best. In their places, we have a young group with varied credentials. The National Draftees all come with impressive CV's. Four of them – Morton, Grimes, Maric and McNamara – are graduates of the elite AIS/AFL Academy and the fifth (Cheney) won selection in the TAC Cup Team of the Year on a half back flank. Meesen was a top ten draft selection three years ago and we know that big men take time to develop. He's big, strong, fit and athletic, has served his apprenticeship on an AFL list and, by all accounts, is relishing the return to his home state. While the emphasis in the National Draft was clearly on selecting players of quality among the elite players available, the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts enabled the club to delve into the area of speculative recruiting – they are all considered rough and raw diamonds in need of polishing and refinement and will put the club's new coaching structure to the test; they are development players who, past records will tell us, are less likely to make the grade but if they do, they can become every bit as valuable AFL players as some of the early draft picks. For proof of that you only need to look at Dean Cox (West Coast), Ben Rutten (Adelaide) and Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) or our own recent Bluey Truscott Medallists, James McDonald (twice in a row) and Russell Robertson as well as speedster Aaron Davey and three or four other former rookies who help make up the Melbournefc list. The club has certainly addressed the need to bolster its big man stocks with the recruitment of Spencer who joins Meesen in its pool of tall ruckmen. Martin and Zomer could also fulfil that role but are more likely to be developed as key position players. The recruiters may have shunned Ashley Sampi because he didn't show enough improvement in his fitness during the pre season but made up for it with the recruitment of young Tiwi Islander Austin Wonaeamirri who follows the path of fellow Northern Territorian Aaron Davey onto the rookie list. Like the Davey brothers, Austin moved south to play and he impressed the citizens of Adelaide with similar qualities at Norwood in the SANFL. The club's final rookie selection was Shane Valenti who has been rewarded for two excellent seasons of hard work and dedication at Sandringham. The youngster did not finish runner up in the Liston Trophy and overall winner of the Fothergill-Round Medal for nothing. He also follows Aaron Davey onto the rookie list after winning the latter award so those pundits who write him off because they consider him too small and too slow for AFL football do so at their own peril. I set out below, the club's playing list for the coming season and, to allow you a comparison of how an AFL's team list can change over a short period of time, I also present the list from the last Olympic Year (new players names in bold). MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2008) SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jace Bode Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Nathan Carroll Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn James Frawley Colin Garland Brad Green Jack Grimes Ben Holland Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Paul Johnson Nathan Jones James McDonald Brock McLean Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin John Meesen Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Matthew Warnock Isaac Weetra Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White VETERAN LIST David Neitz Adem Yze ROOKIE LIST: Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Trent Zomer MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2004) SENIOR LIST: Steven Armstrong Daniel Bell Clint Bizzell Troy Broadbridge Nathan Brown Cameron Bruce Nathan Carroll Ryan Ferguson Simon Godfrey Brad Green Chris Heffernan Ben Holland Cameron Hunter Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Travis Johnstone Darren Jolly Chris Lamb James McDonald Brock McLean Brad Miller David Neitz Alistair Nicholson Phil Read Guy Rigoni Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Nick Smith Colin Sylvia Scott Thompson Peter Vardy Peter Walsh Daniel Ward Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White Luke Williams Adem Yze VETERAN LIST:- ROOKIE LIST: Joel Campbell Dale Carson Aaron Davey Adam Fisher Luke Molan Paul Newman We wave goodbye to 2007 and look forward to 2008 knowing well that life is all about changes. We've seen wholesale changes throughout the club's coaching set up and a considerable change in its playing list. The effect of those changes remain an unknown but as always the Demon faithful are hopeful that the changes made will bring better things next year.

CHANGES 2007: TRADING AND DRAFTING - PART THREE by The Oracle The seasons have come and gone and, as we move into the early days of summer in our still drought stricken land, I am bemused by the fact that football continues to grab so much attention in the media. The newspapers are full of it and when I was on the road during the week, the radio commentators were still focussing on our winter game rather than on cricket, golf and tennis. If it wasn't the fate of the Kangaroos or Ben Cousins, it was the Madden Medal or the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts – news that one would think should not normally be the focus of our attention when the mercury nudges 32 Celsius (as if we're normal!). Like it or not, the public obsession with the game continues and while we've all forgotten about the Federal election (after all Kevin 07 doesn't look all that dissimilar to John 96 give or take a few grey hairs and a decade or so in age) we're still excited about the changes to our footy team lists. In Melbournefc's case, the changes have been a plenty. One quarter of the 2007 list is gone. That's eleven players (although a dozen places have changed if you allow for Jace Bode’s elevation from the Rookie to the Senior list). The changes read as follows:- Arrivals: John Meesen (traded) Cale Morton (National Draft) Jack Grimes (National Draft) Addam Maric (National Draft) Kyle Cheney (National Draft) Tom McNamara (National Draft) Stefan Martin (Pre Season Draft) Jace Bode (Rookie Upgrade) Rookie List Jake Spencer® Shane Valenti® Austin Wonaeamirri® Trent Zomer® Departures: Senior List - Clint Bizzell (retired) Nathan Brown (retired) Ryan Ferguson (delisted) Simon Godfrey (delisted) Travis Johnstone (traded) Heath Neville (delisted) Byron Pickett (retired) Daniel Ward (delisted) Rookie List - Jace Bode® (Rookie Upgrade) Daniel Hayes® (delisted) Daniel Hughes® (delisted) Shane Neaves® (delisted) The obvious questions are whether there has been an improvement to the club's list and whether the changes will allow for it to climb back into contention for a finals place after a horror season in 2007. The answers lie in the future. Firstly, it is to be hoped that the injury curse which struck the club this year will move on to another club (Carlton or Collingwood perhaps?) and that many of the team's younger players who have shown lots of as yet unfulfilled promise step up to the plate as they approach fifty games and beyond. As for the list itself, there seems to be no reason why we can't see some benefits in the short to medium term. The major losses on last year's form would appear to be Travis Johnstone and Nathan Brown but the former was very much a hot and cold proposition and rarely gave consistently to the team effort while the latter was winding down after a long career and whose disposal skills were questionable at best. In their places, we have a young group with varied credentials. The National Draftees all come with impressive CV's. Four of them – Morton, Grimes, Maric and McNamara – are graduates of the elite AIS/AFL Academy and the fifth (Cheney) won selection in the TAC Cup Team of the Year on a half back flank. Meesen was a top ten draft selection three years ago and we know that big men take time to develop. He's big, strong, fit and athletic, has served his apprenticeship on an AFL list and, by all accounts, is relishing the return to his home state. While the emphasis in the National Draft was clearly on selecting players of quality among the elite players available, the Pre Season and Rookie Drafts enabled the club to delve into the area of speculative recruiting – they are all considered rough and raw diamonds in need of polishing and refinement and will put the club's new coaching structure to the test; they are development players who, past records will tell us, are less likely to make the grade but if they do, they can become every bit as valuable AFL players as some of the early draft picks. For proof of that you only need to look at Dean Cox (West Coast), Ben Rutten (Adelaide) and Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) or our own recent Bluey Truscott Medallists, James McDonald (twice in a row) and Russell Robertson as well as speedster Aaron Davey and three or four other former rookies who help make up the Melbournefc list. The club has certainly addressed the need to bolster its big man stocks with the recruitment of Spencer who joins Meesen in its pool of tall ruckmen. Martin and Zomer could also fulfil that role but are more likely to be developed as key position players. The recruiters may have shunned Ashley Sampi because he didn't show enough improvement in his fitness during the pre season but made up for it with the recruitment of young Tiwi Islander Austin Wonaeamirri who follows the path of fellow Northern Territorian Aaron Davey onto the rookie list. Like the Davey brothers, Austin moved south to play and he impressed the citizens of Adelaide with similar qualities at Norwood in the SANFL. The club's final rookie selection was Shane Valenti who has been rewarded for two excellent seasons of hard work and dedication at Sandringham. The youngster did not finish runner up in the Liston Trophy and overall winner of the Fothergill-Round Medal for nothing. He also follows Aaron Davey onto the rookie list after winning the latter award so those pundits who write him off because they consider him too small and too slow for AFL football do so at their own peril. I set out below, the club's playing list for the coming season and, to allow you a comparison of how an AFL's team list can change over a short period of time, I also present the list from the last Olympic Year (new players names in bold). MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2008) SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Daniel Bell Jace Bode Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Nathan Carroll Kyle Cheney Aaron Davey Lynden Dunn James Frawley Colin Garland Brad Green Jack Grimes Ben Holland Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Paul Johnson Nathan Jones James McDonald Brock McLean Tom McNamara Addam Maric Stefan Martin John Meesen Brad Miller Brent Moloney Cale Morton Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Colin Sylvia Matthew Warnock Isaac Weetra Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White VETERAN LIST David Neitz Adem Yze ROOKIE LIST: Jake Spencer Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Trent Zomer MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2004) SENIOR LIST: Steven Armstrong Daniel Bell Clint Bizzell Troy Broadbridge Nathan Brown Cameron Bruce Nathan Carroll Ryan Ferguson Simon Godfrey Brad Green Chris Heffernan Ben Holland Cameron Hunter Mark Jamar Chris Johnson Travis Johnstone Darren Jolly Chris Lamb James McDonald Brock McLean Brad Miller David Neitz Alistair Nicholson Phil Read Guy Rigoni Jared Rivers Russell Robertson Nick Smith Colin Sylvia Scott Thompson Peter Vardy Peter Walsh Daniel Ward Paul Wheatley Matthew Whelan Jeff White Luke Williams Adem Yze VETERAN LIST:- ROOKIE LIST: Joel Campbell Dale Carson Aaron Davey Adam Fisher Luke Molan Paul Newman We wave goodbye to 2007 and look forward to 2008 knowing well that life is all about changes. We've seen wholesale changes throughout the club's coaching set up and a considerable change in its playing list. The effect of those changes remain an unknown but as always the Demon faithful are hopeful that the changes made will bring better things next year.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER THIRTY-FIVE by the Professor The last of a large number of delistings by Melbourne at the end of the 2007 season was Ryan Ferguson whose departure means the club will soon select a player to take the number 35 jumper. The number has not always been fashionable at the club and not all previous wearers of the number have set the world on fire since jumper numbers were introduced in 1914 but there will nevertheless be plenty of interest in who becomes its next owner. Although very few star players have held the number 35 guernsey since it was first claimed by a rather excitable character named Jack Bacquie almost a century ago, the list of a little over two dozen wearers reveals a collection of serviceable players at the club and one or two outstanding footballers and club personalities. Those who have been assigned the number 35 and over the years have collected two best and fairest trophies, the captaincy for two seasons, one club leading goal kicker, three state representatives and more importantly, it has been worn in nine premierships. Jack Baquie came to the club from Brunswick in 1907 but he crossed to Carlton in 1909 where he suffered the misfortune of being rubbed out for fighting in the 1910 grand final. After 42 games and 20 goals with the Blues he returned to Melbourne and claimed the number 35 in 1914. He switched to number 11 in 1915 but his career with Melbourne was interrupted again when the club went into recess for the First World War and it finally ended in 1920 with the forward finishing with a record of 49 games (14 goals). Curiously, the next wearer of the number 35 also had interrupted career and like Baquie, wore the number for one year only and then changed to the number 11. Dave Elliman from Malvern and Armadale Presbyterians came to the club in 1919 as a 17 year old but missed the next two seasons before returning for three more years at the club. He played a total of 20 games (10 goals) before moving to VFL newcomer Hawthorn in its debut season but played only three games there. Little is know of the next number 35 Aubrey Neal who played only one game for the Melbourne Football Club in 1920. Dick Taylor claimed guernsey number 35 in 1923 and held it until he transferred to North Melbourne as captain/coach in 1932. He returned to Melbourne for his final season in the VFL in 1935. Taylor was a star midfielder with the club and proudly wore the number in its premiership of 1926 when he played on a wing alongside the great Ivor Warne-Smith who occupied the centre and won that year's Brownlow Medal. It was a champion centreline with Jack Collins on the other wing. Taylor had magnificent ground skills, the ability to pick the ball up a pace and deliver it with precision with a magnificent stab kick. His pairing with flanker "Bunny" Wittman was said to have caused havoc amongst opposition defences. Taylor played a total of 164 games with Melbourne (for 100 goals), and a further 40 games (25 goals) with North Melbourne. He represented Victoria 15 times, and was awarded Life Membership in 1943. Bill Sweeney from Wonthaggi wore the number for in Taylor’s absence. He only managed four games (3 goals) in a brief career with the club in 1934-5. Derek Symonds from Yea had an even shorter stint of one game in 1939. (Arthur) Noel Ellis from Wesley College wore the number in 1940 and 1941 but managed to play only three games before becoming a sergeant in the Royal Australian Artillery. He was killed in a training accident in Queensland only days before his 21st birthday. The jumper was also briefly worn in the war years by Danny Powell (in 1942) who managed 7 games and six goals and ex-Magpie Charles Newman (1943 – 1945) who played 15 games for the Demons. The next claimant for number 35 arrived at the club in 1946 from Mordialloc. Although he came to be one of football's most feared defenders, Noel McMahen played in the club's 1948 premiership team on a half forward flank. Before that he was laid low by an attack of Bell's Palsy which kept him out of his first season. He then took some time to find his real spot before finally claiming the half back flank and winning the best and fairest in 1951. McMahen became renowned for his vigour, skill and straight-ahead style as attested by his "collision" with Collingwood’s Bob Rose in the 1955 Grand Final. He represented Victoria four times and was made skipper of the Demons in 1955, leading the club to premierships that year and in the next for a total of three flags in his eleven-year career. He left in 1957 for a successful coaching stint with Rochester and later coached South Melbourne in 1962-1964 and came back to serve on the club's committee. McMahen is a Life Member, was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000, and was an inaugural inductee into the Club's Hall of Fame in 2001 ranking him among the club's "greats" and making him its most influential wearer of the number 35. Clyde Laidlaw wore the number 16 guernsey when he first came to Melbourne in 1954 as a highly sought-after left-footed centreman from Portland who had shared the Western District Football League's Best and Fairest award (the Munro Medal) with Ian Ridley of Hamilton Imperials a year earlier. On McMahen's departure he took over the number 35. He also made the centre half forward position at the club his own despite his lack of inches at just six feet tall. However, he was a strong mark and a courageous and determined team player who played in the winning Grand Final sides of 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960. He missed the 1957 and 1958 Grand Finals due to torn hamstrings and retired at the end of 1962 with 124 games and 59 goals to his credit. Don Williams from Elsternwick Amateurs wore guernsey 25 for the first half of his brilliant career with Melbourne in the years 1953 to 1959. The dashing half back flanker started out with the club's thirds in 1953 before breaking into the senior team in the following season. He was a fine athlete blessed with blistering speed and a terrific leap playing in the premiership sides of 1955, 1956 and 1957 and the losing Grand Final of 1958 against Collingwood before being named on the bench for the 1959 Grand Final. His displeasure at this resulted in him transferring to West Perth the following year but he later admitted it was "the silliest move" he had ever made. He played in the WA team that beat the "Big V" in the Carnival in Brisbane in 1961, and returned to Victoria in 1963 to coach Sale but was enticed back to the Demons in 1964. Williams was handed the number 35 on his return to the club and was good enough to claim the centre position in the famous 1964 Grand Final which was won by the Demons in an exciting finish that saw "Froggy" Crompton kick a last-gasp goal against the Magpies. He remained a club stalwart as the club lost many of its stars and went into decline before a knee injury ended his 205 game career in 1968. He made the "Big V" in both periods - 1957-58 and 1965, was awarded Life Membership in 1966, and named on a half back flank in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000. The solidly built but tiny (at 165cm) rover) Paul Callery from Oakleigh YCW rose through the Under 19 ranks and made his debut wearing the number 35 in 1970. He was smallest senior player in the competition at that time but fitness, hard work and courage made him a favourite of the fans. He led the club’s goal kicking with 44 in 1971 and by the end of 1973 he had notched up 76 games and 102 goals. He transferred to St. Kilda and played there for seven seasons and finished with South Melbourne in 1980. A 193 cm tall young recruit from the club's local zone came to the club in 1974, took over the number 35 guernsey and wore it with distinction for most of his 203 game (144 goals) career. Steven Smith from Ormond Amateurs was the first "little leaguer" to play in a VFA/AFL senior team and was a reliable player for the club over many seasons. He occupied a key forward position for most of his early career and also was given the occasional stint in the ruck but he found his niche at full back and won the best and fairest in 1981 He was awarded Life Membership in 1984 and retired a year later. He has served as a Director of the Club, and is presently a member of the MCC Committee. Late in his career Smith switched to the number 1 which he wore for his last 23 games. Darryl Cox, a strong, tough defender from Fitzroy was the next claimant of the number 35 but his career at the club was short-lived (1984-6) and largely uneventful yielding only 13 games and 7 goals before he switched clubs again to be a foundation member of the Brisbane Bears where played only one game. The Melbourne Football Club had been in the doldrums for over two decades when a trio of interstaters joined the club at the beginning of 1987 to play under John Northey at a time of revival for the club's fortunes. Todd Viney came from Sturt, SA, Warren Dean from Subiaco WA and Earl Spalding from Perth WA. A strongly built key position player, the 198cm tall Spalding claimed the vacant number 35 jumper and played 109 games (63 goals) to 1991 before transferring to Carlton where he played a further 102 games (106 goals). The interstaters immediately made their mark and the Demons won the night premiership, made the finals for the first time since 1964 and played off in the 1988 Grand Final (albeit with the disastrous result of a then record losing 96 point margin). Spalding played key defence, key forward and occasionally in the ruck but whilst he was a strong mark, he was not the most reliable kick in the game. He went on to play in Carlton's 1995 premiership team. He was a frequent selection in WA's State of Origin team and was also a versatile sportsman who represented WA as a pace bowler at Sheffield Shield level. Michael Pickering was a 100 game player and a team leader when he fell out of favour with the Tigers at the end of 1991 and found a new home at Melbourne where he wore the number 35 Guernsey in 15 games for 12 goals in 1992 and 1993. Tall forward Brad Campbell, son a former player Des Campbell followed him in 1994 but the youngster never really settled into city life and left after one season and one solitary game. The Demons had high hopes for Port Adelaide Magpies' Trent Ormond-Allen, an early draft pick at number 10 in the 1993 National Draft and were prepared to be patient with the talented youngster. Unfortunately, Ormond-Allen failed to live up to expectations and managed only eight games in a struggling Demons’ side before being released at the end of 1996 when he was drafted by Adelaide where he played a further 42 games. The next (and last) 100 gamer to wear the number 35 at the club was Anthony McDonald whose career was a perfect example of persistence and determination. Born on 13 June 1972, the 182 cm tall McDonald hailed from Ballarat YCW and was selected by Carlton at pick 73 in the 1990 National Draft. He was dropped from the Blues list but redrafted in the 1991 National Draft at number 57 but managed a total of only 9 games with Carlton Reserves before his next delisting. The Hawks, who had drafted his older brother Alex at number 1 in the 1988 National Draft, selected Anthony in the 1992 Mid-Season Draft at 41, but he could only add another 11 reserves matches to his tally of games before the end of 1993. McDonald spent time with both Coburg in the VFL and Old Xaverians in the VAFA before receiving the call to play on Melbourne’s supplementary list and he played in all of the club’s reserves games and won their best and fairest in 1996, a performance that saw him taken by Melbourne at No.59 in the 1996 National Draft. He finally made his AFL senior debut at the age of 24 in 1997 wearing the number 35. McDonald, a hard working utility who used principally in a mid-field role was the club's Best First Year Player award in his senior debut season. After a disappointing season in 1999 when he also suffered a knee injury, McDonald knuckled down and came back fitter than ever to play an important role as a high possession winner in the Demon midfield of 2000 and was named on the wing in the team's losing Grand Final against the Bombers. Despite his late start to senior AFL football, he managed to notch up the century of games in his final year of 2002 and he bowed out of the game with 104 games (41 goals). Younger brother, James who also made his debut in 1997, is still a senior player with the club and has won the last two club best and fairests. Ryan Ferguson was another late developer to wear the number 35. Drafted from Frankston with National Draft selection number 66, the 195cm tall rebounding defender was 21 years of age when he made his debut with the club. His career was studded with injury woes and despite his courage and some promising signs at the end of 2007, he was cut from the list in October and recently nominated for the end of the year drafts. He managed 47 games and 5 goals at the club. And so for the time being, the 35 guernsey number is vacant and we are left to wait the announcement of who will be its next custodian. [With thanks to the Melbourne Past Players and Officials Newsletter from which some of the information contained in this article was adapted] FOOTNOTE: Earlier in the year, The Professor featured an article on another number that has now become vacant - the number 3. Read that article here - THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER THREE.

by the Professor The last of a large number of delistings by Melbourne at the end of the 2007 season was Ryan Ferguson whose departure means the club will soon select a player to take the number 35 jumper. The number has not always been fashionable at the club and not all previous wearers of the number have set the world on fire since jumper numbers were introduced in 1914 but there will nevertheless be plenty of interest in who becomes its next owner. Although very few star players have held the number 35 guernsey since it was first claimed by a rather excitable character named Jack Bacquie almost a century ago, the list of a little over two dozen wearers reveals a collection of serviceable players at the club and one or two outstanding footballers and club personalities. Those who have been assigned the number 35 and over the years have collected two best and fairest trophies, the captaincy for two seasons, one club leading goal kicker, three state representatives and more importantly, it has been worn in nine premierships. Jack Baquie came to the club from Brunswick in 1907 but he crossed to Carlton in 1909 where he suffered the misfortune of being rubbed out for fighting in the 1910 grand final. After 42 games and 20 goals with the Blues he returned to Melbourne and claimed the number 35 in 1914. He switched to number 11 in 1915 but his career with Melbourne was interrupted again when the club went into recess for the First World War and it finally ended in 1920 with the forward finishing with a record of 49 games (14 goals). Curiously, the next wearer of the number 35 also had interrupted career and like Baquie, wore the number for one year only and then changed to the number 11. Dave Elliman from Malvern and Armadale Presbyterians came to the club in 1919 as a 17 year old but missed the next two seasons before returning for three more years at the club. He played a total of 20 games (10 goals) before moving to VFL newcomer Hawthorn in its debut season but played only three games there. Little is know of the next number 35 Aubrey Neal who played only one game for the Melbourne Football Club in 1920. Dick Taylor claimed guernsey number 35 in 1923 and held it until he transferred to North Melbourne as captain/coach in 1932. He returned to Melbourne for his final season in the VFL in 1935. Taylor was a star midfielder with the club and proudly wore the number in its premiership of 1926 when he played on a wing alongside the great Ivor Warne-Smith who occupied the centre and won that year's Brownlow Medal. It was a champion centreline with Jack Collins on the other wing. Taylor had magnificent ground skills, the ability to pick the ball up a pace and deliver it with precision with a magnificent stab kick. His pairing with flanker "Bunny" Wittman was said to have caused havoc amongst opposition defences. Taylor played a total of 164 games with Melbourne (for 100 goals), and a further 40 games (25 goals) with North Melbourne. He represented Victoria 15 times, and was awarded Life Membership in 1943. Bill Sweeney from Wonthaggi wore the number for in Taylor’s absence. He only managed four games (3 goals) in a brief career with the club in 1934-5. Derek Symonds from Yea had an even shorter stint of one game in 1939. (Arthur) Noel Ellis from Wesley College wore the number in 1940 and 1941 but managed to play only three games before becoming a sergeant in the Royal Australian Artillery. He was killed in a training accident in Queensland only days before his 21st birthday. The jumper was also briefly worn in the war years by Danny Powell (in 1942) who managed 7 games and six goals and ex-Magpie Charles Newman (1943 – 1945) who played 15 games for the Demons. The next claimant for number 35 arrived at the club in 1946 from Mordialloc. Although he came to be one of football's most feared defenders, Noel McMahen played in the club's 1948 premiership team on a half forward flank. Before that he was laid low by an attack of Bell's Palsy which kept him out of his first season. He then took some time to find his real spot before finally claiming the half back flank and winning the best and fairest in 1951. McMahen became renowned for his vigour, skill and straight-ahead style as attested by his "collision" with Collingwood’s Bob Rose in the 1955 Grand Final. He represented Victoria four times and was made skipper of the Demons in 1955, leading the club to premierships that year and in the next for a total of three flags in his eleven-year career. He left in 1957 for a successful coaching stint with Rochester and later coached South Melbourne in 1962-1964 and came back to serve on the club's committee. McMahen is a Life Member, was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000, and was an inaugural inductee into the Club's Hall of Fame in 2001 ranking him among the club's "greats" and making him its most influential wearer of the number 35. Clyde Laidlaw wore the number 16 guernsey when he first came to Melbourne in 1954 as a highly sought-after left-footed centreman from Portland who had shared the Western District Football League's Best and Fairest award (the Munro Medal) with Ian Ridley of Hamilton Imperials a year earlier. On McMahen's departure he took over the number 35. He also made the centre half forward position at the club his own despite his lack of inches at just six feet tall. However, he was a strong mark and a courageous and determined team player who played in the winning Grand Final sides of 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960. He missed the 1957 and 1958 Grand Finals due to torn hamstrings and retired at the end of 1962 with 124 games and 59 goals to his credit. Don Williams from Elsternwick Amateurs wore guernsey 25 for the first half of his brilliant career with Melbourne in the years 1953 to 1959. The dashing half back flanker started out with the club's thirds in 1953 before breaking into the senior team in the following season. He was a fine athlete blessed with blistering speed and a terrific leap playing in the premiership sides of 1955, 1956 and 1957 and the losing Grand Final of 1958 against Collingwood before being named on the bench for the 1959 Grand Final. His displeasure at this resulted in him transferring to West Perth the following year but he later admitted it was "the silliest move" he had ever made. He played in the WA team that beat the "Big V" in the Carnival in Brisbane in 1961, and returned to Victoria in 1963 to coach Sale but was enticed back to the Demons in 1964. Williams was handed the number 35 on his return to the club and was good enough to claim the centre position in the famous 1964 Grand Final which was won by the Demons in an exciting finish that saw "Froggy" Crompton kick a last-gasp goal against the Magpies. He remained a club stalwart as the club lost many of its stars and went into decline before a knee injury ended his 205 game career in 1968. He made the "Big V" in both periods - 1957-58 and 1965, was awarded Life Membership in 1966, and named on a half back flank in Melbourne's Team of the Century in 2000. The solidly built but tiny (at 165cm) rover) Paul Callery from Oakleigh YCW rose through the Under 19 ranks and made his debut wearing the number 35 in 1970. He was smallest senior player in the competition at that time but fitness, hard work and courage made him a favourite of the fans. He led the club’s goal kicking with 44 in 1971 and by the end of 1973 he had notched up 76 games and 102 goals. He transferred to St. Kilda and played there for seven seasons and finished with South Melbourne in 1980. A 193 cm tall young recruit from the club's local zone came to the club in 1974, took over the number 35 guernsey and wore it with distinction for most of his 203 game (144 goals) career. Steven Smith from Ormond Amateurs was the first "little leaguer" to play in a VFA/AFL senior team and was a reliable player for the club over many seasons. He occupied a key forward position for most of his early career and also was given the occasional stint in the ruck but he found his niche at full back and won the best and fairest in 1981 He was awarded Life Membership in 1984 and retired a year later. He has served as a Director of the Club, and is presently a member of the MCC Committee. Late in his career Smith switched to the number 1 which he wore for his last 23 games. Darryl Cox, a strong, tough defender from Fitzroy was the next claimant of the number 35 but his career at the club was short-lived (1984-6) and largely uneventful yielding only 13 games and 7 goals before he switched clubs again to be a foundation member of the Brisbane Bears where played only one game. The Melbourne Football Club had been in the doldrums for over two decades when a trio of interstaters joined the club at the beginning of 1987 to play under John Northey at a time of revival for the club's fortunes. Todd Viney came from Sturt, SA, Warren Dean from Subiaco WA and Earl Spalding from Perth WA. A strongly built key position player, the 198cm tall Spalding claimed the vacant number 35 jumper and played 109 games (63 goals) to 1991 before transferring to Carlton where he played a further 102 games (106 goals). The interstaters immediately made their mark and the Demons won the night premiership, made the finals for the first time since 1964 and played off in the 1988 Grand Final (albeit with the disastrous result of a then record losing 96 point margin). Spalding played key defence, key forward and occasionally in the ruck but whilst he was a strong mark, he was not the most reliable kick in the game. He went on to play in Carlton's 1995 premiership team. He was a frequent selection in WA's State of Origin team and was also a versatile sportsman who represented WA as a pace bowler at Sheffield Shield level. Michael Pickering was a 100 game player and a team leader when he fell out of favour with the Tigers at the end of 1991 and found a new home at Melbourne where he wore the number 35 Guernsey in 15 games for 12 goals in 1992 and 1993. Tall forward Brad Campbell, son a former player Des Campbell followed him in 1994 but the youngster never really settled into city life and left after one season and one solitary game. The Demons had high hopes for Port Adelaide Magpies' Trent Ormond-Allen, an early draft pick at number 10 in the 1993 National Draft and were prepared to be patient with the talented youngster. Unfortunately, Ormond-Allen failed to live up to expectations and managed only eight games in a struggling Demons’ side before being released at the end of 1996 when he was drafted by Adelaide where he played a further 42 games. The next (and last) 100 gamer to wear the number 35 at the club was Anthony McDonald whose career was a perfect example of persistence and determination. Born on 13 June 1972, the 182 cm tall McDonald hailed from Ballarat YCW and was selected by Carlton at pick 73 in the 1990 National Draft. He was dropped from the Blues list but redrafted in the 1991 National Draft at number 57 but managed a total of only 9 games with Carlton Reserves before his next delisting. The Hawks, who had drafted his older brother Alex at number 1 in the 1988 National Draft, selected Anthony in the 1992 Mid-Season Draft at 41, but he could only add another 11 reserves matches to his tally of games before the end of 1993. McDonald spent time with both Coburg in the VFL and Old Xaverians in the VAFA before receiving the call to play on Melbourne’s supplementary list and he played in all of the club’s reserves games and won their best and fairest in 1996, a performance that saw him taken by Melbourne at No.59 in the 1996 National Draft. He finally made his AFL senior debut at the age of 24 in 1997 wearing the number 35. McDonald, a hard working utility who used principally in a mid-field role was the club's Best First Year Player award in his senior debut season. After a disappointing season in 1999 when he also suffered a knee injury, McDonald knuckled down and came back fitter than ever to play an important role as a high possession winner in the Demon midfield of 2000 and was named on the wing in the team's losing Grand Final against the Bombers. Despite his late start to senior AFL football, he managed to notch up the century of games in his final year of 2002 and he bowed out of the game with 104 games (41 goals). Younger brother, James who also made his debut in 1997, is still a senior player with the club and has won the last two club best and fairests. Ryan Ferguson was another late developer to wear the number 35. Drafted from Frankston with National Draft selection number 66, the 195cm tall rebounding defender was 21 years of age when he made his debut with the club. His career was studded with injury woes and despite his courage and some promising signs at the end of 2007, he was cut from the list in October and recently nominated for the end of the year drafts. He managed 47 games and 5 goals at the club. And so for the time being, the 35 guernsey number is vacant and we are left to wait the announcement of who will be its next custodian. [With thanks to the Melbourne Past Players and Officials Newsletter from which some of the information contained in this article was adapted]

Are you seriously suggesting that the MCC dictates to the AFL which clubs play their games at the MCG?

Thanks for that goodoil but how did you find out about training?

It's not just the ultra passionate ones who go out of their way and travel long distances that miss out. There are those like Redfin, Scoop Junior, Finks (when he's not otherwise being entertained ) and condemned who will not only go to training but they will also report back to this site on their observations and photos. Often their views are preferred to press reports etc in the media and even on the club website because they are the views of the supporters and they're often no holds barred and provide a more basic assessment without the BS. That means many of our visitors here miss out.

Nasher, It's posible for delisted players to nominate right up until next Wednesday so this isn't the final list of budding draftees. "Wednesday 21 November 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close"

I'll get this in before WJ. The song you attribute to Hendrix was written by Bob Dylan and is called "All Along The Watchtower" and it opens this way ... "There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief, There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief..." I think I was feeling that way as early as round 3.

Matt Granland of SEN had the originator of the Burgatron AFL Phantom Draft, Matt Burgan as his studio guest today. Pinball Wizard has put together this summary of the programme. SEN INTERVIEW WITH THE BURGATRON Matt Granland wanted to talk to Burgan about the forthcoming national draft because it was something that brought out some good news stories about the game and in the light of the negative stories like the Ben Cousins saga it was refreshing to talk about something on a more positive note. He congratulated Burgan for his award at this year’s AFL media awards for his work on the AFL Draft and asked about the concept of the Phantom Draft. Burgan said that he first put it together in 2000 on the AFL website and since then it has grown from that point. Basically, it's a guide - a lot of research is put into it in terms of how it will pan out and every attempt is made to make it an accurate guide as possible. In reality however, you would probably have a better chance of winning Tattslotto than predicting every single selection. You get 1,500 to 1,700 names nominating and you might get a situation where one club likes a player and takes him at number 70 and there are still instances of that happening today. Granland asked about the positive news side of the draft and Burgan said that the draft is growing and interest in the draft is growing. Its importance is absolutely critical terms of improving the list. Look at Geelong for example with their drafts of 1999 to 2001. The real bulk of their premiership players of this year came from those drafts. Of course there were a lot of other factors involved in building their list but that was integral to that premiership. Granland said he had heard one official say that draft day and getting it right is second only to grand final day and if you have a look at Geelong's grand final team – they drafted Jimmy Bartel, the Brownlow Medallist, James Kelly, Gary Ablett was drafted father/son and Steve Johnson who won the Norm Smith Medal all in the one year. This shows how important the draft is. Burgan: Exactly and if you can pick up guys of that calibre in one meeting it can really set you up and if you look at Hawthorn in recent years they've picked a few guys in one draft – Franklin, Roughhead and Lewis and the key is to keep them together long term and make sure you can retain that group and they don't get poached. Managing your list is such a critical part of the game. Burgan was asked whether when researching for his Phantom Draft, he spoke to a lot of the club officials and recruiters? Burgan: As many as I can. Granland Were they open? Burgan: As a group I find they're absolutely fantastic. Some of them are fantastic in the information that they reveal and I know that it's factual because it's proven that way on draft day. Some of them like to keep their cards close to their chests and I perfectly understand that. Some are just massive information soakers and they just want to get anything from anywhere and whether it's right or wrong it's another piece of the puzzle they can then further research themselves or store away for future reference. Granland said he was staggered by the number of recruiting staff each club had and Burgan replied that it's growing annually. Some clubs have got a dozen including part timers. Every club has its recruiting guy and others who are right into it as well e.g. West Coast have Trevor Woodhouse in WA and a person in Victoria. Hawthorn has Chris Pelchan who oversees recruiting while Gary Buckenara does the West Coast of Australia and Graeme Wright does the East Coast of Australia. Clubs are starting to structure things differently too – they want to see every part of the country explored and some clubs are going to Ireland and want to explore that as well and some are seeing the fruits of that as well. Granland Let's talk about this year's draft. Matt Kreuzer is the name on everybody's lips at the moment. He'll probably go to Carlton? Burgan: That's the one that I'm probably quite certain about. I'd be very surprised if Kreuzer wasn't number one but it's interesting in doing the research that some people are saying guys like Trent Cotchin and Cale Morton could clearly go number 1 as well. You're always going to get a good player and even if 3 or 4 are outstanding the reality is you can only get one number 1. I think Kreuzer will go at number 1 but there are definitely clubs out that that have said that if they had pick number 1 they'd certainly look at Cotchin or Morton as well. But for Carlton, I'd definitely say Kreuzer. Granland How does Kreuzer stack up compared to previous number 1 picks through the years? Burgan: It's a little difficult to assess because you can only compare on what they've done in junior days and Kreuzer ticks all the boxes. He's achieved plenty as a junior footballer and really is a standout in a lot of ways. There are not a lot of ruckmen bordering 200cm who are good and of that size. They're a rare commodity and that's why they go early. A question was taken from a listener who is a Hawthorn supporter and who asked about Ryan Ferguson. Burgan explained that a few years ago there was swap being organised between Melbourne and Hawthorn whereby Ferguson was to go to the Hawks and Brad Sewell to Melbourne but Ferguson was in contract and didn't want to go. Ferguson played the last seven matches for Melbourne, he's had a ton of injuries. He's actually an extremely courageous player, very underrated in terms of his courage but hasn’t quite cemented his spot. Hawks may look at him again but he hadn't heard anything. Matt Granland: Richmond have got pick number two. There's a couple of midfielders like Cotchin or Morton whose brother Mitch came across from West Coast. Would they take him or stay with a local boy? Burgan: At this stage it's got to be out of those two and the fact that Mitch has gone in throws a bit of intrigue into the situation. It's a tough one to get a bit of a handle on which way it's going to go. You would think in some ways that with Mitch coming across he might go. He's a tall midfielder, can play forward and had a cracking championships, won the Larke Medal for the best player in Division 1 so he's a great prospect but whether he goes 2, or it's Cotchin, the Victorian local, it's still a very hard one to know. Granland: Trent Cotchin, the Victorian. Everyone's talking him up too. Burgan: That's right. He’s a quality kid. Both he and Morton are both really impressive kids. Cotchin was on crutches at the draft camp but he kept presenting all the time and wanted to be involved and to do anything he could while he was up there. It will be interesting to see and at this stage it will be Cotchin/Morton or Morton/Cotchin. Granland: Do you find many of the youngsters have a look at the Phantom Draft before draft day? Burgan: They do a little bit these days. You meet some of them at the draft camp and they ask about it sometimes and sometimes when they're drafted it does get talked about. A caller asked about the Victorian Under 18 boys being boys were smashed by WA. Burgan: WA were great. Rhys Palmer was outstanding and he is looming as a top 10 prospect. He was unlucky to miss out on the Larke Medal to Morton by one vote. WA's midfield was just outstanding. It had a genuine AFL feel and some of those midfielders didn't look like juniors. They looked like they were playing an incredibly slick brand of footy. Another caller asked whether the Pies could pick up a good ruckman with their selection? Burgan: Collingwood's first pick is at number 31 and they're just going to have to wait and see what happens, to see who's fallen through. They will be doing an enormous amount of research to see who might still be available. Sometimes, some good players might fall through. A few years ago Cameron Wood, who's now there (at Collingwood) was expected to go around the 7 or 8 mark and slipped through to 18. The Brisbane Lions couldn't believe it so they pounced on him. Sometimes players do get through unexpectedly. Granland: We've mentioned Kreuzer, Cotchin, Morton and Palmer but what are some of the other names that we are going to see in the top 10? Burgan: Those players that you mentioned are going to shape it but there are some others. Guys like Brad Ebert SA's best prospect this year. He's the cousin of Port Adelaide's Brett. Also Cyril Rioli is an interesting one. He's a standout from the Northern Territory and his uncles are the great Maurice Rioli and Michael Long and he's going to be in that sort of mix. It will be interesting to see exactly where but he's another one top watch out for early. There are others such as Lauchlan Henderson, one of the talls from the Geelong Falcons. I think he'll create a bit of interest early and will certainly be a top 10 or 12 pick. Alex Rance is another boy from WA and he's a tall. He'll probably be in the top dozen or so. A caller asked about Pat Vezpremi and mentioned that he had heard he was a Luke Hodge type of player. Burgan: Vezpremi has had a bit of an injury with a shoulder. He's going to be a top 20 pick. He's a little difficult to assess but between 10 and 20. Clubs in the mix in that area such as West Coast at 13 or Melbourne at 14 would probably get him. Another caller asked what does it mean when it's said that players are "putting themselves in the draft late"? Burgan responded that this probably means a reference to players with previous AFL list experience nominating for the PSD to help clubs draft them as a delisted uncontracted player in the draft to make it easier for a particular club to draft them. Granland asked about the kids coming out of Qld this year. Were they as good as last year's batch? Burgan: Last year was fantastic and it won't be as good as last year when Ricky Petterd was picked in the late 20's. A couple of names to look out for are Sam Reid, Brendan Whitecross and another kid who went to the draft camp called John Williams who played in their Under 21’s. He's a bit older and had a bit of a shoulder injury. Granland When does your Phantom Draft go up? Burgan: It goes up on the AFL website on the Thursday before draft day. It can’t be any earlier because the final nominations for delisted players takes place the day before. The next caller asked about whether the Melbourne Football Club might draft some talls like Ben McEvoy and Dawson Simpson. Burgan: I'm having trouble where to fit McEvoy. He’s a ruckman/forward 199cm. I don't think he'd be at Melbourne at number 4 but if he was still available at 14 then maybe. Dawson Simpson is a 205cm ruckman and about the tallest player in the mix this year. He's an interesting one. I'm a little bit divided on where he might go because players of that height are so hard to find. He could go at 21 but clubs these days are taking tall ruckmen through the rookie system. Dean Cox went to West Coast as a rookie and Simpson could be fascinating to watch because all clubs need talls. Granland then asked him to go through the other clubs and this is essentially a summary – Geelong have got four live picks.. They've already committed to Adam Donohue under the father/son at 59 at the moment (a second list lodgement is coming out next week that might change the order a little). Collingwood have 31 and 47 – it's difficult to say who they're going to pick. At 47 they might have someone specific in mind. Bombers have pick 6. It's been a bit of an indifferent pick. The best pick has been James Walker of Fremantle. The talk with the Bombers is midfield pace or a taller running defender. Hawthorn – have been a big player in the draft in the last couple of years. This year they only have three picks at this stage. At this stage I can't quite get a handle on the way they're going to go – a tall defender perhaps. Blues – After number one, their next pick is 36 which is a little like the Collingwood situation with 31. Kangaroos – also have three picks and don't enter till pick 15. In that first batch they have to wait and see who slides through. They'll still get a quality player. Tigers – after 2, they have a priority pick at 18, then 50 and 62. They're going to great player at number 2 but they will also miss out on a great player. That's the way it goes. WCE – have picks 3, 13, 20 and 22 which puts them in the best position which is a reflection of losing Judd, probably the games best player. To have four picks inside 22, every club will be envious. Will they stick with a local? There's a stack of WA kids going to get drafted anyway because WA's blessed with great talent this year. There's a school of thought that if you pick the best player and he does want to go home, you'll be well compensated if and when that happens. Dockers – have six picks starting at 7. Suggest they would pass on their last pick to get Kepler Bradley in the PSD. Port Adelaide – had a lot of picks last year and did well with late picks like Westhoff but this year. Local knowledge helped them through this. Adelaide have six picks. Have used one to elevate Taylor Walker, a NSW scholarship player. Their first pick is at ten and I'm not sure yet what they'll do. They might be hoping to pounce on Ebert. Swans have also elevated a scholarship boy and have only a couple of live choices and will hope for a slider as well. Brisbane enter at pick 8. Will probably look at some of the Queensland boys with their mid picks. Granland: What do you think on the draft overall? Burgan: It's a mixed view because although not regarded as strong as last year but others think there might be some good ones to get in the mid 40's. Granland: Which is your best pick in one of your Phantom Drafts? Burgan: I was really happy to pick Sean Rusling early a few years ago. I'd heard some things about him and went for him to be selected early and I was also happy about picking Andrew Collins to Richmond last year at 73. See: Burgatron VII – the full list (2006 Draft) and watch for Burgatron VIII on Thursday 22 November on www.afl.com.au. Also coming soon on Demonland - Stevo looks at melbournefc's draft picks 14 and 21 and Melon's Phantom Draft (top 21)

Matt Granland of SEN had the originator of the Burgatron AFL Phantom Draft, Matt Burgan as his studio guest today. Pinball Wizard has put together this summary of the programme. SEN INTERVIEW WITH THE BURGATRON Matt Granland wanted to talk to Burgan about the forthcoming national draft because it was something that brought out some good news stories about the game and in the light of the negative stories like the Ben Cousins saga it was refreshing to talk about something on a more positive note. He congratulated Burgan for his award at this year’s AFL media awards for his work on the AFL Draft and asked about the concept of the Phantom Draft. Burgan said that he first put it together in 2000 on the AFL website and since then it has grown from that point. Basically, it's a guide - a lot of research is put into it in terms of how it will pan out and every attempt is made to make it an accurate guide as possible. In reality however, you would probably have a better chance of winning Tattslotto than predicting every single selection. You get 1,500 to 1,700 names nominating and you might get a situation where one club likes a player and takes him at number 70 and there are still instances of that happening today. Granland asked about the positive news side of the draft and Burgan said that the draft is growing and interest in the draft is growing. Its importance is absolutely critical terms of improving the list. Look at Geelong for example with their drafts of 1999 to 2001. The real bulk of their premiership players of this year came from those drafts. Of course there were a lot of other factors involved in building their list but that was integral to that premiership. Granland said he had heard one official say that draft day and getting it right is second only to grand final day and if you have a look at Geelong's grand final team – they drafted Jimmy Bartel, the Brownlow Medallist, James Kelly, Gary Ablett was drafted father/son and Steve Johnson who won the Norm Smith Medal all in the one year. This shows how important the draft is. Burgan: Exactly and if you can pick up guys of that calibre in one meeting it can really set you up and if you look at Hawthorn in recent years they've picked a few guys in one draft – Franklin, Roughhead and Lewis and the key is to keep them together long term and make sure you can retain that group and they don't get poached. Managing your list is such a critical part of the game. Burgan was asked whether when researching for his Phantom Draft, he spoke to a lot of the club officials and recruiters? Burgan: As many as I can. Granland Were they open? Burgan: As a group I find they're absolutely fantastic. Some of them are fantastic in the information that they reveal and I know that it's factual because it's proven that way on draft day. Some of them like to keep their cards close to their chests and I perfectly understand that. Some are just massive information soakers and they just want to get anything from anywhere and whether it's right or wrong it's another piece of the puzzle they can then further research themselves or store away for future reference. Granland said he was staggered by the number of recruiting staff each club had and Burgan replied that it's growing annually. Some clubs have got a dozen including part timers. Every club has its recruiting guy and others who are right into it as well e.g. West Coast have Trevor Woodhouse in WA and a person in Victoria. Hawthorn has Chris Pelchan who oversees recruiting while Gary Buckenara does the West Coast of Australia and Graeme Wright does the East Coast of Australia. Clubs are starting to structure things differently too – they want to see every part of the country explored and some clubs are going to Ireland and want to explore that as well and some are seeing the fruits of that as well. Granland Let's talk about this year's draft. Matt Kreuzer is the name on everybody's lips at the moment. He'll probably go to Carlton? Burgan: That's the one that I'm probably quite certain about. I'd be very surprised if Kreuzer wasn't number one but it's interesting in doing the research that some people are saying guys like Trent Cotchin and Cale Morton could clearly go number 1 as well. You're always going to get a good player and even if 3 or 4 are outstanding the reality is you can only get one number 1. I think Kreuzer will go at number 1 but there are definitely clubs out that that have said that if they had pick number 1 they'd certainly look at Cotchin or Morton as well. But for Carlton, I'd definitely say Kreuzer. Granland How does Kreuzer stack up compared to previous number 1 picks through the years? Burgan: It's a little difficult to assess because you can only compare on what they've done in junior days and Kreuzer ticks all the boxes. He's achieved plenty as a junior footballer and really is a standout in a lot of ways. There are not a lot of ruckmen bordering 200cm who are good and of that size. They're a rare commodity and that's why they go early. A question was taken from a listener who is a Hawthorn supporter and who asked about Ryan Ferguson. Burgan explained that a few years ago there was swap being organised between Melbourne and Hawthorn whereby Ferguson was to go to the Hawks and Brad Sewell to Melbourne but Ferguson was in contract and didn't want to go. Ferguson played the last seven matches for Melbourne, he's had a ton of injuries. He's actually an extremely courageous player, very underrated in terms of his courage but hasn’t quite cemented his spot. Hawks may look at him again but he hadn't heard anything. Matt Granland: Richmond have got pick number two. There's a couple of midfielders like Cotchin or Morton whose brother Mitch came across from West Coast. Would they take him or stay with a local boy? Burgan: At this stage it's got to be out of those two and the fact that Mitch has gone in throws a bit of intrigue into the situation. It's a tough one to get a bit of a handle on which way it's going to go. You would think in some ways that with Mitch coming across he might go. He's a tall midfielder, can play forward and had a cracking championships, won the Larke Medal for the best player in Division 1 so he's a great prospect but whether he goes 2, or it's Cotchin, the Victorian local, it's still a very hard one to know. Granland: Trent Cotchin, the Victorian. Everyone's talking him up too. Burgan: That's right. He’s a quality kid. Both he and Morton are both really impressive kids. Cotchin was on crutches at the draft camp but he kept presenting all the time and wanted to be involved and to do anything he could while he was up there. It will be interesting to see and at this stage it will be Cotchin/Morton or Morton/Cotchin. Granland: Do you find many of the youngsters have a look at the Phantom Draft before draft day? Burgan: They do a little bit these days. You meet some of them at the draft camp and they ask about it sometimes and sometimes when they're drafted it does get talked about. A caller asked about the Victorian Under 18 boys being boys were smashed by WA. Burgan: WA were great. Rhys Palmer was outstanding and he is looming as a top 10 prospect. He was unlucky to miss out on the Larke Medal to Morton by one vote. WA's midfield was just outstanding. It had a genuine AFL feel and some of those midfielders didn't look like juniors. They looked like they were playing an incredibly slick brand of footy. Another caller asked whether the Pies could pick up a good ruckman with their selection? Burgan: Collingwood's first pick is at number 31 and they're just going to have to wait and see what happens, to see who's fallen through. They will be doing an enormous amount of research to see who might still be available. Sometimes, some good players might fall through. A few years ago Cameron Wood, who's now there (at Collingwood) was expected to go around the 7 or 8 mark and slipped through to 18. The Brisbane Lions couldn't believe it so they pounced on him. Sometimes players do get through unexpectedly. Granland: We've mentioned Kreuzer, Cotchin, Morton and Palmer but what are some of the other names that we are going to see in the top 10? Burgan: Those players that you mentioned are going to shape it but there are some others. Guys like Brad Ebert SA's best prospect this year. He's the cousin of Port Adelaide's Brett. Also Cyril Rioli is an interesting one. He's a standout from the Northern Territory and his uncles are the great Maurice Rioli and Michael Long and he's going to be in that sort of mix. It will be interesting to see exactly where but he's another one top watch out for early. There are others such as Lauchlan Henderson, one of the talls from the Geelong Falcons. I think he'll create a bit of interest early and will certainly be a top 10 or 12 pick. Alex Rance is another boy from WA and he's a tall. He'll probably be in the top dozen or so. A caller asked about Pat Vezpremi and mentioned that he had heard he was a Luke Hodge type of player. Burgan: Vezpremi has had a bit of an injury with a shoulder. He's going to be a top 20 pick. He's a little difficult to assess but between 10 and 20. Clubs in the mix in that area such as West Coast at 13 or Melbourne at 14 would probably get him. Another caller asked what does it mean when it's said that players are "putting themselves in the draft late"? Burgan responded that this probably means a reference to players with previous AFL list experience nominating for the PSD to help clubs draft them as a delisted uncontracted player in the draft to make it easier for a particular club to draft them. Granland asked about the kids coming out of Qld this year. Were they as good as last year's batch? Burgan: Last year was fantastic and it won't be as good as last year when Ricky Petterd was picked in the late 20's. A couple of names to look out for are Sam Reid, Brendan Whitecross and another kid who went to the draft camp called John Williams who played in their Under 21’s. He's a bit older and had a bit of a shoulder injury. Granland When does your Phantom Draft go up? Burgan: It goes up on the AFL website on the Thursday before draft day. It can’t be any earlier because the final nominations for delisted players takes place the day before. The next caller asked about whether the Melbourne Football Club might draft some talls like Ben McEvoy and Dawson Simpson. Burgan: I'm having trouble where to fit McEvoy. He’s a ruckman/forward 199cm. I don't think he'd be at Melbourne at number 4 but if he was still available at 14 then maybe. Dawson Simpson is a 205cm ruckman and about the tallest player in the mix this year. He's an interesting one. I'm a little bit divided on where he might go because players of that height are so hard to find. He could go at 21 but clubs these days are taking tall ruckmen through the rookie system. Dean Cox went to West Coast as a rookie and Simpson could be fascinating to watch because all clubs need talls. Granland then asked him to go through the other clubs and this is essentially a summary – Geelong have got four live picks.. They've already committed to Adam Donohue under the father/son at 59 at the moment (a second list lodgement is coming out next week that might change the order a little). Collingwood have 31 and 47 – it's difficult to say who they're going to pick. At 47 they might have someone specific in mind. Bombers have pick 6. It's been a bit of an indifferent pick. The best pick has been James Walker of Fremantle. The talk with the Bombers is midfield pace or a taller running defender. Hawthorn – have been a big player in the draft in the last couple of years. This year they only have three picks at this stage. At this stage I can't quite get a handle on the way they're going to go – a tall defender perhaps. Blues – After number one, their next pick is 36 which is a little like the Collingwood situation with 31. Kangaroos – also have three picks and don't enter till pick 15. In that first batch they have to wait and see who slides through. They'll still get a quality player. Tigers – after 2, they have a priority pick at 18, then 50 and 62. They're going to great player at number 2 but they will also miss out on a great player. That's the way it goes. WCE – have picks 3, 13, 20 and 22 which puts them in the best position which is a reflection of losing Judd, probably the games best player. To have four picks inside 22, every club will be envious. Will they stick with a local? There's a stack of WA kids going to get drafted anyway because WA's blessed with great talent this year. There's a school of thought that if you pick the best player and he does want to go home, you'll be well compensated if and when that happens. Dockers – have six picks starting at 7. Suggest they would pass on their last pick to get Kepler Bradley in the PSD. Port Adelaide – had a lot of picks last year and did well with late picks like Westhoff but this year. Local knowledge helped them through this. Adelaide have six picks. Have used one to elevate Taylor Walker, a NSW scholarship player. Their first pick is at ten and I'm not sure yet what they'll do. They might be hoping to pounce on Ebert. Swans have also elevated a scholarship boy and have only a couple of live choices and will hope for a slider as well. Brisbane enter at pick 8. Will probably look at some of the Queensland boys with their mid picks. Granland: What do you think on the draft overall? Burgan: It's a mixed view because although not regarded as strong as last year but others think there might be some good ones to get in the mid 40's. Granland: Which is your best pick in one of your Phantom Drafts? Burgan: I was really happy to pick Sean Rusling early a few years ago. I'd heard some things about him and went for him to be selected early and I was also happy about picking Andrew Collins to Richmond last year at 73. See: Burgatron VII – the full list (2006 Draft) and watch for Burgatron VIII on Thursday 22 November on www.afl.com.au. Also coming soon on Demonland - Stevo looks at melbournefc's draft picks 14 and 21 and Melon's Phantom Draft (top 21)

Guarantee you Stevo is not either of those gentlemen and is not involved with MFC recruiting in any way either.

We've received an article from a Demon supporter who works inside the Under 18 system on this very topic. It's being workshopped in conjunction with Whispering Jack and we'll put it out in two parts - the first in the next day or so with possibles for Pick 4 followed by 14 and 21. It's interesting stuff from someone who's seen most of the locals and the interstaters during the Under 18 Carnival.

by Whispering Jack So the AFL has decided to charge Ben Cousins with bringing the game into disrepute after something like six years in which the kid's been involved with members of the underworld, fled from a breath test, been found blotto in a gutter outside the Casino, admitted to being a drug addict, refused a blood test and sneered and sniggered his way on and off football fields, airport lounges and who knows what else? Back in July, the AFL allowed Cousins back into the game although there was no satisfactory public statement from Cousins or genuine assurance that he was, in fact, drug-free and over his addiction - the preconditions originally laid out by his club for a return. The same AFL which once claimed to be Mr. Nice Guy and so very concerned for his health and welfare now charges Cousins at a time when he's been dumped by his club and is about to enter a Los Angeles drug rehabilitation clinic for a second time. That's magnificent timing but where's the charge against his former club which allowed this farce to be played out after being warned by the AFL that any more would see it sanctioned with a possible heavy monetary penalty and a loss of draft picks? And what responsibility did the AFL itself have in this sordid little episode? The game's peak administrative body certainly looks foolish now in the way in which it has completely mismanaged the drug issue and particularly by the way it allowed Cousins an easy and premature return to the field of play. Meanwhile, on the same day and in a different place, Dick Pratt, the President of an AFL club now officially called the "Caaarton Football Caaartel" and his company receive the heaviest fine for corporate price-fixing (many people regard that as a form of "theft"). The AFL won't bat an eyelid about that because, well ... that scam occurred long before Pratt became President but at about the same time that Caaarton was carrying out a different type of scam involving the salary cap. Of course, Pratt was President of Caaarton when it was the highest bidder for Chris Judd and his golden groin after he defected from the West Coast Eagles amid concerns in some circles that there might be another salary cap scam brewing and he remains in the position today after being exposed as the country's biggest ever corporate lawbreaker. Would the AFL ever bat any eyelid over that? Or will its head honcho Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli merely sigh softly, turn his head up to the skies and mutter ... "such is life"?

SUCH IS LIFE by Whispering Jack So the AFL has decided to charge Ben Cousins with bringing the game into disrepute after something like six years in which the kid's been involved with members of the underworld, fled from a breath test, been found blotto in a gutter outside the Casino, admitted to being a drug addict, refused a blood test and sneered and sniggered his way on and off football fields, airport lounges and who knows what else? Back in July, the AFL allowed Cousins back into the game although there was no satisfactory public statement from Cousins or genuine assurance that he was, in fact, drug-free and over his addiction - the preconditions originally laid out by his club for a return. The same AFL which once claimed to be Mr. Nice Guy and so very concerned for his health and welfare now charges Cousins at a time when he's been dumped by his club and is about to enter a Los Angeles drug rehabilitation clinic for a second time. That's magnificent timing but where's the charge against his former club which allowed this farce to be played out after being warned by the AFL that any more would see it sanctioned with a possible heavy monetary penalty and a loss of draft picks? And what responsibility did the AFL itself have in this sordid little episode? The game's peak administrative body certainly looks foolish now in the way in which it has completely mismanaged the drug issue and particularly by the way it allowed Cousins an easy and premature return to the field of play. Meanwhile, on the same day and in a different place, Dick Pratt, the President of an AFL club now officially called the "Caaarton Football Caaartel" and his company receive the heaviest fine for corporate price-fixing (many people regard that as a form of "theft"). The AFL won't bat an eyelid about that because, well ... that scam occurred long before Pratt became President but at about the same time that Caaarton was carrying out a different type of scam involving the salary cap. Of course, Pratt was President of Caaarton when it was the highest bidder for Chris Judd and his golden groin after he defected from the West Coast Eagles amid concerns in some circles that there might be another salary cap scam brewing and he remains in the position today after being exposed as the country's biggest ever corporate lawbreaker. Would the AFL ever bat any eyelid over that? Or will its head honcho Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli merely sigh softly, turn his head up to the skies and mutter ... "such is life"?

CHANGES 2007: TRADING AND DRAFTING - PART TWO by The Oracle The month of October has come and almost gone and there are 109 more days to go before we again see a team representing the Melbourne Football Club in an official game. The bad news is that the game in question will be played at Skilled Stadium against the reigning AFL premiers but the good news is that the Demons haven't lost at this venue for a while (actually not since early 2004). Those who follow the club come hell or high water might also recall the last time that these teams were matched up in a pre season competition fixture. That was back in 2000 when an underground pipe burst on the members' wing causing proceedings to be abandoned. You could say that high water came on that occasion! Still, it was a great feeling driving back home along the Princes Highway and away from Sleepy Hollow knowing the home side failed to taste victory. Nobody got to taste victory either when the teams last met at the same venue in a home and away clash in round 21 of 2006 so the Cats don't scare me at all. I suppose I might be getting a little ahead of myself thinking in terms of what might happen in the middle of February given that we don't even know the identity of a quarter of the club's list for next year. Remember, the theme of this series is about changes and while there have already been many at Demonland since the end of the 2007 season, there are many more on the way. The most significant set of changes to date has been not so much with regard to the playing list but with the coaching set up. After almost a decade of stability and the same head coach in Neale Daniher, the 2007 season witnessed a turbulent period in terms of the club coaching. The Reverend gambled and lost with the innovation of "run and carry" and, after opening with nine consecutive defeats in the final year of a coaching contract, the writing was on the wall. A couple of victories in a row couldn't help him resurrect his position when the team flopped miserably against bottom side Richmond. Also gone from the club is his caretaker replacement Mark Riley who is off to Carlton and long time Football Manager Chris Fagan who has joined the Hawks. Peter Curran has also departed. New coach Dean Bailey has installed a virtually all-new group of personnel into the football department. Chris Connolly becomes the Football Manager, and Josh Mahoney and Sean Wellman join Paul Williams as Assistant Coaches while Kelly O’Donnell and former Zebras premiership coach Mark Williams have been added as Development Coaches. The changes in coaching structure add to the interest and excitement with the promise of a fresh approach and a younger, more switched on coaching group that is expected to rejuvenate the Demons in the coming years. These changes will be matched by a large turnover of players at the club but while a number have gone, there has only been one addition to the actual playing list to date - ruckman John Meesen who joined the club by way of a trade from Adelaide. Meesen is a 201 cm tall ruckman who has strong endurance capacity but was unable to show his worth at Adelaide as he was plagued by injury at the Crows. Originally drafted with pick 8 in 2004, he had a long wait to play his first senior AFL game making his debut in round 20 of 2007 but he managed only one other game before being traded to Melbourne for its third round National Draft selection. Meesen is no stranger to the red and blue colours having been the leading ruckman for SANFL club Norwood over the past three seasons. Ruckmen often take longer to develop than mid size players and the Demons are no doubt hoping he will make the step up to become a regular AFL senior player with the added maturity and the opportunity to settle down in his home state. Demonland welcomes John Meesen to the Melbourne Football Club as the first of the incoming changes to the club's lists for 2008. Ten others will join the young ruckman at the club over the next month and a half as it completes the task of replacing the following eleven players who have departed:- Senior List - Ryan Ferguson, Simon Godfrey, Heath Neville, Daniel Ward (delisted), Travis Johnstone (traded to Brisbane), Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown, Byron Pickett (retired). Rookies - Daniel Hayes, Daniel Hughes and Shane Neaves (delisted). Jace Bode has been officially elevated from the Rookie List to the Senior List leaving the club lists looking like this:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST SEASON as at 31 October 2007: SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram, Matthew Bate, Daniel Bell, Jace Bode, Cameron Bruce, Simon Buckley, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Colin Garland, Brad Green, Ben Holland, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Paul Johnson, Nathan Jones, James McDonald, Brock McLean, John Meesen, Brad Miller, Brent Moloney, Michael Newton, Ricky Petterd, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia, Matthew Warnock, Isaac Weetra, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan, Jeff White and ADD future Draft Picks (6 in total). VETERAN LIST: David Neitz, Adem Yze. ROOKIE LIST: ADD future Draft Picks (4 in total). Assuming no further delistings, the club can add a further six players to the Senior List and four to the Rookie List. The available selections for the National Draft on 24 November stand at 4, 14, 21, 53, 69 and 85 but this could change. The club can also pass on its last National Draft selection or two and take Pre Season Draft pick 3 and, if necessary another likely to be no higher than about 10. The National Draft provides some exciting challenges for the club's recruiting and list manager Craig Cameron and his team. Conventional wisdom says the best players in this draft will come from the first two dozen players on offer and after that the talent pool drops offs considerably although there is always a hidden gem or two somewhere deep in the draft. Melbourne is well placed with three picks in the top 21 - only the Eagles have more selections up to that point and they had to give away Chris Judd to get some of them. There's every chance that Melbourne will pick up some really talented players with its selections and we all await the coming month and a half with interest. The full list of remaining key dates for the 2007 NAB AFL Draft Process are: - Wednesday 14 November 2.00 pm Draft Nominations Close Friday 16 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Two Wednesday 21 November 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Saturday 24 November 10.00 am NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 27 November 27 2.00 pm Uncontracted Listed Player Nominations Close Friday 30 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Three and TPP Estimates Friday 7 December 7 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Tuesday 11 December 10.00 am NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 11 December 10.15 am Nomination of Brisbane Lions and Sydney eligible rookie list players Tuesday 11 December 10.30am NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting

by The Oracle The month of October has come and almost gone and there are 109 more days to go before we again see a team representing the Melbourne Football Club in an official game. The bad news is that the game in question will be played at Skilled Stadium against the reigning AFL premiers but the good news is that the Demons haven't lost at this venue for a while (actually not since early 2004). Those who follow the club come hell or high water might also recall the last time that these teams were matched up in a pre season competition fixture. That was back in 2000 when an underground pipe burst on the members' wing causing proceedings to be abandoned. You could say that high water came on that occasion! Still, it was a great feeling driving back home along the Princes Highway and away from Sleepy Hollow knowing the home side failed to taste victory. Nobody got to taste victory either when the teams last met at the same venue in a home and away clash in round 21 of 2006 so the Cats don't scare me at all. I suppose I might be getting a little ahead of myself thinking in terms of what might happen in the middle of February given that we don't even know the identity of a quarter of the club's list for next year. Remember, the theme of this series is about changes and while there have already been many at Demonland since the end of the 2007 season, there are many more on the way. The most significant set of changes to date has been not so much with regard to the playing list but with the coaching set up. After almost a decade of stability and the same head coach in Neale Daniher, the 2007 season witnessed a turbulent period in terms of the club coaching. The Reverend gambled and lost with the innovation of "run and carry" and, after opening with nine consecutive defeats in the final year of a coaching contract, the writing was on the wall. A couple of victories in a row couldn't help him resurrect his position when the team flopped miserably against bottom side Richmond. Also gone from the club is his caretaker replacement Mark Riley who is off to Carlton and long time Football Manager Chris Fagan who has joined the Hawks. New coach Dean Bailey has installed a virtually all-new group of personnel into the football department. Chris Connolly becomes the Football Manager, and Josh Mahoney and Sean Wellman join Paul Williams as Assistant Coaches while Kelly O’Donnell and former Zebras premiership coach Mark Williams have been added as Development Coaches. The changes in coaching structure add to the interest and excitement with the promise of a fresh approach and a younger, more switched on coaching group that is expected to rejuvenate the Demons in the coming years. These changes will be matched by a large turnover of players at the club but while a number have gone, there has only been one addition to the actual playing list to date - ruckman John Meesen who joined the club by way of a trade from Adelaide. Meesen is a 201 cm tall ruckman who has strong endurance capacity but was unable to show his worth at Adelaide as he was plagued by injury at the Crows. Originally drafted with pick 8 in 2004, he had a long wait to play his first senior AFL game making his debut in round 20 of 2007 but he managed only one other game before being traded to Melbourne for its third round National Draft selection. Meesen is no stranger to the red and blue colours having been the leading ruckman for SANFL club Norwood over the past three seasons. Ruckmen often take longer to develop than mid size players and the Demons are no doubt hoping he will make the step up to become a regular AFL senior player with the added maturity and the opportunity to settle down in his home state. Demonland welcomes John Meesen to the Melbourne Football Club as the first of the incoming changes to the club's lists for 2008. Ten others will join the young ruckman at the club over the next month and a half as it completes the task of replacing the following eleven players who have departed:- Senior List - Ryan Ferguson, Simon Godfrey, Heath Neville, Daniel Ward (delisted), Travis Johnstone (traded to Brisbane), Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown, Byron Pickett (retired). Rookies - Daniel Hayes, Daniel Hughes and Shane Neaves (delisted). Jace Bode has been officially elevated from the Rookie List to the Senior List leaving the club lists looking like this:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST SEASON as at 31 October 2007: SENIOR LIST: Clint Bartram, Matthew Bate, Daniel Bell, Jace Bode, Cameron Bruce, Simon Buckley, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Colin Garland, Brad Green, Ben Holland, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Paul Johnson, Nathan Jones, James McDonald, Brock McLean, John Meesen, Brad Miller, Brent Moloney, Michael Newton, Ricky Petterd, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia, Matthew Warnock, Isaac Weetra, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan, Jeff White and ADD future Draft Picks (6 in total). VETERAN LIST: David Neitz, Adem Yze. ROOKIE LIST: ADD future Draft Picks (4 in total). Assuming no further delistings, the club can add a further six players to the Senior List and four to the Rookie List. The available selections for the National Draft on 24 November stand at 4, 14, 21, 57, 63 and 89 but this could change. The club can also pass on its last National Draft selection or two and take Pre Season Draft pick 3 and, if necessary another likely to be no higher than about 10. The National Draft provides some exciting challenges for the club's recruiting and list manager Craig Cameron and his team. Conventional wisdom says the best players in this draft will come from the first two dozen players on offer and after that the talent pool drops offs considerably although there is always a hidden gem or two somewhere deep in the draft. Melbourne is well placed with three picks in the top 21 - only the Eagles have more selections up to that point and they had to give away Chris Judd to get some of them. There's every chance that Melbourne will pick up some really talented players with its selections and we all await the coming month and a half with interest. The full list of remaining key dates for the 2007 NAB AFL Draft Process are: - Wednesday 14 November 2.00 pm Draft Nominations Close Friday 16 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Two Wednesday 21 November 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Saturday 24 November 10.00 am NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 27 November 27 2.00 pm Uncontracted Listed Player Nominations Close Friday 30 November 2.00 pm List Lodgement Three and TPP Estimates Friday 7 December 7 2.00 pm Delisted Player Nominations Close Tuesday 11 December 10.00 am NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting Tuesday 11 December 10.15 am Nomination of Brisbane Lions and Sydney eligible rookie list players Tuesday 11 December 10.30am NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting