Demonland

by Whispering Jack On Saturday I watched a team of amateur footballers who wore red and blue and who made a better fist of playing a team game than the one that wore the same colours on Sunday at the MCG. The boys from Old Brighton backed each other up constantly; they moved the ball mainly forward and with purpose and they generally kicked and handballed to running targets, which they hit cleanly. The opposition played well too! Granted, when you're in a professional competition like the AFL the pressure is far greater than it is in the Ammos but I believe it's a real pity that only Cameron Bruce was in attendance (watching a mate) at this practice match between the Brighton Grammarians and Ajax because the rest of the Demons could have learned some lessons in application from these guys who (as far as I know) don't get paid for their efforts in a competition where the salary cap is zero. And zero is what I would have paid about 16 or 17 of the Melbourne players for their efforts against Geelong yesterday. Certainly, the team is undermanned at the moment. It's hard to produce the goods when your two best forwards, your hardest and most talented midfielder, your best key defender and a few other handy players are sitting in the stands watching and your toughest nut is half way down Princes Highway trying to run in to some fitness at Werribee but there were enough regulars out there to give the supporters a run for their money. And other clubs seem to get over their injury woes without becoming woeful! Indeed, I heard a caller on talk back radio make the statement that this was Melbourne's most woeful performance ever. The poor bloke must have a memory problems because the Demons were simply reverting back to the abysmal form of mid to late 2005 when they went through that awful period of injuries and constant trips to interstate grounds. They were no better and no worse than that and they still fought back late in the year to make the finals. The problem is that the similarity between the way the team played during that seven-week losing streak and the way it is playing now is quite uncanny. The other similarity is the number of "depth" players who were tried and failed during that period and who are still making up the depth despite having been found wanting many times in the past. The theory that the club has great depth has certainly been laid bare for once and for all over the past three weeks. I'm fully aware that the prospective young blood at the club is considered by many to be not quite ready for the rigours of AFL football but no more and no less so than names like (god help me for this!) Cox, Dick and Toovey at Collingwood. Look what they did on Friday night! And look what Geelong did in round two when it brought in Tom Hawkins one VFL practice match after returning from a pre season injury and Travis Varcoe for their first games. All I can say is that Hawkins is lucky he's at Geelong and not at Melbourne because if he were on the Demons' list he would have had to come up from his injury with a couple of games with the Sandy reserves just for starters. What did Melbourne do after receiving a thumping from Hawthorn and losing David Neitz, Russell Robertson and Jared Rivers through injury? It dropped Chris Johnson who wasn't playing all that well after an excellent pre season and it promoted the following four players - Ryan Ferguson, Ben Holland, Paul Johnson, and Adem Yze. Ferg must have done something to raise the coach's hackles though because he sat on the pine for the entire second half. Sheesh! OK. So you're down on personnel and you've decided you won't bring in any young new blood so you go for the same old, same olds. You're down in confidence, a number of your leading lights are out of form and your opposition is coming off a 13-goal win the week before. Why come out and play pretty football rather than scrap and fight? Why not? Because the personel at your disposal simply don't have the skills - a fact that was amply highlighted by the Cats' first three goals, all of which came from unforced errors and lazy play from the Demons. Jeff White's short pass to an opposition forward 15 metres out from goal was the icing on the cake. When you lack the team skills necessary to play the fast open game then you're in trouble and from that early point onward it was evident that Melbourne would be best served by playing lock down football. Instead, it went on its merry way, keeping its defence open far too wide, giving opposition players lots of latitude and plentiful opportunities to build their confidence sky high. I don't agree that trying to shut the game down in the first half would have been tantamount to surrendering the game. Look at what the Tigers achieved in that famous (or infamous) game against the Crows last year. Indeed, I think it is just the opposite and that leaving it until well into the second half to go defensive and put players behind the ball was far too late - by that stage it really was a white flag job. I want to give special kudos to Daniel Bell for his persistence, courage and improvement. He took on a few big Geelong names including G Ablett Junior and Paul Chapman. He didn't shut them out altogether but he played with the air of someone who will play 200 games for the club. Cameron Bruce was used mainly in a defensive role and picked up a lot of possessions although not always to the team's advantage, Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney were good and Brad Green proved an admirable filler up forward. Indeed, I think he relished the role. Jeff White did well in the ruck encounters and surprisingly, Melbourne won the battle for the clearances from midfield. But that's about it because most of the rest either weren't up to it or possibly they weren't interested. Aaron Davey has lost conidence and appears metres slower than he has been in past years. He's one player who is running out of chances although he might get a reprieve if Byron Pickett can come back to play the protector role that had Davey at his productive best in the first half of last year. Is it too late for the Demons given that they won't have their best side available for at least a month? My head says no but my heart and the team's recent history says it can be done. They could do without further injuries (and the cloud over Travis Johnstone and Moloney won't help in that regard) but I think some adventurous team selection and a bit of luck (already apparent with suspensions to Headland and Carr and injury to Browne) against the Dockers at the MCG could get things kick started. Melbourne 2.1.13 4.4.28 5.9.39 8.9.57 Geelong 5.8.38 11.8.74 14.10.94 15.19.109 Goals: B Green 4 B Moloney 2 S Godfrey T Johnstone Best: D Bell C Bruce B Moloney N Jones T Johnstone B Green Injuries: Nil (?). Reports: Nil. Umpires: M Ellis C Hendrie M Avon Official Crowd: 38,438 at the MCG.

THE ZERO SUM GAME by Whispering Jack On Saturday I watched a team of amateur footballers who wore red and blue and who made a better fist of playing a team game than the one that wore the same colours on Sunday at the MCG. The boys from Old Brighton backed each other up constantly; they moved the ball mainly forward and with purpose and they generally kicked and handballed to running targets, which they hit cleanly. The opposition played well too! Granted, when you're in a professional competition like the AFL the pressure is far greater than it is in the Ammos but I believe it's a real pity that only Cameron Bruce was in attendance (watching a mate) at this practice match between the Brighton Grammarians and Ajax because the rest of the Demons could have learned some lessons in application from these guys who (as far as I know) don't get paid for their efforts in a competition where the salary cap is zero. And zero is what I would have paid about 16 or 17 of the Melbourne players for their efforts against Geelong yesterday. Certainly, the team is undermanned at the moment. It's hard to produce the goods when your two best forwards, your hardest and most talented midfielder, your best key defender and a few other handy players are sitting in the stands watching and your toughest nut is half way down Princes Highway trying to run in to some fitness at Werribee but there were enough regulars out there to give the supporters a run for their money. And other clubs seem to get over their injury woes without becoming woeful! Indeed, I heard a caller on talk back radio make the statement that this was Melbourne's most woeful performance ever. The poor bloke must have a memory problems because the Demons were simply reverting back to the abysmal form of mid to late 2005 when they went through that awful period of injuries and constant trips to interstate grounds. They were no better and no worse than that and they still fought back late in the year to make the finals. The problem is that the similarity between the way the team played during that seven-week losing streak and the way it is playing now is quite uncanny. The other similarity is the number of "depth" players who were tried and failed during that period and who are still making up the depth despite having been found wanting many times in the past. The theory that the club has great depth has certainly been laid bare for once and for all over the past three weeks. I'm fully aware that the prospective young blood at the club is considered by many to be not quite ready for the rigours of AFL football but no more and no less so than names like (god help me for this!) Cox, Dick and Toovey at Collingwood. Look what they did on Friday night! And look what Geelong did in round two when it brought in Tom Hawkins one VFL practice match after returning from a pre season injury and Travis Varcoe for their first games. All I can say is that Hawkins is lucky he's at Geelong and not at Melbourne because if he were on the Demons' list he would have had to come up from his injury with a couple of games with the Sandy reserves just for starters. What did Melbourne do after receiving a thumping from Hawthorn and losing David Neitz, Russell Robertson and Jared Rivers through injury? It dropped Chris Johnson who wasn't playing all that well after an excellent pre season and it promoted the following four players - Ryan Ferguson, Ben Holland, Paul Johnson, and Adem Yze. Ferg must have done something to raise the coach's hackles though because he sat on the pine for the entire second half. Sheesh! OK. So you're down on personnel and you've decided you won't bring in any young new blood so you go for the same old, same olds. You're down in confidence, a number of your leading lights are out of form and your opposition is coming off a 13-goal win the week before. Why come out and play pretty football rather than scrap and fight? Why not? Because the personel at your disposal simply don't have the skills - a fact that was amply highlighted by the Cats' first three goals, all of which came from unforced errors and lazy play from the Demons. Jeff White's short pass to an opposition forward 15 metres out from goal was the icing on the cake. When you lack the team skills necessary to play the fast open game then you're in trouble and from that early point onward it was evident that Melbourne would be best served by playing lock down football. Instead, it went on its merry way, keeping its defence open far too wide, giving opposition players lots of latitude and plentiful opportunities to build their confidence sky high. I don't agree that trying to shut the game down in the first half would have been tantamount to surrendering the game. Look at what the Tigers achieved in that famous (or infamous) game against the Crows last year. Indeed, I think it is just the opposite and that leaving it until well into the second half to go defensive and put players behind the ball was far too late - by that stage it really was a white flag job. I want to give special kudos to Daniel Bell for his persistence, courage and improvement. He took on a few big Geelong names including G Ablett Junior and Paul Chapman. He didn't shut them out altogether but he played with the air of someone who will play 200 games for the club. Cameron Bruce was used mainly in a defensive role and picked up a lot of possessions although not always to the team's advantage, Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney were good and Brad Green proved an admirable filler up forward. Indeed, I think he relished the role. Jeff White did well in the ruck encounters and surprisingly, Melbourne won the battle for the clearances from midfield. But that's about it because most of the rest either weren't up to it or possibly they weren't interested. Aaron Davey has lost conidence and appears metres slower than he has been in past years. He's one player who is running out of chances although he might get a reprieve if Byron Pickett can come back to play the protector role that had Davey at his productive best in the first half of last year. Is it too late for the Demons given that they won't have their best side available for at least a month? My head says no but my heart and the team's recent history says it can be done. They could do without further injuries (and the cloud over Travis Johnstone and Moloney won't help in that regard) but I think some adventurous team selection and a bit of luck (already apparent with suspensions to Headland and Carr and injury to Browne) against the Dockers at the MCG could get things kick started. Melbourne 2.1.13 4.4.28 5.9.39 8.9.57 Geelong 5.8.38 11.8.74 14.10.94 15.19.109 Goals: B Green 4 B Moloney 2 S Godfrey T Johnstone Best: D Bell C Bruce B Moloney N Jones T Johnstone B Green Injuries: Nil (?). Reports: Nil. Umpires: M Ellis C Hendrie M Avon Official Crowd: 38,438 at the MCG.

Votes accepted for Belly, QueenC & Jaded - we need new blood giving votes The Leader Board after 3 rounds 29. Brent Moloney 21. Cameron Bruce 20. Brad Miller 19. Daniel Bell 18. Nathan Jones 13. Ben Holland 12. Brad Green David Neitz 11. Russell Robertson 8. Nathan Brown Simon Godfrey 5. James McDonald 3. Daniel Ward, Jeff White 2. Nathan Carroll Jared Rivers Travis Johnstone 1. Paul Johnson

SEVEN DAYS by J.V. McKay I find it hard to believe that it was just seven days ago, on Easter Saturday morning, that I was sipping away at a café latte inside a little curbside café in suburban Melbourne and enjoying small talk with a friend. We were both a bit down in the dumps as both of us support teams that suffered defeat in the first round of the season (he's a fan of Geelong) so the conversation generally veered away from the subject of football until the time came to pick up the tab and move on. Our parting comment was to the effect that thankfully, our respective football teams were taking on opponents at the weekend who were not to be feared by prospective finals participants in Melbourne and Geelong and that we would meet again in a week's time on the eve of Rivalry Round, with both having tasted the first victory for the year and in readiness to take each other on in an exciting blockbuster on the following day. The history books have recorded what happened next. Geelong, playing two first gamers, simply whipped Carlton into submission and would have won their match by over 100 points but for the fact that they pulled up in the final ten minutes and allowed the Blues a few cheap goals in junk time. Melbourne went the other way and lost ingloriously to the Hawks. To make matters worse the Demons are, in addition to suffering a massive form slump, undergoing one of the biggest injury crises in its history losing several key players in quick succession (and that came hot on the heels of the loss of Brock McLean for six weeks with a foot fracture sustained in round 1) - all in the space of seven days. First cab off the rank was Clint Bartram who injured a knee in Saturday's training session. He's out indefinitely. Ten minutes into Monday's game skipper David Neitz went down with a knee that puts him out for four weeks, then down went Russell Robertson with a knee that could put him out for up to ten weeks. During the week, the team's best defender Jared Rivers was ruled out with a hamstring strain and Colin Sylvia, who starred on comeback with Sandringham and was a certain to be selected for the AFL this week, went down with "soreness". Who knows how long "soreness" can keep you out of the team at Melbourne? So call me a coward but after the events of last week, I cancelled this morning's coffee meeting and instead of looking forward to tomorrow's game at the G, I was at one stage actually searching through the record books to ascertain what the Cats need to do in order to achieve an all time record breaking win against the Demons (it's a lot!). I even considered going bush for the weekend with a few bottles of expensive red (well, relatively expensive red). On reflection however, I'm not that pessimistic about the game and I will turn up and face the music. After all, I'm a gambler and I get my inspiration from the bookies! Don't get me wrong. I'm not about to join the Kiss of Death as the only tipster in the known universe to actually select Melbourne to triumph tomorrow at odds of $3.35 to win but those long odds remind me of a not too distant occasion when Melbourne met Fremantle at the MCG and the Dockers saluted the judges at even longer odds than that. I also go back to a famous game in about 1998 when an injury stricken Melbourne traveled to Subiaco and prevailed against the Eagles also at long odds against. Then there's the example set by the Bulldogs in 2006. With only 25 players to select a team from in round 20, the Doggies showed enormous character to beat Adelaide who were premiership favourites at the time. I figure therefore that there should be no reason at all why the collection of out of formers, coodabeens and never wases that is arrayed against Geelong tomorrow can't lift the club off the floor and give its fans something to cheer about in the interim period while many of the team's stars are recovering from their wounds and some promising youngsters are serving their mandatory sentences of a minimum of fifteen games at Sandringham before even being considered for selection and risked in senior AFL company (Malthouse was an absolute goose for picking three first gamers for last night's game v Richmond wasn't he)? It can be done, can't it? THE GAME: Melbourne v. Geelong at the MCG - 15 April 2007 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Melbourne 83 wins Geelong 116 wins 2 draws At the G: Melbourne 51 wins Geelong 48 wins Since 2000: Melbourne 6 wins Geelong 6 wins 1 draw The Coaches: Daniher 6 wins 1 draw Thompson 6 wins 1 draw MEDIA: TV Channel 7 (delayed telecast commencing at 3.00pm) RADIO: 3AW, ABC 774, KRock, MMM THE BETTING: Melbourne to win $3.35 Geelong to win $1.30 LAST TIME THEY MET: Geelong 14.10.94 drew with Melbourne 14.10.94 at Skilled Stadium in Round 21, 2006. Geelong were in a form slump and on their way to missing the 2006 finals while Melbourne had just demolished the Kangaroos. The Demons needed a victory if they were to have any chance of grabbing back a top four spot with the finals just two weeks away. Melbourne jumped to a 38-point lead well beyond the halfway mark of the second quarter only to be reeled in by a rampaging Geelong that kicked nine of the last eleven goals and received some serious help from the umpires to draw the game. Travis Johnstone was in fine form for the Demons while the best Cat on the day was Steve Johnson who thankfully will miss tomorrow because he's a very naughty boy. THE TEAMS: MELBOURNE: Backs: Ben Holland Nathan Carroll Matthew Whelan Half backs: Daniel Ward Paul Wheatley Daniel Bell Centreline: Brent Moloney James McDonald Brad Green Half forwards: Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Matthew Bate Forwards: Simon Godfrey Mark Jamar Aaron Davey Followers: Jeff White Nathan Jones Travis Johnstone Interchange: Nathan Brown Ryan Ferguson Paul Johnson Adem Yze Emergencies: Clint Bizzell Chris Johnson Ricky Petterd In: Ben Holland Ryan Ferguson Paul Johnson Adem Yze Out: David Neitz (knee) Jared Rivers (hamstring) Russell Robertson (knee) Chris Johnson GEELONG Backs: Corey Enright Matthew Scarlett Andrew Mackie Halfbacks: Josh Hunt Matthew Egan Darren Milburn Centreline: David Wojcinski Jimmy Bartel Shannon Byrnes Half forwards: Paul Chapman Cameron Mooney James Kelly Forwards: Nathan Ablett Brad Ottens Gary Ablett Followers: Mark Blake Cameron Ling Joel Corey Interchange: Tom Hawkins David Johnson Brent Prismall Travis Varcoe Emergencies: Charlie Gardiner Joel Selwood Kane Tenace In: David Johnson James Kelly Out: Charlie Gardiner Joel Selwood Umpires: Ellis Hendrie Avon THE GAME PLAN: Next! WHERE THE GAME WILL BE WON AND LOST: The Cats are full of confidence after giving Carlton an absolute shellacking last week. Everything went right for the Cats as they swept aside the insipid Blues. This week they come up against a team that's more insipid than the Bluebaggers. The Dees are playing without confidence, form or discipline and the game could be won or lost for this reason alone although we know from history that form can be such a fickle thing. It could come back when least expected! With Melbourne already battling injuries it's absolutely essential that two big name players in Travis Johnstone and Aaron Davey can come back from the worst form slumps of their careers. If both can return to their normal output or even better, things would definitely be on the improve for the Demons. However, I can't see that happening if Neale Daniher decides to play Davey at full forward as he threatened earlier in the week. He would be of more use if given a free rein in the wide open spaces of the wings where he can use his pace to advantage by running through the lines. Perhaps Trapper could go to the other wing to release Brad Green to the forward line - a part of the ground where he shone in the early parts of his career. Geelong's midfield is looking awesome with players of the calibre of Ablett, Bartel, Chapman, Corey and Ling able to run through the middle. James McDonald will need to be at his All-Australian best to stop Bartel while Nathan Jones will be put to the test against this calibre of opposition. The onus will definitely be on the Demon midfield to lift and at least they should be aided by Jeff White who also needs to return to form. Fortuitously, Steven King won't be around to give him a kick start (if you get my drift). White can handle Blake and Ottens and it is to be hoped that he can generate drive and forward movement from the advantage he can gain in the ruck. The Cats also appear to have the superior edge in their forward line but will depend on some youngsters in Nathan Ablett and Tom Hawkins to come up trumps twice in a row. That's no certainty! Unfortunately for the Demons, the Geelong defence, even without Tom Harley, is also looking strong and should hold down a dishevelled and disrupted injury affected Demon forward line. SOME VITAL MATCH UPS: The game presents some fascinating duels and if Melbourne is to even come close to winning the game it needs to finish in front with all three of the following: - Brad Miller v Matthew Egan With two key forwards sitting in the stands, Melbourne needs something special from Brad Miller who was one of its few shining lights last week. If Egan can hold him, the Dees are in trouble. The two Nathans – Carroll v Ablett Carroll showed some glimpses of returning to his 2006 form which had some of the pundits touting him for All Australian selection as a full back at one stage. Ablett has been in fine form and he forms part of a tall forward line capable of tearing opposition defences apart. Melbourne’s defence, without Rivers is suspect. Carroll must keep Ablett down. Ryan Ferguson v Cam Mooney When these two teams met in a practice match earlier in the season Mooney was kept scoreless in the first half by Jared Rivers. When Rivers succumbed to the hamstring soreness from which he has apparently still not recovered, Mooney booted four goals in a masterful and match winning display at centre half forward. He is named to start against Paul Wheatley but I have a feeling that we'll see Ferguson line up on him at some stage. This is Ferg's chance to atone and, in doing so he might even generate the revival of a career sent off the rails by persistent injury worries. THE WILDCARDS Paul Johnson Like Ferguson, Paul Johnson is a player whose career has stalled through injury. There are many doubters about PJ who say that he can't mark overhead and that he's simply not anywhere near the complete footballer. The former Liston Medallist is however, extremely agile for a tall man and I'm tipping that, given ground time, he could surprise. Avon calling I've had a gutful. For two weeks I have sat back and watched the umpires taking part in the carnage. Things are bad enough when your players own players stuff up constantly but it doesn't help when you give away the margin between winner and loser on consecutive weeks in free kicks and when the free kick differential virtually gives your opponent one extra player. What I'd like to see this week is some consistency and fairness and a free kick count of about 25 - 10 in our favour, five or six frees to us directly in front of goal and a couple of dubious 50 metre penalty goal assists to even things up. Now that's not asking too much in the interests of fairness, is it? (by the way I'm not bitter about the maggots at all!) THE TIP With so many big guns missing from the Melbourne line up, it's hard to see the Demons turning things around as dramatically over a period of less than seven days as is necessary to win this week. Funnier things have been known to happen but I'm tipping Geelong to win by 29 points.

by J.V. McKay I find it hard to believe that it was just seven days ago, on Easter Saturday morning, that I was sipping away at a café latte inside a little curbside café in suburban Melbourne and enjoying small talk with a friend. We were both a bit down in the dumps as both of us support teams that suffered defeat in the first round of the season (he's a fan of Geelong) so the conversation generally veered away from the subject of football until the time came to pick up the tab and move on. Our parting comment was to the effect that thankfully, our respective football teams were taking on opponents at the weekend who were not to be feared by prospective finals participants in Melbourne and Geelong and that we would meet again in a week's time on the eve of Rivalry Round, with both having tasted the first victory for the year and in readiness to take each other on in an exciting blockbuster on the following day. The history books have recorded what happened next. Geelong, playing two first gamers, simply whipped Carlton into submission and would have won their match by over 100 points but for the fact that they pulled up in the final ten minutes and allowed the Blues a few cheap goals in junk time. Melbourne went the other way and lost ingloriously to the Hawks. To make matters worse the Demons are, in addition to suffering a massive form slump, undergoing one of the biggest injury crises in its history losing several key players in quick succession (and that came hot on the heels of the loss of Brock McLean for six weeks with a foot fracture sustained in round 1) - all in the space of seven days. First cab off the rank was Clint Bartram who injured a knee in Saturday's training session. He's out indefinitely. Ten minutes into Monday's game skipper David Neitz went down with a knee that puts him out for four weeks, then down went Russell Robertson with a knee that could put him out for up to ten weeks. During the week, the team's best defender Jared Rivers was ruled out with a hamstring strain and Colin Sylvia, who starred on comeback with Sandringham and was a certain to be selected for the AFL this week, went down with "soreness". Who knows how long "soreness" can keep you out of the team at Melbourne? So call me a coward but after the events of last week, I cancelled this morning's coffee meeting and instead of looking forward to tomorrow's game at the G, I was at one stage actually searching through the record books to ascertain what the Cats need to do in order to achieve an all time record breaking win against the Demons (it's a lot!). I even considered going bush for the weekend with a few bottles of expensive red (well, relatively expensive red). On reflection however, I'm not that pessimistic about the game and I will turn up and face the music. After all, I'm a gambler and I get my inspiration from the bookies! Don't get me wrong. I'm not about to join the Kiss of Death as the only tipster in the known universe to actually select Melbourne to triumph tomorrow at odds of $3.35 to win but those long odds remind me of a not too distant occasion when Melbourne met Fremantle at the MCG and the Dockers saluted the judges at even longer odds than that. I also go back to a famous game in about 1998 when an injury stricken Melbourne traveled to Subiaco and prevailed against the Eagles also at long odds against. Then there's the example set by the Bulldogs in 2006. With only 25 players to select a team from in round 20, the Doggies showed enormous character to beat Adelaide who were premiership favourites at the time. I figure therefore that there should be no reason at all why the collection of out of formers, coodabeens and never wases that is arrayed against Geelong tomorrow can't lift the club off the floor and give its fans something to cheer about in the interim period while many of the team's stars are recovering from their wounds and some promising youngsters are serving their mandatory sentences of a minimum of fifteen games at Sandringham before even being considered for selection and risked in senior AFL company (Malthouse was an absolute goose for picking three first gamers for last night's game v Richmond wasn't he)? It can be done, can't it? THE GAME: Melbourne v. Geelong at the MCG - 15 April 2007 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Melbourne 83 wins Geelong 116 wins 2 draws At the G: Melbourne 51 wins Geelong 48 wins Since 2000: Melbourne 6 wins Geelong 6 wins 1 draw The Coaches: Daniher 6 wins 1 draw Thompson 6 wins 1 draw MEDIA: TV Channel 7 (delayed telecast commencing at 3.00pm) RADIO: 3AW, ABC 774, KRock, MMM THE BETTING: Melbourne to win $3.35 Geelong to win $1.30 LAST TIME THEY MET: Geelong 14.10.94 drew with Melbourne 14.10.94 at Skilled Stadium in Round 21, 2006. Geelong were in a form slump and on their way to missing the 2006 finals while Melbourne had just demolished the Kangaroos. The Demons needed a victory if they were to have any chance of grabbing back a top four spot with the finals just two weeks away. Melbourne jumped to a 38-point lead well beyond the halfway mark of the second quarter only to be reeled in by a rampaging Geelong that kicked nine of the last eleven goals and received some serious help from the umpires to draw the game. Travis Johnstone was in fine form for the Demons while the best Cat on the day was Steve Johnson who thankfully will miss tomorrow because he's a very naughty boy. THE TEAMS: MELBOURNE: Backs: Ben Holland Nathan Carroll Matthew Whelan Half backs: Daniel Ward Paul Wheatley Daniel Bell Centreline: Brent Moloney James McDonald Brad Green Half forwards: Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Matthew Bate Forwards: Simon Godfrey Mark Jamar Aaron Davey Followers: Jeff White Nathan Jones Travis Johnstone Interchange: Nathan Brown Ryan Ferguson Paul Johnson Adem Yze Emergencies: Clint Bizzell Chris Johnson Ricky Petterd In: Ben Holland Ryan Ferguson Paul Johnson Adem Yze Out: David Neitz (knee) Jared Rivers (hamstring) Russell Robertson (knee) Chris Johnson GEELONG Backs: Corey Enright Matthew Scarlett Andrew Mackie Halfbacks: Josh Hunt Matthew Egan Darren Milburn Centreline: David Wojcinski Jimmy Bartel Shannon Byrnes Half forwards: Paul Chapman Cameron Mooney James Kelly Forwards: Nathan Ablett Brad Ottens Gary Ablett Followers: Mark Blake Cameron Ling Joel Corey Interchange: Tom Hawkins David Johnson Brent Prismall Travis Varcoe Emergencies: Charlie Gardiner Joel Selwood Kane Tenace In: David Johnson James Kelly Out: Charlie Gardiner Joel Selwood Umpires: Ellis Hendrie Avon THE GAME PLAN: Next! WHERE THE GAME WILL BE WON AND LOST: The Cats are full of confidence after giving Carlton an absolute shellacking last week. Everything went right for the Cats as they swept aside the insipid Blues. This week they come up against a team that's more insipid than the Bluebaggers. The Dees are playing without confidence, form or discipline and the game could be won or lost for this reason alone although we know from history that form can be such a fickle thing. It could come back when least expected! With Melbourne already battling injuries it's absolutely essential that two big name players in Travis Johnstone and Aaron Davey can come back from the worst form slumps of their careers. If both can return to their normal output or even better, things would definitely be on the improve for the Demons. However, I can't see that happening if Neale Daniher decides to play Davey at full forward as he threatened earlier in the week. He would be of more use if given a free rein in the wide open spaces of the wings where he can use his pace to advantage by running through the lines. Perhaps Trapper could go to the other wing to release Brad Green to the forward line - a part of the ground where he shone in the early parts of his career. Geelong's midfield is looking awesome with players of the calibre of Ablett, Bartel, Chapman, Corey and Ling able to run through the middle. James McDonald will need to be at his All-Australian best to stop Bartel while Nathan Jones will be put to the test against this calibre of opposition. The onus will definitely be on the Demon midfield to lift and at least they should be aided by Jeff White who also needs to return to form. Fortuitously, Steven King won't be around to give him a kick start (if you get my drift). White can handle Blake and Ottens and it is to be hoped that he can generate drive and forward movement from the advantage he can gain in the ruck. The Cats also appear to have the superior edge in their forward line but will depend on some youngsters in Nathan Ablett and Tom Hawkins to come up trumps twice in a row. That's no certainty! Unfortunately for the Demons, the Geelong defence, even without Tom Harley, is also looking strong and should hold down a dishevelled and disrupted injury affected Demon forward line. SOME VITAL MATCH UPS: The game presents some fascinating duels and if Melbourne is to even come close to winning the game it needs to finish in front with all three of the following: - Brad Miller v Matthew Egan With two key forwards sitting in the stands, Melbourne needs something special from Brad Miller who was one of its few shining lights last week. If Egan can hold him, the Dees are in trouble. The two Nathans – Carroll v Ablett Carroll showed some glimpses of returning to his 2006 form which had some of the pundits touting him for All Australian selection as a full back at one stage. Ablett has been in fine form and he forms part of a tall forward line capable of tearing opposition defences apart. Melbourne’s defence, without Rivers is suspect. Carroll must keep Ablett down. Ryan Ferguson v Cam Mooney When these two teams met in a practice match earlier in the season Mooney was kept scoreless in the first half by Jared Rivers. When Rivers succumbed to the hamstring soreness from which he has apparently still not recovered, Mooney booted four goals in a masterful and match winning display at centre half forward. He is named to start against Paul Wheatley but I have a feeling that we'll see Ferguson line up on him at some stage. This is Ferg's chance to atone and, in doing so he might even generate the revival of a career sent off the rails by persistent injury worries. THE WILDCARDS Paul Johnson Like Ferguson, Paul Johnson is a player whose career has stalled through injury. There are many doubters about PJ who say that he can't mark overhead and that he's simply not anywhere near the complete footballer. The former Liston Medallist is however, extremely agile for a tall man and I'm tipping that, given ground time, he could surprise. Avon calling I've had a gutful. For two weeks I have sat back and watched the umpires taking part in the carnage. Things are bad enough when your players own players stuff up constantly but it doesn't help when you give away the margin between winner and loser on consecutive weeks in free kicks and when the free kick differential virtually gives your opponent one extra player. What I'd like to see this week is some consistency and fairness and a free kick count of about 25 - 10 in our favour, five or six frees to us directly in front of goal and a couple of dubious 50 metre penalty goal assists to even things up. Now that's not asking too much in the interests of fairness, is it? (by the way I'm not bitter about the maggots at all!) THE TIP With so many big guns missing from the Melbourne line up, it's hard to see the Demons turning things around as dramatically over a period of less than seven days as is necessary to win this week. Funnier things have been known to happen but I'm tipping Geelong to win by 29 points.

I have accepted the first three nominations i.e. dees_rule_4eva, Deanox and Condemned84 (that means dees_rule_4eva can take a break from giving votes until the second half of the season to give others a chance):- The current standings therefore are:- 18. Brad Miller Brent Moloney 13. Ben Holland 12. David Neitz 11. Cameron Bruce Russell Robertson 8. Nathan Brown Simon Godfrey 7. Nathan Jones 5. Daniel Bell James McDonald 3. Daniel Ward, Jeff White 2. Nathan Carroll Jared Rivers

Current standings (and don't forget to put your tips in before tonight):- 1. (15) 10 demon_fanatic 1. (1) 10 TimDees 3. (1) 9 bl3281 3. (15) 9 deanox 3. (15) 9 Dees_Fan16 3. (1) 9 DeMoNiC 3. (1) 9 Demonland 3. (1) 9 great_gatsby 3. (15) 9 Jackieboy_0 3. (1) 9 Kieranbj 11. (1) 8 achirnside 11. (31) 8 BigKev Demon 11. (1) 8 canberrademon(herb) 11. (15)8 Clyde_Cabbie 11. (1) 8 Dappadan 11. (15) 8 KrazyJay 11. (15) 8 paliosiana 11. (1) 8 petejh2000 11. (15) 8 Pinball_Wizard 11. (15) 8 slamevil 11. (1) 8 Whispering_Jack 22. (15) 7 dee'viator 22. (15) 7 deesthisyear 22. (1) 7 demon_davey 22. (15) 7 Go_Ds 22. (15) 7 Goodvibes 22. (1) 7 melon22 22. (31) 7 Rivers Run Red 22. (15) 7 Scoop Junior 22. (31) 7 snarler_0 31. (31) 6 Fingers Power 31. (31) 6 No Cigar 31. (1) 6 rusty_corner 34. (37) 5 frangas 34. (15) 5 jaded24 34. (15) 5 rusty_kingswood 37. (37) 4 Alpha_33 37. (31) 4 CarnTheDees

OK. It's late, he's been tardy and there are no excuses, but here it is. WJ's match report ... THE SAUSAGE ROLL DID IT by Whispering Jack Long-time Melbourne supporters are used to this. Two rounds into the season and their team is in trouble after suffering a second defeat at the MCG to a team which finished below it last year (and the least experienced side in the competition). Twice, the Demons have entered the game as firm favourites with the bookmakers, twice they cruised to an early three goal lead which, in the past would have been used as the springboard for a solid victory, and twice they surrendered meekly in the second and third quarters before showing some semblance of mild but belated resistance in the end. The only thing left to consider was an excuse for these pathetic performances and, while looking for just such an excuse, I stumbled upon a news item about how the humble sausage roll recently caused a Sydney train to run 15 minutes late. All because the driver claimed he was blinded by a sausage roll. Fair dinkum! The Sydney Daily Telegraph has obtained a long list of dubious excuses used by CityRail drivers and guards for getting off work mid-shift. One of them runs as follows:- "Driver reports eye injury most likely sustained whilst eating a hot sausage roll . . . he has sensitive eyes and may have rubbed an irritant into them during crib." So I thought to myself, is it possible that the Demons could get away with the same sort of excuse for their failure to nail the opposition when they were poised do just that? Do players get their sustenance before a game from savoury food like the sausage roll? Is it possible for the fumes from the tomato sauce to collectively steer a whole team so far off course that all they can do for two hours is take the longest course home using the most inefficient means to steer that course? Can you get double vision from the effect of the herbs and spices ingrained in the sausage roll to the point where you all you do is handball in the direction of a teammates' stationary feet or kick straight to your opposition? Nah! On reflection, the sausage roll story is a bit too far fetched. Why not run with the official line from the coach who puts it down to the ebbs and flows of the modern game. "You have to have a look at the middle of the game. Are we working hard enough? Are we getting bottled down in our inability to clear it? They got their hands on the ball around those scrums," Daniher said after Melbourne’s 22 point humbling at the hands of the Hawks on Easter Monday. There was a nice ring about it but it was a bit too prosaic for me so I skipped across to Sportal which is currently running a poll as to why Melbourne has made such a tardy start to the season. The alternatives given to site visitors and the results to date are:- 1. Injuries to key players hurt (19%); 2. Neale Daniher cannot coach (22%); 3. Because Green, Yze, White and co can't lift (30%) and 4. They have too much dead wood (29%) The two things they left out were the perennial, "the umpires suck" and the handy "all of the above" which is probably as good as it gets. Thankfully, nobody thought of using the Sydney train driver's excuse for the tardiness. The poll is pretty much a reality check for an ailing club. There's no doubt in my mind that Melbourne are simply being outclassed by the opposition and there are no excuses. It matters not whether this emphasis on "run" and "carry" is real or imaginative, the Demons have fallen into a hole playing a brand of football that doesn't come naturally to the players. They appear confused and frustrated and a few simply appear lazy. Their leaders aren't contributing and the impression one gets is that this is an ill-disciplined rabble. One consequence is a staggering 49 frees against to 31 for in two matches, 11 goals kicked against from frees to only two for (roughly the losing margin in each game) and that's not counting a few goals from 50 metre penalties. The result is two humiliating defeats and a well-deserved place at the very foot of the league ladder. Last week I considered that I might have witnessed a mirage watching an appalling number of mistakes committed and wrong options taken. The style was ugly. Sitting not far around from the wing in the Northern Stand, the players appeared to be going sideways rather than straight ahead. This week, I was in the Ponsford Stand more or less behind the goals and it was even more pronounced that the Demons have developed an aversion to going forward in a straight line. They've forgetten all about trigonometry and are going in circles, holding on to the ball for far too long and making it far too simple for the opposition defence to clear the ball away in the rare event that they strike it lucky and pass the centre without losing possession. And what's happened to controllling the corridor? It's being avoided like the plague! On the eve of the season I nominated my list of Melbourne's ten most important players. Their output (or lack thereof) after just two weeks of football is a clear pointer to the club's on field troubles. 1. Brock McLean - injured after completing one quarter against the Saints. 2. Travis Johnstone - one ordinary and one substandard performance after being heavily tagged. 3. Jared Rivers - missed the Saints game with injury but reasonably good against the Hawks. 4. Jeff White - beaten twice in the ruck. What's worse he was embarrassingly, brushed aside by Hawthorn's Boyle who plucked the ball out of a boundary ruck contest and goaled in the third quarter. 5. Cameron Bruce - only reasonable, getting cheap possessions and disposal ordinary. 6. David Neitz - injured his knee in the first quarter against Hawthorn and set to miss 4 games. 7. Brad Green - just going and making plenty of mistakes. 8. Aaron Davey - badly under performing and seems to have lost the magic touch in the absence of Byron Pickett. 9. Matthew Whelan - injured early against the Saints and played below his best on return against the Hawks. 10. James McDonald - reasonable but nowhere near his All Australian form of last year. Looking outside this list to some of the other experienced players at the club and you have Adem Yze (dropped), Russell Robertson (sluggish, then injured and out for four weeks), Nathan Brown (missed the Saints but reasonably good against the Hawks), Byron Pickett (failed to make it through three quarters at Sandy) and Ben Holland (dropped after the Saints game). Doesn't that say it all? The few plusses are the form of Nathan Jones and Brad Miller who are standing up in the face of the opposition onslaughts, Brent Moloney, Daniel Bell and maybe Nathan Carroll. To show how desperate I really am, I'll nominate Colin Sylvia's game at Sandringham on Easter Saturday. And a special mention to the much-maligned Simon Godfrey who lacks skills but shows how much he cherishes his place in the side every time he steps onto the field. Godders is no Easter Bunny. The other plusses are that Melbourne has no option but to recast its team extensively for next week's game against Geelong and for the month beyond. In doing so, it is to be hoped that Daniher will take the adventurous option. Try something different with the players at his disposal and pick a few youngsters, even if they would in the ordinary course not be considered ready. What has he got to lose? His job? Another plus might be that the coach allows the players to return to the style of game from around the middle of 2006 when they were thumping the opposition, getting the ball out of the middle and going right down the guts. The "run and carry" stuff can be slowly re-introduced if necesssary in the weeks before the team plays on a long, thing ground like Subiaco. Let's just keep it away from the MCG, shall we? Whatever changes are made, I'm really hoping that one of them won't involve the move foreshadowed by Daniher of playing Aaron Davey at full forward (wouldn't a proven player like Brad Green be a better option?). If that happens, then take it from me, I'll be the bloke down at the kiosk buying out the entire stock of sausage rolls, applying liberal doses of tomato sauce and doing my best to think of some more excuses for another tardy performance. Melbourne 4.5.29 5.7.37 10.10.70 14.10.94 Hawthorn 2.4.16 7.8.50 15.9.99 17.14.116 Goals Miller 3 Godfrey Jamar 2 Bate Moloney Neitz Robertson Ward White Best Jones Moloney Miller Rivers Bruce McDonald Injuries Bartram (knee) withdrew from selected side, Neitz (knee) Robertson (knee) Reports Nil Umpires Rosebury Sully Ryan Crowd 43,197 at the MCG

by Whispering Jack Long-time Melbourne supporters are used to this. Two rounds into the season and their team is in trouble after suffering a second defeat at the MCG to a team which finished below it last year (and the least experienced side in the competition). Twice, the Demons have entered the game as firm favourites with the bookmakers, twice they cruised to an early three goal lead which, in the past would have been used as the springboard for a solid victory, and twice they surrendered meekly in the second and third quarters before showing some semblance of mild but belated resistance in the end. The only thing left to consider was an excuse for these pathetic performances and, while looking for just such an excuse, I stumbled upon a news item about how the humble sausage roll recently caused a Sydney train to run 15 minutes late. All because the driver claimed he was blinded by a sausage roll. Fair dinkum! The Sydney Daily Telegraph has obtained a long list of dubious excuses used by CityRail drivers and guards for getting off work mid-shift. One of them runs as follows:- "Driver reports eye injury most likely sustained whilst eating a hot sausage roll . . . he has sensitive eyes and may have rubbed an irritant into them during crib." So I thought to myself, is it possible that the Demons could get away with the same sort of excuse for their failure to nail the opposition when they were poised do just that? Do players get their sustenance before a game from savoury food like the sausage roll? Is it possible for the fumes from the tomato sauce to collectively steer a whole team so far off course that all they can do for two hours is take the longest course home using the most inefficient means to steer that course? Can you get double vision from the effect of the herbs and spices ingrained in the sausage roll to the point where you all you do is handball in the direction of a teammates' stationary feet or kick straight to your opposition? Nah! On reflection, the sausage roll story is a bit too far fetched. Why not run with the official line from the coach who puts it down to the ebbs and flows of the modern game. "You have to have a look at the middle of the game. Are we working hard enough? Are we getting bottled down in our inability to clear it? They got their hands on the ball around those scrums," Daniher said after Melbourne’s 22 point humbling at the hands of the Hawks on Easter Monday. There was a nice ring about it but it was a bit too prosaic for me so I skipped across to Sportal which is currently running a poll as to why Melbourne has made such a tardy start to the season. The alternatives given to site visitors and the results to date are:- 1. Injuries to key players hurt (19%); 2. Neale Daniher cannot coach (22%); 3. Because Green, Yze, White and co can't lift (30%) and 4. They have too much dead wood (29%) The two things they left out were the perennial, "the umpires suck" and the handy "all of the above" which is probably as good as it gets. Thankfully, nobody thought of using the Sydney train driver's excuse for the tardiness. The poll is pretty much a reality check for an ailing club. There's no doubt in my mind that Melbourne are simply being outclassed by the opposition and there are no excuses. It matters not whether this emphasis on "run and carry" is real or imaginative, the Demons have fallen into a hole playing a brand of football that doesn't come naturally to the players. They appear confused and frustrated and a few simply appear lazy. Their leaders aren't contributing and the impression one gets is that this is an ill-disciplined rabble. One consequence is a staggering 49 frees against to 31 for in two matches, 11 goals kicked against from frees to only two for (roughly the losing margin in each game) and that's not counting a few goals from 50 metre penalties. The result is two humiliating defeats and a well-deserved place at the very foot of the league ladder. Last week I considered that I might have witnessed a mirage watching an appalling number of mistakes committed and wrong options taken. The style was ugly. Sitting not far around from the wing in the Northern Stand, the players appeared to be going sideways rather than straight ahead. This week, I was in the Ponsford Stand more or less behind the goals and it was even more pronounced that the Demons have developed an aversion to going forward in a straight line. They've forgetten all about trigonometry and are going in circles, holding on to the ball for far too long and making it far too simple for the opposition defence to clear the ball away in the rare event that they strike it lucky and pass the centre without losing possession. And what's happened to controllling the corridor? It's being avoided like the plague! On the eve of the season I nominated my list of Melbourne's ten most important players. Their output (or lack thereof) after just two weeks of football is a clear pointer to the club's on field troubles. 1. Brock McLean - injured after completing one quarter against the Saints. 2. Travis Johnstone - one ordinary and one substandard performance after being heavily tagged. 3. Jared Rivers - missed the Saints game with injury but reasonably good against the Hawks. 4. Jeff White - beaten twice in the ruck. What's worse he was embarrassingly, brushed aside by Hawthorn's Boyle who plucked the ball out of a boundary ruck contest and goaled in the third quarter. 5. Cameron Bruce - only reasonable, getting cheap possessions and disposal ordinary. 6. David Neitz - injured his knee in the first quarter against Hawthorn and set to miss 4 games. 7. Brad Green - just going and making plenty of mistakes. 8. Aaron Davey - badly under performing and seems to have lost the magic touch in the absence of Byron Pickett. 9. Matthew Whelan - injured early against the Saints and played below his best on return against the Hawks. 10. James McDonald - reasonable but nowhere near his All Australian form of last year. Looking outside this list to some of the other experienced players at the club and you have Adem Yze (dropped), Russell Robertson (sluggish, then injured and out for four weeks), Nathan Brown (missed the Saints but reasonably good against the Hawks), Byron Pickett (failed to make it through three quarters at Sandy) and Ben Holland (dropped after the Saints game). Doesn't that say it all? The few plusses are the form of Nathan Jones and Brad Miller who are standing up in the face of the opposition onslaughts, Brent Moloney, Daniel Bell and maybe Nathan Carroll. To show how desperate I really am, I'll nominate Colin Sylvia's game at Sandringham on Easter Saturday. And a special mention to the much-maligned Simon Godfrey who lacks skills but shows how much he cherishes his place in the side every time he steps onto the field. Godders is no Easter Bunny. The other plusses are that Melbourne has no option but to recast its team extensively for next week's game against Geelong and for the month beyond. In doing so, it is to be hoped that Daniher will take the adventurous option. Try something different with the players at his disposal and pick a few youngsters, even if they would in the ordinary course not be considered ready. What has he got to lose? His job? Another plus might be that the coach allows the players to return to the style of game from around the middle of 2006 when they were thumping the opposition, getting the ball out of the middle and going right down the guts. The "run and carry" stuff can be slowly re-introduced if necesssary in the weeks before the team plays on a long, thing ground like Subiaco. Let's just keep it away from the MCG, shall we? Whatever changes are made, I'm really hoping that one of them won't involve the move foreshadowed by Daniher of playing Aaron Davey at full forward (wouldn't a proven player like Brad Green be a better option?). If that happens, then take it from me, I'll be the bloke down at the kiosk buying out the entire stock of sausage rolls, applying liberal doses of tomato sauce and doing my best to think of some more excuses for another tardy performance. Melbourne 4.5.29 5.7.37 10.10.70 14.10.94 Hawthorn 2.4.16 7.8.50 15.9.99 17.14.116 Goals Miller 3 Godfrey Jamar Moloney 2 Bate Neitz Robertson Ward White Best Jones Moloney Miller Rivers Bruce McDonald Injuries Bartram (knee) withdrew from selected side, Neitz (knee) Robertson (knee) Reports Nil Umpires Rosebury Sully Ryan Crowd 43,197 at the MCG

Whispering Jack assures that he is working on his match review of the Hawthorn game. He's still working on the excuses for the delay but please be patient, it's on its way.

UNFURLING THE FLAG - A SANDRINGHAM STORY by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham capped off a memorable day in the club's history to open its 2007 campaign with a 10-point victory over last year's VFL grand final opponent Geelong. The Zebras raced away to a half time lead in excess of 10 goals but slackened off considerably after the main break to hold on to win what turned out to be an exciting and high scoring game. The afternoon had started in brilliant autumn sunshine with the unfurling of the 2006 premiership flag by Libby Gilchrist, wife of the club's late president Gary Gilchrist who tragically passed away in July last year. There was little time however, for the team to soak up the atmosphere of the previous year's triumph - it was a case of getting straight down to business for the opening bounce of the season! With 2005 Liston Medallist Paul Johnson back in harness and rucking strongly and Peter Summers and Shane Valenti drilling the ball out of the middle, the forwards in Sautner, Sylvia and Garland were able to give the Zebra faithful a perfect start to the season with four goals in the opening five minutes and seven of the first eight goals of the match before the Cats came back with four of their own. A steadier just before the siren had Sandy three goals in front after a frenetic opening quarter. The second quarter was Sandringham at its best with the home side playing champagne football to completely dominate the opposition scoring eight goals to nil. Summers, Valenti and Demon great Adem Yze worked tirelessly to lead the dominant Zebra midfield as the team stretched the margin to 64 points by half time. Full forward, Nick Sautner had five goals on the board and the Cats went into their rooms with heads bowed. It's hard to tell whether it was the warm weather or perhaps it was a mindset that the game was already over, but the course of the game changed entirely after the main break. Now it was Geelong's turn to win the ball out of the middle and to force its opponents into costly mistakes and bad turnovers. Playing inspired football, the Cats clawed their way back into the game by kicking a stunning eleven goals for the third term to cut Sandy's lead to just 16 points at three quarter time. It was probably to Sandy's good that any complacency that might have crept into the team, was extinguished so early in the season. The memory of the third term of the opening game will no doubt be recalled for the players by the coaching staff as the season unfolds. Still, the Cats kept on coming but Sandy's resistance was also strong. With an exhausted looking Byron Pickett being rested in the final quarter and Ezra Poyas also being nursed through his return from injury, the Zebras now had their backs to the wall and had to pluck up some resistance or be overrun in the finish. The team was able to steady thanks to the sterling efforts of Summers, Valenti, David Gallagher, the strength and brilliance of Sylvia and a tightened defence led by Ryan Ferguson. Sandringham managed to hold out the Cats and save the game aided also by some wayward kicking for goal by Geelong's forwards. However, the Cats were always under pressure in their efforts to catch up from such a long way behind and, like all good sides, the Zebras steadied when the going got tough. The game marked a major milestone for Chris Lamb who played his 100th for the Zebras. He was solid at centre half back and helped with some desperate saves but it wasn't his best game. The high scoring affair in which both sides booted over 20 goals in perfect conditions wasn't exactly made for defenders. It was also the debut game of young Sandringham Dragon Tomi Johnston who joined brother Marc, playing only his third game. The sons of former Carlton champion Wayne "The Dominator" Johnston had minor roles coming off the bench but both showed they would be useful players at the club. Slightly built Tomi showed some exciting skills and courage and looks to have a bright future. It was fitting in the end that Paul Johnson, the dominant ruckman on the day, managed to snaffle the ball and pass to the dominant forward of the game, Nick Sautner, who scored the goal thirty seconds from the final siren to save the match for the team and to see it home by 23.11.149 to 20.19.139. The club recently announced boxing superstar Sam "King" Soliman was its new number one celebrity member for 2007 but it was once again Sautner who delivered the knock out punch. Next Sunday the Zebras take on Werribee at Bartercard Oval, Werribee. Seniors at 2.00pm, Reserves at 11.20am. And so the magic carpet ride continues ... HOW THE DEMONS FARED Simon Buckley - a player with explosive pace and all of the athletic ability necessary to play the game at the highest level. He was played mainly at halfback where he displayed a good approach on the football and generally disposed of it well. He is still on a steep learning curve as he showed when he tried to mark from behind instead of spoil deep in defence during the last quarter. However, at his very next opportunity, he did the right thing and punched the ball away from his opponent’s hands. Ryan Ferguson - in a game where both defences were under siege Ferguson was better than most but that doesn't really say much at all. His marking was very good and some of defensive work was adequate but he let himself down with poor disposal and he was guilty at times of some very ordinary decision-making. On one occasion, he punched the ball into the middle corridor when he should have marked (or at least punched in the direction of the boundary) and he also committed a few other clangers that resulted in opposition goals. Colin Garland - started like a house on fire and was dangerous early with two goals and an assist to Colin Sylvia but faded as the game wore on and spent time on the bench. Has good hands, is mobile and also plays tall. An exciting player of the future but probably not ready for AFL until 2008. Ben Holland - Benny played a better game against St. Kilda last Friday week after which he was dropped to play in this game. I think that just about sums it all up apart from the fact that he did mark and goal at a crucial time in the final quarter. Paul Johnson - probably the most effective ruckman on the ground and he showed great mobility for a big man. Took some good marks, including a couple overhead, but committed a few obvious clangers under pressure before redeeming himself close to the end with a good pick up and pass in the Sautner direction, which resulted in the match saving goal. Shane Neaves - was reasonable given his role as second fiddle to Paul Johnson but there was nothing spectacular in his game. Michael Newton - the man is an enigma and a coach’s nightmare. He has freakish ability and great skills, especially his marking and kicking but he can be oh, so, frustrating at times. He started on a wing where some half-hearted tackling efforts and poor decision-making earned him time on the bench. After his return, he worked his way back into the game and in the final quarter, he kicked a beautiful (and much needed) goal and took the mark of the day to cut off a threatening Geelong forward thrust. If and when Newton learns to concentrate on his game for four quarters, he will be an absolute beauty but in the meantime, he is more on the erratic and unreliable side. To be fair, I don't think the small Beach Road Oval suits him and he didn't appear all that comfortable playing on a wing, but as I've said on a few occasions, players of his type can blossom into something special which is a prospect that's well worth waiting for! Ricky Petterd - the more the game went on, the more Petterd impressed me. He's very poised and balanced and he plays with a definite purpose. Give him another half a dozen games at this level and he will be ready for a crack at the big time. Byron Pickett - sadly overweight and unfit, returning from a hamstring injury and a trip to Perth for family reasons, Pickett managed a little over half a game intimidating opponents and providing some glimpses of his magic (e.g. that brilliant interception and goal) before running out of puff and spending the last quarter and a half on the bench. "He ran out of gas, we didn't want to run him into the ground," coach mark Williams said after the game. For AFL watchers, he’s a good few weeks away! Colin Sylvia - a sensational performance given his limited preparation and the fact that this was his first full match of four quarters this season. Played mainly on a forward flank and in the pocket, marked strongly, kicked three goals, menaced the opposition defenders with hard tackling and spoiling and proved that he is ready to take on the Cats again in a week's time but only on a different stage. Matthew Warnock - spent most of the first half sitting on the pine and then was sent into defence for the second half deluge of opposition goals. This alone alone is enough to suggest that he has a tough task ahead of him if he wants to play the game at the highest level. He has good pace and used it to advantage a couple of times but wasn't overly impressive. Adem Yze - kicked two goals and picked up 32 possessions playing mainly in midfield with a couple of stints at half forward. Contrary to what the Yze naysayers might think, he took his demotion like a champion and produced the goods for his team. I don't believe anyone could have asked more from him on the day. RESULTS Sandringham 8.5.53 16.8.104 19.10.124 23.11.149 Geelong 5.5.35 5.10.40 16.12.108 20.19.139 Goal Kickers: Sandringham N Sautner 7 C Sylvia 3 C Garland S Valenti A Yze 2 R Crowe R Ferguson B Holland P Johnson M Newton B Pickett P Summers Geelong S Johnson 5 C Urie 3 D Barnes J Davenport S Hogan M Spencer 2 J Byrne N Djerrkura T Grima S Hunt Best: Sandringham P Summers R Ferguson C Sylvia S Valenti N Sautner A Yze Geelong S Johnson D Barnes J Byrne H Playfair T West J Davenport RESERVES AMBUSHED The Sandy reserves were ambushed by a strong Box Hill reserves which took advantage of their senior team's bye to include two senior level AFL Hawthorn emergency list player’s for the Easter Monday's game - Jarryd Roughead and Michael Osborne as well as Josh Thurgood who also plenty of senior AFL experience. These players were easily the difference between the two sides. Box Hill Hawks are the reigning reserve grade premiers and they piled on nine goals in the opening quarter but the young Zebras fought manfully and went down by 47 points in the end. Rennie Gilchrist and Phil Zarra (4 goals) were the pick of the players. Demon rookie Daniel Hughes kicked three goals on return from a groin injury. RESULTS Sandringham 3.3.21 8.9.57 10.11.71 12.15.87 Box Hill Hawks 9.4.58 13.6.84 16.12.108 20.14.134 Goal Kickers: Sandringham P Zarra 4 D Hughes 3 D Gribbin K Hall S Martin S Monaghan S Tregear Box Hill Hawks J Roughead 8 D Bradshaw 3 M Osborne 2 J Allan S Daniher E Johnson A Marguccio L McEntee T Pollett J Thurgood Best: Sandringham R Gilchrist P Zarra S Monaghan P McGettigan M Gibb S Martin Box Hill Hawks M Osborne J Roughead D Marcius J Allan L McEntee A Quinn

by Barry from Beach Road Sandringham capped off a memorable day in the club's history to open its 2007 campaign with a 10-point victory over last year's VFL grand final opponent Geelong. The Zebras raced away to a half time lead in excess of 10 goals but slackened off considerably after the main break to hold on to win what turned out to be an exciting and high scoring game. The afternoon had started in brilliant autumn sunshine with the unfurling of the 2006 premiership flag by Libby Gilchrist, wife of the club's late president Gary Gilchrist who tragically passed away in July last year. There was little time however, for the team to soak up the atmosphere of the previous year's triumph - it was a case of getting straight down to business for the opening bounce of the season! With 2005 Liston Medallist Paul Johnson back in harness and rucking strongly and Peter Summers and Shane Valenti drilling the ball out of the middle, the forwards in Sautner, Sylvia and Garland were able to give the Zebra faithful a perfect start to the season with four goals in the opening five minutes and seven of the first eight goals of the match before the Cats came back with four of their own. A steadier just before the siren had Sandy three goals in front after a frenetic opening quarter. The second quarter was Sandringham at its best with the home side playing champagne football to completely dominate the opposition scoring eight goals to nil. Summers, Valenti and Demon great Adem Yze worked tirelessly to lead the dominant Zebra midfield as the team stretched the margin to 64 points by half time. Full forward, Nick Sautner had five goals on the board and the Cats went into their rooms with heads bowed. It's hard to tell whether it was the warm weather or perhaps it was a mindset that the game was already over, but the course of the game changed entirely after the main break. Now it was Geelong's turn to win the ball out of the middle and to force its opponents into costly mistakes and bad turnovers. Playing inspired football, the Cats clawed their way back into the game by kicking a stunning eleven goals for the third term to cut Sandy's lead to just 16 points at three quarter time. It was probably to Sandy's good that any complacency that might have crept into the team, was extinguished so early in the season. The memory of the third term of the opening game will no doubt be recalled for the players by the coaching staff as the season unfolds. Still, the Cats kept on coming but Sandy's resistance was also strong. With an exhausted looking Byron Pickett being rested in the final quarter and Ezra Poyas also being nursed through his return from injury, the Zebras now had their backs to the wall and had to pluck up some resistance or be overrun in the finish. The team was able to steady thanks to the sterling efforts of Summers, Valenti, David Gallagher, the strength and brilliance of Sylvia and a tightened defence led by Ryan Ferguson. Sandringham managed to hold out the Cats and save the game aided also by some wayward kicking for goal by Geelong's forwards. However, the Cats were always under pressure in their efforts to catch up from such a long way behind and, like all good sides, the Zebras steadied when the going got tough. The game marked a major milestone for Chris Lamb who played his 100th for the Zebras. He was solid at centre half back and helped with some desperate saves but it wasn't his best game. The high scoring affair in which both sides booted over 20 goals in perfect conditions wasn't exactly made for defenders. It was also the debut game of young Sandringham Dragon Tomi Johnston who joined brother Marc, playing only his third game. The sons of former Carlton champion Wayne "The Dominator" Johnston had minor roles coming off the bench but both showed they would be useful players at the club. Slightly built Tomi showed some exciting skills and courage and looks to have a bright future. It was fitting in the end that Paul Johnson, the dominant ruckman on the day, managed to snaffle the ball and pass to the dominant forward of the game, Nick Sautner, who scored the goal thirty seconds from the final siren to save the match for the team and to see it home by 23.11.149 to 20.19.139. The club recently announced boxing superstar Sam "King" Soliman was its new number one celebrity member for 2007 but it was once again Sautner who delivered the knock out punch. Next Sunday the Zebras take on Werribee at Bartercard Oval, Werribee. Seniors at 2.00pm, Reserves at 11.20am. And so the magic carpet ride continues ... HOW THE DEMONS FARED Simon Buckley - a player with explosive pace and all of the athletic ability necessary to play the game at the highest level. He was played mainly at halfback where he displayed a good approach on the football and generally disposed of it well. He is still on a steep learning curve as he showed when he tried to mark from behind instead of spoil deep in defence during the last quarter. However, at his very next opportunity, he did the right thing and punched the ball away from his opponent’s hands. Ryan Ferguson - in a game where both defences were under siege Ferguson was better than most but that doesn't really say much at all. His marking was very good and some of defensive work was adequate but he let himself down with poor disposal and he was guilty at times of some very ordinary decision-making. On one occasion, he punched the ball into the middle corridor when he should have marked (or at least punched in the direction of the boundary) and he also committed a few other clangers that resulted in opposition goals. Colin Garland - started like a house on fire and was dangerous early with two goals and an assist to Colin Sylvia but faded as the game wore on and spent time on the bench. Has good hands, is mobile and also plays tall. An exciting player of the future but probably not ready for AFL until 2008. Ben Holland - Benny played a better game against St. Kilda last Friday week after which he was dropped to play in this game. I think that just about sums it all up apart from the fact that he did mark and goal at a crucial time in the final quarter. Paul Johnson - probably the most effective ruckman on the ground and he showed great mobility for a big man. Took some good marks, including a couple overhead, but committed a few obvious clangers under pressure before redeeming himself close to the end with a good pick up and pass in the Sautner direction, which resulted in the match saving goal. Shane Neaves - was reasonable given his role as second fiddle to Paul Johnson but there was nothing spectacular in his game. Michael Newton - the man is an enigma and a coach’s nightmare. He has freakish ability and great skills, especially his marking and kicking but he can be oh, so, frustrating at times. He started on a wing where some half-hearted tackling efforts and poor decision-making earned him time on the bench. After his return, he worked his way back into the game and in the final quarter, he kicked a beautiful (and much needed) goal and took the mark of the day to cut off a threatening Geelong forward thrust. If and when Newton learns to concentrate on his game for four quarters, he will be an absolute beauty but in the meantime, he is more on the erratic and unreliable side. To be fair, I don't think the small Beach Road Oval suits him and he didn't appear all that comfortable playing on a wing, but as I've said on a few occasions, players of his type can blossom into something special which is a prospect that's well worth waiting for! Ricky Petterd - the more the game went on, the more Petterd impressed me. He's very poised and balanced and he plays with a definite purpose. Give him another half a dozen games at this level and he will be ready for a crack at the big time. Byron Pickett - sadly overweight and unfit, returning from a hamstring injury and a trip to Perth for family reasons, Pickett managed a little over half a game intimidating opponents and providing some glimpses of his magic (e.g. that brilliant interception and goal) before running out of puff and spending the last quarter and a half on the bench. "He ran out of gas, we didn't want to run him into the ground," coach mark Williams said after the game. For AFL watchers, he’s a good few weeks away! Colin Sylvia - a sensational performance given his limited preparation and the fact that this was his first full match of four quarters this season. Played mainly on a forward flank and in the pocket, marked strongly, kicked three goals, menaced the opposition defenders with hard tackling and spoiling and proved that he is ready to take on the Cats again in a week's time but only on a different stage. Matthew Warnock - spent most of the first half sitting on the pine and then was sent into defence for the second half deluge of opposition goals. This alone alone is enough to suggest that he has a tough task ahead of him if he wants to play the game at the highest level. He has good pace and used it to advantage a couple of times but wasn't overly impressive. Adem Yze - kicked two goals and picked up 32 possessions playing mainly in midfield with a couple of stints at half forward. Contrary to what the Yze naysayers might think, he took his demotion like a champion and produced the goods for his team. I don't believe anyone could have asked more from him on the day. RESULTS Sandringham 8.5.53 16.8.104 19.10.124 23.11.149 Geelong 5.5.35 5.10.40 16.12.108 20.19.139 Goal Kickers: Sandringham N Sautner 7 C Sylvia 3 C Garland S Valenti A Yze 2 R Crowe R Ferguson B Holland P Johnson M Newton B Pickett P Summers Geelong S Johnson 5 C Urie 3 D Barnes J Davenport S Hogan M Spencer 2 J Byrne N Djerrkura T Grima S Hunt Best: Sandringham P Summers R Ferguson C Sylvia S Valenti N Sautner A Yze Geelong S Johnson D Barnes J Byrne H Playfair T West J Davenport RESERVES AMBUSHED The Sandy reserves were ambushed by a strong Box Hill reserves which took advantage of their senior team's bye to include two senior level AFL Hawthorn emergency list player’s for the Easter Monday's game - Jarryd Roughead and Michael Osborne as well as Josh Thurgood who also plenty of senior AFL experience. These players were easily the difference between the two sides. Box Hill Hawks are the reigning reserve grade premiers and they piled on nine goals in the opening quarter but the young Zebras fought manfully and went down by 47 points in the end. Rennie Gilchrist and Phil Zarra (4 goals) were the pick of the players. Demon rookie Daniel Hughes kicked three goals on return from a groin injury. RESULTS Sandringham 3.3.21 8.9.57 10.11.71 12.15.87 Box Hill Hawks 9.4.58 13.6.84 16.12.108 20.14.134 Goal Kickers: Sandringham P Zarra 4 D Hughes 3 D Gribbin K Hall S Martin S Monaghan S Tregear Box Hill Hawks J Roughead 8 D Bradshaw 3 M Osborne 2 J Allan S Daniher E Johnson A Marguccio L McEntee T Pollett J Thurgood Best: Sandringham R Gilchrist P Zarra S Monaghan P McGettigan M Gibb S Martin Box Hill Hawks M Osborne J Roughead D Marcius J Allan L McEntee A Quinn

A reminder from the Sandringham Football Club that the 2006 TRU Energy Premiership Flag will be unfurled before the game starts today!!! Following the flag unfurling - just before 1pm, the Zebras will take on 2006 runners up Geelong. After coming through the preseason undefeated the Zebras face the cats. The club is encouraging all Sandringham fans to get down to Trevor Barker Beach Oval and catch your first glimpse of the Zebras as they strive for a record breaking fourth VFL flag! Seniors: Sandringham Vs Geelong at 1.10pm The Reserves kick off with a game against 2006 reserve grade premiers Box Hill who knocked the Zebras out in last year's qualifying final. Reserves: Sandringham Vs Box Hill Hawks at 10.20am For further information please contact the club on 9598 8629.

DANCING WITH STARS by the Oracle As they say in the classics, a week's a long time in football and don't I know it? Last week I was jumping out of my skin in anticipation of the start of the 2007 AFL season. Friday night couldn't come around quickly enough. When the time came, things began well for the Demons who were strong favourites with the bookies. They jumped quickly out of the blocks to lead by 17 points - 3.2.20 to 0.3.3 with more than half of the first quarter gone but I wasn't about to start celebrating. After years of experience, I know Melbourne all too well! The events of the remainder of the evening are well documented; the team fell into the old familiar abyss it often inhabits just when you're convinced that a new day is about to dawn. Skills, tactics and good old football brains all went out of the window and the supporters were treated to garbage. Was this the same team that we had so eagerly waited to see for six months? Just like last year, we left the ground after game one totally crushed by the weight of seeing our team totally outplayed and outcoached! That was a week ago. By Saturday morning I was considering joining a monastery. A miserable weekend ensued during which I contemplated the possible ways in which I could avoid eyeball to eyeball confrontation on Monday morning with my St. Kilda supporting workmates. Stay away from the water cooler, keep your nose to the grindstone and look busy even if you aren't. That sort of stuff! Ultimately, I was forced to take my medicine and what a bitter pill it was to swallow from an inquisition of Saints fans who all asked one thing - what happened? How could a team that last year pounded Grant Thomas' charges through the midfield in such intimidating fashion in their Round 12 MCG clash and then repeated the dose in the Elimination Final go through such a rapid decline and be so pathetic? More soul-searching and more despair. By Tuesday night, the lady in my life took control and forced me to watch Dancing with the Stars in order to get my thoughts away from Friday night's disaster and thereby restore my life back to some semblance of order. This tactic failed dismally. I fell asleep in the middle of the programme only to dream of dancers swirling around in bright, red and blue gear. They were doing the tango but this version was badly rehearsed and poorly choreographed. Apparently, the tango originated in South America and is a dance with varying rhythms and changing tempos from slow, slow to quick, quick and then slow again resembling the majestic jaguar about to pounce on its prey. In my nightmare/dream however, these guys were more like another South American native animal, the sloth. They simply couldn't change out of a slow, slow gear and that was half the problem - there was dancing going on but there were certainly no stars out there! Wednesday morning saw me wakening in a cold sweat. My dream had ended at some time during the night when I handballed my pillow at the floor releasing a thousand white feathers. One white feather would have been enough! St. Kilda's pathetic effort at the Gabba on Thurday night didn't make me feel any better but, at least by now, I was coming to terms with my team's ineptitude. I was beginning to set my sights at a point a lot lower than where they were a week earlier. I accept now that Round 1 of 2007 was a reality check for the Melbourne Football Club. Like everything else in life, football form is an illusion, like the tango. It's just that some dance it better than others and my team can't dance all that well. Nor can it play good football at the moment and that is why Easter Monday's bottom-of-the-ladder battle is being hailed in some quarters as the fight for the first selection at the National Draft. You might say that's a trifle unkind considering the stage of the year but, from what we've seen in terms of enthusiasm and improvement from some of the other clubs in the competition, these two are eminently deserving of the early nomination. THE GAME: Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG - 9 April 2007 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Hawthorn 72 wins Melbourne 74 wins At the G: Hawthorn 32 wins Melbourne 36 wins Since 2000: Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches: Clarkson 1 Daniher 1 MEDIA: TV: Channel 10 at 3pm (delayed telecast). RADIO: 3AW, SEN, TripleM, ABC774. THE BETTING: Melbourne to win $1.55 - Hawthorn to win $2.30. LAST TIME THEY MET: Melbourne 20.16.136 defeated Hawthorn 9.7.61 at the MCG in Round 8, 2006. David Neitz broke Norm Smith's club all time goal kicking record and finished with six goals. The Demon midfield was right in the frame with Brock McLean, Travis Johnstone and James McDonald the standouts. Meanwhile, the Hawks were an undisciplined rabble and Melbourne ran away to record its biggest victory of the season. THE TEAMS: HAWTHORN Backs: Danny Jacobs Trent Croad Brent Guerra Halfbacks: Brad Sewell Stephen Gilham Grant Birchall Centreline: Rick Ladson Sam Mitchell Chance Bateman Half forwards: Shane Crawford Lance Franklin Tim Clarke Forwards: Mark Williams Tim Boyle Clinton Young Followers: Simon Taylor Luke Hodge Jordan Lewis Interchange: Campbell Brown Robert Campbell Ben Dixon Xavier Ellis Emergencies: Ben McGlynn Michael Osborne Jarryd Roughead In: Brown Crawford Dixon Out: McGlynn Osborne Roughead MELBOURNE: Backs: Clint Bartram* Nathan Carroll Matthew Whelan Half backs: Daniel Ward Jared Rivers Daniel Bell Centreline: Brent Moloney James McDonald Brad Green Half forwards: Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Russell Robertson Forwards: Mark Jamar David Neitz Aaron Davey Followers: Jeff White Nathan Jones Travis Johnstone Interchange: Matthew Bate Nathan Brown Chris Johnson Paul Wheatley Emergencies: Bizzell Godfrey Yze In: Brown Rivers Wheatley Out: McLean (fractured foot) Holland Yze * Bizzell or Godfrey to come in for Bartram who injured a knee at training. Umpires: Brett Rosebury Damien Sully Shaun Ryan THE GAME PLAN: As the ladder suggests, Hawthorn performed as miserably as Melbourne did in its opening round encounter. The Hawks however, have more reason to believe that they can turn things around quickly. Hawthorn's defeat at the hands of the Brisbane Lions who finished 2006 in disarray and playing miserably, doesn't look so bad in the light of its form against St. Kilda on Thursday night. That the Demons lost to that Saints' rabble however, creates even more doubts as to their own poor form. The Hawks regain experienced trio Shane Crawford, Campbell Brown and Ben Dixon while the Demons lose Brock McLean (admittedly, he was injured early last week so he didn't have an impact). Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson pointed out during the week that the return of this trio would help turn around the club's fortunes by providing it with a lot of experience and some real grunt. Both sides were lacking in this area last week but the Hawks will be hardened after their humiliating loss to Brisbane. Melbourne's inclusions however, add very little to the combination which lost to the Saints apart from the return of Jared Rivers which will help fortify the defence. Demon coach Neale Daniher will be relying on his charges - particularly those in the midfield - to bounce back after most of his better players drew first up blanks. The coach's reaction to the lack of performance of the mainstays of his side last week was a bit of an understatement. "We probably had 17 players that struggled," Daniher said. Seventeen? In my estimation, the figure was closer to 22 but who's counting? The other concern - and the main one as far as I'm concerned - is the way in which the Demons are playing the game at the present time. When the two teams met in their NAB Cup clash earlier this year, Melbourne unveiled its new "run and carry" style of play. The Demons looked unimpressive but at least they were in control until just before three quarter time. After that they simply collapsed under the weight of the added workload necessary to play a game that involved a staggering increase in running with the ball and handballing rather than quick movement by foot. Ultimately, losing by 24 points, the team recorded an unprecedented number of 45 more handballs than kicks. What made things worse for the Demons was that many of the handballs were misdirected and unnecessarily put team mates under pressure. We were promised some modification to the style over time and an improvement with the return of more of the team regulars but there was little visible change through the preseason and it was still there for all to see against the Saints. The indications coming from the club were that we would see something a little different this week. Let's pray that we do because so far, the new style has been an unmitigated disaster. Its continued use might somehow help the club perform better later in the season but one wonders whether it will be worth it to come home like a steam train with consecutive victories in the last four rounds if we finish in 12th place overall with eight wins in total. The fact of the matter is that the same failings that were evident in Melbourne's Nab Cup debacle were repeated in the season opener. That very little changed in the intervening month and not much happened during the course of the first game indicates that the coach and the players are very slow on the uptake and that is bad news for the club, at least in the short term. In order for Melbourne to win this game its players will need to collectively revive their skills in virtually every facet and adopt an entirely different attitude towards their game. Given the slow response to this problem area from both players and coaching staff over the past month or so, I simply cannot see sufficient turnaround in the space of ten days to get them up, even against Hawthorn. The likes of Hodge, Mitchell and Crawford should hold the ascendancy in the middle and Melbourne will have to find something to put a stop to Lance Franklin who had the Demons mesmerised in the Nab Cup. If Trent Croad can hold David Neitz, the Demons will be in big trouble. As indicated earlier, the Demons have gained a reputation of being notoriously slow starters. During the Daniher era, his team has been a finalist on six occasions out of nine seasons but in only two of those years (2002 and 2005) did they open in convincing fashion with a victory. The slow start syndrome has struck the club again and while Monday is definitely the day to start dancing, it's hard to do that when you've got two left feet. I wish I could be proven wrong but on what Melbourne has dished up so far this year, you wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Hawthorn by 27 points.

by the Oracle As they say in the classics, a week's a long time in football and don't I know it? Last week I was jumping out of my skin in anticipation of the start of the 2007 AFL season. Friday night couldn't come around quickly enough. When the time came, things began well for the Demons who were strong favourites with the bookies. They jumped quickly out of the blocks to lead by 17 points - 3.2.20 to 0.3.3 with more than half of the first quarter gone but I wasn't about to start celebrating. After years of experience, I know Melbourne all too well! The events of the remainder of the evening are well documented; the team fell into the old familiar abyss it often inhabits just when you're convinced that a new day is about to dawn. Skills, tactics and good old football brains all went out of the window and the supporters were treated to garbage. Was this the same team that we had so eagerly waited to see for six months? Just like last year, we left the ground after game one totally crushed by the weight of seeing our team totally outplayed and outcoached! That was a week ago. By Saturday morning I was considering joining a monastery. A miserable weekend ensued during which I contemplated the possible ways in which I could avoid eyeball to eyeball confrontation on Monday morning with my St. Kilda supporting workmates. Stay away from the water cooler, keep your nose to the grindstone and look busy even if you aren't. That sort of stuff! Ultimately, I was forced to take my medicine and what a bitter pill it was to swallow from an inquisition of Saints fans who all asked one thing - what happened? How could a team that last year pounded Grant Thomas' charges through the midfield in such intimidating fashion in their Round 12 MCG clash and then repeated the dose in the Elimination Final go through such a rapid decline and be so pathetic? More soul-searching and more despair. By Tuesday night, the lady in my life took control and forced me to watch Dancing with the Stars in order to get my thoughts away from Friday night's disaster and thereby restore my life back to some semblance of order This tactic failed dismally. I fell asleep in the middle of the programme only to dream of dancers swirling around in bright, red and blue gear. They were doing the tango but this version was badly rehearsed and poorly choreographed. Apparently, the tango originated in South America and is a dance with varying rhythms and changing tempos from slow, slow to quick, quick and then slow again resembling the majestic jaguar about to pounce on its prey. In my nightmare/dream however, these guys were more like another South American native animal, the sloth. They simply couldn't change out of a slow, slow gear and that was half the problem - there was dancing going on but there were certainly no stars out there! Wednesday morning saw me wakening in a cold sweat. My dream had ended at some time during the night when I handballed my pillow at the floor releasing a thousand white feathers. One white feather would have been enough! St. Kilda's pathetic effort at the Gabba on Thurday night didn't make me feel any better but, at least by now, I was coming to terms with my team's ineptitude. I was beginning to set my sights at a point a lot lower than where they were a week earlier. I accept now that Round 1 of 2007 was a reality check for the Melbourne Football Club. Like everything else in life, football form is an illusion, like the tango. It's just that some dance it better than others and my team can't dance all that well. Nor can it play good football at the moment and that is why Easter Monday's bottom-of-the-ladder battle is being hailed in some quarters as the fight for the first selection at the National Draft. You might say that's a trifle unkind considering the stage of the year but, from what we've seen in terms of enthusiasm and improvement from some of the other clubs in the competition, these two are eminently deserving of the early nomination. THE GAME: Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG - 9 April 2007 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Hawthorn 72 wins Melbourne 74 wins At the G: Hawthorn 32 wins Melbourne 36 wins Since 2000: Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches: Clarkson 1 Daniher 1 MEDIA: TV: Channel 10 at 3pm (delayed telecast). RADIO: 3AW, SEN, TripleM, ABC774. THE BETTING: Melbourne to win $1.55 - Hawthorn to win $2.30. LAST TIME THEY MET: Melbourne 20.16.136 defeated Hawthorn 9.7.61 at the MCG in Round 8, 2006. David Neitz broke Norm Smith's club all time goal kicking record and finished with six goals. The Demon midfield was right in the frame with Brock McLean, Travis Johnstone and James McDonald the standouts. Meanwhile, the Hawks were an undisciplined rabble and Melbourne ran away to record its biggest victory of the season. THE TEAMS: HAWTHORN Backs: Danny Jacobs Trent Croad Brent Guerra Halfbacks: Brad Sewell Stephen Gilham Grant Birchall Centreline: Rick Ladson Sam Mitchell Chance Bateman Half forwards: Shane Crawford Lance Franklin Tim Clarke Forwards: Mark Williams Tim Boyle Clinton Young Followers: Simon Taylor Luke Hodge Jordan Lewis Interchange (from): Campbell Brown Robert Campbell Ben Dixon Xavier Ellis Ben McGlynn Michael Osborne Jarryd Roughead In: Brown Crawford Dixon Out: MELBOURNE: Backs: Nathan Brown Nathan Carroll Matthew Whelan Half backs: Daniel Ward Jared Rivers Daniel Bell Centreline: Brent Moloney James McDonald Brad Green Half forwards: Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Russell Robertson Forwards: Mark Jamar David Neitz Aaron Davey Followers: Jeff White Nathan Jones Travis Johnstone Interchange: Matthew Bate Simon Godfrey Chris Johnson Paul Wheatley Emergencies: Clint Bizzell Adem Yze In: Brown Rivers Wheatley Out: McLean (fractured foot) Holland Yze Umpires: Brett Rosebury Damien Sully Shaun Ryan THE GAME PLAN: As the ladder suggests, Hawthorn performed as miserably as Melbourne did in its opening round encounter. The Hawks however, have more reason to believe that they can turn things around quickly. Hawthorn's defeat at the hands of the Brisbane Lions who finished 2006 in disarray and playing miserably, doesn't look so bad in the light of its form against St. Kilda on Thursday night. That the Demons lost to that Saints' rabble however, creates even more doubts as to their own poor form. The Hawks regain experienced trio Shane Crawford, Campbell Brown and Ben Dixon while the Demons lose Brock McLean (admittedly, he was injured early last week so he didn't have an impact). Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson pointed out during the week that the return of this trio would help turn around the club's fortunes by providing it with a lot of experience and some real grunt. Both sides were lacking in this area last week but the Hawks will be hardened after their humiliating loss to Brisbane. Melbourne's inclusions however, add very little to the combination which lost to the Saints apart from the return of Jared Rivers which will help fortify the defence. Demon coach Neale Daniher will be relying on his charges - particularly those in the midfield - to bounce back after most of his better players drew first up blanks. The coach's reaction to the lack of performance of the mainstays of his side last week was a bit of an understatement. "We probably had 17 players that struggled," Daniher said. Seventeen? In my estimation, the figure was closer to 22 but who's counting? The other concern - and the main one as far as I'm concerned - is the way in which the Demons are playing the game at the present time. When the two teams met in their NAB Cup clash earlier this year, Melbourne unveiled its new "run and carry" style of play. The Demons looked unimpressive but at least they were in control until just before three quarter time. After that they simply collapsed under the weight of the added workload necessary to play a game that involved a staggering increase in running with the ball and handballing rather than quick movement by foot. Ultimately, losing by 24 points, the team recorded an unprecedented number of 45 more handballs than kicks. What made things worse for the Demons was that many of the handballs were misdirected and unnecessarily put team mates under pressure. We were promised some modification to the style over time and an improvement with the return of more of the team regulars but there was little visible change through the preseason and it was still there for all to see against the Saints. The indications coming from the club were that we would see something a little different this week. Let's pray that we do because so far, the new style has been an unmitigated disaster. Its continued use might somehow help the club perform better later in the season but one wonders whether it will be worth it to come home like a steam train with consecutive victories in the last four rounds if we finish in 12th place overall with eight wins in total. The fact of the matter is that the same failings that were evident in Melbourne's Nab Cup debacle were repeated in the season opener. That very little changed in the intervening month and not much happened during the course of the first game indicates that the coach and the players are very slow on the uptake and that is bad news for the club, at least in the short term. In order for Melbourne to win this game its players will need to collectively revive their skills in virtually every facet and adopt an entirely different attitude towards their game. Given the slow response to this problem area from both players and coaching staff over the past month or so, I simply cannot see sufficient turnaround in the space of ten days to get them up, even against Hawthorn. The likes of Hodge, Mitchell and Crawford should hold the ascendancy in the middle and Melbourne will have to find something to put a stop to Lance Franklin who had the Demons mesmerised in the Nab Cup. If Trent Croad can hold David Neitz, the Demons will be in big trouble. As indicated earlier, the Demons have gained a reputation of being notoriously slow starters. During the Daniher era, his team has been a finalist on six occasions out of nine seasons but in only two of those years (2002 and 2005) did they open in convincing fashion with a victory. The slow start syndrome has struck the club again and while Monday is definitely the day to start dancing, it's hard to do that when you've got two left feet. I wish I could be proven wrong but on what Melbourne has dished up so far this year, you wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Hawthorn by 27 points.

I have accepted the first three nominations i.e. dees_rule_4eva, Clint Bizkit and CarnTheDees. The current standings therefore are:- 15. Brent Moloney 13. Ben Holland 12. David Neitz 11. Russell Robertson 5. Nathan Jones 3. Daniel Ward, Jeff White 1. James McDonald The first people to volunteer to give votes for next week's game will be accepted as next week's voters. Votes must be in by midday Tuesday AEST.

However, it should be noted that both the Age and the Herald Sun quote Chris Fagan.

Our tipsters were loyal to the Demons in Round 1 so nobody tipped 8 winners. In fact we couldn't get one Demonlander to better the 50% tipping mark so the tipsters were on par with their team. Let's hope for something better next weekend and, incidentally, congratulations to Alpha for getting the bagel. 4 achirnside, bl3281, canberrademon(herb), Dappadan, demon_davey, DeMoNiC, Demonland, great_gatsby, Kieranbj, melon22, petejh2000, rusty_corner, TimDees, Whispering_Jack. 3 Clyde_Cabbie, deanox, dee'viator, Dees_Fan16, deesthisyear, demon_fanatic, Go_Ds, Goodvibes, Jackieboy_0, jaded24, KrazyJay, paliosiana, Pinball_Wizard, rusty_kingswood, Scoop Junior, slamevil. 2 BigKev Demon, CarnTheDees, Fingers Power, No Cigar, Rivers Run Red, snarler_0. 0 Alpha_33

WANTED: A PLAN FOR ALL SEASONS by Scoop Junior Melbourne started the season in disastrous fashion at the MCG on Friday night when it went down to St Kilda by 31 points and in the process lost gun midfielder Brock McLean to an ankle injury. In a performance as disappointing as last year's opening round loss to eventual wooden-spooner Carlton, the Demons were simply no match for a more desperate and structured Saints outfit. Probably the most disheartening aspect of the match was the systematic dismantling of Melbourne's game plan. If what we saw was the unveiling of a new game plan for this season it needs to be re-examined because it simply was not allowed to work. The players were made to look like a bunch of amateurs with absolutely no idea where to run and where to deliver the ball. While full credit must go to the Saints for placing enormous pressure on the ball carrier, it's really no excuse for the brand of footy Melbourne played. Very little seems to have been learned from the mistakes made in executing the plan during the four pre-season matches. In any evernt, you would rarely see an AFL team play with such little conviction and drive. The use of handball was diabolical. Even junior footballers know that the handball is used as an attacking weapon to draw players towards you and to feed team mates running past in better position. For some strange reason, Melbourne continually handballed to players standing still, which always puts pressure on that player. Too often the team linked up with a chain of handballs but only proceeded to run directly into a wall of three or four St Kilda players. Handball can be an effective tactic if used properly; but it's a high-return high-risk policy and the Dees totally bombed out in this regard. The signs weren't great early, especially with the kick-outs. Melbourne struggled to clear the ball from defensive 50. Frequently, they went sideways, chipped up the line, then backwards to the goal square, then switched to the other side, then back to the middle again and eventually turned the ball over. The Dees could not penetrate through the midfield and this gave the forwards little chance. St Kilda did not allow free men through the middle so the Demons could not chip their way forward, and when they tried to run and carry the ball forward, the result was inevitably a holding the ball decision in the Saints' favour. With Melbourne's complete inability to string passages of play together, the result was a paltry 21 inside 50's to three quarter time. A disturbing aspect of the game was the turnaround in efficiency. Last year, the Dees were a very efficient side and despite not generating high possession totals, managed to engineer sufficient inside 50's and scoring shots to win games. Last night, Melbourne overused the footy and racked up meaningless possessions. Again, credit must go St Kilda's tactics. They locked down the Demons’ most dangerous user in Travis Johnstone and allowed less skilful players such as Ben Holland to find the footy. However, too many Melbourne players froze like deer caught in the headlights when they had the ball and this highlighted not only St Kilda’s excellent pressure, but also a lack of confidence in the game plan. Another intriguing part of the game was the latitude given to Fraser Gehrig. The big forward was making a mess of Nathan Carroll, yet was allowed to play one-out for most of the night. Very rarely were the Dees able to get a third man up or at least create a pack contest. In stark contrast, the Saints players ran harder to crowd David Neitz who at times appeared the only avenue to goal. This work rate was replicated in midfield where the Saints were just too hard and prepared to run offensively and defensively. Melbourne was simply lazy and did not show the same level of commitment. Given the way the game panned out, the forwards were given little chance. Neitz and Russell Robertson battled manfully against the odds, with both players kicking three goals, an excellent result given the lack of quality supply forward of centre. Brad Miller was quiet and just does too many things in a game of football that are not up to AFL standard. He is a worry. Aaron Davey was pitiful. Adem Yze came off the bench and had an impact. He certainly wasn't one of the worst, but a really poor effort on the wing in the last term when he overran the ball by failing to fully commit to the cause and put his head over it was further confirmation of a disturbing downhill trend in his game. Down back, the defenders were swamped. Having said that, though, none could really hold their heads high. Gehrig took Carroll to the cleaners, Daniel Bell made mistakes and generally struggled and Holland made some comical errors but did work hard. Daniel Ward provided some dash and at least tried to take the game on, while Matty Whelan's early injury finished his night off. But clearly it was the midfield that let the side down. Having been talked up all pre-season, the Melbourne midfield was pathetic last night. Senior players Cameron Bruce, Brad Green and Johnstone did not play at the levels they need to given their roles in the team. Bruce only had six kicks; probably a good outcome given his propensity on the night to resort to helicopter punts. Green had little impact while Johnstone butchered the ball far too often for a player of his talent. In a game where the side has no system, Johnstone will always turn the ball over because he is constantly looking for a way to break the game open and will take risks in the process. I commend this part of his game, but he does need to be a bit smarter in his ball use when the pressure is on. James McDonald battled hard and was one of a few players who played with the requisite hardness. Another was Brent Moloney, who was probably the best midfielder. Beamer showed glimpses of his 2005 form and will need to step up again given McLean’s absence. Before his injury, Brock seemed all at sea and clearly suffered from a lack of match practice. He was just a few seconds behind the speed of the game and this contributed to his injury when he took far to long to dispose of the ball. The midfield youngsters didn’t have great nights. Chris Johnson was unsighted in the first half before picking up a few touches later in the game, while Matthew Bate looked out of sorts. The big redhead can look a bit robotic at times and just needs to be more aware of what is happening around him. He clearly suffered from the strangled midfield tactics applied by the Saints. Nathan Jones worked hard but had little impact after quarter time. Like all other midfielders, he just could not find space to work in. I thought Jeff White was a gallant contributor and played a fair game but his back up in Jamar just went. The ruck combination continues to be a concern. The only positive news is that it's only Round 1. Sydney was smashed by the Dons in Round 1 last year and made the top four. Carlton beat Melbourne and finished bottom with only two more wins. The season is indeed a marathon and one loss in the first game is definitely not the time to slash wrists. The Dees are clearly a much better team than what they showed. However, they will want to improve drastically on their game style. Last night was the performance of a team with no structure and no conviction in the game plan. While it is early in the season, a few more performances like that will not only dent confidence but will place enormous pressure on the top four aspirations of the club. To make the top four, you probably can't afford to lose more than eight games. With plenty of difficult assignments to come away from home, the losses will come, so it’s imperative not to drop too many early in the year. Melbourne 4.2.26 6.3.39 6.5.41 9.8.62 St. Kilda 2.7.19 7.7.49 11.12.76 13.15.93 Goals Neitz 3 Robertson 3 Bruce Green White Best Moloney Neitz Robertson White McDonald Injuries McLean (ankle) Whelan (neck spasms) Reports Nil Umpires McBurney Stevic Meredith Crowd 49,490 at the MCG

by Scoop Junior Melbourne started the season in disastrous fashion at the MCG on Friday night when it went down to St Kilda by 31 points and in the process lost gun midfielder Brock McLean to an ankle injury. In a performance as disappointing as last year's opening round loss to eventual wooden-spooner Carlton, the Demons were simply no match for a more desperate and structured Saints outfit. Probably the most disheartening aspect of the match was the systematic dismantling of Melbourne's game plan. If what we saw was the unveiling of a new game plan for this season it needs to be re-examined because it simply was not allowed to work. The players were made to look like a bunch of amateurs with absolutely no idea where to run and where to deliver the ball. While full credit must go to the Saints for placing enormous pressure on the ball carrier, it's really no excuse for the brand of footy Melbourne played. Very little seems to have been learned from the mistakes made in executing the plan during the four pre-season matches. In any evernt, you would rarely see an AFL team play with such little conviction and drive. The use of handball was diabolical. Even junior footballers know that the handball is used as an attacking weapon to draw players towards you and to feed team mates running past in better position. For some strange reason, Melbourne continually handballed to players standing still, which always puts pressure on that player. Too often the team linked up with a chain of handballs but only proceeded to run directly into a wall of three or four St Kilda players. Handball can be an effective tactic if used properly; but it's a high-return high-risk policy and the Dees totally bombed out in this regard. The signs weren't great early, especially with the kick-outs. Melbourne struggled to clear the ball from defensive 50. Frequently, they went sideways, chipped up the line, then backwards to the goal square, then switched to the other side, then back to the middle again and eventually turned the ball over. The Dees could not penetrate through the midfield and this gave the forwards little chance. St Kilda did not allow free men through the middle so the Demons could not chip their way forward, and when they tried to run and carry the ball forward, the result was inevitably a holding the ball decision in the Saints' favour. With Melbourne's complete inability to string passages of play together, the result was a paltry 21 inside 50's to three quarter time. A disturbing aspect of the game was the turnaround in efficiency. Last year, the Dees were a very efficient side and despite not generating high possession totals, managed to engineer sufficient inside 50's and scoring shots to win games. Last night, Melbourne overused the footy and racked up meaningless possessions. Again, credit must go St Kilda's tactics. They locked down the Demons’ most dangerous user in Travis Johnstone and allowed less skilful players such as Ben Holland to find the footy. However, too many Melbourne players froze like deer caught in the headlights when they had the ball and this highlighted not only St Kilda’s excellent pressure, but also a lack of confidence in the game plan. Another intriguing part of the game was the latitude given to Fraser Gehrig. The big forward was making a mess of Nathan Carroll, yet was allowed to play one-out for most of the night. Very rarely were the Dees able to get a third man up or at least create a pack contest. In stark contrast, the Saints players ran harder to crowd David Neitz who at times appeared the only avenue to goal. This work rate was replicated in midfield where the Saints were just too hard and prepared to run offensively and defensively. Melbourne was simply lazy and did not show the same level of commitment. Given the way the game panned out, the forwards were given little chance. Neitz and Russell Robertson battled manfully against the odds, with both players kicking three goals, an excellent result given the lack of quality supply forward of centre. Brad Miller was quiet and just does too many things in a game of football that are not up to AFL standard. He is a worry. Aaron Davey was pitiful. Adem Yze came off the bench and had an impact. He certainly wasn't one of the worst, but a really poor effort on the wing in the last term when he overran the ball by failing to fully commit to the cause and put his head over it was further confirmation of a disturbing downhill trend in his game. Down back, the defenders were swamped. Having said that, though, none could really hold their heads high. Gehrig took Carroll to the cleaners, Daniel Bell made mistakes and generally struggled and Holland made some comical errors but did work hard. Daniel Ward provided some dash and at least tried to take the game on, while Matty Whelan's early injury finished his night off. But clearly it was the midfield that let the side down. Having been talked up all pre-season, the Melbourne midfield was pathetic last night. Senior players Cameron Bruce, Brad Green and Johnstone did not play at the levels they need to given their roles in the team. Bruce only had six kicks; probably a good outcome given his propensity on the night to resort to helicopter punts. Green had little impact while Johnstone butchered the ball far too often for a player of his talent. In a game where the side has no system, Johnstone will always turn the ball over because he is constantly looking for a way to break the game open and will take risks in the process. I commend this part of his game, but he does need to be a bit smarter in his ball use when the pressure is on. James McDonald battled hard and was one of a few players who played with the requisite hardness. Another was Brent Moloney, who was probably the best midfielder. Beamer showed glimpses of his 2005 form and will need to step up again given McLean’s absence. Before his injury, Brock seemed all at sea and clearly suffered from a lack of match practice. He was just a few seconds behind the speed of the game and this contributed to his injury when he took far to long to dispose of the ball. The midfield youngsters didn’t have great nights. Chris Johnson was unsighted in the first half before picking up a few touches later in the game, while Matthew Bate looked out of sorts. The big redhead can look a bit robotic at times and just needs to be more aware of what is happening around him. He clearly suffered from the strangled midfield tactics applied by the Saints. Nathan Jones worked hard but had little impact after quarter time. Like all other midfielders, he just could not find space to work in. I thought Jeff White was a gallant contributor and played a fair game but his back up in Jamar just went. The ruck combination continues to be a concern. The only positive news is that it's only Round 1. Sydney was smashed by the Dons in Round 1 last year and made the top four. Carlton beat Melbourne and finished bottom with only two more wins. The season is indeed a marathon and one loss in the first game is definitely not the time to slash wrists. The Dees are clearly a much better team than what they showed. However, they will want to improve drastically on their game style. Last night was the performance of a team with no structure and no conviction in the game plan. While it is early in the season, a few more performances like that will not only dent confidence but will place enormous pressure on the top four aspirations of the club. To make the top four, you probably can't afford to lose more than eight games. With plenty of difficult assignments to come away from home, the losses will come, so it’s imperative not to drop too many early in the year. Melbourne 4.2.26 6.3.39 6.5.41 9.8.62 St. Kilda 2.7.19 7.7.49 11.12.76 13.15.93 Goals Neitz 3 Robertson 3 Bruce Green White Best Moloney Neitz Robertson White McDonald Injuries McLean (ankle) Whelan (neck spasms) Reports Nil Umpires McBurney Stevic Meredith Crowd 49,490 at the MCG

HURRY SUNDOWN by the Oracle Shortly after sundown tomorrow night, we will witness the first bounce of the season. The match ball will hit the ground with a thump signalling the start of the action and when that happens, the most turbulent off-season in the game's history will come to an end. Make no mistake about it. Our game is under siege. At local level, in the suburbs and the bush, the game is at risk because the long drought has taken its toll on the very grounds upon which the game is played. The season's start has been delayed at grass roots level and is even in doubt in some leagues. Meanwhile, at the elite level, it's a case of footballers behaving very badly again and again. We're moving from one embarrassing disaster to another and all this at a time when the round ball game is taking a firm hold in Victoria, particularly after Australia's 2006 World Cup showing was followed up by Melbourne Victory's stunning A League premiership over the summer. At a little after 7.40pm AEST tomorrow, when one of the big ruckmen thumps the football down to the ground and we witness the first kicks, marks, handballs, tackles and goals, many of will view it with relief. Supporters will again be able to concentrate on the finer aspects of the game and perhaps, in our case, they will even start believing that, like its soccer counterpart, the Melbourne team will emerge triumphant at the end of the coming football season. So hurry sundown and let the nonsense that we've witnessed over the past few months be well and truly on its way … DEMONS AND SAINTS by Whispering Jack A long, long time ago it was an opening round game which took place between Melbourne and St. Kilda on the MCG. That was way back in 1966 and it was a game that marked the turning point for the fortunes of each of the participants. I was a bit loath to bring this game up because it was so painful. It certainly signalled the end of the Demons' golden era of the 50’s and ‘60’s and it was also the springboard for the Saints' only premiership in their long history. St. Kilda dominated all day to win by 76 points - 17.7.109 to 4.9.33. Melbourne stacked its team full of youngsters with many of the old guard having retired or moved on since the 1964 premiership victory over Collingwood. It would be a long time before the Demons would see finals action again. But who knows what will happen tomorrow night? Perhaps, the aftermath of the season opener will be a change in fortunes. This time however, the change is likely to be in Melbourne's favour – a change that could allow its long suffering supporters to finally celebrate a premiership victory for the first time in more than four decades. We can live in hope can't we? Actually, I think it's a little more than hope. The Demons' form over the past month in Nab Cup and Nab Challenger matches hasn't been anything to write home about but let's face it – these are practice matches and nothing more. You try players out in different positions, you rest some, you play around with tactics, strategies, your game plan and you hope that you don't suffer too badly in the way of injuries to players. Melbourne has come out of the pre season reasonably well in that regard although late injuries to Jared Rivers and Lynden Dunn and Byron Pickett's failure to come up will hurt a bit. However, I detect a level of healthy confidence as the team prepares to attack St. Kilda in the opening game of the season. The Demons have made the finals for the past three years in a row. They have promised much and performed brilliantly at times, poorly at others - particularly at crunch time. Melbourne now has a good mix of players, young and experienced, talls, mediums and smalls. The time has come for the team to perform with consistency throughout a long season. Nothing less than a top four berth will do! THE STATISTICS by Sam the Stats Man THE GAME: Melbourne v St. Kilda at the MCG - 30 March 2007 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Melbourne 118 wins St. Kilda 77 wins 1 draw At the G: Melbourne 58 wins St. Kilda 29 wins Since 2000: Melbourne 9 wins St. Kilda 2 wins The Coaches: Daniher 0 Lyon 0 MEDIA: TV: Channel 7 at 8.30pm RADIO: SEN, ABC774 THE BETTING: Melbourne to win $1.60 - St. Kilda to win $2.25 LAST TIME THEY MET: Melbourne 13.12.90 defeated St. Kilda 10.12.72 at the MCG [Elimination Final] The Saints, with Fraser Gehrig on fire, started brilliantly but were held after quarter time and the Demons finally overran a tired combination that was carrying too many injured players. Brock McLean was the star - who could ever forget that bump which took out St. Kilda's Justin Koschitzke? THE TEAMS: MELBOURNE: Backs: Nathan Carroll Ben Holland Matthew Whelan Half backs: Daniel Ward Brad Miller Daniel Bell Centreline: Travis Johnstone James McDonald Matthew Bate Half forwards: Cameron Bruce Russell Robertson Adem Yze Forwards: Chris Johnson David Neitz Aaron Davey Followers: Jeff White Brad Green Brock McLean Interchange Clint Bartram Mark Jamar Nathan Jones Brent Moloney Emergencies: Clint Bizzell Nathan Brown Paul Johnson ST KILDA: Backs: Steven Baker Sam Fisher Brendan Goodard Halfbacks: Jason Gram Matt Maguire Leigh Fisher Centreline: Andrew Thompson Luke Ball Leigh Montagna Half forwards: Robert Harvey Justin Koschitzke Jason Blake Forwards: Xavier Clarke Fraser Gehrig Stephen Milne Followers: Matthew Clarke Lenny Hayes Nick Dal Santo Interchange: Jayden Attard Aaron Fiora Andrew McQualter Michael Rix Emergencies: Shane Birss Barry Brooks Brett Voss UMPIRES: Stephen McBurney Matt Stevic Simon Meredith THE BATTLE by J.V.McKay The protagonists in tomorrow night's game were both bundled out in the first week of the Nab Cup and consequently slipped into obscurity playing games around the countryside and chasing the tails of the Leyland Brothers. Neither side has produced impressive results in the past month with only one win from four outings. They might claim that this was a consequence of them not having the ability to field their best sides in meaningless practice matches but that matters little. St. Kilda has a long list of injured and will be playing a few players who are slightly underdone at this stage of the journey. Their defence will be under pressure for against the experienced Melbourne forward line which has plenty of scoring options. I think the Saints' normally strong midfield might also be under pressure in this match, particularly in the latter part of the game when their lack of solid pre season match practice begins to take its toll. The Saints will miss Nick Riewoldt who kicked a bag of nine against the Demons a few seasons back and among other Saints stars missing are Hammill, Hudghton and R. Clarke. To make matters worse, St. Kilda was without a fitness coach for part of the summer whilse the Demons, who will sorely miss Jared Rivers at centre half back, have the best fitness coach going around and playerwise look to have covered all bases. The danger behind all of this will occur if the Demons will come out and treat their opponents with less respect than they should, simply on the basis that the Saints don't have their best player in Riewoldt and few other handy footballers are absent with injury while others on the comeback trail after lengthy absences. They only need go back to last year's opening round fiasco when they underestimated the current wooden spooners to realise the folly of such an approach. Or back to Round 4 of 2005 when they sensed weakness in an injury depleted St. Kilda at Telstra Dome only to suffer an almight spanking after half time - mainly at the hands of Fraser Gehrig. I doubt however, whether Neale Daniher will allow any complacency to set in and besides, this time his charges have the all round strength and maturity for them to get home. And talking of home, the return to the M.C.G will be welcomed by the Demons and this is what I expect to be the ultimate difference between these teams. Melbourne by 17 points. DEMONLAND TIPPING Register here with Oztips. Detailed instructions for registration as a Demonland Tipster BECOME A MEMBER Join the Demons in 2007 - click here for membership.

HURRY SUNDOWN by the Oracle Shortly after sundown tomorrow night, we will witness the first bounce of the season. The match ball will hit the ground with a thump signalling the start of the action and when that happens, the most turbulent off-season in the game's history will come to an end. Make no mistake about it. Our game is under siege. At local level, in the suburbs and the bush, the game is at risk because the long drought has taken its toll on the very grounds upon which the game is played. The season's start has been delayed at grass roots level and is even in doubt in some leagues. Meanwhile, at the elite level, it's a case of footballers behaving very badly again and again. We're moving from one embarrassing disaster to another and all this at a time when the round ball game is taking a firm hold in Victoria, particularly after Australia's 2006 World Cup showing was followed up by Melbourne Victory's stunning A League premiership over the summer. At a little after 7.40pm AEST tomorrow, when one of the big ruckmen thumps the football down to the ground and we witness the first kicks, marks, handballs, tackles and goals, many of will view it with relief. Supporters will again be able to concentrate on the finer aspects of the game and perhaps, in our case, they will even start believing that, like its soccer counterpart, the Melbourne team will emerge triumphant at the end of the coming football season. So hurry sundown and let the nonsense that we've witnessed over the past few months be well and truly on its way … DEMONS AND SAINTS by Whispering Jack A long, long time ago it was an opening round game which took place between Melbourne and St. Kilda on the MCG. That was way back in 1966 and it was a game that marked the turning point for the fortunes of each of the participants. I was a bit loath to bring this game up because it was so painful. It certainly signalled the end of the Demons' golden era of the 50’s and ‘60’s and it was also the springboard for the Saints' only premiership in their long history. St. Kilda dominated all day to win by 76 points - 17.7.109 to 4.9.33. Melbourne stacked its team full of youngsters with many of the old guard having retired or moved on since the 1964 premiership victory over Collingwood. It would be a long time before the Demons would see finals action again. But who knows what will happen tomorrow night? Perhaps, the aftermath of the season opener will be a change in fortunes. This time however, the change is likely to be in Melbourne's favour – a change that could allow its long suffering supporters to finally celebrate a premiership victory for the first time in more than four decades. We can live in hope can't we? Actually, I think it's a little more than hope. The Demons' form over the past month in Nab Cup and Nab Challenger matches hasn't been anything to write home about but let's face it – these are practice matches and nothing more. You try players out in different positions, you rest some, you play around with tactics, strategies, your game plan and you hope that you don't suffer too badly in the way of injuries to players. Melbourne has come out of the pre season reasonably well in that regard although late injuries to Jared Rivers and Lynden Dunn and Byron Pickett's failure to come up will hurt a bit. However, I detect a level of healthy confidence as the team prepares to attack St. Kilda in the opening game of the season. The Demons have made the finals for the past three years in a row. They have promised much and performed brilliantly at times, poorly at others - particularly at crunch time. Melbourne now has a good mix of players, young and experienced, talls, mediums and smalls. The time has come for the team to perform with consistency throughout a long season. Nothing less than a top four berth will do! THE STATISTICS by Sam the Stats Man THE GAME: Melbourne v St. Kilda at the MCG - 30 March 2007 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Melbourne 118 wins St. Kilda 77 wins 1 draw At the G: Melbourne 58 wins St. Kilda 29 wins Since 2000: Melbourne 9 wins St. Kilda 2 wins The Coaches: Daniher 0 Lyon 0 MEDIA: TV: Channel 7 at 8.30pm RADIO: SEN, ABC774 THE BETTING: Melbourne to win $1.60 - St. Kilda to win $2.25 LAST TIME THEY MET: Melbourne 13.12.90 defeated St. Kilda 10.12.72 at the MCG [Elimination Final] The Saints, with Fraser Gehrig on fire, started brilliantly but were held after quarter time and the Demons finally overran a tired combination that was carrying too many injured players. Brock McLean was the star - who could ever forget that bump which took out St. Kilda's Justin Koschitzke? THE TEAMS: MELBOURNE: Backs: Nathan Carroll Ben Holland Matthew Whelan Half backs: Daniel Ward Brad Miller Daniel Bell Centreline: Travis Johnstone James McDonald Matthew Bate Half forwards: Cameron Bruce Russell Robertson Adem Yze Forwards: Chris Johnson David Neitz Aaron Davey Followers: Jeff White Brad Green Brock McLean Interchange Clint Bartram Mark Jamar Nathan Jones Brent Moloney Emergencies: Clint Bizzell Nathan Brown Paul Johnson ST KILDA: Backs: Steven Baker Sam Fisher Brendan Goodard Halfbacks: Jason Gram Matt Maguire Leigh Fisher Centreline: Andrew Thompson Luke Ball Leigh Montagna Half forwards: Robert Harvey Justin Koschitzke Jason Blake Forwards: Xavier Clarke Fraser Gehrig Stephen Milne Followers: Matthew Clarke Lenny Hayes Nick Dal Santo Interchange: Jayden Attard Aaron Fiora Andrew McQualter Michael Rix Emergencies: Shane Birss Barry Brooks Brett Voss UMPIRES: Stephen McBurney Matt Stevic Simon Meredith THE BATTLE by J.V.McKay The protagonists in tomorrow night's game were both bundled out in the first week of the Nab Cup and consequently slipped into obscurity playing games around the countryside and chasing the tails of the Leyland Brothers. Neither side has produced impressive results in the past month with only one win from four outings. They might claim that this was a consequence of them not having the ability to field their best sides in meaningless practice matches but that matters little. St. Kilda has a long list of injured and will be playing a few players who are slightly underdone at this stage of the journey. Their defence will be under pressure for against the experienced Melbourne forward line which has plenty of scoring options. I think the Saints' normally strong midfield might also be under pressure in this match, particularly in the latter part of the game when their lack of solid pre season match practice begins to take its toll. The Saints will miss Nick Riewoldt who kicked a bag of nine against the Demons a few seasons back and among other Saints stars missing are Hammill, Hudghton and R. Clarke. To make matters worse, St. Kilda was without a fitness coach for part of the summer whilse the Demons, who will sorely miss Jared Rivers at centre half back, have the best fitness coach going around and playerwise look to have covered all bases. The danger behind all of this will occur if the Demons will come out and treat their opponents with less respect than they should, simply on the basis that the Saints don't have their best player in Riewoldt and few other handy footballers are absent with injury while others on the comeback trail after lengthy absences. They only need go back to last year's opening round fiasco when they underestimated the current wooden spooners to realise the folly of such an approach. Or back to Round 4 of 2005 when they sensed weakness in an injury depleted St. Kilda at Telstra Dome only to suffer an almight spanking after half time - mainly at the hands of Fraser Gehrig. I doubt however, whether Neale Daniher will allow any complacency to set in and besides, this time his charges have the all round strength and maturity for them to get home. And talking of home, the return to the M.C.G will be welcomed by the Demons and this is what I expect to be the ultimate difference between these teams. Melbourne by 17 points. DEMONLAND TIPPING Register here with Oztips. Detailed instructions for registration as a Demonland Tipster BECOME A MEMBER Join the Demons in 2007 - click here for membership.

Yeah, and I love him too so I might have a word in Finks' ear tomorrow night to see if we can get him a reprieve.

And now ... part two which is also featured in our News and Articles Section ... SPECIAL FEATURE: THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION (PART TWO) by Whispering Jack Last week, I looked at the players I rate in the top ten at the Melbourne Football Club in terms of their importance towards achieving ultimate team success in the coming season. As with last year's ratings I have decided against rating the full list from first to last at this stage of the season on the basis that such a listing would be too tough on the blokes at the bottom end - especially those who I have barely seen in action. The thing that makes me optimistic about Melbourne's prospects at this stage of the list's development is the number of youngsters who I can see pushing hard for a place in the elite top ten group. It is that fact more than anything else which reinforces in my mind that my optimism is not based merely on a "vibe" as it was last year but upon something far more concrete. Here is my look at the rest of the list:- Clint Bartram [19] 16.02.88 181cm 73 kg Geelong U18 Selection # 60 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 1 v Carlton. Statistics: 22 games, 132 kicks, 85 marks, 115 handballs, 247 disposals, 6 goals, 1 behinds, 0 hit outs, 86 tackles, 12 frees for, 13 frees against. The selection of Clint Bartram at number 60 in the 2005 National Draft, Clint is already seen as a remarkable piece of recruiting as the youngster went on to play all 22 home and away games. He earned himself an AFL NAB Rising Star nomination (finishing fourth overall) before he succumbed to a bad ankle injury in the final home and away game at AAMI Stadium. In his debut season, he was used mainly as a hard running, hard tackling tagger but he has shown in his brief comeback practice match appearances at Sandringham that he could be much more than that as his career develops. Matthew Bate [6] 24.05.87 191cm 89 kg Eastern U18 Selection # 13 - 2004 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 5 v Kangaroos. Statistics: 14 games, 121 kicks, 77 marks, 100 handballs, 221 disposals, 8 goals, 5 behinds, 1 hit out, 38 tackles, 13 frees for, 12 frees against. Another NAB AFL Rising Star Nomination in his first season of AFL football, Matty Bate was an impressive high possession winner utilised in many positions around the ground. This lad is genuinely exciting and he has the capacity to go a long way in his football career. Daniel Bell [21] 13.04.85 186cm 88 kg Glenelg (SA) Selection # 14 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2004 Round 15 v St. Kilda. Statistics: 28 games, 177 kicks, 100 marks, 119 handballs, 296 disposals, 0 goals, 2 behinds, 1 hit out, 71 tackles, 17 frees for, 22 frees against. Belly has been around a few years without securing a regular place in the side but his strong pre season and practice match form suggests that he's in for the long ride at the club as a pacy defender who tackles very, very hard. Clint Bizzell [3] 28.06.76 188cm 89 kg (14 stone) Geelong Selection # 75 – 1995 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1996 Round 6 for Geelong v North Melbourne (75 games) 2001 Traded by Geelong for draft selections 17 and 41. MFC Debut 2002, Round 1 v Hawthorn (78 games). Statistics: 153 games, 1,216 kicks, 649 marks, 779 handballs, 1,995 disposals, 79 goals, 62 behinds, 47 hit outs, 212 tackles, 128 frees for, 94 frees against. On the comeback trail from a fractured leg that destroyed his 2006 season. The Biz is no longer the General of the backline and this is probably his last year but he will get his chances early in the season. At his age, it won't be an easy task for him to hold a place in the team but it will not be for lack of trying. Jace Bode [43] 14.09.87 183cm 80 kg Sturt (SA) Selection # 9 - 2005 Rookie Draft Had his share on injury and to date has struggled to impress. Nathan Brown [25] 14.08.76 180cm 76 kg West Adelaide (SA) Selection # 66 - 1997 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1998 Round 4 v Carlton. Statistics: 127 games, 1,350 kicks, 607 marks, 791 handballs, 2,141 disposals, 33 goals, 37 behinds, 2 hit out, 144 tackles, 70 frees for, 53 frees against. The highlight of Nathan Brown's 2006 was his 28 possession semi final performance against Fremantle. Injuries kept his output down to just nine games and he will need to fight hard to hold a spot as a small defender against a growing field of younger players looking to fill this role. Simon Buckley [1] 18.04.87 189cm 81 kg Sandringham U18 Selection # 53 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft. Has shown great development in terms of body and maturity over the past year and will be pushing for selection with the Demons at some stage during this season. Nathan Carroll [41] 20.10.80 191cm 91 kg Claremont (WA) Selection # 56 - 2003 Rookie Draft, 2003 rookie elevation (Melbourne) AFL Debut 2003 Round 4 v Geelong. Statistics: 41 games, 277 kicks, 197 marks, 225 handballs, 502 disposals, 1 goals, 0 behind, 7 hit out, 66 tackles, 20 frees for, 22 frees against. One of last year's big improvers, Carroll played every game and was under strong consideration by the pundits as an All Australian full back. He has gained so much in confidence and belief in himself and will be an important part of Melbourne's defence again this year. Lynden Dunn [14] 14.05.87 192cm 93 kg Calder U18 Selection # 15 - 2004 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 6 v Geelong Statistics: 11 games, 70 kicks, 42 marks, 33 handballs, 103 disposals, 13 goals, 10 behinds, 6 hit outs, 13 tackles, 6 frees for, 3 frees against Dunn had an excellent debut season with some impressive pinch hitting performances in the Demon forward line but his prospects for 2007 have been set back by the depressed cheekbone fracture suffered in a practice match at Sandringham. Has a bright future and could hold down a regular key forward position when he matures. Ryan Ferguson [35] 29.09.81 195cm 91 kg Frankston Selection # 66 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 1 v Hawthorn. Statistics: 39 games, 169 kicks, 118 marks, 142 handballs, 311 disposals, 4 goals, 1 behinds, 6 hit outs, 34 tackles, 29 frees for, 28 frees against. Ferguson has had an injury interrupted career and 2006 was no exception. In round 2 he broke a rib and suffered a punctured a lung as a result of a friendly fire collision with Colin Sylvia at Telstra Dome. Then, when he finally made a return to the Demons late in the season, he injured a knee. He has courage to burn and is not so easily pushed aside as he was when he first came to the club, but there are still question marks about his ability to hold down a regular place in the teams defence. Mark Jamar [40] 09.08.83 198cm 103 kg North Adelaide (SA) Selection # 6 – 2002 Rookie Draft, 2002 rookie elevation (Melbourne) AFL Debut 2003 Round 1 v Hawthorn. Statistics: 42 games, 69 kicks, 73 marks, 122 handballs, 191 disposals, 13 goals, 3 behind, 409 hit outs, 41 tackles, 19 frees for, 23 frees against. Melbourne's second ranked ruckman behind Jeff White, Jamar is expected to be given more game time again in 2007. Whilst his ruckwork is improving, he doesn't appear to have developed a capacity to impose his presence on games at this stage. Apart from the odd mark and goal during a game, he needs to be doing far more around the ground. James Frawley [8] 20.09.88 193cm 79kg North Ballarat U18 Selection # 12 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft The club's first round draft pick at # 12 has been impressive in the Nab Cup and Challenge matches but he has suffered an injury setback. The stress fractures to the foot will see a late start for this tall defender with pace to burn and he is expected to spend a fair slab of it with the Zebras. Colin Garland [20] 28.04.88 191 cm 84 kg North Hobart Selection # 46 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft A mobile key position player who had a sensational year rising through the ranks at North Hobart last year and will develop further at Sandringhham in 2007. Simon Godfrey [30] 18.10.80 184cm 86 kg Box Hill 2000 Pre-Season Draft #14, AFL Debut 2000 Round 20 v Fremantle. Statistics: 88 games, 606 kicks, 230 marks, 479 handballs, 1,085 disposals, 16 goals, 18 behinds, 21 hit out, 275 tackles, 67 frees for, 84 frees against. Tough as nails, honest as the day is long but not as gifted in skills and athleticism as some of the others on the list. Daniel Hayes [42] 13.7.1988 180cm 70kg Eastern U18 Selection # 12 - 2006 Rookie Draft. A classy left footer with good evasive skills and a neat kick, Hayes is currently under suspension for failing to attend training. The problem is understood to be related to personal family issues. Ben Holland [4] 10.05.77 198cm 100 kg Richmond Selection # 19 1994 National AFL Draft by Fitzroy (0 games) 1995 Traded by Fitzroy for selection #16 and #32 to Richmond, AFL Debut 1996 Round 3 with Richmond against the Brisbane Bears (125 games) 2003 Traded by Richmond for draft selection # 20 (Sam Butler) to Melbourne Debut with Melbourne 2004, Round 1 against Hawthorn (54 games). Statistics: 179 games, 1121 kicks, 684 marks, 793 handballs, 1914 disposals, 164 goals, 99 behinds, 280 hit outs, 283 tackles, 140 frees for, 156 frees against. Was used more in defence in 2006 which is where he made his name with the Tigers. The Demons will be hoping that he can take on the stronger bodied opposition talls but it's clear that there will be times when there is no match up in the backline for a player of his ilk. Daniel Hughes [38] 10.12.86 186cm 82 kg Sandringham U18 Selection # 25 - 2005 Rookie Draft. The young rookie has plenty of opposition for a place as a medium tall forward but showed at times in 2006 with Sandringham that he can be smart around goals. If he continues to improve this year, he might be able to secure a place on the club's senior list. Nathan Jones [2] 20.01.88, 179cm 85 Dandenong U18 Selection # 12 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 17 v Western Bulldogs. Statistics: 8 games, 64 kicks, 20 marks, 47 handballs, 111 disposals, 2 goals, 0 behind, 1 hit out, 25 tackles, 5 frees for, 7 frees against. Melbourne's first round National Draft selection in 2005 had to wait most of the season for an AFL game but once he made it, he was very impressive gaining a NAB Rising Star nomination and some Brownlow votes. His strength and football nous has been evident in the pre season and he is challenging strongly for a permanent position in the Demon midfield. Chris Johnson [17] 25.01.86 189cm 86 kg East Fremantle (WA) Selection # 36 (father-son) - 2003 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2005 Round 8 with Melbourne v Hawthorn. Statistics: 13 games, 103 kicks, 59 marks, 46 handballs, 149 disposals, 0 goals, 2 behinds, 0 hit outs, 21 tackles, 4 frees for, 8 frees against. Chris Johnson has played only 13 games in his three years at the club but he appears the player most likely to take the next big step at the club. He has good skills and is finally playing with the confidence of an established player and I expect him to move forward in leaps and bounds over 2007 and beyond. Paul Johnson [11] 26.06.84 199cm 105 kg West Coast Selection # 24 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 5 with the West Coast Eagles against Fremantle (1 game) 2004 Traded by West Coast for draft selection # 29 (Matt Rosa), 2005 debut with Melbourne Round 7 against Adelaide. Statistics: 11 games, 29 kicks, 13 marks, 24 handballs, 53 disposals, 2 goals, 1 behinds, 48 hit outs, 11 tackles, 1 frees for, 10 frees against. After winning the 2005 Liston Trophy, the injury prone Johnson faced 2006 with great optimism but this was shattered when he dislocated his shoulder early in the season. He hasn't done anything to suggest over the preseason that he can take the next step but he has the size and the agility and will need to work hard at Sandringham and bide his time there before he gets another chance at AFL level. Neale Daniher has indicated that he is third in line in the club's rucking hierarchy at the present time but he might also challenge for a key forward role if the opportunity is presented. Brad Miller [7] 06.07.83 194cm 96 kg Mount Gravatt (Queensland) Selection # 55 - 2001 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2002 Round 8 v Fremantle. Statistics: 75 games, 411 kicks, 369 marks, 379 handballs, 790 disposals, 24 goals, 20 behinds, 31 hit outs, 88 tackles, 38 frees for, 47 frees against. Miller had an indifferent season in 2006 and has fallen from grace in terms of his leadership position at the club as a result. He paid a heavy price for an indiscretion at Subiaco in midseason but came back at the same venue to be his team's best in the final against Fremantle. The debate still rages as to whether he is better suited to defence or attack although, in my mind, he is of greater value up forward (except when the team plays the Swans because for some reason, he always beats Barry Hall). Brent Moloney [22] 28.01.84 181cm 88 kg Geelong U18 Selection # 4 - 2003 Pre-Season Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 14 with Geelong against Port Adelaide (23 games) 2004 Traded by Geelong for draft selection12 (Danny Meyer – Richmond) 2005 Debut for Melbourne Round 1 against Essendon. Statistics: 51 games, 525 kicks, 175 marks, 210 handballs, 735 disposals, 9 goals, 23 behinds, 1 hit out, 92 tackles, 25 frees for, 46 frees against. Another player whose 2006 season suffered as a result of injury, Moloney's strength and long kicking into the forward line will be most welcome although hopefully, he will mix that up with some well placed short passing when appropriate. Shane Neaves [39] 11.05.87 199cm 90 kg Calder U18 Selection # 39 - 2005 Rookie Draft A tall big man who remains on the rookie list and is a long term development player who showed a few signs in the ruck at Sandringham last year. Heath Neville [26] 02.02.88 186cm 83 kg Tasmania U18 Selection # 68 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft Had a shocking run of injuries last year and, when he was fit to play, spent most of the year in the VFL reserves. Michael Newton [29] 27.04.87 193cm 90 kg Whorouly.Murray U18 Selection # 43 - 2004 NAB AFL Draft A very athletic and talented footballer whose first season at the club was marred by a back injury and his second was one of slow development going from the Sandy seniors to reserves where he finally took the competition’s top goal kicking honours. Has a touch of class but is on a slow development curve. Ricky Petterd [15] 24.07.88 186 cm 76 kg Broadbeach Selection # 30 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft Melbourne's second round selection at last year's National Draft, there are big wraps on this Under 18 All-Australian and winner of the Harrison Medal for Best and Fairest Division Two in the Under 18 National Championships. Byron Pickett [33] 11.08.77 178cm 86 kg Port Adelaide Selection # 12 - 1996 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1997 Round 15 with North Melbourne v Geelong (120 games) 2002 Traded by North Melbourne for draft selections 13 and 31 2003 Debut for Port Adelaide Round 1 v West Coast (55 games) 2005 Traded by Port Adelaide for #28, #44 and #58 2006 Debut for Melbourne Round 1 v Carlton (20 games). Statistics: 195 games, 1822 kicks, 642 marks, 675 handballs, 2497 disposals, 170 goals, 90 behinds, 33 hit out, 540 tackles, 177 frees for, 180 frees against. Tough, solid and reliable in the clinches, Pickett was instrumental in giving the Demons a harder edge in 2006 and was at times simply inspirational. His form fell away badly however, after he was sidelined with a hamstring injury later in the season and he became largely ineffective. Has been under a fitness/injury cloud for most of the practice match series. Russell Robertson [24] 24.11.78 187cm 93 kg Tassie U18 Selection # 68 - 1996 National AFL Draft, 1997 rookie elevation (Melbourne) AFL Debut 1997 Round 20 v West Coast. Statistics: 190 games, 1620 kicks, 911 marks, 627 handballs, 2237 disposals, 337 goals, 231 behinds, 53 hit out, 201 tackles, 151 frees for, 136 frees against. Carried a knee injury through most of the year and as a consequence was hot and cold with more emphasis on the cold part of the equation. Still managed 44 goals in what was considered a poor year so hopefully, with a fitter body, he will return to something like the form of 2005 when he won the club's best and fairest. Daniel Ward [10] 09.07.77 185cm 84 kg Western U18. Fitzroy 1998 rookie elevation (Melbourne), AFL Debut 1998 Round 10 v Adelaide. Statistics: 118 games, 1179 kicks, 448 marks, 686 handballs, 1865 disposals, 28 goals, 26 behinds, 6 hit outs, 266 tackles, 85 frees for, 100 frees against. Had a very good season in 2006 when his career was at the crossroads. His pace off half back has helped him get by in the modern game but his disposal can be a problem at times. Isaac Weetra 27.02.89 182 cm 78 kg Port Adelaide Magpies (SA) Selection # 62 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft. A very fast, agile youngster who has a lot of development ahead of him and will be developed through the ranks at Sandringham. Paul Wheatley [31] 12.04.81, 189cm 90 kg .Preston U18 Selection # 20 - 1999 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2000 Round 2 v North Melbourne. Statistics: 99 games, 850 kicks, 439 marks, 410 handballs, 1,260 disposals, 26 goals, 27 behinds, 13 hit out, 150 tackles, 38 frees for, 39 frees against. Another player who was stricken with injury in 2006 after a strong showing the year before. This could be a make or break year for Wheaters but he should make the ton (in games played) at a reasonably early stage in the season. Matthew Warnock [37] 03.04.84 192cm 92 kg Sandringham Selection # 26 - 2005 Rookie Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 3 v Adelaide. Statistics: 2 games, 5 kicks, 4 marks, 5 handballs, 10 disposals, 0 goals, 0 behinds, 0 hit out, 4 tackles, 0 frees for, 1 frees against. Managed two games coming off the rookie list last year after impressing with his pace and athleticism. Struggled after that and an injury in a Nab Challenge game at Mount Gambier affected his preparation for this season. Adem Yze [13] 21.09.77 187cm 87 kg Murray U18 Selection # 16 - 1994 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1995 Round 13 v Richmond. Statistics: 257 games, 3702 kicks, 1006 marks, 960 handballs, 4662 disposals, 225 goals, 179 behinds, 12 hit outs, 429 tackles, 159 frees for, 160 frees against. It’s been a tough pre-season for Adem Yze. He looked good at training but has hardly impressed during the practice matches, which ended for him at Trevor Barker Oval in the unfamiliar Zebra gear. His 257 games puts him in the rarified atmosphere of the all time Demon greats and he's closing in on Jimmy Stynes' record of 225 on the trot but he’s under siege and must produce strong early performances and do so consistently.

by Whispering Jack Last week, I looked at the players I rate in the top ten at the Melbourne Football Club in terms of their importance towards achieving ultimate team success in the coming season. As with last year's ratings I have decided against rating the full list from first to last at this stage of the season on the basis that such a listing would be too tough on the blokes at the bottom end - especially those who I have barely seen in action. The thing that makes me optimistic about Melbourne's prospects at this stage of the list's development is the number of youngsters who I can see pushing hard for a place in the elite top ten group. It is that fact more than anything else which reinforces in my mind that my optimism is not based merely on a "vibe" as it was last year but upon something far more concrete. Here is my look at the rest of the list:- Clint Bartram [19] 16.02.88 181cm 73 kg Geelong U18 Selection # 60 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 1 v Carlton. Statistics: 22 games, 132 kicks, 85 marks, 115 handballs, 247 disposals, 6 goals, 1 behinds, 0 hit outs, 86 tackles, 12 frees for, 13 frees against. The selection of Clint Bartram at number 60 in the 2005 National Draft, Clint is already seen as a remarkable piece of recruiting as the youngster went on to play all 22 home and away games. He earned himself an AFL NAB Rising Star nomination (finishing fourth overall) before he succumbed to a bad ankle injury in the final home and away game at AAMI Stadium. In his debut season, he was used mainly as a hard running, hard tackling tagger but he has shown in his brief comeback practice match appearances at Sandringham that he could be much more than that as his career develops. Matthew Bate [6] 24.05.87 191cm 89 kg Eastern U18 Selection # 13 - 2004 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 5 v Kangaroos. Statistics: 14 games, 121 kicks, 77 marks, 100 handballs, 221 disposals, 8 goals, 5 behinds, 1 hit out, 38 tackles, 13 frees for, 12 frees against. Another NAB AFL Rising Star Nomination in his first season of AFL football, Matty Bate was an impressive high possession winner utilised in many positions around the ground. This lad is genuinely exciting and he has the capacity to go a long way in his football career. Daniel Bell [21] 13.04.85 186cm 88 kg Glenelg (SA) Selection # 14 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2004 Round 15 v St. Kilda. Statistics: 28 games, 177 kicks, 100 marks, 119 handballs, 296 disposals, 0 goals, 2 behinds, 1 hit out, 71 tackles, 17 frees for, 22 frees against. Belly has been around a few years without securing a regular place in the side but his strong pre season and practice match form suggests that he's in for the long ride at the club as a pacy defender who tackles very, very hard. Clint Bizzell [3] 28.06.76 188cm 89 kg (14 stone) Geelong Selection # 75 – 1995 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1996 Round 6 for Geelong v North Melbourne (75 games) 2001 Traded by Geelong for draft selections 17 and 41. MFC Debut 2002, Round 1 v Hawthorn (78 games). Statistics: 153 games, 1,216 kicks, 649 marks, 779 handballs, 1,995 disposals, 79 goals, 62 behinds, 47 hit outs, 212 tackles, 128 frees for, 94 frees against. On the comeback trail from a fractured leg that destroyed his 2006 season. The Biz is no longer the General of the backline and this is probably his last year but he will get his chances early in the season. At his age, it won't be an easy task for him to hold a place in the team but it will not be for lack of trying. Jace Bode [43] 14.09.87 183cm 80 kg Sturt (SA) Selection # 9 - 2005 Rookie Draft Had his share on injury and to date has struggled to impress. Nathan Brown [25] 14.08.76 180cm 76 kg West Adelaide (SA) Selection # 66 - 1997 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1998 Round 4 v Carlton. Statistics: 127 games, 1,350 kicks, 607 marks, 791 handballs, 2,141 disposals, 33 goals, 37 behinds, 2 hit out, 144 tackles, 70 frees for, 53 frees against. The highlight of Nathan Brown's 2006 was his 28 possession semi final performance against Fremantle. Injuries kept his output down to just nine games and he will need to fight hard to hold a spot as a small defender against a growing field of younger players looking to fill this role. Simon Buckley [1] 18.04.87 189cm 81 kg Sandringham U18 Selection # 53 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft. Has shown great development in terms of body and maturity over the past year and will be pushing for selection with the Demons at some stage during this season. Nathan Carroll [41] 20.10.80 191cm 91 kg Claremont (WA) Selection # 56 - 2003 Rookie Draft, 2003 rookie elevation (Melbourne) AFL Debut 2003 Round 4 v Geelong. Statistics: 41 games, 277 kicks, 197 marks, 225 handballs, 502 disposals, 1 goals, 0 behind, 7 hit out, 66 tackles, 20 frees for, 22 frees against. One of last year's big improvers, Carroll played every game and was under strong consideration by the pundits as an All Australian full back. He has gained so much in confidence and belief in himself and will be an important part of Melbourne's defence again this year. Lynden Dunn [14] 14.05.87 192cm 93 kg Calder U18 Selection # 15 - 2004 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 6 v Geelong Statistics: 11 games, 70 kicks, 42 marks, 33 handballs, 103 disposals, 13 goals, 10 behinds, 6 hit outs, 13 tackles, 6 frees for, 3 frees against Dunn had an excellent debut season with some impressive pinch hitting performances in the Demon forward line but his prospects for 2007 have been set back by the depressed cheekbone fracture suffered in a practice match at Sandringham. Has a bright future and could hold down a regular key forward position when he matures. Ryan Ferguson [35] 29.09.81 195cm 91 kg Frankston Selection # 66 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 1 v Hawthorn. Statistics: 39 games, 169 kicks, 118 marks, 142 handballs, 311 disposals, 4 goals, 1 behinds, 6 hit outs, 34 tackles, 29 frees for, 28 frees against. Ferguson has had an injury interrupted career and 2006 was no exception. In round 2 he broke a rib and suffered a punctured a lung as a result of a friendly fire collision with Colin Sylvia at Telstra Dome. Then, when he finally made a return to the Demons late in the season, he injured a knee. He has courage to burn and is not so easily pushed aside as he was when he first came to the club, but there are still question marks about his ability to hold down a regular place in the teams defence. Mark Jamar [40] 09.08.83 198cm 103 kg North Adelaide (SA) Selection # 6 – 2002 Rookie Draft, 2002 rookie elevation (Melbourne) AFL Debut 2003 Round 1 v Hawthorn. Statistics: 42 games, 69 kicks, 73 marks, 122 handballs, 191 disposals, 13 goals, 3 behind, 409 hit outs, 41 tackles, 19 frees for, 23 frees against. Melbourne's second ranked ruckman behind Jeff White, Jamar is expected to be given more game time again in 2007. Whilst his ruckwork is improving, he doesn't appear to have developed a capacity to impose his presence on games at this stage. Apart from the odd mark and goal during a game, he needs to be doing far more around the ground. James Frawley [8] 20.09.88 193cm 79kg North Ballarat U18 Selection # 12 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft The club's first round draft pick at # 12 has been impressive in the Nab Cup and Challenge matches but he has suffered an injury setback. The stress fractures to the foot will see a late start for this tall defender with pace to burn and he is expected to spend a fair slab of it with the Zebras. Colin Garland [20] 28.04.88 191 cm 84 kg North Hobart Selection # 46 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft A mobile key position player who had a sensational year rising through the ranks at North Hobart last year and will develop further at Sandringhham in 2007. Simon Godfrey [30] 18.10.80 184cm 86 kg Box Hill 2000 Pre-Season Draft #14, AFL Debut 2000 Round 20 v Fremantle. Statistics: 88 games, 606 kicks, 230 marks, 479 handballs, 1,085 disposals, 16 goals, 18 behinds, 21 hit out, 275 tackles, 67 frees for, 84 frees against. Tough as nails, honest as the day is long but not as gifted in skills and athleticism as some of the others on the list. Daniel Hayes [42] 13.7.1988 180cm 70kg Eastern U18 Selection # 12 - 2006 Rookie Draft. A classy left footer with good evasive skills and a neat kick, Hayes is currently under suspension for failing to attend training. The problem is understood to be related to personal family issues. Ben Holland [4] 10.05.77 198cm 100 kg Richmond Selection # 19 1994 National AFL Draft by Fitzroy (0 games) 1995 Traded by Fitzroy for selection #16 and #32 to Richmond, AFL Debut 1996 Round 3 with Richmond against the Brisbane Bears (125 games) 2003 Traded by Richmond for draft selection # 20 (Sam Butler) to Melbourne Debut with Melbourne 2004, Round 1 against Hawthorn (54 games). Statistics: 179 games, 1121 kicks, 684 marks, 793 handballs, 1914 disposals, 164 goals, 99 behinds, 280 hit outs, 283 tackles, 140 frees for, 156 frees against. Was used more in defence in 2006 which is where he made his name with the Tigers. The Demons will be hoping that he can take on the stronger bodied opposition talls but it's clear that there will be times when there is no match up in the backline for a player of his ilk. Daniel Hughes [38] 10.12.86 186cm 82 kg Sandringham U18 Selection # 25 - 2005 Rookie Draft. The young rookie has plenty of opposition for a place as a medium tall forward but showed at times in 2006 with Sandringham that he can be smart around goals. If he continues to improve this year, he might be able to secure a place on the club's senior list. Nathan Jones [2] 20.01.88, 179cm 85 Dandenong U18 Selection # 12 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 17 v Western Bulldogs. Statistics: 8 games, 64 kicks, 20 marks, 47 handballs, 111 disposals, 2 goals, 0 behind, 1 hit out, 25 tackles, 5 frees for, 7 frees against. Melbourne's first round National Draft selection in 2005 had to wait most of the season for an AFL game but once he made it, he was very impressive gaining a NAB Rising Star nomination and some Brownlow votes. His strength and football nous has been evident in the pre season and he is challenging strongly for a permanent position in the Demon midfield. Chris Johnson [17] 25.01.86 189cm 86 kg East Fremantle (WA) Selection # 36 (father-son) - 2003 NAB AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2005 Round 8 with Melbourne v Hawthorn. Statistics: 13 games, 103 kicks, 59 marks, 46 handballs, 149 disposals, 0 goals, 2 behinds, 0 hit outs, 21 tackles, 4 frees for, 8 frees against. Chris Johnson has played only 13 games in his three years at the club but he appears the player most likely to take the next big step at the club. He has good skills and is finally playing with the confidence of an established player and I expect him to move forward in leaps and bounds over 2007 and beyond. Paul Johnson [11] 26.06.84 199cm 105 kg West Coast Selection # 24 - 2002 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 5 with the West Coast Eagles against Fremantle (1 game) 2004 Traded by West Coast for draft selection # 29 (Matt Rosa), 2005 debut with Melbourne Round 7 against Adelaide. Statistics: 11 games, 29 kicks, 13 marks, 24 handballs, 53 disposals, 2 goals, 1 behinds, 48 hit outs, 11 tackles, 1 frees for, 10 frees against. After winning the 2005 Liston Trophy, the injury prone Johnson faced 2006 with great optimism but this was shattered when he dislocated his shoulder early in the season. He hasn't done anything to suggest over the preseason that he can take the next step but he has the size and the agility and will need to work hard at Sandringham and bide his time there before he gets another chance at AFL level. Neale Daniher has indicated that he is third in line in the club's rucking hierarchy at the present time but he might also challenge for a key forward role if the opportunity is presented. Brad Miller [7] 06.07.83 194cm 96 kg Mount Gravatt (Queensland) Selection # 55 - 2001 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2002 Round 8 v Fremantle. Statistics: 75 games, 411 kicks, 369 marks, 379 handballs, 790 disposals, 24 goals, 20 behinds, 31 hit outs, 88 tackles, 38 frees for, 47 frees against. Miller had an indifferent season in 2006 and has fallen from grace in terms of his leadership position at the club as a result. He paid a heavy price for an indiscretion at Subiaco in midseason but came back at the same venue to be his team's best in the final against Fremantle. The debate still rages as to whether he is better suited to defence or attack although, in my mind, he is of greater value up forward (except when the team plays the Swans because for some reason, he always beats Barry Hall). Brent Moloney [22] 28.01.84 181cm 88 kg Geelong U18 Selection # 4 - 2003 Pre-Season Draft, AFL Debut 2003 Round 14 with Geelong against Port Adelaide (23 games) 2004 Traded by Geelong for draft selection12 (Danny Meyer – Richmond) 2005 Debut for Melbourne Round 1 against Essendon. Statistics: 51 games, 525 kicks, 175 marks, 210 handballs, 735 disposals, 9 goals, 23 behinds, 1 hit out, 92 tackles, 25 frees for, 46 frees against. Another player whose 2006 season suffered as a result of injury, Moloney's strength and long kicking into the forward line will be most welcome although hopefully, he will mix that up with some well placed short passing when appropriate. Shane Neaves [39] 11.05.87 199cm 90 kg Calder U18 Selection # 39 - 2005 Rookie Draft A tall big man who remains on the rookie list and is a long term development player who showed a few signs in the ruck at Sandringham last year. Heath Neville [26] 02.02.88 186cm 83 kg Tasmania U18 Selection # 68 - 2005 NAB AFL Draft Had a shocking run of injuries last year and, when he was fit to play, spent most of the year in the VFL reserves. Michael Newton [29] 27.04.87 193cm 90 kg Whorouly.Murray U18 Selection # 43 - 2004 NAB AFL Draft A very athletic and talented footballer whose first season at the club was marred by a back injury and his second was one of slow development going from the Sandy seniors to reserves where he finally took the competition’s top goal kicking honours. Has a touch of class but is on a slow development curve. Ricky Petterd [15] 24.07.88 186 cm 76 kg Broadbeach Selection # 30 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft Melbourne's second round selection at last year's National Draft, there are big wraps on this Under 18 All-Australian and winner of the Harrison Medal for Best and Fairest Division Two in the Under 18 National Championships. Byron Pickett [33] 11.08.77 178cm 86 kg Port Adelaide Selection # 12 - 1996 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1997 Round 15 with North Melbourne v Geelong (120 games) 2002 Traded by North Melbourne for draft selections 13 and 31 2003 Debut for Port Adelaide Round 1 v West Coast (55 games) 2005 Traded by Port Adelaide for #28, #44 and #58 2006 Debut for Melbourne Round 1 v Carlton (20 games). Statistics: 195 games, 1822 kicks, 642 marks, 675 handballs, 2497 disposals, 170 goals, 90 behinds, 33 hit out, 540 tackles, 177 frees for, 180 frees against. Tough, solid and reliable in the clinches, Pickett was instrumental in giving the Demons a harder edge in 2006 and was at times simply inspirational. His form fell away badly however, after he was sidelined with a hamstring injury later in the season and he became largely ineffective. Has been under a fitness/injury cloud for most of the practice match series. Russell Robertson [24] 24.11.78 187cm 93 kg Tassie U18 Selection # 68 - 1996 National AFL Draft, 1997 rookie elevation (Melbourne) AFL Debut 1997 Round 20 v West Coast. Statistics: 190 games, 1620 kicks, 911 marks, 627 handballs, 2237 disposals, 337 goals, 231 behinds, 53 hit out, 201 tackles, 151 frees for, 136 frees against. Carried a knee injury through most of the year and as a consequence was hot and cold with more emphasis on the cold part of the equation. Still managed 44 goals in what was considered a poor year so hopefully, with a fitter body, he will return to something like the form of 2005 when he won the club's best and fairest. Daniel Ward [10] 09.07.77 185cm 84 kg Western U18. Fitzroy 1998 rookie elevation (Melbourne), AFL Debut 1998 Round 10 v Adelaide. Statistics: 118 games, 1179 kicks, 448 marks, 686 handballs, 1865 disposals, 28 goals, 26 behinds, 6 hit outs, 266 tackles, 85 frees for, 100 frees against. Had a very good season in 2006 when his career was at the crossroads. His pace off half back has helped him get by in the modern game but his disposal can be a problem at times. Isaac Weetra 27.02.89 182 cm 78 kg Port Adelaide Magpies (SA) Selection # 62 - 2006 NAB AFL Draft. A very fast, agile youngster who has a lot of development ahead of him and will be developed through the ranks at Sandringham. Paul Wheatley [31] 12.04.81, 189cm 90 kg .Preston U18 Selection # 20 - 1999 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 2000 Round 2 v North Melbourne. Statistics: 99 games, 850 kicks, 439 marks, 410 handballs, 1,260 disposals, 26 goals, 27 behinds, 13 hit out, 150 tackles, 38 frees for, 39 frees against. Another player who was stricken with injury in 2006 after a strong showing the year before. This could be a make or break year for Wheaters but he should make the ton (in games played) at a reasonably early stage in the season. Matthew Warnock [37] 03.04.84 192cm 92 kg Sandringham Selection # 26 - 2005 Rookie Draft, AFL Debut 2006 Round 3 v Adelaide. Statistics: 2 games, 5 kicks, 4 marks, 5 handballs, 10 disposals, 0 goals, 0 behinds, 0 hit out, 4 tackles, 0 frees for, 1 frees against. Managed two games coming off the rookie list last year after impressing with his pace and athleticism. Struggled after that and an injury in a Nab Challenge game at Mount Gambier affected his preparation for this season. Adem Yze [13] 21.09.77 187cm 87 kg Murray U18 Selection # 16 - 1994 National AFL Draft, AFL Debut 1995 Round 13 v Richmond. Statistics: 257 games, 3702 kicks, 1006 marks, 960 handballs, 4662 disposals, 225 goals, 179 behinds, 12 hit outs, 429 tackles, 159 frees for, 160 frees against. It's been a tough pre-season for Adem Yze. He looked good at training but has hardly impressed during the practice matches, which ended for him at Trevor Barker Oval in the unfamiliar Zebra gear. His 257 games puts him in the rarified atmosphere of the all time Demon greats and he's closing in on Jimmy Stynes' record of 225 on the trot but he’s under siege and must produce strong early performances and do so consistently.