Demonland

HISTORY OF THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB: PART ONE - DREAMING by The Professor Men and women first walked here in the Dreamtime when life was simple. In those days they ran, hunted and chased. The first sport in this place was played by the First Australians. And when the new people came to begin the Port Phillip settlement the tradition continued as it does to this very day. Melbourne is known as the Sporting Capital of the World and its football club is not only the oldest but also the finest. The Colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 around Sydney and gradually expanded to the north, the west and to the south into Port Phillip where John Batman landed at the mouth of the Yarra River in 1835. He set up camp near the site of Queens Bridge and declared "this will be the place for a village." The area came to be known as Melbourne. By 1837 the Melbourne township was surveyed, the first land sales were held and, as the young settlement began to flourish, so did its sports. They raced horses at Batman Hill and the Melbourne Cricket Club was formed in 1838. The population found its amusement in a variety of games. Melbourne had become a major administrative and commercial centre with a population of 23,000 by 1850. The new colony achieved separation from New South Wales in 1851 and immediately its development gained impetus with the discovery of gold in several outlying districts. The gold rush of the 1850's brought a booming economy and a rapidly expanding population that came from all parts of the globe to the fledgling colony. The Victorian landscape was changed for all time. There is no definitive answer to the question of where and how the Australian game of football truly originated. Was it from games played by our first Australians or was it based on a sport with Anglo-Saxon roots? Or perhaps it came from some gold digging Irish migrant who remembered the Gaelic form of game played at home? We do know however, that in 1858 the Honorary Secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club, Thomas Wentworth Wills conceived a football game to keep cricketers fit in the winter. On 7 August 1858 a match was arranged between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College. It was played on parkland by the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In the following year, the Melbourne Football Club formed - its rules drafted by Wills' cousin H. C. A. Harrison who was to become the captain of the team. Soon, other clubs followed - Geelong, South Yarra and Richmond. By 1864, a loose form of competition was under way including new clubs Carlton, South Melbourne and Royal Park. The dominant club remained Melbourne, which was known as the "Invincible Whites." The new game flourished with strong teams emerging in the gold field areas of Ballarat and Bendigo. Harrison remained a powerful figure as the game evolved and rules were established to govern the size of the field, the number of players, the distance of goalposts, reserve players and umpires. Harrison retired as captain and player of the Melbourne Football Club in 1872 but he continued to be influential as an administrator. The game was growing in stature and importance in the Colony of Victoria and by the late 1870's, it was ready for a more formalised competition to emerge ...

by the Oracle ZERO HOUR - THE TRADE GAME I can't believe it's on again and that it's already been a year since the last great football "great flesh market" took place. This morning the representatives of all 16 AFL clubs will meet in true Wild, Wild West style in order to distribute their trade lists, to haggle over horse flesh and to play a sophisticated game of chance during the annual gathering of football horse traders at the Optus Oval saloon. This game, in which the booty is a treasure chest of footballers and draft choices can only be described as a hybrid of test cricket, poker and basketball, a game that will end in frenetic and dramatic scenes more gripping than "High Noon", more deadly than "Straw Dogs" and, at times, more hilarious than "Forrest Gump" - it's the AFL Trade Game. If the now familiar pattern is followed, the day will be ushered in by a series of meetings in the old corporate boxes of Optus Oval involving recruiters from each club where they will discuss their wish lists and possible trades with their counterparts. This is the beginning of a five day ritual and hence the allusion to test cricket but it's not a hit, miss and giggle game like the one-day variety or the insufferable new fangled twenty-20 stuff and nonsense. No! This is a game of patience and reflection; it's a game that has its ebbs and flows and a game full of so many twists and turns that you really needs the assistance of someone like the master of suspense - Alfred Hitchcock - to help in its understanding and in the ultimate unravelling of the plot. The end game in this form of sport takes place not when the clock strikes at high noon but a little later - at exactly 2pm this coming Friday. The five day duration of the test match trade game means that it is unlikely any transactions will be finalised immediately. There's plenty of time for that later and besides, many deals are dependent upon clubs concluding separate trades over other players or draft picks. The clubs are wheeling and dealing, not just in current players but in futures as well because an integral part of the process is the capacity to deal in draft selections. Trading takes place on the basis of clubs swapping players and/or draft picks. The objective is of course, to recruit needed players to the club while maintaining the best possible position at the draft selection table. That's where the poker part comes into the game. There's an element of bluff involved in the flesh market of trading. As with most forms of gambling there are many unsavoury features of the trade game. Players receive telephone calls from their managers in the middle of the night and suddenly they discover they are packing their bags and being shunted off to far flung parts of the continent doomed to wear unfamiliar colours for the remainder of their playing days without a hint of consultation (never mind the fact that they sometimes end up with fatter contracts). The game has one thing in common with most sports. Before the event even starts, there's endless conjecture about what will occur once proceedings finally get under way. This year dozens of names have been bandied about in media speculation but if history is a guide, very few of the mooted trades will see the light of day. Often the clubs and managers are bluffing - playing cat and mouse with each other in order to complete the best contract available. Whatever the case, the number of deals that are actually done is minute in comparison to the number discussed in the scuttlebutt and speculation and we can expect that again this year. In fact, the activity might even be at a lower level than usual if a hunch of prominent player manager, Ricky Nixon is proved correct. He said on radio last week that his phones were not ringing as they had done in previous years and this might be an indication of a quiet trade week - either that or he's changed his number and forgotten to pass on the word. That brings us to the basketball part. I find that sport to be totally useless and boring except for the last two minutes where anything and everything can happen. Which is exactly what happens in the football trade game - everything is revealed in the very last scene - the final intense half hour of activity - that's when most of the real dealing gets done. It's going to be an interesting ride till we get there - especially for Melbourne fans. Going into the week, the Demons are linked with two of the big four names being bandied about in early trade calculations - Carlton's Lance Whitnall and Kangaroo forward Daniel Motlop. The others are Whitnall's teammate Brendan Fevola and Hawk defender Jonathan Hay. As the trade week poker gets under way with a pair of Blues close to the top of the deck, the question on everyone's lips is which way will the cards turn at the end of the week? DAY ONE - BUNFIGHT AT THE OO CORRAL I have in my mind's eye this picture of the scene inside one of the Optus Oval Corporate boxes at around midday. This is the room where the officials of the Demons and the Blues are meeting on the opening day of trade week. Seated at the table is an assortment of individuals, but all of the attention is on Melbourne's General Manager, Recruiting & List Management Craig Cameron and his opposite number whose name I fail to catch as he walks into the room filled with the acrid smell of cigar smoke. Standing against the wall are some ladies in their finest outfits. A buxom blonde sits on Cameron's knee, a brunette is perched on that of the wrangler from Carlton town. They are playing poker - five card stud - and you can see ripples of sweat pooling over the dealer's brow as he flicks the first card onto the table. It lands face up. A sudden gasp collectively emanates from the mouths of the bystanders. The picture on the card facing the men is of a bulky red headed man in a navy blue jumper. It's Lance Whitnall. Now, a hush falls on the room as Cameron lifts a card with Clint Bizzell's face grinning back towards him. The wrangler is unfazed. In a booming voice, he utters a single word - "Pass" Cameron, who has been silent up to now, looks steely-eyed into his opponent's face and declares, "I'll raise you pick number 28." The Carlton man nervously glances at Cameron's pistol holster. The tension in the room is reaching fever pitch and he looks straight faced at the man staring him down at the other end of the table. "Let's make a trade", he says. They nod, turn to each of the women perched on their knees and give them a signal. Without a word, the young floozies change places. A bell rings and by the time AFL man Adrian Anderson pokes his head into the doorway, the brunette is sitting on Cameron's knee. "Time gentlemen". The first trade has been done. DAY ONE - PLENTY OF NOTHIN' Player agent Ricky Nixon's prediction was correct. The silence of his telephones in the week before the official opening of the AFL trades was a good indicator that, at the very least, there were not going to be any early deals. Melbourne's Craig Cameron emerged from the OO corral and confirmed that the opening day of the trade period had been a non-event for the Demons and most of the others. None of the clubs were willing to show their hands and this was the "quietest day I can ever remember," Cameron said. I can vouch for the fact that things were certainly quiet in the Optus Oval precinct in the early afternoon. I completed a busy and successful September at work and, after filing some reports and attending the obligatory Monday morning sales meetings, I had the rest of the day off. I was heading in the general direction so I passed Carlton's old ground hoping to get a taste of the atmosphere of the trade event. I got plenty of nothin'. It seems that nothin' was plenty enough for the AFL scouts. I ended up at my favourite drinking hole and eating establishment (my previous favourite having been closed down by health authorities) and found myself in discussion with a mate whose knowledge and understanding of the draft and trades is limited but he is a big fan of the game. The conversation came around to the "big four" - the four players who have dominated trade talk in the lead up to the week - Carlton pair Brendan Fevola and Lance Whitnall, Hawthorn's Jonathan Hay and the Roos Daniel Motlop. His view was that if this was the best material that trade week could throw up, then the whole thing was a complete waste of time; the players in question was simply "not quite right" as far as he was concerned. On a good day each of them could play football but they all came with a certain amount of baggage. Fevola was a complete head case, Whitnall's weight problems were legend and he therefore carried a fair bit of internal excess baggage, Hay's form has been about average since his stellar year of 2001 and Motlop looks to be injury prone having missed the bulk of the 2005 season with multiple injuries. He also had some serious questions about a player who claims that he wants to move from Melbourne to Adelaide so his wife can be a little closer to the family in Darwin - couldn't really work that one out. I'm sure he would not have been impressed either with the revelation later in the day that Hay had dropped the bucket on the Hawks for involving his name in trade discussions while still a contracted player. "I am looking forward to playing in a successful team because I don't see Hawthorn having success in the next three or four years," declared Hay at the end of what appeared a long, hard, tiring and emotional day for him. Our drinking session lasted a lot longer than I would have liked and I also ended up tired and emotional but capable of coming to the conclusion that I was in heated agreement with my drinking partner. I walked home, watched the news on TV and received confirmation that nothin' much was happening so far as the trades were concerned. There was plenty of talk about the big four and the usual hubbub concerning a number of lesser lights but I was convinced at the end of day one that it was probably a good thing that it was all quiet on the trade front. DAY TWO - WATTS ON FIRST The first deal of the 2005 trade period was done when Adelaide's Fergus Watts came home to daddy in the form of Jim Watts who is also the St. Kilda Football Club Chief Executive. The deal has cost the Saints their first round selection - No.17 overall which is a hefty price to pay for someone who played just five matches for the Crows in his first AFL season and missed out completely last year. What price Chris Judd? The popular view is that the Crows will use their newly acquired draft pick to recruit a player in a further trade but that is currently in the realm of the speculation (Brisbane's Troy Selwood or Carlton's Trent Sporn perhaps?), which remains the locale of most trade discussion after the first two days of slow motion non-action. As I said earlier in the piece, we are in the middle of an intriguing poker game of test match proportions and the real action won't start until the two-minute buzzer sounds in the early afternoon of Friday. Even allowing for this however, things have been unbearably slow for the true aficionados of the trade game. This morning, I heard an interview on SEN radio that shed some light on why this year's trading action has been moving at such a snail's pace. Hawthorn list manager Chris Pelchen was discussing with Kevin Bartlett and Patrick Smith his club's response to accusations made by contracted defender Jonathan Hay of double-dealing and lying by the Hawks. Pelchen explained that in the week of the AFL Preliminary finals his club met 10 of the 15 other clubs for informal talks on possible trade deals. Those not involved were the four clubs remaining in the premiership race and Geelong which had just been knocked out of the finals in Sydney. You can bet on it that if such discussions are happening across the board, then most of the clubs will have met well before the proceedings opened yesterday at Optus Oval and on this basis, they might as well do away with the first three days of the trade period. A better idea would be to conduct the horse trading at some secluded location on a one weekend. Why not televise it all as reality TV in the Big Brother household and have Gretel interview the evictees one by one as they leave their old clubs on their way to a new future? Now, getting back to Jon Hay who appears to be the lynch pin of the largest deal brewing at the moment. It appears that Pelchen was approached by three AFL clubs - Fremantle, the Kangaroos and Melbourne as to Hay's availability and that the Hawks kept him and his management in the loop in respect of those enquiries. In the end, the Dockers and 'Roos came back but the Demons didn't. Fremantle's offer of draft selection No.10 for Hay has been rejected by Hawthorn and this has given rise to the possibility of the first blockbuster deal of the trade period - a convoluted exchange involving four clubs, four players - Hay, Daniel Motlop, Byron Pickett, Steven Armstrong - and enough picks to satisfy a bloodthirsty matador in a bullfight. The exact details are uncertain but it seems that ityyys all up to the Kangaroos who will start day three mulling over the release of Motlop to Port and draft picks to Hawthorn in exchange for Hay with Pickett going to the Demons in exchange for Armstrong and draft selection 28 which will be traded on to the Hawks. I'm always a tad sceptical when I hear of such complicated transactions and there's also enough in this deal to raise my cynicism metre to record high levels. Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde was still insisting today that there is no way in the world that Pickett, a Norm Smith Medallist would be traded. "Byron has told us he wants to stay and we want him to stay," Rhode said. On the other hand, the Crows who missed out on Motlop when the Kangaroo utility decided to throw in his lot with the Power sounding decidedly piqued. Their football operations manager John Reid said they dropped out of the running for a trade involving Motlop because there were "risk factors" involved. Motlop had a medical and interview with Adelaide coach Neil Craig last week. As for the remaining half of the "Big Four" there was little apparent movement at the station as the second day of trading came to an end. Instead, an even bigger name was being thrown up in the guise of Hawthorn's All-Australian ruckman Peter Everitt who is apparently set to seek a transfer to Sydney despite the fact that he has a year remaining on his contract. All parties involved are playing down the prospects of such a move - a sure sign that something will eventuate on this front in the next day or so ... FOOTNOTE: I've received a number of requests about the rules that the AFL has in place for the trade period, so here goes - ■ All Clubs must exercise at least three draft selections ■ A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a player or players on the primary list of another club ■ A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a single draft selection or multiple draft selections of another club ■ A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a combination of player, players, single draft selection or multiple draft selections of another club ■ Any exchange automatically applies to the 2005 NAB AFL Draft ■ Clubs may not exchange more than five players ■ Clubs may not exchange more than three players in any one transaction or series of related/interdependent transactions ■ Any exchange between two clubs only must include a player ■ Clubs may only exchange draft selections from that year's draft, and not for any future year ■ Clubs may not exchange a player received in any transaction, until the following year ■ For multiple club exchanges involving three or more clubs, it is not a requirement that each club involved make an exchange with each other. In this case, two clubs can exchange a draft selection for a draft selection only, provided the remaining exchanges include the transfer of a player or players ■ A club may exchange a draft selection it has received from another club, provided the selection is not traded directly back to that club ■ Clubs must exercise all draft selections received in any exchange with another club. ■ The full list of the order of selection for the November 26 National Draft prior to the trade period was - Priority 1 Carlton 2 Collingwood 3 Hawthorn Round 1 4 Carlton 5 Collingwood 6 Hawthorn 7 Essendon 8 Richmond 9 Brisbane Lions 10 Fremantle 11 Western Bulldogs 12 Melbourne 13 Kangaroos 14 Port Adelaide 15 Geelong16 Adelaide 17 St Kilda 18 West Coast 19 Sydney Round 2 20 Carlton 21 Collingwood 22 Hawthorn 23 Essendon 24 Richmond 25 Brisbane Lions 26 Fremantle 27 Western Bulldogs 28 Melbourne 29 Kangaroos 30 Port Adelaide 31 Geelong 32 Adelaide 33 St Kilda 34 West Coast 35 Sydney Round 3 * 36 Carlton 37 Collingwood 38 Hawthorn 39 Essendon 40 Richmond 41 Brisbane Lions 42 Fremantle 43 Western Bulldogs 44 Melbourne 45 Kangaroos 46 Port Adelaide 47 Geelong 48 Adelaide 49 St Kilda 50 West Coast 51 Sydney Round 4 52 Carlton 53 Collingwood 54 Hawthorn 55 Essendon 56 Richmond 57 Brisbane Lions 58 Fremantle 59 Western Bulldogs 60 Melbourne 61 Kangaroos 62 Port Adelaide 63 Geelong 64 Adelaide 65 St Kilda 66 West Coast 67 Sydney Round 5 68 Carlton 69 Collingwood 70 Hawthorn 71 Essendon 72 Richmond 73 Brisbane Lions 74 Fremantle 75 Western Bulldogs 76 Melbourne 77 Kangaroos 78 Port Adelaide 79 Geelong 80 Adelaide 81 St Kilda 82 West Coast 83 Sydney Round 6 84 Carlton 85 Collingwood 86 Hawthorn 87 Essendon 88 Richmond 89 Brisbane Lions 90 Fremantle 91 Western Bulldogs 92 Melbourne 93 Kangaroos 94 Port Adelaide 95 Geelong 96 Adelaide 97 St Kilda 98 West Coast 99 Sydney * father/son selections can be made in the third round. DAY THREE - AND THEN THERE WERE THREE When business closed at 5pm AEST on Day Three, the AFL announced that the following trade paperwork had been formally lodged: - 1. Adelaide exchanges Fergus Watts to St Kilda for its round one selection (number 17); 2. Geelong exchanges Paul Chambers to Sydney for its round two selection (number 35) and 3. Collingwood exchanges Richard Cole to Essendon for its round two selection (number 23). The Kangaroos are poised to pick up 19-year-old Daniel McConnell from West Coast in an exchange of first round selections (18 for 13) in what is likely to be the fourth transaction to be concluded although it might also become part of the notorious Jonathan Hay scenario which gets more and more complex and the week rolls on. But the big news of the day was that the "Big Four" suddenly and dramatically evaporated into a "Big Three" when Lance Whitnall re-signed with Carlton for a further two years after ending his contract dispute with the club. Insiders say that the new contract will allow the big redhead sufficient additional pocket money to fill the larder with enough meat pies, chocolates, pasta and other assorted goodies to last a lifetime. That signing and the fact that very few fish are biting for Brendan Fevola given that most potential suitors - including Richmond - lack the space in their salary caps to accommodate him, still leaves the Blues in a bind as they struggle to keep other experienced and disgruntled players, Scott Camporeale and Matthew Lappin. At least, they have Whitnall around whose large girth they can now build their future. The irony of the re-signing of Whitnall at such a high figure is that twelve months ago, the Blues were close to offloading him to St. Kilda but apparently, the sticking point was whether they were prepared to foot some of the bill for the remaining season of his contract. If Lance has an ordinary 2006, I wonder if Carlton will be forced to revisit the same scene at next year's trade week? I have to take back yesterday's suggestion that the powers that be should make an effort to truncate trade week into trade weekend. The Hay/Motlop/Pickett deal which struck a number of snags during the day is becoming so intricate that it now requires an entire weekend just to explain, let alone to get the details onto a fax bound for AFL house. The deal has morphed into a giant monster whose tentacles include a raft of draft picks, the above-mentioned McConnell trade and a new element - Hawthorn's Nathan Lonie who replaces Melbourne's Steven Armstrong. It seems that Armstrong has been gobbled up by the monster and is now out of the picture. Where that leaves Byron Pickett's possible move to the Demons is anyone's guess. And anyone's guess can be applied to the vast array of draft deals that are being concocted by the AFL recruiting and list management people as the trade week caravan rolls on. It's a pity however, that it's not only the recruiting people who are involved publicly in the action. Some of the coaches have entered the fray and, in my view, are not helping improve their own standing nor that of their clubs. Dean Laidley appeared decidedly uncomfortable and unconvincing in threatening Daniel Motlop with the pre-season draft stick after he refused to go to Brisbane in order to clear a path for the Kangaroos to pick up draft pick number 9 which could have been used to secured Hay. "If we land Jonathan Hay, through Brisbane or Melbourne or Port Adelaide, fantastic, and we land him for what we think is fair and reasonable, terrific. Daniel will get his wish. "But, if we don't, I will hang him out to dry," the 'Roos coach said. Kevin Sheedy was not to be outdone by all of this and he fired a warning that the Bombers would take Scott Camporeale in the pre-season draft if a deal could not be done with the Blues. I believe that it's unnecessary for coaches to come out publicly in this way. It does their image no good and their statements are sure to come back and bite them and their clubs on the backside at some time in the future. They should keep their posturing for the draft poker table - if at all. Another aspect of this week is that it has brought to light a story of failed friendships. According to one newspaper report Daniel Motlop "has fallen out with Roos teammates Daniel Wells and Eddie Sansbury and it is understood a friendship with Melbourne's Aaron Davey has also waned." Those who get their men and those who get their fat contracts might be happy campers but trade week is not a time of happiness for all. DAY FOUR - TOO MUCH NOTHING The fourth day of the trade period dawned bringing with it clear evidence that the drawn out horse trading process was in danger of rapidly sinking into oblivion - as a spectator sport anyway. The fact that Melbourne's tabloid newspaper, the Herald Sun, deigned to remove football from its back pages for the first time since the Swans annexed the 2005 AFL premiership on that one day in September was bad enough but did they have to replace it with three pages of reports about a Mickey Mouse game of international cricket? Let's face it. The AFL trade experience is not only overrated - it's bloody boring to boot! That's obvious when our premier sporting newspaper spends so much space trilling about Australia's crushing 93 run win over a hung over World XII in front of a half vacant Telstra Dome. There was plenty of premium space left over at the ground for more than the usual quota of theatregoers but there was even less of that commodity available for football in the HUN's sports pages where the scribes struggled to put an interesting slant on the previous day's exchanges. In any event, most of the trade proceedings were eminently forgettable. The reality is that even the so-called "Big Four" trade names (which had earlier been reduced to three and is now almost certainly down to two given the Tigers' apparent withdrawal from the race for the Fev) were flawed in the eyes of many beholders and the rest of the names being considered were getting down into the hack class. After three days of almost nothing, it was becoming too much for the ordinary punter with the majority of players coming under discussion being those who, during the 2005 season, struggled for regular AFL selection with the clubs that were offloading them. The first trade - cobbled together on day two - had set the tone. The fact that a player who was shunned by his team's selection panel for all 25 weeks of their season could still command a first round draft pick set an unbelievably high bench mark. It pushed the price of a decent footballer through the roof and into the stratosphere. The truth is that the well-administered clubs had planned ahead for this week knowing that it was fraught with danger if they allowed the best of their young talent to remain uncontracted by this time of the year. They ensured that the players they wanted to keep were safely under lock and key and left us with those who, in the main, either weren't going anywhere or those who spent most of the year running around in the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and their Brisbane and Sydney equivalents -the expendables. And that's what the trade week is all about. The expendables. As a result, the trading continued into the fourth day but nothing spectacular happened. An example of nothing spectacular was the fourth trade of the week: - 4. Essendon exchanges Ted Richards and its round four selection (number 55) to Sydney for its round one selection (number 19) and its round three selection (number 51). [A further trade is awaiting the mere formality of paperwork being lodged: 5. West Coast exchanges Daniel McConnell and its round one selection (number 18) to the Kangaroos for their round one selection (number 13) and its round two selection (number 29).] The premiers have now traded away their first three selections in the national draft and, as things currently stand, they won't come into contention on National Draft day until 55. That might well change on day five when the last minute feeding frenzy happens but it shows where the Swans believe they are at and what they think of this year's draft pool. More of nothing. Things will hot up today at just before 2pm when careers will be made and broken. Deals will either end up in the fax machine or the shredder. There are going to be some surprises and some heartache for supporters with familiar faces gone from their teams' lists and others added on. The speculation will continue to mount as the deadline approaches but, as always, a large percentage of the supposedly done deals of draft week will evaporate into thin air and turn into nothing. DAY FIVE - IT'S OVER And so it came to pass that on Friday, 7 October 2005, the long, hard week ended with a record low number of 13 exchanges completed between the AFL clubs. The following trade paperwork was lodged during the AFL's exchange period:- 1. Adelaide exchanges Fergus Watts to St Kilda for its Round One selection (number 17); 2. Geelong exchanges Paul Chambers to Sydney for its Round Two selection (number 35); 3. Collingwood exchanges Richard Cole to Essendon for its Round Two selection (number 23); 4. West Coast exchanges Daniel McDonnell and its Round One selection (number 18) to the Kangaroos for its Round One selection (number 13) and Round Two selection (number 29); 5. Essendon exchanges Ted Richards and its Round Four Selection (number 55) to Sydney for its Round One selection (number 19) and its Round Three selection (number 51); 6. Western Bulldogs exchange Patrick Bowden to Richmond for its Round Four selection (number 56); 7. Sydney exchanges Jason Saddington to Carlton for its Round Four selection (number 52); 8. Hawthorn exchanges Nathan Lonie and its Round Four selection (number 54) to Port Adelaide for its Round One selection (number 14); 9. Hawthorn exchanges Jonathan Hay to the Kangaroos for its Round One selection (number 18, on-traded); 10. Port Adelaide exchanges Byron Pickett and its Round Four selection (number 54, on traded) and its Round Four selection (number 62) to Melbourne for its Round Two selection (number 28), Round Three selection (number 44) and Round Four selection (number 60); 11. The Kangaroos exchange Daniel Motlop to Port Adelaide for its Round Two selection (number 28, on-traded) and Round Three selection (number 46); 12. The Western Bulldogs exchange Jade Rawlings and its Round Three selection (number 43) to the Kangaroos for its Round Three selection (number 46, on-traded) and 13. Sydney exchanges Mark Powell to the Kangaroos for its Round Four selection (number 61). On a club by club basis, this is the final wash up of the trade week activities:- Adelaide Received: Round One Selection (number 17) from St Kilda. Traded: Fergus Watts to St Kilda. Brisbane Lions Did Not Trade Carlton Received: Jason Saddington from Sydney. Traded: Round Four selection (number 52) to Sydney. Collingwood Received: Round Two selection (number 23) from Essendon. Traded: Richard Cole to Essendon. Essendon Received: Richard Cole from Collingwood, Round One selection (number 19) from Sydney and Round Three selection (number 51) from Sydney. Traded: Ted Richards to Sydney, Round Two selection (number 23) to Collingwood and Round Four selection (number 55) to Sydney. Fremantle Did Not Trade Geelong Received: Round Two selection (number 35) from Sydney. Traded: Paul Chambers to Sydney. Hawthorn Received: Round One selection (number 14) from Port Adelaide and Round One selection (number 18) from West Coast, via Kangaroos on-trade. Traded: Jonathan Hay to the Kangaroos, Nathan Lonie to Port Adelaide and Round Four selection (number 54) to Melbourne, via Port Adelaide on-trade. Kangaroos Received: Jonathan Hay from Hawthorn, Daniel McConnell from West Coast, Mark Powell from Sydney, Jade Rawlings from the Western Bulldogs, Round Two selection (number 28) from Melbourne, via Port Adelaide on-trade, Round Three selection (number 43) from the Western Bulldogs, Round One selection (number 18) from West Coast, then on-traded to Hawthorn and Round Three selection (number 46) from Port Adelaide, then on-traded to the Western Bulldogs. Traded: Daniel Motlop to Port Adelaide, Round One selection (number 13) to West Coast, Round One selection (number 18), from West Coast to Hawthorn, Round Two selection (number 29) to West Coast, Round Three selection (number 46), from Port Adelaide to the Western Bulldogs and Round Four selection (number 61) to Sydney. Melbourne Received: Byron Pickett from Port Adelaide, Round Four selection (number 54) from Hawthorn, via Port Adelaide on-trade and Round Four selection (number 62) from Port Adelaide. Traded: Round Two selection (number 28) to the Kangaroos, via Port Adelaide on-trade, Round Three selection (number 44) to Port Adelaide and Round Four selection (number 60) to Port Adelaide. Port Adelaide Received: Nathan Lonie from Hawthorn, Daniel Motlop from the Kangaroos, Round Three selection (number 44) from Melbourne, Round Four selection (number 60) from Melbourne, Round Two selection (number 28) from Melbourne, then on-traded to the Kangaroos and Round Four selection (number 54) from Hawthorn, then on-traded to Melbourne. Traded: Byron Pickett to Melbourne, Round One selection (number 14) to Hawthorn, Round Two selection (number 28) from Melbourne to the Kangaroos, Round Three selection (number 46) to the Western Bulldogs, via the Kangaroos, Round Four selection (number 54) from Hawthorn to Melbourne and Round Four selection (number 60) to Melbourne. Richmond Received: Patrick Bowden from the Western Bulldogs. Traded: Round Four selection (number 56) to the Western Bulldogs. St Kilda Received: Fergus Watts from Adelaide. Traded: Round One selection (number 17) to Adelaide. Sydney Received: Paul Chambers from Geelong, Ted Richards from Essendon, Round Four selection (number 52) from Carlton, Round Four selection (number 55) from Essendon and Round Four selection (number 61) from the Kangaroos. Traded: Jason Saddington to Carlton, Mark Powell to the Kangaroos, Round One selection (number 19) to Essendon, Round Two selection (number 35) to Geelong and Round Three selection (number 51) to Essendon. West Coast Received: Round One selection (number 13) from the Kangaroos and Round Two selection (number 29) from the Kangaroos. Traded: Daniel McConnell to the Kangaroos and Round One selection (number 18) to Hawthorn, via the Kangaroos. Western Bulldogs Received: Round Three selection (number 46) from Port Adelaide, via the Kangaroos and Round Four selection (number 56) from Richmond. Traded: Patrick Bowden to Richmond, Jade Rawlings to the Kangaroos and Round Three selection (number 43) to the Kangaroos. An indicative list of draft order at this stage is (subject to change when delistings take place) as follows :- Priority 1 Carlton 2 Collingwood 3 Hawthorn Round 1 4 Carlton 5 Collingwood 6 Hawthorn 7 Essendon 8 Richmond 9 Brisbane Lions 10 Fremantle 11 Western Bulldogs 12 Melbourne 13 West Coast 14 Hawthorn 15 Geelong 16 Adelaide 17 Adelaide 18 Hawthorn 19 Essendon Round 2 20 Carlton 21 Collingwood 22 Hawthorn 23 Collingwood 24 Richmond 25 Brisbane Lions 26 Fremantle 27 Western Bulldogs 28 Kangaroos 29 West Coast 30 Port Adelaide 31 Geelong 32 Adelaide 33 St Kilda 34 West Coast 35 Geelong Round 3 * 36 Carlton 37 Collingwood 38 Hawthorn 39 Essendon 40 Richmond 41 Brisbane Lions 42 Fremantle 43 Kangaroos 44 Port Adelaide 45 Kangaroos 46 Western Bulldogs 47 Geelong 48 Adelaide 49 St Kilda 50 West Coast 51 Essendon Round 4 52 Sydney 53 Collingwood 54 Melbourne 55 Sydney 56 Western Bulldogs 57 Brisbane Lions 58 Fremantle 59 Western Bulldogs 60 Port Adelaide 61 Sydney 62 Melbourne 63 Geelong 64 Adelaide 65 St Kilda 66 West Coast 67 Sydney Round 5 68 Carlton 69 Collingwood 70 Hawthorn 71 Essendon 72 Richmond 73 Brisbane Lions 74 Fremantle 75 Western Bulldogs 76 Melbourne 77 Kangaroos 78 Port Adelaide 79 Geelong 80 Adelaide 81 St Kilda 82 West Coast 83 Sydney Round 6 84 Carlton 85 Collingwood 86 Hawthorn 87 Essendon 88 Richmond 89 Brisbane Lions 90 Fremantle 91 Western Bulldogs 92 Melbourne 93 Kangaroos 94 Port Adelaide 95 Geelong 96 Adelaide 97 St Kilda 98 West Coast 99 Sydney * father/son selections can be made in the third round. DAY FIVE - PICKETT FENCES Shortly before the 2004 AFL National Draft, Jenny McAsey wrote an intriguing (and almost prophetic) article in The Australian newspaper outlining some of the recruiting and list management philosophies recently embraced by Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos. Like many other progressive sports coaches and administrators Roos has taken on board the radical views of Billy Beane, general manager of California's Oakland Athletics Major League baseball team, as portrayed in the US best selling book "Moneyball" by author Michael Lewis. Beane disdains the conventional wisdom that it is of paramount importance to build up large stocks of raw, young, untried talent in order to develop a winning team. He uses statistical data to back up the view that there are many of instances where players can add value to a team sport from outside the traditional national draft system. A major example is the concept of picking up late maturers. "The draft has never been anything but a f***ing crapshoot," Billy Beane had taken to saying. "We take 50 guys and we celebrate if two of them make it. In what other business is two for 50 a success? If you did that in the stock market you'd go broke." That's a quote from Lewis' book and Roos believes that this view applies with respect to the AFL Draft. Earlier in the week, I provided some data on the team Roos coached to the 2005 AFL premiership which demonstrated that there were very few early draft selections within the ranks - certainly nothing like their opponents on grand final day. The West Coast Eagles included choice early draft picks such as Chris Judd, Ashley Sampi, Michael Gardiner, Drew Banfield and David Wirrpunda - all of who were in the top five of their drafts (although Wirrpunda was picked up in a special draft for 16 year olds). Roos and his team carried out a study of draft selections over 13 drafts between 1989 and 2001 which showed that if you had selection 10 in a given draft, the prospect of that player developing into a "good to very good player" was around 40 per cent. On that basis, and because of Sydney's fifth placing in the 2004 season, Roos determined to sell his club's first round selection (number 15) for a mature ruckman, Melbourne's Darren Jolly, rather than to chance it in the draft with an untried novice which he considered a high risk way to build future success. The theory even questions the various tests that 17 and 18 year old hopefuls are put through at the National Draft Camp because research shows only two - reaction time and speed over 20 metres - bear any relation to a youngster's chances of being a good AFL player "What Billy Beane basically said was don't take high school kids because they are normally a bust, and that is exactly what we are doing in our draft. He is attacking our whole system, saying it doesn't work," Roos said. "My view is the draft age is too young because I don't think the guys are fully developed. That is why a lot of them don't go on and play much AFL football. They don't get bigger, they don't get quicker, they don't develop the way the clubs project they will. It is just crystal-balling." By adopting this standard into drafting practice Roos went into the 2004 National Draft with three selections 31, 47 and 61 and he used the later two on players with existing AFL experience - former Cat David Spriggs and a previously delisted Swan, Heath James. Neither of these choices proved to be particularly inspirational but what would they have uncovered had the Swans gone for teenagers at that level? Probably, players like Heath Grundy who they picked up in the rookie draft anyway. The success of Roos' approach underlines how difficult it is to assess the performance of the AFL clubs in trade weeks. The clubs that under performed in 2005 - Carlton, Collingwood and Hawthorn - went into the week with two selections each in the top six. These are the best of the draft choices, the ones where the chances of finding a "good to very good player" are scientifically a little over the 50% mark xxx even in an ordinary draft year which is exactly how the pundits look at the current draft pool. The very early draft choices are still valuable but once you get past the top ten, xxx worth looking at other options. Losing lower selections xxx particularly anything below 20 in this skinny draft is not a high-risk strategy if you believe in Billy Beane. The problem with the 2005 exchange period is that there were not that many mature age players of any quality available in the trades. Leaving aside names like Luke Power and Peter Everitt that were never in the serious discussion stages, only two of the "Big Four" names made it through the sale yard - Jonathan Hay and Daniel Motlop - and it can be argued that both were damaged goods in any event for both on and off field reasons. The majority of the others were expendables but the stand out traded player in my estimation is Port Adelaide's Byron Pickett who Melbourne gained in exchange for its second round draft pick (28) and a swap of later selections that were well outside the comfort zone of valued draft picks. Pickett has already played in two premiership teams and a little over twelve months ago was a Norm Smith Medallist in Port Adelaide's premiership side. He's a hard-bodied midfielder/forward who will add some much needed toughness into the Demons' line up. With respect to the Magpies and Hawks who accumulated additional draft selections, the proof of the pudding will not materialise until a long way into the future and will depend of the skills of their recruiting people. Carlton kept its selections intact but it also kept a worrisome player in Brendan Fevola and re-contracted Lance Whitnall at a much higher remuneration than what they would have preferred. Scott Camporeale and Matthew Lappin remain in limbo. Although these lowly clubs are being hailed for having courage in going for youth and building up a stockpile of early draft choices, they may well rue the fact that in doing so, they have ignored the science of drafting.

by Whispering Jack There was a fleeting moment in mid June when the fairy tale seemed at long last to be turning into reality for the Melbourne Football Club. The difficult summer had begun with the Indian Ocean tsunami and the loss of a Demon son. The rest of it was a bit of a daze as the Melbourne family came to grips with the tragedy but with autumn, things turned for the better. By early winter, the future looked promising. At least, that's how it seemed... The Demons were sitting in second place on the ladder with a win/loss ratio of 9 to 12 after soundly beating the old enemy Collingwood on the Queens Birthday in front of one of the biggest crowds of the season. They loomed as a genuine premiership threat with wins over a number of fellow finals contenders including the ultimate premier in Sydney and the end of season ladder leader Adelaide along with big victories over Geelong and the Kangaroos at Manuka. They had opened the season in style with a tasteful tribute to their fallen hero in the Troy Broadbridge Memorial Game against Essendon which they won by 46 points. They went from strength to strength until Cameron Bruce's injury and a rousing second half from St. Kilda saw them lose for the first time in round four but by mid season, the momentum was gathering despite some ominous signs in that loss and a poor showing against the lowly Hawks and an unexpected defeat in a home ground shoot-out with the Dockers. By the time they beat the Magpies in round twelve, the Demons were on a roll with four consecutive wins and a top of the ladder confrontation with the Eagles just five days away. And then it struck. The West Coast game saw a tired Melbourne fall in the end by a mere 15 points - a reasonable result given that the Eagles had a full three days extra to prepare and the Demons were without their skipper David Neitz. After that however, the Dees went into freefall and by the end of round 19 they had fallen into a deep, dark hole of despair with seven losses in a row and a catastrophic drop to 11th place on the ladder. Cinderella's glass slipper was being packed away when Melbourne trailed Geelong by 34 points close to half time of their round 20 encounter at Skilled Stadium. That was when thoughts of that much anticipated fairy tale ending were suddenly and unexpectedly revived. The Demons dug deep into the well that day and came back from the dead on two occasions to record their first win over the Cats at Skilled Stadium since 1988 in a one point thriller. The following week saw them come from behind again with the last four goals to secure the points against the Bulldogs and, in the final round of the season a bouncing goal from Russell Robertson saw them safely back in the finals. Unfortunately, by then injuries and emotion had taken their toll. The Demons were spent and they went out of the finals race without a whimper - eliminated in the first week of the business end for the second year in a row. There has been a lot said and written about Melbourne's seven-match black hole in the latter half of the season. There will be a lot of soul searching about what happened and why. Was it the coaching, fitness, skills, leadership, hardness at the ball or lack thereof, the club's culture or some deep psychological reason that defies explanation? Whatever the case, there is little doubt that every aspect of the club is under scrutiny - including, of course, the team list. One of last year's highlights was the advancement of the club's younger players. It was a fantastic achievement that the Demons managed to produce the first two place getters in the National Rising Star award in Jared Rivers and Aaron Davey. Brad Miller lifted several notches and started to gain recognition as one of the better centre half forwards in the competition and future young guns Brock McLean, Colin Sylvia and Daniel Bell all made their AFL debut. This year things were different. Chris Johnson, in his second season at the club, was the only player new to the AFL scene and he played only a handful of games. Brent Moloney from Geelong was a gem of a recruit in the midfield while the only other newcomer to get an AFL game was ruckman Paul Johnson who had limited game time but covered himself in glory at Sandringham where he gathered a premiership medallion and won the JJ Liston Trophy for the competition's best and fairest. First year draftees Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn and Michael Newton were the youngest, second youngest and fourth youngest players drafted in the entire AFL competition last year. From the outset, they were going to spend their initial season developing at Sandringham. The club is clearly mindful of the need to initiate players into the system slowly and deliberately rather than follow the example of Josh Fraser at Collingwood who wasn't expected to play a senior game in first season but ended up playing most of the year. Many observers blame this on his recent serious injury problems of recent times. There was a dearth of big improvers at the club over 2005. Travis Johnstone and Russell Robertson were models of consistent, improved performance throughout the year. Brock McLean gained ground earlier in the year and Nathan Carroll came good with a rush late in the season. Two players who I had written off for their slow and lumbering performances in the 2004 Elimination Final - Alistair Nicholson and Ben Holland - surprised me with their form. I expected them both to make a minimal contribution to the cause this year. In fact, they were handy players for the club - especially when the chips were down. On the whole however, too many players failed to make the forward strides necessary to ensure that the club would progress further than last year. One of the players whose form slipped was Jeff White but despite that he remains Melbourne's most important and influential player on my list. Although his output declined (as a result of many factors including the centre circle rule) in 2005, he retained the number 1 placing - a fact that might be regarded as indicative of the club's problems. When I listed him first in 2004 I made the comment that I was "sure that there will be very few who would disagree with my ranking of him as number one although I hope that circumstances allow him to have more ruck support in 2005." Unfortunately, that assistance failed to materialise in 2005 but nevertheless, it still remains a major talking point in any consideration of the Melbourne playing list. Incidentally, as highly as I rate White, I don't consider him an "untouchable" in the trade talks for next week although the likelihood that he would be traded is remote. Such is the game these days that no player over the age of 23 at a club that has tasted so little success can avoid this tag (I'd even trade the fairy godmother if it could improve the list). But that's another story for another time... As for the other rankings, I have no doubt that there will be fierce debate about them, so here goes my usual word of warning about these Player Ratings - they are the personal opinion of one individual and I would never expect everybody to agree with them. And here are my end of 2005 player ratings - 1 Jeff White [1 in 2004] - the story of Melbourne in 2004 when he rucked tirelessly throughout most of the season before running out of steam at the end. This year the All Australian ruckman found life a lot harder with the centre circle rule and the fact that, at 195 cm and 28 years of age, it was becoming more and more difficult to cope with the Everitts and the Coxes. Despite all that, he was steady without being prolific throughout the season both as a ruckman and in the midfield before he really showed his true capabilities in those last three home and away games. A kick in the head from Geelong's Stephen King in the Elimination saw him exit the main stage. In a way, that was the story of Melbourne in 2005. [Number 34, Height 195cm, Weight 98kg, Date of Birth 19.02.77, Debut in AFL, 1995, From FREMANTLE (AFL), Games 2005 - 23, Total Games 207, Goals 2005 7, Total Goals 88] 2 Travis Johnstone [6] - it's been a long time coming but this gifted talent finally turned on the skills on a consistent basis from week to week and throughout whole games. He was the AFL's leading kick getter and the catalyst in many of the club's winning matches. To top it all off, he was also there plugging away when the team was losing, something that can't be said for everyone on the list. [16, 186, 85, 17.07.80, 1998, DANDENONG U18, 22, 123,15, 94] 3 Russell Robertson [9] - returned to his 2003 form when he was club champion. This time however, his game went up a notch because his kicking, once the subject of great despair as well as derision among Demon fans, improved out of sight. Finished with a career high 73 goals for the season and won a few games off his own boot. [24, 184, 90, 24.11.78, 1997, TASSIE U18, 23, 167, 73, 299] 4 Adem Yze [2] - opened the season in fine style but injuries curtailed him in the latter half of the season. He played in a forward pocket for most of the season and was not as prolific a ball winner as in previous seasons. Has managed to take his unbroken record of consecutive games played to over 200 and while most of them were pure quality, his game declined dramatically late in the season - probably under the weight of injury. Needs to come back refreshed and fit in 2006. [13, 187, 87, 21.09.77, 1995, MURRAY U18, 23, 233, 41, 195] 5 Cameron Bruce [3] - polled eight Brownlow votes in the opening three rounds and was being dubbed as the "next James Hird". All that came crashing down when a tackle from Brent Guerra in the first thirty seconds took him out for several weeks. He never recovered the early season magic and injured his knee in the return match against St. Kilda. Came back in the elimination final but it was far too early. [32, 190, 88, 30.09.79, 2000, MELBOURNE SUPP, 15, 122, 20, 152] 6 Brad Green [5] - I rated him below his 2004 season because he lacked the necessary consistency this year. When he was good, he was very good but he also had some quiet patches. [18, 184, 85, 13.03.81, 2000, TASSIE U18, 21, 125, 28, 183] 7 David Neitz [4] - had a horror year and was plagued by a number of injuries, which prevented him from having his normal impact both as a forward and as the team's skipper. In his own interests, permit me to repeat what I said about him last year - "Perhaps, the time has come for Neita to consider giving away the captaincy in order to concentrate more on his own game?" [9, 193, 100, 22.01.75, 1993, PARKMORE, 18, 265, 39, 534] 8 Nathan Brown [7] - struggled for consistency in 2005 but is a fearless competitor giving plenty of run and dash as usual. An important backman who likes to run through the lines and set up opportunities further afield. [25, 180, 81, 14.08.76, 1998, W. ADELAIDE (SA), 22, 118, 4, 30] 9 Brent Moloney [new] - Melbourne's big trade acquisition of the off-season is a player of considerable strength and talent. At 21 years of age, he showed great maturity as a hard nosed midfielder with a prodigious kick. He will be an asset to the club for many years to come. [22, 181, 88, 28.01.84, 2003, GEELONG (AFL), 21, 44, 2, 8] 10 Matthew Whelan [8] - was outstanding early and then was sorely missed when injured and out for several weeks. On return he soon recaptured his skill and form with some real gutsy performances but seemed to be affected after his involvement in the Nathan Brown's season ending injury against Richmond. A cool and determined defender with plenty of talent. [45, 180, 83, 13.11.79, 2000, W'VILLE-WT (SA), 16, 104, 1, 10] 11 Aaron Davey [16] - continued on from where he left off in his sensational debut season. His lightning quick pace, sure ball handling and strong defensive play was a highlight and he deserved the recognition he gained in his high placing in the club champion polling. [36, 177, 72, 10.06.83, 2004, PORT MELBOURNE (VFL), 23, 42, 0, 58] 12 Brad Miller [13] - added aggression to his repertoire but possibly went a little overboard and earned the wrath of the umpires and the match review panel. Worked hard as a key forward and was invaluable on occasion when called upon to go back into defence to take some big forward scalps. Strong leadership potential. [7, 192, 91, 06.07.83, 2002, MT. GRAVATT (Q), 18, 60, 6, 20] 13 James McDonald [12] - continued to play the role of the hard working unobtrusive midfielder who again didn't get enough credit for his efforts. However, he appeared to be carrying injuries and his effectiveness tapered off late in the season. [23, 180, 78, 05.10.76, 1997, OLD XAVERIANS, 21, 153, 2, 39] 14 Paul Wheatley [15] - his career is starting to finally blossom after a low patch a couple of years ago. He has size and pace and is a prodigious kick and he is sure to have more responsibility in the backline as his career continues to develop. [31, 189, 90, 12.04.81, 2000, PRESTON U18, 21, 92, 3, 26] 15 Brock McLean [19] - continued to show great maturity and was unaffected by the second year "jitters". A strong player who uses the ball well, McLean underlined his immense talent with nine Brownlow votes from three best on grounds and could have polled even better but for a nagging groin injury that hampered him in the second half of the season. Fourth in the National Bank Rising Star Award. [5, 184, 85, 11.03.86, 2004, CALDER U18, 20, 29, 6, 11] 16 Alistair Nicholson [20] - injury curtailed his pre-season and he looked finished as an AFL footballer after some dreadful form in his early games. To his credit, he came back strongly to collect some notable scalps in Fevola and Tarrant as the team's tallest defender. He has convinced the coach but many others remain sceptical about his ability to hold down a key defensive position against all comers. [8, 197, 102, 04.03.78, 1997, CLAREMONT (WA), 14, 110, 0, 3] 17 Jared Rivers [11] - came down to earth after a stellar 2004 when he was the winner of the National Bank Rising Star award. He still showed courage, skill and maturity but he had a few bad days and a broken wrist against the Dockers at Subiaco ruined his season. [27, 192, 85, 18.10.84, 2003, N. ADELAIDE (SA), 14, 39, 0, 0] 18 Clint Bizzell [10] - the former "general" of the club's backline was at his best a few years ago when he occupied a key defensive position and took on much taller opponents on a weekly basis. He was disappointing in the latter part of the season as a floating defender and was dropped before the finals. On that basis, the decision to award him a three-year contract at the end of 2004 was not one of the club's best. [188, 89, 28.06.76, 1996, GEELONG (AFL), 20, 153, 0, 79] 19 Daniel Bell [24] - advanced his career and is now on the verge of becoming a regular in the best 22. He is a player who seems to always get crunched but shows great courage in getting up and going on with it. A solid defender, Bell has plenty of pace and hardness and he might earn a midfield role in the next season or two. [21, 186, 83, 13.04.85, 2004, GLENELG (SA), 13, 16, 0, 0] 20 Nathan Carroll [34] - surprised by emerging out of the doldrums in the VFL to put in some strong, courageous performances at full back deep into the season. Shows just what a new haircut and a bottle of peroxide can do for your image! [41, 191, 91, 20.10.80, 2003, CLAREMONT (WA), 6, 17, 0, 0] 21 Mark Jamar [25] - was used sparingly by the Demons as back up ruckman but performed strongly at Sandringham. The club has patience bearing in mind the slow development of most big men and he is certain to gain more game time in 2006. [40, 198, 98, 09.08.83, 2003, N. ADELAIDE (SA), 8, 20, 1, 3] 22 Ben Holland [31] - after a truly dreadful elimination final at the end of 2004, Holland picked himself up and worked his way back into the senior team. He showed a lot of endeavour and grit to show that he was more than a tall, marking option on the forward line who could pinch-hit as a ruckman. Despite that, his awkward lumbering style and average standard kicking still raises some question marks about his future. [4, 198, 101, 10.05.77, 1996, RICHMOND (AFL) 17, 163, 18, 163] 23 Colin Sylvia [29] - injuries in his first two seasons at the club have hampered his development but, he showed on a number of occasions during the year that he is a prodigious talent. The pressure will be on him to produce in 2006. [12, 184, 85, 08.11.85, 2004, BENDIGO U18, 16, 19, 8, 9] 24 Ryan Ferguson [32] - came back well after his 2004 season was ruined by a shoulder injury. Shows courage and coolness in defence but is competing against a number of players for a key backline position. [35, 195, 87, 29.09.81, 2003, FRANKSTON (VFL), 19, 36, 3, 4] 25 Guy Rigoni [33] - despite his aging legs, Riggers effectively used his experience and football smarts to work his way back into the Demons' side after a hot and cold season and was an effective player coming off the bench and into the midfield late in the year. [43, 181, 85, 17.07.74, 1998, MYRTLEFORD, 11, 107, 4, 35] 26 Shannon Motlop [new] - plucked out of the Northern Territory summer football competition as a list replacement for Troy Broadbridge, Motlop had no pre season and needed time to get himself right for the AFL after a gap of two or three years. In the circumstances, he adapted well although hampered by some nagging hamstring problems. Showed flashes of brilliance and will no doubt be better with a full pre season under his belt next year. [44,182, 88, 18.08.78, 1999, N. ADELAIDE (SA), 7, 61, 5, 36] 27 Paul Johnson [new] - didn't set the world on fire in his debut season with Melbourne when he was used mainly as a relief ruckman for Jeff White. At VFL level, he won the JJ Liston Trophy and made great strides as a developing ruckman. Needs to work over summer to build up his strength and marking. [11, 199, 106, 26.06.84, 2004, WEST COAST (AFL), 8, 9, 0, 0] 28 Simon Godfrey [30] - a hard nut who gives 100% effort every time he takes the field but his lack of skill, particularly in delivery of the football and decision making, and his failure to make significant improvement in these areas has severely limited his potential at AFL level. [30, 184, 86, 18.10.80, 2000, MELBOURNE SUPP, 12, 72, 4, 12] 29 Chris Heffernan [17] - his form was inconsistent and an injury late in the season didn't help. Despite a fabulous finals series for Sandringham, looks to be on his way out. [1, 186, 85, 29.01.79, 1997, ESSENDON (AFL), 9, 144, 1, 48] 30 Phil Read [18] - constantly broke down with a number of hamstring injuries during the year and failed to produce much in his rare appearances with the Demons. [28, 180, 80, 20.10.79, 1998, WEST COAST (AFL), 8, 103, 3, 31] 31 Daniel Ward [21] - a shoulder injury during the pre season curtailed his year and Ward was restricted to a handful of games. With the younger brigade putting their hands up for opportunities in defence, he finished the year at Sandringham where he showed with a spectacular finals series that he still has something to offer. [10, 185, 84, 09.07.77, 1998, FITZROY (SUPP.), 4, 101, 0, 25] 32 Steven Armstrong [26] - the talented young midfielder who was injured in the Bali bombing of October 2002 after an encouraging debut season has failed to step up to regular AFL status despite some good form in the VFL. His pace has always been suspect and it appears that he will continue his career elsewhere in 2006. [2, 180, 81, 12.01.84, 2002, PERTH (WA), 6, 43, 2, 21] 33 Chris Johnson [39] - had his share of injuries in 2004 and worked hard to make his debut against the Hawks at the MCG. His debut game wasn't much to write home about - he was reported and narrowly missed suspension - but he made rapid improvement as the season went on and won himself a few more games. A definite prospect. [17, 189, 79, 25.01.86, 2005, E. F'MANTLE (WA), 4, 4, 0, 0] 34 Luke Williams [37] - played a handful of games with Melbourne and spent the majority of the year at Sandringham. Unfortunately, seemed stuck in that intermediate world between VFL and AFL and his career at Melbourne was in doubt by the end of the year. [26, 185, 85, 29.12.79, 1999, OAKLEIGH U18, 3, 51, 0, 10] 35 Matthew Bate [new] - showed great promise at Sandringham without settling the world on fire. Melbourne would be happy with his progress and his versatility. As a defender, he shut down Collingwood's Rusling and Geelong's N. Ablett but he was also used as an on baller and a forward. [6, 191, 88, 24.05.87, *, EASTERN U18, 0, 0, 0, 0] 36 Nick Smith [35] - an injured wrist destroyed his pre season and kept him out of the game early. Then a knee injury wrecked almost all of what was left of the season. If he retains his spot on the list, Smith faces a make or break year in 2006. [15, 196, 97, 27.08.84, 2003, NORWOOD (SA), 0, 3, 0, 0] 37 Matthew Warnock (rookie) [new] - drafted from Sandringham, Warnock is a tall, rangy defender who showed real improvement at the Trevor Barker Oval and played a vital full back role in the finals where he beat all comers including the VFL's leading goalkicker. Another strong season could see his promotion off the rookie list. [37, 192, 88, 03.04.84, *, SANDRINGHAM (VFL) 0, 0, 0, 0] 38 Lynden Dunn [new] - tall and athletic, Dunn fluctuated between the interchange for Sandy seniors and the reserves. He was very good at the latter level (kicking 9 goals at FF and CHF in one game) but struggled for game time when promoted. As the objective of his year was development, I don't see that as being problematic at this stage of his career. More importantly, he has grown a few centimetres since being drafted and he has learned a lot by training with the Demons' squad. [14, 192, 90, 14.05.87, *, CALDER U18, 0, 0, 0, 0] 39 Michael Newton [new] - injury impeded his progress and he never advanced beyond the Sandringham reserves where he showed out on occasion. [29, 193, 88, 27.04.87, *, MURRAY U18, 0, 0, 0, 0] 40 Cameron Hunter [40] - went backwards in 2005 and played in just one final with the Zebra seniors. Almost certain to be traded or delisted. [33, 186, 71, 30.03.84, 2003, CALDER U18, 0, 2, 0, 0] 41 Brendan Van Schaik (rookie) [new] - the young beanpole rookie had one senior game with the Zebras down in Tassie early in the season and impressed with his ruckwork. Injuries prevented him from playing much of a role and, being a big man, is still in the early phase of his football development. [38, 203, 98, 02.07.86, *, MURRAY U18, 0, 0, 0, 0] * yet to make his AFL debut FOOTNOTE: When I look back at the list of rankings and compare it with what might be a similar list at the top four clubs, the one thing that stands out clearly to me is that Melbourne needs more tough, hard players - particularly midfielders - to step into the top ten rankings at the club. Some of that talent is already there but still in the development phase - players like Moloney, McLean, Sylvia, Bell and Bate. Perhaps a few more players of this ilk gained through the trades and the draft might bring the elusive fairy tale a few steps closer to reality in the near future.

by The Oracle "The world's spinning madly, it drifts in the dark Swings through a hollow of haze, A race around the stars, a journey through The universe ablaze with changes." From "Changes" by Phil Ochs A couple of years ago I wrote about how I really love this time of year. There's a distinct change in seasons as we drift from winter into spring and suddenly we're into sunny days and warm weather. In the blink of an eye, it's summer time and the living is easy. It's easy for most us but not for those in charge of managing an AFL playing list. You need only look around at the frenzy in the media, around offices and workplaces, in pubs and bars and on the internet surrounding the myriad of trade and draft stories that abound at this time of year. There is so much argy bargy allegedly going on that if you believed all the rumours, then every AFL football manager would be going bonkers just trying to keep pace with his own club's player movements. It's a good thing however, that those with their fingers on the pulse (i.e. the football club managers) only need to deal in fact and not fiction because for every trade fact that emerges at this time of the year, there are dozens of tales that are no more than unsubstantiated rumours with little or no chance of coming to fruition. Most of them are figments of mischievous imaginations or, as Confucius once said, "Man who think too much about player trades, get warts on hands." Amen. Still, there have been a few interesting trade possibilities to emerge over the past month or so and these are the ones that seem to have a basis of fact in them. Players mentioned as being on the move are Luke Power (Brisbane Lions), Daniel Motlop (Kangaroos), Jimmy Bartel (Geelong), Lance Whitnall (Carlton), Byron Pickett (Port Adelaide), Jonathan Hay (Hawthorn), Brendan Fevola (Carlton), Graham Polak (Fremantle), Shannon Grant (Kangaroos), Paul Medhurst (Fremantle) and Nathan Eagleton (Western Bulldogs). They are players who are either out of contract or have asked or been asked to move on and appear set to move elsewhere. Then there is the Melbourne contingent... I'm one of those who doesn't like it when I hear claims made that one of our favoured sons is about to pack his bags and head off to some other club. We have the highly publicised situation involving Adem Yze whose contract is being renegotiated as we speak; a club champion who some believe should be offered as trade bait in order to snare a much needed big name, perhaps a hard inside midfielder or a tough key position player. Clint Bizzell and Daniel Ward are in contract but are also said to be in the trade mix while the club has already agreed to part ways with Steven Armstrong. And other names are certain to be added to the list of those who will soon depart. One interesting name being bandied about is that of Shane Woewodin who left the club in controversial circumstances in late 2002 - a victim of the club's then salary cap woes. Now they say he could be back. Stranger things have happened in football. I'm not frightened of the possibility that one or more Demon stars may be playing elsewhere in 2006 and beyond. In fact, change has become such an inevitable fact of life in football that sometimes I wonder why it still manages to frighten people. Former Carlton and Hawthorn premiership coach David Parkin always used to say that he aimed to have at least five fresh faces in his team at the start of every new season - even with his premiership sides. He knew that changes must happen for teams to advance from year to year - whether the fans liked it or not! For every face that disappears from the club scene, another new one will emerge to replace it. Following the Nick Stevens and Jade Rawlings sagas of 2003, clubs have come to realise that if you want to get quality, you have to give away some quality. Trading is no longer about one club screwing the other and that's how it should be. After yet another disappointing year full of false hope, our football department has the obligation to ensure that the result of changes through trading and drafting will be a stronger list than the one that represented the Demons in 2005; that the deficiencies of the season are covered either by natural improvement of the existing players or by the introduction of new recruits. The club can't afford another fade out like the ones that haunted it at the end of the last two playing seasons. This is the time to make decisions that will influence the club's future and that means changes to the playing list, possibly to the coaching mix and certainly changes in the style of game the team plays. Inevitably, that means we need new faces and the need to offload some of the old ones. It is no accident that Sydney, West Coast, Adelaide and St. Kilda comprised the top four in 2005. The Swans' premiership team included some handy players picked up over the years in trades, Jason Ball, Paul Williams, Craig Bolton, Barry Hall, Nick Davis and, of course, Darren Jolly for who they gave up a first round draft pick twelve months ago. The Eagles and the Crows also bolstered their lists over the summer to catapult them to the top at the end of the home and away rounds. A couple of years ago, St. Kilda lost Peter Everitt and Barry Hall who might have been considered indispensable by some supporters at the time but their trading ultimately resulted in a stronger St. Kilda. Another reason why we shouldn't fear change is that there are a lot of hidden gems out there in draft territory while others are out there waiting for a change of scenery to achieve personal improvement in their game. So the next weeks and months promise to be fascinating and this is how it all will unfold:- This coming week, the various club scouts have gathered for the AFL draft camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra to assess the young hopefuls in anticipation of the National Draft. Next week, the real trade frenzy begins with a weeklong exchange period when players (and draft selection positions) will be bought and sold in the trade market. It will be a nerve-wracking time for some and there is little doubt that we will see some of our old favourites moved on in the process. More change. And the exchange period will pave the way for the 26 November draft lottery in which Melbourne's first choice currently sits at pick 12. We won't know the final order of the draft until after the exchange period. And after that, mid December will bring the Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts, where lists can be further topped up with recycled or previously rejected players and some trainee youngsters. This is the list that Neale Daniher currently has at his disposal but you can be sure that by the end of December there will be changes:- MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - PLAYING LIST (SEASON 2005): SENIOR LIST: Steven Armstrong, Matthew Bate, Daniel Bell, Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown, Cameron Bruce, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, Ryan Ferguson, Simon Godfrey, Brad Green, Chris Heffernan, Ben Holland, Cameron Hunter, Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson, Paul Johnson, Travis Johnstone, James McDonald, Brock McLean Brad Miller, Brent Moloney, Shannon Motlop*, Michael Newton, Alistair Nicholson, Phil Read, Guy Rigoni, Jared Rivers, Russell Robertson, Nick Smith, Colin Sylvia, Daniel Ward, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Whelan, Jeff White, Luke Williams, Adem Yze. VETERAN LIST: David Neitz. ROOKIE LIST: Brendan Van Shaik, Matthew Warnock. * replaced Troy Broadbridge (deceased) CENTRE STAGE - THE AFL NATIONAL DRAFT CAMP PART ONE The big time footballers are now off centre stage for a few months. Many are enjoying well-earned rests after a long, hard season of sweat and toil. The winners (Sydney) are grinning and the rest are, well, you know what the rest do, don't you? For the next two or three months football's centre stage will be occupied by the club's football departments, list managers and recruiters - the people in charge of deciding which new faces are to be introduced into the fold by way or trades and the drafts. These people also fulfil the role of the grim reapers of football in that they must decide which footballers are surplus to their clubs' requirements and then tell them that their time there has come to an end. A few of those players might claw their way back onto the scene through trading, a small number get back in the drafts but the majority are left on the football scrap heap. Their days are over. They must leave centre stage for good to make way for youth. The spring and the early summer are devoted in the main to the young and the football action moves to Canberra today where the seventy-three of the very best young footballers from around Australia will attend the 2005 AFL Draft Camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. The purpose of the camp is to assess the elite of the country's under 18 age footballers ahead of the National Draft, which will be held this year on 26 November. A further 112 players will also be tested early next month at half-day screening camps held in each capital city. The players who earned their invitations have, of course, been under the scrutiny of the AFL scouts for years, in most cases from their very early teens. The majority have played in under age competitions like the TAC Cup in Victoria or junior age teams in the other states. A few, particularly in South and Western Australia have already played at senior level. Most of the elite footballers were on display representing their states in the National Under 18 Championships and some have already attracted the attention of recruiting scouts and discerning club supporters on the lookout for the next "big thing". What they're all looking for are players who will go on and play the game at the highest level, at the highest standard and for a long time. The 200 game plus player. What are the attributes of these elusive youngsters? Prior to the national titles, a Herald Sun article set out the 14 key performance indicators that AFL talent scouts use to rank players. I'll reproduce it here as a guide to the many factors used as benchmarks in assessing young players - 1. Kicking ability - Nathan Buckley, Nigel Lappin 2. Marking ability - Jonathan Brown, Warren Tredrea 3. Handpassing/vision-awareness - Simon Black, Scott West 4. Clean hands - Andrew McLeod, Luke Power 5. Ball-winning ability - James Hird, Nick Riewoldt 6. Pace - Jason Akermanis, Chris Judd 7. Endurance - Shane Crawford, Cameron Ling 8. Recovery and agility - Matthew Scarlett, Chris Johnson 9. Durability - Jared Crouch, Adam Simpson 10. Leadership and self-discipline - James Hird, Nathan Buckley 11. Aggression, intensity and second efforts - Glenn Archer, Mark Ricciuto 12. Football character - Robert Harvey, Matthew Lloyd 13. Competitiveness - Barry Hall, Aaron Hamill 14. Football smarts - Brent Harvey, Paul Hasleby The article went on to point out the things that the talent scouts are not looking for and they are players who - 1. Turn the ball over through poor kicking 2. Lack sufficient pace 3. Have off-field issues that will hold them back 4. Don't always keep their head over the ball 5. Don't play a specific position The top division of the National Championships was won again this year by the Victorian Metropolitan side and its captain Marc Murphy was the dominant player of the week and his three outstanding games won him the Larke Medal for best and fairest player in the series. WA skipper Andrew Swallow was the runner-up in the medal. They occupied the main on ball positions in the Under-18 All-Australian Team announced after the carnival: B: Xavier Ellis (Vic Country), Austin Lucy (Queensland), Shannon Hurn (South Australia) HB: Darren Pfeiffer (South Australia), Paul Bower (Western Australia), Joel Selwood (Vic Country) C: Jace Bode (South Australia), Andrew Swallow (Western Australia), Grant Birchall (Tasmania) HF: Beau Dowler (Vic Country), Cleve Hughes (South Australia), Dale Thomas (Vic Country) F: Leroy Jetta (Western Australia), Ben McKinley (Vic Metro), Josh Kennedy (Western Australia) FOLL: Patrick Ryder (Western Australia), Marc Murphy (Vic Metro), Nathan Jones (Vic Metro) I/C: Todd Grima (Tasmania), Sam Lonergan (Tasmania), Wayde Mills (Queensland), Gavin Urquhart (Queensland) Coach: David Dickson (Vic Metro) Assistant Coach: Hamish Ogilvie (Tasmania) Kevin Sheehan, the AFL's National Talent Manager has provided the following pen pictures on the AFL's website of the All Australians, most of who are certain to figure prominently in draft talk over the coming months. It's worth dwelling on these names - Grant Birchall (Tasmania) - 18 years, 191cm, 80kg, Devonport Tall midfielder/defender who is a long left-foot kick and high possession winner. Averaged 22 possessions over the three games, excelling in last quarter of deciding match against Queensland, helping his team to the title. AIS-AFL Academy in 2005. Jace Bode (South Australia) - 17 years, 186cm, 84kg, Sturt/Kenilworth Medium midfielder who was South Australia's leading possession winner against Vic Country and Western Australia averaging 21 disposals. Works hard to win the ball and runs well to link up. Among his side's best few players in games against Vic Country and Western Australia. Paul Bower (Western Australia) - 17 years, 192cm, 87kg, Peel Thunder/North Mandurah Tall defender who is extremely mobile and provided great run from defence during the championships. Leading possession winner for his team in win against South Australia and again among Western Australia's best in impressive victory over Vic Country. Beau Dowler (Vic Metro) - 17 years, 192cm, 82kg, Oakleigh Chargers/Noble Park Tall forward who is an excellent mark on the lead and accurate kick at goal. Excelled against Western Australia, taking four contested marks and kicked four goals. AIS-AFL Academy graduate. Xavier Ellis (Vic Country) - 17 years, 187cm, 73kg, Gippsland Power/Lakes Entrance Medium midfielder/defender who played mostly on the wing. Carries the ball well, good finisher, who averaged 22 possessions. Accurate left foot kick and excellent decision-maker. AIS-AFL Academy graduate who was named Australia's best under-17 player in the three test series against Ireland this year. Attends Melbourne Grammar. Todd Grima (Tasmania) - 18 years, 193cm, 88kg, Northern Bombers/Tassie Mariners Tall forward who kicked 14 goals for the championships - including 10 goals against Northern Territory in game one - showing great skills on both feet. Had limited preparation due to ankle injury but provided important target for his team up forward. Cleve Hughes (South Australia) - 18 years, 193cm, 85kg, Norwood/Loberthal Tall forward with terrific natural talent, clean hands and a good kick at goal. Was impressive with three goals in South Australia's 51-point win over Vic Country and among team's best players when defeated by Western Australia in game two. Shannon Hurn (South Australia) - 17 years, 188cm, 92kg, Central District/Angaston Medium defender/midfielder with terrific hands, penetrating kick and fine leader. Member of South Australian Redbacks cricket squad. Played very well in final match against Vic Metro with 24 possessions and 10 marks. AIS-AFL Academy in 2004. Leroy Jetta (Western Australia) - 16 years, 176cm, 76kg, South Fremantle Small forward with electrifying pace and agility and clever near goal. Tackles well, keeping the ball in the forward line for his team. AIS-AFL Academy graduate this year. [Not eligible for the 2005 Draft] Nathan Jones (Vic Metro) - 17 years, 178cm, 83kg, Dandenong Stingrays/Mt Eliza Small inside midfielder with great running capacity, attack on the ball and depth in his kicking. Prolific ball-winner, averaging 20-plus for the three games - including game high 27 possessions in Vic Metro's 27-point win over Western Australia. Josh Kennedy (Western Australia) -17 years, 193cm, 93kg, East Fremantle/Northhampton Tall forward with excellent work rate and contested marking ability. Reads game well and presents well up forward. AIS-AFL Academy in 2004. Austin Lucy (Queensland) - 17 years, 193cm, 91kg, Caloundra Tall defender who shows terrific dash from defence. Super competitive player with rugby union background. Excellent in high standard final match against Tasmania. Averaged 14 possessions per match from full-back. Sam Lonergan (Tasmania) - 18 years, 181cm, 78kg, Lauderdale/Tassie Mariners Medium inside midfielder who is excellent at stoppages and in heavy traffic. Captained Tasmania to division two title and excelled in final game against Queensland with 27 disposals and nine clearances. Ben McKinley (Vic Metro) - 18 years, 184cm, 80kg, Northern Knights/Old Ivanhoe Medium forward with outstanding hands and very accurate kick for goal. Had outstanding championships kicking six goals against South Australia and five goals against Vic Country, winning Vic Metro most valuable player award. Wayde Mills (Queensland) - 17 years, 194cm, 88kg, Southport Tall defender who led his team extremely well with strong physical presence and strong attack on the ball. Moved from Lennox Heads in northern New South Wales to live in a caravan in Brisbane to further his football. Marc Murphy (Vic Metro) - 17 years, 178cm, 75kg, Oakleigh Chargers/Doncaster Small midfielder/forward who is super competitive and creative and smart around goals. Captained the Vic Metro team successfully, winning best on ground honours against Western Australia in game one and averaged 21 disposals in the championships. AIS-AFL Academy graduate this year. Son of John Murphy, ex-Fitzroy, Swans and Kangaroos star player. Darren Pfeiffer (South Australia) - 17 years, 183cm, 78kg, Norwood/Birdwood Medium defender who is a high possession winner and covers a terrific amount of ground. Strong marking player who debuted at senior level with Norwood this year. South Australia's best player against Western Australia and had 21 possessions in the convincing win over Vic Country in game one. Patrick Ryder (Western Australia) - 17 years, 194cm, 89kg, East Fremantle/Rovers Tall forward/ruckman with agility and strong hands. Excellent at stoppages and a dangerous forward. AIS-AFL Academy program this year, coming from Geraldton in country Western Australia. Joel Selwood (Vic Country) - 17 years, 181cm, 73kg, Bendigo Pioneers/Sandhurst Medium midfielder/defender who is outstanding in contested situations and is a fine leader. Had game high 26 disposals in Vic Country loss to Vic Metro. Won Ron Barassi Medal as Australia's best player against Ireland at under-17 level earlier this year when he captained Australia. [Not eligible for the 2005 Draft] Andrew Swallow (Western Australia) - 18 years, 183cm, 75kg, East Fremantle/Rossmoyne Medium midfielder with terrific work rate and attack on the ball. Captained Western Australia to championship success in NAB AFL under 16 championships in 2003. He was Western Australia's under-18 captain in this year's championships. Was in team's best few players against Vic Metro and South Australia - leading from the front. AIS-AFL Academy graduate in 2004. Dale Thomas (Vic Country) - 18 years, 182cm, 76kg, Gippsland Power/Drouin Medium forward who can go midfield or back. Creative, courageous player who had 19 disposals against Western Australia in game three, putting him among his team's best. Gavin Urquhart (Queensland) - 17 years, 181cm, 80kg, Morningside Medium midfielder/defender who is a long penetrating kick and hard at the football. Carries the ball very well and is versatile. Spent time developing his football in Toowoomba and Rockhampton before moving to Brisbane. High possession winner. [Not eligible for the 2005 Draft] The majority of these players will be in Canberra this week for the draft camp which involves not only physical and psychological testing in several different areas but also interviews with club recruiting managers. Traditionalists might argue that the worth of a player should be determined by what he does on the football field but past history shows that the way the players prepare themselves and perform at the draft camp will have a major bearing in the ultimate decision making process that leads to the drafts. PART TWO The general consensus among those "in the know" is that this year's crop of young talent is nowhere near as strong as it has been in the really big draft years such as 2001 when Luke Hodge, Luke Ball, and Chris Judd, Graham Polak, Xavier Clarke and Ashley Sampi went 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, Jimmy Bartel was taken at 8, Nick Dal Santo at 13, Lewis Roberts-Thompson at 27, Ashley Hansen at 38, Brad Miller and Paul Medhurst at 55 and 56 respectively and Adam Schneider was taken by the Swans at 60. A handy youngster by the name of Gary Ablett Junior was snaffled up in this draft as a father son selection. There are good drafts and there are bad drafts and, as we can see from the example of 2001, not all of the cream is at the top of the draft. One only has to look at the 2005 premiership team to discern this as fact. Before this season, Sydney has been at around middle of the road for some time so it hasn't really had many early selections. To find those in Sydney's record, you have to go right back to the 1998 National Draft when the Swans picked Nic Fosdike at 3 and Jude Bolton at 8. A year earlier, they picked a gem at number 43 in Adam Goodes who went on to win a Brownlow Medal in 2003. In 1999 Ryan O'Keeffe was selected at 56 while they picked up Luke Ablett and Amon Buchanan in 2000 at numbers 24 and 52 respectively. The following year the Swans again did well with mid to low range picks when they snared Lewis Roberts-Thomson (29) and Adam Schneider (60). Sean Dempster was a father son selection in 2002 with pick number 34. But it wasn't only in the draft where the Swans recruited well; they did some very nice things in their dealings with other clubs. The team last Saturday contained six players who were picked up from other clubs, five of them - Jason Ball (1999), Paul Williams (2000), Barry Hall (2001), Nick Davis (2002) and Darren Jolly (2004) - in trading as well as Craig Bolton who was picked up from the Lions in the pre-season draft of 2003. Injured former skipper Stuart Maxfield who has now retired was also recruited in this manner from Richmond. But that's not all. The premiership side contained three former rookies in Brett Kirk, Tadhg Kennelly and Paul Bevan with Kennelly being an international rookie selection from Ireland. The reward for the Swans' success in terms of the drat is that their first pick before trading is the last selection in the first round at number 19 sitting behind the three clubs - Carlton, Collingwood and Hawthorn - that have priority picks 1, 2 and 3 and then the first round selections begin in reverse order to ladder position. Based on their recent recruiting record and the perceived shallowness of this year's draft pool, this might not worry the Swans at all. This year, it appears that while the top four or five picks are virtually given as being of reasonably high quality, the next group could be picked from any one of up to thirty players. If the perceived strength of the draft is weak, this will have an impact on the way clubs trade during next week's trade week because they will be more inclined to trade earlyish selections in order to find the player who meets their specific needs. The AFL scouts will nevertheless look closely at what happens during the draft camp because they have the opportunity to look at players close up under testing conditions. The 73 attendees arrived yesterday for the 12th national draft camp so there is a growing data bank available for them to be able to make observations on how the players at this camp compare with those who have gone before them. The various types of testing can be seen from the draft camp programme - Wednesday 28 September 9am-12pm - Fitness Assessment No. 1 (Group One) Height/Weight, Sit & Reach, Skinfolds, Arm Length, Handspan 9am-12pm - Medical and Visual Screens (Group Two) Players move through 4 checkpoints Players visually screened 1.15pm - 5pm - Psychomotor Tests (Group Two) Reaction time, decision making, peripheral awareness Dr Noel Blundell 1.15pm - 5pm - Medical and Visual Screens (Group One) Players move through 4 checkpoints Players visually screened 6.30pm-10pm - AFL Club Informal Interviews with Club Recruiting Managers Thursday 29 September 9.15am-11.30am - Fitness Assessment No. 2 (Position Groupings - all players) Sprint Agility Vertical Jump 1.30pm-4.30pm - Fitness Assessment No. 1 (Group Two) Height/Weight, Sit & Reach, Skinfolds, Arm Length, Handspan Psychomotor Tests (Group One) Reaction time, decision making, peripheral awareness Dr Noel Blundell 5pm Fitness Assessment No. 3 Shuttle Run Recovery in Pool Complex 7.30pm-10pm AFL Club Informal Interviews with Club Recruiting Managers Friday 30 September 9.30am-11am Skills Session - Manuka Oval 2.30pm - Fitness Assessment No. 4 - 3km Time Trials And then there are the players themselves. The AFL has produced the following details of the attendees based on a breakdown of the most likely position for each of the players - 2005 NAB AFL DRAFT CAMP Name, height (cm), weight (kg), Club, State Medium Forwards Dzufer Daniel 189 80 Suncoast Lions QLD Dempsey Courtney 186 70 Morningside QLD Grant Grae 184 74 Perth WA Seal Matthew 183 74 East Perth WA Crook Marcus 185 78 Geelong Falcons VIC Thomas Dale 182 76 Gippsland Power VIC McKinley Ben 184 80 Northern Knights VIC Kelleher Brad 188 82 Eastern Ranges VIC Pfeiffer Darren 183 78 Norwood SA Owen Stephen 187 81 Nth Ballarat VIC Jackson Ryan 188 80 Northern Knights VIC Medium Defenders Hurn Shannon 188 92 Central Districts SA Lower Ed 186 85 Norwood SA Ibbotson Garrick 185 78 East Fremantle WA Riggio Matt 188 82 Peel Thunder WA Toovey Alan 188 79 Claremont WA Stanley Danny 186 87 Geelong Falcons VIC Ellis Xavier 187 73 Gippsland Power VIC Looby Tim 186 91 Murray Bushrangers VIC Thomas Matthew 185 80 Sandringham Dragons VIC Douglas Richard 180 70 Calder Cannons VIC Small/Medium Midfielders Kiel Haydyn 178 76 Southport QLD Hooper Rhan 177 71 Mt Gravatt QLD Varcoe Travis 179 72 Central Districts SA Murphy Marc 178 75 Oakleigh Chargers VIC Jones Nathan 178 83 Dandenong Stingrays VIC Addison Dylan 183 75 St George NSW Elliott Sam 181 74 South Adelaide SA Iles Sam 181 80 Clarence TAS Swallow Andrew 183 75 East Fremantle WA Simpkin Jonothan 181 78 Geelong Falcons VIC Eddy Robert 182 82 Gippsland Power VIC Medium Midfielders Gamble Ryan 185 72 Glenelg SA Bode Jace 186 84 Sturt SA Lower Nick 187 86 Norwood SA Oakley-Nicholls Jarrad 186 74 East Perth WA Casserley Travis 184 76 Swan Districts WA Pendlebury Scott 188 82 Gippsland Power VIC Grigg Shaun 187 77 Nth Ballarat Rebels VIC Thornton Kristin 185 71 Peel Thunder WA Muston Beau 188 71 Murray Bushrangers VIC Laidlaw Matthew 184 78 Oakleigh Chargers VIC Higgins Shaun 184 76 Geelong Falcons VIC Ruckmen White Jessie 196 96 Southport QLD McEntee Luke 197 89 North Adelaide SA Ryder Patrick 194 89 East Fremantle WA West Trent 198 90 Gippsland Power VIC Warnock Robert 204 80 Sandringham Dragons VIC Graham Angus 198 92 Calder Cannons/Tas TAS Bailey Max 205 85 West Perth WA Wall James 198 82 Calder Cannons VIC Banjamin Andrew 200 83 Geelong Falcons VIC Tall Forwards West Michael 194 85 Redlands QLD Hughes Cleve 193 85 Norwood SA Rischbieth Tom 190 84 Sturt SA Grima Todd 193 88 Northern Bombers TAS Kennedy Josh 193 93 East Fremantle WA Clark Mitchell 197 90 East Fremantle WA Dowler Beau 192 82 Oakleigh Chargers VIC Roffey Nate 193 82 Mt Gravatt QLD Ainger Andrew 194 83 Oakleigh Chargers VIC Cheetham Jon 192 83 North Adelaide SA Tall Defenders Lucy Austin 193 91 Suncoast Lions QLD Mills Wayde 196 88 Southport QLD Obst Alan 192 82 Central Districts SA Birchall Grant 192 80 Devonport TAS Bower Paul 192 87 Peel Thunder WA Taggert Ben 192 82 East Fremantle WA Drum Marcus 190 82 Murray Bushrangers VIC Tyler Matthew 194 80 North Ballarat VIC Spangher Matthew 193 84 Eastern Ranges VIC Gilbert Sam 192 84 Southport QLD Carlile Alipate 191 99 Murray Bushrangers VIC The majority of these youngsters are in for a nervous few days. Some of them have already been pencilled in for selection. Most will be picked up in the national or the rookie drafts. Some are young enough to go back to the drawing boards and try again next year. A few who miss out, will go into their state competitions where a small number might get another chance in the future and some will never make it to centre stage. PART THREE Two large groups converged on Canberra this week to take part in the AFL's annual three day draft camp. The first group comprised the 73 players invited to take part in the testing with a view to becoming AFL draft choices either at the November National Draft or in the December Pre season and Rookie Drafts. The other group was even larger - estimated at around 100 and this is the group representing the sixteen AFL clubs. There is no question about it; this week is critical to most of the youngsters invited to the draft camp. Those 100 people from the AFL clubs includes most of the coaches and recruiting managers and the event will give them an opportunity to crystallise their views on many of the players coming under consideration for the drafts. As Kevin Sheehan, the AFL's National Talent Manager, recently pointed out to the media, some of the potential early draft picks have already been determined. "Some of the names people are talking about include Patrick Ryder from East Fremantle, a youngster called Travis Varcoe from South Australia, from Central Districts, Victorian Marc Murphy from the Oakley Chargers and one from country Victoria, Xavier Ellis - they're some of the leading candidates," he said. Of course, you don't have to wait for the AFL National Draft to involve yourself in the AFL National Draft speculation. The excellent footydraft site (footydraft) has been running a mock 2005 AFL Draft for some time and this is its latest version*: - 1. Carlton - Murphy Marc 178 cm 75 kg Oakleigh Chargers VIC (Small/Medium Midfielder)2. Collingwood - Ellis Xavier 187 73 Gippsland Power VIC (Medium Defender) 3. Hawthorn - Ryder Patrick 194 89 East Fremantle WA (Ruckman) 4. Carlton - Hurn Shannon 188 92 Central Districts SA (Medium Defender) 5. Collingwood - Clark Mitchell 197 90 East Fremantle WA (Tall Forward) 6. Hawthorn - Kennedy Josh 193 93 East Fremantle WA (Tall Forward) 7. Essendon - Birchall Grant 192 80 Devonport TAS (Tall Defender) 8. Richmond - Dowler Beau 192 82 Oakleigh Chargers VIC (Tall Forward) 9. Brisbane - Drum Marcus 190 82 Murray Bushrangers VIC (Tall Defender) 10. Fremantle - Swallow Andrew 183 75 East Fremantle WA (Small/Medium Midfielder)11. Bulldogs - Hughes Cleve 193 85 Norwood SA (Tall Forward) 12. Melbourne - Oakley-Nicholls Jarrad 186 74 East Perth WA (Medium Midfielder) 13. Kangaroos - Thomas Dale 182 76 Gippsland Power VIC (Medium Forward) 14. Port Adelaide - Pfeiffer Darren 183 78 Norwood SA (Medium Forward) 15. Geelong - Douglas Richard 180 70 Calder Cannons VIC (Medium Defender) 16. Adelaide - Higgins Shaun 184 76 Geelong Falcons VIC (Medium Midfielder) 17. St. Kilda - West Trent 198 90 Gippsland Power VIC (Ruckman) 18. West Coast - Muston Beau 188 71 Murray Bushrangers VIC (Medium Midfielder) 19. Sydney - McKinley Ben 184 80 Northern Knights VIC (Medium Forward) 20. Carlton - Lucy Austin 193 91 Suncoast Lions QLD (Tall Defender) 21. Collingwood - Jones Nathan 178 83 Dandenong Stingrays VIC (Small/Medium Midfielder) 22. Hawthorn - Varcoe Travis 179 72 Central Districts SA (Small/Medium Midfielder) 23. Essendon - Neaves Shane 197 91 Calder VIC (Ruckman) 24. Richmond - Stanley Danny 186 87 Geelong Falcons VIC (Medium Defender) 25. Brisbane - Lonergan Sam 181 80 Lauderdale TAS (Small/Medium Midfielder) 26. Fremantle - Spangher Matthew 193 84 Eastern Ranges VIC (Tall Defender) 27. Bulldogs - Toovey Alan 188 79 Claremont WA (Medium Defender) 28. Melbourne - Paul Bower 192 87 (Peel Thunder) WA (Tall Defender) 29. Kangaroos - Grima Todd 193 88 Northern Bombers TAS (Tall Forward) 30. Port Adelaide - Obst Alan 192 82 Central Districts SA (Tall Defender) 31. Geelong - Warnock Robert 204 80 Sandringham Dragons VIC (Ruckman) 32. Adelaide - Pendlebury Scott 188 82 Gippsland Power VIC (Medium Midfielder) 33. St. Kilda - Looby Tim 186 91 Murray Bushrangers VIC (Medium Defender) 34. West Coast - McGuane Jacob 189 87 Geelong Falcons VIC Medium Forward) 35. Sydney - Grant Grae 184 74 Perth WA (Medium Forward) 36. Carlton - White Jessie 196 96 Southport QLD (Ruckman) 37. Collingwood - Grigg Shaun 187 77 Nth Ballarat Rebels VIC (Medium Midfielder) 38. Hawthorn - Gilbert Sam 192 84 Southport QLD (Tall Defender) 39. Essendon - Jackson Ryan 188 80 Northern Knights VIC (Medium Forward) 40. Richmond - Dempsey Courtney 186 70 Morningside QLD (Medium Forward) 41. Brisbane - Dzufer Daniel 189 80 Suncoast Lions QLD (Medium Forward) 42. Fremantle - Elliott Sam 181 74 South Adelaide SA (Small/Medium Midfielder) 43. Bulldogs - West Michael 194 85 Redlands QLD (Tall Forward) 44. Melbourne - Kelleher Brad 188 82 Eastern Ranges VIC (Medium Forward) 45. Kangaroos - Iles Sam 181 80 Clarence TAS (Small/Medium Midfielder) 46. Port Adelaide - Laidlaw Matthew 184 78 Oakleigh Chargers VIC (Medium Midfielder) 47. Geelong - Mills Wayde 196 88 Southport QLD (Tall Defender) 48. Adelaide - Riggio Matt 188 82 Peel Thunder WA (Medium Defender) 49. St Kilda - Graham Angus 198 92 Calder Cannons/Tas TAS (Ruckman) 50. West Coast - Seal Matthew 183 74 East Perth WA (Medium Forward) 51. Sydney - White Matt 178 74 Calder Cannons VIC (Small/Medium Midfielder) 52. Carlton - Thomas Matthew 185 80 Sandringham Dragons VIC (Medium Defender) 53. Collingwood - Cheetham Jonathon 192 83 North Adelaide SA (Tall Forward) 54. Hawthorn - Redden Thomas 190 74 Glenelg SA (Medium Defender) 55. Essendon - Heise Cameron 179 79 Subiaco WA (Small/Medium Midfielder) 56. Richmond - Tyler Matthew 194 80 North Ballarat VIC (Tall Defender) 57. Brisbane - Eddy Robert 182 82 Gippsland Power VIC (Small/Medium Midfielder) 58. Fremantle - Carlile Alipate 191 99 Murray Bushrangers VIC (Tall Defender) 59. Bulldogs - Kiel Haydyn 178 76 Southport QLD /Medium Midfielder) 60. Melbourne - Bode Jace 186 84 Sturt SA (Medium Midfielder) [* I have matched the names up with the official player information issued by the AFL] If you follow the above link to the FootyDraft site you'll get some excellent pen pictures of the hopefuls. The mock draft is not set in stone and will be reviewed a few times before the November Draft with the next one due on October 11. PART FOUR The AIS at Canberra is emptying out for the weekend as the AFL scouts and seventy footballers head back home at the conclusion of the 12th National Draft Camp. Over the past four days, the hopefuls have been put through the hoops and undergone an interesting series of tests to determine their physical attributes and mental capabilities with an eye to determining whether they have the makings of elite footballers. In the old days, you just used to ask whether a bloke could get the ball and if so, how good was his disposal but today we're looking for athletes who can play a bit of football so things are a little different. Actually, that's not entirely true because many of the tests that the players have undergone really do indicate a lot about each individual - aspects such as speed, agility, reflexes, strength and endurance. You have to have all of these in differing proportions if you want to make it to the big stage in the sport. They even test height and weight and the interesting part is that the official results often indicate different personal statistical data for many players than those published in the competition records. Colin Wisbey has noted elsewhere that he is highly sceptical of some of the height and weight details of some players. The draft camp tests will set the record straight. The tallest participant in the 2005 camp was Sandgroper Max Bailey who stands at close to 206 cm. while Queenslander Jesse White had the biggest impact on the scales at 98.5 kg. The AFL produces a list of the top 10 -12 in each testing category but it's damn hard finding out how the lesser performers went in each of them. I suppose they don't want to embarrass some of the youngsters who haven't performed as well as they should. Apparently, one participant a few camps ago produced such dismal results that he fell right out of consideration and, as a consequence went from being a top 20 draft chance to the point where he missed out altogether. The camp tests players for their aerobic and anaerobic capacities. Those who excel in the latter group are usually the speedsters while the former are the endurance athletes - the stayers. Occasionally, an athlete is strong in both areas but such people are a rare breed. The outstanding youngsters in the speed stakes were Matt Laidlaw of the Oakleigh Chargers and East Perth's Jarred Oakley-Nicholls who sizzled through the 20 metre sprint and also performed well in at least one other category. The outstanding endurance athlete was Sturt's Tom Rischbieth who excelled in breaking the camp record for the infamous beep test and then demolished the previous 3km time trial record by over half a minute. As a consequence the footydraft experts lifted the South Australian Under 18 vice captain into their revised mock draft rankings to number 26 with a red bullet. Laidlaw's ranking was also up in today's revision. Dandenong Stingrays on baller Nathan Jones enjoyed a marked rise in the mock draft up to number 7 but that had little to do with the draft camp and more related to his slashing 38-possession performance in the TAC Cup Grand Final. Jones finished sixth in the time trial, a minute behind Rischbieth. The shock of the camp was on Friday when the Canberra weather cleared to a fine day and they brought out the footballs. Suddenly, the prospective draftees were going through the paces doing some training drills and most of the prospective early choices stood out including Marc Murphy and Xavier Ellis who are tipped to go 1, 2 in the national draft. Neither had been outstanding in the other testing (Murphy is nursing a minor knee problem) but they looked good out there on the ground. Melbourne football manager Craig Cameron came on radio and nominated his top five draftees - Murphy, Ellis and East Fremantle trio Josh Kennedy, Patrick Ryder and Mitchell Clark, all of who measure in excess of 195 cm. They will be challenged by one of the no shows of the camp in Central Districts' Shannon Hurn who is otherwise engaged at the weekend in the SANFL Grand Final. The other important phase of the draft camp process is the player interviews. Many a draft choice has turned on the impression a particular player has given under these conditions. Clubs place a high priority on the character of youngsters coming into the system. You just can't afford to draft ratbags these days. Mind you, the entire development system usually weeds them out well before any invitations are sent for events as prestigious as the draft camps. At week's end, the various club scouts will consult together with their football departments and coaches. They will have a good idea of the direction they anticipate will be taken in the draft and, in many cases, will make decisions to seek better draft choices or offload them in the trade period. It's just one of those aspects that makes the trade week so very interesting. 12th National AFL Draft Camp Results Height Max Bailey (West Perth) - 205.8cm Robert Warnock (Sandringham) - 204.5cm Angus Graham (Calder Cannons) - 200.3cm Andrew Banjamin (Geelong Falcons) - 200.0cm James Wall (Calder Cannons) - 198.5cm Trent West (Gippsland Power) - 198.2cm Mitchell Clark (East Fremantle) - 198.1cm Patrick Ryder (East Fremantle) - 195.7cm Andrew Ainger (Oakleigh Chargers) - 195.7cm Wayde Mills (Southport) - 195.1cm Josh Kennedy (East Fremantle) - 195.1cm Michael West (Redlands) - 195.1cm Mass Jesse White (Southport) - 98.5kg Max Bailey (West Perth) - 93.0kg Alipate Carlile (Murray Bushrangers) - 92.9kg Angus Graham (Calder Cannons) - 92.6kg Josh Kennedy (East Fremantle) - 92.3kg Mitchell Clark (East Fremantle) - 91.3kg Trent West (Gippsland Power) - 89.8kg Austin Lucy (Suncoast Lions) - 89.7kg Daniel Stanley (Geelong Falcons) - 89.5kg Tim Looby (Murray Bushrangers) - 88.8kg Agility Jarred Oakley-Nicholls (East Perth) - 7.97 Courtney Dempsey (Morningside) - 7.99 Stephen Owen (North Ballarat) - 8.02 Todd Grima (Northern Bombers) - 8.11 Andrew Swallow (East Fremantle) - 8.12 Richard Douglas (Calder Cannons) - 8.17 Matt Riggio (Peel Thunder) - 8.18 Rhan Hooper (Mt Gravatt) - 8.19 Marc Murphy (Oakleigh Chargers) - 8.21 Nick Lower (Norwood) - 8.23 Vertical Jump - standing Darren Pfeiffer (Norwood) - 72cm Matt Laidlaw (Oakleigh Chargers) - 70cm Wayde Mills (Southport) - 70cm Garrick Ibbotson (East Fremantle) - 68cm Nate Roffey (Mt Gravatt) - 68cm Brad Kelleher (Eastern Ranges) - 67cm Andrew Swallow (East Fremantle) - 66cm Daniel Stanley (Geelong Falcons) - 66cm Dale Thomas (Gippsland Power) - 66cm Alan Toovey (Claremont) - 65cm Austin Lucy (Suncoast Lions) - 65cm Angus Graham (Calder Cannons) - 65cm 20-metre Sprint Matt Laidlaw (Oakleigh Chargers) - 2.83sec Jarred Oakley-Nicholls (East Perth) - 2.85sec Nate Roffey (Mt Gravatt) - 2.92sec Andrew Swallow (East Fremantle) - 2.92sec Grant Birchall (Devonport) - 2.93sec Nick Lower (Norwood) - 2.93sec Dale Thomas (Gippsland Power) - 2.93sec Sam Elliott (South Adelaide) - 2.94sec Austin Lucy (Suncoast Lions) - 2.94sec Alan Toovey (Claremont) - 2.94sec Shuttle Run (Beep Test) Tom Rischbieth (Sturt) - Level 15.8 Travis Casserley (Swan Districts) - 15.2 Robert Eddy (Gippsland Power) - 14.9 Sam Iles (Clarence) - 14.6 Kristin Thornton (Peel Thunder) - 14.6 Matt Riggio (Peel Thunder) - 14.6 Alan Toovey (Claremont) - 14.6 Ryan Jackson (Northern Knights) - 14.5 Wayde Mills (Southport) - 14.3 James Wall (Calder Cannons) - 14.3 3km time-trial Tom Rischbieth (Sturt) - 9:30 Daniel Dzufer (Suncoast Lions) - 10:06 Wayde Mills (Southport) - 10:12 Robert Eddy (Gippsland Power) - 10:19 Matthew Thomas (Sandringham) - 10:22 Nathan Jones (Dandenong) - 10:31 Travis Casserley (Swan Districts) - 10:22 Ryan Jackson (Northern Knights) - 10:34 Haydyn Kiel (Southport) - 10:41 Sam Iles (Clarence) - 10:42

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