Deespicable

Point of clarification also. Apologies also to list manager Tim Lamb. I had him up higher in my spiel, but then when I re-edited it I forgot to reinstate him with Richo and Taylor as the three men of infuence in these dealings. Lamb is very much the man who will decide the strategy, Richo would rubber stamp and guide and Taylor would explain the draft ramifications of any dealings that Lamb may do. My main concern is that I hope we are ready to go with trying to obtain something a little extra than just Freo's first rounder and next year's first rounder for Jackson. Apart from the depth and quality of their current defenders they have fringe players such as Darcy Tucker who if we felt added something could be part of the deal. If Grundy opted for Geelong (which I reckon he won't), we also could request that they throw in Josh Treacy or Lloyd Meek with the deal to give us some ruck/forward back-up.

Nah, actually we had Jackson at 3 and then divided our second first round pick from the Roos, which was going to be about 8-9 (depending on bids for Tom Green and Liam Henry) and a pick which would have got us Young if we hadn't wanted for a downgrade to pick 12 (Kossie) and pick 32 (Rivers). I am not complaining about this downgrade at all, we needed Kossie's pace and X-factor more than another defender, and Rivers has been good and still may become very good - just need the club to sort out if they want him to be a running defender or a defensive fourth tall lockdown defender.

It is always a tricky time of year for any club to determine whether to stick with players on the fringe or bring in fresh blood, or in our case (and many other clubs case) freeing up some room in the salary cap for potential trades by delisting mid-tier players. Given that we are in the window, and have just signed up our key midfielders to long-term deals, finding salary room for possible acquisitions becomes problematic. It could be argued that the only way you can keep your core 25-30 players happy with somewhat comparable wages and stay under the cap is to pay close to the bare minimum on the additional 10-15 players on your list - thereby creating a bit of a divide. In the past two years we have minimised our delistings, because let's face it we have a very good list and our performance of fringe players at Casey is clearly the stuff of envy. Hopefully Casey finally gets the rewards of almost seven years of being highly competitive and wins the flag but I am sure the club is also hoping that some of our fringe players play so well in the VFL finals that other clubs come offering late-order picks for their services, along with taking their salary off our books. At present there are 10 unsigned players on our list for next year and below is my assessment on what we should do with them, but before I get there, it is also appropriate to factor in the impending departure of Luke Jackson to Freo which colours much of my thinking and doubtless yours. To me there’s two scenarios likely to be at play with Jacko’s move, which I think we all get is going to happen. Firstly we have to get something productive back for him from Freo that lessens the loss. The Dockers doubtless will offer their first rounder (currently pick 14) and will try and throw in next year’s one as well (which based on this year’s form will also be in the 12-18 ballpark). But to me that’s not quite enough. If we took that offer, we would then have to offload pick 14 to Collingwood for Grundy and most likely try and include a sweetener - Tomlinson, Bedford and Weid have been mentioned as options -although after this year the Pies may just want another pick. But under this scenario we end up the losers because Jacko is 21 and our list needs that age group more than a 28yo who will be contracted for another five seasons and who uses up at least 750K of salary cap space and that assumes the Pies offer to pay $250K of it for at least a couple of years. In fact given that the Pies are desperate to get Taranto and keep deGoey, they will be even more inclined to say yes to our dealings if we reduce or even completely drop their financial contribution. To me, there is a second option for us though and I just hope we are trying it. What we have to do is get Freo to combine their first rounder (or their future first rounder) with one of their young talented defenders for Jackson. I have always been a huge fan of Dandenong’s Hayden Young and was shocked when we didn’t get him that draft - preferring the Pickett/Rivers option, which certainly has been mega rewarding as well. But a Jacko for Young and a high pick would seem to be fairly equitable and keeps both clubs exchanging the same age demo and also returns both picks home. In our case Young, who is contracted, would be ideal as a replacement for Hibbo. Young’s form this year was superb, so the Dockers won’t give him up without a fight, but the Dockers have a plethora of good defenders - Ryan, Cox, Pearce, Chapman is a star, Walker a huge talent and Clark to name a few, so they may ultimately be persuaded into letting him go if that is the key to getting the deal done. Obviously after three years of great weather and shark-infested beaches, Young's desire to return may rule him out, but that’s where we may have to upgrade his five-year deal, which will add even more pressure on our salary cap. But he definitely would be worth it and his kicking is sublime. But alas we could all go on for hours about potential trades and really only our Richo and Taylor have an inkling on what can and can’t be achieved. But gees it would be nice to get both Grundy and Young for next year. My final point on all this is that we need to hold off on re-signing some players at this stage, because we need to keep enough room in the salary cap available for Grundy and potentially a Hayden Young. Hunt, Smith, Hibberd and Melksham are all in the $250K-$400K a year bracket and in my view only Hunt is mega essential for next year and beyond. By not signing the other trio, at least until we get confirmation on Grundy and a young Freo defender, then we keep around $750K up our sleeve in case. As to what I started out to do, here’s my prognosis on our out-of-contract set. Jayden Hunt - age 27 - MUST SIGN Heaps of Demonlanders have been critical of Hunt over the past few years but for two years now he's really made sure that he's looking at short and long kicking options and he has hit as many targets as any of our defenders. In the past two games he's been a major offensive factor with his run and the variety he provides in what has become quite a stagnant and stable defence. Hunt is the only one who regularly tries to break lines so his value can't and shouldn't be understated. Yes his one-on-one aerial skills sometimes are found lacking but his pace allows him to close down on opponents. His game on Shai Bolton was huge and it wasn't his fault that the club opted to play him on the last line of defence against Sydney (in Rd 12) and he was beaten on crucial plays by Papley and Heaney. Hunt did five weeks VFL penance for that game, I just hope the defensive coach who assigned him for the last line goalsquare role also had to do time of sorts. Since he's been back and further up the field off half-back he's been a point of difference that all sides need. Joel Smith - age 26 - should sign, but wait for a bit Ok, it's been another injury-decimated season for Joel, but I just hope the club hasn't forgotten the value down back he provided in our first seven games before injury hit and he was back running his usual red-vest laps at training. When fit, he now has a body that allows him to play on bigs and smalls and with his athleticism he also gives our backline pace and pressure which at times since his injury we have shown we don't have. He's been trialled as a forward at VFL level now because T-Mac got injured, but it's probably time to just send him down back again. I'd also argue that even with his penchant for accumulating injuries, that he's the ideal sub in the AFL this series because of his versatility. If Hibberd retires, then Joel is probably our only viable lock-down last line defender option (outside of May of course), so he’s worth holding on to, unless of course another club offered a second rounder for him. Michael Hibberd - age 32- let him retire after the final series Great bloke and just so adept at putting a timely bump on opponents, but I reckon it's time. I still love recalling his first few games for us and the run off half-back he provided - his dash and goal against Richmond on debut for us in 2017 was just huge and he deservedly got an AA gig that year, despite missing the first four or five games. But he's now unable to provide that dash off half-back and significantly now his best role is as a lockdown defender - how good was he on Charlie Cameron the other week. I reckon the club will probably sign him up again, because let's face he's still in our best 22, but like Melky, freeing up the salary cap space is a smarter move if we are to trying to lure a young Freo defender and keep our window open longer. Further to this, how many have noted that Geelong kept both Higgins and Dahlhaus on for another year after 2021 - do you reckon the club looks back and goes yeh, we should have made the hard call on them back then. Finishing up is not easy for player and club alike. Hibberd has been a great servant and his efforts on JJ in our GF win should not be forgotten. God, he was good in that first quarter when we were under seige. Jake Melksham - age 31- let him retire after the final series How good has it been to have Melky back in the side for a late-season cameo playing T-Mac's role, despite being four inches shorter than him. As with Hibberd, he uses his body just so well and that's why I hope the club finds a way to make both he and Hibbo assistants - sounds like we may need a few new ones with Yze and Chocco in demand anyway. Melky's best year was 2018 when he showed our squad that if you kick long and quickly, you create chaos for opponents. He's too slow to play half-forward or midfield now, but he's been so good as a tall forward the past few weeks. Does that mean we sign him up again? My view is no as we really need to play Van Rooyen next season, alongside Fritter and big Ben. The salary cap room his departure creates should allow us to nail a quality Freo defender in our trade for Jackson. But if we are less assertive at the trade table, Melky may agree to play on at a reduced rate. Oskar Baker - age 24 - delist, or if interest, trade He'll probably win our VFL best-and-fairest this year and has always been an everyready goer at VFL level with precious few chances at AFL level - 15 games in four seasons. This year he's played quite a bit in defence and there's no doubt in any other era, outside of our current successful one, he'd get games in the seniors, but alas it's probably time for the 24yo to move on. Gold Coast or Brisbane might rookie him, otherwise he'll be a great recruit for Southport. Toby Bedford - age 22 - trade He's been our medical sub on several occasions and technically he's listed as having played 16 games this season, although he's probably only started in about four. He's shown a bit of toe in several games and kicked nine goals as well and a couple of rippers on the run. There's been talk of clubs such as the Giants, Bombers and Pies being interested in him and given our plethora of small forwards, he deserves another shot at making the big time. Hopefully we can do a deal for an exchange of late-order picks. Fraser Rosman - age 20 - delist and re-rookie Tubby Taylor took a bit of a punt on the Wesley boy with great athleticsm and a lovely left foot after missing out on another athlete - Max Holmes - who went way earlier than expected. The club was hoping Rosman would be our left-side wingman but he's been unable to really impact at VFL level and was even sent to defence to find more footy. So far it hasn't happened, although he did show a few promising signs for Casey against Sydney. Maybe the club might decide to delsit him and then re-rookie him. Rookies Kade Chandler - age 22 - trade As with Toby, he's in the queue behind Kossie, Spargs and ANB and it's hard to realistically see that altering in 2023. Kade has quite a bit of poise with a lovely left foot so it would be interesting to see how he would go at a club that can give him a genuine shot. Given Adelaide will have Rankine along with Rachele, it might be wise for him to see if Port would be willing to swap a late pick for him. Mitch Brown - age 32 - delist What a talent. He’s just so smooth and reliable with his movements and has been a delightful back up for us, but unfortunately at 32 and after two seasons in the role, it’s time to move on and I suspect he’s probably got plenty of life after footy plans in place from being on the edge for about seven seasons. If he’d been a tad quicker he’d have been a star at AFL level because he’s such a reliable kick and presents so well, albeit without a great leap. Deakin Smith - age 20 - delist or re-rookie He’s a very clean Nev Jetta-style defender who as yet hasn’t been able to justify his rise to the seniors. He probably needs to take the game on more to warrant the next step and I’d reckon the club will be watching closely how he copes with VFL finals pressure as they would be with Fraser Rosman before making a decision for next year. Majak Daw - age 31- retired mid-season A very handy VFL-level ruckman/forward and as with Mitch Brown, the chances just didn't eventuate at top level. Finally it’s important to note that VFL stars Luke Dunstan, Sam Weideman and Adam Tomlinson all have another year to run on their contracts and can again serve as valuable back-ups. That’s in addition to Van Rooyen who must be given plenty of AFL chances next season and Laurie who we need to see what he possesses at the next level, while Turner is another who is ready to challenge and would allow us to send Petty or May forward on occasions. And we should get a better idea on Howes and Woewodin’s capabilities next year.

So where do you think Bailey is going to play Demon3 or do you have inside knowledge that he's injured? And your choice of Hunt on Cameron is logical based on pace, but against that is the fact that Cameron plays largely from the goalsquare and the last time we thrust Hunt into that position (against Sydney's Papley and Heeney if you have forgotten) he spent the next six weeks in the VFL because he was blamed for losing pivotal contests. The person who lost the pivotal contest was the fella who nominated to play him in that role and there has been no suggestion anywhere of that nuff-nuff losing some of his coaching salary. Hunt showed on Saturday his value as a running defender - he was the only one who didn't go down the left side like Goody's zombies and the result was that our forwards got a decent chance to score when he got it. Hunt will most likely play on Bailey who is mega quick as well, but plays more half-forward than goalsquare like Charlie. Daniher and Hipwood are the two major dangers so May and Petty will get them, Lever will get McStay or when he's off Rayner. That leaves Salem on McCarthy and Rivers on Rayner. Poor old Hibbo will have to get Cameron which ain't ideal but Hibbo is such a great user of his body in one-on-one contests around the goalsquare that it has to be him. What should happen is that Rivers should be dropped and that Brayshaw goes back to defence and is told to try and switch the ball on occasions rather than just going down the line to a contest like zombies that we do. Harmes would then come into the midfield rotation. What should also happen is that Joel Smith should be the sub, so that he can cover almost any injury scenario for us, including playing on Charlie if Hibbo does his hammy. But that won't happen because Goody doesn't like changing a side and will stick with a small forward as sub (or Harmes if he doesn't get a recall). When you are premiers your coach can do nothing and have an immediate justification - we are premiers after all, what do you know. The fact that we've lost six of our past 11 games and everyone has figured us out as one-trick ponies is irrelevant - because we are premiers and it is almost heresy to suggest change. Our only hope is that our middle quartet get enough decent centre bounce clearances to provide a winning score, because we sure as hell ain't going to win by simply playing the left side ... again and again and again.

Agree this is quite the morbid post, but tend to agree, but here's a few reasons IMO. 1) Other sides have worked out that we like to go down left side and are ready for us. And because we rarely switch there's no chance to expose other players or other entries. To alter that line of attack in three weeks is not possible. 2) James Jordon worked as hard, if not harder than anyone on Friday and was in our best handful. But how many times did he do anything but normal link work. He hasn't got the speed to break lines. Ideally he should be in the middle playing as big-bodied mid. We have to find a right-side wingman who the players like going through - this ties in with our failure to switch right. Jackson isn't a long-term option as a wingman, but I'd be playing him there for the rest of the season to try and convince May and Salem and Hibberd to risk going long to him. He ain't going to be outmarked. Sadly it's too late in the season to try such a radical change. 3) We no longer take risks. When we go down the left side (as we do 95% of the time), rarely do the players risk sending a long bomb over to a player on the other side. Langdon took a clever mark and goaled in one of our few switches like this in the 2nd term. We are so ingrained in trying to beat sides down the wing, that we restrict our options and when we turn it over, sides like Collingwood take us on through the middle as our zone defence reorganises itself. We ultimately need another tall target to allow this to happen. 4) The tall target may well be JVR, but Goody doesn't like changing his setup (we are still the reigning premiers after all), but after another loss (our sixth in 10 weeks) he should consider it. But he won't now, it's too late in the season. Goody, this season, also has underrated (or forgotten) the excitement that comes with having a first or second gamer getting a chance. We all know they don't play the percentages or do the customary but that sometimes leads to a spark. But JVR won't play this year. 5) Clearly we aren't as fit this year as last year. Losing Burgess has been costly and I suspect the new fitness guy allowed a few of our senior players (now premiership players) to get away with not doing quite as much hard work. It's too late now to turn this around, but a stiff session that finishes with 8x200m reps this Tuesday or Wednesday will help. You don't need to sack the fitness manager, but hopefully he learns for next year that nice guys finish ... without a flag. 6) Speaking of nice guys, clearly Trac has won plaudits this year in this area. His profile has gone through the roof with ads, and post-match TV interviews and he's just so nice. Earlier in the year he even started picking up opponents off the ground after tackles. Sorry Trac, you are a great bloke, but we want you to be a great, hard footballer. You can't have both. Nice guys finish ... without an All Australian. And he can't change his nice guy DNA around in three weeks. 7) When it comes to taking the game on we got a lesson from a 19 year old last night in Nick Daicos. He has the confidence to run and switch and he tackles. Unfortunately we haven't had that player down back, with the exception of Angus anywhere near that. I still think Rivers could become a great running defender but he just hasn't embraced that role like we needed yet. His effort when he failed to spoil McCreery on the wing was enough to tell me he need to go back to the school of hard knocks. He might yet become an absolute star, but it won't be this year. 8) Our search for a running defender isn't just a Trent Rivers issue. Jayden Hunt can also cop a bit of the blame, but you can tell he's playing really close to his opponent and he just hasn't quite been able to launch on the counter attack. But to be honest he's closer to reaching that role than Rivers at the moment. But Hunt will most likely be dropped this week. Finding a running defender won't be this year but at least Angus should be back in the sweeper role next week after being tagged out of it after half time against the Pies. And Bowser needs another go there as well. 9) ANB has been playing our high half-forward through the middle all year and he presents and keeps moving as well as any player in the game. It's an incredibly tough role, requires courage and awareness and is a bit like the job of a No.10 in soccer - it's that crucial. It's just that ANB hasn't been able to break free this year because sides are on to him - I haven't got the stat but I reckon he'd be our most tackled player all year by far. There are only two players who could do this role this year instead of him - Petracca and Viney. Will Goody switch either out of their midfield positions to do so. Not likely this year. 10) I mentioned earlier we don't have the fitness but based on how we looked against the Pies we also don't have the athleticism - or at least the confidence and speed that taking the game on brings. The classic example is Olly who continually handballs when he is by far our best runner. He seemed to have gotten over that fear last year and for much of this year but I suspect he's gone back to looking at his SuperCoach points since he hurt his thumb and a safe handball is worth more than an errant kick that almost wins a game. He's the best player in the side with Trac and he just has to show the confidence (and arrogance). 11) Given that we lost so badly to the Pies run and also struggled in that department against Geelong a few weeks back, there's no doubt Joel Smith's athleticism is needed at the minute. If we don't go JVR, and I suspect we won't, he's the obvious swingman to provide a spark up forward and gives is the flexibility of having someone who can be sent back in case of injury. He's not the messiah, but he showed enough early in the season before his 15th injury, that he can cope with AFL level at last. 12) We all get that in general our central midfield is the best in the league, but at finals (and we are pretty much there now) you have to shut down players as well and Harmes has his flaws but at least he works his butt off and niggles. We need him to be assigned a player each week in the middle - Walsh followed by McCluggage etc. He will still need a break and that's where having a raging bull like Viney should come in as well with the pair waxing on the poor star who is chosen. But that won't happen this year. 13) Finally Goody and the coaches are so caught up in their three-group (forwards, mids and defender) training method these days that the old ability to switch players mid-game on to dangerous players no longer exists. Changing players can mentally make it harder for opponents to keep their flow. It used to be a tactic that all the great coaches from Barassi through to Hafey employed. But it doesn't happen any more because coaches don't like taking risks. So just in case anybody doubts my message, here it is again. We are premiers and we are playing safe and our coaches and players aren't taking risks and that's understandable to a large degree because we are premiers. But ultimately that's why we won't be going back-to-back this year. Next year is another story.

In: Harmes (to tag Walsh), Joel Smith, Bowey, JVR Out: Melky, Rivers, Hibberd, ANB B: Bowey May Petty HB: Brayshaw Lever Salem C: Jackson (to provide an outlet from down back for May when we kick towards Richmond station) Oliver Langdon High HF: Trac to play the ANB role and to be used all the time going forward through the middle HF: Van Rooyen Sparrow F: Pickett Fritsch Brown Ru: Gawn Harmes Viney Int: Hunt, Spargo, J.Smith, Jordon

Ultimately the Pies were quicker and fitter and desperate in the tackles and their strong men Maynard and De Goey proved too ballistic for us in the final term. Can we turn things around pre-finals - probably not but here's a few suggestions: 1) Obviously our fitness guy has been too soft on our egos and all season we have failed to close out games after half time like we did with Burgess - we have an eight-day break, so we have one last chance on Tuesday or Wednesday to give our guys some really solid 200m reps. But ultimately it's too late in the season to turn your fitness completely around. As a result you have to turn to the players that are naturally fit and hence Joel Smith is in and Harmes is also in because he provides run. 2) Our tackling wasn't anywhere near as strong as the Pies - we have a big bodied player like Trac and I get that he's a pin player given a licence but he's not doing enough grunt work. As to his decision to not go forward on the members wing and handball backwards to an under pressure Olly, it was criminal and shows his lack of confidence in his own game and in his forwards. A decision on whether Trac gets his licence to do his own thing is needed. I think we have to still give it to him, but ask him to be more accountable at the same time. And he is a AA midfielder, not an AA forward. So we have to play him there and wear the consequences. Watching De Goey and Crisp charging into the packs with a full head of steam was disheartening. It's a risky policy but it kept paying off for them, whereas we just tried to handball it out of the pack and they were on to us before we had time to be precise. If Trac came charging through, I'd get out of his way I know that. Maybe he needs to take that risk at some stoppages. 3) At halftime Angus was our best player as a midfielder, but he was marked more closely in the second half and was basically ineffectual from then on. I do like him playing in the middle, but it has to be a shock tactic. We need him down back for his precise kicking. That's where he has to go. Harmes comes back into the midfield rotation because he's a worker. Yes he butchers it on occasions, but he ain't alone there. 4) Our forward set up isn't working. Both Fritter and Brown were good in patches and presented as did Gawny (who was everywhere but whose kicking was appaling) but we got nothing out of Jackson as a forward. Our third tall Melksham was brilliant in the first term but couldn't impact from then on. He's just too small for the role and can't provide the tackle pressure. Hence we have to go to Joel Smith who is an X-factor player. It's now too late in the season to try Van Rooyen, but I'd be comfortable with that as an option as well, but I think Joel Smith can provide the forward tackles and pressure better than VR. 5) Others have commented on this, but can we keep playing three small forwards in the same team. ANB's role is crucial through the middle, but I lost count of the number of times he got tackled by the Pies. Could his role go to someone else this late in the season?

Given that we have really struggled to find long marking options up forward and that we have gone back to our pre-2021 set up of just two tall forwards, we certainly need his less choreographed aerial work. And if we were to play him as the third tall marking option, then it also gives us more flexibility down back if we get an injury. There is a seperate argument is that JVR is also worth a try as the third tall forward But either way we need a spark up there and Joel has the aerial ability to provide it.

Brown for Weideman is a lock for almost all of us. Harmes also should play, it's just who goes out. Tricky, especially given Brayshaw looked so good in the middle last week and both Rivers and Hunt (especially early) were super. Then there's the fact that we need a third tall up forward and as insurance - Melky has done a great job in the T.Mac role so far. I also like the prospect of Joel Smith playing. But I reckon given the stakes, we should just make him the sub. That way he can come on if needed at either end. He's perfect for that role.

As much as I am sure we will play like a home side tonight (it was our finals home ground after all), I am still concerned that we have not picked a side to beat Freo. Since our loss to the Pies we have scrapped our three talls down back, three talls up forward set up and Freo have a plethora of solid high-marking talls (Darcy, Cox, Pearce, Ryan, Lobb, Taberner and Logue) - that's one more than us. They also have back-up three-quarter talls in Young and Chapman. So it had better be wet or slushie. If not we better have a late change on the horizon. We also named eight defenders this week. Is one a late withdrawal or is Brayshaw going to go into the middle to tag his brother - not a bad idea I reckon, except I doubt it will happen because our guys train in their three clusters and Goody and selectors never seem to switch roles, unless catastrophic injuries occur. Is Rivers going to take Frederick again. This was the match up that cost us big time at the MCG and it looks to me like it is on the cards again. Let's hope redemption comes for our boy. Where will Jayden play. We lost Harmes from our midfield/forward rotation and replaced him with an extra defender - is he going to play as a forward or provide run and carry from down back sadly missing in recent weeks. Or could James Jordon be sent into the middle to tag Brayshaw, allowing Jayden to play his wing. Ultimately our big advantage is that we have a player who loves the hard stuff - Viney - and even if Oliver is tagged by Aish (and he will be), he can be the difference and the reason we get first use of it. And hopefully Trac lifts. If he doesn't it's hard to see us taking control of the game. And if it is a hurried, harassed first use by Viney, Trac and Olly, then Freo's tall defence will gobble it up. Excited? Yes! Worried about our planning? Not if we win!

I am pretty confident we will put in a strong showing against Freo on our favourite away ground, but I am still mega worried that our conservative set-up out of defence will continue, enabling Freo to chop us off. The Dockers have plenty of strong marks, as we saw at the MCG in May, and we can't just continue to go left, left and left again. The issue is huge because the Cats and Doggies exploited our tactic and what's worse, it generally is Langdon's side and his value is his run, not his marking ability. Ideally what we need to do is to be switching to his wing because that's his strength, not going out to his side from kick-ins. Clearly we have a problem of confidence in our right-side and as good as James Jordon has been in terms of work rate, he is not providing line-breaking runs or marking safety marking intercepts. Given he also has an injury and is 50-50, it is time to trial a new player on the wing. To me their is only one strong-marking tall that has the speed and tackling ability to shock the Dockers - Luke Jackson. Yes it means Gawn has to ruck for longer, but his tapping ability in the last term against the Dogs was phenomenal and we need his presence against Darcy and Lobb. Our other options is to bring in pace on the near-side wing, but to me, getting Jackson more involved and using his height-advantage will present problems for the Dockers and give us a viable right-side aerial outlet. The counter-argument is that it's too late in the season to make changes, but that's been our policy all season - our only fundamental difference to last season has been changing Angus to defence which was brought on by injuries pre-season. Playing Jackson on the wing allows us to include Ben Brown without having to drop the Weid. Lever's returns most likely means Tomlinson misses. The other issue is that Rivers has had two games back and is yet to provide heaps of run. I am sure he can play, but unfortunatelt this is his growth year via the VFL. He has to either learn to be the third tall defender or be given clear instructions to take the game on and become a weapon like a Bailey Dale. Neither seems to have happened as yet. One of Bowey or Hunt has to come back in for Rivers and I think Bowey's game in the VFL was exceptional, so i'd err towards him and make Hunt the sub, so that he can provide value down back or up front if called into that role. The final change is tricky - Chandler has to play. He's been close so many times but he deserves his shot in the big league more than any other player and it can't be as sub - he has to play. As a result a hard call has to be made on Spargo, ANB, Harmes or Melky - all of whom had their moments against the Dogs. If it's wet I'd leave out Melky, but I'd pencil him back in for the game against the Pies. I also think we have to better utilise Harmes, who had a shocker against the Dogs, highlighted by his appalling kick to Melky in the second term. To me Harmes provides run in the middle and we have to use him more in there and a hard-tag on Brayshaw will suit him. That means Trac has to spend more time forward. but that's what happens when you aren't quite doing the superstar stuff in the middle of the park. So for me, it's time to get bigger and less predictable. In: Lever, B.Brown, Bowey, Chandler and Hunt as sub Out: Jordon (inj), Tomlinson, Rivers, Melky

Sydney Demon: Why do posters keep talking about moving Petty forward? We have the best defence in the league with Petty in the side in defence. So you keep Tomlinson in the side and push Petty forwards? That weakens our defence and Petty hasn't been training in attack so why experiment? If you want to go tall you bring a forward in from Casey, not play a backman in attack! Petty played up front in 2019 and looked quite capable before injury and we all know he has a little more mobility than Ben Brown and Weid, so is an enticing prospect as our lead-up forward. Given our reluctance to play Weid, the youth of JVR and T-Mac's injury, there is sound logic in the move - although whether Tomlinson has the pace to replace him down back on a permanent basis is the big question. That is why when Joel Smith comes back, the option becomes a little more appealing and in the event of injury to a big during a game, reverting to the three-tall forward option enables us the flexibility of sending Petty back just as we had to with T-Mac a couple of times last year. It's a discussion Demonlanders are all having and I'm sure our selectors are also pondering.

It does sound like losing Jacko is becoming a real prospect. If that's the case then I just hope we are circling the right Docker trade options. Hayden Young is clearly our best option - being the left-foot defender that would replace Hibbo next year and May's kick-in duties down the track. Ironically Young was our expected early pick when we went with Jackson and Pickett in the 2019 draft and is a Dandenong lad who went with pick 8 or 9. I'd reckon their first pick (around 15-18) and Young would be fair compensation and I'd be happy if we went with Lobb in lieu of pick 15-18, although I suspect Lobb has already priced himself out of the market and his haircut doesn't help either! The side bonus with losing Jackson is that it should enable us to re-sign Angus.

Melky played well last week and did what we have all been critical of him - tackle. If he continues to do that then he can play the T.Mac third tall role, because like T.Mac, he is smart and generally a good kick and set shot. But Marvel is a fast circuit so he will need to be on his game to survive. Ultimately I suspect we will need a third tall option. We dispensed with this role after our loss to the Pies I think, but I imagine that against the better sides we will need to go back to having another option down the line - to me the role is probably best served by Petty, although May is also an attractive option at CHF, the issue being that it leaves our defence more suspect. The return of Joel Smith will add pace to our back seven, but that's at least two weeks away. Note the emergencies this week - Weid ready in case Brown is too sore, Tomlinson ready in case Lever too sore, Dunstan or Bedford the sub.

I was rapt that we seemed to inact the switch at least five times from down back against Port, whereas the week before against the Cats we went left, left and left again. Part of that comes down to the inclusion of Tomlinson and Rivers - both of whom are good kicks, although hardly stars. Part of it doubtless was a relook at the Cats game by our coaches and May and others were clearly reminded that there were two sides of the ground. This week the selectors have to decide whether to continue with just two talls up front - I reckon the Dogs are quicker and will make the switch harder, which means we will go up the line more which in turn means you need the third tall up front. Both Petty or May would be great options at CHF, but Goody and his team don't like switching the magnets around, so I reckon they will be too scared to make the switch and given that Melky played well, he will likely stay in. If Melky keeps working that hard, then his right-foot lethal weapon makes him very useful and almost undroppable. Bedford is the obvious out (very surprised that he played in Alice ahead of Laurie and Chandler) and Oliver comes back with Sparrow spending more time up forward again in Bedord's role. Assuming Petty is right, then Tomlinson is the unlucky out, although as stated, I wish we had the balls to try May or Petty up forward, thereby keeping Tomlinson in. But we'll go small again. Rivers needs to do more, but provides good balance down back with Salem and Hibberd, so Hunt and Bowey will have to wait. Spargo has to do more as well, and with Laurie and Chandler in form, a change should be made - but it won't be.

Laurie is definitely in, Van Rooyen may be in. But my question is whether it is time to invoke the positional switch which was first mooted by the club three years ago and has yet to be trialled in any game. That being playing Jackson as a ruck rover alongside Gawn. If Clarrie is out, then it's the perfect week to go with it, but even if Clarrie plays, there are some benefits as port plays a heavy stoppage game and having another hard body who loves to tackle in there won't hurt. The other positional switch Goody should consider is this. Does anyone have confidence in our key forwards to mark the ball and go bang to either a lead-up, long give or shot from 50m. There is one player who can do all that and he may well be our best forward - Steven May. One advantage of sending him forward is that it stops him continually going left from defence - which was way too predictable against the Cats.

Goody said the audit would come and hopefully with a 10-day break both he and the selectors do some tinkering. The first and biggest decision is deciding if they can continue to just attack via the left-hand side. I know we have three left footers down back but it was embarrassing watching our lack of variety and inability to switch play. If we are sticking with that line of attack, then you have to go back to another big up front to present down that line. The obvious fix to this is to either use a right-footer such as Brayshaw on kick-ins or to provide a fun incentive reward for May to switch to the right at least once a quarter. We looked slow against the Cats and we also did against the Pies in Rd 13. We altered our mix after Rd 13 to have an extra small forward to solve the pace problem - Bedford was added - but unfortunately in a pressure-cooker game (and they all will be from here) it didn't work and we just looked small and ineffectual. So the first thing is that it's back to three small forwards (not four). The other thing is that we looked slow in our ball movement from down back and at the same time didn't have enough bodies (extras) around the stoppages. At least one of Rivers or Hunt must return to our back seven because we have to have more drive from the back. If that means Bowey has to sit out for a few weeks, then so be it. The thing with Hunt is that he cannot be left on last line in a one-on-one contest because he's not that sort of player as we saw against Sydney. Hibberd or Salem or Brayshaw have to take whichever small forward is playing close to goals. I'll be interested to see if the hunger has returned with Rivers after a few weeks out and we will know after tonight's VFL game I suspect. As to stoppages, Harmes has to be in the middle more often. Yes he's not as classy as Trac and Olly, but we need his grunt work more than ever in the lead-up to the finals and together with Viney they can provide shutdown roles as well. Finally, we need a bit of excitement among the group and that invariably comes with a first-gamer. Hopefully either Lawrie or Van Rooyen plays well enough in the VFL tonight to warrant a debut. I am also hopeful that we are spending a bit more than two nights in the Alice as right now our young guys need to have a break from what is an incredibly cold winter. Sure the guys with kids may prefer to stay put with their families, but this is a great chance to get some endurance training in along with some team-bonding with peripheral players. In: (subject to decent games in VFL) Weid or (Van Rooyen), Hunt or Rivers (maybe even both), Lawrie (if he has a good game in VFL). Out: Bedford or Spargo (you cannot drop Kossie for the Alice Springs game), Olly (if thumb broken) or Sparrow (if Lawrie plays well in VFL), Bowey and possibly Hibberd (if Rivers plays a blinder in VFL).

Sorry but my votes are quite a bit different to most of you. 6 Brayshaw - the only Dee that was clean by hand and foot all night, even if he slipped into just going down the left-hand side like his teammates after half time. 5 Harmes - our only midfielder who took the game on, or at least was permitted to take it on, and significantly it was when he was on the ball it coincided with our best chances. As hard and tough as Viney and Oliver were, they weren't able to get any run or clearances going for much of the night. 4 Petty - did a commendable job mainly on Cameron, who has been their best forward this year. 3 Neal-Bullen - our only small forward to touch it more than six times and to lay more than a couple of tackles. 2 Oliver - after a slow start had a super second term, but shouldn't have been allowed to come back on after his thumb injury. 1 Viney - another gutsy display but aside from his lovely pass to Fritter early, didn't really provide the link-up play. Unlucky Trac - yes clearly was dangerous with his three goals, but not enough bullocking or tackling work done by him and part of our beaten midfield clearance group, even though he spent chunks of game down forward.

The five-day break should mean that both sides are more cautious on players who were sore. For us that should mean that Hibbo, who is also our oldest player and had some tightness on Saturday, sits out this one. I assume Rivers gets the gig to play mainly on Close leaving May (Hawkins), Lever/Petty (Cameron, Stanley, Blicavs or their fresh big), Brayshaw (Danger), Salem (Stengle), Bowey (Narkle). The other decision is whether to go back to the three bigs plus Fritsch forward set up that was so successful until our Freo game, or stick with the smaller, quicker line up that we have used in our past two wins. Ultimately I feel playing the Cats, you have to be big and strong so I'd prefer one of Kossie, Spargo or Bedford to be given the sub vest this week - whoever is the sorest. The advantage of going big should mean that the Cats send Blicavs back to play alongside Henry and Rohan (now playing back). Certainly I'd select the side that way and if conditions look poor for bigs, then it's easy to switch out a big and stick with the fourth small. Gawn and Jacko should both be fresh and for me I'd leave out whoever is the sorest out of Weid, M.Brown or B.Brown - I would say Mitch Brown but given he knows the ground so well, sometimes that can assist. So maybe it's time to give big Benny boy a rest.

Wow, hard to believe that we are back to the old days of ringing the changes but certainly there has to be a rethink based on injuries, not to mention the brand being trashed. In terms of playing style, we have to get back to last year's mix of long and short forward entries - Trac's pass to ANB in second term on MCG was the only short one I can remember. We also have to work on our centre clearances because we won't be getting the silver service for the next few weeks without Gawny. I did think getting Hibberd back last week solved our problems with one-on-one work a bit, and May should help this even more. The tricky bit is that finding a match up for Charlie Cameron will not be easy - J.Smith will still be out. I think I'd go Hibbo and just accept that he may get a couple of sly ones over the top. But to me Rivers is the only other option - is two weeks of VFL enough for him to have understood the need for more responsibility? Yep I'd give him the job and let him sink or swim a bit. I''d also use Tomlinson in the ruck a bit with Jackson. Tommo has a great tank - so I'd prefer him over Mitch Brown. Finally I also reckon we need to get a spark from someone and Kozzy's the man (as we have to get more out of him) - I'd send him into the middle and rotate up forward with Trac. In terms of outs, I'm afraid it may be time to let Bowey and Sparrow go back and dominate the VFL for a bit. The Sparrow spot opens the door for either Bedford or Lawrie (if we want to give a newcomer a go). Perhaps Lawrie the sub this week. Finally I think we have to use the tag on their two primary ball winners and users - Viney on Neale and Harmes on McCluggage - for big chunks of the game - not both at same time though as we need our own drive. Out: Gawn, Turner (inj) Bowey M.Brown Sparrow in: Weid, Rivers, Tomlinson, May, Bedford B: Rivers (Cameron) May (Daniher) A.Brayshaw (Bailey) HB: Lever Petty (Hipwood) Salem (McCarthy) C: Langdon Pickett Jordon HF: Trac Weideman ANB F: Spargo Fritsch B.Brown Ru: Jackson Oliver Viney Int: Bedford, Tomlinson, Harmes, Hibberd

The issue is finding players to cover the last line of defence for the one-on-one ply that comes in quick and with May out it was again a big problem. Sadly Hunt blew his two key plays against Papley (2nd term) and Heeney (final term) and unfortunately that might spell the end for him at this level. Hibberd is the obvious inclusion for this role, especially as Rivers needs at least another week in the VFL developing in this area. I suspect Hibberd will get Ginnivan quite a bit. Tomlinson also blew some key last line plays on Reid but with May out we don't have options. I don't imagine Petty will come up and if he doesn't then we'll need another tall to combat the Mihocek, Cox, Henry combo - I think McInnes will be out injured. I reckon it would be a big call to use Turner on Henry but it's definitely possible. The alternative is to send Mitch Brown or Reid back there and use Lever on Henry. The other decision is up forward and whether we want to keep going with our three talls plus Fritter structure, or whether Ben Brown's lack of impact will make us consider sending Trac down there for a bit and just going with two talls - Jackson and Weid or Jackson and Mitch Brown - whichever one isn't sent down back to cover for Petty and May's absence. Ultimately I think our guys all sensed the urgency against the Swans and it just didn't quite come off with the Goulden free huge. But if we have fixed up our forward set up and Tomlinson adjusts better to the tempo, then it should be happy days on Monday.

Been a while since I've been interested in posting a comment - such has been our regular winning scenario, but alas all good things come to and end and the selection microscope is now upon us. First point I'll make is the surprise at the number of people who don't seem to yet fully understand that five outs and five ins doesn't really add up if you include the sub as one of your outs - ie: Dunstan. I think we all get that, if they pass their fitness test, there will be five ins with Tomlinson replacing May and the fab four - Langdon, Harmes, T.Mac and Salem all back. Melksham is clearly going to be out and sadly a couple of hard calls on premiership players have to be made. The first is Rivers, who unless you have forgotten, was on Freo's matchwinner Frederick in the second half. Rivers has been solid all year, but never great and never in our best five or six. He needs to go back to the magoos and he needs the club to decide if he is a swingman who can play on the bigs or a swingman who can just play on the smalls. Effectively his spot has been taken by Angus this year. Rivers needs to dominate for Casey and if he does, he will come back a better player. He is young and I still think he has some Corey Enright type qualities, but he has to realise he can do even more. Steve Waugh was eventually dropped and it was the making of him. The second is Tom Sparrow, who was ineffectual against Freo's mids and when playing as a high half-forward barely sighted. We all know Tom works his butt off and he's been pretty handy in heaps of games, how can anyone forget his game against Richmond. But like Rivers he needs to go back and dominate the VFL, so that he takes that dominate attitude into the AFL. He is also young and now is the time to make him earn his spot. Some of you have tipped Hunt to be dropped instead of Rivers but he is exactly the player to match up on Papley, as he has been on Bolton and other lively small forwards that play near the goalsquare this season and has played heaps tighter than in the past. The argument would be that Salem can play on Papley, but I just don't reckon Salem needs that added pressure in his first game back and he will more than have his hands full with others anyway - most likely Hayward who was the Swans best against Richmond. That leaves Bowey on Wicks (who might yet be dropped for Stephens) and Angus on Heeney. With Franklin out (barring the AFL intervening), they will bring in Amartey to go with Reid and McDonald. Petty (if fit), Tomlinson and Lever will mark them. The tricky decision for our selectors is which of Ben Brown and the Weid is omitted for T.Mac. It's a tough choice because McCartin has been terrific as a marking interceptor and Brown has been out of form in recent weeks and Weid quiet but he showed some smarts in defence in a couple of key plays when sent back last week. Keeping Bedford ahead of Sparrow also alters our balance a tad, but I reckon we have to send Sparrow and Rivers back to the VFL for a few weeks for their development and having each other down there will be an added spur. I also would have liked to see Laurie play, but he had a quiet one against the Frangers last week and Van Rooyen was injured/ill. Anyway for me it's: In: Salem, Langdon, Harmes, T.Macdonald, Tomlinson Out: May (inj), Sparrow, Rivers, Melksham, Weid plus Dunstan, last week's sub. And given we are already playing an extra small with Toby, I'd make Weid the sub.

I always felt Todd Viney was more of a ruck rover and & Jack given his size is more a rover in traditional sense, although I did wax and wane on Nathan Jones being the rover as well. Ultimately they are all midfielders and to me interchange is the same as starting in the modern era. But I reckon the role of wing has gone up a notch this year with Lingers and Brayshaw with Smith and Hunter the only two ahead of them as tandem. But they are all not a patch on Robbie!

Dees top 100 of the past 50 years – part 5 (the top 20) Well my series has finally come to an end and as requested the top 20 are in reverse order, although no prizes for guessing who I chose as No.1 The series has been somewhat cathartic for me and I have enjoyed all your comments, although in hindsight there have been two criticisms to my order by fellow ageing Demonlanders that I tend to think now have merit. The first was by the gent who reckons Graham Osborne (way back at No.81 on my list) was majorly overrated. I did say I was enamoured with his dashes and errant bounces, but having watched a quarter on video from a 1973 game, I now think I might have upgraded him too much. He did play 146 games for us. But Peter Walsh probably deserves his spot. The other ranking that I’d probably relook at now is former skipper Stan Alves who I had at 25. Maybe he should have slotted in ahead of Steven Stretch at 21. He was runner up in the Brownlow after all. And it was great watching him play in the two grand finals of 1977. I’m comfortable with how I have ranked the current crop and obviously Kozzy, Jacko, Lingers and others would be there if they’d been around for more than two seasons. Finally, it was Werridee who wanted his usual team, comprised from this list, so here goes: B: Johnson Wight J.Stynes (with a few more matches, May will replace Wight the way he’s going and Jimmy could play anywhere in his youth) HB: B.Lovett Hardeman Yze C: Flower Wells G.Healy HF: Petracca Schwarz B.Wilson F: Farmer Neitz Lyon Ru: Gawn Oliver J.Viney Int: Jones, White, T.Viney, Bruce Sub: Robertson or Jakovich 20 Jeff White 98-08 236 games, 95 goals A Frankston lad, White was the No.1 pick in the 1994 draft and spent three somewhat miserable years learning the ropes with newly-born Fremantle. He could take a hanger back then, but he also would be pushed out of the way and copped a few knocks with facial fractures and a ruptured spleen limiting his game-time. But with Jimmy showing signs of ageing, we decided to make a play for him and won the battle for his services with St Kilda. We had to give up pick 2 to secure him, keeping No.1 for Trapper. White was only 195cm but could leap like Nic Nat and even got a state of origin gig for Victoria against the Allies in 1998. We went from four wins to 16 and a preliminary final under Daniher that year. White, who started the year primarily as a forward (kicked four in our upset win over Port), had taken over from Stynes by the finals, although respect for Jimmy made it a tandem. From then on White was always our main man, he had 47 hitouts against Ryan Turnbull in 2000. He ended his career with 5000 hitouts and only Gawny has gone past him in club history. He was one of our few players in the 2000 Grand Final that could say he beat his opponent and the honours and injuries kept coming. A significant shin injury in 2003 cruelled his season and led to him wearing a shin protector for the remainder of his career and in 2005 he was inadvertently kicked in the face by Steven King in the finals which broke his jaw and required metal plates. But in 2004 he won the Bluey, made the All-Australian side and polled 15 votes in the Brownlow. And in 2005 there was his legendary goal from a free kick against Wade Skipper in the final minute against the Bulldogs that sent us into the finals. The ball sailed through from 50m. 19 Jack Viney 13- 150 games We’d just come off the tanking inquiry and were about to appoint Mark Neeld as coach when young Jack agreed to be a father/son pick for us in 2011 and I’m sure we have to thank dad Todd for a lot of that. Jack played VFL for us in 2012 and David Wojcinski broke his draw in his first game, but Jack was made of much tougher stuff to be too worried. But had he known back then that we would give up Ollie Wines at the draft for an outside runner, he may have opted out. But thankfully he didn’t and he played one of the most memorable opening games in our 79-point thrashing by Port in 2013, where Neeld’s “we didn’t see that coming” was born. The only thing we didn’t see coming that day was how good Jack was already – he had 22 disposals, including an audacious 30m handball out of trouble on the members wing. He has often been injured, but when he plays he gives us grunt and commitment, clearly FMC was stamped on his papers. He was second in our B&F in 2015, but played enough games in 2016 to join dad Todd on the honor roll. Goody made him joint co-captain in 2017, but the injuries kept coming and a navicular foot issue appeared career threatening. I always felt he had bulked himself up so much in the weightroom that at just 178cm and 87kg, he was just too heavy for his feet. Naim Suleymanoglu was probably lighter, but somehow he managed to get back for the 2018 finals and it was primetime Jack. Boy did he lift for them – even had 11 clearances in our loss to West Coast. He had to wait another three years, lost the captaincy (let’s face it, he is way too much of an individual off-field to inspire a whole side in this PC era), and was courted by Geelong off-season, but by September 2021, he was ready to make a statement. And boy did he do it – have a look at the GF bounce and the legal hit he put on Macrae early. And he kept at it all evening with 12 clearances to be one of our best. We should all be grateful that a lad with white line fever is on our side. 18 Brett Lovett 86-97 235 games, 48 goals There are not too many defenders up this high, so you can immediately gauge the esteem with which the best mate of Garry Lyon was held. I mean he wasn’t quick, wasn’t a thumping kick, couldn’t leap high. But gees he could play. He’d initially spent three years trying out at Hawthorn, captaining their under-19 side, and probably would have headed back to Inverloch, but then GM Ray Manley gave him a glowing reference and he joined us and played the last eight games on 1986. It wasn’t until towards the end of ‘87 that he became a permanent fixture at half-back and it coincided with our run that should have taken us to glory. He was just so clean with his hands and kicking – one of those players that seemed to make the game slow down as he approached. He was runner up in our B&F in 88 and was three times in the VFL/AFL team of the year, the precursor to All-Australian. His battles with Peter Daicos were legendary and he was made vice-captain in 1990 and thrown into the midfield. He was fourth in the Brownlow that year. He was still mega-effectual up until 1995, snagging three sausages in our semi-final win against the Dogs in 1994. A chronic pelvic injury led him to retire after 1997. 17 Nathan Jones 06-21 302 games, 141 goals It’s going to be interesting to see how history records Jonesy. Three B&Fs, second most games, skipper for four seasons and club icon during an era when we were so bad, it was embarrassing. Back in 2012 under Neeld, Jones and Wattsy were the two most skilled players at training by a long, long way. Like Alves and Wells, he could have jumped ship, but didn’t and I suspect Roosy’s arrival in 2014 had a fair bit to do with it. Initially though he must have thought he was lucky when we drafted him from the Stingrays with pick No.12 in 2005. He had to wait until Round 17 to debut and was so resolute as a teenager, that he played finals. The problem was that he went another 253 games before playing in another one. It was somewhat prophetic that kicked the sealer in the 2018 elimination final against the Cats because I’ve never been so incensed as I was when Steve Johnson scornfully sent Jonesy’s head into the mud as they clobbered us in 2013 at Kardinia Park. I reckon his best game was when he tagged Marc Murphy in his prime and blitzed him and in 2017, he gave everyone a reminder of his value when he was best on ground in our win in our come-from-behind win in Alice Springs against Gold Coast. By 2018 he wasn’t really needed anymore – his work was done. He did however give us one final BOG cameo with a three-goal game at the SCG against the Swans in 2019. 16 Jeff Farmer 95-01 118 games, 259 goals It was a stroke of luck that in 1994, Fremantle was blissfully unaware of talents such as Andrew Mcleod and a 16 year old from Tambellup in south-eastern WA called Jeff Farmer. We gave up dour defender Phil Gilbert to secure his services. He kicked a goal with his first kick against Geelong and he infamously handballed to his unsuspecting skipper Garry Lyon in the goalsquare late in one game. He loved to play on at almost every opportunity – often at inappropriate times. But his flair became obvious by mid-1996. He kicked three against the Pies on QB and finished with 37 goals from the pocket, although it took a trip by Lyon and Balme to get him to come back from Mandurah the next off-season. The Whiz was mega popular. He won the mark of year in 1998 against the Tigers for a hanger on Lyon and both he and Neiter kicked six the following week in the qualifying final to defeat Adelaide, who somehow won the flag that year. He was a 174cm magician with 76 goals in 2000 with his nine goal second half against the Pies that QB year stunning. He’d been benched for a goalless first half and only got back on because Ben Beams got injured. The next week he kicked seven against the Hawks and he had a couple of bags of eight, including against the Roos in the preliminary final that year. He kicked three in the granny as well, not bad given he was playing with a broken rib. But his infamy led to off field problems including a couple of serious offences in the off-season in Perth. A hamstring injury cost him seven weeks and by the time he returned, 2001 had bitten the dust for us, although he did snag five in a couple of late wins. We let him go to Freo in 2002 in exchange for pick 17 and in his first match against us he kicked the winner after the siren, as good players so often do. 15 David Schwarz 91-02 173 games, 243 goals If you weren’t alive in 1994 then you were seriously unlucky because that was the year Schwarter went from being a talented young prospect to freakish superstar who could leap for hangers, baulk opponents with blind turns and bump oncoming blokes out of the way. The boy from Sunbury was 195cm and around 95kg in those days and had his career stalled a bit in 93 with an OP groin issue, before being given the keys to the forward line with Garry Lyon. That’s why Neiter had to play CHB. By the end of 94, he’d kicked 60 goals from CHF including nine straight against Sydney, taken us to the prelim final and was regarded as the second best forward in the comp behind Wayne Carey. He even took more marks than him that year. Only Glen Jakovich, then regarded as the games’ best defender, could stop the Ox. Then in a pre-season intra-club game tragedy struck as he did his knee. He was back ready to go 16 weeks after surgery, but the knee went again in round 9. And again in a reserves practice match the following pre-season. By the time he returned again in round 11 of 1997, he was 113kg and still a bullocking forward – but gone was the mobility. He was still game smart and aggressive, but no longer a superstar. He was thrown up as trade bait with Richmond’s Wayne Campbell in 1998 and responded to the slight by winning the B&F in 99. In 2000, he was one of the few who really tried to stand up to Essendon’s thuggery. From then on he seemed to have a mix of off-field issues, with racist allegations, suspensions and gambling addictions among his foibles. But wowee, what a year ’94 was. Better than Jakovich’s 91 I reckon. 14 Alan Johnson 82-90 135 games, 95 goals He’d been a highly successful player with Perth for several season when we claimed him with first pick in the 1981 two-pick VFL draft at the age of 25. He was just 179cm and 75kg – Taylah Harris is bigger and stronger – but he was mega talented. Quick and a good kick, he spent the first few years on the wing opposite Robbie and won our B&F in 1983, but his slight frame and age leant himself to injuries. He had calf issues in 85, a broken thumb in 86 and in 87 badly tore his hamstring which meant he missed our finals run. With Yeater now a wingman and his hamstring issue fixed, he was sent to the back pocket in 88 and that’s where he became an absolute star at the age of 31 with his ability to read the play and his beautiful long kick launching counter-attacks. He was among our best in the granny, but was even better in 89. Opposition sides started tagging him, that’s how good he was. After starring in our EF win over the Pies in 1989, the Cats absolutely hammered him the next week. He won our B&F again that year and was part of the VFL team of the year. Hammys and calfs became an issue again for him in 1990 and he retired, ending up coaching Old Trinity in 1992. 13 Adem Yze 95-08 271 games, 234 goals OK, quite a few of you have noticed the similarities with Christian Salem and I tend to agree. Both silky left footers, both of south/eastern European descent and both masters of spotting up a target under pressure. I remember Ooze’s first game – he wore the long-sleeved No.44 then and was a late inclusion on a wet day against Richmond and no-one in the members seemed to know who he was. He got a few nice touches that day but struggled to get much game time from Balmey, although he did snag five goals in 96 against Fitzroy in what should have been a breakout game. Ironically it was in our first game under interim coach Greg Hutchison in our horror 97 that we saw just how good he was playing on the wing. He snagged one from 45m from the boundary that night and you could just tell he loved finally getting a good run and a licence to do extraordinary things. For the next decade he was all class in the No.13 racking up 226 consecutive games – he even got his wife to give birth three days before the season so his streak could continue. He won our B&F in 2001 and in 2002 he was in the AA team along with polling 17 votes to finish third in the Brownlow. He could take a nice hanger, but it was his freakish snaps that most of us remember, his five goal QB game against the Pies in 2005 was stunning and he was at it again the following year – he loved that fixture. 12 Brian Wilson 82-90 154 games, 208 goals Willow! An absolute showman like Nick Kyrgios, he was among the most hated players by opposition fans because of the way he celebrated a goal and his propensity to stage for free kicks by arching his back when touched. He’d already been at Footscray and North, when Barass got him over aged 20 along with Stickey. You have to ask why they let him go, I mean he was third in the Roos B&F in 81, so clearly his style irked a few at those clubs and he was regarded as overweight, so a bit of fat-shaming went on I suspect. But for a club that won just one game in 1981, Willow was a godsend in the middle, averaging 28 disposals. He had 40 touches in a win in the mud at Morrabbin that year. He wasn’t fast, nor was he a long kick, but he was famous for his baulks and liked trying to take a hanger. His massive hips meant he could ride a bump well and he was clever with dishing it off by hand under pressure, a bit like Greg Williams. His lack of pace must have worried our hierarchy a bit, because even early in 1983 we sent him forward on occasions and he kicked seven in round 3 against Sydney. I remember going to Vic Park early in 85 and he was just so elusive as our mock full-forward on a windy day kicking six and almost getting us home in front of a vile crowd. He won our goalkicking with 40 that year but injuries started to curtail him, although watch a replay of our win at Whitten Oval in 1987 and you will see how clever he was as a half-forward. He snagged two goals against the Hawks at Waverley in the prelim but had his collarbone broken – I think Dipper got him as well. He was still a star in 88 and was our only player with more than 20 disposals in the horror GF, but really was more of a cameo man in 89 and 90. He retired but then St Kilda lured him back and sure enough, his only really good game for them was a six-goal matchwinning display against … you guessed it … the Demons. 11 Todd Viney 87-99 233 games 92 goals Mike Sheahan used to love wheeling out stats that showed how insipid Melbourne were when Todd Viney was out injured or suspended during the 90s. Such was his presence back then that he turned our midfield into a feared unit. He wasn’t a great kick but boy was he tough and he was much needed alongside lighter frames like Greg Healy, Andrew Obst and Stephen Stretch. And being bigger than Jack by a couple of inches, he could do even more damage. He was already a big bodied mid at Sturt when we got him across as part of the “last chance for Robbie’ campaign and even though he missed nine games with injury in 87, we made him vice-captain as a 21-year-old in 1988. But like Jack, he started mounting up the injuries with knee and back issues. He played enough in 93 to win our B&F and was a force in 94. He did try his hand at tennis fitness coaching with Mark Philippoussis in 96 (he was a very talented junior player) but soon realised he loved playing footy. The Dees made him captain in ’98 and he claimed his second B&F that year and first All-Australian. He wasn’t a big goalscorer, three against the Tigers in 99 was a career-high, but he was always big on clearance numbers and tackles – like son, like father you may say. 10 Gary Hardeman 67-77, 81 – 219 games Gary was just inspiring in the early 70s whether playing for us or Victoria as he did 11 times. As a centre-half back he had a good leap and strong hands and he had great pace, although he was a bit of a wonky old kick at times. What’s harder to believe these days is that he was just 187cm – I mean 6ft2in and playing on all the big forwards in those days. I was also shocked to see that his main rival as the best CHB in the comp back then – Peter Knights – was only 188cm. Midfielders now. Hardeman played in our 1971 night grand final win under lights at Lakeside Oval which was his only team glory. He was third in the 1972 Brownlow count and second in 1974 with 23 votes behind Keith Greig. In 1977 he tied for eighth, so the umps definitely loved him, even more than our club it seems. He’d worked originally as a taxi driver, but clearly wasn’t paid enough by us as he left in his prime to play with Sturt in 1978, after mooting the move a couple of years earlier. Or maybe it was because we had never given him a B&F which is extraordinary given how well he polled and how regularly he had more than 20 disposals as a defender. He even ventured forward a bit in 1975 and kicked 5.6 in a win over the Dons at the MCG. He made a bit of a mistake returning to play under Barass in 1981 and struggled to have an infuence. But his earlier value was recognised when he was named CHB in our team of the century. 9 Gerard Healy 79-85 130 games, 189 goals And the winner of the 1985 best and fairest is Danny Hughes! If you thought Raelene Boyle was unjustly robbed by Renate Stecher of an Olympics gold medal in 1972, then this is almost on a par. Healy had become our most reliable midfielder (Robbie was often injured) and had blossomed from a teenage wingman to being a clever goal sneak next to Mark Jackson to being a complete infielder with a mix of hard work and evasiveness in tight. He was a pretty precise kick as well. He went on to win the 88 Brownlow and it’s fair to say that he had even better years for Sydney than for us, but in 1985 when the club got wind of his impending move to the Geoffrey Edelsten-financially cashed up Swans, they decided to alter history a bit - Healy had won our B&F in 84 after all. I reckon Healy’s best game was at Princes Park in 84 when we beat the premiers Hawthorn and looked finals bound under Barass, only for it to become a false dawn. He had the ball on a string with 30 touches quite a few times in 85, but that was forgotten once the Sydney whisper got out. 8 Greg Wells 69-80 224 games, 251 goals Wellsy played the middle of the park back in the day when Barry Price and Ian Stewart ruled and when the centreman role usually came with a liberal dose of mud on your face or a sticky cricket wicket ruining your boots. Our No.11 was a beautiful mark for his size, especially given he was only 175cm - Charlie Spargo is nearly that tall. He didn’t take hangers, his penchant was more taking one-handers or sliding through the mud for a chesty. He also had a knack for drifting forward and snagging a goal - he kicked five in a game a couple of times and 34 for the year in 1972 - he was second in the Brownlow to Len Thompson that year. He was so incensed with the sacking of Ian Ridley as coach in 1973 that he trained at Subiaco and considered a move, while in 1975 Carlton offered up a bevy of players to snare him. But being a Demon fan and from our bayside recruiting zone like Gerard Healy, he stayed put. He was made captain when Stan Alves left and won a couple of Bluey’s, plus he was a regular for Victoria. I don’t recall too much animosity to him moving to Carlton mid-season in 1980 (after a frustrating decade with us he wanted to play finals). His final game for us was Round 13, 1980 and he amassed a club record 48 disposals against Fitzroy that day before his move to the Blues. I was rapt when he won the flag with them in 81. 7 Jim Stynes 87-98 264 games, 130 goals It’s hard not to remember Jimmy as our selfless president who died at 45, still trying to save us from an embarrassing era. But as a player big Jim was a running machine and infamously took on Olympic marathoner Steve Moneghetti up one hill at a Ballarat pre-season training camp. As a youngster he emerged from a stint at VFA club Prahran in time for our 87 finals campaign and he was pretty handy, although invariably then he’d play CHF or CHB and back up Strawb O’Dwyer, who was a superior tapman. He copped heaps for the 15m penalty that put Gary Buckenara within goalscoring distance for the matchwinner in the 87 preliminary final, but Jim’s mobility and marking prowess made him a much-lauded player of the ilk of Brodie Grundy today. And back then ruckmen could win the Brownlow which he did in 1991. Hard to believe that he hadn’t stepped foot in Australia until he was 18 when he responded to an advert in his local Dublin newspaper. That he went on to play 244 consecutive games (and 264 all up) with multiple injuries is the stuff of a movie script. Great man. 6 Clayton Oliver 16- 124 games I remember watching an intraclub pre-season game at Casey in 2016 and Roosy and Goody just couldn’t stop smiling every time Olly went near it. Here was this 18-year-old kid winning almost every clearance and dishing it off quickly by hand and his first game of “see ball, win ball” in the guts against GWS was a cracker – he polled votes in the Brownlow. But after two best and fairests and his first AA, the Olly rise hit a snag in 2020 and it’s been well-documented by me and others that he had to stop playing 'hot potato’ and start using his pace to take the game on offensively by hand or foot. I reckon Goody and Ben Matthews took him aside and just pointed out what was going wrong after his handball back to Joel Smith in the goalsquare against Richmond cost a goal. But to his credit he started working on taking full responsibility by foot and it was lovely to watch him destroy teams in 2021 with his trusty sidekick Trac – even the goals are starting to come. His game against Brisbane in the qualifying final was unbelievable and his third B&F and second AA so deserving. I still reckon there’s heaps more upside with Olly and we are only just starting to see what he can do, but if he sticks at working his butt off, he may just become our greatest ever - surpassing Robbie and even Barassi. I mean he’s only 24 and dodgy shoulders appear his only limitation. 5 Christian Petracca 15- 127 games It wasn’t until 2020 that Trac really arrived as a star of the comp. Up until then he’d had his rookie season destroyed by a full knee reconstruction op and then been forced to do time as a mid-sized power forward. When we won and he played well like he did against Essendon (four goals) and Collingwood (three in QB 2017) then he was the man. But back then he seemed to be patted on the back too much and the following week he’d be barely sighted. He was outstanding in our pre-season AFLX flag of 2018 as our ruckman, but still prone to missing set-shot sitters. Early in 2019 quite a few friends would come up to me and tell me that Trac wouldn’t make it and the Dees should trade him, but you could tell in the second half of that horrific year that he was working his butt off and the wheel was turning. The decision to send him into the middle in 2020, at the expense of Angus, was huge and made easy for Goody by the fact that he’d bob up everywhere and his core strength ability to wriggle out of anything led to comparisons with Dusty. He didn’t even need the fend off, he was that strong. He also had even more confidence when sent forward, how about that snapped goal with two Saints hanging off him that won us the match against St Kilda in 2020. His first B&F came and then last year he seemed more intent on making sure he played well in big games – he was huge against Geelong, won the Anzac Medal, and went to another level against Port in Adelaide. Come the granny, you sort of sensed that with Olly our best in the first final and Gawny the man against the Cats, there was only one way for the season to finish – with a Trac special. A magic first goal of the game off a step from 50m, followed by wizardry on the run from the Brownlow in the third quarter. As with Olly, only longevity in the game stops him from being ranked higher in the Melbourne pantheon at this point. 4 David Neitz 93-08 306 games, 631 goals For a long time every second story on David Neitz debated whether he should be playing as a defender. Yes he was very good back there in 1994 and for about half of 1995 and he did have one memorable day when he blitzed Wayne Carey, but Neiter never really had the lateral mobility to be a star back there. He was a beautiful mark and lead - not pack screamers like Howey but strong ‘hands out in front’ stuff. He was also a thumping set-shot kick nailing them from 50m at will. He won the Coleman Medal in 2002 and got an AA guernsey that year and he holds just about every record at Melbourne, most games, most goals, longest stint as skipper and the Reverend was his biggest fan, especially after his shirtfront on Hawthorn’s Luke McCabe in Rd 1 of 2002, which came at a time when a few had questioned his leadership after our 2001 fadeout. He kicked nine against the Blues that year on his way to 82 for the season and also slammed home nine against the Tigers in 2004, but double figures somehow eluded him. He was also a handy post-game drinker, which is why his choice of career after footy as a craft beer manufacturer was inspired. 3 Max Gawn 10- 159 games Maxy joined Gaz as our leader in All-Australian selections with five this year, but the entire population gained an awareness of his value to the side in round 23 when he went forward and nailed our most important kick since Neil Crompton’s 1964 effort. That was followed by his freak show highlights in the preliminary final. He only needs one more AA to match Simon Madden and Dean Cox and provided he doesn’t get a sore back changing nappies this year, he will join them and increase his claim to being the best ruckman of all time. He is such a fit bloke these days that injury permitting he could probably play another five years. That didn’t seem likely when we drafted him with pick No.34 in 2009 and he rocked up at training after a few gaspers on the way there. Like Trac, he missed most of his rookie season recovering knee surgery, and we were so bad in 2011 that he just had to get a game. His debut against the Essendon was a win thanks to Brad Green and Liam Jurrah, but he lasted just three games before being omitted and another knee injury in 2012, meant that his rise was a slow burn – if not for striking up a mateship with Trenners and others he may well have been cast aside. By 2014 there were good signs, setting a record 80 hitouts against Bendigo for Casey in the VFL and I think we all remember watching that match down at Geelong in 2015 when he had 44 hitouts, took some amazing pack marks and even laid five tackles. Roosy challenged him pre-season of 2016 and it only got better for him, his clash with Todd Goldstein down in Tassie is one of my best memories – 63 taps and two goals and you could just sense how shattered he was when Goldy was gifted a couple of free kicks and finished with five goals and the three Charlie votes. Sure Gawny’s a knockabout, but he’s also quite possibly also our best off-field leader ever – we all have heard what an inspiration Ron Barassi was on the field, but in this day LGBTQI age to unite a team like he has done, has been nothing short of special. He’d probably tell you that only a Kiwi could do it. 2 Garry Lyon 86-99 226 games 426 goals The skilfull kid from Kyabram snagged the sealer against Richmond on debut and kicked 26 goals in 20 games including seven at the MCG in a close win against the Cats that year. He was only 19 when he was stretchered off with a broken leg in round 22 against the Dogs in 1987 and a pretty strong case could be made that his absence ultimately cost us the flag that year. Lyon was worth every cent as a youngster. John Northey, who Lyon co-owned Richmond’s London Tavern back then, used to send him down back to save games late and invariably he’d come up trumps. That’s why in state games they’d play him in defence because they had an array of riches up forward anyway back then. In 1988 as a 20yo he was best on ground as a ruck rover/forward against Carlton in the prelim, but unfortunately I don’t think Gaz would watch the 88 grand final replay much - god knows how Scott Maginness kept him quiet, although you can still see Garry’s class with his two goals. But Lyon was a big game player - he kicked a lazy 10 in the 94 semi-final against the Bulldogs for instance. It’s just that he kept having back-related hamstring issues which invariably coincided with September. I remember his teammates turing around to watch him walk off the Junction Oval after reaggravating him his hammy injury on the eve of the 89 finals and you knew our hopes that year were over. Earlier that year he took on Gary Ablett Snr and while the Cats were too good for us that day, I reckon our Garry was winning his battle until just before half time when a frustrated Yaaablett decided to forsake his commitment to God and wiped Lyon out with a severe blow to the head. Garry (two Rs) was also a super leader and there was no more exciting time than in 94 when he, David Schwarz and Sean Charles turned us into a human highlights reel with Lyon kicking 79 goals that year. As a 30yo, he did manage to get his body to hold up for our 1998 revival under Daniher and he was just such a smart player, blocking for teammates and calmly turning out of trouble when needed. He was in the VFL team of the year twice and added three AA teams from 93-95 and he was the only Dee, until this year I suspect, to make the top five of Mike Sheahan’s top 50 (now Robbo’s top 50). That’s why he was named on a flank in our Team of the Century and why I have no qualms about listing him at No.2. 1 Robbie Flower 73-87 272 games, 315 goals For the best part of 15 years there was one annual highlight for Dees fans and that was watching Robbie play for Victoria in state games. It was only then you got to fully appreciate the majesty of the lad who was laughed at when he wore spectacles to training in the fourths after coming from Murrumbeena. Ron Barassi sent him to full-back to play on Malcolm Blight one day and our own whacko Jacko tried to deck him at training, but Tulip won everyone’s respect by his deeds on the field. He was a brilliant mark, could evade almost anything (sadly not Dipper’s shoulder in the ’87 preliminary though) and if you ever watch highlights of his games, you can quickly appreciate just how good he was, how fluent and natural a mover he was as he charged down his wing and how amazing his aerial work was – Fritter’s the only player I’ve seen arch his back so well in the air. Some reckon Keith Greig (two Brownlows) or the courageous Francis Bourke or Doug Hawkins were better wingmen, but I’d take Flower any day and he’d be just as damaging if he was playing today, although he’d need someone to point him in the direction of the weight room. I remember a story that his only weight training was done squeezing a squash ball (he worked at Thorold Merrett’s sports store) in the car to training. He should have won the best first year player – Big Carl wouldn’t play him until Rd 10 so Richmond’s Robert Lamb got the nod. He also should have won a Brownlow. He was third in 1979 and again in 1984 and overall his tally of 150 votes is the most by any Dee. And he missed 52 games with a variety of injuries, the most prophetic one being a broken finger that cost him a spot in our 1987 night premiership side. https://demonland.com/forums/topic/52098-part-4-dees-top-100-of-the-past-50-years-21-40/#comments https://demonland.com/forums/topic/52027-part-3-top-100-demons-of-the-past-50-years/ https://demonland.com/forums/topic/51988-part-2-top-100-players-of-the-past-50-years-61-80/ https://demonland.com/forums/topic/51962-top-100-demons-of-past-50-years/

Part 4: Dees top 100 of the past 50 years 21-40 In my second part of the series, I made the point that while we struggled to produce flags, we have been the home of quality ruckman. The following list makes it clear that we also have been a great nursery for wingmen. Based on Ed Langdon’s and Angus’ effort last season, the gut-running role is now regaining the status it once had, even if the All-Australian selectors keep overlooking true wings for midfielder masters. But how can four outside runners – Stretcher, Stinga, Stanley and Trappa - make our top 30 and there’s still two more to come next week? As we near the finish, the quality of the players on the list continues to rise and in one sense that makes it easy to rank players. But one player many of you will query is Allen Jakovich. Let us know what you think. 21 Steven Stretch 86-93 164 games, 71 goals Ok, so we all have heard about how he almost jumped the fence to avoid a Dipper tackle in the 1988 grand final. But don’t let that fool you, Billy’s dad was a ripping talent and one of the key reasons why we had success under Northey. Drafted as a 22-year-old from West Torrens, he arrived in 1986 and immediately gave us outside dash and run in a manner that Ed Langdon has in the past two seasons. He was good in the air and a long drop punt kick to boot – a bit of a Craig Bradley type. He won our B&F in 1987 and had been in our best against Dipper and Pritchard in our win against the Hawks early in 88, but come grand final, Swooper got panicky about Dunstall on Danny Hughes and with Strawb suspended, sent Stretch to full-back. To this day I have no idea why you’d want to mess with a winning line-up. He played five more seasons for us and was always prolific, even when playing off half-back on occasions and then with his numbers and influence falling, he was traded to Fitzroy. 22 Cameron Bruce 00-10 224 games, 210 goals I still wonder what he might have been had we spotted him a bit earlier than we did as a 19-year-old playing amateurs with Melbourne High Old Boys. I mean he just had this elegant way of turning and baulking out of traffic. He kicked a goal with his first kick in Rd 1 of 2000 and only an injury in our preliminary final cost him a spot in our grand final line up. He had an amazing tank, which is why the Reverend often employed him as a “gentlemen’s’ tagger, but by 2005 he was just so hot as an onballer that he had eight Brownlow votes in the first three rounds, before Brent Guerra injured him in a tackle. Built a bit like Robbie Flower, he just oozed class and was at his best in our 2006 elimination final win against St Kilda. He won our B&F in 2008, but by 2010, things at the Dees had got messy and even though he was then our highest-paid player, he opted to transfer to the Hawks, where he was plagued with soft-tissue injuries. 23 Russell Robertson 97-09 228 games, 428 goals It’s hard to believe that a video of him taking hanger for Burnie that appeared on the Footy Show led to Robbo being drafted in 1996. A dismal finish to 97 saw Robbo gifted the last three games that year and he showed a penchant for kicking goals, even back then as a half-forward. In ensuing years, “Robbo, keep your feet” became Daniher’s catchcry as he flew for everything before invariably falling to the ground, but by 2000 he’d become indispensable snagging 44 goals playing third fiddle to Neiter and Schwarter. He won our B&F in 2003 and kept getting better at his craft and if you want to see him at his finest, watch a replay of how he almost single-handedly took down Geelong at Kardinia Park with seven goals in 2005. He kicked 73 goals for us that year. By 2008 his body started breaking down a bit with his achilles tendon snapping and he retired in 2009 with a Rd 21 cameo five goals against Carlton. 24 Brad Green 00-12 254 games, 350 goals A Launceston boy who oozed sporting talent being a member of Australia’s under-15 cricket team and trialling with Manchester United as a 15 year old. But after a couple of years with the Tassie Mariners, footy took priority and we took the brash youngster with pick 19 and it paid immediate dividends with his awareness around goal in the 2000 qualifying final leading us to an upset of Carlton. Such was his rising celebrity, that Sheeds sent Dean Wallis to brutally wipe him out in the first minute of the granny. He loved goals, especially ones soccered off the ground and he was a beautiful left-foot kick. Daniher sent him to the wing in 2006 in order to get him more in the play, but he probably was a yard short of pace to really make it there and at 182cm, not tall enough to play a key post, although he did a pretty good job of it in 2010 when he converted 55 goals mainly from full-forward in a Bayley Fritsch style role. He won our B&F that year, narrowly missing an AA spot. He was made captain in 2011 and then somewhat rudely cast aside by Mark Neeld for the role the following year. Maybe it was the way he celebrated, but he always seemed to have a smile on his face. 25 Stan Alves 65-76 226 games 174 goals He was skipper for four years from 73-76 and won two B&F in that time and was part of the most amazing centreline of all time – Alves, Wells and Flower – I only caught the tailend of Clay, Barrot and Bourke and our guys were more skillful. Stan’s 1975 was amazing, he even kicked five against the Tigers one game and finished runner-up to Gary Dempsey by one vote in the Brownlow, although he didn’t win our B&F that year. The problem was that the rest of our side was flawed at that stage and he ended up realising that at 30, if he didn’t jump ship to the Roos for 1977, then a flag wasn’t going to be on his resume and starting in 1965, he’d just missed our golden era. He was ahead of his time when it came to fitness and his battles with the likes of Schimma, Keith Greig and Ricky Barham were invigorating back then. 26 Allen Jakovich 91-94 47 games, 201 goals Ok, so I’m sure Gen Ys and X’s will be saying how can you rate a player with just 47 games so highly. But Jako was special. He was our version of Phil Carman, except that it took Swooper nine weeks to realise it. Jako was the older, smaller brother of Glen, and after two stunning seasons at Woodville in the SANFL kicking 101 goals in 1990, the 23-year-old played round 1 of 1991 for us against a niggardly, nasty Eagles side under Mick Malthouse that won their first 12 games. We only kicked two goals in Subiaco that day, and Jako was sent to the reserves where his freak show at the lower level began. His second game in Adelaide came in Rd 10 and it wasn’t much better so back he went to the magoos. But after 60 goals in 10 games back there, he was promoted for a third time and was handy against the Hawks and then the show began with successive hauls of 8,6,6,8,7 and 11 against the Roos that included a scissor kick goal and one from the boundary and a fine for backchatting from the umps. Like Willow, he had bigger than normal hips and that meant that even at 193cm he could outbody opponents and he could turn on to either foot and kick 50m on the run. He ended up with 71 goals from just 14 games in 1991 including eight in our elimination final win against Essendon, but from then on he had the odd issue with injuries, the occasional suspension from umpires and even a few dressing downs from Northey who clearly felt he was way too selfish for his liking. His final game in 1994 was an eight-goal effort against the Hawks in Rd 17, but injuries meant he missed the finals that year and we didn’t renew his contract so he took his show off to Footscray, which only lasted seven more games. 27 Travis Johnstone 98-07 160 games, 111 goals The grandson of Lions great Norm Johnstone lived in Chelsea and was taken with pick No.1 in 1997 and clearly could play – he had amazing vision and could hit targets with such ease. But he wasn’t noted for training his heart out and while part of that could be attributed to groin and hamstring injuries, it’s probably more true that Trappa never really had the work ethic because he was naturally so good and depending on your rumour file, liked a bit of the green stuff. He played in our 2000 GF but it was his four-goal final in 2002 against Adelaide that was truly memorable – what a precocious talent. It wasn’t until 2005 that he really put a good season together for the Reverend and won the Bluey Truscott, but in 2006 he was back to his lazy, laconic ways. Our demise in 2007 led to him being traded, heading to Brisbane to get his Lions jumper. His final game for us was against Carlton in the Kreuzer Cup and he compiled 42 disposals, so you can imagine what he could have been had he embraced hard work. 28 Sean Wight 85-95 150 games He arrived at the club in 1984 as part of Barry Richardson and Barassi’s Irish experiment and did a year playing with such talents as John Fidge in our Under 19s. He got a handful of games in 1985 and 86 and to much laughter from fans, kicked three goals against the reigning premier Bombers at Windy Hill in his first year. But a knee injury and his somewhat weird manner of tapping the ball backwards in the air, meant that it wasn’t until 1987 that Northey put faith in his dash and played him down back. He was unbelievable in our win against Footscray that year and a cult hero throughout that finals campaign. He was toyed with as a forward in 88 and kicked four goals in our prelim win over the Blues, but when fit he became our pack-crashing full-back from 1991. In 94 he enjoyed a memorable victory at the MCG over Gary Ablett keeping him to six touches. Payback from Gazza came later that year with 10 down at Kardinia Park. 29 Stephen Tingay 89-00 162 games, 84 goals I am not sure Melbourne initially thought Stinga was that good. Firstly after drafting him from Shepparton with pick 50 they made him play a season with our under-19s and then gave him No.52. He came off the bench in Rd 1 of 89 and had just one kick – but it was the matchwinner against Fitzroy so he knew how to get attention. Later he expanded things to a weight-room induced six-pack and peroxide locks and a bit of nude modelling – hate to think what he’d have done nowadays with Instagram and TikTok. By 1990, he’d became a very confident, dashing wingman who loved taking a bounce and thumping the ball into our forward 50. He played a starring role in our Rd22 win over the Hawks. His battles with Collingwood’s Darren Millane back then were pretty special, and off-season he suffered similar adversity falling through a plate glass window and severing tendons in his right wrist that almost ended his career. It wasn’t until 1994 that he really came of age, wearing Robbie’s No.2 and making the All-Australian side and finishing behind only Garry Lyon in the Bluey. Freo tried to steal him and he often hit the news for the wrong reasons. A lingering hip/buttock problem from his window accident seemed to limit his involvement, although he was a key member of our 98 finals campaign under the Reverend. Injuries cost him in 2000 and it’s fair to say he didn’t quite achieve what he could have. 30 Shane Woewodin 97-02 138 games Ok, so let’s get one thing straight. Woey had an outstanding 2000 and it wasn’t just because he’d started dying his hair. He’d been diligently building his game since being taken pre-season as a dour defender from East Fremantle. He played every game that year and in our bounce back 1998 and was one of our best in our loss to the Roos in the prelim. In ’99 when thing went awry, Daniher threw him into the middle for the last few games and realised he had something and a star of the new millennium was born. If you happened to be at the MCG in our come from behind win over the Cats in 2000, you would have probably backed him for the Charlie. He had 35 disposals and kicked four goals as he became an elite member of our running brigade with his ability to baulk on to his left. He probably hadn’t slept for five days come the granny given the number of interviews he did post Brownlow night, so 19 disposals against the Dons wasn’t that bad really. I think his numbers plummeted like the Twin Towers in 2001 and I still recall him going back with the flight in our QB Pies clash and getting crunched on the wing by a pack that included Sav. Like many I was shocked when we traded him to the Pies at the end of 2002 as the club tried to squeeze out of its contract with him – it put me off drinking my Woey Brownlow port bottle for some time. 31 Aaron Davey 04-13 178 games, 174 goals Everyone loved Aaron from the moment we were able to snaffle him via the rookie draft. He’d come from Darwin and North Melbourne had got him to play a season at Port Melbourne just to be sure, but on the back of a shocking season we had pick 3, well before North’s pick 7. The Reverend knew straight away he was on a winner promoting him for round 1 against the Dawks. Nicknamed the Flash (the Whiz was already taken), he was just so lively from the outset bouncing this way and that way and then turning on to his left foot and snagging the goal of the week. But it was his amazing chase down tackles on unsuspecting defenders that rejigged coaching methods and forced all clubs to search for similar prototypes. He probably should have won the Rising Star in 2004, but he did win our B&F in 2009 when Bailey sent him down back, possibly to reduce his susceptibility to hamstring strains. 32 Laurie Fowler 75-81 140 games A tough, old school defender, Fowler achieved infamy in four years at Richmond by knocking out Carlton ruckman John Nicholls soon after the bounce of the 1973 grand final, but he was left out of the Tigers 1974 grand final side and casted off to Melbourne, where he became a fixture in the back pocket and even had the odd game as ruck rover kicking three goals in a gritty win over the Saints in 1976 and winning our B&F in 1979 and 80, ahead of a cast that included Robbie Flower and Greg Wells. He played for Victoria a couple of times as well. His career-high 29 kicks came against the Tigers in 1977 and the umps loved the way he put his body (and head) on the line, giving him more free kicks than Joel Selwood. By the end of 1981, he surprisingly left to go to the VFA – not sure if his departure was ever fully explained but Barassi’s style did have its detractors. 33 Jake Lever 18- 61 games It’s rumoured that he would have been taken by us with Angus in 2014 if not for the Saints decision to opt for McCartin ahead of Petracca. And it’s not his fault that he proved a costly recruit when we had to give up two first-rounders for the Adelaide grand final youngster. Our footy department was obviously always keen on the Romsey lad so picking up a then 21-year-old with a moustache was no big deal. He was coming off a great season with the Crows and he was useful in the 2017 grand final against the Tigers, even though his defection meant he was spitefully told to skip their B&F count. Initially a lot of us wanted him to be the tall key defender that May currently is but he’s not that sort of player – he just reads the game so well and is the master of the intercept mark having amazing aerial judgment on top of being courageous. He was a big part in us making the 2018 finals but when he went down with knee issues against the Dogs, it probably cost him two years as it wasn’t until 2020 that he started looking super confident, baulking when needed and directing traffic. He didn’t miss a game in 2021, won an All-Australian spot, and set an AFL record for most intercepts. He’s 33 here, but two more seasons like he’s just had and he’s top 10 all-time material. 34 Steven Febey 87-01 258 games 40 goals One of only nine Dees to play more than 250 games, I used to wonder if Febes could have made the Australian Olympic team as a middle-distance runner. The boy from Devonport came via the No.3 pick in the first official draft and played in two grand finals – 1988 and 2000, although I’m not sure he’ll care to remember too much about them. But as a half-back he was incredibly reliable – always getting back to help – he and twin brother Matthew once combined for 74 disposals against Brisbane in 1994 and yes, they did look for each other as all twins do. Post career hasn’t been easy on Febey, he was caught up in the aftermath of the Bail bombings with Steven Armstrong and has had to battle depression but it was nice to see him back cheering on the lads in 2021. 35 Christian Salem 14- 130 games He started out as a small forward and memorably kicked the matchwinner after the siren against Essendon in his first season but with his ability to quickly put the ball so precisely on his left foot, there was only one spot for him as our defensive safety net. He had a couple of years being taught the tricks by Jordy Lewis, but what he worked on more than anything is his one-on-one defence – he’s now more than capable of shutting down his man as well and let’s face it, most of the time he’s up against a taller, quicker opponent – yet he reads it so well and that’s why Salo can’t be exploited going the other way, unlike fellow quarter-back Daniel Rich who often is at Brisbane. He had a career-high 39 disposals against Richmond this year and snagged an early goal against the flow, so as good as Trac was that evening, I think the wrong “Christian” got the Anzac medal. 36 Bayley Fritsch 18- 85 games 118 goals – 59 in 2021 It’s going to be hard now separating the true Bayley Fritsch and the one who kicked six goals in our epic grand final win. He kicked 59 goals for the year, only Tom Hawkins kicked more for the year. And he lifted for the finals, kicking four including a memorable mark and conversion in our win over the Lions. Only six years earlier he was playing at Coldstream and looked likely to follow in his father’s 360-game footsteps at the Eastern Footy League club. After missing out on the draft, thankfully he decided to try his luck at Casey and the Dees realised the lovely left-footer had a fair bit of talent and flair. But with no early picks and his reputation growing after 42 goals in the Frosty Miller VFL medal, we had to offload Jack Watts for a second-rounder and It’s fair to say it paid off big time. Fritta wears No.31, Ron Barassi’s famous guernsey that appeared jinxed until he was given it. Remember Tom Scully among many abject failures. 37 James McDonald 97-10 251 games It’s hard to downplay a 251 gamer who became skipper at an incredibly unstable time, but here goes - Junior was never a star of our club. But he was incredibly loyal and hardworking and that’s why he featured in the guts for almost all of his games, the exception being his first three years when he came off the rookie list and was plonked on a flank and told to give the Wiz some room to move. As with brother Anthony, he had to travel a hard road to AFL via Old Xavs, but once he got his tank up to speed he became very useful as a tagger and in 2000 became a regular, even starring against the Swans before a knee injury cost him a spot in the finals – would he have done a better job on James Hird than Brent Grgic … rhetorical question. He set a then AFL record for tackles (143) in 2006 and claimed the first of two Bluey Truscott Medals. He was also All-Australian that year and averaged 23 touches so he was no hack. But such was his work ethic that he was captaincy material, taking over from David Neitz in 2008. He was pushed out of the club at the end of 2010 in a manner that still irks many today. 38 Colin Sylvia 04-13 157 games, 129 goals So here’s a player who’s hard to rate. I mean on his day he was everything that Christian Petracca is nowadays – like the time he slammed home five against the Tigers in 2010. He was thickset and should have become a Dusty type, but he never seemed to have quite the training application – being a bit of a country lad. He’d played in Merbein’s flag side as a 15-year-old and I reckon he would have drunk quite a few beers that night. It’s unfair to Junior and Cam Bruce to say that he didn’t have the right role models around him back then, but there was definitely an issue of trust and he always seemed the one blamed for not applying the zone defence correctly or for failing to man up when needed and he also had a habit of turning up sozzled at training sessions. As a result he didn’t achieve anywhere near the carnage on the field that he looked capable of when drafted from the Pioneers with pick No.3 in 2003. Eventually management got jack of him and we sent him to Fremantle as part of the Bernie Vince deal. His death in a car accident near Mildura in 2018 was a sad end. Those that knew him reckon Col was a loveable, knockabout character. I prefer to remember him on song nailing 55m drop punts or the day he kicked three goals in three minutes on his way to 37 touches and three Brownlow votes in our loss to the Hawks in 2009. 39 Steven May 19- 48 games There is a case to be made that he’s our best true full-back … full stop. I mean Tassie Johnson had stints up forward while Sean Wight began as a livewire half-back and up forward before replacing Danny Hughes. But best FB in history is a big call given he only came to our club as a 27-year-old in 2019 and in his first season copped a whack from Goody for being unfit and “beer’ prone. But given he’s one of our highest paid players – his original deal is said to have been $750K a year – a few questions were being raised, especially given Ben King looked so good. But Maysie got down to working hard to reduce weight and is now so revered that he’s a member of our leadership group. He’s also the most classy full-back we’ve ever had, with a measured left-foot that can travel 60m or 25m bang on target. On top of that he seems to relish shutting down the star forwards – it’s just so nice to have someone who can play on Hawkins, Lynch and Dixon and win most of the time. He’s just turned 30, so hopefully he can be just as frugal for a few more years yet. If so a spot in our Best Team of 150 years awaits. 40 Steven Smith 74-85 203 games, 144 goals He was still 20 in 1976 when he seemed destined for greatness as our CHF, part of a spine that included Ray Biffin, Greg Wells and Gary Hardeman. At that stage he appeared to glide through the air and take marks all over the ground - a bit like Garry Lyon in his heyday. But 1977 was a bad year for everyone and he missed half of it with injury and he never really developed into a star up forward, so Barassi sent him down back where he won our B&F in 1981. Being a nice kick and a smart player he was pretty useful as our full-back, but he also infamously became another Leigh Matthews victim at Princes Park in 1984. A bit of a surprise choice of opponent that day given his size, Smith had aerial superiority and outplayed the champ before being dispatched in Lethal fashion. Not sure he was awake for the club song that day but given wins against the Hawks were a bit of a rarity back then, I’m sure it was a rousing one. He's one of four players to have played over 200 games that never appeared in a final along with Saints Trevor Barker, Geoff Cunnighman and our own Gary Hardeman. https://demonland.com/forums/topic/52027-part-3-top-100-demons-of-the-past-50-years/ https://demonland.com/forums/topic/51988-part-2-top-100-players-of-the-past-50-years-61-80/ https://demonland.com/forums/topic/51962-top-100-demons-of-past-50-years/