Whispering_Jack

Meeting's on tonight and from the feedback I'm getting the thing we really need is someone with an IT brain. We're lucky enough to have Nasher on board but he's in Tassie and while he's come up with some ideas for discussion, having another IT knowledgable person on the spot would be helpful. The way I see it, the discussion tonight will be on two levels - the technical one and the organisational side. Hopefully, we can get things on track, enjoy the events in Darwin, get some good tucker and a drink or two (diet coke for me) as well.

Quite right. GWS are tanking but since the introduction of the new franchises tanking has become not only respectable, but the right thing to do in certain circumstances. There's nothing wrong with the Giants making ten changes, more than half of them not compulsory, just to give some of their lesser lights a go and to rest the young bodies of their champions. It's good for football. Carlton did the same thing long before it came into fashion and won a trophy for doing it once upon a time. Called it the Kreuzer Cup. Only thing is that had Melbourne been smart enough at the time it would have had Cotchin instead of Morton and the following year, picks 1 & 2 would have given it both Watts and Naitanui. Anyway, that's ancient history. Melbourne doesn't have to tank. All of those problems are due to the Top End curse and I'm convinced that we'll beat it on Saturday night.

I don't see any reason for cynicism over the selection of Neville Jetta. He was named in Casey's best players last week while Jordan Gysberts was not. He is being rewarded for some good performances, mainly off half back, since his return from injury. Gysberts is close as well but he's a bit younger than Nev and is being encouraged by the club to continue to work harder to get his game right. His opportunities will come before they year is out but I don't see the selection of one player who is quite different, having any bearing on his selection.

He won't appeal against 4 weeks.

In good times, the real estate has substantial intrinsic value. Then you have the buildings and the business with the pokies. Yes, but I'm not a valuer so I couldn't put a figure on it. Check the club's balance sheet and you'll probably find it (or at least the cost price*). * Not an accountant either.

I wonder if the tribunal's deliberations are going to be as brief as they were the night they stuck it up Jack Trengove.

The club's relationship with the Bentleigh Club goes back well over a decade. It started when Joe Gutnick was President. There were quite a few AGMs held there over the years as well. I can remember watching a game there back in the days when Troy Broadbridge had a job behind the bar. A really lively bloke and I always think of him when I go to the BC.

North Melbourne club doctor Andrew McMahon confirmed Leigh Adams suffered a partial dislocation of his right shoulder. Judd's defence just suffered a partial dislocation with that news.

As foreshadowed previously, a meeting is being organised of persons interested in getting Demonology back in action for Saturday evening at the Bentleigh Club in conjunction with the viewing of the Melbourne v Port Adelaide game. Those people who are interested can join George On the Outer and myself at the Bentleigh Club at 6:30 (one hour before the telecast begins). We will try to get a table for a bite to eat and hopefully will be able to go through the various options. Please advise if you want to join us. The meeting has the approval of Demonology owner Tim Stanes and hopefully, he will be able to make it on the night. From Match Day Information Round 17 Match Day Information Round 17 Round 17 Melbourne v Port Adelaide TIO Stadium (home game) Saturday 21 July, 7.10 pm Bentleigh Club Watch the game on the big screen at the Bentleigh Club with fellow Melbourne supporters this Saturday. Bar snacks, meals and raffles will be available.

THE BELL TOLLED by Mean Gene Melbourne had its chances against Fremantle and probably didn’t deserve to lose by as much as 34 points but that’s football. The outcome of every game played is dependent upon a number of factors and in most cases everything (or at least most things) has to gel if a team is to win. The Demons got a good start which gave them the early momentum. They withstood everything the Dockers could throw at them for the next two quarters and fought back on two occasions to alter the momentum of the game back in their favour when Freo came at them. But in the end, it was the weight of adversity that has dogged them throughout the season. In this case, it was the injuries and the lack of total fitness that took their toll and a tired team had nothing left without the ability to commit the necessary rotations that might have kept the legs fresh enough to withstand the final onslaught from Fremantle. Alas, the bell tolled and there was nothing left. It’s said that it’s not good form to linger too long on injuries or to use them as an excuse when looking at the outcome of any game but I really think some mention should be made of the Demons’ current afflictions. It’s been happening all year (in fact, for a number of them) and most clubs suffer injuries during a long, harsh season but it started getting much worse than that which is standard just after the club pulled off its surprise victory against Essendon. Clint Bartram, Mitch Clark, Aaron Davey and Jamie Bennell have since joined Max Gawn and young draft pick Rory Taggert on the list of players whose seasons were ended. Mark Jamar’s season now also hangs in the balance although he is expected to play again this year if he heals well from his torn calf. The group that was available to represent the Melbourne Football Club and to play for it before, during and after the game diminished in number rapidly from Thursday morning. Jack Watts was rules out with an ankle while James Sellar failed to pass his fitness test. On the morning of the game, Luke Tapscott (groin) was ruled out and replaced by James Strauss. Josh Tynan was similarly ruled out at Casey adding to the club’s woes. Ten minutes into the game, Mark Jamar, who already had seven hit outs, was subbed off with a recurrence of his calf injury. Later, Jack Grimes was inconvenienced with what appeared to be an ankle injury and went to the rooms but was soon back in action and finally, Jamie Bennell left the field. He will undergo ACL surgery. As coach Mark Neeld pointed out, the club remained in the contest and probably “had equal chance probably at three-quarter time”. But that wasn’t really true because you could see the effects of the imbalance caused by the loss of players. Stef Martin kicked a couple of goals early but he was called upon to fill the breach in the ruck when Jamar went down. Rucking virtually alone, he looked stuffed by three quarter time. There were others who had to carry a greater load than normal. Melbourne which looked great early with Brad Green turning the clock back and kicking goals, Rohan Bail and Dan Nicholson showing some pace and run and James Frawley keeping Matthew Pavlich in check chalked up six goals in the first term. In some games this year, the Demons have struggled to get six in a whole game. But Ross Lyon put on the pressure and closed the game down to one which Fremantle appreciated and when the Dockers made their third and final assault, the Demons wilted, made errors and fell away. The return of Tom McDonald who suffered a punctured lung just two weeks earlier was welcome as was the fact that he was able to throw himself into the fray as if the collision with Jonathan Brown that left him with bleeding lungs had never happened. Another Tom – Tom Couch – did well in his long awaited debut. His tackling, along with that of Jordie McKenzie was a feature. Sam Blease might not get much of the ball but he’s deadly around the goals. Nathan Jones keeps working hard and I note that he’s now being paid the compliment of having a tagger. Despite the hard tag, he was still an effective player and one hopes that in the years to come, opposition coaches will need to worry about more than him in the Demons midfield. On the day, the Dockers finally overwhelmed a tiring opposition and this is where the game was ultimately lost, as it is most of the time. Sad to say, but the bell has tolled for Melbourne for this season. Any battles it will fight for the remainder of the year will, in many ways, be meaningless as the team has effectively had the heart ripped out of it by injury but the coming seven weeks will act as good preparation for next year. Although, it’s been “next year” for a long time, the experience of West Coast and Adelaide respectively over the past two seasons suggests that, if all goes well for a team and there’s a lot of hard work and sweat applied, a team can regenerate more quickly than anyone would normally expect. Melbourne 6.4.40 8.6.54 12.7.79 12.11.83 Fremantle 3.2.20 6.5.41 11.6.72 18.9.117 Goals Melbourne Green 3 Bail 2 Blease 2 Martin 2 Sylvia Bennell Bate. Fremantle Pavlich 4 Walters 3 Pearce 2 Ballantyne 2 Barlow 2 Hill 2 Mayne Bradley Mzungu. Best Melbourne Martin Sylvia Nicholson McDonald Macdonald McKenzie Jones Grimes Fremantle Mundy Hill Pavlich Barlow Walters McPharlin Ballantyne Spurr Injuries Melbourne Mark Jamar (calf) Jamie Bennell (ACL) Jack Grimes (ankle) Fremantle Nil Changes Melbourne Luke Tapscott (groin) replaced by James Strauss Fremantle Antoni Grover (buttock) replaced by Lee Spurr Reports Melbourne Nil Fremantle Nil Umpires S Wenn J Dalgleish J Bannister Crowd 13,284 at Etihad Stadium

Brian Lake.

The news today is that Leigh Adams suffered a subluxed shoulder as a result of Judd's tackle. That's going to make it even harder for Judd to escape a penalty. I originally thought he might get just one week but I reckon that it's starting to look like two.

Six goals before quarter time. That's usually a day's work for Melbourne! Leading every stat except for free kicks.

The fact is that he played a fantastic game with the one major blemish being the tackle. The MRP probably will give him the benefit of the doubt but it could easily be classified as intentional and then he would be in trouble. Adams already had a heavily strapped shoulder and it could be interpreted that Judd deliberately meant to harm him. That sort of thing is precisely what the AFL must stamp out - it has a duty of care to the players to do so.

I think he might be in a bit of trouble. Judd in hot water? Luckily for him Adams came back onto the ground.

The talk earlier in the week was that Pickles would come back through the development league team but I suppose the loss of Aaron Davey and Jack Watts to injury has opened up a spot for him on the interchange for the Casey senior team. It's not a bad way to come back given there will be five on the bench. Both Casey teams have the bye next week.

FIFTY SHADES OF PURPLE by Sam the Stats Man Those of us who are experts in the field of statistics are only too aware of the fact that there are numerous shades of purple but for this Saturday's Melbourne home game against Fremantle at Etihad Stadium, I'm not expecting to see many different shades of that colour in the crowd. Nor will there be very many versions of the home club's colours either! The Demons rarely attract large numbers of their supporters for "home" games at Etihad Stadium. In particular, when the fixture is against the highly favoured Dockers and the team is the 16th-placed side ahead only of the new franchises, the numbers simply don't stack up. At around this time last year, a Melbourne team that still had an outside chance of making the finals attracted a mere 15,740 punters to its game at this same venue against an exciting top four combination in the West Coast Eagles and they were duly smashed. The club has won only two of its past 20 games at Etihad and this includes 12 losses in a row by an average of 44 points since 2008. All of this points to the fact that, although Freo have never beaten Melbourne at this ground (they’ve met there twice) there will be plenty of empty seats when play starts unless the club comes up with something to attract the fans to the game. Perhaps, a promise from the Demon camp that the team can come up with a better start than what they have produced of late. Last week against the Tigers, they could come up with one measly scoring shot to ten in the opening term. Even the GWS Giants got off to a flyer in their clash the week before that. The last time the Demons got off to a big start to a game was more that twelve months ago in their last home fixture against the Dockers when they kicked the first five goals on their way to an 89 point win. However, that game was at the MCG against an injury depleted side. This time it's Melbourne that has a large injury list with some key players like goal kicking forwards in Mitch Clark and Liam Jurrah missing, so the prospect of a good start seems unlikely. Therefore, with the Purple Haze still in finals contention, I have no hesitation in coming to this conclusion:- Fremantle by 50 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Fremantle at Etihad Stadium, Saturday July 14, 1:45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 13 wins Fremantle 14 wins Etihad Stadium Melbourne 2 wins Fremantle 0 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 9 wins Fremantle 10 wins The Coaches Neeld 0 wins Lyon 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel (live) at 1:30pm Channel 7 (delayed) at 3:00pm RADIO SEN Triple M THE BETTING Melbourne $3.00 Fremantle $1.40 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 22.17.149 defeated Fremantle 8.12.60 Round 13, 2011 at the MCG The team really fired up in this game with skipper Brad Green leading the way kicking five goals in a game where the Demons were rarely troubled and under very little pressure. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Daniel Nicholson James Frawley Luke Tapscott Half backs Joel Macdonald Tom McDonald Jack Grimes Centreline Jack Trengove Jordie McKenzie Jeremy Howe Half forwards Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers Sam Blease Forwards Colin Sylvia Colin Garland Brad Green Followers Mark Jamar Rohan Bail Nathan Jones Interchange Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell Tom Couch Stef Martin Emergencies James Magner Jake Spencer James Strauss In Tom Couch Brad Green, Mark Jamar Tom McDonald Ricky Petterd Out Lynden Dunn (suspended) James Magner Brent Moloney Jake Spencer Jack Watts (ankle) New Tom Couch (Collingwood VFL) FREMANTLE Backs Antoni Grover Luke McPharlin Adam McPhee Half backs Paul Duffield, Michael Johnson, David Mundy Centreline Michael Barlow Ryan Crowley Clancee Pearce Half forwards Tendai Mzungu Christopher Mayne Stephen Hill Forwards Hayden Ballantyne Matthew Pavlich Kepler Bradley Followers Jonathon Griffin Matthew de Boer Dylan Roberton Interchange Greg Broughton Garrick Ibbotson Cameron Sutcliffe Michael Walters Emergencies Zachary Clarke Lachie Neale Lee Spurr In Michael Walters Out Nick Lower (concussion) THE YEAR SO FAR by Sam the Stats Man Melbourne's season in hell continues with Injuries and poor form still dogging the club. Here, se look at the players statistically over the first fifteen rounds:- BAIL, Rohan MFC 10 games, 5 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals. The former Queenslander's season was disrupted with a lingering concussion injury but he has now been back in the Demons' team for the past two games. BARTRAM, Clint MFC 8 games, 1 goal. Was enjoying his best year since his debut season before succumbing to a season-ending knee injury. BATE, Matthew MFC 10 games, 7 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 2 goals. Bate has fought hard for a place in the team after a tough campaign in 2011. He's had a number of starts in the green vest which hasn't helped him and he needs to work hard to retain his place on the list. BENNELL, Jamie MFC 5 games, 2 goals, CFC Sen 6 games, 2 goals. Bennell has been in and out of the Melbourne team without being able to consolidate his spot. BLEASE, Sam MFC 8 games, 6 goals, CFC Sen 5 games, 5 goals. This enigmatic youngster has great flair and is learning to play the Neeld style. Has shown promise. CLARK, Mitch MFC 11 games, 29 goals. A true revelation, the Demon recruit of the year from Brisbane had been outstanding until he suffered a foot injury in the GWS match which ended his season prematurely. His loss cannot be underestimated. COOK, Lucas CFC Sen 7 games, 12 goals, CFC Res 1 game, 5 goals. The young tall key forward is developing well in VFL ranks and is not too far away. COUCH, Tom® CFC Sen 11 games, 8 goals. Couch has had an outstanding season at Casey without being able to break into AFL ranks. A four goal haul last week might have changed that! DAVEY, Aaron MFC 9 games 7 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 2 goals. The Flash has struggled since injuring his knee last year and has found himself back at Casey on a couple of occasions. DAVIS, Troy CFC Sen 11 games, 2 goals. Davis has shown great promise in defence at VFL level and was on the cusp of higher selection a few weeks ago. He seems to have perhaps tired and his form has slipped recently. DUNN, Lynden MFC 11 games, 8 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 3 goals. Dunn's form has been a mixed bag as the club has tried him up forward and down back. EVANS, Michael® The rookie midfielder is due to return in the Casey Development League team after missing the whole season so far with stress fractures in his back. FITZPATRICK, Jack MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 9 games, 13 goals, CFC Res 1 game, 2 goals. The young Demon has been doing it tough in a career dotted with injury and illness concerns. Things didn't get any better when he was recently diagnosed as a diabetic. FRAWLEY, James MFC 12 games, 0 goals. Has been steady in defence but not close to his outstanding form of 2010 when he made All Australian. GARLAND, Colin MFC 14 games 7 goals. The defender-turned-forward has had some success since the move in the team's first win of the season against the Bombers but the jury is still out as to whether it will be a permanent change. GAWN, Max. Coming back from a second ACL operation, Gawn is said to be training the house down with his running and weights work but won't be seen on the footy field till next year. GREEN, Brad MFC 6 games, 2 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 8 goals. Injuries and form lapses have disrupted the former skipper's season. Should return to the Melbourne team after a 6 goal display in the VFL last week. GRIMES, Jack MFC 13 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals. The skipper has had a tough initiation in a difficult year and, although not at the top of his form, Grimes has shown a good measure of promise as a leader. GYSBERTS, Jordan CFC Sen 7 games, 2 goals, CFC Res 1 game, 0 goals. The young midfielder has suffered a number of injuries as he fights his way back to the top level. HOWE, Jeremy MFC 14 games, 12 goals. One of the big Melbourne stories of the year, the high flyer (fourth in contested marks in the AFL) needs to improve his conversion rate in front of goal to become a more complete player. JAMAR, Mark MFC 12 games, 2 goals. The Russian has been having a hot and cold season in the ruck and has missed the last two games with a calf injury. JETTA, Neville CFC Sen 2 games, 1 goal. Has been out most of the year after an interrupted pre season (shoulder) and a long term injury (ankle) incurred in a practice march. Working his way back at Casey. JONES, Nathan MFC 13 games 12 goals. Jones is the stand out player in the side this year and looks headed for a club champion award at the end of the year. JURRAH, Liam MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals. The Warlpiri Wizard has had a horror season both on and off the field. Jurrah's well documented legal woes have been matched by injury concerns in the form of a wrist injury followed by an ankle problem leaving him with less than a full AFL game and no goals under his belt. LAWRENCE, Kelvin® CFC Sen 7 games, 5 goals, CFC Res 3 games, 4 goals. The young rookie appears to be in a hole at Casey and has not progressed since being drafted at the end of 2010. Currently recovering from a calf injury. MACDONALD, Joel MFC 8 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 4 goals. Has had some moments after fighting his way back into the Demon line up a few weeks ago. MAGNER, James® MFC 14 games, 4 goals. Had a great start to the season in the midfield but seems to have tired noticeably of late after playing every game. MARTIN, Stefan MFC 4 games, 3 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 7 goals, CFC Res 1 game, 0 goals. Has had a few ailments but his recent return to the Melbourne line up has been impressive. McDONALD, Tom MFC 12 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 4 goals. MCKENZIE, Jordie MFC 14 games, 3 goals. Earning a reputation as a highly competent tagger who can also win the football. MOLONEY, Brent MFC 12 games, 3 goals. After a stellar season in 2011, Beamer has disappointed so far. MORTON, Cale MFC 8 games, 2 goals, CFC Sen 5 games, 1 goal. The former top four draft pick has had some difficult times of late as he struggles to find the form he showed early in his career. NICHOLSON, Daniel® MFC 6 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 1 goal, CFC Res 1 game, 0 goals. Has come back from injury and added some run to the team but needs to work hard on improving his disposal skills. PETTERD, Ricky MFC 2 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 7 games, 6 goals. Restricted by injury and form to only two AFL games to date which has been disappointing. RIVERS, Jared MFC 14 games, 6 goals. Has played the whole season and was recently moved forward with some success. SELLAR, James MFC 9 games, 1 goal, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals. Surprised with some good form as a tall defender. SHEAHAN, Jai® CFC Sen 10 games, 0 goals, CFC Res 1 game, 1 goal. After a great start at Casey, he started to run out of form and was demoted to the reserves. Now out injured but he has potential. SPENCER, Jake MFC 2 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 7 games, 1 goal, CFC Res 1 game, 1 goal. Has overcome a knee reconstruction and done well to earn a place with the Demons in Jamar's absence. STRAUSS, James CFC Sen 4 games, 0 goals, CFC Res 2 games, 0 goals. Recovering from a broken leg, Strauss is starting to show some form in the VFL. SYLVIA, Colin MFC 9 games, 7 goals. An interrupted pre season, a back injury, poor form and question marks about his attitude have dominated discussion about the club's former top five draft choice. Started showing some good signs in recent weeks. TAGGERT, Rory CFC Sen 3 games, 2 goals. Back injuries have marred his debut season but one of his games for Casey was a ripper. TAPSCOTT, Luke MFC 9 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 4 games, 3 goals. Hampered by the lack of a pre season, Tapscott hasn't hit his straps or come near to his potential this year. TRENGOVE, Jack MFC 14 games, 5 goals. Has laboured under the weight of the captaincy and, at times appeared unfit but among that, has done a few good things here and there. It's part of a major learning curve for the game's youngest ever skipper. TYNAN, Josh MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 6 games, 2 goals. Tynan has created an impression in his brief time at the club with a hard at it approach that suggests a long AFL career beckons. VINEY, Jack* CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals. The prospective father/son selection suffered a broken jaw in his only game so far at Casey but recovered to play well recently in two Under 18 championship games with Vic Metro. WATTS, Jack MFC 12 games, 4 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 7 goals. Despite having his critics, Watts has been excellent since he was moved into defence where his disposal and decision-making skills have been outstanding. WILLIAMS, Leigh® CFC Sen 5 games, 6 goals, CFC Res 3 games, 7 goals. The young rookie tall is still finding his way with the Scorpions after a serious illness.

Jeez, they could have waited till tomorrow (Friday the 13th) to make the announcement!!!

I'm not really into conspiracy theories or the like but I wonder if the idea all along, once Liam incurred what was at least a medium term ankle injury, was for him not to play until after his next hearing in NT was over. This would have kept him out of the limelight and away from publicity which, in the circumstances, was probably a good thing. I say this because, effectively the downgrading from 2 - 4 weeks to 1 to 3 weeks is virtually meaningless. It's hardly likely that Liam would be selected for Melbourne first up if declared fit to play the weekend after next - especially since the game that weekend is against Port Adelaide in Darwin. He won't be playing in the VFL that round either because both Casey teams have the bye. Which means that realistically we won't be seeing Liam Jurrah playing until Casey's game against Frankston in 2½ week's time and after his date with the court in the NT. Either way, I wouldn't be getting too excited about the new 1 - 3 week classification for Liam Jurrah's return because it's virtually meaningless. He has bigger fish to fry both in the legal sphere and in terms of achieving some sort of reconciliation in his wider family and within his community in Yuendumu and in that regard we should be hoping for an early and a positive outcome for all concerned.

The VFL site's report - Casey wins top two battle * I have detected a couple of errors in the text (e.g Lucas Cook didn't kick a goal in the second quarter or at all) but then, not everyone can be as concise and correct as our own KC!

Michael "Pickles" Evans is a good chance to resume as early as this coming Saturday for the Casey development league team which plays Northern Blues at Cramer Street, Preston at the ungodly hour of 9.30am! Good luck to him!

That's why it's now been changed.

Young Billy represented SA in the National Under 16 championships at the weekend and kicked a goal for his team. His current stats according to the SANFL site is: 6. Billy STRETCH DOB 8-Sep-96 Ht 175cm Wt 64kg From: Glenelg/Henley

How's Freddie Clutterbuck going over there in the West?

MELBOURNE Backs James Strauss James Frawley Joel MacDonald Half backs Nathan Jones Jared Rivers Jack Trengove Centreline Tom Scully Ricky Petterd Jeremy Howe Half forwards Colin Sylvia Jack Watts Cale Morton Forwards Liam Jurrah Max Gawn Brad Green Followers Stefan Martin Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Interchange (from) Jamie Bennell Clint Bartram Lynden Dunn Michael Evans Colin Garland Jordan Gysberts Daniel Nicholson In Lynden Dunn Colin Garland Daniel Nicholson Ricky Petterd Out Neville Jetta (hand) FREMANTLE Backs Antoni Grover Luke McPharlin Greg Broughton Half backs Garrick Ibbotson Michael Johnson Paul Duffield Centreline Jesse Crichton Matthew Pavlich Nathan Fyfe Half forwards Tendai Mzungu Kepler Bradly Ryan Crowley Forwards Stephen Hill Christopher Mayne Clancee Pearce Followers Jonathon Griffin Nick Lower Matthew de Boer Interchange (from) Michael Barlow Benjamin Bucovaz Zachary Clarke Clayton Hinkley Josh Mellington Rhys Palmer Jay Van Berlo In Michael Barlow Benjamin Bucovaz Josh Mellington Rhys Palmer Jay Van Berlo Out Hayden Ballentyne (hamstring) David Mundy (foot)