Whispering_Jack

Did he name himself after that infamous player who kicked the ball the wrong way in 1981 against Footscray thereby securing the wooden spoon for the Demons?

Old dee, I just think we need to go beyond the banana fritters and the like. This thread started as a distraction at a time when everyone was going bananas at the thought of Voldemort jumping ship. Once we've played GWS and hopefully given them a shellacking, what purpose is it going to serve?

I should acknowledge that much of my research for the article came from supermercado's excellent site Demon Wiki and Lynda Carroll's book. I don't think Melbourne supporters are aware of the richness of the history of their club and I say that despite the fact that most of us don't like to dwell in the past. Hopefully, when we come good on the field then more Demon fans will appreciate this.

Every club knows full well that, come what may, we will be picking Jack Viney. That's the problem with the system. Whoever finishes below us knows there's no risk in nominating him. If we improve in the second half - which I think we should do - then I have a feeling we could finish 15th which means we will have to use that pick on Jack.

He still has a point - perhaps we could start a poll to decide?

Surely, there has to be some closure from this whole T$ thing at some stage? What better time than after the GW$ game when we get the chance to see him in the flesh in that ghastly orange garb?

I'm inclined to think we would be better off being realistic and chasing the type of players we need the most. We have a few young, tall key position prospects in development at the club and while the likes of Tom McDonald, Lucas Cook, Troy Davis and Jai Sheahan might not compare with Cameron and Patton, you never know what could happen given the right development path. These players are additional to those we already have who can fill key defence and key forward positions. On the other hand, we're dreadful in the midfield, particularly in terms of skilful midfielders who can run, spread and carry. This is the area where I would like to see us concentrate our recruiting resources in the immediate future both in terms of trading and drafting, If we can rebuild our midfield and make it more potent, there will be less pressure on our defence and more good delivery to our forwards. The result will, in my view, be a fairly rapid improvement in the team's fortunes.

Would the limits end when Baghdad Bob applies to join or do we go all the way?

KC has updated his last post to include the goalkickers and best players. Williams and Gysberts named in the best players. Martin and Strauss were named on the Scorpions' team sheet.

When I was watching the game (and I confess I didn't watch the whole thing) I felt the Blues were being hard done by but I notice the discrepancy in favour of the Eagles was only two extra free kicks. In our game the discrepancy in favour of the home team was 20 so I don't feel sorry for Carlton at all. I reckon that they will make the eight even if they lose the next two games because the rest of their roster is reasonable and they're a better team than the others fighting for the same place. Needless to say however, I won't be crying any tears of sadness if they miss out. It would be kind of nice to see the Tigers playing in a final after all these years.

No ... the changes are for their game against Richmond at the weekend. No doubt there will be more for the following week. I doubt that Sheedy would hide Voldemort. It would send out a poor message for his club. I'm sure he wants to set his team up for the game and that it will be one that he's absolutely desperate to win.

Five changes to the GWS Giants team this week - all injuries.

Can Tappy serve his suspension in round 12 please?

Nice gesture.

Please don't mention "mergers" here. It's still a bit of a touchy subject. I know TGR was banned from here in the past but it wasn't for anything serious like murder, so I don't see why he can't come back at least in the interim until we can get 'ology off and running again. I'm even prepared to cop an earful about why Terry Wallace should be the coach if it would help.

When this (the merger) was first mooted, it sounded logical and a good deal for Melbourne. Hawthorn was probably the wrong choice in the end for Melbourne. Perhaps, Fitzroy would have made a better choice and perhaps we might have been up there on the premiership dais from 2000 all the way to 2004 or even 2005 - but of course they knifed Fitzroy before the merger deal was announced. Anyway, the more information that came out, the more distasteful the merger proposal sounded and felt. I didn't go to vote that night but I was against. Gutnik came in and I really do believe that he had been a supporter. He changed the club and gave it his money. Some of his innovations were ahead of their time. In other respects, I suppose he didn't understand what the game was about. His removal from the presidency was as disgraceful as some aspects of the proposed merger. What strikes me as tragic about our club is that since the sacking of Norm Smith we have had no shortage of infighting and faceless men who were always ready to step in and destabilise the club at times when we least need it. Some still lurk out there today. If that's one thing the current regime can rid the club of then we might finally be able to look forward to better times.

What a legend he was? Left the club after playing in 5 premierships at the end of 1960 and was still playing good footy at VFA level a dozen years later. My enduring memory was of him puffing on a smoke inside the ¾ time huddle. Obviously the game and life were different in those days.

Morton is yet to make his mark The annoying thing from my point of view is that these articles take such a superficial approach to what happens in a game. I don't recall many, if any, Melbourne supporter jeering Alan Didak "when he hobbled off injured in the opening minutes". Were these same people (whoever they were) the same ones who "cheered as one of their own left the field"? Sounds contrived to me. It might be a compliment to Demonland that a journalist finds it necessary to consult us and ascertain what we're saying but its really unfair on Cale Morton and doesn't really add much to the story of a young player trying to make his way in a team that has substantially underperformed throughout the early years of his career. Much like when Jack Watts was under the microscope earlier in the year. Morton's was a monumental blunder and it hurt the team at a crucial time but, all things considered, I reckon his overall performance was reasonable and a little better than the effort of this journo with this particular article.

Good article in the Leader Newspapers - Scorpions hold off Pies

Not in the title any more.

Have we started yet?

While we're on the subject of Demon sites, I don't think we should underestimate the value and importance of DemonWiki as a fantastic resource about all things Melbourne. I'm researching for an article at the moment and found it invaluable. I think it's time the MFC recognised its importance from the historical perspective of the club. I often hear Cameron Schwab and Neil Craig talk about the history and traditions of the club and I know there are some good books around but DemonWiki is a gem of a site. Of course, Demonland and Demonology have both become a small part of that tradition for many of us and both deserve to continue on for the benefit of the members and supporters.

Just wondering about this smokie jayceebee. If worst comes to worst in the NT court system (and heaven forbid that it should happen!) would Herbert felon be an adequate replacement?

Dale Weightman carried it through a fairly illustrious career. It's a tough thing to have to carry through life but it's things like this that can steel a person and take them on to high achievement. Good luck to Jack. I think he's made of the right stuff to take this on.

I've been in contact with George and offered our help if we can assist in any way and, of course, with the approval of Tim Stanes. I've always enjoyed coaching the Demonland/Demonology teams and really miss the days when we had our sponsorship going and those lunches at the Mountain View. Perhaps we can get one going again before the end of the year. One of the beauties of those lunches was that for some reason the Demons would always manage a good win after our functions.