Whispering_Jack

I saw Max at the G a few weeks ago and he said he'd just started running. Hopefully, that means he will be right to go early next season. I'm sure they'll be pretty conservative with him given that he's had 2 ACLs already.

Max will be back but not before 2013 ... and Daniel Menzel's experience today is another good reason why he shouldn't attempt to come back too soon. I would like to see Jake Spencer get another chance. Perhaps after the bye when we take on GWS?

From the Blues website but it's a VFL Preview

I bumped into Nev Senior at an amateurs game last Saturday (another son Rodney was playing). He told me Nev was on the improve and he expected him to be back at Casey in 3 - 4 weeks if all goes well. It's been really tough on him because I really had a feeling that he might do well under Neeld's coaching if only he could get his body right.

Although the article doesn't mention him among the absentees, it looks like it's a case of no Jack Viney, no Vic Metro Rioli cousins wreak havoc in Thunder's U18 stunner NORTHERN TERRITORY 3.3 7.5 11.8 15.10 (100) VIC METRO 1.8 3.9 5.13 11.16 (82) GOALS Northern Territory: Autio 2, Ankers 2, W Rioli 2, McLean, Assan, Anderson, Barry, McEwin, Renehan, B. Rioli, Tipungwuti, Williams Vic Metro: Brown 4, Billings 3, Lennon 2, Hrovat, Langdon BEST Northern Territory: Tipungwuti, B Rioli, W.Rioli, Anderson, Neade, Lawton, Barry Vic Metro: Brown, Billings, Hrovat, McKenzie, Lennon, Jaksch

Well, now that almost every football expert in the land (including the doyen Mike Sheahan) has declared Melbourne an on field basket case it's time for the Demons to consider preparing an application to the AFL for a priority selection at this year's national draft. Some of you might think that the rules only cater for a priority pick if your club has had two consecutive poor years in a row but I believe there have been some recent changes. "Under the new system, which will come into effect this year, a more complicated formula will be used, which takes into account premiership points, percentage, finals appearances and injury rates for a club over several seasons. The new formula will make it more unlikely a club will be granted a priority pick after just one poor season, or that a pick will be given before the first round of a draft." But, if experts such as Sheahan, King, Roos and just about everybody else whose had a say on the club are to be accepted and their views respected, then the Demons constitute a special case because it's likely that the formula will reveal consistent poor performances over six seasons, a low number of premiership points and percentage this season and poor results with no finals appearances since 2006. Sure, an extra priority pick won't, of itself, be the club's saviour but the experts have spoken and if they're right and the trend continues, the AFL will have to give Melbourne a priority pick.

I don't think Mark Neeld needs our advice about relaxing but the Melbourne community should think about it. I know that might sound unsatisfactory in light of our substandard performances for most of the year to date but we are undergoing a major overhaul and it ain't easy. I expect that this is leading somewhere positive and really believe that we will see major improvement and a few different names and faces in our lineup when the seasons's over.

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? by The Oracle That was miserable. Melbourne waved the white flag in the first quarter and, apart from a handfull of triers, the rabble that travelled to Sydney humiliated the oldest football club on the planet with a heartless, soulless effort. One has to wonder what most of them were doing out there because it didn't resemble the game being played by the opposition. If they keep playing like that, the supporters will stop coming and they'll have to ask the doorkeeper the question from the title of this short article. Short, because there really is nothing worthwhile to write about. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.5.11 2.7.19 5.7.37 Sydney 7.1.43 11.4.70 16.9.105 21.12 138 Goals Melbourne Jones 2 Bennell Green Sylvia Sydney Jack Jetta Kennedy Parker 3 Dennis-Lane McGlynn Walsh 2 Mattner O'Keefe, Reid Best Melbourne Blease Watts Jones Garland Grimes Frawley Sydney Jack O'Keefe Parker Jetta Kennedy Parker Injuries Melbourne Jones (sore) Jurrah (leg) Sydney Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Sydney Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Nil Umpires Nicholls, Hosking, Kamolins Crowd 20,818 at SCG

Actually, I'm hoping this is going to be a game of two halves.

Nor am I.

The Gold Coast? You're in the wrong place. We're playing Sydney today. We don't even have a game on the Gold Coast this year!

A couple of links to vision from the game and stats:-

... or at least draw.

Yes, agree with Redleg. It's a lockup. This doesn't prevent discussion on Liam Jurrah the player or the adversity under which he's playing but I don't think it's appropriate to publicly discuss some of the matters on this thread.

There's a game on in Sydney today at 4.40pm and I thought I'd get in early because all week I've had this gut feeling that the Demons would record their first win of the season. I based that on the fact that the club's injury woes seem to be diminishing to reasonable levels whilst the Swans, without Goodes, Mumford and Rohan and with a few others out of form, are in a spot of bother. They're ripe for the picking even if the game is on their home patch and a place where Melbourne hasn't played for several years. I also believe that the tight confines might suit us a little better while we're coming to grips with the new game plan. Since team selection on Thursday, I've grown more confident about our winning prospects. The blokes we've picked and those we haven't dropped give the team a bit of flair and, dare I say, pace. I'm hoping that today we're going to be less one-paced and show a bit more out of the midfield and into attack than we have so far this year. A good start and accurate disposal around the ground and in front of goals will help. But what really got me going was the realisation that today, for the first time, we will have all of the players displayed on the 2012 Demonland banner (above) in our starting 22. Jimmy won't be there but I'm sure his spirit will be hovering over the SCG to spur our blokes on to victory. And what a great tribute it is to the AFL Indigenous Round that we have Jamie Bennell, Aaron Davey and Liam Jurrah in the side? In what must be one of the toughest seasons in our rich history these blokes have really done it tough and this evening will be the perfect time for them to retake their rightful places within the team and the game they play. So those who might scoff at my confidence about today, it's more than just "the vibe" as Tiriel Mora would say in The Castle but rather, it's built on solid ground. I hope that in around 11 hours' time we'll be celebrating Mark Neeld's first win!

Meanwhile at Lords the first test of the English summer sees England dominating the Windies thanks to some superb swing bowling from Jimmy Anderson early and later Stuart Broad (7fer) and a ton from Andrew Strauss. The Poms swing it, others don't - a sign of things to come when we tour this time next year. And of course, they couldn't get Chanderpaul out.

It would be somewhat ironic if Travis Cloke ended up a Demon. I'm sure that back in the 1960's Peter Cloke (Travis' uncle) played in some pre season intraclub matches with Melbourne but ended up a Richmond player as did younger brother David (Travis' father). I think the story was that the Cloke family lived on the wrong side of the border (for us) between the two clubs' suburban zones. Things would have been different for the club in the late 60s and 70s if the Clokes had only lived on the other side of the road.

Michael Evans (back) - indefinite Max Gawn (knee) - season Jordan Gysberts (jaw) - 3-5 weeks Neville Jetta (ankle) - indefinite James Sellar (calf) - test James Strauss (leg) - test Josh Tynan (foot) - 2 weeks Leigh Williams (virus) - 3 weeks

From Twitter: Happy Birthday to GIANT #9 Tom Scully who is 21 today, hope you have a great day! #youngguns

We've now loaded KC's How The Demons Fared onto his original article. KC advises that the Development League game this weekend is at Frankston and not Casey as originally advertised.

This was my first opportunity to properly see Rory Taggert in action and I like what I've seen.

Do yourself a favour Redleg and extend ...

I have a loophole. We transfer a player who in our opinion is a spud. Then we can say we're not rewarding anyone but rather penalising whoever does the deal with us. Seriously though, if the AFL is concerned with ethics and draft tampering it would have investigated the GWS fully over the poaching of Tom Scully, not to mention the fact that when GWS officials know that Lauchie Whitfield is the #1 choice yet they say they were prepared to nominate Viney to force Melbourne to take him early, that must also be regarded as draft tampering and a penalty should also apply to that. (but it won't because Vlad runs the joint the way he wants)

Time to move across to Post Match Discussion

Oh and ... It's not every time you play somebody and show a 143 point improvement.