Whispering_Jack

TRUE BELIEF by Whispering Jack Former Saint Nathan Burke wrote in his Inside Football column last week that it was only on a handful of occasions during his long and illustrious career that he went "into a season with anything like true belief". The reason was that he played for a club that was "mired in mediocrity" so that it rarely had the necessary ingredients in its makeup to achieve the ultimate success in an elite competition. Burke's blunt assessment applies not only to his Saints. A similar picture can be painted of the Melbourne Football Club over the past four and a half decades. During this period, even when the Demons were at their best, they never really threatened; they were thrashed in their grand final appearances of 1988 and 2000. It was not all that long ago that Melbourne was the highest placed of all Victorian teams (2006) but that "honour" wasn't enough to merit even an appearance in a preliminary final and today, they seem further away than ever from achieving the dream. Now, after two dismal seasons that have netted their team just eight wins and the 2008 wooden spoon, Melbourne fans are wondering whether there can be any true belief about their team's prospects for the coming year. They fared so poorly in terms of most performance indicators last year that it is difficult to see how the gulf between them and the leading sides in the competition can be bridged any time in the near future. Whether it was the goal kicking, Brownlow votes, All Australian representation or a raft of team and individual statistics, the signs were worrying in 2008. Examples include the fact that Melbourne managed a meagre 23 winning quarters won and the lowest level ever recorded of inside 50 entries. The club fell well short of acceptable standards across the board pointing to weaknesses in most divisions, in particular a systemic weakness in the midfield. Coach Dean Bailey has indicated some of the innovations on the club's website melbournefc.com.au that he and the football department have brought in over the summer months to give the club a start in the mammoth task of turning this around. We've seen another round of major changes to the team lists through the drafts and an extensive pre season campaign to bolster the team's fitness and skills. With all those things in mind, what do we expect the club to get out of the remainder of the pre season, the NAB Cup and other practice matches and what do we make of yesterday’s intra club practice match? Firstly, the older and more experienced players in the group are needed to show leadership on the park. The equivalent group virtually disintegrated last year as injuries and diminished form saw a number of them "phased out" as the season wore on. Then, the players within the club's middle age range need to show they can step up and play greater roles with the possibility of one or two rising to elite level. The next tier of players include those who can be expected to start coming of age in the 21 to 23 years of age bracket when they are expected to blossom and to start making important contributions to the team effort. The club will also will be looking for signs that its youngsters are progressing and that its new recruits have been chosen well and have the attributes that the recruiting people saw in them when he made their selections. At the playing level, supporters will be looking for a coherent "game plan" in place that the players are capable of carrying out to full effect and for signs that the group is fit and confident following their pre season. These aspects are important because, even at this stage of the season, a lift in this area can give a club the momentum to carry it forward well into the season. The trip to Casey Fields was somewhat surreal as a reddish irridescent smoke haze from the week's tragic bushfires still covered the skies. The facility itself continues to be a revelation and it must be extremely pleasing for the coaching staff and players to be playing on a lush green surface after seeing other AFL clubs struggling on sub standard surfaces last weekend in their intraclub hitouts. The game was covered here and here in the media. Only one injury of note – to Jared Rivers who rolled his ankle early in the game. The injury was declared "not serious" and let's hope that it's not. Rivers is one player who, if fully fit, has the capacity to rise to elite status. His influence on the team was emphasised against Fremantle at the MCG last year when a half fit Rivers played the role of general of the back line and was one of the players instrumental in the club's come from 51 points behind miracle. Here's the way I saw the various category groups fare – The "veterans" group (28 years and over: Russell Robertson (Achilles) and Paul Wheatley (calf) are injured. James McDonald, Cameron Bruce, Matthew Whelan and Brad Green all did what was expected in a first up practice match without being over-extended. The all important "middle aged" (23 to 26 years): Aaron Davey was rested and Mark Jamar is carrying a foot injury. Rivers' appearance was brief. Brock McLean and Brent Moloney were being eased in after being injured in the latter part of 2008. Brad Miller stood out as a key forward with three goals. Paul Johnson and Mattthew Warnock were workmanlike while Daniel Bell had his moments. Colin Sylvia who, from all reports, has been burning on the track, had an average day but might do better in the forward role which he slotted into well at times last year. Stefan Martin and John Meesen come into this age category. The former was very impressive, the latter showed some glimpses but nothing to suggest that he might replace Jamar or Johnson in the club's first choice ruck combination. All in all, there was nothing to enthuse about from this group and no suggestion that one of its members might emerge as a genuine "superstar" in 2009. Perhaps, the NAB Cup might tell a different story. The next group (21 and 22 year olds) produced some more promising signs: Four of the club's 22 year olds featured strongly with Matthew Bate, Simon Buckley, Lynden Dunn and rookie Shane Valenti giving indications that they have worked hard over the summer and are bound for improved seasons. Only Michael Newton disappointed – he was well beaten by Colin Garland early but one suspects that Garland will towel up many a forward as his career progresses. The 21 year olds were the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned. Garland continues to make giant strides forward and Ricky Petterd and Austin Wonaeamirri (4 goals) contested for best on the ground honours. Both have stronger body shapes this year and both were lively throughout proceedings. Clint Bartram, James Frawley and Nathan Jones all contributed with Frawley underlining the emergence of the club's depth in key defensive positions. Recruits Rohan Bail and Liam Jurrah also fit into this age category. Bail was impressive from the word "go" and he should get a run in the NAB Cup next week. Jurrah isn't ready to play yet but I saw him run onto the ground during a break and he looked impressive, although a little light of frame. That leaves us with the "younger brigade": There's plenty of room for optimism here even though the cream of the club's latest recruiting in Jack Watts and Sam Blease are being eased into the rigours of elite football (along with Jurrah) on programmes that will not see them in match situations for a few weeks at least. Addam Maric (recovering from a hip injury) and Tom McNamara missed out. Kyle Cheney was excellent all day in defence, Jack Grimes showed some of the form that made him a first round draft selection in 2007 and rookie big men Jake Spencer and Trent Zomer surprised with their contributions. It's hard to believe that Cale Morton is just 19 years of age. He's still lightly built but he can find space and was persistent in his attempts to capture the football. James Strauss showed sublime kicking skills and Bunbury pair Neville Jetta and Jamie Bennell showed outstanding all round skills that promise lots of exciting times for Demon fans in the coming years. It would not be a surprise if both went to Launceston next weekend for the NAB Cup opener against Hawthorn. When all is said and done, Valentine's Day 2009 was just a practice match. There was more than a glimpse of improvement in system, style, fitness and skill but my feeling on leaving the ground was that "true belief" is still a way off. I didn't see anyone at the ground who looks like a sponsor (but then again, I don't really know what they look like) either . Next week might tell us a little more. THE ABOVE PHOTOS ARE BY PETJUD. FOR MORE PHOTOS SEE FLYING CLOUD'S PIX

by Whispering Jack Former Saint Nathan Burke wrote in his Inside Football column last week that it was only on a handful of occasions during his long and illustrious career that he went "into a season with anything like true belief". The reason was that he played for a club that was "mired in mediocrity" so that it rarely had the necessary ingredients in its makeup to achieve the ultimate success in an elite competition. Burke's blunt assessment applies not only to his Saints. A similar picture can be painted of the Melbourne Football Club over the past four and a half decades. During this period, even when the Demons were at their best, they never really threatened; they were thrashed in their grand final appearances of 1988 and 2000. It was not all that long ago that Melbourne was the highest placed of all Victorian teams (2006) but that "honour" wasn't enough to merit even an appearance in a preliminary final and today, they seem further away than ever from achieving the dream. Now, after two dismal seasons that have netted their team just eight wins and the 2008 wooden spoon, Melbourne fans are wondering whether there can be any true belief about their team's prospects for the coming year. They fared so poorly in terms of most performance indicators last year that it is difficult to see how the gulf between them and the leading sides in the competition can be bridged any time in the near future. Whether it was the goal kicking, Brownlow votes, All Australian representation or a raft of team and individual statistics, the signs were worrying in 2008. Examples include the fact that Melbourne managed a meagre 23 winning quarters won and the lowest level ever recorded of inside 50 entries. The club fell well short of acceptable standards across the board pointing to weaknesses in most divisions, in particular a systemic weakness in the midfield. Coach Dean Bailey has indicated some of the innovations on the club's website melbournefc.com.au that he and the football department have brought in over the summer months to give the club a start in the mammoth task of turning this around. We've seen another round of major changes to the team lists through the drafts and an extensive pre season campaign to bolster the team's fitness and skills. With all those things in mind, what do we expect the club to get out of the remainder of the pre season, the NAB Cup and other practice matches and what do we make of yesterday’s intra club practice match? Firstly, the older and more experienced players in the group are needed to show leadership on the park. The equivalent group virtually disintegrated last year as injuries and diminished form saw a number of them "phased out" as the season wore on. Then, the players within the club's middle age range need to show they can step up and play greater roles with the possibility of one or two rising to elite level. The next tier of players include those who can be expected to start coming of age in the 21 to 23 years of age bracket when they are expected to blossom and to start making important contributions to the team effort. The club will also will be looking for signs that its youngsters are progressing and that its new recruits have been chosen well and have the attributes that the recruiting people saw in them when he made their selections. At the playing level, supporters will be looking for a coherent "game plan" in place that the players are capable of carrying out to full effect and for signs that the group is fit and confident following their pre season. These aspects are important because, even at this stage of the season, a lift in this area can give a club the momentum to carry it forward well into the season. The trip to Casey Fields was somewhat surreal as a reddish irridescent smoke haze from the week's tragic bushfires still covered the skies. The facility itself continues to be a revelation and it must be extremely pleasing for the coaching staff and players to be playing on a lush green surface after seeing other AFL clubs struggling on sub standard surfaces last weekend in their intraclub hitouts. The game was covered here and here in the media. Only one injury of note – to Jared Rivers who rolled his ankle early in the game. The injury was declared "not serious" and let's hope that it's not. Rivers is one player who, if fully fit, has the capacity to rise to elite status. His influence on the team was emphasised against Fremantle at the MCG last year when a half fit Rivers played the role of general of the back line and was one of the players instrumental in the club's come from 51 points behind miracle. Here's the way I saw the various category groups fare – The "veterans" group (28 years and over: Russell Robertson (Achilles) and Paul Wheatley (calf) are injured. James McDonald, Cameron Bruce, Matthew Whelan and Brad Green all did what was expected in a first up practice match without being over-extended. The all important "middle aged" (23 to 26 years): Aaron Davey was rested and Mark Jamar is carrying a foot injury. Rivers' appearance was brief. Brock McLean and Brent Moloney were being eased in after being injured in the latter part of 2008. Brad Miller stood out as a key forward with three goals. Paul Johnson and Mattthew Warnock were workmanlike while Daniel Bell had his moments. Colin Sylvia who, from all reports, has been burning on the track, had an average day but might do better in the forward role which he slotted into well at times last year. Stefan Martin and John Meesen come into this age category. The former was very impressive, the latter showed some glimpses but nothing to suggest that he might replace Jamar or Johnson in the club's first choice ruck combination. All in all, there was nothing to enthuse about from this group and no suggestion that one of its members might emerge as a genuine "superstar" in 2009. Perhaps, the NAB Cup might tell a different story. The next group (21 and 22 year olds) produced some more promising signs: Four of the club's 22 year olds featured strongly with Matthew Bate, Simon Buckley, Lynden Dunn and rookie Shane Valenti giving indications that they have worked hard over the summer and are bound for improved seasons. Only Michael Newton disappointed – he was well beaten by Colin Garland early but one suspects that Garland will towel up many a forward as his career progresses. The 21 year olds were the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned. Garland continues to make giant strides forward and Ricky Petterd and Austin Wonaeamirri (4 goals) contested for best on the ground honours. Both have stronger body shapes this year and both were lively throughout proceedings. Clint Bartram, James Frawley and Nathan Jones all contributed with Frawley underlining the emergence of the club's depth in key defensive positions. Recruits Rohan Bail and Liam Jurrah also fit into this age category. Bail was impressive from the word "go" and he should get a run in the NAB Cup next week. Jurrah isn't ready to play yet but I saw him run onto the ground during a break and he looked impressive, although a little light of frame. That leaves us with the "younger brigade": There's plenty of room for optimism here even though the cream of the club's latest recruiting in Jack Watts and Sam Blease are being eased into the rigours of elite football (along with Jurrah) on programmes that will not see them in match situations for a few weeks at least. Addam Maric (recovering from a hip injury) and Tom McNamara missed out. Kyle Cheney was excellent all day in defence, Jack Grimes showed some of the form that made him a first round draft selection in 2007 and rookie big men Jake Spencer and Trent Zomer surprised with their contributions. It's hard to believe that Cale Morton is just 19 years of age. He's still lightly built but he can find space and was persistent in his attempts to capture the football. James Strauss showed sublime kicking skills and Bunbury pair Neville Jetta and Jamie Bennell showed outstanding all round skills that promise lots of exciting times for Demon fans in the coming years. It would not be a surprise if both went to Launceston next weekend for the NAB Cup opener against Hawthorn. When all is said and done, Valentine's Day 2009 was just a practice match. There was more than a glimpse of improvement in system, style, fitness and skill but my feeling on leaving the ground was that "true belief" is still a way off. I didn't see anyone at the ground who looks like a sponsor (but then again, I don't really know what they look like) either . Next week might tell us a little more. THE ABOVE PHOTOS ARE BY PETJUD. FOR MORE PHOTOS SEE FLYING CLOUD'S PIX

The senior list who didn't play were Watts, Maric, Robbo, McNamara (?), Wheatley, Davey, Jamar, Blease & Jurrah. There was a fair amount of rotation of players and one doesn't know how much game time the players were supposed to have. Aussie was outstanding. He's fined down and seems to have greater endurance as well as added confidence but he is certain to attract more attention from the opposition this year. Morton improved as the game went on, was persistent with his attack on the ball and his disposal was fine. Buckley stood out with his pace at times. In the end it was a practice match and I'd like to see what happens in a real contest. New players in the team next week should be Jetta, Bail, Bennell and possibly Strauss. Spencer might get the nod to play in the ruck in the absence of The Russian.

A good win at last. Aussie, Valenti had good last quarters. More later.

Aussie had a strong quarter and Jamie Bennell came into the game. Shane Valentii and Nathan Jones are getting a lot of the ball. Lynden Dunn looks a bigger unit this year and rookie Trent Zomer is doing OK up forward. Jake Spencer is rucking well. Rivers looked to hurt a foot or ankle in the first quarter and hasn't been back on.

We're still winning but now it's the MFC White team by 8 points. Petterd BOG to date. Martin, Garland, Grimes and Miller doing well. Neville Jetta moves well and Strauss is a good kick. No Jack Watts.

Well, we're in front but only just. MFC Red leading White. Brad Miller (2 goals), Petterd, Bail among the better players. Buckley running through the lines. Jetta kicked a nice goal. And started the second quarter with another.

I'm taking my iphone with me so, if I can transmit an the battery holds out, I'll try to provide some descriptions of play.

The revelations that three Richmond players are considering taking legal action against former Richmond President Clinton Casey over disputed property deals must be dealt with by the AFL (Former Richmond boss Clinton Casey denies salary cap breach). "It has been widely discussed in football circles that the vast land holdings of Casey, president of Richmond from 2000 to 2005, were used by the Tigers to retain key players and lure others, raising suggestions of salary cap breaches." While I'm not suggesting that the transactions necessarily constituted a breach of AFL rules, the implications behind this story require a full investigation by the AFL. There have been too many stories coming out of the AFL lately on these sorts of incentives offered by business people associated with AFL clubs. We look on with dismay at the situation during trade week when certain well connected clubs seem to be offering deals left, right and centre and wonder how their salary caps can fit in the players whose names are being canvassed. These things are more easily understood if we know the player in question has been offered some sort of incentive like a cushy job with a company associated with a club official or a cheap block of land in a highly sought after residential development. These things need to be investigated to ensure that the competition retains some semblance of integrity.

http://scorpions.com.au/ Melbourne Intra Club Change of Day/Time Due to the unforeseen circumstances surrounding the devastating bushfires that have swept through Victoria Saturday, Melbourne's intra club will now be played at 10.30am Saturday the 14th. The game was originally to be played on Friday night, but the AFL has requested all AFL clubs place a huge emphasis on fundraising for the bushfire appeal match at the Telstra dome on Friday night between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs. Casey and Melbourne where only too happy to happy to honour the AFL request so therefore Melbourne's intra club will be Saturday morning. Gold coin donation required at the gate. In many ways this probably gives the club a better opportunity to promote itself and to promote the facilities at Casey Fields as well as to make a contribution to the bushfire relief appeal. A Saturday morning start at 10.30 am is a reasonable time for supporters (other than those who work on Saturday morning) to get down to Casey. However, the reasons for the AFL demanding requesting the change are a bit rubbery. An MFC practice game on a Friday evening would hardly attract that many people in the first place and what percentage of that number would be going to watch Essendon and the Bulldogs even if for a worthwhile cause?

I think what he means is that we're closer now than we were a week ago and in a week's time we'll be closer than we are now. Other than that, nobody has a clue what's going on.

I watched Tom Swift play in last night's NAB Cup game and I think West Coast might be onto a winner there. I fully understand Melbourne's reasons for not selecting him but Blease and Strauss who were drafted before Swift are going to have to be very, very good to match what I believe I saw in him last night.

I quite like the idea of both clubs having mutual alternative strips if this can be done to both their satisfaction. Both have predominantly red and blue and in fact, the old Springvale jumper was very close to ours except that it had the white logo and the red collar was smaller. It shouldn't be too hard for something to be worked out between the clubs.

Demonland/Demonology has retained the Earl Spalding Trophy with a comfortable victory over Talking Carlton. The game was played in great spirit with some fantastic passages of play from the boys in the red and the blue. The win makes it four wins on the trot for the mighty Dees, thanks mainly to Rollo's organisational skills and a good all round performance from the boys. It was a great feeling to sing the Grand Old Flag after the game and there's more reports and photos to come later but I must add that the joy was overshadowed when we got in the car after the game and heard the tragic news from the bushfire areas.

When was the last time a team lost a coach because he had to do a deal over some geldings and a player to a vesectomy on the same day? No need to panic unless I start the pre match speech with a high pitched voice.

A poor excuse and it's lucky there's a quality coach on hand to take control.

Don't hold your breath then because the impression I got from Jim by what he said, the way he said it and from his body language was that, while he was confident of snaring a major sponsor by the start of the premiership season, it's still a fair way from being a done deal. He did produce a list of the companies the club had been talking to about sponsorships but didn't say how close or how serious those clubs were in terms of sealing a sponsorship deal. One possible plus here though is that if we are talking with a number of companies, then if the club promotes its sponsorship packages properly, it might end up signing more than one sponsor from the group with which it's having discussions. After all, every club has a number of major sponsors and if the people involved in these negotiations can play their cards right they could turn what is currently looking like a bit of a fiasco into a triumph. According to melbounefc.com.au we currently have a total of 15 "partners" which seems to be the pc term for sponsors these days. We have no premier partner (i.e. main sponsor) but the rest are found in the following categories:- Platinum Partners The Age and Volvo Gold Partners Reebok, Coca Cola*, Reflections Group and Red Mercury Silver Partners Leading Solutions, Jeff Banks London, Tyrell's Wines and Pet Goods Direct Bronze Partners Konica Minolta, Musashi, Victor and Adriatic Furniture I checked out Collingwood's web site and they have a similar number of sponsors arranged in different categories and of course, we don't know how much their sponsorships are worth compared to ours. I'm almost certain that they would be bringing in much more given that their fixture is so much more favourable in terms of attracting sponsors. Collingwood has four premier partners - Wizard, Emirates, Lexus and addidas as well as another 10 major partners and three official suppliers. They have an obvious financial edge on us in this area the minute they open their doors for business at the start of any season. I'm getting a bit tired of the blame game on this sponsorship issue. People might want to go back years and blame Gardner and Harris, they might want to blame PMac. Let's get over that and get on with the job of finding sponsors for what will hopefully be an exciting era in the years ahead when our young talent reaches maturity. If there's anyone to blame in the end, it will us the members and supporters for not keeping the pressure on whoever happens to be in power at the club entrusted with the job of "getting it right" as Cameron Schwab stated at the AGM. One of the things that crossed my mind on Thursday night was the fact that although we're a club that's traditionally associated with the top of the town, the leaders of business, banking and industry, we can't attract a corporation to sponsor the oldest club in the competition. We just have to do better than that! * weren't they recently associated with a major sponsorship rumour around here? I'm glad that at least they're on board already and I don't have to resort to Pepsi in protest but if we can't get them on board as the major sponsor why not persuade them to upgrade their sponsorship to a Platinum Partner. If they do, I'll immediately go out to the local supermarket and buy a carton of Pepsi.

I don't think that I've seen anything worse at AFL/VFL level since the days of the old Army Reserve Cup when a Collingwood seconds player decided to emulate the activity of the competition's sponsor by declaring war on everyone who happened to be on or near the vicinity of the ground.

If it happens (and it's already been pointed out that it's not near to being set in stone) it would make us part of an organisation worth in excess of $200m rather than being an outfit that's worth in excess of a negative figure of $2m. With due respect to the great RDB, we would still have to worry about the business side of things but we'd certainly have a fair sized cushion of comfort. However, there might be some pitfalls to consider as well. Once you become a section of the MCC, you lose a measure of your independence. Questions therefore need to be asked about the cost and effect of that and whether it's worth selling your soul to achieve such an outcome. This is not to say I'm against the idea. Just playing devil's advocate.

Whichever way we look at it, we seem to be getting a picture of a CEO who is not on the same page as the board of the club he's supposed to be serving. He seems to have acted on his own and not reported in writing to the board on his progress with sponsorships and then there's the Jonathan Brown issue. These matters seem to vindicate the new board's decision that he was not the right fit for the club.

The club is very happy with the connection with Casey. The sign off with council is taking time because the arrangements are complex and involve a long term commitment. It will however happen and CC pointed to the fact that the Casey CEO (a Saints supporter) was in attendance tonight). The club has its first practice match (intraclub) there on Friday afternoon. Bubbledome - we will utilise facilities there and at the G. The split between the two may not perhaps be the ideal and we'll have to see how it works but in the end we will have far superior facilities to what we have at the junction (which is an embarrasment) and this is far more appropriate to a club in the elite level of the competition. In answer to a question - clash jumper not yet finalized but will be a massive improvement on the bland number we had last year. Another questioner asked about the Demon as an emblem of the club and it's on the way back.

I'm not good on numbers but I'd say it's the biggest crowd I've ever seen at an MFC AGM (excepting the Gutnik/Szondy AGM in 2001).

Breaking news: In answer to a question from the floor Cameron Schwab said that he looked forward to seeong the Melbourne Football Club again being a section of the MCC.

Actually, you'd better read the paper because I'm making all this up. Only joking!

Rohan Bail is a Mentone boy who moved to Qld. Bail described the difference between training twice a week up there compared to 5 sessions in the pre season including weights. You get the impression that this kid will play some footy at the elite level this year. CC introduced the rookie list players and then went on to discuss what the club was looking for when drafting footballers to consolidate the club's future. CC said that in recruiting we looked at players with mental toughness who could produce the goods when it counts. The recruits led the singing of the club song and that was followed by a brief and stirring talk from Ron Barassi about football not just being a business. It's also about success and he asked whether people preferred a profit or a premiership flag.