Whispering_Jack

Heavy tag all day.

I met Don McLardy and Peter Spargo the night before the St. Kilda game at a club function on the Gold Coast. The club's in good hands and this should be a comfort to Jimmy.

I hope Leigh Matthews was on today's commentary team. His comments on Naitanui's performance would be really interesting. Most of the rest of the media too!

Quarter time and we're 7 points up and favourites at $1.70 with Betfair. Not favourites with the 3 blind mice umpiring this game.

Just want to kick this one off by saying that I haven't been as confident of a win in a game since the last time we played the Eagles at home. I'm just off to see if I fit in any Melbourne jumpers I have at home (long time since I've worn one) and I expect all true Demons to be there today and enjoy the win. In fact it would be bloody disappointing in light of what's happened this week if we can't get a big crowd of Demon fans in today!

I just want to make it clear that Barry Prendergast won't be at this function but we will give a brief resume of how our sponsorship of him will work and about the exciting function we'll be having with Barry later in the year. All are invited - this is your chance to put a face to the names and the walk afterwards to the G is short and invigorating ... see you there.

FWIW I think we are going to win and would have been a good chance even without the emotion of Jimmy Stynes and his illness. As far as falling apart is concerned, really? West Coast finished 15th last year but last Saturday night, they beat last year's premiers. I don't see the Hawks falling apart and I don't think we would come into that category if we lost to the Eagles a week after their win over Hawthorn. As for what the media says or thinks

The Demonland/Demonology Sponsorship group announces its first official function for the year - an informal get together at the Mount View Hotel (once owned by the great Ronald Dale Barassi) 70 Bridge Rd, Richmond, VIC 3121 on a date to be advised (probably before the Freo game). The event includes: • Introduction to our 2009 Sponsorship of Barry Prendergast (club recruiting officer); • Panel including RudeBoy (mentor and Victorian host to Liam Jurrah and one of Australia's foremost exponents of ska music), Whispering Jack (Dylan fan) and Redleg (Doobie Brothers fanatic but please don't hold that against him) - discussion: Liam Jurrah's journey from Yuendumu to the MCG; drafting for the future at the MFC after the recent Under 18 National Championships and a match preview of Melbourne v Port Adelaide. And the good news is that the function is FREE (but you pay for your food and drink)

Missing though are SA and NSW who surely must have played against each other somewhere and at some time to complete the round.

I love the politics behind this because, for once, it's not the AFL dictating terms but rather, the Senate Committee telling the AFL about the facts of life. Bob is right about the AFL's mandate being to look after itself and its own interests but government has other priorities and, in this instance, the priorites lean in favour of fairness to an established football state and against the concept of trying to muscle in on an already crowded market in Sydney's west. Given that we live in what some would describe as a free market society the AFL could say that it can please itself and do what it wants. However, government funding of sport is also an important issue so the AFL would be well advised to take heed of what the Senators are telling them.

The good thing I took out of the game (apart from the fact that it will surely serve to keep my Carlton supporting mates very quiet for a while) was the performance of Essendon. Here we have a team that was thrashed mercilously in Round 22 last year (by in excess of 100 points) and which has had its share of injuries this year, giving a strong contender for a finals place, a good beating. The Bombers' improvement since the end of last season and particularly over the past 2 months should be heartening to Melbourne fans. If they can come back from last year's Round 22, it shows that major improvement from our team is also a possibility and there is hope if we can get our act together the way the Bombers have this year.

I'm not sure as to whether it's sunk into the collective mind of the football public yet how comprehensive a grip the new clubs are about to have on the future recruiting needs of the existing clubs. Apart from salary cap benefits and the ability to take one uncontracted player from each club, the rules give GC17 two grabs at the best 17 year olds in the country. Firstly, at the end of this year, the unfettered right to recruit twelve 17 year olds born between 1 January and 30 April and secondly, the lion's share of current 17 year olds left in the pool will be available to them with a large number of first round picks in the 2010 national draft. If the AFL proceeds with its foolhardy plan to introduce WS18 the year after GC17 then similar rules will take the current best 16 year olds out of the equation. Certainly, the old clubs will be able to trade into early selections with the new clubs but, to do that, they will need to give away players of value making it a virtual monopoly for the new and a zero sum game for the old. For clubs like us with a "weak" playing list the situation requires a lot of thought and careful attention. We can't afford to make too many mistakes in an area of the game where a significant percentage of decisions made by clubs do turn out to be mistakes. It goes against my grain to say this but the situation almost demands that we must get a priority pick at this year's draft. The club simply can't drift along for too much longer winning so few games and putting in the sort of performances we've seen all too often in the past few years so it's important, in the light of what's happening, to enter this year's draft and trade period with the best options and then to get things right I've always been sceptical about the use of the words "the best player available" in terms of drafting because it has such a loose meaning when applied to the reality of drafting. For example, IMO blind Freddie could have told you that Daniel Rich was at least close to if not BPA at every selection from 1 to 7 last year and certainly should have been taken no later than 4. In the light of that I'm with the BPA advocates this time and, as I've not seen enough of the candidates to date, it's premature to make a call other than to say that it looks like Scully first and daylight second and that of the candidates following daylight, John Butcher is the only KPP who appears to have entered the equation. He looked very good 12 months ago at the championships but I might have caught him on a bad day at the TAC Cup Preliminary final last year. Vic Country plays a second division state today at Casey so that might not be much of a guide so I guess we'll see on Wednesday. I'm not yet convinced. There are quite a few midfield candidates but no real stand out ruckmen worthy of an early pick like 2 or 3 so, if I was a betting man, my money would be on the next quality midfielder after Scully with Butcher still in the mix but just a little behind mids like Trengove. Given that the draft positions are still undecided and there's 5 months to go with the trade period in between, that's as far as I'm prepared to go ATM. I'm certain however, that what happens in the next five months is going to be of the utmost importance to the future of our club.

I went to see these 2 bokes last night Simon & Garfunkle. They went well.

Part and parcel of the game these days is the trip interstate. The sooner the young players who are our future get to learn what that's all about, the better. Take Watts to Brisbane, play him against West Coast and Port Adelaide and then assess where he's at and possibly send him back to school footy for the rest of the year. The fact is, as Sheahan himself pointed out, tall forwards take their time. Reiwoldt did it and Jack will do it. His two goal performance on Friday night (in 63% of game time) was a fair effort IMO. Plus he was pitted against an experienced full back and got a very good education for his second game.

I kind of like the jumper but nothing will ever come near to the original. If I have a criticism of the white jumper and the red one for that matter, it's the graphics. The Demon is too friendly looking a caricature. It's like it comes straight out of the Hanna Barbera production house for kiddies cartoons. I'd like to see a ferocious demon with blood dripping from its sharp teeth (OK in the red version it can be saliva - hope you're not eating your dinner and reading this). Next year when the new demons emerge, that's what I'd like to see with our alternate strip - a really scary looking Demon!

Well done Deb. We'll try to have it included on our links as soon as Andy can get his act together. Cheers WJ

Deeman, We at Demonland together with Demonology have put together a sponsorship with a difference this year. We're sponsoring Barry Prendergast and he will be present at one of our functions after the national draft to explain to those who take part in the sponsorship all drafting decisions taken. You can bring up your theories about drafting pagans then. Cost is a cheap $150.00. We're also having a function in a few week's time with a special panel - details to be announced soon. The panel will also be discussing aspects of future recruiting. Hope to see you there.

Thanks for the research on Leuenberger. Five kicks for a ruckman in his second game and he was aged 19! I suspose he did nothing to show Lethal why he went early first round the year before. Did Lethal drop him the following week. As for Riewoldt, that's extraordinary. I'm surprised the Saints didn't delist him at the end of his first season.

Anybody remember how Brisbane's first round draft pick of 2006 Matthew Leuenberger went in his second game under coach Leigh Matthews?

Split round - next game is against Williamstown at Willy next Saturday.

I think the idea is to put them in order from 6 down to 1 and McLaren played for the Bombers today so your votes are void.

OK but apart from that we're still a show.

That's enough. This thread is locked. Fortunately, there are plenty of other threads around here to show appreciation for Liam on here.

You're skating on thin ice. Please read the Code of Conduct, then grow up or go away. Thank you.