It's A Grand Old Flag: [FFX]

[OffCutters]

Very exciting mate good to see Port losing ( i just dont know what i`ve got against Port ) but well done to Green and Bruce, great matches from them. Good start to the season for the Dees with 2 wins on the board, good improvement from last year, keep going this way and you might just sneak into the top 8!

 

[blake]

Thanks for the feedback guys - from what I've seen of the past results the ladder is very bunched up so far.

Also, I have a Footy Fanatic related question which I'm hoping somebody can help answer. I am trying to promote Austin Wonaeamirri to my senior list but it says there are already 38 players on it. I have tried editing the players and setting his Playertype to 'N' which I assume is normal (and 'r' is rookie and 'v' is veteran) but it fails to work when I import the rosters.

I tried adding Rohan Bail to the long term injury list to see if I could get Wonna on the senior list but no such luck - still full supposedly.

Anybody know much about this?

 

[OffCutters]

I think what you do is you put one of your older players to the veteran list and that means you can add one player from your rookie list. Thats what i do.

 

[Roofrom50]

Thanks for the feedback guys - from what I've seen of the past results the ladder is very bunched up so far.

Also, I have a Footy Fanatic related question which I'm hoping somebody can help answer. I am trying to promote Austin Wonaeamirri to my senior list but it says there are already 38 players on it. I have tried editing the players and setting his Playertype to 'N' which I assume is normal (and 'r' is rookie and 'v' is veteran) but it fails to work when I import the rosters.

I tried adding Rohan Bail to the long term injury list to see if I could get Wonna on the senior list but no such luck - still full supposedly.

Anybody know much about this?

It doesn't work like that mate, you can't start a career, and then change someone's position on the list half way through. You can only do that change, if you started a new story. The only way you can upgrade a player to the senior list, is if one of your players injured themselves in a game day, or at training and was out for long term. Then you can decide to put them onto the long term injury list, and then decide to upgrade Austinn to the senior side.

 

[blake]

No worries. I understand about the data being already set, but I was just remaining hopeful.

Never fear.. this obstacle is easily solved..

 

[blake]

Monday, 7 April, 2009​

AUSTIN WONAEAMIRRI AND ROHAN BAIL SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY AFTER NIGHT OUT​

Melbourne have taken a step against the problems haunting the AFL right now by handing Austin Wonaeamirri and Rohan Bail, two up-and-coming Demons, an indefinite ban, after they were arrested by police for being drunk and disorderly late on Saturday night.

Coach Blake was outraged after he was informed about Wonaeamirri and Bail's wrongdoings. Wonaeamirri and Bail both did not play in Melbourne's match but they decided they would like to be 'accustomed' to Port Adelaide's nightlife and hit the town after Melbourne recorded their 7-point win.

Blake fronted media earlier on the situation.

"I am really disappointed, this is a huge let-down for me, the fans, and the players. They are hurting the whole club by pulling off a stupid stunt like this and I am not impressed. As a result, they have been suspended indefinitely and they will be lucky to play again before at least 8 weeks."

Blake then left the conference, refusing to answer questions.

Wonaeamirri and Bail aren't the only AFL players to get in trouble - just last week Harry O'Brien was suspended for a month by Collingwood after he was caught outside his hotel room drunk at 3am.

Despite the two young players making a major smudge on the club's bright start to the year, the Melbourne fans still have a lot to look forward to after some courageous victories by their junior Demons, and now Melbourne are sitting in a good position at 2-1.

 

[OffCutters]

Wonneameari will be quite annoyed to miss out on a spot in the squad with the Dees in a very good position

Btw,Harry O`Brien is actually a very nice guy actually, me and a couple of friends had lunch with him once, quite a smart guy.

 

[blake]

Tuesday, 8 April, 2009​

After the incident which occurred last Saturday night involving Wonaeamirri and Bail, Blake has invoked further punishment to the pair after CEO of the AFL Andrew Demetriou warned Melbourne that they were giving the game a bad reputation by having incidents like this. Blake agreed with Demetriou's comments and he has now fined the pair $10000 each, whilst dropping them from the side for 8 weeks.

Despite Melbourne's victory over Port Adelaide which saw them push to 2-1, they still aren't inside the top 8 in an extremely interesting round. Every team that was unbeaten after round 2 lost this week, and every team that was winless after round 2 won this week - with the exception of just one team, Port Adelaide.

The ladder is extremely tight and contested, and if it continues on in this trend, it looks set to be a fantastic season.

Here are the official FFX Ladder and Statistics after round 3.

9 teams share the top position (Melbourne included). West Coast lead only on percentage in a very exciting and close ladder.

Lynch kicked 5 for the Eagles last game to take his tally to 12, whilst Brent Harvey and Jimmy Bartel are the competition leaders, averaging 40 possessions a game.​

 

[blake]

Wednesday, 9 April, 2009​

The Casey Scorpions, the reserve side of the Melbourne Demons, were narrowly defeated last game, but the signs were positive for some young Demons. The Scorpions went down narrowly, but they fought hard and some of the younger players that haven't yet played a senior game looked impressive in the clash.

Adamm Maric was easily Casey's best, after he kicked 5 goals from the forward pocket. The small forward, who turns 19 in a week, was excellent for the Demons. Maric stands at just 177cm tall, but his ability to sneak into spaces unmarked, and to crumb the taller forwards seems to be improving daily and he looks like a serious future contender for a starting spot in the Melbourne lineup.

Daniel Bell, Paul Wheatley and Lynden Dunn were all excellent in the match, with Dunn picking up 32 possessions and Wheatley having 8 rebound 50s in the match. Despite Melbourne having a win on the weekend, coach Blake admits some players are underperforming and there is a strong chance this weekend that some fresh players will be injected, especially considering many of the players will be fatigued from the trip down to Adelaide.

However, not all players performed in the reserves game. Liam Jurrah in particular, playing off the half-forward flank, showed nothing at all, whilst Stefan Martin and James Strauss both performed poorly and under standard. Still, everyone has their bad days, and coach Blake stood up in Jurrah's defence, claiming he didn't play too badly and was just having an off day.

With the Demons having a lack of key forwards, Michael Newton is a possibility to be brought into the squad, after he kicked 3 goals and generally looked threatening playing at CHF.

Michael Newton - a possibility for the next game​

Liam Jurrah is also a possibility, but his poor game probably won't help his cause for a first-team spot in Melbourne's next match.

Jurrah still doesn't speak fluent English, but he is learning quickly and his teammates have embraced and helped him with the new language.

Jurrah training with Melbourne​

 

[OffCutters]

Noo! Hey, I`ll give you all the money i`ve got, get Jurrah on!
Its good to see that you actually bother to post the reserves side matches, shows the readers the development of up-and-coming Melbourne players. Keep up the good work mate!

 

[blake]

Thanks for your comments, OffCutters. Jurrah is a big possibility to play in the next match, but I was a little bit disappointed by his form in the reserves. I'm not sure of the team yet, but there will most likely be some changes.

I'm in a good mood for updating. There might be another update tonight.

 

[OffCutters]

No worries. Btw, i wont mind seeing how Newton goes at AFL level, not a bad player. Could be Melbourne`s answer to a new key forward. I laugh when i see the Eagles and Fremantle in the top 8 and i laugh when i see Geelong outside the top 8.

 

[Roofrom50]

I'd put money on Jurrah as well

 

[Covvy]

The Eagles are really going strong lol

 

[blake]

Wednesday, 9 April, 7:00PM, 2009​

Gary Burleigh has returned from his latest youth scouting trip for the Melbourne Demons with some results on the best youth talent across the land. Burleigh is Melbourne's official recruiting officer, and he has already sighted some possible draft picks for Melbourne in 2010.

He travelled to Tasmania and Queensland in this recent scouting assignment to find the best talent on display.

At first it was tough going in Tasmania - there were plenty of junior AFL clubs, but none of them really seemed to hold the star player they were hoping for. Just as the trip was beginning to seem a waste of time, Burleigh sighted a star - a possible high pick in 17 year old Kim Bigger.

Bigger seemed to be the ideal small crumbing forward or centreman. He stands at just 179cm tall, and weighs 80kg, and Burleigh admits he will need a lot of work in the weights room if his body is to get up to the standard to play AFL football, but it is a hopeful sign for the Demons. After watching Bigger in action for the Tasmania Under 18s, Gary Burleigh noted that Bigger always seemed to know which way the ball would bounce and he put his body on the line tremendously every contest. Bigger also gave away a few free-kicks through undisciplined play, but that can still be fixed in the future and Bigger was an exciting prospect and a possible top 10 draft pick.

Kim Bigger - Centre​

Another prospect from Tasmania was tall forward Benny Fairchild. Whilst Fairchild's skills need a lot of improving, he is a strong mark and looks to be a good centre half forward. Burleigh wasn't able to note much from his game, but Fairchild did kick 4 goals for his local team Devonport, and was generally threatening in the air. He stands at a tall 196cm, and he looks to be already matured and fit to play AFL football - however, he needs to improve his skills a lot before he can get anywhere near the first team. Burleigh estimates he could possibly be a round 3 pick.

After returning from his trip to Tasmania, Burleigh immediately caught a plane up to Queensland to check out the local talent in the country's north. He headed first to the Gold Coast, the home of Southport - one of the biggest clubs in the country. Immediately he was impressed by a tall full-back playing in the Under 16 grade. At just 15 years of age, Mike Blackburn is already very tall at 191cm and he has a thick frame. Furthermore, he seems to be an excellent full-back with a good knowledge of the game. Despite Melbourne strengthening their list greatly this year with many young backmen coming through such as Garland, Martin, Warnock, Cheney, alongside the slightly more experienced Rivers and Frawley, he believes there is still a lot more room for good backmen, and with Blackburn just 15 years of age, he is an exciting possible talent.

Blackburn is 191cm tall and 86kg, and he has already attracted the attention of 6 other scouts. He looks to be a strong full-back who can restrict a good forward and Burleigh admits he will definitely be watching him further closer to draft-time to see if he is a possible pick for Melbourne.

Mike Blackburn - Fullback​

Just as Gary Burleigh was almost finished his scouting assignment in the Gold Coast, he decided to check out one more big club - Broadbeach. After watchin an Under 18 team compete, he was particularly excited by a 17 year old named Jamie Major. Major was slightly on the small side, but he looked to be a perfect back pocket, with silky skills and inspirational tackling. Burleigh counted no less than 7 tackles from Major in the three quarters he was watching - a superb effort. However, he also noted that Major's short kicks do tend to go astray sometimes and he is not a great shot for goal. Still, he is a possible future back flank or pocket player and could be looked at by the Demons again in the future.

In the match at Broadbeach, Burleigh also noted three other backmen who looked very competitive. Russ Newsom, Tyson Goodsell adn Timmy Gatewood all played in the backline and were dominant. Whilst they didn't play as well as Major, they rebounded the footy well and won plenty of it. In the end, the final score of Burleigh 10.11.71 to the Western Magpies 3.7.25 reflected the dominance of the backline, and there look to be some exciting future prospects - some which may end up being drafted by the Demons.