How Melbourne tanked in 2009 Jon Ralph
From: Herald Sun
August 03, 2011 
Despite Melbourne having more to gain from losing to Richmond in Round 18, 2009, it still took a last-minute goal from Jordan McMahon to win the game. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald SunDEAN Bailey didn't have to admit he tanked - his actions had already spoken for him.
What was more revealing was that he suggested the entire football club was involved in the strategy.
Those of us who were there on August 2, 2009, came away feeling various emotions.
Dirty. Shocked. And deeply ashamed that our game would allow such a farce.
Melbourne went into that Round 18 game against Richmond aware it could not allow itself to win.
Here were some of the tactics used to ensure that did not happen:
THE club's best midfielder in James McDonald being banished to the backline to guard small forward Robin Nahas.
RECOGNISED forwards Russell Robertson and Colin Sylvia being overlooked for VFL battler Michael Newton and rookie Jake Spencer.
Spencer hadn't kicked a goal in his career, and Newton had managed 3.9 in four games.
REGULAR defenders James Frawley and Matthew Warnock being pushed forward for much of the day in an utterly baffling move.
RUCKMAN Paul Johnson (all 199cm of him) playing at full-back and at one stage standing 181cm Richmond forward Nathan Brown.
Asked about whether he could sense the strange tactics, Brown told the Herald Sun: ''I could sense Paul Johnson was on me because he is about six foot eight.''
BRAD Miller, who had never played ruck before, all of a sudden thrust into the centre square to take the tap-outs.
A RAFT of midfielders who began to dominate suddenly rotated to the bench or put into a back pocket or forward pocket.
Richmond was so bad that they still took Jordan McMahon's last-minute goal to win the game.
But any impartial observer that day knew what was going on - Melbourne was doing everything in its power to lose a game of football.
If this was experimentation, why has none of those players ever played in that position again?
What was Andrew Demetriou's response?
He called Melbourne chief executive Cameron Schwab that week to congratulate him on the club's development.
''Andrew basically called to say, 'Hang in there','' Schwab said in the days after the game.
Demetriou was adamant nothing was wrong: ''I discussed the game with Cameron and agreed with him some of the conjecture and commentary has been absolutely disgraceful.''
Three weeks later against St Kilda the Demons were at it again.
When the Demons somehow found themselves three goals in front in the last round of the year, James Frawley was taken off Nick Riewoldt and midfielder/forward Lynden Dunn became the lamb to the slaughter.
Liam Jurrah and Aaron Davey were quickly dispatched to the bench, and Nick Dal Santo was left to run amok without a tagger.
When Jurrah returned to the game and kicked two goals in quick time, the Demons dragged him for most of the next quarter.
They got the draft pick they were after - into the club came Tom Scully and Jack Trengove.
Demetriou says tanking is no panacea to success.
Yet in 2008 Hawthorn won the flag with Jarryd Roughead as a priority pick.
In 2010 Collingwood won the flag with Grand Final hero Dale Thomas as a priority pick.
This year Gold Coast will get the least-deserved priority pick in history.
Last year West Coast got one (Jack Darling) and could still win this year's flag.
Finally a review is in place to consider the draft pick. Only their total abolition will do.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/how-melbourne-tanked-in-2009/story-fn6cisdj-1226107012777
