On message: Former Demon Brock McLean has been tweeting about the issue. Source: Herald Sun
CHRISTMAS is supposed to come early for Melbourne.
It has a bright, shiny gift with No.4 written on it, safely stored away to be unwrapped on November 22.
But could that prized draft choice, the first available after Greater Western Sydney plunders the best of the talent, be ripped away?
Could the AFL, now belatedly determined to eradicate the tank stink, turn Grinch?
Individuals involved at Melbourne in 2009 will be nervous about their own fate, but everyone at the Demons right now would be shuddering at the prospect of a stinging draft penalty.
If the AFL deems the Demons did not do their best to win matches in 2009, collecting a priority pick at the start of the draft, it makes sense that part of any club penalty would involve snatching their first pick in 2012.
It would be a cruel blow to coach Mark Neeld and his new-look team, but nothing can be ruled out now.
You would think a fine, at the very least, is coming.
Perhaps their best shot is hoping the investigation drags on another month or two, beyond this year's draft.
The AFL regulation pertaining to the Demons allegations, (19 A5), is clear: "A person, being a player, coach or assistant coach, must at all times perform on their merits and must not induce, or encourage, any player, coach or assistant coach not to perform on their merits in any match - or in relation to any aspect of the match, for any reason whatsoever."
If anyone at Melbourne in 2009 owns up to that, the AFL must act because its image is paramount.
The league's football operations boss, Adrian Anderson, is forever banging on about the integrity of the game and this is at the heart of it.
Brock McLean has been tweeting on holiday in LA this week as the storm rolls on it; to think the whole saga was sparked by a couple of honest answers on Fox Footy this year.
You have to feel for the current crew at Melbourne, particularly given the Dees are surely not on their own here.
How far does the the AFL go? Why didn't it interview more people than Tony Liberatore after his 2008 allegations?
It seems inconsistent that the Dees have copped so much heat when the Blues probe went cold so quickly.
Other matches and clubs are on the nose, too, in the era of the priority pick, but it is Melbourne that sweats, hoping it will not be part of a horror version of the Grinch.
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