Priority draft pick

Last updated

Travis Johnstone, the first pick of the 1997 AFL draft, was drafted via a priority draft pick Travisjohnstonelion.jpg
Travis Johnstone, the first pick of the 1997 AFL draft, was drafted via a priority draft pick

The priority draft pick is a type of draft selection in the Australian Football League's AFL Draft. Priority draft picks are additional draft picks, located at or near the start of the draft, which are given only to the poorest performing teams, to provide additional help for those teams to improve on-field performances in future years. Prior to 2012, a team automatically received a priority draft pick if its win–loss record met pre-defined eligibility criteria; since 2012, priority draft picks will be awarded on a discretionary basis by the AFL commission. [1]

Contents

The priority draft pick has been the consistent subject of controversy, as several poor-performing teams have been accused of tanking during the later part of the season to ensure that they qualify for the additional draft pick.

AFL draft

At the conclusion of each AFL season, there are three AFL drafts: the National Draft, the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft. The National Draft is the most important of the drafts, as it is the primary recruitment method for prospective young players once they reach the age of 18.

In the draft, the selections are arranged into rounds, with each team having one selection per round. Selections in each round are arranged in reverse ladder position order.

Priority draft pick rules

Under current AFL rules, enacted from the 2012 season onwards, a club can receive a priority draft pick at the discretion of the AFL Commission.

A formula which will assist with determining whether or not a team receives a priority draft pick, and at which round in the draft that pick will be taken, has been developed that takes into account such factors as:

In 2016, the Brisbane Lions became the first club to be awarded a priority draft pick under the current rules. [2] However, through a series of trades in that year's AFL draft, the Sydney Swans, who had finished as minor premiers in the season that had just passed and reached the Grand Final, ended up with it instead. [3] The Swans used this pick to draft Will Hayward. [4] [5]

Priority round history

The draft was established in 1986 in an attempt to reduce the inherent inequities of the league under zoning, where the clubs with the most successful zones, such as Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon, were able to perennially dominate the competition, while teams with weaker zones, such as St Kilda, Sydney and Footscray, were perennially close to or at the bottom of the ladder. The draft was intended to give the weakest teams access to the best prospective players.

First priority round amendment

By 1992, some of the weakest teams (e.g. Sydney Swans, Brisbane Bears and Richmond) were still enduring prolonged periods of poor performance, so the priority draft pick was introduced in the Draft of that year to further assist these teams.

In its original version:

It became clear, however, that a team with reasonable prospects could finish with five wins and receive a roster boosting priority draft pick as a result of an isolated poor season due to key players suffering injuries, internal dissent and/or other off-field trouble.

This situation was both unfair and counterproductive to the raison d'être of the priority pick, which was to assist consistently poor teams with minimal or no prospects to rebuild: as such, AFL made further amendments to the priority pick rules in 2006.

2006 priority round amendment

From the 2006 draft, a club became eligible for a priority draft pick in the National Draft if it finished a season with fewer than 16.5 premiership points (four wins).

The location of the priority draft picks within the overall National Draft now depended upon the team's performance over the previous two years:

Another way to describe this is that in a sequence of consecutive poor seasons, the priority draft pick in the first season would be taken after the first round, and any second or subsequent priority draft picks would be taken before the first round.

2012 priority pick reform

Will Hayward was selected as a priority draft pick by the Sydney Swans in the 2016 draft, despite the club having just played in a Grand Final weeks earlier. Will Hayward 2017.1.jpg
Will Hayward was selected as a priority draft pick by the Sydney Swans in the 2016 draft, despite the club having just played in a Grand Final weeks earlier.

Despite the best efforts of the AFL, the priority draft pick became controversial in the late 2000s and early 2010s because of the potential for corruption, since it could be automatically awarded based on the performance of the club over the past two seasons with a defined cut-off point (16.5 premiership points or four wins).

In the 2012 pre-season, the AFL Commission, with the unanimous support of the 18 clubs, removed all provision for priority picks automatically based upon finishing results, with the Commission retaining the power to award priority picks on a discretionary basis. [1]

To allow for this situation, a formula was developed that takes into account such factors as:

To eliminate any perception of tanking, the formula for priority picks is kept confidential by the AFL Commission.

In 2016, the Brisbane Lions became the first club to be given a priority draft pick under the current rules, with that pick located after the first round [2] (although Sydney ended up with the pick after the trade period). [3]

Players selected with start of first round or first assistance priority picks

YearPickPlayer Club Ladder Position
19921 Drew Banfield West Coast, pick traded from Sydney Sydney finished 15th with 3 wins/WCE won 1992 Premiership
19922 Nathan Chapman Brisbane Bears Brisbane finished 14th with 4 wins
19923 Michael Prior Essendon, pick traded from Sydney Sydney finished 15th with 3 wins/Essendon finished 8th with 12 wins
19924 Justin Leppitsch Brisbane Bears Brisbane finished 14th with 4 wins
19931 Darren Gaspar Sydney Sydney finished 15th with 1 win
19932 Nigel Lappin Brisbane Bears Brisbane finished 13th on % with 4 wins
19933 Justin Murphy Richmond Richmond finished 14th with 4 wins
19934 Glenn Gorman Sydney Sydney finished 15th with 1 win
19942 Anthony Rocca Sydney Sydney finished 15th with 4 wins
19943 Shannon Grant Sydney Sydney finished 15th with 4 wins
19952 Matthew Primus Fitzroy Fitzroy finished 16th with 2 wins
19971 Travis Johnstone Melbourne Melbourne finished 16th with 4 wins
19991 Josh Fraser Collingwood Collingwood finished 16th with 4 wins
19992 Paul Hasleby Fremantle Fremantle finished 15th with 5 wins
20001 Nick Riewoldt St Kilda St Kilda finished 16th with 1 win
20011 Luke Hodge Hawthorn, pick traded from Fremantle Fremantle finished 16th with 2 wins/Hawthorn finished 6th with 13 wins
20012 Luke Ball St Kilda St Kilda finished 15th with 2 wins
20013 Chris Judd West Coast West Coast finished 14th with 5 wins
2002N/AN/A Carlton Carlton finished 16th with 3 wins/Carlton stripped of priority pick [6]
20031 Adam Cooney Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs finished 16th with 1 win
20032 Andrew Walker Carlton Carlton finished 15th with 4 wins
20033 Colin Sylvia Melbourne Melbourne finished 14th with 5 wins
20041 Brett Deledio Richmond Richmond finished 16th with 4 wins
20042 Jarryd Roughead Hawthorn Hawthorn finished 15th with 4 wins
20043 Ryan Griffen Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs finished 14th with 5 wins
20051 Marc Murphy Carlton Carlton finished 16th with 4 wins
20052 Dale Thomas Collingwood Collingwood finished 15th with 5 wins
20053 Xavier Ellis Hawthorn Hawthorn finished 14th with 5 wins
2006Priority Pick Rule Adjustment [7]
200617 Shaun Hampson Carlton Carlton finished 16th with 3 wins
200618 Leroy Jetta Essendon Essendon finished 15th with 3 wins on %
20071 Matthew Kreuzer Carlton Carlton finished 15th with 4 wins
200718 Alex Rance Richmond Richmond finished 16th with 3 wins
200817 Sam Blease Melbourne Melbourne finished 16th win 3 wins
200818 Luke Shuey West Coast West Coast finished 16th with 4 wins
20091 Tom Scully Melbourne
2010Gold Coast enters the competition with draft concessions [8]
201026 Jack Darling West Coast West Coast finished 16th with 4 wins
2011Greater Western Sydney enters the competition with draft concessions [9]
201127 Sam Kerridge Adelaide, pick traded from Gold Coast Gold Coast finished 17th with 3 wins/ Adelaide finished 14th with 7 wins
201128 Fraser McInnes West Coast, pick traded from Port Adelaide Port Adelaide finished 16th with 3 wins on % / West Coast finished 4th with 17 wins
201129 Alex Forster Fremantle, pick traded from Brisbane Lions Brisbane finished 15th with 4 wins / Fremantle finished 11th with 9 wins
2012Priority Pick Rule Adjustment [10]
201621 Will Hayward Sydney, pick traded from Brisbane Lions Brisbane Lions finished 17th with 3 wins / Sydney finished 1st with 17 wins on %
2019Gold Coast assistance package - 2019 #1, #20; 2020 Mid 1st Round + Pre Draft Selections, 2021 first pick in 2nd round. [11]
20191 Matthew Rowell Gold Coast Gold Coast finished 18th with 3 wins.
201922 Deven Robertson Brisbane Lions, pick traded from Gold Coast Gold Coast finished 18th with 3 wins. / Brisbane Lions finished 2nd with 16 wins.on %
202015 Connor Stone Greater Western Sydney, pick traded of Gold Coast pick from Geelong Gold Coast finished 14th with 5 wins / GWS finished 10th with 8 wins.
202121 Matthew Johnson Fremantle, pick traded from Gold Coast Gold Coast finished 16th with 7 wins / Fremantle finished 11th with 10 wins

Tanking

There was annual speculation that poorly performing teams manipulated their results after they were eliminated from finals contention in order to ensure they remained below the eligibility criterion and received a priority pick under the 1993-2011 format; this was referred to as "tanking." [12]

There are a wide variety of behaviours which could be considered to be tanking. These include:

While all of these behaviouurs can be interpreted as an attempt to avoid winning matches, all but the first point can also be justified as a sensible player management and development strategy for a team with no chance of playing finals, which complicates the debate about tanking. Another sign cited as evidence of tanking is the practice of fans openly supporting their clubs' opponents on game day; [13] however, this can also be justified as a sign of fan dissatisfaction at the club's poor performance and/or its administration.

Also complicating the debate is the fact that different people have different opinions on what is acceptable behaviour. When speaking about West Coast's 2010 priority draft pick, coach John Worsfold openly defended his right to play young players in unfamiliar positions to assist their development; [15] but, when speaking about Carlton's 2007 priority draft pick, assistant coach Tony Liberatore said he personally thought it was wrong to play younger players in place of senior players whose niggling injuries would not be bad enough to force their omission if the team were playing finals, [14] and Brock McLean revealed that he requested to be traded away from the Melbourne Football Club because he disagreed with similar strategies in the lead-up to Melbourne's 2009 priority draft pick. [16]

The legal implications of tanking on sports betting is also a significant problem, [17] and in 2009 a betting agency temporarily suspended betting on the wooden spoon when it became concerned about the potential legal ramifications if tanking or other corruption were ever proven. [12] The penalty for any player or club official found to have been involved in tanking is a possible lifetime suspension and/or a fine of up to $100,000 for each offence.

By shifting the Priority Round from before to after the First Round in 2006, the AFL reduced the incentive to tank, but did not eliminate it; the incentive was reduced further with the 2012 reform. The AFL has the endorsement of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation that the integrity of the game is sufficiently protected under the priority system. [12]

Some members of the media, particularly from the Herald Sun , had previously called for the priority draft pick to be scrapped, with some journalists calling for a draft lottery to be applied in the first round for the bottom five or six clubs.

When asked in 2011, the AFL Players Association's official position was that it would like to see the priority pick abolished due to the perception of tanking and its impact on the public's confidence in the game, rather than any suggestion of actual corruption. [18]

Statements alluding to tanking

In 2011, sacked Melbourne coach Dean Bailey stated that he coached to "ensure the club was well placed for draft picks" in 2008 and 2009, and admitted to playing players in unusual positions, but he never claimed that the team had deliberately lost matches. [12] Tony Liberatore made similar statements in 2008, when he claimed that he felt like "winning wasn't the be all and end all" when Carlton received a priority pick in 2007, but he also said that he'd never seen anything to suggest that players were deliberately losing matches. [14] In both cases, the statements were seen as an admission of guilt to tanking by some, but in the absence of an explicit directive to deliberately lose, acceptable by others, [12] and the AFL was satisfied that neither team had broken its tanking rules. [16] [19]

Notable matches in the tanking debate

Round 22, 2007 – Melbourne vs Carlton
The match between Melbourne and Carlton in Round 22 of 2007 was dubbed the Kreuzer Cup, as a Carlton loss would have seen them earn the first pick of the 2007 AFL draft, which was expected to be used on Matthew Kreuzer, who was playing as a ruckman and key forward for the Northern Knights Matthew Kreuzer 2017.1.jpg
The match between Melbourne and Carlton in Round 22 of 2007 was dubbed the Kreuzer Cup, as a Carlton loss would have seen them earn the first pick of the 2007 AFL draft, which was expected to be used on Matthew Kreuzer, who was playing as a ruckman and key forward for the Northern Knights

The Round 22, 2007 match between Melbourne and Carlton, nicknamed the Kreuzer Cup, was the most controversial match in the tanking debate. It was the last match of the regular season, and both Melbourne and Carlton had a record of 4–17, meaning that whichever team won the match would lose the chance at a priority draft pick, and both clubs had already avoided the ignominy of the wooden spoon, as Richmond had secured it with a final record of 3–18–1. Overall, this meant that there was no benefit for either club to win, but a significant benefit to losing.

The stakes were particularly high in Carlton's case, because the club had also received a priority pick in the 2006 season; as such, if it lost this match, it would receive the No. 1 draft pick as its priority pick. In Melbourne's case, the priority pick it could have received would be the No. 18 pick; the No. 1 pick would go to wooden spooners Richmond if Melbourne lost the match. The match became known as the Kreuzer Cup, named after Northern Knights' ruckman Matthew Kreuzer, who had been expected to be (and was eventually, by Carlton) selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 AFL Draft.

The match was high scoring, played with low intensity, poor skills and very little defensive pressure, and two players (Carlton's Heath Scotland and Melbourne's Travis Johnstone) gathered more than 40 disposals. Melbourne had a five-goal lead by quarter time, and ended up winning the match 21.13 (139) to 15.18 (108). Carlton went on to recruit Kreuzer with the No. 1 pick in the draft. [20]

Round 18, 2009 – Melbourne vs Richmond

Melbourne entered the match with a record of 3–14. Because it had received a priority draft pick in 2008, it had the potential to receive a priority draft pick at the start of the draft if won no more than one of its final five matches.

The match was close for much of the game, but Melbourne kicked away to lead by a few goals in the final quarter. Richmond was then able to make a comeback, and an after-the-siren goal by Jordan McMahon gave Richmond a four-point win. The Herald Sun later accused Melbourne coach Dean Bailey of making positional changes in the final quarter which were so nonsensical that they could only have been designed to ensure Richmond would make a comeback: this included moving key defenders James Frawley and Matthew Warnock into the forward-line, resting key midfielders, and using Brad Miller as a ruckman. [21]

In late 2012 and early 2013, Melbourne was thoroughly investigated for its conduct in this and other games which occurred in late 2009. The club was found not guilty of tanking, [19] but were found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and fined $500,000, with Bailey (who was fired as coach in 2011) being suspended for 16 matches and football operations manager Chris Connelly being suspended for 12 months (22 matches).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Football Club</span> Australian rules football club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, the club competed in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1885 to 1907, winning two premierships. Richmond then joined the Victorian Football League from the 1908 season and has since won 13 premierships, most recently in 2020.

The 2002 AFL season was the 106th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 28 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL).

Paul Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is also a former assistant coach in the AFL, which most notably included a brief period as caretaker coach of the Western Bulldogs towards the end of the 2011 season.

Rivalries in the Australian Football League exist between many teams, most of which typically draw large crowds and interest regardless of both teams' positions on the ladder. The AFL encourages the building of such rivalries, as a method of increasing publicity for the league, to the point of designating one round each year as "Rivalry Round" when many of these match-ups are held on the one weekend. Whilst some rivalries, such as between teams from adjacent areas, are still strong, the designation of an entire round of fixtures as a Rivalry Round is often criticised due to some arbitrary match-ups, or ignoring stronger and more recent rivalries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Mooney</span> Australian rules footballer

Cameron Mooney is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Geelong Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). A forward, standing at 197 cm Mooney is renowned for his passion along with his poor tribunal history where he holds the record for the most suspensions in a single season by a VFL/AFL player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Kreuzer</span> Australian rules footballer

Matthew Kreuzer is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected first overall pick in the 2007 AFL Draft. He announced his retirement in September 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Mumford</span> Australian rules footballer

Shane Mumford is a former professional Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has also previously played for the Geelong Football Club and the Sydney Swans. He was a part of Sydney's 2012 premiership team.

The 2008 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 145th season, and 112th as a member of the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Western Sydney Giants</span> Australian rules football club

The Greater Western Sydney Giants are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park which represents the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales and Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Melbourne Football Club season</span>

The 2009 Melbourne Football Club season was the club's 110th year in the VFL/AFL since it began in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 AFL season</span> 117th season of the Australian Football League (AFL)

The 2013 AFL season was the 117th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs, ran from 22 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

The 1982 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 119th season of competition, and 86th as a member of the Victorian Football League. Carlton fielded teams in the senior, reserves and under-19s grades of the 1982 VFL season, and its senior team also contested the 1982 Escort Championships.

The Melbourne Football Club tanking scandal refers to issues involving the Melbourne Football Club and allegations that it had tanked towards the latter part of the 2009 season – that is, that it had intentionally lost matches near the end of the season so that it would receive a priority draft pick in the upcoming draft. The club was found not guilty of charges related to tanking, but senior coach Dean Bailey and general manager of football operations Chris Connolly were both found guilty of related charges.

The Australian Football League has implemented a salary cap on its clubs since 1987, when Brisbane and West Coast were admitted, as part of its equalization policy designed to neutralize the ability of the richest and most successful clubs, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, to perennially dominate the competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connor Menadue</span> Australian rules footballer

Connor Menadue is a former professional Australian rules footballer for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for 39 AFL matches over a five-year tenure with the Richmond Football Club. He was drafted by Richmond in the second round of the 2014 national draft and made his debut in round 7 the following season. Menadue played in a premiership with Richmond's reserves side in the VFL side in 2019. After being delisted by Richmond at the end of 2019 and after one year out of the league, he was redrafted by North Melbourne in the 2021 rookie draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Nankervis</span> Australian professional rule footballer

Toby Nankervis is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 12 matches for the Sydney Swans from 2014 to 2016 after being drafted by the club with the 35th pick in the 2013 AFL national draft. Nankervis is a three-time premiership player with Richmond, winning in 2017, 2019 and 2020. Nankervis served as Richmond co-captain from 2022 to 2023, and will serve as the sole captain from the 2024 season.

The history of the Adelaide Football Club dates back to their founding in 1990, when the Australian Football League (AFL) approved a license application by the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) to base a new club out of Adelaide, South Australia in the expanding AFL competition. The club also operates a side in the AFL Women's competition, which held its first season in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Butler (Australian footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1996)

Daniel Butler is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 45 matches over a five-year tenure at Richmond, after being drafted by the club in the fourth round of the 2014 AFL national draft. He made his debut in round 1 of the 2017 season and became an AFL premiership player that same year. In 2019 he won a VFL premiership while playing for Richmond's reserves side. At the end of the 2019 season he was traded to St Kilda in exchange for a late third-round draft selection. In his first year at St Kilda, he led the club's goalkicking tally, placed second in the best and fairest and was nominated to the extended All-Australian squad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne vs Richmond (2009 AFL season)</span> Australian rules football match

In round 18, 2009, an Australian Football League home-and-away match was played between Melbourne and Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 August 2009. The match became controversial for the coaching tactics employed by then-Melbourne coach Dean Bailey, with Melbourne losing to Richmond by four points after Jordan McMahon kicked a match-winning goal for his team after the final siren.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Paton, Al (21 February 2012). "AFL scraps priority pick". Herald Sun. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 Ryan, Peter (6 October 2016). "AFL grants struggling Lions a priority pick". AFL.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 King, Travis (20 October 2016). "Swans land top-10 selection after late pick swaps with Power". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  4. "Pick 21: Will Hayward". Sydney Swans. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. "AFL 2019: Gold Coast, Melbourne to present to AFL Commission next week". Fox Sports Australia. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. "League to strip Carlton of prized picks". The Age. 13 November 2002. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  7. "AFL toughens priority draft pick rules". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  8. "A look at Gold Coast's AFL draft history". goldcoastfc.com.au. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  9. "Draft concessions will help top teams dominate for longer, former AFL player Corey McKernan says". Fox Sports. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  10. "AFL draft priority pick explained". The Roar. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  11. "AFL bosses throw draft-pick lifeline to floundering Gold Coast Suns". ABC News. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Denham, Greg (5 August 2011), "Watchdog backs AFL on tanking", The Australian, retrieved 15 July 2014
  13. 1 2 Lyon, Garry (31 July 2007), Do Blues need a win, or a Riewoldt?, Herald Sun, retrieved 25 February 2015
  14. 1 2 3 "Carlton tanked: Liberatore". ABC News. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  15. Schmook, Nathan (3 August 2011). "Experimentation not tanking: Worsfold". West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  16. 1 2 Hayes, Mark; Timms, Daryl (31 July 2012). "AFL to interview Brock McLean over tanking claims". Herald Sun. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  17. Pierik, Jon (3 August 2011), "Legal risk over tank admissions", The Age, retrieved 11 November 2011
  18. Lane, Samantha (6 August 2011). "Club chiefs 'happy to tank'". The Age. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  19. 1 2 Cooper, Adam (20 February 2013). "Integrity intact: Demons". The Age. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  20. "Demons finish season on a high". Sportal. 29 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  21. Ralph, Jon (3 August 2011), "How Melbourne tanked in 2009", Herald Sun, Melbourne, VIC, retrieved 10 November 2011