Full extent of Melbourne's 2009 'tanking' scandal finally revealed

The full extent of Melbourne’s 2009 AFL ‘tanking’ saga has been laid bare.

Secret documents from the time, which were obtained by the Herald Sun in Melbourne, revealed several senior staff form the Demons blew the whistle on the conspiracy in 2012.

An investigation in 2012 ultimately resulted in then AFL deputy chief-executive Gillon McLachlan declaring “I actually don’t know what the definition of tanking is”, before ruling Melbourne had not engaged in tanking on match day.

The documents detailed interviews conducted with staff and players from the football club as part of the AFL’s 2012 probe into the 2009 season.

Included was a startling confession from then coach Dean Bailey, who said his job would have been at risk if the Demons were to win games.

“What was said to me was, if I win games I would get sacked,” Bailey told investigators in 2012.

“I was threatened. Yeah, I didn’t like it. I think it was a terrible thing to be bullying and harassing not only me but the rest of the staff.

“Absolutely, I knew if we won those games, I felt that I would get sacked.”

Interviews conducted with 58 current and former Demons staff in 2012 revealed a number of troubling allegations.

This included senior figures in the football department admitting they had been specifically directed not to win any more than four games that season, as well as ‘fake injuries’ to keep certain players from being selected.

Players who were not seriously injured were frequently kept from going on the ground, while some staff confirmed players were sent to have operations in a deliberate attempt to weaken the team.

The Demons won two first-round selections at the 2009 draft after only winning four games, using them to select Tom Scully and Jack Trengove.

An investigation into the 2009 season was launched three years later when former Demon Brock McLean told Fox Footy of his doubts about Melbourne’s competitiveness in games.

General manager, chief executive implicated

Then Melbourne Demons general manager Chris Connolly and chief executive Cameron Schwab were both implicated in the documents.

Senior staff within the club felt both were urging them to ensure the team did not perform at its best.

Bailey told the investigation Schwab had entered the rooms after the club’s third win of the season with his head bowed.

Others also detailed a meeting later in the week, where Connolly allegedly launched into a rant and identified the club’s desire to draft Scully and Trengove on a whiteboard.

Chris is good with colour texta, he loves writing things on boards. He wrote up Scully and I think he wrote Scully and Trengove’s names up on the board,” Bailey said.

“Sometimes Chris has a joke and a laugh, but he was not in a joking mood that day. We just sat back and thought, ‘F***ing hell, is he serious?’”

Connolly vehemently denied giving any specific directives to coaches to have the team lose.

Both he and Bailey were eventually suspended as a result of the investigation.