FIND out what’s being said about the club in the major daily newspapers on Thursday, April 21, 2011

Herald Sun
Racist abuse heard at Launceston in the pre-season
By Nick Clark

LANCE Franklin was not the first AFL player racially abused at Launceston's Aurora Stadium this season. It has emerged that Melbourne's indigenous players were taunted with sickening language during an NAB Challenge game in March. A Tasmanian man, who asked not to be identified, told the Herald Sun a "big thug with jail tatts" had abused the players before the game and throughout the first quarter on March 11. His comments came as the search continued yesterday for a man who yelled racial abuse at Franklin last Saturday.

The Age
Stynes steps in to ease tension
By Caroline Wilson

MELBOURNE chairman Jim Stynes has directed his chief executive Cameron Schwab to defuse a potentially divisive scenario involving coach Dean Bailey, who is soon to be out of contract. The Stynes intervention came after a series of potentially inflammatory comments attributed to Schwab two days ago, which were construed to have placed Bailey under intense pressure as he coaches through his final contracted season. Schwab told The Age last night his comments had been misunderstood and that he had contacted Bailey two nights ago to clarify an interview he gave with The Australian discussing a recently completed review of the club's board and football department in which Schwab praised the club's directors and its ''young administration'' but did not mention the Demon coaches. Schwab also suggested that the club's on-field progress could possibly be fast-tracked.

TV time for young Dees
By Jake Niall

SIX of Melbourne's gun youngsters have used the bye week to become immersed in the television industry, flying to Sydney to meet and receive instruction from the likes of Lachlan Murdoch and Foxtel boss Kim Williams in the middle of the TV rights negotiations. Whereas players traditionally use the break to rest or head home, Tom Scully, Jack Trengove, Jack Grimes, Jack Watts, James Frawley and Cale Morton spent yesterday and Tuesday in Sydney, visiting Channel Ten yesterday, Foxtel on Tuesday and also media company DMG, the owner of radio stations Nova and 5AA. The Demons met with Murdoch during yesterday's visit to Channel Ten - of which Murdoch is a significant shareholder, with the TV boss telling the players how footballers fitted into the television industry. They also spent more than an hour with Ten executives David Barham, who runs Ten's sports coverage, and head of sports sales Adam Hilton.