AS WE ENTER the important trade and draft period, I wanted to give all our members a short update on our club.

You are all aware of the critical off field issues we dealt with this year. As I have said several times, not many clubs have had to deal with the range and severity of issues we have had, and I believe we should be proud of the way our club conducted itself through these trying times.

However, this does not excuse our on field performance. I want to assure you that every effort is being made to ensure a better performance next year, and in the years to come.

In the next few weeks, we have an opportunity to strengthen our list through the trade, draft and free agency period. We have a team of professional and experienced staff committed to the analysis of the opportunities that may present themselves, and all are working to a strategy that is designed to provide sustainable success on the field.

With free agency, some of our experienced players will have the opportunity to assess offers from other clubs.  While we will do all we can to retain our quality players, we must be prudent managing our playing list within the limitations of the salary cap. We will not compromise the integrity of what we are trying to build as a team by overpaying individuals. Of course, free agency may also give us the opportunity to attract some experienced players.

We intend to be highly active throughout the draft, trade and free agency period, and hope that by the end of the month we will have increased enthusiasm for the pre-season ahead, complete with a range of new additions to our list.

It is important to remember that, at this time last year, we had a new coach, new fitness regime, were restructuring our football department and dealing with several major off field issues, including the impending loss of our President and a major sponsor.

This year, we have a settled team both on and off the field, clear plans for the trade period, the pre-season program mapped out, a sound strategy to ensure we address the required areas of improvement, and two quality committed major sponsors in Opel and Webjet.

Most importantly, we have dedicated supporters. Melbourne Football Club supporters convert to members at a higher rate than any club in the competition.  And I know that, despite the disappointment of Season 2012, we will all continue our passionate support and desire for Demon success.

Despite our on field year, we still hope to post a small operating profit by financial year end at 31 October. This comes as a result of prudent financial management during the year, including a range of cost cutting measures overseen by Cameron and his team during the year, as we responded to the position we were in. The AFL environment is very competitive, as we all know, but our balance sheet remains sound.

These are good reasons to remain optimistic. Every person at your club is focussed on improvement, and we have pledged to be uncompromising in our desire to get our club back to a position of strength. We will not be taking short cuts, we will be making hard decisions, and we will have high performance expectations of everyone associated with the Melbourne Football Club.

Thank you for your continued support - and go Demons!