With the 2001 finals' series now in full swing and 12 clubs now re-assessing their playing stocks for season 2002, the inevitable trade discussions and associated rumours start doing the rounds. Everyone professes to know something - such and such is going to Melbourne, so and so isn't happy at St Kilda and so on. In seasons past it has been a distraction to the Bombers but football manager Matthew Drain said the players are now used to the rumours that continually do the rounds and take absolutely no notice.

""At times in the past it has bothered some players but this season and particularly over the past few weeks the players have been very focussed on what they want to achieve,"" Drain said. ""They realise the type of environment they are in and that some things are out of their control. If people want to start rumours simply to try and disrupt the club then there isn't much they can do about it.""

Drain said that on the eve of last season's finals' series some rumours had gathered amazing momentum. ""There was a rumour doing the rounds that Scott Lucas was going to be traded and it was complete rubbish,"" Drain said. ""But it got to the point that on the Thursday before the Grand Final Scott actually came to see me about it. It is hardly the sort of thing you want playing on your mind with a Grand Final in two days time.""

And this season we hear the rumours that Essendon is ""certainly"" going to trade for Peter Everitt and that Kevin Sheedy has approached Peter Matera about coming to Essendon. ""We haven't had a close look at what we want to do in that area yet suffice to say that these people who are perpetuating these rumours are way off the mark,"" Drain said. ""Someone told me the other day that Justin Blumfield and Dean Solomon were being traded to St Kilda - the three of us had a good laugh at that suggestion. We have got other things on our mind at the moment and the players have as well.""