Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Demonland

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

TAKING A BATH by George on the Outer

Featured Replies

Posted

On a day to promote the cause to find a cure for MND, it wasn’t only the coaches who took a bath; the Demons took one from the Pies as well, when they went down by seven goals in front of a big crowd at the MCG.

It was a big day for the Melbourne Football Club - a big occasion, big crowd, big expectations and all that happened was a big, big disappointment. 

The loss of the game and the loss of percentage dropped the club to fifth spot on the ladder and facing a game against Port Adelaide in 2 weeks time, who will be looking to leap ahead of them.

The game started badly with Collingwood having ten scoring shots in the first quarter to a paltry two for the Demons.  The forward line set-up was poor, leaving Jeremy Howe free and he repelled attack after attack. When he was properly manned up at quarter time, he didn’t get another intercept mark for the game.  

But it was the clearance battle that was decisive, with the Pies able to extract the ball from the middle to their outside runners with ease.  Unfortunately, no change was made by the coaches to stop their players coming off the back of the square to provide those outlets. And our players simply didn’t go with their opponents.  

Gawn v Grundy was touted as the competition for AA ruckman, and probably was a tie, given Grundy managed 5 more hit-outs, but Gawn had 4 more possessions including 3 marks to 1.  Keeping the ball in close was the Collingwood aim, and it worked all game, with  45 to 28 clearances in the Pies favour. Our much vaunted contested ball players were given a bath.  

The game really didn’t change much over the final three quarters as Collingwood kept on giving themselves more opportunities in front of goal. A total of 18 chances to 9 at half-time blew out to 33 v 21 at the final bell - the Demons were never going to win a game with that sort of return.

In addition it was the Collingwood spread which provided those opportunities, and the lack of run in the legs of the Melbourne players was obvious. The drop off in possessions for the likes of Brayshaw (16), Petracca (15), Spargo (12), Melksham (12) and Hannan (8) showed either some very tired players, or players who need to lift their running game and effort when needed most.

The addition of Cam Pedersen was a complete failure as he was to provide a replacement for Tim Smith up forward.  By half-time he was relegated to the backline. The only forward to provide any real output was Tom McDonald with six goals from six contested marks. Jesse Hogan was left stranded by the lack of opportunities coming his way, and was used in the middle to try to get his hands on the ball, but that didn’t work either.

With low output from the small forwards and a lack of accountability for their opponents, the ball came out of the Collingwood defence all too easily.  In sharp contrast the defence without Jake Lever was poor. Jordan Lewis racked up 33 touches, but that in itself is a bad sign as it showed how often the ball was down that way.  Also running him as the spare, when he is not the most athletically gifted gave no drive from the backline.  It was just a stop and kick movement, which was completely inadequate against a running Collingwood.

Joel Smith is a work in progress, to replace Lever for the remainder of the season but he was used badly and was forced to play on Cox initially.  An older head should have been assigned the role as Joel still needs to learn how to position his body.  He would have been the better option as the spare, with Lewis on Cox. He still managed 16 touches and will be better for the experience.  It will take some time for him to get used to the role that he has to play.

With a bye next week, the break will relieve the tired younger bodies. With eight wins to date, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure a finals appearance for the team. The Magpies cheer squad reminded us all today of what happened in Round 23 last year ... does the team want to be given a bath again in the second half of the season?

Melbourne 2.0.12 7.2.44 11.5.71 14.7.91

Collingwood 5.5..38 9.9.63 15.11.101 20.13.133

Goals T McDonald 6 Hannan 2 Fritsch Gawn Harmes Neal-Bullen Oliver Viney

Collingwood Cox 5 Hoskin-Elliott Stephenson 4 Thomas 3 Adams Mihocek Pendlebury Treloar

Best

Melbourne T McDonald Jetta Oliver Jones

Collingwood De Goey Cox Adams Hoskin-Elliott Sidebottom Treloar

Injuries

Melbourne Jetta (shoulder) O McDonald (concussion)

Collingwood Wells (foot)

Reports Nil

Umpires Donlon, Haussen, Findlay 

Official crowd 83,518 at the MCG

 

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Featured Content

  • AFLW REPORT: Collingwood

    Expectations of a comfortable win for Narrm at Victoria Park quickly evaporated as the match turned into a tense nail-biter. After a confident start by the Demons, the Pies piled on pressure and forced red and blue supporters to hold their collective breath until after the final siren. In a frenetic, physical contest, it was Captain Kate’s clutch last quarter goal and a missed shot from Collingwood’s Grace Campbell after the siren which sealed a thrilling 4-point win. Finally, Narrm supporters could breathe easy.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
  • CASEY: Williamstown

    The Casey Demons issued a strong statement to the remaining teams in the VFL race with a thumping 76-point victory in their Elimination Final against Williamstown. This was the sixth consecutive win for the Demons, who stormed into the finals from a long way back with scalps including two of the teams still in flag contention. Senior Coach Taylor Whitford would have been delighted with the manner in which his team opened its finals campaign with high impact after securing the lead early in the game when Jai Culley delivered a precise pass to a lead from Noah Yze, who scored his first of seven straight goals for the day. Yze kicked his second on the quarter time siren, by which time the Demons were already in control. The youngster repeated the dose in the second term as the Seagulls were reduced to mere

    • 0 replies
  • AFLW PREVIEW: Collingwood

    Narrm time isn’t a standard concept—it’s the time within the traditional lands of Narrm, the Woiwurrung name for Melbourne. Indigenous Round runs for rounds 3 and 4 and is a powerful platform to recognise the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in sport, community, and Australian culture. This week, suburban footy returns to the infamous Victoria Park as the mighty Narrm take on the Collingwood Magpies at 1:05pm Narrm time, Sunday 31 August. Come along if you can.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 9 replies
  • AFLW REPORT: St. Kilda

    The Dees demolished the Saints in a comprehensive 74-pointshellacking.  We filled our boots with percentage — now a whopping 520.7% — and sit atop the AFLW ladder. Melbourne’s game plan is on fire, and the competition is officially on notice.

      • Haha
    • 4 replies
  • REPORT: Collingwood

    It was yet another disappointing outcome in a disappointing year, with Melbourne missing the finals for the second consecutive season. Indeed, it wasn’t even close, as the Demons' tally of seven wins was less than half the number required to rank among the top eight teams in the competition. When the dust of the game settled and supporters reflected on Melbourne's  six-point defeat at the hands of close game specialists Collingwood, Max Gawn's words about his team’s unfulfilled potential rang true … well, almost. 

    • 1 reply
  • POSTGAME: Collingwood

    Thank god this season is over. Bring on 2026.

      • Clap
      • Love
      • Like
    • 379 replies

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.