I've read a few posts on here about people's emotional responses to the loss. Some people saying "it's only a game", or things like that.

Whilst I appreciate the rational truth behind that statement, I hate it.

I love that we, on Demonland, actually care, and have this passion. Contrary to the popular stereotypes, I'd argue that Melbourne fans are as passionate and as knowledgeable about our club and the game as any other clubs' supporters, there just aren't as many of us as there are, say, Collingwood or Richmond fans.

I don't ever want us to become Hawthorn supporters who only show up when they're a three-time premiership winning side and disappear the moment it gets cold or the Hawks stop winning flags. Nor do I want us to be Geelong or Collingwood supporters who literally assault fans from the opposition.

I think we should celebrate the emotional investment we all put into the club, not discourage it.

Brayshaw ridden in the back, shot on goal, game over. Not paid. Gutless umpiring.

  On 22/07/2018 at 01:15, Demonised said:

While I'm as disappointed as the next man, with a huge effort I'm going to try to put my emotion aside and pose this question.

What would this thread have looked like if this had happened 2-3 years ago?

Yes, there would have been anger and heartache, and outrage at the way Geelong stars get mollycoddled by umpires, but I reckon there would have been a consistent flavour in the posts, a tinge of 'that was a pretty good effort to get so close'.

The fact that this is missing today is a sign of two things:

1. Geelong isn't the side that it was.
2. Neither are we - but in a good way. We're better than we were and we're continuing to improve.

These are both good things.

Our expectations of our current team are higher, and so our fury at the loss is more pronounced - but it means we're on the rise.

This is good, surely?

Yes

  On 21/07/2018 at 13:32, america de cali said:

We lost it when we put the cue in the rack after going 29 points up. We snapped out of it after their 5 goal run but it was too late. Same old mental demons kicking in thinking we had the game won.

Doubt that is what happened.

Slept on it. Still gutted. I [censored] hate geelong. We lost it in the last but that dangerfield ruck free needs to be highlighted by the media. It was a cheap tactic which is a joke. Dangerfield should be smashed by the media and put down.

  On 21/07/2018 at 13:53, President Dee Trump said:

Unfortunately I was at the game. JKH was terrible. The scar can’t compete one on one with big defenders. We should have had two or more flying for marks with Hawkins every time, like they did with Hogan. It wasn't just Hawkins though. Of course, he marked it and kicked the goals but their midfield lifted and was feeding him the ball while our midfield just stopped dead. Taking Gawn off partly led to this.

Good to see the point about Hogan being double and triple teamed, a lot on here seem to have missed it.

(Holy Grail - Hunters & Collectors)

Woke up this morning, 
from the strangest dream 
The demons had the biggest lead, 
At the cattery we’d ever seen 
Then we choked as one, 
on the road to the holy grail

  On 21/07/2018 at 13:02, Mondê said:

Did anybody else see Vince laughing with Dangerfield after the siren while all the other players and the supporters were on the verge of crying? Get fuched Vince. Never play for this club again. 

At least Petracca showd emotion

  On 22/07/2018 at 01:55, loges said:

Good to see the point about Hogan being double and triple teamed, a lot on here seem to have missed it.

They had one avenue to goal - Hawkins. Why didn’t we a) fill the hole and 2) double team ?‍♂️

  On 22/07/2018 at 01:59, bringbackthebiff said:

They had one avenue to goal - Hawkins. Why didn’t we a) fill the hole and 2) double team ?‍♂️

Yep, sure should have.

  On 22/07/2018 at 01:58, gregdemon said:

At least Petracca showd emotion

Maybe he was thinking about his torp he decided to run with in the final minutes. Maybe he was thinking why did I do that. 

  On 22/07/2018 at 02:05, dees189227 said:

Maybe he was thinking about his torp he decided to run with in the final minutes. Maybe he was thinking why did I do that. 

And maybe Vince was laughing with Dangerfield in disbelief how dumb that was

INCOMING UMPIRE RANT

The Dangerfield ruck free cost us a goal. It was technically a free kick, though he definitely exaggerated it.

The 50 against Harmes for being within the 10 metre area of a player who marked also lead directly to a goal. That was an INCORRECT umpiring decision which cost us a goal. The opposition player marked it. Harmes put his hands up and ran attempted to get out of the area and the umpire blew the whistle. There was physically nothing more Harmes could've done in that scenario, and the umpire got it wrong.

Four of Geelongs goals in the first half came as a result of free kicks that were incorrect and shifted momentum. We let ourselves down by not defending better in the last quarter, so we have to suck up the loss. However, we lost by two points. 2. Geelong were gifted 3-4 goals from incorrect umpiring decisions. We were not. The umpires unarguably influenced the end result of the match. I hope the club lodges a formal complaint. 

I don't understand how umpires can categorically make mistakes in their job with no consequences. If I made repeated errors in my job, I'd be warned and then sacked. Yet we see umpires like Nicholls running round year after year despite making mistake after mistake. I understand it is hard to officiate a game of AFL with all the pathetic rules at this point, but if you can't do it without making mistakes, then you get demoted and trained until you can do your job properly.

Edited July 22, 20186 yr by Lord Travis

  On 22/07/2018 at 01:44, scarlett said:

Slept on it. Still gutted. I [censored] hate geelong. We lost it in the last but that dangerfield ruck free needs to be highlighted by the media. It was a cheap tactic which is a joke. Dangerfield should be smashed by the media and put down.

Should be suspended for bringing the game into disrepute 

  On 22/07/2018 at 02:07, Lord Travis said:

INCOMING UMPIRE RANT

The Dangerfield ruck free cost us a goal. It was technically a free kick, though he definitely exaggerated it.

The 50 against Harmes for being within the 10 metre area of a player who marked also lead directly to a goal. That was an INCORRECT umpiring decision which cost us a goal. The opposition player marked it. Harmes put his hands up and ran attempted to get out of the area and the umpire blew the whistle. There was physically nothing more Harmes could've done in that scenario, and the umpire got it wrong.

Four of Geelongs goals in the first half came as a result of free kicks that were incorrect and shifted momentum. We let ourselves down by not defending better in the last quarter, so we have to suck up the loss. However, we lost by two points. 2. Geelong were gifted 3-4 goals from incorrect umpiring decisions. We were not. The umpires unarguably influenced the end result of the match. I hope the club lodges a formal complaint. 

I don't understand how umpires can categorically make mistakes in their job with no consequences. If I made repeated errors in my job, I'd be warned and then sacked. Yet we see umpires like Nicholls running round year after year despite making mistake after mistake. I understand it is hard to officiate a game of AFL with all the pathetic rules at this point, but if you can't do it without making mistakes, then you get demoted and trained until you can do your job properly.

Yep Mathew Nicholls. Says it all, hate that bastard with a passion.

  On 22/07/2018 at 02:10, jnrmac said:

Should be suspended for bringing the game into disrepute 

Funny part was Dangerfield was complaining about the 50 when they kicked the ball after the free. Said “he couldn’t hear”. Exactly how he got the ruck free and kicked the goal - brayshaw didn’t hear the ump. 

Max was going off because the umpire only called out once. [censored] rule along with the protected zone which have destroyed this game.

  On 22/07/2018 at 02:07, Lord Travis said:

INCOMING UMPIRE RANT

The Dangerfield ruck free cost us a goal. It was technically a free kick, though he definitely exaggerated it.

The 50 against Harmes for being within the 10 metre area of a player who marked also lead directly to a goal. That was an INCORRECT umpiring decision which cost us a goal. The opposition player marked it. Harmes put his hands up and ran attempted to get out of the area and the umpire blew the whistle. There was physically nothing more Harmes could've done in that scenario, and the umpire got it wrong.

Four of Geelongs goals in the first half came as a result of free kicks that were incorrect and shifted momentum. We let ourselves down by not defending better in the last quarter, so we have to suck up the loss. However, we lost by two points. 2. Geelong were gifted 3-4 goals from incorrect umpiring decisions. We were not. The umpires unarguably influenced the end result of the match. I hope the club lodges a formal complaint. 

I don't understand how umpires can categorically make mistakes in their job with no consequences. If I made repeated errors in my job, I'd be warned and then sacked. Yet we see umpires like Nicholls running round year after year despite making mistake after mistake. I understand it is hard to officiate a game of AFL with all the pathetic rules at this point, but if you can't do it without making mistakes, then you get demoted and trained until you can do your job properly.

Very well put, Lord T.

And I thought Hogan took a definite mark, THEN had his arms chopped(directly in front).

Did anyone else notice the Geelong defender dive on the ball(directly in front of goal) and trip our bloke(? Harmes)(I think in Q3),....no free.

I haven't bothered to look at it again but my initial take on Gawn having to go off was a Geelong player deliberately backing into him and slamming the back of his head into Gawns nose.  Correct/incorrect?

  On 22/07/2018 at 02:22, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

Very well put, Lord T.

And I thought Hogan took a definite mark, THEN had his arms chopped(directly in front).

Did anyone else notice the Geelong defender dive on the ball(directly in front of goal) and trip our bloke(? Harmes)(I think in Q3),....no free.

I remember the Hogan one very clearly. My father spat his beer out and ruined my food when no whistle went off! It was either a mark or a free kick for chopping his arms - neither was paid. Another blatantly incorrect umpiring decision.

There was a centre bounce in the last quarter too where the pack was around a ground ball, Harmes bent to pick it up, a Geelong player kicked the ball off the ground and they wound up with a goal. It was possibly the worst case of kicking in danger I can remember. The Geelong player booted Harmes' wrist and his shoulder bumped into Harmes shoulder/neck. Harmes may have been injured as a result. Not only was it a definite free kick, it was borderline report worthy. But ofcourse, no free kick called and resulted in Geelong goal to keep their momentum going and get them over the line.

F*cking disgrace. The more I think about last night, the angrier I get. We were definitely cheated and robbed. If we miss finals again, I'll be heading to AFL HQ to set something/someone on fire. 

I like how we allowed Stewart to play loose despite the fact we were dominating the midfield and had no trouble getting the ball forward.

  On 22/07/2018 at 02:27, Trisul said:

I haven't bothered to look at it again but my initial take on Gawn having to go off was a Geelong player deliberately backing into him and slamming the back of his head into Gawns nose.  Correct/incorrect?

Incorrect.

Melksham’s one-handed marking attempts need to be coached out of him too.

I keep cursing that last pathetic rushed left footed shot for goal by JKH.

A goal(which it should have been), and we win.

No score at all....the ball stays down our end...probable stoppage.

Out on the full.....Geelong would have more difficulty clearing straight up the centre with a long kick.

Bouncing OOB....stoppage...win to the Dees.

Worst possible result... a point, and possession for Geelong with the 10 m square plus a long kick up the middle.

Uncanny similarity to the '87 Prelim last quarter, and esp. the last 30 sec.

  On 22/07/2018 at 00:01, jnrmac said:

  On 21/07/2018 at 16:09, Dappa Dan said:

 

delusional comment. Gawn 1 TMac 2 daylight 3. Hogan is a hopeless pack mark.

Jesus. Calm down.

Probably fair to say Max. But he doesn't spring to mind because he doesn't play 4 quarters in the forward line. He's more useful around the ground, even on the last line of defence in the hot spot. But point taken there.

Tmac is certainly in Hogan's class, but I'll take Hogan ahead of TMac. His pack marking form this year hasn't been there at all, but over the journey (he's 2 years younger than TMac) I'm confident he'll be known as better.