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.

Featured Replies

Posted

The rusty red of the McDonnell Ranges and the blue skies above them provided the perfect backdrop that summed up everything about the Melbourne Football Club’s 2019 season. It set out the perfect red and blueprint for the club’s horror year.

The club’s previous season was one of great promise but it ended in a calamitous way in Perth with an 11 goal defeat at the hands of the ultimate premiership side, the West Coast Eagles in a game where the Demons’ first goal came early in the third quarter. The hope for 2019 was for betterment but it hasn’t occurred.

In fact, the team nosedived and now sits in 17th place on the AFL ladder mired in a season where very little has gone right with a pattern setting in of constant injury woes, an inability to convert goals when going forward and a propensity to leak goals to opponents who were able to score with accuracy because there was insufficient pressure applied on them. That is their red and blueprint.

Melbourne’s two games against the Eagles - in Perth and in Alice Springs have both produced similar outcomes.

Round 9 - West Coast 13.7.85 defeat Melbourne 9.15.69

Round 18 -  West Coast 14.7.91 defeat Melbourne 11.12.78

On each occasion, the inaccurate Demons led at the final break by a narrow margin that should have been much greater and on each occasion, they were overrun in the end. You can lead in most of the key performance indicators but in the end, if you don’t convert - and the Demons were dismal in this regard in the opening term yesterday, then you don’t win. Losing one of your skippers through concussion before the opening half is over doesn’t help.

Melbourne won in the disposal count (362 - 321), contested possessions, hit outs, clearances, tackles and shots at goal. It lost the free kick count and of course, the battle for accuracy in front of goal. The Demons were determined, the Eagles unconvincing for a top two contender but they got the chocolates at TIO Traeger Park.

Melbourne did well to come back from a sizable deficit in the early stages of the second quarter to trail by a single point at half time and lead by a goal at the final break but it should have done so much better.

The comeback was inspired by the slight figure of Bailey Fritsch who might still have been smarting from that late miss against the Bulldogs last miss that could have changed the outcome of that game. In Alice Springs and without injured key forwards Tom McDonald and Sam Weideman and with goalsneaks Jake Melksham and Jeff Garlett out of the picture, he stood up with four goals. He was helped by the persistency of Clayton Oliver with 34 touches and the Christians, Salem and Petracca who provided great drive throughout.

But the Demons’ paid heavily for several early misses in front of goal which of course have been the red and blueprint for the entire season.

And the irony would not have been missed when Dom Sheed’s rolling kick for goal iced the game for his team late in the game. It brought to mind a similar rolling kick for goal by the Demons a few weeks ago that stopped dead millimetres short of the goal line.

That’s been the story of the season. Everything falls short and stops dead - nothing goes right. Next week the Demons face up to the Saints. Ten days ago that might have been a simple assignment but thanks to the sacking and replacement of their coach, they are suddenly full of confidence and resurgent. They’ll probably match the accuracy of their earlier win this season when they kicked 15.5.95. It’s all part of the red and blueprint.

Melbourne 1.5.11 7.8.50 10.10.70 11.12.78

West Coast 5.1.31 8.3.51 10.4.64 14.7.91

Goals

Melbourne Fritsch 4 Lewis C Wagner 2 Oliver Petty Viney

West Coast Darling 4 Kennedy Petruccelle 2 Allen Rioli Ryan Sheed Yeo Waterman

Best

Melbourne Oliver Fritsch Harmes Salem Petracca Lewis

West Coast Darling Sheed Gaff Yeo Redden Jetta

Injuries

Melbourne Viney (concussion)

West Coast Shannon Hurn (calf) replaced in selected side by Francis Watson

Reports

Melbourne Nil

West Coast Nil

Umpires Donlon, Deboy, Glouftsis

Official crowd 7,164 at TIO Traeger Park

ReportRd182019.png

 

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.

    • 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.

      • Love
      • Thanks
    • 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.

      • Clap
      • Like
    • 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.

      • 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.