Jump to content

Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Demonland

COOKED by The Oracle

By Demonland, in Match Previews

Recommended Posts

Demonland    15,604

Demonland
Posted

I can vividly remember when the Demons ventured onto Blundstone Arena for the first time in early 2016 only to lose to the Kangaroos by 20.11.131 to 21.10.136.   

Melbourne was then a team on the up and up: young, enthusiastic and bold. It gave up a huge quarter time deficit after kicking against a strong wind but made that up by half time and fell dramatically short after an exciting high scoring affair. 

The team lost no fans that day - they were willing to take the game on and attack the football and the goals as if their lives depended on performing to the best of their abilities. It was the sort of display that would ultimately lead them to a preliminary final in two and a half year’s time.   

In the meantime, they would suffer yet another narrow defeat (4 points) at Blundstone in 2017. This time, the loss was costly because it left them tantalisingly short of a finals berth but they persevered and improved in the following year and gave their long-suffering supporters great hopes for 2019.  

Now, after a year of sheer agony for the Melbourne Football Club and its supporters, the team returns to the same venue but the indications are that this time, the result will not be close. The circumstances have made North  the biggest certainties of the final round. 

That’s a strange thing to say given that two weeks ago the Kangaroos were held to a solitary goal by Geelong but the truth is that we know the Dees are done for the year. I attribute this to a poor preseason and a diabolical run of injuries that has sapped every ounce of confidence out of the playing group. We know that the on field and off field team that represents the club at the start of the 2020 season will be significantly different in its makeup to the one we have now.

It’s obvious that 5.00pm on Saturday can’t come quickly enough for a team that’s bereft of a functioning forward line that can’t kick straight (most of its tall key position forwards were out for the season several weeks ago) and a defence that was hacked apart much earlier in the year. The constant drain on resources has exposed the club’s player depth and ability. They fought a tough battle but in recent weeks they gradually slowed and began to stop chasing as they hit the wall.

They’re cooked.  

There’s nothing more that can be said for a team that played like a rabble on the Friday night stage last week other than that by playing outside the state down in Hobart, hopefully not many people will take notice as to how they are performing.

The most positive spin that I can put on things at the moment is this -> bring on 2020!

THE GAME

North Melbourne v Melbourne on Saturday 24 August, 2019 at Blundstone Arena, Hobart at 2.10pm   

 

HEAD TO HEAD    

 

Overall North Melbourne 81 wins Melbourne 84 wins 1 draw     

 

At the Blundstone Arena North Melbourne 2 wins Melbourne 0 wins    

 

Last five times North Melbourne 4 wins Melbourne 1 win   

 

The Coaches Shaw 0 wins Goodwin 0 wins  

 

MEDIA     

 

TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 2.00pm  

 

RADIO -  TBA   

 

THE LAST TIME THEY MET 

Melbourne 18.15.123 defeated North Melbourne 13.8.86 at the MCG, Round 3, 2018   

Melbourne started slowly and gave North a handy start before reeling the opposition in and pushing away to a handy 37-point win that broke a string of 17 successive losses to the Kangaroos. Max Gawn was dominant with 50 hit outs to Todd Goldstein’s 15. The Demon goal kickers were Tom Bugg 4, Jeff Garlett and Dean Kent with 3 each - none of them will be playing this week.   

THE TEAMS     

Screenshot_2019-08-22 AFL Team Line Ups - AFL com au.png

NORTH MELBOURNE 

B Marley Williams Scott D. Thompson Jasper Pittard
HB Jamie Macmillan Robbie Tarrant Shaun Atley
C Trent Dumont Shaun Higgins Jared Polec
HF Kayne Turner Nick Larkey Jack Ziebell
F Tarryn Thomas Ben Brown Cameron Zurhaar
FOLL Todd Goldstein Jy Simpkin Ben Cunnington
I/C Sam Durdin Taylor Garner Nathan Mason Wood
EMG Tom Campbell Lachlan Hosie Ben McKay Tom Murphy 

IN Mason Wood

OUT Jed Anderson (hamstring)

MELBOURNE

B Jayden Hunt Sam Frost Christian Salem
HB Jordan Lewis Jake Lever Nathan Jones
C James Harmes Angus Brayshaw Billy Stretch
HF Jay Kennedy Harris Bayley Fritsch Jake Melksham
F Corey Wagner Braydon Preuss Christian Petracca
FOLL Max Gawn Jack Viney Clayton Oliver
I/C Michael Hibberd  Marty Hore Alex Neal-Bullen Charlie Spargo
EMG Kyle Dunkley Declan Keilty Jay Lockhart Josh Wagner

IN Jayden Hunt Braydon Preuss

OUT Kade Chandler (finger) Kyle Dunkley (omitted) 

Injury List - Round 23  

 

Max Gawn (hamstring) – available  
Jordan Lewis (shin) – available  
Oscar McDonald (ankle) – we’ll get back to you soon 
Harrison Petty (groin) – my people will call your people  
Tom Sparrow (knee) – 1 week 
Kade Chandler (finger) – season 
Jeff Garlett (shoulder) – season 
Mitch Hannan (groin) – season 
Neville Jetta (knee) - season 
Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – season 
Steven May (hamstring) – season 
Tom McDonald (knee) – season 
Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season 
Joel Smith (groin) – season 
Tim Smith (foot) – season 
Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – season 
Sam Weideman (jaw) – season 
Guy Walker (shoulder) – indefinite    

PreviewRd232019.png

  • Like 1

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Go To Topic Listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Social Media

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles

    HOW FAR SOUTH? by George on the Outer

    It was appropriate that Melbourne was playing its last game of season 2019 in Hobart.  After all, how much further south could the team go? And much as it has done in many of the previous 22 games, the side managed to extract a loss from a winning position by simply giving the ball back to the opposition time and time again. In fact, they gave it back to the opposition to the tune of 53 points from turnovers while, by way of contrast North Melbourne contributed  only 17 points to their oppo

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    COOKED by The Oracle

    I can vividly remember when the Demons ventured onto Blundstone Arena for the first time in early 2016 only to lose to the Kangaroos by 20.11.131 to 21.10.136.    Melbourne was then a team on the up and up: young, enthusiastic and bold. It gave up a huge quarter time deficit after kicking against a strong wind but made that up by half time and fell dramatically short after an exciting high scoring affair.  The team lost no fans that day - they were willing to take the game on and attac

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    HELP by KC rom Casey

    The Casey Demons finished off their home and away season against Frankston at Skybus Stadium on Sunday with a narrow, unconvincing 6-point victory that left the door slightly open for a top eight berth when the VFL finals begin in a fortnight’s time. While sunny skies prevailed over Frankston in the morning, the skies became overcast by noon and heavy waves pounded the bay nearby as the rains came in to greet the players as the game started. And conditions stayed dark and dreary for the rem

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    THANKS BUT NO THANKS by George on the Outer

    Thanks, but no thanks! In a round where the club was supposed to thank their fans for the support during the year, the Melbourne Football Club chose to do otherwise with a 53 point loss to a team that sat 15th on the ladder.  Don’t give us cheap jumpers that can’t be sold in the Demon shop.  Don’t give us vouchers to shop there, give us something on the field, which is why we come to the football in the first place. It was a disgraceful performance, which started with a disgracefu

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    SLEEP OUT AT THE MCG by The Oracle

    Around about 12 months ago Melbourne and Sydney fought out an epic battle between two top eight teams fighting for the best possible ladder position in the lead up to the finals. The Swans triumphed by 9 points at the MCG after the Demons came back from five goals down at three quarter time. But for its poor kicking for goal, Melbourne might well have won the game and finished in the top four. Who knows what might then have happened for the club in September? As a consequence, the person re

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    A LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE by KC from Casey

    Two clubs that have been hard hit by injury recently took part in a dour battle under dark clouds and, with intermittent showers falling, it wasn’t a pretty game at Victoria Park on Sunday. Despite all that, the Casey Demons added a little ray of sunshine to their day to get the job done over a "traditional" rival with a 15 point victory over Collingwood VFL that breathed life back into their season. There were a few highlights at the ground that in past days has seen many titanic batt

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    THE RETRO ROUND by George on the Outer

    We have seen it all before… Yes, a wonderful idea to showcase what used to be in football.  Big crowds, umpires who knew how to apply the rules and not opinions, high marks, skilful players. But for the Melbourne supporters their retro is what it has been like for the past 10 years. Losing games, end on end, year after year.  Opportunities squandered in front of goal. VFL standard players running around at the MCG. Just more of the same, and the game against Collingwood was no ex

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    THE PEOPLE SPEAK by The Demonland Crew

    Thanks to Demonlanders for their input into this week’s preview. Ralphius Maximus is short and bittersweet: We'll crack in at the bounce to create a contest, win our share of the ball, butcher the forward movement and get scored on easily from the intercepts. Not that hard to predict. Big Demon says: Unfortunately Collingwood will win because they have a lot more to play for. We will be good in parts but really the season is well over so we will have to put up with those bell

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    WHAT, NO BLOOD? by George on the Outer

    The feeling when turning up to the MCG on a Saturday night to play a top four side in Richmond, while the Melbourne sits cemented in close proximity to the bottom of the table is like attending the Colosseum in Ancient Roman times. The expectation is that a bloodbath is about to occur. There are 100,000 Richmond members and 50,000 Melbourne members, and despite the fact that it turned out to be a wet night after half-time, a crowd of only 37K bothered to turn up. That should never have happ

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    A MAN’S ERRAND by KC from Casey

    A young and undermanned Casey Demons were sent out on Saturday to the Swinburne Centre in the shadows of the MCG on a man’s errand against a very experienced Richmond VFL combination which is the clear ladder leader and fielded no less than 18 AFL listed players. It was expected to be a rout and the Tigers made easy work of it in the early stages when they held a 26 point lead by quarter time. To their credit however, the Demons weathered the storm and kept their opponents within the range

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    THAT’S FOOTBALL by Whispering Jack

    As the season rolls on towards the finals and the football world witnesses the aftermath of the sacking of the league’s unsuccessful coaches, it’s almost  inevitable that the spotlight will turn firmly upon the complete and utter failure of season 2019 - the Melbourne Football Club.  For a team that finished in fourth place last year and was heavily touted as a premiership contender, the fall from grace has been dramatic. As things stand, the Demons look certain to finish 13 places down on

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    THE MOMENT OF TRUTH IS COMING by KC from Casey

    At half time in Sunday’s game at Trevor Barker Beach Oval, things weren’t looking too flash for the flailing finals prospects of the Casey Demons. Key forward Sam Weideman had suffered a concussion in his first contest and, with a few exceptions, the team was playing like a rabble rather than a finals contender. The Demons were 23 points in arrears to the Zebras and their season was headed towards oblivion. It was the skipper Mitch White who spurred his team on by word and by deed - he fini

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

×
×
  • Create New...