Jump to content

  • Podcast: Trade Week   

  • Podcast: Trade Week   

NORTH OF THE BORDER PART 2 by The Oracle

Demonland

By Demonland,
in Match Previews

 Share Followers 0

Recommended Posts

Demonland

Demonland 23,303

Posted
Posted

The travelling COVID circus moves north of the border yet again and, unless at some time in the near future, Papua New Guinea opens its borders, this could be the last time this phenomenon happens.

And as fortune would dictate, the resurgent Demons are walking directly into the sights of the locals from the bright lights of Brizvegas to Carrara - the scene of some long-forgotten (and deservedly so) battles with one of the Lions’ former incarnations, namely, the Brisbane Bears.

But unlike the old koala clowns, the Lions are a serious football team and one of the flag favourites. Sunday’s game will be no circus. A year ago, when these sides met, the Demons threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Lions in the opening half at the Gabba but they were overrun by a rampant Brisbane in the third quarter and the home side coasted to a comfortable victory.

The challenge for Melbourne then is to rise to a level even higher than that which it achieved last week against Hawthorn. In their favour is the fact that they play the Lions on a neutral ground, albeit one close to home. In addition, the Melbourne lineup is far more stable - when they met last year the Demons had an disastrous injury list 14 players deep. But more importantly, the Dees are in form.

Melbourne continues to be strong in the middle of the ground where Max Gawn is in dominant form in the ruck and he has a formidable engine room with Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney taking the game on through the stoppages and in general play. The Lions are no slouches in the midfield but they have been unsettled away from their home in Brisbane.

I’m expecting the Demons to kick on further and why not? They have a couple of young talls up forward in Weideman and Jackson and a couple of classy movers in Harley Bennell and Kysaiah Pickett who add so much composure with ball in hand. The defence is looking much better with the re-inclusion of Oscar McDonald and Neville Jetta to complement Jake Lever and Steven May.

I’m tipping the Demons to upset another Queensland team on their trip onward to the north of yet another border.

Melbourne by 22 points.

THE GAME

Melbourne v Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium Sunday, 26 July, 2020 at 6.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD 

Overall Melbourne 25 wins Brisbane Lions 21 wins

At Metricon Stadium* Melbourne 0 wins Brisbane Lions 0 wins

Last Five Meetings Melbourne 4 wins Brisbane Lions 1 win

The Coaches Goodwin 2 wins Fagan 1 win

* does not include Brisbane Bears games

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 6.00pm

Radio - 3AW SEN MMM ABC AFL NATION 

LAST TIME THEY MET

Brisbane 15.17.107 defeated Melbourne 11.8.74 at the Gabba, Round 15, 2019

It was a bruising encounter at the Gabba and the Demons surprised the Lions with a concerted first half effort which saw them in front by a goal at the main break. The home team hit the gas pedal with six goals to three in the third quarter and went on to record a comfortable 33 point victory. Clayton Oliver and Christian Salem both accumulated 30 plus possessions and Jack Viney wasn’t far behind them but the Lions were too strong.

THE TEAMS

MELBOURNE

FB Michael Hibberd Steven May Jay Lockhart
HB Christian Salem Jake Lever Oscar McDonald
C Ed Langdon Clayton Oliver Bayley Fritsch
HF Jake Melksham Sam Weideman James Harmes
FF Kysaiah Pickett Mitch Hannan Harley Bennell
FOL Max Gawn Christian Petracca Jack Viney
I/C Angus Brayshaw Luke Jackson Neville Jetta Nathan Jones
EM Tom McDonald Alex Neal-Bullen Joel Smith Adam Tomlinson    

IN Nathan Jones 

OUT Aaron vandenBerg (fractured cheek bone)

BRISBANE LIONS

FB Ryan Lester Harris Andrews Darcy Gardiner
HB Daniel Rich Grant Birchall Brandon Starcevich
C Mitch Robinson Dayne Zorko Hugh McCluggage
HF Jarrod Berry Eric Hipwood Cam Rayner
FF Zac Bailey Daniel McStay Charlie Cameron
FOL Oscar McInerney Jarryd Lyons Lachie Neale
I/C Callum Ah Chee Thomas Berry Lincoln McCarthy Archie Smith
EM Connor Ballenden Keidean Coleman Rhys Mathieson Alex Witherden

IN Archie Smith   

OUT Stefan Martin (back)

Injury List: Round 8

Aaron vandenBerg (fractured cheekbone) – 2 weeks 
Marty Hore (toe and quad) – indefinite
Harry Petty (groin) – indefinite
Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – indefinite
Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season

PreviewRd082020.png

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
 Share
Followers 0
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles

    THE TASMANIAN TIGER by Whispering Jack

    I first saw Ben Brown on a cold Tuesday night in May, 2013 playing for the Werribee Tigers against Queanbeyan in a televised Foxtel Cup game before a sparse crowd at Etihad Stadium. His teammate and former Demon Jordan Gysberts was the star of the side’s 85-point belting of the hapless ACT club but the then 20 year old, 200cm Brown was also a stand out.  Earlier that year, the athletic big man had left his native Tasmania in an effort to make the grade after being overlooked in three drafts

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Special Features

    THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2020 by The Oracle

    Part One: The Cure It could be coincidental but since the AFL Free Agency and Trade Period began, the State of Victoria has recorded eight consecutive days of no new active cases and no deaths from Covid19. It might be a little early to announce that a cure for this dreaded virus has been discovered but one thing can be said with some certainty after following the ins and outs of the free agency and trading process — mankind is still a long way off finding a cure for boredom. That stat

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Special Features 1

    CHANGES 2020 by The Oracle

    Part One: A very strange year Things might have been somewhat hairy when the 1919 football season opened up in the wake of the ending of a world war and in the middle of a pandemic that took millions of lives but it’s difficult to imagine a more unusual football season than the one that ended a week or so ago. For starters, the footy is supposed to finish on that one day in September on the MCG in mild spring weather; not deep into October at the Gabba amid warnings of tropical storms and h

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Special Features

    DEMONLAND 2020 A TO Z by George on the Outer

    A- Alice Springs. Happy hunting ground.     B- Backline. Finally found the non-leaking version.   C- Cairns & Covid. How a season was ruined.    D- Demonland. Mental Health facility run by the inmates.   E- The grade you get when you don’t make F- F- Finals. What are they? G- Goals. Lack of them. Need a forward who can kick them….lots! H- Hub. Where players got to live with people you can’t stand. I- Injuries. Miracle cure provided by Dr. Burgess.  

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Special Features

    WASH, RINSE, SPIN, REPEAT! by George On The Outer

    Although the Demons got over the line in their must win final round game against the hapless Bombers, they ensured it was Groundhog Day for their supporters who well remember what happened three years ago (although, this time they at least enjoyed the success of victory). Melbourne had its customary start dominating play and having plenty of chances in front of goal, only to find itself down on the scoreboard at the first change. Inaccurate kicking, particularly from set shots would have pu

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    THE LUCK OF THE DRAW by Whispering Jack

    The long awaited clash between Melbourne and Essendon is almost upon us. Thirty-seven rounds of AFL football have passed by since the two clubs met on a balmy early April night last year in a game that produced a high scoring shootout at the MCG with the Bombers prevailing by 18 points. It was their only meeting for 2019 and happened at a time when the pandemic was something on the far distant horizon. Several months later when the 2019 season ended, the AFL issued the first of its fixtures

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    THERE’S STILL A HEARTBEAT by George on the Outer

    When bottom side Adelaide scrapped together a win over the Giants last week, a tiny glimmer of hope opened up for the Demons’ finals chances. The patient was in intensive care but not quite finished — there was a faint pulse, a heart beating ever so slightly but was it enough when two more wins and other results were needed to fall their way? The first step was the resuscitation of a team that had lost its last two matches against sides then sitting fifteenth and sixteenth on the ladder. On

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports 1

    THE FINAL HUMILIATION by The Oracle

    On Sunday, the Melbourne Football Club that won three consecutive games by in excess of 50 points last month returns to the Gabba, the scene of the last of those victories which was a 56 point drubbing of Collingwood. The Demons got off to a good start and won every quarter with a ruthless and powerful brand of football. They kicked 16 goals that day, their accuracy in front of goal a tribute to the skills the put on display throughout the afternoon and evening. In the four matches playe

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    GIVEN THE OLD HEAVE HO’ by George on the Outer

    Fremantle gave Melbourne the old heave ho’ from playing finals in 2020, in conditions that the Demons yet again failed to handle.   With the whole season on the line and the need to win to stay in contention for finals, what the fans saw was much the same as they have been witnessing so many times before — a complete debacle and capitulation against a side that sat 15th on the ladder before the game.     Promises made after the loss to the 16th placed Sydney Swans were rendered h

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    GETTING THE HEAVE HO by Bananabender

    The ute barely made it up to Cairns in time for us to check into the motel, fling a cane toad out the bathroom. and head over to Cazaly’s Stadium where we took up our position on the wing. There, we saw a completely different Melbourne to the one we watched on the screen only a few nights earlier from Alice Springs. This lot wore similar colours and Maxy dominated the ruck but the similarities ended there - the Demons were simply dreadful against the Swans. They started sluggishly, were spe

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    A CLANGER IN CAIRNS by George on the Outer

    Having fought back into finals contention, the Demons had it all before them when facing a lowly Sydney in Cairns.  But in typical Melbourne fashion, they threw away the opportunity to cement their spot in the eight with a clanger of a game.  Right from the start, there was little to enthuse from the Melbourne players, who appeared to think that they only had to turn up, enjoy the North Queensland sun, and take away the four points.  Compared with the furious ground wide pressure of the

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    TEN MINUTES LATE by Whispering Jack

    The late Norm Smith, who played in four Melbourne premierships and coached another six, was a strong disciplinarian. Known as the Red Fox for his auburn hair and his cunning, Smith was a man of a different age to the here and now. Born during the Great War, he survived the Spanish Flu Pandemic, grew up in depression times, played mostly through the Second World War and its aftermath and coached in a period of rebuilding and recovery to a time of prosperity. Smith’s success was built on team

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

×
×
  • Create New...