Jump to content

  • Podcast: No Merger Podcast &      
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Demonland

NORTH OF THE BORDER PART 2 by The Oracle

By Demonland, in Match Previews

Recommended Posts

Demonland    20,828

Demonland
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

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

    STATE OF DEESASTER by the Oracle

    Melbourne’s circus caravan rolls into Adelaide on Wednesday night, an event that will put shivers up the spine of every Crows’ supporter as they look directly into the face of disaster. The flakey Demons left their home town a month ago and proceeded to rough up the Gold Coast Suns and Hawthorn in Sydney before moving on to the sunny Queensland where they missed by a bee’s diaphragm against the more or less local second-on-ladder Brisbane Lions. Then, they had to butter up against the top t

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    OVERPOWERED by George on the Outer

    In a dismal display against Port Adelaide, Melbourne showed it had learnt nothing from their previous week’s loss to Brisbane. Port, in contrast, after losing to St.Kilda, addressed their failings, and as a result made the Demons look like a second-rate side.  Melbourne failed to score a goal in the first quarter, and the first time it seriously troubled the goal umpire was saved until a minute before half-time.  Did it get any better?  No with their meagre three goals for the sec

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    DESPERATION OF THE MOMENT by Whispering Jack

    Melbourne’s recent win against Hawthorn highlighted how important Max Gawn’s ruck domination is for the team. A week later however, that domination continued but its effect was totally blunted by the Brisbane Lions midfield and, as a consequence, what could have been an easy win over a leading AFL contender turned into a disappointing but close loss and a sense of desperation now looms over the club as the halfway mark of the season approaches. This week’s opponent in Port Adelaide also und

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    THE FOUR POINT FAIL by George on the Outer

    Melbourne went down by 4 points in a thrilling finish against Brisbane, but they failed by more than the 4 points.     They also failed to score the 4 points necessary to keep them in the race for the finals, and now find themselves sitting 6 points outside the top 8, but effectively 2 games outside (even though they have a game in hand).   The Demons had more than enough opportunities to win.  Six very easy shots on goal failed to bother the goal umpire with a major and ultimate

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    NORTH OF THE BORDER PART 2 by The Oracle

    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 unli

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    ON THE NOSE by George on the Outer

    One of the Hawthorn Football Club’s valued sponsors is Azep® Nasal Spray and given the thrashing handed out to the Hawks in today’s game, it would appear that they need a huge supply of the sponsor’s product because they are simply on the nose. This condition was caused by the sheer dominance of the Demons, led magnificently by skipper Max Gawn with 27 hitouts and 22 disposals including two clearances. Around him in the middle were Christian Petracca with 29 touches, Clayton Oliver (also on

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    THE PREMIER LEAGUE by Whispering Jack

    So the new man under the pump is Clarko, which demonstrates how sad but predictable the football media is these days. In an age where each AFL team’s form can be topsy turvy and unpredictability is the order of the day, the coach of a team that has played five out of the top six teams from the previous season and sits with a 3/3 win loss record is this week’s whipping boy.   This comes admittedly on the back of a bad fortnight from the Hawks who in recent years have exhibited an enormous

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    SUNSMART by George on the Outer

    If you don’t want to get sunburnt, you follow the Sunsmart rules.  Melbourne took the advice and with their season on the line, avoided getting burnt by the Gold Coast Suns, with a gripping 17 point win. It was a match that could have gone either way, with the sides within a kick of each other for all but the final minutes of the final quarter. Melbourne had stretched the lead earlier in the game to 18 points, but that quickly evaporated to a neck and neck race to the finish.  Finally,

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    NORTH OF THE BORDER by The Oracle

    The outcomes of Melbourne’s recent games against the Gold Coast Suns are a pretty good barometer of how the teams are faring. The Demons easily accounted for them twice in 2018, the last win being a 96-point cakewalk at the MCG in Round 20 when they scored a whopping 21.17.143 to 7.5.47. Ironically, Melbourne’s score of 9.3.57 at the first break that afternoon is leading its highest score for a full game to date this year by 3 points. In those days, they played fast, skillful football, moved th

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews 5

    PACK YOUR BAGS by George on The Outer

    The scene was captured by the TV camera’s before the match with a view of the Melbourne side’s bags packed next to the team bus to facilitate their flight up north to the AFL hub where they will play their next matches. However, on the basis of the efforts against Richmond, unless things change, and change rapidly, there will be some who will be told to pack their bags on a more permanent basis. Once again, the supporters got much the same story from this match against Richmond, as

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

    SOUTH OF THE BORDER by the Oracle

    Thankfully they moved this week’s game from Sydney where the sun shines and the virus breeds ever so slowly and almost nobody returns a positive test. The change of fixture comes at precisely the right time to allow everyone in town to head to the MCG on Sunday at around 3:30pm, not to catch up with what’s going on inside the ground but rather, to do what’s fashionable for woke folk in 2020 — pulling down statues. It’s time for Kevin Bartlett and Leigh Matthews to go but you can’t touch Norm Smi

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    LESSONS IN LOSING by George on the Outer

    Turn up for the game and look like you want to win it.  Melbourne lost this game to Geelong, a game after a couple of extended breaks, looking like they were at the end of a 22 game season. Right from the start there was a lack of intensity across the board, as the Demons played exactly the type of game that the ageing Geelong list wanted. Geelong repeatedly played possession footy, to avoid having to run those ageing legs, something that Melbourne failed to exploit.  To use the oft quot

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports

×
×
  • Create New...