Jump to content

Discussion on recent allegations about the use of illicit drugs in football is forbidden
  • IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

    Posting unsubstantiated rumours on this website is strictly forbidden.

    Demonland has made the difficult decision to not permit this platform to be used to discuss & debate the off-field issues relating to the Melbourne Football Club including matters currently being litigated between the Club & former Board members, board elections, the issue of illicit drugs in footy, the culture at the club & the personal issues & allegations against some of our players & officials ...

    We do not take these issues & this decision lightly & of course we believe that these serious matters affecting the club we love & are so passionate about are worthy of discussion & debate & I wish we could provide a place where these matters can be discussed in a civil & respectful manner.

    However these discussions unfortunately invariably devolve into areas that may be defamatory, libelous, spread unsubstantiated rumours & can effect the mental health of those involved. Even discussion & debate of known facts or media reports can lead to finger pointing, blame & personal attacks.

    The repercussion is that these discussions can open this website, it’s owners & it’s users to legal action & may result in this website being forced to shutdown.

    Our moderating team are all volunteers & cannot moderate the forum 24/7 & as a consequence problematic content that contravenes our rules & standards may go unnoticed for some time before it can be removed.

    We reserve the right to delete posts that offend against our above policy & indeed, to ban posters who are repeat offenders or who breach our code of conduct.

    WE HAVE BUILT A FANTASTIC ONLINE COMMUNITY AT DEMONLAND OVER THE PAST 23 YEARS & WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE CLUB WE LOVE & ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT.

    Thank you for your continued support & understanding. Go Dees.


DEES GIVE DOGS A BONE by George On The Outer


Demonland

Recommended Posts

First place versus second on the ladder promised to be a precursor to what can be expected in the coming finals race.  However, it was the Demons who faltered and gave the Bulldogs a bone to feed their hunger just weeks out from the end of the season.

The win also sent the Dogs to the top of the ladder, a position they are unlikely to cede in the coming weeks, given their fixture. While Melbourne may now struggle to keep a spot in the top four with its draw and will likely depend on the results of other games, a familiar situation for the fans.

The game itself was an enthralling battle starting in torrential rain, and it was the Dogs who quickly found their feet to open up a 10 point break at the first change.  In what has become a familiar scenario to the fans, the Demons couldn’t kick straight with very gettable chances to Ben Brown and Kysiah Pickett going missing. 

The same continued in the subsequent quarters with the final result being decided ultimately by their ongoing problem with inaccuracy in front of goal.  Once again more behinds kicked than goals, but it is the set shot kicking that continues to let the side down, and we now have a series of losses defined by a kick or two either way.  And in this game the coach afterward summed it up with the phrase “we had our chances”.  Never was a truer word spoken.  Except it was all too familiar to the fans.

Make no mistake, the Bulldogs changed their game-style in this contest.  Normally, they depend on waves of half-backs sweeping past their mids to deliver to the big forwards.  They adjusted this, partially because of the Melbourne defensive structures, but in this match they relied more on their midfield powerhouse to do the work. 

In a good example of statistical meaninglessness, Christian Petracca had 31 touches, Clayton Oliver 38, Jack Viney 19.  But the opposition with Bontempelli 31 touches, Macrea 38, and Liberatore 27.   Gawn had an incredible 52 hit-outs, but the Dogs won the clearances, particularly around the ground.  It was a head to head battle, but these stats don’t show the outcome.  That being the Melbourne mids could only produce 2 goals between them (after a single last week) while the Dogs mids doubled that with four. For Melbourne this was the same as last week when the Hawks mids scored 4 to 1 and is becoming a familiar story to the fans.

Bringing Harmes into the middle as a tagger for Liberatore was an unmitigated disaster. Not only did he fail to quell Libba, he was relieved of duties on him in the second half with Viney forced to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, that took out another one of our skilled players, leaving Bontempelli to do his damage without the close checking that Viney had provided in the first half.  Bontempelli kicking critical goals toward the end of a game. The Melbourne fans are familiar with that.

Just as equally disappointing was the performance of the Melbourne half forwards.  It is all well and good running around, corralling opposition players but this opposition are the best.  If you don’t tackle they will deliver and with Caleb Daniel getting 34 touches, Bayley Dale 24 including 20 kicks and Duryea 17 it was a recipe for disaster.  The blowtorch must now be applied to these players, and their value to the side, particularly when they bring limited football skills and live off their athletic abilities.

The match continued in a slog of a battle, with the weather finally easing so that both sides could show their true wares. Nine goals in the 3rd quarter after Melbourne scored the first 2 only to see the Dogs reply similarly, presaged a ripper of a final quarter and it was to be.  The 14 point differential at the ¾ time break was pulled back by the Demons with Brown and Fritsch kicking truly at last to reduce the margin to 4 points with seven minutes to play. 

All the momentum was with Melbourne and this was blown away with fundamental skill execution by those same players mentioned before.  The Bulldogs responded quickly given these opportunities, and blew the final margin out to 20 points.

There are plenty of actions the coach has to take in the few remaining games.  One of which surely has to be resting players, particularly the younger ones who have hit the wall in terms of output.  Luke Jackson has had 3 kicks in the past 2 weeks, and 66% game time. Trent Rivers only had 65% game time. James Jordon 64%.  They just need a week away, and we have the players available to fill their spots.
 
Old, tried and true, maybe not as skilled, but able to provide more than these kids can at this point of the season. 

Even Max Gawn needs a proper back-up.  A mere 2 marks for the whole match, none of which was contested. Yet contested marks for him is an essential part of our plan to move the ball from defence at kick-outs.  Majak Daw is the perfect replacement for Jackson and with Gold Coast having no true ruck available to them, this is the week to do it. Nathan Jones is the man to provide more mid-field grunt, while Tom Sparrow surely has had enough time observing the game from the bench.
 
This game is what finals football is all about.  The very best sides will match it with each other with their talented players, but while the side is populated with limited skill players, the whole match will come down to just a couple of episodes where those players concede the ball to the opposition.  We have lost or drawn enough games this year to know how close the margin is between success or failure.  If the coach has devised a game plan built for finals, he must concede that these players cannot be part of it.

Or the result will be the same as this game, the one that the fans are becoming familiar with.
 
MELBOURNE 1.4.10 2.7.19 7.9.51 9.11.65

WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.2.20 6.4.40 10.5.65 13.7.85

GOALS

Melbourne Brown Fritsch Pickett 2 McDonald Petracca Viney

Western Bulldogs Bontempelli Bruce Hannan Naughton 2 Daniel English Smith Ugle-Hagan Weightman

BEST

Melbourne Oliver Petracca Neal-Bullen Lever Gawn Hunt

Western Bulldogs Bontempelli Daniel Macrae Smith Hunter Liberatore Schache

INJURIES

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs A. Keath (hamstring) E. Richards (concussion)

REPORTS

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

SUBSTITUTES

Melbourne T. Sparrow (unused)

Western Bulldogs A. Scott (replaced A. Keath)

UMPIRES: Chris Donlon Nathan Williamson
Craig Fleer

Official Crowd 0 at The MCG

ReportRd192021.png

  • Like 4
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Demonland Forums  

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles  

    TRAINING: Friday 19th April 2024

    They are out for a run just as it starts raining. It didn't last long, ended up a reasonable session weather wise.  Light duties, BBB, rehab Farris-White, Melky, Salem and Spargo, all with private trainers. They are all playing soccer, huge amount of noise. 36-40 (difficult to get a count) in the main squad, biggest I've seen it in ages. Choco is barking out the orders. Goody has intense body language as he observes. Bowey in a lime green cap (no contact), and in the sim

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    ICEBREAKER by KC from Casey

    The Casey Demons have broken the ice for season 2024 with a pulsating come-from-behind victory over Port Melbourne in which it took the lead for the first time at the halfway mark of the final quarter. The game played in mild Autumn conditions in neutral territory at Kinetic Park, Frankston, never reached great heights in standard but it proved gripping in character at the end at the Casey Demons overcame the Borough to win by 15 points after trailing badly early in the second half.  P

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    MAULED by Whispering Jack

    The writing was on the wall from the very first bounce of the football. The big men went up, Max Gawn more often than not, decisively won the ruck hit out and invariably a Brisbane Lions onballer either won the battle on the ground or halved the contest and they went at it repeatedly until they finally won out. Melbourne managed the first goal from Alex Neal-Bullen but after that the visitors shut out every area of Demon presence around the ground except in the ruck duels. It was a mauling.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports 4

    PREGAME: Rd 07 vs Richmond

    The Demons have a bye next week and have a 13 day break before they return to the MCG on ANZAC Eve to take on the Tigers. Who comes in and who goes out?

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 184

    PODCAST: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 15th April @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we analyse the Demons loss at the MCG against the Lions in the Round 05. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIV

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 52

    VOTES: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    Last week Christian Petracca retook the outright lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Max Gawn, Steven May, Alex Neal-Bullen & Jack Viney. Your votes for the loss against the Lions. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 44

    POSTGAME: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    The Demons 4 game winning streak has come to an end after a disappointing loss against the Brisbane Lions at the MCG going down by 22 points. 

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 505

    GAMEDAY: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    It's Game Day & Demons have a great opportunity to win their fifth game on the trot and go into the bye with 5 wins and one loss when they take on the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on the Thursday night big stage.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 833

    TRAINING: Wednesday 10th April 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Kev Martin and Demon Dynasty were once again on hand at this morning's Captain's Run at Gosch's Paddock to bring you their observations from training. KEV MARTIN'S CAPTAIN'S RUN OBSERVATIONS No-one in rehab this morning, a Captain's run, 26 players. Laurie, Tomlinson, Tholstrup, Chandler, Woey, and Kossie are out there. Rehabbers are out now. Marty, McAdam, Melky, Bowey, Sestan. As a guess for in and outs, I would say, out Laurie, Tomlinson, and W

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports
  • Tell a friend

    Love Demonland? Tell a friend!
  • Podcast 

  • Podcast 

  • Podcast Stream 


    Open Stream in
    New Window
        TuneIn    Opens in New Tab
  • Support Demonland  



  • 2021 Premiership  

  • Social Media 

  • Non MFC Games  

    NON-MFC: Round 06

    Discussion of all the other games that don't involve the Demons in Round 06 ... READ MORE

    Demonland | Round 06

  • Training  

    Friday, 19th April 2024

    Veteran Demonland Trackwatcher Kev Martin headed down to Gosch's Paddock today to bring you his observations from training ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 19

  • Latest Podcast      

    PODCAST: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    The boys dissected the disappointing loss to Brisbane rueing our poor work at the stoppages, debated the role that fatigue played and lamenting the loss of Christian Salem ... LISTEN

    Demonland | April 16

  • PreGame      

    PREGAME: Rd 06 vs Richmond

    The Demons have a bye next week and have a 13 day break before they return to the MCG on ANZAC Eve to take on the Tigers. Who comes in and who goes out? ...READ MORE

    Demonland | April 16

  • Casey Report      

    ICE BREAKER by KC from Casey

    The Casey Demons have broken the ice for season 2024 with a pulsating come-from-behind victory over Port Melbourne in which it took the lead for the first time at the halfway mark of the final quarter ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 14

  • Match Report      

    MAULED by Whispering Jack

    The writing was on the wall from the very first bounce of the football. The big men went up, Max Gawn more often than not, decisively won the ruck hit out and invariably a Brisbane Lions onballer either won the battle on the ground or halved the contest and they went at it repeatedly until they finally won out ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 12

  • Post Game      

    POSTGAME: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    The Demons 4 game winning streak has come to an end after a disappointing loss against the Brisbane Lions at the MCG going down by 22 points ...READ MORE

    Demonland | April 11

  • Votes      

    VOTES: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    Last week Christian Petracca retook the outright lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Max Gawn, Steven May, Alex Neal-Bullen & Jack Viney. Your votes for the loss against the Lions. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...READ MORE

    Demonland | April 11

  • Game Day      

    GAMEDAY: Rd 05 vs Brisbane

    It's Game Day & the Demons have a great opportunity to win their fifth game on the trot and go into the bye with 5 wins and one loss when they take on the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on the Thursday night big stage ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 11

  • Training  

    Wednesday, 10th April 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Kev Martin and Demon Dynasty were once again on hand at this morning's Captain's Run at Gosch's Paddock to bring you their observations from training ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 10

  • Match Preview      

    THE PEOPLE SPEAK by The Demonland Crew

    Good evening, Demon fans and welcome to the Demonland 2024 Grand Final Podcast … It’s been a beautiful last day of September and how sweet it is to bring you our coverage of all things that matter about the great Demon resurgence which we’ve seen over the past six or seven months ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 09

  • Training  

    Sunday, 7th April 2024

    Demonland Trackwatcher Kev Martin ventured down in the rain to Gosch's Paddock for the Demon Family Series April School Holiday Open Training session ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 07

  • Training  

    Monday, 1st April 2024

    Our man on the spot Bendigo Demon traveled to Adelaide for our back to back games in the City of Churches and brings you his observations from the Demon's training session at Hisense Stadium ... READ MORE

    Demonland | April 01

  • Latest Podcast  

    PODCAST: Koltyn Tholstrup Interview

    I interview the Melbourne Football Club’s newest recruit Koltyn Tholstrup to have a chat about his journey from the farm to the Demons, his first few weeks of preseason training, which Dees have impressed him on the track and his aspirations of playing Round 1 ... LISTEN

    Demonland | December 14

  • Latest Podcast  

    PODCAST: Jason Taylor Interview

    I interview the Melbourne Football Club's National Recruitment Manager Jason Taylor to have a chat about our Trade and Draft period, our newest recruits, our recent recruits who have yet to debut as well as those father son prospects on the horizon ... LISTEN

    Demonland | November 27

  • Next Match 

    .

    Round 07

       vs   

    Wednesday 24th April 2024
    @ 07:25pm (MCG)

  • MFC Forum  

  • Match Previews & Reports  

  • Training Forum  

  • AFLW Forum  

  • 2024 Player Sponsorship

  • Topics

  • Injury List  


      PLAYER INJURY LENGTH
    Shane McAdam Hamstring 1-2 Weeks
    Marty Hore Thumb 1-2 Weeks
    Charlie Spargo Achilles 3 Weeks
    Christian Salem Hamstring 3-4 Weeks
    Jake Bowey Shoulder 4-5 Weeks
    Jake Melksham ACL 9-11 Weeks
    Joel Smith Suspension TBA

  • Player of the Year  


        PLAYER VOTES
    1 Max Gawn 67
    2 Christian Petracca 55
    3 Steven May 35
    4 Jack Viney 28
    5 Alex Neal-Bullen 27
    6 Clayton Oliver 22
    7 Bayley Fritsch 19
    8 Trent Rivers 16
    9 Judd McVee 15
    10 Kade Chandler 14

        FULL TABLE
  • Demonland Interviews 



  • Upcoming Events 

×
×
  • Create New...