Jump to content

  • IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

    The Demonland Terms of Service, which you have all recently agreed to, strictly prohibit discussions of ongoing legal matters, whether criminal or civil. Please ensure that all discussions on this forum remain focused solely on on-field & football related topics.


Recommended Posts

Posted

I like the AFL’s idea of a Retro Round but I don’t think we need to go back as far as 1998 as suggested by the Melbourne Football Club. Three years will be good enough for me. I would happily travel back in time on the  Demonland DMC De Laurean to Thursday 8th July 2021, a time when the fog of COVID19 was slowly lifting and Melbourne gave Port Adelaide a 31 point spanking at Adelaide Oval. Before that, there’s really not much to go retro about all the way back to the early 90s when the Port team was admitted into the VFL/AFL.

Melbourne, which promised so much in the first third of the season but faltered thereafter, is now merely playing for the time when the sun goes down on it’s season at roughly 10:00pm on Friday 23 August 2024. There are too many players for who the season is over or might as well be over, for it to matter. Too many who feature in the club’s best half of players on the list have had their season ended and most of those not ruled out in that category going all the way up to are carrying injuries or for one reason or other, are playing at well below 100% capacity. 

This is not making excuses for an anticipated defeat but being realistic. The Demons have run into a brick wall. They are coming up on a weekly basis against teams that are highly motivated to fit into the top echelon of the competition at this juncture, are building to peak fitness and have few injuries to contend with in the march towards September. The exact opposite of what Melbourne is experiencing. 

Until last week, the club could rely on its highly performing defensive group but the rib injury to Steven May (almost certainly season ending) has cast a pall on its strongest link. The midfield, once so supreme, potent and confident, is struggling to win clearances. There have been numerous instances this season where that malady has appeared early enough in a game to effectively rule out a victory in quick time. 

What are the odds of Rozee, Butters, Horne-Francis, Wines and Drew, having plundered the top team in the competition by 112 points, allowing a weakened Melbourne into the contest? 

The Demons will need warriors like Max Gawn and Jack Viney who are nowhere near 100% fit themselves to lead them in the ruck and on the ball but this, in turn demands that a number of inconsistent players perform at their best.

It’s a bridge too far. I’m afraid.

Port Adelaide by 40 points.

THE GAME

Melbourne v Port Adelaide on Saturday 10 August 2024 at 7.30pm at the MCG

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Melbourne 17 wins Port Adelaide 22 wins

At the MCG Melbourne 8 wins Port Adelaide 3 wins

Past five meetings Melbourne 4 wins Port Adelaide 1 win

The Coaches Goodwin 5 wins Hinkley 4 wins

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 15.6.96 defeated Port Adelaide 13.11.89 in Round 3 2024 at Adelaide Oval

The Demons were in a completely different space then than they are today. They ran hard, played with confidence and took control in the final quarter, something they haven’t been able to manage to do in recent weeks. Gawn with 50 hit outs, Neal-Bullen with his football smarts and a resurgent Clayton Oliver were the stand outs.

THE TEAMS  

MELBOURNE

B A. Tomlinson, J. Lever, J. McVee
HB M. Hore, T. McDonald, C. Salem C E. Langdon, C. Oliver, A. Neal-Bullen
HF K. Pickett, H. Petty, K. Chandler
F K. Tholstrup, B. Fritsch, J. Van Rooyen
FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, T. Sparrow
I/C J. Billings, B. Howes, T. Rivers, D. Turner SUB J. Melksham 
EMG K. Brown, M. Jefferson 

IN J. Billings, M. Hore, C. Salem, A. Tomlinson

OUT J. Bowey (illness), S. May (ribs), A. Moniz-Wakefield (omitted), T. Woewodin (illness)

PORT ADELAIDE  

B L. Jones, B. Zerk-Thatcher, M. Bergman
HB L. Evans, A. Aliir, D. Houston
C J. Burgoyne, O. Wines, W. Drew
HF D. Byrne-Jones, T. Marshall, W. Rioli
F E. Ratugolea, C. Dixon, C. Rozee
FOLL J. Sweet, J. Horne-Francis, Z. Butters
I/C T. Boak, F. Evans, K. Farrell, J. Mead, Q. Narkle
EMG R. Burton, W. Lorenz, D. Visentini

IN T. Marshall 

OUT M. Georgiades (quad strain)

Injury List:  Round 22

Steven May — ribs / TBC             
Christian Salem — hamstring / 1 - 2 weeks
Caleb Windsor — ankle / 2 - 3 weeks 
Charlie Spargo — Achilles / season
Christian Petracca — spleen / indefinite

PreviewRd222024.png

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Posted

I want to back as far as TAS drop kicking the ball to the center  of the MCG they cant do it today

Posted

I was lucky enough to attend the round 3 win and it was definitely one of our best wins in recent years.

That last quarter was inspirational in hostile territory and the boys refused to head out of Adelaide Oval without the 4 points.

A completely different attitude to the one post round 9.

 

  • Like 1
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Demonland Forums  

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles  

    MATCH SIM: Friday 7th February 2025

    Demonland Trackwatcher Gator ventured down the freeway to bring you his observations from Friday morning's Match Simulation out at Casey Fields. Rehab: Jake Lever and Charlie Spargo running laps.  Lever was running short distances at a fast click as well as having kick to kick with a trainer. He seems unimpeded. Christian Petracca, Kade Chandler, Shane McAdam and Tom Fullarton doing non-contact kicking and handball drills on the adjacent oval.  All moving freely at pace.  I didn’

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 2

    TRAINING: Wednesday 5th February 2025

    Demonland Trackwatchers were out in force as the Demons returned to Gosch's Paddock for preseason training on Wednesday morning. GHOSTWRITER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Kozzie a no show. Tommy Sparrow was here last week in civvies and wearing sunnies. He didn’t train. Today he’s training but he’s wearing goggles so he’s likely got an eye injury. There’s a drill where Selwyn literally lies on top of Tracc, a trainer dribbles the ball towards them and Tracc has to g

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS: 2024

    Whichever way you look at it, the Melbourne Football Club’s 2024 season can only be characterized as the year of its fall from grace. Whispering Jack looks back at the season from hell that was. After its 2021 benchmark premiership triumph, the men’s team still managed top four finishes in the next two seasons but straight sets finals losses consigned them to sixth place in both years. The big fall came in 2024 with a collapse into the bottom six and a 14th placing. At Casey, the 2022 VFL p

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Special Features

    MATCH SIM: Friday 31st January 2025

    Veteran Demonland Trackwatcher Picket Fence ventured down to Casey Fields to bring you his observations from Friday's Match Simulation. Greetings Demonlanders, beautiful Day at training and the boys were hard at it, here is my report. NO SHOWS: Luker Kentfield (recovering from pneumonia in WA), also not sure I noticed Melky (Hamstring) or Will Verrall?? MODIFIED DUTIES (No Contact): Sparrow, McVee (foot), Tracc (ribs), Chandler, (AC Joint), Fullarton Noticeable events (I’ll s

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 2

    TRAINING: Wednesday 29th January 2025

    A number of Demonland Trackwatchers swooped on Gosch's Paddock to bring you their observations from this morning's Preseason Training Session. DEMON JACK'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Beautiful morning at Gosch's Paddock. Very healthy crowd so far.  REHAB: Fullerton, Spargo, Tholstrup, McVee Viney running laps. EDIT: JV looks to be back with the main group. Trac, Sparrow, Chandler and Verrell also training away from the main group. Currently kicking to each other ins

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 1

    TRAINING: Wednesday 22nd January 2025

    Demonland Trackwatchers were out in force for training at Gosch's Paddock on Wednesday morning for the MFC's School Holidays Open Training Session. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS REHAB: TMac, Chandler, McVee, Tholstrup, Brown, Spargo Brown might have passed his fitness test as he’s back out with the main group.  Sparrow not present. Kozzy not present either.  Mini Rehab group has broken off from the match sim (contact) group: Max, Trac, Lever, Fullarton

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Monday 20th January 2025

    Demonland Trackwatcher Gator attended training out at Casey Fields to bring you the following observations from Preseason Training. GATOR'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS There were 5 in the main rehab group, namely Gawn, Petracca, Fullarton, Woewodin and Lever.  Laurie was running laps by himself, as was Jefferson.  Chandler, as has been reported, had his arm in a sling.  Lindsay did a bit of lap running later on. Some of the ''rehab 5'' participated in non contact drills and b

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Wednesday 15th January 2025

    There were a number of Demonland Trackwatchers at Gosch's Paddock this morning to bring you their observations from Preseason Training. KEV MARTIN'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS They were going hard at each other. The sims were in two 15 minute blocks. The second block finished a few minutes early, they gathered and had another 7 minutes at it. I think they were asked to compete, as they would play against an opposition. There was plenty of niggle, between some of them. At the end o

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Monday 13th January 2025

    Better late than never … and quite frankly, there’s very little to report other than that training took place at Casey Fields this morning, that Tracc was there nursing his rib injury and that some photographs are on the club’s social media including this one of Clarrie in Raging Bull stance that gives rise for confidence. The other news is that the club has a new train on player in 185cm Dandenong Stingrays midfielder Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (love the hyphenated name which is just so fitti

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports
  • Tell a friend

    Love Demonland? Tell a friend!
×
×
  • Create New...