Jump to content

Featured Replies

Posted

Calling all fit players. Expect every available Melbourne player to board the Virgin cross-continent flight to Perth for this Round 4 clash on Saturday afternoon at Fremantle Oval. It promises to be keenly contested, though Fremantle is the bookies clear favourite. 

If we lose, finals could be remoter than Rottnest Island especially following on from the Dees 50-point dismantlement by North Melbourne last Sunday. 

There are 8 remaining matches, over the next 7 weeks. 

To Meggs’s eye, Essendon, GWS, Richmond and Collingwood are winnable games.  Adelaide, pencil in a loss.  Fremantle, Hawthorn and St Kilda are much improved sides, and we are no certainties to win. 

Watching Fremantle’s impressive last quarter comeback against Port Adelaide at Alberton last week would have given Mick Stinear a few more grey hairs. 

His season already shaken to the core with some uncompetitive football, integrating inexperienced players and compounded by a spate of injuries.  Paxy Paxman is the latest casualty with her foot.

Fremantle has two wins, last week against Port and an impressive win at Windy Hill plus a big loss to Adelaide. 

Melbourne has one win, defeating Geelong (did you see the Cats were thrashed by Carlton last week), and those comprehensive defeats to last year’s grand finalists.

Milestone Mitho

This week is heart and soul warrior Lily Mithen’s 75th game.  Her contributions on and off the field are inspirational. Podcaster, rover, MC, a leader, L’il is much loved by her teammates and the Demon faithful.  A Geelong girl with a family link to Melbourne great Laurie Mithen, her grandfather’s cousin, Mitho has red and blue in her veins.

She debuted in AFLW Season One and has only kicked 8 goals but 3 were in finals which count for more. 

If L’il marks or wins a free on Saturday, look for her to pass to her best buddy Kate.

Selection this week

Normally when a team is belted there are multiple selection changes.  However, the Dees have only 4 players available: Ryleigh Wotherspoon, Lily Johnson, Delany Madigan, and Denby Taylor.

The current playing list has 32 players, with 8 on the injury list and 20 players available from last week’s side. 

Mick will promote at least one player for Paxy.  Denby Taylor or Lily Johnson could debut as they have been training with the defensive group as running players.    

If Aisling McCarthy passes her test, Fremantle will make at least one change.

Not relevant to this game, but the North injury list has Libby Birch as a test on her rib.  Meggs suggests it was Miss Hore with the bone crunching tackle in the forward pocket 😉.

Meggs view

While Goldie and Blaithin have been sensational for the Demons, Fremantle possess a few Irish weapons too.

Aine Tighe, a tall athletic marking forward can be unstoppable.  Aisling McCarthy is a hard-at-it athletic midfielder and winger Orlagh Lally was last week’s game-high possession winner.

Mim Strom is a capable ruck and Hayley Miller, Dana East, Gab Newton and the Irish form a strong midfield group, more settled than the Demons. 

Our defence looked shaky again last week and will need to watch potential match winner Aine Tighe. 

Mick played young defensive tyro Tahlia Gillard in the ruck in the last quarter.  He would like two Gillards and three Kate Hores.  Other players need to step up this week. 

Calling on Alyssa Bannan and Eden Zanker, two incredibly talented players who have not delivered so far this year.  Remember only last year Melbourne was breaking records for high scoring. 

Fremantle do not have the depth of talent of Brisbane or North.  So, if the pressure meter is dialled down, some of our players will be able to better execute their skills. 

Can the Dees bounce back this week and do it for Mitho!

Let’s hope so.  Go Dees!

Fremantle by 5 points

THE GAME

 

Round 4: Melbourne v Fremantle Saturday 21 September 2024 at 2:05pm (Melbourne time)

Fremantle Oval, Perth - Whadjuk

 

HEAD TO HEAD

 

Overall Melbourne 6 wins Fremantle 2 wins

At Fremantle Oval Melbourne 2 wins Fremantle 1 win

The Coaches Stinear 1 win Webb 0 wins

 

MEDIA 

 

TV - Fox Footy, Kayo.  

Mobile – AFL Live Official App

 

THE LAST TIME THEY MET - Season 8 Round 9

Melbourne 8.13 (61) defeated Fremantle 4.4 (28) at Casey Fields, 28 October 2023

 

MELBOURNE 1.2 4.9 5.9 8.13 (61)

 

FREMANTLE 1.3 2.3 3.4 4.4 (28)

 

The wicked wind prevented the DeeArmy from hoisting Heathy’s 50 game banner but did not stop the Dees grinding out a hard fought 33-point win to keep the minor premiership chances alive.

 

Leading goalkickers Kate Hore and Eden Zanker both had braces while the ubiquitous Paxy Paxman was BOG with 27 disposals. Busy too were Eliza Mac, Mitho, Liv P and Goldy.

 

Meggs observed at the ground that Freo made the Dees look slow at times plus they were down a couple of soldiers on the day, namely Aine Tighe and Ebony Antonio who are back for this week. 

 

GOALS

 

MELBOURNE Hore 2, Zanker 2, Hanks, Mackin, Paxman, West

 

FREMANTLE Kauffman 3, Gibbs

 

BEST 

 

MELBOURNE Paxman, West, McNamara, Fitzsimon, Mithen, Hore

 

FREMANTLE Kauffman, Bowers, Stannett, East, Lally, Miller

 

INJURIES

 

MELBOURNE Nil

 

FREMANTLE Flynn (back)

 

REPORTS 

 

MELBOURNE Nil

 

FREMANTLE Nil

 

CROWD 1,650 at Casey Fields 

 

THE TEAMS

 

FREMANTLE

B Flynn O’Sullivan
HB O'Driscoll Pugh Scanlon
C Low Miller Lally
HF Tighe Antonio Biedenweg-Webster
F Brazill  McCarthy
FOLL Stron  Newton East
I/C Hetherington Kaufman Mulholland Runnall Verrier
EMG Seth Tuhakaraina Mulder

 IN A McCarthy

OUT Seth (omitted)

MELBOURNE 

B Colvin Gillard
HB Chaplin Heath Goldrick
C McNamara Mithen B Mackin
HF Fitzsimon Hore Bannan 
F Zanker Pisano
FOLL Campbell Hanks Lampard
I/C Beasley Gall Taylor Watt Wotherspoon
EMG Hill Johnson Madigan 

 IN Taylor Wotherspoon

OUT Hill (omitted) Paxman (foot)

Injury List: Round 4

 

MELBOURNE

 

Paxy Paxman Foot 1-2 weeks

Jemma Rigoni   Groin 1-2 weeks

Saraid Taylor   Calf 2-3 weeks

Lauren Pearce Wrist 6 weeks

Olivia Purcell Face TBC

Tayla Harris Shoulder Season

Jacinta Hose ACL Season

Aimee Mackin  ACL Season

 

FREMANTLE

 

Aisling McCarthy Knee Test

Tara Stribley Ankle 1-2 weeks

Serena Gibbs Knee 1-2 weeks

Mikayla Morrison Knee 2-3 weeks

Tunisha Kikoak Shoulder TBC

Ange Stannett ACL Season

 

AFLWPreviewRd042024.png

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • NON-MFC: Round 13

    Follow all the action from every Round 13 clash excluding the Dees as the 2025 AFL Premiership Season rolls on. With Melbourne playing in the final match of the round on King's Birthday, all eyes turn to the rest of the competition. Who are you tipping to win? And more importantly, which results best serve the Demons’ finals aspirations? Join the discussion and keep track of the matches that could shape the ladder and impact our run to September.

      • Thanks
    • 25 replies
  • PREVIEW: Collingwood

    Having convincingly defeated last year’s premier and decisively outplayed the runner-up with 8.2 in the final quarter, nothing epitomized the Melbourne Football Club’s performance more than its 1.12 final half, particularly the eight consecutive behinds in the last term, against a struggling St Kilda team in the midst of a dismal losing streak. Just when stability and consistency were anticipated within the Demon ranks, they delivered a quintessential performance marked by instability and ill-conceived decisions, with the most striking aspect being their inaccuracy in kicking for goal, which suggested a lack of preparation (instead of sleeping in their hotel in Alice, were they having a night on the turps) rather than a well-rested team. Let’s face it - this kicking disease that makes them look like raw amateurs is becoming a millstone around the team’s neck.

      • Thanks
    • 1 reply
  • CASEY: Sydney

    The Casey Demons were always expected to emerge victorious in their matchup against the lowly-ranked Sydney Swans at picturesque Tramway Oval, situated in the shadows of the SCG in Moore Park. They dominated the proceedings in the opening two and a half quarters of the game but had little to show for it. This was primarily due to their own sloppy errors in a low-standard game that produced a number of crowded mauls reminiscent of the rugby game popular in old Sydney Town. However, when the Swans tired, as teams often do when they turn games into ugly defensive contests, Casey lifted the standard of its own play and … it was off to the races. Not to nearby Randwick but to a different race with an objective of piling on goal after goal on the way to a mammoth victory. At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, the Demons held a slender 14-point lead over the Swans, who are ahead on the ladder of only the previous week's opposition, the ailing Bullants. Forty minutes later, they had more than fully compensated for the sloppiness of their earlier play with a decisive 94-point victory, that culminated in a rousing finish which yielded thirteen unanswered goals. Kicks hit their targets, the ball found itself going through the middle and every player made a contribution.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
  • REPORT: St. Kilda

    Hands up if you thought, like me, at half-time in yesterday’s game at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs that Melbourne’s disposal around the ground and, in particular, its kicking inaccuracy in front of the goals couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. And what’s even more damning for the Melbourne Football Club is that the game against St Kilda and its resurgence from the bottomless pit of its miserable start to the season wasn’t just lost through poor conversion for goal but rather in the 15 minutes when the entire team went into a slumber and was mugged by the out-of-form Saints. Their six goals two behinds (one goal less than the Demons managed for the whole game) weaved a path of destruction from which they were unable to recover. Ross Lyon’s astute use of pressure to contain the situation once they had asserted their grip on the game, and Melbourne’s self-destructive wastefulness, assured that outcome. The old adage about the insanity of repeatedly doing something and expecting a different result, was out there. Two years ago, the score line in Melbourne’s loss to the Giants at this same ground was 5 goals 15 behinds - a ratio of one goal per four scoring shots - was perfectly replicated with yesterday’s 7 goals 21 behinds. 
    This has been going on for a while and opens up a number of questions. I’ll put forward a few that come to mind from this performance. The obvious first question is whether the club can find a suitable coach to instruct players on proper kicking techniques or is this a skill that can no longer be developed at this stage of the development of our playing group? Another concern is the team's ability to counter an opponent's dominance during a run on as exemplified by the Saints in the first quarter. Did the Demons underestimate their opponents, considering St Kilda's goals during this period were scored by relatively unknown forwards? Furthermore, given the modest attendance of 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park and the team's poor past performances at this venue, is it prudent to prioritize financial gain over potentially sacrificing valuable premiership points by relinquishing home ground advantage, notwithstanding the cultural significance of the team's connection to the Red Centre? 

      • Thanks
    • 4 replies
  • PREGAME: Collingwood

    After a disappointing loss in Alice Springs the Demons return to the MCG to take on the Magpies in the annual King's Birthday Big Freeze for MND game. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 232 replies
  • PODCAST: St. Kilda

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 2nd June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we have a chat with former Demon ruckman Jeff White about his YouTube channel First Use where he dissects ruck setups and contests. We'll then discuss the Dees disappointing loss to the Saints in Alice Springs.
    Your 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.
    Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

      • Thanks
    • 47 replies