Cocktail Function

Hawthorn and Melbourne. Two teams with impressive form from last week but with seasons that are travelling on different trajectories meet in Saturday’s twilight game for what could well be the most intriguing contest of the AFL’s penultimate round. Sadly, the game has been relegated to that unappealing time slot in the weekend when Melburnians are typically preoccupied with activities other than football. It falls between the morning's shopping, afternoon sport and recreation, and Saturday night fever. A time usually reserved for relatively insignificant events but this one is not a nothingburger for either of the clubs or their fans.

Ten seasons. Eighteen teams. With the young talent pathway finally fully connected, Women’s Australian Rules football is building momentum and Season 2025 promises to be the best yet. In advance of Season 10, the AFL leadership has engaged in candid discussions with all clubs regarding strategies to boost attendance and expand fan bases. Concerningly, average attendances in 2024 were 2,660 fans per match, with the women’s game incurring an annual loss of approximately $50 million.

The next coach of the Melbourne Football Club faces the challenge of teaching his players how to win games against all comers. At times during this tumultuous season, that task has seemed daunting, made more so in light of the surprise news last week of the sacking of premiership coach Simon Goodwin. However, there were also some positive signs from yesterday’s match against the Western Bulldogs that the challenge may not be as difficult as one might think. The two sides presented a genuine football spectacle, featuring pulsating competitive play with eight lead changes throughout the afternoon, in a display befitting a finals match.The result could have gone either way and in the end, it came down to which team could produce the most desperate of acts to provide a winning result. It was the Bulldogs who had their season on the line that won out by a six point margin that fitted the game and the effort of both sides.

The rain had been falling heavily in south east Queensland when the match began at Springfield, west of Brisbane. The teams exchanged early goals and then the Casey Demons proceeded like a house on fire in the penultimate game of the VFL season against a strong opponent in the Brisbane Lions. Sparked by strong play around the ground by seasoned players in Charlie Spargo and Jack Billings, a strong effort from Bailey Laurie and promising work from youngsters in Kynan Brown and  Koltyn Tholstrup, the Demons with multiple goal kickers firing, raced to a 27 point lead late in the opening stanza. A highlight was a wonderful goal from Laurie who brilliantly sidestepped two opponents and kicked beautifully from 45 metres out.

The Demons return to the MCG this time as the visiting team where they get another opportunity to put a dent into a team's top 8 placing when they take on the Hawks on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 11th August @ 8:00pm. Join Binman & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Western Bulldogs.
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