THE PEOPLE SPEAK by The Demonland Crew

Good evening, Demon fans and welcome back to the Demonland Podcast ... it’s time to discuss this week’s game against the Blues. Will the Demons celebrate Clayton Oliver’s 200th game with a victory? We have a number of callers waiting on line …

Leopold Bloom:

Carlton and Melbourne are both out of finals contention with six wins and eleven losses, and are undoubtedly the two most underwhelming and disappointing teams of 2025. Both had high expectations at the start of participating and advancing deep into the finals, but instead, they have consistently underperformed and disappointed themselves and their supporters throughout the year. However, I am inclined to give the Demons the benefit of the doubt, as they have made some progress in addressing their issues after a disastrous start. In contrast, the Blues are struggling across the board and do not appear to be making any notable improvements. They are regressing, and a significant loss is looming on Saturday night. Max Gawn in the ruck will be huge and the Demon midfield have a point to prove after lowering their colours in so many close calls.

Kev:

With Carlton transitioning through what Melbourne experienced last year, as the media speculate about their elite players, and staff, moving on. It comes as MFC are in a better emotional state (went through it last season), than the Blues, who appear to have not hit rock bottom yet. Both clubs have the players, the processes, and structure, when they are on, to hurt any team. It will be a battle of the underachievers, with a fair bit of arm wrestling as they fight to get the upper-hand.

Melbourne have been playing a very competitive game, using effort and some flair. The older mids are being rotated at stoppages with some young ones getting a look in, and doing well as they balance their attacking brand, with a defensive structure. Goody continues to adjust his system, controlling tempo and ball movement. They look for boundary line outlets and set the forwards high up the ground, creating forward one on ones as they run hard into the 50. Some more of those long raking kicks to advantage from Langford will impress. Kozzie to continue being an untouchable speedster no matter what they try to do to him, running circles around them. Melky to hit them from their blindside, and Max to mark everything coming his way.

Carlton will use the main pillars of, mids gaining clearances, the defensive intercept and slings, and the forwards taking contested marks. Voss continues to hope for centralised corridors for fast ball movement so as to create open areas in the forward line.

Expect Melbourne to stay within striking range, slowly getting their noses in front and holding the lead. Neither team will dominate as the game ebbs and flow between the two contestants.

Sydney Pennski 

Melbourne fans are well known for their pessimistic outlook, and my expectation from this game is that the roof is about to fall in. With the exception of Kozzie, the Dees finally found their kicking boots last week with 18.11. I highly doubt that this performance will be repeated this week. Meanwhile, dual Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow, who has recently struggled with his kicking, posting 0.9 in his last four games, will kick five straight as the Blues fall in by a point in controversial circumstances after Adam Cerra accidentally bumps into a field umpire preventing him from paying a free kick to Bayley Fritsch right in front of goal as the siren sounds.

Little Goffy

There are two deep reasons Melbourne should be expected to defeat Carlton this Saturday night at the MCG. 

Firstly, there's nothing at stake. For a generation, and even at their lowest ebb, Carlton found a way to ruin seasons for Melbourne. Ranging from 2006, when the Blues managed two wins over the Demons and only one more for the rest of the season and in the process cost Melbourne a top-4 spot in a wide open premiership chase, to 2023 when the Demon's coughed up a semi final to the Blues in a manner which marked the start of a serious stumble.

Not that it did the Blues any good. At a most elementary level Carlton are currently relying on too few to do too much, with determined but exhausted Cripps symbolising the crisis whenever he is thrown to the ruck. Many of Carlton's more capable players are somewhat one-dimensional, meaning that when holes are created by injury or form problems, there is little to provide a patch up. With each passing week the sensation grows that Carlton as a club is fully aware of the oncoming storm and chooses to sail without urgency or alarm directly into it, with the Blues' famously contentious factions all imagining they will be able to seize control of the wreckage.

The second reason is named Sam. A 55cm project player with a powerful kick and an uncanny ability to escape traffic, Sam has quickly begun accumulating disposables despite currently playing mostly from the bench and is expected to progress to more of a flank position in the near future. His leadership qualities are already showing through, with a 100% win rate since being promoted from the In Utero league on Friday. 

Demons to win a game which will have more than a passing resemblance to whack-a-mole as each team tries to exploit or cover their holes, with perhaps the most interesting contest-within-the-contest being whether Max Gawn can decisively put to rest the AA contention of Tom DeKoning, who has gradually faded since his potent early season form.

After Xerri embarrassed himself with the kind of undisciplined moments that you'd normally only expect to see from someone poorly self-regulating their emotions following a head injury the previous week (ahem) the list of real rivals to Gawn is growing thinner.

Freddy Fuschia

The traditional rivalry between Melbourne and Carlton has yielded some captivating contests at the MCG in recent seasons, when both teams were either vying for a finals berth or already participating and competing to advance further into the finals. On each of the last three occasions, the Blues have had the luck on their side winning close encounters through greater accuracy in front of goals.

This Saturday night, the narrative will be a different one as both clubs are no longer in contention for the finals. Despite this, they will be eager to make a positive impression, given that their fans have been deprived of the satisfaction of winning and their coaches need to plan for the future, assuming that said coaches have a future with the team.

It is likely that Simon Goodwin’s tenure is secure for the remainder of his current coaching contract, given his premiership achievement and apparent strong support and respect from his playing group, who consistently speak highly of him in interviews. Moreover, he is in the process of implementing a new game plan and deserves the opportunity to see this work in progress through another pre season and into next year.

Michael Voss, on the other hand, is under considerable pressure. Carlton supporters are known for their high expectations and are exhibiting signs of restlessness and discontent. A loss on Saturday night could potentially lead to significant repercussions and even some bloodletting. The question therefore is how the Carlton playing group will respond, particularly if Melbourne applies pressure on them from the outset (and kicks straight for goal).

With the Demons' midfield, spearheaded by Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, and now Kozzie Pickett, having found the confidence that winning form brings with it, I anticipate further challenges ahead for the struggling Blues.

Demonland Consensus - Melbourne wins by 18 points 

THE GAME

Carlton v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 19 July 2024 at 7.35pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Carlton 120 wins Melbourne 97 wins Drawn 2
At The MCG Carlton 53 wins Melbourne 56 wins
Past five meetings Carlton 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins
The Coaches Voss 3 wins Goodwin 2 wins

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Carlton 12.5.77 defeated Melbourne 11.10.76 in Round 9 2024

Following a scoreless initial quarter, Melbourne nearly overcame a 36-point deficit against Carlton, ultimately falling short by a single point. This defeat marked the club's third consecutive loss to the Blues, with an aggregate losing margin of merely 7 points. Notably, on each of these occasions, the Demons recorded more scoring shots than their opponents, totaling 28 goals and 35 behinds against 32 goals and 18 behinds.

THE TEAMS 

CARLTON 

B N. Haynes, J. Weitering, A. Saad

HB L. Cowan, H. O'Farrell, S. Docherty

C A. Moir, P. Cripps, A. Cerra

HF F. Young, C. Curnow, L. Fogarty

F J. Motlop, T. De Koning, Z. Williams FOLL M. Pittonet, G. Hewett, O. Hollands

I/C M. Carroll, C. Durdin, F. Evans, C. Lord, W. White

EMG B. Acres, J. Boyd, H. O Keeffe

IN F. Evans, A. Saad, W. White

OUT A. Cincotta (managed), O. Fantasia (hamstring), M. McGovern (hamstring)

MELBOURNE

B J. Bowey, S. May, J. McVee

HB C. Salem, T. McDonald, D. Turner

C X. Lindsay, C. Petracca, H. Langford

HF J. Viney, M. Jefferson, E. Langdon

F J. Melksham, J. Van Rooyen, K. Pickett

FOLL M. Gawn, C. Oliver, T. Rivers

I/C K. Chandler, B. Fritsch, H. Sharp,

H. Sharp, K. Tholstrup, C. Windsor

EMG T. Campbell, B. Howes, H. Petty

IN S. May, H. Sharp

OUT Jake Lever (ankle), Tom Sparrow (concussion)

Injury List: Round 19

Oliver Sestan — hamstring / Available

Aidan Johnson — ankle / Test

Harry Petty — concussion / Test

Tom Sparrow —concussion / 1 - 2 weeks

Jake Lever — ankle/ TBC

Marty Hore — knee, shoulder / season

Shane McAdam — Achilles / season

Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / seas