It was bad enough that the Melbourne Football Club created yet another humiliating scenario inside its wretched season at Marvel Stadium last Sunday, but the final insult is that it has been commanded to return to the scene of the crime to inflict further punishment on its fans this week.

Incidentally, if this match preview, of a game that promises to be one of the most unattractive fixtures in the history of the game, happens to cut out of your computer screen three quarters of the way through, it’s no coincidence. I’ll be mirroring the Demons’ lacklustre effort against St Kilda from last Sunday when they conceded the largest last quarter turnaround for victory in the history of the game.

The game bears some resemblance to the last encounter between these two sides at the same venue (then known as Etihad Stadium) in 2011, when the Demons suffered an eight-goal defeat in the absence of current President Brad Green, who withdrew prior to the game and was replaced by Dan Nicholson. He's a great Melbourne man, Brad Green, but I have a feeling that he might be wishing someone else would put up their hand to replace him for presidential duties for this week because more embarrassment for the club awaits. 

The game is being billed as the “Battle of the Broken” because both sides are at a low ebb. In that 2011 game, they attracted a paltry 15,000 spectators and the AFL will likely be hoping for a similar or better attendance, but this is unlikely due to a lack of interest regarding the outcome from Melbourne fans and any West Coast fans who might be living here or visiting. I’m expecting a crowd of embarrassingly low proportions.

I would never want to encourage anyone to gamble but I was surprised to see the Sportsbet odds that had Melbourne a firm favourite at odds of $1.08 to win. That’s extraordinary considering it scored four points to 9 goals 2 behinds in the last quarter of its last appearance at the same venue against a team normally considered staid and lacking in the spirit of adventure. 

So how poor must the West Coast be if they’re not capable of enticing me to accept the $8.00 offered for a win? Their most promising player and potential dynamic matchwinner is Harley Reid, but he is not comparable to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. In any event, young Harley has been ruled out of this contest and will miss the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. The Eagles have lost their last nine consecutive games, with their sole victory this season coming against … er, um, St Kilda, when they kicked six goals in the final quarter.

I’m selecting Melbourne due to their dominant ruckman and captain in Max Gawn and the fact that his teammates owe him a lot given what they did last week. Despite struggling with the 6-6-6 formation last week, Max is a proud individual. If his teammates possess any pride at all, they will  exert maximum effort and go full throttle throughout the entire game this week to start the long journey towards winning back some self-respect. 

And if not, they deserve to be hung, drawn and three quartered.

Melbourne by 46 points.

THE GAME

Melbourne vs West Coast Eagles at Marvel Stadium, Saturday 2 August 2025 at 1.20pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall  Melbourne 22 wins West Coast Eagles 38 wins

At Marvel Stadium Melbourne 1 win West Coast Eagles win

Past five meetings Melbourne 4 wins West Coast Eagles 1 win

The Coaches Goodwin 1 win McQualter 0 wins

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 16.12.108 defeated West Coast Eagles 11.10.76 at Optus Stadium in Round , 2025

The Demons required more than half of the game to overcome the Eagles, courtesy of a dominant 7-goal third quarter, but when presented with the opportunity to seal the victory in the final quarter, their performance was unimpressive and rather pedestrian. The standout players for the Demons were Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, and Harvey Langford.

THE TEAMS (to be loaded when available)

MELBOURNE

B J. Bowey, T. McDonald, J. McVee

HB C. Windsor, D. Turner, B. Howes

C K. Chandler, C. Petracca, H. Langford

HF J. Viney, B. Fritsch, T. Sparrow

F J. Melksham, H. Petty, K. Pickett

FOLL M. Gawn, T. Rivers, E. Langdon

I/C J. Culley, C. Oliver, C. Salem, H. Sharp, J. van Rooyen

EMG,J. Adams, T. Campbell, X. Lindsay

IN J. Culley H. Sharp

OUT X. Lindsay (managed) C. Spargo (omitted)

WEST COAST

B R. Ginbey, H. Edwards, T. Cole

HB L. Duggan, R. Bazzo, T. McCarthy

C R. Maric, B. Hough, C. Hall

HF J. Cripps, J. Shanahan, E. Hewett

F T. Brockman, A. Reid, L. Ryan

FOLL B. Williams, T. Kelly, L. Baker

I/C C. Chesser, H. Davis, T. Dewar, T. Gross, M. Owies

EMG M. Flynn, J. Petruccelle, L. Rawlinson

IN C.Chesser H.Davis H. Edwards T.Gross

OUT S.Brock (omitted) M. Flynn (omitted) J. Hutchinson (omitted), H. Reid (ankle)

Injury and Suspension List: Round 21

Jack Henderson — groin / Test

Steven May — concussion, suspension / 2 weeks

Oliver Sestan — face / 3 weeks

Jake Lever — ankle/ TBC

Marty Hore — knee, shoulder / season

Shane McAdam — Achilles / season

Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / season

The Dees by 46 points! You must be the most positive supporter by the length of the Flemington straight. I think the Eagles are a real chance to record their second win of the 2025 season. After last week's debacle I saw a lot of hang dog looks after the game. No anger / frustration. They have lost the desire in 2025. Eagles by 13 points. All they have to do is turn up and play with desire

That will be too much for the MFC.

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

It was bad enough that the Melbourne Football Club created yet another humiliating scenario inside its wretched season at Marvel Stadium last Sunday, but the final insult is that it has been commanded to return to the scene of the crime to inflict further punishment on its fans this week.

Incidentally, if this match preview, of a game that promises to be one of the most unattractive fixtures in the history of the game, happens to cut out of your computer screen three quarters of the way through, it’s no coincidence. I’ll be mirroring the Demons’ lacklustre effort against St Kilda from last Sunday when they conceded the largest last quarter turnaround for victory in the history of the game.

The game bears some resemblance to the last encounter between these two sides at the same venue (then known as Etihad Stadium) in 2011, when the Demons suffered an eight-goal defeat in the absence of current President Brad Green, who withdrew prior to the game and was replaced by Dan Nicholson. He's a great Melbourne man, Brad Green, but I have a feeling that he might be wishing someone else would put up their hand to replace him for presidential duties for this week because more embarrassment for the club awaits. 

The game is being billed as the “Battle of the Broken” because both sides are at a low ebb. In that 2011 game, they attracted a paltry 15,000 spectators and the AFL will likely be hoping for a similar or better attendance, but this is unlikely due to a lack of interest regarding the outcome from Melbourne fans and any West Coast fans who might be living here or visiting. I’m expecting a crowd of embarrassingly low proportions.

I would never want to encourage anyone to gamble but I was surprised to see the Sportsbet odds that had Melbourne a firm favourite at odds of $1.08 to win. That’s extraordinary considering it scored four points to 9 goals 2 behinds in the last quarter of its last appearance at the same venue against a team normally considered staid and lacking in the spirit of adventure. 

So how poor must the West Coast be if they’re not capable of enticing me to accept the $8.00 offered for a win? Their most promising player and potential dynamic matchwinner is Harley Reid, but he is not comparable to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. In any event, young Harley has been ruled out of this contest and will miss the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. The Eagles have lost their last nine consecutive games, with their sole victory this season coming against … er, um, St Kilda, when they kicked six goals in the final quarter.

I’m selecting Melbourne due to their dominant ruckman and captain in Max Gawn and the fact that his teammates owe him a lot given what they did last week. Despite struggling with the 6-6-6 formation last week, Max is a proud individual. If his teammates possess any pride at all, they will  exert maximum effort and go full throttle throughout the entire game this week to start the long journey towards winning back some self-respect. 

And if not, they deserve to be hung, drawn and three quartered.

Melbourne by 46 points.

THE GAME

West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, Saturday 2 August 2025 at 1.20pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall  Melbourne 22 wins West Coast Eagles 38 wins

At Marvel Stadium Melbourne 1 win West Coast Eagles win

Past five meetings Melbourne 4 wins West Coast Eagles 1 win

The Coaches Goodwin 1 win McQualter 0 wins

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 16.12.108 defeated West Coast Eagles 11.10.76 at Optus Stadium in Round , 2025

The Demons required more than half of the game to overcome the Eagles, courtesy of a dominant 7-goal third quarter, but when presented with the opportunity to seal the victory in the final quarter, their performance was unimpressive and rather pedestrian. The standout players for the Demons were Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, and Harvey Langford.

THE TEAMS (to be loaded when available)

MELBOURNE

WEST COAST EAGLES

Injury and Suspension List: Round 21

Jack Henderson — groin / Test

Steven May — concussion, suspension / 2 weeks

Oliver Sestan — face / 3 weeks

Jake Lever — ankle/ TBC

Marty Hore — knee, shoulder / season

Shane McAdam — Achilles / season

Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / season

Great title!

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

Melbourne by 46 points.

Does that include the final quarter?

Interesting that there is only 3 replies to this next game thread. After last nights team selection it is easy to see why.