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This summarizes everything wrong with demonland. What did people seriously expect!?!?!? Its first game, nerves and speed of the game got to him early but he ended up with 16 disposals, 5 tackles and 3 goal assists.

Thought Petracca was actually ok. If you separate deluded over expectation with the reality of a kid playing his first game, it was a fair effort.

They should reappoint Cameron Schwab and Chris Connolly to complete the transition.

Hope everything is ok with your little one... Hope the boys get up for you!

Young side who look very, very tired, one too many tall blokes, too many players who should be better and have gone missing (Tyson, Garlett, Lumumba) and a ground we play very poorly (note how often St Kilda have basically hit the wing boundary and then spread back across and opened us back up). We have some good players but they are inexperienced. We also rely on them a lot for speed so on a track like this when they are down we could never win. They'll learn from this, as will our coaching staff. Too many young players can't come up week after week. Lets not get all dramatic. It's a tough competition and we will continue moving in the right direction.

Oh well. Disappointing loss but we are to expect that with this side until we mature and find that consistency. We are just as likely to come out and roll GC next week. One thing that this game does is show us all that we are still very much a middle of the road side who will win some and lose some. Finals was always out of reach. Hogan is a gun. Those who, in the Hogan thread, tried to make a claim we would be okay without him are kidding themselves. Onwards and upwards boys. There is always next week.

The lads at Casey who have been struggling to get in should go in to tomorrow's game slobbering like hyenas. There are spots ripe for the picking.

Not to mention that said person is one of the finest and most unselfish Demons we've had on our list in 40 years, who would never have envisaged the turmoil he'd experience the day his name was called out.

Why use a (sort of) positive thread about one player on our list to take an unprovoked personal swipe at another player who has nothing to do with the topic at hand? Rubbish post.

I've got it and I'm 38 in July. Would it be too much pressure to message Christian and ask him to hurry up with the premiership?

We lack key defenders, Frost is a key defender but for some reason we are trying to make him into a forward pocket.

Yes, we don't handle that well. Plus their smaller, quicker midfield/forward types always cut us up. They out pressured us and that allowed them to get past our high press, which is looking for that turnover, and get some easy goals. Our smaller forwards were putrid as well. Kent had a shocker, Garlett went missed and guys like Kennedy aren't having the same influence. If they aren't putting that pressure on and forcing the turnover then we really struggle. We'll be right though. It's not all doom and gloom. We need to understand that these games will still happen and accept it. We know how good we can be, we just need to work on that consistency. Hopefully most posters can see that before they come stomping in here making outrageous claims - the same posters who would have been talking us up just a few days ago.

Worst defending I've seen from any team this year. The worst part about it is that's exactly how the Saints played against Port, their ins and outs suggested that's how'd they'd play this week, and then we come out and play like Port to top it all off. How there was no plan B half way through the 2nd quarter boggles the mind. 2 even teams in terms of developing, one absolutely smashed in the coaching box.

Ah, the old "we are slow" again. Name a team who didn't look "slow" when they played like crap. We aren't slow. We haven't looked remotely slow in the last three weeks. We just failed to work hard enough today.

How good is the AFL Love having a home game at the oppositions home ground under a roof when its sunny and 23C outside. Pretty much everything thats wrong with footy. And dont tell me its contracts or whatever. Thats my bloody point.

YES. People on here talking about winning 5 in a row, players talking about finals, the over-hyping of Truck's debut. Spelled trouble from the start. Excuses will include a short turnaround, inexperience, Etihad, blah, blah, blah, but again its COMPLACENCY. It's time to grow up and pull the proverbial head out of the backside. So, so disappointing but all too familiar.

Good thing we have Tom McDonald to zone off him next week.

Roos is really a very non reactive match day coach. out of stubborness or just lack of ability, i dont know , but his refusal to adapt to the game unfolding in front of him has cost us many times now. im not sure the players were to blame today. the game plan got carved up and without leadership from the box it left them unable to adapt and the carnage which ensued made it hard for the side to stay in the game. an opposition side picking apart a game plan will make players look slow and reactionary. im not so keen to put all of this on the players to be honest. of course ill agree some more on field leadership will help but in a nutshell our game plan has been picked apart and no answers were provided to the players. hence so many lefft in "no mans land" on turnovers

Poor form I think...

Lol's at those sticking it to the first-gamer.

Catching a train out of town from Spencer Street at 6... seems only logical to loiter over the other side of the tracks for the afternoon! Not sure how Etihad security will react to a bunch of suitcases though. I'll have to check my white privilege on the way in. Phew! Glad I got that. So anyway, anyone know much about this Petruccio kid apaprentl making his debut?

At training yesterday, William (7) and I were on the boundary watching Christian & Jeffy having shots from the boundary, when Christian dropped the F-bomb after missing one. Now, my son has heard plenty of colourful language and he wouldn't have even noticed it, but Christian came up and apologised for saying it in front of Will and gave him a high 5 and proceeded to stop having his shots and took a few minutes out to find out who we were and where we were from. After Will told him we'd come over from Adelaide and saw both Casey and Melbourne on the weekend but had to go home straight after training he said "I'll try my hardest on Saturday and when we sing the song we'll make sure you can hear it all the way over in Adelaide" The kid is a ripping young man indeed!

I'm sure it has been mentioned but WHO THE [censored] WAS ON RIEWOLDT IN THE FIRST HALF? Absolute amateur hour that was.

Here is the weekly "give Roos the flick" comment when we lose a game. Congrats. You should be very proud.

Laughable.

Go easy. It's not a step up to AFL level from the VFL. It's more like 3. In the long run his game today might be better than if he came out and got 30 disposals and kicked 3 goals. He just learnt how much better he needs to get. Thats not a bad thing. I'll back him in.

I caught myself accidentally singing the Saints song in the shower this morning. Apologies. I'm pretty sure this loss is my fault.

As my father used to say we played like millionaires expecting someone else to do the work

NO LATE CHANGES
 FINAL INTERCHANGES 
Melbourne: Cameron Pedersen, Jayden Hunt, Ben Kennedy, James Harmes 
St Kilda: Seb Ross, Jimmy Webster, Jade Gresham, Blake Acres Tracca starting on the ground

Dees fans everywhere around the docklands precinct. Get here now if you're sitting on the fence!

All the people on here sooking about going to etihad. Ffs really? There are goal posts at each end, seats if you want to sit, rails if you want to lean and beer if you want a drink. Stop crying like pretentious spoilt brats and go watch the Dees rack up three in a row. Oh yeah, by NOT going to this game out of protest at it being at etihad, you're hurting your own clubs bottom line.

Dont start that crud again. We deserve equal billing always. As do the other 17 clubs.

I know it's not our home ground but it's our home game. Past home matches the crowd hasn't been great and that is mainly due to the teams performance. But we need the fans to get there tomorrow and make it loud like it was last week. We are playing some good footy at the moment and shock horror we are winning and going for our 3rd in a row. Petracca will be making his debut which will be exciting. It would just be great to see a lot of red and blue.

They've been saying it's a mad, mad world for a long time but I wonder sometimes about what goes on in the mind of the person who prepares the AFL draw. Take today for instance. Melbourne fans are being implored to turn up for what is their team's home game against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in the Docklands which is the home ground of the Saints. Go figure? The main thing is that the Demons have shrugged off the old hoodoo which this ground once presented and they even beat the Saints there last month, albeit in a NAB Challenge match. So we're now aiming for a "threepeat" (I know some of you don't like the word but it's no more mister nice guy - remember) and may that trend continue so that we can acquaint ourselves with the idea of winning multiple games on end and not pray for just two in a row.

Boo hoo, a good footy team plays good football anywhere at anytime. Interstate teams have to travel every 2nd week, yet they still manage to rise up the ladder. Loved how all and sundry at the club (including the playing group) urge Dees fans to show up, yet they have the gaul to not turn up themselves.

I still can't get over seeing Tom McDonald running away from Nick Riewoldt in the second quarter. Who does Tom think he is?

I said pre-game this had a loss written all over it, but the recent Melbourne had me believe it wouldn't be the same. Unfortunately, I've been let down. Again. Really, really disappointed.

If only the supporters hadn't thought we might win.

Got a kids party that starts about half time. think I will just drop off the family and go back to watching the game. Will put me in the doghouse but that's nothing new ...

The bride just signed up 10 minutes ago - having witnessed the wins against the Filth and the Timid Tigers, she reckons that the Dees are finally worth not only watching but actually supporting - ( only taken 32 years........)

Would hate to be a Carton fan. At least we damaged our ex-players enough to not have to see them perform elsewhere.

The AFL keeps talking about equalisation. If they are serious about it then every club gets to host one Friday and one Saturday night game. They can give the extra ones to the sides they think will be bigger drawcards or rank the highest, but at the most basic level they have to give every club an even chance to make money off those timeslots. They also need to ensure that they don't do their usual trick of giving Melbourne a home game against GWS or Brisbane so that no away fans show up. It would require a little work to arrange the fixture, but they have the capacity to give prime timeslots to the local derby's for the interstate teams and to put the Melbourne-based clubs against each other to maximise crowds. This would make far more sense than what they've done for the last couple of years with the plethora of Carlton games on Friday nights.

Excellent idea. Mathematically impossible to lose at both.

i think we will win the flag, leicester style.

They aren't. Adelaide, Sydney and Hawthorn are clearly better. Probably Geelong as well.

This thread. From feel good, to close to home humour, to plain old morbid in the space of two pages.

Sharpest I've ever seen on here. It's a gift.

My cousin died of muscular dystrophy around 14 years ago , coming from a small family it was a devasting experience that lasted 20 years, I remember at the time my auntie told me the federal government contribution to find a cure was around $50,000 lousy bucks a year, I hope that's changed I know Darren Bennets son also suffers from it it's horrendous disease that holds no prisoners my cousin lasted to the age of 22 and that's a fair lifespan from someone suffering it, well done Christain your all class.