Leaderboard

Jack Fitzpatrick played his first game for Hawthorn today after being delisted by the demons at the end of 2015. He kicked the matchwinning last goal of the game that secured Hawthorn a top 4 spot. A fantastic roving off his own ruck work to run forward and let fly from 65 metres. In the post match interview he said it was only his 3rd win of his career since his debut in 2011. Now is well placed to feature in September. Good luck to Jack.

Season 2016. If you are reading this on a phone, not all stats are visible due to formatting. Win % Score Scoring Shots Inside 50's Inside 50 Score % Inside 50 Goal % With Pedersen (9) 66.7% 102.2 25.0 54.4 42.2% 28.2% Without Pedersen (13) 30.8% 78.8 22.2 53.3 37.2% 21.3%

Was great to see Fitzy slot that goal from long distance. He's had a long, hard road, and I'm thrilled for him that he's been given another chance. Just hope he gets to now play in September! Would be great reward for perseverance.

Forget yesterday. Geelong were in unbelievable form and we didn't really want to be there. Our improvement has been good, and I'm pumped for the off season and already looking forward to 2017. We've got lots of talent on our list, we'll add more experience in the form of Melksham and probably Hibberd, and we can get another summer into the legs of our younger players. I'm sure many will hang their hat on yesterday, but I won't be one of them. I'm looking forward to 2017 with plenty of optimism - the alternative makes it a very, very long summer indeed.

If that was true and the next 6 years were locked in, he has one to go on current deal, I would do the deal and do it quickly. Once committed to us and knowing his future, he can concentrate on his game and his upside is enormous. As our midfield gets better, so will the delivery into the forward line. He will be the recipient of those little chip passes, that Hawkins got yesterday. Hawkins doesn't take the big pack marks often, Jesse can. Jesse is also capable of playing up the ground as we have seen. I use Hawkins as an example because we played them yesterday and he is regarded as a top key forward. They are hard to find and we have one ATM. Everyone would agree he is worth say $600k to sign on, so the extra $200k per year may prove to be a bargain and the salary cap is rising and we have to spend it. If I said to you delist Michie and we keep Jesse or that Dawes pay is about 65% of what we need for Jesse who wouldn't jump at delisting Dawes and signing Jesse. At one stage Brown on "On the Couch", said pay him $1.5m per year for 10 years. Well that is gone. $800k if true is very realistic and could prove to be a bargain. This is a difficult spot we are in but I trust the FD to get it right, I hope. You don't clear guys like Jesse, you get the best out of them, as they are far and few between. As an example of how rare these guys are, a couple of clubs are looking at Cloke.

Disgusting comments in here. Played 21 games, averaged more marks, kicks, disposals than 2015. Had a bad last month but still averaged 2 goals a game (0.2 less than last year). Some of you need to get a grip.

Get some perspective: it was a success. Very young players playing in winning Melbourne sides, a huge percentage increase, a very young list in comparison to other clubs. Relax, the next few years will be good.

A 21 year old centre half forward with 41 games and 85 goals under his belt is something special. If you can't understand that then go to bed.

It's incredible, isn't it ? A 21 year old key forward playing the hardest position on the ground with next to no support is ridiculed after a 40+ goal season where he's finished top 10 in the league for contested marks, 7th for total marks and 6th for marks inside 50. He hasn't played 50 games and yet some are talking about trading him. Some people could watch footy for 60 years and still be clueless about the sport they love.

I want to thank all those at Demonland for running this site. New here for the first time this year it has helped me cut back on my drinking, glue sniffing, dog beating and all round unhappiness. I have enjoyed many insightful comments from many members about the club as well as the odd insult thrown my way. It’s one big unhappy family. There are a few demon fans I have loved following for their passion (Dazzle) their humour (Bitter, E. Tremblay and Chook) and pith (Biffen). Hope to see you on the other side in 2017 when we smash em.

Anyone who wants Jesse to go has rocks in their head. Exhibit A ^

Really? Why? Whats he done wrong to us? We delisted him after a long struggle with a variety of illnesses. He tried hard and gave his all. I'm so happy to see him get a second chance, and as much as I hate Hawthorn I'm thrilled to see him getting a go. Deserves success!

It was a shocking decision to leave him out of the side against the Blues. Why on Earth would they have made three changes to a winning side? Idiotic thing to do.

Top 4 is a joke. Three teams that have won something like 9 of the last 10 flags, plus the AFL's plastic frankenstein club. Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Going by this article it seems Pedolanko will be kept on the list for another year as the club have sent him off for surgery. Great news! http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/localfooty/box-hill-hawks-farewell-iles-casey-scorpions-say-hello-to-finals/news-story/b2c3f6cd3c39b57b5a6bed6bc9d5550a

It's not arguable, go back and watch our 2013 season over summer if you need a reminder.

it was a real up and down season. a massive let-down in the last two weeks. hopefully not a sign of things to come in 2017. there's nothing quite like going 'BANG!' after an appalling final round performance...here's my player ratings for the entire season after a flattening final round. 1. jesse hogan - 5.5/10. a real hit and miss season. if he doesn't mark the ball he doesn't get involved in the play, provides little to no defensive pressure, and can't do much below his knees. could be a superstar, but might not be 2. nathan jones - 7.5/10. still too many cotchin-like games where he is 'busy' but doesn't do much with the ball, but his best is still great and generally speaking when he's up and about we look a better side 3. christian salem - 2/10. great last game, but he needs to actually play regularly to achieve more out of his football as he is clearly one of our more naturally talented players 4. jack watts - 7.5/10. probably his best season, but he still goes missing throughout games and has lapses into poor second efforts on too many occasions, and needs to continue to work on that 5 christian petracca - 6.5/10. shows a tremendous amount of promise, but he dips in and out of games too frequently for my liking and for a player with such exquisite skill too often tries to overdo it 6. chris dawes - 1/10. hope he gets another crack at another club, but he's fundamentally had a shocking four years at melbourne through both injury and poor form, good luck for your future 7. jack viney - 8.5/10. a great season, but his last several weeks have been very poor and his disposal needs a lot of work as too often he makes mistakes at key moments 8. heretier lumumba - 1/10. hope he retires, good luck for your future 9. jack trengove - 3/10. i'm happy that he's been able to come back to play afl-level football, and i'm hoping he can come back but i definitely see him as that sort of 28-32 on the list player who can play a role when required 10. angus brayshaw - 4.5/10. i really question how good he'll be; his disposal under zero pressure and hitting a teammate short is the worst i've ever seen even if his effort cannot be questioned 11. max gawn - 11/10. an amazing season. he's clearly tired as the year has gone on, but he's had an absolutely brilliant 2016, i'd say 9/10 in reality 12. dom tyson - 7/10. a very good second half of the year in particular, but he's another player whose disposal is poor and he often loses possession at key moments in games by turnover or by being caught holding 13. clayton oliver - 7/10. i understand that they're probably managing him, but he's clearly our second best clearance player already - big things expected and i would rather he play in the afl than the vfl 14. lynden dunn - 2/10. depth at best. others have gone past him and his inability to adapt to the gameplan was glaring 15. billy stretch - 7/10. an up and about and lively player who more often than not makes the correct decision, think he'll be a good 'n as he makes the 'right' decisions more often than not 16. dean kent - 7/10. vital to giving us some genuine run through the midfield into the f50, we need him to have another strong fitness base; that said, another with dodgy disposal at times under pressure 17. sam frost - 7/10. can't understand why they persisted with him as a forward / ruckman early in the season; looks at home down back and provides great contest and run; same story as so many of our players re disposal by foot 18. jake melksham - gets a pass, for now...but i have massive doubts as to what he'll bring to the side 19. ben newton - 1/10. had an interrupted preseason which probably put him on the back foot, but i think he's a likely player to be cleared off the list 20. colin garland - 1/10. i still can't fathom giving him a three year deal at the end of last year; should've been two as he's not in our best 22 and barely a depth player as key defensive cover 21. cam pedersen - 5/10. massive mistake not to have him in against carlton, as for the most part he's serviceable and provides a great contest; misses too many games through injury and goes missing in patches too yet i think we have to retain him to give us depth in talls 22. viv michie - 1/10. probably a case of an excellent player at a lower level but not afl-ready, as his disposals at afl provided no advantage for the side despite his deceiving efficiency and his defensive coverage was non-existent, good luck for the future 23. bernie vince - 6/10. really hope his last seven or so rounds were due the knock against the power in darwin, as he has been pretty ordinary in the second half of the year and hopefully father time has not suddenly caught up with him 24. jay kennedy-harris - gets a pass, for now...his body clearly let him down all year, but if it's true that carlton are offering a second round pick for him i'd take it; don't reckon he's fast or skillful enough based on previous years 25. tom mcdonald - 8/10. by far and away our best tall defender, and whilst he makes mistakes and stuffs up attacking plays from time to time, we're better for having him than not 26. sam weideman - 3/10. probably a mistake playing him against carlton, but once that was lost might as well have played him against the cats, despite how little readiness he had for the afl-level game, but in truth the same was true for o mac in his first games too 27. liam hulett - pass, really thought he'd have made the senior side ahead of the weed as he looks the more physically ready player at this stage 28. oscar mcdonald - 6.5/10. we had to blood him at some stage, and he's ahead of the older options in terms of his ability to impact the play...probably both positively and negatively, although his run of games since the bye has been impressive 29. jayden hunt - 7.5/10. the find of the season, with his pace a massive weapon that whilst occasionally sees him run into trouble, i'd rather encourage his willingness to take the game on than curb it 30. alex neal-bullen - 2/10. a super disappointing second season at afl level, unable to replicate any of his vfl form; his skills didn't look up to snuff, but like other youngsters he either deserves more time or an opportunity elsewhere 31. jack grimes - 1/10. just looks cooked as an afl level player; i'd like to think he'd make it elsewhere, but unfortunately i think his lack of pace and skills sees him exposed at afl level 32. tomas bugg - 4/10. a lively player who is aggressive and in-your-face, he misses too many targets by hand and foot and goes missing for too many extended periods of time to be a best 22 player 33. jack spencer - no rating, never got a go so unfair to rate him, but i worry if he's our back-up if gawn goes down 34. mitchell king - unfair to rate, hopefully the season out will see him learn a lot a la gawn, hogan and petracca 35. ben kennedy - 5.5/10. i think he's better than others, as i like his turn of speed and his ability to impact the scoreboard, plus i think he 'goes when it's his turn...he's probably not best 22, but he's not far off it 36. jeff garlett - 4.5/10. see, i would've had kennedy's buzziness in the forward 50 ahead of garlett's for the majority of the year; no doubt jeff is a more talented player but he doesn't do nearly enough with his talent 37. aaron vandenberg - 6/10. i basically see vdb as playing a default chf role - he gets up the ground, competes in the air, tries to hit the scoreboard, provides some defensive pressure, but he's really let down by his disposal when he gets it it, which is infrequently 39. neville jetta - 8/10. our best defender by a street, as there's no one else in the side that can play the role he does, to lock down on the best small forward plus also provide a lot of run out of the defensive 50 41. mitchell white - 2/10. he doesn't offer much more than depth, and it would be a surprise if he was upgraded to the senior list after the mandatory two years on the rookie list 42. josh wager - 3/10. he's first cab off the rank, more or less, for tall(ish) defensive coverage, and he's able to provide a bit of run, but he really doesn't impress as an afl-level or afl-ready player 43. james harmes - 4/10. he was good in patches in three roles, from a marking half forward to a wingman and then as a defender, but his disposal is just nowehere near good enough 44. josh smith - unrated, hopefully he can continue to develop at casey next year and become a surprise packet 45. matt jones - 6.5/10. a really surprisingly successful season, he's a player who has got a lot out of himself and runs hard both ways; don't really want him in best 22, but he's better than other depth options at this stage 46. dean terlich - unrated, all the best for the future 47. max king - unrated, all the best for the future i think that's it? what's clear i think is that we desperately need: - a kurt tippett-type, a player who can play both forward and move into the ruck - watts has battled away admirably playing that role but he's not best-suited to it. - class and skill through the midfield, particularly players who can break lines, hit targets and impact the scoreboard, someone like a fit jaeger o'meara would be ideal, but we don't even seem to be in the conversation to land him, and he's not played a game for two years so fitness is a massive concern of course, these sort of stars hardly grow on trees! in terms of victorians that we could 'lure home' i'd love gaff and 2 metre peter please, preferably traded for a packet of stale twisties so as not to upset the balance of our list.

[censored] him!!

Watching the replay the TV cameras were constantly crossing over to our coaches box in the last half of the game. Never seen Roos as well as the rest of the coaches so disapointed ever. It must have really hurt.

Except the bulk of our best talent have played less than 50 games and many of those less than 30. A young GWS team lost to a lowly Melbourne in round 23 last year on their way to 11th (11 wins). They'll finish top 4 with 16 wins. As disappointing as yesterday was I won't be despairing too much. We'll be better again next year and the players have a pointed reminder as to where they need to take their game.

At the start of this season I wanted 10 wins, as it made our track improvement look substantial. Here it is under Roos: 2013- 2 wins (Before Roos) 2014- 4 wins (1st year) 2015- 7 wins (2nd year) 2016- 10 wins (3rd year) But now that we got 10 wins, i feel somewhat confused; greedy even. only because we have played some amazing footy against some sides and some atrocious footy against others. But by golly gosh we are now finally on the right path. Get on for the journey, finals is our goal next year!

Improved. Still a work in progress. Some dizzying highs and some disappointing lows. Saw some good signs from young guys like Hunt, Omac, Petracca, Clarry and others. Great to see the continued emergence of Viney and Gawn, as well as TMac and Tyson. But the highlight for me has been the emergence of Wattsy. Has always been a favourite of mine, and he has certainly repaid the faith this year. Couldn't be more rapt for him and the club

He's 22 and has had 2 poor weeks in a breakout year

2016 leadership group Jones Vince Viney (learning) Tmac (learning) Gawn (learning) Garland (can't get a game) 2015 leadership group Jones Dunn (can't get a game this year) Grimes (can't get a game this year) Dawes (can't get a game this year) H (injured but has been passed by others) Cross (retired) 2014 leadership group Jones (only one consistently having a crack) Grimes (was out of his depth) Trengove (was out of his depth) Clark (no comment) Garland (lack of other candidates) Frawley (had already left the building) Speaks volumes about where we're currently at.

He deserves success because he has battled so many illnesses and injuries and is still on an AFL list battling away. Plenty far less deserving than him going around... Think Frawley.

Because "the spring specialists" is already taken by Dawes's palms.

Teams we usually beat? We don't usually beat anyone.

I don't consider myself PC at all, but there's no way I can call the guy Pedo. #Peddersisbetters I like Pedders and his attack on the football, he crashes packs and keeps the opposition on their feet and more so than other players, gives 100%.

I mentioned this in the Game Day thread last week, I was 100% convinced our win rate and general stats were vastly superior with Pedo in the team. Nice to see the stats actually back that theory up. Seems very unlikely to be a pure coincidence. Here's to another year in the red and blue for Pedo!

Geelong has the best deal out of any of the clubs. 8 games a year at Skilled against minnow/rubbish sides, tricky conditions for away sides to deal with and 95% Geelong fans, then they have another handful down the road in Melbourne where they still have a massive supporter base (normally equal or more than the home side). They're a good club with a winning culture but their stadium deal is one of the key reasons they haven't finished lower than 12th since the AFL was introduced. [censored] them.

The players got ahead of themselves. Roos in his press conf: "We know that we're not a finals team. We've got a fair way to go to become a finals team. Sometimes the players need to see that, because they don't necessarily believe it. I think today was a stark reality and exactly where we're at as a footy club." So we win 3 in a row with one mighty win over the Hawks and suddenly the players think they can just walz into the 8. Yesterday was (another) goddamn wake up call for them. Hope it burns in them all summer (along with losses to Saints, Blues, Ess). Not disappointed we did not make finals - we are no where near ready. Just disappointed the players started believing the 'finals' hype in the media when there were still games to be played.

Yesterday showed us how to play against bottom teams - what the Cats did to us is what we should've done the Blues and Bombers, kill their hopes in the first 10 minutes/first quarter and watch them roll over.

all this statistical analysis is a bunch of hooey, the guy doesn't lead up to the ball carrier. Have a look at the way he plays when we're bringing th ball inside forward 50 with speed, he's always calling for the ball out the back, demanding an unrealistic 60-80 m ball to the top of the square (or more typically the forward pocket). For a kpf that has such a big "tank", why isn't he running his opponents ragged with hard leads back to goal then doubling back to the ball carrier and splitting packs like he was in his first year? My gut feel is that he's mentally checked out of the club, and has been playing the last month of footy in self-preservation mode (a la J. Howe last year). I may well be wrong of course, and if so, I'll support him as a part of the MFC, but my admiration for the way he plays the game has dwindled considerably this year and he'd want to pull out something special next year to win me back over.

Gets an additional (hopefully) four weeks of game time now thanks to this excellent selection decision. This will be far more beneficial for his development than a few extra weeks of holidays. Well done MFC. What do you reckon about that picket?

Lolita?

Not playing St Bloody Kilda twice at Etihad! Ridiculous!

The Cats already have a home ground advantage, 8 wins a year at Skilled.

Honestly - I'm super proud and excited to be a Demons supporter. We go to the footy each week now knowing our best footy can beat anyone. It's been a bloody long time since that was the case. We ran out of puff at the end of the year. That was hard to watch - but what we saw for the month before that was seriously quality. Brayshaw, Salem, Petracca, Hunt, Harmes, Kent, Hogan, Oliver, Weed, Omac, Frosty, Tyson, Viney and Gawn all have the potential to play 150 games together. If that happens it'll be an exciting period as a Dee. Ride the ups and downs of supporting a young team, but get behind us. It's an exciting time. Go Dees!

The expectations on our 1st & 2nd year players is ridiculous! He is just like any other young gun on our list who is playing the hardest position & will need time to develop & handle the position.

Right now the last two weeks are what I can think about when I think about this season. Maybe in a few days the disappointment will fade and I'll be able to recognize this year for what it actually is, an improvement. We have a long way to go to become a consistently reliable good side and our list is still to me only 80% AFL level. The biggest unknown going forward is whether Goodwin can actually coach.

To me the big surprise is just how well we did with the introduction of so many first year players. Surely the expectation, that gains over the last few years would see improvement but with established stronger bigger bodies. To have Lamumba, Dunne, Garland, Dawes, Grimes and Pederson play little or no part in the year would not have been part of the plan and the expectation should have been that this group lead our youngsters forward. This did not happen and the fall off in all this group is alarming. These are the seasoned bigger bodies expected to shield the kids. Geelong's and last week, Carlton's bigger bodies out muscled and tackled us. Not for the first time yesterday and throughout the year we were unable to stick tackles or break them. Do not have high expectations next year as many of this years youth will only be in their second year and there is often fall away in year 2. I see 2-3 years before we harden up, unless we get some older bodies in. Do not expect the young guys to automatically advance, Roos at his presser said they need to spend the next 8 weeks (their break) working hard to return to pre season well prepared. I am rapt in the progress of Oscar and emergence of Hunt and didn't see that coming. Oliver is a beast as is Trac and I like the way Frost streams out the backline. But each an every player needs to find improvement for next year. The leadership group is thin for experience and muscle and can we expect the same output next year from Nathan, Bernie and Neville. Desperately need a ruckman forward to support Max as all the big boys are running with 2 and the Eagles and Hawks will be scouting for similar. A good year with a sour end and no promise of advancement next year but certainly we have improved.

The 2013 Melbourne would have lost by 200 points yesterday. We've seen over the last few years that middle of the table sides can get flogged if they don't show up. Geelong last year lost by 111 points to Sydney. Ess with their '12' in the squad got done by 100 points a few times. I know 100 point defeats are terrible and shouldn't be accepted, but they're not as disasterous or rare as they're made out to be. Hawthorn were a 10 minute patch from losing by 100 to GWS. There aren't that many teams that can keep their worst under 100 points, So I do think the gap has narrowed.

[Scene: the roof of the members grandstand at Kardinia Park. It is night, and raining. The battered and bloody MFC playing group lie in various poses of distress and fear. Roos, naked except for a pair of bike shorts, approaches them and sits down cross legged.] Roos: Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a Melbourne player. [The Melbourne Football Club sits trembling waiting to be excoriated] Roos: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Ruck-rovers on fire on the wing at Victoria Park. I watched full-forwards glitter in the darkness at the old Adelaide oval. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain ... Time ... to retire. [Roos flies away on a magic surfboard] Melbourne players: I don't know why he saved our lives. Maybe in those last moments he loved football more than he ever had before. Not just his football, anybody's football, my football. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is Grimes in our best 22? All I could do was sit there and watch him retire.

I guess the simple approach would be to say that this is a young team and that they tired noticeably at the end of the season but we've also seen the younger players rested at strategic times during the season. Why have they tired so badly in comparison with the Essendon youngsters? In future, I don't think we can continue tolerating the situation where the team constantly fails miserably when the time comes to step up to the plate. Our performances against fellow 2015 bottom sixers Essendon, St Kilda (twice) and Carlton have been unacceptable. Yesterday, we dragged ourselves into the mire. If the signs were there that our younger players were flagging it might have been an idea to give some of our veterans like Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn or Col Garland a game that might have been a farewell to some very loyal servants who went through tough times for the club.

Some people need to calm down a bit, yeah that was a crap game but it doesn't define our season or our future. We still have one of the youngest lists/the youngest best 22 in the comp. We won 10 games in a season for the first time since 2006. Our percentage has improved year on year since 2013 to where we were about break even. Above all Geelong were playing for top 2 and are likely Grand Finalists (and runners up to the Swans). They're a quality team just tuning up whereas we are a young team just winding down. Things aren't so grim, we'll make finals in 2017.

Bruise free? We were [censored], or skills shucked and we let a free tackles slip but ask Dangerfield if we were bruise free. We went hard and scragged when we didn't have the ball, they just out played us.

Ten wins is a success. Especially when you consider four of our most experienced players Dunn, Garland, Dawes & Lumumba played less then 25 games between themselves. Most would of expected closer to 80. I was hoping for 9 wins at the start of the year and we got 10. Ended on as very sour note. But looking at the Richmond game, i suspect it could be a theme this week when teams playing for positioning in the 8 play teams playing for nothing.

Top response. If you can't see Hogan's ability beyond a few average performances then I don't think you've been watching the last two seasons.

9 of last 11 flags won by the three teams that will probably finish 1 2 3. And who will no doubt have the pick of the free agents. Dees going ok considering

Jesse hogan is dating jack watts sisters girlfriend, I believe (Source: Watts's interview stated it) She is from Melbourne, if this is a serious relationship, it would obviously increase the chances of jesse staying in Melbourne as she is from Melbourne. For those saying who cares if he leaves etc, are idiots, He is vital to our future. Of course jesse has his weaknesses, hence why its his second year of afl for goodness sake. Yes his attitude stinks at times, yes his kicking at some parts of THIS year have let him/us down, but he's just going through a patch at the moment that will turn out best for him and us. This year has been the year in my opinion that will shape him into the great player he will become, as his weaknesses have been revealed this year and thankfully, they are minor issues that are very fixable. Just to give you a quick run down Jesse Hogan 41 games 85 goals @2.07 goals per game (2.1). In addition averaged 6.7 marks in his first and year 7.1 this year! Everyone puts such high expectations on the kid, do you not realise how good of a return this is for a young man who has just 41 games under his belt, and in every one of those 41 games he has had to handle the oppositions best defender. to put it into perspective ill Show you the return of goals per game of of the elite forwards of the competitions first 34-45 games. As you would all agree the following three players are the best Key position forwards in the league, at the moment. Tom Lynch: First 41 games, 39 goals @0.95 goals per game Buddy Franklin: first 34 games, 52 goals @1.53 goals per game. Also remember in his first 34 games he wasn't getting the opponents best defender! Josh kennedy: first 45 games, 49 goals @1.08 goals per game, yet again wasn't getting the opponents best defender in his first 45 games. Some will argue that I've only gone through the statistic of goals and kicking goals do not measure who has had a better first two years, well guess what jesse kills them in every other stat as well (Disposals, marks, contested marks, and so forth) Just remember key position players take time to hit there peak... And that jesse wasn't the only one that looked disinterested etc today.. There were a handful. He will get over all of these hurdles and become a great, hopefully of the MFC! (Not freo)