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His wife secretly filmed it without knowing.. So bloody good!

3 players who could be our wildcards if we are to go deep into finals in my opinion. All 3 have barely played this year and yester showed their ruthless and ferocious attack and speed in our front half. Vanders for me was the one who set the benchmark for the game with his attack at the contest and pressure in the 1st qtr. Faded a bit as the game wore on, but hes building match fitness with each game and come week 1 of finals his pressure and tackling ferocity will come in hand big time. Amazing he bounced back up like a cat after that contest! This bloke is as tough as they come. Hannan is such a hardworking forward with his speed and pressure. I thought he had some crucial one on one contests with Hurn and was able to burn him the other way. A player in my opinion with x factor that could kick you quick 2 to 3 goals in a qtr. Kent only had 3 disposals in the 1st half but then came to light in the 2nd with some big tackles and pressure! Unlike Garlett, he hits the contest hard and adds good forward pressure when ball is on the deck. Kicked probaby one of if most important goals in 12 years.. big call, but if he had miss, WC potentially take it down the other end and kick a goal and scores are level. If he keeps himself fit then who knows what he can produce come September!? Just a quick mention to Sam Frost also. Quitely going under the rader for me. Has been HUGE since he's been bsck into the side and has held the backline up well. Another who could really help this club drive forward deep into September.

Awesome day at the footy for me as well. Was sat with my two kids in the Melbourne allotment, middle tier forward pocket at the end we attacked in the first quarter and what a start they gave us. Harmesey best on for mine by a mile, has really taken his game to a new level. Thought we got a really good run of it from the umps and viewing the replay has only confirmed what I suspected watching it live. Of course the overwhelming booing and complaining Eagles crowd made it feel even more so that we had gotten away with murder. What a fantastic stadium to watch footy at I must say. Atmosphere in that last quarter was electric, can't believe they fought back to win after going behind. Real character building stuff. To be honest I was quite confident that we'd go alright before the game, and only really panicked for about five minutes in the last quarter. We need to do something about our defence though, God we get sliced open so easily from the back 50. Highlight of the day was the passage of play that lead to Kents mark and set shot. Harmesey the architect, what a star. When he kicked truly, the supporters around us all looking at each other in disbelief saying "we're going to play finals!" To top off the day, Jonesy handed my son a footy at the end of the match and we proceeded to wander around the concourse high fiving other random Demons fans. Go you redlegs!!!

What a day! I've been wanting to post my thoughts for a while but yesterday I was too inebriated and this morning I'm hungover and have had to chuck a work sickie. I was fortunate to jag a last minute corporate gig for the WCE so it was on for young and old with free graze and froffs and sensational seating. Pity I was surrounded by the biggest bunch of sooking floggers you've ever come across. I posted in the game day thread that a fast start was the key and I was delighted to see it come to fruition even though the Eagles hit back with a couple of late goals. The stadium was eerily silent after every goal we slotted and it was glorious. Their supporters are feral like you wouldn't believe and I'm sure guys like yourself and others who were there to witness it would agree. They boo at everything that goes against them even when it's an obvious infringement. I actually thought it was one of the better performances from the maggots that I've seen this season except for the howler against VDB that game a goal to Cripps. Anyway, the game was excellent. It was very reassuring to see the Weed get amongst it and based on yesterday's performance I think he'll make it. James Harmes is fast becoming a fave. Just an all round great game to continue his rise from the rookie list. Gawn - just give him the Brownlow. VDB - great to see some mongrel back in the team but I think he'll be in hot water for the elbow on Rioli. We missed his and Hibberd's attack on the footy so badly. Brayshaw continues to look more comfortable and making better decisions. The intensity was awesome to watch live. It's a different feeling at the game and our pressure on the opposition was very pleasing to see and the umps found just the right balance in adjudicating those instances. It was just a superb day. I could go on and on but it'd get to tldr stage. Trust you fully enjoyed the trip and bet you'd like to take some of this Perth weather home with you.

I can't put my finger on it.... But, there is a subtle change in tone on this forum compared with last Monday. Any thoughts?

It’s sometimes easy to forget about former players and how much they care about the club. Guys like Lyon, Green, Neita, Schwartz, and many more have been watching on in frustration the same as us for years. I was watching from my London flat match starting at 6:20am, when Kent kicked that goal and I yelled “c’mon Dees, f*** yeah!” I think I woke the entire neighbourhood! Certainly my housemates! ?

Gotta love the Ox! ?? Matt, Jimmy and Tony @1278Breakfast Schwarz: "I did the finals predictor - We are playing Richmond in the Grand Final - We will win that."

Let me tell you a story. Last week, when I got home from the Sydney game, I had a most bittersweet moment. I’ve been teaching my 3.5 yo twin girls about footy and the Dees. They haven’t been to a match yet (wouldn’t last a quarter!), but I take them to watch the local Girls’ team and the Thirds play at our local EFL ground. They call out and point to anyone playing footy ‘look daddy there’s a demon!’. They know we like red and blue. They can pick out the Dees mascot in their toddler AFL book. The brainwashing is working. And they know about 75% of ‘grand old flag’. Anyway, when I was leaving the G last week in a [censored] rage, I made the obligatory text to my non-football-loving lady that I was on my way home. Without caring to check if we had won or not, she had a ‘grand old flag’ singalong with the girls queued up for when I walked through the door, complete with flags and scarves. I smiled , shook my head and said maybe we should save it for the next win. I’d gotten 2 new flags for the girls but left them bitterly in the boot of the car. Their smiling faces beneath their Dees beanies just ripped my bloody heart out; as much as the club had an hour earlier. It took every ounce of mindfulness to enjoy the moment for what it was, albeit gut wrenching. Today, the girls were obliviously playing elsewhere as I watched us forge a win to get us into finals for the first time in 12 years. A third of my lifetime. Once Kent kicked that goal, I got the flags from the boot of the car, put the girls beanies on and made them watch the dying minutes. We danced around the coffee table, waving flags, me choking back tears and the girls loudly singing ‘grand old flag’ on its 14th repeat. And they knew all the words. The future is bright, people. ❤️?

Frost has improved out of sight. Even his kicks have been hitting targets and hes lowering the eyes. Looks like a new player.

Delayed flight over Cancelled flight back Just got in the door Oh yeah:

Brilliant! I wonder how many Demonlander lounge rooms were like that on Sunday evening. I know mine was.

Last night I had the strangest dream. I dreamt we beat West Coast in the West And we were in the finals. No, wait, it’s true! Still hard to believe after 12 years. My brother came around after the game. We had a BIG brother-sister hug (about 3 minutes.) I swear he was crying and he’s not a cryer. Then we sat for an hour going over the match and how hard it’s been for so long. Haven’t seen him this happy since his son was born. This is what we deserved after over 40,000 fans signed up. Finally reaping the rewards

Yeah, you're a [censored] Wiseblood.

It would hurt him to see us in the finals after all these years and for him not to be a part of it. He didn't force a move, the club just believed it was time to move on. We made the right decision, but I also feel a little bad for the guy. He would have been pumped to be part of this after all that time. Hopefully he will still be cheering us on in September.

Come on, it wasn't his choice.

Playing a borderline finals team at home, who was missing its best mid, kpd and kpf. Absolute disgrace. VFL making sure a Victorian team is in the 8 He Lecras, no good having a crack after the siren ya spud, how you get a game in front of Waterman is anyone’s guess Umps propping up the Vic teams they are a disgrace We are really getting done on the free kicks. Melbourne are much dirtier than I expected. I had to turn off the TV commentary and the radio is much better Melbourne got lucky soon as darling went down I knew it was game over The dees are a dirty team and cheat to get the win they suck Gawn killed us. Three votes easily. lol at that umpiring. Outstanding effort to get Melbourne over the line, brown paper bag stuff. Melbourne hype this week from the media will be nauseating. Last time the demons made the finals, we won the premiership Was always going to happen v the Dees this - they are a very good contested side. It was actually a really good quality game and Melbourne deserved the win. They took all our punches and rolled with them. Good on them. F U C k Melbourne! Cheating campaigners, they don't deserve [censored]! Scott Lycett. Just couldn’t go with the best ruckman around. Comprehensively beaten in key contests. Pay him #1 ruck money at our peril. He’s still a second banana. VFL umpiring. If that continues for Melbourne then it’s obvious that they’re the next Western Bulldogs who won GF with umps turning a blind eye to throwing. Today we saw continuous throwing, incorrect disposal, HTB, high tackles, Holding the man, scragging and stray elbows continuously not paid against the Dee’s. Pathetic. Would rather see port make it then Melbourne Gawn took us to the cleaners The good news is it means Melbourne will play finals. That's basically an insta win. Under finals pressure they'll fold like a house of cards. Only reason they won is cause Darling went down early, no kennedy and the umpires handed it to them. Mark my words they are trash. Not to excuse our pathetic effort today, but I'd love to play them in September, they are not a good football team. What a [censored] team. Bunch of selwoods Why would barrass run off Melksham? That was [censored] We have some seriously dumb players.

Well he can go F himself the arrogant turd.

For Sale- Ski lift tickets. Valid for September. Any offers considered.

jack had a day out on media street a few weeks ago about how normally at that time of year he was planning what he'd do on his holidays in september and he was looking forward to finally tasting finals footy in 2018 yeah...but nah... i still can't fathom that a player of his undoubted skill has been dropped by every senior coach he has had throughout ten years in the system; it's an absolute indictment on him as a player so happy to have fritsch!

No one wanted Sam Frost in the team an oversight by the Coaching Panel by necessity he was bought in. He wasn't in earlier and i dont know why, especially a man that size and his closing speed. His distribution has improved out of sight, on ya Frosty.?

We had VIney, Lever and Hogan out, and Hibberd was at times running around on one leg - that's four of our 10 best players - yet we still scored 108 in the heat on the road against the 2nd best side in the competition. Relax a bit. Agreed (obviously no Kennedy and no Darling helps with that of course). There was a point when Vardy looked like he was going to start to become a problem for Oscar but to Oscar's, and the team's, credit that didn't happen.

Great work by the back six to only allow 8 marks inside 50 for WC.

I’ll leave this here ❤️ WHY NOT US

Vanders fined and Oscar with no case to answer. ?

I've mentioned before how Frosty was done in by Jordy and the precise ball movement set, but the loss to the pacey Pies I think made Goody realise that you need a mix of players to be successful. The topic was about the other three. Hannan's first half was as good as any medium forward we have had - including Robbo and Brad Green and further back to Yze and Gerard Healy (circa 1982). Obviously it will be hard to repeat, but provided he attacks the pill like that, he will be an asset during the finals - possibly a bit like Warren Dean of 1987 finals series. Vanders is the most dangerous player at the club - with Viney out, he's the one player you don't want to draw in team tackling drills. He a different personality to others on our team, but he's got some amazing abilities and he's been a part of all our big wins in the past four years (except last year when he was out). That includes BOG v Richmond in our first ever Anzac Eve night game and on Hodgey v Hawthorn in 2016. And people don't realise this but with Jayden injured, he's the fastest straight-line sprinter in the team over distance from 40m to 75m - Frosty can get to him by 80m. Kent is a bit of an enigma and has lacked confidence and smarts at times, but his second half yesterday was huge. Unfortunately after what has happened to him under Goody, I had written him off playing such a key role, but there he was - back to the talented left-footer with the thumping kick that he showed us all in 2016.

From titus "After the game, a lot of people contacted me to say I’d have to give up my ski lodge booking now. How little people understand us Melbourne supporters, we don’t book ski lodges; we own them."

I gotta say it’s incredibly entertaining reading all the salty WC fans complaining about the umpires. Do they seriously not know how much the umpires usually favour them in Perth? It’s about time they actually experienced a contest where the umpires were even with their decisions.

I just... the sweet sweet joy of knowing that Melksham was absolutely hated by Essendon fans, and now he's playing better than ever and it turns out the problem was Essendon all along.

I want to play Geelong in finals. I want to pulverise them. Actually no, I want to win by a point after the siren from a Gawn free kick in front of goal. I want Ablett to retire. I want Geelong players to suffer. I want Scott's head to explode in the box. I want someone to knock out Selwood and Dangerfield. I want to sweet sweet revenge and justice.

As if we’re going to let either of them go other than for massive overs Frost would be depth at most finals-bound clubs and for the moment has guaranteed himself, injury-permitting, in finals football in 2018 Weed is a young developing key forward who has played bugger all football as a junior and there’s no way we’ll let him go He was fantastic today, really attacking the ball and kicking it beautifully He was cooked by midway through the third term but buttered up at the contest time and time again Saw three of his junior games and still think he’ll be the pick of the key forwards of his draft year...Curnow or no Curnow Kid has what it takes to be a serious, serious footballer

Lets be serious though.. The way our half forwards crash and tackle with such high intensity, there is no way Jack Watts would have fitted into that forward line at all. There is a pattern in the Simon Goodwin game style this year and hence why Jeff Garlett has struggled this year. Even Fritsch for someone so skinny will courageously fly across packs and go for those marks. I look at someone like Sam Weideman yesterday and some of his tackling and pack marking was something i never saw from Jack Watts at all from his career. He would not have been in our best 22 yesterday.

I haven't teared up at all... until now. So bloody good! Now for the important question, when can we draft his son? Will he be a good replacement for Hogan? Is he a left footer? How are his toes and feet?

Probably something similar to Deledio, though Deledio wanted to leave the Tigers and Jack didn't want to leave us. I feel a bit sorry for Jack, but he hopefully has next year to try again. At the same time I also feel sorry for JT. Both boys were loyal Dees and would have loved to play finals with us.

This is a weird feeling not being miserable. Im not used to it and I don’t like it.

He's nothing like Sylvia. Some of his field kicking is sublime...Col wouldn't have even seen the teammate let alone hit him up. The kid is 22yo, missed a full season with a knee & is playing a position that by it's nature means he's going to have quiet patches. He had a significant impact on the result today.

Weid took 4 contested marks on the weekend. That was the most of anyone on the ground, and more than Hogan has taken in any match this year (his best is 3). No wonder the club are so bullish about him being a dominant aerial threat in the future. He's still got a ton of development ahead of him and he's already able to clunk them! Great to see Weid show some of his talent on the weekend. Hopefully he keeps up that form and doesn't tire. He could be vital for our structure in finals.

Wrong. But even if I did want him back, to stick the boot into him for missing the finals is not nice. To blame him (or probably any one individual) for the last 12 years is ridiculous. We had plenty of other half-arsed players but he gets stick because he was the #1 pick messiah. Nothing more likely to make people bitter than a failed messiah.

He looks like he's not that far off his height already. No idea how old he is but he looks young enough to still be growing for a while yet. Can't wait to scream Schwarter again. I nearly got killed doing that at Victoria Park once standing in the Collingwood members area. Hundreds of Pies supporters turned as one like a mob of meerkats with murder in their eyes. The official AFL usher came up to me slapped me on the shoulder and told me to shut up or [censored] off. I think he was saying it for my own welfare. We won that day when they thought they were going to win and get in the finals. It was when Jakovich kicked 7.5 on Gary Pert. Great day to be alive and an even better day to get out of there alive.

That's life unfortunately, he had a few goes.

What a picture.

Paul Roos commenting on the Melbourne Instagram page. We’ve come a long way since he and PJ came to the club.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/08/20/injured-demons-skipper-viney-will-be-cherry-ripe-for-first-final-goodwin/ Great news. Selection for the first final will be very interesting, especially if we beat GWS and all the mids perform well.

Hi all I've been a member of Demonland since September 3, 2009. In that time, we've experienced very few highs (if any), but a tremendous amount of lows. On Demonland, I've had many a great discussion, sometimes heated, sometimes just a general disagreement of opinions, and many times just a great chat about a particular topic. Having this forum to vent has definitely made dealing with the tough times a little bit easier to cope with. Since I joined, I've had my father, the reason why I support this great club, pass away. I've also sired two terrific kids - keeping my family's tradition alive with my young bloke being a Demon. It's been some journey. To the likes of Old Dee, Sir Why You Little, RPFC, Beelzebub, you guys were here before I started, but I've enjoyed may interactions with you all. To Andy and the Demonland team (Nasher, Whispering Jack, et al), thank you for creating a place for us to call home. In recent years, the fun and frivolity that Uncle Bitter, Moonie and Biffen bring has been priceless, as has the honesty of Pro Dee. But now, for the first time since I've been a member of this wonderful forum (approaching 9 years), we're in the finals! Making the finals is a great achievement for where this team has come from. There were absolutely times that I wondered if my young bloke would grow up being able to support the same team as his dad, like what his dad did too. We're still a long way from the pinnacle, but for this year, as Chris Scott keeps saying, we've made the "tournament" so who knows what will happen from here. Congratulations to all posters for sticking with the club. Yes, some of you may have threatened to shut up shop, I have probably felt it at times myself, but deep down, we're all Demons, red and blue, through and through. We deserve to get excited about the next few weeks, and even if it doesn't last as long as we hope, we've made a significant step in 2018 to becoming a relevant club again. Enjoy the ride. Go Dees.

Garlett is the definition of a front runner, which is very frustrating, because he has all the instinct and talent, but NOT what we want in finals. Watch Charlie Spargo rise to the occasion after a week off into finals.

I do voluntary work for the salvo"s for approx. 23 hours a week and have done for nearly 4 years and prior to that, I worked closely with the financial consultants and the Major in charge of Southern Australia at their Bourke Street mission for over 3 years so I have a fair idea of the work they do and I am calling crap on your post.

Does anyone think this might be artificially inflated due to whiplash from the OMac tackle?

On holidays in Hawaii and couldn’t get the game or even score updates last night. So I’m now poolside, working up a sweat drinking birthday beers, and soaking up ALL the great good news comments on DLand. Well done boys! Such a great relief to be in the finals at last! Get on a roll now lads for the next 4 games!!

For sale: 1 reality bus! 06’ model, plenty of miles on it and painted red and blue. I’ll even throw in a driver, he has glasses and a facial tick when the going gets tough. It’s full of down hill skiers and thing like 186, AFL breaches that weren’t breaches and a wooden desk... Ahh bugger it I’ll give it away for free.

It's great to get that monkey off our backs. I'm hoping this now releases the mental shackles and allows us to really attack GWS and Week 1 of the finals. We tried our best to throw it all away again though. However, I thought Gawn was outstanding. He's not necessarily dominating in the hit outs every stoppage, but his influence around the ground has been better in the last fortnight or so, than it's been for the entire year IMO. Jake Melksham was also vital as usual and our ball movement looked really dangerous and crisp. The Eagles allowed us to play it this way, which is interesting. I think Goodwin outcoached Simpson this week. We knew exactly how to beat them, executed and the Eagles had no answers - particularly, after Darling went down. Jones is a big worry for mine though. The opposition sag off him on the outside, because they know he's not damaging and then he's too slow on the inside. When Brayshaw improves his defensive running (which is almost non existent and at times costly), he will become the leader that we lack to support Max and Clarry in the middle. He has a knack of kicking clutch goals. Getting Viney back in this side, alongside Oliver, Gus and Harmes, and we will be very hard to stop. I think a lot of today seemed to be mental though. They had Kennedy, Gaff, NikNat and then Darling out - probably 4 of their 5 best players - yet we almost let them kick over 100 points. Now that we've made finals, I think the psychology of this will really enable us to take that next step. Meanwhile, Nev Jetta, take a bow. He's struggled in the second half of the year, but he was superb today. A real leader's game. Other highlights were Harmes' continued improvement (I'm loving that - completely unexpected - he's becoming a very good footballer) and Salem's poise was important all the way through the game. He's such a good decision maker and executor. Unfortunately though, ANB can still not handle the pressure of a hot footy. This is worrying. But, at least he was cleaner on the outside. I'm in Perth next week for business so I'll miss my first game in Victoria for many years. It's disappointing, because I reckon we could pinch it next week.

We'd be incredibly stupid to rest players who are otherwise fit. We need every chance we can get to improve our MCG game if we want to be successful in finals, and it's possible our first final will be at the G whether we win or lose (it could be that a win gives us Geelong but a loss gives us Hawthorn, for example). The confidence we would get from improving our top 8 record going into our first final in 12 years would be enormous. Hibberd might have tweaked a hamstring but other than that, and assuming no other injuries, I'd give this 22 the chance to build more momentum next week. I do not understand anyone suggesting Weideman isn't a lock for next week. He gave us everything we needed (other than his shanked set shot). He showed strong leading up at the ball and some great marking, he got well involved in play up the field, and he wasn't terrible in the ruck. I was really happy with him. In saying all of this, Kent only played one quarter, ANB played another poor game, Spargo is struggling (he's lucky Garlett and Bugg are no better) and VDB doesn't look fit enough to run out full games. I'm happy to back all four in (especially ANB given his form over the year) but we'd want to see some improvement from some.