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Goodwin: Jack Viney hasn’t been ruled out yet. He will have an important training session today + he will make a call on his fitness - he knows his body well. — Melbourne FC (@melbournefc) May 7, 2019 Jack has a poor record of judging when fit to play. By his own admission he returned early from his foot injury in 2017 and has had long periods on the sidelines and/or managed game time since. His game time was managed in games early in the season. Ditto vs Hawks - he played about 2 of the first 3 qtrs (prior to the shoulder injury). This suggests something other than the shoulder injury is causing the managed game times. Have someone else make the decision!

May turned up unfit. The club was not happy and justifiably so. This was poor form, and unprofessional. Since then: - May trained well, he seemed to integrate well with the players, and he got fit; - he got suspended for a hit during a pre-season game, which was at best a line ball suspension, and which ruled him out for the first game of the season - Bernie Vince (a club favourite) and Jordan Lewis (a leader in the club) have done much worse during the actual season, and far more regularly - in any event, we need May’s hardness in defence, so while disappointing, it was hardly a hangable offence; - he then did his hammy - there is little evidence to suggest that this was related to the condition at which he arrived at the club as he got fit - if anything it’s probably Misson’s fault; - he then seems to have had a few beers at the pub last Sunday afternoon - which Paul Roos expressly asked Tom Morris on OTC, “was this just one or two beers?”, to which Tom Morris replied “no, it was a drinking session” - seems like a sensationalist non-story to me, and yet it’s triggered this - hook, line and sinker. Some of you seem intent on putting the boot into our players whenever there’s a sniff of an opportunity to do so. Anyway - I’m looking forward to seeing a fit May back in the team. I think he’ll add a lot. I reckon we should be getting around him, not falling for this sensationalist carp. And, fair dinkum, some of the nanny state attitudes here wouldn’t be out of place in Iran.

I need to think a bit more about this line. It's making my brain hurt: "No one externally can see the position he is in except for those on the inside..."

The one thing this article has done is clarify my understanding around May returning unfit. May's own words: “I came back in what I usually do if not a bit better,” May told Fox Sports News’ AFL Tonight. “And I got to the Dees and their standards were a lot shorter: everyone had to be under certain skinfolds and time trials had to be elite. “After that first time-trial and after the first couple of sessions I went: ‘Wow, these guys are flying, I need to get up to speed here". “I went and saw the dietitian, saw the strength and conditioning coach, saw the coaches and put in a plan and executed that and got myself in good condition. “That was my first pre-season (at Melbourne) that can’t happen again and certainly won’t because I’ve educated myself and the club has educated me on what’s required at the Demons" Not sure what the hanging offence is here on May's behalf? The club obviously didn't make it clear what shape he needed to be in when he started his new job. He arrived, found out the standards, and rectified the short-coming.

Within a few rounds, some journeyman mug player will whack someone in the head, with a raised elbow, airborne, and will cop 4 weeks, because (a) the head is sacrosanct!, and (b) no one in the media will be sticking up for them, saying "aw, we don't want to see players rubbed out just because of something like that" The whole issue is not how many weeks it deserves. Give it nothing, or give it 8 weeks. Give it anything you want. But give the same thing every time, every player, for that offence. The current chooklotto, with inside running for stars, is what pisses people off.

Jayden Hunt will be our special guest on the next Demonland Podcast (14/5) LIVE @ 8:30pm Got a question for Jayden then let us know.

1920s prison haircuts are all the rage. Worst group-think of any generation.

What? Did we trade Tom McDonald when I wasn't looking. The myths around Hogan are giving me the shlts! Hogan never kicked 50 goals in a season. Hogan has not been our top goal scorer over the last two seasons. Hogan has kicked less this season than Jayden Hunt! Oh and if you think he is up the ground doing more then, Less metres gained than Hunt Less tackles than Hunt Worse disposal efficiency than Hunt Less contested possessions than Hunt Lower Supercoach score than Hunt Why did I compare Hogan to Hunt? Because he is our whipping boy but apparently Hogan is a superstar. Get over Hogan, he is gone.

I have a feeling Barrett could have easily written this story the opposite way depending on which way the wind was blowing.

This reminds me a lot of dartgate last year. The club’s message has basically been “we know you’re going through some stuff, we’re behind you, but please try not to get caught next time”. I was annoyed about this at first, but no club sanction at all tells me all I need to know about how big a deal this is. And as always, big thumbs down to the tool who took the photo and ran to the media with it.

Don’t worry, he’s just drunk.

I wish the Essendon parents had come out and criticised EFC about the experimental drug program. If your son was visibly in pain and put back on the field in a practise match you would have every right to complain in my opinion.

It’s a dog act to sensationalise an undercover pic taken by some sniper on a Sunday afternoon in a pub and dress it up as Watergate on national tv.

Speaking of drinking sessions, thought this might lighten the mood a little...

I’ve seen some crazy Liverpool comebacks, especially in Europe, but that was virtually impossible in my mind. I can’t belive it happened. Probably the most emotional I’ve been over sport in a long time, especially after the low of that Kompany missile.

Should have been part of the Hogan deal...

Remember when we were almost a destination club. Good times.

One hopes your mangled use of metaphor is sophisticated satire, making a comment on the woeful standard of football journalism. But i fear that may not be the case....

Jack has a poor record of judging when fit to play. By his own admission he returned early from his foot injury in 2017 and has had long periods on the sidelines and/or managed game time since. His game time was managed in games early in the season. Ditto vs Hawks - he played about 2 of the first 3 qtrs (prior to the shoulder injury). This suggests something other than the shoulder injury is causing the managed game times. Have someone else make the decision! When I heard this (he will make a call, he know's his body well) I almost drove off the road... Jack is the last person to ask. I think the decision needs to be taken out of his hands, he's proven in the past that he is the last person to be given the responsibility. We employ medicos for a reason. Once the player says they are right to play the final decision should always be with them in consultation with the coach.

Ask him about his hair care routine. I need those luscious locks for my wedding! ?

Who is the boy to the left of Goodwin in the press conference? Why is you are bald would you wear a red toupee?

The culture in Australia is messed up beyond belief. The person taking a picture of someone having a beer knowing it will cause a stir. The media reporting it from a sensationalist angle. A good portion of the public getting up in arms. The football club forced to tsk tsk due to public perceptions. The (sensationalist) media personality then pointing the finger at club for nanny-state like behaviour. I'm not in Australia so I half don't give a [censored]. But it hurts seeing what has happened to my homeland. Here's a decent call to arms from Kerry O'Brien, upon his resignation from the ABC, be it for the left or right. From 2011, since proven to be so very prescient! See:

That this is a ‘breaking story’ is the stuff of Working Dog’s Frontline television series. It seems pretty clear it was not actually ‘a big drinking session’ as claimed by Tom Morris on OTC. I reckon Steven May will turn out to be a bloody good player for us. And this is not a big deal, albeit it is an issue that the club seems not to have not handled particularly well. It all points to a quiet news day in Melbourne on Monday.

The afl needs to change and reprimand based on whether the action is part of the game or not. There are too many elbows and punches being thrown at the moment. These aren’t part of the game. There should be two tables - one for dangerous tackles/bumps (part of the game) and another for punches/kicks/eye gouging etc (not part of the game). The not part of the game needs a double penalty loading.

I'm just thinking: what did Shaun Smith hope to achieve by going public with his concerns? Was he thinking it would increase attention for his son and get him more medical help? Was he indicating that his son is unhappy and other clubs might enquire? Did he think this might hurt the reputation of Misson? I understand his frustration, but I don't see what positives could come out of such a public spray. I wonder if this has more potential to damage the relationship between Shaun, Joel and the club than improve it.

Steven May got 2 weeks for holding his ground

If you think that's worthy of a suspension maybe stop watching AFL and go find something better to do. I'd lose the plot if one of our guys was suspended for that. Chrisso just generated some free publicity for the media for a couple of days.

You must be joking. No way that deserved a week. One hand hit the face then a forearm. Momentum took him fwd. free kick maybe a fine that’s it.

Well, one can only draw the conclusion that the head is sacrosanct. ANY contact with the head will get you weeks. The AFL have made it clear they are determined to rub this out of the game. They are uncompromising on this. No excuses, no exceptions.

Shaun Smith has had a long battle with his concussion based injuries suffered during his 20 years in the AFL/VFL system. He has been long campaigning for changes and has donated brain tissue to science for research in the area. From what i understand he didnt really want his son playing AFL in the first place, but of course left the decision to him. He would be one of the first to question any perceived lack of proper management in any case of an injury to his son, and so you can see where he is coming from. Its not at all surprising to hear from him in this case. We wish Shaun all the best in his efforts to recover.

Just doing some quiet show prep. Too soon?

Yep hes been battling through a relationship break down. It has been very hard on him and no excuse but contributing factor to a few things. Roosy, the club and most journos out there know this. The club has and is putting they're arms around him. The meeting tomorrow is a non issue Gutter Journalism to a good bloke having a rough time.

Agree he was terrible. I just re watched the last play of the game, where Frost spoiled a Wingard mark 20 out, then tapped the ball on and then threw himself onto the ball, scooped it up and hand balled it to Lewis, who promptly fumbled it and dropped it and if not for Perracca grabbing it could have lost us the game. This on top of his multiple turnovers throughout the game. Lewis was diabolical and if his name was Bill Smith he would not get another game with us. He was a great player but not anymore.

Kielty's debut is an interesting experience in social media. Drunkn is a fantastic contributor to Demonland and gives us a unique insight into how a player's family ride all the bumps with their son, brother, partner. I have big hopes for Kielty and hope he has a fantastic career with us, but the site in general has been much more accommodating of him as a player than we have with most others. We would do well to remember that every player in our team has a family and afford them the same respect that we have for the number 45.

It’s a story because we are paying 750K a year and gave up our leading goal scorer forward for a player who has been injured twice, suspended once, turned up unfit and is yet to play a full game for us.

Melbourne players and coaches reprimanding him for having a beer I can understand; Melbourne fans and AFL fans reprimanding him is depressing.

Except Rozee went at 5 and we had pick 6 which ended up being King, who is yet to get a game

When the chips are down and the news is bad the Village idiot never disappoints with an appearance on Demonland with his/her/it's hindsight input

Good sense. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/may-your-news-be-good-news-20190507-p51kyg.html

Not intentional? Pull the other one.

Wow, we are on page 11 of this topic. I was disappointed with May, but in hindsight, learning about his personal problems and now that he has apologized for his "indiscretion" and wants to move on, I am glad he only had a few beers with a couple of mates instead of staying home alone and swallowing some pills to deal with his problems. Let's hope he gets the support he needs from Melbourne and he can get stuck into some hard work as a way to take his mind off things with his team mates around him. And beware of anyone with a mobile phone in their hands. They can be deadly weapons.

Not really. Was deemed careless rather than intentional. Gets off because no priors, that gets him across the line. Theres not a final next week or brownlow in contention. System is flawed tho..

How about a bit of respect for the club that gave you a shot Shaun. Understand you are upset but tell the club, not the world. We don’t have a hope of attracting talent in the trade period at this rate

It's a massive fail by many at the club. I spoke to a player a few days after that match. We went in with a squad 2 less than what we were entitled to, we then lost 2 players to injury before halftime . Consequently, this particular player (among others I assume) had to play far more game time than planned. That player has been hampered by injury this year also. Coincidence maybe but who would know.... Nobody at the club that's for sure. Amatuer hour.

Amateur hour all right. A lot of amateur medicos on this site. Wouldn't know a knee from an elbow. Going off half-cocked. Must be the time of day.

I am unconvinced. Sadly as I think he was what improved us out of sight in the last six weeks of 2018.