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Brian Taylor is a [censored]

I've watched good teams play ordinary football and keep racking up wins for years. It's pretty bloody exciting to finally follow a team doing the same. Great signs. And Viney makes us better. He's important.

The Bad: We are yet to play our best football The Good: We are yet to play our best football

I love Ed Langdon. It needed to be said.

Good teams just find a way to win. 26 points up with a couple of minutes to go and our boys are still chasing opponents down. Keep accumulating those 4 points.

I liked Weeds game today and thought he presented to the right areas and worked really hard on a day not really suited to talls. The crowd cheered him every time he got near it and feel he is a bit of a favorite amongst the fans really wanting him to succeed.

this "lever cost two first round draft picks" narrative that gets trotted out ignored WHERE those first round picks were and what else was bundled with them pick 10 in 2017 and (what ended up being) pick 19 and pick 59 in 2018 for lever, pick 35 in 2017, and (what ended up being) pick 47 so it was jake lever, harrison petty (pick 35), and matthew parker (selected by the aints at pick 47) for lochie o'brien (pick 10), liam stocker (pick 19), brett bewley (pick 59) i'd say we're 'winning' that trade by the length of the flemington straight

It's a big day for your good old Uncle Bitter - first live game since this corolla business started! I,ve noted some comments during the week that this is a danger game or the one we are 'due to lose" Bah Humbug to that! We've got them well covered for quality on every line but our forward line, in particular, has just too many ways to goal for their one man defence. [censored] I hate Carlton. We owe them plenty. I intend giving the bar staff at the G a good workout today.

I think Rivers and Hunt were the unheralded stars of todays win. Both make a few mistakes at times but they both cover a heap of ground to fill the gaps that allow the talls to drop back and outnumber. If generating a spare behind the ball was easy then every team would do it. Rivers had a number of crucial intercepts and Hunt made a great spoil on McKay that led to a goal in the 3rd to consolidate the break. Probably the same thing goes for ANB and Spargo at the other end. They also cover a heap of ground. Spargo's crucial quick hands were delightful and ANB put in another great shift of running. We were too tall and short up forward when the ideal set up is more mid sized players (Jackson and a resting mid for me), but the extra small in Chandler did a nice job making sure the pressure lifted in the 3rd. Nice return to form for Fritsch as well. A couple of bullet passes and if he was umpired the same way Harry McKay is he could've kicked 5.

BT -“ The fans are quiet because Melbourne supporters are bored of winning.” I have no words….. The most ridiculous comment I have heard in a long time.

Nice to read a sensible comment. Course it was a good win, against a dangerous opponent - one which was 5 goals up against the Bulldogs well into the third last week. So much woebegone whining on this site. The reality is this: we are 9 - 0. Be appreciative, for God's sake.

I actually thought it was a great win. There were long periods of the game where there wasn’t much scoring - that to me says the game was a genuine arm wrestle. We scored heavily in the periods where we had ascendency and defended like Demons(!) during the period where they had it. I reckon the “meh, just a win” people are ratcheting the bar up a tad too high.

Article in the little paper where Mick Malthouse compares Carltons list to Melbournes list and saying they are very similar. He then goes on to compare the stats of a number of players including comparing Pickett with Marc Murphy suggesting Pickett's only look better because we are winning. Seriously. Someone should take away his crayon.

I’m so confident these days I don’t even bother to check who we’re playing. Are our opponents today any good?

Melbourne hasn’t lost a game when James “Michael” Jordon is in the team

Flown in from Cairns and I can tell you that in Victoria the toilet seats are very cold.

I couldn't go today so had to watch it on the box. I was getting seriously furious with BT. It wasn't just that stupid comment. His vaudeville routine about how quiet went for the whole first half and was replaced by a routine about him not rating us blah blah blah, that the whole team bar bartel joined in on. Pathetic and disrespectful to the club and fans watching On Bartel, i have to say i'm really impressed with him. Actually brings some solid analysis to the role of special comments (eg his comment explaining why the clearance differential was not an issue and the pressure we put on the player trying to kick from the clearance). And i love how he doesn't play along with BT's clowning.

No one has mentioned Hibbo. Meggs just loves what he brings each week. Warrior who does his job. Betts had 12 disposals and 1.3.

Addendum: please Footy Gods, let it be Essendon. I would settle for Collingwood.

TMAC is out clutch man.. kicks important goals

Starting to trust Petty.

Ugh. Second on the ladder is SO round five. ?

Yep. Move our best forward by far out of the forward line. Brilliant.

I’m not sure how others read his game but I thought Harmes backed up last weeks good performance with another solid game. Still did a couple of “Harmes things” but he tackled and was solid at the contest. For a bloke that is maligned by some of the fans I feel like he’s proving a point that he can play a role. I gotta also say, Spargo is the guy that just gives us a goal when we need it. It was really good play from Chandler but yet again Spargo bobs up at the right time. When he kicked that first goal of the last I breathed easy.

We’re getting a lot of mentions of “dribble”. Unless it’s about a trickle or basketball, the word is drivel. Ie, nonsense. There, I’ve said it!

The more I see of this young man the more I love him. I haven't watched the game yet but on the Highlights I saw how he called his shot for goal 'touched' straight away. Kudos to him for that. I also noted last week that he held out his hand to two opposition players and helped them back on their feet. That's the kind of sportsmanship I really respect.

Out: Jake Melksham

I reckon we need to give Chandler a run. Loved his over the head handball to Spargo for a goal. Dropping him after a week won’t be great for his long term confidence.

Take a bow.. Tmac Oliver May Salem Thats nine zero folks. Go you beautful Demons. Cameos from Kozzie and Nibbler. Thought Gus was better

Great point. They worked so hard. And that work by them an others means teams can't just switch to break us down and get an easy transition (compare our work rate to our loss against the dogs last year - chalk and cheese) There was one play where Rivers busted a gut to cover the outlet. We ended up winning it back and going back inside 50. Fair play to bartel he pointed the work rate out (hunt might also have been involved?) I absolutely loved Olver's defensive work rate and defensive running today too. I thought that part of his game was critical in the first half. That run down of cripps was something he just wanted doing until this year. First class work rate from Clarry today.

This was Bartel. “If you finish in the top 4, you’re guaranteed a GF berth.” That’s going to make a huge difference to my Quinella betting!

Happy to have backed Petty in last week. I think it's totally reasonable for a young KPD, playing in a system defense, to take a game or two to find his rhythm. It's silly to think he'd be playing at the top of his capability in game one. He's never played any more than 3 games in a row as a defender, the writing off of him was nuts. I'm a lot less convinced about Kade Chandler, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for the same reason. I reckon Melksham would have offered more, but if Goody and team want to give Chandler a few weeks to settle in, I can appreciate why.

People who don’t have Oliver in their six.

I won't be convinced till Gawn is holding the cup either TBH. A long way to go from here to there. But I am convinced we've got a very formidable outfit.

For all that asked my mum was a lot better today than yesterday, though she will need some rehabilitation at the Peter James Centre. It is great to be sitting 9/0 for the season. They are playing great team football. CARN THE DEMONS.

Really enjoying Weid's contribution at the moment. He's hanging on to his marks, which is an excellent sign. Can't wait to see the boys get around him when he kicks one, which is inevitable. TMac has been immense, again. I'm stoked for him.

Every game is a danger game if we are not switched on from the get-go but other than sleep-walking through the first half v North our application and focus has been very good. I can’t see us treating Carlton lightly so I expect a full 4 quarter effort today. As soon as the doggies awoke from their slumber last week they put Carlton to the sword. Carlton can’t defend for toffee. They are very unaccountable without the ball. We will take advantage today. The Sydney game was tough, a real grind. Worked wonders for my MFCSS knowing we have the mental fortitude and defense to overcome a really strong challenge from the Swans. Carlton are not Sydney. They have no backbone. They will fold when the pressure comes on. Harmes to Walsh, May to shackle McKay. Maxy to lift (Pittonet played well against us last year) and our defense and pressure to do the rest. Looking forward to seeing the Weid and young Chandler running around. I think it will be a regulation 5 goal win

Someone earlier in the week reminded Demonland that in 2004/2005 Carlton were the ones we kept losing to stupidly which cost us top 4. It wasn’t pretty but two weeks in a row we’ve had to slog it out in the wet and do what needed to be done. Aside from the second/third quarter of the Richmond game I don’t think I’ve seen us get passed 3rd gear. It’s pleasing but I really wish we could put in a 4 quarter performance and bury a team. Shout out to McKay, with an injured shoulder he was the difference between the Blues just getting beaten and getting smashed. Really gutsy from him.

I thought it was a good win. Carlton smashed in the media all week, I expected them to come out with a bit of fire. They did, but it lasted 15 minutes, it’s all just a bit too hard against us. Centre clearances are [censored] me to tears. Don’t look like winning one, when we do it’s a free against. The cleanest was with Weid in the ruck. Jackson so much more valuable than Weid. Bad day for talls, but Jackson smashed Richmond in the wet. Hopefully a better look at Weid and Brown in a dry Adelaide. Love our mosquito fleet. Trust all of them to do the right thing with the ball, best in the biz without it. Oliver>>>>>Cripps. Always had faith in Petty (narrator: he didn’t have faith in Petty). Really assured game. lol @ the nerds that wanted Fritsch dropped. Tomald ?

Jason Dunstall summed it up well post game. Paraphrasing: demons are a Proper good team now. They don’t need to play well and just rely on this system. Smashed in the clearances but defence too good

Competent and able football team handily disposes of fancied challenger. Nothing to see here, move along please.

Well played ANB and Hunty. Dare I say it but the structure is amazing. Great four quarter game from Oliver. Angus at least got a bit of it. Umpiring is bamboozling! Jordon good again. Jmac like. We need to work out what to do with Weed and BBB. Chandler struggled. Trac's second half much more team oriented. Spargo played his role beautifully. Petty solid. Centre clearances still a worry.

How the hell did Lever get pinged for holding the ball when he picked it up in congestion and was immediately tackled? At least they only scored a point from it, but it was a BS call Good win to the boys. TMac massive. 9-0 baby!!!

Decent win. Did what we had to do. Defence is solid and dependable. Not sure about all the talls up forward. Pressure game was off. Clearance work so so. Skills weren’t great but it was tough to hold onto the ball in the conditions. TMac excellent first half. Salem was probably best for us overall. Lever and May very good. Oliver did some good things. Most players contributed. Trac trying too hard. Just needs to forget about the contract and do the simple things well. The Weid did ok for his first game. Chandler offered little and will struggle to hold his spot. I liked the fact that Kozzie showed some sportsmanship. He should be applauded for that. They say the hallmark of a good team is to win playing badly. So shouldn’t really complain too much. But it would be great to see us hit out stride and play well for 4 quarters. We bank the 4 points and move on. Go Dees.

Need a win to keep a tight hold of our top 2 spot. If the player group is serious about a flag, we do not drop games like this. Tipping us today, but not by much Dees by 20

As usual, if I only looked at the match day thread, I'd assume we were 30 points down.

I hope the boys got up this morning and saw that we are not 1st on the ladder anymore and decided this level of mediocrity just won’t do anymore.

Tipping Weed to have a monster game. They have to put all their energy into stopping brown and tmac and koz. this will leave weed almost free. A very different prospect to being the only guy in the fwd line and being triple teamed