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In the year 2022, we learned that the fine between ultimate success in sport and failure can be measured in the blink of an eye. The Melbourne Football Club began the year where it had left off in 2021 - as the powerhouse of the AFL men’s competition. They steamed towards the halfway mark of the season taking all before them until their winning streak of ten in a row (17 overall since the latter part of the premiership season) came to a crushing end with consecutive losses at the hands of Fremantle, Sydney and Collingwood. They arrested the decline but after that, they were no longer the dominators. Somehow, the Dees limped home and finished in second place after the home and away season, two games behind the minor premiers, but the pattern was set in place. The finals against clubs from outside of Victoria, were a “a complete wipe-out”. As Paul Simon once wrote when considering his place throughout life - “There are patterns I must follow Just as I must breathe each breath.” From the moment, the Demons stepped onto the MCG for their round 11 encounter against the Dockers, the old winning pattern that brought them a flag and a 10-0 opening to 2022, melted in broad daylight and dissipated into a new pattern of injury, bright starts followed by fatigue and fadeouts. Injuries incurred during a game can have a devastating effect and that was felt strongly when Steven May was concussed early against the Dockers, followed by others. The new pattern was set then and in the games the followed; fatigue, conceding easy goals and giving away handy leads, leading to defeat. The team stumbled into the finals, found its form on occasion but reverted to the pattern in both finals where the straight sets fall from grace bordered on humiliation. What made it all so humbling was the knowledge that the club had strong rucks (Gawn & Jackson) and one of the best midfields led by Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and attended by up-and-comer Tom Sparrow, spare parts man James Harmes, occasionally Angus Brayshaw and flanked by Ed Langdon and James Jordan. And the backline was again both consistent and impressive conceding the lowest total points out of any team in the AFL with an average of just 67.4 points scored against per game, of 2022. May took out a second consecutive All-Australian blazer and had great support from Jake Lever and Harry Petty. They did however miss the brilliance of another All-Australian in half-back Christian Salem who had an injury interrupted season. Trent Rivers and Jake Bowey didn’t come on as much as expected, Jayden Hunt was serviceable and Joel Smith lost too many games with injury. The void was filled well by Brayshaw when played in defence but he was also needed elsewhere from time to time. Michael Hibberd had a slow start due to injury but returned to form later in the year. The area where the team really fell from grace was up forward which is really where the pattern changing was set after Tom McDonald’s foot injury in Round 10 leaving a gigantic hole fairly and squarely in the middle of the club’s forward line (surely that was no coincidence?) There were enough premiership players who were capable of holding together the attack. Bayley Fritsch kicked his 50 goals again and Kysaiah Pickett was always menacing in front of goals but they couldn’t click and connect enough in the hard run home when almost every opponent was a finals contender. And when the game was tough and close, they failed to shrug of the “pattern” with the exception of that late season win over Carlton when Jake Melksham turned back time and put in a four goal performance in a game when some Pickett magic turned the game on its head in the dying seconds. The goals dried up in September. Breaking into a premiership team is never easy. Two players, Luke Dunstan (5 games) and Daniel Turner were the only new Demons to play a game, the latter lasting less than a half. With the trading to the club of Magpie star Brodie Grundy and Bulldogs Lachie Hunter and Josh Schache as well as a strong list of new recruits and as yet untried youth, things are likely to be different in 2023. The restoration of key forwards Ben Brown and McDonald to full health should go a long way to resolving coach Simon Goodwin’s forward line dilemmas. Clayton Oliver (25 votes) and Christian Petracca (24) finished equal fourth and sixth respectively in the Brownlow Medal which the former is well on his way to becoming a club immortal count with his fourth Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy award for the club’s best and fairest. The club’s mission now is to establish a new pattern for the new season and to redeem itself after going out in straight sets. No such problem exists for the Melbourne women who played off in two grand finals in AFLW seasons 6 and 7, improving from runner up to Adelaide in April to premiers on 27 November when they beat the Brisbane Lions by 2.7.19 to 2.3.15 at the million Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield, outside Brisbane. The Lions were the only team in Season 7 to best the Demons in their home and away game but the tables were turned in the Grand Final. That game was a triumph for coach Mick Stinear and veteran Demon skipper Daisy Pearce who finally tasted AFLW premiership glory. Melbourne’s midfield led by Tyler Hanks, Eliza West and Olivia Purcell dominated midfield possession. Blaithin Mackin and Tayla Harris were the goalkickers and down back, Tahlia Gillard did a sterling job blanketing dangerous Lions’ forward Jesse Wardlaw. The AFLW premiership was matched at VFL level by the Casey Demons, coached by Mark Corrigan, who were undefeated for most of the season, suffering only one loss - to the Lions in the final round before the finals. Casey atoned for that performance in the Preliminary Final before overcoming another Queensland side in the Southport Sharks on a cold wet afternoon in the Grand Final by 10.10.70 to 5.8.38. The Demons’ best were skipper Mitch White, veteran James Munro and the prolific Luke Dunstan. A number of youngsters were blooded in the Melbourne VFL affiliate and it is hoped that some of them will head the club’s next charge for another AFL flag as early as this year. Off the field, the club improved its membership numbers to over 60,000 and recorded a profit in excess of $3m.

A flag At the g That i actually attend

Foxtel have a ‘best matches ever’ series of replays through the off season, and it seems like we have NEVER actually played a close final let alone home and away match. I MAY be exaggerating but unless you’re a Geelong , Essendon or Collingwood supporter there’s little point in looking for your team to be to be screened 😱 Watching the 2021 Grand Final for the 87th time is never uninspiring but surely there’s some other games where we’ve excelled since replays came into vogue

I would have thought round 23 in 2021 had all the makings of a significant game. 50 plus point turnaround to secure the minor premiership and kick start a dominant final series. I suppose our loss to the Essendon "Reserves side" in 2017 (?) was significant as well but not in a nice way. To be significant a game needs to impact the competition as a whole.. both of these games did

One last look then:

Can we change 3 to Dockers?

1. Both men and women win the flag. No club had done that double yet 2. freo to implode 3. My boy, lachie hunter, to be recruit of the year

Would be great to see Philactides running out of our backline, he'd be a great fit for us. He's a good kick on the left as well. ATM I have two tiers of players I'd be thrilled to see in the red and blue in '24. The top tier are Reid (can't see a pathway to getting him though), Zane Duursma and Ashton Moir. I'd have a few others in this tier of quality, but the positional fit for us isn't obvious. Tier two includes Darcy Wilson and Philactides along with Will Lourenz. I like what I've seen of Malik Gordan and Archie Roberts, who I've just about got in tier 2.

I’d also want a first round pick.

Best 3 wins I’ve ever SEEN 1987 - PF beat Carlton, stopped B2B 1994 - Final beat Carlton, Ox masterclass 2000 - Final beat Carlton, Yze, Green, CB All three were unexpected so I would say significant

1. Kozzy re-signs 2. Grawndy experiment works 3. Home base announcement 3b. JVR and Howes play a decent amount of games

1) Beat Collingwood at the G for the first time since 2017 2) Beat Sydney at the G for the second time in 13 years. 3) Beat Geelong in Geelong for the fourth time in 25 years. We've become a fantastic footy club under Goodwin but the above fixtures he's had clear issues with, aside from round 23 2021.

An articles states he was charged with “driving under the influence” (DUI), which is high-level. Lucky no one was hurt, hopefully lesson learnt.

I just watched the second half of that match again. We got killed by the umpires, Kozzie missed two shots he should never ever have missed, yet with a minute to go, we were a real chance. The way I and everyone else on Demonland has reacted, it was a disaster and we were hopeless. Sure, we all wanted to win the premiership and believed we could, but we played a team which had been highly predicted to be the premiers themselves , and had every chance to win it, and it was an extremely close and exciting game. I have never been as optimistic coming into a season as I am for 2023. I think Grundy and Gawn will be incredible together. People say that Oliver is “one of the best midfielders in the competition”. Rubbish. He is hands down the best, not “one of the best”. Petracca is one of the best. Viney is one of the best. We have the best defence in the league, two of the best wingers, and we all hope we will now have a functional forward line. I can’t wait!

That I live to see 2024 and beyond.

Clearly another flag is a given so let’s try to avoid the flaming obvious. Mine: 1) JVR to announce himself as an upcoming power forward. 2) Inside 50 function to he overhauled In considerable change to that phase of our game. 3) Gawn and Grundy take the dual All Australian team spots after an epic season of dominance.

My guess is for Wednesday, I'll drop by, and hope a morning run is on at Gosch's. Nothing on the training page from the MFC site.

Nathan Brown exuded sheer guts. I was full of admiration. I think he missed the Bluey by one vote . ? to Jeff White

Brian Taylor gets stranded on a desert island with nothing but a lifeboat with a puncture in it The Filth invest in pants that actually fit Ginnivan Daisy replaces Gil

Whilst it might not be our problem, there’s still a connection because Mac Andrew’s younger brother Riak is a member of our Next Generation Academy. While the rules make it hard for us to recruit a player like him (unless he turns out to be outside the best 40 prospects) I think his lovely family who were so excited about Mac’s recruitment on 2021 Draft Night might not be so thrilled about another son moving interstate to play his football. We could still turn this into a plus for us.

Nathan Brown was one of my favourite players. He was a bloody good workhorse, quick and great role player. Kynan is very similar to his dad but i actually think he plays a bit more like Jack Viney...just a hard nut. Kynan has been training with the boys pre christmas and looked good imo. I would be really surprised if we didn't pick him up.

Whatever the reason, injuries or fitness, or a combination of the two, we stopped to a walk in the 2nd half of every game we lost after our 10-0 start. Fully fit or maybe just 20% better, who knows how we would have performed in the finals!

……… my preferred trifecta: Flag (AFL), Flag (AFLW), Flag (Casey Demons). We came close in 2022, and hopefully we can go one better in 2023.

Who cares ?? Not our problem!!

FLAG CLARRIE / TRACC TIED BROWNLOW KOZZIE NORM SMITH AND SIGNS A 6 Year Demons contract

Huge difference between going to the pub, sinking 10 pints and trying to drive home AnD Being a p plater and getting done at 4pm the next day because you're not quite 0.00 Not sure we know which this is yet, do we?

In chronological order A) Kozzie signs a new contract B) Minor premiership C) Premiership Nothing more, nothing less

A young lad breaking the law.. he'll learn. Remember Clayton Oliver got done for drink driving in his first year as well.

I’d be surprised if Kozzie left the MFC. But, as against this, I don’t know WTF I’m talking about. I’ve never even met the guy.

If we win a flag everything else is cream. 1, Kozzie signs 2. Dockers bottom 4 3. We use the Dockers picks to land a huge fish.

I would drink too if I had to live there.

No but they can finish 3rd last.

I wouldn’t think crowd size has any relevance to his decision.

1. Men win the flag 2. Women win flag. 3. The filth and Geelong to finish in the bottom 2 of the ladder.

The death ride on freo for me this year is dreaming of landing Cal Twomeys hyped man of next years draft Nick ‘the wizard’ Watson. I’m hoping based on his position alone he falls to around 8-10. On thread topic, I rate jordon (as I believe the coaching staff also do) highly. Was given Brayshaws wing when things shifted about early season, and held it for most the year, well enough to poll good votes in the bluey. Also started his afl career well on the inside laying very solid tackles and contributing. Feel he deserves to be listed (although not right up the list) on the small/medium backs too, and probably the same for forwards (kicked 7 this year from limited opportunities up there). As a recently turned 23 year old who suffered awful setbacks early on he’s come on since as a coaches dream, slotting into roles and providing the team with plenty. Yep, I definitely rate him. As much as I love harmesy, I’d favour jordon over him in any position

2023 to be the year of the Dee. Flag, Clarrie = Brownlow, Gawn = 2 x premiership captain 👍

That would be some trifecta monocular what more could we ask for.!!!

Apart from the obvious Flag, would love to see Clarrie with a Brownlow around his neck. His consistent brilliance is extraordinary. I would also love to see Fritter lose that selfish reputation by hitting up some players in better scoring positions.

Judas Priest! Cracking band!

He was probably sinking a few frothies to bulk up. Training regimen.

Half the team couldn’t get past a jog in the semi final. We were beaten up badly.

Nice try, Tony Cochrane

1. Exciting attacking footy returns 2. Kozzi signs 3. OD makes it to 2024 and beyond

1. Kozzie’s signature 2. Sellout the G for Anzac Eve and King’s Birthday 3. Beer price to drop at the G.

I am very excited over Seston and his potential, but he is a mile away from the senior team and will need plenty of time at Casey and probably another pre season, to build his fitness for AFL football. Luckily we now know how to develop players and not destroy them, by selecting them too early for AFL level footy.

It was more to do with the players carrying injuries into the business end: the reason we were consistently outplayed, despite leading at half in most matches. The players I refer to are: Langdon, Petracca, Oliver, Gawn, Lever, Salem, Viney.

I know this is now accepted wisdom on Demonland and there is no doubt that it would have been nice to have had the opportunity the Cats had to rest players towards the end of the season. But we didn't. People regularly quote the games against NM and WCE as opportunities to rest players but of course this would have been pretty meaningless because it was midseason. People quote Gawn, who came back for the WCE game, saying he shouldn't have played. Perhaps so but that game in all likelihood didn't impact his form or physical condition at finals time. The reality is we had a very hard draw in our last month or so and we were fighting tooth and nail to stay in the top four. The concept of "resting players" is really only meaningful when you talk about your keys, it doesn't matter if you rest JJ, Sparrow, ANB et al because they are not your key drivers and a rested soldier isn't likely to have an impact. If you're going to rest players it needs to be the Generals and to do that puts at real risk the chance of winning games. And we needed to win every game we did. Don't lose sight of the fact that a loss to Brisbane in the last game meant missing the top four and no double chance. I believe we were just unlucky. Oliver was injured late in the season as was Petracca. I think Viney was injured against Brisbane where he was just about BOG and then didn't fire a shot in the finals. For a player "made for finals" that's odd. Gawn was badly beaten up but LJ was in awful form (for whatever reason) and there wasn't another ruck on the list. Who knows what other injuries were. I think we just needed to beat Sydney and get a weeks break to give the injured players a chance, but we didn't. It just wasn't our year and I don't think the proposition that "we made a bad mistake" is any part of the reason.

Rarely wasted a disposal Brown Dog.. not a long kick but a good user.

The determination and toughness is certainly there with young Kynan.

Nathan ‘Doggy’ Brown #25 was always first picked in my Dees side. His endeavour, hardness and consistency week in week out was a pleasure too watch. If Kynan is anything like his old man he will be a jet of a player...! I can’t wait too see him in the Red & Blue!