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Things are still very raw and I thought about waiting a bit but there's no time like the present. When you truly love something, you need to love it when things are at their worst as well. Demonland means a lot to me and I wanted to express my gratitude to all of you for providing the best place in town for all talk regarding our beloved Demons. I'd firstly like to give a shoutout to Andy and the moderators for keeping Demonland running smoothly as usual and taking the podcast to yet another level with a great format and tons of great content, quick shoutout to @george_on_the_outer and @binman too for their efforts throughout the year. This became the only Melb and Footy pod I listened to this year and the analysis went to a new level. Looking forward to seeing what's in store next year guys! To @WalkingCivilWar for providing a weekly update on the making of the banner. Something I've never been exposed to before and it was amazing to see how much time and effort goes into these things. Also thanks for giving us amazing insight to how much the Demon Army accomplishes based on the little resources they have to play with. Again, a realm I'd had very little exposure to and I'll be taking out a DA membership next year no doubt. @kev martin Your training reports just like last year were amazing. This was another reason why I tuned out to the main footy media so much this year because I was getting so much info from these reports alone! You do all this work off your own bat and I can assure you it is much, much appreciated on DL. @Lucifers Hero Your workings of the contract details and number crunching is info that is not readily available in a short space of time on the interwebs. You pull this all together into one concise format and it is an amazing resource. Thanks also for the 'what they are saying' threads. There's so much respect for you here and deservedly so. To @joeboy the 3 word reviews are like an exclamation point on a game just played. I still don't know how you front up each week and do it knowing what might be coming back in response but you do and I'm looking forward to seeing many, many more. Thanks also to anyone who is able to share contents of an article behind a paywall. You guys are the lords of the dance! If I've missed anyone I apologise, feel free to fill in some blanks. And finally there's you, the Demonland poster. Thank you. There's those of you I get along very well with and think alike with, those that have slightly different views that really make you think and those that I may rarely agree with but the bottom line is that I've learned that 95% of the people who frequent this site (That have been here longer than a day) seem to have a mutual respect for one another. Disagreements and conflict are admittedly not my forte, I used to be someone who never ever wanted to rock the boat or put noses out of joint but I really appreciate those of you that express your different view but don't make it personal or hold grudges. It's a great skill to be able to disagree with someone but then put that out of your mind when you move on to the next point which might actually be something that the same two people agree on. I'd even go as far as to say I've learned a lot from those of you who are like this so thank you. Anyone who frequents Demonland is usually highly invested and regardless of agreement or disagreement I have respect. It's a cruddy feeling going out in straight sets two years in a row, it will burn, I will not want to watch anymore footy this year but probably will. However this is our club, we live by the sword and die by the sword. I'll never lose the passion and I doubt any of you will too. Enjoy the Grand Final if you watch it and have a great/safe Xmas and New Year period. I'm looking forward to chatting about the hot topics with all of you again in 2024. 2023 the year of the Dee rhymed so we won't have that but I'm sure we'll be in the thick of it. GO DEES!!!

Wasted season? Let's be realistic and acknowledge that many clubs spend consecutive years at or near the top and in fact need to do so to win the title. That's what we are doing. Face it: we went into this finals series up against it missing key forwards and in both games (from the five minute mark of the Woods game) our in form midfielder. We lost both by a combined eight points. So we are a contender. I don't think it was wasted since (a) we put a year into JvR, (b) we learned last night that Smith, who played his best game, has a future as a marking target, (c) we saw Sparrow go to another level and Spargo was strong (again after appearing lost), and (d) we found McVee who was found out a little in the finals but will only improve. TMac will (should) retire. We played two men short (TMac Brayshaw) in the Woods game and one man short last night with TMac in the side. But we can build a forward line out of Petty, JvR, Smith and a fit Fritter who I reckon was seriously underdone for the finals. The backs were mighty these last few weeks and show no sign of slowing up. We lost due to some panic, some lack of composure up forward, poor skills (Max it's time you could be relied on in front of goal FCS), missing personnel, rotten luck and, in the final quarter last night some of the worst umpiring ever seen. Was it an AFL conspiracy to get the favoured Blue boys up? Sure looked like it although I'll reserve final judgement until I can face the replay. But for all that we have continued to lay groundwork And on the bright side we have a strong draft hand, ridiculously so for a team that finished as high as we did. Emphasis: players who can kick with precision.

For many of my generation who grew up in our golden era in the 50s and early 60s, he was our first true hero. Rest in peace, dear Ronald Dale Barassi. At a club function on the occasion of Ron’s 80th birthday, one of the tributes was from tenor David Hobson who sang “You Raise Me Up” as requested by the guest of honour. For those of us who were blessed to grow up following the Demons during the time when RDB ruled as Mr Football, this song will always resonate with us … we were always strong when we were on his shoulders.

You might find this interesting because at this stage I don’t believe the media even know about it. As strange as it seems, Taylor Adams from the Pies has contacted the Swans himself to discuss their interest in him moving there. Wants to play more midfield and clearly feels he’s not getting the love from the Pies. Totally separate to this, my sources tell me that Callum Mills has badly damaged his shoulder/collarbone in a mad Monday wrestling match and will miss a major part of preseason. Apparently Longmire was as angry as he’s ever been after hearing about it.

My dad barracked for Carlton and my older brothers barracked for Essendon and Fitzroy. I chose the Demons all those years ago for one reason. The great RDB !!!! RIP Ron.

Not a great weekend for the Club. So good to see him return to the fold in recent years and that he got to enjoy our 2021 premiership.

I got home from the ground and saw some of the post match on 7. They were reluctant to say how much he towelled up Curnow. Saying stuff like ‘probably got the better of him. May absolutely decimated Curnow. He out marked him one on one so consistently that in the last quarter Curnow was just trying to bring the ball to ground. Steven May was extraordinary in that game. He has every right to be filthy. He couldn’t have done more.

ALMOST started a Charlie Spargo appreciation thread but thought It would be open slather as I have bagged him a lot over the journey! I have to say I thought him OUTSTANDING Tonight , kept us in it and he was inspirational! So as result there will be no more Charlie Bagging from me! EVER!

The everlasting image from this game for me is Jack Viney after the siren. Most of our players were sitting or sprawled on the ground in disbelief. But Jack was in the middle, kneeling with body thrust forward, head in the dirt cradled in his arms. He seemed to be crying. He stayed that way for a long time. I think it was Rivers who went and picked him up. God knows what was going through his mind. It was heartbreaking. Haven't read most of the threads on this forum but going on the titles I reckon the players and the club deserve better than what is being offered here.

I know today is depressing but I don’t want his performance forgotten about amidst the doom and gloom. Magnificent last night he can hold his head high. Keep his nerve when all around him was a collective clusterf. Curnow was a non factor thanks to him. Has been AA standard the past 4 years Wanted him as captain a couple of years back. We know he let himself down badly with that incident with Melks but boy he has turned it around. I think he’s the best traded in player we’ve ever had Will go down as a Dees legend come what may. I love your work Maysey. (mods: not sure if there's an old appreciation thread for May so feel free to merge if there is)

a clean bill of health and a bit of luck wouldn't go astray

Absolutely devastated to learn of Ron's passing today. He is Melbourne football club. ♥️

Let’s see Pies flag - nightmare hell on earth Blue flag - see above Brisbane flag - Zorko gets a medal It’s an obvious choice. Go the orange.

If Grundy was the sub ,He could have gone into the ruck in the last quarter.Take McDonald off and put Max into the forward line.

That was exactly the Tom Sparrow game that I've been pleading for. He was pretty much our best mid all night and I hope now he uses tonight game as a stepping stone into next year. If he plays like that regularly each game next year then our midfield will be okay. Stick lacks quality depth but it's guys like Sparrow that we really need stepping up next year. Also quick shout out to McVee. Did not one look overawed in the occasion in this year's final series and certainly embarrassed his more senior leaders around composure and being calm in the crisis. 25 games this year is a great development year which will only hold him in good stead over the next few years A future 150-200 gamer in the making.

We have one premiership 🏆 , and have finished the HA in top four three seasons in succession. 2022 we limped into finals based on a good start with an exhausted list. 2023 we made finals despite losing the new key to our forward problems every time one emerged - Frittata, Petty twice, and Melksham. For a poorly connecting very makeshift forward line to lose finals by 7 and 2 points (and being on the wrong end again of three score reviews) whilst devastating is actually quite a feat. Throw in even one of those missing forwards fully fit and it is a different story. So, room for optimism but a lot of hard work needs to be done on and off the field.

Some won’t like it but one thing we need more of is luck - the Petty and Melksham injuries were devastating for our season. As for things in our control: 1. Rivers to the midfield 2. Another wing to put selection pressure on Langdon and Hunter 3. A tall forward who can lead at the ball carrier and kick straight 4. A re-think of the way we move the ball in order to generate easier shots on goal given our personnel 5. More Woewodin, Laurie, and other new faces 6. And we need to work on how we start quarters. We give up the first 1-3 goals of quarters too much (tonight they scored first in each of the second, third and fourth. Last week Coll scored first in the first, second and third - same as Sydney the week before).

Similar thread to last year, try keep the doom and gloom to the sad threads! 2023 didn't play out how we would have liked but there have been some positives to build on for 2024 - to list a few. Rivers had a tremendous year after a bit of an inconsistent 2022. What the future holds for him positionally will be an interesting one. Some people were critical of the Petty forward experiment and questioned whether it would work. Despite his wretched run of injuries, i think we can all agree the experiment works! Unfortunate to go off injured in games against the Hawks/North when performing well but that 6.0 performance against Richmond was a clinic. Hopefully he can get his foot right for 2024. Speaking of forwards, we finally saw van Rooyen and whilst still a little hot and cold a good development year for him. Plenty to learn and build on, hopefully another AFL pre-season in him has him firing in 2024. Finally speaking of Pre-Seasons, the work McVee must have put in last pre-season. He took a lot of us by surprise, there were calls for him to be rested, but he kept his spot in the team and didn't miss a game. Got that rising star nomination for a period of good work. Hoping for an even bigger and brighter 2024. Petracca a solid chance at the Brownlow. That win against Brisbane was one of the most enjoyable Melbourne wins I've seen in person. And if we look broader picture, signed some key contract extensions (May, Pickett, Lever) and got hit that 70,000 membership mark.

This week has been some sort of emotional roller-coaster. Rip great man..

The last game before his death - Melbourne v Carlton. Somewhat fitting

I think in the cold light of day we aren’t playing the type of football that wins finals, and the numbers back it up. We’ve been defending our place for the last 2 seasons. We play with such restriction and tension. Everything is done through the lens of defence - because that’s what wins you finals. Except it hasn’t, for 4 in a row. The game has changed again. Our football department needs fresh faces and new ideas. We went with what we had for 3 years, and we were entitled to do it based on ‘21. Now it’s time to reassess and get some fresh thinking in. Last night was the worst loss we’ve had as a club for a long, long time. You can’t consistently get beaten by what you know. We’ve known we’ve got forward half connection problems for 7 years.

You didn’t sit where I sat. I sat with the most passionate, vocal, unrelenting Melbourne supporters I’ve ever seen. This narrative about our supporters is hot garbage. We were outnumbered, but we gave everything we could for our team. On the siren that was the most gutted I’ve ever seen our supporter base. You can be disappointed in the loss, but it’s simply untrue to say our supporters are ‘shocking’.

Never missed an MCG game until recently. So important we got that flag for him. Thoughts with his family. Lets hope it galvanises our beautiful football club.

A true legend. Perhaps the greatest figure in the games history.

Hey DD. I’m not hearing much at the moment except for a few gentle enquires they’re making here and there. That said, I wasn’t aware of the McAdam one. I’ll let you know if and when I can.

Last night felt inevitable, I’ve never seen us be so undisciplined, make so many crazy errors, ignore team mates in better positions and generally gift a lesser team a ridiculous win. I really hope Carlton win or go close against Brisbane as maybe that might rub in what we just blew. We need some fresh eyes in the coaching box…I’d be offering Justin Leppitsch whatever it takes to come on board. We need a replacement brewing for May, another forward and some elite ball users. I really hope Woewodin and Howe can replace one or both of our wingers. Langdon has fallen off a cliff and Hunter, while serviceable needs upgrading. If TMac and Brown remain on the list I’ll cry and we need to find Max some help. I still think we have an excellent list and I’m bullish for the next few years but jeez the last 2 weeks hurt. Onwards and upwards. Go Dee’s…..and remember gifting finals to your enemies is supposed to hurt. I guess my one worry in this homogeneous world where everything is seen as a transaction is do the players really really really want it. Would they walk over coals for each other and success. Or is making pasta on your socials and shaving your balls enough. That’s the question that concerns me with this team.

Really not liking some of the negativity and criticism of our coaching staff and players on here this morning. If we'd won, by 5 points there would have been some very different reviews. Thought we learned a lot of lessons from 2022 this year, but just got smashed by injury upon injuries to our forward half. Yey the players played their guts out and kept us in games when we were dealt some rubbish hands on game day as well. In 2021, everything clicked for us in our attacking game in the last 5 or 6 games of the home and away, but this season, every time we got close in that regard we had another injury to a key part of that forward setup that put us backwards. In retrospect, I wished we'd appealed JVR's suspension, because he might have been the difference against Carlton and what he did was a whole 3 levels less severe than what Maynard did. But next week, we probably would be smashed by Brisbane, like I hope Carton are and in all, I think we just didn't quite have enough go our way in the back 3rd of the season to be a truely dominant contender hitting the finals full of confidence like we did in 2021. Three top four finishes in as many years says we have the troops, the coaches and the culture to take us to another premiership with a few more tweaks and a bit more luck go our way. Max, Viney and Goodie are great leaders, with quality around them on that next level as well.

I don't understand the calls to replace Goody. He took a different approach from last year by promoting youth (which worked) and not playing banged up players (mostly). If nothing else he deserves a lot of credit for playing two of our most maligned players who helped us secure a top four finish (Melksham) and almost gained us a preliminary final place (Smith). He also persisted with Petts as a forward who I think (injuries notwithstanding) could well be the tall, strong, mobile presence we need up there. I love how he gives the press corps almost nothing and backs our boys publicly. He's the reason all our stars committed to long term deals and why the best from other clubs want to join us. The Gawn - Grundy combo didn't ultimately work because neither are great resting forwards but having BG helped us win games when Max missed a month. We'll also look after him in any trade that sees him leave and we'll lose no capital or friends in doing it. We lost 9 games by a collective total of 81 points. That's 9 points a game on average and one of those was by three times that figure. Injury deprived us of Petts & Melky at the pointy end of the season and Ben Brown's degenerative knee will likely see him hang up his boots, leaving us to rely on a very underdone T-Mac and Fritta who was playing with a plate in his foot. Far from ideal yet we almost completely dominated territory and possession in both our finals. I'm sure Macrae and Voss both feel like they've won the lottery right now. I really don't know much about the tactical side of AFL football tbh and lean a lot on some of the regulars on here to help make sense of what I see each week. Maybe my one strength is not making daft comments about things I don't really understand.

Ok this is self indulgent… I’m giving myself 1 vote for travelling down from Brisbane for the game it’s nearly 2am and that’s all I’ve got left 😢

A bit harsh on Hunter I think he's been good this year, his mate on the other wing has been worse.

Impressed with Joel Smith’s set shot accuracy tonight and for the season. He was up to the pressure tonight. I don’t think he’s missed a set shot since Kings Bday.

Can't help but be super impressed with the way they go about it. Putting Port to the sword and they genuinely look like a premiership contender in my opinion. They should absolutely dare to dream because they play a brand that is well equipped on the big stage. I mean watching Jesse Hogan in itself makes me depressed but I'm bloody happy for him and hope he gets success. Toby Green, Josh Kelly and Lachie Whitfield are genuine stars of the competition They're my go to team for the finals.

Let us all hope dearly for a GWs Lions GF oh my god it would be a joy. The AFL commercial corrupt cartel would lose their minds please god make this happen

Not sure that there's been a bigger contributor to the post war game. A great player and a great coach. His halftime instruction to handball at all costs in the 1970 Grand Final changed football forever. RIP Ron

The 2021 flag is even more important now. Forever grateful he got to see it.

The joy on his face at the flag raising last year is one of the all time great moments

Yeah, no worries.

We’ve known we’ve got forward half connection problems for 7 years. I’m sick of learnings. In the normal world, Goodwin would not have had his contract expended. This lack of fixing the problem is now catastrophic after 2022 and 2023. It hurts.

It was pathetic in the cold light of day, didn’t matter we had injuries we should’ve won both games A colossal choke, lost at selection & out coached again Max & May will be in the twilight of their careers next year, Grundy our backup once Max retires will be in Sydney & they treated a retiring warrior in Hibbo withe contempt 2023 an absolute disaster

I'm all for the Lions beating the Pies in a grand final though

The umpires tonight were putrid. Can say all everything that needs to be said about our poor goal kicking (which I think is actually more to do with our game style, which somewhat forced us into where we took our shots from where we did and results and more rushed behinds) but asides from that the guys tried their guts out and in reality I thought we dominated the second half. Feeling really bitter and cheated by the umpires last night though 26 free kicks to 19 and giving them 3 x 50m penalties (only 1 of which I could actually understand what was there for) to our zero absolutely shifted the momentum of the game and kept them in it. Some absolute shockers in the last quarter in this respects - giving them deliberate out of bounds when it hadn't been paid all night, that dubious free kick in our forward pocket, that to rub sault into the wounds they then paid 50 on top of and took the ball from deep in our 50 when we were applying the screws to 2 / 3rds the way down the feild, that rubbish free against Sparrow on their half forward flank when they got into him. Total bias BS. In a game of inches, they gave them a mile and helped them over the line last night. Freaking furious.

He’s only contracted until 2030.

A couple of highly skilled outside types like Jimmy Toumpas and Cale Morton.

Lever was one of our best tonight. Him and May are the reason we lost by 2 points and not more. Maybe point your frustration at Viney who had zero composure all night and just completely banged it onto his boot straight to a Carlton defender. For a guy that supposedly thrive in big games Viney has been sub par in the finals campaign the last 2 years. Him and Oliver were putrid tonight.

I believe our game plan keeps other teams in the game.

There is no way people can question the teams effort. They are a brutal footy team and we just need a key forward. A fit Petty will slot in down back again next year and if we can wrench a ready made power forward from somewhere to stand with JVR we will back bigger than better.

9 goals 17 behinds. Sorry Stafford and Williams. Someone needs to go.