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After the match we were packing up and Joey was on the boundary. I called him over to thank him for being one of the very few in the media who rates us. He said, “Oh, it’s a no-brainer… anyone who thinks you guys won’t make the eight this year has rocks in their head!” Right on cue, Kingy happened to walk past. End of convo 😅

What I find jaw droppingly confundicating is that in the Match Day thread, the only mentions that ANB got were critical of his play early on, after which there was no mention of him at all??!!! Then, to make matters worse, in the Post Game thread where posters were giving us highly detailed lists of players that impressed them and why, again not one single mention of ANB!! The guy had 83% game time, was equal second in possessions with 23, and his tackling figures were in the top five. He worked his [censored] off for the entirety of the game, and was one of our most effective players. He was without a doubt one of the best on ground and certainly deserving of much more credit than the Demonlanders give him. *Scratches head*

ANB is a champion player & human. Steadily improved himself, worked on his deficiencies, and did his time in the VFL no complaints until he absolutely smashed the door down & couldn't be left out of the side. Not the perfect player but gives the most consistent effort of anyone in our team, without being an emotionally charged yo-yo like some others. Level-headed, self-aware, leadership in spades & consistent effort/attitude - you really cant ask for more. One of those guys who probably won't be fully recognised until he hangs them up.

A couple of summary notes after watching the game on delay last night: 1. Clear desire to make the 45 degree kick to the top corners of the centre square, win the contest, and then (even blind sometimes) play the lateral handball back into the corridor. On numerous occassions the player at the back of the contest would then run that outside (inside) lane on the corridor and pick up the loose ball. Was a very nice pattern - but was a little alarmed we showed it so many times tbh. 2. Inside50 marks - aside from the obvious darting low kicks which were commented on ad nauseam by King et co, there was a clear ability (and willingness) to find the shallow inside 50 marks - which worked well against Carlton who were very set up for Melbourne offence from 2021, 22, 23 (ie deep and to the pockets). Given the ability of our small HFs to kick over 40m quite easily (sans Spargo) this could be quite an effective tactic. 3. Now some personal perspectives on strong games: - Bailey Laurie - wow, I didn't know he had that sort of game on the inside, but his competitiveness and cleanness in the phonebox particularly his ability to get inside and just provide the short handball to Salem was on show repeatedly. Very impressed. - Pickett looks ready to absolutely explode this year - Neal-Bullen consistent again and so good as a barometer for our overall effort both ways. Very impressed. - Van Rooyen is ridiculously good for his age - we are so lucky to have him. 4. Final one - it was interesting how Christian Petracca looked in that midfield set up (Jack Viney too) - it seemed more cohesive to me - sometimes I feel like Christian is in everything a bit much and the group isn't that damaging, whereas it felt like the midfield GROUP was very very damaging and Spaz and Salem got the chocolates. I think the outside/inside balance might finally be getting there after god knows how many years lol.

Probably unsurprisingly, I have a different take on why he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Short version - confirmation bias. As a rule, i rarely visit game day threads once the game begins. But did a couple of times last night- practice game and all that. First post I read (near the end of first q i think) was knocking nibbler's disposal. And yes he missed a couple of kicks inside 50. And I posted, that I agree, then joked, that i misread the post and thought it was about tracc. That's because tracc already had two howlers kicking inside 50. Without a single comment being made. Ironically after that tracc made three even worse howlers (beginning of second q), one of which, a total clanger (missed an open target completely and kicked it straight to a blues player) in the middle of the ground that cost us an easy shot on goal - and they scored on turnover. A potential 12 point play that nibbla would have got roasted for. At half time I checked the stats and tracc was only going at 52% DE. Nibbla, was 72%. . Nibbler hit a number of targets with neat kicks in scoring chains and had at least two direct scoring assist with kicks inside 50. Nibbla had TWICE as many scoring involvements (6 to 3) than tracc - only salo, koz, sparrow and viney had more And nibbla kicked 1.1, whilst tracc didnt bother the scorer (kicking one on the full iirc). Yet there was very little comment, if any, about those excellent kicks and skills by nibbla. Or criticism of track's appalling disposal. Nibbla finished the game on 72.9% DE - the same as salo (tracc improved in the second half, finishing on 65.2%) Note tracc only had 1 more contested possession than nibbla so the data is very comparable (ie nibbla didn't pad his stats with, say easy chip kicks accross hb). Nibbla is a better kick than tracc. Of that there is no doubt. The career data and the eyes completely back that assertion up. But i reckon most fans would disgaree, in large part because of baked in confirmation bias about both players.

Montagna has stuck with us the whole summer. Has always said we will be there when the whips are cracking. Loved how he threw in the bit about us spending only 2 weeks out of the Top 4 the last three seasons. Just to remind everyone about our consistency.

We kept a forwardline with two Coleman medalists to 60 points. That's all that matters to me. Tomlinson plays round 0 because the whole works better with him in the defensive 7.

The best sign for me? Gawn has had enough. If you have a crack at a Demon's head, answer to the man! Enough, is enough, is enough. I get the feeling this is a line in the sand season for the Melbourne Demons. And our skipper is going to lead the way where the AFL has so dismally failed us, and others. Win, lose or draw this season, I really don't care. The flags will come, maybe this year, definitely in the future, but we need to fly our flag and stop the rot. Stand up for your brothers Demons, nobody else will!

From my seating, I noticed that Ed played on the defensive side of his wing opponent. It appeared as though this provided cover for Caleb to be more attacking from his wing. He didn't have a stand out game but I think Goody would say he played his role well.

If you'll remember back to last year, McVee had very low stats as a small back, but basically everything he touched was an intercept possession. That was Howes' game yesterday. 6 disposals, 4 of them intercepts, two of them intercept marks and 1 score involvement. That's about what we got out of McVee all last year. (And I love Judd, so this is not a criticism, just a realistic expectation for a young small back making his way) You have to let him build a bit. And playing him allows McVee more offensive space and Salem midfield minutes. It's a win win if he plays like he did yesterday.

My favourite part was how the commentators went from talking up our problems and the off season pre game while talking Carlton up to talking about how we are a quality outfit and finished top 4 the last 3 years by the end.

JVR’s first half was very exciting. I suggest that along with Salem’s impressive performance in the middle ,a position he hasn’t played since his junior days, the 2 were the biggest of a myriad of positives from last night.

Is he quick ? Not overly but has worked hard at his fitness and is quicker than last year and seems to have built a tank Is he an elite ball user? Maybe not yet but he is way better at disposal than half of the regulars in our team Is he tough as nails? He is a solid unit and harder than he looks, difficult to tackle and can lay a decent tackle too Is he smart / good decision maker ? Suggest you take another look at the Windsor goal where Laurie delays a handball (left handed btw) and releases Windsor to run into goal - smart footy IMO Is he a lock for the team each week ? Probably not yet but he is closing in on that status IMO so long as he keeps improving. We need to remember that these young guys can take a little bit of time to adjust

I actually thought Schache showed more last night than Id seen before. His disposal is normally quite good and he buttered up for a few marks and ground balls. Tommo I also saw encouraging marks and disposals from. Not saying they would be 1st 22 every week but I was quite relieved they held their ends up, in consideration of my expectations.

If the narrative of us of being finished is true, you would not want to be a Blues fan.

C’meth the man Sparrow i hope the Club have put it to him, Angus has been forced out. Tom Sparrow you are the one to step up. He has serious talent, he was a solid contributor in the ‘21 GF Good Luck Tom…

That is a truly amazing stat. And it's impossible for it to be a statistical anomaly. Sustainaned excellence.

It's a practice match. Clearly enough, those who said our season was shot because of last week look pretty silly tonight, as was always going to be the case. Equally, don't take tonight's result and declare "we're back" or "David King's an [censored]". You might be right (on both counts) but it's a practice match and for that reason it just doesn't matter anywhere near as much as the media want it to. Of course, there are clearly important things to come out of the match - ball movement, defensive structure, the additions of Windsor and Billings, the promise we see in Salem and Rivers. Take those, plus the lack of injuries (AFAIK...?!), and get ready for hopefully another season of being ensconced in the top 4.

I'm in the same boat. I think. The reason I say that is I feel like I have developed a bit of a set against him. Perhaps because I was surprised they picked him ahead of spargs late last year. So, I wonder if I sub consciousness underrate him. For instance I was really surprised he had 17 possessions against the tigers. Less surprised that he got 17 yesterday, but he seems to have the knack good players do of accumulating disposals unobtrusively. And crucially, he doesn't waste them. A neat kick who reliably hits targets and makes good decisions. I think he is competing with spargo, who is also a good kick but probably doesn't get enough of the pill. The other thing about Laurie that makes me think I maybe underrate him is the coaches, and goody obviously think highly of him. And of course have all the gps amd orher data we don't have access to. On the gps data, Laurie looks really fit and had slimmed down. We saw last night how effective our all team defensive grid is. The blues looked stuck st times- even when they were desperately trying to get speed on the ball. That defensive grid (which by the by seemed to be set up to invite the corridor kick) requires many players getting to the right spot and heaps of unrewarded running - particularly from the utility types like Laurie, nibbla, langdon, Sparrow etc. Such players need a good tank ability to cover the ground at speed and discipline. All hard attributes to "see". I'm guessing Laurie has developed them.

Nibbles is the heart beat of the team.My first picked player every week

BTW me there are a lot of knockers for ANB here dating back years but I am with you. Him and Sparrow do a lot of things that go unnoticed and I thought last night both were "wanted" players in our team.

I signed up the other week. Found the website through the podcast. Thank you.

It was a practice match, all you can take out is process (and not outcome); and we looked like we took time with the footy and preferred to enter the forward line to the advantage side of a specific player or contest. We have a big midfield and they should take their time - we should have more holding the footy decisions against us than we do - it’s our great strength and we should be pushing the limits of how long to hang on to it to make a good decision, and asking teams to bring us down. The best thing said on the day was when Goodwin talked to Fox before the game about ‘not worrying too heavily about what we are not, and embracing what we do well’ and that is music. We are never going to be a precision footy team, we are never going to avoid mistakes, but we are a team with a midfield of bulls and we should that should lean into that and make the most of it.

Anyone notice Max got a fair go from the umpires last night, think the changes re blocking will help him somewhat.

I really liked what i saw in the middle from Salem. I call it the Salo effect.

Dunstall's commentary was appalling. He has absolutely no idea about Melbourne or its players. Deadset numbnuts. That's all from me.

Ok, yes, I know I’m an idjot, but I went back through both threads and found that in the game day thread, ANB got 11 mentions, 6 negative and 5 positive. In the Post Game thread ANB got two mentions, one positive and one negative. The thing that surprised me is that there were only two mentions in the Post Game thread which is where you would expect posters to have had time to reflect on the game and post accordingly. Anyway, that’s my take on it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right.

While not getting carried away, we have added pace, class and skills with our younger brigade. Glad we are not just a team of inside mids.

Montagna is good. At least he does his homework. Dermie is the worst. Just makes it up as he goes along.

Great post. BIG YES FROM ME. ANB is a pivotal part of this team and its success.

Went along last night in the sauna at Princes Park, we looked great, too fast, strong and skilled for Carlton. Especially like our quicker ball movement and more open game style which I've always thought plays better to the strengths of our list - we don't have the foot skills to play a Brisbane Lions style kick mark game. Midfield balance will be better too with less inside bulls and more class with Salem/Kosi running through there. Billings will be a handy acquisition as the pressure is off him, we don't care he was a high draft pick he can just play his role and use his foot skills to help the side. He can certainly play and will be more than serviceable I reckon. Forward line a big improvement on last year, love JVRs attack on the ball and marking ability and I though Schache was useful, draws his opponents by running to good spots and played his role quite well. All in all a very positive night, bring on Opening Round!

He will be an absolute star of the comp in a few years, let's hope we can hang onto him 🤞

I’d be very surprised if (at his age) they aren’t aiming for a 9 month post-surgery return to play. That would make him available end of May/early June, if it’s been smooth rehab, which by all reports it has. Round 11-ish.

Good to see a live match. We held up the ball when the booers looked like getting on a run. The boos came out as soon as MFC players ran out of the sheds. Gee they went quiet when it was obvious their team wasn't playing, except for a few quick ball movements through the corridors. Good to see the backs huddle and talk about what to do when it did come fast into them. Hopefully they can get a strategy that will nullify the fast ball. The wind being strong and gusty, caused a few problems for the set shots. When the boos had the wind I thought we milked the time well. Loved that we emptied the forward flanks, which gave the forwards a place to lead into. Hopefully it was based on strategy and not lazy opponents. Salem on the ball was great, vision, timing, tackling and when given space, delivery of the ball. Tracc blew up early, the heat was not his friend. Howes, Schache, and Chandler are our weakest links. JVR has good hands. May has lost some speed. Oh, Kossie, getting close to being a game winner/turner kind of player. Sparrow's two way running was amazing, looking very fit. Gawn, led by example. We have a great structure, defensive and offensive. Well done players, hearing the coaches and executing. Though, our forward area looked stagnant at times. Pleased we took multiple marks in the attacking 50. Looking forward to the season real. Go Dees.

Perhaps my favourite little thing; Gawn rediscovering how to handball! After bashing everything on the boot for 2 years he was dishing clever handballs to runners which is far more useful. He moved really well

The Demons had total control of the practice match against the Blues taking out the honours and running out victors in the scorching heat by 38 points at Ikon Park. Max Gawn was outstanding as the Dees had 10 separate goal scorers and took 21 marks inside 50.

BILLINGS IS QUALITY!

Agree. I thought he was pretty good. There were a couple of marking contests where he scrapped hard enough to bring the ball to ground. And his two goals were class kicks. On his rucking, i get the knock that he struggles with the physicality aspect, but it's a specialist skill that takes time to develop. It certainly did for JVR. In fact, a better comparisons is probably Joe Daniher, who was woeful in the ruck when they first started using him there, but is now more than serviceable. Happy for him to play forward, and continue to build his ruck craft, with JVR helping out in the ruck occasionally as he did last night. The alternative is flogging JVR and/or brining Fullarton in. The shackster has earned first crack at the forward ruck role IMO.

Exactamundo. Tomo might struggle to hold his spot down back it Tmac is up and about (big of - and to be honest i prefer tomo anyway, plays within his limitations better) and/or when turner is fit and firing. But plays his role and allows Lever to plays his. And besides no shame in being out marked by Mackay when the ball comes in fast and he is one out.

I'm with you Praha. Season starting way too early and goes too long for mine. I'd be happy with 18 rounds plus the bye! Everyone plays each other once. That's 19 weeks. Plus 5 weeks of finals including the first week as a bye yes? 24 weekends or effectively almost 6 months of footy! The only reason we go another 6 rounds is the almighty $$. Makes no sense to have a fixture where some teams end up playing each other twice, potentially 3 or 4 times if you include finals.

Two resolutions this footy season. One, avoid getting worked up about the footy media outside of game day. Key strategy is to avoid footy media. Two, avoid getting worked up about the footy commentary of mathces. Key strategy - be more sanguine. But good lord they make it hard. Dunstall is not a work experience kid on a kayo stream of a practice match at some suburban ground. I assume he is paid pretty well by Fox to provide expert comments. How then does he not know Chandler was a best 22 player for most, if not all, of last season? Just embarrassing to say he rates Chandler and think he will make a case and become a regular best 22 selections? I mean clearly he watches few games other than those he is involved in covering on Fox and does zero research. A little while later Montagna pointed out that Chandler played a key role last season and King reference his leadership.

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Thursday, 29th February @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we dissect the Practice Match victory over the Blues at Ikon Park. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Plenty to discuss but Windsor can find another gear and kick straight. Kicking straight at that acceleration is rare.

The Neville Jetta equivalent

really? i thought a lot of people were saying how incredible his workrate and defensive efforts were which they were, and have been for a long, long time

I'm feeling very positive about this match after watching us against the Blues. Surely Clarry plays. Billings and Windsor are a lock as the Demon debutants.

CARLTON V MELBOURNE CARLTON Player Time On Ground % Ranking Points Disposals Kick Ins CBA A.Saad 83 98 26 6 0 P.Cripps 76 89 25 0 21 G.Hewett 79 101 25 0 19 A.Cerra 79 69 22 0 15 S.Docherty 72 96 22 0 12 B.Acres 83 82 19 0 0 B.Kemp 98 95 19 0 0 H.McKay 87 107 18 0 0 O.Hollands 81 60 16 0 8 L.Fogarty 74 84 15 0 3 T.De Koning 76 63 14 0 0 M.McGovern 68 60 14 3 0 N.Newman 65 48 14 0 0 E.Hollands 71 48 12 0 0 J.Boyd 77 71 11 2 0 D.Cuningham 77 56 11 0 6 C.Curnow 92 66 10 0 0 A.Cincotta 81 39 9 0 0 O.Fantasia 82 36 9 0 0 J.Binns 45 12 7 0 0 M.Pittonet 41 20 7 0 0 M.Cottrell 83 6 6 0 0 L.Young 96 60 6 0 0 B.Wilson 24 8 3 0 0 J.Motlop 12 3 1 0 0 MELBOURNE Player Time On Ground % Ranking Points Disposals Kick Ins CBA M.Gawn 74 185 24 0 0 T.Rivers 84 80 24 0 0 A.Neal-Bullen 83 110 23 0 3 C.Petracca 71 79 23 0 17 C.Salem 74 102 23 0 22 J.Viney 77 114 23 0 20 T.Sparrow 83 112 20 0 10 J.Billings 77 91 17 0 0 E.Langdon 92 60 17 0 0 B.Laurie 73 58 17 0 0 J.Bowey 79 76 16 3 0 J.Lever 99 95 16 0 0 K.Pickett 80 102 15 0 9 B.Fritsch 91 42 13 0 0 J.van Rooyen 65 79 11 0 0 C.Windsor 66 77 11 0 0 S.May 92 73 10 0 0 A.Tomlinson 100 78 10 0 0 J.McVee 77 34 9 0 0 J.Schache 78 57 9 0 0 K.Chandler 79 49 7 0 0 B.Howes 69 44 6 0 0 K.Brown 12 6 3 0 0 K.Tholstrup 13 8 2 0 3 W.Verrall 12 7 2 0 0

Lots to like: - our leaders stood up as they usually do; - defence was well organised; - Windsor was great, Billings was solid, and our other ‘newbies’ showed glimpses with limited opportunities; - forward half delivery was much improved on ‘23; - field kicking and general ball move movement were good; - Salo and Sparrow through the middle I’m generally an insomniac, but I’ll sleep well tonight.