Demonland

Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last. For the second time in the evening, it was Cross with two quick goals who broke the game open and broke the Bombers’ hearts. The team stormed home with a seven goal final stanza to sit in the top six, at least temporarily, overnight. The 200cm tall, teenage father-son draft prospect Kalani White, the son of former Demons ruck star Jeff, had been quiet until just before the final break announced himself with a fine 30 minutes at the end to finish with two goals from 10 disposals in his VFL debut. He is also tied to Gold Coast through its Academy but looked really at home in the red and blue, albeit with the number 50 last worn at the club by Ben Brown and not dad’s 34 which some say has already been reserved for him. In any event, his fine showing which also Included 11 hit outs in the ruck, certainly brightened a cold night for the fans in the crowd. It really was an evening for father-sons with solid contributions from Kynan Brown (18 possessions, eight tackles) and Taj Woewodin (17 disposals, eight tackles, one goal). Bonner was best on the ground after accumulating 33 disposals while Laurie was not far behind with 26 touches, eight tackles, seven clearances and a goal. Verrall had a breakout evening with the added responsibility of leading in the ruck and amassed 44 hitouts to go with his 21 touches, nine clearances and three tackles. Jack Billings was also busy, particularly early, and finished with 22 possessions and four clearances. Mitch Hardie (two goals) and Riley Baldi were both solid contributors. Another rising tall was Matthew Jefferson who has really emerged from his shell recently. After two five goal hauls, he added two goals this time but he showed out further afield as well with 16 disposals, 8 marks and 4 tackles on the night. The team’s next outing will be in much warmer conditions when it visits the Gold Coast after next week’s bye. CASEY DEMONS 5.2.32 7.7.49 10.8.68 17.10.112 ESSENDON VFL 1.3.9 5.7.37 10.10.70 12.11.83 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Cross 4 Hardie Jefferson White 2 Bonner Craven Henderson Laurie Mentha Sharp Woewodin ESSENDON VFL McMahon 4 Eckersley Shiel 2 Menzie Monteath Sweid Unwin BEST CASEY DEMONS Bonner Verrall Laurie Brown Jefferson Woewodin ESSENDON VFL Monteath McMahon O’Neill Shiel Tsatas Brodie

The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 16th June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Power. Your 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. Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

Max Gawn has an insurmountable lead in the Demonland Player of the Year ahead of Jake Bowey, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Kozzy Pickett. Your votes please; 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

The Demons simply did not take their opportunities when they presented themselves and ultimately when down by 25 points effectively ending their finals chances. Goal kicking practice during the Bye?

A goal on every siren.

Why do we not have any penetration in our snaps?

Such bad decision making from zero pressure

Such bad decision making from zero pressure

Terrible kick by Trac. Cost the goal

Port boos are delicious

Port so much cleaner

You can’t let Horne-Francis just run around unmanned.

Lol at Port fans booing Kozzy like they were seriously in the hunt.

Commentators fawning over anything Port does. Crickets when we do anything pinpoint.

WHITE NIGHT by KC from Casey Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last. For the second time in the evening, it was Cross with two quick goals who broke the game open and broke the Bombers’ hearts. The team stormed home with a seven goal final stanza to sit in the top six, at least temporarily, overnight. The 200cm tall, teenage father-son draft prospect Kalani White, the son of former Demons ruck star Jeff, had been quiet until just before the final break announced himself with a fine 30 minutes at the end to finish with two goals from 10 disposals in his VFL debut. He is also tied to Gold Coast through its Academy but looked really at home in the red and blue, albeit with the number 50 last worn at the club by Ben Brown and not dad’s 34 which some say has already been reserved for him. In any event, his fine showing which also Included 11 hit outs in the ruck, certainly brightened a cold night for the fans in the crowd. It really was an evening for father-sons with solid contributions from Kynan Brown (18 possessions, eight tackles) and Taj Woewodin (17 disposals, eight tackles, one goal). Bonner was best on the ground after accumulating 33 disposals while Laurie was not far behind with 26 touches, eight tackles, seven clearances and a goal. Verrall had a breakout evening with the added responsibility of leading in the ruck and amassed 44 hitouts to go with his 21 touches, nine clearances and three tackles. Jack Billings was also busy, particularly early, and finished with 22 possessions and four clearances. Mitch Hardie (two goals) and Riley Baldi were both solid contributors. Another rising tall was Matthew Jefferson who has really emerged from his shell recently. After two five goal hauls, he added two goals this time but he showed out further afield as well with 16 disposals, 8 marks and 4 tackles on the night. The team’s next outing will be in much warmer conditions when it visits the Gold Coast after next week’s bye. CASEY DEMONS 5.2.32 7.7.49 10.8.68 17.10.112 ESSENDON VFL 1.3.9 5.7.37 10.10.70 12.11.83 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Cross 4 Hardie Jefferson White 2 Bonner Craven Henderson Laurie Mentha Sharp Woewodin ESSENDON VFL McMahon 4 Eckersley Shiel 2 Menzie Monteath Sweid Unwin BEST CASEY DEMONS Bonner Verrall Laurie Brown Jefferson Woewodin ESSENDON VFL Monteath McMahon O’Neill Shiel Tsatas Brodie

It’s Game Day, and the Demons are on the road for the next month and will be desperate to claim a crucial win to keep their finals hopes alive against Port Adelaide.

With both sides precariously positioned ahead of the run home to the finals, only one team involved in Sunday’s clash at the Adelaide Oval between the Power and the Demons will remain a contender when it’s over. On current form, that one team has to be Melbourne which narrowly missed out on defeating the competition’s power house Collingwood on King's Birthday and also recently overpowered both 2024 Grand Finalists. Conversely, Port Adelaide snapped out of a four-game losing streak with a win against the Giants in Canberra. Although they will be rejuvenated following that victory, their performances during that run of losses were sub par and resulted in some embarrassing blow out defeats. Whilst I may not have been inclined to highlight this earlier in the year, it’s worth noting that Melbourne has held a distinct advantage at this venue against the home team in the current decade. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams have met at this venue on four occasions, with Melbourne emerging victorious in three of those encounters, including the most recent matchup at the ground in Round 4 last year. The exception was a match played on a wet and stormy night in May 2023, which Melbourne lost by four points in circumstances where the result could have gone either way. In the other three matchups, Melbourne was unequivocally the superior side. Superiority in football however, does entail the ability to convert goals at a reasonable rate and if the Demons have a major failing at the present time, it is with conversion in the forward line. This is a subject that has applied for a long time - indeed, ever since the aftermath of their flag in 2021. So while the law of averages suggests that they will turn the corner very soon, every time they turn a corner, things just get worse. The importance of accuracy in front of goals was brought home to me last night while I was writing this and the Bulldogs’ score vs St. Kilda was 14.6.90 in the third quarter. Two weeks ago, Melbourne was light years away when it reached its 20th shot at goal. The Demons will be buoyed by the signing of rising superstar small man Kysaiah Pickett on a monster contract that should keep him at the club for the rest of his career. Pickett is the team talisman who lifted it dramatically after he came back from suspension and found his feet with a couple of games and found some explosive games both in the middle and in stints up forward. He’s also proven to be a thorn in the side of Port Adelaide over the years. They will struggle to contain him on Sunday. Despite his contentious role in the King’s Birthday clash, Max Gawn maintained his exceptional form throughout the game, achieving 43 hitouts, 20 disposals, and numerous telling marks, while Clayton Oliver delivered an outstanding performance against the Magpies, displaying a tireless effort to finish with 30 disposals and 9 clearances. Christian Petracca is always a danger and the likely return of Jack Viney spells danger to the Port Adelaide engine room headed by skipper Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Horne-Francis returning after a layoff with injury. A measure of this team’s decline and loss of form this year is the fact that Jeremy Finlayson who would have been regarded as a “danger man” this time last year has been omitted. You might not believe it, but I think the Demons have the power to win this one and I’m tipping it to do so by 32 points. THE GAME Port Adelaide v Melbourne on Sunday 15 June 2025 at 3.20pm at the Adelaide Oval HEAD TO HEAD Overall Port Adelaide 24 wins Melbourne 17 wins At the Adelaide Oval Port Adelaide 3 wins Melbourne 4 wins Past five meetings Port Adelaide 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Hinkley 6 wins Goodwin 5 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Port Adelaide 7.11.53 defeated Melbourne 7.9.51 at the MCG in Round 23 2024. It was a dour, defensive struggle on a cold night with the Demons squandering away a number of opportunities in the final quarter against an in-form Port Adelaide that had beaten the league leader by 112 points a week earlier. THE TEAMS PORT ADELAIDE B B. Zerk-Thatcher, E. Ratugolea, M. Bergman HB K. Farrell, A. Aliir, R. Burton C J. Burgoyne, J. Horne-Francis, W. Drew HF D. Byrne-Jones, S. Powell-Pepper, O. Wines F W. Rioli, M. Georgiades, J. Richards FOLL D. Visentini, C. Rozee, Z. Butters I/C H. Jackson, M. Liddy, J. Mead, J. Sinn, J. Sweet EMG T. Boak, L. Evans C. Moraes IN J. Horne-Francis, M. Liddy, J. Sweet OUT T. Boak (rested), J. Finlayson (omitted), C. Moraes (omitted) MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, S. May, C. Salem HB J. McVee, J. Lever, D. Turner C K. Chandler, C. Petracca, X. Lindsay HF H. Langford, B. Fritsch, T. Sparrow F J. Melksham, H. Petty, K. Pickett FOLL M. Gawn, C. Oliver, J. Viney I/C B. Howes, E. Langdon, T. Rivers, J. van Rooyen, C. Windsor EMG T. McDonald, H. Sharp, K. Tholstrup IN J. Viney OUT K. Tholstrup (omitted) Injury and Suspension List: Round 14 Aidan Johnson — suspended / 1 week Jack Viney — hand / Test Oliver Sestan — hamstring / Test Charlie Spargo — scapula/ 3 - 4 weeks Shane McAdam — Achilles / next season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / next season