Demonland

Who is this Ben Brown you speak of?

Congratulations to Max Gawn who can’t be overtaken. Clayton Oliver is the runner up. 217. Max Gawn 193. Clayton Oliver 135. James Harmes Christian Salem 89. Angus Brayshaw 71. Jack Viney 57. Sam Frost 56. Bayley Fritsch 54. Christian Petracca 49. Nathan Jones 47. Jake Melksham 43. Steven May 42. Marty Hore 28. Jayden Hunt 27. Tom McDonald 24. Michael Hibberd 12. Jordan Lewis Jay Lockhart 9. Jake Lever 7. Harry Petty 5. Oskar Baker Braydon Preuss 4. Josh Wagner 3. Jay Kennedy Harris Corey Wagner Sam Weideman 2. Alex Neal-Bullen 1. Kyle Dunkley Jeff Garlett Neville Jetta Oscar McDonald Billy Stretch

Thanks, but no thanks! In a round where the club was supposed to thank their fans for the support during the year, the Melbourne Football Club chose to do otherwise with a 53 point loss to a team that sat 15th on the ladder. Don’t give us cheap jumpers that can’t be sold in the Demon shop. Don’t give us vouchers to shop there, give us something on the field, which is why we come to the football in the first place. It was a disgraceful performance, which started with a disgraceful team selection on the Thursday night. It is all good and well to bring in a player like Kade Chandler to give him a taste of senior AFL football, when there is nothing left in the season. But it was reprehensible to bring back a swathe of sub-standard players en-masse and expect anything other than a complete drubbing. Put simply, players that have been tried and tried again and have failed, failed yet again. And to bring them in alongside another group of players who ordinarily would not be expected to play senior football, meant that nearly ½ the side on the field was incapable of producing the skills necessary to play at this level. Thanks for that. We come along to watch NQR players? Might as well go to the local footy. Sydney scored its first goal within 30 seconds of the game commencing, then followed it up with another 2 before the Demons managed to find the big sticks. Like the week before and the week before that, the Sydney scoring came from the opposition players being unmarked behind the ball. All the Melbourne mids go in and at the ball, without realising that only one of them can actually get it. If they do win the contest, then the first option is to handball to someone who is already surrounded by the opposition. Does the coaching staff seriously think this hasn’t been noticed by the opposition coaches? All they have to do is sit outside, wait for Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw to get the ball, and it will either be handballed to them directly, or to the player standing right next to them. Max Gawn accumulated 52 hit outs and yet Sydney led the clearance count all game. That is the result of this flawed approach. And let’s not forget that Sydney hadn’t won a game for 7 weeks! Thanks for that. Doing the same thing week after week and expecting a different result. That’s an inspiration to join up for next year. Melbourne managed to claw back a couple of goals to be six points down at the first change, but then like the week before and the week before that, failed to bother the goal umpire for another two quarters. Thanks for that. The fans really like turning up to see their side not scoring for half the game. Suddenly other activities seem more attractive than the football. Like last week the rain made conditions slippery. Experienced players know to stay down in marking contests, because the ball will come out the back. Sydney fielded the youngest side in the competition this week, yet they knew how to play the conditions right. Time and time again Melbourne players flew against each other only to watch the ball slip over the back to the waiting Swans. Time and time again Melbourne players tried to pick the ball up off the ground instead of just kicking it forward. Time and time again the Demons choose handball instead of just a scrubby kick out of defence, away from the goals or away from congestion. This played into the Sydney game style as they were able to keep up the pressure and ensure the inevitable turnover. This time Sydney would like to thank the Demons for playing exactly as they expected, and had done all season. Up forward the sole consistent performer was Jake Melksham, who despite 3 goals, does that and nothing more. Zero tackles for the game and an unwillingness to chase and pressure his opponent just sees the ball heading down the other end on a regular basis. Surrounded by ANB, C Wagner and first gamer Chandler, the Demon forward line was non-existent save for Bayley Fritsch. But then it was easy for Sydney to drop Rampe back on him as no one else was any serious threat, and Petracca was moved further up the ground to try to provide some spark. Sydney were also helped by the Melbourne mids who are unwilling to attempt to kick for goal, instead choosing to head for the pockets or kick short to non-existent targets. The game itself just fizzled out, with Sydney kicking 5 in the final quarter to send their fans off after the game with high-fives and thanks for sticking with them. In contrast the Melbourne players couldn’t get off the ground fast enough. Hollow messages and hollow gestures to fans that have suffered through 50 years of the same are seen exactly for what they are. When the on-field performances match those of the words bandied about, then they will have meaning. The true damage of this and previous performances will be shown next year when the membership numbers plummet. When the membership team come calling the response from many is likely to be thanks but no thanks! Melbourne 3.1.19 3.3.21 3.7.25 5.12.42 Sydney Swans 4.1.25 7.3.45 10.3.63 15.5.95 Goals Melbourne Melksham 3 Fritsch Neal-Bullen Sydney Swans Reid 3 Dawson McCartin Menzel Papley Rowbottom 2 Bell Blakey Best Melbourne Melksham Oliver Viney Gawn Hibberd Brayshaw Sydney Swans Florent Reid Blakey Kennedy Parker Mills Injuries Melbourne Max Gawn (hamstring soreness) Christian Salem (leg) Sydney Swans Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Umpires Stephens Findlay Glouftsis Official crowd: 23,700 at the MCG

Going early but what the heck?

Can we find 6 players please?

Actually my preference for these teams is to just miss out of the finals. Therefore they get the pain of "close but no cigar", middle of the road first round pick and a harder draw bracket.

With my luck that team will finish bottom next year. Now which team should I choose? Carlton, Collingwood or Essendon?

Place your bets ...

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/revealed-the-full-report-which-blows-the-lid-on-which-clubs-are-the-darlings-of-afl-umpires/news-story/5daedf0190012642012f0448f70d5104 Click Here to Download the 2 Decade Umpiring Report: http://media.news.com.au/multimedia/2019/AFL-free-kick/Free-kick-analysis.pdf

Unless he has changed his name or risen from the grave then no.

A couple of mystery injuries of the week.

Great news. I look forward to more member discounts. And I don't need to throw away my current gear.

Does he talk about the Dees?

What and spoil the great odds I will get.

I truly believed that at the start of the year. I desperately hope injuries were the sole reason for our decline this year. I'm not convinced that solely was the reason but will reserve judgement until next year.

In reference to my comment finals success meant making and winning a final. I can't predict whether they will win a premiership yet but I believe they are closer to getting a shot at the moment than we are.

Fair point. I was just pointing out that supporters enjoy these types of videos.

Next Year? Haven't they already overtaken us?

Around about 12 months ago Melbourne and Sydney fought out an epic battle between two top eight teams fighting for the best possible ladder position in the lead up to the finals. The Swans triumphed by 9 points at the MCG after the Demons came back from five goals down at three quarter time. But for its poor kicking for goal, Melbourne might well have won the game and finished in the top four. Who knows what might then have happened for the club in September? As a consequence, the person responsible for arranging the AFL fixture chose these teams to meet on a Friday night under the moonlight at the home of football late in the 2019 season. Surely, this strategy was the perfect prescription for a crowd pleasing game to kick off the year’s penultimate round? The problem with this is that the Dees and the Swans have both fallen into a hole so the Friday night prime time television football market is instead about to be treated to a snore fest between 17th and 15th in a round where 1st plays 2nd and 3rd plays 4th. Go figure? The Swans can finish only one place higher than where they sit at the moment and could fall a spot or two while the Demons look stuck on 17th unless something unbelievable occurs. They might consider playing the kids and start looking forward to 2020 but, in doing so, could also find themselves accused of tanking by some nuff nuff in the media who has suffered a mental block about the circumstances that brought them to this place after promising so much at the end of 2018. The result is that the AFL has provided the Melbourne Football Club with the perfect opportunity to combine the game with its annual sleep out at the MCG night (which seems to have escaped my attention this year). When previewing most games at this level, there are a number of indicators that one can look at, most notably current form and team composition but these teams are so significantly below their best on a team and individual level that they defy all normal principles of prediction. For instance, Melbourne has had one constant this year in the form of Max Gawn who has been heroic in the ruck. On Queens Birthday, he beat Collingwood big man Brodie Grundy but last week, he lowered his colors to the same player. The Demons still won the clearances on the day by 36 to 31 and managed only one less visit inside their 50 metre arc but inability to convert and their poor turnovers saw the Magpies hold sway. This week the Demon ruck division faces a far less potent opposition and should not have much trouble overpowering the Swans at the stoppages. The problem is that everywhere else on the ground, they’ve been awful and in these circumstances, I can see them struggling to cobble out a winning score in the absence of a key forward capable of kicking multiple goals. Expect a dour struggle with neither team scoring above 60 points and a small crowd enjoying a night’s sleep at the MCG. My prediction is that fans of one or other of the sides will awaken to see their team bring home the four premiership points on offer. THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney Swans at the MCG Friday 16 August 2019 at 7.50pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 93 wins Sydney Swans 113 wins 2 drawn At MCG Melbourne 49 wins Sydney Swans 44 wins 2 drawn Last 5 meetings Melbourne 1 wins Sydney Swans 4 wins The Coaches Goodwin 1 win Longmire 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Footy Channel Live at 7.30pm RADIO - SEN 3AW ABC THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.10.100 defeated Sydney Swans 11.12.78 in Round 4 2019 at the MCG After struggling in the first half, the Demons found their mojo just before the main break and comprehensively beat the Swans on their hoodoo ground - the SCG. Max Gawn was in devastating form with 55 hit outs while Clayton Oliver dominated the possession count. Christian Salem was also good. Those three are among the very few at the club who can hang their heads high over their efforts throughout the season. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B Michael Hibberd Sam Frost Jake Lever HB Nathan Jones Marty Hore Christian Salem C Kyle Dunkley Jack Viney Billy Stretch HF Corey Wagner Bayley Fritsch James Harmes F Jordan Lewis Jake Melksham Christian Petracca FOLL Max Gawn Angus Brayshaw Clayton Oliver I/C Kade ChandlerJay Kennedy Harris Alex Neal-Bullen Charlie Spargo EMG Jayden Hunt Declan Keilty Jay Lockhart Braydon Preuss IN Kade Chandler Marty Hore Alex Neal-Bullen Charlie Spargo Billy Stretch OUT Oskar Baker (omitted) Jayden Hunt (omitted) Oscar McDonald (ankle) Steven May (hamstring) Harrison Petty (groin) NEW Kade Chandler SYDNEY SWANS B Callum Mills Dane Rampe Aliir Aliir HB Jake Lloyd Tom McCartin Jordan Dawson C Isaac Heeney George Hewett Oliver Florent HF Ben Ronke Nick Blakey Tom Papley F Kieren Jack Sam Reid Daniel Menzel FOLL Hayden McLean Josh P. Kennedy Luke Parker I/C James Bell Ryan Clarke Robbie Fox James Rowbottom EMG Joel Amartey Lewis Melican James Rose Ryley Stoddart IN Kieren Jack OUT Zak Jones (Injured) Injury List - Round 22 Oskar Baker (knee) – available Corey Maynard (hip) – test Tom Sparrow (knee) – 2 weeks Jeff Garlett (shoulder) – season Mitch Hannan (groin) – season Neville Jetta (knee) - season Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – season Steven May (hamstring) – season Tom McDonald (knee) – season Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season Joel Smith (groin) – season Tim Smith (foot) – season Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – season Sam Weideman (jaw) – season Guy Walker (shoulder) – indefinite