Demonland

As for the opposition this week. ST KILDA Josh Bruce (back) — 4-5 weeks Darren Minchington (knee) — 3-5 weeks Dylan Roberton (heart condition) — indefinite Doultan Langlands (glandular fever) — indefinite

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-injury-list-casualty-ward-for-every-club-after-round-6/news-story/3cfdcb723c0d2ccfae8abdde3ce7b63a A few additions to the list in the link. MELBOURNE Pat McKenna (hamstring) — indefinite Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) — 7 Jack Viney (foot) — 1-2 weeks Christian Salem (Broken Thumb) - 1-2 weeks (1 week according to Misson) Christian Petracca (Finger) - Test Jesse Hogan (Knee knock) - Test

The MFCSS voice inside of my head can't decide whether he'll have a miraculous recovery in time to return for our match or whether his replacement will have a blinder. The glass is never full. ?

The injuries are mounting. Cloud over Hogan. Salem has a broken thumb. Petracca no certainty to return. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-05-01/petracca-no-certainty-for-saints-jones http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-05-01/salem-to-miss-clash-against-saints

The injuries are mounting. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-05-01/thumbs-down-as-bad-break-sidelines-demon#/

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-05-01/thumbs-down-as-bad-break-sidelines-demon#/

You mean that wasn't a set play?

My entire facebook and twitter feed is full of articles about how bad St. Kilda are at the moment. This concerns be more than a feed full of articles about how good our next opponent is.

Mitch Hannan will be our very special guest on the Demonland Podcast LIVE Wednesday night @ 8:30pm Listen and Chat LIVE: http://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31 Got any questions for Mitch then lets us know.

Here's the leaderboard in excel table form. PLAYER VOTES 1 Max Gawn 72 2 Nathan Jones 52 3 Clayton Oliver 50 4 Jesse Hogan 49 5 Oscar McDoanld 29 6 Christian Petracca 26 6 Christian Salem 26 8 Jeff Garlett 16 9 Jake Melksham 15 10 Bayley Fritsch 11 11 Tomas Bugg 6 11 Michael Hibberd 6 11 Jordan Lewis 6 14 Jake Lever 4 14 Neville Jetta 4 16 Dean Kent 2 17 Angus Brayshaw 1 17 James Harmes 1 17 Bernie Vince 1 17 Josh Wagner 1

I'll blame Whispering Jack for that one. He compiled the votes both weeks. I did alert him to it last week. The 29 votes one is correct.

Suddenly, Max Gawn has opened up a bit of a lead ... 72. Max Gawn 52. Nathan Jones 50. Clayton OIiver 49. Jesse Hogan 29. Oscar McDonald 26. Christian Petracca Christian Salem 16. Jeff Garlett 15. Jake Melksham 14. Oscar McDonald 11. Bayley Fritsch 6. Tom Bugg Michael Hibberd Jordan Lewis 4. Neville Jetta Jake Lever 2. Dean Kent 1. Angus Brayshaw James Harmes Bernie Vince Josh Wagner

10 votes to Max and he is in 3rd spot overall. http://www.aflca.com.au/index.php?id=14&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2816&cHash=3e826a8f8df06dc899f49f640426b1ed http://www.aflca.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/_temp_/Votes_2018/Shadforth_Financial_Group_AFLCA_Champion_Player_Votes_-_Rd_6__2018_1_.pdf http://www.aflca.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/_temp_/Leaderboards_2018/Shadforth_Financial_Group_AFLCA_Champion_Player_Leader_Board_as_at_end_of_Rd_6__2018.pdf

The day the Demons almost gave away a humongous lead but recovered. One of these days they will play four quarters ... THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Michael Hibberd, Oscar McDonald, Neville Jetta HB:Bernie Vince, Cameron Pedersen, Jayden Hunt ? Nathan Jones, Clayton Oliver, Jordan Lewis HF: Christian Petracca, Tom McDonald, Jake Melksham F: Jeff Garlett, Mitch Hannan, Alex Neal-Bullen FOLL: Max Gawn, Dom Tyson, Jack Viney I/C:Angus Brayshaw, Mitch Hannan, Josh Wagner, Sam Weideman EMG: Corey Maynard, Billy Stretch, Jack Watts IN: Angus Brayshaw, Mitch Hannan, Josh Wagner, Sam Weideman OUT: Sam Frost (omitted), Corey Maynard (omitted), Christian Salem (omitted), Jack Watts (omitted) ST KILDA B: Jarryn Geary, Nathan J. Brown, Dylan Roberton HB: Jack Newnes, Jake Carlisle, Jimmy Webster ? Shane Savage, Luke Dunstan, Jack Billings HF: Jack Steele, Josh Bruce, Maverick Weller F: Jade Gresham, Tim Membrey, Jack Sinclair FOLL: Billy Longer, Sebastian Ross, Jack Steven I/C (from): Blake Acres, Sam Gilbert, Koby Stevens, Brandon White EMG: Tom Hickey, Jack Lonie, Daniel McKenzie IN: Sam Gilbert OUT: Nick Riewoldt (concussion)

Also doesn't take in to account free kicks not received which is a bug bear of mine.

Relive the magic all over again.

Montagna to kick the "joe the goose" sealer.

When they took the field for their first home game of the season on Saturday night, the Casey Demons were only a shadow of the team that ran riot in the opening game of the season a month ago. The club started the day with a successful result for its women’s VFL side and followed it up with the unfurling of the last Development League premiership flag. With that competition now redundant, a number of the club’s back up VFL listed team are playing in suburban competitions and not in the club’s own ranks. The consequence of this is that the cohesiveness of a club team is not always there when the AFL listed numbers are as low as they were this weekend.  The Demons started poorly and failed to handle the ball in the slippery conditions. It took a whole quarter before Cam Pedersen managed to score the team’s first goal on the siren and they were lucky to be trailing by only 14 points at the time.  In the absence of the team’s young ruck duo, Casey relied on a raw first-gamer from the ‘burbs in Kieren Byers who tried hard but was no match for the experiences Zac Smith and his back ups who racked up more than 80 hit outs for the night and gave Geelong’s midfield an armchair ride. By half time, the Cats had opened up a 38 point lead and Casey had only two goals on the board. After the break, the Demons worked a lot harder and were led by the likes of Tim Smith who was relishing the week off and put great pressure on the Cats resulting in a more competitive effort. The move of Sam Frost into the forward line also provided dividends. The impetus for the revival was also provided by some solid efforts from VFL listers Jay Lockhart, Goy Lok (2 goals), the ever reliable Angus Scott and Corey Wagner. A few late goals in junk time made the outcome a more respectable defeat than it should have been and the bye could not have come at a better time to enable some wounds to be licked. The loss was Casey’s first defeat at home after 15 wins in a row at Casey Fields. Casey Demons 1.1.7 2.3.15 5.4.34 9.8.62 Geelong VFL 3.3.21 8.5.53 11.8.74 12.12.84 Goals Casey Demons Baker Lok Scott 2 Bugg Pedersen J Smith Geelong VFL Jones McLachlan Reid 2 Crameri Dobson McLachlan Miers Smith Tsitas Best Casey Demons T Smith Lok Scott C Wagner Lockhart Frost Geelong VFL House Buzza Smith Reid McLachlan Atkins Statistics Oskar Baker 2 goals 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points Tomas Bugg 1 goal 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 78 dream team points Kieren Byers 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 8 hit outs 39 dream team points  Sean Dwyer 2 handballs 2 disposals 1 tackle 5 dream team points Sam Frost 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 6 marks 4 tackles 6 hit outs 95 dream team points Jeff Garlett 12 kicks 7 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 87 dream team points Mitchell Gent 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 35 dream team points Dion Johnstone 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 2 tackles 42 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 kicks 3 handballs 4 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 25 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 60 dream team points Mykelti Lefau 1 kicks 4 handballs 5 disposals 2 tackles 16 dream team points Jay Lockhart 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points Goy Lok 2 goals 1 behind 13 kicks 1 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 83 dream team points Ryan Morrison 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 70 dream team points James Munro 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 1 hit out 53 dream team points Cameron Pedersen 1 goal 1 behind 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 11 hit outs 100 dream team points Harrison Petty 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 54 dream team points Angus Scott 2 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 9 handballs 19 disposals 5 marks 77 dream team points Joel Smith 1 goal 5 kicks 12 handballs 17 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 51 dream team points Timothy Smith 12 kicks 13 handballs 25 disposals 2 marks 12 tackles 117 dream team points Billy Stretch 6 kicks 14 handballs 20 disposals 1 mark 9 tackles 86 dream team points Corey Wagner 13 kicks 8 handballs 21 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 85 dream team points Mitchell White 1 behind 14 kicks 6 handballs 20 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 99 dream team points

LICKING WOUNDS by KC from Casey When they took the field for their first home game of the season on Saturday night, the Casey Demons were only a shadow of the team that ran riot in the opening game of the season a month ago. The club started the day with a successful result for its women’s VFL side and followed it up with the unfurling of the last Development League premiership flag. With that competition now redundant, a number of the club’s back up VFL listed team are playing in suburban competitions and not in the club’s own ranks. The consequence of this is that the cohesiveness of a club team is not always there when the AFL listed numbers are as low as they were this weekend. The Demons started poorly and failed to handle the ball in the slippery conditions. It took a whole quarter before Cam Pedersen managed to score the team’s first goal on the siren and they were lucky to be trailing by only 14 points at the time. In the absence of the team’s young ruck duo, Casey relied on a raw first-gamer from the ‘burbs in Kieren Byers who tried hard but was no match for the experiences Zac Smith and his back ups who racked up more than 80 hit outs for the night and gave Geelong’s midfield an armchair ride. By half time, the Cats had opened up a 38 point lead and Casey had only two goals on the board. After the break, the Demons worked a lot harder and were led by the likes of Tim Smith who was relishing the week off and put great pressure on the Cats resulting in a more competitive effort. The move of Sam Frost into the forward line also provided dividends. The impetus for the revival was also provided by some solid efforts from VFL listers Jay Lockhart, Goy Lok (2 goals), the ever reliable Angus Scott and Corey Wagner. A few late goals in junk time made the outcome a more respectable defeat than it should have been and the bye could not have come at a better time to enable some wounds to be licked. The loss was Casey’s first defeat at home after 15 wins in a row at Casey Fields. Casey Demons 1.1.7 2.3.15 5.4.34 9.8.62 Geelong VFL 3.3.21 8.5.53 11.8.74 12.12.84 Goals Casey Demons Baker Lok Scott 2 Bugg Pedersen J Smith Geelong VFL Jones McLachlan Reid 2 Crameri Dobson McLachlan Miers Smith Tsitas Best Casey Demons T Smith Lok Scott C Wagner Lockhart Frost Geelong VFL House Buzza Smith Reid McLachlan Atkins Statistics Oskar Baker 2 goals 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points Tomas Bugg 1 goal 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 78 dream team points Kieren Byers 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 8 hit outs 39 dream team points Sean Dwyer 2 handballs 2 disposals 1 tackle 5 dream team points Sam Frost 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 6 marks 4 tackles 6 hit outs 95 dream team points Jeff Garlett 12 kicks 7 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 87 dream team points Mitchell Gent 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 35 dream team points Dion Johnstone 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 2 tackles 42 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 kicks 3 handballs 4 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 25 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 60 dream team points Mykelti Lefau 1 kicks 4 handballs 5 disposals 2 tackles 16 dream team points Jay Lockhart 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points Goy Lok 2 goals 1 behind 13 kicks 1 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 83 dream team points Ryan Morrison 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 70 dream team points James Munro 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 1 hit out 53 dream team points Cameron Pedersen 1 goal 1 behind 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 11 hit outs 100 dream team points Harrison Petty 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 54 dream team points Angus Scott 2 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 9 handballs 19 disposals 5 marks 77 dream team points Joel Smith 1 goal 5 kicks 12 handballs 17 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 51 dream team points Timothy Smith 12 kicks 13 handballs 25 disposals 2 marks 12 tackles 117 dream team points Billy Stretch 6 kicks 14 handballs 20 disposals 1 mark 9 tackles 86 dream team points Corey Wagner 13 kicks 8 handballs 21 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 85 dream team points Mitchell White 1 behind 14 kicks 6 handballs 20 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 99 dream team points

Probably not a word that sits well around the Essendon Football Club, but it was the injection of youth, skill and old fashioned toughness that saw Melbourne eventually run out easy winners at the old nemesis stadium at the Docklands. The addition of Charlie Spargo was a breath of fresh air as his first half efforts saw him with a pair of goals in his first game of AFL, but it was also his natural football abilities which will see him have a promising future. Eighteen touches, including nine contested, in his first game at 88% disposal efficiency was exactly what Melbourne has been missing in the past couple of weeks. While he needs to build his body to endure, he has the football smarts and skills so lacking in others currently getting a run. The return of Tom McDonald also injected that much needed strength and surety both in the backline, ruck and up forward that has also been missing. And similarly, ten contested possessions from a big man was telling. Jordan Lewis returned and the two week recovery period suited him well, and he was able to compete at a much better level than earlier in the season. Bayley Fritsch and Mitch Hannan were the icing on the cake for the Demons, each scoring three goals, but it was their work around the packs in the forward line, with Fritsch particularly injecting both marking and disposal efficiency, that also had been so lacking in his absence up forward. Their return will make it nearly impossible for the likes of Tom Bugg and Jeff Garlett to press for a senior spot, at least in the short term, barring any injuries. It is absolutely telling just to look at the goal-scorers this week with those 4 (Fritsch, Hannan, Tom McDonald and Spargo) being responsible for ten of the 16 goals scored. What a difference that made to the team and the result! But it wasn’t all going one way. At least not in the first half. The Demons trailed at both breaks and had amassed a paltry four goals to half time, but fortunately only trailed by a goal at that stage. This was in part due to the backline, which also showed signs of return to the form of 2017. Nev Jetta blanketed McDonald-Tipungwuti, while Oscar McDonald completely destroyed Daniher, who could only managed three behinds for the whole game. Michael Hibberd resumed his sweeping role, and his penetrating kicks downfield broke the Essendon lines time and time again. Then in the third quarter Nathan Jones decided that enough was enough and he simply ploughed his way through the opposition with 9 touches. Helped by Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver, suddenly the ball was being kicked out of the centre and around the packs, putting pressure on the Essendon defence. With T McDonald, Hogan and Weidemann as targets, and Melksham, Fritsch, and Hannan crumbing successfully, suddenly Melbourne piled on seven goals to a solitary Essendon major. Even big Max got in on the act and put through a couple of ripper boundary banana’s that upset the Bomber fans no end. Pity he has been unable to kick straight when in front, or he would have had four for the game instead of the two he finished with. Still, for a ruckman who had 42 hitouts, this was fair output for the afternoon. And while the Demons lapsed in the final minutes to gift Essendon a couple of goals after being eight up, the end result was still a six goal win. The injection of talent had a dramatic effect, and will have a huge effect with confidence going in to next weeks game against St.Kilda. However, there were still too many non-contributors, particularly Alex Neal-Bullen, James Hames and Dom Tyson who all still do not spread or get involved with the play when in their vicinity. Harmes keeps getting caught, when he tries to barge through instead of kicking the ball forward. Tyson remains glacially slow and continues to turn the ball over and kick to contests instead of to the teams advantage. ANB just trots up and down the field, and a meagre eight disposals for the game will guarantee Christian Petracca, recovering from his dog bite, a spot for next week. The team returns to Etihad for next week’s encounter with St Kilda, and while it might sound trite, this is yet another must win game for the Demons who are sitting in the middle of the pack on 12 points, with only one top eight team in the on the same number. To put it another way, the team is already a game behind the majority of the teams in the top eight and its percentage is not all that flash. This cost them a finals appearance last year, a lesson that does not yet seem to have been learned. If Melbourne is to progress it must must win its next two games in order to put space between it and the teams in the bottom half of the ladder. After the past couple of weeks, the club finally took a small step in the direction of that much talked about injection of confidence and faith necessary to build a winning culture. A small step, but nevertheless, a positive one ... Melbourne 1.3.9 4.7.31 11.10.76 16.12.108 Essendon 2.3.15 5.7.37 6.9.45 10.12.72 Goals Melbourne Fritsch Hannan 3 Gawn Hogan T McDonald Melksham Spargo 2 Essendon Stringer 3, McDonald-Tipungwuti Smith 2, Laverde, Stewart, Zaharakis Best Melbourne Gawn Salem Hannan Hibberd Fritsch O McDonald T McDonald Essendon Merrett Zaharakis Ambrose Hurley McGrath Smith Injuries Melbourne Hogan (right ankle) Essendon Nil Reports Nil Umpires Foot, Rosebury, Williamson Official crowd 35,964 at Etihad Stadium

INJECTORS by George on the Outer Probably not a word that sits well around the Essendon Football Club, but it was the injection of youth, skill and old fashioned toughness that saw Melbourne eventually run out easy winners at the old nemesis stadium at the Docklands. The addition of Charlie Spargo was a breath of fresh air as his first half efforts saw him with a pair of goals in his first game of AFL, but it was also his natural football abilities which will see him have a promising future. Eighteen touches, including nine contested, in his first game at 88% disposal efficiency was exactly what Melbourne has been missing in the past couple of weeks. While he needs to build his body to endure, he has the football smarts and skills so lacking in others currently getting a run. The return of Tom McDonald also injected that much needed strength and surety both in the backline, ruck and up forward that has also been missing. And similarly, ten contested possessions from a big man was telling. Jordan Lewis returned and the two week recovery period suited him well, and he was able to compete at a much better level than earlier in the season. Bayley Fritsch and Mitch Hannan were the icing on the cake for the Demons, each scoring three goals, but it was their work around the packs in the forward line, with Fritsch particularly injecting both marking and disposal efficiency, that also had been so lacking in his absence up forward. Their return will make it nearly impossible for the likes of Tom Bugg and Jeff Garlett to press for a senior spot, at least in the short term, barring any injuries. It is absolutely telling just to look at the goal-scorers this week with those 4 (Fritsch, Hannan, Tom McDonald and Spargo) being responsible for ten of the 16 goals scored. What a difference that made to the team and the result! But it wasn’t all going one way. At least not in the first half. The Demons trailed at both breaks and had amassed a paltry four goals to half time, but fortunately only trailed by a goal at that stage. This was in part due to the backline, which also showed signs of return to the form of 2017. Nev Jetta blanketed McDonald-Tipungwuti, while Oscar McDonald completely destroyed Daniher, who could only managed three behinds for the whole game. Michael Hibberd resumed his sweeping role, and his penetrating kicks downfield broke the Essendon lines time and time again. Then in the third quarter Nathan Jones decided that enough was enough and he simply ploughed his way through the opposition with 9 touches. Helped by Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver, suddenly the ball was being kicked out of the centre and around the packs, putting pressure on the Essendon defence. With T McDonald, Hogan and Weidemann as targets, and Melksham, Fritsch, and Hannan crumbing successfully, suddenly Melbourne piled on seven goals to a solitary Essendon major. Even big Max got in on the act and put through a couple of ripper boundary banana’s that upset the Bomber fans no end. Pity he has been unable to kick straight when in front, or he would have had four for the game instead of the two he finished with. Still, for a ruckman who had 42 hitouts, this was fair output for the afternoon. And while the Demons lapsed in the final minutes to gift Essendon a couple of goals after being eight up, the end result was still a six goal win. The injection of talent had a dramatic effect, and will have a huge effect with confidence going in to next weeks game against St.Kilda. However, there were still too many non-contributors, particularly Alex Neal-Bullen, James Hames and Dom Tyson who all still do not spread or get involved with the play when in their vicinity. Harmes keeps getting caught, when he tries to barge through instead of kicking the ball forward. Tyson remains glacially slow and continues to turn the ball over and kick to contests instead of to the teams advantage. ANB just trots up and down the field, and a meagre eight disposals for the game will guarantee Christian Petracca, recovering from his dog bite, a spot for next week. The team returns to Etihad for next week’s encounter with St Kilda, and while it might sound trite, this is yet another must win game for the Demons who are sitting in the middle of the pack on 12 points, with only one top eight team in the on the same number. To put it another way, the team is already a game behind the majority of the teams in the top eight and its percentage is not all that flash. This cost them a finals appearance last year, a lesson that does not yet seem to have been learned. If Melbourne is to progress it must must win its next two games in order to put space between it and the teams in the bottom half of the ladder. After the past couple of weeks, the club finally took a small step in the direction of that much talked about injection of confidence and faith necessary to build a winning culture. A small step, but nevertheless, a positive one ... Melbourne 1.3.9 4.7.31 11.10.76 16.12.108 Essendon 2.3.15 5.7.37 6.9.45 10.12.72 Goals Melbourne Fritsch Hannan 3 Gawn Hogan T McDonald Melksham Spargo 2 Essendon Stringer 3, McDonald-Tipungwuti Smith 2, Laverde, Stewart, Zaharakis Best Melbourne Gawn Salem Hannan Hibberd Fritsch O McDonald T McDonald Essendon Merrett Zaharakis Ambrose Hurley McGrath Smith Injuries Melbourne Hogan (right ankle) Essendon Nil Reports Nil Umpires Foot, Rosebury, Williamson Official crowd 35,964 at Etihad Stadium