Demonland

The equation is really simple now. Win the game and you finish in seventh place and face a trip to either Adelaide or Sydney in the first week of the finals or lose and sweat it out until Sunday night when the result of the West Coast v Adelaide game is known. It's a situation of the club's own making, the result of a failure to win games against lesser credentialed teams and/or failure to apply the blowtorch when you're in full control in games like Port Adelaide or last week against the Brisbane Lions when the lead was by 32 points at the 5 minute mark of the final quarter. But it's water under the bridge now and all that stands between Melbourne and the finals is the old arch nemesis in Collingwood. There are no excuses either. There's an air of desperation about the Magpies. There's confusion, uncertainty and doubt about the coaching position. Eddie seems to no longer be the golden haired saviour who could be relied upon to find a way to revive their flagging fortunes. The club seems to be on its knees. The Melbourne injury list appears to be more or less under control, give or take a Jack Viney and a few players who provide depth and for once, the Demons face a side that has far more top players sidelined with injury. Bernie Vince and Jack Watts have both escaped possible suspensions from the weekend's games and Christian Salem is back after doing his penance for a week. The selectors have available to them, close to the best material to enable them to pick a winning team to lift the club out of the pit of misery it has occupied for more than a decade. What could possibly go wrong? THE GAME Collingwood v Melbourne at MCG Saturday 26 August 2017 at 1.45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Collingwood 146 wins, Melbourne 83 wins 5 drawn At the MCG Collingwood 79 wins, Melbourne 63 wins 3 drawn Last Five Meetings Collingwood 1 win, Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Buckley 0 wins, Goodwin 1 win MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel, live at 1.30pm. Radio - Triple M 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Collingwood $2.30 to win, Melbourne $1.62 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.14.104 defeated Collingwood 15.10.100 at MCG in Round 12, 2017 The Demons were staring defeat in the face at half time when the Magpies held a 23 point lead but they dug deep and turned their game around in the second half. When Jack Watts kicked the sealer, the home crowd erupted. THE TEAMS COLLINGWOOD B: Brayden Maynard, Lynden Dunn, Tyson Goldsack HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom Langdon, Jack Crisp ? Steele Sidebottom, Taylor Adams, Tom Phillips HF: Josh Daicos, Darcy Moore, Callum Brown F: Jamie Elliott, Mason Cox, Will Hoskin-Elliott FOLL: Brodie Grundy, Josh Thomas, Adam Treloar I/C: James Aish, Tim Broomhead, Kayle Kirby, Matthew Scharenberg EMG: Jarryd Blair, Jackson Ramsay, Josh Smith IN: Tyson Goldsack, Brodie Grundy, Kayle Kirby OUT: Jarryd Blair, Josh Smith (omitted), Ben Reid (soreness) MELBOURNE B: Michael Hibberd, Oscar McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Nathan Jones, Tom McDonald, Jayden Hunt ? Jordan Lewis, Christian Petracca, Christian Salem HF: Clayton Oliver, Jesse Hogan Jake Melksham F: Jeff Garlett, Cameron Pedersen, James Harmes FOLL: Max Gawn, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Mitch Hannan, Alex Neal-Bullen, Jack Watts EMG: Declan Keilty, Corey Maynard, Josh Wagner IN: Christian Salem, Jack Watts OUT: Billy Stretch (omitted), Josh Wagner (omitted) Melbourne and Collingwood are both known for being hard at it, high disposal teams that are usually unable to sustain the pressure for the full 100 minutes of a game. They are therefore inconsistent both between games and within them. However, the seventh-placed Demons have everything to fight for in this match while the Magpies are limping towards the line after what has been another disappointing season. They haven't completely given up the fight but they do go into the final-round clash without some of their stars who gave their season a boost soon after these teams met in mid-year. They are missing skipper Scott Pendlebury, Jordan De Goey, Alex Fasolo, Levi Greenwood, Travis Varcoe and Daniel Wells and yet have given some of the top sides plenty of trouble over the past month or so. Melbourne which has this week selected possibility its strongest possible side bar the injured co-skipper Viney, struggled last week to hold off the bottom side, the Brisbane Lions, and not long ago lost for the second time this year to the other wooden spoon contender, North Melbourne. On that basis, it's a wonder that the Demons are still in contention and if they lose to another team outside the top 8 in Collingwood, then they truly are not yet ready for finals football. The ruck duel between Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy shapes up as one of prime importance. The Demon midfield and forward line looks capable of besting the Pies, particularly if Jesse Hogan and Cam Pedersen can emulate last week's form and if the Jack Watts of the middle part of the season turns up to play. There are a lot of ifs in this game but with the equation down to a very simple win or lose scenario, I expect Melbourne to end its finals drought and win by 20 points.

THE EQUATION by Whispering Jack The equation is really simple now. Win the game and you finish in seventh place and face a trip to either Adelaide or Sydney in the first week of the finals or lose and sweat it out until Sunday night when the result of the West Coast v Adelaide game is known. It's a situation of the club's own making, the result of a failure to win games against lesser credentialed teams and/or failure to apply the blowtorch when you're in full control in games like Port Adelaide or last week against the Brisbane Lions when the lead was by 32 points at the 5 minute mark of the final quarter. But it's water under the bridge now and all that stands between Melbourne and the finals is the old arch nemesis in Collingwood. There are no excuses either. There's an air of desperation about the Magpies. There's confusion, uncertainty and doubt about the coaching position. Eddie seems to no longer be the golden haired saviour who could be relied upon to find a way to revive their flagging fortunes. The club seems to be on its knees. The Melbourne injury list appears to be more or less under control, give or take a Jack Viney and a few players who provide depth and for once, the Demons face a side that has far more top players sidelined with injury. Bernie Vince and Jack Watts have both escaped possible suspensions from the weekend's games and Christian Salem is back after doing his penance for a week. The selectors have available to them, close to the best material to enable them to pick a winning team to lift the club out of the pit of misery it has occupied for more than a decade. What could possibly go wrong? THE GAME Collingwood v Melbourne at MCG Saturday 26 August 2017 at 1.45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Collingwood 146 wins, Melbourne 83 wins 5 drawn At the MCG Collingwood 79 wins, Melbourne 63 wins 3 drawn Last Five Meetings Collingwood 1 win, Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Buckley 0 wins, Goodwin 1 win MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel, live at 1.30pm. Radio - Triple M 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Collingwood $2.30 to win, Melbourne $1.62 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.14.104 defeated Collingwood 15.10.100 at MCG in Round 12, 2017 The Demons were staring defeat in the face at half time when the Magpies held a 23 point lead but they dug deep and turned their game around in the second half. When Jack Watts kicked the sealer, the home crowd erupted. THE TEAMS COLLINGWOOD B: Brayden Maynard, Lynden Dunn, Tyson Goldsack HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom Langdon, Jack Crisp C: Steele Sidebottom, Taylor Adams, Tom Phillips HF: Josh Daicos, Darcy Moore, Callum Brown F: Jamie Elliott, Mason Cox, Will Hoskin-Elliott FOLL: Brodie Grundy, Josh Thomas, Adam Treloar I/C: James Aish, Tim Broomhead, Kayle Kirby, Matthew Scharenberg EMG: Jarryd Blair, Jackson Ramsay, Josh Smith IN: Tyson Goldsack, Brodie Grundy, Kayle Kirby OUT: Jarryd Blair, Josh Smith (omitted), Ben Reid (soreness) MELBOURNE B: Michael Hibberd, Oscar McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Nathan Jones, Tom McDonald, Jayden Hunt C: Jordan Lewis, Christian Petracca, Christian Salem HF: Clayton Oliver, Jesse Hogan Jake Melksham F: Jeff Garlett, Cameron Pedersen, James Harmes FOLL: Max Gawn, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Mitch Hannan, Alex Neal-Bullen, Jack Watts EMG: Declan Keilty, Corey Maynard, Josh Wagner IN: Christian Salem, Jack Watts OUT: Billy Stretch (omitted), Josh Wagner (omitted) Melbourne and Collingwood are both known for being hard at it, high disposal teams that are usually unable to sustain the pressure for the full 100 minutes of a game. They are therefore inconsistent both between games and within them. However, the seventh-placed Demons have everything to fight for in this match while the Magpies are limping towards the line after what has been another disappointing season. They haven't completely given up the fight but they do go into the final-round clash without some of their stars who gave their season a boost soon after these teams met in mid-year. They are missing skipper Scott Pendlebury, Jordan De Goey, Alex Fasolo, Levi Greenwood, Travis Varcoe and Daniel Wells and yet have given some of the top sides plenty of trouble over the past month or so. Melbourne which has this week selected possibility its strongest possible side bar the injured co-skipper Viney, struggled last week to hold off the bottom side, the Brisbane Lions, and not long ago lost for the second time this year to the other wooden spoon contender, North Melbourne. On that basis, it's a wonder that the Demons are still in contention and if they lose to another team outside the top 8 in Collingwood, then they truly are not yet ready for finals football. The ruck duel between Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy shapes up as one of prime importance. The Demon midfield and forward line looks capable of besting the Pies, particularly if Jesse Hogan and Cam Pedersen can emulate last week's form and if the Jack Watts of the middle part of the season turns up to play. There are a lot of ifs in this game but with the equation down to a very simple win or lose scenario, I expect Melbourne to end its finals drought and win by 20 points.

So it comes down to the final round. The equation is simple. Win and we make finals. Lose by 3 goals or more and WCE wins by 3 goals or more and we miss out*. * I'll go out on a short limb and assume Essendon beats Freo. Ok ok we can lose and Essendon can lose and we still make it. Dream away. The first question is simple. Will we make the finals? Here's the ladder predictor to help you: http://www.afl.com.au/ladder/ladder-predictor Second question is tougher and has been asked a number of times during the year. Given the way things have gone down this year, do you view not making the finals this year as a failure?

The competition for first place is just about over but the fight for second place is well and truly on - Progressive 177. Clayton Oliver 125. Michael Hibberd 117. Nathan Jones 86. Tom McDonald 74. Neville Jetta 71. Jack Viney 65. Jack Watts 60. Jayden Hunt 59. Jordan Lewis Cam Pedersen 56. Christian Petracca 51. Jeff Garlett 44. Max Gawn 32. Dom Tyson 29. Oscar McDonald 27. Sam Frost 26. Christian Salem 25. Jesse Hogan Jake Melksham Bernie Vince 18. Mitch Hannan 17. James Harmes 13. Alex Neal-Bullen 6. Angus Brayshaw Billy Stretch 5. Dean Kent 4. Jay Kennedy-Harris Corey Maynard Josh Wagner

It wasn't all that long ago and we dominated them in the last half after a really poor start. MELBOURNE B: Jayden Hunt, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Michael Hibberd, Sam Frost, Jordan Lewis C: Christian Salem, Clayton Oliver, Nathan Jones HF: Dom Tyson, Jack Watts, Mitch Hannan F: Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Petracca, Jeff Garlett FOLL: Cam Pedersen, Bernie Vince, Jack Viney I/C: Tomas Bugg, James Harmes, Oscar McDonald, Jake Melksham EMG: Jay Kennedy-Harris, Jake Spencer, Josh Wagner IN: Christian Salem OUT: Josh Wagner COLLINGWOOD B: Jeremy Howe, Lynden Dunn, Brayden Maynard HB: Josh Smith, Tom Langdon, Matthew Scharenberg C: Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury, Tom Phillips HF: Jordan De Goey, Alex Fasolo, Will Hoskin-Elliott F: Callum Brown, Darcy Moore, Tim Broomhead FOLL: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar I/C: James Aish, Jack Crisp, Ben Crocker, Levi Greenwood EMG: Mason Cox, Chris Mayne, Jackson Ramsay IN: James Aish, Callum Brown, Alex Fasolo, Tom Langdon OUT: Jamie Elliott (ankle), Tyson Goldsack (shoulder), Jackson Ramsay (omitted), Daniel Wells (calf) NEW: Callum Brown

Despite the fact that the Brisbane Lions are on the bottom rung of the AFL ladder, they made Melbourne earn its win at the MCG on Sunday. The younger Demons also learned that wins are not a given; you must work and continue to work even when the team is five goals up in the final quarter. This is precisely the type of lesson this team needs in the lead up to September action for possibly the first time in over ten years. The Lions were able to bring the game back to within a couple of kicks with about ten minutes to play, but Melbourne rallied, especially through Cam Pedersen and Angus Brayshaw when the game was all on the line. Pedersen repaid the faith that the club had in him after it re-signed him again for next year, and his rucking, marking and willingness to push himself to the limit when required saw him finish the day with three goals, including the one which finally put paid to the Brisbane revival. Angus Brayshaw showed maturity far beyond his years when he provided an option for Mitch Hannan in the dying seconds, ran the clock down further, and then finally slotted the goal to ensure the Demons ran out 13 point winners. Melbourne started badly, with an attitude that the fans had seen all too often when playing against a lowly ranked side. Zorko, Beams and Rockliff ran riot in the middle and it wasn’t until Jake Melksham was assigned the task of curtailing Zorko, that the Demons started to get some value from the middle. In the middle, the side truly missed the inside work of Jack Viney, and Nathan Jones became the sole “get it” man. Dom Tyson was in sorry form again, and if he continues to give the ball to the opposition by hand, he won’t be playing finals, especially when both Viney and Corey Maynard are there knocking at the door. Fortunately, swinging Petracca and Melksham into the middle stopped the rot and both Jones and Oliver were able to produce some influence. Up forward, Jesse Hogan had a fine day out with 6 goals which should give him a lot of confidence after his season from Hell. While he provides that target that the team so desperately needs, he also distracts the opposition defencewhich can leave Pedersen and Garlett unmarked as was witnessed on a number of occasions. If he can refine his leads, he will become something truly special. The backs did well when called upon, but most of the Brisbane scores came from swift ball movement, and precise kicking. Combined with the lack of run and pressure on the ball carrier they went coast to coast on numerous occasions, and had multiple goals from the goal square without a Melbourne player in sight. Where to now? A place in the finals is relatively certain, bar a substantial loss to Collingwood, and an equally substantial win by the West Coast Eagles against Adelaide. But with that game being played after our match next week, it is important not to give them the incentive to win and make finals. Our future is well and truly in our own hands. We hope the lessons from this week have been learned in order that we can say that our spot in the finals has indeed been earned. Melbourne 3.3.21 6.6.42 11.8.74 16.8.104 Brisbane Lions 2.3.15 6.3.39 9.5.59 14.7.91 Goals Melbourne Hogan 6 Pedersen 3 Garlett 2 Brayshaw Harmes Melksham Petracca Vince Brisbane Lions D Beams 3 Rockliff 2 Alltvv ison Barrett Bastinac Close Gardiner Hipwood McCluggage Walker Zorko Best Melbourne Hogan Pedersen Petracca Jones Oliver Hibberd Melksham Brisbane Lions Lions D Beams Zorko Bastinac Taylor Rockliff Witherden Changes Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions C Beams (head) D Beams (head) Reports Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Nil Umpires Rosebury, Gavine, Mollison Official crowd 30,422 at the MCG

EARNING AND LEARNING by George on the Outer Despite the fact that the Brisbane Lions are on the bottom rung of the AFL ladder, they made Melbourne earn its win at the MCG on Sunday. The younger Demons also learned that wins are not a given; you must work and continue to work even when the team is five goals up in the final quarter. This is precisely the type of lesson this team needs in the lead up to September action for possibly the first time in over ten years. The Lions were able to bring the game back to within a couple of kicks with about ten minutes to play, but Melbourne rallied, especially through Cam Pedersen and Angus Brayshaw when the game was all on the line. Pedersen repaid the faith that the club had in him after it re-signed him again for next year, and his rucking, marking and willingness to push himself to the limit when required saw him finish the day with three goals, including the one which finally put paid to the Brisbane revival. Angus Brayshaw showed maturity far beyond his years when he provided an option for Mitch Hannan in the dying seconds, ran the clock down further, and then finally slotted the goal to ensure the Demons ran out 13 point winners. Melbourne started badly, with an attitude that the fans had seen all too often when playing against a lowly ranked side. Zorko, Beams and Rockliff ran riot in the middle and it wasn’t until Jake Melksham was assigned the task of curtailing Zorko, that the Demons started to get some value from the middle. In the middle, the side truly missed the inside work of Jack Viney, and Nathan Jones became the sole “get it” man. Dom Tyson was in sorry form again, and if he continues to give the ball to the opposition by hand, he won’t be playing finals, especially when both Viney and Corey Maynard are there knocking at the door. Fortunately, swinging Petracca and Melksham into the middle stopped the rot and both Jones and Oliver were able to produce some influence. Up forward, Jesse Hogan had a fine day out with 6 goals which should give him a lot of confidence after his season from Hell. While he provides that target that the team so desperately needs, he also distracts the opposition defencewhich can leave Pedersen and Garlett unmarked as was witnessed on a number of occasions. If he can refine his leads, he will become something truly special. The backs did well when called upon, but most of the Brisbane scores came from swift ball movement, and precise kicking. Combined with the lack of run and pressure on the ball carrier they went coast to coast on numerous occasions, and had multiple goals from the goal square without a Melbourne player in sight. Where to now? A place in the finals is relatively certain, bar a substantial loss to Collingwood, and an equally substantial win by the West Coast Eagles against Adelaide. But with that game being played after our match next week, it is important not to give them the incentive to win and make finals. Our future is well and truly in our own hands. We hope the lessons from this week have been learned in order that we can say that our spot in the finals has indeed been earned. Melbourne 3.3.21 6.6.42 11.8.74 16.8.104 Brisbane Lions 2.3.15 6.3.39 9.5.59 14.7.91 Goals Melbourne Hogan 6 Pedersen 3 Garlett 2 Brayshaw Harmes Melksham Petracca Vince Brisbane Lions D Beams 3 Rockliff 2 Allison Barrett Bastinac Close Gardiner Hipwood McCluggage Walker Zorko Best Melbourne Hogan Pedersen Petracca Jones Oliver Hibberd Melksham Brisbane Lions D Beams Zorko Bastinac Taylor Rockliff Witherden Changes Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions C Beams (head) D Beams (head) Reports Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Nil Umpires Rosebury, Gavine, Mollison Official crowd 30,422 at the MCG

Talk about defining matches for the season.

Your votes please 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

The Casey Demons moved into the VFL top four with a hard fought 24 point victory over ladder leader Williamstown at Casey Fields on Saturday. The game was a fierce battle as strong tackling and close play were the order of the day. Casey finished the game with 136 tackles, a statistic led by its smaller brigade of Jay Kennedy-Harris (19), Corey Maynard, Tomas Bugg and James Munro as the team fulfilled coach Justin Plapp's requirements by giving the Seagulls their hardest contest for the season to overturn their opening round defeat at Burbank Oval. The win was a tribute to Plapp's coaching which has seen the team lift itself off the floor with a 1-4 start to move into premiership contention, achieving this without a team chock full of experienced AFL listers as happened last year. The Demons had just 10 MFC players available this week and they were again capably backed up by the mix of experience and youth among their VFL listed players. Munro with 24 disposals was outstanding, skipper Jack Hutchins was steady in defence and Ed Morris (20 touches) was a busy and effective member of the Demons' small brigade. All eyes were on Jack Watts in his second match since he was dropped from the Melbourne team. Watts opened brightly when he marked 25 metres out and kicked the first goal of the game. He played well picking up 20 possessions and 12 marks and even provided a handout against the prolific Nick Meese in the ruck. Watts was placed on report for charging a Williamstown opponent at a marking contest. My observation is that he collided marginally late with minimal force and that the charge should be thrown out. http://m.afl.com.au/video/2017-08-19/jack-watts-reported-in-the-vfl The visitors were in control of the game for most of the first half. They led by eight points at the first break and held that lead until deep in the second term before Bayley Fritsch's goal at the 28 minute mark was immediately followed by another to Morris. A further major to Kennedy-Harris just before half time found the Demons taking a 12-point lead into the long break. It was more of the same during a dour third quarter with Casey maintaining its distance and recording two late goals to push the lead to 22 points at three quarter time before it saw off a brief Willi revival to run home a comfortable winner. The Demons remain undefeated at home for the 2017 season. Kennedy-Harris had an outstanding game and the controversial Bugg also relished the conditions after serving a six match suspension incurred against the Sydney Swans for an equal game high record of 24 disposals. The Demons could finish the round as high as third on the ladder depending on the outcome of today's game between Box Hill and Port Melbourne. Peter Jackson VFL 2017 Casey Demons 2.3.15 6.6.42 9.7.61 11.12.78 Williamstown 3.4.23 4.6.30 5.9.39 7.12.54 Goals Casey Demons Hulett 2 Ferreira Fritsch Kennedy-Harris Maynard Morris Scott Watts Weideman Zijai Williamstown Schultz 2 Cavarra Chisari Condon Dorgan Kempster Best Casey Demons Munro Morris Watts Bugg Frost Kennedy-Harris Williamstown Sing Schultz Tippett Meese Bewley Dorgan Statistics Tomas Bugg 2 behinds 15 kicks 9 handballs 24 disposals 2 marks 12 tackles 114 dream team points Sam Frost 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 46 dream team points Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 4 tackles 46 dream team points Declan Keilty 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 47 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 goal 2 behinds 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 4 marks 19 tackles 155 dream team points Mitch King 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 6 tackles 22 hit outs 62 dream team points Corey Maynard 1 goal 9 kicks 11 handballs 20 disposals 1 marks 13 tackles 108 dream team points Jack Trengove 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 90 dream team points Jack Watts 1 goal 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals 12 marks 3 tackles 2 hit outs 103 dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 6 hit outs 75 dream team points The Casey Development League team sits in second position after enjoying a picnic against Williamstown, kicking nine unanswered final quarter goals to run out winners by 123 points in a game where 18 players were among the goals. AFL Vic Development League 2017 Casey Demons 4.3.27 9.7.61 14.13.97 23.21.159 Williamstown 2.3.15 4.5.29 5.5.35 5.6.36 Goals Casey Demons D Collis Cox Foote Gardiner Machaya 2 Allsop Ambler Baker Briggs Byers Cottee Di Pasquale Dwyer Freeman Dam Johnston Lewis-Smith Moncrieff Vander Haar Williamstown Ebinger Wilkinson 2 Carr Best Casey Demons Briggs Johnston Cox Collis Byers Dwyer Williamstown Owen Wilkinson McMahon Carter Buykx-Smith Minogue

DEES CLOSE IN ON TOP FOUR by KC from Casey The Casey Demons moved into the VFL top four with a hard fought 24 point victory over ladder leader Williamstown at Casey Fields on Saturday. The game was a fierce battle as strong tackling and close play were the order of the day. Casey finished the game with 136 tackles, a statistic led by its smaller brigade of Jay Kennedy-Harris (19), Corey Maynard, Tomas Bugg and James Munro as the team fulfilled coach Justin Plapp's requirements by giving the Seagulls their hardest contest for the season to overturn their opening round defeat at Burbank Oval. The win was a tribute to Plapp's coaching which has seen the team lift itself off the floor with a 1-4 start to move into premiership contention, achieving this without a team chock full of experienced AFL listers as happened last year. The Demons had just 10 MFC players available this week and they were again capably backed up by the mix of experience and youth among their VFL listed players. Munro with 24 disposals was outstanding, skipper Jack Hutchins was steady in defence and Ed Morris (20 touches) was a busy and effective member of the Demons' small brigade. All eyes were on Jack Watts in his second match since he was dropped from the Melbourne team. Watts opened brightly when he marked 25 metres out and kicked the first goal of the game. He played well picking up 20 possessions and 12 marks and even provided a handout against the prolific Nick Meese in the ruck. Watts was placed on report for charging a Williamstown opponent at a marking contest. My observation is that he collided marginally late with minimal force and that the charge should be thrown out. http://m.afl.com.au/video/2017-08-19/jack-watts-reported-in-the-vfl The visitors were in control of the game for most of the first half. They led by eight points at the first break and held that lead until deep in the second term before Bayley Fritsch's goal at the 28 minute mark was immediately followed by another to Morris. A further major to Kennedy-Harris just before half time found the Demons taking a 12-point lead into the long break. It was more of the same during a dour third quarter with Casey maintaining its distance and recording two late goals to push the lead to 22 points at three quarter time before it saw off a brief Willi revival to run home a comfortable winner. The Demons remain undefeated at home for the 2017 season. Kennedy-Harris had an outstanding game and the controversial Bugg also relished the conditions after serving a six match suspension incurred against the Sydney Swans for an equal game high record of 24 disposals. The Demons could finish the round as high as third on the ladder depending on the outcome of today's game between Box Hill and Port Melbourne. Peter Jackson VFL 2017 Casey Demons 2.3.15 6.6.42 9.7.61 11.12.78 Williamstown 3.4.23 4.6.30 5.9.39 7.12.54 Goals Casey Demons Hulett 2 Ferreira Fritsch Kennedy-Harris Maynard Morris Scott Watts Weideman Zijai Williamstown Schultz 2 Cavarra Chisari Condon Dorgan Kempster Best Casey Demons Munro Morris Watts Bugg Frost Kennedy-Harris Williamstown Sing Schultz Tippett Meese Bewley Dorgan Statistics Tomas Bugg 2 behinds 15 kicks 9 handballs 24 disposals 2 marks 12 tackles 114 dream team points Sam Frost 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 46 dream team points Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 4 tackles 46 dream team points Declan Keilty 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 47 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 goal 2 behinds 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 4 marks 19 tackles 155 dream team points Mitch King 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 6 tackles 22 hit outs 62 dream team points Corey Maynard 1 goal 9 kicks 11 handballs 20 disposals 1 marks 13 tackles 108 dream team points Jack Trengove 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 90 dream team points Jack Watts 1 goal 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals 12 marks 3 tackles 2 hit outs 103 dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 6 hit outs 75 dream team points The Casey Development League team sits in second position after enjoying a picnic against Williamstown, kicking nine unanswered final quarter goals to run out winners by 123 points in a game where 18 players were among the goals. AFL Vic Development League 2017 Casey Demons 4.3.27 9.7.61 14.13.97 23.21.159 Williamstown 2.3.15 4.5.29 5.5.35 5.6.36 Goals Casey Demons D Collis Cox Foote Gardiner Machaya 2 Allsop Ambler Baker Briggs Byers Cottee Di Pasquale Dwyer Freeman Dam Johnston Lewis-Smith Moncrieff Vander Haar Williamstown Ebinger Wilkinson 2 Carr Best Casey Demons Briggs Johnston Cox Collis Byers Dwyer Williamstown Owen Wilkinson McMahon Carter Buykx-Smith Minogue

We're officially 8th now. 0.1% behind the Bombers.

I think the Eagles will win this.

[censored] $cully

Green is a hog.

The giants look very average and they're still winning. What does that say of the Eagles?

Green is having a shocker.

A behind would have been better for us then.

I've been throwing up in my mouth all game.

Exactly. Still I'd prefer to make it than not. Ideally I want to make it on our terms with momentum otherwise we'll get thumped in the first game.

Love you $cully

Live ladder. http://www.liveladders.com/AFL/

GWS are channeling MFC circa 2013.

We're Back in 7th.