Demonland

I can understand how social media and the instant access that fans and critics have to celebrities and sports stars can have a negative impact on those people. The internet and anonymous (now not so anonymous with Facebook and Twitter) people bagging sports people is nothing new. People have been doing this on Fan sites for years. However with social media people now have direct access to the phones of these stars and they can be brutal and there aren't many jobs in the world where you receive instant and potential soul crushing feedback. I feel for Jake and others who have copped it directly. We've all been critical of sports people but I don't think I've ever contacted one directly to their device to tell them that I hope they die in a fire.

I mentioned that on the podcast the other night. He destroyed us in the second quarter but could not kick accurately. It kept the door open for us and we won.

Most weeks he can't hit the side of a barn. Stormtroopers have better accuracy. I doubt he will miss this week.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/melbourne-suffers-major-injury-blow-with-young-star-christian-petracca-to-miss-with-infected-finger/news-story/d2b4f07221589f53f2281be8eb34b9fb MELBOURNE has suffered a huge blow ahead of Sunday’s clash against Essendon with Christian Petracca ruled out with an infected finger. It is understood Petracca underwent surgery on Thursday and is expected to return for Round 7.

THE LONG WAY HOME by Whispering Jack Recently, I was at Carrara for the Commonwealth Games and while watching the women’s 10,000 metre final, it was clear that the runners on the outside of the front bunch were going to be the first to tire and when that happened, they fell by the wayside. It’s been the same of late with the Demons. On the big stage against Richmond on Tuesday night, they were plodding along that Members wing taking the long way home, often finding themselves cornered, under pressure and resorting to chains of risky handballs that would inevitably come unstuck allowing them to be picked off by waiting Tigers who would move the ball into the corridor and set up their attacks. There has to be something wrong as well when, despite the overwhelming dominance of Max Gawn in the ruck, and some solid quality in its onball division, Melbourne fails to achieve winning figures in terms of clearances from the midfield and from the stoppages. This feature is also compounded by the drying up of scoring opportunities through a lack of goal kicking power, despite the team having demonstrated earlier in the year, in both the pre season and the first few games, multiple goal scorers and a power key forward in Jesse Hogan. With Hogan often doing a lot of his work up to 100 metres from the goal face, he’s going to be productive in the middle but this leaves very little, if any, marking power up forward. Even when Sam Weideman was up there, it was so easy for the premiership winning defence to pick off the ball and repulse the Demon attacks. This was no better demonstrated by one of the most stunning statistics of Tuesday night. In the opening quarter, Melbourne had 19 entries into the forward fifty metre arc and managed a solitary goal - the snap from Jake Melksham at the two minute mark of the game. They should have set themselves for a good win with that number of forward opportunities - it turned out an epic fail that would bite hard by the end of the game. The Demons are fortunate in that on Sunday, they come up against an equally shambolic and disappointing side in Essendon which was poor when it lowered its colours to Collingwood on Anzac Day. One would hope that Simon Goodwin comes up with something different this week because if he allows his players to box themselves out of the inside running and take the same old ineffective options, the result will be the same as it has been for the last two weeks. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday, 29 April, 2018 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 129 wins Melbourne 82 wins 2 draws At Etihad Stadium Essendon 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The last five meetings 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Worsfold 0 wins Goodwin 1 win MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel - Live at 1.00pm RADIO - SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 17.10.112 defeated Essendon 10.14.74 at Etihad Stadium, Round 6, 2017 Melbourne got itself back on the winner’s list after three losses in a row with a solid effort at Etihad Stadium. The Demons were helped by Joe Daniher’s yips in front of goal and Jack Watts’ accuracy - the much maligned forward booted four goals. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Brendon Goddard, Michael Hurley, Adam Saad HB: Patrick Ambrose, Cale Hooker, Dyson Heppell ? Matt Guelfi, Jayden Laverde, Kobe Mutch HF: Ben McNiece, Jake Stringer, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti F: David Zaharakis, Joe Daniher, Mark Baguley Foll: Matthew Leuenberger, Devon Smith, Jackson Merrett I/C: Darcy Parish, Andrew McGrath, Zach Merrett, James Stewart, Emg: Dylan Clarke, Kyle Langford, Shaun McKernan, Jordan Ridley In: Patrick Ambrose, Jayden Laverde, Matthew Leuenberger, Ben McNiece, Kobe Mutch Out: Josh Begley (injured), Tom Bellchambers (rested), Josh Green (injured), Michael Hartley (rested), David Myers (rested) MELBOURNE B: Jake Lever, Oscar McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Bernie Vince, Michael Hibberd, Jayden Hunt ? Jordan Lewis, Nathan Jones, Christian Salem HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jake Melksham F: Alex Neal-Bullen, Sam Weideman, James Harmes Foll: Max Gawn, Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver I/C: Bayley Fritsch, Mitch Hannan, Tom McDonald, Charlie Spargo Emg: Jeff Garlett, Joel Smith, Timothy Smith, Josh Wagner In: Bayley Fritsch, Mitch Hannan, Jordan Lewis, Tom McDonald, Charlie Spargo Out: Jeff Garlett (omitted), Dean Kent (hamstring), Christian Petracca (finger), Billy Stretch (omitted), Josh Wagner (omitted) New: Charlie Spargo GETTING EVEN Some years ago, I attended a Melbourne Football Club luncheon where the keynote speaker was Chris Connolly, the former Demon player and Fremantle coach who more lately, was the back at the club as its football manager. As has been customary at this organisation, the place was in crisis at the time (both on and off the field) and Connolly was taking questions from the floor after his rather optimistic spiel about the club’s long term future (and it seems to me that the definition of “long term” in that context insofar as the Demons are concerned is ever expanding beyond expectations). One questioner took aim at the team make up after the previous week’s loss and suggested that it was time for heads to roll and for massive changes to be made. Connolly’s response was that in his estimation, a large shake up was unnecessary and further, that when a club makes five changes or more, the chances of a win were virtually zero. So this week, as two of the competition’s more disappointing teams face off against each other, Connolly’s words will be tested. Both sides have made five changes and, on that basis, there can only be one result - a draw. And that is my prediction for this week. That result is justified not only on the basis of the Connolly theory but on a factual basis. These two teams are evenly matched. At this stage of the season, the Bombers are 13th in the AFL ladder with 8 points and a percentage of 89.2, just 0.4% ahead of Melbourne in 14th place with the same number of premiership points. The Demons of course, are becoming used to lagging others in percentage by such a small margin to an extent that is very much to their detriment. Both sides are having trouble winning matches, their forward lines are more than somewhat dysfunctional and the only thing they seem to be good at of late, is total capitulation in the final quarter. After the Demons’ frustrating finish to 2017, one would have expected much better than what they’ve served up late in their games this year - at the very least a bit of fight at the end to save face. But it hasn’t happened. The Bombers are similarly, in total disarray. I would be heavily tempted normally to tip Melbourne on the basis that the team selection appears to help cover some of the gaping holes revealed in its structure over the past two weeks but the words of Chris Connolly keep ringing in my ears. So for this game, I can see Joe Daniher booting 8 goals (four on each of the McDonald brothers) but the Demons somehow snatching a draw from the jaws of victory. My tip - for the second week in a row, the AFL will see a drawn game.

The Melbourne Football Club is delighted by the Andrews Labor Government’s announcement of a $5 million investment into Casey Fields. This funding will enable Melbourne to accelerate the expansion of AFLW at Casey Fields and create opportunities that will be delivered improved facilities and participation outcomes for women and girls in the Casey region. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-04-18/melbourne-delighted-by-casey-funding

SPEECHLESS by The Oracle There has been very little to say about the Melbourne Football Club since its meek capitulation in those final three quarters against Hawthorn last Sunday. Perhaps it’s just as well then that there are still a few days to go before the team fronts the Tigers (and its own supporters) on Tuesday night at the MCG to enable us to find our voices again after such a fiasco. Demon fans have been scratching their heads in wonder seeking answers, trying to understand what happened but I suspect that it’s all fairly simple - they were outplayed and out coached, cornered by a superior strategist who had only to watch the game they played a week earlier against the Kangaroos to work out a way to exploit the team’s limitations. It isn’t hard to envisage Alastair Clarkson sitting back watching the North Melbourne game and noticing that his team’s next opponent had only one ruck option and a sole key forward who also had a license to roam and was being played further up the ground. Clarkson is adept at taking such a situation and exploiting it to his own advantage so that once overcome, the game can take one direction only. That’s where the Demons stand with a few games to go before they take on the Tigers on Anzac Eve on one of the few occasions when they are allotted to the big stage - they have an immediate need to produce a team that is adaptable and not so predictable in its set up, otherwise they might well leave their supporters speechless yet another time. I look forward to team selection to provide some insights. THE GAME Richmond v Melbourne on Monday 24 April 2018 at 7.25pm at the MCG HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 75 wins Richmond 104 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Melbourne 63 wins Richmond 69 wins Drawn 1 Past five meetings Melbourne 2 wins Richmond 3 wins The Coaches Hardwick 1 win Goodwin 0 wins MEDIA TV - Seven Mate Fox Sports Live at 7.00pm Radio - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC THE LAST TIME THEY MET Richmond 12.16.88 defeated Melbourne 11.9.75 in Round 5, 2017 at the MCG Melbourne controlled the game for much of the evening but fell down late in the game under the weight of injuries which left them with barely a fit player and limited rotations in the final term. In the end, they did well to hang on, only to be overtaken in the time on period. THE TEAMS So much water has passed under the bridge that it seems like half a life time ago that Melbourne played its last game at the G against Hawthorn. Fourteeen other clubs have already packed up their bags and are looking forward to Round 6. Joel Selwood has been hit with a one-match suspension, Port Adelaide’s Lindsay Thomas and James Sicily are fronting the Tribunal and half the country is setting itself for the public holiday and, until a few minutes ago, the Demons hadn’t even picked their sides for the Anzac Eve blockbuster. How is a bloke supposed to pick a winner under these circumstances? One way might be to look at the tone that’s been set for the round in the games that have already been completed. From what we’ve seen to date, this has been a round for upsets and reversals. Adelaide weren’t expected to get the better of Sydney away from their own home game after such a poor effort a week earlier against Collingwood on their own patch. The Saints weren’t considered to be in the Giants’ ball park on their form, the Dockers thrashed the Doggies and how on earth could North have gotten up against Hawthorn? There’s only one logical conclusion that one candidate reach - the trend will continue on Anzac Eve and the Tigers are doomed. This might sound somewhat ridiculous in view of the almost forgotten most recent games played by the two protagonists. After all, Richmond kept Brisbane goalless for almost three quarters last Saturday week while Melbourne kicked one solitary goal after the first term against Hawthorn. However, the Demons have been able to match up well against the Tigers in recent years. They have won three out of their past five meetings against Richmond and only lost their last encounter by 13 points after leading for most of the game and only succumbed as they struggled with limited rotations after losing three players through injury; their ruck stocks decimated when Max Gawn’s replacement after his hamstring injury, Jake Spencer’s hurt the AC joint in his right shoulder in the first quarter and his right knee in the second term. This time round, Gawn is close to his best form in the ruck and whilst his direct opponent Toby Nankervis has been serviceable for the Tigers, the big, bearded Demon is the key to this game. The Hawks were able to negate his 66 hit out dominance by winning the ball in midfield and outrunning their opponents all over the ground after the first quarter. I’m not expecting this to happen again as the Dees will be keen to respond to last week’s embarrassing loss to the Hawks. The key to the Demons’ success in this game will be their capacity to make the most of their I nside 50 entries. They lead the competition with an average of 59.8. Last week they managed 53 inside 50s to Hawthorn’s 54 but managed only 6 goals to 18. In their other defeat for the season in the opening round, they lost by 3 points to Geelong despite a 64-41 advantage in inside 50s. The Melbourne selectors have swung the axe and added forward line height and pace into the equation. I expect those changes to turn things around dramatically. Melbourne by 5 points