Demonland

Just a reminder for all our fans in Adelaide that there is a training session today at Hisense Stadium (Richmond Oval) at 11:15am local time. We’d really appreciate any observations in particular who is in the rehab group or on a modified program. Thanks in advance. Adelaide Monday, April 1 11:15am - 12:30pm Hisense Stadium (Richmond Oval) Wednesday, April 3 9:45am - 10:30am Hisense Stadium (Richmond) Signing window available post-session. SA Demons supporter group gathering

The coin toss 😱

A seven-point victory to the Melbourne Demons over Port Power at Adelaide oval, saw the real power tools on the inside of the fence, as opposed to those versions on the other side, around the ground. Their pre-game chant of “never tear us apart” obviously didn’t carry any weight with the Melbourne players, as that was exactly what happened during the course of the game. This was a most ”un-Melbourne like game” in the way it was played. At various times during the match it all came down to individual efforts. This was a game where BOTH teams had ten goal kickers. It wasn’t about a dominant area of the ground for either side, it was, in a way a return to the old fashioned one on one type football. Often we hear the coaches speak of “moments’ in the game. Well in this game it was one moment, followed by another as each side traded blow for blow and the lead swung back and forth with the maximum margin being only 18 points during the match. Scarily, for opposition sides, the Demons showed that if that is the way you want to play, we will beat you at that game as well. We have often heard the phrase “a captain’s goal” and certainly that happened when Max Gawn managed to kick straight after the ¾ time siren to bring the game back to near level pegging. But that effort which tore the hearts of the Port fans out, was repeated time and time again by other Melbourne players during the game. Led by Jack “hammer” Viney in his 200th game for the Demons, it was him against the Port mids, particularly in the first quarter, but he just kept willing himself to contest, and despite the Power breaking out to a 3 goal lead early on, the team just pegged it back, as Jack hammered the opposition into submission. When needed it was Ben “the drill ” Brown who nailed shots from long range, that never looked to deviate from straight and true. It was Alex “reciprocating saw” Neale-Bullen who kept coming back and forth to the contest, and probably playing his best ever game for the side, at a time when that was exactly what was needed. Then it was the turn of Caleb “ buzz-saw” Windsor who sped past the floundering Port defenders to record his first ever major for the Demons. Another was when Bayley “Polisher” Fritsch calmly went back with only a couple of minutes to run on the clock and split the big sticks from on the boundary line. Down in defence the “Fire extinguishers “ of Jake Lever and Trent Rivers, kept blanketing any potential outbreaks coming from the Port forwards. But this was also about the whole fire crew of Tom McDonald, Blake Howes, Marty Hore and Christian Salem coming just in time to put paid to any spot fires which might develop. Even more impressive was that despite an incredible 66 inside 50s and the Fire Chief of Steven May being absent, all these individual saves simply denied Port a winning score. In the middle it was the “grinders” of Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Tom Sparrow alongside Jack Viney who had the job to just wear down the Port mids. Make no mistake, they had a seriously good combination, and by all statistical measures, they were ascendant. But like last week against the Hawks, the stats just don’t matter, when the quality is what is being sought. To reiterate what Simon Goodwin said “we are comfortable with that, unless it has scoreboard impact”! So the Demons power tools all over the ground did indeed “tear them apart” . The toothless voices heard before the match, like their black and white counterparts in Melbourne were seen streaming from the ground before the match finished. Perhaps they realised their team didn’t have wings, but was never going to fly like the Power of the Melbourne Demons. MELBOURNE 3.2.20 7.3.45 10.4.64 15.6.96 PORT ADELAIDE 4.1.25 7.3.45 10.8.68 13.11.89 GOALS MELBOURNE Brown 3 Fritsch Neal-Bullen Sparrow 2 Gawn Langdon Oliver Pickett Viney Windsor PORT ADELAIDE Byrne-Jones Finlayson Rioli 2 Dixon Evans Houston McEntee Marshall Rozee Soldo BEST MELBOURNE Neal-Bullen Gawn Petracca Rivers Viney Oliver PORT ADELAIDE Drew Houston Rozee Wines Butters Soldo INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil PORT ADELAIDE Boak (head knock) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil PORT ADELAIDE Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Taj Woewodin, replaced Jack Billings in the fourth quarter PORT ADELAIDE Jase Burgoyne, replaced Francis Evans in the third quarter UMPIRES Hayden Gavine Alex Whetton Robert Findlay Martin Rodger CROWD 38,105 at Adelaide Oval

HAWTHORN In: - L.Meek, H.Morrison, H.Hustwaite Out: - F.Maginness (Omitted), N.Reeves (Omitted), J.Gunston (Omitted) GEELONG In: - T.Conway, M.Duncan, T.Atkins, T.Bruhn, J.Bowes Out: - P.Dangerfield (Injured), R.Stanley (Managed), M.Knevitt (Omitted), Z.Tuohy (Managed), S.Mannagh (Omitted)

We play them in 4 rounds or 24 days. Might be on the cusp of return depending on the grade.

Dees into 3rd

i mean a 5 point win to the Tigers.

I'm tipping a draw

limping.

another plumb dropping the ball missed in front of the umps.

That was plumb dropping the ball by Blakey.

Sound up 🔊

We have two leaders at the top of the rankings after four rounds. 37. Max Gawn Christian Petracca 27. Alex Neal-Bullen 25. Steven May 23. Jack Viney 22. Clayton Oliver 19. Bayley Fritsch 12. Christian Salem 11 Blake Howes 10. Jack Billings 6 Trent Rivers 4. Ed Langdon Jake Lever Judd McVee 3. Kysaiah Pickett 2. Kade Chandler Tom Sparrow Adam Tomlinson 1. Jake Bowey Caleb Windsor

The sunny skies and still, clear conditions that greeted fans on their arrival created a dreamlike Easter carnival atmosphere for Casey’s game against Footscray at Casey Fields. After their dreams of a flying start to the new season were shattered a week earlier with a disappointing error-riddled opening, the home supporters were given much hope with an improved performance from their team. They were treated with a high standard game of VFL football played in perfect conditions. It was Footscray’s steadiness under pressure and a huge advantage in experience that saw them run out victorious by 14 points, but what the fans saw in the Casey performance was not only improvement but also, a plethora of encouraging signs for the future. Both sides came well out of the blocks early and traded goals until Casey got on top with three quick goals to hold an 18 point lead in mid-term. The Casey rucks and midfielders opened strongly giving the forwards room to move and the goals came. In defence, Jed Adams was a key in his defensive role but when he went off injured, the strong marking Rory Lobb booted two goals and Bianco another to even the scores with the goals deep into time on. After the break, Casey dominated the first half of the second quarter but apart from an easy initial goal to Schache, his third, the Demons simply could not hit targets. Moved back to full forward this week, Matt Jefferson had a purple patch taking some strong marks but his good work was undone with wayward kicking for goal. During this period, he hit the post twice while two other shots failed to score at all. As often happens, the Bulldogs made them pay for their errant kicking at goal scoring four of the next five goals (with Jefferson finally hitting the target for the first time) to go into the sheds at half time with an 8 point lead. The Dogs’ greater accuracy in the third quarter when the Demons kicked only six behinds, saw them stretch the lead to 19 points and while Casey finally got their kicking boots on in the final term, Footscray always had the answers and held on to record a well-deserved 14 point victory. The visitors were loaded with experience at the highest level including two 150 plus AFL games players Rory Lobb (5 goals) and Melbourne premiership player James Harmes (with a game high 33 disposals), 100 gamer Alex Keath and a bevy of other names like Garcia, Jones, McNeil, O’Donnell, Scott and Spicer. By way of contrast, Casey’s only Melbourne listers with experience at AFL level were Josh Schache with 76 games across three clubs and Brisbane recruit Tom Fullarton with 19 games at the Lions. Both had good games with Schache important with four goals but in the heat of battle, the experience differential was significant, especially after Bailey Laurie and Adam Tomlinson were withdrawn from the side and flew to Adelaide to be with the Melbourne team. One of the main functions of this tier of football is to provide a good platform for an AFL club’s youth and another, to give local communities access to a high standard of sport. In this regard, the game showcased the potential at Casey for the fulfillment of many future dreams. Despite Jefferson’s missed goalkicking opportunities (he finished with 2.3 but his accuracy in the past has been sound), the game proved to be a massive confidence booster for him in terms of the way he clunked his seven marks and also, for his ground level play. His duel with fellow uncapped 2022 first round draftee Jedd Busslinger was a ripper and one can imagine similar contests in the future on a higher stage. Also impressive from that class of 2022 were key defender Jed Adams who played his best game yet at Casey, finishing with 11 disposals, rookie ruckman Will Verrall’s 25 hit outs, 19 possessions and two goals and late rookie pick Oliver Sestan (18 disposals, six tackles and a goal) whose improvement over summer has been remarkable. He crashed through packs and intimated the opposition at times in a strong display. Andy Moniz-Wakefield was good again with 23 disposals as he pushes hard for senior selection as he awaits an opening to present itself at Melbourne. Adding to the excitement was the form of Melbourne’s 2023 first-round draftee Koltyn Tholstrup and father/son pick Kynan Brown. The Kolt was again super-impressive with his strength and maturity and the classy way he gathered his 19 touches and six tackles, setting up numerous forward opportunities. The club will have to find a way to include him in its AFL plans soon. Brown was busy again and finished with 16 disposals. Much has been written about the departure of a number of Casey regulars at the end of last season. Some, like heart and soul player and hard tackler Jimmy Munro are irreplaceable but the club’s recruitment has, on this game’s evidence, been very strong. Campbell Husthwaite was again prolific in the middle, Leo Connolly, a revelation off half back (both had 24 disposals) and Mitch Szybkowski was excellent, particularly early in the game. Skipper Mitch White plugged away to be his team’s best for the day while Tyler Edwards also picked up plenty of the football. The end result was most satisfying for the fans who came to support the team over the Easter holiday. A win is not far away and could come next Saturday week against Port Melbourne. Such an outcome might not be the stuff of dreams but the promise of good times is definitely on the horizon for the Melbourne/Casey alliance. CASEY DEMONS 6.2.38 8.7.55 8.13.61 12.13.85 FOOTSCRAY 6.2.38 10.3.63 12.8.80 15 9.99 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Schache 4 Jefferson Verrall 2 Connolly Sestan Steele White FOOTSCRAY Lobb 5 Clarke Jones Spicer 2 Benendo Bianco Garcia Harmes BEST CASEY DEMONS White Verrall Edwards Sestan Hustwaite Tholstrop FOOTSCRAY Harmes Garcia Lobb Bianco Freijah Hunt Statistics Jed Adams 10 kicks 1 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 46 dream team points Kynan Brown 1 behind 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points Leo Connolly 1 goal 1 behind 19 kicks 5 handballs 24 disposals 4 marks 80 dream team points Paddy Cross 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 42 dream team points Tyler Edwards 1 behind 16 kicks 5 handballs 21 disposals 10 marks 2 tackles 95 dream team points Kyah Farris-White 1 kick 1 disposal 3 dream team points Tom Freeman 5 kicks 1 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 34 dream team points Tom Fullarton 1 behind 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 6 hitouts 70 dream team points Max Gregory 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 53 dream team points Campbell Husthwaite 11 kicks 13 handballs 24 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 94 dream team points Matt Jefferson 2 goals 3 behinds 9 kicks 9 disposals 7 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 17 kicks 6 handballs 23 disposals 5 marks 75 dream team points Ned Moodie 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 51 dream team points Charlie Peters 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 17 dream team points Josh Schache 4 goals 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points Ollie Sestan 1 goal 2 behinds 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 94 dream team points Tom Sheridan 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 10 dream team points Roan Steele 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 46 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 52 dream team points Koltyn Tholstrup 8 kicks 11 handballs 19 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Ziggy Toledo 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 29 dream team points Will Verrall 2 goals 7 kicks 12 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 25 hitouts 95 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 1 behind 21 kicks 7 handballs 28 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 118 dream team points

File this one under The Over-Confident St. Kilda Fan.