Demonland

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-05-24/vandenberg-mckenna-suffer-setbacks MFC article talks about vandenBerg having another setback and being at least 8 weeks away.

Reminder that the Demonland Podcast featuring Titus O'Reily airs LIVE Tonight at 8:30pm - http://demonland.com/Podcast

Not well linked. Just polite when asking.

Early in the game I was thinking that it was probably time that Mitch spent a few weeks at Casey but he justified his spot for another few weeks after that performance. His game was reminiscent of his first game against the Saints and I hope we see more of this and less of him going missing.

Congratulations Mitch Hannan on his nomination to the AFL Team of the Week for Round 9. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-05-23/team-of-the-week-r9-did-we-get-it-right

It was a close finish and a last gasp victory - remember them? MELBOURNE B: Josh Wagner, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Matt Jones C: Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, Sam Frost F: Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes, Billy Stretch, Aaron vandenBerg EMG: Tomas Bugg, Colin Garland, Alex Neal-Bullen IN: Tomas Bugg, Colin Garland, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted) GOLD COAST B: Nick Malceski, Steven May, Kade Kolodjashnij HB: Jarrod Harbrow, Rory Thompson, Alex Sexton C: Joshua Schoenfeld, Jesse Lonergan, Matt Shaw HF: Brandon Matera, Tom Lynch, Jarrad Grant F: Sam Day, Peter Wright, Ryan Davis FOLL: Tom Nicholls, Jack Martin, Touk Miller I/C (from) Callum Ah Chee, Jarrod Garlett, Jesse Joyce, Matt Rosa EMG: Sean Lemmens, Trent McKenzie, Seb Tape IN: Matt Rosa OUT: Seb Tape (omitted)

We'll definitely ask the question.

Titus O'Reily will be our special guest on the next Demonland Podcast on Wednesday night at 8:30pm.

Not just for the players, but for the supporters as well. Once again, a Melbourne side comes into a game off the back of a first class performance against Adelaide, playing against a team that lost by nearly 7 goals the previous week, at home ... yes there was only going to be one result. Another match that should have/could have been won ... and it wasn’t. Once again the side failed to turn up in the first quarter, and it was obvious from the first ten minutes that Melbourne weren’t playing serious committed football. It was fortunate that North couldn’t kick straight with 13 scoring shots to 7 and only a 26 point lead at quarter time. In a bad coaching mistake, Tom McDonald played at full forward while his brother Oscar was left to mind the North man-mountain, Ben Brown. Tom didn’t get a touch and Brown had a party, as Oscar is not physically well developed enough to take on someone built like Brown. Tom goes back and Brown doesn’t get another grab until the final quarter. With the proper structure reestablished, the backline suddenly looked solid again as Frost and Hibberd in particular provided the solid attack out of defence, instead of struggling to contain the North big men up forward. Once again the Melbourne fight back come and the Demons found themselves down by 2 points at the major break. But coming from behind just saps strength and eventually the players pay. The third quarter was just a repeat of the first quarter as all around the ground the Melbourne players just looked tired. Dom Tyson just continues to go through the motions, especially when the ball is beyond his reach. He was the same last week, yet it was covered by the efforts of others around him. He no longer gets a start in the middle, yet cannot generate enough vigour to make the contest around the ball when playing off the wing at centre bounces. Two tackles in a game is simply not good enough for someone who plays around the ball. Jack Watts looks even more tired, but can be expected since he has now had to shoulder ruck duties for over the past month. He simply isn’t built for that job, especially when he is brought in against the current best ruckman in the competition in Goldstein. Cam Pedersen played another great game, but Goldstein simply was able to feed his mids with precise taps, something Jacobs didn’t do last week. With Clayton Oliver tagged and Bernie Vince tagging Higgins, it left a solitary one on one situation in the middle. Goldstein was always able to tap it to the right spot to advantage the North player, no matter who was standing there. Without a proper ruck, and without a proper forward, Melbourne were always going to struggle against a bigger bodied North. But with tired players now crying for the mid-season bye, the battle became even harder. At the end of the third quarter the Demons again found themselves 22 points down. And despite a spirited comeback in the final quarter, to get within a kick, North just had too much strength and finally won by a 14 point margin. We had chances, Tom Bugg in particular who with 3 set shots and an easy snap, scored 4 points. Bernie had the chance to give us the lead in the final quarter with an easy snap, but again missed. In the end, the opportunities were lost, and all the momentum with it. Our opportunities were further stymied by a simply appalling umpiring display. Not a single holding the ball was paid in favour of Melbourne, deliberate OOB paid against us after a North player knocked the ball out, a blatant kick out on the full was paid a mark, and from at least two of these North goals resulted. With a final tally of 22 frees to 10 there was a one sided disparity, yet the unwillingness to award obvious frees is now becoming endemic within the umpiring fraternity. Play on seems to be the only call some umpires are capable of making. Unfortunately, the Demon tank is rather empty still. Weidemann is getting games, simply because we have no-one else at Casey who can play forward. We haven’t the luxury of leaving him there for a couple of games to gain confidence, and he was shoved aside and monstered by Tarrant and Thompson. He doesn’t help himself with a complete lack of second efforts and also just stops once the ball is outside his reach,as he watches his opponent stream downfield. Kent, Bugg and Wagner had shockers, but once again the pickings at Casey are slim, and to be honest, not much of an upgrade in the forms of Melksham, ANB, Trengove or Stretch. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and any further injuries will severely deplete our ability to put a competitive side on the park, at least until we see the return of Gawn, Spencer, Hogan and Vandenberg. With the current injury list, the side has been making good use of the medical profession. The supporters have been suffering a severe case of MFCSS (Melbourne Football Club Supporter Syndrome), yet in both cases there is no short term cure. Do we expect to win against Gold Coast in Alice next week? The MFCSS says probably not, as 2 metre Peter, Ablett and Lynch are due for break-out games, as they come off a bye. We have some very tired individuals and no prospect of injured players returning. So based on these facts, there is a better than even chance that the Demons will come out and trounce the Suns. We certainly hope so, or the fans will be calling for the doctor themselves. Melbourne 2.5.17 8.7.55 9.9.63 13.12.90 North Melbourne 6.7.43 8.9.57 12.13.85 15.14.104 Goals Melbourne Hannan 3 Pedersen 2 Frost, Jetta Jones, Kent Lewis Oliver Salem Viney North Melbourne Brown 5 Wood 3 Garner 2 Cunnington Higgins McDonald Williams Ziebell Best Melbourne Hibberd Viney T. McDonald Jones Hannan Jetta North Melbourne Brown, Cunnington, Turner, Goldstein, Thompson, Tarrant Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Cunnington (right ankle/knee) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Umpires Nicholls, Hosking, Hay Official crowd 33,218 at the MCG

CALL FOR THE DOCTOR by George on the Outer Not just for the players, but for the supporters as well. Once again, a Melbourne side comes into a game off the back of a first class performance against Adelaide, playing against a team that lost by nearly 7 goals the previous week, at home ... yes there was only going to be one result. Another match that should have/could have been won ... and it wasn’t. Once again the side failed to turn up in the first quarter, and it was obvious from the first ten minutes that Melbourne weren’t playing serious committed football. It was fortunate that North couldn’t kick straight with 13 scoring shots to 7 and only a 26 point lead at quarter time. In a bad coaching mistake, Tom McDonald played at full forward while his brother Oscar was left to mind the North man-mountain, Ben Brown. Tom didn’t get a touch and Brown had a party, as Oscar is not physically well developed enough to take on someone built like Brown. Tom goes back and Brown doesn’t get another grab until the final quarter. With the proper structure reestablished, the backline suddenly looked solid again as Frost and Hibberd in particular provided the solid attack out of defence, instead of struggling to contain the North big men up forward. Once again the Melbourne fight back come and the Demons found themselves down by 2 points at the major break. But coming from behind just saps strength and eventually the players pay. The third quarter was just a repeat of the first quarter as all around the ground the Melbourne players just looked tired. Dom Tyson just continues to go through the motions, especially when the ball is beyond his reach. He was the same last week, yet it was covered by the efforts of others around him. He no longer gets a start in the middle, yet cannot generate enough vigour to make the contest around the ball when playing off the wing at centre bounces. Two tackles in a game is simply not good enough for someone who plays around the ball. Jack Watts looks even more tired, but can be expected since he has now had to shoulder ruck duties for over the past month. He simply isn’t built for that job, especially when he is brought in against the current best ruckman in the competition in Goldstein. Cam Pedersen played another great game, but Goldstein simply was able to feed his mids with precise taps, something Jacobs didn’t do last week. With Clayton Oliver tagged and Bernie Vince tagging Higgins, it left a solitary one on one situation in the middle. Goldstein was always able to tap it to the right spot to advantage the North player, no matter who was standing there. Without a proper ruck, and without a proper forward, Melbourne were always going to struggle against a bigger bodied North. But with tired players now crying for the mid-season bye, the battle became even harder. At the end of the third quarter the Demons again found themselves 22 points down. And despite a spirited comeback in the final quarter, to get within a kick, North just had too much strength and finally won by a 14 point margin. We had chances, Tom Bugg in particular who with 3 set shots and an easy snap, scored 4 points. Bernie had the chance to give us the lead in the final quarter with an easy snap, but again missed. In the end, the opportunities were lost, and all the momentum with it. Our opportunities were further stymied by a simply appalling umpiring display. Not a single holding the ball was paid in favour of Melbourne, deliberate OOB paid against us after a North player knocked the ball out, a blatant kick out on the full was paid a mark, and from at least two of these North goals resulted. With a final tally of 22 frees to 10 there was a one sided disparity, yet the unwillingness to award obvious frees is now becoming endemic within the umpiring fraternity. Play on seems to be the only call some umpires are capable of making. Unfortunately, the Demon tank is rather empty still. Weidemann is getting games, simply because we have no-one else at Casey who can play forward. We haven’t the luxury of leaving him there for a couple of games to gain confidence, and he was shoved aside and monstered by Tarrant and Thompson. He doesn’t help himself with a complete lack of second efforts and also just stops once the ball is outside his reach,as he watches his opponent stream downfield. Kent, Bugg and Wagner had shockers, but once again the pickings at Casey are slim, and to be honest, not much of an upgrade in the forms of Melksham, ANB, Trengove or Stretch. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and any further injuries will severely deplete our ability to put a competitive side on the park, at least until we see the return of Gawn, Spencer, Hogan and Vandenberg. With the current injury list, the side has been making good use of the medical profession. The supporters have been suffering a severe case of MFCSS (Melbourne Football Club Supporter Syndrome), yet in both cases there is no short term cure. Do we expect to win against Gold Coast in Alice next week? The MFCSS says probably not, as 2 metre Peter, Ablett and Lynch are due for break-out games, as they come off a bye. We have some very tired individuals and no prospect of injured players returning. So based on these facts, there is a better than even chance that the Demons will come out and trounce the Suns. We certainly hope so, or the fans will be calling for the doctor themselves. Melbourne 2.5.17 8.7.55 9.9.63 13.12.90 North Melbourne 6.7.43 8.9.57 12.13.85 15.14.104 Goals Melbourne Hannan 3 Pedersen 2 Frost, Jetta Jones, Kent Lewis Oliver Salem Viney North Melbourne Brown 5 Wood 3 Garner 2 Cunnington Higgins McDonald Williams Ziebell Best Melbourne Hibberd Viney T. McDonald Jones Hannan Jetta North Melbourne Brown, Cunnington, Turner, Goldstein, Thompson, Tarrant Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Cunnington (right ankle/knee) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Umpires Nicholls, Hosking, Hay Official crowd 33,218 at the MCG

Clarry clearly in the lead ... VOTES PLAYER 92 Clayton Oliver 61 Nathan Jones 57 Jack Watts 46 Michael Hibberd 44 Jack Viney 33 Jayden Hunt 24 Jeff Garlett 23 Christian Petracca 22 Jordan Lewis 21 Dom Tyson 17 Christian Salem & Tom McDonald 16 Sam Frost 14 Cameron Pedersen 12 Neville Jetta 11 Max Gawn 10 Mitch Hannan 9 Bernie Vince 7 Alex Neal-Bullen 6 Jesse Hogan 5 Dean Kent & Billy Stretch 2 Jake Melksham

Cast those votes please ...

For the 16th time ...

Did anyone see that coming? The Casey Demons with just one victory for the season (against winless bottom team North Ballarat) coming up against one of the undefeated teams of the competition. The Casey Demons who have lost three games on the trot, were listless when humiliated at Preston last week by the Northern Blues, now coming into a game with an inexperienced side containing only a handful of players having any meaningful AFL experience. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what was to unfold at Casey Fields for the Saturday night VFL game that the world nearly forgot about. It began well enough for the home team with early goals to Mitch Gent and Aloysio Ferreira which set the tone for a night when the goals were shared equally between MFC and Casey listed players which is always a good sign. The players were running and tackling hard and throwing themselves into every contest. The disciplined Borough fought back as you would expect from the top team in the competition, to snatch the lead thanks to some brain fades by the Dees that gave away two 50 metre penalties and two goals and before you knew it, Casey was down by 15 points. But when the nippy Ferreira booted his second and State squad member Bayley Fritsch notched one just before the break, you knew that it was game on. Jake Melksham who was outstanding in the early going goaled to put Casey in front and that was followed by some great teamwork that resulted in a Ben Kennedy goal. The Demons had most of the play in a low scoring term and despite restricting the visitors to a single point, they held a lead of only 11 points at the main break. Casey's small brigade of Alex Neal-Bullen (an outstanding accumulator of the football), Kennedy and Jay Kennedy-Harris were also prolific ball winners. Port opened up the second half with a lot more purpose and when they goaled to narrow the Demons' lead to five points, it caused a few hearts to flutter. Enter the previously out-of-form Liam Hulett who has been on the verge of a trip down to the Development League recently, with two straight shots in the space of two minutes to relieve the tension. Port pegged one back shortly after but the rest of the third quarter was an arm wrestle with neither side having much impact on the scoreboard. But the brows were furrowed in the early moments of the final term when a Port Melbourne goal raised memories of fade outs in recent games. Neal-Bullen and Kennedy-Harris came to the rescue with successive goals and suddenly, it was a procession. Hulett kicked his third and Ed Morris who has been going through a quiet patch came to life with three goals on end as the Borough stood by helplessly. It was fitting that Melksham would boot the final goal enabling the Demons to record a surprise 43 point win. A special mention has to be made for young ruckman Mitchel King who laboured tirelessly and was aided and abetted by Declan Keilty giving Casey a competitive edge in the ruck battles which allowed the smaller brigade to dominate. Billy Stretch was also back to his elusive best and Dion Johnstone had his moments, chasing, tackling and hustling in the forward line. Skipper Jack Hutchins was in great form and James Munro figured in some important patches of play. Casey's win might have been a surprise but the fact that they were playing, "It's a Grand Old Flag", was not since both clubs have the same theme song. Next week is a bye week for the VFL State representative game. Peter Jackson VFL 2017 Casey Demons 4.4.28 6.6.42 8.9.57 14.12.96 Port Melbourne 5.0.30 5.1.31 7.3.45 8.5.53 Goals Casey Demons Morris 3 Ferreira Hulett Melksham 2 Kennedy-Harris Kennedy Fritsch Gent Neal-Bullen Port Melbourne Conway 4 Lisle 2 Krakauer Pearson Best Casey Demons Melksham Munro Hutchins Neal-Bullen King Morris Port Melbourne Mascitti Krakauer Conway Gordon Murdoch Cook Statistics Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 68 dream team points Dion Johnstone 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 32 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 behind 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 17 hit outs 82 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 goal 1 behind 16 kicks 10 handballs 26 disposals 8 marks 5 tackles 116 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 73 dream team points Mitch King 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 17 hit outs 49 dream team points Jake Melksham 2 goals 1 behind 26 kicks 8 handballs 34 disposals 6 marks 8 tackles 159 dream team points. Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 22 kicks 15 handballs 37 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 118 dream team points. Billy Stretch 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points. Jack Trengove 15 kicks 5 handballs 20 disposals 8 marks 7 tackles 107 dream team points Mitch White 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 59 dream team points They say that bad kicking is bad football so when you kick 1.9 in an opening quarter that you otherwise dominate, there's a fair chance that you'll lose - which is exactly what the Development League team did against Port Melbourne. AFL Vic Development League 2017 Casey Demons 1.9.15 3.10.28 4.11.35 6.17.53 Port Melbourne 1.1.7 5.2.32 10.5.65 11.8.74 Goals Casey Demons Di Pasquale 2 Baker Dan Johnston Machaya Rout Port Melbourne Osborne 4 Wilson 3 De Soysa 2 Conway Goss Best Casey Demons Cox Dam Johnston Dan Johnston Lok MacHaya Hiscock Port Melbourne Conway Houghton Clarke Osborne Goss Lange

SURPRISE by Ice Station Did anyone see that coming? The Casey Demons with just one victory for the season (against winless bottom team North Ballarat) coming up against one of the undefeated teams of the competition. The Casey Demons who have lost three games on the trot, were listless when humiliated at Preston last week by the Northern Blues, now coming into a game with an inexperienced side containing only a handful of players having any meaningful AFL experience. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what was to unfold at Casey Fields for the Saturday night VFL game that the world nearly forgot about. It began well enough for the home team with early goals to Mitch Gent and Aloysio Ferreira which set the tone for a night when the goals were shared equally between MFC and Casey listed players which is always a good sign. The players were running and tackling hard and throwing themselves into every contest. The disciplined Borough fought back as you would expect from the top team in the competition, to snatch the lead thanks to some brain fades by the Dees that gave away two 50 metre penalties and two goals and before you knew it, Casey was down by 15 points. But when the nippy Ferreira booted his second and State squad member Bayley Fritsch notched one just before the break, you knew that it was game on. Jake Melksham who was outstanding in the early going goaled to put Casey in front and that was followed by some great teamwork that resulted in a Ben Kennedy goal. The Demons had most of the play in a low scoring term and despite restricting the visitors to a single point, they held a lead of only 11 points at the main break. Casey's small brigade of Alex Neal-Bullen (an outstanding accumulator of the football), Kennedy and Jay Kennedy-Harris were also prolific ball winners. Port opened up the second half with a lot more purpose and when they goaled to narrow the Demons' lead to five points, it caused a few hearts to flutter. Enter the previously out-of-form Liam Hulett who has been on the verge of a trip down to the Development League recently, with two straight shots in the space of two minutes to relieve the tension. Port pegged one back shortly after but the rest of the third quarter was an arm wrestle with neither side having much impact on the scoreboard. But the brows were furrowed in the early moments of the final term when a Port Melbourne goal raised memories of fade outs in recent games. Neal-Bullen and Kennedy-Harris came to the rescue with successive goals and suddenly, it was a procession. Hulett kicked his third and Ed Morris who has been going through a quiet patch came to life with three goals on end as the Borough stood by helplessly. It was fitting that Melksham would boot the final goal enabling the Demons to record a surprise 43 point win. A special mention has to be made for young ruckman Mitchel King who laboured tirelessly and was aided and abetted by Declan Keilty giving Casey a competitive edge in the ruck battles which allowed the smaller brigade to dominate. Billy Stretch was also back to his elusive best and Dion Johnstone had his moments, chasing, tackling and hustling in the forward line. Skipper Jack Hutchins was in great form and James Munro figured in some important patches of play. Casey's win might have been a surprise but the fact that they were playing, "It's a Grand Old Flag", was not since both clubs have the same theme song. Next week is a bye week for the VFL State representative game. Peter Jackson VFL 2017 Casey Demons 4.4.28 6.6.42 8.9.57 14.12.96 Port Melbourne 5.0.30 5.1.31 7.3.45 8.5.53 Goals Casey Demons Morris 3 Ferreira Hulett Melksham 2 Kennedy-Harris Kennedy Fritsch Gent Neal-Bullen Port Melbourne Conway 4 Lisle 2 Krakauer Pearson Best Casey Demons Melksham Munro Hutchins Neal-Bullen King Morris Port Melbourne Mascitti Krakauer Conway Gordon Murdoch Cook Statistics Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 68 dream team points Dion Johnstone 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 32 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 behind 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 17 hit outs 82 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 goal 1 behind 16 kicks 10 handballs 26 disposals 8 marks 5 tackles 116 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 73 dream team points Mitch King 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 17 hit outs 49 dream team points Jake Melksham 2 goals 1 behind 26 kicks 8 handballs 34 disposals 6 marks 8 tackles 159 dream team points. Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 22 kicks 15 handballs 37 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 118 dream team points. Billy Stretch 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points. Jack Trengove 15 kicks 5 handballs 20 disposals 8 marks 7 tackles 107 dream team points Mitch White 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 59 dream team points They say that bad kicking is bad football so when you kick 1.9 in an opening quarter that you otherwise dominate, there's a fair chance that you'll lose - which is exactly what the Development League team did against Port Melbourne. AFL Vic Development League 2017 Casey Demons 1.9.15 3.10.28 4.11.35 6.17.53 Port Melbourne 1.1.7 5.2.32 10.5.65 11.8.74 Goals Casey Demons Di Pasquale 2 Baker Dan Johnston Machaya Rout Port Melbourne Osborne 4 Wilson 3 De Soysa 2 Conway Goss Best Casey Demons Cox Dam Johnston Dan Johnston Lok MacHaya Hiscock Port Melbourne Conway Houghton Clarke Osborne Goss Lange

Just an update on this. Clarry didn't win. Westhoff won with 53% of the vote followed by Clarry in second with 40%. https://goaloftheyear.afl/vote/round/8

This thread now has a poll because I needed a new homepage poll and polls don't lie.

I must say I hate it when I see Dees fans bring in opposition fan guests into my Melbourne "only" area. Especially if we lose. If we win then I love it.

..... AND you just jinxed us. Thanks a lot.

It's on the official site so it must be true. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-05-18/gawn-aims-for-round-12-return

From the people that brought you the meaningless stats thread and the coulda, woulda, shoulda ladders comes A Tale of One City. Here are the Home Game and Away Game Ladders. Home Ladder: Away Ladder: Obviously it means nothing but I love to post pointless facts. Oh and I'd also like to win (well) at the G.

This. And not just two either. Good to great teams can string multiple wins together. We can't be a genuine contender until this happens. We aren't even in the eight nor do we have a positive win/loss ratio. Percentage will be a key factor in deciding positions in the 8 this year so I'm happy with what we've got at the moment.

Where were you in 2000? I don't want to get ahead of myself but if we do make the Grand Final I'm not sure I want to be favourite. I would prefer to be the underdog. My psyche could not handle being overwhelming favourites and losing.

This is the key. Dropping games we should win or were in a winning position will bury our finals chances. Despite suffering from MFCSS this is the first time in a long time, perhaps ever in my 40 years a Demon, that I believe we can genuinely beat any team we come up against. Having said that my eternal pessimism also leads me to believe that we can lose to any team in the competition. I should seek therapy. Our win against Adelaide means nothing if we cannot back it up.

As discussed as well on the Demonland Podcast I mentioned that I was a big wrap on Pedo before the ruck injuries and thought he should be in before Weeds and to let Weeds develop at Casey. With Jesse out there is now room for both Pedo and Weeds in addition to Max once he returns. When Jesse returns we are back to having the good type of selection headache.