Demonland

THE HOPE by The Oracle A new season always brings new hope in the continuing cycle of AFL football and for 2017, it would seem that Melbourne is one of the clubs, along with Saturday's opponent St Kilda that has been designated for improvement and a potential breakthrough into the top echelons of the competition. So intense has been the speculation and excitement surrounding the two clubs that we're hearing predictions of a sell out crowd at Etihad Stadium for the twilight event. The numbers might not end up being of Adele proportions but the very thought of a full stadium for such an event would hardly have been contemplated just a few years ago when both sides were AFL cellar dwellers. Remember, it was only a few seasons ago - 2014 in fact - that the Saints finished in last place and the Demons were second last. Thanks to James Frawley jumping ship to Hawthorn, the clubs shared the first three selections in that year's national draft. It's also worth reflecting on the fact that the team that finished next to last, and just ahead of those two, was Greater Western Sydney. Today the Giants are flag favourites whilst most of the pundits have St Kilda and Melbourne in the mix for finals berths. And so, one of the two major aspirants for the AFL's up and comer of the year award is going to be disappointed come Saturday night. The task of selecting which it will be is a difficult one because there is little current form that can be used as an indicator. The Saints finished 2016 full of running and overtook the Demons on the ladder standings late in the season to finish in 9th place with 12 wins, 10 losses, the same as flagging finalists North Melbourne but with an infer percentage of 95.7%. Had Melbourne won its last two games, it could well have made the finals but instead it hit the wall with an almighty bang, suffering a disastrous loss to lowly Carlton before capitulating at Simonds Stadium to Geelong by a massive 111 points. As a result, the Demons' finished 11th with a record of 10 wins and 12 losses and their percentage plummeted below the century mark to 97.6%. Both teams fielded strong teams throughout the pre-season and won two out of three JLT games. There wasn't much between them on their respective performances but in any event, you can't place too much store on the pre-season. Or can you? This all leaves me wondering how on earth is it possible to select a team to win that lost its last real game of football by more than eighteen goals against a side that it hadn't beaten for over a decade? I've found a way and will reveal all shortly. THE GAME St Kilda v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Saturday 25 March 2017 at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall St Kilda 91 wins Melbourne 118 wins 1 drawn At Etihad St Kilda 8 wins Melbourne 3 wins Past five meetings St Kilda 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Richardson 0 wins Goodwin 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel, Live at 4.30pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING St. Kilda to win - $1.83 to win Melbourne to win - $2.00 THE LAST TIME THEY MET St. Kilda 15.20.110 defeated Melbourne 11.8.74 in Round 17, 2016 at Etihad Stadium Melbourne dominated the first 1½ quarters but it was all St Kilda until the final break. The Demons surged in the last and got to within a goal but seemed unsettled when Jesse Hogan was controversially free kicked and reported after appearing to be pushed from behind. A goal at that time could easily have sustained his team's momentum but instead they faded in the face of the hard running, fast finishing Saints' surge. In the end the result actually flattered Melbourne because of their opponents' wayward kicking for goal. Nick Reiwoldt, as he often does, put in a blinder against Melbourne and another veteran Leigh Montagna was best on the ground. Jack Viney was head and shoulders above any other of his teammates on the day. THE TEAMS ST KILDA B: Jarryn Geary, Nathan J. Brown, Jimmy Webster HB: Jack Newnes, Jake Carlisle, Dylan Roberton C: Shane Savage, David Armitage, Nick Riewoldt HF: Luke Dunstan, Josh Bruce, Maverick Weller F: Jade Gresham, Tim Membrey, Nathan Wright FOLL: Tom Hickey, Jack Steele, Jack Steven I/C: Jack Billings, Sam Gilbert, Paddy McCartin, Sebastian Ross EMG: Blake Acres, Billy Longer, Jack Lonie NEW: Nathan Brown, Jake Carlisle, Jack Steele MELBOURNE B: Jayden Hunt, Tom McDonald, Joel Smith HB: Bernie Vince, Oscar McDonald, Jake Melksham C: Jordan Lewis, Jack Viney, Billy Stretch HF: Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan, Angus Brayshaw F: Alex Neal-Bullen, Sam Weideman, Jeff Garlett FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Clayton Oliver I/C: Neville Jetta, Christian Salem, Jack Watts, Mitch Hannan EMG: Tomas Bugg, James Harmes, Jake Spencer NEW: Mitch Hannan, Jordan Lewis, Jake Melksham, Joel Smith The teams are in and, in the case of St Kilda, there were no surprises. They have virtually their full squad in place with the exception of Leigh Montagna (who was their best player when the teams last met). The same cannot be said of Melbourne which goes into the game having a number of automatic or close to automatic selections out injured or not selected because they are underdone in terms of match preparation. These include the likes of Dom Tyson, Sam Frost, Dean Kent, Aaron vandenBerg and Bomber recruit Michael Hibberd. The selection of Jack Watts ended the media circus surrounding his less than impressive return from the break in the team's pre-season and the Dees gain some much needed experience and backbone in the form of Jordan Lewis from Hawthorn and Jake Melksham (Essendon). They have also included some X factor in the form of high flyer Mitch Hannan and former basketballer Joel Smith. Both could be regarded as surprise selections with Smith a last minute promotion from off the rookie list and Hannan from Footscray VFL having been unseen in the JLT rounds. With both teams now well advanced through their rebuilds, comparisons have been made in their development but the Saints have had the advantage in recent years of having an edge in the number of seasoned veterans when the teams met in the recent past. However, with the inclusion of Lewis, the Demons have gained a player on the field who has a wealth of experience playing in and leading winning teams; a factor that cannot be underestimated when the majority of those in the side are so youthful. He joins Nathan Jones and Bernie Vince as the elder statesmen in a team brimming with the excitement of youth but which has now had two or three seasons of grounding in their legs. The form in the pre-season of players like Jesse Hogan, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw, Jayden Hunt, Christian Salem and young co-skipper Jack Viney was encouraging. Despite injuries in the backline, the club is still able to field a strong defence highlighting the team's improvement in depth. All Australian ruckman Max Gawn has been given a lighter run through the pre-season and is ready to take on the challenge against possibly the one ruckman against who he lowered his colours last year. And Jack Watts really has something to prove in this game and throughout the year. They say records are meant to be broken. In 2015, the Demons broke Geelong's long winning streak against them and in 2016 they did the same to Hawthorn. On Saturday, St Kilda's streak will go the same way. Melbourne by 28 points

It was dejavu all over again when Melbourne played St Kilda for the second time in the 2016 season:- MELBOURNE B: Sam Frost, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Jack Grimes C: Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, James Harmes F: Aaron vandenBerg, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Matt Jones, Ben Kennedy, Mitch White EMG: Tomas Bugg, Billy Stretch, Josh Wagner IN: Angus Brayshaw OUT: Billy Stretch (omitted) ST KILDA B: Jarryn Geary, Sean Dempster, Dylan Roberton HB: Jack Newnes, Sam Gilbert, Leigh Montagna C: Maverick Weller, David Armitage, Jack Billings HF: Blake Acres, Nick Riewoldt, Nathan Wright F: Tim Membrey, Josh Bruce, Darren Minchington FOLL: Tom Hickey, Luke Dunstan, Jack Steven I/C: Jade Gresham, Daniel McKenzie, Sebastian Ross, Jack Sinclair EMG: Luke Delaney,Cameron Shenton, Eli Templeton IN: Jack Billings, Jack Sinclair OUT: Luke Delaney (omitted), Shane Savage (concussion

I think they were chanting "dear football gods please forgive us for barracking for Collingwood tomorrow".

hey buddy. No app at the moment. May I ask why you do not like logging in to websites on your phone? Aren't you also logged in on an app which is on your phone? Just curious. You can check your notification settings here. http://demonland.com/forums/notifications/options/ Oh and welcome back. Why did you give up the Demonology gig?

From early reports, things are not looking good for Col. Melbourne may have lost a key defender for the 2017 season as Jack Watts impresses Garland likely to miss season MFC Demons who played - Flipovic Garland Garlett Hannan Hulett Jetta Johnstone Keilty Kennedy Kent Maynard Pederson J Smith T Smith Trengove Tyson Watts Scores Seniors Casey Demons 7.1.43 8.5.53 12.5.77 17.6.108 Port Melbourne 0.0.0 5.0.30 10.3.63 10.4.64 Goals Garlett Gent Hannan Watts 2 Baker Ferreria Fritsch Keilty Kent Morris Pederson T Smith Trengove Development League Port Melbourne 17.9.111 defeated Casey Demons 8.12.60

It's no secret that the Women of Melbourne don't like rain. They opened the season scoring four consecutive points in muggy wet conditions before the rain got really heavy and thunder and lightning forced their game at Casey Fields to be temporarily abandoned just before half time. After a short break, they lost their ascendency and their first ever game to the Brisbane Lions. A couple of weeks ago, they did even worse on a wet track in Sydney despite having more than double the inside 50 count. You don't normally win games when you kick one goal from 12 scoring shots. And so, in the final game of the inaugural AFLW season and in perfect weather conditions against Fremantle at Casey Fields, it rained again but this time, it rained goals. In a must win game, the Demons kicked their first ten goals on the trot without missing once. It started in the first minute of the game with a mark dead in front by Alyssa Mifsud and although the Dockers quickly replied, their defences were quickly penetrated once again when Shelley Scott marked for another and the floodgates opened. Cat Phillips added two more before the 10 minute mark of the game and Deanna Berry added the team's fifth. It was hard to comprehend how this was happening with a team that only a fortnight ago conceded the wooden spooners their only victory for the season. The Docker resistance was minimal. They did goal again just before the siren sounded to signal the first break and raised a few yelps in the early stages of the second, but the Demons were now on the march for a percentage boosting game which would hopefully allow them match that of their rivals. At half time, it was eight goals straight. Only once before has a team kicked that many in a game and that was Carlton's 8.6.54 in Round 5. The scoring record was 7.13.55 by Collingwood in Round 6. By the end of the game those records had been surpassed as the Demons coasted to a record AFLW win (9 goals) to match the record score (11.4.70). The competition's premier footballer is Melbourne skipper Daisy Pearce who once again stood out with her creativity all over the ground. Her performance was matched by the strength of Elise O'Dea (25 disposals) and the youthful exuberance Lily Mithen but there were so many more who made a contribution over the game - Melissa Hickey, Karen Paxman, Richelle and Scott were among the others. It was also great to see so many multiple goalkickers in a game of women's footy. And so it came down to 21 hours of nail biting and waiting for the result of the game from Olympic Park where the Magpies and Crows were battling it out in the penultimate game before the finals. Sadly, we got the wrong result but that's what happens when you have given away the control over your destiny. Never before would I have been so glad to welcome a Collingwood victory and never before have I been so disappointed by a Collingwood defeat. Well done Women of Melbourne. Let's win it next year come rain, hail or shine. Melbourne 5.0.30 8.0.48 10.0.60 11.4.70 Fremantle 2.0.12 2.3.15 2.4.16 2.4.16 Goals Melbourne Berry Mifsud Phillips Scott 2 Humphries Newman Paxman. Fremantle Antonio Houghton Best Melbourne D Pearce Mithen O'Dea Scott Paxman Cranston Fremantle Hooker Lavell Filocama Injuries Melbourne Nil Fremantle Angel (knee) Reports Melbourne Nil Fremantle Nil Umpires Michael Pell Ryan Guy Annie Mirabile Crowd 2,500 (est) at Casey Fields, Cranbourne

RAINING GOALS by Bewitched It's no secret that the Women of Melbourne don't like rain. They opened the season scoring four consecutive points in muggy wet conditions before the rain got really heavy and thunder and lightning forced their game at Casey Fields to be temporarily abandoned just before half time. After a short break, they lost their ascendency and their first ever game to the Brisbane Lions. A couple of weeks ago, they did even worse on a wet track in Sydney despite having more than double the inside 50 count. You don't normally win games when you kick one goal from 12 scoring shots. And so, in the final game of the inaugural AFLW season and in perfect weather conditions against Fremantle at Casey Fields, it rained again but this time, it rained goals. In a must win game, the Demons kicked their first ten goals on the trot without missing once. It started in the first minute of the game with a mark dead in front by Alyssa Mifsud and although the Dockers quickly replied, their defences were quickly penetrated once again when Shelley Scott marked for another and the floodgates opened. Cat Phillips added two more before the 10 minute mark of the game and Deanna Berry added the team's fifth. It was hard to comprehend how this was happening with a team that only a fortnight ago conceded the wooden spooners their only victory for the season. The Docker resistance was minimal. They did goal again just before the siren sounded to signal the first break and raised a few yelps in the early stages of the second, but the Demons were now on the march for a percentage boosting game which would hopefully allow them match that of their rivals. At half time, it was eight goals straight. Only once before has a team kicked that many in a game and that was Carlton's 8.6.54 in Round 5. The scoring record was 7.13.55 by Collingwood in Round 6. By the end of the game those records had been surpassed as the Demons coasted to a record AFLW win (9 goals) to match the record score (11.4.70). The competition's premier footballer is Melbourne skipper Daisy Pearce who once again stood out with her creativity all over the ground. Her performance was matched by the strength of Elise O'Dea (25 disposals) and the youthful exuberance Lily Mithen but there were so many more who made a contribution over the game - Melissa Hickey, Karen Paxman, Richelle and Scott were among the others. It was also great to see so many multiple goalkickers in a game of women's footy. And so it came down to 21 hours of nail biting and waiting for the result of the game from Olympic Park where the Magpies and Crows were battling it out in the penultimate game before the finals. Sadly, we got the wrong result but that's what happens when you have given away the control over your destiny. Never before would I have been so glad to welcome a Collingwood victory and never before have I been so disappointed by a Collingwood defeat. Well done Women of Melbourne. Let's win it next year come rain, hail or shine. Melbourne 5.0.30 8.0.48 10.0.60 11.4.70 Fremantle 2.0.12 2.3.15 2.4.16 2.4.16 Goals Melbourne Berry Mifsud Phillips Scott 2 Humphries Newman Paxman. Fremantle Antonio Houghton Best Melbourne D Pearce Mithen O'Dea Scott Paxman Cranston Fremantle Hooker Lavell Filocama Injuries Melbourne Nil Fremantle Angel (knee) Reports Melbourne Nil Fremantle Nil Umpires Michael Pell Ryan Guy Annie Mirabile Crowd 2,500 (est) at Casey Fields, Cranbourne

Smoke? Fire?

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-03-16/saints-be-praised-as-afl-captains-make-their-predictions

I was trying to be funny. Think of it as a simple yes and no and you can elaborate in the thread. I just had to get rid of the poll of whether Jack Watts was going to play in the last JLT game.

I've added a poll at the top of the page.

Radio ratings send shockwaves

SLOW START AT THE TOP by Bewitched The hot conditions would probably have proved too much for Bernard Tomic but, for the women of Melbourne, the heat and the humidity were the perfect conditions to enable them to overcome the Adelaide Crows after a now standard slow start in the nation's Top End. What is it about the slow starting Demons? Only once during this inaugural AFLW season have they held a quarter time lead and that was in the opening round against the league-leading Brisbane Lions when they scored three points to nothing and failed to goal until just before half time. Their best quarter time score to date stands at 1.1.7 when they trailed the Doggies by a couple of goals in round three. And so it was last night at TIO Stadium with a listless start that, as in Sydney the week before, saw the opposition on 2.1.13 at the first change (only this week the Dees hadn't even scored a point). It was almost as if last week's shock loss had sucked the life and the fight out of the team - but all that changed in the second quarter. Led by inspirational skipper Daisy Pearce, they fought their way back into contention for a grand final berth. After Deanna Berry bobbed up for the team's first goal early in the second quarter, an arm wrestle ensued and the Crows took sway with a goal in response midway through the term. However, from that moment on until late in the night it was all Melbourne with Daisy leading the way. She was everywhere. At one stage she goaled up forward and moments later was marking strongly deep in defence. Along with Karen Paxman who had 21 possessions for the game, Pearce (20) was fantastic and so were the hard tackling Elise O'Dea and youngster Lily Mithen. It looked as if their fast start in the thirty degree sauna-like conditions had taken its toll over the Crows. They were completely shut out in the third quarter and when Aliesha Newman scored Melbourne’s fifth goal at the 10-minute mark of the final term, they seemed to be up against an unassailable lead. But as is usual for Melbourne sides, that was not the end of the drama because two late goals from Adelaide, one after the other, led to a heart-stopping finish. The final siren couldn't come too soon. The equation for next weekend is simple. The Dees must beat Fremantle at Casey Fields on Saturday and then hope for a Pies victory over Adelaide on Sunday to set up a replay of the opening round clash in the grand final due to take place in Brisbane. Melbourne 0.0.0 2.1.13 4.3.27 5.4.34 Adelaide 2.1.13 3.1.19 3.1.19 5.2.32 Goals Melbourne Berry Mifsud Newman D Pearce Scott Adelaide Bevan Gibson Perkins Randall Riley Best Melbourne Paxman Pearce Newman O'Dea Mithen Smith Berry Adelaide Foley Bevan Randall Randan Phillips Injuries Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Umpires Andrew Crosby, Brodie Raynor and Nathan Toner Crowd 5,100 at TIO Stadium, Darwin

The hot conditions would probably have proved too much for Bernard Tomic but, for the women of Melbourne, the heat and the humidity were the perfect conditions to enable them to overcome the Adelaide Crows after a now standard slow start in the nation's Top End. What is it about the slow starting Demons? Only once during this inaugural AFLW season have they held a quarter time lead and that was in the opening round against the league-leading Brisbane Lions when they scored three points to nothing and failed to goal until just before half time. Their best quarter time score to date stands at 1.1.7 when they trailed the Doggies by a couple of goals in round three. And so it was last night at TIO Stadium with a listless start that, as in Sydney the week before, saw the opposition on 2.1.13 at the first change (only this week the Dees hadn't even scored a point). It was almost as if last week's shock loss had sucked the life and the fight out of the team - but all that changed in the second quarter. Led by inspirational skipper Daisy Pearce, they fought their way back into contention for a grand final berth. After Deanna Berry bobbed up for the team's first goal early in the second quarter, an arm wrestle ensued and the Crows took sway with a goal in response midway through the term. However, from that moment on until late in the night it was all Melbourne with Daisy leading the way. She was everywhere. At one stage she goaled up forward and moments later was marking strongly deep in defence. Along with Karen Paxman who had 21 possessions for the game, Pearce (20) was fantastic and so were the hard tackling Elise O'Dea and youngster Lily Mithen. It looked as if their fast start in the thirty degree sauna-like conditions had taken its toll over the Crows. They were completely shut out in the third quarter and when Aliesha Newman scored Melbourne’s fifth goal at the 10-minute mark of the final term, they seemed to be up against an unassailable lead. But as is usual for Melbourne sides, that was not the end of the drama because two late goals from Adelaide, one after the other, led to a heart-stopping finish. The final siren couldn't come too soon. The equation for next weekend is simple. The Dees must beat Fremantle at Casey Fields on Saturday and then hope for a Pies victory over Adelaide on Sunday to set up a replay of the opening round clash in the grand final due to take place in Brisbane. Melbourne 0.0.0 2.1.13 4.3.27 5.4.34 Adelaide 2.1.13 3.1.19 3.1.19 5.2.32 Goals Melbourne Berry Mifsud Newman D Pearce Scott Adelaide Bevan Gibson Perkins Randall Riley Best Melbourne Paxman Pearce Newman O'Dea Mithen Smith Berry Adelaide Foley Bevan Randall Randan Phillips Injuries Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Umpires Andrew Crosby, Brodie Raynor and Nathan Toner Crowd 5,100 at TIO Stadium, Darwin

Well that was the JLT pre-season practice series and the final one for Melbourne was away against a side that lost in the first round of the 2016 finals to the ultimate premiers. Both clubs took the field in this game with probably their best available sides so we expected what should have been and was a close tussle. The thing that was noticeable was that the game was treated as a true practice match with both coaches trying different options, but not giving too much away. Melbourne under Simon Goodwin went into the game with the two ruck option again but did it work? We really don't know because although Jake Spencer finished with three goals, he also had a paltry seven possessions and his hit-outs were against WCE’s third and fourth choice ruckmen in Vardy and Petrie. Melbourne also played a match attempting to simulate a 22 man team set up as close as possible which left Jack Trengove stranded on the boundary line. Has he recovered from his tragic injury run - again, we now simply don’t know yet but the team was left one man short in the Perth heat. For almost three quarters, the game itself was almost goal for goal with some momentary lapses allowing the Eagles a margin of less than a couple goals until a run of goals in the final term allowed the Eagles to nudge out to a winning margin. Even then, with ten minutes to go, the Demons could have been within a kick, save for some easy misses in front of goal from Jesse Hogan and Sam Weideman. The result could have been different, but we won’t know. The unfortunate observation was the lack of finishing skill into the forward line. At one point, eight West Coast goals in succession had come came from Melbourne turnovers into the forward areas. The quick counter attack saw the defenders with simply no chance, and both LeCras and Kennedy took advantage as they were left either one on one or on their own in a replica of Pagans paddock. No defender in the league could defend against that. We have to give Dom Tyson some leeway since it was his first hit-out for a long time, but some of his field kicking was way way below par. Likewise, Jack Watts needed to show more than what he produced, particularly with his defensive efforts. For someone with a selection cloud over himself, it was necessary to show the same level of intensity that Clayton Oliver, Tomas Bugg, Jayden Hunt, Nathan Jones and Max Gawn were displaying. Does he have it in himself to get to the level to play round one - we still don’t know. Oliver played an absolute blinder again. His vision in tight situations, and his ability to get the ball when it seems impossible, are rapidly approaching elite level. Thirty-one touches including 13 contested is well up there with the best, and yet the Coach had him off the field for long periods, probably because in his case - we do know about his capabilities yet. Others needed to be evaluated and were given the chance. James Harmes, ANB, Weideman and Colin Garland are at the fringe area of selection, and while the latter is a work in progress in need of senior game time, the others only showed enough to confirm their fringe status. Will we see much of them during the season - we don’t know as they aren’t knocking the door down, and we still have the likes of Jeff Garlett, Dean Kent, Nev Jetta and eventually VDB as choices before them. The match showed that the Demons still have a way to go. We should have known that the inconsistency of youth would show a drop-off of what we now expect from Christian Petracca and even Jack Viney. They still played well, but they just weren’t there at times. Finally, let's reflect that despite this series being a training run for both sides, the team has beaten last year's premier on its own home turf, flogged a bottom for side that for some reason it usually struggles with and has taken it right up to another finalist. We don’t know if that means anything or nothing at all but for years we have been saying "we want to be competitive" and "we want to challenge for finals and better". In order to do this, we have to win comprehensively when expected and to be truly in the game against the better sides. That we have done, and if it translates into the season proper, then finals will beckon. We still don’t know what we can take away, but two out of three ain’t bad. Isn't it? P.S: Will the AFL please stop using W.A. based umpires in games in WA? They need to be exposed to how the rules are applied in the rest of the country and not just in Domain Stadium. Melbourne 0.2.2.14 0.6.3.39 0.8.5.53 1.9.7.70 West Coast 0.3.5.23 0.7.5.47 0.12.8.80 0.14.11.95 Supergoals Melbourne Jayden Hunt West Coast Nil Goals Melbourne Spencer 3 Hogan 2 Brayshaw Jones Salem Viney West Coast Kennedy 5 Darling LeCras Vardy 2 Gaff Hill Priddis Best Melbourne Oliver Oliver and Oliver Hunt Lewis Bugg Salem West Coast Mitchell Masten Gaff Vardy Kennedy Wellingham LeCras Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Haussen Dalgleish Kamolins Adams Official crowd 5,337 at Domain Stadium

To keep our grand final chances alive, we have to win by at least five or six goals. Tough ask seeing we only kicked one last week against the bottom side.

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T? by George on the Outer Well that was the JLT pre-season practice series and the final one for Melbourne was away against a side that lost in the first round of the 2016 finals to the ultimate premiers. Both clubs took the field in this game with probably their best available sides so we expected what should have been and was a close tussle. The thing that was noticeable was that the game was treated as a true practice match with both coaches trying different options, but not giving too much away. Melbourne under Simon Goodwin went into the game with the two ruck option again but did it work? We really don't know because although Jake Spencer finished with three goals, he also had a paltry seven possessions and his hit-outs were against WCE’s third and fourth choice ruckmen in Vardy and Petrie. Melbourne also played a match attempting to simulate a 22 man team set up as close as possible which left Jack Trengove stranded on the boundary line. Has he recovered from his tragic injury run - again, we now simply don’t know yet but the team was left one man short in the Perth heat. For almost three quarters, the game itself was almost goal for goal with some momentary lapses allowing the Eagles a margin of less than a couple goals until a run of goals in the final term allowed the Eagles to nudge out to a winning margin. Even then, with ten minutes to go, the Demons could have been within a kick, save for some easy misses in front of goal from Jesse Hogan and Sam Weideman. The result could have been different, but we won’t know. The unfortunate observation was the lack of finishing skill into the forward line. At one point, eight West Coast goals in succession had come came from Melbourne turnovers into the forward areas. The quick counter attack saw the defenders with simply no chance, and both LeCras and Kennedy took advantage as they were left either one on one or on their own in a replica of Pagans paddock. No defender in the league could defend against that. We have to give Dom Tyson some leeway since it was his first hit-out for a long time, but some of his field kicking was way way below par. Likewise, Jack Watts needed to show more than what he produced, particularly with his defensive efforts. For someone with a selection cloud over himself, it was necessary to show the same level of intensity that Clayton Oliver, Tomas Bugg, Jayden Hunt, Nathan Jones and Max Gawn were displaying. Does he have it in himself to get to the level to play round one - we still don’t know. Oliver played an absolute blinder again. His vision in tight situations, and his ability to get the ball when it seems impossible, are rapidly approaching elite level. Thirty-one touches including 13 contested is well up there with the best, and yet the Coach had him off the field for long periods, probably because in his case - we do know about his capabilities yet. Others needed to be evaluated and were given the chance. James Harmes, ANB, Weideman and Colin Garland are at the fringe area of selection, and while the latter is a work in progress in need of senior game time, the others only showed enough to confirm their fringe status. Will we see much of them during the season - we don’t know as they aren’t knocking the door down, and we still have the likes of Jeff Garlett, Dean Kent, Nev Jetta and eventually VDB as choices before them. The match showed that the Demons still have a way to go. We should have known that the inconsistency of youth would show a drop-off of what we now expect from Christian Petracca and even Jack Viney. They still played well, but they just weren’t there at times. Finally, let's reflect that despite this series being a training run for both sides, the team has beaten last year's premier on its own home turf, flogged a bottom for side that for some reason it usually struggles with and has taken it right up to another finalist. We don’t know if that means anything or nothing at all but for years we have been saying "we want to be competitive" and "we want to challenge for finals and better". In order to do this, we have to win comprehensively when expected and to be truly in the game against the better sides. That we have done, and if it translates into the season proper, then finals will beckon. We still don’t know what we can take away, but two out of three ain’t bad. Isn't it? P.S: Will the AFL please stop using W.A. based umpires in games in WA? They need to be exposed to how the rules are applied in the rest of the country and not just in Domain Stadium. Melbourne 0.2.2.14 0.6.3.39 0.8.5.53 1.9.7.70 West Coast 0.3.5.23 0.7.5.47 0.12.8.80 0.14.11.95 Supergoals Melbourne Jayden Hunt West Coast Nil Goals Melbourne Spencer 3 Hogan 2 Brayshaw Jones Salem Viney West Coast Kennedy 5 Darling LeCras Vardy 2 Gaff Hill Priddis Best Melbourne Oliver Oliver and Oliver Hunt Lewis Bugg Salem West Coast Mitchell Masten Gaff Vardy Kennedy Wellingham LeCras Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Haussen Dalgleish Kamolins Adams Official crowd 5,337 at Domain Stadium

I really hate the white jumper.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-03-08/vandenberg-to-miss-round-one

Our entire small forward brigade is injured.

Is Vandenberg injured too?