Demonland

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-09-14/trio-named-in-22under22-team The 22Under22 Team for 2016 B: Rory Laird (Adelaide), Jacob Weitering (Carlton), Sam Docherty (Carlton) HB: Callum Mills (Sydney), Jake Lever (Adelaide), Zac Williams (GWS Giants) C: Zach Merrett (Essendon), Patrick Cripps (Carlton), Stephen Coniglio (GWS Giants) HF: Isaac Heeney (Sydney), Jesse Hogan (Melbourne), Christian Petracca (Melbourne) F: Jake Stringer (Western Bulldogs), Joe Daniher (Essendon), Darcy Moore (Collingwood) FOLL: Brodie Grundy (Collingwood), Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Jack Viney (Melbourne) I/C: Jack Martin (Gold Coast Suns), Tim Membrey (St Kilda), Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide), Lachie Hunter (Western Bulldogs)

Too soon?

This website will be rebranded Goodwinland from today.

Please keep this polite or we might be forced to bring back some of our former moderators

THE EXPERIMENT by Whispering Jack As long as the memory of the last six days of Paul Roos' coaching tenure with the Demons remains fresh, it overshadows his achievements of the past three years. Roos took over a club teetering on the brink, wracked with division at many levels and took it on an upward journey from two wins before he arrived, to four, seven and ten at the end in a season that was alive until late in its penultimate round. Based on where the team came from, that is by any measure a stunning result - one for which all at Melbourne should be thankful. History will judge the period from the perspective of where the club goes from here. Will the transfer of the mantle of the senior coach now handed over to Simon Goodwin be seamless? Will the trajectory of wins continue in an upward direction leading to finals appearances and ultimately to premiership success or will the club stay where it is now in the middle of the road? Time will tell. The pain and the hurt of the losses to Carlton and Geelong will abate. They might even one day come to be understood as the inevitable end point in a three year experiment involving the transformation of a broken-down, dysfunctional playing list of which few components will have survived by the time Goodwin oversees his first game of 2017 into the sleek, young and exciting new model team that he will be coaching into the future. The Roos mantra in the year of his arrival was predominantly on defence and in those days it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As the team waded through the mire, there were similarities to the days of his immediate predecessors Mark Neeld and Neil Craig and the earlier years under Dean Bailey. It struggled to produce scores on the board and the thrashings came even though there was less disruption and better players were coming onto the playing list. The process continued into the second year with some definite signs of improvement but the wall was hit about two thirds of the way through and more thrashings ensued. This year was different. Goodwin was at the helm for the preseason matches and, while the results of those games are generally meaningless, there was a clear change in the way the team was going about things. There was a more attacking style resulting in some strong bursts of play and higher scores. The season proper began with a great comeback to snatch a win against the GWS Giants - impressive now in the context of that team's top four finish to the home and away season. From there, the ride became bumpy with some inexplicable low points among the highs that persisted throughout the season. There were defeats that should never have been recorded (Essendon, St Kilda twice and later, Carlton) and victories that were uplifting - notably the groundbreaking ones against the Hawks and Port Adelaide that teased us into believing the team might even be thereabouts in September. The dream finish never happened and, in fact, it all came crashing down heavily and disappointingly near the Geelong end of the M1. That's what happens with experiments - they don't always produce the perfect result at the first attempt and sometimes, such results were never intended in the first place. The thing that is clear from the final season under Paul Roos is that it was still very much one of development and, as it wore on, the experiment got interesting. We saw experienced players including present and past leaders of the club pushed aside and in their places, time was given to the new, younger breed of player. There were times during the season when the immediate time might have screamed out for the experience in defence of the likes of Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland but the youthful Oscar McDonald kept getting games and Sam Frost was also preferred once his stint up forward came to an end. And we saw Jayden Hunt and Josh Wagner coming into the team and James Harmes was moved to defence - they too were being prepared for the future. And, of course, we saw the continued blooding of the high draft picks Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver - sparingly at times to cater for their youth, their endurance and their body strength. There were others like Billy Stretch and Alex Neal-Bullen and later Sam Weideman who got games while the likes of former skippers Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove had to mark time with the Casey Scorpions - as did Chris Dawes and even Cam Pedersen from time to time. In many instances, it seemed that the younger players had not produced the form that might have warranted selection ahead of more experienced players and perhaps a different course might have even produced one or two more wins in the short term. But that was not what I believe this season was all about - rather, it was more about giving the club its best chance to rise through the invisible ceiling between the middle of the road and the successful clubs that regularly fight it out at the end of the season. If Goodwin and the team can achieve that in the next year or so, then the experiment will have been a success.

As long as the memory of the last six days of Paul Roos' coaching tenure with the Demons remains fresh, it overshadows his achievements of the past three years. Roos took over a club teetering on the brink, wracked with division at many levels and took it on an upward journey from two wins before he arrived, to four, seven and ten at the end in a season that was alive until late in its penultimate round. Based on where the team came from, that is by any measure a stunning result - one for which all at Melbourne should be thankful. History will judge the period from the perspective of where the club goes from here. Will the transfer of the mantle of the senior coach now handed over to Simon Goodwin be seamless? Will the trajectory of wins continue in an upward direction leading to finals appearances and ultimately to premiership success or will the club stay where it is now in the middle of the road? Time will tell. The pain and the hurt of the losses to Carlton and Geelong will abate. They might even one day come to be understood as the inevitable end point in a three year experiment involving the transformation of a broken-down, dysfunctional playing list of which few components will have survived by the time Goodwin oversees his first game of 2017 into the sleek, young and exciting new model team that he will be coaching into the future. The Roos mantra in the year of his arrival was predominantly on defence and in those days it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As the team waded through the mire, there were similarities to the days of his immediate predecessors Mark Neeld and Neil Craig and the earlier years under Dean Bailey. It struggled to produce scores on the board and the thrashings came even though there was less disruption and better players were coming onto the playing list. The process continued into the second year with some definite signs of improvement but the wall was hit about two thirds of the way through and more thrashings ensued. This year was different. Goodwin was at the helm for the preseason matches and, while the results of those games are generally meaningless, there was a clear change in the way the team was going about things. There was a more attacking style resulting in some strong bursts of play and higher scores. The season proper began with a great comeback to snatch a win against the GWS Giants - impressive now in the context of that team's top four finish to the home and away season. From there, the ride became bumpy with some inexplicable low points among the highs that persisted throughout the season. There were defeats that should never have been recorded (Essendon, St Kilda twice and later, Carlton) and victories that were uplifting - notably the groundbreaking ones against the Hawks and Port Adelaide that teased us into believing the team might even be thereabouts in September. The dream finish never happened and, in fact, it all came crashing down heavily and disappointingly near the Geelong end of the M1. That's what happens with experiments - they don't always produce the perfect result at the first attempt and sometimes, such results were never intended in the first place. The thing that is clear from the final season under Paul Roos is that it was still very much one of development and, as it wore on, the experiment got interesting. We saw experienced players including present and past leaders of the club pushed aside and in their places, time was given to the new, younger breed of player. There were times during the season when the immediate time might have screamed out for the experience in defence of the likes of Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland but the youthful Oscar McDonald kept getting games and Sam Frost was also preferred once his stint up forward came to an end. And we saw Jayden Hunt and Josh Wagner coming into the team and James Harmes was moved to defence - they too were being prepared for the future. And, of course, we saw the continued blooding of the high draft picks Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver - sparingly at times to cater for their youth, their endurance and their body strength. There were others like Billy Stretch and Alex Neal-Bullen and later Sam Weideman who got games while the likes of former skippers Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove had to mark time with the Casey Scorpions - as did Chris Dawes and even Cam Pedersen from time to time. In many instances, it seemed that the younger players had not produced the form that might have warranted selection ahead of more experienced players and perhaps a different course might have even produced one or two more wins in the short term. But that was not what I believe this season was all about - rather, it was more about giving the club its best chance to rise through the invisible ceiling between the middle of the road and the successful clubs that regularly fight it out at the end of the season. If Goodwin and the team can achieve that in the next year or so, then the experiment will have been a success.

Persistence has finally paid off for Justin Plapp's Casey Scorpions with a 70 point demolition of the Footscray Bulldogs in the VFL First Qualifying Final after 11 consecutive finals defeats since the commencement of the club's alignment with the Melbourne Demons. In front of a big crowd at Casey Fields the home side opened up the game in a manner that was not dissimilar to last week's final round match up with Box Hill. The team conceded the first three goals while squandering their own opportunities with Dean Terlich being the main offender in the early going. Despite a winning midfield of Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen and Ben Kennedy, it took until the 25 minute mark before the Scorpions managed their first major to big man Oscar McInerney and when Angus Scott slammed one through on the siren, the Bulldogs' lead had been pegged back to three points. The second quarter was something of an arm wrestle with the Scorps wresting the lead and the Doggies fighting back until late in the term when Terlich finally managed to find the big sticks for his first, following it up soon after with a pass to Sam Weideman who goaled to give the side a handy 8 point lead going into the main break. The second half began badly for the Scorpions with Terlich on report but the tide was turning in their favour on the scoreboard with Weideman and Scott both on fire up forward and benefitting from some damaging inside work from Clayton Oliver and Neal-Bullen. By three quarter time, the team had kicked away to a comfortable five goal lead which was the same margin Casey held over Footscray in Round 15 at Whitten Oval when the Bulldogs came home in a barnstorming finish to win by a point. However, the difference was that back in July they came home with a raging gale at their backs whilst this time it was barely more than a zephyr. Still, there was plenty of fight left in the Doggies and for the first seven or eight minutes of the final quarter they gave it their all and narrowed the margin to 22 points after wasting a few chances to further narrow the gap. The Casey defence with skipper Jack Hutchins and veterans Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland to the fore was just too strong and with the weight of sheer numbers led by Jack Grimes who was once again superb around the ground and the hard work of Mitch White, the Footscray resistance cracked. The goals flowed from every source. Weideman and Scott combined well up forward. Liam Hulett chimed in for a couple and there was some impressive work from small men Ed Morris and the slick Aloysio Ferreira who was 23rd player for the day. Before you knew it, Casey had kicked eight goals for the final term and the mission to win a final was complete. The result, which gives the team a well-earned week's break before playing off for a grand final spot in a preliminary final in a fortnight's time, was a triumph for Plapp who took over a team that two years ago that finished second last, ahead only of the now defunct Bendigo Gold. Peter Jackson VFL 2016 First Elimination Final Casey Scorpions 2.3.15 7.6.48 12.6.78 20.8.128 Footscray Bulldogs 3.0.18 6.4.40 7.6.48 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Scott 4 Weideman 3 Grimes Hulett Neal-Bullen Terlich 2 M Jones McInerney Michie Oliver White Footscray Bulldogs Hamilton 3 Adcock Greenwood Hannan Jamieson Webb Best Casey Scorpions Grimes White Neal-Bullen Scott Weideman Michie Footscray Bulldogs Hamilton Smith Russell Barry Jamieson Honeychurch Statistics Lynden Dunn 24 disposals 20 kicks 4 handballs 7 marks 1 tackles 90 dream team points Colin Garland 18 disposals 15 kicks 3 handballs 8 marks 1 tackles 76 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 goals 27 disposals 16 kicks 11 handballs 7 marks 3 tackles 116 dream team points Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 11 disposals 7 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 60 dream team points Matt Jones 1 goal 34 disposals 18 kicks 16 handballs 10 marks 122 dream team points Ben Kennedy 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 7 marks 4 tackles 86 dream team points Viv Michie 1 goal 31 disposals 19 kicks 12 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 119 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 2 goals 1 behind disposals 17 kicks 13 handballs 7 marks 2 tackles 119 dream team points Ben Newton 19 disposals 12 kicks 7 handballs 8 marks 6 tackles 96 dream team points Clayton Oliver 1 goal 1 behind 28 disposals 12 kicks 16 handballs 2 marks 3 tackles 4 hit outs 98 dream team points Jake Spencer 9 disposals 3 kicks 6 handballs 2 marks 7 tackles 24 hit outs 78 dream team points Dean Terlich 2 goals 3 behinds 24 disposals 19 kicks 5 handballs 15 marks 4 tackles 140 dream team points Jack Trengove 14 disposals 6 kicks 8 handballs 1 mark 7 tackles 62 dream team points Sam Weideman 3 goals disposals 9 kicks 5 handballs 5 marks 62 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 19 disposals 9 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 68 dream team points AFL Victoria Development League - Second Semi Final In the curtain raiser at Casey Fields, the Scorpions opened the day in truly disappointing fashion. Having worked hard to make the finals and win the double chance after a slow start to the season, they were comprehensively beaten by 92 points and barely raised a sweat until junk time. They have a week to regroup before next week's Preliminary Final. Casey Scorpions 1.0.6 2.1.13 2.3.15 7.4.46 Box Hill Hawks 6.2.38 11.6.72 16.10.106 21.12.138 Goals Casey Scorpions Freeman 3 Vander Haar 2 Baker Jaffer-Williams Box Hill Hawks Summers 5 Cox Langford Spangher Traynor 2 Brolic Dimasi Gordon Kidd McIntyre Murphy Soccio Switkowski Best Casey Scorpions Gains Jaffer-Williams D Collis Moncrieff Max King Freeman Box Hill Hawks Brolic Fisher Langford O'Sullivan Evans Switkowski

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF FOR CASEY by KC from Casey Persistence has finally paid off for Justin Plapp's Casey Scorpions with a 70 point demolition of the Footscray Bulldogs in the VFL First Qualifying Final after 11 consecutive finals defeats since the commencement of the club's alignment with the Melbourne Demons. In front of a big crowd at Casey Fields the home side opened up the game in a manner that was not dissimilar to last week's final round match up with Box Hill. The team conceded the first three goals while squandering their own opportunities with Dean Terlich being the main offender in the early going. Despite a winning midfield of Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen and Ben Kennedy, it took until the 25 minute mark before the Scorpions managed their first major to big man Oscar McInerney and when Angus Scott slammed one through on the siren, the Bulldogs' lead had been pegged back to three points. The second quarter was something of an arm wrestle with the Scorps wresting the lead and the Doggies fighting back until late in the term when Terlich finally managed to find the big sticks for his first, following it up soon after with a pass to Sam Weideman who goaled to give the side a handy 8 point lead going into the main break. The second half began badly for the Scorpions with Terlich on report but the tide was turning in their favour on the scoreboard with Weideman and Scott both on fire up forward and benefitting from some damaging inside work from Clayton Oliver and Neal-Bullen. By three quarter time, the team had kicked away to a comfortable five goal lead which was the same margin Casey held over Footscray in Round 15 at Whitten Oval when the Bulldogs came home in a barnstorming finish to win by a point. However, the difference was that back in July they came home with a raging gale at their backs whilst this time it was barely more than a zephyr. Still, there was plenty of fight left in the Doggies and for the first seven or eight minutes of the final quarter they gave it their all and narrowed the margin to 22 points after wasting a few chances to further narrow the gap. The Casey defence with skipper Jack Hutchins and veterans Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland to the fore was just too strong and with the weight of sheer numbers led by Jack Grimes who was once again superb around the ground and the hard work of Mitch White, the Footscray resistance cracked. The goals flowed from every source. Weideman and Scott combined well up forward. Liam Hulett chimed in for a couple and there was some impressive work from small men Ed Morris and the slick Aloysio Ferreira who was 23rd player for the day. Before you knew it, Casey had kicked eight goals for the final term and the mission to win a final was complete. The result, which gives the team a well-earned week's break before playing off for a grand final spot in a preliminary final in a fortnight's time, was a triumph for Plapp who took over a team that two years ago that finished second last, ahead only of the now defunct Bendigo Gold. Peter Jackson VFL 2016 First Elimination Final Casey Scorpions 2.3.15 7.6.48 12.6.78 20.8.128 Footscray Bulldogs 3.0.18 6.4.40 7.6.48 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Scott 4 Weideman 3 Grimes Hulett Neal-Bullen Terlich 2 M Jones McInerney Michie Oliver White Footscray Bulldogs Hamilton 3 Adcock Greenwood Hannan Jamieson Webb Best Casey Scorpions Grimes White Neal-Bullen Scott Weideman Michie Footscray Bulldogs Hamilton Smith Russell Barry Jamieson Honeychurch Statistics Lynden Dunn 24 disposals 20 kicks 4 handballs 7 marks 1 tackles 90 dream team points Colin Garland 18 disposals 15 kicks 3 handballs 8 marks 1 tackles 76 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 goals 27 disposals 16 kicks 11 handballs 7 marks 3 tackles 116 dream team points Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 11 disposals 7 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 60 dream team points Matt Jones 1 goal 34 disposals 18 kicks 16 handballs 10 marks 122 dream team points Ben Kennedy 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 7 marks 4 tackles 86 dream team points Viv Michie 1 goal 31 disposals 19 kicks 12 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 119 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 2 goals 1 behind disposals 17 kicks 13 handballs 7 marks 2 tackles 119 dream team points Ben Newton 19 disposals 12 kicks 7 handballs 8 marks 6 tackles 96 dream team points Clayton Oliver 1 goal 1 behind 28 disposals 12 kicks 16 handballs 2 marks 3 tackles 4 hit outs 98 dream team points Jake Spencer 9 disposals 3 kicks 6 handballs 2 marks 7 tackles 24 hit outs 78 dream team points Dean Terlich 2 goals 3 behinds 24 disposals 19 kicks 5 handballs 15 marks 4 tackles 140 dream team points Jack Trengove 14 disposals 6 kicks 8 handballs 1 mark 7 tackles 62 dream team points Sam Weideman 3 goals disposals 9 kicks 5 handballs 5 marks 62 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 19 disposals 9 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 68 dream team points AFL Victoria Development League - Second Semi Final In the curtain raiser at Casey Fields, the Scorpions opened the day in truly disappointing fashion. Having worked hard to make the finals and win the double chance after a slow start to the season, they were comprehensively beaten by 92 points and barely raised a sweat until junk time. They have a week to regroup before next week's Preliminary Final. Casey Scorpions 1.0.6 2.1.13 2.3.15 7.4.46 Box Hill Hawks 6.2.38 11.6.72 16.10.106 21.12.138 Goals Casey Scorpions Freeman 3 Vander Haar 2 Baker Jaffer-Williams Box Hill Hawks Summers 5 Cox Langford Spangher Traynor 2 Brolic Dimasi Gordon Kidd McIntyre Murphy Soccio Switkowski Best Casey Scorpions Gains Jaffer-Williams D Collis Moncrieff Max King Freeman Box Hill Hawks Brolic Fisher Langford O'Sullivan Evans Switkowski

Remiss of me not to include a LAST TIME THEY MET earlier in the week, so here it is ... PETER JACKSON VFL 2016 FOOTSCRAY v CASEY SCORPIONS Sunday 17 July 2016 Whitten Oval at 11.45am FOOTSCRAY B: Lynch Hamling Tashevski-Beckwith HB: Dale Collins Cordy C: Russell Dalgleish Smith HF: Honeychurch Barry J Hayes F: Hamilton Webb W Hayes FOLL: Minson Adcock Nash I/C (from) Grabowski Greenwood Guest Hamilton Houghton Ryan* Sharp Staley Wales Wallis CASEY SCORPIONS B: White Garland M Jones HB: Michie Hutchins Dunn C: Trengove Bugg Newton HF: Pedersen Keilty Wagner F: Kennedy Dawes Stretch FOLL: Spencer Brayshaw Oliver I/C (from) D Collis Gordon Hulett Machaya* Morris Munro Neal-Bullen Pattison Scott T Smith Terlich Weideman Wilson * 23rd player

Fanfare ... Max wins!!! 181 Max Gawn 157 Jack Viney 136 Nathan Jones 121 Jack Watts 106 Dom Tyson 98 Bernie Vince 85 Tom McDonald 75 Neville Jetta 56 Jayden Hunt 55 Jesse Hogan 36 Jeff Garlett 34 Ben Kennedy Oscar McDonald 33 Billy Stretch 29 Christian Petracca 26 Tomas Bugg 21 Dean Kent 17 Christian Salem 15 Clayton Oliver 13 Sam Frost 12 Josh Wagner 11 James Harmes 10 Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen Aaron vandenBerg 6 Angus Brayshaw 4 Matt Jones

As KC said in one of his posts - "mystery injury of the week". ?

Demon supporters were expecting the team that Paul Roos has dragged from the depths of the AFL ladder over a three year period would produce something special in his final game as coach. Well they certainly did, by gifting him an 111 point losing margin ... greater than any loss in his AFL coaching career! What an absolute insult to a great icon of the game, a man who has instilled pride and hope again into the supporters, and has presented the incoming coach, Simon Goodwin with a talented group of youngsters that have the potential to play finals next year. Like the previous week against Carlton the midfield was completely blown away. Yes, there was one hell of a player in Dangerfield ripping the ball away from the centre time and time again, but the lack of physical pressure on him was telling. Jack Viney was tried for a while, but to little effect. Bernie Vince was then tried but had even less effect as he consistently trailed five metres behind him all over the ground. There were some positives in the middle as Angus Brayshaw and Christian Salem topped the disposals list with 26 and 27 respectively. Nathan Jones produced his usual 25 with 4 clearances but still struggled with his kicking, which has bedeviled him in the past couple of weeks. Brayshaw, Viney, Petracca and Salem also provided a much needed boost around the ground, something that Vince and Tyson simply didn’t do. Tyson despite 23 touches did not manage a solitary clearance. This on top of the meagre two from last week. Vince 14 touches only. Max Gawn continued his fine form for the year, but until the umpires start penalizing opposition players who hold and block him in the ruck contests, allowing a third man up, he simply cannot be truly effective. He also had three Geelong ruckmen jumping on him all day in Zac Smith, Stanley and Blicavs. He took them all on, and beat them, probably securing his AA nomination for 2016. The backline simply didn’t do anything wrong today. There were not the turnovers and silly mistakes that we have seen over the past year, but the sheer volume of ball coming from the middle was too much. Oscar and Tom McDonald tried hard to repel the invaders and did on numerous occasions, but when Hawkins has the ball drilled down his throat it was no surprise that he finished with six for the day. Jayden Hunt continued, right to the end, to provide dash and line-breaking moves that provide hope for the future. He led the team with rebound 50’s, but with little support from the mids, he often had few options up the field. Without much on offer, the forwards were starved, but didn’t cover themselves with glory, as the ball all too often rebounded straight out of the Geelong half back line without a Melbourne player touching it. Geelong have a simply defensive structure set up on the 40 metre mark. It is a line consisting of Taylor, Lonergan, Mackie and Enright. If you keep kicking the ball to that area, they will clean up. Our mids needed to kick over that wall We didn’t and so they had a day out. The result: Weidemann, Hogan, Garlett and Bugg all finished the day with less than 10 touches. This game was a disgrace to everything that Roos had instilled into the team since his arrival. Hard work, contested footy, and never say die was his trademark that he brought from Sydney. The Melbourne fans surely need the opportunity to say “thank you” to him at some time next year. This was not the right way for him to exit the game. Melbourne 2.0.12 3.2.20 3.6.24 6.8.44 Geelong 8.2.50 11.6.72 14.10.94 24.11.155 Goals Melbourne Garlett 2 Brayshaw Hogan vandenBerg Weideman Geelong Hawkins 6 Menzel 4 Bartel Menegola 3 Caddy Motlop 2 Duncan McCarthy Selwood Taylor Best Melbourne O McDonald T McDonald Brayshaw Petracca Hunt Salem Geelong Dangerfield Caddy Hawkins Guthrie Selwood Taylor Menzel Changes Melbourne Kent (corked thigh), replaced in selected side by Matt Jones Geelong Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Geelong Kolodjashnij (calf) Reports Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Umpires Margetts Nicholls Mollison Official crowd 24,413 at Simonds Stadium

A CATASTROPHIC WAY TO SAY "GOODBYE" by George on the Outer Demon supporters were expecting the team that Paul Roos has dragged from the depths of the AFL ladder over a three year period would produce something special in his final game as coach. Well they certainly did, by gifting him an 111 point losing margin ... greater than any loss in his AFL coaching career! What an absolute insult to a great icon of the game, a man who has instilled pride and hope again into the supporters, and has presented the incoming coach, Simon Goodwin with a talented group of youngsters that have the potential to play finals next year. Like the previous week against Carlton the midfield was completely blown away. Yes, there was one hell of a player in Dangerfield ripping the ball away from the centre time and time again, but the lack of physical pressure on him was telling. Jack Viney was tried for a while, but to little effect. Bernie Vince was then tried but had even less effect as he consistently trailed five metres behind him all over the ground. There were some positives in the middle as Angus Brayshaw and Christian Salem topped the disposals list with 26 and 27 respectively. Nathan Jones produced his usual 25 with 4 clearances but still struggled with his kicking, which has bedeviled him in the past couple of weeks. Brayshaw, Viney, Petracca and Salem also provided a much needed boost around the ground, something that Vince and Tyson simply didn’t do. Tyson despite 23 touches did not manage a solitary clearance. This on top of the meagre two from last week. Vince 14 touches only. Max Gawn continued his fine form for the year, but until the umpires start penalizing opposition players who hold and block him in the ruck contests, allowing a third man up, he simply cannot be truly effective. He also had three Geelong ruckmen jumping on him all day in Zac Smith, Stanley and Blicavs. He took them all on, and beat them, probably securing his AA nomination for 2016. The backline simply didn’t do anything wrong today. There were not the turnovers and silly mistakes that we have seen over the past year, but the sheer volume of ball coming from the middle was too much. Oscar and Tom McDonald tried hard to repel the invaders and did on numerous occasions, but when Hawkins has the ball drilled down his throat it was no surprise that he finished with six for the day. Jayden Hunt continued, right to the end, to provide dash and line-breaking moves that provide hope for the future. He led the team with rebound 50’s, but with little support from the mids, he often had few options up the field. Without much on offer, the forwards were starved, but didn’t cover themselves with glory, as the ball all too often rebounded straight out of the Geelong half back line without a Melbourne player touching it. Geelong have a simply defensive structure set up on the 40 metre mark. It is a line consisting of Taylor, Lonergan, Mackie and Enright. If you keep kicking the ball to that area, they will clean up. Our mids needed to kick over that wall We didn’t and so they had a day out. The result: Weidemann, Hogan, Garlett and Bugg all finished the day with less than 10 touches. This game was a disgrace to everything that Roos had instilled into the team since his arrival. Hard work, contested footy, and never say die was his trademark that he brought from Sydney. The Melbourne fans surely need the opportunity to say “thank you” to him at some time next year. This was not the right way for him to exit the game. Melbourne 2.0.12 3.2.20 3.6.24 6.8.44 Geelong 8.2.50 11.6.72 14.10.94 24.11.155 Goals Melbourne Garlett 2 Brayshaw Hogan vandenBerg Weideman Geelong Hawkins 6 Menzel 4 Bartel Menegola 3 Caddy Motlop 2 Duncan McCarthy Selwood Taylor Best Melbourne O McDonald T McDonald Brayshaw Petracca Hunt Salem Geelong Dangerfield Caddy Hawkins Guthrie Selwood Taylor Menzel Changes Melbourne Kent (corked thigh), replaced in selected side by Matt Jones Geelong Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Geelong Kolodjashnij (calf) Reports Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Umpires Margetts Nicholls Mollison Official crowd 24,413 at Simonds Stadium

SLUGFEST by KC from Casey In boxing parlance you would describe the Scorpions' win over the Hawks in the last hit out for the season before the finals as a "slugfest". From the very beginning of the bout, the opponents traded heavy blows with first one, then the other seemingly on top. After all, this was a fight between the heavyweight champion of recent times in the VFL and the new contender. The Box Hill Hawks are on their way down, the Casey Scorpions are on the rise with their eyes on the championship belt. A win would go along way to securing a title bout but for the Hawks, it was their last chance to go out fighting. And so, at the City Oval on a cool, windy afternoon, the Hillmen did come out slugging and they landed the early blows. They were ahead on points early (4-0) before scoring goals through the agency of AFL premiership players Matt Spangher and Will Langford. When the bell rang to close off the first quarter, the visitors were goalless and in fact were smarting, having kicked only one goal in their last three quarters of football after their poor finish last week. Five minutes into the second term, Box Hill now kicking against the breeze, scored another goal to go to a handy 16 point lead. It was up to big hitter Cam Pedersen to stop the bleeding and in short time, he landed two heavy blows to narrow the margin to four points before Dean Terlich put them in front. Viv Michie landed another before the half time bell and the Scorpions were 9 points in front. It was lively rover Ben Kennedy who came to the fore and extended the points lead to 14 but the Hawks refused to be beaten. They picked themselves up and got off the canvas swinging wildly but hitting the mark, kicking the next four goals and reversing the Casey lead to go into the final round with a 9 point lead. The time had come for the Scorpions to step up. Kennedy scored first but the home side hit back with another from Langford. The sparring continued and big man Jake Spencer scored the next blow and the Scorps kept coming - a rushed behind leveling the scores at 55 apiece. Jack Grimes put them in front by a point. Kennedy who along with Alex Neal-Bullen had been the outstanding small man in the ring on the ground, kicked his third goal and a flurry of minor scores ensued before Cam Pedersen landed the killer blow at the 17 minute mark. Box Hill were down on the ropes - there was no coming back. Dean Terlich added injury to insult, the lead was out to 25 points and, with the news of Collingwood's loss to Footscray, the Scorpions were heading to the top of the ladder. When Clayton Oliver who was one of the stars of the day (finishing with a game high 33 disposals) marked and passed off to Michie for his second, the Hawks' fans were calling in the referee to stop the fight and call a technical knock out. The season was over for them. But it will continue next week for Casey which just keeps on punching. They have a strong list of AFL listed players qualified and on this display, you would expect them to win a final for the first time since the alignment began with Melbourne. Casey listed players like Angus Scott and skipper Jack Hutchins add to the side's quality. They have a good enough mix of experience and youth to go all the way and claim the VFL's heavyweight crown. Casey Scorpions 0.4.4 4.7.31 5.10.40 11.20.86 Box Hill Hawks 2.4.16 3.4.22 7.7.49 8.8.56 Goals Casey Scorpions Kennedy Pedersen 3 Michie Terlich 2 Spencer Box Hill Hawks Langford 3 Hardwick Spangher 2 Stewart Best Casey Scorpions Michie Kennedy Neal-Bullen Dunn Grimes Oliver Box Hill Hawks Howe Langford Mirra Willsmore Spangher O'Donnell Statistics Lynden Dunn 14 disposals 12 kicks 2 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 62 dream team points Colin Garland 22 disposals 16 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 6 tackles 75 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 behinds 28 disposals 16 kicks 12 handballs 8 marks 5 tackles 119 dream team points Liam Hulett 5 disposals 3 kicks 2 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 27 dream team points Ben Kennedy 3 goals 3 behinds disposals 17 kicks 6 handballs 8 marks 7 tackles 131 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 21 disposals 11 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 77 dream team points Viv Michie 2 goals 1 behind 31 disposals 21 kicks 10 handballs 8 marks 2 tackles 128 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 32 disposals 14 kicks 18 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 106 dream team points Clayton Oliver 33 disposals 13 kicks 20 handballs 4 marks 4 hit outs dream 89 team points Cam Pedersen 3 goals 1 behind 15 disposals 10 kicks 5 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 3 hit outs 87 dream team points Joel Smith 13 disposals 4 kicks 9 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points Jake Spencer 1 goal 7 disposals 4 kicks 3 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 23 hit outs 70 dream team points Dean Terlich 2 goals 2 behinds 14 disposals 9 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 83 dream team points Josh Wagner 21 disposals 12 kicks 9 handballs 3 tackles 63 dream team points Mitch White 1 behind 23 disposals 12 kicks 11 handballs 7 marks 1 tackles 84 dream team points The late season winning run of the Scorpions Development League team came to an end in the top-of-the-ladder clash against Box Hill who won by 20 points. Casey retained second position going into the finals and will be looking forward to the rematch. Casey Scorpions 2.1.13 5.2.32 6.4.40 9.6.60 Box Hill Hawks 4.5 5.9.39 9.13.67 11.14.80 Goals Casey Scorpions Freeman Max King 2 Baker D Collis Fritsch Wilson Wyatt Box Hill Hawks Lawlor 3 Firns Walker 2 Glass Lewis Summers Traynor Best Casey Scorpions Jaffer-Williams Wilson D Collis Briggs Wyatt Beacom Box Hill Hawks Brolic Lawlor Walker Kidd Summers Fisher

In boxing parlance you would describe the Scorpions' win over the Hawks in the last hit out for the season before the finals as a "slugfest". From the very beginning of the bout, the opponents traded heavy blows with first one, then the other seemingly on top. After all, this was a fight between the heavyweight champion of recent times in the VFL and the new contender. The Box Hill Hawks are on their way down, the Casey Scorpions are on the rise with their eyes on the championship belt. A win would go along way to securing a title bout but for the Hawks, it was their last chance to go out fighting. And so, at the City Oval on a cool, windy afternoon, the Hillmen did come out slugging and they landed the early blows. They were ahead on points early (4-0) before scoring goals through the agency of AFL premiership players Matt Spangher and Will Langford. When the bell rang to close off the first quarter, the visitors were goalless and in fact were smarting, having kicked only one goal in their last three quarters of football after their poor finish last week. Five minutes into the second term, Box Hill now kicking against the breeze, scored another goal to go to a handy 16 point lead. It was up to big hitter Cam Pedersen to stop the bleeding and in short time, he landed two heavy blows to narrow the margin to four points before Dean Terlich put them in front. Viv Michie landed another before the half time bell and the Scorpions were 9 points in front. It was lively rover Ben Kennedy who came to the fore and extended the points lead to 14 but the Hawks refused to be beaten. They picked themselves up and got off the canvas swinging wildly but hitting the mark, kicking the next four goals and reversing the Casey lead to go into the final round with a 9 point lead. The time had come for the Scorpions to step up. Kennedy scored first but the home side hit back with another from Langford. The sparring continued and big man Jake Spencer scored the next blow and the Scorps kept coming - a rushed behind leveling the scores at 55 apiece. Jack Grimes put them in front by a point. Kennedy who along with Alex Neal-Bullen had been the outstanding small man in the ring on the ground, kicked his third goal and a flurry of minor scores ensued before Cam Pedersen landed the killer blow at the 17 minute mark. Box Hill were down on the ropes - there was no coming back. Dean Terlich added injury to insult, the lead was out to 25 points and, with the news of Collingwood's loss to Footscray, the Scorpions were heading to the top of the ladder. When Clayton Oliver who was one of the stars of the day (finishing with a game high 33 disposals) marked and passed off to Michie for his second, the Hawks' fans were calling in the referee to stop the fight and call a technical knock out. The season was over for them. But it will continue next week for Casey which just keeps on punching. They have a strong list of AFL listed players qualified and on this display, you would expect them to win a final for the first time since the alignment began with Melbourne. Casey listed players like Angus Scott and skipper Jack Hutchins add to the side's quality. They have a good enough mix of experience and youth to go all the way and claim the VFL's heavyweight crown. Casey Scorpions 0.4.4 4.7.31 5.10.40 11.20.86 Box Hill Hawks 2.4.16 3.4.22 7.7.49 8.8.56 Goals Casey Scorpions Kennedy Pedersen 3 Michie Terlich 2 Spencer Box Hill Hawks Langford 3 Hardwick Spangher 2 Stewart Best Casey Scorpions Michie Kennedy Neal-Bullen Dunn Grimes Oliver Box Hill Hawks Howe Langford Mirra Willsmore Spangher O'Donnell Statistics Lynden Dunn 14 disposals 12 kicks 2 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 62 dream team points Colin Garland 22 disposals 16 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 6 tackles 75 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 behinds 28 disposals 16 kicks 12 handballs 8 marks 5 tackles 119 dream team points Liam Hulett 5 disposals 3 kicks 2 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 27 dream team points Ben Kennedy 3 goals 3 behinds disposals 17 kicks 6 handballs 8 marks 7 tackles 131 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 21 disposals 11 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 77 dream team points Viv Michie 2 goals 1 behind 31 disposals 21 kicks 10 handballs 8 marks 2 tackles 128 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 32 disposals 14 kicks 18 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 106 dream team points Clayton Oliver 33 disposals 13 kicks 20 handballs 4 marks 4 hit outs dream 89 team points Cam Pedersen 3 goals 1 behind 15 disposals 10 kicks 5 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 3 hit outs 87 dream team points Joel Smith 13 disposals 4 kicks 9 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points Jake Spencer 1 goal 7 disposals 4 kicks 3 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 23 hit outs 70 dream team points Dean Terlich 2 goals 2 behinds 14 disposals 9 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 83 dream team points Josh Wagner 21 disposals 12 kicks 9 handballs 3 tackles 63 dream team points Mitch White 1 behind 23 disposals 12 kicks 11 handballs 7 marks 1 tackles 84 dream team points The late season winning run of the Scorpions Development League team came to an end in the top-of-the-ladder clash against Box Hill who won by 20 points. Casey retained second position going into the finals and will be looking forward to the rematch. Casey Scorpions 2.1.13 5.2.32 6.4.40 9.6.60 Box Hill Hawks 4.5 5.9.39 9.13.67 11.14.80 Goals Casey Scorpions Freeman Max King 2 Baker D Collis Fritsch Wilson Wyatt Box Hill Hawks Lawlor 3 Firns Walker 2 Glass Lewis Summers Traynor Best Casey Scorpions Jaffer-Williams Wilson D Collis Briggs Wyatt Beacom Box Hill Hawks Brolic Lawlor Walker Kidd Summers Fisher

OK ... are we improving?

Votes please ... 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

THE PEOPLE SPEAK by the Demonland Crew We asked the fans on Demonland to help with the final match preview for the year. The quantity might not have been great but it's the quality that counts. Thanks folks and thanks to those who contributed to this section during the year. Demon Head "Whatever the result on Sunday, Demon fans will be left wondering whether their glass is half full or half empty after season 2016. On the one hand, they have seen the improvement and development from a young side growing in stature and reaching the double figure mark in wins for the first time in a decade. On the other hand, they will look upon the opportunities lost in terms of the four games against fellow bottom six teams from last year squandered - Essendon, St Kilda (twice) and Carlton. These were all winnable games where they team performed abysmally, which were marked by turnovers, poor decision making and woeful disposal. Turn those games around and you make the finals. Against Geelong at Geelong, a game that means a hell of a lot less to Melbourne than the Carlton (a team which had lost nine in a row) at the MCG of last week, I wonder which Demon team will come out?" dpositive "Melbourne Football Club has little to play for this year after succumbing to the Blues last week. However they have everything to play for, for next year. The progress of the team has been obvious and the high point with wins over Hawthorn and Port show that there is a nucleus of performance that can generated into something more meaningful. Will the young and emerging players benefit from another exposure at AFL level, for that is all it will be exposure. Victory will have little reward and loss will have further depletion of spirit. Or does the club concentrate its efforts on Casey and provide the club with a greater chance to enjoy the sweetness of success. A positive finish to what has been another frustrating year would provide some solace to the many weary Demon supporters who will continue to follow the club. Whoever takes the field against Geelong should know exactly what they are playing for, its not the present it is most assuredly the future. In some cases it will be their individual future but it is most certainly the future of this club which is poised on the brink of something. Supporters hope that something is success and will hope to see that manifested with a hard fought win or loss, a blow out after the disappointment of last week is just not acceptable. The club must select the team that will match up and play against a team that is assured of finals participation, they must match them and their clubmates must see them match them. They must see them apply every fibre of their being to match them and they must see them leave the field exhausted. The memory of other matches must be erased and a new standard set, one that will reignite that candle of hope that was snuffed out so easily last week, and burn into a fire of rage for next season. " krazyjay "A season of ups and downs again for the diehard Dees supporters, albeit with more ups than downs, could well be remembered as the one that got away. With everything to play for in the penultimate round the players just didn't give a yelp and looked like rabbits trapped in the headlines ... I mean headlights. A young group, lacking in the leadership that can only come from being winners, have tried hard all year and given their supporters moments of hope and belief with the odd WTF thrown in every couple of weeks. With a solid victory, against a Carlton side that most predicted would happen, this young side would have gone into the final round down at the Cattery oozing a confidence that had not been imagined some 23 weeks earlier. Although some may argue that a side that lost to Essendrug in 2016 is no side that deserves to be playing come September. After all is said and done this young side with potential dripping from every orifice will go into their last game of the year with an "I don't care" attitude (in a good way) that could shock the club right down to its foundations. Run, dash, carry and ferociousness will be plentiful. Followed by poor handballs and simple skill errors that give this match the potential of being one of two things.... An absolute ripper where a young up and coming side with nothing to lose come out and make a statement that tells the competition they better get ready for the next 10 years because you all 'bout to dance with the devil .... Or ... A bully beats down on a scrawny school kid who thinks just because he has new shoes that he is entitled to strut around the playground like he is the ducks nuts. Here's hoping for the former! Dees by 31" THE GAME Geelong v Melbourne at Simonds Stadium on Saturday 27 August 2016 at 1.45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Geelong 126 wins Melbourne 84 wins 2 draws At Simonds Stadium Geelong 37 wins Melbourne 18 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Geelong 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Scott 1 Roos 1 MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.30pm, Channel 7 delayed at 3.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Geelong to win $1.15 Melbourne to win $5.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 18.5.113 defeated Geelong 13.11.89 at Simonds Stadium in Round 12, 2015 In a shock result, Melbourne with Max Gawn dominating the ruck duels and marking everywhere on the ground, beat Geelong by four goals at the Cattery. Bernie Vince (38 disposals) and Nathan Jones (35) starred. THE TEAMS GEELONG B: Jake Kolodjashnij, Tom Lonergan, Andrew Mackie HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, Mark Blicavs C: Cameron Guthrie, Joel Selwood, Scott Selwood HF: Jimmy Bartel, Rhys Stanley, Mitch Duncan F: Steven Motlop, Tom Hawkins, Lincoln McCarthy FOLL: Zac Smith Patrick Dangerfield Sam Menegola I/C: Josh Caddy, Josh Cowan, Daniel Menzel, Tom Ruggles EMG: Jed Bews, Shane Kersten, Darcy Lang IN: Jimmy Bartel, Josh Caddy, Daniel Menzel OUT: Shane Kersten (omitted), Lachie Henderson (knee), Darcy Lang (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Sam Frost, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Tomas Bugg C: Billy Stretch, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Sam Weideman, Jack Watts, Aaron vandenBerg F: Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Dean Kent, James Harmes EMG: Jack Trengove, Cameron Pedersen, Matt Jones, Christian Salem IN: Jeff Garlett, James Harmes, Christian Salem, OUT: Viv Michie (omitted), Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted), Clayton Oliver (omitted)

I wouldn't mind him as a junior assistant coach.

Herald Sun did a Best Under 22 Team.

Surely Maxy is a certainty. Any other Dees a smokey for a bench spot? Viney? Jones? Watts http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-08-19/allaus-squad-to-be-named-after-round-23