Demonland

This is exactly the type of post you report about others abusing you stuie. Guys if you can't stop the personal attacks then perhaps the only solution is for all of you to go. Play the ball not the man. Last warning for a few of you. Next time I'll pull the plug without warning.

Not on here. If someone reveals there real name on Demonland then that is fair game.

Please do not reveal the personal information of posters. If you do this again you will be banned for life.

We haven't done one of these all year and I noticed that the last time we did, it was when the Demons beat the Cats in Geelong last year, so why not? Your challenge is to preview this week's game from your own perspective. Selected contributions will make the match preview this week (we reserve the right to edit). Let's have the previews of the people.

This would have been an interesting thread had Melbourne beaten Carlton at the MCG yesterday. GEELONG B: Jared Rivers, Harry Taylor, Corey Enright HB: Cameron Guthrie, Tom Lonergan, Jake Kolodjashnij C: Andrew Mackie, Joel Selwood, Steven Motlop HF: Cory Gregson, Josh Walker, Steve Johnson F: Jordan Murdoch, Tom Hawkins, Darcy Lang FOLL: Mark Blicavs, Josh Caddy, Mathew Stokes I/C: Jed Bews, Shane Kersten, Michael Luxford, Jackson Thurlow EMG: Sam Blease, Nakia Cockatoo, Jarrad Jansen IN: Jake Kolodjashnij, Michael Luxford OUT: James Kelly (ankle), Rhys Stanley (foot) MELBOURNE B: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Lynden Dunn, Heritier Lumumba C: Jimmy Toumpas, Dom Tyson, Jack Viney HF: Jack Watts, Chris Dawes, Billy Stretch F: Jeff Garlett, Jake Spencer, Angus Brayshaw FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince I/C: Rohan Bail, Matt Jones, Alex Neal-Bullen, Aidan Riley EMG: Jordie McKenzie, Viv Michie, Dean Terlich IN: Rohan Bail, Chris Dawes, Matt Jones, Jake Spencer OUT: Jack Grimes (hand), Jesse Hogan (hamstring soreness), Viv Michie (omitted), Cameron Pedersen (wrist)

Congratulations to Max Gawn who cannot be beaten for our 2016 Player of the Year 181 Max Gawn 156 Jack Viney 136 Nathan Jones 121 Jack Watts 106 Dom Tyson 98 Bernie Vince 75 Neville Jetta Tom McDonald 55 Jesse Hogan 45 Jayden Hunt 36 Jeff Garlett 34 Ben Kennedy 33 Billy Stretch 29 Christian Petracca 26 Tomas Bugg 21 Dean Kent 18 Oscar McDonald 15 Clayton Oliver 12 Josh Wagner 11 Sam Frost James Harmes 10 Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen 7 Aaron vandenBerg 4 Matt Jones 2 Angus Brayshaw

AN END TO THE DREAMING by George on the Outer Carlton put paid to the Demons' chances of playing in the 2016 finals series, or more correctly Melbourne threw away its chances of being there in September. From the first bounce it was obvious that the “bad” Melbourne had turned up to play a game that was reminiscent of that against Essendon earlier in the year. Before the supporters could build their hopes, the game was over as Carlton put on four goals in the opening quarter from nine shots, while the Demons could only manage four shots on goal with only two majors resulting. This was a Carlton side that had lost its previous nine encounters, while the Demons were coming off a three game winning streak, its longest for nearly ten years. The mids were comprehensively beaten to everything that Max Gawn sent their way, and when they weren’t first to the ball, the effectiveness of their disposal was appalling. Dom Tyson despite 30 touches needs to be sat down and told to kick the ball instead of trying to handball first, when it is raining. The same happened against Hawthorn first up, then Sydney and again today. Handballing in close is a dry weather option, and it was evidenced that he only managed two clearances for the whole day! Jack Viney battled all day, and produced eight clearances from fewer possession. The difference between statistics and effectiveness. The backs were simply magnificent and without the efforts of the MacDonald brothers and Neville Jetta combined with the sorry skills of most Carlton players, the result would have been much worse. Tom did a particularly damaging job on Levi Casboult who only had 9 touches for the whole game, while Neville just kept intercepting and spoiling the Carlton forward thrusts. The 1%ers statistic had Tom with 14, Oscar with 8 and Neville with 5 with no other players on the field doing better. Bernie on the other hand was simply atrocious and is not a backman. He was moved up the ground after the first quarter, but he continues to do silly things and provide turnovers to the opposition advantage. At least after ¼ time the damage was further up the field. Jayden Hunt provided that thrill and enthusiasm that was so much needed in this game, but without any assistance his was a lone hand. Up forward the selection committee again erred as it brought in an undeveloped Weidemann in favour of Pedersen. Today Hogan needed a big body to provide a second option, and it simply wasn’t there. While the further development of Weidemann is appreciated, one has to wonder whether winning the match was a priority. Hogan led the Demons with his 14 marks including 5 contested, but his kicking for goal remains a real point of concern. He wasn’t alone as not even Jack Watts was able to nail a set shot from 30m which normally would be written down before it left his boot. And the final quarter of 1 goal 6 behinds, most of which were from set shots or easy open shots was the difference between a win, keeping the hope alive, or being beaten by a side which had lost 9 straight! Again the commitment to winning wasn’t evident as the coaches continued to play an extra man in defence, even in the last quarter, when the game had to be won. We had to score, not defend as we were already 4 goals behind. Carlton appreciated the lack of pressure in our forward line, as that spare man was able to mop up successfully time and time again. And with Hogan always double teamed, he had little chance. Small wonder the kid gets frustrated. Viv Michie has almost certainly determined his future despite 20 touches. His lack of vigour is a hallmark, especially when his direct opponent in Dylan Buckley managed 3 goals. Likewise ANB was underwhelming with a mere eight touches and only one to half time. Once again the selection committee has to be questioned about the suitability of these players in a match that HAD to be won. At Melbourne we had a dream. It might have been only a slim hope, but it caused more Demons supporters to turn up to watch on a wet wintery day than had been seen in Round 21 for many a year. So for all those dreaming supporters, the words of Fantinefrom the musical Le Miserables seem so poignant: I had a dream my life would be So different from this hell I'm living So different now, from what it seemed Now life has killed the dream I dreamed Melbourne 2.2.14 4.8.32 6.10.46 7.16.58 Carlton 4.5.29 7.8.50 10.10.70 11.12.78 Goals Carlton Buckley 3 Graham 2 Cripps Everitt Jones Phillips Sumner Wright Melbourne Bugg Gawn Hogan Hunt Neal-Bullen Oliver vandenBerg Best Melbourne Viney Hunt N Jones T McDonald O McDonald Jetta Carlton Cripps Gibbs Buckley Docherty Simpson Changes Carlton Silvagni (soreness) replaced in the selected side by Graham. Kerridge (illness) replaced in the selected side by Everitt Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Watts (right eye), Kent (right leg) Carlton Buckley (head), Curnow (left knee) Reports Melbourne Nil Carlton Nil Umpires Donlon, Rosebury, Mitchell Official crowd 40,693 at MCG

Carlton put paid to the Demons' chances of playing in the 2016 finals series, or more correctly Melbourne threw away its chances of being there in September. From the first bounce it was obvious that the “bad” Melbourne had turned up to play a game that was reminiscent of that against Essendon earlier in the year. Before the supporters could build their hopes, the game was over as Carlton put on four goals in the opening quarter from nine shots, while the Demons could only manage four shots on goal with only two majors resulting. This was a Carlton side that had lost its previous nine encounters, while the Demons were coming off a three game winning streak, its longest for nearly ten years. The mids were comprehensively beaten to everything that Max Gawn sent their way, and when they weren’t first to the ball, the effectiveness of their disposal was appalling. Dom Tyson despite 30 touches needs to be sat down and told to kick the ball instead of trying to handball first, when it is raining. The same happened against Hawthorn first up, then Sydney and again today. Handballing in close is a dry weather option, and it was evidenced that he only managed two clearances for the whole day! Jack Viney battled all day, and produced eight clearances from fewer possession. The difference between statistics and effectiveness. The backs were simply magnificent and without the efforts of the MacDonald brothers and Neville Jetta combined with the sorry skills of most Carlton players, the result would have been much worse. Tom did a particularly damaging job on Levi Casboult who only had 9 touches for the whole game, while Neville just kept intercepting and spoiling the Carlton forward thrusts. The 1%ers statistic had Tom with 14, Oscar with 8 and Neville with 5 with no other players on the field doing better. Bernie on the other hand was simply atrocious and is not a backman. He was moved up the ground after the first quarter, but he continues to do silly things and provide turnovers to the opposition advantage. At least after ¼ time the damage was further up the field. Jayden Hunt provided that thrill and enthusiasm that was so much needed in this game, but without any assistance his was a lone hand. Up forward the selection committee again erred as it brought in an undeveloped Weidemann in favour of Pedersen. Today Hogan needed a big body to provide a second option, and it simply wasn’t there. While the further development of Weidemann is appreciated, one has to wonder whether winning the match was a priority. Hogan led the Demons with his 14 marks including 5 contested, but his kicking for goal remains a real point of concern. He wasn’t alone as not even Jack Watts was able to nail a set shot from 30m which normally would be written down before it left his boot. And the final quarter of 1 goal 6 behinds, most of which were from set shots or easy open shots was the difference between a win, keeping the hope alive, or being beaten by a side which had lost 9 straight! Again the commitment to winning wasn’t evident as the coaches continued to play an extra man in defence, even in the last quarter, when the game had to be won. We had to score, not defend as we were already 4 goals behind. Carlton appreciated the lack of pressure in our forward line, as that spare man was able to mop up successfully time and time again. And with Hogan always double teamed, he had little chance. Small wonder the kid gets frustrated. Viv Michie has almost certainly determined his future despite 20 touches. His lack of vigour is a hallmark, especially when his direct opponent in Dylan Buckley managed 3 goals. Likewise ANB was underwhelming with a mere eight touches and only one to half time. Once again the selection committee has to be questioned about the suitability of these players in a match that HAD to be won. At Melbourne we had a dream. It might have been only a slim hope, but it caused more Demons supporters to turn up to watch on a wet wintery day than had been seen in Round 21 for many a year. So for all those dreaming supporters, the words of Fantinefrom the musical Le Miserables seem so poignant: I had a dream my life would be So different from this hell I'm living So different now, from what it seemed Now life has killed the dream I dreamed Melbourne 2.2.14 4.8.32 6.10.46 7.16.58 Carlton 4.5.29 7.8.50 10.10.70 11.12.78 Goals Carlton Buckley 3 Graham 2 Cripps Everitt Jones Phillips Sumner Wright Melbourne Bugg Gawn Hogan Hunt Neal-Bullen Oliver vandenBerg Best Melbourne Viney Hunt N Jones T McDonald O McDonald Jetta Carlton Cripps Gibbs Buckley Docherty Simpson Changes Carlton Silvagni (soreness) replaced in the selected side by Graham. Kerridge (illness) replaced in the selected side by Everitt Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Watts (right eye), Kent (right leg) Carlton Buckley (head), Curnow (left knee) Reports Melbourne Nil Carlton Nil Umpires Donlon, Rosebury, Mitchell Official crowd 40,693 at MCG

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

You don't anymore. I'm buying the cables today to convert from VHS to my computer.

Does anybody have a better/cleaner version (mp3 or on CD) of the audio of this song?

OVER THE RAINBOW by Whispering Jack There is a theory that the story behind "The Wizard of Oz" was inspired by Australia. After all, we know the country is often colloquially referred to as "Oz" and in the book upon which film was based, Oz is an island continent somewhere to the west of California with inhabited regions bordering on a great desert. That iconic movie was the inspiration that moved young people of a generation or two to dare to dream, to overcome adversity and to triumph in hard times. The theme of dreaming for better times must have a familiar ring for Demon fans after experiencing a decade of despair but in recent weeks, the skies seem to have cleared, turned to blue and produced rainbows all around. Suddenly, their team's season has come alive. The road map to the finals is very much a straight line. They need to beat Carlton this Sunday at the MCG, prevail at the Cattery a week later and hope that the two New South Wales teams beat the currently eighth-placed North Melbourne by enough to turn around the Kangaroos' narrow percentage advantage of 3.7 per cent. That's all. It sounds so simple and by no means a fantasy, but this is real life and dreams don't always come true. Standing between the Melbourne Football Club and the dreams of its fans this week is Carlton. Since that groundbreaking end of season contest in late 2007 that came to be known as the Kreuzer Cup, the Demons have struggled against the Blues and there have been some disastrous results for them over those years. Carlton has emerged victorious in eight of the last nine matches between the clubs and four of those wins have been by more than 50 points. Despite their poor record, Melbourne came into their last encounter at around the this time last year as firm favourites but they couldn't raise a gallop. They were terrible. This time around, Carlton is struggling, having lost nine on the trot, while Melbourne's season is just gathering momentum. They have the competition's dominant ruckman, an emerging midfield with Dom Tyson striking a rare vein of great form and the team is chockfull of young running footballers who don't stop. And things can only get better if Jesse Hogan, who has been battling for the past month, hits his straps. This is the moment for the Demons. There are no happy little bluebirds around to spoil their dreams - it's their turn to fly. Melbourne by 23 points THE GAME Carlton v Melbourne at MCG Sunday 21st August, 2016 at 1.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Carlton 116 wins Melbourne 89 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Carlton 49 wins Melbourne 49 wins Past five meetings Carlton 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Bolton 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Carlton to win - $4.10 Melbourne to win - $1.24 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Carlton 12.6.78 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 at the MCG Round 21, 2015 At one stage late in the second quarter, Carlton held a 53 point lead and had kicked 10 goals to a single Demon goal. Some might have found consolation in the comeback that saw the team score five goals to Carlton's two in the second half and to finish with a slender advantage in scoring shots over the Blues but in truth, their performance was rubbish. THE TEAMS CARLTON B: Zach Tuohy, Sam Rowe, Jacob Weitering HB: Dylan Buckley, Lachie Plowman, Sam Docherty C: Kade Simpson, Sam Kerridge, Ed Curnow HF: Jack Silvagni, Liam Jones, David Cuningham F: Matthew Kreuzer, Levi Casboult, Matthew Wright FOLL: Andrew Phillips, Patrick Cripps, Bryce Gibbs I/C: Dennis Armfield, Liam Sumner, Dale Thomas, Simon White EMG: Blaine Boekhorst, Nick Graham, Andrejs Everitt IN: Liam Sumner OUT: Blaine Boekhorst (Omitted) MELBOURNE B: Sam Frost, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Tomas Bugg C: Billy Stretch, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jack Watts, Aaron vandenBerg F: Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Clayton Oliver, Sam Weideman EMG: Colin Garland, James Harmes, Cameron Pedersen IN: Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Sam Weideman OUT: Jeff Garlett (illness), James Harmes (omitted), Cameron Pedersen (omitted)

There is a theory that the story behind "The Wizard of Oz" was inspired by Australia. After all, we know the country is often colloquially referred to as "Oz" and in the book upon which film was based, Oz is an island continent somewhere to the west of California with inhabited regions bordering on a great desert. That iconic movie was the inspiration that moved young people of a generation or two to dare to dream, to overcome adversity and to triumph in hard times. The theme of dreaming for better times must have a familiar ring for Demon fans after experiencing a decade of despair but in recent weeks, the skies seem to have cleared, turned to blue and produced rainbows all around. Suddenly, their team's season has come alive. The road map to the finals is very much a straight line. They need to beat Carlton this Sunday at the MCG, prevail at the Cattery a week later and hope that the two New South Wales teams beat the currently eighth-placed North Melbourne by enough to turn around the Kangaroos' narrow percentage advantage of 3.7 per cent. That's all. It sounds so simple and by no means a fantasy, but this is real life and dreams don't always come true. Standing between the Melbourne Football Club and the dreams of its fans this week is Carlton. Since that groundbreaking end of season contest in late 2007 that came to be known as the Kreuzer Cup, the Demons have struggled against the Blues and there have been some disastrous results for them over those years. Carlton has emerged victorious in eight of the last nine matches between the clubs and four of those wins have been by more than 50 points. Despite their poor record, Melbourne came into their last encounter at around the this time last year as firm favourites but they couldn't raise a gallop. They were terrible. This time around, Carlton is struggling, having lost nine on the trot, while Melbourne's season is just gathering momentum. They have the competition's dominant ruckman, an emerging midfield with Dom Tyson striking a rare vein of great form and the team is chockfull of young running footballers who don't stop. And things can only get better if Jesse Hogan, who has been battling for the past month, hits his straps. This is the moment for the Demons. There are no happy little bluebirds around to spoil their dreams - it's their turn to fly. Melbourne by 23 points THE GAME Carlton v Melbourne at MCG Sunday 21st August, 2016 at 1.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Carlton 116 wins Melbourne 89 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Carlton 49 wins Melbourne 49 wins Past five meetings Carlton 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Bolton 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Carlton to win - $4.10 Melbourne to win - $1.24 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Carlton 12.6.78 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 at the MCG Round 21, 2015 At one stage late in the second quarter, Carlton held a 53 point lead and had kicked 10 goals to a single Demon goal. Some might have found consolation in the comeback that saw the team score five goals to Carlton's two in the second half and to finish with a slender advantage in scoring shots over the Blues but in truth, their performance was rubbish. THE TEAMS CARLTON B: Zach Tuohy, Sam Rowe, Jacob Weitering HB: Dylan Buckley, Lachie Plowman, Sam Docherty C: Kade Simpson, Sam Kerridge, Ed Curnow HF: Jack Silvagni, Liam Jones, David Cuningham F: Matthew Kreuzer, Levi Casboult, Matthew Wright FOLL: Andrew Phillips, Patrick Cripps, Bryce Gibbs I/C: Dennis Armfield, Liam Sumner, Dale Thomas, Simon White EMG: Blaine Boekhorst, Nick Graham, Andrejs Everitt IN: Liam Sumner OUT: Blaine Boekhorst (Omitted) MELBOURNE B: Sam Frost, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Tomas Bugg C: Billy Stretch, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jack Watts, Aaron vandenBerg F: Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Clayton Oliver, Sam Weideman EMG: Colin Garland, James Harmes, Cameron Pedersen IN: Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Sam Weideman OUT: Jeff Garlett (illness), James Harmes (omitted), Cameron Pedersen (omitted)

Depending on availability of the hosts I'd like to do the show early in the week to discuss the previous game. We'd obviously discuss the next week and any changes. We'd take calls throughout. If there are opportunities down the track to interview guests then that would be something we could do. In essence it would be a chat amongst Demon fans that can go in any direction. I like the idea of it being live to take calls and hear from you guys.

The LIVE Demonland Podcast Test was a success. All the equipment worked. The Skype number and Skype to Skype worked well too. Thank you to grapeviney and rafiki for calling in. We're going to do this podcast on a regular basis and a big part of that will be Demonlanders calling in like an audio version of the website. That's why I want to do the podcast live. A downloadable version will be available as well for those not able to listen live.

We're still live and testing the setup. We really want to test out the phones/skype. Call 03 9016 3666 or Demonland31

Hey guys. I'm just playing around with a setup for a future Demonland Podcast. I am using YouTube to live stream. We will be taking calls during our show through Skype: Demonland31 or 03 9016 3666. I'd like to test those as well. Here is the link to the live stream. If you don't hear me you'll just be hearing some music playing in the background. Feel free to call in to help me test this out. Cheers, Andy.

This game from late last season was one of the MFC's most painful and humiliating defeats of the 2015 campaign because we went into it as hot favourites and were blown out of the water in the first quarter and a half. We fought back but we were wasteful and painful - the defeat made us almost a laughing stock. May it never happen again. CARLTON B: Zach Tuohy, Michael Jamison, Sam Rowe HB: Dylan Buckley, Sam Docherty, Matthew Dick C: Marc Murphy, Andrew Carrazzo, Kade Simpson HF: Tom Bell, Andrejs Everitt, Blaine Boekhorst F: Andrew Walker, Levi Casboult, Troy Menzel FOLL: Matthew Kreuzer, Ed Curnow, Patrick Cripps I/C: David Ellard, Kristian Jaksch, Jason Tutt, Mark Whiley EMG: Nick Holman, Clem Smith, Matthew Watson IN: Levi Casboult, Troy Menzel, Jason Tutt Out: Lachie Henderson (omitted), Nick Holman (omitted), Clem Smith (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Christian Salem C: Billy Stretch, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Viv Michie, Chris Dawes, James Harmes F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Jack Grimes, Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Newton EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Aidan Riley IN: Ben Newton, Christian Salem, Billy Stretch

The Melbourne Auction Spectacular closes tomorrow, Tuesday 16 August at 9pm. If you haven’t checked it out already click on this link to see some great items up for grabs. This is a great way to further support the club and also secure something special. Happy bidding! https://galabid.com/auction/mfc2016

A STORM IN THE PORT by George on the Outer It is a wind that is building around the Demons as season 2016 draws to a close and this time it was Port Adelaide that bore the brunt of the whirlwind that blew through their slim finals hopes. An eight goal unanswered streak by Melbourne in the first and second quarters put paid to any hope that Port had of a win, especially when one of their golden lights in Chad Wingard, left the ground with a hamstring injury. That only served to highlight the fragility of Port who for too long have depended on a couple of individual performances to get them over the line. It was in sharp contrast to the complete team effort of the Demons that has been carefully cultivated under Paul Roos. In years gone by it was easy to control the outcome for opposition sides. Just sit on Nathan Jones and one or two others and the game result was a foregone conclusion. That is not the case now as the Demon mid-field just oozes a whole battery of talent, and Jones has the backup from Jack Viney, Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw with the irrepressible Max Gawn completely dominating ruck contests, and feeding these mids countless opportunities from his 46 taps in this game. Oliver is simply going to be something truly special next year when he gets a decent pre-season into his 19 year old body. His vision in tight situations and toughness around the ball are something to behold. That he is assisted by another couple of 20 year old beasts in Petracca and Brayshaw means opposition teams will have trouble matching all of them, as Port did in this game. But it is not just in the middle, that the change has been occurring, as the backline has been bolstered by the youth of Sam Frost, Oscar McDonald and Jayden Hunt who earlier this year were doubtful of getting many more than games in the season or were otherwise slated for other roles. It is now easy to see why old stagers like Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland can’t get a run in the seniors, as this young group provide consistent line breaking opportunities. That is the way that football is played today, and it is essential to be able to run through the opposition defence and provide attacking moves. With Hunt and Frost able to gain meterage by run and carry their skills open up opportunities. Even O.Mac is finding his feet with 23 touches and some telling marks. Bernie Vince and T.Mac are now the lynch pins and final line of defence, and both contribute to that attacking style. The old mark and kick style is not how to win games any longer. Up forward Jesse Hogan had little impact on the game and may well have carried an injury into the game. He certainly wasn’t moving freely before his collision with the goal post last week, and it didn’t look all that different this week. However, Cam Pedersen provided much, much more as a big target and brought the ball to ground and competed in the air and dished off to the runners going past. He has almost certainly ensured his place at the club next year, as he is providing more output that we have seen from Chris Dawes in his past games. Jack Watts in what seems to be his trademark today, slotted a momentum changing goal, just when it was needed most. Jeff Garlett, despite a couple of goals, simply needs to produce more in a game than he currently does, as the likes of JKH start knocking at the door. One mark and one tackle for a small forward is simply not sufficient, and he needs to start doing the simple things in a game, rather than trying for the spectacular all the time. It was 16 years ago that Melbourne last beat Port in Adelaide, it was the clubs first run of three successive wins since 2006 and the ignoble records that Melbourne have amassed in the past ten years continue to fall. Importantly, this game showed the complete change in attitude that Paul Roos has instilled. Port fought back to within 20 odd points in the final quarter, and in years gone by, a Melbourne side would have capitulated and then rued another loss that shouldn’t have happened. Not this team today, they simply drew breath, stuck with their plan and style and walked away with a near seven goal win. The supporters were and are all too familiar with that scenario. It may take some time for them to get accustomed to a team that now knows how to win. Those same supporters have felt the winds of change that have been blowing through the MFC since the arrival of Peter Jackson, Roos and his team. The zephyr that started has now built into gale force proportions, as the club has now won as many games as it has lost in 2016, and will produce its best season outcome for 10 years. With two more games left in the season,it could build to the hurricane that will clear all before them in the coming year. Melbourne 4.3.27 8.5.53 9.9.63 13.16.94 Port Adelaide 1.2.8 2.4.16 6.5.41 8.6.54 Goals Melbourne Brayshaw Bugg Garlett 2, Frost N Jones Kent Oliver Tyson Vince Watts Port Adelaide Polec Young 2 S Gray Krakouer Wines Wingard Best Melbourne Tyson Vince Gawn Oliver Hunt O McDonald Port Adelaide S Gray Polec R Gray Pittard Wines Changes Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Wingard (hamstring) Reports Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Umpires Bannister, Chamberlain, Mollison Official crowd 33,426 at Adelaide Oval

It is a wind that is building around the Demons as season 2016 draws to a close and this time it was Port Adelaide that bore the brunt of the whirlwind that blew through their slim finals hopes. An eight goal unanswered streak by Melbourne in the first and second quarters put paid to any hope that Port had of a win, especially when one of their golden lights in Chad Wingard, left the ground with a hamstring injury. That only served to highlight the fragility of Port who for too long have depended on a couple of individual performances to get them over the line. It was in sharp contrast to the complete team effort of the Demons that has been carefully cultivated under Paul Roos. In years gone by it was easy to control the outcome for opposition sides. Just sit on Nathan Jones and one or two others and the game result was a foregone conclusion. That is not the case now as the Demon mid-field just oozes a whole battery of talent, and Jones has the backup from Jack Viney, Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw with the irrepressible Max Gawn completely dominating ruck contests, and feeding these mids countless opportunities from his 46 taps in this game. Oliver is simply going to be something truly special next year when he gets a decent pre-season into his 19 year old body. His vision in tight situations and toughness around the ball are something to behold. That he is assisted by another couple of 20 year old beasts in Petracca and Brayshaw means opposition teams will have trouble matching all of them, as Port did in this game. But it is not just in the middle, that the change has been occurring, as the backline has been bolstered by the youth of Sam Frost, Oscar McDonald and Jayden Hunt who earlier this year were doubtful of getting many more than games in the season or were otherwise slated for other roles. It is now easy to see why old stagers like Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland can’t get a run in the seniors, as this young group provide consistent line breaking opportunities. That is the way that football is played today, and it is essential to be able to run through the opposition defence and provide attacking moves. With Hunt and Frost able to gain meterage by run and carry their skills open up opportunities. Even O.Mac is finding his feet with 23 touches and some telling marks. Bernie Vince and T.Mac are now the lynch pins and final line of defence, and both contribute to that attacking style. The old mark and kick style is not how to win games any longer. Up forward Jesse Hogan had little impact on the game and may well have carried an injury into the game. He certainly wasn’t moving freely before his collision with the goal post last week, and it didn’t look all that different this week. However, Cam Pedersen provided much, much more as a big target and brought the ball to ground and competed in the air and dished off to the runners going past. He has almost certainly ensured his place at the club next year, as he is providing more output that we have seen from Chris Dawes in his past games. Jack Watts in what seems to be his trademark today, slotted a momentum changing goal, just when it was needed most. Jeff Garlett, despite a couple of goals, simply needs to produce more in a game than he currently does, as the likes of JKH start knocking at the door. One mark and one tackle for a small forward is simply not sufficient, and he needs to start doing the simple things in a game, rather than trying for the spectacular all the time. It was 16 years ago that Melbourne last beat Port in Adelaide, it was the clubs first run of three successive wins since 2006 and the ignoble records that Melbourne have amassed in the past ten years continue to fall. Importantly, this game showed the complete change in attitude that Paul Roos has instilled. Port fought back to within 20 odd points in the final quarter, and in years gone by, a Melbourne side would have capitulated and then rued another loss that shouldn’t have happened. Not this team today, they simply drew breath, stuck with their plan and style and walked away with a near seven goal win. The supporters were and are all too familiar with that scenario. It may take some time for them to get accustomed to a team that now knows how to win. Those same supporters have felt the winds of change that have been blowing through the MFC since the arrival of Peter Jackson, Roos and his team. The zephyr that started has now built into gale force proportions, as the club has now won as many games as it has lost in 2016, and will produce its best season outcome for 10 years. With two more games left in the season,it could build to the hurricane that will clear all before them in the coming year. Melbourne 4.3.27 8.5.53 9.9.63 13.16.94 Port Adelaide 1.2.8 2.4.16 6.5.41 8.6.54 Goals Melbourne Brayshaw Bugg Garlett 2, Frost N Jones Kent Oliver Tyson Vince Watts Port Adelaide Polec Young 2 S Gray Krakouer Wines Wingard Best Melbourne Tyson Vince Gawn Oliver Hunt O McDonald Port Adelaide S Gray Polec R Gray Pittard Wines Changes Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Wingard (hamstring) Reports Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Umpires Bannister, Chamberlain, Mollison Official crowd 33,426 at Adelaide Oval

The Casey Scorpions have for most of this season inflicted plenty of pain on their opposition and this week's clash against Werribee proved to be no exception as they snuffed out the Tigers' slim finals hopes at Casey Fields. The visitors had some early joy in the opening five minutes of the game as they kicked the first two goals but the Scorps came back with goals to Chris Dawes and Alex Neal-Bullen. Werribee regained the initiative with a goal and then Casey took over in general play if not on the scoreboard. They peppered the goals until the drew level and finally a Jack Grimes goal gave them the lead which they held for the remainder of the day. By the first break, the Scorpions were in control. They had more than double the number of shots at goal but led by 13 points. The trend continued into the second quarter as they dominated the contest and their half time lead of 37 points would have been far greater had they been more accurate in front of goal. With Jake Spencer returning to dominate in the ruck and the midfield on fire and winning all the stoppages, the procession continued until it turned into a 105 point percentage boosting rout at the end of the day. Casey had 16 Demon-listed players who all for the most part shone on a big day out for the club, particularly on ballers Matt Jones, Jack Grimes and Neal-Bullen who were virtually unstoppable. They had great support from the likes of Jack Trengove, Ben Kennedy and Jay Kennedy-Harris who started like a house on fire and then had another three goal purple patch in the third quarter. Mitch White also put in another strong performance and showed his versatility with two goals. Dawes was sharp in front of the big sticks and finished with three goals while Christian Salem also showed touches of class as he returns from illness, kicking a couple of nice goals. Casey was without two of their stars in Tim Smith and Declan Keilty so in stepped first gamer Tom Baker with two second half goals. Ed Morris was also in prolific form getting plenty of the football. The percentage boosting win sees Casey retaining top place ahead of Collingwood VFL on percentage and needing to win one of their remaining two games, both road trips against top eight sides Geelong and Box Hill, to gain a home game in the first week of finals. Next week's trip to the Cattery promises to be a preview of what could be an interesting final round match for the Scorpions' AFL counterparts. Casey Scorpions 5.8.38 9.16.70 16.20.116 21.25.151 Werribee Tigers 4.1.25 5.4.34 6.4.40 7.4.46 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Dawes Kennedy-Harris 3 Neal-Bullen Salem White 2 Ferreira Grimes Kennedy Munro Spencer Trengove Werribee Tigers Durdin McKay Mountford 2 Jacobs Best Casey Scorpions Trengove Michie Grimes M Jones Kennedy-Harris Neal-Bullen Werribee Tigers Hanson Gribble McFarlane Tippett Nielson Hibberd Statistics Chris Dawes 3 goals 8 disposals 6 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 5 tackles 3 hit outs 74 dream team points Lynden Dunn 10 disposals kicks 5 handballs 2 marks 1 tackle 32 dream team points Colin Garland 13 disposals 7 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 55 dream team points Jack Grimes 1 goal 2 behinds 42 disposals 26 kicks 16 handballs 10 marks 3 tackles 161 dream team points Matt Jones 1 behind 41 disposals 20 kicks 21 handballs 3 marks 112 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 goal 1 behind 24 disposals 12 kicks 12 handballs 5 marks 3 tackles 94 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 3 goals 2 behinds 26 disposals 20 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 127 dream team points Viv Michie 2 behinds 36 disposals 23 kicks 13 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 128 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 2 goals 2 behinds 35 disposals 15 kicks 20 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 133 dream team points Christian Salem 2 goals 1 behind 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 98 dream team points Joel Smith 19 disposals 8 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points Jake Spencer 1 goal 18 disposals 2 kicks 16 handballs 3 marks 37 hit outs 90 dream team points Dean Terlich 3 behinds 22 disposals 11 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 75 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 goal 1 behind 29 disposals 16 kicks 13 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 5 hit outs 109 dream team points Josh Wagner 16 disposals 7 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 59 dream team points Mitch White 2 goals 1 behind 29 disposals 20 kicks 9 handballs 12 marks 2 tackles 132 dream team points The Development League team set the scene for Casey's big day out winning their game by 113 points against an injury-depleted Werribee which offered little resistance. Max King was in good form. He booted five goals for the game. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 5.4.34 7.7.49 12.11.83 19.15.129 Werribee Tigers 0.1.1 1.1.7 2.3.15 2.4.16 Goals Casey Scorpions Freeman Max King 5 Fritsch Wilson 2 Anderson Beacom Cox Hannon Stockdale Werribee Tigers VanDenBerg 2 Best Casey Scorpions Anderson Wilson Max King McDonald Fritsch Jaffer-Williams Werribee Tigers VanDenBerg Eagle Anderson Conway Kennedy Barrack

CASEY'S BIG DAY OUT by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions have for most of this season inflicted plenty of pain on their opposition and this week's clash against Werribee proved to be no exception as they snuffed out the Tigers' slim finals hopes at Casey Fields. The visitors had some early joy in the opening five minutes of the game as they kicked the first two goals but the Scorps came back with goals to Chris Dawes and Alex Neal-Bullen. Werribee regained the initiative with a goal and then Casey took over in general play if not on the scoreboard. They peppered the goals until the drew level and finally a Jack Grimes goal gave them the lead which they held for the remainder of the day. By the first break, the Scorpions were in control. They had more than double the number of shots at goal but led by 13 points. The trend continued into the second quarter as they dominated the contest and their half time lead of 37 points would have been far greater had they been more accurate in front of goal. With Jake Spencer returning to dominate in the ruck and the midfield on fire and winning all the stoppages, the procession continued until it turned into a 105 point percentage boosting rout at the end of the day. Casey had 16 Demon-listed players who all for the most part shone on a big day out for the club, particularly on ballers Matt Jones, Jack Grimes and Neal-Bullen who were virtually unstoppable. They had great support from the likes of Jack Trengove, Ben Kennedy and Jay Kennedy-Harris who started like a house on fire and then had another three goal purple patch in the third quarter. Mitch White also put in another strong performance and showed his versatility with two goals. Dawes was sharp in front of the big sticks and finished with three goals while Christian Salem also showed touches of class as he returns from illness, kicking a couple of nice goals. Casey was without two of their stars in Tim Smith and Declan Keilty so in stepped first gamer Tom Baker with two second half goals. Ed Morris was also in prolific form getting plenty of the football. The percentage boosting win sees Casey retaining top place ahead of Collingwood VFL on percentage and needing to win one of their remaining two games, both road trips against top eight sides Geelong and Box Hill, to gain a home game in the first week of finals. Next week's trip to the Cattery promises to be a preview of what could be an interesting final round match for the Scorpions' AFL counterparts. Casey Scorpions 5.8.38 9.16.70 16.20.116 21.25.151 Werribee Tigers 4.1.25 5.4.34 6.4.40 7.4.46 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Dawes Kennedy-Harris 3 Neal-Bullen Salem White 2 Ferreira Grimes Kennedy Munro Spencer Trengove Werribee Tigers Durdin McKay Mountford 2 Jacobs Best Casey Scorpions Trengove Michie Grimes M Jones Kennedy-Harris Neal-Bullen Werribee Tigers Hanson Gribble McFarlane Tippett Nielson Hibberd Statistics Chris Dawes 3 goals 8 disposals 6 kicks 2 handballs 3 marks 5 tackles 3 hit outs 74 dream team points Lynden Dunn 10 disposals kicks 5 handballs 2 marks 1 tackle 32 dream team points Colin Garland 13 disposals 7 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 55 dream team points Jack Grimes 1 goal 2 behinds 42 disposals 26 kicks 16 handballs 10 marks 3 tackles 161 dream team points Matt Jones 1 behind 41 disposals 20 kicks 21 handballs 3 marks 112 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 goal 1 behind 24 disposals 12 kicks 12 handballs 5 marks 3 tackles 94 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 3 goals 2 behinds 26 disposals 20 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 127 dream team points Viv Michie 2 behinds 36 disposals 23 kicks 13 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 128 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 2 goals 2 behinds 35 disposals 15 kicks 20 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 133 dream team points Christian Salem 2 goals 1 behind 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 98 dream team points Joel Smith 19 disposals 8 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points Jake Spencer 1 goal 18 disposals 2 kicks 16 handballs 3 marks 37 hit outs 90 dream team points Dean Terlich 3 behinds 22 disposals 11 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 75 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 goal 1 behind 29 disposals 16 kicks 13 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 5 hit outs 109 dream team points Josh Wagner 16 disposals 7 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 59 dream team points Mitch White 2 goals 1 behind 29 disposals 20 kicks 9 handballs 12 marks 2 tackles 132 dream team points The Development League team set the scene for Casey's big day out winning their game by 113 points against an injury-depleted Werribee which offered little resistance. Max King was in good form. He booted five goals for the game. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 5.4.34 7.7.49 12.11.83 19.15.129 Werribee Tigers 0.1.1 1.1.7 2.3.15 2.4.16 Goals Casey Scorpions Freeman Max King 5 Fritsch Wilson 2 Anderson Beacom Cox Hannon Stockdale Werribee Tigers VanDenBerg 2 Best Casey Scorpions Anderson Wilson Max King McDonald Fritsch Jaffer-Williams Werribee Tigers VanDenBerg Eagle Anderson Conway Kennedy Barrack

Maxy's grip on the Demonland Player of the Year is tightening ... 180 Max Gawn 150 Jack Viney 136 Nathan Jones 121 Jack Watts 103 Dom Tyson 98 Bernie Vince 64 Tom McDonald 57 Neville Jetta 53 Jesse Hogan 37 Jayden Hunt 36 Jeff Garlett 34 Ben Kennedy 33 Billy Stretch 29 Christian Petracca 26 Tomas Bugg 21 Dean Kent 14 Clayton Oliver 12 Josh Wagner 11 Sam Frost James Harmes 10 Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen 7 Aaron vandenBerg 5 Oscar McDonald 4 Matt Jones 2 Angus Brayshaw

THE HUNT FOR A RED HOT RUCKMAN by Whispering Jack When Max Gawn made the statement earlier this year that he wanted to be recognised among the top echelon of AFL ruckmen there were very few who would have considered him to be in contention let alone the favourite for All Australian ruck honours by the end of the season. That's exactly where he sits at the moment and his ascendency has coincided with Melbourne's rise up the ladder and its position as an outside chance for a finals berth. We've been fortunate to have such a red hot ruckman but success has not come overnight for Max Gawn who was recruited at #34 in the 2009 AFL National Draft. He had two knee reconstructions and a meniscus tear before establishing his position as the club's top big man last year. Max only had his first uninterrupted pre season this year and has gone on to play every game. But, at the same time, the club's back up ruckman Jake Spencer has had some injury problems, recruit ruckman Mitch King's season lasted about five minutes before tearing his ACL in VFL round 1 and rookie Max King, now in his third year, is languishing in the Scorpions' Development League. Luckily, the Demons haven't been placed in the position of delving into its reserve ruck depth. So despite having arguably the #1 ruckman in the competition, the paradox is that it's quite possible that the club's focus in the trade and draft period will be on locating a ruckman to add to its stocks in 2017 and beyond. With the club's first round draft pick for 2016 having been spent by way of a trade with the Gold Coast Suns last year, the Demons' first selection in the November National Draft now sits notionally at #28 (last night's win in Adelaide moved us back another two places). At that range, you are not going to get the top midfielders or key position players but, because big men generally develop late, clubs are wary of using early draft picks on young ruck prospects. And that places Melbourne in a position where it could be right in the frame to take a young big man with that selection (assuming the Demons still have that pick at the draft). The highest ranking ruckman on Knightmare's AFL August Draft-Power Rankings is South Fremantle's Tim English. Here's the BIO: "18. Tim English (VIC) Best position: Ruck Height, weight: 203cm, 86kg Recruited from: South Fremantle Plays like: Josh Fraser Projected draft range: top 10 Rated last month: 22 Rationale behind ranking/change of ranking: Has continued his improvement through July with his work around the ground getting better. Strengths: - Late growth, growing from midfield height to ruck height in the past three years, suggesting physical growth and further football improvement likely - Rate of improvement - Midfield-quality footskills with low, precise kicking to targets - Disposal numbers - Mobility - Clean below the knees Weaknesses: - Lack of size and strength - Tap work and hitout numbers behind his peers - Contested marking - Scoreboard impact - Versatility to play a second position" Knightmare's AFL August Draft-Power Rankings There aren't many highly credentialed young ruckmen around and the search might have to extend to the mature age types in the State Leagues, noting that two of the competition's most dominant big men in Dean Cox and Aaron Sandilands came from those ranks. Claremont ruckman Darcy Cameron was described on the AFL website as follows:- "Darcy Cameron Claremont 204cm/104kg 18/7/95 Cameron was overlooked at the 2013 NAB AFL Draft with a query on his pace and his consistency in competing. But he's improved those aspects of his game and presents as a mature-age tall who is able to play in the ruck and in attack. Cameron has enjoyed a solid season at WAFL level for Claremont." Mature-age talent who might have caught the eye Unfortunately, Cameron suffered a broken jaw playing in the WAFL last month - AFL draft hopeful breaks jaw in sickening WAFL hit If the club is looking for another big man, it might not have to look very far. Casey's Oscar McInerney is 22, 203cm and 100kg. He has only played two VFL Senior games but has impressed at the club and could bloom as a late developer. He and teammate Declan Keilty, a 194cm tall jack of all trades type who has played as a part timer in the ruck for the Scorpions, have both been invited to the State Combine in October. Then there are the trades and who knows whether a player like Shane Mumford might be offered up on the table this year? And so, whilst most clubs will be fighting over the best midfielders in the land, I suspect that the circumstances might place Melbourne in the hunt for another type of player - a red, hot ruckman.