Demonland

Big Max is in the box seat with four games to go ... Progressive 147 Max Gawn 137 Jack Viney 121 Nathan Jones 111 Jack Watts 88 Bernie Vince 78 Dom Tyson 62 Tom McDonald 53 Jesse Hogan 51 Neville Jetta 36 Jeff Garlett 34 Ben Kennedy 32 Jayden Hunt Billy Stretch 29 Christian Petracca 24 Tomas Bugg 21 Dean Kent 13 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 Oscar McDonald

WATTS PAYS HIS WAY by George on the Outer It was only 10 days ago that Jack Watts signed on with the Demons for another 3 years. They say that for many players a contract extension almost always ensures a subsequent drop off in form but not for our Jack. Against the Gold Coast Suns, he single-handedly won a game that was all but lost in the dying two minutes when he calmly slotted through a shot from a difficult angle to put the Demons in front and that was despite him being absolutely exhausted to get to the space and take the mark. Then a minute later, to take a match saving mark down the other end right in front of the opposition goal, meant that he has already paid Melbourne back for his contract extension. Those efforts from Watts gave the Demons the match, the four points and produced the best season performance for the club since 2006 although it was all nearly thrown away by Bernie Vince, who kicked a shocker to Tom Lynch with just seconds to go. The subsequent kick after the siren fortunately missed but for Bernie, that was the culmination of a simply forgettable game; his inability to provide any game influence over this and the preceding weeks is now becoming problematic. In the middle, the Suns were missing their six best in Ablett, Prestia, Rischetelli, Hall, Saad, McKenzie and Currie all missing, plus O’Meara and Swallow unable to play all season. With Max Gawn absolutely dominating hitouts (60!), both in the middle and around the ground, it should have been a one-way procession for the Demons all game. But it was not to be, and despite the fact that Dom Tyson had 31 disposals, not sufficient of them were effective. It is worthwhile comparing the handball to kick ratio for Melbourne with that of Hawthorn this week, who are the benchmark in just about everything. Tyson 12 Kicks 19 Handballs. Shaun Burgoyne 16 kicks 9 handballs. Nathan Jones 9 kicks 14 handballs. Jordan Lewis 12 kicks 15 handballs. Jack Viney 7 kicks 10 handballs. Sam Mitchell 10 kicks 12 handballs. The ratio should be about 1 to 1 for the mids, but Melbourne's are simply overusing the ball with silly handballs that cause turnovers and delays. In this match, they did exactly the same as the previous week against West Coast. Melbourne absolutely dominated nearly every statistic and at one stage had 50% more possessions than Gold Coast but again there was no equivalent domination on the scoreboard. We have fallen for the trap of trying to retain possession at the cost of attack. Only Jayden Hunt and Christian Petracca seem capable of “taking the game on”. There has become an unwillingness in recent weeks to take the risk, and reap the rewards. Without the skill levels of Hawthorn overuse of the ball will result in turnovers. Today five goals seven behinds of the Suns' score (more than 50%) came from Demon errors. Against Hawthorn next week, we will see what the benchmark is like in reality. Performances like those of the last few matches will result in a rout. And we are facing the reality of many players putting in performances which are simply sub-standard. Jesse Hogan is surely injured and could barely raise a trot today after twisting and ankle early, and then crashing a goal post later. Vince is running up and down on the one spot for most of the game. Chris Dawes had eight touches for the whole game: Jeff Garlett - 6! The mantra coming from the coaches is that we only have a young side … which is true, but it is not the younger players who are letting the side down at the moment. Tom McDonald notched up his 100th game, and it is important to remember how young he is as well. Brother Oscar and Josh Wagner are obviously being groomed for next year, but there is a lot of grooming needed, particularly for Oscar, who simply loses his man too often. Melbourne is better performed than last year and has uncovered some seriously good talent for the future but next week will show us exactly how far we have to go. Would it be a little bit too much to expect Jack Watts to pull another rabbit out of his hat? Melbourne 1.3.9 6.6.42 7.10.52 9.12.66 Gold Coast Suns 3.3.21 4.6.30 6.8.44 9.10.64 Goals Melbourne vandenBerg Watts 3 Dawes Kent Petracca Gold Coast Suns Garlett Lynch Matera 2 Grant Malceski Shaw Best Melbourne Tyson Watts Harmes vandenBerg O McDonald, Gawn Gold Coast Suns Miller Rosa Lynch Harbrow Shaw Changes Melbourne Nil Gold Coast Suns Nil Injuries Melbourne Hogan (left knee) Gold Coast Suns Shaw (left ankle) Reports Melbourne Nil Gold Coast Suns Nil Umpires Fisher, Margetts, Foote Official crowd 20,627 at MCG

It was only 10 days ago that Jack Watts signed on with the Demons for another 3 years. They say that for many players a contract extension almost always ensures a subsequent drop off in form but not for our Jack. Against the Gold Coast Suns, he single-handedly won a game that was all but lost in the dying two minutes when he calmly slotted through a shot from a difficult angle to put the Demons in front and that was despite him being absolutely exhausted to get to the space and take the mark. Then a minute later, to take a match saving mark down the other end right in front of the opposition goal, meant that he has already paid Melbourne back for his contract extension. Those efforts from Watts gave the Demons the match, the four points and produced the best season performance for the club since 2006 although it was all nearly thrown away by Bernie Vince, who kicked a shocker to Tom Lynch with just seconds to go. The subsequent kick after the siren fortunately missed but for Bernie, that was the culmination of a simply forgettable game; his inability to provide any game influence over this and the preceding weeks is now becoming problematic. In the middle, the Suns were missing their six best in Ablett, Prestia, Rischetelli, Hall, Saad, McKenzie and Currie all missing, plus O’Meara and Swallow unable to play all season. With Max Gawn absolutely dominating hitouts (60!), both in the middle and around the ground, it should have been a one-way procession for the Demons all game. But it was not to be, and despite the fact that Dom Tyson had 31 disposals, not sufficient of them were effective. It is worthwhile comparing the handball to kick ratio for Melbourne with that of Hawthorn this week, who are the benchmark in just about everything. Tyson 12 Kicks 19 Handballs. Shaun Burgoyne 16 kicks 9 handballs. Nathan Jones 9 kicks 14 handballs. Jordan Lewis 12 kicks 15 handballs. Jack Viney 7 kicks 10 handballs. Sam Mitchell 10 kicks 12 handballs. The ratio should be about 1 to 1 for the mids, but Melbourne's are simply overusing the ball with silly handballs that cause turnovers and delays. In this match, they did exactly the same as the previous week against West Coast. Melbourne absolutely dominated nearly every statistic and at one stage had 50% more possessions than Gold Coast but again there was no equivalent domination on the scoreboard. We have fallen for the trap of trying to retain possession at the cost of attack. Only Jayden Hunt and Christian Petracca seem capable of “taking the game on”. There has become an unwillingness in recent weeks to take the risk, and reap the rewards. Without the skill levels of Hawthorn overuse of the ball will result in turnovers. Today five goals seven behinds of the Suns' score (more than 50%) came from Demon errors. Against Hawthorn next week, we will see what the benchmark is like in reality. Performances like those of the last few matches will result in a rout. And we are facing the reality of many players putting in performances which are simply sub-standard. Jesse Hogan is surely injured and could barely raise a trot today after twisting and ankle early, and then crashing a goal post later. Vince is running up and down on the one spot for most of the game. Chris Dawes had eight touches for the whole game: Jeff Garlett - 6! The mantra coming from the coaches is that we only have a young side … which is true, but it is not the younger players who are letting the side down at the moment. Tom McDonald notched up his 100th game, and it is important to remember how young he is as well. Brother Oscar and Josh Wagner are obviously being groomed for next year, but there is a lot of grooming needed, particularly for Oscar, who simply loses his man too often. Melbourne is better performed than last year and has uncovered some seriously good talent for the future but next week will show us exactly how far we have to go. Would it be a little bit too much to expect Jack Watts to pull another rabbit out of his hat? Melbourne 1.3.9 6.6.42 7.10.52 9.12.66 Gold Coast Suns 3.3.21 4.6.30 6.8.44 9.10.64 Goals Melbourne vandenBerg Watts 3 Dawes Kent Petracca Gold Coast Suns Garlett Lynch Matera 2 Grant Malceski Shaw Best Melbourne Tyson Watts Harmes vandenBerg O McDonald, Gawn Gold Coast Suns Miller Rosa Lynch Harbrow Shaw Changes Melbourne Nil Gold Coast Suns Nil Injuries Melbourne Hogan (left knee) Gold Coast Suns Shaw (left ankle) Reports Melbourne Nil Gold Coast Suns Nil Umpires Fisher, Margetts, Foote Official crowd 20,627 at MCG

SHARP TEETH by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions ventured into the northern suburbs and picked up an easy four premiership points over lowly Coburg at Piranha Park. Despite their early inaccuracy when they kicked 2.9 to a single goal in the first quarter, the Scorps were as ferocious as the fish that their hosts' stadium was named after, ripping into them with sharp teeth and powerful jaws and forcing them into submission well before half time. The result was of course, a foregone conclusion from almost the very start. The Lions are a stand-alone club with very few stars and sitting in the bottom quarter of the VFL ladder while the Scorpions had 16 AFL listed players on the park. They were strong enough to have the luxury of a couple of Demons running around with the development league team in the curtain raiser along with some very solid VFL types such as Jimmy Munro. Kicking with the wind, they were wasteful in the opening despite dominating at the stoppages but it was their second quarter that destroyed the home side. Through the good play of Dean Terlich and emerging young forward Sam Weideman, the Scorpions dominated the second quarter against the wind and then sealed the matter with eight goals to one in the third term. With the field at the top of the competition bunched together tightly, the team's percentage-boosting 11th win for the season was as welcome as it was vital. The team had it all for this level of VFL competition starting with the experienced cool heads of Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland, Jack Grimes, Dean Terlich and Cam Pedersen and the strength of Jake Spencer in the ruck. The onballers were led by Ben Kennedy and Ben Newton who were in everything but there were plenty of others in a most dominant midfield which at various times included Grimes, Christian Salem, Clayton Oliver, Jack Trengove and Viv Michie. It was little wonder that the home side was overwhelmed. Melbourne has some interesting prospects for the future with Weideman shining in a key forward role with strong marking, good kicking and unselfish play and rookie Joel Smith who played his best game to date. Casey is also blooding its own youngsters. Red headed Declan Keilty was good down back and justified his selection to the State Combine screening in October (along with Development League ruckman Oscar McInerney) and Ed Morris and Angus Scott were lively. Football fans always like looking forward to the emergence of young key forwards. After a few weeks below par, Sam Weideman showed why the Demons pressed so hard to draft him last year. The other piece of good news is the development of young Clayton Oliver who continues to rack up big numbers and if I'm not mistaken, might have grown a little since he was picked up early in the same draft. The Scorpions play host to Essendon in another night match on Saturday in what promises to be a match of significance for the club. Casey Scorpions 2.9.21 6.12.48 14.17.101 16.20.116 Coburg 1.0.6 3.0.18 4.0.24 6.2.38 Goals Casey Scorpions Terlich Weideman 3 Michie Neal-Bullen 2 D Collis Kennedy Pedersen Scott J Smith Trengove Coburg Saad 3 Hill Posar Ronke Best Casey Scorpions Newton Michie Neal-Bullen Weideman Terlich Keilty Coburg Lehmann Fox Hunt Featherstone Kovacevic Gregory Statistics Lynden Dunn 20 disposals 9 kicks 11 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 74 dream team pointsColin Garland 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team pointsJack Grimes 2 behinds 40 disposals 16 kicks 24 handballs 7 marks 4 tackles 135 dream team pointsLiam Hulett 1 behind 10 disposals 5 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 32 dream team pointsBen Kennedy 1 goal 2 behinds 40 disposals 15 kicks 25 handballs 1 marks 3 tackles 116 dream team pointsViv Michie 2 goals 31 disposals 23 kicks 8 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 133 dream team pointsAlex Neal-Bullen 2 goals 3 behinds 31 disposals 15 kicks 16 handballs 6 marks 5 tackles 128 dream team pointsBen Newton 34 disposals 20 kicks 14 handballs 11 marks 5 tackles 135 dream team pointsClayton Oliver 37 disposals 11 kicks 26 handballs 5 marks 8 tackles 3 hit outs 135 dream team pointsCam Pedersen 1 goal 4 behinds 21 disposals 11 kicks 10 handballs 7 marks 13 tackles 16 hit outs 153 dream team pointsChristian Salem 16 disposals 9 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 6 tackles 78 dream team pointsJoel Smith 1 goal 1 behind 15 disposals 8 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle 61 dream team pointsJake Spencer 11 disposals 2 kicks 9 handballs 3 tackles 28 hit outs 65 dream team pointsDean Terlich 3 goals 1 behind 24 disposals 16 kicks 8 handballs 9 marks 3 tackles 122 dream team pointsJack Trengove 1 goal 1 behind 29 disposals 9 kicks 20 handballs 3 marks 13 tackles 1 hit out 133 dream team pointsSam Weideman 3 goals 1 behind 14 disposals 10 kicks 4 handballs 9 marks 1 tackles 88 dream team points The Casey Scorpions Development League team continued their improved form of the past month and now find themselves in strong contention for the finals. Casey Scorpions 1.3.9 6.11.47 8.14.62 12.22.94 Coburg 2.4.16 2.4.16 5.9.39 6.9.45 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Di Pasquale 2 Ferreira Freeman Fritsch Hannon Daniel Johnston Kennedy-Harris McDonald Munro Coburg Staples 3 Merlo Valeri Wunhym Best Casey Scorpions Munro Vander Haar Kennedy-Harris Wyatt Moncrieff Ferreira Coburg Corigliano Staples Sutherland Free Stillman Tarczon

The Casey Scorpions ventured into the northern suburbs and picked up an easy four premiership points over lowly Coburg at Piranha Park. Despite their early inaccuracy when they kicked 2.9 to a single goal in the first quarter, the Scorps were as ferocious as the fish that their hosts' stadium was named after, ripping into them with sharp teeth and powerful jaws and forcing them into submission well before half time. The result was of course, a foregone conclusion from almost the very start. The Lions are a stand-alone club with very few stars and sitting in the bottom quarter of the VFL ladder while the Scorpions had 16 AFL listed players on the park. They were strong enough to have the luxury of a couple of Demons running around with the development league team in the curtain raiser along with some very solid VFL types such as Jimmy Munro. Kicking with the wind, they were wasteful in the opening despite dominating at the stoppages but it was their second quarter that destroyed the home side. Through the good play of Dean Terlich and emerging young forward Sam Weideman, the Scorpions dominated the second quarter against the wind and then sealed the matter with eight goals to one in the third term. With the field at the top of the competition bunched together tightly, the team's percentage-boosting 11th win for the season was as welcome as it was vital. The team had it all for this level of VFL competition starting with the experienced cool heads of Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland, Jack Grimes, Dean Terlich and Cam Pedersen and the strength of Jake Spencer in the ruck. The onballers were led by Ben Kennedy and Ben Newton who were in everything but there were plenty of others in a most dominant midfield which at various times included Grimes, Christian Salem, Clayton Oliver, Jack Trengove and Viv Michie. It was little wonder that the home side was overwhelmed. Melbourne has some interesting prospects for the future with Weideman shining in a key forward role with strong marking, good kicking and unselfish play and rookie Joel Smith who played his best game to date. Casey is also blooding its own youngsters. Red headed Declan Keilty was good down back and justified his selection to the State Combine screening in October (along with Development League ruckman Oscar McInerney) and Ed Morris and Angus Scott were lively. Football fans always like looking forward to the emergence of young key forwards. After a few weeks below par, Sam Weideman showed why the Demons pressed so hard to draft him last year. The other piece of good news is the development of young Clayton Oliver who continues to rack up big numbers and if I'm not mistaken, might have grown a little since he was picked up early in the same draft. The Scorpions play host to Essendon in another night match on Saturday in what promises to be a match of significance for the club. Casey Scorpions 2.9.21 6.12.48 14.17.101 16.20.116 Coburg 1.0.6 3.0.18 4.0.24 6.2.38 Goals Casey Scorpions Terlich Weideman 3 Michie Neal-Bullen 2 D Collis Kennedy Pedersen Scott J Smith Trengove Coburg Saad 3 Hill Posar Ronke Best Casey Scorpions Newton Michie Neal-Bullen Weideman Terlich Keilty Coburg Lehmann Fox Hunt Featherstone Kovacevic Gregory Statistics Lynden Dunn 20 disposals 9 kicks 11 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 74 dream team points Colin Garland 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 behinds 40 disposals 16 kicks 24 handballs 7 marks 4 tackles 135 dream team points Liam Hulett 1 behind 10 disposals 5 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 32 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 goal 2 behinds 40 disposals 15 kicks 25 handballs 1 marks 3 tackles 116 dream team points Viv Michie 2 goals 31 disposals 23 kicks 8 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 133 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 2 goals 3 behinds 31 disposals 15 kicks 16 handballs 6 marks 5 tackles 128 dream team points Ben Newton 34 disposals 20 kicks 14 handballs 11 marks 5 tackles 135 dream team points Clayton Oliver 37 disposals 11 kicks 26 handballs 5 marks 8 tackles 3 hit outs 135 dream team points Cam Pedersen 1 goal 4 behinds 21 disposals 11 kicks 10 handballs 7 marks 13 tackles 16 hit outs 153 dream team points Christian Salem 16 disposals 9 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 6 tackles 78 dream team points Joel Smith 1 goal 1 behind 15 disposals 8 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle 61 dream team points Jake Spencer 11 disposals 2 kicks 9 handballs 3 tackles 28 hit outs 65 dream team points Dean Terlich 3 goals 1 behind 24 disposals 16 kicks 8 handballs 9 marks 3 tackles 122 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 goal 1 behind 29 disposals 9 kicks 20 handballs 3 marks 13 tackles 1 hit out 133 dream team points Sam Weideman 3 goals 1 behind 14 disposals 10 kicks 4 handballs 9 marks 1 tackles 88 dream team points The Casey Scorpions Development League team continued their improved form of the past month and now find themselves in strong contention for the finals. Casey Scorpions 1.3.9 6.11.47 8.14.62 12.22.94 Coburg 2.4.16 2.4.16 5.9.39 6.9.45 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Di Pasquale 2 Ferreira Freeman Fritsch Hannon Daniel Johnston Kennedy-Harris McDonald Munro Coburg Staples 3 Merlo Valeri Wunhym Best Casey Scorpions Munro Vander Haar Kennedy-Harris Wyatt Moncrieff Ferreira Coburg Corigliano Staples Sutherland Free Stillman Tarczon

Game's over ... now to the Post Match Discussion

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

Never in doubt.

COLD, COLD, COLD by The Oracle I expect this week's game against the Gold Coast Suns to deliver final proof on the theory that the young Melbourne team is tiring badly as the season wears on. Earlier in the year, the Demons completely emasculated the Suns in the last half of their game at Metricon Stadium booting nine goals in the third term and seven in the last amassing a total of over 100 points in an outstanding performance albeit against an undermanned opponent. Melbourne's recent final quarter performances have been in stark contrast to that balmy evening on the Gold Coast when the Dees were hot, hot, hot. Since beating Collingwood in the Queens Birthday match things have cooled down considerably and those last quarter goals have dried up for the Demons. This is this sequence of goal tallies over the last five games:- ... 1,1,1,2,0 And this sorry state of affairs can't be put down simply to lack of opportunity because, as the inside 50 statistics showed last week, the team had plenty of opportunities - they simply could not finish off the good work of Max Gawn, Nathan Jones and Jack Viney. The fact that Jesse Hogan and Jack Watts were both kept goalless in a game for the first time this year scoring a mere four points between them was telling. The result would have been different had they each been able to parlay one point into a goal but then if your grandmother had ... This week's opponent is hobbled with a star studded list of midfield outs including Ablett, Hall, Prestia, Rischitelli, Swallow and most likely O'Meara who hasn't played since 2014. No matter how young and inexperienced the Demons might be or how tired those players are as we enter the twilight of the season for teams out of the running for finals berths, defeat at home on the MCG is simply unacceptable. Melbourne has proven itself incapable of winning those "must win" games but it really must not lose this one. THE GAME Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns at the MCG Sunday 31 July, 2016 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall - Melbourne 5 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins At MCG - Melbourne 3 wins Gold Coast Suns 2 wins Past five matches - Melbourne 2 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins The Coaches - Roos 2 wins Eade 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm RADIO - SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Melbourne to win - $1.19 Gold Coast Suns to win - $4.75 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 24.16.160 defeated Gold Coast Suns 14.3.87 at Metricon Stadium Round 7, 2016 The first half was close but after that the Demons demolished the hapless Suns scoring 16.9 to 6.1 in the second half. Max Gawn led the charge with 46 hit outs. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Josh Wagner, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Matt Jones C: Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, Sam Frost F: Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes, Billy Stretch, Aaron vandenBerg EMG: Tomas Bugg, Colin Garland, Alex Neal-Bullen IN: Tomas Bugg, Colin Garland, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted) GOLD COAST B: Nick Malceski, Steven May, Kade Kolodjashnij HB: Jarrod Harbrow, Rory Thompson, Alex Sexton C: Joshua Schoenfeld, Jesse Lonergan, Matt Shaw HF: Brandon Matera, Tom Lynch, Jarrad Grant F: Sam Day, Peter Wright, Ryan Davis FOLL: Tom Nicholls, Jack Martin, Touk Miller I/C (from) Callum Ah Chee, Jarrod Garlett, Jesse Joyce, Matt Rosa EMG: Sean Lemmens, Trent McKenzie, Seb Tape IN: Matt Rosa OUT: Seb Tape (omitted)

I expect this week's game against the Gold Coast Suns to deliver final proof on the theory that the young Melbourne team is tiring badly as the season wears on. Earlier in the year, the Demons completely emasculated the Suns in the last half of their game at Metricon Stadium booting nine goals in the third term and seven in the last amassing a total of over 100 points in an outstanding performance albeit against an undermanned opponent. Melbourne's recent final quarter performances have been in stark contrast to that balmy evening on the Gold Coast when the Dees were hot, hot, hot. Since beating Collingwood in the Queens Birthday match things have cooled down considerably and those last quarter goals have dried up for the Demons. This is this sequence of goal tallies over the last five games:- ... 1,1,1,2,0 And this sorry state of affairs can't be put down simply to lack of opportunity because, as the inside 50 statistics showed last week, the team had plenty of opportunities - they simply could not finish off the good work of Max Gawn, Nathan Jones and Jack Viney. The fact that Jesse Hogan and Jack Watts were both kept goalless in a game for the first time this year scoring a mere four points between them was telling. The result would have been different had they each been able to parlay one point into a goal but then if your grandmother had ... This week's opponent is hobbled with a star studded list of midfield outs including Ablett, Hall, Prestia, Rischitelli, Swallow and most likely O'Meara who hasn't played since 2014. No matter how young and inexperienced the Demons might be or how tired those players are as we enter the twilight of the season for teams out of the running for finals berths, defeat at home on the MCG is simply unacceptable. Melbourne has proven itself incapable of winning those "must win" games but it really must not lose this one. THE GAME Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns at the MCG Sunday 31 July, 2016 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall - Melbourne 5 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins At MCG - Melbourne 3 wins Gold Coast Suns 2 wins Past five matches - Melbourne 2 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins The Coaches - Roos 2 wins Eade 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm RADIO - SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Melbourne to win - $1.19 Gold Coast Suns to win - $4.75 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 24.16.160 defeated Gold Coast Suns 14.3.87 at Metricon Stadium Round 7, 2016 The first half was close but after that the Demons demolished the hapless Suns scoring 16.9 to 6.1 in the second half. Max Gawn led the charge with 46 hit outs. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Josh Wagner, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Matt Jones C: Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, Sam Frost F: Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes, Billy Stretch, Aaron vandenBerg EMG: Tomas Bugg, Colin Garland, Alex Neal-Bullen IN: Tomas Bugg, Colin Garland, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted) GOLD COAST B: Nick Malceski, Steven May, Kade Kolodjashnij HB: Jarrod Harbrow, Rory Thompson, Alex Sexton C: Joshua Schoenfeld, Jesse Lonergan, Matt Shaw HF: Brandon Matera, Tom Lynch, Jarrad Grant F: Sam Day, Peter Wright, Ryan Davis FOLL: Tom Nicholls, Jack Martin, Touk Miller I/C (from) Callum Ah Chee, Jarrod Garlett, Jesse Joyce, Matt Rosa EMG: Sean Lemmens, Trent McKenzie, Seb Tape IN: Matt Rosa OUT: Seb Tape (omitted)

An interstate game that resulted in a big win for the Dees earlier this season but we didn't really go on with it in the weeks to follow ... GOLD COAST B: Adam Saad Henry Schade Sean Lemmens HB: Jarrod Harbrow Sam Day Nick Malceski C: Kade Kolodjashnij Gary Ablett Matt Rosa HF: Jarrod Garlett Tom Lynch Jack Martin F: Alex Sexton Peter Wright Clay Cameron FOLL: Daniel Currie Jesse Lonergan Dion Prestia I/C Jarrad Grant Aaron Hall Touk Miller Darcy Macpherson EMG: Brandon Matera Matt Shaw Mackenzie Willis IN: Jarrod Garlett Darcy Macpherson Adam Saad OUT: Ryan Davis (omitted) Trent McKenzie (ankle) Mackenzie Willis (omitted) NEW: Jarrod Garlett MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Tomas Bugg HB: Josh Wagner, Colin Garland, Jayden Hunt C: Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson, James Harmes HF: Jack Watts, Cameron Pedersen, Jeff Garlett F: Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Christian Petracca FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Clayton Oliver, Billy Stretch, Viv Michie, Ben Kennedy EMG: Oscar McDonald, Alex Neal-Bullen, Jack Grimes IN: Colin Garland, Viv Michie, Clayton Oliver, Billy Stretch Out: Lynden Dunn, Sam Frost, Heritier Lumumba (concussion), Christian Salem (concussion)

SCORPIONS DISCOVER THEIR FRIEND, THE WIND by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions managed the windy conditions far better at home against Sandringham than they did a week ago against Footscray and the result was a resounding 46 point victory that saw them hold second place on the ladder a game behind Williamstown but with a game in hand. In stunning contrast to their efforts a week earlier, the Scorpions kept the Zebras down to a single point in two quarters against the wind as they dominated the stoppages despite the early loss to injury of giant ruckman Jake Spencer. In his place Cam Pedersen and red-head Declan Keilty were given the responsibility of taking on the Sandy tall brigade and they did so effectively. They were in total control and allowed their on ball teammates to decisively win the contests at ground level thanks in part to two Demons - Tom Bugg and Ben Kennedy - who were emergencies over in Perth and made the trip back in time to take part in the game. The Scorps were also well served by Jack Grimes, Jack Trengove, Vic Michie, Ben Newton and hard nosed youngster Clayton Oliver who turned 19 during the week. They dominated early into the wind scoring 3.4.22 to trail by a mere three points at the first break and turned that into a 19 point lead at half time. From there, they withstood a Sandringham fight back which was mainly achieved through some long goals against the tide of play and aided by the strengthening wind because Casey's midfield continued to win the contests and control the football. The unlikely hero up forward was defender Dean Terlich whose move into attack reaped a four goal reward for coach Justin Plapp. Terlich had a partner in crime in Angus Scott who was damaging all over the ground and chipped in with a couple of goals. The unsung heroes in the back line were experienced pair Colin Garland and Lynden Dunn who provided the steel to keep the opposition forwards at bay even when the strong wind made the job of the defenders difficult. The Scorpions ran away with it in the ended to double the Zebras' score and give themselves a much needed percentage boost. Casey Scorpions 3.4.22 6.9.45 7.13.55 12.20.92 Sandringham 4.1.25 4.2.26 7.4.46 7.4.46 Goals Casey Scorpions Terlich 4 Hulett Scott 2 Grimes Michie Newton T Smith Sandringham Shenton 2 Cook Delaney Lee O'Kearney Templeton Best Casey Scorpions Michie Kennedy Bugg Garland Grimes Terlich Sandringham Simpkin Lee Shenton Answerth Saunders O'Kearney Statistics Tomas Bugg 1 behind 22 disposals 7 kicks 15 handballs 1 mark 13 tackles 102 dream team points Lynden Dunn 16 disposals 12 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle hit 61 dream team points Colin Garland 25 disposals 15 kicks 10 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 83 dream team points Jack Grimes 1 goal 1 behind 31 disposals 18 kicks 13 handballs 3 marks 6 tackles 1 hit out 117 dream team points Liam Hulett 2 goals 1 behind 13 disposals 10 kicks 3 handballs 4 marks 55 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 behind 30 disposals 13 kicks 17 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 92 dream team points Viv Michie 1 goal 33 disposals 18 kicks 15 handballs 10 marks 1 tackle 125 dream team points Ben Newton 1 goal 1 behind 22 disposals 7 kicks 15 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles hit outs 72 dream team points Clayton Oliver 1 behind 26 disposals 7 kicks 19 handballs 5 tackles 2 hit outs 83 dream team points Cam Pedersen 1 behind 19 disposals 11 kicks 8 handballs 5 marks 11 tackles 18 hit outs 127 dream team points Joel Smith goals behinds disposals kicks handballs marks tackles hit outs dream team points Jake Spencer 3 disposals 3 handballs 1 mark 2 tackles 7 hit outs 24 dream team points (injured) Dean Terlich 4 goals 13 disposals 8 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 80 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 behind 29 disposals 13 kicks 16 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 91 dream team points Sam Weideman 8 disposals 1 kicks 7 handballs 1 mark 2 tackles hit outs 28 dream team points Mitch White 17 disposals 9 kicks 8 handballs 5 marks 58 dream team points A big win to the Casey Scorpions Development League team today. Maxy King kicked three goals and the team is now a definite finals chance. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 5.7.37 7.9.51 12.10.82 15.11.101 Sandringham 0.0.0 4.2.26 4.3.27 8.5.53 Goals Casey Scorpions Max King 3 Di Pasquale Freeman Fritsch Stockdale 2 Baker Ferreira Salem Wilson Sandringham Dobosz 3 Hayes Iudica McLaren Uthayakumar Wilkins Best Casey Scorpions Wyatt Fritsch McInerney Kennedy-Harris J McDonald Max King Sandringham Verma Hayes Hooy Grace Dobosz Wilkins

SCORPIONS DISCOVER THEIR FRIEND, THE WIND by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions managed the windy conditions far better at home against Sandringham than they did a week ago against Footscray and the result was a resounding 46 point victory that saw them hold second place on the ladder a game behind Williamstown but with a game in hand. In stunning contrast to their efforts a week earlier, the Scorpions kept the Zebras down to a single point in two quarters against the wind as they dominated the stoppages despite the early loss to injury of giant ruckman Jake Spencer. In his place Cam Pedersen and red-head Declan Keilty were given the responsibility of taking on the Sandy tall brigade and they did so effectively. They were in total control and allowed their on ball teammates to decisively win the contests at ground level thanks in part to two Demons - Tom Bugg and Ben Kennedy - who were emergencies over in Perth and made the trip back in time to take part in the game. The Scorps were also well served by Jack Grimes, Jack Trengove, Vic Michie, Ben Newton and hard nosed youngster Clayton Oliver who turned 19 during the week. They dominated early into the wind scoring 3.4.22 to trail by a mere three points at the first break and turned that into a 19 point lead at half time. From there, they withstood a Sandringham fight back which was mainly achieved through some long goals against the tide of play and aided by the strengthening wind because Casey's midfield continued to win the contests and control the football. The unlikely hero up forward was defender Dean Terlich whose move into attack reaped a four goal reward for coach Justin Plapp. Terlich had a partner in crime in Angus Scott who was damaging all over the ground and chipped in with a couple of goals. The unsung heroes in the back line were experienced pair Colin Garland and Lynden Dunn who provided the steel to keep the opposition forwards at bay even when the strong wind made the job of the defenders difficult. The Scorpions ran away with it in the ended to double the Zebras' score and give themselves a much needed percentage boost. Casey Scorpions 3.4.22 6.9.45 7.13.55 12.20.92 Sandringham 4.1.25 4.2.26 7.4.46 7.4.46 Goals Casey Scorpions Terlich 4 Hulett Scott 2 Grimes Michie Newton T Smith Sandringham Shenton 2 Cook Delaney Lee O'Kearney Templeton Best Casey Scorpions Michie Kennedy Bugg Garland Grimes Terlich Sandringham Simpkin Lee Shenton Answerth Saunders O'Kearney Disposals Kennedy 34 Michie 33 Grimes 31 Oliver Trengove 28 Bugg 27 Garland Newton 25 Scott 24 A big win to the Casey Scorpions Development League team today. Maxy King kicked three goals and the team is now a definite finals chance. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 5.7.37 7.9.51 12.10.82 15.11.101 Sandringham 0.0.0 4.2.26 4.3.27 8.5.53 Goals Casey Scorpions Max King 3 Di Pasquale Freeman Fritsch Stockdale 2 Baker Ferreira Salem Wilson Sandringham Dobosz 3 Hayes Iudica McLaren Uthayakumar Wilkins Best Casey Scorpions Wyatt Fritsch McInerney Kennedy-Harris J McDonald Max King Sandringham Verma Hayes Hooy Grace Dobosz Wilkins

We have a new leader - Maxy 143 Max Gawn 137 Jack Viney 118 Nathan Jones 93 Jack Watts 88 Bernie Vince 70 Dom Tyson 62 Tom McDonald 53 Jesse Hogan 51 Neville Jetta 36 Jeff Garlett 34 Ben Kennedy 31 Jayden Hunt 25 Billy Stretch 24 Tomas Bugg 23 Christian Petracca 21 Dean Kent 13 Clayton Oliver 12 Josh Wagner 11 James Harmes 10 Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen 4 Sam Frost Matt Jones 2 Aaron vandenBerg

HOW THE WEST WAS ALMOST WON by George on the Outer In the old Cowboy and Indian movies of the Wild West, the good guys usually won (well ... except for George Armstrong Custer). When the Demons went west to meet the Eagles at their home ground, they had reason to think they were on the side of the good. True. the baddies had beaten them every single time they met since just after the turn of the century in 2002 but it was time for good to prevail. However, like the 7th Cavalry, Melbourne found a way to lose again although, fortunately, unlike the outcome at Little Bighorn, it wasn’t a massacre. A solitary goal between the two sides was the difference at the final bell, and Melbourne surely had its chances. The team could not score a single major in the final term, but also managed a paltry one goal five behinds from set shots in the third. Without scoreboard pressure in a game where both sides struggle to kick 10 goals in a game, that alone was a reason for defeat. Some blame must also be sheeted home to the appalling umpiring that has been so prevalent at West Coast games. The home-crowd bias was demonstrated to the AFL at the end of last season, and yet they still roster Western Australian umpires to these games. Too often, the umpires respond to crowd decisions, when they obviously cannot see what has happened in tight situations. The decision to award a deliberate out of bounds against Dom Tyson in the final quarter was disgraceful. It wasn't Tyson who hit the ball out but rather, it was his opponent and yet the umpire fell for the crowd noise and despite him being behind both players and not able to see who hit it, he made the call. Two years ago, Demon fans were pleading for a side that was competitive. There is absolutely no doubt that we now have that. That we could take the match up to a top 4 side at their home ground interstate is a credit to the work of the coaching and administration staff at the Club. We just don’t have the skills, leadership or coolness of head to get us across the line when needed. It has happened a couple of times this season, and that is mighty frustrating for the fans. However, when we get those older heads, those cool heads and the skills ingrained the results will change. Hawthorn has managed 5 or 6 wins by less than a goal this season and without them, the Hawks would be sharing a position on the ladder similar to ours. In the game we had 64 critical errors. West Coast 47. The difference of 17 became the difference between winning and losing. Sadly, some of our leaders didn’t crown themselves with glory when they made simply stupid decisions at the wrong time. Maybe their actions are unable to be changed (old dogs, new tricks?) and we must look to the youth to show the decision making that is needed. Max Gawn was jumped into, blocked, scragged, held on to for the majority of the game. Yet he still fought through all these trials to give us a fighting chance when needed. Christian Petracca played his best game ever, and took on the opponents with vigour and also was willing to accept the responsibility when needed inside the forward fifty. He goaled when others choose to give that responsibility to others. He kept possession rather than dish off to others in no better position and in a panic. Jayden Hunt gives us the drive out of the backline, so desperately needed in years past. Jack Viney never, ever gives up the fight. These are the players who WILL get us over the line in coming seasons. Other results over the weekend have shown little difference between those teams who will play finals and those whose season is already over. Carlton also lost by a solitary goal against Sydney and St.Kilda won against a wounded Bulldog side. These results, including ours gives hope for next year. The players surely have learnt the difference between winning close games and not. We rue the games thrown away during the season, that are the difference between finals and not. Sitting Bull might have won the Battle at Little Big Horn, but the win wasn’t to be a victory. West Coast came away with 4 Premiership points from the game, but it did little for them and their standing leading to the finals. For the Melbourne side, a massacre in the West was a real possibility given past experience. It didn’t happen. Next time the West WILL be won, and just like the movies, next time it WILL be the good-guys. Melbourne 2.2.14 5.4.34 8.10.58 8.12.60 West Coast Eagles 2.1.13 5.2.32 8.4.52 10.6.66 Goals Melbourne Garlett 3 Dawes 2 M Jones Kent Petracca West Coast Eagles Kennedy 3 Cripps Darling Duggan Gaff Hill Lycett Priddis Best Melbourne N Jones Tyson Viney Garlett Kent Gawn West Coast Eagles Priddis Shuey Gaff Kennedy Hurn Lycett Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Injuries Melbourne Neville Jetta (knee) West Coast Eagles Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Umpires Foot, Farmer, Hosking Official crowd 33,908 at the Domain Stadium

In the old Cowboy and Indian movies of the Wild West, the good guys usually won (well ... except for George Armstrong Custer). When the Demons went west to meet the Eagles at their home ground, they had reason to think they were on the side of the good. True. the baddies had beaten them every single time they met since just after the turn of the century in 2002 but it was time for good to prevail. However, like the 7th Cavalry, Melbourne found a way to lose again although, fortunately, unlike the outcome at Little Bighorn, it wasn’t a massacre. A solitary goal between the two sides was the difference at the final bell, and Melbourne surely had its chances. The team could not score a single major in the final term, but also managed a paltry one goal five behinds from set shots in the third. Without scoreboard pressure in a game where both sides struggle to kick 10 goals in a game, that alone was a reason for defeat. Some blame must also be sheeted home to the appalling umpiring that has been so prevalent at West Coast games. The home-crowd bias was demonstrated to the AFL at the end of last season, and yet they still roster Western Australian umpires to these games. Too often, the umpires respond to crowd decisions, when they obviously cannot see what has happened in tight situations. The decision to award a deliberate out of bounds against Dom Tyson in the final quarter was disgraceful. It wasn't Tyson who hit the ball out but rather, it was his opponent and yet the umpire fell for the crowd noise and despite him being behind both players and not able to see who hit it, he made the call. Two years ago, Demon fans were pleading for a side that was competitive. There is absolutely no doubt that we now have that. That we could take the match up to a top 4 side at their home ground interstate is a credit to the work of the coaching and administration staff at the Club. We just don’t have the skills, leadership or coolness of head to get us across the line when needed. It has happened a couple of times this season, and that is mighty frustrating for the fans. However, when we get those older heads, those cool heads and the skills ingrained the results will change. Hawthorn has managed 5 or 6 wins by less than a goal this season and without them, the Hawks would be sharing a position on the ladder similar to ours. In the game we had 64 critical errors. West Coast 47. The difference of 17 became the difference between winning and losing. Sadly, some of our leaders didn’t crown themselves with glory when they made simply stupid decisions at the wrong time. Maybe their actions are unable to be changed (old dogs, new tricks?) and we must look to the youth to show the decision making that is needed. Max Gawn was jumped into, blocked, scragged, held on to for the majority of the game. Yet he still fought through all these trials to give us a fighting chance when needed. Christian Petracca played his best game ever, and took on the opponents with vigour and also was willing to accept the responsibility when needed inside the forward fifty. He goaled when others choose to give that responsibility to others. He kept possession rather than dish off to others in no better position and in a panic. Jayden Hunt gives us the drive out of the backline, so desperately needed in years past. Jack Viney never, ever gives up the fight. These are the players who WILL get us over the line in coming seasons. Other results over the weekend have shown little difference between those teams who will play finals and those whose season is already over. Carlton also lost by a solitary goal against Sydney and St.Kilda won against a wounded Bulldog side. These results, including ours gives hope for next year. The players surely have learnt the difference between winning close games and not. We rue the games thrown away during the season, that are the difference between finals and not. Sitting Bull might have won the Battle at Little Big Horn, but the win wasn’t to be a victory. West Coast came away with 4 Premiership points from the game, but it did little for them and their standing leading to the finals. For the Melbourne side, a massacre in the West was a real possibility given past experience. It didn’t happen. Next time the West WILL be won, and just like the movies, next time it WILL be the good-guys. Melbourne 2.2.14 5.4.34 8.10.58 8.12.60 West Coast Eagles 2.1.13 5.2.32 8.4.52 10.6.66 Goals Melbourne Garlett 3 Dawes 2 M Jones Kent Petracca West Coast Eagles Kennedy 3 Cripps Darling Duggan Gaff Hill Lycett Priddis Best Melbourne N Jones Tyson Viney Garlett Kent Gawn West Coast Eagles Priddis Shuey Gaff Kennedy Hurn Lycett Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Injuries Melbourne Neville Jetta (knee) West Coast Eagles Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Umpires Foot, Farmer, Hosking Official crowd 33,908 at the Domain Stadium

Well ... what more can you say?

Please cast your votes after the final siren ... 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH by Whispering Jack In the wake of last Sunday's six goal loss against St Kilda, there has been plenty of handwringing and blame thrown around concerning the perceived slow pace of Melbourne's development as a club under Paul Roos. Former Demon star David Schwarz laid the boots into the club when he said he was frustrated by the lack of progress, albeit despite some steady improvement since Roos took over after a disastrous two-win season under Mark Neeld and Neil Craig in 2013. The Ox labelled the club's record at Etihad Stadium "a joke" and claimed the Saints were closer to ending their premiership drought than the Demons. "That is crap. That is mental now. That is ridiculous," he said, speaking of the team's lame performance last Sunday. Some added blame on poor team selection decisions and some were unhappy that the club sacrificed a home game and then had to come off an energy-sapping game in the heat and humidity of Darwin. Others still, said that Roos was simply out coached as the likes of Max Gawn, Nathan Jones and few others were kept under control when the Saints seized the game's momentum halfway through the second quarter. There might be something in all of these "excuses" but the reality is that the club has been consistently steering a course in a very much youth oriented direction, one which often lends itself to inconsistency of performance from week to week but which has the capacity to result ultimately in a team that will go places - and in far quicker time than the Saints for that matter. I say that because Schwarz in his frustration ignored the fact that St Kilda's win came on the back of the experience of Riewoldt, Montagna, Gilbert, Dempster and a couple of others who are unlikely to be around in two years’ time. On the other hand, Melbourne has a number of its own older heads on the list either playing at Casey or out altogether with injuries. The Demons by choice, did not to select the likes of Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland and Chris Dawes for the game and others of the older guard like Heritier Lumumba, Cam Pedersen and Dean Terlich all have limited futures at the club. So it's very much a case of the baby Demons, a young side that fell into a hole when its structure broke down halfway through the second quarter. It happened when Jesse Hogan left the ground to get some attention to his injured hip at around the same time that Max Gawn went off for a short rest. Suddenly, the Demons, already light on for tall players with the late withdrawal of Sam Frost, had an undersized look - especially on its forward line. In the blink of an eye, they were overrun. What's that got to do with this week's game in Perth at another hoodoo ground - Domain Stadium where they have not beaten the Eagles since 2002? It seems unlikely that the Demons will compromise on the direction of its selection policies so that a young team will again be exposed to an opponent with greater experience. This time, it's one with four consecutive wins which is particularly dangerous on its own ground where it has won eight of its nine games at Domain Stadium this season at a winning average of 64.6 points per game. That young Melbourne defence has allowed far too much through - an average of 93.3 points against throughout the season. The statistics simply don't lie - the young Demons will struggle at Domain but are investing in the future. West Coast by 46 points. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Domain Stadium, Saturday 24 July, 2016 at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 32 wins Melbourne 15 wins At Patersons Stadium West Coast 14 wins Melbourne 5 wins Past five meetings West Coast 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Simpson 3 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 4.30pm RADIO - Triple M SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING West Coast to win - $1.10 Melbourne to win - $7.00 THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 16.18.114 defeated Melbourne 9.6.60 Round 14, 2016 at TIO Stadium, Darwin Melbourne was coming off a confidence boosting win against the Cats and took some of that north to Darwin where they remained competitive in the heat-sapping conditions for three quarters before the Eagles' experience and strength took over allowing them to steam away to an easy win. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Brad Sheppard, Eric Mackenzie, Thomas Barrass HB: Sharrod Wellingham, Jeremy McGovern, Shannon Hurn C: Chris Masten, Matt Priddis, Elliot Yeo HF: Andrew Gaff, Jack Darling, Josh Hill F: Jamie Cripps, Josh J. Kennedy, Mark LeCras FOLL: Scott Lycett, Jack Redden, Luke Shuey I/C: Sam Butler, Liam Duggan, Jonathan Giles, Jackson Nelson EMG: Patrick McGinnity, Will Schofield, Dom Sheed IN: Liam Duggan, Jonathan Giles, Eric Mackenzie, Jackson Nelson OUT: Mitchell Brown (omitted), Mark Hutchings (omitted), Patrick McGinnity (omitted), Will Schofield (soreness), MELBOURNE B: Josh Wagner, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Matt Jones C: Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, James Harmes F: Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Billy Stretch, Sam Frost, Alex Neal-Bullen EMG: Ben Newton, Tomas Bugg, Ben Kennedy IN: Chris Dawes, Sam Frost, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch Out: Jack Grimes (omitted), Kennedy (omitted), Aaron vandenBerg (hip), Mitch White (omitted)

In the wake of last Sunday's six goal loss against St Kilda, there has been plenty of handwringing and blame thrown around concerning the perceived slow pace of Melbourne's development as a club under Paul Roos. Former Demon star David Schwarz laid the boots into the club when he said he was frustrated by the lack of progress, albeit despite some steady improvement since Roos took over after a disastrous two-win season under Mark Neeld and Neil Craig in 2013. The Ox labelled the club's record at Etihad Stadium "a joke" and claimed the Saints were closer to ending their premiership drought than the Demons. "That is crap. That is mental now. That is ridiculous," he said, speaking of the team's lame performance last Sunday. Some added blame on poor team selection decisions and some were unhappy that the club sacrificed a home game and then had to come off an energy-sapping game in the heat and humidity of Darwin. Others still, said that Roos was simply out coached as the likes of Max Gawn, Nathan Jones and few others were kept under control when the Saints seized the game's momentum halfway through the second quarter. There might be something in all of these "excuses" but the reality is that the club has been consistently steering a course in a very much youth oriented direction, one which often lends itself to inconsistency of performance from week to week but which has the capacity to result ultimately in a team that will go places - and in far quicker time than the Saints for that matter. I say that because Schwarz in his frustration ignored the fact that St Kilda's win came on the back of the experience of Riewoldt, Montagna, Gilbert, Dempster and a couple of others who are unlikely to be around in two years’ time. On the other hand, Melbourne has a number of its own older heads on the list either playing at Casey or out altogether with injuries. The Demons by choice, did not to select the likes of Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland and Chris Dawes for the game and others of the older guard like Heritier Lumumba, Cam Pedersen and Dean Terlich all have limited futures at the club. So it's very much a case of the baby Demons, a young side that fell into a hole when its structure broke down halfway through the second quarter. It happened when Jesse Hogan left the ground to get some attention to his injured hip at around the same time that Max Gawn went off for a short rest. Suddenly, the Demons, already light on for tall players with the late withdrawal of Sam Frost, had an undersized look - especially on its forward line. In the blink of an eye, they were overrun. What's that got to do with this week's game in Perth at another hoodoo ground - Domain Stadium where they have not beaten the Eagles since 2002? It seems unlikely that the Demons will compromise on the direction of its selection policies so that a young team will again be exposed to an opponent with greater experience. This time, it's one with four consecutive wins which is particularly dangerous on its own ground where it has won eight of its nine games at Domain Stadium this season at a winning average of 64.6 points per game. That young Melbourne defence has allowed far too much through - an average of 93.3 points against throughout the season. The statistics simply don't lie - the young Demons will struggle at Domain but are investing in the future. West Coast by 46 points. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Domain Stadium, Saturday 24 July, 2016 at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 32 wins Melbourne 15 wins At Patersons Stadium West Coast 14 wins Melbourne 5 wins Past five meetings West Coast 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Simpson 3 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 4.30pm RADIO - Triple M SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING West Coast to win - $1.10 Melbourne to win - $7.00 THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 16.18.114 defeated Melbourne 9.6.60 Round 14, 2016 at TIO Stadium, Darwin Melbourne was coming off a confidence boosting win against the Cats and took some of that north to Darwin where they remained competitive in the heat-sapping conditions for three quarters before the Eagles' experience and strength took over allowing them to steam away to an easy win. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Brad Sheppard, Eric Mackenzie, Thomas Barrass HB: Sharrod Wellingham, Jeremy McGovern, Shannon Hurn C: Chris Masten, Matt Priddis, Elliot Yeo HF: Andrew Gaff, Jack Darling, Josh Hill F: Jamie Cripps, Josh J. Kennedy, Mark LeCras FOLL: Scott Lycett, Jack Redden, Luke Shuey I/C: Sam Butler, Liam Duggan, Jonathan Giles, Jackson Nelson EMG: Patrick McGinnity, Will Schofield, Dom Sheed IN: Liam Duggan, Jonathan Giles, Eric Mackenzie, Jackson Nelson OUT: Mitchell Brown (omitted), Mark Hutchings (omitted), Patrick McGinnity (omitted), Will Schofield (soreness), MELBOURNE B: Josh Wagner, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Matt Jones C: Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, James Harmes F: Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Billy Stretch, Sam Frost, Alex Neal-Bullen EMG: Ben Newton, Tomas Bugg, Ben Kennedy IN: Chris Dawes, Sam Frost, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch Out: Jack Grimes (omitted), Kennedy (omitted), Aaron vandenBerg (hip), Mitch White (omitted)

To this day I can't remember a single thing about this game played in Darwin. I must have suffered from heat fatigue. MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland HB: Daniel Cross, Lynden Dunn, Jimmy Toumpas C: Rohan Bail, Jack Viney, Jack Watts HF: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Jeremy Howe F: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jake Spencer FOLL: Max Gawn, Bernie Vince, Nathan Jones I/C: Matt Jones, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch, Dom Tyson EMG: Jack Fitzpatrick, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Aidan Riley IN: Colin Garland, Jesse Hogan OUT: Heritier Lumumba (foot), Aidan Riley (omitted) WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Will Schofield, Brad Sheppard HB: Sam Butler, Jeremy McGovern, Sharrod Wellingham C: Elliot Yeo, Matt Priddis, Andrew Gaff HF: Chris Masten, Jack Darling, Jamie Cripps F: Mark Le Cras, Josh Kennedy, Josh Hill FOLL: Nick Naitanui, Scott Selwood, Luke Shuey I/C: Liam Duggan, Xavier Ellis, Dom Sheed, Callum Sinclair EMG: Mark Hutchings, Fraser McInnes, Matt Rosa IN: Sam Butler OUT: Matt Rosa (omitted)

And on the official Demonland Player of the Year count Jack Viney's battle with Max Gawn continues unabated ... 133 Jack Viney 127 Max Gawn 101 Nathan Jones 93 Jack Watts 88 Bernie Vince 63 Dom Tyson 59 Tom McDonald 53 Jesse Hogan 50 Neville Jetta 34 Ben Kennedy 33 Jeff Garlett 31 Jayden Hunt 24 Tomas Bugg Billy Stretch 21 Christian Petracca 17 Dean Kent 13 Clayton Oliver 12 Josh Wagner 11 James Harmes 10 Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen 3 Matt Jones 2 Aaron vandenBerg

DOGS GET THE POINT by KC from Casey Football folklore abounds with stories of how, when there's a strong wind blowing at VU Whitten Oval, that this element alone can be the telling factor in deciding the outcome of a match of football. Of course, the better side will usually be the winner and the scoreboard indicates that Footscray scored more often against the Scorpions but the tale of the game was told when the Dogs kicked their first goal at 11 minutes into the game after trailing by 19 points and again with their second late in time on in the first quarter after trailing by 27 points. They were the only two goals kicked against the wind all day and, although it was early when the breeze was not as later in the day, it was enough to swing the balance of the game in their favour. Casey failed to make the most of the advantage at the opening and then failed to kick a goal in both quarters against the wind. The Scorpions had very few opportunities to do so but in the last, a missed shot from Paul Pattison from close range and a spilled mark (difficult in the trying conditions) by Colin Garland could have made the difference. Naturally, the game ebbed and flowed according to who had the advantage and by and large, neither team could do so after quarter time. The Bulldogs led by 17 points at the main break but this was turned on its head by the Scorpions' eight goal third term. Notwithstanding, defending a 30 point lead with half an hour to go was always going to be a tough ask but Casey defended strongly until a few errors during a late surge saw a match-winning behind after a Scorpions kick went out on the full with less than a minute remaining. Game, set and match. Scorpions' midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen was fanatical with his great ball-winning efforts to finish with 37 disposals. Lynden Dunn was tireless throughout the game, as was fellow defender Colin Garland. Tom Bugg was solid and Jake Spencer indefatigable in the ruck. Tim Smith booted three goals, two of them late in the third term and Dylan Collis did well. The Scorpions were hit by some late "outs" after Josh Wagner was called up to replace Sam Frost at Melbourne and Chris Dawes withdrew. The team has been off the boil in recent weeks with little chance of gaining consistency due to the bye situation. Casey has dropped to third on the latter and could crash further unless it takes the points at home this week against the Zebras. Casey Scorpions 5.3.33 5.4.34 13.4.82 13.5.83 Footscray 2.0.12 8.3.51 8.4.52 12.12.84 Goals Casey Scorpions Smith 3 Newton 2 Bugg Michie Neal-Bullen Pattison Pedersen Spencer Terlich Trengove Footscray Dale 4 Minson Staley 2 Dalgleish Hamling Russell Tashevski-Beckwith Best Casey Scorpions Neal-Bullen Smith Dunn Bugg Collis Michie Footscray Dale Russell Honeychurch Adcock Barry Minson Statistics Here are the match stats:- Tomas Bugg 1 goals 15 disposals 3 kicks 12 handballs 11 tackles 77 dream team points Lynden Dunn 26 disposals 17 kicks 9 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 93 dream team points Colin Garland 26 disposals 15 kicks 11 handballs 7 marks 6 tackles 109 dream team points Liam Hulett 11 disposals 10 kicks 1 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 49 dream team points Viv Michie 1 goal 23 disposals 13 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 82 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 1 behind 37 disposals 19 kicks 18 handballs 2 marks 4 tackles 124 dream team points Ben Newton 2 goals 1 behind 20 disposals 10 kicks 10 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 103 dream team points Clayton Oliver 24 disposals 12 kicks 12 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 2 hit outs 90 dream team points Cam Pedersen 1 goal 12 disposals 6 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 17 hit outs 80 dream team points Jake Spencer 1 goal 20 disposals 8 kicks 12 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 44 hit outs 139 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 goal 5 disposals 4 kicks 1 handballs 1 marks 4 tackles 37 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 goal 22 disposals 13 kicks 9 handballs 3 marks 8 tackles 2 hit outs 104 dream team points Sam Weideman 12 disposals 5 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 50 dream team points The Development League team won by 70 points after leading by as much as 94 during the final quarter and is now in with a chance of making the finals after a slow start to the season. Casey Scorpions 5.4.34 8.9.57 12.10.82 16.14.110 Werribee 1.2.8 2.3.15 2.4.16 6.4.40 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Fritsch Hannon Wilson 2 D Collis Cotte Di Pasquale Freeman McDonald McInerney Smith Stockdale Werribee Corbett 3 Mahony 2 Barrack Best Casey Scorpions Ferreira Cox Wilson McInerney Wyatt Werribee Corbett Meredith Williams Iles Barrack Daw

Football folklore abounds with stories of how, when there's a strong wind blowing at VU Whitten Oval, that this element alone can be the telling factor in deciding the outcome of a match of football. Of course, the better side will usually be the winner and the scoreboard indicates that Footscray scored more often against the Scorpions but the tale of the game was told when the Dogs kicked their first goal at 11 minutes into the game after trailing by 19 points and again with their second late in time on in the first quarter after trailing by 27 points. They were the only two goals kicked against the wind all day and, although it was early when the breeze was not as later in the day, it was enough to swing the balance of the game in their favour. Casey failed to make the most of the advantage at the opening and then failed to kick a goal in both quarters against the wind. The Scorpions had very few opportunities to do so but in the last, a missed shot from Paul Pattison from close range and a spilled mark (difficult in the trying conditions) by Colin Garland could have made the difference. Naturally, the game ebbed and flowed according to who had the advantage and by and large, neither team could do so after quarter time. The Bulldogs led by 17 points at the main break but this was turned on its head by the Scorpions' eight goal third term. Notwithstanding, defending a 30 point lead with half an hour to go was always going to be a tough ask but Casey defended strongly until a few errors during a late surge saw a match-winning behind after a Scorpions kick went out on the full with less than a minute remaining. Game, set and match. Scorpions' midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen was fanatical with his great ball-winning efforts to finish with 37 disposals. Lynden Dunn was tireless throughout the game, as was fellow defender Colin Garland. Tom Bugg was solid and Jake Spencer indefatigable in the ruck. Tim Smith booted three goals, two of them late in the third term and Dylan Collis did well. The Scorpions were hit by some late "outs" after Josh Wagner was called up to replace Sam Frost at Melbourne and Chris Dawes withdrew. The team has been off the boil in recent weeks with little chance of gaining consistency due to the bye situation. Casey has dropped to third on the latter and could crash further unless it takes the points at home this week against the Zebras. Casey Scorpions 5.3.33 5.4.34 13.4.82 13.5.83 Footscray 2.0.12 8.3.51 8.4.52 12.12.84 Goals Casey Scorpions Smith 3 Newton 2 Bugg Michie Neal-Bullen Pattison Pedersen Spencer Terlich Trengove Footscray Dale 4 Minson Staley 2 Dalgleish Hamling Russell Tashevski-Beckwith Best Casey Scorpions Neal-Bullen Smith Dunn Bugg Collis Michie Footscray Dale Russell Honeychurch Adcock Barry Minson Statistics Here are the match stats:- Tomas Bugg 1 goals 15 disposals 3 kicks 12 handballs 11 tackles 77 dream team points Lynden Dunn 26 disposals 17 kicks 9 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 93 dream team points Colin Garland 26 disposals 15 kicks 11 handballs 7 marks 6 tackles 109 dream team points Liam Hulett 11 disposals 10 kicks 1 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 49 dream team points Viv Michie 1 goal 23 disposals 13 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 82 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 1 behind 37 disposals 19 kicks 18 handballs 2 marks 4 tackles 124 dream team points Ben Newton 2 goals 1 behind 20 disposals 10 kicks 10 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 103 dream team points Clayton Oliver 24 disposals 12 kicks 12 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 2 hit outs 90 dream team points Cam Pedersen 1 goal 12 disposals 6 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 17 hit outs 80 dream team points Jake Spencer 1 goal 20 disposals 8 kicks 12 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 44 hit outs 139 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 goal 5 disposals 4 kicks 1 handballs 1 marks 4 tackles 37 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 goal 22 disposals 13 kicks 9 handballs 3 marks 8 tackles 2 hit outs 104 dream team points Sam Weideman 12 disposals 5 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 50 dream team points The Development League team won by 70 points after leading by as much as 94 during the final quarter and is now in with a chance of making the finals after a slow start to the season. Casey Scorpions 5.4.34 8.9.57 12.10.82 16.14.110 Werribee 1.2.8 2.3.15 2.4.16 6.4.40 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Fritsch Hannon Wilson 2 D Collis Cotte Di Pasquale Freeman McDonald McInerney Smith Stockdale Werribee Corbett 3 Mahony 2 Barrack Best Casey Scorpions Ferreira Cox Wilson McInerney Wyatt Werribee Corbett Meredith Williams Iles Barrack Daw

A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS by George on the Outer It has been 10 years since Melbourne beat St. Kilda, and that was in an Elimination Final. During the season the record goes back to 2002! Not that the Saints are any world/beating side. Like the Demons, they have inhabited the bottom half of the ladder for the past 5 years, but we still cannot beat them. And so the record continued on after yet another insipid performance at that woeful stadium known as Etihad. The fact that only 25,000 people could be bothered to turn up for a match against two Melbourne based sides each with nearly 40,000 members, says a lot about this miserable venue. That St. Kilda have to play artificial crowd noise through the loudspeakers after each of their goals, is an indictment on the lack of natural crowd noise. That they think a ½ time staring (not blinking) competition for kids is going to bring fans through gate, is an indictment on the boring rubbish that the AFL is serving up as entertainment. What we all come to see is football, but there wasn’t a lot of that going on either. Melbourne got off to a flying start to lead by 3 goals at ¼ time but then failed to turn up for the second term and most of the third. By that time St. Kilda had kicked 8 unanswered goals and the game was as good as over. It wasn’t the Darwin effect as some may claim. With an eight day break for the players, it is more than sufficient to recover, especially as Fremantle were able to take it right up to Geelong with an even shorter time between games. No we weren’t tired……we were just incompetent! The Saints almost exclusively scored from stupid, sometimes unforced errors by the Melbourne players handballing to stationary targets, or players not in a better position just simply played into the Saints hands. We were getting the ball and led easily for possessions, but we just kept giving it to them. Dom Tyson needs to be taken aside and told to kick the ball when he can when he is in a pack. At Hawthorn, Mitchell and Lewis belt the ball out of the congestion without thinking and so open up opportunities up the field. Of Tyson's 20 disposals only half were on the boot. Simply not enough for a mid. Unfortunately, the virus spread and others just kept doing the same. Nathan Jones played an absolutely forgettable game, and his kicking has returned to that similar to the early stages of his career. Ben Kennedy was mostly unsighted, Jeff Garlett kicked a couple but otherwise wasn’t to be seen, VandenBerg looked injured again and could only muster a dozen touches. Mitch White, Matt Jones and Jack Grimes did little to trouble the statisticians. However, Jack Viney was a solitary standout winner in the packs and he also kept the St. Kilda danger-man in Stevens to a lowly 25 touches, which is well below his usual output. As well Jack nearly turned the tide in the third quarter with a spectacular courageous mark that gave the fans a glimmer of hope leading into the final quarter. And so it turned out to be, as the Demons got back to within five points, and then returned to their previous lazy efforts to see the game result get blown out to five goals. The result should have been much more, with the Saints getting 35 scoring shots, but they are simply not good enough to do much better. The pity was that we were unable to capitalise on their lack of skill, save for being an even worse team when it came to using the ball. While there are few players at Casey who could have improved the overall performance today, at least we found out that Matt Jones, Grimes and White are simply not going to provide any upside in the years to come. For each of them, their future is bleak. They may get a couple more games, because the players who are being developed at Casey like Clayton Oliver, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch, Liam Hulett, Sam Weideman and yes, Jack Trengove are not ready to take the step up. We don’t want to fall into the trap that we have done so many times in the past of putting kids up when they are not quite ready. With this loss, the season has become another sad state of affairs. It was important for the future to finish on a high note, by winning these type of games. It gives young players hope, and for those that are yet to re-sign it is important that they can see a positive future to staying with the club. But with coming games against WCE, Hawthorn, Geelong and Port, it is more likely that the season will be a repeat of last when we simply fell off a cliff. The fall will be even harder if the games against Carlton and Gold Coast result in defeats! That would be an even sadder state of affairs... Melbourne 6.2.38 6.5.41 9.7.61 11.8.74 St Kilda 3.3.21 8.6.54 10.12.72 15.20.110 Goals Melbourne Garlett Gawn Petracca 2 Hogan Kennedy vandenBerg Viney Watts St Kilda Membrey 4 Weller 3 Geary 2 Bruce Dunstan Montagna Riewoldt Roberton Weller Best Melbourne Viney Vince T McDonald Jetta Harmes St Kilda Hickey Membrey Steven Weller Ross Montagna Changes Melbourne Josh Wagner replaced Sam Frost (ill) in the selected side St Kilda Nil Injuries Melbourne Hogan (hip) Watts (right ankle) St Kilda Nil Reports Melbourne Jesse Hogan for striking Jarryn Geary in the fourth quarter Umpires Bannister Stephens Nicholls