Demonland

The Demons are coming off their biggest loss for the season and a bye only to run into the undoubted form team of the competition, the Adelaide Crows who have won their last five games on end. They are in supreme form and are a credit to their new coach Don Pyke who took over a club that tragically lost its coach around twelve months and then lost their champion player to another club at the start of the season. Since the Crows lost their Friday night home game against the Cats some 6 weeks ago, they demolished the Suns (75 points), beat the Giants (22 points), crushed the Saints (88 points), overran the Eagles in Perth (29 points) and toppled the Kangaroos (33 points). That's an enviable record, one that the Demons have struggled to emulate for over a decade. The question is whether Melbourne can turn things around after its poor last up performance in the slog in Sydney when the young team was overwhelmed by the stronger Swans and in the end produced barely a whimper in difficult conditions. That 55-point deficit in those conditions translates into a complete beat mugging. Can the Demons come back and thereby keep in touch with the top 8? They do have a few things going for them, home ground advantage for starters. The Crows don't play against Melbourne often at this ground - it's been a few years and the last time was when the Demons were at their lowest ebb. The next thing that Melbourne has in its favour is the competition's in form ruckman in Max Gawn who has his eyes on the scalp of Sam Jacobs. In his last up start in the deluge up in the harbour city, big Max amassed more than fifty hit outs but that huge number was nullified by the conditions which prevented his on ballers from taking advantage. This week should be kinder to him and his midfield headed by Nathan Jones, Jack Viney, Bernie Vince and Dom Tyson. They face some tough opposition with Rory Sloane and Scott Thompson leading the way and feeding a formidable forward line including the likes of Tex Walker, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch and Eddie Betts. I can't see Melbourne's young and inexperienced defence holding all of Adelaide's forwards to the point where they can win. Adelaide by 35 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Adelaide at the MCG Sunday 3 July, 2016 at 3.20 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 12 wins Adelaide 22 wins At MCG Melbourne 7 wins Adelaide 6 wins Past five meetings Melbourne 1 win Adelaide 4 wins The Coaches Paul Roos 0 wins Don Pyke 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 3.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Melbourne to win - $3.15 Adelaide to win - $1.36 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Adelaide 12.8.80 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 Round 3, 2015 at Adelaide Oval The 25 point win by Adelaide was somewhat misleading because the Demons were well into the game until they dropped off the pace in the final term against the more accurate Crows. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Sam Frost, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Tomas Bugg C: Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince HF: Christian Petracca, Chris Dawes, Billy Stretch F: Jack Watts, Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Jeff Garlett, James Harmes, Matt Jones, Ben Kennedy EMG: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Jack Trengove IN: Jeff Garlett, James Harmes, Matt Jones OUT: Clayton Oliver (omitted), Jack Trengove (omitted), Josh Wagner (knee) ADELAIDE CROWS B: Jake Lever, Daniel Talia, Rory Laird HB: Brodie Smith, Kyle Hartigan, Luke Brown C: David Mackay, Rory Sloane, Rory Atkins HF: Mitch McGovern, Josh Jenkins, Richard Douglas F: Eddie Betts, Taylor Walker, Tom Lynch FOLL: Sam Jacobs, Scott Thompson, Jarryd Lyons I/C: Charlie Cameron, Kyle Cheney, Brad Crouch, Matt Crouch EMG: Ricky Henderson, Wayne Milera, Andy Otten NO CHANGE

It was round three of last year and we should have beaten them but we didn’t ... ADELAIDE CROWS B: Luke Brown, Daniel Talia, Rory Laird HB: Jake Kelly, Kyle Hartigan, Brodie Smith C: Ricky Henderson, Scott Thompson, Matthew Jaensch HF: Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Taylor Walker, Charlie Cameron F: Eddie Betts, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Lynch FOLL: Sam Jacobs, Rory Sloane, Nathan Van Berlo I/C: Richard Douglas, Josh Jenkins, David Mackay, Matthew Wright EMG: Matt Crouch, Mitch Grigg, Jarryd Lyons IN: Jake Kelly, Scott Thompson OUT: Kyle Cheney (hamstring), Mitch Grigg NEW: Kelly MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Christian Salem C: Daniel Cross, Heritier Lumumba, Sam Frost HF: Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Jack Watts FOLL: Mark Jamar, Dom Tyson, Nathan Jones I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Ben Newton, Aaron vandenBerg EMG: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Jake Spencer IN: Jay Kennedy-Harris OUT: Jack Viney (leg)

Close contest coming up after the break ... 108 Jack Viney 96 Max Gawn 88 Bernie Vince 86 Nathan Jones 63 Dom Tyson 62 Jack Watts 43 Neville Jetta 39 Jesse Hogan 34 Ben Kennedy 33 Tom McDonald 24 Tomas Bugg Billy Stretch 22 Jeff Garlett 21 Jayden Hunt 13 Clayton Oliver Christian Petracca 12 Josh Wagner 10 Dean Kent Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen 7 James Harmes 3 Matt Jones 2 Aaron vandenBerg

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/motherson-and-motherdaughter-rules-to-be-introduced-in-national-womens-competition Mother/Son, Mother/Daughter & Father/Daughter to be added to the traditional Father/Son rule. What do you think?

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-15/eight-teams-named-for-inaugural-womens-league TRADITIONAL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as the Victorian contingent in the first year of the AFL national women's league. Game-changer: Football history is made at the MCG Fremantle has edged out West Coast in the battle of the west to be the Perth-based team in the eight-club inaugural competition. Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney are the other non-Victorian clubs to compete in the eight-week season in February-March next year. The other AFL club applicants, Richmond, Geelong, North Melbourne and St Kilda, along with the Eagles, have been granted provisional licences to be part of an expanded women's league in 2018, depending on development of the game in their areas. Full statement from the AFL and Mike Fitzpatrick's speech Next season's women's competition will feature six home-and-away rounds, with the top four playing two semi-finals and a Grand Final. The women's Grand Final could be played in the week between the end of the NAB Challenge and the start of the AFL season, or as a curtain-raiser to the AFL season opener at the MCG on either a Thursday or Saturday night. The eight women's teams granted licences to compete in 2017 Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Western Bulldogs Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce was among a group of top-line players at the launch, including Tayla Harris, Brianna Davey, Lauren Arnell, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio. They're expected to be marquee signings for the competing clubs. "It's great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that's something they can achieve is amazing,'' Pearce said. Club representatives with Gillon McLachlan and Mike FItzpatrick at Wednesday's launch Pearce said the summer pre-season training and games in the heat wouldn't be a major problem. "It will be pretty warm, but we would normally be in pre-season training at that time of the year anyway. And I think the quarters may be a tad shorter for that reason,'' she said. "I have to take myself out of the bubble and realise what an amazing revolution this is. I work at Melbourne and play every weekend and sometimes you have to reflect on how enormous this is. "It's the biggest code and the biggest sporting body in the country and certainly here it's a big part of the culture of Melbourne and to now have the opportunity to play this sport means a lot to girls." A group of emerging players at the launch included Abbie McKay, 15-year-old daughter of Carlton's football operations manager and premiership defender Andrew McKay. "She has got the talent, it's whether she has the mindset to want to do it,'' McKay said. "This day has been a long time coming. The number of women and girls playing football has doubled over the last five years,'' AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said at the launch near the city-end goals of the MCG on Wednesday morning. "Our CEO Gillon McLachlan calls it a revolution and it is. A fully fledged national competition with the best women players will grace AFL grounds, wearing AFL jumpers and representing passionate AFL tribes. "On behalf of the AFL Commission, I want to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to help grow and develop women's football at all levels. "The establishment of a national women's league will provide a platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy. Our game will never be the same.''

We have a new sub forum to discuss the AFL Women's League. http://demonland.com/forums/forum/37-afl-national-womens-league/

A FOOTBALL (SWIMMING) LESSON by George on The Outer A few weeks ago Melbourne played Hawthorn in the wet. It took the players and coaches a full quarter of that game to get the message out that you cannot play the same way in those conditions as you do in the dry. Trying to hand pass and finesse doesn’t work. Fast forward three weeks and surely the message would have been simple, plain and unambiguous. Especially as it has rained there for the past week and a bit with no prospect of even a clearing of the clouds on the day. Yet once again the players tried to play like it was a dry day. And each time they tried to pass the ball around with handball (Tyson) or bounce the ball (Frost) or mark the ball in a pack (far too many), it just didn’t work. Sydney, on the other hand, played the type of football appropriate to the conditions and reaped the reward. Kick the ball forward at all cost. Shovel it forward instead of trying to pick it up. Kick it off the ground. Kick it long to the forwards. It isn’t pretty but it works! Then Sydney brought an intensity to the game that reflects in their current second position on the ladder. Over 140 tackles in the game, means they were serious about getting the ball, and importantly, stopping the opposition from using it. Kennedy was simply superb for the Swans, and showed our younger brigade how to play on such a day. McVeigh was a rock in defence with 25 disposals off half-back. Luke Parker with 17 tackles! Sadly, the Melbourne side had only a few players with wet weather footy smarts. Bernie Vince showed the way again this week with 28 possessions including 14 contested. But time and time again he would just put the ball on the boot to get it going forward. The pity was that apart from Nathan Jones, Jack Viney in the second half, and Christian Petracca, no-one else followed his lead. The importance of Max Gawn to the side was displayed emphatically in this match. With the conditions nullifying his 58 hit outs, Melbourne only managed 7 to advantage. With or without Max’s dominance, they still don’t have the smarts and skills around the ball. The backline held together until the last quarter, and once again was cut open by the failure of the HFF and wings to cover their man when the opposition have the ball. Stretch, Bugg, Kennedy and Kent simply have to find that man who sneaks out the back and then becomes unattended in our defensive 50. In only a 10 minute period the Swans kicked 6 goals after being held for the previous 3 quarters to the same score. Why? Because McGlynn, Towers and a couple of others just walked into the forward line, while their opponents went ball following. It is becoming too repetitive a situation to be tolerated, and these lapses in concentration are costing games. The Demons were taught a lesson by the Swans. Yes, they are a seriously good side and will in all likelihood play off in this year’s Grand Final. But it was an opportunity for the young Demons to be competitive. It doesn’t hurt to lose to superior skilled and experienced players. But it does hurt when the lessons, which should have been learnt from previous weeks are not being adhered to. The bye will be advantageous to the young brigade of bodies that we have. Unfortunately, the games in coming weeks are not going to be easy and we need to see a much smarter side take the field than has done so far. Melbourne 1.1.7 2.3.15 3.6.24 4.7.31 Sydney Swans 2.6.18 4.8.32 6.13.49 12.14.86 Goals Melbourne Petracca 2 Hogan Kent Sydney Swans Franklin 4 Towers McGlynn 2 Hewett Kennedy Nankervis Lloyd Best Melbourne Vince Jones Gawn Petracca Viney Wagner Sydney Swans McVeigh Parker Hannebery Franklin Jones Towers Changes Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Umpires Donlon Stephens Kamolins Jeffery Official crowd 19,086 at SCG

A few weeks ago Melbourne played Hawthorn in the wet. It took the players and coaches a full quarter of that game to get the message out that you cannot play the same way in those conditions as you do in the dry. Trying to hand pass and finesse doesn’t work. Fast forward three weeks and surely the message would have been simple, plain and unambiguous. Especially as it has rained there for the past week and a bit with no prospect of even a clearing of the clouds on the day. Yet once again the players tried to play like it was a dry day. And each time they tried to pass the ball around with handball (Tyson) or bounce the ball (Frost) or mark the ball in a pack (far too many), it just didn’t work. Sydney, on the other hand, played the type of football appropriate to the conditions and reaped the reward. Kick the ball forward at all cost. Shovel it forward instead of trying to pick it up. Kick it off the ground. Kick it long to the forwards. It isn’t pretty but it works! Then Sydney brought an intensity to the game that reflects in their current second position on the ladder. Over 140 tackles in the game, means they were serious about getting the ball, and importantly, stopping the opposition from using it. Kennedy was simply superb for the Swans, and showed our younger brigade how to play on such a day. McVeigh was a rock in defence with 25 disposals off half-back. Luke Parker with 17 tackles! Sadly, the Melbourne side had only a few players with wet weather footy smarts. Bernie Vince showed the way again this week with 28 possessions including 14 contested. But time and time again he would just put the ball on the boot to get it going forward. The pity was that apart from Nathan Jones, Jack Viney in the second half, and Christian Petracca, no-one else followed his lead. The importance of Max Gawn to the side was displayed emphatically in this match. With the conditions nullifying his 58 hit outs, Melbourne only managed 7 to advantage. With or without Max’s dominance, they still don’t have the smarts and skills around the ball. The backline held together until the last quarter, and once again was cut open by the failure of the HFF and wings to cover their man when the opposition have the ball. Stretch, Bugg, Kennedy and Kent simply have to find that man who sneaks out the back and then becomes unattended in our defensive 50. In only a 10 minute period the Swans kicked 6 goals after being held for the previous 3 quarters to the same score. Why? Because McGlynn, Towers and a couple of others just walked into the forward line, while their opponents went ball following. It is becoming too repetitive a situation to be tolerated, and these lapses in concentration are costing games. The Demons were taught a lesson by the Swans. Yes, they are a seriously good side and will in all likelihood play off in this year’s Grand Final. But it was an opportunity for the young Demons to be competitive. It doesn’t hurt to lose to superior skilled and experienced players. But it does hurt when the lessons, which should have been learnt from previous weeks are not being adhered to. The bye will be advantageous to the young brigade of bodies that we have. Unfortunately, the games in coming weeks are not going to be easy and we need to see a much smarter side take the field than has done so far. Melbourne 1.1.7 2.3.15 3.6.24 4.7.31 Sydney Swans 2.6.18 4.8.32 6.13.49 12.14.86 Goals Melbourne Petracca 2 Hogan Kent Sydney Swans Franklin 4 Towers McGlynn 2 Hewett Kennedy Nankervis Lloyd Best Melbourne Vince Jones Gawn Petracca Viney Wagner Sydney Swans McVeigh Parker Hannebery Franklin Jones Towers Changes Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Umpires Donlon Stephens Kamolins Jeffery Official crowd 19,086 at SCG

We have two weeks to talk about that.

Anyone?

AFTER THE GOLD RUSH by Ice Station Eureka Stadium has never been a happy hunting ground for the Casey Scorpions. Visitors from the other side of Melbourne face a long drive and find it a cold and forbidding place and the home crowd will always let you know that you're in for a tough day at the office. The Scorpions arrived in town with the pain from last week's defeat at the hands of Collingwood still strongly etched in their minds. They simply could not afford to allow the uncertainty of a possible loss of form to destroy what they had worked so hard to build in the first half of the season. At the end of the day, they fulfilled their part of the contract with a handsome 91-point win after some early flutters caused mainly by some inaccurate kicking for goal. The Scorpions were aided by some good fortune. The North Ballarat Roosters are no longer aligned with the AFL Kangaroos and have been struggling at the foot of the VFL table. For the club which has been a dominant force over the past decade, the gold rush is over. Last week they lost their best player, ruckman Orren Stephenson with a knee injury which gave the Scorps' in-form big man Jake Spencer free rein to cause carnage on the home side firstly in the ruck and then in front of goal booting four for the day. The Roosters also lost three players in the opening quarter, all of them forced off the ground for the rest of the day and causing havoc with their rotations. North Ballarat was therefore undersized and undermanned and, after a brief period of early resistance, were blown away by the superiority all over the ground of the Melbourne-aligned Scorpions. The quarter time lead of 25 points quickly blew out to 65 points on the back of a dominant midfield led by Matt Jones, Alex Neal-Bullen and Angus Brayshaw who gave young Demon forwards Liam Hulett and James Harmes plenty of opportunities to score and they didn't let the team down. The Scorpions coasted through the third term but lifted their intensity into the last quarter with Spencer taking the opportunity to use his height and size to advantage and destroy the hapless Roosters. Had the team kicked straighter in the last, it would almost certainly have been another 100-point demolition. For the most part of the day, it was an impressive performance with the team running in numbers and using the advantage of superior bench numbers to the fullest. The Demons would have been pleased with the output of Jones, Neal-Bullen and Ben Newton in the middle and the sheer brilliance of youngsters Brayshaw (returning from an extended lay off with concussion) and Harmes and the four goals from Hulett. The experience of Colin Garland and Jack Grimes was invaluable - all factors which underline Melbourne's improved depth this year. Of the Casey listed players James Munro continued his good work this season and small man Angus Scott was busy, particularly around goal. The Scorpions have retaken top spot on the ladder and go into the bye week well placed to continue their finals assault in the second half of the season. Peter Jackson VFL 2016 Casey Scorpions 5.7.37 11.12.78 16.12.108 19.21.135 North Ballarat 2.0.12 2.1.13 5.1.31 7.2.44 Goals Casey Scorpions Hulett Spencer 4 Harmes 3 Brayshaw Scott 2 Garlett King Newton T Smith North Ballarat S Hooper 3 George A Hooper Kiel Templeton Best Casey Scorpions Harmes M Jones Brayshaw Neal-Bullen Spencer Garland North Ballarat S Hooper Marshall A Hooper George Kiel Austin Statistics Angus Brayshaw 2 goals 1 behind 28 disposals 12 kicks 16 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 125 dream team points Colin Garland 1 behind 24 disposals 14 kicks 10 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 100 dream team points Jeff Garlett 1 goal 13 disposals 9 kicks 4 handballs 5 tackles 62 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 behinds 24 disposals 14 kicks 10 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 85 dream team points James Harmes 3 goals 23 disposals 11 kicks 12 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 107 dream team points Liam Hulett 4 goals 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 88 dream team points Max King 1 goal 2 behinds 13 disposals 10 kicks 3 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 16 hit outs 87 dream team points Matt Jones 40 disposals 15 kicks 25 handballs 8 marks 2 tackles 124 dream team points Alex Neale-Bullen 1 behind 33 disposals 11 kicks 22 handballs 4 marks 8 tackles 124 dream team points Ben Newton 1 goals 1 behind 20 disposals 11 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 88 dream team points Jake Spencer 4 goals 17 disposals 7 kicks 10 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 44 hit outs 124 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 behind disposals 6 kicks 6 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 58 dream team points Mitch White 14 disposals 8 kicks 6 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points The Development League team upset fourth placed Werribee in their game played away under lights to keep in touch in the finals race. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 3.2.20 4.5.29 7.9.51 12.14.86 Werribee 0.4.4 3.7.25 4.7.31 5.10.40 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Freeman D Johnston Muir 2 Hannon McDonald Machaya Rutherford Werribee Barrack Butt Kershaw Sharp VanDenBerg Best Casey Scorpions Rutherford Gordon J McDonald McInerney Wison Hillard Werribee Conway Petterwood Holman Nielson Sharp VanDenBerg

Eureka Stadium has never been a happy hunting ground for the Casey Scorpions. Visitors from the other side of Melbourne face a long drive and find it a cold and forbidding place and the home crowd will always let you know that you're in for a tough day at the office. The Scorpions arrived in town with the pain from last week's defeat at the hands of Collingwood still strongly etched in their minds. They simply could not afford to allow the uncertainty of a possible loss of form to destroy what they had worked so hard to build in the first half of the season. At the end of the day, they fulfilled their part of the contract with a handsome 91-point win after some early flutters caused mainly by some inaccurate kicking for goal. The Scorpions were aided by some good fortune. The North Ballarat Roosters are no longer aligned with the AFL Kangaroos and have been struggling at the foot of the VFL table. For the club which has been a dominant force over the past decade, the gold rush is over. Last week they lost their best player, ruckman Orren Stephenson with a knee injury which gave the Scorps' in-form big man Jake Spencer free rein to cause carnage on the home side firstly in the ruck and then in front of goal booting four for the day. The Roosters also lost three players in the opening quarter, all of them forced off the ground for the rest of the day and causing havoc with their rotations. North Ballarat was therefore undersized and undermanned and, after a brief period of early resistance, were blown away by the superiority all over the ground of the Melbourne-aligned Scorpions. The quarter time lead of 25 points quickly blew out to 65 points on the back of a dominant midfield led by Matt Jones, Alex Neal-Bullen and Angus Brayshaw who gave young Demon forwards Liam Hulett and James Harmes plenty of opportunities to score and they didn't let the team down. The Scorpions coasted through the third term but lifted their intensity into the last quarter with Spencer taking the opportunity to use his height and size to advantage and destroy the hapless Roosters. Had the team kicked straighter in the last, it would almost certainly have been another 100-point demolition. For the most part of the day, it was an impressive performance with the team running in numbers and using the advantage of superior bench numbers to the fullest. The Demons would have been pleased with the output of Jones, Neal-Bullen and Ben Newton in the middle and the sheer brilliance of youngsters Brayshaw (returning from an extended lay off with concussion) and Harmes and the four goals from Hulett. The experience of Colin Garland and Jack Grimes was invaluable - all factors which underline Melbourne's improved depth this year. Of the Casey listed players James Munro continued his good work this season and small man Angus Scott was busy, particularly around goal. The Scorpions have retaken top spot on the ladder and go into the bye week well placed to continue their finals assault in the second half of the season. Peter Jackson VFL 2016 Casey Scorpions 5.7.37 11.12.78 16.12.108 19.21.135 North Ballarat 2.0.12 2.1.13 5.1.31 7.2.44 Goals Casey Scorpions Hulett Spencer 4 Harmes 3 Brayshaw Scott 2 Garlett King Newton T Smith North Ballarat S Hooper 3 George A Hooper Kiel Templeton Best Casey Scorpions Harmes M Jones Brayshaw Neal-Bullen Spencer Garland North Ballarat S Hooper Marshall A Hooper George Kiel Austin Statistics Angus Brayshaw 2 goals 1 behind 28 disposals 12 kicks 16 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 125 dream team points Colin Garland 1 behind 24 disposals 14 kicks 10 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 100 dream team points Jeff Garlett 1 goal 13 disposals 9 kicks 4 handballs 5 tackles 62 dream team points Jack Grimes 2 behinds 24 disposals 14 kicks 10 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 85 dream team points James Harmes 3 goals 23 disposals 11 kicks 12 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 107 dream team points Liam Hulett 4 goals 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 88 dream team points Max King 1 goal 2 behinds 13 disposals 10 kicks 3 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 16 hit outs 87 dream team points Matt Jones 40 disposals 15 kicks 25 handballs 8 marks 2 tackles 124 dream team points Alex Neale-Bullen 1 behind 33 disposals 11 kicks 22 handballs 4 marks 8 tackles 124 dream team points Ben Newton 1 goals 1 behind 20 disposals 11 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 88 dream team points Jake Spencer 4 goals 17 disposals 7 kicks 10 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 44 hit outs 124 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 behind disposals 6 kicks 6 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 58 dream team points Mitch White 14 disposals 8 kicks 6 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points The Development League team upset fourth placed Werribee in their game played away under lights to keep in touch in the finals race. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 3.2.20 4.5.29 7.9.51 12.14.86 Werribee 0.4.4 3.7.25 4.7.31 5.10.40 Goals Casey Scorpions Baker Freeman D Johnston Muir 2 Hannon McDonald Machaya Rutherford Werribee Barrack Butt Kershaw Sharp VanDenBerg Best Casey Scorpions Rutherford Gordon J McDonald McInerney Wison Hillard Werribee Conway Petterwood Holman Nielson Sharp VanDenBerg

The AFL has been rather kind to Melbourne when it's come to fixturing games against Sydney over the past five years when the Swans have been powerhouses of the competition and the Demons have been inhabiting its basement. It seems that the Demons aren't really welcome in the Harbour City because the last time these two sides met each other in Sydney was their Round 8 encounter at the SCG in 2012. The result of that game was a disaster for the Dees with the only memorable aspect being a speccie from Jeremy Howe that earned him the AFL Mark of the Year award. That was the only thing that the club could take out of the occasion of its last trip up to play in Sydney against the Swans because the result was a 100-point slaughter. It's hard to relive the agony of the game now, especially given that the player who provided us with its only highlight has since defected to Collingwood in search of greater glory and the reward of a premiership but in view of the fact that his mark has been recorded for posterity, here it is - Since that fateful day more than four years ago, the teams have met only once a year courtesy of a generous AFL which has done its best to shield Melbourne from the likelihood of further disasters. Nevertheless, those once a year encounters at the MCG have all ended in similar results - resounding wins for the Swans that have been virtual no contests but at least we've been spared the 100-point blowouts. Things are a little different as we pass the halfway mark of the season. The Swans have deftly maintained their position among the top sides and have managed to reinvigorate a playing list that was starting to show signs of aging through a combination of good recruiting and excellent coaching and player development, helped to some extent by the Academy programme which is producing some ready-made young guns. Melbourne, on the other hand, is just emerging from the basement and under former Swans coach Paul Roos, is trying to head into the space that Sydney has been filling with a degree of success over the past decade or so. The team is young but definitely on its way up but we've learned in recent times to temper our expectations. Form can be up and down from one week to the next - young sides can be unpredictable. That is what makes this week's contest so intriguing. Even the Swans themselves have struggled for consistency. They started the 2016 season with a crushing victory over Collingwood in Round 1 and had a good run early but struggled to win against Brisbane and lost to Richmond, picked up some big scalps in Hawthorn and North Melbourne but disappointed last week against the Giants in a game where they suffered a huge injury toll with their notable loss being ruckman Kurt Tippet to a hamstring injury. In terms of match ups, the loss of Tippet when coming up against an in form Max Gawn is a factor that certainly tips the needle in Melbourne's direction because his likely replacement, Callum Sinclair, though handy has never been more than a second string ruckman. The Swans however, still have the advantage of strength and experience in the midfield over the Demons' emerging midfield group. The battle of the onballers will be an intriguing encounter and if Melbourne is to cause an upset against the Swans it will have to be through another dominant performance from Gawn and more of the same from the likes of Nathan Jones, Jack Viney, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson and the younger guns. Then there is the competition's best player when at the top of his game, Lance Franklin, who was quiet last week but is rarely so for two weeks on end. His likely opponent is Tom McDonald who is quite capable of doing enough to quell Buddy's influence to some extent. If he succeeds in keeping him down to a couple of goals, it will have a big bearing on the result. And if the result swings the game in Melbourne's favour, then we can say that the club is truly out of the basement because it's been a while since the Demons have been in positive territory in terms of wins and losses this deep into a season. THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney Swans at the SCG Sunday 19 June 2016 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Sydney Swans 110 wins Melbourne 92 wins 2 drawn At SCG Sydney Swans 13 wins Melbourne 8 wins Last 5 meetings Sydney Swans 4 wins Melbourne 0 wins 1 drawn The Coaches Longmire 2 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Sydney Swans $1.18 to win Melbourne $4.85 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 12.16.88 defeated Melbourne 7.8.50 in Round 6, 2015 at the MCG The Swans led a dull and for the most part low scoring scrap of a game from start to finish, outplaying the hapless Demons in almost every position on the ground. THE TEAMS SYDNEY SWANS B: Jeremy Laidler, Heath Grundy, Nick Smjith HB: Jarrad McVeigh, Dane Rampe, Zak Jones C: Callum Mills, John P Kennedy, Isaac Heeney HF: Dan Hannebery, Lance Franklin, James Rose F: Luke Parker, Gary Rohan, Ben McGlynn FOLL: Callum Sinclair, Tom Mitchell, Kieren Jack I/C: Aliir Aliir, George Hewett, Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers EMG: Tyrone Leonardis, Jake Lloyd, Sam Naismith, IN: Allir Allir, George Hewett, Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers OUT: Harry Cunningham (omitted), Jeremy Laidler (knee), Harrison Marsh (hamstring), Kurt Tippet (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Tomas Bugg, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Billy Stretch, Oscar McDonald, Josh Wagner C: Jack Viney, Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince HF: Dean Kent, Jack Watts, Aaron vandenBerg F: Sam Frost, Jesse Hogan, Chris Dawes FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Jayden Hunt, Ben Kennedy, Clayton Oliver, Jack Trengove EMG: Jack Grimes, James Harmes, Viv Michie NO CHANGE

THE BASEMENT by The Oracle The AFL has been rather kind to Melbourne when it's come to fixturing games against Sydney over the past five years when the Swans have been powerhouses of the competition and the Demons have been inhabiting its basement. It seems that the Demons aren't really welcome in the Harbour City because the last time these two sides met each other in Sydney was their Round 8 encounter at the SCG in 2012. The result of that game was a disaster for the Dees with the only memorable aspect being a speccie from Jeremy Howe that earned him the AFL Mark of the Year award. That was the only thing that the club could take out of the occasion of its last trip up to play in Sydney against the Swans because the result was a 100-point slaughter. It's hard to relive the agony of the game now, especially given that the player who provided us with its only highlight has since defected to Collingwood in search of greater glory and the reward of a premiership but in view of the fact that his mark has been recorded for posterity, here it is - Since that fateful day more than four years ago, the teams have met only once a year courtesy of a generous AFL which has done its best to shield Melbourne from the likelihood of further disasters. Nevertheless, those once a year encounters at the MCG have all ended in similar results - resounding wins for the Swans that have been virtual no contests but at least we've been spared the 100-point blowouts. Things are a little different as we pass the halfway mark of the season. The Swans have deftly maintained their position among the top sides and have managed to reinvigorate a playing list that was starting to show signs of aging through a combination of good recruiting and excellent coaching and player development, helped to some extent by the Academy programme which is producing some ready-made young guns. Melbourne, on the other hand, is just emerging from the basement and under former Swans coach Paul Roos, is trying to head into the space that Sydney has been filling with a degree of success over the past decade or so. The team is young but definitely on its way up but we've learned in recent times to temper our expectations. Form can be up and down from one week to the next - young sides can be unpredictable. That is what makes this week's contest so intriguing. Even the Swans themselves have struggled for consistency. They started the 2016 season with a crushing victory over Collingwood in Round 1 and had a good run early but struggled to win against Brisbane and lost to Richmond, picked up some big scalps in Hawthorn and North Melbourne but disappointed last week against the Giants in a game where they suffered a huge injury toll with their notable loss being ruckman Kurt Tippet to a hamstring injury. In terms of match ups, the loss of Tippet when coming up against an in form Max Gawn is a factor that certainly tips the needle in Melbourne's direction because his likely replacement, Callum Sinclair, though handy has never been more than a second string ruckman. The Swans however, still have the advantage of strength and experience in the midfield over the Demons' emerging midfield group. The battle of the onballers will be an intriguing encounter and if Melbourne is to cause an upset against the Swans it will have to be through another dominant performance from Gawn and more of the same from the likes of Nathan Jones, Jack Viney, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson and the younger guns. Then there is the competition's best player when at the top of his game, Lance Franklin, who was quiet last week but is rarely so for two weeks on end. His likely opponent is Tom McDonald who is quite capable of doing enough to quell Buddy's influence to some extent. If he succeeds in keeping him down to a couple of goals, it will have a big bearing on the result. And if the result swings the game in Melbourne's favour, then we can say that the club is truly out of the basement because it's been a while since the Demons have been in positive territory in terms of wins and losses this deep into a season. THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney Swans at the SCG Sunday 19 June 2016 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Sydney Swans 110 wins Melbourne 92 wins 2 drawn At SCG Sydney Swans 13 wins Melbourne 8 wins Last 5 meetings Sydney Swans 4 wins Melbourne 0 wins 1 drawn The Coaches Longmire 2 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Sydney Swans $1.18 to win Melbourne $4.85 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 12.16.88 defeated Melbourne 7.8.50 in Round 6, 2015 at the MCG The Swans led a dull and for the most part low scoring scrap of a game from start to finish, outplaying the hapless Demons in almost every position on the ground. THE TEAMS SYDNEY SWANS B: Jeremy Laidler, Heath Grundy, Nick Smjith HB: Jarrad McVeigh, Dane Rampe, Zak Jones C: Callum Mills, John P Kennedy, Isaac Heeney HF: Dan Hannebery, Lance Franklin, James Rose F: Luke Parker, Gary Rohan, Ben McGlynn FOLL: Callum Sinclair, Tom Mitchell, Kieren Jack I/C: Aliir Aliir, George Hewett, Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers EMG: Tyrone Leonardis, Jake Lloyd, Sam Naismith, IN: Allir Allir, George Hewett, Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers OUT: Harry Cunningham (omitted), Jeremy Laidler (knee), Harrison Marsh (hamstring), Kurt Tippet (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Tomas Bugg, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Billy Stretch, Oscar McDonald, Josh Wagner C: Jack Viney, Christian Petracca, Bernie Vince HF: Dean Kent, Jack Watts, Aaron vandenBerg F: Sam Frost, Jesse Hogan, Chris Dawes FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Jayden Hunt, Ben Kennedy, Clayton Oliver, Jack Trengove EMG: Jack Grimes, James Harmes, Viv Michie NO CHANGE

If you can help out the club with the following then that would be great. Contact details are at the bottom of this post. Melbourne Auction Spectacular IT’S on again in 2016 – the Melbourne Auction Spectacular! The club is seeking auction donations of goods and services (valued at $50 or more) for what is one of the club’s major fundraising activities for the year – the Melbourne Auction Spectacular. In return for auction items, the club is able to offer online catalogue donor recognition, including item photograph, description, website listing and company logo. The auction will be launched electronically to club members on Monday 1 August and close on Tuesday 16 August (auction items will need to be confirmed by mid-July). The auction will also be promoted via social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). This is a great opportunity to promote your company, products and services to our database and networks. Here are some examples of items the club is looking for: • Dining vouchers • Accommodation vouchers • Whitegoods • Electrical appliances • Household/ personal items • Jewellery • Travel goods • Services (ie. massage, beauty, hairdressing) • Sporting goods • Memorabilia • Experiences • Hampers • Movie tickets • Event tickets • Artwork • Professional consulting services If you are interested in donating auction items please click here or contact Jackie Emmerton on 03 9652 1122 or [email protected]

GIVING THE PIES A BATH by George on the Outer The pre game activities in support of Neale Daniher’scampaign to Freeze MND got the day off to the perfect start when we finally saw the Collingwood president getting a well deserved bath. It was an unusual experience to behold the scene of a drenched Eddie McGuire as most Collingwood fans don’t go near water on a regular basis ... and of course, the crowd lapped it up. But the pre game goings on were only a portent of the bath that Eddie's team was about to endure from an invigorated Demon outfit. A scrappy first quarter saw them open with almost five minutes of football during which the opposition barely touched the football. The problem was Melbourne's inability to put something decent on the score-board came back to bite them and at quarter time it found itself two goals down. That was enough and the second term saw the Demons come out firing as they stopped over-using the ball and handballing at times when a kick was needed. The result was a seven goal to one quarter and the game was as good as over. Then they came out and finished the game by truly putting Collingwood to the sword, kicking a further seven goals to three in the second half of the game. Max Gawn absolutely and utterly cleaned up the three opposition ruckmen in Grundy, Witts and Cox with three goals, 27 disposals and 31 hitouts. He even roved to his own taps and showed the Pies how a top class ruckman plays. The injection of Jack Viney back from injury just gave others the chance to create mayhem around the ball. Bernie Vince with a mammoth 42 disposals and Dom Tyson and Ben Kennedy 29 each backed up Viney's 30 of his own. With this amount of talent around the ball it relieves the pressure from the new boys in Oliver and Petracca as they can then learn their craft without the pressure of top line opposition players. Once again Jesse Hogan stamped his authority on the game with three goals and eight contested possessions. He gave Jesse White an absolute spray when he flinched as Hogan approached from behind and dropped the mark. White then spent the rest of the match looking in the rear view mirror. It has been a long time since a Melbourne player has truly terrified the opposition, like Hogan did today. The backline is still fragile but starting to meld together. Once again Hunt and Wagner did well and provide that much needed fire from out of the defence. They also keep putting in and their second efforts, even after errors, are a credit to themselves. Even Oscar McDonald looked more at ease, and has put another game under his belt. It was particularly difficult with the three Collingwood rucks resting in their forward line, and our matchups simply weren’t good enough. We can’t have Nev Jetta trying to outmark players who are over 200cm. It is also difficult to understand why we persist with a six person forward line and only four in the backline. Too many bodies get in Hogans way, and the backs can sure use an extra body down there sometimes. With only a six day break to a game against Sydney in the Harbour city, it will be a difficult act to follow next week. However, the Swans have suffered some serious injuries and are not invincible as was proven this week against GWS. Given the rain that Sydney has faced in this past week, they surely wouldn’t be looking forward to another bath ... would they? Melbourne 2.4.16 9.6.60 11.7.73 16.8.104 Collingwood 4.4.28 5.4.34 6.6.42 8.10.58 Goals Melbourne Gawn Hogan Kent 3 Watts 2 N Jones, Kennedy Petracca Trengove Viney Collingwood Cox 2 Greenwood Grundy Maynard Sidebottom Varcoe White Best Melbourne Gawn Vince N Jones Kent T McDonald Tyson Collingwood Treloar Pendlebury Howe De Goey Varcoe Changes Melbourne Nil Collingwood Nil Injuries Melbourne vandenBerg (nose) Collingwood J Frost (shoulder) Reid (left knee) Pendlebury(left ankle) Reports Melbourne Nil Collingwood Nil Umpires Nicholls, Jeffery, Wallace Official crowd 60,158 at the MCG

The pre game activities in support of Neale Daniher’scampaign to Freeze MND got the day off to the perfect start when we finally saw the Collingwood president getting a well deserved bath. It was an unusual experience to behold the scene of a drenched Eddie McGuire as most Collingwood fans don’t go near water on a regular basis ... and of course, the crowd lapped it up. But the pre game goings on were only a portent of the bath that Eddie's team was about to endure from an invigorated Demon outfit. A scrappy first quarter saw them open with almost five minutes of football during which the opposition barely touched the football. The problem was Melbourne's inability to put something decent on the score-board came back to bite them and at quarter time it found itself two goals down. That was enough and the second term saw the Demons come out firing as they stopped over-using the ball and handballing at times when a kick was needed. The result was a seven goal to one quarter and the game was as good as over. Then they came out and finished the game by truly putting Collingwood to the sword, kicking a further seven goals to three in the second half of the game. Max Gawn absolutely and utterly cleaned up the three opposition ruckmen in Grundy, Witts and Cox with three goals, 27 disposals and 31 hitouts. He even roved to his own taps and showed the Pies how a top class ruckman plays. The injection of Jack Viney back from injury just gave others the chance to create mayhem around the ball. Bernie Vince with a mammoth 42 disposals and Dom Tyson and Ben Kennedy 29 each backed up Viney's 30 of his own. With this amount of talent around the ball it relieves the pressure from the new boys in Oliver and Petracca as they can then learn their craft without the pressure of top line opposition players. Once again Jesse Hogan stamped his authority on the game with three goals and eight contested possessions. He gave Jesse White an absolute spray when he flinched as Hogan approached from behind and dropped the mark. White then spent the rest of the match looking in the rear view mirror. It has been a long time since a Melbourne player has truly terrified the opposition, like Hogan did today. The backline is still fragile but starting to meld together. Once again Hunt and Wagner did well and provide that much needed fire from out of the defence. They also keep putting in and their second efforts, even after errors, are a credit to themselves. Even Oscar McDonald looked more at ease, and has put another game under his belt. It was particularly difficult with the three Collingwood rucks resting in their forward line, and our matchups simply weren’t good enough. We can’t have Nev Jetta trying to outmark players who are over 200cm. It is also difficult to understand why we persist with a six person forward line and only four in the backline. Too many bodies get in Hogans way, and the backs can sure use an extra body down there sometimes. With only a six day break to a game against Sydney in the Harbour city, it will be a difficult act to follow next week. However, the Swans have suffered some serious injuries and are not invincible as was proven this week against GWS. Given the rain that Sydney has faced in this past week, they surely wouldn’t be looking forward to another bath ... would they? Melbourne 2.4.16 9.6.60 11.7.73 16.8.104 Collingwood 4.4.28 5.4.34 6.6.42 8.10.58 Goals Melbourne Gawn Hogan Kent 3 Watts 2 N Jones, Kennedy Petracca Trengove Viney Collingwood Cox 2 Greenwood Grundy Maynard Sidebottom Varcoe White Best Melbourne Gawn Vince N Jones Kent T McDonald Tyson Collingwood Treloar Pendlebury Howe De Goey Varcoe Changes Melbourne Nil Collingwood Nil Injuries Melbourne vandenBerg (nose) Collingwood J Frost (shoulder) Reid (left knee) Pendlebury(left ankle) Reports Melbourne Nil Collingwood Nil Umpires Nicholls, Jeffery, Wallace Official crowd 60,158 at the MCG

Maxy's making a move ... 105 Jack Viney91 Max Gawn 76 Nathan Jones70 Bernie Vince63 Dom Tyson51 Jack Watts43 Neville Jetta39 Jesse Hogan 34 Ben Kennedy33 Tom McDonald24 Tomas Bugg Billy Stretch 22 Jeff Garlett 13 Clayton Oliver 12 Josh Wagner 10 Jayden Hunt Dean Kent Heritier Lumumba 9 Cam Pedersen8 Christian Petracca 7 James Harmes 3 Matt Jones2 Aaron vandenBerg