Demonland

No problem. I hope it fits well.

A surprise leader after round 2 29 Ben Kennedy 21 Nathan Jones 19 Jack Viney 14 Bernie Vince 10 Jack Watts 9 Jeff Garlett Tom McDonald 6 Clayton Oliver Dom Tyson 3 Matt Jones 2 Max Gawn

DEE TRAIN DEE RAILED by George on The Outer After a promising start to the season with three NAB Challenge wins and another in the opening game of the season proper, everyone was lining up to board the Dee-train for 2016. The trouble is that it barely got out of the station before the supporters realised there were too many passengers (again!) and no-one was driving the locomotive. When players start believing their own publicity, and take a win against a crippled side for granted, then it seems Melbourne will guarantee an insipid performance and lose the un-loseable. Against the Bombers, with a side made up of retired geriatrics and kids, the performance was simply putrid. Gold Coast showed how to beat Essendon last week. Come on hard, early and put a couple of quick goals on the board, and they will wilt. No, our players came out half-hearted and expected someone, anyone to lift the tempo. Of course no-one did. And we continually gifted them goals with simply appalling turnovers. This kept them in the game and built their hopes. The end result was a foregone conclusion from the 1st quarter. Just as equally disappointing was the lack of response from the coaching box. Thank heavens Joe Daniher cannot kick straight, because the game would have been over at half-time. But all day long he was allowed to go one-on-one with his respective opponent, be that McDonald or Garland. His height will always win out and it did. Contrast that with the double and triple teaming against Jesse Hogan. That is how a coach can shut down a dominant forward, but nothing was done in 100 minutes of football.And we allowed Essendon to have unmarked wingers for the majority of the game. How a 2nd gamer in Tipungwuti was allowed such freedom to move the ball forward without an obvious opponent was damning. His 20 disposals was more than 18 of the Melbourne players! The selection panel has plenty to answer for again, for the omission of Dunn (save his having a mystery injury) left the team without a viable third tall in the backline and also someone who can kick beyond 50m to clear the zone that Essendon had set. He may not provide the run, but he doesn’t have to if he repels the attacks in the first place! Disappointingly, the mids failed to provide the necessary advantage that Gawn was providing in the ruck. Not at the centre bounce, but the lack of intensity around the ground where it was needed most. But that was only emblematic of a team going at half-pace. Brayshaw was obviously not ready for the seniors and ran out of puff early on, but Oliver showed his class with his efforts when he was injected into the middle. Matt Jones needs to stay at Casey permanently as he is just not up to AFL standard, two of his turnovers resulting directly in Essendon goals. Jack Viney and Nathan Jones battled all day, but Bernie Vince provided little, despite 28 possessions. Dean Kent in contrast provided nothing with only 5 touches. Ben Kennedy was fantastic and stood out in stark contrast to others on the field. With three goals and 21 touches, 11 of them contested, he was exactly the role model for winning. Sadly, others didn’t follow. Jeff Garlett is exciting when on song, but provided little in forward pressure. Hogan was similarly inclined, so the ball bounced out of attack all too frequently. This was a disgraceful performance from the side, not untypical of the worst of the past couple of years. How much have we progressed? Have we progressed? There is a good case to say nothing at all if you watched today’s game. Against the bigger bodies at North in Tassie next weekend we will struggle, if this effort is the best we can produce. Melbourne 1.4.10 6.4.40 7.7.49 10.7.67 Essendon 2.2.14 7.7.49 8.10.58 11.14.80 Goals Melbourne Kennedy 3 Garlett 2 Brayshaw Harmes Hogan Oliver Watts Essendon Brown Daniher Z Merrett 2 Hartley, Kommer, Langford, Parish Stokes Best Melbourne Kennedy N Jones Viney Gawn Essendon Z Merrett Daniher Zaharakis Parish J Merrett Goddard Kelly McDonald-Tipungwuti Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Fantasia (knee) Matt Dea (nose) Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Patrick Ambrose for rough conduct on James Harmes in the second quarter. Umpires Fisher, Stephens, Pannell Official crowd 50,424 at the MCG

After a promising start to the season with three NAB Challenge wins and another in the opening game of the season proper, everyone was lining up to board the Dee-train for 2016. The trouble is that it barely got out of the station before the supporters realised there were too many passengers (again!) and no-one was driving the locomotive. When players start believing their own publicity, and take a win against a crippled side for granted, then it seems Melbourne will guarantee an insipid performance and lose the un-loseable. Against the Bombers, with a side made up of retired geriatrics and kids, the performance was simply putrid. Gold Coast showed how to beat Essendon last week. Come on hard, early and put a couple of quick goals on the board, and they will wilt. No, our players came out half-hearted and expected someone, anyone to lift the tempo. Of course no-one did. And we continually gifted them goals with simply appalling turnovers. This kept them in the game and built their hopes. The end result was a foregone conclusion from the 1st quarter. Just as equally disappointing was the lack of response from the coaching box. Thank heavens Joe Daniher cannot kick straight, because the game would have been over at half-time. But all day long he was allowed to go one-on-one with his respective opponent, be that McDonald or Garland. His height will always win out and it did. Contrast that with the double and triple teaming against Jesse Hogan. That is how a coach can shut down a dominant forward, but nothing was done in 100 minutes of football.And we allowed Essendon to have unmarked wingers for the majority of the game. How a 2nd gamer in Tipungwuti was allowed such freedom to move the ball forward without an obvious opponent was damning. His 20 disposals was more than 18 of the Melbourne players! The selection panel has plenty to answer for again, for the omission of Dunn (save his having a mystery injury) left the team without a viable third tall in the backline and also someone who can kick beyond 50m to clear the zone that Essendon had set. He may not provide the run, but he doesn’t have to if he repels the attacks in the first place! Disappointingly, the mids failed to provide the necessary advantage that Gawn was providing in the ruck. Not at the centre bounce, but the lack of intensity around the ground where it was needed most. But that was only emblematic of a team going at half-pace. Brayshaw was obviously not ready for the seniors and ran out of puff early on, but Oliver showed his class with his efforts when he was injected into the middle. Matt Jones needs to stay at Casey permanently as he is just not up to AFL standard, two of his turnovers resulting directly in Essendon goals. Jack Viney and Nathan Jones battled all day, but Bernie Vince provided little, despite 28 possessions. Dean Kent in contrast provided nothing with only 5 touches. Ben Kennedy was fantastic and stood out in stark contrast to others on the field. With three goals and 21 touches, 11 of them contested, he was exactly the role model for winning. Sadly, others didn’t follow. Jeff Garlett is exciting when on song, but provided little in forward pressure. Hogan was similarly inclined, so the ball bounced out of attack all too frequently. This was a disgraceful performance from the side, not untypical of the worst of the past couple of years. How much have we progressed? Have we progressed? There is a good case to say nothing at all if you watched today’s game. Against the bigger bodies at North in Tassie next weekend we will struggle, if this effort is the best we can produce. Melbourne 1.4.10 6.4.40 7.7.49 10.7.67 Essendon 2.2.14 7.7.49 8.10.58 11.14.80 Goals Melbourne Kennedy 3 Garlett 2 Brayshaw Harmes Hogan Oliver Watts Essendon Brown Daniher Z Merrett 2 Hartley, Kommer, Langford, Parish Stokes Best Melbourne Kennedy N Jones Viney Gawn Essendon Z Merrett Daniher Zaharakis Parish J Merrett Goddard Kelly McDonald-Tipungwuti Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Fantasia (knee) Matt Dea (nose) Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Patrick Ambrose for rough conduct on James Harmes in the second quarter. Umpires Fisher, Stephens, Pannell Official crowd 50,424 at the MCG

Did any other teams win all their games in March? Are we March Champions? Let's not be April Fools.

Thank you. All hats that were ordered today have now been shipped.

New stock of all sizes of the T-Shirts arrived today for those who were asking. I now have stock of XXXL in the T-Shirts. Let me know if there is interest for XXXL in the Polos and I can order some in.

Please no discussion on how to illegally obtain copyrighted content.

Thank you to the first 5 owners of the Demonland hats. They will be posted out to you today. Thanks for helping out the site.

These are the New Era ones. Vintage ones may be available in the future.

The Demonland branded hats have finally arrived. Get your before Stock runs out. This is a great way to support the running of the website and look great while doing it. Other merchandise (T-Shirts and Polos) available here: http://demonland.com/forums/store/category/3-merchandise/

ON TRACK by Whispering Jack Nathan Jones is saying that the Demons are finally back on track. There is no doubt that the signs are good and they always are when you can number those who could potentially force their way into the best 22 from outside Saturday's winning team against the GWS Giants on the fingers of both hands. Yes, both hands. At Good Friday’s training session which was followed by an extended training session for players not selected which included game simulation and match practice with members of the Casey Scorpions squad, I counted a few there who were overlooked but who would normally have been pegged in as obvious selections. You can add a couple of the emergencies for Saturday who had to be rested and a couple of early draft selections on show for the first time coming back from long term injury. There are a couple of mates from Glenelg who have had a brief taste and are not far away, along with a couple of rookies fighting for an upgrade who had played well in Melbourne's last win of 2015 at Etihad Stadium - also against the Giants. This week's opponent is Essendon and by way of contrast to the above, you need only flash back three years in time when the teams also met in Round 2 under much different circumstances. Back then, it was Melbourne that was reeling in an out of control downward spiral and its list was so problematic that it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that half of the players who ran out that day might have struggled for games elsewhere. Such has been the rejuvenation of the Melbourne list in the interim under Paul Roos. However, it has not only been the change in personnel but also, there's been a sea change in culture, style of game and attitude and particularly so this year as the more attacking influence of coach-in-waiting Simon Goodwin begins to kick in. The greater depth in the playing group is an outcome of the work of Roos and co in the transformation of the club from a basket case to a contender. There still remain some ghosts of the past that must be laid to rest. The Bombers were at a low ebb when these teams met in Round 15 last year. They were sinking under the cloud of the long running drugs saga, their form was abysmal coming off a 110-point loss to St Kilda the week before, key players were missing with injury and James Hird's coaching tenure was under attack. It should have been an easy win for the Demons but they made a mess of it. Essendon is again at a low ebb now as it faces a season in the wilderness minus a dozen suspended players. The Bombers are in disarray. That would normally be a worry for a Melbourne team that seems to underperform when expected to do well but not this time. I expect Melbourne with its new found hardness, its purpose and more attacking mindset to lay to rest another ghost of the past. These things must be done to ensure the club remains on track. Melbourne by 40 points. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 2 April, 2016 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 128 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 65 wins Melbourne 45 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Worsfold 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel – live at 1.30 pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC THE BETTING Essendon $6.00 to win Melbourne $1.12 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 10.9.69 defeated Melbourne 7.18.60 at the MCG, Round 15, 2015 Melbourne dominated the play in the first half but couldn't put the Bombers away and was made to pay when they were outscored by one goal to six in the third quarter. Inaccuracy in front of goal didn't help. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Matt Dea, Mitch Brown, Mark Baguley HB: James Gwilt, Michael Hartley, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti C: Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis, Jackson Merrett HF: Zach Merrett, Patrick Ambrose, Kyle Langford F: Mathew Stokes, Joe Daniher, Nick Kommer R: Matthew Leuenberger, Ryan Crowley, Darcy Parish I: Martin Gleeson, Orazio Fantasia, Adam Cooney, James Kelly IN: Nick Kommer, Michael Hartley (debut), Orazio Fantasia OUT: Craig Bird, Jonathan Simpkin, Shaun McKernan MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Heritier Lumumba HB: Matt Jones, Colin Garland, Christian Salem C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Aaron vandenBerg HF: Jack Watts, Cam Pedersen, James Harmes F: Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, Tom Bugg, Ben Kennedy Emg: Lynden Dunn, Billy Stretch, Sam Frost IN: Angus Brayshaw, Heritier Lumumba OUT: Sam Frost, Oscar McDonald

ON TRACK by Whispering Jack Nathan Jones is saying that the Demons are finally back on track. There is no doubt that the signs are good and they always are when you can number those who could potentially force their way into the best 22 from outside Saturday's winning team against the GWS Giants on the fingers of both hands. Yes, both hands. At Good Friday’s training session which was followed by an extended training session for players not selected which included game simulation and match practice with members of the Casey Scorpions squad, I counted a few there who were overlooked but who would normally have been pegged in as obvious selections. You can add a couple of the emergencies for Saturday who had to be rested and a couple of early draft selections on show for the first time coming back from long term injury. There are a couple of mates from Glenelg who have had a brief taste and are not far away, along with a couple of rookies fighting for an upgrade who had played well in Melbourne's last win of 2015 at Etihad Stadium - also against the Giants. This week's opponent is Essendon and by way of contrast to the above, you need only flash back three years in time when the teams also met in Round 2 under much different circumstances. Back then, it was Melbourne that was reeling in an out of control downward spiral and its list was so problematic that it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that half of the players who ran out that day might have struggled for games elsewhere. Such has been the rejuvenation of the Melbourne list in the interim under Paul Roos. However, it has not only been the change in personnel but also, there's been a sea change in culture, style of game and attitude and particularly so this year as the more attacking influence of coach-in-waiting Simon Goodwin begins to kick in. The greater depth in the playing group is an outcome of the work of Roos and co in the transformation of the club from a basket case to a contender. There still remain some ghosts of the past that must be laid to rest. The Bombers were at a low ebb when these teams met in Round 15 last year. They were sinking under the cloud of the long running drugs saga, their form was abysmal coming off a 110-point loss to St Kilda the week before, key players were missing with injury and James Hird's coaching tenure was under attack. It should have been an easy win for the Demons but they made a mess of it. Essendon is again at a low ebb now as it faces a season in the wilderness minus a dozen suspended players. The Bombers are in disarray. That would normally be a worry for a Melbourne team that seems to underperform when expected to do well but not this time. I expect Melbourne with its new found hardness, its purpose and more attacking mindset to lay to rest another ghost of the past. These things must be done to ensure the club remains on track. Melbourne by 40 points. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 2 April, 2016 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 128 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 65 wins Melbourne 45 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Worsfold 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel – live at 1.30 pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC THE BETTING Essendon $6.00 to win Melbourne $1.12 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 10.9.69 defeated Melbourne 7.18.60 at the MCG, Round 15, 2015 Melbourne dominated the play in the first half but couldn't put the Bombers away and was made to pay when they were outscored by one goal to six in the third quarter. Inaccuracy in front of goal didn't help. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Matt Dea, Mitch Brown, Mark Baguley HB: James Gwilt, Michael Hartley, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti C: Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis, Jackson Merrett HF: Zach Merrett, Patrick Ambrose, Kyle Langford F: Mathew Stokes, Joe Daniher, Nick Kommer R: Matthew Leuenberger, Ryan Crowley, Darcy Parish I: Martin Gleeson, Orazio Fantasia, Adam Cooney, James Kelly IN: Nick Kommer, Michael Hartley (debut), Orazio Fantasia OUT: Craig Bird (omit.), Jonathan Simpkin (omit.), Shaun McKernan (omit.) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Heritier Lumumba HB: Matt Jones, Colin Garland, Christian Salem C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Aaron vandenBerg HF: Jack Watts, Cam Pedersen, James Harmes F: Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, Tom Bugg, Ben Kennedy Emg: Lynden Dunn, Billy Stretch, Sam Frost In: Lumumba, Brayshaw Out: Oscar McDonald (ankle), Sam Frost

Plenty of Polos left in all sizes. Here is the link to the XXLs. I will have plenty of stock of all sizes of the T-Shirts in the next few days.

I did say I was prepared to order in 3 XL for the larger framed gentlemen.

Demonland Hats are now for sale:

Orders that were made just prior to and during the Easter break have shipped today.

New stock of Polos has arrived.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-03-30/who-is-your-clubs-best-rising-star-chance

Every team that won in round 1 plays a team in round 2 that lost which means it's mathematically possible for us to win next week and remain 9th.

First of all, it seems that whenever we play the Bombers on the MCG, it's their home game. Good for their financial bottom line, not ours. Second of all, the last time they met, it was Round 15, 2015 and we were raging favourites against a side that had been ripped apart by 110 points a week earlier by the Saints. The selected teams were as follows:- ESSENDON B: Mark Baguley, Michael Hurley, James Gwilt HB: Jackson Merrett, Jake Melksham, Ariel Steinberg, Martin Gleeson C: Brent Stanton, Dyson Heppell, David Zaharakis HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, Michael Hibberd F: Patrick Ambrose, Cale Hooker, Jayden Laverde FOLL: Shaun McKernan, Ben Howlett, Brendon Goddard I/C: Alex Browne, Heath Hocking, Nick O'Brien, Jason Ashby, Shaun Edwards EMG: Jonathan Giles, Elliott Kavanagh, Kyle Langford IN: Patrick Ambrose, Jason Ashby, Alex Browne, Shaun Edwards, Heath Hocking, Jayden Laverde OUT: Adam Cooney (hamstring), Courtenay Dempsey (omitted), Elliott Kavanagh (omitted), Jake Melksham (hamstring), Jobe Watson (shoulder) NEW: Jayden Laverde (19, Western Jets) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Billy Stretch C: Daniel Cross, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Alex Neal-Bullen, Chris Dawes, Jeff Garlett F: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Harmes, Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Jack Fitzpatrick IN: James Harmes, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Heritier Lumumba, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Rohan Bail, Matt Jones, Jake Spencer, Jimmy Toumpas (all omitted) NEW: James Harmes (19, Dandenong Stingrays) Third of all, after team selection on the Thursday nigh before the game, two more Essendon players dropped out with injury - Heath Hocking (back) and Jake Melksham (hamstring). They were replaced by virtual unknowns in Jason Ashby and Shaun Edwards. The Bombers were at their lowest ebb. Fourth of all, the lesson is that you can never be too overconfident when approaching any game of football. We all know the result of that game.

As is our practice, we have taken three sets of votes at random and, as a result, the round 1 leaderboard reads - 18 Jack Viney 11 Ben Kennedy 10 Jack Watts 9 Tom McDonald 7 Nathan Jones 6 Clayton Oliver 2 Max Gawn

ANOTHER STEP FORWARD by George on the Outer Laozi (c604-531 BC) is quoted as saying that “ a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. For the Melbourne Football Club, that journey from the despairing depths of the past years must be some way along the path, but against the Greater Western Sydney Giants we saw yet another step toward that final goal. While there is no doubt that had the Giants kicked straight, the result would have been very different, it is worth reflecting upon the following scenario. Three quarter time. Melbourne has kicked a meagre six goals and only solitary one since quarter time. The Demons are 21 points down. There is no doubt that such a situation in 2014 or 2015 would have seen the final result blow out to a 30+ point drubbing. However, such has been the progress of the team under the current coaching panel, that a mere 10 minutes later, the team hit the front. Then they held on, even though Greater Western Sydney reclaimed the lead again for a couple of minutes. We are seeing resilience, belief and simple hard, tough inputs by all the players, that was so very lacking in years gone by. And we should make make no mistake about the capabilities of the Giants. Up until late last season when they lost Shane Mumford, they were challenging for a finals spot, and make no mistake, they will do so again this year. Their depth of talent is extraordinary, with twenty top twenty draft picks in their side. Melbourne also has room to improve. The omission of Lynden Dunn was probably a mistake, (although perhaps he was still injured), as for two quarters the team struggled to get the ball out of its defensive 50. A solitary Dunn kick would have solved the problem. But the backline did hold up under intense pressure to hold the opposition to a mere 10 goals. Oscar McDonald in the early days of his career was probably out of his depth, but he now has a few games under his belt, and another win to boot. He was well served in his apprenticeship alongside his brother Tom and Colin Garland. However, if he also becomes an integral part of this defensive wall then we will take yet another step along that path. Jack Viney was simply magnificent all day and topped the possessions list, proving that he has also probably taken another step forward. Clayton Oliver was a revelation, who only played 72% of game time, but had 15 contested possessions in his first game! This kid is seriously good, and the recruiting team must be pretty pleased with his performance, and theirs as well! Jack Watts was another revelation. 10 marks, with a good number contested are not numbers that we have seen from Jack ever in his time at the club. But he has continued his pre season form and what a change that is from previous years! There were still a number of passengers in the side, and the ¾ time status was damning for these players. In the past those same players would be pulling on the boots next week, but when you have Heritier Lumumba, Dunn, Angus Brayshaw, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch not to mention the huge figure of Christian Petracca all not considered or unavailable this week, the pressure for spots is genuine. Hopefully as Melbourne continues to take steps both forward and up the ladder it will be gifted some decent umpires. Messrs. Wallace, Chamberlain and Donlan had numerous howlers today, and it is about time the AFL taught them that the game is not about them, and their egos. Next week, its Essendon and their motley crew of fill-ins. Sadly it will only be round two for them, and while many were de-listed last year, they can still play football. They won’t be in as good condition after 20 games, but that is our lot. We just have to keep taking those steps forward, and this will be another one. Melbourne 5.0.30 5.4.34 6.5.41 12.8.80 Greater Western Sydney 3.4.22 6.8.44 8.14.62 e 10.18.78 Goals Melbourne Hogan 3 Garlett vandenBerg 2 Harmes Kennedy Kent Vince Watts. Greater Western Sydney Johnson Lobb Ward 2 Greene Scully Smith Steele Best Melbourne Viney Kennedy T McDonald Oliver N Jones Watts Hogan Greater Western Sydney Ward Scully Shaw Davis Shiel Lobb Changes Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Injuries Melbourne Oscar McDonald (ankle) Greater Western Sydney Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Umpires Chris Donlon Ray Chamberlain Brent Wallace Official Crowd 28,505 at MCG

Laozi (c604-531 BC) is quoted as saying that “ a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. For the Melbourne Football Club, that journey from the despairing depths of the past years must be some way along the path, but against the Greater Western Sydney Giants we saw yet another step toward that final goal. While there is no doubt that had the Giants kicked straight, the result would have been very different, it is worth reflecting upon the following scenario. Three quarter time. Melbourne has kicked a meagre six goals and only solitary one since quarter time. The Demons are 21 points down. There is no doubt that such a situation in 2014 or 2015 would have seen the final result blow out to a 30+ point drubbing. However, such has been the progress of the team under the current coaching panel, that a mere 10 minutes later, the team hit the front. Then they held on, even though Greater Western Sydney reclaimed the lead again for a couple of minutes. We are seeing resilience, belief and simple hard, tough inputs by all the players, that was so very lacking in years gone by. And we should make make no mistake about the capabilities of the Giants. Up until late last season when they lost Shane Mumford, they were challenging for a finals spot, and make no mistake, they will do so again this year. Their depth of talent is extraordinary, with twenty top twenty draft picks in their side. Melbourne also has room to improve. The omission of Lynden Dunn was probably a mistake, (although perhaps he was still injured), as for two quarters the team struggled to get the ball out of its defensive 50. A solitary Dunn kick would have solved the problem. But the backline did hold up under intense pressure to hold the opposition to a mere 10 goals. Oscar McDonald in the early days of his career was probably out of his depth, but he now has a few games under his belt, and another win to boot. He was well served in his apprenticeship alongside his brother Tom and Colin Garland. However, if he also becomes an integral part of this defensive wall then we will take yet another step along that path. Jack Viney was simply magnificent all day and topped the possessions list, proving that he has also probably taken another step forward. Clayton Oliver was a revelation, who only played 72% of game time, but had 15 contested possessions in his first game! This kid is seriously good, and the recruiting team must be pretty pleased with his performance, and theirs as well! Jack Watts was another revelation. 10 marks, with a good number contested are not numbers that we have seen from Jack ever in his time at the club. But he has continued his pre season form and what a change that is from previous years! There were still a number of passengers in the side, and the ¾ time status was damning for these players. In the past those same players would be pulling on the boots next week, but when you have Heritier Lumumba, Dunn, Angus Brayshaw, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch not to mention the huge figure of Christian Petracca all not considered or unavailable this week, the pressure for spots is genuine. Hopefully as Melbourne continues to take steps both forward and up the ladder it will be gifted some decent umpires. Messrs. Wallace, Chamberlain and Donlan had numerous howlers today, and it is about time the AFL taught them that the game is not about them, and their egos. Next week, its Essendon and their motley crew of fill-ins. Sadly it will only be round two for them, and while many were de-listed last year, they can still play football. They won’t be in as good condition after 20 games, but that is our lot. We just have to keep taking those steps forward, and this will be another one. Melbourne 5.0.30 5.4.34 6.5.41 12.8.80 Greater Western Sydney 3.4.22 6.8.44 8.14.62 e 10.18.78 Goals Melbourne Hogan 3 Garlett vandenBerg 2 Harmes Kennedy Kent Vince Watts. Greater Western Sydney Johnson Lobb Ward 2 Greene Scully Smith Steele Best Melbourne Viney Kennedy T McDonald Oliver N Jones Watts Hogan Greater Western Sydney Ward Scully Shaw Davis Shiel Lobb Changes Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Injuries Melbourne Oscar McDonald (ankle) Greater Western Sydney Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Umpires Chris Donlon Ray Chamberlain Brent Wallace Official Crowd 28,505 at MCG