Demonland

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT "THE BLUES" by Whispering Jack The Carlton Football Club and all those associated with it must be collectively heaving sighs of relief about the events at Essendon. They came in the week after the Blues managed only three goals after quarter time in an 83-point turnaround that saw them capitulate to fellow wooden spoon contender Brisbane by 64 points. Former player Mitch Robinson added to the humiliation by sticking it to his old club with a display that saw him amass 34 disposals and lay 15 tackles. It was an unspoken gesture that spelled out "bruise-free" if there ever was one. Had it not been for the troubles at Essendon which, earlier on the same day lowered its colours to Adelaide at Etihad Stadium by 112 points and a few days later parted company with coach James Hird in strange circumstances, the media would have been all over Carlton. And if not Carlton, it would have had far more to say about Melbourne's pitifully weak and inept performance against the Western Bulldogs which saw another bloodbath at the Docklands, giving the stadium under the roof a combined losing margin from two AFL games of 35 goals. If that's not a very good advertisement for our game then I would like to know what could be worse than those two results and how the AFL managed to sell six years of broadcast rights in their aftermath for $2½ billion. Even if you leave Essendon and its drug issues aside, if Gillon McLachlan can pull off that sort of thing then what price the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Which brings us to this week's game. Well actually ... er, um no. The garbage served up by both teams last week won't bring many people to the MCG to watch the slopfest of embarrassing, coach killing skill errors and the kaleidoscope of half-hearted weak efforts that we saw from both these teams last weekend. What more can you say about a match between teams where a 98 point last start loser is a firm favourite to win according to the betting agencies? In fact, the match up is threatening to revive the horrors of that game between the two sides on the same ground eight years ago which lives in infamy and is known as "The Kreuzer Cup". We know who won that because it was one of the few games in AFL history where the loser got the four points. The man after whom it was named will be turning up for that game's winner this week. Despite what was obvious to all and sundry at the time, his team was strangely enough, never really investigated for bringing the game into disrepute. And on form, we can expect more on-field disrepute this week although this game has one thing going for it - the fact that the two leading contenders for the NAB Rising Star award, Melbourne's Jesse Hogan and Carlton's Patrick Cripps, will both stand out as quality footballers among a fairly dismal lot. THE GAME Carlton v Melbourne at MCG Sunday 23 August, 2015 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Carlton 115 wins Melbourne 89 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Carlton 48 wins Melbourne 49 wins Past five meetings Carlton 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Barker 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Sports Channel 3 @ 3.00pm live RADIO - THE BETTING Carlton to win - $2.80 Melbourne to win - $1.44 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 12.9.81 defeated Carlton 7.15.57 at the MCG Round 4, 2014 Carlton was on top early but the Demons slowly wore their more fancied opponents down and provided an early season upset. James Frawley was on fire for the Demons with 24 touches and Rohan Bail had 10 tackles. Both kicked a couple as did Chris Dawes and Jack Watts. Strangely enough, Carlton had more disposals, marks, scoring shots and inside 50s but still lost. THE TEAMS CARLTON B: Zach Tuohy, Michael Jamison, Sam Rowe HB: Dylan Buckley, Sam Docherty, Matthew Dick C: Marc Murphy, Andrew Carrazzo, Kade Simpson HF: Tom Bell, Andrejs Everitt, Blaine Boekhorst F: Andrew Walker, Levi Casboult, Troy Menzel FOLL: Matthew Kreuzer, Ed Curnow, Patrick Cripps I/C: David Ellard, Kristian Jaksch, Jason Tutt, Mark Whiley EMG: Nick Holman, Clem Smith, Matthew Watson IN: Levi Casboult, Troy Menzel, Jason Tutt Out: Lachie Henderson (omitted), Nick Holman (omitted), Clem Smith (or mitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Christian Salem C: Billy Stretch, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Viv Michie, Chris Dawes, James Harmes F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Jack Grimes, Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Newton EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Aidan Riley IN: Ben Newton, Christian Salem, Billy Stretch OUT: Neville Jetta (neck), Matt Jones (omitted) The thought of two struggling clubs facing off at the end of a long season doesn't really inspire but you can hardly feel sorry for either of them - both clubs have made mistakes along the journey and though the Blues appear to have a dismal future, they must have someone at the top looking after them. Apart from escaping scrutiny for their list management as alluded to above, they managed to get the Lion's share of lucrative Friday night matches which deliver clubs huge financial bonuses in terms of gate receipts and sponsorships. It was recently reported in the Herald Sun that having a few of these fixtures each year can add as much as $1.2m to a club's bottom line but the Demons have had only one in the past three years and that was the 2015 ANZAC Eve away match against Richmond. So much for equalization in the AFL. Anyhow, financial matters will be of little concern and well in the background this Sunday. The Demons surely couldn't be as listless as they looked against the Bulldogs and they will respond to Paul Roos' suggestion that the team is already in holiday mood in Bali and they should win - unless the airlines cancel their flight back home due to another run of nearby volcanic activity. Dees by 10 points.

The Carlton Football Club and all those associated with it must be collectively heaving sighs of relief about the events at Essendon. They came in the week after the Blues managed only three goals after quarter time in an 83-point turnaround that saw them capitulate to fellow wooden spoon contender Brisbane by 64 points. Former player Mitch Robinson added to the humiliation by sticking it to his old club with a display that saw him amass 34 disposals and lay 15 tackles. It was an unspoken gesture that spelled out "bruise-free" if there ever was one. Had it not been for the troubles at Essendon which, earlier on the same day lowered its colours to Adelaide at Etihad Stadium by 112 points and a few days later parted company with coach James Hird in strange circumstances, the media would have been all over Carlton. And if not Carlton, it would have had far more to say about Melbourne's pitifully weak and inept performance against the Western Bulldogs which saw another bloodbath at the Docklands, giving the stadium under the roof a combined losing margin from two AFL games of 35 goals. If that's not a very good advertisement for our game then I would like to know what could be worse than those two results and how the AFL managed to sell six years of broadcast rights in their aftermath for $2½ billion. Even if you leave Essendon and its drug issues aside, if Gillon McLachlan can pull off that sort of thing then what price the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Which brings us to this week's game. Well actually ... er, um no. The garbage served up by both teams last week won't bring many people to the MCG to watch the slopfest of embarrassing, coach killing skill errors and the kaleidoscope of half-hearted weak efforts that we saw from both these teams last weekend. What more can you say about a match between teams where a 98 point last start loser is a firm favourite to win according to the betting agencies? In fact, the match up is threatening to revive the horrors of that game between the two sides on the same ground eight years ago which lives in infamy and is known as "The Kreuzer Cup". We know who won that because it was one of the few games in AFL history where the loser got the four points. The man after whom it was named will be turning up for that game's winner this week. Despite what was obvious to all and sundry at the time, his team was strangely enough, never really investigated for bringing the game into disrepute. And on form, we can expect more on-field disrepute this week although this game has one thing going for it - the fact that the two leading contenders for the NAB Rising Star award, Melbourne's Jesse Hogan and Carlton's Patrick Cripps, will both stand out as quality footballers among a fairly dismal lot. THE GAME Carlton v Melbourne at MCG Sunday 23 August, 2015 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Carlton 115 wins Melbourne 89 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Carlton 48 wins Melbourne 49 wins Past five meetings Carlton 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Barker 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Sports Channel 3 @ 3.00pm live RADIO - THE BETTING Carlton to win - $2.80 Melbourne to win - $1.44 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 12.9.81 defeated Carlton 7.15.57 at the MCG Round 4, 2014 Carlton was on top early but the Demons slowly wore their more fancied opponents down and provided an early season upset. James Frawley was on fire for the Demons with 24 touches and Rohan Bail had 10 tackles. Both kicked a couple as did Chris Dawes and Jack Watts. Strangely enough, Carlton had more disposals, marks, scoring shots and inside 50s but still lost. THE TEAMS CARLTON B: Zach Tuohy, Michael Jamison, Sam Rowe HB: Dylan Buckley, Sam Docherty, Matthew Dick C: Marc Murphy, Andrew Carrazzo, Kade Simpson HF: Tom Bell, Andrejs Everitt, Blaine Boekhorst F: Andrew Walker, Levi Casboult, Troy Menzel FOLL: Matthew Kreuzer, Ed Curnow, Patrick Cripps I/C: David Ellard, Kristian Jaksch, Jason Tutt, Mark Whiley EMG: Nick Holman, Clem Smith, Matthew Watson IN: Levi Casboult, Troy Menzel, Jason Tutt Out: Lachie Henderson (omitted), Nick Holman (omitted), Clem Smith (or mitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Christian Salem C: Billy Stretch, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Viv Michie, Chris Dawes, James Harmes F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Jack Grimes, Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Newton EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Aidan Riley IN: Ben Newton, Christian Salem, Billy Stretch OUT: Neville Jetta (neck), Matt Jones (omitted) The thought of two struggling clubs facing off at the end of a long season doesn't really inspire but you can hardly feel sorry for either of them - both clubs have made mistakes along the journey and though the Blues appear to have a dismal future, they must have someone at the top looking after them. Apart from escaping scrutiny for their list management as alluded to above, they managed to get the Lion's share of lucrative Friday night matches which deliver clubs huge financial bonuses in terms of gate receipts and sponsorships. It was recently reported in the Herald Sun that having a few of these fixtures each year can add as much as $1.2m to a club's bottom line but the Demons have had only one in the past three years and that was the 2015 ANZAC Eve away match against Richmond. So much for equalization in the AFL. Anyhow, financial matters will be of little concern and well in the background this Sunday. The Demons surely couldn't be as listless as they looked against the Bulldogs and they will respond to Paul Roos' suggestion that the team is already in holiday mood in Bali and they should win - unless the airlines cancel their flight back home due to another run of nearby volcanic activity. Dees by 10 points.

Remember Shannon Byrnes? It was so long ago since we played Carlton that I was surprised to discover he was dropped from the team for Round 4 last year. Amazing. CARLTON B: Andrew Walker, Michael Jamison, Zach Tuohy HB: Andrejs Everitt, Sam Rowe, Dylan Buckley C: Kade Simpson, Ed Curnow, Dale Thomas HF: David Ellard, Levi Casboult, Bryce Gibbs F: Chris Yarran, Lachie Henderson, Mitch Robinson FOLL: Robert Warnock, Patrick Cripps, Marc Murphy I/C: Andrew Carrazzo, Kane Lucas, Troy Menzel, Heath Scotland EM: Tom Bell, Nick Graham, Matthew Watson IN: Levi Casboult, Patrick Cripps, Kane Lucas, Heath Scotland OUT Tom Bell, Jeff Garlett, Jarrad Waite, Simon White MELBOURNE B: Alex Georgiou, James Frawley, Lynden Dunn HB: Jack Grimes, Tom McDonald, Dean Terlich C: Jack Watts, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross HF: Jordie McKenzie, Cameron Pedersen, Jack Viney F: Jeremy Howe, Chris Dawes, Rohan Bail FOLL: Jake Spencer, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dean Kent, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Michael Evans, Matt Jones EMG: Jack Trengove, Shannon Byrnes, Daniel Nicholson IN: Chris Dawes, Jordie McKenzie OUT: Shannon Byrnes, Jack Fitzpatrick

The Casey Scorpions lowered their colours for the fourth week in a row despite a much improved performance when they went down to the highly fancied Williamstown by 17 points at Casey Fields. The result was disappointing because a win would have entrenched their place in the finals and they now face some nervous moments over the last two home and away rounds before their ultimate fate is determined. Already facing a challenge against the second placed Seagulls, the Scorpions suffered a major blow in the lead up to the game with the loss of skipper Evan Panozza and last minute injuries and illness to senior Demon players which cost them the benefit of two important in form midfielders Rohan Bail and Aidan Riley* who stepped up for AFL duty. The team opened brightly with the first use of the breeze thanks to the dominance of Jake Fitzpatrick who had two goals from three shots at goal in the opening four minutes. He managed another by the quarter time break but thanks to a late burst that yielded the visitors two goals, the lead was a mere 10 points. Fitzpatrick was then involved in an incredible solo goal when he ran 70 metres and took three bounces, before putting his team 16 points up at the three minute mark of the second term. However, instead of inspiring the Scorpions, the goal stung the Seagulls into action and they booted five goals to none for the rest of the first half. To make matters worse, Casey's best two players - Fitzpatrick (blood-sugar level issues) and Jimmy Toumpas (concussion) failed to take the field after half time. Casey struggled early in the third term but came back strongly late in the quarter and managed to grab the lead early in the fourth when Nathan Page kicked goal number three and stretched that to seven points with Mark Jamar's goal. However, the strain of playing catch-up with the limitations of reduced rotations took its toll and the Seagulls powered home to a 17 point win. Youngsters Mitch White and Billy Stretch were adjudged Casey's best. The result left Casey with a one game lead over ninth placed Coburg who they meet away from home next week. With two games to go before the finals, the outcome will most probably determine which of the team's makes the top eight. * Riley was held back as the emergency for Sunday's game. 2015 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 4.5.29 5.5.35 9.7.61 12.7.79 Williamstown 3.1.19 8.6.54 10.6.66 14.12.96 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick 4 Page 3 Hunt Jamar Lovett Pattison Stretch Williamstown Dunell 5 Anastasio Critchley Gallucci 2 Banner Carr Wheeler Best Casey Scorpions White Stretch Jamar Terlich Page Muir Williamstown Jolley Dunell Banner Meese Sing Carr Statistics Jack Fitzpatrick 4 goals 1 behind 6 disposals 5 kicks 1 handballs 2 marks 1 tackles 53 dream team points [played only first half due to injury] Jayden Hunt 1 goal 7 disposals 5 kicks 2 handballs 1 marks 1 tackles 32 dream team points Mark Jamar 1 goal disposals 4 kicks 3 handballs 2 marks 6 tackles 41 hit outs 93 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 18 disposals 13 kicks 5 handballs 1 mark 6 tackles 68 dream team points Oscar McDonald 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 58 dream team points Jordie McKenzie 25 disposals 14 kicks 11 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 103 dream team points Ben Newton 1 behind 24 disposals 11 kicks 13 handballs 2 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 73 dream team points Jake Spencer 15 disposals 5 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 1 tackle 38 hit outs 94 dream team points Billy Stretch 1 goal 19 disposals 13 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 87 dream team points Dean Terlich 18 disposals 13 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 72 dream team points Jimmy Toumpas 16 disposals 10 kicks 6 handballs 1 mark 7 tackles 1 hit out 74 dream team points [played only first half due to injury] Mitch White disposals 9 kicks 9 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points The Development League team recorded a great 58 point win which should shore up its position in the finals. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 4.5.29 7.10.52 9.11.65 14.13.97 Williamstown 0.3.3 0.3.3 4.6.30 5.9.39 Goals Casey Scorpions Anderson 5 Fisscher Rennie Wyatt 2 Hillard Smith K Wilson Williamstown Casley 2 Di Ciero McKenzie Myers Best Casey Scorpions Corrigan Hillard Rutherford Anderson Gains Walmsley

CASEY ALL AT SEA by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions lowered their colours for the fourth week in a row despite a much improved performance when they went down to the highly fancied Williamstown by 17 points at Casey Fields. The result was disappointing because a win would have entrenched their place in the finals and they now face some nervous moments over the last two home and away rounds before their ultimate fate is determined. Already facing a challenge against the second placed Seagulls, the Scorpions suffered a major blow in the lead up to the game with the loss of skipper Evan Panozza and last minute injuries and illness to senior Demon players which cost them the benefit of two important in form midfielders Rohan Bail and Aidan Riley* who stepped up for AFL duty. The team opened brightly with the first use of the breeze thanks to the dominance of Jake Fitzpatrick who had two goals from three shots at goal in the opening four minutes. He managed another by the quarter time break but thanks to a late burst that yielded the visitors two goals, the lead was a mere 10 points. Fitzpatrick was then involved in an incredible solo goal when he ran 70 metres and took three bounces, before putting his team 16 points up at the three minute mark of the second term. However, instead of inspiring the Scorpions, the goal stung the Seagulls into action and they booted five goals to none for the rest of the first half. To make matters worse, Casey's best two players - Fitzpatrick (blood-sugar level issues) and Jimmy Toumpas (concussion) failed to take the field after half time. Casey struggled early in the third term but came back strongly late in the quarter and managed to grab the lead early in the fourth when Nathan Page kicked goal number three and stretched that to seven points with Mark Jamar's goal. However, the strain of playing catch-up with the limitations of reduced rotations took its toll and the Seagulls powered home to a 17 point win. Youngsters Mitch White and Billy Stretch were adjudged Casey's best. The result left Casey with a one game lead over ninth placed Coburg who they meet away from home next week. With two games to go before the finals, the outcome will most probably determine which of the team's makes the top eight. * Riley was held back as the emergency for Sunday's game. 2015 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 4.5.29 5.5.35 9.7.61 12.7.79 Williamstown 3.1.19 8.6.54 10.6.66 14.12.96 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick 4 Page 3 Hunt Jamar Lovett Pattison Stretch Williamstown Dunell 5 Anastasio Critchley Gallucci 2 Banner Carr Wheeler Best Casey Scorpions White Stretch Jamar Terlich Page Muir Williamstown Jolley Dunell Banner Meese Sing Carr Statistics Jack Fitzpatrick 4 goals 1 behind 6 disposals 5 kicks 1 handballs 2 marks 1 tackles 53 dream team points [played only first half due to injury] Jayden Hunt 1 goal 7 disposals 5 kicks 2 handballs 1 marks 1 tackles 32 dream team points Mark Jamar 1 goal disposals 4 kicks 3 handballs 2 marks 6 tackles 41 hit outs 93 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 18 disposals 13 kicks 5 handballs 1 mark 6 tackles 68 dream team points Oscar McDonald 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 58 dream team points Jordie McKenzie 25 disposals 14 kicks 11 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 103 dream team points Ben Newton 1 behind 24 disposals 11 kicks 13 handballs 2 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 73 dream team points Jake Spencer 15 disposals 5 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 1 tackle 38 hit outs 94 dream team points Billy Stretch 1 goal 19 disposals 13 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 87 dream team points Dean Terlich 18 disposals 13 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 72 dream team points Jimmy Toumpas 16 disposals 10 kicks 6 handballs 1 mark 7 tackles 1 hit out 74 dream team points [played only first half due to injury] Mitch White disposals 9 kicks 9 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points The Development League team recorded a great 58 point win which should shore up its position in the finals. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 4.5.29 7.10.52 9.11.65 14.13.97 Williamstown 0.3.3 0.3.3 4.6.30 5.9.39 Goals Casey Scorpions Anderson 5 Fisscher Rennie Wyatt 2 Hillard Smith K Wilson Williamstown Casley 2 Di Ciero McKenzie Myers Best Casey Scorpions Corrigan Hillard Rutherford Anderson Gains Walmsley

You do realise that I have the power to ban people indiscriminately?

At least the competition's close this year ... 130. Bernie Vince 121. Jesse Hogan 120. Tom McDonald 118. Nathan Jones 106. Jack Viney 81. Max Gawn 65. Daniel Cross 53. Angus Brayshaw 52. Jeffrey Garlett 44. Colin Garland Aaron vandenBerg 38. Jack Watts 30. Christian Salem 28. Cam Pedersen 22. Jack Grimes Neville Jetta 19. Jimmy Toumpas 18. Chris Dawes 17. Lynden Dunn 15. Jeremy Howe Dom Tyson 5. Viv Michie 4. James Harmes Mark Jamar Heritier Lubumba Ben Newton 2. Matt Jones Jake Spencer 1. Alex Neal-Bullen

The Melbourne side that turned up against Footscray at Etihad stadium was simply turned into dog food. by the Bulldogs as they cruised to a near 100 point victory. But dog food was what was served up to the Melbourne fans, yet again, as they witnessed the Bullies kick 8 goals in the first quarter to a miserable 2 points followed by 6 goals in the second, and then to finally concede 10 goals in the last quarter!! If it wasn't for Footscray having a little sleep in the 3rd quarter, a score line similar to the 186 game was threatening. It was bad enough that Melbourne had to bring in VFL standard players like Rohan Bail, Viv Michie and Matt Jones, who didn’t let the sceptics down as they dished up turnover after turnover to the opposition but they were ably assisted by Jack Watts and Jeremy Howe with their usual half-hearted efforts, giving the Bulldogs opportunities that should simply never have been open to them. If anyone thinks either player should be at the club next year, then take a quick look at the highlights reel, because neither will feature (again!). This is Watt’s 7thyear and Howe’s 5th. They wouldn’t be given the latitude and luxury at other clubs. It is about time that time was called. When you have a series of players who can’t play at AFL level and another couple who don’t want to play at that level, then the 100 point loss is inevitable. The recruiting team will have an easy job at the end of the year (yet again) ditching and trading out these types. The game played by Melbourne was simply disgraceful! The toughness, tenacity and skills displayed by the Women’s team before the main event was such a sharp contrast. All over the ground the girls were prepared to run and to put their bodies on the line when called upon. Likewise the Bulldogs men were simply prepared to run, run and then run some more. Time and time again they broke the lines with the Melbourne players barely getting a jog up behind them. They would have blown the game well away with these efforts alone, but with the clangers we gifted them ... it simply provided icing on the cake. Eleven of their players racked up 20 disposals or more. Our team could only muster five. But it was just as much about the type of disposals. Short dinky kicks or handpasses to put teammates under pressure shouldn’t count. Few were able to hold their heads up … Jesse Hogan fought and produced the results we have now come to expect from this talented 20 year old. He was even moved to the mid-field to provide some sort of impact, and he did exactly that. Pity we don’t have another 20 of him to put on the ground. Tom McDonald played everywhere as well, trying to produce something to spark the side. He played forward, back and pinch hit in the ruck when Max Gawn needed a rest. He certainly won a fair share of the ruck contests and probably wrote himself a future role over Chris Dawes who simply is incapable in rucking contests (the Bulldogs kicked four goals in the last quarter from clearances while he was rucking). Jack Viney was in everything again, but was operating almost as a lone hand in the middle. And he keeps fighting right up to the end. Angus Brayshaw is another tough and hard fighter, but he is tiring as can only be expected toward the end of his first year. Alex Neal-Bullen is showing something upon which we can build, and so is James Harmes as they pick up the pace of AFL. Yes, we were dog food today. Dog food for the Bulldogs and dog food in quality. Dog food was served up for the fans again ... what could possibly be in store for us next week against the lowly Blues? Melbourne 0.2.2 2.4.16 7.7.49 8.7.55 Western Bulldogs 8.3.51 14.5.89 14.7.91 24.9.153 Goals Melbourne Hogan 3 Garlett 2 Dawes Gawn Watts Western Bulldogs Stringer 4 Bontempelli Dickson Grant 3 Crameri Jong Redpath 2 Biggs Dahlhaus Hunter Macrae Wallis Best Melbourne McDonald Viney Hogan Gawn Western Bulldogs Dahlhaus, Wallis, Boyd, Grant, Stringer, Hunter, Macrae, Murphy Changes Melbourne Matt Jones replaced Christian Salem (ill) in the selected side Western Bulldogs Nil Injuries Melbourne Neville Jetta (neck) Western Bulldogs Nil Substitutes Melbourne Jack Grimes replaced Neville Jetta (neck) at half-time Western Bulldogs Caleb Daniel replaced Sam Darley at three-quarter time Reports Melbourne Nil Western Bulldogs Nil Umpires Pannell, Mitchell, Wallace Official crowd 27,805 at Etihad Stadium

That game cost me 10 Euros to watch live at 7:20am in France. You're welcome AFL. I hope the Dees get a cut of that. The kids will have to make a choice between escargot and frogs legs tonight.

It's over

DOG FOOD by George on The Outer The Melbourne side that turned up against Footscray at Etihad stadium was simply turned into dog food. by the Bulldogs as they cruised to a near 100 point victory. But dog food was what was served up to the Melbourne fans, yet again, as they witnessed the Bullies kick 8 goals in the first quarter to a miserable 2 points followed by 6 goals in the second, and then to finally concede 10 goals in the last quarter!! If it wasn't for Footscray having a little sleep in the 3rd quarter, a score line similar to the 186 game was threatening. It was bad enough that Melbourne had to bring in VFL standard players like Rohan Bail, Viv Michie and Matt Jones, who didn’t let the sceptics down as they dished up turnover after turnover to the opposition but they were ably assisted by Jack Watts and Jeremy Howe with their usual half-hearted efforts, giving the Bulldogs opportunities that should simply never have been open to them. If anyone thinks either player should be at the club next year, then take a quick look at the highlights reel, because neither will feature (again!). This is Watt’s 7thyear and Howe’s 5th. They wouldn’t be given the latitude and luxury at other clubs. It is about time that time was called. When you have a series of players who can’t play at AFL level and another couple who don’t want to play at that level, then the 100 point loss is inevitable. The recruiting team will have an easy job at the end of the year (yet again) ditching and trading out these types. The game played by Melbourne was simply disgraceful! The toughness, tenacity and skills displayed by the Women’s team before the main event was such a sharp contrast. All over the ground the girls were prepared to run and to put their bodies on the line when called upon. Likewise the Bulldogs men were simply prepared to run, run and then run some more. Time and time again they broke the lines with the Melbourne players barely getting a jog up behind them. They would have blown the game well away with these efforts alone, but with the clangers we gifted them ... it simply provided icing on the cake. Eleven of their players racked up 20 disposals or more. Our team could only muster five. But it was just as much about the type of disposals. Short dinky kicks or handpasses to put teammates under pressure shouldn’t count. Few were able to hold their heads up … Jesse Hogan fought and produced the results we have now come to expect from this talented 20 year old. He was even moved to the mid-field to provide some sort of impact, and he did exactly that. Pity we don’t have another 20 of him to put on the ground. Tom McDonald played everywhere as well, trying to produce something to spark the side. He played forward, back and pinch hit in the ruck when Max Gawn needed a rest. He certainly won a fair share of the ruck contests and probably wrote himself a future role over Chris Dawes who simply is incapable in rucking contests (the Bulldogs kicked four goals in the last quarter from clearances while he was rucking). Jack Viney was in everything again, but was operating almost as a lone hand in the middle. And he keeps fighting right up to the end. Angus Brayshaw is another tough and hard fighter, but he is tiring as can only be expected toward the end of his first year. Alex Neal-Bullen is showing something upon which we can build, and so is James Harmes as they pick up the pace of AFL. Yes, we were dog food today. Dog food for the Bulldogs and dog food in quality. Dog food was served up for the fans again ... what could possibly be in store for us next week against the lowly Blues? Melbourne 0.2.2 2.4.16 7.7.49 8.7.55 Western Bulldogs 8.3.51 14.5.89 14.7.91 24.9.153 Goals Melbourne Hogan 3 Garlett 2 Dawes Gawn Watts Western Bulldogs Stringer 4 Bontempelli Dickson Grant 3 Crameri Jong Redpath 2 Biggs Dahlhaus Hunter Macrae Wallis Best Melbourne McDonald Viney Hogan Gawn Western Bulldogs Dahlhaus, Wallis, Boyd, Grant, Stringer, Hunter, Macrae, Murphy Changes Melbourne Matt Jones replaced Christian Salem (ill) in the selected side Western Bulldogs Nil Injuries Melbourne Neville Jetta (neck) Western Bulldogs Nil Substitutes Melbourne Jack Grimes replaced Neville Jetta (neck) at half-time Western Bulldogs Caleb Daniel replaced Sam Darley at three-quarter time Reports Melbourne Nil Western Bulldogs Nil Umpires Pannell, Mitchell, Wallace Official crowd 27,805 at Etihad Stadium

And your votes please ... after the siren

History says that Melbourne has no chance whatsoever of beating the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening. This is despite the fact that when the two clubs locked horns about 12 weeks ago, the Demons had an emphatic 39 point win. However, that result came at the end of the Doggies' three game losing streak - their lowest ebb for the year to date - and the landscape has changed dramatically since then. In fact, the Western Bulldogs have rewritten their history in that short space of time. Today it's unanimous among most pundits that the Dishlickers under Luke Beveridge are the feel good story of the season having recently pushed aside the Tigers from that mantle before sneaking ahead of the Swans to snatch a place in the top four. There's also the matter of the venue for this meeting. The Westen Bulldogs have a sensational record against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium with eight wins from nine games while the place is a "bogey" ground for the Demons whose only win over the Dogs there was in in round 19, 2007 - a game that marks the historic (or should I say prehistoric?) occasion of their last win at the Docklands. Since then, Melbourne has been involved in the AFL's biggest venue hoodoo losing 21 games in a row at Etihad. Their last trip there would still be causing them nightmares after conceding a hard fought lead in the last twenty seconds against St. Kilda to go down in embarrassing fashion by 2 points. What this means is that a Demon win will not only defy history; it will be a major upset and in order to achieve that, it will require a supreme effort from the team leaders and the younger brigade like Jesse Hogan, James Brayshaw and up and comers in Max Gawn and Jack Viney. And even then ... THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday 16 August 2015 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Western Bulldogs 74 wins Melbourne 85 wins 1 draw At Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 8 wins Melbourne 6 wins Last Five Meetings: Western Bulldogs 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches: Beveridge 0 wins Roos 1 win MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Sports 3 @ 3.00pm (live) Radio - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Western Bulldogs $1.22 to win Melbourne $4.25 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.13.103 defeated Western Bulldogs 9.10.64 at the MCG in Round 8, 2015 After a slow start the Demons took control and made a statement to the rest of the football world that they wouldn't be pushed around any more. They led at every change to win by 39 points with key positions Jesse Hogan and Cam Pedersen kicking three goals each. THE TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Dale Morris, Michael Talia, Matthew Boyd HB: Robert Murphy, Joel Hamling, Easton Wood C: Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Shane Biggs HF: Luke Dahlhaus, Tory Dickson, Stewart Crameri F: Lachie Hunter, Jack Redpath, Jake Stringer FOLL: Tom Campbell, Mitch Wallis, Liam Picken I/C: Caleb Daniel, Sam Darley, Jarrad Grant, Lin Jong EMG: Tom Boyd, Daniel Pearce, Josh Prudden IN: Robert Murphy OUT: Bailey Dale (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Jack Grimes, Angus Brayshaw, Heritier Lumumba HF: Matt Jones, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Rohan Bail, James Harmes, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Salem EMG: Mark Jamar, Aidan Riley, Billy Stretch IN: Rohan Bail OUT: Dom Tyson (hamstring) One of these sides is fighting for a top four spot while the other is firmly entrenched in the bottom six but their immediate fate and the outcome of this game might well be determined by a couple of key forwards who have taken their time to establish places in their respective teams and have had very different pathways into the AFL. Melbourne's Jesse Hogan was drafted by the Demons as a 17 year old from Western Australia in October 2012 when he was taken as a pre-listed selection in the AFL's mini draft. We had a glimpse of him in the 2013 NAB Cup but he could not play AFL for Melbourne in his first season and he spent the year playing with the Casey Scorpions where he won that club's best and fairest and kicked 39 goals in 15 games. A knee injury late against Bendigo late in the year put a premature end to his season (he missed the VFL finals) but worse was to come when he injured his back in a 2014 pre season game which ruled him out for all but one game with the Casey Scorpions. He finally made his AFL debut in this year's season opener on 4 April 2015 against the Gold Coast kicking two goals and taking seven marks. His goal tally is now up to 36; he leads the competition in contested marks and is favourite for the AFL Rising Star. He already has a bag of five goals against St. Kilda at Etihad and last week, he booted four goals and was his team's best in their defeat at the hands of North Melbourne. The Bulldogs' Jack Redpath (194cm, 104kg) from Kyneton was selected with pick 62 in the 2012 Rookie Draft. The tall forward was already 21 years of age when drafted and like Hogan made his preseason debut in the first round of the 2013 NAB Cup. However, he spent two seasons in the VFL with Williamstown and then most of last year with Footscray before making his AFL debut in Round 16 of 2014. He was the Bulldogs' leading goal kicker in their VFL premiership team and is now beginning to establish himself at full forward ahead of high priced young recruit Tom Boyd from the Giants. His career games total is 10 and he has kicked a modest total of 12 goals but against Port Adelaide last week he kicked four goals. Although not directly opposed to each other, if one of these power forwards can fire and boot a bag of goals, his team's winning chances will soar. The same can be said of the ruck duels. The Demon midfield is improving steadily and the Doggies on ball division has also come on in leaps and bounds under the tutelage of coach Luke Beveridge. The ruck is where I expect Melbourne to press home the advantage of an in form 208cm Max Gawn who is one of the top four ruckmen in the competition in terms of hit outs and contested marks and who was an emergency when these teams last met. Newly re-signed on a three year contract, Gawn has been a revelation since he broke into the side in mid season after a heartbreaking run with injuries. He keeps getting better and if he's on song this week against the Western Bulldogs, we could see Melbourne rewrite some more of its history and break yet another hoodoo in 2015.

HISTORY TALKS ... by The Oracle History says that Melbourne has no chance whatsoever of beating the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening. This is despite the fact that when the two clubs locked horns about 12 weeks ago, the Demons had an emphatic 39 point win. However, that result came at the end of the Doggies' three game losing streak - their lowest ebb for the year to date - and the landscape has changed dramatically since then. In fact, the Western Bulldogs have rewritten their history in that short space of time. Today it's unanimous among most pundits that the Dishlickers under Luke Beveridge are the feel good story of the season having recently pushed aside the Tigers from that mantle before sneaking ahead of the Swans to snatch a place in the top four. There's also the matter of the venue for this meeting. The Westen Bulldogs have a sensational record against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium with eight wins from nine games while the place is a "bogey" ground for the Demons whose only win over the Dogs there was in in round 19, 2007 - a game that marks the historic (or should I say prehistoric?) occasion of their last win at the Docklands. Since then, Melbourne has been involved in the AFL's biggest venue hoodoo losing 21 games in a row at Etihad. Their last trip there would still be causing them nightmares after conceding a hard fought lead in the last twenty seconds against St. Kilda to go down in embarrassing fashion by 2 points. What this means is that a Demon win will not only defy history; it will be a major upset and in order to achieve that, it will require a supreme effort from the team leaders and the younger brigade like Jesse Hogan, James Brayshaw and up and comers in Max Gawn and Jack Viney. And even then ... THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday 16 August 2015 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Western Bulldogs 74 wins Melbourne 85 wins 1 draw At Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 8 wins Melbourne 6 wins Last Five Meetings: Western Bulldogs 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches: Beveridge 0 wins Roos 1 win MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Sports 3 @ 3.00pm (live) Radio - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Western Bulldogs $1.22 to win Melbourne $4.25 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.13.103 defeated Western Bulldogs 9.10.64 at the MCG in Round 8, 2015 After a slow start the Demons took control and made a statement to the rest of the football world that they wouldn't be pushed around any more. They led at every change to win by 39 points with key positions Jesse Hogan and Cam Pedersen kicking three goals each. TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Dale Morris, Michael Talia, Matthew Boyd HB: Robert Murphy, Joel Hamling, Easton Wood C: Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Shane Biggs HF: Luke Dahlhaus, Tory Dickson, Stewart Crameri F: Lachie Hunter, Jack Redpath, Jake Stringer FOLL: Tom Campbell, Mitch Wallis, Liam Picken I/C: Caleb Daniel, Sam Darley, Jarrad Grant, Lin Jong EMG: Tom Boyd, Daniel Pearce, Josh Prudden IN: Robert Murphy OUT: Bailey Dale (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Jack Grimes, Angus Brayshaw, Heritier Lumumba HF: Matt Jones, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Rohan Bail, James Harmes, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Salem EMG: Mark Jamar, Aidan Riley, Billy Stretch IN: Rohan Bail OUT: Dom Tyson (hamstring) One of these sides is fighting for a top four spot while the other is firmly entrenched in the bottom six but their immediate fate and the outcome of this game might well be determined by a couple of key forwards who have taken their time to establish places in their respective teams and have had very different pathways into the AFL. Melbourne's Jesse Hogan was drafted by the Demons as a 17 year old from Western Australia in October 2012 when he was taken as a pre-listed selection in the AFL's mini draft. We had a glimpse of him in the 2013 NAB Cup but he could not play AFL for Melbourne in his first season and he spent the year playing with the Casey Scorpions where he won that club's best and fairest and kicked 39 goals in 15 games. A knee injury late against Bendigo late in the year put a premature end to his season (he missed the VFL finals) but worse was to come when he injured his back in a 2014 pre season game which ruled him out for all but one game with the Casey Scorpions. He finally made his AFL debut in this year's season opener on 4 April 2015 against the Gold Coast kicking two goals and taking seven marks. His goal tally is now up to 36; he leads the competition in contested marks and is favourite for the AFL Rising Star. He already has a bag of five goals against St. Kilda at Etihad and last week, he booted four goals and was his team's best in their defeat at the hands of North Melbourne. The Bulldogs' Jack Redpath (194cm, 104kg) from Kyneton was selected with pick 62 in the 2012 Rookie Draft. The tall forward was already 21 years of age when drafted and like Hogan made his preseason debut in the first round of the 2013 NAB Cup. However, he spent two seasons in the VFL with Williamstown and then most of last year with Footscray before making his AFL debut in Round 16 of 2014. He was the Bulldogs' leading goal kicker in their VFL premiership team and is now beginning to establish himself at full forward ahead of high priced young recruit Tom Boyd from the Giants. His career games total is 10 and he has kicked a modest total of 12 goals but against Port Adelaide last week he kicked four goals. Although not directly opposed to each other, if one of these power forwards can fire and boot a bag of goals, his team's winning chances will soar. The same can be said of the ruck duels. The Demon midfield is improving steadily and the Doggies on ball division has also come on in leaps and bounds under the tutelage of coach Luke Beveridge. The ruck is where I expect Melbourne to press home the advantage of an in form 208cm Max Gawn who is one of the top four ruckmen in the competition in terms of hit outs and contested marks and who was an emergency when these teams last met. Newly re-signed on a three year contract, Gawn has been a revelation since he broke into the side in mid season after a heartbreaking run with injuries. He keeps getting better and if he's on song this week against the Western Bulldogs, we could see Melbourne rewrite some more of its history and break yet another hoodoo in 2015.

Given that the Doggies are now in the top four, this game stands as one of the club's most significant wins in recent times. Doing it again in the same season and at Etihad Stadium would really be something! MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Tom McDonald, Jack Grimes HB: Jeremy Howe, Lynden Dunn, Heritier Lumumba C: Daniel Cross, Aaron vandenBerg, Matt Jones HF: Angus Brayshaw, Cameron Pedersen, Jack Watts F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Fitzpatrick FOLL: Jake Spencer, Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince I/C: Rohan Bail, Ben Newton, Aidan Riley, Jimmy Toumpas EMG: Max Gawn, Viv Michie, Billy Stretch IN: Jack Fitzpatrick, Jesse Hogan, Ben Newton, Aidan Riley, Jack Watts OUT: Chris Dawes (calf), Viv Michie, Christian Salem (hamstring), Billy Stretch, Dom Tyson (knee) WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Matthew Boyd, Jordan Roughead, Easton Wood HB: Robert Murphy, Fletcher Roberts, Jason Johannisen C: Tory Dickson, Liam Picken, Koby Stevens HF: Bailey Dale, Jake Stringer, Mitch Wallis F: Stewart Crameri, Tom Boyd, Luke Dahlhaus FOLL: Ayce Cordy, Lin Jong, Marcus Bontempelli I/C: Shane Biggs, Brett Goodes, Lachie Hunter, Michael Talia EMG: Jarrad Grant Nathan Hrovath Jack Macrae IN: Shane Biggs OUT: Mitch Honeychurch (general soreness) NEW: Shane Biggs

There was a time when a seven goal first quarter haul against the Demons would be enough to spell doom and disaster - a defeat of in excess of ten goals and perhaps more than 100 points. Similarly, if the skipper failed to get his hands on ball for an effective disposal in the first quarter. That is what happened to Melbourne against North Melbourne in their Round 19 game - it simply was not in the contest in the opening term and trailed by 28 points conceding nine scoring shots to one (a goal to Chris Dawes) by time on. Viv Michie then missed everything from 35 metres out and a lucky 50 metre penalty and goal to Jesse Hogan temporarily provided some respite but by the first break they were staring down the barrel and 34 points in arrears. Little wonder that four years have passed since Melbourne won consecutive games of football or that it holds the AFL's current longest losing streak against another club, namely 14 on end to the Shinboners! From the opening, the Demons struggled to hold the little men of the opposition - Lindsay Thomas kicked the first and the last goal of the quarter and scored five for the day which was virtually the difference between the teams in the end, Robin Nahas seemingly revived his career for the nth time against Melbourne and Boomer was Boomer. What the Demons did next only partly atoned for their weak opening but they, at least showed a capacity to fight back and if the rumours of an illness having swept the club during the week went true and provided a genuine excuse for that weakness, then the comeback was even more meritorious. Max Gawn came back from a bit of an early spanking at the hands of the AFL's leading ruckman to provide an interesting match up and Dom Tyson produced his best game after a stellar 2014 but a lacklustre 2015 season to date. Jack Viney underlined his improvement beyond expectations and these contributions were invaluable at a time when the club's prime midfield movers in Nathan Jones and Bernie Vince were well down on their recent form. Then of course, the two key forwards hit the target and thanks to Chris Dawes playing his best for the season and Jesse Hogan continuing his pathway to the top as a power forward (he's not there yet but how many 20 year olds in their first year can boast such impressive KPI's?), the game turned. By half time, they were three goals down and at various times in the third quarter the margin was only two points but they could never get in front and that goal on the siren to Brown which gave North a 10 point lead really hurt. However, the thing that hurts a team really badly are the brain fades like the kick off by Jack Watts who is having his best season to date that hit an opponent or the dropped mark by Jeff Garlett only 35 metres out from goal. Those costly errors at crucial times can kill you and their likes did exactly that. The great fightback was cruelled by costly errors and the Roos needed only a few minutes in the final stanza to put the Demons to the sword and effectively snuff out the fightback. The end result - a 35 point defeat - was disappointing but will be far worse if the team fails to learn the lesson of a slow start and those lapses of concentration that can turn momentum of a game. Melbourne 2.0.12 6.4.40 11.6.72 14.8.92 North Melbourne 7.4.46 9.4.58 12.10.82 19.13.127 Goals Melbourne Hogan 4 Dawes 3 Brayshaw Gawn Garlett N Jones Neal-Bullen J Viney J Watts North Melbourne Thomas 5 Waite 3 Brown Harvey Higgins Nahas 2 Cunnington Jacobs Petrie Best Melbourne Hogan Dawes Viney Tyson Cross T McDonald North Melbourne Higgins Goldstein Cunnington Thomas Jacobs Waite Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Howe (ankle) North Melbourne Brown (corked calf) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Substitutions Melbourne North Melbourne Umpires Shane McInerney Andrew Stephens Leigh Fisher Official Crowd 30,695 at MCG

The Casey Scorpions had a horror game against the Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill City Oval going down by 74 points in demoralising fashion. The Scorpions were hit hard by the withdrawal through illness of in form defender Jack Fitzpatrick but still came into the game like their opponents with 13 AFL listed players. However, you wouldn't be able to tell that by the way the game unfolded. There was an ill wind blowing across City Oval as the game opened under cloudy skies and on sodden turf and, apart from the opening half of the first quarter when early goals came to Nathan Page and Jordan Moncrieff, they were barely in the hunt, trailing by 27 points at half time and meekly allowing the Box Hill lead to blow out with a 10-goal second half. The result was embarrassing for a team that until a week or two ago had top four aspirations. The Scorpions are sorely missing key forwards Tim Smith and Max King and are lacking focus in the forward division. The Hawks' defence was on top throughout and continually repelled every Casey attack. The Scorpions had Mark Jamar and Jake Spencer in ruck but not dominating as usual against the Hawks. The latter played at his best when up forward and managed two goals. Aidan Riley stood out like a beacon among the Scorpion' midfielders, dominating with 35 possessions and five tackles. Rohan Bail kicked a couple and looked good when he was allowed the space to run with the ball but the opportunity was limited with the well drilled Hawks covering all bases. Ben Newton, Jay Kennedy-Harris and Dean Terlich had some good patches while Christian Salem (19 touches) looks not far away from resuming at the higher level. His ball use at times was excellent. An interesting team member was 23rd player Jake Lovett, son of former Demon star and Casey coach Brett. The 18 year-old from the Dandenong Stingrays had an encouraging debut given the team's poor performance. The result leaves the team two games and percentage clear of a long list of contenders with three rounds of VFL competition left to play but desperately needing at least one win. That prospect is not very encouraging in the very near term given their next game is against second-placed Williamstown at home this Saturday afternoon. Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 2.1.13 4.5.29 4.7.31 7.7.49 Box Hill Hawks 4.3.27 8.8.56 14.11.95 18.15.123 Casey Scorpions Goals Casey Scorpions Bail Spencer 2 Byrnes Moncrieff Page Box Hill Hawks Lawlor 4 Grimley 4 O'Brien 2 Lock Anderson Whitecross O'Donnell Pittonet Litherland Exon Gibson Best Casey Scorpions Bail Riley Kielty Byrnes Newton Box Hill Hawks Lawlor Collins Simpkin Heatherley Whitecross Pittonet Statistics Rohan Bail 2 goals 23 disposals 11 kicks 12 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 88 dream team points Jayden Hunt 6 disposals 4 kicks 2 handballs 4 marks 25 dream team points Mark Jamar 15 disposals 14 kicks 1 handball 5 marks 5 tackles 24 hit outs 100 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris - 24 disposals 13 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 82 dream team points Jordie McKenzie - 17 disposals 9 kicks 8 handballs 2 marks 4 tackles 67 dream team points Ben Newton - 15 disposals 11 kicks 4 handballs 1 mark 5 tackles 61 dream team points Aidan Riley - 1 behind 35 disposals 13 kicks 22 handballs 2 marks 5 tackles 114 dream team points Christian Salem - 23 disposals 13 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 90 dream team points Jake Spencer - 2 goals 14 disposals 7 kicks 7 handballs 5 marks 3 tackles 23 hit outs 92 dream team points Billy Stretch - 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 behind - 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points Jimmy Toumpas 6 disposals 2 kicks 4 handballs 1 mark 1 tackle 12 dream team points Mitch White 14 disposals 10 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 1 hit out 67 dream team points The Casey development team came down to earth with a thud going down to ladder-leader Box Hill, going down by 67 points. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 3.4.22 3.6.24 4.10.34 Box Hill Hawks 4.4.28 6.4.40 11.9.75 15.11.101 Casey Scorpions Goals Casey Scorpions Fisscher Muir Rennie Rosier Box Hill Hawks Murphy 3 Franetic Lewis Tobin 2 Kidd Langford Sheridan-Ferrie Summers Traynor Vizzarri Best Casey Scorpions Hannon McDonald Pattison Hillard Walmsley Fisscher Box Hill Hawks Traynor Murphy Bond Langford Evans Switkowski

OUT OF THE BOX by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions had a horror game against the Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill City Oval going down by 74 points in demoralising fashion. The Scorpions were hit hard by the withdrawal through illness of in form defender Jack Fitzpatrick but still came into the game like their opponents with 13 AFL listed players. However, you wouldn't be able to tell that by the way the game unfolded. There was an ill wind blowing across City Oval as the game opened under cloudy skies and on sodden turf and, apart from the opening half of the first quarter when early goals came to Nathan Page and Jordan Moncrieff, they were barely in the hunt, trailing by 27 points at half time and meekly allowing the Box Hill lead to blow out with a 10-goal second half. The result was embarrassing for a team that until a week or two ago had top four aspirations. The Scorpions are sorely missing key forwards Tim Smith and Max King and are lacking focus in the forward division. The Hawks' defence was on top throughout and continually repelled every Casey attack. The Scorpions had Mark Jamar and Jake Spencer in ruck but not dominating as usual against the Hawks. The latter played at his best when up forward and managed two goals. Aidan Riley stood out like a beacon among the Scorpion' midfielders, dominating with 35 possessions and five tackles. Rohan Bail kicked a couple and looked good when he was allowed the space to run with the ball but the opportunity was limited with the well drilled Hawks covering all bases. Ben Newton, Jay Kennedy-Harris and Dean Terlich had some good patches while Christian Salem (19 touches) looks not far away from resuming at the higher level. His ball use at times was excellent. An interesting team member was 23rd player Jake Lovett, son of former Demon star and Casey coach Brett. The 18 year-old from the Dandenong Stingrays had an encouraging debut given the team's poor performance. The result leaves the team two games and percentage clear of a long list of contenders with three rounds of VFL competition left to play but desperately needing at least one win. That prospect is not very encouraging in the very near term given their next game is against second-placed Williamstown at home this Saturday afternoon. Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 2.1.13 4.5.29 4.7.31 7.7.49 Box Hill Hawks 4.3.27 8.8.56 14.11.95 18.15.123 Casey Scorpions Goals Casey Scorpions Bail Spencer 2 Byrnes Moncrieff Page Box Hill Hawks Lawlor 4 Grimley 4 O'Brien 2 Lock Anderson Whitecross O'Donnell Pittonet Litherland Exon Gibson Best Casey Scorpions Bail Riley Kielty Byrnes Newton Box Hill Hawks Lawlor Collins Simpkin Heatherley Whitecross Pittonet Statistics Rohan Bail 2 goals 23 disposals 11 kicks 12 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 88 dream team points Jayden Hunt 6 disposals 4 kicks 2 handballs 4 marks 25 dream team points Mark Jamar 15 disposals 14 kicks 1 handball 5 marks 5 tackles 24 hit outs 100 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris - 24 disposals 13 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 82 dream team points Jordie McKenzie - 17 disposals 9 kicks 8 handballs 2 marks 4 tackles 67 dream team points Ben Newton - 15 disposals 11 kicks 4 handballs 1 mark 5 tackles 61 dream team points Aidan Riley - 1 behind 35 disposals 13 kicks 22 handballs 2 marks 5 tackles 114 dream team points Christian Salem - 23 disposals 13 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 90 dream team points Jake Spencer - 2 goals 14 disposals 7 kicks 7 handballs 5 marks 3 tackles 23 hit outs 92 dream team points Billy Stretch - 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 behind - 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points Jimmy Toumpas 6 disposals 2 kicks 4 handballs 1 mark 1 tackle 12 dream team points Mitch White 14 disposals 10 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 1 hit out 67 dream team points The Casey development team came down to earth with a thud going down to ladder-leader Box Hill, going down by 67 points. AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 3.4.22 3.6.24 4.10.34 Box Hill Hawks 4.4.28 6.4.40 11.9.75 15.11.101 Casey Scorpions Goals Casey Scorpions Fisscher Muir Rennie Rosier Box Hill Hawks Murphy 3 Franetic Lewis Tobin 2 Kidd Langford Sheridan-Ferrie Summers Traynor Vizzarri Best Casey Scorpions Hannon McDonald Pattison Hillard Walmsley Fisscher Box Hill Hawks Traynor Murphy Bond Langford Evans Switkowski

The two leaders had disappointing games against North which allowed Jesse Hogan to sneak back into contention:- 130. Bernie Vince 114. Nathan Jones 112. Jesse Hogan 103. Tom McDonald 92. Jack Viney 81. Max Gawn 65. Daniel Cross 53. Angus Brayshaw 52. Jeffrey Garlett 44. Colin Garland Aaron vandenBerg 30. Christian Salem 28. Cam Pedersen 25. Jack Watts 22. Neville Jetta 21. Jack Grimes 19. Jimmy Toumpas 18. Chris Dawes 17. Lynden Dunn 15. Jeremy Howe Dom Tyson 4. Mark Jamar Heritier Lubumba Viv Michie Ben Newton 2. Matt Jones Jake Spencer 1. Alex Neal-Bullen

Over to the post match discussion ...

Cast those votes please ...

TO THE SWORD by The Oracle There was a time when a seven goal first quarter haul against the Demons would be enough to spell doom and disaster - a defeat of in excess of ten goals and perhaps more than 100 points. Similarly, if the skipper failed to get his hands on ball for an effective disposal in the first quarter. That is what happened to Melbourne against North Melbourne in their Round 19 game - it simply was not in the contest in the opening term and trailed by 28 points conceding nine scoring shots to one (a goal to Chris Dawes) by time on. Viv Michie then missed everything from 35 metres out and a lucky 50 metre penalty and goal to Jesse Hogan temporarily provided some respite but by the first break they were staring down the barrel and 34 points in arrears. Little wonder that four years have passed since Melbourne won consecutive games of football or that it holds the AFL's current longest losing streak against another club, namely 14 on end to the Shinboners! From the opening, the Demons struggled to hold the little men of the opposition - Lindsay Thomas kicked the first and the last goal of the quarter and scored five for the day which was virtually the difference between the teams in the end, Robin Nahas seemingly revived his career for the nth time against Melbourne and Boomer was Boomer. What the Demons did next only partly atoned for their weak opening but they, at least showed a capacity to fight back and if the rumours of an illness having swept the club during the week went true and provided a genuine excuse for that weakness, then the comeback was even more meritorious. Max Gawn came back from a bit of an early spanking at the hands of the AFL's leading ruckman to provide an interesting match up and Dom Tyson produced his best game after a stellar 2014 but a lacklustre 2015 season to date. Jack Viney underlined his improvement beyond expectations and these contributions were invaluable at a time when the club's prime midfield movers in Nathan Jones and Bernie Vince were well down on their recent form. Then of course, the two key forwards hit the target and thanks to Chris Dawes playing his best for the season and Jesse Hogan continuing his pathway to the top as a power forward (he's not there yet but how many 20 year olds in their first year can boast such impressive KPI's?), the game turned. By half time, they were three goals down and at various times in the third quarter the margin was only two points but they could never get in front and that goal on the siren to Brown which gave North a 10 point lead really hurt. However, the thing that hurts a team really badly are the brain fades like the kick off by Jack Watts who is having his best season to date that hit an opponent or the dropped mark by Jeff Garlett only 35 metres out from goal. Those costly errors at crucial times can kill you and their likes did exactly that. The great fightback was cruelled by costly errors and the Roos needed only a few minutes in the final stanza to put the Demons to the sword and effectively snuff out the fightback. The end result - a 35 point defeat - was disappointing but will be far worse if the team fails to learn the lesson of a slow start and those lapses of concentration that can turn momentum of a game. Melbourne 2.0.12 6.4.40 11.6.72 14.8.92 North Melbourne 7.4.46 9.4.58 12.10.82 19.13.127 Goals Melbourne Hogan 4 Dawes 3 Brayshaw Gawn Garlett N Jones Neal-Bullen J Viney J Watts North Melbourne Thomas 5 Waite 3 Brown Harvey Higgins Nahas 2 Cunnington Jacobs Petrie Best Melbourne Hogan Dawes Viney Tyson Cross T McDonald North Melbourne Higgins Goldstein Cunnington Thomas Jacobs Waite Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Howe (ankle) North Melbourne Brown (corked calf) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Substitutions Melbourne North Melbourne Umpires Shane McInerney Andrew Stephens Leigh Fisher Official Crowd 30,695 at MCG

BLOW UP by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions surrendered a 26 point half time lead over the Werribee Tigers and any chance it might have had of a double chance in the VFL finals on a wild and woolly day at Casey Fields. The game was strongly affected by the weather conditions with a stiff breeze blowing down the ground until three quarter time when the heavens opened and brought torrential rain, making scoring well nigh impossible. It could be argued that the gods conspired against the Scorpions because they missed out on the wind advantage in that final term and that this was a significant factor in the 39 point turn around that led to their demise by 13 points. After all, both sides were able to score seven goals when they had their respective turns of kicking with the wind in the second and third quarters. Casey also lost significant scoring power when goal kicking youngster Jayden Hunt withdrew before the game and another goal kicker in tall forward Max King came off with a hamstring injury in the third term, adding to the team's shortage of key forwards with Tim Smith's absence. To make matters worse, Dean Terlich also came off not long after King, leaving the home side with a reduced bench to deal with playing in the difficult conditions that faced them in trying to catch up in the ensuing slog. However, Casey had itself to blame for its parlous circumstances. It dominated the opening 20 minutes, despite kicking into the breeze but managed a mere four behinds to a single goal, then conceded two goals and pulled one back through Tom Muir who reaped the advantage of some good play by King. Jack Fitzpatrick was dominant in defence in the early stages taking several strong marks and outstretching his smaller opponents whilst not giving anything away when the ball hit the ground. The eight point quarter time deficit was reeled in and, with the ruck combination of Jamar and Spencer well on top, a dominant midfield led by Aiden Riley, Ben Newton and Matt Jones and new-found accuracy in front of goal, Casey dominated the second. The tables turned after half time with the Tigers nullifying the ruck advantage but the clock had ticked past seven minutes before the visitors scored their first for the quarter with the now roaring gale behind it. The wind strength at this stage was enormous ahead of the threatening rain and Werribee took full advantage despite a brief fightback when Angus Scott and Newton goaled to restore the lost lead. However, the quarter dragged on until the 36th minute and three late goals gave Werribee an 8 point lead just as the rains came tumbling down. The Scorpions players who has no doubt been expecting the advantage of the wind to help bring them home were suddenly brought down to earth with a thud. They were outplayed by the Werribee small men who ran out the game brilliantly and tackled strongly against an opposition that looked shot and simply went through the motions unable to score more than a single point in the antarctic conditions that smothered the ground. The Scorpions have now lost two vital games on end against opposition similarly placed on the ladder and their season is in danger of coming to a screeching halt. That this has occurred when it has had more AFL listed players at its disposal is worrying with several careers on the line in coming matches as they confront the top three teams in the competition in the run home. 2015 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 1.6.12 8.7.55 10.8.68 10.9.69 Werribee Tigers 3.2.20 4.5.29 11.10.76 12.10.82 Goals Casey Scorpions King Newton 2 Muir Page Salem Scott Terlich Toumpas Werribee Tigers Porter Wood 3 Reid Sodomaco 2 Fordham Harper Best Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Riley Salem White Newton M Jones Werribee Tigers Hanson Daw Porter Brett McMahon Conway Statistics Rohan Bail 17 disposals 12 kicks 5 handballs 2 marks 8 tackles 81 dream team points Jack Fitzpatrick 19 disposals 11 kicks 8 handballs 10 marks 77 dream team points Mark Jamar 1 behind 14 disposals 11 kicks 3 handballs 47 hit outs 84 dream team points Matt Jones 29 disposals 25 kicks 4 handballs 5 marks 13 tackles 145 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 6 disposals 3 kicks 3 handballs 9 tackles 48 dream team points Max King 2 goals 1 behind 6 disposals 5 kicks 1 handball 2 marks 1 tackle 41 dream team points Jordie McKenzie disposals kicks handballs marks tackles dream team points Ben Newton 2 goals 1 behind 21 disposals 14 kicks 7 handballs 1 mark 6 tackles 93 dream team points Aidan Riley 29 disposals 13kicks 16 handballs 2 marks 13 tackles 121 dream team points Christian Salem 1 goal 14 disposals 8 kicks 6 handballs 1 mark 5 tackles 65 dream team points Jake Spencer 12 disposals 6 kicks 6 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 32 hit outs 84 dream team points Dean Terlich 1 goal 9 disposals 7 kicks 2 handballs 1 mark 2 tackles 39 dream team points Jimmy Toumpas 1 goal two behinds 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 79 dream team points Mitch White 18 disposals 12 kicks 6 handballs 3marks 1 tackles 62 dream team points The Development League team made the most of the conditions dominating the first half and coasting to an easy 57 point win. 2015 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 4.3.27 8.7.55 9.10.64 12.15.87 Werribee Tigers 0.5.5 0.6.6 3.6.24 4.6.30 Goals Casey Scorpions Rennie 3 Anderson 2 Fisscher Godfrey Lang Pattison Rosier Thwaites Wyatt Werribee Tigers Kolang 3 Wales Best Casey Scorpions Wilson Pattison Hannon Walmsley Rosier Anderson Werribee Tigers Taylor O'Shea Jawad Wales Robinson

Melbourne and North Melbourne are two teams whose form during the 2015 season is regarded by all and sundry as extremely inconsistent. Their highs and their lows over the year so far have been well documented and fans of both clubs have been heard leaving some of their games muttering the words "inconsistent basterds" as an apt description of the cause of their frustrations. On this basis, one might think it would be a difficult task to select the winner of this week's contest at the MCG and yet the Kangaroos are rightly firm favourites with the pundits to win the match up. The favouritism no doubt stems from the fact that they seem to be finding some consistency at last with wins in their last four matches. But if you look at who they've beaten since their 55-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns on the day of Garry Ablett Junior's comeback game five weeks ago, a different story emerges. They have since beaten Geelong (at a time when the Cats were at their absolute poorest), Essendon, Brisbane and Carlton whilst enjoying the AFL's dream fixture and it's been a while since they've had to fight out a pressure game against one of the competition's power house clubs. Of course, at this stage of the journey Melbourne fans can only dream about winning two games in a row (let alone four) and there's that little matter of North's 13-game winning streak that goes back all the way to late in 2006 when Nathan Jones' career was in its infancy that makes them such firm favourites. When you consider that young Demons like Jesse Hogan, Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes and Alex Neal-Bullen were running around in the Under 11s and 10s when their club last prevailed over this week's opponent, it brings the enormity of the task into perspective. And yet, I have this feeling that the time is ripe for Melbourne to overturn yet another long-running hoodoo. So far this year the club has smashed many of these, starting with the game over the Suns which marked its first opening round win in a decade. On the eve of Anzac Day, it beat Richmond to record its first Friday night win in a long time, Hogan kicked five goals against the Saints (albeit in a losing game) to end several years when the best an individual player had scored in a game was three and the wins against Geelong at Simonds Stadium and last week at Collingwood ended long droughts against those clubs. In the case of those latter victories, they were completely unexpected which is what one expects from inconsistent teams. But if there has been one consistent thing about both clubs this year, it has been the form of their main ruckmen. Todd Goldstein has been great for the Kangaroos all year, is a certain All Australian and has been mentioned as a Brownlow chance. Max Gawn only grabbed the first ruck mantle at Melbourne after half a season at Casey but has been the stand out big man ever since and (pardon the pun) continues to grow in stature. If Maxy can win his battle against Goldstein on Sunday he will consolidate a position among the top three or four ruckmen in the competition and go a long way to putting an end to his club's days as inconsistent basterds. THE GAME Melbourne v North Melbourne on Sunday 9th August, 2015 at MCG at 1.10 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins North Melbourne 77 wins 1 draw At MCG Melbourne 54 wins North Melbourne 35 wins Last five times Melbourne 0 wins North Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches Roos 0 wins Scott 2 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel at 1.00pm (live) RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.60 North Melbourne to win $1.29 LAST TIME THEY MET North Melbourne 19.9.123 defeated Melbourne 14.9.93 at Etihad Stadium in Round 23, 2014 North rested some of their leading lights on the eve of the finals Melbourne the opportunity to stay in the game until the second half when the Roos took control and moved away to win by 5 goals. Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson were the best of the Demons. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Jack Grimes, Dom Tyson, Heritier Lumumba HF: Angus Brayshaw, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C (from): James Harmes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen EMG: Mark Jamar, Ben Newton, Billy Stretch IN: Matt Jones OUT: Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) NORTH MELBOURNE B: Sam Wright, Robbie Tarrant, Lachlan Hansen HB: Nick Dal Santo, Scott Thompson, Ben Jacobs C: Shaun Higgins, Jack Ziebell, Shaun Atley HF: Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Taylor Garner F: Ben Brown, Jarrad Waite, Lindsay Thomas FOLL: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow I/C: Sam Gibson, Luke McDonald, Aaron Mullett, Robin Nahas EMG: Majak Daw, Kayne Turner, Max Warren IN: Lachlan Hansen, Aaron Mullett, Robin Nahas OUT: Ryan Bastinac (omitted), Michael Firrito (suspended), Kayne Turner (omitted) The way things seem to be panning out in the run to the finals, this game is crucial to North's end of year prospects. A defeat in their clash with Melbourne could well prove a disaster for the Kangaroos whose last three games are against teams likely to contest the 2015 finals series. I've already mentioned the ruck contests as being crucial to the outcome but they will also set the scene for an intriguing midfield battle. North has been solid and steady in this area for some time but has lacked brilliance during the long absence of Daniel Wells. A little over twelve months ago this would have been a game decider in favour of North but Nathan Jones has now been joined by Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson and a couple of exciting strong tackling hard youngsters in Jack Viney and Angus Brayshaw and will be no pushovers. With Jack Watts coming of age and a couple of forward targets like Chris Dawes and Jesse Hogan there is every chance that this game will produce an upset. Melbourne by 10 points.

INCONSISTENT BASTERDS by JVM Melbourne and North Melbourne are two teams whose form during the 2015 season is regarded by all and sundry as extremely inconsistent. Their highs and their lows over the year so far have been well documented and fans of both clubs have been heard leaving some of their games muttering the words "inconsistent basterds" as an apt description of the cause of their frustrations. On this basis, one might think it would be a difficult task to select the winner of this week's contest at the MCG and yet the Kangaroos are rightly firm favourites with the pundits to win the match up. The favouritism no doubt stems from the fact that they seem to be finding some consistency at last with wins in their last four matches. But if you look at who they've beaten since their 55-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns on the day of Garry Ablett Junior's comeback game five weeks ago, a different story emerges. They have since beaten Geelong (at a time when the Cats were at their absolute poorest), Essendon, Brisbane and Carlton whilst enjoying the AFL's dream fixture and it's been a while since they've had to fight out a pressure game against one of the competition's power house clubs. Of course, at this stage of the journey Melbourne fans can only dream about winning two games in a row (let alone four) and there's that little matter of North's 13-game winning streak that goes back all the way to late in 2006 when Nathan Jones' career was in its infancy that makes them such firm favourites. When you consider that young Demons like Jesse Hogan, Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes and Alex Neal-Bullen were running around in the Under 11s and 10s when their club last prevailed over this week's opponent, it brings the enormity of the task into perspective. And yet, I have this feeling that the time is ripe for Melbourne to overturn yet another long-running hoodoo. So far this year the club has smashed many of these, starting with the game over the Suns which marked its first opening round win in a decade. On the eve of Anzac Day, it beat Richmond to record its first Friday night win in a long time, Hogan kicked five goals against the Saints (albeit in a losing game) to end several years when the best an individual player had scored in a game was three and the wins against Geelong at Simonds Stadium and last week at Collingwood ended long droughts against those clubs. In the case of those latter victories, they were completely unexpected which is what one expects from inconsistent teams. But if there has been one consistent thing about both clubs this year, it has been the form of their main ruckmen. Todd Goldstein has been great for the Kangaroos all year, is a certain All Australian and has been mentioned as a Brownlow chance. Max Gawn only grabbed the first ruck mantle at Melbourne after half a season at Casey but has been the stand out big man ever since and (pardon the pun) continues to grow in stature. If Maxy can win his battle against Goldstein on Sunday he will consolidate a position among the top three or four ruckmen in the competition and go a long way to putting an end to his club's days as inconsistent basterds. THE GAME Melbourne v North Melbourne on Sunday 9th August, 2015 at MCG at 1.10 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins North Melbourne 77 wins 1 draw At MCG Melbourne 54 wins North Melbourne 35 wins Last five times Melbourne 0 wins North Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches Roos 0 wins Scott 2 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel at 1.00pm (live) RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.60 North Melbourne to win $1.29 LAST TIME THEY MET North Melbourne 19.9.123 defeated Melbourne 14.9.93 at Etihad Stadium in Round 23, 2014 North rested some of their leading lights on the eve of the finals Melbourne the opportunity to stay in the game until the second half when the Roos took control and moved away to win by 5 goals. Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson were the best of the Demons. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Jack Grimes, Dom Tyson, Heritier Lumumba HF: Angus Brayshaw, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C (from): James Harmes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen EMG: Mark Jamar, Ben Newton, Billy Stretch IN: Matt Jones OUT: Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) NORTH MELBOURNE B: Sam Wright, Robbie Tarrant, Lachlan Hansen HB: Nick Dal Santo, Scott Thompson, Ben Jacobs C: Shaun Higgins, Jack Ziebell, Shaun Atley HF: Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Taylor Garner F: Ben Brown, Jarrad Waite, Lindsay Thomas FOLL: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow I/C: Sam Gibson, Luke McDonald, Aaron Mullett, Robin Nahas EMG: Majak Daw, Kayne Turner, Max Warren IN: Lachlan Hansen, Aaron Mullett, Robin Nahas OUT: Ryan Bastinac (omitted), Michael Firrito (suspended), Kayne Turner (omitted) The way things seem to be panning out in the run to the finals, this game is crucial to North's end of year prospects. A defeat in their clash with Melbourne could well prove a disaster for the Kangaroos whose last three games are against teams likely to contest the 2015 finals series. I've already mentioned the ruck contests as being crucial to the outcome but they will also set the scene for an intriguing midfield battle. North has been solid and steady in this area for some time but has lacked brilliance during the long absence of Daniel Wells. A little over twelve months ago this would have been a game decider in favour of North but Nathan Jones has now been joined by Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson and a couple of exciting strong tackling hard youngsters in Jack Viney and Angus Brayshaw and will be no pushovers. With Jack Watts coming of age and a couple of forward targets like Chris Dawes and Jesse Hogan there is every chance that this game will produce an upset. Melbourne by 10 points.