Demonland

THE LOSEST EBB by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions ended their most disappointing season in recent years with a 17-point home ground loss to Coburg on Sunday. The Scorpions, who have been VFL finalists in every season since the inception of the alignment with the Melbourne Football Club but the loss at the hands of stand-alone Coburg left them 15th on the ladder, ahead only of Bendigo which has disbanded now that the season has come to an end. To that extent, the club has reached its lowest ebb. The opening of the game was scrappy and not conducive to scoring. Indeed, it was not until the opening quarter had passed its halfway mark that the Scorpions scored the first goal of the match through Jake Best. However, the momentum shifted late in the term with Coburg booting three goals in time on (including one on the siren) to take a two goal lead into the first break. The Lions looked to be in control early in the term but a change came over the game with another momentum shift brought about by some strong play from midfielders Aidan Riley who was a prolific ball winner and Demon rookie James Harmes. The Scorpions played inspired football kicking five goals on end including two to second gamer 194cm Joe Fisscher from Old Haileybury who finished with three on the day and, when skipper Evan Panozza drifted forward for a goal, Casey suddenly held a 13 point lead. However, Coburg managed to regroup with two goals in the moments before the main break including another goal on the siren which leveled the scores. The third quarter was an arm-wrestle with neither side being able to assert itself. When the siren sounded at three quarter time, the Scorpions had their noses in front by two points. That scenario continued for the first ten minutes of the final term until the visitors broke through with three consecutive goals to hold a 17-point lead late in the term. Fisscher's third goal provided a faint glimmer of hope before a Coburg reply put the result beyond doubt. In the aftermath of the game comes the news that Melbourne and Casey are having talks this week over the future of senior coach Rohan Welsh whose two-year contract has expired. Welsh has had a frustrating year with injury woes affecting the make up of his VFL list and also limiting the availability of AFL listed rucks and key position players. The silver lining is that a number of young locals in Ed Morris, Bryce Rutherford, Angus Scott, Jake Thomas and Fisscher have been given the opportunity to show their wares at senior level. However, the fact that the Scorpions plummeted from finalists to the lowest placed of the ongoing VFL teams in 2015 suggests that there is a lot of work to do in its preparation for the future. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.4.46 9.7.61 10.9.69 Coburg 3.2.20 7.4.46 9.4.58 13.8.86 Goals Casey Scorpions Fisscher 3 Best 2 Blease Harmes McKenzie Panozza Petropoulos Coburg Hill 3 Cooper Uysal 2 Carnell Clark Featherstone Saad Thomas Younan Best Casey Scorpions Riley Harmes Petropoulos Kennedy-Harris Fisscher Georgiou Coburg Venditti Thomas Uysal Saad Featherstone Hartley Statistics Dom Barry 1 behind 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 44 Dream Team Points Sam Blease 1 goal 22 disposals 18 kicks 4 handballs 2 marks 1 tackle 77 Dream Team Points Mitch Clisby 1 behind 18 disposals 8 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 72 Dream Team Points Michael Evans 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 59 Dream Team Points James Harmes 1 goal 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 7 tackles 77 Dream Team Points Alexis Georgiou 12 disposals 8 kicks 4 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 54 Dream Team Points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 25 disposals 15 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 87 Dream Team Points Max King 8 disposals 3 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 15 hit outs 50 Dream Team Points Jordie McKenzie 1 goal 1 behind 27 disposals 12 kicks 15 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 91 Dream Team Points Dan Nicholson 15 disposals 10 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 62 Dream Team Points Aidan Riley 39 disposals 16 kicks 23 handballs 3 marks 10 tackles 142 Dream Team Points James Strauss 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 75 Dream Team Points Luke Tapscott 1 behind 1 disposal 1 kick 1 mark 2 tackles 15 Dream Team Points (injured in first quarter) Dean Terlich 23 disposals 15 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out Dream 92 Team Points Jimmy Toumpas 20 disposals 13 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 82 Dream Team Points After a slow start the Scorpions' development team recorded a runaway five goal victory to avoid the wooden spoon. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 6.4.40 10.6.66 13.10.88 Coburg 3.2.20 6.5.41 7.8.50 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Lang 4 Rennie 3 Anderson Del Papa Murray Russell West Wyatt Coburg Cleary 3 Anderson Bzenic Lindon Ryan Saad Best Casey Scorpions Lang Waters Shiels Jackson Corrigan Drew Coburg Totino Ellard Cleary Robinson Saad Thomas

The Casey Scorpions ended their most disappointing season in recent years with a 17-point home ground loss to Coburg on Sunday. The Scorpions, who have been VFL finalists in every season since the inception of the alignment with the Melbourne Football Club but the loss at the hands of stand-alone Coburg left them 15th on the ladder, ahead only of Bendigo which has disbanded now that the season has come to an end. To that extent, the club has reached its lowest ebb. The opening of the game was scrappy and not conducive to scoring. Indeed, it was not until the opening quarter had passed its halfway mark that the Scorpions scored the first goal of the match through Jake Best. However, the momentum shifted late in the term with Coburg booting three goals in time on (including one on the siren) to take a two goal lead into the first break. The Lions looked to be in control early in the term but a change came over the game with another momentum shift brought about by some strong play from midfielders Aidan Riley who was a prolific ball winner and Demon rookie James Harmes. The Scorpions played inspired football kicking five goals on end including two to second gamer 194cm Joe Fisscher from Old Haileybury who finished with three on the day and, when skipper Evan Panozza drifted forward for a goal, Casey suddenly held a 13 point lead. However, Coburg managed to regroup with two goals in the moments before the main break including another goal on the siren which leveled the scores. The third quarter was an arm-wrestle with neither side being able to assert itself. When the siren sounded at three quarter time, the Scorpions had their noses in front by two points. That scenario continued for the first ten minutes of the final term until the visitors broke through with three consecutive goals to hold a 17-point lead late in the term. Fisscher's third goal provided a faint glimmer of hope before a Coburg reply put the result beyond doubt. In the aftermath of the game comes the news that Melbourne and Casey are having talks this week over the future of senior coach Rohan Welsh whose two-year contract has expired. Welsh has had a frustrating year with injury woes affecting the make up of his VFL list and also limiting the availability of AFL listed rucks and key position players. The silver lining is that a number of young locals in Ed Morris, Bryce Rutherford, Angus Scott, Jake Thomas and Fisscher have been given the opportunity to show their wares at senior level. However, the fact that the Scorpions plummeted from finalists to the lowest placed of the ongoing VFL teams in 2015 suggests that there is a lot of work to do in its preparation for the future. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.4.46 9.7.61 10.9.69 Coburg 3.2.20 7.4.46 9.4.58 13.8.86 Goals Casey Scorpions Fisscher 3 Best 2 Blease Harmes McKenzie Panozza Petropoulos Coburg Hill 3 Cooper Uysal 2 Carnell Clark Featherstone Saad Thomas Younan Best Casey Scorpions Riley Harmes Petropoulos Kennedy-Harris Fisscher Georgiou Coburg Venditti Thomas Uysal Saad Featherstone Hartley Statistics Dom Barry 1 behind 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 44 Dream Team Points Sam Blease 1 goal 22 disposals 18 kicks 4 handballs 2 marks 1 tackle 77 Dream Team Points Mitch Clisby 1 behind 18 disposals 8 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 72 Dream Team Points Michael Evans 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 59 Dream Team Points James Harmes 1 goal 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 7 tackles 77 Dream Team Points Alexis Georgiou 12 disposals 8 kicks 4 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 54 Dream Team Points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 25 disposals 15 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 87 Dream Team Points Max King 8 disposals 3 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 15 hit outs 50 Dream Team Points Jordie McKenzie 1 goal 1 behind 27 disposals 12 kicks 15 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 91 Dream Team Points Dan Nicholson 15 disposals 10 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 62 Dream Team Points Aidan Riley 39 disposals 16 kicks 23 handballs 3 marks 10 tackles 142 Dream Team Points James Strauss 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 75 Dream Team Points Luke Tapscott 1 behind 1 disposal 1 kick 1 mark 2 tackles 15 Dream Team Points (injured in first quarter) Dean Terlich 23 disposals 15 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out Dream 92 Team Points Jimmy Toumpas 20 disposals 13 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 82 Dream Team Points After a slow start the Scorpions' development team recorded a runaway five goal victory to avoid the wooden spoon. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 6.4.40 10.6.66 13.10.88 Coburg 3.2.20 6.5.41 7.8.50 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Lang 4 Rennie 3 Anderson Del Papa Murray Russell West Wyatt Coburg Cleary 3 Anderson Bzenic Lindon Ryan Saad Best Casey Scorpions Lang Waters Shiels Jackson Corrigan Drew Coburg Totino Ellard Cleary Robinson Saad Thomas

I assume there will be a full drug test prior to the game. Too soon?

It was a brief 10 minute or so burst inspired by that little Harvey pest that made the difference. MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Jack Grimes C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross HF: Rohan Bail, James Frawley, Cameron Pedersen F: Dean Kent, Chris Dawes, Jack Watts FOLL: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Matt Jones, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley, Christian Salem EMG: Sam Blease Dan Nicholson Dean Terlich NO CHANGE NORTH MELBOURNE B: Luke McDonald, Scott D Thompson, Lachlan Hansen HB: Shaun Atley, Michael Firrito, Aaron Mullett C: Sam Gibson, Andrew Swallow, Levi Greenwood HF: Nick Dal Santo, Robbie Tarrant, Brent Harvey F: Aaron Black, Drew Petrie, Lindsay Thomas FOLL: Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington I/C: Leigh Adams, Ryan Bastinac, Brad McKenzie, Robin Nahas EMG: Liam Anthony, Ben Brown, Trent Dumont IN: Brad McKenzie OUT: Liam Anthony

I think I may have solved the double posting issue which was occurring if you were writing a post in the Fast Reply box. If whilst you were writing that post another poster made a post a little floating drop down box would appear at the top of the page alerting you to the fact that another post had been written since you last saw the thread and if at this time you posted something the post would not appear to be posted and you would hit post again thereby causing a double post. I changed a setting in the back end and it appears to have fixed this issue. If you are continuing to make double posts then please let me know and let me know what you did that made the double post occur. Thanks.

I'll be in again.

Our correspondent William from West Perth was at the game. Here's his story as told to Whispering Jack You could have been forgiven if you thought that the Melbourne bus had arrived at Patersons Stadium well into the time on period of the first quarter because, by the time the Dees started playing, the Eagles already had a score of 4.1.25. When Melbourne did arrive the team was downright embarrassing. On the long Subiaco ground, they picked their tallest side for the year but they never really gave the big blokes a chance. You would have thought that they might have put in an effort to move the ball quickly in their direction to take full advantage of their height but instead they stumbled and fumbled and persisted in moving the ball sideways until they turned it over or gave away a stupid free kick. With the West Coast Eagles still in the hunt for a finals place and percentage always likely to play a part in deciding their participation, it was unlikely that they were going to take this game easily. They outsmarted the visitors at every turn and were doing so even before the game started. As already mentioned, Melbourne had selected a top heavy side for this ground and that played into West Coast's hands. The decision to omit giant Nick Naitanui with 179cm running defender Adam Carter left another mismatch in favour of the home side that had its run and spread down pat on the night. As a result, they had no trouble dealing with their tired, slow, disjointed and out-of- form opponents. They pulled up in the end content with a 66 point win and a perfect lead up to the final round. What can I say about Melbourne? Well, one thing it did well was that it furthered its case for a priority pick. On that performance, the odds on a favourable decision would have improved. Playing his 150th game, Bernie Vince stood out like a beacon. He kicked the team's first goal late in the opening quarter with a great snap and never stopped working on his way to picking up 34 possessions. Daniel Cross did the job on Matt Priddis and the club's two most reliable players for the season, skipper Nathan Jones and another 2014 newcomer in Dom Tyson worked their butts off as did Rohan Bail. There were unfortunately however, too many who weren't up to it on the night. They played without skill, thought or heart and once again, the match statistics said it all. They had more disposals, won the contested possessions, hit outs, stoppages and were close in the clearances but once again lost by more than 10 goals. What they lacked was the ingredient that makes the game exciting and is the icing on the cake that generates scores these days - plenty of running and spreading and smart play. These things add excitement to a game and enthusiasm to a team which is something the Eagles had plenty of and the Demons had none on the night. Melbourne1.1.7 3.3.21 5.4.34 8.5.53 West Coast 6.1.37 9.5.59 16.9.105 18.11.119 Goals Melbourne Fitzpatrick 2 Bail Dawes Howe Pedersen Tyson Vince West Coast Kennedy LeCras 4 Darling 3 Hill 2 Cripps Gaff Lycett McGinnity Shuey Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Tyson Howe Bail West Coast LeCras Masten Gaff Shuey Hurn Mackenzie Injuries Melbourne Garland (knee) West Coast Hutchings (thigh) Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Nick Naitanui replaced by Adam Carter in the selected side. Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Craig Fleer, Luke Farmer, Matthew Leppard Official Attendance 35,083 at Patersons Stadium

Our correspondent William from West Perth was at the game. Here's his story as told to Whispering Jack OUTSMARTED by William from West Perth You could have been forgiven if you thought that the Melbourne bus had arrived at Patersons Stadium well into the time on period of the first quarter because, by the time the Dees started playing, the Eagles already had a score of 4.1.25. When Melbourne did arrive the team was downright embarrassing. On the long Subiaco ground, they picked their tallest side for the year but they never really gave the big blokes a chance. You would have thought that they might have put in an effort to move the ball quickly in their direction to take full advantage of their height but instead they stumbled and fumbled and persisted in moving the ball sideways until they turned it over or gave away a stupid free kick. With the West Coast Eagles still in the hunt for a finals place and percentage always likely to play a part in deciding their participation, it was unlikely that they were going to take this game easily. They outsmarted the visitors at every turn and were doing so even before the game started. As already mentioned, Melbourne had selected a top heavy side for this ground and that played into West Coast's hands. The decision to omit giant Nick Naitanui with 179cm running defender Adam Carter left another mismatch in favour of the home side that had its run and spread down pat on the night. As a result, they had no trouble dealing with their tired, slow, disjointed and out-of- form opponents. They pulled up in the end content with a 66 point win and a perfect lead up to the final round. What can I say about Melbourne? Well, one thing it did well was that it furthered its case for a priority pick. On that performance, the odds on a favourable decision would have improved. Playing his 150th game, Bernie Vince stood out like a beacon. He kicked the team's first goal late in the opening quarter with a great snap and never stopped working on his way to picking up 34 possessions. Daniel Cross did the job on Matt Priddis and the club's two most reliable players for the season, skipper Nathan Jones and another 2014 newcomer in Dom Tyson worked their butts off as did Rohan Bail. There were unfortunately however, too many who weren't up to it on the night. They played without skill, thought or heart and once again, the match statistics said it all. They had more disposals, won the contested possessions, hit outs, stoppages and were close in the clearances but once again lost by more than 10 goals. What they lacked was the ingredient that makes the game exciting and is the icing on the cake that generates scores these days - plenty of running and spreading and smart play. These things add excitement to a game and enthusiasm to a team which is something the Eagles had plenty of and the Demons had none on the night. Melbourne1.1.7 3.3.21 5.4.34 8.5.53 West Coast 6.1.37 9.5.59 16.9.105 18.11.119 Goals Melbourne Fitzpatrick 2 Bail Dawes Howe Pedersen Tyson Vince West Coast Kennedy LeCras 4 Darling 3 Hill 2 Cripps Gaff Lycett McGinnity Shuey Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Tyson Howe Bail West Coast LeCras Masten Gaff Shuey Hurn Mackenzie Injuries Melbourne Garland (knee) West Coast Hutchings (thigh) Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Nick Naitanui replaced by Adam Carter in the selected side. Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Craig Fleer, Luke Farmer, Matthew Leppard Official Attendance 35,083 at Patersons Stadium

OUTSMARTED by William from West Perth You could have been forgiven if you thought that the Melbourne bus had arrived at Patersons Stadium well into the time on period of the first quarter because, by the time the Dees started playing, the Eagles already had a score of 4.1.25. When Melbourne did arrive the team was downright embarrassing. On the long Subiaco ground, they picked their tallest side for the year but they never really gave the big blokes a chance. You would have thought that they might have put in an effort to move the ball quickly in their direction to take full advantage of their height but instead they stumbled and fumbled and persisted in moving the ball sideways until they turned it over or gave away a stupid free kick. With the West Coast Eagles still in the hunt for a finals place and percentage always likely to play a part in deciding their participation, it was unlikely that they were going to take this game easily. They outsmarted the visitors at every turn and were doing so even before the game started. As already mentioned, Melbourne had selected a top heavy side for this ground and that played into West Coast's hands. The decision to omit giant Nick Naitanui with 179cm running defender Adam Carter left another mismatch in favour of the home side that had its run and spread down pat on the night. As a result, they had no trouble dealing with their tired, slow, disjointed and out-of- form opponents. They pulled up in the end content with a 66 point win and a perfect lead up to the final round. What can I say about Melbourne? Well, one thing it did well was that it furthered its case for a priority pick. On that performance, the odds on a favourable decision would have improved. Playing his 150th game, Bernie Vince stood out like a beacon. He kicked the team's first goal late in the opening quarter with a great snap and never stopped working on his way to picking up 34 possessions. Daniel Cross did the job on Matt Priddis and the club's two most reliable players for the season, skipper Nathan Jones and another 2014 newcomer in Dom Tyson worked their butts off as did Rohan Bail. There were unfortunately however, too many who weren't up to it on the night. They played without skill, thought or heart and once again, the match statistics said it all. They had more disposals, won the contested possessions, hit outs, stoppages and were close in the clearances but once again lost by more than 10 goals. What they lacked was the ingredient that makes the game exciting and is the icing on the cake that generates scores these days - plenty of running and spreading and smart play. These things add excitement to a game and enthusiasm to a team which is something the Eagles had plenty of and the Demons had none on the night. Melbourne1.1.7 3.3.21 5.4.34 8.5.53 West Coast 6.1.37 9.5.59 16.9.105 18.11.119 Goals Melbourne Fitzpatrick 2 Bail Dawes Howe Pedersen Tyson Vince West Coast Kennedy LeCras 4 Darling 3 Hill 2 Cripps Gaff Lycett McGinnity Shuey Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Tyson Howe Bail West Coast LeCras Masten Gaff Shuey Hurn Mackenzie Injuries Melbourne Garland (knee) West Coast Hutchings (thigh) Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Nick Naitanui replaced by Adam Carter in the selected side. Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Craig Fleer, Luke Farmer, Matthew Leppard Official Attendance 35,083 at Patersons Stadium

I heard the siren. That's it!

Please cast your votes and make them count.

Junk time started an hour and a half ago.

It was a little over a month ago that the Melbourne Football Club was just two and a half minutes off recording a remarkable victory over top four aspirant Port Adelaide when it led 10.9.69 to 9.12.66 late in Round 18 match. Victory would have given the Demons their fifth win for the season with two eminently winnable home matches coming up against fellow cellar dwellers in Brisbane and GWS and in between, a tough assignment against ladder leader Hawthorn. Beyond those games stood a then struggling West Coast and a flakey North Melbourne. Who knows how the run home might have panned out if the stars had aligned and the team had moved forward rather than backward from that moment in time 26 minutes into the final term at the Adelaide Oval when a kick launched into the Melbourne forward line by Mark Jamar found an unattended Port Adelaide defender? What we do know is what happened next. The ball went coast to coast through a vacant corridor, was eventually marked by Jay Schulz who threaded it through goal to give the lead to Port. The Demons' last chance to rebound to victory was snuffed out a moment later by an errant pass from Jack Grimes to Dom Tyson which fell out of bounds on the full. The reaction to the club's defeat was generally positive and we went into the bye week buoyed at the prospect of a strong finish to the season. Fast forward to the Brisbane game and five minutes into the final term, Melbourne's defensive style has served it well in a fairly scrappy game. After Rohan Bail's goal it leads by 13 points and when Daniel Merrett is reported for striking Cam Pedersen, the question is asked - are the Lions in disarray? Bernie Vince misses a difficult shot from the boundary and the Demons lead 6.14.50 to a meagre 5.6.36 but Brisbane takes the game on and overruns them doubling their score on the way to a well-deserved 23 point win. Paul Roos reacts savagely citing the club's recent history and poor culture. Melbourne wasn't expected to set the world on fire the following week against Hawthorn but many regarded the 50 point defeat against the ladder leaders and co-favourites for the premiership a comparatively respectable one. Then on to GWS at the MCG last Sunday and, as appalling as they were on the day, they managed to win the contested possessions (125 to 118), hit outs (44 to 28), clearances (34 to 30) and inside 50s (45 to 42). Of course, those figures prove the old adage about lies, damn lies and statistics because the young Giants ran them into the ground despite losing players through injury to the point where they were restricted to virtually one interchange. When the dust settled the young newcomers to the competition had utterly demolished the oldest. Those two home matches against lowly interstate clubs that were expected to see the Demons close in on the end of the season with some confidence-boosting wins to hold them in good stead for the future ended in disaster and a combined losing total of 87 points. This despite a similar number of scoring shots for an incredible score line of 9.31 to 26.16, a testament to the team's inability to convert scoring opportunities into goals. Apart from the odd snigger there was no claim that Melbourne was tanking, one which was afforded widespread currency five years ago when Melbourne lost its Round 18 game against Richmond after the Tigers goaled after the siren. Back then, the Demons were supposed to not be trying to win. After all, they were playing James Frawley in the forward line. Somehow, they still managed to kick 12 goals that day despite having three players injured during the match. Now that Melbourne is actually trying to win its games but can only manage to score three goals against the newest franchise, the football world is up in arms denying it the right available on the AFL's books for draft assistance based on the sins it was supposed to have committed five years ago; back when it kicked a score that's about 35% above its average this season. I have no explanation for this, but the way things are trending, it's quite possible that Melbourne might not even score a goal on Saturday night at Pattersons Stadium against the West Coast Eagles which would even further vindicate the view of some real smart thinkers that it not only does not need but also does not deserve any help at all in its quest to rise above its current deplorable position. THE GAME Melbourne v West Coast v Melbourne at Patersons Stadium Saturday 23 August, 2014 at 7.40 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 30 wins Melbourne 15 wins At Patersons Stadium West Coast 13 wins Melbourne 5 wins Past five years West Coast 5 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Simpson 1 win Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports Channel 3 at 7.30pm RADIO SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING West Coast to win - $1.02 Melbourne to win - $13.00 THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 18.15.123 defeated Melbourne 4.6.30 Round 2, 2014 at the MCG The Eagles had their own way from start to finish in what was an embarrassment for all at the club. THE TEAMS WEST COAST B: Jeremy McGovern, Eric Mackenzie, Jamie Bennell HB: Shannon Hurn, Mitchell Brown, Will Schofield C: Patrick McGinnity, Matt Priddis, Andrew Gaff HF: Jamie Cripps, Josh Kennedy, Chris Masten F: Nic Naitanui, Jack Darling, Josh Hill FOLL: Dean Cox, Mark Hutchings, Luke Shuey I/C: Sam Butler, Mark LeCras, Scott Lycett, Dominic Sheed EMG: Jacob Brennan, Adam Carter, Brant Colledge IN: Mark Le Cras OUT: Simon Tunbridge (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Colin Garland HB: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Matt Jones, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross HF: Bernie Vince, Cameron Pedersen, Jack Watts F: Max Gawn, Chris Dawes, Jack Fitzpatrick FOLL: Mark Jamar Nathan Jones Dom Tyson I/C: Rohan Bail, Dean Kent, Viv Michie, Christian Salem EMG: Dom Barry, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley IN: Rohan Bail, Jack Fitzpatrick, Cameron Pedersen OUT: Dom Barry (omitted), Jack Grimes (hamstring), Aidan Riley (omitted) THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE Speaking on his afternoon radio programme on SEN, former star Demon forward David Schwarz predicted that one Round 22 game will result in a tied result. After all, there have to date been no drawn matches this season and The Ox believes it would be unusual if there was not one such result over a year. Initially, I was skeptical about the idea but given the nature of this season and some of the incredible results that we've been seeing, I decided that idea the might have some credence. The Machiavellian in me decided that the most likely candidate for a Round 22 dead heat is the game between Richmond and St. Kilda. The Tigers have moved from having a disastrous season at 3 - 10 to win seven games in a row, level the win/loss ledger and now find themselves on the cusp of an unlikely finals appearance. It would be just like them to blow that opportunity by tieing a game against the bottom side and securing ninth place for another season. But such a loss would most likely give Melbourne an unwanted wooden spoon and that cannot possibly be allowed to happen. Surely not? At this point I contemplated the almost impossible. Could Melbourne, which was so comprehensively outplayed on the MCG earlier in the season by this week's opponent, turn it all around in the space of only six days and after a long flight west? Could they lift in front of their old coach and long time servant of both clubs Neale Daniher whose physical plight was so sadly highlighted during the week? After all their last interstate jaunt almost produced a stunning victory against Port Adelaide who are currently ripping sides apart in their bid for a top four spot. Then I thought about it a little more and decided to tip the ice bucket on the whole idea. Firstly, the Eagles have been in great form recently and were a bit stiff to lose against the Bombers last week at Etihad. They need to win their two remaining matches and build on their percentage to have a chance of playing in the finals. This remains eminently doable. Secondly, Melbourne would not only have to turn around its abysmal recent form highlighted by poor skills, a lack of pace and weak efforts, all of which usually expose teams out on the long expanse of Patersons Stadium. Finally, the incredible team selection which sees all of those big blokes chosen up forward where the team's current style of play dictates the ball should not be delivered. Last week, we saw 208cm Max Gawn frustrated when players kicked the ball sideways to the boundary instead of in his direction in the goal square. This week, he'll have another tall bloke standing on either side frozen out of the game on that full forward line while others further afield fiddle around with the ball in their usual pedestrian fashion. In other words, hell is freezing over and the Demons are as cold as ice. West Coast should win and win well.