Demonland

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

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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.

ONE GOAL IN MIND by Whispering Jack 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.

Near the top right corner of the page you display name ENYAW will be displayed. Click on the little arrow next to your name and a drop box will drop down with more options. Click on My Settings and it will take you to another page. On the left hand side of that page will be an option called Email and Password. From there you should be able to work it out.

I believe it is only happening when someone else has posted whilst you were writing your post.

Yes. Your donation money at work.

Reported and banned.

It seems to have been happening since we started using a server side solution to fix other issues we were having with the site that was producing a lot of errors and crashes. It seems we fix one thing but then had another issue spring up.

I think this is the culprit for the double posting. When you are doing a fast reply and someone else posts something and you hit POST it hangs and then when you hit POST again it produces the double post. Over to Nasher as that is above my pay grade.

Also for those that are having a Quote issue can I get you to click the Quote button then scroll down to the Fast Reply box at the bottom of the page and see if the quote is in there because that is what it does. It doesn't open a new page or window when you press the quote button.

I might have to get Nasher to look into that one.

Quote working using Mac (10.7.5) and Safari.

Quote working using Mac (10.7.5) and Firefox.

I'm not going to try using IE because you should not be using IE. Use Firefox or Chrome instead.

Quote working using PC (Windows 7) and Firefox.

Quote working using PC (Windows 7) and Chrome.

I've had a poster say that the quote button is not working but I am not able to replicate the issue with the same OS and Browser. Is anyone else having the same issue and could you let me know which Operating System (Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android) and which Browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome) you are using? Also please make sure your browsers are updated to the current version. Any help and info would be appreciated so I can work out what is causing it.

After kicking themselves out of an opening round win against St. Kilda, Melbourne named an unchanged line up for its first home clash of the season. The selectors were obviously supremely confident. MELBOURNE B: Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Alex Georgiou HB: Jack Grimes, Tom McDonald, Dean Terlich C: Jack Trengove, Dom Tyson, Daniel Cross HF: Jack Watts, Cam Pedersen, Jimmy Toumpas F: Jeremy Howe, Jack Fitzpatrick, Rohan Bail FOLL: Jake Spencer, Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince I/C: Shannon Byrnes, Matt Jones, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Viv Michie EM: Sam Blease, Michael Evans, Dean Kent No change WEST COAST B: Jamie Bennell Darren Glass Mitch Brown HB: Shannon Hurn Eric Mackenzie Xavier Ellis C: Matt Rosa Matt Priddis Andrew Gaff HF: Jamie Cripps Josh Kennedy Chris Masten F: Mark LeCras Jack Darling Nic Naitanui FOLL: Dean Cox Scott Selwood Luke Shuey IC: Brad Sheppard, Callum Sinclair, Sharrod Wellingham, Elliot Yeo EM: Brant Colledge, Josh Hill, Scott Lycett In: Brad Sheppard Out: Dom Sheed

No report from KC this week so here's a link to a report from the game on the Scorpions website report

No report from KC this week so we're linking you through to the Scorpions website report: 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 0.1.1 5.6.36 5.6.36 8.7.55 Footscray Bulldogs 3.1.19 5.3.33 9.11.65 12.11.83 Goals Casey Scorpions Pedersen 3 Best Blease Evans McKenzie Tapscott Footscray Bulldogs Redpath 3 Jong 2 Jamieson Iaccarino Jones Hayes Tutt Cordy Dickson Best Casey Scorpions. Pedersen Strauss Rutherford Davis McKenzie Petropoulos Footscray Bulldogs Jong Lower Perkins Redpath Tutt Jones Statistics Sam Blease 1 goal 1 behind 5 disposals 4 kicks 1 handballs 1 marks 2 tackles 33 Dream Team Points Mitch Clisby 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 54 Dream Team Points Michael Evans 1 goal 1 behind 19 disposals 8 kicks 11 handballs 4 marks 9 tackles 101 Dream Team Points Alexis Georgiou 12 disposals 9 kicks 3 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 55 Dream Team Points James Harmes 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 1 marks 6 tackles 61 Dream Team Points Jesse Hogan 1 behind 5 disposals 4 kicks 1 handballs 2 marks 1 hit out 21 Dream Team Points Jay Kennedy-Harris 16 disposals 11 kicks 5 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 71 Dream Team Points Jordie McKenzie 1 goal 30 disposals 11 kicks 19 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 91 Dream Team Points Dan Nicholson 18 disposals 7 kicks 11 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 55 Dream Team Points Cam Pedersen 3 goals 22 disposals 13 kicks 9 handballs 11 marks 5 tackles 36 hit outs 154 Dream Team Points James Strauss disposals 17 kicks 10 handballs 7 marks 1 tackles 97 Dream Team Points Luke Tapscott disposals 16 kicks 8 handballs 9 marks 2 tackles 100 Dream Team Points Dean Terlich 3 disposals 2 kicks 1 handballs 1 tackles 12 Dream Team Points Jimmy Toumpas 10 disposals 7 kicks 3 handballs 2 marks 1 tackles 37 Dream Team Points 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 1.1.7 3.2.20 4.2.26 Williamstown 3.4.22 10.14.74 17.15.117 26.24.180 Goals Casey Scorpions Del Papa Jackson King Page Williamstown Wyatt 4 Anastasio 3 Flack Greiser 3 Christodoulou Gallucci Mead 2 Bench Carr Cashman Conway Deery Miller Nixon Best Casey Scorpions Shiels Thomas Hillard Wilson Lang Corrigan Williamstown Bugeja Bench Carr Bese Mead Curtis

MEMBER APPRECIATION DAY…..OR JUST MAD? by George on The Outer This was supposed to be member appreciation round, where the Club showed its appreciation for the loyal supporters who have endured much during the year. The MFC players showed exactly how much they appreciate the support given in 2014 with a totally insipid and downright disgraceful display against a bottom of the ladder side. The fans were rewarded with a 10 goal loss against the Giants, who already had sent 6 of their players off for end of season surgery, and then lost Ward, Patton and Davis all before ½ time! At least the Saints could point to having to play a potential Grand Final contender away, on their home ground despite their 12 goal loss. But there was simply no excuse for what the Melbourne players did at their own home in front nearly 18,000 of their own fans. Half the membership turned out after yet another shocker of a year, and that is how they were rewarded….2 goals to ¾ time, and nearly half a game scoring only a lousy 5 points! Save for Nathan Jones and an occasional cameo from Max Gawn, Bernie Vince and Neville Jetta, the rest of the side shouldn’t have turned up … and they didn’t! We now know Chip Frawley is on his bike, because he is simply disinterested in the game going on around him. Jack Watts has also become a spectator of the game, and stays further away from his opponent than an Ebola quarantine officer does with his patient. Surely Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson, Michie and Aiden Riley must wonder what they are doing, having left genuine football clubs with players who want to play football. Perhaps they too will fall into the Melbourne mould and adopt the ”bruise free” approach to how to play the game. Perhaps they will adopt the “scared little men” approach and constantly look for someone else to do the work, or back away from moving forward and putting pressure on the opposition. Yes there is a bit more work required with these players, and we need to get it out of Jack Viney and Nathan Jones while we are at it. So thank you Melbourne players!! We really appreciate the support you have shown us. It would have been good if you had to talk to the long faced Melbourne supporter on the way home on the Belgrave line. He had been a member since 1982 and bought seven memberships for his family this year. But the kids don’t want to go to the game any more, and it was probably good they didn’t go along today. So he can see no point buying those seven memberships next year…… …that is what happens when you – THE PLAYERS serve up what you did today. It is what happens to people who have supported the club for 40 years and have that support rewarded with a spit in the face!! Yes, we the Melbourne supporters are MAD! Angry MAD that we have been treated so badly, and simply MAD to even contemplate turning up to watch the team play when next in Melbourne. We don’t appreciate the way you have treated us! Melbourne 2.4.16 2.9.21 2.11.23 3.16.34 Greater Western Sydney 2.1.13 6.4.40 10.7.67 15.8.98 Goals Melbourne Garland Kent Watts Greater Western Sydney Palmer 4 Hoskin-Elliott 3 Kelly Smith 2 Boyd Mumford Shiel Treloar Best Melbourne Kent, N Jones, Tyson, Michie Greater Western Sydney Mumford, Palmer, Hoskin-Elliott, Smith, Shiel, Greene, Kelly, Tomlinson Changes Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Injuries Melbourne Grimes (hamstring) Greater Western Sydney Davis (concussion), Patton (knee), Ward (calf) Reports Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Umpires Craig Fleer Simon Meredith Stuart Wenn Crowd 17,218 at the MCG

This was supposed to be member appreciation round, where the Club showed its appreciation for the loyal supporters who have endured much during the year. The MFC players showed exactly how much they appreciate the support given in 2014 with a totally insipid and downright disgraceful display against a bottom of the ladder side. The fans were rewarded with a 10 goal loss against the Giants, who already had sent 6 of their players off for end of season surgery, and then lost Ward, Patton and Davis all before ½ time! At least the Saints could point to having to play a potential Grand Final contender away, on their home ground despite their 12 goal loss. But there was simply no excuse for what the Melbourne players did at their own home in front nearly 18,000 of their own fans. Half the membership turned out after yet another shocker of a year, and that is how they were rewarded.2 goals to ¾ time, and nearly half a game scoring only a lousy 5 points! Save for Nathan Jones and an occasional cameo from Max Gawn, Bernie Vince and Neville Jetta, the rest of the side shouldnt have turned up and they didnt! We now know Chip Frawley is on his bike, because he is simply disinterested in the game going on around him. Jack Watts has also become a spectator of the game, and stays further away from his opponent than an Ebola quarantine officer does with his patient. Surely Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson, Michie and Aiden Riley must wonder what they are doing, having left genuine football clubs with players who want to play football. Perhaps they too will fall into the Melbourne mould and adopt the bruise free approach to how to play the game. Perhaps they will adopt the scared little men approach and constantly look for someone else to do the work, or back away from moving forward and putting pressure on the opposition. Yes there is a bit more work required with these players, and we need to get it out of Jack Viney and Nathan Jones while we are at it. So thank you Melbourne players!! We really appreciate the support you have shown us. It would have been good if you had to talk to the long faced Melbourne supporter on the way home on the Belgrave line. He had been a member since 1982 and bought seven memberships for his family this year. But the kids dont want to go to the game any more, and it was probably good they didnt go along today. So he can see no point buying those seven memberships next year that is what happens when you THE PLAYERS serve up what you did today. It is what happens to people who have supported the club for 40 years and have that support rewarded with a spit in the face!! Yes, we the Melbourne supporters are MAD! Angry MAD that we have been treated so badly, and simply MAD to even contemplate turning up to watch the team play when next in Melbourne. We dont appreciate the way you have treated us! Melbourne 2.4.16 2.9.21 2.11.23 3.16.34 Greater Western Sydney 2.1.13 6.4.40 10.7.67 15.8.98 Goals Melbourne Garland Kent Watts Greater Western Sydney Palmer 4 Hoskin-Elliott 3 Kelly Smith 2 Boyd Mumford Shiel Treloar Best Melbourne Kent, N Jones, Tyson, Michie Greater Western Sydney Mumford, Palmer, Hoskin-Elliott, Smith, Shiel, Greene, Kelly, Tomlinson Changes Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Injuries Melbourne Grimes (hamstring) Greater Western Sydney Davis (concussion), Patton (knee), Ward (calf) Reports Melbourne Nil Greater Western Sydney Nil Umpires Craig Fleer Simon Meredith Stuart Wenn Crowd 17,218 at the MCG