Demonland

LEAST RESISTANCE by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions' horror story continued when it suffered a second consecutive loss of in excess of 80 points in front of a home crowd at Casey Fields on Saturday. What made it even more embarrassing was that it was supposed to be a special day coinciding with the club's Pink Ribbon Day in aid of Breast Cancer awareness. Unfortunately, the game will be better known as the day on which the team meekly capitulated conceding more than half a century in points before it opened its account and, but for a few goals late in the game, it managed to avoid going into the record books with its lowest ever score. Once the skipper lost the toss and the team was invited to kick into the teeth of a stiff gale and the opposition blasted its way to a lead of four goals in the first ten minutes, there was nothing more than the least resistance from this poor bedraggled group which boasted 12 AFL listed players in its ranks (admittedly a few are coming back from injury layoffs) against a group that contained strong match hardened bodies and players heavily committed to a cause. "What is wrong at Casey?", many will ask and the answer is that the money is not there to build or retain a list of players to sustain you in a tough, high standard competition like the VFL where you are only as strong as your weakest link. When you're relying on eight or nine kids in their first or second seasons of senior grade football, some with a handful of games and some who can't even boast a VFL style pre season, you're in trouble to start with. If you don't have the back up in experienced hardened bodies from your AFL contingent, then you're in even worse strife. The Scorpions simply couldn't defend properly against the tide in the opening quarter and when the Seagulls kicked the first goal of the second with coach Rohan Welsh's quarter time spray still deeply embedded in their minds, their confidence was shot to pieces. A few tried and worked hard to defend their honour. Jay Kennedy-Harris picked up 31 touches and effected some great saving smothers and tackles and Luke Tapscott played his best game for the season. Sam Blease, who is a classy, attacking footballer and has spent the season honing his defensive skills battled hard against the odds and put in some very good efforts, particularly late in the game. But in the absence of injured Casey forward Tim Smith and with Jack Fitzpatrick required to ruck, there was no forward line so that when the players retired to the huddle at the final break, they had scored only a single forlorn goal for the entire day and that figure extended back another quarter if you count their 0 - 9 goal last term effort from a week back at Box Hill. The thing was that last year they were relying on the likes of big Jake Spencer and at least another big man in the ruck, Jesse Hogan in a key forward post, James Sellar and Cam Pedersen in key positions, strong ball magnets in James Magner and Tom Couch in midfield assisted by VFL hard nuts in Matthews, Nicholls, Petropoulos and Gent. For one reason or another, they are not in the team and without them, the competitive spirit has been wasted away. Perhaps Melbourne might be able to do better for itself if it goes the way of next week's opponent Richmond, which it meets at Punt Road next Saturday morning at 11.00am. In order to do that and better itself it will need to raise substantial funds for its own VFL licence as well as a squad of about 20 back up players of suitable standard and an infrastructure and staff to support the venture. Then, it will also need to walk away from the Casey/Gippsland area and a long term commitment to one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The other alternative would be to invest some hard work and money to get Casey working as a going concern in the way Box Hill is working for Hawthorn but it's easier these days just to shrug one's shoulders and walk away. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 0.0.0 1.3.9 1.3.9 4.6.30 Williamstown 7.8.50 8.10.58 15.12.102 16.14.110 Goals Casey Scorpions Blease 2 Best Page Williamstown Conway 5 Anastasio 4 Davies 2 Fahey Hetherington Lambert Marcon Owen Best Casey Scorpions Kennedy-Harris Tapscott Clisby Georgiou Corry Blease Williamstown Carr Meese Davies Masters Banner Owen The Casey Development League team was way out of its depth against Williamstown. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 2.2.14 2.3.15 4.9.33 4.9.33 Williamstown 2.2.14 6.9.45 8.9.57 17.13.115 Goals Casey Scorpions Anderson Drew Gawley Jackson Williamstown Nixon 4 Flack 3 Gallucci Mead 2 Bese Bugeja Cashman Merlo Nastasi Walshe Best Casey Scorpions Drew Thomas Paredes Symons Lang Godfrey Williamstown Bench Hayes Adams Walshe Nixon Gallucci

The Casey Scorpions' horror story continued when it suffered a second consecutive loss of in excess of 80 points in front of a home crowd at Casey Fields on Saturday. What made it even more embarrassing was that it was supposed to be a special day coinciding with the club's Pink Ribbon Day in aid of Breast Cancer awareness. Unfortunately, the game will be better known as the day on which the team meekly capitulated conceding more than half a century in points before it opened its account and, but for a few goals late in the game, it managed to avoid going into the record books with its lowest ever score. Once the skipper lost the toss and the team was invited to kick into the teeth of a stiff gale and the opposition blasted its way to a lead of four goals in the first ten minutes, there was nothing more than the least resistance from this poor bedraggled group which boasted 12 AFL listed players in its ranks (admittedly a few are coming back from injury layoffs) against a group that contained strong match hardened bodies and players heavily committed to a cause. "What is wrong at Casey?", many will ask and the answer is that the money is not there to build or retain a list of players to sustain you in a tough, high standard competition like the VFL where you are only as strong as your weakest link. When you're relying on eight or nine kids in their first or second seasons of senior grade football, some with a handful of games and some who can't even boast a VFL style pre season, you're in trouble to start with. If you don't have the back up in experienced hardened bodies from your AFL contingent, then you're in even worse strife. The Scorpions simply couldn't defend properly against the tide in the opening quarter and when the Seagulls kicked the first goal of the second with coach Rohan Welsh's quarter time spray still deeply embedded in their minds, their confidence was shot to pieces. A few tried and worked hard to defend their honour. Jay Kennedy-Harris picked up 31 touches and effected some great saving smothers and tackles and Luke Tapscott played his best game for the season. Sam Blease, who is a classy, attacking footballer and has spent the season honing his defensive skills battled hard against the odds and put in some very good efforts, particularly late in the game. But in the absence of injured Casey forward Tim Smith and with Jack Fitzpatrick required to ruck, there was no forward line so that when the players retired to the huddle at the final break, they had scored only a single forlorn goal for the entire day and that figure extended back another quarter if you count their 0 - 9 goal last term effort from a week back at Box Hill. The thing was that last year they were relying on the likes of big Jake Spencer and at least another big man in the ruck, Jesse Hogan in a key forward post, James Sellar and Cam Pedersen in key positions, strong ball magnets in James Magner and Tom Couch in midfield assisted by VFL hard nuts in Matthews, Nicholls, Petropoulos and Gent. For one reason or another, they are not in the team and without them, the competitive spirit has been wasted away. Perhaps Melbourne might be able to do better for itself if it goes the way of next week's opponent Richmond, which it meets at Punt Road next Saturday morning at 11.00am. In order to do that and better itself it will need to raise substantial funds for its own VFL licence as well as a squad of about 20 back up players of suitable standard and an infrastructure and staff to support the venture. Then, it will also need to walk away from the Casey/Gippsland area and a long term commitment to one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The other alternative would be to invest some hard work and money to get Casey working as a going concern in the way Box Hill is working for Hawthorn but it's easier these days just to shrug one's shoulders and walk away. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 0.0.0 1.3.9 1.3.9 4.6.30 Williamstown 7.8.50 8.10.58 15.12.102 16.14.110 Goals Casey Scorpions Blease 2 Best Page Williamstown Conway 5 Anastasio 4 Davies 2 Fahey Hetherington Lambert Marcon Owen Best Casey Scorpions Kennedy-Harris Tapscott Clisby Georgiou Corry Blease Williamstown Carr Meese Davies Masters Banner Owen Statistics * Sam Blease 2 goals 22 disposals 19 kicks 3 handballs 1 marks 6 tackles 99 Dream Team Points * Mitch Clisby 19 disposals 13 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 69 Dream Team Points * Michael Evans 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 10 tackles 62 Dream Team Points * Jack Fitzpatrick 9 disposals 7 kicks 2 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 46 hit outs 97 Dream Team Points * Alexis Georgiou 19 disposals 12 kicks 7 handballs 6 marks 6 tackles 93 Dream Team Points * James Harmes 15 disposals 8 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 6 tackles 73 Dream Team Points * Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 point 33 disposals 20 kicks 13 handballs 5 marks 7 tackles 131 Dream Team Points * Max King 5 disposals 5 kicks 1 mark 1 hit out 20 Dream Team Points * Viv Michie 16 disposals 7 kicks 9 handballs 3 tackles 49 Dream Team Points * James Strauss 13 disposals 10 kicks 3 handballs 4 marks 7 tackles 76 Dream Team Points * Luke Tapscott 31 disposals 16 kicks 15 handballs 1 marks 5 tackles 100 Dream Team Points * Jimmy Toumpas 1 point 14 disposals 11 kicks 3 handballs 1 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 54 Dream Team Points The Casey Development League team was way out of its depth against Williamstown. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 2.2.14 2.3.15 4.9.33 4.9.33 Williamstown 2.2.14 6.9.45 8.9.57 17.13.115 Goals Casey Scorpions Anderson Drew Gawley Jackson Williamstown Nixon 4 Flack 3 Gallucci Mead 2 Bese Bugeja Cashman Merlo Nastasi Walshe Best Casey Scorpions Drew Thomas Paredes Symons Lang Godfrey Williamstown Bench Hayes Adams Walshe Nixon Gallucci

We asked you the supporters what you think about Sunday's game - Notorious Dee ~ This weekend will say a lot about where we're at. We were well beaten by the Kangas, have been lucky against some poor kicking teams and are really struggling going forward with poor decision making leading to painful turnovers. Based on the Demons I've been watching for the past seven years I give us no chance against the Dogs at Etihad. But...this is not the same team as recent years, the Dogs are coming back from a hiding in Perth, Cooney isn't playing....so I say another lazy 40 disposals to Bernard will see us carve out a very overdue win at our bogey stadium. Mike Nolan ~ The Dees will be out to extract revenge on the improving Bulldogs. The last time they met the Dees will have felt they let the game slip but this time Paul Roos and the boys will arrive not just playing to compete but playing to win. The improvement in both sides has been obvious and both sides will feel confident but I am extremely confident the boys will be in a great position to get over the line and take another step towards what looks a very bright future for this club. Tall Defence - This week the Demons and the Bulldogs go head to head in a match in which both clubs would fancy their chances. With both teams coming off disappointing performances on the weekend, Sunday presents itself as a chance to right the wrongs of the previous week. The Bulldogs took the chocolates in controversial circumstances when these two teams last met back in round 8 after Stewart Crameri was awarded a dubious free kick in the final minutes to put the Doggies two kicks clear of a wasteful Melbourne and eventually run out 16 point victors 15.9.99 to 12.11.83. This time the Bulldogs are likely to be effected by the loss of players due to both suspension and injuries in the likes of Giansiricusa, Griffen, Roughead and fitness clouds still over Boyd and Cooney possibly presenting Melbourne with their best chance yet of registering a victory at Etihad Stadium for the first time since May 2007 during the home and away season. Melbourne also will have some selection decisions to make during the week with Jordie McKenzie to miss due to suspension, Daniel Cross out with a broken leg and coach Paul Roos making comment of a few players starting to look tired. With the Bulldogs light on for key position players and the loss of some key midfielders, assuming Melbourne can get on top in the middle, this is a game Melbourne should win and win in as comfortable a manner that they are capable of mustering at this time of their development. Prediction: Melbourne by 33 points Leading goal kicker: Chris Dawes 4 BOG: Nathan Jones THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday 29 June 2014 at 1.10pm (AEST) HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Western Bulldogs 73 wins Melbourne 84 wins 1 draw At Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 7 wins Melbourne 0 wins Last Five Years: Western Bulldogs 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches: McCartney 1 win Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 1:00pm AEST (live) Radio - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Western Bulldogs $1.60 to win Melbourne $2.35 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Western Bulldogs 15.9.99 defeated Melbourne 12.11.83 at MCG in Round 8, 2014 The Great Pretender ~ The teams last met in the second week of May and the Western Bulldogs ran out winners by 16 points in a game that could have gone either way after Melbourne led by 5 points at three quarter time. With 20 minutes gone in the last, Melbourne was pressing and looked a likely winner. How well we remember that run by Matt Jones that should have been a certain goal and the soft free to Stewart Crameri that resulted in a goal. These were the two momentum changers that turned the result against Melbourne. TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Liam Picken, Mark Austin, Robert Murphy HB: Shaun Higgins, Dale Morris, Easton Wood C :Marcus Bontempelli, Matthew Boyd, Jack Macrae HF: Koby Stevens, Stewart Crameri, Sam Darley F: Luke Dahlhaus, Liam Jones, Mitch Honeychurch FOLL: Will Minson, Mitch Wallis, Tom Liberatore I/C: Nathan Hrovat, Lachie Hunter, Jake Stringer, Jason Tutt EMG: Tom Campbell, Jack Redpath, Fletcher Roberts IN: Sam Darley, Mitch Honeychurch, Lachie Hunter, Jake Stringer OUT: Daniel Giansiracusa (suspension), Jarrad Grant (virus), Ryan Griffen (back spasms), Jordan Roughead (shoulder) NEW: Sam Darley, Mitch Honeychurch MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Dean Terlich, Colin Garland, Jack Grimes C: Jack Watts, Jack Viney, Bernie Vince HF: Rohan Bail, Chris Dawes, Matt Jones F: Cameron Pedersen, James Frawley, Dean Kent FOLL: Mark Jamar, Dom Tyson, Nathan Jones I/C: Dom Barry, Max Gawn, Daniel Nicholson, Christian Salem EMG: Alex Georgiou, Aidan Riley, Luke Tapscott IN: Dom Barry, Max Gawn, Daniel Nicholson, Dean Terlich OUT: Daniel Cross (leg), Tom McDonald (calf), Jordie McKenzie (suspension), Aidan Riley NEW Dom Barry The Great Pretender ~ The question is whether anything has changed six or seven weeks down the track and whether the different venue will have an impact on the teams? Both of them are experiencing the highs and lows of football. Both of them were unable to translate exciting victories a fortnight ago into back to back winning performances last weekend. In fact, they both disappointed and it was if they had played out their grand finals the week before. So now the time has come for action and Melbourne has a point to prove. It failed last week to beat the North Melbourne "hoodoo". It must now overcome the Etihad one which has lasted for seven years since it beat the Dogs there in 2007. It's time. Freddie Fuschia ~ There was a statistic discussed on one of the footy programmes earlier in the week which revealed how much space the clubs gained through the use of handball. Melbourne was in negative territory by a fair way. They showed a passage of play from last Sunday's game where we started with the ball just outside our goal square followed by a chain of handballs until we reached the stage where we were well outside the 50 metre line, the ball was smothered and turned into a Kangaroo attacking move. I think that if Harley Bennell was playing and had any one of about four or five possessions in that chain, he probably would have had a crack and goaled. It might be the Paul Roos hallmark to go defensive but perhaps we need to be a little bit more attacking when we play an opponent like the Bulldogs. With Cross injured and McKenzie suspended it will be interesting whether the coach will make the move to subtly change the emphasis from full on defence to a more attacking style of play. With the Bulldogs also victims of injury and suspension, I will step out on a limb and go for the Demons by 27 points.

Last chance to put in your contributions.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK - PAYBACK TIME by the Demonland Crew Notorious Dee ~ This weekend will say a lot about where we're at. We were well beaten by the Kangas, have been lucky against some poor kicking teams and are really struggling going forward with poor decision making leading to painful turnovers. Based on the Demons I've been watching for the past seven years I give us no chance against the Dogs at Etihad. But...this is not the same team as recent years, the Dogs are coming back from a hiding in Perth, Cooney isn't playing....so I say another lazy 40 disposals to Bernard will see us carve out a very overdue win at our bogey stadium. Mike Nolan ~ The Dees will be out to extract revenge on the improving Bulldogs. The last time they met the Dees will have felt they let the game slip but this time Paul Roos and the boys will arrive not just playing to compete but playing to win. The improvement in both sides has been obvious and both sides will feel confident but I am extremely confident the boys will be in a great position to get over the line and take another step towards what looks a very bright future for this club. Tall Defence - This week the Demons and the Bulldogs go head to head in a match in which both clubs would fancy their chances. With both teams coming off disappointing performances on the weekend, Sunday presents itself as a chance to right the wrongs of the previous week. The Bulldogs took the chocolates in controversial circumstances when these two teams last met back in round 8 after Stewart Crameri was awarded a dubious free kick in the final minutes to put the Doggies two kicks clear of a wasteful Melbourne and eventually run out 16 point victors 15.9.99 to 12.11.83. This time the Bulldogs are likely to be effected by the loss of players due to both suspension and injuries in the likes of Giansiricusa, Griffen, Roughead and fitness clouds still over Boyd and Cooney possibly presenting Melbourne with their best chance yet of registering a victory at Etihad Stadium for the first time since May 2007 during the home and away season. Melbourne also will have some selection decisions to make during the week with Jordie McKenzie to miss due to suspension, Daniel Cross out with a broken leg and coach Paul Roos making comment of a few players starting to look tired. With the Bulldogs light on for key position players and the loss of some key midfielders, assuming Melbourne can get on top in the middle, this is a game Melbourne should win and win in as comfortable a manner that they are capable of mustering at this time of their development. Prediction: Melbourne by 33 points Leading goal kicker: Chris Dawes 4 BOG: Nathan Jones THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday 29 June 2014 at 1.10pm (AEST) HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Western Bulldogs 73 wins Melbourne 84 wins 1 draw At Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 7 wins Melbourne 0 wins Last Five Years: Western Bulldogs 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches: McCartney 1 win Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 1:00pm AEST (live) Radio - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Western Bulldogs $1.60 to win Melbourne $2.35 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Western Bulldogs 15.9.99 defeated Melbourne 12.11.83 at MCG in Round 8, 2014 The Great Pretender ~ The teams last met in the second week of May and the Western Bulldogs ran out winners by 16 points in a game that could have gone either way after Melbourne led by 5 points at three quarter time. With 20 minutes gone in the last, Melbourne was pressing and looked a likely winner. How well we remember that run by Matt Jones that should have been a certain goal and the soft free to Stewart Crameri that resulted in a goal. These were the two momentum changers that turned the result against Melbourne. TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Liam Picken, Mark Austin, Robert Murphy HB: Shaun Higgins, Dale Morris, Easton Wood C :Marcus Bontempelli, Matthew Boyd, Jack Macrae HF: Koby Stevens, Stewart Crameri, Sam Darley F: Luke Dahlhaus, Liam Jones, Mitch Honeychurch FOLL: Will Minson, Mitch Wallis, Tom Liberatore I/C: Nathan Hrovat, Lachie Hunter, Jake Stringer, Jason Tutt EMG: Tom Campbell, Jack Redpath, Fletcher Roberts IN: Sam Darley, Mitch Honeychurch, Lachie Hunter, Jake Stringer OUT: Daniel Giansiracusa (suspension), Jarrad Grant (virus), Ryan Griffen (back spasms), Jordan Roughead (shoulder) NEW: Sam Darley, Mitch Honeychurch MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Dean Terlich, Colin Garland, Jack Grimes C: Jack Watts, Jack Viney, Bernie Vince HF: Rohan Bail, Chris Dawes, Matt Jones F: Cameron Pedersen, James Frawley, Dean Kent FOLL: Mark Jamar, Dom Tyson, Nathan Jones I/C: Dom Barry, Max Gawn, Daniel Nicholson, Christian Salem EMG: Alex Georgiou, Aidan Riley, Luke Tapscott IN: Dom Barry, Max Gawn, Daniel Nicholson, Dean Terlich OUT: Daniel Cross (leg), Tom McDonald (calf), Jordie McKenzie (suspension), Aidan Riley NEW Dom Barry The Great Pretender ~ The question is whether anything has changed six or seven weeks down the track and whether the different venue will have an impact on the teams? Both of them are experiencing the highs and lows of football. Both of them were unable to translate exciting victories a fortnight ago into back to back winning performances last weekend. In fact, they both disappointed and it was if they had played out their grand finals the week before. So now the time has come for action and Melbourne has a point to prove. It failed last week to beat the North Melbourne "hoodoo". It must now overcome the Etihad one which has lasted for seven years since it beat the Dogs there in 2007. It's time. Freddie Fuschia ~ There was a statistic discussed on one of the footy programmes earlier in the week which revealed how much space the clubs gained through the use of handball. Melbourne was in negative territory by a fair way. They showed a passage of play from last Sunday's game where we started with the ball just outside our goal square followed by a chain of handballs until we reached the stage where we were well outside the 50 metre line, the ball was smothered and turned into a Kangaroo attacking move. I think that if Harley Bennell was playing and had any one of about four or five possessions in that chain, he probably would have had a crack and goaled. It might be the Paul Roos hallmark to go defensive but perhaps we need to be a little bit more attacking when we play an opponent like the Bulldogs. With Cross injured and McKenzie suspended it will be interesting whether the coach will make the move to subtly change the emphasis from full on defence to a more attacking style of play. With the Bulldogs also victims of injury and suspension, I will step out on a limb and go for the Demons by 27 points.

Seems like only yesterday - THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Dean Terlich HB: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes C: Daniel Cross, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince HF: Rohan Bail, James Frawley, Jack Watts F: Jeremy Howe, Chris Dawes, Cam Pedersen FOLL: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Shannon Byrnes, Matt Jones, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Christian Salem EMG: Mitch Clisby, Max Gawn, Aidan Riley IN: Colin Garland OUT: Alex Georgiou WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Liam Picken, Tom Williams, Easton Wood. HB: Shaun Higgins, Dale Morris, Robert Murphy. C: Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen, Jack Macrae. HF: Jake Stringer, Stewart Crameri, Tory Dickson. F: Luke Dahlhaus, Liam Jones, Daniel Giansiracusa. FOLL: Will Minson, Matthew Boyd, Tom Liberatore. I/C: Jason Tutt, Fletcher Roberts, Lachie Hunter, Jason Johannisen. EMG: Marcus Bontempelli, Brett Goodes, Michael Talia IN: Daniel Giansiracusa, Fletcher Roberts, Jason Tutt OUT: Marcus Bontempelli, Koby Stevens, Michael Talia

It's true that Nathan Jones wasn't our best player yesterday but he's extended his lead to the point where it's going to be very hard to catch up. 150. Nathan Jones 106. Dom Tyson 96. Lynden Dunn 60. Daniel Cross 57. Bernie Vince 49. Jack Viney 39. Jack Watts 34. Chris Dawes 31. Cam Pedersen 29. James Frawley 28. Matt Jones 24. Tom McDonald 17. Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar 14. Jack Grimes 11. Rohan Bail 8. Jay Kennedy-Harris Jordie McKenzie 7. Neville Jetta 6. Alexis Georgiou Jimmy Toumpas 5. Dean Kent 4. Dean Terlich 3. Jack Trengove 2. Shannon Byrnes Jake Spencer 1. Max Gawn

The euphoria of last week's dramatic final minute victory over Essendon was quickly well and truly consigned into past history not long after the Melbourne team ran onto the MCG for its game against North Melbourne. The reason for this was that the Demons' pedestrian style of football, limited skills and an insatiable capacity to constantly turn the ball over into an opponent's lap was never going to be enough to win them a game against quality opposition. Indeed it was only their accuracy in the first half that fully prevented the game from turning into a 2013 style blowout of epic proportions and instead they were left with a reality check and a 41-point defeat. The Kangaroos applied the early heat but thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Bernie Vince who maintained great composure throughout the game, the Demons were still in the contest at the first break and clawed their way back in the second term after they fell four goals in arrears through some sloppy football. Early in the third, they threatened again when Chris Dawes goaled to leave them only seven points down despite being far inferior in almost every aspect of play. It was at this stage that North upped the ante, applied the blow torch and booted six goals in ten minutes, most of them on the back of fumbly turnovers caused by poor disposal and stupid decision making. To its credit, Melbourne managed to regroup thanks to some positional changes at the end but the mistakes continued and prevented it from making any semblance of a come back. The truth is that there is still a lack of players with the quality and flair of Vince who produced a stunning 41-possession game and the attack simply does not have the potency or depth of the better sides in the competition. There were times when one wondered where the next goal would come from. The ball was constantly bombed into an attack where the team was outnumbered and if the ball hit the ground there were no crumbing forwards to finish off the goals as we saw from the Kangaroos who had twelve goal kickers on the day to Melbourne's six. This imbalance of forward strength was a major difference and a problem that will continue to dog the club for the remainder of the season with games against some of the competition's big hitters including Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong and a return game against North Melbourne to come. Despite the club's big steps forward the result of this game should leave us with no illusions that there is a long way to go. Melbourne 3.0.18 6.0.36 8.4.52 10.6.66 North Melbourne 4.5.29 7.8.50 14.12.96 15.17.107 Goals Melbourne Dawes Vince 3 Bail Frawley Pedersen Reilly North Melbourne Greenwood Mullett Thomas 2 Atley Black Brown Cunnington Harvey Nahas Petrie Swallow Ziebell Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Dunn M Jones Pedersen North Melbourne Greenwood Dal Santo Thompson Petrie Harvey Ziebell Cunnington Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Watts (back) North Melbourne Nahas (shoulder) Swallow (knee) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Umpires Rosebury Bannister Fleer Crowd 26,615 at the MCG

NO ILLUSIONS by The Oracle The euphoria of last week's dramatic final minute victory over Essendon was quickly well and truly consigned into past history not long after the Melbourne team ran onto the MCG for its game against North Melbourne. The reason for this was that the Demons' pedestrian style of football, limited skills and an insatiable capacity to constantly turn the ball over into an opponent's lap was never going to be enough to win them a game against quality opposition. Indeed it was only their accuracy in the first half that fully prevented the game from turning into a 2013 style blowout of epic proportions and instead they were left with a reality check and a 41-point defeat. The Kangaroos applied the early heat but thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Bernie Vince who maintained great composure throughout the game, the Demons were still in the contest at the first break and clawed their way back in the second term after they fell four goals in arrears through some sloppy football. Early in the third, they threatened again when Chris Dawes goaled to leave them only seven points down despite being far inferior in almost every aspect of play. It was at this stage that North upped the ante, applied the blow torch and booted six goals in ten minutes, most of them on the back of fumbly turnovers caused by poor disposal and stupid decision making. To its credit, Melbourne managed to regroup thanks to some positional changes at the end but the mistakes continued and prevented it from making any semblance of a come back. The truth is that there is still a lack of players with the quality and flair of Vince who produced a stunning 41-possession game and the attack simply does not have the potency or depth of the better sides in the competition. There were times when one wondered where the next goal would come from. The ball was constantly bombed into an attack where the team was outnumbered and if the ball hit the ground there were no crumbing forwards to finish off the goals as we saw from the Kangaroos who had twelve goal kickers on the day to Melbourne's six. This imbalance of forward strength was a major difference and a problem that will continue to dog the club for the remainder of the season with games against some of the competition's big hitters including Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong and a return game against North Melbourne to come. Despite the club's big steps forward the result of this game should leave us with no illusions that there is a long way to go. Melbourne 3.0.18 6.0.36 8.4.52 10.6.66 North Melbourne 4.5.29 7.8.50 14.12.96 15.17.107 Goals Melbourne Dawes Vince 3 Bail Frawley Pedersen Reilly North Melbourne Greenwood Mullett Thomas 2 Atley Black Brown Cunnington Harvey Nahas Petrie Swallow Ziebell Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Dunn M Jones Pedersen North Melbourne Greenwood Dal Santo Thompson Petrie Harvey Ziebell Cunnington Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Watts (back) North Melbourne Nahas (shoulder) Swallow (knee) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Umpires Rosebury Bannister Fleer Crowd 26,615 at the MCG

Your votes please - 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... Jones rule applies.

NO ILLUSIONS by The Oracle The euphoria of last week's dramatic final minute victory over Essendon was quickly well and truly consigned into past history not long after the Melbourne team ran onto the MCG for its game against North Melbourne. The reason for this was that the Demons' pedestrian style of football, limited skills and an insatiable capacity to constantly turn the ball over into an opponent's lap was never going to be enough to win them a game against quality opposition. Indeed it was only their accuracy in the first half that fully prevented the game from turning into a 2013 style blowout of epic proportions and instead they were left with a reality check and a 41-point defeat. The Kangaroos applied the early heat but thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Bernie Vince who maintained great composure throughout the game, the Demons were still in the contest at the first break and clawed their way back in the second term after they fell four goals in arrears through some sloppy football. Early in the third, they threatened again when Chris Dawes goaled to leave them only seven points down despite being far inferior in almost every aspect of play. It was at this stage that North upped the ante, applied the blow torch and booted six goals in ten minutes, most of them on the back of fumbly turnovers caused by poor disposal and stupid decision making. To its credit, Melbourne managed to regroup thanks to some positional changes at the end but the mistakes continued and prevented it from making any semblance of a come back. The truth is that there is still a lack of players with the quality and flair of Vince who produced a stunning 41-possession game and the attack simply does not have the potency or depth of the better sides in the competition. There were times when one wondered where the next goal would come from. The ball was constantly bombed into an attack where the team was outnumbered and if the ball hit the ground there were no crumbing forwards to finish off the goals as we saw from the Kangaroos who had twelve goal kickers on the day to Melbourne's six. This imbalance of forward strength was a major difference and a problem that will continue to dog the club for the remainder of the season with games against some of the competition's big hitters including Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong and a return game against North Melbourne to come. Despite the club's big steps forward the result of this game should leave us with no illusions that there is a long way to go. Melbourne 3.0.18 6.0.36 8.4.52 10.6.66 North Melbourne 4.5.29 7.8.50 14.12.96 15.17.107 Goals Melbourne Dawes Vince 3 Bail Frawley Pedersen Reilly North Melbourne Greenwood Mullett Thomas 2 Atley Black Brown Cunnington Harvey Nahas Petrie Swallow Ziebell Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Dunn M Jones Pedersen North Melbourne Greenwood Dal Santo Thompson Petrie Harvey Ziebell Cunnington Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Watts (back) North Melbourne Nahas (shoulder) Swallow (knee) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Umpires Rosebury Bannister Fleer Crowd 26,615 at the MCG

OUTBOXED by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions' 2014 woes continued at home against reigning premiers, the Box Hill Hawks who dominated their round 11 encounter at Casey Fields for all but one quarter before crushing their lifeless hosts in the last to record an 85-point thrashing on the public stage in the VFL's televised match of the day. The match was in stark contrast to the previous encounter between these sides in the final home and away round of last season when they were battling for high stakes at the top of the ladder and an errant shot for goal by Dom Barry in the dying moments saw the Scorpions go down by 2 points at Box Hill City Oval, a result which consigned them to an opening finals game at the Cattery. This time, a far superior Box Hill took a stranglehold on the game early in the piece when it outscored Casey in the opening term despite kicking into the face of a strongish breeze. The home side lined up with fourteen Melbourne listed players but the Casey contingent was relatively inexperienced and missing Troy Davis, Mitch Gent, Will Petropoulos and promising youngster Ed Morris who returned from injury this week through the development league team. B: Welsh Georgiou Strauss HB: Nicholson Panozza Toumpas C: Byrnes Tapscott Barry HF: Blease Smith Harmes F: Best Fitzpatrick Kennedy-Harris FOLL: Gawn Michie Evans IC: Drew Page Rennie* Saunders Shiels * 23rd player Casey was on the back foot early and it was a bad sign that it could only penetrate the Box Hill defence twice in the opening term for goals to Smith and Fitzpatrick at the 17 and 19 minute mark respectively. The Hawks let them off the hook with their poor finishing in front of goal but such was their dominance that the game was virtually over at half time when they led by 38 points and the Scorps had managed to add another two measly points to their score. With Smith and Byrnes injured, it took quite an effort for Casey to fight its way back into the game but it did so in the third term on the back of strong work in the midfield from Michie and some hard efforts from Gawn in the ruck. At one stage the gap had been narrowed to 23 points before the visitors steadied with a late goal. In any event, the Scorpions of 2014 are not known for stirring final quarter comebacks, least of all against the wind and it was almost inevitable that they would finish again without a whimper. The Hawks simply ran away with a nine goal to nil final quarter to complete the humiliation and substantially boost their own percentage. It was hard to find any positives from the game other than the form of Michie (30 disposals) and the valiant defence of Georgiou and skipper Panozza and some running efforts from Blease who finished with 28 touches. In truth however, they were simply an inexperienced line up that was fighting an opponent in a different weight division. They face Williamstown next week at the same venue with very little about which to be enthused. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 2.0.12 2.2.14 6.6.42 6.8.44 Box Hill Hawks 3.4.22 7.10.52 10.11.71 19.15.129 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick 2 Smith Evans Page Smith Toumpas Box Hill Hawks McEvoy 5 Cust 4 Kelly Willsmore 2 Grimley Hallahan Iles Langford O'Donnell Simpkin Best Casey Scorpions Michie Georgiou Barry Nicholson Blease Panozza Box Hill Hawks B McEvoy Lock Woodward Simpkin Cust Kelly The development league team fought hard against a team which thrashed it by a three figure margin a fortnight ago. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 2.4.16 3.6.24 5.7.37 5.9.39 Box Hill Hawks 1.1.7 6.6.42 10.11.71 13.16.94 Goals Casey Scorpions Davidson Gawley Lang Rutherford Symons Box Hill Hawks McEvoy Papadopoulos Thompson 2 Bond Franetic Goodwin Murphy Northe Soccio Tobin Best Casey Scorpions Scott Rutherford Jackson West Waters Corrigan Box Hill Hawks Tobin Murphy Soccio Miles Andrews Thompson

The Casey Scorpions' 2014 woes continued at home against reigning premiers, the Box Hill Hawks who dominated their round 11 encounter at Casey Fields for all but one quarter before crushing their lifeless hosts in the last to record an 85-point thrashing on the public stage in the VFL's televised match of the day. The match was in stark contrast to the previous encounter between these sides in the final home and away round of last season when they were battling for high stakes at the top of the ladder and an errant shot for goal by Dom Barry in the dying moments saw the Scorpions go down by 2 points at Box Hill City Oval, a result which consigned them to an opening finals game at the Cattery. This time, a far superior Box Hill took a stranglehold on the game early in the piece when it outscored Casey in the opening term despite kicking into the face of a strongish breeze. The home side lined up with fourteen Melbourne listed players but the Casey contingent was relatively inexperienced and missing Troy Davis, Mitch Gent, Will Petropoulos and promising youngster Ed Morris who returned from injury this week through the development league team. B: Welsh Georgiou Strauss HB: Nicholson Panozza Toumpas C: Byrnes Tapscott Barry HF: Blease Smith Harmes F: Best Fitzpatrick Kennedy-Harris FOLL: Gawn Michie Evans IC: Drew Page Rennie* Saunders Shiels * 23rd player Casey was on the back foot early and it was a bad sign that it could only penetrate the Box Hill defence twice in the opening term for goals to Smith and Fitzpatrick at the 17 and 19 minute mark respectively. The Hawks let them off the hook with their poor finishing in front of goal but such was their dominance that the game was virtually over at half time when they led by 38 points and the Scorps had managed to add another two measly points to their score. With Smith and Byrnes injured, it took quite an effort for Casey to fight its way back into the game but it did so in the third term on the back of strong work in the midfield from Michie and some hard efforts from Gawn in the ruck. At one stage the gap had been narrowed to 23 points before the visitors steadied with a late goal. In any event, the Scorpions of 2014 are not known for stirring final quarter comebacks, least of all against the wind and it was almost inevitable that they would finish again without a whimper. The Hawks simply ran away with a nine goal to nil final quarter to complete the humiliation and substantially boost their own percentage. It was hard to find any positives from the game other than the form of Michie (30 disposals) and the valiant defence of Georgiou and skipper Panozza and some running efforts from Blease who finished with 28 touches. In truth however, they were simply an inexperienced line up that was fighting an opponent in a different weight division. They face Williamstown next week at the same venue with very little about which to be enthused. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 2.0.12 2.2.14 6.6.42 6.8.44 Box Hill Hawks 3.4.22 7.10.52 10.11.71 19.15.129 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick 2 Smith Evans Page Smith Toumpas Box Hill Hawks McEvoy 5 Cust 4 Kelly Willsmore 2 Grimley Hallahan Iles Langford O'Donnell Simpkin Best Casey Scorpions Michie Georgiou Barry Nicholson Blease Panozza Box Hill Hawks B McEvoy Lock Woodward Simpkin Cust Kelly Match Statistics The match stats:- * Dom Barry 9 disposals 3 kicks 6 handballs 1 marks 2 tackles 30 Dream Team Points * Sam Blease 27 disposals 18 kicks 9 handballs 3 marks 83 Dream Team Points * Shannon Byrnes 2 disposals 2 handballs 4 Dream Team Points (injured) * Michael Evans 1 goal 1 behind 24 disposals 15 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 90 Dream Team Points * Jack Fitzpatrick 2 goals 10 disposals 7 kicks 3 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 12 hit outs Dream Team Points * Max Gawn 23 disposals 9 kicks 14 handballs 8 marks 3 tackles 52 hit outs 137 Dream Team Points * Alexis Georgiou 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 10 marks 1 tackles 78 Dream Team Points * James Harmes 1 behind 14 disposals 8 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 58 Dream Team Points * Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 3 tackles 64 Dream Team Points * Viv Michie 1 behind 32 disposals 23 kicks 9 handballs 7 marks 5 tackles 128 Dream Team Points * Dan Nicholson 25 disposals 15 kicks 10 handballs 9 marks 3 tackles 98 Dream Team Points * James Strauss 20 disposals 16 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 73 Dream Team Points * Luke Tapscott 22 disposals 12 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 6 tackles 91 Dream Team Points * Jimmy Toumpas 1 goal 21 disposals 15 kicks 6 handballs 5 marks 6 tackles 100 Dream Team Points The development league team fought hard against a team which thrashed it by a three figure margin a fortnight ago. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 2.4.16 3.6.24 5.7.37 5.9.39 Box Hill Hawks 1.1.7 6.6.42 10.11.71 13.16.94 Goals Casey Scorpions Davidson Gawley Lang Rutherford Symons Box Hill Hawks McEvoy Papadopoulos Thompson 2 Bond Franetic Goodwin Murphy Northe Soccio Tobin Best Casey Scorpions Scott Rutherford Jackson West Waters Corrigan Box Hill Hawks Tobin Murphy Soccio Miles Andrews Thompson

With Carlton maintaining its losing streak of 12 straight losses against Hawthorn, the pressure is now on Melbourne to remove the miserable record that it has against North Melbourne of a similar 11 straight losses. The last time the Demons managed to overcome the Roos was way back in Round 20, 2006 when we defeated them in front of 29K at the MCG by 20.12 (132) to 12.10 (82). It was one of current skipper Nathan Jones' first games. That was certainly an eternity ago, and the memories of a Melbourne side kicking 132 points in any game has long since faded. The more recent memory is far, far more painful as North demolished the Demons less than twelve months ago - in Round 18, 2013. That result was Melbourne's second largest losing margin in a year that the club and its supporters would surely want to forget completely. Times are a little different nowadays. THE GAME Melbourne v North Melbourne on Sunday 22nd June 2014 at MCG at 4.40 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins North Melbourne 75 wins 1 draw At MCG Melbourne 54 wins North Melbourne 34 wins Last five times Melbourne 0 wins North Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches Roos 0 wins Scott 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 4:30pm (live) RADIO - 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.70 North Melbourne to win $1.28 LAST TIME THEY MET North Melbourne 22.18.150 defeated Melbourne 4.4.28 at Etihad Stadium in Round 18, 2013 In modern day terms the Demons played like a lifeless pack of spuds (see also below) THE TEAMS 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 It is interesting to contrast this with the side the Demons sent out onto the field that miserable day: B: Dunn Pedersen Tapscott HB: McDonald Frawley Clisby C: Viney Trengove Grimes HF: M Jones Watts Howe F: Davey Dawes Fitzpatrick FOLL : Gawn Sylvia N Jones I/C: Blease Byrnes Toumpas SUB: Kent What a vastly different side that will present for the Red and Blue this week, less than 12 months later. Not only do we find Paul Roos coaching the side, and rebuilding confidence following all those shattering years, but the line-up across every line has been altered. In some cases, we have the same players but their form is a striking improvement over what they were producing last year (Dunn, Pedersen). The painful outcome of last year looked like this: MELBOURNE 1.0 3.2 4.4 4.4 (28) NORTH MELBOURNE 3.5 6.9 14.12 22.18 (150) GOALS Melbourne: Tapscott Fitzpatrick Dawes Byrnes North Melbourne: Bastinac 4 Black 4 Wells 2 Adams 2 Cunnington 2 Petrie 2 Mullett 2 Goldstein 2 Harvey Ziebell BEST Melbourne: N.Jones (some things never change) Sylvia McDonald Gawn Dunn Toumpas North Melbourne: Goldstein Cunnington Harvey Hansen Thompson Bastinac Adams Ziebell With a heart stopper of a result against the Bombers and a build-up of faith among the players and the supporters as a result, a very, very different outcome can be expected. A 4.40pm start wont suit most supporters and North are notorious for low crowd numbers. However, the Demon army is rolling again. The last time they met a paltry 16K people turned up, but it was at Etihad stadium as well. This time its at the G and finally we have a team that we can be proud of, so far greater numbers should be on the agenda.

ANOTHER BAD MEMORY TO ERASE by George on The Outer With Carlton maintaining its losing streak of 12 straight losses against Hawthorn, the pressure is now on Melbourne to remove the miserable record that it has against North Melbourne of a similar 11 straight losses. The last time the Demons managed to overcome the Roos was way back in Round 20, 2006 when we defeated them in front of 29K at the MCG by 20.12 (132) to 12.10 (82). It was one of current skipper Nathan Jones' first games. That was certainly an eternity ago, and the memories of a Melbourne side kicking 132 points in any game has long since faded. The more recent memory is far, far more painful as North demolished the Demons less than twelve months ago - in Round 18, 2013. That result was Melbourne's second largest losing margin in a year that the club and its supporters would surely want to forget completely. Times are a little different nowadays. THE GAME Melbourne v North Melbourne on Sunday 22nd June 2014 at MCG at 4.40 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins North Melbourne 75 wins 1 draw At MCG Melbourne 54 wins North Melbourne 34 wins Last five times Melbourne 0 wins North Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches Roos 0 wins Scott 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 4:30pm (live) RADIO - 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Melbourne to win $3.70 North Melbourne to win $1.28 LAST TIME THEY MET North Melbourne 22.18.150 defeated Melbourne 4.4.28 at Etihad Stadium in Round 18, 2013 In modern day terms the Demons played like a lifeless pack of spuds (see also below) THE TEAMS 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 It is interesting to contrast this with the side the Demons sent out onto the field that miserable day: B: Dunn Pedersen Tapscott HB: McDonald Frawley Clisby C: Viney Trengove Grimes HF: M Jones Watts Howe F: Davey Dawes Fitzpatrick FOLL : Gawn Sylvia N Jones I/C: Blease Byrnes Toumpas SUB: Kent What a vastly different side that will present for the Red and Blue this week, less than 12 months later. Not only do we find Paul Roos coaching the side, and rebuilding confidence following all those shattering years, but the line-up across every line has been altered. In some cases, we have the same players but their form is a striking improvement over what they were producing last year (Dunn, Pedersen). The painful outcome of last year looked like this: MELBOURNE 1.0 3.2 4.4 4.4 (28) NORTH MELBOURNE 3.5 6.9 14.12 22.18 (150) GOALS Melbourne: Tapscott Fitzpatrick Dawes Byrnes North Melbourne: Bastinac 4 Black 4 Wells 2 Adams 2 Cunnington 2 Petrie 2 Mullett 2 Goldstein 2 Harvey Ziebell BEST Melbourne: N.Jones (some things never change) Sylvia McDonald Gawn Dunn Toumpas North Melbourne: Goldstein Cunnington Harvey Hansen Thompson Bastinac Adams Ziebell With a heart stopper of a result against the Bombers and a build-up of faith among the players and the supporters as a result, a very, very different outcome can be expected. A 4.40pm start wont suit most supporters and North are notorious for low crowd numbers. However, the Demon army is rolling again. The last time they met a paltry 16K people turned up, but it was at Etihad stadium as well. This time its at the G and finally we have a team that we can be proud of, so far greater numbers should be on the agenda.

Last week we turned around a 148 point loss into a 1 point win against Essendon. This week the turnaround needed is a mere 122 points to tie the game and 123 for a 1 point win. MELBOURNE Backs Lynden Dunn Cameron Pedersen Dean Terlich Half backs Tom McDonald James Frawley Mitchell Clisby Centreline Jack Viney Jack Trengove Jack Grimes Half forwards Shannon Byrnes Jack Watts Jeremy Howe Forwards Aaron Davey Chris Dawes Jack Fitzpatrick Followers Max Gawn Colin Sylvia Nathan Jones Interchange Sam Blease Matt Jones Dean Kent Jimmy Toumpas Emergencies Daniel Nicholson Jake Spencer Luke Tapscott NORTH MELBOURNE Backs Lachlan Hansen Scott Thompson Cameron Delaney Half backs Aaron Mullett Nathan Grima Taylor Hine Centreline Daniel Wells Sam Gibson Shaun Atley Half forwards Ben Cunnington Drew Petrie Brent Harvey Forwards Aaron Black Robbie Tarrant Lindsay Thomas Followers Todd Goldstein Andrew Swallow Jack Ziebell Interchange Leigh Adams Ryan Bastinac Jamie Macmillan Brad McKenzie Emergencies Luke Delaney Ben Jacobs Sam Wright

ELEVATOR DRIVER by Whispering Jack "Elevator Driver carry me please Elevator Driver move Elevator Driver carry me please Elevator Driver move Past the stories of confusion To my penthouse of illusion, Elevator Driver" ~ from the song by the Masters Apprentices Teams, like colours, rise and ebb. When Melbourne last faced Essendon it was a Saturday night at the MCG early last year and in an atmosphere of helpless desperation they surrendered to an opponent which had something to prove in the wake of the raging supplements scandal. The mood of the supporters that night was one of anger and loss of hope as the Bombers treated their team to the tune of a 148-point crushing. Callers to late night talk back spoke in agonising terms of how their club and the players had betrayed them - so early in the season, the team was languishing deep in the basement. A lot happened after that night but the pain would persist throughout a season that saw two coaches come and go with little to enthuse the faithful or give rise to any hope that the team could lift itself out of those depths. The club needed something or at least someone to take control of its on field fortunes and to start a process whereby it could see some movement forward and upward. Enter the elevator driver - Paul Roos. He came to the club, rolled up his sleeves and began to work on its personnel, training and preparation, its tactics, strategy, its psychology and its culture and team philosophy. His advent has not come without controversy or criticism as was seen last week from the output of some of the more hysterical types in the media who were lashing the emphasis on defence which saw the team struggle to score goals in the final quarter and a half against Collingwood on Queens Birthday. Never mind that playing ugly has already seen Roos coach such ducklings and transform them quickly into premiership Swans in another time. Never mind that against Essendon, Roos' team was so defensive in mindset that it conceded 14 inside 50s before going into its own attacking circle and were goalless at quarter time - it's second consecutive term without a major score. Never mind because the Demons plugged away, hustling and bustling and thanks to the sterling play of those defenders, led by Lynden Dunn, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta, Col Garland and co dominating in the opposition's half, they had stayed within striking distance. Their efforts were reinforced by the efforts of Jordie McKenzie and Daniel Cross who had specific jobs to do, the Demon defence forced Essendon to butcher the ball under pressure, miss goals and targets and more importantly expend vital energy reserves in moving across the field to counter Melbourne's new found style. And so despite falling behind by 33 points by early in the second half, Melbourne was able to lift its game to the top floor. Inspired by the indefatigable leadership of Nathan Jones, the rising talents of Dom Tyson and Jack Viney, the experience and class of Bernie Vince and on a wave of power ruckwork from Mark Jamar, the turnaround came and the Demons struck the unsuspecting Bombers in the heart. Taking over in the midfield, the opportunities started presenting to the forwards who all played their part and in the end, a couple of unlikely young heroes in Dean Kent and Christian Salem played their part in bringing down the Bombers and signalling another move upward for their club. And you can put it all down to great team effort and another small triumph for the elevator operator. Melbourne 0.3.3 3.3.21 7.6.48 12.6.78 Essendon 2.4.16 5.12.42 8.12.60 10.17.77 Goals Melbourne Kent Frawley Pedersen Watts 2 Grimes N Jones Salem Vince Essendon Zaharakis 4 Ambrose Chapman Daniher Goddard Merrett Ryder Best Melbourne Dunn N Jones Viney Pederson Jamar Tyson Essendon Zaharakis Goddard Heppell Hibberd Carlisle Ambrose Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Fletcher replaced in the selected side by Kavanaugh Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Umpires Justin Schmitt Troy Pannell Brendan Hosking Crowd 44,622 at the MCG In memory of Jim Keays an Australian master musician and a Demon fan who passed away last week at far too young an age

"Elevator Driver carry me please Elevator Driver move Elevator Driver carry me please Elevator Driver move Past the stories of confusion To my penthouse of illusion, Elevator Driver" ~ from the song by the Masters Apprentices Teams, like colours, rise and ebb. When Melbourne last faced Essendon it was a Saturday night at the MCG early last year and in an atmosphere of helpless desperation they surrendered to an opponent which had something to prove in the wake of the raging supplements scandal. The mood of the supporters that night was one of anger and loss of hope as the Bombers treated their team to the tune of a 148-point crushing. Callers to late night talk back spoke in agonising terms of how their club and the players had betrayed them - so early in the season, the team was languishing deep in the basement. A lot happened after that night but the pain would persist throughout a season that saw two coaches come and go with little to enthuse the faithful or give rise to any hope that the team could lift itself out of those depths. The club needed something or at least someone to take control of its on field fortunes and to start a process whereby it could see some movement forward and upward. Enter the elevator driver - Paul Roos. He came to the club, rolled up his sleeves and began to work on its personnel, training and preparation, its tactics, strategy, its psychology and its culture and team philosophy. His advent has not come without controversy or criticism as was seen last week from the output of some of the more hysterical types in the media who were lashing the emphasis on defence which saw the team struggle to score goals in the final quarter and a half against Collingwood on Queens Birthday. Never mind that playing ugly has already seen Roos coach such ducklings and transform them quickly into premiership Swans in another time. Never mind that against Essendon, Roos' team was so defensive in mindset that it conceded 14 inside 50s before going into its own attacking circle and were goalless at quarter time - it's second consecutive term without a major score. Never mind because the Demons plugged away, hustling and bustling and thanks to the sterling play of those defenders, led by Lynden Dunn, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta, Col Garland and co dominating in the opposition's half, they had stayed within striking distance. Their efforts were reinforced by the efforts of Jordie McKenzie and Daniel Cross who had specific jobs to do, the Demon defence forced Essendon to butcher the ball under pressure, miss goals and targets and more importantly expend vital energy reserves in moving across the field to counter Melbourne's new found style. And so despite falling behind by 33 points by early in the second half, Melbourne was able to lift its game to the top floor. Inspired by the indefatigable leadership of Nathan Jones, the rising talents of Dom Tyson and Jack Viney, the experience and class of Bernie Vince and on a wave of power ruckwork from Mark Jamar, the turnaround came and the Demons struck the unsuspecting Bombers in the heart. Taking over in the midfield, the opportunities started presenting to the forwards who all played their part and in the end, a couple of unlikely young heroes in Dean Kent and Christian Salem played their part in bringing down the Bombers and signalling another move upward for their club. And you can put it all down to great team effort and another small triumph for the elevator operator. Melbourne 0.3.3 3.3.21 7.6.48 12.6.78 Essendon 2.4.16 5.12.42 8.12.60 10.17.77 Goals Melbourne Kent Frawley Pedersen Watts 2 Grimes N Jones Salem Vince Essendon Zaharakis 4 Ambrose Chapman Daniher Goddard Merrett Ryder Best Melbourne Dunn N Jones Viney Pederson Jamar Tyson Essendon Zaharakis Goddard Heppell Hibberd Carlisle Ambrose Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Fletcher replaced in the selected side by Kavanaugh Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Umpires Justin Schmitt Troy Pannell Brendan Hosking Crowd 44,622 at the MCG In memory of Jim Keays an Australian master musician and a Demon fan who passed away last week at far too young an age

Nathan Jones is our leader and favourite to make it a threepeat with Dom Tyson and Lynden Dunn making up the places. When will someone in the media start talking Dunn up as a potential All Australian? 139. Nathan Jones 106. Dom Tyson 90. Lynden Dunn 50. Daniel Cross 49. Jack Viney 39. Bernie Vince 33. Jack Watts 29. James Frawley 28. Matt Jones Cam Pedersen 27. Chris Dawes 24. Tom McDonald 17. Jeremy Howe 15. Mark Jamar 14. Jack Grimes 11. Rohan Bail 8. Jay Kennedy-Harris Jordie McKenzie 7. Neville Jetta 6. Alexis Georgiou Jimmy Toumpas 5. Dean Kent 4. Dean Terlich 3. Jack Trengove 2. Shannon Byrnes Jake Spencer 1. Max Gawn

REPEAT PERFORMANCE by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions travelled to wet and windy Eureka Oval, North Ballarat and repeated their now familiar pattern of taking control of a game in its early stages and then letting it slip out of their grasp without so much of a whimper in the final quarter. The rain was teeming down when the game began and it was the Scorpions who dominated the opening quarter and slipped to a four goal lead at the first break. They continued on their merry way in the second term when they held a five goal lead in the shadows of half time but it was then that, against the run of play, the home team managed to score two late quarter goals to ease some of the pressure - goals that were to later prove so vital to the final outcome. But with the rain falling heavily, it was difficult to contemplate anything other than a Scorpions victory on the way the game had been played out in the first half. They handled the conditions much better and had winners all over the ground with the likes of Sam Blease, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Viv Michie and Luke Tapscott full of run and relishing the greasy conditions. The rain continued to fall but scoring was tough for the early part of the second half and when Kennedy-Harris drew first blood with Casey's ninth goal, they led by 23 points. A dour struggle ensued with the home side slowly grasping the momentum but even then, the game was a slog and the Scorpions maintained a two goal margin at three quarter time. The final quarter was a nightmare for the visitors who capitulated without much of a fight. It was an all too familiar scenario with the Roosters constantly attacking and, but for some fighting defensive efforts from skipper Evan Panozza and Alexis Georgiou down back it could have been a far worse result. They couldn't stem the tide and North Ballarat's 4.10 to 0.2 for the quarter indicated its dominance at the end. Casey has been criticised for these lapses and it would be easy to lay into the team and its coaches for these poor second halves but it should be remembered that the team is inexperienced and lacking in strong experienced types to complement its AFL affiliated players. This week Alex Saunders and Daniel Welsh made their debuts joining two others who did so last week. A number of other Casey listed players have yet to reach double figures. The weight of that lack of experience took its toll in the tough conditions which prevailed at Eureka Oval and resulted in a 20-point defeat for the Scorpions. Things will not be any easier for them next Saturday when they take on Box Hill at home in the ABC telecast match of the round. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 8.5.53 9.7.61 9.9.63 North Ballarat 1.3.9 5.5.35 7.7.49 11.17.83 Goals Casey Scorpions Best Blease Fitzpatrick Harmes Kennedy-Harris Page Smith Tapscott Toumpas North Ballarat Couch McKenzie 2 George Horbury Jacobs Keeble Staley Tate Wallace Best Casey Scorpions Georgiou Michie Toumpas Tapscott Blease Davis North Ballarat Rippon Dumont Peters Couch Horbury McKenzie

The Casey Scorpions travelled to wet and windy Eureka Oval, North Ballarat and repeated their now familiar pattern of taking control of a game in its early stages and then letting it slip out of their grasp without so much of a whimper in the final quarter. The rain was teeming down when the game began and it was the Scorpions who dominated the opening quarter and slipped to a four goal lead at the first break. They continued on their merry way in the second term when they held a five goal lead in the shadows of half time but it was then that, against the run of play, the home team managed to score two late quarter goals to ease some of the pressure - goals that were to later prove so vital to the final outcome. But with the rain falling heavily, it was difficult to contemplate anything other than a Scorpions victory on the way the game had been played out in the first half. They handled the conditions much better and had winners all over the ground with the likes of Sam Blease, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Viv Michie and Luke Tapscott full of run and relishing the greasy conditions. The rain continued to fall but scoring was tough for the early part of the second half and when Kennedy-Harris drew first blood with Casey's ninth goal, they led by 23 points. A dour struggle ensued with the home side slowly grasping the momentum but even then, the game was a slog and the Scorpions maintained a two goal margin at three quarter time. The final quarter was a nightmare for the visitors who capitulated without much of a fight. It was an all too familiar scenario with the Roosters constantly attacking and, but for some fighting defensive efforts from skipper Evan Panozza and Alexis Georgiou down back it could have been a far worse result. They couldn't stem the tide and North Ballarat's 4.10 to 0.2 for the quarter indicated its dominance at the end. Casey has been criticised for these lapses and it would be easy to lay into the team and its coaches for these poor second halves but it should be remembered that the team is inexperienced and lacking in strong experienced types to complement its AFL affiliated players. This week Alex Saunders and Daniel Welsh made their debuts joining two others who did so last week. A number of other Casey listed players have yet to reach double figures. The weight of that lack of experience took its toll in the tough conditions which prevailed at Eureka Oval and resulted in a 20-point defeat for the Scorpions. Things will not be any easier for them next Saturday when they take on Box Hill at home in the ABC telecast match of the round. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 8.5.53 9.7.61 9.9.63 North Ballarat 1.3.9 5.5.35 7.7.49 11.17.83 Goals Casey Scorpions Best Blease Fitzpatrick Harmes Kennedy-Harris Page Smith Tapscott Toumpas North Ballarat Couch McKenzie 2 George Horbury Jacobs Keeble Staley Tate Wallace Best Casey Scorpions Georgiou Michie Toumpas Tapscott Blease Davis North Ballarat Rippon Dumont Peters Couch Horbury McKenzie Statistics Dom Barry 14 disposals 11 kicks 3 handballs 3 marks 6 tackles 72 Dream Team Points Sam Blease 1 goal 29 disposals 22 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 94 Dream Team Points Jack Fitzpatrick 1 goal 6 disposals 3 kicks 3 handballs 2 marks 4 tackles 17 hit outs 60 Dream Team Points Max Gawn 16 disposals 6 kicks 10 handballs 5 marks 2 tackles 63 hit outs 124 Dream Team Points Alexis Georgiou 15 disposals 9 kicks 6 handballs 2 marks 43 Dream Team Points James Harmes 1 goal 18 disposals 6 kicks 12 handballs 1 marks 4 tackles 67 Dream Team Points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 goal 18 disposals 13 kicks 5 handballs 2 marks 7 tackles 86 Dream Team Points Viv Michie 23 disposals 16 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 6 tackles 93 Dream Team Points James Strauss 15 disposals 12 kicks 3 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 68 Dream Team Points Luke Tapscott 1 goal 1 behind 24 disposals 21 kicks 3 handballs 6 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out 114 Dream Team Points Dean Terlich 16 disposals 11 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 76 Dream Team Points Jimmy Toumpas 1 goal 1 behind 26 disposals 20 kicks 6 handballs 8 marks 4 tackles 120 Dream Team Points

The previous record was 1407 which was draft day in November 2012.

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Woohoo! I'm in New York and got up at 2:40am to watch using the AFL live overseas app which was crystal clear. Best $15 I've spent. Got to love the free hotel wifi too.

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