Demonland

6, 5, ?????

THE DAY THEY WAVED THE WHITE FLAG by The Oracle I didn't see this coming either. Ten minutes into the game we were looking shaky but level at one goal each. Ten minutes later Essendon had broken our backs and then our hearts went too. There's nothing much more to say. MELBOURNE not much ESSENDON a lot more. If you have a thirst for further knowledge about this game then click here.

Hazy, In my post of 4.46pm I made a decision about the issue of the moderation on this thread and asked for no further correspondence. WJ has respected that but you continue to flame, inflame and criticise him and others. You really leave me no choice but to say farewell to you until this time next month. See ya

Back off the mod bashing Hazy. This is your last warning or you will be banned.

I've read what everybody has had to say about the moderation on the site and I agree with the way the moderation has been carried out. That's it ... no further correspondence on this will be accepted. Thank you.

That one was me.

RESPONDING TO FAILURE by The Oracle Sunday's mind-numbing performance by the Demons was shocking enough but what sort of experience lies in store for the long suffering fans of the game's oldest club? A clue to the answer to that question might have been subliminally implanted in my brain during last week's fiasco by a message they kept flashing up on the main scoreboard which kept saying, "Sleep at the G". I suspect this might have been the creation of some brain child at the club who thought it might be an interesting promotion for the club but thankfully, it's probably been shelved and put away in the same cupboard that contains Mark Neeld's game plan. Anyway, with or without the promotion, there's a fair chance based on recent history, that those of the club's supporters who come along to the G on Saturday night will be well and truly snoozing in their seats well before the half time siren sounds to awaken them from their reverie. All kidding aside, it was a shocking performance by the team to lose first up to Port Adelaide, but is it not possible that the Power are a lot better side than most of us thought and that, even though there's no justification or excuse for it in Round 1, Melbourne was badly in off mode for the game against an aggressive emotion-charged opponent? The Demons have taken some big hits from the top of the club to the bottom, but is one swallow sufficient justification at this early stage of the season to tear the club apart with demands that the President, the Board, the CEO and the coach all fall on their swords Richmond style? Is this the right way to respond to failure? One Demonlander had this to say this week:- RESOLVE LEADS TO VICTORY by MFC1858 I've failed many times and in many ways in life and football but there's so much that we can learn by understanding how we respond to failure. Failure in football is more than just losing matches. What we saw on the weekend was failure, not simply a loss. In today's game there is so much time and effort invested by clubs in ensuring that the skills, strategies, fitness, strength and composition of teams that one could be forgiven for thinking that these are the things which will lead to success if executed better than the opposition on any given day. The reality of the AFL is that all of these aspects of a team's preparation are more or less consistent with each other, being at the elite level. The small differences between teams may see teams lose by a goal or two, or even five. Results like that which we saw are caused by a deficiency in something else. Coach Mark Neeld and Captain Jack Grimes were both shocked at the result on the weekend, but maybe this is because they failed to understand what the critical elements of success in this game are. Confidence & Resolve Successful teams generally win games because they have either superior confidence than the opposition, because they are more resolute or both. Confidence affects the offensive aspects of the game, whereby a confident player will swiftly position themselves in an attacking position when in possession, or move the fall swiftly to such a position. On the other side a team lacking in confidence will hesitate when in possession, both in disposal and positioning. Confidence is somewhat fleeting, and can not be artificially imposed on players or teams, it comes from real outcomes. We often see this as scoreboard pressure - when victory is within reach confidence swells quickly, this causes momentum. The opposite of this is also true, making confidence an element of our game which leaders needs to understand but can't actually control. Resolve concerns the game where the opposition have the ball or the ball is in dispute. A resolved individual will be determined and disciplined in attacking a loose ball, tackling, chasing an opponent or lunging for a smother. If a team's resolve is greater than the opposition, it will accumulate to stifle confidence, and possibly even break their resolve. Once resolve is broken a football team fails, as we did on the weekend. Unlike confidence though, resolve can be developed within a team by its leaders, and this is the role that our coach and captains have at hand. What makes this difficult is that the triggers or stimuli for resolve in individuals differ. Some people respond to criticism and failure with resolve, others respond to encouragement with resolve. It's the old you can do it/you can't do it response. Our leaders should know which kind of approach to take to develop this resolve with every player at the club. Ruthless condemnation to those who will respond to it with resolve, and reinforcement of the strengths which they can do well for those who will respond to this. They then need to apply this personally and as a team with vigour. This is the job of a leader. What our club needs at the moment is not changes in personnel, we've seen first hand this is not the answer to questions of success or failure. Our club needs to develop leaders who genuinely understand what's required, and are motivated to impress this, to demand this resolve from the team. I hope that what happened last week was the wake up call that the team needed, but it needs to be used to develop resolve by our leaders. I'd love to see the same team run out this week with resolve which leads to confidence, success and then, maybe, victory. The supporters appear to agree that wholesale changes in personnel after one game will not solve things. A poll carried out on the site is currently showing only 33% in favour of such changes at the top. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 6 April, 2013 at 7.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 126 wins Melbourne 80 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 63 wins Melbourne 44 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Essendon 10 wins Melbourne 7 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Neeld 1 win MEDIA TV Channel 7 & Fox Footy Channel at 7.30pm (live) RADIO THE BETTING Essendon $1.10 to win Melbourne $7.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 8.10.58 defeated Essendon 6.16.52 Round 10, 2012 at the MCG Underdog Melbourne stunned the football world when it won this game by a goal against ladder leader Essendon which had looked a likely top four prospect. Coach Mark Neeld pulled some great moves including Colin Garland from defence to forward while Jack Watts slotted brilliantly into defence with a best on ground performance. The embarrassed Bombers went downhill while the Demons didn't go anywhere after this result either. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Mark Baguley Jake Carlisle Dustin Fletcher Half backs Brendon Goddard Cale Hooker Brent Stanton Centreline Dyson Heppell Jobe Watson Alwyn Davey Half forwards Stewart Crameri Michael Hurley David Zaharakis Forwards Nick Kommer Patrick Ryder Jake Melksham Followers Tom Bellchambers Heath Hocking Courtenay Dempsey Interchange Michael Hibberd Ben Howlett Jackson Merrett David Myers Emergencies Will Hams David Hille Elliott Kavanagh MELBOURNE Backs Tom Gillies James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Tom McDonald Tom Garland Centreline Jack Grimes Jack Viney Matt Jones Half forwards Sam Blease James Sellar Jeremy Howe Forwards Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Shannon Byrnes Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Aaron Davey Dan Nicholson Jimmy Toumpas Jack Trengove Emergencies Cameron Pedersen David Rodan Jake Spencer In Aaron Davey Tom McDonald Dean Terlich Jack Trengove Out Lynden Dunn (hamstring) Cameron Petersen David Rodan Luke Tapscott New Dean Terlich (23, Norwood, SA) PROFESSIONALS? by The Oracle The opposing teams both took on opposition from South Australia in Round 1 with dramatically contrasting outcomes. Essendon crossed the border and beat Adelaide (3rd in 2012) by 35 points on its own home patch while nine days later, Melbourne went down to Port Adelaide (14th in 2012) by 79 points at the MCG. This information alone is sufficient to suggest that the unchanged Bombers are set for an easy night on Saturday. Melbourne has made four changes to the side that was bashed by Port Adelaide last Sunday and, on the face of it, each of the changes is a plus for the team. The players being replaced had a minimal contribution to the team effort while those coming in all have the capacity to play important roles for the team. Of course, in order for Melbourne to be competitive (let alone win) against the Bombers, it will need more than just the four newcomers to fire up. It requires an enormous lift all over the park. It needs its players to perform like the highly paid professions they profess to be. The Demons are coming off a six day break while the Bombers should be well rested having last played 15 days ago. Most of their players had a week off before that which makes Saturday's game only their second in 29 days. This could well be the weakness for Melbourne to exploit because, just as it came out looking lethargic and playing that way last week, there remains the possibility that its players have been stung by the reaction to their insipid first up performance. Then there's also the possibility that we've all underestimated Port Adelaide and overestimated the Crows or that the Round 1 results were aberrations. That's it. If Essendon look at the way Melbourne played last week, it should come out this week with supreme confidence. There's no need for an analysis of match ups. If James Frawley comes out and meanders around the park as he did last week, then Michael Hurley will have a field day. Multiply that 22 times but allow for a handful of Demons who put in an effort and it's going to be a slaughter. Time for Melbourne players to come out and look and act like professional footballers. Essendon to win. I make no prediction as to the margin.

The no's have it.

An upgrade to the software to wiped our skins. The only way to get it back was to roll back to the last back up. Our last back up was at 3:00am this morning but the update occurred before then so we had to revert back to 3:00am the day before. Bad timing.

Sunday's mind-numbing performance by the Demons was shocking enough but what sort of experience lies in store for the long suffering fans of the game's oldest club? A clue to the answer to that question might have been subliminally implanted in my brain during last week's fiasco by a message they kept flashing up on the main scoreboard which kept saying, "Sleep at the G". I suspect this might have been the creation of some brain child at the club who thought it might be an interesting promotion for the club but thankfully, it's probably been shelved and put away in the same cupboard that contains Mark Neeld's game plan. Anyway, with or without the promotion, there's a fair chance based on recent history, that those of the club's supporters who come along to the G on Saturday night will be well and truly snoozing in their seats well before the half time siren sounds to awaken them from their reverie. All kidding aside, it was a shocking performance by the team to lose first up to Port Adelaide, but is it not possible that the Power are a lot better side than most of us thought and that, even though there's no justification or excuse for it in Round 1, Melbourne was badly in off mode for the game against an aggressive emotion-charged opponent? The Demons have taken some big hits from the top of the club to the bottom, but is one swallow sufficient justification at this early stage of the season to tear the club apart with demands that the President, the Board, the CEO and the coach all fall on their swords Richmond style? Is this the right way to respond to failure? One Demonlander had this to say this week:- RESOLVE LEADS TO VICTORY by MFC1858 I've failed many times and in many ways in life and football but there's so much that we can learn by understanding how we respond to failure. Failure in football is more than just losing matches. What we saw on the weekend was failure, not simply a loss. In today's game there is so much time and effort invested by clubs in ensuring that the skills, strategies, fitness, strength and composition of teams that one could be forgiven for thinking that these are the things which will lead to success if executed better than the opposition on any given day. The reality of the AFL is that all of these aspects of a team's preparation are more or less consistent with each other, being at the elite level. The small differences between teams may see teams lose by a goal or two, or even five. Results like that which we saw are caused by a deficiency in something else. Coach Mark Neeld and Captain Jack Grimes were both shocked at the result on the weekend, but maybe this is because they failed to understand what the critical elements of success in this game are. Confidence & Resolve Successful teams generally win games because they have either superior confidence than the opposition, because they are more resolute or both. Confidence affects the offensive aspects of the game, whereby a confident player will swiftly position themselves in an attacking position when in possession, or move the fall swiftly to such a position. On the other side a team lacking in confidence will hesitate when in possession, both in disposal and positioning. Confidence is somewhat fleeting, and can not be artificially imposed on players or teams, it comes from real outcomes. We often see this as scoreboard pressure - when victory is within reach confidence swells quickly, this causes momentum. The opposite of this is also true, making confidence an element of our game which leaders needs to understand but can't actually control. Resolve concerns the game where the opposition have the ball or the ball is in dispute. A resolved individual will be determined and disciplined in attacking a loose ball, tackling, chasing an opponent or lunging for a smother. If a team's resolve is greater than the opposition, it will accumulate to stifle confidence, and possibly even break their resolve. Once resolve is broken a football team fails, as we did on the weekend. Unlike confidence though, resolve can be developed within a team by its leaders, and this is the role that our coach and captains have at hand. What makes this difficult is that the triggers or stimuli for resolve in individuals differ. Some people respond to criticism and failure with resolve, others respond to encouragement with resolve. It's the old you can do it/you can't do it response. Our leaders should know which kind of approach to take to develop this resolve with every player at the club. Ruthless condemnation to those who will respond to it with resolve, and reinforcement of the strengths which they can do well for those who will respond to this. They then need to apply this personally and as a team with vigour. This is the job of a leader. What our club needs at the moment is not changes in personnel, we've seen first hand this is not the answer to questions of success or failure. Our club needs to develop leaders who genuinely understand what's required, and are motivated to impress this, to demand this resolve from the team. I hope that what happened last week was the wake up call that the team needed, but it needs to be used to develop resolve by our leaders. I'd love to see the same team run out this week with resolve which leads to confidence, success and then, maybe, victory. The supporters appear to agree that wholesale changes in personnel after one game will not solve things. A poll carried out on the site is currently showing only 33% in favour of such changes at the top. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 6 April, 2013 at 7.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 126 wins Melbourne 80 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 63 wins Melbourne 44 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Essendon 10 wins Melbourne 7 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Neeld 1 win MEDIA TV Channel 7 & Fox Footy Channel at 7.30pm (live) RADIO THE BETTING Essendon $1.10 to win Melbourne $7.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 8.10.58 defeated Essendon 6.16.52 Round 10, 2012 at the MCG Underdog Melbourne stunned the football world when it won this game by a goal against ladder leader Essendon which had looked a likely top four prospect. Coach Mark Neeld pulled some great moves including Colin Garland from defence to forward while Jack Watts slotted brilliantly into defence with a best on ground performance. The embarrassed Bombers went downhill while the Demons didn't go anywhere after this result either. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Mark Baguley Jake Carlisle Dustin Fletcher Half backs Brendon Goddard Cale Hooker Brent Stanton Centreline Dyson Heppell Jobe Watson Alwyn Davey Half forwards Stewart Crameri Michael Hurley David Zaharakis Forwards Nick Kommer Patrick Ryder Jake Melksham Followers Tom Bellchambers Heath Hocking Courtenay Dempsey Interchange Michael Hibberd Ben Howlett Jackson Merrett David Myers Emergencies Will Hams David Hille Elliott Kavanagh MELBOURNE Backs Tom Gillies James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Tom McDonald Tom Garland Centreline Jack Grimes Jack Viney Matt Jones Half forwards Sam Blease James Sellar Jeremy Howe Forwards Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Shannon Byrnes Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Aaron Davey Dan Nicholson Jimmy Toumpas Jack Trengove Emergencies Cameron Pedersen David Rodan Jake Spencer In Aaron Davey Tom McDonald Dean Terlich Jack Trengove Out Lynden Dunn (hamstring) Cameron Petersen David Rodan Luke Tapscott New Dean Terlich (23, Norwood, SA) PROFESSIONALS? by The Oracle The opposing teams both took on opposition from South Australia in Round 1 with dramatically contrasting outcomes. Essendon crossed the border and beat Adelaide (3rd in 2012) by 35 points on its own home patch while nine days later, Melbourne went down to Port Adelaide (14th in 2012) by 79 points at the MCG. This information alone is sufficient to suggest that the unchanged Bombers are set for an easy night on Saturday. Melbourne has made four changes to the side that was bashed by Port Adelaide last Sunday and, on the face of it, each of the changes is a plus for the team. The players being replaced had a minimal contribution to the team effort while those coming in all have the capacity to play important roles for the team. Of course, in order for Melbourne to be competitive (let alone win) against the Bombers, it will need more than just the four newcomers to fire up. It requires an enormous lift all over the park. It needs its players to perform like the highly paid professions they profess to be. The Demons are coming off a six day break while the Bombers should be well rested having last played 15 days ago. Most of their players had a week off before that which makes Saturday's game only their second in 29 days. This could well be the weakness for Melbourne to exploit because, just as it came out looking lethargic and playing that way last week, there remains the possibility that its players have been stung by the reaction to their insipid first up performance. Then there's also the possibility that we've all underestimated Port Adelaide and overestimated the Crows or that the Round 1 results were aberrations. That's it. If Essendon look at the way Melbourne played last week, it should come out this week with supreme confidence. There's no need for an analysis of match ups. If James Frawley comes out and meanders around the park as he did last week, then Michael Hurley will have a field day. Multiply that 22 times but allow for a handful of Demons who put in an effort and it's going to be a slaughter. Time for Melbourne players to come out and look and act like professional footballers. Essendon to win. I make no prediction as to the margin.

Long story short. Andy bad. Nasher good. We lost data from 3:00am on the 3rd to 11:50am on the 4th. You may now resume your bitching and moaning about this once great football club.

Given the allegations against Hell's Gates, this thread is temporarily closed. HG - if you have resigned from employment at the MFC would you mind sending me or Whispering Jack a PM with the details. No compulsion but we will be checking with the club tomorrow to determine if any of its employees in the NT resigned yesterday so if you can help clear this up, please advise. This is a temporary measure only. Also, are you certain about Farren Ray doing a medical with the club? POSTSCRIPT: We've received a response from HG advising of his role in the NT and stating he has now moved house. As a result, we've decided to reopen the thread. We have decided at this stage not to follow the matter up with the club based on HG's response. Thanks for your patience and please let's try to stay more or less on topic

It was a major upset last year. If we get up on Saturday night it will be much more than that. ESSENDON Backs Cale Hooker Dustin Fletcher Courtenay Dempsey Half backs Ricky Dyson Kyle Hardingham Jake Carlisle Centreline David Zaharakis Jobe Watson Brent Stanton Half forwards Angus Monfries Stewart Crameri Patrick Ryder Forwards Leroy Jetta Michael Hurley Alwyn Davey Followers Tom Bellchambers Ben Howlett Heath Hocking Interchange Travis Colyer Sam Lonergan Nathan Lovett-Murray Melksham Emergencies David Hille Tayte Pears Henry Slattery In Dustin Fletcher Kyle Hardingham Leroy Jetta Out Mark McVeigh Tayte Pears Henry Slattery MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Tom McDonald Half backs Jack Trengove Jack Watts Colin Garland Centreline Jack Grimes James Magner Nathan Jones Half forwards Rohan Bail Mitch Clark Joel Macdonald Forwards Jeremy Howe Brad Green Luke Tapscott Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Interchange Sam Blease Lynden Dunn Daniel Nicholson Colin Sylvia Emergencies Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell James Sellar In Joel Macdonald Colin Sylvia Out Jamie Bennell James Sellar

I have decided to extend the 2012 price offer for one more day. The current costs for a Demonland.com membership is as follows: Annual Demonland.com membership is $20 per year. (1 year subscription of Demonland.com without advertisements. Also includes access to the Mobile Skin for viewing on Smartphones) Lifetime Demonland.com membership is $50 for life. (Lifetime subscription to Demonland.com without advertisements. Also includes access to the Mobile Skin for viewing on Smartphones) As of the 2nd of April the costs for a Demonland.com membership will be: Annual Demonland.com membership is $25 per year. (1 year subscription of Demonland.com without advertisements. Also includes access to the Mobile Skin for Smartphones) Lifetime Demonland.com membership is $60 for life. (Lifetime subscription to Demonland.com without advertisements. Also includes access to the Mobile Skin for Smartphones) You can subscribed by clicking the Subscription tab under the main Demonland logo at the top of the page next to the Home tab and follow the prompts through to PayPal. Or simply click this link - http://demonland.com.../subscriptions

PROGRESS VOTING ROUND 1 17. Jack Viney 15. Jack Grimes 13. Matt Jones 5. Mitch Clark Nathan Jones 4. Jordie McKenzie 2. Mark Jamar 1. Sam Blease Jeremy Howe

It's a ridiculous poll which will demonstrate how many panic merchants support this club. That's all.

Demons Fans boo off team after Round 1 capitulation. A simply disgraceful team performance by the Melbourne Football club where they managed a solitary goal in a half of football, saw them rightly booed from the ground by their fans. And for all the apologists who say the team shouldnt be bagged ... that's rubbish! When a couple of first game 18 year olds show how to play a game of football, as an example, then players who had pulled on the jumper for 50 or 100 games should hang their heads in shame. Once again the supporters turned out in droves with over 20,000 paying their money and providing encouragement. For that they were treated disgracefully as they witnessed half-hearted efforts and lack of simply football smarts throughout the whole game. If it werent for the likes of Mitch Clark, Jack Grimes, Jack Viney and Nathan Jones the result would have been as one toothless Port supporter described after the match -Road Kill. How true that was! Port were prepared to run. Port were prepared to back up their team-mates and keep playing simple football. It was what we have come to know them as. It is their culture. Melbourne players in contrast played like a group of upper-class schoolboys. Avoiding the heavy contact, and hoping someone else will do the hard work, just to avoid getting the hands dirty. Simple tactics of manning up were either not followed or issued, as countless Port goals were slammed through with barely a Melbourne player in sight. Grimes tried hard to rally the troops with some genuine dash, and Blease added that which was missing for the first ¾ of the game. Clark played his heart out, but with no other assistance up forward his output was nullified. Viney will surely win the Rising Star award for this week with 22 disposals. And they were all hard fought and valuable. However, his long time friend Oliver Wines had an equally impressive debut for the Power. A sharp contrast with Col Sylvia (yet again) who simply refuses to cover his or any man, while he is all too happy to let others get the ball to him ... if he feels like it. The fans booed the team off at half-time and again at full time. They could see the sub-standard performance and the lack of effort being shunted out. Any supporter can stomach a team that is better than yours, but they certainly couldnt stomach what they saw today. Melbourne 3.1.19 7.2.44 7.3.45 8.6.54 Port Adelaide 5.3.33 11.6.72 16.13.109 19.19.133 Goals MelbourneClark Howe 2 Byrnes McKenzie Pedersen Viney Port Adelaide Schulz 4 Monfries Stewart 3 Hartlett 2 Cornes Heath Moore Pittard Westhoff Wingard Wines Best Melbourne Grimes Viney Clark N Jones M Jones Port Adelaide Hartlett Monfries Schulz Ebert Cornes Westhoff Injuries Melbourne Clark (ankle) Port Adelaide Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Substitions Melbourne Sam Blease replaced Mitch Clark (final quarter) Port Adelaide Kane Mitchell replaced Angus Monfries (final quarter) Umpires Farmer Ryan Pannell Crowd 22,924 at the MCG

CAN YOU HEAR THE DRUMS? by George on the Outer Demons Fans boo off team after Round 1 capitulation. A simply disgraceful team performance by the Melbourne Football club where they managed a solitary goal in a half of football, saw them rightly booed from the ground by their fans. And for all the apologists who say the team shouldnt be bagged ... that's rubbish! When a couple of first game 18 year olds show how to play a game of football, as an example, then players who had pulled on the jumper for 50 or 100 games should hang their heads in shame. Once again the supporters turned out in droves with over 20,000 paying their money and providing encouragement. For that they were treated disgracefully as they witnessed half-hearted efforts and lack of simply football smarts throughout the whole game. If it werent for the likes of Mitch Clark, Jack Grimes, Jack Viney and Nathan Jones the result would have been as one toothless Port supporter described after the match -Road Kill. How true that was! Port were prepared to run. Port were prepared to back up their team-mates and keep playing simple football. It was what we have come to know them as. It is their culture. Melbourne players in contrast played like a group of upper-class schoolboys. Avoiding the heavy contact, and hoping someone else will do the hard work, just to avoid getting the hands dirty. Simple tactics of manning up were either not followed or issued, as countless Port goals were slammed through with barely a Melbourne player in sight. Grimes tried hard to rally the troops with some genuine dash, and Blease added that which was missing for the first ¾ of the game. Clark played his heart out, but with no other assistance up forward his output was nullified. Viney will surely win the Rising Star award for this week with 22 disposals. And they were all hard fought and valuable. However, his long time friend Oliver Wines had an equally impressive debut for the Power. A sharp contrast with Col Sylvia (yet again) who simply refuses to cover his or any man, while he is all too happy to let others get the ball to him ... if he feels like it. The fans booed the team off at half-time and again at full time. They could see the sub-standard performance and the lack of effort being shunted out. Any supporter can stomach a team that is better than yours, but they certainly couldnt stomach what they saw today. Melbourne 3.1.19 7.2.44 7.3.45 8.6.54 Port Adelaide 5.3.33 11.6.72 16.13.109 19.19.133 Goals MelbourneClark Howe 2 Byrnes McKenzie Pedersen Viney Port Adelaide Schulz 4 Monfries Stewart 3 Hartlett 2 Cornes Heath Moore Pittard Westhoff Wingard Wines Best Melbourne Grimes Viney Clark N Jones M Jones Port Adelaide Hartlett Monfries Schulz Ebert Cornes Westhoff Injuries Melbourne Clark (ankle) Port Adelaide Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Port Adelaide Nil Substitions Melbourne Sam Blease replaced Mitch Clark (final quarter) Port Adelaide Kane Mitchell replaced Angus Monfries (final quarter) Umpires Farmer Ryan Pannell Crowd 22,924 at the MCG

Can you pick 6 players?

Any updates?

EXPERIMENT by KC from Casey The final practice match before the start of the season proper was a time for experimentation as the Scorpions took on the Hawks at Casey Fields. As was obvious from results of other games across the country in both AFL and VFL, the results of these games can be misleading and mean little in terms of the real season ahead. Casey fielded a list of 27 players but used a substitute system and changed four of its players at half time while a few of the Demon listed players were still finding their feet after injury interrupted pre seasons. The result was a team that lacked height around the ground, particularly in the forward line where Box Hill's height and marking power combined with Casey's shocking inaccuracy in front of goal conspired to give the visitors an easy victory in the end. The game started in conditions that were perfect for football with a light breeze and the cloud cover keeping things cool. Casey dominated proceedings for most of the opening term with James Magner and Tom Couch racking up the possessions on the ball but, for all their troubles, they managed a solitary goal and held a mere 10 point lead at quarter time. For the second week in a row, it took little time for the visiting side to turn things around. Two goals in a minute, one from a dubious free kick, saw Box Hill in front. Another free and fifty metre penalty saw them move to an 8 point lead before Casey regrouped and fought back to level the score but a couple of late goals gave the Hawks a comfortable 14 point buffer at half time. The breeze had picked up during the afternoon and Casey dominated the third term kicking to the southern end but, as with the opening stanza, the Scorpions were woefully inaccurate in front of goal and, as often happens, the Hawks goaled late in the term against the run of play in one of their rare forays forward. With Max Gawn off for the day during the latter stages of the final quarter and Cranbourne ruck recruit Michael Boland "subbed" off at the main break, the bigger, stronger Box Hill rucks and key position players took complete control of the game and romped home by 31 points. Dean Terlich and Tom McDonald were the day's two most prominent Demon players to put their hands up for AFL selection while 18 year old Ben Kearns from the Gippsland Power via Churchill, in his first senior game was dangerous around the goals and looks to be a player of the future. Casey Scorpions 1.5.11 2.8.20 3.16.34 4.17.41 Box Hill Hawks 0.1.1 5.4.34 6.6.42 10.12.72 Stats: Magner 36,Terlich 33, Couch 29, Davis 27, Clisby 23, Evans 22, J.Tynan 21, Barry 18. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Dom Barry - worked hard for 18 disposals and showed some innate natural skills. Needs to build his body to be right for AFL football. Mitch Clisby - good run out of defence and clean with his disposal. Thomas Couch - got a lot of the football but not always effective. Troy Davis - some great defensive efforts and is improving his disposal and decision making. Michael Evans - worked hard in bursts but we need to seem him use his pace and skills a lot more. Max Gawn - had about 2½ quarters before he came off. Started tentatively at his first ruck contest but was soon into it although a little trusty. Given that it was his first outing since late 2011 and he had little assistance in the ruck it was a positive start for him. Neville Jetta - showed great determination in defence and would be handy with the Demons. Dean Kent - a solid game from the youngster who will play in the AFL this season. James Magner - picked up 36 possessions in a quality game in the midfield. Tom McDonald - showed that he's ready to return to the AFL after that ankle injury. Good run out of defence. James Strauss - a quiet day but very effective with his disposal. Rory Taggert - tried up forward early with limited effect. Better when he played downfield. Dean Terlich - played a strong game as an attacking defender. Got a lot of the football and moved it well. Really put his hand up for selection against Essendon next week. Jack Trengove - a quiet day but seemed to be gaining confidence and touch the further the game went. Josh Tynan - worked hard in defence and looks to be an improver on last year.

The final practice match before the start of the season proper was a time for experimentation as the Scorpions took on the Hawks at Casey Fields. As was obvious from results of other games across the country in both AFL and VFL, the results of these games can be misleading and mean little in terms of the real season ahead. Casey fielded a list of 27 players but used a substitute system and changed four of its players at half time while a few of the Demon listed players were still finding their feet after injury interrupted pre seasons. The result was a team that lacked height around the ground, particularly in the forward line where Box Hill's height and marking power combined with Casey's shocking inaccuracy in front of goal conspired to give the visitors an easy victory in the end. The game started in conditions that were perfect for football with a light breeze and the cloud cover keeping things cool. Casey dominated proceedings for most of the opening term with James Magner and Tom Couch racking up the possessions on the ball but, for all their troubles, they managed a solitary goal and held a mere 10 point lead at quarter time. For the second week in a row, it took little time for the visiting side to turn things around. Two goals in a minute, one from a dubious free kick, saw Box Hill in front. Another free and fifty metre penalty saw them move to an 8 point lead before Casey regrouped and fought back to level the score but a couple of late goals gave the Hawks a comfortable 14 point buffer at half time. The breeze had picked up during the afternoon and Casey dominated the third term kicking to the southern end but, as with the opening stanza, the Scorpions were woefully inaccurate in front of goal and, as often happens, the Hawks goaled late in the term against the run of play in one of their rare forays forward. With Max Gawn off for the day during the latter stages of the final quarter and Cranbourne ruck recruit Michael Boland "subbed" off at the main break, the bigger, stronger Box Hill rucks and key position players took complete control of the game and romped home by 31 points. Dean Terlich and Tom McDonald were the day's two most prominent Demon players to put their hands up for AFL selection while 18 year old Ben Kearns from the Gippsland Power via Churchill, in his first senior game was dangerous around the goals and looks to be a player of the future. Casey Scorpions 1.5.11 2.8.20 3.16.34 4.17.41 Box Hill Hawks 0.1.1 5.4.34 6.6.42 10.12.72 Stats: Magner 36,Terlich 33, Couch 29, Davis 27, Clisby 23, Evans 22, J.Tynan 21, Barry 18. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Dom Barry - worked hard for 18 disposals and showed some innate natural skills. Needs to build his body to be right for AFL football. Mitch Clisby - good run out of defence and clean with his disposal. Thomas Couch - got a lot of the football but not always effective. Troy Davis - some great defensive efforts and is improving his disposal and decision making. Michael Evans - worked hard in bursts but we need to seem him use his pace and skills a lot more. Max Gawn - had about 2½ quarters before he came off. Started tentatively at his first ruck contest but was soon into it although a little trusty. Given that it was his first outing since late 2011 and he had little assistance in the ruck it was a positive start for him. Neville Jetta - showed great determination in defence and would be handy with the Demons. Dean Kent - a solid game from the youngster who will play in the AFL this season. James Magner - picked up 36 possessions in a quality game in the midfield. Tom McDonald - showed that he's ready to return to the AFL after that ankle injury. Good run out of defence. James Strauss - a quiet day but very effective with his disposal. Rory Taggert - tried up forward early with limited effect. Better when he played downfield. Dean Terlich - played a strong game as an attacking defender. Got a lot of the football and moved it well. Really put his hand up for selection against Essendon next week. Jack Trengove - a quiet day but seemed to be gaining confidence and touch the further the game went. Josh Tynan - worked hard in defence and looks to be an improver on last year.

Well ... since it's now officially GAME DAY, I propose the discussion should now move on to the GAME DAY THREAD!

I'm not sure what is happening with your phone. Others with the same phone and OS are not experiencing any issues. Without access to the phone for testing there is nothing else I can do except offer you a full refund. Let me know how you would like to proceed? I apologise for the inconvenience.

He was listed at the time as being an indigenous Australian but we'll get down to checking and correcting that at some stage.Winder if he was related to Usain Bolt?