Demonland

Please try hard to find some players to give your votes to – voting starts on the final bell or whenever you smash your tv. Votes to be given on a 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis

Er ... I'm not as convinced about winning as I was this morning.

I'm in the process of fixing this. It got nuked in the latest software update for the site. I've lodged a support ticket but being the weekend might not be resolved until early next week. Please be patient and sorry for the inconvenience.

There was a software update for the message board and this has broken the mobile skin. I have put in a support request to have it fixed. Hopefully by early next week it will be . Sorry for the inconvenience.

The media has been having a field day with Melbourne and its players these days so I thought this piece from The Daily Maggot wouldn't go astray Top Dees draftees sue club for failing to reach potential Just please don't laugh too loud at this. Someone from AFL360 might notice.

TWILIGHT ZONE by Whispering Jack Last night an intrepid group of people associated with the legal profession met for the annual Devil’s Advocates dinner mc’d by former MFC board member Bev O’Connor and hosted by prominent Melbourne family lawyer, Ralph Glezer. You have to be intrepid if you’re a Melbourne fan because, as Chris Connolly told the audience, there is a great deal being thrown at us from the cheap seats in these early days of the club’s new coaching regime. It was a theme of the night that rather than being in the deep trouble as painted by some of the pundits, the Demons are indeed building for a better future. Connolly noted that in recent years the club had repaid its debt, reshaped its deal with the MCC, acquired a valuable asset in the Bentleigh Club, grown its membership. The necessary ingredients for long term success are being put together so that despite the short term pain of the current 0-7 win/loss ratio as the team learns a new style of play, the vision that will see a strong Melbourne in the years to come remains on track. Glezer congratulated the gathering and all club supporters who stand firm at this time. It was fitting that he was able to pay a special tribute to the late Jim Stynes who was responsible for much of the club’s financial resurgence on the day on which the AFL, the MFC and the Reach Foundation proudly announced the launch of the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award. Three players in attendance, Matthew Bate, Cale Morton and Stef Martin all impressed with their approach to the difficult season so far. It’s difficult for the supporters who measure things by way only of reference to the premiership table. The football department has other indicators that also need to be looked at in terms of the process of change sweeping through the club. Neil Craig and Josh Mahoney also confirmed that the club has this vision that is certainly being embraced internally. Craig spoke of the particular difficulties faced by new coach Mark Neeld and asked what new coach would have such a controversial start with distractions such as the incident involving Liam Jurrah (couple with his injury), the death of Jim Stynes, the false claims of racism against him and the sponsorship fiasco with Energy Watch? Craig made it clear that the club and Neeld had handled every obstacle put in their way with great dignity while those at other clubs and in the media who have been overcritical have a lot to answer for by comparison with the way in which they have conducted themselves at this time. The wheel will turn. Despite this, the feeling among the lawyers was not particularly optimistic but their mood was improved with estate agent Phil Kingston's wit and incise humour when auctioning items at the end of the function. It suddenly dawned on me that if a group's collective mood can be changed so swiftly then why can't the same stand for a group of footballers whose confidence has been down for several weeks? I'm therefore looking forward to this week’s twilight game at the SCG and I’m going out on a limb by saying that the Demons are ready to take off and make the critics eat humble pie. I think they will win this game and thereafter continue to show improvement for the remainder of the season. Laugh, if you wish but I’m very bullish on Melbourne when it comes to taking on the Swans even in the confined spaces of the SCG. In recent years, Sydney has struggled against Melbourne which sent vocal critic Paul Roos off with an almighty thumping in 2010. Roos is obviously smarting from the embarrassment because he never misses an opportunity to sink the boots into the Demons. I will get great pleasure in seeing Melbourne do likewise to his old side this Saturday. The last time the teams met was at the MCG in round 1 last year when they drew. For the purpose of the exercise, these were the teams as selected that day. MELBOURNE (Round 1, 2011) Backs Clint Bartram Jared Rivers Joel Macdonald Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Jamie Bennell Centreline Nathan Jones Brent Moloney Luke Tapscott Half forwards Rohan Bail Colin Sylvia Liam Jurrah Forwards Jack Watts Brad Green Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Lynden Dunn Aaron Davey Interchange Neville Jetta Stefan Martin Ricky Petterd Jack Trengove Emergencies Jake Spencer James Strauss Matthew Warnock SYDNEY (Round 1, 2011) Backs Paul Bevan Ted Richards Martin Mattner Half backs Rhys Shaw Heath Grundy Andrejs Everitt Centreline Daniel Hannebery Kieren Jack Nick Smith Half forwards Lewis Jetta Adam Goodes Ben McGlynn Forwards Ryan O'Keefe Sam Reid Jesse White Followers Shane Mumford Josh Kennedy Jarrod McVeigh Interchange Jude Bolton Gary Rohan Mark Seaby Byron Sumner Emergencies Craig Bird Jed Lamb Brett Meredith I look at the two teams and note only two players from the Melbourne side of that day are not available to play - Neville Jetta (ankle injury) and Addam Maric (now with Richmond). You could include Mitch Clark and James Magner and you have what is notionally a far superior list than that which drew with the Swans in round 1 last year. Then I look at Sydney's team from that day and there's no Adam Goodes, Shane Mumford or Gary Rohan and many of its payers have been well below par in form over the past couple of weeks. They can't replace that lot for quality, their confidence is down and yet the Swans are red hot favourites to win. I know it's not much to go on but it's enough for me to come up with one of my famous inspired hunches. My conclusion from this is that it’s only a matter of time before Melbourne realises that it’s all in the head and that they quite capable of beating an out of form Sydney that is missing key players. If the Demons grab the opportunity and a confident mood starts spreading through the team a win is possible. I’m tipping the Demons by 12 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney at the SCG Saturday 19 May at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Sydney 106 wins Melbourne 92 wins 2 draws At SCG Sydney 13 wins Melbourne 8 wins Since 2000 Sydney 12 wins Melbourne 7 wins 1 draw The Coaches Longmire 0 Neeld 0 MEDIA Fox Footy Channel live at 4.30pm. RADIO SEN ABC774 THE BETTING Sydney to win $1.09 Melbourne to win $7.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 11.18.74 drew with Sydney Swans 11.18.74 in Round 1, 2011 The teams sparred against each other all day and first one and then the other held the ascendency. The Demons, with Ricky Petterd on fire as the sub who came on in the final term, grabbed the lead late but a Ryan O’Keefe behind tied things up. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland, Tom McDonald Centreline Cale Morton Brent Moloney Nathan Jones Half forwards Jack Trengove Jack Watts Liam Jurrah Forwards Jeremy Howe Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Colin Sylvia Interchange Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Brad Green James Magner Emergencies Rohan Bail Lynden Dunn James Sellar In Sam Blease Brad Green Liam Jurrah Jack Watts Out Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Jack Fitzpatrick Ricky Petterd SYDNEY SWANS Backs Martin Mattner Ted Richards Rhyce Shaw Half backs Nicholas Smith Heath Grundy Jarrad McVeigh Centreline Lewis Jetta Josh P Kennedy Nick Malceski Half forwards Ryan O'Keefe Tommy Walsh Daniel Hannebery Forwards Ben McGlynn Sam Reid Trent Dennis-Lane Followers Mike Pyke Kieren Jack Jude Bolton Interchange Craig Bird Alex Johnson Luke Parker Lewis Roberts-Thomson Emergencies Andrejs Everitt Jesse White In Mike Pyke Lewis Roberts-Thomson Tommy Walsh Out Andrejs Everitt Mark Seaby Jesse White New Tommy Walsh (St Kilda) THE YEAR SO FAR by Sam the Stats Man Who would ever have believed that almost a third of the way through the season, two of Melbourne’s true playmakers Liam Jurrah and Colin Sylvia would not have scored a goal between them for the Demons? Injuries and poor form are again dogging the club as we look at the players statistically over the first seven rounds:- BAIL, Rohan MFC 7 games, 3 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals – yet to really fire. BARTRAM, Clint MFC 7 games, 1 goal - moved to the leadership group at the start of the year, Bartram has rejuvenated his career with some steady if not spectacular performances. BATE, Matthew MFC 7 games, 5 goals - attempting to resurrect his career but three games as opening sub haven't helped greatly. BENNELL, Jamie MFC 2 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 4 games, 1 goal - great at Casey but unimpressive so far in the big league. BLEASE, Sam MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 5 games, 5 goals - disappointed at his only start in the AFL but has worked hard at Casey. CLARK, Mitch MFC 6 games, 17 goals - Melbourne's recruit of the year. COOK, Lucas CFC Sen 2 games, 3 goals, CFC DL 1 game, 5 goals - has been in the background at Casey after recovering from injury and is still some way from making an AFL debut. COUCH, Tom ® CFC Sen 6 games, 2 goals - showing excellent form at Casey but missed a big opportunity last week when he missed with illness. DAVEY, Aaron MFC 6 games, 5 goals - well down on form and confidence. Needs to improve his fitness. DAVIS, Troy CFC Sen 6 games, 2 Goals - continues to show good form and promise with the Scorpions. DUNN, Lynden MFC 5 games, 6 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 3 goals - career at the crossroads. Does well at Casey and not too bad when with the Demons. EVANS, Michael ® - out indefinitely with a back injury. FITZPATRICK, Jack MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 6 games, 9 goals – clawed his way back into the senior side last week but needs time and senior experience in his legs. FRAWLEY, James MFC 6 games, 0 goals - working hard in defence against the odds. GARLAND, Colin MFC 7 games, 0 goals – steady and workmanlike but needs to produce more. GAWN, Max - the handy young ruckman is out for the year following his second ACL injury. GREEN, Brad MFC 2 games, 1 goal, CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals – disappointing drop off in form and then a broken thumb at Casey have cruelled his season to date. GRIMES, Jack MFC 6 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals - co-captain has not had a great impact this season and missed a week through suspension. GYSBERTS, Jordan CFC Sen 3 games, 0 goals - we've seen very little of Gysberts who suffered a broken jaw at Geelong after shrugging off an ankle injury. Will miss another three to five weeks. HOWE, Jeremy MFC 7 games, 6 goals - solid this season having added endurance and strength to his repertoire to go will his high marking skills. JAMAR, Mark MFC 7 games, 0 goals - dominant in the ruck at times although not as in tune with the onballers at his feet as he was two years ago. JETTA, Neville - came back from a shoulder injury (that wasn't successfully dealt with in the first place) only to incur torn ankle ligaments and recently had a setback with an infection. JONES, Nathan MFC 7 games, 7 goals - hard work on the track is starting to pay off. JURRAH, Liam CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals - the wrist injury and legal issues have soured his season so far. LAWRENCE, Kelvin ® CFC Sen 5 games, 3 goals, CFC DL 2 games, 3 goals - battling rookie starting to show some consistency in the VFL. MACDONALD, Joel MFC 4 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 0 goals - spare parts man in defence recently despatched to Casey. MAGNER, James MFC 7 games, 3 goals - one of the club's few success stories of 2012 so far, midfielder Magner would be in the top three in the club's best and fairest at this stage. MARTIN, Stefan MFC 2 games, 1 goals, CFC Sen 1 games, 1 goals - a hip injury has marred his progress. McDONALD, Tom MFC 6 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 4 goals - making solid progress with the Demons after breaking into the side. MCKENZIE, Jordie MFC 7 games, 1 goal - a hard worker often given some tough assignments in the midfield. MOLONEY, Brent MFC 5 games, 2 goals - well below the form that made him club champion in 2011. MORTON, Cale MFC 5 games, 1 goal, CFC Sen 3 games, 1 goals - has worked hard to restore his status at the club after a couple of disappointing seasons. NICHOLSON, Daniel ® CFC Sen 3 games, 1 goal, CFC DL 1 game, 0 goals - slowly coming back at Casey from injury and a week's suspension for disciplinary reasons. PETTERD, Ricky MFC 2 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 3 goals - form well below expectations to date. RIVERS, Jared MFC 7 games, 0 goals - is having a reasonably good season in a defence under fire. SELLAR, James MFC 5 games, 1 goals, CFC Sen 1 games, 0 goals - filled roles in defence and on the ball without being outstanding. SHEAHAN, Jai ® MFC CFC Sen 7 games, 0 goals - rookie who has barely put a foot wrong in defence at AFL level. SPENCER, Jake CFC Sen 4 games, 1 goal, CFC DL 1 game, 1 goal - slowly progressing on return from almost 12 months absence after an ACL injury. STRAUSS, James CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals - suffered concussion in the opening round of the VFL season, missed a couple of weeks and is due to come back after incurring ongoing leg problems related to last year's broken leg. SYLVIA, Colin MFC 3 games, 0 goals - suffered a fracture in his back on the eve of the season and has struggled since his return. TAGGERT, Rory CFC Sen 3 games, 2 goals - injured his back in the preseason but has been very impressive on return at Casey. TAPSCOTT, Luke MFC 4 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 4 games, 3 goals - missed most of the pre season and has not struck the form of early last year. TRENGOVE, Jack MFC 7 games, 3 goals - co-skipper has struggled in the role and doesn't look 100%. TYNAN, Josh MFC 1 games 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 1 goal - impressed when given an early opportunity but was dropped back to Casey. Currently out for a couple more weeks with a foot injury. VINEY, Jack * CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals - suffered a broken jaw late in his only game with Casey. Showed great promise before being injured. WATTS, Jack MFC 5 games, 4 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 7 goals - had a reasonable start after being dropped to Casey after the NAB Cup games but lapsed again and returned to the VFL for a couple of weeks. WILLIAMS, Leigh ® CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals, CFC DL 1 game, 3 goals - injury and illness have restricted him to bit pieces in a few games with the Scorpions.

TWILIGHT ZONE by Whispering Jack Last night an intrepid group of people associated with the legal profession met for the annual Devil’s Advocates dinner mc’d by former MFC board member Bev O’Connor and hosted by prominent Melbourne family lawyer, Ralph Glezer. You have to be intrepid if you’re a Melbourne fan because, as Chris Connolly told the audience, there is a great deal being thrown at us from the cheap seats in these early days of the club’s new coaching regime. It was a theme of the night that rather than being in the deep trouble as painted by some of the pundits, the Demons are indeed building for a better future. Connolly noted that in recent years the club had repaid its debt, reshaped its deal with the MCC, acquired a valuable asset in the Bentleigh Club, grown its membership. The necessary ingredients for long term success are being put together so that despite the short term pain of the current 0-7 win/loss ratio as the team learns a new style of play, the vision that will see a strong Melbourne in the years to come remains on track. Glezer congratulated the gathering and all club supporters who stand firm at this time. It was fitting that he was able to pay a special tribute to the late Jim Stynes who was responsible for much of the club’s financial resurgence on the day on which the AFL, the MFC and the Reach Foundation proudly announced the launch of the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award. Three players in attendance, Matthew Bate, Cale Morton and Stef Martin all impressed with their approach to the difficult season so far. It’s difficult for the supporters who measure things by way only of reference to the premiership table. The football department has other indicators that also need to be looked at in terms of the process of change sweeping through the club. Neil Craig and Josh Mahoney also confirmed that the club has this vision that is certainly being embraced internally. Craig spoke of the particular difficulties faced by new coach Mark Neeld and asked what new coach would have such a controversial start with distractions such as the incident involving Liam Jurrah (couple with his injury), the death of Jim Stynes, the false claims of racism against him and the sponsorship fiasco with Energy Watch? Craig made it clear that the club and Neeld had handled every obstacle put in their way with great dignity while those at other clubs and in the media who have been overcritical have a lot to answer for by comparison with the way in which they have conducted themselves at this time. The wheel will turn. Despite this, the feeling among the lawyers was not particularly optimistic but their mood was improved with estate agent Phil Kingston's wit and incise humour when auctioning items at the end of the function. It suddenly dawned on me that if a group's collective mood can be changed so swiftly then why can't the same stand for a group of footballers whose confidence has been down for several weeks? I'm therefore looking forward to this week’s twilight game at the SCG and I’m going out on a limb by saying that the Demons are ready to take off and make the critics eat humble pie. I think they will win this game and thereafter continue to show improvement for the remainder of the season. Laugh, if you wish but I’m very bullish on Melbourne when it comes to taking on the Swans even in the confined spaces of the SCG. In recent years, Sydney has struggled against Melbourne which sent vocal critic Paul Roos off with an almighty thumping in 2010. Roos is obviously smarting from the embarrassment because he never misses an opportunity to sink the boots into the Demons. I will get great pleasure in seeing Melbourne do likewise to his old side this Saturday. The last time the teams met was at the MCG in round 1 last year when they drew. For the purpose of the exercise, these were the teams as selected that day. MELBOURNE (Round 1, 2011) Backs Clint Bartram Jared Rivers Joel Macdonald Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Jamie Bennell Centreline Nathan Jones Brent Moloney Luke Tapscott Half forwards Rohan Bail Colin Sylvia Liam Jurrah Forwards Jack Watts Brad Green Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Lynden Dunn Aaron Davey Interchange Neville Jetta Stefan Martin Ricky Petterd Jack Trengove Emergencies Jake Spencer James Strauss Matthew Warnock SYDNEY (Round 1, 2011) Backs Paul Bevan Ted Richards Martin Mattner Half backs Rhys Shaw Heath Grundy Andrejs Everitt Centreline Daniel Hannebery Kieren Jack Nick Smith Half forwards Lewis Jetta Adam Goodes Ben McGlynn Forwards Ryan O'Keefe Sam Reid Jesse White Followers Shane Mumford Josh Kennedy Jarrod McVeigh Interchange Jude Bolton Gary Rohan Mark Seaby Byron Sumner Emergencies Craig Bird Jed Lamb Brett Meredith I look at the two teams and note only two players from the Melbourne side of that day are not available to play - Neville Jetta (ankle injury) and Addam Maric (now with Richmond). You could include Mitch Clark and James Magner and you have what is notionally a far superior list than that which drew with the Swans in round 1 last year. Then I look at Sydney's team from that day and there's no Adam Goodes, Shane Mumford or Gary Rohan and many of its payers have been well below par in form over the past couple of weeks. They can't replace that lot for quality, their confidence is down and yet the Swans are red hot favourites to win. I know it's not much to go on but it's enough for me to come up with one of my famous inspired hunches. My conclusion from this is that it’s only a matter of time before Melbourne realises that it’s all in the head and that they quite capable of beating an out of form Sydney that is missing key players. If the Demons grab the opportunity and a confident mood starts spreading through the team a win is possible. I’m tipping the Demons by 12 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney at the SCG Saturday 19 May at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Sydney 106 wins Melbourne 92 wins 2 draws At SCG Sydney 13 wins Melbourne 8 wins Since 2000 Sydney 12 wins Melbourne 7 wins 1 draw The Coaches Longmire 0 Neeld 0 MEDIA Fox Footy Channel live at 4.30pm. RADIO SEN ABC774 THE BETTING Sydney to win $1.09 Melbourne to win $7.50 LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 11.18.74 drew with Sydney Swans 11.18.74 in Round 1, 2011 The teams sparred against each other all day and first one and then the other held the ascendency. The Demons, with Ricky Petterd on fire as the sub who came on in the final term, grabbed the lead late but a Ryan O’Keefe behind tied things up. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland, Tom McDonald Centreline Cale Morton Brent Moloney Nathan Jones Half forwards Jack Trengove Jack Watts Liam Jurrah Forwards Jeremy Howe Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Colin Sylvia Interchange Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Brad Green James Magner Emergencies Rohan Bail Lynden Dunn James Sellar In Sam Blease Brad Green Liam Jurrah Jack Watts Out Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Jack Fitzpatrick Ricky Petterd SYDNEY SWANS Backs Martin Mattner Ted Richards Rhyce Shaw Half backs Nicholas Smith Heath Grundy Jarrad McVeigh Centreline Lewis Jetta Josh P Kennedy Nick Malceski Half forwards Ryan O'Keefe Tommy Walsh Daniel Hannebery Forwards Ben McGlynn Sam Reid Trent Dennis-Lane Followers Mike Pyke Kieren Jack Jude Bolton Interchange Craig Bird Alex Johnson Luke Parker Lewis Roberts-Thomson Emergencies Andrejs Everitt Jesse White In Mike Pyke Lewis Roberts-Thomson Tommy Walsh Out Andrejs Everitt Mark Seaby Jesse White New Tommy Walsh (St Kilda) THE YEAR SO FAR by Sam the Stats Man Who would ever have believed that almost a third of the way through the season, two of Melbourne’s true playmakers Liam Jurrah and Colin Sylvia would not have scored a goal between them for the Demons? Injuries and poor form are again dogging the club as we look at the players statistically over the first seven rounds:- BAIL, Rohan MFC 7 games, 3 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals – yet to really fire. BARTRAM, Clint MFC 7 games, 1 goal - moved to the leadership group at the start of the year, Bartram has rejuvenated his career with some steady if not spectacular performances. BATE, Matthew MFC 7 games, 5 goals - attempting to resurrect his career but three games as opening sub haven't helped greatly. BENNELL, Jamie MFC 2 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 4 games, 1 goal - great at Casey but unimpressive so far in the big league. BLEASE, Sam MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 5 games, 5 goals - disappointed at his only start in the AFL but has worked hard at Casey. CLARK, Mitch MFC 6 games, 17 goals - Melbourne's recruit of the year. COOK, Lucas CFC Sen 2 games, 3 goals, CFC DL 1 game, 5 goals - has been in the background at Casey after recovering from injury and is still some way from making an AFL debut. COUCH, Tom ® CFC Sen 6 games, 2 goals - showing excellent form at Casey but missed a big opportunity last week when he missed with illness. DAVEY, Aaron MFC 6 games, 5 goals - well down on form and confidence. Needs to improve his fitness. DAVIS, Troy CFC Sen 6 games, 2 Goals - continues to show good form and promise with the Scorpions. DUNN, Lynden MFC 5 games, 6 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 3 goals - career at the crossroads. Does well at Casey and not too bad when with the Demons. EVANS, Michael ® - out indefinitely with a back injury. FITZPATRICK, Jack MFC 1 game, 0 goals, CFC Sen 6 games, 9 goals – clawed his way back into the senior side last week but needs time and senior experience in his legs. FRAWLEY, James MFC 6 games, 0 goals - working hard in defence against the odds. GARLAND, Colin MFC 7 games, 0 goals – steady and workmanlike but needs to produce more. GAWN, Max - the handy young ruckman is out for the year following his second ACL injury. GREEN, Brad MFC 2 games, 1 goal, CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals – disappointing drop off in form and then a broken thumb at Casey have cruelled his season to date. GRIMES, Jack MFC 6 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals - co-captain has not had a great impact this season and missed a week through suspension. GYSBERTS, Jordan CFC Sen 3 games, 0 goals - we've seen very little of Gysberts who suffered a broken jaw at Geelong after shrugging off an ankle injury. Will miss another three to five weeks. HOWE, Jeremy MFC 7 games, 6 goals - solid this season having added endurance and strength to his repertoire to go will his high marking skills. JAMAR, Mark MFC 7 games, 0 goals - dominant in the ruck at times although not as in tune with the onballers at his feet as he was two years ago. JETTA, Neville - came back from a shoulder injury (that wasn't successfully dealt with in the first place) only to incur torn ankle ligaments and recently had a setback with an infection. JONES, Nathan MFC 7 games, 7 goals - hard work on the track is starting to pay off. JURRAH, Liam CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals - the wrist injury and legal issues have soured his season so far. LAWRENCE, Kelvin ® CFC Sen 5 games, 3 goals, CFC DL 2 games, 3 goals - battling rookie starting to show some consistency in the VFL. MACDONALD, Joel MFC 4 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 0 goals - spare parts man in defence recently despatched to Casey. MAGNER, James MFC 7 games, 3 goals - one of the club's few success stories of 2012 so far, midfielder Magner would be in the top three in the club's best and fairest at this stage. MARTIN, Stefan MFC 2 games, 1 goals, CFC Sen 1 games, 1 goals - a hip injury has marred his progress. McDONALD, Tom MFC 6 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 4 goals - making solid progress with the Demons after breaking into the side. MCKENZIE, Jordie MFC 7 games, 1 goal - a hard worker often given some tough assignments in the midfield. MOLONEY, Brent MFC 5 games, 2 goals - well below the form that made him club champion in 2011. MORTON, Cale MFC 5 games, 1 goal, CFC Sen 3 games, 1 goals - has worked hard to restore his status at the club after a couple of disappointing seasons. NICHOLSON, Daniel ® CFC Sen 3 games, 1 goal, CFC DL 1 game, 0 goals - slowly coming back at Casey from injury and a week's suspension for disciplinary reasons. PETTERD, Ricky MFC 2 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 3 goals - form well below expectations to date. RIVERS, Jared MFC 7 games, 0 goals - is having a reasonably good season in a defence under fire. SELLAR, James MFC 5 games, 1 goals, CFC Sen 1 games, 0 goals - filled roles in defence and on the ball without being outstanding. SHEAHAN, Jai ® MFC CFC Sen 7 games, 0 goals - rookie who has barely put a foot wrong in defence at AFL level. SPENCER, Jake CFC Sen 4 games, 1 goal, CFC DL 1 game, 1 goal - slowly progressing on return from almost 12 months absence after an ACL injury. STRAUSS, James CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals - suffered concussion in the opening round of the VFL season, missed a couple of weeks and is due to come back after incurring ongoing leg problems related to last year's broken leg. SYLVIA, Colin MFC 3 games, 0 goals - suffered a fracture in his back on the eve of the season and has struggled since his return. TAGGERT, Rory CFC Sen 3 games, 2 goals - injured his back in the preseason but has been very impressive on return at Casey. TAPSCOTT, Luke MFC 4 games, 0 goals, CFC Sen 4 games, 3 goals - missed most of the pre season and has not struck the form of early last year. TRENGOVE, Jack MFC 7 games, 3 goals - co-skipper has struggled in the role and doesn't look 100%. TYNAN, Josh MFC 1 games 0 goals, CFC Sen 2 games, 1 goal - impressed when given an early opportunity but was dropped back to Casey. Currently out for a couple more weeks with a foot injury. VINEY, Jack * CFC Sen 1 game, 0 goals - suffered a broken jaw late in his only game with Casey. Showed great promise before being injured. WATTS, Jack MFC 5 games, 4 goals, CFC Sen 3 games, 7 goals - had a reasonable start after being dropped to Casey after the NAB Cup games but lapsed again and returned to the VFL for a couple of weeks. WILLIAMS, Leigh ® CFC Sen 2 games, 2 goals, CFC DL 1 game, 3 goals - injury and illness have restricted him to bit pieces in a few games with the Scorpions.

The two sides drew in round 1 last year. MELBOURNE Backs Clint Bartram Jared Rivers Joel Macdonald Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Jamie Bennell Centreline Nathan Jones Brent Moloney Luke Tapscott Half forwards Rohan Bail Colin Sylvia Liam Jurrah Forwards Jack Watts Brad Green Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Lynden Dunn Aaron Davey Interchange Neville Jetta Stefan Martin Ricky Petterd Jack Trengove Emergencies Jake Spencer James Strauss Matthew Warnock New Luke Tapscott (North Adelaide SA) SYDNEY Backs Paul Bevan Ted Richards Martin Mattner Half backs Rhys Shaw Heath Grundy Andrejs Everitt Centreline Daniel Hannebery Kieren Jack Nick Smith Half forwards Lewis Jetta Adam Goodes Ben McGlynn Forwards Ryan O'Keefe Sam Reid Jesse White Followers Shane Mumford Josh Kennedy Jarrod McVeigh Interchange Jude Bolton Gary Rohan Mark Seaby Byron Sumner Emergencies Craig Bird Jed Lamb Brett Meredith New Andrejs Everitt (Western Bulldogs) Byron Sumner (Woodville-West Torrens)

Standings after Round 7 75 Nathan Jones 64 Mitch Clark 59 James Magner 34 Jeremy Howe 33 Jared Rivers 26 Matthew Bate James Frawley 24 Jack Watts 20 Jordie McKenzie 19 Cale Morton 15 Jack Trengove 12 Clint Bartram 8 Jack Grimes 6 Rohan Bail Tom McDonald 4 Stef Martin 3 Colin Garland Joel Macdonald Brent Moloney 2 Lynden Dunn 1 Aaron Davey

SCORPIONS RULE AT WINDY BOX HILL by K C from Casey The Casey Scorpions shrugged off the loss of players to injury, illness and AFL promotion to record a significant victory at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday. Casey had first use of the tricky breeze and dominated from the outset with former Demon skipper Brad Green providing great drive and Liam Jurrah proving elusive and a difficult customer to handle. The Casey listed players were also out to prove a point after they were shunned by VFL selectors for the forthcoming representative match against Tasmania. Luke Tynan continued to show improvement with a great four quarter effort to finish with 24 disposals and he was particularly impressive in the early going. Rian McGough and Matt Fieldsend chipped in with the game's first two goals as the visitors opened up a 12 point lead at the first break. The home side came back strongly in the early stages of the second term but both teams were off target and the game was sinking into a lacklustre contest of defences until the experience of Lynden Dunn and the class of Jurrah and Jack Watts pressed home the advantage in favour of the Scorpions. With Tynan, Sam Blease and Dan Nicholson opening up the game with good running, the team piled on the next three unanswered goals to go into the sheds having doubled their lead during the quarter. The Scorpions were now unstoppable and they simply dominated the "premiership quarter" with five goals to nil in a great team performance that saw some of the young unsung members of the team come to the fore. Names such as Mitch Gent, Ricky Plummer and last year’s reserves best and fairest Tynan are not well known at present in VFL circles but they continued to contribute in the shadow of the bigger names in the side. The Demons also look to have uncovered some talent for the future in Rory Taggert (26 disposals) and defenders Troy Davis and Jai Sheahan who were solid all day. With the game well and truly won by the final break, Box Hill broke through for some goals early in the final term but coach Brett Lovett would have to be pleased with the persistence of his players who re-established their ascendency late in the game to run out easy winners by 52 points. He must also be delighted with the improvement of his own VFL listed players who stood up in the absence of injured players such as co-captain Kyle Matthews and Wade Lees as well as the way in which they are gelling with their AFL counterparts, a few of who would surely have earned a trip to Sydney for the coming weekend. Casey goes into the bye in second place and with the interstate game to follow does not play again until June although an intraclub practice match is being mooted to ensure the momentum of the past weeks can be retained. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Sam Blease - great pace and attack on the football. His defensive efforts were much better this week. Lucas Cook - played well in flashes only but he was not helped by the swirly winds. Troy Davis - a solid effort deep in defence where he displayed all the necessary desperation and skills. Lynden Dunn - won a lot of the ball (27 disposals) and was reasonably effective with his marking, kicking and ball movement in general. Put his hand up. Brad Green - too much class for this company and if his fitness holds up should be back in the big time next week. Liam Jurrah - was in good touch early and is clearly ready to return to the AFL at long last. Kelvin Lawrence - working harder and longer during the course of each game. Joel Macdonald - solid and unobtrusive but will find it difficult to win a promotion. Stefan Martin - has overcome a hip problem and did some very nice things during the game including nailing a nice pass for a goal with finesse. Daniel Nicholson - plenty of run and carry with good pace but lets himself down from time to time with poor disposal. Kicked 0.4. Jai Sheahan - despite the conditions which would not usually suit someone of his height, Sheahan continues to put in solid dependable performances in defence that belie the fact that he is a rookie listed player. Jake Spencer - he's slow and not particularly well co-ordinated but plugs away and works hard. Still on the comeback trail so hard to be too critical. Rory Taggert - a fantastic effort from the youngster who missed much of the pre season and several early games with a back injury. Showed good skills and endeavour, kicked a couple of goals and surprised with his class. Luke Tapscott - a strong display. Showed out with good disposal. Jack Watts - at this stage of his career he is not a crash and bash artist and won't be until he puts on more weight. However, playing on a wing, he was simply too classy for the opposition and most of his 25 possessions hit their mark. Casey Scorpions 2.5.15 5.10.40 10.14.74 13.19.97 Box Hill Hawks 0.5.5 1.10.16 1.14.20 5.15.45 Goals Casey Scorpions Fieldsend Taggert 2 Blease Cook Gent Jurrah McGough Martin Riseley Tapscott Watts Box Hill Hawks Hughes 2 McCauley Wanganeen Best Casey Scorpions L Tynan Taggert Davis Plummer Fieldsend Nicholson Box Hill Hawks Murphy Mirra Pattison Hughes Jones Bruce 2012 AFL Vic Development League Casey Scorpions 3.6.24 5.9.39 10.15.75 14.18.102 Port Melbourne 0.4.4 3.9.27 5.11.41 7.13.55 Goals Casey Scorpions Smith 5 Cleven Page Petropoulos 2 Collins Clay Johnson Port Melbourne Bond Francis Jawad Morris O'Sullivan Sutcliffe Teasdale Best Casey Scorpions Pollard Lang Collins Patti Page Allen Port Melbourne Johnston McCarthy Sutcliffe Thornton Williams Collopy The Casey Development League team does have a game next week - an away fixture on Sunday at 11am against Frankston.

SCORPIONS RULE AT WINDY BOX HILL by K C from Casey The Casey Scorpions shrugged off the loss of players to injury, illness and AFL promotion to record a significant victory at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday. Casey had first use of the tricky breeze and dominated from the outset with former Demon skipper Brad Green providing great drive and Liam Jurrah proving elusive and a difficult customer to handle. The Casey listed players were also out to prove a point after they were shunned by VFL selectors for the forthcoming representative match against Tasmania. Luke Tynan continued to show improvement with a great four quarter effort to finish with 24 disposals and he was particularly impressive in the early going. Rian McGough and Matt Fieldsend chipped in with the game's first two goals as the visitors opened up a 12 point lead at the first break. The home side came back strongly in the early stages of the second term but both teams were off target and the game was sinking into a lacklustre contest of defences until the experience of Lynden Dunn and the class of Jurrah and Jack Watts pressed home the advantage in favour of the Scorpions. With Tynan, Sam Blease and Dan Nicholson opening up the game with good running, the team piled on the next three unanswered goals to go into the sheds having doubled their lead during the quarter. The Scorpions were now unstoppable and they simply dominated the "premiership quarter" with five goals to nil in a great team performance that saw some of the young unsung members of the team come to the fore. Names such as Mitch Gent, Ricky Plummer and last year’s reserves best and fairest Tynan are not well known at present in VFL circles but they continued to contribute in the shadow of the bigger names in the side. The Demons also look to have uncovered some talent for the future in Rory Taggert (26 disposals) and defenders Troy Davis and Jai Sheahan who were solid all day. With the game well and truly won by the final break, Box Hill broke through for some goals early in the final term but coach Brett Lovett would have to be pleased with the persistence of his players who re-established their ascendency late in the game to run out easy winners by 52 points. He must also be delighted with the improvement of his own VFL listed players who stood up in the absence of injured players such as co-captain Kyle Matthews and Wade Lees as well as the way in which they are gelling with their AFL counterparts, a few of who would surely have earned a trip to Sydney for the coming weekend. Casey goes into the bye in second place and with the interstate game to follow does not play again until June although an intraclub practice match is being mooted to ensure the momentum of the past weeks can be retained. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Sam Blease - great pace and attack on the football. His defensive efforts were much better this week. Lucas Cook - played well in flashes only but he was not helped by the swirly winds. Troy Davis - a solid effort deep in defence where he displayed all the necessary desperation and skills. Lynden Dunn - won a lot of the ball (27 disposals) and was reasonably effective with his marking, kicking and ball movement in general. Put his hand up. Brad Green - too much class for this company and if his fitness holds up should be back in the big time next week. Liam Jurrah - was in good touch early and is clearly ready to return to the AFL at long last. Kelvin Lawrence - working harder and longer during the course of each game. Joel Macdonald - solid and unobtrusive but will find it difficult to win a promotion. Stefan Martin - has overcome a hip problem and did some very nice things during the game including nailing a nice pass for a goal with finesse. Daniel Nicholson - plenty of run and carry with good pace but lets himself down from time to time with poor disposal. Kicked 0.4. Jai Sheahan - despite the conditions which would not usually suit someone of his height, Sheahan continues to put in solid dependable performances in defence that belie the fact that he is a rookie listed player. Jake Spencer - he's slow and not particularly well co-ordinated but plugs away and works hard. Still on the comeback trail so hard to be too critical. Rory Taggert - a fantastic effort from the youngster who missed much of the pre season and several early games with a back injury. Showed good skills and endeavour, kicked a couple of goals and surprised with his class. Luke Tapscott - a strong display. Showed out with good disposal. Jack Watts - at this stage of his career he is not a crash and bash artist and won't be until he puts on more weight. However, playing on a wing, he was simply too classy for the opposition and most of his 25 possessions hit their mark. Casey Scorpions 2.5.15 5.10.40 10.14.74 13.19.97 Box Hill Hawks 0.5.5 1.10.16 1.14.20 5.15.45 Goals Casey Scorpions Fieldsend Taggert 2 Blease Cook Gent Jurrah McGough Martin Riseley Tapscott Watts Box Hill Hawks Hughes 2 McCauley Wanganeen Best Casey Scorpions L Tynan Taggert Davis Plummer Fieldsend Nicholson Box Hill Hawks Murphy Mirra Pattison Hughes Jones Bruce 2012 AFL Vic Development League Casey Scorpions 3.6.24 5.9.39 10.15.75 14.18.102 Port Melbourne 0.4.4 3.9.27 5.11.41 7.13.55 Goals Casey Scorpions Smith 5 Cleven Page Petropoulos 2 Collins Clay Johnson Port Melbourne Bond Francis Jawad Morris O'Sullivan Sutcliffe Teasdale Best Casey Scorpions Pollard Lang Collins Patti Page Allen Port Melbourne Johnston McCarthy Sutcliffe Thornton Williams Collopy The Casey Development League team does have a game next week - an away fixture on Sunday at 11am against Frankston.

NUMBERS UP by Sam the Stats Man The numbers don't lie. Bar the first quarter (which it won by 3 points) and the third quarter (which it drew), it was a horror night for the Demons. In fact, I'll describe it as "mean average" which in the language of the statistician means "bloody awful". Demon recruit of the decade Mitch Clark was one of my few highlights when he sent flutters through the hearts of the Hawks' fans early in the evening kicking three great goals despite starting in the ruck. At one stage, his team's score was almost double that of the opposition so that those in the crowd who believed in miracles were becoming enthralled at the possibility of a boilover. Miraculous, because when the Demons led late in the opening term they had half the number of their opponents' possessions and trailed in almost every statistical category available bar the one that matters - the scoreboard. Unfortunately, I can vouch for the fact that miracles in the AFL are a statistical impossibility. This was borne out forty minutes after Clark had booted his third goal when the half time siren sounded, at which time the Hawks had added a further 7.8.50 to the Demons' 0.2.2 (from three shots of which .666 of them were from sitters in front of the big sticks). Clark was still Melbourne's sole goalkicker. The AFL was certainly not pleased. I have it on good authority from a mate who counts the numbers of television sets switched onto the football, that the ratings plummeted as half time approached. He maintains that five minutes into the third term more people were watching part three of a doco on SBS about some long march to freedom than there were viewing the footy. However, the long march failed to beat the Demons' performance on the Bureau of Statistics absolute rubbish index which rated 99.9% in the final term. There weren't all that many stars in the Melbourne line up other than Clark. James Magner, Clint Bartram, Nathan Jones and Mark Jamar all put their hands up from time to time but too many of their teammates seemed indifferent to the task at hand. As usual there was little run and spread for the ball and the Hawks beat Melbourne for skill and execution. For the most part, they basically did as they pleased and too many Demons simply failed to produce the goods. Colin Sylvia (6 disposals in 85% of game time), Jamie Bennell (4 - 91%) and Ricky Petterd (5 - 84%) had statistics that were barely better than the spectators in the stands. (And yes, I'm fully aware from my observations of what many Demon supporters were doing in the latter part of the game that many of them barely made it to 75% of game time!) For all of the coach's pre season talk about Melbourne becoming a harder team to beat, there is one absolutely damning statistic (among many available from this game) and that is scores from stoppages which Hawthorn won 8.8.56 to 0.4.4. That with a ruck division which had 31 hit outs to 26 on the night but whose hit outs to advantage were half that of the opposition. Therein lies 92% of the problem. A systemically dysfunctional on ball division. Melbourne 3.3.21 3.5.23 5.11.41 6.13.49 Hawthorn 2.6.18 8.12.60 10.18.78 15.25.115 Goals Melbourne Clark 3 Howe McKenzie Magner Hawthorn Franklin 3 Puopolo Young 2 Breust Hale Rioli Roughead Savage Smith Suckling Best Melbourne Clark Magner Jones Jamar Howe Frawley Hawthorn Lewis Burgoyne Shiels Birchall Savage Sewell Whitecross Suckling Injuries Melbourne Garland (leg) Hawthorn Osborne (knee) Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Umpires Findlay Rosebury Bannister Crowd 36,430 at MCG

Place your votes for the Demonland Player of the Year 2012 after the final siren. Votes to be given on a 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis ...

THE REVERSAL OF FORTUNES by JVM One of the common practices when writing up previews of games is to go back to the last time the competing teams met each other but in the case of games between Melbourne and Hawthorn, there’s been such a sameness of late from one year to another that one need hardly bother. Apart from a game played in the wet at the MCG near the end of the 2010 season (a 21 point loss that some might have described as “gallant”), most of the others have been severe blowouts. When the two teams last met it was a nine goal win to the Hawks but my impression of that game was that on top of being totally dominant for most of the game, they were being charitable and never got out of second gear as they strangled a second rate opposition that was heading in the direction of a steep cliff with a steep and perilous descent awaiting (of course, that was still six days away). The details of that last encounter can be seen below. But the thing that I want to discuss here is a game that produced a happier outcome for the Demons almost six years ago to the day. It was also a Friday night game played at the MCG in the autumn and it was the last time Melbourne beat Hawthorn. The score was 20.16.136 to 9.7.61. It need not be said that both teams had different line ups at the time. Melbourne’s was:- Backs Bate Carroll Whelan Half backs Yze Rivers Bell Centreline Green Bruce McLean Half forwards Robertson Miller Davey Forwards Jamar Neitz Pickett Followers White Moloney Johnstone Interchange Bartram Dunn Godfrey McDonald Emergencies C Johnson Holland Read Hawthorn came in with this line up: Backs Jacobs Dawson Sewell Half backs Smith Roughead Guerra Centreline Bateman Mitchell Vandenberg Half forwards Clarke Boyle Brown Forwards Dixon Williams Miller Followers Everitt Hodge Crawford Interchange Birchall Campbell Kane Ladson Emergencies Lewis Ries Taylor The game was an absolute massacre. The Hawks tried to unsettle the Demons with their aggression but Byron Pickett had some ideas of his own. Once the initial heat dies down, it was the experience of Melbourne that told. Scoop Junior wrote in his report for Demonland that the Demon midfield “dominated when the game opened up to the outside. Through superior class, skill and deeper rotations, the Demons made Hawthorn look second rate at times. Brock McLean and James McDonald were keys in tight, winning plenty of ball at the stoppages, while Cameron Bruce, Travis Johnstone and Brent Moloney provided great drive.” David Neitz who always produced the goods against the Hawks booted six goals and Melbourne was untroubled to record another win and to establish its place in the top eight after opening the season with three defeats. The team made the finals that year, beat St. Kilda in an elimination final and ended up the best performed of the Victorian clubs. On the other hand, Hawthorn finished well of the pace. We all know what happens next – the reversal of fortunes. The Hawks, with a young emerging side rose swiftly up the ladder in 2007 and by 2008 had pulled off the seemingly impossible – a premiership well ahead of time. The Demons, with an older more experienced side fell into a heap. By the end of 2007 it was well inside the bottom quartile of the competition, flattered by a final round win against a tanking Carlton. A win that would prove costly at a future time. The collapse was complete twelve months later. And so the teams meet again on a Friday night in autumn with the Hawks at their peak and the Demons still languishing. It would seem that it’s almost an unfair contest but, as history showed back then, situations and tiems can change rapidly. Is it possible that waiting in the wings for Melbourne there’s a potential Buddy or Cyril who can lift the team to great heights? Time will tell. THE GAME Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG Friday 11 May 2012 at 7.50 pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 74 wins Hawthorn 80 wins At MCG Melbourne 35 wins Hawthorn 39 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 5 wins Hawthorn 14 wins The Coaches Neeld 0 wins Clarkson 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel, Channel 7 7:30 pm (live) RADIO – SEN ABC774 3AW Triple M THE BETTING Melbourne $13.00 to win Hawthorn $1.03 to win. THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 20.12.132 defeated Melbourne 12.6.78 in Round 18, 2011 at the MCG It was all pretty much routine fare for a Melbourne v Hawthorn encounter of late. The Hawks overpowered the Demons early and floated away to the easiest of wins. Buddy kicked his five, Cyril got a few, Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis were unstoppable in the midfield and Melbourne was fairly innocuous. Brad Green flew the flag with four goals (but wasn’t so convincing the next day On the Couch) and Jeremy Howe undelined his potential with a few. Stef Martin and Nathan Jones did well and the rest … pffft! THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Cale Morton Centreline Ricky Petterd Brent Moloney Jack Trengove Half forwards Nathan Jones Mitch Clark Jamie Bennell Forwards Jeremy Howe Colin Sylvia Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar James Magner Jordie McKenzie Interchange Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Jack Fitzpatrick Tom McDonald Emergencies Lynden Dunn Joel Macdonald Luke Tapscott In Jamie Bennell Jack Fitzpatrick Ricky Petterd Out Lynden Dunn James Sellar (calf) Luke Tapscott HAWTHORN Backs Benjamin Stratton Stephen Gilham Brent Guerra Half backs Matt Suckling Ryan Schoenmakers Grant Birchall Centreline Jordan Lewis Sam Mitchell Brendan Whitecross Half forwards Luke Breust Lance Franklin Isaac Smith Forwards Michael Osborne Jarryd Roughead Cyril Rioli Followers David Hale Shaun Burgoyne Brad Sewell Interchange Paul Puopolo Shane Savage Liam Shiels Clinton Young Emergencies Kyle Cheney Bradley Hill Broc McCauley In Stephen Gilham Clinton Young Out Jarrad Boumann Luke Hodge (knee) Umpires B Rosebury R Findlay J Bannister AT BEST I read in one of the media previews of the game the comment that "Melbourne will need to be at its best to upset Hawthorn on Friday night." No kidding? The Hawks are going into the game as red hot favourite to win despite the fact that they're not travelling as well as might have been expected this season, remembering that on the eve of the season they were highly fancied among many of the experts to win this year's flag. And they might still do that after showing a dramatic lift in tempo last week against their bitter rivals, the Saints, who have always had the wood on them, particularly in their Saturday night fixtures. Last week, Hawthorn was particularly ruthless against St. Kilda with Cyril Rioli kicking six goals and Buddy Franklin returning five. The Hawks will be eager to not only win the four points but also to build up percentage given the tightness of the competition and their unflattering start of only two wins in the first five games. Melbourne already has nightmares about its recent record against this opposition and these are not confined to thoughts of their regular season reminiscences alone. These teams often meet in the pre season and the outcomes have been equally disasterous with this year proving no exception. Way back in February, the Demons gave Mark Neeld his first win in what remotely resembled a game of football when they bested the Magpies in a tightly fought NAB Cup game at Etihad Stadium. Hopes were high among the Demon faithful that this year was truly going to be something different under the new coaching regime. The midfield was strong in the contest for the ball, the defence stood up and the forward line functioned as perfectly as one could expect in the month of February. A week later and all that was shattered. The team has barely come close to looking like a cohesive unit in the past three months apart from some momentary glimmers in recent weeks but, to be competitive against the might of Hawthorn? I think not. There is so little for one to hang the hat on as the team goes into battle against an implacable foe. Despite the comment about needing to be at its best to beat them, there has to be a serious doubt about whether the team can even come close to the Hawks at this stage of its development. Despite the fact that Melbourne has been showing improvement of late and continues to do well in winning contested possession, it still legs well below its opponents on a week to week basis in winning the uncontested football. At least this week it appears to have acted at selection to address its lack of leg speed which is regarded as one of the factors in explaining this deficiency but that alone will not be enough. Hawthorn to win by 47 points.

THE REVERSAL OF FORTUNES by JVM One of the common practices when writing up previews of games is to go back to the last time the competing teams met each other but in the case of games between Melbourne and Hawthorn, there’s been such a sameness of late from one year to another that one need hardly bother. Apart from a game played in the wet at the MCG near the end of the 2010 season (a 21 point loss that some might have described as “gallant”), most of the others have been severe blowouts. When the two teams last met it was a nine goal win to the Hawks but my impression of that game was that on top of being totally dominant for most of the game, they were being charitable and never got out of second gear as they strangled a second rate opposition that was heading in the direction of a steep cliff with a steep and perilous descent awaiting (of course, that was still six days away). The details of that last encounter can be seen below. But the thing that I want to discuss here is a game that produced a happier outcome for the Demons almost six years ago to the day. It was also a Friday night game played at the MCG in the autumn and it was the last time Melbourne beat Hawthorn. The score was 20.16.136 to 9.7.61. It need not be said that both teams had different line ups at the time. Melbourne’s was:- Backs Bate Carroll Whelan Half backs Yze Rivers Bell Centreline Green Bruce McLean Half forwards Robertson Miller Davey Forwards Jamar Neitz Pickett Followers White Moloney Johnstone Interchange Bartram Dunn Godfrey McDonald Emergencies C Johnson Holland Read Hawthorn came in with this line up: Backs Jacobs Dawson Sewell Half backs Smith Roughead Guerra Centreline Bateman Mitchell Vandenberg Half forwards Clarke Boyle Brown Forwards Dixon Williams Miller Followers Everitt Hodge Crawford Interchange Birchall Campbell Kane Ladson Emergencies Lewis Ries Taylor The game was an absolute massacre. The Hawks tried to unsettle the Demons with their aggression but Byron Pickett had some ideas of his own. Once the initial heat dies down, it was the experience of Melbourne that told. Scoop Junior wrote in his report for Demonland that the Demon midfield “dominated when the game opened up to the outside. Through superior class, skill and deeper rotations, the Demons made Hawthorn look second rate at times. Brock McLean and James McDonald were keys in tight, winning plenty of ball at the stoppages, while Cameron Bruce, Travis Johnstone and Brent Moloney provided great drive.” David Neitz who always produced the goods against the Hawks booted six goals and Melbourne was untroubled to record another win and to establish its place in the top eight after opening the season with three defeats. The team made the finals that year, beat St. Kilda in an elimination final and ended up the best performed of the Victorian clubs. On the other hand, Hawthorn finished well of the pace. We all know what happens next – the reversal of fortunes. The Hawks, with a young emerging side rose swiftly up the ladder in 2007 and by 2008 had pulled off the seemingly impossible – a premiership well ahead of time. The Demons, with an older more experienced side fell into a heap. By the end of 2007 it was well inside the bottom quartile of the competition, flattered by a final round win against a tanking Carlton. A win that would prove costly at a future time. The collapse was complete twelve months later. And so the teams meet again on a Friday night in autumn with the Hawks at their peak and the Demons still languishing. It would seem that it’s almost an unfair contest but, as history showed back then, situations and tiems can change rapidly. Is it possible that waiting in the wings for Melbourne there’s a potential Buddy or Cyril who can lift the team to great heights? Time will tell. THE GAME Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG Friday 11 May 2012 at 7.50 pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 74 wins Hawthorn 80 wins At MCG Melbourne 35 wins Hawthorn 39 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 5 wins Hawthorn 14 wins The Coaches Neeld 0 wins Clarkson 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel, Channel 7 7:30 pm (live) RADIO – SEN ABC774 3AW Triple M THE BETTING Melbourne $13.00 to win Hawthorn $1.03 to win. THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 20.12.132 defeated Melbourne 12.6.78 in Round 18, 2011 at the MCG It was all pretty much routine fare for a Melbourne v Hawthorn encounter of late. The Hawks overpowered the Demons early and floated away to the easiest of wins. Buddy kicked his five, Cyril got a few, Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis were unstoppable in the midfield and Melbourne was fairly innocuous. Brad Green flew the flag with four goals (but wasn’t so convincing the next day On the Couch) and Jeremy Howe undelined his potential with a few. Stef Martin and Nathan Jones did well and the rest … pffft! THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Cale Morton Centreline Ricky Petterd Brent Moloney Jack Trengove Half forwards Nathan Jones Mitch Clark Jamie Bennell Forwards Jeremy Howe Colin Sylvia Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar James Magner Jordie McKenzie Interchange Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Jack Fitzpatrick Tom McDonald Emergencies Lynden Dunn Joel Macdonald Luke Tapscott In Jamie Bennell Jack Fitzpatrick Ricky Petterd Out Lynden Dunn James Sellar (calf) Luke Tapscott HAWTHORN Backs Benjamin Stratton Stephen Gilham Brent Guerra Half backs Matt Suckling Ryan Schoenmakers Grant Birchall Centreline Jordan Lewis Sam Mitchell Brendan Whitecross Half forwards Luke Breust Lance Franklin Isaac Smith Forwards Michael Osborne Jarryd Roughead Cyril Rioli Followers David Hale Shaun Burgoyne Brad Sewell Interchange Paul Puopolo Shane Savage Liam Shiels Clinton Young Emergencies Kyle Cheney Bradley Hill Broc McCauley In Stephen Gilham Clinton Young Out Jarrad Boumann Luke Hodge (knee) Umpires B Rosebury R Findlay J Bannister AT BEST I read in one of the media previews of the game the comment that "Melbourne will need to be at its best to upset Hawthorn on Friday night." No kidding? The Hawks are going into the game as red hot favourite to win despite the fact that they're not travelling as well as might have been expected this season, remembering that on the eve of the season they were highly fancied among many of the experts to win this year's flag. And they might still do that after showing a dramatic lift in tempo last week against their bitter rivals, the Saints, who have always had the wood on them, particularly in their Saturday night fixtures. Last week, Hawthorn was particularly ruthless against St. Kilda with Cyril Rioli kicking six goals and Buddy Franklin returning five. The Hawks will be eager to not only win the four points but also to build up percentage given the tightness of the competition and their unflattering start of only two wins in the first five games. Melbourne already has nightmares about its recent record against this opposition and these are not confined to thoughts of their regular season reminiscences alone. These teams often meet in the pre season and the outcomes have been equally disasterous with this year proving no exception. Way back in February, the Demons gave Mark Neeld his first win in what remotely resembled a game of football when they bested the Magpies in a tightly fought NAB Cup game at Etihad Stadium. Hopes were high among the Demon faithful that this year was truly going to be something different under the new coaching regime. The midfield was strong in the contest for the ball, the defence stood up and the forward line functioned as perfectly as one could expect in the month of February. A week later and all that was shattered. The team has barely come close to looking like a cohesive unit in the past three months apart from some momentary glimmers in recent weeks but, to be competitive against the might of Hawthorn? I think not. There is so little for one to hang the hat on as the team goes into battle against an implacable foe. Despite the comment about needing to be at its best to beat them, there has to be a serious doubt about whether the team can even come close to the Hawks at this stage of its development. Despite the fact that Melbourne has been showing improvement of late and continues to do well in winning contested possession, it still legs well below its opponents on a week to week basis in winning the uncontested football. At least this week it appears to have acted at selection to address its lack of leg speed which is regarded as one of the factors in explaining this deficiency but that alone will not be enough. Hawthorn to win by 47 points.

Melbourne suffered two humiliating defeats at the hands of Hawthorn in 2011. The first was in round 2 and the second was later in the season on 24 July, 2011, just six days before that fateful date with destiny at Kardinia Park. The team v Hawthorn, the last time they met. MELBOURNE Backs James Strauss James Frawley Daniel Nicholson Half backs Colin Garland Jared Rivers Nathan Jones Centreline Jack Trengove Colin Sylvia Lynden Dunn Half forwards Ricky Petterd Liam Jurrah Luke Tapscott Forwards Brad Green Jack Watts Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Interchange Matthew Bate Jordan Gysberts Jeremy Howe Stefan Martin Emergencies Jamie Bennell Max Gawn Matthew Warnock In Matthew Bate Lynden Dunn Out Cale Morton Tom Scully (knee) HAWTHORN Backs Tom Murphy Josh Gibson Kyle Cheney Half backs Brent Guerra Grant Burchill Paul Puopolo Centreline Shane Savage Sam Mitchell Jordan Lewis Half forwards Liam Shiels Lance Franklin Michael Osborne Forwards Shaun Burgoyne David Hale Cyril Rioli Followers Max Bailey Luke Hodge Brad Sewell Interchange Luke Breust Xavier Ellis Isaac Smith Brendan Whitecross Emergencies Jordan Lisle Ryley Milne Clinton Young In Jordan Lewis Cyril Rioli Out Ryley Milne Matt Suckling (back) Clinton Young

CASEY PLAYER REVIEW

Standings after Round 6 66 Nathan Jones 46 Mitch Clark 45 James Magner 33 Jared Rivers 30 Jeremy Howe 26 Matthew Bate 24 Jack Watts 21 James Frawley 17 Cale Morton 16 Jordie McKenzie 15 Jack Trengove 7 Clint Bartram Jack Grimes 6 Rohan Bail Tom McDonald 4 Stef Martin 3 Joel Macdonald Brent Moloney 2 Lynden Dunn 1 Aaron Davey

CASEY TURNS IT AROUND by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions went a long way to erasing the blight of one of their most disappointing performances of 2011 when they easily accounted for the VFL Geelong Cats at Simonds Stadium on Saturday. In a dramatic turnaround of 174 points from last year's result when the Scorps were ambushed by a 10 goal opening quarter and were never in the hunt from early in the game, Casey led all the way to record what was by far its biggest winning margin of the season - 46 points.. This time it was Casey which made the early running with a five goal to one opening term triggered by some strong work from Tom Couch in the middle and a fluid forward line that had pace, movement and marking power. Geelong came back strongly early in the second term but the Scorps rallied to take a strong 29 point advantage into the rooms at half time. The only negative for the opening half was the facial injury to Jordan Gysberts who suffered an ankle injury in the second round. Casey had plenty of winners up forward with Jack Fitzpatrick snagging four goals alternating between the forward line and ruck. That feat was emulated by Jack Watts who spent some time on a wing and also went forward to also finish with four goals. Young key forward Lucas Cook also picked up a couple of goals. The Scorpions answered every challenge when the Cats went into attack and, after an early run of two goals from the home side, Casey put on four goals to establish a handy lead of 37 points in the shadows of three quarter time but that was reined in with a couple of late Geelong goals. Liam Jurrah opened the final term with a great snap over the shoulder and the contest was effectively over. Casey extended its lead to in excess of 50 points before some late scoring by the home side narrowed the final margin to 46 points. The final quarter was marred by another incident when youngster Jack Viney who had been showing some class for the Scorpions was hit in a head high bump. He bravely walked from the ground but was later taken to hospital and operated on for a broken jaw. It was also revealed later that Wade Lees also suffered a fracture to the face but he may be able to avoid an operation and miss only a few weeks. Gysberts and Viney look like being sidelined for at least six weeks. The Scorpions meet Box Hill at City Oval, Box Hill before a bye followed by another week off for representative football. HOW THE DEMONS FARED A larger than usual retinue of Demons and it certainly made a difference even with a couple of casualties on the day. I've added youngster Jack Viney at the end. Jamie Bennell - another standout game off half back where he used his pace and skills to good effect. Sam Blease - started slowly but showed great pace and skills in the second half. Lucas Cook - kicked a couple of goals in his first senior game and while not outstanding would be happy with the effort. Tom Couch - another 30 disposal game from the rookie but can he break into the Demon line up? The question mark on him is his lack of elite pace and disposal skills but he keeps thrusting his name before the selectors on a weekly basis. Troy Davis - had a poor game lowering his colours to a forward in top form. Jack Fitzpatrick - a good performance whether up forward or relieving in the ruck. Kicked four goals in a performance which should see him in consideration for promotion this week. Jordan Gysberts - his day came to a premature end when his jaw was broken in the first term. Liam Jurrah - had a solid first term with half a dozen possessions and, while he was less influential for the remainder of the game, he showed he has not lost any of his wizardry. Kelvin Lawrence - flashed in and out and produced a few classy efforts but still needs to produce for longer periods during matches. Daniel Nicholson - a better game this week. Has pace which is a commodity in rare supply at the Melbourne Football Club and he disposed of the ball much better this week. Ricky Petterd - showed good run on a forward flank and is pressing for promotion. Jai Sheahan - continues to impress as a rookie key defender. Has a future. Jake Spencer - battled hard against Orren Stephenson and more than held his own. Rory Taggert - still working his way into the game after an interrupted pre season and late start to the year. Jack Watts - had a significant influence kicking four goals and picking up 20 disposals off the wing and up forward. Jack Viney - fantastic attack on the football and definitely not afraid to put the head down. Picked up plenty of disposals before he ran into a high tackle and incurred a broken jaw. Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 10.4.64 14.6.90 22.8.150 Geelong Cats 1.5.11 5.5.35 11.5.71 14.10.94 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Watts 4 Cook Lawrence Petterd Plummer 2 Blease Fieldsend Jurrah McGough Jurrah Riseley Spencer Geelong Cats Kersten 6 Wojcinski 2 Gibbs Gleeson Horlin-Smith Schroder Selwood Walker Best Casey Scorpions Couch Bennell Fitzpatrick Petterd Nicholson Watts Geelong Cats Kersten Horlin-Smith Sheringham Schroder McCarthy Simpkin Check out these photos from the game. https://www.facebook...=1&l=42aff3ba2b

CASEY TURNS IT AROUND by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions went a long way to erasing the blight of one of their most disappointing performances of 2011 when they easily accounted for the VFL Geelong Cats at Simonds Stadium on Saturday. In a dramatic turnaround of 174 points from last year's result when the Scorps were ambushed by a 10 goal opening quarter and were never in the hunt from early in the game, Casey led all the way to record what was by far its biggest winning margin of the season - 46 points.. This time it was Casey which made the early running with a five goal to one opening term triggered by some strong work from Tom Couch in the middle and a fluid forward line that had pace, movement and marking power. Geelong came back strongly early in the second term but the Scorps rallied to take a strong 29 point advantage into the rooms at half time. The only negative for the opening half was the facial injury to Jordan Gysberts who suffered an ankle injury in the second round. Casey had plenty of winners up forward with Jack Fitzpatrick snagging four goals alternating between the forward line and ruck. That feat was emulated by Jack Watts who spent some time on a wing and also went forward to also finish with four goals. Young key forward Lucas Cook also picked up a couple of goals. The Scorpions answered every challenge when the Cats went into attack and, after an early run of two goals from the home side, Casey put on four goals to establish a handy lead of 37 points in the shadows of three quarter time but that was reined in with a couple of late Geelong goals. Liam Jurrah opened the final term with a great snap over the shoulder and the contest was effectively over. Casey extended its lead to in excess of 50 points before some late scoring by the home side narrowed the final margin to 46 points. The final quarter was marred by another incident when youngster Jack Viney who had been showing some class for the Scorpions was hit in a head high bump. He bravely walked from the ground but was later taken to hospital and operated on for a broken jaw. It was also revealed later that Wade Lees also suffered a fracture to the face but he may be able to avoid an operation and miss only a few weeks. Gysberts and Viney look like being sidelined for at least six weeks. The Scorpions meet Box Hill at City Oval, Box Hill before a bye followed by another week off for representative football. HOW THE DEMONS FARED A larger than usual retinue of Demons and it certainly made a difference even with a couple of casualties on the day. I've added youngster Jack Viney at the end. Jamie Bennell - another standout game off half back where he used his pace and skills to good effect. Sam Blease - started slowly but showed great pace and skills in the second half. Lucas Cook - kicked a couple of goals in his first senior game and while not outstanding would be happy with the effort. Tom Couch - another 30 disposal game from the rookie but can he break into the Demon line up? The question mark on him is his lack of elite pace and disposal skills but he keeps thrusting his name before the selectors on a weekly basis. Troy Davis - had a poor game lowering his colours to a forward in top form. Jack Fitzpatrick - a good performance whether up forward or relieving in the ruck. Kicked four goals in a performance which should see him in consideration for promotion this week. Jordan Gysberts - his day came to a premature end when his jaw was broken in the first term. Liam Jurrah - had a solid first term with half a dozen possessions and, while he was less influential for the remainder of the game, he showed he has not lost any of his wizardry. Kelvin Lawrence - flashed in and out and produced a few classy efforts but still needs to produce for longer periods during matches. Daniel Nicholson - a better game this week. Has pace which is a commodity in rare supply at the Melbourne Football Club and he disposed of the ball much better this week. Ricky Petterd - showed good run on a forward flank and is pressing for promotion. Jai Sheahan - continues to impress as a rookie key defender. Has a future. Jake Spencer - battled hard against Orren Stephenson and more than held his own. Rory Taggert - still working his way into the game after an interrupted pre season and late start to the year. Jack Watts - had a significant influence kicking four goals and picking up 20 disposals off the wing and up forward. Jack Viney - fantastic attack on the football and definitely not afraid to put the head down. Picked up plenty of disposals before he ran into a high tackle and incurred a broken jaw. Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 10.4.64 14.6.90 22.8.150 Geelong Cats 1.5.11 5.5.35 11.5.71 14.10.94 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Watts 4 Cook Lawrence Petterd Plummer 2 Blease Fieldsend Jurrah McGough Jurrah Riseley Spencer Geelong Cats Kersten 6 Wojcinski 2 Gibbs Gleeson Horlin-Smith Schroder Selwood Walker Best Casey Scorpions Couch Bennell Fitzpatrick Petterd Nicholson Watts Geelong Cats Kersten Horlin-Smith Sheringham Schroder McCarthy Simpkin Check out these photos from the game. https://www.facebook...=1&l=42aff3ba2b

A TALE OF TWO GAMES by Whispering Jack This was a game that, for the Melbourne Football Club, was always going to be twinned with the one that came before it some 280 days ago. You know, the game known simply as "186" played on 30 July, 2011. For the story behind that game, I refer you to this Age article written by Caroline Wilson - Date with disaster. But that date with disaster is well past the club. It has moved on and, despite the fact that the result of the latest game was yet another disappointing result in which the team was overwhelmed by the reigning premier, there was a different feeling about the loss. In some respects, the losing margin of 43 points flattered Melbourne as much as last year's 186 flattered Geelong and this year's Geelong is not the same, but it was the knowledge that the effort was there and that the team can get so much better in time that provided cause for hope. Last year's 186 catastrophe was preceded by a calamity of barely less proportion when the Demons' fourth placed alignment partner, the Casey Scorpions tumbled to a 128 thrashing at the hands of the lower Geelong reserves in the curtain raiser. This time around, it was the turn of the second placed Cats to go down by 46 points in what was a major upset. More importantly, and despite serious injuries to a couple of promising youngsters, there was enough young talent on display to suggest, despite the gloom and doom spelt out by an 0-6 record at this stage, that there was improvement to come - at least in the second half of this season. So to the main game and I doubt that anyone would have expected the Demons to be within a goal of the hosts at the first change. It wasn't that they played so well with the first use of the breeze (and they were lucky with the Cats' inaccuracy) but there were enough contributors plugging away to keep them in the game. The likes of Mitch Clark and James Frawley, key players at opposite ends of the ground missing from last week's near loss to St. Kilda were making a difference. Mark Jamar was winning the ruck battles (even if his onballers were being outclassed) and co-captain Jack Grimes were all doing well. Nathan Jones was continuing his good form for the season. Statistically, the bulk of Geelong's winning margin was attained in the second term when it put on a masterclass of how to dominate on this particular ground. You need the team to be well organised and well structured with players having the experience and the instinctiveness to know where to put the ball next. Mix that with the skills that give you a disposal efficiency rating in excess of 80% against your opponent's rating of under 60. Last year, that would have given Geelong a seven or eight goal break in a single quarter (and it did). This year, the dominance was restricted - even in Melbourne's worst quarter for the day - to 23 points. This was mainly due to the fact that the Demons were able to match their opponents for the whole day in one statistic - winning contested possessions. That is the area in which the team has languished so badly in past seasons against the competition's stronger teams. Precisely, what new coach Mark Neeld has stressed would ultimately distinguish the Melbourne of the past (186) era from that of the future. We saw signs of that from the massive efforts of Clark, Nathan Jones and the rapidly improving Jeremy Howe and Tom McDonald. Call me an optimist, and I know that the Cats were nowhere near last year's near world record pace. The teams had 14 shots at goal apiece in the second half - something that we could only dream about in a Geelong game at Simonds Stadium 280 days ago. I see this as a definite sign of improvement. In the final analysis, Geelong had way too much class, particularly in the midfield where the Cats simply had too much talent and too much run for their Demon counterparts. But there are players at Casey who will push for inclusion in the coming weeks and if you add some of those youngsters to Jurrah and Watts (in time) and allow others like Colin Sylvia to regain some touch after his injury, we will definitely see more and more improvement. My final gauge of inspiring thought resulting by way of contrast with that other game for the past is in the turnaround in the combined win/loss margins from 2011 to 2012 for Melbourne and its alignment partner. It's not a world shattering statistic but last year's - 314 was turned in the space of nine months into + 3 by virtue of Casey's 46 point win. Statistics can and do lie and yesterday wasn't much to write about but the lesson of the tale of two games is that there is a light there at the end of the long tunnel in which we're travelling. Melbourne 3.0.18 6.1.37 10.5.65 11.10.76 Geelong 3.5.23 9.11.65 15.14.104 17.17.119 Goals Melbourne Melbourne Clark 4 Bate Jones 2 Davey Dunn Howe Geelong Chapman Johnson Podsiadly 3 Bartel Mackie 2 Hawkins Kelly Motlop Stringer Best Melbourne Clark Grimes McDonald Howe Jones Moloney Geelong Johnson Corey Enright Duncan Podsiadly Scarlett Injuries Melbourne Grimes (ankle) Geelong Bartel (ankle) Changes Melbourne Nil Geelong Lonergan (ankle) replaced in selected side by Gillies, Selwood (concussion) replaced in selected side by Byrnes Reports Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Umpires Wenn Bannister Fleer Crowd 18,010 at Simonds Stadium

Place your votes for the Demonland Player of the Year 2012 after the final siren. Votes to be given on a 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis ...

A TALE OF TWO GAMES by Whispering Jack This was a game that, for the Melbourne Football Club, was always going to be twinned with the one that came before it some 280 days ago. You know, the game known simply as "186" played on 30 July, 2011. For the story behind that game, I refer you to this Age article written by Caroline Wilson - Date with disaster. But that date with disaster is well past the club. It has moved on and, despite the fact that the result of the latest game was yet another disappointing result in which the team was overwhelmed by the reigning premier, there was a different feeling about the loss. In some respects, the losing margin of 43 points flattered Melbourne as much as last year's 186 flattered Geelong and this year's Geelong is not the same, but it was the knowledge that the effort was there and that the team can get so much better in time that provided cause for hope. Last year's 186 catastrophe was preceded by a calamity of barely less proportion when the Demons' fourth placed alignment partner, the Casey Scorpions tumbled to a 128 thrashing at the hands of the lower Geelong reserves in the curtain raiser. This time around, it was the turn of the second placed Cats to go down by 46 points in what was a major upset. More importantly, and despite serious injuries to a couple of promising youngsters, there was enough young talent on display to suggest, despite the gloom and doom spelt out by an 0-6 record at this stage, that there was improvement to come - at least in the second half of this season. So to the main game and I doubt that anyone would have expected the Demons to be within a goal of the hosts at the first change. It wasn't that they played so well with the first use of the breeze (and they were lucky with the Cats' inaccuracy) but there were enough contributors plugging away to keep them in the game. The likes of Mitch Clark and James Frawley, key players at opposite ends of the ground missing from last week's near loss to St. Kilda were making a difference. Mark Jamar was winning the ruck battles (even if his onballers were being outclassed) and co-captain Jack Grimes were all doing well. Nathan Jones was continuing his good form for the season. Statistically, the bulk of Geelong's winning margin was attained in the second term when it put on a masterclass of how to dominate on this particular ground. You need the team to be well organised and well structured with players having the experience and the instinctiveness to know where to put the ball next. Mix that with the skills that give you a disposal efficiency rating in excess of 80% against your opponent's rating of under 60. Last year, that would have given Geelong a seven or eight goal break in a single quarter (and it did). This year, the dominance was restricted - even in Melbourne's worst quarter for the day - to 23 points. This was mainly due to the fact that the Demons were able to match their opponents for the whole day in one statistic - winning contested possessions. That is the area in which the team has languished so badly in past seasons against the competition's stronger teams. Precisely, what new coach Mark Neeld has stressed would ultimately distinguish the Melbourne of the past (186) era from that of the future. We saw signs of that from the massive efforts of Clark, Nathan Jones and the rapidly improving Jeremy Howe and Tom McDonald. Call me an optimist, and I know that the Cats were nowhere near last year's near world record pace. The teams had 14 shots at goal apiece in the second half - something that we could only dream about in a Geelong game at Simonds Stadium 280 days ago. I see this as a definite sign of improvement. In the final analysis, Geelong had way too much class, particularly in the midfield where the Cats simply had too much talent and too much run for their Demon counterparts. But there are players at Casey who will push for inclusion in the coming weeks and if you add some of those youngsters to Jurrah and Watts (in time) and allow others like Colin Sylvia to regain some touch after his injury, we will definitely see more and more improvement. My final gauge of inspiring thought resulting by way of contrast with that other game for the past is in the turnaround in the combined win/loss margins from 2011 to 2012 for Melbourne and its alignment partner. It's not a world shattering statistic but last year's - 314 was turned in the space of nine months into + 3 by virtue of Casey's 46 point win. Statistics can and do lie and yesterday wasn't much to write about but the lesson of the tale of two games is that there is a light there at the end of the long tunnel in which we're travelling. Melbourne 3.0.18 6.1.37 10.5.65 11.10.76 Geelong 3.5.23 9.11.65 15.14.104 17.17.119 Goals Melbourne Melbourne Clark 4 Bate Jones 2 Davey Dunn Howe Geelong Chapman Johnson Podsiadly 3 Bartel Mackie 2 Hawkins Kelly Motlop Stringer Best Melbourne Clark Grimes McDonald Howe Jones Moloney Geelong Johnson Corey Enright Duncan Podsiadly Scarlett Injuries Melbourne Grimes (ankle) Geelong Bartel (ankle) Changes Melbourne Nil Geelong Lonergan (ankle) replaced in selected side by Gillies, Selwood (concussion) replaced in selected side by Byrnes Reports Melbourne Nil Geelong Nil Umpires Wenn Bannister Fleer Crowd 18,010 at Simonds Stadium

THE VOICE - THE PEOPLE SPEAK by The People This week's match preview comes from Demonlanders. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Interesting! July 30th, 2011. We journeyed down to Kardinia Park to take on the Geelong Football Club in the middle of winter with a team that had shown some signs of promise. We seemed to be developing as a team which was headed in the right direction, regardless of the inconsistency from week to week. We turned up at Kardinia Park feeling as though we didn't really want to be there, as if we didn't believe we could win. I felt that the match was something we needed to survive our way through and then move on to next week. This attitude and a ruthless Geelong team saw us torn to shreds, not only on the scoreboard but the loss ripped the fabric of the club apart and took a part of our dignity. As we all know, Dean Bailey was sacked as the club tried to deal with it, but in reality we haven't been the same club since and we haven't fully gotten over it. There's been a painful darkness lurking in the corners of our collective MFC psyche since that day. There is only one way that the club can deal with what happened on that day last year, and sacking Dean Bailey or any other off field measures are completely insufficient. We need to go back to Kardinia Park and retrieve our dignity. It won't come easily, but must be torn back from Geelong; we must fight to take it back, and we must win to take it back. We must be ruthless in attacking every contest with absolute and brutal desperation. We must gut run from start to finish. We must treat every goal not with joyous celebration but with a sober resolve to bounce the ball and do it again. We need to punish Geelong every time they make a mistake or hesitate. This weekend is our opportunity to cast out the darkness, and we need to approach it head on, without compromise or excuse. Let's go to Kardinia Park, and let's fight to win our dignity back. Let's go to Kardinia Park together - MFC1858 THE GAME Geelong v Melbourne at Skilled Stadium on Saturday 5 May 2012 at 1.45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Geelong 123 wins Melbourne 83 wins 2 draws At Skilled Stadium Geelong 35 wins Melbourne 17 wins 1 draw Since 2000 Geelong 13 wins Melbourne 6 wins 1 draw The Coaches Scott 0 Neeld 0 MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel 1:30pm (LIVE) Delayed telecast - Channel 7 3:pm. RADIO SEN Triple M THE BETTING Geelong to win $1.03 Melbourne to win $12.00 LAST TIME THEY MET Geelong defeated Melbourne at Simmons Stadium in Round 19, 2011 (we all know what's happened and we need no further reminder) THE TEAMS GEELONG Backs Matthew Scarlett Harry Taylor Josh Hunt Half backs Corey Enright Tom Lonergan Andrew Mackie Centreline James Kelly Allen Christensen Joel Corey Half forwards Mitch Duncan James Podsiadly Steven Motlop Forwards Steve Johnson Tom Hawkins Mitch Brown Followers Trent West Jimmy Bartel Paul Chapman Interchange Cameron Guthrie Joel Selwood Billie Smedts Jesse Stringer Emergencies Shannon Byrnes Tom Gillies George Horlin-Smith In Mitch Brown James Kelly Out Taylor Hunt (soreness) Mathew Stokes (ankle) MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Tom McDonald Colin Garland Jack Grimes Centreline Cale Morton Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Half forwards Nathan Jones James Sellar Jeremy Howe Forward Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar James Magner Jack Trengove Interchange Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Lynden Dunn Luke Tapscott Emergencies Jamie Bennell Joel Macdonald Ricky Petterd In Mitch Clark James Frawley Out Joel Macdonald Jack Watts The Demons return this week to where it all began - or ended depending on your outlook. A completely new coaching panel. A completely new game plan. A very different Demons outfit. But no one who is a part of our great club can forget 186. So what does this all equate too? The bottom line is who the hell knows. The Demons looked like they have started to turn the corner a bit with the game plan and effort required but as we know all too well Melbourne is nothing if not sporadic. I cannot see a win no matter how I look at the game but there are still many things that can be achieved out of this game. For starters - a result that is far closer. An effort and intensity level that matches or builds on last week. An improvement in the execution of our game plan. Beamer must atone (regardless of how crook he was last year). Our midfield must give our backmen a chance and our forwards a look at the ball more than 40 times. Would it be folly to suggest this week that we adopt the old adage of everyone has one man for the day, regardless of where they play? Trengove on Bartel Jones on Chappy Beamer on Selwood Frawley/McDonald on Hawkins Bartram on Stokes Grimes on Christensen Sylvia on Enright Clark on Scarlett Morton on Mackie Watts on Corey ... and the list goes on. If nothing else, our boys will learn the work rate of a champion team, but if every player is responsible for just one man of flesh and blood, whom they must make it their life's ambition for that day to beat, then maybe, just maybe the Demons can make a game of it! - Grandson of a Gun Geelong is not playing the way they have in past years. Some of their wins have been unconvincing and they have lost twice to teams that failed to make last year's top eight. On the other hand, while Melbourne hasn't been all that flash, it isn't quite plumbing the depths of last year's devastating result at the Cattery. If the Dees can maintain their steady rate of improvement of the last couple of games then they might surprise the football world. Not necessarily with a win but with their best performance at this venue since the drawn game in 2006. - Demon Head The Demons are heading to Simmons Stadium this weekend to take on last year's premiers. It's a tough road trip for any side in the competition, let alone for the heavily scrutinised Demons who were pantsed by 186 points in the corresponding fixture in 2011. Every player who gets an opportunity this week will be driven by the humiliation of last year. None more so than #22 who, in a year where he polled exceptionally well in the Brownlow, couldn't manage a single possession in a half of football. He and the others will be keen to atone for last year's effort. If the 31 goal loss to Geelong was to have any silver lining, it is to be the subsequent introspection, and overhaul of the clubs footy department. This fresh start and direction looks to have galvanised the club as a whole. Led by Mark Neeld the Demons are working on a game style and culture which is intended to get the Melbourne Football Club back towards being a quality, consistent AFL side. Egos have been battered as home truths have been told, the leadership group has been overhauled. Inconsistency from week to week and questionable endeavour will no longer be tolerated. Gone are the days of Melbourne playing top picks for the sake of development. It's obvious to all that the transition from the past environment to the current one has not been an easy one for many of the players. 5 losses in 5 rounds has been a tough start to the season, especially with 3 of these losses coming against the lions, tigers and bulldogs. However the signs are starting improve as Neeld picks through the list to find a core group of players who will give their all in implementing his game style for four quarters. A four quarter effort which will be required this weekend if the Demons are to be any match for the Cats at their home. A competitive effort will also set the side up for the coming weeks where the Demons will play the majority of the form sides in the competition. A win during this period would do wonders for the confidence of the playing and coaching groups and set the side up for more victories in the second half of the year. I think the Demons will show a lot of heart again this week but will be hurt on the scoreboard by a polished Geelong outfit. Cats by 6 goals, 25 less than last year. - DemonWA

THE VOICE - THE PEOPLE SPEAK by The People This week's match preview comes from Demonlanders. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Interesting! July 30th, 2011. We journeyed down to Kardinia Park to take on the Geelong Football Club in the middle of winter with a team that had shown some signs of promise. We seemed to be developing as a team which was headed in the right direction, regardless of the inconsistency from week to week. We turned up at Kardinia Park feeling as though we didn't really want to be there, as if we didn't believe we could win. I felt that the match was something we needed to survive our way through and then move on to next week. This attitude and a ruthless Geelong team saw us torn to shreds, not only on the scoreboard but the loss ripped the fabric of the club apart and took a part of our dignity. As we all know, Dean Bailey was sacked as the club tried to deal with it, but in reality we haven't been the same club since and we haven't fully gotten over it. There's been a painful darkness lurking in the corners of our collective MFC psyche since that day. There is only one way that the club can deal with what happened on that day last year, and sacking Dean Bailey or any other off field measures are completely insufficient. We need to go back to Kardinia Park and retrieve our dignity. It won't come easily, but must be torn back from Geelong; we must fight to take it back, and we must win to take it back. We must be ruthless in attacking every contest with absolute and brutal desperation. We must gut run from start to finish. We must treat every goal not with joyous celebration but with a sober resolve to bounce the ball and do it again. We need to punish Geelong every time they make a mistake or hesitate. This weekend is our opportunity to cast out the darkness, and we need to approach it head on, without compromise or excuse. Let's go to Kardinia Park, and let's fight to win our dignity back. Let's go to Kardinia Park together - MFC1858 THE GAME Geelong v Melbourne at Skilled Stadium on Saturday 5 May 2012 at 1.45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Geelong 123 wins Melbourne 83 wins 2 draws At Skilled Stadium Geelong 35 wins Melbourne 17 wins 1 draw Since 2000 Geelong 13 wins Melbourne 6 wins 1 draw The Coaches Scott 0 Neeld 0 MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel 1:30pm (LIVE) Delayed telecast - Channel 7 3:pm. RADIO SEN Triple M THE BETTING Geelong to win $1.03 Melbourne to win $12.00 LAST TIME THEY MET Geelong defeated Melbourne at Simmons Stadium in Round 19, 2011 (we all know what's happened and we need no further reminder) THE TEAMS GEELONG Backs Matthew Scarlett Harry Taylor Josh Hunt Half backs Corey Enright Tom Lonergan Andrew Mackie Centreline James Kelly Allen Christensen Joel Corey Half forwards Mitch Duncan James Podsiadly Steven Motlop Forwards Steve Johnson Tom Hawkins Mitch Brown Followers Trent West Jimmy Bartel Paul Chapman Interchange Cameron Guthrie Joel Selwood Billie Smedts Jesse Stringer Emergencies Shannon Byrnes Tom Gillies George Horlin-Smith In Mitch Brown James Kelly Out Taylor Hunt (soreness) Mathew Stokes (ankle) MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Tom McDonald Colin Garland Jack Grimes Centreline Cale Morton Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Half forwards Nathan Jones James Sellar Jeremy Howe Forward Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar James Magner Jack Trengove Interchange Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Lynden Dunn Luke Tapscott Emergencies Jamie Bennell Joel Macdonald Ricky Petterd In Mitch Clark James Frawley Out Joel Macdonald Jack Watts The Demons return this week to where it all began - or ended depending on your outlook. A completely new coaching panel. A completely new game plan. A very different Demons outfit. But no one who is a part of our great club can forget 186. So what does this all equate too? The bottom line is who the hell knows. The Demons looked like they have started to turn the corner a bit with the game plan and effort required but as we know all too well Melbourne is nothing if not sporadic. I cannot see a win no matter how I look at the game but there are still many things that can be achieved out of this game. For starters - a result that is far closer. An effort and intensity level that matches or builds on last week. An improvement in the execution of our game plan. Beamer must atone (regardless of how crook he was last year). Our midfield must give our backmen a chance and our forwards a look at the ball more than 40 times. Would it be folly to suggest this week that we adopt the old adage of everyone has one man for the day, regardless of where they play? Trengove on Bartel Jones on Chappy Beamer on Selwood Frawley/McDonald on Hawkins Bartram on Stokes Grimes on Christensen Sylvia on Enright Clark on Scarlett Morton on Mackie Watts on Corey ... and the list goes on. If nothing else, our boys will learn the work rate of a champion team, but if every player is responsible for just one man of flesh and blood, whom they must make it their life's ambition for that day to beat, then maybe, just maybe the Demons can make a game of it! - Grandson of a Gun Geelong is not playing the way they have in past years. Some of their wins have been unconvincing and they have lost twice to teams that failed to make last year's top eight. On the other hand, while Melbourne hasn't been all that flash, it isn't quite plumbing the depths of last year's devastating result at the Cattery. If the Dees can maintain their steady rate of improvement of the last couple of games then they might surprise the football world. Not necessarily with a win but with their best performance at this venue since the drawn game in 2006. - Demon Head The Demons are heading to Simmons Stadium this weekend to take on last year's premiers. It's a tough road trip for any side in the competition, let alone for the heavily scrutinised Demons who were pantsed by 186 points in the corresponding fixture in 2011. Every player who gets an opportunity this week will be driven by the humiliation of last year. None more so than #22 who, in a year where he polled exceptionally well in the Brownlow, couldn't manage a single possession in a half of football. He and the others will be keen to atone for last year's effort. If the 31 goal loss to Geelong was to have any silver lining, it is to be the subsequent introspection, and overhaul of the clubs footy department. This fresh start and direction looks to have galvanised the club as a whole. Led by Mark Neeld the Demons are working on a game style and culture which is intended to get the Melbourne Football Club back towards being a quality, consistent AFL side. Egos have been battered as home truths have been told, the leadership group has been overhauled. Inconsistency from week to week and questionable endeavour will no longer be tolerated. Gone are the days of Melbourne playing top picks for the sake of development. It's obvious to all that the transition from the past environment to the current one has not been an easy one for many of the players. 5 losses in 5 rounds has been a tough start to the season, especially with 3 of these losses coming against the lions, tigers and bulldogs. However the signs are starting improve as Neeld picks through the list to find a core group of players who will give their all in implementing his game style for four quarters. A four quarter effort which will be required this weekend if the Demons are to be any match for the Cats at their home. A competitive effort will also set the side up for the coming weeks where the Demons will play the majority of the form sides in the competition. A win during this period would do wonders for the confidence of the playing and coaching groups and set the side up for more victories in the second half of the year. I think the Demons will show a lot of heart again this week but will be hurt on the scoreboard by a polished Geelong outfit. Cats by 6 goals, 25 less than last year. - DemonWA