Demonland

I've installed the latest version of the forum software. Please be patient whilst I iron out any bugs and settle on a theme for the look and feel of the site. I know people are set in their ways and get used to the way it used to look but the update was necessary . In the move we seem to have lost all the avatars so you will have to either find your old one or find a new one. Like the Dees this is a new beginning . Let me know if you run into any bugs or issues and I will attempt to sort it out.

It's still a work in progress. I have to finalise all the colours etc. Please be patient.

It's all a work in progress at the moment so there will be a bit of trial and error. You shouldn't use Internet Explorer. Use Firefox or Google Chrome. Alternatively you should really get a Mac.

Another update. We now have more room on the banner as we have adjusted some of the site settings. I have therefore included Moloney as requested. Also you might notice that the full banner will appear on your mobile devices. Stay tuned for more athetics changes on the site in the coming days and weeks.

I usually wait til closer to the start of the season but the whole $cully fiasco motivated me to get onto it a bit earlier. I was able to erase You Know Who and replace him with Trenners but I wasn't 100% happy with the results. Also the signing of a new coach signaled the start of a new era so I thought I would change it early. Anyway I can guarantee you that all the guys on the banner will be lining up come Round 1, 2012.

Couldn't find a decent high res picture of him that wasn't wrestling an opponent in a ruck contest.

I was able to move the players over a bit to accommodate Jones who was originally in. Here is the newest banner:

That's what I plan to do. Got to wait til preseason for a shot of him in one of those red polo shirts that the coaches wear.I'm not going to attempt a dodgy photoshop job to achieve it.

I took " 'Hardest' to play" to mean " 'Difficult' to beat". But I do believe we need to harden up and hope he achieves that too.

I was inspired this morning to complete the Demonland Banner for the 2012 season. I couldn't fit everyone in but I thought this group represents what we need to take out the premiership in the coming years. Firstly the colour. I chose the black and white with the red showing theme because it makes the red really pop. The red represents the blood we all bleed for the club and the black and white has a real silver look to it represents the silverware we hope to obtain. Also some of the images didn't match in quality and resolution and the black and white really masks that. Jimmy is a given. I thought the image that I chose was perfect and I really hope that Jimmy is around to see the success that's coming. I thought I'd include the new coach as a show of support and that we are right behind him as we begin our campaign. I chose the players to represent different aspects - Trenners & Watts (the future), Chip (Defence), Jarrah (Forwards) & Jamar (Middle). I initially had Jones and Moloney in as well but had to take someone out to fit the coach in. This may change before the 2012 season.

I like it but I thought I should let you know that I am part way through doing the banner for next year and don't want to disappoint you or make you go through any unnecessary work. Awesome job though.

That was my thinking too.

I have started preliminary work on the new banner (that is collecting images). It looks like Jamar, Jordie and Jones might get a gig. Also Moloney and Watts may get one too. Trenners is a certainty and i'm still tossing up whether Sylvia stays and I will await any announcement re: captaincy to see whether Greeny stays. Davey will most likely get dropped as will Grimes but for different reasons. Frawley will most likely stay too.

Just hopped over the fence to Bomberblitz.com and they seem pretty dirty about the last game and want to square up for a late tackle. Can't remember the incident myself.

It all depends on the size of the browser window and in turn the size of your screen. If you are using a mobile device there is not much you can do as you can't adjust the browser window size.

It must be a caching issue. It should change in the next day or so. Try pressing Shift & F5 (I think).

I might pull on the boots this time as I have lost about 8 kgs since Christmas and am pretty fit now.

PEAR SHAPED by KC from Casey So yet again a season that promised so much for the Casey Scorpions ends pear shaped after a disappointing finals series with the senior team making a straight sets exit on Saturday, beaten this time by 62 points by the Werribee Tigers. The centre was muddy and it was windy again at TEAC Oval but the conditions could hardly be said to suit either team and yet Casey struggled all day with the ground where they have so often in recent years faced their downfall. The inclusion of some well performed players from Melbourne proved of little assistance to the Scorpions who started tentatively and were never allowed to get their game going. After conceding the first three goals of the game to a keener, sharper and more enthusiastic Tiger combination, Casey struggled throughout and its key players were kept in check for most of the day. Even in the early stages the Tigers looked switched on while the Scorpions played indirect football. Their hesitancy led to inefficient movement of the football, fumbling and turnovers despite them having plenty of use of the football. It took much of the first quarter for Casey to threaten as it did when Tom McNamara finally marked from a Matthew Bate pass for the first goal but that was the only joy for the term and McNamara, who had been playing well in the midfield, was soon limping off for treatment to what appeared to be a foot injury. At quarter time, the Scorpions trailed by 25 points. A courageous skipper's goal from Kyle Matthews got things going early in the second quarter after some early shots at goal were missed but it was the Tigers who were making every post a winner. Two quick goals seemed to knock the resistance out of the Scorpions who simply couldn't match Werribee's run out of the middle. The uncertainty continued and by the main break a despondent Casey trudged into the rooms seven goals down and looking beaten. A Brad Gotch rev up at half time saw the team run out with more purpose but even an early goal to Lynden Dunn failed to bring about a turnaround in the team's fortunes. Werribee responded with a snapped goal and thereafter the Tigers closed the game down with Casey struggling to score and failing to make any leeway. The final quarter saw things open and the Scorpions managed a few more goals but the life had been strangled out of them; the final result representing a 106 point turnaround from the last meeting between the teams less than a month ago at Casey Fields. On that occasion, Brendan Fevola booted six goals and received great service from the team’s midfield. However, this time the movement and delivery forward was poor, Werribee dropped two or three players back to assist their full back and a frustrated Fevola was kept goalless. He ended up on report, a bad ending for the player who had hardly put a foot out of place in his attempt to rejuvenate his career and one can only wish him well in his battle to regain a place on an AFL list. A measure of the disappointment of the way the season ended was the fact that all of Casey’s better players on the day were in the defence. Michael Stockdale worked hard and gave good run coming off the backline and Matty Warnock and Tim Mohr did their prospects for the future no harm with solid games. A disappointed Brad Gotch found it hard to say what went wrong and was quoted in the Melbourne Age as follows: ''You've got to look at your leadership, just the individual players that you've got, do we have the right mix of talent? Maybe we've got a lot of similar type players and are they good enough to take it to that next step in September?'' The end of the season has come quickly and next September is far away. The Casey Scorpions have plenty of time to regroup and plan for next year with the memory of past seasons’ disappointments spurring them on to better things in the future. HOW THE DEMONS FARED This is probably the toughest one of the year. The team played poorly and the Melbourne contingent with one or two exceptions really struggled to have an impact. Eleven MFC listed players took the field while Kelvin Lawrence and Michael Newton were selected in the squad but did not play. A few medium sized players like Sam Blease, Neville Jetta and Addam Maric who all qualified under the eligibility rules for the finals would have been handy but they were injured. Rohan Bail - showed good pace at times but his disposal let him down. Matthew Bate - tried hard, marked strongly and kicked a nice goal but was always working against the odds. Robert Campbell - a disappointing game but his finals campaign was disrupted by injury which kept him out last week. If he can stay healthy over the summer, he could be a surprise packet next year. Troy Davis - a reasonable game in a defence that was under pressure all day. Promises a fair bit for the future. Lynden Dunn - uncharacteristically off target on the day with one goal three behinds. It just wasn't his day. Jack Fitzpatrick - struggled early in conditions that did not suit. Pushed forward for a goal in the last quarter but otherwise had a quiet day. Max Gawn - a strong performance in the ruck underlining his potential to be a leading exponent of ruckwork at the highest level when he matures in body and in mind. Tom McDonald - had a bit of a shocker with his disposal early and was responsible for a couple of bad turnovers but fought back well. Tom McNamara - was an important player for the Scorpions in the opening stanza and kicked their only goal during this period. After injuring his calf, he received treatment but was unable to return and the team missed his drive in the midfield. Daniel Nicholson - started in defence but was required in the midfield where he worked hard in difficult circumstances. Matthew Warnock - as usual played a strong game in defence despite the enormous pressure of playing with a losing midfield. Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 2.8.20 3.12.30 6.15.51 Werribee Tigers 5.3.33 9.8.62 11.12.78 16.17.113 Goals Casey Scorpions Bate Dunn Fitzpatrick McNamara Matthews Nicholson Werribee Tigers Ross 4 McKinley Tighe Warren 2 Castello Gleeson Harding Sharp Sullivan Tuck Best Casey Scorpions Stockdale Lees Warnock Panozza Mohr Nicholson Werribee Tigers Mangan Ross Harding Sharp Martiniello McKinley

PEAR SHAPED by KC from Casey So yet again a season that promised so much for the Casey Scorpions ends pear shaped after a disappointing finals series with the senior team making a straight sets exit on Saturday, beaten this time by 62 points by the Werribee Tigers. The centre was muddy and it was windy again at TEAC Oval but the conditions could hardly be said to suit either team and yet Casey struggled all day with the ground where they have so often in recent years faced their downfall. The inclusion of some well performed players from Melbourne proved of little assistance to the Scorpions who started tentatively and were never allowed to get their game going. After conceding the first three goals of the game to a keener, sharper and more enthusiastic Tiger combination, Casey struggled throughout and its key players were kept in check for most of the day. Even in the early stages the Tigers looked switched on while the Scorpions played indirect football. Their hesitancy led to inefficient movement of the football, fumbling and turnovers despite them having plenty of use of the football. It took much of the first quarter for Casey to threaten as it did when Tom McNamara finally marked from a Matthew Bate pass for the first goal but that was the only joy for the term and McNamara, who had been playing well in the midfield, was soon limping off for treatment to what appeared to be a foot injury. At quarter time, the Scorpions trailed by 25 points. A courageous skipper's goal from Kyle Matthews got things going early in the second quarter after some early shots at goal were missed but it was the Tigers who were making every post a winner. Two quick goals seemed to knock the resistance out of the Scorpions who simply couldn't match Werribee's run out of the middle. The uncertainty continued and by the main break a despondent Casey trudged into the rooms seven goals down and looking beaten. A Brad Gotch rev up at half time saw the team run out with more purpose but even an early goal to Lynden Dunn failed to bring about a turnaround in the team's fortunes. Werribee responded with a snapped goal and thereafter the Tigers closed the game down with Casey struggling to score and failing to make any leeway. The final quarter saw things open and the Scorpions managed a few more goals but the life had been strangled out of them; the final result representing a 106 point turnaround from the last meeting between the teams less than a month ago at Casey Fields. On that occasion, Brendan Fevola booted six goals and received great service from the team’s midfield. However, this time the movement and delivery forward was poor, Werribee dropped two or three players back to assist their full back and a frustrated Fevola was kept goalless. He ended up on report, a bad ending for the player who had hardly put a foot out of place in his attempt to rejuvenate his career and one can only wish him well in his battle to regain a place on an AFL list. A measure of the disappointment of the way the season ended was the fact that all of Casey’s better players on the day were in the defence. Michael Stockdale worked hard and gave good run coming off the backline and Matty Warnock and Tim Mohr did their prospects for the future no harm with solid games. A disappointed Brad Gotch found it hard to say what went wrong and was quoted in the Melbourne Age as follows: ''You've got to look at your leadership, just the individual players that you've got, do we have the right mix of talent? Maybe we've got a lot of similar type players and are they good enough to take it to that next step in September?'' The end of the season has come quickly and next September is far away. The Casey Scorpions have plenty of time to regroup and plan for next year with the memory of past seasons’ disappointments spurring them on to better things in the future. HOW THE DEMONS FARED This is probably the toughest one of the year. The team played poorly and the Melbourne contingent with one or two exceptions really struggled to have an impact. Eleven MFC listed players took the field while Kelvin Lawrence and Michael Newton were selected in the squad but did not play. A few medium sized players like Sam Blease, Neville Jetta and Addam Maric who all qualified under the eligibility rules for the finals would have been handy but they were injured. Rohan Bail - showed good pace at times but his disposal let him down. Matthew Bate - tried hard, marked strongly and kicked a nice goal but was always working against the odds. Robert Campbell - a disappointing game but his finals campaign was disrupted by injury which kept him out last week. If he can stay healthy over the summer, he could be a surprise packet next year. Troy Davis - a reasonable game in a defence that was under pressure all day. Promises a fair bit for the future. Lynden Dunn - uncharacteristically off target on the day with one goal three behinds. It just wasn't his day. Jack Fitzpatrick - struggled early in conditions that did not suit. Pushed forward for a goal in the last quarter but otherwise had a quiet day. Max Gawn - a strong performance in the ruck underlining his potential to be a leading exponent of ruckwork at the highest level when he matures in body and in mind. Tom McDonald - had a bit of a shocker with his disposal early and was responsible for a couple of bad turnovers but fought back well. Tom McNamara - was an important player for the Scorpions in the opening stanza and kicked their only goal during this period. After injuring his calf, he received treatment but was unable to return and the team missed his drive in the midfield. Daniel Nicholson - started in defence but was required in the midfield where he worked hard in difficult circumstances. Matthew Warnock - as usual played a strong game in defence despite the enormous pressure of playing with a losing midfield. Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 2.8.20 3.12.30 6.15.51 Werribee Tigers 5.3.33 9.8.62 11.12.78 16.17.113 Goals Casey Scorpions Bate Dunn Fitzpatrick McNamara Matthews Nicholson Werribee Tigers Ross 4 McKinley Tighe Warren 2 Castello Gleeson Harding Sharp Sullivan Tuck Best Casey Scorpions Stockdale Lees Warnock Panozza Mohr Nicholson Werribee Tigers Mangan Ross Harding Sharp Martiniello McKinley

NOT FOR THE CHILDREN PLEASE

Over the next few weeks I will be working on a new banner for the site.

Wrong. They can't get at an another Melbourne player unless there's a trade or the AFL changes the rules. It's one player per club.

Tom Scully's image is about to be expunged from the Demonland masthead. I like the suggestion made by one poster of elongating his nose Pinocchio style but in the end decided that it lacked the class that a supporter site representing a football club of more than a century and a half of tradition warranted. Scully's image will soon be replaced by one of the club's loyal servants and a man who will lead this club to many victories over the sham of a club his former teammate has just joined.

DON'T LOOK BACK by Whispering Jack While the attention of much of the football world is on the AFL final series, Melbourne supporters have been preoccupied with other matters. The Tom Scully saga is finally and thankfully over. The predictable outcome will leave a bitter taste in the mouth for many but it can also herald new opportunities for the club. There will be compensation of sorts (although most of us believe it to be hopelessly inadequate) and there is money to lure players from elsewhere and reward those who have remained truthful and loyal. Amid conflicting statements from all quarters over several months, the lingering truth from this unsavoury episode is found in the prescient words of MFC legend and club chairman Jim Stynes as reported in The Australian newspaper as far back as 28 March 2011 - Recruits forced to lie, Stynes says. I think Jimmy knew then exactly what was going on. To compound things, the AFL's rules relating to compensation to clubs for players lost in this unseemly charade are hopelessly tainted. The unfairness of it all not only leaves a bad taste but it also shakes what little faith is left in the integrity of that for which the six teams remaining in the finals race are striving. This game was once a sport in which the national ethic of egalitarianism and a "fair go" for all was paramount. Not any more! While the AFL, through its new franchise rules has perpetuated the farcical atmosphere of greed that now pervades the game, this issue is one with which all lovers of the game need to deal. For the Demons there are other battles to fight for the time being. The Scully saga wasn't the worst thing to happen to the Melbourne Football Club this year (although it played a role in what became a shambles of a season). Things happened both on and off the field about which none of us can be proud. There is much healing required at the club; a need to clean house both on and of the field, to appoint a new coach and his assistants and to recruit and trade wisely to continue the process of building the team in such a way as to ensure future success. When it comes, I trust that the success we achieve will stem from the fruits of hard labour and therefore something for all of us to truly appreciate rather than from blood money as is the case with the AFL's new franchises. We must not look back. We move on.

DON'T LOOK BACK by Whispering Jack While the attention of much of the football world is on the AFL final series, Melbourne supporters have been preoccupied with other matters. The Tom Scully saga is finally and thankfully over. The predictable outcome will leave a bitter taste in the mouth for many but it can also herald new opportunities for the club. There will be compensation of sorts (although most of us believe it to be hopelessly inadequate) and there is money to lure players from elsewhere and reward those who have remained truthful and loyal. Amid conflicting statements from all quarters over several months, the lingering truth from this unsavoury episode is found in the prescient words of MFC legend and club chairman Jim Stynes as reported in The Australian newspaper as far back as 28 March 2011 - Recruits forced to lie, Stynes says. I think Jimmy knew then exactly what was going on. To compound things, the AFL's rules relating to compensation to clubs for players lost in this unseemly charade are hopelessly tainted. The unfairness of it all not only leaves a bad taste but it also shakes what little faith is left in the integrity of that for which the six teams remaining in the finals race are striving. This game was once a sport in which the national ethic of egalitarianism and a "fair go" for all was paramount. Not any more! While the AFL, through its new franchise rules has perpetuated the farcical atmosphere of greed that now pervades the game, this issue is one with which all lovers of the game need to deal. For the Demons there are other battles to fight for the time being. The Scully saga wasn't the worst thing to happen to the Melbourne Football Club this year (although it played a role in what became a shambles of a season). Things happened both on and off the field about which none of us can be proud. There is much healing required at the club; a need to clean house both on and of the field, to appoint a new coach and his assistants and to recruit and trade wisely to continue the process of building the team in such a way as to ensure future success. When it comes, I trust that the success we achieve will stem from the fruits of hard labour and therefore something for all of us to truly appreciate rather than from blood money as is the case with the AFL's new franchises. We must not look back. We move on.