Demonland

I learnt long ago that if I was ever going to win the tipping competition that I have with my mates then I had to tip with my head and not my heart. If we only win 4 games this year then that's about 18 tips that I will be behind the leader. My theory has always been that I would obviously prefer to get my tip wrong and the Dees win.

I would have gotten 8.

Rank(LW) Tipster Points 1- Demonland 7 1- Wonnajurah 7 3- 45hg16 6 3- Alpha33 6 3- aronbrandon 6 3- Clyde_Cabbie 6 3- dalrot 6 3- demondeb 6 3- digga15 6 3- DrMubutu 6 3- GrandNewFlag 6 3- great_gatsby 6 3- lmswords 6 3- mrawesome 6 3- rogues31 6 3- Tim - Go Dees! 6 3- timmysim 6 3- Whispering_Jack 6 19- Andees_0 5 19- CarnTheDees 5 19- deanox 5 19- dee-luded 5 19- deemonkey 5 19- Deetom 5 19- H_T 5 19- herbsademon 5 19- robrien48 5 19- Top Bar 5 19- Vagg 5 30- Snakey Moses 4 31- demongorm 3 If you would like to join the Demonland Footy Tipping Competition you will only be penalised one point and start with the lowest score -1. Here are the joining details. Join our AFL 2010 Tipping Competition now: Go to www.OzTips.com Click the 'REGISTER' button on the homepage and set-up a Login (if you don't already have one with OzTips). Once you have successfully registered a Username and Password, click the 'JOIN A COMP' button. You will be asked to enter an OzTips Comp Number and Password. The Comp you've been asked to join is: Comp#: 222003 Password: demonland That's it! Full instructions on how to Tip can be found on the website by clicking on the 'Help' link in the top header.

I just want to stress that emotions are going to be running high. Please be constructive in your criticism. If you post just to say a player was crap your post will be deleted. Also want to add that if you disagree with another poster then debate the issue don't attack the poster. Any post saying a Poster is an idiot etc will be deleted too. Keep it civil.

Please post your votes here after the final siren sounds. 6,5,4,3,2,1

TEN MILES BEHIND ME (AND TEN THOUSAND MORE TO GO) by Whispering Jack I read somewhere that dreams are "often simple fulfilments of wishes" that rarely work out that way in the real world. You can spend the summer months dreaming, wishing and hoping that a new season will bring improvement to your footy team, that your wishes will be fulfilled and that it will happen instantly but that means nothing when the action starts and the team is neither prepared nor able to fire any more than a few opening shots. The task wasn't a total impossibility but it was only going to happen if all of the stars were aligned in all of the right places. Such occurrences are rare and more often than not, there will be no spontaneous attainment of success. Rather, it's a slow and tedious process and that's the way it has to be with the train wreck that has been the Melbourne Football Club of 2007 to 2009. The dream might fulfilled one day well into the future but in the meantime, the going will be tough for the Demons in 2010 as the pieces are reassembled and put together. The good news is that there will be some rays of light in among the darkness and we saw that clearly in the opening game of the season when a hopeful Melbourne took on Hawthorn at the MCG but more of that later. The Demons took on the Hawks in a game between the AFL's walking wounded. The hope was that they could take advantage of their opponents' injury predicament and give them a run for their money. Well, they did that but unfortunately, it lasted all of four lousy minutes before the wheels fell off. In that frenetic opening the Demons ran hard, tackled with gusto, generally had the better of the Hawks and had the opening two scoring shots of the game - both of them behinds. Then the wheels fell off and the 2008 premiers went into attack for the first time and goaled. Then they goaled again ... and again. While this was happening, Melbourne reverted to type and reprised everything that has been horrible during the reign of coach Dean Bailey since he took the helm two years ago in the same place and against the same opposition. Same result too! The overuse of handball, the hesitancy, the poor decision-making, the errors (often unforced and self-inflicted) and the sheer stupidity soon took on farcical proportions and by quarter time, the game was effectively over as the Hawks had kept Melbourne goalless while ramming on six of their own to take a 36-point lead. This was extended to 56 points at half time with Mark Jamar the solitary goal kicker after the first hour's play for the season. By then the fans had been exposed to every single component of a football supporter's nightmare. In the first quarter, Brad Miller went for a mark and took out Matthew Bate who left the field dazed and possibly bleeding (couldn't tell exactly because his hair colour makes it difficult to discern).Then Brad Green was stretchered off with what appeared to be a bad neck injury (fortunately, he came back later to kick a couple of goals). Later on, Jared Rivers left the field in pain clutching his ribs. The season was less than two hours old but already, it was becoming the season from hell. The pain did not stop at the main break and the deficit was increased further before Alistair Clarkson's men applied their own version of the mercy rule and collectively put their feet on the brake pedal with the result being that the teams broke exactly even in the second half. By the end of the game, thousands of Melbourne supporters had taken the easy option of departing the MCG early and many of those who remained to witness the excruciatingly painful proceedings were baying for Bailey's blood (as you do when your young and inexperienced side hit by injury suffers a humiliating defeat in the opening round of the season). This is the coach's trial year but surely you can't judge on one game alone. I guess that most of us simply chose to ignore Bailey's constant warnings about not expecting instant success. As late as the morning of the game, he was quoted in the Herald Sun as saying of his young team that "(you) can see they are going to get better, but it all comes with a degree of patience." What Bailey has been telling us is that when you dream of team success then you should expect some fitful sleeping because your dreams are bound to be littered with some nightmares along the way. If you hadn't got the message about the extent of the required "degree of patience" before, then it surely must have come home during the first half of the game? Bailey was by no means let down in the main by his youthful players. If you want to point the finger at anyone then it has to come from the more experienced members of the group. The skipper worked hard and Green was courageous but Cameron Bruce (underdone after an interrupted pre season), Aaron Davey (ditto) and Brad Miller were not up to scratch and most of the 50 to 100 game players failed to step up and some were plain aweful. Of this category, I exclude Jamar, Rivers and Matthew Warnock who all contributed with the latter doing well to keep Roughhead, the Hawks' main go to man, down to only three goals in the face of a four quarter onslaught brought about by the dominance of his team's midfield. The problem with many of the players who let their team down is that in the heat of action these blokes cannot or will not run to save themselves. The game these days is mainly about athleticism and running. It's said that we recruit players for their athleticism as much as for their football skills and yet, when Melbourne has the ball, you can look at the ground and all you can see is stagnation. There's little or no movement at the station. And that's where Melbourne's younger brigade comes into the picture. Firstly, they are the only ones who fulfilled some of their dreams during the course of the game. Tom Scully, Jack Trengove and James Strauss did it by making their AFL debuts on the MCG. Rookies Jordie McKenzie and Jake Spencer played a few games late last year and Jack Grimes and Jamie Bennell have had a handful of matches. These are the players who are living their dreams and are at the point in their careers where each of them will tell you, "I have ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go". This is not to say that all of these youngsters played games you can write home about. Spencer was rarely sighted, Strauss had some good, bad and ugly moments and Bennell was patchy. Grimes started slowly but worked his way into the game as did Trengove and Scully. For my money, the top two draft picks of 2009 were the best two Melbourne players in their debut games simply because they showed the rest of the team that they were prepared to run into the right spaces to make the play and to get the footy and, in that respect, they showed up their more experienced team mates and put them to shame. When two debutants can inspire the making of such a statement, then despite the frustrations of days like these, the fulfilment of the dream of those next ten thousand miles will be well worth the wait. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.6.12 4.9.34 8.13.61 Hawthorn 6.3.39 10.8.68 15.14.104 17.15.117 Goals Melbourne Green Miller Petterd 2 Jamar McKenzie Hawthorn Brown Roughhead 3 Hooper Moss Osborne 2 Hodge Ladson Morton Mitchell Peterson Best Melbourne Trengove Scully Jamar Green Warnock Frawley Grimes Hawthorn Hodge Lewis Birchall Ladson Mitchell Gibson Roughea Injuries Melbourne Green (neck) Rivers (ribs) Hawthorn Renouf (groin) Reports Nil Umpires McLaren, Stewart, Kamolins Official crowd 45,615 at the MCG Postscript: I would like to dedicate this to Carole King and James Taylor whose brilliant performance I attended last night at the Rod Laver Arena. After enduring a game like Road 1, 2010 Melbourne v Hawthorn it was a pleasure to see the creative energy that has seen them retain legendary status in their craft for over four decades. CK and JT keep racking up the miles in their thousands and Sweet Baby James was the source and the inspiration for the title. I hope to see the dream fulfilled.

Melb 0.3.3 Haw 6.3.39 1/4 Time Green off with neck injury

25 people now in the competition. C'mon Demonlanders lets get some more. Tell your family and friends. I came second last year. Can't remember who beat me though.

http://hihathawkins.wordpress.com/

The Doctor is back with a vengeance - but has he made it in time? A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER SIX - HARD RAIN Life in the world of the Time Lords was idyllic. We were stationed on Gallifrey which was the Doctor's home planet, located in the constellation of Kasteriborous at galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven- zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero centre". This put us at a distance of some 250 million light years away from Earth and way outside our Milky Way galaxy. The Doctor went to great lengths to point out that his home was really situated in a different universe altogether - the Whoniverse. We arrived by means of time travel in the Tardis but had we wanted to return to Earth by conventional means it would take 29,000 light years. I once told the Doctor that we must be a long way from my home but he corrected me saying, "No, we're a long time away from your home". At the time I was unaware of the significance of he was telling me but I would learn. The Citadel of the Time Lords is a vast, sprawling compound of odd- shaped constructions manufactured from sandstone mined in the quarries found at the base of Mount Perdition, one of Gallifrey's Mountains of Solace and Solitude of which there were twelve. The Doctor called them the "misty mountains" as they were constantly shrouded in a fine damp mist. While we generally had a free run of the Citadel and its surrounds, we were forbidden from visiting this particular region, known as the planet's Death Zone because it was controlled by The Master, a renegade Time Lord who was not only "evil" but rumoured to be in league with the dreaded Cybermen. The Doctor explained that the Cybermen were a genetically engineered race of beings that strived to achieve physical perfection. During the process of their evolution, it was considered necessary to rid them of all weaknesses. Emotion was removed from their brains to empty any vestige of love, hate, anger or fear. The Cybermen were ruthless killers and it was considered wise counsel to avoid the quarry at the edge of the misty mountains. The sun shone constantly in Gallifrey's pale green skies. The absence of night was the result of the planet's delicate positioning in a binary system so that one of its suns would always set when the other rose. The constant sunshine, the flawless weather, the endless array of fine food and drink (especially the fruity nectar known only as "the Juice") and the agreeable company made time pass quickly. I enjoyed many outings with my new-found friends. We basked in the orange glow of sunlight from the dominant star and, under a canopy of dark green trees, we would feast on the fruits that grew in khaki- coloured fields and orchards in the lush valleys below the Citadel. The Doctor hardly ever joined us as he was mostly preoccupied with the Time Lords Conference, a seemingly endless series of meetings and discussions carried out in hushed tones by the eight Time Lords in residence at the Citadel. Something was happening but the Doctor would not let us in on the secret. My happiness on Gallifrey was overshadowed by the blackness of the dreams. Although there was no night on the planet, the hours of sunshine, the gravity of two suns and the constant daily activity induced a form of tiredness I had not previously experienced in my short lifetime on Earth leading to long hours of sleep accompanied by the most vivid of dreams. It was those dreams that I descended into a separate world and, in that world there were Demons and I led a dark grey existence that was totally at odds with life as I knew it on sun-drenched Gallifrey. In my dreams Romana would come to my room. She would lead me by the hand to the Doctor's stables to chose two ponies to guide us along one of the six highways that led out of the Citadel and into the surrounding countryside. K9 always accompanied us but would keep a reasonable distance somewhere to the rear as if it was guarding us along the dirty, dusty and crooked roads. There were times when the Brigadier and Richie would also come along but never Buddy or The Big Bopper. The Budster, as he preferred to be called, spent most of his time at the Time Lords Bowl trying to emulate his three strikes while the Bopper preferred to take a bath. Splish, splash! My dream journeys always evoked dark images and disturbing scenes that seemingly lasted for days and that would always end the same way - an awakening in a fitful state bathed in sweat, my ears ringing with the loud sound of a black dog barking its lathery foul-breathed cry of utter madness. The dread and the fear brought on by my dreamtime experiences marred my otherwise delightful existence on the Doctor's planet and I grew to loathe the onset of tiredness that brought sheer terror into my "nighttime" Gallifreyan dream world. Then came the last dream. The signpost simply read, "Highway 64. The Highway of Demons" and there was nobody else on the road as we embarked on our journey. K9 kept its distance as usual at the rear (he wasn't really a body but a robotic dog). The distant sound of thunder seemed to roar out an ominous warning silence fell as we moved along the floor of a valley into the depths of a deep, sad and dark forest with black-branched trees. Was it a trick caused by the thickening mist that made their branches appear to be dripping with blood? Romana remained unconcerned. Another crooked turn of the highway that took us into a clearing and the sudden realisation that we had entered forbidden territory. We had reached Mount Perdition and were at the edge of the sandstone quarry situated its base. Inside, a battle was taking place. The fight was a one-sided contest between an army of giant hawk-like birds and a small squadron of robotic creatures that matched the Doctor's description of the Cybermen although most of them were of a younger and smaller version than I had imagined as they appeared not yet fully developed. The birds were well armed and they slaughtered their unprepared prey, leaving them to die in the mouth of what was to become a giant graveyard. I sensed the presence of a stranger and, as turned to face the shadowy figure now standing ominously beside me, I knew it could only be one person. The renegade Time Lord known as the Master. He was gray haired, balding and wore a red and blue jacket. "You've come to watch as I train the Cyberlads. Good. They need to get some experience into their legs if they are ever to become ruthless killers." I was shocked but The Master seemed to be reading my mind. "We know what we're doing. We've been doing this for 100 trillion years and it works. After this, we're really going to throw them to the wolves. Or is it the Cats and the Dogs. I don't really know!" He was barking mad. His young charges were being obliterated and he was speaking as if he was if it was Sunday afternoon at the market. He approached and made as if he was about to slap me and I awoke. The real Doctor was slapping me to bring me out of my fitful state. "Wake up. We have to leave now. We're going to the end of the material universe, a point so far forward in time that nobody, not even a Time Lord has ever travelled there," he bellowed. "Why?" I blurted out in a hazy voice. I was starting to awaken. To save your beloved Demons, that's why!" (to be continued)

The Doctor is back with a vengeance - but has he made it in time? A HIGHWAY OF DEMONS by Whispering Jack CHAPTER SIX - HARD RAIN Life in the world of the Time Lords was idyllic. We were stationed on Gallifrey which was the Doctor's home planet, located in the constellation of Kasteriborous at galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven- zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero centre". This put us at a distance of some 250 million light years away from Earth and way outside our Milky Way galaxy. The Doctor went to great lengths to point out that his home was really situated in a different universe altogether - the Whoniverse. We arrived by means of time travel in the Tardis but had we wanted to return to Earth by conventional means it would take 29,000 light years. I once told the Doctor that we must be a long way from my home but he corrected me saying, "No, we're a long time away from your home". At the time I was unaware of the significance of he was telling me but I would learn. The Citadel of the Time Lords is a vast, sprawling compound of odd- shaped constructions manufactured from sandstone mined in the quarries found at the base of Mount Perdition, one of Gallifrey's Mountains of Solace and Solitude of which there were twelve. The Doctor called them the "misty mountains" as they were constantly shrouded in a fine damp mist. While we generally had a free run of the Citadel and its surrounds, we were forbidden from visiting this particular region, known as the planet's Death Zone because it was controlled by The Master, a renegade Time Lord who was not only "evil" but rumoured to be in league with the dreaded Cybermen. The Doctor explained that the Cybermen were a genetically engineered race of beings that strived to achieve physical perfection. During the process of their evolution, it was considered necessary to rid them of all weaknesses. Emotion was removed from their brains to empty any vestige of love, hate, anger or fear. The Cybermen were ruthless killers and it was considered wise counsel to avoid the quarry at the edge of the misty mountains. The sun shone constantly in Gallifrey's pale green skies. The absence of night was the result of the planet's delicate positioning in a binary system so that one of its suns would always set when the other rose. The constant sunshine, the flawless weather, the endless array of fine food and drink (especially the fruity nectar known only as "the Juice") and the agreeable company made time pass quickly. I enjoyed many outings with my new-found friends. We basked in the orange glow of sunlight from the dominant star and, under a canopy of dark green trees, we would feast on the fruits that grew in khaki- coloured fields and orchards in the lush valleys below the Citadel. The Doctor hardly ever joined us as he was mostly preoccupied with the Time Lords Conference, a seemingly endless series of meetings and discussions carried out in hushed tones by the eight Time Lords in residence at the Citadel. Something was happening but the Doctor would not let us in on the secret. My happiness on Gallifrey was overshadowed by the blackness of the dreams. Although there was no night on the planet, the hours of sunshine, the gravity of two suns and the constant daily activity induced a form of tiredness I had not previously experienced in my short lifetime on Earth leading to long hours of sleep accompanied by the most vivid of dreams. It was those dreams that I descended into a separate world and, in that world there were Demons and I led a dark grey existence that was totally at odds with life as I knew it on sun-drenched Gallifrey. In my dreams Romana would come to my room. She would lead me by the hand to the Doctor's stables to chose two ponies to guide us along one of the six highways that led out of the Citadel and into the surrounding countryside. K9 always accompanied us but would keep a reasonable distance somewhere to the rear as if it was guarding us along the dirty, dusty and crooked roads. There were times when the Brigadier and Richie would also come along but never Buddy or The Big Bopper. The Budster, as he preferred to be called, spent most of his time at the Time Lords Bowl trying to emulate his three strikes while the Bopper preferred to take a bath. Splish, splash! My dream journeys always evoked dark images and disturbing scenes that seemingly lasted for days and that would always end the same way - an awakening in a fitful state bathed in sweat, my ears ringing with the loud sound of a black dog barking its lathery foul-breathed cry of utter madness. The dread and the fear brought on by my dreamtime experiences marred my otherwise delightful existence on the Doctor's planet and I grew to loathe the onset of tiredness that brought sheer terror into my "nighttime" Gallifreyan dream world. Then came the last dream. The signpost simply read, "Highway 64. The Highway of Demons" and there was nobody else on the road as we embarked on our journey. K9 kept its distance as usual at the rear (he wasn't really a body but a robotic dog). The distant sound of thunder seemed to roar out an ominous warning silence fell as we moved along the floor of a valley into the depths of a deep, sad and dark forest with black-branched trees. Was it a trick caused by the thickening mist that made their branches appear to be dripping with blood? Romana remained unconcerned. Another crooked turn of the highway that took us into a clearing and the sudden realisation that we had entered forbidden territory. We had reached Mount Perdition and were at the edge of the sandstone quarry situated its base. Inside, a battle was taking place. The fight was a one-sided contest between an army of giant hawk-like birds and a small squadron of robotic creatures that matched the Doctor's description of the Cybermen although most of them were of a younger and smaller version than I had imagined as they appeared not yet fully developed. The birds were well armed and they slaughtered their unprepared prey, leaving them to die in the mouth of what was to become a giant graveyard. I sensed the presence of a stranger and, as turned to face the shadowy figure now standing ominously beside me, I knew it could only be one person. The renegade Time Lord known as the Master. He was gray haired, balding and wore a red and blue jacket. "You've come to watch as I train the Cyberlads. Good. They need to get some experience into their legs if they are ever to become ruthless killers." I was shocked but The Master seemed to be reading my mind. "We know what we're doing. We've been doing this for 100 trillion years and it works. After this, we're really going to throw them to the wolves. Or is it the Cats and the Dogs. I don't really know!" He was barking mad. His young charges were being obliterated and he was speaking as if he was if it was Sunday afternoon at the market. He approached and made as if he was about to slap me and I awoke. The real Doctor was slapping me to bring me out of my fitful state. "Wake up. We have to leave now. We're going to the end of the material universe, a point so far forward in time that nobody, not even a Time Lord has ever travelled there," he bellowed. "Why?" I blurted out in a hazy voice. I was starting to awaken. To save your beloved Demons, that's why!"

bumpo

DEJA VU REVISITED AGAIN by The Oracle On Saturday afternoon two of the AFL's hardest hit teams in terms of injury will face off against each other in a true test of the mettle. It seems as if the Demons and the Hawks, once looked upon seriously as merger partners, now spend more of their time in infirmaries rather than at board tables or on football grounds and both are this year's version of the walking wounded. Naturally, barring a draw, one of these clubs will be breathing many sighs of relief on Saturday after gobbling up four early premiership points in spite of the busy state of their medical rooms. Logic and history both suggest that the winning club will be Hawthorn. Melbourne's injury woes have been steadily mounting and peaked at Casey Fields last Saturday week when Austin Wonaeamirri did his right hamstring in a comeback game with the Scorpions and, an hour or so later, Colin Sylvia suffered a broken jaw in an off the ball clash with an Eagle player. The Demons had previously lost Cale Morton (knee) and Liam Jurrah in consecutive NAB Challenge matches and their injured list had ballooned into the teens. Hawthorn is almost as badly hit by injuries as Melbourne. Most of its ruckmen are injured and Brent Renouf is left as the sole big man with previous AFL experience available to go around on Saturday. The Hawks also have Burgoyne, Rioli, Sewell and Young missing through injury and Bateman and Franklin sidelined by suspension. At some other time, Melbourne might be given a chance to win but those who set the betting odds don't believe such a possibility is even worth contemplating. The obvious reason for this is that when you eliminate the players missing from the game and concentrate on who will be taking part for both sides, you're still left with one team that contains a substantial number of players with premiership experience and some of the game's real star players and another that is very youthful and very, very inexperienced. Even the Hawks' supposed glaring weakness in the ruck might not be as significant as some might believe because they have the capacity to make up for it with a much stronger and more experienced on ball division including Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis. Pitted against them will be a midfield led by players all with less than 100 games AFL experience and including a couple of promising first gamers. In attack, the Hawks have Roughhead, tall, strong and capable of amassing big goal hauls. The Demons have ... um, let's just say they've been struggling up there. Hawthorn's is reconstructing its defence and has recruited Josh Gibson from North Melbourne to fill the gap left by the retirement of Trent Croad. Given Gibson's recent off field problems, I don't exactly expect him to be a driving force in defence but he should be adequate for the job of holding Melbourne's weak forward line. Apart from the logical reasons for Hawthorn to be starting out a firm favourite, recent history confirms its right to be quoted at $1.16 to win a two football team race. Two years ago, the same teams kicked off their 2008 campaigns in similar circumstances. The Demons had a longish injury list with Sylvia out suspended by the leadership for turning up late for a training session. Meanwhile the Hawks, hard hit by injuries and tribunal imposed suspensions, went into the game minus four of their biggest names Campbell Brown. Shane Crawford, Hodge and Lewis.I duly fell for the three card trick and not only did I predict a Melbourne win but I also put some hard earned cash on the result. For all my trouble and all of my optimism at the beginning of a new season, I had to sit through an afternoon while the Hawks' blitzed the inexperienced Demons in Dean Bailey's first game as coach when Al Clarkson unleashed his rolling zones that produced a 104 point annihilation and set the scene for a year in which his team won the flag and mine came out with nothing more than a migraine and a simple wooden cooking utensil. Today, with the benefit of over 700 days of hindsight I feel as if it's a case of deja vu revisited. THE GAME Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG Saturday 27 March 2010 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 74 wins Hawthorn 75 wins At MCG Melbourne 35 wins Hawthorn 35 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 5 wins Hawthorn 8 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Clarkson 3 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports 1 at 2.00pm (live) RADIO 3AW MMM 774ABC SEN THE BETTING Melbourne to win $5.20 Hawthorn to win $1.16 LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 17.12.114 d Melbourne 13.14.92 Round 9, 2009, at the MCG The Hawks pushed to a big lead in mid-game before a heartening comeback, led by Colin Sylvia who polled three Brownlow votes for his 37 possession (4 goals) game, saw the Demons get to within a few goals of an unlikely win but time ran out. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Jamie Bennell Matthe Warnock Jared Rivers Half backs Jack Grimes James Frawley Joel Macdonald Centreline Aaron Davey Cameron Bruce Nathan Jones Half forwards James McDonald Matthew Bate Ricky Petterd Forwards Brad Green Brad Miller Jack Trengove Followers Mark Jamar Lynden Dunn Brent Moloney Interchange Jordie McKenzie Tom Scully Jake Spencer James Strauss Emgergencies Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Addam Maric New Joel Macdonald (Brisbane) Tom Scully (Dandenong Stingrays) James Strauss (Oakleigh Chargers) Jack Trengove (Sturt) HAWTHORN Backs Birchall Gibson Murphy Half backs Guerra Gilham Ladson Centreline Lewis Mitchell Ellis Half forwards Osborne Schoenmakers Hooper Forwards Morton Roughead Brown Followers Renouf Hodge Moss Interchange Kayler-Thomson Peterson Shiels Emergencies Duryea Stratton Williams New IT'S NOT THAT BAD, IS IT? Of course it isn't! A great modern day poet wrote that "when you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose and if you want to hang your hat on that trite little piece of homespun philosophy then the Demons have nothing to lose this week. Does it mean though, that they will actually win against all the odds? Well, there is a chance. Indeed, if they can't win this week against the Hawks who boast five players Franklin, Hodge, Mitchell, Rioli and Sewell in Mike Sheahan's top fifty players but will have three of them missing on Saturday, when will they ever win against them? Melbourne has had a tendency in most of its practice matches to start with great intensity but mainly due to poor kicking in front of goal, has been unable to push any early ascendency. For it to win on Saturday, it will need to score goals quickly early and not miss those easy chances. Hawthorn's form of late hasn't been all that flash. It won its first NAB Cup round game in Launceston by a comfortable margin but that was against Richmond and since then it lost all three remaining NAB games. Melbourne, which has been successful in a preseason game only once in the past three years (last year against Brisbane in cyclonic conditions at Cairns) almost made it against Adelaide a few weeks back but has generally faded badly in its other games. Still, practice match results are not the best indicators of how teams are going to perform when reality comes along in the form of genuine premiership matches. And when reality hits, it's expected to bite in this case. The Demons will showcase some seriously talented youngsters on Saturday, most of them early draft picks with enormous wraps on them. Tom Scully and Jack Trengove have already given supporters some cameos of what is to come in the future. There is some seriously good emerging second, third and fourth year talent at the club and some of them might become stars one day but they're not quite there yet and unfortunately for Melbourne, it's March 2010 and not March 2012. On the latter date, I believe I won't be compelled to hesitate about tipping the Demons to win a big game or worry about revisiting deja vu again but for now, I'm going for the Hawks to win by 35 points. DISCUSS HERE - http://demonland.com...showtopic=19736

DEJA VU REVISITED AGAIN by The Oracle On Saturday afternoon two of the AFL's hardest hit teams in terms of injury will face off against each other in a true test of the mettle. It seems as if the Demons and the Hawks, once looked upon seriously as merger partners, now spend more of their time in infirmaries rather than at board tables or on football grounds and both are this year's version of the walking wounded. Naturally, barring a draw, one of these clubs will be breathing many sighs of relief on Saturday after gobbling up four early premiership points in spite of the busy state of their medical rooms. Logic and history both suggest that the winning club will be Hawthorn. Melbourne's injury woes have been steadily mounting and peaked at Casey Fields last Saturday week when Austin Wonaeamirri did his right hamstring in a comeback game with the Scorpions and, an hour or so later, Colin Sylvia suffered a broken jaw in an off the ball clash with an Eagle player. The Demons had previously lost Cale Morton (knee) and Liam Jurrah in consecutive NAB Challenge matches and their injured list had ballooned into the teens. Hawthorn is almost as badly hit by injuries as Melbourne. Most of its ruckmen are injured and Brent Renouf is left as the sole big man with previous AFL experience available to go around on Saturday. The Hawks also have Burgoyne, Rioli, Sewell and Young missing through injury and Bateman and Franklin sidelined by suspension. At some other time, Melbourne might be given a chance to win but those who set the betting odds don't believe such a possibility is even worth contemplating. The obvious reason for this is that when you eliminate the players missing from the game and concentrate on who will be taking part for both sides, you're still left with one team that contains a substantial number of players with premiership experience and some of the game's real star players and another that is very youthful and very, very inexperienced. Even the Hawks' supposed glaring weakness in the ruck might not be as significant as some might believe because they have the capacity to make up for it with a much stronger and more experienced on ball division including Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis. Pitted against them will be a midfield led by players all with less than 100 games AFL experience and including a couple of promising first gamers. In attack, the Hawks have Roughhead, tall, strong and capable of amassing big goal hauls. The Demons have ... um, let's just say they've been struggling up there. Hawthorn's is reconstructing its defence and has recruited Josh Gibson from North Melbourne to fill the gap left by the retirement of Trent Croad. Given Gibson's recent off field problems, I don't exactly expect him to be a driving force in defence but he should be adequate for the job of holding Melbourne's weak forward line. Apart from the logical reasons for Hawthorn to be starting out a firm favourite, recent history confirms its right to be quoted at $1.16 to win a two football team race. Two years ago, the same teams kicked off their 2008 campaigns in similar circumstances. The Demons had a longish injury list with Sylvia out suspended by the leadership for turning up late for a training session. Meanwhile the Hawks, hard hit by injuries and tribunal imposed suspensions, went into the game minus four of their biggest names Campbell Brown. Shane Crawford, Hodge and Lewis.I duly fell for the three card trick and not only did I predict a Melbourne win but I also put some hard earned cash on the result. For all my trouble and all of my optimism at the beginning of a new season, I had to sit through an afternoon while the Hawks' blitzed the inexperienced Demons in Dean Bailey's first game as coach when Al Clarkson unleashed his rolling zones that produced a 104 point annihilation and set the scene for a year in which his team won the flag and mine came out with nothing more than a migraine and a simple wooden cooking utensil. Today, with the benefit of over 700 days of hindsight I feel as if it's a case of deja vu revisited. THE GAME Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG Saturday 27 March 2010 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 74 wins Hawthorn 75 wins At MCG Melbourne 35 wins Hawthorn 35 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 5 wins Hawthorn 8 wins The Coaches Bailey 0 wins Clarkson 3 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports 1 at 2.00pm (live) RADIO THE BETTING Melbourne to win $5.20 Hawthorn to win $1.16 LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 17.12.114 d Melbourne 13.14.92 Round 9, 2009, at the MCG The Hawks pushed to a big lead in mid-game before a heartening comeback, led by Colin Sylvia who polled three Brownlow votes for his 37 possession (4 goals) game, saw the Demons get to within a few goals of an unlikely win but time ran out. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Jamie Bennell Matthe Warnock Jared Rivers Half backs Jack Grimes James Frawley Joel Macdonald Centreline Aaron Davey Cameron Bruce Nathan Jones Half forwards James McDonald Matthew Bate Ricky Petterd Forwards Brad Green Brad Miller Jack Trengove Followers Mark Jamar Lynden Dunn Brent Moloney Interchange Jordie McKenzie Tom Scully Jake Spencer James Strauss Emgergencies Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Addam Maric New Joel Macdonald (Brisbane) Tom Scully (Dandenong Stingrays) James Strauss (Oakleigh Chargers) Jack Trengove (Sturt) HAWTHORN Backs Grant Birchall Josh Gibson Tom Murphy Half backs Brent Guerra Gilham Rick Ladson Centreline Jordan Lewis Sam Mitchell Xavier Ellis Half forwards Michael Osborne Ryan Schoenmakers Rhan Hooper Forwards Jarryd Morton Jarryd Roughead Campbell Brown Followers Brent Renouf Luke Hodge Garry Moss Interchange Jarrod Kayler-Thomson Carl Peterson Liam Shiels Matt Suckling Emergencies Taylor Duryea Ben Stratton Jordan Williams New Rhan Hooper (Brisbane) Shannon Gibson (Hawthorn) Carl Peterson (St Marys) Jarrod Kayler-Thomson (Perth) IT'S NOT THAT BAD, IS IT? Of course it isn't! A great modern day poet wrote that "when you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose and if you want to hang your hat on that trite little piece of homespun philosophy then the Demons have nothing to lose this week. Does it mean though, that they will actually win against all the odds? Well, there is a chance. Indeed, if they can't win this week against the Hawks who boast five players Franklin, Hodge, Mitchell, Rioli and Sewell in Mike Sheahan's top fifty players but will have three of them missing on Saturday, when will they ever win against them? Melbourne has had a tendency in most of its practice matches to start with great intensity but mainly due to poor kicking in front of goal, has been unable to push any early ascendency. For it to win on Saturday, it will need to score goals quickly early and not miss those easy chances. Hawthorn's form of late hasn't been all that flash. It won its first NAB Cup round game in Launceston by a comfortable margin but that was against Richmond and since then it lost all three remaining NAB games. Melbourne, which has been successful in a preseason game only once in the past three years (last year against Brisbane in cyclonic conditions at Cairns) almost made it against Adelaide a few weeks back but has generally faded badly in its other games. Still, practice match results are not the best indicators of how teams are going to perform when reality comes along in the form of genuine premiership matches. And when reality hits, it's expected to bite in this case. The Demons will showcase some seriously talented youngsters on Saturday, most of them early draft picks with enormous wraps on them. Tom Scully and Jack Trengove have already given supporters some cameos of what is to come in the future. There is some seriously good emerging second, third and fourth year talent at the club and some of them might become stars one day but they're not quite there yet and unfortunately for Melbourne, it's March 2010 and not March 2012. On the latter date, I believe I won't be compelled to hesitate about tipping the Demons to win a big game or worry about revisiting deja vu again but for now, I'm going for the Hawks to win by 35 points.

We've only had 5 join so far. In past years we've had at least 30 to 60 people join. I might cancel the comp if there is no interest.

Bumpty bump.

Bump

Here are the instructions on joining the Demonland Footy Tipping Competition: 'Demonland Footy Tipping Competition' Join our AFL 2010 Tipping Competition now: Go to www.OzTips.com Click the 'REGISTER' button on the homepage and set-up a Login (if you don't already have one with OzTips). Once you have successfully registered a Username and Password, click the 'JOIN A COMP' button. You will be asked to enter an OzTips Comp Number and Password. The Comp you've been asked to join is: Comp#: 222003 Password: demonland That's it! Full instructions on how to Tip can be found on the website by clicking on the 'Help' link in the top header. Visit OzTips.com today to join your FREE Tipping Comp online! Let us know when you've joined

The last time Melbourne met Hawthorn was in Round 9 last year. This is how the team looked: MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Matthew Warnock Jared Rivers Half backs James Frawley Stephan Martin Aaron Davey Centreline Jack Grimes Colin Sylvia Brock McLean Half forwards Cale Morton Brad Miller Russell Robertson Forwards Brad Green Matthew Bate Cameron Bruce Followers Paul Johnson Brent Moloney James McDonald Interchange Jamie Bennell Nathan Jones Addam Maric Ricky Petterd Emergencies Clint Bartram Kyle Cheney Mark Jamar The teams met twice in 2008. The first time it was a Hawthorn win by 104 points. The second time, the Demons' effort was more respectable: MELBOURNE - 23 May 2008 Backs Matthew Warnock Colin Garland Daniel Bell Half backs Clint Bartram Paul Johnson Cameron Bruce Centreline Brad Green Brock McLean Matthew Bate Half forwards Cale Morton Russell Robertson Brent Moloney Forwards Aaron Davey Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri Followers Jeff White James McDonald Nathan Jones Interchange Simon Buckley James Frawley Ben Holland Shane Valenti Emergencies Jace Bode Chris Johnson Adem Yze Here's the selected team for the first round just two years ago: MELBOURNE - 23 March 2008 Backs Paul Wheatley Nathan Carroll Colin Garland Half Backs Ricky Petterd Daniel Bell James McDonald Centreline Brad Green Brock McLean Simon Buckley Half forwards Cameron Bruce Brad Miller Adem Yze Forwards Michael Newton David Neitz Russell Robertson Followers Jeff White Aaron Davey Nathan Jones Interchange Paul Johnson Brent Moloney Cale Morton Isaac Weetra Emergencies Jace Bode James Frawley Mark Jamar The teams also met in the opening NAB Cup game of 2009 at Launceston with a narrow result in favour of the Hawks. Melbourne last beat Hawthorn in 2006.

not sure when we are moving but it is not too far off. We will be training on the ground right next to it which is the one closest to Olympic Blvd (extension of Swan St). The training oval has a newly laid surface and the goal posts have just gone up.

Please see this thread for all post match discussion - http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19612&st=0#entry308874

STEPPING BACK by The Oracle If last week's narrow loss to Adelaide represented a step forward for the Melbourne Football Club then yesterday's 38-point defeat at the hands of West Coast at Casey Fields amounted to two giant steps backward. Not only did the Demons suffer a major injury blow with the loss of yet another leading player in Colin Sylvia who will be out for several weeks with a broken jaw but the team was clearly exposed for its midfield impotence, its lack of forward power and a missing play book as it floundered without a sense of purpose in the second half against the dominant Eagles line up. Melbourne started off brightly enough but, as it did a fortnight ago against Essendon, it wasted many eay opportunities in front of goal. On the other hand, West Coast capitalised on the Demons' skill errors to score goals, often against the run of play. The home side overdid its handball and compounded this sin with sloppy execution and decision making. As the game progressed, the Melbourne game became excruciatingly more difficult to watch as the ball was often handballed at the feet of stationary players or kicked wide of teammates who were thereby constantly put under pressure. They would do well to take a look at the tape of last night's NAB Cup Grand Final to see how the Western Bulldogs dispose of the ball by hand and by foot. Melbourne's youthful enthusiasm kept it in the game till the main break and it momentarily hit the lead early in the third quarter but it then conceded seven unanswered goals in the face of a whithering West Coast attack. The Demons' confidence was shattered and it was game over at the final break. Melbourne would be happy with the first up performance of Cameron Bruce but Aaron Davey was again quiet and appeared out of sorts. The Demons relied far too much on their few experienced players and missed the drive given by some of the younger players which almost helped them across the line against the Crows. In stark contrast to Melbourne, West Coast opened up several avenues to goal with ruckman Nick Naitanui booting two early majors and tall defender Nathan Brown going forward and booting a couple. The Demons often went wide and found themselves boxed in around the flanks and pockets. Brad Miller was the only target in attack but the team badly lacked big man strength up forward and the Eagles easily repelled many forward moves. It was left to a few individual efforts and in the end the Demons simply fell too short. On this effort, the club faces yet another bleak season. To make matters worse, forward Austin Wonaeamirri suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury playing for the Casey Scorpions in the curtain raiser and he faces another stint on the sidelines. Melbourne 4.6.30 7.9.51 9.10.64 12.14.86 West Coast 5.2.32 9.5.59 12.13.85 18.16.124 Goals Melbourne B Miller 3 C Bruce N Jones M Bate 2 M Jamar B Green R Petterd West Coast A Hansen M LeCras 3 M Brown N Natanui A Embley 2 D Cox M Nicoski J Kennedy A Selwood K Stevens M Priddis Best Melbourne C Bruce B Miller J McDonald B Green N Jones West Coast A Selwood S Butler M LeCras A Hansen M Brown A Embley Injuries Melbourne Colin Sylvia (broken jaw) West Coast Nil Crowd 5,000 (approx) at Casey Fields DISCUSS HERE: http://demonland.com...showtopic=19612 KC from Casey reports that draftee Jordan Gysberts and rookie Rhys Healey were both in excellent early form as the Casey Scorpions easily accounted for VFL neighbour Frankston in the curtain raiser after kicking their first ten goals straight with the first blemish coming in the third quarter. Scorpion stalwarts Kyle Matthews and James Wall were in rare early form for Casey which looks to have unearthed a likely forward prospect in Luke McDonald. Colin Garland made it through the first half but Austin Wonaeamirri was not so fortunate limping off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury after a quiet start. Michael Newton kicked two goals in the first quarter but missed a few opportunities later in the game while 200cm beanpole Jack Fitzpatrick attacked his game with enthusiasm and was rewarded with two goals. Seniors Casey Scorpions 5.0.30 7.0.42 13.6.84 16.10.106 Frankston 1.2.8 4.6.30 4.7.31 6.9.45 Reserves Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 6.8.44 7.9.51 11.11.77 Frankston 0.2.3 1.3.9 3.6.24 4.6.30 DISCUSS HERE: http://demonland.com...showtopic=19612

STEPPING BACK by The Oracle If last week's narrow loss to Adelaide represented a step forward for the Melbourne Football Club then yesterday's 38-point defeat at the hands of West Coast at Casey Fields amounted to two giant steps backward. Not only did the Demons suffer a major injury blow with the loss of yet another leading player in Colin Sylvia who will be out for several weeks with a broken jaw but the team was clearly exposed for its midfield impotence, its lack of forward power and a missing play book as it floundered without a sense of purpose in the second half against the dominant Eagles line up. Melbourne started off brightly enough but, as it did a fortnight ago against Essendon, it wasted many eay opportunities in front of goal. On the other hand, West Coast capitalised on the Demons' skill errors to score goals, often against the run of play. The home side overdid its handball and compounded this sin with sloppy execution and decision making. As the game progressed, the Melbourne game became excruciatingly more difficult to watch as the ball was often handballed at the feet of stationary players or kicked wide of teammates who were thereby constantly put under pressure. They would do well to take a look at the tape of last night's NAB Cup Grand Final to see how the Western Bulldogs dispose of the ball by hand and by foot. Melbourne's youthful enthusiasm kept it in the game till the main break and it momentarily hit the lead early in the third quarter but it then conceded seven unanswered goals in the face of a whithering West Coast attack. The Demons' confidence was shattered and it was game over at the final break. Melbourne would be happy with the first up performance of Cameron Bruce but Aaron Davey was again quiet and appeared out of sorts. The Demons relied far too much on their few experienced players and missed the drive given by some of the younger players which almost helped them across the line against the Crows. In stark contrast to Melbourne, West Coast opened up several avenues to goal with ruckman Nick Naitanui booting two early majors and tall defender Nathan Brown going forward and booting a couple. The Demons often went wide and found themselves boxed in around the flanks and pockets. Brad Miller was the only target in attack but the team badly lacked big man strength up forward and the Eagles easily repelled many forward moves. It was left to a few individual efforts and in the end the Demons simply fell too short. On this effort, the club faces yet another bleak season. To make matters worse, forward Austin Wonaeamirri suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury playing for the Casey Scorpions in the curtain raiser and he faces another stint on the sidelines. Melbourne 4.6.30 7.9.51 9.10.64 12.14.86 West Coast 5.2.32 9.5.59 12.13.85 18.16.124 Goals Melbourne B Miller 3 C Bruce N Jones M Bate 2 M Jamar B Green R Petterd West Coast A Hansen M LeCras 3 M Brown N Natanui A Embley 2 D Cox M Nicoski J Kennedy A Selwood K Stevens M Priddis Best Melbourne C Bruce B Miller J McDonald B Green N Jones West Coast A Selwood S Butler M LeCras A Hansen M Brown A Embley Injuries Melbourne Colin Sylvia (broken jaw) West Coast Nil Crowd 5,000 (approx) at Casey Fields KC from Casey reports that draftee Jordan Gysberts and rookie Rhys Healey were both in excellent early form as the Casey Scorpions easily accounted for VFL neighbour Frankston in the curtain raiser after kicking their first ten goals straight with the first blemish coming in the third quarter. Scorpion stalwarts Kyle Matthews and James Wall were in rare early form for Casey which looks to have unearthed a likely forward prospect in Luke McDonald. Colin Garland made it through the first half but Austin Wonaeamirri was not so fortunate limping off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury after a quiet start. Michael Newton kicked two goals in the first quarter but missed a few opportunities later in the game while 200cm beanpole Jack Fitzpatrick attacked his game with enthusiasm and was rewarded with two goals. Seniors Casey Scorpions 5.0.30 7.0.42 13.6.84 16.10.106 Frankston 1.2.8 4.6.30 4.7.31 6.9.45 Reserves Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 6.8.44 7.9.51 11.11.77 Frankston 0.2.3 1.3.9 3.6.24 4.6.30

Full Time: Casey Scorpions 16.10.106 to Frankston Dolphins 6.9.45