Demonland

Melbourne and Hawthorn were not the only teams in crisis last night. Demonland was also thrust into a desperate situation when our Queensland correspondent Bananabender was unable to make it due to the Gabba because of ... er ... transport difficulties when his trusty old ute followed Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett to the great junkyard in the sky. The Oracle was on standby ready to report on the game from his lounge room but, during the third quarter, he sufferede a nervous break down and attacked his television set sending it to the same resting place as Bananabender's vehicle and himself off to find a steadying drink. He has not been heard from since. So an appeal was sent out to our readers and, with thanks to those who made a contribution, we bring you our match review ... NIGHTMARE ON VULTURE STREET by Team Effort Singer-songwriter Paul Simon who is currently visiting our shores once wrote that "these are the days of miracle and wonder" and the sentiment is so true today. It was a miracle that the late Michael Jackson survived past his 50th birthday in view of the lifestyle he led and, given what the Demons produced at the Gabba last night it was a miracle that Brisbane won by less than 10 goals. I suspect that this miracle was only possible because the Lions shut up shop early to prepare themselves for the rest of the season and their finals campaign which is now an inevitability. As for Melbourne, the only inevitability is that they are destined to continue to break their supporters' hearts for a long, long time irrespective of whether the excuse this week was an outbreak of flu at the club. Unless they develop some semblance of a system to their game even the early draft picks on offer later this year will not help. In the second and third quarters, Melbourne produced some of the worst football I have ever had the displeasure of witnessing from the oldest club in the history of the game. Ironically, there were simply not enough old heads in a football sense to guide the young, inexperienced players who battled it out with a slick, well coached outfit. The result was a nightmare for all at Demonland [Lucky Lucy]. I had high hopes of putting aside our disappointing efforts in the last couple of games and I was hoping for a better display. I sat down to watch the game on Foxtel with my two young boys and I could smell pretty early on that we would struggle [Dandeeman]. The scene was set early when an errant handball from James Frawley was intercepted by NAB Rising Star favourite Daniel Rich and the home side had the first goal on the board after 35 seconds. Not quite as fast as Gary Ablett's 9 second opening goal earlier in the season but still enough to cause concern in the camp. The Dees got on the map with a long goal from Cale Morton and a Russell Robertson mark and goal put them in front. It was reasonably deep into the first quarter that Melbourne led 2.0.12 to 1.2.8 and Bradshaw and Brown were being well held but late in the term the troubles began. The Brisbane Lions proceeded to amass 12 unanswered goals and by three-quarter time the margin was 74 points [Demon Head]. In the first quarter we got hands on the ball as much as our opponents and our effeiciency with the footy was unusually good. Black, Brown and Bradshaw had limited influence. I felt we in in an armwrestle with an opponent who had far greater strength and we were looking him in the eye waiting for him to put our hand through the table. And so partly because we expected and feared it, in the second quarter in happened[Dandeeman]. We were crap [Geddy Lee]. Clark dominated the ruck contests particularly in the centre, Brisbane were more organised, had greater intensity and controlled the footy barely giving the frightened demons a sniff [Dandeeman]. A great deal has been made of Essendon and the fact that the Bombers have one ruckman left standing after injuries to Hille, Laycock and Bellchambers (actually they also have a young untried rookie but he's nowhere near ready for AFL). Well, we just happen to be in the same boat except our last ruckman standing isn't really a ruckman. Hence, Stefan Martin has been called in to fill the breach. He had to play the role he was given because there was no alternative. Clark killed it in the ruck and according to the statistics available to me he fixed up both Johnson (7 hit outs) and Martin (9 hit outs) and gave the superior Brisbane midfield a great armchair ride against Melbourne's one paced and tired looking midfield [Demon Head]. Black and Power were constantly belting the ball into our defensive line where to the advantage of Brown and Bradshaw. If they didn't mark the footy the ball was dropping to the advantage of thier small forwards. Our hapless backline could do little to stop the bleeding, though Frawley was doing some good things in his battle with Bradshaw and Jack Grimes looks a genuine future star. In contast out midfield looked slow, lost and always behind. Mclean had no impact, Moloney couldnt find the footy and various players such as Sylvia, Petterd and others were tried in the midfield we had no players able to create clearances or any flowing running footy [Dandeeman]. The Demons of 2009 are becoming known as final quarter specialists and goals from Cameron Bruce and Nathan Jones got the scoreboard ticking over at last before Brisbane's power forwards. Brown and Bradshaw booted their fifth and fourth goals respectively. Between them they had well and truly out goaled the entire Melbourne 22 and a final flurry of goals from Colin Sylvia, Liam Jurrah and Aaron Davey added a touch of respectability [Demon Head]. Davey was our best player but sadly rarely gets his hands on the footy in clearance situations. He is however an eceptional user of the ball and would be a genuine star in a better team. He usually has a hand in any scoring opportunity. Grimes is already a very good player with exceptional, courage, skill and maturity. He has the knack of knowing when to attack the footy or defend. He has strong hands and is a nice user of the footy. Frawley worked hard against Bradshaw and did some good work when given the opportunity to go the other way. Sylvia again did some good things and got a couple of late goals and Stefan Martin took some good contested marks but his disposal is a concern. Dean Bailey needs to go back to the drawing board and establish a plan to improve an uncompetitive and disorganised midfield. This is the clubs greatest on field challenge [ Dandeeman]. Michael Voss said at his press conference, "no disrespect to our opponents, but that was not one of best performances tonight" Seriously! Anyone who follows Melbourne and can take any positives out of tonight are living cloud cuckoo land [iv'a worn smith]. Summing up - To quote David St. Hubbins from Spinal Tap, "I am sure I would feel much worse right now if I weren't under such heavy sedation" [Einstein] Melbourne 2.0.12 2.2.14 2.5.17 8.8.56 Brisbane Lions 3.4.22 9.7.61 13.13.91 16.15.111 Goals Melbourne Sylvia 2 Bruce Davey Jones Jurrah Morton Robertson Brisbane Lions Brown 5 Bradshaw 4 Polkinghorne Rich 2 Roe Sherman Stiller Best Melbourne Davey Bruce Sylvia Grimes Frawley Martin Brisbane Brennan Brown Rich Adcock Power Black Injuries Melbourne - nil. Brisbane Lions nil. Reports Melbourne - nil. Brisbane Lions nil. Changes Melbourne M Bate (virus) replaced in selected side by N Jones. Brisbane Lions nil. Umpires Donlon Hay Jeffery Crowd 23,750 at the Gabba

THE LUCK OF THE BOUNCE by KC from Casey History is starting to repeat itself for the Casey Scorpions. As has been the case on a number of occasions already this year, they again had a big scalp in their grasp on Saturday at Point Gellibrand against Williamstown and again they allowed it to slip away with some careless play and crucial skill errors. This time they fell by four points after leading for most of the second half and at one stage in the third quarter they were almost seven goals in front. The problems started for the Scorpions in the first quarter when they dominated the general play but couldn't buy a goal. They did however, manage to amass seven points but allowed the Seagulls' Declan Stack to slip away for two goals in mid quarter so that the scoreboard embarrassingly gave the home side a xx point lead despite having double the number of entries inside the fifty metre arc, a fact that would come back to bite them hard later in the game. Casey lifted its intensity in front of goals in the second quarter with a couple of quick goals to Shane Valenti and Addam Maric to momentarily grab the lead but it was short-lived as the home side regained its composure. Late in the quarter the momentum started swinging back to the visitors when disaster struck. Maric, who is usually a straight shooter, marked 15 metres out and was poised to put the team in front when he kicked into the man on the mark. On the rebound the Seagulls moved the ball the whole length of the ground to goal and, though the Scorpions were to get one back through Lynden Dunn, the two goal turn around was to prove decisive later in the game. After the break Casey showed it was capable of producing a high standard of football. The forwards started hitting their targets and skipper Kyle Matthews, clearly inconvenienced by injury, were inspirational. He kicked one himself and had a hand in a few others. Newton ran in for a couple of opportunist goals and Daniel Hughes was also lively up forward. When James Strauss bounded through the centre square and goaled with a long, straight kick at the 21 minute mark, Casey's lead was closing in on seven goals. The Scorpions were winning all over the ground. Recruits Peter Faulks and Michael Stockdale were impressive, James Wall and Alex Silvagni were playing their usual strong games and Clint Bartram was blanketing Seagull skipper Brett Johnson. Even a late Willy goal was not enough to dampen the spirits as Casey took a 35 point lead into the final break. However, coach Peter German was wary of underestimating the opposition when he addressed the players at the huddle warning them not to take any notice of the scoreboard. Unfortunately, they failed to take any notice because they allowed Williamstown to kick a couple of quick goals and the uncertainty began to creep into their game. A goal to Newton appeared to steady the ship but the Seagulls kept coming and the Scorpions kept on making skill errors and needlessly turning over the football. Silvagni made some uncharacteristic errors kicking off and the team missed their skipper who was by now off the ground. Willy struck at the 29 minute mark to take back the lead for the first time since the early moments of the third quarter and then Casey was hit by the irony of their day when Hughes broke away from a pack and the luck of the bounce of the ball from the kick that decided his team's fate went the wrong way. The Seagulls were home by four points. The only good news for the day was that the Scorpions held their place in the top eight, courtesy of the fact that Coburg was thrashed by Sandringham. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Rohan Bail - there was nothing special on show from the Queenslander who celebrated his 21st birthday this week. When he came down after the draft, he had a reputation as a running player but didn't show it in this game. Clint Bartram - played one of his better games this week and held dangerous Seagulls' skipper Brett Johnson. His disposal and decision-making were both much better this week. Daniel Bell - after a shaky start and some early errors, Bell worked his way back into the game with some strong, hard tackling and even produced some creative handball to set up some good forward moves. Kyle Cheney - gave Stack too much latitude early in the game and this proved very costly in the final analysis. Regained his composure for the second and third quarters and took some strong safe marks and, at times, showed out with some strength in defence. Lynden Dunn - had another good day apart from missing some vital shots at goal in the early going. Too good for this level and due for a call up against the Eagles next week. Daniel Hughes - under size for a key position but has a good pair of hands and has obviously put a lot of work on his pace and fitness. A big improver. Addam Maric - injured his shoulder early on looked to be labouring under some discomfort. Kicked a nice goal, fluffed a shot when he kicked into the man on the mark, had a hand in some goals but generally didn't do enough. Jordie McKenzie - not as clean in the packs as he has been in earlier in the season and didn't attack the ball as well as he has in past games. Spent a lot of time on the interchange bench. Michael Newton - we've tended to be hard on Newton because he showed a lot of potential early on and hasn't produced the goods to date. A few easy missed shots stood between him covering himself and his team with glory. He is working a lot harder these days and his 3.3 for the day might just be enough to get him back into a Demon guernsey. James Strauss - quiet early but pressed with his neat crisp disposal once his game under way. His long goal on the run in the third quarter was a gem. Shane Valenti - played another of his trademark hard, in and under games that is well suited to this competition but some feel won't fly at AFL level. Since he shows an uncompromising commitment for the football he deserves a chance, if only to set an example to those who have supposedly better credentials but aren't producing much these days. Paul Wheatley - showed his experience with a few good runs out of defence but he clearly hasn't had enough preparation due to his injuries and he desperately needs a lot more match practice. Trent Zomer - kicked a goal but otherwise struggled to impose himself on the game. Casey Scorpions 0.7.7 4.10.34 11.13.79 12.14.86 Williamstown 2.4.16 5.6.36 6.8.44 13.12.90 Goals Casey Scorpions Newton 3 Hughes 2 Dunn Maric Matthews Stockdale Strauss Valenti Zomer Williamstown Little 4 Stack 3 Cordy Davies Everitt O'Keefe Reid Stretton Best Casey Scorpions Bell Faulks Valenti Panozza Wheatley Bartram Williamstown Callan Davies Addison Reid Gotch Everitt Casey Reserves were competitive against top team Williamstown and trailled by only 11 points at half time but were swamped in the second to go down by 46 points. Glenn Chivers, David Collins and Luke Williams have all been consistent performers this year and were the team's best while Ben Waite booted three goals. Casey Scorpions 4.2.26 9.4.58 11.6.72 14.9.93 Williamstown 7.3.45 10.9.69 13.17.95 19.25.139 Goals Casey Scorpions Waite 3 Dean Scanlon 2 Chivers Clay Mildren Oldmeadow Matheson Virtue Williams Williamstown Joyce 3 Cravino Egan Georgiadis Grossman Jones Lynch Meyer 2 Cartelli White Best Casey Scorpions Chivers Collins Williams Blaser Lees Snow Williamstown Wood Cravino Cartelli Boumann Shaw Lynch

by KC from Casey History is starting to repeat itself for the Casey Scorpions. As has been the case on a number of occasions already this year, they again had a big scalp in their grasp on Saturday at Point Gellibrand against Williamstown and again they allowed it to slip away with some careless play and crucial skill errors. This time they fell by four points after leading for most of the second half and at one stage in the third quarter they were almost seven goals in front. The problems started for the Scorpions in the first quarter when they dominated the general play but couldn't buy a goal. They did however, manage to amass seven points but allowed the Seagulls' Declan Stack to slip away for two goals in mid quarter so that the scoreboard embarrassingly gave the home side a xx point lead despite having double the number of entries inside the fifty metre arc, a fact that would come back to bite them hard later in the game. Casey lifted its intensity in front of goals in the second quarter with a couple of quick goals to Shane Valenti and Addam Maric to momentarily grab the lead but it was short-lived as the home side regained its composure. Late in the quarter the momentum started swinging back to the visitors when disaster struck. Maric, who is usually a straight shooter, marked 15 metres out and was poised to put the team in front when he kicked into the man on the mark. On the rebound the Seagulls moved the ball the whole length of the ground to goal and, though the Scorpions were to get one back through Lynden Dunn, the two goal turn around was to prove decisive later in the game. After the break Casey showed it was capable of producing a high standard of football. The forwards started hitting their targets and skipper Kyle Matthews, clearly inconvenienced by injury, were inspirational. He kicked one himself and had a hand in a few others. Newton ran in for a couple of opportunist goals and Daniel Hughes was also lively up forward. When James Strauss bounded through the centre square and goaled with a long, straight kick at the 21 minute mark, Casey's lead was closing in on seven goals. The Scorpions were winning all over the ground. Recruits Peter Faulks and Michael Stockdale were impressive, James Wall and Alex Silvagni were playing their usual strong games and Clint Bartram was blanketing Seagull skipper Brett Johnson. Even a late Willy goal was not enough to dampen the spirits as Casey took a 35 point lead into the final break. However, coach Peter German was wary of underestimating the opposition when he addressed the players at the huddle warning them not to take any notice of the scoreboard. Unfortunately, they failed to take any notice because they allowed Williamstown to kick a couple of quick goals and the uncertainty began to creep into their game. A goal to Newton appeared to steady the ship but the Seagulls kept coming and the Scorpions kept on making skill errors and needlessly turning over the football. Silvagni made some uncharacteristic errors kicking off and the team missed their skipper who was by now off the ground. Willy struck at the 29 minute mark to take back the lead for the first time since the early moments of the third quarter and then Casey was hit by the irony of their day when Hughes broke away from a pack and the luck of the bounce of the ball from the kick that decided his team's fate went the wrong way. The Seagulls were home by four points. The only good news for the day was that the Scorpions held their place in the top eight, courtesy of the fact that Coburg was thrashed by Sandringham. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Rohan Bail - there was nothing special on show from the Queenslander who celebrated his 21st birthday this week. When he came down after the draft, he had a reputation as a running player but didn't show it in this game. Clint Bartram - played one of his better games this week and held dangerous Seagulls' skipper Brett Johnson. His disposal and decision-making were both much better this week. Daniel Bell - after a shaky start and some early errors, Bell worked his way back into the game with some strong, hard tackling and even produced some creative handball to set up some good forward moves. Kyle Cheney - gave Stack too much latitude early in the game and this proved very costly in the final analysis. Regained his composure for the second and third quarters and took some strong safe marks and, at times, showed out with some strength in defence. Lynden Dunn - had another good day apart from missing some vital shots at goal in the early going. Too good for this level and due for a call up against the Eagles next week. Daniel Hughes - under size for a key position but has a good pair of hands and has obviously put a lot of work on his pace and fitness. A big improver. Addam Maric - injured his shoulder early on looked to be labouring under some discomfort. Kicked a nice goal, fluffed a shot when he kicked into the man on the mark, had a hand in some goals but generally didn't do enough. Jordie McKenzie - not as clean in the packs as he has been in earlier in the season and didn't attack the ball as well as he has in past games. Spent a lot of time on the interchange bench. Michael Newton - we've tended to be hard on Newton because he showed a lot of potential early on and hasn't produced the goods to date. A few easy missed shots stood between him covering himself and his team with glory. He is working a lot harder these days and his 3.3 for the day might just be enough to get him back into a Demon guernsey. James Strauss - quiet early but pressed with his neat crisp disposal once his game under way. His long goal on the run in the third quarter was a gem. Shane Valenti - played another of his trademark hard, in and under games that is well suited to this competition but some feel won't fly at AFL level. Since he shows an uncompromising commitment for the football he deserves a chance, if only to set an example to those who have supposedly better credentials but aren't producing much these days. Paul Wheatley - showed his experience with a few good runs out of defence but he clearly hasn't had enough preparation due to his injuries and he desperately needs a lot more match practice. Trent Zomer - kicked a goal but otherwise struggled to impose himself on the game. Casey Scorpions 0.7.7 4.10.34 11.13.79 12.14.86 Williamstown 2.4.16 5.6.36 6.8.44 13.12.90 Goals Casey Scorpions Newton 3 Hughes 2 Dunn Maric Matthews Stockdale Strauss Valenti Zomer Williamstown Little 4 Stack 3 Cordy Davies Everitt O'Keefe Reid Stretton Best Casey Scorpions Bell Faulks Valenti Panozza Wheatley Bartram Williamstown Callan Davies Addison Reid Gotch Everitt Casey Reserves were competitive against top team Williamstown and trailled by only 11 points at half time but were swamped in the second to go down by 46 points. Glenn Chivers, David Collins and Luke Williams have all been consistent performers this year and were the team's best while Ben Waite booted three goals. Casey Scorpions 4.2.26 9.4.58 11.6.72 14.9.93 Williamstown 7.3.45 10.9.69 13.17.95 19.25.139 Goals Casey Scorpions Waite 3 Dean Scanlon 2 Chivers Clay Mildren Oldmeadow Matheson Virtue Williams Williamstown Joyce 3 Cravino Egan Georgiadis Grossman Jones Lynch Meyer 2 Cartelli White Best Casey Scorpions Chivers Collins Williams Blaser Lees Snow Williamstown Wood Cravino Cartelli Boumann Shaw Lynch

Please cast your votes ... 6,5,4,3,2,1

A clear and concise effort but some parts need elaboration. More entries are invited and we're also calling for a sponsor to donate a prize for the best entry.

I just received an SMS from our designated writer for tonight advising that he's smashed his TV set and headed off to the pub. Writers(s) urgently required. Place your entries on this thread, please!!!

by JVM Every year thousands upon thousands of people flock from the southern states up north to Queensland in search of the sun, surf, scenery and a few other things that start with the letter "s" including sport. This weekend a few Demon fans might even jump on a jet plane headed for Brisbane although I couldn't vouch to such hardy souls that the experience will be enjoyable if their final destination is the Brisbane v Melbourne game at the Gabba. You see, the Lions are on a roll and are nicely poised to make an assault on the top four which is vital for any team with high aspirations in the AFL competition. The Demons had aspirations once as well but that was in the early days of the season when they ventured further north and comfortably beat the Lions in a NAB Cup Challenge at the height of Hurricane Hamish. However, such games are only make believe and when the real stuff started the Demons went missing. They certainly left their form up in the tropics because they have managed only a single, solitary victim since that wet and windy night some three months ago. The weather report suggests that conditions at the Gabba will be thundery with rain easing during the day but on current form, even stormy weather will preclude both lightning and the Demons from striking twice! THE GAME Brisbane v Melbourne at The Gabba - Saturday, 27 June 2009 at 7.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Brisbane 9 wins Melbourne 16 wins Gabba Brisbane 7 wins Melbourne 3 wins Since 2000: Brisbane 6 wins Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Voss 0 wins Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports1 6.30pm RADIO Triple M SEN THE BETTING Brisbane $1.06 to win Melbourne $8.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 14.9.93 defeated Brisbane 13.14.92 at MCG Round 14 2008 The opportunity doesn't arrive too often these days for one to say that Melbourne won at its last start against a particular opponent but, with Brisbane, that's exactly the case. In Round 14 last year, the Demons were gritty and stuck to their guns all day causing a major upset. Brad Miller and Colin Sylvia booted four goals each. Brad Green was in scintillating form and earned the three Brownlow votes for the game while Aussie Wonaeamirri did his fair share of the crumbing work and celebrating. THE TEAMS BRISBANE Backs Jason Roe Daniel Merrett Jed Adcock Half backs Joel Patfull Lachlan Henderson Joel Macdonald Centreline Albert Proud Simon Black Daniel Rich Half forwards Michael Rischitelli Jonathan Brown James Polkinghorne Forwards Rhan Hooper Daniel Bradshaw Luke Power Followers Mitch Clark Cheynee Stiller Justin Sherman Interchange Jared Brennan Scott Harding Ashley McGrath Sam Sheldon Emergencies Jack Redden Matt Austin Tim Notting In Daniel Merrett Joel Patfull Out Tim Notting Troy Selwood (shoulder) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Matthew Warnock Ricky Petterd Half backs Aaron Davey Jared Rivers James Frawley Centreline Neville Jetta Brock McLean Jamie Bennell Half forwards Russell Robertson Brad Miller Matthew Bate Forwards Brad Green Colin Sylvia Liam Jungarray Jurrah Followers Paul Johnson Jack Grimes Cameron Bruce Interchange Stefan Martin Brent Moloney Cale Morton Jack Watts Emergencies Nathan Jones Lynden Dunn Shane Valenti In Ricky Petterd Matthew Warnock Out: Clint Bartram Kyle Cheney Just four weeks ago the Demons came to Queensland to take on the might of the undefeated Saints at Carrara. That night they gave their fans an incredible ride. It was a trip right up to the top in a roller coaster with a more than competitive first half when Melbourne threw everything was thrown at St. Kilda and was possibly a tad unlucky not to be in front at the main break. Since then however, it's been a real slippery dip as the Demon roller coaster took a downward path. The last half against the Saints was a goalless snore fest. That has been followed by thrashings on big stages (Collingwood at the G on Queens Birthday and last Friday night against Essendon). During that time, the team has produced two or three reasonable quarters, the rest have been dreadful. Brisbane has been sitting and waiting for this. Last year, it was lowly Melbourne's shock defeat of the Lions that saw them reeling and ultimately Missing out on the finals action. Unfortunate for Demon fans they won't allow this to happen again and certainly not at the Gabba where the likes of Simon Black, Luke Power and youngster Daniel Rich will be pumping the ball long and straight to the twin towers - Bradshaw and Brown. It's just as well that Matthew Warnock is there to take on one of them and James Frawley will take the other. Trouble is that you can't control the two Brisbane B's all night and the Lions have plenty of scoring options and know their ground so well. And their dominant in form midfield will do little to aid the Demons. Nor will their inexperienced forward line, though it will be interesting to watch youngsters like Jurrah, Watts and Jetta continue on with their development at this early stage of their careers. Still, it's going to be a tough slog for the visitors on Saturday night. So tough that I'm tipping a repeat of the last fortnight. Brisbane by 51 point

NORTH and SOUTH by JVM Every year thousands upon thousands of people flock from the southern states up north to Queensland in search of the sun, surf, scenery and a few other things that start with the letter "s" including sport. This weekend a few Demon fans might even jump on a jet plane headed for Brisbane although I couldn't vouch to such hardy souls that the experience will be enjoyable if their final destination is the Brisbane v Melbourne game at the Gabba. You see, the Lions are on a roll and are nicely poised to make an assault on the top four which is vital for any team with high aspirations in the AFL competition. The Demons had aspirations once as well but that was in the early days of the season when they ventured further north and comfortably beat the Lions in a NAB Cup Challenge at the height of Hurricane Hamish. However, such games are only make believe and when the real stuff started the Demons went missing. They certainly left their form up in the tropics because they have managed only a single, solitary victim since that wet and windy night some three months ago. The weather report suggests that conditions at the Gabba will be thundery with rain easing during the day but on current form, even stormy weather will preclude both lightning and the Demons from striking twice! THE GAME Brisbane v Melbourne at The Gabba - Saturday, 27 June 2009 at 7.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Brisbane 9 wins Melbourne 16 wins Gabba Brisbane 7 wins Melbourne 3 wins Since 2000: Brisbane 6 wins Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Voss 0 wins Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports1 6.30pm RADIO Triple M SEN THE BETTING Brisbane $1.06 to win Melbourne $8.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 14.9.93 defeated Brisbane 13.14.92 at MCG Round 14 2008 The opportunity doesn't arrive too often these days for one to say that Melbourne won at its last start against a particular opponent but, with Brisbane, that's exactly the case. In Round 14 last year, the Demons were gritty and stuck to their guns all day causing a major upset. Brad Miller and Colin Sylvia booted four goals each. Brad Green was in scintillating form and earned the three Brownlow votes for the game while Aussie Wonaeamirri did his fair share of the crumbing work and celebrating. THE TEAMS BRISBANE Backs Jason Roe Daniel Merrett Jed Adcock Half backs Joel Patfull Lachlan Henderson Joel Macdonald Centreline Albert Proud Simon Black Daniel Rich Half forwards Michael Rischitelli Jonathan Brown James Polkinghorne Forwards Rhan Hooper Daniel Bradshaw Luke Power Followers Mitch Clark Cheynee Stiller Justin Sherman Interchange Jared Brennan Scott Harding Ashley McGrath Sam Sheldon Emergencies Jack Redden Matt Austin Tim Notting In Daniel Merrett Joel Patfull Out Tim Notting Troy Selwood (shoulder) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Matthew Warnock Ricky Petterd Half backs Aaron Davey Jared Rivers James Frawley Centreline Neville Jetta Brock McLean Jamie Bennell Half forwards Russell Robertson Brad Miller Matthew Bate Forwards Brad Green Colin Sylvia Liam Jungarray Jurrah Followers Paul Johnson Jack Grimes Cameron Bruce Interchange Stefan Martin Brent Moloney Cale Morton Jack Watts Emergencies Nathan Jones Lynden Dunn Shane Valenti In Ricky Petterd Matthew Warnock Out: Clint Bartram Kyle Cheney Just four weeks ago the Demons came to Queensland to take on the might of the undefeated Saints at Carrara. That night they gave their fans an incredible ride. It was a trip right up to the top in a roller coaster with a more than competitive first half when Melbourne threw everything was thrown at St. Kilda and was possibly a tad unlucky not to be in front at the main break. Since then however, it's been a real slippery dip as the Demon roller coaster took a downward path. The last half against the Saints was a goalless snore fest. That has been followed by thrashings on big stages (Collingwood at the G on Queens Birthday and last Friday night against Essendon). During that time, the team has produced two or three reasonable quarters, the rest have been dreadful. Brisbane has been sitting and waiting for this. Last year, it was lowly Melbourne's shock defeat of the Lions that saw them reeling and ultimately Missing out on the finals action. Unfortunate for Demon fans they won't allow this to happen again and certainly not at the Gabba where the likes of Simon Black, Luke Power and youngster Daniel Rich will be pumping the ball long and straight to the twin towers - Bradshaw and Brown. It's just as well that Matthew Warnock is there to take on one of them and James Frawley will take the other. Trouble is that you can't control the two Brisbane B's all night and the Lions have plenty of scoring options and know their ground so well. And their dominant in form midfield will do little to aid the Demons. Nor will their inexperienced forward line, though it will be interesting to watch youngsters like Jurrah, Watts and Jetta continue on with their development at this early stage of their careers. Still, it's going to be a tough slog for the visitors on Saturday night. So tough that I'm tipping a repeat of the last fortnight. Brisbane by 51 points.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS - NUMBER FORTY-EIGHT by the Professor The Jurrahcane, a Warlpiri warrior known as Liam Jungarray Jurrah blew onto the football scene the other night at Etihad Stadium wearing the number 48 for Melbourne against Essendon. It was obvious from the moment he stepped on the field that Jurrah is not your average footballer; that he's someone special and that everything that he comes into contact with will be immersed in that magic touch. And that includes his guernsey number - 48. The number hasn't yet been associated with any really big names and in the past it has often been a transitory number worn by a player in the early stages of his career only to be discarded in favour of a lower and more popular number. This is exactly what has happened with the last five custodians of the number which fell out of favour and was previously last worn in an AFL game more than a decade ago. The trend for the number was first set by Bob Gormly who came across to the club as a 184cm teenager from Old Scotch Collegians, Launceston and played the final game of 1965 against Footscray on a half back flank, a game narrowly lost by the Demons 10.12.72 to 10.15.75. The promising youngster was allocated the number 7 at the start of the following season but a knee injury put an end to his career before it even started. These days Gormly lives and works on the Gold Coast and still follows the Demons. Three years later, Daryl Powell, 179cm rover from Woodend came to the club but could manage no more than two games for the club wearing the number 48 guernsey with little impact. He started both games, in Round 19 against Fitzroy and Round 20 against South Melbourne on the bench. Midfielder Michael J Collins from Caulfield made his debut in 1971 wearing 48 at VFL Park in the same game in which South Australian recruit "Diamond Jim" Tilbrook played his first game for the club. Collins played 3 games that year, progressing to the number 12 through 1972 to 1974 for a career total of 27 games and 11 goals. Seventeen year old defender Brett Marchant from the club's suburban zone club Mentone was next to wear the 48 jumper. He played in four games in 1977 starting on a half back flank against Richmond in Round 16 but his career never took off. Two years later, the same fate befell the guernsey's next wearer John Wallace from Thornton. He was a reserve starting on the bench in the Round 3 game against South Melbourne but managed just one more game. John Tossol, a rover from Assumption College, Kilmore, came to the club in 1981 and played in the last two games of the season kicking three goals on debut against Richmond. His brother Peter arrived the following year but alas, the brothers never got to play together. The guernsey number 48 was next worm in 1984 by Gisborne wingman Ross Fisher who started in the Under 19's. By this time, the jumper was starting to appear jinxed because Fisher managed only one game. Utility Stephen Newport, who came to the Demons from Dingley in 1985, bucked the trend that had been set previously for the number as he became its first centurion although most of his 101 games and 58 goals came after he switched to the number 34 after his first season. He finished fourth in the club champion voting in 1986 and made the Victorian squad. He was part of the club's meteoric charge for the finals in 1987 and played in a grand final in 1988 before being traded to St. Kilda after the 1990 season. Meanwhile, Luke Beveridge, the grandson of Collingwood star Jack and son of St. Kilda recruiting guru John wore the number 48 in 1989. A clever goal kicking rover, Beveridge switched to the number 24 in 1990 and, when cleared to the Bulldogs at the end of 1992, he had 42 games for 41 goals to his credit. He later joined his father at the Saints and finished there in 1999. The rise of Darren Cuthbertson who donned the number 48 for the Demons in 1991 was meteoric. He booted bags of seven goals against North Melbourne and Collingwood in just his fourth and fifth games and followed that effort up with another five against the Brisbane Bears for 19 in the space of just three matches. The opposition teams started working him out and his output declined but he finished his debut season with 16 games and 29 goals. Cuthbertson was awarded the coveted number 9 guernsey the following year but never lived up to his earlier promise and his career was over after just 32 games and 43 goals in three seasons. The jumper was not worn again until 1997 when Brent Grgic from Bell Post Hill near Geelong arrived on the scene via the 1996 National Draft where the Demons selected him with their first round draft pick. Grgic was likened to star forward and former captain Garry Lyon early in his career but his star waned almost as quickly as that of Cuthbertson after moving to the number 4 locker in 1998. He was traded to the Cats at the end of 2001 after 77 games and 29 goals. Meanwhile, Grgic's old 48 guernsey was handed down to Box Hill draftee Matthew Bishop in1998 when he wore the jumper for 10 games (3 goals). Like many of his predecessors, Bishop discarded the number after just one year, shifting to number 18. He was also traded off elsewhere and finished at Port Adelaide(as part of a three way swap) where he became a premiership player. The lanky defender played 18 games for 4 goals for the Demons. Since the turn of the century not a single player wire 48 for Melbourne until Jurrah stepped onto Etihad Stadium to weave his magic and suddenly the sight of that number will never be the same!

by the Professor The Jurrahcane, a Warlpiri warrior known as Liam Jungarray Jurrah blew onto the football scene the other night at Etihad Stadium wearing the number 48 for Melbourne against Essendon. It was obvious from the moment he stepped on the field that Jurrah was not your average footballer; that he's someone special and that everything that he comes into contact with will be immersed in that magic touch. And that includes his guernsey number - 48. The number hasn't yet been associated with any really big names and in the past it has often been a transitory number worn by a player in the early stages of his career only to be discarded in favour of a lower and more popular number. This is exactly what has happened with the last five custodians of the number which fell out of favour and was previously last worn in an AFL game more than a decade ago. The trend for the number was first set by Bob Gormly who came across to the club as a 184cm teenager from Old Scotch Collegians, Launceston and played the final game of 1965 against Footscray on a half back flank, a game narrowly lost by the Demons 10.12.72 to 10.15.75. The promising youngster was allocated the number 7 at the start of the following season but a knee injury put an end to his career before it even started. These days Gormly lives and works on the Gold Coast and still follows the Demons. Three years later, Daryl Powell, 179cm rover from Woodend came to the club but could manage no more than two games for the club wearing the number 48 guernsey with little impact. He started both games, in Round 19 against Fitzroy and Round 20 against South Melbourne on the bench. Midfielder Michael J Collins from Caulfield made his debut in 1971 wearing 48 at VFL Park in the same game in which South Australian recruit "Diamond Jim" Tilbrook played his first game for the club. Collins played 3 games that year, progressing to the number 12 through 1972 to 1974 for a career total of 27 games and 11 goals. Seventeen year old defender Brett Marchant from the club's suburban zone club Mentone was next to wear the 48 jumper. He played in four games in 1977 starting on a half back flank against Richmond in Round 16 but his career never took off. Two years later, the same fate befell the guernsey's next wearer John Wallace from Thornton. He was a reserve starting on the bench in the Round 3 game against South Melbourne but managed just one more game. John Tossol, a rover from Assumption College, Kilmore, came to the club in 1981 and played in the last two games of the season kicking three goals on debut against Richmond. His brother Peter arrived the following year but alas, the brothers never got to play together. The guernsey number 48 was next worm in 1984 by Gisborne wingman Ross Fisher who started in the Under 19's. By this time, the jumper was starting to appear jinxed because Fisher managed only one game. Utility Stephen Newport, who came to the Demons from Dingley in 1985, bucked the trend that had been set previously for the number as he became its first centurion although most of his 101 games and 58 goals came after he switched to the number 34 after his first season. He finished fourth in the club champion voting in 1986 and made the Victorian squad. He was part of the club's meteoric charge for the finals in 1987 and played in a grand final in 1988 before being traded to St. Kilda after the 1990 season. Meanwhile, Luke Beveridge, the grandson of Collingwood star Jack and son of St. Kilda recruiting guru John wore the number 48 in 1989. A clever goal kicking rover, Beveridge switched to the number 24 in 1990 and, when cleared to the Bulldogs at the end of 1992, he had 42 games for 41 goals to his credit. He later joined his father at the Saints and finished there in 1999. The rise of Darren Cuthbertson who donned the number 48 for the Demons in 1991 was meteoric. He booted bags of seven goals against North Melbourne and Collingwood in just his fourth and fifth games and followed that effort up with another five against the Brisbane Bears for 19 in the space of just three matches. The opposition teams started working him out and his output declined but he finished his debut season with 16 games and 29 goals. Cuthbertson was awarded the coveted number 9 guernsey the following year but never lived up to his earlier promise and his career was over after just 32 games and 43 goals in three seasons. The jumper was not worn again until 1997 when Brent Grgic from Bell Post Hill near Geelong arrived on the scene via the 1996 National Draft where the Demons selected him with their first round draft pick. Grgic was likened to star forward and former captain Garry Lyon early in his career but his star waned almost as quickly as that of Cuthbertson after moving to the number 4 locker in 1998. He was traded to the Cats at the end of 2001 after 77 games and 29 goals. Meanwhile, Grgic's old 48 guernsey was handed down to Box Hill draftee Matthew Bishop in1998 when he wore the jumper for 10 games (3 goals). Like many of his predecessors, Bishop discarded the number after just one year, shifting to number 18. He was also traded off elsewhere and finished at Port Adelaide(as part of a three way swap) where he became a premiership player. The lanky defender played 18 games for 4 goals for the Demons. Since the turn of the century not a single player wire 48 for Melbourne until Jurrah stepped onto Etihad Stadium to weave his magic and suddenly the sight of that number will never be the same!

Following Leigh Matthews' comments on the 7 broadcast of the Essendon v Melbourne game at Etihad Stadium to the effect that, "I've been watching Watts closely for five minutes and I've seen nothing to suggest why he would be number one pick," we sent Hannabal out to get an interview. This is the result: Hannabal: Thanks for your time, Leigh. Leigh: You're vewy vewy welcome. Hannabal: Leigh, you seem to have unnecessarily potted Jack Watts and the MFC over the weekend. Is there any particular reason? Leigh: Alan Jawwott. Hannabal:Alan Jarrott ? What did Alan do, Leigh? Leigh: Jawwott whacked me at the MCG in 1984. Hannabal: Hang on Leigh, I was there that day and Alan was remonstrating with you for your king hit on Steven Smith. In fact, you hit him that hard he lost his toupe. Leigh: Wasn't it Peter Giles? Hannabal: No, your king hit on Giles was another day. Leigh: Oh. Didn't Smith lose all his hair from awa... awa... umm, err ...awa Hannabal: Alopecia? Leigh: That's it. Hannabal: Let's move on. Leigh, what are your thoughts on Melbourne's list? Leigh: I think they're in a lot of twubble. In fact, I think they'll be anchored to the bottom for years. Hannabal: How many times have you seen them play this year? Leigh: Once - once live. Hannabal: Once? It must have been a real eye opener to make such a judgment after so little exposure to the team and list? Leigh: Yes, they were vewy vewy bad. Hannabal: It's a pity you missed the match against the Bulldogs. But what about Sammy Blease, Strauss, Garland, Maric, Aussie, Spencer and some of the other under 20's? Leigh: Who? I'm not familwa with those players. But I liked the look of Juwwah and Gwimes. Hannabal: Lucky we didn't do this interview a week ago or you wouldn't have heard of Jurrah either. Speaking of Grimes, you gave him to Melbourne. Leigh: Weally? I did? Hannabal: Yes, you gave Melbourne pick 14 for Twavis, err Travis Johnstone and Melbourne used that pick on young Jack..... Are you ok, Leigh ? Here, have some water. Speaking of young Jacks, do you think you were a bit harsh on Jack Watts the other night ? Leigh: No, he looked like a schoolboy playing against men. Hannabal: Leigh, he was a schoolboy playing against men. How did an 18 year old Jonathan Brown equip himself in his first few games ? Leigh: I weally can't wemember, but he was a vewy vewy stwong boy Jonathan, so I expect he went pwetty well. Hannabal: Let me refresh your memory. Brown had no possessions in his first game and one possession in his third. In fact, it took him until game 7 to kick his first goal. Leigh: Weally ? Well, young key position players take longer to develop. Hannabal: Leigh, I put it to you that you don't really know much about young Watts, or the Melbourne list at all. Leigh: Well, I can only judge them on what I see and Fwiday night wasn't vewy impwessive. Hannabal: No disputing that. Thanks for your time Leigh. But I must say I'm 99% certain that tomorrow I'll be 100% sure you're a dill.

SOLSTICE by Whispering Jack For the record I am not a Pagan. Nor am I a Laidley or a Crocker either. Boom, boom. OK. That's the joke out of the way. I'm writing this on the morning of the winter solstice and, as it happens, I've just been out to an early breakfast where I sat drinking my coffee intently reading a Sunday Age article entitled "Pagans party as winter solstice brings hope" It's about how some of the pagans of this state like Gavin Andrew go about celebrating the winter solstice which is the shortest day (9 hours and 32 minutes) in the southern hemisphere. In the northern half of the world, it's the longest day. The northern pagans will observe the summer solstice today. Andrew and his fellow pagans (according to the last census there are 30,000 of them in Australia) rose early today to watch the sun rise at 7.36am and then to celebrate with a bloody good feast and a drink or two of mead, the original alcoholic drink of the prehistoric pagans, often consumed warm. This is the pagan way of giving thanks for what they have in this world - a warm home, shelter, food and friends. As I read on, I was beginning to like this pagan thing more and more although the ritual of going in and out of the spiral seemed a little over the top to someone who had previously shown little interest in paganism. However, the other stuff's not too shabby at all - music, poetry, shadow-puppetry and fire twirling. You've got to love fire twirling! Then, I started to think how football world has let the pagans down badly with its decision to mark the solstice with only one game which happens to be an unremarkable fixture that nobody's interested in although, after a day of getting shickered on the mead, it probably doesn't matter anyway. The President of PAN (Pagan Awareness Network) is a David Garland (no, I'm not sure if he's any relation) and he reckons that, despite the census figures there are about 200,000 pagans in Australia and that most of them will be marking today's significance. "It's a celebration that the days are getting longer. It gives us hope," he says. Well, I'm so impressed with the hope aspect that I've decided to jump on board with my own brand of paganism for Demon fans called "baileyism". After all, our most precious commodity as Melbourne supporters these days is "hope". We baileys won't spend the day standing around prehistoric rock circles chanting mumbo jumbo about coming cosmic events but, after this half season from hell, we won't mind the feasting and (especially) the drinking part. So at 3.45 pm today, the exact time when the tilt of the earth's axis is inclined away from the sun in the southern hemisphere we will raise our glasses of piping hot mead in thanks for what we have at the Melbourne Football Club. Hope. Well, hope isn't all of it. We also have a club that has survived (albeit we need a couple million bucks to jump into the kick rather quickly), we have new sponsorships with emerging enterprises and we have closer relationships with the MCC and the AFL. We have the AFL's youngest list including some exceptional, exciting young Indigenous players and an exciting future. That's not to mention our cosmic comic game plan that some can't comprehend while others believe it to be evolving a bit like Geelong's (watch them play tonight and compare it with our most recent efforts against Collingwood and Essendon) except that we change it every week for the third quarter in order to avoid being predictable. We're also spreading our wings into the rustic, rural areas like Casey where we can practice baileyism on crisp, cold mornings in open fields with gardlands (there's that word again) of flowers and skipping among the cow pads. For all these things, we can gladly offer our thanks because we are patient and there are better days to come when our young team has many more games of football pumped into those presently scrawny legs and emaciated, thin supermodel-like bodies. Incidentally, today's feasting and drinking should help them on that score too! The baileys will of course be celebrating long and hard on this day of the winter solstice but our real big gig - the "Gift of Light" will have to wait until the summer solstice when the bailey community will be able to conduct a special pagan ritual of thanks for the gifts of the national draft and the pre season draft. By then, we baileys will be looking forward to a new time of more hope and a new season for our Demons and the long, cold and dark days of 2009 will be over.

by Whispering Jack For the record I am not a Pagan. Nor am I a Laidley or a Crocker either. Boom, boom. OK. That's the joke out of the way. I'm writing this on the morning of the winter solstice and, as it happens, I've just been out to an early breakfast where I sat drinking my coffee intently reading a Sunday Age article entitled "Pagans party as winter solstice brings hope" It's about how some of the pagans of this state like Gavin Andrew go about celebrating the winter solstice which is the shortest day (9 hours and 32 minutes) in the southern hemisphere. In the northern half of the world, it's the longest day. The northern pagans will observe the summer solstice today. Andrew and his fellow pagans (according to the last census there are 30,000 of them in Australia) rose early today to watch the sun rise at 7.36am and then to celebrate with a bloody good feast and a drink or two of mead, the original alcoholic drink of the prehistoric pagans, often consumed warm. This is the pagan way of giving thanks for what they have in this world - a warm home, shelter, food and friends. As I read on, I was beginning to like this pagan thing more and more although the ritual of going in and out of the spiral seemed a little over the top to someone who had previously shown little interest in paganism. However, the other stuff's not too shabby at all - music, poetry, shadow-puppetry and fire twirling. You've got to love fire twirling! Then, I started to think how football world has let the pagans down badly with its decision to mark the solstice with only one game which happens to be an unremarkable fixture that nobody's interested in although, after a day of getting shickered on the mead, it probably doesn't matter anyway. The President of PAN (Pagan Awareness Network) is a David Garland (no, I'm not sure if he's any relation) and he reckons that, despite the census figures there are about 200,000 pagans in Australia and that most of them will be marking today's significance. "It's a celebration that the days are getting longer. It gives us hope," he says. Well, I'm so impressed with the hope aspect that I've decided to jump on board with my own brand of paganism for Demon fans called "baileyism". After all, our most precious commodity as Melbourne supporters these days is "hope". We baileys won't spend the day standing around prehistoric rock circles chanting mumbo jumbo about coming cosmic events but, after this half season from hell, we won't mind the feasting and (especially) the drinking part. So at 3.45 pm today, the exact time when the tilt of the earth's axis is inclined away from the sun in the southern hemisphere we will raise our glasses of piping hot mead in thanks for what we have at the Melbourne Football Club. Hope. Well, hope isn't all of it. We also have a club that has survived (albeit we need a couple million bucks to jump into the kick rather quickly), we have new sponsorships with emerging enterprises and we have closer relationships with the MCC and the AFL. We have the AFL's youngest list including some exceptional, exciting young Indigenous players and an exciting future. That's not to mention our cosmic comic game plan that some can't comprehend while others believe it to be evolving a bit like Geelong's (watch them play tonight and compare it with our most recent efforts against Collingwood and Essendon) except that we change it every week for the third quarter in order to avoid being predictable. We're also spreading our wings into the rustic, rural areas like Casey where we can practice baileyism on crisp, cold mornings in open fields with gardlands (there's that word again) of flowers and skipping among the cow pads. For all these things, we can gladly offer our thanks because we are patient and there are better days to come when our young team has many more games of football pumped into those presently scrawny legs and emaciated, thin supermodel-like bodies. Incidentally, today's feasting and drinking should help them on that score too! The baileys will of course be celebrating long and hard on this day of the winter solstice but our real big gig - the "Gift of Light" will have to wait until the summer solstice when the bailey community will be able to conduct a special pagan ritual of thanks for the gifts of the national draft and the pre season draft. By then, we baileys will be looking forward to a new time of more hope and a new season for our Demons and the long, cold and dark days of 2009 will be over.

Hi Lisa... all of us at Demonland support the Casey Demons and will happily promote your activities as much as we can. WJ has even joined the social club down at Casey so I'm sure he'll personally support the CD's. There are a few others around here in the same boat. So good luck and cheers!

You seem to be suggesting that it's the opposition coaches who are instigating the tactic each week and we simply respond by going completely negative every week. However, if that was the case then surely our coaches would have twigged that it doesn't work for us and come up with another strategy. I tend to think that the negative tactics are our own pre- conceived plan to minimise the damage when opposition sides get on top of a young team with immature bodies and which tires under the pace and the pressure of a game. If this is the case, then I'd like to see some different tactics adopted in the last half of matches. On a lighter note, I'd even run with the hypnotism option. I heard that Richard Tambling started undergoing hypnotherapy after he was dropped to Coburg a while ago and since then he's returned to the Richmond team and is in career best form. The Toigs have won 2 out of 3 games in that time!

The Flash maintains his big lead. 88.199 Aaron Davey 57.718 Brent Moloney 42.745 Brock McLean 40.932 Cale Morton 37.845 Nathan Jones 33.775 Colin Sylvia 31.493 Brad Green 27.501 James Frawley 25.152 Cameron Bruce 19.408 Brad Miller 14.443 Matthew Warnock 13.629 Mark Jamar 12.825 Jared Rivers 12.420 Paul Johnson 11.805 Ricky Petterd 10.053 Kyle Cheney 9.197 Stefan Martin 8.827 Jamie Bennell 8.794 Matthew Bate 6.300 Addam Maric 6.126 Russell Robertson 5.843 Jack Grimes 4.374 Clint Bartram 3.333 James McDonald 3.077 Neville Jetta 0.667 Lynden Dunn 0.634 Liam Jurrah 0.613 John Meesen

by the Oracle I feel sorry for Essendon coach Matthew Knights and his team of Bombers. They ventured out to Etihad Stadium last night with a well prepared game plan which they executed properly with all the necessary due skill, enthusiasm and a winning attitude. The team played well, dominated the first and third quarters of the game, coasted in the last and even ticked most of the boxes with the umpires who obligingly handed them the first three goals on a silver platter and generally looked after them well during the game. After two and a half hours of blood, sweat and very few tears, they took home the four premiership points on offer, grabbed a place in the top eight at the expense of the reigning premiers and had some much-needed momentum to take with them in the run home to the end of the season and possibly into the finals. So why is it that I feel sorry for Essendon? Because, basically the Bombers would have absolutely no idea after last night's game as to where they stand in the AFL scheme of things. The team they beat, Melbourne, is certainly not the sort of opponent you can use as a measuring stick when your next opponent is a lean, hungry opponent like Carlton which is desperate for a win. In other words, if you want to test your strength and ability, you simply can't do it against a disorganised rabble playing with seemingly no purpose and no discipline. The Demons can trot out their excuses - their youth, injuries, swine flu, tiredness, the umpires etc. The fact of the matter is they are a long way off being even competitive or up to the standard of the competition. After a relatively competitive first half, the third quarter, known by many as "the premiership quarter", demonstrated Melbourne's ineptness. Essendon controlled the play at will while their opponents stood around like stale bottles of you know what. The Bombers had three goals in the first five minutes of that term while the Dees took an extraordinary and shameful 16 minutes to venture into attack for the first time. Luckily, a very tired looking Russell Robertson was able to manage a goal on that occasion; his team's only score for the quarter. The final term was all junk time and afforded Demon fans plenty of time to head home early. I for one was not prepared to hang around or find refuge in Etihad's overpriced bars and food stalls. While the Bombers had veterans in Scott Lucas and Matthew Lloyd (three goals each) and Dustin Fletcher (close to best on ground), the Demons had youth and that was simply not enough. Debutant Liam Jurrah stirred up some excitement both at Etihad and Yuedumu and should have had three goals on the board by the second quarter and not just the one. He showed a few glimpses of the magic he's capable of producing and left Demon fans licking their lips at the prospect of seeing more in the future. Jack Grimes and Jack Watts also managed to produce the opening goals of their careers. The latter might have scored more had there been some rules or a system in place mandating that you pass the ball to the forward who's in the clear and has made position nicely. Presumably, they have such things as game plans and team rules at Brighton Grammar. Apparently, at the MFC they do not. James Frawley continued to show improvement with a rock solid game. He managed to quell Lloyd's influence after a purple patch and was a shining light in defence. Stef Martin did well plugging gaps all over the place but Cale Morton, Jamie Bennell, Kyle Cheney and Neville Jetta were disappointing. Sadly, they didn't have too many older and wiser heads to show them the way. Of the more established Melbourne players, one of the few entitled to hold his head high was Brad Green who showed great skill and courage and looked a footballer in beating the dangerous Andrew Lovett. Others in Aaron Davey, Cameron Bruce, Brock McLean, Brent Moloney and Colin Sylvia were adequate but not world beaters. Aside from that, Melbourne's performance was highlighted by a distinct lack of pressure on the opposition, the usual high number of turnovers, skill errors and poor decision making. And if you asked me for one word that would best describe the whole mess, you would have to be dreaming if it was anything other than "abysmal". Melbourne 3.2.20 8.3.51 9.3.57 13.5.83 Essendon 6.3.39 10.7.77 17.13.115 19.17.131 Goals Melbourne Bate Miller Robertson Watts 2 Bruce Grimes Jetta Jurrah Martin Essendon Lloyd Lucas 3 Davey Lonergan McVeigh Monfries Skipworth 2 Hooker Watson Winderlich Best Melbourne Green Grimes Frawley Davey Bruce Sylvia Essendon Fletcher Watson Lucas McVeigh Prismall Dempsey Hooker Injuries Nil Changes Nil Report M McVeigh (Essendon) reported for striking J Rivers (Melbourne) by field umpire McLaren in the third quarter Umpires McLaren Ryan James Official Crowd 45,470 at Etihad Stadium

ETIHAD DREAMTIME by the Oracle I feel sorry for Essendon coach Matthew Knights and his team of Bombers. They ventured out to Etihad Stadium last night with a well prepared game plan which they executed properly with all the necessary due skill, enthusiasm and a winning attitude. The team played well, dominated the first and third quarters of the game, coasted in the last and even ticked most of the boxes with the umpires who obligingly handed them the first three goals on a silver platter and generally looked after them well during the game. After two and a half hours of blood, sweat and very few tears, they took home the four premiership points on offer, grabbed a place in the top eight at the expense of the reigning premiers and had some much-needed momentum to take with them in the run home to the end of the season and possibly into the finals. So why is it that I feel sorry for Essendon? Because, basically the Bombers would have absolutely no idea after last night's game as to where they stand in the AFL scheme of things. The team they beat, Melbourne, is certainly not the sort of opponent you can use as a measuring stick when your next opponent is a lean, hungry opponent like Carlton which is desperate for a win. In other words, if you want to test your strength and ability, you simply can't do it against a disorganised rabble playing with seemingly no purpose and no discipline. The Demons can trot out their excuses - their youth, injuries, swine flu, tiredness, the umpires etc. The fact of the matter is they are a long way off being even competitive or up to the standard of the competition. After a relatively competitive first half, the third quarter, known by many as "the premiership quarter", demonstrated Melbourne's ineptness. Essendon controlled the play at will while their opponents stood around like stale bottles of you know what. The Bombers had three goals in the first five minutes of that term while the Dees took an extraordinary and shameful 16 minutes to venture into attack for the first time. Luckily, a very tired looking Russell Robertson was able to manage a goal on that occasion; his team's only score for the quarter. The final term was all junk time and afforded Demon fans plenty of time to head home early. I for one was not prepared to hang around or find refuge in Etihad's overpriced bars and food stalls. While the Bombers had veterans in Scott Lucas and Matthew Lloyd (three goals each) and Dustin Fletcher (close to best on ground), the Demons had youth and that was simply not enough. Debutant Liam Jurrah stirred up some excitement both at Etihad and Yuedumu and should have had three goals on the board by the second quarter and not just the one. He showed a few glimpses of the magic he's capable of producing and left Demon fans licking their lips at the prospect of seeing more in the future. Jack Grimes and Jack Watts also managed to produce the opening goals of their careers. The latter might have scored more had there been some rules or a system in place mandating that you pass the ball to the forward who's in the clear and has made position nicely. Presumably, they have such things as game plans and team rules at Brighton Grammar. Apparently, at the MFC they do not. James Frawley continued to show improvement with a rock solid game. He managed to quell Lloyd's influence after a purple patch and was a shining light in defence. Stef Martin did well plugging gaps all over the place but Cale Morton, Jamie Bennell, Kyle Cheney and Neville Jetta were disappointing. Sadly, they didn't have too many older and wiser heads to show them the way. Of the more established Melbourne players, one of the few entitled to hold his head high was Brad Green who showed great skill and courage and looked a footballer in beating the dangerous Andrew Lovett. Others in Aaron Davey, Cameron Bruce, Brock McLean, Brent Moloney and Colin Sylvia were adequate but not world beaters. Aside from that, Melbourne's performance was highlighted by a distinct lack of pressure on the opposition, the usual high number of turnovers, skill errors and poor decision making. And if you asked me for one word that would best describe the whole mess, you would have to be dreaming if it was anything other than "abysmal". Melbourne 3.2.20 8.3.51 9.3.57 13.5.83 Essendon 6.3.39 10.7.77 17.13.115 19.17.131 Goals Melbourne Bate Miller Robertson Watts 2 Bruce Grimes Jetta Jurrah Martin Essendon Lloyd Lucas 3 Davey Lonergan McVeigh Monfries Skipworth 2 Hooker Watson Winderlich Best Melbourne Green Grimes Frawley Davey Bruce Sylvia Essendon Fletcher Watson Lucas McVeigh Prismall Dempsey Hooker Injuries Nil Changes Nil Report M McVeigh (Essendon) reported for striking J Rivers (Melbourne) by field umpire McLaren in the third quarter Umpires McLaren Ryan James Official Crowd 45,470 at Etihad Stadium

Cast your votes please ...

Comments welcome here ... please keep it nice (we had to farewell a poster last night for breach of our Code of Conduct and we don't want a repeat). We're hoping today will herald a new start for the Dees for the second half of 2009 so enjoy the night and good luck to Liam Jurrah - the Demon family is behind you 100%!

FRIDAY ON MY MIND by JVM It isn't very often that Melbourne gets a Friday night gig these days so when the team meets Essendon at Etihad Stadium tomorrow night it will have an opportunity to show the football world that its dismal performance against the Old Enemy on Queens Birthday was an aberration. The match against the Bombers marks just the second time since the two coaches Dean Bailey and Matthew Knights took the helm at their respective clubs at the end of 2007. In both cases they were succeeding coaches who had completed long stints in charge of their teams (if you ignore Mark Reilly's brief caretaker role with the Demons). When the two rookie coaches turned up for work at their new clubs they inherited aging lists in a state of decline but Knights has by far the more impressive record in terms of win/loss ratio in the 33 home and away games played to date having recorded 13 wins to Bailey's meagre total of four. Against this, it should be said that Melbourne's "clean out" has been a little more extensive. The Demons not only have the younger list but also are less reliant on their few remaining veterans while Essendon still depends to some extent on the likes of Lloyd, Lucas and Fletcher. The latter was included at team selection this evening as the Bombers sought to fortify their team which lost a high scoring shoot out at home against Adelaide. Joining him are Andrew Welsh Jason Winderlich so the team probably boasts its strongest line up for the season. We all know very well that the Demons are very much in team building mode and every week we are seeing changes in both personnel and positions as the coach seeks to develop the ideal mix to help move the team forward for the future. This week is no exception. We were excited before the Queens Birthday game to see Jack Watts selected to make his AFL debut on the big stage against the Magpies. He got a few touches, did one or two nice things, ran around a bit and otherwise got through the game unscathed. Nothing spectacular but there were glimpses of promise for the future and, despite the hype, that was all that was really expected in his debut game. Mission accomplished. And if you think that the debut of last year's #1 national draft selection was the be all and end all of changes at the club then wait till tomorrow when last year's #1 pre season draft selection runs onto the field for the first time in red and blue colours (depending on the choice of alternate strip there could be some white there too). Liam Jungarray Jurrah, a Warlpiri Warrior from the country's red centre will enter the scene along with Clint Bartram, Jamie Bennell, Neville Jetta, Stefan Martin and Brad Miller who have been promoted after injury and illness struck the Demons in the past week. Despite the number of changes, all eyes will be on the man with the skin name of "Jungarray" who has been quietly wowing the fans in recent VFL games for the Casey Scorpions. Like Watts, he will probably only provide some brief glimpses of the future of his club but even that will be sufficient to keep Friday on my mind and on the minds of many Demon fans and others who love our nation's great game. Bring it on! THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium - Friday, 19 July 2009 at 7.30pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 125 wins Melbourne 77 wins 2 drawn Etihad Stadium Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 1 wins Since 2000: Essendon 9 wins Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Knights 1 wins Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 8.30pm (1 hour delay) RADIO 3AW Triple M ABC774 SEN THE BETTING Essendon $1.28 to win Melbourne $3.50 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 19.10.124 defeated Melbourne 17.6.108 at MCG Round 18 2008 A crowd of 46,334 came to witness Matthew Lloyd's return to form with a magnificent 8 goal display that include a spectacular high mark and goal at a crucial stage of the game. The Demons stayed in touch for much of the journey and Cale Morton and Colin Sylvia were among the best with kicking 3 goals for the losers. Morton's game in a losing side was so good that he polled two Brownlow votes for his efforts. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Mark McVeigh Tayte Pears Dustin Fletcher Half backs Courtenay Dempsey Adam McPhee Heath Hocking Centreline Andrew Lovett Ricky Dyson Brent Prismall Half forwards Hayden Skipworth Cale Hooker Jason Winderlich Forwards Matthew Lloyd Scott Lucas Alwyn Davey Followers Patrick Ryder Jobe Watson Brent Stanton Interchange Sam Lonergan Angus Monfries Kyle Reimers Andrew Welsh Emergencies Jay Neagle Tyson Slattery David Zaharakis In Dustin Fletcher Andrew Welsh Jason Winderlich Out Bachar Houli (virus) Jay Neagle David Zaharakis MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Stefan Martin Clint Bartram Half backs Aaron Davey Jared Rivers James Frawley Centreline Neville Jetta Brock McLean Jamie Bennell Half forwards Russell Robertson Brad Miller Matthew Bate Forwards Brad Green Colin Sylvia Liam Jungarray Jurrah Followers Paul Johnson Jack Grimes Cameron Bruce Interchange Kyle Cheney Brent Moloney Cale Morton Jack Watts Emergencies Lynden Dunn Addam Maric Ricky Petterd In Clint Bartram Jamie Bennell Neville Jetta Liam Jungarray Jurrah Stefan Martin Brad Miller Out Daniel Bell Mark Jamar (quad) Nathan Jones (virus) Addam Maric James McDonald (knee) Matthew Warnock (virus) A WIN AT LAST! Tomorrow night's game will, in many ways, be a cut throat affair for Essendon which is one of several clubs in the queue for places in the top eight. A fortnight ago at Etihad, the Bombers ran into a resurgent Adelaide team which was heavily focused on winning and that displayed a stunning accuracy in front of goal that helped get them over the line in a high scoring affair after trailing early. The result left Essendon out of the eight after consecutive losses and another defeat tomorrow could spell the beginning of the end for them as other teams establish themselves in higher places. They'll be nervous about losing this one! There's less urgency for a Melbourne in the early stages of development mode but nobody wants to finish last in this competition and losing on a weekly basis is no fun. The noises coming out of the Demon camp this week have been that the side is sick of honourable defeats and it isn't impressed with the notion of "tanking". Coach Dean Bailey is quite rightly more concerned with developing a winning culture as a prelude to a sustained period of success. The question is whether the young Demons can lift after their last start debacle and be more than just competitive against the Bombers who are going for broke in their quest to stay in touch with the top eight? Melbourne's rucks have been bolstered in recent weeks by the return of Mark Jamar after a long lay off. However, the team's dominance in ruck hit outs against Collingwood failed to have any impact because the Magpies were able to negate this "advantage" by winning the ball cleanly out of the stoppages. With Jamar out this week, the load will be back on Paul Johnson and its doubtful whether the dominance in hit outs will be repeated tomorrow even though Ryder is the Bombers' lone ruckman. The midfield duels will therefore be crucial and it will not only be a case of extracting the ball but also of coming out of these packs effectively and not turning the ball over as regularly as occurred on Queens Birthday. The Bombers under Knights have built their game on quick attacking movement along the ground. You won't die wondering when they play this game and it's suited to Etihad. But it's also a risky strategy and teams can hurt you going the other way if you get things wrong as Geelong proved a few weeks ago. So the Bombers are vulnerable and if the Dees are on their game, as they should be after Collingwood, an upset may well be on the cards. Just add a touch of Warlpiri magic and Friday night could really be something! Melbourne by 8 points.

by JVM It isn't very often that Melbourne gets a Friday night gig these days so when the team meets Essendon at Etihad Stadium tomorrow night it will have an opportunity to show the football world that its dismal performance against the Old Enemy on Queens Birthday was an aberration. The match against the Bombers marks just the second time since the two coaches Dean Bailey and Matthew Knights took the helm at their respective clubs at the end of 2007. In both cases they were succeeding coaches who had completed long stints in charge of their teams (if you ignore Mark Reilly's brief caretaker role with the Demons). When the two rookie coaches turned up for work at their new clubs they inherited aging lists in a state of decline but Knights has by far the more impressive record in terms of win/loss ratio in the 33 home and away games played to date having recorded 13 wins to Bailey's meagre total of four. Against this, it should be said that Melbourne's "clean out" has been a little more extensive. The Demons not only have the younger list but also are less reliant on their few remaining veterans while Essendon still depends to some extent on the likes of Lloyd, Lucas and Fletcher. The latter was included at team selection this evening as the Bombers sought to fortify their team which lost a high scoring shoot out at home against Adelaide. Joining him are Andrew Welsh Jason Winderlich so the team probably boasts its strongest line up for the season. We all know very well that the Demons are very much in team building mode and every week we are seeing changes in both personnel and positions as the coach seeks to develop the ideal mix to help move the team forward for the future. This week is no exception. We were excited before the Queens Birthday game to see Jack Watts selected to make his AFL debut on the big stage against the Magpies. He got a few touches, did one or two nice things, ran around a bit and otherwise got through the game unscathed. Nothing spectacular but there were glimpses of promise for the future and, despite the hype, that was all that was really expected in his debut game. Mission accomplished. And if you think that the debut of last year's #1 national draft selection was the be all and end all of changes at the club then wait till tomorrow when last year's #1 pre season draft selection runs onto the field for the first time in red and blue colours (depending on the choice of alternate strip there could be some white there too). Liam Jungarray Jurrah, a Warlpiri Warrior from the country's red centre will enter the scene along with Clint Bartram, Jamie Bennell, Neville Jetta, Stefan Martin and Brad Miller who have been promoted after injury and illness struck the Demons in the past week. Despite the number of changes, all eyes will be on the man with the skin name of "Jungarray" who has been quietly wowing the fans in recent VFL games for the Casey Scorpions. Like Watts, he will probably only provide some brief glimpses of the future of his club but even that will be sufficient to keep Friday on my mind and on the minds of many Demon fans and others who love our nation's great game. Bring it on! THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium - Friday, 19 July 2009 at 7.30pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 125 wins Melbourne 77 wins 2 drawn Etihad Stadium Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 1 wins Since 2000: Essendon 9 wins Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Knights 1 wins Bailey 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 8.30pm (1 hour delay) RADIO 3AW Triple M ABC774 SEN THE BETTING Essendon $1.28 to win Melbourne $3.50 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 19.10.124 defeated Melbourne 17.6.108 at MCG Round 18 2008 A crowd of 46,334 came to witness Matthew Lloyd's return to form with a magnificent 8 goal display that include a spectacular high mark and goal at a crucial stage of the game. The Demons stayed in touch for much of the journey and Cale Morton and Colin Sylvia were among the best with kicking 3 goals for the losers. Morton's game in a losing side was so good that he polled two Brownlow votes for his efforts. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Mark McVeigh Tayte Pears Dustin Fletcher Half backs Courtenay Dempsey Adam McPhee Heath Hocking Centreline Andrew Lovett Ricky Dyson Brent Prismall Half forwards Hayden Skipworth Cale Hooker Jason Winderlich Forwards Matthew Lloyd Scott Lucas Alwyn Davey Followers Patrick Ryder Jobe Watson Brent Stanton Interchange Sam Lonergan Angus Monfries Kyle Reimers Andrew Welsh Emergencies Jay Neagle Tyson Slattery David Zaharakis In Dustin Fletcher Andrew Welsh Jason Winderlich Out Bachar Houli (virus) Jay Neagle David Zaharakis MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Stefan Martin Clint Bartram Half backs Aaron Davey Jared Rivers James Frawley Centreline Neville Jetta Brock McLean Jamie Bennell Half forwards Russell Robertson Brad Miller Matthew Bate Forwards Brad Green Colin Sylvia Liam Jungarray Jurrah Followers Paul Johnson Jack Grimes Cameron Bruce Interchange Kyle Cheney Brent Moloney Cale Morton Jack Watts Emergencies Lynden Dunn Addam Maric Ricky Petterd In Clint Bartram Jamie Bennell Neville Jetta Liam Jungarray Jurrah Stefan Martin Brad Miller Out Daniel Bell Mark Jamar (quad) Nathan Jones (virus) Addam Maric James McDonald (knee) Matthew Warnock (virus) A WIN AT LAST! Tomorrow night's game will, in many ways, be a cut throat affair for Essendon which is one of several clubs in the queue for places in the top eight. A fortnight ago at Etihad, the Bombers ran into a resurgent Adelaide team which was heavily focused on winning and that displayed a stunning accuracy in front of goal that helped get them over the line in a high scoring affair after trailing early. The result left Essendon out of the eight after consecutive losses and another defeat tomorrow could spell the beginning of the end for them as other teams establish themselves in higher places. They'll be nervous about losing this one! There's less urgency for a Melbourne in the early stages of development mode but nobody wants to finish last in this competition and losing on a weekly basis is no fun. The noises coming out of the Demon camp this week have been that the side is sick of honourable defeats and it isn't impressed with the notion of "tanking". Coach Dean Bailey is quite rightly more concerned with developing a winning culture as a prelude to a sustained period of success. The question is whether the young Demons can lift after their last start debacle and be more than just competitive against the Bombers who are going for broke in their quest to stay in touch with the top eight? Melbourne's rucks have been bolstered in recent weeks by the return of Mark Jamar after a long lay off. However, the team's dominance in ruck hit outs against Collingwood failed to have any impact because the Magpies were able to negate this "advantage" by winning the ball cleanly out of the stoppages. With Jamar out this week, the load will be back on Paul Johnson and its doubtful whether the dominance in hit outs will be repeated tomorrow even though Ryder is the Bombers' lone ruckman. The midfield duels will therefore be crucial and it will not only be a case of extracting the ball but also of coming out of these packs effectively and not turning the ball over as regularly as occurred on Queens Birthday. The Bombers under Knights have built their game on quick attacking movement along the ground. You won't die wondering when they play this game and it's suited to Etihad. But it's also a risky strategy and teams can hurt you going the other way if you get things wrong as Geelong proved a few weeks ago. So the Bombers are vulnerable and if the Dees are on their game, as they should be after Collingwood, an upset may well be on the cards. Just add a touch of Warlpiri magic and Friday night could really be something! Melbourne by 8 points.

It was a long time ago but the game was held at the MCG and it was an Essendon home game (it seems that the AFL doesn't like fixturing Melbourne as the home team against the Bombers at the MCG because we haven't played against them as the home team for a few years): ESSENDON Backs Jay Nash Mal Michael Dustin Fletcher Half backs Adam McPhee Patrick Ryder Jarrod Atkinson Centreline Ricky Dyson Jobe Watson Henry Slattery Half forwards Angus Monfries Matthew Lloyd Sam Lonergan Forwards Jason Laycock Nathan Lovett-Murray Leroy Jetta Followers David Hille Andrew Welsh Brent Stanton Interchange Kyle Reimers Andrew Lovett Damien Peverill Adam Ramanauskas Emergencies Heath Hocking Cale Hooker Rhys Magin In Andrew Lovett Out Scott Lucas (back) MELBOURNE Backs Matthew Whelan Colin Garland Matthew Warnock Half backs Chris Johnson Daniel Bell Paul Wheatley Centreline Cale Morton Cameron Bruce Simon Buckley Half forwards Brad Green Matthew Bate AaronDavey Forwards Paul Johnson Colin Sylvia Addam Maric Followers Mark Jamar Clint Bartram James McDonald Interchange Lynden Dunn Stefan Martin Shane Valenti Austin Wonaeamirri Emergencies Nathan Carroll Nathan Jones Jeff White In Brad Green Paul Wheatley Austin Wonaeamirri Out Brad Miller (hamstring) Nathan Jones Michael Newton Umpires Kennedy Sully Fila

SCORPIONS MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions produced a repeat of last week with a withering final term to overwhelm the Northern Bullants at Visy Park after a dour struggle over the first three quarters on Saturday. The Scorps' 37-point victory was their third in a row and puts them in positive territory at 5-4 going into the bye at the half way mark of the season. Casey opened tentatively, over-possessing the ball early and gave the Bullants the first goal of the match with an errant handball. Paul Wheatley finally got the team on the map with a trademark long bomb goal that was answered swiftly. Momentarily, it seemed like it was going to be a long day at the office but a nice rover's goal from skipper Kyle Matthews squared the ledger. Then followed a few moments of magic from Liam Jurrah who marked strongly for his first goal. He then received a free in front for a second and suddenly the game had opened up completely. The Casey small men, Matthews, Shane Valenti, Neville Jetta and Jamie Bennell were well on top for the visitors as they skipped to a 20-point lead at the break. The Bullants came out with renewed vigour in the second quarter and set about making inroads into Casey's lead. The game turned into a scrappy affair with both sides flooding opposition forward lines making it difficult to score. A clever pass from Michael Newton led to Matthews' third goal but the Bullants were creeping closer thanks to the strong marking in front of goal by Brad Fisher. A nasty incident behind play just before the half time that saw Rohan Bail leave the ground in a groggy state soured the atmosphere of the game. Bail was to play no more part in proceedings. Casey's grip on the match was loosened after half time as the standard of the game deteriorated. It became a scramble with long stretches in which both teams made fundamental errors but the home side was able to capitalise better and managed to narrow the margin to just three points by the time the teams faced the coaches at the final huddle. The only Casey major for the quarter came when Valenti brilliantly intercepted an opposition pass, marked and played on to Newton who kicked the easiest of goals. The Bullants took the lead early in the final term after Fisher marked and kicked his sixth goal from the boundary but Casey fought back strongly. With Silvagni in the ruck and Martin back in defence the Scorpions began to open things up and to play the game on their terms with strong running and desperate football. In the end, they simply wanted the ball more than their opponents. Bennell drifted forward to goal on run and Jurrah flashed into play with a long goal. An undisciplined piece of play from a Bullant defender saw Jetta receive a free after being dumped over the boundary line and a lucky 50-metre penalty and suddenly the Scorps held a 15-point lead. They went on with it as Jurrah kicked across the body for his fourth and Peter Faulks, playing his best game since coming to the club, sealed the issue with a long goal. Jurrah hovered over a pack to mark strongly but was penalised for hands in the back but Jetta made up for it with his third and Casey was home. After the game, coach Peter German said he was pleased with the club's comeback after the 20 goals thrashing in the opening round at Sandringham. German said that it was important to build a culture where players helped each other out. The team will need to continue to work on this aspect as it faces another tough challenge at its first outing after next week's bye - a road trip to Point Gellibrand where it faces up to one of the competition's powerhouses in Williamstown in the ABC Match of the Round. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Rohan Bail - flashed in and out off a defensive flank until he was king hit just before half time. Failed to return to the field after that. Clint Bartram - was busy at times but poor disposal and decision making let him down. Jamie Bennell - played mainly in defence and was impressive for the full four quarters with his clever play and crisp ball use. Had a brief stint in midfield and drifted forward for a nice goal late in the game. A good chance for promotion on this performance. Lynden Dunn - a strong game mainly in midfield creating a lot of run and space. Had plenty of the ball and is ready for a return to the top level. Danny Hughes - quiet in the first half but worked his way back into the game and took some strong marks when it mattered. Neville Jetta - a talented young footballer who showed some flashes of magic. Knows where the goals are too! Liam Jurrah - shook of a tag from former Demon Chris Johnson to kick four goals three behinds (one poster) and was unlucky to have a free awarded against him when he took what appeared a fabulous mark above a pack. A strong mark and sensational kick, Jurrah is an excitement machine who is not all that far off promotion to AFL level. Jordie McKenzie - not as prolific as last week but still made a useful contribution to the team's midfield. Stef Martin - a steady game mainly in defence and shut Fisher down after the Bullant notched up five goals. Michael Newton - was good with his chasing and tackling but made a few skill errors and struggled to get among the goals. Ricky Petterd - quiet early but went back into defence where he looked more at home. James Strauss - started on the interchange and didn't have much game time early. Played back with a run in the midfield. Disposal and decision making excellent. Shane Valenti - works hard, takes the game on and is outstanding at this level. As long as he's around, the Scorpions are always in the game. Paul Wheatley - still a little rusty after a long lay off but used his experience to the team's advantage and also kicked a long goal early in the proceedings. Casey Scorpions 6.3.39 7.6.48 8.7.55 14.11.95 Northern Bullants 3.1.19 6.2.38 8.4.52 9.4.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Jurrah 4 Jetta Matthews 3 Bennell Faulks Newton Wheatley Northern Bullants Fisher 6 Ellard Hartlett McCorkell Best Casey Scorpions Bennell Faulks Jurrah Silvagni Jetta Matthews Northern Bullants Fisher Ellard Hadley Russell Hartlett Edwards The Casey Reserves took the early lead in the curtain raiser thanks to their accuracy in front of goal in the first half. James Blaser and Trent Zomer kept the pressure on all game and the Scorpions coasted to an easy 8-goal victory to shore up their top four position. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Jake Spencer – had the shortest stint you could possibly have in a game after rolling his ankle at the first bounce. Trent Zomer - selected up forward but spent good time in the ruck and was among the team's best. Casey Scorpions 8.0.48 9.2.56 15.8.98 20.14.134 Northern Bullants 2.3.15 6.9.45 9.12.66 12.14.86 Goals Casey Scorpions Waite 4 Sykes 3 Oldmeadow Scanlon Zomer 2 Blaser Clay Collins Liddle McLeod Patti Virtue Northern Bullants Bannister 4 Dwyer 3 Higgs 2 Cunningham Meroli Neaves Best Casey Scorpions Blaser Zomer Williams Collins Waite Snow Northern Bullants Gianfagna McDermott Neaves Higgs Bannister Prior

by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions produced a repeat of last week with a withering final term to overwhelm the Northern Bullants at Visy Park after a dour struggle over the first three quarters on Saturday. The Scorps' 37-point victory was their third in a row and puts them in positive territory at 5-4 going into the bye at the half way mark of the season. Casey opened tentatively, over-possessing the ball early and gave the Bullants the first goal of the match with an errant handball. Paul Wheatley finally got the team on the map with a trademark long bomb goal that was answered swiftly. Momentarily, it seemed like it was going to be a long day at the office but a nice rover's goal from skipper Kyle Matthews squared the ledger. Then followed a few moments of magic from Liam Jurrah who marked strongly for his first goal. He then received a free in front for a second and suddenly the game had opened up completely. The Casey small men, Matthews, Shane Valenti, Neville Jetta and Jamie Bennell were well on top for the visitors as they skipped to a 20-point lead at the break. The Bullants came out with renewed vigour in the second quarter and set about making inroads into Casey's lead. The game turned into a scrappy affair with both sides flooding opposition forward lines making it difficult to score. A clever pass from Michael Newton led to Matthews' third goal but the Bullants were creeping closer thanks to the strong marking in front of goal by Brad Fisher. A nasty incident behind play just before the half time that saw Rohan Bail leave the ground in a groggy state soured the atmosphere of the game. Bail was to play no more part in proceedings. Casey's grip on the match was loosened after half time as the standard of the game deteriorated. It became a scramble with long stretches in which both teams made fundamental errors but the home side was able to capitalise better and managed to narrow the margin to just three points by the time the teams faced the coaches at the final huddle. The only Casey major for the quarter came when Valenti brilliantly intercepted an opposition pass, marked and played on to Newton who kicked the easiest of goals. The Bullants took the lead early in the final term after Fisher marked and kicked his sixth goal from the boundary but Casey fought back strongly. With Silvagni in the ruck and Martin back in defence the Scorpions began to open things up and to play the game on their terms with strong running and desperate football. In the end, they simply wanted the ball more than their opponents. Bennell drifted forward to goal on run and Jurrah flashed into play with a long goal. An undisciplined piece of play from a Bullant defender saw Jetta receive a free after being dumped over the boundary line and a lucky 50-metre penalty and suddenly the Scorps held a 15-point lead. They went on with it as Jurrah kicked across the body for his fourth and Peter Faulks, playing his best game since coming to the club, sealed the issue with a long goal. Jurrah hovered over a pack to mark strongly but was penalised for hands in the back but Jetta made up for it with his third and Casey was home. After the game, coach Peter German said he was pleased with the club's comeback after the 20 goals thrashing in the opening round at Sandringham. German said that it was important to build a culture where players helped each other out. The team will need to continue to work on this aspect as it faces another tough challenge at its first outing after next week's bye - a road trip to Point Gellibrand where it faces up to one of the competition's powerhouses in Williamstown in the ABC Match of the Round. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Rohan Bail - flashed in and out off a defensive flank until he was king hit just before half time. Failed to return to the field after that. Clint Bartram - was busy at times but poor disposal and decision making let him down. Jamie Bennell - played mainly in defence and was impressive for the full four quarters with his clever play and crisp ball use. Had a brief stint in midfield and drifted forward for a nice goal late in the game. A good chance for promotion on this performance. Lynden Dunn - a strong game mainly in midfield creating a lot of run and space. Had plenty of the ball and is ready for a return to the top level. Danny Hughes - quiet in the first half but worked his way back into the game and took some strong marks when it mattered. Neville Jetta - a talented young footballer who showed some flashes of magic. Knows where the goals are too! Liam Jurrah - shook of a tag from former Demon Chris Johnson to kick four goals three behinds (one poster) and was unlucky to have a free awarded against him when he took what appeared a fabulous mark above a pack. A strong mark and sensational kick, Jurrah is an excitement machine who is not all that far off promotion to AFL level. Jordie McKenzie - not as prolific as last week but still made a useful contribution to the team's midfield. Stef Martin - a steady game mainly in defence and shut Fisher down after the Bullant notched up five goals. Michael Newton - was good with his chasing and tackling but made a few skill errors and struggled to get among the goals. Ricky Petterd - quiet early but went back into defence where he looked more at home. James Strauss - started on the interchange and didn't have much game time early. Played back with a run in the midfield. Disposal and decision making excellent. Shane Valenti - works hard, takes the game on and is outstanding at this level. As long as he's around, the Scorpions are always in the game. Paul Wheatley - still a little rusty after a long lay off but used his experience to the team's advantage and also kicked a long goal early in the proceedings. Casey Scorpions 6.3.39 7.6.48 8.7.55 14.11.95 Northern Bullants 3.1.19 6.2.38 8.4.52 9.4.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Jurrah 4 Jetta Matthews 3 Bennell Faulks Newton Wheatley Northern Bullants Fisher 6 Ellard Hartlett McCorkell Best Casey Scorpions Bennell Faulks Jurrah Silvagni Jetta Matthews Northern Bullants Fisher Ellard Hadley Russell Hartlett Edwards The Casey Reserves took the early lead in the curtain raiser thanks to their accuracy in front of goal in the first half. James Blaser and Trent Zomer kept the pressure on all game and the Scorpions coasted to an easy 8-goal victory to shore up their top four position. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Jake Spencer – had the shortest stint you could possibly have in a game after rolling his ankle at the first bounce. Trent Zomer - selected up forward but spent good time in the ruck and was among the team's best. Casey Scorpions 8.0.48 9.2.56 15.8.98 20.14.134 Northern Bullants 2.3.15 6.9.45 9.12.66 12.14.86 Goals Casey Scorpions Waite 4 Sykes 3 Oldmeadow Scanlon Zomer 2 Blaser Clay Collins Liddle McLeod Patti Virtue Northern Bullants Bannister 4 Dwyer 3 Higgs 2 Cunningham Meroli Neaves Best Casey Scorpions Blaser Zomer Williams Collins Waite Snow Northern Bullants Gianfagna McDermott Neaves Higgs Bannister Prior