Demonland

It was bad enough that the Melbourne Football Club created yet another humiliating scenario inside its wretched season at Marvel Stadium last Sunday, but the final insult is that it has been commanded to return to the scene of the crime to inflict further punishment on its fans this week. Incidentally, if this match preview, of a game that promises to be one of the most unattractive fixtures in the history of the game, happens to cut out of your computer screen three quarters of the way through, it’s no coincidence. I’ll be mirroring the Demons’ lacklustre effort against St Kilda from last Sunday when they conceded the largest last quarter turnaround for victory in the history of the game. The game bears some resemblance to the last encounter between these two sides at the same venue (then known as Etihad Stadium) in 2011, when the Demons suffered an eight-goal defeat in the absence of current President Brad Green, who withdrew prior to the game and was replaced by Dan Nicholson. He's a great Melbourne man, Brad Green, but I have a feeling that he might be wishing someone else would put up their hand to replace him for presidential duties for this week because more embarrassment for the club awaits. The game is being billed as the “Battle of the Broken” because both sides are at a low ebb. In that 2011 game, they attracted a paltry 15,000 spectators and the AFL will likely be hoping for a similar or better attendance, but this is unlikely due to a lack of interest regarding the outcome from Melbourne fans and any West Coast fans who might be living here or visiting. I’m expecting a crowd of embarrassingly low proportions. I would never want to encourage anyone to gamble but I was surprised to see the Sportsbet odds that had Melbourne a firm favourite at odds of $1.08 to win. That’s extraordinary considering it scored four points to 9 goals 2 behinds in the last quarter of its last appearance at the same venue against a team normally considered staid and lacking in the spirit of adventure. So how poor must the West Coast be if they’re not capable of enticing me to accept the $8.00 offered for a win? Their most promising player and potential dynamic matchwinner is Harley Reid, but he is not comparable to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. In any event, young Harley has been ruled out of this contest and will miss the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. The Eagles have lost their last nine consecutive games, with their sole victory this season coming against … er, um, St Kilda, when they kicked six goals in the final quarter. I’m selecting Melbourne due to their dominant ruckman and captain in Max Gawn and the fact that his teammates owe him a lot given what they did last week. Despite struggling with the 6-6-6 formation last week, Max is a proud individual. If his teammates possess any pride at all, they will exert maximum effort and go full throttle throughout the entire game this week to start the long journey towards winning back some self-respect. And if not, they deserve to be hung, drawn and three quartered. Melbourne by 46 points. THE GAME West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, Saturday 2 August 2025 at 1.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 22 wins West Coast Eagles 38 wins At Marvel Stadium Melbourne 1 win West Coast Eagles win Past five meetings Melbourne 4 wins West Coast Eagles 1 win The Coaches Goodwin 1 win McQualter 0 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 16.12.108 defeated West Coast Eagles 11.10.76 at Optus Stadium in Round , 2025 The Demons required more than half of the game to overcome the Eagles, courtesy of a dominant 7-goal third quarter, but when presented with the opportunity to seal the victory in the final quarter, their performance was unimpressive and rather pedestrian. The standout players for the Demons were Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, and Harvey Langford. THE TEAMS (to be loaded when available) MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, T. McDonald, J. McVee HB C. Windsor, D. Turner, B. Howes C K. Chandler, C. Petracca, H. Langford HF J. Viney, B. Fritsch, T. Sparrow F J. Melksham, H. Petty, K. Pickett FOLL M. Gawn, T. Rivers, E. Langdon I/C J. Culley, C. Oliver, C. Salem, H. Sharp, J. van Rooyen EMG,J. Adams, T. Campbell, X. Lindsay IN J. Culley H. Sharp OUT X. Lindsay (managed) C. Spargo (omitted) WEST COAST B R. Ginbey, H. Edwards, T. Cole HB L. Duggan, R. Bazzo, T. McCarthy C R. Maric, B. Hough, C. Hall HF J. Cripps, J. Shanahan, E. Hewett F T. Brockman, A. Reid, L. Ryan FOLL B. Williams, T. Kelly, L. Baker I/C C. Chesser, H. Davis, T. Dewar, T. Gross, M. Owies EMG M. Flynn, J. Petruccelle, L. Rawlinson IN C.Chesser H.Davis H. Edwards T.Gross OUT S.Brock (omitted) M. Flynn (omitted) J. Hutchinson (omitted), H. Reid (ankle) Injury and Suspension List: Round 21 Jack Henderson — groin / Test Steven May — concussion, suspension / 2 weeks Oliver Sestan — face / 3 weeks Jake Lever — ankle/ TBC Marty Hore — knee, shoulder / season Shane McAdam — Achilles / season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / season

Has the season not ended yet?

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 The Demons took more than half of the game to shake off the Eagles with a dominant 7 goal third quarter but weren’t all that impressive in the final term when they could easily have put them away. MELBOURNE 2.2.14 3.7.25 10.12.72 16.12.108 WEST COAST EAGLES 0.5.5 4.7.41 6.7.43 11.10.76 GOALS MELBOURNE Turner 3 Fritsch Langdon 2 Chandler Gawn Melksham Petracca Pickett Sharp Spargo Viney Windsor WEST COAST EAGLES Hewett Waterman 3 Cripps 2 Brockman Hunt Williams BEST MELBOURNE Gawn Petracca Langford Turner Chandler Viney WEST COAST EAGLES Waterman Ginbey Hewett Allan Maric Baker THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B R. Maric, J. McGovern, L. Baker HB L. Duggan, O. Allen, J. Hunt C B Hough, T. Kelly, B. Allen HF M. Owies, J. Waterman, J. Graham F J. Cripps, A. Reid, L. Ryan FOLL M. Flynn, J. Hutchinson, H. Reid I/C T. Brockman, R. Ginbey, E. Hewitt, J. Williams SUB T. Cole EMG H. Davis, T. Gross, J. Williams IN B.Allan, T.Brockman, T. Kelly OUT H. Davis (omitted), T. Dewar (omitted), N. Long (omitted) MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, S. May, T. Rivers HB J. McVee, T. McDonald, C. Windsor C T. Sparrow, J. Viney, X. Lindsay HF K. Tholstrup, J. Melksham, E. Langdon F K. Chandler, B. Fritsch, K. Pickett FOLL M. Gawn, C. Petracca, H. Langford I/C H. Petty, C. Salem, C Spargo, D. Turner SUB H. Sharp EMG B. Howes, B. Laurie, J. van Rooyen IN: J. Melksham, D. Turner OUT: T. Fullarton (omitted), C. Oliver (personal)

The Casey Demons rebounded from a sluggish start to manufacture a decisive win against Sandringham in the final showdown, culminating a quarter century of intense rivalry between the fluctuating alignments of teams affiliated with AFL clubs Melbourne and St Kilda, as the Saints and the Zebras prepare to forge independent paths in 2026. After conceding three of the first four goals of the match, the Demons went on a goal kicking rampage instigated by the winning ruck combination of Tom Campbell with 26 hitouts, 26 disposals and 13 clearances and his apprentice Will Verrall who contributed 20 hitouts. This gave first use of the ball to the likes of Jack Billings, Bayley Laurie, Riley Bonner and Koltyn Tholstrup who was impressive early. By the first break they had added seven goals and took a strong grip on the game. The Demons were well served up forward early by Mitch Hardie and, as the game progressed, Harry Sharp proved a menace with a five goal performance. Emerging young forwards Matthew Jefferson and Luker Kentfield kicked two each but the former let himself down with some poor kicking for goal. Young draft talent Will Duursma showed the depth of his talent and looks well out of reach for Melbourne this year. Kalani White was used sparingly and had a brief but uneventful stint in the ruck. With three rounds remaining, Casey occupies ninth position with two challenging matches forthcoming, subsequent to next week’s bye. Their fate is not entirely within their control, following a dominant display culminating in a substantial victory, this time by a margin of 63 points. The Demons will welcome the bye, whilst also closely monitoring the outcomes of some of the games scheduled for the weekend. Although they are not yet guaranteed a finals spot, and may regret a few narrow defeats at the hands of lower-ranked teams a few weeks ago, they remain well-placed to secure a wildcard game next month. But for now, it’s a matter of observing how the other contenders perform next week. CASEY DEMONS 8.1.49 11.7.73 14.10.94 18.15.123 SANDRINGHAM 3.2.20 3.3.21 5.5.35 9.6.60 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Sharp 5 Hardie 3 Billings Jefferson Kentfield 2 Johnson Laurie Tholstrup Verrall SANDRINGHAM Maginness Voss 2 Campigli Dodson Henry Orchard Richardson BEST CASEY DEMONS Billings Campbell Bonner Hardie Sharp Laurie SANDRINGHAM Travaglia Dow Heath McKenzie Maginness Johnson

When looking back at the disastrous end to the game, I find it a waste of time to concentrate on the final few moments when utter confusion reigned. Forget the 6-6-6 mess, the failure to mark the most dangerous man on the field, the inability to seal the game when opportunities presented themselves to Clayton Oliver, Harry Petty and Charlie Spargo, the vision of match winning players of recent weeks in Kozzy Pickett and Jake Melksham spending helpless minutes on the interchange bench and the powerlessness of seizing the opportunity to slow the tempo of the game down in those final moments. Three or four years ago, the team had a reputation for ruthlessness in situations of this nature. They were fit, well-drilled and had a clear understanding of strategic objectives. They would never have relinquished a 46-point lead at three-quarter time. They would never have allowed an opponent to come off the ropes and score nine unanswered goals in 20 minutes of play plus time on; instead, the game would have been effectively killed off by halfway through the final term, courtesy of a comprehensive defensive shutdown of St Kilda’s attacking systems across all areas of the ground. The process would have been initiated by the application of intense pressure, underpinned by a resolute attitude, conceding no quarter to the opposition. On its face, the game played in front of a paltry crowd of 22,570 at Marvel Stadium wasn’t for sheep stations and had little consequence in the final analysis. However, for Melbourne to set up what should have been a match winning three quarter time lead and blow it with such ineptitude was an insult to its two veteran on field leaders who set them up for a win and ended up with nowhere to hide from their angry and disappointed fans. [Memo: please ban forever from the sport, the idiot who threatened Simon Goodwin on social media]. The most irritating thing about it all, is that we’ve seen the drop off in pressure on numerous occasions in the past twelve months. Remember the fade-out to Richmond in Round 7 when a 10 goal win beckoned. The phenomenon has often been highlighted by inaccurate kicking for goal but also by conceding scores like 15 goals 6 behinds this week and 14 goals 7 behinds in the earlier game against St Kilda and 12 goals 6 behinds to Carlton last week. There are plenty of examples if you go back through the season. It’s such a consistently present picture on the scoreboard that on only one occasion during this year has Melbourne forced an opponent to rack up more behinds than goals in a game - the outlier was Geelong’s 12.13 to Melbourne’s 6.10 in Round 4. The only conclusion to reach from this is evident pattern of inadequate pressure applied on the opposing team, recurring on a weekly basis without rectification, is the total erosion a formerly dominant team's supreme fitness and ruthless game strategy. So don’t ask me any questions about what went wrong in the final chaotic moments yesterday. There are much bigger issues at play at the club. MELBOURNE 6.2.38 9.4.58 13.8.86 13.12.90 ST KILDA 2.1.13 4.4.28 6.4.40 15.6.96 GOALS MELBOURNE Frisch 3 Chandler Lindsay Melksham 2 Langford Petracca Pickett Viney ST KILDA Higgins Wanganeen-Milera 4 Sharman 2 Caminiti Hill Steele Tauru Wood BEST MELBOURNE Gawn Petracca Oliver Viney Rivers Fritsch ST KILDA Wanganeen-Milera Sinclair Hall Higgins Macrae INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil ST KILDA Collard (right foot) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil ST KILDA Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Charlie Spargo (replaced Caleb Windsor in the fourth quarter) ST KILDA Hugh Boxshall (replaced Lance Collard in the second quarter) UMPIRES Jeff Dalgleish Nicholas Brown Martin Rodger James Strybos CROWD 22,570 at Marvel Stadium

OBSERVING by KC from Casey The Casey Demons rebounded from a sluggish start to manufacture a decisive win against Sandringham in the final showdown, culminating a quarter century of intense rivalry between the fluctuating alignments of teams affiliated with AFL clubs Melbourne and St Kilda, as the Saints and the Zebras prepare to forge independent paths in 2026. After conceding three of the first four goals of the match, the Demons went on a goal kicking rampage instigated by the winning ruck combination of Tom Campbell with 26 hitouts, 26 disposals and 13 clearances and his apprentice Will Verrall who contributed 20 hitouts. This gave first use of the ball to the likes of Jack Billings, Bayley Laurie, Riley Bonner and Koltyn Tholstrup who was impressive early. By the first break they had added seven goals and took a strong grip on the game. The Demons were well served up forward early by Mitch Hardie and, as the game progressed, Harry Sharp proved a menace with a five goal performance. Emerging young forwards Matthew Jefferson and Luker Kentfield kicked two each but the former let himself down with some poor kicking for goal. Young draft talent Will Duursma showed the depth of his talent and looks well out of reach for Melbourne this year. Kalani White was used sparingly and had a brief but uneventful stint in the ruck. With three rounds remaining, Casey occupies ninth position with two challenging matches forthcoming, subsequent to next week’s bye. Their fate is not entirely within their control, following a dominant display culminating in a substantial victory, this time by a margin of 63 points. The Demons will welcome the bye, whilst also closely monitoring the outcomes of some of the games scheduled for the weekend. Although they are not yet guaranteed a finals spot, and may regret a few narrow defeats at the hands of lower-ranked teams a few weeks ago, they remain well-placed to secure a wildcard game next month. But for now, it’s a matter of observing how the other contenders perform next week. CASEY DEMONS 8.1.49 11.7.73 14.10.94 18.15.123 SANDRINGHAM 3.2.20 3.3.21 5.5.35 9.6.60 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Sharp 5 Hardie 3 Billings Jefferson Kentfield 2 Johnson Laurie Tholstrup Verrall SANDRINGHAM Maginness Voss 2 Campigli Dodson Henry Orchard Richardson BEST CASEY DEMONS Billings Campbell Bonner Hardie Sharp Laurie SANDRINGHAM Travaglia Dow Heath McKenzie Maginness Johnson

For posterity:

Captain Max Gawn still has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Christian Petracca, Kozzy Pickett, Jake Bowey & Clayton Oliver. Your votes please; 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

The Demons return to the scene of the crime on Saturday to face the wooden spooners the Eagles at the Docklands. Who comes in and who goes out? Like moving deck chairs on the Titanic.

No podcast. I’m done.

This season cannot end soon enough. Disgraceful.

It's Game Day and there are only 5 games to go.

Who are you tipping this week?

It seems like only yesterday that these two sides faced off against each other in the centre of the continent. It was when Melbourne was experiencing a rare period of success with five wins from its previous six matches including victories over both of last year’s grand finalists. Well, it wasn’t yesterday but it was early last month and it remains etched clearly in the memory. The Saints were going through a slump and the predicted outcome of their encounter at TIO Traeger Park was a virtual no-brainer. A Melbourne victory and another step closer to a possible rise into finals contention. Something that was unthinkable after opening the season with five straight defeats. After kicking the first goal of the game and holding St Kilda scoreless for the opening twelve minutes of the game, the dream was still alive but what happened next was nothing short of embarrassing as Melbourne relinquished its focus and conceded six goals in rapid succession before the first bell. To make matters worse, it subsequently squandered chance after chance with some dreadfully poor finishing when kicking for goal, a pattern of self-inflicted setbacks characteristic of the club over the last two seasons. The result; a 28-point defeat despite winning almost everywhere else on the ground but the scoreboard. The question is whether history will repeat when the teams clash at Marvel Stadium and I hate to say it in a match preview but your guess is as good as mine. Going by Melbourne’s pattern of play in recent times, it’s likely that the Demons will not be able to produce four quarters of top football to assure their fans of a winning result. On the other hand, the Saints have also been unable to string together strong performances. They haven’t won a game since that matchup in the country’s red centre, albeit they seem to have had to contend with some strong opposition during that time. In short, what you are about to see if you choose to attend Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon into the early evening is two very underwhelming teams. The least underwhelming will probably bring home the four premiership points which (and let’s face it) are of very little importance at this stage of the season. Where to start? Well, Melbourne’s perspective, the two main defensive cornerstones of its successful run earlier this decade in Steven May and Jake Lever will be missing, both possibly for the good part of the remainder of the season. So the time has come for a major defensive reset at the club. This might not be such a bad thing for the club as it will allow Simon Goodwin to experiment with an eye on the future. The Demon defence is no longer as feared as it was three or four years ago and it’s time to work out whether there’s scope for new defensive strategies to add some pressure in the team’s back half. The midfield is also experiencing a degree of sameness and, aside from the captain’s consistent ruck dominance and the excitement generated by Kozzy when he ventures into stoppage areas, we are not witnessing sufficient match-winning performances from Melbourne’s top-tier midfielders this year. Spice the mix up a little Goody. Let’s see what some of the players who knocked on the door at Casey last week can do! Same thing goes with the forwards and please, let’s have something a lot better than the miserable 25% conversion rate that we were treated to last month! On the St Kilda side, the issue is whether Melbourne can hold the much sought after Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and the underrated Jack Sinclair from dominating because if it can limit their impact, it will go a long way to winning this contest. It’s worth noting that the Saints’ two main goal scorers from their Alice Springs victory in Dan Butler and Isaac Keeler who managed to score seven goals one behind between them to equal Demons’ goal tally for the game are sitting out with injury this week. I can’t imagine the visitors kicking anywhere near as badly as the deplorable 1.12 after half time. Surely, it’s time for Melbourne to kick with accuracy in windless conditions in a covered stadium. Melbourne by 5 points. THE GAME St Kilda v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday 27 July 2025 at 3.15pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall St Kilda 95 wins Melbourne 126 wins 1 drawn At Marvel Stadium St Kilda 9 wins Melbourne 7 wins Past five meetings St Kilda 1 win Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Lyon 1 win Goodwin 2 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET St Kilda 14.7.91 defeated Melbourne 7.21.63 at TIO Traeger Park in Round 12 2025 The Saints demonstrated in this game that they possessed the system to exploit the weaknesses of the Demons. In what turned out to be a scrappy, hard-fought contest, they seized the initiative early in the game and forced Melbourne into numerous errors, particularly in front of goal where they were absolutely pathetic. THE TEAMS ST KILDA B A. Tauru, C. Wilkie, A. Caminiti HB L. Stocker, N. Wanganeen-Milera, J. Sinclair C M. Windhager, H. Boxshall, A. Hastie HF B. Hill, M. Hall, J. Higgins F M. Owens, M. Wood, C. Sharman FOLL R. Marshall, J. Macrae, J. Steele I/C H. Clark, L. Collard, Z. Jones , A. Schoenmaker SUB H. Boxshall EMG M. Heath, L. Henry, A. McLennan IN L.Collard, Z. Jones, A. Schoenmaker OUT M. Heath (omitted), L. Henry (omitted), D. Wilson (concussion) MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, T. McDonald, J. McVee HB C. Windsor, D. Turner, C. Salem C K. Chandler, C. Petracca, H. Langford HF J. Viney, B. Fritsch, T. Sparrow F J. Melksham, J. Van Rooyen, K. Pickett FOLL M. Gawn, C. Oliver, T. Rivers I/C B. Howes, E. Langdon, X. Lindsay, H. Petty SUB C. Spargo EMG J. Adams, J. Culley, M. Jefferson IN B.Howes, H. Petty, C. Spargo, T. Sparrow OUT S. May (concussion), M. Jefferson (omitted), H. Sharp (omitted), K. Tholstrup (omitted) Injury and Suspension List: Round 20 Tom Sparrow — concussion / Test Jack Henderson — groin / 1 week Steven May — concussion & suspension / 3 weeks Oliver Sestan — face / 4 weeks Jake Lever — ankle/ TBC Marty Hore — knee, shoulder / season Shane McAdam — Achilles / season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / season

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