Demonland

Calling all fit players. Expect every available Melbourne player to board the Virgin cross-continent flight to Perth for this Round 4 clash on Saturday afternoon at Fremantle Oval. It promises to be keenly contested, though Fremantle is the bookies clear favourite. If we lose, finals could be remoter than Rottnest Island especially following on from the Dees 50-point dismantlement by North Melbourne last Sunday. There are 8 remaining matches, over the next 7 weeks. To Meggs’s eye, Essendon, GWS, Richmond and Collingwood are winnable games. Adelaide, pencil in a loss. Fremantle, Hawthorn and St Kilda are much improved sides, and we are no certainties to win. Watching Fremantle’s impressive last quarter comeback against Port Adelaide at Alberton last week would have given Mick Stinear a few more grey hairs. His season already shaken to the core with some uncompetitive football, integrating inexperienced players and compounded by a spate of injuries. Paxy Paxman is the latest casualty with her foot. Fremantle has two wins, last week against Port and an impressive win at Windy Hill plus a big loss to Adelaide. Melbourne has one win, defeating Geelong (did you see the Cats were thrashed by Carlton last week), and those comprehensive defeats to last year’s grand finalists. Milestone Mitho This week is heart and soul warrior Lily Mithen’s 75th game. Her contributions on and off the field are inspirational. Podcaster, rover, MC, a leader, L’il is much loved by her teammates and the Demon faithful. A Geelong girl with a family link to Melbourne great Laurie Mithen, her grandfather’s cousin, Mitho has red and blue in her veins. She debuted in AFLW Season One and has only kicked 8 goals but 3 were in finals which count for more. If L’il marks or wins a free on Saturday, look for her to pass to her best buddy Kate. Selection this week Normally when a team is belted there are multiple selection changes. However, the Dees have only 4 players available: Ryleigh Wotherspoon, Lily Johnson, Delany Madigan, and Denby Taylor. The current playing list has 32 players, with 8 on the injury list and 20 players available from last week’s side. Mick will promote at least one player for Paxy. Denby Taylor or Lily Johnson could debut as they have been training with the defensive group as running players. If Aisling McCarthy passes her test, Fremantle will make at least one change. Not relevant to this game, but the North injury list has Libby Birch as a test on her rib. Meggs suggests it was Miss Hore with the bone crunching tackle in the forward pocket 😉. Meggs view While Goldie and Blaithin have been sensational for the Demons, Fremantle possess a few Irish weapons too. Aine Tighe, a tall athletic marking forward can be unstoppable. Aisling McCarthy is a hard-at-it athletic midfielder and winger Orlagh Lally was last week’s game-high possession winner. Mim Strom is a capable ruck and Hayley Miller, Dana East, Gab Newton and the Irish form a strong midfield group, more settled than the Demons. Our defence looked shaky again last week and will need to watch potential match winner Aine Tighe. Mick played young defensive tyro Tahlia Gillard in the ruck in the last quarter. He would like two Gillards and three Kate Hores. Other players need to step up this week. Calling on Alyssa Bannan and Eden Zanker, two incredibly talented players who have not delivered so far this year. Remember only last year Melbourne was breaking records for high scoring. Fremantle do not have the depth of talent of Brisbane or North. So, if the pressure meter is dialled down, some of our players will be able to better execute their skills. Can the Dees bounce back this week and do it for Mitho! Let’s hope so. Go Dees! Fremantle by 5 points THE GAME Round 4: Melbourne v Fremantle Saturday 21 September 2024 at 2:05pm (Melbourne time) Fremantle Oval, Perth - Whadjuk HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 6 wins Fremantle 2 wins At Fremantle Oval Melbourne 2 wins Fremantle 1 win The Coaches Stinear 1 win Webb 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy, Kayo. Mobile – AFL Live Official App THE LAST TIME THEY MET - Season 8 Round 9 Melbourne 8.13 (61) defeated Fremantle 4.4 (28) at Casey Fields, 28 October 2023 MELBOURNE 1.2 4.9 5.9 8.13 (61) FREMANTLE 1.3 2.3 3.4 4.4 (28) The wicked wind prevented the DeeArmy from hoisting Heathy’s 50 game banner but did not stop the Dees grinding out a hard fought 33-point win to keep the minor premiership chances alive. Leading goalkickers Kate Hore and Eden Zanker both had braces while the ubiquitous Paxy Paxman was BOG with 27 disposals. Busy too were Eliza Mac, Mitho, Liv P and Goldy. Meggs observed at the ground that Freo made the Dees look slow at times plus they were down a couple of soldiers on the day, namely Aine Tighe and Ebony Antonio who are back for this week. GOALS MELBOURNE Hore 2, Zanker 2, Hanks, Mackin, Paxman, West FREMANTLE Kauffman 3, Gibbs BEST MELBOURNE Paxman, West, McNamara, Fitzsimon, Mithen, Hore FREMANTLE Kauffman, Bowers, Stannett, East, Lally, Miller INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil FREMANTLE Flynn (back) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil FREMANTLE Nil CROWD 1,650 at Casey Fields THE TEAMS FREMANTLE B Flynn O’Sullivan HB O'Driscoll Pugh Scanlon C Low Miller Lally HF Tighe Antonio Biedenweg-Webster F Brazill McCarthy FOLL Stron Newton East I/C Hetherington Kaufman Mulholland Runnall Verrier EMG Seth Tuhakaraina Mulder IN A McCarthy OUT Seth (omitted) MELBOURNE B Colvin Gillard HB Chaplin Heath Goldrick C McNamara Mithen B Mackin HF Fitzsimon Hore Bannan F Zanker Pisano FOLL Campbell Hanks Lampard I/C Beasley Gall Taylor Watt Wotherspoon EMG Hill Johnson Madigan IN Taylor Wotherspoon OUT Hill (omitted) Paxman (foot) Injury List: Round 4 MELBOURNE Paxy Paxman Foot 1-2 weeks Jemma Rigoni Groin 1-2 weeks Saraid Taylor Calf 2-3 weeks Lauren Pearce Wrist 6 weeks Olivia Purcell Face TBC Tayla Harris Shoulder Season Jacinta Hose ACL Season Aimee Mackin ACL Season FREMANTLE Aisling McCarthy Knee Test Tara Stribley Ankle 1-2 weeks Serena Gibbs Knee 1-2 weeks Mikayla Morrison Knee 2-3 weeks Tunisha Kikoak Shoulder TBC Ange Stannett ACL Season

Dear Foundation Heroes, As you’re aware, in December 2023 we announced the commencement of a feasibility study to identify a location for the club’s long term homebase within the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. This study formed part of a broader project focused on community sport and recreation resources, assets and services within the Reserve. In exciting news, I am thrilled to share with our members, that after extensive work and thorough analysis, the feasibility study for our proposed new training and administration facility at Caulfield Racecourse Reserve has been successfully completed and approved to progress to the next stage of the process. This means, we now move into the Business Case Phase of the project. This phase of the process has focused heavily on stakeholder engagement and garnering local support for the project. The positive sentiment from so many local community organisations and groups has been wide-spread and the feasibility study has definitely highlighted the community’s desire to see this project come to life. While the success of the feasibility study does not ensure the future of the project, it is a crucial milestone in the process and marks a significant step forward in our journey towards realising our vision of a high-performance facility that makes us all feel proud to belong. As mentioned above, we will now embark on the business case phase of the project. This phase will see us continue to work closely with all stakeholders to achieve further clarity on key components of the project, resolve any outstanding issues bought to light during the Feasibility Study and to ultimately seek State Government and Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust approval to proceed with building our new home. Within the business case phase, we will need to present the proposed funding model for the project, details of key users of the facility and the specifics of their access, an ongoing operating model for the facility, as well as further exploration of potential designs and layouts to ensure any facility would meet both the needs of the club and the community. We expect to receive an outcome on the success or otherwise of the business case around mid-2025. While there is still a way to go, Melbourne members should feel confident in the work being done by all involved to ensure we achieve our vision of uniting our club at a new home-base within our heartland. As mentioned above, one of the most pleasing aspects of the successful feasibility study was the overwhelming support we received from the Glen Eira community including local sporting clubs and schools, and various other community organisations. This support brings us closer to our goal of creating a state-of-the-art facility with genuine community integration and connection at its core. The proposed facility has the potential to transform the lives of those who live and work in the area, providing much-needed green spaces and community resources. With Glen Eira having the lowest amount of open space within any Victorian municipality, the inclusion of two incredible ovals in the broader masterplan will transform the area and offer amazing new facilities for the community. As we have previously noted, Glen Eira is a traditional Heartland of the Melbourne Football Club, with many of our Club members and supporters living in the area and many club greats hailing from the area. Hence, the opportunity to create a facility that benefits both our club and the Glen Eira community is an incredibly exciting prospect. As always, we remain committed to keeping our members and supporters informed throughout this process. For more information and frequently asked questions related to the project, please click here. Thank you for your continued support as we work toward this exciting new chapter for our club. Go Dees! Gary Pert

Launches today at 12pm

Take it to the bank.

With Casey Fields basking in sunshine, an enthusiastic throng of young Demons fans formed a guard of honour for the evergreen and much admired 75-gamer Paxy Paxman. As the home team ran out to play, Paxy’s banner promised that the Demons would bounce back from last week’s loss to Brisbane and reign supreme. Disappointingly, the Kangaroos dominated the match to win by 50 points, but our Paxy certainly did her bit. She was clearly our best player, sweeping well in defence. The Roos won the contested footy and clearances on the day and capitalised on pressuring the Demons into turnovers. North Melbourne’s total of 71 points is the highest score against Melbourne by any team in AFLW history. Melbourne has been considered one the ‘Big 3’ teams alongside Adelaide and Brisbane and held the best win loss ratio in the competition until last week. North Melbourne, after having beaten us by a combined 91 points in our last two matches, are premiership favourites and have pushed Melbourne down the heavyweights pecking order. Today, North’s stars Riddell, Garner and Kearney were supreme. Kate Shierlaw kicked 5 goals and was too good for Gaby Colvin. Midfield bull Mia King laid a game-high 12 tackles and ruck Emma King dominated with 31 hit outs. For the Dees It seemed at the ground that the Melbourne players gave a solid 4-quarter effort but our errors through constant North pressure caused the eight-goal drubbing. Eliza McNamara was everywhere, laying 10 tackles, with 21 disposals and kicked a goal. Kate Hore started in centre bounce, played as a forward, as a spare in the backline and even tagged Ash Riddell in the last quarter. She threw herself into the fray, including a monster tackle on former teammate Libby Birch in the third quarter. The Irish girls Mackin and Goldrick never gave up and worked hard to create opportunities. We would be lost without their combined spread and contest work. Lily Mithen, Tyla Hanks, and Sarah Lampard stayed involved all day while Maeve Chaplin provided her usual grit and run from defence. Mick later rued turnovers which led to North scoring: such as kicking off the ground instead of picking up the ball, miskicks in defence and giving away unnecessary free kicks in front of goal. Remember, Westy played 2 seasons of VFLW when cross-coding from basketball. So wasn’t it great to see draftee Grace Beasley kicking a ripper first AFLW goal today in only her third game! Melbourne has now lost 5 of its last 6 games. It will be fascinating to see whether Mick Stinear, in the last year of his extended contract, can turn this season around. Moment of the match In the centre square, Blaithin Mackin, while being tackled by two North players, cleverly kicks it Goldie and Alyssia Pisano streams by for a hand pass. Pisano shows off her turn of speed and ball bouncing skills to kick from just inside the 50-metre arc and the ball is bouncing towards the big sticks. Eden Zanker, with Sarah Wright in hot pursuit, makes afateful split-second decision to try and catch the ball and kick it before crossing the line. Unfortunately, Edo manages only to touch the ball, and a certain goal is now only a point. Coaches and next week Melbourne Coach Mick Stinear said North Melbourne won the contest and clearance today and cited North’s scoring of 50 points from turnovers as the real difference. It was important to celebrate Paxy’s milestone match and Mick highlighted how much Paxy brings to the playing group. North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker was pleased with how his team responded from last week’s draw against the Cats. He was delighted with how his team won the contest, pressured the Dees and transitioned the ball. He gave special mentions to Kate Shierlaw with 5 goals, Mia King and Taylah Gatt. The Demons head to Perth next Sunday to take on the in-form Dockers at Fremantle Oval. A good chance for some team bonding and regrouping. Looking forward to us bouncing back. Go Dees! MELBOURNE 2.1.13 2.1.13 2.2.14 3.3.21 NORTH MELBOURNE 2.1.13 6.1.37 8.2.50 11.5.71 GOALS MELBOURNE Beasley Fitzsimon McNamara NORTH MELBOURNE Shierlaw 5 Bruton O'Loughlin Riddell 2 BEST MELBOURNE Paxman Mithen Goldrick Fitzsimon NORTH MELBOURNE Riddell Shierlaw M King Garner E King Kearney INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil NORTH MELBOURNE Nil CROWD 2,023 at Casey Fields

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