Demonland

No footy in Geelong ..... unless we make the finals and play them then they will probably finally grant the Cats a home final.

MFC 2026 FULL FIXTURE

The 2026 AFL Fixture has been unveiled, with the Dees gearing up for a new era of Demon Spirit. The season will kick off with a bang, as Melbourne returns to the ‘G to host St Kilda in Round 1 on Sunday 15 March. The match up poses several compelling story lines, with Steven King’s first match at the helm and potential encounters against their old club for new Dees Jack Steele and Max Heath among the many talking points. VIEW FULL FIXTURE >>> 2026 AFL SEASON Melbourne is set to play five of its first seven matches on the hallowed turf, boding well for an explosive start to the season. Melbourne CEO Paul Guerra reflected on the draw, noting the opportunities for the Demon faithful to enjoy the footy this coming AFL season. “A strong MCG presence, remains our top priority, so we’re thrilled to be able to start our season at our spiritual home,” Guerra said. “Our supporters can look forward to a blockbuster schedule, featuring traditional Victorian rivals Essendon, Hawthorn, Richmond and Geelong in home matches, plus MCG away matches against Richmond, Collingwood and Carlton. “With several home and away matches in family-friendly afternoon time slots, Demon families will also have plenty of chances to make footy memories together in 2026 and the opportunity to see Steven King’s game plan come to life as we kick of the season at the G’. “It’s a terrific outcome for our members and supporters, and we can’t wait to see the red and blue faithful filling the stands once again for what promises to be an exciting 2026 AFL season.” The fixture presents a win for members across the country, with the Dees locked in for a match in every state. The season will see three trips to Adelaide including a Gather Round clash against the Bombers, along with singular travels to Perth, Gold Coast, Sydney, Launceston, and the traditional Heart of the Nation match in Alice Springs. Nine of the first 15 rounds will be broadcast on free-to-air TV, with the club’s bye round scheduled for Round 16. A Dees digital membership is the best way to catch the action live from your TV. Sir Doug Nicholls Round, where the club will once again take on the name Narrm, will be held across Round 10 and 11, against Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs. Melbourne members and supporters can now mark their calendars in preparation for the first 15 matches of next year. Round 16 to 24 opponents have also been revealed, with fixture details to remain floating until later in the season. 2026 memberships are now on sale. Grab yours today and get ready for the dawn of a new era of Demon Spirit. 

I’ll give you one guess

A couple of Demonland Trackwatchers ventured down to Gosch's paddock to give you their brief observations on the second day of preseason training in the lead up to the 2026 Premiership Season. SCOOP JUNIOR'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I went to training this morning. It felt like a mid-July game at the MCG. I was wearing a jumper and a jacket and was still cold! Many players not there - May, Salem, Viney, Turner, Gawn, Langdon, Laurie, Melksham, McAdam, Rivers, McDonald, Campbell, Fritsch, Pickett All others were training with the exception of Mihocek and AMW who did running on the side. Henderson also did a bit of running but joined in some drills. Training wasn't super intense, unlike what we heard Monday was like. It was hard to keep a track of drills as they split into two groups (of approximately 12 players each) and changed drills fairly often. From what I could see, early on there was a typical handball game in a large area (no heavy tackling), while the other group did a drill of getting the ball to a player on the run from about 30m out to have a shot at goal. They then did a drill where the coach would roll the ball out at half back, a player would pick it up under pressure and they would try to move the ball to the middle of the ground with handball against a defending team. After that there was a drill with some kicking involved, mostly short kicks to players in space, which was then followed by a handball game in a very confined space where the team in possession had to find a teammate free to give the ball to (there was no tackling but the defending side defended 1v1 and just placed minor pressure on the attacking team). Then finally they went into a 3/4 ground ball movement drill which seemed to focus on moving the ball with speed out of the backline. The noticeable thing here was that the players ran in waves, with all defenders running together to receive the overlap handball. It looked like pretty aggressive run out of the backline. There was other drills too, such as one where players went out in threes to collect a ground ball and handballed to each other and returned the ball back. The focus from King was to receive the ball facing the right way so that the receiver would then be in a better position to assess the next option. Nothing too much to report given it wasn't a highly intense session, but I thought some of Chandler's bullet passes were really impressive (when skills are usually rusty at this time of the year) and Windsor seemed to be used a fair bit as that linkman in the 3/4 ground ball movement drill. CJ looked good bouncing out of the backline with his athleticism on show, however that is his strength - the test for him will be ball use under pressure. Lindsay and Langdon both look like they've put on upper body size. They also did 2 or 3 laps (I think this was the only running without the footy) and Sharp was the standout runner (no surprise) and Sparrow was very good too and Kolt put in a really good effort. They ran in groups, with the big blokes mostly in one group. Berry looked to be the big struggler here, way out the back of the big blokes group. I don't read too much into these things - running is just one aspect of the game. Only about 24 players trained and it was mostly a pretty young group out there. WAYNE WUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Had the good fortune to have a chat with Kingy today. He wandered over to the boundary line when he finished putting out the cones for the next activity. My first impressions were that he was personable, straightforward and very tall. He said that training wouldn’t be too intensive in the first few sessions, as the full list joined the group. I mentioned that it was good to see Brodie and AMW progressing so well. He said Brodie was busting to join the main group and it was a battle to hold AMW back until Christmas. I asked him what his first impressions of the training group were. He said he was impressed with the overall fitness. He singled out the Roo, saying he had lost kilos but gained strength. We both agreed that ‘the current # 4’ (Harvey) was set to take the next step. He said that Jai Culley was in the best three on the track on Monday. A few other enthusiastic observers joined in the conversation. He also agreed that Windsor was a standout in the first session. One notable comment he made was about putting up the ‘team’ for round 1 for the players... there were no names on the list! Training today was more laid-back than Monday. More about patterns for quick transfer than intense pressure on the ball-carrier. They did do a two-lap time trial. Sharpie was once again the standout in his group, with Tholstrup not too far behind. I noticed that Berry was content to bring up the rear, as he manages his transfer to the elite level. SLARTIBARTFAST'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS This drill involved blocking and protecting the tackling players from the ball carrier. It was too complicated for me to fully understand but it wasn't just a keepings off and handballing for goal. The session was a lot less intense than Monday and there was much more running. AMW won't be in full training until after Christmas as they nurse him along with his ACL program but he is as fit as a fiddle. Brodie was doing much more high speed running today and more lateral movement stuff. Hendo is recovering from a groin complaint and is on limited lateral movement drills. AJ also spent a little time out of main training but CJ trained much more with the group than he did on Monday. PHOTOS FROM TRAINING COURTESY OF @Six6Six TRAINING GALLERY: Wednesday 12th November 2025

For those who prefer AEST

Maybe not a double header given the times:

I also think that the year in between us playing them we were the two teams that faced the locals.

Playing the Bombers again in Gather Round. Likely a double-header with Haw vs Bulldogs so tickets will be difficult to get.

New Avatar for @Ghostwriter

Brody Mihocek has been promoted to #8 from #11.

Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central2026 AFL Academy squad announcedThe 2026 AFL Academy squad has been revealed, featuring seven club-tied prospects among the elite group of 25.

Progressive Votes after the Qualifying Final 156. Tyla Hanks 148. Kate Hore 97. Elizabeth McNamara 77. Maeve Chaplin 60. Tayla Harris 57. Megan Fitzsimon 52. Eden Zanker 46. Shelley Heath 31. Tahlia Gillard 25. Ryleigh Wotherspoon 17. Paxy Paxman 15. Olivia Purcell 14. Sinead Goldrick 5. Lauren Pearce 4. Saraid Taylor 3. Blaithin Mackin Molly O’Hehir 2. Alyssa Bannan Maggie Mahony 1. Gabrielle Colvin Laela Ebert Jemma Rigoni

Enjoy a whole bunch of images from training from @Six6Six PRESEASON TRAINING GALLERY: Monday 10th November 2025

Several Demonland Trackwatchers were on hand at Gosch’s Paddock to share their observations from the opening day of preseason training, featuring the club’s 1st to 4th year players along with a few veterans and some fresh faces. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS The players start to meander from the Bubble Dome towards Gosch's paddock and there are some familiar faces in different guernsey numbers. Harvey Langford is wearing Judd McVee's number 4. Xavier Lindsay has donned the number 5 made famous by the departed Christian Petracca whilst Jai Culley is wearing the number 13 previously worn by 4 time Bluey medalist Clayton Oliver. Whether or not these are permanent changes or just random is yet to be seen and the case for it being random is highlighted by Bailey Laurie wearing the absent Christian Salem's number 3 and new Demon Brody Mihocek wearing Captain Max Gawn's number 11. Recent acquisition Changkuoth Jiath was wearing number 14 whilst ex-Saint Captain Jack Steele donned the number 46. Former Saint ruckman Max Heath's guernsey did not have any number on the back. PLAYERS IN ATTENDANCE: Adams, AMW, Oscar Berry (38), Campbell, Chandler, Culley (13), Heath (no number), Henderson, Howes, Jiath (14), Jefferson, Johnson, JVR, Kentfield, Kolt, Langford (4), Laurie (3), Lever, Lindsay (5), Mentha, Mihocek, Petty, Sharp, Sparrow, Steele, TMac, Windsor. PLAYERS MISSING: Bowey, Fritsch, Gawn, Langdon, May, McAdam, Melksham, Pickett, Rivers, Salem, Turner (?), Viney. COACHING STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: Steven King (Coach), Troy Chaplin, Jared Rivers, Rory Atkins, Taylor Whitford, Nathan Jones. REHAB (at various times - some of these players participated in some of the main session except for the contact stuff) Mihocek (foot/toe), Jiath (unspecified soft tissue), AMW (recovering from ACL - participated in some of the main session and will resume full training in after the Christmas break or in February), Henderson (ran laps during contact and match SIM), Johnson (ran laps during contact and match SIM). Both TMac and Lever who are not required at preseason training were in attendance and participated in the whole session. Importantly Lever appeared to be fit and over the injuries that plagued his 2025 campaign. Players warming up in different groups. Some kick to kick, some having shots at goal, some handballing into the bouncy net. Steele, Jiath and Mihocek kicking to each other in a triangle. Lever and Steele doing some work with Selwyn Griffiths with the stretchy band. Band around both of them while one of them walks backwards trying to pull the other one along with them. Mihocek doing some rehab work on the boundary. First 4 set shots I have seen have all gone through the middle. This is a new dawn. 😜 Lindsay and Langford really have beautiful silky kicking skills. Of the new boys Steele, Jiath and Heath are participating in the main session. Mihocek doing rehab. Seems to be the only player at the moment in rehab. All players doing the elastic band exercise I described earlier. So far AMW is participating fully in training. Max Heath is huge. Head taller than Jvr. They did not sprint to the water bottles for their break as was a fixture at last year's preseason training sessions. Mihocek, Steele & Jiath now training away from the main group doing some agility work with one of the high performance staff. AMW has joined Mihocek and Jiath away from the main group. Checkers running quarter laps. Doesn’t appear to be too hampered by anything. Understand that he has a foot/toe complaint but appears to be moving well. I heard someone say that he still might be a while away from returning to full training but I have no idea whether that means after Christmas or into the new season. Jiath jogging laps. Looks super fit. Steele has joined the main group for most of the session now. Johnson, Henderson and Steele jogging laps rather than participating in the handball/tackling drill. Sparrow laid a heavy tackle on Langford and eventually took him down but came off 2nd best. There is a big difference between this handball/keepings off drill from previous years. The drill used to be 5 on 5 keeps off with light tackling. This is the whole group in close quarters doing keeping’s off with AFL level tackling ferocity. I will leave it to the others to give some more indepth observations. DITCHA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I am attended most of the training session today. I had the great pleasure of talking to my great friend the wonderful Ghostwriter. I also met Kev. I was most impressed with how fit everyone looks. Also great see all sessions been performed at great pressure. Also great to see no soccer balls at training as they are playing AFL and not soccer. Also while at training my 2026 membership pack was delivered. HARVEY WALLBANGER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Stephen King had mentioned that 15 of the Year 1 to 4's were required today: They were Windsor, Tholstrup, Langford, Lindsay, Jefferson, Howes, Adams, Sharp, Mentha, Johnson, Henderson, Kentfield, Moniz-Wakefield, Culley and Berry - all present. The other 12 were JVR, Lever, Laurie, TMac, Campbell, Sparrow, Petty, Chandler, Steele, Heath, Minocek and CJ. Total present 27 - absentees were May, Salem, Viney, Turner, Gawn, Langdon, Bowey, Melksham, McAdam, Rivers, Fritsch and Pickett. Total 39 on the list with the draft to come. MIhocek will be a while with his toe - so will Moniz after the Befbruary ACL, etc... Lots of running for Minocek, Moniz, Steele, CJ, Henderson and AJ and they did not take part in the match sim work. Nice to see Andy, Fritta and Turner, Slarti, Tim, Redleg, Kev and of course Ghosty present. Chaplin took the match sim. King seemed hands-off. Spotted Rivers, Atkins and Whitford - and Selwyn of course. Did not see Jonesy today - nor Scarlett? Rory Atkins was there. Also I believe Taylor Whitford who will also take on a developmental role. Nathan Jones also. Only Scarlett I didn't spot (booked for just one day per week) - apparently King is still working on Hawkins and that will be a specialist role - i.e. maybe once a fortnight... FRITTA AND TURNER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Weather cool, overcast. When i arrived only TC, Ghosty and some trainers were there. Ghosty gave the players her traditional welcome. I reckon TMc would turn out to train in a blizzard. Rehabers were CJ, AMW and Brodie M, though CJ and AMW did some ot the other team drills as well. Brodie is old/mature enough to exchange some pleasantries with the track watchers. Lever was moving freely. As mentionned they trained with big elastic bands, one pulling the other. I tried that once, didnt end well. Go Dees. WAYNE WUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Impressions from first session. Jai Culley is the real deal Jefferson was surprisingly agile and active in the in-close handball comp Roo looked full of confidence Lever moved freely Langford even better than before Windsor cut it up in running half back role… disposal as before Petty looked poised Berry confident in traffic KEV'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS First I see is Jared Rivers, working with Jefferson and McDonald. During the session he was quiet and observant. King has a strong presence, talks to them and regularly gives them instructions during drills and sims. Chaplin led the session, Jones taking some close quarter competitive drills. A few new others, trainers and tech staff. Taylor (drafter) walking around the paddock with Richardson (head of something), and at times they are with Guerra (CEO). They started with goal kicking and a few doing kick to kick, before they got down to the structured stuff. The emphasis was competitive footy, with some contact and plenty of intensity. They did a few drills that were mainly warm-ups, though predominantly did sims. They didn’t perform handball games or soccer. Finished with goal kicking. Not one of them did the snaps and trick shots from the boundary. Mihocek looks big, in runners and doing a variety of endurance runs. AMW runs hard, looks happy and is pushing himself, in Light duties. Steel quietly goes about it. Heath is a JVR double though bigger, appearing a little lost at times. Berry quiet, a little fumbly. Jiath has light duties, as is Johnson and Henderson (they did some of the sims). Langford is looking taller. Windsor missed a few kicks, though was in everything, getting to sequential tackles. I liked what Howes was doing, lots of pressure. The Sparrow looked powerful. Mentha has bulked up around the hips. Henderson is all muscle. Culley ready to go. General feel was one of getting down to business, didn’t appear to be much bonding amongst them. Weather was good for a first up, overcast, cool and no wind.

We’re still voting this week … 6 Hore 5 McNamara 4 Wotherspoon 3 Gillard 2 Hanks 1 Fitzsimon

Given a second chance Melbourne returned to its city citadel, IKON Park, boasting a 10–2 home record and celebrating its 100th AFLW matchwith 3,711 fans creating a finals atmosphere. But in a repeat of Round 11, Brisbane proved too strong, too fit, and too relentless. They brought their kicking boots: 9 goals, 2 points. Missing key players—Goldrick, Chaplin, and Purcell—the Dees started brightly but couldn’t sustain their intensity, eventually falling by 13 points. Captain Kate Hore led magnificently from the front with a game-high 31 disposals, 8 clearances, 94% time on ground, and her 100th career goal. But she can’t do it all alone. Brisbane now earns a week off, while Melbourne must regroup quickly for a knockout semi-final against Adelaide. Still not done – but hopefully not just taking the scenic route to disappointment! The Match Kate won the toss and chose the grandstand end, and the Dees looked sharp early. Molly O’Hehir intercepted the opening mark of the match, sparking a chain of play that ended in an opportunistic goal from Tayla Harris, who read Heater’s kicking limitations and slipped past for the handball. Hore’s 100th career goal milestone soon followed—celebrated quietly, with eyes on a bigger prize. But the game turned quickly. Power forward Eden Zanker copped an accidental head knock and came off wobbly, sent for a mandatory Head Injury Assessment. Although she passed the HIA, she was ruled out for the remainder of the match as a precaution — a cruel blow to Melbourne’s chances. Brisbane’s brute-force style began to overwhelm Melbourne’s clean ball movement. Davidson kicked the Lions’ first, and a series of poor decisions and costly free kicks from both Taylors handed Brisbane momentum. By halftime, the Lions had wrestled control—physically and on the scoreboard. The third quarter began ominously with Molly missing a sitter in the goal square and Hodder punishing the error. Melbourne players were repeatedly caught or their kicks smothered, while Hore tried hard to lift the side, setting up Maggie Mahony for her first AFLW goal. Brisbane’s superior conditioning and numbers at the contestwere telling. Hampson’s goal on the three-quarter time siren extended the lead to 14 points. Melbourne rallied briefly in the final term. Ry Wotherspoon missed a set shot but soon made amends with a classic front-and-centre rover’s goal. However, best on ground Ally Anderson’s two goals and Postlethwaite’s mark and finish sealed the result. Gall and Bannan added late consolation goals, but the damage was done. Match Moment The turning point came late in the second quarter when three consecutive free kicks—two involving Saraid Taylor and the other from her namesake Denby—gifted Brisbane a trio of goals and the lead. It was a killer momentum swing, and from that point on, Melbourne never looked likely to win. Meggs Musings Brisbane’s game style—chaotic, physical, relentless—is a reflection of their well-drilled strong-bodied personnel. Melbourne, by contrast, relies heavily on a few stars, has important players missing and lacks depth. Tyla Hanks, who had Bella Dawes for company, got going after half-time, while Megan Fitzsimon was below her usual output. Eliza McNamara (27 disposals, 480 metres gained) was Miss Reliable. The Dees needed more players to compete for the full 80 minutes. The absence of Purcell, Goldrick, Chaplin, and Zanker exposed the work-in-progress nature of the list. Fitness and conditioning were glaring issues too. Brisbane consistently outnumbered Melbourne at contests with superior ability to run out the game. There’s still at least one game to go but review of list management and S&C programs is essential if we are to compete with the top sides in 2026. The lack of rotation with Zanker benched and missing her forward firepower was evident. Harris was another with lower output, but fullback and defensive leader Gillard was stoic and steady all day. Veterans Lampard and Paxman looked a step off the pace at times, and the team’s structure suffered with too many talls on the field simultaneously. It was great to see a strong contingent from the Demons men’s program in attendance supporting the women. One Club. #demonspirit. Coaches and Next Week Mick Stinear said, “we’ve got to play for 80 minutes”. Today’s loss hurts. He was proud of the effort but emphasised the need for a whole-of-team performance. Disappointed to lose Eden Zanker who is now in concussion protocols. Maeve and Edo unlikely for next week but maybe Goldie returns. Craig Starcevich said, “we were up against it at quarter time” but was proud of his team’s response. He said, “it doesn’t have to be pretty, just getting it forward does the job”. Sure did. He made a particular point of praising the IKON Park playing surface. Mick Stinear faces a tough 6-day turnaround. Confidence in the playing group needs to be revived, a significant challenge to lift them for the semi-final against Adelaide. The Crows will be confident after squashing the Saints and they have wrecking-ball Chelsea Randall back in their side. The winner of this semi-final earns a preliminary final against the flying Kangaroos — a true Mission Impossible. NEXT WEEK Semi Final: Melbourne v Adelaide Saturday 15 November 2025 at 1:05pm (AEDT) at IKON Stadium, Melbourne | Wurundjeri Mick was clearly angry at the presser and will channel that energy into planning and rekindling his playing group for nextweek. C’mon Demons, give it your best shot. MELBOURNE 2.3.15 2.4.16 3.6.24 6.7.43 BRISBANE 0.1.1 3.1.19 6.2.38 9.2.56 GOALS MELBOURNE Bannan, Gall, Harris, Hore, Mahony, Wotherspoon BRISBANE LIONS Anderson, Hampson 2, Davidson, Dooley, Hodder, Mullins, Postlethwaite BEST MELBOURNE Hore, Mackin, Gillard, McNamara, Paxman, Wotherspoon BRISBANE LIONS Anderson, Koenen, Davidson, Hampson, Campbell, Mullins INJURIES MELBOURNE Mackin (right ankle), Eden Zanker (concussion) BRISBANE LIONS Dunne (knee) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil CROWD 3,711 at IKON Park