Demonland

Date of Birth: 21 August 1997 Height: 199cm Weight: 94kg Games MFC 2023: 3
 Career Total: 75
 
 Goals MFC 2023: 1 
Career Total: 79
 
 Games CDFC 2023: 15
 Goals CDFC 2023: 29 Recruited from the Western Bulldogs, the former top ten draft pick saw very little AFL action. He was leading goalkicker for Casey but disappointingly, didn’t make it onto the field when selected as a sub in the Semi Final against the Blues.

Date of Birth: 24 March 2002 Height: 179cm Weight: 79kg Games MFC 2023: 5
 Career Total: 5
 
 Goals MFC 2023: 0 
Career Total: 0
 
 Games CDFC 2023: 15 
 Goals CDFC 2023: 11 Made his AFL debut early in the season and had a few good moments late in the season but still needs to make further steps forward if he is to become a regular senior player.

Date of Birth: 26 October 2003 Height: 182cm Weight: 71kg Games CDFC 2023: 19 Goals CDFC 2023: 20 The club’s Next Generation Academy selection from the NT Thunder has great agility and some excellent skill sets. Showed steady improvement after playing in the Casey Demons’ VFL premiership team last year and signed a new contract in August. Retains his place on the rookie list for next season.

Date of Birth: 2 January 2004 Height: 206cm Weight: 91kg Games CDFC 2023: 8 Goals CDFC 2023: 0 The rangy Category B Rookie with a basketball background spent 2023 learning his craft alternating between the Stingrays in the Coates Talent League and the Casey Demons in the VFL. Still a teenager, he’s developing slowly and still has a fair way to go as is the case with many code hoppers.

Melbourne Demons Lorne training camp: Clayton Oliver goes home, Max Gawn, Christian Petracca | Herald Sun All eyes are on the prize, an all-expenses paid dinner at an exclusive wine bar in the city. There is a surprising urgency in the room given it’s 8.20am and the Melbourne players are preparing themselves for a tgruelling day three of their training camp in Lorne. They were split up into six groups - red, blue, green, yellow, white and purple - when they arrived on Monday and have been battling each other for points through various activities since. The group with the most points by the end of Wednesday gets the dinner which is why all eyes are glued to what the projector has pictured on the wall. Coach Simon Goodwin has set up the trivia challenge which involves listening to audio of famous lines from a movie or TV show. There are a few misses before Peaky Blinders is correctly selected which kicks off wild celebrations. While there is nothing new about group activities at training camps, there is a pointed edge to what the Demons are doing down in the beautiful seaside town. They’ve heard all the rumours, know they’re under siege from the outside and that their reputation has been harmed by off-field issues combined with a second consecutive straight-sets dismissal from the finals. Culture has been the buzz word circling Melbourne and the opening of their doors to the media at the training camp is a step towards trying to send a different message. There is an elephant in the room immediately with no sign of Clayton Oliver. The troubled superstar did travel down to Lorne on Monday but returned back home later that day. He had missed the club’s training session on Saturday and it was decided it was best for him to deal with his on-going issues away from the group. The love for Oliver is obvious among the players and coaches, their support unwavering but they know they have to get on with their own business and hope at some stage ‘Clarry’ comes along for the ride. Regaining the connection which won them the 2021 premiership is what they’re searching for and there is a sense the senior core led by captain Max Gawn, Jack Viney, Steven May, Christian Petracca and Jake Lever are sick of being talked about for the wrong reasons. The two-hour training session at Stribling Reserve ends with a keepings-off drill back in their colour groups. It’s eight on five with the aim to have the most number of possessions sharing the ball while avoiding the pressuring defenders. There is supposed to be no contact but when Viney dumps Kysaiah Pickett, football boss Alan Richardson smiles. He loves watching the competitive beasts and they rise to the top in this exercise. “I couldn’t help myself,” Viney admits later. Assistant coach Mark Williams is doing a victory lap, the team he was mentoring gets the victory and his own competitive instincts means he wants everybody to know about it. Gawn, who attended the birth of his second child just a couple of days earlier, spends most of the session on the bike while there is excitement when favourite son Jake Melksham, who blew out his ACL on the eve of the finals, is out on the track doing some running. After lunch the groups are back in action, with coloured headbands this time, for two hours of activities including running with sandbags, kayaking and ocean swimming. The team building part of the camp is obvious throughout these series of gut-busting exercises and a keen participant is new recruit Jack Billings. He became a forgotten man at St Kilda after two injury-riddled seasons and is hoping to reignite his passion for the game as a Demon. “I always find it challenging being out on the sidelines, but I’ve always loved the game and I think it’s probably in those tougher moments when it makes you reflect and think about why you do it all,” Billings said. “It’s the reason you commit your life to being a professional footballer – I’d say love of the game is what keeps you going during those times. “I’m pretty hungry and motivated for next year and looking forward to being part of the Dees and hopefully contributing.” Billings, 28, has a more pressing engagement on Friday, celebrating his wedding to partner Sarah at Albert Park. For his new teammates, the legacy of Lorne won’t be played out immediately but there is a confidence throughout the Demons hierarchy that the seeds of change have been sown.

Melbourne Demons Lorne training camp: Clayton Oliver goes home, Max Gawn, Christian Petracca | Herald Sun All eyes are on the prize, an all-expenses paid dinner at an exclusive wine bar in the city. There is a surprising urgency in the room given it’s 8.20am and the Melbourne players are preparing themselves for a tgruelling day three of their training camp in Lorne. They were split up into six groups - red, blue, green, yellow, white and purple - when they arrived on Monday and have been battling each other for points through various activities since. The group with the most points by the end of Wednesday gets the dinner which is why all eyes are glued to what the projector has pictured on the wall. Coach Simon Goodwin has set up the trivia challenge which involves listening to audio of famous lines from a movie or TV show. There are a few misses before Peaky Blinders is correctly selected which kicks off wild celebrations. While there is nothing new about group activities at training camps, there is a pointed edge to what the Demons are doing down in the beautiful seaside town. They’ve heard all the rumours, know they’re under siege from the outside and that their reputation has been harmed by off-field issues combined with a second consecutive straight-sets dismissal from the finals. Culture has been the buzz word circling Melbourne and the opening of their doors to the media at the training camp is a step towards trying to send a different message. There is an elephant in the room immediately with no sign of Clayton Oliver. The troubled superstar did travel down to Lorne on Monday but returned back home later that day. He had missed the club’s training session on Saturday and it was decided it was best for him to deal with his on-going issues away from the group. The love for Oliver is obvious among the players and coaches, their support unwavering but they know they have to get on with their own business and hope at some stage ‘Clarry’ comes along for the ride. Regaining the connection which won them the 2021 premiership is what they’re searching for and there is a sense the senior core led by captain Max Gawn, Jack Viney, Steven May, Christian Petracca and Jake Lever are sick of being talked about for the wrong reasons. The two-hour training session at Stribling Reserve ends with a keepings-off drill back in their colour groups. It’s eight on five with the aim to have the most number of possessions sharing the ball while avoiding the pressuring defenders. There is supposed to be no contact but when Viney dumps Kysaiah Pickett, football boss Alan Richardson smiles. He loves watching the competitive beasts and they rise to the top in this exercise. “I couldn’t help myself,” Viney admits later. Assistant coach Mark Williams is doing a victory lap, the team he was mentoring gets the victory and his own competitive instincts means he wants everybody to know about it. Gawn, who attended the birth of his second child just a couple of days earlier, spends most of the session on the bike while there is excitement when favourite son Jake Melksham, who blew out his ACL on the eve of the finals, is out on the track doing some running. After lunch the groups are back in action, with coloured headbands this time, for two hours of activities including running with sandbags, kayaking and ocean swimming. The team building part of the camp is obvious throughout these series of gut-busting exercises and a keen participant is new recruit Jack Billings. He became a forgotten man at St Kilda after two injury-riddled seasons and is hoping to reignite his passion for the game as a Demon. “I always find it challenging being out on the sidelines, but I’ve always loved the game and I think it’s probably in those tougher moments when it makes you reflect and think about why you do it all,” Billings said. “It’s the reason you commit your life to being a professional footballer – I’d say love of the game is what keeps you going during those times. “I’m pretty hungry and motivated for next year and looking forward to being part of the Dees and hopefully contributing.” Billings, 28, has a more pressing engagement on Friday, celebrating his wedding to partner Sarah at Albert Park. For his new teammates, the legacy of Lorne won’t be played out immediately but there is a confidence throughout the Demons hierarchy that the seeds of change have been sown.

The club allowed me to interview Tholstrup on the Demonland Podcast. FWIW I would interview all players and provide the footage/interview for free if they let me. They wouldn't even have to promote Demonland or me. I'd do the same for training footage too but I get the need for some secrecy around tactics etc.

Apparently training the house down.

We have made the difficult decision not to allow discussion on various off-field issues involving the club including the health and well being of our players. These are private matters involving the players, their families and the club. We do not take this and other issues & this decision lightly. Of course we believe that these serious matters affecting the club we love & are so passionate about are worthy of discussion & debate & I wish we could provide a place where these matters can be discussed in a civil & respectful manner. However these discussions unfortunately invariably devolve into areas that may be defamatory, libelous, spread unsubstantiated rumours & most importantly can effect the mental health of those involved. Even discussion & debate of known facts or media reports can lead to finger pointing, blame & personal attacks and ultimately this is not helpful for the player or the club. In addition these discussions can open this website, it’s owners & it’s users to legal action & may result in this website being forced to shutdown. Our moderating team are all volunteers & cannot moderate the forum 24/7 & as a consequence problematic content that contravenes our rules & standards may go unnoticed for some time before it can be removed. We reserve the right to delete posts that offend against our above policy & indeed, to ban posters who are repeat offenders or who breach our code of conduct. WE HAVE BUILT A FANTASTIC ONLINE COMMUNITY AT DEMONLAND OVER THE PAST 23 YEARS & WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE CLUB WE LOVE & ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT. Please Do NOT start threads or post about this topic in other threads. Posts will be deleted and further actions may be taken. If you see any posts referencing this please report. Do not quote the posts as that will make more work for the moderation team. Please respect this difficult decision. I understand your frustrations in feeling like you can't discuss these important issues but there are other venues on the internet that you can discuss them. Thank you for your continued support & understanding. Go Dees.

We have made the difficult decision not to allow discussion on various off-field issues involving the club including the health and well being of our players. These are private matters involving the players, their families and the club. We do not take this and other issues & this decision lightly. Of course we believe that these serious matters affecting the club we love & are so passionate about are worthy of discussion & debate & I wish we could provide a place where these matters can be discussed in a civil & respectful manner. However these discussions unfortunately invariably devolve into areas that may be defamatory, libelous, spread unsubstantiated rumours & most importantly can effect the mental health of those involved. Even discussion & debate of known facts or media reports can lead to finger pointing, blame & personal attacks and ultimately this is not helpful for the player or the club. In addition these discussions can open this website, it’s owners & it’s users to legal action & may result in this website being forced to shutdown. Our moderating team are all volunteers & cannot moderate the forum 24/7 & as a consequence problematic content that contravenes our rules & standards may go unnoticed for some time before it can be removed. We reserve the right to delete posts that offend against our above policy & indeed, to ban posters who are repeat offenders or who breach our code of conduct. WE HAVE BUILT A FANTASTIC ONLINE COMMUNITY AT DEMONLAND OVER THE PAST 23 YEARS & WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE CLUB WE LOVE & ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT. Please Do NOT start threads or post about this topic in other threads. Posts will be deleted and further actions may be taken. If you see any posts referencing this please report. Do not quote the posts as that will make more work for the moderation team. Please respect this difficult decision. I understand your frustrations in feeling like you can't discuss these important issues but there are other venues on the internet that you can discuss them. Thank you for your continued support & understanding. Go Dees. ADMIN ANNOUNCEMENT 23/1/24 Late last year we made the difficult decision to curb discussion about the private and personal issues surrounding one of our greatest ever players Clayton Oliver as we didn't want this platform to be used as a vehicle to spread rumours that may harm Clayton and the Club during this difficult period. As you are all aware, Clayton has taken extended leave from the club to manage some personal matters. In light of this, we want to address the Demonland community to ensure that our forum remains a positive and supportive space during this time. After careful consideration, we have made the decision to open up discussions about footy without Clarry whilst he is on leave, but with some conditions given the sensitive nature of the situation. In light of the private and personal nature of the challenges Clayton is facing, we have decided that our platform should not serve as a venue for speculations, rumors, or discussions regarding his current personal issues. Therefore, we kindly request that all discussions related to Clarry's absence be confined strictly to on-field matters. We ask that you refrain from delving into any private or personal topics, discussions about the culture of the club, finger pointing and assigning blame or engaging in any form of speculation or rumor-mongering. We will provide all bona fide updates in the separate locked and pinned Clayton Oliver thread. To ensure the integrity of our community, any posts that veer into these no-go topics will be promptly deleted, and members who violate these guidelines may face potential bans. We understand that emotions can run high, especially in times like these, but we urge everyone to respect this decision and abide by the rules we've set forth. And please don't use this thread to question or dispute these rules. Please keep the discussion on topic and obey the rules as we really don't want to have to lock this thread. Let's focus on supporting our players and club on the field and maintaining the positive spirit that makes the Demonland community special.