Demonland

You can probably thank the AFL's love of Essendon for that.

Flashback 2014:

As the focus of the AFL moves exclusively to South Australia for Gather Round, the question is raised as to what are we going to get from the Melbourne Football Club this weekend? Will it be a repeat of the slop fest of the last three weeks that have seen the team score a measly 174 points and concede 310 or will a return to the City of Churches and the scene where they performed at their best in 2024 act as a wakeup call and bring them out of their early season reverie? Or will the sleepy Dees treat their fans to a reenactment of their lazy effort from the first Gather Round of two years ago when they allowed the Bombers to trample all over them on a soggy and wet Adelaide Oval? The two examples from above tell us how fickle form can be in football. Last year, a committed group of players turned up in Adelaide with a businesslike mindset. They had a plan, went in confidently and hard for the football and kicked winning scores against both home teams in a difficult environment for visitors. And they repeated that sort of effort later in the season when they played Essendon at the MCG. Unfortunately, performances like these went against the grain of what Melbourne has been producing from virtually midway through 2024 and extending right through to the present day. This is a game between two clubs who have faltered over the past couple of years because their disposal efficiency is appalling. Neither of them can hit the side of a barn door but history tells us that every once in a while such teams have their lucky days or come up against an opponent in even worse shape and hence, one of them will come up trumps in this match. Most likely, by default. I certainly cannot say with confidence that it’s going to be Melbourne this week. Historically, I would have picked the Demons on the strength of a perceived midfield dominance starting with captain Max Gawn and the midfield genius of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Jack Viney. But they’re not in dominant form in the way they were three or four years ago. And like the midfield, Melbourne’s defence which once was strong but now seems lost without having the benefit of the May/Lever combination together once this season and has been leaking like a sieve. Essendon’s Nick Bryan and Sam Draper are combining well in the ruck and Zach Merrett is racking up disposals in the middle. If they can get on top and the Demons are unable to respond to the critical forward issues that they’ve been exposed to in recent times then it won’t be enough for them simply to win the ball out of the middle and from stoppages. Most Demon fans have been hoping that the infusion of something new in the engine room being the likes of Trent Rivers, Kozzie Pickett, newcomer Harvey Langford and wingers like Ed Langdon and Caleb Windsor can add something new to the midfield that will allow the team to wake up from its slumber. Or perhaps by chance, a new face like Tom Fullarton who has been kicking goals at Casey, could add a point of difference to the forward line and bring it out of hibernation. Sadly, my hopes have been building on a weekly basis but the reality never seems to match my expectations. On this basis, I’m selecting Essendon to take home Melbourne’s scalp for a second time in the short history of Gather Round. Bombers by 10 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Essendon at Adelaide Oval Saturday 12 April 2025 at 7.35pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 87 wins Essendon 131 wins 2 draws At Adelaide Oval Melbourne 0 wins Essendon 1 win The last five meetings Melbourne 4 wins Essendon 1 win The Coaches Goodwin 1 win Scott 1 win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 13.6.84 defeated Essendon 10.7.67 at the MCG Round 18, 2024 It was a mighty effort in the rain at night on the MCG when Melbourne overcame the absence of big Max and beat the Bombers without a ruck presence, thanks mainly to the persistence and hard work of Ed Langdon, Trent Rivers and a battle-scarred Clarrie Oliver in a game where the Demons came to play and to fight hard for the win and fully deserved the four points when the final siren rang. They probably should have won by more than just 17 points. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, S. May, H. Petty HB T. Rivers, T. McDonald, C. Salem C K. Chandler, J. Viney, E. Langdon HF J. Henderson, B. Fritsch, K. Pickett F J. Melksham, J. Van Rooyen, C. Spargo FOLL M. Gawn, C. Petracca, H. Langford I/C X. Lindsay, C. Oliver, T. Sparrow, C. Windsor SUB H. Sharp EMG J. Billings, T. Fullarton, D. Turner ESSENDON B A. McGrath, B. McKay, J. Ridley HB M. Redman, Z. Reid, J. Prior C X. Duursma, A. Perkins, A. Roberts HF J. Gresham, N. Caddy, N. Martin F H. Jones, S. Draper, I. Kako FOLL N. Bryan, Z. Merrett, S. Durham I/C B. Hobbs, J. Menzie, W. Setterfield, D. Shiel SUB S. El-Hawli EMG A. Day-Wicks, L. Hayes, E. Tsatas IN A. Perkins, W. SetterfielD OUT J. Caldwell, T. Edwards Injury List: Round 5 Luker Kentfield — illness / available Koltyn Tholstrup — back / available Matt Jefferson — hand / test Xavier Lindsay — knee / test Judd McVee — hamstring / 1 week Tom Campbell — hamstring / 2 - 3 weeks Marty Hore — calf / 5 - 7 weeks Jake Lever — ankle / 8 weeks Shane McAdam — Achilles / next season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / next season

The way my equipment is set up it shouldn't allow for that. My cohosts weren't hearing anything feeding back to them and no settings or equipment had changed from last week. Simply shutting down the streaming software and restarting it without changing any audio setting fixed it.

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We will be shunted to the South Australian countryside next year. People should book now in the Barossa Valley.

I have not seen that error on any of the devices I use so I guess the next step in troubleshooting for you would be to ask what device are you using when this error occurs? Computer or phone? If computer, is it Windows or Mac? If phone is it iPhone or Android or something else? I guess also the browser you are using? Also are the devices up to date with their software updates?

I have no idea what was even causing it. I had not touch anything in my setup nor change any settings since the last show. I ended up closing the program at streams our audio and when I reopened and reconnected it was gone.

Gather Round is here, kicking off with a Thursday night blockbuster as Adelaide faces Geelong. The Crows will be out for redemption after a controversial loss last week. Saturday starts with the Magpies taking on the Swans. Collingwood will be eager to cement their spot in the top eight, while Sydney is hot on their heels. In the Barossa Valley, two rising sides go head-to-head in a fascinating battle to prove they're the real deal. Later, Carlton and West Coast face off at Adelaide Oval, both desperate to notch their first win of the season. The action then shifts to Norwood, where the undefeated Lions will aim to keep their streak alive against the Bulldogs. Sunday’s games begin in the Barossa with Richmond up against Fremantle. In Norwood, the Saints will be looking to take a scalp when they come up against the Giants. The round concludes with a fiery rematch of last year's semi-final, as the Hawks seek revenge for their narrow loss to Port Adelaide. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

I've fixed the audio and the chat room on the fly. Get me in the coaches box.

We have a new phone number: 0486 387 929

We will be LIVE in 30 mins at 8:00 pm

Well what do you know.

Heard Lever is out for 6-8 weeks. No idea if this is a new injury or current ankle injury related.

This was one of the few games in recent memory when the Demons put their heart and soul into a game and they really hurt the Bombers even without their injured skipper. If only they could repeat that effort every week. Even so, they almost lost to a withering Bomber finish after establishing a big lead halfway through the last quarter MELBOURNE 3.2.20 6.6.43 8.6.54 13.6.84 ESSENDON 3.3.21 4.5.29 5.7.37 10.7.67 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch Turner 3 Melksham Pickett 2 Chandler Langdon Windsor ESSENDON Martin 4 Duursma Langford 2 Durham Jones BEST MELBOURNE Rivers Oliver Langdon Melksham Windsor Pickett ESSENDON Ridley Martin Merrett McKay Shiel THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B T. McDonald, S. May, J. McVee HB T. Rivers, J. Lever, J. Bowey C E. Langdon, C. Oliver, A. Neal-Bullen HF K. Pickett, J. van Rooyen, T. Sparrow F K. Chandler, B. Fritsch, J. Melksham FOLL H. Petty, J. Viney, C. Salem I/C A. Moniz-Wakefield, K. Tholstrup, D. Turner, C. Windsor SUB T. Woewodin EMG T. Fullarton, B. Laurie, A. Tomlinson IN H. Petty OUT M. Gawn (ankle) ESSENDON B J. Ridley, B. McKay, D. Heppell HB N. Martin, M. Redman, A. McGrath C X. Duursma, S. Durham, A. Perkins HF M. Guelfi, H. Jones, N. Caddy F J. Stringer, P. Wright, K. Langford FOLL S. Draper, J. Caldwell, Z. Merrett I/C N. Cox, J. Gresham, J. Kelly, D. Shiel SUB N. Hind EMG T. Goldstein, J. Laverde, W. Setterfield IN D. Heppell OUT J. Laverde (omitted)

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