Demonland

Two computers on different networks still refreshing 28 minutes later. Got on my phone after 15 minutes of refreshing and got straight in. Didn't get the best seats position wise my I got the elevation I wanted on Level 2.

from memory no. but don't take my word on it. I've wiped 2022 from my brain. i have them copied and ready to paste one on top of the other.

Legitimately more nervous than on Game Day

trying to checkout before the timer runs out.

I understand that but for the Club Members does it make a difference in regards to the queue if you are on the site with the auto-refresh prior to 10am? I recall last year I was in the queue at 10am and it was refreshing and refreshing and I then went in on my phone and got straight in. I guess what I'm saying is there an actual queue or is it just random.

is there any benefit to already being in the queue on ticketek before 10am?

I'm curled up in a foetal position but that is my natural state as a Dees fan.

Absolutely this. I do not begrudge any Dees supporter looking for a barcode but please beware that once you generously give someone your barcode it could be used the next week (including Grand Final guarantee) before you do and you will miss out. Sharers Beware.

Before or after the scans?

Please tell me they are inside his foot and have done a full structural integrity scan.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Demons won this match by a mere four points. They strangled the Magpies through most of the final half and led by 19 points deep into the final term before two late goals pulled in the final Pies deficit. Only inaccuracy in front of goal by Melbourne served to create that situation. Jack Viney played a blinder. MELBOURNE 1.4.10 3.8.26 6.11.47 8.18.66 COLLINGWOOD 3.1.19 5.4.34 6.5.41 9.8.62 THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B T. Rivers S. May J. Lever HB M. Hibberd A. Tomlinson J. Smith C L. Hunter J. Viney T. Sparrow HF C. Spargo B. Fritsch A. Neal-Bullen F J. van Rooyen B. Grundy K. Chandler FOLL M. Gawn C. Petracca K. Pickett I/C A. Brayshaw E. Langdon J. McVee C. Salem SUB J. Jordon EMG J. Melksham J. Schache T. Woewodin IN M. Hibberd OUT J. Bowey (concussion) J. Harmes (suspended) COLLINGWOOD B I. Quaynor D. Moore B. Maynard HB B. Frampton N. Murphy S. Pendlebury C W. Hoskin-Elliott J. Crisp J. Daicos HF A. Johnson B. Mihocek P. Lipinski F R. McInnes D. Cameron B. Hill FOLL M. Cox N. Daicos T. Mitchell I/C T. Adams H. Harrison J. Noble B. McCreery SUB O. Markov EMG T. Bianco F. Macrae IN P. Lipinski OUT J. De Goey (suspended)

With a possible 3 more games to go, Tracc is tracking well to take out this prestigious award - 243. Christian Petracca 196. Jack Viney 136. Clayton Oliver 99. Angus Brayshaw 89. Max Gawn 81. Steven May 68. Trent Rivers 64. Jake Lever 54. Lachie Hunter Kysaiah Pickett 46. Christian Salem 40. Brodie Grundy 34. Bayley Fritsch 28. Tom Sparrow 27. Jake Bowey Ed Langdon 26. Alex Neal-Bullen 24. Judd McVee 19. Jake Melksham 18. Kade Chandler 16. Harry Petty 13. Jacob van Rooyen 9. Ben Brown 8. Charlie Spargo 5. Tom McDonald 4. Michael Hibberd 3. James Jordon Adam Tomlinson

Cutting off the questions here. I've got a mountain of work to do to put this all together and I think we've covered off enough to ensure the show is still 2 plus hours even without Changes and the Preview. Thank you once again to all the contributors. I will give you all the shoutout on the show and in the thread tomorrow.

Weitering could have decapitated a player and would still get off. Doubt he will get anything more than a fine for this one even with the Carlton Lawyer on call. If he somehow cops one week at the MRO he will definitely get off at the tribunal even if they send in the work experience kid.

My sister received her Barcode Email at 2:15pm today I have not received my email and I always get that email and have never opted out of emails from the Footy club. Luckily my barcodes were available from the Dees Website and luckily I remembered my password. Hopefully there is just a lag with the emails being pumped out and received but if some members who always get the emails don't then there is something seriously wrong with the process and is not on from a professional organisation. Hopefully Ticketek doesn't melt down tomorrow.

Absolutely gutted for both of them.

Buddy Franklin’s farewell to his Sydney crowd, with a home finals berth in the offing for the Swans. All was set for a victory party in the Harbour City except that someone forgot to tell the Melbourne Demons, who turned out to be real party poopers. It certainly was set up for those victory celebrations when the Swans bounced out to a near three goal lead in the third quarter, but by the end that time the Demons had pegged the lead back to a mere four points. That lead soon evaporated, with Melbourne keeping the home side to a mere two points in the final stanza while they piled on a further four goals. At the commencement of the game, Melbourne already knew its fate with the results in other matches already being decided, and a fourth-place finish and a final against the arch-enemy Collingwood locked in for the first week. Melbourne teams in the past would have put the cue in the rack, and coasted to the end of the game, avoiding injury, and resting valuable players. But not this side. When the going demanded a lift in tempo, and with the game result in doubt up stepped the leaders of the club and the coach who demanded the output epitomized by the Demon Spirit. We have often heard of “playing our style of game” and it was on full display in this game. Especially in that third quarter when injuries threatened. Bayley Fritsch on return from seven weeks away with a foot injury, hobbled off the ground, and the fans feared the worse. However, he was to return, and finish the game with five goals, and what looked like a bruised side of his foot. It seems he will be able to play in subsequent games. Jake Bowey was in all sorts of trouble with a shoulder injury, but he also returned to the field and had a hand in repelling many an attacking thrust by the opposition. Then the worst was to occur when an innocuous stumble by a running Jake Melksham saw him collapse clutching his knee. While Melbourne fans can only hope, the body language from the coach in the post-match conference was rather glum, with an ACL injury as a strong prospect. After missing the 2021 Premiership, this would be a catastrophic event for Jake, especially since his form has been so good in the past weeks. For the first half of the game, the Demons clearly were not at their best. Perhaps it was slippery in the middle of the ground, but fumbling seemed to be the order of the day. With a tag on Clayton Oliver, his output was curtailed. But then Christian Petracca got going especially from that mid-point in the third and the tag was moved to him, to no avail, and that released Oliver as well. Petracca finished with 29 touches, and while he didn’t take full advantage in front of goal, he still accumulated 17 of those possessions as contested. Oliver, when he was unshackled finished with 25 and 10 contested, while the ever-irrepressible Jack Viney just powered on with 29 touches of his own and 14 contested. Tellingly, when Gawn, Petracca and Oliver were rested in the final minutes, Viney was still out there fighting and bullocking his way through the opposition. Down back, stability has returned with the addition of Daniel “Disco” Turner in only his third game for the club. Importantly, he knows how to play and execute a zone defence and positioned himself as required. It meant Jake Lever and Steven May were free to do their best jobs, so it was not surprising that May finished with 21 disposals, six marks and an incredible 550 metres gained. Lever was free to do his best and both stayed on the ground for 100% of the game. Unsurprisingly as a result, the Sydney talls in McDonald and Amartey only managed a single goal between them. Disco is likely to be playing finals in only his fourth game, so he probably needs to speak with Jaky Bowey about what can happen to someone in that circumstance. On the wings, Lachie Hunter ran riot again, and Ed Langdon was almost as influential, certainly saving one Sydney goal with a last gasp tackle. Hunter racked up another over 500 metres gained game from his 21 touches. Kudos also deserve to go to Jacob van Rooyen who despite low disposal numbers had plenty of time in the ruck and managed 15 hit outs from 80% game time. It was a big effort for a 20-year-old, especially since Sydney’s number 1 ruck in Tom Hickey only managed 17 hit outs for the game. With a break now to the first of the finals, a couple of Melbourne players will relish the rest, after a long season. It was interesting that even in this game, the coach was trying all manner of things. Jake Bowey taking most of the kickouts, Trent Rivers and Hunter in the midfield, Alex Neal-Bullen on the wing. It all pointed to the flexibility that will be needed and for the opposition to be unexpected come finals. With the forthcoming game against Collingwood, whose fans have declared their team to be certain premiers already, the stage is set for the Demons to become the party poopers, yet again. How sweet will that be! MELBOURNE 3.2.20 5.4.34 7.8.50 11.11.77 SYDNEY SWANS 2.5.17 3.8.26 7.12.54 7.14.56 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 5 Melksham 2 Brayshaw Petracca Pickett van Rooyen SYDNEY SWANS Gulden 2 McDonald McLean Mills Warner Wicks BEST MELBOURNE Petracca Fritsch Viney May Brayshaw Neal-Bullen SYDNEY SWANS Gulden Mills Parker Warner McCartin Stephens LATE CHANGES MELBOURNE Nil SYDNEY SWANS Tom Papley (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Ryan Clarke INJURIES MELBOURNE Fritsch (foot) Melksham (leg) Bowey (shoulder) SYDNEY SWANS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil SYDNEY SWANS Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Bailey Laurie (replaced Jake Melksham in third quarter) SYDNEY SWANS Nil UMPIRES Ray Chamberlain Simon Meredith Nathan Williamson Andre Gianfagna CROWD 41,753 at the SCG

David King wants your Qualifying Final tickets.

The Demons enter Season 8 as the reigning premiers and are considered the favourite to go ‘back-to-back’ by 14 of the other 17 AFLW Captains (82.4%). So, what could go wrong? Well for starters there is the dreaded premiership hangover, the difficult fixture, the most interstate travel of any team, potential injuries to key players, emergence of rising teams, the Daisy Factor … AFLW SEASON 8 LAUNCH The MFC Season launch held in early August was slap bang amidst the palpable excitement of the Matilda’s Quarter Final heroics over France and the upcoming Semi Final against England. Cub Chairman Kate Roffey highlighted the importance of team confidence and what it can achieve. With a roomful of players, their families, coaches, MFC staff and execs, coterie, supporters and @deearmy, you could feel how proud she was that our group had shunned expansion signings to stay on target with @demonspirit for Season 8. Seemingly AFL Head Office was less pleased with our list management success than our Chair and her football department was 😉. There was no sign of a premiership hangover when new skipper Kate Hore (10) confidently spoke to the Demon faithful on behalf of her team. She spoke well, as she does with everything. Recognition about her is coming from rivals and observers too. AFLW captains were asked ‘if you could recruit another player from any AFLW club who would it be?’ 3 answered Captain Kate (and 1 chose Tyla Hanks). AFLW Footy journalist, Sarah Black has Kate at number 7 in her AFLW 2023 Top 30. Yes Daisy, she’s ready. The FIXTURE Just to recap, Season 8 is a 10-round season (like last year), and the top 8 teams make it to the finals. There are 18 AFLW teams playing, as there are for the AFL men. However, the shorter season means teams don’t play 7 of the other 17 teams during the home and away season. In order to create a fixture which produces more even matches, the league has handicapped the better teams. Expansion was too fast and until the time that all teams are competitive, the league deems that a 10-week season works best. Notable for the Dees, they play the big 3 Season 7 preliminary finalists (Adelaide, Brisbane and North) and miss games against Carlton, Essendon, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda and Sydney. Fixture highlights include the season opener against the Pies at Ikon Park and then a trip to Kardinia Park for its first game against Geelong (28 September 2023). The Dees also have more travelling than other Melbourne-based teams, with trips to Canberra, Perth and Brisbane. Fun fact: the only sides to beat Melbourne since March 2021 are Brisbane and Adelaide. THE PLAYER MOVEMENTS League-wise there were some big, noteworthy moves. Grand Finalist Brisbane lost their leading goal kicker Jessie Wardlaw to the Saints, their decorated midfield general Emily Bates and All-Australian forward Greta Bodey to Hawthorn. Brisbane’s coach Craig Starcevich still has a talented list, but these player losses present a challenge for him. Collingwood lost their co-captain Steph Chiocci to St Kilda (along with tough mid Jaimee Lambert) plus gun utility Chloe Molloy moved to Sydney as their co-captain. The Pies do see the return from long term injury of stars Bri Davey and Brit Bonnici. We’ll see on Friday’s opener whether these net changes have made any impact on the Pies premiership credentials. If results in practice games are indicative of what she can do during the season, then Kate Shierlaw’s move to North will seriously strengthen their forward line. The G-Train has moved to Richmond (from St Kilda) and presumably takes the retired Courtney Wakefield’s full forward position. NEW (AND RETURNING) DEMONS Melbourne have quietly added Saraid Taylor (28), a young tall from Richmond and Georgina ‘Chook’ Fowler (12), a forward with a Rugby7s background, from GWS. Generating some excitement for the Dees is the recruitment of premiership player Blaithin Mackin’s (31) sister, Aimee (21). Everyone seems impressed by Aimee’s Gaelic Football videos where she demonstrates her speed with the ball, kicks lots of goals on her preferred left foot and ‘sells candy’ like her li’l sis. Aimee is recovering from a hamstring injury, but we hope to see her in action soon. Lastly, we have Eliza McNamara (22) returning after fracturing her spine in a weightroom accident and Gaby Colvin (32) back from an ACL. We love hearing that they are back playing and doing well. BEST TEAM Melbourne was last season’s statistically best defensive team and the second highest offensive team and of course had a harder draw than most teams given it was a Season 6 Grand Finalist. With no significant changes in personnel and a year of development we are fabulously placed to excel in Season 8. WHO ARE THE LIKELY CHALLENGERS TO THE DEMONS? The danger team for Meggs is North Melbourne. They have 6 or 7 standout players and have steadily recruited better role players over the past few years. Though Brooke Brown, who moved to Essendon, will be missed. The games between these clubs last year were epic battles that could have gone either way. The other Season 7 preliminary finalists, Adelaide and Brisbane will be highly competitive again. The other team to watch is Geelong. They have an excellent midfield, a settled defence and just need to get their forward line working against the top teams to win those games. Expect the Cats to be around the Top 4. So that’s your Top 5 (Dees, North, Adelaide, Geelong and Brisbane). For the rest, there will be a logjam in the middle of the ladder as teams jostle for finals positions. One comment on the expansion teams. Expect Sydney to record their first ever win at some point this season. They knocked off both Gold Coast and Carlton in the practice matches. RANDOM SEASON 8 DISCUSSION POINTS Recent statistics on attendance and TV viewership has sparked debate over the quality and marketability of the AFLW product (mostly in comparison with soccer). Yes, it is early stage, a work in progress, but improvement is evident; everyone involved is dedicated and passionate; women’s sport is attracting global attention; kids are looking for different sporting opportunities; more girls than ever are playing junior football so expect a bright future to steadily build. Needless to say, we need to remunerate the women players fairly as we continue the journey. At the AFL AFLW season launch, the AFL announced it will award equal prizemoney for the men's and women's competitions for the first time in 2023. The total pool of player prizemoney for both the men's and women's competitions of $1.1 million will be split among the top four teams in the AFL, and among the top eight teams in the AFLW. The AFL has reinstated the McClelland Trophy to include AFL and AFLW (now that we have all 18 teams in both comps). The winner collects $1 million in prizemoney which will be shared between the club and all its players. Four points are awarded for AFL wins, while eight points are granted for AFLW wins (as the AFLW season runs for only 10 rounds). The Dees are in the frame with 64 points for the men but Collingwood (72) and Brisbane (68) lead at this point. It will now be up to the women. “The Daisy Factor” — the loss of inaugural captain and premiership star player Daisy Pearce to retirement — is not as serious as would seem. Coach Mick Stinear has said that we are at ‘ground zero’ and we know that #demonspirit is our secret sauce. A succession plan has been executed skilfully. We will be even better, you’ll see. Meggs will be back with a preview of the Round 1 Season 8 opening match which starts at 7.20pm on Friday 1 September at Ikon Park. Melbourne FC will unfurl their Season 7 premiership flag and then take on the mighty Collingwood Magpies. THE MEDIA: When the Herald Suns’ Lauren Wood recently ran the rule over the players most likely to ignite the AFLW competition, she referenced two Demons. Here’s what she wrote — KATE HORE, 28, (Melb) Hore, a premiership forward, has the unenviable task of stepping into the captaincy after one of the game's best players - Daisy Pearce - retired at the end of last season. But ask anyone at Melbourne - including Pearce - and Hore is more than ready to relish the challenge. Booted 17 goals last season given her aerial danger and brings the pressure, with an average of four tackles per game. TAYLA HARRIS, 26, (Melb) One of the game's most-recognisable faces, Harris finally tasted premiership success in season seven, playing a crucial role in the Demons' victory over Brisbane in her home state of Queensland. Harris, who is tattooed with the moniker "oxymoron", does things a little differently - even competing for a national boxing title just weeks out from the season beginning. Her contested marking ability is second-to-none, with her height and reach also utilised with some ruckwork at times last season. Simply a can't-look-away-from player.