Demonland

The ‘big questions’ Matthew Lloyd has about one club ahead of 2024 season Matthew Lloyd says he’s unsure where Melbourne is at heading into the new season. The Demons are coming off a second straight sets exit from the finals, having now lost four consecutive matches in September. With the new campaign less than three weeks away, Lloyd says there’s “big questions” about the club’s recent game style. “I’m not sure about Melbourne,” he told 3AW Football’s pre-season preview podcast. “(There’s) big questions about Simon Goodwin, I think he’s played too safe.”

The Dees have some woes inside forward 50 given that Tom McDonald (calf), Harrison Petty (toe) and Ben Brown (knee) are currently sidelined with injury but Cornes is not perturbed by that as he feels Van Rooyen is the answer. “Every time I see Van Rooyen play, he impresses me,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast. “I don't know if we've made enough of him. I know the crowd (loves him), the big ‘Roooooooo’, and we love watching him. “He's not even 21 and every time I see him play I’m like, ‘you are everything I want for my team's key forward’. He’s aggressive, he leads to the logos, he crashes packs, he's a bit rough around the edges and there's a couple of things that he would need to tidy up in his game, but he's not even 21. “He's played one season. So the sky's the absolute limit for this young man.” Melbourne has had McDonald and Brown (and of course Bayley Fritsch) return 30-plus goal seasons in red and blue in recent seasons, but Cornes thinks Van Rooyen is the player they haven’t had since the Jesse Hogan days. He also feels the Demons should have traded Petty to Adelaide late last year due to Van Rooyen’s presence. “I just think Melbourne would have been searching for that player for so long. You've found it, don't worry about it, don't go searching, you've found it now,” he added. “I think they should have traded Petty and absolutely loaded up. He will never be worth more to them than what he was in trade period last year. “I don't know if he (Petty) is a forward, but Van Rooyen is and I just love watching him play.” ------------------------- I think Kane is missing the point in that JVR needs backup. With BBB and TMac on the way out, with Petty very likely to leave at years end, Schache probably not up to it and Jefferson still raw, JVR needs a solid partner in crime otherwise he will get double teamed.

Midfielders CBAs CBA % Notes Jack Viney 27 79.4% 6 clearances Christian Petracca 16 47.1% 2 clearances, 2 goals Tom Sparrow 25 73.5% No clearances Alex Neal-Bullen 22 64.7% No clearances Kysaiah Pickett 8 23.5% 5 clearances, 2 goals Bailey Laurie 2 5.9% No clearances Jack Billings 2 5.9% No clearances

From 3 mins

MELBOURNE DEMONS v RICHMOND TIGERS Rucks CBAs CBA % Notes Max Gawn 15 44.1% Played Q1-2 Will Verrall 13 38.2% Played Q3-6 Josh Schache 6 17.7% Played Q1-4 Sam Naismith 19 55.9% Played back up Samson Ryan 15 44.1% Took first contest Midfielders CBAs CBA % Notes Jack Viney 27 79.4% 6 clearances Christian Petracca 16 47.1% 2 clearances, 2 goals Tom Sparrow 25 73.5% No clearances Alex Neal-Bullen 22 64.7% No clearances Kysaiah Pickett 8 23.5% 5 clearances, 2 goals Bailey Laurie 2 5.9% No clearances Jack Billings 2 5.9% No clearances Thomson Dow 24 70.6% 2 clearances Jack Graham 18 52.9% No clearances Jacob Hopper 24 70.6% 3 clearances Jack Ross 20 58.8% 2 clearances Shai Bolton 13 38.2% 4 clearances, 4 goals Kane McAuliffe 3 8.8% Came on Q4

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Tuesday, 20th February @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we dissect the Scratch Match loss to the Tigers and hopefully provide me with some free MFCSS therapy. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31 Keep the questions to ones relating to the Scratch Match against the Tigers. We'll do a more in depth Season Preview in the coming weeks.

Is there even a 2s game for him to play in next week?

Proper match. 4 Quarters.

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Tuesday, 20th February @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we dissect the Scratch Match loss to the Tigers and hopefully provide me with some free MFCSS therapy. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31 Keep the questions to ones relating to the Scratch Match against the Tigers. We'll do a more in depth Season Preview in the coming weeks.

The Dees will play their final practice match before the start of the 2024 seasons against the Blues at Ikon Park. What are you wanting to see in this final hit out before the season proper? Will Clarry & Salo return to the side? 2024 AAMI Community Series | Carlton v Melbourne Date: Wednesday 28 February Time: 6:40pm (AEDT) Location: IKON Park | Wurundjeri

Let's take all the Post Game discussion to the Post Game Thread.

The bin doesn’t lie.

Please take the discussion of the first 4 quarters to the POSTGAME Thread.

Kayo

I’ll keep this thread open for the 2nds but please discuss the 1sts in the POSTGAME THREAD.

The Dees were outclassed and outmuscled in its first practice hit out for the 2024 season against the Tigers going down by 23 points at Casey Fields.

If you’re not worried about our disposal you’ve achieved the highest level of zen possible.

Max running laps obviously getting the match day kms into him. Verrall to ruck second half.

Basic errors result in turnovers and then all of a sudden you have 10 straight kicked against you by a team missing their spine.

Our disposal has not improved one bit.

Conceded 7 goals in a row mostly from turnovers.

Getting killed on the turnover

It’s going to be a full house. Bring your full body tats.

The full list of Demons missing from today’s scratch match Angus Brayshaw - illness Ben Brown - knee Tom Fullarton - hamstring Lachie Hunter - calf Shane McAdam - calf Tom McDonald - calf Jake Melksham - knee Andy Moniz-Wakefield - thigh Harrison Petty - toe Joel Smith - suspension Charlie Spargo - Achilles Daniel Turner - stress fracture femur Taj Woewodin - concussion