Demonland

Melbourne The Demons have had the odd setback but nothing to threaten availability ahead of round one. Gawn is recovering well from a larynx issue and Petracca suffered a broken rib but has been running hard. Kysaiah Pickett returned to training after a leg infection sidelined him and the unlucky Tom Fullarton continues to rehab a hamstring injury. First-round draft pick Xavier Lindsay’s build-up is gradual as he was drafted while rehabilitating a posterior cruciate ligament injury, while intercept defender Jake Lever’s build-up from shoulder and knee operations has been steady.

Demonland Trackwatchers were out in force for training at Gosch's Paddock on Wednesday morning for the MFC's School Holidays Open Training Session. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS REHAB: TMac, Chandler, McVee, Tholstrup, Brown, Spargo Brown might have passed his fitness test as he’s back out with the main group. Sparrow not present. Kozzy not present either. Mini Rehab group has broken off from the match sim (contact) group: Max, Trac, Lever, Fullarton, Woey, Jefferson Petty playing in defense in the match sim. WAYNE WUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Chin out if sling. Just a bandage high on right arm, doing boundary runs at half pace, not able to swing that right arm. Jefferson back from protocols. Tholstrup doing short passes to trainer on the lead. 38 players in main group, 3 train ons, haven’t seen Kossie. Rick Lever in main group. Up till now, two groups ball movement, low pressure, constant motion. Key forwards leading patterns, no opponents. Fritta playing more mid in full ground sim, wearing yellow vest which seems to indicate he can kick either way. Sestan nice spoil on Bowey, gathers ball and snaps truly. Clayton and Caleb involved in multiple link up chains, scorched Earth! Great tackle on Viney by Bill. Campbell takes screamer over Verrall, Howes marking well on intercept. McAdam caught by Hore, holding the ball! 40, 33, 11, 5, 21 & 8 running laps at pace Great mark by Hore in big pack. JVR finds McAdam in lead. Ollie in 40+ form, running riot! Goody gives Ollie a pat on the back for his efforts during a short break. Gigantic hit by Adams on Disco (I think) in a pack knocked the stuffing out of him. He was struggling to recover for 10 minutes. Some other thoughts about training today. Melksham and JVR were the most effective forwards. Both seem set for a bright 2025. Fritsch was also good but played further from goal much of the time... still managed to snag 2 or 3! Billings and Short spent a lot of time on each other (on the wing I presume, although they roamed far and wide). I thought Billings had the better of the duel. Roy G was more involved today. Ricky Mentha was impressive in run and carry Jed Adams has definitely improved and is having more impact as a key back. Jack V is running with the ball more than previously, but his opponents know that they can catch him and did so on more than the odd occasion. The stand outs for me in match sim were Clayton & Caleb, closely followed by Rivers, Fritsch and Melksham. McAdam was offering good leads and took several marks in front of opponent. Bill Bailey is also having more input than previously. Tom Campbell is the dominant ruck with Max being on lighter duties. Langford and Lindsay did well with ball in hand but were not prolific (Clayton, Caleb and Rivers were) FRITTA AND TURNER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Happy New Year everyone. A slight cool wind but after the last days heat a welcome relief. GhostWriter putting in a solid performance at the sausage sizzle. Dominated at the till. Players out on the track at 9.30. Didnt see Sparrow, Kozzie and Kentfield. Kynan doing rehab then joined in with the main group. Chin has a troublesome right arm/shoulder but can still run Spargo, TMc, McVee, Kolt in rehab doing handball drills. After, Kolt ran with Chin. Max aint getting any quicker. Jeffo trained like he thought he belonged. Confidence is up. To me some players at training seem to be invisible but today I give a nod to Adams, Sesso and Howes. May has an incredible physical presence. Intimidating. Mentha and George looked good, quick to turn the other way. Fritta trained in a yellow vest. Kids love Tracca and lots of them were there. Obviously we are looking for quick ball movement with one of the drills being to move the ball on in 3 seconds. If the vibe of the group is anything to go by then some of last years issues have dissipated. Steven Smith in attendance. I ate 2 sausages. DITCHA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I attended some of the training session this morning. Very impressed with with turnout of fans watching, including a reporter from the Herald sun. Bill Laurie was very impressive in match sim with some great efforts. Clarrie looks very fit, and keen to have a great season. Howes did some very good work in defence during match sim. Ghostwriter's sausage sizzle seemed to be always very busy. SLARTIBARTFAST'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Just back from training, I left before they'd finished. I didn't take much out of today other than Pup did the whole session after an initial fitness test. Chin did a mountain of running but didn't move his right arm and then did some gentle ball work not using his right arm. Tmac was there initially but didn't do any of the training that I saw but didn't look to have any injury. Sparrow and Kossie were no shows. I didn't see Knuckles either. Kolt didn't participate in any of the training drills that I saw but did a lot of running and showed no discomfort. The full ground drills were 14 v 14 and there was lots of open space. As in other training sessions Clarrie and Duke impressed, Howes was involved and made very few mistakes and the usual suspects did well. AJ also hasn't put a foot out of place this preseason and will be an interesting watch. Trac, Gawny, Fullarton, Woey, Lever and Jeffo ran laps. Langford, Mentha and Lindsay didn't participate in full ground drills but did a far bit of boundary sprinting while the drills were on. I reckon there was a lot of management of players going on today after a big session on Monday in high heat. The only players who look a way off are Spargs who just ran and did agility exercises and Chin. Lever still hasn't been involved in much and given that he is a player who needs games to find form could also be a question mark for the start of the season if all the other talls are fit. As already stated Disco copped a big hit in a marking contest but nobody went to him as he recovered on the boundary line and there didn't appear to be any long term damage. WHISPERING JACK'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I reckon Clarry's career is going to blossom from here. We know that he was severely restricted by circumstance for the last season and a half and his body shape last year was never quite right after his interrupted preseason, but it's clear that he's worked hard to get back to his superstar self and that will pay handsome dividends in 2025. BITTER BUT OPTIMISTIC'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Just a couple of observations. Tmac. In rehab but geez I reckon he’s shed a few kegs. Clarrie. Also looked in terrific condition and moved really smartly in both match sims and other drills. I reckon he’s back ! JVR. Was very clean with his hands. Admittedly he wasn’t under real pressure but I’m hoping he’s developing into a one grab man. Was also moving very well and exuded confidence in everything he was doing. Big year coming up? Trac. Looked ripped as ever and, perhaps more importantly, looked at ease with the world. Tom Campbell. First time I’ve seen this bloke. He’s a big bastard. Looks a real head beater! Harvey Langford. Saw him do a bit. He seems very comfortable in the group and demonstrated good kicking skills. He will be a good size when he adds a bit of upper body muscle. KEV MARTIN'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Really confused about our squad today, wasn't sure who was out there. When I first arrived I only saw Chandler and Koltyn in rehab. Chin was running the boundary, strapped left shoulder, heard him say the injury was in the joint of the shoulder area and could be 3 to 4 weeks. Koltyn did an agility test in boots (failed the test) then into runners and doing some boundary sets. He is looking bigger bodied this time out. The other rehabbers, Tracc, Gawn, Woewodin, Lever, Fullarton, and Jefferson, participated in the warm-up and some non-contact drills, then ran laps when the sims started, and drilled in rehab group. I think Jefferson had a run in the sims. Tmac and McVee in runners on the bike early and then Judd did some jogging away from Gosh's. Spargo still doing his own program. I saw Mentha early on, but couldn't see him later on. Sparrow was in casual gear, and hanging around the tent. No Kentfield or Kossie. Turner was getting some sim time. Had a big collision with Jed Adams, looked in pain spending a couple of minutes on the deck. Walked off to the boundary, waved the trainers away, then the sims finished. Looked like no injury was sustained. Sims were done with fewer turnovers through the middle today. The backs with Adams are Howes did well. Plenty of pressure, spoils and good decisions. Clarrie looking fit, he got very creative out there, taking them on, keeping them guessing and with plenty of involvement. McAdam found space and separation many times, in the forward area. Some of our ball movement was fast, often finding the central corridor after moving the ball around in the arc of the backline. JVR getting his mojo going, attempting pack marks, and demanding the ball with his presence. Fritsch has been working on his defensive skills, saw him attack the ball carriers one after another. Sharp is a difficult match up as he runs hard and can switch up the pace. Just wish he would get more disposals. Langdon was getting a few balls in the forward 50 as he ran the rails. Melksham is doing well, in lots of contests and winning enough of them. Windsor is also running well off the halfback. Love when the ball is in his hands. AMW is playing good consistent footy. Sestan is chasing everyone, again one that doesn't get enough of the ball. Verral needs some confidence, only saw him do a couple of good things. A little more time at Casey I reckon. We were short of numbers today, some run-ons including Noah Yze were with us. Plenty of fans and fun. BC_1718_DC PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Sparrow sat out training after a heavy hit on Monday with a laceration on his cheek that needed multiple stitches. (Unsure if he’s officially in concussion protocols but not taking any risks) Chandler has a slight ac joint injury, not a serious one. Club isn’t too concerned. Kynan Brown escaped the “syndesmosis” with his ankle injury (from Monday’s session) which is great news. HERALD SUN PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS • Kozzy Pickett’s absence - The Demons have confirmed that Pickett was back in Melbourne on Wednesday, after missing Monday’s session to head home to WA for personal reasons. However, he missed midweek training due to an infection in his leg. • Harrison Petty was in the backline in match simulation. Alan Richardson quoted: [Petty’s] “versatility can be a real weapon for us” and the plan was for him to spend time at both ends. • Players “ripping it up” included ~ * a leaner Clayton Oliver prominent in match simulation, showing clean hands and involved in many chains working up and down the field, * “smooth-moving runner Caleb Windsor in everything, finding the footy on the outside, • Blake Howes, Bailey Laurie caught the eye and Jake Melksham and Bayley Fritsch lively in attack and Shane McAdam taking some nice marks on the lead. • New faces Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay managed in a lighter session, taking part in warm-up drills before doing some work on their own, along with rookie Ricky Mentha Jr who also impressed. Ruckman Tom Campbell dominated as Max Gawn sat out and athletic mature-age forward Aidan Johnson impressed as a target in attack. • taking it easy. Captain Gawn (larynx) and star midfielder Christian Petracca (ribs) are in non-contact training and did some warm-up drills before joining the rehab group which includes Jake Lever, Tom Fullarton, Matthew Jefferson and Kynan Brown who later joined the main group. Koltyn Tholstrup completed his own light training, mostly running laps while defenders Tom McDonald and Judd McVee spent time on exercise bikes before leaving training. • wounded soldiers - Tom Sparrow was in civvies and sporting sandals a nasty bruise and cut on his cheek that needed stitches. Charlie Spargo (achilles tendon surgery last July) did some light running on one side of the ground and Kade Chandler ran laps for most of the session with strapping high on his right arm. Late in the match simulation session, Daniel Turner was winded in a marking contest.

Petty playing in defense in the match sim.

Mini Rehab group has broken off from the match sim (contact) group: Max, Trac, Lever, Fullarton, Woey, Jefferson

Small forward stocks very light.

Kozzy not present either.

Sparrow not present

Brown might have passed his fitness test as he’s back out with the main group.

REHAB: TMac, Chandler, McVee, Tholstrup, Brown, Spargo

Demonland Trackwatcher Gator attended training out at Casey Fields to bring you the following observations from Preseason Training. GATOR'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS There were 5 in the main rehab group, namely Gawn, Petracca, Fullarton, Woewodin and Lever. Laurie was running laps by himself, as was Jefferson. Chandler, as has been reported, had his arm in a sling. Lindsay did a bit of lap running later on. Some of the ''rehab 5'' participated in non contact drills and ball movement at the beginning of training, but when the more intense contest work started they retreated to the boundary and did short kicking to a player being hindered and bumped before they broke away for the short hitup. This was interspersed with lap running. The match sims mainly comprised of getting the ball out of D50 through either the wings, or a 45 kick through the middle. Generally the skills were pretty good, but no team would be training without the odd turnover. Once there was a turnover the forwards were spotted with passes or there were long kicks to advantage. Players swapped from white tops to red and back again. On multiple occasions. And with many wearing caps it's not easy to pick up every player all the time. The players I noticed the most were Viney, who stands out. But he was also very involved. Windsor is used a lot, moves fast and looks confident. He missed the odd target, but looks great and generally uses it well. I like Kynan Brown, but he did make a few poor decisions. But he does enough good stuff to not sweat a few errors. He's a second year player, after-all. And these errors were split seconds kicks in congestion, which was part of the drill. Billings got leather poisoning. He's good when he's dancing with his sister. Mentha surprised me. He looked better than I expected, but did cough it up under pressure. With small forwards it's AFL pressure that makes or breaks them. Too early to tell. Tom McDonald looks very good and dependable down back. Bowey got stacks of it and played in defence. May was the general and intercepted well. Rivers played midfield and looks assured. Oliver is definitely leaner and fitter. He still has his big physique, but it's much closer to normal. Was involved without being dominant. I love the look of Langford. He moves really nicely, marks well and just has that class most left footers possess. He and Rivers spent time on each other. He'll be fine competing against men from day one such is his strength and build. The only other player I wanted to mention was Salem. He was moving really nicely and looked like the 2021 version. He just looks fit and unhampered. Even when he played last year he didn't look right. May used him a lot as that first 20 metre outlet kick from deep defence along with Bowey. I didn't see Pickett and I didn't notice McVee, but he may have been there.

There were a number of Demonland Trackwatchers at Gosch's Paddock this morning to bring you their observations from Preseason Training. KEV MARTIN'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS They were going hard at each other. The sims were in two 15 minute blocks. The second block finished a few minutes early, they gathered and had another 7 minutes at it. I think they were asked to compete, as they would play against an opposition. There was plenty of niggle, between some of them. At the end of the contest they supported each other with a of bump and slap. Some heavy collision occurred, biggest and worrisome was Clarry and May both aerial and front on, into each other. A minute on the deck and up. Heard some calls of, get up. May with a back niggle, Clarry back in. McAdam in a hit, and had a delayed reaction, as he went to ground. Talked with the trainer, did some stretches and got back into it. Tmac appeared to limp after a clash of legs in a tackle. Vines and Laurie also in hard hits. Rehab had, Woey in the light green cap (my guess would be concussion protocols), Fullarton running extensive laps, Tracc and Turner working together early on, Lever and Max. No Jefferson. There were two run-on players. Spargo still in runners and not with the main group. Good to see Melky in full training, did extra laps, the same with Salem. Fritsch in full training now, appears happy. Four wings during the sims had Billings and Langdon matched, and the other side had Sparrow and Sharp. Petty played forward. Adams had to look after the backline as the tall for a few plays and did really well. Johnson is looking good. Lindsay is in full training. He is something of a ball magnet, had plenty of involvement, moves well to space and has a lovely pass. He attempted a few long kicks which didn't come off, fell short. Langford was not as prominent today. McVee looking good, as is AMW, and so are Bowey and Rivers. Kossie had plenty of the ball, though got caught a few times. I think they have given him the licence to do whatever he wants. Mentha did the same thing though shrugged the tackle and delivered a long pass with precision, afterwards he was encouraged to handball when initially tackled. They separated into backs (looking low in numbers) and the forwards with the mids. Chaplin continues to enforce the structures he wants. Many of the forwards are talking and encouraging each other about positioning and what the intention is. Even when a play goes well but not to what Chaplin wants he voices his expectations. JVR was making good leads into small spaces. The smalls working hard to create mismatches and blocks. McAdam playing high forward and being used to deliver. Missed a few hit ups, got intercepted, or made the wrong decision. He is not having any trouble getting the ball. WAYNE WUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Tracc and Disco running laps together. Campbell has legs like tree trunks and is very fit. Handled the ball well and was good by foot in the wet weather. Standby for round 1 debut! Fullerton jogging slow laps. Now in full ground, even numbers sim. AJ just took a big mark at the top of goal square! One of the young train on players outpoints Ollie Sestan on the wing and handballs to Ed. May out bodies AJ, Hore mops up. Just had a word to Choco about the train on player who out pointed Sestan. He said he was on the NGA list and was our first choice if we have one. I was so stoked to be talking to the great man, I forgot the name of the player! JVR involved and damaging as key forward. Petty also playing forward and very creative Tracc, Rick & Jai just ran past at a hot pace! Max running steady laps. Chin brings Windsor down in great tackle. Sparrow brings Viney down (now in full head bandage). Jefferson not sighted today. Fritta in yellow vest but in full ground sim, gets ball to Clayton, who kicks long to JVR… gutsy spoil my AMW… ditto again a little later. McAdam was in full training up to this recent competitive sim. I can see a few blokes on the bikes at present. Too far away to pick up who they are. Yep, McAdam is in the sim, just took a good mark at half forward. Further thoughts on today's match sim. Petty is aggressive in contests, even against teammates. AMW spoilt his marking attempts a few times, but when the opportunity arrived, Petty slammed AMW into the turf. He was an effective and physical forward today. A smother while standing on the mark resulted in much applause and verbal support from teammates. Rivers was a standout in all activities. He takes the game on at pace and is strong enough to push opponents away. Ollie did what Ollie does best... accumulates... distributes... runs all day. Langdon is also doing what he has done for years! Tholstrup gives 100% but there is still room for improvement in ball handling and delivery. He puts himself in the right places and demands the ball. Tom McDonald continues to train at the highest levels. Injury free and reminding everyone that he is a topliner in defence. Don't need to look any further than Marty Hore to cover for Rick. AJ continues to do impressive things in match sim. It won't be for want of trying if he misses out on early selection. Fritsch, also looking to have put injury concerns behind him, is having more involvement further from goal . Tom Sparrow is another who gives 100%. I feel he is sometimes underrated here. Roy was here and he kept close to Kossie. Didn't stand out in match sim. I didn't notice Kentfield or Spargs, and there were up to three others who took part in match sim that I didn't recognize. DITCHA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I attended some of the training session this morning. Match sim was full on with May, Clarry, and McAdam going down to the ground after heavy collisions. All got up, and were OK. Choco arranged for young girls with Max Gawn face masks to have Max sign the face masks. Choco was speaking to everyone that attended training. SLARTIFASTBLAST'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I thought Lindsay was very impressive. Quick, clean, lovely kick, positioned himself well, was very involved. For someone that hasn’t done much full training for a while he was very good. Howes played well. Used his body well in marking contests and was strong one on one. Keeps his feet well in contests. He’s a slow burn but he can definitely play.

Better late than never … and quite frankly, there’s very little to report other than that training took place at Casey Fields this morning, that Tracc was there nursing his rib injury and that some photographs are on the club’s social media including this one of Clarrie in Raging Bull stance that gives rise for confidence. The other news is that the club has a new train on player in 185cm Dandenong Stingrays midfielder Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (love the hyphenated name which is just so fitting for the MFC). The 2025 draft prospects training at your club this week H-H has been with the Stingrays program for a couple of seasons and was a regular them last year. He should feel at home training with former teammate Harvey Langford. As far as I know, he’s not tied to the club in any way and if that’s the case, he’s available to all clubs in this year’s national draft. The Herald Sun’s Josh Barnes has posted an article on Code Sports entitled “Track Watch: Christian Petracca trains days after cracking ribs at Melbourne training”. Summary - • Christian Petracca was on light duties but showed no signs of discomfort from his cracked ribs at Melbourne training. • there’s no plan in place to return the Norm Smith medallist to full training but he will be able to keep his fitness up as his ribs recover. • the club didn’t hesitate in getting into contact today, stepping into physical centre bounce and defensive set up drills involving heavy tackling. • other players in the non-contact group were skipper Max Gawn, defender Jake Lever and Taj Woewodin. • players who impressed were:- * Kysaiah Pickett – was impressive in bursting out of the middle of the ground in a centre bounce drill. * Tom Campbell – with Max on the sidelines, he showed his deft ruckwork in the centre. * Shane McAdam – was hampered physically to start this pre-season but he showed a flash of his goalkicking ability with a nice dribble goal from deep in a pocket. • Christian Salem limped off the track at one point, pointing to his lower right leg and seeking attention from the medical staff.

Welcome back to Demonland for those like me who have been on vacation. I’m posting this with some trepidation because of a certain amount of uncertainty surrounding the return of preseason training in 2025 after a flurry of weddings including those of our coach, one of our superstar players and a former premiership champion player and bloke, not to mention the recent mysterious incident that occurred on the Mornington Peninsula. I believe that the team reassembles this morning at Casey Fields (fitting because it’s the closest training facility to Sorrento). At least that’s what I was led to believe from despatches in late 2024, although the fog of the festive season and new year celebrations might be playing tricks on me. To add to my trepidation is this ominous piece of information gleaned from the MFC website:- “Some sessions in the new year are returning to Casey Fields and due to the nature of the facility those sessions will be closed to the public, unless otherwise advertised below.” Since I couldn’t locate any relevant information below, I can only assume that we won’t be receiving many reports from training if indeed, it proceeds today, especially given that this is the time of year when the snakes of Casey Fields come out of hibernation to congregate outside the fences of that facility. One of our regular correspondents has used the break to make a tree disguise but I believe it has yet to be tested as snake proof. So, in case there are no reports forthcoming on today’s activities, here is a picture taken in Bali to remind you all of what some of our players look like these days. PICKET FENCES PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Yer well Iv'e been here for 30 minutes and the most interesting thing is watching an excavator dredging out one of the lakes, slitheras going in every diection and The Mahogany ship being discovered! There was a small group of players doing "grappling"exercises for a while but looks like an indoor session in the revamped indoor training facility. Tellingly there is nothing set up on the oval for drills and the demon truck carrying training equipment is not here! Also interestingly the gates are open on far side due to maintenance work on gazeebos. But Wait a few players now coming out with footies! Same again folks more grappling exercises Midfield only about 15 or so involved, one thing I can say Clarry looks thinner than Ive seen for a while. Ground is being marked but again unless training starts at 11.00 doubtful would think indoor session as iterated. Goody trying to avoid peeping eyes has worked if the case Iv'e been here since 9.30. Thats it for me, am unavailable for next few weeks so if anyone can attend down at Slithera City good. I'll post again in a few weeks time. P.S Ground in magnificent condition! GHOSTWRITER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Strange training- only 8 on ground with one coach so far away I can’t see who they are and are only throwing the ball up and catching it. There seem to be enough cars there that would indicate they are all there. There’s no equipment out and the scoreboard is not lit up. None of the boys have numbers. They are definitely practising catching the ball though. Ps I could do what they are doing. Can’t see if it’s Goodie with the 8/9 boys. The rest must be in the gym.

Melbourne star Christian Petracca has sustained a cracked rib following a knock at training on Friday at Casey Fields. AFL Performance Manager, Selwyn Griffith, provided an update on the midfielder’s injury. “During today’s training session, Christian received a knock to the rib area in a contest,” Griffith said. “We sent Christian for scans this afternoon, which unfortunately showed a crack in his rib. “This is frustrating news for Christian, who was progressing well and had recovered from the rib and spleen issues he sustained during the 2024 season. “A timeline for his recovery will be determined in due course.”

On behalf of all at Demonland, we thank you for all of your support during 2024 and wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year and a happy, safe and healthy holiday period and a great 2025. Hoping that come the end of September, we can celebrate another Demon premiership! It's also time to thank all those who have contributed to Demonland during the past season and to all those who post here or simply visit and read without posting. We value your contributions and ongoing support - especially to Nasher who keeps us going on the technical side, to our moderators whose task is often thankless - especially so when we go through yet another season where the wins are outweighed by the losses. Special thanks to our regular contributors, Whispering Jack, George on The Outer, Bin Man, KC from Casey, The Oracle, Meggs and all others who have contributed articles and by contributing to our Demonland podcast. Once again they have had to report on games and subjects that have sometimes been difficult to write about in 2024 because our club went through some difficult times both on and off the field. Now, we are all looking forward to a bigger and better season in 2025 and hope that the stories and news we bring you will be uplifting and exciting. We are always looking out for new contributors who have something to say about the mighty Demons. If you want to contribute an article feel free to contact me via PM. Cheers & thanks again. Andy

Thanks everyone for your wishes to the Demonland community and to all on our site over Christmas and the Festive Season. We’ll be back shortly with our New Year thanks to all of our contributors over the year including all of those involved in our teams and in putting the boys and girls on the field. In the meantime, please stay safe and enjoy the weather and the break if you’re on holidays.

Just before 8am on December 26, 2004, a massive 9.3 scale earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra in northern Indonesia, hitting 240km from the coast and 49km below the ocean floor. It was estimated that the earthquake released energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. The result was that a huge tsunami was triggered with waves up to 30 metres high, devastating communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries, with the hardest hit locations being in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives. Twenty three Australians died while holidaying in Thailand, and a further three in Sri Lanka. Among those killed was young Melbourne footballer Troy Broadbridge, who was on his honeymoon at Phi Phi Island in Thailand with his young bride, Trish. On the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, we remember Troy and all of the victims of the Boxing Day Tsunami. Here is a tribute written on our site twelve months after the event to Troy, to his teammates, to his widow Trish and to all those who perished that day. We remember. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Whispering Jack Three hundred and sixty-five days ago the earth moved, the seas split and a wave was sent across the ocean leaving a trail of devastation that took with it a quarter of a million lives across two continents. We were touched by the tragedy; we felt its sadness and then life went on. Soon after, we could have been forgiven for thinking that despite the enormity of the event, the world remained unchanged. Seemingly, nothing did change our world in 2005. People still died whether by natural causes, by natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, by epidemics such as AIDS or by man’s own hand everywhere on the planet but most notably in the deserts of Darfur, in the streets of Baghdad and even in the London Underground. "Nothing's gonna change my world" These are the words of the late John Lennon. Perhaps a single individual in a vast universe may feel that there is nothing he or she can do to change our world. But we are not totally helpless - we can make a difference. Trish Broadbridge, the Melbourne Football Club and friends proved this at Phi Phi Island - at the very place where their fallen husband and comrade Troy perished in the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Their persistence and endeavour enabled the building of a school for the children of the devastated island - the finishing touches were applied with their own bare hands. That generations of young Thai children to come will benefit from their labour bears testament to the fact that all of us can make a difference. We can change the world.

@Ghostwriter or @kev martin may be able to help with this query.

Updates on other injured players: Draftee Xavier Lindsay came to the Dees with an existing knee injury that he sustained during the Coates Talent League but is looking close to integrating into the main group. Griffith praised the young Demon for his maturity in fast-tracking his rehab while in the new environment at Melbourne. “Xavier had sustained a PCL injury at the end of his season,” Griffith said. “He came into our program with a good level of strength but hadn't done a huge amount of running. “We've had him in the re-conditioning environment, and he's just gone from strength to strength. “He'll go into the Christmas break on the draftee program, which will be unrestricted, and we’ll look to integrate him into full training shortly after returning from that Christmas break.” Experienced Demons Christian Salem and Bayley Fritsch spent their off-season in similar fashions, undergoing minor surgeries and entering into rehab alongside one another. “Christian and Bayley both had arthroscopes at the end of the season,” Griffith said. “They've done a fantastic job over the off-season and both have integrated into full training now, and coping really well with that.” Defender Jake Lever also underwent an arthroscope, in addition to shoulder surgery. The 28-year-old is tracking well and will enter into his final month of rehab prior to the 2025 season. “Jake had a knee arthroscope and shoulder surgery in the off-season,” Griffith said. “He’s non-contact from a shoulder perspective as we ensure the range and strength is adequate before his integration. “His knee is going really well and he's started to get some good running loads up. “He'll still be in a modified environment once we return from Christmas, more so from the shoulder perspective as we build his tolerance to contact training. “We expect that Jake will be full training, by the end of January.” In some positive news for Demon Charlie Spargo, the 25-year-old is eyeing off a long-awaited return to full training in the new year. Spargo had been sidelined for most of 2024 with an Achilles injury, restricting him to just one game for the duration of the season. “Charlie obviously had that really frustrating year from an Achilles perspective, but he's done an awesome job over the off-season and since he’s come back,” Griffith said. “He's now integrated into skills with the group and is building his conditioning volume. “Our aim is to integrate him into an individualised Christmas program, with the plan for him to return to full training post-Christmas.” Melbourne’s AFL program will return from the Christmas break on Thursday 9th January, their first day of 2025 at Casey Fields.