Demonland

The Demons have a 9 day break before ANZAC Eve at the MCG when they face off against the Tigers who are coming off 3 straight losses. Who comes in and who goes out from the side that lost to Essendon in Adelaide?

The Demons were overrun by Essendon to the tune of 27 points at Adelaide Oval during their Gather Round match. The Bombers were more hungry and cleaner with the footy and the Demons had no answers for anything that was thrown at them.

Clayton Oliver leads the Demonland Player of the Year 12 votes clear of Christian Petracca with Brodie Grundy coming in 3rd leading into the Gather Round in Adelaide. Your votes please 6,5,4,3,2,1 for the Round 5 loss to Essendon.

They just did a make some noise Dees fans followed by make some noise Bombers fans. You could barely hear a pin drop for the Dees. Was very loud for the Bombers.

4:10 Melbourne. 3:40 Adelaide.

Blue skies at the moment. Rain coming at about 5pm.

Walking around the mean streets of Adelaide I feel like I’ve seen a lot more Essendon paraphernalia wearing people than Dees.

All the AFL clubs have converged on Adelaide in South Australia for the Gather Round and the Demons are aiming to jump back into the Top 2 with a win over the Essendon Bombers at the Adelaide Oval.

I just hope the narrative isn't twisted to make it look like we can't draw a crowd. Then again the AFL don't want any whiff of the Gather Round not being a resounding success so the broadcasters will definitely not be mentioning it. That being said it will be plain as day that there are a lot of empty seats in the first 1/2 to 3/4 of our match.

We're really getting robbed of having a decent crowd at our game by virtue of it being a double header and the Port fans most likely not being there for the majority of our game.

Surely a flick is a throw.

Loose goal post padding cost Swans a goal there.

Taranto has been very unimpressive for the Tigers this year.

Never trust Gold Coast

Signed 2 year extension until the end of 2025.

Even though it missed Broome I’m sure the weather would not have been pleasant and my young daughter is petrified of storms and I didn’t need the spectre of evacuation hanging over us or the possibility of being stuck there. The weather in Queensland has been beautiful and the accommodation here was free so win win in the end.

Demonland sponsored his brother Josh.

Over summer, an explosion occurred in the AFL’s marketing department and the result was that every club was consigned to the sleepiest part of the country for a Round 5 weekend festival of football. Brisbane and North Melbourne travel to the Adelaide Hills where organisers hope the teams get lost forever but most of the games have been allocated to Adelaide Oval which gives Melbourne an opportunity to bask at one of the venues remembered for the club’s 2021 premiership triumph (the Demons beat the Lions there in the First Qualifying Final). Two seasons down the track of that memorable achievement, the Dees are back on the banks of the River Torrens as one of the premiership favourites. This is a less high profile contest but still one that involves two current top four teams making it highly relevant in terms of the projected end game of the season. No disrespect to the Bombers because you can only beat whatever they serve up to you, but they really haven’t had to knock over any of the competition’s leading lights from past seasons to get into their current elevated position. This game looms as one that in time could become known as the benchmark for their season so they should be pumped for the contest. A win here would certainly put the football world on notice. By way of coincidence, both Melbourne and Essendon have players missing who loom large on their playing lists. The Demons have skipper and perennial ruck star Max Gawn out for another month while the Bombers have Two Metre Peter, their 2022 B&F missing from action. And this is exactly where the contrast between the two clubs highlights their respective strengths for this particular contest. Melbourne’s flag favouritism is predicated on a number of things but where it truly stands out is that the depth of its list is downright scary. Ben Brown goes out with a back strain and Simon Goodwin replaces him with Tom McDonald who immediately boots a lazy four that should have been five. Meanwhile, Harry Petty and Jacob Van Rooyen are around the place pressing as tall marking forwards as well as providing support for Maxy’s very capable replacement — two time All Australian Brodie Grundy. And I haven’t started any commentary yet on the team’s midfield or defensive depth. Compare this with the Bombers. They lose Wright and now, Sam Weideman. Who replaces them? Kyle Langford filled in a few weeks ago against an embattled Hawthorn and kicked five goals but he’s more of a forward/midfielder and might be stretching the point if he were to claim a permanent role as a key position player. There’s “The Package”, Jake Stringer who has credentials as an All-Australian, a premiership player with the Bulldogs who has led his clubs' goalkicking on six occasions (three for the Western Bulldogs and three at Essendon). On Sunday, Stringer returned to form and helped the Bombers come from behind with four goals including a huge barrell among a couple of trademark zingers and half a dozen behinds in the win over GWS Giants. There’s no doubt The Package is a dangerous foe but he’s also terribly inconsistent, looks unfit and has also had to deal with a lack of consistency, back, hamstring and concussion issues lately. Goody knows that if he can control him, it leaves Brad Scott with very few aces left up his sleeves while he has an entire pack including some jokers in Oliver, Petracca and Viney gathered around him in the midfield and players all over the ground to help him come up trumps. The weather bureau is predicting rain and the Demons have the strength, experience and skills to overcome the Bombers on a wet track. Melbourne to win by 28 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Essendon at Adelaide Oval Saturday 15 April, 2023 at 4.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 86 wins Essendon 130 wins 2 draws At Adelaide Oval Melbourne 0 wins Essendon 0 wins The last five meetings Melbourne 4 wins Essendon 1 win The Coaches Goodwin 0 win Scott 0 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 14.15.99 defeated Essendon 10.10.70 at The MCG, Round 3, 2022 Oliver, Brayshaw and Langdon were all prolific ball winners in Melbourne’s 29 point win over a plucky Essendon combination who stayed with the reigning premiers for the better part of three quarters before they were worn down by the superior run of the Demons. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B A. Tomlinson S. May J. McVee HB J. Bowey T. McDonald H. Petty C A. Brayshaw C. Oliver L. Hunter HF K. Chandler B. Fritsch A. Neal-Bullen F C. Spargo J. Melksham K. Pickett FOLL B. Grundy J. Viney C. Petracca I/C E. Langdon T. Rivers T. Sparrow J. van Rooyen SUB J. Jordon EMG B. Laurie D Turner IN J. Melksham A. Tomlinson OUT M. Hibberd (Achilles) J. Lever (ankle) ESSENDON B M. Redman B. Zerk-Thatcher J. Ridley HB J. Kelly J. Laverde A. McGrath C D. Heppell Z. Merrett S. Durham HF J. Menzie H. Jones D. Parish F A. Perkins J. Stringer N. Martin FOLL S. Draper J. Caldwell D. Shiel I/C K. Langford A. Phillips W. Setterfield W. Snelling SUB N. Hind EMG B. Hobbs M. D'Ambrosio P. Voss IN N. Hind W. Snelling OUT A. Davey Jnr (Managed) S. Weideman (Concussion) Injury List: Round 5 Ben Brown - Back | Test Jake Lever - Ankle | Test Michael Hibberd - Achilles | 1 Week Max Gawn - Knee | 1 - 2 Weeks Joel Smith - Thumb | 1 - 2 Weeks Kye Turner - Groin | 1 - 2 Weeks Taj Woewodin - Finger | 1 - 2 Weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 3 - 5 Weeks Will Verrall - Pelvis | 8 - 9 Weeks

So much false hope. Always have a really good first half before malfunctioning. I would never bet a single cent on them.