Demonland

And after eight rounds, Clarrie hits the ton. 103. Clayton Oliver 82. Christian Petracca 42. Max Gawn 34. Jack Viney 33. Brodie Grundy 30. Jake Lever 22. Angus Brayshaw 18. Lachie Hunter Ed Langdon 15. Kysaiah Pickett 13. Jake Bowey 11. Kade Chandler Trent Rivers 9. Ben Brown Bayley Fritsch 8. Judd McVee 7. Charlie Spargo 6. Tom Sparrow 5. Tom McDonald 3. James Jordon Alex Neal-Bullen 2. Steven May Jacob van Rooyen 1. Michael Hibberd Harry Petty

Melbourne has pocketed the four premiership points and somewhat sheepishly walked away from its close encounter against the Gold Coast Suns, knowing that it worked hard for victory against an emerging young side at Heritage Bank Stadium and learned some valuable lessons along the way. Twenty minutes into their fourth interstate clash in eight games, the Demons appeared in total control. They were doing the hard running, hitting their targets and while not exactly dominating the early clearances, their tall forwards were proving more than a handful for the Suns’ defence. They led 3.3.21 to 0.2.2 and were threatening to make the contest a rout, perhaps not to the extent of last week’s 15 goal thrashing of the Kangaroos, but nevertheless a heavy beating. It was as time on in the first quarter began to tick over however, that the Suns decided they were not going to be bullied but rather, were going to fight the game out and beat their opponents at their own game. Their co-skipper Jarrod Witts was taking on the twin towers Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy in the ruck duels to the extent that his team ended up square in the hit out count (37 each) but more importantly, they won the clearances by 42 to 36. And they won the contested possessions! That’s right - the Suns beat the hard bodied tough nuts Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and co by six clearances on the evening, even without their hard nut superstar Touk Miller. They did it mainly with their young wunderkinder Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson who are both rapidly coming of age. Rowell started it with his five clearances by quarter-time, getting the ball directly into dangerous places up forward where the elusive Malcolm Rosas did damage with two goals followed by another from Mabior Chol to bring the margin to a solitary point before Kade Chandler broke away for a goal late in the term. Anderson kept getting better as the game went on and inspired his team against one of the competition’s toughest midfields. The second quarter was much the same as the first with Melbourne asserting its authority again to build a three goal plus lead and Gold Coast pegged them back to seven points once more at the main interval. It would have been even closer but for the fact that Alex Neal-Bullen slotted one through with seconds left on the clock. Kozzie Pickett was celebrating his new contract and proving a handful for the home side. He scored the first goal of the second half but the dogged Suns were determined. Their defence fought back to get on top and sensing victory, they clawed their way to a three quarter time stalemate, helped by three free kick goals during the term. It was at this stage that the Demons had to assert themselves against a tiring young opponent. Petracca lifted them, kicking off one step from forty metres with the ball hooking its way through the big sticks and then an off-the-ball indiscretion from Levi Casboult gifted Max Gawn a goal and gave Melbourne a 14 point lead. Almost half of the final term had ticked away and the Suns had not scored in that time. But there was still one more twist to come in the tale of this game. The ball was deep in Melbourne’s forward line when a desperate lunge by Jacob van Rooyen caused a crash and Suns defender Charlie Ballard had to be carried off with a neck injury. Things grew heated while the wounded Sun was in the hands of the trainers and the incident seemed to breathe life into the home side which went on to kick two goals while the Demons were only able to manage points. The usually reliable Bayley Fritsch who had been kept quiet all day, was the main offender with three behinds for the quarter as he saw his long streak of kicking at least one goal a game come to an end. In a frenetic finish that saw a few bad Melbourne defensive errors, the Suns almost tied the game but Darcy Macpherson missed his chance to level the scores with 20 seconds remaining. This wasn’t Melbourne’s greatest moment and the team was by no means at the top of their game. Their hard nosed defence has built a reputation of resilience by respecting its opposition but in this game, there were times when they perhaps underestimated them. Such as when Lachie Hunter held on for too long and got pinged for holding the ball or when a trio of Demons failed to see the ball out and unnecessarily cost the team a goal. Errors such as these can be even far more costly - hopefully, lessons have been learned. After last week’s big win, some Demon fans expressed frustration at the narrowness of this win and the failure to put their opponents away after establishing a good early lead. We should never lose sight of the fact however, that Collingwood, one of their closest rivals is making an art form of and has earned the football world’s admiration for winning their close encounters, learning from the experience and moving on to their next challenge. That’s what good teams do. MELBOURNE 4.4.28 8.5.53 11.6.72 13.12.90 GOLD COAST SUNS 3.3.21 7.4.46 11.6.72 13.7.85 GOALS MELBOURNE Gawn Grundy Pickett 2 Bowey Chandler Jordon Neal-Bullen Petracca Sparrow van Rooyen GOLD COAST SUNS Rosas 4 Casboult Chol King 2 Anderson Ellis Lukosius BEST MELBOURNE Petracca Gawn Oliver Brayshaw Sparrow May GOLD COAST SUNS Anderson Macpherson Ballard Powell Rowell Lemmens INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Ballard (head) Long (leg) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE James Harmes (replaced Daniel Turner in the fourth quarter) GOLD COAST SUNS James Tsitas (replaced Sam Flanders in the fourth quarter) UMPIRES Paul Rebeschini Jacob Mollison Brent Wallace James Strybos CROWD 11,440 at Heritage Bank Stadium

The Casey Demons traveled north for a top of the table clash against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday afternoon at Heritage Bank Stadium and were by no means disgraced despite losing their second match in three weeks. Their cause was not helped by injuries to midfield playmaker Luke Dunstan who accumulated 46 disposals in a game a fortnight ago and key forward Tom McDonald who hurt an ankle at training as well as Melbourne’s decision to rest Michael Hibberd which meant that Daniel Turner was co-opted into the big time for his second game. And it need not be stated but Jimmy Munro’s heavy tacking work is very much missed (but I’ll say it anyway). Still, the Demons went into the game with what appeared to be a relatively strong team - unfortunately not strong enough to overcome the undefeated Suns on their home turf in the curtain raiser to the sides’ older brother AFL teams. The Demons started well enough when they matched the Suns’ first goal in quick time with a major from Jack Bell and another from Ben Brown and by quarter time, they held a handy 12 point lead. The problem for Casey was that the Suns had the dominant ruckman in Ned Moyle who not only picked up 42 hit outs, he also accumulated 19 disposals and was instrumental in his team’s win starting with the early rebound in the second term which netted them two goals in three minutes. In addition, it was the Suns’ accuracy (6 goals from 7 shots) in front of goal that caused them to grab a seven point half time advantage. Meanwhile, the Demons who controlled proceedings in the middle of the second quarter constantly squandered opportunities and finished the second term with two goals six behinds. From there on it was the home side that had the run of the game. Whenever the Demons made a move, the Suns had the answers and they finally cut through one of the strongest defences in the competition to finish with a 20-point win to retain top place on the ladder. As Casey has a bye next weekend, it will fall further behind the leaders. Despite the defeat there were some encouraging signs for the Demons. For starters Ben Brown got in the goals with three which could easily have been five or more with better service. Joel Smith was also dangerous around goal and finished with two. Charlie Spargo with 22 disposals, 7 marks and 4 tackles was lively and should be back in the big time as soon as next week after missing a couple of weeks with concussion. Blake Howes (23 touches, 6 marks) continues to rack up disposals off half back and might not be all that far off a senior game. Bailey Laurie (21 disposals) also showed his class and composure. Taj Woewodin got plenty of the ball and defender Jed Adams played one of his best games to date filling in a key defence position in place of Turner. Andy Moniz-Wakefield was prominent early. Best of the Casey players were skipper Mitch White and George Grey. White often came under pressure and despite occasionally turning the ball over in the trying conditions, led the way with six strong tackles and finished with 19 disposals. Grey was also impressive in setting up plays during the day. The week break comes at a good time for younger players like Matt Jefferson and Ollie Sestan time to regenerate their bodies. CASEY DEMONS 4.3.27 6.9.45 10.9.69 13.14.92 GOLD COAST SUNS 2.3.15 8.4.52 13.8.86 17.10.112 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Brown 3 Melksham J Smith 2 Bell Laurie Moniz-Wakefield Schache Sestan Spargo GOLD COAST SUNS Sexton 5 Burgess McLaughlin 3 Derrington Oea 2 Harrington Jeffrey BEST CASEY DEMONS Howes Laurie Spargo Tomlinson Woewodin White GOLD COAST SUNS Moyle Burgess Andrew Farrar Jeffrey Constable Statistics Jed Adams 1 behind 14 kicks 2 handballs 16 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 75 dream team points Jack Bell 1 goals 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 9 hit outs 38 dream team points Ben Brown 3 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 8 disposals 4 marks 57 dream team points Matt Buntine 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 58 dream team points Kyah Ferris-White 6 handballs 6 disposals 1 tackle 4 hit outs 21 dream team points Max Gregory 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 29 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 72 dream team points Blake Howes 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 86 dream team points Matt Jefferson 1 behind 2 kicks 2 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 18 dream team points Bailey Laurie 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 11 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 68 dream team points Tom McRae 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 47 dream team points Jake Melksham 2 goals 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 70 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 49 dream team points Josh Schache 1 goal 2 behinds 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 5 marks 47 dream team points Oliver Sestan 1 goal 5 kicks 2 handballs 7 disposals 3 tackles 37 dream team points Deaykin Smith 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 39 dream team points Joel Smith 2 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 4 handballs disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 68 dream team points Charlie Spargo 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 12 handballs 22 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 99 dream team points Roan Steele 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 76 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 19 kicks 4 handballs 23 disposals 3 marks 74 dream team points Ryan Valentine 1 behind 2 kicks 5 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 23 dream team points Mitch White 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Taj Woewodin 12 kicks 11 handballs 23 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 77 dream team points

The Demons were forced to make multiple changes as well as losing coach Simon Goodwin to Covid19. Thanks to usual suspects in Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca and four goals from Ben Brown, they were able to overcome a determined Hawthorn combination by 10 points despite being held goalless in the final quarter. MELBOURNE 3.3.21 7.5.47 13.9.87 13.13.91 HAWTHORN 3.5.23 5.8.38 8.11.59 11.15.81 THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: T.Rivers 24 S.May 1 J.Smith 44 HB: J.Jordon 23 J.Lever 8 J.Bowey 17 C: A. Brayshaw 10 C.Petracca 5 E.Langdon 15 HF: T.McDonald 25 S.Weideman 26 B.Fritsch 31 F: T.Bedford 12 B.Brown 50 J.Harmes 4 Foll: M.Gawn 11 C.Oliver 13 J.Viney 7 I/C: L.Dunstan 27 J.Hunt 29 J.Melksham 18 C.Spargo 9 Sub: K.Chandler Emerg: O.Baker 33 M.Brown 38 A.Tomlinson 20 In: K.Chandler J.Lever T.McDonald J.Melksham J.Viney Out: L.Jackson (H & S Protocols) A.Neal-Bullen (H & S Protocols) H.Petty (H & S Protocols) K.Pickett (H & S Protocols) T.Sparrow (H & S Protocols) HAWTHORN B: J.Scrimshaw 14 S.Frost 8 B.Hardwick HB: F.Maginness 32 J.Sicily 6 W.Day 12 C: J.O'Meara 10 T.Mitchell 3 L.Shiels 26 HF: C.Nash 11 L.Breust 22 C.Macdonald 31 HF: D.Moore 13 J.Gunston 19 J.Impey 4 Foll: M.Lynch 18 J.Newcombe 44 J.Worpel 5 I/C: L.Bramble 16 J.Callow 45 C.Wingard 20 J.Koschitzke 23 Sub: D.Howe 17 Emerg: D.Grainger-Barras 24 K.Hartigan 28 N.Long 27 In: L.Bramble J.Callow D.Howe Out: D.Grainger-Barras (managed) H.Morrison (injured) J.Ward (managed)

SUNBURNED by KC from Casey The Casey Demons traveled north for a top of the table clash against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday afternoon at Heritage Bank Stadium and were by no means disgraced despite losing their second match in three weeks. Their cause was not helped by injuries to midfield playmaker Luke Dunstan who accumulated 46 disposals in a game a fortnight ago and key forward Tom McDonald who hurt an ankle at training as well as Melbourne’s decision to rest Michael Hibberd which meant that Daniel Turner was co-opted into the big time for his second game. And it need not be stated but Jimmy Munro’s heavy tacking work is very much missed (but I’ll say it anyway). Still, the Demons went into the game with what appeared to be a relatively strong team - unfortunately not strong enough to overcome the undefeated Suns on their home turf in the curtain raiser to the sides’ older brother AFL teams. The Demons started well enough when they matched the Suns’ first goal in quick time with a major from Jack Bell and another from Ben Brown and by quarter time, they held a handy 12 point lead. The problem for Casey was that the Suns had the dominant ruckman in Ned Moyle who not only picked up 42 hit outs, he also accumulated 19 disposals and was instrumental in his team’s win starting with the early rebound in the second term which netted them two goals in three minutes. In addition, it was the Suns’ accuracy (6 goals from 7 shots) in front of goal that caused them to grab a seven point half time advantage. Meanwhile, the Demons who controlled proceedings in the middle of the second quarter constantly squandered opportunities and finished the second term with two goals six behinds. From there on it was the home side that had the run of the game. Whenever the Demons made a move, the Suns had the answers and they finally cut through one of the strongest defences in the competition to finish with a 20-point win to retain top place on the ladder. As Casey has a bye next weekend, it will fall further behind the leaders. Despite the defeat there were some encouraging signs for the Demons. For starters Ben Brown got in the goals with three which could easily have been five or more with better service. Joel Smith was also dangerous around goal and finished with two. Charlie Spargo with 22 disposals, 7 marks and 4 tackles was lively and should be back in the big time as soon as next week after missing a couple of weeks with concussion. Blake Howes (23 touches, 6 marks) continues to rack up disposals off half back and might not be all that far off a senior game. Bailey Laurie (21 disposals) also showed his class and composure. Taj Woewodin got plenty of the ball and defender Jed Adams played one of his best games to date filling in a key defence position in place of Turner. Andy Moniz-Wakefield was prominent early. Best of the Casey players were skipper Mitch White and George Grey. White often came under pressure and despite occasionally turning the ball over in the trying conditions, led the way with six strong tackles and finished with 19 disposals. Grey was also impressive in setting up plays during the day. The week break comes at a good time for younger players like Matt Jefferson and Ollie Sestan time to regenerate their bodies. CASEY DEMONS 4.3.27 6.9.45 10.9.69 13.14.92 GOLD COAST SUNS 2.3.15 8.4.52 13.8.86 17.10.112 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Brown 3 Melksham J Smith 2 Bell Laurie Moniz-Wakefield Schache Sestan Spargo GOLD COAST SUNS Sexton 5 Burgess McLaughlin 3 Derrington Oea 2 Harrington Jeffrey BEST CASEY DEMONS Howes Laurie Spargo Tomlinson Woewodin White GOLD COAST SUNS Moyle Burgess Andrew Farrar Jeffrey Constable Statistics Jed Adams 1 behind 14 kicks 2 handballs 16 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 75 dream team points Jack Bell 1 goals 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 9 hit outs 38 dream team points Ben Brown 3 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 8 disposals 4 marks 57 dream team points Matt Buntine 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 58 dream team points Kyah Ferris-White 6 handballs 6 disposals 1 tackle 4 hit outs 21 dream team points Max Gregory 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 29 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 72 dream team points Blake Howes 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 86 dream team points Matt Jefferson 1 behind 2 kicks 2 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 18 dream team points Bailey Laurie 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 11 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 68 dream team points Tom McRae 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 47 dream team points Jake Melksham 2 goals 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 70 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 49 dream team points Josh Schache 1 goal 2 behinds 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 5 marks 47 dream team points Oliver Sestan 1 goal 5 kicks 2 handballs 7 disposals 3 tackles 37 dream team points Deaykin Smith 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 39 dream team points Joel Smith 2 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 4 handballs disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 68 dream team points Charlie Spargo 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 12 handballs 22 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 99 dream team points Roan Steele 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 76 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 19 kicks 4 handballs 23 disposals 3 marks 74 dream team points Ryan Valentine 1 behind 2 kicks 5 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 23 dream team points Mitch White 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Taj Woewodin 12 kicks 11 handballs 23 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 77 dream team points

The Demons return to the MCG to take on Hawthorn on Saturday afternoon. After a thrilling win on the road the Dees will be looking to extend their 3 game winning streak against the struggling Hawks. Who comes in and who goes out?

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 8th May @ 8:30pm. Join Binman and I as we analyse the get out of jail victory against the Suns on Saturday afternoon on the Gold Coast. 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

The Demons were on the road for the fourth time this season and managed to hold off a determined Gold Coast Suns to claim victory by 5 points.

Prior to our Round 8 loss to the Gold Coast Clayton Oliver was leading the Demonland Player of the Year ahead of Christian Petracca and Brodie Grundy. Who gets the 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1 votes against the Suns.

They did in the first half. They lost it in the second.

Forward line is a mess

Rowell is tearing us apart

Interesting that Grundy never works with the midfielders before the game and always goes with the forwards.

Beautiful afternoon for footy. Conditions are absolutely perfect.

Reckon there’s a good chance there are more Dees here than Suns.

It’s Game Day and the Demons have landed on the Sunny Gold Coast and are set to take on the Suns at Heritage Bank Stadium in a bid to win their third match on the trot. Follow all the action live here in the Game Day thread.

I believe he’s contracted until the end of 2025

Who are you tipping this week?

Missed the Dees at the airport this morning but Bevo & Matt Spangher will definitely be part of the Bulldogs coaching department for their match against the Giants. This is Andy from Demonland News. Back to you Sandra in the studio.

oh boy we're not even on the list.