Demonland

It was on the Gold Coast for the Round 2 match against the Suns or is the GC considered an annex of Victoria?

Despite winning their game in the Red Centre at the weekend, the consensus among the pundits is that Melbourne’s days in the sun are over. Ten rounds into the season, they were the competition’s top dogs and regarded virtually unbeatable but their recent form (three wins from the last seven games) has put them well below par, perilously clinging onto second spot on the ladder with storm clouds on the horizon. The air of invincibility that once surrounded them is gone and the Demons face a tough road to the finals. On the other hand, Chris Scott has reinvented his crotchety, old Cats into flag favouritism and thanks to their soft draw, they are near certainties to hold #1 spot coming to the business end of the season. If you listen to the football media, Geelong are football’s new gods. They can’t be beaten — it all sounds so familiar. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs who entered the season on equal favouritism with the Demons, aren’t even in the top eight although that might well change if they manage to win Saturday night’s encounter at Marvel Stadium. They are certainly primed to do so with an injury list that threatened to derail their 2022 campaign now dwindling. They smashed the Saints last week and coach Luke Beveridge reckons they’re up for the fight against the team that humiliated them in last year’s premiership decider. Back in the Red Centre, Melbourne struggled without the injured Clayton Oliver, a Covid19 affected Harry Petty and Jake Lever winged early with a shoulder injury that could see him miss this week. They say that Ben Brown’s hobbling around as well. The team managed to get out of gaol thanks to Kozzy's six-goal masterclass in front of his adoring fans but not every town’s like Alice. Luckily, they got Port Adelaide in a tizz about defending against the Demon whiz kid small man while their taller timber in Max Gawn and Luke Jackson were unable to hit their straps after coming back from injury. The experts seem to enjoy picking on Bayley Fritsch for doing what he’s been good at doing for some time. But like Kozzy, he’s due to explode with a big of goals at any time soon. There’s one advantage in all of this. The Melbourne brains trust have the opportunity to return to the drawing board and make the small adjustments necessary to get them back on track. For the first time in a while, they are flying under the radar in much the same way as they were this time twelve months ago when the Cats and Dogs held sway on the ladder. And when the going got tough back then, it was the Demons who came through and the rest was history. Saturday night’s game should be a beauty. A big lifter for the winner anḏ in my estimation, the winner will be Melbourne who are ready to make their run for glory. Tipping them to win by 29 points. THE GAME 

Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium Saturday 23 July, 2022 at 7.25 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Western Bulldogs 78 wins Melbourne 90 wins 1 draw At Marvel Stadium Western Bulldogs 10 wins Melbourne 9 wins Last Five Meetings Western Bulldogs 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Beveridge 3 wins Goodwin 6 wins MEDIA TV - live and on demand on Kayo and live on the Seven Network and Foxtel. Check your local guides. 
Radio - check your local guides.
 THE LAST TIME THEY MET

 Melbourne 14.13.97 Western Bulldogs 11.5.71 at The MCG in Round 1, 2022
 We all wondered how a brooding Bulldog team would react after six months of agonizing over their grand final loss. The result was a repeat of history with Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver leading another great comeback to glory victory over the hapless dogs.
 THE TEAMS
 WESTERN BULLDOGS B: E.Richards 20 C.Gardner 43 B.Khamis 24 HB: M.Hannan 29 A.Keath 42 B.Dale 31 C: B.Williams 34 T.Liberatore 21 J.Macrae 11 HF: J.Johannisen 39 J.Bruce 17 B.Smith 6 F: J.Dunkley 5 A.Naughton 33 J.Ugle-Hagan 2 Foll: T.English 44 M.Bontempelli 4 A.Treloar 1 I/C: R.Garcia 38 L.McNeil 30 C.Weightman 19 R.West 14 Sub: R.McComb 27 Emerg: Z.Cordy 12 L.Vandermeer 23 J.Sweet 41 In: A.Naughton Out: J.Sweet (omitted) MELBOURNE
 B: T.Rivers 24 S.May 1 H.Petty 35 HB: T.Sparrow 32 A.Tomlinson 20 J.Jordon 23 C: A.Brayshaw 10 C.Oliver 13 E.Langdon 15 HF: B.Fritsch 31 M.Gawn 11 J.Harmes 4 F: K.Pickett 36 S.Weideman 26 C.Petracca 5 Foll: L.Jackson 6 J.Viney 7 A.Neal-Bullen 30 I/C: M.Hibberd 14 J.Melksham 18 C.Salem 3 C.Spargo 9 Sub: T.Bedford Emerg: 12 L.Dunstan 27 J.Hunt 29 In: C.Oliver H.Petty A.Tomlinson S.Weideman Out: 
B.Brown (knee soreness) L.Dunstan (omitted) J.Hunt (omitted) J.Lever (shoulder) Injury List: Round 19 Jake Lever - Shoulder | Test 
Clayton Oliver - Finger | Test
 Joel Smith - Ankle | 1 Week
 Deakyn Smith - Jaw | 3 Weeks
 Tom McDonald - Foot | 6-8 Weeks

Was listed as Available last week and is not on the official injury list this week so I would say he is good to go given the extra week.

Updated list to include Ben Brown who limped into training as per the channel 7 footage from yesterday. PLAYER INJURY LENGTH Ben Brown Knee Test Jake Lever Shoulder Test Clayton Oliver Thumb Test Joel Smith Ankle 1 Week Deakyn Smith Jaw 3 Weeks Tom McDonald Foot 6-8 Weeks

I get your point here and it is highly predicated on whether this week Melk was actually playing this role and had a hand in nullifying the intercept and rebound of Aliir. It is hard to tell not being at the actual ground to watch. My issue in the past with Melk was his lack of pressure and tackles. He seems to have worked on this and laid 2 great tackles and I believe had 7 all up. In the past he would barely crack 1 tackle. The only remaining question mark in regards to Melk is whether he is contributing enough in terms of possession and more importantly effective possessions whether it be in the form of score involvements or actually scoring himself. Happy for him to get a look in for a few games but we need results and quickly.

Thanks for you all of your kind words about the podcast. Feedback, whether positive or negative (constructive of course), is the only way we can improve and give the listeners what they want. Keep the questions coming and we'll include them in the show if we can. Also if you like the show and want to help us out then jump into the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone (if you have one) and leave us a favourable 5 star review as well as comments. It does help attract new listeners who hopefully will join our community here on Demonland as a result.

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Tracc making a move… 187. Clayton Oliver 144. Christian Petracca 105. Jack Viney 97. Angus Brayshaw 84. Max Gawn 73. Steven May 70. Ed Langdon 50. James Jordon 35. Kysaiah Pickett 31. Luke Jackson 27. Jake Lever 26. James Harmes 22. Jake Bowey 18. Harry Petty Tom Sparrow 15. Michael Hibberd 14. Ben Brown 13. Bayley Fritsch 11. Alex Neal-Bullen 8. Tom McDonald 6. Sam Weideman 5. Jayden Hunt Charlie Spargo 4. Christian Salem 3. Joel Smith

I agree with you in regards to bringing in either Weid or JVR (although I don't think they will bring in JVR) in order to prepare for the finals particularly if there is a chance that TMac will be right to go for finals. Bedford had a great game against the Lions however I have not seen him perform anywhere near that level in any other game he has played for the Dees. Perhaps that was the aberration. I would prefer the extra tall. We'll most definitely be discussing this on tonights show and no doubt it will continue to be a topic of discussion as we head into finals. Our forward and the connection to it are most definitely our weakest link at the moment.

Excellent question. We'll discuss it tonight. I think Kozzy's 6 goals masks the problem a little bit despite Ben Brown playing well (he could have had 4 goals). I know that the Weid experiment has failed and they aren't willing to pull the pin and try JVR early but Ben Brown needs help.

If there is anything in particular from the match that you wish us to discuss or you have a question or comment then let us know here.

Join @george_on_the_outer, @binman & I on the Demonland Podcast Monday night 18th July LIVE @ 8:30pm for breakdown of the Round 18 win against Port Adelaide. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Q: Melbourne is playing Port Adelaide at Traeger Park, Alice Springs and once again, it doesn’t have a properly functioning forward line — so from where were the goals going to come? A: Kysaiah Pickett. In a one man show in front of his adoring fans, he racked up six majors to give the Demons the edge in the game and to finally run out winners by 14 points. The result could well have been very different without his efforts with Melbourne failing to score a major in the first term, despite many opportunities. The Demons were however, putting in the effort required during that term and led the tackle count 18:6. This denied Port any ascendancy on the scoreboard, and the Demons remained only nine points in arrears at the first bell. In that opening quarter both sides looked like they were checking each other out, and there seemed little in the way of forward thrusts. Port as usual went for their switching style of play, which sent the ball all over the ground to little effect. Someone should tell Ken Hinkley that this doesn’t work against top of the table sides any more. Still they persisted with it all game, only helping to tire their players in the warm Alice Springs weather, on a really wide ground. The second quarter saw Melbourne kick five majors, while Port could only manage three themselves giving them a four point lead into the main break. In the middle Luke Jackson was taking a heavy load in the ruck, with Port throwing Dixon and Finlayson against him. This left Max Gawn down forward for long periods of time, but without any real outcome. Why the coaches persist with this tactic is flummoxing, as it hasn’t worked for ages. They keep blocking the true forwards with lumbering ruckmen who are failing to impact the scoreboard and fortunately, in this instance the likes of Pickett and Bayley Fritsch were able to put timely majors on the board although most of these came from out the back type scenarios or snaps on goal. It was a good thing they went through when most needed. In the middle, the absence of Clayton Oliver was sorely felt. Christian Petracca and Jack Viney walked away with 30 and 28 disposals respectively, and while the former took away ten clearances, the next best were Viney, Harmes and Gawn with only three each. That won’t be enough when the finals come around and not even against the quality opponent the Demons face in the run home. The third term was again a bit of a slog, with the margin at three quarter time being only ten points in Melbourne’s favour. Nothing to give those Demon fans facing a resurgence of their MFCSS with any confidence approaching the final quarter. Players simply were not at their best. All except Kysaiah who saved his best for the final thrust. Ben Brown by this stage was able to collect a couple of forward marks, as he had been forced up the ground by the presence of the rucks, and he slotted telling goals to steady the ship. Kozzy chipped in for more and the Demons had now kicked six in a row, scoring his sixth in ridiculous fashion. The game was as good as over. Port of course, came back with a couple of junk time goals, just to make sure the MFCSS still bubbled along nicely, and the lead was whittled back to 13 points with three minutes to go. The cooler heads of Melbourne prevailed, and a final margin of 14 points saw off the challenge. This was a must win game for the Demons. It has now established them on equal footing with Geelong at the top of the table, both being a game clear of third and importantly, four games and percentage clear of eighth place . They must now seek to cement that vital top four and top two position. Concerns still abound as Melbourne are not at their best level, execution is not clean and precise, and better players are not on the field. Chances have been afforded to the likes of Toby Bedford and Jake Melksham, but only five touches to the former after three last week will surely see his return to Casey. Melk might have kicked a goal out the back, but only six touches and a failure to cover and provide that defensive forward pressure similar to Pickett, doesn’t guarantee a place next week —particularly with Oliver and Harry Petty available for next week. There’s still a major problem with the second tall in front of goal in the absence of Tom McDonald and with the resting rucks playing there with kicking goals or getting rest. We just can’t depend on Pickett and Fritsch kicking ¾ of the teams score to win games. On the plus side, another win was recorded, and next week another contender in the Dogs has to be put in their place. And the Bulldogs certainly don’t have any answers should Kysaiah put on another show like this one. MELBOURNE 0.4.4 5.7.37 8.10.58 12.11.83 PORT ADELAIDE 2.1.13 5.3.33 7.6.48 10.9.69 GOALS MELBOURNE Pickett 6 Brown Fritsch 2 Jackson Melksham PORT ADELAIDE Bergman Boak Marshall 2 Dixon Drew Finlayson Rozee BEST MELBOURNE Pickett Petracca Viney Langdon Jordon Harmes Brayshaw PORT ADELAIDE Rozee Boak Houston Wines Dixon Finlayson Byrne-Jones INJURIES MELBOURNE Jake Lever (shoulder) PORT ADELAIDE Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil PORT ADELAIDE Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Luke Dunstan (unused) PORT ADELAIDE Jase Burgoyne (unused) UMPIRES Brendan Hosking John Howorth Leigh Haussen CROWD 6,312 at TIO Traeger Park

Who comes in and who goes out?