Demonland

The progressive count - 166. Clayton Oliver 100. Christian Petracca 85. Angus Brayshaw 84. Max Gawn 79. Jack Viney 65. Steven May 50. Ed Langdon 48. James Jordon 31. Luke Jackson 22. Jake Bowey 20. James Harmes 19. Jake Lever 17. Kysaiah Pickett 15. Tom Sparrow 13. Ben Brown Bayley Fritsch 11. Alex Neal-Bullen 8. Tom McDonald Harry Petty 6. Mitch Hibberd Sam Weideman 5. Jayden Hunt Charlie Spargo 3. Christian Salem Joel Smith

The top of the table Brisbane Lions came into their game against Melbourne thinking they were kings of the AFL Jungle. However, by game’s end they were shown to be toothless, as the rampant Demons gave them a lesson about the exact level you have to be at to justify that mantle. The first quarter saw Brisbane squander some easy chances in front of goal, which kept Melbourne within striking distance and, as a result, the Lions led by a mere goal. Of course, it could have been so much different and in addition, they expended a great deal of energy just getting to that point. The question before the game was how would Melbourne cope without their inspirational captain, Max Gawn in the ruck. What they discovered they had another inspirational captain in Jack Viney who stepped up to the role and then went even further during the game. Time and time again, he threw himself at man and contest, and time and time again, he came up with the crown of brutal superiority around the ball. By game’s end he had amassed an incredible 34 touches of which 19 were contested possessions. The second term saw Melbourne slam on six goals, and it could easily have held the Lions scoreless in that stanza, but for a Steven May blunder late in the quarter when he kicked the ball to the opposition to gift them their solitary score in 20 minutes of footy. Still not to worry, he might have been a little rusty but the addition of May to the side was a telling factor in the return of the stingy Melbourne defensive structure. And with May holding down the goalkeeper role, and making Joe Daniher look like a goose that he often emulates with his flopping tactics, the players around him picked up the vibe that has been missing or three weeks. Jake Lever returned to his best, and with the freedom from May’s presence, simply intercepted everything that came his way. His 15 intercepts including eight marks broke the hearts of the Brisbane mid-field as they simply could not pass him. Alongside, Michael Hibberd gave the Brisbane goal-sneak in Charlie Cameron a lesson in how a premiership defensive structure works, by giving him absolutely nothing. As a result Cameron scored nothing himself, while Hibberd racked up 14 disposals and six intercepts. In the third quarter, the Demons continued their assault, and while only scoring three goals, it should have been more given they also kicked seven minor scores. Once again, the lead was extended with the Lions only producing 2 goals 3 behinds for themselves. Meanwhile, the big question around the ruck was being emphatically answered by Luke Jackson, who gave away height and weight to McInerney, but his athleticism and second efforts around the ball were more effective than the output from the Brisbane ruck. His 21 disposals and 9 tackles and over 300m gained is not what a ruck normally produces, but his performance simply added to the mid-field dominance of the Demons. Alongside Jackson was the triumvirate of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Viney with their relentless approach to the contest, which resulted in 100 disposals among the trio. No side is capable of withstanding this sort of pressure and output and the Lions wilted even further in the final quarter conceding another five goals to the Demons while only producing a single major yet again. So in the end, Melbourne ran away with a 64 point win against a team which for a little over a week in time, had claimed top spot. Once again it put the Demons at the top of the ladder, and silenced the critics who had been all too willing to come up with all sorts of scuttlebutt, innuendo and fanciful claims about the side and the club. The fans came out in droves for a Thursday night game, with 37,000 coming through the gate, which was in sharp contrast to the numbers attending from other bigger membership clubs in recent times. They were treated to a display that was well worth their while attending mid-week in the middle of a bleak Melbourne winter. They got to see the Kings of the Jungle show their mettle. They got to see what has been showcased as “The Melbourne Way”. And once again, the other sides in the competition would be just a little more worried about what they could be facing in the second half of the season. None more so than the Lions who have to face the Demons again in the final round, knowing what happened to them in this game without Max Gawn and Tom McDonald on the field. One thing is for sure today — there is no doubt today about who is King. MELBOURNE 2.4.16 8.10.58 11.17.83 16.21.117 BRISBANE LIONS 3.4.22 4.4.28 6.7.43 7.11.53 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 3 Bedford Harmes Jordon Pickett 2 Brown Jackson Neal-Bullen Spargo Sparrow BRISBANE LIONS Hipwood Robinson 2 Daniher McCarthy Rayner BEST MELBOURNE Viney Oliver Lever Jordon Petracca Brayshaw Jackson BRISBANE LIONS Coleman McCluggage Rich Rayner INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Andrews (shoulder) Lyons (sternum) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Jayden Hunt (unused) BRISBANE LIONS Callum Ah Chee (replaced Jarryd Lyons in the last quarter UMPIRES Nick Foot Brendan Hosking Simon Meredith CROWD 37,728 at the MCG

Got an early edition of the newspaper

Who comes in and who goes out?

We’re back in town …

Cast your votes here people - 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ….

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

BRISBANE In: J.Payne, T.Berry, J.Tunstill Out: D.Gardiner (lungs), D.Zorko (hamstring), D.Fort (medi-sub), Z.Bailey (HS Protocol) Last week's sub: Darcy Fort (replaced Dayne Zorko)

INS: May, Bedford, Weideman OUTS: Gawn (Ankle), Turner (Fractured Face), M.Brown (Omitted), Kade Chandler (used medi-sub)

Keep purely political attacks and name calling out of the thread please or it will be closed and you may face a stint on the sidelines.

The winds of change have blown through the Melbourne Football Club over the past month or so as the team previously known for applying relentless pressure on opponents dramatically fell from its pedestal to a low not seen for some three years. This is a team that had the luxury of going through last season with one of the healthiest lists in the competition. And that health was not only reflected in a weekly injury list that revealed very few key players missing, but importantly, even fewer injuries during games. As a consequence, the Demons of 2021 were mostly able to retain their structure and to apply high levels of pressure whenever needed. It got them through a few games that ultimately made the difference between a top two placing and a more difficult series of battles in the finals. However, things have been different in recent times with injuries suffered during the course of matches becoming one of the main factors behind the Demons’ current woes. With a team that relies so heavily on its strong defensive game, it simply can’t afford to have two or three key defenders out of the game or missing large slabs of the action by half time as it has over its past three matches. With limited rotations as a result, we’ve witnessed a disturbing fall off in pressure in each final half. If the pattern continues, it will spell disaster for the team’s aspirations in going for back to back flags. This week the team takes one step forward regaining Steven May, fresh from his experiences with concussion and some fisticuffs with Jake Melksham at the Entrecôte Restaurant in Grenville Street and one step back with the loss of skipper Max Gawn. The loss of Maxy will be huge but his absence opens up other prospects and adds some unpredictability to the team makeup which might not be such a bad thing. Hopefully, the worst case scenario is that the two will balance each other out and as long as the team can stay on their feet throughout the game, their prospects for a return to winning form are good. A number of Demons who have been out of sorts and down on form will relish the brief break and should be supercharged to return to their best form. In particular Ed Langdon, Christian Salem and Ben Brown who are all due to stand up and take responsibility as they did at this juncture and then later in the finals of last year. There’s an ongoing debate about whether the Demons are loading for the run home to the finals but it has to be said that the Lions weren’t traveling all that well before the break either. They’ve lost two of their last four games, looked out of sorts against the Giants and appeared to be blowing hard against the Saints in their last game. The MCG hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for them in recent years - they haven’t won a game there since 2014. Melbourne last won there on 8 May so I’m going for the Demons to win on the basis of home ground advantage which against this opponent has historically been strong. Melbourne to win by 10 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Brisbane Lions at The MCG, Thursday 23 June, 2022 at 7.20pm HEAD TO HEAD * Overall: Melbourne 27 wins Brisbane Lions 22 wins At MCG: Melbourne 14 wins, Brisbane 3 wins Last Five Meetings: Melbourne 3 wins Brisbane Lions 2 wins The Coaches: Goodwin 4 wins Fagan 2 wins * does not include Brisbane Bears or Fitzroy games MEDIA TV live and on demand on Kayo and live on Foxtel. Check your local guides. Radio - check your local guides. LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 13.15.93 defeated Brisbane Lions 9.6.60 at Adelaide Oval, Qualifying Final, 2021 A superhuman effort by Lachie Neale (46 touches) and 5 goals from Charlie Cameron weren’t enough to keep the accurate Lions from being any more than pests as the Demons ploughed their way into the finals series. Mind you, it was the skipper who dominated with 37 hit outs but the Demon stars were shining brightly at Adelaide Oval in the first week of the final series. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: .Harmes 4 H.Petty 35 S.May 1 HB: J.Jordon 23 J.Lever 8 C.Salem 3 
C: A.Brayshaw 10 C.Petracca 5 E.Langdon 15 HF: B.Brown 50 B.Fritsch 31 T.Sparrow 32 F: A.Neal-Bullen 30 S.Weideman 26 C.Spargo 9 Foll: L.Jackson 6 C.Oliver 13 J.Viney 7 I/C: T.Bedford 12 J.Bowey 17 M.Hibberd 14 K.Pickett 36 Sub: J.Hunt 29 Emerg: M.Brown 38 L.Dunstan 27 A.Tomlinson 20 In: T.Bedford J.Hunt S.May S.Weideman 
 Out: M.Brown (omitted) K.Chandler (omitted) M.Gawn (ankle) D.Turner (face) BRISBANE B: J.Payne 40 H.Andrews 31 M.Adams 24 HB: B.Starcevich 37 D.Rich 10 N.Answerth 43 C: J.Berry 7 T.Berry 13 H.McCluggage 6 HF: C.Rayner 16 E.Hipwood 30 L.McCarthy 11 F: D.McStay 25 J.Daniher 3 C.Cameron 23 Foll: O.McInerney 46 J.Lyons 17 L.Neale 9 I/C: K.Coleman 18 D.Robertson 2 M.Robinson 5 J.Tunstill 29 Sub: C.Ah Chee 4 Emerg: D.Fort 32 R.Lester 35 J.Madden 14 In: C.Ah Chee T.Berry J.Payne D.Tunstill Out: Z.Bailey (H&S Protocol) D.Fort (omitted) D.Gardiner (lungs) D.Zorko (hamstring) Injury List: Round 15 Max Gawn - Ankle | 2-4 Weeks Daniel Turner - Face | 3-4 Weeks Blake Howes - Foot | 3-5 Weeks Joel Smith - Ankle | 3-5 Weeks Majak Daw - Pectoral | 4 Weeks Tom McDonald - Foot | 10-12 Weeks