Demonland

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Well, that was a full-blown emotional rollercoaster in three acts, confusion, outrage, relief, followed by the bonus twist of triggering residual annoyance about buying footy tickets. I laughed, I cried, I questioned my ability to read Ticketek emails. Glad it was just a false alarm… classic Ticketek, giving everyone a free anxiety attack with their tickets!

MELBOURNE’S Jack Viney has undergone surgery on a fracture to his hand. The club’s AFL High Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith provided an update on the midfielder on Tuesday. “Jack was completing a training session in Alice Springs as part of his return from concussion,” Griffith told Melbourne Media. “During that session, he slipped over and unfortunately, follow-up imaging showed that he had sustained a fracture to one of the bones in his hand. “After consulting with a specialist, Jack has undergone surgery and is currently recovering. “The plan is to assess his availability once the wound is cleared, and we’ve followed up with the surgeon.”

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End of season. Nothing to play for so they didn’t come to play. They were beaten comprehensively by the Daicos brothers alone. To add insult to injury, Kozzy copped a three game suspension which probably affected Melbourne’s 2025 fortunes as well. MELBOURNE 1.1.7 4.4.28 7.5.47 8.9.57 COLLINGWOOD 5.4.34 8.5.53 12.8.80 15.13.103 GOALS MELBOURNE Pickett Tholstrup 2 Billings Chandler Turner van Rooyen COLLINGWOOD Cameron N Daicos Hill Lipinski 2 Allen Crisp Elliott Hoskin-Elliott Parker Richards Sidebottom BEST MELBOURNE McDonald Gawn Chandler Pickett Billings Rivers COLLINGWOOD N Daicos J Daicos Lipinski Allan Hill Sidebottom THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B M. Hore, T. McDonald, J. McVee HB J. Bowey, A. Tomlinson, B. Howes C E. Langdon, J. Viney, C. Salem HF K. Chandler, H. Petty, J. Billings F K. Pickett, J. Van Rooyen, B. Fritsch FOLL M. Gawn, A. Neal-Bullen, T. Rivers I/C B. Howes, J. Melksham, K. Tholstrup, D. Turner T. Woewodin SUB B. Laurie EMG K. Brown, M. Jefferson IN B. Laurie, T. Woewodin OUT J. Lever (illness), T. Sparrow (ankle) COLLINGWOOD B C. Dean, D. Moore, B. Maynard HB W. Hoskin-Elliott, J. Howe, I. Quaynor C S. Sidebottom, J. Crisp, J. Daicos HF B. Hill, L. Schultz, J. Elliott F B. McCreery, M. Cox, P. Lipinski FOLL D. Cameron, N. Daicos, S. Pendlebury I/C E. Allan, J. Noble, W. Parker, J. Richards SUB F. MacRae EMG B. Frampton, N. Long, J. Ryan IN E. Allan, C. Dean, F. Macrae, J. Richards OUT J.Bytel (omitted), B.Frampton (omitted), N. Long (omitted), D. McStay (managed)

Hands up if you thought, like me, at half-time in yesterday’s game at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs that Melbourne’s disposal around the ground and, in particular, its kicking inaccuracy in front of the goals couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. And what’s even more damning for the Melbourne Football Club is that the game against St Kilda and its resurgence from the bottomless pit of its miserable start to the season wasn’t just lost through poor conversion for goal but rather in the 15 minutes when the entire team went into a slumber and was mugged by the out-of-form Saints. Their six goals two behinds (one goal less than the Demons managed for the whole game) weaved a path of destruction from which they were unable to recover. In short, they blew it. Ross Lyon’s astute use of pressure to contain the situation once they had asserted their grip on the game, and Melbourne’s self-destructive wastefulness, assured that outcome. The old adage about the insanity of repeatedly doing something and expecting a different result, was out there. Two years ago, the score line in Melbourne’s loss to the Giants at this same ground was 5 goals 15 behinds - a ratio of one goal per four scoring shots - was perfectly replicated with yesterday’s 7 goals 21 behinds. This has been going on for a while and opens up a number of questions. I’ll put forward a few that come to mind from this performance. The obvious first question is whether the club can find a suitable coach to instruct players on proper kicking techniques or is this a skill that can no longer be developed at this stage of the development of our playing group? Another concern is the team's ability to counter an opponent's dominance during a run on as exemplified by the Saints in the first quarter. Did the Demons underestimate their opponents, considering St Kilda's goals during this period were scored by relatively unknown forwards? Furthermore, given the modest attendance of 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park and the team's poor past performances at this venue, is it prudent to prioritize financial gain over potentially sacrificing valuable premiership points by relinquishing home ground advantage, notwithstanding the cultural significance of the team's connection to the Red Centre? Melbourne started off as if on cue with a dominating opening ten minutes but managed only a solitary goal. The momentum turned when Kozzy Pickett’s shot for a second goal was taken on the line, and the Saints made their move with their opening goal and the torrent that followed until the shadows of quarter-time when the Demons responded with their second. Then it was the Demons’ turn to take control of the play, but their 4 goals 7 behinds wasn’t enough to translate into what could have been a half-time lead. Despite some outstanding work in the ruck of Max Gawn and Christian Petracca on the ball, they were let down with some diabolical misses when it came to scoring goals. Some of the notable examples were those of Kade Chandler from inside 40 metres, Gawn himself from closer still, and Xavier Lindsay hitting the post late in the term, again from in close. And, as indicated above, it only got worse as the time progressed so that well before the final siren, most Demon fans had put their hands up in resignation and despair. MELBOURNE 2.2.14 6.9.45 7.13.55 7.21.63 ST KILDA 6.2.38 9.4.58 11.6.72 14.7.91 GOALS MELBOURNE Petracca 2 Chandler Fritsch Johnson Melksham Petty ST KILDA Butler 4 Keeler 3 Hall 2 Clark Higgins Hill Owens Travaglia BEST MELBOURNE Gawn May McVee Petracca Bowey Turner ST KILDA Wanganeen-Milera Wilkie Windhager Sinclair Butler Hill INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil ST KILDA Phillipou (calf) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil ST KILDA Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Bailey Laurie (replaced Aidan Johnson in the fourth quarter) ST KILDA Jack Carroll (replaced Mattaes Phillipou in the first quarter) UMPIRES Robert O'Gorman, Nathan Williamson Cameron Dore, Jordan Fry CROWD 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park

Going to cut the questions off here. We might have to do a very limited question and answer segment this week as we have Jeff White for 30 to 45 minutes at the top of the show.

https://x.com/sammy__edmund/status/1929347798421381287?s=46&t=4yiPa6LJbgt-ACIG0WMIuA

After a disappointing loss in Alice Springs the Demons return to the MCG to take on the Magpies in the annual King's Birthday Big Freeze for MND game. Who comes in and who goes out?

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 2nd June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we have a chat with former Demon ruckman Jeff White about his YouTube channel First Use where he dissects ruck setups and contests. We'll then discuss the Dees disappointing loss to the Saints in Alice Springs. Your 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. Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

Max Gawn still has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year award as Christian Petracca, Jake Bowey, Clayton Oliver & Kozzy Pickett round out the Top 5. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1

After kicking the first goal of the match the Demons were always playing catch up against the Saints in Alice Spring and could never make the most of their inside 50 entries to wrestle back the lead.

My kingdom for a goal kicking coach.

We look slow and lethargic

Why do we always get commentators that barrack for the opposition?

Goal kicking coach has to be the highest priority at this club.

Shades of the Freo game

We are our own worst enemy

The Casey Demons were always expected to emerge victorious in their matchup against the lowly-ranked Sydney Swans at picturesque Tramway Oval, situated in the shadows of the SCG in Moore Park. They dominated the proceedings in the opening two and a half quarters of the game but had little to show for it. This was primarily due to their own sloppy errors in a low-standard game that produced a number of crowded mauls reminiscent of the rugby game popular in old Sydney Town. However, when the Swans tired, as teams often do when they turn games into ugly defensive contests, Casey lifted the standard of its own play and … it was off to the races. Not to nearby Randwick but to a different race with an objective of piling on goal after goal on the way to a mammoth victory. At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, the Demons held a slender 14-point lead over the Swans, who are ahead on the ladder of only the previous week's opposition, the ailing Bullants. Forty minutes later, they had more than fully compensated for the sloppiness of their earlier play with a decisive 94-point victory, that culminated in a rousing finish which yielded thirteen unanswered goals. Kicks hit their targets, the ball found itself going through the middle and every player made a contribution. It’s not hard to win against lowly teams but this was ridiculously sublime. Huge credit has to be given to the VFL-listed contingent who have been consistent in lifting the team after last year’s disappointments. Hardnut Riley Baldi, Mitch Hardie and Riley Bonner were solid contributors throughout while Paddy Cross chipped in with three of those eleven final quarter goals. Noah Yze overcame the disappointment of missing out on the Mid Season Draft with a couple of nice goals, Tyson Sruk was not as prolific as last week but was still full of endeavour in a hardworking display. Deakyn Smith led from the front. Of the AFL contingent (Casey had the edge over Sydney by 15 to 11), Jack Billings was the best with an indispensable four quarter display that netted him 32 disposals. His former teammate at the Saints in Tom Campbell dominated the rucks with his 34 hitouts, six clearances and a couple of goals with capable understudy Will Verrall again providing solid back up. The key forwards in Matthew Jefferson and Jacob van Rooyen were important in the early stages of the game with their goal kicking which netted seven goals between them to three quarter time. Both are now in intense competition for senior key position berths should a vacancy arise. The former would be edging slightly in front given his second consecutive five goal haul, but remember it’s an achievement over the VFL’s two bottom sides with one win between them. Other good performances were recorded by Jai Culley, Blake Howes, Oliver Sestan, Koltyn Tholstrup and Taj Woewodin who are all playing a waiting game for senior call ups that remain hard to come by in light of the club’s senior resurgence. Next up is the big Kings Birthday challenge against Collingwood to be played on Saturday night at, of all places, Mission Whitten Oval in Footscray. No doubt, the powers that be in the inner sanctum of the VFL have a logical explanation for this unusual and sublimely ridiculous fixture. CASEY DEMONS 5.4.34 8.5.53 13.9.87 24.11.165 SYDNEY SWANS 3.2.20 7.2.44 9.5.59 9.7.61 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Jefferson 5 Cross 3 Campbell Culley Mentha van Rooyen Yze 2 Baldi Craven Fullarton Hardie Howes Tholstrup SYDNEY SWANS Dattoli Hanily Kluske 3 BEST CASEY DEMONS Billings Jefferson Culley Baldi Hardie Sestan SYDNEY SWANS Florent Hanily Hanrahan Dattoli Shipley Edwards

RIDICULOUSLY SUBLIME by KC from Casey The Casey Demons were always expected to emerge victorious in their matchup against the lowly-ranked Sydney Swans at picturesque Tramway Oval, situated in the shadows of the SCG in Moore Park. They dominated the proceedings in the opening two and a half quarters of the game but had little to show for it. This was primarily due to their own sloppy errors in a low-standard game that produced a number of crowded mauls reminiscent of the rugby game popular in old Sydney Town. However, when the Swans tired, as teams often do when they turn games into ugly defensive contests, Casey lifted the standard of its own play and … it was off to the races. Not to nearby Randwick but to a different race with an objective of piling on goal after goal on the way to a mammoth victory. At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, the Demons held a slender 14-point lead over the Swans, who are ahead on the ladder of only the previous week's opposition, the ailing Bullants. Forty minutes later, they had more than fully compensated for the sloppiness of their earlier play with a decisive 94-point victory, that culminated in a rousing finish which yielded thirteen unanswered goals. Kicks hit their targets, the ball found itself going through the middle and every player made a contribution. It’s not hard to win against lowly teams but this was ridiculously sublime. Huge credit has to be given to the VFL-listed contingent who have been consistent in lifting the team after last year’s disappointments. Hardnut Riley Baldi, Mitch Hardie and Riley Bonner were solid contributors throughout while Paddy Cross chipped in with three of those eleven final quarter goals. Noah Yze overcame the disappointment of missing out on the Mid Season Draft with a couple of nice goals, Tyson Sruk was not as prolific as last week but was still full of endeavour in a hardworking display. Deakyn Smith led from the front. Of the AFL contingent (Casey had the edge over Sydney by 15 to 11), Jack Billings was the best with an indispensable four quarter display that netted him 32 disposals. His former teammate at the Saints in Tom Campbell dominated the rucks with his 34 hitouts, six clearances and a couple of goals with capable understudy Will Verrall again providing solid back up. The key forwards in Matthew Jefferson and Jacob van Rooyen were important in the early stages of the game with their goal kicking which netted seven goals between them to three quarter time. Both are now in intense competition for senior key position berths should a vacancy arise. The former would be edging slightly in front given his second consecutive five goal haul, but remember it’s an achievement over the VFL’s two bottom sides with one win between them. Other good performances were recorded by Jai Culley, Blake Howes, Oliver Sestan, Koltyn Tholstrup and Taj Woewodin who are all playing a waiting game for senior call ups that remain hard to come by in light of the club’s senior resurgence. Next up is the big Kings Birthday challenge against Collingwood to be played on Saturday night at, of all places, Mission Whitten Oval in Footscray. No doubt, the powers that be in the inner sanctum of the VFL have a logical explanation for this unusual and sublimely ridiculous fixture. CASEY DEMONS 5.4.34 8.5.53 13.9.87 24.11.165 SYDNEY SWANS 3.2.20 7.2.44 9.5.59 9.7.61 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Jefferson 5 Cross 3 Campbell Culley Mentha van Rooyen Yze 2 Baldi Craven Fullarton Hardie Howes Tholstrup SYDNEY SWANS Dattoli Hanily Kluske 3 BEST CASEY DEMONS Billings Jefferson Culley Baldi Hardie Sestan SYDNEY SWANS Florent Hanily Hanrahan Dattoli Shipley Edwards