Demonland

Why don’t we get rewarded for tackles?

Would also be great if we could stick a tackle.

Could really use another key forward or at the very least kick to our own players inside 50.

Our disposal is atrocious

What has happened to May’s disposal?

Worked a treat for me last week and will be using it again today. Not a bad view for the match either. 32 degrees to boot.

QUIRK IN EAGLES' JACKSON CHASE WEST Coast would need an AFL exemption to trade for Luke Jackson if the Melbourne young gun decided to go back to Western Australia. The Eagles are the only club not allowed to trade their first-round pick at this year's draft under the AFL's rules, which force clubs to use two first-round picks over a rolling four-year period to ensure they don't trade away all of their future selections. West Coast has used one first-round pick in the past four years – Campbell Chesser last year – and could only trade their first pick if they secured a second first-round selection. However, clubs are also able to apply for exemptions to trade out their top picks if they haven't reached the two-in-four requirement, with the AFL then able to decide. The Eagles using their top pick at this year's draft – likely to be No.2 or 3 – to try to lure Jackson back to Western Australia would be expected to be approved by the AFL, though, considering Jackson was a No.3 pick just three years ago and will only be 21 at the end of this season. Another option would be to split their early pick into two multiple first-round picks, which wouldn't require AFL approval. The star young ruckman has been weighing his decision to remain at Melbourne, where he was a central member of its premiership win last year, or return to Western Australia, with the Eagles and Fremantle both ready to make a play. – Callum Twomey

Who are you tipping this week?

INS – Max Gawn, Luke Jackson OUTS – Sam Weideman, Mitch Brown (omitted)

Please don’t talk to me about Melbourne’s lack of ruckmen last week at the Adelaide Oval. Or the discrepancy in the free kick numbers. Those things might have played a role in the way that the game unfolded but if you focus on them, then you are missing some truly significant pointers as to how the rest of the season is going to pan out for the Melbourne Football Club and in particular, on what happens on Thursday night when the team plays against Geelong at the Cattery. Here are some of the things that happened at the Adelaide Oval that should send shivers down the spines of opposing coaches. Clayton Oliver — after inking a playing contract to set up his career, he might have been forgiven for slacking off a little against a team in the bottom third of the competition but that was the furthest thing from his mind as he continued to amass a 36 possession game (a game high) with 13 tackles (equal game high) and plenty of score involvements. Clarrie is playing at a different level to the rest of the competition. Christian Petracca — after several weeks playing well below 100% fitness and spraying his shots at goal, Tracc produced the best ratings game of his career, kicking three goals, causing havoc with 11 score involvements and amassing bundles of contested possession. He’s back in town. Jack Viney — he might have trailed Oliver and Petracca (and Ed Langdon for that matter) in the number of touches but he’s been in good form of late and never drops his intensity and aggression at the football. When the game was still in the balance, he bustled his way through for the goal that finally settled the issue. Collectively, Oliver, Petracca and Viney are the toughest starting midfield at the elite level of the game. They're not just back in town — they are brutal as a combination of players. The stuff of nightmares for opposing coaches. Speaking of being back in town, Ed Langdon, who was almost lost in the bush after being subbed out with broken ribs against North Melbourne a month or so ago, has finally found his way back to the Bourke Street Mall after his 33 touches against the Crows. The modern day Demons have been good defensively but experienced a few shaky weeks in the absence of Steven May. Now that he’s settled back into the side and the rest of the key defenders are spending more of their time on the ground than in the hands of the trainers, they’re playing with that purpose again. Last Saturday’s effort in breaking the club’s intercept record was outstanding. There’s been some criticism of the Demon forwards but the two Browns contributed two goals each and the small forwards continued to bring their low possession, high pressure system to the game. With the likelihood of at least one, if not both of the club’s tall giants returning to the team for the Cats on Thursday night, the side is regaining the look and feel of September. The question therefore is whether we can gauge if the home side has improved enough to recover from the “wave of illness” that covered them when they were comprehensively smashed by the rampant Demons as they headed towards a premiership flag late last year. I’m not convinced by the Cats. They somehow have managed to score a sensational fixture given they finished top four last year. They have two major additions to the side that capitulated in the Preliminary Final, namely Tyson Stengle and Sam De Koning but the balance of the side are still old men who are going to be put under immense pressure. This should be even more so given that their most recent game wasn’t particularly challenging and therefore not much preparation for a top-of-the-ladder tussle against the reigning premiers. As long as Melbourne’s defenders can stay out of the way of the odd errant elbow, I think they have the strength and ability to hold the Geelong twin towers of Hawkins and Cameron to manageable levels of scoring. And if they do that, the Demons should beat the Cats by 27 points at at GMHBA Stadium. THE GAME

 Geelong v Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium on Thursday 7 July 2022 at 7.20pm HEAD TO HEAD

 Overall Geelong 132 wins Melbourne 88 wins 2 draws
 At GMHBA Stadium Geelong 40 wins Melbourne 19 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Geelong 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins
 The Coaches Scott 5 wins Goodwin 4 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.

 LAST TIME THEY MET 

Melbourne 19.11.125 defeated Geelong 6.6.42 at Optus Stadium in the 2021 Preliminary Final You couldn’t ask for more than a 14 goal win in a Preliminary Final, could you? Chris Scott sooked about his players being sick which demonstrated as much, if not more, poor form from the coach than from the Geelong players on the night. THE TEAMS

 GEELONG B: Z. Guthrie 39 S.De Koning 16 J. Bews 24 HB: J. Henry 38 M. Blicavs 46 Z. Tuohy 2 C: M. Duncan 22 J.Cameron 5 I. Smith 7 HF: T. Atkins 30 T. Hawkins 6 P. Dangerfield 35 F: B.Close 45 G.Rohan 23 T.Stengle 18 Foll: R. Stanley 1 C. Guthrie 29 J. Selwood 14 I/C: M. Holmes 9 S. Menegola 27 G. Miers 32 M.O'Connor 42 Sub: Q.Narkle 19 Emerg: F.Evans 31 M.Knevitt 10 S.Neale 33 In S.De Koning J. Selwood Out S.Higgins (omitted) J.Kolodjashnij (concussion) MELBOURNE B: H.Petty 35 J.Lever 8 S.May 1 HB: C.Salem 3 M.Hibberd 14 J.Bowey 17 C: A.Brayshaw 10 C.Oliver 13 E.Langdon 15 HF: K.Pickett 36 L.Jackson 6 T.Bedford 12 F: A.Neal-Bullen 30 B.Brown 50 C.Spargo 9 Foll: M.Gawn 11 C.Petracca 5 J.Viney 7 I/C: B.Fritsch 31 J.Jordon 23 J.Harmes 4 T.Sparrow 32 Sub: J.Hunt 29 Emerg: J.Melksham 18 A.Tomlinson 20 S.Weideman 26 In: M.Gawn J.Hunt L.Jackson Out: M.Brown (omitted) A.Tomlinson S.Weideman (omitted) Injury List: Round 17 Max Gawn - Ankle | Test Luke Jackson - Knee | Test Blake Howes - Foot | 1-2 Weeks Andy Moniz-Wakefield - Groin | 1-2 Weeks Daniel Turner - Face | 1-2 Weeks Joel Smith - Ankle | 2-4 Weeks Tom McDonald - Foot | 8-10 Weeks

VOTES PLAYER (CLUB) 10 Christian Petracca (MELB) 7 Clayton Oliver (MELB) 7 Steven May (MELB) 2 Jordan Dawson (ADEL) 2 Jake Lever (MELB) 1 Ed Langdon (MELB) 1 Angus Brayshaw (MELB) LEADERBOARD VOTES PLAYER CLUB 83 Clayton Oliver MELB 68 Lachie Neale BL 65 Touk Miller GCFC 65 Christian Petracca MELB 64 Andrew Brayshaw FRE 63 Jeremy Cameron GEEL 60 Patrick Cripps CARL 52 Connor Rozee PORT 48 Callum Mills SYD 45 Sam Walsh CARL 44 James Sicily HAW 43 Hugh McCluggage BL 43 Bailey Smith WB 42 Jack Crisp COLL 42 Jack Sinclair STK 41 Sam Docherty CARL 41 Darcy Parish ESS 40 Max Gawn MELB 37 Charlie Curnow CARL 37 Taylor Walker ADEL

Full Fixture

Join @george_on_the_outer, @binman & I on the Demonland Podcast Monday night 4th July LIVE @ 8:30pm for breakdown of the Round 16 win against Adelaide. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Clayton Oliver still miles in front of the rest of the field - 181. Clayton Oliver 118. Christian Petracca 90. Angus Brayshaw 84. Max Gawn 83. Jack Viney 68. Steven May 62. Ed Langdon 48. James Jordon 31. Luke Jackson 23. James Harmes 22. Jake Bowey 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 Casey Demons took more than half a game to crack Port Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday but when they finally did so, they were merciless and in the end, they took no prisoners. What made Casey’s 58-point victory win so remarkable was the fact that even after late call ups to the Melbourne team that traveled to Adelaide deprived them of key players from their goal to goal line, the less experienced replacements all made meaningful contributions to the side’s overall performance as it went on its merry way to 13 wins on the trot. Casey wore it’s indigenous guernsey and conducted a very special smoke ceremony in honour of the first people on the land. The closeness of the colour combinations might well have thrown in some confusion in the early stages because, after the home team celebrated with a goal in the opening minute, the Borough had a purple patch with the slight advantage of the breeze to kick four goals (half of their final tally) in the space of 15 minutes to lead by 20 points. There was no panic as Casey reset to stem the flow but Port still held a handy three goal lead at the first break. Thankfully, Kade Chandler was active in the early going for the Demons with lots of touches and a classy goal. He remained prominent for the remainder of the game. His role in helping the team peg back the deficit was pivotal in the second quarter with two goals including the one that gave Casey the lead by a goal as the game neared half time. Port closed in on that lead twice in the opening ten minutes of the second half before the Demons finally broke the shackles to end any confusion as to which team was going to win the four points. They streamed to a 21 point lead at three quarter time before an eight goal to one final term emphatically settled the issue. Fittingly, the last goal of the day was scored by Chandler — his fifth — to cap off a great best on ground display with 29 disposals. Not far behind Chandler were Luke Dunstan with his 23 touches including eight clearances and the hardworking Oskar Baker who was equally prolific in winning the football. With only ten Melbourne listed players in the game, Casey was relying on more on its homegrown talent than it normally would and they didn’t disappoint. And it wasn’t just the more seasoned performers like Mitch White, Jimmy Munro and Matt Buntine who came to the party but also the so-called “lesser lights” who were in the thick of things. Players like Roan Steele, Luca Goonan and Miles Shepherd hit the scoreboard and Riley Baldi, Jack Bell, Corey Ellison and second gamer Ryan Valentine all stepped up to the plate. The latter was robbed of a goal by the three quarter time siren. Jayden Hunt, Trent Rivers and Bailey Laurie were all solid contributors and wait in line for the door to the Melbourne side to open for them. The competition for spots in the the team will heat up next week when Geelong’s VFL side plays host to the Demons on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium. If you can’t get a seat for Thursday’s AFL top-of-the-table, there will be plenty of room at the ground for you to support the team. CASEY DEMONS 2.3.15 6.6.36 10.10.70 18.11.119 PORT MELBOURNE 5.3.33 5.6.36 7.7.49 8.13.61 Goals Casey Demons Chandler 5 Goonan Laurie Shepherd Steele 2 Dunstan Ellison Munro Rivers White Port Melbourne Szust 3 Roberts 2 Cameron Holmes Lentini Best Casey Demons Chandler Dunstan, Rivers Baker Buntine White Goonan Steele Port Melbourne Hooper Templeton Phillips Lentini Wagner Holmes Statistics Oskar Baker 1 behind 18 kicks 6 handballs 24 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 101 dream team points Riley Baldi 2 kicks 8 handballs 10 disposals 3 tackles 29 dream team points Jack Bell 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 2 tackles 29 hit outs 43 dream team points Matt Buntine 9 kicks 2 handballs 11 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 56 dream team points Kade Chandler 5 goals 1 behind 18 kicks 11 handballs 29 disposals 6 marks 1 tackles 133 dream team points Luke Dunstan 1 goal 15 kicks 8 handballs 23 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 93 dream team points Tyler Edwards 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 55 dream team points Corey Ellison 1 goal 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 8 marks 59 dream team points Luca Goonan 2 goals 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 67 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 51 dream team points Jayden Hunt 15 kicks 15 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 72 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 goals 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 77 dream team points Judd McVee 8 kicks 8 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 55 dream team points Bryce Milford 3 kicks 3 disposals 3 marks 12 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 5 kicks 11 handballs 16 disposals 13 tackles 79 dream team points Trent Rivers 1 goal 1 behind 18 kicks 1 handball 19 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 85 dream team points Fraser Rosman 11 kicks 11 disposals 7 marks 54 dream team points Miles Shepherd 2 goals 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points Deakyn Smith 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 40 dream team points Roan Steele 2 goals 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 53 dream team points Ryan Valentine 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 2 hit outs 40 dream team points Taj Woewodin 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 48 dream team points Mitch White 1 goals 2 behinds 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 73 dream team points

Melbourne stormed to its twelfth win for the 2022 season after finally putting the Crows away in the final quarter of their clash at Adelaide Oval. The 29-point victory was by no means an easy one for the Demons who went into the game without a recognised ruck and a forward line with a solitary tall. With a patched-up structure of Sam Weideman and Mitch Brown in the ruck, it was not surprising to see Adelaide dominate these contests. However, despite 48 hitouts alone to Adelaide’s Reilly O’Brien, only 16 were to advantage as the Melbourne midfield bulls of Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney well and truly made up for this disadvantage. Once again they put together a staggering 95 disposals between themselves, which is becoming standard operating procedure. Petracca, in particular, returned to some of his best form, having also rediscovered his kicking boots in front of goal, putting three through the big sticks after failing to bring up the goal umpires two fingers in his past five games. It was indeed a welcome change. The makeshift forward line, was similar. Ben Brown once again found himself double and tripled teamed at times, so while it was not surprising he could only manage three marks, he still hit the scoreboard with two majors and even Mitch Brown kicked a couple, despite only 62% game time, most of which was in the back-up ruck role. For the second week, the side depended upon the input from the mids, so eight of the 14 goals came from within that area. Things looked doubtful for the Demons at times and even in the final quarter the Crows came within five points, but they prevailed in the end with Fritsch marking strongly and nailing the resultant chance to put the game beyond doubt. The backs were in trouble early with Tex Walker having a quarter out, courtesy of a number of dubious umpiring calls. Steven May then responded well, and buried him for the rest of the game, ably helped out by the intercepting trio of Lever, Brayshaw and Petty. Incredibly between the four they amassed 43 intercepts, which simply broke the Crow hearts again and again. Yes the Demons walked away with the four points and their twelfth victory of the season to guarantee another finals appearance. But to take full advantage of the season, more than that is required. They need to hold on to top four and ultimately top two position. Next week against Geelong, who have a dream run into September with five of their last 8 games at home in Mordor, otherwise known as Kardinia Park or GMHBA Stadium, the task will not be an easy one. Certainly, without a proper ruck offering, the Demons would be facing a monumental task. They got away with a Weideman/M. Brown combination this week, but Stanley and Blicavs are a much more formidable combination not to mention the physical mismatch when Hawkins takes the forward ruck role. It is therefore hoped that Gawn and Jackson overcome their injuries in quick time. The Cats will remember the damage done to them in R23 and the finals last year, when they thought they had the wood over the Demons. If that happens again, then it will be the Bakers dozen (13) of wins for the MFC as it marches onward to the end of the 2022 season.  MELBOURNE 5.1.31 6.3.39 9.9.63 14.10.94 ADELAIDE 4.0.24 6.2.38 7.4.46 10.5.65 GOALS MELBOURNE Petracca 3 B Brown M Brown 2 Bedford Fritsch Harmes Langdon Pickett Sparrow Viney ADELAIDE Keays Walker 2 Dawson Fogarty Laird Milera Rachele Thilthorpe BEST MELBOURNE Petracca Oliver Langdon Brayshaw Harmes Viney ADELAIDE Laird Dawson Walker Keays Doedee O’Brien INJURIES MELBOURNE Luke Jackson (knee) replaced in selected side by Mitch Brown ADELAIDE Fogarty (finger) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil ADELAIDE Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Adam Tomlinson (unused) ADELAIDE Lachlan Sholl (unused) UMPIRES Chris Donlon Jamie Broadbent Paul Rebeschini CROWD 30,702 at the Adelaide Oval

NO CONFUSION by KC from Casey The Casey Demons took more than half a game to crack Port Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday but when they finally did so, they were merciless and in the end, they took no prisoners. What made Casey’s 58-point victory win so remarkable was the fact that even after late call ups to the Melbourne team that traveled to Adelaide deprived them of key players from their goal to goal line, the less experienced replacements all made meaningful contributions to the side’s overall performance as it went on its merry way to 13 wins on the trot. Casey wore it’s indigenous guernsey and conducted a very special smoke ceremony in honour of the first people on the land. The closeness of the colour combinations might well have thrown in some confusion in the early stages because, after the home team celebrated with a goal in the opening minute, the Borough had a purple patch with the slight advantage of the breeze to kick four goals (half of their final tally) in the space of 15 minutes to lead by 20 points. There was no panic as Casey reset to stem the flow but Port still held a handy three goal lead at the first break. Thankfully, Kade Chandler was active in the early going for the Demons with lots of touches and a classy goal. He remained prominent for the remainder of the game. His role in helping the team peg back the deficit was pivotal in the second quarter with two goals including the one that gave Casey the lead by a goal as the game neared half time. Port closed in on that lead twice in the opening ten minutes of the second half before the Demons finally broke the shackles to end any confusion as to which team was going to win the four points. They streamed to a 21 point lead at three quarter time before an eight goal to one final term emphatically settled the issue. Fittingly, the last goal of the day was scored by Chandler — his fifth — to cap off a great best on ground display with 29 disposals. Not far behind Chandler were Luke Dunstan with his 23 touches including eight clearances and the hardworking Oskar Baker who was equally prolific in winning the football. With only ten Melbourne listed players in the game, Casey was relying on more on its homegrown talent than it normally would and they didn’t disappoint. And it wasn’t just the more seasoned performers like Mitch White, Jimmy Munro and Matt Buntine who came to the party but also the so-called “lesser lights” who were in the thick of things. Players like Roan Steele, Luca Goonan and Miles Shepherd hit the scoreboard and Riley Baldi, Jack Bell, Corey Ellison and second gamer Ryan Valentine all stepped up to the plate. The latter was robbed of a goal by the three quarter time siren. Jayden Hunt, Trent Rivers and Bailey Laurie were all solid contributors and wait in line for the door to the Melbourne side to open for them. The competition for spots in the the team will heat up next week when Geelong’s VFL side plays host to the Demons on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium. If you can’t get a seat for Thursday’s AFL top-of-the-table, there will be plenty of room at the ground for you to support the team. CASEY DEMONS 2.3.15 6.6.36 10.10.70 18.11.119 PORT MELBOURNE 5.3.33 5.6.36 7.7.49 8.13.61 Goals Casey Demons Chandler 5 Goonan Laurie Shepherd Steele 2 Dunstan Ellison Munro Rivers White Port Melbourne Szust 3 Roberts 2 Cameron Holmes Lentini Best Casey Demons Chandler Dunstan, Rivers Baker Buntine White Goonan Steele Port Melbourne Hooper Templeton Phillips Lentini Wagner Holmes Statistics Oskar Baker 1 behind 18 kicks 6 handballs 24 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 101 dream team points Riley Baldi 2 kicks 8 handballs 10 disposals 3 tackles 29 dream team points Jack Bell 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 2 tackles 29 hit outs 43 dream team points Matt Buntine 9 kicks 2 handballs 11 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 56 dream team points Kade Chandler 5 goals 1 behind 18 kicks 11 handballs 29 disposals 6 marks 1 tackles 133 dream team points Luke Dunstan 1 goal 15 kicks 8 handballs 23 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 93 dream team points Tyler Edwards 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 55 dream team points Corey Ellison 1 goal 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 8 marks 59 dream team points Luca Goonan 2 goals 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 67 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 51 dream team points Jayden Hunt 15 kicks 15 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 72 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 goals 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 77 dream team points Judd McVee 8 kicks 8 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 55 dream team points Bryce Milford 3 kicks 3 disposals 3 marks 12 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 5 kicks 11 handballs 16 disposals 13 tackles 79 dream team points Trent Rivers 1 goal 1 behind 18 kicks 1 handball 19 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 85 dream team points Fraser Rosman 11 kicks 11 disposals 7 marks 54 dream team points Miles Shepherd 2 goals 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points Deakyn Smith 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 40 dream team points Roan Steele 2 goals 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 53 dream team points Ryan Valentine 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 2 hit outs 40 dream team points Taj Woewodin 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 48 dream team points Mitch White 1 goals 2 behinds 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 73 dream team points