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Join @binman & I on the Demonland Podcast tonight LIVE @ 8:30pm for breakdown of the Round 5 match against GWS Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Lucky he chose the Cats. Otherwise he’d be playing at Casey 😜

It was a case of the ends justifying the means for the Casey Demons on Sunday afternoon. They led all day, won by 35-points with 16 AFL-listers in the side and claimed top spot on the VFL ladder, but they also played some ugly football in even more ugly conditions to get there. But a win is a win. The opposition did very little to help by going totally negative against the wind after the Demons kicked away with three goals, one to Mitch Brown followed by two to Majak Daw, midway through the opening term. After that, the game turned into a messy slog in the swirling conditions but Casey was at least able to score goals against the stiff breeze with both sides scoring two each in the second quarter to give the home team a handy 21-point lead at the main break. The next ten minutes of football was more of a slopfest with plenty of errors from both sides, overuse of handball, more negative tactics from the Lions and some equally poor umpiring. With Majak Daw out of the game, Jacob Van Rooyen was doing some work in the ruck and the forward line was depleted and out sorts. But suddenly, the team hit a purple patch with goals to Brown, Corey Ellison and two to Roan Steele to put them up by 8 goals with time still to go with the wind. Ironically, the first of those goals to Steele came after an exciting passage involving a string of handpasses and short passing that was very much exceptional in a day of dour football. Late in the term Coburg hit back with their only score for the day against the wind - a goal that must have given them some belief because they went into attack in the last quarter and narrowed the Demon lead to 4 goals before Toby Bedford chipped in with a great running snap goal to finish off the opposition run. Conditions were perfect for captain Mitch White who led the field with 26 disposals and one goal. Young goalsneak Steele from Frankston YCW showed why the recruiting staff pursued him so hard and he kicked three timely goals. Youngsters Bailey Laurie and Taj Woewodin played their best games yet for the club and provided great support for the experienced Luke Dunstan and Jake Melksham while Adam Tomlinson and Joel Smith were rock solid in defence. Toby Bedford stood out in his record 9th game in the first month of football for 2022 which include 5 as AFL sub for Melbourne. He was unused for the last four of those games which allowed him to subsequently take the field for Casey but that unusual run will end this week as the VFL game on Sunday at Punt Road will take place before the Anzac Eve blockbuster on Sunday night. The VFL Tigers returned to form at the weekend and it should be a great curtain raiser for the main game. Casey Demons 3.5.23 5.7.37 9.10.64 13.12.90 Coburg 0.0.0 2.4.16 3.4.22 8.7.55 Goals Casey Demons Steele 3 Bedford Brown Daw 2 Chandler Dunstan Ellison White Coburg Lowson Podhajski Silvestro 2 Jepson Thomas Best Casey Demons White Tomlinson Melksham Dunstan Bell Bedford Woewodin J Smith Coburg Podhajski Bunker Nelson Maibaum Statistics Oskar Baker 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 52 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 goals 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 72 dream team points Jake Bell 5 kicks 4 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 29 hit outs 65 dream team points Mitch Brown 2 goals 2 behinds 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 48 dream team points Kade Chandler 1 goal 2 behinds 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 1 hit out 65 dream team points Majak Daw 2 goals 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 22 dream team points [injured] Luke Dunstan 1 goal 11 kicks 10 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 81 dream team points Corey Ellison 1 goal 7 kicks 1 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 1 hit out 39 dream team points George Grey 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 26 dream team points Ryan Koo 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 32 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 behinds 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 79 dream team points Judd McVee 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 39 dream team points Jake Melksham 1 behind 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 80 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 1 behind 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 1 marks 18 dream team points James Munro 2 kicks 9 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 41 dream team points Fraser Rosman 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 33 dream team points Deakyn Smith 1 behind 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 1 hit out 36 dream team points Joel Smith 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points Roan Steele 3 goals 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 70 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 20 kicks 4 handballs 24 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 72 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 hit outs 41 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 15 kicks 11 handballs 26 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 114 dream team points Taj Woewodin 11 kicks 10 handballs 21 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 76 dream team points

“Be very afraid!” So said David King when assessing what stood before other teams when facing the Demons in 2022. Now, most people would take this assessment with a grain of salt from an AFL commentator, but after a demolition of the GWS Giants by 67 points, perhaps there is more than a kernel of truth to the matter. Not only did the Demons keep the Giants goalless in the first quarter, in exactly the same way they did to Port Adelaide last week, but their relentless defensive pressure ensured that the Giants were never in with a chance. Then came the coup de grace with a stunning 10 goal quarter from the Demons in the third quarter, reminiscent of the 2021 Grand Final, which left their opponents and indeed the rest of the competition, aghast at what Melbourne are capable of doing in a very short period of time. All around the ground the systemic dismantling of opposition tactics was to be seen. Time and time again Giants players came to a standstill as they could not see any options in front of them, since the Demons defensive structures had already shut the gate. With Harrison Petty returning to the side, the old firm was getting back together under the generalship of Stephen May and Jake Lever. Eight intercepts to May, six to Lever and five to Petty just presented a wall which would not be penetrated. Just as telling was that the Giants two main forwards in Hogan and Himmelberg could only manage 1 mark each for the game. Any mopping up to be done? Just bring in Jake Bowey, Jayden Hunt and Trent Rivers and. Bowey with 21 disposals and Rivers with 18 gave the opposition small forwards absolutely nothing. Frighteningly, Bowey and May produced disposal efficiency of more than 90% while Lever’s was at 100%! Not only do they stop the opposition but they then cut them to pieces with their delivery further up the field. The Giants have a star studded line-up right across the ground, but particularly in the middle. Not that it helped them very much as Oliver and Petracca racked up over 30 touches each, while Viney chipped in with 27 and Harmes 22, including 11 marks. More importantly, the Giants mids out shone the Demons mids in clearances 41:33 but it is the quality of those clearances that matter. Often they finished out on the wings or in contested situations where Ed Langdon and Angus Brayshaw just pushed them further out and wide to places where they simply are unable to score. It is all part of the Melbourne team defence, something which is not just isolated to the back four. Up forward there were opportunities galore and in that 10 goal spurt in the 3rd quarter, there were 10 different goal scorers. How does any opposition stop that? The Giants by this stage would have been very afraid where the next six-pointer was coming from. But this also pointed to the broad base of attacking options, not just a leading target that most teams use. Sam Weidemann didn’t make enough of his chances, and so BBB will be an almost certain substitution for next week. Melbourne still sit a game clear with 5 wins for 2022,and surprisingly have dispatched 4 of season 2021’s finalists without too much difficulty. With the AFL fixturing, they no doubt thought that evening the competition early in the season would ensure that bottom sides had a better chance of keeping their supporters engaged. Hence we see Carlton and St.Kilda in with hope and aspiration at this point in the season. But for them and other sides, they now look at what Melbourne have done to teams who only six months ago were the gold standard, and would be afraid … very afraid of what could happen to them when they have to face the Demons juggernaut.  MELBOURNE 4.0.24 6.2.38 16.4.100 19.6.120 GWS GIANTS 0.5.5 3.6.24 5.8.38 7.11.53 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 4 Pickett 3 Gawn Petracca 2 Bowey Jackson Jordon McDonald Neal-Bullen Spargo Viney Weideman GWS GIANTS Hill 2 Callahan Coniglio Flynn Himmelberg Hogan BEST MELBOURNE Petracca May Oliver Pickett Fritsch Gawn Harmes GWS GIANTS Kelly Green Flynn Ward Coniglio INJURIES MELBOURNE Jake Lever (ankle) GWS GIANTS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GWS GIANTS Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Toby Bedford (unused) GWS GIANTS Jake Riccardi (unused) UMPIRES Matt Stevic Brendan Hosking Eleni Glouftsis CROWD 20,791 at The MCG

Trac still on top ~ 49. Christian Petracca 44. Clayton Oliver 38. Steven May 30. Max Gawn 24. Ed Langdon 19. Luke Jackson 18. Angus Brayshaw James Harmes 17. Jake Bowey 10. Ben Brown James Jordon Jack Viney 9. Alex Neal-Bullen 6. Sam Weideman 5. Charlie Spargo 3. Kysaiah Pickett Joel Smith 2. Bayley Fritsch

As per the opening post, “ALL MATCHES ARE STREAMED ON AFL.COM AND THE AFL LIVE APP”

Strangely enough, the game was played 12 months ago on Anzac Day Eve. MELBOURNE B: A. Tomlinson 20 S. May 1 T. Rivers 24 HB: C. Salem 3 J. Lever 8 J. Hunt 29 C: E: Langdon 15 Christian Petracca 5 Angus Brayshaw 10 HF: K. Pickett 36 T. McDonald 25 A. Neal-Bullen 30 F: J. Melksham 18 L. Jackson 6 B. Fritsch 31 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 J. Viney I/C: M. Hibberd 14 N. Jones 2 J. Jordon 23 C. Spargo 9 Sub: K. Chandler 37 Emerg: H. Petty 35 T. Sparrow 32 S. Weideman 26 In: K. Chandler B. Fritsch S. May Out: M. Brown (omitted) H. Petty (omitted) T. Sparrow (omitted) RICHMOND B: D. Astbury 12 N. Balta 21 D. Grimes 2 HB: N. Broad 35 B. Houli 14 J. Short 15 C: K. McIntosh 33 T. Cotchin 9 M. Pickett 50 HF: D. Rioli 17 K. Lambert 23 J. Castagna 11 F: T. J. Lynch 19 D. Martin 4 J. Riewoldt 8 Foll: T. Nankervis 25 S. Edwards 10 J. Graham 34 I/C: J. Aarts 16 L. Baker 7 S. Bolton 29 R. Mansell 31 Sub: J. Ross 5 Emerg: C. Coleman-Jones 40 R. Collier-Dawkins 26 M. Rioli 49 No change

Who comes in and who goes out?

Your votes please - 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …

5-0

Melbourne v GWS Giants at the MCG, 7.25pm AEST MELBOURNE In: H.Petty Out: A.Tomlinson (omitted), T.Bedford (Medi-Sub) Last week's sub: T.Bedford (unused) GWS GIANTS In: N.Haynes, M.Flynn, F.Callaghan Out: J.Peatling (omitted), X.O'Halloran (omitted), J.Riccardi (omitted), B.Preuss (suspension) Last week's sub: A.Kennedy (unused)

Who are you tipping?

The headline screamed, “Be very afraid: Unbeaten Demons have huge scope for improvement” The story was about David King’s warning to SEN listeners that “Melbourne is going at about 70 per cent of last year and they’re already proving they’re 50 per cent better than the rest of the competition”. “They’re 4-0 and they’ve going half rat power.” Whilst the reigning premiers are the only undefeated team in the competition, there are those who would ask the question, “who have they beaten to date?” The answer is teams that occupy positions 9,14,16 and 18 on the AFL ladder. But wait, three of those teams made the finals last year and two made it deep into September. King’s bigger point however, is the one the headline overlooked. Melbourne remains the premier team in contested situations whether in the ruck, through on ballers or via the defence that wins the footy and attacks through the wings and into the forward part of the ground. That should, of itself, be daunting for the rest of the competition but whether the team can improve on that is something that may or may not happen and it doesn’t necessarily prove King’s central theme that the club is head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. Beware of headlines is my response. Indeed, this sort of publicity is unrealistic and breeds complacency. The reality is that the Demons will lose a game at some time and in fact, that day is coming closer as every week goes by. The question is, when and against who? That question might well depend on whether the team continues to remain focused on its aims or whether it starts to believe publicity like David King’s proclamation that the team is 50% above the level of the rest of the competition. Much of our game is played in the head and if the group starts believing that it’s invincible, then the inevitable will happen. You only have to look at the Bulldogs of 2017 (or 2022 for that matter) or to Melbourne’s game against this week’s opponent, Greater Western Sydney, at their last encounter back in Round 16 last year at the MCG. The Demons were heavily favoured to win against the Giants who appeared to be on their last legs after stumbling in the final term against the lowly Hawks the week before. A fortnight earlier, they drew with wooden spooner North Melbourne. Yet, they were up to the fight against Melbourne and maintained the pressure throughout on the inaccurate Demons. The result was an upset. I don’t believe that Greater Western Sydney who lost to Fremantle by 34 points at Optus Stadium last week will manage an upset and a third consecutive victory at the MCG over Melbourne but if the Demons think that it’s going to be a cakewalk because all of the commentators think they’re just too good, then they should park their swollen heads elsewhere. I think that Melbourne will win this game but they need to attack the game fully switched on. I think they can do it and I’m tipping the Demons to win by 22 points. THE GAME Melbourne v GWS Giants at the MCG, Saturday 16 April, 2022 at 7:25pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall – Melbourne 8 wins GWS Giants 7 wins At The MCG – Melbourne 4 wins GWS Giants 3 wins Past five meetings – Melbourne 3 wins GWS Giants 2 wins The Coaches – Goodwin 3 wins Cameron 3 wins THE MEDIA TV live and on demand on Kayo and live on Foxtel. Check your local guides. Radio - check your local guides. THE LAST TIME THEY MET GWS Giants 9.10.64 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 at The MCG, Round 16, 2021 The Giants were on from the very first clearance of the day when they methodically moved the ball forward to Toby Greene who slotted the first goal after 30 seconds. After a brief respite later in the opening term, the Demons were chasing tail, wasting opportunities and kicking poorly at goal. GWS won the game despite losing the possession count, taking less marks, laying less tackles and going inside 50 less times. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: J.Hunt 29 S.May 1 H.Petty 35 HB: T.Rivers 24 J.Lever 8 J.Harmes 4 C: E.Langdon 15 C.Petracca 5 J.Viney 7 HF: A.Brayshaw 10 S.Weideman 26 A.Neal-Bullen 30 F: K.Pickett 36 L.Jackson 6 B.Fritsch 31 Foll: M.Gawn 11 C.Oliver 13 T. Sparrow 32 I/C: C.Spargo 9 J.Bowey 17 J.Jordon 23 T.McDonald 25 Sub: T.Bedford 12 Emerg: L.Dunstan 27 K.Chandler 37 J.Smith 44 In: H.Petty Out: A.Tomlinson GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY GIANTS B: L.Keeffe 25 S.Taylor 15 X.O’Halloran 33 HB: L.Whitfield 6 N.Haynes 19 H.Perryman 36 C: A.Kennedy 40 C.Ward 8 L.Ash 7 HF: T.Taranto 14 H.Himmelberg 27 S.Coniglio 3 F: B. Hill 37 J.Hogan 23 M.de Boer 24 Foll: M.Flynn 30 J.Kelly 22 T.Green 12 I/C: J.Stein 42 T.Bruhn 5 C.Idun 39 F.Callaghan 17 Sub: 10 J.Riccardi Emerg: 26 J.Wehr 10 L.Aleer 21 K.Briggs 32 In F.Callaghan M.Flynn N.Haynes Out I.Cumming (H & S Protocols) J.Peatling (omitted) B.Preuss (suspended) Injury & Suspension List: Round 5 Mitch Brown - Concussion Protocols | Available Joel Smith - H & S Protocols | Available Ben Brown - Suspension | 1 week Michael Hibberd - Calf | 2 weeks Daniel Turner - Foot | 3-5 weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 4-6 weeks

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