Demonland

Melbourne fans have been living with the premiership glow for six months since their team won its first premiership flag in almost six decades. Supporters are now getting used to following what is officially a powerhouse, one that’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, travel to different parts of the country, play in difficult humid conditions on soggy grounds and win matches under adversity. The Demons’ victory over the Suns at the weekend wasn’t pretty and some might say it’s a sign that the team might be coming back to the field after tasting the glory of a flag, but the fact remains that they alone of the 2021 Preliminary Finalists remain undefeated after two rounds. Indeed, two of last year’s big four have yet to record a victory at a time when the AFL ladder is being held up by recent cellar dwellers in Hawthorn and Carlton. Meanwhile, Melbourne’s opponent this week is under the pump and staring at a history-making 0-3 start, something that hasn’t happened at Windy Hill since 1967. You might think on this basis that the Demons are in line for an easy night on the MCG but don’t be fooled. Coming off a six-day break after an interstate trip is never easy and when you have to go back more than half a century in their history to find such a poor start to a season, then you know the Bombers can never be taken lightly. After all, there are some respected pundits among football’s commentariat who, less than a fortnight ago, had Essendon as the flag favourite. On their day, they have a midfield that has a few prolific ball gatherers and is strong enough to challenge their Demon counterparts. The running defenders will test the Melbourne forwards who aren’t exactly setting the world alight at this time. Fortunately for the Dees, their accuracy kept them in the game early last week but the progression from 10.1 after Bayley Fritsch’s goal in the third term to 12.10 at the end was testament to a haphazard approach to goal in the second half — something they can’t afford to repeat against a team like Essendon. Much has been made of the premiership defenders missing through injury at the moment but despite having A-listers Jake Lever, Christian Salem, Harry Petty and Michael Hibberd on the sidelines, this division has been holding up well with players admirably filling in who, for one reason or another, missed out on last year’s glory. They will be anxious to impress and to hold their places in the side. Together with the pressure coming from those in the VFL team, this means the club is so well placed to continue its successful streak in the future. And above all, there’s the mobility and strength of Melbourne’s ruckmen. Max Gawn and Luke Jackson are proving a formidable big man division that are tough to beat in the air and on the ground. If Maxy’s not at his best, then you can rely on Dogga to get the job done and vice versa. Therefore, on the 1st day of April, I would be fooling if I didn’t think the Demons will go into the game as strong favourite to make it three in a row for 2022 and ten on the trot overall. Melbourne to win by 25 points. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Friday 1 April, 2022 at 7.50pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 85 wins 2 draws Essendon 130 wins At the MCG Melbourne 46 wins Essendon 67 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Melbourne 3 wins Essendon 2 wins The Coaches Goodwin 1 win Rutten 0 wins 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 Melbourne 9.14.68 defeated Essendon 8.9.57 at The MCG, Round 15, 2021 The Demons were going through something of a mid-season trough but they managed to work their way through to an ugly victory in a low scoring game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: T.Rivers 24 A. Tomlinson 20 S.May 1 HB: J.Hunt 29 J.Smith 44 J.Jordon 23 C: T.Sparrow 32 C.Petracca 5 E.Langdon 15 HF: L.Jackson 6 T.McDonald 25 J.Viney 7 F: B.Fritsch 31 S.Weideman 26 C.Spargo 9 Foll: M.Gawn - C 11 C.Oliver 13 K.Pickett 36 I/C: J.Bowey 17 A.Brayshaw 10 J.Harmes 4 A.Neal-Bullen 30 Sun: T. Bedford 12 Emerg: M.Brown 38 J.Melksham 18 L.Dunstan 27 In: Sam Weideman Out: Ben Brown (H&S protocols) ESSENDON B: J. Stewart 17 J. Laverde 15 J. Kelly 29 HB: M. Redman 27 D. Heppell - C 21 N. Hind 19 C: A. McGrath 1 J. Caldwell 6 T. Cutler 12 HF: J. Stringer 25 M. Guelfi 35 N. Martin 37 F: A. Perkins 16 P. Wright 20 T. Wanganeen 40 Foll: S. Draper 2 D. Parish 3 S. Durham 22 I/C: B. Ham 33 A. Phillips 34 J. Ridley 14 D. Shiel 9 Sub: D.Smith 5 Emerg: B. Hobbs 8 A. Waterman 44 B. Zerk-Thatcher 30 In: Nic Martin Andrew Phillips Dylan Shiel Out: Nik Cox (ankle) Aaron Francis (omitted) Zach Merrett (ankle) Devon Smith (omitted) Round 3: Injury List Kade Chandler - Quad | Test Jake Lever - Foot | 1 - 2 weeks Harry Petty - Calf | 2-3 Weeks Michael Hibberd - Calf | 2 - 4 weeks Daniel Turner - Foot | 4-6 weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 5-7 weeks

Join @george_on_the_outer, @binman & I on the Demonland Podcast tonight LIVE @ 8:30pm for breakdown of the Round 2 match against the Suns. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Let me guess; 4 to 6 weeks?

The Casey Demons held all of the advantages over their rivals from Sandringham as the teams played off in the long-awaited VFL season opener on Sunday. For starters, they were playing on their home turf and secondly, they outnumbered their opponents 16 to 9 in AFL listed players which, at this level, is enormous. They also were well above the Zebras in class and general preparation for the contest and this was reflected in the way they took charge of proceedings after a slow beginning and romped to an 83-point win that sees them sitting comfortably on top of the ladder after Round 1. Veteran forward Mitch Brown led the way with seven goals for the day, including three in the second term, that should put him in contention to join his key forward namesake with a senior berth against his old side Essendon on Friday night at the MCG. He moved well, marked strongly and proved a handful for the Zebra defenders. He was aided and abetted up forward by recruit Jacob van Rooyen who booted three goals for the day in an outstanding debut at the club. After the break, with the visitors tiring, it became a case of how far the Casey lead would extend by the end of the game. The home side was well led by seasoned VFL campaigners in Mitch White and Jimmy Munro whose efforts helped create team dominance in every sector of the ground. The game also underlined the club’s great depth with Luke Dunstan showing that he isn’t far off a return to the AFL in his new colours despite the fact that the Melbourne midfield is a formidable place to break into. Toby Bedford who sat on the sidelines as substitute in the sticky conditions on the Gold Coast on Saturday night shook off the Zebras with pace, poise and three goals. Youngsters on debut in Blake Howes and Taj Woewodin were excellent and Deakyn Smith showed definite signs of improvement with a strong display in defence. Bailey Laurie who was rarely sighted last year due to injury and a truncated VFL season looked the goods up forward with a lively two goal performance. Rookies Judd McVee and Andy Moniz-Wakefield are also likely prospects for the future. The Demons will take their home ground advantage into Round 2 when they play the Bombers’ VFL team next Saturday at Casey Fields. CASEY DEMONS 4.2.26 11.5.71 16.8.104 21.14.140 SANDRINGHAM 2.3.15 5.3.33 6.7.43 8.9.57 GOALS CASEY DEMONS M Brown 7 Bedford Van Rooyen 3 Laurie White 2 Chandler Dunstan Weideman Woewodin SANDRINGHAM Carey Geary Henness Kent Kyle Lohmann McHale Ryder BEST CASEY DEMONS Brown Munro Van Rooyen Dunstan White Smith Bedford Baker SANDRINGHAM Ryder Windhager Connolly Owens Heath Geary Seaton STATISTICS Oskar Baker 18 kicks 5 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 87 dream team points
 Toby Bedford 3 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles 91 dream team points
 Mitch Brown 7 goals 3 behinds 18 kicks 1 handball 19 disposals 14 marks 2 tackles 155 dream team points
 Kade Chandler 4 kicks 1 handball 5 disposals 1 mark 25 dream team points
 Majak Daw 1 behind 7 kicks 1 handball 8 disposals 3 tackles 22 hit outs 59 dream team points
 Luke Dunstan 1 goal 20 kicks 5 handballs 25 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 113 dream team points Corey Ellison 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 34 dream team points
 Tom Freeman 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 33 dream team points Luca Goonan 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 62 dream team points
 Blake Howes 1 behind 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 58 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 goals 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 86 dream team points
 Judd McVee 1 behind 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 83 dream team points
 Jake Melksham 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 53 dream team points Bryce Milford 6 kicks 7 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 51 dream team points 
Andy Moniz-Wakefield 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 44 dream team points James Munro 13 kicks 13 handballs 26 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 97 dream team points
 Aiden Quigley 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 8 dream team points
 Fraser Rosman 8 kicks 2 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 41 dream team points
 Deakyn Smith 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 10 marks 1 tackle 91dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 4 hit outs 68 dream team points
 Mitch White 2 goals 1 behind 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 94 dream team points Taj Woewodin 1 goal 12 kicks 6 handballs disposals 8 marks 1 tackles 84 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 3 goals 2 behinds 11 kicks 1 handball 12 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 2 hit outs 98 dream team points

VOTES PLAYER (CLUB) 10 Christian Petracca (MELB) 6 Luke Jackson (MELB) 5 Jake Bowey (MELB) 5 Touk Miller (GCFC) 4 Clayton Oliver (MELB) LEADERBOARD VOTES PLAYER CLUB 20 Patrick Cripps CARL 20 Christian Petracca MELB 16 Andrew Brayshaw FRE 15 Jordan De Goey COLL 15 Isaac Heeney SYD 13 Touk Miller GCFC 13 James Sicily HAW 12 Lachie Neale BL 11 Mitch Lewis HAW 10 Patrick Dangerfield GEEL 10 Tom Green GWS 10 Dan Houston PORT 10 Nick Larkey NMFC 10 Luke Parker SYD 10 Matt Rowell GCFC 9 Noah Balta RICH 9 Jack Crisp COLL 9 Patrick Lipinski COLL 9 Joshua Rachele ADEL

Track is still on track … 36. Christian Petracca 17. Clayton Oliver 16. Luke Jackson 13. Jake Bowey 10. Ben Brown 9. Alex Neal-Bullen 8. Ed Langdon 6. Steven May Jack Viney 3 Joel Smith 1. Angus Brayshaw James Jordon

The Demons recorded their 11th successive victory against the Suns, but this time the match was at the other “G” for them - the Gold Coast. Not only has Metricon stadium become a home away from home for Melbourne, but by far, and by a very, very large number, the crowd was made up of predominately Melbourne supporters. There were probably more from Melbourne and some locals for the weekend, than had travelled from the GC to support the Suns. And if the AFL were serious they would stop this financial stupidity, and send the Suns to a location where the natives are interested in the product. Enough said, because the AFL couldn’t stand the egg on their face and it won’t happen. To the game. The weather was lovely but it was humid and viewers back home wouldn’t have appreciated the slipperiness of the ball. The big men really suffer except for a few odd extraordinary performances aerially. Both Casboult from the Suns and Jackson from the Demons were able to hold the cake of soap when others couldn’t. Big Max could only manage two for the night, an identical number to BBB and TMac. The Demons got off to a slow start and trailed by 15 points early in the first quarter, which excited the local opposition supporters no end as they could see the possibility of a free Big Mac for them if they got to the 60 point total, rather than the chance their side might actually win. That hope faded away as the Demon machine clicked into gear and the grinding down of the opposition began. They already had a slender quarter time lead which blew out with an additional six goals in the second term to open the margin to 14 points at half-time and 20 points at the final break. The Demon fans had best get accustomed to this strategic style of play. It is reminiscent of Sydney in years gone by. Once they get in front they just never give up the lead until the game’s won. Unfortunately, for those same supporters, it means you will rarely see a blow out type of game: similar to what we saw in last year’s finals. We just grind opposition into the ground and deny them again and again. It ain’t pretty but it works! So for the final half of the game the scoreline bounced around that 2 to 3 goal mark and stayed there right to the end to see Melbourne take home the chocolates again to the tune of 13 points. Make no mistake, the Suns will challenge many sides in 2022. They have a star studded lineup of players who are very capable. But they were against the reigning Premiers and are yet to develop that ruthless approach, built around team first principles. The Suns simply are not a team in that vein. Maybe they will get there one day, or at least the AFL hopes that will be the case, but it is a long time away. And they have those unpolished diamonds but it was obvious the result of the game came down to the real polish of a couple of Demon players. Christian Petracca shone brightly with 41 touches including 17 contested, while Clayton Oliver amassed 34, including 18 contested. What will scare opposition coaches is Luke Jackson who collected 21 possessions, 11 contested and 7 clearances. Not bad for a ruckman, and the second string one at that! He is truly an additional mid, whose athleticism and second efforts stand him out time and time again. Then to top it off Jake Bowey down the backline chips in with 34 touches, 9 marks and 18 contested possessions! These are mid-field numbers. But it is his ability to read the play and by the way, he can kick the ball long and effectively as well with an 80% effectiveness score. He easily would have been best on ground in only his 9th game of AFL were it not for the trio in the middle and their performances, but hey, given his position, he should get the gong for this game. As previously noted it wasn’t a night for big men, but we have to be grateful that BBB come over from North, because when we need a target up front who can kick straight when needed … he is the man. It would be possible to complain about the umpiring, but this report would turn into a multi-page epic. The adjudication was simply abysmal. One umpire taking over from the other two who refused to make any call when needed, and then getting the decision wrong time and again. Particularly galling are the blocking calls against Max in the ruck, who is only protecting himself from the opposition ruck jumping into himself, and simply because he is stronger and stay upright, he gets penalised. No calls made for holding or scragging which has become standard practice to nullify his efforts. Worse were the boundary umpires … all 4 of them struggled to throw in the pilli. Short throws all night, and sadly our rucks didn’t wake up to the fact to take advantage, but if they can’t perform to the AFL required standard, then adopt the AFLW method of standing 5 metres from inside from the boundary to ensure the ball gets back into the play. The side is 2-0 in 2022 and winning is all they can do. The Suns are no pushovers, and we did what we had to do to get across the line. Back at the original G next week, facing a very ordinary performing Essendon side should see the Demons continue on their victorious path, hopefully in the same manner as we saw in 2021. MELBOURNE 3.1.19 9.1.55 12.5.77 12.10.82 GOLD COAST SUNS 2.3.15 6.5.41 8.7.5510.9.69 GOALS MELBOURNE Brown Jackson Pickett 2 Fritsch Gawn Harmes McDonald Oliver Viney GOLD COAST SUNS Casboult Anderson Lukosious 2 Chol Davies Fiorini Sharp BEST MELBOURNE Petracca Jackson Bowey Oliver May Neal-Bullen GOLD COAST SUNS Miller Anderson Rowell Collins Casboult Witts INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Rankine (corked quad) replaced in selected side by Flanders, Weller (HS protocols) replaced in selected side by Atkins REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Bedford (unused) GOLD COAST SUNS Macpherson (unused) UMPIRES Jamie Broadbent Craig Fleer Eleni Glouftsis CROWD 8,280 at Metricon Stadium

Mid season 2021 at the MCG ESSENDON B: J. Laverde 15 J. Stewart 17 J. Ridley 14 HB: N. Hind 19 M. Redman 27 D. Heppell 21 C: K. Langford 4 Z. Merrett 7 M. Guelfi 35 HF: A. Perkins 16 H. Jones 23 D. Smith 5 F: J. Stringer 25 C. Hooker 26 A. McDonald-Tipungwuti 43 Foll: S. Draper 2 D. Parish 3 B. Ham 33 I/C: N. Cox 13 A. Waterman 45 P. Wright 20 B. Zerk-Thatcher 30 Sub: D. Zaharakis 11 Emerg: T. Cutler 12 S. Durham 42 A. Phillips 34 In: A. Waterman D. Zaharakis Out: T. Cutler (omitted) N. Cahill (omitted) MELBOURNE B: J. Hunt 29 S. May 1 J. Lever 8 HB: M. Hibberd 14 H. Petty 35 C. Salem 3 C: J. Jordon 23 J. Viney 7 E. Langdon 15 HF: K. Pickett 36 B. Fritsch 31 T. Sparrow 32 F: A. Neal-Bullen 30 T. McDonald 25 C. Spargo 9 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 C. Petracca 5 I/C: A. Brayshaw 10 J. Harmes 4 L. Jackson 6 T. Rivers 24 Sub: N. Jones 2 Emerg: B. Brown 50 K. Chandler 37 N. Jetta 39 In: N. Jones J. Viney Out: K. Chandler S. Weideman (omitted)

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

Media has already changed the narrative to him being a good bloke for giving the guy his wallet back.

Have we ever tried Weideman at half back?

There is one person to blame here and that is their Premier. Regardless of which party he’s with had he opened earlier their footy teams wouldn’t be suffering.