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The AFL’s two oldest clubs, Melbourne and Geelong, face off on Friday evening in a sudden death Preliminary Final. It’s a game that promises plenty in terms of fascination and intrigue as a result of the rivalry that’s been building between the teams over recent encounters that have been tight struggles which have gone to the wire with two of them decided by after-the-siren goals. The added touch of mystery attached to this week’s meeting comes by virtue of the fact that it’s going to take place on neutral territory a long way from their homes. A game of this calibre should take place in front of 60,000 screaming fans instead of empty stands which was the case a few weeks ago when they fought out that thriller at GMHBA Stadium. The match is being treated with some trepidation by Demonkind — the wider community of faithful Melbourne fans who have waited patiently for that elusive 13th premiership flag and are now a mere two steps away from the pinnacle. They know from experience that there is no guaranteed outcome in finals and that if you stumble near the summit, your dreams can come to a sudden end, at least for another twelve months … or longer. Here we have two teams that are so different in their makeup and approach to the game. The Demons have a diverse mix of mature and maturing talent spiced up with youthful enthusiasm while the Cats just exude experience and old age in football terms. Perhaps too much of it! They’ve certainly been to the well many times and have become accustomed to being there at the pointy end of the season. This will be their twelfth Preliminary Final in 18 seasons and it almost feels like most of their current side have participated in all of them. They do have big game players who have proved themselves time and again — the likes of Selwood, Dangerfield, Hawkins and co have been through it all. Yet despite all of that, they must have their doubts as well. After all, what do they have to show from their numerous Preliminary Finals appearances in Chris Scott's reign as coach, apart from that flag in his first season, now a distant decade ago? That’s right — far more L’s than W’s and one shaky grand final defeat in the short form premiership decider last year after they beat Brisbane in their only Preliminary Final win since 2011 (and let’s face it, everyone beats the Lions in finals these days). Prior to that they bowed out of the finals to Hawthorn (2013), Sydney (2016), Adelaide (2017) and Richmond (2019) in normal length matches. And now, they’re a year older and looking somewhat tired after a long, hard season, making it here on the back of an unconvincing win over the depleted Giants a week after being overrun by the Power. Two weeks after giving up a commanding half time lead on their home turf against Melbourne. For their part, the Demons return to the scene of their only Preliminary Final in twenty years which was a monumental disaster. However, in the three years since, half of the side has changed and the 2021 version is a stronger, more hungry team with a defence that is the envy of the competition. They’re rested and primed for the occasion, led by Max Gawn, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver and flanked by brilliance across the field. Against this the Cats have pinned their hopes on a tall slowish forward line that has an air of stodginess about it. In their classic Round 23 clash, Geelong got away from Melbourne for a brief period in which they piled on goals coming quickly out of the middle on their narrow ground. That won’t happen here. What we can expect a repeat of is the Cats running out of gas on the bigger stage against a fit young side that runs all day. Melbourne looks so much better placed for the pointy end and I expect it to win and win well. Demons by 35 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Geelong at Optus Stadium on Friday 10 September 2021 at 7.50pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Geelong 132 wins Melbourne 87 wins 2 draws At Optus Stadium Melbourne 0 wins Geelong 0 wins The last five meetings Melbourne 3 wins Geelong 2 wins The Coaches Goodwin 3 wins Scott 5 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 12.9.81 defeated Geelong 12.5.77 at GMHBA Stadium in Round 23, 2021 The Cats shook off the Demons with a withering burst of eight unanswered goals over the second half of the second quarter until early in the third when they led by 44 points. The rest of the story was all about Melbourne’s comeback and famous four point victory secured by the club’s first ever after-the-siren goal, kicked by the skipper. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: C. Salem 3 S. May 1 J. Lever 8 HB: J. Bowey 17 H. Petty 35 T. Rivers 24 C: T. Sparrow 32 C. Petracca 5 E. Langdon 15 HF: B. Fritsch 31 T. McDonald 25 J. Viney 7 F: A. Neal-Bullen 30 B. Brown 50 C. Spargo 9 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 A. Brayshaw 10 I/C: J. Harmes 4 M. Hibberd 14 L. Jackson 6 K. Pickett 36 Sub: J. Jordon 23 Emerg: K. Chandler 37 N. Jones 2 J. Melksham 18 IN: M. Hibberd OUT: J. Smith (hamstring) GEELONG B: J. Henry 38 L. Henderson 25 Z. Tuohy 2 HB: J. Kolodjashnij 8 M. Blicavs 46 J. Bews 24 C: M. Duncan 22 C. Guthrie 29 I. Smith 7 HF: E. Ratugolea 17 J. Cameron 5 G. Rohan 23 F: S. Menegola 27 T. Hawkins 6 G. Miers 32 Foll: R. Stanley 1 J. Selwood 14 P. Dangerfield 35 I/C: T. Atkins 30 B. Close 45 Z. Guthrie 39 M. Holmes 9 Sub: S. Higgins 4 Emerg: L. Dahlhaus 40 D. Fort 28 S. Higgins 4 Q. Narkle 19 IN: S. Higgins OUT: B. Parfitt (hamstring) Injury List: Preliminary Final Jayden Hunt (ankle) — Test Joel Smith (hamstring) — Watch this space Marty Hore (knee) — Season Aaron Nietschke (knee) — Season Adam Tomlinson (knee) — Season

That also doesn't take into account the free kicks not given against them for throwing and other indiscretions that are overlooked.

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THE AFL has on Wednesday announced the 2021 Charles Brownlow Medal Count will commence at 5:30pm AWST / 7:30pm AEST on Sunday September 19, broadcast live on the Seven Network. 2021 marks the 94th year the Charles Brownlow Medal will be awarded to the league’s fairest and best player with five state-based venues across the country set to host players for the count, including a Western Australian event held at Optus Stadium. Invited players will attend the location closest to where they are currently residing.

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Vision from Mac Andrew’s two representative games this year. First up, the game for the NAB AFL Academy vs Geelong played in late April. Next, the Under 19 Challenge Match for Vic Country vs Vic Metro from July. https://www.afl.com.au/video/651642/u19-challenge-match-vic-metro-v-vic-country?videoId=651642&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1627002802001 Finally, a link to Chris Doerre’s article on the ESPN site where he provides his wrap on Andrew. AFL Draft Weekly Wrap: NGA prospect Mac Andrew stands out for Vic Country, launches into first round contention

The rising case numbers and the continuing lockdowns in Victoria and NSW spelled doom for the 2021 VFL season which went through a slow, painful demise before its recent official cancellation. After weeks of indecision, the AFL decided to pull the plug on the season with the 10-0 Bulldogs recognised as minor premier, but without a premiership cup and without awarding the J.J. Liston Medal for the best and fairest VFL player. It was somewhat fortuitous for the integrity of the competition that the Bulldogs worked their way out of a pickle when they trailed the Casey Demons by 46 points early in the second quarter to easily beat a depleted opponent in their Round 16 match up. Footscray was able to field a strong team by virtue of the fact that their AFL counterpart was involved locally while an extended Melbourne squad (with at least half a dozen spare players made unavailable for VFL duties) was flying up and down the east coast of the country in search of a game. A reversal of that result in the presence of a full Casey team would probably have seen Southport declared the minor premiers with a 9-1 win/loss record ahead of Footscray on percentage. That would have been a great effort from the Queenslanders but one achieved without a single victory over another top eight team. Southport’s highest placed scalp was that of Carlton (12th) which it beat by a point with a goal kicked at the 33 minute mark of the final term in Round 1. It was soundly beaten by the Giants (8th) - its only game against a team in the top half of the. ladder and it was routinely pitted against the other Queensland teams which it would often thrash. This scenario reflected the folly of trying to run a competition across three states during a pandemic. No offence meant to the Sharks and no sour grapes but it’s just as well the season ended with the Bulldogs declared as minor premiers. In the circumstances, the Casey Demons were a trifle unlucky. The only loss they suffered other than the one described above, was by a point against the Giants at Casey Fields when they virtually played one man short with Ben Brown rested and exercising on the boundary. They led most of the night but could manage just four behinds from midway through the third term when they led by 22 points. Fair to say, they kicked themselves out of it. The rest of the season was one of dominance from the Casey Demons which often fielded teams stacked with AFL-listed players. Early in the season, they toyed with all comers including the reigning VFL premier Richmond and North Melbourne who they thrashed by 107 points. Their only close encounter before the lockdowns was a 1 point win over the Cats but they were generally dominant. Casey’s best and most consistent player was Sam Weideman who, along with Ben Brown, came into the side in round 1 against the Box Hill Hawks after recovering from pre season injuries. Weideman booted seven goals, Brown scored three. The two were on the way to AFL berths and they eventually traded places between the AFL and VFL. Weideman finished with 21 goals from his 6 games while Brown managed 12 in five games including the one where he was sidelined against the Giants. Nathan Jones only played in three games but he was outstanding in every one of them. Majak Daw was a solid contributor in the ruck but he never got the opportunity to advance to the AFL. Neville Jetta, Jay Lockhart and Aaron vandenBerg formed the experienced backbone of the side while Jake Bowey and Tom Sparrow managed to break into the Melbourne team off the back of some good form at Casey. Fraser Rosman and Deakyn Smith showed promise. Late in the season, we saw some good signs from midseason draft selections Kye Declase and Daniel Turner and it was unfortunate for the younger players that the season was derailed without them gaining full regular match experience at this level. Of the VFL listers, Mitch White led the side from the front, often kicking valuable goals while evergreen Jimmy Munro never let the team down with his determination and strong tackling. Zak Foot led a group of promising first year players in the team. Key forward Corey Ellison hit the spot with a 6 goal cameo against Werribee. George Grey and Ryan Sparkes had some good moments but it would have been hard for them to perform in virtual understudy roles. In the end, coach Mark Corrigan would most likely not have been satisfied with fifth place in all of the circumstances after his team made such a dominant start to the season but after all, it was in many ways, the VFL season that never was. The players:- Oskar Baker 7 games, 2 goals Riley Baldi 1 game, 0 goals Toby Bedford 9 games, 8 goals Jake Bell 2 games, 0 goals Jake Bowey 8 games, 0 goals Austin Bradtke 9 games, 1 goal Jaxon Briggs 1 game, 0 goals Ben Brown 5 games, 12 goals Mitch Brown 3 games, 6 goals Kade Chandler 6 games, 6 goals Majak Daw 8 games, 1 goal Kye Declase 4 games, 2 goals Corey Ellison 5 games, 7 goals Zac Foot 8 games, 4 goals Tom Freeman 6 games, 0 goals George Grey 8 games, 7 goals James Harmes 1 game, 2 goals Jack Hutchins 6 games 0 goals Neville Jetta 8 games, 1 goal Nathan Jones 3 games, 3 goals Bailey Laurie 2 games, 0 goals Mitch Lewis 1 game, 1 goal Jay Lockhart 7 games, 0 goals Tom McCaffrey 2 games, 0 goals Cory Machaya 3 games, 2 goals Jake Melksham 3 games, 4 goals James Munro 9 games, 7 goals Harry Petty 1 game, 0 goals Fraser Rosman 9 games, 3 goals Miles Shepherd 1 game, 0 goals Deakyn Smith 7 games, 0 goals Joel Smith 4 games, 0 goals Ryan Sparkes 7 games, 1 goal Tom Sparrow 5 games, 1 goal Corey Stockdale 4 games, 0 goals Daniel Turner 4 games, 0 goals Aaron vandenBerg 4 games, 2 goals Sam Weideman 6 games, 21 goals Mitch White 9 games, 11 goals