Demonland

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.

Blues have Hawks & Suns in the next 2 weeks. Will be 4-0 going into Port at the G.

Bulldogs in a lot of trouble. Will be 0-2 with Sydney next week.

We have 17 memberships in the extended family but I received it over 30 times

I like it. Did anyone receive the email a bajillion times or was that just me?

MELBOURNE In: T.Rivers Out: T.Bedford (Medi-Sub), C.Salem (injured) Last week's sub: T.Bedford (replaced C.Salem)

Who are you tipping this week?

On the morning of the 31st July, 2021 an aircraft carrying the Melbourne team for its recently rescheduled game against the Gold Coast Suns was diverted to Brisbane Airport after the Queensland Government made a snap decision to lock down the South East of the State. Forced to return home to play the game against the Suns at an empty Marvel Stadium on the following day, the dominant Demons easily won that encounter and never looked back. The rest became history. The opposition on that day was cooked after a long disrupted season, ravaged with injury, a young side lost in a tough competitive system and bereft of confidence. Things are going to be far different when they clash at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night. They were unbeaten in the preseason and opened proceedings for 2022 with a win over the Eagles — their first ever victory in WA, after booting eight goals straight in the final term. The Suns’ young guns are strutting around like true winners, they’re playing on home turf this week won and they have every reason to feel confident this week because after all, they are champions of Round Two having amassed a 4 zip record in that Round over the past four seasons. The catch is that they’re coming up against the reigning premiers who were in good form in the opening Round so their young guns in Rowell, Anderson, Rankine and Lukosious will need to be at their absolute best again to make it five in a row. But this time, the Demons are a fair way from having their best team on the ground with five premiership defenders under a cloud on the injury list. They are Michael Hibberd (calf), Jake Lever (foot), Harrison Petty (calf), Trent Rivers (knee) and Christian Salem (knee) and at ref time of writing, only Rivers is considered a chance to play on Saturday night. Coach Simon Goodwin needs to shuffle players around which could see Angus Brayshaw and Tom McDonald playing in defence again, joined by the likes of Jayden Hunt, Joel Smith and Adam Tomlinson. Whilst the shuffling will also have consequences on the rest of the line up, Melbourne is fortunate to have a solid and ever-reliable, star studded midfield and those hardworking small forwards ready to contribute to another Demon victory. The Gold Coast Suns are up and coming but I expect a total eclipse is on the cards. Melbourne by 38 points. THE GAME Gold Coast Suns v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium Saturday 26th March, 2022 at 8.00pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall - Gold Coast Suns 3 wins Melbourne 12 wins At Metricon Stadium - Gold Coast Suns 1 win Melbourne 2 wins Past five matches - Gold Coast Suns 0 wins Melbourne 5 wins The Coaches - Dew 0 wins Goodwin 5 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 18.20.128 defeated Gold Coast Suns 4.6.30 at Marvel Stadium, Round 20, 2021 One of the passengers on that flight north in late July was debutant Jake Bowey who made the AFL’s longest trip for a first up game but when the time came to play, he was certainly no passenger. The 98 point win was a great start for the youngster and he continues to play winning football every time he steps on the field. May that run continue well into the future. THE TEAMS GOLD COAST SUNS B: D.Swallow 24 S.Collins 25 S.Lemmens 23 HB: R.Atkins 2 C.Ballard 10 W.Powell 27 C: J.Sharp 20 T.Miller 11 - C B.Ellis 4 HF: N.Holman 7 L.Casboult 30 J.Lukosius 13 F: S.Flanders 26 M.Chol 1 B.Ainsworth 9 Foll: J.Witts 28 - C M. Rowell 18 N.Anderson 15 I/C: A.Davies 5 B.Fiorini 8 C.Graham 46 A. Sexton 6 Sub: D.Macpherson 44 Emerg: J. Corbett 19 In: R.Atkins S.Flanders Out: MELBOURNE B: A. Tomlinson 20 S.May 1 J.Hunt 29 HB: T.Rivers 24 J.Smith 44 J.Bowey 17 C: A.Brayshaw 10 C.Oliver 13 E.Langdon 15 HF: K.Pickett 36 B.Brown 50 J.Harmes 4 F: B.Fritsch 31 T.McDonald 25 A.Neal-Bullen 30
Foll: M.Gawn - C 11 C.Petracca 5 J.Viney 7 I/C: L.Jackson 6 C.Spargo 9 J.Jordon 23 T.Sparrow 32 Sub: T.Bedford 12 Emerg: J.Melksham 18 S.Weideman 26 L.Dunstan 27 In: T.Rivers Out: C.Salem (knee) Injury List: Round 2 Kade Chandler - Abdominal | Test Michael Hibberd - Calf | Test Jake Lever - Foot | Test Trent Rivers - Knee | Test Harry Petty - Calf | 3-4 Weeks Daniel Turner - Foot | 4-6 Weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 6-8 Weeks