Demonland

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

Didn't hurt us last year but give us something to complain about. Made Finals in Green - Missed Finals in Red. Western Bulldogs Geelong GWS Carlton Kangaroos Adelaide Port Adelaide West Coast Hawthorn Brisbane Essendon Sydney Fremantle Collingwood Melbourne Gold Coast St. Kilda Richmond

Bad precedent set. If they ever followed precedent.

Pro Tip: Fast forward to the end.

I have no recollection of that. I might have reposted a tweet from someone on Twitter but I'm afraid without undergoing a session of hypnosis to retrieve that memory that information is as good as lost.

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So what you're basically saying is that umpires are 15 year old girls.

PLAYER INJURY LENGTH Trent Rivers Knee Test Kade Chandler Abdominal Test Michael Hibberd Calf Test Jake Lever Foot Test Harrison Petty Calf 3-4 Weeks Daniel Turner Foot 4-6 Weeks Christian Salem Knee 6-8 Weeks