Demonland

TURNING ON THE HEAT by KC from Casey The Casey Demons headed north to taste some Queensland sunshine and despite having to leave out skipper Mitch White who was stricken with the flu, they had little trouble in turning on the heat and disposing of finals contender Gold Coast. The Demons were dominant from the very start with exciting young key forward Jacob Van Rooyen on fire early and Mitch Brown destroying the Suns with his marking and leading despite his erratic kicking for goal. By the time newcomer Ryan Valentine goaled with his first kick at the 20 minute mark of the opening term for Casey’s fifth on the trot, the Suns looked completely demoralised. They were down by 34 points at the first break and then Brown put his kicking boots on after kicking 5 behinds to bag four goals. His half time tally was one point more than the home side’s 4.5 which had them trailing by 55 points. And it didn’t end there with the Demons ramming home another eight in the third quarter to underline their complete mastery over an enthusiastic but far less skilled and disorganised opponent. They pulled up a little in the final term providing the crowd with half an hour of junk time before they cantered to a 76 point victory that left them two games and percentage clear of the next best on the VFL ladder. Apart from the two key forwards, the Demons were well served by the usual suspects in Jake Melksham, Kade Chandler, Luke Dunstan and Jayden Hunt who, based on their respective performances could easily come into most AFL teams. They were a cut above the standard of their opposition in the game played in this paddock outside the main facility at Carrara. The Demons have the luxury of being able to nurture their young talent in the VFL. Besides Van Rooyen, Bailey Laurie and rookie Andy Moniz-Wakefield had some special moments during the course of the game. The Casey contingent blended in well with Jack Bell holding up his end in the ruck in the absence of Majak Daw. Riley Baldi and White’s replacement Roan Steele (two goals) were good again, Jimmy Munro led from the front and Matt Buntine was more than handy. Next Saturday sees the team head back home to cooler weather and Casey Fields for a clash against an improving Port Melbourne. CASEY DEMONS 7.6.48 12.12.84 20.15.135 21.17.143 GOLD COAST SUNS 2.2.14 4.5.29 8.9.57 9.13.67 Goals Casey Demons M Brown 6 J Van Rooyen 3 Chandler Melksham Steele 2 Baker Grey Laurie Moniz-Wakefield Munro Valentine Gold Coast Suns Oea Sexton 2 Corbett Day Faulkhead Hollands Nicholls Best Casey Demons M Brown Van Rooyen Chandler Melksham Bell Baldi Gold Coast Suns Atkins McPherson Constable Moyle Statistics Oskar Baker 1 goal 2 behinds 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 disposals 8 marks 2 tackle 102 dream team points Riley Baldi 1 behind 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 70 dream team points 
Jack Bell 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 18 hit outs 48 dream team points Mitch Brown 6 goals 6 behinds 17 kicks 4 handballs 21 disposals 10 marks 1 tackle 130 dream team points
 Matt Buntine 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 5 marks 1 tackles 42 dream team points Kade Chandler 2 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 101 dream team points Luke Dunstan 17 kicks 8 handballs 25 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points 
Corey Ellison 3 kicks 1 handball 4 disposals 11 dream team points George Grey 1 goals 2 behinds 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 49 dream team points Jayden Hunt 11 kicks 9 handballs 20 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 79 dream team points 
Bailey Laurie 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 11 handballs 21 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 95 dream team points
 Judd McVee 6 kicks 9 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 53 dream team points
 Jake Melksham 2 goals 1 behind 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 94 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 1 goal 7 kicks 1 handball 8 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 40 dream team points
 James Munro 1 goals 4 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 9 tackles 1 hit out 95 dream team points
 Trent Rivers 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 72 dream team points Fraser Rosman 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 50 dream team points Deakyn Smith 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 2 handballs 44 dream team points Roan Steele 2 goals 1 behind 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 5 marks 1 tackles 77 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 20 kicks 2 handballs 22 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 79 dream team points
 Ryan Valentine 1 goal 2 kicks 6 handballs 8 disposals 2 tackles 1 hit out 31 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 3 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 4 hit outs 88 dream team points
 Taj Woewodin 13 kicks 4 handballs 17 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points

Cats always get looked after at home.

Why are the Cats wearing white shorts for their home game?

game and % clear

I think they mentioned on the telecast that it was 28 or 29 games.

Any time Malthouse ever says anything ever again just remember this.

lol Essendon

Bulldogs 20 Free to Hawks 10. Bulldogs now + 67 frees in 2022. 26 frees ahead of the next team.

The progressive count - 166. Clayton Oliver 100. Christian Petracca 85. Angus Brayshaw 84. Max Gawn 79. Jack Viney 65. Steven May 50. Ed Langdon 48. James Jordon 31. Luke Jackson 22. Jake Bowey 20. James Harmes 19. Jake Lever 17. Kysaiah Pickett 15. Tom Sparrow 13. Ben Brown Bayley Fritsch 11. Alex Neal-Bullen 8. Tom McDonald Harry Petty 6. Mitch Hibberd Sam Weideman 5. Jayden Hunt Charlie Spargo 3. Christian Salem Joel Smith

The top of the table Brisbane Lions came into their game against Melbourne thinking they were kings of the AFL Jungle. However, by game’s end they were shown to be toothless, as the rampant Demons gave them a lesson about the exact level you have to be at to justify that mantle. The first quarter saw Brisbane squander some easy chances in front of goal, which kept Melbourne within striking distance and, as a result, the Lions led by a mere goal. Of course, it could have been so much different and in addition, they expended a great deal of energy just getting to that point. The question before the game was how would Melbourne cope without their inspirational captain, Max Gawn in the ruck. What they discovered they had another inspirational captain in Jack Viney who stepped up to the role and then went even further during the game. Time and time again, he threw himself at man and contest, and time and time again, he came up with the crown of brutal superiority around the ball. By game’s end he had amassed an incredible 34 touches of which 19 were contested possessions. The second term saw Melbourne slam on six goals, and it could easily have held the Lions scoreless in that stanza, but for a Steven May blunder late in the quarter when he kicked the ball to the opposition to gift them their solitary score in 20 minutes of footy. Still not to worry, he might have been a little rusty but the addition of May to the side was a telling factor in the return of the stingy Melbourne defensive structure. And with May holding down the goalkeeper role, and making Joe Daniher look like a goose that he often emulates with his flopping tactics, the players around him picked up the vibe that has been missing or three weeks. Jake Lever returned to his best, and with the freedom from May’s presence, simply intercepted everything that came his way. His 15 intercepts including eight marks broke the hearts of the Brisbane mid-field as they simply could not pass him. Alongside, Michael Hibberd gave the Brisbane goal-sneak in Charlie Cameron a lesson in how a premiership defensive structure works, by giving him absolutely nothing. As a result Cameron scored nothing himself, while Hibberd racked up 14 disposals and six intercepts. In the third quarter, the Demons continued their assault, and while only scoring three goals, it should have been more given they also kicked seven minor scores. Once again, the lead was extended with the Lions only producing 2 goals 3 behinds for themselves. Meanwhile, the big question around the ruck was being emphatically answered by Luke Jackson, who gave away height and weight to McInerney, but his athleticism and second efforts around the ball were more effective than the output from the Brisbane ruck. His 21 disposals and 9 tackles and over 300m gained is not what a ruck normally produces, but his performance simply added to the mid-field dominance of the Demons. Alongside Jackson was the triumvirate of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Viney with their relentless approach to the contest, which resulted in 100 disposals among the trio. No side is capable of withstanding this sort of pressure and output and the Lions wilted even further in the final quarter conceding another five goals to the Demons while only producing a single major yet again. So in the end, Melbourne ran away with a 64 point win against a team which for a little over a week in time, had claimed top spot. Once again it put the Demons at the top of the ladder, and silenced the critics who had been all too willing to come up with all sorts of scuttlebutt, innuendo and fanciful claims about the side and the club. The fans came out in droves for a Thursday night game, with 37,000 coming through the gate, which was in sharp contrast to the numbers attending from other bigger membership clubs in recent times. They were treated to a display that was well worth their while attending mid-week in the middle of a bleak Melbourne winter. They got to see the Kings of the Jungle show their mettle. They got to see what has been showcased as “The Melbourne Way”. And once again, the other sides in the competition would be just a little more worried about what they could be facing in the second half of the season. None more so than the Lions who have to face the Demons again in the final round, knowing what happened to them in this game without Max Gawn and Tom McDonald on the field. One thing is for sure today — there is no doubt today about who is King. MELBOURNE 2.4.16 8.10.58 11.17.83 16.21.117 BRISBANE LIONS 3.4.22 4.4.28 6.7.43 7.11.53 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 3 Bedford Harmes Jordon Pickett 2 Brown Jackson Neal-Bullen Spargo Sparrow BRISBANE LIONS Hipwood Robinson 2 Daniher McCarthy Rayner BEST MELBOURNE Viney Oliver Lever Jordon Petracca Brayshaw Jackson BRISBANE LIONS Coleman McCluggage Rich Rayner INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Andrews (shoulder) Lyons (sternum) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Jayden Hunt (unused) BRISBANE LIONS Callum Ah Chee (replaced Jarryd Lyons in the last quarter UMPIRES Nick Foot Brendan Hosking Simon Meredith CROWD 37,728 at the MCG

Got an early edition of the newspaper

Who comes in and who goes out?

We’re back in town …

Cast your votes here people - 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ….