Demonland

Thanks Sandra

Whilst I agree with the Noise Affirmation Theory I also subscribe to the Bulldogs Are the Darlings of the AFL Theory led by their AFL Poster Boy Bontempelli. The Bulldogs are probably the only team that could debunk the Noise Affirmation Theory.

In devastating news for the Eagles ...

I have West Coast's stats from this year. 208 frees to 188 for WCE from 11 Home Games at Optus Stadium. They won the free kick count 7 of 11 times. Twice had 10 or more frees than the away side. There are no stats for free kicks not paid. No surprises that one of the free kick counts that they lost at home this year was against ... surprise surprise ... the Bulldogs.

Next week too?

@binman @george_on_the_outer

PLAYER INJURY ESTIMATED RETURN Mitch Brown Heel Test Marty Hore Knee Season Jayden Hunt Ankle TBC Tom McDonald Back Test Aaron Nietschke Knee Season Deakyn Smith Concussion Test Adam Tomlinson Knee Season Jack Viney Suspension Round 23 Updated: Tuesday, August 10 Early prognosis The Demons are confident they will regain McDonald for this week's clash with the Crows, while Mitch Brown and Deakyn Smith should make their comebacks through the VFL. Hunt will get scans early this week, with Simon Goodwin saying on Monday night he is "confident with where that sits". - Riley Beveridge PLAYER INJURY ESTIMATED RETURN Luke Brown Achilles Season Matt Crouch Groin Season Will Hamill Concussion 1 week Jackson Hately Groin Season Mitch Hinge Shoulder Season Wayne Milera Knee Season Luke Pedlar Ankle Season Brodie Smith Concussion 1 week Daniel Talia Foot TBC Updated: Tuesday, August 10 Early prognosis A couple of Crows have been put on ice for the final two rounds, most notably inside midfielder Crouch who experienced groin soreness following his one SANFL match a few weeks back. Hately has been managing a similar problem for most of the season but will now rest, while Pedlar has a badly sprained ankle from Saturday's SANFL Showdown victory over Port Adelaide. - Michael Whiting The Adelaide Injury list doesn't include Reilly O'Brien as reported by the Crows yesterday.

Josh Kelly isn't going anywhere.

Hey I'm playing 3D chess here and am already formulating our plan for the 2022 Marsh Community Series. A loss in one or both would be catastrophic. They'll probably send us to Broome or Cape York. Damn the AFL.

Such a modern day Melbourne thing to happen.

Definitely not. If all Top 4 teams win this week and then we lose to Cats and Port beats Dogs we play Port in Port.

You'll know when you get the mailout.

Clayton is the real thing - 31 votes ahead of Tracc. 215. Clayton Oliver 184. Christian Petracca 121. Christian Salem 108. Jake Lever 98. Max Gawn 77. Steven May 69. Luke Jackson 66. Tom McDonald 63. Ed Langdon 42. James Harmes 33. Bayley Fritsch 31. Kysiah Pickett 27. James Jordon 25. Alex Neal-Bullen 20. Jayden Hunt 15. Angus Brayshaw 14. Jack Viney 13. Harry Petty 11. Charlie Spargo 8. Trent Rivers 7. Michael Hibberd 5. Ben Brown 2. Jake Bowey 1. Adam Tomlinson

What more can they throw at the Demons of 2021? Covid restrictions, hubs, aircraft circling between airports before landing for games and now a match stopped for 30 minutes to give a flagging opponent its second wind? To date, none of those distractions has swayed the team from their winning objectives. The game against West Coast in Perth can be marked on their report card as another positive outcome after yet another test. There was much at stake for both sides. Melbourne had the opportunity to re-take top spot and assure itself of a top four finish. West Coast had a finals position at stake so, as promised, it was an electrifying match but not in the way that most of us would have imagined. Even before the start, the sides were making strategic moves off the back of weather reports predicting bucket loads of rain adding to an already wet winter for the State. Tom McDonald was replaced in the side by James Jordon while the Eagles replaced Duggan before the match. As it turned out, the boffins at the WA Bureau of Meteorology proved correct when the ground was hit by torrential rain and high winds shortly before game time. With the match under way, it proved to be everything that was promised. In the first quarter the Demons inched their way to the front with a tactic of long kicking to gain territory. Ben Brown celebrated with his 300th goal in AFL and followed up with another shortly after. All around the ground it was contest after contest, with the Demons slightly ahead in the wet conditions. Ed Langdon must be forgiven for thinking he has done something wrong, as the game was played again on the opposite wing, but with Andrew Gaff alongside, both these brilliant players were more spectators than contributors. A major blow to West Coast was the loss of Shannon Hurn to a hamstring injury early, making the Demons forwards job a little easier. Much the same happened in the second quarter as the ground dried and more skills could be seen. Then umpire Mathew Nicholls gifted West Coast a goal from a free kick, which was to prove to be not the only one that raised incredulous eyebrows on the night. Rule of the week from the umpires was “not 15m”. While a good thing, the fans would like to see it applied consistently at every game, every week, not just on a whim. Melbourne failed to score a major in the second term until Kysaiah Pickett managed a 50 m set shot right on the siren to enable the Demons to take back a four point lead at the main break. The scoreline was a good indication of the contest with neither side giving much. West Coast had thrown everything at the Demons, and true to the test they were given, they just held up. None more so than Jake Lever who had amassed eight intercepts to half time. In the third term, it was Melbourne who came out to put the game beyond doubt (or so we thought) with a five goal to one onslaught. Alex Neal-Bullen snagged a snap from great Ben Brown ruckwork in the forward line, while Luke Jackson was proving to be too much for Vardy in the ruck with his athleticism which resulted in a number of scoring chances. Max Gawn was noticed to be spending a long time on the bench, but with Jackson ascendant in the ruck, this was to prove to be a fortuitous event. Still, the Demons wasted a number of chances scoring five behinds to match the five goals, and once again Nicholls kept giving West Coast scoring opportunities in front of goal. The Demons controlled the first five or so minutes after the final break and the game was in their keeping with a 33 point lead when Mother Nature intervened with nearby lightning strikes halting proceedings. There were many questions to be answered including for how long and what would happen if the storm persisted? Confused reigned and the difficult situation was thrust upon players and coaches. How to keep the players warm and ready for something which might, may or may not happen in 10, 15 or 30 minutes or not at all. After 30 minutes or so, the weather moderated a little and the contestants were allowed back on the field to resume play. Melbourne worked hard but failed to convert a couple of easy shots but the game turned. West Coast was awarded another goal from a free kick, and the Demons lead was being whittled away with desperate attempts to score or repel the attacks. The Eagles had their second wind but the time clock was running down and in the end a few critical disposals and marks from the likes of Bowey, Spargo and Brown denied West Coast. Despite not scoring a final term major for themselves, the Demons ran out worthy winners. Individual efforts were hard to highlight, simply because there were so many to speak about. For the Demon fans, Luke Jackson was a standout, and given he is only 19 there is much to look forward to. In the same way Jake Bowey at 19 and in his second game showed poise beyond his years, and his accurate kicking tells of a bright future. He earned his 21 possessions at over 80% efficiency in a tough hard contested game and cemented his place for the coming final series. This was only the third time Melbourne had been victorious against the Eagles in 18 years. But this is a very different Demon side. They have been tried and tested now and have shown they are serious contenders for the premiership. Now what an electrifying experience that would be for Demon fans! MELBOURNE 4.2.26 5.3.33 10. 8.68 10.12.72 WEST COAST EAGLES 2.0.12 4.5.29 5.6.36 9.9.63 GOALS Melbourne Brown 3 Neal-Bullen Melksham 2 Harmes Petracca Pickett West Coast Eagles Cripps Kennedy Darling 2 Naitanui Redden West BEST Melbourne Petracca Oliver Harmes Brown Jackson May West Coast Eagles Yeo Naitanui Redden Kelly Cripps Sheed INJURIES Melbourne McDonald (back) replaced in the selected side by Jordon Hunt (ankle) West Coast Eagles Duggan (knee soreness) replaced in the selected side by L. Edwards Hurn (hamstring) REPORTS Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne vandenBerg (replaced Hunt) West Coast Eagles Langdon (replaced Hurn) UMPIRES Jeff Dalgleish Mathew Nicholls John Howorth Official Crowd 31,584 at Optus Stadium

No one can catch the Bulldogs now.