Demonland

Who are you tipping this week?

The magic of Melbourne’s magnificent start to 2021 is beginning to wear off. In its past six matches it lost to three teams that were outside the eight, out of form — teams which it had very little trouble bearing last year. This week, the temperature is turned up even higher with the hard fought spot in the top four at risk. The really ominous factor about the Demons’ upcoming Thursday night meeting with Port Adelaide this week is that it is due to take place at the very place where its decline began this year — at the Adelaide Oval. It was here that lowly Adelaide rode the waves of a roaring crowd and some generous umpiring interpretations to end Melbourne’s opening 2021 nine match winning streak by a solitary point. But if we did it tough against the Crows, then what chance against Port Adelaide coming off a big win over the Hawks who a week ago conquered our nemesis from last week, the Giants? Port Adelaide is one of the AFL’s form sides because the week before, they beat the Sydney Swans who annihilated West Coast last week. They have class all over the field and the best big bodied midfielder in the competition in Ollie Wines who is leading in many best and fairest awards. They’re well served in all departments around the field, well coached and have the capacity to control their games. The upshot is they are making the most of their opportunities and kicking winning scores. Melbourne, on the other hand, has a brilliant defence, a midfield that has touches of brilliance but has lost some of its direction lately and a forward line that has descended in the past few games into the dyslectic. Against the Giants they managed 56 entries into their forward 50 of which only 36% were converted into scores (a statistic not too dissimilar to that of their opponents). But the Demons’ shooting accuracy of only 35% compared to the Giants’ 47% made the difference between a win and a loss. This week the selectors have gone for the additional marking option of Ben Brown who, in hindsight, should have been selected off the back of his previous effort of 5 goals 2 behinds against Essendon VFL. Apparently, someone at the club *believed* a weather bureau report suggesting storm clouds were forming and that there was a high chance that heavy rain would fall over the MCG in large patches over the course of the game. In fact, not a drop fell and in the dry conditions, the opportunities went begging and the club lamented. But it’s not just that key forward position that requires a shake up. The Demon small forwards who were so potent up to a month ago, have gone missing in action. It was clear to all and sundry that some players were getting tired and an attitudinal change was needed . The selectors however, were too slow in dealing with the issue and, as a consequence, the problem has gotten out of hand. By contrast, Port Adelaide is in good shape and welcomes the return of Tom Clurey into defence and playmaker Zak Butters into the midfield/forward mix. Even though fine weather is predicted for Adelaide on Thursday night, these changes should freshen up the Power and enable them to weather any storm. Port Adelaide to win by 18 points. THE GAME Port Adelaide v Melbourne on Thursday 7 July, 2021 at 7.40pm at Adelaide Oval HEAD TO HEAD Overall Port Adelaide 21 wins Melbourne 13 wins At Adelaide Oval Port Adelaide 3 wins Melbourne 1 win Past five meetings Port Adelaide 4 wins, Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Hinkley 3 wins Goodwin 1 win MEDIA THE LAST TIME THEY MET Port Adelaide 12.11.83 defeated Melbourne 4.8.32 in Round 9, 2020 at the Gabba The Demons were a tired looking bunch as they came off a four day break and were hammered by the then premiership favourites Port Adelaide in a performance that prompted club chairperson Glenn Bartlett to come out and state the obvious — that the team was rancid. The usuals, Gawn, Petracca and Oliver performed at an acceptable standard for AFL football. The rest, languished for all four quarters. THE TEAMS PORT ADELAIDE B: T. Clurey 17 T. McKenzie 12 A. Aliir 21 HB: R. Burton 3 T. Jonas 1 D. Byrne-Jones 33 C: M. Bergman 14 O. Wines 16 K. Amon 15 HF: C. Rozee 20 T. Marshall 4 S. Motlop 6 F: M. Georgiades 19 C. Dixon 22 Z. Butters 18 Foll: S. Lycett 29 T. Boak 10 W. Drew 28 I/C: Powell-Pepper 2 D. Houston 5 J. Lienert 40 S. Mayes 32 Sub: M. Frederick 45 Emerg: J. Garner 27 P. Ladhams 38 B. Woodcock 36 In: Z. Butters T. Clurey Out: R. Bonner (omitted) K. Farrell (ACL) MELBOURNE B: M. Hibberd 14 S. May 1 J. Lever 8 HB: J. Hunt 29 H. Petty 35 C. Salem 3 C: A. Brayshaw 10 C. Petracca 5 E. Langdon 15 HF: A. Neal-Bullen 30 T. McDonald 25 J. Harmes 4 F: L. Jackson 6 B. Brown 50 B. Fritsch 31 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 J. Viney 7 I/C: J. Jordon 23 K. Pickett 36 T. Rivers 24 C. Spargo 9 Sub: T. Sparrow 32 Emerg: J. Melksham 18 J. Smith 44 A. vandenBerg 22 In: B. Brown Out: A. vandenBerg (omitted) Injury List: Round 17 Mitch Brown (heel) — 2 Weeks Bailey Laurie (shoulder) — 4 to 5 Weeks Nathan Jones (calf) — TBC Marty Hore (knee) — 7 to 8 Weeks Aaron Nietschke (knee) — Season Adam Tomlinson (knee) — Season

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“Fee-fi-fo-fum, without a Full Forward the Premiership can’t be won!” So said the GWS Giants, as they exposed Melbourne’s fatal deficiency with a nine point win at the MCG. In past weeks Melbourne has been barely able to gloss over the lack of a serious target in front of goal, while others were able to contribute. But in a near repeat of the game from the previous week, players running up the ground simply had no-one to kick the ball to, when all that was needed was that one tall target. It didn’t help that Melbourne could not kick straight, by making 35% of their shots at goal, and a good number of them ordinarily easily converted. Kick just two of the easy misses and the game result would have been very different. However, not a single tall playing in the forward line, Tom McDonald, Luke Jackson or Max Gawn was able to trouble the goal umpire for the match. This simply cannot continue and the concept of resting rucks in the goal-square has been an abject failure. They are ruckmen and do not know or indeed have been trained to play as the leading full-forward. In the middle of the ground the story was similarly an abject failure. The Giants simply overwhelmed the Melbourne mids with centre clearances 11 to 6. Normally, this is not a problem, but the quality of clearances was telling. James Harmes was given the job in the centre, yet failed to tag Hopper, Kelly, Ward or Taranto. He certainly didn’t add anything in terms of attack, as his turnovers and fumbles at critical times cost the side dearly. Likewise, for his limited game time of 62%, Jack Viney was barely sighted. He is either carrying injury or is significantly unfit, because this wasn’t the Jack Viney that we have come to know. Thank goodness for the backline, who held strong throughout the game. After all, the opposition only scored nine goals. Jake Lever, Steven May and Harry Petty did their jobs, and Christian Salem and Trent Rivers were there when needed. Salem back to his best with 31 touches, and Lever and May combining for 24 intercepts and Rivers 7. Still we were pantsed by Toby Greene early on who had 3 goals out of their side’s first 5. Fortunately, Michael Hibberd shut him down after that, but the damage had been done, given the final margin. It wasn’t until the last quarter that the Demons showed any fire and desire, but needing three goals to drag the margin back was a big ask when they had only kicked five leading into the final break. Jayden Hunt failed three times as he tried to run the ball down the field, but while fans bemoaned his lack of vision, without a target he simply had to keep running. Bayley Fritsch gave the side a sniff and contributed well with his three goals, often at critical times in the game, but he can’t do it all on his own. He needs help. Same as McDonald. He can’t do all the leading up the ground, gaining 10 marks, 3 of which were contested, and then be expected to be the FF as well. Kossy Pickett was unsighted with only 4 touches for the game, despite a couple of stints in the middle. He looked tired, and perhaps some time away for a refresh is needed. He was taken from the ground for the whole of the final quarter, but is his form just another sign of not having a suitable 2nd tall to be able to feed off. Charlie Spargo fared better with 11 touches, but again with no crumbing opportunities his output was well below his best. Melbourne have now lost three of their past 6 games. With upcoming games against Port, Bulldogs, Eagles and Geelong, there is a real chance not only of losing that valuable top 2 spot, but dropping out of top four. The change needs to be made now. The team is desperate for a structure up forward which matches the reliability of that which it has down back. If Ben Brown is not fit, then that should no longer be a consideration. He is a 200cm target which we currently don’t have. And with finals closing in, now is the time to stop experiments and put in place the structure which will see the side through to the end. If not it will be “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of the Demon!” MELBOURNE 1.3.9 3.6.24 5.9.39 7.13.55 GWS GIANTS 2.2.14 6.6.42 8.8.56 9.10.64 GOALS Melbourne Fritsch 3 Neal-Bullen Pickett Salem Sparrow GWS Giants Greene 3 Himmelberg Kelly Reid Taranto Ward Whitfield BEST Melbourne Salem Petracca Fritsch Langdon Rivers Gawn GWS Giants Kelly Ward Taranto Greene Perryman Hopper Whitfield INJURIES Melbourne Nil GWS Giants Buckley (knee) REPORTS Melbourne Nil GWS Giants Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne: vandenBerg (unused) GWS Giants: Reid (replaced Buckley) UMPIRES Dean Margetts Curtis Deboy Andrew Heffernan Official Crowd 16,963 at the MCG

We played a shocker off a 4 day break THE TEAMS MELBOURNE FB Jay Lockhart Oscar McDonald Jake Lever HB Christian Salem Steven May Michael Hibberd C Ed Langdon Clayton Oliver Tom Sparrow HF Jake Melksham Sam Weideman Angus Brayshaw FF Kysaiah Pickett Mitch Hannan Tom McDonald FOL Max Gawn Christian Petracca Jack Viney I/C Bayley Fritsch Luke Jackson Nathan Jones James Harmes, EM Neville Jetta Alex Neal-Bullen Charlie Spargo Adam Tomlinson IN Tom McDonald Tom Sparrow OUT Harley Bennell (managed) Neville Jetta (omitted) PORT ADELAIDE FB Sam Mayes Tom Clurey Jarrod Lienert HB Hamish Hartlett Tom Jonas Darcy Byrne-Jones C Xavier Duursma Ollie Wines Karl Amon HF Sam Powell-Pepper Brad Ebert Connor Rozee FF Zak Butters Charlie Dixon Robbie Gray FOL Peter Ladhams Dan Houston Travis Boak I/C Kane Farrell Mitch Georgiades Tom Rockliff Justin Westhoff EM Riley Bonner Willem Drew Joel Garner Boyd Woodcock IN Jarrod Lienert Tom Rockliff OUT Riley Bonner (soreness) Todd Marshall (broken thumb)

Progressive 140. Clayton Oliver 123. Christian Petracca 104. Christian Salem 87. Jake Lever 82. Max Gawn 64. Steven May 63. Ed Langdon 55. Tom McDonald 43. Luke Jackson 35. James Harmes 30. Kysiah Pickett 28. Bayley Fritsch 24. James Jordon 15. Angus Brayshaw 14. Jayden Hunt 10. Jack Viney 7. Michael Hibberd Trent Rivers 6. Charlie Spargo 2. Alex Neal-Bullen 1. Adam Tomlinson

Oh well …

Please vote - 6,5,4,3,2,1

Let's face it. We Melbourne supporters are a demanding lot. Here we are with our team on top of the ladder with a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, a decent percentage and a fair run home for a team with finals credentials. We have a fit list with lots of in form players, many of who are in contention for All Australian and other high honours, the team’s playing with purpose and cohesion and its VFL affiliate is undefeated and going gangbusters. Still, we're all walking around with concerned looks on our faces, carrying feelings of concern and apprehension about what lies ahead. What’s the fuss all about - is there a problem or is a case of “much ado about nothing”? Well, possibly there is a problem … we have a powerful defence and a good few A graders in the midfield but there seems to be an issue with the forward line. It's not that they're failing to kick winning scores because they usually manage to do exactly that. What appears to upset us however, is that they're not kicking big scores and, as a result, they’re not destroying opponents. While everyone should strive to get better, it’s hard to do that when you already have a 12/2 win, loss record but the last couple of weeks have seen some poor conversion for goal combined with a decline in pressure applied by the club’s forwards. A number of them are just not scoring goals. In recent games, I’ve noticed that this is particularly so at the pointy end of games. Since the win against the Swans, the Dees have conceded at least the last goal of every match to their opponents, often it’s been the last two or three at the precise time when a top side should be asserting its dominance in attack rather than falling away leaving supporters feeling that they’d just witnessed a “nothing game”. Perhaps it’s not surprising therefore that the club’s website sought out forward coach Greg Stafford to discuss his charges in this week’s episode of “The Talking Point”. Stafford apparently prefers to describe “small forwards” as “speed forwards” while “tall forwards” are “power forwards”. On that basis, I’m not sure where that leaves the likes of Jake Melksham who is currently on the outer or Bayley Fritsch who is on the inner or why Ben Brown can’t get a look in after his five-goal haul at Casey. In any event, team selection in the coming few weeks will be interesting if the intention is to ramp up scoring power. In the case of Saturday’s game v GWS Giants, it might well have been the weather report pointing to coolish conditions and a high percentage chance of rain on game day. Then there’s the opposition. Melbourne rolled an injury riddled GWS combination after a slow start in their last encounter and the Giants’ form in recent weeks has been flaky to say the least against lowly ranked opposition. They drew with North, lost to Hawthorn and beat an insipid Carlton by six goals of the back of some straight kicking for goal. The loss to the Hawks when a top eight spot was in the offing would have been heartbreaking for the few fans who follow them. Chances are that in the uncertainty of the present in a semi hub situation with Covid19 bearing down on them and playing at the unfamiliar MCG in front of thousands of fussy Demon fans who will be demanding a gold standard performance rather than a “nothing” game, things are not going to get better for them. Melbourne to win by 32 points. THE GAME Melbourne v GWS Giants at the MCG, Saturday 3 July, 2021 at 1:45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall – Melbourne 8 wins GWS Giants 6 wins At The MCG – GWS Giants 0 wins Melbourne 0 wins Past five meetings – Melbourne 3 wins GWS Giants 2 wins The Coaches – Goodwin 3 wins Cameron 2 wins THE 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 15.12.102 defeated GWS Giants 11.2.68 at Manuka Oval, Round 3, 2021 Greater Western Sydney had the early lead thanks to its accuracy in front of goal but the superior Demons took the advantage of the Giants’ injury woes and powered ahead to a fine 34 point victory. Max Gawn was dominant in the ruck and around the ground with Christian Petracca and Jack Viney taking the full benefit of their power games. THE TEAMS 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 C. Petracca 5 E. Langdon 15 HF: J. Viney 7 T. McDonald 25 C. Spargo 9 F: A. Neal-Bullen L. Jackson 6 B. Fritsch 31 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 K. Pickett 36 I/C: A. Brayshaw 10 J. Harmes 4 T. Rivers 24 T. Sparrow 32 Sub: A. vandenBerg 22 Emerg: J. Bowey 17 B. Brown 50 K. Chandler 37 In: A. vandenBerg Out: N. Jones (calf) GWS GIANTS B: J. Buckley 44 P. Davis 1 L. Ash 7 HB: H. Perryman 36 N. Haynes 19 I. Cumming 13 C: J. Kelly 22 C. Ward 8 L. Whitfield 6 HF: B. Daniels 16 H. Himmelberg 27 B. Hill 37 F: T. Greene 4 J. Finlayson 31 D. Lloyd 38 Foll: S. Mumford 41 T. Taranto 14 J. Hopper 2 I/C: M. Flynn T. Green 12 30 C. Idun 39 A. Kennedy 40 Sub: S. Reid 50 Emerg: K. Briggs 32 M. de Boer 24 X. O'Halloran 33 In: T. Green S. Mumford Out: K. Briggs (omitted) M. de Boer (omitted) Round 16: Injury List Marty Hore (knee) — 8 to 10 Weeks Aaron Nietschke (knee) — Season Adam Tomlinson (knee) — Season

I guess that means we'll be playing in Adelaide too. * * Unless there are more cases in SA or in Vic and the season is derailed.

Sorry I was a bit late setting this thread up.

IN: - OUT: Jones (inj.)

The ladder for the stereotypical Melbourne Supporter.

We'll probably have to play Port in Geelong.

The Demonland Podcast is LIVE Tonight 29/6 @ 8:30pm Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31