Demonland

After their five week Covid19 lockdown hiatus, the Casey Demons were fairly scratchy against Essendon VFL for the best part of 2½ quarters on Sunday afternoon but they finally settled down to motor away to a 48 point victory. With 20 AFL affiliated players on the team sheet, the Casey line up looked the strongest team ever put together since linking up with the Demons but the team struggled to score in the early going and managed its first goal to Aaron vandenBerg late in the first term. The teams were on level pegging at the quarter time break with veteran Nathan Jones in everything and Jake Melksham providing great back up. The teams remained virtually locked together for the first half of the term until an inspirational goal from Jones from a long way out on the boundary was followed by another from Mitch White after a chain of possession started deep in defence by that man Jones. They went into the sheds at half time with the home side 15 points ahead. After the break it was the Bombers who were reinvigorated and three quick goals were the result of some strong running through the lines that caught the Casey defence by surprise. The Demons regrouped however, and were steadied by two goals from Ben Brown, one from a strong mark, the other from a nice pick up in the goal square. By the final break, the three goal buffer was restored and the goals flowed in the final term with Casey recording a big win. Ben Brown recorded a five goal haul to underscore his case for AFL promotion while his rival for a return to the Melbourne team, Sam Weideman, was also impressive but in a different role which required his involvement further down the ground with the odd run in the ruck. Both men were overshadowed by Jones who demonstrated that his days at the top are not yet over. 2020 draftee Jake Bowey impressed with his composure and excellent disposal by foot and hand. Melksham and vandenBerg also showed their class. The two players recruited in the recent Mid Season Draft - Kye Declase and Daniel Turner - both had impressive debuts and look to have senior potential but will need to bide their time and establish their credentials. Mitch Brown went off early with a heel injury. The game gave Melbourne Football Club selectors plenty of food for thought as the game and the country travel again into the unknown with Covid19 outbreaks affecting several states. VFL Mens Casey Demons 1.2.8 4.7.31 7.11.53 13.14.92 Essendon VFL 1.2.8 2.4.16 5.4.34 6.8.44 GOALS Casey Demons B. Brown 5 Melksham White 2 Jetta Jones vandenBerg Weideman Essendon VFL Cahill 2 Brown Hird Johnson McBride BEST Casey Demons Jones Bowey B Brown Weideman vandenBerg Smith Essendon VFL O’Kearney Cahill Cutler Gleeson Hird Bryan Statistics Oskar Baker 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 78 dream team points Toby Bedford 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 35 dream team points Jake Bowey 19 kicks 8 handballs 27 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 111 dream team points Aaron Bradtke 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 27 dream team points Kade Chandler 1 behind 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 67 dream team points Ben Brown 5 goals 2 behinds 14 kicks 14 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 3 hit outs 106 dream team points Mitch Brown 1 behind 1 kick 1 disposal 1 mark 7 dream team points [injured] Majak Daw 3 kicks 7 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 22 hit outs 63 dream team points Kye Declase 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 55 dream team points Neville Jetta 1 goal 1 behind 12 kicks 4 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 86 dream team points Nathan Jones 1 goal 1 behind 19 kicks 16 handballs 35 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 128 dream team points Bailey Laurie 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 51 dream team points Jay Lockhart 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 66 dream team points Jake Melksham 2 goals 1 behind 16 kicks 6 handballs 22 disposals 6 marks 4 tackles 107 dream team points James Munro 6 kicks 9 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 43 dream team points Fraser Rosman 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points Deakyn Smith 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 37 dream team points Joel Smith 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 43 dream team points Daniel Turner 5 kicks 11 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 53 dream team points Aaron vandenBerg 1 goal 16 kicks 12 handballs 28 disposals 6 marks 5 tackles 107 dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 3 behinds 13 kicks 8 handballs 21 disposals 11 marks 2 tackles 10 hit outs 113 dream team points Mitch White 2 goals 2 behinds 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 68 dream team points

VOTES PLAYER (CLUB) 10 Steven May (MELB) 4 Max Gawn (MELB) 4 Jake Lever (MELB) 3 Angus Brayshaw (MELB) 3 Clayton Oliver (MELB) 3 Zach Merrett (ESS) 2 Dyson Heppell (ESS) 1 Christian Petracca (MELB) LEADERBOARD VOTES PLAYER CLUB 76 Marcus Bontempelli WB 71 Clayton Oliver MELB 60 Ollie Wines PORT 58 Samuel Walsh CARL 56 Touk Miller GCFC 55 Hugh McCluggage BL 55 Darcy Parish ESS 54 David Mundy FRE 53 Max Gawn MELB 51 Zach Merrett ESS 50 Jack Steele STK 48 Rory Laird ADEL 43 Christian Petracca MELB 42 Jack Macrae WB 42 Dustin Martin RICH 42 Nic Naitanui WCE 41 Jarryd Lyons BL 40 Jacob Hopper GWS 38 Tom Mitchell HAW 38 Taylor Walker ADEL View All Winners

Two words; Flexible Fares.

I wouldn't want to win a "premiership" by being the top team when the season gets cancelled. That would actually be worse than being top when the season is canned and not being able to play finals.

Clarrie followed by Trac and daylight … 140. Clayton Oliver 117. Christian Petracca 86. Christian Salem 82. Jake Lever 79. Max Gawn 60. Ed Langdon 57. Steven May 48. Tom McDonald 42. Luke Jackson 35. James Harmes 30. Kysiah Pickett 24. James Jordon 17. Bayley Fritsch 15. Angus Brayshaw 14. Jayden Hunt 10. Jack Viney 7. Michael Hibberd 6. Charlie Spargo 5. Trent Rivers 2. Alex Neal-Bullen 1. Adam Tomlinson

There is nothing more certain than this outcome except that the whole season will get canned.

Essendon was the latest casualty as the Melbourne juggernaut rolled over the Bombers on its way to a 12th win for the 2021 Season. It was a display of the difference in quality, coaching and system that defines those who will compete in finals and those that lie outside the top eight. Sadly, in these Covid times a mere 19,414 attended the game and the silence outside the ground before the match was eerie. Normally, thronging crowds lining up at ticket gates and food carts were replaced by vacant footpaths and lonely merchandise sellers. Inside the famous stadium, things were not much different although the powers that be at least spread the crowd around in a concession to common sense. Still common sense, or at least a sense of the rules of the game evaded the Essendon supporters, who booed incessantly at any decision that went against their team. They had been given a sense of entitlement from five wins out of their last six games but this was a game against one of the big boys, and they didn’t like it. Scoring was certainly a highlight as both sides failed to score ten goals with poor kicking in front of the big sticks causing the goal umpires to shuffle left and right time and time again - no more so than the Demons with their sub par set shot kicking highlighting the need for a full-time full forward who can consistently score from the 50m mark — is there one available? From early in the first quarter it was obvious that Melbourne had a system in place which would win the match. As has been seen in other matches this year, the opposition simply could not move the ball around the ground freely, because its defensive structures were so solid and quickly mobilised. Without this free movement, the scoring opportunities dried up for the Bombers and it was only the occasional turnover which enabled them to score. The Demons, on the other hand, were far more methodical and their consistent movement of ball was precise and accurate. The ball would move from one end of the ground to the other, without a single Essendon player sighting it, but the Demons fell down badly once approaching the forward 50. There simply wasn’t a target to aim for, and worse, Essendon’s defenders are by no means the gold standard in the competition. Resting a ruck might sound good in theory, but rucks are not forwards. They don’t know the skills of leading and working with other forwards. So poor Tom McDonald found himself a lone soldier in front of the big sticks. It was made even worse when he was then expected to take on forward half ruck duties, leaving a forward line that consisted of Alex Neal-Bullen, Charlie Spargo, Bayley Fritsch, Tom Sparrow, and Kossie Pickett at one point, and much the same for the rest of the game. Have we got someone who could fill the role? In the middle Max dominated the hitouts with 32, and while the Essendon mids dominated the possession count, they simply weren’t effective. Often those same mids were simply left unattended, because they can have all the touches they like, they just don’t hurt the opposition. Meanwhile the Melbourne mids, Clayton Oliver (34), James Harmes (27), Christian Petracca (26) and remarkably James Jordon with 21 from only 60% game time, concentrated on quality and delivery. Jordon, Petracca and Luke Jackson contributed over half the side’s goals. You could probably can Tom Sparrow’s vital final quarter long range goal to the list showing the evolution of the midfield into a more threatening unit and also reaffirming the need for a more solid forward line. The backs were magnificent again, as they frustrated multiple Essendon attacks. The intercepting skills of Steven May 8, Jake Lever 10, Trent Rivers 5 and even Jayden Hunt with 6 repelled the Bombers forward moves. They certainly lapped up the delivery from Parish, Merrett and Stringer, who simply just kept kicking it high to them and never learnt the lesson. Michael Hibberd covered any forward move by Stringer, and Christian Salem became the go-to man to clear the zone with 26 touches, and his favourite up-field target of Ed Langdon finished with 23 to further relieve the pressure. Tom Petty played goal-keeper for the match, but was rarely called upon, simply because the ball didn’t get past the Lever-May wall. What can be improved? Well certainly the management of rotations left a lot to be desired, as we were twice caught out with the 6-6-6 rule. Not knowing who is on or off after a goal should be a simple matter, and yet these weren’t the only times as we had Brayshaw forced into the middle because the designated mid didn’t get on in time as well. Then we had Max and Jackson stranded at the wrong end of the ground, and not able to impact at critical points in the game, or all too often we had Jackson trying to out-ruck Draper with his superior height and weight. All this is about off-field management, and something was not working. Another win, another opponent consigned to the dust-bin and the Demons move on to the next one. The fans would like to see big scoring wins as they did in 2020 but it is more important to get the wins first. Winning ugly, or more to the point, winning without flair has produced the best Melbourne season in over 50 years. Best to get used to it … and ain’t it delightful! MELBOURNE 1.5.11 4.8.32 8.12.60 9.14.68 ESSENDON 2.3.15 4.5.29 6.7.43 8.9.57 GOALS Melbourne Jordon 2 Petracca 2 Harmes Jackson McDonald Spargo Sparrow Essendon Jones Wright 2 Heppell Hooker Smith Stringer BEST Melbourne Petracca Oliver Salem Jordon Lever May Essendon Merrett Parish HeppellRidley Stringer Langford Redman INJURIES Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil REPORTS Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne Nathan Jones (unused) Essendon David Zaharakis (unused) UMPIRES Andrew Stephens Hayden Gavine Robert Findlay OFFICIAL CROWD 19,414 at the MCG

Who comes in and who goes out for our match against GWS?

Demons!!!

Cast your votes please 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

It would be nice if we could play Gold Coast more often at the G

Round 16 Thursday, July 1 Gold Coast v Richmond at Metricon Stadium, 7.20pm AEST Friday, July 2 Geelong v Essendon at GMHBA Stadium, 7.50pm AEST Saturday, July 3 Melbourne v GWS Giants at the MCG, 1.45pm AEST Adelaide v Brisbane at Adelaide Oval, 4.05pm ACST Hawthorn v Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium, 7.40pm AEST Fremantle v Carlton at Optus Stadium, 5.40pm AWST Sunday, July 4 Sydney v West Coast at GMHBA Stadium, 1.10pm AEST Collingwood v St Kilda at the MCG, 3.20pm AEST Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, 4.40pm AEST