Demonland

NO CHANGE

Better news

Yeah you’d expect one of those calling mum and dad videos or the boys getting around him at Training after Goody informs them prior to or after the session.

Who are you tipping this week?

Melbourne fans have been living with the premiership glow for six months since their team won its first premiership flag in almost six decades. Supporters are now getting used to following what is officially a powerhouse, one that’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, travel to different parts of the country, play in difficult humid conditions on soggy grounds and win matches under adversity. The Demons’ victory over the Suns at the weekend wasn’t pretty and some might say it’s a sign that the team might be coming back to the field after tasting the glory of a flag, but the fact remains that they alone of the 2021 Preliminary Finalists remain undefeated after two rounds. Indeed, two of last year’s big four have yet to record a victory at a time when the AFL ladder is being held up by recent cellar dwellers in Hawthorn and Carlton. Meanwhile, Melbourne’s opponent this week is under the pump and staring at a history-making 0-3 start, something that hasn’t happened at Windy Hill since 1967. You might think on this basis that the Demons are in line for an easy night on the MCG but don’t be fooled. Coming off a six-day break after an interstate trip is never easy and when you have to go back more than half a century in their history to find such a poor start to a season, then you know the Bombers can never be taken lightly. After all, there are some respected pundits among football’s commentariat who, less than a fortnight ago, had Essendon as the flag favourite. On their day, they have a midfield that has a few prolific ball gatherers and is strong enough to challenge their Demon counterparts. The running defenders will test the Melbourne forwards who aren’t exactly setting the world alight at this time. Fortunately for the Dees, their accuracy kept them in the game early last week but the progression from 10.1 after Bayley Fritsch’s goal in the third term to 12.10 at the end was testament to a haphazard approach to goal in the second half — something they can’t afford to repeat against a team like Essendon. Much has been made of the premiership defenders missing through injury at the moment but despite having A-listers Jake Lever, Christian Salem, Harry Petty and Michael Hibberd on the sidelines, this division has been holding up well with players admirably filling in who, for one reason or another, missed out on last year’s glory. They will be anxious to impress and to hold their places in the side. Together with the pressure coming from those in the VFL team, this means the club is so well placed to continue its successful streak in the future. And above all, there’s the mobility and strength of Melbourne’s ruckmen. Max Gawn and Luke Jackson are proving a formidable big man division that are tough to beat in the air and on the ground. If Maxy’s not at his best, then you can rely on Dogga to get the job done and vice versa. Therefore, on the 1st day of April, I would be fooling if I didn’t think the Demons will go into the game as strong favourite to make it three in a row for 2022 and ten on the trot overall. Melbourne to win by 25 points. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Friday 1 April, 2022 at 7.50pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 85 wins 2 draws Essendon 130 wins At the MCG Melbourne 46 wins Essendon 67 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Melbourne 3 wins Essendon 2 wins The Coaches Goodwin 1 win Rutten 0 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 9.14.68 defeated Essendon 8.9.57 at The MCG, Round 15, 2021 The Demons were going through something of a mid-season trough but they managed to work their way through to an ugly victory in a low scoring game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: T.Rivers 24 A. Tomlinson 20 S.May 1 HB: J.Hunt 29 J.Smith 44 J.Jordon 23 C: T.Sparrow 32 C.Petracca 5 E.Langdon 15 HF: L.Jackson 6 T.McDonald 25 J.Viney 7 F: B.Fritsch 31 S.Weideman 26 C.Spargo 9 Foll: M.Gawn - C 11 C.Oliver 13 K.Pickett 36 I/C: J.Bowey 17 A.Brayshaw 10 J.Harmes 4 A.Neal-Bullen 30 Sun: T. Bedford 12 Emerg: M.Brown 38 J.Melksham 18 L.Dunstan 27 In: Sam Weideman Out: Ben Brown (H&S protocols) ESSENDON B: J. Stewart 17 J. Laverde 15 J. Kelly 29 HB: M. Redman 27 D. Heppell - C 21 N. Hind 19 C: A. McGrath 1 J. Caldwell 6 T. Cutler 12 HF: J. Stringer 25 M. Guelfi 35 N. Martin 37 F: A. Perkins 16 P. Wright 20 T. Wanganeen 40 Foll: S. Draper 2 D. Parish 3 S. Durham 22 I/C: B. Ham 33 A. Phillips 34 J. Ridley 14 D. Shiel 9 Sub: D.Smith 5 Emerg: B. Hobbs 8 A. Waterman 44 B. Zerk-Thatcher 30 In: Nic Martin Andrew Phillips Dylan Shiel Out: Nik Cox (ankle) Aaron Francis (omitted) Zach Merrett (ankle) Devon Smith (omitted) Round 3: Injury List Kade Chandler - Quad | Test Jake Lever - Foot | 1 - 2 weeks Harry Petty - Calf | 2-3 Weeks Michael Hibberd - Calf | 2 - 4 weeks Daniel Turner - Foot | 4-6 weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 5-7 weeks

Join @george_on_the_outer, @binman & I on the Demonland Podcast tonight LIVE @ 8:30pm for breakdown of the Round 2 match against the Suns. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Let me guess; 4 to 6 weeks?

The Casey Demons held all of the advantages over their rivals from Sandringham as the teams played off in the long-awaited VFL season opener on Sunday. For starters, they were playing on their home turf and secondly, they outnumbered their opponents 16 to 9 in AFL listed players which, at this level, is enormous. They also were well above the Zebras in class and general preparation for the contest and this was reflected in the way they took charge of proceedings after a slow beginning and romped to an 83-point win that sees them sitting comfortably on top of the ladder after Round 1. Veteran forward Mitch Brown led the way with seven goals for the day, including three in the second term, that should put him in contention to join his key forward namesake with a senior berth against his old side Essendon on Friday night at the MCG. He moved well, marked strongly and proved a handful for the Zebra defenders. He was aided and abetted up forward by recruit Jacob van Rooyen who booted three goals for the day in an outstanding debut at the club. After the break, with the visitors tiring, it became a case of how far the Casey lead would extend by the end of the game. The home side was well led by seasoned VFL campaigners in Mitch White and Jimmy Munro whose efforts helped create team dominance in every sector of the ground. The game also underlined the club’s great depth with Luke Dunstan showing that he isn’t far off a return to the AFL in his new colours despite the fact that the Melbourne midfield is a formidable place to break into. Toby Bedford who sat on the sidelines as substitute in the sticky conditions on the Gold Coast on Saturday night shook off the Zebras with pace, poise and three goals. Youngsters on debut in Blake Howes and Taj Woewodin were excellent and Deakyn Smith showed definite signs of improvement with a strong display in defence. Bailey Laurie who was rarely sighted last year due to injury and a truncated VFL season looked the goods up forward with a lively two goal performance. Rookies Judd McVee and Andy Moniz-Wakefield are also likely prospects for the future. The Demons will take their home ground advantage into Round 2 when they play the Bombers’ VFL team next Saturday at Casey Fields. CASEY DEMONS 4.2.26 11.5.71 16.8.104 21.14.140 SANDRINGHAM 2.3.15 5.3.33 6.7.43 8.9.57 GOALS CASEY DEMONS M Brown 7 Bedford Van Rooyen 3 Laurie White 2 Chandler Dunstan Weideman Woewodin SANDRINGHAM Carey Geary Henness Kent Kyle Lohmann McHale Ryder BEST CASEY DEMONS Brown Munro Van Rooyen Dunstan White Smith Bedford Baker SANDRINGHAM Ryder Windhager Connolly Owens Heath Geary Seaton STATISTICS Oskar Baker 18 kicks 5 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 87 dream team points
 Toby Bedford 3 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles 91 dream team points
 Mitch Brown 7 goals 3 behinds 18 kicks 1 handball 19 disposals 14 marks 2 tackles 155 dream team points
 Kade Chandler 4 kicks 1 handball 5 disposals 1 mark 25 dream team points
 Majak Daw 1 behind 7 kicks 1 handball 8 disposals 3 tackles 22 hit outs 59 dream team points
 Luke Dunstan 1 goal 20 kicks 5 handballs 25 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 113 dream team points Corey Ellison 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 34 dream team points
 Tom Freeman 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 33 dream team points Luca Goonan 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 62 dream team points
 Blake Howes 1 behind 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 58 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 goals 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 86 dream team points
 Judd McVee 1 behind 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 83 dream team points
 Jake Melksham 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 53 dream team points Bryce Milford 6 kicks 7 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 51 dream team points 
Andy Moniz-Wakefield 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 44 dream team points James Munro 13 kicks 13 handballs 26 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 97 dream team points
 Aiden Quigley 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 8 dream team points
 Fraser Rosman 8 kicks 2 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 41 dream team points
 Deakyn Smith 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 10 marks 1 tackle 91dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 4 hit outs 68 dream team points
 Mitch White 2 goals 1 behind 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 94 dream team points Taj Woewodin 1 goal 12 kicks 6 handballs disposals 8 marks 1 tackles 84 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 3 goals 2 behinds 11 kicks 1 handball 12 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 2 hit outs 98 dream team points

VOTES PLAYER (CLUB) 10 Christian Petracca (MELB) 6 Luke Jackson (MELB) 5 Jake Bowey (MELB) 5 Touk Miller (GCFC) 4 Clayton Oliver (MELB) LEADERBOARD VOTES PLAYER CLUB 20 Patrick Cripps CARL 20 Christian Petracca MELB 16 Andrew Brayshaw FRE 15 Jordan De Goey COLL 15 Isaac Heeney SYD 13 Touk Miller GCFC 13 James Sicily HAW 12 Lachie Neale BL 11 Mitch Lewis HAW 10 Patrick Dangerfield GEEL 10 Tom Green GWS 10 Dan Houston PORT 10 Nick Larkey NMFC 10 Luke Parker SYD 10 Matt Rowell GCFC 9 Noah Balta RICH 9 Jack Crisp COLL 9 Patrick Lipinski COLL 9 Joshua Rachele ADEL

Track is still on track … 36. Christian Petracca 17. Clayton Oliver 16. Luke Jackson 13. Jake Bowey 10. Ben Brown 9. Alex Neal-Bullen 8. Ed Langdon 6. Steven May Jack Viney 3 Joel Smith 1. Angus Brayshaw James Jordon