Demonland

The ANZAC Eve blockbuster between Melbourne and Richmond has become something of a bellwether event for the two clubs. The winner has gone on to collect the premiership flag on four out of five occasions since the Tigers overran an injury-stricken Demons side late in their 2017 encounter. The outlier was 2018 when Richmond dominated the season but like Melbourne, it stumbled at the final hurdle and failed to make the Grand Final. The 2022 version might turn out be just another game but there’s a fair amount at stake here. The Demons came into last year’s encounter with five wins from five matches but the football experts were as yet unconvinced. It was the win and the ruthless manner in which it was achieved that gave them legitimacy in the eyes of the pundits. It also reversed the roles of the respective teams. Melbourne was not longer the hunter; it became the hunted. Richmond slowly fell away as the season wore on and eventually lost touch with the top eight. Their dynasty was over, our day had come. Twelve months down the track, it’s the Tigers who are still battling for legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters and the football public while the Demons are riding high. Not high enough to develop complacency because fortunes can change quickly and dramatically in this day and age. However, they do seem to have the wood on Richmond who would gladly welcome back superstar Dustin Martin from personal leave and co-captain Dylan Grimes from a hamstring issue. Melbourne have developed a high level of efficiency and proficiency in everything it does. Last week for instance, they broke even statistically with their opposition counterparts in the rucks. The number of hit outs was 34 each but GWS “won” the clearances by 41 to 33. But the quality of the clearances that went in favour of the Demons was by far the greater and this allowed them to break loose in that third quarter and apply maximum damage on their opponents. Once they had control of the football, they ran with vigour and I’m not just talking about the player with the football. So much of that athletic advantage can’t even be quantified in terms of statistics, other than the really important one that we see on the scoreboard. The result was a 10 goal quarter that left their prey shattered and gasping for breath. Vanquished. This is why Melbourne is traveling along so nicely at the moment. The players are fit, focused and invested in a total team effort. Of course it helps to have midfielders like Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney playing at the top of their game with the likes of Angus Brayshaw, Ed Langdon, James Jordon, James Harmes and Tom Sparrow as a sparkling support base. By way of contrast, Richmond’s very best is a fading memory of the past. Some of the characters are still there but they’re worn down and weary. A few are past their prime but there isn’t the same attacking spirit that we see from Melbourne and they can’t match the iron clad defence that has left opposition attacks frustrated and in despair. Even so, Nathan Buckley insists the Demons are still not playing the way they want to play. "They're going to ramp that up over the next couple of weeks, I think there's better to come." Heaven help the rest of the competition if he’s right and heaven help the Tigers on Blockbuster Night. Melbourne to win by 45 points. THE GAME Richmond v Melbourne on Sunday 24 April, 2022 at 7.25pm at the MCG HEAD TO HEAD Overall Richmond 107 wins Melbourne 76 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Richmond 72 wins Melbourne 64 wins Drawn 1 Past five meetings Richmond 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Hardwick 4 wins Goodwin 1 win MEDIA TV live and on demand on Kayo and live on Foxtel. Check your local guides for free-to-air. Radio - check your local guides. THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 12.10.82 defeated Richmond 6.12.48 in Round 6, 2021 at the MCG The Tigers were out of the blocks early but when the light drizzle turned to rain, the Demons edged past them and with the Christians (Petracca and Salem) and Clayton Oliver all picking up possessions at will, it was Melbourne all the way after half time. THE TEAMS RICHMOND B: N.Broad 35 R.Tarrant 6 J.Gibcus 28 HB: J.Short 15 N.Vlastuin 1 D.Rioli 17 C: J.Ross 5 T.Cotchin 9 K.McIntosh 33 HF: J.Castagna 11 L.Baker 7 S.Edwards 10 F: T.Lynch 19 J.Riewoldt 8 N.Balta 21 Foll: T.Nankervis 25 D.Prestia 3 T.Dow 27 I/C: S.Bolton 29 R.Collier-Dawkins 26 J.Graham 34 R.Mansell 31 Sub: M.Parker 37 Emerg: S.Banks 41 M.Rioli 49 T.Sonsie 40 In: R.Collier-Dawkins J.Gibcus K.McIntosh R.Mansell Out: J.Aarts (omitted) B.Miller (omitted) M.Pickett (injured) H.Ralphsmith (ribs) MELBOURNE B: J.Hunt 29 S.May 1 H.Petty 35 HB: J.Bowey 17 J.Smith 44 T.Rivers 24 C: A.Brayshaw 10 C.Petracca 5 E.Langdon 15 HF: K.Pickett 36 S.Weideman 26 A.Neal-Bullen 30 F: B.Fritsch 31 B.Brown 50 C.Spargo 9 Foll: M.Gawn 11 C.Oliver 13 T. Sparrow 32 I/C: L.Dunstan 27 J.Harmes 4 L.Jackson 6 J.Jordon 23 Sub: T.Bedford 12 Emerg: J.Melksham 18 A.Tomlinson 20 T.McDonald 25 In: B.Brown L.Dunstan J.Smith Out: J.Lever (H & S Protocols) T.McDonald (omitted) J.Viney (H & S Protocols) Injury List: Round 6 Michael Hibberd - Calf | 1 week Daniel Turner - Foot | 3-4 weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 4-5 weeks Blake Howes - Foot | TBC

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Full frontal

That would be 200m

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Join @binman & I on the Demonland Podcast tonight LIVE @ 8:30pm for breakdown of the Round 5 match against GWS Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Lucky he chose the Cats. Otherwise he’d be playing at Casey 😜

It was a case of the ends justifying the means for the Casey Demons on Sunday afternoon. They led all day, won by 35-points with 16 AFL-listers in the side and claimed top spot on the VFL ladder, but they also played some ugly football in even more ugly conditions to get there. But a win is a win. The opposition did very little to help by going totally negative against the wind after the Demons kicked away with three goals, one to Mitch Brown followed by two to Majak Daw, midway through the opening term. After that, the game turned into a messy slog in the swirling conditions but Casey was at least able to score goals against the stiff breeze with both sides scoring two each in the second quarter to give the home team a handy 21-point lead at the main break. The next ten minutes of football was more of a slopfest with plenty of errors from both sides, overuse of handball, more negative tactics from the Lions and some equally poor umpiring. With Majak Daw out of the game, Jacob Van Rooyen was doing some work in the ruck and the forward line was depleted and out sorts. But suddenly, the team hit a purple patch with goals to Brown, Corey Ellison and two to Roan Steele to put them up by 8 goals with time still to go with the wind. Ironically, the first of those goals to Steele came after an exciting passage involving a string of handpasses and short passing that was very much exceptional in a day of dour football. Late in the term Coburg hit back with their only score for the day against the wind - a goal that must have given them some belief because they went into attack in the last quarter and narrowed the Demon lead to 4 goals before Toby Bedford chipped in with a great running snap goal to finish off the opposition run. Conditions were perfect for captain Mitch White who led the field with 26 disposals and one goal. Young goalsneak Steele from Frankston YCW showed why the recruiting staff pursued him so hard and he kicked three timely goals. Youngsters Bailey Laurie and Taj Woewodin played their best games yet for the club and provided great support for the experienced Luke Dunstan and Jake Melksham while Adam Tomlinson and Joel Smith were rock solid in defence. Toby Bedford stood out in his record 9th game in the first month of football for 2022 which include 5 as AFL sub for Melbourne. He was unused for the last four of those games which allowed him to subsequently take the field for Casey but that unusual run will end this week as the VFL game on Sunday at Punt Road will take place before the Anzac Eve blockbuster on Sunday night. The VFL Tigers returned to form at the weekend and it should be a great curtain raiser for the main game. Casey Demons 3.5.23 5.7.37 9.10.64 13.12.90 Coburg 0.0.0 2.4.16 3.4.22 8.7.55 Goals Casey Demons Steele 3 Bedford Brown Daw 2 Chandler Dunstan Ellison White Coburg Lowson Podhajski Silvestro 2 Jepson Thomas Best Casey Demons White Tomlinson Melksham Dunstan Bell Bedford Woewodin J Smith Coburg Podhajski Bunker Nelson Maibaum Statistics Oskar Baker 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 52 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 goals 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 72 dream team points Jake Bell 5 kicks 4 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 29 hit outs 65 dream team points Mitch Brown 2 goals 2 behinds 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 48 dream team points Kade Chandler 1 goal 2 behinds 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 1 hit out 65 dream team points Majak Daw 2 goals 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 22 dream team points [injured] Luke Dunstan 1 goal 11 kicks 10 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 81 dream team points Corey Ellison 1 goal 7 kicks 1 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 1 hit out 39 dream team points George Grey 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 26 dream team points Ryan Koo 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 32 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 behinds 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 79 dream team points Judd McVee 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 39 dream team points Jake Melksham 1 behind 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 80 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 1 behind 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 1 marks 18 dream team points James Munro 2 kicks 9 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 41 dream team points Fraser Rosman 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 33 dream team points Deakyn Smith 1 behind 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 1 hit out 36 dream team points Joel Smith 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points Roan Steele 3 goals 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 70 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 20 kicks 4 handballs 24 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 72 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 hit outs 41 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 15 kicks 11 handballs 26 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 114 dream team points Taj Woewodin 11 kicks 10 handballs 21 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 76 dream team points

“Be very afraid!” So said David King when assessing what stood before other teams when facing the Demons in 2022. Now, most people would take this assessment with a grain of salt from an AFL commentator, but after a demolition of the GWS Giants by 67 points, perhaps there is more than a kernel of truth to the matter. Not only did the Demons keep the Giants goalless in the first quarter, in exactly the same way they did to Port Adelaide last week, but their relentless defensive pressure ensured that the Giants were never in with a chance. Then came the coup de grace with a stunning 10 goal quarter from the Demons in the third quarter, reminiscent of the 2021 Grand Final, which left their opponents and indeed the rest of the competition, aghast at what Melbourne are capable of doing in a very short period of time. All around the ground the systemic dismantling of opposition tactics was to be seen. Time and time again Giants players came to a standstill as they could not see any options in front of them, since the Demons defensive structures had already shut the gate. With Harrison Petty returning to the side, the old firm was getting back together under the generalship of Stephen May and Jake Lever. Eight intercepts to May, six to Lever and five to Petty just presented a wall which would not be penetrated. Just as telling was that the Giants two main forwards in Hogan and Himmelberg could only manage 1 mark each for the game. Any mopping up to be done? Just bring in Jake Bowey, Jayden Hunt and Trent Rivers and. Bowey with 21 disposals and Rivers with 18 gave the opposition small forwards absolutely nothing. Frighteningly, Bowey and May produced disposal efficiency of more than 90% while Lever’s was at 100%! Not only do they stop the opposition but they then cut them to pieces with their delivery further up the field. The Giants have a star studded line-up right across the ground, but particularly in the middle. Not that it helped them very much as Oliver and Petracca racked up over 30 touches each, while Viney chipped in with 27 and Harmes 22, including 11 marks. More importantly, the Giants mids out shone the Demons mids in clearances 41:33 but it is the quality of those clearances that matter. Often they finished out on the wings or in contested situations where Ed Langdon and Angus Brayshaw just pushed them further out and wide to places where they simply are unable to score. It is all part of the Melbourne team defence, something which is not just isolated to the back four. Up forward there were opportunities galore and in that 10 goal spurt in the 3rd quarter, there were 10 different goal scorers. How does any opposition stop that? The Giants by this stage would have been very afraid where the next six-pointer was coming from. But this also pointed to the broad base of attacking options, not just a leading target that most teams use. Sam Weidemann didn’t make enough of his chances, and so BBB will be an almost certain substitution for next week. Melbourne still sit a game clear with 5 wins for 2022,and surprisingly have dispatched 4 of season 2021’s finalists without too much difficulty. With the AFL fixturing, they no doubt thought that evening the competition early in the season would ensure that bottom sides had a better chance of keeping their supporters engaged. Hence we see Carlton and St.Kilda in with hope and aspiration at this point in the season. But for them and other sides, they now look at what Melbourne have done to teams who only six months ago were the gold standard, and would be afraid … very afraid of what could happen to them when they have to face the Demons juggernaut.  MELBOURNE 4.0.24 6.2.38 16.4.100 19.6.120 GWS GIANTS 0.5.5 3.6.24 5.8.38 7.11.53 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 4 Pickett 3 Gawn Petracca 2 Bowey Jackson Jordon McDonald Neal-Bullen Spargo Viney Weideman GWS GIANTS Hill 2 Callahan Coniglio Flynn Himmelberg Hogan BEST MELBOURNE Petracca May Oliver Pickett Fritsch Gawn Harmes GWS GIANTS Kelly Green Flynn Ward Coniglio INJURIES MELBOURNE Jake Lever (ankle) GWS GIANTS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GWS GIANTS Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Toby Bedford (unused) GWS GIANTS Jake Riccardi (unused) UMPIRES Matt Stevic Brendan Hosking Eleni Glouftsis CROWD 20,791 at The MCG

Trac still on top ~ 49. Christian Petracca 44. Clayton Oliver 38. Steven May 30. Max Gawn 24. Ed Langdon 19. Luke Jackson 18. Angus Brayshaw James Harmes 17. Jake Bowey 10. Ben Brown James Jordon Jack Viney 9. Alex Neal-Bullen 6. Sam Weideman 5. Charlie Spargo 3. Kysaiah Pickett Joel Smith 2. Bayley Fritsch

As per the opening post, “ALL MATCHES ARE STREAMED ON AFL.COM AND THE AFL LIVE APP”

Strangely enough, the game was played 12 months ago on Anzac Day Eve. MELBOURNE B: A. Tomlinson 20 S. May 1 T. Rivers 24 HB: C. Salem 3 J. Lever 8 J. Hunt 29 C: E: Langdon 15 Christian Petracca 5 Angus Brayshaw 10 HF: K. Pickett 36 T. McDonald 25 A. Neal-Bullen 30 F: J. Melksham 18 L. Jackson 6 B. Fritsch 31 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 J. Viney I/C: M. Hibberd 14 N. Jones 2 J. Jordon 23 C. Spargo 9 Sub: K. Chandler 37 Emerg: H. Petty 35 T. Sparrow 32 S. Weideman 26 In: K. Chandler B. Fritsch S. May Out: M. Brown (omitted) H. Petty (omitted) T. Sparrow (omitted) RICHMOND B: D. Astbury 12 N. Balta 21 D. Grimes 2 HB: N. Broad 35 B. Houli 14 J. Short 15 C: K. McIntosh 33 T. Cotchin 9 M. Pickett 50 HF: D. Rioli 17 K. Lambert 23 J. Castagna 11 F: T. J. Lynch 19 D. Martin 4 J. Riewoldt 8 Foll: T. Nankervis 25 S. Edwards 10 J. Graham 34 I/C: J. Aarts 16 L. Baker 7 S. Bolton 29 R. Mansell 31 Sub: J. Ross 5 Emerg: C. Coleman-Jones 40 R. Collier-Dawkins 26 M. Rioli 49 No change