Demonland

I mentioned to @Grapeviney at the time that it was silly. There was no need for it.

Votes Player (Club) 10 Clayton Oliver (MELB) 8 Tom McDonald (MELB) 6 Jake Lever (MELB) 4 Samuel Walsh (CARL) 1 Christian Salem (MELB) 1 Sam Docherty (CARL) Leaderboard Votes Player Club 44 Hugh McCluggage BL 42 Clayton Oliver MELB 40 Marcus Bontempelli WB 38 David Mundy FRE 36 Ollie Wines PORT 35 Samuel Walsh CARL 34 Max Gawn MELB 34 Touk Miller GCFC 33 Jack Macrae WB 33 Christian Salem MELB 32 Dustin Martin RICH 31 Tim Kelly WCE 30 Mitch Duncan GEEL 30 Cameron Guthrie GEEL 30 Jacob Hopper GWS 29 Tom McDonald MELB 29 Zach Merrett ESS 29 Darcy Parish ESS 28 Tom Hickey SYD 28 Christian Petracca MELB 28 Taylor Walker ADEL

That was only to round 8. I imagine Clarry and Salem will feature in Round 9 too.

This is true of the past 3 weeks but the 6 weeks before that he was immense. Taking intercept marks in defence. Marking and impacting the scoreboard in the forward line in addition to him racking up hitouts to advantage in the ruck as well as getting his own clearances too. The Demonland Player of the Year votes have reflected this too. The AFL coaches votes are awarded 5,4,3,2,1 from each coach. Gawn would not be that high without votes from Goody as well. 3rd place after 8 rounds is impressive given that he did not poll any votes in rounds 7 or 8.

It's the free kicks that you don't get that hurt the most. Our percentage could be 300%. ?

As of Round 8. Leaderboard - AFL Coaches Association’s AFL Champion Player Award Votes Player Club 42 Hugh McCluggage BL 38 David Mundy FRE 34 Max Gawn MELB 34 Touk Miller GCFC 34 Ollie Wines PORT 33 Jack Macrae WB 32 Marcus Bontempelli WB 32 Clayton Oliver MELB 32 Christian Salem MELB 31 Samuel Walsh CARL 29 Zach Merrett ESS 28 Christian Petracca MELB

Clayton Oliver leads the two Christians - Progressive 83. Clayton Oliver 66. Christian Salem 64. Christian Petracca 60. Max Gawn 57. Jake Lever 44. Tom McDonald 43. Ed Langdon 31. Steven May 26. Kysiah Pickett 17. Bayley Fritsch Luke Jackson 12. Jayden Hunt 10. Jack Viney 9. James Harmes 8. James Jordon 7. Michael Hibberd 3. Angus Brayshaw Charlie Spargo 1. Alex Neal-Bullen Adam Tomlinson

We're getting closer to the red.

Posted by Adam Tomlinson this morning. Bowey sans moonboot lifting heavy weights. Is this a photo from today? Would he be lifting such heavy weights after a serious ankle injury. Is this an old picture posted in solidarity for and by a fellow injured player?

These teams last met in the corresponding round ten at Adelaide Oval last year but that game was played in early August, not late May. Still, we’d all be happy with the same result ? THE TEAMS ADELAIDE CROWS FB Luke Brown Daniel Talia Jake Kelly HB Rory Laird Tom Doedee Will Hamill C Brodie Smith Matt Crouch Paul Seedsman HF Ned McHenry Fischer McAsey Tom Lynch FF Elliott Himmelberg Taylor Walker Lachlan Murphy FOL Reilly O'Brien Ben Keays Chayce Jones I/C Darcy Fogarty David Mackay Harry Schoenberg Lachlan Sholl EMG Rory Atkins Ben Crocker Bryce Gibbs Kieran Strachan IN Tom Doedee Darcy Fogarty Fischer McAsey Ned McHenry David Mackay Harry Schoenberg Lachlan Sholl Taylor Walker OUT Rory Atkins (omitted) Bryce Gibbs (omitted) Kyle Hartigan (managed) Riley Knight (omitted) Shane McAdam (managed) Andrew McPherson (managed) Tyson Stengle (managed) Kieran Strachan (omitted) MELBOURNE FB Jay Lockhart Steven May Michael Hibberd HB Christian Salem Jake Lever Nathan Jones C Ed Langdon Clayton Oliver Adam Tomlinson HF Jake Melksham Sam Weideman Angus Brayshaw FF Bayley Fritsch Luke Jackson Harley Bennell FOL Max Gawn Christian Petracca Jack Viney I/C James Harmes Alex Neal-Bullen Tom Sparrow Aaron vandenBerg EMG Oscar McDonald Tom McDonald Trent Rivers Charlie Spargo IN Harley Bennell Alex Neal-Bullen Adam Tomlinson Aaron vandenBerg OUT Mitch Hannan (omitted) Oscar McDonald (omitted) Tom McDonald (omitted) Kysaiah Pickett (ankle)

After winning big away from home across the first three rounds of the new look VFL competition, the Casey Demons were forced to dig deep against Geelong VFL at Casey Fields on Saturday. The traditional AFL based teams were evenly matched, fielding ten listed players apiece and this was reflected in the evenness of the game and the final margin which saw the home side leading by a solitary point on the final siren. Casey suffered an early blow when Jake Bowey came off with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury. Bowey appeared later in a moonboot and with crutches. The Demons were wasteful early with the breeze behind their backs with Mitch Lewis’ goal at the 21 minute mark, their only major score in the first half. The Cats took control in a second term in which the defences held sway and scoring was difficult. Geelong’s half time lead of ten points was pushed up to a game high 15 when Darcy Fort put one between the big sticks five minutes into the second half. Enter the Demons’ almost forgotten key forward Mitch Brown who hadn’t been since since he played in the AFL team’s win over Hawthorn a few weeks back. In the space of a few minutes he booted two goals two behinds, almost single-handedly wiping off the deficit although he left it to fellow tall, Majak Daw, to score the goal to put the team back in the lead. The Cats fought back with the next two goals before Toby Bedford responded to level the scores. At the final break, it was the Cats by a point. In an exciting final term, Casey again showed their mettle with Brown proving to be the match winner. With both teams struggling to find the goals the Demons were doing most of the scoring but, against the run of play, the Cats scored the first major of the final term. Two strong marks and two more goals to Brown provided the ray of hope needed for the team to nudge ahead by eight points well into time on but the game wasn’t over yet. A couple of bad errors resulted in two technical free kicks for crowding at defensive throw ins and Rhys Stanley managed to goal with the second. The Demons were forced to endure a tense minute or so before the final siren ended a close and exciting game. They remain undefeated and on top of the 22-team ladder. Apart from Brown, Daw was also a dominant player whether on the ball or up forward while Aaron Bradtke proved a useful foil as his lieutenant in the ruck. Experienced defenders Neville Jetta and Jay Lockhart were steady as a rock all day, the latter receiving a bad knock in the painful area of the body that recently caused him to miss a couple of games. Tom Sparrow was the best of the midfielders, amassing 24 disposals and 5 tackles. As usual, James Munro was important with several pressure acts including eight tackles. The Demons return to Casey Fields on Sunday to play their game against the Sydney Swans which was postponed from a fortnight ago. 2021 VFL Mens Casey Demons 1.5.11 1.6.12 5.10.40 7.15.57 Geelong VFL 1.1.7 3.4.22 6.5.41 8.8.56 Goals Casey Demons Brown 4 Bedford Daw Lewis Geelong VFL Jenkins 3 Burke Constable Fort Jarvis Stanley Best Casey Demons M Brown Stockdale Daw Sparrow Jetta Lockkhart Geelong VFL Fort Okunbor Constable Chalcraft Stanley Brownless Statistics Toby Bedford 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 70 dream team points Jake Bowey 2 kicks 1 handball 3 8 dream team points (injured in first quarter) Aaron Bradtke 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 4 tackles 9 hit outs 42 dream team points Mitch Brown 4 goals 3 behinds 13 kicks 4 handballs 17 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 1 hit out 110 dream team points Majak Daw 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 27 hit outs 96 dream team points Corey Ellison 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points Zac Foot 2 behinds 11 kicks 5 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 4 marks 42 dream team points Luca Goonan 4 kicks 5 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 45 dream team points Jack Hutchins 4 kicks 3 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 22 dream team points Neville Jetta 11 kicks 11 handballs 22 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 66 dream team points Mitch Lewis 1 goal 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 6 marks 4 tackles 91 dream team points Jay Lockhart 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 6 marks 66 dream team points Cory Machaya 1 behind 3 kicks 5 handballs 8 disposals 20 dream team points James Munro 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 1 marks 8 tackles 72 dream team points Fraser Rosman 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 50 dream team points Deakyn Smith 10 kicks 6 handballs 16 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 52 dream team points Ryan Sparkes 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 6 tackles 71 dream team points Tom Sparrow 1 behind 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 93 dream team points Corey Stockdale 2 kicks 3 handballs 5 disposals 6 tackles 33 dream team points Mitch White 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 2 hit outs 47 dream team points

CATNIPPED by KC from Casey After winning big away from home across the first three rounds of the new look VFL competition, the Casey Demons were forced to dig deep against Geelong VFL at Casey Fields on Saturday. The traditional AFL based teams were evenly matched, fielding ten listed players apiece and this was reflected in the evenness of the game and the final margin which saw the home side leading by a solitary point on the final siren. Casey suffered an early blow when Jake Bowey came off with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury. Bowey appeared later in a moonboot and with crutches. The Demons were wasteful early with the breeze behind their backs with Mitch Lewis’ goal at the 21 minute mark, their only major score in the first half. The Cats took control in a second term in which the defences held sway and scoring was difficult. Geelong’s half time lead of ten points was pushed up to a game high 15 when Darcy Fort put one between the big sticks five minutes into the second half. Enter the Demons’ almost forgotten key forward Mitch Brown who hadn’t been since since he played in the AFL team’s win over Hawthorn a few weeks back. In the space of a few minutes he booted two goals two behinds, almost single-handedly wiping off the deficit although he left it to fellow tall, Majak Daw, to score the goal to put the team back in the lead. The Cats fought back with the next two goals before Toby Bedford responded to level the scores. At the final break, it was the Cats by a point. In an exciting final term, Casey again showed their mettle with Brown proving to be the match winner. With both teams struggling to find the goals the Demons were doing most of the scoring but, against the run of play, the Cats scored the first major of the final term. Two strong marks and two more goals to Brown provided the ray of hope needed for the team to nudge ahead by eight points well into time on but the game wasn’t over yet. A couple of bad errors resulted in two technical free kicks for crowding at defensive throw ins and Rhys Stanley managed to goal with the second. The Demons were forced to endure a tense minute or so before the final siren ended a close and exciting game. They remain undefeated and on top of the 22-team ladder. Apart from Brown, Daw was also a dominant player whether on the ball or up forward while Aaron Bradtke proved a useful foil as his lieutenant in the ruck. Experienced defenders Neville Jetta and Jay Lockhart were steady as a rock all day, the latter receiving a bad knock in the painful area of the body that recently caused him to miss a couple of games. Tom Sparrow was the best of the midfielders, amassing 24 disposals and 5 tackles. As usual, James Munro was important with several pressure acts including eight tackles. The Demons return to Casey Fields on Sunday to play their game against the Sydney Swans which was postponed from a fortnight ago. 2021 VFL Mens Casey Demons 1.5.11 1.6.12 5.10.40 7.15.57 Geelong VFL 1.1.7 3.4.22 6.5.41 8.8.56 Goals Casey Demons Brown 4 Bedford Daw Lewis Geelong VFL Jenkins 3 Burke Constable Fort Jarvis Stanley Best Casey Demons M Brown Stockdale Daw Sparrow Jetta Lockkhart Geelong VFL Fort Okunbor Constable Chalcraft Stanley Brownless Statistics Toby Bedford 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 70 dream team points Jake Bowey 2 kicks 1 handball 3 8 dream team points (injured in first quarter) Aaron Bradtke 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 4 tackles 9 hit outs 42 dream team points Mitch Brown 4 goals 3 behinds 13 kicks 4 handballs 17 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 1 hit out 110 dream team points Majak Daw 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 27 hit outs 96 dream team points Corey Ellison 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points Zac Foot 2 behinds 11 kicks 5 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 4 marks 42 dream team points Luca Goonan 4 kicks 5 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 45 dream team points Jack Hutchins 4 kicks 3 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 22 dream team points Neville Jetta 11 kicks 11 handballs 22 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 66 dream team points Mitch Lewis 1 goal 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 6 marks 4 tackles 91 dream team points Jay Lockhart 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 6 marks 66 dream team points Cory Machaya 1 behind 3 kicks 5 handballs 8 disposals 20 dream team points James Munro 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 1 marks 8 tackles 72 dream team points Fraser Rosman 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 50 dream team points Deakyn Smith 10 kicks 6 handballs 16 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 52 dream team points Ryan Sparkes 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 6 tackles 71 dream team points Tom Sparrow 1 behind 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 93 dream team points Corey Stockdale 2 kicks 3 handballs 5 disposals 6 tackles 33 dream team points Mitch White 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 2 hit outs 47 dream team points

While the Demons’ undefeated run continues unabated now at 9-0 their emphatic 26 point victory pushed the Blues to their sixth loss for the season and deeper into the red for the year. While Melbourne opened proceedings with an early goal, the Blues responded with the next two to grab an early lead. However, as has happened in so many games this year, the Demons fought back to lead by just over a goal come the first break. This narrow lead was part of a streak either side of quarter time where Melbourne kicked 6 of 7 goals. By half time they had extended their lead to two goals. This was to be the nature of the game until the final bell, where Melbourne just managed to kick an extra goal or thereabouts, each quarter to increase its margin over Carlton. In the end it was 26 points but could have been considerably more, as Melbourne only managed 1.7 in the final term. And now the Demons are at 9-0, something not seen since the 1956 season. This follows on from the finish to season 2020 and makes it 11 in a row! Small wonder the Demon fans are turning out in their droves. When you see old merchandise featuring Opel and Webjet then you know there are some people haven’t been to see them for a while. Still, we cannot complain about that and another 38k through the gate will surely please the administration staff of the club. With this sort of return both on and off the field, it truly is the Field of Dreams for the fans. The team and club have “built it and they have come!” Up forward, while Ben Brown and Sam Weidman failed bother the goal umpire, they did manage to keep the Blues’ two main defenders in Weitering and Jones occupied which meant that Tom McDonald and Bayley Fritsch were let off the leash, and they certainly did the job for the Demons. McDonald in particular continued to impress with three goals. He provides that strong marking forward and link player, while he also doubles up on the ground balls as well. Fritsch with his strong hands also chimed in with three of his own. This is the value of the three talls scenario. Most clubs just don’t have that level of defensive strength to counter it, and whether it be Jackson, Weidman or Fritsch, the opposition just run out of stopping options. The mids just won the battle in the centre square this week according to the statisticians. However, it was interesting to see that they paid scant attention to Walsh and Cripps in a similar vein to their approach to the Swans’ mids last week. They can win possession, but without it being effective, it matters little. The reason it matters little is that the ball kept finishing in the hands of Lever, May and Salem. Lever had ten intercepts alone, and surprisingly Angus Brayshaw on the wing had 12 as well! May gained over 400m with his coverage during the game, but his strength took away Carlton’s great hope in McKay, who managed three goals, with two of those courtesy of favourable umpiring decisions of the sort not paid at the other end of the ground. We simply cannot overlook the efforts of Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca who racked up 28 and 27 touches respectively, just a normal week at the office for them. But we shouldn’t forget James Jordon who had 20 touches and laid 13 tackles. He is sailing beautifully under the radar, and we have found another hard nut, skilled mid that the media will catch onto some time later in the year. We also need to know how the club has procured an invisibility cloak for Ed Langdon. The opposition seem to miss seeing him each week and he keeps popping up with the ball out on his own. This week 20 touches and 430m gained, along with his six score involvements! Max Gawn rucked for nearly the whole game against Pittonet, and when the opposition has a solitary prime ruck this is possible. His 44 hit outs were superb, but while he played much better this week, we cannot afford to expect his body to take such punishment without a good break. He is far too valuable to the side. Another victory to the Red and Blue and their season is well and truly in the black. Incredibly, they now sit two games clear of third place on the ladder and five games clear of ninth place, with the season yet to reach the halfway mark. It’s enough to make other sides Green with envy! MELBOURNE 4.3.27 8.6.54 12.9.81 13.16.94 CARLTON 3.2.20 6.5.41 8.7.55 10.8.68 GOALS Melbourne Fritsch McDonald 3 Neal-Bullen 2 Hunt Langdon Oliver Pickett Spargo Carlton McKay 3 Betts Casboult Gibbons Murphy Owies Pittonet Stocker BEST Melbourne McDonald Oliver Petracca Salem Langdon May Jordon Carlton Cripps Docherty Walsh Williams Saad INJURIES Melbourne Nil Carlton D. Cunningham (knee) REPORTS Melbourne Nil Carlton Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne Melksham (unused) Carlton Gibbons (replaced Cunningham) Umpires Chris Donlon Simon Meredith Cameron Dore Official Crowd 38,581 at the MCG

I definitely won't be doing that. ?

It's one of 2 remaining main stadiums that I need to tick off the list.

Anyone know how we get tickets for the Adelaide game? Is there a Melbourne member allocation?

Who comes in and who goes out?

Another game, another win ...

Your votes please 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

No late changes

Orazio likes the easy ball. Definition of a receiver. Burns his teammates wanting the easy one rather than shepherding.