Demonland

We can't whine when we can't get big name sponsors because we get no airtime and then whine when we get airtime. Success is a double edged sword. We want to keep a lid on it but the attention is good for business. You want good facilities & money to spend of the best people then this attention gets the attention of the big hitters.

It should be called Demandland because I demand to see at least one premiership before I die.

It wasn’t that long ago when Melbourne held sway in its Anzac Eve matches against Richmond. The early versions of the blockbuster saw the Demons home by 32 points in 2015 and 33 in 2016. When the turning point came it was dramatic and sudden. The Demons might have been on an upward curve in 2017 under new coach Simon Goodwin but so were the Tigers who had finished a disappointing 13th in 2016. When the teams met in Round 5 under lights in front of a crowd of 85,657 — the highest ever between the two teams — Richmond was unbeaten. Melbourne had comfortable wins against St Kilda and Carlton in the opening two rounds but injury and suspensions to key players cost them winnable games against Geelong and Fremantle. The Demons went into Anzac Eve without co-captain Max Gawn who had suffered a hamstring tear against the Cats and Jordan Lewis was out suspended. Though Jesse Hogan was back after serving his two weeks, things were not well with his family and with him at the time. Before the half-time break, the Demons had lost their replacement ruckman in Jake Spencer to a shoulder injury, forward Tim Smith to a rib and yet, despite the setbacks, they had outplayed Richmond in all facets of the game to lead by 20 points at ¾ time. But in the final quarter, the wheel turned. With Christian Petracca and co-skipper Jack Viney sidelined for most of the final stanza with knee complaints, Melbourne was effectively left without rotations. Richmond kicked 5 goals to 2 behinds and hit the front at the start of time on to record a narrow but crucial win, as it turned out, on its way to a premiership. The Dees missed the finals by a narrow margin of percentage after finishing ninth. This time around, it’s Melbourne that’s undefeated while Richmond has recorded two losses. The Tiges are coming off a massive win with a nine day break compared to six days but the Demons are eager, hungry and healthy. Is this their moment, their turning point? Richmond has had a touch of the staggers in some of its games but against the Saints, they hit the pressure valve forcing errors all over the ground. They took little time to squeeze the life out of the hapless Saints in a performance that was as good as it gets at this stage of the season. The question is will it be a weaponised Richmond that turns up this week and, if so, can Melbourne muster up the necessary defences to that weaponry? Can it quell the deadly forwards in Martin, Lynch and Riewoldt, the frenetic midfield movement that has seen them to three flags in four years? To answer these questions in the affirmative it goes without saying that the Demons won’t be able to rely on the efforts of a single quarter as they did last weekend against the Hawks. Max Gawn is always good value in the ruck and he has an up and coming back up in Luke Jackson. The midfield can stand eye to eye with the Richmond mids and their battle will be an intriguing one that could go either way. There’s also the matter of milestones in this game. Nathan Jones is now well past his best but still has a role to play for the club outside the midfield which he made his own for so long. He’s been a champion bloke for the club, a titan in the team for so long, and the rest of the team should lift for him in his 300th game. For Richmond, Dustin Martin is 50 games behind him and has proven to be a great of the game in the second half of his career and is right at his peak. You can’t blanket him for a whole game but if he’s reasonably covered, it will help the Demon cause. The expected early return of Steven May gives Melbourne a real chance of holding Richmond’s forward line to a manageable score. Which means the result might well hinge on what happens with the Melbourne forward line. Will Bayley Fritsch manage to get up a little more than a week or so after his hand surgery? Are Sam Wiedeman and Ben Brown ready to come in? The problem for we tipsters is that the lateness of team selection means that it’s tough to be exact when penning our thoughts but I have a strong feeling that we’ve reached the turning point. Melbourne by 4 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Richmond on Saturday 24 April, 2021 at 7.50pm at the MCG HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 75 wins Richmond 107 wins Drawn 2 At MCG Melbourne 63 wins Richmond 72 wins Drawn 1 Past five meetings Melbourne 1 win Richmond 4 wins The Coaches Hardwick 4 wins Goodwin 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 Richmond 12.7.79 defeated Melbourne 8.4.52 in Round 5, 2020 at the MCG The teams were a lot closer matched than it appeared on the scoreboard. The Tigers prevailed in the second term after an even first quarter. Max Gawn dominated the ruck as he usually does with 33 hit outs and 22 disposals. The loss left the Demons languishing somewhat with a 1-3 record but with a game in hand. THE TEAMS 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 Injury List: Round 6 Bayley Fritsch (hand fracture) — Test Steven May (eye socket) — Test James Harmes (wrist) — 2 Weeks Bailey Laurie (eye socket) — 6 Weeks Joel Smith (knee) — 6 to 8 Weeks Marty Hore (knee) — Season Aaron Nietschke (knee) — Season

I had a feeling that these Air Jordons I bought in Thailand were fake.

This thread is jinx proof. What could go wrong by posting this?

can’t blame their supporters. I would be the most insufferable [censored] if we won 3 in 4 years.

Geelong won 23 games between Rd 12, 1952 and Rd 13, 1953 which spanned 378 days. However they also did not lose a game between Rd 9, 1952 and Rd 13, 1953 which spanned 399 days because they drew Rd 11, 1952. I’m not sure if we can count clubs that didn’t field teams during war years that may have won the last match they competed in before disbanding and then returning.

Hopefully we can trot this sign out.

Sadly 20,667

This would be the most Melbourne thing that could happen .... the old Melbourne (I hope).

I believe so. The other week I mistakenly used the wrong barcode Junior 1-5 instead of Concession for my nephew. There is nothing on the ticket or on the scanner that indicates this so you should be fine as my nephew was. Back in the day at Docklands there was a screen above the turnstiles that when the ticket was scanned indicated to the attendant whether the ticket was for an adult or child. I assume this was to stop adults from buying a cheaper childs ticket/membership. I don't know if this is still the case at Docklands but it has never been the case at the G. The backs of our physical membership tickets do indicate whether the membership is adult or junior and some attendants in the premium membership areas check that status when checking whether your membership allows you access to that area. The mobile ticket that I have for entry into this game doesn't indicate whether my ticket is for an adult and the attendant at the entrance to the premium bays can only see the Bay number. In summary you should be ok but don't blame me if you are locked up for this heinous crime.

Correct. We're all labelled as Priority 1 despite the fact that I assume @Cal7B pays more for a membership than me. Perhaps they should be sub groups Priority 1a, b & c to account for the pay scale of memberships. This week I'm not complaining. If we win @Cal7B I'll upgrade your Demonland Subscription to Lifetime Member free of charge. Remind me as I'm likely to forget but will honour it.

I thought I would bring it up now just in case this great stat is moot. If we are really going to believe in jinxes then perhaps we need to call in an exorcist and exorcise our demons.

Just in case ...

You've got to feel for Joel Smith. Has spent more time in the medical room than 3/4 of the team combined. Can't see us retaining him.

No idea. That has never happened to me. Since I worked out that you could physically click on the bay and secure those tickets I have not had an issue doing it that way. Previously I was selecting best available and got tickets in the Southern Stand which were actually quite good but my preference is in the N sections of the Olympic Stand.

I'm usually N52 so I'm rapt. #sorry

Cheese and wine just don't have the same taste and aroma at that altitude.

I would assume that if you actually click on N52 it will give you those seats as long as there are seats available there.