Demonland

I have a feeling it was agreed to because two versions of the Ad were probably filmed and for whatever reason only one has ever aired. That's just a guess though.

Having convincingly defeated last year’s premier and decisively outplayed the runner-up with 8.2 in the final quarter, nothing epitomized the Melbourne Football Club’s performance more than its 1.12 final half, particularly the eight consecutive behinds in the last term, against a struggling St Kilda team in the midst of a dismal losing streak. Just when stability and consistency were anticipated within the Demon ranks, they delivered a quintessential performance marked by instability and ill-conceived decisions, with the most striking aspect being their inaccuracy in kicking for goal, which suggested a lack of preparation (instead of sleeping in their hotel in Alice, were they having a night on the turps) rather than a well-rested team. Let’s face it - this kicking disease that makes them look like raw amateurs is becoming a millstone around the team’s neck. How could anyone reasonably expect Melbourne to defeat Collingwood in the traditional King’s Birthday clash on Sunday following that performance? Mind you, I should add that I also watched the Magpies dominate the Hawks on Friday night, and based on that display, it was unlikely that I was going to predict an upset anyway. However, while I am pondering where Melbourne can win individual battles, and frankly, I am struggling to identify many such opportunities, I believe there might be a bright side. I believe the team’s competitiveness hinges on Simon Goodwin’s ability to devise the right strategy and tactics to reverse last week’s debacle. He cannot rectify their kicking inaccuracy overnight, so he must ensure his players are psychologically prepared to regain their pre-Alice Springs mindset. If they can achieve this, Melbourne still has a chance, albeit an outside chance. Looking back two years to the equivalent 2023 fixture, the first of the modern day Kings Birthday clashes, Melbourne demonstrated the ability to match Collingwood’s aggression, even with inaccurate kicking, amassing 8 goals 18 behinds to the Pies’ 9.8.62. What has changed since then? Not much of significance, apart from each team acquiring new players and losing key personnel, including Maynard for Collingwood and Jack Viney for Melbourne. The Demons have undoubtedly suffered a setback with Viney’s broken hand, which would have been invaluable in countering the dynamic Magpie brothers Daicos and injecting some attacking aggression into the mix. In his absence, Melbourne must find alternative personnel and strategies to curb Collingwood’s midfield dominance, which often creates scoring opportunities for their goal-kicking specialists like Elliott and Mihocek, who collectively kicked 9.2 last week. Those statistics would undoubtedly have our forward line coaches salivating. Ultimately, it is not mission impossible for Melbourne as long as it can overcome the propensity for self-inflicted errors. It has the players to do it, provided its big guns in Max Gawn, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver fire and if the May/Lever combination holds firm, but will they rise to the challenge? In the end, sentiment prevails over rationality. I expect Collingwood to win by 29 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Collingwood at the MCG Monday 9 June 2025 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Collingwood 156 wins Melbourne 85 wins 5 drawn At the MCG Collingwood 88 wins Melbourne 64 wins 3 drawn Last five meetings Collingwood 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches McCrae 5 wins Goodwin 1 win LAST TIME THEY MET Collingwood 15.13.103 defeated Melbourne 8.9.57 at the MCG in Round 23 2024 The season ended in a shambolic performance from a team that appeared uninterested and lacking in any inspiration and, to add insult to injury, it lost Kozzy Pickett for the first three weeks of the season to follow through suspension. The best thing to happen was the break through lightning which sent many Demon fans to the warmth of their homes early. A fitting end to a disappointing season. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, S. May, C. Salem HB J. McVee, J. Lever, T. Rivers C K. Chandler, C. Petracca, X. Lindsay HF E. Langdon, J. van Rooyen, B. Fritsch F J. Melksham, H. Petty, K. Pickett FOLL M. Gawn, C. Oliver, T. Sparrow I/C B. Howes, H. Langford, K. Tholstrup, D. Turner, C. Windsor EMG J. Culley, M. Jefferson, H. Sharp IN B. Howes, K. Tholstrup, J. van Rooyen OUT A. Johnson (suspended), B. Laurie (omitted), H. Sharp (omitted) COLLINGWOOD B J. Howe, B. Frampton, J. Daicos HB H. Perryman, D. Moore, I. Quaynor C J. Crisp, S. Sidebottom, E. Allan HF B. Hill, D. McStay, B. McCreery F J. Elliott, B. Mihocek, T. Membrey FOLL D. Cameron, N. Long, N. Daicos I/C W. Hayes, W. Hoskin-Elliott, D. Houston, S. Pendlebury, L. Sullivan EMG T. Mitchell, W. Parker, O. Steene IN W. Hayes, D. McStay OUT P. Lipinski (concussion), L. Schultz (hamstring) Injury and Suspension List: Round 13 Marty Hore — calf / available Aidan Johnson — suspended / 2 weeks Jack Viney — hand / TBC Charlie Spargo — scapula/ 4 - 5 weeks Shane McAdam — Achilles / next season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / next season

Follow all the action from every Round 13 clash excluding the Dees as the 2025 AFL Premiership Season rolls on. With Melbourne playing in the final match of the round on King's Birthday, all eyes turn to the rest of the competition. Who are you tipping to win? And more importantly, which results best serve the Demons’ finals aspirations? Join the discussion and keep track of the matches that could shape the ladder and impact our run to September.

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Well, that was a full-blown emotional rollercoaster in three acts, confusion, outrage, relief, followed by the bonus twist of triggering residual annoyance about buying footy tickets. I laughed, I cried, I questioned my ability to read Ticketek emails. Glad it was just a false alarm… classic Ticketek, giving everyone a free anxiety attack with their tickets!

MELBOURNE’S Jack Viney has undergone surgery on a fracture to his hand. The club’s AFL High Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith provided an update on the midfielder on Tuesday. “Jack was completing a training session in Alice Springs as part of his return from concussion,” Griffith told Melbourne Media. “During that session, he slipped over and unfortunately, follow-up imaging showed that he had sustained a fracture to one of the bones in his hand. “After consulting with a specialist, Jack has undergone surgery and is currently recovering. “The plan is to assess his availability once the wound is cleared, and we’ve followed up with the surgeon.”

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End of season. Nothing to play for so they didn’t come to play. They were beaten comprehensively by the Daicos brothers alone. To add insult to injury, Kozzy copped a three game suspension which probably affected Melbourne’s 2025 fortunes as well. MELBOURNE 1.1.7 4.4.28 7.5.47 8.9.57 COLLINGWOOD 5.4.34 8.5.53 12.8.80 15.13.103 GOALS MELBOURNE Pickett Tholstrup 2 Billings Chandler Turner van Rooyen COLLINGWOOD Cameron N Daicos Hill Lipinski 2 Allen Crisp Elliott Hoskin-Elliott Parker Richards Sidebottom BEST MELBOURNE McDonald Gawn Chandler Pickett Billings Rivers COLLINGWOOD N Daicos J Daicos Lipinski Allan Hill Sidebottom THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B M. Hore, T. McDonald, J. McVee HB J. Bowey, A. Tomlinson, B. Howes C E. Langdon, J. Viney, C. Salem HF K. Chandler, H. Petty, J. Billings F K. Pickett, J. Van Rooyen, B. Fritsch FOLL M. Gawn, A. Neal-Bullen, T. Rivers I/C B. Howes, J. Melksham, K. Tholstrup, D. Turner T. Woewodin SUB B. Laurie EMG K. Brown, M. Jefferson IN B. Laurie, T. Woewodin OUT J. Lever (illness), T. Sparrow (ankle) COLLINGWOOD B C. Dean, D. Moore, B. Maynard HB W. Hoskin-Elliott, J. Howe, I. Quaynor C S. Sidebottom, J. Crisp, J. Daicos HF B. Hill, L. Schultz, J. Elliott F B. McCreery, M. Cox, P. Lipinski FOLL D. Cameron, N. Daicos, S. Pendlebury I/C E. Allan, J. Noble, W. Parker, J. Richards SUB F. MacRae EMG B. Frampton, N. Long, J. Ryan IN E. Allan, C. Dean, F. Macrae, J. Richards OUT J.Bytel (omitted), B.Frampton (omitted), N. Long (omitted), D. McStay (managed)

Hands up if you thought, like me, at half-time in yesterday’s game at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs that Melbourne’s disposal around the ground and, in particular, its kicking inaccuracy in front of the goals couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. And what’s even more damning for the Melbourne Football Club is that the game against St Kilda and its resurgence from the bottomless pit of its miserable start to the season wasn’t just lost through poor conversion for goal but rather in the 15 minutes when the entire team went into a slumber and was mugged by the out-of-form Saints. Their six goals two behinds (one goal less than the Demons managed for the whole game) weaved a path of destruction from which they were unable to recover. In short, they blew it. Ross Lyon’s astute use of pressure to contain the situation once they had asserted their grip on the game, and Melbourne’s self-destructive wastefulness, assured that outcome. The old adage about the insanity of repeatedly doing something and expecting a different result, was out there. Two years ago, the score line in Melbourne’s loss to the Giants at this same ground was 5 goals 15 behinds - a ratio of one goal per four scoring shots - was perfectly replicated with yesterday’s 7 goals 21 behinds. This has been going on for a while and opens up a number of questions. I’ll put forward a few that come to mind from this performance. The obvious first question is whether the club can find a suitable coach to instruct players on proper kicking techniques or is this a skill that can no longer be developed at this stage of the development of our playing group? Another concern is the team's ability to counter an opponent's dominance during a run on as exemplified by the Saints in the first quarter. Did the Demons underestimate their opponents, considering St Kilda's goals during this period were scored by relatively unknown forwards? Furthermore, given the modest attendance of 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park and the team's poor past performances at this venue, is it prudent to prioritize financial gain over potentially sacrificing valuable premiership points by relinquishing home ground advantage, notwithstanding the cultural significance of the team's connection to the Red Centre? Melbourne started off as if on cue with a dominating opening ten minutes but managed only a solitary goal. The momentum turned when Kozzy Pickett’s shot for a second goal was taken on the line, and the Saints made their move with their opening goal and the torrent that followed until the shadows of quarter-time when the Demons responded with their second. Then it was the Demons’ turn to take control of the play, but their 4 goals 7 behinds wasn’t enough to translate into what could have been a half-time lead. Despite some outstanding work in the ruck of Max Gawn and Christian Petracca on the ball, they were let down with some diabolical misses when it came to scoring goals. Some of the notable examples were those of Kade Chandler from inside 40 metres, Gawn himself from closer still, and Xavier Lindsay hitting the post late in the term, again from in close. And, as indicated above, it only got worse as the time progressed so that well before the final siren, most Demon fans had put their hands up in resignation and despair. MELBOURNE 2.2.14 6.9.45 7.13.55 7.21.63 ST KILDA 6.2.38 9.4.58 11.6.72 14.7.91 GOALS MELBOURNE Petracca 2 Chandler Fritsch Johnson Melksham Petty ST KILDA Butler 4 Keeler 3 Hall 2 Clark Higgins Hill Owens Travaglia BEST MELBOURNE Gawn May McVee Petracca Bowey Turner ST KILDA Wanganeen-Milera Wilkie Windhager Sinclair Butler Hill INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil ST KILDA Phillipou (calf) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil ST KILDA Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Bailey Laurie (replaced Aidan Johnson in the fourth quarter) ST KILDA Jack Carroll (replaced Mattaes Phillipou in the first quarter) UMPIRES Robert O'Gorman, Nathan Williamson Cameron Dore, Jordan Fry CROWD 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park

Going to cut the questions off here. We might have to do a very limited question and answer segment this week as we have Jeff White for 30 to 45 minutes at the top of the show.

https://x.com/sammy__edmund/status/1929347798421381287?s=46&t=4yiPa6LJbgt-ACIG0WMIuA

After a disappointing loss in Alice Springs the Demons return to the MCG to take on the Magpies in the annual King's Birthday Big Freeze for MND game. Who comes in and who goes out?

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 2nd June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we have a chat with former Demon ruckman Jeff White about his YouTube channel First Use where he dissects ruck setups and contests. We'll then discuss the Dees disappointing loss to the Saints in Alice Springs. Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

Max Gawn still has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year award as Christian Petracca, Jake Bowey, Clayton Oliver & Kozzy Pickett round out the Top 5. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1

After kicking the first goal of the match the Demons were always playing catch up against the Saints in Alice Spring and could never make the most of their inside 50 entries to wrestle back the lead.

My kingdom for a goal kicking coach.