Demonland

DAVID KING Top Eight 1. Port Adelaide 2. Brisbane 3. Richmond 4. Western Bulldogs 5. Geelong 6. St Kilda 7. West Coast 8. Gold Coast Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: Hawthorn Brownlow Medal: Matt Rowell Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Lynch Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Afternoon Mr R. Lyon : “I know it’s only Round 13 Ross, but can we chat to you about coaching _______ next year and beyond?” (x3 clubs!!) JON RALPH Top Eight 1. Richmond 2. Port Adelaide 3. Geelong 4. Brisbane 5. West Coast 6. St Kilda 7. Western Bulldogs 8. Collingwood Premier: Brisbane Wooden spoon: Hawthorn Brownlow Medal: Christian Petracca Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Lynch Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Gillon McLachlan will cement his legacy with a timeline that sees Tasmania in the AFL by 2027 to create a truly national competition. MARK ROBINSON Top Eight 1. Brisbane 2. Richmond 3. Geelong 4. Port Adelaide 5. Western Bulldogs 6. West Coast 7. St Kilda 8. Carlton Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: Adelaide Brownlow Medal: Christian Petracca Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Lynch Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Matt Rowell is good enough to give the double a shake: Rising Star and Brownlow Medal. GLENN MCFARLANE Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. Richmond 3. Brisbane 4. Port Adelaide 5. Western Bulldogs 6. Collingwood 7. West Coast 8. St Kilda Premier: Geelong Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Marcus Bontempelli Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Lynch Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Dustin Martin breaks his own record and wins a fourth Norm Smith Medal, albeit for the first time in a losing side. SCOTT GULLAN Top Eight 1. Western Bulldogs 2. Port Adelaide 3. Geelong 4. Brisbane 5. Collingwood 6. Richmond 7. Carlton 8. West Coast Premier: Western Bulldogs Wooden spoon: Adelaide Brownlow Medal: Adam Treloar Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan Bold prediction: Nakia Cockatoo will finish top 10 in Brisbane's best-and-fairest. JAY CLARK Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. Port Adelaide 3. West Coast 4. Western Bulldogs 5. Richmond 6. Brisbane 7. Collingwood 8. Melbourne Premier: Geelong Wooden spoon: Adelaide Brownlow Medal: Patrick Cripps Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Premiership mastermind Alastair Clarkson to depart the Hawks this year. CHRIS CAVANAGH Top Eight 1. Richmond 2. West Coast 3. Geelong 4. Port Adelaide 5. Collingwood 6. Brisbane 7. Western Bulldogs 8. Melbourne Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Lachie Neale Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Lynch Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Damien Hardwick to depart Richmond at season’s end as a four-time premiership coach. BEN HORNE Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. Port Adelaide 3. Brisbane 4. Richmond 5. St Kilda 6. Western Bulldogs 7. Carlton 8. GWS Premier: Port Adelaide Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Travis Boak Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: After late-season border shut downs across the country, the AFL moves all teams into Sydney hubs and schedules the second Grand Final to be played outside Victoria at ANZ Stadium. SAM LANDSBERGER Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. Brisbane 3. Western Bulldogs 4. Richmond 5. West Coast 6. Port Adelaide 7. Carlton 8. Fremantle Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: Essendon Brownlow Medal: Dustin Martin Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Joe Daniher Rising Star: Dylan Stephens Bold prediction: Bold prediction: Adem Yze replaces Simon Goodwin as coach of Melbourne, leading the club where he played 271 games. NICK SMART Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. Port Adelaide 3. Brisbane 4. West Coast 5. Richmond 6. Western Bulldogs 7. St Kilda 8. Melbourne Premier: Geelong Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Marcus Bontempelli Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: 2021 will be Nathan Buckley's final year as Collingwood coach after almost a decade in charge, with the Magpies committing to a full rebuild after sliding out of finals contention. SIMEON THOMAS-WILSON Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. Port Adelaide 3. Brisbane 4. St Kilda 5. Richmond 6. Western Bulldogs 7. West Coast 8. Melbourne Premier: Port Adelaide Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Patrick Cripps Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Lynch Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: The AFL ends the season with a new chief executive MATT TURNER Top Eight 1. Geelong 2. West Coast 3. Brisbane 4. Richmond 5. Port Adelaide 6. St Kilda 7. Western Bulldogs 8. Collingwood Premier: Brisbane Wooden spoon: Gold Coast Brownlow Medal: Jack Steele Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Mark Williams to become interim coach of Melbourne after the Dees part ways with Simon Goodwin late in the season. LIZ WALSH Top Eight 1. Brisbane 2. Port Adelaide 3. Richmond 4. Western Bulldogs 5. St Kilda 6. West Coast 7. Geelong 8. Melbourne Premier: Brisbane Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Lachie Neale Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Charlie Dixon Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: In 2021, we'll see an all non-Victorian Grand Final. MICHAEL WARNER Top Eight 1. Richmond 2. Port Adelaide 3. Brisbane 4. West Coast 5. Geelong 6. Western Bulldogs 7. St Kilda 8. Collingwood Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Christian Petracca Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Will Phillips Bold prediction: AFL commission commits to a team in Tasmania. REBECCA WILLIAMS Top Eight 1. Port Adelaide 2. Richmond 3. Brisbane 4. Geelong 5. West Coast 6. Western Bulldogs 7. Collingwood 8. St Kilda Premier: Port Adelaide Wooden spoon: Adelaide Brownlow Medal: Marcus Bontempelli Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Hawkins Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: The AFL gets through the 2021 season unscathed by COVID and border hurdles LAUREN WOOD Top Eight 1. Richmond 2. Brisbane 3. Port Adelaide 4. Geelong 5. St Kilda 6. Collingwood 7. Sydney 8. Melbourne Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Travis Boak Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Charlie Dixon Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Joe Daniher to thrive in the sunshine state and finish in the top five of the Coleman Medal. MICK MCGUANE Top Eight 1. Port Adelaide 2. Richmond 3. West Coast 4. Brisbane 5. Geelong 6. Western Bulldogs 7. St Kilda 8. Fremantle Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: Hawthorn Brownlow Medal: Lachie Neale Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Tom Hawkins Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Justin Longmuir, in only his second year as coach, can get the Dockers playing finals in 2021. MICK MALTHOUSE Top Eight 1. Port Adelaide 2. Geelong 3. Richmond 4. Western Bulldogs 5. St Kilda 6. Brisbane 7. Carlton 8. Gold Coast Premier: Geelong Wooden spoon: North Melbourne Brownlow Medal: Patrick Cripps Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Jeremy Cameron Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: West Coast and Fremantle will be forced into a hub because of the WA premier’s quarantine restrictions, which will have an adverse effect on both teams DANIEL HOYNE Top Eight 1. Richmond 2. West Coast 3. Geelong 4. Brisbane 5. Port Adelaide 6. Western Bulldogs 7. Collingwood 8. Melbourne Premier: Richmond Wooden spoon: Adelaide Brownlow Medal: Marcus Bontempelli Coleman Medal (Most Goals): Josh Kennedy Rising Star: Matt Rowell Bold prediction: Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling to combine for more goals than Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins SUMMARY Top Eight: 7 out of 19 (All in 8th position) Premier: 0 Wooden spoon: 0 Brownlow Medal: 3 x Christian Petracca Coleman Medal (Most Goals): 0 Rising Star: 0

They're murdering us all around the ground t the moment.

Poor bloke.

Cruel blow as Nietschke suffers third ACL

On Monday night, the Melbourne Football Club handed out four life memberships. Two of those awards went to men who are long gone. Charles ‘Chubby’ Forrester and James ‘Jas’ Byrne played for the club in the 1870s, even before the Victorian Football Association was formed. The other two are current skipper Max Gawn and swingman Tom McDonald, who almost left the club at the end of the pandemic-affected 2020 season. Some fans might have raised their eyebrows and wondered whether the emphasis on history might have been a subtle message to the two surviving players but on Friday morning, both of them had left little doubt that they are definitely part of the Demons’ immediate future. The roles they played in their team’s 14.9.93 to 12.10.82 practice match victory over reigning premiers Richmond were significant. Gawn was not only outstanding in the ruck but he was also able to go forward and back to take vital marks. In doing so, he kicked a couple of goals and saved a few as well. Meanwhile, the trimmed down McDonald showed that he still had a lot to give to the club. His confidence has returned, he’s taking marks that were spilled in the past few years and he roamed far and wide across the expanses of Casey Fields to good effect. Together with young ruckman/forward Luke Jackson and the lively Bayley Fritsch and surprise packet Kade Chandler and Charlie Spargo, they assured the Demons of some potent attacking strength that many despaired might be missing in the absence of injured forwards Ben Brown, Sam Weideman and Jake Melksham and young small forward Kozzy Pickett, out for personal family reasons. At the other end of the ground, Jake Lever dominated in the rebounding defender role for which the club recruited him from Adelaide and he combined well with Steven May who also looks to be in for a fine season. Melbourne received great drive from Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver in the middle, Ed Langdon on a wing and Christian Salem and Jayden Hunt coming out of defence. They were helped out by Tom Sparrow and James Jordan and Trent Rivers looking to build on his exciting debut season. The above might sound like a glowing endorsement coming at end of February and mindful of the old adages about practice matches, March champions and April Fools. After all, the Tigers were coming off a premiership game at the glittering Gabba in their last match and here they were playing in a tree lined setting in late summer. For a club known for their attacking intensity, when the pressure valve is set at perhaps 10% below their best, the result of the contest often will lose its meaning. And the Demons still need to resolve a few problem positioning issues with their small defenders. In light of the fact that it’s still very early days, let’s put it all down to a good opening hit out with the main positives being evidence of a faster, smoother transition into attack from a team that has finally come to terms with the rules that changed the game after their break- out 2018 season and that the subsequent fall from grace might have finally been consigned into Melbourne’s history books. Melbourne 3.2.20 5.4.34 10.8.68 14.9.93 Richmond 2.3.15 6.5.41 9.7.61 12.10.82

Quarters 2 & 3 of the B game is on the official website. Not sure why Q1 isn't up.

Some highlights from the B-Side Scratch Match