Demonland

A little bit of escapism from 2020 Demons reality.

Having fought back into finals contention, the Demons had it all before them when facing a lowly Sydney in Cairns. But in typical Melbourne fashion, they threw away the opportunity to cement their spot in the eight with a clanger of a game. Right from the start, there was little to enthuse from the Melbourne players, who appeared to think that they only had to turn up, enjoy the North Queensland sun, and take away the four points. Compared with the furious ground wide pressure of the previous game, this was a return to “bad” Melbourne. Compounding the situation was the poor conversion in front of goals, evident even in the first quarter, and ultimately costing the chance to pinch the game in the final stages. With a wind favouring the end to which the Demons kicked, they simply failed to adapt and utilise the conditions. They conceded two goals to the opposition before they troubled the scorer with a major. Then they watched Sydney take full advantage in the second quarter with five goals straight, while Melbourne failed to score a major — a not unfamiliar story to the supporters of the club. The forwards with the exception of Mitch Brown, probably could have remained on holiday in Alice Springs, such was their lack of presence, effectiveness and desire in this game. Sam Weideman produced a miserable two possessions for the game, and failed to provide contest pressure or second efforts. The addition of Alex Neal-Bullen to the side was another clanger, as no amount of running compensates for football skills when needed. Jack Melksham continues to avoid scrutiny, zero tackles again this game combined with a refusal to contest the ball in the air, only looking for the cheap kick out the back. Worse was the situation down back where the addition of Joel Smith ripped apart a solid defensive structure. His first two “spoils” sent the ball directly to Swans players and resulted in goals. Unable to stay with his opponents for the remaining part of the game, he was finally benched in the final quarter. The frustration of Steven May was evident as holes were left with unguarded players taking easy marks. He was forced to move left, right and further up the ground to cover the clangers of others. In a desperate move to provide some measure of forward target, he was moved in front of goals and took a telling mark and goal, to provide the Demons some hope in the final quarter. Oscar McDonald had been sent there earlier, and it was a sad indictment that they were able to do the job, when the regular forwards hadn’t. The mids were beaten soundly again this week, the third time it has happened in a row. Clearances both in the middle and around the ground were won by the Swans, despite Max Gawn easily winning the ruck contest 37 to 19. Again, the mids produced a solidary goal between them, and questions must be raised about the contested nature of the group, when they don’t produce. To top of the clanger situation was the inept performance in front of goal. Melbourne had at least 5 set shots from inside 30 metres, two from Ed Langdon and Bayley Fritsch and another from Gawn, all of which not only missed, but barely made it through the behinds. Should those easy chances have been converted, the game would have been won. Melbourne have now conceded their spot in the eight and the two teams above them in GWS and St.Kilda have their next games against Hawthorn and Adelaide. The Demons face Fremantle who are in a similar ladder position near the bottom, so we should get a good gauge on which side wants to play in finals in coming week. A similar type of performance to this game, will not only result in a clanger of a season, but without suitable changes, both at selection table and on the ground, will see the bell toll for more than the players. MELBOURNE 2.3.15 2.4.16 3.7.25 6.10.46 SYDNEY 2.0.12 7.2.44 7.4.46 10.7.67 GOALS Melbourne Brayshaw Harmes May Neal-Bullen Spargo Sydney Parker McInerney 2 Clarke McLean Rowbottom Taylor Wicks BEST Melbourne Langdon Tomlinson Gawn Petracca Brayshaw Oliver Sydney Parker Kennedy Lloyd McInerney, Blakey Taylor Rowbottom INJURIES Melbourne Brayshaw (ankle) Jones (thigh) MFC supporters (hopes) Sydney Mills (calf) replaced in selected side by McLean REPORTS Melbourne Nil Sydney Nil UMPIRES David Harris Shaun Ryan Andre Gianfagna VENUE Cazaly’s Stadium

Enough of this

Axe weilding time ...

D’oh

Your votes for tonight’s game please 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Jones is done.

If we finish 6 (highest we can probably finish) then we get a “home” game against 7. Not sure Alice (or other regionals) is an option so do we want to play at the Gabba, Metricon or Adelaide Oval (if AO is an option for non-SA teams)?

Assume QLD considering all the players are there and they’ve shipped the Brownlow votes up there.

I can barely contain my schadenfreude.

So when do Hawthorn get relegated? * story from June

The late Norm Smith, who played in four Melbourne premierships and coached another six, was a strong disciplinarian. Known as the Red Fox for his auburn hair and his cunning, Smith was a man of a different age to the here and now. Born during the Great War, he survived the Spanish Flu Pandemic, grew up in depression times, played mostly through the Second World War and its aftermath and coached in a period of rebuilding and recovery to a time of prosperity. Smith’s success was built on team discipline from which he developed closely knit teams that cut no corners to be the fastest, fittest and most confident side on the park. He would make debutants sit out their entire first game on the bench and once ordered a player who turned up to training with a mustache to shave it off. The days of the hard nosed disciplinarian football coaches are long gone but this does not mean that discipline is unimportant in developing a team ethic. We saw this at the weekend when Demons’ coach Simon Goodwin bit the bullet and omitted then leading goal kicker Bayley Fritsch for turning up late to the team’s final training session at its Sunshine Coast hub. Tom McDonald and James Harmes also sat the game out against the Saints after a series of below par games. It was a strong statement from the coach. Few Demon fans would have imagined earlier in the year that McDonald, Harmes and Fritsch would all be dropped on the eve of an all important season defining match but this was a logical consequence of having so many players turning up late after the main break in their game against the Bulldogs. Against the Saints who dominated statistically in most key performance indicators bar accuracy in front of goal, they willed themselves over the line to pull off an unexpected but gritty victory that lifted them into the top eight. We are about to discover in the coming weeks whether it was luck or something deeper and more significant. On the face of it, the immediate road ahead against two lowly sides in Sydney and Fremantle in short sequence in Far North Queensland appears straightforward. But not so fast. The game against the Swans at Cazaly’s Stadium is scheduled to start at 4.40pm in steamy conditions with temperatures in their high 20s and with the next game taking place four days later. The challenge for the coaching panel is to add resilience to the hard effort that saw them make the most of their chances in Alice Springs. The Demons can’t rest on their laurels against the flakey Swans who only recently put on a blinder to beat their more talented crosstown rivals. Melbourne must take care therefore, to work hard at improving on takeaways from stoppages. Despite the presence of an All Australian ruckman and a much vaunted contested ball winning midfield, they were well beaten in the clearances last week. And as much as improvement is needed in getting more of the ball into attack, the forwards have to lift their game when it gets there. Last week’s tally of twelve scores for the game is hardly enough to win most games — it’s up to the small and medium forwards to apply more pressure on the opposition defence and to set up scoring more opportunities. Melbourne’s strength last week was in its defence which, apart from a couple of lapses late in the second term, strangled the opposition of scoreboard oxygen. For most of this season, Sydney has struggled to hit the scoreboard particularly when the dynamic Tom Papley has been kept quiet. If the Demon defenders stick to their game, they will go a long way to helping their side to the four points against the injury depleted Swans. A good win could see them overtake St Kilda on the ladder and put even greater pressure on the teams below that are lining up for a place in the finals. For the Melbourne Football Club which languished in so much disappointment in 2019, it could mean that Goodwin’s strong statement at the selection table last week is about to bring about lasting consequences that would have made the Red Fox proud. Melbourne by 37 points. THE GAME Sydney Swans v Melbourne at Cazaly’s Stadium Thursday 3 September 2020 at 4.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Sydney Swans 114 wins Melbourne 93 wins 2 drawn At Cazaly’s Stadium Sydney Swans 0 wins Melbourne 0 wins Last 5 meetings Sydney Swans 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Longmire 3 wins Goodwin 1 win MEDIA TV - Footy Channel Live at 4.30pm RADIO - TBA THE LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 15.5.95 defeated Melbourne 5.12.42 in Round 22 2019 at the MCG The injury hit Demons were competitive in the opening term but were outclassed by the Swans for the remainder of a very dull late season game that was fairly meaningless for both sides in the general scheme of things. THE TEAMS SYDNEY SWANS FB Aliir Aliir Lewis Melican Robbie Fox HB Jake Lloyd Callum Mills Ryan Clarke C Jackson Thurlow Luke Parker Nick Blakey HF Will Hayward Sam Reid Lewis Taylor FF Tom Papley Tom McCartin Jordan Dawson FOL Callum Sinclair Josh P. Kennedy Oliver Florent I/C Harry Cunningham Justin McInerney James Rowbottom Sam Wicks EMG James Bell Will Gould Hayden McLean Dylan Stephens IN Lewis Taylor OUT James Bell (omitted) MELBOURNE FB Jake Lever Steven May Adam Tomlinson HB Christian Salem Oscar McDonald Trent Rivers C Ed Langdon Jack Viney Nathan Jones HF James Harmes Sam Weideman Christian Petracca FF Bayley Fritsch Mitch Brown Jake Melksham FOL Max Gawn Angus Brayshaw Clayton Oliver IC Alex Neal-Bullen Joel Smith Charlie Spargo Josh Wagner EMG Neville Jetta Braydon Preuss Aaron vandenBerg Corey Wagner IN Bayley Fritsch James Harmes Alex Neal-Bullen Joel Smith OUT Mitch Hannan (omitted) Michael Hibberd (ankle) Kysaiah Pickett (managed) Aaron vandenBerg (omitted) Injury List: Round 15 Michael Hibberd (ankle) – 1 week Luke Jackson (hamstring) – 3 weeks Tom Sparrow (collarbone) – 3 weeks James Jordon (finger) – 3 - 5 weeks Marty Hore (quad) – indefinite Harry Petty (groin) – indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – indefinite Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season

Thank you.

Nominated for goal of the year. let’s get him over the line.

Just a bit of fun. Hopefully it annoys some Saints fans who might have it sent to them.