Demonland

Player Club Frees For Joel Selwood GEE 42 Patrick Cripps CAR 39 Charlie Dixon PA 35 Marcus Bontempelli WB 34 Todd Goldstein NM 34 Zach Merrett ESS 33 Jack Macrae WB 33 Clayton Oliver MEL 32 Jy Simpkin NM 32 Oscar McInerney BRI 32 Player Club Frees Against Patrick Cripps CAR 37 Brodie Grundy COL 37 Nat Fyfe FRE 36 Zac Bailey BRI 36 Marlion Pickett RIC 34 Sean Darcy FRE 33 Tom Hickey SYD 32 Dayne Zorko BRI 32 Clayton Oliver MEL 31 Ben Cunnington NM 31 Sam Walsh CAR 31

Possibly the worst result for us as it will impact the WCE game.

No crowds at the Footy for at least 2 weeks.

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We’re in the negative now

Not a chance Geelong drop a game like this. Us on the other hand …

Not the worst idea. I doubt their CEO will go for that. He's been pretty vocal on saying that the MCG should not be hosting the GF. We'd probably have to promise our next 3 matches be played at Metricon.

Definitely a mistake. Would be GC or Darwin (not very likely).

Only two games can be locked in: Fremantle v Richmond in Perth and Western Bulldogs v Adelaide in Ballarat, though whether that game is Saturday or Sunday remains up in the air. Foxfooty.com.au understands the AFL is set to have Carlton and St Kilda shifted from Saturday to Friday night and Essendon v Sydney moved to Saturday. Both the Swans and Bombers have both already had five-day breaks, forcing the AFL to delay their match by a day. All of Gold Coast v Melbourne, Hawthorn v Brisbane and GWS v Port Adelaide require a sterile corridor for teams to fly up and back from Victoria to Queensland. If not, the league may need to look at shifting fixtures from Rounds 21, 22 or 23. As things stand, the Demons can’t fly to the Gold Coast without quarantining, the Lions can come to Melbourne but would then be unable to go back to Queensland, while Port Power would be required to quarantine before facing the Giants in the sunshine state. There is also uncertainty over whether North Melbourne can host Geelong in Hobart as originally planned. The Roos remain confident but have received no official word. If the AFL succeeds in establishing a sterile corridor across Bass Strait, the Roos and Cats could fly in and fly out on the same day and play in front of a crowd. If not, the game would be in Victoria. Collingwood has been told West Coast will fly to Melbourne ahead of Round 20. At this stage, the plan is for the game to proceed as scheduled on Saturday, which would force the Eagles into home quarantine for seven days when they return home to Perth ahead of Round 21. The league remains committed to pushing through the season and finding ways to get the remaining four rounds completed. It could use the week before finals to reset and does not want to pause the competition, despite suggestions from Sydney they should consider it for integrity and fairness reasons. The official word from the AFL is the Grand Final will be played at the MCG. But speaking on 3AW on Friday, Gillon McLachlan conceded the game would only go ahead at its traditional home if it could muster a “decent” crowd. FRIDAY St Kilda v Carlton (Marvel Stadium) – Likely SATURDAY North Melbourne v Geelong (Blundstone Arena) – Uncertain Essendon v Sydney (Queensland) – Likely Gold Coast v Melbourne (Gabba) – Uncertain Collingwood v West Coast (MCG) – Likely Hawthorn v Brisbane (Adelaide Oval) – Uncertain SUNDAY Western Bulldogs v Adelaide (Ballarat) – Likely GWS v Port Adelaide (TBA) – Uncertain Fremantle v Richmond (Optus Stadium) - Locked

The snow that fell on the slopes of Victoria’s mountain districts in the winter of 1965 was not considered good enough to satisfy the enthusiasts. The really heavy snow that season came in two waves further north in July and August. The first descended on the national capital where “Pig Iron Bob” still held sway. Snow flurries touched the landscape all the way across the Blue Mountains. The next big snow extended further north up to the hills around Mackay in Queensland. Snowflakes fell inside the Tropic of Capricorn. I am unashamed to admit it but at the time and back in my home state, I took a bus ride with a group of fellow teens to pay the only visit I ever made to the snow. The sun shone brightly at Lake Mountain, less than 5,000 feet above sea level, where we spent our time wading through cold, mushy puddles of whiteness searching for the non-existent lake — I discovered much later that the place was named after a surveyor called “Lake”. We ate hot dogs and went home. I was unaware at the time but I had just fulfilled the requirement that legend dictated would make me a fully fledged Demon fan. A few weeks later, it rained so hard on a Saturday morning that I passed on traveling to the north of town to witness the first and only Melbourne game against North Melbourne at City Oval Coburg. It was Saturday 24th July 1965. Ten months earlier, the Demons had won their 12th premiership, the sixth in a decade since 1955, all of them under the coaching of Norm Smith. Today, the team was to be coached by Frank “Checker” Hughes who replaced Smith for this game after the club committee sensationally sacked their legendary coach two days before the game. The Demons were fighting for a finals place but in normal circumstances would have been expected to win against the Kangaroos with 14 of their premiership 20 in the side. North had not beaten Melbourne since 9 May, 1953. The latter had won 20 games on end against them in a streak that began on 1 August, 1953. This is how the Melbourne team lined up:- B: N. Crompton R “Tas” Johnson R. Miller HB: P. McLean K. Rowe F. Davis C: B. Dixon D. Williams F. Vearing HF: H “Hassa” Mann G. Jacobs B. Vagg F: J. Lord R. Groom K. Emselle Foll: G. Wise B. Kenneally J. Townsend 19/20: S. Alves H.Bromell The Shinboners had only won twice in the season to date and were second last on the ladder ahead of Hawthorn on percentage only. But they sensed blood against a shocked and disheveled Demons in front of a crowd of 8,312. Revelling in the wet conditions, they took a 15 point lead at quarter time 3.3.21 to 1.0.6 which Melbourne reduced to 11 points at the main break. However, the Kangaroos took complete control with five goals to two in the third and were untroubled to win by 21 points in the end. It was their first ever win in their brief history at their new ground. Norm Smith was reinstated as coach during the following week but Melbourne missed the finals and would not compete in a finals series for a further two decades. On the morning after that ill-fated game at the Coburg City, I received a phone call from a friend. “They’ve had some decent falls on the snowfields. Would you want to go up there today?” I declined and I never went to the snow again. Melbourne 1.0.6 3.3.21 5.3.33 9.6.60 North Melbourne 3.3.21 4.8.32 9.12.66 11.15.81 Goals Bryan Kenneally John Townsend Barrie Vagg 2 Ken Emselle Graeme Jacobs John Lord Best Bob Miller Tas Johnson John Townsend Ken Rowe Barrie Vagg Frank Davis

Clayton Oliver continues to push ahead … 185. Clayton Oliver 158. Christian Petracca 121. Christian Salem 106. Jake Lever 93. Max Gawn 72. Steven May 66. Tom McDonald 63. Ed Langdon 43. Luke Jackson 35. James Harmes 33. Bayley Fritsch 31. Kysiah Pickett 27. James Jordon 20. Jayden Hunt 15. Angus Brayshaw 14. Jack Viney 13. Harry Petty 11. Charlie Spargo 7. Michael Hibberd Trent Rivers 6. Alex Neal-Bullen 2. Ben Brown 1. Adam Tomlinson