Demonland

BRIDESMAIDS AGAIN by Whispering Jack Historians of the future will have little difficulty in finding words to define the year 2020. “Covid-19”, “pandemic” and “plague” come readily to mind. The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the year in every aspect of life and it certainly didn’t spare AFL football or the Melbourne Football Club. In the circumstances however, it didn’t treat it as badly as the Spanish Flu epidemic which raged a century earlier from February 1918, through 1919 and into 1920 when it finally petered out in April of that year. Melbourne was in wartime recess in 1918 but returned for a winless 1919 season and a wooden spoon. One hundred years later, the competition had doubled in size to 18 teams and the Demons finished 17th with five wins. Hence, the improvement in pandemic-ravaged 2020 to 9th with nine wins in a shorter 17 game season would on the face of it, appear to be satisfying, but it truth, it left most supporters with hollow feelings. We were the bridesmaids again. The year began with the expanded AFLW competition played under the much maligned conference system. The Demons won four games out of six to make the finals but, as in the past, they were routinely inaccurate in front of goal. They managed 1.8.14 in going down to the fledgling Saints (3.1.19) in Round 3 after early wins against North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, recovered for a couple of good wins but were on the ropes after a capitulation to the Blues before the finals were called early. A stirring final quarter saw the Demons 4.5.29 home by three points in the Elimination Final against Giants 3.8.26 with Lily Mithen booting the winning goal with 30 seconds left on the clock. A few days before that game was played the world officially entered pandemic mode and AFLW season was called off with no premier declared. Stalwart Karen Paxman was the club’s best player in the truncated season. The AFL men’s season was also called off on the following day without the announcement of a return but not before the Demons lost their opening round match to West Coast in Perth by 27 points in the final match of the round. The opening game was played to an empty stadium under new rules to enable players to cope better with the pandemic including shorter quarters. The AFL left it until half an hour before the start of this game to let the public and the players know and Melbourne capitulated giving away four consecutive goals in a few minutes before the first break. Over the ensuing months, Australians were asked to abandon their normal lives to control the impact of the disease. There was no vaccine and no cure, and like 100 years earlier, the people relied on quarantine, supportive medical care and the goodwill of the community. As the months passed, plans were made for the resumption of the season. The AFL factored in the possibility of further restrictions and while the eventual restart happened in mid-June, the worsening situation in Victoria meant that clubs were shipped around to interstate hubs, the fixture was changed randomly and willy-nilly. The idea of the football frenzy with daily/nightly games to compact rounds was introduced to ensure that the season could proceed with the minimum of disruption. However, the Melbourne Football Club was one of two clubs that simply couldn’t avoid disruption and it probably paid a very high price for that eventuality. After destroying the Blues in the first half of the return game and then barely managing to hold on to win by a point, the Demons’ third game was scuppered when Bomber Connor McKenna returned the only positive test of the season. Much later, that game was declared a bye with the encounter rescheduled to the end of the season, meaning that both clubs were deprived of a vital rest during the frenetic second half of the season. Who knows whether the benefit of such a break which was available to all other clubs might have helped the club across the line in those vital games lost in Cairns to Sydney and Fremantle? The club’s season was already on the line when it played its first game for the year on the MCG against Geelong. A sluggish start proved costly for the team which took time to get going and, in the end, a narrowly missed shot at goal by recruit Adam Tomlinson in the last 40 seconds was costly. They performed well against the Tigers but lacked the class to take advantage of opportunities to keep in touch and, as the clubs evacuated Victoria, the possibility of making finals was looking remote. With Melbourne moving up to its first hub home in Sydney, a minor revival was under way. The Demons disposed of Gold Coast and Hawthorn but then faced the top two clubs in Brisbane and Port Adelaide within four days playing out of their new Queensland hub. They nearly stole the match against the Lions at Metricon Stadium but collapsed in a heap to the Power at the Gabba drawing the ire of the club’s Chairman, Glen Bartlett. The tongue lashing had the desired effect with three resounding victories on the trot against Adelaide, North Melbourne and Collingwood that saw the club enter into finals contention. The Demons were raging favourites against the Western Bulldogs but a poor third quarter saw them tumbling to defeat. Melbourne was becoming a team of nomads and their next stint saw the team sneak home by two points in Alice Springs against St Kilda. With four games left of which three were against teams that were out of contention for the finals and the other fading fast, it seemed only a formality that Melbourne would play in the finals. However, there was a catch. The team had to dash across the continent and play two games in four days up in Cairns, the first against Sydney in trying conditions after a long trek out of their hub on the Sunshine Coast. Disaster followed disaster four days later against Fremantle and, despite victories over the Giants and Bombers, a ninth placed finish two points behind Collingwood was the club’s epitaph for 2020. Christian Petracca had a superb season and took third place honours in the Brownlow Medal along with his first Keith “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy. Clayton Oliver was once again imposing as a midfielder although hampered by problem shoulders that required post season surgery. Steven May was outstanding in defence while skipper Max Gawn shrugged off some knee issues and close opposition contact to dominate the club’s ruck. Jack Viney and Christian Salem also stood out during the year while the consistent Ed Langdon was the club’s best recruit and gave great drive from a wing. First year players Luke Jackson, Kysaiah Pickett and Trent Rivers all showed great promise for the future but the experiment with Harley Bennell ended in disappointment after some glimpses of excitement for a reprise of the early days of his career. To make the finals, the club needed more from Tom McDonald and Jake Melksham who were down on their previous standards and it’s to be hoped that 2021 will see them back to their best. What to make of the coach’s year given the challenges of managing a team of nomads and life in the hubs with no second tier competition to gauge his reserve players? We could point to a number of miscalculations with regard to player positions (eg James Harms in defence) and team selections both early in the season and during the period of the cross continent games that ended in the twin debacles in Cairns. All in all however, Simon Goodwin managed a difficult task reasonably well and without too much luck. The fact remains that he will inevitably start 2021 under the pump! The club goes into 2021 with a key on field recruit in full forward Ben Brown, some interesting young recruits, a couple of significant coaching inclusions in premiership coach Mark Williams and former star Adem Yze and high hopes of rising further up the ladder. The club posted a loss of $2.9m thanks mainly to the effect of the pandemic but thanks to some fancy accounting and asset revaluations, we’re not supposed to feel too bad about the result. Like the feeling of always being the bridesmaids and finishing ninth on the ladder again.

Historians of the future will have little difficulty in finding words to define the year 2020. “Covid-19”, “pandemic” and “plague” come readily to mind. The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the year in every aspect of life and it certainly didn’t spare AFL football or the Melbourne Football Club. In the circumstances however, it didn’t treat it as badly as the Spanish Flu epidemic which raged a century earlier from February 1918, through 1919 and into 1920 when it finally petered out in April of that year. Melbourne was in wartime recess in 1918 but returned for a winless 1919 season and a wooden spoon. One hundred years later, the competition had doubled in size to 18 teams and the Demons finished 17th with five wins. Hence, the improvement in pandemic-ravaged 2020 to 9th with nine wins in a shorter 17 game season would on the face of it, appear to be satisfying, but it truth, it left most supporters with hollow feelings. We were the bridesmaids again. The year began with the expanded AFLW competition played under the much maligned conference system. The Demons won four games out of six to make the finals but, as in the past, they were routinely inaccurate in front of goal. They managed 1.8.14 in going down to the fledgling Saints (3.1.19) in Round 3 after early wins against North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, recovered for a couple of good wins but were on the ropes after a capitulation to the Blues before the finals were called early. A stirring final quarter saw the Demons 4.5.29 home by three points in the Elimination Final against Giants 3.8.26 with Lily Mithen booting the winning goal with 30 seconds left on the clock. A few days before that game was played the world officially entered pandemic mode and AFLW season was called off with no premier declared. Stalwart Karen Paxman was the club’s best player in the truncated season. The AFL men’s season was also called off on the following day without the announcement of a return but not before the Demons lost their opening round match to West Coast in Perth by 27 points in the final match of the round. The opening game was played to an empty stadium under new rules to enable players to cope better with the pandemic including shorter quarters. The AFL left it until half an hour before the start of this game to let the public and the players know and Melbourne capitulated giving away four consecutive goals in a few minutes before the first break. Over the ensuing months, Australians were asked to abandon their normal lives to control the impact of the disease. There was no vaccine and no cure, and like 100 years earlier, the people relied on quarantine, supportive medical care and the goodwill of the community. As the months passed, plans were made for the resumption of the season. The AFL factored in the possibility of further restrictions and while the eventual restart happened in mid-June, the worsening situation in Victoria meant that clubs were shipped around to interstate hubs, the fixture was changed randomly and willy-nilly. The idea of the football frenzy with daily/nightly games to compact rounds was introduced to ensure that the season could proceed with the minimum of disruption. However, the Melbourne Football Club was one of two clubs that simply couldn’t avoid disruption and it probably paid a very high price for that eventuality. After destroying the Blues in the first half of the return game and then barely managing to hold on to win by a point, the Demons’ third game was scuppered when Bomber Connor McKenna returned the only positive test of the season. Much later, that game was declared a bye with the encounter rescheduled to the end of the season, meaning that both clubs were deprived of a vital rest during the frenetic second half of the season. Who knows whether the benefit of such a break which was available to all other clubs might have helped the club across the line in those vital games lost in Cairns to Sydney and Fremantle? The club’s season was already on the line when it played its first game for the year on the MCG against Geelong. A sluggish start proved costly for the team which took time to get going and, in the end, a narrowly missed shot at goal by recruit Adam Tomlinson in the last 40 seconds was costly. They performed well against the Tigers but lacked the class to take advantage of opportunities to keep in touch and, as the clubs evacuated Victoria, the possibility of making finals was looking remote. With Melbourne moving up to its first hub home in Sydney, a minor revival was under way. The Demons disposed of Gold Coast and Hawthorn but then faced the top two clubs in Brisbane and Port Adelaide within four days playing out of their new Queensland hub. They nearly stole the match against the Lions at Metricon Stadium but collapsed in a heap to the Power at the Gabba drawing the ire of the club’s Chairman, Glen Bartlett. The tongue lashing had the desired effect with three resounding victories on the trot against Adelaide, North Melbourne and Collingwood that saw the club enter into finals contention. The Demons were raging favourites against the Western Bulldogs but a poor third quarter saw them tumbling to defeat. Melbourne was becoming a team of nomads and their next stint saw the team sneak home by two points in Alice Springs against St Kilda. With four games left of which three were against teams that were out of contention for the finals and the other fading fast, it seemed only a formality that Melbourne would play in the finals. However, there was a catch. The team had to dash across the continent and play two games in four days up in Cairns, the first against Sydney in trying conditions after a long trek out of their hub on the Sunshine Coast. Disaster followed disaster four days later against Fremantle and, despite victories over the Giants and Bombers, a ninth placed finish two points behind Collingwood was the club’s epitaph for 2020. Christian Petracca had a superb season and took third place honours in the Brownlow Medal along with his first Keith “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy. Clayton Oliver was once again imposing as a midfielder although hampered by problem shoulders that required post season surgery. Steven May was outstanding in defence while skipper Max Gawn shrugged off some knee issues and close opposition contact to dominate the club’s ruck. Jack Viney and Christian Salem also stood out during the year while the consistent Ed Langdon was the club’s best recruit and gave great drive from a wing. First year players Luke Jackson, Kysaiah Pickett and Trent Rivers all showed great promise for the future but the experiment with Harley Bennell ended in disappointment after some glimpses of excitement for a reprise of the early days of his career. To make the finals, the club needed more from Tom McDonald and Jake Melksham who were down on their previous standards and it’s to be hoped that 2021 will see them back to their best. What to make of the coach’s year given the challenges of managing a team of nomads and life in the hubs with no second tier competition to gauge his reserve players? We could point to a number of miscalculations with regard to player positions (eg James Harms in defence) and team selections both early in the season and during the period of the cross continent games that ended in the twin debacles in Cairns. All in all however, Simon Goodwin managed a difficult task reasonably well and without too much luck. The fact remains that he will inevitably start 2021 under the pump! The club goes into 2021 with a key on field recruit in full forward Ben Brown, some interesting young recruits, a couple of significant coaching inclusions in premiership coach Mark Williams and former star Adem Yze and high hopes of rising further up the ladder. The club posted a loss of $2.9m thanks mainly to the effect of the pandemic but thanks to some fancy accounting and asset revaluations, we’re not supposed to feel too bad about the result. Like the feeling of always being the bridesmaids and finishing ninth on the ladder again.

Yes but as posted above it may be in smaller groups due to the COVID outbreaks.

Every year people predict the demise of the Cats only to be proven wrong.

Hopefully placating them in preparation for denying them a home final.

Demonland is proud to announce that we will be sponsoring new recruit Fraser Rosman in addition to our sponsorship of Jayden Hunt. Fraser replaces delisted Demon Josh Wagner.

Full AFL Player Number List: 1 – Steven May 2 – Nathan Jones 3 – Christian Salem 4 – James Harmes 5 – Christian Petracca 6 – Luke Jackson 7 – Jack Viney 8 – Jake Lever 9 – Charlie Spargo 10 – Angus Brayshaw 11 – Max Gawn 12 – Toby Bedford 13 – Clayton Oliver 14 – Michael Hibberd 15 – Ed Langdon 16 – Bailey Laurie 17 – Jake Bowey 18 – Jake Melksham 19 – Fraser Rosman 20 – Adam Tomlinson 21 – Marty Hore 22 – Aaron vandenBerg 23 – James Jordon 24 – Trent Rivers 25 – Tom McDonald 26 – Sam Weideman 27 – Aaron Nietschke 29 – Jayden Hunt 30 – Alex Neal-Bullen 31 – Bayley Fritsch 32 – Tom Sparrow 33 – Oskar Baker 35 – Harry Petty 36 – Kysaiah Pickett 37 – Kade Chandler 38 – Mitch Brown 39 – Neville Jetta 41 – Jay Lockhart 44 – Joel Smith 46 – Austin Bradtke 50 – Ben Brown

Geelong in Geelong.

Geelong at Geelong final round

ROUND 1 Saturday March 20 Melbourne v Fremantle, MCG (1:45pm) ROUND 2 Saturday March 27 St Kilda v Melbourne, Marvel Stadium (7:25pm) ROUND 3 Sunday April 4 GWS Giants v Melbourne, Manuka Oval (6:10pm) ROUND 4 Sunday April 11 Melbourne v Geelong Cats, MCG (3:20pm) ROUND 5 Sunday April 18 Hawthorn v Melbourne, MCG (3:20pm) ROUND 6 Saturday April 24 Melbourne v Richmond, MCG (7:25pm) ROUND 7 Times and dates TBA Friday April 30 to Sunday May 2 North Melbourne v Melbourne, Blundstone Arena ROUND 8 Times and dates TBA Friday May 7 to Sunday May 9 Melbourne v Sydney Swans, MCG ROUND 9 Times and dates TBA Friday May 14 to Sunday May 16 Melbourne v Carlton, MCG ROUND 10 Times and dates TBA Friday May 21 to Sunday May 23 Adelaide Crows v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval ROUND 11 Times and dates TBA Friday May 28 to Sunday May 30 Western Bulldogs v Melbourne, Marvel Stadium ROUND 12 Times and dates TBA Friday June 4 to Sunday June 6 Melbourne v Brisbane Lions, TIO Traeger Park ROUND 13 Times and dates TBA Thursday June 10 to Monday June 14 Melbourne v Collingwood, MCG ROUND 14 Times and dates TBA Thursday June 17 to Sunday June 20 Byes: Adelaide Crows, Collingwood, Fremantle, Melbourne, St Kilda, Sydney Swans ROUND 15 Times and dates TBA Thursday June 24 to Sunday June 27 Essendon v Melbourne, MCG ROUND 16 Times and dates TBA Thursday July 1 to Sunday July 4 Melbourne v GWS Giants, MCG ROUND 17 Times and dates TBA Friday July 9 to Sunday July 11 Port Adelaide v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval ROUND 18 Times and dates TBA Friday July 16 to Sunday July 18 Melbourne v Hawthorn, MCG ROUND 19 Times and dates TBA Friday July 23 to Sunday July 25 Gold Coast Suns v Melbourne, Metricon Stadium ROUND 20 Times and dates TBA Friday July 30 to Sunday August 1 Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, MCG ROUND 21 Times and dates TBA Friday August 6 to Sunday August 8 West Coast Eagles v Melbourne, Optus Stadium ROUND 22 Times and dates TBA Friday August 13 to Sunday August 15 Melbourne v Adelaide Crows, MCG ROUND 23 Times and dates TBA Friday August 20 to Sunday August 22 Geelong Cats v Melbourne, GMHBA Stadium

ROUND 1 Thursday March 18 Richmond v Carlton, MCG (7:25pm) Friday March 19 Collingwood v Western Bulldogs, MCG (7:50pm) Saturday March 20 Melbourne v Fremantle, MCG (1:45pm) Adelaide Crows v Geelong Cats, Adelaide Oval (4:35pm) Essendon v Hawthorn, Marvel Stadium (7:25pm) Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans, Gabba (7:45pm) Sunday March 21 North Melbourne v Port Adelaide, Marvel Stadium (1:10pm) GWS Giants v St Kilda, Giants Stadium (3:20pm) West Coast Eagles v Gold Coast Suns, Optus Stadium (6:10pm) ROUND 2 Thursday March 25 Carlton v Collingwood, MCG (7:20pm) Friday March 26 Geelong Cats v Brisbane Lions, GMHBA Stadium (7:50pm) Saturday March 27 Sydney Swans v Adelaide Crows, SCG (1:45pm) Port Adelaide v Essendon, Adelaide Oval (4:35pm) St Kilda v Melbourne, Marvel Stadium (7:25pm) Gold Coast Suns v North Melbourne, Metricon Stadium (8:10pm) Sunday March 28 Hawthorn v Richmond, MCG (1:10pm) Western Bulldogs v West Coast Eagles, Marvel Stadium (3:20pm) Fremantle v GWS Giants, Optus Stadium (6:10pm) ROUND 3 Thursday April 1 Brisbane Lions v Collingwood, Gabba (7:40pm) Friday April 2 North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, Marvel Stadium (4:20pm) Adelaide Crows v Gold Coast Suns, Adelaide Oval (7:50pm) Saturday April 3 Richmond v Sydney Swans, MCG (1:45pm) Essendon v St Kilda, Marvel Stadium (4:35pm) West Coast Eagles v Port Adelaide, Optus Stadium (8:10pm) Sunday April 4 Carlton v Fremantle, Marvel Stadium (3:20pm) GWS Giants v Melbourne, Manuka Oval (6:10pm) Monday April 5 Geelong Cats v Hawthorn, MCG (3:20pm) ROUND 4 Thursday April 8 Sydney Swans v Essendon, SCG (7:20pm) Friday April 9 Port Adelaide v Richmond, Adelaide Oval (7:50pm) Saturday April 10 Western Bulldogs v Brisbane Lions, Mars Stadium (1:45pm) St Kilda v West Coast Eagles, Marvel Stadium (4:35pm) Gold Coast Suns v Carlton, Metricon Stadium (7:25pm) Collingwood v GWS Giants, MCG (7:25pm) Sunday April 11 North Melbourne v Adelaide Crows, Marvel Stadium (1:10pm) Melbourne v Geelong Cats, MCG (3:20pm) Fremantle v Hawthorn, Optus Stadium (4:40pm) ROUND 5 Thursday April 15 St Kilda v Richmond, Marvel Stadium (7:20pm) Friday April 16 West Coast Eagles v Collingwood, Optus Stadium (8:10pm) Saturday April 17 Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast Suns, Marvel Stadium (1:45pm) Sydney Swans v GWS Giants, SCG (4:35pm) Carlton v Port Adelaide, MCG (7:25pm) Brisbane Lions v Essendon, Gabba (7:25pm) Sunday April 18 Adelaide Crows v Fremantle, Adelaide Oval (1:10pm) Hawthorn v Melbourne, MCG (3:20pm) Geelong Cats v North Melbourne, GMHBA Stadium (4:40pm) ROUND 6 Friday April 23 GWS Giants v Western Bulldogs, Manuka Oval (7:50pm) Saturday April 24 Geelong Cats v West Coast Eagles, GMHBA Stadium (1:45pm) Gold Coast Suns v Sydney Swans, Metricon Stadium (1:45pm) Carlton v Brisbane Lions, Marvel Stadium (4:35pm) Melbourne v Richmond, MCG (7:25pm) Fremantle v North Melbourne, Optus Stadium (8:10pm) Sunday April 25 Hawthorn v Adelaide Crows, UTAS Stadium (12:30pm) Collingwood v Essendon, MCG (3:20pm) Port Adelaide v St Kilda, Adelaide Oval (6:40pm) ROUND 7 Times and dates TBA Friday April 30 to Sunday May 2 Adelaide Crows v GWS Giants, Adelaide Oval Brisbane Lions v Port Adelaide, Gabba Collingwood v Gold Coast Suns, MCG Essendon v Carlton, MCG North Melbourne v Melbourne, Blundstone Arena Richmond v Western Bulldogs, MCG St Kilda v Hawthorn, Marvel Stadium Sydney Swans v Geelong Cats, SCG West Coast Eagles v Fremantle, Optus Stadium ROUND 8 Times and dates TBA Friday May 7 to Sunday May 9 Fremantle v Brisbane Lions, Optus Stadium Gold Coast Suns v St Kilda, Metricon Stadium GWS Giants v Essendon, Giants Stadium Hawthorn v West Coast Eagles, MCG Melbourne v Sydney Swans, MCG North Melbourne v Collingwood, Marvel Stadium Port Adelaide v Adelaide Crows, Adelaide Oval Richmond v Geelong Cats, MCG Western Bulldogs v Carlton, Marvel Stadium ROUND 9 Times and dates TBA Friday May 14 to Sunday May 16 Essendon v Fremantle, Marvel Stadium Gold Coast Suns v Brisbane Lions, Metricon Stadium Hawthorn v North Melbourne, UTAS Stadium Melbourne v Carlton, MCG Port Adelaide v Western Bulldogs, Adelaide Oval Richmond v GWS Giants, Marvel Stadium St Kilda v Geelong Cats, Marvel Stadium Sydney Swans v Collingwood, SCG West Coast Eagles v Adelaide Crows, Optus Stadium ROUND 10 Times and dates TBA Friday May 21 to Sunday May 23 Adelaide Crows v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval Brisbane Lions v Richmond, Gabba Carlton v Hawthorn, MCG Collingwood v Port Adelaide, MCG Essendon v North Melbourne, Marvel Stadium Fremantle v Sydney Swans, Optus Stadium Geelong Cats v Gold Coast Suns, GMHBA Stadium GWS Giants v West Coast Eagles, Giants Stadium Western Bulldogs v St Kilda, Marvel Stadium ROUND 11 Times and dates TBA Friday May 28 to Sunday May 30 Brisbane Lions v GWS Giants, Gabba Collingwood v Geelong Cats, MCG Gold Coast Suns v Hawthorn, TIO Stadium Port Adelaide v Fremantle, Adelaide Oval Richmond v Adelaide Crows, MCG St Kilda v North Melbourne, Marvel Stadium Sydney Swans v Carlton, SCG West Coast Eagles v Essendon, Optus Stadium Western Bulldogs v Melbourne, Marvel Stadium ROUND 12 Times and dates TBA Friday June 4 to Sunday June 6 Adelaide Crows v Collingwood, Adelaide Oval Carlton v West Coast Eagles, MCG Essendon v Richmond, MCG Fremantle v Western Bulldogs, Optus Stadium Melbourne v Brisbane Lions, TIO Traeger Park St Kilda v Sydney Swans, Marvel Stadium Byes: Geelong Cats, Gold Coast Suns, GWS Giants, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide ROUND 13 Times and dates TBA Thursday June 10 to Monday June 14 Fremantle v Gold Coast Suns, Optus Stadium Melbourne v Collingwood, MCG North Melbourne v GWS Giants, Blundstone Arena Port Adelaide v Geelong Cats, Adelaide Oval St Kilda v Adelaide Crows, Cazaly’s Stadium Sydney Swans v Hawthorn, SCG Byes: Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, West Coast Eagles, Western Bulldogs ROUND 14 Times and dates TBA Thursday June 17 to Sunday June 20 Geelong Cats v Western Bulldogs, GMHBA Stadium Gold Coast Suns v Port Adelaide, Metricon Stadium GWS Giants v Carlton, Giants Stadium Hawthorn v Essendon, MCG North Melbourne v Brisbane Lions, Marvel Stadium West Coast Eagles v Richmond, Optus Stadium Byes: Adelaide Crows, Collingwood, Fremantle, Melbourne, St Kilda, Sydney Swans ROUND 15 Times and dates TBA Thursday June 24 to Sunday June 27 Brisbane Lions v Geelong Cats, Gabba Carlton v Adelaide Crows, Marvel Stadium Collingwood v Fremantle, Marvel Stadium Essendon v Melbourne, MCG GWS Giants v Hawthorn, Giants Stadium North Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns, Blundstone Arena Port Adelaide v Sydney Swans, Adelaide Oval Richmond v St Kilda, MCG West Coast Eagles v Western Bulldogs, Optus Stadium ROUND 16 Times and dates TBA Thursday July 1 to Sunday July 4 Adelaide Crows v Brisbane Lions, Adelaide Oval Collingwood v St Kilda, MCG Fremantle v Carlton, Optus Stadium Geelong Cats v Essendon, GMHBA Stadium Gold Coast Suns v Richmond, Metricon Stadium Hawthorn v Port Adelaide, Marvel Stadium Melbourne v GWS Giants, MCG Sydney Swans v West Coast Eagles, SCG Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne, Marvel Stadium ROUND 17 Times and dates TBA Friday July 9 to Sunday July 11 Brisbane Lions v St Kilda, Gabba Carlton v Geelong Cats, MCG Essendon v Adelaide Crows, Marvel Stadium GWS Giants v Gold Coast Suns, Giants Stadium Hawthorn v Fremantle, UTAS Stadium Port Adelaide v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval Richmond v Collingwood, MCG West Coast Eagles v North Melbourne, Optus Stadium Western Bulldogs v Sydney Swans, Marvel Stadium ROUND 18 Times and dates TBA Friday July 16 to Sunday July 18 Adelaide Crows v West Coast Eagles, Adelaide Oval Collingwood v Carlton, MCG Fremantle v Geelong Cats, Optus Stadium Gold Coast Suns v Western Bulldogs, Metricon Stadium GWS Giants v Sydney Swans, Giants Stadium Melbourne v Hawthorn, MCG North Melbourne v Essendon, Marvel Stadium Richmond v Brisbane Lions, MCG St Kilda v Port Adelaide, Marvel Stadium ROUND 19 Times and dates TBA Friday July 23 to Sunday July 25 Carlton v North Melbourne, Marvel Stadium Essendon v GWS Giants, Marvel Stadium Geelong Cats v Richmond, MCG Gold Coast Suns v Melbourne, Metricon Stadium Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions, MCG Port Adelaide v Collingwood, Adelaide Oval Sydney Swans v Fremantle, SCG West Coast Eagles v St Kilda, Optus Stadium Western Bulldogs v Adelaide Crows, Mars Stadium ROUND 20 Times and dates TBA Friday July 30 to Sunday August 1 Adelaide Crows v Hawthorn, Adelaide Oval Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast Suns, Gabba Collingwood v West Coast Eagles, MCG Essendon v Sydney Swans, Marvel Stadium Fremantle v Richmond, Optus Stadium GWS Giants v Port Adelaide, Manuka Oval Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, MCG North Melbourne v Geelong Cats, Blundstone Arena St Kilda v Carlton, Marvel Stadium ROUND 21 Times and dates TBA Friday August 6 to Sunday August 8 Adelaide Crows v Port Adelaide, Adelaide Oval Brisbane Lions v Fremantle, Gabba Carlton v Gold Coast Suns, Marvel Stadium Geelong Cats v GWS Giants, GMHBA Stadium Hawthorn v Collingwood, MCG Richmond v North Melbourne, MCG Sydney Swans v St Kilda, SCG West Coast Eagles v Melbourne, Optus Stadium Western Bulldogs v Essendon, Marvel Stadium ROUND 22 Times and dates TBA Friday August 13 to Sunday August 15 Collingwood v Brisbane Lions, Marvel Stadium Fremantle v West Coast Eagles, Optus Stadium Geelong Cats v St Kilda, GMHBA Stadium Gold Coast Suns v Essendon, Metricon Stadium GWS Giants v Richmond, Giants Stadium Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs, UTAS Stadium Melbourne v Adelaide Crows, MCG North Melbourne v Sydney Swans, Marvel Stadium Port Adelaide v Carlton, Adelaide Oval ROUND 23 Times and dates TBA Friday August 20 to Sunday August 22 Adelaide Crows v North Melbourne, Adelaide Oval Brisbane Lions v West Coast Eagles, Gabba Carlton v GWS Giants, Marvel Stadium Essendon v Collingwood, MCG Geelong Cats v Melbourne, GMHBA Stadium Richmond v Hawthorn, MCG St Kilda v Fremantle, Marvel Stadium Sydney Swans v Gold Coast Suns, SCG Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide, Marvel Stadium

Here’s the entire Preseason Fixture.

Thank you for your service. Let us know how it goes and how much you can still see from behind the fence. I'd love to head down before the Christmas break but not if it's comparable to sitting in row MM of the Ponsford stand. Apologies in advance to @Supermercado

With some things my memory is a sieve but somehow I remember the most inane things. We didn’t get to see much of Harley and perhaps not physically being at games and getting a wide view of games resulted in me not recalling.