Demonland

Training by candlelight?

WTF?!

Does this mean Sydney & GWS will have to hub in Queensland (or another state)? Hopefully it’s Queensland so we don’t have to fly to play them.

Melbourne’s recent win against Hawthorn highlighted how important Max Gawn’s ruck domination is for the team. A week later however, that domination continued but its effect was totally blunted by the Brisbane Lions midfield and, as a consequence, what could have been an easy win over a leading AFL contender turned into a disappointing but close loss and a sense of desperation now looms over the club as the halfway mark of the season approaches. This week’s opponent in Port Adelaide also understood the need to undermine Gawn’s influence but applied a different tactic when the teams last met in the 2019 season opener. This involved attacking Gawn with physical aggression, whether legal or otherwise and it worked beautifully. In both instances, the Demons failed not only because they lost the ruck battles but because there were also other factors at work. Poor forward conversion lost the game against the Lions and a lack of ability to run out the game was a telling factor last year. For this week’s game, the latter issue appears to have been dealt with, thanks to the hard work and expertise of new fitness guru Darren Burgess. The problems in front of goal and inability to capitalise on a champion ruckman remain intact and given the importance of winning this game to the Melbourne Football Club’s cause, they need to be solved or at least covered by Thursday evening because the Power are not the top side in the competition for nothing. Nor will they be complacent about things in this game as they are smarting after a rare loss on home soil. What Melbourne does have going for it this time around is that it has a list that is reasonably fit and strong and Port Adelaide might not find the Gabba to its liking either. The backline is also coming together and it was a touch unfortunate that an officious goal umpire lost the plot when Jake Lever marked and released the ball to the fat side of the ground in the game’s dying moments last week. So how do the Demons go about getting things right? Gawn and the midfield have to take the responsibility for converting opportunities and this requires some flexibility at the stoppages. The only initiative the Melbourne rucks took last week in this area was by refraining to nominate for the ruck contest leaving a bemused Oscar McInerney on his own to get the hit out. The surprise aspect of such a tactic has a short shelf life and didn’t make a difference anyway at Metricon Stadium on Sunday night. Perhaps the coaches and players involved might get together and come up with a couple of strategies to deal with the situation - some versatility and adaptability around the ball at stoppages on the night is called for because you simply can’t keep on making the same errors throughout a game and expect to come out on top. I’m hoping that the forwards and on ballers all watch the vision of St Kilda from their game against Port Adelaide. If they can replicate the Saints they will be well on the way to victory. Karen the psychic from Bunnings thinks the Demons will get up and I’m inclined to agree. I just have a feeling that the desperation of the moment will be enough to get them through by the narrowest of margins. Melbourne by 1 point. THE GAME Melbourne v Port Adelaide on Thursday 30 July, 2020 at 7.50pm at The Gabba HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 13 wins Port Adelaide 20 wins At the Gabba Melbourne 0 wins Port Adelaide 0 wins Past five meetings Port Adelaide 4 wins, Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Goodwin 1 win Hinkley 2 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy 7.45pm live RADIO - THE LAST TIME THEY MET Port Adelaide 12.15.87 defeated Melbourne 9.7.61 Round 1, 2019 at the MCG On a warm, humid day the Demons started strongly with the game’s first three goals and while, for much of the afternoon, the teams remained within a couple of goals of each other, Port Adelaide dominated the final quarter keeping their hosts scoreless for the entire term. The Port big men ganged up on Max Gawn and for once they kept the Demons’ big man down. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE FB Jay Lockhart Oscar McDonald Jake Lever HB Christian Salem Steven May Michael Hibberd C Ed Langdon Clayton Oliver Tom Sparrow HF Jake Melksham Sam Weideman Angus Brayshaw FF Kysaiah Pickett Mitch Hannan Tom McDonald FOL Max Gawn Christian Petracca Jack Viney I/C Bayley Fritsch Luke Jackson Nathan Jones James Harmes, EM Neville Jetta Alex Neal-Bullen Charlie Spargo Adam Tomlinson IN Tom McDonald Tom Sparrow OUT Harley Bennell (managed) Neville Jetta (omitted) PORT ADELAIDE FB Sam Mayes Tom Clurey Jarrod Lienert HB Hamish Hartlett Tom Jonas Darcy Byrne-Jones C Xavier Duursma Ollie Wines Karl Amon HF Sam Powell-Pepper Brad Ebert Connor Rozee FF Zak Butters Charlie Dixon Robbie Gray FOL Peter Ladhams Dan Houston Travis Boak I/C Kane Farrell Mitch Georgiades Tom Rockliff Justin Westhoff EM Riley Bonner Willem Drew Joel Garner Boyd Woodcock IN Jarrod Lienert Tom Rockliff OUT Riley Bonner (soreness) Todd Marshall (broken thumb) Injury List: Round 9 Aaron vandenBerg (fractured cheekbone) – 1 week Marty Hore (toe and quad) – indefinite Harry Petty (groin) – indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – indefinite Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season

Who are you tipping this week round?

Adrian will be joining us on the Demonland Podcast this Friday LIVE at 8:30pm to discuss the Podcast and talk about this dark time for the club.

One of the most highly anticipated sporting podcasts is here, No Merger. The four-part docuseries delves into the truth behind the failed merger of Melbourne and Hawthorn. What happened broke friendships and tarnished legacies forever. Told through conversations with the people at the front of the controversy, including former AFL CEO, Ross Oakley, acclaimed AFL journalist Mike Sheahan, Demon Alternative co-founder Mark Jenkins, Operation Payback frontman Don Scott, ex-Melbourne coach Neile Balme, former players Jason Dunstall, Alastair Clarkson, Andrew Leoncelli, appearances from Demon Army cheersquad leader Sophie Galer, diehard Demons supporter Gary Marchant, and many many more! Sydney based actor Ditch Davey, who recently joined the cast of Home & Away, features as the voice actor of ex-Melbourne president, Ian Ridley, who passed away in 2008. The podcast pre-launched yesterday with front and back page attention in the Herald Sun, featuring Don Scott's claims that Hawthorn were breaching the salary cap in the 80s. The news was syndicated and picked up via Seven, Nine, Fox Sports, The Age and other various outlets. Listen via the following platforms or wherever you get your podcasts! Apple: https://apple.co/2X5ZOUq Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3hIy000 iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2X0yo22 Adrian from Podular Media and The DeeBrief, one of the producers of the series, kindly passed on this episodic breakdown of the series. Episode 1 - LIVE NOW In the mid 80s, the AFL began to go through its most transformative period. The appointment of Ross Oakley as CEO, saw struggling Victorian clubs' futures brought into question. Melbourne Football Club became embroiled in a number of these discussions, while Fitzroy were relocated and merged with the Brisbane Bears. Unhappy Hawks | 2 - Published on Tuesday, August 4 Hawthorn Football Club are the most successful AFL team of the past six decades. Despite their dominance in the 80s and early 90s they were an organisation on their knees. It begs the question - how could such a star-studded team find themselves in such a position? The 'Merger Match' | 3 - Published on Tuesday, August 11 When the Herald Sun broke the story of a merger between Melbourne and Hawthorn it sent shockwaves through the football community. Anti-merger groups were formed and the battle lines to preserve the identity of two historic football clubs drawn. The battle between economic rationality and passion had begun. Vicious Vote Night | 4 - Published on Tuesday, August 18 The Demon Alternative and Operation Payback scrambled to get last minute press ahead of the Members' Vote Night. Wild scenes greeted the pro-merger Boards, as the merger descended into a night of utter chaos. Vicious taunts and toxicity pervaded the Dallas Brooks Hall and Camberwell Civic Centre, where both sets of supporters would decide upon the future of their football clubs. I'm sure this will one stir our emotions throughout listening to the series! Thankfully, they were able to uncover some important information around the dubious nature of the vote night [in episode 4], which I know is a sore spot for many. And there's a big revelation in episode 2, as Adrian was informing me, about a misconception that still lingers around like a bad smell - keep an ear out for that one. It's an engrossing listen, you'll be hooked and no doubt it'll generate great debate here on Demonland.

Injury List Aaron vandenBerg Cheekbone | 1 Game Marty Hore Toe & Quad | Indefinite Harry Petty Groin | Indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij Head | Indefinite Aaron Nietschke Knee | Season

Injury List Aaron vandenBerg Cheekbone | 1 Game Marty Hore Toe & Quad | Indefinite Harry Petty Groin | Indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij Head | Indefinite Aaron Nietschke Knee | Season

Exactly. They weren't even free kicks. If anything the Lions player should have been penalised for dropping the ball. Farce.

?

Here's the Petracca one earlier.

At the time I thought Fritsch was paid the 50 against for "milking the fall" which he may have but he was visibly pushed down in front of the umpire.

It’s getting tight up at the top! 79. Max Gawn 73. Christian Petracca 67. Jack Viney 46. Clayton Oliver 38. Steven May 21. Ed Langdon 20. Jake Lever 19. Michael Hibberd 13. Oscar McDonald 12. Angus Brayshaw 7. James Harmes 6. Mitch Hannan Jake Melksham Kysaiah Pickett Trent Rivers 5. Adam Tomlinson 4. Tom McDonald Christian Salem 3. Jayden Hunt Sam Weideman 2. Jay Lockhart

Due to the compacted fixture over the next few weeks the Demonland Podcast will be airing LIVE at different days than usual. Join @george_on_the_outer, @binman & I LIVE tonight 27/7 at 8:30pm to discuss the disappointing 4 point loss to Brisbane. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Sounds like it was more sophisticated than Brown Paper Bags unless that is how banking is done in Tasmania. "Scott said club chiefs used a secret bank account in Tasmania to pay some of team’s biggest stars under the table. He has cited impeccable sources with full knowledge of the scheme."

Melbourne went down by 4 points in a thrilling finish against Brisbane, but they failed by more than the 4 points. They also failed to score the 4 points necessary to keep them in the race for the finals, and now find themselves sitting 6 points outside the top 8, but effectively 2 games outside (even though they have a game in hand). The Demons had more than enough opportunities to win. Six very easy shots on goal failed to bother the goal umpire with a major and ultimately this cost them the game. Five of those shots were from set shots inside the 50m arc. Weideman failed 3 times, Harmes and Fritsch once. Bennell missed an absolute “soda” running into the open goal, and those fails in essence determined the outcome. Discipline, or rather lack of it, also contributed heavily when in the dying minutes Bayley Fritsch conceded a 50m penalty after the side had fought to move the ball into the forward half threatening to steal the match. On a slippery wet surface, the game was always going to be a slog. The Demons should have had a huge advantage in the form of Max Gawn, but failed to take that advantage. A massive 41 hitouts didn’t give the side first chance at the ball, but the other mids failed to capitalise. Brisbane time and time again, snapped up the outside ball, usually after a Melbourne mid had touched it. All of Max’s efforts went for nothing as Brisbane recorded 35 clearances to Melbourne’s 22. And despite coming close in the game, the forwards failed the side badly. The failure to kick straight, particularly from set shots was bad enough, but in a recurring theme, too many of them simply aren’t getting their hands on the ball. Only Fritsch and Melksham scored goals as forwards, and 2 of those were from off the ground kicks in the goal square. Weidemann 6 touches, Hannan 4, Fritsch 6, Jackson 8, and Pickett 5 whichever way you look at it, is a forward line that failed. The backs in contrast held up their end of the bargain. Remember Brisbane now sit equal top of the ladder, yet they were held to 7 goals for the game, and telling final touches from Lever, Lockhart and McDonald denied them major scores. Together, they are operating efficiently, although Neville Jetta failed to show his best form, and two head knocks in the game may pave the way for his passage from the side, especially with only a 4 day break. This was a game that could have been won. Given the chances that the Demons had, it was a game that should have been won. Now facing Port Adelaide, the other top side in the competition, on the coming Thursday night, there is one final chance for the team to put themselves back in contention. The path to finals football is getting narrower and with a shortened season, may close off with another fail. It is now up to the players to show a lot more, and ensure that the 2020 season is not just another fail itself. MELBOURNE 2.2.14 3.3.21 4.6.30 7.7.49 BRISBANE LIONS 2.2.14 5.5.35 7.6.48 7.11.53 GOALS Melbourne Melksham 3 Fritsch 2 Jones Viney Brisbane Lions Cameron 2 Bailey Hipwood McCarthy Rayner Zorko BEST Melbourne Oliver Gawn Viney Melksham Petracca Lever Brisbane Lions Neale Lyons McCluggage Bailey Zorko Starcevich INJURIES Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Daniel Rich (hamstring) REPORTS Melbourne Nil Brisbane Lions Nil UMPIRES VENUE Metricon Stadium