Demonland

GOT AWAY by KC from Casey There was a stage deep in the third term of the game at Casey Fields when UTS Giants fans were deep in despair. Three and a half minutes of time on had elapsed, the rains were coming down, the wind was howling and the lights on the scoreboard on the outer brightly shone like a distress signal as their team’s season sagged on the line - • Casey Demons 6 goals 9 behinds 45 points • UWS Giants 3 goals 3 behinds 21 points. The Giants were being dominated in the wet conditions and while the deficit of four goals was not insurmountable, it looked impossible. The fact of the matter was that but for the home side’s inaccuracy in front of goals, their season would have already been well and truly sunk. As it turned out, there was no need to panic. The Giants’ winning key forward Max Gruzewski was about to boot through his fourth goal to raise their faint hopes of a revival. When the siren sounded to signal three quarter time he was still their only goal kicker and they trailed by 20 points. Then followed eighteen frenetic minutes to remember as the Giants added another four goals (including Max Gruzewski’s fifth in a row) to Casey’s four behinds to level the scores at 51 each another nine minutes before Callum Brown kicked a point to put the team in front. That was enough to win it but, for good measure, they added another at a little over a minute left. The final score board flashed - • Casey Demons 6 goals 15 behinds 51 points • UWS Giants 9 goals 4 behinds 58 points. The final score would have been familiar to a couple of AFL premiership players in Tom Sparrow and Lachie Hunter who played in similarly unfriendly conditions in Alice Springs against the Giants last year (5.15.45 to 7.5.47) so they would be well aware that the adage about bad kicking being bad football is so very much an important indicator of how games in this sport are won and lost. To a lesser extent the AFL Demons learned the same lesson last night. The defeat was certainly not the fault of either of those players. Sparrow entered the fray determined to atone for his omission from the Melbourne team with 31 disposals, nine tackles and nine clearances. One of those tackles was a bone jarring tackle that showed his teammates the way as they began their period of dominance in the second and third quarters. Even when the Giants’ revival was on the cards, he was burrowing in hard for the football to will his team home. Hunter finished with 18 possessions, three marks and a couple of tackles after resting on the bench in the game’s early stages. Other Melbourne listed players to do well were Tom Fullarton with 25 disposals, 16 hitouts, ten clearances and o goal and defenders Marty Hore and Adam Tomlinson was strong with 23 and 22 touches respectively. Matthew Jefferson continues to showcase a future of promise with his 17 disposals but could have learned from Gruzewski when it came to accuracy in front of the big sticks. His only goal from four shots came from a long way out. Young rookies in Ollie Sestan and Will Verrall showed that they remain worthy of perseverance going into the future. Mitch White was once again the leader of the pack of VFL listed players along with Tyson Edwards but in the main this cohort tired badly in the end along with many of the AFL listed players who struggled to find touch in the difficult conditions in a game that got away. CASEY DEMONS 2.2.14 4.5.29 6.11.47 6.15.51 UWS GIANTS 2.2.14 3.3.21 4.3.27 9.4.58 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Bell Fullarton Jefferson Verrall White Yze UWS GIANTS Gruzewski 5 Delana Hebron Wardius Wehr BEST CASEY DEMONS Sparrow Hore Fullarton White Jefferson Sestan Fullarton UWS GIANTS Gruzewski Haynes Leake Brown Stone Angwin Statistics Jack Bell 1 goals 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 2 marks 22 dream team points Kynan Brown 3 kicks 7 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 54 dream team points Tyler Edwards 9 kicks 7 handballs 16 disposals 1 mark 41 dream team points Tom Fullarton 1 goal 1 behind 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 16 hitouts 95 dream team points Roy George 3 behinds 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 44 dream team points Max Gregory 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 17 dream team points Blake Howes 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 33 dream team points Marty Hore 17 kicks 6 handballs 23 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 97 dream team points Lachie Hunter 1 behind 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 66 dream team points Matt Jefferson 1 goal 3 behinds 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 73 dream team points Luker Kentfield 1 behind 4 kicks 4 disposals 1 mark 15 dream team points Nick Moodie kicks handballs disposals marks tackles 41 dream team points Harvey Neocleous kicks handballs disposals marks tackles dream team points Charlie Peters 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 4 tackles 48 dream team points Josh Schache 6 kicks 1 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 30 dream team points Ollie Sestan 1 behind 12 kicks 3 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 79 dream team points Tom Sparrow 1 behind 17 kicks 14 handballs 31 disposals 4 marks 9 tackles 133 dream team points Roan Steele 12 kicks 3 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 64 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 17 kicks 4 handballs 21 disposals 8 marks 78 dream team points Will Verrall 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 11 hitouts 64 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 16 kicks 5 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 86 dream team points Kai Windsor 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 42 dream team points Noah Yze 1 goals 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 57 dream team points

The Demons head over to Marvel Stadium for the first time this season when they take on the Western Bulldogs on Friday Night. Who comes in and who goes out?

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 29th July @ 7:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we analyse the Demons loss at the MCG against the Giant in the Round 20. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Steven May shot up the leaderboard last week and sits in 2nd place behind returning Captain Max Gawn. Christian Petracca, Jack Viney & Alex Neal-Bullen round out the Top 5. Your 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. votesd

Despite being in the hunt for most of the game the Demons capitulated early in the last quarter against the Giants before mounting a comeback but falling short by 2 points effectively ending our 2024 season.

It's Game Day and this could be the Demons last roll of the dice for their chances at making finals this season as the come face to face with the hot and cold GWS Giants tonight at the MCG in a true 8 point game.

Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

What's our record coming up against coaches that have just re-signed? @Supermercado

“Just my opinion, there’s no world that I’d be changing or trading Clayton Oliver. There’s no footy world where I follow that I would contemplate trading Clayton Oliver,” Lyon said on SEN. Oliver signed a monster contract extension in 2022 which ties him to Melbourne on a $1m-season deal until 2030. Lyon said he would hand back his membership if the Demons paid any portion of Oliver’s deal while he played for another club. “If they paid another club to take him, that’d be the last straw,” he said. The former Demons skipper said with the emergence of Trent Rivers and return of Christian Petracca in 2025, Oliver could recapture his mantle as one of the AFL’s premier midfielders. “He’s 27 years old, he’s won four best-and-fairests, he’s won two coaches awards, he’s a premiership player. He’s a superstar of the game who is in a bit of a hole, relatively. He’s still averaging 25 touches,” he said. Lyon added: “If you believe everything you read he’s like a 10-possession player that can’t impact. He’s nowhere near his peak. But we know his issues. “We know how well documented they are. And if I’m the Melbourne footy club, I’m looking at him as getting through this year, hopefully still playing good footy and then cracking in, big summer, Petracca back, midfield going and go again.”

Everyone always comes back against us.

With no proof that this isn't the case I think it's safe to assume that it was Ed. 😜

"I think we have got a team that can win a premiership, and if we get in this year, I don't think there is a team that is going to want to play us. This year is not a write-off, I don't concede that. Not at all." — Collingwood President Jeff Browne. I love this sort of optimism from the Magpie President after his club’s eleven goal defeat at the hands of the fast rising Hawks. It’s consistent with the fighting spirit of the club that won last year’s flag. I only wish I could say the same about Melbourne after its own heart-wrenching capitulation to Fremantle last Sunday. However, despite the imminent return of captain Max Gawn for Saturday night’s clash against the GWS Giants and the fact that the team still sits ever so close to the top eight, there’s a pall of gloom over the club. That’s due to the inconsistency of performance that we’ve witnessed throughout the year both during games and between matches. How could the team go from crushing the previously undefeated Cats in the final quarter of their Round 8 clash to opening with nothing to five straight goals in Round 9 against Carlton and then come home with a rush at the end to just lose? How do you explain a brilliant attacking third term against the Saints followed by a near 100 point capitulation in Alice Springs a week later? A pulsating eight goal second quarter in Brisbane to go goalless in the final term and concede the same match? Or last week’s humiliating total inability to win the ball at stoppages with the previous week’s heroic attack on the football against the Bombers? Perhaps it’s the number of young, inexperienced players or the missing ruckman or the superstar upon whose shoulders they rely heavily, premiership midfielders out of form or a tiring flight interstate? These are all excuses — this week is their last chance. Perform, or most likely sit out the business end of the season with the likes of Collingwood and one or two other prospective finalists while the likes of Hawthorn shoot up the ladder for a taste of September action. The Giants are potentially vulnerable because they, like the Demons, perform their best at home and are shaky away from their own nest. However, Melbourne desperately needs to mix up its repertoire to drag itself out of the hot and cold routine rut that it has found itself in this season. With this week’s game to be played in front of a majority crowd of its own fans at the MCG, I would like to see the selectors try something different and pick two ruckmen to play in the ruck. Give Will Verrall the opportunity to be understudy to the best ruckman in the competition and give Harry Petty and Jacob van Rooyen roles as key position forwards. The idea might sound a little unconventional but who knows, it might help bring some consistency into the Demon equation. My own accuracy in tipping winners this year has been a little inconsistent so please forgive me for tipping the Giants who seem more focused on winning at the moment, to salute the judges by a margin of 23 points at the end of the night. THE GAME Melbourne v GWS Giants at the MCG, Saturday 27 July 2024 at 7:30pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall – Melbourne 9 wins GWS Giants 8 wins At the MCG – Melbourne 5 wins GWS Giants 3 wins Past five meetings – Melbourne 2 wins GWS Giants 3 wins The Coaches – Goodwin 0 wins Kingsley 1 win THE LAST TIME THEY MET GWS Giants 7.5.47 Melbourne 5.15.45 at TIO Traeger Park, Round 16 2023 They say that bad kicking is bad football. Melbourne played some bad football on an unseasonably wet and wild day in the red heart of the country. It was all over the Giants but failed time and time to convert with a kick from outside fifty by Josh Kelly finding its way through the goals to give them the lead late in the game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B Tom McDonald, S. May, J. McVee HB J. Bowey, J. Lever, A. Moniz-Wakefield C E. Langdon, C. Oliver, C. Windsor HF K. Pickett, J. van Rooyen, J. Melksham F K. Chandler, B. Fritsch, H. Petty FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, T. Rivers I/C J. Billings, B. Laurie, A. Neal-Bullen, D. Turner, T. Woewodin EMG K. Brown, B. Howes, T. Sparrow IN M. Gawn, B. Laurie, T. Woewodin OUT C. Salem (hamstring), T. Sparrow (omitted), K. Tholstrup (concussion) GWS GIANTS B C. Idun, J. Buckley, H. Himmelberg HB L. Whitfield, S. Taylor, H. Perryman C C. Ward, T. Green, T. McMullin HF B. Daniels, Jake Riccardi, T. Bedford F T. Greene, J. Hogan, D. Jones FOLL K. Briggs, F. Callaghan, J. Peatling I/C L. Ash A. Cadman, J. Fonti, X. O’Halloran, H. Thomas EMG N. Haynes, L. Keeffe, C. Stone IN S. Taylor OUT I. Cummings (hamstring) Injury List: Round 20 Lachie Hunter — calf / available Max Gawn — ankle / test Jed Adams — lung / 1 week Koltyn Tholstrup — concussion / 1 - 2 weeks Christian Salem — hamstring / 3 - 4 weeks Charlie Spargo — Achilles / season Christian Petracca — spleen / indefinite