Demonland

The final score in Saturday's game against Hawthorn was almost identical to that from their last contest three months ago. Melbourne suffered comprehensive defeats in both games, but the similarities ended there. When they met in Round 9, the Demons were resurgent, seeking to redeem themselves after a lacklustre start to the season. They approached the game with vigour and dynamism, and were highly competitive for the first three quarters, during which they were at least on par with the Hawks. In the final term, they lapsed into error and were ultimately overrun, but the final result did not accurately reflect their effort and commitment throughout the match. SCOREBOARD May 10 2025 They were on the comeback trail and it was a precursor to their best performances of the season. In the weeks to come they prevailed over both of last year’s grand finalists and not long after, came ever so close to besting the league leaders Collingwood on the big stage at the MCG on Kings Birthday. Yesterday, they went into the game after a reasonable run of form in close contests on what has been a disappointing and bumpy road to season's end that saw the dethroning of their premiership coach. The players, young and old, should have been keen to impress the potential contenders (if indeed, there is more than one) for the coaching vacancy, and, absent that, to avenge the earlier defeat or at least play for the pride of the jumper. They failed on all scores, were sad and lacklustre from the opening bounce, were smashed at the stoppages and played without any urgency or energy until the very end of the game, when the Hawks had already packed up their tent with their thoughts on things to come. The result flattered the Demons. SCOREBOARD August 16 2025 The game opened badly for the Demons, who once again fell victim to AFL score review after only 45 seconds when Dylan Moore’s snap over his shoulder was paid a goal. The replay appeared to show that Trent Rivers’ finger was bent back in touching the ball, and Moore even signalled to teammates to set up for a kick-in. The verdict went against Melbourne again, and things only went from bad to worse after that. We anticipate another apology from the AFL early next week. The game marked a reversion to Melbourne's established habits and issues with forward connection, with only eight goals from 56 entries inside-50, in contrast to Hawthorn's 13 goals from 49 at nearly double the conversion rate. Over the weeks since the midseason bye, the club had averaged 92 points per game. That figure crashed to 56 and remember, the Demons' tally was boosted by three straight junk-time goals in the final three or four minutes of play. Hawk veteran Jack Gunston toyed with their veteran 250-game player Steven May before Blake Howes was put on him with barely any effect. The usual Kudos must again go to skipper Max Gawn for valiantly holding things together. His more experienced lieutenants, namely Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Christian Salem and Jack Viney stood up well but they were some way from their very best and that is where the alarm bells should start ringing. I mentioned earlier that the team was monstered at the stoppages, yet the inclusion of those names in the best players sends a clear message to the incoming coach. It’s understandable that younger players tend to lose focus and energy towards the end of a long campaign but when your more experienced players are among your best and yet are struggling in their areas of expertise, then significant changes should be expected at this level when the team comes under new management. There are no comebacks from this. MELBOURNE 1.0.6 2.3.15 4.3.27 8.8.56 HAWTHORN 5.3.33 7.7.49 10.10.70 13.14.92 GOALS MELBOURNE Petty van Rooyen 2 Chandler Langford Oliver Pickett HAWTHORN Gunston 7 Moore 2 Breust Dear Macdonald Watson BEST MELBOURNE Gawn Oliver Petracca Viney Salem Petty HAWTHORN Gunston Moore Macdonald Impey Newcombe Amon Sicily INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil HAWTHORN Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil HAWTHORN Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Jake Melksham (replaced Tom McDonald at half-time) HAWTHORN Luke Breust (replaced Nick Watson in the third quarter) UMPIRES Nathan Toner Brent Wallace Martin Rodger Nicholas McGinness CROWD 53,871 at The MCG

The Nibbler Effect

The final game of the 2025 Season is finally upon us and the Demons may have an opportunity to spoil the Magpies Top 4 aspirations when they face them on Friday Night. Who comes in and who goes out?

Max Gawn cannot lose the 2025 Demonland Player of the Year award. He leads from Kozzy Pickett, Christian Petracca, Jake Bowey and Clayton Oliver. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

The Demons were sloppy all day and could not stop the run and carry of the fast moving Hawthorn as the Hawks cruised to an easy 36 point win. Is the season over yet?

Kozzy does not want the footy.

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 18th August @ 8:00pm. Join Binman & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Hawthorn. Your 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. Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

May as well open The Trade, Draft & Free Agency Board. https://demonland.com/forums/forum/38-trade-draft-free-agency/

It's Game Day and the Demons have another opportunity to spoil another team's finals aspirations as they take on the Hawks at the MCG. What do you want to see from the boys today?

I guess no one knows who is second in the one man race.

Elite level click bait

A bit of reverse psychology.

Who are you tipping this week?

The Dogs reigned supreme in 2018 with an inaugural AFLW premiership cup and the Demons matched this feat by winning the cup as the Season 7 2022 champions. Meggs wasn’t born when the Doggies won their first men's VFL premiership cup against the Demons in 1954. Covid prevented many Demons fans from legally witnessing the victorious 2021 AFL Grand Final cup performance between the Demons and the Bulldogs, but we all grin when remembering those magnificent seven unanswered third quarter goals. The Demons' women return to the Whitten Oval this Saturday night to play the Western Bulldogs in the opening round of Season 2025 under lights. This time the winner will hold the Hampson-Hardeman Cup, in honour of two women who were founders of the national women’s football competition. Exhibition games were played in 2013-2016 between the Demons and the Bulldogs which were a precursor to formation of the AFLW league. The original eight teams in 2017 have expanded to eighteen teams in 2025. So, after a decade of junior football, the pathway from Auskick to being drafted to an AFLW team has been fully formed. Now a gripe. The AFLW scheduling is not ideal this week with the Demons men’s match finishing around 7pm at the MCG and the women’s match at Whitten Oval commencing at 7:35pm. Any travelling fan will likely miss the pre-game entertainment of Tigerlily and Nat Sax plus a planned celebration of the game’s pioneers. The weather prediction is cold with some rain, but more exciting news is we have 3 debutants! Molly O’Hehir (lightning quick tall back), Maggie Mahony(talented mid playing as a small forward) and Laela Ebert(skillful half back) have all been super impressive in pre-season and are ready to unleash their football superpowers on the AFLW stage. Good luck girls! Selection this week With nine names on the official injury list, some supporters may despair thinking shades of Season 2024. No need to panic (well not yet anyways). Three players are listed as ‘Test’, with Kate Hore and Maeve Chaplin selected and Sinead Goldrick an emergency. However, we will need to get used to being without our gun key defensive colossus, Tahlia Gillard, who is out for most of the 2025 Season. Saraid ‘Raid’ Taylor steps up to mind the gorilla forwards and will have plenty of experienced support in Lampard, Chaplin, and young debutants O’Hehir and Ebert. It’s great to see Blaithin Mackin named after injuring herself play Irish football and Lily Johnson will be pleased to be selected, needing to make the most of her opportunity. Meggs view The Demons were impressive with practice match wins against heavyweights Hawthorn and Adelaide. Paxy Paxman is turning back time with her phenomenal preseason form and other standouts have been Eliza McNamara, Megan Fitzsimon and Eden Zanker. Meggs is bullish on our prospects this year and expects that the depth of our midfield talent and forward craft will be too strong for the Bulldogs on Saturday. Wet weather footy will require a different approach. The Bulldogs practice match form included an impressive 16-point win over the reigning premiers North Melbourne and a draw in Perth against West Coast Eagles. The mighty Ellie Blackburn returns for the Bulldogs but new skip De Berry is out with a hamstring. Ruck Alice Edmonds will challenge, and a number of fleetfooted youngsters will too. Good luck to Bulldogs debutant Sarah Poustie, a helmeted tallish mid who’ll be wearing the number 1. The Doggies are likely to struggle to hold the Demons from scoring this week. Go Dees! If you're heading to Whitten Oval, rug up and get loud — the girls deserve a roaring start to Season 10! Go Dees! Melbourne to hold up the Hampson-Hardeman Cup after an 18 point win! THE GAME Round 1: Western Bulldogs v Melbourne Saturday 16 August 2025 at 7:35pm (Melbourne time) at Mission Whitten Oval, Melbourne – Wurundjeri/ Boon Wurrung HEAD TO HEAD (including Exhibition matches) Overall Melbourne 10 wins Western Bulldogs 4 wins At Whitten Oval Melbourne 3 wins Western Bulldogs 3 wins The Coaches Stinear 0 wins Hyatt 0 wins MEDIA TV – 7, 7Plus, FOXTEL, Kayo. Mobile – AFL Live Official App THE LAST TIME THEY MET Season 8 Round 3 Surfing the post Season 7 premiership high, Melbourne started 2023 on fire, breaking scoring records. Melbourne Coach Mick Stinear, while pleased with 12 goals and a win, was unhappy with the defensive lapses during the match. Hanksy and Eliza Mac were the dominant ball winners, while Paxy, Edo, Kate, Mitho, and ‘resting forward’ Maddie Gay all scored braces. MELBOURNE 2.3 5.7 8.7 12.11 (83) WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.2 3.3 6.5 6.5 (41) GOALS Melbourne: Gay 2, Mithen 2, Hore 2, Zanker 2, Paxman 2, Sherriff, Hanks Western Bulldogs: Lamb 2, Berry, Wilcox, McLeod, McFarlane BEST Melbourne: Hanks, McNamara, Hore, Pearce, Gay, Paxman Western Bulldogs: Blackburn, Lynch, Lamb, Pritchard, Wilcox INJURIES Melbourne: Bannan (ankle), Gay (hip) Western Bulldogs: Wilcox (knee) REPORTS Melbourne: Nil Western Bulldogs: Nil CROWD 1,457 at Casey Fields Melbourne 12.11 (83) defeated Western Bulldogs 6.5 (41 at Casey Fields, 16 September 2023 THIS WEEK’S TEAMS MELBOURNE B: L. Ebert S. Taylor HB: M. O’Hehir S. Lampard M. Chaplin C: P. Paxman T. Hanks E. McNamara HF: M. Mahony A. Bannan E. Zanker F: K. Hore T. Harris FOLL: L. Pearce O. Purcell S. Heath I/C: B. Mackin G. Campbell L. Johnson M. Fitzsimon A. Pisano EMG: R. Wotherspoon A. Dethridge S. Goldrick WESTERN BULLDOGS B: I. Grant L. Ahrens HB: E. Georgostathis K. Kimber B. Gutknecht C: R. Wilcox J. Fitzgerald J. Smith HF: S. Hartwig E. McDonald E. Blackburn F: L. Stephenson H. Woodley FOLL: A. Edmonds D. Carruthers I. Pritchard I/C: C. Buttifant E. Grigg E. Gavalas S. Poustie E. Bennetts EMG: B. Barwick K. Hardingham A. McKee Injury List: Round 1 Melbourne Kate Hore - knee/ Test Maeve Chaplin - hamstring / Test Sinéad Goldrick - personal / Test Georgia Gall - ankle/ 1 week Denby Taylor - foot / 4 - 5 weeks Gab Colvin - knee / 4 - 6 weeks Tahlia Gillard - knee / 8 - 10 weeks Grace Beasley - knee / 10 - 14 weeks Jacinta Hose - knee/ inactive Western Bulldogs Isabelle Pritchard - knee / Test Naomi Ferres - knee / Test Mua Laloifi - knee / 2 - 4 weeks De Berry - hamstring / 4 -5 weeks

Hawthorn and Melbourne. Two teams with impressive form from last week but with seasons that are travelling on different trajectories meet in Saturday’s twilight game for what could well be the most intriguing contest of the AFL’s penultimate round. Sadly, the game has been relegated to that unappealing time slot in the weekend when Melburnians are typically preoccupied with activities other than football. It falls between the morning's shopping, afternoon sport and recreation, and Saturday night fever. A time usually reserved for relatively insignificant events but this one is not a nothingburger for either of the clubs or their fans. The Hawks have every incentive to win this game, as their season hangs precariously in the balance. With only two games remaining, one misstep could result in the finals door closing on them. In contrast, the Demons have minimal motivation to win, and some argue that losing would be beneficial, securing a bottom-four finish and potentially gaining advantages from the AFL's supposed equalisation process. Incidentally, that system is flawed because Hawthorn, who finished in the top six last year, will end up with fewer regular season games against this year’s finalists than Melbourne, which finished in the bottom six. The reality for the Demons therefore is that even in the absence of a tangible reward for the win, they must persevere, not merely for pride, but also for the future of every player who dons the jumper. The eyes of any prospective new coach will be focused on every member of the 23 making up the team, and for many, their future at the club and in the sport will be on the line. This expectation should be implicit in professional sports, yet Melbourne's recent history renders it a stark reality. And with that, I expect the game to reach a similar high standard to that which we saw in its game against the Bulldogs. It’s worth reiterating that, as is the case with any game involving the Melbourne Football Club these days, the team's fortunes are largely contingent upon the performance of its All-Australian bound captain, Max Gawn, who consistently delivers outstanding results. Last week, he once again led by example, producing a best-on-ground performance that included 23 disposals at 73% efficiency, 42 hit-outs, and a goal. His opponent this week Lloyd Meek, had a standout game in the Hawks' decisive victory over the Magpies, with 32 hit-outs, seven marks, and three important goals. Meek has always performed well against Gawn so this contest will be crucial. That said, the rest of the team also needs to stand up and demonstrate that it’s not reliant on the efforts of one player. There’s plenty of talent still at Melbourne. The team is not nearly as old as the side that Hawthorn brushed aside last week and with many of its more experienced brigade needing to demonstrate their relevance for next year, the game should go down to the wire. Failing this, we can expect one or two names associated with that 2021 premiership to been elsewhere in 2026 in much the same way as the Hawks bit the bullet when Sam Mitchell turned up to first coach and set the team up to become a finalist in a short span of time. Melbourne looked great at times last week when they got going, particularly in the third quarter when they instigated fast movement forward, often starting at half back. The improvement obvious from the change of style from contested play was somewhat blunted when the Bulldogs place pressure on the backline which held up well against their keys but in the end, something had to give and Bontempelli and Richards were too good. I expect the Hawks to apply similar pressure on the Demons defence which should be bolstered by the return of Steven May. Melbourne will also need to augment its arsenal of faster players after Caleb Windsor’s hamstring injury, accentuated by the continued absence of Xavier Lindsay. I expect Melbourne to put up a good fight but, with the Hawks desperate for the four points to stay in the finals race and maintain a charge for a final four chance, they should just prevail in football’s twilight zone. Hawthorn by 14 points. THE GAME Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 16 August 2025 at 4.15pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Hawthorn 88 wins Melbourne 83 wins 1 draw At the MCG Hawthorn 47 wins Melbourne 43 wins 1 draw Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 1 win Melbourne 4 wins 1 The Coaches Mitchell 0 wins Chaplin 0 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 13.13.91 defeated Melbourne 7.14.56 at The MCG in Round 9 2025 Melbourne fought tenaciously for three quarters and remained competitive until Hawthorn accelerated and finished strongly. The game was marred by poor umpiring, exemplified by the failure to award an obvious free kick to Kozzy Pickett, who was tripped in the goal square. The Hawks were buoyed by the lucky break and went on to win by a comfortable 35 points. THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B J. Battle, T. Barrass, B. Hardwick HB J. Impey, J. Sicily, J. Scrimshaw C K. Amon, C. Nash, C. MacDonald HF M. D'Ambrosio, C. Dear, N. Watson F J. Gunston, M. Lewis, D. Moore FOLL L. Meek, J. Newcombe, J. Worpel I/C C. Jiath, J. Ward, M. Chol, J. Ginnivan, L. Breust EMG B. MacDonald, C. Mackenzie, J. Serong NO CHANGE MELBOURNE B T. McDonald, S. May, T. Rivers HB J. McVee, D. Turner, C. Salem C J. Culley, C. Petracca, H. Langford HF K. Pickett, B. Fritsch, K. Chandler F J. Melksham, J. Van Rooyen, T. Sparrow FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, E. Langdon I/C J. Bowey, B. Howes, C. Oliver, H. Petty, H. Sharp EMG J. Adams, J. Billings, A. Johnson IN S. May, H. Sharp OUT J. Adams (omitted), C. Windsor (hamstring) Injury List: Round 23 Xavier Lindsay — groin / 1 week Oliver Sestan — face / 1 week Marty Hore — knee, shoulder / season Jake Lever — ankle/ season Shane McAdam — Achilles / season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / season Caleb Windsor — hamstring / season

I don't think we're in a position to be dictating to a potential big signing to settle down. And I don't think saying the prospect is "compelling" and that he'd "take a call" can be seen as a couch jump moment.

2 journos rushing to break it in a tie breaker tells me it was "leaked" at the same time to at least two journos.

Old?

Exclusive footage from inside the meeting with Bucks.