Demonland

Who are you tipping this week?

Goals from Free Kicks (After 14 Rounds): Best differentials1 - Carlton (+12) 2 - Brisbane (+11) 3 - Hawthorn (+6) Eq.4 - North Melbourne & Geelong (+5) Worst differentials1 - St Kilda (-16) 2 - Adelaide (-7) 3 - Melbourne (-6) 4 - Sydney (-5) Eq.5 - Richmond, Port Adelaide & GWS (-3) Most goals kicked from frees1 - Hawthorn (29) Eq.2 - Brisbane, Gold Coast & Bulldogs (28) 5 - North Melbourne (26) 6 - Carlton (25) Least goals kicked from frees1 - St Kilda (9) 2 - West Coast (14) 3 - Adelaide (15) 4 - Collingwood (16) Eq.5 - Essendon & Fremantle (17) Most goals conceded from frees1 - Melbourne (27) 2 - Western Bulldogs (26) 3 - St Kilda (25) Eq.4 - Gold Coast & Sydney (24) Least goals conceded from frees1 - Carlton (13) 2 - Collingwood (15) Eq.3 - Fremantle & West Coast (16) Eq.5 - Brisbane & Geelong (17) The 2025 Goals from Free Kicks Ladder - Round 14Carlton (+12) sits atop the Goals from Free Kicks differential with 25 goals and only 13 against. They've been conscientious in that regard. Second is Brisbane (+11) with the equal second most goals from frees (28) and 17 goals conceded, ahead of Hawthorn (+6) who have the most goals from frees with 29. Making up the top five is North Melbourne and Geelong (+5) with Gold Coast (+4) next. The team that has seemingly not been looked after when it comes to Goals from Free Kicks is... look away Saints fans... St Kilda with just nine majors from frees. Their differential of -16 is comfortably the worst in the league. Second bottom is Adelaide (-7) with only 15 goals from frees, narrowly behind Melbourne (-6) and Sydney (-5). See the Goals FK Ladder after Round 14 below: We also thought we'd throw in the Goals from 50-Metre Penalties differential for your perusal. NOTE: Seven clubs (Geelong, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hawthorn, GWS, Melbourne & West Coast) have played 14 games. 10 clubs (Collingwood, Fremantle, Bulldogs, Carlton, Port Adelaide, Essendon, Sydney, St Kilda, North Melbourne & Richmond) have played 13 games. One club (Gold Coast) has played 12 games.

After Round 16: Best differentials1 - Hawthorn (+56) 2 - Carlton (+47) 3 - Brisbane (+33) 4 - Gold Coast (+29) 5 - Melbourne (+26) Worst differentials1 - Port Adelaide (-69) 2 - North Melbourne (-51) 3 - GWS Giants (-39) 4 - West Coast (-37) 5 - Fremantle (-18) Most frees for1 - Carlton (338) 2 - Hawthorn (323) 3 - Adelaide (316) 4 - Melbourne (305) 5 - Brisbane (299) Least frees for1 - GWS Giants (252) 2 - Port Adelaide (256) 3 - Richmond (266) 4 - Essendon (269) 5 - West Coast (271) Most frees against1 - North Melbourne (331) 2 - Port Adelaide (325) 3 - Adelaide (315) 4 - Fremantle (310) 5 - West Coast (308) Least frees against1 - Essendon (255) 2 - Gold Coast (264) Eq.3 - Western Bulldogs & Brisbane (266) 5 - Hawthorn (267) The 2025 Free Kick Ladder - Round 16Last time we took a look at these numbers was after Round 10 when Hawthorn led the way with a differential of +63. The Hawks (+56) remain on top but the gap has been somewhat bridged by Carlton (+47) who sit second thanks to the most frees for (338). Brisbane (+33) occupies third position after sitting fifth six weeks ago, slightly ahead of Queensland compatriots Gold Coast (+29), with Melbourne (+26) making up the top five. At the foot of the table, Port Adelaide (-69) are on the nose with the match officials, attracting the second fewest frees (256) and giving away the second most (325). North Melbourne (-51) has also copped the raw end of the deal, infringing most frequently with 331 frees against. GWS (-39) sits third bottom, while the noise of affirmation in 2025 for WA duo West Coast (-37) and Fremantle (-18) is not quite there. See the FK Ladder after Round 16 below: NOTE: Gold Coast and Essendon have played 14 games, the rest of the clubs have played 15. Just to mix it up a little, we’ve thrown in a quick glimpse at the individual free kick numbers on the back of Tom Lynch’s five frees against in Round 16. Most frees for (player) 43 - Darcy Cameron (COL) 36 - Max Gawn (MEL) 35 - Jarrod Witts (GCS) 35 - Tristan Xerri (NM) 33 - Jai Newcombe (HAW) 32 - Tim English (WB) 31 - Patrick Cripps (CAR) 30 - Reilly O’Brien (ADE) 30 - Caleb Serong (FRE) 29 - Andrew Brayshaw (FRE) 29 - Nick Daicos (COL) Most frees against (player) 43 - Harley Reid (WCE) 40 - Rowan Marshall (STK) 37 - Matt Rowell (GCS) 33 - Brodie Grundy (SYD) 30 - Toby Nankervis (RIC) 29 - Patrick Cripps (CAR) 29 - Tristan Xerri (NM) 27 - Luke Davies-Uniacke (NM) 27 - Max Gawn (MEL) 26 - Jordon Sweet (PA)

test

After a slow start, Melbourne dominated the next two quarters and held firm in the last term to complete a convincing double in the city of churches. MELBOURNE 2.0.12 6.7.43 10.13.73 10.18.78 ADELAIDE 2.5.17 3.8.36 6.9.45 8.15.63 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 3 Pickett van Rooyen 2 Chandler Petracca Petty ADELAIDE Fogarty 2 Dawson Keays Laird Rachele Rankine Walker BEST MELBOURNE Petracca May Gawn McVee Sparrow Viney ADELAIDE Soligo Dawson Laird Keane Rankine THE TEAMS ADELAIDE B J. Worrell, J. Butts, B. Smith HB P. Parnell, M. Keane, M. Michalanney C M. Hinge, J. Dawson, C. Jones HF J. Soligo, I. Rankine, J. Rachele F B. Cook, D. Fogarty, T. Walker FOLL R. 0 Brien, R. Laird, B. Keays. I/C C. Burgess, M. Crouch, N. McHenry, L. Nankervis SUB S. Berry EMG J. Borlase, L. Gollant, L. Pedlar IN S. Berry, J. Butts, B. Cook, L. Nankervis, P. Parnell OUT J. Borlase (omitted), W. Milera (knee), L. Murphy (knee), L. Pedlar (omitted), L. Sholl (omitted) MELBOURNE B T. Rivers, S. May, T. McDonald HB B. Howes, J. Lever, J. McVee C E. Langdon, C. Petracca, J. Billings HF A. Neal-Bullen, H. Petty, K. Pickett F J. van Rooyen, B. Brown, B. Fritsch FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, C. Oliver I/C K. Chandler, C. Salem, T. Sparrow, C. Windsor SUB T. Woewodin EMG B. Laurie, J. Schache, A. Tomlinson IN S. May OUT M. Hore (thumb)

Going to cut the questions off here. Thank you all for your contributions. Feeling flat. Hopefully I can come out firing from the first bounce and not have to rely on a quarter time spray.

From the start, Melbourne’s performance against the Gold Coast Suns at Peoples First Stadium was nothing short of a massive botch up and it came down in the first instance to poor preparation. Rather than adequately preparing the team for battle against an opponent potentially on the skids after suffering three consecutive losses, the Demons looking anything but sharp and ready to play in the opening minutes of the game. By way of contrast, the Suns demonstrated a clear sense of purpose and will to win. From the very first bounce of the ball they were back to where they left off earlier in the season in Round Three when the teams met at the MCG. They ran rings around the Demons and finished the game off with a dominant six goal final term. This time, they produced another dominant quarter to start the game, restricting Melbourne to a solitary point to lead by six goals at the first break, by which time, the game was all but over. If the coach deserves credit when a team wins then he must accept responsibility when things go askew. He bore the ultimate burden of maintaining the energy, enthusiasm and skills of the Melbourne list over the fortnight of the club’s midseason bye and it was no use speaking after the game about watching with mixed emotions: "That first quarter was unacceptable in terms of our ability to win the ball, our ability to pressure the ball, our ability to get our hands on the ball. "Gold Coast were unbelievable, but we were miles off early in the game, and clearly that was the game". The only emotion that was mixed was the anger of the fans that subsided somewhat as the team made its way back into the game to stage a couple of minor comebacks, the first being to get to within three goals just after halftime and then late in the game when the heat was off when they narrowed the final margin to a respectable 19 points. By then, there was no emotion left. It was always going to be a hard day at the office for Melbourne on a day in which skipper Max Gawn only broke even in every aspect of his ruck contest with Jarrod Witts. The task was made that more difficult when his back up ruckman Harry Petty was concussed in a double blow when defender Blake Howes was subbed off for the same reason in the second term. To his credit, Max continued to lead from the front and with Jake Melksham and Kozzy Pickett in form around goals, and Christian Petracca and Jack Viney standing firm and making a case for the team, they almost got themselves back in the game. Then came the scrap involving most of the players on the field with the Suns running out winners in that battle with a long play on run out of the confusion that ensued. The goal turned the pendulum back in favour of the home side at just the right time. For Melbourne, it was the wrong time to show frustration and get into a fight. Still, with the veteran Melksham playing one of his best ever games, the Demons managed to lift to a point where, had he lived up to the tag attributed to him earlier in the week of the club’s best kick inside 50, they might have been a chance. Instead he finished the game with 5 goals 6 behinds. It was close to a best on ground performance but the inaccuracy in front of goal summed up exactly the team’s standing over most of the past few seasons. Midway through the third quarter, Melbourne’s score was 7.4.46 but it finished off the term with three straight behinds while the Suns booted three straight goals. The Demons managed 5.9 from that point to the end of the game. Something like 9.5 might have done the trick. Leaving aside emotions, the club is underperforming on the objective level of the game. Call it the business of football that necessitates teams to perform at the highest and optimal level. At every stage, there were too many fundamental errors where the preparation, the skill and the effort were simply not good enough. MELBOURNE 0.1.1 5.3.33 7.7.49 12.13.85 GOLD COAST SUNS 5.7.37 8.9.57 14.11.95 15.14.104 GOALS MELBOURNE Melksham 5 Pickett 3 Fritsch 2 Gawn Petty GOLD COAST SUNS King 3 Ainsworth Humphrey Long Walter 2 Budarick Jeffrey Miller Read BEST MELBOURNE Melksham Pickett Bowey Petracca Rivers Viney GOLD COAST SUNS Rowell Noble Miller Flanders Humphrey Fiorini INJURIES MELBOURNE Blake Howes (concussion) Harrison Petty (concussion) GOLD COAST SUNS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Harry Sharp (replaced Blake Howes during the second quarter) GOLD COAST SUNS Alex Sexton (replaced Bailey Humphrey during the fourth quarter) UMPIRES Andrew Stephens, Nicholas Brown, Andre Gianfagna, Martin Rodger CROWD 13,064 at People First Stadium

TEST

Coming off four consecutive victories and with a team filled with 17 AFL listed players, the Casey Demons took to their early morning encounter with the lowly Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium with the swagger of a team that thought a win was inevitable. They were smashing it for the first twenty minutes of the game after Tom Fullarton booted the first two goals but they then descended into an abyss of frustrating poor form and lackadaisical effort that saw the swagger and the early arrogance disappear by quarter time when their lead was overtaken by a more intense and committed opponent. The Suns continued to apply the pressure in the second quarter and got out to a three goal lead in mid term before the Demons fought back. A late goal to the home side before the half time bell saw them ten points up at the break and another surge in the third quarter saw them comfortably up with a 23 point lead at the final break. The Demons mounted a few spirited attacks in the final quarter, getting tantalizingly close before blowing some late chances that left them lamenting a nine point loss. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will kick things off by saying again that imports in Mitch Hardie (28 possessions, 6 tackles and a goal), Riley Bonner (34 touches) and Riley Baldi (19 disposals) were outstanding again but the team missed the goal sense of Paddy Cross who is out with a hamstring injury. Apart from Tom Campbell who had a great battle in the ruck with his Suns counterpart in Ned Moyle, the AFL listed players were not consistently in the play throughout the morning. The best you could say was that Jack Billings was solid with 23 disposals and three handy goals that almost got the team to victory and Jai Culley was strong with his 17 disposals, eight tackles and a goal late in the match. Ricky Mentha showed some spark, particularly early in the game and looks a player worth persevering with for the future. He and Caleb Windsor each picked up 17 touches and added some much needed toe when it was needed. Another who showed promise was Luker Kentfield with three goals from some solid marking. Jacob van Rooyen flashed in with some smart play in the forward line. For the life of me, I don’t understand how or why Will Verrall was sparingly used after his improved form before the bye. He appeared to be doing some work after the game with the training staff but his story remains a mystery. The team had a great defence on paper but it was not enough to put sufficient pressure on an inexperienced looking Gold Coast attack and hence the locals were victorious with a 15 goal 7 behind score line. It’s a must win next week against Coburg when the team finally returns to Casey Fields on Sunday afternoon at roughly the same time when the AFL Demons play in Adelaide. CASEY DEMONS 2.2.14 4.5.29 8.6.54 13.10.88 GOLD COAST SUNS VFL 3.1.19 6.3.39 12.5.77 15.7.97 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Billings Kentfield 3 Fullarton 2 Craven Culley Hardie Laurie van Rooyen GOLD COAST SUNS VFL Evans 3 Jepson Moyle 2 Beikoff-Smart Davies Enders Gulbin Harris O'Brien Rosas Swallow BEST CASEY DEMONS Billings Culley Hardie van Rooyen Mentha Henderson GOLD COAST SUNS VFL Moyle Lemmens Swallow Beikoff-Smart Davies Evans

From the Rhettrospective YouTube Channel.

SUNSTROKE by KC from Casey Coming off four consecutive victories and with a team filled with 17 AFL listed players, the Casey Demons took to their early morning encounter with the lowly Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium with the swagger of a team that thought a win was inevitable. They were smashing it for the first twenty minutes of the game after Tom Fullarton booted the first two goals but they then descended into an abyss of frustrating poor form and lackadaisical effort that saw the swagger and the early arrogance disappear by quarter time when their lead was overtaken by a more intense and committed opponent. The Suns continued to apply the pressure in the second quarter and got out to a three goal lead in mid term before the Demons fought back. A late goal to the home side before the half time bell saw them ten points up at the break and another surge in the third quarter saw them comfortably up with a 23 point lead at the final break. The Demons mounted a few spirited attacks in the final quarter, getting tantalizingly close before blowing some late chances that left them lamenting a nine point loss. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will kick things off by saying again that imports in Mitch Hardie (28 possessions, 6 tackles and a goal), Riley Bonner (34 touches) and Riley Baldi (19 disposals) were outstanding again but the team missed the goal sense of Paddy Cross who is out with a hamstring injury. Apart from Tom Campbell who had a great battle in the ruck with his Suns counterpart in Ned Moyle, the AFL listed players were not consistently in the play throughout the morning. The best you could say was that Jack Billings was solid with 23 disposals and three handy goals that almost got the team to victory and Jai Culley was strong with his 17 disposals, eight tackles and a goal late in the match. Ricky Mentha showed some spark, particularly early in the game and looks a player worth persevering with for the future. He and Caleb Windsor each picked up 17 touches and added some much needed toe when it was needed. Another who showed promise was Luker Kentfield with three goals from some solid marking. Jacob van Rooyen flashed in with some smart play in the forward line. For the life of me, I don’t understand how or why Will Verrall was sparingly used after his improved form before the bye. He appeared to be doing some work after the game with the training staff but his story remains a mystery. The team had a great defence on paper but it was not enough to put sufficient pressure on an inexperienced looking Gold Coast attack and hence the locals were victorious with a 15 goal 7 behind score line. It’s a must win next week against Coburg when the team finally returns to Casey Fields on Sunday afternoon at roughly the same time when the AFL Demons play in Adelaide. CASEY DEMONS 2.2.14 4.5.29 8.6.54 13.10.88 GOLD COAST SUNS VFL 3.1.19 6.3.39 12.5.77 15.7.97 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Billings Kentfield 3 Fullarton 2 Craven Culley Hardie Laurie van Rooyen GOLD COAST SUNS VFL Evans 3 Jepson Moyle 2 Beikoff-Smart Davies Enders Gulbin Harris O'Brien Rosas Swallow BEST CASEY DEMONS Billings Culley Hardie van Rooyen Mentha Henderson GOLD COAST SUNS VFL Moyle Lemmens Swallow Beikoff-Smart Davies Evans

You questions please.

Max Gawn has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year award ahead of Jake Bowey, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Kysaiah Pickett. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

The Demons did not come to play from the opening bounce and let the Gold Coast kick the first 5 goals of the match. They then outscored the Suns for the next 3 quarters but it was too little too late and their season is now effectively over.

With their season all over bar the shouting the Demons head back on the road for the third week in a row as they return to Adelaide to take on the Crows. Who comes in and who goes out?

It's Game Day and the Demons are back on the road again and this may be the last roll of the dice to get their 2025 season back on track as they take on the Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium.

Who are you tipping?