Demonland

Top of the Table The Dees demolished the Saints in a comprehensive 74-pointshellacking. We filled our boots with percentage — now a whopping 520.7% — and sit atop the AFLW ladder. Melbourne’s game plan is on fire, and the competition is officially on notice. Our tall timber forward trio put on a clinic: Tayla Harris (4 goals), Eden Zanker (2), and Georgia Gall (2) stretched the Saints’ defence to breaking point. Tyla Hanks backed up her Round 1 heroics with another eliteouting—28 disposals, 12 tackles, and 490 metres gained.Kate Hore (26 disposals, 5 clearances) was sublime, setting up scoring chains with 14 score involvements. Leadership. Despite missing Lampard and Gillard, the makeshift defence held firm—just three goals conceded across two rounds. Saraid Taylor was rock-solid, keeping Saints spearhead Jessie Wardlaw to only six possessions and no majors. The only sour note was Liv Purcell’s knee injury. We awaither prognosis with fingers crossed. The match Melbourne controlled all three phases from the outset. Our pressure, ball movement, and forward efficiency overwhelmed St Kilda, who had no answers. Even with Purcell’s injury before half-time, the midfield depth shone: Hanks, Hore, Heath, Paxman, Fitzsimon, and McNamara all outworked their Saints counterparts. For St Kilda, Tyanna Smith (20 disposals, 9 tackles) and Georgia Patrikios (19 disposals, 8 tackles, 1 goal) stood tall, with a nod to the improving J’Noemi Anderson (9 tackles, 1 goal). Match moment A heartwarming highlight came in the final term when Lily Johnson slotted her first goal in red and blue — her teammates swarming her in celebration. Well done, Lily! Another moment to savour: Sinead Goldrick’s lightning-fast spoil — her deadly fist was pure defensive poetry. Meggs’ musings It was pleasing to see Megan Fitzsimon and Eliza McNamara step up in the middle after Purcell’s injury. They kept the engine room humming and will likely see more midfield time, especially with Grace Beasley unavailable. Molly O’Hehir showcased her running power with 315 metres gained. This young gun belongs—and she’ll only get better. Coaches and Next Week Mick Stinear was pleased with the team’s fast start andpraised their skill and connection, crediting a stellar pre-season. On Liv Purcell, he said she was sore and would go for scans. He highlighted her elite hands, creativity, and love of studying Libba at the Bulldogs — a nod to her contested craft. Nick Dal Santo acknowledged Melbourne’s dominance, admitting the Dees won all three phases of the game. Next up: Collingwood at Victoria Park, Sunday at 1:05pm. Demonlanders — get there if you can and support our women!. Meggs’ reckons the Women will do what the Men couldn’t do and that is to beat the Pies. C’mon Dees! MELBOURNE 2.5.17 7.8.50 9.9.63 13.11.89 ST KILDA 1.0.6 1.1.7 2.2.14 2.3.15 GOALS MELBOURNE Harris 4 Gall, Zanker 2, Bannan, Fitzsimon, Hore, Johnson, Paxman ST KILDA Anderson, Patrikios BEST MELBOURNE Hanks, Harris, Hore, Zanker, Pearce, Paxman ST KILDA Smith, Patrikios, Watson, Anderson INJURIES MELBOURNE Purcell (knee) ST KILDA Nil LATE CHANGES MELBOURNE Lily Johnson replaced Sarah Lampard (calf strain) ST KILDA Natalie Plane replaced Darcy Guttridge (ankle soreness) CROWD 2,152 at Casey Fields

It was yet another disappointing outcome in a disappointing year, with Melbourne missing the finals for the second consecutive season. Indeed, it wasn’t even close, as the Demons' tally of seven wins was less than half the number required to rank among the top eight teams in the competition. When the dust of the game settled and supporters reflected on Melbourne's six-point defeat at the hands of close game specialists Collingwood, Max Gawn's words about his team’s unfulfilled potential rang true … well, almost. After the game, it was reported that the Demons' captain acknowledged the side had relinquished more than a dozen winnable games this season. 2025 certainly started that way with the three-point loss in the opening game against the Giants. The two clashes against Collingwood were by a combined margin of seven points, while five of their last six defeats were all relatively tight results, including three by the exact margin of one goal in the past month alone. There were also others that were thrown away by poor kicking for goal such as the Alice Springs game against the Saints … but I wouldn’t go as far as to say a dozen games or possibly even the eight or nine extra wins that would have made the Demons finals contenders. However, the season's final game and other recent close calls have certainly provided some food for thought for the weeks ahead about learning how to win games consistently as the club chooses its new coach and makes other moves that will inevitably herald changes in the team's overall strategy and playing ranks heading into the trade, free agency, and drafting period. As monotonous as this might sound, when the history of the season is told, Max Gawn will stand out head and shoulders above his teammates. Not simply because of his obvious physical attributes but also because of the momental contribution he has made to the cause. It was no different on Friday night as he amassed 26 hit outs, 22 disposals (14 contested), seven marks and he took part in nine score involvements. Against the Magpies, he received great support from his well established lieutenants in the midfield in his vice captain Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca. They were also backed up by many of the clubs premiership gladiators from 2021. But among those who also made their presence known was a young rising star who could well become the defining feature of the team’s engine room for many years to come. Harvey Langford, the 19 year old, 190cm tall left-footed young dynamic rising star candidate added to the narrative with 26 disposals and a goal. There are several other emerging players who, like Langford, are poised to become integral components of Melbourne's lineup for years to come - the likes of injured speedsters Caleb Windsor and Xavier Lindsay, who were sorely missed, and Koltyn Tholstrup, who missed out on Friday but is rapidly improving and on the cusp of becoming a regular senior player. Although not outstanding in this game, Jai Culley, who is even taller than Langford, has been thriving since his promotion a few weeks ago. The younger brigade are the future in a team in which change is inevitable because the trend of losing winnable games must be reversed. The trend persisted until the very end of the team's season. When Christian Petracca scored early in the final term, the Demons were poised to win due to their uncharacteristic accuracy in front of goal. However, they failed to hold their shape long enough to produce the upset by sustaining the pressure on the Magpie defence in the final twenty minutes. During that critical period, both teams had five scoring opportunities, excluding a couple of Demons' shots that went out of bounds. Melbourne scored five points, while Collingwood secured four unanswered goals and a single point. Close but too far away. MELBOURNE 3.0.18 5.3.33 10.5.65 11.10.76 COLLINGWOOD 2.7.19 6.10.46 7.13.55 11.16.82 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 3 Melksham Pickett 2 Langford Petracca Petty van Rooyen COLLINGWOOD Elliott Schultz 2 Crisp De Goey Long McStay Maynard Mihocek Sidebottom BEST MELBOURNE Gawn Oliver Petracca Bowey Salem Langford COLLINGWOOD N Daicos Pendlebury Cameron Schultz Elliott De Goey INJURIES MELBOURNE Howe (groin) COLLINGWOOD Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil COLLINGWOOD Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Harry Sharp (replaced Jai Culley in the fourth quarter) COLLINGWOOD Roan Steele (replaced Jeremy Howe in the second quarter) UMPIRES Brendan Hosking Nathan Williamson Robert Findlay Nathan Toner CROWD 60,611 at The MCG

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 25th August @ 8:00pm. Join Binman & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Collingwood. 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. Thank you to every body that has contributed to the Podcast this year in the form of questions, comments and calls. Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

Congratulations Max Gawn on taking out his 2nd consecutive and 4th overall Demonland Player of the Year Award. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

Thank god this season is over. Bring on 2026.

Our best kicks are some of our worst kicks. 🤪

Gifted article link: Buckley leads list of ‘elite’ choices as Dees coaching search heats up https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/nathan-buckley-confirms-his-involvement-in-demons-coaching-search/news-story/b6f247ec46826d46d92c1765ad50cad9?giftid=uvZAMVrZxY

Daicos is the softest [censored]

Just play Max the whole game.

I know we’re playing fast play on at all costs footy but god we make some stupid decisions.

None of our players have any penetration in their snap kicks

You can’t touch Daicos

Boo hoo a missed free

So Melbourne

Pendles loves playing for frees

Who needs a goal kicking coach? Too soon?

We’re the Masters of the hospital hand pass

Can someone please tell Kozzy not to do those dinky kicks ever again. He can’t execute them.

The ladder:-

The Demons return to Casey Fields (aka the Field of Dreams) this Saturday to host the Saints in Round 2. If you’re feeling lucky, head down the Monash for some family-friendly footy—you might even walk away a winner. The first 5,000 adults through the gate will receive an entry into the $10,000 helicopter ball drop. With Casey’s infamous wind, what could possibly go wrong? Closest ball to the pin wins. So spread the word, get down there—and good luck! The Match-up On the field, expect a fierce contest. St Kilda stunned the competition last week with a commanding win over Adelaide. Nick Dal Santo has the Saints playing fast, confident footy, and they’ve added serious depth. Giorgia Patrikios and Tyanna Smith were dominant in the midfield, while recruits Amber Clarke (ex-Essendon) and Charlotte Baskaran (ex-Hawthorn) have slotted in seamlessly. Over at the Dees, it was no surprise that our midfield depth and forward craft proved too strong for the Bulldogs last Saturday night, resulting in an eight-goal ‘demon-lition’. The form guide leans towards Melbourne, but Meggs reckons this one will be a slog. Selection this week The forward line gets a significant boost with Georgia Gall returning from an ankle injury and Tayla Harris cleared to play after an eye poke. Dynamic Irishwoman Sinead Goldrick also plays her first match of 2025 after raising the championship cup for Dublin just weeks ago—her fourth All-Ireland medal. Hopefully a sign of things to come? Making way are Lily Johnson and Alyssia Pisano. St Kilda have named experienced midfielder Nicola Barr (ex-Giants), who will debut in tri-colours. Meggs’ view Expect the Saints to make it a tough and physical game. They’ve got plenty of talent and experience that could undo our gameplan if we turn up unprepared. Jessie Wardlaw can be unstoppable, so in the absence of Tahlia Gillard, Saraid Taylor will have her hands full. Nick Dal Santo will be desperate to break his duck against the Dees—he’s never coached a winning side against us. The recent margins have been narrowing: 41, 26, 14 points. Nevertheless, Melbourne’s midfield is shaping up beautifully, with so many players in form—Hanks, Purcell, Hore, McNamara, Heath, and Paxman. The new kids on the block—O’Hehir, Mahony and Ebert —add plenty of excitement, and our gameplan is a joy to watch when we get it right. We’re top of the table after Week 1. Let’s keep winning. Go Dees! Melbourne by 12 points THE GAME Round 2: Melbourne v St Kilda Saturday 23 August 2025 at 3:05pm (Melbourne time) Casey Fields, Melbourne – Wurundjeri/ Boon Wurrung HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 4 wins St Kilda 1 win At Casey Fields Melbourne 2 wins St Kilda 0 wins The Coaches Stinear 3 wins Dal Santo 0 wins MEDIA TV – 7, 7Plus, FOXTEL, Kayo. Mobile – AFL Live Official App THE LAST TIME THEY MET - 2024 Season 9 Round 7 ST KILDA 0.0 2.0 4.0 5.0 (30) MELBOURNE 2.0 4.2 5.4 6.8 (44) GOALS St Kilda: Wardlaw 3, Guttridge, Richards Melbourne: Zanker 2, Bannan, Campbell, Goldrick, Purcell BEST St Kilda: Wardlaw, Watson, Trudgeon, Smith, Jakobsson Melbourne: Hanks, McNamara, Hore, Purcell, Zanker Crowd: 3,073 at RSEA Park It was a hard-fought win to make it 3 on the trot in our 2024 revival. Tyla Hanks (22 disposals, 12 clearances, 8 coaches votes) and Kate Hore (21 disposals, 11 tackles, 8 votes) led from the middle and were sensational. Eliza McNamara had a PB 31 possessions and earned 6 coaches votes. Liv Purcell, dressed up like a superhero in her custom-fitted face mask, was typically fearless with 15 possessions, 4 tackles and a goal. Dal Santo noted Melbourne’s dominance in clearances and contested ball as the difference. Melbourne 6.8 (44) defeated by St Kilda 5.0 (30) at Moorabbin Oval, 13 October 2024 THIS WEEK’S TEAMS MELBOURNE FB [19] Laela Ebert [28] Saraid Taylor HB [30] Shelley Heath [8] Sarah Lampard [13] Maeve Chaplin C [22] Eliza McNamara [5] Tyla Hanks [4] Paxy Paxman HF [24] Megan Fitzsimon [6] Alyssa Bannan [7] Tayla Harris FF [29] Eden Zanker [9] Georgia Gall FOL [15] Lauren Pearce [2] Olivia Purcell [10] Kate Hore I/C [23] Sinead Goldrick [11] Molly O'Hehir [1] Georgia Campbell [31] Blaithin Mackin [20] Maggie Mahony EMG [12] Ryleigh Wotherspoon [3] Alyssia Pisano [33] Lily Johnson IN Gall, Goldrick OUT Johnson, Pisano (omitted) ST KILDA FB [14] Hannah Priest [2] Nicola Stevens HB [15] Kyla Forbes [10] Paige Trudgeon [12] Serene Watson C [1] Molly McDonald [9] Jaimee Lambert [5] Darcy Guttridge HF [16] Ella Friend [30] Jesse Wardlaw [21] Georgia Patrikios FF [11] Zoe Besanko [22] Ashleigh Richards FOL [20] Rebecca Ott [7] J'Noemi Anderson [6] Tyanna Smith I/C [3] Alice Burke [17] Nicola Barr [25] Amber Clarke [26] Charlotte Baskaran [34] Arianna Clarke EMG [8] Bianca Jakobsson [19] Rene Caris [32] Natalie Plane IN Barr OUT Plane (omitted) Injury List: Round 2 Melbourne Sinéad Goldrick — personal / available Georgia Gall — ankle / available Tayla Harris — eye / TBC Gab Colvin — knee / 3 - 4 weeks Denby Taylor foot — / 4 - 5 weeks Tahlia Gillard — knee / 7 - 9 weeks Grace Beasley — knee / 9 - 10 weeks Jacinta Hose — knee / Inactive St Kilda Nicola Barr foot — / Test Hannah Stuart hamstring — / 1 - 2 weeks Olivia Vesely hip — / 1 - 2 weeks Charlotte Simpson back — / 1 - 3 weeks Nicola Xenos foot — / 5 - 7 weeks Alana Gee — knee / 7 - 9 weeks Emmelie Fiedler — knee / season

In 1925, the City of Melbourne remained the seat of government for the Commonwealth of Australia, a role it had maintained since Federation. The country's conservative Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce, who led the Nationalist Party and shared the middle name "Melbourne" with the staid capital of his country which presented a stark contrast to its bustling rival metropolis, Sydney, on the east coast. Under Bruce's administration, Australia experienced a period of relative prosperity, during which he oversaw the relocation of government to the new capital city of Canberra, an event that was two years away. Even then, sports played a pivotal role in Australian society, and the country's popular indigenous game was expanding rapidly with the introduction of new clubs at its elite level. Meanwhile, its oldest club was experiencing a resurgence after many years in the football wilderness. On the first day of August 1925, the Melbourne Football Club virtually guaranteed its first finals appearance in a decade when, with the conclusion of two-thirds of the home-and-away season, it secured a crucial 19-point win over St Kilda at the Junction Oval. The Redlegs thereby significantly diminished the Saints' finals aspirations and, at the same time, established a two-and-a-half-win buffer over fifth-placed Fitzroy. Round 12, 1925 St. Kilda vs Melbourne Saturday 1 August Venue: Junction Oval Attendance: 20,000 MELBOURNE 5.3.33 9.5.59 9.9.63 10.10.70 ST. KILDA 1.1.7 4.4.28 5.9.39 7.9.51 Goalkickers: Colin Deane 3, Gerry Donnelly 3, Percy Tulloh 2, Harry Davie 1, Ivor Warne-Smith 1 The faster, stronger Redlegs secured the victory with a dominant first half, scoring nine goals to four and establishing a substantial 31-point halftime lead over their error-prone opposition. The Saints regained momentum in the third term, holding Melbourne scoreless while adding a single goal of their own in a fiercely contested yet fair encounter. Undeterred, St Kilda scored the opening goal of the final quarter, but subsequently lapsed into subpar form, allowing the Redlegs to maintain a comfortable advantage in the end. The drama continued after the game when St Kilda protested the result on the grounds that Melbourne had played an ineligible player, Gerald Donnelly who was virtually unknown when he was signed by the club. It was found that the Redlegs had been mistakenly granted a permit for him to play when he was residentially bound to play for North Melbourne but they were allowed to keep the points. The club was however, forced to transfer Donnelly, who kicked three goals and was one of the team's best players, to North immediately after the game. Other good players for the Redlegs on the day were Deane and Dunbar. Seconds (played 4 July) Melbourne 11.11.77 d. St Kilda 7.6.48 The Redlegs were now second on the ladder but faced further controversy surrounding playing permits a week later, prior to their match against third placed Collingwood at the MCG. The Magpies were questioning the status of Harry Davie, who was in his second year with the club. Rumours suggested Davie was tied to Richmond, but ultimately Collingwood refrained from lodging a protest, allowing the match to proceed as scheduled with the player in the Redlegs’ team. He booted three goals but it made no difference to the result as the Magpies took second place to ladder-leaders Geelong, winning a close encounter by 13 points. Round 13, 1925 Melbourne vs Collingwood Saturday 8 August Venue: MCG Attendance: 33,462 MELBOURNE 2.1.13 4.2.26 6.9.45 7.10.52 COLLINGWOOD 1.1.7 5.4.34 7.5.47 9.11.65 Goalkickers: Harry Davie 3, Jack Cannan 1, Jimmy Davidson 1, Col Deane 1, Stan Wittman 1 The loss of Donnelly to North Melbourne disrupted team placement and Melbourne were forced to reshuffle its side and with Warne-Smith required in defence their attack suffered. The Magpies went in with a full-strength side and forced their opponents into error with their fast style of game. Despite this, the Redlegs took the early lead in the first quarter with the use of the breeze but, after a brief scare, Collingwood asserted control despite ending the game with three disabled players. Their strong defence enabled them to move to an eight point advantage at half time. The Redlegs narrowed the gap to two points at the final break, after which the Magpies kicked away with the breeze at their backs. Deane, Corbett and Warne-Smith were Melbourne's best. It was Hugh Dunbar’s 50th game for the club. Seconds: Collingwood 19.14.128 d. Melbourne 6.9.45 Best: Ewing, Jorgensen, Jones On a wet Saturday afternoon in August, 7,000 fans attended Princes Park to witness an exceptional display of forward play from Redleg forward Harry Davie, who scored 13.5, a record for goals in a game at Princes Park that stood until the ground closed to AFL football in 2005. It was also Melbourne’s best individual goal tally until Fred Fanning’s 18 goals against the Saints in 1947 which stands as the competition’s best to this day. Davie's remarkable goal-kicking achievement occurred just two weeks after speculation emerged suggesting he might be lost to the club due to claims of residential ties to Richmond, but this did not deter the player or the club, as they exacted a heavy toll on a side experiencing difficult times. The forward's impressive goal tally included eight goals in the final term and fell just one short of the then league record of 14 goals in a match. It also contributed significantly to what was then Melbourne's largest victory over Carlton. Most of Davie's goals originated from distances of 40 to 60 yards, and at the conclusion of the game, he was carried off the ground by his teammates amidst the applause of supporters from both teams. Round 14, 1925 Carlton vs Melbourne Saturday 22 August Venue: Princes Park Attendance: 7000 MELBOURNE 2.0.12 6.7.43 9.10.64 18.14.122 CARLTON 3.1.19 3.3.21 6.7.43 6.9.45 Goalkickers: Harry Davie 13, Harry Moyes 3, Hugh Dunbar 1, Ivor Warne-Smith 1 Following a week-long hiatus for a state game, Melbourne rebounded from its disappointing loss to Collingwood a fortnight earlier with a percentage-boosting 77-point victory over the Blues, overcoming a seven-point deficit to the home side, which had commenced with the advantage of a strong breeze in the first quarter. The Redlegs, who had closed the game down with congested play in its early phase, slowly worked their way into the lead when their turn came to kick with the wind, although poor kicking for goal kept their lead down to 22 points at the main break. By this time, Davie had four of his team’s six goals. Carlton once again failed to capitalise on the breeze to its advantage in the third quarter and was subsequently punished heavily by a rampant Melbourne goal kicking spree, spearheaded by Davie in the last. The fact that neither the injured Chadwick nor Mollision could play at 100% proved inconsequential as the Redlegs added 9.4 to two behinds in the final quarter avalanche. Melbourne's final score fell just three points short of its all-time historical record, set against St Kilda in 1901. Davie was outstanding alongside Lilley and Taylor as the team looked ahead to the coming weeks still sitting in third position with the finals series looming. Seconds: Melbourne 12.17.89 d. Carlton 7.8.50 Goals: Dunin 2, Crossin 2, Jones 1, Ewer 1, Hazel 1 To be continued …