Demonland

Another goal. Bombers got 2 more too. They lead by 17 points.

We have our second. 11 points down.

We have our first goal of the season.

I believe all tweets about this game should have the disclaimer in this tweet.

Thank you @Baghdad Bob for your entire preseason of trackwatching. You really lifted the bar and have set yourself a high standard for what we will expect of you in our title defence preseason in 2021. Kudos and thank you.

Essendon are updating their twitter.

The Demons open their 2020 season account with a "home" game against the Adelaide Crows at Casey Fields. It’s been more than 5 and half agonising months for the team and supporters who are eager to atone for the disappointing 2019 season which saw the Dees go from Preliminary Finalist to 2nd bottom on the ladder. The preseason campaign has been a hard slog with the addition of respected High Performance Manager Darren Burgess. We caught a glimpse of the gut busting sessions in the Melbourne Football Club’s documentary series To Hell and Back. Faithful fans and Demonland Trackwatchers have been keeping the online community informed of the teams progress over the summer and it’s pleasing to note that the number of players on the field and out of rehab this season far outweighs the numbers from last year which had a significant impact on our fall from grace in 2019. Going in to the first practice match of the season we have 12 players unavailable for varying reasons including injury and player load management. Most notably Max Gawn has been sidelined with a knee injury but is expected to be back for Round 1 if not for our next Marsh Series match against Hawthorn in Tasmania. Other who will miss the game are Angus Brayshaw (elbow), Steven May (Knee), Mitch Hannan (Groin), Braydon Preuss (Knee), Kade Chandler (Wrist), Kyle Dunkley (Ankle), Harrison Petty (Groin), Corey Wagner (Knee), Harley Bennell (Calf), Kade Kolodjashnij (Head) & Aaron Nietschke (Knee). The Demons backup ruck stocks will be tested with Gawn and Preuss unavailable. Those duties will be shared by Weideman, new number 3 draft pick Luke Jackson & discarded Bomber Mitch Brown. Last week the injury list had a more familiar ring to it with Tom McDonald spending time in the rehab group for a knee complaint, the same knee he injured last season & Aaron vandenBerg who hobbled from the training track and did not train again for a few sessions. Both players have been named in the side this week so if they play I expect that their minutes will be managed. Other than in the ruck the Demons have named a very strong line up for their first hit out in 2020. Most of our Best 22 with the exception of Gawn & May are available. There are a few new faces that will play their first game in the Red and Blue. Fans will get their first glimpses of rookies Luke Jackson and Kysaiah Pickett, recently acquired Adam Tomlinson (GWS) & recently traded Ed Langdon (Fremantle) as well as Key Forward Mitch Brown from Essendon. The players not named for the clash against the Crows and not on the above mentioned injury list include; Toby Bedford, James Jordon, Trent Rivers, Jayden Hunt, Marty Hore, Oskar Baker, Josh Wagner & Austin Bradtke. These players will be lining up for Melbourne/Casey to take on Essendon at Casey today. As Essendon are not participating in a Marsh Series game this weekend they are likely to field a much stronger team than the Demons so I would not put too much stock in the result. The Crows are also looking for redemption from a disappointing 2019 campaign which saw their coach get sacked and a number of players requesting trades to other clubs. They have also named a strong line up for the match. It’s only a practice match and no doubt both coaches will be trialling different tactics and players out of position but I’m expecting a hard fought, even contest from two teams looking to make amends for last year. Demons by 15 points.

Bomber fan sites would melt down if we knocked them off.

Geez someone tell Nicky Winmar it's still February.

It's game day! ? We've got the Saints under Friday night lights. INFO ? mfcde.es/game-day

I don't believe there is any free streaming options. It's LIVE on Fox Footy which is obviously a Pay TV service. If you have foxtel you can stream it via their app. As you are overseas you would not be able to view it due to their geo-location lock unless you are using a VPN. If you pay for the Kayo app you will be able to watch it LIVE and later on demand. This is also a paid service but as an added bonus you get almost every other sport as well. I'm not sure whether they have a trial period which you could cancel before payment. As you're overseas you will have the same geo-location lock unless you have a VPN. As you are overseas you can use the AFL's Watch AFL app which caters to the overseas market. You can watch LIVE or on demand. This is also a paid service but you can get weekly, monthly or yearly subscriptions which you can cancel at any time. If you are overseas you do not need a VPN. If you don't understand any of this then OK Boomer.

He is listed on the 8 man bench. There are 4 other emergencies named.

They also did not have any match stats available on their website. You had to go to their smartphone app or a third parties.

Both are on the list but no mention of severity or timeframes with their injuries.

All injuries listed on our injury list were reported by regular trackwatchers, the media and mentioned in various MFC articles/interviews. The only information we didn't have was a timeframe. I took 3 players off the list tonight after the squad was announced. 1. Tom McDonald - was reported by trackwatchers last Friday to have landed gingerly (ankle) and did not participate in the rest of training that day. On Monday was reported by various media outlets that his knee was bandaged and was training with the rehab group. His elevation to the injury list at the time was warranted. 2. Aaron vandenBerg was reported by trackwatchers to have appeared to have injured his foot and hobbled back to AAMI and has not appeared at the last couple of training sessions. His absence was also reported by the media. His elevation to the injury list was warranted as well. 3. Joel Smith's foot injury has been documented by the club and he's mostly been in rehab only kicking on his non-preferred foot. His elevation to the injury list was definitely warranted. These 3 players still might not play or be on restricted minutes. None of the other remaining players we have on the injury list were selected to play warranting their inclusion on the list too. You can call it management but if they are unavailable to play then it's just semantics. We are not jumping at shadows nor saying some of them aren't being managed. If they are not ready to take the field even in a practice match then they should be included on such a list. It is not hysterics from the people that run this site it's just facts. If posters become hysterical because of the facts then that is their prerogative just as it is your prerogative to ignore them. Perhaps we should change the name of the injury list to the not fully match fit list if that is more palatable for you.

New "Injury" list based on selections. Anyone not on the following list that hasn't been named in the team/squad? PLAYER INJURY LENGTH Angus Brayshaw Elbow TBA Kade Chandler Wrist TBA Kyle Dunkley Ankle TBA Max Gawn Knee TBA Mitch Hannan Groin TBA Steven May Knee TBA Harrison Petty Groin TBA Corey Wagner Knee TBA Braydon Preuss Knee 7-9 Weeks Harley Bennell Calf Indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij Head Indefinite Aaron Nietschke Knee Season List subject to change based on who actually lines up on the day.

He was our second highest goal kicker in 2019.

Hunt and Hore out is interesting.

We'll see who actually lines up on Saturday before I adjust it.

Nothing on any social media accounts either yet.