Demonland

A beautiful sunny Friday afternoon, with a light breeze and a strong Windy Hill crowd set the scene, inviting one team to seize the day and take the important four points on offer. For the Demons it was not a good Friday, easily beaten by an all-time largest losing margin of 65 points. Essendon threw themselves into action today, winning most of the contests and had three early goals with Daria Bannister on fire. In contrast the Demons were dropping marks, hesitant in close and committing elementary skill errors due to the Bombers real and perceived pressure. The effort and skill execution by the Demons was poor today. Essendon monstered Melbourne at the contest, winning the ball far too easily. Our defence was shambolic at times. Mick Stinear later commented that our inability to launch meaningful counterattacks was very frustrating. We had only one mark in our forward-50 for the day. Bomber Maddy Prespakis, who wore a Heater tag, was clearly best on ground with 32 disposals and 7 clearances. She had plenty of support from Georgia Nanscawen, Steph Cain and ex Dee Maddie Gay, while Bannister snagged 4 goals. Crushing result! For the Dees There will be no Demon players in any votes this week, but special mentions must go to Maeve Chaplin and Tyla Hanks who toiled hard all afternoon. Also, Ryleigh Wotherspoon snapped a nice goal in the second quarter. Her first in AFLW but sadly the Demons only goal of the day. Fresh injuries to report with Shelley Heath down with a hurt shoulder that looked quite serious, while Eliza McNamara bravely came back on to the ground with a fractured nose. Was it kosher to risk her? Paxy’s played today but you could tell at the ground that her foot is still tender. Our injuries have given opportunities for almost everyone on the 2024 list to display their footy wares, but it appears that some are not ready yet to compete at this level. Only a handful of our players met the levels of hunger and physicality required today. The Coaching and leadership teams have to somehow turn it around with limited options available. Oops moment of the match To commence the second half, Goldie brilliantly wins the opening clearance and runs typically straight ahead, booting it 40 metres out of the centre. Unfortunately, no one had reminded her which end we were kicking so it sailed the wrong way into the Bombers forward line. Coaches and next week Melbourne Coach Mick Stinear was bitterly disappointed with his team’s effort and skill execution, which was not at the level required. The few new injuries hurt too. The Bombers were plus 40 in contested possessions. It just wasn’t good enough, he said. Essendon coach Natalie Wood said it was a stunning day and a great reward for her players and the vocal Bomber supporters who came along to the ground. She was really pleased with the consistent four quarter effort. The Demons play fellow-struggler GWS at Ikon Park this Thursday evening which, in theory, should be a chance to bounce back at our favourite venue. C’mon Demons, let’s turn it around. See ya there! MELBOURNE 1.1.7 1.1.7 1.1.7 1.1.7 ESSENDON 4.0.24 6.3.39 8.5.53 11.6.72 GOALS MELBOURNE Wotherspoon ESSENDON Bannister 4, Gamble 2, A. Clarke 2, Prespakis, Cain, Vogt BEST MELBOURNE Chaplin, Gillard, Goldrick, Hanks, Watt ESSENDON Prespakis, Bannister, Gee, G Clarke, Walker INJURIES MELBOURNE McNamara (nose), Heath (shoulder) ESSENDON Van De Heuvel (knee) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil ESSENDON Nil CROWD 3,325 at Windy Hill

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Sydney v Brisbane at the MCG, 2.30pm AEST SYDNEY In: Nil Out: Nil PF sub: Robbie Fox BRISBANE In: D.Fort Out: O.McInerney (shoulder) PF sub: Conor McKenna Finals, Grand Final experience SYDNEY Dane Rampe: 22 finals, three GFs Tom McCartin: Eight finals, one GF Nick Blakey: Six finals, one GF Jake Lloyd: 19 finals, three GFs Harry Cunningham: 14 finals, one GF Lewis Melican: Four finals James Jordon: Six finals, one GF, one premiership Chad Warner: Seven finals, one GF Ollie Florent: Eight finals, one GF Luke Parker: 25 finals, four GFs, one premiership Logan McDonald: Five finals Errol Gulden: Seven finals, one GF Tom Papley: 14 finals, two GFs Joel Amartey: Three finals Will Hayward: Eight finals, one GF Brodie Grundy: 11 finals, one GF Isaac Heeney: 16 finals, two GFs James Rowbottom: Seven finals, one GF Matt Roberts: Two finals Braeden Campbell: Six finals, one GF Justin McInerney: Seven finals, one GF Hayden McLean: Five finals, one GF Robbie Fox: Six finals, one GF Total: 216 finals, 28 GFs, two premierships BRISBANE Dayne Zorko: 15 finals, one GF Harris Andrews: 15 finals, one GF Noah Answerth: Seven finals Brandon Starcevich: 13 finals, one GF Jack Payne: Nine finals Ryan Lester: Nine finals, one GF Jaspa Fletcher: Six finals, one GF Will Ashcroft: Three finals Hugh McCluggage: 15 finals, one GF Cam Rayner: 12 finals, one GF Joe Daniher: 12 finals, one GF Jarrod Berry: 15 finals, one GF Charlie Cameron: 22 finals, two GFs Eric Hipwood: 13 finals, one GF Callum Ah Chee: 11 finals, one GF Darcy Fort: One final Josh Dunkley: 17 finals, three GFs, one premiership Lachie Neale: 22 finals, two GFs Kai Lohmann: Three finals Logan Morris: Three finals Zac Bailey: 15 finals, one GF Darcy Wilmot: Nine finals, one GF Conor McKenna: Eight finals, one GF Total: 255 finals, 19 GFs, one premiership