Demonland

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

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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?

The Gold Coast Suns find themselves outside of the top eight for the first time since Round 1 with pressure is mounting on the entire organisation. Their coach Damien Hardwick expressed his frustration at his team’s condition last week by making a middle-finger gesture on television that earned him a fine for his troubles. He showed his desperation by claiming that Fox should pick up the tab. There’s little doubt the Suns have shown improvement in 2025, and their position on the ladder is influenced to some extent by having played fewer games than their rivals for a playoff role at the end of the season, courtesy of the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred in March. However, they are following the same trajectory that hindered the club in past years whenever they appeared to be nearing their potential. As a consequence, that Hardwick gesture should be considered as more than a mere behavioral lapse. It’s a distress signal that does not bode well for the Queenslanders. While the Suns are eager to remain in contention with the top eight, Melbourne faces its own crisis, which is similarly deep-seated but in a much different way. After recovering from a disappointing start to the season and nearing a return to respectability among its peer clubs, the Demons have experienced a decline in status, driven by the fact that while their form has been reasonable (see their performance against the ladder leader in the Kings Birthday match), their conversion in front of goal is poor enough to rank last in the competition. Furthermore, their opponents find them exceptionally easy to score against. As a result, they have effectively eliminated themselves from the finals race and are again positioned to finish in the bottom half of the ladder. The Demons have not experienced victory for a month, and this encounter at People First Stadium, the home of the Gold Coast Suns, appears to be beyond their reach. However, it’s worth recalling they have a good record against the Suns at this venue. Their achievement of a significantly weaker side there less than twelve months ago was outstanding. In the absence of key players, they successfully gained control of the midfield, maintained a solid defence, and with Jack Viney and Ed Langdon starring and the young tall key forwards finding some connection, they ultimately overwhelmed the Suns scoring 18 goals and 9 behinds to secure a 9-goal victory. Although such a glam scoreline is unprecedented for the Demons in 2025, it will undoubtedly trouble Hardwick and is likely to increase his anxiety as the game approaches. The question is whether the Demons possess the resilience to overcome the memory of their most recent performance against Port Adelaide, where they squandered numerous opportunities to close the gap with the home side, as well as their earlier encounter against the Suns, where they were eviscerated to the tune of 58 points at the MCG after kicking 2.9 in the first half. The big issue, we were told, earlier in the season was that the players were still getting used to a new game plan. They’ve had plenty of time to adjust and improve, they’ve shown some good progress but the old problem of forward connection continues to rear its ugly head. The mission is to overcome some prolific midfielders like Noah Anderson, Matt Rowell and Touk Miller, take control of the engine room which they are certainly capable of and move the ball directly into the forward line and convert truly. They’ve been seething over the consequences of recent failures for two weeks and watched while teams like the Blues and the Bombers have copped all of the media flak. The Demons need to perform this week to avoid getting the middle finger from the press. I watched the Suns game closely because I had little else to do over the last weekend. I saw how the GWS Giants twice conceded an early lead and then easily reeled them in to take the lead and win. There was panic in their eyes and weakness in their hearts of the Suns. They are definitely vulnerable. The Demons must get themselves on target sooner rather than later and there’s no better time to do so on what is forecast as a wet, soggy day at Carrara. Bring it on. Melbourne by 37 points. THE GAME Gold Coast Suns vs Melbourne at Peoples First Stadium on Saturday 29 June 2025 at 1.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall - Gold Coast Suns 4 wins Melbourne 15 wins At Peoples First Stadium - Gold Coast Suns 1 win Melbourne 5 wins Past five matches - Gold Coast Suns 1 win Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches - Hardwick 1 win Goodwin 1 win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Gold Coast Suns 18.12.120 defeated Melbourne 8.14.62 at The MCG, Round 3 2025 It was inevitable that the accident-prone Demons were going to get blown away in the end. They kicked 2.9 in a first half (as if we need reminding) which was otherwise tightly contested. The game then went according to the Dees’ 2025 script as the Suns went on a 13.4 scoring spree in the second half to record a big victory. Langdon, Oliver and the skipper stood out but it was a sad performance overall. THE TEAMS GOLD COAST SUNS B B. Uwland, M. Andrew, S. Collins HB J. Noble, W. Powell, D. Rioli C L. Weller, M. Rowell, B. Fiorini HF B. Ainsworth, S. Flanders, B. Humphrey F B. Long, J. Walter, B. King FOLL J. Witts, T. Miller, N. Anderson I/C C. Budarick, S. Clohesy, J. Jeffrey, E. Read, A. Sexton EMG A. Davies, N. Holman, N. Moyle IN A. Sexton OUT N. Holman (omitted) MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, S. May, C. Salem HB J. McVee, D. Turner, B. Howes C E. Langdon, C. Petracca, H. Langford HF B. Fritsch, M. Jefferson, K. Chandler F J. Melksham, H. Petty, K. Pickett FOLL M. Gawn, C. Oliver, J. Viney I/C X. Lindsay, T. Rivers, H. Sharp, T. Sparrow, K. Tholstrup EMG J. Van Rooyen, J. Lever, T. Woewodin IN M. Jefferson, H. Sharp, K. Tholstrup OUT J. Lever (omitted), J. Van Rooyen (omitted), C. Windsor (omitted) Injury List: Round 16 Charlie Spargo — Scapula / 1 - 2 weeks Oliver Sestan — hamstring / TBC Aidan Johnson — ankle / 4 - 6 weeks Shane McAdam — Achilles / season Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / season

It was a humiliating defeat for Melbourne highlighted by its usual wayward kicking at goals, loose defence and lack of pressure conceding easy goals. Nothing we haven’t seen before or since. MELBOURNE 1.4.10 2.9.21 6.12.48 8.14.62 GOLD COAST SUNS 4.5.29 5.8.38 12.10.82 18.12.120 GOALS MELBOURNE Sharp 2 Bowey Chandler Langford Melksham Petracca van Rooyen GOLD COAST SUNS King 4 Miller 3 Graham 2 Anderson Flanders Humphrey Long Noble Read Walter Weller Witts BEST MELBOURNE Langdon Langford Bowey Oliver Gawn Rivers GOLD COAST SUNS Rowell Anderson Collins Miller King Noble THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B B. Howes, S. May, C. Salem HB T. Rivers, H. Petty, J. Bowey C E. Langdon, C. Oliver, X. Lindsay HF J. Henderson, A. Johnson, H. Sharp F B. Fritsch, J. van Rooyen, T. Sparrow FOLL M. Gawn, C. Petracca, J. Viney I/C J. Billings, K. Chandler, H. Langford, T. McDonald SUB J. Melksham EMG R. Mentha Jr, O. Sestan, D. Turner IN J. Billings, A. Johnson, H. Langford, S. May, J. Melksham OUT M. Jefferson (hand), J. Lever (ankle), C. Spargo (concussion), D. Turner (omitted), T. Woewodin (omitted) GOLD COAST SUNS B M. Andrew, W. Powell, S. Collins HB J. Noble, B. Uwland, D. Rioli C L. Weller, M. Rowell, S. Clohesy HF W. Graham, J. Walter, T. Miller F B. King, S. Flanders, E. Read FOLL J. Witts, B. Humphrey, N. Anderson I/C C. Budarick, N. Holman, B. Long, J. Jeffrey SUB J. Rogers EMG A. Sexton, N. Moyle, C. Graham IN M. Andrew, S. Flanders, J. Walter OUT B. Ainsworth (quad), C. Ballard (knee), A. Sexton (omitted)

As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

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