Demonland

DERAILMENT by KC from Casey It wasn’t quite a trainwreck although at times, it sure looked like one, so I’ll settle for “derailment”. The trip to Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield outside the back of Brisbane might not exactly be the same place where Homer Simpson’s family resides but, if you listened closely to the utterances of the Casey Demons fans both at the ground or watching via livestream, you could hear lots of groaning and plenty of expressions of “D'oh!” reverberating in the background, particularly after quarter time. The Demons started the game brightly. They were aided by a swirly breeze and had two early goals on the board through the agency of Josh Schache and emerging young forward Matt Jefferson who is starting to look as if he belongs on the forward line after a long apprenticeship. The Lions mounted a countercharge but the Demons were equal to the task with Shane McAdam and Schache looking dangerous, albeit erratic in front of goals. A ten point lead at the first break was looking like a good reward for effort until the strength, ability, the greater experience and AFL list numbers of the northerners came to the fore early in the second term and it was all over. The combination of Fort and Smith in the ruck and the on ball skills of Lyons, Robertson and Dunkley were overwhelming as the home side relentlessly pushed forward time and again off the weight of clearances. The Brisbane backmen defended strongly, their forwards played in front and marked everything. The only mystery was the fact that they weren’t further in front. After an early second half resurgence, it was business as usual and the Demons trailed by eight goals at three quarter time and thanks to some rare individual efforts, they somehow managed to narrow the margin slightly by the end of the game. Casey had far too few players who stood up all day. Defenders Marty Hore (24 disposals, 10 marks) and Blake Howes Howes (22 touches, seven marks) worked hard to stem the flow but had very little assistance. Forwards Matt Jefferson and Shane McAdam presented well and did their bit with three goals each while Josh Schache scored two goals but also blemished his record with four behinds including a couple that were very forgettable. Jack Billings worked hard to get into the game but otherwise, most of the younger crop of Demons looked tired and failed to produce the goods. The young ruckmen were well beaten both at stoppages and around the ground. Apart from Mitch White who gave his all as he always does, Roan Steele and Tom Freeman, the VFL-listed players had minimal impact on the game. Casey are back home against Essendon, another struggling side, next Sunday. The Demons will need to lift their game as the Bombers won their game this round and are showing improvement of late with internal competition for finals places intensifies. CASEY DEMONS 5.5.35 6.5.41 7.9.51 11.11.77 BRISBANE LIONS 4.1.25 10.5.65 15.9.99 18.15.123 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Jefferson McAdam 3 Schache 2 Billings Farris-White White BRISBANE LIONS Smith 3 Craven Derksen Dunkley Lyons Ryan 2 Greenaway McPherson Manly Robertson Sharp BEST CASEY DEMONS Hore Jefferson McAdam Howes White Billings BRISBANE LIONS Robertson Lyons Smith Prior Dunkley Fort Statistics Jed Adams 2 kicks 3 handballs 5 disposals 1 tackle 16 dream team points Jack Billings 1 goal 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 7 marks 5 tackles 84 dream team points Kynan Brown 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 5 tackles 35 dream team points Tyler Edwards 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 51 dream team points Kyah Faris-White 1 goals 1 behind 3 kicks 3 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 11 hitouts 29 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 64 dream team points Max Gregory 4 kicks 8 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 57 dream team points Marty Hore 22 kicks 2 handballs 24 disposals 9 marks 2 tackles 106 dream team points Blake Howes 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 7 marks 78 dream team points Lachie Hunter 13 kicks 3 handballs 16 disposals 9 marks 1 tackle 76 dream team points Matt Jefferson 3 goals 1 behind 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 76 dream team points Luker Kentfield 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 25 dream team points Eddie King 2 kicks 3 handballs 5 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 23 dream team points Bailey Laurie 8 kicks 2 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 32 dream team points Shane McAdam 3 goals 1 behind 9 kicks 2 handballs 11 disposals 6 marks 7 tackles 97 dream team points Ned Moodie 1 behind 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 53 dream team points Harvey Neocleous 1 behind 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points Josh Schache 2 goals 4 behinds 12 kicks 4 handballs 16 disposals 12 marks 96 dream team points Ollie Sestan 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 1 hitout 41 dream team points Roan Steele 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 69 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 32 dream team points Will Verrall 6 kicks 1 handball 7 disposals 3 tackles 26 hitouts 56 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 65 dream team points

Who are you tipping and what are the best results for the Demons (for draft picks or for finals - choose your poison)?

Melbourne stands at the crossroads. Sunday’s game against the West Coast Eagles who have not met the Demons at the MCG in more than ten years, is a make or break for the club’s finals aspirations. That proposition is self-evident since every other team the club will be opposed to over the next eight weeks of footy is a prospective 2024 finalist. To add to this perspective is the fact that while the Demons are now in twelfth position on the AFL table, they are only a game and a half behind third placed Fremantle. So, with games to come against seven of the teams above it on the ladder, including the Dockers, their destiny is well and truly in their own hands. But if they can’t prevail on their home soil against the only remaining opponent that’s out of the finals race, then their credibility as a contender and their finals hopes will become greatly diminished. There is a pall hanging over Melbourne even though the club showed some good signs in last week’s game against Brisbane that its mid-season slump, which began with a narrow loss to Carlton two months ago, is nearing an end. Why the concern then with the lowly Eagles? For starters, one of the West Coast’s three wins this year was a resounding victory recorded when they monstered the Demons at Optus Stadium in mid-May. That Harley Reid goal running away from a now absent Christian Petracca and the masterful performance of Jake Waterman at full forward is still clear in the memory. And there’s more concern if you add the way in which Melbourne has squandered substantial leads with stuttering finishes in the final quarters of each of its last two games — leads which, if built upon during those periods, would have seen it sitting as high as fifth rather than labouring below the pack of finals aspirants. At the head of those concerns is the dramatic decline in the Demons’ final quarter differential figures from first in the league in Rounds 0 to 9 (at +8.7 points) to last since then (-14.2). The first thing that comes to mind at this sudden development is the question of the team’s fitness but this isn’t backed up work rate statistics on distance run, repeat sprint numbers, clearances and contested possession. The explanation suggested by coach Simon Goodwin is that it’s the team’s conservatism late in games when the team went safe enabling the opposition midfields to get on top enhancing their ability to transition the ball too easily from one end of the ground to the other. There’s also the change in profile to one of the competition’s most youthful. Against the Lions, the Demons had nine players aged 22 or younger in their side (Daniel Turner, Trent Rivers, Jacob van Rooyen, Taj Woewodin, Judd McVee, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Caleb Windsor, Koltyn Tholstrup and Kynan Brown) while Brisbane had sixteen 100-plus gamers to ten. The way I look at this week’s game is that we should be focussing more on how the club has performed in its first three quarters than in its last. They have been impressive and seem to be building up with more fitness and greater aggression at the football. The return of Jake Lever saw a massive change in the way the team went about defending its ground and attacking the football through the middle as they did in the second quarter against the Lions. Clayton Oliver was threatening and Kozzie Pickett was back to his best. Bayley Fritsch is due to return to his early season goalkicking form as well. Meanwhile, the Eagles are well down on their form from a month and a half ago. Their form has been poor, they’re coming off a six day break and are travelling across the continent to get to Sunday’s game. Lightning won’t strike a second time. Melbourne to win by 45 points. THE GAME Melbourne v West Coast Eagles at the MCG, Sunday 7 July 2024 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 20 wins West Coast Eagles 38 wins At the MCG Melbourne 7 wins West Coast Eagles 9 wins Past five meetings Melbourne 3 wins West Coast Eagles 2 wins The Coaches Goodwin 4 wins Simpson 5 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Waalitj Marawar 16.9.105 defeated Narrm 10.10.70 at Optus Stadium in Round 10, 2024 Jake Waterman and Jack Darling had days out with five and three goals respectively while Harley Reid was explosive out of the middle for the Eagles. The Demons were hurt by the early loss of Jake Lever and were unable to mount any semblance of a revival against an opponent that went 90% in kicking for goal in the second half. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B J. Lever, S. May, J. McVee HB A. Moniz-Wakefield, T. McDonald, T. Rivers C T. Sparrow, A. Neal-Bullen, C. Windsor HF K. Tholstrup, J. Van Rooyen, E. Langdon F K. Pickett, B. Fritsch, J. Melksham FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, C. Oliver I/C J. Bowey, K. Chandler, C. Salem, D. Turner SUB T. Woewodin EMG T. Fullarton, B. Laurie, A. Tomlinson IN J. Bowey, J. Melksham, C. Salem OUT K. Brown (omitted), H. Petty (hamstring), A. Tomlinson WEST COAST EAGLES B B. Hough, T. Barrass, A. Witherden HB T. Cole, J. McGovern, L. Duggan C J. Hunt, E. Yeo, J. Jones HF L. Ryan, J. Waterman, T. Brockman F J. Cripps, O. Allen, J. Darling FOLL B. Williams, H. Reid, T. Kelly I/C C. Chesser, R. Ginbey, J. Hutchinson, J. Rotham SUB J. Williams EMG H. Edwards, H. Johnston, R. Maric IN J. Hutchinson, J. Williams OUT M.Flynn (ankle), R. Maric (omitted) Injury List: Round 17 Marty Hore — calf / available Jake Melksham — knee / available Jake Bowey — general soreness / test Ben Brown — knee / test Harrison Petty — hamstring / test Will Verrall — concussion / test Christian Salem — knee / test Charlie Spargo — Achilles / TBC Christian Petracca — spleen / indefinite

It's been fixed now. You might need to remove/delete the episode, close the app, reopen it and then redownload the episode.

Fixing it now. In my haste to get the podcast out I didn't put the sounds channel in. The whole reason for doing the show earlier was so that I could wrap up the post productions stuff early so I could get to bed. Seems I work better later.

The League announced today that the 2025 Gather Round will run from Thursday April 10 to Sunday April 13, which will coincide with school holidays in South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. The traditional Easter round of matches will follow over the long weekend of April 18-21.

WE'RE LIVE EARLY TONIGHT @ 7:30PM Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

The DEMONLAND PODCAST will be LIVE tonight at the Special Time of 7:30pm. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Votes Player (Club) 9 Josh Dunkley (BL) 9 Kysaiah Pickett (MELB) 6 Hugh McCluggage (BL) 4 Jack Viney (MELB) 2 Dayne Zorko (BL) Leaderboard Votes Player Club 89 Isaac Heeney SYD 82 Nick Daicos COLL 73 Marcus Bontempelli WB 69 Caleb Serong FRE 68 Patrick Cripps CARL 62 Errol Gulden SYD 61 Sam Walsh CARL 55 Zach Merrett ESS 55 Chad Warner SYD 53 Noah Anderson GCFC 51 Lachie Neale BL 50 Max Gawn MELB 49 Zak Butters PORT 48 Jordan Dawson ADEL 48 Adam Treloar WB 47 Jason Horne-Francis PORT 45 Max Holmes GEEL 45 Matt Rowell GCFC 44 Hayden Young FRE 41 Jai Newcombe HAW

Going to cut the questions off here. Thank you for your contributions and see you tonight.

You have to go a long way back to when the teams last met at the MCG back on Sunday 30 March, 2014 when 22,230 fans witnessed the Demons go down by 93 points - 4.6.30 to 18.15.123. It was Paul Roos’ second game at the helm of the club after the team’s opening round defeat at the hands of eventual wooden spooners St. Kilda. Needless to say, Melbourne’s defeat saw the team plummet to last on the ladder after two games. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Alex Georgiou HB: Jack Grimes, Tom McDonald, Dean Terlich C: Jack Trengove, Dom Tyson, Daniel Cross HF: Jack Watts, Cam Pedersen, Jimmy Toumpas F: Jeremy Howe, Jack Fitzpatrick, Rohan Bail FOLL: Jake Spencer, Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince I/C: Shannon Byrnes, Matt Jones, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Viv Michie EM: Sam Blease, Michael Evans, Dean Kent No change WEST COAST B: Jamie Bennell, Darren Glass, Mitch Brown HB: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Xavier Ellis C: Matt Rosa, Matt Priddis, Andrew Gaff HF: Jamie Cripps, Josh Kennedy, Chris Masten F: Mark LeCras, Jack Darling, Nic Naitanui FOLL: Dean Cox, Scott Selwood, Luke Shuey IC: Brad Sheppard, Callum Sinclair, Sharrod Wellingham, Elliot Yeo EM: Brant Colledge, Josh Hill, Scott Lycett In: Brad Sheppard Out: Dom Sheed

NARRM 2.1.13 6.1.37 9.8.62 10.10.70 WAALITJ MARAWAR 4.3.27 7.8.50 12.8.80 16.9.105 It was the Waterman and Reid show as Waalitj Marawar humiliated Narrm by 35 points at Optus Stadium. We’ve seen worse since then but this was one big warning sign of the club’s fall from a top four contender to an outsider for the finals. THE TEAMS WAALITJ MARAWAR B A. Witherden, T. Barrass, B. Hough HB T. Cole, J. McGovern, L. Duggan C C. Chesser, H. Reid, J. Hunt HF L. Edwards, J. Waterman. J. Cripps F L. Ryan, J. Darling, J. Williams FOLL B. J. Williams, T. Kelly, R. Ginbey I/C J. Jones, J. Rotham, D. Sheed, J. Williams SUB T. Dewar EMG J. Culley, H. Edwards, A. Gaff IN J. Jones, J. Waterman OUT H. Johnston (omitted), J. Petruccelle (ankle) NARRM B B. Howes, S. May, T. Rivers HB J. McVee, T. McDonald, J. Lever C J. Billings, C. Oliver, C. Windsor HF A. Neal-Bullen, B. Fritsch, K. Pickett F K. Chandler, H. Petty, S. McAdam FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, C. Petracca I/C J. Bowey, B. Brown, C. Salem, T. Sparrow SUB T. Woewodin EMG T. Fullarton K. Tholstrup, A. Tomlinson IN B. Brown, S. McAdam, C. Salem OUT E. Langdon (personal reasons), D. Turner (calf), J. van Rooyen (concussion)

LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 16 162. Max Gawn 97. Christian Petracca 83. Steven May 82. Jack Viney 80. Alex Neal-Bullen 50. Kysaiah Pickett 48. Clayton Oliver 47. Trent Rivers 44. Christian Salem 40. Jake Lever 31. Bayley Fritsch 29. Tom McDonald 27. Judd McVee 24. Ed Langdon 17. Tom Sparrow 14. Kade Chandler Jacob van Rooyen 11. Blake Howes Daniel Turner 10. Jack Billings 9. Adam Tomlinson 8. Caleb Windsor 4. Harry Petty 1. Jake Bowey

The Casey Demons overcame their inaccuracy and the wet inhospitable conditions to overrun the lowly Northern Bullants at Genis Steel Oval in Cramer Street, Preston on Saturday. It was an eerie feeling entering the ground that in the past hosted many VFA/VFL greats of the past including the legendary Roy Cazaly. The cold and drizzly rain and the sparse crowd were enough to make one want to escape to the nearby Preston Market and hang out there for the afternoon. In the event, the fans who stayed to watch the game were treated to a close but somewhat lacklustre exhibition in which the Demons were superior for most of the day and proved that when they ran away with the game in the final quarter to win by 28 points. Early in the game, the teams traded goals and the home team keep their noses in front with a 4 point lead at the first break. The conditions and some puzzling umpiring were making things difficult for the players but the old adage about the team with the greater skills winning out in the wet started to prove true. With 12 AFL listed players, Casey gradually worked their way to square the game at half time with players like the strong tackling Bailey Laurie and Kynan Brown (who had a cameo performance much further north the night before) winning the ground ball and Tom Fullerton having one of his better games in the ruck. The experience of Jack Billings and Lachie Hunter were invaluable at this stage. The game became pretty much a slog in the murky wet conditions after half time with only one goal scored in an ugly quarter of football. That goal came from Shane McAdam after five minutes and it put Casey six points in front. Despite dominating the play, Casey could add only six points, half of them rushed, to the Bullants’ single behind for the term and Casey led by 11 points at the final break. The Demons got their kicking boots on in the last when, after a day of rain, the real deluge began in terms of goals scored. The first two came in quick succession from Oliver Sestan who was really relishing the conditions. Matt Jefferson, who presented well up forward all day, iced the game when he was well rewarded with a nice goal and McAdam dribbled one through late in proceedings for his third which saw the Casey Demons safely home for their fourth victory of the season. Laurie was the star of the day with his 23 possessions and a massive ten tackles, while Blake Howes had 22 touches and rookie Kynan Brown finished with 20, as did Fullarton in the ruck adding to his 29 hit outs. Mitch White and Ned Moodie were the best of the VFL list. The team heads much further north - to Brisbane next Saturday afternoon at Brighton Homes Arena for a tough assignment against a genuine flag contender.
 CASEY DEMONS 3.3.21 5.8.38 6.14.50 10.15.75 NORTHERN BULLANTS 4.1.25 6.2.38 6.3.39 7.5.47 GOALS CASEY DEMONS S. McAdam 3 M. Jefferson 0. Sestan 2 J. Billings H. Neocleous J. Schache NORTHERN BULLANTS J. Jorgensen 3 M. Goodman 2 C. Kosmas J. Velissaris BEST CASEY DEMONS B. Howes B. Laurie M. White M. Jefferson N. Moodie K. Brown NORTHERN BULLANTS C. Franks E. Mantas F. Dreher P. Fairlie J. Velissaris Statistics Jed Adams 10 kicks 10 disposals 4 marks 42 dream team points Jack Billings 1 goal 1 behind 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 68 dream team points Kynan Brown 15 kicks 5 handballs 20 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 95 dream team points Tyler Edwards 2 behinds 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 48 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points Tom Fullarton 12 kicks 8 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 29 hitouts 92 dream team points Max Gregory 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 55 dream team points Blake Howes 17 kicks 5 handballs 22 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 82 dream team points Lachie Hunter 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 37 dream team points Matt Jefferson 2 goals 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points Luker Kentfield 1 behind 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 2 tackles 15 dream team points Eddie King 1 behind 2 kicks 2 disposals 1 tackle 11 dream team points Bailey Laurie 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 97 dream team points Shane McAdam 3 goals 1 behind 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 70 dream team points Ned Moodie 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 61 dream team points Harvey Neocleous 1 goal 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 58 dream team points Josh Schache 1 goal 2 behinds 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 3 hitouts 70 dream team points Ollie Sestan 2 goals 1 behind 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Roan Steele 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 76 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 53 dream team points Ryan Valentine 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 1 tackles 20 dream team points Mitch White 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 9 marks 5 tackles 92 dream team points Kai Windsor 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 20 dream team points

Somehow, the Melbourne Football Club managed it twice in the course of a week. Coach Simon Goodwin admitted it in his press conference after the loss against the Brisbane Lions in a game where his team held a four goal lead in the third term: "In reality we went a bit safe. Big occasion, a lot of young players playing. We probably just went into our shell a bit. "There's a bit to unpack in that last quarter … whether we go into our shells a bit late in the game." Well … actually … that’s exactly what happened on the previous Saturday night when his charges went far too early into a save the game mode after leading by 39 points in the shadows of three quarter time. Admittedly, the Demons’ line up is very young and missed the experience of premiership defenders in Christian Salem and Jake Bowey (not to mention the other Christian at the club) but, really, you have to learn from your mistakes in this caper and the way things unfolded, it all seemed like insanity (and no offence intended here to the mentally ill). The same tactic when the team’s energy was sagging and some extra run was needed, and the same, very, very late decision to bring on a fresh speedy substitute in Kynan Brown. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." The above words have been attributed to theoretical physicist and genius Albert Einstein but fact checkers say there is no evidence he ever said this. There’s no doubt however, that he developed the theory of relativity and my thought patterns didn’t have to travel at the speed of light when I saw the repeat of last week happening in slow motion as the final quarter unfolded. Not to mention that a more attacking disposition in those two games might easily have seen Melbourne sitting in fifth place and breathing right down the necks of a couple of top four sides. The Lions’ comeback was assisted by their midfield lifting its work rate in the second half as well as some generosity and largesse from the umpires. Certainly, it could be argued that the vital decisions that went their way were there to be paid but others of similar ilk were not and it hurt Melbourne this week, as it always does in such close games. Earlier, the Demons did well to control a strong start from the Lions in the opening quarter. In the second term, they overwhelmed their opponents with new-found ferocity around the ball through Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver and emerging midfielder Trent Rivers. Thanks to some great finishing work from the unstoppable Kozzie Pickett and the accuracy of Jacob van Rooyen, they added 8.2 for the quarter. Ironically, they managed only 2.8 for the rest of the game with a few of those shots coming tantalisingly close in the game’s final moments. The Lions were also inaccurate in front of goal all night but a lot of that can be attributed to the Demons’ pressure. Unfortunately, the team also had its offenders in front of goal with Harry Petty’s 0.4 and Bayley Fritsch’s 1.3 contributing to the mess. Petty, in particular, missed some sitters that might have resulted in icing the game by the early stages of the final quarter. And speaking of icing, one wonders at the strategy of having a player with a recent history of foot injuries, going up in ruck contests. You might think this is a bit insane, but I would not be surprised if Petty earns the title of mystery injury of the week next Thursday night and ends up among the missing for a little while. Along with the spirit of the second quarter, there were still a number of encouraging signs from the game. In particular, the younger brigade. Caleb Windsor continues his fine early work and remains well up there among the competition’s rising stars. Koltyn Tholstrup is moving up the ranks as he gains confidence and looks to be a real prospect who should not take very long to progress through to a midfield berth and there was first gamer, Andy Moniz-Wakefield. The young man with the hyphenated name has been forced to bide his time in his three seasons at the club after his selection as a Category B Rookie, via the club’s connection to its Next Generation Academy. The knock on him was his disposal and decision-making but he did himself proud on Friday night and fully justified his selection. They say that Melbourne’s season is hanging by a thread but there’s still time for Goodwin to unpack things and make the changes that will help the fans and the club restore their sanity. They should all be sufficiently rested by Sunday afternoon when they take on the Eagles in a rare contest with them at the MCG. That would be their time to make a start. MELBOURNE 1.5.11 9.7.61 11.11.77 11.15.81 BRISBANE LIONS 3.7.25 5.8.38 8.14.62 11.20.86 GOALS MELBOURNE Pickett 5 Van Rooyen 2 Chandler Fritsch Oliver Turner BRISBANE LIONS Cameron Daniher Rayner 2 Ah Chee Berry Hipwood Lohmann McLuggage BEST MELBOURNE Pickett Viney Oliver van Rooyen Petty Rivers BRISBANE LIONS McCluggage Neale Dunkley Hipwood Starcevich Zorko INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil LATE CHANGES MELBOURNE Jake Bowey (back) replaced by Kynan Brown BRISBANE LIONS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Kynan Brown (replaced Harrison Petty in the fourth quarter) BRISBANE LIONS Jaspa Fletcher (replaced Logan Morris in the third quarter) UMPIRES Matt Stevic Andrew Stephens Nathan Williamson Cameron Dore CROWD 29,617 at the Gabba

DELUGE by KC from Casey The Casey Demons overcame their inaccuracy and the wet inhospitable conditions to overrun the lowly Northern Bullants at Genis Steel Oval in Cramer Street, Preston on Saturday. It was an eerie feeling entering the ground that in the past hosted many VFA/VFL greats of the past including the legendary Roy Cazaly. The cold and drizzly rain and the sparse crowd were enough to make one want to escape to the nearby Preston Market and hang out there for the afternoon. In the event, the fans who stayed to watch the game were treated to a close but somewhat lacklustre exhibition in which the Demons were superior for most of the day and proved that when they ran away with the game in the final quarter to win by 28 points. Early in the game, the teams traded goals and the home team keep their noses in front with a 4 point lead at the first break. The conditions and some puzzling umpiring were making things difficult for the players but the old adage about the team with the greater skills winning out in the wet started to prove true. With 12 AFL listed players, Casey gradually worked their way to square the game at half time with players like the strong tackling Bailey Laurie and Kynan Brown (who had a cameo performance much further north the night before) winning the ground ball and Tom Fullerton having one of his better games in the ruck. The experience of Jack Billings and Lachie Hunter were invaluable at this stage. The game became pretty much a slog in the murky wet conditions after half time with only one goal scored in an ugly quarter of football. That goal came from Shane McAdam after five minutes and it put Casey six points in front. Despite dominating the play, Casey could add only six points, half of them rushed, to the Bullants’ single behind for the term and Casey led by 11 points at the final break. The Demons got their kicking boots on in the last when, after a day of rain, the real deluge began in terms of goals scored. The first two came in quick succession from Oliver Sestan who was really relishing the conditions. Matt Jefferson, who presented well up forward all day, iced the game when he was well rewarded with a nice goal and McAdam dribbled one through late in proceedings for his third which saw the Casey Demons safely home for their fourth victory of the season. Laurie was the star of the day with his 23 possessions and a massive ten tackles, while Blake Howes had 22 touches and rookie Kynan Brown finished with 20, as did Fullarton in the ruck adding to his 29 hit outs. Mitch White and Ned Moodie were the best of the VFL list. The team heads much further north - to Brisbane next Saturday afternoon at Brighton Homes Arena for a tough assignment against a genuine flag contender.
 CASEY DEMONS 3.3.21 5.8.38 6.14.50 10.15.75 NORTHERN BULLANTS 4.1.25 6.2.38 6.3.39 7.5.47 GOALS CASEY DEMONS S. McAdam 3 M. Jefferson 0. Sestan 2 J. Billings H. Neocleous J. Schache NORTHERN BULLANTS J. Jorgensen 3 M. Goodman 2 C. Kosmas J. Velissaris BEST CASEY DEMONS B. Howes B. Laurie M. White M. Jefferson N. Moodie K. Brown NORTHERN BULLANTS C. Franks E. Mantas F. Dreher P. Fairlie J. Velissaris Statistics Jed Adams 10 kicks 10 disposals 4 marks 42 dream team points Jack Billings 1 goal 1 behind 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 68 dream team points Kynan Brown 15 kicks 5 handballs 20 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 95 dream team points Tyler Edwards 2 behinds 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 48 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points Tom Fullarton 12 kicks 8 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 29 hitouts 92 dream team points Max Gregory 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 55 dream team points Blake Howes 17 kicks 5 handballs 22 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 82 dream team points Lachie Hunter 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 37 dream team points Matt Jefferson 2 goals 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points Luker Kentfield 1 behind 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 2 tackles 15 dream team points Eddie King 1 behind 2 kicks 2 disposals 1 tackle 11 dream team points Bailey Laurie 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 97 dream team points Shane McAdam 3 goals 1 behind 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 70 dream team points Ned Moodie 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 61 dream team points Harvey Neocleous 1 goal 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 58 dream team points Josh Schache 1 goal 2 behinds 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 3 hitouts 70 dream team points Ollie Sestan 2 goals 1 behind 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Roan Steele 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 76 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 53 dream team points Ryan Valentine 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 1 tackles 20 dream team points Mitch White 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 9 marks 5 tackles 92 dream team points Kai Windsor 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 20 dream team points