Demonland

RELENTLESS by KC from Casey The Casey Demons returned to the winning list with an emphatic 54 point victory over a limp North Melbourne VFL combination at Casey Fields on Saturday. Smarting from last week’s thrashing at Box Hill, the Demons came out of the blocks intent on redeeming themselves for their embarrassing start to the 2019 campaign. After a brief early bout of inaccuracy, the goals flowed as a result of relentless pressure applied to the visitors who were constantly forced into error. The pleasing thing from Casey’s viewpoint was that the team had multiple avenues to goal with six different goalkickers hitting the scoreboard in the opening term tally of 6.7.43 to 0.0.0. The inspiration came from Jeff Garlett who shook off a lengthy period of injuries and indifferent performances to return to his sparkling best. Garlett tackled and harassed the opposition, brought others into the game, maintained that effort throughout and booted three goals to give himself every chance of returning to the Melbourne line up in the near future. Casey continued to dominate proceedings into the second term and pushed its lead out to 49 points at the 14 minute mark before the hapless Kangaroos scored their first ever goal against the club after 5½ quarters (they were held goalless in their only previous meeting last year). The Demon domination continued to half time when they led by 54 points and then through to the last break and into the final term when they led by as much as 84 points, 14 minutes into the quarter when skipper Mitch White booted his third. At that point, the home side appeared to relax and coach Jade Rawlings would not have been impressed as North went on a five goal spree to double its goal tally in the last fifteen minutes of the game. The coach would however, have been happy with his team’s all round effort and the much improved input of his Casey-listed players. Seasoned performers from the skipper to Mitch Gent and Jimmy Munro were in the fray early, as were debutant, Tim McCaffrey from Wangaratta Rovers and Jaxon Briggs who played his best game yet and booted three goals. Although recruit Liam Wale-Buxton was eventually well beaten in the hit outs by seasoned big man Tom Campbell, he contested strongly and tackled well. Speaking of tackling, Alex Neal-Bullen was a tackling machine throughout the game while the in-and-under midfield work of Corey Maynard was outstanding. Tom Sparrow was given a run with role on Dom Tyson and did very well in curbing the dangerous on baller for most of the game in what will prove an excellent learning experience for the youngster. Harry Petty and Declan Keilty both bounced back after subdued performances last week with the former outstanding in defence with his marking and rebounding work. Keilty looked good in his various roles, especially around the ground when called on to do the relief ruck work and also kicked a strong goal in the third term when up forward. Both will be in contention for promotion this week with injury doubts over Oscar McDonald and Braydon Preuss. The Demons have a bye next weekend before returning to Casey Fields to take on Richmond in a fortnight. 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL Casey Demons 6.7.43 10.9.69 17.10.112 18.11.119 North Melbourne VFL 0.0.0 2.3.15 4.6.30 10.5.65 Goals Casey Demons Briggs Garlett White 3 Baker Garlett McCaffrey Smith 2 Keilty Gent Quigley North Melbourne VFL Larkey 3 Campbell 2 Hodges Hrovat Rippon Robinson Wilkinson Best Casey Demons Petty Garlett Gent White Keilty Sparrow North Melbourne VFL Campbell Hayden Rippon Robinson Larkey Hrovat Statistics Oskar Baker 2 goals 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 kicks 5 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 30 dream team points Jaxon Briggs 3 goals kicks handballs disposals marks tackles dream team points Kade Chandler 1 behind 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 56 dream team points Jake Di Pasquale 9 kicks 7 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 64 dream team points Tom Freeman 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points Jeffrey Garlett 3 goals 1 behind 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 88 dream team points Mitch Gent 1 goal 1 behind 15 kicks 7 handballs 22 disposals 8 marks 2 tackles 99 dream team points Jack Hutchins 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 34 dream team points James Jordon 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 57 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 7 tackles 7 hit outs 92 dream team points Mitchell Lewis 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 43 dream team points Tom McCaffrey 2 goals 11 kicks 5 handballs 16 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 81 dream team points Corey Maynard 1 behind 6 kicks 17 handballs 23 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 68 dream team points James Munro 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 84 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 13 tackles 87 dream team points Harrison Petty 15 kicks 2 handballs 17 disposals 9 marks 3 tackles 90 dream team points Aidan Quigley 1 goal 1 behind 8 kicks 11 handballs 19 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 72 dream team points Tim Smith 2 goals 1 behinds 7 kicks 10 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 2 hit outs 94 dream team points Tom Sparrow 9 kicks 10 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 79 dream team points Luke Tynan 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 48 dream team points Liam Wale-Buxton 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 9 tackles 23 hit outs 89 dream team points Mitchell White 3 goals 13 kicks 3 handballs 16 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 4 hit outs 100 dream team points

We're officially off the bottom.

This game is like a game of ping pong.

Our two leading midfielders are fighting tooth and nail for the early season honours while the old skipper made a bit of a move at last - Progressive after 4 rounds 42. Clayton Oliver 40. Angus Brayshaw 36. Max Gawn 25. James Harmes 20. Christian Salem 16. Jake Melksham 15. Nathan Jones 12. Sam Frost Jayden Hunt Jack Viney 4. Bayley Fritsch Michael Hibberd 3. Marty Hore Corey Wagner 2. Jay Lockhart Alex Neal-Bullen Christian Petracca 1. Neville Jetta Braydon Preuss

Seems more set up now than in the beginning when he was actually roaming looking for someone free to talk to. He actually knew to seek out Marty Hore and where he would be.

Thursday night football - not something Melbourne FC are accustomed to doing, especially after barely garnering a Friday night game for years. Yet with this opportunity, the Demons soundly beat the Swans at the SCG and put their season back on Track. This was not only a game of mental toughness, since the Demons had so far failed to win a game in 2019 and faced possibly a season ending prospect of 0-4, should they have failed in Sydney. History was against them, and Buddy Franklin’s record of 15 successive wins against the Demons was a genuine Threat, as he can single-handedly rip a game apart. Things looked good with Melbourne kicking the first 2 goals, but then fell into their habit of allowing the opposition to get a run of unanswered goals, and at ¼ time they Trailed by 14 points. It was almost a repeat of the previous 3 weeks, and based on that a recovery of sorts could be expected in the second. And it was. The game turned into a simply Tough, hard contested contest. Though behind in contested ball at ¼ time, the Demons just started grinding the Swans down. Telling goals from co-captain Nathan Jones put Melbourne back in the match, and he simply dragged his Team mates along with him. The Twin Towers of Gawn and Preuss simply overwhelmed the Swans talls, in what was to be a complete reversal of what had happened to Melbourne in the past weeks. With Preuss as a resting Target in front of goal, he simply terrified the Swan defenders, and then was able to give Max the rest from the rucking responsibilities he had been denied for so long. Furthermore, with both of them on the ground, it released Max to sit out the back and in the dying minutes of the game, this proved vital, as Gawn took telling marks to deny the Swans any hope of revival. Make no mistake, this match has the capacity to be the Turning point for the Demons. It re-inforced in their minds and the spectators, the Toughness of AFL, as we saw players from both sides taken from the ground with collision injury after collision injury. Preuss, Heeney, Brayshaw, Oscar, Oliver and Sinclair were all sidelined at some point in the game. For the Demons, already with injury woes, the pre-game losses of Jetta, Lockhart and Kolodjashnij only compounded the problem, and it is hoped that a 10 day break will give these bodies the chance to recover. With the game on the line at ½ time, it was the Demons who came out and started to stamp their authority. The contested ball statistics had been reversed from the first quarter as Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney and particularly Jones bullocked into contests. This was more of the Melbourne brand that the fans had come to know. With Gawn providing an enormous 55 hitouts and 38% to advantage, in a way the game should have only had the one possible result. Backup from Preuss gave the Swans no relief, so hopefully this Tandem operation will be used again in future games. Frost on Franklin was always a concern, but his speed was able to match Buddy’s and he forced him far and wide continuously. The result was a solitary goal, with a couple of failed shots, simply because he was too far out. Without a true second target in front of goals, the Swans were denied scoring opportunities. Make no mistake, the Demon defence is still fragile. Oscar McDonald, prior to his injury did little to inspire confidence, and Hibberd is still miles from his best. However, Hore in his second game proved to be more than reliable, and took some telling defensive marks at critical times. Salem was simply a rock, yet again, with 33 disposals, which always seem to finish in the hands of team mates up the ground. The main forwards also are far from their best, and the addition of Preuss or Gawn really covered the lack of output from them again. Melksham, Tom McDonald and Weideman only contributed 3 goals, but Petracca took a step in the right direction with more intensity when required to record a couple of goals himself. Hunt has fitted into the crumbing forward role as he has his career re-defined, and he has also learnt the importance of defensive pressure, something badly missing from the whole teams performance in these past weeks. Spargo and Stretch however, provided little and will only keep their position in the side should no-one else suitable be available. They must take their chances and perform. Ten days to recover. The bodies certainly need it after that game. And it may give other bodies the Time to also get to game ready. Jetta and Lockhart should be available, with Lewis also a possibility. Preuss has guaranteed a position in the side, and it is now Time for the Demons to Truly put their season back on Track. Melbourne 3.2.20 8.4.52 12.7.79 15.10.100 Sydney Swans 5.4.34 8.10.58 9.11.65 11.12.78 Goals Melbourne Jones 3 Hunt Petracca Preuss 2 Brayshaw Harmes T McDonald Melksham Viney Weideman Sydney Dawson Florent Jack 2 Franklin Heeney Jones Ronke Sinclair Best Melbourne Gawn Oliver Jones Salem Hore Harmes Sydney Cunningham Lloyd Florent Rampe Jones Heeney Injuries Melbourne Braydon Preuss (shoulder) Sydney Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Nil Umpires Rosebury, Stephens, Wallace Official crowd: 26,669 at the SCG

That photo is actually Preuss' head on May's body. ?

The game is on again on Foxtel 504 starting now.

Looking forward to your votes on a 6,5,4,3,2,1 basis please.

How was that not a free to Wagner.

Got screwed there.

Can Weideman take a mark please.

Hibberd is a shell of the player he was.

I'd love to get a possession out of the middle.

About time we got a free in front of goal. Feels like it's been 15 years.

38 to 5 hitouts.

Frost!!!! FMD.

Throw by Kennedy missed.

What has happened to Salem's kicking?

Jones is fumble city.

The fumbling.

Bloody field umpires killing us.