Whispering_Jack

Gee. Times have changed. When I was young, you went to the circus to see jugglers, clowns, lion tamers, monkeys and trapeze artists. There were afternoon matinees and evening sessions but I never heard of a circus being open at 6.00am.

No doubt Adam Kingsley organized the trip to the circus for the boys as a bonding session after losing three in a row.

Tomorrow’s injury report should be of interest with some questions arising from the last week or two:-

• Daniel Turner’s hand injury. How close is he to a return given his importance as an emerging defender in the team?;

• Changkuoth Jiath was injured during yesterday’s game. Reports say it was a calf injury which makes him a likely out for Sunday vs Gold Coast;

• Jake Melksham was clearly hampered by what appeared to be an injury to his right knee in the VFL game vs Footscray last week. He wasn’t included on the club’s official injury list but his status remains a mystery;

• Trent Rivers was omitted from yesterday’s game with the coach referring to an issue he was dealing with - another mystery;

• Paddy Cross - reported on Facebook* that he’s had surgery for hand injury that will put him out for possibly a few weeks.

* ALL ABOARD THE DEE TRAIN (Barb Kearsley)

Good to see four Demons in a team of best players for the round.

Carlton (77) v Melbourne (100)

If I was Essendon, I’d send Carlton a fruit basket or similar to thank them for distracting the footy world.

There’s been some spectacular collapses in history. Lay Down Sally, Kevin Spacey’s career, the Bronze Age. Now we can add Carlton to that list.

The Comedy Festival has only just started but the Blues have already won Most Outstanding Show.

Up by 43 points, it’s hard to convey just how in control of this game Carlton were in the first half.

The Dees barely saw the ball in the first quarter and only got vaguely acquainted with it in the second.  

Blues fans went into half-time feeling good, but still very aware they barrack for Carlton.

What happened next was both surprising and incredibly predictable.

The Dees got moving and the Blues reacted like they always do when things aren’t completely going their way, they froze.

Players stopped tackling, running, and trying.

Dezi Feeman should have hidden in Carlton’s forward pocket in the second half; no one would have found him.

Melbourne believed, Carlton didn’t.

Kysaiah Pickett set the tone from the second quarter, and dragged his team along, aided by 250 gamer Max Gawn.

Things are exciting when you don’t play the first half at all and still win comfortably.

Demons fans celebrated like the Luxury Car Tax had been lifted.

Melbourne do have some strategic flaws to address though. Mainly, the stark reality that you can’t play Carlton every week.   

The Blues now have the enviable task of pretending Michael Voss isn’t being sacked in the near future.

Support Titus - he’s a Demon https://www.titusoreily.com/afl/the-monday-knee-jerk-reaction-round-three2026

Draft Watch: Grandson of Demons icon stars; Blues prospect in top form

I wonder if anyone knows whether the squad trained or was involved in some match simulation at the weekend. Important because there are a few contenders for a senior place who have not had much in the way of match practice over the past month thanks to the lightning strike at Ballarat and the ridiculous VFL rule that prevented them from playing in the practice match vs Box Hill a few weeks ago.

19 hours ago, Demonland said:

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on TUESDAY, 31st March @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees miraculous 66 point turnaround win against the Blues at the G.

Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.

CALL THE SHOW LIVE OR LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL: 0486 387 929

PLEASE TRY TO KEEP THE QUESTIONS/COMMENTS TO ONE SPECIFIC TOPIC/PLAYER IN ORDER TO MAKE THE PREPARATION FOR THE PODCAST EASIER. If you would like to discuss additional topics then please create a separate thread.

Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

What's this about miracles? I told you throughout the game to be patient. The Blues were always ripe for the taking once the second half demons took over.

2 hours ago, joeboy said:

Nice recap of the game Whispy, but I’m afraid you lost me when you added Mihocek as our second best player.. surely you were blindsided by all the phone messages you received

Stats at the end were from the media.

12 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

It seems that Paddy Cross will make his debut on Sunday which means that another member of last week’s 23 must go out. That would be a late out through injury or someone named on the interchange bench, the most likely being Latrelle who was quiet against the Dockers.

No … it’s Trent Rivers who has been omitted. Big call!

It seems that Paddy Cross will make his debut on Sunday which means that another member of last week’s 23 must go out. That would be a late out through injury or someone named on the interchange bench, the most likely being Latrelle who was quiet against the Dockers.

The Coates Talent League 2026 is under way with the second round being played tomorrow.

Here are the Scouting Notes: 2026 Talent League - Round 1

Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central

and the 2026 Talent League: Round 1 Team of the Week/

The top performers for this week are Arki Butler (Sandringham Dragons) and Wil Malady (Gippsland Power). We’re going to see a lot more of these lads in the coming weeks, months and years.

Talent League Player Focus: Wil Malady (Gippsland Power)

17 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

I found this interesting chart on teams playing Geelong at Geelong. Looks quite damning and the big drawing Melbourne based clubs have a hard time finding their way to sleepy hollow. The corruption of the draw is sickening.

Interesting how, apart from GWS, Collingwood is the only AFL club that is close to an even win/loss record.

A very entertaining and informative evening with the three main speakers providing some great insight into the working of the club and the different approach to the future both on and off the field with new President Steven Smith, new CEO Paul Guerra and new coach Steven King who explained the changes to culture implemented over the summer and to the way in which the club is being run off the field and the way the game is being played on it. The style will be “ageless”, the aim is for a the players to perform with a dynamic ability to defend & attack in formation. Don’t expect this all to translate into something dramatic overnight but there are some early signs. Great to hear that Max and TMac will both play their 250th games on Sunday at the G. For those expecting an announcement on Caulfield Racecourse, there was nothing new to announce.

I was impressed by all three of the faces of the club at its very top. We’re in good hands.

Thanks for the information @Ghostwriter thanks 🤟

I'm changing the title of this thread to reflect the correct training date

Report from Matt Clinch on ABC is that there were injury concerns over Paddy Cross and Jake Melksham but they’re back on as Ethan Stanley goals from a free in the pocket.

3 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Need to get Melksham into the game

Hard to do when he’s in the hands of the trainers.

Adam Treloar is a seasoned player and probably the dominant player on the ground at the moment for the Doggies.

For those who like to vent in advance, today’s umpires are Daniel Johanson, John Howorth, Nathan Williamson and Brent Wallace.

4 hours ago, kurtneverdied said:

There’s a note hidden away in the place where these teams were announced:-

* The above positions are based on jumper numbers and are not indicative of starting positions for the g

Great. Each club has selected two different teams. 😀

I'm going for the team KC put up. Max Heath in the ruck at 204cm sounds more feasible than Heath as hbf🤣

Perfectly sums up the shambles that is the VFL.

Teams for tomorrow’s VFL games have been announced. Teams for all remaining games will be published from 12:30pm tomorrow.

The AFL website article The VFL recruits set to take 2026 by storm discusses the prominent new players coming into the competition in 2026 and mentions two of Casey’s newcomers.

Collingwood copping plenty of flak over their perceived forward crisis ~

At

The game can be viewed live on the ABC, ABC iview and the AFL website from 12.05pm on Saturday.