Supreme_Demon

This is certainly an interesting topic. I definitely think player longevity has changed and as long an an AFL player can keep healthy and still impact the game then there is no reason why they can't have long careers. I know that Max Gawn is getting close to 200 games but I think he could still make it to 250+ games. Especially with Brodie Grundy as his fellow "tap brother" now helping him in the ruck. Tom McDonald is a little over 200 games now and should also be able to reach 250+ games. I think Jack Viney could also reach 250+ games (as long as he can stay fit and healthy). As for the big 5 of Angus Brayshaw, Christian Petracca, James Harmes, Christian Salem and Clayton Oliver. Angus Brayshaw is close to 150 games and I think is able to play between 300 and 350 games. Christian Petracca is just over 150 games and I think is also able to play between 300 and even beyond 350+ games. James Harmes is close to 150 games too and I think he can definitely reach 300+ games. Lastly, I think Clayton Oliver due to his age, at still only 25 and very close to 150 games, will eventually become the Melbourne Football Club's Games Record Holder and most likely to play 400+ games for the Demons. I understand some may believe this to be a bit delusional, but it would be fantastic if we can have a few more players that are able to reach the milestones of 300, 350 and even 400 games for the Melbourne Football Club. Besides winning more Premierships, it all adds to the rich history and culture of our Club. Hopefully, I am correct in my very ambitious predictions but obviously time will tell in the long run.

It will be interesting who ends up being the "super sub". Will it be Jake Melksham again or perhaps Adam Tomlinson?

Hahahahahahaha!! 🤣 Rick in between the Tap Brothers.

I cannot have any sympathy for Hawthorn. They have laughed at us and humiliated us many times over the years. It is important to have long memories about the slights against us from the Hawks. In my own memory, there's the 1987 Preliminary Final where Jimmy Stynes unfortunately ran through the mark and gave away a 15 metre penalty to allow Gary Buckenara to be "within reach" to kick that goal after the siren. I have had many Hawthorn supporters gleefully remind me of this. Then in 1988 when the Demons got smashed in the Grand Final by 96 points by the Hawks. That was humiliating and you had Hawthorn supporters holding out print-outs saying "Suffer Demons". Then there is the whole merger debacle in 1996 with Hawthorn. Luckily it never eventuated (thanks to Don Scott). But the stinging reminders by Hawthorn supporters that we voted "yes" to merge and become the "Melbourne Hawks" still irks me. Then in 2013 or 2014 we had Hawks President Jeff Kennett and even Hawks Coach Alistair Clarkson (a former Melbourne Demons player) saying the Melbourne Football Club should be kicked out of the AFL or moved to the Gold Coast. Rudely commentating and disrespecting our Club. I also personally remember walking out of a game at the MCG after we were losing by over 100 points against the Hawks, back in 2015, and being laughed at and ridiculed by Hawthorn supporters. The fact that I stayed up until that point in the game showed I was a glutton for punishment really! But back to my point, we should never forget the insults made against our Club and grudges we have against Hawthorn. They hate us and we should hate them even more!

An excellent podcast as usual! 😎👍🏻 Thank you for answering my questions regarding the performances of our Demon debutants against the Bulldogs.

I also agree that Steven May should not be risked unless 100% fit. Would rather see him line up in a re-match against Buddy Franklin when we play the Swans at the MCG in Round 3.

Ohh nooo! 😔 Let's hope it's nothing too serious for Tom McDonald. Fingers crossed! 🤞

There's no way I would be risking any of our 4 Premiership players in Steven May, Jack Viney, Bayley Fritsch and Christian Salem unless they are 100% fit. Remember it is a VERY long season! However, I think Viney replacing Bailey Laurie and Fritsch replacing Kozzy Pickett are the most logical replacements. As long as they are fit and ready to play. If there is ANY doubt we should not risk them. As other fellow Demonlanders have mentioned, I am definitely concerned about dangerous small forward Charlie Cameron. Would he slaughter 2nd gamer in Judd McVee? Is it better to replace him with Michael Hibberd? That's my biggest question. Perhaps Michael Hibberd should be the "super sub" for this game? Although, I do believe Jake Melksham did an excellent job against the Bulldogs. I also think Harmes should tag Daniel Rich as a defensive half forward. We also need to be mindful of speedy Irishman Conor McKenna. The Brisbane Lions have a team stacked full of talent and will be fired up to make amends after their disappointing loss to Port Adelaide. This will certainly be a challenging game for the Demons up at the GABBA on Friday night.

I stand corrected on Adam Tomlinson. I will admit I found his selection in the side perplexing. But he proved all us doubters wrong and played a good game, besides 2 smothered kicks. What are the podcasters thoughts on Adam Tomlinson's game? Who will he match up against from the Lions? Next question, how would you rate the games of both Judd McVee and Bailey Laurie against the Bulldogs? I thought Judd McVee was excellent and did some great things besides being caught with the ball in the backline trying to break a Bulldogs tackle. Most of his possesions were effective and I thought his little baulk past a Bulldogs player was clever too. As for Bailey Laurie, I know he did at least two or three good things. His first handball was classy and he also did a well placed kick into the forwardline to Kade Chandler in the 3rd Quarter. However, besides that I didn't really notice him and thought that Jake Melksham had more impact (kicking a goal) and coming on as the "super sub" in the 4th Quarter. Nevertheless, the senior AFL experience was good for Bailey Laurie.

Disappointed it is 2 weeks rather than just 1 week. However, it is probably fair (fingers crossed that Buddy Franklin gets 2 weeks as well). I think Kozzy was trying to emulate his Uncle Byron with his deadly hip and shoulder and show aggression. Nevertheless, you simply cannot just "iron out" players like that anymore due to the serious risks of concussion. I am all for tough, hard and "unsociable" football. But the thuggery of the 1970's and 1980's is now a bygone era. Although it was highly entertaining watching that type of football. Who remembers the video series "Biffs, Bumps and Brawlers"? It was brilliant and I definitely used to enjoy watching both series (as shown below). Biffs, Bumps and Brawlers (Part 1): Biffs, Bumps and Brawlers (Part 2): Nowadays, you simply can't get away with it (remember Tommy Bugg's whack on Swans player Callum Mills in 2017 that basically ended his AFL career?) and you just gotta focus on going hard at the ball and not at the man.

Saw this wonderful news on the Melbourne Demons website in a video posted today. I can't find a direct link to it, but you can view the video on the Melbourne Football Club website. Brian Wilson, the former Demons player, sadly lost his 1982 Brownlow Medal about 10 years ago. However, it was remarkably found and landed on MFC CEO Gary Pert's desk! Gary Pert then re-presented Brian Wilson with his 1982 Brownlow Medal at the MFC's President's Club Function prior to the Demons Vs Bulldogs match on Saturday evening. This is a fantastic story and I am so proud of the Melbourne Football Club and incredibly happy and relieved for Brian Wilson and his family for having his 1982 Brownlow Medal returned. There is a news story about it via this link here: https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/tears-flow-as-former-melbourne-star-brian-wilson-is-reunited-with-lost-brownlow-medal-c-10084426

Looking forward to the game tomorrow evening. Catching the train in to Richmond Train Station with a nice stroll to the MCG. It's going to be a HUGE game between the Demons and the Bulldogs. I am very excited! GO DEMONS!!!!! 🔴🔵👹

Hoping we get Riak Andrew from the Dandenong Stingrays from our NGA at the end of this year (if he is good enough to be drafted). Especially after missing out on his older brother Mac Andrew over a year or so ago. That really annoyed me, especially after the Bulldogs got their NGA player in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan with pick 1# in the 2020 AFL Draft and then the AFL just happened to change the rules to screw over us at the Demons a year later! Let's hope they implement a much fairer system for the Clubs that develop these young recruits, otherwise, the NGA for Victorian AFL Clubs is almost pointless.

I am perplexed with the selection of Adam Tomlinson. I really thought it would be a good opportunity to give Daniel "Disco" Turner a chance. Nevertheless, I guess experience works in Adam Tomlinson's favour. I just hope he plays a better game than his disastrous pre-season match against St. Kilda. His performance was quite embarrassing against a rookie SSP player in Anthony Caminiti. He simply needs to punch the ball away from the Bulldogs tall forwards and not try to outmark them. I just hope the Demons win on Saturday night. Fingers crossed! 🤞

Disappointing if Steven May is indeed out. But no point risking him with a calf strain. I would play Daniel "Disco" Turner as his replacement. Adam Tomlinson is sadly in terrible form. He was humiliated against that Saints rookie SSP player Anthony Caminiti a few weeks ago. As for the debutants. I was quite (pleasantly) surprised that Bailey Laurie was selected. I am a fan of his, but I will admit that I don't believe he had shown enough to warrant a debut yet. I hope he proves us all wrong in his unexpected selection. Judd McVee, on the other hand, has certainly earnt his debut and I look forward to seeing him play. He was definitely a surprise packet this pre-season in 2023 as I thought he struggled last year. Congratulations to him and his hard work to break into the Demons senior AFL team! Additionally, I am looking forward to seeing the "tap brothers" in Max Gawn and his new ruck teammate in ex Magpie Brodie Grundy go against Tim English from the Bulldogs. It will certainly be fascinating to watch how we perform with two All Australian ruckmen in the team. Lastly, I am fascinated to see how former Bulldog Lachie Hunter will play against his old side. Will he have a point to prove against his previous coach Luke Beveridge? Saturday night will certainly be an exciting game between the Demons against the Bulldogs!

My question would be, who of the young players are most likely to debut this year in season 2023 for the Demons? 1) Judd McVee #41 2) Jacob van Rooyen #2 3) Bailey Laurie #16 4) Blake Howes #22 5) Taj Woewodin #40 6) Andy Moniz-Wakefield #45 7) Matthew Jefferson #21 These are my 7 most likely (shown above) to possibly get a chance this year of playing in the senior Demons side in an AFL game.

I am going to struggle to do simply 5. But I will do 5 for my time during my younger years and 5 for more recent times. My younger years would include the following: 1) David Neitz (our leading goal kicker and games record holder, he was also a great Captain and a force to be reckoned with as the Hawk's Luke McCabe found out!) 2) David Schwarz (amazingly talented and could of been one of the greatest Centre Half Forwards ever if it wasn't for his knee injuries, was still a wonderful player and I have a soft spot for "The Ox" who overcame the odds.) 3) Garry Lyon (people forget how accurate his goal kicking was, his 10 goals against the Bulldogs were amazing and he was an inspirational Captain too.) 4) Jeff Farmer (the "Wizard" was incredible. People used to go to the footy just to watch him play. I remember how much excitement he produced. The 9 goals in a half against the Magpies will always be a highlight. Just a shame he moved back to WA to play for the Dockers.) 5) Adem Yze (Who else remembers the crowd cry of "Oooozzzzze" when he got the ball? Adem Yze was such a silky and smooth player. He kicked many freakish goals in his time as well.) Of course, Robbie Flower gets an honourable mention but I sadly never got to see him play live as I was too young. Jimmy Stynes and Jeff White were also very close to being in my list as well as Allen Jakovich. In recent times it would be the following: 1) Christian Petracca (a Premiership player, and a Norm Smith medal winner, he is an incredible player to watch and has inspired many young kids who barrack for the Demons to have the number #5 on their jumpers.) 2) Clayton Oliver (to think that "Clarrie" is still only 25 and has already won multiple Best & Fairests for the Demons. A Premiership player too and is still probably only a 1/3 of the way through his incredible career.) 3) Max Gawn (probably in the conversation as one of the best ruckmen in the AFL in recent times. After suffering knee injuries early in his career he turned his career around and has become a Premiership Captain for the Demons breaking our 57 year Flag drought. His 5 goal performance against the Cats in the 2021 Preliminary Final really was unbelievable!) 4) Aaron Davey (the "Flash" was an amazing player for the Demons. He changed the way small forwards played the game with his speed and defensive tackling to keep defenders on their toes. Kicked some simply amazing goals for the Demons and was a genuine match winner for us.) 5) Nathan Jones (our second 300+ game player and the heart and soul of the Demons during our darkest times. He would fight and scrap in our midfield when we were getting belted on a regular basis. A Captain and a three time Best & Fairest winner at the Demons. His contributions and influence in changing our culture to a successful one should never be forgotten.) Jack Viney gets an honourable mention here and I am hoping to include Kozzy Pickett on this list in the near future. Anyway, these are my two top 5s over the last 35+ years.

Well done on the excellent interview done with new Melbourne recruit Brodie Grundy, @Demonland it is greatly appreciated! 😊👍🏻 Hopefully, you might get a chance to get Mark "Choco" Williams in for an interview sometime? That would be awesome too!

Fingers crossed for Josh Schache. We definitely would like to see him succeed at the Demons.🤞 As others have mentioned, it is primarily psychological for him. Josh Schache needs to be totally committed to making an impact and show aggression when playing. Josh certainly has the ability to make it. He just needs to put things into action. Anyway, I guess time will tell if Josh can break into the senior side and contribute or not.

I thought Derryn Hinch was coming back to the Demons!!! 😂🤣 I understand Tom Morris is a Melbourne supporter but I always found him to be quite arrogant and obnoxious. Nevertheless, I guess everyone deserves a second chance. SEN Radio has never been the same since they sacked David Schwarz. He was the only reason I used to bother listening to SEN.

Wow! This is wonderful news to get an interview with Brodie Grundy so early! Well done! I have a few questions for Brodie. 1) Has he done any research yet about the History of the Melbourne Football Club and past players that have worn the number #6 jumper? Such as Frank "Bluey" Adams and Glenn Lovett? 2) I understand he was aiming to play 300 AFL games (initially with Collingwood). Will Brodie be aiming to play 150 games for the Melbourne Football Club? 3) How has the goal kicking practice with Mark "Choco" Williams been going? Has Brodie noticed it helping himself or any of his new team mates at the Demons with their goal kicking accuracy?

Thank you for mentioning my question regarding Laurie and Howes in the podcast. It was greatly appreciated. 😎👍🏻

Thank you Checker Mate. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to provide a detailed response to my query. 😎👍🏻

I would be interested in thoughts on the progress of our Home Base? I understand MFC CEO Gary Pert gave his explanation of what is going on at the MFC AGM and I accept that. However, I think it's important that we still discuss this issue and keep it on our agenda and re-visit this to see (hopefully) some progress in 12 month's time. My other question is more related to player development. How do we see the progress of Bailey Laurie and Blake Howes so far? Who is closer to a senior AFL debut in season 2023? My last question relates to the Demon's forward line. What do we need to do to improve our forward line efficiency in season 2023?

Happy 87th Birthday to the great man Ronald Dale Barassi! Hopefully, he gets to present the Premiership Cup to the Melbourne Demons on Grand Final Day at the MCG in the not-to-distant future! It would be a wonderful tribute to have Ronald Dale Barassi hand another brand new Premiership Cup over to Max Gawn.