Supreme_Demon

I should also mention that I wish Simon Goodwin a speedy recovery! Having COVID-19 is very frustrating. I had it myself a few weeks ago and then my Parents got it as well. They have both now recuperated but it definitely took longer than expected. I still want to give Simon Goodwin a hug for helping end our 57 year Premiership drought but I will probably have to wait quite a while to be able to ever do that! 😂

Hmmm....very annoying. It goes to show that it is extremely contagious. He must have gotten it from either Jake Lever or Jack Viney perhaps? Nevertheless, we all need to expect to have COVID-19 at least once. Anyway, here is an article about it: https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/33812040/melbourne-demons-coach-simon-goodwin-covid-19-miss-round-7 Good luck to Adem Yze taking on the reigns as Melbourne Demons coach!

A win is a win....🤷🏼‍♂️ After going through many years of embarrassment and ineptitude I will take winning ugly over losing pretty every time. The Demons definitely need to look at getting a specialist goal kicking coach though. Kicking 22 behinds was awful! We don't want to be inaccurate like that again. It was incredibly frustrating! Lastly, I have to say that Clayton Oliver is one of the greatest Melbourne Demons players I have ever seen in my lifetime. He is an absolute bull who is unbelievably tough and competitive and is still only 24 years old! What a gun!

Definitely a welcome selection "headache" with who to choose amongst Sam Weideman, Ben Brown and Tom McDonald. I would think choosing Ben Brown and Tom McDonald is a no brainer as a more potent forward line. I am still unconvinced by Sam Weideman. But I am willing to give him a few more chances nevertheless. He just has to impact games and show more consistency! Losing Jack Viney and Jake Lever are unforeseen blows due to COVID-19. But hopefully Luke Dunstan and Adam Tomlinson (or Joel Smith) can cover them. Will certainly be curious to see how Luke Dunstan performs for the Demons. His disposal and decision-making has been poor from memory of his time at the Saints. Let's hope Mark "Choco" Williams' precision kicking magic has rubbed off on him!

Nothing wrong with looking at various ideas. The problem is Eddie just wants attention as usual. 🙄 It's all about him and his ego and not what is overall good for Australian Rules Football. My recommendation is just make umpiring a full-time profession and pay them more. Have a proper school for umpires and recruit from former players. In the end the AFL needs to invest in umpiring to eventually increase the quality of decision-making by umpires.

Very disappointing news about Blake Howes' injury. He is only in his first year though. So luckily he has time on his side. Hopefully, he can still bulk up muscle in his arms and upper body while allowing his stress fracture in his foot to heal? However, I am sure Selwyn Griffith will sort out a plan for Blake Howes. I wish the young fella all the best and a speedy recovery.

Thank you for the kind words. My Dad is slowly recuperating. 😎👍

I asked that too. I guess we will have to wait until we get an injury update from the club. Either way, let's hope it is nothing serious and Blake Howes will be back next week.

I was there last night by my lonesome. Unfortunately, my Dad has COVID-19 but he is recuperating. Otherwise, he would of been there. The Easter long weekend definitely was a factor too. My Dad is getting on in years and has openly stated he does prefer games on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday afternoon. He thought the Wednesday night Round 1 season opener game which was the Grand Final rematch against the Western Bulldogs was a stupid idea and would of been better on a Friday night or just a Saturday afternoon or Saturday night game. He believes we would of had a larger crowd if we had done that. I think he is used to all the Sunday afternoon games when Melbourne were hopeless and lucky to win 4 games a year. I think the issue is we need to also be mindful and respectful of older supporters (who had to wait every one of those 57 years to end our Premiership drought) and don't like games on week nights or at night in general. It also makes it difficult for some families that wish to bring children. All I will say is that it is definitely a difficult balancing act with the fixture as there will always be someone unhappy. We also still have be mindful that we have a small (but now slowly growing!) supporter base. Not winning a Premiership since 1964 does that. We need to be patient and hopeful we can have sustained long-term success over the next 20 to 30 years to be up there with the bigger clubs like Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond, Carlton and Hawthorn. Nevertheless, I have strong faith in the Melbourne Football Club CEO Gary Pert as his experience at Collingwood has been invaluable.

Not against this idea. I just think each state should have their own independent football league to grow and develop grassroots football.

What's happened to Blake Howes? Is he injured?

Interesting comments. It just goes to show that if you are a team like Carlton, Hawthorn, Richmond or Essendon and you achieve regular Premiership success for over 20 or 30 years that you will definitely grow your membership and supporter base massively. I will give you a few examples. Firstly from 1939 until 1964, Melbourne won 10 Premierships in 25 years. Which is a pretty amazing strike rate! I am quite confident we had a very large following during that time. Secondly, from 1968 until 1995, Carlton won 8 Premierships in 27 years. Thirdly, from 1961 until 1991, Hawthorn won 9 Premierships in 30 years. Or more significantly from 1971 until 1991, Hawthorn won 8 Premierships in 20 years. Fourthly, from 1967 until 1980, Richmond won 5 Premierships in 13 years. Lastly from 1984 until 2000, Essendon won 4 Premierships in 16 years. A Premiership drought of 57 years has definitely hindered us. That's stating the obvious. But if we can hopefully build sustained success from 2021 onward for the next 30 years we will definitely have a bright future. The most important thing is making sure we keep good people at our club and continue to recruit good people and good players as well. We are very fortunate with those we currently have at the Melbourne Football Club, but we need to be constantly seeking to improve and get better. I am optimistic we are on the right track.

Great interview with my favourite Mark "Choco" Williams! Having him as head of development at the Melbourne Football Club is fantastic. What a character he is and so many brilliant stories! We really are incredibly lucky to have someone of his calibre at the Melbourne Football Club. He definitely understands what is needed to have Premiership success. I really love the work he is doing with the "DNA" (David Neitz Academy) players (1st to 3rd years) and the Demons. I am confident he is having a profound and positive impact on our players. Looking forward to Mark "Choco" Williams eventually being interviewed on the @Demonlandpodcast hopefully one day in the near future? Fingers crossed! 🤞

21 teams is ridiculous in this expanded VFL. Plus it should technically only be Victorian sides. I am ok with 18 teams in the VFL but mine would be the following: 1) Casey Demons 2) Box Hill Hawks 3) Coburg Lions 4) Collingwood Magpies 5) Essendon Bombers 6) Footscray Bulldogs 7) Frankston Dolphins 8) Geelong Cats 9) North Melbourne Kangaroos 10) Port Melbourne Borough 11) Richmond Tigers 12) Sandringham Zebras 13) Werribee Tigers 14) Williamstown Seagulls 15) Carlton Blues 16) St. Kilda Saints 17) Preston Bullants (prefer them to keep their old name rather the Northern Bullants) 18) North Ballarat Roosters We should also look to develop a 2nd tier VFA competition (with all the old VFA clubs) with different divisions and if a team is good enough in the VFA and win enough Premierships they can eventually be promoted to the VFL. Anyway, it is merely a suggestion. I just want to see strategies put in place to develop and grow grassroots football.

Let's hope that we can all continue to lobby the MCC to have a statue put up of Robbie Flower. If enough of us continue to push tgis suggestion then hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later. Here is a great highlights video of all the amazing feats done by champion Melbourne Demons player Robbie Flower. https://youtu.be/GPzSMlrG-o0

Pleased to see Harry Petty back in the Demons side. Adam Tomlinson was probably a bit unlucky to be dropped in my honest opinion. Nevertheless, it is good to see that the match committee are not underestimating the Giants who beat us at the MCG last year. We definitely cannot think it will simply be a cake-walk against the Giants.

I am still hopeful the MCC will erect a statue in tribute to Robbie Flower. I think it would be a wonderful way to have a significant legacy for one of the greatest Melbourne Demons players ever.

Great to see some progress! Finally! Once the ground has been done we can hopefully start laying the foundations for our Home Base! Fingers crossed!🤞

In regards to growing the game, it needs to be nurtured by having AFL players doing regular footy clinics at both Primary Schools and even at High Schools. That's where the hook starts. Then you get the kids involved with Auskick (for Kindergarten and Primary School age). While for older kids it is junior football clubs. From there you pump the funds into junior football clubs and for volunteers. Making sure these junior football clubs have all the resources they need. You then look to make sure all junior (and senior) football clubs have high standard facilities. The AFL must do this with lots of funding for grassroots Aussie rules football otherwise we won't have enough new generations of footballers. If this is not made a priority then sports like basketball and soccer will take over in the next few decades. Let's hope whoever the new AFL CEO is that they acknowledge these concerns and enacts long term solutions.

Fingers crossed Angus Brayshaw stays at the Melbourne Demons. Very sage advice from Jordan Lewis about being careful what you wish for. Here is the link regarding those comments: https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/melbourne-demons/afl-2022-jordan-lewis-warning-to-angus-brayshaw-free-agency-contract-situation-melbourne-demons-contract-offer-trade-news-rumours-whispers-latest/news-story/c60fd0fcb7c4282014f6323b9b272fdb In the end, Angus Brayshaw needs to choose between winning more Premierships (hopefully) and maybe getting more midfield time at another club. I think he still will have opportunities to play in the midfield for Melbourne in the future. But to be honest choosing team success and playing your role anywhere would easily trump purely midfield time. Anyway, I am hopeful that Angus Brayshaw will want to stay and play an active part in creating a dynasty of sustained success at the Melbourne Demons.

I am not too fussed as to who the new AFL CEO will be. Gillon McLachlan has done a reasonable job overall. Especially with keeping the AFL going during the last 2 years of COVID-19 interruptions. However, my tip is either Travis Auld or Brendan Gale. Eddie McGuire will probably attempt to throw his hat in the ring but he will be no chance. Anyway, who ever becomes the next AFL CEO needs to definitely put tens of millions into grassroots junior football. We simply do not have enough young boys playing Aussie Rules Football. We also are absolutely desperate for more volunteers as others have mentioned. Personally, I would also like to expand the VFL back to being just Victorian clubs and increase it to 18 teams. The current VFL with NSW and QLD teams (e.g Southport Sharks) is just weird and probably costing smaller clubs far too much in travel expenses. I would also love to bring back the VFA and all the old teams like the Camberwell Cobras, Oakleigh Devils, Yarraville Eagles, Brighton Penguins, Northcote Dragons, Waverley Panthers etc. But sadly that is more a pipe dream. Nevertheless, investment into grassroots football and junior football in Victoria is crucial for the AFL to flourish.

Far out! Sam Weideman must be thanking his lucky stars! Time to perform Sam! We all want you to succeed but you need to give 100% effort and have intensity throughout the entire game. Give David Neitz or David Schwarz a call if you need advice. I am sure they would be happy to speak to you. As for Ben Brown. It is very disappointing but I think he was definitely sucked in to the situation. I am also starting to detect a pattern with Williamstown doing this to Casey in the VFL. From previous accounts mentioned, the Seagulls are certainly developing a reputation of being scraggers and trying under-handed tactics against AFL listed players. Anyway, time for Sam Weideman to stand up and deliver. No more excuses.

Hello all, Just for the sake of convenience, I am including for those who are interested the VFL losing 1988 grand final poster done by WEG (we will try to erase the horrible memories of how we got belted by Hawthorn in that grand final). I am a very big fan of WEG artwork and of VFL and AFL grand final posters in general. Obviously, for our drought breaking 2021 AFL Premiership we have seen the losing VFL 1958 grand final poster being used by Weg Art. However, I am hopeful we can look to use the 1988 (and the losing 2000 AFL grand final) poster(s) in the near future if we are lucky enough to have any sustained success. Anyway, here is what the 1988 VFL grand final poster by WEG looked like for the Melbourne Demons. This is quite a rare image as you would expect and it took me a bit of time to get access to (I had to politely ask a poster on Big Footy). Nevertheless, for those who are into history and memorabilia of the Melbourne Football Club it is worth keeping a copy of this image in my opinion. Here it is!

Out of the three originally mentioned it is still Bailey Laurie who excites me the most. He had a bit of bad luck in his first year with injuries and COVID-19 lockdowns curtailing his season in 2021. However, he has the most upside. Just needs to get stronger, fitter and impact games more. Flashing in and out of games kicking 2 goals isn't enough. He needs to put in consistent 4 quarter efforts. Once he gains enough experience at VFL level at the Casey Demons he will eventually get his chance at AFL level with the Melbourne Demons. His side-step, ball use, decision making, pace and kicking skills are excellent. As can be seen in the highlights video from his draft year (shown below). Bailey just needs to get used to playing against bigger bodies in the VFL for a while. Either way, there is no rush on him to play AFL straight away. Let him develop his craft in the VFL for a while.

Really keen to see how the Melbourne Demons AFL listed players perform this evening against Williamstown in VFL. Especially Ben Brown, Blake Howes and Bailey Laurie. I reckon Blake Howes is a good chance of making his senior debut for the Melbourne Demons over the next 3 or 4 weeks.