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SENSIBLE, SILLY, SMART, SUCKERED by George on the Outer Sensible, Silly, Smart, Suckered ... Yes that was the summation of the game in which the Demons failed to pull off what was potentially a surprise victory against one of the powerhouse sides of the competition in Hawthorn. But where the Hawks were sensible, the Demons were silly. When the Hawks played smart, the Demons were suckered and in the end it cost them the game, despite leading for a good part of the match. For the Demons fans it was heartening to see the return of Jack Trengove, and while he struggled with the pace of the game, 19 touches in your first game back after 2 years on the sidelines is highly commendable. What the Demons didn’t notice was the greasy and wet conditions on the ground. That is why the Hawks played smart. There was nothing too fancy - just get the ball moving by any means. Scramble it forward, kick it off the ground. Melbourne simply tried to play dry weather footy until they followed the example of Bernie Vince, who just kept putting the ball on his boot. His 21 touches to half time and 36 for the game was the sign of leadership that was needed around the ball. The trouble was that Melbourne squandered plenty of opportunity before it woke up to what was going on. Players like Lewis and Mitchell weren’t at the bottom of packs; they just sat outside and waited for the cake of soap to slip out of hands and then they booted the ball forwards time and time again. Not one Demon player was smart enough to stand them and they were still doing the same in the final quarter. All too often Melbourne players went up in marking contests when not needed. The smarter Hawks stayed down and accepted the ball as it inevitably spilled over the back. That’s smart football. And like the hardened team that has won multiple premiership flags, they know when to start a fight and distract younger players from playing football. It happened when Melbourne came from behind and challenged them. It is all well and good to be tough and physical, and not be intimidated, but not while the opposition have the ball and are running toward goal. The Demons were simply suckered and while we often use the excuse of being a younger side, the lesson to be clearly learned was how to conduct yourself if you want to be a premiership side. In order to do that you need contributions from all the players in the side. Sadly, there were still too many passengers in the Melbourne side. Jeff Garlett has gone missing in the weeks since signing up for an extended contract, and he hasn’t realized that there is more to a game of footy than hanging out the back and then outrunning the opposition. Only five touches again this week brings his total to 12 for the past two games. Even if you aren’t playing well you can tackle, but this has also gone missing from his game, as the ball rebounded from the Hawks defence all to easily. In contrast at the other end Neville Jetta was a standout. How many times he saved goals by simply putting everything on the line or just getting to contests was hard to remember. Unfortunately, he seemed to be playing a lone hand in the backline as Frost and Oscar McDonald simply couldn’t put a foot right for the whole game. Defenders they are not at this point in time, and playing at this level is proving to be too costly to the overall team performance. We have to hope that the return of Aaron Vandenberg, Chris Dawes and Jack Trengove enables them to get some game fitness because they have a long way to go to get back to their best. Each produced a highlight or two particularly VDB with his tackling efforts that produced a critical goal, but we simply need more output in future games. Finally, I was able to have a good look at the defensive structures this week. There was more cohesion with the set-up, and it did work this week. It was let down by some simply incompetent individual efforts. It it has been difficult to work out why we have been broken open so easily in the past weeks. It is the lack of effort from the wingers who get sucked toward the ball and fail to watch their man folding back to the middle of the ground or the forward line. It would have happened again this week, but the mids managed to contain the ball movement. Only a goal to Brad Hill was the result of poor marking. It is up to Billy Stretch, Tom Bugg, Dean Kent and James Harmes to stop being one way players and start playing smart football. Or we will just keep getting suckered by teams like Hawthorn and other serious finals contenders. Melbourne 2.0.12 7.2.44 10.2.62 10.4.64 Hawthorn 4.5.29 6.7.43 8.14.62 11.16.82 Goals Melbourne Kent Watts 2 Dawes Hogan N Jones Petracca Tyson vandenBerg Hawthorn Gunston 3 Breust O'Brien 2 Hill Puopolo Rioli Stewart Best Melbourne Tyson Vince N Jones Watts T McDonald Kent Hawthorn Mitchell Lewis Gibson Birchall Smith Frawley Gunston Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Jack Gunston (right ankle) Reports Melbourne Bernie Vince (Melbourne) for striking in the fourth quarter Hawthorn Nil Umpires Bannister, Ryan, Pannell Official crowd 41,833 at the MCG

Sensible, Silly, Smart, Suckered ... Yes that was the summation of the game in which the Demons failed to pull off what was potentially a surprise victory against one of the powerhouse sides of the competition in Hawthorn. But where the Hawks were sensible, the Demons were silly. When the Hawks played smart, the Demons were suckered and in the end it cost them the game, despite leading for a good part of the match. For the Demons fans it was heartening to see the return of Jack Trengove, and while he struggled with the pace of the game, 19 touches in your first game back after 2 years on the sidelines is highly commendable. What the Demons didn’t notice was the greasy and wet conditions on the ground. That is why the Hawks played smart. There was nothing too fancy - just get the ball moving by any means. Scramble it forward, kick it off the ground. Melbourne simply tried to play dry weather footy until they followed the example of Bernie Vince, who just kept putting the ball on his boot. His 21 touches to half time and 36 for the game was the sign of leadership that was needed around the ball. The trouble was that Melbourne squandered plenty of opportunity before it woke up to what was going on. Players like Lewis and Mitchell weren’t at the bottom of packs; they just sat outside and waited for the cake of soap to slip out of hands and then they booted the ball forwards time and time again. Not one Demon player was smart enough to stand them and they were still doing the same in the final quarter. All too often Melbourne players went up in marking contests when not needed. The smarter Hawks stayed down and accepted the ball as it inevitably spilled over the back. That’s smart football. And like the hardened team that has won multiple premiership flags, they know when to start a fight and distract younger players from playing football. It happened when Melbourne came from behind and challenged them. It is all well and good to be tough and physical, and not be intimidated, but not while the opposition have the ball and are running toward goal. The Demons were simply suckered and while we often use the excuse of being a younger side, the lesson to be clearly learned was how to conduct yourself if you want to be a premiership side. In order to do that you need contributions from all the players in the side. Sadly, there were still too many passengers in the Melbourne side. Jeff Garlett has gone missing in the weeks since signing up for an extended contract, and he hasn’t realized that there is more to a game of footy than hanging out the back and then outrunning the opposition. Only five touches again this week brings his total to 12 for the past two games. Even if you aren’t playing well you can tackle, but this has also gone missing from his game, as the ball rebounded from the Hawks defence all to easily. In contrast at the other end Neville Jetta was a standout. How many times he saved goals by simply putting everything on the line or just getting to contests was hard to remember. Unfortunately, he seemed to be playing a lone hand in the backline as Frost and Oscar McDonald simply couldn’t put a foot right for the whole game. Defenders they are not at this point in time, and playing at this level is proving to be too costly to the overall team performance. We have to hope that the return of Aaron Vandenberg, Chris Dawes and Jack Trengove enables them to get some game fitness because they have a long way to go to get back to their best. Each produced a highlight or two particularly VDB with his tackling efforts that produced a critical goal, but we simply need more output in future games. Finally, I was able to have a good look at the defensive structures this week. There was more cohesion with the set-up, and it did work this week. It was let down by some simply incompetent individual efforts. It it has been difficult to work out why we have been broken open so easily in the past weeks. It is the lack of effort from the wingers who get sucked toward the ball and fail to watch their man folding back to the middle of the ground or the forward line. It would have happened again this week, but the mids managed to contain the ball movement. Only a goal to Brad Hill was the result of poor marking. It is up to Billy Stretch, Tom Bugg, Dean Kent and James Harmes to stop being one way players and start playing smart football. Or we will just keep getting suckered by teams like Hawthorn and other serious finals contenders. Melbourne 2.0.12 7.2.44 10.2.62 10.4.64 Hawthorn 4.5.29 6.7.43 8.14.62 11.16.82 Goals Melbourne Kent Watts 2 Dawes Hogan N Jones Petracca Tyson vandenBerg Hawthorn Gunston 3 Breust O'Brien 2 Hill Puopolo Rioli Stewart Best Melbourne Tyson Vince N Jones Watts T McDonald Kent Hawthorn Mitchell Lewis Gibson Birchall Smith Frawley Gunston Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Jack Gunston (right ankle) Reports Melbourne Bernie Vince (Melbourne) for striking in the fourth quarter Hawthorn Nil Umpires Bannister, Ryan, Pannell Official crowd 41,833 at the MCG

This would have been a good day to have had Jack Viney in the side.

It has been twelve and a half months since Melbourne fans have had to experience watching their team suffer humiliation at the hands of Hawthorn in an AFL game. This annual ritual of the Hawks flogging the Demons has been going on for a decade now since Al Clarkson's young team was beaten by an experienced side coached by Neale Daniher way back in 2006 on a wet night. Back in those days, the AFL was generous enough to gift games on Friday night to then lowly clubs like the Hawks but not so now. Soon after that game, Hawthorn commenced its ascendency while Melbourne's fortunes nose dived. Melbourne opened the 2007 season as the highest ranked of the Victorian clubs and lost their first match against St Kilda at the MCG marking the first of a series of 13 consecutive losses to the Saints. The following week saw the Hawks start their run of 12 wins on end against the Demons and it seems a near certainty that the number will stretch to an unlucky 13 by late Saturday afternoon. This season started as one of promise for the Demons and they certainly have had their moments with a 50/50 record of wins in the bag to date. But they have failed to reproduce the three victories scored in the pre season against Port Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda and they lost to the AFL's punching bag, Essendon. They are in danger of being overtaken on the ladder this weekend by Carlton who were expected to challenge the Bombers for the wooden spoon. Melbourne has failed to come up to the challenge in quite a few winnable games already this year. It has lost it's best player this year to suspension and one of its' few functioning defenders in an inexplicably feeble defence to injury. The deck chairs on the Titanic will no doubt be rotated around this week in an effort to turn things around but it was last week when the selectors should have been brave and bold with the team coming off a six day break. One wonders what the team can do this week in the face of a Hawthorn which most of the time manages to hold firm even without such vital team members as Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead. Pray that it will be another twelve and a half months before they meet again, I suppose. Hawthorn by a lot. THE GAME Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 4 June 2016 at 1.45pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Hawthorn 84 wins Melbourne 74 wins At MCG Hawthorn 43 wins Melbourne 35 wins Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Clarkson 2 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 1.45pm (live) Channel 7 3.15pm (delayed) RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Hawthorn $1.24 to win Melbourne $4.15 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 24.11.155 defeated Melbourne 7.8.50 in Round 7, 2015 at the MCG Six minutes into the game, Melbourne had the only two goals on the board and Hawthorn was scoreless. Those minutes provided the only joy for the day for Demon fans who had to endure two hours of hell before the final siren revealed their team had just succumbed to another 100 point defeat. THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B: Taylor Duryea, James Frawley, Ben Stratton HB: Shaun Burgoyne, Josh Gibson, Grant Burchill C: Isaac Smith, Jordan Lewis, Brad Hill HF: Luke Breust, Tim O'Brien, Jack Gunston F: Paul Puopolo, James Sicily, Cyril Rioli FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Sam Mitchell, Liam Shiels I/C: Billy Hartung, Daniel Howe, Ben McEvoy, Kade Stewart EMG: Kaiden Brand, Teia Miles, Angus Litherland IN: Daniel Howe, Kade Stewart OUT: Will Langford (managed), Matt Spangher (hamstring) NEW: Kade Stewart (19, South Fremantle) MELBOURNE B: Jayden Hunt, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Tom Bugg, Oscar McDonald, Josh Wagner C: Dean Kent, Jack Trengove, Bernie Vince HF: Billy Stretch, Jack Watts, Jeff Garlett F: Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan, Chris Dawes FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Sam Frost, James Harmes, Clayton Oliver, Aaron vandenBerg EMG: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Cam Pedersen IN: Chris Dawes, Sam Frost, Clayton Oliver, Jack Trengove, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Colin Garland (cheekbone), Ben Kennedy (omitted), Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted), Ben Newton (omitted), Jack Viney (suspended)

The usual outcome last time after we gained some early false hope kicking away with the first couple of goals. HAWTHORN B: Shaun Burgoyne, James Frawley, Ben Stratton HB: Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea C: Bradley Hill, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling HF: Isaac Smith, Jack Gunston, Cyril Rioli F: Ben McEvoy, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Paul Puopolo, Liam Shiels I/C: Ryan Schoenmakers, Will Langford, Angus Litherland, Billy Hartung EMG: Daniel Howe, Jonathan Simpkin, Tim O'Brien IN: James Frawley, Angus Litherland OUT: Jed Anderson, Brendan Whitecross MELBOURNE B: Christian Salem, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland HB: Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe C: Daniel Cross, Nathan Jones, Heritier Lumumba HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Rohan Bail F: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Aaron Vandenberg FOLL: Jake Spencer, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince I/C: Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Billy Stretch, Jimmy Toumpas EMG: Max Gawn, Ben Newton, Cameron Pedersen IN: Rohan Bail, Jack Grimes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie OUT: Jay Kennedy-Harris (groin), Ben Newton, Cam Pedersen, Jack Watts

ENHANCING THE FAN EXPERIENCE by George on the Outer During the week some of our readers would have received a survey from the MFC and the AFL, seeking their opinion of the Fan Experience, which has resulted in our senses being assailed by bright lights, loud music and boorish ground announcers. Sadly for the Demon supporters they would be happy for some fan experience of the traditional type going to see their side compete ... perchance winning now and then, and even dreaming of the fan experience of the Hawthorn supporters who have witnessed decades of success both on and off the field. But the only experience they got was another shellacking from a team that is obviously a premiership contender (again), and a football lesson on how very, very far the Demons are from being both relevant and successful in todays competition. And that shellacking was delivered without the services of Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis! The opening two goals by the Demons pointed to something possible, before the Hawks had registered a major but the first two goals to the Hawks came from direct turnovers, as the Melbourne players set about destroying their own confidence. To finish the quarter they then piled on another four for good measure, as the players in Red and Blue in many cases stood idly by. That was bettered again the 3rd with an 8 goal haul, and another 6 in the final term to round it out nicely. Were it not for Tom McDonald and Col Garland the rout that was to ensue would have been even uglier. And yes, they made a couple of mistakes themselves, but when the ball keeps coming in so freely and often, they can be more than forgiven. Similarly Nathan Jones played his guts out again, and seems to have lost all the promised support he had at year start. It certainly doesnt help when your ruckman cant hit the ball remotely near a red and blue shirted player. Or even to hit the ball! What cant be forgiven is the unwillingness to run and run hard when needed by the Melbourne players. A classic example was when Gibson gathered the ball in the Hawthorn backline and delivered to Rioli on the wing. As Rioli ran forward to eventually score the goal, Gibson ran behind him all the way to the goal line, protecting him from any defenders. A look back to the Melbourne forward line saw Gibson's direct opponent still standing, looking downfield. For the Hawks it is all about team! The ruthlessness of Hawthorn has to be admired and their goal-kicking and field delivery is exceptional. Roughead, Gunston, Suckling, and Bruest have the most delightful kicking style and accuracy. The 50 metre arc is only a way-point to goal as they consistently make the distance and usually the accuracy. Contrast that with the efforts of a number of Melbourne players who couldnt make either the distance or the accuracy from points well inside the 50 metre arc. While the overall result wouldnt have changed, another 5 or 6 very gettable goals start to make the score-line respectable and give some hope for the future. But even if everything had gone our way up forward, the obvious holes and NQR players proliferate throughout the side. We have imported, traded and drafted some serious talent over the past 2 years, but when the names of M. Jones, Bail, Grimes, Howe and Spencer appear in the team selected, we can be certain that we are scraping the barrel. The fact that we HAVE to play kids like Billy Stretch, Angus Brayshaw and then supplement them with other first year players like Aaron Vandenberg, shows the true lack of depth that the club faces. Yet all of these first year players acquitted themselves admirably. That no one in the Casey lineup can or is capable of giving them a rest is a real indictment. By season's end they may well be burnt out, battered and deflated. Even more so when they realise what some players are being paid to run around with the Scorpions! Contrast those NQR players with the performance, and strong marking efforts of Cam Pedersen, who truly took his slim opportunity to play at senior level and turned it into a sterling performance. He willed himself to contests and created opportunities up forward to not only score three goals off his own boot but give Garlett chances that wouldnt have otherwise happened. Then he pinch hits in the ruck and even gives us a couple of clearances that were non-existent for most of the match. Hell be back next week, and unfortunately the list will be populated with more of the NQR players again. Losing Christian Salem to a hamstring makes the selection committee's job even harder as they are forced to put forward names that simply shouldnt be on the radar. Worse still is the fan experience that the supporters will be forced to endure when those same players run out on the ground again, and perform to the same miserable standards that we have witnessed all this season. Melbourne 2.0.12 3.3.21 4.6.30 7.8.50 HAWTHORN 6.2.38 10.6.66 18.8.116 24.11.155 Goals Melbourne Garlett Pedersen 3 Bail Hawthorn Roughead 4 Breust Rioli 3 Hale Langford Puopolo Schoenmakers 2 Ceglar Gunston Hartung, Hill Mitchell Suckling Best Melbourne Garlett Pedersen T McDonald N Jones Hawthorn Mitchell Hartung Hill Roughead Burgoyne Langford Shiels Ceglar Changes Melbourne Jesse Hogan (soreness) replaced in the selected side by Cam Pedersen Hawthorn Isaac Smith (illness) replaced in the selected side by Jonathan Simpkin Injuries Melbourne Christian Salem (hamstring) Hawthorn Nil Substitutes Melbourne Billy Stretch replaced Christian Salem in the second quarter Hawthorn Jonathan Simpkin replaced David Hale in the third quarter Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Umpires Rosebury Edwards Ryan Official crowd 41,935 at the MCG

Unfortunately, we still need to give votes to six players.

During the week some of our readers would have received a survey from the MFC and the AFL, seeking their opinion of the Fan Experience, which has resulted in our senses being assailed by bright lights, loud music and boorish ground announcers. Sadly for the Demon supporters they would be happy for some fan experience of the traditional type going to see their side compete ... perchance winning now and then, and even dreaming of the fan experience of the Hawthorn supporters who have witnessed decades of success both on and off the field. But the only experience they got was another shellacking from a team that is obviously a premiership contender (again), and a football lesson on how very, very far the Demons are from being both relevant and successful in todays competition. And that shellacking was delivered without the services of Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis! The opening two goals by the Demons pointed to something possible, before the Hawks had registered a major but the first two goals to the Hawks came from direct turnovers, as the Melbourne players set about destroying their own confidence. To finish the quarter they then piled on another four for good measure, as the players in Red and Blue in many cases stood idly by. That was bettered again the 3rd with an 8 goal haul, and another 6 in the final term to round it out nicely. Were it not for Tom McDonald and Col Garland the rout that was to ensue would have been even uglier. And yes, they made a couple of mistakes themselves, but when the ball keeps coming in so freely and often, they can be more than forgiven. Similarly Nathan Jones played his guts out again, and seems to have lost all the promised support he had at year start. It certainly doesnt help when your ruckman cant hit the ball remotely near a red and blue shirted player. Or even to hit the ball! What cant be forgiven is the unwillingness to run and run hard when needed by the Melbourne players. A classic example was when Gibson gathered the ball in the Hawthorn backline and delivered to Rioli on the wing. As Rioli ran forward to eventually score the goal, Gibson ran behind him all the way to the goal line, protecting him from any defenders. A look back to the Melbourne forward line saw Gibson's direct opponent still standing, looking downfield. For the Hawks it is all about team! The ruthlessness of Hawthorn has to be admired and their goal-kicking and field delivery is exceptional. Roughead, Gunston, Suckling, and Bruest have the most delightful kicking style and accuracy. The 50 metre arc is only a way-point to goal as they consistently make the distance and usually the accuracy. Contrast that with the efforts of a number of Melbourne players who couldnt make either the distance or the accuracy from points well inside the 50 metre arc. While the overall result wouldnt have changed, another 5 or 6 very gettable goals start to make the score-line respectable and give some hope for the future. But even if everything had gone our way up forward, the obvious holes and NQR players proliferate throughout the side. We have imported, traded and drafted some serious talent over the past 2 years, but when the names of M. Jones, Bail, Grimes, Howe and Spencer appear in the team selected, we can be certain that we are scraping the barrel. The fact that we HAVE to play kids like Billy Stretch, Angus Brayshaw and then supplement them with other first year players like Aaron Vandenberg, shows the true lack of depth that the club faces. Yet all of these first year players acquitted themselves admirably. That no one in the Casey lineup can or is capable of giving them a rest is a real indictment. By season's end they may well be burnt out, battered and deflated. Even more so when they realise what some players are being paid to run around with the Scorpions! Contrast those NQR players with the performance, and strong marking efforts of Cam Pedersen, who truly took his slim opportunity to play at senior level and turned it into a sterling performance. He willed himself to contests and created opportunities up forward to not only score three goals off his own boot but give Garlett chances that wouldnt have otherwise happened. Then he pinch hits in the ruck and even gives us a couple of clearances that were non-existent for most of the match. Hell be back next week, and unfortunately the list will be populated with more of the NQR players again. Losing Christian Salem to a hamstring makes the selection committee's job even harder as they are forced to put forward names that simply shouldnt be on the radar. Worse still is the fan experience that the supporters will be forced to endure when those same players run out on the ground again, and perform to the same miserable standards that we have witnessed all this season. Melbourne 2.0.12 3.3.21 4.6.30 7.8.50 HAWTHORN 6.2.38 10.6.66 18.8.116 24.11.155 Goals Melbourne Garlett Pedersen 3 Bail Hawthorn Roughead 4 Breust Rioli 3 Hale Langford Puopolo Schoenmakers 2 Ceglar Gunston Hartung, Hill Mitchell Suckling Best Melbourne Garlett Pedersen T McDonald N Jones Hawthorn Mitchell Hartung Hill Roughead Burgoyne Langford Shiels Ceglar Changes Melbourne Jesse Hogan (soreness) replaced in the selected side by Cam Pedersen Hawthorn Isaac Smith (illness) replaced in the selected side by Jonathan Simpkin Injuries Melbourne Christian Salem (hamstring) Hawthorn Nil Substitutes Melbourne Billy Stretch replaced Christian Salem in the second quarter Hawthorn Jonathan Simpkin replaced David Hale in the third quarter Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Umpires Rosebury Edwards Ryan Official crowd 41,935 at the MCG

I really wish that I could believe what Chris Dawes said this week about coming up against the Hawks and his personal battle with Chip but really ...

READY FOR THE KILL by Whispering Jack A couple of weeks ago, we breathed a sigh of relief when two of Hawthorn's most important players lost the plot and earned themselves a few weeks holiday courtesy of the AFL system which punishes such indiscretions as whacking unsuspecting opponents in the head and the like. It didn't take long for the suspensions of Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis to have a negative impact on the Hawks. Their surprise defeat at the hands of the GWS Giants put them three games behind competition leader Fremantle and, even at this early stage of proceedings that makes the possibility of them having to negotiate an interstate final a likely outcome given the line-up of teams currently near the top of the table. All this spells trouble for Melbourne reeling from consecutive big losses at the hands of two of those big guns and now staring down the barrel at a confrontation with the wounded reigning premiers. They are not likely to take the Demons easily or give any concessions but rather will approach this clash with a heightened sense of "unsociability" given how problematic a surprise defeat at the hands of an AFL minnow would be to its prospects of pulling off an AFL premiership "threepeat". So Melbourne fans going to Saturday afternoon's away game at the MCG should not draw any solace from the fact that Hodge and Lewis are going to be sitting in the stands along with one or two of their key defenders. Hawthorn will come out fully pumped, ready for the kill and out to add to its imposing string of impressive wins (eleven in a row) mostly by huge winning margins stretching out to almost a decade. And sadly, judging by how meekly their opponents have succumbed in the past couple of matches, they won't need to whack any heads to achieve that feat again on Saturday. THE GAME Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 16 May 2015 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Hawthorn 83 wins Melbourne 74 wins At MCG Hawthorn 42 wins Melbourne 35 wins Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Clarkson 1 win Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports Channel 3 at 2.00pm (live) RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Hawthorn $1.13 to win Melbourne $6.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 17.13.115 defeated Melbourne 9.11.65 in Round 20, 2014 at the MCG It was just another one of the many since Melbourne beat them on a Friday night in 2006 before the deluge came for the Demons. Nothing changed. They came out. Went bang. We lost by 50 points. THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B: Shaun Burgoyne, James Frawley, Ben Stratton HB: Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea C: Bradley Hill, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling HF: Isaac Smith, Jack Gunston, Cyril Rioli F: Ben McEvoy, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Paul Puopolo, Liam Shiels I/C: Ryan Schoenmakers, Will Langford, Angus Litherland, Billy Hartung EMG: Daniel Howe, Jonathan Simpkin, Tim O'Brien IN: James Frawley, Angus Litherland OUT: Jed Anderson, Brendan Whitecross MELBOURNE B: Christian Salem, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland HB: Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe C: Daniel Cross, Nathan Jones, Heritier Lumumba HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Rohan Bail F: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Aaron Vandenberg FOLL: Jake Spencer, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince I/C: Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Billy Stretch, Jimmy Toumpas EMG: Max Gawn, Ben Newton, Cameron Pedersen IN: Rohan Bail, Jack Grimes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie OUT: Jay Kennedy-Harris (groin), Ben Newton, Cam Pedersen, Jack Watts Hawthorn's reputation is not only one of "unsociability" but it is also completely ruthless and, unfortunately for Melbourne, that streak has come out the most this year when the Hawks have been recently wounded. You only need to look at how they bounced back after losses to Essendon and Port Melbourne by flogging the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne to know that there will be no complacency in the camp after their upset loss to Greater Western Sydney which was their first ever to one of the two new franchise clubs. The problem for Melbourne is that it has almost picked the wrong week to come up against Hawthorn. Sure, it would have been much worse had Hodge, Lewis and Lake been available but the Hawks have a happy knack of being able to cover their losses reasonably well. Even without their two highly regarded midfielders, they have the likes of Sam Mitchell and Shaun Burgoyne in the heart of the ground with dangerous players like Cyril, Brad Hill and Liam Shiels thereabouts and they have class everywhere on the ground. This should all prove to much for the Demons whose stocks are somewhat depleted. Even with their best 22 available they would struggle but this week, it could get ugly. Hawthorn by 57 points.

A couple of weeks ago, we breathed a sigh of relief when two of Hawthorn's most important players lost the plot and earned themselves a few weeks holiday courtesy of the AFL system which punishes such indiscretions as whacking unsuspecting opponents in the head and the like. It didn't take long for the suspensions of Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis to have a negative impact on the Hawks. Their surprise defeat at the hands of the GWS Giants put them three games behind competition leader Fremantle and, even at this early stage of proceedings that makes the possibility of them having to negotiate an interstate final a likely outcome given the line-up of teams currently near the top of the table. All this spells trouble for Melbourne reeling from consecutive big losses at the hands of two of those big guns and now staring down the barrel at a confrontation with the wounded reigning premiers. They are not likely to take the Demons easily or give any concessions but rather will approach this clash with a heightened sense of "unsociability" given how problematic a surprise defeat at the hands of an AFL minnow would be to its prospects of pulling off an AFL premiership "threepeat". So Melbourne fans going to Saturday afternoon's away game at the MCG should not draw any solace from the fact that Hodge and Lewis are going to be sitting in the stands along with one or two of their key defenders. Hawthorn will come out fully pumped, ready for the kill and out to add to its imposing string of impressive wins (eleven in a row) mostly by huge winning margins stretching out to almost a decade. And sadly, judging by how meekly their opponents have succumbed in the past couple of matches, they won't need to whack any heads to achieve that feat again on Saturday. THE GAME Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 16 May 2015 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Hawthorn 83 wins Melbourne 74 wins At MCG Hawthorn 42 wins Melbourne 35 wins Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Clarkson 1 win Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Sports Channel 3 at 2.00pm (live) RADIO - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Hawthorn $1.13 to win Melbourne $6.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 17.13.115 defeated Melbourne 9.11.65 in Round 20, 2014 at the MCG It was just another one of the many since Melbourne beat them on a Friday night in 2006 before the deluge came for the Demons. Nothing changed. They came out. Went bang. We lost by 50 points. THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B: Shaun Burgoyne, James Frawley, Ben Stratton HB: Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea C: Bradley Hill, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling HF: Isaac Smith, Jack Gunston, Cyril Rioli F: Ben McEvoy, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Paul Puopolo, Liam Shiels I/C: Ryan Schoenmakers, Will Langford, Angus Litherland, Billy Hartung EMG: Daniel Howe, Jonathan Simpkin, Tim O'Brien IN: James Frawley, Angus Litherland OUT: Jed Anderson, Brendan Whitecross MELBOURNE B: Christian Salem, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland HB: Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe C: Daniel Cross, Nathan Jones, Heritier Lumumba HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Rohan Bail F: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Aaron Vandenberg FOLL: Jake Spencer, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince I/C: Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Billy Stretch, Jimmy Toumpas EMG: Max Gawn, Ben Newton, Cameron Pedersen IN: Rohan Bail, Jack Grimes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie OUT: Jay Kennedy-Harris (groin), Ben Newton, Cam Pedersen, Jack Watts Hawthorn's reputation is not only one of "unsociability" but it is also completely ruthless and, unfortunately for Melbourne, that streak has come out the most this year when the Hawks have been recently wounded. You only need to look at how they bounced back after losses to Essendon and Port Melbourne by flogging the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne to know that there will be no complacency in the camp after their upset loss to Greater Western Sydney which was their first ever to one of the two new franchise clubs. The problem for Melbourne is that it has almost picked the wrong week to come up against Hawthorn. Sure, it would have been much worse had Hodge, Lewis and Lake been available but the Hawks have a happy knack of being able to cover their losses reasonably well. Even without their two highly regarded midfielders, they have the likes of Sam Mitchell and Shaun Burgoyne in the heart of the ground with dangerous players like Cyril, Brad Hill and Liam Shiels thereabouts and they have class everywhere on the ground. This should all prove to much for the Demons whose stocks are somewhat depleted. Even with their best 22 available they would struggle but this week, it could get ugly. Hawthorn by 57 points.

It was just another day in the bomb shelter ... THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B: Taylor Duryea, Josh Gibson, Matt Spangher HB: Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall C: Isaac Smith, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling HF: Bradley Hill, Ryan Schoenmakers, Luke Breust F: Paul Puopolo, Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis FOLL: Ben McEvoy, Shaun Burgoyne, Liam Shiels I/C: David Hale, Jonathan Simpkin, Billy Hartung, Will Langford EMG: Jonathon Ceglar, Angus Litherland, Alex Woodward IN: Billy Hartung, Sam Mitchell, Isaac Smith OUT: Jack Gunston (knee), Angus Litherland, Alex Woodward MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Matt Jones C: Rohan Bail, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross HF: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Frawley, Jack Watts F: Mark Jamar, Chris Dawes, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dom Barry, Viv Michie, Aidan Riley, Jack Viney EMG: Jack Fitzpatrick, Jordie McKenzie, Daniel Nicholson IN: Dom Barry, Daniel Cross, Max Gawn, Matt Jones, Viv Michie OUT: Blease, McKenzie, Pedersen (head), Tapscott (knee), Terlich

SQUAWKING by Whispering Jack This match report on the Round 20 game between Melbourne and Hawthorn opens with a definitive statement: "Forget about all of this baloney about Melbourne being scarred by tanking talk. That controversy was five years ago, and to raise it now simply smells of a club looking for excuses." The excuse-making and squawking after last week's pathetic capitulation to the Brisbane Lions was hopefully an aberration on the part of Demon coach Paul Roos which will not be repeated. He may not have been aware of it, but his comments would open up old wounds and allow some to approach their soap boxes and raise old agendas that need to be set aside if the club is to progress. Moreover, telling players publicly that they are wounded by a long gone event that happened when only 20% of the current list was at the club (including some of its better players who are by no means haunted by the experience) is likely to be counterproductive. It certainly turned out that way in the game against Hawthorn. The Hawks dominated from go to whoa and at times, toyed with the Demons whose play was still very much defensive and stilted in style and which contained the fair share of hesitation, skill errors and turnovers. Thankfully, some of the changes to the line up necessitated by last week's fiasco, gave the team a harder edge and we saw less of the bumbling and stumbling that highlighted that performance. Of course, that was a necessity given that the Demons were playing the top of the ladder Hawks rather than the lowly Lions of a week before. In the end, Melbourne lost by 50 points but it was one in which it would have succumbed by double that only twelve months ago. The team once again failed to score even ten goals and there was little to suggest any impending improvement in its forward potency. Chris Dawes continues to disappoint as the team's only true key forward. He did have an interrupted preseason but he doesn't seem to be playing with his earlier zest and needs the back up of at least one or two other effective talls up forward if there is to be improvement in this department. Max Gawn's return to the team after a strong month in the VFL was a promising start. Again, quoting from the above article: "Five of Melbournes first seven goals came from direct kicks to the space in front of the goalsquare, and yet that particularly option seemed the one they were least inclined to take. "Instead, there were numerous passages of play where Melbourne second-guessed itself. At one point in the second term Chris Dawes came streaming up the wing, marking beautifully on the lead. His first instinct was to then turn around and kick it 45 metres backwards, prompting booing from the Members Stand." ... and ... "There were even instances where Melbourne players were in the clear within 30 or 40 metres of goal, and rather than taking the shot, they looked to handball to a teammate under even more pressure." Clearly, none of this has anything to do with what might have taken place in the "vault" at the Junction Oval or how a team that lost 11 out of its first 12 games in Dean Bailey's second season as coach and which culminated in an expression of dismay by the tanking accusers that Melbourne had the temerity to lose its last game of the 2009 to top-of-the-ladder St. Kilda. To suggest otherwise is, at best, indulging in fantasy. The Demons were well served by its usual midfield guns in Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson while Neville Jetta continues to shine and demonstrate why he is easily the club's most improved player. As mentioned above, Gawn helped to improve the forward set up and Aidan Riley had a real impact when he was substituted into the game. One expects the club will continue to give its young players every chance for the rest of the season instead of those who have been around, had their chances and failed to deliver in the past. One also hopes that somehow, the team will play with some more positivity when going into attack from now on as it would, at the very least, give the club's success-starved fans something to look forward to for the remainder of the season and beyond. Melbourne 2.1.13 4.5.29 7.8.50 9.11.65 Hawthorn4.4.28 10.8.68 15.8.98 17.13.115 Goals Melbourne Gawn 2 Dawes Frawley, Kennedy-Harris Kent Riley Tyson Viney Hawthorn Roughead 5 Breust 3 Hill Smith 2 Hale Lewis Puopolo Schoenmakers Shiels Best Melbourne Tyson Jetta, N. Jones Howe Gawn Cross Hawthorn Lewis Shiels Roughead Smith Hodge Birchall Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn J Roughead for tripping D Tyson in the second quarter Umpires Nil Hawthorn Ben Ryan, Jeff Dalgleish, Nicholas Foot Crowd 37,082 at the MCG

Well, we're 20 rounds in which means after this week our voting goes "in camera". In the meantime, please cast your votes and don't forget the Jones rule applies this week -

This match report on the Round 20 game between Melbourne and Hawthorn opens with a definitive statement: "Forget about all of this baloney about Melbourne being scarred by tanking talk. That controversy was five years ago, and to raise it now simply smells of a club looking for excuses." The excuse-making and squawking after last week's pathetic capitulation to the Brisbane Lions was hopefully an aberration on the part of Demon coach Paul Roos which will not be repeated. He may not have been aware of it, but his comments would open up old wounds and allow some to approach their soap boxes and raise old agendas that need to be set aside if the club is to progress. Moreover, telling players publicly that they are wounded by a long gone event that happened when only 20% of the current list was at the club (including some of its better players who are by no means haunted by the experience) is likely to be counterproductive. It certainly turned out that way in the game against Hawthorn. The Hawks dominated from go to whoa and at times, toyed with the Demons whose play was still very much defensive and stilted in style and which contained the fair share of hesitation, skill errors and turnovers. Thankfully, some of the changes to the line up necessitated by last week's fiasco, gave the team a harder edge and we saw less of the bumbling and stumbling that highlighted that performance. Of course, that was a necessity given that the Demons were playing the top of the ladder Hawks rather than the lowly Lions of a week before. In the end, Melbourne lost by 50 points but it was one in which it would have succumbed by double that only twelve months ago. The team once again failed to score even ten goals and there was little to suggest any impending improvement in its forward potency. Chris Dawes continues to disappoint as the team's only true key forward. He did have an interrupted preseason but he doesn't seem to be playing with his earlier zest and needs the back up of at least one or two other effective talls up forward if there is to be improvement in this department. Max Gawn's return to the team after a strong month in the VFL was a promising start. Again, quoting from the above article: "Five of Melbournes first seven goals came from direct kicks to the space in front of the goalsquare, and yet that particularly option seemed the one they were least inclined to take. "Instead, there were numerous passages of play where Melbourne second-guessed itself. At one point in the second term Chris Dawes came streaming up the wing, marking beautifully on the lead. His first instinct was to then turn around and kick it 45 metres backwards, prompting booing from the Members Stand." ... and ... "There were even instances where Melbourne players were in the clear within 30 or 40 metres of goal, and rather than taking the shot, they looked to handball to a teammate under even more pressure." Clearly, none of this has anything to do with what might have taken place in the "vault" at the Junction Oval or how a team that lost 11 out of its first 12 games in Dean Bailey's second season as coach and which culminated in an expression of dismay by the tanking accusers that Melbourne had the temerity to lose its last game of the 2009 to top-of-the-ladder St. Kilda. To suggest otherwise is, at best, indulging in fantasy. The Demons were well served by its usual midfield guns in Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson while Neville Jetta continues to shine and demonstrate why he is easily the club's most improved player. As mentioned above, Gawn helped to improve the forward set up and Aidan Riley had a real impact when he was substituted into the game. One expects the club will continue to give its young players every chance for the rest of the season instead of those who have been around, had their chances and failed to deliver in the past. One also hopes that somehow, the team will play with some more positivity when going into attack from now on as it would, at the very least, give the club's success-starved fans something to look forward to for the remainder of the season and beyond. Melbourne 2.1.13 4.5.29 7.8.50 9.11.65 Hawthorn4.4.28 10.8.68 15.8.98 17.13.115 Goals Melbourne Gawn 2 Dawes Frawley, Kennedy-Harris Kent Riley Tyson Viney Hawthorn Roughead 5 Breust 3 Hill Smith 2 Hale Lewis Puopolo Schoenmakers Shiels Best Melbourne Tyson Jetta, N. Jones Howe Gawn Cross Hawthorn Lewis Shiels Roughead Smith Hodge Birchall Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn J Roughead for tripping D Tyson in the second quarter Umpires Nil Hawthorn Ben Ryan, Jeff Dalgleish, Nicholas Foot Crowd 37,082 at the MCG

They've put us in graveyard time slot for the game v Hawrhorn. Hope that's not an omen. Anyone going?

THE DOVE by Whispering Jack The dove is a bird associated with peace and harmony. The hawk is its exact opposite - aggressive and warlike. Ironically, in the week when Melbourne takes on the AFL Hawks it is the club that you associate with the aggressive bird that sits in peaceful harmony at the top of the AFL table while the Demons are seemingly in disarray and ducking for cover in the wake of their coach's stinging attack on his players and the culture of the club. Paul Roos blamed the clubs culture of losing on its past tanking controversies claiming that some Demons players remaining from 2009 appear to be scarred from those experiences and must overcome them before the club can take further strides forward. I think he's wrong and that he didn't think out those comments very well at all. They invited the attention of the usual media vultures and were unnecessary negative given the shortcomings of the list he possesses. In my view, he should get on with the job of coaching and looking to the future rather than look for excuses. Whatever the reason for the malaise that led to the situation at ¾ time when Melbourne held a slender lead but almost double the number of shots at goal (and the possible explanations seem numerous and open to conjecture), the game was there to be won in the final quarter. That's when the coach can exert his influence and given we were seeing two young inexperienced teams that haven't performed well in 2014, the result reflected just as poorly on our coaching as it did on the players. Look at the replay and you can see the defensive mindset in mid quarter compared to the way Brisbane took on the game and you won't be surprised at all about who won and who lost. I thought at the time that Roos still had his eye on the future with the way they played out the game and was prepared to give him an escape card but I was disappointed with his references to the past in the post-match which of course, led to the predictable feeding frenzy from Caroline Wilson and co who simply won't let go of past personal agendas. Roos knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he took on the job and he should be last person to make excuses. We've seen some signs of improvement this year but given the fact that he has a better list that was expected, we should be seeing more. For all that, with a game against the top team in the competition, it's time to see a more aggressive approach to our opposition than to our ghosts of the past, perceived or otherwise. THE GAME Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 9 August 2014 at 4.40 pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Hawthorn 82 wins Melbourne 74 wins At MCG Hawthorn 41 wins Melbourne 35 wins Last 5 years Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Clarkson 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 4.30pm (live) RADIO Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Hawthorn $1.04 to win Melbourne $11.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 15.25.115 defeated Melbourne 6.13.49 in Round 10, 2013 at the MCG The Hawks kicked 12 goals to 1 in the first half. Thanks to some atrocious kicking from the Hawks the Dees managed to miraculously outscore them in the second half. THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B: Taylor Duryea, Josh Gibson, Matt Spangher HB: Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall C: Isaac Smith, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling HF: Bradley Hill, Ryan Schoenmakers, Luke Breust F: Paul Puopolo, Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis FOLL: Ben McEvoy, Shaun Burgoyne, Liam Shiels I/C: David Hale, Jonathan Simpkin, Billy Hartung, Will Langford EMG: Jonathon Ceglar, Angus Litherland, Alex Woodward IN: Billy Hartung, Sam Mitchell, Isaac Smith OUT: Jack Gunston (knee), Angus Litherland, Alex Woodward MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Matt Jones C: Rohan Bail, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross HF: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Frawley, Jack Watts F: Mark Jamar, Chris Dawes, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dom Barry, Viv Michie, Aidan Riley, Jack Viney EMG: Jack Fitzpatrick, Jordie McKenzie, Daniel Nicholson IN: Dom Barry, Daniel Cross, Max Gawn, Matt Jones, Viv Michie OUT: Blease, McKenzie, Pedersen (head), Tapscott (knee), Terlich The changes to the team this week reflect the fact that Paul Roos means business. He has warned that many of his players are virtually on trial and the three omissions from last week's fiasco are certainly on shaky ground. Luke Tapscott who is out by virtue of a knee injury is also in trouble because it took him the better part of the season to gain promotion from Casey and yet, he failed at the highest level yet again. The same can be said of most of the players selected in the VFL this week. With perhaps, the exception of Christian Salem and a couple of rookies, the rest have their cards virtually marked. The inclusions into the team look like plusses. Max Gawn has been in ripping form while Daniel Cross has been the team's measuring stick this year and it's no coincidence that things went awry the moment he dropped out of the team with that foot fracture. Matt Jones and Viv Michie are solid but unspectacular citizens with form at Casey while Dom Barry is young and fast but looms as the likely sub. All in all, there is likely to be an improvement in the line up but the bad news is that this week's opponent is Hawthorn, not Brisbane and that foretells of a tough evening at the office. Hawthorn comfortably.

The dove is a bird associated with peace and harmony. The hawk is its exact opposite - aggressive and warlike. Ironically, in the week when Melbourne takes on the AFL Hawks it is the club that you associate with the aggressive bird that sits in peaceful harmony at the top of the AFL table while the Demons are seemingly in disarray and ducking for cover in the wake of their coach's stinging attack on his players and the culture of the club. Paul Roos blamed the clubs culture of losing on its past tanking controversies claiming that some Demons players remaining from 2009 appear to be scarred from those experiences and must overcome them before the club can take further strides forward. I think he's wrong and that he didn't think out those comments very well at all. They invited the attention of the usual media vultures and were unnecessary negative given the shortcomings of the list he possesses. In my view, he should get on with the job of coaching and looking to the future rather than look for excuses. Whatever the reason for the malaise that led to the situation at ¾ time when Melbourne held a slender lead but almost double the number of shots at goal (and the possible explanations seem numerous and open to conjecture), the game was there to be won in the final quarter. That's when the coach can exert his influence and given we were seeing two young inexperienced teams that haven't performed well in 2014, the result reflected just as poorly on our coaching as it did on the players. Look at the replay and you can see the defensive mindset in mid quarter compared to the way Brisbane took on the game and you won't be surprised at all about who won and who lost. I thought at the time that Roos still had his eye on the future with the way they played out the game and was prepared to give him an escape card but I was disappointed with his references to the past in the post-match which of course, led to the predictable feeding frenzy from Caroline Wilson and co who simply won't let go of past personal agendas. Roos knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he took on the job and he should be last person to make excuses. We've seen some signs of improvement this year but given the fact that he has a better list that was expected, we should be seeing more. For all that, with a game against the top team in the competition, it's time to see a more aggressive approach to our opposition than to our ghosts of the past, perceived or otherwise. THE GAME Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 9 August 2014 at 4.40 pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Hawthorn 82 wins Melbourne 74 wins At MCG Hawthorn 41 wins Melbourne 35 wins Last 5 years Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Clarkson 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV Fox Footy Channel at 4.30pm (live) RADIO Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Hawthorn $1.04 to win Melbourne $11.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 15.25.115 defeated Melbourne 6.13.49 in Round 10, 2013 at the MCG The Hawks kicked 12 goals to 1 in the first half. Thanks to some atrocious kicking from the Hawks the Dees managed to miraculously outscore them in the second half. THE TEAMS HAWTHORN B: Taylor Duryea, Josh Gibson, Matt Spangher HB: Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall C: Isaac Smith, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling HF: Bradley Hill, Ryan Schoenmakers, Luke Breust F: Paul Puopolo, Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis FOLL: Ben McEvoy, Shaun Burgoyne, Liam Shiels I/C: David Hale, Jonathan Simpkin, Billy Hartung, Will Langford EMG: Jonathon Ceglar, Angus Litherland, Alex Woodward IN: Billy Hartung, Sam Mitchell, Isaac Smith OUT: Jack Gunston (knee), Angus Litherland, Alex Woodward MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe HB: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Matt Jones C: Rohan Bail, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross HF: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Frawley, Jack Watts F: Mark Jamar, Chris Dawes, Dean Kent FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dom Barry, Viv Michie, Aidan Riley, Jack Viney EMG: Jack Fitzpatrick, Jordie McKenzie, Daniel Nicholson IN: Dom Barry, Daniel Cross, Max Gawn, Matt Jones, Viv Michie OUT: Blease, McKenzie, Pedersen (head), Tapscott (knee), Terlich The changes to the team this week reflect the fact that Paul Roos means business. He has warned that many of his players are virtually on trial and the three omissions from last week's fiasco are certainly on shaky ground. Luke Tapscott who is out by virtue of a knee injury is also in trouble because it took him the better part of the season to gain promotion from Casey and yet, he failed at the highest level yet again. The same can be said of most of the players selected in the VFL this week. With perhaps, the exception of Christian Salem and a couple of rookies, the rest have their cards virtually marked. The inclusions into the team look like plusses. Max Gawn has been in ripping form while Daniel Cross has been the team's measuring stick this year and it's no coincidence that things went awry the moment he dropped out of the team with that foot fracture. Matt Jones and Viv Michie are solid but unspectacular citizens with form at Casey while Dom Barry is young and fast but looms as the likely sub. All in all, there is likely to be an improvement in the line up but the bad news is that this week's opponent is Hawthorn, not Brisbane and that foretells of a tough evening at the office. Hawthorn comfortably.

The last time it nearly ended in tears for Mark Neeld. This time .... MELBOURNE Backs Lynden Dunn James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Cam Pedersen Colin Garland Centreline Jack Trengove Michael Evans Matt Jones Half forwards Luke Tapscott Jeremy Howe Rohan Bail Forwards David Rodan Chris Dawes Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Jack Fitzpatrick Dean Kent Joel Macdonald James Strauss Emergencies Daniel Nicholson James Sellar Jake Spencer In Jack Fitzpatrick Dean Kent Joel Macdonald Cam Pedersen David Rodan James Strauss Out Shannon Byrnes (wrist) Neville Jetta Max Gawn James Magner Daniel Nicholson HAWTHORN Backs Ben Stratton Brian Lake Brent Guerra Half backs Josh Gibson Grant Birchall Sam Mitchell Centreline Isaac Smith Luke Hodge Liam Shiels Half forwards Brad Hill Lance Franklin Jordan Lewis Forwards Paul Puopolo Jarryd Roughead Luke Breust Followers David Hale Brad Sewell Shaun Burgoyne Interchange Kyle Cheney Taylor Duryea Sam Grimley Jonathan Simpkin Emergencies Max Bailey Michael Osborne Shane Savage In Grant Birchall David Hale Out Max Bailey Jack Gunston (calf)