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The Eagles were competitive in the early going but the Demons were in a different league and cruised to an easy win. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B T. Cole T. Barrass L. Duggan HB J. Jones S. Hurn J. Hunt C B. Hough E. Yeo A. Gaff HF C. West J. Darling G. Clark F N. Long O. Allen J. Waterman FOLL B. Williams R. Ginbey T. Kelly I/C J. Culley L. Edwards E. Hewett S. Petrevski-Seton SUB J. Rotham EMG L. Foley X. O'Neill J. Petruccelle IN G. Clark J. Culley L. Edwards B. Hough J. Rotham C. West E. Yeo OUT C. Chesser (knee) J. Cripps (broken ankle) J. McGovern (hamstring) L. Ryan (knee) D. Sheed (throat) L. Shuey (hamstring) A. Witherden (concussion) MELBOURNE B J. Lever S. May M. Hibberd HB T. Sparrow H. Petty J. McVee C A. Brayshaw C. Oliver L. Hunter HF E. Langdon B. Fritsch J. Bowey F C. Spargo J. van Rooyen A. Neal-Bullen FOLL B. Grundy J. Viney C. Petracca I/C K. Chandler T. McDonald K. Pickett T. Rivers SUB J. Jordon EMG L. Dunstan J. Melksham A. Tomlinson IN T. McDonald K. Pickett OUT B. Brown (back) J. Melksham (omitted)

It was an unforgettable night that ended in thunder, in lightning and in rain. WEST COAST EAGLES B: T. Cole 28 H. Edwards 42 S. Hurn 25 HB: L. Edwards 35 J. McGovern 20 B. Sheppard 5 C: A. Gaff 3 T. Kelly 11 J. Redden 8 HF: C. West 36 J. Darling 27 J. Cripps 15 F: J. Petruccelle 21 J. Kennedy 17 O. Allen 12 Foll: N. Naitanui 9 E. Yeo 6 D. Sheed 4 I/C: M. Hutchings 34 J. Nelson 30 N. Vardy 19 A. Witherden 23 Emerg: L. Edwards 35 Z. Langdon 16 J. Rotham 35 J. Waterman 2 IN: L. Edwards J. Nelson N. Vardy A. Witherden OUT: L. Duggan (knee) X. O'Neill (omitted) J. Rotham (omitted) J. Waterman (omitted) MELBOURNE B: J. Bowey 17 S. May 1 H. Petty 35 HB: J. Hunt 29 J. Lever 8 C. Salem 3 C: A. Brayshaw 10 C. Petracca 5 E. Langdon 15 HF: K. Pickett 36 J. Melksham 18 C. Spargo 9 F: Neal-Bullen 30 B. Brown 50 B. Fritsch 31 Foll: M. Gawn 11 C. Oliver 13 J. Harmes 4 I/C: L. Jackson 6 J. Jordon 23 T. Rivers 24 T. Sparrow 32 Sub: A. vandenBerg 22 Emerg: M. Hibberd 14 S. Weideman 26 IN: J. Melksham A. vandenBerg Out: T. McDonald (back) J. Viney (suspended)

What more can they throw at the Demons of 2021? Covid restrictions, hubs, aircraft circling between airports before landing for games and now a match stopped for 30 minutes to give a flagging opponent its second wind? To date, none of those distractions has swayed the team from their winning objectives. The game against West Coast in Perth can be marked on their report card as another positive outcome after yet another test. There was much at stake for both sides. Melbourne had the opportunity to re-take top spot and assure itself of a top four finish. West Coast had a finals position at stake so, as promised, it was an electrifying match but not in the way that most of us would have imagined. Even before the start, the sides were making strategic moves off the back of weather reports predicting bucket loads of rain adding to an already wet winter for the State. Tom McDonald was replaced in the side by James Jordon while the Eagles replaced Duggan before the match. As it turned out, the boffins at the WA Bureau of Meteorology proved correct when the ground was hit by torrential rain and high winds shortly before game time. With the match under way, it proved to be everything that was promised. In the first quarter the Demons inched their way to the front with a tactic of long kicking to gain territory. Ben Brown celebrated with his 300th goal in AFL and followed up with another shortly after. All around the ground it was contest after contest, with the Demons slightly ahead in the wet conditions. Ed Langdon must be forgiven for thinking he has done something wrong, as the game was played again on the opposite wing, but with Andrew Gaff alongside, both these brilliant players were more spectators than contributors. A major blow to West Coast was the loss of Shannon Hurn to a hamstring injury early, making the Demons forwards job a little easier. Much the same happened in the second quarter as the ground dried and more skills could be seen. Then umpire Mathew Nicholls gifted West Coast a goal from a free kick, which was to prove to be not the only one that raised incredulous eyebrows on the night. Rule of the week from the umpires was “not 15m”. While a good thing, the fans would like to see it applied consistently at every game, every week, not just on a whim. Melbourne failed to score a major in the second term until Kysaiah Pickett managed a 50 m set shot right on the siren to enable the Demons to take back a four point lead at the main break. The scoreline was a good indication of the contest with neither side giving much. West Coast had thrown everything at the Demons, and true to the test they were given, they just held up. None more so than Jake Lever who had amassed eight intercepts to half time. In the third term, it was Melbourne who came out to put the game beyond doubt (or so we thought) with a five goal to one onslaught. Alex Neal-Bullen snagged a snap from great Ben Brown ruckwork in the forward line, while Luke Jackson was proving to be too much for Vardy in the ruck with his athleticism which resulted in a number of scoring chances. Max Gawn was noticed to be spending a long time on the bench, but with Jackson ascendant in the ruck, this was to prove to be a fortuitous event. Still, the Demons wasted a number of chances scoring five behinds to match the five goals, and once again Nicholls kept giving West Coast scoring opportunities in front of goal. The Demons controlled the first five or so minutes after the final break and the game was in their keeping with a 33 point lead when Mother Nature intervened with nearby lightning strikes halting proceedings. There were many questions to be answered including for how long and what would happen if the storm persisted? Confused reigned and the difficult situation was thrust upon players and coaches. How to keep the players warm and ready for something which might, may or may not happen in 10, 15 or 30 minutes or not at all. After 30 minutes or so, the weather moderated a little and the contestants were allowed back on the field to resume play. Melbourne worked hard but failed to convert a couple of easy shots but the game turned. West Coast was awarded another goal from a free kick, and the Demons lead was being whittled away with desperate attempts to score or repel the attacks. The Eagles had their second wind but the time clock was running down and in the end a few critical disposals and marks from the likes of Bowey, Spargo and Brown denied West Coast. Despite not scoring a final term major for themselves, the Demons ran out worthy winners. Individual efforts were hard to highlight, simply because there were so many to speak about. For the Demon fans, Luke Jackson was a standout, and given he is only 19 there is much to look forward to. In the same way Jake Bowey at 19 and in his second game showed poise beyond his years, and his accurate kicking tells of a bright future. He earned his 21 possessions at over 80% efficiency in a tough hard contested game and cemented his place for the coming final series. This was only the third time Melbourne had been victorious against the Eagles in 18 years. But this is a very different Demon side. They have been tried and tested now and have shown they are serious contenders for the premiership. Now what an electrifying experience that would be for Demon fans! MELBOURNE 4.2.26 5.3.33 10. 8.68 10.12.72 WEST COAST EAGLES 2.0.12 4.5.29 5.6.36 9.9.63 GOALS Melbourne Brown 3 Neal-Bullen Melksham 2 Harmes Petracca Pickett West Coast Eagles Cripps Kennedy Darling 2 Naitanui Redden West BEST Melbourne Petracca Oliver Harmes Brown Jackson May West Coast Eagles Yeo Naitanui Redden Kelly Cripps Sheed INJURIES Melbourne McDonald (back) replaced in the selected side by Jordon Hunt (ankle) West Coast Eagles Duggan (knee soreness) replaced in the selected side by L. Edwards Hurn (hamstring) REPORTS Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne vandenBerg (replaced Hunt) West Coast Eagles Langdon (replaced Hurn) UMPIRES Jeff Dalgleish Mathew Nicholls John Howorth Official Crowd 31,584 at Optus Stadium

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This is the last chance saloon if we want to be a significant player in 2019. Round 9 West Coast v Melbourne Friday 17 May, 6.10pm AWST Optus Stadium 3.55pm: All gates open As an away game, Melbourne Members cannot gain access to the match without a valid ticket. Tickets to the match can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Public transport Optus Stadium is located in proximity to the Perth Stadium train station. The precinct is also serviced by multiple bus routes. Plan your trip to the match using Transperth's Journey Planner. Car parking There is no public parking available at Optus Stadium without a permit. A limited number of spaces are available for mobility-impaired attendees. Find out more HERE. View a map of Optus Stadium HERE. TV times All broadcast info in local times. Melbourne: Seven + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Sydney: 7mate + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Brisbane: 7mate + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Adelaide: 7mate + Fox Footy – 7.30pm Perth: 7mate + Fox Footy – 6.00pm Tasmania: Seven + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Canberra: 7mate + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Darwin: Seven + Fox Footy – 7.30pm For all other regions and radio info, refer to the AFL Broadcast Guide. Mobile app Live scores, stats and match highlights are available at the tap of a finger in the club's mobile app. Download it for iOS or Android. Social media Match hashtag: #AFLDeesEagles Follow the club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live match coverage and a behind-the-scenes insight into match day. VFL and VFLW double-header VFLW Round 2 Casey v Carlton Saturday May 18, 12.00pm Casey Fields VFL Round 7 Casey v Port Melbourne Saturday May 18, 2.00pm Casey Fields Admission prices Melbourne/Casey Demons Members: FREE when you present your card on entry Adult General Admission: $10 Concession/Pensioner General Admission: $5 Children Under 15: Free Broadcast Live stream: Both matches will be live streamed via YouTube. SCREAM by Whispering Jack The Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch painted a number of versions of his famous work “Scream” and, every time my mind goes back to last year’s Preliminary Final at Optus Stadium between Melbourne and the West Coast Eagles, each and every one of them reverberates through my mind as if my head is being pummeled by a sledgehammer. When I think of that half time scoreboard from that match showing West Coast at 10.9.69 to Melbourne 0.6.6, I feel like the man standing by the railing, hands cupping his ears in horror at the disaster unfolding at the place where, only a matter of weeks earlier, the Demons had sealed a place in their first finals series for a dozen seasons against the very same opposition. After the game, I thought time would heal the wounds and the Demons would take the result both as a character-building lesson and a stepping stone to bigger and brighter things. They were, after all, the competition’s highest-scoring team for the season with plenty of attacking targets fed by a potent midfield and underpinned by an adequate and improving defence that had recruited a top notch key defender in Steven May and was expecting the early return from injury of another in Jake Lever? What could possibly go wrong? Well, you could fill the pages of the Encyclopedia Brittanica with the answer to that question and the various solutions that have been posited by all and sundry to restore the confidence of the Demon faithful and to end the nightmares endured since the 2019 season began. Not even the last two matches with their come-from-behind, get out of gaol free, nail biting wins against Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns have put an end to the screaming fits. The most common attempt to explain the reversal from last season to now, has been centred on the team’s decline in attacking strength from one that averaged almost 105 points a game in the home and away season to this year’s output of less than 70 - a startling statistic, especially in light of the fact that week after week, they are still getting the ball inside the 50 metre arc many more times than their opponents. So far nobody, least of all, Simon Goodwin has been able to explain the club’s impotence in attack. Perhaps there is a light on the horizon after last week with Tom McDonald getting his biggest return for the season (3 goals) or perhaps they can take heart from the fact that in the space of 40 seconds at the end of last week’s game, they scored more than 10% of their entire score? But even that will need to be augmented by a lot more work on the defensive side. For much of the season, the Demons have been leaking goals too easily and the following statistic shows up the fact that they have been unable to impose sufficient pressure on opposition forwards. Since the opening round against Port Adelaide when they fell victim to sheer fatigue, the Demons have conceded 31 goals and only 9 behinds. In three of their last four games, the opposition have been deadly straight in these final quarters – St Kilda managed three straight and Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns kicked four. In between, Richmond kicked 5.4, while earlier the Cats scored 7.3 (after 6.0 in the third), Essendon 6.1 and Sydney 2.1. In other words, the pattern shows Melbourne struggling to kick goals while, at the other end, its opponents rarely miss. If Goodwin can overcome this phenomenon, made all the more difficult by the fact that the club is ravaged by injury at the moment, he will be entitled to the tag of “genius”. The fact that the club has been hit by those injuries might in fact help because he has no option but to make changes to his line up this week. Hopefully, he will find a way to ensure that, we the fans, will be screaming with delight on Friday night. However and unfortunately, I can’t see that happening this week. West Coast by 27 points.  THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Friday 17 May 2019 at 8.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 34 wins Melbourne 17 wins At Optus Stadium West Coast 1 win Melbourne 1 win Past five meetings West Coast 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Simpson 1 win Goodwin 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Footy Channel Live at 8.00pm RADIO - 3AW Triple M ABC SEN THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 18.13.121 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 defeated Melbourne in the Preliminary Final, 2018 at Optus Stadium In a sad end to their 2018 campaign, the Demons were humiliated in this game, failing to score a goal for the entire first half. Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver never gave up. Injury List: Round 9 Jake Lever (knee) – test Jordan Lewis (ankle) – test Corey Maynard (hip) – test Charlie Spargo (foot) – test Sam Weideman (hip) – test Mitch Hannan (knee) – 1 week Jay Kennedy Harris (knee) – 1 week Michael Hibberd (collarbone) – 2 weeks Steven May (groin) – 2-3 weeks Jake Melksham (foot) – 4-5 weeks Joel Smith (groin) – 4-6 weeks Kade Kolodjashnij (concussion) – TBA Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – TBA Neville Jetta (knee) – 8-10 weeks Guy Walker (shoulder) – Indefinite Aaron Nietschke (knee) – Season THE TEAMS

The Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch painted a number of versions of his famous work “Scream” and, every time my mind goes back to last year’s Preliminary Final at Optus Stadium between Melbourne and the West Coast Eagles, each and every one of them reverberates through my mind as if my head is being pummeled by a sledgehammer. When I think of that half time scoreboard from that match showing West Coast at 10.9.69 to Melbourne 0.6.6, I feel like the man standing by the railing, hands cupping his ears in horror at the disaster unfolding at the place where, only a matter of weeks earlier, the Demons had sealed a place in their first finals series for a dozen seasons against the very same opposition. After the game, I thought time would heal the wounds and the Demons would take the result both as a character-building lesson and a stepping stone to bigger and brighter things. They were, after all, the competition’s highest-scoring team for the season with plenty of attacking targets fed by a potent midfield and underpinned by an adequate and improving defence that had recruited a top notch key defender in Steven May and was expecting the early return from injury of another in Jake Lever? What could possibly go wrong? Well, you could fill the pages of the Encyclopedia Brittanica with the answer to that question and the various solutions that have been posited by all and sundry to restore the confidence of the Demon faithful and to end the nightmares endured since the 2019 season began. Not even the last two matches with their come-from-behind, get out of gaol free, nail biting wins against Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns have put an end to the screaming fits. The most common attempt to explain the reversal from last season to now, has been centred on the team’s decline in attacking strength from one that averaged almost 105 points a game in the home and away season to this year’s output of less than 70 - a startling statistic, especially in light of the fact that week after week, they are still getting the ball inside the 50 metre arc many more times than their opponents. So far nobody, least of all, Simon Goodwin has been able to explain the club’s impotence in attack. Perhaps there is a light on the horizon after last week with Tom McDonald getting his biggest return for the season (3 goals) or perhaps they can take heart from the fact that in the space of 40 seconds at the end of last week’s game, they scored more than 10% of their entire score? But even that will need to be augmented by a lot more work on the defensive side. For much of the season, the Demons have been leaking goals too easily and the following statistic shows up the fact that they have been unable to impose sufficient pressure on opposition forwards. Since the opening round against Port Adelaide when they fell victim to sheer fatigue, the Demons have conceded 31 goals and only 9 behinds. In three of their last four games, the opposition have been deadly straight in these final quarters – St Kilda managed three straight and Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns kicked four. In between, Richmond kicked 5.4, while earlier the Cats scored 7.3 (after 6.0 in the third), Essendon 6.1 and Sydney 2.1. In other words, the pattern shows Melbourne struggling to kick goals while, at the other end, its opponents rarely miss. If Goodwin can overcome this phenomenon, made all the more difficult by the fact that the club is ravaged by injury at the moment, he will be entitled to the tag of “genius”. The fact that the club has been hit by those injuries might in fact help because he has no option but to make changes to his line up this week. Hopefully, he will find a way to ensure that, we the fans, will be screaming with delight on Friday night. However and unfortunately, I can’t see that happening this week. West Coast by 27 points. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Friday 17 May 2019 at 8.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 34 wins Melbourne 17 wins At Optus Stadium West Coast 1 win Melbourne 1 win Past five meetings West Coast 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Simpson 1 win Goodwin 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Footy Channel Live at 8.00pm RADIO - 3AW Triple M ABC SEN THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 18.13.121 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 defeated Melbourne in the Preliminary Final, 2018 at Optus Stadium In a sad end to their 2018 campaign, the Demons were humiliated in this game, failing to score a goal for the entire first half. Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver never gave up. Injury List: Round 9 Jake Lever (knee) – test Jordan Lewis (ankle) – test Corey Maynard (hip) – test Charlie Spargo (foot) – test Sam Weideman (hip) – test Mitch Hannan (knee) – 1 week Jay Kennedy Harris (knee) – 1 week Michael Hibberd (collarbone) – 2 weeks Steven May (groin) – 2-3 weeks Jake Melksham (foot) – 4-5 weeks Joel Smith (groin) – 4-6 weeks Kade Kolodjashnij (concussion) – TBA Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – TBA Neville Jetta (knee) – 8-10 weeks Guy Walker (shoulder) – Indefinite Aaron Nietschke (knee) – Season THE TEAMS

The 2018 Preliminary Final with its back to back goalless opening quarters was more or less a prelude to how Melbourne has been going this year. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass, Will Schofield HB: Thomas Cole, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta ? Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey, Chris Masten HF: Mark LeCras, Jack Darling, Mark Hutchings F: Willie Rioli, Josh J. Kennedy, Jamie Cripps Foll: Scott Lycett, Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden I/C: Liam Duggan, Liam Ryan, Nathan Vardy, Daniel Venables Emg: Brayden Ainsworth, Brendon Ah Chee, Oscar Allen, Jackson Nelson In: Will Schofield Out: Brad Sheppard (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd ? Mitch Hannan, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, James Harmes F: Aaron vandenBerg, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen Foll: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney I/C: Christian Petracca, Joel Smith, Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson Emg: Bayley Fritsch, Jay Kennedy Harris, Jayden Hunt, Tim Smith In: Joel Smith Out: Bayley Fritsch (omitted)

Who will win the Demonland Player of the Year? Your votes please ...

MATHEMATICAL POSSIBILITY by Whispering Jack For well over a decade, Melbourne fans have been sitting back at various times during the football season (more often than not in the early parts), contemplating the AFL ladder and pondering on the mathematical possibilities available to their team of making the finals or winning the premiership. Rarely have they been equally or better placed than the others except when this particular event was taking place at the very beginning of the year or possibly after a the opening round of the season. This week, at long last, things are different. When Preliminary Finals week comes around, there are four teams left in the contest for the premiership flag. All four of them face a task which only one of them can successfully achieve and that is to win both remaining games. The mathematics are simple - each club has a 25% chance of making it to the Holy Grail. Nothing could be more simple than that, could it? Except that in Melbourne’s case, it has to win its first contest outside of its home territory. That being the case, while Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast players will be waking up in their own beds on the morning of their game (well, hopefully), the Melbourne team will be waking in some hotel room after having flown a distance of approximately 2,722.36 kilometres from their home town to play in front of a crowd made up of mainly rabidly hostile natives. The prospect would be a daunting one but for another interesting mathematical equation. In past years, an out-of-town trip to anywhere else in the country spelled doom and gloom for Melbourne and the loyal fans who traveled with the side. Interstate wins were as rare as hen’s teeth. In real terms, the mathematical possibility was as close to zero as you could possibly get. But not this team and not this year. The Demons have played seven home and away games - almost a third of the season - outside of their home State and won all but one of those contests (and you could mount a strong argument to say that even the Port Adelaide game was a victory of sorts in every aspect except on the Adelaide Oval scoreboard) which gives you a very healthy 85.7% win/loss ratio. In those games, it was Melbourne that dominated most of the statistical data such as clearances, contested football, inside 50 entries and shots at goal*. To emphasize the point, you only have to look back a little over a month to Round 22 when the Eagles and Demons clashed at Optus Stadium in which the visitors prevailed by 17 points to understand that the idea of traveling across the continent holds little fear for the Melbourne of 2018 which has an away record that is the envy of all others in the competition. Not even the Tigers who are everybody’s favourite at very strong mathematical odds to win this year’s flag, can boast a victory against this team at this venue this year. Indeed, they had to wait until Round 21 against the ailing Suns at Metricon Stadium to record their only interstate win of the season. The fight for the flag is an even money proposition and Melbourne’s mathematical odds are as good as those of anybody else left in the race. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Saturday 22 September 2018 at 3.20pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 33 wins Melbourne 17 wins At Optus Stadium West Coast 0 wins Melbourne 1 win Past five meetings West Coast 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Simpson 0 wins Goodwin 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7, Fox Footy Channel, Live at 2.30pm RADIO - Triple M SEN 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 16.12.108 defeated West Coast 14.7.91 in Round 22, 2018 at Optus Stadium The Eagles were reeling at the time, having recently lost Nick Naitanui and the Andrew Gaff incident was still very fresh in the mind. They were also without Josh Kennedy and their other tall marking forward, Jack Darling, was out off the game with concussion after only ten minutes. As a consequence of the Demons taking full advantage of the situation, they were four goals in front in the blink of an eye. With the home crowd behind it but not as much noise of affirmation as usual, West Coast gradually fought its way back into the contest and momentarily took the lead by a point in the final term before Melbourne showed its mettle and kicked the game’s last three goals. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass, Will Schofield HB: Thomas Cole, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta ? Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey, Chris Masten HF: Mark LeCras, Jack Darling, Mark Hutchings F: Willie Rioli, Josh J. Kennedy, Jamie Cripps Foll: Scott Lycett, Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden I/C: Liam Duggan, Liam Ryan, Nathan Vardy, Daniel Venables Emg: Brayden Ainsworth, Brendon Ah Chee, Oscar Allen, Jackson Nelson In: Will Schofield Out: Brad Sheppard (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd ? Mitch Hannan, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, James Harmes F: Aaron vandenBerg, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen Foll: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney I/C: Christian Petracca, Joel Smith, Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson Emg: Bayley Fritsch, Jay Kennedy Harris, Jayden Hunt, Tim Smith In: Joel Smith Out: Bayley Fritsch (omitted) Melbourne dropped a bombshell at selection when it omitted first year player Bayley Fritsch who has surprised all and sundry with an excellent debut season in which he filled a number of roles for the team. One has to feel sorry for the kid but he will have lots of opportunities in the future and, of course, can’t be ruled out of a place if the Demons make it to this year’s Grand Final. However, the fact that the selectors have taken the ballsy option of making a decision that is considered controversial and risky is the very thing that sets the Melbourne of 2018 apart from the Melbourne of past days. These days, the Demons stand tall; they are prepared to take the game and any opponent on with their high risk, boisterous, crisis style of play. It’s a feature that was evident earlier in the season and has only solidified in later days. When they last traveled across the Nullarbor, they did so knowing that their place in the finals was not yet booked and that in order to make it, they needed to achieve something they hadn’t done all season - beat a top eight side. In the case of the Eagles that meant winning in unfamiliar territory in a noisy cauldron with 50,000 hostile fans willing them on to their doom. That they came out of the game with a stirring victory achieved after fighting back when the Eagles took the lead for the first time in the last ten minutes of the game and then have backed that effort up against top eight sides another three times speaks volumes. In physical and mental terms the achievements that have led them here is already far in excess of the mathematical distance of approximately 2,722.36 kilometres that the players have traveled to get to Saturday night’s game. In terms of development of the team over the past five years, its more akin to traveling in space at the speed of light and a foreign ground, the noise of affirmation, the return to the opposition of their twin towers are all powerless to stop this team’s forward surge. Melbourne by 27 points. * the Adelaide game was an exception by one inside 50 and a few shots at goal due to a late flurry in the wet but the Demons were the stronger side on the night.

NO CONTEST by George On The Outer This was the first finals series in which the Melbourne Football Club has participated for a dozen years and its first Preliminary Final for 18. The club got here in 2018 because it built its reputation on contest, but in the end the game against West Coast was no contest as the Eagles ran out winners by over ten goals. The match itself was really over by quarter time, as the young Demons were simply swamped by a side that was bigger, stronger and ultimately had more intent on achieving its goal. The game, while disappointing from an outcome perspective, should motivate the Demons in the same way that the Round 22 match against Collingwood did last year. It was what finals football was all about and while they had performed admirably in winning their past 2 matches to progress to the Preliminary, this was when things got serious. Melbourne was exposed in the same way that Richmond was exposed on Friday night because, to get into the Big Dance, you cannot afford to come into any game half-hearted, injured or with stop gap players. Right from the start the Demons were in trouble, with errant handballs and players slipping constantly at critical moments. While West Coast scored four goals to zip in the first quarter, three of those came directly from Melbourne turnovers. Coupled with some undisciplined acts from Jordan Lewis, the momentum that a young team relied upon to forge forward was completely and utterly deflated. It didn’t get any better in the second quarter and by half time the Eagles held a ten goal lead, which was to be the final margin. The coach would have been fuming as he watched Melbourne revert to the old style of play of standing back and expecting others to do the work. I heard it mentioned that the Demons had only three tackles to ¼ time and a paltry 30 odd for the whole game - a poor result from a side that prides itself on contest. Statistics lovers would think Angus Brayshaw played a good game. But stumbles, fumbles and miskicks don’t get recorded. The stat which did get recorded was the eight clangers. The fact that he wasn’t on the ground for a majority of the third term indicates that something was wrong with him, and his grunt and surety was missed, despite the numbers. All around the ground, we were seeing structures which were not what had been seen in past weeks or months. Tom McDonald was playing back, Aaron vndenBerg almost full time in the middle, Joel Smith supposedly selected as a backman spent most of the game forward. When players are being thrown around like this, it can only mean that an attempt is being made to fill gaps. The result is the was little in the way of forward structure, but then the ball didn’t get down there until the second half of the game, and even then there was no genuine marking target. How we would have relished Jesse Hogan in front of goal - perhaps next year? The mids were simply destroyed, not from the clearances, but by the outside run which enabled them to deliver cleanly to their forwards in Darling, Kennedy, Cripps and LeCras. As mentioned last week, when we have Jones and Tyson on the wing, there is no run for us, but importantly, they cannot keep up with the opposition. Then with Alex Neal-Bullen able to just hit 50% disposal efficiency, it showed that even when we had the ball, we simply butchered it. The forwards had a shocker of a day as well. Without T McDonald there to provide a target for good parts of the game, the likes of Melksham, Hannan and Spargo rarely had a viable touch, with all of them barely into double figure disposals. Sam Weideman reverted to being unable to hold a mark this week, and Christian Petracca kept trying to give the ball off to others when inside 30m himself. His set shots were nothing to behold again. Plenty of work needs to be done for him in this area over summer. The backs were overwhelmed by the amount of ball coming in, but the lack of composure was telling, especially compared with their work-rate last week. Sadly, Oscar McDonald and Michael Hibberd failed to effect a single tackle, Sam Frost, Lewis and Christian Salem one each. Neville Jetta at least had three. The mids weren’t much better and their numbers were mostly twos and threes. Overall there were seven players who didn’t lay a single tackle in the game. Simply not good enough in any game, let alone a Preliminary Final. Can the Demons learn from this game? The coach has already indicated that contest is king and that is particularly the case in Finals, especially when you get to the pointy end. The fans can be proud and happy with the performance during the season, and have seen the results following years of promises and nothing to show but there has to be more. And there is much more improvement to come, simply because the majority of this group is still young. They came up against a side on its home turf which played in a Grand Final just three years ago, finished the home and away season in second spot and were handed (and took) the initiative in the first ten minutes of the game. They deserve to be Grand Finalists again this year, but we must learn to perform to the standard required to get to the final stage, that they displayed in this game ... an in particular, to always provide a contest. I just can’t wait for the cricket and tennis to be over ... Melbourne 0.3.3 0.6.6 5.9.39 7.13.55 West Coast Eagles 4.8.32 10.9.69 15.10.100 18.13.121 Goals Melbourne Melksham 2 Hannan Harmes Oliver J Smith Weideman West Coast Eagles Kennedy 4 Cripps Darling LeCras 3, Hutchings Redden Rioli Ryan Venables Best Melbourne Harmes Oliver vandenBerg Petracca J Smith Viney West Coast Eagles Kennedy Redden Cripps Hurn McGovern Sheed LeCras Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Umpires Nicholls, Meredith, Chamberlain Official crowd 59,608 at Optus Stadium

This was the first finals series the Melbourne Football Club has participated in a dozen years and its first Preliminary Final for 18. The club got here in 2018 because it built its reputation on contest, but in the end the game against West Coast was no contest as the Eagles ran out winners by over ten goals. The match itself was really over by quarter time, as the young Demons were simply swamped by a side that was bigger, stronger and ultimately had more intent on achieving its goal. The game, while disappointing from an outcome perspective, should motivate the Demons in the same way that the Round 22 match against Collingwood did last year. It was what finals football was all about and while they had performed admirably in winning their past 2 matches to progress to the Preliminary, this was when things got serious. Melbourne was exposed in the same way that Richmond was exposed on Friday night because, to get into the Big Dance, you cannot afford to come into any game half-hearted, injured or with stop gap players. Right from the start the Demons were in trouble, with errant handballs and players slipping constantly at critical moments. While West Coast scored four goals to zip in the first quarter, three of those came directly from Melbourne turnovers. Coupled with some undisciplined acts from Jordan Lewis, the momentum that a young team relied upon to forge forward was completely and utterly deflated. It didn’t get any better in the second quarter and by half time the Eagles held a ten goal lead, which was to be the final margin. The coach would have been fuming as he watched Melbourne revert to the old style of play of standing back and expecting others to do the work. I heard it mentioned that the Demons had only three tackles to ¼ time and a paltry 30 odd for the whole game - a poor result from a side that prides itself on contest. Statistics lovers would think Angus Brayshaw played a good game. But stumbles, fumbles and miskicks don’t get recorded. The stat which did get recorded was the eight clangers. The fact that he wasn’t on the ground for a majority of the third term indicates that something was wrong with him, and his grunt and surety was missed, despite the numbers. All around the ground, we were seeing structures which were not what had been seen in past weeks or months. Tom McDonald was playing back, Aaron vndenBerg almost full time in the middle, Joel Smith supposedly selected as a backman spent most of the game forward. When players are being thrown around like this, it can only mean that an attempt is being made to fill gaps. The result is the was little in the way of forward structure, but then the ball didn’t get down there until the second half of the game, and even then there was no genuine marking target. How we would have relished Jesse Hogan in front of goal - perhaps next year? The mids were simply destroyed, not from the clearances, but by the outside run which enabled them to deliver cleanly to their forwards in Darling, Kennedy, Cripps and LeCras. As mentioned last week, when we have Jones and Tyson on the wing, there is no run for us, but importantly, they cannot keep up with the opposition. Then with Alex Neal-Bullen able to just hit 50% disposal efficiency, it showed that even when we had the ball, we simply butchered it. The forwards had a shocker of a day as well. Without T McDonald there to provide a target for good parts of the game, the likes of Melksham, Hannan and Spargo rarely had a viable touch, with all of them barely into double figure disposals. Sam Weideman reverted to being unable to hold a mark this week, and Christian Petracca kept trying to give the ball off to others when inside 30m himself. His set shots were nothing to behold again. Plenty of work needs to be done for him in this area over summer. The backs were overwhelmed by the amount of ball coming in, but the lack of composure was telling, especially compared with their work-rate last week. Sadly, Oscar McDonald and Michael Hibberd failed to effect a single tackle, Sam Frost, Lewis and Christian Salem one each. Neville Jetta at least had three. The mids weren’t much better and their numbers were mostly twos and threes. Overall there were seven players who didn’t lay a single tackle in the game. Simply not good enough in any game, let alone a Preliminary Final. Can the Demons learn from this game? The coach has already indicated that contest is king and that is particularly the case in Finals, especially when you get to the pointy end. The fans can be proud and happy with the performance during the season, and have seen the results following years of promises and nothing to show but there has to be more. And there is much more improvement to come, simply because the majority of this group is still young. They came up against a side on its home turf which played in a Grand Final just three years ago, finished the home and away season in second spot and were handed (and took) the initiative in the first ten minutes of the game. They deserve to be Grand Finalists again this year, but we must learn to perform to the standard required to get to the final stage, that they displayed in this game ... an in particular, to always provide a contest. I just can’t wait for the cricket and tennis to be over ... Melbourne 0.3.3 0.6.6 5.9.39 7.13.55 West Coast Eagles 4.8.32 10.9.69 15.10.100 18.13.121 Goals Melbourne Melksham 2 Hannan Harmes Oliver J Smith Weideman West Coast Eagles Kennedy 4 Cripps Darling LeCras 3, Hutchings Redden Rioli Ryan Venables Best Melbourne Harmes Oliver vandenBerg Petracca J Smith Viney West Coast Eagles Kennedy Redden Cripps Hurn McGovern Sheed LeCras Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Eagles Nil Umpires Nicholls, Meredith, Chamberlain Official crowd 59,608 at Optus Stadium

For well over a decade, Melbourne fans have been sitting back at various times during the football season (more often than not in the early parts), contemplating the AFL ladder and pondering on the mathematical possibilities available to their team of making the finals or winning the premiership. Rarely have they been equally or better placed than the others except when this particular event was taking place at the very beginning of the year or possibly after a the opening round of the season. This week, at long last, things are different. When Preliminary Finals week comes around, there are four teams left in the contest for the premiership flag. All four of them face a task which only one of them can successfully achieve and that is to win both remaining games. The mathematics are simple - each club has a 25% chance of making it to the Holy Grail. Nothing could be more simple than that, could it? Except that in Melbourne’s case, it has to win its first contest outside of its home territory. That being the case, while Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast players will be waking up in their own beds on the morning of their game (well, hopefully), the Melbourne team will be waking in some hotel room after having flown a distance of approximately 2,722.36 kilometres from their home town to play in front of a crowd made up of mainly rabidly hostile natives. The prospect would be a daunting one but for another interesting mathematical equation. In past years, an out-of-town trip to anywhere else in the country spelled doom and gloom for Melbourne and the loyal fans who traveled with the side. Interstate wins were as rare as hen’s teeth. In real terms, the mathematical possibility was as close to zero as you could possibly get. But not this team and not this year. The Demons have played seven home and away games - almost a third of the season - outside of their home State and won all but one of those contests (and you could mount a strong argument to say that even the Port Adelaide game was a victory of sorts in every aspect except on the Adelaide Oval scoreboard) which gives you a very healthy 85.7% win/loss ratio. In those games, it was Melbourne that dominated most of the statistical data such as clearances, contested football, inside 50 entries and shots at goal*. To emphasize the point, you only have to look back a little over a month to Round 22 when the Eagles and Demons clashed at Optus Stadium in which the visitors prevailed by 17 points to understand that the idea of traveling across the continent holds little fear for the Melbourne of 2018 which has an away record that is the envy of all others in the competition. Not even the Tigers who are everybody’s favourite at very strong mathematical odds to win this year’s flag, can boast a victory against this team at this venue this year. Indeed, they had to wait until Round 21 against the ailing Suns at Metricon Stadium to record their only interstate win of the season. The fight for the flag is an even money proposition and Melbourne’s mathematical odds are as good as those of anybody else left in the race. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Saturday 22 September 2018 at 3.20pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 33 wins Melbourne 17 wins At Optus Stadium West Coast 0 wins Melbourne 1 win Past five meetings West Coast 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Simpson 0 wins Goodwin 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7, Fox Footy Channel, Live at 2.30pm RADIO - Triple M SEN 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 16.12.108 defeated West Coast 14.7.91 in Round 22, 2018 at Optus Stadium The Eagles were reeling at the time, having recently lost Nick Naitanui and the Andrew Gaff incident was still very fresh in the mind. They were also without Josh Kennedy and their other tall marking forward, Jack Darling, was out off the game with concussion after only ten minutes. As a consequence of the Demons taking full advantage of the situation, they were four goals in front in the blink of an eye. With the home crowd behind it but not as much noise of affirmation as usual, West Coast gradually fought its way back into the contest and momentarily took the lead by a point in the final term before Melbourne showed its mettle and kicked the game’s last three goals. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass, Will Schofield HB: Thomas Cole, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta ? Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey, Chris Masten HF: Mark LeCras, Jack Darling, Mark Hutchings F: Willie Rioli, Josh J. Kennedy, Jamie Cripps Foll: Scott Lycett, Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden I/C: Liam Duggan, Liam Ryan, Nathan Vardy, Daniel Venables Emg: Brayden Ainsworth, Brendon Ah Chee, Oscar Allen, Jackson Nelson In: Will Schofield Out: Brad Sheppard (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd ? Mitch Hannan, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, James Harmes F: Aaron vandenBerg, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen Foll: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney I/C: Christian Petracca, Joel Smith, Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson Emg: Bayley Fritsch, Jay Kennedy Harris, Jayden Hunt, Tim Smith In: Joel Smith Out: Bayley Fritsch (omitted) Melbourne dropped a bombshell at selection when it omitted first year player Bayley Fritsch who has surprised all and sundry with an excellent debut season in which he filled a number of roles for the team. One has to feel sorry for the kid but he will have lots of opportunities in the future and, of course, can’t be ruled out of a place if the Demons make it to this year’s Grand Final. However, the fact that the selectors have taken the ballsy option of making a decision that is considered controversial and risky is the very thing that sets the Melbourne of 2018 apart from the Melbourne of past days. These days, the Demons stand tall; they are prepared to take the game and any opponent on with their high risk, boisterous, crisis style of play. It’s a feature that was evident earlier in the season and has only solidified in later days. When they last traveled across the Nullarbor, they did so knowing that their place in the finals was not yet booked and that in order to make it, they needed to achieve something they hadn’t done all season - beat a top eight side. In the case of the Eagles that meant winning in unfamiliar territory in a noisy cauldron with 50,000 hostile fans willing them on to their doom. That they came out of the game with a stirring victory achieved after fighting back when the Eagles took the lead for the first time in the last ten minutes of the game and then have backed that effort up against top eight sides another three times speaks volumes. In physical and mental terms the achievements that have led them here is already far in excess of the mathematical distance of approximately 2,722.36 kilometres that the players have traveled to get to Saturday night’s game. In terms of development of the team over the past five years, its more akin to traveling in space at the speed of light and a foreign ground, the noise of affirmation, the return to the opposition of their twin towers are all powerless to stop this team’s forward surge. Melbourne by 27 points. * the Adelaide game was an exception by one inside 50 and a few shots at goal due to a late flurry in the wet but the Demons were the stronger side on the night.

The changes made fired up the team. WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass, Brad Sheppard HB: Thomas Cole, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta C:Chris Masten, Elliot Yeo, Jamie Cripps HF: Mark Hutchings, Jack Darling, Mark LeCras F: Willie Rioli, Nathan Vardy, Brendon Ah Chee Foll: Scott Lycett, Jack Redden, Luke Shuey I/C: Liam Duggan, Liam Ryan, Dom Sheed, Daniel Venables Emg: Matthew Allen, Jackson Nelson, Francis Watson, Jake Waterman No change MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, James Harmes ? Alex Neal-Bullen, Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw HF: Charlie Spargo, Sam Weideman, Aaron vandenBerg F: Michael Hibberd, Tom McDonald, Dom Tyson Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Christian Petracca I/C: Bayley Fritsch, Mitch Hannan, Dean Kent, Jake Melksham Emg: Jeff Garlett, Jay Kennedy Harris, Cameron Pedersen, Josh Wagner In: Mitch Hannan, Michael Hibberd, Dean Kent, Jake Melksham, Sam Weideman Out: Jeff Garlett (omitted), Jesse Hogan (foot), Jayden Hunt (ankle), Jay Kennedy Harris (omitted), Cameron Pedersen (omitted)

THE MONKEY, THE MONGOOSE AND CHRISTMAS EVE by George on The Outer After 12 years the Demons have finally made it to September action again, by beating West Coast in Perth. At the same time, they removed the Media Monkey of “they haven’t beaten anyone in the eight” saga. Our own Ethan Tremblay has now had his childhood dreams restored and perhaps he will get his Mongoose still in this prediction ... For those who didn’t see the exchange it went something like this: Petraccattack: Tomorrow we beat the Eagles and book our first finals berth since 2006. It feels like Xmas Eve! ? Ethan Tremblay: It’s like that Xmas Eve when I was a kid and I was sure I was going to get a Mongoose BMX with pegs. Very exciting. Come Xmas Day I got some lime green BMX from Kmart I had to assemble myself. I put it together and ghosted it down Jells Road (Possibly the steepest hill in Melbourne?) Worst.Xmas. Ever. Petraccattack: Go to bed, sweet Ethan. Tomorrow you get the Mongoose you've always dreamed of. …………. While Demon supporters can now relax, once again their hearts were sorely tested in the course of the game and particularly in the final quarter, when West Coast nudged in front following a Mark LeCras goal at the 18 minute mark. Once again the Demon supporters could see “it” coming again - defeat at the final hurdle. But instead of conceding the match, the team dug even deeper. They went back to system and methodology and calmly sliced through the Eagles players slowly. Jake Melksham put one from the goal square, the result of hard work up the field but that still left the Demons five points up with a couple of minutes to play. Still further hard work and effort came from the likes of Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw, Max Gawn and Clayton Oliver to control the ball and bodies were thrown in at all costs, because the whole season was on the line. Finally that work resulted in a mark and set shot to Dean Kent who went back and slotted the major, something which others had not been able to do in a number of similar situations during the year. What was equally surprising was that Kent had barely been sighted in the previous three quarters, but bobbed up with seven touches in the critical last and sealed the game. Another Melksham goal in the dying seconds and Melbourne were finals bound. The game began with the pressure and intensity that could be expected of two teams that were in the top eight and it was the Demons who burst out of the blocks and found themselves three goals up before the Eagles had scored. Not unexpectedly, they came back and at quarter time Melbourne held a small term point lead. In reality that was the margin, or thereabouts for the next two quarters until WCE hit the front briefly in that final term. The addition of Melksham, Mitch Hannan and Michael Hibberd turned out to be the decisive factor in the win in comparison to last week. Melksham with four, Hannan with three and Hibberd a rock in defence were exactly what was needed to boost the side. Unfortunately, Hibberd had some kind of hamstring problem and his absence along with Max having a break in the final term was exactly when West Coast mounted itsw final charge. Order was restored when both returned to the field, and it can be hoped that Hibberd is OK for the future (with the ability to rest him for two weeks if in doubt, could be a necessity leading to finals). Special mention must also go to Sam Weideman, who came in as the replacement for Jesse Hogan, and put up his hand on multiple occasions with 5 marks including 4 contested, and tackling again at critical junctures in the game. He scored only a single major but he may well have made that leap of confidence at exactly the right time for himself and the team. The mids were magnificent putting their bodies on the line, none more so than the Captain. While his kicking was errant at time, he just willed his body to get the ball and did so 27 times. But even more telling was the performance of James Harmes, who has also become a highlight in the latter part of the season. He shut down Shuey comprehensively, and then got 28 touches of his own including 14 contested possessions. With him doing such a fantastic job, it has meant the Demons mids are now truly one of the best team in the competition. Did I mention a couple of others in Brayshaw and Oliver? Best to do so with Angus getting 28 touches 14 contested, while Oliver managed, by his standards, only 23, but also 14 contested. And we had best mention Max as well who doubled the Eagles rucks in hitouts, and chipped in with a massive 20 touches including 12 contested! Down back the usual team became a solid unit with the return of Hibberd. Jordan Lewis marshalled the troops magnificently with only his pace under question at times. Neville Jetta for all the small number of touches (10), had 4 contested. But each and every one of those 4 was probably a goal saver … and match saver, probably a season saver. He should be in the running for mark of the year as well. Not one of those high flying species, but when he was tied up by his opponent grappling him, then managed to spin around the back and haul in a one hander, again stopping a certain goal. One monkey off the back. Another of the tragic MFC records removed (12 years since finals appearance). Next one is a finals win. Get that monkey from the shoulders and we should all wait at the bottom of the Jells road Hill to see the now older Ethan come sailing down on his Mongoose! Melbourne 4.4.28 7.6.48 12.8.80 16.12.108 West Coast 3.0.18 5.4.34 11.6.72 14.7.91 Goals Melbourne Melksham 4 Hannan T McDonald 3 Brayshaw Jones Kent Harmes vandenBerg Weideman West Coast Rioli 4 Hutchings 2 Ah Chee Cripps LeCras Masten Sheed Vardy Venebles Yeo Best Melbourne Harmes Melksham Hannan Brayshaw Gawn Jones West Coast Rioli Redden Hutchings Sheed Masten Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Jack Darling (concussion) Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Stevic Hosking Schmitt Official crowd 55,824 at Optus Stadium

After 12 years the Demons have finally made it to September action again, by beating West Coast in Perth. At the same time, they removed the Media Monkey of “they haven’t beaten anyone in the eight” saga. Our own Ethan Tremblay has now had his childhood dreams restored and perhaps he will get his Mongoose still in this prediction ... For those who didn’t see the exchange it went something like this: Petraccattack: Tomorrow we beat the Eagles and book our first finals berth since 2006. It feels like Xmas Eve! ? Ethan Tremblay: It’s like that Xmas Eve when I was a kid and I was sure I was going to get a Mongoose BMX with pegs. Very exciting. Come Xmas Day I got some lime green BMX from Kmart I had to assemble myself. I put it together and ghosted it down Jells Road (Possibly the steepest hill in Melbourne?) Worst.Xmas. Ever. Petraccattack: Go to bed, sweet Ethan. Tomorrow you get the Mongoose you've always dreamed of. …………. While Demon supporters can now relax, once again their hearts were sorely tested in the course of the game and particularly in the final quarter, when West Coast nudged in front following a Mark LeCras goal at the 18 minute mark. Once again the Demon supporters could see “it” coming again - defeat at the final hurdle. But instead of conceding the match, the team dug even deeper. They went back to system and methodology and calmly sliced through the Eagles players slowly. Jake Melksham put one from the goal square, the result of hard work up the field but that still left the Demons five points up with a couple of minutes to play. Still further hard work and effort came from the likes of Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw, Max Gawn and Clayton Oliver to control the ball and bodies were thrown in at all costs, because the whole season was on the line. Finally that work resulted in a mark and set shot to Dean Kent who went back and slotted the major, something which others had not been able to do in a number of similar situations during the year. What was equally surprising was that Kent had barely been sighted in the previous three quarters, but bobbed up with seven touches in the critical last and sealed the game. Another Melksham goal in the dying seconds and Melbourne were finals bound. The game began with the pressure and intensity that could be expected of two teams that were in the top eight and it was the Demons who burst out of the blocks and found themselves three goals up before the Eagles had scored. Not unexpectedly, they came back and at quarter time Melbourne held a small term point lead. In reality that was the margin, or thereabouts for the next two quarters until WCE hit the front briefly in that final term. The addition of Melksham, Mitch Hannan and Michael Hibberd turned out to be the decisive factor in the win in comparison to last week. Melksham with four, Hannan with three and Hibberd a rock in defence were exactly what was needed to boost the side. Unfortunately, Hibberd had some kind of hamstring problem and his absence along with Max having a break in the final term was exactly when West Coast mounted itsw final charge. Order was restored when both returned to the field, and it can be hoped that Hibberd is OK for the future (with the ability to rest him for two weeks if in doubt, could be a necessity leading to finals). Special mention must also go to Sam Weideman, who came in as the replacement for Jesse Hogan, and put up his hand on multiple occasions with 5 marks including 4 contested, and tackling again at critical junctures in the game. He scored only a single major but he may well have made that leap of confidence at exactly the right time for himself and the team. The mids were magnificent putting their bodies on the line, none more so than the Captain. While his kicking was errant at time, he just willed his body to get the ball and did so 27 times. But even more telling was the performance of James Harmes, who has also become a highlight in the latter part of the season. He shut down Shuey comprehensively, and then got 28 touches of his own including 14 contested possessions. With him doing such a fantastic job, it has meant the Demons mids are now truly one of the best team in the competition. Did I mention a couple of others in Brayshaw and Oliver? Best to do so with Angus getting 28 touches 14 contested, while Oliver managed, by his standards, only 23, but also 14 contested. And we had best mention Max as well who doubled the Eagles rucks in hitouts, and chipped in with a massive 20 touches including 12 contested! Down back the usual team became a solid unit with the return of Hibberd. Jordan Lewis marshalled the troops magnificently with only his pace under question at times. Neville Jetta for all the small number of touches (10), had 4 contested. But each and every one of those 4 was probably a goal saver … and match saver, probably a season saver. He should be in the running for mark of the year as well. Not one of those high flying species, but when he was tied up by his opponent grappling him, then managed to spin around the back and haul in a one hander, again stopping a certain goal. One monkey off the back. Another of the tragic MFC records removed (12 years since finals appearance). Next one is a finals win. Get that monkey from the shoulders and we should all wait at the bottom of the Jells road Hill to see the now older Ethan come sailing down on his Mongoose! Melbourne 4.4.28 7.6.48 12.8.80 16.12.108 West Coast 3.0.18 5.4.34 11.6.72 14.7.91 Goals Melbourne Melksham 4 Hannan T McDonald 3 Brayshaw Jones Kent Harmes vandenBerg Weideman West Coast Rioli 4 Hutchings 2 Ah Chee Cripps LeCras Masten Sheed Vardy Venebles Yeo Best Melbourne Harmes Melksham Hannan Brayshaw Gawn Jones West Coast Rioli Redden Hutchings Sheed Masten Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Jack Darling (concussion) Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Stevic Hosking Schmitt Official crowd 55,824 at Optus Stadium

The news that Jesse Hogan is out of contention to play with the Demons until 2019 after suffering a foot injury during their nine-point loss to the Swans at the MCG last Sunday might have sent feelings of shock and aware through the community of Demon supporters but I’m not overly concerned about the fact that the club’s key forward will be sidelined for the rest of the season. The reason why is that Melbourne seems to produce its best wins without Hogan in the team. There were the big breakthrough wins over Geelong and Hawthorn in 2015 and 2016 respectively and last year, it overcame top eight clubs Adelaide and the West Coast Eagles, both times away from home. That is not to say that the team won’t feel the loss of its leading goal kicker of the season but the impact of his absence does not necessarily portend the doom and gloom that some of the pundits are predicting. Last week against the Sydney Swans, Hogan played with his injury for at least three quarters. As early as in the second quarter, he was visibly limping and in hindsight, the team performance might have benefited from him being declared injured and not to return to the playing field. Given that he was clearly unable to perform at his best, this might well have made the difference in a game where the Demons’ inability to find the goals played a significant role in their failure to bring home the four points. The fundamental fact remains that the club leads the competition in contested possessions and centre clearances which have contributed to it also leading the way in inside 50s, marks inside 50 and scoring. Melbourne has also performed better away from the MCG this year than it has done at home and, whilst it has its injury woes, so does West Coast which barely managed the win last week against a tiring Port Adelaide that finished the game off with barely a whimper. This game is evenly poised and the absence of a key forward on either side is not going to make the difference. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Saturday 19 August 2018 at 3.20pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 33 wins Melbourne 16 wins At Domain Stadium West Coast 15 wins Melbourne 6 wins Past five meetings West Coast 4 wins Melbourne 1 win The Coaches Simpson 0 wins Goodwin 1 win MEDIA TV - Channel 7, Fox Sports 3, Live at 3.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.9.99 defeated West Coast 14.12.96 in Round 14, 2017 at Domain Stadium In a tense, close game Melbourne looked gone midway through the last quarter but it launched a successful come back and capped it off with an unlikely victory thanks to Tom McDonald’s goal square gymnastics. His five-goals for the night helped break a nine-game losing streak against the Eagles. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass, Brad Sheppard HB: Thomas Cole, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta C:Chris Masten, Elliot Yeo, Jamie Cripps HF: Mark Hutchings, Jack Darling, Mark LeCras F: Willie Rioli, Nathan Vardy, Brendon Ah Chee Foll: Scott Lycett, Jack Redden, Luke Shuey I/C: Liam Duggan, Liam Ryan, Dom Sheed, Daniel Venables Emg: Matthew Allen, Jackson Nelson, Francis Watson, Jake Waterman No change MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, James Harmes ? Alex Neal-Bullen, Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw HF: Charlie Spargo, Sam Weideman, Aaron vandenBerg F: Michael Hibberd, Tom McDonald, Dom Tyson Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Christian Petracca I/C: Bayley Fritsch, Mitch Hannan, Dean Kent, Jake Melksham Emg: Jeff Garlett, Jay Kennedy Harris, Cameron Pedersen, Josh Wagner In: Mitch Hannan, Michael Hibberd, Dean Kent, Jake Melksham, Sam Weideman Out: Jeff Garlett (omitted), Jesse Hogan (foot), Jayden Hunt (ankle), Jay Kennedy Harris (omitted), Cameron Pedersen (omitted) The moment of truth is about to arrive for the Melbourne Football Club. There has been a cloud hanging over the heads of its players and coaching group for almost twelve months since its last gasp elimination from last year’s AFL finals series after it capitulated meekly to Collingwood in the first quarter of the last round of the season. Ironically, it was the West Coast Eagles that “stole” Melbourne’s place in the finals with their 29-point win over Adelaide in Perth delivering them a narrow lead on percentage over the Demons. This week’s game will be played on a different arena in the same city but for fans of the club it looks as yet another installment in their recurring nightmare. The Eagles would appear to have the upper hand given that they have home ground advantage and the statistical abnormality of the “noise of affirmation” from the umpires which demonstrates that they have what amounts to a one player advantage whenever they play in their state. Against that is the fact that they are missing some of their top line stars in Nic Naitanui, Josh Kennedy and Andrew Gaff. Some say that those players make up three of their best five players - I maintain they’re actually three of their best three (their best four if you count the noise of affirmation as a player). Many commentators say that the fact that they are still second on the AFL ladder proves that the Eagles have the resilience and the ability to defy the odds. The argument goes on to describe as a case in point, the way the Eagles produced a monumental win at their last start against the Power when Jeremy McGovern scored after the final siren to put his side ahead for the first time. My take on that game is that it was always there to be won against a hobbled opposition that ran out of steam because of injury and an inability to rest and rotate players in the final term. It could be said that the Demons messed up a similar opportunity against the Swans last week but for their wastefulness, but they also had their problems with injury - Jesse Hogan was limping around as early as the second quarter, Jayden Hunt went off with an ankle and Angus Brayshaw and Neville Jetta missed valuable time getting treatment for ailments during the game, the latter who was dominant in the first quarter with 10 possessions, was off in that patch when the Swans booted about four goals and retook the momentum of the game in the second quarter. The Demons also have three of their top five players out this week as well with the the absence of Jack Viney, Jake Lever and Hogan. So who really does have the upper hand? I think it’s Melbourne which still has the best ruckman, the stronger midfield as proven by its record over the year at clearances, and the recast side particularly with the return of Michael Hibberd and Jake Melksham to add to the team’s solidity, puts it ahead of the Eagles who will sorely miss their trio of outs far more than the Demons will miss theirs. Their good record in the absence of Hogan is what swings the ultimate result for me. Melbourne by 7 points.

Discussion here ...

Your votes please 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...

No longer can Demon fans keep a lid on it after a dramatic dying seconds of the game win against West Coast in W.A. After four consecutive wins, the lid is has well and truly blown off as a result of one of the gutsiest performances seen by this club in decades. No Watts, no Jones, no Hogan a ruckman back after 10 weeks away, on-field injuries to Jeff Garlett, Mitch Hannan, Christian Salem and Jack Viney with Jayden Hunt barely able to run, a hostile biased crowd and a six day break. It all mattered nothing as the Demons pulled a victory out of the fires of adversity. Let’s not sugar coat the win. But for some seriously heroic efforts in the final few minutes of the game, Melbourne did not play convincingly. The previous week against the Bulldogs was convincing, but even with the rightful excuse of multiple injured players, the output was well below standard for a lot of players. If Tom McDonald had not screwed through an impossible kick while being tackled, we would be regretting another honourable loss. Still those heroic efforts in the dying minutes were unparalleled. Cam Pedersen with a telling pack mark to bring them back into contention from 16 points down with only seven minutes to go. Clayton Oliver with 30 seconds to extract a ball under impossible numbers so freeing Hibberd who kicked to the top of the square. Jayden Hunt to contest and keep the ball alive, before Tom McDonald put the ball through. Then, as evidence of the change of culture at Melbourne, and the leadership being shown, there were no celebrations until the final siren sounded. McDonald pushed away congratulating players, telling them to get back and defend those final 20 odd seconds of play. A sharp contrast to games in the past that have been lost through ill-discipline. Throughout the game the team was always within striking distance, and the margin never got beyond three goals. Each team was relentless and each forward success was met by an equal response within minutes. There were over ten lead changes indicating the evenness of the match. However, from the Melbourne perspective the team was really kept in the game by the efforts of Jack Viney with 26 contested possessions including a jaw dropping ten in the first quarter. Then after suffering a shoulder injury he returned to the field to lead the team when most needed. There should be no doubt that his promotion to co-captain has been the correct choice, and puts the club in good stead for the future. Clayton Oliver with 28 touches in the middle was also telling. It’s not that he gets the touches, it is that he shouldn’t be entitled to get them, under normal circumstances. And he has the vision to then deliver to free players. Cam Pedersen and Tommy Mac were the other four quarter contributors, both who stood up in that final stanza, but theyalso holding the fort in the absence of a forward target or filling in for ruck duties. Tom’s 5 goal haul was impressive, especially when backmen are not known to transition to forward roles all that spectacularly. The win has cemented the Demons in the top eight, possibly two games clear. This three game stretch was critical to the future of the club's 2017 season, because of the successive six day breaks with travel. To have won two of those games already has probably exceeded realistic expectations but another challenge awaits with Sydney at the MCG off another six day break. It is no secret that their season depends upon continuing to win after such a disastrous start, but they showed again this week that they are vulnerable to the type of pressure game that Melbourne brings. It’s just a case of whether the Demons will have the players and the legs able to do it again, as injuries and fatigue start to take their toll. But this is a team now filled with belief that anything is possible. It is a team that simply doesn’t give in, no matter what the odds. Simon Goodwin and Paul Roos before him, have been cooking something very special. As their recipe is now bubbling over to the delight of the fans, it seems there can be no lid strong enough to hold back the expectations of years of hope. Melbourne 3.1.19 6.6.42 10.8.68 15.9.99 West Coast 2.5.17 5.7.37 11.10.76 14.12.96 Goals Melbourne T McDonald 5 Neal-Bullen 2 Bugg Hannan Harmes, Melksham Pedersen Petracca Stretch Viney West Coast Petrie 4 McGovern 3 Hill Hutchings 2 Gaff Karpany Sheed Best Melbourne Viney T McDonald Tyson Lewis Gawn Pedersen Oliver West Coast Petrie McGovern Mitchell Jetta Sheed Duggan Vardy Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Injuries Melbourne Garlett (hamstring) Salem (hamstring) Viney (shoulder) West Coast Hurn (chest) Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Will Schofield for striking Clayton Oliver at half time Umpires Mitchell, Rosebury, Stephens Official crowd 36,622 at Domain Stadium

What do we think? I picked us. I'm a bit nervous but less so than other weeks. No idea why. Is it the narrow subiaco that I think suits our game plan? Is it our 100% interstate record? Regardless its hard to believe we are actually a chance, especially without Watts and Jones. Maybe I'm delusional?

HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS by Whispering Jack The two sides facing off against each other this Saturday night in the west have a number of things in common if their most recent games are any guide. In Round 13, they both beat highly fancied opposition teams using relentless pressure applied throughout their respective contests. Their players swarmed around opponents and worked together, corralling them and tackling strongly to force submission. At the end of their games, the West Coast Eagles were back on the winning list with a victory over third placed Geelong while Melbourne had thrashed the reigning premier. This week the teams, which each hold 7:5 win-loss records, meet at Domain Stadium in a vital clash. The winner will be within close range of a coveted top four placing and possibly even inside that group, depending on other results. The importance of the game will therefore add to the pressure cooker atmosphere for both sides. The home team is the starting favourite. Not many can remember the last time that Melbourne won a game on this side of the continent and most of its recent visits have been unmitigated disasters. The record shows that it has lost 16 consecutive games in Perth with the last victory recorded there in 2004. The Demons are coming off the second of three successive six-day breaks and have lost one of their skippers, the seemingly invincible Nathan Jones, whose presence in the team contributes greatly to the enormous grunt that has caused observers to describe them as one of the toughest sides in the competition. The odds seem to be stacked against the visitors. On the other hand, last week's breakthrough game against the Bulldogs was something else. It indicated that this Melbourne team is different to everything we've come to expect from the red and blue over the past decade. We've expected losses at Etihad, we've expected defeats after strong performances like the one it produced on the Queens Birthday and we've expected the team to come home from Perth empty-handed for so long that we can't comprehend any other result. However, the Eagles' dominance at Domain Stadium can no longer be taken as a given. Certainly, they beat the Cats there at their last encounter but their form before that was shaky. They lost there to a badly depleted GWS, just scraped home against the out-of-form Western Bulldogs and in between, crashed away from home to Essendon and Gold Coast. The Demons' last two visits to Perth have been interesting. They did everything but win their Round 18 encounter in slippery conditions against an accurate West Coast that had the rub of the green with some very fortunate umpiring decisions in the close final quarter. They traveled there again in the pre-season and were highly competitive in their JLT game but sagged in the heat at the end of the game. But the team is building and recently has made a practice out of breaking hoodoos. This week, they will be up for yet another challenge made more difficult by the added obstacle of the six day break and the necessity of making changes to the way the team lines up on a ground way different in dimension to that of Etihad and with a more hostile crowd egging on their home town heroes. The pressure will be high. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Domain Stadium, Saturday 24 June, 2017 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 33 wins Melbourne 15 wins At Domain Stadium West Coast 15 wins Melbourne 5 wins Past five meetings West Coast 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Simpson 0 wins Goodwin 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel, Channel 7 live at 7.30pm RADIO - SEN THE BETTING West Coast to win - $1.42 Melbourne to win - $2.90 THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 10.6.66 defeated Melbourne 8.12.60 Round 18, 2016 at Domain Stadium West Coast survived a major scare from an inaccurate Melbourne in the game played in slippery conditions at Domain Stadium. The Demons led by six points at three-quarter time but the Eagles booted two unanswered goals in the final term to run out winners by a single goal. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Will Schofield HB: Thomas Cole, Tom Barrass, Brad Sheppard C: Andrew Gaff, Matt Priddis, Elliot Yeo HF: Lewis Jetta, Jack Darling, Dom Sheed F: Liam Duggan, Jeremy McGovern, Drew Petrie FOLL: Nathan Vardy, Sam Mitchell, Luke Shuey I/C: Jamie Cripps, Josh Hill, Mark Hutchings, Malcolm Karpany EMG: Chris Masten, Jack Redden, Sharrod Wellingham IN: Josh Hill, Malcolm Karpany OUT: Mark LeCras (hip), Jackson Nelson (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Michael Hibberd HB: Jayden Hunt, Sam Frost, Jordan Lewis C: Jake Melksham, Clayton Oliver, Christian Salem HF: Christian Petracca, Cam Pedersen, James Harmes F: Jeff Garlett, Tom McDonald, Mitch Hannan FOLL: Max Gawn, Bernie Vince, Jack Viney I/C: Tomas Bugg, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch, Dom Tyson EMG: Ben Kennedy, Josh Wagner, Sam Weideman IN: Max Gawn, Billy Stretch OUT: Nathan Jones (quadriceps), Jack Watts (hamstring) You have to go back all the way to 2006 when Melbourne had a better win-loss ratio at the equivalent stage of the season and even then it was only marginally better at 8:4. The Demons were the best performed Victorian team in the competition at the end of that year but it wasn't enough to see them in a preliminary final. They have reached this stage thanks to a rare vein of consistent form - at least for an AFL team 2017 style. With three consecutive wins another on Saturday night in Perth against the West Coast Eagles would just about earn them the title of "the real deal". The stumbling block, aside from the necessity of interstate travel six days after their last game against the Bulldogs, is the loss of two vital in-form players in skipper Nathan Jones and Jack Watts who has produced some stellar performances up forward with the occasional pinch hit in the ruck in the absence of All Australian ruckman Max Gawn who returns this week after almost three month's absence. But the Demons have no cause for complaint with respect to injuries because West Coast has been hit equally hard by injury and some poor form from key players has added to the Eagles' plight. Nick Naitanui has yet to recover from his ACL injury while his back up, Scott Lycet, dislocated a shoulder earlier this year in his comeback game from a knee injury and is struggling in the WAFL. Forwards Josh Kennedy and Mark Le Cras, who always manage to get among the goals against Melbourne, are also both out injured. Compounding the injury woes is the fact that the form of Chris Masten, Jack Redden and Sharrod Wellingham has been poor so that they are struggling to get back in the team. Notwithstanding, the Eagles were good enough to dispose of the Cats on their home turf so they can't be taken lightly. Melbourne's fast flowing style and it's pressure game was impressive last week but it must now repeat the dose on the longer ground in Perth. If it can navigate its way around that arena and come up with another major scalp, it will emerge with the world at its feet. I think this Demon team can do that and revive those heady days of 2006. Melbourne by 10 points.

The two sides facing off against each other this Saturday night in the west have a number of things in common if their most recent games are any guide. In Round 13, they both beat highly fancied opposition teams using relentless pressure applied throughout their respective contests. Their players swarmed around opponents and worked together, corralling them and tackling strongly to force submission. At the end of their games, the West Coast Eagles were back on the winning list with a victory over third placed Geelong while Melbourne had thrashed the reigning premier. This week the teams, which each hold 7:5 win-loss records, meet at Domain Stadium in a vital clash. The winner will be within close range of a coveted top four placing and possibly even inside that group, depending on other results. The importance of the game will therefore add to the pressure cooker atmosphere for both sides. The home team is the starting favourite. Not many can remember the last time that Melbourne won a game on this side of the continent and most of its recent visits have been unmitigated disasters. The record shows that it has lost 16 consecutive games in Perth with the last victory recorded there in 2004. The Demons are coming off the second of three successive six-day breaks and have lost one of their skippers, the seemingly invincible Nathan Jones, whose presence in the team contributes greatly to the enormous grunt that has caused observers to describe them as one of the toughest sides in the competition. The odds seem to be stacked against the visitors. On the other hand, last week's breakthrough game against the Bulldogs was something else. It indicated that this Melbourne team is different to everything we've come to expect from the red and blue over the past decade. We've expected losses at Etihad, we've expected defeats after strong performances like the one it produced on the Queens Birthday and we've expected the team to come home from Perth empty-handed for so long that we can't comprehend any other result. However, the Eagles' dominance at Domain Stadium can no longer be taken as a given. Certainly, they beat the Cats there at their last encounter but their form before that was shaky. They lost there to a badly depleted GWS, just scraped home against the out-of-form Western Bulldogs and in between, crashed away from home to Essendon and Gold Coast. The Demons' last two visits to Perth have been interesting. They did everything but win their Round 18 encounter in slippery conditions against an accurate West Coast that had the rub of the green with some very fortunate umpiring decisions in the close final quarter. They traveled there again in the pre-season and were highly competitive in their JLT game but sagged in the heat at the end of the game. But the team is building and recently has made a practice out of breaking hoodoos. This week, they will be up for yet another challenge made more difficult by the added obstacle of the six day break and the necessity of making changes to the way the team lines up on a ground way different in dimension to that of Etihad and with a more hostile crowd egging on their home town heroes. The pressure will be high. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Domain Stadium, Saturday 24 June, 2017 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 33 wins Melbourne 15 wins At Domain Stadium West Coast 15 wins Melbourne 5 wins Past five meetings West Coast 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins The Coaches Simpson 0 wins Goodwin 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel, Channel 7 live at 7.30pm RADIO - SEN THE BETTING West Coast to win - $1.42 Melbourne to win - $2.90 THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 10.6.66 defeated Melbourne 8.12.60 Round 18, 2016 at Domain Stadium West Coast survived a major scare from an inaccurate Melbourne in the game played in slippery conditions at Domain Stadium. The Demons led by six points at three-quarter time but the Eagles booted two unanswered goals in the final term to run out winners by a single goal. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Will Schofield HB: Thomas Cole, Tom Barrass, Brad Sheppard C: Andrew Gaff, Matt Priddis, Elliot Yeo HF: Lewis Jetta, Jack Darling, Dom Sheed F: Liam Duggan, Jeremy McGovern, Drew Petrie FOLL: Nathan Vardy, Sam Mitchell, Luke Shuey I/C: Jamie Cripps, Josh Hill, Mark Hutchings, Malcolm Karpany EMG: Chris Masten, Jack Redden, Sharrod Wellingham IN: Josh Hill, Malcolm Karpany OUT: Mark LeCras (hip), Jackson Nelson (hamstring) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Michael Hibberd HB: Jayden Hunt, Sam Frost, Jordan Lewis C: Jake Melksham, Clayton Oliver, Christian Salem HF: Christian Petracca, Cam Pedersen, James Harmes F: Jeff Garlett, Tom McDonald, Mitch Hannan FOLL: Max Gawn, Bernie Vince, Jack Viney I/C: Tomas Bugg, Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch, Dom Tyson EMG: Ben Kennedy, Josh Wagner, Sam Weideman IN: Max Gawn, Billy Stretch OUT: Nathan Jones (quadriceps), Jack Watts (hamstring) You have to go back all the way to 2006 when Melbourne had a better win-loss ratio at the equivalent stage of the season and even then it was only marginally better at 8:4. The Demons were the best performed Victorian team in the competition at the end of that year but it wasn't enough to see them in a preliminary final. They have reached this stage thanks to a rare vein of consistent form - at least for an AFL team 2017 style. With three consecutive wins another on Saturday night in Perth against the West Coast Eagles would just about earn them the title of "the real deal". The stumbling block, aside from the necessity of interstate travel six days after their last game against the Bulldogs, is the loss of two vital in-form players in skipper Nathan Jones and Jack Watts who has produced some stellar performances up forward with the occasional pinch hit in the ruck in the absence of All Australian ruckman Max Gawn who returns this week after almost three month's absence. But the Demons have no cause for complaint with respect to injuries because West Coast has been hit equally hard by injury and some poor form from key players has added to the Eagles' plight. Nick Naitanui has yet to recover from his ACL injury while his back up, Scott Lycet, dislocated a shoulder earlier this year in his comeback game from a knee injury and is struggling in the WAFL. Forwards Josh Kennedy and Mark Le Cras, who always manage to get among the goals against Melbourne, are also both out injured. Compounding the injury woes is the fact that the form of Chris Masten, Jack Redden and Sharrod Wellingham has been poor so that they are struggling to get back in the team. Notwithstanding, the Eagles were good enough to dispose of the Cats on their home turf so they can't be taken lightly. Melbourne's fast flowing style and it's pressure game was impressive last week but it must now repeat the dose on the longer ground in Perth. If it can navigate its way around that arena and come up with another major scalp, it will emerge with the world at its feet. I think this Demon team can do that and revive those heady days of 2006. Melbourne by 10 points.

Well ... what more can you say?