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Your votes for tonight’s game please - 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Never in doubt ...

Is it the end of the line or one more lurch forward to an unlikely redemption?

On Sunday, the Melbourne Football Club that won three consecutive games by in excess of 50 points last month returns to the Gabba, the scene of the last of those victories which was a 56 point drubbing of Collingwood. The Demons got off to a good start and won every quarter with a ruthless and powerful brand of football. They kicked 16 goals that day, their accuracy in front of goal a tribute to the skills the put on display throughout the afternoon and evening. In the four matches played since then, their average goals scored collapsed to a little over six per game and they have fallen from a strong finals contender to a rank outsider with kicking skills so poor that they have consistently failed to hit the proverbial barn door. The humiliation will continue when their season will effectively end on Saturday evening against the Greater Western Sydney Giants. Indeed, the humiliation began with the words uttered by coach Simon Goodwin this week: "As a club, I think we need to become a much more ruthless club and really grow up and start to perform in these types of games. "We need to start becoming more mature as a club and more unconditional about the way we go about our business." These words are not only starkly obvious in light of two pathetic performances against lowly teams in Sydney and Fremantle that they were expected to beat even in the oppressive conditions in Cairns, but they ring hollow to any Demon fan who can recall the same dictum from former coach Neale Daniher in the mid-2000s when the same ruthlessness call flopped badly time and again and culminated in his mid season dismissal a few years later. In their past two games, the Demons have taken the field as if the games were meaningless dead rubbers instead of the potential season deciders that they were in actuality. Against the Swans but with the aid of the breeze, they conceded the first two goals and were virtually down and out by half time before butchering their comeback opportunity with several misses for goal from close in. Against the Dockers, they recorded a shameful 53% disposal efficiency (c.f 77% v the Magpies) — a figure that reflects a lack of intensity and a sign that the players were switched off, fatigued, couldn’t give a damn or all of the above. There’s no need to go any further. The 2020 agony for Demon fans will end on Saturday night ... in humiliation. GWS Giants by 50 points. THE GAME GWS Giants v Melbourne at the Gabba, Saturday 12 September, 2020 at 7.40pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall – Melbourne 6 wins GWS Giants 6 wins At The Gabba – GWS Giants 0 wins Melbourne 0 wins Past five meetings – Melbourne 2 wins GWS Giants 3 wins The Coaches – Goodwin 1 win Cameron 2 wins THE MEDIA TV - Fox Channel 7, Footy Channel, Live at 7.30pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC AFL Nation at 7.30pm THE LAST TIME THEY MET GWS Giants 14.10.94 defeated Melbourne 10.8.68 at the MCG, Round 10, 2019 The Giants came out of the blocks and completely dominated the Demons for the first three quarters before easing off and conceding seven goals to two in the last. Max Gawn, Jack Viney and James Harmes were the best for the Dees. THE TEAMS GWS GIANTS FB Sam J Reid Lachlan Keeffe Heath Shaw HB Adam Kennedy Nick Haynes Zac Williams C Lachie Whitfield Jacob Hopper Harry Perryman HF Jeremy Cameron Harry Himmelberg Matt de Boer FF Toby Greene Jeremy Finlayson Brent Daniels FOL Shane Mumford Josh Kelly Tim Taranto I/C Jack Buckley Tom Green Connor Idun Daniel Lloyd EMG Matt Buntine Isaac Cumming Bobby Hill Sam Jacobs, IN Jack Buckley Brent Daniels Tom Green Connor Idun Josh Kelly Shane Mumford Harry Perryman Zac Williams OUT Lachie Ash (omitted) Sam Jacobs (omitted) Jye Caldwell (omitted) Stephen Coniglio (omitted) Aidan Corr (ankle) Jackson Hately (omitted) Bobby Hill (managed) Jake Riccardi (managed) MELBOURNE FB Joel Smith Steven May Jake Lever HB Jayden Hunt Trent Rivers Christian Salem C Ed Langdon Christian Petracca Adam Tomlinson HF Aaron vandenBerg Sam Weideman Bayley Fritsch FF Mitch Brown Jake Melksham Charlie Spargo FOL Max Gawn Jack Viney Clayton Oliver I/C Oskar Baker Neville Jetta Alex Neal-Bullen Kysaiah Pickett, EMG Mitch Hannan Jay Lockhart Tom McDonald Josh Wagner IN Mitch Brown Neville Jetta Charlie Spargo OUT Toby Bedford (omitted) Michael Hibberd (ankle) Braydon Preuss (omitted) Round 17: Injury List Tom Sparrow (collarbone) — available James Harmes (hamstring) — 1 week Luke Jackson (hamstring) — 1-2 weeks Nathan Jones (quad) — 1-2 weeks Angus Brayshaw (foot) — season James Jordon (finger) — season Aaron Nietschke (knee) — season Harry Petty (groin) — season Kade Kolodjashnij (head) — indefinite

The Dees were well beaten but at least put up a final quarter fight back to look respectable. MELBOURNE B Jay Lockhart Sam Frost Josh Wagner HB Matt Hore Oscar McDonald Jayden Hunt C Angus Brayshaw Jack Viney Oskar Baker HF Nathan Jones Tom McDonald Harry Petty F Jeff Garlett Tim Smith Christian Petracca FOLL Max Gawn Christian Salem Clayton Oliver I/C Bayley Fritsch James Harmes Billy Stretch Corey Wagner EMG Jordan Lewis Braydon Preuss Charlie Spargo Sam Weideman IN Corey Wagner OUT Alex Neal-Bullen (concussion) GWS GIANTS B Adam Kennedy Phil Davis Nick Haynes HB Heath Shaw Sam Taylor Brett Delidio C Brent Daniels Harry Perryman Lachie Whitfield HF Matt de Boer Harry Himmelberg Toby Greene F Jeremy Finlayson Jeremy Cameron Sam J Reid FOLL Shane Mumford Tim Taranto Josh Kelly I/C Stephen Coniglio Isaac Cumming Jacob Hopper Adam Tomlinson EMG Jackson Hately Lachlan Keeffe Daniel Lloyd Dawson Simpson IN Stephen Coniglio Isaac Cumming OUT Daniel Lloyd (omitted) Zac Williams (hamstring)

Here's your chance Demonlanders. It's time for the people to speak. You tell us who will win this Saturday between Melbourne and GWS Sydney. A selection of your comments will be published in our match preview on Thursday.

It wasn't all that long ago when Mark Neeld reached the zenith of his coaching career when his Demons booted a record 12 goals in a quarter. By way of contrast, his replacement managed four for a whole game last Saturday, the same a fortnight before that. Go figure? MELBOURNE Backs Jack Watts James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Neville Jetta Tom McDonald Colin Garland Centreline Jack Trengove Jack Grimes Jack Viney Half forwards Aaron Davey Mitch Clark Jeremy Howe Forwards Luke Tapscott Max Gawn Shannon Byrnes Followers Mark Jamar Colin Sylvia Nathan Jones Interchange (from) Rohan Bail Michael Evans Matt Jones Cam Pedersen Emergencies James Sellar Jake Spencer Jimmy Toumpas GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY Backs Adam Kennedy Tim Mohr Phil Davis Half backs Thomas Bugg Stephen Gilham Nick Haynes Centreline Tom Scully Callan Ward Rhys Palmer Half Forwards Jacob Townsend Jeremy Cameron Sam Reid Forwards Liam Summer Setanta O'hAilpin Sam Frost Followers Jonathan Giles Adam Treloar Dylan Shiel Interchange Stephen Coniglio Toby Greene Anthony Miles Lachie Whitfield Emergencies Tim Golds Lachie Plowman Adam Tomlinson In Sam Frost Nick Haynes Anthony Miles Setanta O'hAilpin Rhys Palmer Jacob Townsend Out Dean Brogan (suspended) Curtly Hampton Will Hoskin-Elliott Jonathon Patton (knee) Lachie Plowman Devon Smith (suspended)