Melbourne Demons: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

Mick Stirling

Melbourne Demons: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds image

There was never any doubt about the talent on Melbourne’s list, but the mental fortitude had big question marks over it going into 2018, and the previous year’s final stumble meant no one was taking anything for granted this time around.

A pre-season camp coup threw further shadows over who runs the club and gave the appearance to outsiders of a self-entitled bunch of spoilt brats continuing to get well ahead of themselves.

But they made it to September and blew away anyone who thought they might not be the real thing … until three weeks later when they put in possibly the most insipid finals display seen in the AFL for years.

So have the Demons shed their demons, or is it possible for a group boasting names like Oliver, Gawn, Petracca, Brayshaw, Viney, Lever, McDonald and May to shoot themselves in the foot again?

List changes

In

Steven May (Gold Coast), Kade Kolodjashnij (Gold Coast), Braydon Preuss (North Melbourne), Tom Sparrow (South Adelaide), James Jordan (Oakleigh Chargers), Aaron Nietschke (Central District), Marty Hore (Collingwood VFL), Toby Bedford (Dandenong Stingrays)

Steven May Braydon Preuss

Rookies

Kade Chandler (Norwood)

Out

Dom Tyson, Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Tom Bugg, Lochie Filipovic, Dion Johnstone, Mitch King, Pat McKenna, Cameron Pedersen, Harley Balic, Bernie Vince

Best Brownlow chances

Max Gawn $21, Angus Brayshaw $26, Clayton Oliver $26, Jack Viney $67

The only thing stopping a Melbourne player winning the 2019 Brownlow Medal is all the other Demons stealing the votes.

Gawn finished fourth in 2018, the highest a ruckman has placed for many years and there’s no reason to think the league’s most dominant big guy won’t be up there again.

#Max Gawn

Brayshaw’s third place was one hell of a surprise and suggests he has whatever it is umpires like. As good as he was last season, he’s only getting better as he gains confidence after early-career concussion problems and should prove a real Brownlow chance.

And then there’s Oliver, although he doesn’t seem to attract votes as easily as others. Whether that’s due to the way he plays, the way he looks or his way of simply ‘being’ is unclear … but understandable.

#Clayton Oliver

Players to watch

Tom McDonald, Christian Petracca

McDonald has been a revelation as a key forward since being shifted from defence to cover for the often-missing Jesse Hogan. Now Hogan’s gone for good the expectations on ‘T-Mc’ will go through the roof and it will be interesting to see how he handles it. 

The hype around Petracca has been big for a while, but there are doubts whether he’s delivered anywhere near what he’s promised. If he’s going to live up to the reputation bestowed upon him, the first thing Petracca needs to do is spend more time in the midfield and save his forward forays for Dustin Martin-type bursts. 

#Christian Petracca

A last chance to watch?

Jordan Lewis, Jeff Garlett

Lewis is entering the third and last year of his contract at Melbourne, something that looked unlikely at times in 2018, but he believes he can go on even further. Watching his contributions as the Demons’ campaign wore on would suggest an extension is unlikely, especially the error-riddled preliminary final display he put in against West Coast.

Former Blue Garlett is only 29 but comes out of contract at a time when a lot of young teammates are fighting for a spot, including Next Generation Academy draftee Toby Bedford who could well find himself in the seniors sooner rather than later. 

Melbourne Demons’ 2019 list

No. Name Games Date of birth Height, weight Position
33 Baker, Oskar  25 May 1998  184cm 79kg Forward
12 Bedford, Toby    178cm 69kg Forward
10 Brayshaw, Angus  58  9 Jan 1996  187cm 87kg Midfield
  Chandler, Kade (R) 0     Forward
31 Fritsch, Bayley  23  6 Dec 1996  188cm 81kg Forward
17 Frost, Sam  69  28 Aug 1993  194cm 95kg Defender
36 Garlett, Jeff  178  3 Aug 1989  180cm 72kg Forward
11 Gawn, Max  99  30 Dec 1991  208cm 109kg Ruck
19 Hannan, Mitchell  35  9 Mar 1994  189cm 87kg Forward
4 Harmes, James  69  5 Oct 1995  185cm 86kg Midfield
14 Hibberd, Michael  123  3 Jan 1990  186cm 93kg Defender
34 Hore, Marty  0    190cm 82kg Defender
29 Hunt, Jayden  47  3 Apr 1995  187cm 83kg Defender
39 Jetta, Neville 141  12 Feb 1990  180cm 82kg Defender
2 Jones, Nathan  264  20 Jan 1988  180cm 87kg Midfield
23 Jordan, James    186cm 81kg Midfield
45 Keilty, Declan (R)  8 May 1995  194cm 95kg Defender
24 Kennedy-Harris, Jay  34  21 Mar 1995  173cm 75kg Midfield
16 Kolodjashnij, Kade  78  9 Aug 1995  190cm 85kg Defender
8 Lever, Jake  67  5 Mar 1996  195cm 92kg Defender
6 Lewis, Jordan  307  24 Apr 1986  186cm 86kg Defender
1 May, Steven  123  10 Jan 1992  193cm 102kg Defender
20 Maynard, Corey (R)  7 Oct 1991  185cm 89kg Midfield
28 McDonald, Oscar  62  18 Mar 1996  196cm 100kg Defender
25 McDonald, Tom  146  18 Sep 1992  194cm 100kg Forward
18 Melksham, Jake  156  29 Aug 1991  186cm 83kg Forward
30 Neal-Bullen, Alex  59  9 Jan 1996  182cm 80kg Forward
27 Nietschke, Aaron 0     Forward
13 Oliver, Clayton  60  22 Jul 1997  187cm 83kg Midfield
5 Petracca, Christian  63  4 Jan 1996  186cm 96kg  Midfield
35 Petty, Harrison  12 Nov 1999  197cm 83kg Defender
31 Preuss, Braydon  8  16 Jun 1995  206cm 109kg Ruck
3 Salem, Christian  70  15 Jul 1995  183cm 81kg Midfield
44 Smith, Joel  11  25 Feb 1996  191cm 88kg Defender
38 Smith, Tim (R)  20 Feb 1991  192cm 95kg Forward
9 Spargo, Charlie  18  25 Nov 1999  173cm 71kg Forward
32 Sparrow, Tom    183cm 83kg Midfield
15 Stretch, Billy  38  8 Sep 1996  180cm 77kg Midfield
22 Vandenberg, Aaron  35  3 Mar 1992  188cm 90kg Forward
7 Viney, Jack  98  13 Apr 1994  178cm 87kg Midfield
41 Wagner, Corey 23 Mar 1997  180cm 75kg Forward
42 Wagner, Joshua  28  24 Jun 1994  189cm 84kg Defender
26 Weideman, Sam  20  26 Jun 1997  195cm 97kg Forward


 

Melbourne Demons’ 2019 Fixture 

Round Date Opponent  
1 Saturday 23 Mar 1:45pm  Port Adelaide MCG
2 Saturday 30 Mar 7:25pm  Geelong GMHBA Stadium
3 Friday 5 Apr 7:50pm Essendon MCG
4 Thursday 11 Apr 7:20pm  Sydney SCG
5 Saturday 20 Apr 4:35pm  St Kilda MCG
6 Wednesday 24 Apr 7:35pm Richmond MCG
7 Saturday 4 May 1:45pm Hawthorn MCG
8 Saturday 11 May 4:35pm  Gold Coast  Metricon Stadium
9 Friday 17 May 6:10pm  West Coast  Optus Stadium
10 Sunday 26 May 1:10pm  GWS Giants MCG
11 Saturday 1 Jun 7:10pm  Adelaide TIO Stadium
12 Monday 10 Jun 3:20pm Collingwood MCG
13 BYE    
14 Saturday 22 Jun 1:45pm Fremantle MCG
15 Sunday 30 Jun 3:20pm  Brisbane Gabba
16 Sunday 7 Jul 1:10pm Carlton MCG
17 Sunday 14 Jul 3:20pm  Western Bulldogs  Marvel Stadium
18 Sunday 21 Jul 2:50pm  West Coast TIO  Traegar Park
19 Saturday 27 Jul 7:25pm  St Kilda  Marvel Stadium
20 Saturday 3 Aug 7:25pm Richmond MCG
21 Saturday 10 Aug 1:45pm Collingwood MCG
22 Friday 16 Aug 7:50pm Sydney MCG
23 TBC  North Melbourne  Blundstone Arena

Games played on

Wednesday: 1
Thursday: 1
Friday: 3
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 5
Monday: 1

Teams played twice

Sydney, Richmond, St Kilda, Collingwood, West Coast

Melbourne West Coast Jordan Lewis

2019 Preview and premiership odds

The Demons’ 2018 may have finished on a massive low, but the bookies saw enough to start them as fourth favourites for the 2019 flag at $8.00.

Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney, Petracca, Gawn, Nathan Jones and Christian Salem make up an almost limitless midfield, while the recruitment of Steven May and return of Jake Lever from injury will see the defence as close to impenetrable as any in the AFL.

The forward line is where Melbourne is possibly underdone now Hogan has left, but if Sam Weideman can keep progressing and give Tom McDonald some help, the goals will come.

It’s hard to disagree with Champion Data when the stats gurus rated the Demons’ list the strongest in the league, but that’s all on paper. 

The problem for Melbourne in recent times has been above the neck, not below it, and we won’t know if anything’s changed until next October comes around.
 

Mick Stirling