Round 4 – Sydney Vs Melbourne – Dees Derail Doubters
Liam Chambers
Finally something to smile about. As Simon Goodwin strolled onto the ground after the final siren sounded, his face was a open book of emotions. Happiness, satisfaction, pride and no small amount of relief was writ large across the features of the normally poker faced coach. The result was also Melbourne’s first win against the Swans at the SCG since 2006.
The Dees got the first six pointer against the run of play; Petracca converted from 50m out for Melbourne’s first shot on goal. Debutante Braydon Preuss quickly followed up with a nice mark and quick turn to kick the second. The Swans grabbed a couple back before Preuss impressed again with his second of the night. Three late goals for the Swans took the shine off the quarter for Melbourne.
At the start of Q2, the legendary Lance Franklin, having a low impact game, kicked wide for his second minor score. James Harmes got his first and Melbourne’s fourth which was balanced out by Sydney a few minutes later when Jordan Dawson kicked another. The momentum appeared to be going the Swans’ way when Isaac Heeney found the back of the net.
However the advantage was clawed back by Captain Nathan Jones who inspired the troops with his brilliant back to back goals. With the margin reduced to ten points, Jake Melksham then took the Dees to within one goal of their opponents. However, Buddy quickly restored the Swans’ edge, converting from his first contested mark of the night against Sam Frost. Then Jack Viney got Melbourne’s fifth of the quarter and the Dees finished the half trailing by just two points.
A perfect start to the second half with Tom McDonald kicking only his second goal of the season to even up the scoreboard at 58 apiece. Christian Petracca show why he is so dangerous when he fought his way through the Swans’ defence and managed to turn and kick a goal while being pulled to the ground by Sydney’s Kieren Jack. When Jayden Hunt got back to back goals, the Demon faithful really started to believe that we could win the game.
The Swans opened the scoring in the last quarter with a goal from Ben Ronke. When Sam Weideman’s effort was answered by Kieren Jack, Sydney still looked competitive but Nathan Jones then slotted his third to extend the Dees’ lead. Angus Brayshaw finally sealed the deal with a superb kick 40m out from goal with three minutes to go.
As Max Gawn pointed out in a post match interview, Melbourne performed in Round 4 like they were expected to play in the first three rounds. Not a subtle statement but accurate.
Next week’s clash with St Kilda at the MCG will be tough. The Saints have been competitive and beat a complacent Melbourne last season in a major upset for the Dees. We will give them a lot more respect on Saturday night. They played well against the Hawks in Round 3.
SYDNEY 5.4 8.10 9.11 11.12 (78)
MELBOURNE 3.2 8.4 12.7 15.10 (100)
GOALS
Sydney: Florent 2, Dawson 2, Jack 2, Sinclair, Z. Jones, Heeney, Franklin, Ronke
Melbourne: N. Jones 3, Preuss 2, Petracca 2, Hunt 2, Harmes, Melksham, T. McDonald, Weideman, Brayshaw, Viney
BEST
Sydney: Cunningham, Lloyd, Florent, Rampe, Jones, Heeney
Melbourne: Gawn, Oliver, N. Jones, Salem, Hore, Harmes