Round 2 – Melbourne V Brisbane

Depleted Dees Unable To Tame Lions

Liam Chambers

Lion’s stamp their authority on the game

Last week’s away win against Geelong was a hard fought contest. Round 2 promised to be an even more difficult task as we prepared to take on the 2023 Premiers, without Tayla Harris who’s injury now looks to be season ending.

As if that wasn’t enough, we have also lost, arguably one of our most important players, to injury. Lauren Pearce has been pivotal to Melbourne’s success over the years and the fact that she was injured during training only makes it an even more bitter pill to swallow.

Brisbane was firing on all cylinders from the opening siren, making Gabrielle Colvin work hard in defence. Eventually the Lions broke through when Dakota Davidson took an uncontested mark in the square, before turning to kick the first major.

After the goal, Brisbane continued to dominate play, well set up, winning the ground ball more often and marking cleaner.
All that pressure finally paid off when Taylor Smith’s wind assisted set shot from just outside 50 sailed towards goal, landing in the square before bouncing over the line for Brisbane’s second.

Despite another late surge from the Lion’s, Melbourne manage to hold off their opponents, to only trail by ten points at quarter time.

Ferocious quarter of play but no goals

The Demons started well in the second term but Brisbane had the answers and before long were again looking threatening going forward.

The Lions were also dominating territory and taking some impressive intercept marks to deny Melbourne the chance to build any momentum. Just as Brisbane appeared to have set up camp in their forward half, Melbourne finally broke free and made several incursions inside 50. Unfortunately the Lions’ defence held strong before launching a counter attack.

Incredibly, despite a hard fought game, it was only a one point quarter, with neither side able to create a realistic goal scoring chance.

Melbourne get themselves back in the game

With the third term looking to be travelling the same way as the previous one, Brisbane finally broke the goal drought when Ruby Svarc marked the ball in the pocket before playing on. Unfortunately, despite disposing of the ball incorrectly, she was awarded a free kick for what was deemed to be a lingering tackle. Her set shot from directly in front went through, and the visitors had a sixteen point advantage.

It took almost a full three quarters of footy but Melbourne’s first goal finally eventuated when debutante Alyssia Pisano took an uncontested mark in front of goal, having also been instrumental in the process that set up the shot. A star in the making no doubt, the small forward was spot on with her kicking.

Lions prove too difficult to chase down

The Dees started the last term trailing by two goals; approximately where they’d been for most of the afternoon. We started enthusiastically, with Maeve Chaplin involved in two strong tackles in the opening minute; the latter enabling Ryleigh Wotherspoon to run and have a shot on goal. Unfortunately the kick was just short of the goal line.

As the quarter wore on, it looked like goals would again be in short supply. Then the ever dangerous Dakota Davidson took a contested mark inside 50. The subsequent 35m set shot was on target.
With only ten minutes remaining, the prospect of a Demon victory was looking increasingly slim. When Davidson had another set shot opportunity a minute later, she made sure of the difficult kick from deep in the pocket.

The Dees now required four goals in eight minutes in order to draw level with the Lions. It appeared that the laws of probability were not in our favour.

Kate Hore, who was instrumental in Melbourne’s win last week had been unable to get a good look at the goal until five minutes from full time. That was all she needed though and made the most of the opportunity by launching from 40m to bounce the ball across the line.

Unfortunately there were no more goals for the Dees but they did deny Brisbane any further opportunities to add to their tally.

Next week it’s another high pressure game against last year’s runners up, North Melbourne. The Roos beat Brisbane by a record margin in Round 1, so will be confident of taking another high profile scalp when we play them at Casey fields. We relish the underdog tag though and should be confident of causing an upset.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 1 – Geelong V Melbourne

Liam Chambers

Early Cats’ dominance gives way to late surge from Melbourne

After last season’s disappointing finals run, the Dees would have been especially keen to avenge their semi-final loss to Geelong.

The Cats delivered the first blow when Nina Morrison snapped from 15m to give Geelong a six point lead. All the pressure was coming from the home side and they were in a dominant position. It was no surprise therefore that when the Cats made it inside 50 again, they kicked their second of the quarter. This time it was another midfielder, Mikayla Bowen, who launched from 20m out.

It was looking grim for the Dees with only five minutes left in the quarter, but then Captain Kate Hore took a diving mark in front of goal. Her set shot from 35m out was perfectly executed and the Demons were on the scoreboard. After the centre bounce, it was back to back goals for Hore when she gathered the ground ball inside 50, then she turned eluding her opposition, before chipping from 20m to score, taking her team to within two points of the Cats.

Just prior to quarter time, Tayla Harris appeared to have injured her shoulder in a worrying sign for the Dees.

Melbourne in control but unable to take the lead

After wresting back the momentum towards the end of term one, Melbourne started the second quarter in the same vein by taking the game to Geelong.

Despite almost total domination by the Dees for the initial eight minutes of Q2, it was Geelong who scored first, against the run of play. Rachel Kearns launched from 20m out and watched the ball sway erratically on the breeze, before floating through the uprights.

The goal gave the Cats a new impetus but Melbourne wasn’t giving up that easily and they continued to dominate inside 50, but without any reward on the scoreboard.

Geelong had few chances but when they did, the Dees appeared to have over committed going forward, leaving their defence vulnerable. Luckily there was no damage done.

Dees snag a late advantage

It was proving to be a low scoring contest, as the wind played havoc with the ball at times. It looked like the majors were going to come from attempts close to goal and so it proved when Jacqui Parry was awarded a free kick less than 20m out. The ex-Demon smoothly slotted the kick and Geelong extended their lead to twelve points.

By now the Cats had their tails up and were dictating the terms of the game, but Melbourne was hanging on and showing true grit in refusing to be overwhelmed.

Kate Hore again shown herself to be a worthy successor to Daisy Pearce when she stepped up to kick her third goal, also the Demons’ third goal of the game, with a nicely taken 30m set shot.

Just as it looked like Melbourne had fought its way back into contention, it found itself surrounded in the square and first gamer Kate Kenny took advantage of the chaos to get boot to ball, seeing it across the line.

Unfortunately Tayla Harris looked to have re-injured her should in another tackle and this time she was subbed off. Hopefully not a season ending trauma.

Sinead Goldrick had been playing out of her skin all afternoon, although she had seen previously attempts on goal go astray. This time though she nailed it with a running kick from just outside the square to bring the Dees to within four points of the leaders.

Then with fifteen seconds remaining in the quarter, Irish eyes were smiling again as Blaithin Mackin collected the ground ball, then got a kick away off the outside of her boot, threading it through the big sticks. Melbourne was in front for the first time.

Last gasp victory for Demons

With only two points separating the sides, it was going to be an exciting race to the finish. Geelong had home advantage but Melbourne had the mettle and the desire to prove that they are more than the sum of their parts.

The Demons had a couple of scoring opportunities early in the final term, but the wind didn’t do us any favours and the margin stayed the same. Luckily the weather wasn’t bias though and Geelong’s kicks also went astray at the other end.

Melbourne eventually found a way through though when Alyssa Bannan bounced her way inside 50 before getting a kick away in the direction of Sinead Goldrick. The Hibernian high achiever missed the mark but connected on the rebound and hand passed to Eden Zanker, who then turned and tapped it through from 5m out.

Now the question was, could the Dees hold on and keep the Cats at bay for the final ten minutes of the match?

Eden Zanker had a chance to put away another major with an impressive 52m kick but sadly it was touched just before bouncing across the line. Alyssa Bannan also had a chance when she took a terrific contested mark but the 45m set shot proved too difficult in the conditions. Still the minor score gave the Dees a handy buffer of eight points with less than five minutes remaining.

Geelong knew it was now or never and went all out with a physical assault on Melbourne’s defence. Fortunately we held strong until one of the most ridiculous rules in AFLW was invoked when

Paxy Paxman failed to pass the ball to the Umpire, instead passing to Lauren Pearce. No allowance was made for the absent minded pass by an exhausted player late in the game and the Cats were gifted a lifeline. Jacqui Parry’s set shot from 10m out was successful and the next forty three seconds had Demon fans everywhere holding their collective breathes.

After the bounce, both sides threw everything at each other in the effort to be victorious but Melbourne prevailed and collected the four precious points.

Next week we play last year’s Premiers Brisbane in what we expect to be another hard fought contest.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 23 – Gold Coast Suns V Melbourne

Melbourne’s Walking On The Sun

Liam Chambers

The heat is on

With no chance of qualifying for finals, the Demons could concentrate on playing their best footy, and enjoy themselves in the process.

The Suns have forged a formidable home ground reputation this season so it would no mean feat for Melbourne to prevail on the Coast. They would also have to compete against the heat and humidity, whereas their hosts have had ample time to adapt to the conditions.

It took nearly ten minutes for the first goal, and the honours went to the home side when Nick Holman was awarded a free kick before slotting his 45m set shot. After the goal, the Suns continued to dictate play by dominating contested possessions and repeat entries inside 50. It was unsurprising then that they kicked the second some five minutes later when Sam Flanders received the hand pass near the top of the square and casually tapped through for the goal.

The chances for the Dees were far and few between, and when we did get a sniff of a major, the wind carried the sherrin off course.

With under five minutes left in the opening term, it looked like another goalless quarter was looming for the Demons. Then, Daniel “Disco” Turner got on the end of a Jack Billings kick, after first disposing of his opponent and then beating his pursuers to the square, before getting his right boot to the ball, seeing it across the line.

The scores were level a minute later when Jacob van Rooyen took a handpass from Kysaiah Pickett and snapped from the top of the square. Another minute and Turner kicked his second after crumbing the ball from a stoppage and snapping the 20m shot.

When it looked like Melbourne would take the lead into the break, a turnover proved costly as the Suns made the most of the opportunity and got the ball to Alex Davies, who then converted the 40m shot after the siren.

Dees just get the upper hand in a ping pong quarter

Despite the hiccup at the end of Q1, the Demons continued to build on their momentum after the break when Harrison Petty took a contested mark in front of goal before going back to make sure with the set shot. Unfortunately after the bounce, Tom Sparrow was involved in an incident which saw him limp off the ground before being eventually subbed off.

Then the Suns retook the lead when Jarrod Witts was awarded a free kick in front of goal and kicked the set shot. Jack Viney flipped it back when he marked 40m from home, then nailed the set shot. Ed Langdon extended it to eleven points when he snapped from 30m.

However, Sam Flanders arrested the Dees momentum, launching from 30m, after the Gold Coast took control of the ball post the centre bounce. Then Lachie Weller gave the lead back to the Suns when he kicked from just inside the 50m arc.

Bailey Fritsch finally got his only goal when a beautifully weighted centering kick from Jake Melksham found the target and the Magnet ran on to see the ball across the line.

Jarrod Witts kicked his second after winning the ball in the ruck, selling some candy and hitting the target from 15m.

Harrison Petty bookended the quarter with his second goal by drilling the ball from 50m.

All coming together for Melbourne

It was the prefect start to the second half for Melbourne when Jacob van Rooyen was awarded a free kick in front of goal after wrapping up Charlie Ballard, who was penalised for holding the ball. It was all going according to plan when Koltyn Tholstrup (now sporting Ben Brown’s old headband) took an uncontested mark 25m in front of goal. His set shot slipped through nicely.

After the bounce, it was straight back inside 50 when Alex Neal-Bullen sent long shot for Harrison Petty to mark. He may have had a mixed season, set shot wise, but his 45m kick bent perfectly and it was a four goal lead for the Dees.

All good things come to an end eventually, and the Demon’s run of three unanswered goals was checked when Ben King took a mark and converted the set shot.

Demons get the job done

A seventeen point lead is not to be sniffed at, but the Dees would have been acutely aware that their fourth quarter performances this season have not been up to the usual standard; so there could be no letup in pressure from the visitors.

In case you were wondering where Kysaiah Pickett was for most of the first three quarters, then he definitely made his presence felt in the opening minute of the fourth. His initial crumbing of the ball from a clearance, his zig zag through the opposition, a hand pass to Viney, who passed it back and finally the perfect centering chip to Melksham, was an exercise in footy brilliance. Jake Melksham is continually showing how experience can instill confidence in his team mates and the set shot was perfect.

The good news is that Jack Viney has renewed his contract for another year and the even better news is that he is playing some of the best football of his career. First he plucked the sherrin out of the air, one handed, when it looked like it was sailing out of bounds. The he kicked an around the corner set shot that bent perfectly to notch up his second goal.

It was all but over when Jake Melksham was taken high and went back to kick the 40m set shot. Judd McVee had a chance to score his first AFL goal earlier in the quarter but couldn’t connect. His second opportunity was a little more difficult but he nailed the 50m set shot. There was much rejoicing. Koltyn Tholstrup was denied his second by the review; a mischarge of justice in my view but with a lead of forty three points to the Demons, nobody was too upset. He was robbed though.

Ben King was having one of his famous off days, but he was able to slot his second with five minutes to go.

Turner continued to paint the picture of a near perfect performance when he marked and converted to claim his hat trick. Straight after the centre bounce, the Dees were back inside 50 where van Rooyen marked in the pocket, then lined up to score his own hat trick. Another centre bounce and a massive Alex Neal-Bullen kick landed the ball in the lap of the high scoring Turner. Again he lined up to make his fourth goal of the afternoon look easy.

After the week long glare of the media, as well as the speculation about several of our players, the Dees performance on the day was a perfect retort to the detractors.

Only one game left now and with no chance of playing finals, the pressure is well and truly off. We can use this victory as a confidence boost and, more importantly, to make short work of the Pies.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 22 – Melbourne V Port Adelaide

Liam Chambers

Melbourne back to their best

The last time we played Port was Round 3 at the Adelaide Oval. The Power had two wins under their belt and home advantage, but we managed to prevail on that occasion. Now our rivals were eyeing off a top two position, and we were fighting to salvage our footy season.

From the opening siren, both sides were feeling the pressure, but for different reasons. It appeared that the accuracy suffered as a result. Shots were off target at both ends, though Melbourne was playing a better structured team game than in some of their more recent outings.

It took to the halfway mark for the first goal to be scored and thankfully it was Bailey Fritsch who claimed the honours when he drilled the ball from 45m. After the goal, the Dees upped the pressure and scored again within two minutes when Ed Langdon snapped from 30m to stretch the advantage to eleven points. Alex Neal Bullen almost made it three in a row but was denied by the post.

Melbourne was playing some of their best football in a long time and dominating Port Adelaide, but the visitors eventually scored their first goal when Jason Horne-Francis got behind our defence and marked 10m in front.

Then Port drew level with the Dees when Darcy Byrne-Jones dribbled the ball in from 30m and watched it cross the line.

The Dees keep up the pressure

After an impressive first term, Melbourne seem to relax early in the second and allow the Power to take back some of the momentum. Jason Horne-Francis was able to mark in the pocket and kick an around the corner set shot, giving his side an eight point lead.

One Demon who never relaxes is Jack Viney, and his determination to win the ball set up Melbourne’s next goal, after he twisted and turned through Port’s players, before getting the ball to Jacob van Rooyen. The key forward immediately kicked the sherrin towards goal where Kysaiah Pickett’s pressure was rewarded with a free kick from the boundary line. The resultant goal took the Dees to within three points of their rivals.

Kozzie made it a three point lead when he marked on the edge of the square, then converted the set shot.

A quarter of swings and roundabouts

After the main break, it was more of the same from the Demons, with Kozzie securing his third in a low scoring game. His inside 50 mark, after Melbourne had transitioned from half back, was well taken, as was his 45m set shot.

The Dees were doing practically everything right but when there was a slip up, Port pounced immediately to take full advantage. One such lack of concentration gave Charlie Dixon the opportunity to take a contested mark 30m from goal. It was back to three points.

Despite Port Adelaide’s intense pressure, Melbourne was able to hold off the onslaught, thanks in no small part to Max Gawn’s brilliant defence work.

Then up the other end we found a way through the Power’s back line, where Alex Neal-Bullen was able to take the mark. His 40m set shot was on target and we were back in business.

With five minutes to go in the term, Zac Butters got away from the pack and sprinted towards inside 50, before launching from 48m and bouncing the ball onto the goal line to again reduce the margin to three points.

Agonisingly close but the Dees bow out of contention

With only three points still separating the teams at the start of the final quarter, a goal would be a significant psychological boost for the side that scored first. Unfortunately Charlie Dixon chose the opening minute to take a contested mark directly in front and then went back to slot the 20m set shot.

With so much at stake, the back line at both ends was working overtime to prevent another goal. Understandably, passions were running high and mistakes were made but still the margin was a wafer thin three points in Port’s favour.

Then the lead flipped again when Kozzie kicked his fourth of the night after he chased down the ball inside 50 and hammered it into the stands. Melbourne had a couple of opportunities to push the margin out to a three goals but were unable to make them count.

When Quintin Narkle took a contested mark in the pocket, he evened the score with his 20m set shot. With only five minutes to go, a point or two from either side would be enough to win the game.

Sadly, the Dees were continually denied access to their forward 50 by Port and a couple of minor scores for the visitors was all that was needed to land the game and the four points.

It appears our season is officially over. There are only two games left, and we would have to win each game by fifty plus points and the four teams vying for the seventh and eight spots would have to completely implode. A win in each of our last games would still be good though; especially against the Pies.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Western Bulldogs V Melbourne – Demons Down in the Dumps

Liam Chambers

Dogs get early jump on the Dees

It’s no secret that we’ve struggled with form over the back half of the season and this round we were again up against a side that is hitting its stride at the right time. We have a talented team with some great young players, but the footy year is almost over and, possibly with it, our finals aspirations. But having said that, never say never until it’s mathematically impossible.

Cody Weightman had a few chances to kick the first goal, but then ended up supplying the ball for Aaron Naughton to provide the opener. Weightman did get one for himself when he marked in the pocket and banana kicked the set shot. It didn’t get any better when Bailey Williams marked just inside the arc and converted to give the Dogs a twenty two point lead.

With Melbourne under intense pressure, the margin could have been greater, with the Bulldogs hitting the post on two occasions. The Dees had few chances and unfortunately we were unable to take advantage when they were presented.

It took almost twenty minutes, but Melbourne finally got on the scoreboard when Bailey Fritsch marked 30m out and made sure of the set shot. After the goal the Dees had more inside 50 incursions, but the Bulldogs kept the pressure up and denied them more scoring opportunities.

Up the other end, Marcus Bontempelli was able to launch from 40m and just clear the goal line.

Melbourne back in the game

It was a disappointing first quarter for the Demons and they needed an early goal to settle things.

When the chips are down though, skipper Max Gawn steps up and takes the initiative. His contested mark was perfect, and the set shot cleanly taken. It was a brief respite however, as Adam Treloar restored the quarter time advantage with his 30m snap in front of goal.

Kysaiah Pickett is sometimes inconsistent in his brilliance, but his set shot from the pocket was pure poetry and it was back to eighteen points. Unfortunately another brilliantly inconsistent player, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan took a contested mark and kicked the 30m set shot.

The second term was looking like a much more even contest when Tom Sparrow kicked his around the corner set shot from the pocket to make it three goals each for the quarter. Then a 45m running kick from Bailey Fritsch found the target and clawed the Dees deficit back to sixteen points.

Dees suffer some outrageous fortune

With Melbourne only trailing by three goals at the start of the second half, fans would have been confident of staying in touch with the dominant Dogs. In fact Bailey Fritsch had an early chance to reduce the margin further but the kick just failed to make the distance.

Then thirty seconds later Cody Weightman had his second goal off a running inside 50 kick. Adam Treloar also had his second when he kicked an around corner set shot from the pocket a minute later and the Bulldogs were thirty points ahead. Another minute and Jamarra Ugle Hagan too had his second goal from point blank range, courtesy of an inside 50 infringement.

By now the match was in grave danger of slipping from Melbourne’s grasp and with it our finals hopes. Then Tom Sparrow kicked his second to claim a desperately needed goal for the Demons.

Continuing the theme of the third quarter, Marcus Bontempelli marked on the edge of the square and kicked his second of the night with an around the corner set shot. When all the luck goes to one side, it seems unfair but Caleb Poulter’s kick from outside the 50m arc bounced perfectly for the midfielder and the advantage was out to forty one points for the hosts.

After taking a battering all term, Trent Rivers goal from a mark and play on was a welcome reprieve. Then when Jacob van Rooyen successfully executed his set shot from the pocket, fans began to wonder if a comeback was indeed possible.

But we were left to wonder no longer when a decision by the review board deemed the ball had skimmed the upright on the way through. It was a cruel blow but pretty much par for the course on a night of cruel blows.

Is Melbourne’s fate sealed?

The Dees started the final term thirty eight points down; not a margin to gladden the hearts of the faithful. It would take a monumental effort to overcome such a deficit and seemed highly improbable against a team who had played so well all night. Damage limitation was a priority and everything after that would be a bonus.

The quarter was only one minute old when Ed Richards kicked a goal from 20m in front; it now appeared that even damage limitation wasn’t an option.

Earlier, the Dogs kicked a goal when they were gifted an extremely lucky bounce but when Jack Viney’s kick landed the ball right in the middle of the square it somehow managed to avoid the goal line totally. Where’s the luck? Up the other end Aaron Naughton marked at the top of the goal square and kicked his second.

Taj Woewodin may have only scored two goals in his Melbourne AFL career but his third was perfect and left a nice gap between sherrin and post. Kysaiah Pickett has scored a few more than three but his latest was again first class. After an end to end transition by Melbourne, Kozzie was the last link in the chain when he launched from just outside 50 to bounce it over the line.

With less than ten minutes to play and thirty seven points down, the game was now out of reach for the Demons but Sam Darcy’s mark in the pocket and subsequent successful set shot on goal was still painful. Tim English’s late goal only served rub salt into the wounds but thankfully that was the last for the Bulldogs.

A victory would have kept Melbourne in contention, but now the final three games are a must win and we must also hope that other results go in our favour.

On top of that, it looks like Steven May is out for at least one match, which is not great for him or the Dees. Despite the odds though, again never say never.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!