AFLW Round 2

Liam Chambers

Friday night at Punt Road and the Dees were facing the league’s most improved team on their home turf. It didn’t take the Tigers long to open the scoring when Tessa Lavey kicked the first goal after fifteen seconds. Five minutes later and key forward Katie Brennan doubled Richmond’s advantage.

Melbourne finally got on the board when Tayla Harris took a contested mark from a Tyla Hanks free kick. The big name recruit slotted nicely from her set shot in front of goal.

At the start of term two, Kate Hore evened the ledger for the Dees with her free kick from 30m out. She’s in good position to be the leading goal scorer for another year. Never backwards in being a forward, Kate later took on three Tigers in a dash for goal. Awarded a free kick for a high tackle, she launched the sherrin from 40m and watched it glide through the uprights. Alyssa Bannan took note and decided she could go back to back as well.

Her first involved a run from midfield to inside 50, getting in a couple of bounces along the way while showing a clean pair of heels. With a quick look over her shoulder, she then let loose and scored from 30m out. Her second was an uncontested mark courtesy of Daisy Pearce who noticed her running into a good scoring position. The angle was difficult but Bannan nailed it.
Daisy herself then made it six in a row for the Dees when she swept her free kick high over the goal umpire’s head.

With a handy 25 point lead, Melbourne was in a strong position after the break. Having scored the first goal of the game, Tessa Lavey also got the first of the second half; raising the spirits of the home crowd. Richmond then got lucky when Sarah Dargan was awarded a 50m penalty. She opted to keep running and scored an opportunistic goal, reducing the margin to 16 points.

It didn’t last long though as Daisy Pearce again showed great vision, spotting her fellow veteran Karen Paxman running into position. Paxman took the mark on the run, then slotted from the set shot to restore Melbourne’s half time advantage.

The Tigers had it all to do in the final quarter if they stood any chance of reining in the the Dees. The Richmond fans briefly experienced a flicker of hope when Monique Conti displayed some individual brilliance as her running kick from an extremely tight angle somehow found its way between the posts. Unfortunately for the Tigers, that hope was abruptly snuffed out when fast thinking Tayla Harris pounced on a loose ball in front of goal after some stellar defending from Richmond.

Another solid performance from the Dees has helped cement their place in the highly competitive top four of the ladder. Today it’s the unfancied Saints turn when Melbourne play their first home game of this season. Casey Fields hasn’t always been favourable for the Dees but I’m predicting a big win for us in Round 3.

Go the mighty Dees!!!

Round 1

Liam Chambers

It’s a brand new era for Melbourne. Not only has the drought broken but our dams overfloweth. Nothing is impossible anymore.

Straightaway you could see a new confidence in the players from the first bounce. The hunger was there to match the lads and win a first AFLW premiership for the Dees. Lauren Pearce secured the hitout and Melbourne was away, playing tight contested football. The Dogs were kept under pressure and finally succumbed when Kate Hore’s chip to inside 50 was marked by Casey Sherriff, 25m out from goal. The defender didn’t miss and the Dees were on the board.

The second goal quickly followed the bounce, with Tyla Hanks’ long clearance kick finding debutante Tayla Harris, who marked 40m out. Her kick against the breeze was plucked on the goal line by Maddie Gay. The set shot was too close to miss and Maddie put Melbourne ahead by 2 goals.

The Bulldogs continued to struggle and at times were reduced to spectators while Melbourne hung onto the ball, looking for further scoring opportunities. The chance finally came when Karen Paxman launched the sherrin high and long towards goal, where it was collected by Eden Zanker in a beautifully contested mark. She slotted the set shot nicely to give the Dees a 17 point lead at quarter time.

The Dogs were always going to come out swinging at the start of the second quarter and they didn’t disappoint the home crowd. Their first goal came after a slam tackle by Isabel Huntington on Karen Paxman. Huntington scored from the conversion. Luckily Paxman escaped any serious injury. Unfortunately Huntington succumbed to another knee injury several minutes later was assisted in hobbling off the field.

Captain Daisy Pearce almost got on the score sheet herself, with a turn and snap in front of goal but sadly connected with the post. Thirty seconds later and Kate Hore was in the exact same position. Kate curved it slightly more to the left and the ball sailed through unhindered. The Dees were unable to make the most of their remaining opportunities in the term but still went in leading 7 – 30 at half time.

The fans at Whitten Oval would have been disappointed to see their side fade after such a spirited start in the previous term. However the Bulldogs put on a much more consistent performance in the third quarter. Bonnie Toogood kicked things off in style with her 20th career goal. Then Ellie Blackburn reduced the margin to 9 points with her accurate running shot from 30m.

Melbourne weathered the storm and went on the offensive themselves, starting with a brilliant run from midfield by Eden Zanker. Then her superbly accurate kick was marked by Daisy Pearce and though her set shot veered left, the Dees had wrested back the momentum. They continued to pile on the pressure with the Bulldog’s defence scrambling to contain the push. Finally Tayla Harris collected the ground ball and kicked it with the outside of her boot to score her first Demon goal.

With the margin back to 17 points, Melbourne look confident going into the last quarter. It was a low scoring final term with the Dees holding the home side to a single point. It was a tough physical game but the girls avoided any serious injury among some hard fought battles. Daisy Pearce was relishing her role up front and eventually provided another opportunity for Kate Hore in front of goal. Hore scored her second and Melbourne ran out victors by 24 points. A good result away from home.

Tonight we face the Tigers in another away game. Richmond looked good against the Saints in Round 1 but it’s early days and I’m confident Melbourne will be a more difficult prospect.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

THE DEMONS’ Cup Tour continues making its way up the highway to Sydney.

Melbourne supporters are invited to come and get up close and personal with the 2021 AFL premiership cup in Sydney on Wednesday 8 December.

The NSW Demons will be hosting the cup at the Camelia Hotel in Alexandria.

Date: Wednesday 8 December
Time: 2pm – 3pm
Location: The Camelia Hotel, aka The Cammy – 146 Henderson Road, Alexandria

rsvp to sally@nswdemons.com

See you there!

Go Dees

Great to see the colours appearing all over NSW!

The NSW Demons celebrated the magnificent Premiership win by the Melbourne Football Club at the recently reopened Camelia Hotel.

A crowd of 40 came along to the Cammy and had a great time watching the replay, celebrating the goals and enjoying catching up with other passionate Demon supporters.  With Covid-19 restrictions being partially lifted this was the first opportunity for the NSW Demons to gather together and talk footy about our wonderful Premiership team!

Now we look forward to watching the Dees in 2022 and celebrating many more wins.