Gawn In 60 Seconds
Gawn in 60 seconds, Round 1 Melbourne Vs Geelong, AFL Season start, Dees are fit and fighting, Petracca, Oliver, Hogan, Gawny
Liam Chambers – our correspondent in Coffs Harbour
Another AFL Season starts and with it all the expectations of the fans. Melbourne have shown pre season that they are a team to be reckoned with. On a sunny afternoon at the hallowed grounds of the MCG, they would face a formidable foe in Geelong. Although missing their star player in Patrick Dangerfield, the second coming of Gary would ensure this would be a very tough test indeed for the Demons.
Although the Dees were missing Jack Viney & Tom McDonald through injury our lads were fit & ready to rumble. Within the first 2 minutes Jayden Hunt lobbed the ball from outside the 50 where a superb mark by new recruit Bayley Fritsch sealed the opening goal. Unfortunately 90 seconds later new Geelong signing Esava Ratugolea did the same at the other end; Jake Lever was going to have a busy afternoon keeping the Fijian at bay.
This was a free flowing game & the goals just kept on coming. The Dee’s second came from Jesse Hogan who steadied himself in front of goal to score. Geelong’s Daniel Menzel made the most of a half opportunity to kick their second. Halfway through the quarter with the scores even, Melbourne piled on the pressure but it was the Cats who scored next. Another new signing Brandon Parfitt scored on debut. However Neal-Bullen’s shot out of nowhere was the perfect answer. Then Ablett put himself in perfect position just inside 50m to score for his new old club. A great run of play by the Dees got the ball to Jesse who slotted in from 45m before Cam Pederson marked beautifully; cradling the ball like a new born baby then stepping up and adding to the Demon’s tally. Read more
A fine line between pleasure and pain
Divinyls, following the mighty Dees, Petracca, Gawn, Jones and Hogan, the Lukey Tapscott award, the ANB rising star award
Darren Spence – our correspondent in Jakarta
The Divinyls sang the lyrics “it’s a fine line between pleasure and pain” and I am certain Chrissie Amphlett was singing about following the mighty Dees. After having to wait all summer to have a chance to overcome the heartbreaking finish to last season it was with great anticipation that Sunday finally arrived.
After a fairly even first quarter the Cats threatened to blow the game apart with a 7 goal second quarter to lead the game by 27 points at the main break. A much better second half saw the Dees hold the Cats to only 2 second half goals and when big Maxy took that mark in the last minute my pleasure rating was at its peak. Then came the pain.
Dog Day Afternoon – Dees v Bulldogs – AFLW
Round 7 of the AFLW and a blustery evening on Whitten Oval when the Dees faced off against the Bulldogs.
Liam Chambers
This was the most important game of the season. A win for the Dees was crucial; no second chances.
Melbourne went out blazing with the wind at their backs. They had to score goals early & put as many as possible between the Doggies sticks in the first quarter. “Rocky” Cranston was determined to bring her best game to the showdown hitting well in the ruck and tackling fiercely. Paxman got a free early on & used the wind to her advantage kicking beautifully at goal only to have it touched on the line. Bianca Jakobsson was back after a week off & marking brilliantly. The Dees were throwing everything at the Bulldogs but couldn’t seem to break their defence. Then a free awarded to Cranston finally changed that. The kick from 40 metres out sailed through the uprights with no chance of being touched this time. It was looking like Cranston & Paxman were going to provide the inspiration for the historic win. Inspired by Rocky’s goal the team upped their efforts Daisy Pearce, Paxman & Newman going full bolt.
Even Mel Hickey joined in with a few coaching tips from the bench. Then with less than 5 minutes remaining in the quarter, Lampard landed awkwardly & had to be assisted from the field. After the season ending injury to Hickey last week everything was crossed for Sarah. Cunningham, so crucial to last week’s big win was unable to move freely as Lauren Spark stuck like glue preventing Tegan’s natural game. The Bulldogs, barely inside Melbourne’s 50m line all quarter launched a major offensive in the last 90 seconds. Luckily our defence held well and was able to prevent the Doggies from breaking through.
The 2nd quarter started well for the Dees; limiting the Bulldogs to 2 behinds in the first 5 minutes. They knew that the wind was against them now and they fought to stop the Dogs gaining any momentum. Then Emma Kearney was high tackled, awarded a free & slotted in a goal from 45 metres out. A few minutes later Katie Brennan was gifted a shot on goal from a few metres out. With their confidence sky high, everything seemed to be going the Bulldog’s way & a loose ball was scooped up by Berry who has a clear run at goal and she didn’t waste the opportunity. The Demons needed an answer and the talented Ms Paxman provided it. Seizing an uncontested mark she held her nerve & the ball soared through the uprights bringing the scores to 20 – 14 just before half time.
The third quarter started very well for Melbourne with Smith kicking a goal to put the Dees back in front. Then it looked like Alisha Newman was going re-enact her brilliant goal from Round 2 but unfortunately this time she just shot wide & her punch to the goal post summed up all the fans frustrations; we all felt her pain & the missed opportunity would proved critical. For all their great tackling and tactics the Dees went in at the end of the third quarter only 5 points ahead. This was all going to come down to the last quarter. Every Demon fan was on edge but no one could doubt the Girl’s determination and they were not going to die wondering.
I try not to comment on umpiring decisions but the free given against Harriet Cordner was something that we can justifiably feel aggrieved at. “A dubious free at best” I believe were the commentators words. I think he was being very generous but them’s the breaks. Conti didn’t make any mistakes with her kick in front of goal and suddenly it was 27 – 20. Melbourne wasn’t done yet and with seven minutes to go Newman kicked the ball well inside 50 where a diving mark by Kate Hore had hearts thumping. She didn’t disappoint with her superb kick from distance and at 27 – 31 in favour of the Dees, it was all to play for.
We defended and played with brilliant tactics to deny the Bulldogs until 90 seconds from the final siren. Much as it saddens me to write the words, a nice close lob to Lochland who turned quickly and put it though the sticks sealed the game for the Dogs. The pain of that moment will stay with me for a long time. We played so well and out played the Bulldogs in three of the quarters it’s only natural to feel a sense of injustice at the final score of 33 – 31.
Nothing else to say really except well done to all the players for a great season, short though it was and let’s come back better than ever in 2019
Hickey One, Hickey Two -You girls know what to do!!
Jacqui Parry
Round 7 – Dees Vs Bulldogs
Devastated to see that Mel has such a bad injury – get well soon Mel. Meantime, no doubt you will be helping with the coaching and revving up the Demon Army. Made up a little poem and some inspirational messages for the girls who will no doubt dedicate their next win to Mel’s Knee.
Hickey One, Hickey Two – You girls know what to do!!
‘Hickeys don’t finish second’, says Pop
Hickey one, Hickey two
See the big sticks bang it through;
Hickey three, Hickey four
Put those Bulldogs on the floor;
Hickey five, Hickey six
Our girls have got all the tricks
Hickey seven, Hickey eight
Jump them early – shut the gate!
Hickey nine, Hickey ten
Fast and ruthless like our men
Etc………
Go Hickey’s Go!!!!
‘Cos Hickey’s don’t come second!!!
Hope you can get it in front of the girls to inspire them in our Round 7 match against the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs crowd will be roaring at Whitten Oval, but we can just pretend for the day that they are all barracking for the Dees.
Best wishes to all at W-Dees from Jacqui Parry, Merlin and Sugar
Proud Guernsey Sponsor of Max Gawn No. 11
May the Beard Grow Long and the Hammies stay Strong – cos’ we are goin’ to the Big Dance this year!!!!!!!!!!!!
Through The Looking Glass (Alice Isn’t Good to the Dees)
Welcome to the alternative world where the exact opposite of what was supposed to happen, happens. After the close call in Perth last week, we were expecting our Girls to dominate the winless Pies in Alice Springs. Unfortunately, just like in Alice’s world, everything was in reverse.
AFLW Dees v Magpies review from Arm Chair Member – Liam Chambers
The first quarter started well for Melbourne as our defence soaked up the ferocious pressure that Collingwood piled on in search of the opening goal. Meg Downie took some splendid marks to deny the Pies a foothold, though they also managed to miss a few chances to take the lead. When we finally got into Collingwood’s half we made it count. Kate Hore kicked a lovely goal to put the Demons on the scoreboard after some aggressive tackling within the Pies 50m area.
We kept up the pressure and Shelley Scott kicked wide for a minor score. Shelley was having an off day as she then kicked another one wide before the Bean Counter Elise O’Dea slotted home a second for the Dees. A fumble by Downie was rescued & a brilliant kick to Scott was beautifully marked. Unfortunately, the ensuing kick went wide just before the siren sounded. Like last week we missed a chance to go 3 up at quarter time.
The adverse publicity for the Magpie’s Coach during the week seemed to have a motivating effect on the team & they came out blazing at the start of the second quarter. Despite some brilliant marking by our defence, Collingwood were obviously upping the ante & their kicking & marking was now matching their aggressive tackling from the first 15 minutes.
Bonnoci was very influential for the Pies but it was the combination of Bernardi & Hope that sealed Melbourne’s fate. Hope kicked to Bernardi who marked and scored the Pie’s first. Then a kick was tapped down to Hope who swung around to slot the ball between the main uprights. A free kick to Lambert in the last minute saw her kicked to an unmarked Bernardi with loads of space 25 metres from goal. Bernardi held it and kicked it to Hope just in front of goal. Hope slotted home her second from point blank range to round out the second quarter.
Still plenty of time for the Demons to recover but Hope (again) kicks beautifully to an unmarked Edwards who walks the ball into an open goal. The Magpies had there tails up then and when Guest chipped it in after some great play from Hope & Bernardi, it was starting to look like that reverse Alice world was going to continue on for the rest of the game.
We needed our Girls to step up, especially with the news that Katherine Smith was taken off with concussion & would not return. Up pops Mifsud to give the Melbourne faithful something to cheer about after a great effort in front of goal. We managed another point but the three quarter time score was 40 to 23 in favour of Collingwood.
We needed to play out of our skin in the fourth term to pull off a spectacular win from behind. Unfortunately there was to be no fairy tale ending as Chiocci kicked beautifully from 40 metres out to break the Dees hearts. Bianca Jakobsson could only look up as the ball soared over her head and bounce into goal as she ran in fruitless pursuit.
Ever the motivational Captain the heroic Daisy Pearce rugby tackled Barden, who was then inexplicably given a free kick. I may be only a simple minded Irishman who has been following AFL for less than four years but can someone please explain that ruling to me? Anyway, Barden subsequently scored from the dubious free & it was Goodnight Vienna.
Obviously the Gods of AFL decided that Melbourne hadn’t suffered enough in Alice Springs because a free kick was awarded to Kuys for what was deemed a Cat Phillips throw in the last minutes. In the end, despite some valiant efforts from the Dees, we were unable to get a consolation goal from our trip to a town called Alice.
The stats tell the story for Melbourne unfortunately. Daisy could only manage 9 disposals; well down on her previous games while Meg Downie played well in the first quarter & the start of the second, she couldn’t maintain her effort. Elise O’Dea with 19 disposals & Karen Paxman with 18 were unable to motivate the Demons to the work rate required to defeat the fired up Pies.
Much as I hate to criticise our beloved Melbourne, they’re not playing with the same intensity in each quarter. However we’re still growing as a team & there are positives to take away from this loss.
We play the Lions next week back home in Melbourne. I know we will be fired up but we have to really want to win it. I feel that we let Collingwood off the hook this week after a very promising first quarter. With such an array of talent in our side there is no reason we can’t be in the Grand Finals. We just need to rediscover the side that demolished the Crows in Round 2.
Go the Dees!!!
MELBOURNE 2.2- 2.2- 3.4- 3.6 (24)
COLLINGWOOD 0.0- 3.2- 6.4- 9.4 (58)
GOALS
Melbourne: Hore, Mifsud, O’Dea
Collingwood: Hope 2, Edwards 2, Bernardi, Barden, Chiocci, Hutchins, Kuys
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