Round 6 – Melbourne V GWS

Liam Chambers

Another Saturday afternoon at Casey Fields and another vital match for Melbourne. With Brisbane and Collingwood knocking on the top four door, we needed to secure a win and ideally a big one to boost our percentage.

The Giants sat out Round 5 due to health and safety protocols and it remained to be seen whether the week off had helped or hindered their preparation.

From the beginning, the Dees had an easy run through the corridor and before long had set up camp inside their forward 50. Tayla Harris had an early look at goal with her set shot directly in front. As always on the windswept ground, the ball could go either way. On this occasion it hit the upright.

Eliza West continues to impress with her tackling and creative play, complimenting an already strong midfield. Also, honourable mention must go to bouncing Alyssa Bannan who took five on her run down the right side of the ground before sadly being unable to cap off what would have been the goal of the season.

Melbourne was finally rewarded when Daisy Pearce used her superior knowledge to read her opponent perfectly and secured a free kick on the edge of the goal square. Kate Hore kicked the second on the cusp of quarter time when she picked off Lily Mithen’s goalward kick. It appears Kate’s scoring mojo is making a welcome return at just the right time for the Dees. GWS made a last frantic dash but the scores remained at 14-0 in Melbourne’s favour.

The Dees were facing the breeze in the second term so it was crucial that they continued to force the Giants to defend. GWS started by making inroads to Melbourne’s territory but their efforts were fended off. The visitors had their chances but were unable to capitalise and again found the Dees clambering to add to the score sheet.

Kate Hore dribbled a kick towards the goal only to have it saved by a desperate dive on the line. The majors were proving elusive for Melbourne but the hapless Giants had yet to score. With the margin at fifteen points, it was anyone’s game at half time.

For all their dominance, the Dees were struggling to put the match beyond doubt. They needed to start making GWS pay in the second half. However, it was the Giants that looked the more aggressive going forward at the beginning of the third term but Melbourne’s defence was proving impenetrable. 

Again the Dees had their chances yet they could only pepper the goal without securing a major. The margin kept increasing though while GWS continued to remain goalless and the game was firmly in Melbourne’s control.

Finally the cracks in the dam wall widened a little when Shelley Scott’s tackle in front of goal was rewarded with a free kick. The veteran midfielder hadn’t scored all year but she calmly waited for the siren, then popped the ball through to increase the Dees’ lead to twenty six points.

With the Giants yet to score a single point, Melbourne was in a commanding position. The more points they could accumulate would raise our percentage nicely. With only a handful of games remaining, that percentage could be the difference between a top six and a top four spot.

When Eden Zanker gathered the ball from a hitout, her kick sailed sweetly in the direction of Tayla Harris. Harris was deemed to have been held and awarded a free kick on the edge of the goal square. Her subsequent goal was the tenth of the season and put her on top of the scoring table in equal place to the Crows’ Ashleigh Woodland.

Harris was able to add to her tally and claim top spot for herself when Megan Fitzsimon marked a kick from Eliza McNamara and directed her set shot deep inside 50. The key forward ran out to meet the ball and secured the mark. Her set shot found the target and Melbourne was thirty eight points to the good.

After the bounce, the Dees took the sherrin through the corridor courtesy of Eliza West and Karen Paxman, who’s kick towards the goal square was brought to ground by Daisy Pearce. It was then gathered up by Kate Hore who, in the process, was almost decapitated by GWS’s Brid Stack. Luckily Kate survived but she pulled her set shot which went left and fortuitously into the hands of Shelly Scott. Unfortunately Scott’s shot sailed across the face missing all targets.

The Dees kept up the pressure and Kate Hore again gathered the ball, this time hitting it with the outside of her boot and landing her second and Melbourne’s sixth of the afternoon.

The Giants were now only playing for pride and finally, with only three minutes to go, Jess Doyle was able to scoop up the ground ball and chip it over Daisy Pearce’s head to save GWS’s blushes. The goal lifted the Giants and they tried to secure a few more but could only manage another point by full time.

The next three games are arguably the Dees’ toughest. First up it’s Brisbane at Metricon Stadium. Last year’s Premiers have had a mixed season but they’ve won their last five and will be extremely tough opponents.

Then it’s North Melbourne who are in fine form and even secured an impressive victory over Freemantle. Speaking of which, for our last game we travel west to face the ladder leaders.

I’m not going to make any predictions about our chances, all I’m going to say is:
Go the Mighty Dees!!!