Round 5 – Melbourne V Brisbane

Liam Chambers

The hordes from the North attack

Brisbane’s recent appearances at the MCG have left a lot to be desired and with a poor start to the season, they would have been keen to address that particular Achilles Heel. They had a lot riding on their match against Melbourne and would be anxious to prove themselves worthy contenders in 2024.

The Demons have been travelling well so far this season and their opening goal courtesy of Alex Neal-Bullen would have gladdened the hearts of the faithful. The midfielder works extremely hard and his 45m running kick, under pressure, landed in the goal square before bouncing across the line.

It didn’t take long for Brisbane to get on the scoreboard, with Eric Hipwood marking the in front of goal, then slotting his 40m set shot. Joe Daniher took a similar mark five minutes later but steered it left. However his next set shot from inside the square sailed through and Brisbane was a goal up.

Unfortunately Christian Salem was subbed off early with a suspected hamstring injury. Taj Woewodin took to the field as replacement. Bailey Fritsch proved his class yet again with his flawless 48m set shot from the pocket, shrinking the margin back to one point.

Before long though, Melbourne’s defence was under siege with Brisbane launching wave after wave of attack, basically keeping the ball hostage inside their forward 50. The pressure paid off with Hipwood again marking in front of goal. The 40m set shot was a simple conversion for the key forward. Joe Daniher shot from the 50m arc was a little more difficult, but he too kicked cleanly, and the visitors were up by thirteen points.

It was beginning to look like one of those nights, when Melbourne just couldn’t get the ball to behave, whereas Brisbane’s handling was clean and effective. Luckily for us though, the margin remained at a respectable fourteen points when the sides went in at quarter time.

Brisbane consolidate their advantage

The Lions would have been encourage with their performance during the first term and the fans would have been very encourage with their start to the second, when Jaspa Fletcher snapped a 35m goal, resulting from of a clearance. Brisbane continued to dominate, with the Dees struggling to get a grip on the game.

The Lions kicked four in a row after Hugh MacLuggage drew a free kick and a Logie nomination, when his head was lightly brushed as he jumped for the ball in the pocket. His 40m set shot was on target. Everything was going Brisbane’s way, with Melbourne missing contested and uncontested marks in equal measure. Their opponents, on the other hand, couldn’t miss. There was no let up to Melbourne’s misery.

As if to further compound our predicament, just before half time, Charlie Cameron took a contested mark 25m directly. He split the middle with set shot.

No relief in sight

With their season on the line, Brisbane was not about to up their thirty point half time lead. The onus was well and truly on the Dees to step up and reclaim the momentum.

Melbourne got the start they so desperately needed when Kade Chandler kicked a difficult set shot from deep in the pocket.

Unfortunately five minutes later Kai Lohmann dribbled the ball through traffic, on the edge of the square, stretching the lead back out to thirty two points in the process.

The Demons couldn’t get a break, with all decisions seemingly going Brisbane’s way. In addition, the Lions had set up their base camp in Melbourne’s defensive 50 and showed no signs of moving on. The gap grew to thirty nine points after Hugh MacLuggage tapped in a second from inside the goal square.

Up the other end, nothing was working for the Dees. There was an abundance of missteps and miskicks.

It only got more painful for fans of the red and the blue when Charlie Cameron stole a handpass on the edge of the square, before running around to the front and snapping from 10m.

Melbourne manages to stem the carnage

With a game high margin of forty three points, only the most fanatically optimistic Demon fan expected Melbourne to prevail. Still, you have to hope. Ben Brown gave us a fighting chance with his impressive contested mark and accurate set shot.

However Brisbane douse the flames of fans’ enthusiasm when they quickly took possession after the hitout and got the ball to Zac Bailey, who then snapped a goal from 15m in front. Charlie Cameron put the result beyond doubt when he marked inside 50 and out ran Jake Lever, before tapping in the ball from the edge of the square.

Max Gawn helped soothe the blow for Melbourne fans when he marked in the pocket and converted the set shot. The Dees then won the bounce and Jacob van Rooyen took a contested mark inside 50. His 30m set shot reduced the margin to thirty six points. Bailey Fritsch further eased the pain when he kicked his second from a 40m set shot, but with only three minutes left on the clock, it provided only the faintest of hopes.

In a bonus for traumatised spectators and viewers, Jake Lever scored a very rare goal after he was awarded a 50m penalty, allowing him to kick from point blank range

We played Richmond in our Anzac Eve game. We were victorious in the same clash last season but with both teams returning from a bye, anything could happen. However, if I was a betting man, I’d put the farm on Melbourne.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 4

Liam Chambers

Low scoring first quarter

After last week’s nailbiter, the Dees opted to extend their stay in SA, in order to prepare for the Round 4 clash with the Crows. Although winless in 2024, Adelaide have caused more than a few nervous moments for Demon fans over the years. That last minute one point loss in our premiership winning year anyone?

Harrison Petty is slowly returning to form and proved how dangerous he can be in front of goal by almost taking a one handed mark. He was awarded a free kick anyway, as he was deemed to have been held. His successful set shot was the opening goal of Gather Round.

The next major was a long time coming, but when it did, it was brilliant in its simplicity. Izac Rankine scooped up the low ball, zig zagged around the Dees’ defence, then snapped from point blank.
If Rankine made his goal look easy, up the other end Kysaiah Pickett’s banana bend off the outside of his right boot was simply genius.

In a term of few goals, the Crows took the lead with ten seconds left on the clock, after Darcy Fogarty marked the ball on the edge of the goal square.

Playing see saw with the scoreboard

Melbourne had the wind advantage going into the second quarter but was unable to add to its goal tally; notching up five consecutive minor scores in the opening ten minutes. Then Christian Petracca broke the drought by collecting the ball in the pocket, spinning around and snapping the goal; giving his side back the lead.

Rory Laird redressed the balance when he marked in the pocket and converted.

Kade Chandler has been in good form so far this year, taking on the challenge when faced with difficult kicks. His 50m set shot from close to the boundary line was pitch perfect and Melbourne was ahead again.

When Kozzie Pickett’s in the mix, it’s never boring, as he proved yet again when he ran into the pack, collected the ground ball, turned, then snapped. The result was never in doubt. Back to back goals for the Demons.

Jacob van Rooyen made it three in a row for Melbourne when he marked 30m in front. Adelaide’s Mark Keane made sure the goal was a certainty by giving away a 50m penalty for Umpire dissent.

Fritsch picks up the tempo

Bailey Fritsch was having a quiet night before he opened his account, and the second half scoring, when his 30m set shot, directly in front, sailed through. After that goal, Melbourne had the chance to potentially put the game further out of Adelaide’s reach but squandered some good chances.

At some point during most Crows’ games, Taylor (Tex) Walker makes his presence felt and this match was no exception. His contested mark and subsequent 25m set shot, put the hosts back within three goals of the Demons.

Fritsch stretch the lead out to twenty six points when he marked 60m from goal, then ran on and launched from the 50m arc. The ball landed in the square and bounced across the line. He wasn’t done yet though, and the high scoring Demon racked up his hat trick for the quarter when his 45m set shot hit the target.

With a buffer of thirty two points, Melbourne appeared to be cruising.

Then, when the Crows looked to be on the canvas, they kicked a goal against the run of play, after Tex Walker marked 20m out, then hand passed to Ben Keays, allowing the forward to run in the goal. Suddenly the Crows were fired up and the fans were on their feet.

They sat down again when van Rooyen took a mark on the edge of the square and kicked the set shot.

Darcy Fogarty had them up again with his outstanding set shot from deep in the pocket.

Max Gawn had a chance with his own set shot but sent it slightly wide. The Dees were again notching up the minor scores as Jack Billings hit the upright. Overall though, Melbourne would have been happy with a twenty eight point lead at three quarter time.

Crows’ revival comes late in the game

The Crows needed to move quickly if they intended to run down the Dees in the final term. Conversely, Melbourne couldn’t rest on their laurels if they wanted to put the contest beyond doubt early in the quarter.

Despite, or perhaps because both sides were fighting so hard for supremacy, the first goal wasn’t kicked until mid-way through the term. Much to the delight of the home crowd, it was Adelaide’s captain Jordan Dawson who took the contested mark on the edge of the square. He didn’t miss and the margin was cut to twenty two points. Though Adelaide was still in contention, it would take a very impressive comeback to kick another four unanswered goals.

There was some concerned looking faces amongst the Demon faithful however, when a mistake in defence allowed Josh Rachelle to snap an around the corner set shot, closing the gap to fifteen points.

Adelaide almost had a second in quick succession, but a case of friendly fire between team mates meant Melbourne dodged a bullet and was able to rush behind the ball, conceding a minor point. Still the Crows kept attacking. Fortunately the Dees were up to the challenge.

In an interesting twist, Kysaiah Pickett was stranded on the sidelines, unable to participate, for over six minutes. When he eventually made it back on ground, he had a half chance which failed to hit the target. It seemed like everything that Melbourne threw at their opponents was missing the mark.

In the end, the Dees prevailed, and the win meant a return to the top of the table, albeit temporarily.

Next week we’re back at the MCG to take on the Brisbane Lions. Last’s years runners up in the Grand Final have only had one win so far in 2024, though that statistic doesn’t mean Melbourne won’t have to work hard for victory.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 2 – Hawthorn V Melbourne

Hapless Hawks Succumb to Driven Demons

Liam Chambers

Stellar start for Melbourne

The Dees were back at the MCG for Round 2. Hawthorn would be hoping to improve on the flashes of promising form they show during the latter half of 2023, but the smart money would be on Melbourne.

The Dees had a few chances early on but when Kysaiah Pickett saw a half chance in front of goal, he took it, and put Melbourne eight points in front. Hawk fans were seeing a lot of possession from their team in the early stages of the term, but also seeing a lot of struggle to reach inside 50.

Melbourne on the other hand didn’t mess about when they had the ball; heading straight for the goal square. Bailey Fritsch produced his first goal when the sherrin, ably provided by Jack Viney, sailed over the pack and landed in his arms. All he had to do was turn and amble into the square, then tap the ball home.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn supporters continued to endure a game of pass the footy, while the players got no closer to their forward 50.

Last week I described Pickett as Mr Excitement. This week he again showed why he is such an asset to the Dees. After marking the ball from an Alex Neal-Bullen kick, 55m from home, he assessed the situation and, seeing that no one was near the goal square, he launched. The ball landed on the line and flipped across for his second of the quarter.

Melbourne won the bounce and headed straight back towards goal. Jack Billings took a hand pass from Christian Petracca, then snapped from 40m to claim the Dees’ fourth. Then another bounce and Melbourne were again inside 50. This time there was fumbles galore as Hawthorn struggled to defend before Fritsch took advantage of a high tackle call to snatch his second.

Harrison Petty was back taking fantastic contested marks but battling to reclaim the goal kicking accuracy that defined the second half of his 2023 season. His set shots not quite hitting the target.

Hawthorn recover some momentum

Simon Goodwin would have been happy with his team’s performance in the first term; the Hawthorn Coach, not so much. Fifty three marks for a single point would have been concerning and the thirty two point deficit must have seemed like a mountain to climb. Despite that, the Hawks finally got themselves back into contention when Connor MacDonald marked the ball 30m out and converted the set shot.

Speaking of conversions, Kozzie’s set shot from 45m hit the bullseye, notching up his hat trick in the process.

With the margin still in the same place as it was at quarter time, Hawthorn knew they had to raise their game or risk being annihilated. Suddenly it was Melbourne having to desperately defend while the Hawks piled on the pressure. Still the hosts couldn’t land a punch.

Finally they breached the Dees’ defence when Mabior Chol’s kick picked out Luke Breust running back to the square. The five hundred plus goal veteran marked, turned and thumped the ball through for Hawthorn’s second.

It also turned out to be a double whammy for Melbourne. In addition to conceding the goal, they also lost Steven May to a suspected broken rib.

Momentum restored and built on

After the break, Marty Hore took to the ground replacing the injured May, who would be out for the remainder of the game. Hawthorn again applied all the pressure but couldn’t make it count inside 50.

Then ten minutes into the second half, Kade Chandler kicked a 50m set shot to extend Melbourne’s lead. It was a case of yin and yang though, as Jake Lever hobbled off with a knee injury. Now the Dees were without two of their key defenders; conditions that would normally favour the opposition.

Instead, the visitors scored the next goal when Bailey Fritsch took a hand pass from Petracca, then turned, snapping off his left boot and sending the ball 35m, soaring before crossing the goal line.

The Hawks had wasted most of the opportunities presented to them in front of goal but eventually Josh Weddle managed to finish accurately to reduce the deficit to thirty points.

When Kade Chandler is on form, he doesn’t miss much and his 40m set shot to the left of goal was perfect. It was a quick two in a row when Melbourne managed to fumble possession after the bounce and head in the right direction. Tracca ended up with the ball on the 50m arc allowing him to snap the Dees tenth of the afternoon.

Dees get in some more goal kicking practice

The last term started promisingly for Hawthorn when Mitch Lewis’s kick from the pocket found the target.

The response from Melbourne was immediate as Jacob van Rooyen ran out to meet Christian Petracca’s kick from the middle of the ground. The key forward did his trademark eyeing up of the goal before kicking straight through the middle.

Fritsch then took a brilliant mark before converting from 48m to basically seal Hawthorn’s fate. He was on again when marking Tracca’s bullet from just outside the centre circle. Five for the afternoon attributed to the high scoring forward.

Hawthorn kept trying but they were unable to break through the Melbourne defence, despite the absence of May and Lever.

With a minute remaining, Tom Sparrow boosted the Demons’ percentage a tad more when slotting a goal from a running kick 30m out.

Next week we travel to Adelaide for the first of back to back matches in the City of Churches. Playing against Port is never an easy task, especially when Steven May is on the sidelines. Still…

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Jim Stynes – 23 April 1966 – 20 March 2012

Nigel Dawe

AS the years go by it gets harder to accept that Jim Stynes is gone, doubly so that it has now been 12-years exactly since this shining light, if not absolute shooting star of an individual passed away, decades too soon – we all might add.

Akin to one of my favourite literary heroes, Albert Camus, who like Jim, died in his mid-40s, you have to wonder what wonderful things were still in store, not just for them as individuals, but for all who knew and loved them, albeit directly benefited from what they did so selflessly, and prodigiously.

But there’s the rub, and as the old saying goes, “It’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years” and what Jim managed to pack into his allotment of ‘annual grants’, fully amounts to the grand sum of at least 10 people.

As the Algerian-born Camus (who also made a name for himself in a distant land) once said, which could aptly encapsulate Jim’s own approach to life, “Everything which is alive is ours. All we need to do to become conscious of our task is to open our eyes…What we are, what we have to be, are enough to fill our lives and occupy our strength.”

To say that Jim was a hero of mine is an absolute understatement, and as such, it’s an incredible accompaniment, if not ‘feature’ of my own life that his run of consecutive first grade games for Melbourne kicked off when I was in year 5 of primary school in 1987, and came to an end in my fourth year of university, 11 years later. It’s still mind-boggling to think that he was a playing member of the team I barracked for in every match throughout this period, or 244-games to be precise, an AFL record that will surely never be beaten.

From the start of his career, Jim was a favourite of mine (I was also a ruckman for the teams I played in as a junior) his passion, aggression and approach to the game was something that truly inspired me, and when he won his Brownlow Medal in 1991, I didn’t sleep for a whole week afterwards, I was that excited. To think he’d never picked up an AFL ball until he was 18, and then went on to win the game’s highest award 7-years later, isn’t just an improbable case of ‘selling ice to the eskimos’, it’s more a case of creating a 10-metre-high ice sculpture with a pair of tweezers, in the middle of the Sahara Desert!

Not to mention ruckmen of this era were no lightweights, they all looked far more like menacing villains out of a Bond film. That was until Stynes changed ‘the face’ of this role in every sense; the fact he could run all day and not miss a beat, revolutionised not just the possibilities, but the expectation of what ruckmen ’could do’, right up to this very day. To see any of the modern-day ruckmen go about their business and ply their trade, is to see the pure, polished spectre of Stynes in each of their separate moves and manoeuvres.

One of my favourite memories of Jim Stynes (as a player) was ironically the 1988 Grand Final, a game remembered by most of us, for all the wrong reasons (having lost the match by a then record 90-odd points to Hawthorn). But Jim played his heart out that day, he was the clear best player for Melbourne by an Irish country mile; there’s just something about those that never take a backward step or refuse to submit, and it’s something you never quite see in full, until you observe someone still applying this approach, when all hope is lost.

As if I somehow knew from the beginning that Jim would go on to be not just a great of the Melbourne Football Club, but the entire game itself, I kept a folder of newspaper cuttings and magazine articles related to him. A folder I still dip into from time to time, to remind me of how being the best version of your own self requires giving all you have (and then some) to what you do, because as Jim well knew – it is the only way ‘to reach’ the land of your wildest dreams.

Relatedly, Jim’s fellow Dublin-born, Oscar Wilde once said, “The aim of life is self-development. To realise one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for.” And as if he were following Wilde’s directive to the very letter, Jim Stynes required only 45-years to perfect a nature so impressive and rare, that we may never see the likes of it again.

May you rest in peace Jim Stynes, and thank you for blessing our lives with the gifts you bestowed upon us, you will never be forgotten.

Round 1 – Melbourne V Western Bulldogs

Liam Chambers

Dogs soar early but Dees win the quarter

The Dees/Dogs rivalry has taken on a more profound significance for fans in recent years, following our Grand Final win in 2021. To date, we’ve dominated in the new era and the Demon faithful would no doubt be hopeful for that dominance to continue.

Similar to last week, Melbourne was a goal down early on, after Aaron Naughton kicked a 45m set shot. The Bulldogs took the momentum and ran with it, pressuring the Dees’ defence which culminated in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan taking a flying mark in the pocket, which he duly converted.

It was early days, but Melbourne needed to wrest back some control and stem the blue and white tide. It was stemmed and turned with Big Max winning the hitout and Christian Petracca collecting the loose ball. As he headed goal ward, Tracca hand passed to Jack Viney, who promptly dropped the ball before recovering and launching a kick from 48m, splitting the middle to open his account.

The inspired Demons took on the Dogs with renewed vigour. Bailey Fritsch was short changed when he tackled Jason Johannisen after the Umpire called play on. A potential goal from a position directly in front was denied to the talented forward.

Up the other end, Rory Lobb took a contested mark in the pocket. His 40m set shot took the visitors’ lead to thirteen points.

Melbourne had their chances, including a Jack Billings shot touched on the line but a second goal evaded them.

Then Mr Excitement himself, Kysaiah Pickett kicked his first of the 2024 season via a round the corner kick that curved beautifully through the posts. The lead up was also impressive with Jack Billings knee sliding to mark Clayton Oliver’s kick down the wing. Billings’ perfectly weighted kick was marked by Jacob van Rooyen, who then placed the ball in the perfect position for Pickett to run at and collect.

The Dees were displaying some skilful footy, but the Dogs were still having the best of the play. Fortunately, they were unable to capitalise on their advantage and the margin remained manageable. Unfortunately a mistake in defence allowed first gamer Harvey Gallagher to snap a goal from the pocket. To be fair, it was an impressive debut goal.

A few minutes later, Kade Chandler found himself in the perfect position to collect the ball after it sailed over the heads of the pack in front of goal. A quick turn and tap gave the small forward his first of the afternoon and reduced the gap back to five points. Even better, with forty seconds to go, van Rooyen collected the falling ball before snapping a goal, giving Melbourne the lead for the first time in the match.

Melbourne persist with their winning ways

The Dees continued their good form at the start of the second term after Alex Neal-Bullen marked an Oliver hand pass in the pocket, then casually tapped it along the ground, watching it bounce across the goal line.

It was the ideal start for Melbourne when they won the tussle after the bounce, allowing Kade Chandler to collect the chaos ball inside 50 before snapping it high between the uprights. It was five in a row for the Demons when Christian Petracca smothered the ball mid ground. His kick to inside 50 was gathered by Ben Brown who ran around his opponent before drilling the ball into the back of the net.

The Bulldogs finally stemmed the bleeding when their captain, Marcus Bontempelli coolly collected the ground ball and snapped from 35m in front.

Ben Brown returned the margin to nineteen points when he was awarded a sitter directly in front, after being held on the goal line. Both Brown and team mate Tom MacDonald were surprise recalls for the game, but both were repaying the confidence shown to them; with T Mac particularly solid in defence.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the quarter, the Dogs managed to eventually pare back the margin to twelve points, courtesy of Cody Weightman’s 100th goal.

Dees display depth in delivery

Melbourne looked to be running away with the game early in the second term, just as the Bulldogs did in the first. Then by the start of the third, it was still anyone’s game for the taking.

Ninety seconds in though, the Dees regained the upper hand when Alex Neal-Bullen marked in the pocket, then ran on, snapping off the outside of his right boot.

Melbourne was having the best of the football, but the visitors clung on, not allowing the gap to grow too wide; they even succeeded in closing it to eleven points when Ugle-Hagen was awarded a free kick 35m out.

Bailey Fritsch may have been having an off day, but Kade Chandler was having a blinder and his second was clinically accurate.

Melbourne gets some goal kicking practice

The Dogs started determinedly but they couldn’t make the most of their chances.

Christian Petracca has a lot of score involvements, however on the day he save one of the best for himself. His running kick from just inside 50 was perfect. Great lead up too.

Lachlan Bramble kept the Bulldogs hopes alive with his 40m shot, dragging the margin back to seventeen points, but it turned out to be just a blip on the footy radar.

Jacob van Rooyen stretched it back out to twenty three points again when he marked Kysaiah Pickett’s kick to the pocket. His round the corner shot glided through. Pickett’s second was a thing of beauty. His running kick from a difficult angle sailed smoothly into the goal mouth, dropping just behind the line.

Rhylee West pulled one back for the Dogs with an impressive individual effort, displaying splendid jumping skills before snapping from 20m.

With less than four minutes remaining, van Rooyen put the result beyond any doubt with his set from the pocket; Clayton Oliver having unselfishly provided the mark for the young forward. Then it was a case of reward for great effort when Jack Billings slotted his 25m set shot.

Speaking of reward for effort, it was nice to see Christian Salem walk in a goal to ice the cake for Melbourne, with a minute left on the clock.

We travel to Hawthorn for Round 2. The Hawks have proved to be a difficult opponent for the Demons on many occasion, even when they’re otherwise in a slump. We will be treating them with the utmost respect.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!