Round 18 – Melbourne V Port Adelaide

After last week’s disappointing loss to Geelong, Melbourne were looking for a win to steady the ship. Port Adelaide meanwhile would be fighting for a finals berth and wouldn’t be holding back. Definitely a case of survival of the fittest.

The Dees had a slow start with a few chances going begging. When we were getting inside 50, Port were defending well and getting the ball out quickly. Both sides seemed to be conserving energy in the 25 degree heat; which would feel almost tropical compared to the southern winter chill.

The opening goal was a long time coming but eventuated when Travis Boak took a handpass and found enough space to run and kick from 30m out. The next came much more quickly with key forward Todd Marshall marking and kicking from 45m.

Melbourne don’t get held goalless too often in opening quarters and they would have been hoping to rectify that quickly at the start of the second term. Instead it was the Port Adelaide’s ruck Jeremy Finlayson who took a mark inside 50 and went back to kick his side’s third. Neale Daniher, watching from the seats would have been quietly urging his beloved Demons to make the breakthrough.

It took a few more minutes but finally Melbourne had their first goal after Kysaiah Pickett received the ball in the right hand pocket. He did a 360 degree turn before kicking around the corner. It got the fans going and also fired up the players.

A minute and a messy build up later gave the Dees their second. Bayley Fritsch crumbed the ball close to the square and was just quick enough to turn and dribble it through. Melbourne’s prospects were looking brighter as they took on the Power with a vengeance, lifting their intensity. It paid dividends when Alex Neal-Bullen fought to keep possession and the ball from bouncing out of bounds. Jack Viney took the hand pass and punched the sherrin over his shoulder where Luke Jackson grabbed it and chipped in the Dees’ third to take the lead.

Unfortunately the advantage didn’t last long because Miles Bergman kicked a banana from the pocket. That lead was also fleeting as Port managed a turnover during an attempted clearance inside 50. Christian Petracca didn’t hesitate to kick to an unattended Fritsch, who just walked in his second.

It was becoming a game of goal tag when veteran Charlie Dixon marked the ball, before being awarded a 50m penalty plus a Logie for acting after Max Gawn gently tapped the ball from his grasp. Dixon didn’t waste his gifted opportunity.

The turf is different in Alice Spring as Pickett found out while chasing the ball as it headed for the boundary line. When it bounced back in, Kozzie took the Port defence by surprise, kicking another round the corner and sparking another change of lead. The Demon fans in the stands were getting their money’s worth.

After the energetic previous quarter, the second half start was a fairly pedestrian affair. That was until Connor Rozee was awarded a penalty on the 50m line and hit the target to put Port back on top. After that goal, the visitors starting surging, making the most of their momentum. However, they could only manage a few minor scores until Miles Bergman got another; this time from a 35m set shot.

Fortunately, the Dees were able to absorb Port’s dominance without suffering too much damage. Then right at the halfway mark, Melbourne made their move. They got up the ground to their forward 50 where Max Gawn tapped down the incoming ball. Pickett had run into the pocket but was unable to collect the ball with opposition players quickly closing in. Instead he kicked as the ball was bouncing up and watched it fly through the sticks.

A few minutes later Pickett had his fourth after been taken high in a tackle and accurately kicking a 40m set shot. Ben Brown was able to add to the tally when he marked Charlie Spargo’s kick 30m from the goal line.

After a quarter where Port Adelaide dominated for long periods, the Dees had managed to extend their lead to ten points. Now they needed to build on that score to seal victory. Melbourne’s first of the final term came from some clever creative play, starting with Toby Bedford’s kick along the boundary to Bayley Fritsch, who in turn kicked into the space in front of a goalward bound Jake Melksham. The recently returned Melksham collected the bouncing ball and ran on, hotly pursued by the Port defence but still managing to kick the goal from close quarters.

Ben Brown got his second from a set shot to make it five in a row for the Demons. With a handy twenty point lead, Melbourne still needed to be mindful of Port’s desperation to make the top eight. A loss for the Adelaide side would all but spell the end of their season. When Pickett kicked his unprecedented fifth of the game from just outside the 50m line, it did indeed look like curtains for the Power.

With the clock ticking uncaringly towards full time, Port needed to act quickly and precisely. Theoretically, there was still time but then the final nail was hammered in when Kozzie marked in the pocket and played on round the corner to claim his half dozen.

Port still didn’t sit back though and the Dees couldn’t afford to rest on their laurels as there was still life, so potentially still hope. This was underlined when Travis Boak got his second via a finish from 30m out. The margin was still twenty five points but there was almost ten minutes left to play.

Shortly after that goal, Todd Marshall also got his second when he marked the ball on the goal line. It was an easy conversion and the gap was down to nineteen points. The Dees needed to defend urgently and strongly but were unlucky when William Drew was paid a mark that appeared to have been touched. The midfielder kicked and scored from 45m.

Suddenly a Port comeback threat looked a realistic prospect with three minutes still left to play. There was some frantic toing and froing but Melbourne hung on and finished with a fourteen point margin. Port ate into our percentage in the final minutes but we ended up with an important win.

It’s a tough home run from here, starting with our Grand Final opponents from last season. We’re still not quite back to our best and the team spirit still needs some honing but we can raise our game and be in good position to finish near the top of the table. There’s a good chance the teams we play in the next month will be the same ones we face come finals times.

Kysaiah Pickett showed us the way in Alice Springs; lets grab the momentum and run!

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

NSW Demons Legends Dinner – Noel McMahen – 2004

Michael Peters

Noel McMahen, one of the fine players of Melbourne’s greatest era, has died aged 95. Demon supporters in Sydney will remember Noel for his visit to us in 2004, when he spoke to us in the Sydney Cricket Ground Members Dining Room.

Noel played 175 games with Melbourne from 1946 to 1956. This included membership of the Melbourne Premiership teams of 1948, 1955 and 1956. Noel was a Victorian State representative in 1952 and 1954. He was Melbourne Captain in 1955-56.

Noel was a magnificent Melbourne back man, who repeatedly drove Melbourne into attack from the back line after fierce tackles and with long driving kicks, I had the good fortune of seeing Noel and the team win the 1948 premiership, one would have to say in part because of Essendon’s woeful kicking for goal (7 goals 27) in the first drawn Grand Final; Melbourne comfortably won the replayed Grand Final against the favourite Essendon.

Noel McMahen’s fierce tackling is best exemplified by the his famous “shirt front” tackle of the Collingwood champion Bob Rose in the 1955 Grand Final, which remains one of the best-remembered tackles in the history of the. Game.

Noel was named in the Melbourne Team of the Century in 2001 on the. Half Back Flank. He will be remembered always as one of our All Time Greats

Vale Noel McMahen: from Mordialloc boy to a Melbourne Immortal

Nigel Dawe

GREATNESS, in a game like Australian Football, or more specifically at a club like the Melbourne Demons (the world’s oldest football club) resides not in the retrievability or conciseness of mere statistical facts; in spiffy, well-worded player bios or tables of match possession tallies and totals.

If it did, history would recall the number 35 wearing Noel McMahen as simply the 667th player to appear for the Melbourne Demons in the post-1897/ VFL era; or merely the man to have played the 32nd most games for the club with a tally of 175 between 1946 and 1956.

Even the dictionary definition of Greatness: “the quality of being extremely good in ability or quality and therefore admired by many people” doesn’t really come all that closer to capturing the essence or mercurial quintessence of what true greatness means.

‘Bulldozer’ as Noel McMahen – the feared halfback flanker (and future club hall of famer) was affectionately known, weighing in at 86kg and 184cm as a player, became one of the most revered heart and soul figures to embody and iridescently bleed red and blue, the club has ever seen.

Perhaps the most famous of all snapshots of McMahen is drawn from the opening stages of the 1955 Grand Final. The second of seven-straight Grand Finals the club would appear in; and the first they would win of the overall five premierships from this era. In his first year as club captain, Noel flattened – in fair but brutal shirtfront fashion the magpie star and playmaker Bob Rose, it resulted in a free kick and the first goal of the game. But it also set the tone for a win that went on to forge not just success that day, but the sport’s greatest dynasty, lasting the best part of a decade.

Ironically, it is often not the gleaming periods of success that define or shed the truest light on someone’s career or mettle, but the dark moments of defeat and struggle – dealt with and then surmounted, that tell a tale that can’t be gleaned from amidst the halcyon glare of ultimate triumph and victory.

What makes McMahen special, from a club stalwart perspective is not just the premiership successes he enjoyed (the first as a fresh-faced newbie in 1948) but also the barren seasons he endured in between, where wins were few and the hardships many. One such season was that of 1951 – Melbourne notched just the one solitary win to finish last by a full three games. But it was a year McMahen finished with a club best and fairest, gaining mileage for the rest of his life: “This pretty much meant I was actually the competition’s ‘worst and the dirtiest’, seeing our team were playing so poorly.”

The self-effacement aside, who could ever hope to lead a team in the AFL to premiership glory (as McMahen did) twice in the only two seasons they were made team captain (not to mention that second year, 1956 – an Olympic year – being considered by many as the club’s greatest ever season) is something that will surely remain an unrepeatable feat, for as long as football is played.

As the sun brightly sets on the life of Noel McMahen – a life that commenced in 1926, the very year of the Melbourne Football Club’s most famous premiership win of all, and the same year a young Ernest Hemingway appropriately released his first novel ‘The Sun Also Rises’. It would be no exaggeration to say, the game itself, not to mention the team of the red and the blue, will ever see the shining likes of a Noel McMahen again.

Round 17 – Geelong V Melbourne

Liam Chambers

It was no secret that we were facing the toughest test of the season so far. Geelong had won their previous six outings and would be a different prospect to the team that lost last year’s prelim in Perth.

Straightaway, the Cats started piling on the pressure but it was Bayley Fritsch who kicked the first major when he marked Jack Viney’s superbly placed kick. A minute later and Christian Petracca found the back of the net with his first kick of the night. Geelong hit back when Gary Rohan won a free kick and converted from 45m out. Then they took the lead via Mitch Duncan’s mark on the edge of the goal square. 

Ben Brown’s form has been uneven in recent times but his collect and kick from a tight angle in the pocket, proved he still has plenty of tricks in his armoury. With three minutes to go, Cameron Guthrie scored from an even tighter angle to reclaim the lead for Geelong. It was a two point game in the home side’s favour at quarter time; a reflection of the tight game between the top two competitors.

After an intense first term, the second quarter started just as aggressively. Both teams seemed to be treating the game as a grand final rehearsal; the Cats well aware of how Melbourne had chased them down in recent matches. Max Gawn almost laid claim to his first goal on his return from injury when he appeared to mark Ben Brown’s set shot kick from the pocket before kicking the ball over the line. Unfortunately, the ARC review showed the ball clipping the post’s padding before being marked. Nice try anyway Gawny.

The first goal eventually came halfway through the quarter when Tom Atkins marked the ball 40m out, then hit the target. The Demons’ reply came quickly when Ben Brown showed good vision in spotting Clayton Oliver on the other side of the ground, just inside 50. Oliver marked and went back to score and reduce the gap back to three points.

Both sides were making mistakes but also playing some creative footy. The Cats were playing at a fast pace and getting the ball inside 50, setting up opportunities. It paid off when Brad Close received a hand pass in the pocket and kicked on, scoring Geelong’s fifth goal.

Melbourne’s response was instantaneous after the bounce, with Oliver, Jack Viney and Christian Petracca combining perfectly to get the ball out and up the ground. Petracca’s kick from 55m sailed through and it was again back to three points.

Geelong had doubled their advantage to four points at the end of the second quarter and the game was living up to the pre match speculation of a tight contest. Both sides had settled into the game and now the question was who could better manage the pressure, both physically and mentally.

The Cats got the first of the half when Gary Rohan kicked his second set shot round the corner, much to the delight of the home fans. Geelong now had a two goal margin for the third time in the game. There was a few near misses for the Dees but neither group were running away with the match just yet.

Then Max Holmes received the ball 30m out and found some space to finish, giving the Cats a sixteen point lead. Suddenly Geelong seemed to be playing the game on their terms and gathering momentum. The Dees found themselves defending desperately. They needed a circuit breaker quickly or the game was in danger of escaping their clutches. The situation became even more dire when Isaac Smith’s kick, from right on the 50m line, sailed through and increased the margin to twenty three points.

The dark clouds were gathering for Melbourne but then Alex Neal-Bullen injected a ray of sunshine, that lifted the faithful, when his running kick from 40m crossed the line. We seriously required a follow up goal and quickly. It came when Toby Bedford took an intercepted mark and raced to the 50m line. His kick was meant for Bayley Fritsch but it sailed over the forward’s head and just missed being touched before happily bouncing across the goal line; a case of hit and miss at the same time.

The Demons would have been relieved to be going into the final term only trailing by two goals. The bad news was Geelong hadn’t lost a fourth quarter since Round 6.

Melbourne needed an early goal to build on the momentum from the latter part of the previous quarter. Tom Hawkins had other ideas though when he collected the ball after a stoppage just inside the 50m line. He found enough space to kick and score his only goal of the night.

Another star having a quiet game was Kysaiah Pickett but he seized his opportunity when the ball bounced up to him, then he turned and kicked, scoring from 25m out. Christian Petracca kicked his second a few minutes later from a 45m set shot and it was a seven point game. Then with ten minutes to go, Melbourne were only trailing by five points and still very much in contention.

However the script changed dramatically when Cameron Guthrie’s kick, also from 45m, swung the impetus back in Geelong’s favour. The goals dried up for the Dees and their fate was sealed with late majors from Mitch Duncan (a set shot from 55m) and Tyson Stengle’s opportunistic kick from 30m, putting the home side out of reach.

Overall we played well but the Cats looked hungrier throughout. It’s such a shame that the last ten minutes wasn’t a true reflection of how Melbourne played for the majority of the game.

Round 18 is against Port Adelaide at Traeger Park. The Power have won some quality games this season and if they hadn’t had such a disastrous start to their campaign, would probably be sitting comfortably in the top eight now.

Melbourne’s injuries continues to cause issues with continuity but we have the strength and depth to put those problems behind us and triumph in Alice Springs.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Liam Chambers

After last week’s emphatic win over Brisbane, the contest against the lower ranked Crows was always going to be interesting. Adelaide secured the narrowest of wins last season so the home fans would be hoping for a repeat result.

Initially it looked like it was going to be smooth sailing for the Demons. Ben Brown basically had the ball drop at his feet with all the clear space he needed to dribble it over the line for the first of the evening.

Adelaide was hemmed in behind their 50m line as Melbourne continued to attack the goal. Christian Petracca broke his five game drought when he collected a tap down and snapped the Dees’ second. Mitch Brown completed the trifecta and kicked his first goal of the year from a 50m set shot.

Adelaide finally got their first inside 50 and then kept the pressure up until Ben Keays took a mark 45m out, then turning and kicking the Crows’ first. The goal energised the fans and players alike and within a minute they had a second when Darcy Fogarty found enough space to snap from 30m. The Crows had a third when a dubious umpiring decision gave Tex Walker a free kick 25m from goal. Anyway, them’s the rules and now it was a tied game.

A minute later and Walker marked and kicked his second from 40m and Adelaide had the lead; a lead that was only fleeting though, as James Harmes restored scoreboard parity with his 30m set shot. Then with fifteen seconds to go, Petracca signaled the return of his goal kicking mojo when his 40m set shot sailed through. Bayley Fritsch almost snared another but his shot landed for a behind, just as the siren sounded.

After a high scoring first quarter, second term goals were proving hard to come by as both sides struggled to score a major. Melbourne had a few chances but could only land a couple of minors.

The first goal of the quarter finally came with four minutes to go. Riley Thilthorpe marked in the pocket and took his time to relax before kicking round the corner to bring the Crows back to within two points of Melbourne. The home side got a second within a minute, taking the lead after Wayne Milera was the last link in a handball chain, enabling him to run into an open goal.

Fortunately Clayton Oliver and Petracca combined beautifully again, allowing the Norm Smith medalist to kick from 45m and claim his hat trick.

As Melbourne began the second half with the tightest of leads, they were unlucky early on not to be another two goals up. It was semi permanent sub Toby Bedford who finally kicked the first goal, helping to cement his place in the top flight. The Dees’ had a ten point lead and looked more in control of the match.

Then Mitch Brown took a brilliant contested mark on the edge of the square and doubled his tally for the season. The Crows were making Melbourne play a scrappy game and the next goal exemplified the night’s footy. Bayley Fritsch was chasing the ball with the pack, trying to get a handle on it when Kysaiah Pickett flew in and soccered it off the ground.

Even with a four goal advantage, you knew Adelaide were just itching to hit back. It took until the last three minutes of the quarter but Jordon Dawson’s set shot from 25m had the Crows’ fans on their feet.

Adelaide had the best possible start to the final term as they won the bounce and got the ball to inside 50 where Rory Laird took possession and kicked from 30m to reduce the margin to eleven. The Crows were playing like a team possessed, piling on the pressure. It paid off when Ben Keays was awarded a free kick and converted for his second of the game.

Now it was a five point contest, with a nail biting twenty minutes to go. The Demons kept their composure though and went about chasing the next goal. It came via another superb Oliver handpass. This time Ed Langdon was the recipient and he chipped it from 20m and the ball bounced across the line.

Jack Viney seemed to be involved at nearly every stage of the next goal. He started by getting it out after the bounce, then combined with Charlie Spargo and Pickett to snap it from 30m and score.

Josh Rachelle kept it alive for the for the Crows with his mark and conversion from 25m but it was only a temporary respite. Within a minute, Tom Sparrow scored with a 30m running kick, reflecting the depth of talent in the Melbourne team.

It wouldn’t have been a proper final quarter without a Bayley Fritsch goal and he didn’t disappoint, kicking a set shot from 40m to give the Dees a four goal buffer. Then Ben Brown iced the cake with his set shot kick after the siren.

It had been a nerve racking final twenty minutes as the clock ticked down and the Crows came within touching distance but in the end it was a comfortable win.

We visit the Cattery for Round 17 and Geelong are in top form having won their last six games. We will need to pull out all the stops but these are the games that define us.

Go the mighty Dees!!!

Round 15

Liam Chambers

Unfortunately I didn’t have any internet connection on Thursday night so was unable to watch the Melbourne v Brisbane game live. Fortunately, I was able to successfully record the game the next day and have since watched it twice.

I woke up around 3am Friday morning and found the internet had returned, so first up I checked the previous night’s score on my phone. Initially I thought I was still dreaming or possibly hallucinating but no, we had basically annihilated Brisbane at the MCG.

I had expected a close game but this was the Dees at their premiership winning best. Jack Viney led from the front and the usual suspects, Angus Brayshaw and James Harmes etc played like their life depended on it. Luke Jackson filled Gawny’s big shoes without a bother. Steven May didn’t have a classic game but Jake Lever goes to another level when he has the big key defender alongside him. In fact all the back line were impressive.

The midfield was incredible and the forwards took their cues from what was happening behind them. Brisbane were not at their best but arguably Melbourne’s pressure really affected their game. Also, why is Toby Bedford not in the side every week? Great result lads!

The pre game pep talk looked promising, with an animated Jack Viney rallying the troops in the huddle. Melbourne was slow off the mark though, allowing Eric Hipwood to score the first goal from close quarters after the ball was turned over on the 50m line. After the bounce, Brisbane also looked impressive in defence, denying Bayley Fritsch a certain goal when he was run down on the edge of the square.

The Lions had the upper hand contesting marks early on. However they squandered chances, as first Joe Daniher and then Oscar McInerney missed relatively straightforward set shots. In the interest of fairness, Ben Brown also missed a set shot at the other end.

Melbourne finally got on the board after a messy build up in front of goal. Tom Sparrow slipped and slid but then found the target to make it a one point game. The Lions hit back immediately when Joe Daniher was awarded a free kick 30m from goal. Then Lincoln McCarthy made it three for Brisbane when his kick from 40m bounced across the line. Just before quarter time, James Harmes launched a high ball goalwards. A defensive error saw the mark taken just after it crossed the line and the goal stood.

With the Demons giving up big first quarter leads in their last three games, it was quietly reassuring to be trailing by six points; especially as the margin should have been greater in Brisbane’s favour. However, I did know the result as I was watched, so my hunch is/was irrelevant.

James Jordon scored another spectacular goal when he collected from a tap down to fire a missile round the corner. Now it was even steven and Melbourne was starting to turn the game to their advantage, while still absorbing the Lions’ pressure. The Dees eventually broke out of their defensive 50 and headed down the ground. Alex Neal-Bullen took delivery of a hand ball on the 50m line and ran on before kicking off the outside of right boot. The ball bounced favourably and crossed the line.

As the quarter progressed, the Demons were scaling heights unseen in well over a month. They were making multiple incursions into their forward 50 and it was only a matter of time before they scored again. That came when Toby Bedford pounced on the loose ball and kicked a pinpoint accurate banana from the boundary line.

Then James Jordon was gifted his second when awarded a 50m penalty and took his set shot 10m from goal. Melbourne were dominating with four goals from four attempts, while keeping the Lions scoreless for the quarter.

Jack Viney continued to impress with his sheer will power and ferocious tackling. He was leading from the front and pushed the Dees to compete ever harder. Brisbane did get one back against the run of play when Mitch Robinson took a mark 45m out and converted, to give the visitors something to hang onto.

The goal proved to be an aberration though, as after the bounce James Harmes collected the ball inside 50 and kicked another from 35m out. Then in the dying seconds of the half, Luke Jackson’s perfectly weighted short kick was marked by Ben Brown. The key forward kicked his first goal and Melbourne was thirty points ahead.

After half time, the Dees continued to chase every loose ball and tackle hard, forcing Brisbane to make uncharacteristic errors. The Lions were in danger of being locked in their defensive half but were managing to hang on and prevent further hemorrhaging. That was until Bayley Fritsch took a contested mark 30m out and found the bullseye with his set shot.

Deep into the third quarter, with a six goal lead, the match was well and truly under the Dees’ control. It seemed everything was coming up Melbourne as Kysaiah Pickett tapped the ball down to himself in the pocket. Then he was spun around in a tackle and somehow managed to remain standing. When he stopped he was facing the goal and booted the ball from point blank range.

Leading by forty two points at the halfway mark of the term, the Demons were mainly having it their own way. There was the odd glimmer for the Lions though. One such moment came when Mitch Robinson’s kick from 50m sailed through to claw back the margin to thirty nine points. After that goal, Brisbane tried to rally but the Dees continued to defend well before Cam Rayner snuck one through the uprights with one minute to go.

It didn’t dent Melbourne’s confidence and thirty seconds later Bayley Fritsch collected a tap down, turned and snapped into the open goal. Then Christian Petracca marked on the siren and went back to take the kick. Goalless in the last four games, his set shot hit the post to continue the drought.

With a forty point lead, it seemed that the Lions had an insurmountable task in the last quarter. Brisbane desperately needed the first goal but it was not to be. In fact the first goal wasn’t scored until the ten minute mark. Then it was Luke Jackson who found some space in the pack to hook it round the corner and home. That put paid to any Brisbane ambition for a comeback.

Just to be sure though, Kysaiah Pickett decided to put it beyond any doubt with his mark and kick from 25m. Next it was Charlie Spargo’s turn when his snap from 30m went through. All the small forwards were having a go as Toby Bedford got his second with a superb running kick from 40m.

Finally, Brisbane got a consolation when Eric Hipwood kicked from the 50m line to record his second and book-ended the Lions’ haul for the game. Fittingly, Melbourne’s last goal of the night came from Fritsch, who notched up his 150th in the process.

All in all a very satisfactory result and a gesture to the critics that the Demons aren’t dead, buried and cremated quite yet.

The game against the Crows at Adelaide Oval will present it’s own challenges and we won’t take them lightly. They’ve shown this season that they’re capable of causing an upset and we certainly haven’t forgotten the last second, one point loss at the same venue in Round 10 last year. Tex Walker is polishing his best goal kicking boots as I write this line.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!