Round 2 – Brisbane V Melbourne

Liam Chambers

On a hot Brisbane night, it was the Lions who were first off the mark. Zac Bailey took advantage of a forward 50 stoppage and tap down to snap one in from the edge of the goal square. Two minutes later Tom McDonald was the beneficiary of a turnover that delivered him a set shot 35m from goal. He put it through the middle to even the scores.

Brisbane won another clearance, enabling Jarrod Berry to kick from 55m and claim the Lion’s second. While that goal was being scored, Captain Max Gawn was limping off the ground after what appeared to be an innocuous incident during the hitout. Fans initially feared the worst but thankfully post match scans revealed a ligament strain and not the dreaded ACL tear.

Even with their leader sidelined, the Demons initially seemed confident in their play with Christian Petracca slotting the second from a 55m set shot.

After the bounce the Lions started applying some intense forward pressure. Melbourne defended well but the sea of maroon was relentless. Despite Jake Lever’s best efforts, another Brisbane goal was looking inevitable and it finally eventuated via a 25m snap from Dayne Zorko.

Having set up camp comfortably inside their forward 50, Brisbane added a fourth when Will Ashcroft succeeded in drawing a high tackle, then converting his free kick in front of goal. The Lions were putting on a show for the faithful in the stands, again winning the clearance before Oscar McInerney took a contested mark. His set shot hit the target and the margin increased to nineteen points.

The night only go worse for the Demons when Joe Daniher got his hands on the ball after a stoppage just outside the goal square. He somehow managed to get a kick away in the right direction and watched as the sherrin bounced across the line. Quarter time couldn’t come soon enough. It was chaos at times but Melbourne managed to avoid conceding anymore before the break. The twenty five point deficit and the loss of Max Gawn meant it was going to be an uphill battle for the visitors.

Brisbane had dominated in all major stats and now the question was how would the Dees respond? Starting a match with Gawn out due to injury was one thing. Losing, arguably, their most influential player early on as a result of a potentially career ending incident was another matter entirely.

For most of the quarter, Melbourne didn’t concede any more goals, but they didn’t they score a major either and the gap remained stubbornly steady at twenty five points. Then Ben Brown gave the Demon Army something to cheer about when his 50m set shot found the space between the uprights.

It proved to be a short lived optimism however. Charlie Cameron ran out to take a mark 40m from goal and his subsequent set shot cancelled out Big Ben’s previous effort. Having never been much of a John Denver fan, the ritual of blasting out “Country Roads” after every Cameron goal was particularly grating on this occasion. To rub salt into the wounds, Brisbane again won the clearance and their attack on Melbourne’s defence resulted in another goal for Joe Daniher. The Lions now had a game high advantage of thirty one points and the signs were ominous for the Demons.

Despite the ongoing Brisbane pressure, Ben Brown was able to keep Melbourne’s hopes up with his set shot from the pocket, which bounce nicely across the line. Bailey Fritsch built on those hopes with his 50m set shot just before half time to bring it back to a more manageable twenty points.

The players would have been happier with their performance in the latter half of the previous quarter but trailing by twenty points meant they needed to get scores on the board and quickly.
The footy gods continued to smile on Brisbane however and another stoppage in front of goal resulted in Charlie Cameron getting the toe of his boot to the sherrin, notching up his second of the night. The next goal came after a huge pressure surge from the Lions, launching the footy into their forward 50 where Zac Bailey managed to control the ball before snapping it home; powering his side to a thirty two point lead.

The Dees were seriously scrambling now to limit the damage and trying desperately to hit back. It was all Brisbane though. When Zorko scored another, a missile from 40m, even the most optimistic Demon fan was reading the writing on the wall; albeit between gaps in the fingers covering their eyes.

Melbourne couldn’t seem to catch a break until Bailey Fritsch found himself alone in the Dees’ forward 50 and took a mark from Kade Chandler. Then it was just a case of walking in the goal. A small glimmer but at least something to build on. Unfortunately a couple of set shots went astray but then Alex Neal-Bullen took advantage of a loose ball to run through and score from the goal square.

The belief was back but then Lincoln McCarthy took a contested mark, on his second attempt, 25m in front. He converted and the lead was back to thirty two points. After that Joe Daniher seemingly sealed the deal with his third goal, one minute from three quarter time.

Melbourne have, in recent years, built a bit of a reputation as comeback kings but a thirty eight point margin at the beginning of the final term looked insurmountable. When Daniher scored from another set shot, this time from the pocket, a Demon win appeared almost impossible. New recruit Lachie Hunter wasn’t having it though and he snapped from just outside the square to reduce the gap to forty points. Stirring stuff but it still felt more like a consolation than a serious resurgence.

If the Dees were to have any chance, then Melbourne needed a major circuit breaker. As if on cue, the Gabba obliged. One second the Dees were racing up the field towards their goal, the next, the stadium was in darkness. After what seemed like an eternity, the officials blew the whistle to resume the game.

It was evident from the start of the restart that the momentum had shifted to Melbourne and they set about taking full advantage. Within a couple of minutes, Bailey Fritsch took a hand pass from Hunter and his round the body kick sailed in from 35m. It took another five minutes but Christian Petracca’s massive kick from the centre found an unmarked Ben Brown just outside the square and the big fellow just walked it in.

The clearances were finally going Melbourne’s way and another big kick from Tracca went deep inside 50, where Charlie Spargo combined with Kade Chandler to give the youngster another goal. Just over a minute later and Clayton Oliver nailed one from a 45m set shot. Four in a row and the lead was whittled down to eighteen points. Then Tom Sparrow was awarded a free kick just outside the 50m line. His shot went deep and in the confusion Ben Brown got a hold of the ball before tapping it in from 20m for his fourth of the evening.

The only thing stopping a Demons’ win now was the clock and unfortunately they couldn’t muster the final two majors for what would have been the upset of the decade. Brisbane were relieved and would have been justifiably dirty had the result gone against them at the death but it would have been a game for the ages.

It looks like Gawny will miss the next six weeks but he’ll take that over an ACL injury any day. We will miss his leadership but we have the talent to beat any team in the competition. The new look Dees sans Max will be severely tested in Round 3 when we take on the in form Swans.

I have a feeling the commentariat will be backing Sydney to win but we revel in the underdog status, so…

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 1 – Melbourne v Western Bulldogs

Liam Chambers

After the disappointments of last year, there would have been much soul searching in the Dees’ camp over the off season. With all the hard work and team effort displayed during the Premiership win in 2021, Melbourne looked guilty of being too casual in their approach to the game in 2022. The behind the scenes fracturing in camaraderie only exacerbated the problems on the field. Then the 2023 pre season games showed a side with a renewed determination and though we were missing some star players, fans would have to be delighted with the opener on Saturday night.

A surging Dees’ side had the Bulldogs on the back foot early on in the first quarter. With the inclusion of Brodie Grundy in the ruck, Max Gawn could roam freely around the ground, popping up in defence and up front to take important marks. Grundy is also a versatile player and though it’s early days, the combination has the look of a winning formula.

Melbourne’s first was beautifully set up after an initial race to the footy between Clayton Oliver and Bailey Smith. Adam Tomlinson collected the erratic ball and hand passed to Kade Chandler, who ran to the edge of 50 before launching directly to Kysaiah Pickett. The crowd favourite marked and converted with an around the corner kick. The Demons had their second when Captain Gawn took a mark from another Chandler kick. Max kicked his first of the night from a tight angel and it was a two goal margin.

The Dogs didn’t take the Dees’ dominance lying down though and eventually hit back when Marcus Bontempelli took advantage of the spilled ball to snap the visitors’ first. The goal energised the Bulldogs and their second came courtesy of a Jamarra Ugle-Hagan mark just inside the 50m line. His kick was well executed and his team took a one point lead. Up the other end, Tom Sparrow had a kick from a similar distance and his accuracy restored Melbourne’s advantage.

The Bulldogs started the second term with a bullet from Bailey Williams whose 55m shot sailed through. Aaron Naughton stretched their lead with a contested mark and a successful set shot. As with recent clashes between the great rivals, the game had swung with the Dogs now dominating in the fashion that gave Melbourne the ascendancy in the first quarter. Ben Brown arrested the momentum when he marked in the pocket and showed he doesn’t need a long run up to to hit the bullseye.

It was a brief respite however, with Jason Johannisen snapping a goal from 30m in front. After that the Dogs wasted several opportunities to extend their lead significantly, only managing a few minor scores before relinquishing the upper hand to the Demons.

In fact the game turned quickly in Melbourne’s favour with Charlie Spargo getting his first via a running kick from 45m. When you’re hot, you’re hot and Christian Petracca’s acceleration after receiving the tap from the centre bounce was pure magic. He launched it deep inside 50 and the Dees were back in control. Kozzie Pickett was awarded a free kick 30m out and slotted his second, to retake the lead.

Spargo also got his second when Ed Langdon’s brilliant kick from the pocket was marked by the small forward in front of goal. The next six pointer came quickly after Brodie Grundy got a free kick just on the centre bounce due to an infringement in front of goal. The ensuing scramble inside 50 resulted in Ben Brown collecting the loose ball. His snap goalward was rewarded with a fortuitous bounce in the square, securing his second of the night.

Max Gawn also got another when he marked a Petracca kick (on the second attempt) and directed his set shot kick cleanly. The final ten minutes of the half was all Melbourne and the Bulldogs finished on the back foot; trailing by nineteen points, having led by eleven early on.

Melbourne started the third quarter with a comfortable margin but couldn’t afford to rest on their laurels as the Dogs struggled to regain the edge. Their attempted assaults on the Demon’s defence proved fruitless and it was the Dees who would strengthen their grip on the game with the opening goal of the half. A big Trent Rivers’ kick from the square to deep inside 50 was marked superbly by Pickett. Having secured the sherrin, he ran towards goal, even managing a “don’t argue” while in full flight, before sealing his hat trick by sending the ball high into the stands.

Melbourne didn’t have it all their own way and a rare mistake in defence allowed the turnover which sent the ball back to the edge of 50m, where ex Demon Oskar Baker was waiting to kick his debut goal for the Bulldogs. In a low scoring quarter, the Dogs’ resurgence continued when Adam Treloar was awarded a free kick and found the target with his set shot, reducing the gap to fourteen points.

The comeback was quickly quenched however when Ben Brown somehow controlled a chaotic ball in the goal square before finally managing to tap it through for his third and Melbourne’s eleventh. Still the Dogs refused to lie down and an incredible snap effort by Jack McCrae kept his team in touch with the home side.

That was as close as the Bulldogs would get though because two minutes later, the hard working Kade Chandler took advantage of his inclusion in the team by scoring his debut goal with a sensational snap off his left boot. Then with less than a minute to go, Pickett kicked his fourth with his right foot while simultaneously shaking Bontempelli off his left leg.

With a thirty two point lead, it was a relaxed looking Melbourne that took to the field for the final quarter. Their first goal started from a defensive play that released the ball to Pickett who launched a massive kick from the 50m line to well passed the centre to an unmarked Jake Melksham. The midfielder decided not to risk being run down and booted the ball from 60m out where it bounced three times through the goal square before crossing the line.

With the clock ticking, the Dogs were going to have to do something very special to have any chance of staying in touch. Tom Liberatore provided a faint glimmer of hope with his impressive snap from 45m but it ultimately proved futile, as Brodie Grundy’s round the corner set shot minutes later effectively put a lid on any remaining Bulldog dreams.

When Ben Brown kicked his fourth from 40m out, it was just jam on top for the Demon supporters. But wait there’s more. Alex Neal-Bullen trickled one in from 20m to add his name to the list.

All in all, a very promising start to the season for Melbourne. The squad is strong with a depth of talent the envy of the league. Kozzie made Simon Goodwin’s decision on who to include in the squad a little easier by getting himself sidelined for two weeks.

The hunger and fighting spirit is definitely back and it looks like the Dees are not giving anything away this year. We travel to Brisbane for Round 2 and though the Gabba is a formidable ground for away teams, I have a feeling it’s the Queenslanders who’ll be chewing their fingernails on Friday night.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Welcome Matthew Jefferson and Beyond Bank in 2023

Sally Trevena

We are delighted to announce Matthew Jefferson as our sponsored player and Beyond Bank as a NSW Demons supporter in 2023.

We are sponsoring Matthew this year and invite you to join us. We’re excited to watch Matthew and Jacob van Rooyen develop into our key forwards over the next decade – shades of Schwartz and Neitz!

JOIN NOW

Our sponsorship gives us access to a range of goodies including exclusive events, signed jumper and player updates. You will also have the opportunity to win double passes to Sydney Kings home games at Sydney Olympic Park courtesy of our supporter Beyond Bank.

Most importantly you are directly supporting Matthew in his development at the Dees.

Join the sponsorship and support Matthew and the Dees in 2023.

JOIN NOW

** – The NSW Demons will contribute $1,745 to sponsor Matthew and support the Melbourne Football Club in 2023. Each $50 share you buy is a vital a part of this contribution and enables the NSW Demons to continue to sponsor Matthew and support the MFC.

Go Dees

Fred Fanning

Nigel Dawe

For the past few months, I’ve been meaning to draft up a tribute piece to commemorate the 75th anniversary of a feat that may never be beaten, let alone ever remotely challenged.

I’m of course referring to Fred Fanning’s haul of 18 goals, 1 behind in the last round (30th August) of 1947, a game that would also be his last (at 25-years of age) for the Melbourne Demons.

Fittingly, a movie released in the very same month of that very same year was called ‘Brute Force’ and starred an equally young ‘take no prisoners’ Burt Lancaster.

Another omen of sorts just one month prior to Fred Fanning’s final round goal feast against the Saints, was something equally otherworldly in the form of what’s become known as the Roswell Incident, in which debris of not just a UFO spacecraft was found, but allegedly the bodies of its alien pilots as well.

Relatedly, I have a number of framed pictures of Melbourne players in my house, but none feature more prominently than the one I have of Fred Fanning in ‘full flight’, having just launched one of his right foot rockets: it reminds me of an ancient statue of the god Hermes. For those that might not know, this fleet-footed deity with his be-winged sandals was apparently able to move between the worlds of the mortal and the divine, in addition to being the god of athletes, speed, thieves, magic and dreams.

While time lends many a feat the ‘quality’ and gleaned quandary of exaggerated myth and fable, the legacy of Fred Fanning is one that has shone confirmably, albeit unrepeatably from the very day he hung up his boots in the VFL at the Junction Oval, some 75-years ago.

If the 18 goals, with just the one ‘poster’ that came in the third quarter, in front of the sticks in his last outing (which totals 109 points alone) is not enough to make you shake your head in disbelief, then how’s the story Don Cordner would often recount about how running onto the field that day, Fred apparently turned to him with a grin and said, in Babe Ruth fashion: “I’m gonna bag 18 today!”

And that he did, after threading 10 goals the week before, taking his tally to 33 majors in the last three matches he played for Melbourne, that being an average of 11 goals in each of those games. No one in the history of the sport has gone even close to matching this ‘hidden’ statistic.

Magpie great, Gordon Coventry bowed out with 16 goals in his last three outings; even arguably the game’s greatest sharpshooter of all – John Coleman (who debuted with 12 goals in his first game and kicked a neat 100 majors in his first season) finished up his career with 21 goals in his final three appearances.

Seemingly, there was nothing diminutive about our burly #6 wearing Demon forward. That he couldn’t do anything by halves, constitutes Fanning’s most defining trait: as his mention in the Guinness Book of Records testifies – you’ll find him listed next to the longest kick (in any code of football) in the world. A young Fred Fanning dobbed a goal on the full from the very centre of the MCG (or exactly 105.5 mts) in the reserves Grand Final of 1939, the same day he kicked a lazy 12 goals for Melbourne!

Add to Fred Fanning’s footy CV – the most goals by a Demons player in one season (97 in 1947) and the highest average goals per game by anyone to wear the red and blue (3.95) in 104 games; the club best and fairest award in 1945, and you get a glimpse of what it takes to become an all-time great at a club like the Melbourne Demons.

After seeing a newspaper article written by Tony De Bolfo, 12-months before Fred Fanning passed away in 1993, a young Dees fan sent the legendary spearhead a self-addressed envelope with a myriad of questions and a card for him to autograph.

To this day, it’s one of my most prized possessions, and creates a direct mercurial link for me to one of the game’s most enigmatic figures. Interestingly, in Fred’s hand-written response, he made mention amongst other things, that his toughest opponent was South’s Jim Cleary; that kicking the first goal from the boundary line in the 1940 Grand Final was ‘unforgettable’, before rounding out with: “I was aware of Coventry’s record (of 17 goals).”

Which you can just imagine our red and blue colossus, fathoming how he was about to play his last game in the big league, thus set himself the challenge of bowing out with a bag that no one would ever forget, let alone come close to ever replicating again.

With that fantastically said, and signing off now for the last time in 2022, on behalf of the NSW Demons, whether or not you support the grandest team of all – have a wonderful festive season.

After claiming last year’s men’s premiership and this year’s women’s silverware (along with the men at Casey ‘flying the flag’) here’s to the thought of a bountiful, truly beautiful, red and blue hued 2023!

Nigel Dawe

Twenty-four times since 1930, the Premiers of one season have failed to make the cut of the following season’s finals. As such, the Melbourne Demons of 2022 did not add their name to that ignoble list.

OK, we may have been bundled out of September in two-straight sets thanks to the Swans and the Lions (who deserve praise for grounding our juggernaut to a halt, on our very home turf). But to say our Dees have lost their way would be a gross misrepresentation of the season we had, and where the club is at right now.

Referring to 2022 as ‘one that got away’, certainly – but any assessment more scathing than that and you need to brush right up on your history and your overall understanding of the game.

For starters, the worst slide ever experienced by a premiership team belongs to the Adelaide Crows, who put back-to-back winning campaigns together in 1997-98, all to tumble, if not free fall to 13th in 1999. Richmond limps into second place on the all-time hangover list with finishing 12th in 2021, after performing their own back-to-back treat in the seasons of 2019-20.

The less I dwell on seasonal slides, blame or blanks that can’t be filled, changed or ever made otherwise, the better and quicker I can cut to the positive chase (that has always been footy, and more to the point, the Melbourne Demons, for me).

There is always something to celebrate and cheer about when you are blessed (and perhaps cursed) with having a one-eyed affiliation, albeit deep affection for anything like a passion-fueled, group-willed and pride-driven entity, that is a football club.

As such, the Charles Brownlow medal is my healthy distraction right now – which our number 13 wearing Clayton Oliver is looming as a clear favourite to claim. Should Clarry be declared the winner on Sunday night, he will become our seventh recipient of the award, representing the eighth time it has been given to a Melbourne player.

Being twenty-two years since someone in the red and blue has taken out the award, we are due. Previous winners being: Ivor Warne-Smith (1926, 1928), Dr Don Cordner (1946), Brian Wilson (1982), Peter Moore (1984), Jim Stynes (1991), Shane Woewodin (2000).

One of my favourite lesser-known points of trivia when it comes to the Dees and the competition’s highest accolade, concerns the 1987 MFC team photo. It is the only time in the club’s history that three different Brownlow winners (for the club) are in the side’s line up. They being the number 30 wearing Peter Moore, the number 7 wearing ‘Wilo’ Wilson, and of course, the number 11 wearing ‘Dublin’s Jim’ Stynes.

Intriguingly, Clarry’s third-place in last year’s Brownlow count (with 31 votes) would’ve been more than enough for him to win the award in just about any other season. As it was, he finished six votes clear of the best ever tally registered by a Brownlow winner for the club. Jim Stynes polled a then tear away 25 votes back in 1991 to dominate the competition.

Should Clayton Oliver not lay claim to the club’s eighth Brownlow medal this week, there is still the distinct possibility that he’ll collect his fourth ‘Bluey’ club best and fairest award. Which would elevate him to equal first (alongside the great Allan La Fontaine and Jim Stynes) as the only players to do so. Being 25-years old, with surely a good six to seven years of football left in him, who knows how illustrious this ‘Barassi-like’ Shepparton-born gun will go on to be.