Round 7 – Brisbane V Melbourne

Liam Chambers

With only four games remaining, a win at Metricon would make the road to the finals a little less steep. The odds were stacked against the girls and they would need to dig deep to come away with a result. Playing away against the reigning premiers was daunting enough but throw in the hot, humid conditions plus a team that has won their last five games, meant the odds were well and truly stacked against the Demons.

The pressure on our defence was intense from the opening. It only took a fumble for Orla O’Dwyer to gather the loose ball and snap the Lion’s first from 30m out. After the centre bounce, Brisbane didn’t waste any time getting back to their inside 50. It looked like someone had pressed the fast forward button and the Dees were frantically looking for ways to clear the ball. Whenever Melbourne got it out, the Lions brought it straight back in.

At times the Dees defence was producing miraculous tackles in front of goal, preventing Brisbane from adding to their tally. Eventually Melbourne found a path down the field and to the waiting Tayla Harris. The scoreboard proved a bridge too far though and the quarter ended with the Dees trailing by nine points.

Being held scoreless at quarter time would have evoked unpleasant memories of our earlier loss to Adelaide in Round 4. The fightback then came too late and the Coach would have been conscious of not delaying a change of tactics.

Daisy Pearce dropped back to bolster the defence but initially the change made little difference. With the Lions bearing down, a clever tap from Courtney Hodder to Sophie Conway, allowed the midfielder to run in Brisbane’s second.

Within a minute of that goal, the Umpire blew his whistle and Greta Bodey took advantage of the advantage given and launched a kick from 30m to clinch the Lion’s third of the night. There was no sugar coating it, the Dees were in big trouble at twenty one points down.

Brisbane were showing few signs of fatigue resulting from their condensed schedule of three games in eight days. In fact they seemed to be increasing the pace. Melbourne desperately needed a circuit breaker but they couldn’t get any momentum going; dropping catches and turning the ball over. The Dees were literally scrambling to get a foothold in the muggy conditions as the Lions dominated the tackle count eighteen to three.

Finally Melbourne got the break they so critically needed when Eliza West took a hand pass from Sinead Goldrick and ran through the middle before kicking the ball to Alyssa Bannan who was waiting inside 50. Bannan turned and ran on after marking, kicking from 30m out, then watched the ball bounce across the goal line. There was more relief than celebration amongst the players as the team regrouped with only a minute remaining before half time.

The Dees were only too aware of how important Alyssa Bannan’s late goal had been and they started the second half with a renewed determination. When Karen Paxman’s kick from the 50m line to the top of the goal square was plucked from the air by Bannan, you sensed the tide was turning. Two marks and two goals for the tall forward.

Now the girls started to look more comfortable; their kicking and passing more accurate and fluid. However Brisbane wasn’t relenting that easily and a smart handpass from Jesse Wardlaw to Zimmorlei Farquharson allowed the young forward to run on into an open goal.

Despite the setback, Melbourne still looked to have the momentum and they settled into a focused and determined attack on their opponents. When Lauren Pearce took the mark from a clearance kick, the ruck sent it straight back in and saw her effort marked by Tayla Harris. The leading goal kicker made it twelve for the year when her 40m set shot sailed through.

While the Dees looking ever more in charge, there was an uncertainty creeping into Brisbane’s game. Melbourne was tackling more, getting more of the ball and creating more chances. When Harris brought the ball to ground 30m from goal, Eliza West pounced, gathering up the crumb and snapping powerfully to score her first major as a Demon. That goal made it a one point game and guaranteed a blinder of a final term.

The match was the Dees for the taking and they duly ramped up the pressure to eleven. The effort paid off when another Lauren Pearce kick to the goal square again found Tayla Harris. This time it was lucky thirteen for the star player.

As the clock ticked down, it became as much a battle of wills as of skills with both sides fighting ferociously. When Greta Bodey’s shot on goal scraped the inside of the upright, you got the impression that the footy gods were wearing red and blue on the night.

At the other end, Harris missed a chance to claim her hat trick and further ease the pressure on the team. Then adding to the tension, Brisbane got their second wind and again ran hard at the Dees defence but could only add a couple of points to their overall score.

Then right on the siren, Greta Bodey was awarded a free kick 40m from goal. It was almost a carbon copy of last season’s clash but luckily for Demon fans she was unable to redeem herself and the ball fell short of the target giving Melbourne a fantastic win.

Next Round it’s back to Casey Fields and a showdown with North Melbourne. The Roos are in excellent shape having only lost once so far this season; co-incidentally also to the Adelaide Crows. The girls will take great confidence from their comeback against the odds win on the Gold Coast and should fancy their chances against a formidable foe.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 5 – Melbourne V Gold Coast

Liam Chambers

Big surprise; Gold Coast took a leaf out of St Kilda and Adelaide’s playbook. Again it was game on from the first bounce. The Suns were looking for three in a row and the Dees were looking to make amends for last week’s result.

The first quarter was all pressure. Melbourne were making inroads into their forward fifty but Gold Coast kept repelling them. After ten minutes, the Dees had been continually dominating territory but only had two minor scores to show for their efforts.

The Suns only had one foray to inside 50 late in the term but it proved fruitless with the margin remaining three points in Melbourne’s favour at quarter time.

When play resumed, Gold Coast had the wind at their backs and took full advantage early on. Again though the Dees were able to push back and get close to their own goal square.

Melbourne’s determination paid off when Eden Zanker, under pressure, launched a wildly accurate kick, picking out Tayla Harris, who took the contested mark. The Dees leading goal kicker then had a set shot 30m in front but the breeze carried the sherrin to the right for another minor. A minute later, Shelley Scott did the same.

Almost immediately Gold Coast took control and the game to their own end. They had several chances in front of goal but were unable to get the points on the board. They kept up the pressure though and the Dees finally succumbed when Sarah Perkins’ spinning high kick landed fortuitously into Alison Drennan’s lap. The midfielder took the set shot and slotted the Sun’s first of the night.

Melbourne have a habit of striking back quickly and it was Daisy Pearce who again provided the inspiration. Her initial tap down 25m out then allowed her to run on and gather the footy before chipping it behind the goal line.

A minute later and Eliza McNamara was awarded a free kick after being held 30m out from goal. McNamara took note, learning from her team mates’ previous shots on goal, before guiding her kick perfectly through the sticks.

That’s the way it stayed and Melbourne went in, leading by ten points, at half time.

After a sterling finish to the first half, the Dees needed to remain focused and continue to control the game. They maintained the pressure on the Suns and waited for the visitors to make a mistake. Eventually Megan Fitzsimon was taken high in a tackle and awarded a free kick front of goal. Fitzsimon read the breeze correctly and notched up Melbourne’s third of the evening.

Again and again the Dees pushed forward but Gold Coast managed to hold them off. Melbourne then had to confront an attack by the Suns but wrested back control before Lily Mithen took off back down the field. She stole a bounce along the way before hand passing to Eliza McNamara who tried to pick out Tayla Harris with her subsequent kick.

The ball sailed over the heads of the waiting pack, but Harris was awarded a free for a push in the back. The set shot was 25m directly in front and the forward had no problems in converting to score Melbourne’s fourth of the match.

The challenge now for the Dees was to maintain the momentum and not let Gold Coast back into the game. Unfortunately Ellie Hampson scored possibly the best accidental goal of the season when her stumbling soccer kick found a way to cross the line.

Then with the seconds ticking down, Daisy Pearce took a diving mark 15m out from goal. It’s well known that the captain is adverse to taking set shots so her seemingly inexplicit action in playing on is understandable. However the Suns’ fans everywhere would have been taking a big collective sigh of relief at having dodged a very late bullet.

As the teams headed into the final term, Gold Coast were thankful to be only trailing by nineteen points.

The tackling continued at a frenetic pace but the Dees looked comfortably in control. That confidence was boosted when Daisy Pearce took another contested mark inside 50. She immediately spotted Tayla Harris and placed her kick perfectly into the path of the key forward. Harris finished flawlessly and the margin stretched to twenty four points.
A few minutes later Kate Hore had an opportunity to hammer in the final nail but her running shot veered left for a minor score.

With ten minutes to go, Gold Coast wasn’t giving up as they managed to retake the ball before launching their own offensive. There was no one at the back for Melbourne and Jamie Stanton had the inside 50 area to herself as she ran into an open goal. The Suns sensed that there was still time and the Dees knew they had to maintain possession to slow down the game.

Gold Coast kept driving forward though and eventually Kalinda Howarth was able to gather, spin and kick the ball, watching it bounce across the square for another goal.
Melbourne’s lead was cut in half but the girls managed to hold off successive Coastal waves to claim an important two goal victory.

Today it’s the Giant’s turn. We’d be foolish to expect an easy competition just because GWS has had less game time this year. They’re a tough side and made the Bulldogs look ordinary in their last outing.

When we remain disciplined, we can beat anyone. We have the talent and have proved we can handle the pressure. The final part of the puzzled; the self belief and confidence is still a work in progress but I’m backing us to take home the goods in Round 6.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 3 – Melbourne v St Kilda

Jacqui Parry

Our Pride Round game against the Saints is always a tough one, and this year was no exception. The Saints really lift themselves for this game every year, and matched us on the score board for the first three quarters.

Lucky we had the coolest Pride Guernsey in the league – as the team needed a bit of cool to charge over the Saints in the last quarter. In 30+degree heat (again) our guernsey bobbed up like a refreshing slice of watermelon – I wonder if the team was thinking of that as they fought through the heat??

It was a tough game, but our forwards led by Tayla Harris and Kate Hore managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over – and who could forget that massive Lauren Pearce goal (celebration of the century) ?? A captains goal to Daisy really topped the day off. Sinead Goldrick teamed well with Megan Fitzsimon for her debut goal. Eliza West showed ferocity at the ball for four quarters.

Gabbi Colvin worked really hard with Libby Birch tp keep the Saints out of their goal and the Dees in the game as Karen Pxman and Sarah Lampard fired up the midfield. Tyla Hanks was in everything and deserved her two majors. Hoping Megan Fitzsimon bears no long term effects of her spectacular injury – I hope her parents were not watching the blood streaming down her face.

Next week will be a tough clash against top of table Crows. Hoping the squad recovers well from the heat of Casey Fields as they will need to be in the game from the get go to get over the Crows.

Wishing our women a safe and successful trip to Adelaide – hoping they have time to get their hair done a buy a new frock as Adelaide is a great place to do that!!

Tegan and Krstel did a great job on our Pride Guernsey. It looked fantastic on the ground and up close. I loved the addition of the fingerprints of the players, which ensures the guernsey is owned by every player who has the opportunity to wear it. This is such a great design, I am hoping that the men also adopt this concept for the Pride Round – different finger prints of course – but overall design is really great and looked fantastic on telly.

Great to see our Mascots supporting the team and the Ruby Dees at Casey – they really brought our team home in the last quarter.

Preliminary final – Melbourne v Adelaide

Liam Chambers

In the end, Adelaide’s experience in finals was invaluable in keeping Melbourne from scoring a goal until the final term. By then it was too high a mountain for the Dees to climb.  Even though we were the most consistent team in the latter half of the campaign, we were still considered the underdogs against a side that had won two Grand Finals.

For five hard fought games in a row, Melbourne had found a way to win. In fact, their Round 7 clash against Adelaide was arguably the best game the team had played in their short four year career. It was a must win game and the players took on the challenge with gusto. 

The following week they travelled across the Nullarbor to take on the competition favourites in the notoriously partisan city of Perth where they survived a second half onslaught to secure a spot in the finals for the first time (2020 season was abandoned before the finals began). Their final game against Brisbane was another nail biter with Melbourne surviving a last second (literally) attempt on goal by the Lions to ensure a home advantage going into the finals.

Having beaten the Dockers once away from home, the Dees were confident of causing another upset on home soil, having not lost a match at Casey Fields since 2019. Again, they dominated in the first half but Freemantle struck back in the third quarter to come within striking distance of Melbourne. Fortunately Melbourne steadied the ship in the last term but were unable to land the knockout blow until the final minutes.

Travelling to Adelaide Oval last weekend, though undoubtedly daunting, was also an invaluable experience. The Crows were determined not to be over run early and defended ruthlessly, denying the Dees the chance of early goals and momentum.  The team has gain enormous confidence from their experience this year and they will carry a sense of belief in their abilities into next year when they will be a force to be reckoned with.

The 2020 season was a break through year for the Demons. They had a mid season case of indecisiveness and uncertainty but came back stronger after that period of self doubt. With veterans Pearce, Paxman and Scott leading the way and young guns Hanks, Zanker and McNamara continually improving, the club has got a very bright future.

This year both the women and men’s sides have shown a team spirit not always present in past seasons. If they can maintain that cohesion, a Grand Final victory won’t be far away.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!