Round 18 – Melbourne Vs West Coast Eagles

Liam Chambers

So many times this we’ve seen the Dees look like a winning side only to drop the ball (pun intended) when it really counts.

There were several missed opportunities in front of goal in the first quarter. Jordan Lewis (who had great game otherwise) kicked two to the right of the goal post early on. Bayley Fritsch did exactly the same a little later. I believe Jack Viney was also a guilty party. If Corey Wagner hadn’t kicked their first goal, Melbourne would have been six points from six set shots at the end of Q1.

Simon Goodwin’s after the siren monologue was short and not so sweet. Basically Melbourne needs to find a way to win. It’s stating the bleedin’ obvious of course but I haven’t ever seen him so frustrated. It seems incredible that a team with such an embarrassment of talent should be struggling to stay off the bottom rung of the ladder. We need to recapture that sense of self belief from the end last season which seems to have been snuffed out so far in 2019.

The second quarter showed the level of brilliance the Dees can achieve once they decide to move up an notch. Despite conceding two further goals to the Eagles (to be trailing by thirty two points), Melbourne found a way back into the game.

Two goals in six minutes from Bayley Fritsch, followed by two from Jordan Lewis, then another to Jack Viney before Fritsch book-ended the quarter with his third; leaving Melbourne within a point of the Eagles. All in all a near perfect quarter from Melbourne when everything came together.

The magic continued when Bayley Fritsch opened the second half with his fourth goal. West Coast clawed a couple back but Cory Wagner got his second and Clayton Oliver added to the scoreboard. The Dees were six points in front going into the final quarter.

I mentioned that interesting statistic last week about Melbourne’s last quarter performances. Before Round 18 we had won just five final quarters in 2019. It probably sounds crazy but I seriously think a sort of mass hysteria envelopes the team in the thirty minutes leading up to the siren. It has happened so often now that it almost has a sense of inevitability about it. I’m sure it infects quite a few fans as well.

Maybe the opposition also feels that way because, as if on cue, the Eagles upped their game to the next level and started playing like the Grand Final Champions of 2018.

On the bright side, Harrison Petty kicked a goal ten minutes from time to get the Dees within seven points but victory was denied yet again.

I want to be optimistic about our next game against St Kilda. It’s certainly a game we could win but the Saints seem to be following the rule that says: “ the struggling side that sacks their coach then goes on a winning streak”. Still rules are made to be broken.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

MELBOURNE 1.5 7.8 10.10 11.12 (78)
WEST COAST 5.1 8.3 10.4 14.7 (91)
GOALS
Melbourne: Fritsch 4, Lewis 2, C.Wagner 2, Viney, Oliver, Petty
West Coast: Darling 4, Kennedy 2, Petruccelle 2, Ryan, Waterman, Allen, Rioli, Yeo, Sheed
BEST
Melbourne: Oliver, Fritsch, Harmes, Salem, Petracca, Lewis
West Coast: Darling, Sheed, Gaff, Yeo, Redden, Jetta