Round 17 – Melbourne V West Coast

Liam Chambers

Dees Back To Their Winning Ways

Rampaging opening quarter for Melbourne

After Round 10’s surprise loss to West Coast, the Dees would be mindful of their opponents potential to cause another upset. Last week’s hard fought performance against Brisbane and the return of Jake Melksham this week would surely boost confidence inside the Demons’ camp.

Melbourne were out of the blocks quickly, chasing an early goal. They got it when Koltyn Tholstrup marked inside 50, then back to kick the 50m set shot. It was the young player’s first goal in four games as a Dee and opened the scoring for the hosts. Having kicked his first, Tholstrup liked it so much he decided to do it again. This time he collected the loose ball and launched a 30m shot that sailed straight through the uprights.

Jake Waterman kicked West Coasts’ first when he marked in the left pocket, then kicked around the corner to make sure of the goal.

Majors for Bailey Fritsch have been thin on the ground in recent weeks, but he’s still the leading goal scorer for Melbourne and he added to his tally after spinning out of a tackle and snapping from the pocket to open his account for the afternoon.

Another Demon rediscovering his mojo is Jacob van Rooyen. When he marked the ball inside 50, he calmly went back and kicked from just inside the arc, guiding the sherrin safely over the line.

Caleb Windsor is a dead set footy opportunist and didn’t hesitate after he gathered the ground ball just inside the boundary line; he saw the path to goal was clear and he went for it. Speaking of opportunists, Kysaiah Pickett was straight onto to the loose ball 40m out from goal, getting a boot to it while simultaneously being tackled, and it was another six points for Melbourne.

Leading by thirty two, Dees’ fans would have been delighted with their side’s free flowing football and clinical execution.

Kozzie had a second when he found himself totally alone thirty metres from goal, and obligingly accepted Jake Melksham’s perfectly placed kick. The ensuing set shot was flawless, also bringing up his 150th AFL goal, in the process.

West Coast regain some momentum but unable to steady the ship

The Eagles were able to prevent the Dees from scoring in the opening ten minutes of the second term but eventually they succumbed to the continuing high pressure game on their defence.

Melbourne again got the ball inside 50 where Max Gawn took it to ground with Kozzie once again pouncing; this time passing to two players near the goal square. The kick didn’t quite connect but West Coast’s defence fumbled and van Rooyen collected on the bounce before tapping it across the line.

The Eagles finally started to make gains when Oscar Allen took a contested mark directly in front and converted for his first of the match. After the goal, West Coast were inspired and started to put more pressure on Melbourne’s defence. A couple of almost goals went a begging but eventually Oscar Allen had his second when he marked in the pocket, right next to the boundary line. The kick off the outside of the boot negotiated the angle nicely and the margin was back to thirty points.

It was short lived however, as van Rooyen took another contested mark just inside 50. What should have been a difficult shot for the young gun was turned into a sure thing when Alex Witherden was penalised for Umpire dissent.

With three minutes on the clock, Daniel Turner was given plenty of space to take an uncontested mark in the pocket, then slotted his set shot with millimetres to spare. Then as the seconds ticked down to half time, van Rooyen took another inside 50 mark and kicked a career equalling fourth goal for the game.

Even Steven quarter keeps the Eagles’ hopes alive

With a very comfortable buffer of forty nine points, Melbourne started the second half in the driver’s seat. However the spectre of Round 15’s thirty nine point lead being whittled down to a very narrow win of three points still lingers in the minds of players and fans alike. Also, we desperately need to build on our percentage as the business end of a very tight season looms.

Oscar Allen opened the scoring with a carbon copy of van Rooyen’s closing goal of the first half. Jake Waterman followed up by taking a contested mark on the edge of the square and went back to kick an easy goal.

With the margin now down to thirty six, the Dees needed the next goal to settle fans’ jitters. Luckily, West Coast made it easy for them by leaving Fritsch all alone at the top of the goal square. The mark and his 15m set shot was a straightforward task for the sharp shooter.

When Kozzie took a potential mark of the year in the pocket, his hat trick looked a certainty. Unfortunately the shot was touched on the goal line, but his showmanship was appreciated by all.
Jake Melksham showed he has lost none of his tactical nous when he used his body cleverly to take a contested mark in the pocket. His 20m around the corner set shot was spot on and stretched the lead back out to the half time number.

By now the Dees were looking very comfortable in their skins and when Max Gawn took a mark 25m directly in front, even hard core sceptics believed the Captain wouldn’t spray the straightforward shot. The big Ruckman can hit 60m shots with ease but his record from short distances is mixed. This time the connection with the boot was perfect and it was three in a row for Melbourne.

The Dees had some more chances to extend their lead further, but it wasn’t to be. Then on the cusp of three quarter time, Jack Darling took a contested mark and slotted the 20m set shot.
With 3.4 apiece, the term was an equal affair, but it would take an effort of monumental proportions for the Eagles to win it and an unprecedented meltdown for Melbourne to lose in the final quarter.

Melbourne bring it home

Once Jake Melksham marked beside the goal square and ran around to snap it through, the game was in the bag for the Demons.

Ed Langdon took Melbourne’s total score to over one hundred (for only the third time this season) when he hammered home his set shot.

Oscar Allen salvaged something for his team when he kicked his fourth goal of the game after marking and making sure of the 20m set shot. Liam Ryan added another after he was awarded a free kick in the square, following a down field incident.

Finally Bailey Fritsch claimed his hat trick after missing the initial mark but recovering and running on to tap it in from the goal square.

The win against West Coast was much needed but victory over serious contenders Essendon would be even more significant and get the faithful really believing again.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!