Round 19 – St Kilda Vs Melbourne

Liam Chambers

A dream start and Melbourne couldn’t have asked for a better opening five minutes. Bayley Fritsch, Jordan Lewis and Christian Petracca all found the space between the uprights and the fans were ecstatic. The Saints managed to claw back three midway through the term but late goals from Fritsch and Tim Smith gave the Dees a thirteen point advantage at quarter time. So far so good.

The second quarter saw both sides frequently turn the ball over to the opposition but it was at the halfway mark before Cory Wagner kicked the first goal. Unfortunately it was the only six pointer for Melbourne in a quarter where St Kilda dominated in clearances and scoring opportunities.
The Saints had managed to narrow the margin to three points at the half time.

St Kilda kicked the first goal of the third quarter to take the lead before Christian Petracca scored his second to put Melbourne back in front again. From that point on though St Kilda looked the more dominant team, kicking five goals for the quarter. However the Dees kept themselves in the game with important kicks from James Harmes, Petracca and Harrison Petty.

The fourth quarter started well for Melbourne with Clayton Oliver and James Harmes both finding the back of the net. Could the Dees finally put their final quarter hoodoo behind them? Alas no. The Saints were clinical in their dispatch of the footy, putting five more between the posts of Melbourne’s goal. Alex Neal-Bullen managed to score around the mid point of Q4 but by then St Kilda had set up camp in our inside 50 and eventually won by nineteen points.

There seems to be no end in sight to Melbourne’s dismal season except that there are only four games to go. Unfortunately two of those games are against in form Richmond and North Melbourne. Sydney are a mixed bag themselves this year but never easy to beat.

Ironically perhaps our greatest Nemesis, Collingwood could prove to be the one team we may well triumph over. They are in danger of missing the finals due to their current slump in form and may be desperate against a side everyone expects them to defeat. Now, wouldn’t that be nice.

The Dees have appointed Darren Burgess as fitness coach for next season. Interesting choice and one that may prove inspirational. The fact that he has worked predominately with soccer teams for most of his career means he will bring fresh eyes to the world of AFL. Melbourne definitely need to reset after a horror run of injuries and surgeries.

Anyway, we play the Tigers at the MGC next. They are now being touted as potential favourites to take out the honours in September. They certainly seem to be peaking at the right time. However, the way our season is going, we’ll probably end up winning.

Keep the dream alive!

ST KILDA 3.2 5.7 10.10 15.14 (104)
MELBOURNE 5.3 6.4 10.6 13.7 (85)
GOALS
St Kilda: Bruce 4, Membrey 3, Ross 2, Long 2, Langlands, Lonie, Hind, Billings
Melbourne: Petracca 3, Fritsch 2, Harmes 2, Lewis, Smith, C Wagner, Petty, Oliver, Neal-Bullen
BEST
St Kilda: Ross, Bruce, Gresham, Sinclair, Membrey, Wilkie
Melbourne: Gawn, Oliver, Harmes, Petracca, Lever, Frost

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

Round 17 – Western Bulldogs Vs Melbourne

Liam Chambers

After last week’s nail biter against Carlton, Melbourne were unable to cause an upset against the resurgent Bulldogs.

Jayden Hunt got the Dees off to a promising start with a goal in the opening five minutes. A repeat of last week’s hat trick was anticipated. However the Dogs looked in ominous form early on; scoring three goals in succession. A late flurry from Melbourne helped redress the balance. Jordan Lewis (fantastic opportunistic soccer kick) plus a splendidly chaotic goal from Christian Petracca kept the Dees within a point of their opponents at quarter time.

The Dogs extended their lead early in the second quarter with back to back goals from Sam Lloyd. An injured Angus Brayshaw and Jay Lockhart added to the Demons woes. Luckily it wasn’t too serious for either and both youngsters returned to the field.

Finally Harrison Petty got one back for the Dees, showing skill and nerve in front of goal to kick his first six pointer. Later Kyle Dunkley, playing against his brother Josh also kicked his first goal. Petty snagged a second goal in an even scoring quarter a few minutes before Josh Dunkley got one back for the Dogs.

The second half was an exercise in frustration for the Bulldogs and one of immense relief for Melbourne. The Dogs kicked six minor scores in a row before Harrison Petty recorded his third goal of the afternoon against the run of play.

Lack of efficiency in front of goal was a major concern for the Bulldogs but lack of scoring positions was also a worry for Melbourne. Good defensive play from Stephen May and Christian Salem got the Dees out of some sticky situations and help prevent further opportunities for the Dogs.

The last quarter saw Melbourne trailing the Bulldogs by a single goal. A much better position than both teams’ recent form would have predicted at the start of the game. An interesting statistic involves Melbourne’s fourth quarter performances. We have won just five fourth quarters from the previous sixteen rounds. Whether this has had an adverse psychological effect on the Dees is hard to say but it wouldn’t be a confidence booster.

Still when Bayley Fritsch’s early goal set the score to fifty five all, it gave hope to the faithful. A behind for Christian Petracca gave Melbourne the slimmest of advantages. Unfortunately, the next three goals all came from the Dogs. Then goals from Stephen May and Bayley Fritsch put us back in touch.

A nice run of play then saw Fritsch mark the ball to potentially put the Dees just two points behind the Bulldogs. Inexplicably he kicked it immediately only to see it sail wide for a minor score. It was so fast, the cameraman missed it. Normally Bayley is Mr Calm but the tension was affecting everyone. After that the Dogs hung on to take the game by eight points.

All in all Melbourne performed as well as we could have expected considering the season so far and how promising the Bulldogs have looked over the past month. However, you can’t help but feel an upset victory slipped from our grasp in the last five minutes of the game.

Next week we face the West Coast Eagles at Traeger Park in Alice Springs. We played exceptionally well against them in Perth in Round Nine but were overcome in the final quarter (familiar story). If we can exact revenge in the Alice next Sunday, then it will be one of the highlights of our season.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.3 6.5 7.13 10.14 (74)
MELBOURNE 3.2 6.4 7.7 9.12 (66)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: J.Dunkley 2, Lloyd 2, R.Smith 2, Richards, Schache, Hunter, B.Smith
Melbourne: Petty 3, Fritsch 2, Hunt, Lewis, Petracca, K.Dunkley
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Dunkley, Hunter, Duryea, Macrae, Lloyd, Bontempelli
Melbourne: Gawn, Viney, Salem, May, Petty, Harmes

Round 16 – Carlton Vs Melbourne

Liam Chambers

We won. I may be a little bit older and my hair a little bit grayer but I’ll take every win and hug it close and tell it how much it means to me. Of course the win did come at a great cost. The most devastating was the injury to Tom McDonald. T Mac was philosophical the next day when he said he’d feel a lot worse about his season ending meniscus tear if the Dees had lost the game.

From the start, Melbourne completely dominated Carlton. Wave after wave of Demon onslaught failed to put any points on the scoreboard though. Finally Tom McDonald converted. An uncharacteristic miss by Christian Salem was symbolic of the Dees’ chances that went begging when they could have sealed the deal and locked the Blues out early on. A brilliant goal by the other Christian (Petracca) doubled our goal tally with Carlton struggling to contain the barrage from Melbourne. Tom McDonald kicked a second and seemed to have finally found the form that made him so impressive last year. Carlton managed a few minor scores before Levi Casboult got their first six pointer. Tom got his third but the Blues had managed to find a way back into the game and trailed Melbourne by twelve points at quarter time.

The Dees got a fifth goal courtesy of Alex Neal-Bullen early in the second quarter. When Christian Petracca scored his second it looked like Melbourne could pull away but Casboult got one back just minutes later. It seemed that as soon as we scored the Blues would get one on the rebound. T Mac got his fourth, then Matthew Kennedy evened it up for Carlton.

The second half started promisingly for Melbourne with consecutive goals for Tom McDonald and Jayden Hunt. Hunt has been a relatively safe pair of hands with set shots this year, holding his nerve in front of goal. It turned out to be somewhat of a goal-fest for the Dees in the third quarter with Sam Weideman, James Harmes and Christian Petracca adding to the total as well as another one each for Hunt and McDonald.

Unfortunately disaster struck when McDonald injured his knee late in Q3 and would take no further part in the game. Along with injuries to Marty Hore and Harrison Petty, the Melbourne bench would be severely limited in the final quarter. Though we went into the Q4 with a thirty point advantage, the Melbourne players knew they would be roundly tested by their interchange restrictions. A situation made worse when Petracca went off due to injury. Fortunately he was able to return supporting a blood stained headband.

Then the Blues attack started in earnest. Goals from Silvagni, O’Brien, Gibbons and two from Setterfield saw Carlton draw even with Melbourne for the first time in the game. A minor score from Kennedy put them a point in front and had Dees’ fans chewing their toenails. Then cometh the hour, cometh the man. Jayden Hunt kicked a goal from forty metres out to put Melbourne back in front. The final three minutes were a desperate attempt by the Dees to hold onto their slender lead and prevent Carlton taking the honours. When Mitch McGovern hit the post in the dying seconds, the realization that Melbourne had won by the skin of their teeth sent Demon fans into raptures of delight.

It wasn’t pretty but our fifth win of the season showed what Melbourne can do when they take a never say die attitude.

Next week we pay a visit to the in form Western Bulldogs. It looks like Jake Lever will be back but it would be a very brave Demon to predict a win for Melbourne. Still, I prefer not to think of next week yet and will just savour the sweet taste of victory that still lingers on my taste-buds.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

CARLTON 2.4 5.4 10.6 15.10 (100)
MELBOURNE 4.4 7.11 14.12 15.15 (105)
GOALS
Carlton: Casboult 3, Silvagni 3, Kennedy 2, Setterfield 3, Dow, Fisher, O’Brien, Gibbons,
Melbourne: T.McDonald 6, Petracca 3, Hunt 3, Neal-Bullen, Weideman, Harmes,
BEST
Carlton: Silvagni, Murphy, Curnow, Newman, Walsh, Setterfield
Melbourne: McDonald, Oliver, Fritsch, Harmes, Petracca, Frost