Round 5 GWS vs Melbourne

They Might Be Giants But The Dees Stood Taller

Liam Chambers

Another hot and humid afternoon. GWS had the home advantage but Melbourne looked better on paper. After last week’s narrow loss to undefeated North Melbourne, a win against the Giants was crucial to remain in contention for a finals spot.

It was a positive start for the Dees with Kate Hore kicking to an unmarked Tegan Cunningham inside the Giant’s 50. GWS were determined not to be over awed by Melbourne and applied pressure with some good kicking and marking. Meg Downie was solid in defence taking some nice marks.

A Bianca Jacobson kick to Cunningham in front of goal saw Tegan fail to convert the six points. Then Lauren Pearce got a free kick plus a 50 metre penalty to kick the first goal.

The Giants, who had some chances, finally scored courtesy of Christina Benardi. Unfortunately Meg Downie sustained a head injury and went to the sidelines to recover. The Dees played a good defensive game and Lily Mithen made some courageous tackles. Quarter time score all even at 8-8.

Another good opener by Melbourne in the second quarter. Kate Hore again kicked to Cunningham. This time the ball bounced high in front of goal. Tegan was able to protect her space before kicking the ball into goal. Maddi Gay had a shot on goal from just inside 50. She had the distance but was just wide of goal.

Next Jacobson again kicks well. This time to Eden Zanker who marked it safely and scored another six. The Dees showed not sign of letting up and their tackling was ferocious at times. Tyla Hanks showed why she is so valuable to Melbourne. Maddi Gay missed another set shot and GWS would be thankful not to be going in further behind at half time. 9-25.

Again a great start for Melbourne in the second half. Kate Hore was tackled high then free kicked to Shelley Scott who got it to Tegan. A great kick from 40 metres out saw Cunningham get her second. Melbourne continued their good defending. Lily Mithen was again tackling fiercely.

Shelly Scott had an opportunity to run and score but was under pressure with players in pursuit. She fumbled and kicked wide. Jacinta Barkley finally scored the Giant’s first goal in two quarters. Christina Bernardi missed a set shot on goal after the siren. With Melbourne leading by 17 points going into the final quarter they had the momentum.

Maddi Gay finally scored from a free kick in front of goal. GWS was applying tremendous pressure with Melbourne defending desperately. Shelly Scott finally managed to gain some ground back into the Giant’s half but GWS hit back again. Melbourne was finding it difficult to get out of its own half.

Karen Paxman had a chance but GWS applied some great pressure to deny her. Then Tyla Hanks kicked a free to Tegan who got her hat trick from the resulting mark. That was her second from 40 metres out and shows how accurate her set shots have become.

Another free kick by Hore to Jacobson saw the ball bounce just outside the goal line. The super fit Paxman grabbed the ball as it descended and tapped it over for her first and Melbourne’s seventh goal. Right at the end, Tyla Hanks got a free kick plus a 50 metre penalty to make it 18-57 in the Dee’s favour.

As is the game of footy, the other results from Conference A didn’t go Melbourne’s way. A win for the Crows and Freo mean we have to secure maximum points from our last two games. Our percentage is superior so we have a good chance of making the finals.

Two very tough games ahead though, especially the Adelaide encounter but we’ve been highly consistent this season and deserve to get the results.

Round 4 – Melbourne Vs North Melbourne

Liam Chambers

As expected, the Roos started strongly. Melbourne defended well but couldn’t prevent Mo Hope’s great effort form 40 metres out. The Dees rallied however with strong displays from Karen Paxman and Lily Mithen helping to apply some great forward pressure on the opposition.

The Dees were rewarded with Cat Phillip’s turn and kick resulting in Melbourne’s first goal. Again, their handball game has been pivotal in getting into scoring positions, as well as out of trouble on occasions. North Melbourne again piled on the pressure at the end of the quarter. A misjudged kick by Lauren Pearce to Paxman was fumbled before Paxman recovered to handball The Dees out of danger, potentially avoiding a last minute goal to the Roos.

North Melbourne scored a lucky goal in the first minute of of the second quarter when a wayward kick from Mo Hope was marked by Emma King. Then within another minute, King got a second after being awarded a free kick against Harriet Cordner just in front of goal. A dubious decision in my mind.

The Dees looked in trouble at 6-19 down. Then Maddi Gay snapped what looked like a certain goal but which was unfortunately touched and only one point awarded. All the luck seemed to going in the Roos’ direction. On the plus side the Dees were marking well with O’Dea & Cunningham making some nice grabs.

The Dees starting applying more pressure and Cunningham converted from a one handed mark to pull one back. Then the Dees were accused of holding Sophie Abbatangelo (another dodgy call). The free kick resulting in a goal for the Roos. When Paxman’s kick was touched on the line, you had the feeling that this was not going to be Melbourne’s day. One of the stars of the half was Lily Mithen, having a great game on either side of the field.

The Dees started the second half well. Nice displays of handball passing and defending. Cat Phillips having a good run. The highlight of the game though came when Aliesha Newman got the ball after good spell of play by Melbourne. Newman ran and bounced the ball nicely before kicking at the open goal approx. 30 metres out.

The ball bounce favourably between the uprights with Aliesha running hard just in case it didn’t make it. Then Maddi Gay handballed a pass to Tyla Hanks who took the shot on the outside of her boot to slot home a perfect goal. The Dees were in front for the first time in the game and now the Roos knew that they were in a game of footy.

Mo Hope got one back with a kick from 45 metres out to again take the lead. However Melbourne went into the last quarter 28-31 behind but with a renewed sense of purpose.

The Dees had the best start they could hope in the final quarter with Newman getting her second goal from a set shot. Unfortunately Emma King got her third goal and Melbourne struggled to regain the momentum in a very tight quarter of football. They defended well but just couldn’t convert their chances and North Melbourne were the victors at 34-38.

Round 5 against GWS should be a challenge but I’m confident we can win in Sydney. Let’s hope we see a good crowd of Melbourne supporters on the day.

On a final note I think Daisy Pearce is putting her organisational skills to good use with her latest recruits.

Round 3 – Brisbane Vs Melbourne – Lions Lay Down Like Lambs

Liam Chambers

Good result for the Dees. It’s never easy playing away. Brisbane were favourite to win on home soil even though they lost to in-form Fremantle in Round 2. The heat & humidity was also a factor, but you’d never know it by the way Melbourne controlled the game.

Five minutes in & Aliesha Newman kicked the first goal after one of her signatory runs. The Dees were dominating. Hanks was displaying her superior passing skills and showing great vision. A few minutes later and Newman had her second.

Overall Melbourne was applying tremendous pressure on the Lions and should have been further ahead at quarter time. Brisbane scored courtesy of Tawhaq-Wardlow.

The second quarter was the best display by Melbourne so far this season. Goals by Kat Smith, Paxman (again good pass from Hanks) & Eden Zanker showed the diversity of talent in the Dee’s side.

Harriet Cordner did a great job of shutting down Sabrina Frederick Traub. Bianca Jacobson scored a lovely goal after some intense pressure from Melbourne which saw them forty points ahead at the end of the first half.

Melbourne didn’t let up in the third quarter and tackled well, especially Kat Smith. Their use of the hand ball was at times superb and pressurized the Lions into making a lot of errors. The intercept marking was also noteworthy. Unfortunately for all the Dees superior play, Brisbane were getting themselves into potential scoring positions.

Finally, Nat Exon put one between the uprights for the Lions, their first goal since late in quarter one. Then Bianca Jacobson got her second & Melbourne went into the last quarter leading by thirty-eight points.

The last quarter was again a low scoring affair. There were some nice touches, but Brisbane never looked like launching a major comeback. A highlight for Melbourne was the mark and subsequent goal from Tegan Cunningham. Tegan looked like she lacked confidence early on. The Dees won by thirty-nine points after Kate McCarthy from Brisbane scored a deserved goal after the siren.

All in all, a great performance by Melbourne and they have now stamped their mark on the competition after three good games. The loss to Fremantle was unlucky but the girls also learned a lot from that disappointment.

Their biggest test will be in Round 4 when they take on the new kids from North Melbourne. Playing at Casey Fields will help but the Kangaroos are an altogether different beast to Brisbane. The Roos will have watched this game to spot where Melbourne are weakest. We will have done the same. It will be interesting to see what changes the Dees make to their game. If the Dees play like they did in Brisbane, then I would definitely not bet against us.

Congratulations to Daisy Pearce & the latest members of the Melbourne Demons Fan Club

2019 prelude – pre-season report

Nigel Dawe

“You can win without skill but you can’t win without spirit.” – Norm Smith.  Every football club is like a classic novel, whereby each decade might represent a chapter and each season could well be a page. That said, I’m thrilled to see what will soon be ‘written’ on the currently blank page that is season 2019 for us.

Whilst Round One outright represents the 2400th time our team has graced a VFL/AFL field, I’ve been suitably reflecting on the many whys –related to ‘absolutely’ why I go for Melbourne and what keeps me so enthralled with the every nuance and turn of this team – and primarily it is its history, its on-going story, a story that stretches farther back in time than any other team (of any code) in the world. Of course I more than fully appreciate seeing its future evolve and unfold but I just love acquainting myself with its past – delving into the tales, the records, the stats, facts and fascinating figures of not just the club’s shining stars but its lesser lights as well.

Take one of my ‘lesser known’ favourites for example – Artie Best, a bloke who hasn’t taken the field for 105 years and only played a dozen games – but in his very last game of VFL footy before bravely sailing off to the battlefields of WWI, he did what no one else in Melbourne colours had ever done and fair to say, will ever do again. Artie kicked the team’s entire score of 5.5 against South Melbourne (who were no light weights, being that year’s eventual runners -up).

Similarly, talking last appearances before never appearing in the red and blue ever again, if there was one game I’d like to see in our club’s entire history (besides the 1926 Grand Final) I know call me Dr Who now, but it would have to be Fred Fanning’s ‘big day out’ in 1947 and his mammoth return of 18 goals, 1 point in front of the sticks, which remains not just a club, but a competition record haul to this day. I’d also love to have seen his 105.5 metre roost at the MCG in the 1939 reserves Grand Final, one that landed him (with an accompanying sonic boom) into no less than the Guinness Book of Records for the longest kick of all-time.

And then there are some records or accolades that simply don’t reflect or do justice to what it is they were intended to honour, if not honourably commend. Take our great Robbie Flower’s ‘one’ solitary club best & fairest award (he also claimed 4 runner up mantles) but the fact he earned more Brownlow votes than any other Demons player (150 to be exact) highlights something I’ve never been able to reconcile.

Similarly the great Gary Ablett Snr only ever took out the one club best & fairest award in his whole career at Geelong, and this pair were perhaps the most mercurial players I’ve seen in the last 40 years. Maybe their brilliance was just expected and never came as a ‘surprise’ to those who ‘oversaw’ such things, I don’t know, and never will.

But isn’t that what makes our game so great and follow-able – the eternal subjective engagement and stimulation it offers each and every one of us without exception, it is an afforded ‘buy in’, a chance to share and partake each year over a lifetime in something absolute and grand, or as Oscar Wilde once so tellingly observed for particularly players and coaches, but also fans alike: “The world only belongs to you for a season.”

Round 2 – Collingwood Vs Melbourne

Liam Chambers

After last week’s disappointing last quarter loss to Fremantle, the Dee’s bounced back to secure their first AFLW win for 2019. The two Team Captains Elise O’Dea & Shelly Scott have filled Daisy Pearce’s legendary boots to perfection. It’s never easy winning away from home and the blustery conditions added to the drama, making scoring opportunities all the more difficult. The 7000 plus crowd got a great evening of footy though. From the start the Dees were determined to make up for that agonizingly close loss to Freo.

Aliesha Newman, showing that she’s lost none of her speed, kicked a beautiful pass which Tegan Cunningham collected in a diving mark. Unfortunately, Tegan didn’t collect the six points. The first quarter ended all even at two points apiece. Melbourne should have been a few goals ahead but the Pies’ defence and the breeze kept their score down.

It looked like the second quarter would also be a low scoring affair until an inspirational kick from O’Dea and a kind bounce saw the Demons get their first goal in the last two minutes. Not to be outdone, the rising star Tyla Hanks (still only 18), pick up the ball on the run and banana kicked superbly to the grateful hands of Lauren Pearce. Pearce converted and the Dees were 16-2 going into the second half.

The third quarter opened promisingly for Melbourne. Cunningham looked back to her winning ways with a lovely mark inside Collingwood’s 50. A one handed mark by Woodland show a nice confidence. Lauren Pearce had a 50 metre penalty awarded to her at the end of the quarter but a misunderstanding of the amount of time left saw her her handball rather than kick for goal. Only one point for the Dees in the third but Collingwood were scoreless.
Melbourne kept up the pressure at the start of the fourth and a tidy kick from Paxman was plucked out of the air by the talented Hanks, which she then converted for a perfect goal. With just over four minutes to go, Collingwood finally found the Dee’s goal, much to the home fans’ delight. Sarah Dargan soccer kicked it between Melbourne’s uprights but it was too late for the Pies.
The Dees won 26-9 and there’s a lot to like about this new line up. Best wishes to Daisy Pearce and the impending arrival of the twin bundles of joy.