Round 1 – Melbourne V Western Bulldogs

Liam Chambers

Dogs soar early but Dees win the quarter

The Dees/Dogs rivalry has taken on a more profound significance for fans in recent years, following our Grand Final win in 2021. To date, we’ve dominated in the new era and the Demon faithful would no doubt be hopeful for that dominance to continue.

Similar to last week, Melbourne was a goal down early on, after Aaron Naughton kicked a 45m set shot. The Bulldogs took the momentum and ran with it, pressuring the Dees’ defence which culminated in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan taking a flying mark in the pocket, which he duly converted.

It was early days, but Melbourne needed to wrest back some control and stem the blue and white tide. It was stemmed and turned with Big Max winning the hitout and Christian Petracca collecting the loose ball. As he headed goal ward, Tracca hand passed to Jack Viney, who promptly dropped the ball before recovering and launching a kick from 48m, splitting the middle to open his account.

The inspired Demons took on the Dogs with renewed vigour. Bailey Fritsch was short changed when he tackled Jason Johannisen after the Umpire called play on. A potential goal from a position directly in front was denied to the talented forward.

Up the other end, Rory Lobb took a contested mark in the pocket. His 40m set shot took the visitors’ lead to thirteen points.

Melbourne had their chances, including a Jack Billings shot touched on the line but a second goal evaded them.

Then Mr Excitement himself, Kysaiah Pickett kicked his first of the 2024 season via a round the corner kick that curved beautifully through the posts. The lead up was also impressive with Jack Billings knee sliding to mark Clayton Oliver’s kick down the wing. Billings’ perfectly weighted kick was marked by Jacob van Rooyen, who then placed the ball in the perfect position for Pickett to run at and collect.

The Dees were displaying some skilful footy, but the Dogs were still having the best of the play. Fortunately, they were unable to capitalise on their advantage and the margin remained manageable. Unfortunately a mistake in defence allowed first gamer Harvey Gallagher to snap a goal from the pocket. To be fair, it was an impressive debut goal.

A few minutes later, Kade Chandler found himself in the perfect position to collect the ball after it sailed over the heads of the pack in front of goal. A quick turn and tap gave the small forward his first of the afternoon and reduced the gap back to five points. Even better, with forty seconds to go, van Rooyen collected the falling ball before snapping a goal, giving Melbourne the lead for the first time in the match.

Melbourne persist with their winning ways

The Dees continued their good form at the start of the second term after Alex Neal-Bullen marked an Oliver hand pass in the pocket, then casually tapped it along the ground, watching it bounce across the goal line.

It was the ideal start for Melbourne when they won the tussle after the bounce, allowing Kade Chandler to collect the chaos ball inside 50 before snapping it high between the uprights. It was five in a row for the Demons when Christian Petracca smothered the ball mid ground. His kick to inside 50 was gathered by Ben Brown who ran around his opponent before drilling the ball into the back of the net.

The Bulldogs finally stemmed the bleeding when their captain, Marcus Bontempelli coolly collected the ground ball and snapped from 35m in front.

Ben Brown returned the margin to nineteen points when he was awarded a sitter directly in front, after being held on the goal line. Both Brown and team mate Tom MacDonald were surprise recalls for the game, but both were repaying the confidence shown to them; with T Mac particularly solid in defence.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the quarter, the Dogs managed to eventually pare back the margin to twelve points, courtesy of Cody Weightman’s 100th goal.

Dees display depth in delivery

Melbourne looked to be running away with the game early in the second term, just as the Bulldogs did in the first. Then by the start of the third, it was still anyone’s game for the taking.

Ninety seconds in though, the Dees regained the upper hand when Alex Neal-Bullen marked in the pocket, then ran on, snapping off the outside of his right boot.

Melbourne was having the best of the football, but the visitors clung on, not allowing the gap to grow too wide; they even succeeded in closing it to eleven points when Ugle-Hagen was awarded a free kick 35m out.

Bailey Fritsch may have been having an off day, but Kade Chandler was having a blinder and his second was clinically accurate.

Melbourne gets some goal kicking practice

The Dogs started determinedly but they couldn’t make the most of their chances.

Christian Petracca has a lot of score involvements, however on the day he save one of the best for himself. His running kick from just inside 50 was perfect. Great lead up too.

Lachlan Bramble kept the Bulldogs hopes alive with his 40m shot, dragging the margin back to seventeen points, but it turned out to be just a blip on the footy radar.

Jacob van Rooyen stretched it back out to twenty three points again when he marked Kysaiah Pickett’s kick to the pocket. His round the corner shot glided through. Pickett’s second was a thing of beauty. His running kick from a difficult angle sailed smoothly into the goal mouth, dropping just behind the line.

Rhylee West pulled one back for the Dogs with an impressive individual effort, displaying splendid jumping skills before snapping from 20m.

With less than four minutes remaining, van Rooyen put the result beyond any doubt with his set from the pocket; Clayton Oliver having unselfishly provided the mark for the young forward. Then it was a case of reward for great effort when Jack Billings slotted his 25m set shot.

Speaking of reward for effort, it was nice to see Christian Salem walk in a goal to ice the cake for Melbourne, with a minute left on the clock.

We travel to Hawthorn for Round 2. The Hawks have proved to be a difficult opponent for the Demons on many occasion, even when they’re otherwise in a slump. We will be treating them with the utmost respect.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

“If you go down, get straight back up. The only time you stay down is if you’re knocked out or dead…. Defeat acts as a spur to do better.” – Norm Smith

Nigel Dawe

With close to a month to go before our Melbourne Demons (the oldest football team in the country) embark upon their 166th season of competitive endeavour, and the 128th time as an integral member of the current VFL/AFL fixture.

I got reflecting, as I often do at this time of the year, that a mere 1,370 guys have had the honour – in the post 1897 era – of sliding a red and blue guernsey over their head and down across their chest before running out onto the field as a first-grade player of the Melbourne Football Club.

To put the rarity and prestige of this accomplishment into perspective, an almost ballpark amount of people have won a Nobel Prize (in each of the six categories) since its inception in 1901. To date, our team has played 2,512 games in the VFL/AFL competition, winning 1,151 of them, and claiming a draw with our opponents on 22 other occasions.
29,185 times our players have caused goal umpires to give their extended double-armed salute between the sticks; and soothingly enough, the most goals we’ve kicked against any side is exactly 2,554 against Collingwood (which is strangely identical to the amount we’ve put on the board against the Saints).

Contrary to how ‘numerically’ this segment has kicked off, numbers have never really been my thing; rather, tales of ticker and tenacity more stir my loins when it comes to the love and loyalty I have for this club. A love and loyalty that’s been forged, and permanently fixed into the bedrock of my soul through both the pangs of trial and defeat, and the pleasure of triumph and rewarded travail.

One easily missed insight into the year we’re about to have, I think, was the encouraging recent image of our ‘Son of Todd’ – that being Jack Viney, staying out on the training track long after everyone else had called it a day, practicing his craft. If anyone embodies the thunderous (and currently wounded) beating heart of the red and blue, it is this man, and I can’t wait to see what he does with each of the 120-minutes of game time he gets in season 2024.

Another determining subplot to the outcome of our year is the manner in which our record 4-time winner of the club’s best and fairest award – Clayton Oliver, will return to the fray exactly where he left off: as a player that must already be having his dimensions measured for an eventual statue outside the ‘G as a great of the game.

In every pursuit the human being becomes aware of, albeit fascinated by, nothing captivates or binds us more than the redemption tale of a champion, and Clary, mark my words – will be no exception; just watch out for him to win the centenary Brownlow medal of 2024. Or better still, watch out for the first ever tied winners of the award from the same club, thus a Petracca and Oliver double would be beyond sublime.

Relatedly, and I’ve banged this drum before, keep an eye out for the long overdue induction of Garry Lyon into the AFL Hall of Fame. 25-years after his retirement, the greatest player I’ve seen in the 40-years of following this caper (with the possible, and previously stated exception of Robbie Flower) the #3 wearing maestro from Kyabram with the cat-like skills and the killer instincts, is due his gong.

For those that might harp otherwise, take another look at his 10-goal hit-out against the Bulldogs in that Semi Final of 1994, and then explain to me how he’s not already ‘officially’ entrenched as one of the greats of the game.

And finally, on the general topic of predictions and prophecies, I got hold of a long sought after piece of Melbourne memorabilia recently. It was a 1970s mirror that the VFL commissioned for each team that featured an embossed group photo of their first premiership side.

Ours being of course the come-from-the-clouds Fuchsias of 1900; but the reason I mention it, is the actual circular photo reminds me distinctly of a crystal ball, and one fringed with a kind of decorative ornamentation that wouldn’t look out of place above a bar in the old Wild West.

Thus, in that same spirit, may our modern-day gunslingers of Gawn, Viney & Co. enjoy and fearlessly make the most of their turn and season in the sun – wearing the most time-honoured colours of all.

Qualifier – Melbourne V North Melbourne

Liam Chambers

The Dees struggle to make their mark.

After last week’s loss to Brisbane, the Dees needed to get up, dust themselves off and start all over again.
Unfortunately, Melbourne was on the back foot from the first bounce, and it didn’t take long for the Roos to strike. Tahlia Randall had the advantage of finding some space in the ruck after a stoppage in front of goal. Her snap from 15m was high and straight up, but the wind helped carry it across the line.
The Demons fought hard, resisting North’s continuously attacking game. For the second week in a row though, the Dees spent the majority of the first term in their defensive half. Towards the end of the quarter, Melbourne managed to work their way forward but had few opportunities and we were unable to cut through.

North compounds Melbourne’s pain.

The Roos continued their winning ways at the start of the second when Tahlia Randall doubled her goal tally by slotting the 20m set shot after marking the contested ball.
Melbourne was playing hard, creating chances but just not able to break through North’s defence. The Roos were jumping on every possession, cutting the Dees off as they attempted to gain some momentum.
Then, even when Melbourne got into scoring positions, we seemed to relinquish the ball too easily or make incorrect tactical decisions.
It had been a concerning first half for Demon fans, as their team failed to kick a goal and had only one solitary point on the scoreboard.

Dees continue to flounder.

The second half started in the same vein for the Dees, with dropped catches and miskicks, allowing North to take control once again.
The Roos defence was rock solid, repelling any attempts by Melbourne to break through.
Up the other end, North was ahead by twenty two points after Bella Eddey took possession; being the final link in the chain that stretched the length of the ground and culminating in the forward’s chip from the top of the goal square.
The Dees’ task became even more difficult after Tahlia Randall kicked her hat trick from another stoppage in front of goal.
When Bella Eddey launched from 40m to land the ball in the goal square, where it bounced across the line, Melbourne was in all sorts of strife.

All hope abandoned.

The Dees were thirty four points behind and facing an incredibly focused North Melbourne team at the start of the final quarter.
Melbourne desperately needed an early goal to have any chance of victory, but as the minutes ticked away, that ambition looked increasingly forlorn.
When Kate Hore hit the post with her set shot, all hope was seemingly abandoned.
However, a minute later, Alyssa Bannen marked to the left of goal and slotted Melbourne’s first major of the game. The flame momentarily flickered.
It was quickly snuffed out though when Alice O’Loughlin collected the tapped down ball and snapped through the Roos’ sixth.
With a minute to go, Emma King nailed her set shot, completing the Dees’ misery.

Thankfully, we still have another chance in the semifinal against the Cats, but it’s not a great time for a slump. Here’s hoping it’s a very short lived one. We know we can beat anyone. We just have to believe it.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!

Round 10 – Brisbane V Melbourne

Liam Chambers

Dees survive first quarter onslaught relatively unscathed.

Having dealt effectively with table toppers Adelaide in Round 8, Brisbane showed that they can be formidable on home turf. The Dees would have to bring their best game to Springfield in their first meeting since last year’s Premiership clash.

It was first blood to the Lions when Dakota Davidson marked, then kicked a 35m set shot to put the hosts on the scoreboard. A minute later, Brisbane had their second when Ellie Hampson marked the ball just inside 50, before turning and launching from 45m. The sherrin landed in the square and bounced serendipitously across the goal line.

It was all Brisbane, with Melbourne struggling to get out of their defensive half. The maroon tide was relentless and quarter time couldn’t come soon enough for the Dees.

Luckily it didn’t come too quickly though, as with two minutes to play, Melbourne found some space for the first time and made the most of it, getting the ball inside 50, where Casey Sherriff took an uncontested mark, 20m from goal. The conversion was clinical, and the Dees had their first six pointer of the match.

Melbourne redress the balance.

Having been dominated in every stat during the first term, especially inside 50, the Dees would have been satisfied to be trailing by just eight points.

Taylor Harris, making her return from injury, got Melbourne’s second when she took a contested mark to the right of the square, going back to slot the goal.

It was a high stakes game for both clubs, with every possession immediately challenged; the tackling ferocious and unforgiving.

Melbourne was doing a good job of containing the Lions early on, until they suddenly burst through and stormed up the ground. A series of accurate kicks and marks eventually got the ball to Charlotte Mullins inside 50. The forward ran on and slammed the ball into the open goal.

The lead was back to eight points but not for long, as Tyla Hanks was awarded a free after being taken high. Her 35m set shot was low flying but made the journey to safely cross the line.
Melbourne won the bounce and was back inside 50, where Kate Hore collected the ground ball and snapped it through from 10m.

The visitors were in front for the first time, but Brisbane again went on the offensive and retook the lead within a minute, after Dakota Davidson marked on the goal line and slotted her second of the night.

The Lions run amok.

It was a tight game at half time, but Brisbane had home advantage and what seemed like an almost deranged determination to avenge last year’s Grand Final loss. Maybe I’m reading too much into it though?

Kate Hore almost had another goal in the opening minutes of the second half, but just failed to get boot to ball as it crossed the line.

Up the other end, Taylor Smith was able to take possession in the open goal square and connect to stretch the margin back out to eight points. After the bounce, Brisbane was back inside 50, where eventually Sophie Conway marked the ball, then converted from 25m.

The Lions had three in a row when Ruby Svarc was awarded a free kick 10m to the left of goal. Then with thirty seconds left, Sophie Conway kicked her second of the term, from a 40m free kick set shot.

Dees unable to close the gap.

Melbourne are pretty much unbeatable in fourth quarters, but it would take a monumental effort of Herculean proportions to get home against a fired up Brisbane side on home soil, with a twenty seven point buffer. Still, you have to try.

The Dees pressed hard, attacking the Lion’s defence and dominating inside 50. However, they were unable to land any must have majors.

In the end Melbourne won the quarter but could only reduce the margin to twenty five points; again missing out on the minor premiership.

None of that matters now though. The Dees will be solely focused on their qualifying match again North Melbourne.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!