A FEW STEPS FURTHER

[Demonland 73,140]

by Scoop Junior

It wasn't quite Mission Impossible, but it wasn't far off either. The Demons ventured to AAMI Stadium – a ground where they hadn't won since Andrew Leoncelli's thrilling goal with four seconds remaining early in 2001 – at 1-6 with a team containing 17 players under the age of 25. Form (despite the incredible second half performance against the Dockers) said "no chance"; as did recent history and experience. And while football is a game where anything can happen, more often that not nothing out of the ordinary happens and the predicted result usually eventuates.

Sunday's game against the Crows was no exception. While Melbourne fought hard for the first quarter and a half, Adelaide simply had too much class and experience, an advantage which eventually took its toll on the visitors after half time. The Demons did begin the match well and should have been at least level at quarter time but for some wasted opportunities from their forwards and the accuracy of the opposition in front of goal. The Crows looked like scoring every time they entered the forward 50, which was hardly surprising given the lack of experience in the Melbourne defence with regulars Nathan Carroll, Jared Rivers, Paul Wheatley out injured and Matthew Whelan coming back from illness at Sandy.

At the start of the second term the Dees placed a man behind the ball to try to stifle Adelaide's forwards who were operating at an incredibly high efficiency level. This backfired somewhat in that it gave the Crows more runners through the middle - something you cannot afford against an Adelaide side that runs and moves the ball as well as any side in the competition. But then, it was always a matter of time before the Adelaide machine clicked into gear. With the ball being regularly pumped inside the Adelaide 50, the young Demon defence had no hope of keeping the floodgates firmly shut.

While the 76-point margin indicated a dirty day for the Dees, there were in fact many encouraging signs and the performance was superior to some of the pathetic efforts displayed earlier in the season. In particular, supporters would have been pleased with a number of younger players in Clint Bartram, Simon Buckley, Colin Garland, Cale Morton, Austin Wonaeamirri and Nathan Jones showing plenty of promise.

Bartram was given the task of tagging Adelaide superstar McLeod and he performed brilliantly. McLeod can be such a hard man to stop with his burst of speed and ability to read the play but the dogged Demon stuck to the task and completely nullified McLeod's influence. Buckley returned after a number of good performances at Sandy and played a decent game off half back. While he needs to improve his accountability, his run and dash off half back was quite handy and he made better decisions with the ball than he did in the early rounds when he was rather wasteful. Garland spent time forward and back, showing a little bit at both ends of the ground. He has good speed and mobility but needs to work on getting involved more in the game. He shapes as an interesting development project for the rest of the season.

Morton was probably the pick of the younger players. He gathered 18 possessions and kicked three goals, including a classy goal on the run from outside 50 in the second term. He has excellent awareness of his surroundings and is a thinking footballer. With increased strength, confidence and experience, he should develop into a terrific player for the club.

Last round's hero Wonaeamirri was probably due for a downer and this looked like eventuating when gun small defender Johncock made his way over to him. However, the Demon rookie persisted throughout the game and put in a solid four-quarter effort. He doesn't appear to have any outstanding attribute but what I like about him is his composure and decision-making ability. He is cool under pressure and rarely wastes a disposal and is an accurate kick for goal. He booted one for the match but also handed off a couple to his teammates in what was another promising performance.

Jones played a typical Jones game – plenty of the ball, hard and tough in and under – and was serviceable rather than outstanding. It would have been a welcome relief for him when the Crows' number one tagger in Shirley went to pick up Brock McLean after Jones managed only five or so disposals against Fremantle and the former failed to fire and had barely any influence on the game. He has not yet worked out how to deal with a heavy tag, with his lack of pace a severe limitation in shaking a tag. What he needs is more support from his midfield mates so that the opposition are forced to monitor a number of Melbourne midfielders rather than just McLean.

James Frawley struggled in a key defensive role on the dangerous Burton. He was outclassed, which is fair enough given Burton's talent and experience, but Chips' positioning did himself no favours. He was caught too many times either too far behind or too far in front of Burton, who is difficult to stop when he gets goal side of his opponent. Frawley is quite raw and has a lot to learn but playing him on good players is only going to benefit him for the future. With Rivers back and helping to stabilise the defence, Frawley should find the going a bit easier.

So why all this positivity after such a thrashing? Well, given where we've been so far this season and where we need to get to, this was a step in the right direction. The coach picked a young side and a number of the young players showed promising signs. They will learn a lot from their experiences and while the results may look rather ugly, it will all be worth it as the next generation of Demons get games in their legs and have their development fast-tracked for the future. I hope the club continuec to select a young side in a bid to mould the next successful Melbourne team. With the retirement of David Neitz and the impending departures of a number of other senior players, the Demons' team of the early to mid 2000's is coming to an end and a new one is emerging as we move towards the next decade.

Let's just hope that this one can go a few steps further.

Adelaide 8.1.49 12.6.78 15.15.105 22.18.150

Melbourne 4.4.28 6.5.41 7.7.49 11.8.74

Goals

Adelaide Burton 5 Tippett 4 Goodwin Jericho Porplyzia 3 Knights van Berlo Vince Stevens

Melbourne Morton 3 Robertson 2 Bartram Bate Garland Miller Moloney Wonaeamirri

Best

Adelaide Burton Vince Knights Porplyzia Tippett Stevens Bock van Berlo.

Melbourne Bartram Morton Jones Buckley Green McDonald

Umpires Fila Meredith Ellis

Crowd 35,649 at AAMI Stadium.