A TEST FOR THE MEMORY BANK

A TEST FOR THE MEMORY BANK by Scoop Junior

On a great day for footy in the nation's capital, the Melbourne Football Club went down to top four fancy the Sydney Swans. It was a game that probably won't last too long in the memory bank.

As good sides do against lowly opposition, the Swans killed off the contest early with a barnstorming start. They kicked the first five goals of the match and, in doing so, put paid to Melbourne's hopes of an upset victory. During that opening period, the Demons struggled to get their hands on the ball, taking until the fifth minute of the opening term to register their first possession. While it is symptomatic of a young side to go missing at times, this trait is one that the Dees have possessed for far too long and one that has punishing effects as opposition teams pile on the goals with ease dutring such periods. Richmond did it in the second quarter last week with an eight-goal burst; this time it was the Swans.

To its credit, Melbourne did fight back in the second term to make it a more even contest. A few goals to each side kept the margin at five goals, with the Demons' improved tackling and pressure making it more difficult for the Swans to score. After half time, Melbourne lifted another gear and for the first time in the match started to produce fluent attacking football. So efficient were the Demons during this quarter that nearly every forward 50 entry resulted in a score. The Dees closed to within 11 points but a late goal to Sydney extended the margin to three goals at the final change.

While Melbourne was in the game at three-quarter time, catch-up footy takes it toll. The energy expended in reeling in the deficit was too much for the young team and a lift in application from the Swans resulted in a dominant term for the Sydneysiders. Melbourne could hardly generate any offensive pressure and the Swans' high-pressure high-intensity style wore them out as they fell away to a 40-point defeat.

For the Dees, Matthew Bate performed exceptionally well from limited opportunities to boot four goals. With the team limited to a paltry 30 forward entries, Bate did well to make the most of his opportunities in kicking the biggest bag of his career thus far. Brad Miller worked hard at centre half forward and Paul Johnson was particularly influential in the third term, leading up and showing a clean pair of heels to his opponents. Like Bate, Austin Wonaeamirri made the most of his opportunities to boot three majors. It was a great effort in the circumstances, given that Melbourne's lack of forward entries and dearth of big marking targets provided few crumbing opportunities for the little blokes.

The midfield was well beaten by a more experienced, hardened outfit. With the likes of Kirk, Jude Bolton, Buchanan and Goodes, the Swans have a multitude of seasoned premiership midfielders who more often than not overcome what opposition clubs throw at them. The young Melbourne midfield was no match, coming up desperately short in the clearances. Brock McLean was nullified by Kirk, Bruce didn't see a lot of it and Jones lacked his usual output. Aaron Davey was quiet for most of the game but played a ripping third quarter, which was one of the main reasons for the Dees’ resurgence during this term. Melbourne looks a different team when the ball is in Flash’s hands, as he not only breaks the lines but delivers with pinpoint accuracy.

On a brighter note for the Demons was the performance of Lynden Dunn, who restricted the dangerous Goodes to 12 disposals. It was a fine performance from Dunn, who has now had the better of Goodes, Foley and Swan in the past three weeks. What I like about this list of scalps is that these three players all possess pace, an attribute seriously lacking in Melbourne’s midfield. Dunn's ability to match them adds another dimension to the midfield. However, he now needs to learn how to find more of the footy himself and to provide an attacking influence if he wants to establish a permanent spot in the midfield.

Brad Green and Paul Wheatley played well sweeping out of defence, with the formers' sure hands and crisp disposal helping to set up the play, while Chris Johnson played one of his better games for the club, nullifying the hard-working O'Keefe and using his sound kicking skills to initiate attack off half back. Colin Garland was effective without dominating, playing a decent game on O'Loughlin, while fellow young key back James Frawley did some nice things although he is still a number of games and many kilograms away from holding down a key position. Matthew Warnock, who has been somewhat of a revelation in recent weeks, was comprehensively beaten by Barry Hall. The Swans' spearhead had far too much strength and know-how and had he kicked more accurately would have booted 8 goals.

In the end, it was a decent effort to limit the margin to 40 points, given Sydney's fast start, their dominance at the stoppages and the limited forward 50 entries from the Demons. While still nowhere near the elite teams, Melbourne's skill level has improved drastically since the early rounds (admittedly it couldn’t get much worse!) and this was highlighted by their efficiency in scoring, particularly in the third quarter. However, Sydney was well below its best for periods of the game and the match did indicate a number of key areas where the Demons need to improve if they are to move up the ladder in the coming years.

Nevertheless, this honourable loss will not harm Melbourne's prospects of securing the number 1 pick in the National Draft, a draft which the Dees must extract some top-grade talent if they are to improve their list for the future. Despite the improvement since the early rounds, Melbourne lacks the talent of the top clubs and the best way to address this is with early draft choices and astute drafting and trading. With games against the impressive Lions, the second-placed Bulldogs, Fremantle away and the Kangaroos in the next for weeks, a win looks a fair way away, which is not all bad news given the draft prize of finishing near the bottom of the ladder. Despite only one win for the season thus far, it does promise to be an interesting final nine weeks!

Melbourne 2.2.14 5.3.33 10.5.65 11.8.74

Sydney Swans 7.2.44 10.5.65 12.10.82 17.12.114

Goals

Melbourne Bate 4 Wonaeamirri 3 Bruce P Johnson McLean Miller

Sydney Swans Hall 5 Buchanan Mattner O'Loughlin 2 Goodes Jolly Malceski R O'Keefe Playfair Roberts-Thomson

Best

Melbourne Green Bate Dunn P Johnson C Johnson Wheatley

Sydney Swans Hall Kirk Mattner Jolly C Bolton O'Loughlin

For another view of the game from our man in the nation's capital see - IT'S A HORROR MOVIE