EMPTY

[Demonland 66,956]

by Whispering Jack

I had to look twice at the report in the Herald Sun headed "Footy fans blast MCC after being shut out".

I thought that was strange because when I arrived at around 4.30 pm the MCC staff member outside was on his hands and knees begging people to come inside to watch the game. Then, an hour or so later when Melbourne had failed to trouble the goal umpire officiating at its end with the task of waving two flags for a Demon goal, there was a rumour spreading around the ground that patrons were being locked in. Was it possible that the newspaper article was about a different game?

By today's standards the MCG was nearly empty for Melbourne's second "home" game of the season against Adelaide. So were the feelings inside the hearts of most Demon fans as they watched their team trudge off at half time with the scoreboard blinking "0.3.3" against its name.

The standard of football on display up to that time had been nothing short of appalling. Both teams were guilty but Melbourne was the major culprit. The Demons overused handball, kicked poorly and made some shocking decisions. That was in the pre game warm up. And it only got worse once play actually got under way.

Actually, Melbourne's first five minutes were reasonably good but for the fact that it failed to get a score on the board despite probably half a dozen fruitless forays deep into the forward line. Brad Miler set the scene with a miss from 25 metres that went out on the full. After that it was a bonanza for the Adelaide defence which outnumbered its opposition and always had an extra man in position to take the mark when the inevitable miskick came their way. The Demons simply couldn't penetrate the Crow's defensive zone and ultimately it was they who were able to break the flood, score a couple of goals in each of the first two quarters and take a stranglehold on the game.

The game was quite an eyesore and deserved the pathetic 14,129 crowd which paled in comparison to the previous day's attendance that was well in excess of 80,000 when Essendon and Collingwood strutted their stuff and gave them a tremendous spectacle to boot.

Sunday's game was something different; a bizarre chess match in which the pawns dominated a board that was almost totally bereft of the sleeker major pieces. The kings, queens, knights, bishops and rooks were missing from the park while the lesser men wandered aimlessly around.

For almost three quarters Adelaide dictated terms setting up ultra defensive zones and allowing Melbourne's ineptitude to do the rest.

What more can you expect when a key forward misses twice from 10 metres out, the second time with a poorly executed banana kick. Thankfully, Lynden Dunn went forward to kick his team's first goal midway through the third term but by then, some of his team's fans had already found a way out of the ground.

The Demons weren't all bad. Aaron Davey stood out with his clean disposal and his pace, Brent Moloney with his hard bodied work and the defenders were terrific, particularly James Frawley, Matty Warnock and Stefan Martin. A two minute lapse from that department early in the final quarter allowed Tippet in for two goals that effectively killed off the game but otherwise they remained on top in a battle of defences.

Late in the game when all was virtually lost, the Demons ditched the mad handball thing and started using the corridor, a tactic that gave them 8 goals in a quarter a week ago against Richmond.

Bingo!

Three goals and all of a sudden, they were only 15 points down with plenty of time to win. Adelaide simply tightened the screws and held off the Melbourne charge leaving fans with an empty feeling and wondering what might have happened had the selectors done the obvious in the first place and picked Robbo and Addam Maric (i.e. forward line players who can score goals) for this game.

Melbourne 0.1.1 0.3.3 1.6.12 4.10.34

Adelaide 2.4.16 4.6.30 5.7.37 7.9.51

Goals

Melbourne Dunn 2 McDonald McLean

Adelaide Tippett 2 Johncock McLeod Porplyzia Stevens Walker

Best

Melbourne Davey Moloney McLean Frawley Warnock Dunn

Adelaide Goodwin Bock Johncock Thompson Vince Tippett

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Adelaide Nil

Reports

Nil

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Adelaide Nil

Umpires Hendrie Armstrong Schmitt

Crowd 14,129 at the MCG

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Word-for-word perfect.

Great work WJ.

[H_T 2,941]

by Whispering Jack ... Three goals and all of a sudden, they were only 15 points down with plenty of time to win. Adelaide simply tightened the screws and held off the Melbourne charge leaving fans with an empty feeling and wondering what might have happened had the selectors done the obvious in the first place and picked Robbo and Adam Maric (i.e. forward line players who can score goals) for this game.

.....

They might not want to show the teams 'true colours' just yet WJ. Might be saving it for Queens Birthday.

Grant Thomas said it on Sunday himself, during the game, "the game is there for the taking for Melbournefc, but Melbourne may not know it yet."