Practice Match Report: Melbourne v. West Coast

STEPPING BACK by The Oracle

If last week's narrow loss to Adelaide represented a step forward for the Melbourne Football Club then yesterday's 38-point defeat at the hands of West Coast at Casey Fields amounted to two giant steps backward.

Not only did the Demons suffer a major injury blow with the loss of yet another leading player in Colin Sylvia who will be out for several weeks with a broken jaw but the team was clearly exposed for its midfield impotence, its lack of forward power and a missing play book as it floundered without a sense of purpose in the second half against the dominant Eagles line up.

Melbourne started off brightly enough but, as it did a fortnight ago against Essendon, it wasted many eay opportunities in front of goal. On the other hand, West Coast capitalised on the Demons' skill errors to score goals, often against the run of play. The home side overdid its handball and compounded this sin with sloppy execution and decision making.

As the game progressed, the Melbourne game became excruciatingly more difficult to watch as the ball was often handballed at the feet of stationary players or kicked wide of teammates who were thereby constantly put under pressure. They would do well to take a look at the tape of last night's NAB Cup Grand Final to see how the Western Bulldogs dispose of the ball by hand and by foot.

Melbourne's youthful enthusiasm kept it in the game till the main break and it momentarily hit the lead early in the third quarter but it then conceded seven unanswered goals in the face of a whithering West Coast attack. The Demons' confidence was shattered and it was game over at the final break.

Melbourne would be happy with the first up performance of Cameron Bruce but Aaron Davey was again quiet and appeared out of sorts. The Demons relied far too much on their few experienced players and missed the drive given by some of the younger players which almost helped them across the line against the Crows.

In stark contrast to Melbourne, West Coast opened up several avenues to goal with ruckman Nick Naitanui booting two early majors and tall defender Nathan Brown going forward and booting a couple. The Demons often went wide and found themselves boxed in around the flanks and pockets.

Brad Miller was the only target in attack but the team badly lacked big man strength up forward and the Eagles easily repelled many forward moves. It was left to a few individual efforts and in the end the Demons simply fell too short. On this effort, the club faces yet another bleak season.

To make matters worse, forward Austin Wonaeamirri suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury playing for the Casey Scorpions in the curtain raiser and he faces another stint on the sidelines.

Melbourne 4.6.30 7.9.51 9.10.64 12.14.86

West Coast 5.2.32 9.5.59 12.13.85 18.16.124

Goals

Melbourne B Miller 3 C Bruce N Jones M Bate 2 M Jamar B Green R Petterd

West Coast A Hansen M LeCras 3 M Brown N Natanui A Embley 2 D Cox M Nicoski J Kennedy A Selwood K Stevens M Priddis

Best

Melbourne C Bruce B Miller J McDonald B Green N Jones

West Coast A Selwood S Butler M LeCras A Hansen M Brown A Embley

Injuries

Melbourne Colin Sylvia (broken jaw)

West Coast Nil

Crowd 5,000 (approx) at Casey Fields

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KC from Casey reports that draftee Jordan Gysberts and rookie Rhys Healey were both in excellent early form as the Casey Scorpions easily accounted for VFL neighbour Frankston in the curtain raiser after kicking their first ten goals straight with the first blemish coming in the third quarter.

Scorpion stalwarts Kyle Matthews and James Wall were in rare early form for Casey which looks to have unearthed a likely forward prospect in Luke McDonald.

Colin Garland made it through the first half but Austin Wonaeamirri was not so fortunate limping off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury after a quiet start. Michael Newton kicked two goals in the first quarter but missed a few opportunities later in the game while 200cm beanpole Jack Fitzpatrick attacked his game with enthusiasm and was rewarded with two goals.

Seniors

Casey Scorpions 5.0.30 7.0.42 13.6.84 16.10.106

Frankston 1.2.8 4.6.30 4.7.31 6.9.45

Reserves

Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 6.8.44 7.9.51 11.11.77

Frankston 0.2.3 1.3.9 3.6.24 4.6.30

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