SCALPED by The Oracle

 

Melbourne suffered yet another Etihad reversal in its up and down 2011 season when it was monstered by the Western Bulldogs to the tune of 64 points.

The Demons opened brightly and held sway for the first ten minutes of the kicking two of the first three goals and dominating possession. They could have been further in front but for some recklessly stupid football. A couple of unforced errors caused turnovers, allowing the Dogs to regain their composure early and to ultimately take control of proceedings.

From there it was virtually a one way street with the bigger, stronger and vastly more experienced Western Bulldogs completely dictating terms and providing a masterclass in how to best the Demons in confined spaces. That's not a difficult thing to do. Rodney Eade needed only to consult a replay of Melbourne's earlier visits to the same venue when it was closed down by North Melbourne and St. Kilda. 

The Demons were not assisted by their poor disposal and the fact that four shots at goal managed to hit the woodwork at times when they were desperately trying to get back into the game. 

The team has now lost at the Docklands three times this season to out of form teams. 

The pre game positive for the Demons was the fact that the coach and match committee stuck fat with the policy of adding youth to the team makeup when Sam Blease was included in the team mix to replace the injured Joel Macdonald (whose presence would have been handy on the half back line). The club resisted the temptation of bringing in some of the more experienced names who remain at Casey and while this strategy will, in all likelihood, pay its  dividends in the long term, this was to be a game in which experience would out over youth.

The Bulldogs' big guns in Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen, Matthew Boyd, Callan Ward, Daniel Giansiracusa and even spearhead Barry Hall were all in top form and with superior tactics, better disposal , some early assistance from the umpires who awarded some puzzling free kicks in front of goals and wiser heads in the coach's box the scene was set for a Demon scalping.

There was little joy for Melbourne with most of the young brigade subdued. On top of that Brad Green, Brent Moloney and Colin Sylvia were all well covered as was Tom Scully who struggled under a tag and possibly the weight of publicity after continuing to be in the media headlights. 

By the end of the night, the team was in complete disarray and the Bulldogs, who little over a month ago were monstered themselves by the West Coast Eagles to the tune of well in excess of 100 points, had a picnic in the final term. 

Ben Hudson, who had been struggling in the VFL until recently for (and was well beaten at Williamstown by Max Gawn before the youngster made his AFL debut) won hands down in the ruck against an out of sorts Mark Jamar in his second game back from a lay off (how often does that happen?) giving his team the advantage from the stoppages. 

The Doggies were more desperate in the contests for the football and that gave them sufficient edge in the middle part of the game to prevent any chance of a Demon comeback and to ultimately set up a big win. 

For Melbourne, kudos go to youngsters Jack Trengove and Jack Watts whose development continues at a great pace and Ricky Petterd who was dangerous up forward and treated the fans to what will go close to winning Mark of the Year. Jordie McKenzie and Nathan Jones worked hard in the middle but lacked support in the tough going with too many of their teammates missing in action. For the club, it was again a case of one or two steps forward followed by yet another step back.

Melbourne 2.4.16 4.9.33 7.13.55 8.15.63

Western Bulldogs 4.5.29 8.9.57 13.10.88 19.15.127

Goals

Melbourne Howe Petterd Watts 2 Sylvia Trengove

Western Bulldogs Giansiracusa 4 Hall 3 Dahlhaus Griffen Higgins Ward 2 Cooney Gilbee Grant Picken

Best

Melbourne Trengove Watts McKenzie Petterd Jones Martin

Western Bulldogs  Griffen Cooney Ward Boyd Giansiracusa Dahlhaus Picken

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Western Bulldogs Nil

Umpires Farmer Rosebury Mollison

Crowd 25, 916 at Etihad Stadium

The pre game positive for the Demons was the fact that the coach and match committee stuck fat with the policy of adding youth to the team makeup when Sam Blease was included in the team mix to replace the injured Joel Macdonald (whose presence would have been handy on the half back line). The club resisted the temptation of bringing in some of the more experienced names who remain at Casey and while this strategy will, in all likelihood, pay its  dividends in the long term, this was to be a game in which experience would out over youth.

I think this was a crucial factor. As great as it was to see Blease make his debut (the highlight of the game for me was his burst from defence that found Sylvia - pity he missed the goal), we really needed a tall defender to cover McDonald's loss.

Hall's dominance in the first half was the difference between the two teams. Had we played Warnock on Hall, Frawley on Gia, and Garland playing the role of McDOnald, things may have panned out a little differently.

It'd be interesting to know the club's logic in that selection.