98.6 by Whispering Jack

98.6.

That number isn't a reference to one's normal body temperature but to a percentage. It's a figure I made up because I can't be sure of the precise amount but it refers to what I assess is the percentage of match time that Melbourne seemed "up and about" last Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs whereas, in order to win, it required the full 100%.

We'll debate that dubious free kick to the Bulldogs' Stewart Crameri that put them in front five minutes from the end but from that point on Melbourne fell suddenly into the old pattern where lapses of concentration and effort both in defence and in attack put paid to its winning chances.

The heart was in the mouth as Matt Jones ran down the heart of the MCG only to falter with that kick for goal that would have restored the lead and given the team an enormous confidence boost so late in the game.

It's worth pointing out that, at this stage of the season, Melbourne leads the competition in one statistic - it allows its opposition to score a goal from just 20% of inside 50s. Bearing that in mind, immediately after the Matt Jones behind, the Bulldogs were allowed to go effortlessly coast to coast against a defence that held so tight for most of the evening bringing back memories of recent calamities and, in no time at all, it was game, set and match.

And that's what the game is about when you reach the point where you're doing better in percentage terms than the freezing point figure of 32 where Melbourne has been in terms of effort and ability for most of the last decade. These days, you must be running at your best every week; you need to produce 100% which is where Melbourne needs to be throughout this week's game against Richmond.

THE GAME

Richmond v Melbourne on Saturday 17 May, 2014 at 1.40pm at the MCG

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Richmond 103 wins Melbourne 72 wins Drawn 2

At MCG Richmond 68 wins Melbourne 60 wins Drawn 1

Past five years Richmond 4 wins Melbourne 1 win

The Coaches Hardwick 0 wins Roos 0 wins

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy Channel 1:30pm (live)

RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand

THE BETTING

Richmond - $1.05 Melbourne to win - $5.50

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Richmond 15.16.106 defeated Melbourne 11.6.72 Round 8, 2013 at the MCG

The Demons made a good fist of things for more than half a game before ultimately falling away to lose by 34 points. Aaron Davey was Melbourne's best.

THE TEAMS

RICHMOND

B: Troy Chaplin, David Astbury, Alex Rance
HB: Bachar Houli, Ben Lennon, Steven Morris
C: Shaun Grigg, Daniel Jackson, Reece Conca
HF: Dustin Martin, Ben Griffiths, Brett Deledio
F: Shane Edwards, Jack Riewoldt, Ty Vickery
FOLL: Shaun Hampson, Brandon Ellis, Trent Cotchin
I/C: Nathan Foley, Sam Lloyd, Matt McDonough, Nick Vlastuin
EMG: Jake Batchelor, Nathan Gordon, Ricky Petterd

IN: Nathan Foley, Ben Griffiths, Ben Lennon

OUT: Aaron Edwards (omitted), Nathan Gordon (omitted), Chris Newman (calf)

NEW: Ben Lennon (Northern Knights)

MELBOURNE

B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland
HB: Dean Terlich, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes
C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross
HF: Jack Watts, Max Gawn, Jeremy Howe
F: Cam Pedersen, Chris Dawes, Rohan Bail
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson
I/C: Matt Jones, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Aidan Riley, Christian Salem
EMG: Alex Georgiou, Jordie McKenzie, Jimmy Toumpas

IN: Max Gawn, Aidan Riley

OUT: Shannon Byrnes (foot), James Frawley (hamstring)

TOM HAFEY

The match has fittingly been designated as the tribute game to Tom Hafey who lost his battle with cancer earlier in the week.

Before Hafey arrived on the scene to coach Richmond, the Tigers were a battling club regularly occupying a place at the foot of the VFL ladder. In those days, fifty years ago, our own Norm Smith was the leading coach in the sport with six premierships under his belt in the decade to 1964.

Smith's mantle as the doyen of coaches was taken by Hafey who led the Tigers to the first of his four flags in 1967 and who then went on to reinvigorate the Collingwood Football Club. He was a model citizen who set an example of fitness and demanded high standards of behaviour that ushered in the professional era of our sport. May his soul rest in peace.

NO QUESTION

There's no question that the Tigers are the big disappointment of the competition to date. Having finally made it to the finals in 2013 only to be unceremoniously dumped out by "stand in" finallists Carlton, it was said that Richmond was approaching this season with a single-minded determination to not only atone for that embarrassing elimination final loss at the hands of their traditional rivals but also to go at least one or two steps beyond their final outcome for last season.

They started the new year disastrously on the Gold Coast, extracted revenge against the Blues and scraped in against lowly Brisbane but were also spanked by Collingwood and Hawthorn before producing some gallantry in going down narrowly to Geelong at their last start. Defeat at the hands of Melbourne, their NAB Cup conqueror in February, could spell the end to their hopes and have their legion of fans up in arms and ready to consign their membership tickets to the microwave again.

It was Melbourne's new look midfield that took Richmond by surprise when they met earlier in the year at that pre season game at Etihad Stadium. If the Tigers can't beat the Demons handsomely in this important sector then they simply can't win because Melbourne has a slight but discernable advantage over its opponent nearly everywhere else on the the field.