TWELVE AND A HALF MONTHS by The Oracle

It has been twelve and a half months since Melbourne fans have had to experience watching their team suffer humiliation at the hands of Hawthorn in an AFL game. 

This annual ritual of the Hawks flogging the Demons has been going on for a decade now since Al Clarkson's young team was beaten by an experienced side coached by Neale Daniher way back in 2006 on a wet night. Back in those days, the AFL was generous enough to gift games on Friday night to then lowly clubs like the Hawks but not so now. 

Soon after that game, Hawthorn commenced its ascendency while Melbourne's fortunes nose dived. Melbourne opened the 2007 season as the highest ranked of the Victorian clubs and lost their first match against St Kilda at the MCG marking the first of a series of 13 consecutive losses to the Saints. The following week saw the Hawks start their run of 12 wins on end against the Demons and it seems a near certainty that the number will stretch to an unlucky 13 by late Saturday afternoon.

This season started as one of promise for the Demons and they certainly have had their moments with a 50/50 record of wins in the bag to date. But they have failed to reproduce the three victories scored in the pre season against Port Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda and they lost to the AFL's punching bag, Essendon. They are in danger of being overtaken on the ladder this weekend by Carlton who were expected to challenge the Bombers for the wooden spoon.

Melbourne has failed to come up to the challenge in quite a few winnable games already this year. It has lost it's best player this year to suspension and one of its' few functioning defenders in an inexplicably feeble defence to injury. The deck chairs on the Titanic will no doubt be rotated around this week in an effort to turn things around but it was last week when the selectors should have been brave and bold with the team coming off a six day break. 

One wonders what the team can do this week in the face of a Hawthorn which most of the time manages to hold firm even without such vital team members as Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead. Pray that it will be another twelve and a half months before they meet again, I suppose.

Hawthorn by a lot.

THE GAME

Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 4 June 2016 at 1.45pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Hawthorn 84 wins Melbourne 74 wins

At MCG Hawthorn 43 wins Melbourne 35 wins

Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins

The Coaches Clarkson 2 wins Roos 0 wins

MEDIA

TV Fox  Footy Channel at 1.45pm (live) Channel 7 3.15pm (delayed) 

RADIO - Triple M 3AW

THE BETTING

Hawthorn $1.24 to win Melbourne $4.15 to win

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Hawthorn 24.11.155 defeated Melbourne 7.8.50 in Round 7, 2015 at the MCG

Six minutes into the game, Melbourne had the only two goals on the board and Hawthorn was scoreless. Those minutes provided the only joy for the day for Demon fans who had to endure two hours of hell before the final siren revealed their team had just succumbed to another 100 point defeat.

THE TEAMS

HAWTHORN

B: Taylor Duryea, James Frawley, Ben Stratton

HB: Shaun Burgoyne, Josh Gibson, Grant Burchill

C: Isaac Smith, Jordan Lewis, Brad Hill

HF: Luke Breust, Tim O'Brien, Jack Gunston

F: Paul Puopolo, James Sicily, Cyril Rioli

FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Sam Mitchell, Liam Shiels

I/C: Billy Hartung, Daniel Howe, Ben McEvoy, Kade Stewart 

EMG: Kaiden Brand, Teia Miles, Angus Litherland

IN: Daniel Howe, Kade Stewart 

OUT: Will Langford (managed), Matt Spangher (hamstring)

NEW: Kade Stewart (19, South Fremantle)

MELBOURNE

B: Jayden Hunt, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta

HB: Tom Bugg, Oscar McDonald, Josh Wagner

C: Dean Kent, Jack Trengove, Bernie Vince

HF: Billy Stretch, Jack Watts, Jeff Garlett

F: Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan, Chris Dawes

FOLL: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson

I/C: Sam Frost, James Harmes, Clayton Oliver, Aaron vandenBerg

EMG: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Cam Pedersen

IN: Chris Dawes, Sam Frost, Clayton Oliver, Jack Trengove, Aaron vandenBerg 

OUT: Colin Garland (cheekbone), Ben Kennedy (omitted), Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted), Ben Newton (omitted), Jack Viney (suspended)