DARWIN DREAMING by George on the Outer

[Demonland 66,417]

It was a long time since the Demons had won a game in the Northern Territory. That was in 2011, the same year they had last beaten Fremantle. And they had never recorded a win against a Ross Lyon coached team.

All of those records were removed in a single night with an emphatic 32 point victory against the Dockers at TIO stadium in Darwin. The Demons adapted early to the steamy conditions breaking the game open from the start to lead by four goals at quarter time. They then opened the gap to seven goals by the long break and the game was virtually over. To Demon fans it was like a dream.

Dean Kent, playing what was probably his best game for the club, slotted through three goals and he was assisted by Jack Watts who got three of his own in the first term alone. Jesse Hogan topped the list with four for the match.  

The free scoring by the Demons came from the hard work up the field as the Dockers were harassed, tackled, chased and simply not given the time to execute their normal game plan.  As is often the case, Nathan Jones topped the possession count with 35, but remarkably Tom McDonald dragged in 31 touches while playing in defence.  

Jack Grimes in his first match for the 2016 season notched up 32 touches, but he still needs to improve his kicking, thinking and execution, as the current game plan requires efficient disposal and quick actions.  

Once again Max Gawn gave the mids plenty of first chance at the ball with 43 hit-outs, more than twice that of his opponent.  But it was also his bulk and aggressive attack that created space for the mids and others to take full advantage.

As the game unfolded, Fremantle started playing in a style that was all too reminiscent of the way Melbourne did two or three years ago. Going backwards, slow movement and faltering attacks that often led to nothing on the scoreboard. The Demons have put that well behind them. The evolution to a fast moving and confident attacking team has been happening before our eyes.

The job isn’t finished yet because, while we have equalled the number of wins that amassed in 2016 already, the precision needed to take the next step is yet to be achieved.  It was difficult to measure that success against Fremantle, because they truly didn’t adapt to the conditions and are not the team they were in seasons past.  

The Demon backline which leaked goals earlier in the season, now looks more solid as the likes of Sam Frost, Nev Jetta, Jayden Hunt and Tom McDonald are now prepared to set up attacks from deep in defence. Previously, the defence was happy just to stop the dam wall from collapsing. Today, they are the drivers of opportunity for the rest of the team.

Next week, it's St.Kilda and there are some more ignominious records asking to be removed.  

We no longer need to dream about wins over teams at the bottom of the ladder only and hoping for a small modicum of success. Winning has now become part of the 2016 Demons side. 

Melbourne 6.5.41 9.8.62 11.11.77 12.15.87

Fremantle 2.1.13 3.1.19 7.4.46 8.7.55

Goals

Melbourne Hogan 4 Kent Watts 3 N Jones vandenberg 

Fremantle Pavlich 3 Mayne 2 Ballantyne Suban Taberner

Best

Melbourne Tyson N Jones Viney T McDonald Gawn Grimes

Fremantle Neale Sutcliffe Hill Crozier Blakely Pavlich

Changes

Melbourne  Nil

Fremantle Nil

Injuries 

Melbourne  Oscar McDonald (ankle), Bernie Vince (shin)

Fremantle David Mundy (concussion)

Reports  

Melbourne  Nil

Fremantle Lachie Weller reported for high contact against Jayden Hunt 

Umpires Margetts, Ryan, Mitchell

Official crowd 8,163 at the TIO Stadium