THE BOOK OF MELBON by The Oracle

Hello!

This is the story about a bunch of nice guys who, at one stage, believed they were destined to do something incredible.

When the Demons comfortably beat the Latter Day Saints in the opening round of the 2017 season it was a case of brimming wide toothy smiles from all of the Melbourne players and their supporters. 

We were in for a great season and it didn't matter that one team member was injured in the early stages of the first game or that one of the better players was reported as a result of a stupid indiscretion. The team was young, happy, healthy and most of all they BELIEVED ... and all was well and good. The Book of Melbon was about to be spread across every corner of the world.

In the weeks to follow the team was taken to dark places. More of those smiling players were injured or suspended. The promise of paradise inspired by the historical figure of their long gone ancient coach Norman Smith evaporated into thin air. The team faced its own demons in the guise of an inability to cope with expectation that comes with a team on the rise. They had to find a way to address and overcome their inconsistencies, to find the courage to take control of the situation, to "Man Up".

The AFL's Mission Control sent the Demons to Alice Springs in the red centre of the country to convert the locals and to make them love the game of Australian Rules but the population there already had problems of their own. 

Meanwhile, those smiling young boys from Melbon had to confront another enemy, one that had recently been on a sojourn to another continent where they were battered from pillar to post and were now on a mission of revenge. To their sheer amazement the Demons and their fans discovered the local bookies had installed them as outright favourite to win their forthcoming confrontation with the Gold Coast Suns. Panic immediately set in and the nightmare began once again in the form of the "Spooky Melbon Hell Dream".

This incredible saga has a dramatic twist and I'll be back after interval (team selection) to tell the rest of the story ... 

THE GAME

Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns at Traeger Park, Alice Springs Saturday 27 May, 2017 at 4.40pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall - Melbourne 6 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins 

At Traeger Park - Melbourne 0 wins Gold Coast Suns 0 wins 

Past five matches - Melbourne 3 wins Gold Coast Suns 2 wins

The Coaches -  Goodwin 0 wins Eade 0 wins

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy Channel - Live at 4.30pm

RADIO - Triple M SEN ABC ABC Grandstand

THE BETTING

Melbourne to win - $1.45 Gold Coast Suns to win - $2.75

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 9.12.66 defeated Gold Coast Suns 9.10.64 at MCG Round 19, 2016

After handing out a thrashing to the Suns on their home turf earlier in the season, the Demons started as white hot favourite to repeat the dose on the MCG. Predictably, their inconsistency shone through and it was only the heroism of a smiling Jack Watts that saw the team home by a narrow two point margin at the end of the day.

THE TEAMS

MELBOURNE

B: Jayden Hunt, Sam Frost, Neville Jetta 
HB: Michael Hibberd, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis 
C: Nathan Jones, Clayton Oliver, Bernie Vince 
HF: Jeff Garlett, Cameron Pedersen, James Harmes 
F: Tomas Bugg, Christian Petracca, Mitch Hannan 
FOLL: Tom McDonald, Dom Tyson, Jack Viney 
I/C: Jake Melksham, Alex Neal-Bullen, Josh Wagner, Jack Watts
EMG: Dean Kent, Christian Salem, Sam Weideman 

IN: James Harmes, Jake Melksham, Alex Neal-Bullen 

OUT: Dean Kent (omitted), Christian Salem (suspended), Sam Weideman (omitted) 

GOLD COAST

B: Jesse Joyce, Jack Leslie, Jarrod Harbrow
HB: Sean Lemmens, Steven May, Adam Saad
C: Alex Sexton, Will Brodie, David Swallow
HF: Jarryd Lyons, Tom J. Lynch, Touk Miller
F: Brandon Matera, Peter Wright, Jack Martin
FOLL: Jarrod Witts, Aaron Hall, Michael Barlow
I/C:  Brayden Fiorini, Pearce Hanley, Kade Kolodjashnij, Brad Scheer
EMG: Keegan Brooksby, Matt Shaw, Mackenzie Willis 

IN: Will Brodie, Pearce Hanley, David Swallow, 
OUT: Gary Ablett (shoulder), Jack Bowes (illness), Keegan Brooksby (omitted) 

The writing was on the wall the moment the non-selection of Gary Ablett Junior was confirmed. It was bad enough that the Demons were starting as favourites but the loss of the great man immediately put the focus on Rodney Eade's future as coach. Suddenly, it was a game that had enormous importance for the Gold Coast Suns - perform or become the laughing stock of the competition. A team of duds with no fight left in them  

Earlier in the season, there were a few other teams performing like duds with no fight in them. Fremantle, Hawthorn and North Melbourne are their names and the one thing they have in common is that each of them took control of Melbourne at one stage in their recent contests which they narrowly won. They resurrected the careers of their respective coaches.

The nice, toothy-smiling Demons have a habit of performing such good deeds for others and in the nation's red centre, they will continue their mission to nowhere if they play as they did against that trio. 

I fear that this is what will happen if they're not quite switched on again.

James Harmes, Jake Melksham and Alex Neal-Bullen all return to the team this week to offset Ablett's surprise injury omission. In the bizarre world that is AFL football today, I'm fully expecting Ablett's replacement to rise to the occasion and two-metre Peter and Tom Lynch to celebrate a birthday.

Gold Coast Suns to win by 1 point