A CHANGE IN MOMENTUM ...

[Demonland 66,930]

by Scoop Junior

Football is a game of momentum. When you have it, it is a stronger force than a dominant key forward, a determined midfielder or a rugged defender. Things seem to go your way – the bounce of the ball, crucial umpiring decisions, lack of injuries, etc. – and it becomes a driving force to win the match. On the other hand, when your opposition has the momentum, it is akin to swimming against a strong tide, as it seems that despite the effort put in, it will amount to nothing in the end.

When Nick Davis took a few bounces and slotted through a goal in the third term to reduce the margin to under three goals, the crowd lifted and the momentum shifted heavily in the home side's favour. David Neitz, Brock McLean and Paul Johnson were out for the game and the only fit man on the bench was barely that, with Colin Sylvia having suffered some mild concussion earlier in the match. Sydney kicked a couple more quick ones and at three quarter time looked to be the team with all the momentum.

But the Demons, a team often criticised (and justifiably so) for their inability to fight their way out of a rut and arrest the momentum did exactly that, silencing the home crowd to pull away to handy two-goal lead in a tight and torrid final term. To the Swans' credit, they too fought back and found themselves a goal down with roughly 10 minutes remaining in the match. What transpired in these last 10 minutes will long live in the memory of Demons fans.

Neither side gave an inch as contest after contest resulted in much effort without much gain. With five minutes remaining, Jared Rivers was penalised for holding the ball (somewhat harshly considering the interpretation of holding the ball employed by the men in yellow during the match). Adam Schneider withdrew his hand in a bid to let the ball float over his head after Rivers threw it back to him. It was a con job and the umpire was sucked in completely, penalising the Demon 50 metres and in the process handing Sydney back the all-important momentum.

As a Melbourne fan, you cannot be anything but pessimistic in such a situation. We have seen it all before – a questionable decision gifting the opposition a goal, injured players on the bench, vocal opposition support from the stands – and it seemed inevitable that the Swans would score again and steal the match. Well, these were my thoughts anyway and with the clock racing to 30 minutes (and no idea of how much time was left), it appeared that one more score, if there was still time, would settle it.

But the Demons refused to roll over and accept a fourth straight defeat. They bravely held on as Sydney bombarded their attacking 50, not allowing the Swans to register a score. A Demons’ score seemed light years away, with Melbourne struggling to even get the ball inside 50. It was just excruciating sitting there, with the time clock ticking over 33 minutes.

How long could the quarter go? The siren surely must be seconds away. Can we stop them scoring? But we want to score ourselves and not finish with a draw!

It was almost too much to bear. Nathan Carroll laid a tremendous bump on Goodes to stop the Swan in his tracks. Against conventional wisdom, Melbourne managed to scrounge the ball forward, where an errant Ben Matthews handball was intercepted by Travis Johnstone, whose quick kick sent the ball within range for the Demons. I could just picture it: the siren finally sounds when we are so close to our goals, a drawn game, all that effort in vain…there’s the pessimism again!

But time seemed to stand still as Nathan Brown's handball to Bruce set up the match-winning goal. Oh, the joy! The roar from the Melbourne section was not dissimilar to a late goal in a final at the MCG, as Demons fans jumped up and down in ecstasy with the team's first win on the cards. Still, though, the timekeepers had other ideas and the familiar Melbourne pessimism was almost justified as Sydney managed to create a last-ditch scoring chance. However, Nick Malceski's effort drifted wide of the goals and the Demons hung on to record one of their most memorable road wins.

It really was a tremendous effort. The momentum was with Sydney and to be able to prevent them from scoring in the dying minutes and actually go down and kick a goal ourselves was testament to the character of the group on the day. Bruce again led the way for the Dees with an excellent game, while Byron Pickett stepped up in the midfield to fill the void left by McLean. His experience and attack on the footy was critical. Jeff White kicked two goals and out-pointed Darren Jolly in the ruck, Brad Green cut out the influence of Brett Kirk while James McDonald worked hard all day but let himself down with some wayward disposal. The defence was tremendous, with Brad Miller claiming Barry Hall’s scalp for the second year running, Carroll completely nullifying the dangerous Michael O'Loughlin, Jared Rivers providing plenty of assistance for his teammates with some terrific spoils and Matthew Whelan slowly returning to form as the match wore on.

A win such as this can do wonders for a team's season. However, it must not be forgotten that Melbourne defeated Adelaide and Sydney early in the season last year only to fall away and be a shadow of the competitive, hungry and spirited side that it was early in 2005. The Demons have shown that they can match it with two of the better inside stoppage teams in the Swans and Crows, but this is nothing new as we have done so in the past. What we have not been able to do is sustain this intensity, spirit and determination over the course of a season. This is the key challenge that faces this football team. Put simply, anyone on their day can produce a spirited win…the key to being an elite team in the competition is to invoke the right attitude consistently over the course of the season.

For the time being, though, let’s not take anything away from a truly memorable win that will no doubt go down as one of Melbourne's best in recent times.

Melbourne 3.3.21 7.5.47 10.6.66 15.7.97

Sydney 4.2.26 6.6.42 9.10.64 13.14.92

Goals A Yze 3 C Bruce A Davey P Johnson J White 2 B McLean D Neitz B Pickett R Robertson

Best B Pickett A Davey A Yze C Bruce J McDonald

Injuries A Davey (finger) P Johnson (shoulder) B McLean (groin) D Neitz (hip) C Sylvia (concussion)

Reports Nil

Umpires M James M Ellis T Pannell

Crowd 29,167 at SCG

POST SCRIPT

Anyone planning to go to Sydney in the future should definitely attend the NSW Demons pre-match brunch. It was very well organised and excellent to hear from Anthony Rock and Steve Harris. It is a great opportunity to meet Sydney-based Melbourne supporters and to basically talk "Demons" with fellow Melbourne supporters prior to the game. Well done NSW Demons!