BEYOND 272

by the Demonlanders (Alpha 33, Chelly, deeboy, dees_rule_4eva, Demon Head, Fan, Old55, Roger Mellie, Rumpole, Spirit of the Demon and Whispering Jack)

Melbourne record breaker David Neitz emphatically stamped his name in the club record books with an 8-goal haul against St. Kilda at the MCG on Sunday. The match winning performance was befitting of the club's champion skipper who broke the previous record of 272 games held by another Demon great in Robbie Flower.

Despite the dominance of the skipper and the strength of Brock McLean and James McDonald in the middle, the Saints fought back valiantly in the second half after the Demons took a 6 goal lead into the main break. Brushing off the scare, Melbourne steadied to win the game 15.13.103 to 13.12.90 to set up a blockbuster game on Queens Birthday against an old foe in Collingwood.

First blood of the game went to the Saints when Schwarze snaffled the ball as it fell from a pack in the goal square but the Demons dominated most of the rest of the quarter. Jeff White controlled the rucks and Brock McLean was strong inside, gathering plenty of clearances. Melbourne's tackling was relentless and it soon paid dividends. Neitz was strong at full forward kicking a long goal after a worm burning pass from Brock McLean followed by two more in short succession. Aaron Davey ran forward to kick what might have been a World Cup sizzler but it hit the post and a poor defensive error then let St. Kilda in for a late goal. The Dees led by 14 points at the first break but it should have been more.

The second quarter opened with a great pass from Harvey to Dal Santo for a goal and the deficit was just 8 points. But the Demons kept up their relentless pressure and began forcing errors. St. Kilda's Gram kicked into a team mate and Cameron Bruce goaled after picking up the rebounding ball. Brendon Goddard lost it and gave away a 50 metre penalty after a perfect tackle from James McDonald brought him down and Neita just kept on kicking goals. He had six by the half and Melbourne led by that number of six pointers. All those sixes were positively devilish in the eyes of those Saints.

The mandatory quiet beer at halftime chatting to your mates when your team is well in front and comfortably in control of the game can often be illusory. But surely not when the captain is putting on an exhibition and the team is giving all the indications of wanting to honour his moment in the sun with a sensational performance? And so it seemed when the skipper kicked number seven early in the third to extend the lead to 41 points. The midfield was committed and the defence was holding tight but then, all of a sudden, a change came over the game.

Whether it was Melbourne's attempt at playing the dreaded "tempo" game, a lift in intensity from St. Kilda, the loss of Matthew Whelan and Clint Bartram to injury or simply a wish on the part of the team to once again test their hearts and those of their supporters with another tense affair, we'll never know.

The Saints took control of the midfield battles thanks to Dal Santo and Ball to hit back strongly and get within 8 points shortly before the change when Lyndon Dunn finally kicked a steadying goal from a strong pack mark, having missed a sitter on the run only moments before. Melbourne went into the last change with a lead of only 14 points.

I put down the beer and reached for the valium in anticipation of yet another close finish.

The final quarter is now something of a blur to me. I remember feeling a little under pressure and a few moments of anxiety as St. Kilda threatened to make a surge towards victory but it didn't eventuate. While the Dees appeared to have very little petrol left in the tank after last week's long trip west, the Saints didn't have the ability to take advantage of the fact that Dal Santo and Ball were getting on top in the middle. Travis Johnstone, who had been held early, came out of his shell and created many opportunities with his deft disposal and it was Byron Pickett whose brilliant run and pass to Matty Bate for a goal that put the game beyond doubt.

That, and the feeling of elation felt by players and supporters alike together with Neita's triumph at the end, is all I remember about that part of the game.

Well almost, because I also recall hearing a Demon supporter shouting loudly, "Stop fricken' around and kick it up the guts!" each time the players retained possession in the backline. And that brings me to an interesting aspect of the game that is reflected in some of the statistics:-

Despite being well beaten in the clearances and Inside50s, Melbourne won the match comfortably.

What happened?

St. Kilda's efficiency inside 50 was way down on Melbourne's because its players bombed away to Riewoldt and Gehrig who were well held by Holland and Gehrig with able assistance from Rivers. How many times were these crude attacks safely repelled? Look at the rebound 50 stat; Melbourne absolutely pantsed them there. The Demons fought hard to win just as much hard ball and tackled them harder too; their one per centers were well up protecting their players with the ball - they worked too hard to gain possession to give it up easily. And because they spotted up free targets they made less overall errors. When there was a chain of free players deep into 50 they went that way, when the Saints clamped down and built a wall in midfield the Dees simply refused to give up possession blindly.

Perhaps the Saints took the advice shouted by that Demon supporter a little too literally themselves?

Melbourne 4.4.28 10.9.69 12.10.82 15.13.103

St Kilda 2.2.14 5.3.33 10.8.68 13.12.90

Goals Neitz 8, McLean, Dunn, Robertson, Bruce, Whelan, Bate, Pickett

Best Neitz McLean McDonald Yze Carroll C Johnson

Injuries Whelan (buttock) Bartram (arm) Moloney (groin) replaced in selected side by Godfrey.

Umpires McLaren, Meredith, Wenn

Reports - Goddard (St Kilda) reported by field umpire McLaren for striking McDonald (Melbourne) in the second quarter

Crowd 41,665 at the MCG

This review is dedicated to 'betty_spaghetti' (Bianca) All at Demonland wish her a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing her cheering on Neita and her Demons in the not too distant future.