DANCING WITH THE STARS

by Whispering Jack

Melbourne went on a mission to the MCG on the Queens Birthday. A win would see it complete the first half of the season with a well earned place as a contender for one of the highly coveted positions in the top four – in the AFL heavens among the elite of the competition. A defeat would have it battling for a finals berth against the teams in the next ranking tier and in the same familiar places it inhabited for the past two and a half seasons. So winning the match and overwhelming the Magpies emphatically to the tune of 47 points has gained it a place in the big show among those playing in the football firmament. Mission accomplished - but only for "now" because as we all know so very well, football is a fickle sport and we have to take things one week at a time (ouch!).

The game's fickle nature was amply demonstrated by the vanquished team of the day. A little over a week ago they were riding high on the crest of a wave, dancing circles around most of their opponents and crushing the life out of most of them with devastating bursts of football, mainly in the latter halves of their matches. Collingwood has been a settled side all year but the cost of that has been that its depth has barely been tested. Then injury struck without warning last week - just as it was about to be confronted by a rampant Melbourne lying in wait for its prey.

For the record, the Magpie injury woes are no more devastating than those of the Demons. The teams' respective injury lists have by now been well documented and closely compared. The difference is that in Melbourne's case, its reserve strength managed to pass the test easily while that of Collingwood failed miserably. Furthermore, it was the Demon stars who stood up to be counted while the much vaunted Magpie leaders, especially men like Buckley, Rocca, Tarrant and Fraser who missed large slabs of 2005 on the sidelines and were among the main components of their 2006 improvement, who went missing. More appropriately, the Demon machine totally and utterly subdued them and to say otherwise would be to demean the performance of its coaching panel and its negating players who fulfilled their roles so magnificently.

This Melbourne victory was well planned and well executed. The team was well structured, contested the ball hard from the outset and had all the answers. Starting with a dominant two tiered ruck of Jeff White and Mark Jamar which carried the centre bounces to a hard hitting midfield that won the majority of the clearances, the Demons were methodical in the way they moved the ball into the forward fifty, contesting the ball hard whatever the circumstances. It was the relentless pressure all over the ground that brought the Magpies undone forcing them to constantly be second to the ball and, when they did manage to get their hands on it, forcing them into countless skill errors.

On top of that Melbourne had a special combination of football magic in the guise of Byron Pickett whose hardness at the football was matched by his skill, run and deadly disposal and Aaron Davey who ran rings around a befuddled opposition, taking spectacular marks and weaving around the park with the speed, balance and grace of a flamenco dancer locked in what was a deadly dance for the Magpies.

Then there was the dominance of James McDonald, the brilliant persistence and endurance of Cameron Bruce who made Tarrant irrelevant and picked up a swag of possessions all over the place later in the game, the leadership of Brad Green, the skills of our own Socceroo Adem Yze and the silky smooth soft shoe shuffling of Travis Johnstone who had us in awe with his brilliance. And you can add the stunning footwork and skills of young Matthew Bate for who a Rising Star nomination surely beckons, if for nothing else, then for that running goal from outside fifty that brought the house down and put a dagger into the hearts of the black and white army. A special mention to Phil Read, maligned in some quarters and staring at football oblivion when reported for an indiscretion in the VFL a couple of weeks ago (a rap that he beat), who played out a special game in front of his old coach in Mick Malthouse.

We need especially to sing the praises of defenders like Nathan Carroll who has raised own his game through the stratosphere this year easily taking out Nathan Buckley this week and Benny Holland who has destroyed the G Train and Rocca Bye Baby in successive weeks. The stats sheet shows that Rocca failed to take a single mark in four quarters of football. In fact, he finished the day with just three possessions including one single solitary goal - all courtesy of the yellow men who were allegedly in control of the game (don't worry, I'm getting to them).

We shouldn't underestimate the grace and style of Jared Rivers who not only defended grandly but managed to burst forward a couple of times, finally scoring his maiden AFL goal and then another. And how good is Clint Bartram's debut season? Just 18 years old and fresh out of the AIS from last year, he knows no fear and just keeps on wrapping up opposition playmakers forcing them into skill errors and subduing them week in, week out.

The attendance of just under 80,000 would have been a little disappointing given the occasion and the opposition. Still, it was the biggest crowd for a Melbourne game since the MCG redevelopment and the Demons did it justice, soaking up the atmosphere and adding to the excitement of the day.

One group of people in respect of who the word "justice" would be a misnomer were the three yellow clad blind mice whose performance was, shall we say, more than somewhat confusing. I don't have a problem with bad umpires making bad decisions - we put up with that every week - but for heaven's sake, at least they could be consistent in their interpretations. I've already provided the example of how they gave Collingwood's Rocca the world but what on earth did the Demon forwards have to do to earn free kicks in the face of the numerous pushes, jumper grabs and various other infringements they were subjected throughout the afternoon? It was only when a Magpie heavy literally impaled himself on top of Robbo that one of the yellow maggots discovered that he was free to blow his whistle in favour of someone in red and blue colours - the only such occurrence in the Demon forward line in a torrid day of football. It wasn't much different elsewhere on the ground so why do I bother with these clowns? Melbourne won comfortably despite their efforts which simply prevented the game from turning into a total blow out in its favour. I live in hope that I will have nothing more to say about the yellow maggots again for the season.

As I said early in this piece, it's a game of fluctuating fortunes. On form, Melbourne should easily dispose of bottom side Essendon this weekend. However, we should always remember how they started this AFL season – with a loss to last year's bottom side. The Demons have the momentum. They need to continue playing hard, inspirational football in the coming weeks to ensure that, by season's end, they're still dancing with the stars.

Melbourne 4.2.26 10.3.63 17.7.109 22.9.141

Collingwood 2.5.17 5.7.37 9.8.62 14.10.94

Goals Yze 4 Davey Neitz Pickett 3 Bruce Rivers 2 Bate Dunn Jamar Johnstone Robertson

Best Bruce Davey Johnstone Carroll Pickett Holland Rivers Green McDonald

Injuries B McLean (hamstring) replaced in selected side by P Read, M Whelan (hip/buttock) replaced in selected side by D Ward

Reports Nil

Umpires McBurney James Stevic

Crowd 78,773 at the MCG