HALF HIGHWAY, HALF HEARTACHE

[Demonland 65,843]

by Scoop Junior

A trip down the highway is no longer a mere formality. After 17 years of sameness at Kardinia Park, in which time the Demons could not manage a single win, the past two outings at the Cattery have produced unforgettable results.

Last year, the Dees travelled to Geelong with their season on the line. In a stirring second half comeback, they led by two points when Matt Egan marked within range in the dying moments. With almost a sense of theatre, the timekeepers sounded the final siren, giving the Cats’ defender the chance to win the game off his own boot. The kick drifted to the left and the Demons won by a point in the most thrilling fashion.

Fast forward a year later and Melbourne returned to Geelong with a similar smell of September in the year. This time, though, the Demons were not trying to keep their finals hopes alive, but rather their top four chances. All week we had been doing the calculations and the consensus was that a win would leave our top four hopes resting on the Round 22 trip to Adelaide, while a loss would in all probability end our top four dreams.

What wasn't built into the equation was a draw. Who would have thought it even possible? Hence the confusion experienced by Melbourne fans when, with what seemed like the second year running of a unique sense of theatre, the timekeepers blew the siren a second before Bartel rushed what would have been the match-winning behind to Geelong. The initial thoughts were somewhere between "thank goodness we didn't lose that one" and "how did we not win that game after being 38 points up?"

But, after overcoming the shock of the side’s first draw since Round 7 1992, thoughts then turned to the consequences for the Dees' finals aspirations. The draw would enable Melbourne to remain in the top four for the duration of the round, with its position to be determined by the Adelaide game next week. A win would not have changed this scenario. However, a loss to Adelaide could mean an elimination final at Subiaco against Fremantle had the Dockers lost to the Eagles. In light of this situation, the lost two points could have proven costly.

However, with the Dockers thumping the Eagles, it appears now that Neale Daniher's optimism at the result, in the sense that a draw was as good as a win, was justified. In light of the Round 21 results, two points is just about as good as four points, in the sense that a win next week will see the Dees make the top four and a loss will result in a home elimination final.

Like last week, it was a tale of two halves. This time, though, the Demons came flying out of the blocks only to be caught in their tracks and almost overrun in the second half.

The first half was tremendous. Playing at a difficult venue, the Demons exhibited their A-grade pressure game that has been the hallmark of most of their victories this season. The tackling and ability to get numbers to the footy ensured there was plenty of heat around the footy. The Cats struggled to cope and as a result of the pressure fumbled, rushed their disposals and failed to hit targets and string together passages of play. This is the type of footy that wins finals and the Demons were excelling at it.

With Cameron Bruce, Travis Johnstone and James McDonald, Melbourne was well on top out of the middle and despite some problems up forward with the absence of skipper David Neitz, the amount of supply forward of centre resulted in 10 first-half goals. Adem Yze was a threat deep forward while the Dees rotated a number of smaller players through the forward positions, including Simon Godfrey, Brad Green, Aaron Davey and Byron Pickett.

Daniel Ward also provided excellent run off half back and his ability to carry the ball was invaluable.

The highlight of the first half was Yze's mark in the goal square. TV failed to do justice to what was truly a screamer. From the angle where I was sitting (front on to the mark), all you could see was Hunt under a high ball. All of a sudden, Yze just appeared on his shoulders and, as he took the mark, he lost balance in the air and fell forward, making it all the more spectacular.

Despite the brilliant first half, the worry was that the team was only five goals ahead. Five goals in modern footy is not a big lead, especially at an away ground where momentum generated by crowd support can shift so quickly. Melbourne was completely dominant and should have been further ahead.

They well might have been but for two contentious goal umpiring decisions. Davey's snap at the city end looked well and truly over the line but the umpire inexplicably paid it touched. How the decision was not either a mark or goal was baffling, as Egan took the ball cleanly. Soon after, Mark Jamar was denied a mark and goal by the boundary umpire, after the goal umpire, in perfect position, was overruled. May I ask where this boundary umpire with super human vision was when Davey's kick was marked over the line? Why wasn’t he there to interfere and overrule that decision? The Jamar one was all the more costly when the Cats transferred the ball down the other end for an Ottens goal just before the siren. What would have been a 7-goal halftime lead was whittled back to 5 goals: far more physically and mentally surmountable.

On its own dunghill, Geelong was always going to come back; it was just a matter of when. The inevitable happened halfway through the third term. Holding a 38-point lead, the Demons were showing signs of fatigue. The Cats lifted out of the middle through Ling, Bartel and Ablett and with a few quick goals, the home crowd sprung to life. All of a sudden, it was Geelong applying the pressure and intensity and Melbourne could not cope. So clean in the first half, the Dees became jittery and fumbled and struggled to win clean possession. The result was that their inside 50’s were rushed long bombs, playing into the hands of the tall Geelong defenders.

Within 9 points at three-quarter time, the Cats were charging. An Yze goal gave Melbourne some breathing space but they looked out on their feet. The run and pressure of the first half had disappeared and the Cats were finding too many loose players. Ward rolled the dice a couple of times in attacking the contest, but the ball was turned over and Steve Johnson, cheating off the back off the pack, kicked two goals to close the margin. Whelan’s absence was an enormous problem as Daniel Bell, who would have been a better match-up for Johnson than Ward or Clint Bartram, had to curtail Ablett.

Ben Holland bravely put his head over the footy in a critical contest and Johnson charged into him. It wasn't malicious, but a free should have been paid to the Melbourne defender. Instead, the umpire waved play on and Scarlett kicked Geelong into the lead. As Daniher said, it would have taken a courageous umpire to blow the whistle and incur the wrath of the Geelong faithful behind the old Hickey Stand.

The Demons looked gone, but with their last ounce of strength, forced the ball forward where Jamar marked and coolly slotted through one of the most important goals so far in the Dees’ season. An Yze point then gave the Demons the lead, only for Ottens to choke up on his set-shot to level the scores.

In a frantic final few minutes, Geelong looked the more likely team to win the game. If not for some desperate defending from Bartram, Holland and Bell, the Cats would have scored. Bell made some mistakes but attacked the contest hard and repelled a few attacks at critical stages in the last term, while Holland showed his usual desperation to thwart Geelong deep in defence from rushing a behind. Bartram played a terrific game and his effort to restrict Ablett, one of the best one-on-one players in the league, from breaking clear and scoring deep in the pocket in the dying minutes was superb.

With one last sting in the tail, a fatigued Nathan Carroll ran back deep in defence in an attempt to take an uncontested chest mark. He dropped the seemingly "undroppable" and as the ball hit the deck, the siren sounded a second prior to Bartel scoring a point. Talk about being seconds from disaster.

Melbourne's game next week now takes on mammoth proportions. Win and the team will be well placed for a crack at a Grand Final; lose and it will be an extremely difficult run to get to the big one. The Demons must focus on producing a four-quarter effort. It has looked a top two side for four quarters over the least two weeks, with the other four quarters indicative of a bottom eight side.

Davey and Pickett will be better for the run and Neitz and Matthew Bate are chances to come back this week. The Dees also need a lift from Russell Robertson, who seemed too content to take back position to try and climb on Harley's back. He needs to lead out harder and be prepared to play from in front. He should benefit from the return of Neitz, as should the rest of the side as they prepare for a September-shaping clash in Adelaide.

Melbourne 5.2.32 10.5.65 12.8.80 14.10.94

Geelong 2.1.13 5.4.34 11.5.71 14.10.94

Goals Yze 3 McDonald Robertson 2 Bartram Bruce Jamar Johnstone Miller Pickett Sylvia

Best Ward McDonald Yze Bartram Bruce Johnstone

Injuries Neitz (hip flexor) replaced in selected side by Sylvia Whelan (hamstring)

Umpires Meredith Wenn Ellis

Crowd 23,006 at Skilled Stadium