GLIDING

by The Oracle

With three or four minutes to go before three quarter time in yesterday's opening round game of the AFL's Pre-Season NAB Cup between Melbourne and Hawthorn, the Hawks were just about on the ropes.

Melbourne held a lead of 32 points (they didn't know that however, because Chris Johnson's nine point goal hadn't yet been given its full reward) and some members of the team must have gotten the idea in their heads that they had the game in the bag. They seemed to drop the pressure just a little and, all of a sudden, a couple of lesser known Hawks in Muston and McGlynn snuck in for super goals. Before we even knew it, there were only two very ordinary goals between the teams.

Those goals were made up very quickly when Lance Franklin took advantage of some sloppy play by Demons downfield to level the scores and Jarryd Roughhead marked and goaled for the Hawks to take an improbable lead in the early minutes of the final quarter. Hawthorn had grabbed the momentum and they streaked away from a rather flatfooted Melbourne combination. Now the Demons were gliding in a downward direction - seemingly without the capacity to reverse the trend.

Early in the game, Melbourne had the ascendency for the first ten minutes but could only convert truly once. Hawthorn then took over until halfway through the second quarter when the Demons running game clicked and they really looked on top by half time when they held a 16 point lead which was increased further as they dominated most of the third term.

Where does that put Melbourne in the scheme of things?

Clearly, a Nab Cup game in February is not the # 1 priority for a team that has in mind the need to break through the barrier for a top four finish in the main competition. The Demons went in with limited preparation (4 x 12 minute quarters of an intra club game last Tuesday at Telstra Dome) and a half strength team. That it was in a dominant position so close to three quarters of the way through the game was a tribute to their hard work and running to that time but the running at this early stage took its toll. Melbourne had far more possession of the ball; at times even over possessing in an effort to practice different styles of play. We saw their limitations but the experiment will no doubt continue - they simply have to get get better at it.

Among the younger brigade Chris Johnson, Daniel Bell and Nathan Jones (especially in the first half) showed plenty and will be the big improvers in 2007. Recruit James Frawley was promising in his first run in senior company and Simon Buckley, who was drafted at the end of 2005 and spent 2006 with the Zebras, showed some pace and class.

On the debit side there was some very average performances put in by a few of the veterans who should have shown more leadership even at this time of the year. Perhaps someone should tell them that at the start of a new season you can't take your place in the team for granted!

Now that the Demons have been eliminated from the Nab Cup, they don't have to play in these meaningless exhibition games with the funny rules. Instead, they will enjoy playing in even more meaningless practice matches in the bush. Their first assignment is a road trip to Mount Gambier where they meet Adelaide which should be a good hit out against a team that came close to contesting the grand final of the real thing last year.

To my mind, that's what the clubs should be focussing on even at this stage of the year - the real thing!

HAWTHORN 0.3.4 0.4.8 2.6.13 3.11.17 110

MELBOURNE 0.2.5 0.7.6 2.8.13 2.9.14 86

Goals: Hawthorn: Franklin 5, Williams 2, Roughead 2, McGlynn 2 (one super goal), Young, Muston (super goal), Lewis (super goal).

Melbourne: Neitz 2, Robertson 2, Green 2 (one super goal), Johnson 2 (one super goal), Bruce, Brown, Dunn.

Best: Hawthorn: Franklin, Bateman, Hodge, Crawford, Lewis, Birchall.

Melbourne: Bruce, Brown, Green, McDonald, Bell, Jones.

Injuries*: Hawthorn: Ladson (ankle).

At Telstra Dome. Crowd: 14,000

[Another bonus is that no new injuries were revealed from the match - that doesn't mean there were no injuries; what it means is that it might take us a week to find out if there have been any]