HAPPY HOMECOMING by Dees in October

[Demonland 73,139]

For the first time in a long while, I was back at Casey Fields, "enjoying" that blazing sun lowering inch by inch. It was a return to normality with a little league match at half time and a much-enjoyed and long-anticipated return to kick-to-kick post-match, in which I starred. Credit to the cheer squad who were at full strength and in full voice, with a ripper banner. Other notable attendees included young players from Melbourne's Alice Springs Academy team which was great to see.

The Dees had Caris and Magee replace Hanks (protocols) and Gay (quad). The Suns were also missing a big name in Pregelj. At the forefront of the minds of a somewhat jittery Demons crowd: how would the team respond to last week's less than stellar performance?

FIRST QUARTER

The Dees won the toss, and my attention was soon drawn to Zanker going to the number one draft pick in Rowbottom, an intriguing match-up. The Suns applied plenty of pressure early, well aware that's the way to go against Melbourne's ball carriers. Unlike last week, however, it wasn't a one-way street, with the Dees bringing much greater intensity around the ball. The Suns did well to stave off numerous Demon attacks, making use of an extra player back to fill the hole in front of Harris in particular. 

Of course, it's not a Casey Fields report without some weather details, and it was that typical tricky Casey wind: swirling one minute, a gale the next, then dying intermittently. This wreaked havoc on all players' ability to read the ball, though some strong marking by Birch both in defence and up the ground put the rest to shame.

Unable to capitalise on their chances, with some downright ugly shots falling short and spiralling way offline, the Demons took a three-point advantage into the first break. Yet I've watched enough of this team to know that, in games like this, against opposition like this, when they pepper the scoreboard and trap the board forward, they generally win out. A slow start, yes – but at least no damage in the 'against' column after Lampard and Heath put on some excellent defensive pressure to stifle late forward thrusts by the Suns.

SECOND QUARTER

The second quarter brought much of the same, although with more forward time for Gold Coast. L. Pearce took some handy marks as a result of good positioning. However, Melbourne’s inside 50 entries left a lot to be desired, with its forwards failing to find adequate separation due to a lack of speed on the lead, while those with ball in hand did little to put the ball to their advantage. Finally, a great kick to the hot spot by Zanker found Harris exactly where she was meant to be. Unfortunately, her kick let her down; an unsure attempt to work with the wind. Another good lead from Harris soon after lead to a free kick from a nervous defender, with Scott taking the resulting shot from advantage. Her poor execution, however, couldn't be put down to unfamiliarity with the vagaries of Casey Fields.

With around four minutes remaining, Drennan of the Suns opened their scoring with a major, courtesy of a kick out of the ruck against Caris by ex-Dee Perkins, and it was a familiar, frustrating scenario. However, a goal meant a rare re-start in the middle, and a chance from a secondary ball-up for L. Pearce to combine with Zanker, who successfully fended off to find some space to launch the ball forward and onto the chest Harris. 

She got the ball moving quickly to the top of the square, where Daisy crumbed front and centre to scramble a goal for the immediate reply. The Demons doubled up in the next passage of play, with Bannan rushing a high kick forward in similar fashion. Parked bravely underneath it was McNamara, and her commitment to an unlikely marking opportunity earned her a free kick, which she duly converted for a handy ten-point buffer in a low-scoring affair.

THIRD QUARTER

With the wind again, it was time to attempt to set up a victory. In a similar move to the one that gained her first AFLW goal, Fitzsimon tried to step her opponent and was the recipient of a panicked high tackle. Her shot was expertly directed at the right goal post, and the margin stretched to 16. The Suns didn't look like scoring, while the Demond were able to find some more space as the game opened up somewhat. Case in point was Mithen taking a couple of bounces on the wing after Birch mopped up down back and linked with Paxman. Mithen drew the player and gave a slightly off-target handball to McNamara, who had time to gather in oodles of space before calmly going in the Harris direction. With the resultant free kick from the marking contest, she took the simple approach and just slammed it through hard, giving Melbourne a 23-point lead.

In the last five minutes, the Suns nabbed one off a booming kick against the flow, and it became all-important to see out the quarter strongly to prevent a comeback from building. The necessary physicality came through Harris, who imposed herself with a strong but fair tackle on her opponent, Gold Coast's reigning best and fairest Ahrens, who went off injured. A few late chances to the Dees went begging, so they hadn't snuffed out the Suns completely, with a 19-point advantage definitely "gettable" for a team bolstered by two consecutive wins from last-quarter heroics.

FOURTH QUARTER

Gold Coast were full of fight and keen to use the wind advantage to snatch victory. However, the Dees made a strong start out of the ruck and had good control in the middle of the ground in the early part of the quarter, with a clear emphasis on kicking low and hard into the wind allowing them to string together some marking chains. This included a rare sight this season: Daisy being hit up on the lead. She turned quickly to put the ball to Harris's advantage who then snared her second goal. In a crucial moment a while later, all that stood between a sprinting and side-stepping Sun and an open forward 50 was Heath, who gritted her teeth and did enough to halt their progress.

Still, some hesitation over the footy and a lack of clean disposals dogged the Demons and cost them the chance to really kill the contest. For the Suns, Stanton was impressive, kicking a great goal after getting out the back and leaving Sherriff to a hopeless, though valiant, chase. From there, all energy went into slogging out the game defensively. Howarth kicked a classic goal in the dying stages, amusingly commentated with the remark, "She couldn't! She can! That's a sausage!" by an enthusiastic Sun on the outer – you can't get that at home on the couch.

While they leaked the last two goals of the match, they defended desperately, as the Demond notched up their tenth-straight win at Casey.   While it wasn't the convincing rebound victory we'd have liked, the team needed to get back to the grind, and this game certainly had plenty of that. The day they bring that contested effort and better polish together in equilibrium against quality opposition for four quarters will be one of true satisfaction.

STATS & STAND-OUTS

Melbourne showed a greater willingness to kick and less propensity to be handball happy, though the Suns' pressure still often had the intended effect. The home team returned to their dominance of disposals (220 to 157) and their efficiency inside 50 (74% to 40%) was crucial. The accumulation of 20 shots from 27 inside 50s (regardless of how good those shots turned out to be!) meant that weight of numbers eventually won the day. A victory in the contested possession was likely high on the priority list and was delivered (116 to 90). The 177 combined tackles were the highest aggregate in competition history, which is saying something! A mark count of 33 to 18, including 8 contested to nil and 7 to 2 inside 50, reflected a strong aerial showing in this game. The ability to trap the ball inside 50 that was so lacking last round was fostered partly by 26 to 10 tackles inside 50. If only they'd put it on the board!

L. Pearce was prominent, leading the disposals with 20 to match her 20 hit outs, supported by 12 from Caris. I liked West's game; still some dicey moments with ball in hand, but her endeavour was great and she's strong over the footy. Her 6 clearances were beaten only by L. Pearce's 7. Zanker bounced back with a solid 18 disposals, better connection with L. Pearce and Paxman in particular, and greater aggression around the ball, though still with some occasional poor decision-making. Lampard was effective across the back with 17, and while Paxman continued to have some fumbly and slow-reaction moments, I was pleasantly surprised to witness her speed across the ground after not seeing her in action live for 10 months. Mithen was another with an improved performance, leading the tackles with 12, while McNamara felt way more involved than her 8 disposals would suggest. Daisy could have had 3 goals off 4 disposals – unfortunately, it was only to be 1.2. Heath showed some great intensity in her battle with a talented player in Surman. Birch has perhaps been our most consistent player this season so far, with another steady contribution in this game.

On the downside, Hore was again well held. My thoughts on Parry didn't change on live viewing. It's time to see what else we've got, especially after another quiet game from Scott as well.

MELBOURNE 0.3.3 2.4.16 4.7.31 5.8.38

GOLD COAST SUNS 0.0.0 1.0.6 2.0.12 4.2.26

GOALS

MELBOURNE Harris 2 Fitzsimon McNamara D Pearce

GOLD COAST SUNS Drennan Hampson Howarth Stanton 

BEST 

MELBOURNE Zanker Mithen Birch L Pearce Heath 

GOLD COAST SUNS Drennan Stanton Howarth Yorston Rowbottom

INJURIES 

MELBOURNE Nil

GOLD COAST SUNS Ahrens (hamstring)

REPORTS 

MELBOURNE Nil

GOLD COAST SUNS Nil

CROWD 1,124 at Casey Fields

NEXT ROUND Eighth-placed GWS at Casey on Sunday.

THE LAST WORD We're third on the ladder mid-way through the season, but do we truly belong with the top tier?