THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN SYDNEY

by Yendys (our guest correspondent from the Harbour City)

Melbourne fans who live in Sydney only get one chance a year to watch their team play live in their own home town. The fanatics can travel across the county if they have adequate time and funding available but, like many others, I have to accept that I can see them in the flesh once or twice a year. I look forward to it immensely but sadly, Saturday night was a massive disappointment.

I had feelings of trepidation as soon as they ran out onto the SCG. I was already conditioned to the fact that, with several of the leading lights of the team out injured, it was going to be a tough struggle but when I looked at the two teams running around before the opening bounce I was concerned. Firstly, the Swans were going into the game with their basic team structure of the past two or three years almost totally intact and secondly, the Demons looked like boys out on an errand of men.

Over the past summer I read many times that Melbourne's plan for 2007 was to get the team so super fit that it could endure the rigours of a long, hard season. As a result I learned that the players' skinfolds and weight were right down (with the exception of Byron Pickett who was a bit of a special case) and that this would hold them in good stead when the finals came around. The thing is however, that Melbourne hasn't been entered into the Olympic Games - it's the AFL, a competition of hardened men and a lot of them have strong bodies. If you can't beat them with strength on a ground like the SCG then you're in it deep.

This was exactly what Sydney showed Melbourne in the first quarter. Hard, relentless football, winning it with strength out of the middle, pounding it forward to where Barry Hall simply manhandled and out bustled Brad Miller, pushing him out of the way as if he was a mere flea. I couldn't believe this was the same Miller who was feted as a Demon strong man a year or two ago!

The Demon faithful in the crowd were right to feel despondent at quarter time. Their few star players were struggling; Travis Johnstone was labouring under a heavy tag, Aaron Davey was trying too hard, the forward line was invisible, the rucks and midfield simply couldn't get a clearance and they weren't doing much around the ground. An alarming statistic was the clearance figures that showed the Swans winning the first eight of the game and by quarter time, the Swans were ahead by 13 to 2. Not surprisingly, by then Sydney had the game won physically, mentally and on the scoreboard - 6.2.38 to 1.2.8. They were throwing Melbourne all over the park and we were sitting there sensing a slaughter was about to engulf us all.

Well, from that point on, to its credit Melbourne fought back and though it won't bring comfort to many, it should be pointed out that the Demons had more scoring shots than the Swans over the remainder of the game. The trouble was that they didn't have the forward power to convert regularly enough while, at the same time, some of their defenders were so inept that Sydney, which had the kicking yips last week, weren't pressured and had the time to kick goals when they were needed.

Davey led a mini fight back as the deficit was cut back to 17 points during a period in the second quarter in which Matthew Bate kicked a brilliant goal from way out beyond 50 metres. However, the Demons couldn't keep their concentration levels up and lapsed late in the term as they have done a few times this year. Nathan Brown has been a courageous player who has had better games than Saturday night but sadly I will remember this game for the goal he gave away just before half time. After marking in the back pocket, he ignored Davey who was running into half back and instead, Brown passed the ball backwards where it was gleefully accepted just outside the goalsquare by an incredulous Jarrad McVeigh who slipped away for a goal to put the Swans 37 points ahead. They should have turned the lights off there and then as far as I was concerned.

Had they done so, debutant Ricky Petterd would still have been seen shining through the night. A slight looking 18-year-old lad with a big future, Petterd was drafted last year at number 30 from the unlikely address of Broadbeach, Queensland. The kid was prepared to have a dip despite lacking the mature strength of his opponent and he capped off his night with a goal when moved forward in the final quarter.

One of the team's stronger bodies was Simon Godfrey. He might lack skills and might not make the best 22 if everyone was available but he always puts everything into his game and he kept Adam Goodes quiet. He even frustrated him into losing his concentration and committing a rare on field sin for a dual Brownlow Medallist.

Carroll was doing better on Hall but the Demons' defence was always under pressure and always the most likely to make mistakes. The Swans' lead was heading towards 50 points early in the second half but when Kennelly was injured after a Byron Pickett tackle, the Demons clawed their way back. Jared Rivers showed how talented he can be in defence and the team gained some rhythm and purpose. They actually won the third quarter!

However, after Mark Jamar missed everything with one of his rare possessions, the deadly accurate Swans got going again to run out convincing winners by 49 points.

Melbourne played like a team that had more than half of its leadership group off the park and unfortunatley, the missing part of that group is the very strength of the team. No offence to Cameron Bruce and James McDonald but they aren't the strong leaders the Demons needed to set the example against the tougher bodied, relentless Swans. There was simply nobody in the team with the mongrel of a Barry Hall or the ability to keep going like Brett Kirk.

Driving home after the game, I passed a church and, in the dark, I could just make out that it had a sign out front suggesting something about the meek inheriting the earth. That might be so but the meek get you nowhere in the AFL and I hope next time the Demons feature in a game up here, that there's a bit more fight in the collective group than what they showed their supporters on Saturday night.

Melbourne 1.2.8 4.4.28 6.9.45 8.12.60

Sydney 6.2.38 10.5.65 12.7.79 17.7.109

Goals

Sydney Hall 5 Davis 3 Schneider 2 J Bolton Goodes Jolly Kirk Malceski O'Keefe Schmidt

Melbourne Davey 3 Bate Bruce Dunn Miller Petterd

Best

Sydney Malceski Kirk Hall Davis Schneider

Melbourne Davey Rivers Petterd Carroll Godfrey Bruce

Injuries

Sydney Tadhg Kennelly (knee), Luke Ablett (knee)

Melbourne Matthew Bate (ankle)

Reports Nil

Team Changes Buchanan (Syd) replaced in selected side by Jarred Moore.

Umpires Kennedy Rosebury Nicholls

Crowd 23,354 at the SCG