LEFT IN OUR DUST by George on the Outer

April 3, 20232 yr

While the chequered flag was waved to indicate the end of a F1 race at Albert Park, it was the Grand Old Flag of Melbourne that flew high at the MCG to celebrate the Demons win over Sydney.

At the final bell it was an emphatic victory of nearly a nine goal margin, which against a Sydney side who have had “the wood” over the Demons in recent years, was something special for the fans.

Make no mistake, Sydney are a seriously good side. After all they played in the GF last year and have always been competitive with a never say die attitude. It was exactly the same in this game as the score bounced between a 3-5 goal margin for the Demons for most of the match until the final quarter. Even during the third quarter the Swans had pegged the margin back to a single goal, but that was as close as they got.

It was then that the Demons put the pedal to the metal, and came home by the length of the straight, kicking seven final quarter goals, and putting through 21 majors for the game.

A team playing without captain Max Gawn meant the rucking roles fell to Brody Grundy and first gamer Jacob van Rooyen. And what a debut for the 19 year old kicking three goals himself and six contested possessions, while breaking open packs and creating chances for others.

Assisting him in the forward line was Bayley Fritsch with three goals, and also a return to form with his dangerous crumbing around packs, but Kade Chandler also chipped in with three goals, as a result of serious running to space to take advantage of forward thrusts.

Surprises abounded right from the start as Simon Goodwin placed Harrison Petty in the forward line, thereby stretching the Swans defence right from the start, which probably created more opportunities for the smaller Demon forwards.

Final clearance statistics including centre square and around the ground stoppage were a dead heat for both sides. But this wasn’t the case for the majority of the match, as the Swans clearly led. It was only in that final quarter when the Demon mid-field trio of Christian Petracca, 33 disposals, Clayton Oliver 25 and Jack Viney 19 took control.

In the absence of Max, Grundy took on the Sydney rucks and chalked up nine score involvements, while the damaging wingers of the Demons in Langdon and Hunter showed a clean pair of heels to their opposition with 23 and 24 possessions respectively.

Melbourne are now playing a very modified type of game, where territory is king. Six players in Petracca, Oliver, May, Jordon, Hunter and Rivers had over 400 metres gained, while only one Swans player exceed this mark. This countered the Swans’ tactic of short possession type moves, and was disheartening for them when their efforts saw a single Melbourne disposal destroy all their good work.

We all know the AFL season is not a sprint race, like a Grand Prix. It is truly a marathon event and keeping players fit and healthy is paramount. And like a marathon it is a grinding sport, where the final stages of a game show us the true champions.

The Grand Old Flag was waved strongly at the end and after having played three of last years finalists in their first three games, and beating a Grand Finalist so emphatically in this game, shows that the Grand Prix at season end is well within its grasp.

MELBOURNE 6.1.37 9.3.57 14.4.88 21.8.134

SYDNEY SWANS 1.3.9 6.6.42 9.9.63 12.12.84

GOALS

MELBOURNE Chandler Fritsch van Rooyen 3 Hunter Oliver Spargo 2 Brown Jordon Neal-Bullen Melksham Petty Sparrow

SYDNEY SWANS Papley 3 Franklin Hayward 2 Blakey Gulden McDonald McInerney Rowbottom

BEST

MELBOURNE Grundy Oliver Hunter Petracca Chandler van Rooyen

SYDNEY SWANS Mills Papley Franklin T McCartin Gulden Blakey

INJURIES

MELBOURNE Nil

SYDNEY SWANS Nil

SUBSTITUTIONS