DEMONS by The Oracle

After losing their last two games in a row to finals aspirants, the Demons’ season has unravelled in the blink of an eye.

They take on the Bulldogs on Friday night at Marvel Stadium in what has become a “do-or-die” contest to remain in contention for September AFL action and the reality is that they have been forced into a situation in which they are already thinking in terms of mathematical possibilities despite the fact that it’s still a close race and even with four rounds left to play.

The coach and the players are facing their own Demons in what is a situation of their own making.

Whether or not you like the term “eight point game”, that’s precisely what every game from now on is to the club at a time where a defeat in any of the remaining games is likely to be fatal to their chances. As I noted in my preview of last week, the gap between their best and their worst is wide both between and during games. Consistency is so important and yet, they were so inconsistent in their game last week against the Giants. They were strong in the opening term but faltered in the second. They kept GWS scoreless in the first twenty minutes of the third quarter but conceded three goals to one in seven minutes, late in the term and four in the space of five minutes early in the next before scoring the last four goals of the game to almost steal the points. The inability to apply constant pressure led to their downfall. 

Melbourne has had a knack in recent times of coming up against opponents at the exact moment when they are at the top of their game. That's where the Bulldogs are at the moment, particularly with their height advantage all over the ground. It starts with Tim English in ruck and extends to their intercept defenders Liam Jones, Buku Khamis and Rory Lobb and tall forwards Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy. Let’s not forget their midfield champion Marcus Bontempelli who at 194cm is the same height as Jacob van Rooyen, the Demons’ relief ruckman. And, under the stadium’s closed roof, there is no chance that an unexpected downpour can come to their aid as it did a fortnight ago when their undersized team triumphed against Essendon.

The teams met in the opening round when Melbourne prevailed by 55 points at the MCG. They managed to easily subdue the taller Western Bulldogs with their superior fitness and run all over the ground. Max Gawn was too good in the ruck, the Doggies’ forward talls were nullified by the Demon defenders and the forwards had enough supply from the mids to ensure a comfortable afternoon’s work for the team.

Recent form has seen a massive turnaround in the fortunes of the respective teams. While we can rely on the tall Demon defensive duo of Steven May, Jake Lever and Tom McDonald to play their role, their midfielders have let them down of late and there are major question marks about the ability of those in place without Christian Petracca and now, young speedster  Caleb Windsor, to provide sufficient supply to the forwards who are not performing up to the standards required to win games and make the finals.

The only hope for the Demons is the tiredness factor because of the five day break between the Dogs' last game and Friday night's encounter. However, I'm not sure that Melbourne has the ability to play four quarters of consistent, intense pressure football while facing both the Bulldogs and their own Demons.

Footscray by 27 points.

THE GAME

Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium Friday 2 August 2024 at 7.15 pm 

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Western Bulldogs 79 wins Melbourne 92 wins 1 draw
At Marvel Stadium Western Bulldogs 11 wins Melbourne 9 wins
Last Five Meetings Western Bulldogs 1 win Melbourne 4 wins 
The Coaches Beveridge 4 wins Goodwin 8 wins 

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 16.13.109 defeated Western Bulldogs 9.10.64 at The MCG in Round 1, 2024

After a slow start, the Demon machine clicked into action with its relentless defence headed by Steven May smashing the Bulldogs which the old firm of Gawn, Oliver and Petracca having a slight edge on the Bulldog midfield as the team cruised to a 55-point victory.

THE TEAMS

FOOTSCRAY 

 B T. Duryea, B. Khamis, N. Coffield
HB L. Bramble, R. Lobb, B. Dale
C L. Vandermeer, E. Richards, B. Williams
HF A. Treloar, A. Naughton, J. Ugle-Hagan
F C. Weightman, S. Darcy, R. West
FOLL T. English, M. Bontempelli, T. Liberatore
I/C C. Daniel, R. Garcia, L. Jones, L. McNeil, C. Poulter
EMG O. Baker, J. Freijah, J. Macrae

MELBOURNE

 B J. Lever, S. May, J. McVee
HB J. Bowey, T. McDonald, A. Moniz-Wakefield
C E. Langdon, C. Oliver, A. Neal-Bullen
HF K. Pickett, J. Van Rooyen, B. Fritsch
F K. Chandler, H. Petty, J. Melksham
FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, T. Rivers
I/C B. Howes, T. Sparrow, K. Tholstrup, D. Turner, T. Woewodin
EMG J. Billings, B. Laurie, A. Tomlinson

Injury List: Round 21 

Jed Adams — lung / available
Koltyn Tholstrup — concussion / test
Christian Salem — hamstring / 1 - 2 weeks
Caleb Windsor — ankle / TBC
Charlie Spargo — Achilles / season
Christian Petracca — spleen / indefinite