"It's officially time for some alarm bells. I'm concerned about the lack of impact from their best players." 

This comment about one of the teams contesting this Friday night’s game came earlier in the week from a so-called expert radio commentator by the name of Kane Cornes. 

He wasn’t referring to the Melbourne Football Club but rather, this week’s home side, Geelong.

The Cats are purring along with 1 win and 2 defeats and a percentage of 126.2 (courtesy of a big win at GMHBA Stadium in Round 1 vs Fremantle) which is one win more than Melbourne and double the percentage so I guess that, in the case of the Demons, its not just alarm bells, but distress signals. 

But don’t rely on me. Listen to Cornes who said this week about Melbourne:-

“They can’t run. If you can’t run at speed and get out of the contest then you’re in trouble.

“(Christian) Petracca can’t run, he’s amazing in the phone box, in the contest Nat Fyfe style, around the ball unbeatable. (Clayton) Oliver cannot run, to see him exposed as he has been the first few weeks of the season. If you can’t run, you can’t play.”

“Some of the body language was awful, Steven May’s was awful.”

“I was adamant they should have traded Oliver, if you can get off that contract then get off it … give a pick with it. Take that contract and that problem that is Clayton Oliver off my hands.”

“The salary cap implications with that deal for Oliver and everything else that comes with it, you just cut your losses.”

“Giving (Jack) Viney an extension he probably didn’t warrant. All these mismanagement decisions that they have made that’s pretty hard to get out of now.”

“They’ve worn this guy (Gawn) into the ground with no help and it’s starting to show on him.”

“Harrison Petty, the biggest miss of any club ever, that they didn’t trade him for what Adelaide were offering was unbelievable. It would have been a top 10 pick they were offering.”

It’s true that the Demons were outplayed by the Suns, finishing -16 for clearances, -18 for contested possessions and -25 for inside 50s but I find it staggering that the same team Cornes was picking to pieces above, came within 57 seconds of beating one of the flag favourites less than a month ago. 

Cornes isn’t the only one in the media pile on and if the team can’t put this sort of thing to bed straight away, this wearing of the club down by stealth will become a weekly occurrence. It’s well on the way already with speculation abounding on a number of different levels.

Club President Brad Green is clear where he stands when he says, “Our ambition is still to play finals. When you look at the side we picked (in round 1) with six different players, we are different to where we are to where we are going to get to, but we are always looking to play finals every year.”

The team that runs out on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night, will not be all that different to the one that beat the then undefeated Cats on the MCG less than twelve months ago but where are the players’ heads at?

For the last two games, the Demons have been playing like rabbits in the headlights. Can they become Demons again or is it really over?

There will most certainly be some changes this week and those changes will almost certainly be in the very places where Melbourne has been found wanting in its last two matches. 

First and foremost — the return of Kozzie Pickett who has pace, good ball handling and disposal skills and who, during earlier match simulation and practice matches sessions was effective in the centre square and around the goals. His return will be like manna from heaven, especially if Caleb Windsor, another speedster with pace, elite decision-making and accurate disposal also makes it back into the side.

There are a couple of potential bonuses to go along with these inclusions. 

One is that with the nomination of Rising Star, Harvey Langford gaining recognition and the confidence that goes with it, we are looking at a different set up in the centre of the ground with the benefit of a different mix of the club’s stoppage champions to throw around in either the same or different positions around the park. 

The other bonus might well be that skipper Max Gawn will get more support from the midfield that he’s been carrying on his shoulders for the past couple of seasons. He always plays well at GMHBA Stadium which is the place where he announced his arrival as a quality ruckman and where he kicked off Melbourne’s campaign for the 2021 premiership with that scintillating goal after the siren that sunk the Cats.

Secondly, a little bit of stability among the club’s tall timber would be welcome such as the combination of a fit Steven May and a fit Jake Lever together in defence at the same time. Same goes for key forwards like Daniel Turner and Jacob van Rooyen. The Demons are simply due for a day or night when they can keep key position players on the ground together and be able to use the sub rule for tactical purposes rather than for covering the loss of players due to early injuries and being exposed in the latter stages of games.

But all the changes in team positions, tactics and strategy will amount to nought if the players bring the same lack of commitment and desire that they took into their last two matches. Some of those players won’t get a second chance this week and will be chasing kicks in the magoos instead. Others are running out of chances and time, so it’s very much up to them. 

Geelong’s past two games haven’t been great so the question is whether Melbourne really wants  this?

If yes - I think the Demons will get home by one point in a Friday night boilover. If no - distress signals!

THE GAME

Geelong vs Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium on Friday April 4 2025 at 7.30pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Geelong 134 wins Melbourne 89 wins 2 draws
At the GMHBA Stadium Geelong 42 Melbourne 19 wins 1 draw
The last five meetings Geelong 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins 
The Coaches Scott 7 wins Goodwin 5 wins

LAST TIME THEY MET

Melbourne 10.14.74 defeated Geelong 9.12.66 at the MCG in Round 8 2024

One of the best and most exciting games of the Demons’ season with Bayley Fritsch kicking one of the goals of the year to seal the game. Harry Petty was a tower of strength in his best game for the year.

THE TEAMS 

GEELONG

B C. O Sullivan, J. Henry, M. Blicavs

HB L. Humphries, T. Stewart, Z. Guthrie

C B. Smith, P. Dangerfield, O. Dempsey

HF B. Close, G. Miers, T. Stengle

F S. Neale, J. Cameron, O. Henry

FOLL S. De Koning, M. Holmes, T. Atkins

I/C J. Bowes, T. Clohesy, S. Mannagh, O. Mullin, M. O Connor

EMG M. Duncan, M. Knevitt, R. Stanley

IN S. Mannagh, T. Stewart

OUT J. Clark (omitted), M. Knevitt (omitted)

MELBOURNE

B J. Bowey, S. May, H. Petty

HB T. Rivers, T. McDonald, C. Salem

C C. Windsor, J. Viney, T. Sparrow

HF K. Pickett, D. Turner, J. Henderson

F B. Fritsch, J. Van Rooyen, H. Langford

FOLL M. Gawn, C. Petracca, E. Langdon

I/C K. Chandler, J. Melksham, C. Oliver, H. Sharp, C. Spargo

EMG J. Adams, J. Billings, A. Johnson

IN K. Pickett, C. Spargo, D. Turner, C. Windsor

OUT J. Billings (omitted), B. Howes (omitted), A. Johnson (omitted), X. Lindsay (knee)

Injury List: Round 4

Caleb Windsor — foot / available

Jai Culley — foot / available

Jake Lever — ankle / test

Charlie Spargo — concussion / test

Matt Jefferson — hand / test

Luker Kentfield — illness / 1 week

Koltyn Tholstrup — back / 1 week

Xavier Lindsay — knee / 1 - 2 weeks

Judd McVee — hamstring / 2 weeks

Marty Hore — calf / 5 - 7 weeks

Shane McAdam — Achilles / next season

Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / next season

Beyond optimistic… it’s being misti-optic !!! Cats lost by a kick to Saints and Lions at away venues. Hardly a disgrace to go to Brisbane and lose by a goal. They thumped Freo by 13 goals at cat park in round 1. Dees lost the last 2 games by 10 goals each time to average teams. Not reigning premiers.

Miracles do happen in sport. Dees getting a win or even getting close would count as a miracle.

Whilst not shying away from the increasingly regular and signicant woes of our midfied (continuously losing clearances is a major recipe for defeat), no-one seems to really consider our long injury list, and how that might have played into our game style plans for this year - we are some way from optimum in terms of available players, and the consequences of having to shift players around who trained a different role over summer to cover holes. We have had around 13 on the injury list most of the season so far (second only to Carlton and Geelong) - not all stars or walk up starts admittedly, but eg losing McVee and probably his understudy in AMW had the magnets coming out in the defence and most likely shifted Rivers and even Lindsay to the backline. And there should be no underestimating the effect of the loss of a couple of our senior 'spiritual' leaders in Brayshaw and ANB - not just leaders but warriors who knew how to do a job and respond when the chips were down. Pickett's absence has highlighted our lack of x factor, highly skilled players. All this instability while blooding young players and trying to implement a different method of ball movement must be a coaching nightmare, and it doesn't take much for confidence to evaporate. Not feeling good about tonight's game....

It's telling Oliver has been dropped to the bench. I know it means little in the actual game starting on the bench, but that is definitely symbolic.