HEART AND SOUL by Whispering Jack

Posted May 19May 19

“Max Gawn has been the heart and soul of the Dees for years now, but this recent recovery from a terrible start has been driven by him. He was everywhere again, and with the game in the balance, he took several key marks to keep the ball in the Dees forward half.” - The Monday Knee Jerk Reaction: Round Ten

Of course, it wasn’t the efforts of one man that caused this monumental upset, but rather the work of the coach and his assistants and the other 22 players who took the ground, notably the likes of Jake Melksham, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Kozzie Pickett but Max has been magnificent in taking ownership of his team and its welfare under the fire of a calamitous 0-5 start to the season.

On Sunday, he provided the leadership that was needed to face up to the reigning premier and top of the ladder Brisbane Lions on their home turf and to prevail after a slow start, during which the hosts led by as much as 24 points in the second quarter.

Titus O’Reily is normally comedic in his descriptions of the football but this time, he was being deadly serious. The Demons have come from a long way back and, although they still sit in the bottom third of the AFL pack, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as they look to drive home the momentum inspired in the past four or five weeks by Max the Magnificent who was under such great pressure in those dark, early days of the season.

It would be fair to say that the skipper did benefit from the absence of Brisbane’s number one ruckman, Oscar McInerney who was “being managed,” but let’s not forget that the Lions monstered Sydney in last year’s Grand Final without him. His replacement, Darcy Fort sort of broke even around the ground in the first quarter as the Lions skipped away to a 17 point lead at quarter time despite the Demons winning the centre bounce clearances. However, Gawn’s tireless work and hit-out dominance, won out and we saw his team gradually claw its way back as the game wore on before the final term in which, to use the words of Chris Fagan, they (Melbourne) annihilated us.” [note, he really meant to say “Narrm annihilated us”]

The annihilation was shaped with the fast-finishing Demons putting together their best final quarter performance for the year outscoring the Lions by 4.8.32 to 1.1.7 to win by eleven points giving them a fourth win of the season to secure a place just one win and percentage away from the top eight.

Who would ever have believed that?

Speaking of players being managed, the Demons’ most managed man, Jake Melksham was instrumental in the team’s stunning victory adding much needed aggression and the ability to kick goals into the attack. He kicked the opening goal 59 seconds into the game and had the better of Harris Andrews except for an indiscretion that gave the Lions’ vice-captain a 50 metre penalty and a rare opportunity to score (which ultimately resulted in a point). An incredible performance given his end of season ACL injury in 2023 and his veteran age and status.

Christian Petracca with 31 possessions in the midfield was imposing all day and kudos to Demons, while Clayton Oliver for his 23 disposals and a vital goal played his role in an intriguing duel with two time Brownlow Medal winner Lachie Neale. Trent Rivers was important with 24 touches and 563 metres gained. Last week, it was Harvey Langford who set the team’s youth standard. This week, it was Xavier Lindsay who showed great maturity for one so young.

Together, the Demons shrugged off the supposed Narrm “curse” and in doing so were fittingly led by the pocket rocket Kozzie Pickett who worried everyone who came near him. His 21 disposals (14 kicks and 7 handballs) was always a danger around the goals and could have finished with a bigger goal haul than two given he finished with four behinds as well. He did Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls, after who the Indigenous Round is named, proud.

Perhaps next week against the Sydney Swans, we might finally see the day when the team actually gets on top of its disposal efficiency around the ground and in front of the goals so that the heart and soul efforts of its captain will be rewarded with an even greater boost to its season 2025 campaign. He deserves at least, that!

NARRM 3.4.22 6.6.42 10.7.67 14.15.99

BRISBANE LIONS 6.3.39 8.7.55 12.9.81 13.10.88

GOALS

NARRM Melksham 4 Pickett 2 Chandler Fritsch Johnson Langdon McDonald Oliver Rivers Sparrow

BRISBANE LIONS Gardiner 4 Morris 3 Ah Chee Bailey Fletcher Hipwood McCluggage McKenna

BEST

NARRM Gawn Melksham Pickett Rivers Petracca Bowey

BRISBANE LIONS Fletcher McCluggage Bailey W Ashcroft Gardiner Neale

LATE CHANGES

NARRM Nil

BRISBANE LIONS Oscar McInerney (soreness) replaced by Darcy Fort

INJURIES