ONE HUNDRED PER CENT

[Demonland 73,140]

by Scoop Junior

Yesterday's game between Carlton and Melbourne was a lacklustre encounter in front of a disappointing MCG crowd of 33,085. The young Demon outfit managed to outclass Carlton to win by 23 points giving coach Mark Riley a successful start to his caretaker role for the rest of the season. The win also backed up a spirited showing against Essendon the previous week in Neale Daniher's swan song as coach of the club.

While the skills on show at the MCG were far from attractive, the performance of several Melbourne youngsters provided the good news story of the day.

Missing captain and forward enforcer David Neitz, the midfield class of Cam Bruce, Travis Johnstone, Brad Green and Brent Moloney, gun defenders Jared Rivers, Matty Whelan and Daniel Bell, the up-and-coming Clint Bartram and the talented Ricky Petterd (after seven minutes), it appeared as though the Demons would be hard pressed to remain competitive, let alone win a game of footy. Fortunately, they were up against the Blues, a team down on confidence after successive drubbings and struggling to string together passages of league-standard quality.

The long injury list provided the opportunity for nine 21 and under players to show their stuff. Despite playing against an equally young Carlton outfit, a number of these youngsters showed enough to suggest that they have futures in the game. Matthew Bate and Nathan Jones, already established senior players, were the pick of these. The former played a great game as a leading half forward, working hard to run to space and finished with three goals courtesy of his trusty left boot, while the latter never stopped burrowing into the packs and finished with a team-high 10 tackles.

Colin Sylvia continued on with his best patch of form in his career thus far. He strung together four consistent quarters and provided a marking threat across half forward. Most impressive for mine is his vision in close. In the past, he has taken a long time to dispose of the ball, which may have been a legacy from bossing games at under 18 level. However, in recent weeks, he has been right up with the speed of the game, gathering and delivering quickly with intelligent handballs. This bodes well for short stints in the midfield, though for the time being he is more comfortable at half forward.

James Frawley had the difficult task of playing on Waite, but did an admirable job. He looks scruffy and makes the odd mistake, but he is disciplined and I particularly like the way he backs himself to take players on with his speed. Lynden Dunn performed well as a midfielder. He appears to have a very good engine for a big man and his neat skills and good decision-making make him a handy versatile option for the coaching staff. Perhaps he could develop into an Andrew Embley style wingman.

Simon Buckley performed well on debut. He found a bit of the footy and displayed nice kicking skills. He has the pace that many others lack in the midfield and should be given plenty of opportunity for the rest of the season.

The biggest surprise packet of the youngsters however was Michael Newton. He led, marked and kicked well, displaying the key attributes that a leading tall forward must possess. Three first-half goals could have been five with more accurate kicking and you could just see his confidence soar as he started launching himself at the contested ball. While he was not exactly playing on the best defender going around nor against the best defensive unit, he showed enough to generate plenty of excitement.

Incredibly, the biggest disappointment was probably the pick of the young bunch in Brock McLean (though this is no doubt affected by the ridiculously high expectations placed on him). He struggled to find the footy in what was his third quiet game in as many weeks. However, there is no need for alarm bells. He has been tagged heavily in recent games and is obviously learning how to adapt to such negating tactics. His frustration was plain for all to see and I have no doubt he will bounce back with a big game soon. Chris Johnson also battled a bit, but he must be persisted with in the last eight games. The pressure of winning is off and CJ has never been given an extended run of consecutive games in the seniors to build his confidence. Now is the time to give him this opportunity.

There were many good contributions from the senior brigade as well. Acting skipper James McDonald was BOG, with his ability to win inside ball and to run hard to space to find the uncontested footy setting a great example to all. Jeff White dominated the hit-outs and was very useful around the ground. Brown gave his all as usual and his relentless running is a much-underrated component of the team. While he is often criticised for sloppy disposal and the odd brain fade, his run and work ethic is important and he plays a bigger role in the team than most give him credit for. Paul Wheatley was also a key contributor. He has returned to form since coming back into the side and his kicking skills are up there in the best at the club. Two long goals complemented an excellent all-round game.

Then there was Robbo. After being completely nullified in the first-half by Thornton, he bobbed up with five goals from just six kicks. Five goals is a pretty fair scoreboard impact when you have a good day, let alone a down one. Only Robbo.

Clint Bizzell was resolute in defence. He marked well all day and repelled many attacks. Though at times he had the luxury of playing loose, he read the play well and was a solid contributor. Doubts still remain over his defensive abilities against quality opponents and while clearly a good footballer, it is difficult to find a suitable match up for him against all opposition teams. Brad Miller returned in defence and was serviceable. Fisher beat him on a few occasions but Miller stuck to the task. I have reservations about him but he should be played down back for the rest of the season, in what could be a critical eight games for him.

Paul Johnson continues to impress. He has a place in the modern game and if he continues to improve in a few key areas, could well be a very, very handy back-up ruckman. His mobility and foot skills were on show yesterday and a couple Aaron Davey-like chase down tackles were really impressive. Speaking of Davey, he had a day he would rather forget, save for that miracle snapped goal in the second term.

A mention must go to Ricky Petterd. The courageous youngster was missing from the ground from the 7-minute mark onwards and supporters only later found out what had happened and how seriously injured he was. It is quite scary to think what could have happened had the club doctors not been there to treat him. Hopefully, Ricky is out of hospital soon and gets back to full health.

While there were many encouraging performances from the younger players, it must be remembered that they were up against the worst side in the land. Carlton was pitiful, their skill level at times more indicative of an amateur side than an AFL team. How they could lose to a half-strength 15th placed team is quite remarkable and Denis Pagan must be scratching his head thinking where his mob is going. If they maintain that level of footy for the rest of the year, then they will secure the number one pick in the draft.

As for the Demons, the remaining eight games provide a great opportunity to test the club’s youth at different venues against different opposition with varying strengths. Players like Newton, Buckley and Dunn will get to play at the Gabba, AAMI Stadium and Subiaco and play on some of the better players in the competition. This will be an invaluable learning curve for them heading into 2008. How they perform under these varying circumstances gives Melbourne supporters something to look forward to in what has been a very disappointing season.

And for new coach Riley, he has at least a week to savour the fact that he is the only AFL coach going around with a 100% win record for his coaching career to date.

Melbourne 4.1.25 9.4.58 14.6.90 19.10.124

Carlton 2.3.15 6.5.41 9.11.65 11.15.81

Goals

Melbourne Robertson 5 Bate Newton 3 Wheatley 2 Davey Dunn Godfrey P Johnson Sylvia Ward

Carlton Fisher Kennedy Murphy S O'hailpin Simpson 2 Betts Gibb Koutoufides Waite

Best

Melbourne McDonald Wheatley White Jones Bate Brown

Carlton Carrazzo Simpson S O'hailpin Murphy Houlihan Koutoufides

Changes

Melbourne Bruce (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Dunn

Carlton Nil

Injuries

Melbourne Carroll (concussion) Petterd (collapsed lung)

Carlton Gibbs (ankle) Lappin (concussion)

Umpires Fila Goldspink Hendrie

Crowd 33,085 at MCG