NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES

[Demonland 73,140]

by The Oracle

It's a proven fact in football that when you're down, nothing goes right for you, not the bounce of the ball, the umpire's decisions, the rub of the green or any of the many imponerables that have an effect on the way the game's played. And so it was that a dispirited Melbourne line up, devastated by injuries, poor form, the loss of their coach and every other ill that can conceivably hit a team in one season produced yet another shocker for the dwindling bunch of diehards who continue to follow them in this winter of discontent.

When the Demons last met the Kangaroos two months ago at the MCG things weren't going well for them either but at least they gave it a crack and, in the end, they came tantalisingly close to pulling off an upset victory.

That was not to be the case this time and the Shinboners took a firm grip on the game early with the first four goals of the match against what have now become the slow coach Dees who simply can't get started until the second quarter these days. When they did get moving, the thrills were few and far between although newcomer Michael Newton provided one out of the box when he flew into the Telstra Dome stratosphere and came down with the keys to whatever vehicle is on offer this year for the AFL mark of the year.

But just as the Demons were starting to make a challenge and got to within a goal of their prey, they relapsed into their standard lamentable form making bad errors and generally uinderperforming. The Kangaroos put their collective feet on the gas, moved into top gear and produced five unanswered goals to cement their place before half time as outright second team on the ladder behind only the rampant Cats. The rest of the game was fluff.

Simply put, Melbourne lacked the teamwork, the spirit, the will, the ability and the general physical fitness to go it with a leading team. There were too many players in the side who could not give 100% either because they are injured or simply haven't the commitment to keep running all evening in the way the Kangaroos did to set up scoring opportunities at will.

The rays of light for Melbourne came from its younger players. Newton never stopped trying. When he wasn't marking strongly, he was chasing hard and showed he was hungry for the football. Likewise, another youngster in Simon Buckley who worked hard on a wing when given the opportunity. Nathan Jones was the standout on baller and I'm staggered that he was off the ground for long periods in the second half. Brock McLean was closely tagged and will no doubt relish the return of players like Travis Johnstone and Cameron Bruce to assist he and Jones and James McDonald who also worked hard as ever in the midfield. Jeff White played well in the ruck, Paul Wheatley tried hard and that was about it.

The problem from a spectator's point of view is that Melbourne is now in what I call "meander mode"; a state in which the team seems to wander aimlessly through its matches like zombies. There is a feeling that not enough people care about winning – a feeling that's helped by the viewpoint which is attracting more and more support that if losing can ensure a better draft position at the end of the year, then it's not all that bad. This is not quite the same as tanking but it's a twilight zone situation all the same. There's a feeling of unreality about any given game. As a result, fans can't get excited about anything (Juice's mark excepted) and many have stopped turning up. With the news that the club is not going to meet its financial targets this year, that's a double blow for the Demons.

Next week they take on another team they were unlucky to lose to the first time around in Port Adelaide. On what happened yesterday at the Telstra Dome, it's not even going to be a contest this time, especially if the team decides to meander its way around the ground without any aim or purpose as it did yesterday evening. And the sooner the end of the season comes and we do away with the zombies in our midst, then the better it will be for the Melbourne Football Club.

Melbourne 2.3.15 4.5.29 7.6.48 9.8.62

Kangaroos 4.2.26 9.3.57 14.9.93 19.12.126

Goals

Melbourne Newton Robertson 2 Buckley Jones McLean Moloney Neitz

Kangaroos Jones 4 Harvey McMahon Petrie 3 Hale Whyman 2 Brown Grant

Best

Melbourne Jones McDonald Newton White Wheatley Buckley

Kangaroos Harvey Jones Firrito Rawlings Sinclair Simpson Hale

Report

Simon Godfrey (Melbourne) by field umpire Kamolins for allegedly making forceful contact with McMahon (Kangaroos) in the third quarter. Withdrawn by the Match Review Panel.

Umpires Allen M Nicholls Kamolins.

Crowd 20,187 at Telstra Dome