OUT OF THE TRAINWRECK

by Whispering Jack

At last - a pulse!!!

Well, that's how it seemed to me last night when the Demons showed their first signs of life in over a month at Telstra Dome as they went about squashing the stunned Western Bulldogs into submission by 42-points and in the process severely damaging the Doggies' flagging finals hopes.

Melbourne took full advantage of its height superiority with 250 gamer Jeff White and his offsider Mark Jamar leading the charge by dominating the rucks and giving the on ball brigade an armchair ride as they smashed the Dogs off the park. It was the first time this year that we saw a hard relentless, strong tackling Melbourne putting enormous pressure on the opposition and being prepared to a man to run hard and move the ball quickly and directly at all times.

The Dees' standard 2007 style of static, hesitant, "wait for the ball to come to me" brand of football disappeared into thin air and in its place was the steely resolve of a marauding band of predators. They came to the ground as the hunters and ended up being the hunted, a task handled rather clumsily by their foe.

The running brigade was led by Brad Green (back to his best form) and Nathan Jones whose bald head bobbed up time and again in the middle of and under the packs as he continued on with his belated charge for the AFL Rising Star of the Year award after finally gaining his nomination a fortnight or so ago.

The club relished the return to fitness and form of the classy Travis Johnstone who played his first game under new coach Mark Riley last night. Trapper has been much maligned lately - particularly by those who ignore the history of injuries that have often prevented him from playing at full capacity. For several weeks prior to his recent five game injury break, he struggled with an Achilles heel problem and the Demons badly missed his drive and brilliant pinpoint passing. He was back to near his best against the Doggies as he lit up the Telstra Dome with his delectable skills.

And those silky smooth skills were the perfect foil for a rampant Byron Pickett who intimidated the life out of the Bulldogs. When "Choppy" was in the neighbourhood, the opposition seemed hesitant and wary of the possibility of being overcome by what seemed to be a ton of dead weight bearing down upon them. One of the major beneficiaries of Pickett's ever-looming and menacing presence was Aaron Davey. The Flash was inspired and grew and grew in stature and confidence as the evening wore on to return to his old time self and his best speed running form.

Daniel Bell played an excellent game on Bulldog danger man Jason Akermanis. He was full of toughness and flair and beat his opponent almost pointless. The bearded, blond haired, big mouth played as if he was distracted by the need to come up with another newspaper column this week. At least he now has yet another opportunity to rant on about why he was so badly beaten up in front of the 18,946 patrons who turned up to Telstra Dome.

Full credit for the win must go to the coach for the way he set the Demons up for their victory. Riley was certainly aided by the late withdrawal of Bulldogs champion forward Brad Johnson and early injuries to Chris Grant and Daniel Giansiracusa but these things pale in comparison to what Melbourne has had to contend with this year. The Dees lost Matthew Bate and Simon Godfrey at selection on Thursday night and the now mandatory last minute change this week was Brock McLean. David Neitz and Russell Robertson are still not quite right and James Frawley went off later in the game with an ankle injury.

What was impressive about Riley was that unlike his predecessor, he took advantage of the Bulldogs' lack of height by stretching their backline to the limit. There were times when they had to contend with Neitz, Michael Newton, Robbo, Jamar dropping in up forward and Benny Holland who played one of his best games and kicked four goals. In the past, those blokes might have all been sat on the bench to ensure that the team matched up nicely with its opposition.

Riley handled his younger players well. Frawley was getting a pasting early in the game but Riley persevered with him and this afforded the youngster a valuable learning experience. He will be all the better for it in the future.

Despite the fact that the Demons went a long way to destroying the prospect of securing a priority pick at this year's national draft, it was a pleasure to see them play a freewheeling, open brand of exciting football for a change. They certainly answered many of their critics who have been bagging them mercilessly in the media of late. Perhaps they were inspired by the words of superstar artist Bob Dylan who will be in town next week:

“When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose

You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.”

Whatever the case, it was a welcome change from the weekly ritual of watching the train wreck that has thus far been the story of the Melbourne Football Club for season 2007.

Melbourne 5.2.32 10.7.67 16.10.106 19.15.129

Western Bulldogs 4.4.28 5.9.39 7.13.55 12.15.87

Goals

Melbourne Holland 4 Davey Robertson 3 Dunn Pickett 2 Green Jones Newton Sylvia Wheatley

Western Bulldogs Higgins 5 Murphy 3 Eagleton Hargrave Ray Tiller

Best

Melbourne Jones Johnstone Green Holland White Carroll

Western Bulldogs Power Higgins Williams Murphy Harris

Team Changes

Melbourne McLean replaced in the selected side by Dunn

Western Bulldogs Brad Johnson replaced in the selected side by McDougall

Injuries

Melbourne Frawley (ankle)

Western Bulldogs Grant (knee) Giansiracusa (AC joint)

Reports Nil

Umpires McBurney Nicholls Kamolins

Crowd 18,946 at Telstra Dome