Demonland

Melbourne can also expect to be a winner from next year’s marquee fixture given their eye-catching style and expected success. They play only one Friday night game this season and no Thursday games but have provided much of the year’s drama given their nailbiting finishes.

@Supermercado and I mentioned this weeks ago on the Demonland Podcast. In fact toe injuries are such an epidemic at the MFC that we suggested pre-emptive amputations to all players toes as a precaution. Anyway the point is we haven't had a new toe injury since. You're welcome

ONE GAME AT A TIME by Whispering Jack The perceived wisdom for fans of our code of football is that when you approach the pointy end of the season, it's not proper to discuss anything other than your team’s next game. The unwritten rule is that you must take things one game at a time. I really would have liked to engage in speculation about what might happen beyond next Sunday and even dared to dream, as was suggested in a newspaper article earlier this week, of a rollicking finish to the season involving action deep into the month of September after a single important win that would engender the necessary self-belief into Melbourne’s team just as one such win did with Richmond last year. The possibilities of such thoughts and dreams are endless but it can’t be done – you must take things one game at a time. And rightly so when the Demons are part of the conversation. One of their more recent defeats came at the hands of St Kilda, a team with a disappointing record of 4½ wins and a percentage of 75.7 this season. But it was last year that they turned losing games when hot favourite to win into an art form, going down to the lowly Dockers, Hawks, Kangaroos (twice) and Collingwood at the death in the final round of 2017. All that in a season where they missed a finals berth by the narrowest margin in the history of the competition. And so ... despite the fact that highest and lowest-scoring sides are pitted against each other, one being sixth-placed and the other second from bottom of the ladder, it is with trepidation that I take on the task of previewing Sunday’s game at the MCG between Melbourne, fresh from a strong victory in Adelaide and the Gold Coast Suns who are coming off a shattering defeat at the hands of likely wooden spooners in Carlton. THE GAME Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns at The MCG Sunday 5 August, 2018 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall - Melbourne 8 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins At The MCG - Melbourne 4 wins Gold Coast Suns 2 wins Past five matches - Melbourne 5 wins Gold Coast Suns 0 wins The Coaches - Goodwin 1 win Dew 0 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Sports 3 - Live at 3.00pm RADIO - Triple M (Regional) 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 21.20.146 defeated Gold Coast Suns 11.11.77 at The Gabba Round 8, 2018 Melbourne started slowly but the foot went on the accelerator during the third term and finished up winning by 69 points, kicking 13 second-half goals to six. Tom McDonald booted five goals in his third game back after an injury lay-off. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Bernie Vince, Sam Frost, Neville Jetta HB: Christian Salem, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis ? Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, James Harmes HF: Aaron vandenBerg, Jesse Hogan, Bayley Fritsch F: Jeff Garlett, Tom McDonald, Jay Kennedy Harris Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw I/C: Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Petracca, Charlie Spargo, Joel Smith Emg: Jayden Hunt, Dean Kent, Cameron Pedersen, Tim Smith In: Aaron vandenBerg Out: Jake Melksham (hamstring) GOLD COAST SUNS B: Callum Ah Chee, Max Spencer, Jarrod Harbrow HB: Pearce Hanley, Jack Leslie, Kade Kolodjashnij ? Lachie Weller, Jesse Lonergan, Jack Bowes HF: Nick Holman, Peter Wright, Alex Sexton F: Wil Powell, Aaron Young, Sean Lemmens Foll: Jarrod Witts, Will Brodie, Touk Miller I/C (from): Jacob Dawson, Brayden Fiorini, Jacob Heron, Michael Rischitelli Emg: Ben Ainsworth, Michael Barlow, Jesse Joyce, Jarryd Lyons In: Callum Ah Chee, Jacob Dawson, Pearce Hanley, Jack Leslie, Max Spencer Out: Jesse Joyce (omitted) Jarryd Lyons (omitted) Steven May (suspension), David Swallow (concussion) Rory Thompson (hamstring) After two weeks of high pressure games in hostile territory, the Demons return home and while, the Gold Coast Suns might not be considered capable of applying the sort of pressure experienced against opposition teams at GMHBA or at the Adelaide Oval, they can’t be taken lightly. The AFL is a competition that throws up at least one upset result in almost every round and the Demons can ill-afford another outcome such as the one they experienced early last month against the Saints. I also harboured some concerns that the Gold Coast Suns players might react aggressively to the revelations about Tom Lynch not being at the club next season and the decision to strip him of the captaincy but upon looking at their “outs” and their injury list, I wonder if any of those left in the team even know their deposed skipper at all. The Suns are one of the strongest tackling sides in the competition, a feature that came to the fore when they defeated the Swans recently on the SCG. That’s exactly why Melbourne should be going into the game with a mindset intent on winning first and then worrying about the opportunity for as percentage booster. The Demons have dominated Gold Coast in their last five outings at various venues around the country and their style of play should give them the edge again this week. They are the competition’s strongest side in midfield contests, in high scoring and going inside 50. They have experienced few problems getting the ball into scoring range but their efficiency near goal has left something to be desired. There have been a few occasions this year when they dominated the inside 50s and lost games. This is the area where they should be improving their game if they want to play finals. With the likes of Jesse Hogan and Tom McDonald and a bevy of small to medium players capable of scoring goals, they should be taking advantage of the midfield dominance of the competition’s leading tap ruckman and the young midfield led by Clarrie Oliver, Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw. Gold Coast is also struggling for leadership and without co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May and their most talented player in Jack Martin who starred earlier in the season with four goals in a losing team, I can’t see them kicking anything near to a winning score. Melbourne by 50 points.

The perceived wisdom for fans of our code of football is that when you approach the pointy end of the season, it's not proper to discuss anything other than your team’s next game. The unwritten rule is that you must take things one game at a time. I really would have liked to engage in speculation about what might happen beyond next Sunday and even dared to dream, as was suggested in a newspaper article earlier this week, of a rollicking finish to the season involving action deep into the month of September after a single important win that would engender the necessary self-belief into Melbourne’s team just as one such win did with Richmond last year. The possibilities of such thoughts and dreams are endless but it can’t be done – you must take things one game at a time. And rightly so when the Demons are part of the conversation. One of their more recent defeats came at the hands of St Kilda, a team with a disappointing record of 4½ wins and a percentage of 75.7 this season. But it was last year that they turned losing games when hot favourite to win into an art form, going down to the lowly Dockers, Hawks, Kangaroos (twice) and Collingwood at the death in the final round of 2017. All that in a season where they missed a finals berth by the narrowest margin in the history of the competition. And so ... despite the fact that highest and lowest-scoring sides are pitted against each other, one being sixth-placed and the other second from bottom of the ladder, it is with trepidation that I take on the task of previewing Sunday’s game at the MCG between Melbourne, fresh from a strong victory in Adelaide and the Gold Coast Suns who are coming off a shattering defeat at the hands of likely wooden spooners in Carlton. THE GAME Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns at The MCG Sunday 5 August, 2018 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall - Melbourne 8 wins Gold Coast Suns 3 wins At The MCG - Melbourne 4 wins Gold Coast Suns 2 wins Past five matches - Melbourne 5 wins Gold Coast Suns 0 wins The Coaches - Goodwin 1 win Dew 0 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Sports 3 - Live at 3.00pm RADIO - Triple M (Regional) 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 21.20.146 defeated Gold Coast Suns 11.11.77 at The Gabba Round 8, 2018 Melbourne started slowly but the foot went on the accelerator during the third term and finished up winning by 69 points, kicking 13 second-half goals to six. Tom McDonald booted five goals in his third game back after an injury lay-off. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Bernie Vince, Sam Frost, Neville Jetta HB: Christian Salem, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis ? Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, James Harmes HF: Aaron vandenBerg, Jesse Hogan, Bayley Fritsch F: Jeff Garlett, Tom McDonald, Jay Kennedy Harris Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw I/C: Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Petracca, Charlie Spargo, Joel Smith Emg: Jayden Hunt, Dean Kent, Cameron Pedersen, Tim Smith In: Aaron vandenBerg Out: Jake Melksham (hamstring) GOLD COAST SUNS B: Callum Ah Chee, Max Spencer, Jarrod Harbrow HB: Pearce Hanley, Jack Leslie, Kade Kolodjashnij ? Lachie Weller, Jesse Lonergan, Jack Bowes HF: Nick Holman, Peter Wright, Alex Sexton F: Wil Powell, Aaron Young, Sean Lemmens Foll: Jarrod Witts, Will Brodie, Touk Miller I/C (from): Jacob Dawson, Brayden Fiorini, Jacob Heron, Michael Rischitelli Emg: Ben Ainsworth, Michael Barlow, Jesse Joyce, Jarryd Lyons In: Callum Ah Chee, Jacob Dawson, Pearce Hanley, Jack Leslie, Max Spencer Out: Jesse Joyce (omitted) Jarryd Lyons (omitted) Steven May (suspension), David Swallow (concussion) Rory Thompson (hamstring) After two weeks of high pressure games in hostile territory, the Demons return home and while, the Gold Coast Suns might not be considered capable of applying the sort of pressure experienced against opposition teams at GMHBA or at the Adelaide Oval, they can’t be taken lightly. The AFL is a competition that throws up at least one upset result in almost every round and the Demons can ill-afford another outcome such as the one they experienced early last month against the Saints. I also harboured some concerns that the Gold Coast Suns players might react aggressively to the revelations about Tom Lynch not being at the club next season and the decision to strip him of the captaincy but upon looking at their “outs” and their injury list, I wonder if any of those left in the team even know their deposed skipper at all. The Suns are one of the strongest tackling sides in the competition, a feature that came to the fore when they defeated the Swans recently on the SCG. That’s exactly why Melbourne should be going into the game with a mindset intent on winning first and then worrying about the opportunity for as percentage booster. The Demons have dominated Gold Coast in their last five outings at various venues around the country and their style of play should give them the edge again this week. They are the competition’s strongest side in midfield contests, in high scoring and going inside 50. They have experienced few problems getting the ball into scoring range but their efficiency near goal has left something to be desired. There have been a few occasions this year when they dominated the inside 50s and lost games. This is the area where they should be improving their game if they want to play finals. With the likes of Jesse Hogan and Tom McDonald and a bevy of small to medium players capable of scoring goals, they should be taking advantage of the midfield dominance of the competition’s leading tap ruckman and the young midfield led by Clarrie Oliver, Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw. Gold Coast is also struggling for leadership and without co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May and their most talented player in Jack Martin who starred earlier in the season with four goals in a losing team, I can’t see them kicking anything near to a winning score. Melbourne by 50 points.

North will end up with 13 or 14 wins.

We're aiming for Hawthorn like arrogance by 2020.

Jesse looked to be nursing a few ailments during the game. Possibly knee/groin/ankle. I also thought Petracca had some shoulder soreness during the game. Both played out the game and were instrumental in the sealer.

I was baffled by those votes too.

I'm dreading that St Kilda v North game. Hopefully we have it stitched up by then. If we have to rely on St Kilda to beat or keep North's percentage down then St. Kilda would have screwed us twice in one year. * * Yeah I know it will have been self inflicted but I have to blame someone.

Happy to offer him the job of Environmental Ambassador of Demonland.

Congratulations to Maxy and Clarry. The AFL Coaches’ Association votes for Round 19 (see every vote from all the rounds so far at AFLCoaches.com.au): ESSENDON V SYDNEY 9 Hurley (Ess), 6 Heppell (Ess), 6 Saad (Ess), 4 Smith (Ess), 3 Myers (Ess), 2 McDonald-Tipungwuti (Ess) RICHMOND V COLLINGWOOD 10 Grundy (Coll), 7 Pendlebury (Coll), 4 Astbury (Rich), 4 Edwards (Rich), 4 Riewoldt (Rich), 1 Prestia (Rich) GEELONG V BRISBANE 10 Hawkins (Geel), 8 Ablett (Geel), 5 D Beams (BL), 3 Dangerfield (Geel), 3 Duncan (Geel), 1 Gardiner (BL) GWS V ST KILDA 9 Whitfield (GWS), 8 Himmelberg (GWS), 7 Gresham (StK), 2 Lonie (StK), 2 Shaw (GWS), 1 Kelly (GWS), 1 Steele (StK) GOLD COAST V CARLTON 10 Cripps (Carl), 6 C. Curnow (Carl), 6 Simpson (Carl), 4 Murphy (Carl), 2 E. Curnow (Carl), 1 Lang (Carl), 1 Petrevski-Seton (Carl) ADELAIDE V MELBOURNE 9 Gawn (Melb), 9 Oliver (Melb), 3 M. Crouch (Adel), 3 T. McDonald (Melb), 3 Milera (Adel), 2 Lewis (Melb), 1 Neal-Bullen (Melb) NORTH MELBOURNE V WEST COAST 10 Cunnington (NM), 8 Ahern (NM), 5 Daw (NM), 3 Clarke (NM), 2 Goldstein (NM), 2 McGovern (WCE) WESTERN BULLDOGS V PORT ADELAIDE 10 Dixon (PA), 8 Polec (PA), 5 Trengove (WB), 3 Wingard (PA), 2 Dunkley (WB), 1 Bryne-Jones (PA), 1 Macrae (WB) FREMANTLE V HAWTHORN 10 Mitchell (Haw), 5 Breust (Haw), 4 Stratton (Haw), 3 Burgoyne (Haw), 3 Mundy (Frem), 2 Gunston (Haw), 2 Hardwick (Haw), 1 Shiels (Haw) LEADERBOARD 80 — MAX GAWN (MELB) 78 — PATRICK CRIPPS (CARL) 78 — TOM MITCHELL (HAW) 64 — SHAUN HIGGINS (NM) 62 — CLAYTON OLIVER (MELB) 61 — ANDREW GAFF (WC) 59 — NAT FYFE (FREM) 59 — DYSON HEPPELL (ESS) 57 — LACHIE WHITFIELD (GWS) 56 — DAYNE BEAMS (BL) 56 — BRODIE GRUNDY (COLL)

But we have an AFLX title to defend ...

The G has not been our friend this year.

I really hope we don't have to sweat on the final game (St. Kilda vs North Melbourne) again.

Friday 24 August Port Adelaide v Essendon at the Adelaide Oval (7.20pm ACST) Saturday 25 August Geelong v Gold Coast at GMHBA Stadium (1.45pm AEST) Richmond v Western Bulldogs at the MCG (2.10pm AEST) Fremantle v Collingwood at Optus Stadium (2.35pm AWST) Sydney v Hawthorn at the SCG (7.25pm AEST) Carlton v Adelaide at Etihad Stadium (7.25pm AEST) Sunday 26 August Brisbane v West Coast at the Gabba (1.10pm AEST) Melbourne v Greater Western Sydney at the MCG (3.20pm AEST) St Kilda v North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium (4.40pm AEST)

The sliding doors nature to the run home is killing me. 2nd or 9th or somewhere in between. Please transport me to the good alternate reality.

I still get PSD from the words Round 23.

The Demons were traveling along nicely when they played the Gold Coast Suns earlier this season. With so much at stake this time, they cannot afford to take the Suns lightly. These were the selected teams from Round 8 when Melbourne drew away in the last half to win by 69 points. THE TEAMS GOLD COAST SUNS B: Jarrod Harbrow, Rory Thompson, Steven May HB: Aaron Hall, Jack Leslie, Callum Ah Chee ? Jack Bowes, Jarryd Lyons, Lachie Weller HF: Nick Holman, Brayden Crossley, Charlie Ballard F: Jack Martin, Sam Day, Aaron Young Foll: Jarrod Witts, Touk Miller, David Swallow I/C: Ben Ainsworth, Michael Rischitelli, Brad Scheer, Alex Sexton Emg: Will Brodie, Jacob Heron, Connor Nutting, Max Spencer In: Aaron Hall, Jack Leslie, Steven May Out: Jesse Joyce (injured), Matt Rosa (injured) Max Spencer (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Michael Hibberd, Oscar McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Angus Brayshaw, Jake Lever, Bernie Vince ? Jordan Lewis, Nathan Jones, Christian Salem HF: James Harmes, Jesse Hogan, Jake Melksham F: Sam Weideman, Tom McDonald, Christian Petracca Foll: Max Gawn, Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver I/C: Charlie Spargo, Mitch Hannan, Alex Neal-Bullen, Bayley Fritsch Emg: Jayden Hunt, Jeff Garlett, Tim Smith, Josh Wagner In: Christian Salem Out: Jayden Hunt (omitted)

Clarrie’s sensational game against the Crows has seen him overtake Big Max. It appears to be a two way battle between these two as we move towards the finals:- Progressive 166. Clayton OIiver 165. Max Gawn 102. Jesse Hogan 93. Angus Brayshaw 70. Nathan Jones 67. Tom McDonald 51. Christian Petracca 49. Jake Melksham 47. Neville Jetta 42. James Harmes Christian Salem 39. Bayley Fritsch 38. Jack Viney 31. Michael Hibberd 29. Jake Lever Jordan Lewis Oscar McDonald 16. Jeff Garlett 14. Alex Neal-Bullen 6. Tom Bugg 4. Joel Smith 2. Dean Kent 1. Bernie Vince Josh Wagner

Jeez. If I did that after every disappointing loss ....

A five goal lead at ¾ time; now with a minute to go in the last, eight points the difference and Eddie Betts breaks his tag to kick the ball goalward for Adelaide. The Demon fans could see another Geelong-like result coming ... their collective hearts stop. It couldn’t happen again, could it? The ball curls inward toward the uprights, the hearts now aching for relief, but the shot grazes the post and Melbourne hangs on to win, after scoring another major for itself before the final siren. There remains a heartbeat again for the Demon faithful. Not only a win, but combined with other favourable results in other games, the lure of September action is now within grasp. The fans have booked themselves in to see the cardiologists this week, as this sort of pressure cannot have good outcomes, especially since it seems to be becoming a regular event for Melbourne in 2018. Or are the cardiologists seeking to do some scientific study on the ability of MFCSS sufferers to get up week after week? Make no mistake, there was plenty at stake in this match. Another season of effort depended upon the outcome. The players needed to show their resilience after the heart-breaking result from the previous week. A rejuvenated Adelaide at their home ground, also seeking finals action themselves. But the hearts of the Melbourne players were bigger, like their fans. Big Max Gawn must have a heart the same size as Phar Lap’s with a monstrous 66 hitouts, 24 of which were to advantage. Max now has 303 to advantage in Season 2018, with no CLUB to yet reach the 250 mark collectively! Clayton Oliver having just turned 21 racked up another 31 touches and blew away the previous record for 1,000 handballs in only his 53rd game, leaving behind such greats as Greg Williams, and surpassing Patrick Cripps by 10 games. And in those dying minutes the willingness and heart of the players shone out, as they battled physical injury to hold on gallantly to their lead. Christian Petracca with a shoulder injury, Jetta with a knee complaint, after hitting the goal post, Jesse Hogan with groin and knee problems, Angus Brayshaw with a cut to the head, James Harmes with a broken hand. The fact that Hogan and Harmes could even put themselves on the ground this week showed the size of their commitment and heart, with Harmes not only playing with a plate in his hand but completely shutting down Sloane, to a meagre 17 touches while getting 23 touches himself. He has turned into a first class tagger, but also a mid-field threat with 13 contested possessions to top out his day. The first half of the match was an even affair, even though Adelaide opened up a 3 goal lead early in the first quarter. In the past, particularly at a venue like Adelaide Oval with its raucous crowd, that would have signaled the end of the game, since the Crows with their tails up have been virtually unstoppable. But the Demons stopped giving the likes of Greenwood and Gibbs freedom to move, and the source of supply dried up. By the end of the first quarter, a goal the difference resulted and a similar margin was there at half-time. Then the heart of Melbourne really got beating. Gawn completely overpowered Jacobs in the ruck, Oliver, Brayshaw and Nathan Jones took full advantage around the packs, and just kept putting the ball forward. Although Hogan was barely able to move or jump, he just kept willing himself to contests, and although he wasn’t to benefit from the fruits of his labour, others like Jeff Garlett, Bayley Fritsch and Jake Melksham were. Jordan Lewis in his 300th game chipped in with a couple of truly telling long-range goals which broke the backs of Adelaide at critical times. Should anyone doubt the value of his positioning and game sense, then this was the game to witness a master in action. Tom McDonald became the target up front and finished with 3 goals, again from his strength and running capacity - he covered 15.3 km in the game - extraordinary for such a big man and while he is doing exactly this the opposition have no answers. After missing the first 5 games he has now scored 40 goals for the season with a conversion rate far better than anyone in the competition. Down back the defenders were magnificent. Marshalled by Lewis, Sam Frost and Oscar McDonald held the main Adelaide forwards in Walker and Jenkins to a single goal, and that from a free kick in the dying minutes! Neville held the dangerous Betts to a couple, while Lynch had little to no effect on the game as Joel Smith matched him in the air. Smith had a few anxious failures, but the kid has only played nine games. We all had similar feelings about Oscar in his first couple of seasons, but the coaches are now getting games and experience into him, which will put us in a better position come September and next season. At ¾ time, the margin had blown out to 31 points and the game was all but over. Until Adelaide started their run and threatened to snatch an unlikely victory. The rain came down mid-way during the quarter, and made Melbourne’s job easier, as it turned into a contested ball scenario, which Melbourne love. Time and time again bodies were thrown without abandon to stop the forward thrusts of the Crows. Eddie’s last throw of the dice could have stolen the game, as the ball would have been returned to the centre with a minute to go. In the event, the kickout went well down the line and Jones, Petracca, Oliver and Brayshaw made sure it wasn’t going back. Petracca continued bullocking to get it forward and with Hogan willing himself to create the contest, got it back to Christian, who fed Alex Neal-Bullen the ball to seal the match. All heart! With the body still alive after this match, and the heart beating true, the Red and the Blue now have the chance to put into action what they have hoped for in the past, yet failed. While other results can improve the situation, the players seem to now know that their future lay in their own hands and whether they have the heart to succeed when the going gets tough ... which is what finals action demands. Melbourne 3.1.19 5.7.37 12.11.83 13.12.90 Adelaide 4.4.28 6.8.44 7.10.52 10.17.77 Goals Adelaide Betts Greenwood 2 Atkins Gallucci Gibbs Murphy Seedsman Walker Melbourne T McDonald 3 Fritsch Lewis Melksham 2 Hogan Jetta Kennedy Harris Neal-Bullen Best Melbourne Oliver T McDonald Petracca Gawn Harmes Lewis Adelaide M Crouch Milera Laird Gibbs Atkins Injuries Melbourne Nil Adelaide Seedsman (hamstring) Reports Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Umpires Stevic, Meredith, Harris Official crowd 45,880 at the Adelaide Oval

HEARTBEAT by George on the Outer A five goal lead at ¾ time; now with a minute to go in the last, eight points the difference and Eddie Betts breaks his tag to kick the ball goalward for Adelaide. The Demon fans could see another Geelong-like result coming ... their collective hearts stop. It couldn’t happen again, could it? The ball curls inward toward the uprights, the hearts now aching for relief, but the shot grazes the post and Melbourne hangs on to win, after scoring another major for itself before the final siren. There remains a heartbeat again for the Demon faithful. Not only a win, but combined with other favourable results in other games, the lure of September action is now within grasp. The fans have booked themselves in to see the cardiologists this week, as this sort of pressure cannot have good outcomes, especially since it seems to be becoming a regular event for Melbourne in 2018. Or are the cardiologists seeking to do some scientific study on the ability of MFCSS sufferers to get up week after week? Make no mistake, there was plenty at stake in this match. Another season of effort depended upon the outcome. The players needed to show their resilience after the heart-breaking result from the previous week. A rejuvenated Adelaide at their home ground, also seeking finals action themselves. But the hearts of the Melbourne players were bigger, like their fans. Big Max Gawn must have a heart the same size as Phar Lap’s with a monstrous 66 hitouts, 24 of which were to advantage. Max now has 303 to advantage in Season 2018, with no CLUB to yet reach the 250 mark collectively! Clayton Oliver having just turned 21 racked up another 31 touches and blew away the previous record for 1,000 handballs in only his 53rd game, leaving behind such greats as Greg Williams, and surpassing Patrick Cripps by 10 games. And in those dying minutes the willingness and heart of the players shone out, as they battled physical injury to hold on gallantly to their lead. Christian Petracca with a shoulder injury, Jetta with a knee complaint, after hitting the goal post, Jesse Hogan with groin and knee problems, Angus Brayshaw with a cut to the head, James Harmes with a broken hand. The fact that Hogan and Harmes could even put themselves on the ground this week showed the size of their commitment and heart, with Harmes not only playing with a plate in his hand but completely shutting down Sloane, to a meagre 17 touches while getting 23 touches himself. He has turned into a first class tagger, but also a mid-field threat with 13 contested possessions to top out his day. The first half of the match was an even affair, even though Adelaide opened up a 3 goal lead early in the first quarter. In the past, particularly at a venue like Adelaide Oval with its raucous crowd, that would have signaled the end of the game, since the Crows with their tails up have been virtually unstoppable. But the Demons stopped giving the likes of Greenwood and Gibbs freedom to move, and the source of supply dried up. By the end of the first quarter, a goal the difference resulted and a similar margin was there at half-time. Then the heart of Melbourne really got beating. Gawn completely overpowered Jacobs in the ruck, Oliver, Brayshaw and Nathan Jones took full advantage around the packs, and just kept putting the ball forward. Although Hogan was barely able to move or jump, he just kept willing himself to contests, and although he wasn’t to benefit from the fruits of his labour, others like Jeff Garlett, Bayley Fritsch and Jake Melksham were. Jordan Lewis in his 300th game chipped in with a couple of truly telling long-range goals which broke the backs of Adelaide at critical times. Should anyone doubt the value of his positioning and game sense, then this was the game to witness a master in action. Tom McDonald became the target up front and finished with 3 goals, again from his strength and running capacity - he covered 15.3 km in the game - extraordinary for such a big man and while he is doing exactly this the opposition have no answers. After missing the first 5 games he has now scored 40 goals for the season with a conversion rate far better than anyone in the competition. Down back the defenders were magnificent. Marshalled by Lewis, Sam Frost and Oscar McDonald held the main Adelaide forwards in Walker and Jenkins to a single goal, and that from a free kick in the dying minutes! Neville held the dangerous Betts to a couple, while Lynch had little to no effect on the game as Joel Smith matched him in the air. Smith had a few anxious failures, but the kid has only played nine games. We all had similar feelings about Oscar in his first couple of seasons, but the coaches are now getting games and experience into him, which will put us in a better position come September and next season. At ¾ time, the margin had blown out to 31 points and the game was all but over. Until Adelaide started their run and threatened to snatch an unlikely victory. The rain came down mid-way during the quarter, and made Melbourne’s job easier, as it turned into a contested ball scenario, which Melbourne love. Time and time again bodies were thrown without abandon to stop the forward thrusts of the Crows. Eddie’s last throw of the dice could have stolen the game, as the ball would have been returned to the centre with a minute to go. In the event, the kickout went well down the line and Jones, Petracca, Oliver and Brayshaw made sure it wasn’t going back. Petracca continued bullocking to get it forward and with Hogan willing himself to create the contest, got it back to Christian, who fed Alex Neal-Bullen the ball to seal the match. All heart! With the body still alive after this match, and the heart beating true, the Red and the Blue now have the chance to put into action what they have hoped for in the past, yet failed. While other results can improve the situation, the players seem to now know that their future lay in their own hands and whether they have the heart to succeed when the going gets tough ... which is what finals action demands. Melbourne 3.1.19 5.7.37 12.11.83 13.12.90 Adelaide 4.4.28 6.8.44 7.10.52 10.17.77 Goals Adelaide Betts Greenwood 2 Atkins Gallucci Gibbs Murphy Seedsman Walker Melbourne T McDonald 3 Fritsch Lewis Melksham 2 Hogan Jetta Kennedy Harris Neal-Bullen Best Melbourne Oliver T McDonald Petracca Gawn Harmes Lewis Adelaide M Crouch Milera Laird Gibbs Atkins Injuries Melbourne Nil Adelaide Seedsman (hamstring) Reports Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Umpires Stevic, Meredith, Harris Official crowd 45,880 at the Adelaide Oval