For the second week in a row, the Demons had to endure some particularly oppressive match conditions â this time, playing in 30 degree temperatures at the MCG, following the humid sticky Sydney atmosphere of last week.
The warmer conditions didnât seem to worry the Deeâs since the ball was so much easier to handle, and handle it with surety they did in handing out a 45 point drubbing to the much fancied Western Bulldogs.
After a slow start that saw the Dogs out to a 14 point lead early in the opening quarter, the gears of the Demon machine clicked into action and by quarter time the margin was a solitary point in favour of the Demons.
The initial bite of the Dogs was cauterized by the relentless Melbourne defence led by Steven May, who finished the match with 25 disposals, 13 marks and 607 metres gained. The Demon defender handed out another drubbing to an opposition full forward, this time in Aaron Naughton who could only manage six disposals and a single mark. Itâs a good thing for him that he recently was signed up for the next eight years, otherwise, based on that performance, he might well be standing in line at Centrelink come Monday morning.
For Melbourne, the game also saw the return of Tom McDonald to the backline. Whether through necessity or rejuvenation, it was a delight to see him at his best following what has essentially been two years away from the game with continuous injuries of some sort or another. His 18 touches including eight telling interceptions and ten marks, helped to make the backline virtually impenetrable. Jake Lever of course, chipped in with ten intercepts and Trent Rivers did likewise. And to top it all off, Marty Hore returned from an even longer break (1,667 days to be exact) away from the AFL and cemented a spot in the future for himself, more than ably filling the gap left by Jake Boweyâs injury last week.
Oh, and second gamer, Blake Howes finished with 16 disposals, while another youngster in Judd McVee finished with 20 touches. It was remarkable that the Dogs scored at all, given their much vaunted talls structure in front of goal.
Up forward, the Demons witnessed another Lazarus-like performance from Ben Brown, who has been on the injured or rehab list for the best part of two years as well. While not dominant, despite two goals, he just doesnât get any shorter during the game, and on a number of occasions brought the ball to ground to advantage the smalls. Not surprisingly Kade Chandler kicked three goals, Alex Neal-Bullen and Kozzy Pickett pressed home two apiece with and Jack Billings and Christian Salem also took advantage of the big manâs presence.
Equally as important was that Brown took the pressure off young Jacob van Rooyen who had to double up in the ruck role again. And BBBâs three contested marks out of six were truly telling for the side, just when needed.
Bayley Fritsch unfortunately had a âmareâ of a game, and seemed right off the pace when he has been so reliable with both marking and kicking in the past. Hopefully, this is just a blip, but maybe someone who played at Coldstream and Casey in the winter doesnât adapt well to the hotter conditions that were witnessed in this match.
So with the forward structure back to something dangerous, the calls about âbombingâ or âlowering of eyesâ seem so meaningless now.
The battle of the mids in all honesty was a draw between the two sides. Bontempelli, Liberatore, Treloar and English v Petracca, Oliver, Viney and Gawn. Just about all the statistics were matched, although Max had a slight advantage in the ruck contests and marking. Not really unexpected, as the Bulldogsâ midfield is seriously good, but they are nearly totally dependent upon that quartet of players to generate wins for the team.
Melbourne learned the lessons from last week about the interchanges, and managed Max much more favourably in this game. Likewise the other mids, who with Salem now playing time in the middle, just gave more options and breaks in the hot conditions.
When English and Bontempelli had their break in the final quarter, and Max and Oliver came back in, the Demons just took over and finished with six majors for the quarter, handing out the drubbing that had been long coming.
It was good to get the win on the board for the Deeâs, just to level the ledger. The up and coming Hawks next week will provide a challenge, but theirs is all based on the enthusiasm of youth. But with the structures that Melbourne put into place today, they will be squeezed until they break, providing they are not given too much rub of the green to start with.
Without that, the Hawks will also face a Dee-rubbing.
MELBOURNE 4.4.28 8.5.53 10.8.68 16.13.109
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.3.27 6.5.41 7.7.49 9.10.64
GOALS
MELBOURNE Chandler van Rooyen 3 Brown Neal-Bullen Pickett 2 Billings Petracca Salem Viney
WESTERN BULLDOGS Ugle-Hagan 2 Bontempelli Bramble Gallagher Lobb Naughton Weightman West
BEST
MELBOURNE Oliver Gawn May Billings Petracca Chandler
WESTERN BULLDOGS Bontempelli Liberatore Treloar English Johannisen
INJURIES
MELBOURNE Nil
WESTERN BULLDOGS Nil
SUBSTITUTIONS
MELBOURNE Taj Woewodin (replaced Caleb Windsor in the fourth quarter)
WESTERN BULLDOGS Caleb Daniel (replaced Ryley Sanders in the third quarter)
REPORTS
MELBOURNE Nil
WESTERN BULLDOGS Nil
UMPIRES Hayden Gavine Robert Findlay Nathan Toner Andrew Adair
OFFICIAL CROWD 44,100 at The MCG
