Demonland

The Coates Talent League boys premiership team

The dust settled on the 1924 season and, on the face of it, the Melbourne Football Club had very little to show for the experience. It was described by one observer as a perplexing season that promised so much but ended in the team narrowly averting a wooden spoon and finishing eighth in the nine team competition that was about to expand with the addition of three new clubs. The VFL premiership was won by the Essendon Football Club, its sixth flag and the second in a row. It won the round-robin finals series which was the last time a VFL/AFL premiership was not decided by a grand final and the only time when the premiers lost their last match of the season as they were beaten by runners-up Richmond 9.13 (67) to 6.11 (47) in the last round-robin match. Things quickly turned ugly for the premier. Some Essendon players were unhappy at the poor performances of teammates in the round robin match against Richmond. There were reports of heated arguments and fist fights in the rooms after the match and after a post-match function later that evening amid accusations of match fixing and receiving bribes. Little wonder that when the VFA premiers Footscray challenged Essendon to a match for the championship of Victoria, it was the former which won comfortably by 9.10.64 to 4.12.36. The unofficial “championship” match played a week after the VFL grand final was in aid of Dame Nellie Melba's Limbless Soldiers' Appeal. There were further accusations of match fixing in that game and, as a consequence, champion centre half-back Tom Fitzmaurice was so disgusted that he never played again for Essendon. Footscray’s performance was the catalyst for the club’s admission to the VFL but the League didn’t stop there. North Melbourne and Hawthorn also defected to make it a twelve team competition when the 1925 season began. In the meantime, the VFL introduced an award for the fairest and best player based on the vote of the umpires and the first Brownlow Medal was awarded to Edward "Carji" Greeves of Geelong. Melbourne’s Bert Chadwick was runner up by one vote behind Greeves. 1924 might not have been a watershed season for the Melbourne Football Club but there were changes taking place that would see a significant improvement in 1925 to third place and a premiership in the following season when the club won its second flag in 1926. By that time Chadwick was captain-coach alternating between the ruck and centre half back and the great Ivor Warne-Smith had returned to the club to win the first of his two Brownlow Medals . In the space of two years, the club had risen from the doldrums to cover itself in premiership glory. Photograph of Melbourne Football Club, Premiers 1926, Image courtesy of the Melbourne Cricket Club Museum collection

Fremantle hosted the Demons on a sunny 20-degree Saturdayafternoon winning the toss and electing to defend in the first quarter against the 3-goal breeze favouring the Parry Street end. There was method here, as this would give the comeback queens, the Dockers, last use of the breeze. The Melbourne Coach had promised an improved performance, and we did start better than previous weeks, winning the ball out of the middle, using the breeze advantage and connecting to the forwards. Hore, Bannan, Hanks and Zanker all kicked first quarter goals. McNamara, Goldrick, Hanks, Hore, and Chaplin were very busy as the Dees went into half time with a 14-point lead. Fremantle had to rearrange their forward structure as game-changer, Aine Tighe, innocuously hurt her knee and was taken out of the game. Potentially her third ACL injury. After halftime the Dockers really defended well led by pressures acts from Gaby O’Sullivan, Hayley Miller, and ruck Mim Strom and it was goal apiece during the third quarter. It was a thrilling final quarter with the game played almost exclusively in the Dockers half while our backs and midsdesperately defended. Kate Hore was thrown back as a spare and the indefatigable Eliza McNamara was everywhere. With 8 minutes left on the clock the Demons were still 3 goals up. Fremantle were piling on the pressure and the lead evaporated quickly following some defensive errors. With scores now level and three minutes remaining, the Dees fans yell ‘Blow the siren’. Into the last minute Hore errantly kicks out on the full. The ball comes straight back, and Kate tries to step past a Freo player, misses her kick and is pinged for holding the ball. The siren sounds and Aishling McCarthy kicks perfectly to win the match for Fremantle. For the Dees The injury curse continues for the Dees with promising cross-coder Grace Beasley doing her ACL at training during the week and Blaithin Mackin forced out of the game early with a calf injury. Former Geelong player, Denby Taylor, debuted promisingly with 6 disposals, a couple of bounces to show off her pace, and 3 tackles earning 2 free kicks. Eliza McNamara was outstanding, her best game in the Red and Blue. Goldie, Hanksy and Chappy were really solid on the day. Kate Hore tried hard to lift her team. Lily was quiet in her 75th game but showed her class as always. Eden Zanker, last year’s leading AFLW goalkicker, finally scored her first goal in 2024. Edo hurt her knee in the last quarter and hopefully is okay. It was always going to be a difficult assignment to win away with so many stars unavailable and young players still learning their craft. Moment of the match With scores level and Hayley Miller breaking past Chaplin streaming into goal, Gaby Colvin smashes into Miller just as she is about to kick a goal and earns a free. Sadly, it wasn’t to be a match saving act. Coaches and next week Melbourne Coach Mick Stinear was bitterly disappointed. His team came here to win and started well but the game slipped away in the second half. He was pleased his team won the contest, but they failed to find meaningful connections with the breeze in the third quarter. He singled out Lize McNamara who had an outstanding game,shouldering a high workload when Blaithin Mackin was ruled out early in the match. To win, he needs an equal contribution across the ground. Fremantle coach Lisa Webb says her team had belief coming home with the breeze in the final quarter. She praised Gaby O’Sullivan who brought tremendous pressure and Aisling McCarthy who kicked the winning goal. The Demons head to Windy Hill next Friday to take on the Bombers. With both teams sitting in the bottom eight of the ladder, it will be an important win for one of the teams. Go Dees! With the mounting injuries, how will the Demons field a full squad this week without replacements? MELBOURNE 4.0.24 5.1.31 6.5.41 6.5.41 FREMANTLE 1.1.7 2.5.17 3.5.23 7.5.47 GOALS MELBOURNE Bannan Gall Goldrick Hank Hore Zanker FREMANTLE O'Sullivan 3 Antonio Biedenweg-Webster McCarthy Miller BEST MELBOURNE McNamara Goldrick Hore Hanks Chaplin FREMANTLE O'Sullivan Miller Strom O'Driscoll Newton McCarthy INJURIES MELBOURNE B Mackin (calf) FREMANTLE Tighe (knee) LATE CHANGES MELBOURNE Grace Beasley (knee) replaced in selected side by Grace Hill FREMANTLE Nil CROWD 1,633 at Fremantle Oval