Melbourne unveiled its top recruits with new fitness boss Darren Burgess and mid-sized bull Christian Petracca sharing top billing in the team’s Marsh Community Series opener in front of 3,095 football starved fans at Casey Fields and thousands of others watching on screens of various shapes and sizes.
What they saw was a different Melbourne to the one that failed to run out its JLT Series games last year and then crashed in a heap early in the season proper with performances lacking the zest and energy of the pressure team that made a preliminary final with the promise of much more to come. The Titanic-like fall from grace had left us all questioning which was the aberration — the highs of 2018 or the lows of 2019?
Against the Crows, albeit a team one doesn’t fancy as a major challenger this year, the Demons finished off their first test strongly pulling away against the breeze in the final term to win by 33 points — something we didn’t see at all in 2019. And for that Burgess, the coaches and players must all take credit.
What the fans also saw was the Petracca they’ve been waiting for since he was picked at number two in the 2014 national draft. He was one of Melbourne’s best and most consistent performers last year but he’s worked hard over the pre season, refined his body shape and produced a monster of a game first up with 38 touches (27 contested) and three goals, taking big grabs and executing strong bone-shattering tackles on unsuspecting opponents. And he kept it up all day (never before has he recorded 30 plus possessions) whether in the midfield or up forward as the hapless Crows had no answer to his attack on the football.
The Demons simply had to be better than the lacklustre outfit of 2019. They welcomed back a number of players who had limited or no games last year as well as five players donning the red and blue for the first time. Ed Langdon and Adam Tomlinson were brought in to add outside run that was missing last year and showed they will be welcome additions to the ranks while Mitch Brown (three goals) looks a likely bargain basement key forward acquisition. Live wire recruit Kysaiah Pickett was quiet but produced a minute and a half of wizardry up forward while Luke Jackson began his journey acclimatising in a number of roles. His time will come too.
The Demons made a patchy start with the wind in the first quarter and paid the price for their early inaccuracy as they trailed at the main break but, as the game went on, they seemed to recover their lost ability to convert and score goals.
It was former skipper Nathan Jones who recorded the opening goal and he finished with three after alternating between half back and half forward, coming off with a leg injury which coach Simon Goodwin assures us was just “a corky in the shin”.
Jake Lever was solid with his intercept marking and the club should thrive with a full season from the mustachioed defender. A knee injury soured Tom McDonald’s season just as he was returning to form last year and it took him half a game to brush off the cobwebs to end up with three majors. Sam Weideman also returned and did a good job holding the fort for the injured Max Gawn. He is the likely back up ruck foil for the big man and will also fill a tall forward role.
The Demons will be waiting for Max’s return along with Steven May, Angus Brayshaw, Bayley Fritsch and defender Joel Smith who, like Aaron vandenBerg missed all of last year. The latter made a pleasing return with his customary tough approach which involved the application of eight crunching tackles.
It was the tackling and relentless pressure that was a hallmark of Melbourne’s success when it climbed into the finals and though it’s early days yet, the signs are there that it’s all coming back and that the Demons are ready to prove 2019 was just an aberration.
Melbourne 3.6 5.7 11.10 15.13 (103)
Adelaide 2.0 7.4 9.7 10.10 (70)
Goals
Melbourne Brown Jones T McDonald Petracca 3 Langdon Pickett Sparrow
Adelaide Crocker Davis 2 B Crouch Himmelberg Jones Murphy Stengle Wilson
Best
Melbourne Petracca Oliver Viney Jones Langdon Weideman
Adelaide Milera B Crouch Atkins M Crouch R O'Brien Gibbs
Injuries
Melbourne Jones (leg)
Adelaide Nil
Reports
Melbourne Nil
Adelaide Nil
Umpires Wallace Haussen Hosking Fleer
Official crowd 3,095 at Casey Fields
