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Once again the Sydney Swans followed the recipe for cooking Melbourne’s goose. Slowly with pressure, add some more pressure and surely the goose will be cooked. And so it was in the 2022 Qualifying Final, when the same recipe that Carlton and Collingwood used was brought out again with success. Just put pressure on the Demons and the suspect players that perform when the team is running hot, just get cooked The ability to operate, do the fundamentals and execute at these times is shown up, but in finals it matters. Alex Neal-Bullen, Jake Melksham and Jayden Hunt were unable to supply anything of value to the side when needed. Be it delivering with a simple kick, converting from 20m or putting in a tackle for the whole game, these guys went missing again. This is finals football, and the same pressure will come again in the next game. Will the coach continue to reward this recurring theme In the same manner, the recurring problem in the forward line continues to raise its ugly head. Once again Melbourne were unable to kick sufficient goals to win a match, despite 6 more i50’s than the opposition. The resting ruck in the forward line theory should now have been exposed as a complete failure, with both Gawn and Jackson failing to take a mark in that area, and Gawn posting a major only after a free. They continue to block the path for Fritsch and Brown, and when the ball comes to ground are unable to provide any defensive pressure. And it only compounds the lack of pressure from the forwards. Gawn is no racehorse, Melksham doesn’t chase, Fritsch isn’t fast, Brown can’t get out of a trot, ANB doesn’t know where the ball so it’s all left to Pickett. Small wonder the defence of Sydney held strong all game, and kept Melbourne goalless in the final quarter. All along this game was going to be one of contest and defence. The Demons were hampered when Christian Petracca took a heavy knock in the first quarter which limited his output. That only opened up the gates for Parker in the middle with 25 touches and 9 clearances, with 8 touches alone in the 2ndquarter when the game was on the line. Clayton Oliver was the saviour for the Demons in and around the ground, but was also heavily banged up, and to be sure Sydney made sure of that. The Swans’ game plan is about continuous support to their teammates. It doesn’t matter where you play it is essential to contribute. There is always another Swans player on the outside. It eliminated the role of defensive pressure which Melbourne employ. It is a reversion to one on one football, where you back your players against a system which employs role players who don’t have the skills. Small wonder the Sydney goal kicking list includes backmen like Lloyd with two majors or a host of their mids. The Demons rucks put in a completely sub-standard game. Jackson a solitary mark for the whole 100 minutes, a number which has been happening all too often in recent weeks. Max was soundly beaten by Hickey, both in the middle and around the ground, while his kicking when needed returned to the doldrums of years past. The one shining light for the fans and the side was Stephen May in the backline, who gave Franklin a complete football lesson holding him scoreless, while amassing 23 touches 7 marks and 583 metres gained. A couple of silly errors blotted his copybook, but overall it was a commanding performance and should have been the inspiration for those further up the field. The forward problem has been mentioned around the resting ruck scenario, but it is more than that. Unless Fritsch or Pickett kick big bags, the side doesn’t kick a winning score since Tom McDonald went down. We simply need another target in front of goal, and cannot depend on opportunistic chances to score. Ben Brown is double teamed every week, and there is no leading, up the ground pair of hands that McDonald provided. We simply need a true forward, and sadly that chance (“JVR”) should have been playing in the side weeks ago. Now we have to roll the dice in a do or die game, but chances are we won’t do that. And this will be in a game against Brisbane where goal kicking will be an absolute necessity. If we continue to follow this same recipe using the same ingredients against the Lions, then Joe the Goose will come out smiling and our season will be well and truly cooked. MELBOURNE 4.1.25 5.4.34 10.5.65 10.9.69 SYDNEY SWANS 2.3.15 6.4.40 12.5.77 14.7.91 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 3 Oliver 2 Brown Gawn Pickett Spargo Sparrow SYDNEY SWANS Hayward Lloyd Papley Reid 2 Heeney, Hickey Mills Parker Rowbottom Stephens BEST MELBOURNE May Oliver Fritsch Viney Petracca Langdon SYDNEY SWANS Parker Lloyd Rowbottom Mills Papley Fox INJURIES MELBOURNE Christian Petracca (leg) SYDNEY SWANS Oliver Florent (ankle) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil SYDNEY SWANS Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE Joel Smith (unused) SYDNEY SWANS Braeden Campbell (unused) UMPIRES Matt Stevic Andrew Stephens Craig Fleer CROWD 78,377 at the MCG

Thursday night football - not something Melbourne FC are accustomed to doing, especially after barely garnering a Friday night game for years. Yet with this opportunity, the Demons soundly beat the Swans at the SCG and put their season back on Track. This was not only a game of mental toughness, since the Demons had so far failed to win a game in 2019 and faced possibly a season ending prospect of 0-4, should they have failed in Sydney. History was against them, and Buddy Franklin’s record of 15 successive wins against the Demons was a genuine Threat, as he can single-handedly rip a game apart. Things looked good with Melbourne kicking the first 2 goals, but then fell into their habit of allowing the opposition to get a run of unanswered goals, and at ¼ time they Trailed by 14 points. It was almost a repeat of the previous 3 weeks, and based on that a recovery of sorts could be expected in the second. And it was. The game turned into a simply Tough, hard contested contest. Though behind in contested ball at ¼ time, the Demons just started grinding the Swans down. Telling goals from co-captain Nathan Jones put Melbourne back in the match, and he simply dragged his Team mates along with him. The Twin Towers of Gawn and Preuss simply overwhelmed the Swans talls, in what was to be a complete reversal of what had happened to Melbourne in the past weeks. With Preuss as a resting Target in front of goal, he simply terrified the Swan defenders, and then was able to give Max the rest from the rucking responsibilities he had been denied for so long. Furthermore, with both of them on the ground, it released Max to sit out the back and in the dying minutes of the game, this proved vital, as Gawn took telling marks to deny the Swans any hope of revival. Make no mistake, this match has the capacity to be the Turning point for the Demons. It re-inforced in their minds and the spectators, the Toughness of AFL, as we saw players from both sides taken from the ground with collision injury after collision injury. Preuss, Heeney, Brayshaw, Oscar, Oliver and Sinclair were all sidelined at some point in the game. For the Demons, already with injury woes, the pre-game losses of Jetta, Lockhart and Kolodjashnij only compounded the problem, and it is hoped that a 10 day break will give these bodies the chance to recover. With the game on the line at ½ time, it was the Demons who came out and started to stamp their authority. The contested ball statistics had been reversed from the first quarter as Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney and particularly Jones bullocked into contests. This was more of the Melbourne brand that the fans had come to know. With Gawn providing an enormous 55 hitouts and 38% to advantage, in a way the game should have only had the one possible result. Backup from Preuss gave the Swans no relief, so hopefully this Tandem operation will be used again in future games. Frost on Franklin was always a concern, but his speed was able to match Buddy’s and he forced him far and wide continuously. The result was a solitary goal, with a couple of failed shots, simply because he was too far out. Without a true second target in front of goals, the Swans were denied scoring opportunities. Make no mistake, the Demon defence is still fragile. Oscar McDonald, prior to his injury did little to inspire confidence, and Hibberd is still miles from his best. However, Hore in his second game proved to be more than reliable, and took some telling defensive marks at critical times. Salem was simply a rock, yet again, with 33 disposals, which always seem to finish in the hands of team mates up the ground. The main forwards also are far from their best, and the addition of Preuss or Gawn really covered the lack of output from them again. Melksham, Tom McDonald and Weideman only contributed 3 goals, but Petracca took a step in the right direction with more intensity when required to record a couple of goals himself. Hunt has fitted into the crumbing forward role as he has his career re-defined, and he has also learnt the importance of defensive pressure, something badly missing from the whole teams performance in these past weeks. Spargo and Stretch however, provided little and will only keep their position in the side should no-one else suitable be available. They must take their chances and perform. Ten days to recover. The bodies certainly need it after that game. And it may give other bodies the Time to also get to game ready. Jetta and Lockhart should be available, with Lewis also a possibility. Preuss has guaranteed a position in the side, and it is now Time for the Demons to Truly put their season back on Track. Melbourne 3.2.20 8.4.52 12.7.79 15.10.100 Sydney Swans 5.4.34 8.10.58 9.11.65 11.12.78 Goals Melbourne Jones 3 Hunt Petracca Preuss 2 Brayshaw Harmes T McDonald Melksham Viney Weideman Sydney Dawson Florent Jack 2 Franklin Heeney Jones Ronke Sinclair Best Melbourne Gawn Oliver Jones Salem Hore Harmes Sydney Cunningham Lloyd Florent Rampe Jones Heeney Injuries Melbourne Braydon Preuss (shoulder) Sydney Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Nil Umpires Rosebury, Stephens, Wallace Official crowd: 26,669 at the SCG

I know we're still concentrating on this Saturday's game, but I hope we get a solid crowd turn-out on next Friday night at the MCG against Sydney. With all this talk of North's dismal attendance last Friday night game (even chatter about them moving to Tassie), I think it's a really good opportunity for us (fans, members) to show we appreciate playing on the big stage by showing up in droves next Friday night. If you haven't already put next Friday in the diary, then do it now!