Melbourne Claim Points in Top-of-the-Table Fizzer
A week can be a long time in football.
Seven days on from their breakthrough first win at the MCG, the Eagles horror record at the ground was once again at the forefront when they were humbled by the Demons to the tune of 55 points.
The Eagles and Demons headed into their round seven meeting occupying the top two spots on the ladder, with 5-1 records, but the top-of-the-table clash proved a non-event as Melbourne ran away with the game in the first half.
The Demons opened up a three goal break at the first change and were never seriously troubled, finishing with a seven goal final quarter to blow out the margin, and regain their spot at the top of the table.
And there was plenty of insult to injury.
Inaugural Eagle Darren Bennett – who was let go by the club after just one season – did the damage up forward for Melbourne, booting six goals, while West Coast were also left reeling after Dean Laidley was carted off the ground in the second quarter with a knee injury that would rule the half-back flanker out for the rest of the season.
Laidley would be one of three players who would fall victim to a serious knee injury at the MCG in Round 7. North Melbourne pair Brenton Harris (playing in the reserves) and Darren Steele both went down the following day, as criticism over the state of the MCG playing surface grew.
Both Melbourne and West Coast had aired concerns over before the match, with the Eagles declaring they were lucky not to incur any injuries the week before against Richmond. Demons coach John Northey was particularly vocal about the dangers, but AFL communications manager Tony Peek played down the comments.
“We will be keeping a close watch on the situation”, Peek said.
Peek would come to rue those words, with three serious injuries in less than 24 hours. Footscray and North Melbourne joined the chorus of voices demanding action over the state of the ground, with recent attempts to fill holes in the ground with sand failing to deliver any improvement.
Following the Eagles’ defeat, Malthouse wouldn’t be drawn on the playing field, but expressed disappointment over losing Laidley. “It did not look good.”
Malthouse also delivered a blunt analysis of his team’s showing.
“We made far too many mistakes.”
“I thought we could do better and it was a learning curve for all concerned”, Malthouse continued. “We will make adjustments and be a better side.”
The Eagles made two changes coming into the match, with Troy Ugle and wingman Chris Mainwaring both dropped. Mainwaring had struggled in his two games since returning from a back injury, but was still a surprise omission, marking the first time in his 63-game career he had lost his position.
First-year player Peter Matera was chosen for his second game to replace Mainwaring, with Geoff Miles the other inclusion. Miles had failed to play so far this season as he recovered from a hamstring injury, named at full back.
The Demons also made two changes, as they battled somewhat of an injury crisis. Already without Steven Clark and Trevor Spencer for the season, Melbourne lost defender Sean Wight the week before with a knee injury suffered while playing for the reserves and veteran Alan Johnson was unable to prove his fitness in his effort to come back from a calf injury.
The Demons also lost Brian Wilson to a broken cheekbone during the loss to Sydney the week before, with Wilson ruled out, along with Jay Viney who was dropped. Rod Grinter and Glenn Lovett were the two inclusions.
The Eagles started brightly enough with goals to Peter Sumich and Stevan Jackson early in the first quarter, after Simon Eishold opened the scoring. But the Eagles soon became their own worst enemy as Melbourne capitalised on a number of errors in defence.
Michael Brennan twice turned over the ball coming out of defence, leading to Demon goals before Greg Healy led the race back to goal to toe-poke from the square after Murray Rance couldn’t mark at centre half back.
The Demons added a fifth to take their lead out to 19 points at quarter time. The Eagles’ ball use didn’t improve in the second quarter as Melbourne doubled their advantage to 38 at the major break. Dean Laidley had come off the ground after his knee crumpled beneath him, with West Coast leaving plenty to do for an unlikely victory.
The Eagles for their part responded at the start of the second half, booting the first three goals, as they closed to within 17 points. But they were left to rue several other missed opportunities and some poor kicking into their forward line.
“We could have got closer and it may have been a different story in the final term”, Malthouse said.
Having worn everything the Eagles could muster, the Demons responded with two late goal to take their lead out to 29 at the final change, and when Melbourne booted the first three goals of the final quarter, the game was all but won.
While Bennett was the major contributor on the scoreboard, the Demons had an impressive spread of goal kickers with 11 players registering majors. In contrast, the Eagles had just five goal kickers as they constantly broke down going forward.
Dashing Melbourne defender Graeme Yeats provided plenty of rebound from the backline, picking off a number of errant passes, while Rod Grinter was impenetrable in the back half.
The Eagles decision to only run with one recognised ruckman against Demon pair Jim Stynes and Steven O’Dwyer also proved costly as the Melbourne midfield were regularly gifted first use of the ball from stoppages. Phil Scott managed just five hit-outs for the match, compared to the combined tally of 23 of his direct opponents.
Andrew Obst and Simon Eishold were influential early, finishing with 21 and 15 disposals respectively, while Brett Lovett led the Demons with 26 touches through the middle. Stephen Newport (23 dipsosals), Steven Stretch (21) and Stephen Tingay (20) all gave the Demons plenty of drive, as West Coast often had to build their attacks from defence.
Dwayne Lamb was the sole winner for West Coast in the middle, collecting 20 kicks and 13 handballs. Stephen Malaxos picked up 26 touches and John Worsfold had 28 in a performance that drew praise from Malthouse after the game.
“He was outstanding, considering we only decided to play him five minutes before the game because of a nagging (leg) injury.”
The result saw Melbourne reclaim top spot, a game ahead of Hawthorn and West Coast, who had fallen to third. However, a number of surprise results over the weekend meant the Eagles maintained a game advantage over the chasing pack.
Essendon were beaten by an improving Carlton, by 20 points, while St Kilda suffered a shock 18 point loss to the bottom-placed Fitzroy, despite seven goals to spearhead Tony Lockett. Despite the losses, the Saints and Bombers both held their spots in the top five, after Geelong blew a golden opportunity to move into the finals positions.
Hosting the second-last Tigers at Kardinia Park, the Cats booted a horrid 9.28 in a 14 point defeat, giving Richmond just their second win of the season. Collingwood were also left outside the top five when they fell to the Hawks in one of the rollercoaster games of the season. The Magpies trailed by five goals at half time, only to hold a 10 point lead at three-quarter time, before falling short by two points.
Following back-to-back games at the MCG, the Eagles were set for a fortnight at home against Brisbane and Geelong, but Malthouse was quick to dismiss the suggestion that the Eagles were happy relying on their perceived home ground advantage to bank the wins they needed for finals.
“We will end up on our backsides if we think [we are guaranteed those games]”, Malthouse warned.
“There are seven or eight sides vying for the top five and it might take at least 14 wins to make the finals.”
sportsphrase.blog 