R9 – Melbourne v Hawthorn – The Mongrel Review
Two teams at opposite ends of the table entered this game, and they both exited further cemented their respective places. For the Hawks, the win further establishes their place in the upper echelons of the competition, placing them in the top 4 alongside Collingwood and Brisbane, though Brisbane has a game in hand and Collingwood has a better percentage than Hawthorn.
For Melbourne and Simon Goodwin, the loss firmly entrenches them in the bottom four of the competition, and depending on the results of the game between Sydney and Essendon, it could leave them a game and percentage behind 14th spot. This could also lead to the Demons missing the finals for the second straight season, and mark a sharp decline for the club since their premiership win in 2021.
For the Dees, the loss also comes after a week in which rumours that troubled star Clayton Oliver could be playing for a different side next season, less than a year after another star, Christian Petracca, supposedly asked for a trade following multiple debacles at the end of last season.
In the review of the actual game, the scoreline flatters the Hawks, who ran away with it after Melbourne failed to make the most of their early opportunities. At three-quarter time, Melbourne were a point behind the Hawks despite having 19 scoring shots to 15. It was only in the final quarter of the game, where the Hawks piled on 6.5 to Melbourne’s 1.1 behind, that the Hawks rushed out to the game-high 35-point margin.
Heading into the game, there were several key matchups and several big question marks. Firstly, the ruck battle between Max Gawn and Lloyd Meek. Secondly, how was Clayton Oliver going to respond after missing Melbourne’s Round Eight game against West Coast? The star midfielder has been dealing with rumours that he is heading to Geelong and pulled out of the game last week, citing personal reasons for his absence. However, these rumours have been rejected by both captain, Max Gawn, and coach, Simon Goodwin.
Thirdly, would the Hawks miss Tom Barrass? The former Eagle star, who had joined the Hawks in the most recent off-season, was not named in the side and was reportedly being “managed”, perhaps suggesting that they were taking the Demons lightly. Barrass was replaced in the side by Karl Amon, who had missed Hawthorn’s Round Eight clash against the Tigers after suffering a concussion in the game against West Coast the week prior.
Ruck Battle
As mentioned earlier, the game saw Gawn face down his latest challenger, Lloyd Meek. In the first quarter, Meek got the best of Gawn for the majority of the contest, kicking a goal and keeping Gawn relatively quiet. Gawn then established himself later in the game, claiming 33 hitouts, and ending the game with 19 possessions, including 15 contested possessions, and four contested marks.
Meek had a relatively quiet game in comparison, with 24 hitouts and only six possessions for the entire game. Unfortunately for Gawn, not enough of his teammates came with him and were able to influence the game in the Demons’ favour.
Clayton Gone Missing
Clayton Oliver returned to the side after a week of absence for “personal reasons”. This set the rumour mills into high motion, with multiple reports coming out suggesting that the premiership-winning midfielder was frustrated at Melbourne and was looking for a trade away from the club at the end of the season, with Geelong reportedly the front-runner for the gun’s signature. Naturally, after these reports emerged, Oliver’s captain and coach sternly denied the rumours, stating that Oliver had taken the week off purely for reasons relating to his health.
On his return to this side, Oliver matched up against Hawks midfielder Jai Newcombe and spent the game primarily playing as a tagger. This heavily restricted Oliver’s output, as he is one of the Dees’ best users of the ball, alongside fellow star Christian Petracca. Unsurprisingly, given the role of restricting Newcombe, Oliver found in difficult to get the ball himself, taking almost the entire first quarter before he got his hands on the ball.
Oliver ended the game with only 13 possessions, including five kicks and eight handballs with one goal assist. Oliver also laid four tackles but gave away multiple free kick in the game.
Melbourne’s Missing Piece
One of the biggest issues that Melbourne has faced this season is the fact that their forwards, specifically their tall forwards, haven’t been able to impact the scoreboard as much as they would have liked. The Demons turned to the pairing of Jacob Van Rooyen and Bayley Fritsch. This is the combination of forwards that Melbourne would hope they could rely on more heavily going forward.
The two started the season together before they were both dropped from the side after a disappointing performance in Round Five against the Bombers where the pair contributed only two goals between them for the entire match.
The Demons forwards again failed to fire against the Hawks, with the pair contributing only three behinds for the entire game. With the pair misfiring once again, Melbourne are still in desperate need for one of their tall forwards to stand up.
The tall forwards weren’t alone in their issues to kick accurately in front of goals with Gawn, Petracca, Windsor, Langdon, Spargo, and Chandler all missing opportunities in front of goal.
Worst Umpiring Miss of the season?
In the second quarter, the Dees were nine points behind when two Hawks defenders spoiled each other, leaving Kysaiah Pickett likely to run onto the open goal and potentially reduce the margin to just three points. Instead, Pickett was clearly tripped up in the goal square after his foot was grabbed by Blake Hardwick.
Instead of the umpires calling the free kick for Pickett, the game continued to run with Hawthorn’s captain James Sicilly appeared to throw it to himself in order to keep it in as the Hawks eventually cleared the ball out of defence.
The missed call had both Melbourne players and fans seeing red and confused neutral fans, who had seen the umpires call more controversial legging tackles, including a pretty big one just last week.
A Tale of Two Games
In the first three quarters, something didn’t feel quite right with the Hawks. While the players were happy to showboat and play an entertaining brand of football, they missed their tough edge. This seemed to keep Melbourne in the game, and at three-quarter-time, Hawthorn were lucky to be ahead despite trailing Melbourne in shots for goal.
However, the powerful display shown by the Hawks in the final quarter was a more accurate display of the team’s intensity that propelled the side to the pointy end of season 2024, and has seen them win seven games so far this season. In a ruthless display, the Hawks kicked goal after goal at the start of the fourth quarter, which killed the game as a contest and ended any chance Melbourne had of running over the top of the Hawks.
Gunston turned back the clock
Veteran Hawks forward Jack Gunston was instrumental for the Hawks, especially in the final quarter. Gunston had a dirty game until three-quarter-time, kicking three behinds to that point and appeared to be well held by Steven May and his fellow Melbourne defenders.
However, Gunston exploded in the final quarter and was a big part of Hawthorn’s surge in the term. He slotted three goals and could have had a fourth, to end the game, turning back the clock to demonstrate that he still has the ability to dominate a game, even if it is for a shorter burst than we were used to.
Meanwhile, swingman Maboir Chol kicked two goals for the Hawks from six possessions, while small forwards Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan added three goals between them to the Hawks total.
The kid is alright
Playing a mix of wing and midfield, the work of Harvey Langford gives the Dees plenty to be excited about. He was a shining light in the first half for the Dees, slotting three goals as he made the most of every opportunity. He was excellent overhead, taking two big marks, and ended up with 22 touches for the game.
With Xavier Lindsay on the opposite wing, the Dees have two pillars to build around they’ve picked up over the last two drafts.
What’s next?
The Demons have a rough run of games ahead of them, with a trip to the Gabba awaiting them in Round 10. They then host the surprisingly struggling Sydney Swans in Round 11 in what could be a crunch game for both sides. Melbourne will then play the Saints in Alice Springs and then Collingwood to round out their next month.
For the Hawks, they face off against the Suns at TIO Stadium in Darwin, before facing the Lions back at the MCG in a game that could be crucial for spots in the top 4 at the end of the season. The Hawks will then face Collingwood at the MCG on Friday Night in Round 12, and round out the month with a game against the Western Bulldogs in Round 13. That’s a big month of footy upcoming for the Hawks.
