Where are the stories of how the Dees are falling apart now?
Wins like this tend to dispel them, pretty quickly. It’s funny, no matter what happens to a team, and what is reported in the press, winning is the thing that shuts them up.
Every.
Single.
Time.
After a weekend full of slogs, it was nice to see a few games of free-flowing football. First, football fans were treated to an engrossing contest between Richmond and North Melbourne. Then, in a follow-up, Brisbane and Melbourne saw a tight, end-to-end encounter with a brilliant finish by the Dees on the road.
Melbourne dropped promising young forward Jacob van Rooyen and left Bayley Fritsch as the sub for the game, leaving them relying on Jake Melksham as their main target up forward. The move paid dividends, with Melksham kicking fourgoals for the game, while simultaneously restricting Harris Andrews to just a handful of intercept marks.
Brisbane regained Keidean Coleman after he tore his ACL in the opening round of 2024 against Carlton. However, they lost ruckman Oscar McInerney before the game, but he was replaced in the side by premiership ruckman Darcy Fort.
Brisbane jumped out to a lead early, and led for the first three quarters until they were overrun by a motivated Demons outfit in the last quarter. After three-quarter-time, Melbourne scored four goals to one, reversing a 14-point deficit at the final change to an 11-point victory. The difference could have been greater if not for the fact that Melbourne failed to make the most of their opportunities in the final quarter, kicking eight behinds.
It was a stark difference from Melbourne, who have been the AFL Media’s favourite whipping boys this season, with any misstep scrutinised to within an inch of its life. To see them rally, band together, and play the type of football they did to end this game must have been gratifying for Simon Goodwin, every single player on the list, and all whose hearts beat true
The loss, which elevated Melbourne up to 14th, was disappointing for Brisbane, who would have leapt back up to first had they won. Instead, Brisbane now sits two points behind Collingwood at the top of the ladder, but still in a good position to become the first premiership side in three years to avoid suffering a dreaded premiership hangover, and miss the finals.
Now, onto the key points from the game.
Tagger to vital component
In the last few weeks, many were critical of Simon Goodwin for using one of his best inside midfielders, Clayton Oliver, in a tagging role. Again, Oliver was sent to man Brisbane’s Lachie Neale. Despite the role, Neale was able to rack up 30 possessions to Oliver’s 23, but Oliver was instrumental in helping the Demons over the line.
Oliver, alongside Petracca and Gawn, were critical to Melbourne’s clearance game, with the three winning over 20 clearances in the game. Oliver was also one of Melbourne’s most efficient users of the ball, going at 78% efficiency from eight kicks and 15 handballs, with over half of his possessions coming via the contest.
Gawn Dominates Again
Max Gawn must wonder when the league will finally find a ruckman to take his crown. Judging by his last six weeks of footy, it won’t be this year. The premiership-winning ruckman has been dominant again this season, even when Melbourne hasn’t played their best football.
While many were hoping for a match-up between Gawn and Brisbane’s number one ruckman, Oscar McInerney, the latter was forced to pull out and was instead replaced in the game by Darcy Fort. As a result, Gawn completely dominated the stoppages, winning 46 hitouts to Fort’s 15. This was Gawn’s fourth game with 40+ hitouts, and the gun ruckman is averaging just under 38 hitouts a game this season.
The ruck dominance and Melbourne’s subsequent advantage in the centre helped keep them in the game early, and then in the final quarter allowed them to roll over the top of the Lions. Gawn also had over 20 disposals and went at an efficiency of 86%.
Melksham’s great return
One of Melbourne’s biggest issues this season has been its scoring struggles. The Dees currently sits 15th overall in attack, ahead of only Richmond, West Coast, and Essendon, although Essendon has played a game less than the other three teams.
A big part of Melbourne’s struggles is the fact that the forward partnership they would like to use going forward, of Jacob Van Rooyen and Bayley Fritsch, hasn’t worked well together this season. As a result, Melbourne has to rely on the likes of Harrison Petty and Jake Melksham to come into the side.
Melksham is more a spare-parts player for Melbourne these days, and has been used sporadically before being sent forward for the game against the Lions. In this game, Melksham took seven marks and kicked four goals, one of Melbourne’s best individual goal scoring efforts this season behind Kysaiah Pickett’s five-goal haul and Harrison Petty’s four-goal haul, both of which came in the team’s Round Seven win over Fremantle.
With Van Rooyen out of the side and Bayley Fritsch relegated to substitute for the game against the Lions, it will be interesting to see how Simon Goodwin structures his forward line for the rest of the season. Will he return to the young but tall Van Rooyen, or will he persist with Melksham, which is currently working?
Where did it go wrong for the Lions?
For three quarters of the game, the Lions maintained a healthy two-goal lead over the Demons before the latter went on a tear in the final quarter. Brisbane’s regular contributors, Dayne Zorko, Zac Bailey, Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley, and the Ashcroft boys, were all active in getting their hands on the football, but they were simply not enough to drag the team over the line.
Harris Andrews had a rough game, taking only a handful of marks, while Jake Melksham kicked four goals on him. However, he wasn’t alone. Kai Lohmann struggled to find the football, registering only five possessions before he was substituted out of the game in halfway through the fourth quarter.
However, Charlie Cameron’s return to form was short-lived, as he had another disappointing game as well, failing to kick a goal for the fourth time this season, despite having multiple shots at goal.
What does a win like this do to a club?
Well, we know what it does to Brisbane – it pisses them off. But for the Dees, this is the type of football that simply affirms that when they are at their best, they can match it with anyone in the league.
When you look at their list on a talent-basis, they are still right up the pointy end. They have a great young defence, complemented by solid veterans (when healthy) and with some young stars emerging, the future suddenly doesn’t look too bad, does it?
Of course, rumours that players will fly the coop will continue – it is the nature of the AFL Media to feed that beast. However, even if that happens, Melbourne can now use it to bolster a roster that is looking much more healthy than many would have you believe. Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay look fantastic, whilst Jake Bowey, Blake Howes, Judd McVee, Jacob Van Rooyen, Caleb Windsor, and Koltyn Tholstrup are all in the formative years of their careers.
Things are never as good as they seem, and never as bad as they seem. If you believe everything you read, you’d think Melbourne were a basketcase. But this win is evidence that they are far from that. And will continue to be a fair way from that for a fair while, yet.
The Month Ahead
Melbourne faces Sydney, St. Kilda, Collingwood, and Port Adelaide in the next month before heading into their bye. They are in a realistic shot of winning at least three of these games, with a tough match-up against a rampant Collingwood side the only big challenge ahead of them. If they can win those games, it will reset the Demon’s season, putting them at 7 wins and 7 losses heading into their bye.
This will still leave them with work to do if they want to make it to finals, but the surprising win over the Lions puts them in a far better position than they were a month ago when they notched up their first win after five straight losses to start the season.
For the Lions, the loss comes after a draw against North Melbourne, sending them away with only 2 out of 8 that they would have expected to get when they saw these games in the calendar. Brisbane will travel to Melbourne to face Hawthorn in week 2 of Sir Doug Nicholls round before hosting Essendon at the Gabba.
They then travel to Adelaide to face the Crows and round out the next month hosting Greater Western Sydney at the Gabba. Facing a tough month could make the Lions regret their failure to put away their games against North Melbourne and Melbourne, but they still currently sit two points clear in second place, albeit with a game more than the Gold Coast Suns.
