Mick Malthouse: Why Melbourne Demons remind me of Collingwood’s 2010 flag team
There’s one element to Melbourne’s football that makes them almost unrecognisable from last season, MICK MALTHOUSE writes.
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It took until the very end of the home-and-away season to complete the top four, but it took just two comprehensive victories in the qualifying finals to elevate the top two teams into outright favouritism for the flag.
Melbourne, on neutral ground, dominated the Brisbane Lions. Port Adelaide, at home, stamped itself early against Geelong and never let the Cats back into the game.
A bye before finals often made us question the advantage for the top-four teams.
With the break gone this year, a weekend off for the Demons and the Power will be a distinct advantage heading into the preliminary finals.
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After a gruelling 23 weeks of footy, the body and mind doesn’t have a lot left to give.
These two clubs have had the luxury of recuperating this week. To rest ageing and sore bodies. To give niggles a chance to heal. To give brains a break from the intensity of finals.
But there is no luxury of complacency, rest alone doesn’t guarantee victory in finals. Geelong and Richmond both lost their qualifying finals last year, then won their semis and prelims to make the grand final.
Port Adelaide won its first final in 2020 against the Cats then lost its preliminary final to the Tigers by a goal.
But there seems to be something different about Port and Melbourne this year.
There has been a toughening up, if you like, of both clubs.
Simon Goodwin needed his team to win in Perth, which it did in round 21 against West Coast - tick. He also needed a big victory over a seasoned finalist, like the Brisbane Lions - tick. That holds the Dees in good stead.
Examining Melbourne’s midfield, if you just look at captain courageous Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, and Christian Petracca, the consistency level of these three alone has changed the club’s direction.
The backline has finally gelled with Steven May, Harrison Petty and Jake Lever. In the forward line where Bayley Fritsch is the leading goal kicker (51 this year), there are so many one or two goal-scoring players, like Kysaiah Pickett, Tom McDonald, Ben Brown and Tom Sparrow, that Melbourne is unrecognisable to last season.
The Demons, if I dare say it, remind me very much of Collingwood in 2010 and 2011.
They are not scared to use the 50m ball up the line when in doubt. They are very comfortable with boundary throw-ins. They have a proven clearance rate - anything above 55 per cent in this category generally means the next possession is going to put them in a favourable forward position. If they happen to lose the stoppage, the opposition is immediately put under pressure and Melbourne’s backline set up rarely allows for an easy scoring option.
Port and Ken Hinkley would still be hurting from last year.
Ollie Wines has had an outstanding year, as has Travis Boak. But it’s Xavier Duursma, Connor Rozee, and Zak Butters who are seasoned up and just add that touch of class and excitement. Aliir Aliir has also changed the dynamic of how Port plays. They were so vulnerable to the high ball going into their backline last year, but he has changed the shape of that.
I have no doubt that certain players from both clubs have caught the opposition unawares this season.
We know the capability of Demon Luke Jackson as a secondary ruck come forward.
Trent Rivers has been handy on the backline. James Harmes has been a little hot and cold with tagging in the middle, but he can be very effective. For me though, Ed Langdon has been a real bonus player for the Dees this year. He has given them speed, fantastic positioning where he links the lines from forward to back, and he is a goal kicker (12 this season).
Port Adelaide has a similar player in Karl Amon. His kicking ability and metres gained is in the elite category. When all the focus has been on his team’s tough and durable midfield, he has been the player that has stood out for Port in very similar fashion to Langdon. He is highly reliable and has a devastating left foot.
It is interesting that both coaches have a quiet and measured disposition. Hinkley is outstanding in his resolve to keep his game plan intact and backs his players to the hilt.
Goodwin prefers to coach from ground level, relying on his assistants to give continual reports on game status from the coaches’s box. I’ve always thought that coaching from the ground only gives you a limited view of the game, so he must have great faith in his direct assistants.
Both coaches will be very conscious that this week’s break has been more for the benefit of freshening up, and not for taking the foot off the accelerator.
It’s been an extraordinary year. Because Melbourne finished ninth last season and missed finals by half a game, there were times throughout this year where you thought - there’s the old Melbourne who can’t quite get it together; plays poorly, loses games it shouldn’t, and slips back into old habits. But those times were rare and brief.
But the Demons’ persistence has been its strength this year. It has learnt from every game and ticked all the boxes. There has been a patience with Goodwin, even with big Ben Brown, to hold off until the timing was right.
Port finished on top last year, but there was doubt hanging over them heading into finals. For a while this year they couldn’t beat teams above them which kept the doubt coming. But then they got their team together and Hinkley kept the faith and slowly but surely they started to win games against top eight clubs.
There is a harder edge to both teams now. And they’ll need it, because no one wins a preliminary final without a fight.
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