Melbourne’s contested ball bulls prove too much for Hawthorn as premiership fairytale lives on
THERE’S a growing sense of destiny about Melbourne after the Demons’ premiership fairytale rolls over Hawthorn at the MCG, the Demons holding off a late Hawks comeback to move into the preliminary final.
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FORGET the Fremantle Doctor, Cyclone Melbourne is headed for Perth and West Coast is in the firing line.
Football’s latest fairytale on Friday night rolled Hawthorn by 33 points in front of 90,152 people to advance to a preliminary final for the first time in 18 years.
The Hawks fought gallantly and will rue a glut of wasted chances, but they were ultimately munched by a Melbourne side that is chewing through this competition like a fat kid on the other side of the 40-hour famine.
GAME RECAP: HOW DEES, HAWKS PLAYED OUT
STAT RECAP: WHO STOOD TALL IN DEES, HAWKS?
Melbourne is hungry. Years of mismanagement, mediocrity, sacked coaches and failed careers will do that to a club.
The Demons haven’t won a flag since 1964. Without getting hysterical, like the Western Bulldogs (2016) and Richmond (2017) before them, there’s a growing sense of destiny about Simon Goodwin’s gang.
This is a bunch of contested ball thugs in red and blue.
Jack Viney, James Harmes, Clayton Oliver, Aaron vandenBerg, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw are the gang and the MCG was the dark alley they mugged Hawthorn in.
The Hawks knew what was coming. Alastair Clarkson dressed it up as “chaos” football.
But in pub-speak, Melbourne was just too tough when it mattered. At the coalface they swarm with intent to win the ball and failing that they don’t just tackle, they tackle to hurt.
Tom Mitchell was hit hard by the excellent Neville Jetta 15 minutes into the game and while he played on, didn’t appear the same player thereafter.
James Worpel was smashed into by Jordan Lewis, Taylor Duryea mown down by James Harmes.
Jack Viney was like a whipper snipper on rocket fuel, particularly early. Yet if their intensity makes you wince, their offensive transition has real sex appeal.
Melbourne’s first goal was everything they are about.
Sam Frost launched a kick-in torp that travelled inside the centre square. Mitchell was drilled into the ground, Angus Brayshaw swooped and handballed quickly to Christian Petracca who handballed quicker again to Clayton Oliver who took a bounce before handballing to Mitch Hannan, who’s long kick was marked and converted by Tom McDonald.
The ball doesn’t stay in the hands long or the air long when Melbourne are in full flight.
It was fast ball versus slow ball. Melbourne’s ballistic hot potato ball movement through the corridor against the patient keepings-off kings of the AFL.
The glaring problem for the Hawks was that their poise deserted them where it mattered most — inside 50m.
Hawthorn had virtually double Melbourne’s uncontested marks in a second quarter where it really got up a head of steam.
Yet despite having Melbourne on the rack for long periods, which included a run of eight consecutive inside 50s, they had only 0.6 to show for nearly half an hour of dominance.
Their wastage was underlined by the fact that, at halftime, the Hawks had more disposals, contested possessions, clearances and scoring shots than Melbourne.
At the main break the question was, has Melbourne taken Hawthorn’s best shot? Or were the Hawks mounting something more substantial?
In the end we got both.
Melbourne appeared to have busted this semi-final wide open when three late third quarter goals saw it take a 32-point advantage into the last change.
Hawthorn were on the canvas, but inspired by Jack Gunston, it kicked the first three goals of the last quarter and when Jarryd Roughead converted a set shot to cut the lead to 12 points, red and blue nerves were fraying.
It would be Oliver’s ferocity that steadied the ship. He won the next centre clearance and fed Brayshaw, before Jake Melksham’s inspiring left foot goal from outside 50m put the Demons back on course.
Tom McDonald finished with four goals. At the other end Gunston kicked 3.5 and would wonder what could have been.
Gunston’s All-Australian teammate Luke Breust was well shackled by Neville Jetta, who was again super impressive.
Liam Shiels went to Oliver and the pair waged war on and off the ball. Harmes locked onto Mitchell, who still fought doggedly despite his shoulder injury.
We love a fairytale and Melbourne are living up to their end of the bargain.
The Demons were 17th in 2013 and 2014, 13th in 2015, 11th in 2016 and an agonising 9th last year.
This year could it be destiny?
MELBOURNE 3.1 6.2 12.5 16.8 (104)
HAWTHORN 3.1 3.7 6.9 10.11 (71)
EDMUND’S BEST
Demons: Viney, McDonald, Jetta, Gawn, Petracca, Harmes, Oliver, Hibberd.
Hawks: Gunston, Henderson, Mirra, Mitchell, McEvoy.
GOALS
Demons: McDonald 4, Brayshaw 2, Spargo 2, Melksham 2, Weideman 2, Neal-Bullen, Petracca, Gawn, Hannan.
Hawks: Gunston 3, Roughead 2, Schoenmakers 2, Smith, Worpel, Puopolo.
INJURIES
Demons: Nil.
Hawks: Mitchell (AC joint), Puopolo (hamstring).
UMPIRES
Stevic, Nicholls, Rosebury.
CROWD
90,152 at the MCG.
Originally published as Melbourne’s contested ball bulls prove too much for Hawthorn as premiership fairytale lives on