Melbourne v North Melbourne: All the news, intel and key takeaways from AFL pre-season practice match
A pair of Melbourne draftees have shown up the more experienced Roos to underline their round 1 credentials – but a ‘pretty nasty’ incident has soured the pre-season win.
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Melbourne figures will tell you the Demons have weathered the storm, and from what their draftees showed against North Melbourne on Saturday, those claims are more than just hot air.
But the impressive exploits of first-round picks Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay may have been overshadowed by a concerning knee injury to defender Andy Moniz-Wakefield in the dying moments of the Arden Street clash.
The Demons fear a devastating ACL blow for the 21-year-old, who was set to play an important lockdown role in defence with Judd McVee already sidelined due to a serious hamstring injury.
Melbourne assistant coach Troy Chaplin conceded the incident, which left Moniz-Wakefield writhing on the ground in pain before he was assisted off by trainers, “looked pretty nasty”.
“Obviously he’s pretty flat at the moment, but we’ll have to go away and get a scan just to confirm it ... it didn’t look good, from a visual point of view, but we’re hoping for the best there,” Chaplin said.
Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and Ed Langdon were all absent from the Dees’ engine room, but bargain-price recruits Tom Campbell and Harry Sharp (four goals) were superb as the visitors surged past the Roos in the second half for a 47-point victory.
Fingers crossed for Andy Moniz-Wakefield.
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L-PLATERS SHINE FOR DEES
Both playing full games, Langford and Lindsay were the bright sparks for the Dees as they stood up to the Roos’ first-choice midfield barring captain Jy Simpkin.
The larger Langford was a key part of the Demon’s centre bounce mix, while Lindsay won plenty of the football on the wing and hardly wasted a touch with his precise left-foot kicking.
Langford showed some flair when he pushed up from half-forward to gather the ball in the middle of the ground and turned Griffin Logue inside out with a sharp step before kicking long off his own left boot to the advantage of Matthew Jefferson inside 50.
DARLING STILL HAS IT
Some eyebrows were raised when Jack Darling – who was dropped from West Coast’s side last season – joined North on a two-year deal with a reported trigger for a third.
But the veteran forward has showed he will add significant value to the Kangaroos’ forward half this season, as he played three quarters and moved cohesively alongside Nick Larkey.
Darling, 32, was quiet in a more crowded, slower tempo intraclub match the previous week, but had more opportunities against the Demons as he ran strongly and won or levelled every aerial contest.
SLOPPY ROOS CHASE GAME
North Melbourne’s foot skills would have frustrated their coaching staff, but there were more promising signs including the clean hands of Tom Powell and Finn O’Sullivan through the middle.
The No.2 draft pick was busy early, accelerating out the back of a stoppage into space during the first term before having the composure to turn and kick long inside 50.
He combined with Swans recruit Jacob Konstanty to bring down Harrison Petty and force a stoppage deep inside 50 a few moments later.
The Roos again inserted a three-minute scenario where they were chasing an eight-point deficit just before the halftime break, and were unable to penetrate Melbourne’s defence for a score before Harry Sheezel marked on the siren and booted an impressive set shot goal as a consolation.
When it was their turn to defend though, the Roos were resolute, keeping Melbourne scoreless in the three-minute period after the fourth term.
DUCK RETURNS TO ARDEN STREET
Track watchers at Arden Street were stunned to find themselves standing alongside North Melbourne great Wayne Carey during the Roos’ practice match against Melbourne.
Carey stood on the far wing during the first quarter of the game with his five-year-old son Carter, who was fully decked out in Kangaroos kit.
The dual premiership forward was excluded from a North Melbourne club video celebrating its 100-year history in the VFL-AFL which was released in November.
The Roos’ decision to leave him out of the video drew criticism from figures including Dermott Brereton and Mick McGuane, who said his contribution to the club’s history could not be ignored despite his chequered past.
Carey, who has repeatedly threatened to no longer watch the AFL on his podcast The Truth Hurts, politely declined to comment on whether he would spend time around North Melbourne season.
Scoreboard
KANGAROOS 2.3, 5.3, 8.8, 10.10 (70)
DEMONS 3.3, 6.6, 12.7, 18.9 (117)
GOALS Kangaroos: Larkey 3, Curtis 2, Phillips, Daniel, Darling, Sheezel, Powell. Demons: van Rooyen 4, Sharp 4, Pickett 2, Campbell, Billings, Jefferson, Woewodin, Sparrow, Turner, Brown.
BEST Kangaroos: Daniel, Phillips, Powell, Curtis, Larkey, Comben. Demons: Lever, Campbell, Sharp, van Rooyen, Pickett, McDonald.
INJURIES Kangaroos: nil. Demons: Moniz-Wakefield (knee)
CROWD 2,000 (approx.) at Arden Street Oval
IT’S OFFICIAL: ‘THE BEST VERSION’ OF CLARRY IS BACK
Melbourne star Clayton Oliver looked back to his best as bargain recruits Tom Campbell and Harry Sharp pushed hard for round 1 selection in the 47-point win.
Oliver was a midfield standout for the Dees as he burst away from stoppages and applied constant pressure to the Kangaroos’ on-ballers despite the oppressive heat at Arden Street on Saturday.
The four-time best and fairest played the first three quarters of the clash before he proceeded to complete a series of 50 to 100m sprint efforts along the boundary line at the start of the final term.
His on-field body language was at times called into question during a difficult 2024, but he moved confidently and was not afraid to give some lip to young opponent Finn O’Sullivan, which led to a physical altercation with North vice-captain Nick Larkey which he appeared to relish.
Melbourne assistant coach Troy Chaplin said the Demons were starting to see “the best version” of Oliver again after a torrid 2023-24 marred by health and disciplinary issues.
“Last year he was dealing with a fair bit away from the game. We didn’t get him until probably this time last year. To have a whole summer working closely with his teammates, staff, we’ve put our arms around him and tried to get the best version of Clayton Oliver. We started to see that today,” Chaplin said.
“His training has been outstanding. He works really hard on his game, he is in the gym all the time, he is doing extra touch – you can never question him in that regard. He has had to deal with some off-field stuff and he has that stuff in order and really reconnected back with the playing group.
“That’s what we love about it. We don’t just love Clarry the footballer, we love Clarry the person and want to see the best version of him. We are starting to see that now, which is fantastic. When you get them both together, you get that kind of performance today.”
Suspended until round 4, Kysaiah Pickett was put through a gruelling four quarters in a midfield-forward hybrid role and used the ball beautifully going inside 50, combining regularly with Jacob van Rooyen (four goals).
He again displayed the big fend-off he put on show in the Indigenous All-Stars game, shoving aside the powerful Luke Davies-Uniacke while rebounding from defence during the final term.
Tom Campbell had the better of Roos star Tristan Xerri during their three-quarter battle in the ruck, and mounted a case to join Max Gawn in the Demons’ round 1 side as untried former first-round pick Matt Jefferson also showed signs up forward.
The lightly framed Jefferson often presented to the right spots and competed strongly, while Daniel Turner had his moments later in the game as the tall options vied to partner van Rooyen and the absent Bayley Fritsch up forward.
Chaplin said the Demons could make as many as eight changes for their official practice match against Fremantle in Mandurah next Sunday.
Captain Gawn, Jack Viney, Ed Langdon, Christian Salem, Steven May and Fritsch were all slated to return, while Caleb Windsor was also expected to overcome his skin infection setback in time for the clash.
Christian Petracca, who returned to full training this week, is also preparing to face the Dockers for his first competitive match since the traumatic ordeal following his injury in the King’s Birthday game last year.
Originally published as Melbourne v North Melbourne: All the news, intel and key takeaways from AFL pre-season practice match
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