AFL round 21: Melbourne makes it five wins in a row

Melbourne survived an early onslaught from North Melbourne to move closer to potentially setting up a huge opening weekend of finals footy in Victoria. Here’s why.

Melbourne survived an almighty scare from North Melbourne in Hobart on Sunday to secure its fifth win in a row and spoil Alastair Clarkson’s return to the coach’s box.

The Demons recovered from a five-goal deficit early in the second term to secure an all-important 32-point victory and jump to equal second on the ladder ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster against Carlton at the MCG.

The Roos began the match in blistering fashion with Clarkson’s return in his 400th game as coach providing the home side a spark that saw them kick five first-quarter goals to take a 26-point lead into the first break.

That grew to a game-high 33 after Nick Larkey kicked his first in the early stages of the second term but the Demons, led by livewire forward Kozzie Pickett, refused to become the latest victims of a late-season upset with a seven goal to two quarter cutting the margin back to just four points at the main break.

Kysaiah Pickett of the Demons celebrates a goal. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

They continued to pile on the goals in the third, kicking six goals to one, with an ankle injury to Harrison Petty the only blemish on a perfect ‘premiership quarter’ from one of the flag favourites.

The final term was devoid of any real intensity given the Demons’ dominance with North now losing 18 in a row ahead of matches against Essendon, Richmond and Gold Coast to finish the season.

Angus Brayshaw was everywhere for Melbourne and finished with a game-high 37 disposals while Pickett’s first-half was the catalyst for the Demons second-quarter resurgence.

For North, veteran Jack Ziebell (32 disposals) stood tall in one of his last AFL games while skipper Jy Simpkin (28 disposals) performed strongly in his second game back from injury.

PETTY OUT, GRUNDY IN?

An injury scare to forward Harrison Petty may open the door for off-season recruit Brodie Grundy to return to the Demons line-up against the Blues. Petty went down midway through the third-quarter with an ankle injury after being caught in a tackle by Ben McKay and was eventually subbed out with two goals to his name. Grundy didn’t play any football this weekend given Casey’s VFL bye but with a six-day break before a crucial match-up against Carlton and Bayley Fritsch still three to four weeks away, it may be time for Simon Goodwin to test out the Grundy forward experiment before finals.

EDDIE’S FORWARD DISPLAY

Playing in his 18th game and still yet to taste a win, Roos youngster Eddie Ford was the catalyst inside 50 for North’s hot start in Hobart. Playing as a defensive forward on Demons playmaker Jake Lever, the 21-year-old held Lever to just two disposals while kicking three goals himself with the final one a blistering snap on the run in the dying stages to give the Roos a 26-point quarter-time lead.

GOLDY MATCHES SHINBONER RECORD

He’s been a mainstay in the Roos line-up since taking over the number one ruck duties at the turn of the decade and Sunday’s clash saw veteran Todd Goldstein notch up game 311. While not a number usually warranting celebration, the 35-year-old matched the record held by club legend Glenn Archer. Both men sit in third spot on North’s all time games list behind Drew Petrie (316) and Brent Harvey (432) with Goldstein likely to finish his career in outright third or second depending on his future beyond this season.

MELBOURNE 1.3 8.4 14.7 15.13 (103)
NORTH MELBOURNE 5.5 8.8 9.9 10.11 (71)
GOALS

ROOS: Ford 3, Goldstein 2, Scott, Larkey, Curtis, Simpkin, Taylor

DEMONS: Pickett 3, Neal-Bullen 3, Chandler 3, van Rooyen 2, Petty 2, Petracca 2

ROSENDALE’S BEST

ROOS: Ziebell, Simpkin, Scott, Davies-Uniacke, Goldstein

DEMONS: Brayshaw, Pickett, Petracca, Hunter, Viney, Neal-Bullen, Chandler

INJURIES

ROOS: NIL

DEMONS: Petty (ankle)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

3. A. Brayshaw (Melbourne), 2.K. Pickett (Melbourne), 1. C. Petracca (Melbourne)

Originally published as AFL round 21: Melbourne makes it five wins in a row