AFL Melbourne v St Kilda: Tom McDonald only part of the redemption story at the Demons
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has reworked some damaged goods at the Dees, but if anyone expected them to be pushovers, then they’re sadly mistaken. Could this be the second coming?
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Lost amid the understandable focus on Tom McDonald’s redemption story is that he’s far from alone at Simon Goodwin’s 2-0 Demons.
Not only have Goodwin and co. blooded impressive young midfielder James Jordon and integrated Kozzy Pickett, Luke Jackson and Tom Sparrow, but they’ve also retrieved some damaged goods.
Neville Jetta, Alex Neal-Bullen, Jayden Hunt, Charlie Spargo, Adam Tomlinson and even Nathan Jones were all axed from the senior side — most of them more than once — since the heights of 2018.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
What they now have in common is they’ve all played in both Melbourne’s wins this year, over Fremantle and now the Saints.
“To each of those players, they’ve owned their career and wanted to make a difference and change the way they were perceived and went about their footy,” Goodwin said.
“It’s full credit to the players, firstly, but also the coaches who have had some strong conversations and been really clear about what they wanted them to improve on.
“It’s great to see those guys doing well, because they have all been challenged.”
That 2018 preliminary final run, and almost everything that followed, proved a poisoned chalice for so many people at Melbourne, Goodwin included.
The club’s expectations skyrocketed and, simply put, they failed dismally in trying to reach them.
The Demons threw open the doors and embraced the hype after busting their 12-year finals drought then beating Geelong and Hawthorn, before running into eventual premier West Coast.
They were considered among the leading premiership fancies going into the next season, so promising was their finish to the year and the youth coming through.
McDonald was a revelation, booting 53 goals (and only 20 behinds) as he transformed from a heart-in-your-mouth defender into a sticky-handed sharpshooter.
The timing of his breakout campaign was perfect and scored him a hefty four-year deal that eventually played a role in him having no suitors after he fell out of favour in red and blue last season.
Through two rounds, McDonald’s had a combined nine scoring shots, 37 possessions and 15 marks, helping make sure Melbourne doesn’t miss Sam Weideman and recruit Ben Brown too much.
It was similar for unsung hero Jetta. He finally started earning some plaudits in 2018, only to twice be dumped last year — at age 30 — as his form took a concerning dive.
Jetta’s forced his way back in as the resident lockdown small defender, ahead of the much-younger Jay Lockhart, and looks like his trusty self again.
Hunt’s emergence came in 2017 as a dashing half-back. The knock? He was too carefree about his defensive side.
Hunt lost his spot a season later for various reasons, bobbed up as a forward in 2019, then struggled in the same role last year.
Now, he’s back in defence and, most importantly, his teammates are raving about his new-found defensive accountability.
Then there’s Neal-Bullen, who kicked a career-most 27 goals as an underrated contributor in the Dees’ preliminary final year.
He’s Melbourne’s best game runner and its pressure king, but he struggled to replicate that form in the past two seasons, when his kicking was regularly subpar and his impact much the same.
The man known as ‘Nibbler’ was terrific on Saturday night, with 22 disposals, one goal, seven score involvements, four clearances and five tackles. Where’s that player been?
It was Spargo’s first AFL season in 2018, but he managed to play 18 matches as a 173cm forward whose game was built almost exclusively around defence (and still kicked 13 goals).
The goals dried up and he found himself out of the side, plus there was last year’s COVID-19 breach, too, but he started building momentum again in the second half of the season that’s rolled into 2021.
Spargo’s a critical piece of the Demons’ forward-half pressure, which has been a strong feature of their unbeaten start.
Jones’ stellar career could’ve ended last year. Melbourne had every right to talk him into retirement, with his body breaking down more often and despite him being only six games short of 300.
He’s had to find other ways, on and off-field, to hang on and remain relevant. Right now, it’s up forward – and he’s certainly doing his bit.
There are just four more matches to go until he becomes the second player in club history to reach 300, and he’s on track to chase down David Neitz’s games record of 306.
Ex-Giant Tomlinson is the only member of that aforementioned group who wasn’t at the club three years ago, but he faced a moment of truth five rounds into last season, after arriving as a wingman on a long-term contract.
Out of the side he went; not to return until five games later. Tomlinson re-emerged as a defender and he’s now a handy complement to big-name pair Steven May and Jake Lever.
He was thrown around in his GWS days, but looks to have found a home in the Dees’ backline.
Banishing their demons
It’s the first time in four years that Melbourne’s started a season with two consecutive victories.
Yes, it’s not a high bar to clear at Demonland in recent times.
In Simon Goodwin’s first year in charge in 2017, Melbourne opened with relatively comfortable triumphs over St Kilda and Carlton.
The seasons following saw varyingly slow beginnings in each: 2-3 in 2018; 0-3 and 1-5 in 2019; and 1-3 last year.
Another wobbly jump from the blocks would have only heightened the pressure on Goodwin, who is contracted until the end of next season.
His demeanour was noticeably more relaxed and jovial after Saturday night’s mostly comprehensive defeat of St Kilda, but he was quick to pull the handbrake on any over-the-top reviews.
“You know the AFL industry — we’re two and zip, but we’ve got heaps of work to do,” Goodwin said, when asked about his differing emotions from this time last year.
“We’re by no means sitting here comfortable. There are challenges everywhere, and we’ve had our challenges over the last few years, but we played some strong footy last year, too.
“I think we won six out of our last nine, so this isn’t brand new, where we’re sitting right now.
“We’ve been building towards this. We’ve still got a lot of work to do to be the team we want to be, and we want to be winning more games than we’re losing, that’s for sure.”
Worth noting is the Demons lost three matches in a row after winning the opening two in 2017. Leon Cameron’s Giants are up next at Manuka Oval.
What of the Saints?
Brett Ratten’s repeated looks of anguish from the coaches’ box as his Saints turned butchers summed up the type of night St Kilda endured.
The hard-running Brad Hill was arguably the biggest culprit, turning the ball over seven times and sometimes with little pressure to excuse it.
Hill continues to have an inauspicious start to his Saints career, but at least the high-priced recruit got his hands on the footy.
The Saints had 14 more turnovers than Melbourne, with Dougal Howard, Seb Ross, Jack Sinclair and Tim Membrey having six apiece and Max King putting two set shots out on the full.
Ratten will hope it was an aberration, but probably more concerning is they’ve conceded the forward-half game to both the Giants and Demons.
Their list demographics are those of a contender, but they haven’t looked like one to date.
DEES MAKE PREMIERSHIP STATEMENT
An inaccurate Melbourne announced themselves as the real deal in 2021 after beating St Kilda by 18 points.
In truth, it should’ve been a much bigger win for Melbourne, who had 31 shots to the Saints’ 18.
Once again the win came on the back of a leak-free defence and ability to control the ball, peppered with attacking flair.
Early it was a game of ebbs and flows as St Kilda looked to build on their rousing win against GWS last week, and Melbourne worked to show fans and the footy world their new defensive edge could stand up against a fancied opposition.
St Kilda kicked five unanswered goals – two before quarter time and three after – to skip away to a 16-point lead.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
It looked like the impressive Saints were set to kick away, but this Melbourne team showed they’re made of tougher stuff, kicking the next five to jump out to a 21-point lead halfway through the third quarter.
It took two Jack Steele goals late in the premiership quarter to pull the margin back, but a misfiring Bayley Fritsch finally found his radar in the shadows of the siren, extending the margin back out to 15-points.
Jimmy Webster was collected high in a contest and subbed out late in the third quarter with a jaw injury.
Two quick goals to start the last to Tom McDonald and Kysaiah Pickett all but put the result beyond doubt for the Dees, who start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017.
THE DEES’ NEW CULT HERO
He’s the kid with the bright yellow boots who’s started each game inside the centre for the Dees.
Kysaiah Pickett might be the most exciting player in the competition to watch at the moment, and his goal in the second quarter one of the most eye-catching this year.
The 19-year-old won the first clearance of the night, but it was his goal at the 22-minute of the second that was the highlight of the night.
Pickett roved the pack after a long ball came inside 50 and duly broke and ducked two tackles before snapping on his left foot for one of the goals of the round.
Another goal to all but put the result beyond doubt in the last term capped off a stellar night for Pickett.
Kozzie....HOW?! #AFLSaintsDeespic.twitter.com/ALBJDVeSLn
— AFL (@AFL) March 27, 2021
JACK TO FRONT
Brett Ratten continued the trend of teams putting their best midfielder forward to rest due to the new interchange cap rule.
And three goals to Steele later he must’ve liked what he saw.
The Saints’ skipper kept his side in the game with two late goals in the third quarter and looked to be their most dangerous option when stationed inside 50.
The challenge for Ratten and his coaching staff is finding the balance between forward and midfield time, as when the 25-year-old left the engine room St Kilda looked thin.
MELBOURNE’S MARATHON MAN
The newly introduced interchange cap has come under fire in the AFL world, but Ed Langdon is one player who is loving the new rule.
It suits the cruisy winger to a tee, and to three-quarter time the 25-year-old was one of just four players who hadn’t come from the ground – the other three were May, Lever and Tomlinson.
Importantly for the Dees and Langdon they’re not wasted minutes.
The former Docker was able to work off his opponents and kicked a goal to go with his 22 disposals.
In the new look AFL players like Langdon appear to be worth their weight in gold.
RETURN OF THE KING
Max King didn’t have a heap of the footy, but when he did he made it count.
In his return game after suffering concussion during a freak golf course incident in which he was struck in the head with a golf ball, the 20-year-old had Saints fans out of their seats early.
King took a strong contested mark on the apex of the 50-metre arc and boundary line early in the first quarter before lacing a ball to Tim Membrey on the lead for the Saints’ first of the night.
He followed it up with a goal of his own on the quarter-time siren which had the Saints faithful in raptures.
The Saints will be hoping the prodigious key forward stays off the golf course after he kicked two goals.
SCOREBOARD
SAINTS 3.2 6.3 8.4 11.7 73
DEMONS 3.4 6.7 9.13 12.19 91
MOTTERSHEAD’S BEST
SAINTS: Steele, Howard, Ross, Gresham, Billings.
DEMONS: Oliver, Petracca, Pickett, Salem, May, Langdon.
GOALS
SAINTS: Steele 3, King 2, Membrey, Billings, Battle, McKernan, Gresham, Higgins. DEMONS: Viney 2, Pickett 2, McDonald 2, Jones, Neal-Bullen, Sparrow, Langdon, Spargo, Fritsch.
INJURIES
SAINTS: Webster (jaw).
DEMONS: Nil.
UMPIRES Foot, Fleer, Mollison.
VENUE Marvel Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JAMES MOTTERSHEAD’S VOTES
3 C.Oliver (Melb)
2 C.Petracca (Melb)
1 J.Steele (St. K)
Ablett family reveal details of son’s condition
Jordan and Gary Ablett had been reluctant to discuss many details about their little boy’s heartbreaking condition until now.
Injury-hit Demons stun Crows in Norwood thriller
Struck down by a host of injuries across their team, the Dees have managed to keep their AFLW season alive by pulling off a thrilling victory over the Crows.