Melbourne is not ready to win the premiership this season, writes Matthew Lloyd
WHEN a team can’t win two games in a row at this time of the year, which Melbourne hasn’t done since Round 14, you have to question its flag credentials, writes MATTHEW LLOYD.
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WIN, loss, win, loss, win, loss.
That is Melbourne’s form line since its heroic victory on the road against West Coast back in Round 14.
That day was also Melbourne’s fourth win in a row — the Eagles in Perth, Gold Coast in Alice Springs, Collingwood on the Queen’s Birthday Monday and the Western Bulldogs at Etihad.
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It was a month of football that had some scribes declaring that Melbourne was capable of winning this year’s premiership.
I was not one of those. It is very rare for a team to finish outside the top eight then win the flag in consecutive seasons.
The Bulldogs may have won before their time last year, but at least they got a taste of September action in 2015 when they lost an elimination final thriller to Adelaide at the MCG by seven points.
It is ironic though that Melbourne sits in seventh position, the exact spot that the Bulldogs held this time last year.
The Dogs were the best team at the business end of the year. They lost just one game after Round 19 — to Fremantle in Round 23 when they fielded a shell of a side because of injuries.
Melbourne is a very good side which needs to recapture its form from the middle of the season.
Coach Simon Goodwin spoke after last week’s loss to North Melbourne about how the Demons lost the final quarter because they were smashed around the footy.
Heading into the last term in Hobart, Melbourne looked certain to win. It trailed by just two goals but was kicking with a strong wind that helped the Demons yield six goals in the second quarter.
Maybe Melbourne’s players believed the wind would do it for them as they lost the contested possession count by 10 and the clearances by seven as the Kangaroos secured a win they fully deserved.
Full credit to North Melbourne and their skipper Jack Ziebell, who led from the front, but Melbourne blew a golden opportunity to seal a finals berth and an opportunity to push for the top four over the coming weeks.
Melbourne’s form line resembles that of the big dipper rollercoaster ride at Luna Park.
When a team which has serious finals aspirations doesn’t win two games in a row for five weeks at this time of the year, you have to ask serious questions.
At Melbourne, you don’t have to look too far for answers.
The Demons have fallen right away through their midfield.
They are not the ferocious, hard, contested ball team that hunted and dismantled the Western Bulldogs by 57 points in Round 13.
Over the past five weeks the Demons have become an uncontested team.
They have dropped dramatically in contested possessions, clearances and tackles — reasons for their inability to find consistency and win consecutive games.
Their scoring has also dropped by 27 points per game on average through this period and they are not scoring from turnovers like they were — another telling pressure measure.
The Port Adelaide win two weeks ago showcased just what the Demons are capable of on their day.
They smashed the Power in every department and it was the return of Jack Viney from injury that inspired the victory with his hardness at the contest.
Max Gawn also outpointed the in-form Paddy Ryder, but Gawn himself would admit that he is yet to hit his straps since returning from a long injury lay-off.
Melbourne has had no continuity within its team due to injury and suspension.
Viney, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson and Bernie Vince have all missed games which has put a strain on the midfield while Jack Watts and Jesse Hogan have been sorely missed in attack.
Excuses can be given but you get the sense under Goodwin that those days are over at Melbourne.
Goodwin wants Melbourne to be the respected football club that it hasn’t been in a long time.
Like the Bulldogs last year, it is the team that plays its best football from this point that will win the premiership and form lines will become clearer over the next fortnight. A standout will emerge.
I don’t believe it will be Melbourne’s year, but as it gets its full complement of players together, it needs to experience September action this year on the journey towards striving to reach the ultimate success in the coming years.
Not doing so would be a real setback and they couldn’t ask for a better lead-in to the finals with clashes against the Giants and St Kilda over the next eight days.
I just hope that Melbourne’s midfielders packed their hard hats for the trip to Canberra to take on the Giants on Saturday as regaining their hardness around the contest is the key to Melbourne finding the consistency in their performance that they so desperately crave.
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