Melbourne falls to 17th on the ladder after 13-point loss to West Coast in Alice Springs
Melbourne’s season started with talk of premierships. Now the club is eyeing the second pick in the draft. How did they fall again against West Coast? It all started with the ‘territory game’.
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Frustrated Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has declared he is sick of losing and won’t fall into the trap of accepting Sunday’s 13-point loss to West Coast in Alice Springs as an honourable loss.
The Demons slipped to 17th on the ladder after conceding a 32-point head start to the Eagles early in the match. They fought back to take the lead but couldn’t match West Coast’s efficiency in front of goal or ability to handle pressure late in the match.
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Goodwin said those issues had been a trend all year and he wouldn’t tolerate repeated mediocrity.
“As a club we have been in this position where we’ve been in winning positions a lot in the last seven or eight weeks,” Goodwin said.
“We can either sit here and say we’re proud of the performance against a really good team or we can say enough is enough. I think the boys are hurting. We’re hurting as a footy club again.
“We played well enough in a game of footy to get a result and we didn’t. That’s why we sit where we sit. We’re just not finishing our work off both in an efficiency way and for long enough in the game.
“To be a really good team, and that’s what we’re aspiring to be and that’s what we’re really confident of becoming, we need to change that. We need to get better at that.”
Goodwin said the improvement of a backline that included Jake Lever and Steven May had been pleasing as had Bailey Fritsch’s four goals in attack and Jordan Lewis having an impact playing as a forward.
Melbourne also lost co-captain Jack Viney to concussion during the second term and continued to fight in the midfield.
But Goodwin said everyone had to approach the remaining five games with a sense of urgency if the Demons wanted to be successful.
“There were lots of little wins but we’ve got five weeks to continue to get better and improve,” Goodwin said.
“I’ve said this a lot that we’re not going to waste time. It sits uncomfortably with me today — the result. We’ve been in this position too often and we need to start rewarding ourselves more with getting wins because that’s what this industry is about.”
HOW DEES CRASHED TO SECOND LAST ON THE LADDER
The territory game has become one of the most important parts of modern footy, but West Coast’s 14.7 (91) to 11.12 (78) victory over Melbourne in Alice Springs was a result of playing better Northern Territory footy.
Traeger Park isn’t a traditional AFL venue. There is a small grandstand on one wing but the rest of the ground is wide open, with no protection from the wind.
That wind gushed across the oval during the first quarter, making it extremely difficult to score goals from set shots beyond 30m.
West Coast acknowledged this early and focused upon getting the ball deep inside 50 at every opportunity.
STAT CENTRAL: WHO STOOD TALL FOR DEES, EAGLES?
In contrast, Melbourne kept taking shots from beyond 30m and kept watching the wind blow the kicks off course.
The Eagles kicked two goals from just metres out, Oscar Allen booted another after being dragged to ground at the top of the goal square and the other two majors were from snaps.
Melbourne’s only goal came from a snap from the forward pocket. They missed all five of their set shots.
The Demons were made to feel at home when they ran out to their theme song being sung in local Indigenous tongue, but they kicked like they were in totally foreign territory.
West Coast led by 20 points at quarter time and while the conditions changed slightly, quick ball movement to give forwards better chances of scoring was crucial.
The Eagles extended their lead to 32 points during the second quarter and the game looked over.
But Bayley Fritsch turned the game for the Dees. The Demons were desperate for a touch of class inside 50 and Fritsch provided it with his left foot.
The former defender kicked three goals for the term including a set shot after the half-time siren to reduce West Coast’s lead to only one point.
Fritsch gave the Demons energy, skill and confidence. While others were nervous with the ball, he was composed and enjoyed the responsibility.
He kicked his fourth goal during the third term and set up another for Corey Wagner to drag the Demons into the lead.
The Demons controlled the contested possessions throughout the term and tackled with intent to give them more opportunities in front of goal. And, unlike in the first term, they converted their chances.
Clayton Oliver was also influential. The onballer’s hard nosed attitude gave the Demons an edge in the middle and that gave the forwards more chances to score.
He had 34 disposals for the day, and 21 of those were contested including nine clearances.
His effort was even more important given Melbourne lost co-captain Jack Viney to concussion during the second quarter.
James Harmes was also crucial with 29 disposals and seven clearances.
Melbourne led by six points at the final change but a booming 50m goal from Elliot Yeo levelled the scores early in the last quarter.
Darling’s third goal extended that margin and when he kicked his fourth major, West Coast was again showing the value of conversion.
Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff kept winning the footy for the Eagles. Sheed had 34 disposals in another brilliant display and the defenders held up under pressure without captain Shannon Hurn who withdrew before the game with a calf injury.
Melbourne reduced the deficit to only seven points during time on but made a meal of an opportunity inside 50 inside the last five minutes and then turned the ball over in the centre square which gave West Coast the chance to seal the game. Sheed dropped a simple mark but recovered to kick the goal and show the difference between the two teams.
While tactics and game styles change, the ability to convert remains the key to victory.
CRAIG O’DONOGHUE’S BEST AND VOTES
3 Dom Sheed
2 Bailey Fritsch
1 Clayton Oliver
Best — West Coast: D Sheed, J Darling, A Gaff, L Shuey, B Sheppard, C Masten
Melbourne: B Fritsch, C Oliver, J Harmes, A Brayshaw, J Wagner, J Lewis.
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