AFL preliminary final: Melbourne gathers momentum as numbers point to a possible super power
Max Gawn has his men marching into a grand final with gusto. But why stop there? This century’s four superpowers all tracked similar numbers to their first flag.
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Max Gawn had a lit cigarette hanging from his bottom lip as he cruised along the Monash Freeway in 2010.
The 18-year-old was on his way to training when a pack of darts stared him down in the car.
Captain James McDonald — driving in the next lane — caught a glance of the puffing beanpole.
Gawn was surrounded by the 10-man leadership group and asked by Brad Miller in some frank works whether he was committed to the cause.
After five All-Australians, two best-and-fairests and a five-goal preliminary final as captain that marked this club’s greatest moment since the sacking of Norm Smith in 1965 and Miller’s query can probably be answered.
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Now it is on to the next question — are these Demons on the doorstop to a golden dynasty?
AFLX remains their only silverware since The Beatles were more popular than Jesus and yet Gawn has groomed team gliding towards greatness.
This century’s super powers haven’t been hard to spot.
The four clubs who have marched to three flags started September with gusto.
Look at the percentage from their first-up cup — Richmond 302 per cent (2017), Geelong 227.1 per cent (2007), Brisbane Lions 161.1 per cent (2001) and Hawthorn 135.2 per cent (2013).
In 2021, Melbourne sits at 213.7 per cent with a Grand Final to go.
It is an aura which attracts accolades.
Brisbane in 2001; four All-Australians and the Brownlow, Geelong in 2007; nine All-Australians and the Brownlow, Hawthorn in 2013; two All-Australians; Richmond in 2017; two All-Australians and the Brownlow.
Melbourne? Five All-Australians — Jake Lever, Steven May, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Gawn — and Oliver, who is third-favourite for the Brownlow and Petracca’s pick.
Ex-Richmond assistant Justin Leppitsch said the Demons even played a little bit Tigerish.
They swarm these Demons.
Harrison Petty smothered a certain Gryan Miers goal early on as several red jumpers incited pressure and panic all around.
Jack Riewoldt reckons the Melbourne camp’s bubbliness has been borrowed from Punt Rd.
“They are supremely confident with where they sit and there are so many correlations with Richmond in 2017,” Riewoldt said.
It was fitting that Gawn’s four goals in seven golden minutes fell in the premiership quarter.
Talk about seven minutes from heaven.
Gawn joined Robbie Flower, David Neitz and teary onlooker Garry Lyon with his finals feast.
But, seriously, five goals from a ruck in the prelim?
Football’s gangly giants simply aren’t supposed to do that, with those bags belonging to guys like Jack.
Then again, Gawn has never been one to conform to the mainstream norm.
Clinton King and Ray Hall — not exactly Richmond rock stars — were Gawn’s childhood favourites and one day he was so delighted with Luke McGuane’s performance on Nick Riewoldt that he added the desperate defender on MySpace.
“It was something I’ve never been on the field for — someone dominating that much in such a short period of time,” Christian Petracca said.
“Speechless.”
Geelong ruckman Rhys Stanley’s centre-bounce leap startled Gawn in the opening quarter.
Gawn’s celebratory leap then stirred his confidence as he raced past Sam Menegola to drill the Dees’ eighth goal in the second quarter.
It wasn’t just Gawn’s goalfest.
The 29-year-old laid six tackles, won five clearances, took five marks and helped Melbourne pound through six goals from centre bounce.
He also played the fewest minutes for Melbourne, barring substitute James Jordon and the man he replaced, Steven May (hamstring).
Gawn was hardly gassed — he spoke to more microphones than a talk-show host post-game — but was spared the final 17 minutes.
Goodwin gestured for Gawn, Clayton Oliver (final 15 minutes), Jake Lever (11) and Petracca (10) to get to the bench and put a stop to rotations.
“They’re really hot,” Chris Scott said after the Cats were suffocated.
“We really respect what they’ve done over a long period of time – four, five, six years ago they were building towards something like this.”
Scott was right. Melbourne’s 2018 preliminary final pantsing arrived slightly prematurely, but placing 17th in 2019 was the aberration.
The graph, really, got disorientated before chief executive Gary Pert’s review got it back on track this season.
The Demons have played 515 games this century. How did they time their best performance to perfection?
The ruthless rout can be traced back to last Friday’s session at the home of WAFL club Perth Demons.
The full-scale match simulation looked intense. Phwoar, it was sharp.
Since the 83-point party in Perth the steel fence surrounding Melbourne’s Joondalup base has come down as they have completed 14 days in quarantine.
The barriers to breaking the club’s 57-year drought are, quite literally, disappearing in front of their eyes.
Now shapes a Grand Final lead-up that will tug at so many heartstrings as the MCG goes without.
Flags are for families in footy clubs.
But Alex Neal-Bullen, Angus Brayshaw and Ben Brown might be among the only boys who can share it with their loved ones in the west.
Gawn has left his heavily pregnant wife Jess back home while Brown, Tom McDonald and Lever all kissed their bubs goodbye when they packed for the premiership push.
On Friday night seven McDonalds connected to a video call and smiled wide.
The Edenhope family must’ve feared for Tom’s football future this time last year.
Suddenly parents Cath and Paul, brother and ex-teammate Oscar, sister Sacha and Tom’s wife Ruby were talking Grand Final with Tom, who hadn’t even taken off his top.
“The best moment of my footy career right now is winning that prelim and seeing my mates run on the ground with tears in their eyes,” Gawn said.
“Jake Melksham, Adam Tomlinson, Nathan Jones, Sam Weideman, Majak Daw, Kade Chandler – these guys running on the ground in pure happiness.”
It was a heartwarming answer from big Max.
Now let’s wait and see how often it requires a refresh.
DEES GIVE CERRA REASON FOR SECOND THOUGHTS
Adam Cerra has walked out on Fremantle to return home next season.
If the 21-year-old midfielder who placed third in the best-and-fairest last year had not made up his mind, boy, he now has a choice to make.
Coach-less Carlton parted ways with chief executive Cain Liddle at lunchtime on Friday and then the untouchable Demons cooked Geelong for dessert as they walked into a Grand Final.
The Blues have long been frontrunners for Cerra and shrewd list boss could seamlessly do a swap for pick No.6.
But Melbourne all of a sudden is looking magic and with that its interest in the classy onballer suddenly glistens.
The Demons don’t mess around, either. Jake Lever, Steven May, Ben Brown, Michael Hibberd and Cerra’s old teammate Ed Langdon are all four quarters from a flag after coming from other clubs.
Meanwhile at the Blues big-name recruit Zac Williams was played out of position, Adam Saad had his fitness queried and Lachie Fogarty fizzled, perhaps due to his own shortcomings.
The Dockers landed Cerra at No. 5 in 2017 and not long after he looked likely to leave.
The lifelong Richmond fan was first linked to Punt Rd but it is now shaping as a choice between Ikon Park or AAMI Park.
The Demons – without a first-round pick or much cap space – would have to get creative.
They could clear salary cap space by sending Sam Weideman to North Melbourne in what would effectively be a swap for Ben Brown 12 months in the making.
Perhaps then a future first-round selection and second round selection could go close to sealing a trade for the midfielder who plays like Nick Dal Santo.
Or would defensive wing Angus Brayshaw ponder relocating west to play with younger brother and Dockers star Andy?
There are many levers they could pull for a piece that would go close to perfecting this powerful midfield.
Heat on Cats as coach, stars flop again
Geelong’s outdated game plan is no longer of premiership standard and the pieces it has purchased have once again sunk in September.
For all the talk over the ageing Cats and the proverbial cliff, they are the takeaways that shrewd supporters are likely to sit on.
The red carpet was rolled out for Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan in search of a premiership, but Geelong’s dream team attack was sat on its back by Melbourne on Friday night.
The Cats became the first club in more than 100 years to field back-to-back Coleman medallists, a feat last achieved by Essendon in 1901 through Albert Thurgood and Fred Hiskins.
But the six-goal return against the Demons was the club’s lowest score this season as the Cats lost their fifth preliminary final in seven seasons.
Perhaps coach Chris Scott should’ve known, given the groovy goalkickers had rarely set a September alight.
Rohan, who is out of contract, has shown he is hard to trust when the temperature rises.
The man who lasered a perfect set-shot after the final siren to beat the Western Bulldogs in July this year has never shown that firepower when it really counts.
Rohan has played in three losing Grand Finals – beaten badly by Hawthorn (2014), Western Bulldogs (2016) and Richmond (2020).
The sharpshooter’s three performances on football’s biggest day have yielded a combined 10 kicks, seven handballs and 1.1. Ouch.
Cameron – coaxed last year on a $4 million contract – can get it done, but it is seldom.
The country boy started his September story with 4.4 as Greater Western Sydney stunned Sydney in the 2016 qualifying final.
But in the preliminary final two weeks later Fletcher Roberts kept Cameron to two kicks and goalless in the Western Bulldogs’ six-point win.
Roberts played 15 more games before being delisted.
On Friday night against Melbourne Rohan had one kick from 60 per cent game time, while Cameron’s zero tackles should command closer inspection.
Cameron cost the Cats $4 million. Did his physicality match his contract?
Was Jezza totally engaged in the prelim or caught out reaching for the ball with just one hand?
The man poached for specifically this situation was also off in his one-goal return in the qualifying final.
Reputations are forged in September and it was hoped the Cats’ new forward complexion could flip those of players and club in one thud.
Were these the right pieces to pick off a premiership?
Or is it the old game plan?
“We’ve seen changes to the rules of the game. Geelong haven’t adapted,” four-time premiership champion Jordan Lewis said on Fox Footy’s First Crack.
“They haven’t adapted to that messy style. They want to be pretty and control the ball.”
Is there a touch of 2010 about the staleness?
Back then coach Mark Thompson’s veteran team and tactics were upstaged by Collingwood’s youthful stars and modern style.
The 41-point preliminary final loss – it was 66 in the final term – ripped the Band-Aid off as Thompson and Gary Ablett left and the Cats reset.
Scott said his soldiers were totally sapped by September, although foreshadowed significant change.
“We were pretty battered towards the end of the season,” Scott said.
“Not just the last couple of weeks but probably the six weeks leading into the finals series.
“There’s a few things that I won’t speak about tonight that will become clearer over the next few weeks.”
Scott said his phone would be off if another club, such as Carlton and perhaps its next CEO Brian Cook, came calling.
Scott said the fading VFL has also stalled development of the Cats kids, a gripe that also grates on Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.
Cats including Tom Lonergan, Tom Hawkins, Travis Varcoe, Josh Hunt, Kent Kingsley and Ablett lit up the VFL team as it finished runner-up in 2006 and won the flag in 2007.
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