Robbo: Could it be the year of the Baby Demons?

ANGUS Brayshaw, James Harmes, and Clayton Oliver — none aged older than 22 — were the top three ball-getters for Melbourne, putting Geelong’s ‘Holy Trinity’ to the sword in last night’s final. Can the Baby Demons win the flag?

The Demons swarmed the Cats — and each other — at every opportunity. Picture: Getty Images

THE gentlemen became giant killers.

And all it took was 30 minutes of scoring and 90 minutes of unrelenting and unyielding football which is exactly what Melbourne has built its game for.

They love it like that, these rejuvenated Demons.

Contested ball and tackling and pressure is now their DNA, but it was also their ball movement and ball use which put a dagger through Geelong at the MCG.

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The Demons swarmed the Cats — and each other — at every opportunity. Picture: Getty Images

It was powerhouse display, full of drama and intensity and, in the third quarter, a possible match-changing moment of stupidity.

Melbourne won by 29 points. At quarter-time they led by 31 points.

In between was an elimination final slug-fest.

It was a strange match. The Cats challenged after quarter-time without scoring and the Demons maintained a level of control, but also couldn’t score.

Quarters two and three produced just four goals.

Make no mistake, if the Demons kicked straighter they would’ve won this game by 10 goals.

All the doubts, the ridicule and their recent wretched history were wiped out in that first quarter, when they kicked 5.3 to 0.2, and in doing so put Geelong on the road to yet another miserable September.

That’s three wins and nine losses since 2012 for the Cats and this year was supposed to be different.

But at the moment of truth, the Holy Trinity couldn’t get it done.

Gary Ablett, Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood were average, Mitch Duncan was worse — all of them had their issues — and the team collectively failed under Melbourne’s pressure.

Just 46 points scored was their lowest of the season and followed 158 and 142 in the final two home and away matches.

The Demons were never going to be such soft opposition.

They dismantled Geelong — and Geelong dismantled itself — by ordinary kicking for goal and ordinary kicking in general.

They spooked the Cats, no doubt.

In that game-shaping first quarter, Melbourne was too tough (they contested ball was 40-33 and they led tackles 23-10) and too clean and the Cats too meek.

At the final siren, they were ahead in every statistical component, significantly head on inside 50s — 60-43.

Melbourne had winners all over the ground.

No gentleman Jack Viney and his co-captain Nathan Jones celebrate after the big win. Picture: Getty Images

Unquestionably, Jack Viney is no gentleman Jack.

In his first game since Round 16, Viney played September footy like many of us suspected he would.

He laid four tackles in the first quarter. His fifth came in the second quarter on Abbott, his sixth on Ablett, his seventh and eighth in one desperate play on the member’ wing and his ninth on O’Connor at half-back.

He started the fourth quarter with a tackle on Selwood, which led to a Nathan Jones goal and eruption in the MCG stands.

Viney not so much led the kids but joined them in what has quickly become one of the most powerful midfield groups in the AFL.

Clayton Oliver, James Harmes and Angus Brayshaw - all aged under 22 - were the highest ball-winners for Melbourne in the elimination final win over Geelong.

Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes, and Clayton Oliver — none of them aged more than 22 — were the top three ball-getters for Melbourne.

Any thoughts of them being overawed by the occasion and by Ablett, Dangerfield and Selwood were dismissed early. Brayshaw’s 13 disposals in the third quarter were enormous.

Could it be the year of the Baby Demons?

Not long ago, AFL great Dermott Brereton labelled the Demons a gentleman’s club, such was his condemnation of an organisation who has not won a flag since 1964.

Gentlemen they are no more.

Last night, in front of 90,000-plus people, was as tough and physical a performance we’ve seen in a decade from Melbourne.

They are balanced and brutal.

Christian Salem and Jordan Lewis were terrific off the back flanks, the midfield is supercharged with young bulls, and Tom McDonald and Sam Weideman were major influencers as key forwards. They took 15 marks and kicked four goals.

Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and the rest of the Cats were well below their best. Picture: Getty Images

The rest of them play their role with Grand Final intensity.

What would be wonderful viewing is every tackle Melbourne laid last night, from Viney’s 11, to vandenBerg crunching Murdoch, to Oliver on Selwood in the middle, to Weideman on Dangerfield.

What would be horrible viewing is Selwood’s undisciplined free kick in the third quarter, which took the ball off Tom Hawkins who was shooting for goal. It was a huge moment and the free kick was controversially paid by the emergency umpire.

In the end, Melbourne was hungry and largely composed and Geelong was brittle in the first quarter and lacked the necessary composure with the ball.

The third quarter was Geelong’s nightmare. Dangerfield missed from 20m, Dan Menzel missed from 15m and time and again the team missed targets.

Now, it is Hawthorn v Melbourne in their first September meeting since the elimination final in 1990, which the Demons won by nine points.

The two teams almost merged in 1996 and, this year, one of them will emerge as a premiership contender after next week.

That’s if Melbourne isn’t already.

Gary Ablett is left to rue a missed opportunity. Picture: AAP