Max Gawn dominates preliminary final against Geelong in career-best performance

Melbourne completed dominated its preliminary final against Geelong, partly thanks to a career-best effort from captain Max Gawn.

Melbourne legend Neale Daniher is desperate to see the Dees win.

Dare to dream, Melbourne fans.

Melbourne will play in its first grand final in 21 years after demolishing Geelong by 83 points in their preliminary final on Friday night.

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The dominant 19.11 (125) to 6.6 (42) win means the Demons are one step closer to winning their first premiership since 1964 and ending the longest drought in the AFL.

Melbourne couldn’t have made a better start to the preliminary final, piling on six goals in the first quarter to open up a 26-point lead.

The Dees destroyed Geelong around the ball and were in control of the game from the opening minutes and were never headed.

Melbourne continued its sensational start in the second term, with a stunning goal to captain Max Gawn the highlight.

The big ruckman played on after being awarded a free kick and athletically snapped the ball across his body from 40 metres out, defying his lanky physique.

Goals to Charlie Spargo, Kysaiah Pickett and Tom Sparrow helped the Demons consolidate their lead.

Dees skipper Max Gawn was unstoppable against Geelong. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Melbourne pulled away in the third term, piling on eight unanswered goals to extend its lead out to a mammoth 78 points at three-quarter time.

And the star of the show was undoubtedly Gawn, who kicked four goals in the third quarter alone to take his tally for the game to five.

It’s the biggest haul of his career and breaks the record for the most goals kicked by a Melbourne captain in an AFL final.

Making the feat all the more impressive was the spectacular nature of each of Gawn’s goals.

Early in the third quarter, he received a handpass from Christian Petracca in the centre square and kicked a 55-metre bomb on the run.

He wasn’t finished there. Shortly afterwards, Gawn plucked the ball out of the ruck and snapped a miraculous goal from a tight angle as he was falling off balance.

The All-Australian captain also took some strong contested marks, which led to his other two majors in the third quarter.

Fans and viewers were stunned by Gawn’s goalkicking skills and athletic prowess.

“He’s kicked the two best goals for his career in a preliminary final!” Hawthorn and Melbourne great Jordan Lewis said on AFL Nation.

OH MY GAWN!#AFLFinalspic.twitter.com/S9ly56R7Sx

— AFL (@AFL) September 10, 2021

When the ruckman snaps goals on the run, and bombs them from outside 50 out of the centre bounce you know it’s your night. #AFLFinals#AFLDeesCats

— Andrew Wu (@wutube) September 10, 2021

Max Gawn … save some for the GF! #AFLDeesCats

— Shayne Hope 📰 (@shayne_hope) September 10, 2021

The Cats are GAAAWWNNN#AFLDeesCats#AFLFinals

— QUENTIN HULL (@QuentinHull) September 10, 2021

Max has forgotten he’s 210cm … #AFLDeesCats 🤣🤣

— Nat Edwards (@Nat_Edwards) September 10, 2021

“I haven’t done that before,” Gawn said of his goalkicking exploits on Channel 7 after the game.

“I’m not normally a goal kicker and got on the end of some of them.

“Like that stoppage goal, I probably won’t be able to do every again in my life.”

While pleased with the victory, Gawn emphasised his side’s ultimate goal is to be lifting the premiership cup after a grand final win.

“We want to be able to win the grand final. That’s what the target is,” he said.

“Obviously this is nice. We’ve got 50,000 Melbourne people here and this really nice but we haven’t broken the drought until we do so in two weeks and that’s what we’re really looking forward to.”

Demons captain Max Gawn celebrates a spectacular goal. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Demons didn’t allow Geelong to play its natural kick-mark game style.

In a symbol of just how much the Cats struggled, Jeremy Cameron’s goal in the last quarter was the only six-pointer Geelong scored in the second half.

Melbourne will play the winner of Saturday’s preliminary final between Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs in the grand final, which will take place in Perth in two weeks.

Injury concern to star Demons defender

Melbourne’s red-hot performance was soured by an injury to key defender Steven May, who appeared to strain his hamstring in a marking contest with Geelong’s Tom Hawkins.

May went straight down to the rooms to have the injury assessed and emerged with his leg heavily strapped.

He spent most of the quarter on the bench getting his leg massaged but played the second and third quarters in some discomfort.

Melbourne’s Steven May appeared to injury his hamstring in the first quarter against Geelong. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Everything was going right for Melbourne, who had the luxury of taking star defender Steven May out of the game, replacing him with medical substitute James Jordon.

It will allow May the best hope possible of recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained early in the game.

He will be racing the clock to recover in time for the grand final, but the bye before the season finale will give him an extra week to prove his fitness.

Originally published as Max Gawn dominates preliminary final against Geelong in career-best performance