By Barry Levinson

Jordan McMahon holds the Sherrin and Melbourne’s draft hopes in his hands: 48 metres out from goal, straight in front, it’s a kick most AFL players are expected to convert.

But this is a Tiger who has already missed two sitters on the run and barely been able to hit a target all day.

I feel sick. How could the game have come to this? Read the rest of this entry »

By Barry Levinson

It’s only now, in my early thirties, that I’m beginning to think maybe one day I wouldn’t mind having kids. So far I can think of two good reasons. First, it would be handy having someone able to work out how to program the video recorder.  Second, and most important, it would be good having a little tacker to take along to the footy and brainwash into becoming a Demons fan. But after a day at the ’G surrounded by kids I’m not so sure.

As I take my seat in the forward pocket of the Olympic Stand prior to the first bounce of mission impossible against the Cats, I quickly notice three youngsters sitting in front with their Geelong-obsessed parents. “Must try hard not to swear,” I tell myself.

I’m not expecting a stressful day at the footy, so it’s certainly an achievable goal.

Much of the talk before this match has surrounded Gary Ablett’s amazing run of form and whether he can have another forty-possession game. It takes less than ten seconds for the little master to kick the first goal of the game after bursting from the centre square.

I know Melbourne have no chance of winning, but I’m keen to see how they handle the challenge of playing arguably the best team in the land. At every stoppage there’s lots of finger-pointing and directions being given from Demon players intent on sticking to a game plan. Geelong’s skills are significantly better than Melbourne’s and the Cats play a run-and-carry style of footy to which the Demons seem to be aspiring.

For most of the first quarter, the Dees’ plan is working. A fierce amount of pressure creates more than a few scoring opportunities, but Melbourne fail to capitalise. It appears their recent poor conversion rate in front of goal is set to continue, with the Demons booting four behinds and one out on the full before Ricky Petterd finally kicks a major.

A Cale Morton goal on the run a minute later puts the Dees up by a point, but it doesn’t worry the kids in front. All decked out in Cats colours and ranging in age from four to eight, they’re more interested in the food their Mum’s brought than the action out on the ground. Both parents are diehards. Dad has one ear on the radio and Mum marks down every score in her Record. Dad does his best to keep the kids’ minds on the footy.

“Look, Mooney’s kicked his second goal”, he tells them. “You like Cam Mooney.”

One of the girls doesn’t stop eating throughout the first half. “Surely she’s into her fourth-quarter rations by now,” I say to my friend.

After heading into the first change leading by five points, the Cats lift a gear. The Demons waste some more goal-scoring opportunities and Geelong make them pay. Steve Johnson kicks three of his side’s six goals for the term.

I stand up to make way for another family with a large supply of children to take the seats on our left. They don’t like to sit still for much of the second half; they constantly get up to run up and down the stairs.

The Cats do enough to put the Demons away without turning the game into the massacre I feared. Melbourne never have a sniff, but the young Dees again show enough signs to indicate they are on the right track. It might still be a few years before they can genuinely challenge teams like Geelong, but the future looks bright.

The kids surrounding me have a great day. The latecomers make friends with those in front when they start playing with Geelong coloured balloons. Isn’t life simple when you’re six years old? Meet someone of similar age and you’re instantly best friends.

I feel for the parents. Surely their enjoyment of the match is hindered by ensuring that the children share the food and stop being mean to each other. Tears flow at regular intervals, but no major harm is done.

The biscuits and sweets do eventually run out and signs of fatigue set in. Despite the Cats being well in command, the family in front leave fifteen minutes before the final siren.

Ablett finishes the game on the pine with only 25 touches and a sore groin. His fellow follicularly challenged teammate Paul Chapman fills the breach and takes best afield honours.

Melbourne 2.4    4.6    6.7    10.8 (68)
Geelong      3.3   9.8    12.17    15.21 (111)

GOALS – Geelong: S.Johnson 4, Mooney 3, Rooke, Varcoe 2, Ablett, Chapman, Hawkins, Stokes.
Melbourne: Robertson 3, Miller 2, Bennell, Johnson, Morton, Petterd, Sylvia.

BEST – Geelong: Chapman, Bartel, Selwood, S.Johnson, Corey, Enright, Mackie. Melbourne: Davey, Moloney, McLean, Frawley, Morton, Warnock.

UMPIRES: Kennedy, Ryan, Dalgleish.

CROWD: 36,932

VOTES: Chapman (G) 3, Bartel (G) 2, Selwood (G) 1.

By Barry Levinson

From the moment Round 3 concluded with yet another Richmond loss, I began looking ahead to Round 4 with a strange, tingly feeling inside … the sort of strange, tingly feeling usually reserved for the build-up to a final. But I wasn’t imagining the sensation … as a Melbourne supporter, this was the closest we’d get to a final in 2009.

Without wanting to sound like a cliché-worn coach, I know where we’re at. The Demons are still in for more than their fair share of defeats this year, but over the first three rounds I have seen enough to suggest that, after an abysmal 2008, they are heading in the right direction. This allows me to walk to the MCG with an unfamiliar feeling in recent times… that we are a chance against the ticking time-bomb Tigers.

No club knows how to implode like Richmond. Since their premiership in 1980, no side has featured less in September than the Tigers. But despite their lack of success, the yellow and black faithful have the ability to work themselves into a frenzy of anticipation like few others. It only sets them up for a bigger fall.

It’s a most unusual start. I’ve seen hundreds of league matches, but never before can I remember a contest starting with a free-kick on the half-forward flank. The Tigers goal instantly through Mitch Morton following the report of Matthew Warnock, and every teammate pats Morton on the back. After a week of intense scrutiny, Richmond look fired up. A soft free to Nathan Brown in front of goal moments later and Tiger fans begin to wonder what they’ve been worrying about.

But it doesn’t take long for Richmond’s shocking skill level and indecision to come to the fore, and Melbourne finally hits the scoreboard through Brad Green. The first quarter becomes comical. Both sides regularly miss targets.

The Demons threaten to get on top but are doing their best to keep Richmond in the game, hitting the post no less than four times, before Brad Miller finally puts them up by three points at the first break. Sadly Green won’t feature in the remainder of the match (or the next six weeks for that matter), after a wayward pass from Nathan Jones leads to a bone-crunching collision with Alex Rance and a broken jaw.

Melbourne has shown plenty of endeavour and spirit in the early part of the season, but has been sadly lacking in firepower. It’s not a problem in the second quarter, however, as the Dees go berserk!

Little Neville Jetta starts the onslaught, pouncing on the crumbs in the goalsquare, before Colin Sylvia kicks the first of two running majors from outside the fifty. It’s the best quarter of AFL football the third pick in the 2003 draft has played, combining a healthy balance of controlled aggression with power and skill. But Demons fans want to see more from Sylvia before they’re entirely won over.

Five unanswered goals leaves Melbourne in the unfamiliar position of holding a 34-point lead and the Richmond supporters around me look stunned. I begin to look ahead to an enjoyable half-time breather, but it’s only the fifteen-minute mark and the young Dees try to play tempo footy; they cough up three goals. With the contest again alive, Melbourne stand and take the blows from Richmond before counter-punching with three late majors to restore a five-goal buffer at the long break.

For Tiger fans the damage is well and truly done. It’s only Round 4 and yet another pre-season of hope has been shot to pieces. While the Demons struggle to hold onto their lead in the second half, it’s ultimately enough to keep Richmond at bay.

Stalwarts Matthew Richardson and Joel Bowden never stop trying for the Tigers. Richo, moved from the wing back to his customary position up forward, doesn’t let the crowd down. The 34 year-old marks strongly and finishes with four goals but misses several easy ones.

The Demons look tired in the last quarter as Richmond battle to steal the game. But time runs out for the Tigers and the Dees get to saviour a rare win.

With the Gold Coast and West Sydney set to pilfer the best young talent over the next few years, Melbourne may well have bottomed out just in the nick of time. But with a heavy reliance on players over thirty and a season of turmoil beginning to take hold, the future doesn’t look so bright for Richmond.

Melbourne 2.6, 10.7, 13.11, 14.16 (100)

Richmond 2.3, 5.6, 9.7, 13.14 (92)

GOALS: Melbourne: Miller 3, Newton 2, Petterd 2, Sylvia 2, Bate, Davey, Dunn, Green, Jetta.

Richmond: Richardson 4, Brown 2, Collins 2, Deledio, McGuane, Moore, Morton, Nahas.

BEST: Melbourne: Davey, Miller, Bruce, McLean, Sylvia, Frawley, Bartram.

Richmond: Bowden, Richardson, Foley, Polo, Tuck, Collins.

REPORTS: Warnock (Melbourne) for striking Hislop (Richmond) before the first bounce.

Umpires: James, Wenn, Findlay (McLaren replaced Wenn during match).

Crowd: 40,763 at MCG.

Votes: Davey (M) 3, Miller (M) 2, Bowden (R) 1.

The beginning of a new footy season is always eagerly anticipated, but after getting engaged over the summer and being consumed by wedding talk for a couple of months, I couldn’t wait for round one – even as a supporter of the reigning wooden spooners.

Walking through the Fitzroy Gardens to the ‘G, my chances of making it in time for the first bounce took a hit when my fiancée informed me she needed to make a stop for some food, before entering the ground.

Despite my concerns at the possibility of missing perhaps the only time the scores would be close, we made a hasty pit stop and just managed to make it inside for the start.

Predictably, the Kangaroos began the better of the two sides, booting the first two majors through livewire goalsneaks Lindsay Thomas and Matt Campbell. But while last season Melbourne would have panicked after being jumped at the start, this year’s Demons did not lose their composure.

Some good pressure from the forwards resulted in three scrambled goals and, lo and behold, Melbourne was in front!

North coach Dean Laidley had done significant tinkering with his side over the summer. Youngsters Lachie Hansen, Scott Thompson and Scott McMahon were given key roles in defence and all performed well. This helped free up Michael Firrito to leave his post at full-back and return to the midfield. And after being just one step away from the scrapheap a couple of years ago, Leigh Harding was a revelation running off half-back and on the ball.

With scores level at the first change, North threatened to kick away on a couple of occasions during the second and third quarters, but both times Melbourne were able to fight back.

Umpiring didn’t have a major influence on the contest, but there were a couple of shockers paid, with the Demons the primary beneficiaries. The umps seemed particularly keen to punish high contact, so several players who threw their head back in a tackle were rewarded with soft frees.

This didn’t impress a middle-aged North Melbourne fan a few seats across from us in the forward pocket of the Northern Stand. You couldn’t blame him for wanting to vent following a long off-season. But I was thankful to be in the same row as him, rather than directly in-front, because with every verbal spray, came a significant saliva spray.

The Demons played four debutants – Neville Jetta, Jamie Bennell, Kyle Cheney and Jake Spencer – while highly rated first-round draft choice Jack Ziebell was selected for his first match for the Kangaroos. While Ziebell was relatively quiet, Cheney was easily the standout of the five newbies, playing as a small defender. Often opposed to either Thomas or Campbell, the red-headed Cheney looked like he belonged on the MCG, reading the play well and possessing good foot skills.

While it was a willing contest, the match didn’t contain many moments that will feature in end-of-season highlight reels, bar a handful of exceptions.

In the second quarter, Nathan Jones made a courageous attempt to mark, running with the flight of the ball deep in defence, only to be outsized by a rejuvenated Hamish McIntosh. Entitled to be dirty after his name was thrust into the media by his coach as trade bait six months ago, the ruckman proved his value to the Roos, exploiting the Dees with his mobility and booting three goals, including the sealer on the run in the final term.

It was encouraging to see Melbourne youngster Ricky Petterd put his hand up for a regular senior berth, following two years hampered by injury and illness. Playing out of the forward pocket, he caught the Roos’ backmen by surprise more than once, taking nine marks in a lead-up role. As North threatened to skip clear in the third, it was a lovely six-pointer from a banana kick on the run from Petterd that kept the Demons in touch.

But the play of the day came soon after. With Melbourne on the burst and Colin Garland streaming through the centre square, Harding thrust his name into contention for best-on-ground status with a terrific smother and accurate pass to Adam Simpson for a goal that gave North a handy 14 point buffer at the last change.

The Roos finally broke the Demons’ resolve in the final term, with early goals from McIntosh and Hale, eventually running out victors by 34 points.

While Melbourne coach Dean Bailey rightly stated afterwards that any loss is disappointing for his young side, I departed the ground feeling the team had definitely progressed from last year’s non-competitive rabble. Perhaps I can even head to a few games this year believing we might win.

NORTH MELBOURNE 3.3 7.6 11.8 15.11 (101)
MELBOURNE 3.3 6.5 9.6 10.7 (67)
Goals – North Melbourne: McIntosh 3; Thomas, Petrie, Campbell 2; Simpson, Firrito, Harvey, Hale, Harding, McMahon.
Melbourne: Petterd, Green 2; Bate, Morton, Johnson, Moloney, Davey, Jetta.
Best – North Melbourne: Harding, McIntosh, Simpson, McMahon, Rawlings, Urquhart.
Melbourne: Green, Moloney, Cheney, Petterd, Bartram, Warnock.
Umpires: Mollison, Grun, McInerney.
Crowd: 28,707
Votes: Harding (NM) 3, McIntosh (NM) 2, Green (M) 1