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The Melbourne Demons have held off a determined effort by Carlton to record a 22-point win at the MCG this afternoon.
Melbourne started the game strongly, kicking the opening goal and dominating possession, but despite threatening to break the game open couldn’t quite shake off the Blues.
After a low scoring first half more or less dominated by the Demons they held a narrow ten-point lead at the main break.
Perhaps sensing the opportunity, Carlton played their best footy in the third quarter, getting on top around the ground and forcing the Demons into mistakes.
Patrick Cripps and Marc Murphy found plenty of the ball in the midfield, and while they never really had a threatening key forward, the Blues converted enough of their chances to get out to a nine-point lead.
The Demons kicked the last of the quarter to bring the margin back to three points heading into the final period of the game.
After a few cagey minutes of the last term, highlighted by some excellent individual defensive efforts on both sides, Melbourne gradually got on top to pull away from the Blues.
The Demons began to attack the dangerous area in front of goal, and while they still struggled to take contested marks, they were repeatedly able to kick important crumbing goals in the key final moments.
Although Levi Casboult kicked a late major to give the Blues a sniff, the Demons certainly ran the game out more strongly and deserved their win in the end.
Over the course of the game, Melbourne had by far the most of the ball with 64 more touches, and youngsters Dom Tyson, Christian Salem, Clayton Oliver all finished with 30-plus possessions.
But each of those players was guilty of some sloppy ball use, and the Demons probably would have been better off with some of their more experienced players getting more of the pill; Jordan Lewis was well held and had little influence.
Nathan Jones, however, was as inspirational as ever, and executed some key plays at times.
Overall, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin, although obviously happy with the win, would have to be a little concerned with the overall performance. They didn’t particularly look like prospective finalists today.
They were keen to move the ball through the wings, but were generally too slow to switch effectively and often went wide into the forward line, making it hard to generate quality scoring chances.
Carlton, who are likely to have lower expectations for the season, could certainly find some positives in their defensive work. Caleb Marchbank and Lachie Plowman were once again effective as young defenders.
They too though suffered from poor ball use throughout the match. As usual, they lacked a sharp edge in front of goal, but Matthew Wright kicked three sensational goals to keep them in the game.
To be blunt, this wasn’t a game that will live long in the memory. Melbourne got the win they should have done, but made hard work of it.
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