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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.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Melbourne Demons 13.8.86
Carlton Blues 9.10.64
The second round continues at the MCG this afternoon, as the Melbourne Demons host the Carlton Blues. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 3:20pm AEST.
After many lean years, there’s a real sense of optimism around the Demons right now.
They narrowly missed the finals last season and are expected to improve in 2017. A convincing win against St Kilda last week seemed to justify a lot of the confidence some observers have in them.
But the reality of their 2016 season was that for every really impressive performance that seemed to indicate a permanent improvement, there’d be a disappointing loss to a low ranked team that would set them back again.
Probably the most notable of these disappointments was against today’s opposition in Carlton.
In round 22 of last season Melbourne were coming off strong wins against Hawthorn and Port Adelaide and appeared to have a real shot at sneaking into the eight.
But a strangely tepid display against the Blues effectively ended their season with a whimper.
It goes without saying that developing teams are usually inconsistent. But at some point they have to reach a stage where they win the games they should do, and that’s been a problem for the Demons.
If Melbourne are to play finals this year, they need to hold their nerve and win these games.
There’s plenty on the line for Carlton as well.
While they’re not expected to push for September action this season, they would surely want to show real improvement over last year.
They weren’t especially impressive in round one against the Tigers, losing by 43 points, but there were certainly some good patches. And some encouraging individual displays by the likes of Lachie Plowman, Caleb Marchbank and first gamer Sam Petrevski-Seton.
At selection, Carlton coach Brendan Bolton has decided to try and build on that first up effort, naming an unchanged lineup. It’s not often you see that after a seven-goal loss.
For the Dees, Dom Tyson comes in for his first game of the season, as does James Harmes. They replace Bernie Vince who was suspended in round one, and Joel Smith who injured his shoulder.
Prediction
Melbourne are strong favourites, and for good reason. In every part of the ground they look superior to the Blues. While they still rely a little too much on some inconsistent youngsters that’s even more the case for Carlton. The Demons simply have more quality and attacking weapons.
Melbourne by 40 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 3:20pm AEST.
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