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This Sunday, the Melbourne Football Club face arguably their biggest challenge of the season thus far when they take on the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the MCG.
Many will argue that last week’s victory against the Crows in Adelaide was season defining, especially after news of Jesse Hogan’s cancer diagnosis. But the Kangaroos pose a greater question for Melbourne.
How consistent are they?
Since the fallout of the Mark Neeld regime, one of the main problems that has plagued the Demons has been consistency. They were close to stringing together three wins to start the season for the first time in 12 years, but inconsistent goal kicking against Geelong proved costly as the Cats ran away 29-point victors.
Since then, the Dees haven’t been able to put together a series of convincing wins all season. Victories against St Kilda, Carlton and Essendon have all been followed by losses to Geelong, Richmond, Fremantle and Hawthorn, the latter two by under a goal.
It has been a hugely frustrating season for Melbourne, with injuries to Max Gawn and Jake Spencer depleting their ruck sources, and suspensions to Jordan Lewis and Hogan to start the season, compounded by the devastating news of Hogan’s testicular cancer. That is why a win against a struggling Kangaroos side is so important for the young Demons outfit.
All too often, Melbourne have managed to pull a win out of the bag when they have been struggling in season’s past. They knocked off the three-time premiers in Hawthorn last year, Geelong in 2015, and notched wins against Essendon and Greater Western Sydney in years before.
But they have then fallen away in the following games, giving proof to a young and inexperienced side that is struggling to piece together form and consistent play. The pieces to the puzzle are there, with Jack Watts coming into his own, Jayden Hunt speeding through midfield and Clayton Oliver displaying class and calmness that is years ahead of him. Christian Petracca has some of the best hands in the league, Neville Jetta has established himself as a mainstay in the team and Tom McDonald is solid down back.
Simon Goodwin also looks to be the coach who could take the Demons into their first finals series since 2006. He has devised gameplans which can tear teams apart if executed correctly, with no better example than last week’s 41-point win over the Crows. North Melbourne have been struggling recently, with their only wins coming against Adelaide and a struggling Gold Coast unit, and they were dispatched by Sydney last week to the tune of 42 points.
Melbourne need to come out and dominate the Kangaroos and walk away convincing winners. Not only to send a message to the rest of the league that they are a genuine threat, but to show themselves that they have what it takes to be a force.
This Sunday, the question isn’t what type of Melbourne are going to turn up to play. It is simply whether Melbourne are the same, old inconsistent side. Have they turned a corner, and are they a threat to the competition?
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