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Defensive Demons have opposition teams misfiring

Roar Guru
16th June, 2014
12

The Melbourne Demons continue to cause their opponents to misfire with a combination of good defence and good luck.

Paul Roos’ defensive Demons aren’t easily beaten, and their opponents’ wasteful ways are making sure of it.

The trend of bad kicking against Melbourne continued on Sunday as the Bombers dominated all statistics, but squandered 69 forward-50 entries to kick just 10 goals and 17 behinds (four rushed).

Despite sizable advantages across all the major statistics, a lowly 37 per cent conversation rate proved the deciding factor.

Much will be made of the imbalanced Bombers attack, but missed opportunities have been keeping the pesky Demons in games all year. Melbourne’s opponents are averaging almost 15 behinds a game, making Essendon’s woeful tally just above the norm.

The Dees are making up this deficiency with effectiveness of their own. Melbourne score the fewest amount of behinds in the league while ranking fourth for average goals against, behind Fremantle, Sydney and Collingwood. They converted almost 67 per cent of the time against Essendon on Sunday to effectively steal victory.

The Paul Roos effect can be seen not just in the numbers, but also on game day.

Led by Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes and Tom McDonald in defence, Melbourne’s back six have been steadfast all year. While they continue to force difficult scoring chances, luck continues to benefit the stingy Demons.

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Tom Bellchambers kicked three behinds, two from directly in front, while Brendan Goddard, a usually reliable kick, missed a sitter from a slight angle. Similar occurrences can be pulled from other games this season, most notably Richmond’s 20 behinds in their Round 9 loss to Melbourne and Adelaide’s 9.14 compared to Melbourne’s 11.4 in Round 7.

In a combination of good defence and good fortune, Melbourne’s opponents have scored 74 behinds this year. On the other end of the spectrum are the West Coast Eagles, whose inaccuracy has them kicking 36 behinds more than their opponents this year.

With Roos at the helm, Melbourne’s evolution from cellar-dweller to competitive outfit is happening before our eyes. While there is much work to do, a sound defence and an ounce of luck isn’t a bad way to start.

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