Expert
The Melbourne Demons have a chance to snatch a second win on the run today when they host the Port Adelaide Power in Alice Springs. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2.10pm AEST.
The Demons haven’t managed to put two consecutive wins together since Round 14 2011, but after an impressive win over the Bulldogs last week and given the struggles of Port Adelaide in the past few, they’re a red hot chance.
It wasn’t a great month for the Demons – they were forced to weather the storm of consecutive bouts with Fremantle, Sydney and Hawthorn, and while they held of an absolute embarrassment from the first two, they ran out of gas and gave up a 105-point win to the Hawks.
It’s remarkable in some ways that a team who had lost their past three games by a combined margin of 211 points was able to get past that and be competitive the next week. The Dees mental strength was rewarded as they went home with a 39-point upset win over the Bulldogs.
Port Adelaide on the other hand have really been struggling. Since losing unexpectedly to West Coast by 10 points in Round 6, they’ve gone from bad to worse, losing to Brisbane by 37 in Round 7, and most recently Richmond by 33 in Round 8.
They kicked just five goals last week – a major downfall for a team who scored the second most total points in the league last year.
So the question is, which team’s mental health is going to win out? The Dees will be bouncing with confidence, the Power feeling an absolute lack of it. Can the Dees maintain that confidence? Can Port get it back?
We’ll find out this afternoon at Traeger Park.
Prediction
Melbourne really pushed Port Adelaide in their games last year and this time around they have a mental edge I think. It’s something of an upset, but I’m going to tip Melbourne to get over the line.
Melbourne by 12 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 1.40pm Local, 2.10pm AEST.