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As a long-suffering Demons fan, I have grown accustomed to reading articles around this time of year about potential upcoming draft picks and trying to find a bargain bet to throw my hard earned money on to make some a run at an unlikely premiership – thanks for nothing, GWS.
This year though, it feels a bit different. Melbourne are in the top eight at the moment, however a loss at any stage may see their season be flipped on its head. I have heard the critics’ comments about how Melbourne are yet to beat a team inside the top eight – which I’ll admit isn’t ideal as we enter the home stretch of the season – however, they have taken almost every other team to the absolute cleaners.
As a result, Melbourne own a very healthy percentage of 127.3% and are one game behind third place. What a time to be alive for a Dees fan.
The Geelong dee-bacle aside, the Demons are building really nicely as September looms.
A lot had to go wrong for Melbourne to lose that game against the Cats. Tom Hawkins should be locked up for what he did to poor Oscar McDonald, the umpires decided that Patrick Dangerfield and Gary Ablett were protected species and of course Christian Petracca kicking an almighty barrel with less than a minute to go indirectly led to the Cats regaining possession of the ball and transitioning the ball from one end of the ground to the other in approximately 37 seconds.
All of this lead to an Xbox controller being hurled at a wall – something which I instantly regretted I might add, as they don’t make them like they used to.
My reason for seeing light at the end of the tunnel for Melbourne this year is quite simple. Making the finals is step one. This is easier said than done for the Demons I’ll admit, it has only been 12 years in a competition where almost half of the teams make finals since the Demons last played in September.
Step two is where this plan becomes more complex; yes, Melbourne are yet to beat a top eight side, but I believe they have the pieces to really make some noise come September if they can get them all firing at once.
On any given day Melbourne has the potential to have the best player on the ground in numerous positions. Take Max Gawn for example, he has changed the game in terms of the impact a ruckman can have. A prime example comes from his absence due to the blood rule in the final 1:30 of the Geelong game, or his overall dominance of the third quarter against Adelaide in Round 19 as he lead Melbourne to a 31 point lead.
He is a realistic chance to win the Brownlow medal this year and has rarely been beaten this season.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Clayton Oliver is another example as teams are unable to stop him at the moment and his fast and clean hands are leading to the other Melbourne midfielders like Angus Brayshaw and Nathan Jones to dominate the clearances. All this with the possibility of Jack Viney returning has me salivating at what is possible.
Melbourne are the third ranked side in the competition for clearances and unsurprisingly this allows them to led the league in inside fifties. These two stats are the hallmark of a successful team.
If Melbourne could tighten their delivery inside fifty and lower their eyes to hit targets such as Tom McDonald – who is arguably in the top five forwards in the competition since returning from injury in round 6 – and Jesse Hogan who has been down on fitness and form for a few weeks now, then Melbourne shape as a high scoring side who when the ball enters their end of the ground very few teams are able to transition it out quickly and effectively.
Which brings me to my final point, and step three of my puzzle. Christian Petracca. He has all the tools to break out at some point soon and really stamp his arrival as a superstar type of player. Petracca makes some silly mistakes – mostly due to his outrageous skill level which gives him an over confident approach – however he has shown flashes of dominance and strength which are not dissimilar to a young Dustin Martin or a young Patrick Dangerfield.
He is able to explode from packs, maintain his feet and has the ability to kick the ball into next week. Petracca is the piece of the Melbourne puzzle which may separate them from just making up the numbers to really making some noise in September.
My opinions as you can see are completely biased and one-eyed, however, I truly believe that the Demons have what it takes to make a deep run into September. Having said that, please for the love of God – before sending out information about how to book finals tickets, just make the finals.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
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