A seven-goal to nothing final quarter has helped Melbourne stretch its winning streak to five with a blistering 75-point victory over an undisciplined Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night.
Hawthorn 9. 7. (61) def. by Melbourne 20. 16. (136)
Post Match:
• The win demonstrated we are maturing as a team.
• It was fantastic that our skipper David Neitz was able to kick 6 goals and break the late & great Norm Smith’s goal kicking record. It would make his Testimonial Dinner on Saturday night all that more enjoyable. He also contributed strongly in the 1%er areas with several strong contests and some great tackles. There is no doubting his importance to our team.
• Although the stats say that Hodge, Mitchell & Crawford had a bit of the ball it would be fair to say that their influence on the game was minimal. The jobs done by Brucey, James McDonald, Simon Godfrey & Clint Bartram to keep these guys under pressure was excellent as was the competitiveness of Jeff White & Mark Jamar in the ruck. Spider Everitt wasn’t able to dominate as he has in previous encounters. Nathan Carroll performed exceptionally well on Mark Williams which was also critical to the outcome of the game.
• Our ability to finish games strongly in 2006 has been a highlight. We have won 7 out of 8 final quarters which is a credit to the determination of our playing group and reflects positively on the work done by our Fitness Department – Glenn Turner , Brentan Parsons & Adam Paulo to prepare our players.
• Very pleased with the spirit and togetherness of our team at the moment. We play for each other and have become increasingly team orientated over the past 6 weeks. For the second week in a row we had 10 goal kickers and this shows just how much we share the load and don’t rely on individual players to get us across the line. Maintaining this approach is essential as we take on West Coast at Subiaco next Sunday.
Source : Neale Daniher
exclusive to melbournefc.com.au
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Melbourne Demons FC win thriller - AFL Blog
A James McDonald goal in 'red-time' during the final term has given Melbourne its second win of the season, a thrilling four-point victory over the Kangaroos at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
The Demons 13.12 (90) defeated the Roos 12.14 (86) to continue their recent good form over the 'Shinboners'. The last time the Kangaroos defeated Melbourne was round 15, 2003, while the Roos have now lost four in a row this season.
The opening term provided few clips for the archives. Just three goals were scored, while flooding and ineffective ball-use was prevalent. At one point every player was either inside the Kangaroos' forward 50 or just on the edge of their half-forward line.
Matthew Bate, making his debut, got the ball rolling when he nailed one on the run with his first kick in league football to put the Demons in front for the first time. And when Yze jagged his third, Melbourne was out to a 24-point lead at the 17-minute mark - the biggest margin of the match.Thompson was the lone goalscorer for the Roos in the second term, as they trailed by 20 points at the long break.
Yze's fourth - and Melbourne's first for the second half at the 18-minute mark - put the Demons back in front briefly but by the end of the term, the Kangaroos had six goals to two and a three-point advantage.
Although the Kangaroos looked set to take the honours on several occasions during the last term, the Demons piled on four goals to three to scrape home.
In a match that had 10 lead changes - including eight in the second half - Melbourne bounced back from a disappointing third quarter to pull off a gritty win.
MELBOURNE: 1.3, 7.5, 9.9, 13.12 (90)
KANGAROOS: 2.4, 3.9, 9.12, 12.14 (86)
GOALS – Melbourne: Yze 4, Davey 3, Wheatley, McDonald, Robertson, Green, Johnstone, Bate
BEST – Melbourne: Pickett, Yze, Davey, Green, Bruce, McDonald, Johnstone
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