MELBOURNE has recovered from a slow start to record its first victory for the season with an 11-point win over the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Sunday.
The Demons won 12.10 (82) to 11.5 (71) in a match played in both brilliant sunshine and driving rain, with Liam Jurrah booting five decisive goals.
Club president Jim Stynes said before the game the Demons simply couldn't afford to lose, and after a sloppy first quarter, they rediscovered their passion.
The Lions had opened up a 25-point lead by quarter-time after placing the Demons' backline under fire with multiple targets and two goals from Luke Power.
The visitors heavily out-tackled the Demons, which made it hard for them to score even though they ventured inside 50 two more times.
In the second, the Demons looked more functional up forward and managed five goals to the Lions' two, with Jurrah getting away from Joel Patfull to kick three.
Their determination also rose dramatically with a huge swing in the tackle count. In the second term alone, the Demons laid 27 to nine tackles; a vast improvement from the first where they trailed 19 to six.
Their reward was a half time deficit of six points, and it took less than a minute for them to break even in the third when Jurrah booted his fifth.
The quarter disintegrated into a hard slog with rain slowing up play for the first 20 minutes, which prompted both sides to deploy their substitutes late in the term.
The Lions got two goals on the board in the opening six minutes but there was long periods where majors went missing before Jack Grimes broke the deadlock at the 12-minute mark.
Colin Sylvia, Jamie Bennell and Lynden Dunn rounded out the term with more straight shooting, which saw the Demons take a 16-point lead into the final stanza.
In a low-scoring final term, Power's fourth came early before Tom Rockliff goaled with just over two minutes remaining, but the Demons' defence - led by Jared Rivers - withstood the late charge before Jurrah nailed the sealer.
Influential players
Jurrah had a huge impact in the second on the scoreboard while it was Brent Moloney, Colin Sylvia and Jordan Gysberts who got the Demons going in the middle. For the game, Mark Jamar was very influential with 34 hit-outs and 11 clearances while Rivers recovered from a bad game last week to general the defence.
What it means
It means the Demons are a bit mentally stronger than they were made out to be last week, but can still only apply that toughness in patches. They had to chase the Lions after letting them break away early on, which prompted coach Dean Bailey to criticise their inability to play out a full game.
Dream Team highlight
Melbourne: If you put the captaincy hat on Moloney this week, congratulations. The midfielder scored an unbeaten 138, with Jamar the next best with 106. Gysberts was handy in his first game for the season with 103 while Jurrah's bag of goals got him to 100.
Key match-ups
Andrew Raines was reinvented over the summer as a run-with player and played his role to aplomb against the Demons. He gave Aaron Davey very little room - even following him to the bench throughout the afternoon - and kept him goalless.
Turning point
A three-minute period in the second term where the Demons snagged three goals - the first through Gysberts and the second two through Jurrah - turned the flow of the game and got them within five points. Shortly before that, Jamar stamped his authority on the contest by taking a huge pack mark in attack. It didn't result in a goal, but it certainly got the home crowd involved.
Next four: The fixture ahead
Melbourne: Gold Coast (Gabba), Bye, West Coast (Patersons Stadium), Adelaide (MCG)
What the coach said
Dean Bailey
"I found the first quarter wasn't good enough. I found the second and third quarter the players worked harder and got themselves out of a hole they dug in the first quarter.
"We kicked the first goal [but] we didn't press up on them quick enough, we allowed them to get uncontested mark chains, we didn't put enough pressure on them and hence they scored.
"It gets down to the intensity that you bring for 120 minutes, and we haven't played a 120-minute game yet."
Melbourne 1.1 6.3 11.7 12.10 (82)
Brisbane Lions 5.2 7.3 9.3 11.5 (71)
GOALS
Melbourne: Jurrah 5, Wonaeamirri, Gysberts, Grimes, Sylvia, Bennell, Dunn, Moloney
Brisbane Lions: Power 4, Banfield 2, Polkinghorne, Leuenberger, Redden, Clark, Rockliff
BEST
Melbourne: Jamar, Jurrah, Moloney, Gysberts, Sylvia, Jones, Frawley
Brisbane Lions: Clark, Power, Adcock, Banfield, Black, Raines, Polec
INJURIES
Melbourne: nil
Brisbane Lions: Clark (dislocated finger)
Reports: nil
Umpires: Schmitt, Chamberlain, Keating
Official crowd: 24, 380 at MCG
