Playing his first AFL match, Dean Kent showed all the energy and enthusiasm you’d expect from a debutant. He might’ve had just three touches, but he took the game on and showed plenty to like about his game. Kent kicked a ripping goal at the 25 minute mark of the third quarter, and relished the moment. It was a moment the youngster will never forget. “It was unreal just playing AFL footy,” Kent said. “You’re walking around and now you’re an AFL player and like a lot of young boys out there, dreaming of playing AFL footy, I’ve done it and it’s a massive honour and I’ll never forget it.” Kent’s mature age teammate, Matt Jones - also a first year Demon - said the young Western Australian showed plenty of zest first up. “I thought he was good. He came on and made an impact,” Jones said. “Kenty has been great in the twos, but before the game, I just chatted to him and told him ‘go out and enjoy yourself and play the way you’ve been playing in the twos’.”
Mature-age Matt making his mark
The 25 year-old is fast becoming one of Melbourne’s brightest spots from an otherwise tough start to the season. Jones collected a career best 27 disposals against Carlton and had a standout second half, as he explained. “I was pretty happy personally with my game. I actually started off pretty quiet in the first half. I only had seven touches, but I ended up getting 27, so I had 20 in the second half, which was good. I’m not sure why I had seven touches in the first half, but I think I went harder and ran harder at the ball.”
Lynden Dunn good on Chris Judd
After amassing 35 touches for Casey in the VFL last round, Dunn returned for his second match of the season, having missed rounds two to four with a hamstring injury. And he made an impact, helping to quiet the impact of superstar Chris Judd, who collected 13 disposals – the same as Dunn. It was a performance not lost on coach Mark Neeld, who praised Dunn and the help from Dean Terlich. “We spoke about that during the week and I thought those boys stuck to their task really well,” Neeld said. “The other thing that we were pleased with … they didn’t feel that they were on their own with those jobs, they felt they got some help from their teammates, so that was a little focus as well. We didn’t want Dean and Lynden going out there playing on their own.” Midfielder Matt Jones also spoke highly of Dunn’s game. “Judd only had 13 touches, and Dunny was great,” Jones said. “He stuck to his task all day long, and kicked a goal himself.”
Grimes a big loss
When Jack Grimes went down early in the first quarter clutching his shoulder, the initial grim thoughts were later realised when he had broken his collarbone, which ended his day and will subsequently rule him out for up to two months. Coach Mark Neeld said it was a tough blow. “When you lose a midfielder, that always throws you around a little bit,” Neeld said. “That’s disappointing for Jack, but that’s football. He has a broken collarbone and he’s going to spend somewhere between six to eight weeks getting that better. He’s had a couple of injuries, Jack, but that’s part of the game and he’s a courageous young fella, Jack. He puts his head over it and his nose over it and these things happen.”
Experience plays its part again
The difference in experience was clear between Melbourne and Carlton, when you consider the Demons had their youngest side in for the season. Melbourne went from 1500 games experience against the Brisbane Lions last round to having 1109 against Carlton. The Blues had 1056 more games experience than the Demons with 2165 games in round six.
