A flattering margin

ALTHOUGH Melbourne fell by just 17 points on Saturday afternoon, it was never really in the contest at the MCG.

The Demons were up for the fight early, but eventually outclassed by a powerful Collingwood midfield to fall behind the game.

The Pies used their run and carry to open up the forward half of the ground, racking up a massive 40 more uncontested possessions inside their attacking 50 than the Dees.

The numbers

DISPOSALS: Oliver 29, Brayshaw, Harmes 26, Salem 25, Jones, Kennedy Harris, Petracca 20

GOALS: Brayshaw, Fritsch, Gawn, Hunt, Petracca, O.McDonald, Petty

Kick with the greats

Retro Rival Round kicked off at Gosch’s Paddock on Saturday morning, where 12 ex-Demon greats had a run with some fans.

While the weather wasn’t kind, the event was a big success, as some old tales were shared, and some skills were displayed in the wet.

The Wiz v The Marvel

The fun continued on the MCG, as two former stars displayed some magic.

Jeff Farmer was up against Peter Daicos, and the duo had plenty of fun as they entertained the crowd in the lead up to the game.

Simmons dons the red and blue

Ben Simmons strolled into the Melbourne rooms pre-game, receiving his own red and blue guernsey from high school friend Christian Petracca.

He then had the chance to take to the centre of the MCG and toss the coin, while wearing the Dees colours.

The first and fourth

For two quarters of the Round 21 clash, the Demons were the better side.

Leading by five points at the first break, Melbourne was on top early, keeping the Pies goalless through the opening quarter.

The Demons also came home strong, winning the final term by 19 points, but it was too late to mount any serious comeback as the damage had already been done.

The second and third

After Angus Brayshaw kicked the first of the second term, it was all Collingwood.

The Pies booted the next five goals of the game to take an 18-point lead into the main break.

Their dominance continued after half-time with 42 more disposals in the third term, denying the Demons any chance to get back into the contest.

Oscar’s milestone

In his 74th game of AFL footy, Oscar McDonald finally nailed his first goal.

The 23-year-old has spent his entire career in defence, but on Saturday afternoon, was tasked with playing at the opposite end of the ground and hit the scoreboard for the first time.

May gone again

In Steven May’s first game back from a hamstring strain, and just his eighth game of an interrupted season, he succumbed to injury once again.

The 27-year-old hurt his hamstring in the final term and is looking likely to miss the remaining two game of 2019.

A word from Goody

“The middle part of the game didn’t look the way we wanted it to,” Simon Goodwin told Melbourne Media post-game.

“We are trying to implement some things in our game that hopefully you saw in the first and last quarter.

“We are just trying to tighten up how we play, how we attack and how we defend, and bring them closer together.”

Looking ahead

Round 22 v Sydney @ MCG – Friday, 16 August, 7:50pm AEST

Coming off a six-day break, the Demons will play their final home game of the 2019 season against Sydney on Friday night.

In a round where the club thanks members for their support, Melbourne will be looking to secure the four points over the Swans for the second time this year.