Summary

MELBOURNE was unable to get its first win of 2019 on Friday night, falling to Essendon by 18 points.

It was a big opportunity for the Demons to get their season rolling, playing in front of 52,475 people under lights at the MCG, but the Bombers proved too strong in a free-flowing affair.

While the Dons were the better side for the majority of the night, Melbourne played some exciting footy at stages to give fans hope for weeks to come.

The numbers

DISPOSALS: Brayshaw 34, Oliver 29, Fritsch, Harmes, Viney 21, Jones, Salem 20

GOALS: Harmes, Hunt 3, Lockhart, Melksham, Weideman 2, Brayshaw, Kolodjashnij, Gawn, Neal-Bullen, Petracca, C. Wagner

The banner

In partnership with the Reach Foundation, the Demons took a stand against online bullying last week.

On Friday night, the Melbourne players broke through a banner covered in nasty Tweets directed at them throughout their careers.

A game of momentum

It was certainly a tale of four quarters.

Essendon was quick out of the blocks to pile on six goals in the first term, before the Demons responded with a brilliant display in the second to find themselves ahead at half-time.

While it appeared as though the Dees had all the momentum at the main break, the Bombers blitzed with seven goals in the third quarter to re-gain the ascendancy and take a 21-point lead into the final change.

Melbourne was unable to pinch the momentum back in the last term as the two sides went goal for goal, allowing the Dons to run away with the four points.

Family day

It was a big night for the Wagner family on Friday, with brothers Corey and Josh playing alongside each other at AFL level for the first time.

The pair performed well, with J.Wagner gathering 16 disposals in his first senior game since Round 5 last year, and C.Wagner collecting the ball on 12 occasions in his 10th AFL outing.

Although the result didn’t go the way of the Dees, the brothers had a nice moment celebrating together as C.Wagner goaled in the second term.

A glimpse

In a seven-goal second quarter, Melbourne showed a glimpse of its best footy.

The Demons booted six consecutive majors on an exciting run, playing with pace and freedom to take a seven-point lead into half-time.

Defensive breakdown

Melbourne proved too easy to score against once again in Round 3, conceding 20 scoring shots from the Bombers’ 53 inside 50s.

While Shaun McKernan, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Jake Stringer all proved a handful for the Demon defenders with four goals each, it was the team defence that let the red and blue down.

The Dees will have a major focus on running defensively this week in a bid to restrict Sydney’s scoring on Thursday night.

The standouts

Angus Brayshaw’s work rate in the centre couldn’t be faulted, racking up 34 disposals and booting a goal on Friday night, while up forward it was Jayden Hunt who impressed.

The versatile Demon slotted three majors from 16 disposals as he proved his value in attack.

Injury update

The Demons continue to face some problems in the injury department, with spearhead Tom McDonald suffering an ankle injury in the first half.

McDonald returned to the field to play out the game, but he wasn’t moving freely and appears to be in some doubt for Round 4.

A word from Goody

“It was another disappointing night – I can’t sugar coat it,” Simon Goodwin told Melbourne Media post-game.

“For two weeks in a row we’ve been really easy to score against and there’s frustration from our end. We need to be better because it’s not acceptable how we’re playing right now.

“If we can get our boys defending, that’ll allow us to hang in games longer and fight out some tough situations, and then our results will start to turn.”

Looking ahead

Round 4 v Sydney @ SCG – Thursday, 11 April, 7:20pm AEDT

Melbourne has just a six-day break this week, coming up against the Swans on Thursday night.

The quick turnaround is a good result for the club as the boys will be hungry to get back on the field, with an opportunity to kickstart their season at the SCG.