THIS round was always going to be the test.
On the back of playing Fremantle, Sydney Swans and Hawthorn – the three teams to make up the past three Grand Finals from 2012-14 – Melbourne was up against a side that had exceeded all expectations, at least from the outside, and was eighth on the ladder entering round eight: the Western Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs – having previously been led by Melbourne development and strategy coach Brendan McCartney from 2012-14, and now former Demon, Dog and Saint Luke Beveridge – had won four of their first five matches this season.
It was an outstanding start by any measurement. But after two close losses to St Kilda and Fremantle, it made for a fascinating contest against Melbourne, which had come off a difficult three weeks, at an average losing margin of 70.3 points.
But judging on recent experiences, it was always going to be a close encounter, given the past five matches between the Demons and Dogs from 2012-14 had been decided by an average of 13.2 points. Melbourne had won just one of those five contests, but it was always in the game.
What transpired on Sunday was the culmination of a perfect weekend for Melbourne and helped ease the bitter feeling experienced the previous week: a 105-point loss to Hawthorn.
Not only did Melbourne achieve wins via its VFL and Development teams on Saturday, its women’s team held off the Bulldogs by eight points in the curtain-raiser.
Melbourne then withstood a Bulldogs fight back in the second half – and a Liam Picken goal at the start of the final term to reduce the margin back to seven points – to boot the last five goals of the match. In the wash-up, the Demons notched up their third win of the season and a 39-point win.
It was the “complete team performance against a similar young team” according to coach Paul Roos.
“I thought it was a terrific contest and as I said to players, it wasn't as if we fell over the line. We played well and they played pretty well also. It was good, particularly after a tough three weeks,” he said.
“Collectively, it was hard to find a bad player for us.
“We changed the week a lot, pretty dramatically, but that’s not unusual for clubs. Even the top clubs do it at times, because the grind of the season and how hard the games are.”
Roos said Saturday night’s epic battle between the Hawks and the Swans at the MCG – which Sydney won by four points – was the reinforcement needed to show that those two teams were at a level above most in the competition.
“It was a really hard three weeks, playing the best three teams in the comp and we saw when Sydney play Hawthorn, it’s a different game – when the best teams get together and play each other, it’s a great game to watch,” he said.
“We know we're not at that level.
“So to keep the guys up, the whole club did a terrific job.”
Mature-age rookie Aaron vandenBerg, who collected a personal-best 29 disposals, said the past three weeks weren’t a true reflection of where the club was at.
“This week we just wanted to get back to basics and [we wanted to] forget about the last three weeks and that it had happened,” he told Dee TV.
“We got away from the club a little bit and just got together as a group and tried to identify what makes us play well and how well we play.
“Thankfully that happened on the pitch.”
For youngster Angus Brayshaw, the win capped off a big week and a tough three rounds.
“It’s been a huge week. We had Neale Daniher come in during the week and speak to us about MND (Motor neurone disease), the disease he’s got and he really encouraged us … to have a crack,” he told Dee TV.
“He’s such a big fan of us as a club and he’s coached before, so he wants to see us do well, so it’s good to get a win tonight. The last three weeks, we’ve played some really good teams and that’s where we want to be.”
“We want to be like the Hawks, Freo and Sydney. We’re not quite there at the moment, but tonight we showed that we’re improving and we’re on the right path and when we play our brand of footy, we can win games.”
