THE occasion

The sight of the Creswick Light Horse Troop carrying a torch – lit by the eternal flame at the Shrine of Remembrance – around the MCG, followed by the great Ron Barassi lighting a flame in a darkened MCG, before the match was nothing short of spectacular. Barassi’s lit flame in the cauldron remained throughout the match. It was a moving tribute on Anzac Day eve, particularly given Barassi’s link, as his father Ron Snr died at Tobruk in 1941 during World War II. The Melbourne and Richmond players running through a joint banner was also a show of solidarity for the occasion. Top marks to all!

Two at the ’G

Two from two at the MCG to start the season hasn’t been achieved since 2005, so it was another tick for the Paul Roos’ team. 

Kent sets the tone

Dean Kent unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury early in the game, which will probably force him out for several weeks. But his effort early on was not lost on coach Paul Roos. “It’s sad because I thought he really turned the game for us. We were struggling a little bit early and he was the one out of all of our players who was hunting and chasing and tackling. When he did it, it was one versus three [opponents] and he embraced it out there. It’s just disappointing because of the effort he put in [that he got injured], but he’s a young player and he’ll bounce back. I just love what he did before he came off the ground.”

How good is Hogan?

We all know how good Jesse Hogan was on Friday night – and how impressive he has been so far this year – but even his teammates are still in awe of his game, as Bernie Vince explained. “He was pretty exciting wasn’t he? He was great at the contest and even in the wet he was able to compete in the air for us. If he wasn’t clunking them – which he was a lot of the time – he was bringing them to ground for Jeffy Garlett, Jay Kennedy-Harris and those guys. Most importantly, he was going back and kicking goals, so he’s going to be pretty exciting.”

Ace Aaron 

Take a bow Jason Taylor and your recruiting team. Yes, it’s still early days, but what Aaron vandenBerg has achieved in just four matches – after joining the club from Ainslie as a rookie late last year – has been nothing short of outstanding. Having overcome a shoulder reconstruction to make his AFL debut, vandenBerg played his best match yet. His tackling was fierce and damaging. He laid 13 and had 21 touches for the night. He’s a determined and fine young man and has quickly become a favourite among the Demon fraternity.

Michie’s moment

Persistence is certainly a trait Viv Michie has had to embrace in recent times and on Friday night he made the most of every opportunity. After starting as sub, Michie came on and replaced the injured Dean Kent (hamstring) in the first half, and ended up being one of Melbourne’s best players. He finished with 19 disposals and quickly showed his worth with his ball-winning ability and smart play. The ex-Freo player had been an emergency for rounds two and three and after shining for Casey in the VFL, he gained a call-up for the injured Sam Frost. It was a most encouraging performance.

Tom for All-Australian?

McDonald continued his outstanding start to the season. Surely, he is the early leader in this year’s Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy? He again played a key role in Melbourne’s win and showed he was one of the leading defenders in the competition so far this year. Could his nickname be TAA (Tommy All-Australian) – after all, he is flying!

Brayshaw kicks his first AFL goal

Angus Brayshaw’s first AFL goal wasn’t just a moment he’ll never forget. It gave him some bragging rights with his skipper Nathan Jones, as the duo have a goalkicking competition after each training session. But perhaps the captain can take some of the credit for Brayshaw’s first goal, as the first-year Demon takes up the story. “He ran past me and said ‘Angus, you better kick this goal, because you’ve been doing so much practice’. I put the crowd out of my head, just went back and backed my ability, and practiced my technique and routine, and then kicked a goal – and everyone got around me, which was pretty cool.”

The quote …

“With two [players] down in the second half, it made it really hard. But to come out with a five goal win against a finals team from last year was a very good effort.” – Coach Paul Roos

And now for Freo, Syd and Haw

The coach was naturally pleased with the result, but was also realistic about the next three weeks, when the Demons take on Fremantle, Sydney Swans and Hawthorn in successive weeks – all at the MCG. Roos said: “Apart from a bad second half against the Giants, we’ve had some consistent football and that was the theme going into the season – not to have those big drop offs like we had last year. We’ve been able to do that in three of the four games, but we haven’t done it 100 per cent of the time. We’ve got a tough patch of footy coming up and we’ve got Freo next week and I’ve we’ve got Sydney and Hawthorn after that. But I’m just pleased we’re getting reward for effort and to be two [wins], two [losses] after four games is a reasonable result.” Although rounds five to seven won’t be an easy feat in anyone’s language, the fact that Melbourne will enter this tough period brimming with confidence after the performance against Richmond can only help. It will be a great test and one the club won’t shy away from … watch this space!