Herald Sun

Bailey takes positive from Demons' draw with Sydney
By Bruce Matthews

AMID the jumbled what-if emotions of a draw, Melbourne coach Dean Bailey drew solace that 12 months ago his team probably wouldn't have been capable of fighting back to salvage anything. Bailey was satisfied his young team could claw back from a 25-point deficit deep in the third quarter to share the season's first premiership points with Sydney at the MCG yesterday. Even Sydney coach John Longmire conceded his boys "were smashed in contested footy", a trait that is the Swans' revered trademark.

Dees and Swans pile on the goals
By Bruce Matthews

WHAT a stark contrast to Friday night's lockdown at the MCG. Melbourne and the Swans had shared seven goals after only 20 minutes. The free-flowing, end-to-end attacking was the complete opposite of the dour contest two days earlier when Geelong and St Kilda scrounged a pitiful three goals between them in the first half. Melbourne dominated the second quarter with its run-and-carry tactics applying sustained pressure to Sydney's defence. But you had to wonder if the wasteful kicking would come back to haunt the Demons who posted 2.6 from the absolute control in that quarter.

Melbourne and Sydney play out first draw of season
By Todd Balym

FOR a moment Ryan O'Keefe thought he'd won Sydney the game. With 50 seconds left on the clock and the Swans trailing by one point O'Keefe snapped with his left foot and immediately felt like he'd kicked the match-winner. "Yeah it was coming around. It was almost there, it just shaved the outside of the post,'' said O'Keefe after Sydney's 84-all draw with Melbourne at the MCG.

Turning points
By Bruce Matthews

WHAT a stark contrast to Friday night's lockdown at the MCG. Melbourne and the Swans had shared seven goals after only 20 minutes. The free-flowing, end-to-end attacking was the complete opposite of the dour contest two days earlier when Geelong and St Kilda scrounged a pitiful three goals between them in the first half. Melbourne dominated the second quarter with its run-and-carry tactics applying sustained pressure to Sydney's defence. But you had to wonder if the wasteful kicking would come back to haunt the Demons who posted 2.6 from the absolute control in that quarter.

The Age

Fatigue wins as Demons and Swans fail to take chances
By Michael Gleeson

FATIGUE cost both teams in front of goal and killed their chances of claiming a win in a draw that left Melbourne and Sydney equal on points and percentage - and both with an argument to be in the eight. Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said the tiredness of players in the first round of the season was telling in the inaccuracy in front of goal yesterday, as Melbourne and Sydney kicked 11.18 each to draw a match that Sydney had led by 25 points midway through the third quarter. Bailey praised his side's doggedness in fighting their way back into the game but that was tempered by the fact that his side led the game with just 50 seconds to go, only for Ryan O'Keefe to snap a last-gasp point and level the scores.

Youngsters forced to lie: Stynes
By AAP

MELBOURNE president Jim Stynes says the AFL has caused players to lie to family and friends with their recruiting policies for the expansion clubs. Stynes said the league should never have allowed Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney to be able to sign players from existing clubs a year in advance of their inaugural AFL seasons. ''The way these two teams have got to build has just caused a lot of deception in the game,'' Stynes told a pre-match function at the MCG yesterday. ''To date, players were able to go about their business and if things weren't working out, then they were able to go to other clubs.

Demons, Swans hurting
By Martin Blake

IN THE end, no one was happy. Not Sydney, which let a four-goal lead slip from late in the third quarter, and kicked inaccurately. Not Melbourne, which also suffered for poor conversion, and could not hold on to the lead gained at the 23-minute mark of the last quarter when new skipper Brad Green hooked his right foot around a bouncing ball to put the Demons in front for the first time all day. They had to be content with two points and it hurt.

The Australian

Young Demons take more from draw than Sydney
By The Australian

THE 2010 AFL season was defined by a late-September draw and six months on, in late March, this year's version has opened with one. Melbourne and Sydney staggered to the line as one at the MCG yesterday, with their scores locked on 11.18 (84). As if often the way in such circumstances, one side was more rueful than the other. One upset not to have taken four points, the other grateful for two. Sydney, having led by 25 points in the third term, bore the longer faces.