Last weekend saw the Demons and Magpies progress to the AFL’s Preliminary Finals in two blockbuster matches at the MCG.
MLB 104 HAW 71
Demons supporters’ faith continues to grow as Melbourne put on a convincing display on Friday night. Far from their most polished performance of late, they did enough to account for the resurgent Hawks.
The match ebbed and flowed in the opening quarter. A late goal to Jack Gunston, his only for the game, saw the Hawks level the score at 19-19 but that was as close as the Hawks came.
Melbourne’s ability to win the contested ball and then be brave enough to move the ball on quickly to another contest proved too strong for Hawthorn, who preferred to play slow and chip the ball around at times.
Jack Viney was best on ground for the Dees pressing his claims for genuine A-grader status. He was in and under all night and stepped his way through traffic in pivotal moments in the match. He was backed up by the underrated Jake Melksham (2 goals), who stepped up with huge plays when the game was at a tipping point.
COLL 69 GWS 59
Saturday night saw the Magpies run away 10 point victors over GWS. Although at times this match wasn’t as captivating as the game from the night before, Collingwood will take the opportunity to take on last year’s premiers this week with both hands.
The Pies flew out of the blocks and were dominant in the opening quarter and arguably could’ve held a larger lead (22 points) than they took into the opening break.
Jordan De Goey was at times unstoppable in the Pies forward line. He nabbed a clever goal right on the halftime siren that gave his side a 7 point lead and ultimately sparked a huge melee.
GWS just couldn’t bridge the gap in the second half and seemed to lack the link up run that the injured Josh Kelly and Tom Scully may of usually supplied.
This weekend the Tigers take on Collingwood on Friday night and the Eagles host the Demons in Perth for Grand Final spots.
