No skiing for Demons: Round 8 review (Sat arvo)

Melbourne ran the Bulldogs close at the G while Geelong got bored after quarter time with the Roos.

First, the Geelong game. I say it was the Geelong game because North barely turned up. Admittedly they had half their first choice side out injured to begin with, and Geelong had a bit of a point to prove given the Roos’ effort at Kardinia Park late last season. Apart from Darren Milburn‘s injury, owners of Cat players were largely rewarded with the sort of ridiculous scoring we have come to expect, apart from Corey Enright who took until Q4 junk time to post a respectable score. Jimmy Bartel showed us why he’s an automatic choice for captain on overcast days at Geelong. Steve Johnson didn’t actually kick a goal but racked up a huge amount of inside 50s and goal assists.

On the Kangaroo side Hamish McIntosh accumulated another solid score, while Drew Petrie toiled hard… and that was about it. Ben Warren managed the regulation 50-odd that you hope for from a rookie.

The match at the MCG was much more interesting. Melbourne got the jump in swirly conditions and led at quarter time, with Robert Murphy already injured for the day and probably the next three weeks with a hamstring tear. Where last week it was Adam Cooney who lifted the team agaisnt Adelaide, this week it was a combination of players who stepped their game up: Jason Akermanis in the second quarter, Daniel Giansiracusa in the third quarter and Matthew Boyd in the last. Cooney himself was not nearly as influential with Bartram laying a reasonably effective tag on him, with the Coondog not able to get free nearly as much as the Crows allowed him to.

Much hype has surrounded Bryce Gibbs this year for fantasy but Cale Morton has been far more consistent, raising his average from mid-70s to 100+ in his second season. His role is insanely outside, but with no Paul Wheatley this year Morton has stepped into the breah very nicely. His kick to handball ratio in particular is excellent for fantasy purposes. One might point out that his game might not be all that great for Melbourne as a footy club so he may face accusations in future of the sort that Joel Bowden regularly cops, but there’s no denying he’s a fantasy gun.

Kyle Cheney owners, myself included, could only watch this game in despair and swear at the TV hoping that Dean Bailey could hear us. Why wasn’t he played when we really needed him? His disposal was much better today along with Jack Grimes, giving Bailey a dilemma next week if James Frawley and Jared Rivers are fit again. Those thinking of buying Grimes as he comes on the bubble this week would do well to take very close notice of both the official announcements and club boards this week to gauge exactly how the back six is going to be structured for the rest of the season at the Demons.