Demons into heaven

Finals now all but certain for long-time strugglers

MELBOURNE all but locked down an AFL finals berth, but the exact make up of the top eight will go down to the wire.

The Demons had to work hard for their 13-point win over Brisbane at the MCG where Jesse Hogan was the hero with six goals in his first game back from a broken collarbone.

Simon Goodwin’s side are seventh, one win ahead of a chasing of Essendon, West Coast, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. All have 44 points and are still mathematical chances to play finals depending on Round 23 results.

The Demons would need a lot to go wrong for them to slip out of the eight, but coach Simon Goodwin wasn’t willing to look past his side’s clash against Collingwood when asked about the prospect of a first finals since 2006.

“We’ve still got work to do ... we’ve still got a job to do next week,” Goodwin said after the 16.8 (104) to 14.7 (91) win.

“I’ve said this from a long way out when these questions started ... it’s where you sit at the end of Round 23 and last time I checked we’ve still got a week to go.

“We’ve got a really big game next week, a really important game for the club against an opposition that’s playing some really good footy. “I think it’s exciting for our supporters the position that we’re in, but the job’s not done yet. We haven’t achieved anything just yet.”

On a sour note for the Demons, star midfielder Bernie Vince will come under scrutiny for a late hit on Dayne Beams.

Essendon’s chances of playing finals were boosted by their 12.18 (90) to 9.3 (57) win over Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium, while St Kilda trounced North Melbourne 18.19 (127) to 12.6 (78) to keep hopes of a finals send-off for retiring great Nick Riewoldt alive.

Hawthorn were the only side to be ruled out of the finals race after they lost to Carlton.

The Bulldogs’ premiership defence suffered a big blow when Port Adelaide prevailed 14.12 (96) to 11.13 (79) in the first AFL match in Ballarat.