Demons fans can dare to dream
MELBOURNE fans can dare to dream after the Demons demolished Brisbane by 33 points at the Adelaide Oval to book their spot in a preliminary final. The first quarter was an arm-wrestle between the two top-four sides and it the game looked set to turn into a finals classic.
But a dominant second term, led by gun midfielder Clayton Oliver, cracked the game open and Melbourne was never seriously challenged from there, running out with a 13.15 (93) to 9.6 (60) victory.
Despite being a favourite for the Brownlow medal, Oliver has been criticised in the past for being wayward with his kicking, but he silenced those doubters with some sublime delivery inside 50 on to the chest of his Melbourne teammates.
Small forward Charlie Cameron played a lone hand for Brisbane, kicking five goals, but he was one of very few Lions players to have an influence on the game.
Lachie Neale accumulated a mammoth 46 disposals but he had very little impact for Brisbane.
Melbourne led by 30 points at halftime before the Lions staged a mini-comeback in the third term, thanks to goals from Cameron and Hugh McCluggage.
But the Demons were always in control of the game and had strong contributors across the board, including Bayley Fritsch who kicked four goals.
Such was the dominance of Melbourne’s victory, it was able to rest its gun players Oliver, Christian Petracca, Steven May and Max Gawn on the bench in the dying minutes of the last quarter.
Experienced players Nathan Jones, Michael Hibberd and Jake Melksham couldn’t force their way into Melbourne’s line-up, which was praised for its depth.