Need a fast start? Not any more. Is this proof early form is 'so last decade'?

The Advertiser

28-05-2025

Once, there was a time in AFL football when getting off to a good start in a season was critical. But lately, that's seemed "so last decade", as a footy fashionista might put it.
Brisbane won last year's premiership after having lost five of its first seven games of the season. Hawthorn lost its first five games and ended up within a kick of a preliminary final.
Two years ago, Carlton, GWS and Sydney were all in the bottom four in the back half of the season yet made finals, the Blues and Giants finishing agonisingly short of grand final berths.
Is 2025 about to turn up another "tortoise and the hare" story? If so, its name is Melbourne, and it's an outfit not unfamiliar with the pointy end of the season should it make up all that lost ground. And of that there was plenty.
The Demons' start to this season could hardly have been worse, like Hawthorn last year having slumped to 0-5 after a particularly lacklustre 39-point loss to Essendon in Adelaide during Gather Round.
Indeed, Melbourne hadn't even come close once it lost a nail-biting first game against the Giants by just three points. The Dees were smashed by North Melbourne then Gold Coast, both by around 10 goals, then went down to Geelong and the Bombers comfortably.
Even Melbourne's resurgence was hardly dramatic. The Demons scraped over the line at home against the perennially-disappointing-away side Fremantle, then beat bottom-of-the-ladder fancies Richmond and West Coast.
Almost perversely, however, a more significant turning point might well have been the Dees' only defeat in the past six games, the round nine loss to Hawthorn. While the margin in the end was 35 points, Melbourne dominated many of the key stats for much of the day.
Significantly, coach Simon Goodwin's moves started to work. Clayton Oliver, normally a ball magnet, was instead sent to tag key Hawk Jai Newcombe, and did so to great effect.
Star youngster Harvey Langford rose to another level with three goals, Kosi Pickett looked a lot more dangerous up forward and Daniel Turner's new defensive role started to pay off.
Pickett's importance to Melbourne can't be overstated. In a team which has consistently racked up forward 50 entries over the last few seasons without making nearly enough of them, Pickett's defensive pressure helps lock the ball in the scoring zone giving the Dees repeated chances to score rather than the ball pinging out as quickly as it arrived.
His nine tackles in that Hawthorn game were almost as many as he'd laid in the previous five games he'd played, and he's added another seven over the past two weeks. Not to mention seven goals.
The other pieces of that forward puzzle are Bayley Fritsch, for whom the win over Sydney might have been a real turning point in what has been a wretched season, and Jake Melksham, whose smarts and goalkicking capabilities were so crucial to Melbourne in late 2023, the loss of them after a serious knee injury quite possibly costing the Demons a premiership.
Melksham, a beautiful reader of play, marshals the other Melbourne forwards brilliantly and creates goals out of seemingly not much. And those talents have netted him seven goals in the defeats of the Lions and Swans, he and Pickett collectively kicking 14.
Melbourne's midfield and on-ball brigade have also lifted their goal output, Melbourne with 10 individual goalkickers in the last two weeks.
MORE AFL NEWS
That fortnight has seen Melbourne dispense with both of last year's grand finalists, a superb 11-point win over Brisbane at the Gabba, and a dismantling of a depleted Sydney by 53 points last Sunday at the MCG.
Suddenly, the Dees are scoring again. In the first five games, only once had they scored more than even 70 points, second-last in the league for scoring. Since then, they've topped 100 points three times, and kicked 99 points against the Lions.
And all that has changed the outlook dramatically. Melbourne has its bye in Round 15, before which it plays St Kilda in Alice Springs, Collingwood in the King's Birthday blockbuster and Port Adelaide away. Two wins from those three games is eminently achievable.
Which would leave the Demons 7-7 with nine games remaining, needing probably another six wins to grasp what only a little bit over a month ago looked not just an unlikely but as good as impossible finals spot.
And the advantage Melbourne would have over other finals aspirants like Gold Coast, Adelaide and Hawthorn were it to get there is plenty of finals experience.
It's not just about stars the calibre of Christian Petracca, skipper Max Gawn, Pickett and Steven May for the Demons. They also have the fourth-oldest and sixth-most seasoned playing group in the AFL.
And four years after the event, there's still 16 players remaining on Melbourne's books who played in that glorious 2021 premiership. That could be an invaluable edge.
Now all Melbourne has to do is actually get there. Its shocking start to 2025 has upped the difficulty factor considerably. But so ominous have the Dees looked the last few weeks that there's more than a few rivals who'll be praying they can't make up that lost ground.
Once, there was a time in AFL football when getting off to a good start in a season was critical. But lately, that's seemed "so last decade", as a footy fashionista might put it.
Brisbane won last year's premiership after having lost five of its first seven games of the season. Hawthorn lost its first five games and ended up within a kick of a preliminary final.
Two years ago, Carlton, GWS and Sydney were all in the bottom four in the back half of the season yet made finals, the Blues and Giants finishing agonisingly short of grand final berths.
Is 2025 about to turn up another "tortoise and the hare" story? If so, its name is Melbourne, and it's an outfit not unfamiliar with the pointy end of the season should it make up all that lost ground. And of that there was plenty.
The Demons' start to this season could hardly have been worse, like Hawthorn last year having slumped to 0-5 after a particularly lacklustre 39-point loss to Essendon in Adelaide during Gather Round.
Indeed, Melbourne hadn't even come close once it lost a nail-biting first game against the Giants by just three points. The Dees were smashed by North Melbourne then Gold Coast, both by around 10 goals, then went down to Geelong and the Bombers comfortably.
Even Melbourne's resurgence was hardly dramatic. The Demons scraped over the line at home against the perennially-disappointing-away side Fremantle, then beat bottom-of-the-ladder fancies Richmond and West Coast.
Almost perversely, however, a more significant turning point might well have been the Dees' only defeat in the past six games, the round nine loss to Hawthorn. While the margin in the end was 35 points, Melbourne dominated many of the key stats for much of the day.
Significantly, coach Simon Goodwin's moves started to work. Clayton Oliver, normally a ball magnet, was instead sent to tag key Hawk Jai Newcombe, and did so to great effect.
Star youngster Harvey Langford rose to another level with three goals, Kosi Pickett looked a lot more dangerous up forward and Daniel Turner's new defensive role started to pay off.
Pickett's importance to Melbourne can't be overstated. In a team which has consistently racked up forward 50 entries over the last few seasons without making nearly enough of them, Pickett's defensive pressure helps lock the ball in the scoring zone giving the Dees repeated chances to score rather than the ball pinging out as quickly as it arrived.
His nine tackles in that Hawthorn game were almost as many as he'd laid in the previous five games he'd played, and he's added another seven over the past two weeks. Not to mention seven goals.
The other pieces of that forward puzzle are Bayley Fritsch, for whom the win over Sydney might have been a real turning point in what has been a wretched season, and Jake Melksham, whose smarts and goalkicking capabilities were so crucial to Melbourne in late 2023, the loss of them after a serious knee injury quite possibly costing the Demons a premiership.
Melksham, a beautiful reader of play, marshals the other Melbourne forwards brilliantly and creates goals out of seemingly not much. And those talents have netted him seven goals in the defeats of the Lions and Swans, he and Pickett collectively kicking 14.
Melbourne's midfield and on-ball brigade have also lifted their goal output, Melbourne with 10 individual goalkickers in the last two weeks.
MORE AFL NEWS
That fortnight has seen Melbourne dispense with both of last year's grand finalists, a superb 11-point win over Brisbane at the Gabba, and a dismantling of a depleted Sydney by 53 points last Sunday at the MCG.
Suddenly, the Dees are scoring again. In the first five games, only once had they scored more than even 70 points, second-last in the league for scoring. Since then, they've topped 100 points three times, and kicked 99 points against the Lions.
And all that has changed the outlook dramatically. Melbourne has its bye in Round 15, before which it plays St Kilda in Alice Springs, Collingwood in the King's Birthday blockbuster and Port Adelaide away. Two wins from those three games is eminently achievable.
Which would leave the Demons 7-7 with nine games remaining, needing probably another six wins to grasp what only a little bit over a month ago looked not just an unlikely but as good as impossible finals spot.
And the advantage Melbourne would have over other finals aspirants like Gold Coast, Adelaide and Hawthorn were it to get there is plenty of finals experience.
It's not just about stars the calibre of Christian Petracca, skipper Max Gawn, Pickett and Steven May for the Demons. They also have the fourth-oldest and sixth-most seasoned playing group in the AFL.
And four years after the event, there's still 16 players remaining on Melbourne's books who played in that glorious 2021 premiership. That could be an invaluable edge.
Now all Melbourne has to do is actually get there. Its shocking start to 2025 has upped the difficulty factor considerably. But so ominous have the Dees looked the last few weeks that there's more than a few rivals who'll be praying they can't make up that lost ground.
Once, there was a time in AFL football when getting off to a good start in a season was critical. But lately, that's seemed "so last decade", as a footy fashionista might put it.
Brisbane won last year's premiership after having lost five of its first seven games of the season. Hawthorn lost its first five games and ended up within a kick of a preliminary final.
Two years ago, Carlton, GWS and Sydney were all in the bottom four in the back half of the season yet made finals, the Blues and Giants finishing agonisingly short of grand final berths.
Is 2025 about to turn up another "tortoise and the hare" story? If so, its name is Melbourne, and it's an outfit not unfamiliar with the pointy end of the season should it make up all that lost ground. And of that there was plenty.
The Demons' start to this season could hardly have been worse, like Hawthorn last year having slumped to 0-5 after a particularly lacklustre 39-point loss to Essendon in Adelaide during Gather Round.
Indeed, Melbourne hadn't even come close once it lost a nail-biting first game against the Giants by just three points. The Dees were smashed by North Melbourne then Gold Coast, both by around 10 goals, then went down to Geelong and the Bombers comfortably.
Even Melbourne's resurgence was hardly dramatic. The Demons scraped over the line at home against the perennially-disappointing-away side Fremantle, then beat bottom-of-the-ladder fancies Richmond and West Coast.
Almost perversely, however, a more significant turning point might well have been the Dees' only defeat in the past six games, the round nine loss to Hawthorn. While the margin in the end was 35 points, Melbourne dominated many of the key stats for much of the day.
Significantly, coach Simon Goodwin's moves started to work. Clayton Oliver, normally a ball magnet, was instead sent to tag key Hawk Jai Newcombe, and did so to great effect.
Star youngster Harvey Langford rose to another level with three goals, Kosi Pickett looked a lot more dangerous up forward and Daniel Turner's new defensive role started to pay off.
Pickett's importance to Melbourne can't be overstated. In a team which has consistently racked up forward 50 entries over the last few seasons without making nearly enough of them, Pickett's defensive pressure helps lock the ball in the scoring zone giving the Dees repeated chances to score rather than the ball pinging out as quickly as it arrived.
His nine tackles in that Hawthorn game were almost as many as he'd laid in the previous five games he'd played, and he's added another seven over the past two weeks. Not to mention seven goals.
The other pieces of that forward puzzle are Bayley Fritsch, for whom the win over Sydney might have been a real turning point in what has been a wretched season, and Jake Melksham, whose smarts and goalkicking capabilities were so crucial to Melbourne in late 2023, the loss of them after a serious knee injury quite possibly costing the Demons a premiership.
Melksham, a beautiful reader of play, marshals the other Melbourne forwards brilliantly and creates goals out of seemingly not much. And those talents have netted him seven goals in the defeats of the Lions and Swans, he and Pickett collectively kicking 14.
Melbourne's midfield and on-ball brigade have also lifted their goal output, Melbourne with 10 individual goalkickers in the last two weeks.
MORE AFL NEWS
That fortnight has seen Melbourne dispense with both of last year's grand finalists, a superb 11-point win over Brisbane at the Gabba, and a dismantling of a depleted Sydney by 53 points last Sunday at the MCG.
Suddenly, the Dees are scoring again. In the first five games, only once had they scored more than even 70 points, second-last in the league for scoring. Since then, they've topped 100 points three times, and kicked 99 points against the Lions.
And all that has changed the outlook dramatically. Melbourne has its bye in Round 15, before which it plays St Kilda in Alice Springs, Collingwood in the King's Birthday blockbuster and Port Adelaide away. Two wins from those three games is eminently achievable.
Which would leave the Demons 7-7 with nine games remaining, needing probably another six wins to grasp what only a little bit over a month ago looked not just an unlikely but as good as impossible finals spot.
And the advantage Melbourne would have over other finals aspirants like Gold Coast, Adelaide and Hawthorn were it to get there is plenty of finals experience.
It's not just about stars the calibre of Christian Petracca, skipper Max Gawn, Pickett and Steven May for the Demons. They also have the fourth-oldest and sixth-most seasoned playing group in the AFL.
And four years after the event, there's still 16 players remaining on Melbourne's books who played in that glorious 2021 premiership. That could be an invaluable edge.
Now all Melbourne has to do is actually get there. Its shocking start to 2025 has upped the difficulty factor considerably. But so ominous have the Dees looked the last few weeks that there's more than a few rivals who'll be praying they can't make up that lost ground.