Latest news with #DemonSpirit
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gawn stars as Demons beat Eagles for third straight win
Max Gawn has produced yet another rucking masterclass as Melbourne overcome a wasteful first half to post a 32-point AFL win over West Coast at Optus Stadium. The Demons trailed by 12 points early in the third quarter of Saturday night's match, but they kicked nine of the next 10 goals to secure the 16.12 (108) to 11.10 (76) in front of 41,991 fans. Melbourne's third win on the trot improved their record to 3-5, while West Coast (0-8) remain winless and on bottom of the table. Gawn was the pivotal figure, racking up a career-high 35 disposals to go with 47 hitouts, nine clearances, 12 score involvements and a goal. The 33-year-old also played match-winning roles in recent wins over Richmond and Fremantle, and he helped Melbourne win the clearance battle 48-26 and inside 50m count 59-43 against the Eagles. Caleb was flying 🪽🪽 Wing-sor spreads his wings.#DemonSpirit | #AFLEaglesDees — Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) May 3, 2025 Demons forward Jake Melksham could be in trouble for his body shove on Jeremy McGovern that catapulted the star Eagles defender into a marking contest. McGovern slammed into the back of Harrison Petty after receiving the shove, leaving him stunned and feeling his jaw. The premiership defender was subbed out at halftime, and his absence was heavily felt by West Coast as the Dees dominated in the second half. Melbourne also subbed out Petty at halftime due to concussion, possibly from the same McGovern incident. West Coast debutant Bo Allan also faces a nervous wait for his swinging arm to the head of Jack Viney as the Demons tagger took a mark. Christian Petracca finished with 29 disposals, eight clearances and a goal for the Demons in the absence of Clayton Oliver (personal reasons), while tagger Viney (18 disposals, seven clearances) restricted Harley Reid to just 14 disposals and no clearances. Eagles midfielder Tim Kelly finished with just 14 disposals and three clearances. West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen did some nice things in an under-siege defence, while Jake Waterman and Elijah Hewett kicked three goals apiece. The opening quarter was a horror show of errors as both sides butchered the ball at critical moments. Melbourne were at least a force at the clearances - winning the first 10 of the match - with goals to Petracca and Bayley Fritsch giving them a 14-5 lead at quarter-time. The Demons continued to dominate the clearances in the second term but their wayward return of 1.5 came back to haunt them. West Coast didn't score their first goal of the match until Jack Williams' set-shot shank floated through at the 17-minute mark. It sparked a run of four consecutive goals - including a spectacular banana from the pocket from Jayden Hunt - as the Eagles finally brought the crowd to life. Jayden Hunt with all the tricks and a karate kick 🥋#AFLEaglesDees — AFL (@AFL) May 3, 2025 Demons coach Simon Goodwin was understandably frustrated that his team didn't have the lead at halftime. They would have grown after watching Jamie Cripps kick the opening goal of the third quarter. But with McGovern no longer there to fend off Melbourne's forays forward, the Demons finally cashed in on their clearance dominance, slamming through six goals for the term to take a 29-point lead into the final change. Gawn, who had 0.7 to his name for the season up until that point, put the icing on the cake with a set shot goal in the final quarter.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Crowd pleaser Harley Reid holds the key against Demons
West Coast are banking on Harley Reid to repeat history and send the crowd into a frenzy when the Eagles attempt to snare their first win of the AFL season against Melbourne at Optus Stadium. Reid was a human highlight reel in his debut season last year, with one of his best matches coming in a shock 35-point win over Melbourne in round 10. The 20-year-old No.1 pick tallied 21 disposals, seven clearances and two goals in that match. He also ended up winning goal of the season for his effort in burning off Demons star Christian Petracca with three bounces before kicking truly from 48m. That effort came midway through the first quarter, and proved to be a crucial morale-lifter for both the players and home crowd as West Coast powered to victory. New West Coast coach Andrew McQualter was an assistant coach at Melbourne when Reid tore the Demons to shreds last year. He hopes Reid can repeat the dose again on Saturday night. "Harley is one of the hardest players in the competition to stop when he's up and going like that," McQualter said. "I thought he brought the crowd to life that game. It was really significant. "If we can make the place as loud as it was last year, it gives our players a significant boost. "We'll ensure our players try to give the crowd a boost early in the game." Melbourne were in crisis mode after opening their campaign with a 0-5 record, but wins over Fremantle and Richmond during the past fortnight have helped ease the pressure. Demons ruckman Max Gawn was an imposing influence in the two victories, racking up 28 disposals, 31 hitouts and 10 clearances against the Dockers, before tallying 25 disposals, 34 hitouts and six clearances against the Tigers. Just like a fine wine🍷 After a vintage performance, Max Gawn is the Mighty Melbourne MVP.#DemonSpirit | @GrilldBurgers — Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) April 28, 2025 With Gawn still in career-best touch, West Coast ruckman Matt Flynn faces a huge challenge to even come close to breaking even in the ruck battle. "I'll look like Max if my hair keeps falling out having to think about him," McQualter joked. "He's an incredible player. A lot of their game is built around Max, we know that. "But our guys can't wait for the challenge as well. The best thing to do, is play against best players in the competition, and Max is certainly one of those." Oscar Allen's teammates celebrate his 100th game! — West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) May 1, 2025 West Coast will be boosted by the return of Tim Kelly from a toe injury, while No.16 draft pick Bo Allan will become the fifth Eagle to make his AFL debut. Melbourne welcome back veteran Jake Melksham and swingman Daniel Turner, but star midfielder Clayton Oliver will miss due to personal reasons.
