Geelong v Melbourne - Round 6 Preview

A dejected Melbourne side after their 186 point loss to Geelong. Source: theage.com.au

Melbourne heads down the road to Geelong off the back of a much improved performance in Round 5, and, despite not winning, many Demons fans were pleased with the efforts of the team - especially considering the four games before it. Glimpses of hope were seen, and a bit of stricture looked to be forming.


This week, Melbourne faces an opponent that absolutely embarrassed them the last time they met (which was one of those "Where were you when?" moments for fans). Quite obviously, Melbourne will be aiming for a much better performance. It's the second of seven extremely testing weeks for the 0-5 Melbourne Football Club. Last years game hasn't been spoken about, according to a few Melbourne players. Whether that's a good thing or not, I'll leave that up to you to decide.

Jack Watts and Joel Macdonald have been dropped for the game, whilst Mitch Clark and James Frawley come back into the side. Many people have questioned the omission of Watts - who failed to lay a single tackle last week - as they feel he still has a long way to go in terms of development, and AFL is the best place for him. He'll play for Casey this weekend (in the backline in fact) and the last time he did, he had a blinder of a game. It's time for him to prove his worth.  As for Joel Macdonald, well, he can consider himself a tad unlucky. James Frawley is arguably our best player, so there's no way you would keep him out of the side if he was fit. Macdonald just had to make way for him.


Top three players to look out for:

Mitch Clark - What a find so far. In the absence of Liam Jurrah, Clark has been Melbourne's go-to forward and has had quite a big impact in the four games he has played. He was dearly missed last week, so it's fantastic to have him back.

Mark Jamar - After a slow start, Jamar had the most hitouts ever in a game for Melbourne last week. Could this be the start of his All Australian form returning? We can only wait and see. Melbourne really need it...

Nathan Jones - Arguably Melbourne's best player so far this season. He puts his heart on the line week in, week out and he is really starting to reap the rewards. Expect him to get better and better from here.


Prediction: In an interview posted this week on melbournefc.com.au, Jordie McKenzie said that the Dees see this as a winnable game. As much as I wish for it, I just can't see it happening. What we should expect, though, is an improvement on last week. The boys need to show fight, and never give in. I'll take a 20-30 point margin (hopefully in our favour, of course).



Jamie Watt.