It has been twelve and a half months since Melbourne fans have had to experience watching their team suffer humiliation at the hands of Hawthorn in an AFL game.
This annual ritual of the Hawks flogging the Demons has been going on for a decade now since Al Clarkson's young team was beaten by an experienced side coached by Neale Daniher way back in 2006 on a wet night. Back in those days, the AFL was generous enough to gift games on Friday night to then lowly clubs like the Hawks but not so now.
Soon after that game, Hawthorn commenced its ascendency while Melbourne's fortunes nose dived. Melbourne opened the 2007 season as the highest ranked of the Victorian clubs and lost their first match against St Kilda at the MCG marking the first of a series of 13 consecutive losses to the Saints. The following week saw the Hawks start their run of 12 wins on end against the Demons and it seems a near certainty that the number will stretch to an unlucky 13 by late Saturday afternoon.
This season started as one of promise for the Demons and they certainly have had their moments with a 50/50 record of wins in the bag to date. But they have failed to reproduce the three victories scored in the pre season against Port Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda and they lost to the AFL's punching bag, Essendon. They are in danger of being overtaken on the ladder this weekend by Carlton who were expected to challenge the Bombers for the wooden spoon.
Melbourne has failed to come up to the challenge in quite a few winnable games already this year. It has lost it's best player this year to suspension and one of its' few functioning defenders in an inexplicably feeble defence to injury. The deck chairs on the Titanic will no doubt be rotated around this week in an effort to turn things around but it was last week when the selectors should have been brave and bold with the team coming off a six day break.
One wonders what the team can do this week in the face of a Hawthorn which most of the time manages to hold firm even without such vital team members as Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead. Pray that it will be another twelve and a half months before they meet again, I suppose.
Hawthorn by a lot.
THE GAME
Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 4 June 2016 at 1.45pm
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall Hawthorn 84 wins Melbourne 74 wins
At MCG Hawthorn 43 wins Melbourne 35 wins
Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins
The Coaches Clarkson 2 wins Roos 0 wins
MEDIA
TV Fox Footy Channel at 1.45pm (live) Channel 7 3.15pm (delayed)
RADIO -
THE BETTING
Hawthorn $1.24 to win Melbourne $4.15 to win
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Hawthorn 24.11.155 defeated Melbourne 7.8.50 in Round 7, 2015 at the MCG
Six minutes into the game, Melbourne had the only two goals on the board and Hawthorn was scoreless. Those minutes provided the only joy for the day for Demon fans who had to endure two hours of hell before the final siren revealed their team had just succumbed to another 100 point defeat.
THE TEAMS
MELBOURNE
IN: JACK TRENGOVE
TRENNNNEEERRRSSS!
Have a god damn exam right when the game will be on, so won't know the result until I get home :-\
The last game I missed and predicted to lose by 80+ points btw, was when we played Geelong last year, if that gives Barra or Mac any hope :-X
long time between drinks! good luck Jack!