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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Scott Heinrich

AFL 2021 round 23: Demons stun Cats to claim minor premiership – as it happened

Melbourne players rush to Max Gawn
Melbourne players rush to Max Gawn after the Demons skipper’s winning goal after the siren against Geelong. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Summary

A night of twists and turns at GMHBA Stadium which went the way of Melbourne in the most dramatic of circumstances, Max Gawn kicking the winning goal after the siren to hand the Demons their first minor premiership since 1964.

It was the most unlikely of victories and the most remarkable of comebacks given the context of the match. Geelong looked to have put the game to bed when they kicked nine straight goals either side of half-time to open up a 44-point lead. Melbourne chipped away in the third quarter but were still 32 points down at the last change. They emerged in the final term breathing fire, kicking six goals to Geelong’s two behinds to cap a stunning turn of events.

The Demons will now face Brisbane at a “home” venue yet to be decided - either Hobart, Adelaide or Brisbane - in next week’s qualifying final, while Geelong will pay for their capitulation with a trip to Adelaide to play the Power. If the action and suspense of the final round of the season is anything to go by, the finals will be something special.

Updated

Melbourne 12-9 (81) beat Geelong 12-5 (77)

The Demons come back from 32 points down at three-quarter-time to win by four points and claim the club’s first minor premiership since 1964. They kicked the final eight goals of the game to pip Geelong at the post, the last of which was off the boot of skipper Max Gawn with a kick after the siren. The Cats had kicked nine goals straight to lead by 44 points at one stage but in the end they could not halt the Melbourne avalanche. A remarkable game of footy.

Updated

Q4: 0 min remaining: Geelong 12-5 (77) vs Melbourne 12-9 (81) Melbourne goal! Wow. An out-of-bounds-on-the-full and a 50-metre penalty and Melbourne go forward. Gawn marks inside-50. The siren sounds. He has a kick to win the game ... and he kicks it!!!!!! Melbourne have won. They are minor premiers. Amazing. Absurd. Utterly enthralling.

Q4: 1 min remaining: Geelong 12-5 (77) vs Melbourne 11-9 (75) Gawn crashes into Parfitt and gives away a crucial free kick at half-forward for Geelong. They now chip it around, trying to run down the clock. Can they do it?

Q4: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 12-5 (77) vs Melbourne 11-9 (75) Selwood and Dangerfield have both been off for a while but are ready to come back on. Geelong need them. Salem finds Gawn to work the ball out of Geelong’s forward 50. It’s a hot ball. The Dees hurry the ball forward but Geelong hold firm to nullify the attack. Fingernails disappearing at a rapid rate here.

Q4: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 12-5 (77) vs Melbourne 11-9 (75) Brown presents and marks strongly on the left forward flank but his set shot falls short. Geelong reset and go forward but Cameron and Henderson collide when competing for the ball and Melbourne mop up with ease. No communication. It was an easy mark for one of them but now Sparrow marks inside-50 at the other end of the ground ... and misses, a rushed behind reducing the margin to two points. Both Cats look stunned by that collision.

Q4: 8 mins remaining: Geelong 12-5 (77) vs Melbourne 11-8 (74) Dahlhaus has a clear shot on goal and it’s close but no cigar. Another near miss and it might prove to be a costly one. The Cats’ lead is now just three points. Their nine-goal run seems a world away.

Q4: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 12-4 (76) vs Melbourne 11-8 (74) Melbourne goal! The ball slingshots up the other end and it’s a glorious coast-to-coast goal by the Dees as Fritsch ambles into an open goal to make it a two-point game.

Q4: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 12-4 (76) vs Melbourne 10-8 (68) Cameron has a set shot from the left pocket and it looks tailor made for his left boot. He curls the ball toewards goal and it looks good ... before cannoning in to the left post. Ouch. They really could have done with that.

Q4: 11 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 10-8 (68) Geelong are forced to kick to a contest just outside 50 and Lever mops up without any fuss. But the Cats look to manufacture something. Hawkins marks just forward of centre and releases Miers, who looks for and finds Cameron. But the Dees defenders have him covered.

Q4: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 10-8 (68) Melbourne goal! Another win out of the middle and Geelong again fail to deal with the chaos ball, Spargo crumbing the loose ball and snapping between the big sticks. That’s six straight for the Dees. The Cats have ground to a halt. Incredible turn of events.

Q4: 14 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 9-8 (62) Melbourne goal! Another chaos ball forward - the Cats just can’t get their hands on the ball and they can’t deal with these repeat entries. Oliver snaps truly from a stoppage and this game has turned on a dime.

Q4: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 8-8 (56) Now it’s Geelong who are rushing the ball forward without much thought. Gawn repels unopposed and Brown then pounds the ball inside-50 after winning free that the Cats might not have given away. The ball becomes loose and Pickett has a crack from a tough angle, just missing to the left. They are coming, the Dees.

Q4: 17 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 8-7 (55) Melbourne goal! Petracca is getting his hands on the ball now and things are starting to happen. The Dees go deep and The Geelong defence just can’t handle the heat as Spargo pounces on a tepid spoil to cut the margin to 20 points. Right. Well. Game on.

Q4: 19 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 7-7 (49) Melbourne goal! They needed an early one, the Dees, and they’ve got it. Straight out of the middle and straight to Pickett, who mark well and kicks straight to get Melbourne to within 26 points. That’s four of the past five for the Dees. Hmmm.

3QT: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 6-7 (43)

An improved effort by Melbourne to win the third quarter by seven points, but their deficit is still a large one with just one quarter to play. That 20-minute period in the second quarter looks to have cruelled the Dees’ chances of a rare minor premiership.

Q3: 1 min remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 6-7 (43) Salem gives Dangerfield a fair old nudge to repel a Geelong entry inside-50 and then Lever marks strongly to do the same, setting Melbourne on their way down the left flank. Fritsch descends on goal but his shot from a tight angle misses to the left.

Q3: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 6-6 (42) Melbourne goal! They won’t die wondering, the Dees, and at least they are giving it a crack against the tide. Brown descends on a marking contest in his inimitable way and then kicks, in his inimitable way, to reduce the deficit by six points. They’re winning this term. Another quick one or two before 3QT might make things interesting.

Q3: 4 mins remaining: Geelong 12-3 (75) vs Melbourne 5-6 (36) You would’ve locked it in for a sure goal but Cameron misses his set shot from, admittedly, a reasonable distance from goal. What players can do on the run they often can’t do from a standing start. One of life’s mysteries.

Q3: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 12-2 (74) vs Melbourne 5-6 (36) Melbourne goal! Better work by Melbourne to work the ball out of congestion - Oliver again instrumental; he is doing all he can - and find Pickett, who makes no mistake on the run in what is a quick and much-needed response by the Demons.

Q3: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 12-2 (74) vs Melbourne 4-6 (30) Geelong goal! Good work from Miers at half-back as Geelong get out the back and catch Melbourne napping, Cameron putting the ball just where Rohan wanted it ... and Rohan putting the ball just where Cats fans wanted it - between the big sticks. My, that pass by Cameron was precise. Quite beautiful.

Q3: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 11-2 (68) vs Melbourne 4-6 (30) Melbourne goal! It’s got to start somewhere so it might as well start here. Oliver emerges from a stoppage and sprints towards goal, kicking truly to end Geelong’s run of unanswered goals at nine. More of the same is needed if the Dees are to get back in this one. Much more.

Q3: 11 mins remaining: Geelong 11-2 (68) vs Melbourne 3-6 (24) Geelong go forward. Again. This time Gawn is needed to raise his arms and claim a relieving mark just in front of the goal line. But the ball is soon in Geelong’s possession. They chip it around until Lever takes a rare contested mark but it’s not long before the Cats reclaim possession. They are well on top, completely killing Melbourne in the contest.

Q3: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 11-2 (68) vs Melbourne 3-6 (24) Geelong goal! Cameron almost gets his hands to a contested mark just in front of goal but the Dees can’t get the ball out of the danger zone. Selwood releases Dangerfield, who find Hawkins on the lead, and the result is yet another Geelong goal, their ninth on the spin and Tom’s fourth of the night. He might yet be in with a shout of defending his Coleman. The way this game is heading, that will be the only thing of interest.

Q3: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 10-2 (62) vs Melbourne 3-6 (24) Melbourne are trying ever so hard and they force the turnover on centre wing but Brown can’t hold his contested mark on the left forward flank. Oliver then pulls off a ripping tackle and sends the Dees inside-50 again ... only for Dangerfield to drop in the hole in front of Brown. So far, the Cats have the answers.

Q3: 17 mins remaining: Geelong 10-2 (62) vs Melbourne 3-6 (24) Oliver tries to conjure something from the stoppages but Dangerfield is an ever-present threat. It’s left to Langdon to find a way through and he finds Brown, who then finds Jackson marking on the lead just inside-50. It’s a straight kick but will require his best, which is something he can’t supply as the ball is punched through for a behind.

Q3: 19 mins remaining: Geelong 10-2 (62) vs Melbourne 3-5 (23) Right, we’re back. What have you got, Melbourne?

So glad to report that Eddie Betts is on the scoreboard and has kicked a goal to half-time against GWS in his final AFL game. Thanks to all for your kind words re my story on the great man. He is just something else. What a player he was. What a man he is.

HT: Geelong 10-2 (62) vs Melbourne 3-5 (23)

Yikes. Eight unanswered goals and in the space of a quarter we have gone from a close contest to no contest whatsover. The Cats got on top in the contest, winning the ball out of the middle with surprising ease, and Geelong’s forwards feasted on their opportunities inside-50. Melbourne’s defence, so solid this season, is looking outclassed and outmuscled. Melbourne’s mids barely look like they’re out there.

Goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: they have a mountain to climb. That was a ruthless, brutal quarter of football by the Cats.

Q2: 1 min remaining: Geelong 10-2 (62) vs Melbourne 3-5 (23) Geelong goal! The Cats go long to a two-on-two and Gawn initially looks to have dealt with the threat only for Cameron to think on his feet, shark the spoil and slam the ball onto his boot for Geelong’s eighth consecutive goal. Remarkable.

Q2: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 9-2 (56) vs Melbourne 3-5 (23) The Dees hurry the ball forward, without much method or design, and though the result of their toil is a rushed behind that is at least something: it has broken the flurry of scoring taking place at the other end of the ground.

Q2: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 9-2 (56) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! Okay, this is getting out of hand. Geelong walk all over Melbourne in the middle of the park and the result is another penetrative inside-50 and another goal as Holmes finds Rohan and Rohan finds his radar. Seven straight goals in next to no time. What just happened?!

Q2: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 8-2 (50) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! Six straight! The Cats are now winning it out of the middle with ease. Dangerfield bursts out of congestion and after a chain of handpasses Close finishes the job. Raining goals. Dees in strife it would seem.

Q2: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 7-2 (44) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! Make that five straight! Dangerfield goes long and straight as Cameron shepherds the ball through. Danger sings indeed.

Q2: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 6-2 (38) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! That’s four straight for the Cats and again Hawkins is in the thick of it, muscling his opponent off the ball and snapping truly.

Q2: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 5-2 (32) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Petracca retards Rohan - the tackling has been solid and sticky tonight - but again Geelong force the turnover, only for Rohan to get his hands back on the ball and miss his snap to the right.

Q2: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 5-1 (31) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! Another great tackle, this time by Parfitt, sends Geelong on their way but the Dees rebound only for Neal-Bullen to be set upon by Selwood and Dahlhaus in the middle of the ground. Holding the ball is the call and soon enough Hawkins gets on the end of a passing chain, swinging the ball around the corner from the left pocket to extend Geelong’s lead. He could kick ‘em from there asleep, could Major Tom.

Q2: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 4-1 (25) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) It’s ball-up after ball-up for a period as Dangerfield, Selwood, Viney, Oliver et all crunch frames and slap bodies in pursuit of a precious clearance. Not for the faint hearted, those stoppages.

Q2: 12 mins remaining: Geelong 4-1 (25) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! The Cats go long looking for Hawkins and/or Cameron. The inside-50 misses both but both are involved as Cameron somewhat comically has an airy with his attempt off the ground, leaving it to Hawkins to finish the job and survive a score review to put Geelong back in front. The Cats are not going inside-50 as often as the Dees, but they are proving very efficient once there.

Q2: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 3-1 (19) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Geelong goal! Better from the Cats to isolate Cameron in a one-on-one at the top of the square and he doesn’t get beaten too often in these situations, with all due respect to Petty. And nor does he miss from that range. Cameron is Geelong’s trump card tonight and in September. The Cats are a much better team with him in it.

Q2: 16 mins remaining: Geelong 2-1 (13) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) They look a bit rattled at the moment, the Cats. That Dees goal was brutally executed and Geelong haven’t got off the ropes yet. There’s time, of course, but there is a spring in Melbourne’s step.

Q2: 18 mins remaining: Geelong 2-1 (13) vs Melbourne 3-4 (22) Right, we’re back. Melbourne goal! My, that didn’t take long. Geelong’s defence isn’t organised enough to deal with ball movement that swift and Viney is the one to hurt the Cats after being on the end of a handball receive from a stoppage. If they do more of this - get on top in the middle and improve their efficiency inside-50 - they will cause Geelong no end of headaches tonight.

Hey Harry. Yes, I loved covering the Olympics. And you are right - the pre-finals bye has been scrapped this year. Enjoy the game, all. How good is footy?!

Updated

QT: Geelong 2-1 (13) vs Melbourne 2-3 (15)

A game of contrasting styles but a very even first quarter. There is almost nothing between these two teams, both on the scoreboard and on most statistical measures. We might be in for a close one.

Q1: 1 min remaining: Geelong 2-1 (13) vs Melbourne 2-3 (15) The Cats are so, so careful out of defence, avoiding contests and racking up uncontested possessions as they go, and they find a way through only for Holmes to cough up the ball for nothing inside-50. Lots of work for absolutely no reward.

Q1: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 2-1 (13) vs Melbourne 2-3 (15) Melbourne goal! That’s what he’s there for! Brown rises high above the pack, gaining front position and marking cleanly before kicking truly to put the Dees back in front. Not the best checking there by the Cats defenders. Brown only has to do that four or five times tonight and he will have had a big game.

Q1: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 2-1 (13) vs Melbourne 1-3 (9) Some poor discipline from Lever - he wins the free kick but it’s reversed after he pushes his hands in and around Dahlhaus’s face as the two grapple on the ground - but the Cats forward can’t convert. I wonder if the MRO will look at that. Didn’t look too hot. Perhaps a fine.

Q1: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 2-0 (12) vs Melbourne 1-3 (9) Geelong goal! There’s an arm hold there by Langdon at the top of the square and Selwood is gifted a straightforward shot on goal. He doesn’t miss from there. Geelong in front.

Q1: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 1-0 (6) vs Melbourne 1-3 (9) Lovely read off the pack by Pickett to find Fritsch but, from a little farther out, he emulates Viney’s effort from the left flank and misses to the right. Still, the Dees are getting their hands on it inside-50.

Q1: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 1-0 (6) vs Melbourne 1-2 (8) Free kick for Viney inside-50 - push in the back? There didn’t seem much in that - but the veteran stabs at his shot and pushes it across the face for a behind. Might have done better there from not that far out.

Q1: 11 mins remaining: Geelong 1-0 (6) vs Melbourne 1-1 (7) Geelong goal! It’s now an even ledger for inside-50s but finally Geelong get a touch or two near goal. Cameron brings the ball to ground in a marking contest before Hawkins selflessly lays off to Dahlhaus, who marks and makes no mistake with his set shot from 30 metres out.

Q1: 12 mins remaining: Geelong 0-0 (0) vs Melbourne 1-1 (7) Geelong try to chip kick and finesse their way through the Melbourne zone but the turnover comes and Brayshaw pounds the ball to just outside the 50m arc. Viney then traps Blicavs close to goal but it’s a throw-up. Good early pressure from the Demons. Oliver wins a hard ball from the stoppage and snaps, but misses to the left.

Q1: 16 mins remaining: Geelong 0-0 (0) vs Melbourne 1-0 (6) Melbourne goal! Nice defending by Stanley to effect a timely punch but from the throw-in Pickett sharks off the ruck contest and speeds out of the stoppage to ease into an open goal. They were rather caught napping there, the Geelong defenders. But jeepers Pickett has some gas. Really quick.

Q1: 17 mins remaining: Geelong 0-0 (0) vs Melbourne 0-0 (0) A bit of a scratchy start to the game with players from both teams feeling their way in a game of high stakes. An early inside-50 for the Cats and Rohan flies high but Melbourne’s defenders are well positioned and they rebound to centre wing.

Q1: 19 mins remaining: Geelong 0-0 (0) vs Melbourne 0-0 (0) Right, to the matter at hand. Seems they were waiting for the final siren at the Gabba and now we are up and running in Geelong.

Wow. Brisbane Lions have just beaten West Coast 125-87 - meaning they just sneak past Western Bulldogs into fourth place. Now off to Kardinia Park!

Eddie Betts. The man normally leaves me without words but on this occasion the Guardian paymasters wouldn’t take no for an answer. Thanks for the memories, Eddie, and good luck tonight.

Updated

A draw. What a way for some of the game’s greats to finish up with their clubs and/or the game itself. Here’s AAP with some words from today’s Richmond-Hawthorn game.

Richmond and Hawthorn have sent off their club greats with the first AFL draw between the two sides. Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt’s soccered goal levelled the scores in the last five seconds, leaving the two teams tied on 12.11 (83).

Hawks utility Shaun Burgoyne lunged desperately at the ball in his 407th and final game on the goal line, but the four-time premiership star could not get a hand on it. “I sort-of wished you’d touched it,” Riewoldt told Burgoyne after the final siren.

Hawthorn looked home when they led by 25 points late in the last quarter. But the Tigers remarkably had a five-goal burst in six minutes, the last two to Riewoldt.

It was the last game as well for Hawthorn’s four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson and Richmond key defender David Astbury, an integral member of their three premiership teams.

Congratulations to Mark Blicavs. Not a bad game in which to bring up your 200th!

No late team changes

Geelong

B: Jack Henry, Lachie Henderson, Jake Kolodjashnij
HB: Mark O’Connor, Mark Blicavs, Jed Bews
C: Sam Menegola, Cameron Guthrie, Isaac Smith
HF: Brandan Parfitt, Jeremy Cameron, Gary Rohan
F: Brad Close, Tom Hawkins, Gryan Miers
FOLL: Rhys Stanley, Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield
I/C: Tom Atkins, Sam Simpson, Max Holmes, Luke Dahlhaus
Sub: Shaun Higgins

Melbourne

B: Joel Smith, Steven May, Harrison Petty
HB: Trent Rivers, Jake Lever, Christian Salem
C: James Harmes, Christian Petracca, Ed Langdon
HF: Jack Viney, Tom McDonald, Angus Brayshaw
F: Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Brown, Bayley Fritsch
FOLL: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Tom Sparrow
I/C: Luke Jackson, Charlie Spargo, Jake Bowey, Kysaiah Pickett
Sub: James Jordon

Some big ins for the Dees: Viney, May and McDonald.

Some pretty big ins for the Cats: Rohan, Miers and Atkins.

Preamble

Good evening. Fixturing doesn’t always toss up the right games at the right times, but in this case the AFL has had an absolute blinder. It has saved the best for last. There is so much to play for and so much to savour. As if last night’s top-four shaping clash between Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs wasn’t satisfying enough, up next is the mouth-watering and hugely important clash between Adelaide and North Melbourne Geelong and Melbourne.

Indeed, there will be no accusations of tanking or foxing at Kardinia Park tonight. The minor premiership is the carrot dangling on the end of the line. In Melbourne’s case they will finish the regular season in first place even in the event of a draw (but draws never happen, right?!). The loser will bid adieu to a top-two finish and the advantages that come with it, consigned to an away qualifying final against the Power.

So, yeah, just your standard Saturday night of AFL footy. Can’t wait for this one. As ever, the invitation is extended for your input and involvement. You know how it’s done.

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