Demons welcome back a hero in win over Bulldogs

[Pelican Press 0]

Demons welcome back a hero in win over Bulldogs

The headline act of Melbourne’s tumultuous pre-season – Clayton Oliver – has returned to his mesmerising best to steer the Demons to a pressure-relieving 45-point win over the Western Bulldogs.

Oliver and Melbourne were seeking a response after a scratchy away loss to Sydney in opening round and delivered with a 16.13 (109) to 9.10 (64) win in front of 44,100 fans in warm conditions at the MCG.

It was the Demons’ first win since round 23 last year after they exited the 2023 finals in straight sets.

Oliver took personal leave in pre-season after a tumultuous end to last year, including trade speculation and concerns over his behaviour.

But the 26-year-old was wonderful on Sunday, racking up 21 first-half disposals and shimmying away from tackles with ease to put the Demons in control.

Oliver finished with 35 disposals, six clearances and 565 metres-gained and received a huge ovation, which he later described as “emotional”, when he came off near fulltime.

He was well-supported by ********** Petracca (29 disposals), while skipper Max Gawn (35 hitouts, eight clearances, 26 disposals) won an engaging battle with reigning All-*********** ruckman Tim English.

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Melbourne’s often-dysfunctional forward line looked dangerous with Kade Chandler (three goals), Jacob van Rooyen (three), Ben Brown (two), Kysaiah Pickett (two), and Alex Neal-Bullen (two) chipping in.

Marcus Bontempelli (25 touches and a goal) was arguably the Bulldogs’ best early while Tom Liberatore (32 disposals, nine clearances) and Adam Treloar (31 disposals) were typically prolific.

Key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was lively but kicked 2.3.

Intriguingly, high-profile Bulldog Caleb Daniel was relegated to the substitute role, and replaced impressive first-round pick Ryley Sanders in the third term.

The Bulldogs burst out of the blocks and picked Melbourne apart early, with Aaron Naughton and Ugle-Hagan kicking the opening two majors.

But Jack Viney’s goal on the run settled Melbourne as Oliver entered the fray to a round of applause after five minutes.

The prolific midfielder got his hands on the ball at will, collecting 10 touches for the term to spark the Demons.

Melbourne hauled in the Bulldogs as the quarter progressed and van Rooyen secured the lead just before quarter-time.

The Demons nudged out to a 19-point lead early in the second term but Cody Weightman goaled just before half-time to keep the Bulldogs within 12 points.

Melbourne still restored their lead back to 19 at the final change, then piled on the pain with a six-goal final term.

The Demons (1-1) play Hawthorn (0-1) at the MCG next Saturday while the Bulldogs (0-1) head to Ballarat to play Gold Coast (2-0) on Sunday.

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