Match

Melbourne vs GWS Giants

Commentary / 16 Apr 2022

Pre Game

00:00
Melbourne average 149 contested possessions per game in 2022, ranked first. The Demons also average 20 more contested possessions than their opposition - the highest differential in the league this year.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
02:17
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)
02:55
The Giants have started the match poorly by foot, going at 17% kicking efficiency so far and already tallying five clangers.
03:23
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Christian Petracca)
03:45
Christian Petracca puts the Demons on the board with the first goal of the match, from a defensive 50 intercept chain. Melbourne average 27 more points than their opposition from intercepts, ranked second in the competition.
06:03
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
06:35
The Demons have taken advantage of the Giants' poor kicking, registering three intercept marks in their defensive 50 - with the latest intercept mark leading to Pickett's goal.
10:07
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Jesse Hogan)
10:15
GWS are showing strength at ground level, registering 15 contested possessions in their forward half so far - which has led to seven inside 50s, three more than Melbourne have tallied.
13:37
The Giants are dominating stoppages so far, amassing nine clearances compared to the Demons' two. However, GWS have not yet registered an effective disposal inside 50.
17:01
The Demons have already registered six intercept marks in their defensive 50 zone - the most by any team in a first quarter so far this year.
17:48
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)
19:39
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
20:38
Kysaiah Pickett kicks his second goal and extends Melbourne's lead. The Demons have only managed six disposals in their forward 50 so far - however, each of them has been effective, and three have led directly to goals.
21:47
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
23:40
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Tom Green)
25:58
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)
27:34
Steven May has already amassed seven rebound 50s so far tonight. It is the highest amount of rebound 50s amassed by a player in a first quarter so far this year.
28:54
Melbourne has dominated the air in their defensive half, managing eight intercept marks so far tonight in that zone. Two of their four goals have come a chain directly starting with an intercept mark.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:32
Giants Interchange - Lachie Whitfield off due to an injury.
02:12
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Max Gawn)
02:33
Max Gawn kicks Melbourne's fifth goal in a row. Gawn currently has eight hitouts to his name, which is the most on the ground. He is also the only ruckman on the ground with a hitout-to-advantage so far tonight.
04:53
The Giants have not yet managed a disposal in their forward half so far in the second quarter - while Melbourne has amassed 15 disposals in theirs.
08:12
The Giant's pressure has been strong so far. They currently have managed 12 tackles this quarter, compared to the Demons' three - and lead the overall tackle count 26-16.
08:28
SCORE GOAL - Giants (Harry Himmelberg)
09:00
Demons Interchange - Jake Lever off due to an injury.
09:21
Harry Himmelberg puts the Giants on the board with their first goal of the match. It is their first goal from a stoppage clearance chain of the night; the Giants average 34 points from this source per game, ranked eighth.
10:39
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Ed Langdon)
14:18
Stephen Coniglio kicks the Giant's second goal in a row, narrowing the margin to 14. Coniglio leads all players on the ground in tackles, with five to his name so far.
16:17
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Tom Green)
17:38
The last five minutes have been positive for the Giants, thanks to a marked increase in their kicking efficiency. Despite going at only 58% for the game so far, they have raised their efficiency to 80% in the last five minutes.
19:44
Despite averaging 8.2 clearances this year (ranked fourth in the competition), Clayton Oliver has only managed one so far tonight. The Demons currently trail clearances 8-22, their worst differential of the season.
22:04
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Luke Jackson)
25:08
Max Gawn has now taken three contested marks in the second quarter - two more than any other player on the ground.
26:26
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
26:49
Melbourne has stymied the Giants' momentum by regaining control at ground level. In the last ten minutes, they lead contested possessions 15-10 and lead clearances 4-1.
28:03
SCORE GOAL - Giants (Jesse Hogan)
30:17
Despite trailing both statistics overall, Melbourne managed to even out clearances (8-9) and contested possessions (34-all) in the second quarter, leading to the Demons gaining inside 50 dominance (16-6 for the quarter). However, their scoring accuracy cost them, kicking 2.2 (14) from six shots at goal.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:01
SCORE GOAL - Demons (James Jordon)
01:19
James Jordon kicks his first goal of the year and immediately opens Melbourne's second-half account. The Demons have registered the only two clearances and the only two inside 50s of the third quarter so far.
03:01
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Callan Ward)
03:46
Angus Brayshaw averages 10 marks per game in 2022, ranked first in the league. Tonight, however, he has only managed two marks, despite the Demons leading the uncontested mark count 47-28.
07:30
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Christian Petracca)
07:44
Both of the Demons' goals this quarter have come from an intercept possession chain. Melbourne average 27 more points than their opposition from this source, ranked second, while the GIants average 19 fewer points from this source than their opposition, ranked 17th.
09:45
SCORE GOAL - Giants (Bobby Hill)
11:26
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
12:48
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Alex Neal-Bullen)
14:18
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom McDonald)
14:49
The Demons have kicked five goals this quarter from seven inside 50 entries, with each goal coming from an intercept possession chain. Their inside 50 retention rate for the quarter sits at an extremely high 88%.
16:22
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Max Gawn)
17:09
The Demons' run continues unabated as Max Gawn kicks a goal out of a stoppage in the forward 50. The Demons' last four goals have come from only 17 disposals.
18:11
SCORE GOAL - Giants (Matt Flynn)
18:34
Matt Flynn halts Melbourne's momentum and gets a goal back for the Giants. Flynn has amassed four hitouts-to-advantage this quarter, two more than Max Gawn, alongside five contested possessions and two clearances.
20:29
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
23:05
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jack Viney)
23:24
Melbourne has now outscored GWS by 30 from intercept possessions in the third quarter. This is the highest third-quarter differential for any game this year.
27:19
Sam Taylor has battled hard for the Giants tonight, taking four intercept marks, while the rest of his team has only managed two. He also leads all players on the field for spoils, with eight so far.
28:29
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
31:36
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Sam Weideman)
32:03
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Bowey)
33:08
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Stephen Coniglio)
34:30
Christian Petracca has the equal-most inside 50s on the ground tonight, with five. Petracca averages 9.2 per game, ranked first in the competition.
35:09
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Sam Weideman)
35:10
The siren has sounded to end Q3.
35:20
Melbourne echoed the ruthless efficiency of their 2021 grand final in the third quarter, destroying the Giants with 10 goals - the most by any team in a single quarter this year. They did this from only 112 disposals - a rate of 11.2 disposals per goal, almost 20 below their 2022 average of 30.1 disposals per goal.
37:30
There was very little to cheer for the Giants in the third quarter, as they were obliterated by the Demons, giving up eight goals to Melbourne from intercept possessions. The Giants average a differential of -19 for the year from this source, ranked 17th - however, this has blown out to -70 for the game.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:01
Despite the margin, the Giants lead hardball gets 35-28 so far tonight. GWS average 38 per game in 2022, ranked second in the league.
05:43
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)
06:19
Tom Green has continued his impressive year, amassing 27 disposals so far alongside 13 contested possessions. Green averages 13.5 contested possessions per game in 2022, ranked first for the Giants and 12th overall.
07:15
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Alex Neal-Bullen)
09:02
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Tom Green)
09:16
Scoring has dried up for both teams this quarter, with only three behinds scored so far. The Giants have stymied this with 14 uncontested marks so far this quarter, having not taken more than 17 in any other quarter tonight.
10:12
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
15:14
SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Matt de Boer)
15:45
The Giants have regained ascendancy in forward 50 entries so far in the fourth quarter. However, they have only scored three behinds, as their inside 50 retention rate has fallen to 40% for the quarter.
18:24
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
18:36
Bayley Fritsch kicks his second goal of the quarter, taking his tally to four for the night. It is the first time he has kicked four goals against the Giants. Fritsch leads all players for uncontested marks in the forward 50 tonight, with three.
19:33
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Charlie Spargo)
20:26
Melbourne has now outscored the Giants 5.2 (32) to 3.6 (24) from stoppage clearances. Despite their domination, the Demons have only managed two goals from a centre bounce clearance tonight.
23:10
GWS have only managed five score assists tonight - their equal third-worst total in the last three years, and worst since 2020. The Giants average 12 score assists this year, ranked 17th.
24:12
SCORE GOAL - Giants (Bobby Hill)
26:41
SCORE GOAL - Giants (Finn Callaghan)
27:06
Finn Callaghan kicks a goal on debut in a small piece of solace for the Giants. The goal was just the third from an intercept possession chain for the Giants tonight.
29:07
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
29:21
On a horror night for the Giants, the damage was done on turnover. The Giants were outscored from intercept possession chains by 65 points, which is their worst differential in this source since Round 10, 2014.