Victorian fans left to mourn as dream AFL grand final goes west

Victorian football fans are attempting keep to their emotions in check, trying not to weep for the MCG.

The feelings are raw.

For the second year in a row, the fabled home of Australian football is without the AFL season’s biggest day, and to make matters worse the Melbourne Football Club is on the cusp of a drought-breaking flag.

If that is not depressing enough, the Demons are playing the Western Bulldogs in what really is a dream match-up. A grand final 67 years in the making.

COVID-19 has gone too far this time, way too far, further than a Ben Graham torpedo.

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The only other time the sides have met in a premiership decider was in 1954. While seating was limited due to renovations for the 1956 Olympics, almost 81,000 spectators crammed into the MCG to watch Footscray — as the Bulldogs were then known — win its first premiership.

The side’s champion full-back Herb Henderson recalled patrons spilling onto the playing surface, such was the squeeze.

“A lot of them finished up right on the boundary line all the way around the oval,” Henderson told ABC Sport in 2016.

“They jumped the fence and of course the ball and the players quite often finished up in the crowd.”

In 2021, the Demons and Bulldogs meet in vastly different circumstances at the country’s finest new sporting venue.

Perth Stadium is a state-of-the-art colosseum renowned for its magnificent light shows, unrivalled comfort and deafening atmosphere.

It is a common occurrence for players to miss the umpire’s whistle, such is the volume emanating from the stands.

The Dreamtime game and recent finals have shown the passion of West Australian footy fans, who have packed the ground despite the absence of local teams West Coast and Fremantle.

With Perth hosting its first AFL grand final, the occasion will be enormous and even more so given the two combatants.

Melbourne, vying for its first flag in 57 years, faces a side that knows all about fairytale triumphs. The Bulldogs broke their own 62-year premiership drought when they claimed the ultimate prize for only the second time in 2016.

For much of 2021, the Dees and Dogs have set the benchmark as the competition’s best sides.

After 16 of the 23 home and away rounds, they occupied the top two spots on the table.

But across the breadth of the season, Melbourne put together a more compelling body of work.

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The Demons endured a small flat patch, winning only two games from round 13 to 19, but they have since won six straight.

Critically, they routinely beat the top sides in the competition. During the home and away season, the Demons recorded eight wins and lost only two games against the other sides that made the finals.

By contrast, the Bulldogs won four and lost five against the other top-eight finishers.

Luke Beveridge’s side also ended the regular rounds on a worrying form line with consecutive losses to Essendon, Hawthorn and Port Adelaide.

But despite a gruelling schedule travelling all over the country and contending with extreme COVID-19 protocols, the Dogs have rediscovered their lethal best in the finals.

After a dip in output, the midfield is firing again and their confidence has returned. Their tails are up and wagging.

On Friday night, Melbourne looked peerless in its utter dismantling of Geelong. That was until the Bulldogs stepped up on Saturday night and slayed Port Adelaide in equally emphatic fashion.

Both grand finalists play invigorating football, fast and powerful, fearsome and unforgiving. They defend with desperation and attack with aggression and flair.

They have met twice already in 2021 with the Demons recording a 28-point win in round 11 and the Bulldogs squaring the ledger with a 20-point win in round 19, which was Melbourne’s last defeat.

I cannot wait to see what Max Gawn can produce on football’s biggest stage. His five-goal performance against the Cats was one of the more commanding displays from a big man in recent memory.

For Gawn to hold aloft the premiership cup would be a marvellous moment for one of football’s few remaining characters. The stuff of legend.

Blanketing the Melbourne captain and his young apprentice, West Australian Luke Jackson, will take some doing, but the Bulldogs have looked a better side this season when Stefan Martin and Tim English have both been playing.

On his return from a long injury lay-off, Martin showed signs of soreness during the preliminary final against Port Adelaide but will benefit from the week off before the grand final.

As will key Melbourne defender Steven May, who was subbed out of the clash against Geelong with a hamstring issue. May will need to be at his physical peak to contend with the Bulldog’s power forward Aaron Naughton, who leaps enthusiastically at the ball like a tiger launching at prey.

Match-ups set to feature in grand final

The dual between the competition’s best midfields will have a huge influence in determining the outcome.

The 3×3 basketball might not have captured the imagination at the Tokyo Olympics, but Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney versus Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore?

That is a contest not to be missed.

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The Baileys will also have their say. Melbourne’s Bailey Fritsch has kicked a career-high 53 goals, while mulleted Bulldog Bailey Smith has also had a superb season and hit the scoreboard with seven majors in his past two matches.

Smith’s teammate, the short-back-and-sided Bailey Dale, may play in defence but he has an offensive weapon with his run and elite kicking earning him all-Australian honours.

And then there is Kosi and Cody.

Kysaiah Pickett and Cody Weightman play the game with freedom of expression and a sense of pure enjoyment that is infectious. They are two of the most exciting young players in the competition.

Everything points to a classic grand final. Waiting for the big day will be agonising.

While it may be a one-off before a return to the game’s traditional home in Victoria, mineral-rich Western Australia has certainly struck gold.

Source: AFL NEWS ABC