Speaking on 3AW pre-match, Melbourne coach Mark Neeld said he and his players had approached the game as a final, identifying it as an opportunity to show genuine intent in the club's annual showpiece event. Neeld didn’t want his charges to be overawed by the Pies or the big crowd. And they weren't … for a quarter at least. The Demons' intensity, teamwork and tackling pressure (usually untackleable Pies star Scott Pendlebury was twice caught for holding the ball early) seemed to surprise the Pies. When veteran Aaron Davey slotted their first goal, a dazzling effort that turned back the clock, he ran off the field to an ovation from the MCC members, who dared to dream.
2. Killer Watts
Four years after he endured a torrid AFL debut in a Queen's Birthday game, Jack Watts finally looked like a hardened footballer, rather than the schoolboy that AFL legend Leigh Matthews has often described him as. Melbourne's much-maligned No. 1 draft pick was so good early, with seven possessions (four contested) in the first quarter, that club great Garry Lyon declared on Triple M: "I've never seen Jack Watts attack the footy in this manner." Opposed to Heath Shaw, and later Nick Maxwell, the 22-year-old posed match-up problems with his athleticism, mobility and newfound intensity. After quarter-time though, Watts was starved of opportunities.
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3. Dawes takes on his old mates
When Chris Dawes' trade to Melbourne was confirmed last October, he and Collingwood premiership teammate Nathan Brown were holidaying together. Brown even pondered the possibility of them playing on each other in the Queen's Birthday game, and that's exactly what transpired. It was an intriguing duel, albeit much too brief, with Dawes taking the honours in the first quarter-and-a-bit before substituted out of the game at half-time with a knee injury. Before then, Dawes had been a strong presence in the air and also with his vigour, laying heavy tackles and even becoming involved in a skirmish with former skipper Nick Maxwell after hurting his knee in a tackle.
4. The Pies unleash their 'Ox'
Melbourne president Don McLardy returned fire at club great David 'The Ox' Schwarz in his pre-match speech, and later that afternoon the Pies blooded their own young man bearing the same nickname – 20-year-old Queenslander Adam Oxley. The upgraded rookie started as the Magpies' substitute and was given an opportunity when Nathan Brown was subbed out in the third term. Oxley was almost immediately into the fray, delivering a superb left-foot pass to Dane Swan for an easy goal. He also took a terrific contested mark at half-back, and spent time on Melbourne high-flyer Jeremy Howe. He certainly looks a likely type.
5. Pie-romania after early Melbourne resistance
Scores were level at 1.4 apiece late in the first quarter, and the Pies made little traction early in the second term, but for the next hour they dominated the contest, piling on the next 10 goals to just five behinds to storm to a 65-point lead. Melbourne went more than two quarters without a goal, and didn’t kick its next major until the 23-minute mark of the third quarter. In the process, the Pies gave their low percentage a welcome boost.
