Sunday; second AFL Round 7 match is between Melbourne Demons and Gold Coast Suns with the game to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The opening bounce is set to commence at 4:40pm local time with home team Melbourne Demons currently holding slight favouritism for the match. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Melbourne Demons and Gold Coast Suns.
WHERE AND WHEN: MCG, Sunday 12th May, 4:40pm
Opening Odds by AFL Odds:
Melbourne Demons $1.83 vs Gold Coast Suns $1.98 at Sportsbet Australia
Melbourne Demons $1.80 vs Gold Coast Suns $2.00 at Luxbet Australia
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Preview:
Melbourne take on the Gold Coast on Sunday at 4.40pm at the MCG. This is a very evenly matched game and both teams will be keen to take the points as the season quickly progresses.
The Demons are struggling with injuries at the moment however, with co-captains Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove joining the likes of Mark Jamar, Jack Watts and Mitch Clark who are all on the sidelines. While the Suns have had a promising year so far, they were easily beaten last week against the Dockers and may struggle away from home this weekend.
With the Demons missing so much key personnel however, lots of people have their money on the youngsters for this one.
Teams:
Melbourne Demons:
B: Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Dean Terlich
HB: Daniel Nicholson, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland
C: Rohan Bail, Jack Viney, Matt Jones
HF: Jeremy Howe, Chris Dawes, Colin Sylvia
F: Luke Tapscott, Max Gawn, Shannon Byrnes
Foll: Jake Spencer, Michael Evans, Nathan Jones
Int: Jordie McKenzie, David Rodan, James Strauss, James Sellar, Dean Kent, Aaron Davey, Troy Davis
In: A.Davey, D.Rodan, J.Sellar, C.Dawes, T.Davis
Out: J.Grimes (collarbone), J.Trengove (calf)
Gold Coast Suns:
B: Trent McKenzie, Thomas Murphy, Sam Day
HB: David Swallow, Rory Thompson, Greg Broughton
C: Matt Shaw, Gary Ablett, Jarrod Harbrow
HF: H. Bennell, T. Lynch, Jesse Lonergan
F: Charlie Dixon, Stephen May, Aaron Hall
Foll: Zac Smith, Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia
Int: Jack Hutchins, Brandon Matera, Jared Brennan, Luke Russell, Danny Stanley, Tim Sumner, Campbell Brown
In: C.Brown, L.Russell, S.May, J.Hutchins, T.Sumner
Out: M.Rischitelli, K.Hunt (hamstring)
Demons face crunch AFL match against Suns
Melbourne coach Mark Neeld faces arguably the most pressure-packed clash of his short time at the helm when the Demons meet Gold Coast at the MCG on Sunday.
With just one win on the board and facing a team which have never won in Victoria – and who Melbourne have a flawless record against – a loss would muddy Neeld’s future.
While rumours swirl about his replacement in the face of growing frustration, it would be highly unlikely he would not see out the year.
Yet if Melbourne cannot overcome the Suns, the result would surely impact on his long-term contract.
There are good reasons to back the Suns, despite the fact they have lost their past three encounters against the Demons by large margins.
They began the season with a confidence-boosting upset of St Kilda and lead Melbourne in all the key statistical areas.
The Suns are ahead of the Demons 346-302 in disposals, 152-126 in contested possessions and 52-43 in inside 50s.
And they have the game’s best on-baller in Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett.
They have also proved capable of springing surprises with dramatic consequences.
When the Suns beat Carlton in round 22 last year, it ended the Blues’ finals hopes and coach Brett Ratten was sacked shortly afterwards.
Melbourne will go into the game hard hit by injuries, with both co-captains Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove sidelined.
Key forward Chris Dawes, recruited from Collingwood, will finally make his debut but has missed the start of the season with a hamstring injury.
Neeld acknowledged that Dawes, who was picked after kicking four goals last week in the VFL in just his second competitive hit-out for the side, would take time to find his feet.
“Expectations about things like hitting the scoreboard, they won’t exist straight away,” Neeld said. “He’s got to get out there and get used to playing footy.”
Neeld denied Melbourne were under more pressure than usual this week because they were not seeking a short-term fix, however he said he wanted to see the team’s recent upward trend continue.
He said last week’s loss to Carlton did produce some positive signs for the club.
“There were times during the game we felt we put the Blues under pressure with our ball movement and with some of our work defensively,” Neeld said.
“It’s about building the manner in which we want to play so, each week we go out there, we want to play for a little bit longer in terms of that,” he said.
