The players that matter: AFL second preliminary final West Coast Eagles v Melbourne Demons

Mick Stirling

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The players that matter: AFL second preliminary final West Coast Eagles v Melbourne Demons image

West Coast Eagles v Melbourne Demons, 1.20pm AWST Saturday at Optus Stadium

Reputations are made and shattered in AFL finals, legends created and history written.

Everyone has a role to play on the big stage, but there are always some that carry an extra burden on their shoulders or enjoy a greater opportunity to shine.

As we head into the penultimate week of the 2018 season the preliminary finals each and every one of the 44 on the ground will have something to say about the outcome, but these are the guys that just might matter the most.

MORE: The players that matter: Richmond v Collingwood

West Coast

The Eagles have surprised this year and it hasn’t been on the back of any particular names, as role players have lifted to cover missing stars like Nic Naitanui and Andrew Gaff.

Defence: Melbourne’s key forwards looked like being a weak point when Jesse Hogan went down, but Sam Weideman and Tom McDonald are proving a headache for opposition defences, so the AFL’s best intercept mark Jeremy McGovern is going to have his big hands full on Saturday.

McGovern will most likely get Weideman and hope to exploit the less-experienced Demon, leaving McDonald to Tom Barrass. 

Melbourne are loving their ‘chaos’ style at the moment, moving the ball quickly into attack, but McGovern is the best in the business at reading opposition thrusts, cutting them short and turning the ball back the other way.

If the three-time All Australian plays near his best West Coast should get the points.

Midfield: Every game may be Scott Lycett’s last in an Eagles jumper so he’ll be wanting to go out with as big a bang as possible, but challenges don’t get any tougher in the ruck than going toe-to-toe with Max Gawn.

No one would expect Lycett to beat big Max, but if he can negate the bearded Demon’s influence then his job will be well done.

Expect Lycett to concentrate on stopping Melbourne’s midfielders getting first use rather than worrying too much about feeding his own, and then he’ll be playing a tagging role of sorts while occasionally trying to drift forward to kick a goal or two.

Getting a bit of help from Nathan Vardy will help the cause.

#scott lycett

Forward: There’s no secret the Eagles’ attack is heavily reliant on Josh Kennedy – they’ve won 11 of the 12 games he’s played this year and just six of the 11 he’s missed – and he’ll be their go-to man again.

The last time these two teams met, West Coast lost in Perth, but Kennedy wasn’t there and Jack Darling was off after five minutes with concussion.

It took three quarters for JK to find his feet in the qualifying final after six weeks out with a shin injury, but when he did the Eagles suddenly became a whole new team and powered past Collingwood.

There’s no doubt Kennedy will be Simon Goodwin’s focus in the lead-up to the game.

Melbourne

It looked like it could have been another wasted year for the Demons until they kicked into gear in the last couple of home and away rounds, and now they’re playing as a committed group, but there’s always individuals who will be asked to go further.

Defence: Oscar McDonald has been in top form and will be given the job on Kennedy, but Sam Frost’s role on Jack Darling could prove just as important.

Darling averages a goal a game more when Kennedy’s playing, which means Frost will need to be at his absolute best if Melbourne is to stop an avalanche of goals going the wrong way.

The 25-year-old has been in top form over the second half of the season, playing a key part in a defence that has held opponents to an average score of just 69 points since Frost returned to the side in round 16.

If they can restrict the Eagles to anything like an 11-goal tally on Saturday the Demons will walk away with the win.

#sam frost

Midfield: Melbourne’s on-ballers ooze class and, while they’re far from soft, they are often unfocussed.

Not when Jack Viney’s in the team.

Viney has been the rocket fuel that has set the Demons’ finals campaign alight with a ferocity at the ball and man that is hard not to be inspired by.

If the co-captain can play as well as he has over the past two weeks it’s unlikely Melbourne will get beaten, and even if they do, you can be sure Jack Viney will leave nothing but a bucketload of sweat on the Optus Stadium surface.

#Jack Viney Nathan Jones

Forward: He’s gone from whipping boy to potential match winner in the matter of a season and Jake Melksham has the chance to lift his name even higher – to premiership hero.

There’s still a couple of games to play, but the former Bomber adds an element to the Demons’ forward line that is hard to counter in a similar way to Jordan De Goey at Collingwood and Josh Caddy at Richmond.

Like those players, Melksham is a mid-sized forward that can rove a pack as well as he can fly over it, and while he doesn’t hit the scoreboard quite as much, his four goals against the Eagles in round 22 and five against Richmond earlier in the year says he can do it when it matters most and against the best opposition.

That’s what you call a big-occasion player, and this is what you call a big occasion.

Mick Stirling