By Marty Jeffrey
April 13 2003

It seems that some teams are sick of tryingto win at the dome. With the roof closed due to a downpour of mass proportions, Melbourne scored an easy win over the Bulldogs. In front of just over 20000 hardy souls (more than the game at the MCG), the demons recorded a 20.7.127 to 14.11.95 victory to put themselves into the top 8.

It was simply a case of a tall forward line overpowering a small defence. Coleman medalist David Neitz kicked 7 goals and generally terorised a defence missing captain Chris Grant before the game, and losing tough as nials defender Steven Kretiuk during it. 7 goals from 9 marks and 11 possessions tell the tale of a player many believe was not the player of 2002 after going goaless last week.

Again the bulldogs midfield was reasonably strong, but it could not contain the damage. Brad Johnson had a good game with 27 touches and a goal, but there was little support. Luke Darcy was beaten by the combination of Jeff White and Darren Jolly, Scott West was well contained as was Mark Alvey. After the game, coach Peter Rhode put the players on notice to lift their game or be dropped to the Werribee side.

FINAL SCORES:
MELBOURNE 20.7.127
BULLDOGS 14.11.95

BULLDOG GOALS: Giansiracusa, Brown 4; Garlick, R.Murphy 2; Johnson, Bowden

BULLDOG BEST (from afl.com.au): Murphy, Smith, Brown, Giansiracusa, Johnson
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In TXU VFL action, the Werribee tigers suffered their first defeat of the season losing to Melbourne affiliate Sandringham by 40 points. For Werribee young draftee Tim Walsh bagged 2 goals as one of 2 multiple goalkickers on the day. Sandringham's Peter Vardy pushed for senior selection with 4 goals.