Round 3, 2023
Melbourne vs Sydney
Sunday 2 April
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 42,423
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 6.1 | 9.3 | 14.4 | 21.8.134 |
| Sydney | 1.3 | 6.6 | 9.9 | 12.12.84 |
Melbourne win by 50 points
Goalkickers: Kade Chandler 3, Bayley Fritsch 3, Jacob van Rooyen 3, Lachie Hunter 2, Clayton Oliver 2, Charlie Spargo 2, Ben Brown 1, James Jordon 1, Jake Melksham 1, Alex Neal-Bullen 1, Harrison Petty 1, Tom Sparrow 1
Brownlow votes:
3 - Clayton Oliver
2 - Christian Petracca
1 - Bayley Fritsch
Coaches votes:
9 - Clayton Oliver
7 - Christian Petracca
6 - Ed Langdon
3 - Brodie Grundy
1 - Lachie Hunter
1 - Kade Chandler
Milestones:
First game and first goal
Jacob van Rooyen
150 games
Clayton Oliver
A week after losing to one of the sides that beat them in the 2022 finals, the Demons returned home to face the other side who beat them in September. Without the injured Max Gawn, Melbourne were comfortably beaten in clearances early in the game but a strong performance by the backline kept the Swans at bay. The Demons hit them on the counter-attack, racking up six goals in the opening quarter to set up a comfortable lead.
Sydney reduced the margin to six during the third quarter, but were unable to keep their momentum up and when Melbourne's midfield took over they kicked seven goals to three in the final term to win comfortably.
Best were Oliver, Petracca and Grundy. Jake Melksham replaced Ben Brown (back injury) for the last quarter.
Links
Demonblog match review