HOW memorable was Friday night?

The occasion was a fitting tribute. The result was perfect for the red and blue faithful.

Commemorating Anzac Day should be done in the right spirit. The sight of the Creswick Light Horse Troop carrying a torch into the MCG pre-match was moving. Seeing the great Ronald Dale Barassi light the cauldron added to it.

It was done with consideration and respected the moment.

Football, as coach Paul Roos quite rightly stressed in the build-up, shouldn’t be compared one iota with war. But what football does so well overall is respect the situation. And so it should.

When the pre-match tributes concluded, attention turned to the game. 

And it was from that moment that Melbourne made the most of a rare Friday night game – and made the most of being under the spotlight.

Like its win over the Gold Coast Suns in round one, there were several sub plots to Melbourne’s win.

Nathan Jones’ leadership, Tom McDonald’s continued red-hot form, Viv Michie’s return to the team and a host of others.

But it was the performance of three players – Jesse Hogan, Aaron vandenBerg and Angus Brayshaw – in just their fourth AFL game each that was again critical in the result.

The trio has come from different pathways, but their influence so far this year, particularly on Friday night was profound.

No doubt, the performance Hogan was one of the biggest talking points from the match.

His hulking (pardon the pun) crash pack mark in the final term was an absolute beauty and his ability to go back and slot a goal was – not only the absolute cherry on top of a Melbourne – but a sign of his class for a player just four games into his career.

Roos said it was the fact that Hogan never gave up that delighted him the most.

“I think people are appreciating his effort as much as anything else. He kicked two goals – it’s not like he kicked 10 – but his effort is really good. People love coming to the footy and seeing effort and we’re seeing effort consistently [from him] in the first month of footy,” he said.

“He’s played on probably the two best centre half backs in back-to-back [weeks] and he’s had two similar games. He’s kicked two last week and kicked two [against Richmond] and missed a couple.

“The thing I love about him is that he just keeps working. He doesn’t get fazed and if he drops a mark, he goes after the next one and if the ball hits the deck, he generally follows it up.

“If [Richmond defender Alex] Rance marked one on him, as he did a couple of times, he (Hogan) competes the next time, so it’s a really good trait when you’re a competitor. He’s got a big tank and he can run really well and I love the fact that he gives effort every week. I can’t complain about his form when he’s doing that.”

Along with Hogan, Roos said Brayshaw and vandenBerg’s continual efforts were what pleased him the most.

“Angus had a couple of ripping tackles in the middle of the ground, so they’re unusual traits, in a sense, of young kids coming into AFL football,” he said.

“So we’re really fortunate that three or four of the young guys like [Christian] Salem and [Aaron] vandenBerg have got natural defensive traits and that’s really important for us, as a group trying to improve week in, week out.

“So they were really good.”

For Brayshaw, you couldn’t wipe the smile from his face post-match. The second taste of victory from just four matches was something he liked a lot – and the occasion also added to it, given his personal link. 

“For me in particular, my older brother’s in the army, so it wouldn’t hold more significance for me, but it’s certainly close to home, with my brother being in the army at the moment,” he said.

“It’s just a special occasion, with all of our [wartime] history, and we just went out there and had a real crack and that’s all we could really do.”

And that’s what they did.

And that’s all Melbourne supporters could ask for.

It was that sort of occasion. 

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