Melbourne saw off Richmond 12.6 (78) to 6.7 (43) in the clubs’ lightning-affected Community Series tune-up in Ballarat on Friday afternoon.
Six minutes into the third quarter, with the Dees up 35 points, the match was abandoned after play was halted for the second time due to lightning in the area.
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The Demons controlled the clash from start to finish, led by Caleb Windsor and Max Gawn, who combined for 18 score involvements.
Windsor, a bright spot in Melbourne’s revamped midfield, gathered 15 disposals and kicked a smooth running goal, while Trent Rivers and Changkuoth Jiath were also among the side’s major ball-winners.
Tim Taranto collected 19 disposals, while skipper Toby Nankervis added 15 and a team-high six score involvements.
The Dees had 10 individual goalkickers, with Jacob van Rooyen leading allcomers with three majors.
Tom Lynch made a solid return to Richmond’s senior outfit, booting two goals with five score involvements.
Just two minutes and 20 seconds into Friday’s contest at Mars Stadium, play was halted due to lightning in the area.
“We did notice this pre-game; it was travelling away from the stadium. Obviously, there’s a little bit more around,” Brad Johnson said on Fox Footy.
Jones: “Taking it positive” | 08:09
Nick Dal Santo added: “Just to put that into perspective, 30 minutes ago there was nothing but sunshine. Now, the lightning’s come in extremely quickly.”
Rules dictate that if lightning is detected within 10 kilometres of the venue, there is to be a break in play.
After a 30-minute spell, the teams returned to the field and play resumed.
Developing Melbourne forward Luker Kentfield exited just minutes after the first ball-up with a knee injury after an awkward landing in a marking contest in which he also copped a knock to the head.
There was also an injury concern for Tigers’ top-10 draft pick Sam Cumming, who went to the bench before quarter-time holding his right shoulder, which was already strapped.
The young midfielder was ruled out of the game in the second quarter, with the Tigers hoping the issue is at the minor end of the scale.
Rising Demons star Caleb Windsor was absolutely everywhere in the opening term, running riot for an equal-most 10 disposals, a running goal, and a staggering seven score involvements.
He also attended close to every centre ball-up in the first quarter, showing more promise that he can develop into the Dees’ next midfield gem.
“He has been magnificent,” Fox Footy caller Dwayne Russell said.
Nick Dal Santo added: “What I’ve loved is his work rate, particularly out of contest, his ability to push forward and be really damaging.”
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Richmond made some inroads on its deficit early in that second term, but its momentum was short-lived as Melbourne kicked the last two goals of the first half to lead by 37 points at the main change.
Tim Taranto led all with 18 first-half possessions, while Windsor had nine score involvements as the Dees already had nine individual goalkickers.
Jacob van Rooyen kicked a game-high three goals in promising signs.
Melbourne had 12 more inside-50s than the Tigers at the half and looked far more threatening in transition, with Richmond consistently sloppy with ball in hand.
Almost halfway through the third quarter, play was once again halted due to more lightning in the area.
“If it gets too dark, they might consider calling the game off,” caller Dwayne Russell said.
Brad Johnson added: “That’s right, because they don’t have the lighting here to be able to keep this game going. So, there will be some discussions being had between the clubs with the AFL officials with regards to what the remainder of this game looks like.”
And a few short minutes later, league officials made the call to abandon the match with the Dees ahead almost six goals.
The 3-2-1 (what we learned) …
3. NEW-LOOK DEES CONTINUE TO SHINE
In a scratch match against North Melbourne last week, Kysaiah Picket was so dominant he would have picked up not just the three votes, but every vote had they been on offer.
During what has been a pleasing pre-season for Melbourne under new coach Steven King, it was left to other young Demons to shine in what is a new look midfield.
Caleb Windsor was a driving force from the middle in the first term, with his creativity and ability to win the ball a feature as a more potent Melbourne jumped the Tigers.
The 20-year-old gathered 10 disposals and, after a couple of score assists, capped a seven goal opening term from Melbourne with a fine contribution himself late in the piece.
Former St Kilda and North Melbourne star Nick dal Santo was impressed with Windsor and said he was shaping as a driving force in a midfield that has lost Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, among others, since their premiership success in 2021.
“He looks smooth, doesn’t he? And there are going to be opportunities,” the Fox Footy pundit said.
“We have spoken about some of the greats who have left this midfield, some of the greats of the game, particularly over the last 20 years, and the likes of Windsor will give a different look inside the middle.”
Former Melbourne captain and current assistant coach Nathan Jones was delighted with the deeds of Windsor, Trent Rivers and also ex-St Kilda skipper Jack Steele through the middle.
“I think the strength of that midfield group is now the strength of the group, if that makes sense. It’s … got a bit more depth,” he said.
“I think the profile of the group’s absolutely changed in terms of just its ability to transition from a running power perspective. We still value obviously winning the ball, but the game’s tweaked a bit in terms of your ability to be able to pressure and strip and win it back as much as just winning the ball and exploding … on offense.
“We’ve put some time into that, and we’ve exposed players to that, and I think that’s still evolving. There is an opportunity for us to continue to get better in there, but it’s exciting like I think some of the boys in there have got huge upside and aren’t super experienced.
“But we’ve also got some experience around them. I think Jack Steele looks like he’s shaping up to have a really strong season … and he plays a pivotal role for us, from an experience point of view, in there, and Trent Rivers has had some exposure.
“But … It is the growth of those guys that you’ve mentioned, Harvey Langford and Caleb Windsor, and we’ve obviously seen Kozzie in there for a bit last year and he’ll still spend some time in there and forward, so it’s exciting. I’m loving it.”
2. VAN ROOYEN RAISES HOPE AS OLD TIGER LOOKS SHARP
It is not uncommon for a promising youngster to endure a case of the second second blues but the challenges came a year later for promising Melbourne forward Jacob van Rooyen.
Drafted with pick 19 in 2021, the West Aussie spent a year with Casey in the VFL before flourishing in his debut season when kicking 28 goals from 20 games in 2023.
He followed up with 30 goals in 21 matches before hitting the skids last year, which is not necessarily surprising given the Demons also fell away.
But just as Melbourne coach Steven King is promising a new dawn and clean slate for the Demons, van Rooyen produced a promising second term on Friday before the cancellation.
The 22-year-old kicked three second term goals for a Melbourne team that has been potent in six quarters of pre-season footy against the Tigers and the Kangaroos.
van Rooyen, who returned to the VFL for a six week stint in 2025 in a season where he kicked 16 goals from as many matches, said recently he had learned from the challenge.
“I think at the start of last year, that (external pressure) is something I didn’t handle very well, but I’ve done a lot of work off the field with various people, with my mentality and performance mindset, making sure I know how to manage that pressure,” he told the Demons website.
“I think in the end, last season was a good thing for me because I know if I ever go through rough patches of form again, that I have those tools in place to come out the other side.”
Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson said it was evident the young Demon, who has received guidance from Troy Chaplin, had been working on the timing of his leading.
“He looked good. He really has. He has led into some beautiful holes,” the Fox Footy expert analyst said.
“He just seems to be reading the cues quicker and getting into space at the right time. And that is about work rate as a forward.
“He was always a worker – he did work hard – but he just seemed to be under the footy or there too early and that is a real timing thing with van Rooyen. He seems to have straightened that up.”
Melbourne assistant coach Nathan Jones said that it was a credit to van Rooyen, who has played 57 games, to realise he had deficiencies he needed to improve on.
“That’s a reflection of the pre-season he’s had,” he said.
“You only have to look at him from a physical perspective, without even watching him play, and you can see his body’s changed and he’s matured and that’s a credit to him with the work he’s put in. He reset himself after what was probably a frustrating year for him.
“He’s a high talent and had sort of a semi-breakout year and was probably expecting even more, and that didn’t come to fruition for him last season, so he went away and put the work in, and you start to reap the benefits of that.
“He’s in a terrific position to have a strong season and it’s a credit to him with the work he’s done with Chappie, from a physical fitness perspective. He’s in as good a shape as he could ever be.”
While the Demons were pleased with van Rooyen, Richmond was happy with the impact champion spearhead Tom Lynch had when kicking 2.3 in just over a half of footy.
Lynch kicked 26 goals in 16 games last year after managing just eight games in the two seasons before that and it is crucial for the Tigers that he plays most of the season.
“I thought he fought really hard, Lynchy,” Tigers assistant Chris Newman said.
“They’re a great defense. They’ve got some key pillars back there that can really intercept the ball and influence the play. But I thought he held his own in a lot of those contests. He was outnumbered and fought and bought the board of ground, and he might have ended up with 2.3, or something like that.
“He had a couple of opportunities that he’ll lose sleep over, but as long as he’s providing a really strong contest for us and leading the way in what is a pretty young forward line, (that’s what we want). I love what he brings to this club, and he’s still fighting and trying to get better himself.”
1. LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE AMID DOUBLE INJURY BLOW
Spare a thought for promising Melbourne forward Luker Kentfield, who kicked 25 goals in the VFL last year and shaped as a prospect to keep an eye on this year.
In the brief break before lightning halted play for the second match in succession after the Giants clash with Sydney was delayed on Thursday, Kentfield suffered a double-whammy.
Wearing a mask to protect a facial injury, the key forward shaped to mark in attack when he was clipped in the head by a spoil from Kane McAuliffe, which sparked double-trouble.
The 20-year-old passed a concussion test, but he was clearly shaken up by the head knock. And by virtue of landing awkwardly, he also managed to injure his left knee in the incident and was assisted from the field by two trainers.
Harvey Langford, who received a free kick in place of Kentfield, kicked a goal before play was halted due to a storm that sat just north of the regional city.
By the time the match was called off on a bizarre day in Ballarat, he was in hospital for further treatment.
The Tigers, meanwhile, will be monitoring the fitness of Sam Cumming after he was forced out of the match with a right shoulder injury suffered in a contest in the first quarter.
While Richmond assistant coach Chris Newman said he was not certain about the prognosis, the Tigers confirmed last year’s No.7 draft pick will undergo scans on the joint.
Cumming had shown promise and appeared a candidate to debut against Carlton in Rd 1, but the Tigers will take no risks with the South Australian given his promise.
Then, of course, there is the weather. Even for a city renowned for its fickle winters, the Rat really turned it on on Friday and there is the promise of more to come this weekend.
After a warm and sweaty day, dark clouds formed shortly before the opening bounce behind Black Hill, a suburb north-east of the gold mining town. And then havoc ensued.
Play lasted just over two minutes before play was halted due to lightning, which led to a break of 35 minutes.
The footballers moved back into position about 4.50pm to resume the match, but in truth there did not seem to be much difference in the position of the lightning or dark clouds.
The topography can be misleading, but clearly the AFL was satisfied the strikes were now occurring outside the 10km zone, despite regular flashes in the distance.
By quartertime the temperature had dropped significantly, with a chill in the air, and the wind was blowing so hard the goal posts at the Crewsick end of Mars Stadium were rattling.
Given the repeated flashes of lightning in the background, it seemed only a matter of time before play would be halted again, as proved the case at 6.15pm.
Not long after, play was abandoned.
Recap Dees-Tigers in Foxfooty.com.au’s blog below!
MELBOURNE SELECTED SIDE
B: B.Howes 22 J.Lever 8 D.Turner 10
HB: X.Lindsay 5 C.Salem 3 C.Jiath 14
C: H.Langford 4 J.Steele 9 T.Sparrow 32
HF: E.Langdon 15 L.Kentfield 44 K.Chandler 37
F: K.Pickett 36 J.van Rooyen 2 B.Fritsch 31
Foll: M.Gawn – C 11 C.Windsor 6 T.Rivers 24
I/C: H.Petty 35 T.McDonald 25 K.Tholstrup 12 L.Pickett 33 H.Sharp 30 B.Laurie 16 X.Taylor 19 T.Matthews 20
Emg: J.Melksham 18 J.Adams 26 M.Heath 27 R.Mentha 39
Missing: Steven May, Jake Melksham, Jack Viney, Brody Mihocek, Jake Bowey, Tom Campbell, Shane McAdam, Jai Culley
RICHMOND SELECTED SIDE
B: N.Broad 35 B.Miller 12 J.Gibcus 18
HB: J.Trezise 36 S.Grlj 24 J.Short 15
C: T.Sonsie 40 S.Lalor 4 K.McAuliffe 28
HF: S.Campbell 44 M.Rioli 17 S.Green 48
F: R.Mansell 7 T.Lynch 19 H.Armstrong 34
Foll: T.Nankervis – C 25 T.Taranto 14 J.Ross 5
I/C: T.Brown 30 H.Ralphsmith 13 J.Hopper 2 S.Cumming 22 C.Gray 50 S.Banks 6 L.Trainor 11 L.Fawcett 43
Emg: P.Retschko 33 K.Smith 49 J.Alger 29 Z.Peucker 26
Missing: Nick Vlastuin, Dion Prestia, Noah Balta, Samson Ryan, Judson Clarke, Jonty Faull, Taj Hotton
