The Demons pulled off a thrilling comeback win over Collingwood in front of over 70,000 fans at the MCG yesterday.

Demons back from the dead

Trailing by 23 points at half time it looked like Melbourne’s season was as good as finished. But a Christian Petracca inspired comeback, sealed with a running goal from Jack Watts, broke Magpie hearts.

It really was a phenomenal performance and a wonderful sight to see a delighted Neale Daniher out on the ground with his beloved Demons, the club he coached to a Grand Final back in 2000.

The final siren brought with it ecstasy for Dees fans. For the black and white army however it was a different story.

Collingwood Anger

The umpires walked off the field yesterday to a chorus of boos from furious Collingwood fans.

Whilst the free kick count only saw the Demons finish the match with four more free kicks, many Pies fans felt they were ‘robbed’ at various times throughout the match.

So the @AFL fixed the #AFLDeesPies game again.. Surely these umpires need a kick up the ass.. They are useless … @CollingwoodFC — Greg (@Huski67) June 12, 2017

Nathan Buckley agreed with fan sentiment on Footy Classified last night saying the Pies had been unlucky at times.

“I don’t think we got the rub of the green but that’s gonna happen. Ultimately, late in the game, they’re easy ones to go to,” Buckley told Footy Classified.

“Invariably it evens up, definitely across a long enough period, but the Collingwood supporters would feel hard done by this week. Especially with those late decisions that stand out for you.”

The AFL continued its experiment with four field umpires which does seem to create a little bit of confusion at times.

There did seem to be a Demons throw that wasn’t picked up in the last quarter. But to be fair there were mistakes that went both ways throughout the game. The Pies were paid a mark at half forward late in the second quarter which clearly hit the ground. The mark propelled another Collingwood attack which led to a goal.

To blame the umpires for yesterday’s loss really is clutching at straws. The umpiring wasn’t brilliant but Collingwood had the four points in the bag. They let their intensity drop in the third quarter and paid the price.

by Michael T. Lynch – contributor