The Melbourne fans went through the full scale of emotions throughout Sunday's game. There were cheers, resounding boos and deafening periods of silence. As the Giants kicked five goals in a row in the second quarter, the fans started to grow very restless. When the club trailed by 19 points at three-quarter time, the fans let the players and coach Mark Neeld know all about the predicament. But the Demons faithful found their voice in the final quarter as Melbourne came home with a flurry, booting 12 goals to the Giants' two, to charge home and win their first game of the season. They even started belting out the club's theme song late in the final quarter, just to show where their heart lies.
2. The million-dollar man
Along with current co-captain Jack Trengove, Tom Scully was supposed to be the blueprint for Melbourne to build its club around. But then the 2009 No.1 draft pick stunned Melbourne fans when he chose to walk away from the club and join Greater Western Sydney as its marquee recruit. Scully was criticised for not living up to his high-price pay cheque for much of last year, but he certainly delivered against his old side at the MCG on Sunday. As is typical, his tireless work rate and clever ball were clear features of his game. Amidst the stinging boos from the Melbourne strong crowd, Scully collected 26 disposals in a performance that would allow him to keep his head held high.
3. The winless and the listless
The Demons and the Giants both came in to the game without a win to their name. After a topsy-turvy game, littered with basic skill errors and a load of terrible mistakes, it was Melbourne who ran away with the spoils. They did it the hard way, though, coming from 19 points down at the final change. As usual midfielder Nathan Jones, who racked up five Brownlow votes against the Giants in two games last year, was the steadying influence for Melbourne through the middle. Jones had 28 disposals and added a possible three more votes to his kitty.
4. Get around him!
Setanta O'hAilpin returned to the Giants' line-up to play his first game since May 2012, after a torn ACL kept him sidelined for much of last season. His three first-term goals, and five for the match, provided clear highlights for Greater Western Sydney, but it was his work after the goals that was creating all the buzz. After each goal, the Irishman saluted the crowd with arms waving frantically and urging his teammates on. His comical antics certainly caught the attention of Geelong star James Kelly, who tweeted: "What about Setanta's celebrations #woooowooooowooooo #afldeegiants."
5. AFL left 'orange faced'
It's a pretty well known fact that the predominant colour of the AFL's newest team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, is orange. So it would be pretty safe to assume that the League would try to avoid any sort of clash with the colour orange. But from the start of the game, it became clear that this was not the case. Both the Demons and Giants runners' uniforms were decked out in said colour orange, which had the potential to create all sorts of confusion throughout the game. Luckily it didn't, but this situation needs to be sorted out immediately, before it costs a team the game.
