A Melbourne home win against Melbourne City would be a compelling battle and Melbourne's first appearance in the AFL playoffs in the last nine years.
Melbourne finished third in the regular season but haven't had any success in their last three league games. If they want to return to good form and attack the playoff champions, they have to win this hard fought battle like they did today. When you're in a pyramid battle, you don't need any motivation at all. I'm sure Melbourne's players who won the Silkies will have a strong fighting spirit and vow to beat Melbourne City again, just as they did when they met in April.
I'm a big admirer of Konaroly, who has been quite a delight to watch, scoring 18 goals this season. I'm sure teammates such as McHedge and Daniel Assini are happy to play alongside this experienced attacker.
Melbourne City have been mediocre this year, defeating the Western Conference 1-0 on Sunday to account for a one-two punch from Macallan. In three consecutive regular season games, they have only clinched the last playoff spot.
Melbourne City, led by Vidmar, conceded too many goals, but their offense is still strong. While Jimmy McCarron's grasp is not as strong as in previous seasons, he tends to be on top of his game. The 30-year-old forward, who holds the Australian record for career goals, announced earlier that he would be leaving after the season. He will surely be hoping to win a title before he leaves the team.
This knockout match is going to be quite exciting and I expect Melbourne City to end up winning this match and advancing to the quarterfinals.
