Live: Demons seek MCG win over Kangaroos, Swans fight to keep finals hopes alive

More excellent stoppage work from Melbourne. Gawn’s tap actually bounced off Xerri’s head but the Demons were still most alert and through quick hands found Chandler in on goal.

Suddenly these boys can’t miss. It’s anyone’s game at the moment.

The umpires are having a bit of an influence here, but you can’t say these free kicks are incorrect or favouring one team over an other. There’s just a lot of costly free kicks being given away.

Turner clearly held Zurhaar back as the ball was coming towards them, and Zurhaar now has his radar dialled in. It’s a three-point game at the MCG.

The game is breaking open in the third quarter and North are certainly hanging in there.

Zurhaar nailed Lever in a solid tackle which the umpire rewarded, then converted from 45 out. The big fella is lifting for his team now.

A really sloppy free kick on centre wing turned a North intercept mark into a Demons forward launch, and Van Rooyen’s kick inside 50 to the leading Melksham was perfect.

As was the set shot from Melksham. The Demons get the lead straight back to 17 points.

He needed it, and his team definitely need it.

Zurhaar was first to the ball and won the free kick from a sloppy McDonald tackle, and then crucially slotted a set shot from a tight angle. That’s a real settler for the Roos, who were in danger of falling off the pace.

Clarko is losing his marbles up in the box because the Roos are their own worst enemy here. Some of the turnovers coming out of defence have been horrible.

This time the ball came straight back in from Salem and found Fritsch, who nailed his set shot. It’s a 17-point lead all of a sudden.

With the goalkicking yips still running wild at the ‘G, Maxy Gawn shows the rest of them how it’s done.

The shot came from what looked to be a very soft off-the-ball free kick as Tristan Xerri bumped him over about 60 metres from the play. But after that the shot, from all of 50 metres on a tight angle, was fantastic. Gawn has been winning that battle today.

It’s a breezy and cloudy Sunday afternoon at the MCG, and the second half is off and running. The Demons hold a slender lead over North and there wasn’t much to separate the teams in the first half.

The Saints have made three changes for the next game on our list, St Kilda vs Sydney. Liam Stocker, Hugh Boxshall and debutant Max Heath come into the line-up, The outs are the injured Jimmy Webster and Isaac Keeler, and the omitted Darcy Wilson.

Sydney have made two enforced changes, with last week’s injuries to Tom Papley and Joel Amartey. Into the side come Aaron Francis (after his suspension) and Riley Bice.

Bice will be the sub for Sydney, while Hunter Clark will be the sub for St Kilda.

We did have a decent game on our hands, and then a wicked case of the shanks made its way around the ground and suddenly no player from either team could get a straight look at goal away.

It’s meant we still have a close game and relatively watchable one, but a game that hit a period of stalemate as both teams scrapped and scraped in front of goal.

Demons were much better in that term though. Probably should be further ahead.

Kozzie Pickett has just produced the two worst kicks on goal of his life, but the ball never left the Demons’ forward end after them.

Eventually the ball found its way to Chandler bursting through the 50, and he had just enough space to cram a kick away and find the goals. Melbourne has kicked the last three.

These teams are trading runs at the moment. The Dees worked hard to just keep the ball alive inside 50 through a number of contests, but it was still only a half-chance for Langdon on the snap.

He made it look easy though, bending it through under pressure. Dees in front.

The Demons look at their most dangerous at the centre bounces, where Gawn, Petracca and Pickett seem to have an advantage.

Jefferson took a good mark on the second attempt and snapped neatly from the pocket. A soft one for North to concede.

Concerns for North as Paul Curtis limps from the field with some sort of leg injury, but good news for North as Darling takes a fantastic contested grab and bangs through his second.

North lead it by 11 points early in the second.

The Roos snatch the lead back right on the siren, with Paul Curts slotting his second from a set shot about 30 metres from goal.

You’d have to say it’s a lead North deserves too, though Melbourne has looked dangerous at centre bounces and Max Gawn is getting the better of the ruck battle.

North have seemed quicker and cleaner around the ground for the most part, but forward connection is an issue. Long way to go in this one.

Excellent kick inside 50 from Harvey Langford found Melksham leading into the space. The set shot required Melksham’s best and that’s exactly what it got.

Decent game this! I sincerely regret any comparisons to last night’s events earlier in the blog.

Brent Harvey, someone who knows a thing or two about kicking snags on the MCG, gets behind young Cooper’s first at the ground.

Too strong in the one-on-one! Curtis removed McVee from the contest with a timely shove then juggled the mark falling backwards.

The Roos have looked dangerous so far. If these forward entries are tidied up they could start to build a proper lead.

Tom McDonald was a little overly physical in that marking contest, holding Darling’s arm as the pack converged.

The set shot from directly in front was never in doubt for the experienced Darling. North have looked the better team so far and now have the lead to reflect that.