Demons rookie ‘shattered’ after BRUTAL hit left Luke Foley concussed, as Melbourne win 16th straight

Melbourne rookie Kade Chandler was ‘shattered’ after a brutal collision with Luke Foley resulted in the Eagles defender suffering a concussion.

Foley was in possession late in the fourth quarter of West Coast’s 112-38 loss against Melbourne at Optus Stadium, when he was chased down by Chandler, who tackled him to the ground.

With his arms pinned behind his back by the Demons rookie, Foley couldn’t brace himself for the impact and hit the turf hard head first and lay prone for a few seconds.

Luke Foley had to be assisted off the field after suffering a concussion against Melbourne

His teammates were soon on the scene to help him, before medical staff intervened and eventually helped a visibly groggy Foley off the field.

Seeing the outcome of his tackle on the Eagles defender left a mark on Chandler, who replaced injured midfielder James Harmesnow in the final term and now faces suspension.

‘He’s shattered that he’s had that impact on a player,’ Melbourne Goodwin said post-match.

‘It’s a really difficult footy incident. It’s a chase down tackle from a long way away with speed and momentum.

Foley was tackled by Melbourne rookie Kade Chandler late in the final term at Optus Stadium

Foley hit the turf hard and couldn’t brace for collision as he had his arms pinned behind him

The Eagles defender lay prone on the turf for several seconds as teammates intervened

‘We obviously feel for the lad, but to Kade’s credit, he’s pretty upset about it. In the end it’s a big chase down tackle in the end has had a bad impact.’

The incident overshadowed Melbourne’s 74-point win over the Eagles, as Melbourne’s new-found love affair with Perth continued on Sunday night.

The result marked Melbourne’s 16th straight win, with the run including last year’s grand final triumph – also by 74 points – over the Western Bulldogs and the 83-point preliminary final demolition of Geelong, both at Optus Stadium.

Perth had previously been a graveyard for the Demons, with Melbourne losing 17 straight matches at Subiaco Oval between 2004-2016.

Medical staff eventually arrived on the scene and helped Foley off the field

But the defending premiers have now won four straight games at Optus, with their latest win keeping them at the top of the ladder with a perfect 9-0 record.

Sunday’s result was soured, however, by a hamstring injury to Harmes, who limped off in the final quarter.

Meanwhile, West Coast forward Liam Ryan is almost certain to be suspended for a bump to the head of Melbourne young gun Jake Bowey.

Although Bowey was able to play on, the high nature of the hit and the fact Ryan ran past the ball to deliver the bump will count against him.

Melbourne maintained their perfect record this season and have now won 16 straight games

Ryan was subbed out in the final term with a hamstring injury.

The Demons’ had winners all over the field.

Clayton Oliver (28 disposals, seven clearances) and Christian Petracca (28 disposals, two goals) cleaned up in the middle, Andrew Brayshaw (24 possessions) provided plenty of rebound from defence, while Tom McDonald (four goals), Kysaiah Pickett (three), and Bayley Fritsch (three) cashed in up forward.

Max Gawn and Luke Jackson dominated in the ruck.

Demons captain Max Gawn dominated the ruck as Melbourne won 112-38 in Perth

Tom McDonald (left) kicked four majors in the 74-point win over West Coast

While Kysaiah Pickett helped himself to three goals as the Demons ran riot over the Eagles

Eagles midfielder Tim Kelly battled hard to win 32 disposals and five clearances, but West Coast’s on-ball brigade was overwhelmed.

The Eagles started the match without 11 of their best 22 players after Josh Kennedy (sore knee) was a late withdrawal, joining the likes of Nic Naitanui, Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff, Oscar Allen, Dom Sheed, Willie Rioli and Shannon Hurn on the sidelines.

The first-quarter stats were ugly and perfectly summed up Melbourne’s dominance.

The Demons won the inside-50 count (20-4), clearances (14-4), and contested possessions (40-28) on the way to winning the quarter 6.5 (41) to 1.0 (6).

Christian Petracca was at his best, racking up 28 disposals and kicking two goals 

West Coast stemmed the bleeding in the second term and restricted Melbourne to just one goal, but the damage had been done.

Eagles duo Jamie Cripps and Bailey Williams produced special checkside goals in the third quarter.

But West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern was left fuming after suffering through an umpiring howler.

Liam Ryan faces suspension for a bump to the head of Melbourne young gun Jake Bowey

McGovern had taken a defensive mark and wanted to take his kick before pointing to Petracca, who had made no effort to leave from the protected zone.

Instead of paying a 50m penalty, the umpire called play-on and pinged McGovern for deliberate out of bounds, with Petracca nailing the subsequent goal.

West Coast worked hard to keep the margin at 44 points, but the floodgates opened in the final term as the Demons piled on seven goals.