There is an old adage in sport — with injury comes opportunity and this season Melbourne has proven it to be so.

The Demons' months of pain in 2024, where every ounce was squeezed out of an aching playing group, can now be looked upon fondly as the club returns to a preliminary final this weekend, its fourth across 10 AFLW seasons.

Its ninth-place finish last year, with six wins from 11 games, was the club's poorest ever return.

Melbourne suffered its greatest ever loss, and averaged its second-lowest score throughout 2024 — two signals of just how far it had fallen from the lofty standards it set for itself.

Other clubs might only dream of a bad season still resulting in a near-miss when it comes to finals, but for the ever-achieving Demons it was a low ebb.

Melbourne's dangerous gam

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