MID STRENGTH
Intoxicating Dees prepare to serve Cats some Melbourne...
MELBOURNE co-captain Nathan Jones has backed his side’s emerging midfield to match Geelong’s starstudded ensemble, declaring Saturday night’s clash the “perfect” challenge.
Jones believes the GMHBA Stadium’s skinny confines suit his team’s style of play, with the Demons’ rapid ball movement among the best in the competition.
Melbourne’s coast-to-coast transition speed is second only to Richmond and the Demons are ranked No. 1 for defensive-50 chains that end up in an inside-50.
That breakneck ball movement was on display against the Western Bulldogs last Saturday, when the Demons kicked eight unanswered goals in 14 minutes of irresistible third-quarter footy.
Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver combined for 72 disposals against the Dogs alone, leaving Jones confident his side had the onball arsenal to match it with the Cats.
“They’re similar to us really,” he told the Geelong Advertiser of the midfield comparison.
“I think some of those young guys for us have been outstanding, particularly Brayshaw and Oliver (on Saturday) but also their season really. Those two will match up well against some of their boys, and our midfield runs pretty deep as well.
“We’ve got plenty of guys who end up running through there, so it should be a real key to the game, there’s no doubt.”
Jones said the Demons’ planning would centre more on Geelong’s past month than the Round 1 battle when Max Gawn missed what would have been the matchwinning goal.
“They’ve probably tinkered with a few things since Round 1, so 100 per cent we want to go down there and win the game, that’s the aim of it,” Jones said.
“It’s a skinnier, narrower ground — a bit longer. We tend to play all right on grounds of that shape.
“We’ll just take it as it comes, really. It’s another op- portunity to play another quality side and we look forward to that challenge.
“Whoever, whatever, whenever is what we’re trying to do and we want to play our best footy at every chance we get, and this week is no different really.”
While the Cats crushed the Demons by 111 points in their last meeting at Kardinia Park in the final round of 2016, Jones has fond memories of the ground.
The tough midfielder had 35 possessions and ruckman Max Gawn came of age with 44 hit-outs when Melbourne upset Geelong by 24 points at Kardinia Park in Round 12, 2015, souring Corey Enright’s 300th match.
“We’re looking forward to that challenge, it’s perfect for us, it’s another challenge that we really look forward to,” he said.
“We had a crack a few weeks ago against Port Adelaide over there, which was a big ask. We played some really good footy and didn’t quite get the job done.
“We’ve had some success down at Geelong before and we were close earlier in the year and we look forward to playing a quality team again.”