Ratten hails Dees’ defence in defeat
ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten has hailed Melbourne’s defensive unit after the Demons downed his Saints by 38 points at the MCG on Sunday.
Melbourne restricted St Kilda to its second-lowest score of the year – 8.7 (55) – which was only 13 points more than the Saints’ low mark of 4.18 (42) in the slog up in Cairns last week.
The Dees have conceded on average only 61 points a game this season and having won their first eight games of the year, as part of a 15-game winning streak dating back to last year, are firming for back-to-back premierships.
“If the ball doesn’t go in there (Melbourne’s back 50), it’s pretty good isn’t it,” said Ratten, who is into his eighth season as a senior AFL coach. “Their mids and the way they share the ball and use the ball through their midfield and with (Max) Gawn and (Luke) Jackson in the ruck, they get first hands on it.”
Ratten was at Hawthorn as an assistant coach during its threepeat years of 2013-15, and while he stressed Melbourne had a long way to go before being spoken in the same breath as those Hawks teams, he said the Demons had “the capabilities” to achieve something similar eventually.
After winning five of their first six games, Ratten said his team got a “snapshot” on Sunday of what it took to be the best.