COACH Paul Roos acknowledges that this Saturday’s clash against Carlton will be a “big game for both clubs”.

Roos said the clash against the Blues was simply an opportunity for the Demons to get better at “what we’re trying to push”.

“I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about taking the scoreboard down – and certainly our players have got to forget the scoreboard. That’s one thing we’re really pushing,” he said on Dee TV’s Roos’ Views.

“For us, it’s contest to contest. The scoreboard is going to look after itself and there are going to be errors in games. Even the good games now, we’re seeing plenty of errors, because there is so much pressure.

“The good teams just keep doing the things they do over and over again and don’t worry too much about the scoreboard. That’s something we’re really focusing on here.

“You’ve just got to play for 120 minutes and that’s what we demand. If you play for 120 minutes and you give effort, sometimes a less talented team is going to get beaten by a more talented team.

“But that’s what we’ve got to focus on – giving effort for the whole game and really the only chance we’ve got is by doing that.” 

Roos, who will come up against Mick Malthouse for the 14^th time, said he had genuine respect for the Carlton coach. 

“Mick and I have actually got a pretty good relationship. I’ve always got on pretty well with Mick. He’s probably in a similar position. I don’t think he’s going to be coaching Carlton for a long, long period of time,” he said.

“He wants to go in and help that footy club and do the right thing by them and I’m sure at some point in the not too distant future, he’ll ride off into the sunset, so there’s some similarities [between us].

“We don’t always get on like a house on fire – but there’s a fraternity and we all understand what we’re doing and there’s only 18 jobs and there’s different challenges for different clubs, but in some ways they’re all very similar.

“We’re all trying to manage players and get our players up every week, so it doesn’t matter what coach it is.

“I enjoy coaching against all of the coaches, but once game day comes around, it’s really player versus player and our job is finished by tomorrow (Friday) at lunchtime. Mick will be the same with his team and there is very little you can do on game day and it’s really up to the players.”

Roos said a drop in focus for almost an entire quarter was critical in last round’s loss against GWS. 

“For 91 minutes, we were OK and we were in front, but we’ve got to concentrate on the 25 minutes we weren’t very good. That’s the consistent theme of the club. We’ve got to push excellence and push standards and keep driving that. That’s the only way you get to where you get to,” he said. 

“Hawthorn went through it years and years ago and Geelong went through it and the Doggies have worked their way through it over the last two or three years, so it certainly takes time.

“Unless you set standards, you’re never going to get there.”

Meanwhile, Roos said it would be up to the medical team to decide whether Chris Dawes, who is set to return from a calf injury this weekend, was fit for VFL or the AFL.

“That’ll be more of a medical, football department decision – clearly he’s ready to play football and it’s not often now we see players come straight in, because of the three interchange and the sub. It just puts a lot of pressure on,” he said.

“We’ll have a discussion about where Dawesy’s at and I’d say it’d be more of a medical decision than a footy decision.”

Roos said players weren’t just going to be handed AFL matches, even if they had impressed after one match at Casey.

“Our seconds had a good win last week, which was terrific. [But what] we’re trying to set as a coaching group, along with the leadership group, is some standards for the seconds,” he said.

“You just don’t walk in, just because the seniors lose.

“We’ve got to set the standards in the VFL team – and the VFL is an extremely important part of this football club. If guys are adhering to those standards, they’ll get a game. If they’re not, they’re not going to get in, just because the seniors have lost.”