BOOM recruit Mitch Clark has whetted the appetite of the red and blue faithful with an impressive display during Melbourne’s intra-club clash at Casey Fields on Friday afternoon.
Clark took several strong grabs in contested situations and kicked two goals, impressing new coach Mark Neeld.
“I think he excited the Melbourne supporters that were here and that’s good,” he said.
“He’s here to play forward, so if we see more of that over the year - if that becomes a consistent part of his game - then we’ll be pretty pleased.”
Neeld was also pleased with another new Demon James Sellar.
“[He was] a key back today and I thought he was pretty good,” he said.
“We’ll look at [our NAB Cup] opponents against Brisbane and Gold Coast and I’m sure we’ll find a suitable match-up for James.”
Along with the new Dees, Sam Blease was particularly impressive with his dash. He also kicked a lovely goal under pressure from the pocket.
Rookie Tom Couch was consistent in the midfield and showed he has a strong work-ethic. Matthew Bate looked rejuvenated in the midfield and draftee Josh Tynan showed poise and courage down back. He was particularly good in the latter part of the match.
Big man Stef Martin was also good. He kicked the first goal of the match and showed skill in attack and in the ruck.
Daniel Nicholson, sporting a shaven head, was among the action early, as was another second-year Demon Jeremy Howe.
Co-captain Jack Trengove (leg), Jared Rivers (ankle), Liam Jurrah (wrist), Jake Spencer (knee) and Max Gawn (knee) were absent.
Colin Sylvia, Luke Tapscott, Jordie McKenzie, James Strauss, Jordan Gysberts, James Magner, Michael Evans Rory Taggert and Leigh Williams were rested/did not play.
Overall, Neeld was pleased with the hit-out, which consisted of eight by eight minute sections.
“It was a competitive, close game,” he said.
“Teams were picked relatively even and it turned out that way, so I was pleased with that.
“It was a bit windy, [players] were a little bit nervous and there were more stoppages, but that was more [how it panned out] than game design.”
Looking ahead, Neeld said Melbourne will take 34 players to Queensland for next Saturday night’s NAB Cup clash against Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium.
“We just need to work out early this week, what will be the make-up of who plays Gold Coast and who plays Brisbane,” he said.
“[Also] part of the four week NAB series is about the coaches getting used to working with one another and that’ll take a while.”
Neeld said veteran Aaron Davey was on target to play two of the four NAB Cup matches.
“We’ll just stick to that plan and see how he pulls up after the first one,” he said.
Clark took several strong grabs in contested situations and kicked two goals, impressing new coach Mark Neeld.
“I think he excited the Melbourne supporters that were here and that’s good,” he said.
“He’s here to play forward, so if we see more of that over the year - if that becomes a consistent part of his game - then we’ll be pretty pleased.”
Neeld was also pleased with another new Demon James Sellar.
“[He was] a key back today and I thought he was pretty good,” he said.
“We’ll look at [our NAB Cup] opponents against Brisbane and Gold Coast and I’m sure we’ll find a suitable match-up for James.”
Along with the new Dees, Sam Blease was particularly impressive with his dash. He also kicked a lovely goal under pressure from the pocket.
Rookie Tom Couch was consistent in the midfield and showed he has a strong work-ethic. Matthew Bate looked rejuvenated in the midfield and draftee Josh Tynan showed poise and courage down back. He was particularly good in the latter part of the match.
Big man Stef Martin was also good. He kicked the first goal of the match and showed skill in attack and in the ruck.
Daniel Nicholson, sporting a shaven head, was among the action early, as was another second-year Demon Jeremy Howe.
Co-captain Jack Trengove (leg), Jared Rivers (ankle), Liam Jurrah (wrist), Jake Spencer (knee) and Max Gawn (knee) were absent.
Colin Sylvia, Luke Tapscott, Jordie McKenzie, James Strauss, Jordan Gysberts, James Magner, Michael Evans Rory Taggert and Leigh Williams were rested/did not play.
Overall, Neeld was pleased with the hit-out, which consisted of eight by eight minute sections.
“It was a competitive, close game,” he said.
“Teams were picked relatively even and it turned out that way, so I was pleased with that.
“It was a bit windy, [players] were a little bit nervous and there were more stoppages, but that was more [how it panned out] than game design.”
Looking ahead, Neeld said Melbourne will take 34 players to Queensland for next Saturday night’s NAB Cup clash against Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium.
“We just need to work out early this week, what will be the make-up of who plays Gold Coast and who plays Brisbane,” he said.
“[Also] part of the four week NAB series is about the coaches getting used to working with one another and that’ll take a while.”
Neeld said veteran Aaron Davey was on target to play two of the four NAB Cup matches.
“We’ll just stick to that plan and see how he pulls up after the first one,” he said.
