CONTEST and competitiveness were top priorities for Melbourne coach Mick Stinear on Saturday night, with both proving paramount against a Gold Coast outfit at Casey Fields.
The Demons, who suffered their first defeat of the season last week, executed what was required, bouncing back on their home deck for their fourth victory of 2022.
Having been prepared for a fight, Stinear said he was pleased with how his group behaved and reacted against the Suns.
“Gold Coast are basing a game around the contest, and they’ve started the season really strongly,” he said in his post-match press conference.
“Adelaide certainly beat us in that area last week, so that was a big part of it for us tonight – being first to the ball and physically putting some pressure on them with our tackling game.
“I think that pressure potentially took its toll on some skill execution at times for us, but because we were able to hold our own in the contest, we got opportunities in front of goal.
“There’s certainly some things we’d like to be a bit better on, but in terms of what we wanted to bring tonight, that was our contested game and our competitiveness, so we walk away happy with what we produced.”
In what was another windy contest at Casey, the pressure was rife from the outset, the two teams combining for 178 tackles – the most aggregate tackles in the history of the competition.
Lily Mithen led the way with 12, followed closely by Karen Paxman (11) and Eliza West (10), as both sides came prepared for the contest-heavy battle.
For the Dees, this was the catalyst for 27 inside 50s, which resulted in 20 scoring shots and majors from Tayla Harris (two), Daisy Pearce, Megan Fitzsimon and Eliza McNamara.
“Tonight, our midfield did a great job,” Stinear said.
“With Tyla Hanks and Maddi Gay out, I think our midfield group of the likes of Eden Zanker, Eliza West, Karen Paxman really stood up tonight and gave us that opportunity to get the ball in our forward half.
“We were a bit shaky early with our set shots. We kicked five (goals), eight (behinds) for the night and might’ve missed another seven that didn’t register a score.
“To have 20 scoring shots, that’s a good outcome, but obviously we want to be having a better conversion rate.”
Mithen was a standout, collecting 15 disposals alongside her 12 tackles, while defender Libby Birch (16 disposals and five marks) was impressive and reliable down back.
Ruck Lauren Pearce finished the night as the highest possession-getter (20 and 20 hitouts), overcoming an ankle concern to be a key asset to the Demons’ mix.
“You can see tonight how important she is for us, and she certainly got things going in the middle tonight,” Stinear said.
“To her credit, she’s been great over the last couple of years at managing injuries and getting herself right for game day.
“I’m sure she’ll be a little bit sore, but she’ll recover well and get ready to do battle again next week.”
Melbourne will now turn its attention to another big clash next week, set to take on GWS on Sunday afternoon at Casey Fields.
