The Age

Tough love for Demons
By AAP

CRITICISM has been flowing freely at Melbourne, with the blessing of caretaker coach Todd Viney. Promising young defender Luke Tapscott said Viney's coaching style mirrored his playing approach - honest and direct - and he was using his short reign to urge his players to be similarly frank with each other. The powerful-kicking 20-year-old said there had been some long match-review sessions, in which players who had strayed from the team ethos or structures were bluntly rebuked. ''The players are trying to drive that at the moment,'' Tapscott said ahead of today's game against Gold Coast at the MCG. ''If we want to go forward, you've got to get the criticism, the positive criticism. That's going to help you in the best way. ''There's no point going the long way around. We might as well let each other know where we need to improve, so that's really what Toddy's trying to drive. We've tried to do it in the past, but Toddy's just brought it in and is really trying to drive it pretty hard. He just sees that as a way we can all get better.''