COACH Mark Neeld says he never felt comfortable about Melbourne being over the line, after his side won its fourth match of the season against Greater Western Sydney at Manuka Oval on Saturday.
Although the Demons led by 44 points early in the final term, GWS finished the quarter with five goals to two, reducing the final margin to 25 points.
Neeld said he didn’t know a coach in the history of the game who felt at ease until the final siren sounded, but he was still pleased to chalk up a win on the road.
“We started particularly well with some of the things that we wanted to achieve,” he said.
“A lot of that has got to do with work rates and one percenters and just some basic fundamentals that we feel as a club we’ve been unable to do on the road, so we made a big focus of that during the week.
“There was a little bit of frustration there in that last quarter - GWS’ effort in contested possessions and clearances, in particular, was good for them.
“I just felt that we didn’t play the last quarter with as high intensity as what we had the previous three [quarters]. But a lot of credit probably needs to go to GWS for the way that they did that.”
Neeld said inaccuracy in front of goals - Melbourne had 29 scoring shots (including 18 behinds) to 14 - was an area his team would hone in on.
“We’ve kicked 18 behinds, which is obviously not ideal, when you’re trying to put scoreboard pressure on away from home,” he said.
“Again, we’ve got a youthful side - we’re aware of that and that’s an importance of being able to have a look at what we learned from winning interstate.”
Meanwhile, Neeld offered some heartfelt words on behalf of the club, on the passing of former under 19 coach and football character Ray ‘Slug’ Jordon.
“Our club wore the black arm bands for Ray ‘Slug’ Jordon, who was a long time coach at our footy club,” he said.
“He coached two premierships in the under 19s and he coached one at reserve grade level, and he was instrumental in the young players coming in to our footy club.
“He had a proud history in the AFL/VFL, so we thought it was really important to let everybody know that, and our condolences go out to his family.”
Although the Demons led by 44 points early in the final term, GWS finished the quarter with five goals to two, reducing the final margin to 25 points.
Neeld said he didn’t know a coach in the history of the game who felt at ease until the final siren sounded, but he was still pleased to chalk up a win on the road.
“We started particularly well with some of the things that we wanted to achieve,” he said.
“A lot of that has got to do with work rates and one percenters and just some basic fundamentals that we feel as a club we’ve been unable to do on the road, so we made a big focus of that during the week.
“There was a little bit of frustration there in that last quarter - GWS’ effort in contested possessions and clearances, in particular, was good for them.
“I just felt that we didn’t play the last quarter with as high intensity as what we had the previous three [quarters]. But a lot of credit probably needs to go to GWS for the way that they did that.”
Neeld said inaccuracy in front of goals - Melbourne had 29 scoring shots (including 18 behinds) to 14 - was an area his team would hone in on.
“We’ve kicked 18 behinds, which is obviously not ideal, when you’re trying to put scoreboard pressure on away from home,” he said.
“Again, we’ve got a youthful side - we’re aware of that and that’s an importance of being able to have a look at what we learned from winning interstate.”
Meanwhile, Neeld offered some heartfelt words on behalf of the club, on the passing of former under 19 coach and football character Ray ‘Slug’ Jordon.
“Our club wore the black arm bands for Ray ‘Slug’ Jordon, who was a long time coach at our footy club,” he said.
“He coached two premierships in the under 19s and he coached one at reserve grade level, and he was instrumental in the young players coming in to our footy club.
“He had a proud history in the AFL/VFL, so we thought it was really important to let everybody know that, and our condolences go out to his family.”
