MELBOURNE has completed a successful pre-season campaign, securing two wins from its two early hit-outs.
The Demons triumphed over St Kilda at the end of February and on Saturday, put a full stop to their pre-season with a 50-point win over Richmond.
Assistant coach Adem Yze joined media following the final practice match and was modestly positive about the team’s efforts leading into Round 1.
“We wanted to get through the game unscathed, no injuries, and really put our game to the test against a good side in Richmond,” Yze said.
“[Now] we look forward to Round 1.”
Melbourne’s start to 2023 has seen the combination of Max Gawn and new recruit Brodie Grundy become a talking point among both supporters and naysayers, with the pair impressing footy fans on Saturday and giving audiences a glimpse into what to expect for the upcoming season.
Gawn and Grundy both spent time across the ruck and forward line, proving crucial in front of goals as the duo combined for a total of six majors.
“They’re obviously two quality players, so we’re just trying to work out the game time and how often they play forward,” Yze said.
“They both hit the scoreboard today and we expect them to go down there, and we need them to go down there, and play well as a forward.
“It will evolve over time…that’s still going to be a work in progress and today worked pretty well.
The new recruits, such as Grundy, weren’t the only fresh faces to hit the field during the pre-season, with a number of young names featuring in the Demons’ line-up these past two weeks.
Second and third year players in Judd McVee, Bailey Laurie and Taj Woewodin all had time on ground during the Tigers clash and didn’t look out of place among an array of experienced players.
“It’s great to see some of these young players come through, so we know we’ve got a really strong list and our depth is really good,” Yze said.
“Seeing some of these first and second-year players come through is what we want and our older players get excited by having them around.
“We can call on those players and know that they are ready to play.”
This year, the Demons will be looking to improve upon their 2022 finish that saw them bow out in straight sets during their finals campaign.
Yze insisted that the group had tweaked their game plan ahead of this upcoming campaign, with the hopes to go those few steps further in 2023.
“Every team is going to try and play a little bit quicker, so we really like the way that we’ve played and moved the ball over the last couple of years,” Yze said.
“But there were some issues in our game that we really wanted to straighten up.
“Our forward line mix is going to help with that and we’ve changed a little bit of our forward entries and we’ll look to attack the goals a bit more.
“It was nice to see us hit the scoreboard and look really potent on offence."
