MIDFIELDER Dom Tyson says the Demons are under no illusions about the difficulty of stopping West Coast ruckman/forwards Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox this Sunday at the MCG.
Given Melbourne is missing several talls due to injury, the Demons will have their work cut out against the dynamic West Coast duo. But Tyson said his team was ready for the challenge.
“They looked pretty slick against the Dogs [last round] and we’ll go through a bit of their play today (Friday) in the meeting and we’ll find a way to nullify their rucks,” he said at AAMI Park on Friday.
“But they’ve got some great bigs and it’ll be important for us to feed off them a little bit and help out their rucks.”
“They’re certainly two premium ruckmen in the AFL, so we’ll have to be on our toes as midfielders around the ball.”
Tyson, who said Naitanui was one of the best athletes in the AFL, could run his own show and the Demons needed to be on their game.
“He can run his own show a bit in the middle and rove his own taps, which we’ve seen on numerous occasions, so it’s more than follow up,” he said.
“If he gets the tap, you’ve got to make sure you bottle him up and don’t let him run through the square and kick an amazing goal.”
“He’s pretty good to watch, but hopefully we can nullify him this week and he can do it for the rest of the weeks.”
Tyson said tall forward/defender turned midfielder Jack Watts was set to play, despite being snapped by the Herald Sun wearing a compression bandage at training during the week.
“He’s bouncing around this morning, so I think he’ll be ready to go,” he said.
“He was super impressive last week and we need him out there, and he just filled a really good role in the midfield.
Tyson said tall defender Tom McDonald (corked thigh) and key forward Jack Fitzpatrick (concussion) had also “pulled up pretty well” and was set to play.
Tyson said Roos had told the players to focus on the process and not the scoreboard, which “looks after itself”.
“If two or three goals are kicked against you in a row, [players can] look up [at the scoreboard] and say ‘gee, we’re two or three goals behind’ and then it can become six or seven [goals in succession].”
“So we’ve just got to worry about the next contest and hopefully having an impact and keeping things close.”
He said Melbourne needed to make the most of its goalkicking opportunities, but he added that missed shots in front of goal were caused by several factors.
“It’s a pretty high aerobic game. By the time you’re having your set shot, it’s probably on the end of running 200 metres and pushing off someone and getting out into space,” Tyson said.
“So sometimes it’s a bit of fatigue, which I’d imagine would get a few players and sometimes it’s just a lapse in concentration.
“It’s often the pressure of the opposition [as well], so it’s a combination of factors I’d say.”
Meanwhile, Tyson said it was good to see his former team Greater Western Sydney chalk up its first win over cross-town rival the Sydney Swans in round one.
“It good to watch those boys get a win … they were super impressive and we’ve got them in a couple of weeks’ time.”
