TOMAS Bugg says Melbourne has quickly flicked its attention to this Saturday’s clash against Port Adelaide at TIO Traeger Park, after easily defeating the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Sunday.
Bugg said it was important not to get carried away with its 63-point win in round nine, as Melbourne has a six-day break before it plays in Alice Springs.
“On their own merits, they’ve (the Power) been inconsistent, but their best is up there with the best, so that’s what we’re going to prepare for this week. We’ll just go with our strong mindset,” he said at AAMI Park on Monday.
“We know their best footy is up there with the best, so we’re going to prepare for that.
“We’re training a little bit earlier this week. We’re flying out Thursday and it’ll be a recovery based week, but we still want to get a solid training session in before we play Port.”
Bugg said Melbourne’s win over the Lions was the type of win it needed to produce.
“We had a really young side out there, so to not play our greatest footy and still win by 10 goals is a sign that we’re improving and we’re going to be a good side,” he said.
“It was a really good win by the guys. I don’t think we played our best footy, but it was really pleasing to see that we got the win.
“We had a couple of guys step in and play their role. That’s a credit to our depth.”
Although Melbourne is ninth on the ladder at the moment, Bugg said there was no top eight talk at the moment.
“We don’t really get caught up in that. It’s a week to week basis for us, because we know that if we drop off, we can have poor performances,” he said.
“For us, as cliché as it is – it’s taking it week by week, because we know if we drop off, it can really hurt us.”
Bugg said the likes of former co-captain Jack Grimes, who had 34 disposals for Casey against the Box Hill Hawks at Casey on Saturday night, were pushing hard for selection.
But he added that he players who were getting their chances, like Ben Newton, who had 20 touches and kicked a goal against the Lions, were also taking their opportunities, making a selection a difficult task.
“The thing for us at the moment is that we’re getting a really solid contribution from everyone in the team,” he said.
“It’s really good because in the VFL we’ve got other guys performing really well.
“Benny Newton was a sign of that and he got his chance on the weekend, so if we keep that depth, it’s a credit to the guys that are actually playing well in the firsts.”
Meanwhile, Bugg said he was confident the senior coaching transition from Paul Roos to Simon Goodwin would be a smooth one at the end of next season.
“Roosy and Goody share the coaching at the moment. Roosy oversees it all and Goody takes a lot of training,” he said.
“The transition won’t be hard, because Goody also has a lot of impact on the group.
“We really value Roosy and his experience on training day and game day – especially on game day. The transition will be easy I would’ve thought.”