MELBOURNE is set to return to Optus Stadium on Friday night for the first time since last year’s nightmare Preliminary Final outing.
But co-captain Jack Viney says the venue holds no fears and won’t have an impact on his side’s performance against the Eagles in Round 9.
“It’s a different year, different teams,” Viney said on the club’s Inside Melbourne podcast.
“You just take it for what it is. You go off how they’re travelling – their last few games – and how we’re tracking, and you go out there and try your best to beat them.
“I doubt there’ll be many people with that thought or anxiousness of going to West Coast with what happened at the end of last year, I know I’m certainly not.”
The Demons fell one step short of a Grand Final berth in 2018 after copping a brutal 66-point loss to the Eagles.
But Viney is keeping that game in the past and hasn’t dared to watch it since.
“I don’t think I’d get much of a highlight out of it except for a few tears and pretty hurtful emotions,” he said.
While there will be external noise in the lead up to Friday’s clash, internally the Dees aren’t worried about what happened last season.
“I know that’s the narrative out there but us as players, we’re so week-to-week focused that that game feels like a life time ago,” Viney said.
“So we’re just looking forward to getting out there and looking to make it three in a row and build.
“I feel like we’re starting to build, starting to find our feet again and we don’t want to stop.
“There’s plenty of improvement to be done so we want to go over there and find it against a really good side.”
Viney tackles Eagle Mark Hutchings in the 2018 Preliminary Final (Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Melbourne will be playing their second consecutive away game this week, but after registering two wins on the road already this season, the trip won’t be of concern.
“We’re a team that loves travelling and you get to bond and spend a bit of extra time together and our performances have been reasonably strong interstate,” Viney said.
“It’s a nice thing to have but at the same time it’s similar to having lost by 70 points last time we played them, it’s something that you’re not really focusing on a whole deal.
“It’s just more about how we travel, our game style, and what roles need to be executed on the day, and then we go over there and get it done.”
Listen to the full episode of Inside Melbourne below.
In episode 37 of Inside Melbourne, we break down that game winning point with the man himself(0:30), look ahead to traveling back to Perth for the first time since 2018 (9:30), discuss Tom's love for Mustangs (16:00) and his personal form so far this year (21:20). We find out some interesting facts about the McDonald family (25:00), discuss life growing up in the country and take all your questions from the outer.
