JAY Kennedy Harris was simply overjoyed to play at the MCG on Saturday night.
The midfielder/forward ran out in the red and blue for the first time this season; his return coinciding with Melbourne’s 50-point victory over the Western Bulldogs.
“I couldn’t help but smile once the final siren went and just hug all my teammates,” Kennedy Harris told Melbourne Media.
“Then to run along the members’ wing and give a couple of high fives to all the fans – it’s definitely good to be back.”
Having not played an AFL game since round 19 of last season, dominant performances with Casey Demons in the VFL saw Kennedy Harris earn his spot.
As he adjusted back to the pace of senior footy, the 23-year-old finished with 15 disposals, while a game-high eight tackles was a strong point.
But putting the pressure on is all par for the course.
“It’s just a ‘minimum standards’ sort of thing,” Kennedy Harris said.
“If I wasn’t winning the ball, just to stop them from winning it – that was probably the key.”
It was a focus that impressed Simon Goodwin, with the coach pleased in Kennedy Harris’ impact upon return.
“I was rapt to see Jay get those rewards today,” Goodwin said.
“He’s been doing that at VFL for the last five weeks, so it was no surprise to us that he came in and produced that sort of pressure.
“I thought especially his second half, himself and Charlie Spargo really set the scene from a tackling pressure perspective.”
It was during that second half that the Demons really came out firing – Melbourne lead by just three points at the main break.
Inspiring an eight goal to three third quarter, Goodwin’s half time message was enough to break the game open.
“He said we just had to love the grind,” Kennedy Harris said.
“We knew it was going to be hard and we were willing to just fight for that game.”
And with all the action happening in the centre – midfielder Angus Brayshaw had 12 disposals, three clearances and three inside 50s for the term – Kennedy Harris had prime position.
“I was on the wing, so I got a first hand look at how well the mids went out of the centre bounces,” he said.
“I was almost like a spectator – they were doing so much good work in there.”
The result marks Melbourne’s second consecutive victory after a mid-season drop in form – the Demons lost three games in a row to Collingwood, Port Adelaide and St Kilda – while the Demons also register their second win over the Bulldogs this year.
The red and blue now finds itself with 10 wins and six losses, as its looks ahead to face Geelong at GMHBA Stadium next Saturday.
And it’s a challenge the Demons will be eager to rise to in their pursuit of finals.
“Every game counts,” Kennedy Harris said.
“We’ll just get down there, give it our all and try and execute whatever we need to get done.”
