RUCKMAN Max Gawn says his side’s ability to draw on its early season form contributed to Sunday’s 36-point victory over Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
Although Melbourne had lost to Hawthorn and Richmond in its past two rounds, Gawn was confident the Demons could get back on the winners’ list.
“I’m a little bit bullish about how we’re actually going,” he told Melbourne Media.
“Geelong, we missed by a kick – we won’t go into it. We won on the road against Brisbane, broke a 17-game hoodoo against North [Melbourne] and then let ourselves down with the two last games.
“We just needed to come back and play the footy we did in the first three weeks and we did that today.”
Gawn was at the heart of the action, finishing with 42 hit outs, 16 disposals and five tackles, with 24 of those hit outs going to advantage.
His dominance looked to have ruffled the feathers of Essendon fans, with one spectator leaning over the fence and letting the ruckman know his thoughts.
The encounter, which occurred in the third term, and resulted in security speaking to the fan, didn’t seem to bother Gawn.
“He wasn’t making 'Sunday Funday' very fun; 1.10pm is the kids’ timeslot, so I wasn’t really over the moon with some of the words that were coming out of his mouth,” he said.
“Nothing offended me, so it was all good.”
The 26-year-old’s hard work in the ruck was rewarded, with the Melbourne midfield combining to win the centre clearances 16 to four.
Coach Simon Goodwin said the midfielders had clearly “played their roles incredibly well” throughout the afternoon.
“We’ve been working with our midfielders for the last couple of weeks around their connection and how they can improve that,” he said.
“Our midfield coaches in Justin Plapp and Ben Mathews have done an enormous amount of work under not much time frame – [they’ve had] five days to actually build that connection.”
Meanwhile, the forward line had a burst of energy in the form of young Charlie Spargo.
Kicking two goals and racking up 18 disposals on debut, Gawn said it was reassuring to have a player like him out there.
“Those two goals early in the game; we were in situations where we really needed them,” he said.
“It’s good to know he can really stand up in those critical times.
“He’s a goer, so I’m happy with him in the team.”
The Demons now find themselves with three wins and three losses, and will take on St Kilda in round seven.
Looking ahead to next week, Gawn said his team were excited to return in what will be back-to-back games at Etihad Stadium.
“We’re starting to like Etihad, which is good,” he said.
“Hopefully the Melbourne fans can start to like it here as well, and we get a good turn out next week against a rival we’ve had over the last couple of years in the Saints.”
