BACKLINE coach Troy Chaplin says the partnership between key defensive pillars Oscar McDonald and Jake Lever is only getting stronger.

Chaplin, the former Port Adelaide and Richmond defender, said he was delighted with the progression of the 22-year-old duo in recent weeks.

He said McDonald was now reaping the benefits from a strong summer.

“Oscar has worked really hard on his game this year. All throughout pre-season, he spent a fair bit of time in the gym, trying to get stronger,” he said.

“He’s been in the system for four seasons now, so he’s starting to mature, and he’s certainly looking bigger and stronger. He’s spent a lot of time on his contested craft – his marking craft.

“He’s probably gone from being a guy who halves contests to actually winning some now, so we’ve been really pleased with his progression. At the same time, we continually challenge him to get better as well.”

Chaplin said McDonald was also emerging as a genuine leader.

“We’ve seen some real growth in him and the best thing about him is that he’s got some real qualities as a leader. He’s slowly starting to feel comfortable and speak up more,” he said.

“He’s had a fantastic year, but the challenge for him is to maintain it for the whole season and really start to put himself among the top defenders in the league.”

On Lever, who is only 13 days older than McDonald, Chaplin said the boom recruit was showing why he was targeted strongly by the club.

“We’re pretty keen to have Oscar and Jake as the two pillars for our club, as long as we can. And if we need three talls, we’ve got guys who can come in and play that role,” he said.

“Jake has started to find some form, after a rough start to the year, but you’ve got to expect that in a new guy coming to the club. He’s been able to find his feet.”

Overall, Chaplin said the backline was making a strong contribution. And he said Bernie Vince had been one of Melbourne’s most underrated players.

“I think Bernie has had a fantastic year – he’s been consistent right across the board,” Chaplin said.

“Hibbo (Michael Hibberd) and Nev [Jetta] have started to find some form as well. Lewy (Jordan Lewis) and Salo (Christian Salem), we’ve also been able to throw down there as well.

“Lewy adds that leadership for us and is a calm head, so he can get us out of tricky situations and in fact, Christian’s the same. We’ve got a good group and nucleus that’s really starting to gel well together.”

Chaplin said the steadiness of Melbourne’s backline was becoming a feature of the team.  

“The past four or five weeks have been good and they’ve started to get some continuity now – they’ve played with each other for seven or eight weeks,” he said.

“We had some pretty strong conversations a few weeks’ back about some individual performances and as a collective, and they’ve responded really well.

“Even the Richmond game, despite the last quarter, they were really solid. It certainly helps when our mids are putting pressure on – it makes the backs’ job easier.”