COACH Paul Roos says the coaches took the players to watch Easter Monday’s blockbuster clash between Geelong and Hawthorn at the MCG to reinforce the standards the group must aspire to.
Roos conceded Melbourne was “a long way off” from competition pacesetters, but he said it was important for the red and blue’s development to watch the competition’s top two teams go at it.
“We took them all across there on Monday and we watched it as a group and that’s what you’re hoping to show them,” he said on Dee TV’s Roos’ Views.
“You want them to see where the standard is, but every team tries to do the same thing, so it’s not rocket science. It’s not like ‘gee, Geelong and Hawthorn have got an extra player on the field … or they’re allowed to play a different game’. Everyone’s trying to do the same thing – they just do it a lot better than everyone else. [They play] hard, physical and you’ve got to tackle and you’ve got to chase.
“As much as you love watching Stevie J (Steve Johnson) and [Tom] Hawkins kicking five goals and [Sam] Mitchell and [Luke] Hodge – the basis of both of their games is they’re hard and they’re physical and they put pressure on the opposition.”
Roos said as much as the Hawks and Cats had talented lists, their work rate was critical to their success.
“It was a great game of footy … there’s a lot of teams a long way behind and we’re one of those teams,” he said.
“We are a long way off, but equally there’s no magic formula. As talented as their teams are, it’s built on work rate. [Hawthorn] coach Alastair Clarkson made a great point after the game and asked about Geelong.
“Everyone said Geelong would go down when Lingy (Cameron Ling) left, [Tom] Harley left and [Gary] Ablett left, but they’re a system team and they have good systems. They have good standards and they demand so much of each other. That’s why they’re continually competitive.”
Roos said Geelong and Hawthorn’s tackling was another key component of their success, which he said had to become a non-negotiable.
“It’s a mindset and something that I’ve got to continue to reinforce – I’m not sure if it was a focus here before hand – but it’s something the players have got to value – the defensive side of the game,” he said.
“Great teams do it – Geelong and Hawthorn do it – and we’ve just got to put a huge value on it and the players have got to realise how important it is. We’ve just got to continue to talk about it, and talk about it, and talk about it.”
Reflecting on the eight-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG last Sunday, Roos said his team didn’t maximise its opportunities in the finish.
“It was one of those games of momentum, which most games are now. They (Gold Coast) didn’t take their chances and then we didn’t take our chances,” he said.
“There were a lot of points kicked on both sides. We’ve been competitive, but it’s frustrating because we won the week before and it would’ve been nice to take that momentum into the game.
“For most of the game, we were competitive, but when we drop off, that’s what really hurts us at the moment and stops us from winning games.”
Roos said he would keep driving home the absolute fundamentals to his players, which he added would ultimately transform the team.
“It’s about making sure we get the real basic stuff right. When you’re a team where we are and we’re developing and [we’re] young and coming off some tough years, there’s a lot of stuff to work on – there’s no question and we don’t shy away from that.”
“The most disappointing thing for us is that we had 80-odd tackles [against Carlton] and on the weekend we had 40 [against Gold Coast]. You look at the [Easter Monday] game between Hawthorn and Geelong and it’s such a physical battle – and we’re a mile off those teams, but that’s where you want to get to.
“To start to get there, you’ve got to put some real basic principles in place. [Our tackling] was the most disappointing number for the weekend – that we were really down in that area, when we were so good the week before.”
