GAME analysis and education coordinator Craig Jennings says every game is important to the club, including the NAB Challenge.
Jennings said Melbourne was determined to produce another strong encounter in this Sunday’s NAB Challenge, against the Western Bulldogs at Craigieburn, after it defeated Port Adelaide by 19 points in its first hit-out for 2016 at Elizabeth last Saturday.
“The NAB Challenge is a really good opportunity for the players to implement what they’ve been learning all summer,” he told Dee TV.
“In some ways the scoreboard can be irrelevant, as long as you’re playing the way you want to play.
“Winning form is what you want going into round one, so the players are full of confidence.”
Jennings, who is in his first season with Melbourne, said he was pleased with his team’s ball movement and structures against Port Adelaide.
“We were really rapt with the result. We got five goals down and you only statistically win three per cent of games when you’re five goals down,” he said.
“For the boys to stick with what we’d been planning and training all summer – it’s a real credit.
“We nearly kicked 100 points in a shortened game of footy and defensively things worked really well, because we kept Port Adelaide to two goals across 50 minutes of footy.”
Jennings, who spent 10 years with Essendon and last season with the Western Bulldogs, said the Dogs have some genuine strength in their side and “will push for a premiership” this year.
“I know the ins and outs of the Bulldogs, but one thing I’ll say about that team and that coaching staff is that they’re very innovative,” he said.
“I went up and watched the Bulldogs play against GWS and there were a few little things that they’re trying and we’re aware of that.
“But the reality of the NAB Challenge is that it’s a real [opportunity to] focus on your game style and what you want to do.”
Possessing a wealth of statistical information, Jennings will play a key role in the coaches’ box this year.
“I can look at things from an opposition point of view … and I’ll see some of the things in the opposition that we might be able to exploit with some changes,” he said.
“I’m there to support all of the line coaches and sit alongside the senior coach and help them with their messaging [at the breaks].
“You don’t know what you’re going to get game day … but knowing what the opposition is doing at the stoppages is a really big advantage. I really just sit there and guide the coaches on what’s going to happen next and the impact on some of their decision-making.”
