NEW leader Tom McDonald says Melbourne has been pleased with the way it is approaching each game so far in the NAB Challenge.
Although the red and blue has won two from two, McDonald said it was the attitude and intent that had impressed him the most.
“The way we’ve trained, hopefully that comes out in the way we play,” he said.
“Even though we haven’t played amazing football – we haven’t been the most efficient or sexy football [team] – we’ve been doing contested ball, tackling and inside stuff pretty well, and that’s been the base line.
“The missed handballs and missed kicks are going to improve, as we keep nailing that down, so it’s been a pretty positive pre-season so far.”
McDonald said back-to-back wins over the Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs respectively was something he hadn’t achieved before at Melbourne.
“I’ve never won two games in a row – be it in the NAB Challenge or the regular season, so it’s a first,” he said.
“I don’t think if we’d have lost both of the games and we had have played the same way that we wouldn’t be too concerned either.”
McDonald said taking on St Kilda captain and superstar Nick Riewoldt would be a team effort from the Melbourne defenders – and not just a one-on-one battle.
“Hopefully the way we’re playing this year, it’s not just about a one-on-one match-up and we all help each other out,” he said.
“I help Col Garland out and I help Oscar [McDonald] and Oscar helps us and we split the time on the forwards evenly around the ground.
“Hopefully, if things are working well, that’s the way it is and you don’t have to be so conscious of your own man and you can help each other out a bit more.”
McDonald said his younger brother Oscar, now in his second AFL season, was making genuine progress. Oscar played two matches late last year.
“He’s been doing some good things this pre-season and he adds some things to the team that will be really helpful and he’s put on a bit of size,” he said.
“He’s still skinny, but he’s strong enough to compete. Down the track, in two or three years, he’ll be a bigger boy and a lot bigger than me.
“He’s added some good things and had last week off and hopefully he’ll be back in this week and ready to go, and put his hand up for round one, which would be pretty exciting.”
McDonald, who was one of five new members named in Melbourne’s new-look leadership group this week, said it was a genuine privilege.
“It’s a real honour to have your teammates vote you in and the coaches approve the selection, which hopefully means they respect my ability to be a leader,” he said.
“It doesn’t change anything – we don’t want guys who are now in the leadership group to go and change the way they lead and doing different things, because that’s what got them there in the first place.
“There might be a heightened focus on some things, but I’ll go about things the way I have for the past pre-season and the past four or five years. That’s the way I’m looking at it.”
McDonald said he tried to set a good example on the way he prepares and competes to
“I need to be more vocal on the field with teammates, especially when it gets late in games and you’re tired. Sometimes you start thinking about where you need to be, but now in the leadership position, you need to be thinking about others and how they’re setting up.”
“I’m still not great at it, but I think I just need to keep leading by example and showing the way.”
