ALEX Neal-Bullen has praised the efforts of new teammate Bayley Fritsch, who made his AFL debut in Melbourne’s season-opener against Geelong Cats at the MCG last round.

Fritsch started on fire, when he took an outstanding mark and converted the first goal of the match. But it was team play that caught Neal-Bullen’s eye.

“I really loved seeing Bayley Fritsch out there playing,” he told Melbourne Media.

“He’s a super talent and he showed that on the weekend. He took a couple of speccy marks and did a few special things, but what I loved about him was his contest work, his tackling and his inside pressure acts. I thought that was a huge highlight for a player in his first game.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him continue to keep working and grow into a mature footballer.”

Neal-Bullen, who kicked two goals against the Cats, said he was eager to build on his solid start, where he kicked two goals in Melbourne’s three-point loss.

“I was OK. There are a few things that I want to work on, just looking back on the vision,” he said.

“It was good to get a couple of crafty goals, but in saying that, I’m not satisfied, so I’ll keep working on what I need to work on – and it’ll happen.

“I’m playing that high half-forward position, which is a high work-rate role. You sometimes go into the midfield, and it’s about making sure that I’m putting on a lot of pressure and intensity – consistently. If you get on the end of a few goals, then that’s a bonus.”



Neal-Bullen takes down Geelong's Tim Kelly

Neal-Bullen said plenty had been learned from the round one review.  

“It was a game we took a lot out of, although we didn’t get the result we wanted,” he said.

“We got a lot of learning from it and you want a hit-out like that straight up, because you learn so much from your first game of the year.

“There were a lot of positives to take from it, and we’re not worried about it – it was just part of the growth of the footy club.”

With Melbourne set to take on the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba this Saturday night, Neal-Bullen said it was a great opportunity for the team to produce a strong result on the road early in the season.

“It’s an exciting challenge. We’re looking forward to getting up there and putting in place what we learned from last weekend,” he said.

“We’re going to attack it like any other game, but we understand that Brisbane is a quality side on their home ground. It’s going to be another huge challenge and one that we’re willing to take front on.

“The Lions are young, so youth can energise a side and we’re aware of that. It’s going to be a challenge going up there, because we haven’t been up there for several years. We’re going to do everything we can to make it a good result for us.”