BIG man Mark Jamar says he was delighted with the return of ruck partner Max Gawn in Melbourne’s 17-point win against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
Jamar (30 hit outs) and Gawn (19) helped Melbourne finish with 50 hit outs to Richmond’s 36, as they played a key role in the Demons getting first use of the ball.
The 30-year-old said sharing the ruck duties with Gawn, who played his first match for the season, worked “really well”.
“I love having big Max or big Jake [Spencer] as genuine ruckmen in the side,” Jamar told Dee TV.
“I thought we were able to swap over a bit faster, so I could go forward a bit and he could go in the ruck.
“I thought that combination worked really well and hopefully we can stick at it and keep improving it.”
Jamar said Melbourne’s third win for the season was “fantastic”, particularly when the game was in the balance during the last quarter.
“It’s a hard-fought win and they were coming at us in the last quarter and we really stuck together and stuck to our processes and roles and got the result in the end,” he said.
“We went into [the final quarter] in front and they fought back and I was really hoping that we all stuck to our tasks and didn’t let the bundle drop.
“We had to keep attacking and keep going at it … to the boys’ credit we stuck at it and snagged a couple of goals late, which really gave us a bit of a lead. We just hung on and the boys really came away with it in the end, which was great.”
Jamar said Melbourne’s ball movement was a key reason for its improvement in recent weeks.
“If we don’t just blaze away and hit our targets – we’re a pretty dangerous side,” he said.
“It’s when we start bombing it into our forward 50 and they get their numbers back – that’s when I think we struggle.
“If we can keep possession of the ball and keep slicing up the opposition, I reckon that’ll hold us in good stead moving forward for the second half of the year.”
Jamar said the atmosphere in the rooms post-match following the win was exactly “why we play football”.
“We’ve got the board of directors in here, a lot of family and friends and supporters that have made their way down to the change rooms and we just can’t thank these guys enough,” he said.
“It wasn’t our home game, yet they turned out again in big numbers. The crowd out there was electric and then to come into the rooms and sing the song – and have everyone in was just great.
“It was really, really good for Melbourne people.”
