FORWARD line coach Daniel McPherson says it’s crucial the Demons back up their outstanding win over Adelaide last round with another strong performance against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday night.
McPherson said it was important Melbourne produced a consistent effort against the Dogs, as the red and blue aims for back-to-back wins.
“The basics we did really well last week and the effort was fantastic and it was just more of a team performance. Everyone was playing for each other, rather than looking after themselves,” he told Dee TV.
“If we can back that up, we think we can be really competitive.”
McPherson said last round’s win over the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval was “fantastic” for all at the club.
“It was a really good effort by everyone involved last weekend,” he said.
“We haven’t won over in Adelaide for a long time, so to get that win was great for the club and especially the blokes who have been around for a long time. It was a really good confidence booster.”
McPherson said the confidence of the group had grown since the win.
“There is a stronger sense of belief now. I reckon the win against Carlton was really good for a confidence point of view, but this one three weeks later backs it up,” he said.
“The challenge now is to have a really good performance this weekend, whereas after the Carlton game we fell away against Gold Coast.
“It’s a really big night with the breast cancer awareness night, so I’m really looking forward to seeing the boys back it up.”
McPherson said key forward Chris Dawes had made a key massive difference since coming back into the team from injury in round four.
“He was sensational and he’s been really good since he came back into the team three or four weeks ago,” he said.
“He took his game to another level the other night and he really presented, and it was a good reward for him that he was able to slot through three goals, whereas a couple of weeks [ago] he was missing a couple.
“He nailed every opportunity the other night and he was great.”
McPherson said the forward set-up was developing strongly, although with a different look than initially expected.
“We’re starting to get a little bit of that structure that we were hoping that we’d get at the start of the year, [but we’ve got] different personnel slightly – we didn’t expect ‘Chip’ (James Frawley) to be there at the start of the year,” he said.
“He’s also done a really good job since he’s been there and Cam Pedersen has carried a lot of the load too, so they’ve done a good job.
“Jay Kennedy-Harris and Christian Salem have come in ... and Byrnesy’s (Shannon Byrnes) has been pretty good and some of the midfielders have been slotting through there as well, so it’s been good.”
