WHILE many Melbourne fans were hoping for the club’s postponed clash with Essendon to take place this week, that won’t happen.
After being informed about the situation on the weekend, the Dees moved on quickly, turning their attention to the Cats.
“What’s important is, when we found out this news on Saturday, the first couple of questions that we wanted to know is, ‘Will this game go ahead this week?’,” GM of Football Josh Mahoney said on SEN radio.
“We were told that it wouldn’t, so then our preparation goes straight away into our next opponent, which is Geelong on Sunday.
“The AFL, the MCC, did a great job to coordinate a practice match on the MCG which we played on Sunday, then our preparation is all about Geelong.”
Although facing the Bombers immediately would seem like the fairest option, Mahoney says scheduling an impromptu game would actually be a bigger disruption for the club.
“In a year where there’s not much certainty, you just crave for some,” he said.
“And for us, [it’s important] just to know that our next two opponents are Geelong, and then we go up to Sydney and play in Sydney.
“That’s what our players are after and that allows us to prepare.
“Although there’s a lot of different options being thrown up, we think that’s the best preparation for us.”
The whole league is well aware that the 17-game fixture is going to look different, and the Dees are just trying to adapt to each challenge as efficiently as possible.
“It’s one of those seasons where there’s so many different scenarios,” Mahoney said.
“We’re seeing for the first time, teams flying up to play interstate and flying back the same day, we’re seeing hubs; there are so many different scenarios.
“So all we speak to our players and staff about is just control what you can control.
“For us, it’s just we can control our attitude to how we adapt to any changes and our response to anything that’s thrown at us.
“I’ve been really proud of the way the boys have reacted, first of all, to play the way they did on Sunday and certainly in their preparation for this week.”
Listen to Mahoney’s full interview below.
