DEFENDER Joel Macdonald has two reasons to be bullish about Saturday’s NAB Challenge clash against the Brisbane Lions.
Firstly, he is eager to bounce back from a disappointing result against Essendon in last round’s NAB Cup and secondly, he is relishing the opportunity to take on his former side again.
“It’s just another chance to play - and against Brisbane,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“We can’t play the crap we did [against Essendon] … so we’re really looking forward to it (playing this weekend).”
Reflecting on last round’s NAB Cup loss, Macdonald said Essendon took the honours after matching Melbourne at its own game.
“They beat us in what we’re good at - pressure around the ball,” he said.
“We found that most of the time, they played our game style and played on quick.
Obviously ‘Welly’ (former Melbourne backline coach Sean Wellman) has gone over there and their pressure has really improved. They outplayed us.”
“But I’m not sure how much knowledge you could give, as it’s pretty obvious to those who watch enough footy to do certain things.”
Macdonald said the Demons received a wake-up call after the qualifying final NAB Cup loss.
“Regardless of whether it was a NAB Cup final or a home-and-away season match, we didn’t play at our best and we almost expected that it would just happen,” he said.
“We can’t make the excuse that it was only a practice match, because at the end of the day, we’ve just got to get consistent wins.
“We had a weekend off and they had a six-day break. Surely, we should’ve outrun them, so it was disappointing - whether it was NAB Cup or not.”
Firstly, he is eager to bounce back from a disappointing result against Essendon in last round’s NAB Cup and secondly, he is relishing the opportunity to take on his former side again.
“It’s just another chance to play - and against Brisbane,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“We can’t play the crap we did [against Essendon] … so we’re really looking forward to it (playing this weekend).”
Reflecting on last round’s NAB Cup loss, Macdonald said Essendon took the honours after matching Melbourne at its own game.
“They beat us in what we’re good at - pressure around the ball,” he said.
“We found that most of the time, they played our game style and played on quick.
Obviously ‘Welly’ (former Melbourne backline coach Sean Wellman) has gone over there and their pressure has really improved. They outplayed us.”
“But I’m not sure how much knowledge you could give, as it’s pretty obvious to those who watch enough footy to do certain things.”
Macdonald said the Demons received a wake-up call after the qualifying final NAB Cup loss.
“Regardless of whether it was a NAB Cup final or a home-and-away season match, we didn’t play at our best and we almost expected that it would just happen,” he said.
“We can’t make the excuse that it was only a practice match, because at the end of the day, we’ve just got to get consistent wins.
“We had a weekend off and they had a six-day break. Surely, we should’ve outrun them, so it was disappointing - whether it was NAB Cup or not.”
