MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey believes Geelong is playing at a "breathtaking speed" but Hawthorn could be on the verge of overtaking the Cats in the new brand of football.
Speaking at Melbourne's Debt Demolition function on Tuesday night, where the club raised over $2 million, Bailey said the evolution of the game meant that he, as a coach, needed to be one step ahead of the pack.
"The game demands that you've got to be able to play two or three different ways – not to make it complex.
"That's where the coaching or teaching comes in, because it's got to be simple enough for the players to be able to understand how to play the game.
"At the end of the day, we're all there to play on our strengths, but we're all there to kick the ball through the goals and I don't think that's ever going to change.
"So the ability to get the ball into the forward line quickly is still going to be a key element to it.
"But if you only ever follow, you never catch them, so you've got to be looking for that next number in the game … so I might hold that one to myself."
In his first year as senior coach, Bailey said his group had become better educated about the game and also credited the senior players with fast-tracking the development of the youngsters.
"I think the young players who are out there representing the club are doing a fantastic job – that's not to exclude the experienced players who provide that teaching and that sharing of knowledge during the week," Bailey said.
"When you walk through the change-room and see Ben Holland, Adem Yze, Cameron Bruce and James McDonald actually helping the young players [with] some of the vision that they're showing to them, that suggests you've got great people with great character.
"That's where our young players will develop even further.
"Yes, we've lost those [experienced] players, but they're still putting something back in those young players immediately and they're not walking away.
"I've said to players who I've coached and are about to retire or leave, 'I want to suck all of the knowledge out of you. Why should you leave with all of this great knowledge? You should be sharing that with the younger players … because when they become great players like you, they'll stand up and they'll thank you for your contributions'."
Bailey also made the point that Melbourne's future draftees would have great character.
"We intend to draft players … who really value, not only this football club, but their football career … the football club is obviously made up of great people and people make football clubs and they actually win premierships," Bailey said.
"So we need to invest into our people to ensure success."
And as for Friday night's clash with the Cats at the MCG, Bailey said the Demons were determined to take it right up to them.
"Friday night's a great challenge for us and we have got players who are out injured, but we're going to go out there with a really strong mindset that'll test the character of our players."
