DESPITE the wet, slippery conditions at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, new Melbourne coach Mark Neeld said he still gained plenty from his side’s two shortened round one NAB Cup matches.
The Demons went down to Gold Coast Suns by three points in the opening match, before the Dees hit back with a three-point win over Brisbane Lions. For the record, the Lions won the third match by two points against the Suns.
Since it was his side’s first official hit-out against opposition in 2012, Neeld said there was plenty to consider post-match.
“I’ll find something to think about,” he said.
“I’ve been doing this for five months and I haven’t stopped thinking about it and I’ve got a feeling I can do it for the next five years and I’ll still have lots to think about.
“AFL coaches have heaps to think about, so it was good. Our structures held up and there was no player, who I massively displeased with. They played to the plan, so it was a good start, but it was NAB [Cup] round one, so I’m happy to start here.”
Overall, the first-year senior coach said his team was involved in two “really good contests”.
“One went the opposition’s way by a couple of points and one went our way by a couple of points, so it was top class footballers beginning their seasons,” he said.
“All three coaches - and without being able to speak for [Gold Coast’s] Guy [McKenna] and [Brisbane’s] Michael [Voss] - I reckon they’d be fairly pleased.
“From my point of view, I was happy with the effort of our players. We were still able to go with the plan of playing particular players for x amount of minutes and we got away unscathed injury wise.”
Speaking in his post-match media conference, Neeld was asked about individual performances and then pressed about rookie James Magner.
Although the first-year senior coach didn’t want to single out any of his players, he did acknowledge the efforts of the 24-year-old rookie. Neeld then endorsed the performances of fellow rookies Tom Couch and Daniel Nicholson. But he was eager to watch the replay before handing out further comments.
“I want to get home and watch the game again, before I can individualise,” he said.
“But it was a good solid effort and when you’re coaching a team in these conditions - that’s what you want.”
The Demons went down to Gold Coast Suns by three points in the opening match, before the Dees hit back with a three-point win over Brisbane Lions. For the record, the Lions won the third match by two points against the Suns.
Since it was his side’s first official hit-out against opposition in 2012, Neeld said there was plenty to consider post-match.
“I’ll find something to think about,” he said.
“I’ve been doing this for five months and I haven’t stopped thinking about it and I’ve got a feeling I can do it for the next five years and I’ll still have lots to think about.
“AFL coaches have heaps to think about, so it was good. Our structures held up and there was no player, who I massively displeased with. They played to the plan, so it was a good start, but it was NAB [Cup] round one, so I’m happy to start here.”
Overall, the first-year senior coach said his team was involved in two “really good contests”.
“One went the opposition’s way by a couple of points and one went our way by a couple of points, so it was top class footballers beginning their seasons,” he said.
“All three coaches - and without being able to speak for [Gold Coast’s] Guy [McKenna] and [Brisbane’s] Michael [Voss] - I reckon they’d be fairly pleased.
“From my point of view, I was happy with the effort of our players. We were still able to go with the plan of playing particular players for x amount of minutes and we got away unscathed injury wise.”
Speaking in his post-match media conference, Neeld was asked about individual performances and then pressed about rookie James Magner.
Although the first-year senior coach didn’t want to single out any of his players, he did acknowledge the efforts of the 24-year-old rookie. Neeld then endorsed the performances of fellow rookies Tom Couch and Daniel Nicholson. But he was eager to watch the replay before handing out further comments.
“I want to get home and watch the game again, before I can individualise,” he said.
“But it was a good solid effort and when you’re coaching a team in these conditions - that’s what you want.”
