COACH Mark Neeld says his side’s nine-point win over Collingwood at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night was exactly how he expects Melbourne to perform on a regular basis.
Speaking post-match, Neeld was adamant the effort the Demons displayed against the Pies was the way it should be every week.
“That’s the way we want to play, so I don’t think that matters who we play or what round it is,” he said.
“But the idea of the NAB series is to prepare for the home and away series.
“It’s a new coaching group, so the boys are having different and new expectations and it’s good for them to experience that over a month.”
Still, Neeld was quick to keep a lid on the fact that Melbourne had defeated last year’s grand finalists and his former club - at Etihad Stadium. It was the first time Melbourne had won at the venue since 2007, while 2006 was its most recent win at Docklands in a NAB Cup match.
“We won’t spend any time talking about it who it was that we happened to beat,” he said.
“We’ll go back and review the targets that we wanted to hit and it was around contested footy and some new structures.
“The boys will have to sit through behind the goals vision of me going through that on Monday.”
With round one the focus for all clubs at this stage of the season, Neeld said it was important not to lose sight of that notion during the NAB Cup.
“We’re still a fair way away from the start of the home and away season,” he said.
“I’m happy because the result was a little bit better than last week’s. The amount of times we stuck to the structure that we wanted at set plays was better this week.
“Our tackle count, although we played in monsoonal conditions last week, we lowered our colours and we got back on the positive points. So they’re things that are pleasing.”
On the back of two wins and one loss from three NAB Cup matches, Neeld quickly hosed down where Melbourne was at in its development.
“We finished 13th last year. We’ll start there roughly,” he said.
“Or you look at it the other way and we’re all equal on the bottom at this stage.”
Meanwhile, Neeld was again pleased with the performance of mature-age rookie James Magner, who finished with 21 disposals and a match-high seven clearances.
“That’s the way that Jimmy has played his footy - it has been in the VFL, which is a very good standard of footy, but it’s not the AFL,” he said.
“When you bring people into your footy club, in particular guys of that age - he’s played senior footy for six years - that’s where he plays.
“He’s a clearance winner, so we need to put him in there and see how he goes pre-season.”
Neeld said Magner understood his position in regards to a potential round one berth, given Melbourne’s veteran/long-term injury list situation.
“He’s aware of where he stands and we’re able to elevate two rookies for the entire year - one because of the fact we’ve only got one veteran and one because Max Gawn is out for the season, due to a knee reco,” he said.
“And we’ve also got Jake Spencer on the long-term [injury list], which may allow us to put a third one up.
“Those boys are aware of that and we’ll make some decisions on that at the end of the NAB series.”
Speaking post-match, Neeld was adamant the effort the Demons displayed against the Pies was the way it should be every week.
“That’s the way we want to play, so I don’t think that matters who we play or what round it is,” he said.
“But the idea of the NAB series is to prepare for the home and away series.
“It’s a new coaching group, so the boys are having different and new expectations and it’s good for them to experience that over a month.”
Still, Neeld was quick to keep a lid on the fact that Melbourne had defeated last year’s grand finalists and his former club - at Etihad Stadium. It was the first time Melbourne had won at the venue since 2007, while 2006 was its most recent win at Docklands in a NAB Cup match.
“We won’t spend any time talking about it who it was that we happened to beat,” he said.
“We’ll go back and review the targets that we wanted to hit and it was around contested footy and some new structures.
“The boys will have to sit through behind the goals vision of me going through that on Monday.”
With round one the focus for all clubs at this stage of the season, Neeld said it was important not to lose sight of that notion during the NAB Cup.
“We’re still a fair way away from the start of the home and away season,” he said.
“I’m happy because the result was a little bit better than last week’s. The amount of times we stuck to the structure that we wanted at set plays was better this week.
“Our tackle count, although we played in monsoonal conditions last week, we lowered our colours and we got back on the positive points. So they’re things that are pleasing.”
On the back of two wins and one loss from three NAB Cup matches, Neeld quickly hosed down where Melbourne was at in its development.
“We finished 13th last year. We’ll start there roughly,” he said.
“Or you look at it the other way and we’re all equal on the bottom at this stage.”
Meanwhile, Neeld was again pleased with the performance of mature-age rookie James Magner, who finished with 21 disposals and a match-high seven clearances.
“That’s the way that Jimmy has played his footy - it has been in the VFL, which is a very good standard of footy, but it’s not the AFL,” he said.
“When you bring people into your footy club, in particular guys of that age - he’s played senior footy for six years - that’s where he plays.
“He’s a clearance winner, so we need to put him in there and see how he goes pre-season.”
Neeld said Magner understood his position in regards to a potential round one berth, given Melbourne’s veteran/long-term injury list situation.
“He’s aware of where he stands and we’re able to elevate two rookies for the entire year - one because of the fact we’ve only got one veteran and one because Max Gawn is out for the season, due to a knee reco,” he said.
“And we’ve also got Jake Spencer on the long-term [injury list], which may allow us to put a third one up.
“Those boys are aware of that and we’ll make some decisions on that at the end of the NAB series.”
