KEY MELBOURNE forward Brad Miller says his struggling club can take heart from the recent performances of Carlton as the Demons try to edge their way up the AFL ladder.
While Melbourne’s on-field woes have only been more recent, Miller said the Blues’ recent surge – Carlton leapt into the top eight at the weekend after a spirited win over Collingwood – would provide hope for the Demons.
“Absolutely, I saw them yesterday and that was an awesome result,” Miller said.
“They’ve sort of put number one and two draft picks in the bank for the last three or four years, and with two or three years’ experience they’re starting to develop and become a really good team.
“It’s positive, it [success] just comes in cycles.”
Melbourne is on the bottom of the ladder, being the only team in the competition with just one win after 12 rounds. But Miller says he can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the Demons, despite his team losing its 11th match of the year on Sunday.
Melbourne slipped to a 1-11 win-loss record after a 22-point loss to Richmond, although the performance might well have been one of the Demons’ best efforts of 2008.
A disastrous second term – in which Dean Bailey’s side leaked eight goals in just over half a quarter – was the overriding contributor in Melbourne’s loss.
The Demons trailed by 38 points at half time, and while the Demons closed to within eight points in the final term, Miller said his young team needed more experience when it came to finishing games off.
“We’ve got a young team, so being able to actually win games is something I think we’ve got to learn how to do … there’s young guys that are just learning how to win a game,” Miller said.
That inexperience counted against the Demons in the vital second term, when the Tigers hit the accelerator and turned a 15-point deficit into what turned out to be a match-winning advantage.
“There were 16 minutes where we just weren’t competitive,” Miller said.
“We couldn’t get our hands on the footy and they made us pay.
“Eight goals to one … it’s not good enough, but the positive is we played three quarters of pretty good contested footy.”
Miller also believes the recent appointment of Jim Stynes as the club’s new chairman would be a big boost for the club.
“We got to catch up with Jimmy on Thursday night after his appointment and then again on Saturday at training, and he’s behind us 100 per cent,” Miller said.
“I think he’s going to be really good for the footy club.
“He’s a Melbourne person, a football person, so I think he’ll be great.”
