JORDIE McKenzie went into last Sunday’s season opener against Port Adelaide at the MCG full of confidence.
The pre-season had been the toughest and most advanced he had undertaken – a common thought among the Melbourne squad.
But the clash not only went wrong. It went terribly.
It was a poor performance that caught even the coach, Mark Neeld, by surprise.
The Demons have done some serious soul-searching and reviews from that match.
Now, on Saturday night, the Dees have the opportunity to hit back – and hard.
For McKenzie, the opportunity for his side to gain some respect back against Essendon at the MCG this Saturday night is one he is eager to take on.
“We went into the game confident that we’d get the win against Port, but it was really disappointing and after the game, it took a little while to sink in,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“The whole playing group was hurting a lot and it was a very ordinary performance, but we know the supporters were hurting as well, and this week [against Essendon] can’t come quick enough.”
McKenzie said the criticism that followed the 79-point loss was warranted, but it was up to each individual how to handle it.
“You do have a choice in terms of how much you listen to [the criticism] – I can’t imagine a lot of the boys were tuned into a lot of the media this week, by watching the TV shows or reading the newspapers. But there is no escaping, because you know the criticism is there and deservedly so,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, you listen to your teammates – they’re the blokes you listen to and rely on to turn it around, so you’ve got to take the feedback on board from those who matter.
“If you listen to everything going on, you’re head will be spinning and you’ll go into the following week not knowing what to concentrate on, so you’ve got to listen to what’s relevant.”
McKenzie said it was imperative that the players returned to the game plan that had been methodically practiced over the pre-season.
“The most disappointing thing is that we played nothing like we had prepared over the past five to six months. Everyone had a massive pre-season and gained confidence from the work we’d done, but as far as the game [was concerned], we didn’t execute what we prepared to do,” he said.
“That was the most disappointing thing – not carrying out the game plan and giving ourselves a chance to become competitive.
“Our big focus going forward is carrying out what we’ve practiced and not doing anything different, otherwise it won’t end well, so we’re keeping it pretty simple, because we know it works.”
Although it was McKenzie’s first match for premiership points since being elevated to the leadership group, he said it had been a challenge for all – and not just the leaders.
“Everyone has been tested all week, and so we should be, given the performance we dished up,” he said.
“It’s been a fairly full-on week and it’s important as a leadership group that we continue to push the right messages, like staying positive, because it’s only one week.
“We’ve worked hard to keep the group upbeat, which everyone has been doing and everyone has trained well this week, so it’s a matter of sticking to it.”
McKenzie said the attitude of the squad in the lead-up to the clash against the Bombers had been “as good as it could be”.
“We’ve had some good success against Essendon previously, so we’ll attack the game to the best of our ability and give ourselves every chance,” he said.
“Last year was a good win against those guys and if we can do it again this week – and turn it around as quickly as possible – then that’s going to be the key.
“We’re all looking forward to getting out there and competing for four quarters, and showing our supporters how much we care about turning this around.”
