JAKE LEVER spoke on Fox Footy last week about how proud he is of the defensive effort the Demons have shown this year.  

With lots of young, fresh faces breaking into the side, Lever is excited with what lies ahead for the youthful Melbourne talent.  

“We’ve got some amazing young players in the back line, the last three or four weeks we’ve had some changes, like we lost Jake Bowey and Christian Salem to injury,” Lever said. 

“But the guys like Blake Howes, Taj Woewodin and Judd McVee, who obviously had an amazing year last year, he’s a superstar.  

“I think we’ve got one of the best young back line players in the competition in Trent Rivers, I absolutely love the way he plays.  

“Then big Tommy Mac (Tom McDonald) who’s gone forward for five or six years has come down and fitted in nicely.”  

Melbourne’s defensive record is a strong one, sitting number one in the competition for both points against and points from opposition inside 50 in the last four years.  

Lever was proud of the hard work and determination put in over the last few years to achieve these records.  

“As a footy club I think we really pride ourselves in the way that we train, me and Steve (Steven May) really drive the team defensively.” Lever told Fox Footy. 

“When we look at our review, that’s what we look at, it’s been something that hasn’t been a four-week period, we’ve tried to build that over four years.  

“When I first got to the footy club it wasn’t a strength of Melbourne, but to be able to have that on the walls, we’re pretty proud of it.”