TOM McDonald says it will be a big challenge lining up on Gold Coast key forward Tom Lynch at Metricon Stadium this Saturday, but one he is looking forward to taking on.
The key defender is likely to spend the majority of time on the competition’s leading goalkicker, but McDonald added that Melbourne’s 18-man defence will see a few players stand on Lynch, who has booted 24 goals for the year.
“I’m sure I’ll spend a bit of time on Tom Lynch. He’s probably been one of the best couple of players in the league this year,” he told melbournefc.com.au on Friday.
“Like last week, when they (Gold Coast) played Geelong, if the opposition team does their job, it makes it pretty hard for him. I’m hoping our team works together well on defence and our ball movement, and that might give me a little bit of help on Lynch.
“He’s a very good player, so I’ve got a big day ahead of me.”
McDonald said Melbourne, which departed for south-east Queensland on Friday afternoon, was treating the contest similar to its round three match against North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena in Hobart.
Although Melbourne fell three points short against the undefeated Roos, McDonald said the red and blue did everything right otherwise.
“We view this similar to our game against North Melbourne. We’ll go away as a team and play against a side that’s had some good wins as well,” he said.
“It’s a really important match for us and we’ll focus more on what we want to do, rather than what the opposition’s going to do this week.
“More than anything, we’re just looking forward to playing again, because when you have a bad loss, you just want to go out there and fix it as soon as you can.”
McDonald said with a different look down back this year, it meant he had to step up again. But he was also thriving on the opportunity to help some of the younger players.
“We’ve got Hunty (Jayden Hunt) and [Josh] Wagner in there this year and Neville [Jetta] is still doing his thing as he always does – he’s playing well,” he said.
“Garlo’s (Col Garland) been in and out and is back this week, and now Dunny’s (Lynden Dunn) out. We had Oscar [McDonald] in there for the first game, so it’s been a different looking backline this year. Salo (Christian Salem) is also out this week, so it gives someone else a chance.
“Col might have to play taller this week, because we haven’t got Dunny or Oscar in. I just want to do the best I can and then help those young guys out, so they can just go out and play. Wags and Hunty have done well so far, but I’m trying to make their life easier as well.
“Wagner and Hunt have got good speed. They use the footy well and they defend really well. But it’s good to see Garlo back in, because when he’s playing well, he does a lot for our team. Although it’s chopped and changed, I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
