CLASSY midfielder Dom Tyson says it was important Melbourne backed up its outstanding win over Hawthorn at the MCG last round with another excellent display against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Melbourne defeated the Power by 40 points and in the process ended some home and away hoodoos.
The red and blue beat Port Adelaide for the first time in South Australia since 2000, and won its first game against the Power since 2011. It was also the first time Melbourne has won three in a row since 2010.
Tyson said Melbourne needed to back up strongly after it knocked over Hawthorn for the first time in 10 years last weekend.
“I reckon in the past, after a good win, we’ve slackened off the next week for whatever reason – [whether it’s] a mental attitude or we’re a young group that sits on that win for too long,” he told Melbourne TV.
“Straight away we moved on, after reviewing [the] Hawthorn [win] and took what we needed to take out of it and moved forward.
“I’m just really proud of the young group – we’ve actually got to stop saying it’s a young group, because we’re playing games together now and guys are playing beyond their years – but it’s really good to be getting these games in together.
“We’ve [built some] momentum and we’re playing a good brand of footy – and a brand of footy that you hope will stand up in big games.”
Tyson said Melbourne’s ability to kick eight in a row – after Port Adelaide kicked the first goal of the game – spoke volumes of the team’s character.
“We did speak about coming out pretty hot, because it’s a pretty hostile crowd for the opposition – they call it the fortress over here – so we had to come out firing and get things on our terms,” he said.
“We felt like we had a really crisp first quarter – it was as good a quarter as we’ve played for some time – and everyone was involved and we had our backs running offensively and they were looking great. Our forwards were doing great and our mids were winning the ball, so it was a good team performance.
“That third quarter, we let ourselves down a little bit and we let them get on top around the ball – and they looked dangerous – but we regrouped and put them away in the last [quarter], except for a few set shots.
“But we were on top and it was a good feeling in the last quarter.”
Tyson said coach Paul Roos told his charges to remain focused at three quarter-time, when Melbourne led by 22 points.
“He said ‘don’t get sucked in’ by their niggles or tactics,” he said.
“He said ‘keep playing our brand of footy by going in first’ … [and he added that we needed] to keep putting our head over it [because] we came up early on a few contests. We didn’t stick [our] tackles and we didn’t tackle as hard … so it was pretty clear what we needed to do, and we stood up in the last quarter.
“Nate Jones had a really good last quarter, Hoges (Jesse Hogan) was dangerous, Tracc (Christian Petracca) and Clayton [Oliver] did some good things, so the guys contributed and Wattsy (Jack Watts) was great all day. It was a really good mix.”
Tyson, who was one of Melbourne’s best with 29 disposals, said he was pleased with his game.
“I felt like I contributed, particularly earlier, but I felt like I faded late. I felt really good and I thought I brought my teammates into the game and used the ball pretty well,” he said.
“It’s a good mix – Vines (Jack Viney) got tagged, so it was important that myself, Clayton or Nate stepped up. Next week, it might be Nate getting tagged, so I might have to step up. All good midfields have that balance and anyone on their day can step up and play a bigger role than usual.
“We feel like we’re building nicely.”
