CO-CAPTAIN Nathan Jones says he was proud of his side’s effort to come back from a five-goal deficit to record a 35-point win over the Gold Coast Suns at TIO Traeger Park on Saturday.
Although Melbourne trailed by 35 points at the seven-minute mark of the third term, Jones said his side still did “a lot right in the first half”.
“It definitely wasn’t reflective on the scoreboard. It probably created a bit of anxiousness among the group, but at half-time we addressed a couple of things – mainly around our ball use and a little bit more composure going forward,” he told Melbourne TV.
“We were trying to use the open spaces – it’s such a big ground, so we could give our forwards opportunities. Credit to the boys, we made some minor adjustments and still kept our intensity around the footy, and we always felt like we were in the game, but not capitalising.
“Momentum’s a great thing and once we got on a roll and got our tails up – it started to click into gear for us.”
Jones said Gold Coast had a strong breeze in the first term, which made it tricky to combat on occasions.
“There was definitely an advantage there, particularly when we weren’t using the ball well. It left us open a bit and they were able to score off that,” he said.
“We were able to resurrect a couple of things after half-time and it was a really positive result for the group.
“Now we’ll freshen up and go again for the second half of the year.”
Jones was outstanding with 27 disposals and three goals, particularly in the third term, but he was content to single out several of his teammates.
“Across the board there were some great performances and some senior players really stood up. I thought Lewie (Jordan Lewis) was terrific, Bernie [Vince] was terrific and Hibbo (Michael Hibberd),” he said.
“Melky (Jake Melksham) did a terrific job on [Aaron] Hall after half-time and those young bulls in there – Vines (Jack Viney), Clayton Oliver and Dom Tyson – I thought they were all really good. Even Harmesy (James Harmes) and Alex Neal-Bullen – to come back in the side and play the roles they did [was important].
“I kept my game pretty basic and pretty simple and opportunities came up. A couple of my goals were lucky, but you reflect on the role you play within the team and if we can share it around, everyone can get a lick of the ice cream.”
Jones said it was promising entering the break with an even ledger – five wins/five losses after 10 rounds.
“We haven’t had much success up here, but we know the ground pretty well and it’s in pretty good nick. We do enjoy playing here, but we haven’t been able to get the result,” he said.
“Goody (Simon Goodwin) really challenged us during the week and we were able to do it for the group. Hopefully it gives us a bit of momentum and we’ll attack the second half.
“It’s a great sign that the group is really developing well and we’re on the right path – there’s no doubt about that.”
