WITH FIVE rounds left of the home-and-away season, the Demons are eager to continue refining their method, with each week creating new opportunities for growth.
This week’s opportunity to do so will be on Saturday night as they take on the Western Bulldogs.
Assistant coach Adem Yze is expecting Melbourne’s opposition to pose a challenge to the group, with a spot in finals footy on the line.
“They’re a quality midfield; they get a lot of supply to their forward line, and they have done so for the last five or six weeks,” Yze told Melbourne Media.
“The other thing is, they’re playing for a finals spot, so it’s going to be a finals-like game…our players are really excited.
“It’s starting to get close to finals, so they’re really looking forward to tomorrow night.”
The Demons will head into the Round 19 match with two important inclusions in Clayton Oliver and Harrison Petty.
Oliver will be a pillar within the team’s midfield, providing strength inside stoppages, while Petty will bolster the side’s backline.
“Clayton was unlucky to miss last week, but his rehab and what he did last week, to be able to be available for this week, was terrific,” Yze said.
“[And] to have Petts back is a good result for us, he’s a terrific defender.
“Whenever you can get two quality players back in, we’re pretty excited.”
Following Round 19, Melbourne will face Fremantle, Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane, all of which are currently sitting within the top eight, creating a challenging run home.
As they prepare for this last stretch of games, the Demons are looking to produce worthy performances that will enhance their momentum heading into finals footy.
“This is the time of the year you want to be playing well, you want to be in-form and you start getting that feel that there’s finals footy around the corner,” Yze said.
“We just want our boys playing our method and hopefully [we] run into finals footy with some really strong momentum and some good form.
“We want our defence to be really solid…and make sure our stoppage game is up to the task.
“This is a really good game that is going to test all those areas, so we can’t wait for tomorrow night to really test ourselves against a quality opposition.”
