ASSISTANT coach Daniel McPherson says the Demons expect midfielders Viv Michie and Jimmy Toumpas to bounce back strongly, after they were left out of the side for Sunday’s clash against Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium.
The forward line coach said the duo had produced strong pre-seasons and would benefit from a run with Casey in its first VFL match this Sunday against Essendon at Windy Hill.
“They’ve both had fairly good pre-seasons, but we felt they’ve both stagnated a little bit in the last couple of weeks – both of them,” McPherson told melbournefc.com.au.
“They’re both only young fellas, so it’s certainly not a long term thing, but I reckon they probably just need to go back to the VFL for a couple of weeks and just really enjoy their footy.
“Hopefully they’ll come back in refreshed and with a bit of extra spark.”
But McPherson said the return of midfielder Jack Viney was a big plus, as the Demons attempt to notch their first win of the season.
“We’ve been keen to get Jack back in there for a couple of weeks, but we just thought he was a bit short of a gallop early, but his last few weeks have been really good,” he said.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing him crash and bash his way around and give us a bit of strength around the footy and a bit of run on the outside as well.
“The other guys that have come into the squad … they give us just a little bit of a different look.”
McPherson conceded the lack of big men up forward, due to injury, had made it difficult for the Demons, but he said they needed to adapt better and make the most of their opportunities.
“We’ve had a bit of a battle up forward for the whole summer really,” he said.
“Guys have been getting close to playing, but then having minor hiccups, so hopefully Dawesy’s not too far away and Jesse’s been slowed down a little bit with his back.”
“It’s adjusted the way we thought we would go about our footy, moving into the forward line. It’s been frustrating for the guys up the ground at times
McPherson said the message to the players was to strip it back and keep it simple.
“The basic stuff we didn’t do well last week … if we do that better, we’re a chance against anyone. If that part of our game improves, we’re a chance,” he said.
“We’ve had a pretty good week on the back of last week’s performance, which wasn’t up to scratch.
“The team had a very thorough review on Monday and the players were involved in that, so they were the ones who pretty much took control of it, which was good. There were a few home truths chucked around, but the outcome’s been really good and hopefully that transfers into the game on Sunday.”
