FIND out what’s being said about the club in the major daily newspapers on Monday, June 20, 2011
Herald Sun
Scully shines, cool on future
By Jon Ralph
MELBOURNE midfielder Tom Scully said he was unfazed by the constant speculation about his future after the best game of his season. Scully amassed seven crisp disposals in as many minutes in the first term, on his way to 26 touches in an 89-point win against Fremantle at the MCG. He knows the talk about whether he may leave for Greater Western Sydney has reached fever pitch, but is adamant he will make his decision only at season's end. He said he was devoted to helping flatten out the club's roller-coaster ride despite the obsession with his future. "My decision will be made at the end of the year. I am happy playing footy, to be back playing footy, and it makes it a lot easier when we are having wins like this," he said. "You might be surprised but I am very comfortable with where everything's at. You guys will continue to write what you write, and talk about it, but at the end of the day I am not worried. "People want to know and they are going to continue to speculate, but I am fully comfortable with where everything is at, and I am just happy to be back playing footy."
Demons burn off dismal Demons
By Sam Edmund
MELBOURNE has its family days at Luna Park, but these days the Demons are a theme park unto themselves. Such has been its rollercoaster season, the emphatic 89-point demolition of a hapless Fremantle at the MCG came as no great surprise. Even Football manager Chris Connolly compared his club to the famous Big Dipper before the opening bounce. Consider the recent form line - 47-point loss to Carlton, 33-point win over Essendon and last week's humiliating 88-point loss to Collingwood -- and the Dockers were always going to cop a beating. But after the Queen's Birthday massacre, this was the feel-good rebound they so desperately needed. And it was the so-called support cast that would have given Dees fans that nice warm feeling again. Stefan Martin shone up forward and in the ruck, Jeremy Howe has got something special and Jordie McKenzie's thirst for the contest in the middle of the ground set the standard. Jack Watts took another significant step. He kicked the first goal of the second, third and fourth quarters and is growing into the player Melbourne knew he'd be. There was Daniel Nicholdson's hard running, Max Gawn's ruck work and Cale Morton's prominence.
Bailey: Tigers clash will tell tale
By Jon Ralph
MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey has earmarked this Saturday's MCG contest against fellow finals contender Richmond as the perfect chance to halt the Demons' boom-bust cycle. Melbourne wiped the floor with an undermanned Fremantle inflicting the Dockers' 10th straight defeat at the MCG. The 89-point win after being flogged by Collingwood only six days earlier sets up an inviting clash against Richmond, with the winner of the contest between ninth and 10th edging closer to a finals berth. "The effort was good and we get a chance to break the cycle this week," Bailey said. "It's an important game for us to perform well in, for us to get some consistency with our effort. We were good today, but Saturday is a good challenge." The Demons smashed Fremantle across every line, with the Dockers losing Kepler Bradley (knee) pre-match and Antoni Grover (groin) and Ryan Crowley (back) mid-match. Jack Watts kicked a career-high three goals to go with 24 touches, Tom Scully racked up 26 touches, and Jordie McKenzie shut down Matthew Pavlich. Bailey was just as impressed with former University Blues midfielder Dan Nicholson, who came in as a late change for Jordan Gysberts.
The Age
Bailey wants consistency as Demons eye the eight
By Jon Pierik
MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey hopes the Demons can finally step off their roller-coaster and emerge as a consistent force when they face Richmond in what looms as battle for eighth spot on Saturday. Rebounding from an 88-point thumping by Collingwood, the Demons surged to an 89-point win over a woeful Fremantle at the MCG yesterday. A revamped forward line was led by five goals from skipper Brad Green while emerging midfield stars Tom Scully (26 disposals) and Jordie McKenzie (28 disposals, including 26 handballs) were superb as the Demons handed the Dockers their 10th-straight defeat at the MCG and 27th in 36 games. The Demons have only claimed back-to-back victories once in a season where Bailey and the club have regularly been under pressure. But if a slumping Essendon loses to Hawthorn on Friday night, the Demons or Tigers would slip into the top eight with victory. ''It's an important game for us to play well in to get some consistency with our effort,'' Bailey said last night. ''We have been talking about it, discussing it, it just gets a stage where the only place we can display it is on the ground. ''We were good today but next week is the big challenge for us. They are in good form the Tigers.''
Small steps may be Dees' giant leaps
By Peter Hanlon
DEAN Bailey sagely cautioned that the significance of the small yet pronounced steps taken yesterday by so many of his young players could only be judged on how they back up against Richmond next week. Yet while the Demons of 2011 have been notoriously up and down, this was another reminder that a serious football team was building. In speaking of Jack Watts, whose haul of three goals was one of several personal bests recorded in the 89-point drubbing of the Dockers, Bailey hit upon a point that underscores where his team is heading. The many Demon draftees of recent years are not just getting games under their belts, but games together. Watts is emblematic of an asset Melbourne's coaches are happy to have in so many of the young men they are moulding - he intuitively knows where the ball is going. Alongside him up forward was Jeremy Howe, a third-gamer with what one Demon staffer called ''the footy chip'' in his head, whose pure hands complete the package of being able to win the ball. Howe called Watts ''just such a smart footballer'', and was excited as much by how well they worked in tandem as his own haul of 12 marks, the sort of aerial dominance he came to expect as a junior playing for Dodges Ferry, near Hobart, but hadn't figured on bringing to the big stage quite so soon. ''He's unbelievable - you can just kick it anywhere near him and he'll make the kicker look good,'' Stefan Martin said of Howe. Bailey reckoned he was still playing on adrenalin, but will be well served when it wears off by his speed, skill with both feet and know-how.
Bailey challenges Demons to keep fire burning after smoking Dockers
By Guy Hand
THE gap between erratic Melbourne's best and worst is now measurable - six days and 177 points. That's how long and by how much the Demons turned around their abysmal 88-point loss to Collingwood last Monday to destroy Fremantle by 89 points yesterday. So bereft of effort and ability days earlier, the Demons found both from the opening bounce for a crushing victory at the MCG. Skipper Brad Green booted five goals, much-maligned No.1 draft pick Jack Watts was outstanding with three goals and 24 possessions, and young midfielders Tom Scully and Jordie McKenzie also starred. After a sparkling performance, Melbourne coach Dean Bailey challenged his players post-match to put together back-to-back efforts in a hugely important clash with Richmond next weekend. ''Our inconsistency in effort hasn't been good enough and that's the reason our highs and lows are there,'' Bailey said. ''If we keep talking about it, we've got to do something about it. The only way to get that even keel and consistency back is to perform next week. We were good today, but next week's the big challenge for us.''
Jack Watts impresses in Dees' big win
By AAP
Melbourne coach Dean Bailey was reluctant to label it a breakout game for much-maligned No.1 AFL draft pick Jack Watts. But with a quality display in a huge 89-point win over Fremantle yesterday, Watts took a big step towards becoming the player the Demons so desperately hoped for when they took him ahead of West Coast excitement machine Nic Naitanui in the 2008 national draft. Watts booted three goals and had 24 touches, but the 20-year-old also imposed himself on the game as he and the following year's No.1 draft pick Tom Scully ran riot against the Dockers. Watts spent time both as a forward and higher up the ground, impressing in both roles after also showing plenty running off half-back earlier this season. Bailey, though, is comfortable that Watts has already been taking the steps he wants him to before yesterday's effort. "Jack's been reasonably consistent over the last period - I know he hasn't had a breakout game as such," Bailey said. "What he has been able to do is consistently lift his level of involvement in games. "You can see where he's going. You can see the progression with him."
The Australian
Demons turn up heat for Tigers
By Courtney Walsh
THE MCG will be rattling on Saturday in what, for some, will be a trip down memory lane. A match of importance on a Saturday afternoon at the home of football - how quaint. Melbourne versus Richmond with, for the first time in a while, much at stake. Traditional inner-city rivals, once so powerful, both showing signs of a resurgence. Richmond, so gritty in overcoming Brisbane on its third interstate trip in succession. Melbourne, ruthless in thrashing Fremantle 22.17 (149) to 8.12 (60), though admittedly the Dockers are vastly undermanned. Barring Essendon upsetting Hawthorn on Friday night, the victor will be in the eight. It is a long time since that has been the case for either this far into a season. Melbourne coach Dean Bailey, in acknowledging the importance of the fixture, said it was time the Demons showed consistency in performance. "It is an important game for us to perform well in and get some consistency in our effort," Bailey said. "We were good today but next week is a big challenge for us. They are in good form, the Tigers."