Dour Demons better than last year, says coach

Melbourne’s guardant enactment remains a enactment successful advancement but manager Simon Goodwin has the Demons up of wherever they were past play aft grinding down Geelong astatine the MCG.

Goodwin said the eight-point triumph connected was the “arm wrestle” helium had wanted, and thought the Demons continued to look much dynamic successful their beforehand fractional contempt failing to footwear the Cats retired of the crippled erstwhile they had the accidental connected Saturday night.

The winning people of 10.14 (74) was akin to the output which had near the Demons susceptible successful their past 2 finals series, but Goodwin said they inactive had “enormous growth” successful the beforehand fractional of the ground.

He pointed to the beingness of young players including Daniel Turner and Caleb Windsor, who kicked an important extremity successful the last word and had 18 disposals and six tackles successful the champion crippled truthful acold successful his debut season.

Windsor is acceptable to walk much clip crossed half-forward successful coming weeks arsenic the Demons look for country to acceptable Lachie Hunter backmost into their side.

“I deliberation offensively we’re surely improving, there’s nary question astir that. We’ve besides got tremendous maturation successful our personnel,” Goodwin said.

“We had 5 guys with little than 10 games who are truly starting to lend to our footy nine … I deliberation that’s 1 portion of it that you beryllium present contiguous truly excited astir the maturation passim the year.

“This was a measurement successful that absorption tonight, and for those guys to beryllium capable to beryllium exposed and basal up successful a crippled similar contiguous is large for our footy nine moving forward.”

Bayley Fritsch (3.1) and Kysaiah Pickett (2.2) broke the crippled unfastened for the Demons with cleanable finishing successful the 2nd fractional aft Goodwin said an bonzer goalless 2nd 4th (0.5 to 0.4) had enactment him connected edge.

“Their knowing of each other’s better, our transportation is dilatory getting better, they’re moving successful a mode that is rather dynamic and hard to play against,” helium said.

“Our ratio is starting to amended and looking much dangerous, and that was against a truly high-quality, unchangeable defence that Geelong person acceptable against you.”

Goodwin said skipper Max Gawn was “fine” and a concussion trial had not been deemed indispensable aft the ruckman was kneed successful the caput by a leaping Rhys Stanley astatine a stoppage.

He said determination was besides nary interest for Jack Viney aft the erstwhile skipper laic connected the crushed curled successful symptom pursuing a collision successful the archetypal term.

“(Viney’s) each bully arsenic well. He gets the unusual stinger successful his enarthrosis each present and then, he’s had that for a fewer years present and it’s astir apt the archetypal clip it’s popped up this year,” Goodwin said.

“It comes bully aft astir a minute, helium keeps telling me, truthful I’m blessed to rotation with that.”

The manager said respective fringe players would beryllium held retired from Casey’s VFL crippled connected Sunday successful lawsuit they were needed disconnected the five-day interruption up of different MCG blockbuster connected Thursday against Carlton.