Melbourne’s burgeoning brigade of youth and enviable depth have drawn vast plaudits after it toppled Adelaide on Thursday night to open the second annual Gather Round.
The Dees booted eight goals to the Crows’ four across the second and third quarters to bridge an insurmountable gap and consign the hosts to a 0-4 start to the season.
The 4-1 Demons, after dropping their Opening Round bout against the Swans, have won four consecutive games to — as of Thursday night — sit perched at the top of the table.
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Gather Rd Dees hand Crows another loss | 02:07
While Melbourne’s household names are fearsome and game-wrecking at their best, it’s the club’s unheralded contingent of emerging talent that is drawing praise from pundits.
Dual North Melbourne premiership player David King lauded Melbourne’s depth, claiming Simon Goodwin’s “bottom six” soldiers trump what they’ve had in recent times.
“I reckon the bottom six players in this team today are better than the bottom six they’ve had over the previous couple of seasons,” King told Thursday Night Footy on Fox.
“You look at the growth of (Judd) McVee, you look at (Tom) Sparrow, who’s become a serious footballer now. The edges are really solid.
“Like, (Kade) Chandler has become a bankable commodity now — you know what you’re going to get. There won’t be a lot on the stat sheet, but his direction and his pressure are terrific.
“I think they really, now, don’t rely as much on those senior players as much as they have.”
Proud Goody lauds ‘outstanding’ players | 05:54
St Kilda great Leigh Montagna concurred with King’s sentiment, declaring the Demons are “on a mission” to challenge for another flag this year with their formidable squad.
“You’re adding Caleb Windsor and Jack Billings into the side — (players) that have got the foot skills and a bit of composure. It’s just a really nice balance at the moment.
“And it really helps that some of their senior players, like Ben Brown and Tom McDonald — that maybe we’d sort of thought aren’t in their best side anymore — at this stage are still playing some solid football.”
“They kept telling us all off-season that they were (building towards something), but we just needed to see it. The evidence had to be there, and now we have seen it.
“They are a tight group that are on a mission this year to try and get back and win another premiership.”
Gather Rd Dees hand Crows another loss | 02:07
When King quizzed star skipper Max Gawn about the bottom six-to-eight Melbourne players who have “stepped up” this year, the 32-year-old said that while he wouldn’t name names, that a couple have “sparked up” in 2024.
“I’m probably not going to name them, ‘Kingy’, that’d be a bit harsh. But let’s just say there (are) a couple in the team that really have sparked up this season,” Gawn told Fox Footy on Thursday night.
“In particular, some of the guys on the outside of the contest. You know we’ve got (me), Clayton (Oliver), Jack (Viney) and Christian (Petracca) in there a lot of the time, but some of the guys around the outside have been superb, and our forwards are kicking goals.”
Chief hilariously tries to warm up | 01:13
Teammate and fellow superstar Demon Christian Petracca named a host of his youthful colleagues who have helped ease the load for Melbourne’s senior brigade.
“It’s been awesome,” Petracca started. “Tom Sparrow’s game, I thought, was incredible. Melbourne Instagram put up a post the other day of our back six — other than (Steven) May and Jake Lever, five or six of those guys are (still very young).
“Blake Howes (20 years old), Judd McVee (20), Trent Rivers (22), I know I’m missing (a couple). Caleb Windsor (18), Kade Chandler (24) — it’s awesome, it’s really good.
“I think I got a bit slow towards the end of (Thursday’s game), getting older now, so I liked that those guys picked up the slack a little bit.”
Dees star under fire with late hit | 00:39
Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall also jumped aboard the Demons bandwagon, acknowledging things were undoubtedly trending upwards for the 2021 premiers.
“There’s a growing confidence amongst the group,” he stated. “They know they’ve got some things happening, everything is pointing in the right direction, their confidence is growing, their belief is growing.
“They’re a very solid bunch and they’ve got things right where they want them … they could be on a mission, the Dees.”
Melbourne’s Round 5 bout with the Brisbane Lions is fixtured for Thursday, April 11 at the MCG.
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