David King believes Melbourne made a statement Thursday night in their 64-point win over pre-qualifying leaders in the Brisbane round.
After three straight defeats, the Demons had to respond and they did so, brutalizing Brisbane after the quarter, giving up 14.17 to 4.7.
King believes it is the best Melbourne has seen this year.
“It’s the best I’ve seen playing in Melbourne in a long time. We’ve talked a lot about them this year with 70 per cent, but when they came up with a 10-0, then they’ve hit a huge hump, ”Prime Minister Roo told SEN Breakfast.
“The teams come to look for them, everyone is analyzing what they are doing, the teams are playing differently against them, they have had all kinds of challenges this year.
“I think they said goodbye and got together and said,‘ Okay, what are we doing here? We’re back to our best. We hunted the ball, we put pressure on the opponent that they can’t handle, ‘and last night, once they got these two components to the maximum, everything else stayed in place. “
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King praised Melbourne vice-captain Jack Viney for his leadership and dominance of midfield in the absence of Max Gawn.
“When you see Jack Viney set the standard like he did in that first half … It’s been a long time since I’ve seen even half as brutal as that,” he said.
“They were something like a +30 disputed football in a half. That’s ridiculous. You don’t see it against the top four contenders.
“It was Viney, it was Clayton Oliver. I made the comment Wednesday night that I thought Jeremy Cameron was the best player in the competition and as soon as I said I had 10 people he was tweeting ‘And Oliver?’
“And a matter of hours later he does and you think he’s going. This guy is getting better every time you see him.”
What if the Goddesses continue to play at the level we saw Thursday night?
“I take my hat off in the middle of the field. If they play at this level, it will be over, if they play at this level,” King added.
“I’m not sure you can (maintain that level) in the long run, but it was brutal.”
Kane Cornes agreed and added, “If they play like that, good luck to anyone.”
“That has been the thought of most of us this year, but the last three weeks have made it interesting.
“If you get them on a bad day, then there’s a chance to win them, but if they play like that, with that ferocity … and I was nervous early on, there were some warning signs when Bayley Fritsch plays an open goal and ignores.the medalist Norm Smith for the easiest goal and faces it from behind.
“They started slowly, so being able to regroup after an unstable start was really impressive.
“That Viney game was amazing. He’s the fiercest competitor. Joel Selwood has done it for so long. Luke Hodge did it for so long. He’s in that category I think.”
King agreed, equally in praise for the 28-year-old.
“It’s a good call. He sets standards … only a few players in the competition can reach that level,” he replied.
Melbourne travel to South Australia to face Adelaide next weekend, a team that beat them last year.