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Sport Nation
The three figureheads anchoring Melbourne's return to form
Jaiden Sciberras • May 28th, 2025 3:58 pm
Melbourne has completely transformed its football over the last six weeks, winning five games within that timeframe to flip their 0-5 start on its head.
Led by the heroics of Max Gawn, the returning Kysaiah Pickett and a healthy pairing of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, the Demons have rediscovered their ability to dominate the contest and convert scoring opportunities.
Through their five-game losing streak to open the season, the Demons averaged a respectable 51 inside 50s per game, however only averaging a measly 61 points during that stretch.
Since Round 6, the Demons have managed 55 inside 50s a game, just an increase of four per game, however boasting a major 97 points a game, an increase of six goals per game.
Over the last five games, the Demons rank second in the AFL for both scores from turnover (59) and scores from forward half (54) - two areas in which they rank in the bottom 10 across the entire season.
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has been very impressed with Melbourne’s ability to turn around their scoring woes, commending coach Simon Goodwin, his staff and the players for making the appropriate adjustments.
“They’ve kicked 100 three times and 99 points against Brisbane in the last six weeks, and they’re five (wins) in six in that time,” Buckley told SEN’s Whateley.
“The 57 points they kicked against Essendon in Gather Round, that followed 74, 66, 62, 46, and 57. They were their first five scores for.
“Since then, they’ve got 107 against Fremantle, and that game was a watershed moment for them. They were 0-5, going into that Freo game, and Freo have absolutely smacked them in transition.
“They’d slowed Melbourne down; Melbourne couldn’t move the ball and then Melbourne couldn’t stop Fremantle from moving the ball the two or three times they’d played them before that.
“So, to go in against Fremantle when they’ve got a hold of you in transition, and to test this new game plan. They kicked 107 points, won that well.
“Then they’ve gone 83 against Richmond, 108 against West Coast, 56 against Hawthorn which was a dower game on the G.
“99 against Brisbane in a great win at the Gabba, and then 131 on the weekend. That’s a significant shift.
“Not just the win-loss column, but in ‘what’s the game style that you are presenting’.
“They’ve also started playing this front half game because they’re now moving the ball really well from the back to the front, they’re now able to impose a front half game.
“They had another 28 front half turnovers on the weekend and scored pretty well from those as well.”
Amid the Demons’ strong run of form, three significant players have stood out as vital pieces in the club’s turnaround.
“The three for me: Kozzie Pickett, there’s not many players in the competition that can have 20 and kick five… he’s done it twice,” Buckley continued.
“He missed the first four games. I wondered ‘yeah that’s nice, he’s a good player but I don’t know if he’s the difference’.
“He is the difference. He’s been so impressive, not just sharpness around packs, but finish, he’s up and about. He is loving is work and he’s been huge.
"Max Gawn, just dig deep, get it done. Lats quarters when we need someone to stand up, we’re not going to let this go. He has just willed his team over the line.
“The third one for me is (Jake) Melksham. I see him as one of the older heads, experience, selfless to a fault, will bring his teammates, will sacrifice his own game for the team.
“I just love the way he goes about it, and I think Melbourne play their best football when he’s in there.
“I think the coach is making a lot of good calls. The work they’ve done is obviously coming to fruition, the selection query that we put up last week was answered.
“They’ve maintained a lot of their run and bounce off the back, so all credit to Simon Goodwin and his coaching staff.
“They’ve made a lot of the right calls in the last period of time, and it precedes what we’ve seen in the last six weeks.”
The Demons are set to face St Kilda in Alice Springs this Sunday afternoon as they look to keep in touch with the top eight.
