Bailey demanding Dees dish it up to Cats - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Bailey demanding Dees dish it up to Cats

By Roger Vaughan 17/07/2009 08:30:59 PM Comments (0)

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey has demanded his players match Geelong's renowned physical pressure in their AFL match at Skilled Stadium.

The unlikely scenario for Saturday's match is that the Demons are off the bottom of the ladder following two wins, while the Cats have had two losses.

Asked how the Demons would cope with the Cats as they rebound from their losses, Bailey was only concerned with how his players approached the game.

"I'd expect us to attack the game with a real fierce and physical desire at the start," Bailey said.

"We know what they're going to bring, but we've also got to bring what we've been good at in the last couple of weeks.

"Our tackle count has been good, our attack on the ball has been good.

"We've pressured really well and against the best, you've got to do it.

The Cats will start strong favourites, but there will be shortage of motivation for the young Melbourne side.

Cameron Bruce will play his 200th game and club legend Jim Stynes has spent some time at the club this week as he recovers from cancer surgery.

"There's no doubt, when the big fella walks in, the players feel for him, what he's going through," Bailey said of Stynes.

"When you talk to him and he's walking around, he's got the same attitude he had six months ago, two weeks ago, tomorrow - it's amazing.

"Certainly he brings a smile, but he brings a bit of confidence to the players, knowing Jimmy is around, he's been fantastic for us."

Bailey is also talking up his team's prospects, noting some strong form on the track.

"It's a great challenge against a great club ... hopefully a really fierce contest," he said.

"We trained pretty well this morning (Friday), we handled the ball pretty cleanly.

"There is a bit of confidence and the boys have been buzzing all week - they see Geelong as a great challenge."

The Cats will welcome back six players, led by stars Gary Ablett and Matthew Scarlett.

They dropped Mark Blake and Jimmy Bartel will miss the game because of injury.

Despite Geelong's two-straight losses, Bailey has no doubt Melbourne will face the fiercest of tests.

He added Melbourne will need to be spot-on with their disposal.

"They'll certainly come out with great intent, don't worry - don't underestimate them," he said.

"You can get carried away with two losses, but they have some superstar players.

"The challenge is always going to be ... on a very narrow ground, the risk of bringing the ball back into the middle compared to the reward.

"It's a game that's going to generate some turnovers if the conditions are good, our kicking skills have got to be right up there, otherwise they're going to counter-attack off our mistakes and score."

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