The Dees came into 2024 under more pressure than anyone. They have ‘shown the AFL the bird’

Melbourne had a pre-season from hell.

The club culture was under fire, the coach was under fire and the players were under fire.

It was feeding time at the zoo.

But Geelong champion Cameron Mooney says the Dees have exceeded expectations so far in 2024.

“They’ve been better than I probably thought, considering the start to the year with all the talk off field over the pre-season,” the Fox Footy commentator said.

Melbourne lost fan favourite Angus Brayshaw who medically retired as a result of concussion, while star midfielder Clayton Oliver was dealing with significant personal issues.

“I thought to myself I wouldn’t be surprised if it all got too much, and they slid out of the top eight,” he said.

“To be sitting here at 6-2 coming off a really good win against Geelong, I think they’re sitting in a great spot.”

Mooney says off-seasons like the one Melbourne endured can go one of two ways but believes the dramatic off-season may have in fact galvanised this group.

“It can go either way, you can have in-house fighting and people pointing the finger, or you can go, ‘you know what boys, everyone wants us to fall over, let’s show them the bird’,” he said.

“Right now, they’re showing the bird.

“A lot of people went really hard at them about their culture, their coach, their players.

“It’s not nice when you’re in a footy club and you feel like the footy world is coming at you, but it looks like they’ve said, ‘you want to come at us, we’ll show you’.”

Max Gawn is a seven-time All-Australian, one of the most well-respected players across the entire competition and is a key driver of Melbourne’s culture on and off the field.

He has the ability to turn a game on its head at any moment and was at his brilliant best against Geelong last week, booting a crucial goal from outside 50 late in the piece.

“I think he’s their most important player,” Mooney said.

“Max is the glue, he’s the best ruckman in the comp, he’s a great leader and that’s just from the outside looking in, I can only imagine how good he is on the inside.”

But while the Dees have been impressive to start their 2024 campaign, there still seems to be one obvious weakness.

“I still have concerns for them around their forward line,” Mooney said.

Mooney identified young key forward Jacob Van Rooyen as a promising prospect, but pointed out that he has played just 28 games and the club and fans can’t expect him to do it all on his own.

“I’m a big van Rooyen fan, but he’s just a kid trying to learn the game, we don’t want to be putting too much pressure on him,” Mooney said.

He’s formed a partnership with defender-turned-forward Harrison Petty to start the season, but Petty has struggled to recapture his strong form from the end of 2023.

“There’s a big difference doing it for six weeks and trying to do it for 12 months, I think that’s the big question for him,” he said.

“We saw great signs against Geelong, big, contested marks, if they can use him higher up the ground to be that outlet guy and keep Van Rooyen closer to goal.

“Fritsch is probably the best marking half forward in the game and you sprinkle that with Pickett and Chandler and Petracca down there at times, it looks good but it’s still a concern for mine.

“They’re relying on a lot of smalls to kick goals and I don’t think that’s a way to win a premiership.”

The Dees have experimented with Tom McDonald forward, but a move back to defence has seen him reignite his best form.

The Melbourne swingman clamped Cats superstar Jeremy Cameron in round eight, keeping the former Giant goalless.

So could the Dees defy all the odds and pre-season slander and challenge for the premiership this season?

“Overall, they’re looking a hell of a lot better than I thought they were going to with all the noise off field at the start of the year,” Mooney said.

“I think they’re a chance (of winning the flag), because they’ve got so much talent across the board.”

Mooney thinks Melbourne’s top-end talent can take them a long way this season, especially if it all clicks at the right time.

“All you need is for these guys to get hot at the end of the year,” he said.

“I’ve said for years that I think this group should walk away with at least two, maybe three flags.

“I’m probably now thinking more two, another one would be a great success.

“It’s only round eight, there’s a lot of time now to tinker and find out, these guys have a lot of weeks to build confidence and synergy, I still think they’re still a massive chance.”

The Clayton Oliver comeback story has been inspiring to say the least.

Oliver was sent home from a pre-season camp in Lorne, having also spent time in hospital due to an adverse reaction to ADHD medication.

His medical issues meant his driver’s licence had been suspended, which saw the midfielder receive a hefty fine when he was pulled over by police shortly after.

But after the clubs wrapped their arms around him, it seems he’s back doing what he does best.

“He looked great on the weekend, he’s going to get better and better,” Mooney said.

“His fitness was always going to be a question mark, but the way that he played and how hard he worked, hopefully from his point of view he’s back on track with life and his number one priority is being a great footballer for the Melbourne footy club.

“I’m very excited for what he’s going to do for them by the end of the year.”

While Mooney has concerns over Melbourne’s forward line, he says their backline is as good as any across the competition.

“There’s plenty there to love if you’re Melbourne,” he said.

“Offence is their biggest question mark, but there’s the saying, ‘defence wins premierships’ and what I saw last week was awesome.

“Geelong have arguably the best bookends in the game, and they just devoured Geelong, they didn’t give them an inch.”

The Dees defence put on a masterclass against Geelong, restricting the previously unbeaten Cats to just 66 points.

Steven May and Jake Lever have become one of the best one-two punches in the competition and were at their brilliant best on Saturday night.

May had 25 disposals, 13 marks and seven score involvements, while his partner in crime Lever had 24 touches, eight marks and 12 intercept possessions.