Matt Rendell identified something he wasn’t overly enamoured with during Melbourne’s first loss of 2021.
The Demons took on the Crows in Adelaide last Saturday night as they attempted to extend their unbeaten run to 10 wins.
It didn’t quite go to plan as they went down by one point in a thriller.
At the start of the match, Rendell saw something from Christian Petracca that he wasn’t thrilled with, suggesting the Dees were perhaps “a bit happy with themselves”.
“It’s funny how you see things on television,” he said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“It was an outstanding game of footy, but what worried me was before the first bounce I reckon it was, Petracca was in there and standing next to his opponent and he’s having a good laugh and chat with him.
“I’ve gone, ‘That’s odd’. It’s not something I want to see at the start of a game.
“There was another shot (later in the game), he’s running back to position in the forward line with (Tom) Doedee and he patted him on the ass, and he’s having a good chinwag to him as well.
“They might be a bit happy with themselves at the moment in the position they were.
“He played a great game, don’t worry about that, he still went hell for leather, but I thought maybe just a little happy, nine and zip, travelling along.
“They got a good wake-up call on the weekend.”
Rendell pinpointed Jack Viney, who is currently sidelined with a foot injury, as one key Demon who wouldn’t take that sort of approach.
“Blokes who set the scene for their team, nearly everyone’s got one,” he added.
“No Jack Viney. You’ve got your great midfield of (Angus) Brayshaw, (Clayton) Oliver and Petracca, but Jack Viney sets the tone for that team.
“With his hardness and toughness he always plays for keeps. Jack wouldn’t be smiling, laughing, patting people on the bum, I don’t think.
“So just a little watch there on Melbourne.
“It will probably do them the world of good.”
Whatever it is the Demons are doing, it seems to be working as they sit second on the ladder with a 9-1 record and healthy percentage of 137.
They take on the Western Bulldogs in the top-of-the-table clash at the MCG this Friday night, most likely not in front of a crowd amid Melbourne’s recent COVID-19 outbreak.