After welcoming new Senior Coaches during the off-season, the Lions and Demons have both implemented new game plans which have largely stemmed from defence.
And despite the odd exception here and there, both sides seem to have improved considerably in that area.
Under Roos, Melbourne have become one of the more difficult teams to score against.
In Round 18 they came within a whisker of upsetting Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, after limiting the AFL’s second highest scoring team to just 10 goals for the match.
The Lions have also been dour in defence of late, conceding less than 80 points in each of their past four matches.
At the other end of the scale, both teams have generally struggled to kick a winning score.
Melbourne is currently the lowest scoring team in the competition (averaging just 61.2 points per game), while the Lions rank 16th with 67.2 points per game.
In fact, last Saturday’s QClash was the first time this season the Lions had reached 100 points in a match.
So fans can probably expect Sunday’s match to be a low-scoring affair.
Assistant Coach Murray Davis, who is largely responsible for the backline, says the Lions will need to find that balance between defence and attack.
“It should be a good battle. (Our defence) is something that we’re priding ourselves on, restricting the opposition’s scores every game,” Davis told LionsTV as part of the Vero Coaches’ Wrap.
“In saying that, we have to put a score on the board.
“We need to back up what we saw against the Gold Coast Suns.
“We’ll go down there and look at winning the contested ball and make sure we give our Melbourne supporters a really good look at what we’re building within the Club.”
Neither the Lions nor Melbourne have a great recent history at Etihad Stadium, although the visitors did have a stirring win on their last visit to the venue.
“It’s important for the group to know that we beat the Bulldogs (at Etihad Stadium), so we know we can do it. It’s just a matter of approaching the game in the right frame of mind,” Davis said.
