Veteran Demon Jake Melksham remains bullish on Melbourne's chances to climb back into contention with their final five home & away meetings, all against fellow top eight hopefuls.
The last 10 months at Melbourne have been littered with controversy, drama and heartbreak, and following the Round 19 drubbing at the hands of Fremantle, few pundits are giving them any hope of a late-season surge.
"We've got five games. We need to win most of them... everyone's written us off," Melksham toldย SEN Breakfast on Friday morning.
The external doubt is within reason. In fact, there are too many reasons to delve into:
- Clayton Oliver's on-field form and off-field controversy
- Christian Petracca's injury and surrounding speculation
- Angus Brayshaw's retirement and subsequent impact on the playing group.
- Reliance on and lack of support for injured captain Max Gawn
- Unfavourable run home while sitting 10th
Each of these points deserves an article of their own and would clearly be affecting their performance on the field.
Before the season, many believed the club would either fall off completely into the wilderness or maintain their firm grasp on the top four they've had for the last three years.
Instead, they sit right in the middle of those two options and their finals hopes depend on which Melbourne we will get for the final five weeks.
Any more displays like their performance against Fremantle twice, Collingwood on King's Birthday or West Coast at Optus would simply spell the end of their campaign.
But five more performances similar to their recent meetings with Essendon and Brisbane may have them well within contention.
"The last six weeks apart from the two Freo games... we've been very good," Melksham said, addressing their recent form and the upcoming run home.
"I think we still have that in us.
"It's not like you're asking us to do anything that we haven't. It's definitely in us and we're confident that we can get it done."
Melksham's own ACL comeback and recent form have probably been the feel-good story of the season at Melbourne.
But while his inclusion does change the dynamic of their forward line to an extent, it's not enough to compensate for every other absence and issue going on.
The Demons will be praying they can welcome back skipper Max Gawn from his nagging foot injury, especially after being soundly beaten by Fremantle's two-pronged ruck combination of Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson.
But while the club are routinely scrutinised for their reliance on Gawn and lack of an adequate backup for the 32-year-old, they remain defiant internally.
"On the weekend it probably bit us a little bit with having two number-one dominant rucks with Freo," Melksham acknowledged.
"We got beaten around the footy everywhere and it wasn't just their two rucks dominating us it was contests all over the ground.
"Had we have had him (Gawn) on the weekend, our group still got beaten around the ground quite convincingly.
"It's a tough one... you'd rather just have Max in your team and not have to worry about the rest."
Gawn's status remains uncertain ahead of the upcoming clash with GWS at the MCG this Saturday night.
What is certain is Melbourne's need to get the job done no matter the lineup, should they wish to remain contenders in 2024.
