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King puts the heat on Demon A-graders to deliver in vital Cats clash
Jaiden Sciberras • April 4th, 2025 2:21 pm
AFL great David King has called on Melbourne’s top-end players to step up ahead of their Friday night contest with Geelong.
Winless through three, the Demons appear to have lost their contested identity, currently operating at -13.3 in the clearance battle per game (second lowest in the AFL).
With a full-strength midfield featuring Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Jack Viney set to take on the Cats, alongside the return of potential centre bounce attendee Kysaiah Pickett, King has placed the Dees’ elite in the gun.
“The A-graders of the Melbourne Football Club who go down the Geelong highway tonight to take on the Cats,” King told SEN’s Fireball.
“We are going to find out whether the peace and love thing is going to last more than three weeks.
“I want to see who goes in for the centre bounces. Is it going to be the big three? Does the love last a month? Or do they say, ‘Hang on, Kozzy is back. Oh, hang on, we got (Caleb) Windsor, we want to have a look at Windsor in there’.
“I would go past them as a group in there, but I’ve always said, ‘Spread your wealth’. I’ve been trying to get Petracca forward for three years.
“They’ve been a contested ball, clearance-built team right since Simon Goodwin got them rolling five or six years ago. I think it has turned, but I want to see what the coach does.
“Does the coach back them in minute one, or does he turn the page?”
The Dees' contest against the Cats kicks off at 7:40pm tonight at GMHBA Stadium.
