Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says it’s time for his players to prove their AFL finals credentials by claiming a big scalp.
Goodwin is pinpointing Saturday night’s clash against St Kilda in Alice Springs as a pivotal moment in his club’s season.
The Demons (six wins) are in 10th spot entering the fixture against the sixth-placed Saints (eight wins).
“I haven’t done the maths on it exactly but from what I can gather, nine or 10 wins will get you in (the finals),” Goodwin told reporters on Friday.
“We know that it’s a really tight competition, there’s a lot of teams vying for those spots.
“We get to control our destiny.
“We are playing a team above on us on the ladder … it’s time as a footy club that we really stand up and perform well against some of the really strong teams.”
Melbourne’s season has featured losses to flag fancies West Coast, Geelong, Richmond and Brisbane.
And the Saints appear bound for their first finals campaign since 2011.
“We are up against a quality side, a side that is sitting well and truly in the eight – and these are the type of teams that we need to start beating,” Goodwin said.
Melbourne captain Max Gawn will return from a three-match absence because of injury and his duel against St Kilda’s ruck tandem of Paddy Ryder and Rowan Marshall looms as decisive, according to Saints coach Brett Ratten.
“Gawn is a great player … it will be a big challenge for our boys,” Ratten told reporters on Friday.
“Maybe whoever gets the dominance in the ruck contest might get the clearance dominance. And that might be enough to get territory and it puts the other team under pressure.
“So it’s a huge battle.
“We’re are pretty fortunate we have got two quality ruckmen and different types of ruckmen – Paddy is a real leaper and Rowan is more of a grinder and a real workhorse.”