Christian Salem says Melbourne has No fear of Perth cauldron ahead of West Coast prelim
ROSS Lyon years ago coined the ‘anywhere, anytime team’ phrase, but it’s a philosophy alive and well at Melbourne, with Christian Salem putting little weight on geography as the Demons embark on the toughest task in footy — West Coast in Perth.
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ROSS Lyon years ago coined the ‘anywhere, anytime team’ phrase, but it’s a philosophy alive and well at Melbourne.
The Demons’ charge into a first preliminary final in 18 years has put them on a collision course with one of the hardest assignments in footy — West Coast at Perth Stadium.
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But Christian Salem said he and his teammates put little weight on geography, highlighted by the Dees’ 6-1 record outside Victoria this year.
“We know that for us it doesn’t matter where we play,” Salem said.
“We’ve just got to bring our brand and each individual plays their role and everything else will take care of itself.
“There’s a lot of young boys and we’re all pretty close.
“It’s been the same all year in that it doesn’t matter where we play or what time we play.
“The stadium over there is fantastic. The atmosphere is great and I’m sure we’ll get a lot of travelling Melbourne supporters there so we’ll be fine.
“It’s good to see them so happy. It’s been a long time for them so they deserve every bit of it.”
A three-game losing sequence between rounds 12-15 prompted a reassessment Salem said had been pivotal in Melbourne’s finals charge.
“We knuckled down on a few focuses and it came out in the last few games,” he said.
“We had a good finish to the year and we’ve carried that through, so nothing changes for us next week.
“It’s exciting, but there’s still work ahead. We’re not satisfied.”
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