Cometti: Demons dancing to Roos' tune
It's unusual but not unheard of that coaches arrive at a football club and announce themselves immediately by way of a grand entrance.
Paul Roos did that on Friday night!
Rarely have I seen a team look so different so quickly.
The saviour delivered!
Melbourne, a team that even during warm-ups couldn't find the footy in recent times, was able to successfully play keepings off against Richmond.
All of which doesn't guarantee the Demons all that much (I know, it's only the NAB Challenge time) but at least now they have hope.
Sure, they had some new faces but as Roos was happy to point out before the game they had "no bigs up forward, blokes like (Mitch) Clark, (Chris) Dawes and (Jesse) Hogan".
On balance Friday's team was no better on paper than several that Roos' predecessors sent out last season.
But weren't they so different! A laughing stock that has taken stock, well drilled rather than getting drilled.
In WA we've been fortunate to see a couple of overnight rags to riches revivals inspired by coaches who moved to the
beat of their own drum.
Remember Michael Malthouse in 1990 at West Coast and more recently Ross Lyon with Fremantle.
Melbourne's win on Friday night suggests Roos may, despite all the naysayers, be able to do something with the AFL's 'sows ear'.
As somebody explaining his admiration for a coach once explained it to me "he can take his and beat yours, then give him a month and he can take yours and beat his".
So far so good!
