THE DEMONS got whacked last week in the opening round. But it wouldn't have worried their new coach Dean Bailey one bit.
Bailey, you won't remember, played forgettable games for the Bombers in the late 1980s, early '90s. It took him six seasons to reach his game tally, so it shows the man has patience. And in his new job, he would need plenty of that.
If Bailey walked down Bourke Street, nobody would notice him and I suspect he would like that, too.
The Melbourne Football Club has copped it from all angles in recent times, but it should be congratulated for selecting a "no name" coach, when Kevin Sheedy was ready willing and able — and would have been the safe option — when it came to choosing a new leader.
Bailey will prove to be an excellent choice as coach. But it will take time. Don't forget it took Cats coach Mark Thompson eight years and a lot of heartache to build a premiership team.
What I like about Bailey is that he has balance, experience and vision. As a player he was a battler with the Bombers. He had to graft.
A fast brain coerced a slow body into a respected senior player. Off field he hit the books to achieve a strong tertiary qualification.
Preparedness to leave his comfort zone took him to Adelaide and Brisbane where he took on the business world working in senior management and, in football, he took on the senior coaching role with Queensland's Mount Gravatt.
Being the main man at a football club with all the responsibilities involved is invaluable for young men who aspire to one day be a senior AFL coach.
Bailey then learnt plenty being part of premierships as an assistant coach at Essendon (2000) and Port Adelaide (2004).
It was a year ago that I first met the new Melbourne coach. Peter Rohde, the general manager of football with Port Adelaide, rang and asked if I would have a chat with the aspiring assistant. Already the Power had helped groom Alastair Clarkson for the Hawthorn roll and it obviously thought Bailey was set to spread his wings.
I was delighted to be asked, as an old coach can always learn from the young and perhaps vice-versa applies.
Bailey came to my home on a Saturday night after a Port Adelaide game that afternoon at the MCG. But not before he dropped in for dinner with his parents in Ringwood. I liked that.
He came armed with a laptop computer, which just reinforced my feeling that it was a good thing my coaching days were over. Three hours later he left. I was impressed.
The man is cool, calm and calculating but with a ruthless edge and a determination to have things done his way.
This week the Melbourne players worked harder on the track than they did against the Hawks last Sunday. The theory is simple, put in on match day or else. I like that.
Too many of the senior players lack grunt and are easily satisfied, while younger ones, led by Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia, lack discipline.
At Melbourne, Bailey will find that he will not only have to coach the team, but he will also have to lead the club. The chairman, Paul Gardner, and new CEO, Paul McNamee, no doubt have their strengths, but they are not "football people".
Bailey will be good for the older Melbourne players such as Jeff White, Adem Yze, Cameron Bruce, David Neitz, Brad Green, James McDonald and Russell Robertson, who, over the past 10 years, have just had the one coach in Neale Daniher. Familiarity can breed contempt.
Has the Melbourne senior group over the past decade played with the same hardness as the senior players at Sydney, Brisbane and Port Adelaide?
All of the players mentioned are on their last chance. If they don't put in they will be gone. Sadly for Demon supporters they will get nothing for them.
A couple of years ago, Hawthorn bit the bullet and traded out Jonathon Hay, Nathan Thompson, Mark Graham and Peter Everitt while they still had some currency. The Demons chose not too. That legacy is one Bailey will have to bear.
