Demons explain McCartney move to bench

Melbourne football operations manager Josh Mahoney says communication is the reason assistant coach Brendan McCartney has been sent to the bench.

Fox Footy reported last night that McCartney has been moved from the coaches box to the interchange, with the report stating the former Bulldogs coach wasn’t gelling with his fellow Demon colleagues in the box.

However, Mahoney says that is incorrect, with the move solely being based on strengthening the in-game communication links.

“After four rounds you take the opportunity to look at all the different things about what is happening with the team on the field, what the operation is looking like and how the communication is,” he told SEN Breakfast.

“One thing we looked at was communication to the coach down to the bench and the result out of that was Brendan McCartney had been on the bench for the last two years and we thought he did a terrific job down there.

You can listen to the Demons v Tigers blockbuster tonight live on 1116 SEN from 6:00pm with Anthony Hudson, Stephen Quartermain, Terry Wallace, Adam Cooney and Abbey Holmes.

“It’s purely about trying to get better communication on the bench and utilising someone’s skillset and that’s the reason we have made that decision.

“That’s been the change and there isn’t much more to add to it than that.”

Mahoney also said it’s vital the club displays its brand of football tonight against Richmond, as they seek to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Hawthorn last weekend.

Listen to Josh Mahoney’s chat with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast in the player below

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