AFTER his five-goal heroics against West Coast last weekend, Melbourne's Tom McDonald will again play up forward in Friday night's blockbuster clash against Sydney at the MCG.
The key defender-turned forward has matched up on Swans superstar Lance Franklin regularly in past seasons, but he says that job will be left to developing backmen Sam Frost and McDonald's younger brother, Oscar.
Tom McDonald has had a number of intriguing battles against Franklin and knows full well the type of impact he can have if given too much leeway.
"They'll (Frost and Oscar McDonald) probably have a bit of time on him, so I'll speak to them about what's worked for me," McDonald told AFL.com.au.
"I've seen the good and the bad of playing on 'Buddy' Franklin.
"You need half-back flankers dropping off to help on a guy like Buddy particularly with the way he draws the footy.
"If you leave him one-out against those boys it's going to be a long day so it's more about how we can all work together to stop him kicking a bag on us."
The improvement in Frost, 23, and Oscar McDonald, 21, who has bounced back from a three-week spell in the VFL earlier in the season, has allowed Tom McDonald to push further up the ground and even into the ruck in Max Gawn's absence.
Frost's ability to defend strongly and then bounce straight to his feet to help exit the ball from defence and Oscar McDonald's intercept marking have been important components in the Demons' four-game winning streak.
With Jesse Hogan ruled out for Friday night's contest, the Demons will need Tom McDonald to again become a focal point in attack.
"They're working pretty well together without me down there so I don't want to ruin it for them if I go back," Tom McDonald said.
"I'll probably play forward this week, but I could go back and play back as well.
"I probably do see myself as a defender long-term, though."
McDonald's dominant performance against the Eagles was underlined by his stunning late goal with just under a minute left on the clock, delivering the Demons a heart-stopping three-point victory.
"First of all Jeremy McGovern is my favourite player to watch so I'm sorry that I had to kick the goal on him," McDonald said.
"I was trying to get the handball over to Cam Pedersen who was on the other side of the (goal) square, but Jeremy wrapped my left hand up and I couldn't get the handball free.
"My last resort was throwing it (the ball) in the air and trying to swing the boot at it. I got a bit lucky – it might have caught the last stud of my boot, I think."
Rather than getting lost in the euphoria of the moment, McDonald – and several teammates – signalled for other players to get back in defence.
"We were aware that there was roughly 30 seconds to a minute left (in the match) because Daniel Cross (Melbourne's runner) had just the sent the message out," McDonald said.
"The idea was that if we could get a score we'd then go into save the game mode and we'd get numbers back and clog their forward line."
Asked to describe the significance of the moment in his career, McDonald said it was right up there: "I never kicked the winning goal in junior footy or anything like that. I had one three-point buzzer beater in basketball, but this is a bit more exciting, and on a bigger stage, than just down at the local basketball stadium."
