Melbourne wants to play "perfect" footy — at least that's what the rest of the league thinks.
And when the Demons are on song — as they were when they kicked the highest score in AFLW history against Fremantle earlier this month — it certainly seems as close to perfect as footy can get.
But Demons star Kate Hore knows that to win a premiership her team will need to play "ugly" as well.
"It's rare that a footy game's going to look perfect," Hore told The W with Sharni and Sam podcast.
"We know that, we won't shy away from that.
"The game against Fremantle is probably as close to perfection that we're going to get, but that's obviously a once-in-a-season kind of game."
Demons 'up for the grind'
Hore acknowledged the Demons — who finished second behind Adelaide on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season — were seen as a slick and refined "Rolls-Royce" footy team.
But the sense around the league is that if you force that Rolls-Royce onto a bumpy track careering through muddy puddles and potholes, then the wheels can fall off.
"It is funny that people on the outside say that," Hore said.
"The 'prettiness' probably is when we get all three phases of our game together … our contest, our offence and our defence."
Still, champagne football or not, Hore said her team could win if the going was to get tough.
"We're up for the grind, we back in our contest game, we know that's a real strength of ours," she said.
"We definitely don't like it 'pretty' on the inside … people can say what they want, but we're good to get down and dirty when we need to."
Harris the right fit for Demons
During the off-season, the Demons secured one of the league's recognised superstars in Tayla Harris.
Hore said there was some trepidation ahead of Harris's arrival, with the Demons coming off a fourth-placed finish in 2021.
"There were definitely discussions prior to her coming to the club, with the leaders and whatnot," she said.
"But at the end of the day, we just backed in our culture at Melbourne.
"Tay [Harris] is an incredible player. We knew the strengths that she would bring to our team and she probably was that missing dynamic in our forward line."
Harris is second on the league's goal-kicking standings this season, serving as a towering presence in the forward line for the Demons.
As an asset on the field, Harris was already a known quantity, but Hore said it was her qualities as a teammate that were pleasantly surprising.
"She's an unbelievable character, the classic example of don't read a book by its cover," Hore said.
"She's just a little bit misunderstood in the media … things have come out about her that are just certainly not true.
"She's just genuinely happy in the environment that she's in."
'World's Daisy's oyster'
Hore has formed a potent double act with Daisy Pearce this season.
The two are inside the league's top 10 for both goals and goal assists.
Hore said she did not know if the veteran Pearce would play on next season, but she was clearly still an elite AFLW player.
"The world's Daisy's oyster," she said.
"Whether it's coaching … I would love to see her play on. I've learned so much from her, especially as she's come into the forward line.
"I honestly don't know [what she'll do next] but I know Daisy well, and I know that her mind is focused 100 per cent on our season this year … she'll be putting every bit of effort into winning a flag."
Dees' chance at two flags
The Demons have the opportunity to do something remarkable and become both the AFL men's and women's premiers at the same time.
Hore and her teammates have the week off and they will mirror what the men did in the lead-up to their successful finals campaign last year.
"I know the weekend before [the grand final], they had the week off, they had a really tough training session," Hore said.
"If anything, we've learned you can't go into a game underdone, so … we're going to have a really big training session on Saturday."
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant it has been difficult for Melbourne's men's and women's teams to talk ahead of the finals.
"Our programs are quite separate at the moment … so we don't have too much interaction with them like we have in past seasons," Hore said.
"But I'm sure leading into the prelim, there will be something teed up between the boys and us."
