Melbourne trusted Kysaiah Pickett to prepare his own way during the week and he paid the Dees back in spades on Friday night.
It wouldn't be hyperbole to say Pickett was magical in his performance against Richmond during the annual Anzac Day eve clash, collecting 29 possessions, kicking four goals and reeling in a screamer late in the game to win the Frank "Checker" Hughes Medal for best-on-ground.
Speaking after the 54-point win, Melbourne coach Steven King revealed Pickett had been allowed time away from the club during the week.
"I was in awe of his game to be honest," King said.
"We afforded Kozzy the luxury to go up to Darwin early in the week to see his daughter for her birthday on a five-day break. The way he looked after and managed his body, he came back and trained and then to do that tonight is pretty amazing to watch.
"As a player and a performer, the package he has got skill, athleticism, courage, he has got that hardness about him, it's inspiring and a real pleasure and a treat for me to coach because the things he does on a footy field are electric."
While Pickett had Demons fans grinning from ear to ear, the heartbreaking moment of the night was the suspected ACL injury to Jai Culley.
Having impressed during the pre-season and the first few rounds, the former West Coast Eagles player now looks like he will miss the rest of the year - Culley also did his ACL in 2023.
Culley was seen having his knee looked at prior to the injury occurring, but King said he backs in the club doctors not to have sent out a player if they thought further injury could be a possibility.
"Obviously, it doesn't look great when any player goes down like that and can't return," he said. "Unfortunately, we are fearing the worst but he will get scans (Saturday) and I will cross all of my fingers and toes that it's a good result. We feel for Jai, but hopefully, it's better news than anticipated.
"(Culley's knee getting work done earlier in the game) didn't come up to me. We back in our staff completely. It's unfortunate, he has worked really hard over summer and he is a really important part of what we do with him being on a wing with his size and athleticism.
"We have a great medical team and the welfare of our players is more important than the result."
Two unheralded midfielders in Tom Sparrow (28 disposals, one goal, nine clearances, eight tackles) and Caleb Windsor (25 disposals, two goals) caught the eye during the match, with the latter's speed and nous in front of goal particularly noticeable.
King was full of praise for both players' efforts.
"When I got to the club, and I have been in the game for a while, there's people you love to coach and the way they go about it, and Tommy Sparrow, his mix of leadership, athleticism, his brutality around the ball; he's an every time player," he said.
"Probably like Kade Chandler last week when he got a bit of recognition for the role he plays, I thought it was Tommy Sparrow's night tonight.
"Even in the last quarter some of his manic defensive efforts were incredible and that inspires the rest of his team and allows those on the outside of our team to do their job.
"What (Windsor) produced tonight is what we have seen all summer. He has got a role within our team here and has probably been too diligent trying to execute that role. His attributes allowed him to have an impact on the game and the way he hunted the footy tonight.
"He along with Harvey Langford do a mountain of work with (assistant coach) Nathan Jones and he has been doing a heap of work and tonight it came out."
