Despite falling agonisingly short to GWS on Sunday evening, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is upbeat with the performance of his young Demons side.
Featuring a return from injury by Christian Petracca, return to form from Clayton Oliver, and six club debutants - five of which playing their first official AFL game - the Demons had exciting stories across the field.
And while Melbourne coughed up a late goal to GWS tall Lachie Keeffe to lose by three points, Goodwin was buoyed by his club's efforts, showing immediate improvements compared to 2024's subpar season.
The Demons headed into the match as underdogs, and opinions were wide and varied on whether Melbourne would improve after a down year. Against a side coming off a ruthless victory over Collingwood, Melbourne's competitive effort, in which they never trailed by more than 12 points, highlighted positive signs for a team trialling half a dozen new recruits.
Melbourne could have been forgiven for struggling against a formidable Giants unit if their new-look crew took time to adapt and build chemistry, but just 90 less seconds of game time would have seen them take four premiership points on Sunday.
Goodwin was thus unsurprisingly rapt by the efforts of his side, and particularly the young recruits, following the match.
"There was a hell of a lot to like in the game, and clearly, when you play five debutants and they all perform to a really high level, it gives you great confidence as a footy club, and it starts to build belief," Goodwin said.
"You always win in some manner and we won in a lot of manners today... There's still lots to learn in terms of the last 25 minutes of the game, but we did a lot right as a footy club.
"We walk away without the result, but we walk away emotionally as a club feeling like we're on the right path."
Queried as to whether the Demons made a particular focus to play an inexperienced side, Goodwin said the debutants' pre-seasons and performances in trial matches left him no choice but to select the uncapped five.
"It just worked out that way. Clearly, when you have two pretty high draft picks in Langford and Lindsay, they're natural footballers, they can play the game, they're talented, but they've been able to, throughout the pre-season, establish a foundation of work that gives them the opportunity to play," Goodwin said.
"We've got no limitations on our young players, if they're ready to play, we'll play them. They fit the team really well."
Goodwin lauded mature-aged recruits, late draftee Aidan Johnson and SSP signing Jack Henderson, for their efforts in Sunday's match. Both former Werribee premiership players snagged a goal on debut and contributed solidly across the match.
"For Aidan Johnson and Jack Henderson, they're 24, they've been working on building a career for six years, they come from a great footy club in Werribee, they played in some success in grand finals and they play the game the right way," Goodwin said.
"They're high competitors and they work incredibly hard and I think you saw that today in the way they go about it."
After a promising start to the season, Melbourne have the chance to record their first win in Round 2 against a lowly North Melbourne side that also suffered their first defeat of the season to an injury-hit Bulldogs team on Saturday night.
