The Melbourne Demons are confident in the way they are playing heading into their preliminary final against Geelong.

The man who ignited Melbourne's new era, Paul Roos, stated he is proud of the current side's progression, telling The Jim Session Podcast it is rewarding for the supporters.

"It's great to be able to see the smile on their faces, because I know how hard it was for six years prior to me getting there," he said.

Reflecting on his time as senior coach, Roos told spoke on his first moves as senior coach in 2014.

"The first thing I did was bring in the coaches. That was imperative," the Swans premiership coach said.

AFL Rd 5 - Melbourne v Richmond
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 05: The Demons look dejected after losing the round 5 AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Richmond Tigers at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 05, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

"I had to bring in people I trusted. I was really impressed by Glenn Bartlett. I was really impressed by Peter Jackson. So I knew we had a good chairman (and) a good CEO.

"I really needed coaches I could trust.

"We had to build relationships. The first three months was about building really strong relationships, then it was about building a sustainable game style to win a premiership over a three-year period."

Players were mentally shot, broken and frustrated with the team's on field failures and a rekindling of the group's chemistry was deemed necessary.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 24: Simon Goodwin the assistant coach of the Demons speaks to Angus Brayshaw during the round five AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Richmond Tigers at Melbourne Cricket Ground on April 24, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Seven years on, the Demons are now preparing for a preliminary final against the Cats on Friday night under Simon Goodwin, a man who took over the reigns from Roos from 2017.

Roos expressed his delight to see how the club is performing this season in their bid to end their 57-year premiership drought.

"It's amazing, because I know how much work goes in," Roos added.

"I've seen the worst of it, so to see it going so well is so pleasing."

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Demons star Christian Petracca, speaking to AFL 360 last night, said the playing group is confident they can overcome the haunting memories of when they last reached a preliminary final in 2018.

"We're a lot more mature. Even the personnel is different," he said.

"We haven't really thought about it (2018). We're a very different team to 2018."

The Demons will host Geelong at Optus Stadium on Friday, with the match to commence at 7:50pm AEST.