Melbourne Demons climb up the AFL ladder comes on the back of improved form and confidence of players writes Gerard Whateley

NOTHING spoke of the changing paradigm for Melbourne quite so eloquently as the reaction to defeat a week ago — it wasn’t the lament of losing, it was instead the regret of not winning.

NOTHING spoke of the changing paradigm for Melbourne quite so eloquently as the reaction to defeat a week ago.

It wasn’t the lament of losing, for too long a constant, soul-destroying companion. It was instead the regret of not winning.

The Demons had the Western Bulldogs on toast for a period in the last quarter before being edged in the stretch for the tape.

What Melbourne wouldn’t have given for narrow, meritorious defeat in recent years. Now it has the esteem to aspire for more.

Melbourne completes its first lap under Paul Roos today at the MCG. The coach has proposed an audit in the bye to measure the gains and identify the urgent causes for attention.

Lynden Dunn is beginning to deliver on the promise that lead him to be a first-round draft selection. Picture: Wayne Ludbey.

One thing is tangible; from supporters to players all have come to trust in something better. Given the starting point it’s a significant advancement.

Any such reassurance seemed wishful thinking seven weeks ago when the Demons capitulated to West Coast by 93 points.

It led you to wonder if the players themselves weren’t permanently damaged. When the rut set in the participants too readily submitted to their fate. The failure seemed institutionalised.

Roos appeared appalled by it. He spoke of the minimum standards a professional footballer must meet.

Having spent the early part of his tenure as professor he turned psychologist. He spoke of changing the environment for the players so it didn’t contain the same sense of dread and loathing.

A fortnight later those Demons players grew into the idea of winning on an afternoon of gaping opportunity against Carlton.

Jeremy Howe and skipper Nathan Jones have a laugh following their victory over Carlton in Round 4 Pic: Michael Klein.

The best measure of change came from Jack Grimes who hadn’t tasted victory for a full year.

After rehab, where the faces were happy and the bodies ached a little less, the co-captain pondered: “How good would footy be if you could experience this every week.”

Roos’ task has been to rescue young men from the realms of the downtrodden.

To assess Melbourne’s first eight games is to see a team that has been competitive in all bar one. Two wins as many as anyone could have hoped.

The Demons made a virtue of establishing a credible percentage. It stands at 73.65. Remove the Eagles thrashing, now entitled to be viewed as an aberration, and that measure sits at a respectable 85.

That’s the scoreboard so to speak. The constant presence Roos was desperate to remove from Melbourne’s thinking.

The perceptible gains are in the method and the improvement of individuals. On the scale of development there’s barely a Melbourne player you couldn’t find a virtue for.

Melbourne co-captain Jack Grimes. Photo by Scott Barbour

Lynden Dunn is becoming the disciplined, versatile footballer his first round selection a decade ago forecast.

Jack Watts is finding an intensity long missing. Nathan Jones is more than the heart and soul. He’s accountable and defensively determined.

Grimes looks more settled and sure with the ball. Neville Jetta is reinvented as a dependable defender. And Cam Pedersen looks to have found his place.

Even in a small sample some of those outcomes are wondrous.

There’s nothing pretty about the Demons. They don’t have that luxury. There is a hard, competitive edge and a desire to adhere to a predictable, replicable style.

Melbourne training is said to have an extreme emphasis on education, intense learning of the bedrocks — structures and stoppages — rather than ball movement.

As Adelaide learnt the hard way, you can’t just rock up against Melbourne anymore. They’re an awkward opponent with the capacity to frustrate and a willingness to persist that bridges the talent differential.

That’s a challenge for Richmond. An emotional team on a highly emotional day.

Like Melbourne, the Tigers have only two wins and when last faced with this sort of assignment failed it badly against the Bulldogs.

Any audit by Damien Hardwick in the week off would have identified broad regression.

The coach has maintained the policy this is a good team. But promises aren’t worth much these days. It’s actions that are judged.