Simon Goodwin has hailed the impact of an emerging band of youngsters in helping Melbourne rediscover their identity in the push for an AFL finals berth.
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Trent Rivers, Koltyn Tholstrup, Caleb Windsor, Judd McVee and Jacob van Rooyen were all important contributors in the Demons' 17.10 (112) to 8.10 (58) thrashing of West Coast at the MCG on Sunday.
The win lifted Melbourne to within touching distance of the top eight, sitting outside the finals places on percentage with a 9-7 record.
"These are the guys that we've invested a fair bit of time into now and our footy club's evolving on the back of those guys," Goodwin said.
"We're certainly finding our identity again and the way that we want to play, and our younger players are starting to drive it forward.
"That's exciting for us and we've still got enormous growth in us, but if we stick to the way that we're playing right now we'll keep building as the year goes on."
Melbourne's team is evolving after the loss of Angus Brayshaw (retired - concussion) over the off-season and Christian Petracca's season-ending internal injuries last month.
The pair left huge holes in the Demons' line-up, while fellow premiership star Clayton Oliver has also been below his best this season.
"When there's adversity there's always opportunity and that's what we really focused in on," Goodwin said.
"Two really experienced players (Brayshaw and Petracca) had a huge impact for us as a team, and it provides opportunity for Trent Rivers to go into the midfield and for Koltyn Tholstrup to come into the team.
"We changed a bit of a look of how we want to play and our coaches have done a good job at trying to adapt to the personnel we've got and give them some simplicity in how we play.
"They've really embraced it and it's good to see."
Experienced forward Jake Melksham gave Goodwin further cause for optimisim, kicking two goals against West Coast on return from a long-term knee injury.
The 32-year-old ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in round 24 last season and missed the Demons' finals series, before being handed a career lifeline with a one-year deal for 2024.
"He's not only the player that we need in our front half - he's the leader we need," Goodwin said.
"He's such an important piece to us and he's done so much work to get himself right.
"We saw today he has a pretty profound impact on our forward-half game, so it's great to see him out there.
"I'm really proud of him."
Goodwin brushed off concerns over Max Gawn's sore right ankle, declaring the skipper's final-quarter substitution against West Coast nothing more than a precautionary measure.
Gawn is expected to be fit to play in the Demons' huge clash with fourth-placed Essendon at the MCG on Saturday night.
Australian Associated Press
