Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says a resounding qualifying final win has whet the appetite for success of his AFL players.
The Demons have advanced to a preliminary final after dismantling Brisbane by 33 points in Adelaide on Saturday night.
The clinical fashion of the victory - they were never headed from late in the first quarter - impressed coach Goodwin.
"We were playing the best offensive team in the competition and to keep them to five goals post quarter-time was an outstanding defensive performance," he said.
"Everything that we have been building in terms of how we wanted to play was on display.
"Full credit to the players, they prepared well, they re-set themselves from last week - they knew it was a new season and that is the way they wanted to treat it."
The Demons last played a preliminary final in 2018 when they were goal-less to halftime in a 66-point hammering from West Coast.
"We're a completely different side than what we were in 2018," Goodwin said.
"We have really established ourselves and the way we defend, we're certainly a lot more consistent in the way we play, and we have put ourselves in a better position and in better form.
"But we have still got lots of work to do.
"Coaches and the leadership group will go away and find areas of our game that we want to continue to improve in.
"And that has been a great thing about our team ... they are never satisfied and they want to find ways to get better."
The Demons now travel to Perth where they will be based until their season ends, with Goodwin imploring Melbourne-based supporters to keep sending messages of support.
"You can certainly feel the emotion and the proudness they (supporters) are carrying for their footy club at the moment," he said.
"And we are playing for them in a lot of ways. They have suffered over a long period of time.
"They want a footy team that competes well as often as possible. And that is what we are trying to do for them."
