RUCKMAN Mark Jamar says it has felt “a lot longer” than four rounds to achieve Melbourne’s first win of the season.

The 29 year-old said his team’s 41 point win over Greater Western Sydney at the MCG on Sunday was “a good feeling”.

“Three quarter time, we were down by 19 points and we knew we just had to stick at it. We knew that they might kick the first one, but we just had to trust ourselves, the work we’d done, and put our head over it. It was credit to the boys,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“GWS, they fought really hard and they’re a talented young side, with a lot of strong bodies and they’re up and coming. They really challenged us, but [it’s a] credit to our boys, we stuck at it and got the result in the end.

“The first 10 minutes [of the final term] were crucial. We’re a young side and they’re a young side and more often than not, if you can get on top of a side in the first 10 minutes of the last quarter, you might be able to get the momentum and hopefully steal a win.”

Jamar said he didn’t believe the Demons had secured their opening victory of 2013 until “late in the last quarter”.  

“Any team in the AFL these days can score goals quickly, so we were going back to the centre bounce doing the fundamentals and nothing fancy,” he said.

“We were able to get a few good centre clearances, and we were able to kick a few goals and it was excellent.”

Jamar produced his best performance so far this season, winning 31 hit outs, 16 disposals and kicking a goal, after gaining some critics externally.

“The beauty about not reading the paper or watching TV is that you don’t cop anything, so I listen to my coach and my teammates and that’s all I listen to,” he said.

“People on the outside can say what they want and have their own opinions, but it’s water off a duck’s back.

“I just go to work every day, listen to my coaches and my teammates, and I work hard for them.”

Jamar said the test now was to back up with another strong performance against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba next Sunday.

“Every time we play interstate, it’s a challenge. We’re playing at an interstate venue and it’s an away game, and we’re playing against a side that’s got a lot of good inside midfielders, plus a lot of guys who can spread,” he said.

“Their spine is very sound as well, so we’ve got our work cut out for us next week, but we’ve just got to go for it, train hard, prepare all week and get up to Brisbane and have a crack.”