On a number of occasions in 2010, the Demons have allowed the opposition to grab the early momentum.
Last week against Fremantle, Melbourne trailed by 31 points at quarter time and 39 at the half before launching a third-quarter comeback that saw it come within one point of the lead.
In the end, the Dees could not catch Freo and Bailey said their intensity early in matches needed to lift.
“We probably need to not cough up a couple of easy goals, as we did on the weekend. Starts are important and we need to get on with it to ensure that it is a real arm wrestle at the start of the game,” Bailey said on Thursday morning.
“The last three weeks, we started well against the Saints and the Bombers [but] on the weekend it was very disappointing.
"I think it was probably the goals that were given - our contribution to the goals - but obviously Fremantle finished it off which was disappointing."
Bailey said his team needed to be more mindful of how it delivers the football in the opening exchanges of a match.
“As long as the boys get on the front foot and make every contest important. To use the ball better is probably going to be the key and if we use the ball better we are probably going to get off to a good start", he said.
The Demons could have some handy inclusion for Sunday’s game, with James McDonald (hamstring) and Jack Trengove (hip flexor) both in contention to return to the side.
McDonald hasn’t played since the round-11 clash with Carlton but Bailey said the skipper was in the mix.
“We’ll see how James trains today. He actually has an unusual hamstring injury. Last week he did most of training and in the last three or four weeks he got a bit sore so he didn’t take the risk,” he said.
“So far so good this week, he did some running on the weekend and if he can get through training, and obviously that last session, he’d be in contention.”
Bailey was not as confident when talking about Trengove’s prospects.
“I think Jack is probably 50-50. He did some running on Monday and Tuesday and his hip flexor is still just a little bit tight. We’ve put him through his paces. He’ll have a running session today and we’ll see how he goes.
“It’s probably more how he pulls up from the running session.
"We’re probably a little bit cautious but if he was available ... he certainly would get picked".
