YOUNG tall Sam Weideman says Melbourne’s 45-point win over GWS Giants was quite simply “a great team effort”.

Speaking post-match after notching up a career-best 17 disposals and kicking a goal, Weideman said Melbourne’s belief continued to grow from its win in the west last week.

“Going over to Perth last week and getting the job done – there is a new found confidence that we didn’t have,” he told Melbourne Media.

“I think it’s just massive for our group – we have the belief that we can really do something special this year and I think today we showed that. It’s going to be a special few weeks hopefully and we’ll be ready for it.

“I think we really put the foot down early and didn’t let them (GWS) in and that was the key. We wanted to really put a stamp on today and to secure a home final and that’s what we did, so we’re pretty stoked and we’ll move on from here.

“We knew GWS was going to come in the last quarter and they kicked the first one, so we had to be on and I think we steadied the ship in the last quarter. We were able to play out the game and get the job done, which was important and I think we did that really well today.”

Weideman said he was determined to make the most of his return to the side, after playing his second match back.

“I was shattered for big ‘Hoges’ (Jesse Hogan) when he went down [with a foot injury], but I’ve found this opportunity to step-up,” he said.

“I’ve done a lot of work with the VFL this year and it’s a credit to the coaches down there – they’ve put a lot of work into me.

“I feel like I’m gaining a lot of confidence out of these last few weeks and I can’t wait to go into a finals series. I wouldn’t have picked that a few weeks ago, but a big opportunity has come up and I’m pretty stoked to hopefully grab onto this and take it with both hands.”