JACK Watts says the coaches remained calm and collected when Melbourne trailed by 23 points at half-time, during Monday’s Queen’s Birthday clash against Collingwood at the MCG.

The Demons hit back with 9.8 to 5.5 in the second half to win by four points in a thrilling encounter and Watts said the way the coaches managed the game played a big part in the victory.

“There was no panic by the coaches and that’s something I really respect and I think it’s a credit to them,” he told Melbourne TV.

“It’s pretty easy to come in [to the changerooms at half-time] and go off your tree and say ‘what are you guys doing out there’. But they were very clear [with their message] and said ‘this is what we need to do’ … and that just fills us with belief.

“There is no panic in the playing group and Collingwood went back into a bit of a conservative mode and we went on the attack and got a good fightback from us.”

Watts said although his team’s come-from-behind win was yet another feature in its emerging season, he added that it was still a key area of improvement.  

“’Buggy’ (Tom Bugg) said ‘we just love a story and we need to be down by five goals to get ourselves going’,” he said with a laugh.

“But it’s something we’re going to have to work on – that’s for sure. I think the spirit we showed to get back into it shows that we’re building something special here.

“It was a great fightback and a really good win.”

As for his match-winning goal – his third for the match – in the dying minutes, Watts said it was a moment to cherish.

“Harmesy (James Harmes) just put it out in front of me beautifully and then I was trying to look to spot someone up and the defenders just kept going with them,” he said.

“I just strolled in and had a pretty good feeling when it went through the middle.”