JAKE Melksham says he always thought his side could beat Geelong Cats in the first elimination final at the MCG on Friday.

The Demons won their first final in 12 years, when they defeated the Cats by 29 points, and Melksham said he was confident from the outset that the Demons could do the job.

“I believed that we could win tonight. We had some really good encounters with them (Geelong) during the year and I felt like they got away with a couple,” he told Melbourne Media.

“Again, we played the way we wanted to tonight and this time got the result, so it was a great elimination final and now we’re into a semi-final and we’re looking forward to it.”

Melbourne set-up its win with a stunning first term – 5.3 to 0.2 – giving the red and blue a 29-point advantage.

“It was really important [to get off to a strong start],” he said.

“We’ve started really well, most of the time, throughout the year and tonight was no different. We hit the scoreboard really well and then I think for the next two quarters, we missed a few opportunities and dominated a lot of the play, especially the inside 50s.

“There is a little bit of work to do on our connection and we might be able to put the game to bed by three quarter-time in the future. So, it was a good start and we look forward to next week.”

Melksham kicked a crucial goal in the third term, which was Melbourne’s only major during the second and third quarters.

But the forward said it wasn’t his best shot for goal.

“I hit it fat and I didn’t hit it properly, but it went through for a goal,” he said.

“I just turned around and took a couple of deep breaths and reset myself because it didn’t hit really well.”

Melksham said the atmosphere of playing in front of a crowd of 91,767 was something special

“It’s pretty special running out the race tonight and seeing a heap of Melbourne fans. I haven’t played in front of this many people since I’ve been at the club,” he said.

“It just seems that they came in their droves tonight and there was a real buzz about town. Everywhere I go, there are Melbourne people and we’re prepared for what’s coming now.

“We’ve only won one game and we’ve still got a few to go, if we want to get to where we want to go, which is the Grand Final. It’s head down, bum up and we’ll keep working hard.”

Looking ahead to next Friday night’s clash against Hawthorn at the MCG, Melksham said it was another great opportunity the club was set to relish. 

“We’ve got to be composed. We’re glad we won tonight, but we believed we could always win this game,” he said.

“I know everyone else believed that and now we’ve ticked that box – that was one of the biggest hurdles that we’ve faced, and that’s winning our first final, and now we’ve done that, but there is still a fair few games to go.

“We haven’t really achieved a heap just yet, but the elimination final is do or die and we’ve won, and now we go again and set ourselves up for a semi-final.”