COACH Simon Goodwin says Melbourne’s 38-point win over Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Sunday was a “very important” win for the club after a tough three rounds.

After frustrating losses to Geelong, Fremantle and Richmond – Melbourne was in winnable positions in each game – the Demons bounced back strongly against the Dons.

Goodwin was pleased his side found a way to win after the first half was marred by skill errors and turnovers from both teams. But he was delighted with his team’s second half, when it booted 13.4 to 6.6, to gain the four points. He said the players showed genuine character to win under pressure and duress.

“I thought in the first half we were probably a little bit safe and went down the line a lot. In the second half, I thought we started to move the ball a little bit better,” Goodwin said post-match.

“It probably wasn’t one for the highlights reel – the first half. There were a lot of turnovers for both teams. In some ways, that’s what you get when you’ve got a side coming off a five-day break and one off a five-and-a-half [day break].

“I thought our midfielders really stepped up around the footy and I thought the way we implemented some chain with our ball movement, probably defined us in the game.

“We had to fight and scrap in the first half and it probably didn’t look pretty, but we found a way to get it back the way we wanted. I think the boys can take great confidence from that in the coming weeks.”

Goodwin praised his leaders, particularly co-captains Nathan Jones and Jack Viney.

“I thought Viney’s second half was very, very good and Nathan Jones’. I thought Jordan Lewis’ first game back [from a three-match suspension] as well [was very good]. His ability to go in [the midfield] in the second half, along with Bernie Vince really got our midfield going,” he said.

“It’s good to have him (Lewis) back. I spoke to him at half-time and he said he was feeling the pinch a little bit in the first half. I thought his second half, when he went into the midfield … he gave us composure, which was very good.

“It’s just good to have him back out there.”

Goodwin said key tall Tom McDonald was another leader to step-up.

“He was really strong, Tom. I thought he competed really strongly. Having Sam Frost and Oscar [McDonald] playing key position really gave Tom a bit of licence to free himself up and get himself involved in the game,” he said.

“He was really important to us throughout the day.”

Looking ahead to next Sunday’s clash against Hawthorn at the MCG, Goodwin said he wasn’t taking the brown and gold lightly at all, despite the fact it has won just one match this year.

“We’ll prepare for their best. I watched them two weeks ago against the Eagles and they were outstanding,” he said.

“We’ll prepare for their best. They’ve got a high-quality amount of players and they’re well coached, and they’ve got a lot of character about their footy club.

“We’ll just take the week to get ourselves right and prepare for their best, and come out and play the way that we’re really looking forward to playing.”