THE significance of Melbourne’s outstanding 24-point win over Geelong at Simonds Stadium last Sunday will be realised in the second half of the season, according to coach Paul Roos.

Speaking to Dee TV about Melbourne’s 2015 season to date, Roos was optimistic his side’s fourth win of the season was a telling one, but just how much would determined after the bye.

“We’re probably not going to know until we start the back end of the season, but it’s just got a different feel to it,” he said.

“It is a hard venue [to win at] and Geelong has been playing terrific footy and Corey Enright played his 300^th game, so [the most pleasing thing] was the consistency of the performance. I felt it was as good as we’ve played in the last 18 months. I know it’s easy to say that after a win, but everyone played a really important role in the team.

“Geelong kicked the first two [goals of the match], then we came back and kicked the next five [goals] and got in front. Then they got back in front again [and then we did again and eventually won]. On a big occasion like that, with Enright playing his 300^th – and then to finish off the game really strongly – [was a credit to our team].

“I hope we really respond as a footy team and as a club. The week after the bye we’ve got another tough game against West Coast, so we’re certainly looking forward to the back end of the season.”

Reflecting on Melbourne’s first win over Geelong since 2006 – and its first at the Cattery since 2005 – Roos said it was a mighty effort.

“It was great. To win down there was very hard,” he said.

“It was a disappointing week [against St Kilda], when we felt we played well. We felt we played a couple of good games, but it was a great win to beat [Geelong] down at Kardinia Park. It was fantastic, so it was great for the players and great for the club.”

“Having a weekend off, it’s always good to go into the bye with a win.”

Roos said the first half of the season had presented several challenges for his team, particularly playing premiership contenders Fremantle, Sydney Swans and Hawthorn in successive weeks from rounds five to seven.

“We’ve had a really tough draw – and I must admit that you don’t go back over past seasons – but going into this season and the bye weekend, we’ve played Hawthorn, Sydney, Freo and Port, four of the top [six] teams from last year, and we’ve played Geelong at Geelong and Adelaide at Adelaide,” he said.

“We’ve played Gold Coast in round one, the Giants, Richmond and the Bulldogs, so every game’s tough, when you’re coming from where we are.

“It’s been a really solid draw and a really tough draw, so it’s hard to compare last year, because they’re all really different. We’ve had quite a few injuries in the last five or six weeks.

“To win down at Geelong with the injuries we’ve had has been important, so hopefully it’s got a bit of a different feel to it – and the back end of the year is going to be better than it was last year.”

Roos said there had been some genuine development in his squad this year. 

“The way we’ve been playing, we’re definitely scoring better this year, so that’s been important. I think it’s the third time we’ve kicked over 100 points this year. Last year, we didn’t do it at all,” he said.

“We’re still able to defend, but probably the balance is still getting it right.

“We’ve had some really good patches – even the games we’ve lost, where we’ve been up six goals to two against the Giants, we were defending really well and able to attack. But then the whole thing fell apart – probably similar to [the match] against Port.

“There is no doubt our best football is a lot better than last year, but still our worst is still too big a gap.”