FIRST-year Demon and 2010 Collingwood premiership player Heritier Lumumba says his inaugural year at Melbourne has “certainly gone quick”, but he still feels there is plenty to be gained from it.

Lumumba, who has played all but one match this season (he missed round 14 against the West Coast Eagles with a toe injury), said every moment at Melbourne had been “one of great learning” this year.

“Firstly, you have to build relationships with players and staff – that’s been a challenge, not from a negative, but just because it’s a new experience,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“I have felt at times disorientated because it’s a new program, new style of play, new training facilities, new philosophies and even new colours – and we’re next to the Westpac Centre – so every week I’ve been learning.

“It has gone quick and I feel as though I’ve learned so much this year. I would say that’s the thing that’s made it go so quick – it’s been so full of information and action for me. I’m so in the moment and paying attention and reeducating.”

Lumumba said he was eager to help Melbourne try and win two in a row for the first time since rounds 13 and 14, 2011, when it defeated Fremantle and Richmond respectively at the MCG.

“We haven’t spoken about [winning two in a row] all this year. That’s probably been by design. I don’t think the coaches have brought it up. Maybe they (the coaches) don’t want to put any added pressure on the players,” he said.

“For where we are at, as a group, we have spoken casually about it in the locker rooms, but we haven’t really made a conscious effort to speak about it in any of our preparations for the game. I think where the group is at – at the moment – we can do that.

“From when I first trained with the club, the players have matured so much, including the senior players as well. We’re very close to having a breakthrough – will it happen this year? I think it has in some regards, but there are still a few things we need to improve to get to the next level and experience that quantum leap.

“We’re very, very close and I think a lot of people can feel it at the football club and the supporters as well. Maybe this is the time for us to end [the streak] and win two in a row, and get some real momentum and do something that hasn’t been done at this football club for a long time.”

Lumumba said Melbourne’s wins this season had meant something different on each occasion.

“Every win has been a milestone, whether it was round one, which we hadn’t done for a long time and that was my 200^th [AFL] game, so that was really special for me,” he said.

“To see all these new players play, and play brilliantly and with a lot of spirit, was great. We had the Geelong game as well, but every game, people are going to find stats or recent history of our football club that hasn’t been too good.

“We have to keep that focus on the process and work really hard to synchronise it in the minds of each player, which is the biggest challenge in football. You can do as much pre-season training, run the best time trials and bench press whatever, but it’s the teams that have a synchronised mind that are most successful – and that takes time. It really does.

“It also takes the right experts guiding you and we have that at the football club, so we can fast track the time that it takes. We’re very close – we really are.”