IT WAS going to take a St Kilda-like performance over Fremantle a couple of rounds ago – or even more – to knock off Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday.

In fact, had the Demons defeated the Hawks on the weekend – particularly after last week’s disappointing loss against the Brisbane Lions – it probably would have usurped the Giants’ shock win over the Swans in round one and the Saints’ stunning win over Freo in round 18.

But you just knew that Melbourne would give a far better account against Hawthorn – regardless of what the margin was. And it was more than double the 23-point loss it had to the Lions – the Demons went down to the Hawks by 50 points.

Still, given it was first versus 17^th on the ladder – it was always going to be one serious challenge for the Dees, no matter how much preparation went into it.

Melbourne might have cracked the half-century in the deficit stakes, but coach Paul Roos was still far more pleased than what he was post-match against Brisbane, when his side capitulated and allowed the Lions to kick the last six goals of the match.

“I was pleased [on Saturday]. We just got beaten by a better team and a team that moves the ball [better] – they’re a premiership side and they’ll be right up there [again this year] at the end of the day,” he said after the match.

“I think as a coach of a team that’s been struggling for a long period – if we get that effort, we can cop the turnovers and the missed goals.

“The second half, I thought, was really, really more than competitive, even though we went down by 11 points. I think there were a lot of positives to come out from a team performance and a lot of individual performances.”

It was far from the prettiest match or one for the archives, but Melbourne at least gave it a genuine crack against the potential back-to-back premiers.

Roos said Hawthorn was quite simply a brilliant team, which “blew the game open” in the second term “on the back of their talent”.

“They’re a superstar team,” he said.

“It’s definitely a huge learning curve for us, playing against a really good team.

“Probably in the past, I’d suspect this club would have gone down by 100 points-plus [against Hawthorn]. I thought today we fought it out and I was really pleased in the second half.”

Although the Demons lost the second term by 24 points and trailed by 39 points at half-time, they stymied the flow after the long break. In fact, Melbourne only lost the last term by two points.

“The second half, we started to look a bit more confident and teamed together a little bit better defensively, so it’s starting to come slowly, but it’s certainly the next stage of where we have to get to,” he said.

“It might be a pre-season, where we’ll have to continue to work on – and I’m sure that they will – before we actually get a balance right of defence and attack.”

With three matches remaining in Roos’ first season at the helm, he remains steadfast not to waste the last 12 quarters of the year. And he said it was crucial for a host of players to show their wares in this period.

“It’ll vary from different player to player. Hopefully, what we saw in the second half is not a team that’s going to turn it in,” he said.

“That was the most pleasing thing and it could have easily been a 100-point loss … but I was just pleased that there seemed to be some grit there and some intent.

“My role is to pick blokes who are invested in the footy club and that want to be around the footy club and give it their best in the next three weeks, rather than waiting for pre-season, because if some of them wait for pre-season, they might not be here for pre-season.”

And so a fascinating final three rounds remains …