MIDFIELDER Nathan Jones says Melbourne faces a massive challenge against the Sydney Swans at the MCG this Sunday, but this challenge is one it’s ready to tackle.

Jones said that tackling last year’s premiers and the currently fourth placed Swans was a great opportunity for the Demons to pit themselves against some of the competition’s best in the business.

“It’ll give us a clearer picture in terms of where we’re at across the whole competition, not necessarily since Neeldy’s left,” he said from Gosch’s Paddock, where Melbourne held a kids’ clinic on Tuesday.

“I think we’ve shown some improvement over the last couple of weeks, but it’s just a great challenge for us to perform, and we’re playing against the reigning premiers.

“It’s a contest that the boys are really looking forward to - it’s good that we’ve got a little bit of form as well, and hopefully we can attack them offensively and put in a good display on the weekend.”

Although Sydney has several key players sidelined, Jones said it didn’t mean that the task would be any easier.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re ripe for the picking, but we’ll go through our opposition analysis towards the end of the week and look at ways that we can potentially pick them apart,” he said.

“But they’re a great side with a huge amount of depth, and they’ve got so many good players across the board … and we’re just looking forward to a really tight and tough contest.”