SENIOR assistant coach Simon Goodwin says “there is a great vibe going through the club at the moment” after Melbourne’s impressive start to 2016.

Speaking in the lead-up to Melbourne’s round two clash against Essendon at the MCG, Goodwin said the club’s energy and positivity was strong.

“It was a terrific [round one] win for the boys – the way they won and the way they actually fought,” he told Melbourne TV.

“The resilience within the group – to actually come back and play the last quarter like we did – was signs of real growth within the footy club and within the footy team.”

Goodwin said the team’s ability to “hang in there” was the most impressive feature from Melbourne’s opening round win over Greater Western Sydney at the MCG.  

“I didn’t think we played great. There were certainly some elements to the way we want to play that weren’t to the level that we would’ve liked,” he said.

“In saying that, I think that’s where the growth has come [from] – that we can just hang in games long enough and we’ve got enough competitors within our team.

“In the last quarter, it came together for us and we played a really outstanding quarter of footy.

“Even if we’re not playing at our best, we can just hang in there.”