A TASMANIAN, a former rookie and now an ex-basketballer have emerged as Melbourne's long-term defence after second-gamer Stef Martin produced a fine performance against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome on Sunday.

Ever since Col Garland's effort on Lance Franklin and Matthew Warnock's job on Jarryd Roughead against Hawthorn in round nine, Melbourne has found two key defenders it has been crying out for, but after Martin's game against the Dogs, the Demons have three tall backman it can build a future on.

Martin finished with 19 disposals (including 10 contested possessions) after playing on Bulldog big man Will Minson. Although Minson finished with three goals, Melbourne coach Dean Bailey was impressed with Martin's positioning and decision-making.

"'Stefy' was good today. He's 198cm and he's very agile and very quick, so the more [game] time he gets, the quicker he's going to develop and I thought he was very good today, in terms of the one-on-one duals he had today," Bailey said post-match.

Asked how he assessed his own match, Martin said he was "reasonably happy".

"Minson ended up with three goals, so that's a decent return for him, but I was in the play a lot, so it was okay; not too bad," Martin, a former elite underage basketballer, told melbournefc.com.au.

"A couple of years ago I had a session here [at Telstra Dome] with the Dees and I wasn't even on the list, but it was a practice game.  

"I really felt at home [at Telstra Dome]. We trained at MSAC this week and being at the Dome today, it feels more like what I've been doing in basketball – you can judge the ball better because there is a lack of wind and the feeling of being indoors."

Martin said working with the Apple Isle's Garland and former rookie Warnock, along with other Melbourne players who have come through Sandringham, is creating a good dynamic in the side.

"It makes me feel a lot better to be with those guys that I know better, than the older guys [that I didn't know as well], but we're all in it together," Martin said.

"Mentally, it takes away AFL being put on a pedestal, because you see where people have come from at Sandy and you know that they've been able to hold their own at VFL level, so why shouldn't they be able to do that at AFL level?"

Martin said his goals for the rest of the year were realistic.

"To be honest, it's not even the most important thing to me to cement a spot yet – I just want to improve and whether I'm earning a spot or not is secondary to that – and they've [the coaching staff] told me I'm a long-term project," Martin said.

"So I'm not going to be AFL ready straight away, so I'm trying to look long-term, which I think is a smarter thing to do."

Martin didn't start playing Australian Football – at any level – until 2006 when he was 19 years old, having always played basketball.

"My first was that year for Old Haileybury," Martin said.

"It's hard to make it in the new NBL because there are limited spots opening and there are less positions on the team and I didn't see my career necessarily going further – even after having represented my country, but at the same time I was getting a bit bored.  

"I wanted to try something new with my friends, so I could keep in contact with them and I didn't want to make AFL – I just wanted to have some fun," Martin said.

So is it still fun now that he is playing in the AFL?

"It is, but it is hard work though. I feel that there is a lot of pressure, but it is hard work and the fact that it's so important to so many people, to a degree, it takes the fun out of the game, because it's like a job," Martin said.

"But the week-to-week life is really enjoyable to play footy and to live doing that is fun."