MELBOURNE young gun Jack Watts was disappointed with his first AFL performance against Collingwood on the Queen's Birthday, according to his coach Dean Bailey.

Bailey said last year's No.1 NAB AFL Draft pick was itching to make a greater impact when he lines up against Essendon at Docklands on Friday night.

"I know deep down Jack was pretty unhappy with the way he played," Bailey said from the Junction Oval on Thursday.

"I know tomorrow, without the extra pressure of his first game, I think Jack is going to show something.

"He's a very proud player and he was disappointed with his game, but he understands the benefits of playing the game. He's pretty keen to play well tomorrow."

Bailey said Melbourne needed "something different" in its forward line, which is why Watts has been brought into the side, along with Liam Jurrah, who will debut against the Bombers.

"Jack Watts is quick and agile and Liam Jurrah is also pretty quick and agile. We need a bit of speed in our forward line," he said.

"We're going to back those blokes in to provide the spark for us in our forward 50."

Bailey said the Demons were eager to atone for their worst performance of the season – a 66-point loss to the Magpies in round 11.

"We were really disappointing in our last game. The first quarter still haunts us a little bit," he said.

"The only way we can improve is [in the way] we attack the game tomorrow night. We expect a far better and more aggressive start."

Bailey said the Dees would make a handful of team selection changes against the Dons.

"It's been a difficult selection. The guys at Casey have been playing well together as a group and that certainly puts pressure on our guys to start to perform at a better than okay level," he said.

"There is good pressure around, so I'd expect there to be a few changes."