DEFENDER Joel Macdonald has said Melbourne’s 73-point win over the Sydney Swans at the MCG on Sunday was one of the best wins he has been involved with.

Macdonald, who played 80 matches for Brisbane from 2004-09, before joining Melbourne for the 2010 season, said the victory ranked up there among his most memorable.

“This [win] is definitely up there,” he told melbournefc.com.au post-match.

“We’re starting to make the MCG our fortress, especially with interstate clubs coming down here. I remember when I played for Brisbane and the MCG was a bit of a bogey team for the Lions and me personally, because it’s a bit overwhelming.

“But now the boys just step up when we play at the MCG. We’ve got to do that on the road as well, but it’s becoming a bit of a fortress for us now.”

After coming back from Perth in the early hours last Monday morning - and having endured an 11-point loss to Fremantle at Subiaco Oval - Macdonald said the players still returned with plenty of confidence.

But he added that it took until the morning of the match against the Swans for many Demons to feel fresh and ready to go.

“I don’t think I felt that good until this (Sunday) morning,” Macdonald said.

“All week I was battling and I was getting a bit of anxiety and I thought ‘when I am going to come up for this game?’ Even after all of the recoveries and sessions we did.

“Today was the best I’ve felt in my career before a game. I felt loose and relaxed and ready to take them on.”

Macdonald impressed again for the Dees, collecting 20 disposals against the Swans, including 10 contested. He also won seven rebounds.

“I thought I went OK on Jarred Moore. This year I wanted to get my defensive game right,” he said.

“When I played at Brisbane, especially in the early years and I played with the Vosses and the Leppitsches, you can get away with doing a lot of stuff and I formed a lot of bad habits.

“We’re at a stage now with our backline where you can’t really sag off and you’ve got to be accountable, so this year has been a really big learning process.

“I’ve learned a lot from [backline coach] Sean Wellman with defensive positioning and it’s helped improve my game. I thought I was OK defensively, but I’ve got to work on my kicking during the week.”

Macdonald said the team’s confidence and ability to claim the MCG as its own was also starting to take shape.

“The boys have been pumped for two and a half years and there is now this belief starting to happen. We’re getting bigger crowds rolling up and there was a good feeling about today,” he said.

“We had a good week on the track, coming back from Fremantle and everyone was up and about.

“Sometimes as a club you’ve just got to take a stand and today we were ruthless and relentless.

On top of that, Macdonald now feels like he belongs at the club. And the more he wears the red and blue, the more he feels like a Demon.

“I’ve now sung the song six times this year and it’s starting to get louder and for me personally, having been new at the club, I’m starting to feel like I belong. I appreciate the history and the former players that are coming back to the club,” he said.

“There’s just a really great feeling around the club and I’m starting to feel like I’ve got red and blue running through my blood.”