SATURDAY'S match-up between Melbourne and Richmond was meant to be about which team had the better kids, but Dean Bailey lavished praise on his senior players after the Demons recorded a 27-point win.

With Tom Scully, Jack Trengove and Jack Watts in one camp and Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Reece Conca in the other, many of the 61,900 people who flocked to the MCG would have been expecting to witness a youthful showdown with bragging rights about the club's future on offer.

But when the contest was there for the taking, Bailey said it was his oft-maligned veterans who rose to the challenge.

"Today was really important because of the build-up with both clubs having a lot of young players, with both clubs developing players, but I thought a bloke like Brad Green was good for us again today," Bailey said.

"His last couple of weeks have been outstanding.

"Jared Rivers down back was great, Brent Moloney was terrific and Nathan Jones was one of our leaders as well, who just gives his all every week.

"Although the game was built up around a lot of the young players I thought our senior guys were very good."

Green kicked the Demons into life after a slow start with two first-quarter goals and set the tone for the subdued celebrations after the last of the Tigers' challenges had finally been quashed.

"He knows his role and he's really excited about being captain of Melbourne," Bailey said.

"He's been outstanding for the whole year, but over the last couple of weeks he's really grabbed hold of players during the week when they needed a shake and he didn't miss anyone with his views.

"He's been very strong. For him to kick three goals today and lead from the front has been first class."

Although Bailey's veterans were the objects of his affection after the match, there was still a lot to like about the play of some of his youngsters.

Scully was important with 26 touches, Trengove kicked three goals and Watts continued to confound his critics with three goals of his own.
 
"Jack's been pretty consistent with his performance over the last period of time," Bailey said.

"He's still a work-in-progress, but he works hard. He just needs to be consistent like that for the rest of the year."

The win was Melbourne's second in succession, but the maddening inconsistency that Bailey has bemoaned over the past six weeks was still in evidence at times at the 'G with the coach demanding further improvement in that area against the Western Bulldogs next Friday night.

The win also moved the Demons back inside the eight for the first time since round seven, but Bailey said it was too early to tell if the victory could be a pivotal moment in his team's roller-coaster season.

"Next week will determine the motivation [that we gained] from this week," he said.

"We need to make sure that we can get on a roll and perform well each quarter. Even today we won the first two, drew the third and lost the last so we've only won two quarters today even though we won the game, which is what it's all about.

"We're looking to build some effort and consistency every minute of every quarter, but I think if we can get on a roll then the confidence of the guys can grow and we can stay at that level.

"This Friday is super important for us."