EMERGING Melbourne defender Colin Garland says he is relishing the opportunity to be forming a partnership with fellow 10-gamer Matthew Warnock down back, pointing towards an exciting future for the red and blue in defence.

Garland has been impressive in recent weeks - highlighted by his recent efforts on Lance Franklin and against Collingwood last round - and he believed his work with Warnock was helping his cause.

"I think we're getting a really good partnership down there," Garland said.

"We've played the same amount of games, but he's been at the club for a bit longer than I have. But we've come into the side together and Matty has been playing fantastic – life and death footy – and it's been good to have a partnership.

"We've been able to rely on each other a lot – he's going to come over and help me and I'm going to push back and help him – so he's been really good."

Reflecting on last Saturday night's 150th birthday celebrations, Garland said it was pivotal moment for the current playing group.

"We took it as a new beginning and Dean [Bailey] built it up as a pretty big game – it was like a Grand Final and our biggest game for the year. We had to come out as if there was no tomorrow," Garland said.

"[Club great] Garry Lyon made us all stand up and make a speech on Saturday night. He said we were the heroes now and we've got to start believing that, and for all of the guys it really galvanised us and it was great knowing we had all of those people behind us.

"They gave us really good applause and we just knew from then we were all in it together and knew it was a new beginning for us.

"It makes you realise this is a club. This is the AFL and you can get drafted anywhere, but when you get drafted, this is still a club and the people behind it is like any normal country team."

After some gritty performances from Melbourne against quality opposition in recent times, such as against Hawthorn and Collingwood, Garland says the team knows it can mix it with the best.

"It shouldn't take 'Bails' (coach Dean Bailey) much to rev us up during the week and every time we've gone in as the hunter and not as the hunted, we've played some good footy, so we've just got to find some consistency," he said. .

"We've struggled with our consistency of being hungry every game, so hopefully we can come out next week strongly."