MELBOURNE co-captain Jack Grimes is adamant the Demons won't be negatively affected by the tribute to Jim Stynes ahead of Sunday's clash with the Western Bulldogs.

Grimes - who also rejected suggestions the emotion surrounding the death of club great Stynes in the lead-up to the round one clash with the Brisbane Lions had taken it toll on the Demons - is confident Melbourne will be able to notch its first win of the year in the Stynes memorial match.

In round one, the Demons lost to the Lions by 41 points, prompting some sections of the media to question whether Melbourne should have shielded its players from the off-field drama that preceded the season-opener.

However, Grimes dismissed such claims, declaring the Stynes tribute on Sunday would not impede their quest to notch a victory against an also winless Western Bulldogs.

"Looking back on the way we went about it going into round one, I don’t think we would have changed anything," Grimes told 3AW on Wednesday night.

"We were really happy with the way we celebrated Jim's life.

"All of us players felt like we had the best opportunity to prepare for that game and we certainly didn’t go into it thinking we'd been hindered at all by what went on.

"It might (play) a little bit less of a part for the players this week because it’s going to be more of a celebration.

"Obviously there still will be a big emotional build-up to the game, but I don’t think there's any need to shield the players at all because I don’t see it'll have any effect on them."

Grimes won't play against the Bulldogs after being suspended for one match for rough conduct against Richmond's Daniel Jackson.

He mightn't have played anyway given he was concussed after tackling Jackson a second time and being slammed into artificial turf outside the MCG boundary line.

However, Grimes insisted he felt "fine" and would have been fit to play if not for his ban.

He admitted to being concerned by his side's third quarters, in which the Demons have been outscored 23.14 to just 4.4 in the opening three rounds, including 9.3 to just 1.0 against the Tigers.

"We're the first to admit that our third quarters have been terrible," he said.

"There's are going to be lapses here and there in games but our lapses at the moment are costing us so dearly (that) we can’t get back into the game after it.

"We're definitely working on ways to try to stem the flow."

One of those ways was to slow the game down by chipping the ball around for uncontested marks. But the Demons have also struggled to create uncontested possessions.

The Demons' predicament hadn’t been the result of a lack of intensity but structural and skill errors, Grimes said.

"It may look (like) a lack of intensity from the outside but we really think the effort's there," he said. "It's (just) been a lot of costly mistakes and costly turnovers in trying to implement this (new) game plan," he said.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs