There are 23 rounds in the 2021 AFL season, and with just four to go, it’s well and truly getting to the nitty gritty part of the year. 

Melbourne will head into its final four games coming off the back of a 20-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, leaving many naysayers questioning the side’s form.

Speaking on RSN Breakfast this morning, captain Max Gawn is adamant the Demons aren’t too concerned about the loss to the Dogs. 

“We’re not that worried,” Gawn told RSN.

“The expected score, which Champion Data does, had us in front by the end of the game, which shows we’re playing the right brand of football.

“They probably just got out to too far of a lead and it was too much to peg back, but I’m much happier with the brand of football we played on the weekend than the weeks before.”

Dropping from their top spot on the ladder to third, the Demons will head into their remaining games with the aim to stay away from their mid-season form.

“Teams are going to have form slumps and we’ve sort of had ours in the middle of the year,” Gawn said.

“It worries me when we play like we did against GWS, if that stuck on as a trend it would start to worry me.

“But the fact we were able to play the game like we did against Port, the game against Essendon and also what I think was a really good game against the Western Bulldogs, it shows that we’re on the right way.”

As the club prepares for a potential trip to the west coast for its game against the Eagles in Round 21, Gawn is eager for the side’s run home to finals.

“I reckon this is the really exciting part of footy and this is why people play footy.

“We’ve got a little journey ahead of us, west coast I think for eight days, so it’ll be a good chance to bond the group together with the COVID restrictions and really attack this end of the year.”