Simon Goodwin’s red-hot Melbourne are 8-0 for the first time since 1965 after a gritty win over Sydney but have their eyes set on a much bigger AFL prize.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has warned his AFL club’s equal-best start to a season in 65 years will count for naught if they don’t capitalise on the foundation laid.
Saturday night’s gritty nine-point victory over Sydney saw the Demons maintain the top spot on the ladder and extend their winning streak to eight matches.
It ties the 8-0 run under Norm Smith at the start of the 1965 VFL season, weeks before the legendary coach was sacked in one of the game’s greatest controversies.
“We’re a proud club and we haven’t had success for a long time, but eight and zero doesn’t necessarily mean much,” Goodwin said.
“It’s really about what you do with that and how we continue to create the winning culture that’s going to be with us over a long period of time.
“That’s what we want for this football club, is to build a culture that has sustainable success and continues to win more often than not.
“This is just a building block in that journey.”
The Demons, who are seeking to end a 57-year premiership drought, can extend their season-opening winning streak to nine matches when they host Carlton at the MCG in round nine.
But they are still well short of the club-record 13-0 start on the way to a Smith-led flag in 1956.
“Winning creates winning and I think you see at the moment the resilience in the group, the grit and the will to win is strong,” Goodwin said.
“That’s got to remain, but the more you win the more challenging it gets.
“Teams come at you in different ways and we’ve got to absorb that and find ways to keep getting better…because that’s what the competition demands.”
Goodwin is confident star midfielder Christian Petracca will be fit to take on Carlton despite suffering a corked leg in the dying seconds against Sydney.
© AAP
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