MELBOURNE co-captain Nathan Jones says his club will be on "display" when it takes on Richmond in Friday night's NAB Challenge clash at Etihad Stadium.
After undergoing a complete restructure of the club's football department during the pre-season, the clash is a chance for Paul Roos' Demons to test whether they have made any significant advances from 2013.
"I think it's the first opportunity for us to put ourselves on display," Jones told AFL.com.au.
"Obviously first impressions are lasting impressions, so I'm hoping ... we can start to make a good one."
Melbourne's attempt at a resurrection has been a slow and steady process over summer, and Roos and the club's coaching staff have been pleased with the progress.
When the club's leadership group met with Roos before he was appointed to the role last September, Jones admits the scars from the previous regimes were there.
Jones said the club had undergone a "healing process" throughout the pre-season and is hoping those scars have dissolved.
"I've seen such a transformation in the group since Roosy and the new coaching group's come on," Jones said.
"They've made some really strong inroads into building guys back up and instilling some confidence in the group."
But Jones understands the real examinations begin when the Demons pit themselves against opposition teams.
The Demons play the Tigers and Geelong during the NAB Challenge and then Hawthorn in a practice match.
"It really just presents an opportunity for us to see where we're at," Jones said.
"We're not going to be holding anything back, we're going to play our best available side and have a real red-hot go.
"We've mentioned as a team, and as captain, we're really hell bent on earning back the respect of the other teams in the competition."
While some of its tall timber is on the sidelines - Jesse Hogan, Mitch Clark and Chris Dawes are among those missing - Melbourne has picked its strongest side possible for the clash with the Tigers.
Jones said he was eager to see how the club's youngsters handled the increased intensity, singling out draftee Jay Kennedy-Harris, and young midfielders Jimmy Toumpas and Viv Michie as the players to watch.
Kennedy-Harris and Toumpas were among those to shine in the club's intra-club match last Friday, while Michie has added another component to the Demons' midfield since switching from Fremantle.
If, like in the past, Melbourne is facing a hefty deficit at any point of the game, Jones said he was keen to see which one of his teammates had the mental resilience to respond.
"The expectation of where that starts is with the leaders of the footy club," Jones said.
"Right now I think we're in a really good space and I'm looking forward to the challenge as a leader.
"When the situation arises where we're under pressure, I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond."
