The Bombers have started slowly almost every week this season, putting them on the back foot in the search for all-important early season wins.
Welsh admits it’s something the club has been keen to address in the lead-up to Friday’s MCG blockbuster.
"That’s something we’ve definitely been looking at. A few years back we were slow out of the blocks and it’s really hurting us now because we’re playing catch-up footy for the rest of the game and it’s putting the team really under the pump," Welsh told the Melbourne media prior to a Thursday morning training session.
"As one of the leaders around the club, it’s my job, Matthew’s (Lloyd) job and these sorts of guys to really settle the [younger] guys down because our starts have been hurting us.
"We need to get these guys up and ready to go but make sure they haven’t played the game before they even run out.
"We’ve got a break a couple of weeks down the track and you want to have some good numbers up by then."
While the Magpies head into the clash as favourites – despite also holding a 2-3 record, Welsh believes there’s no such thing as certainty on the occasion.
"Anzac Day is one of those days where you get out there and for both sides, no matter where you are on the ladder, it’s a going to be a massive game and an even playing field," he said.
"We’ve had a couple of close ones where we’ve played some great footy at times and also some really bad footy, so we’ll be concentrating on closing down those gaps and hopefully putting a win on the board."
Welsh said the match would reflect a similar intensity to September action, where the Bombers haven’t been since 2004.
"It’s a massive game and playing in front of 90-100,000 people, it’s a great day for the footy club, for yourself as an individual and for Australian history. So the game in itself, in the context of everything, is clearly massive," he said.
"You’re standing there for the national anthem and the Last Post, beside 22 of your mates just ready to get into the game, it’s as close to a finals experience as you can get and I’ve been lucky enough to play in six finals and three Anzac Day matches now, and they’re very much on par and the intensity levels do lift."
While their opponents are claiming to be tired and sore following a high-intensity clash with North Melbourne last week, the Bombers aren’t buying into it.
Welsh said the mid-week talk would not be taken seriously at Windy Hill, with the knowledge that the Magpies – who have won the past two Anzac Day clashes – wouldn’t be leaving anything in the tank.
"We’re not looking into that sort of stuff at all, we’re playing a few guys that may be sore, we’re playing a few guys that may be in their first Anzac Day, but at the end of the day we’re not going to be overawed or intimidated by what they want to throw at us or upset us with what injuries they have," he said.
Welsh said he expected Matthew Lloyd to bounce back after being towelled up by St Kilda's Max Hudghton last week, and said the skipper was still adjusting to his new role.
"He’s the leader of our footy club and for him to walk around with his head down and everything isn’t the way that he wants to lead the club, so he’s been up and about as he has been every other week," Welsh said.
"He’s as important as anyone because we’ve got new structures, new roles that we’re all trying to learn, he’s played out of the goal square his whole career and he’s trying to adapt for the better of the team.
"It’s just going to take time like everything else."
