Returning from suspension to play at the MCG in front of his old mob Collingwood on Queen's Birthday, Dawes said the Demons were playing an attractive brand of football and viewed Monday's game as winnable.
"The biggest difference in terms of the mindset at this stage of the week is that we're building up to play a game against good opposition and we're preparing to beat them," Dawes said.
Melbourne is hoping to attract 80,000 to the traditional game and Dawes said the occasion would provide good experience for a team that has aspirations to play finals in the next few years.
He did not expect his teammates to be overawed but he presumed the coaching staff would address how best to handle the occasion at same stage.
"As soon as you embrace that [occasion] and realise it's more numbers and it can be exciting, you end up just playing the game," Dawes said.
While it was important for Melbourne to embrace the occasion, Dawes cautioned against it being overstated within the club.
"What I sort of baulk at a bit is we build it up to be finals-like whereas it's another home and away game. We should want to win for that reason alone. We don't need it to be a final to want to win it," Dawes said.
"We should aspire to bigger and better things in terms of being in September. That would be my only hesitation with the build up of the match."
Despite his ties to Collingwood as a premiership player before crossing to Melbourne in 2013, Dawes said the passing of time had diluted his anticipation of playing against his former club.
He observed that there were fewer familiar faces in the Magpies' line-up this time around.
"I'll probably get [Jack] Frost playing on me, who is playing on the big forwards, and I haven't even met that bloke," Dawes said.
He said that by putting itself in winnable positions each week, Melbourne was progressing reasonably well.
"Each of them is a learning experience for guys in terms of how to manage that mindset of demanding higher standards of yourself and expecting to win," Dawes said.
