MELBOURNE wingman Simon Buckley believes his side still has plenty of positives to draw on despite being comfortably beaten by last year's premiers, Geelong, on Saturday.

Buckley, who was one of Melbourne's best performers against the Cats with 17 disposals and a supergoal, was pleased with his first-up effort for 2008.   

"I was fairly happy. Having another full pre-season under my belt helped a lot and 'Bails' [coach Dean Bailey] has been telling me the whole way through just to play my game and run-and-carry and take a few guys on, so from that perspective it wasn't too bad," Buckley told melbournefc.com.au.

"It was disappointing that we lost by 12 goals, but there were still a lot of positives to take out of it, as they won the 'Granny' last year by 119 points and we finished 14th and they nearly had a full side and we didn't.

"I didn't think we were that far off, even though we lost by 12 goals, so there are a lot of positives to take out of it."

Buckley, who entered the match with six AFL appearances to his name, said it was a "weird feeling" knowing he was somewhat of an experienced campaigner against the Cats, considering 12 of his teammates had played fewer AFL matches than him.

"I was getting ready before the game and I started getting nervous again and it was like I was playing my first game again and then I saw five or six guys who were playing their first game," Buckley said.

"All of a sudden, I was middle of the range [in terms of match experience]."

Still, Buckley conceded he still needed to improve the physical aspect of his game.

"That's why I'm still playing on the wing and guys like 'Jonesy' [Nathan Jones] and James McDonald are getting in there and doing the dirty work," he said.

"I suppose I'm a receiver and getting the ball at the moment, so that's what I'm focussing on at the moment and then hopefully I can nail that part of the game and then start concentrating on getting a bit tougher and getting the ball myself more often."

As for playing under new coach Dean Bailey, Buckley said he had noticed a significant difference in him compared to former mentor Neale Daniher.

"I find it really easy to get along with Dean and he's really approachable," Buckley said.

"I reckon it's the 'new-age' gone and I think Dean is more an 'old-age' guy and he just tells it as it is. He doesn't let outside influences affect his opinion and he'll sit you down and if there is something to tell you, then he'll tell it to you straight.

"I think that's really good having that honesty and hardness we need in the club and he's really brought that in and that's the thing I've noticed the most this year."