MELBOURNE veteran Bernie Vince expects the Demons' disappointing end to the year to act as a spur for next season after committing to the club for 2018.

The 31-year-old told AFL.com.au that after missing the finals on percentage the team was now acutely aware that every moment counted in a season.

"We're going to hurt for a long time and it still hurts now to think about it," Vince said.

But with the dust now settled, Vince thinks the round 23 loss to Collingwood will eventually become a great learning tool.

"To go through a bit of adversity like we did can, long-term, be a positive as we learn that the little things do count," Vince said.

And Vince is excited to be part of the team once again striving to reach finals, in what will be his fifth year with the Demons since being traded from Adelaide at the end of 2014.

"I'm excited about our list," he said.

He has played a key role in helping the team rise from the bottom of the ladder to the edge of the finals, having been an outstanding contributor since arriving at the club when the team was at a low ebb in 2014.

Vince finished third in the best and fairest in his first season at the club and then won the award the next season, following his 2009 best and fairest at Adelaide.

"When I first started [at Melbourne] we were playing hoping to win, but now there is belief in the way we play and that our brand of footy holds up against the good teams," he said.  

This season the Demons defeated West Coast for the first time since 2009 and beat Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, but dropped games it was expected to win.

Vince said the team must bridge the gap between its best and worst.

From a personal perspective, he is realistic in assessing his season, saying a flat patch in the middle took the gloss off a good start and finish.

He has lifted his work rate, focusing on the extras with increasing diligence as he gets older, aware more than anyone how the little things count.

Two suspensions didn't help either, with the coach's message respectful but direct as Simon Goodwin told Vince his absence hurt the team.

Vince said the issues that arose were more related to timing than indiscipline, but he knows it's one of those little things that need to improve.

"I feel like I am getting to the ball first sometimes. I probably just need to concede but I'm not a conceder. I just keeping going sometimes," Vince said.

That competitiveness and refusal to concede has made him an asset for the Demons as they head back up the ladder.