MELBOURNE coach Paul Roos says he has already seen a response from young forward Jesse Hogan after the rising star was criticised for his poor body language in the opening two rounds.
Hogan, who this week met with AFL legend Wayne Carey, has struggled for form so far this season, and has been criticised for displaying "horrific" body language on field.
Roos said he had planned to address the issue with the talented 21-year-old, but the 2015 NAB AFL Rising Star had responded immediately this week.
"I was going to have a longer talk with him, but after I saw him respond at training I was really pleased," Roos said.
"There was obviously a lot of commentary early in the week, and I think he responded to that.
"I sat him down briefly and I said, 'If you respond like that at training, and you train like that, come out and play like you train'.
"I was rapt with the way he responded."
Hogan was well held in round one before booting three last-quarter goals, and Essendon defender James Gwilt kept him to one goal and just eight touches in the Demons' shock loss to Essendon last Saturday.
Champion Essendon goalkicker Matthew Lloyd told AFL.com.au on Monday Hogan should be dropped if his body language didn't improve.
Roos said Hogan understood his body language looked like it was directed at his own teammates, but in reality he was dealing with frustrations commonly faced by young key forwards.
"If you're an Angus Brayshaw or a (Christian) Petracca or a Clayton Oliver, you've been able to win your own ball at junior level and you're generally around the contest and you can impact the contest," the coach said.
"So while the jump is pretty big to senior footy, you're still doing the same things.
"Jesse's coming in and he's got a ruckman dropping back on him, he's occasionally double-teamed.
"So there's potentially a lot more to learn for him than for a Clayton Oliver or Angus Brayshaw."
Hogan's meeting with Carey this week was arranged by Melbourne coach-in-waiting Simon Goodwin, who played with Carey in the champion forward's final two seasons at Adelaide in 2003 and 2004.
"I think Wayne was in a similar position when he came in as a young player," Roos said.
"So if you can tap into external resources, I'm all for that … there's a lot of connections in footy and you're trying to use all those contacts."
The Demons have made at least two changes for their clash against North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena on Sunday, with Roos forecasting more.
The coach admitted he had made an error in selecting midfielder Angus Brayshaw last week without adequate time to build form following a knee injury in the pre-season.
He said defender Lynden Dunn, who has been named on an extended interchange bench, would definitely play as a direct replacement for dropped leader Colin Garland.
"I think 'Dunny' probably typifies the footy club at the moment, he was a little bit underdone, went back and worked hard and had a great attitude," Roos said.
"He forced his way back into the team and I'm really pleased he's been able to do that.
"He's a quality player who comes in now fit and in form.
"There's probably going to be one or two other changes before we turn up on Sunday."
The Demons have confirmed Josh Wagner will make his debut, while midfielder Billy Stretch, defender Sam Frost and Jack Grimes were included in their extended squad.
