WINNING more consistently is building up greater expectations at Melbourne, captain Nathan Jones says.
The Demons are coming off a 73-point win against Gold Coast last Saturday, leaving Melbourne at 4-3 and in ninth spot on the ladder.
It trails Adelaide in eighth place by a small percentage margin and faces the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
"There's greater expectation. The players are wanting to drive the club in the right direction," Jones said on Monday.
"In the past, we haven't won many games, so I think you do probably celebrate those wins a bit too much and revel in your performance.
"We're treating it as business as usual and moving on to the next challenge.
"That's important for us and I think that shows maturity in our group, that we can do that."
However, Jones was keen to point out that the Demons can improve.
"Consistency is the challenge," he said.
"On the weekend we fielded one of the youngest sides for the round.
"It shows we're still in that development phase, and it's a credit to our coaching staff for the work they're doing educating our players."
Melbourne fielded seven players under 22 against the Suns.
"It was exciting for us to respond for us in the way we did, which was the exact way we were expecting after a really disappointing effort the week before against St Kilda," Jones said.
"I felt like we prepared ourselves really well and went up to the Gold Coast with a job to do, and we did it in the best possible fashion."
Melbourne meets the Western Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.
Jones spoke at the MCG with Dogs skipper Easton Wood to raise awareness for the Pink Lady match, which will be played for the 10th straight year.
The game raises funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Easton Wood and Nathan Jones on the MCG on Monday. Picture: AFL Media