THE Demons didn't wait until mid-week to review how they nearly lost to Carlton after building a 42-point lead early in round two.

To ensure there were no lingering feelings, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin gathered his players and broke down exactly why his side scored just one goal after half-time. 

Melbourne defender Steven May pinpointed the scoring drought as a mentality issue, but one with an "easy fix".

"We just slowed down and stopped working for each other," May said on Tuesday.

THE LADDER Where is your team sitting?

"In the first half we looked like a really exciting high-scoring team, in the second half we just kicked long down the line, didn't really move for each other and went into our shells a bit.

"It was pretty funny how when we were ahead we were playing worse, but once the game was tied we went back to playing aggressive and fast flowing and we looked like a better outfit, which was probably our biggest learning."

BARRETT Keep your 'club-killing' ideas to yourself, Jeff

Midfielder Christian Petracca was the only Demon to kick a goal in the second half, with Saturday marking one of his best games to date.

He received the full 10 coaches votes after racking up 24 disposals and two goals in a match-winning performance.

It was reward for effort as Melbourne's X-factor transformed himself from a happy-go-lucky type to one of the team's hardest trainers over the off-season.

"He hadn't been seen as a leader-type player, he's a bit of a larrikin that jokes around," May said of how Petracca has been viewed in the past.

THE FULL INJURY LIST Who is racing the clock?

"His training standards are second to none, as you can see with his rig he's looking pretty ripped at the moment, he's happy with that and he's got his shirt off a bit.

"You can see he was a bit shy, but now the chains have broken loose."