SAM FISHER was part of a dominant half-back line against Melbourne on Sunday, but the big Saint gave credit to the onball brigade for allowing himself, Brendon Goddard and Jason Gram to play such an important role in the 79-point win.

“It’s a little bit of a confidence booster,” Fisher said.

“We’ve had a bit of pressure on us through the media all week, so it was just good that we came out and played the brand of footy that we know we can. Our pressure was good, our tackling [was good], we won the contested ball and when all those things go right for us, usually we win.

“From a defender’s point of view, that pressure [around the stoppages] really helps us a lot. It’s pretty hard when the opposition brings it away easily because they can use time and space to hit a forward up.

“When they did win the ball around the clearances, we seemed to be able to put a lot of pressure on. Our tackle count was right up which definitely makes a defender’s job much easier.”

Fisher had 27 possessions and 11 marks on the day and, along with Goddard (28 disposals) and Gram (27), repulsed most of the Demons’ forward forays and then countered with great effect.

“I think 'Grammy' was back to his best today. He’s a key indicator for us; when he’s up and going, usually the team is up and going,” Fisher said.

“He’s such a damaging runner and user of the ball that when he gets a lot of it, usually we do pretty well.”

The 25-year-old admitted he and his teammates had been stung into action after a lacklustre performance against Brisbane that earned the public wrath of coach Ross Lyon.

“After last week, it was no surprise to anyone that we would come out more fired up this week,” he said.

“We let ourselves down last week as a playing group; our tackling and pressure around the ground was unacceptable, so that was a real focus for us this week.

“We think we’ve built a bit of a reputation for playing hard and tough footy over the last few years, and we just needed to try and get that reputation back.”

Fisher has been called upon to perform varied defensive roles so far this season, and while he is adept at playing as a loose man, he admitted a slight leaning towards a more specific assignment.

“I like playing the running role, but I also get satisfaction out of playing on someone and going out to beat them,” he said.

“There’s nothing better than going out to play on someone like a big forward and beating them. I do like playing that role the best, but I’m happy to play a looser role if [required]."