EMERGING Melbourne midfielder Jack Trengove says it's too early for his side to be thinking finals.
The club finished in the bottom four in the last three seasons, but recent form has them a long way from what earned them wooden spoons in 2008 and 2009.
After being smashed by the Hawks in round one, the Demons were one spilled mark away from beating Collingwood in round two, and since then have beaten Adelaide, Richmond and the Brisbane Lions to sit ninth.
A solid win over North Melbourne this weekend could propel them into the unfamiliar territory of the top eight.
However Trengove, the NAB AFL Rising Star nominee for round five, said his teammates were not getting carried away - especially with 17 home and away rounds to come.
"We've still got the same sort of goals, nothing changes," he said.
"It's been working for us so far, doing the simple things. Our tackling pressure has been amazing in the first few rounds, so we'll just keep looking to build on those sorts of things.
"Hopefully we can win a few more games."
Despite playing every game so far this season, the 18-year-old said he hadn't reassessed his own prospects but had welcomed the surge of support for his the club.
"From a personal point of view, my goals were just to try and break into the senior side, and just earn respect from all my teammates and coaches, and build a name a bit," he said.
"Also, just work on all the team things and try to get a regular game.
"We'll just keep working on the things we're trying to improve on.
"If that means that people start getting behind us and barracking for us, then that's great, but we're just really focused on doing the things that we set out to do at the start of the season, and just working from there."
Trengove moved from Adelaide after the Melbourne selected with the second overall pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft, and he said everyone at the club had been terrific in helping him settle in.
"It's been vital - all of the boys and the coaches and everybody to do with the club have been so welcoming and nice, and they've made the transition so much easier," he said.
"I'm really enjoying it over here - loving every minute of it.
"It's definitely a lot better when you're winning games, so it's been great."