‘SEEING the forest for the trees’ is apt – and a must – when referencing Melbourne’s new era under Paul Roos.

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Yes, it’s been a frustrating start to the home and away season for the Demons.

Melbourne could’ve/should’ve won in round one against St Kilda, aside for poor conversion on the scoreboard. It got flogged by an up and running West Coast Eagles in round two and again could’ve defeated Greater Western Sydney – although the Giants had defeated the previous season’s preliminary finalist, the Sydney Swans, in round one.

But on Saturday, at the MCG, Melbourne broke its drought – and a 12-game losing streak at that – with a 23-point win over Carlton. It was also the first time the Demons had defeated the Blues since round 22, 2007 when Mark Riley was coach.

For Carlton, it remains winless for the first time since 1989, after it started the season with a 0-4 win/loss record. Triple premiership coach Mick Malthouse also experienced his worst start as a VFL/AFL coach. Never in his 29 seasons as a coach at the highest level has he suffered four defeats in as many matches to open a premiership season.

For first-year Melbourne coach Paul Roos – the man who ended the longest premiership drought in VFL/AFL history, when he guided the Sydney Swans to the 2005 flag – he equaled an interesting statistic in his coaching career. He too, also started life as coach at the Swans with a 1-4 win/loss record – the same as his record with Melbourne after four matches, before he carved out a stunning coaching career and a 58 per cent winning record in the harbour city.

For the record, Roos oversaw just two wins from his first six matches as Swans coach, before producing five consecutive victories from his seventh to 11^th AFL match. He then endured three losses in succession from his 12^th to 14^th match. Overall, he achieved a 50 per cent winning record from his opening 14 matches as coach.

It was therefore a timely ‘seeing the forest for the trees’ moment.

The point is that it didn’t come easy for Sydney from the word go – and certainly in Roos’ case. But history shows he got the job done with the Swans’ first flag in 72 years, when he oversaw them hold off the West Coast Eagles in an epic tussle.

And it must also be remembered that the Swans – when Roos took over in 2002 – hadn’t experienced the same miserable time as what Melbourne had in their previous seven seasons. And the reason seven seasons is used as a reference point is that it’s been that long since Melbourne’s most recent finals appearance in 2006.  

You see from 1995-2002, Sydney played in five finals series.

But history also shows that Sydney had a ‘Melbourne-like’ time from 1988-95, when the Swans had eight years out of the finals – and five coaches during that period: Tom Hafey, Col Kinnear, Gary Buckenara, Brett Scott and Ron Barassi.

It’s eerily similar to Melbourne.

The Demons have been out of the finals for the past seven seasons from 2007-13, with five coaches at the helm during that period: Neale Daniher, Dean Bailey, Todd Viney, Mark Neeld and Neil Craig.

In many ways, Rodney Eade’s 1996-2002 tenure at the Swans was like Neale Daniher’s 1998-2007 period at Melbourne.

But the challenge now for Roos is to start a new era, similar to his time at the Swans from 2002-10 – and end the dark period, which plagued the Demons from 2007-13 – or like the Swans from 1988-95.

How long that takes? No one can crystal ball that.

But the wheel will turn. And Roos has definitely sprayed some RP7 or WD-40 on the chain already. The signs started to show that on the weekend against the Blues.

The Demons made the most of their opportunities, unlike their round one effort against the Saints, when the opposition took their chances.

“We kicked eight points in a row and I thought we played really well,” Roos said reflecting about Melbourne’s round one loss to St Kilda, following the win over Carlton.

“I thought it was a really close contest [against the Blues] and by no means, did I feel we were a four goal better side than Carlton.

“At the end, it was just who did the right thing better and who took their opportunities. We’re fortunate to win, but we’re very, very happy we did.”

Against St Kilda, Melbourne had more scoring shots, yet it was the reverse against Carlton. But the Demons made the most of their chances and it was a good effort against the Blues – a team that is statistically up there with Fremantle, Sydney Swans and Hawthorn, in terms of combined age/match experience in the competition.

Carlton might be copping some genuine heat at the moment, but its list is not a disaster. Remember the likes of C.Judd was not playing and it’s amazing what one player can do to help a team’s structure. Hello Chris Dawes! And wasn’t he a telling difference for the Demons, even if, in his own words, he was “knackered” post match.

The pragmatic, statistical analysis of Melbourne – in relation to past examples – is tangible. Coming out of a challenging period in the club’s history is real for the players – that’s the human side of it. Time is a healer and it will get better under the influence of Roos. He and the coaching staff are working tirelessly with the players to instill the confidence and belief they need to keep going at the highest level.

“We’re doing a lot of work on that stuff – most of my weeks are just spent talking to players and seeing how they’re going,” he said.

“[The win] was a step in the right direction – to beat a team that’s been under the pump … for us to steady and win was really important.”

“I’ve always had faith in the players. I just want them to give effort and I don’t care how many games we win or lose, because we’re trying to set the club up for the long term. We gave effort [against Carlton].” 

For the rest of 2014, Melbourne will achieve more wins, produce more competitive efforts and be involved in more blow outs – because quite simply, that’s where the list is at.

Even Roos said before the premiership season that Melbourne’s pre-season could be a reflection of its year ahead. And already he’s spot on.

The Richmond pre-season win was like the one over Carlton. The thumping by Hawthorn at Casey was like the one handed out by West Coast in round two. And the competitive showing against Geelong in Alice Springs was akin to the St Kilda clash  – and mostly Greater Western Sydney game.

So far, we’ve had all three. It’s what was expected. We’ve got to remember that.

It’s not about getting caught up in just one performance in a bloody long season – even if it’s tough to swallow a loss for the following 24/48 hours. It’s seeing the ‘forest for the trees’ and making sure that Melbourne builds the foundations for future sustained success.

That’s that path for this year. It must be remembered. But it’s an exciting one.