MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin has given the Demons a clean bill of health ahead of the club's clash with North Melbourne.

Despite both copping knocks over in Adelaide last weekend, Goodwin revealed Max Gawn and Jake Lever have put in strong weeks on the training track.

It will be a special week for Goodwin, who coaches his 200th AFL game against the Kangaroos.

Gawn and Lever Health Updates

"Yeah they're all fine," Goodwin said.

"They've all trained well the other night, Wednesday night, and they'll train fully again today. So we've got no injury concerns at all."

200 Games as Coach

“It's something you don't really think about too much, certainly during your career," Goodwin said.

"But I think when you get times like this especially with your family, you get a chance to just reflect on the journey and some of the things that you've been through along the way and some of the joys that the game has brought.

"I've been so lucky and privileged to be at a club that started right down the very bottom and work their way right to the very top.

"That was a process and certainly a journey that I loved. That's what I love about coaching, the challenge of building something pretty special."

Vale Brian Dixon

"Obviously, it's a very sad time and our condolences go out to the Dixon family," Goodwin said.

"He's such an enormous figure at the Melbourne footy club. Four premierships in 250 odd games.

"He's an unbelievable member of the Melbourne Footy club and our condolences go to the Dixon family. There's no doubt as a playing group, we'll certainly honour the Dixon family as best we can on the weekend."

Starting Games Right

"It's something that's really important in the game. We've been able to see that over the whole season that teams that start well, generally play well," Goodwin said.

"That was a big focus last week. We identified that is something we need to get better at. We trained it and we'll do that again this week.

"The pleasing thing when you've got a group is that when you focus on something and you set your intention, you want to see action.

"That was the best thing about the weekend is that we did see that action about identifying something and going after it."

The Team’s Growth

"Obviously winning is something that we all want, but if you focus on the outcome, it can take you further away," Goodwin said.

"The thing that we are happy with as a team, in terms of how we're growing, is we are able to challenge some of the best teams in the competitions.

"We've had some really positive results whether that be Brisbane in Brisbane, Fremantle at the MCG, really challenging the Adelaide footy club on their home ground, Collingwood at the MCG on King's birthday.

"We feel like as a group we're growing. Our challenge is building consistency.

"As we bring this group together more and more, we'll bridge that consistency and will continue to grow."

The Run Home

"We've got work to do, and we're not going to waste a day, a session, a game in trying to get there," Goodwin said.

"It's a big game this week against North Melbourne and a big part of our journey and where we want to go, and we're looking forward to it."

North Melbourne Watch

"Clearly they're a much improved team," Goodwin said.

"Over the whole season, they're putting themselves in winning positions and they've got a lot of depth and a lot of talent.

"We're under no illusions, the type of team we're coming up against. They played outstanding footy against us early in the season and we learned a lot.

"We've changed, we've evolved a lot now in the way we play, and we're looking at putting on that show at the MCG."