MELBOURNE'S AFL coach Steven King has been left feeling proud of his group following a valiant defeat against ladder leaders Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

The Dees went down to the Swans by 17 points at the SCG, in what was a battle right to the final siren.

“I’m disappointed with the result but I’m also really proud of the group for fighting it out,” King told media following the game. 

“It could have easily gone away from us today…as a coach, to have a group of players that are willing to fight and scrap to the death and never give in, I think if you take that away from the game, it’s a pretty proud moment.

“Sydney are a really good team and if you invite them to play the way they want to play, they will…I don’t think we played efficient football at all for that period [of the game].

“It’ll be a good learning opportunity for our group, particularly with some of our inexperienced players."

The Dees have now faced four teams in the top six, coming away with two wins and two losses. For a young side with a new coach, King said he was generally pleased with Melbourne's start to the season, having showed serious glimpses of strength.  

“I’m really happy, we know our brand is starting to stack up against some quality teams,” King said. 

“If you’re a Melbourne supporter coming to watch the way we play, you’d be pretty proud of the boys trying to take the game on and be aggressive.

“We still need to clean up, we were pretty young today compared to Sydney so we’ve still got some players who are trying to find their feet, not only with me coaching a new system but the rigors and demands of AFL footy.

“Mistakes are going to happen and I’m willing to accept mistakes, it’s just more about making sure they learn and see the positives out of them.”