STEVEN King has praised his side's mindset following their 45-point win over Essendon on Saturday, pushing through a tough period to secure back-to-back victories.

“It was a really strong and solid performance,” King said.

“In light of the last couple of weeks, how big they’ve been for us as a football club, emotionally and coming off a five-day break, coming off our Alice Springs game…it was hard work today and I thought in our first half we got to work and set the game up from there.

“They looked a little bit fatigued during stages, but the way they fought the game out was really impressive.”

Despite holding on to a strong lead in the final moments of the game, senior Demons Bayley Fritsch and Jake Lever provided examples of ruthless acts which King was proud to highlight post-game. 

“When I got here, I wanted us to be a team that was ruthless, selfless and connected,” King said.

“I rate that pretty highly, whether we win the game or lose the game, I always go looking for those acts.

“To see those two moments from experienced players, as a coach, it makes you really proud that on a five-day break, they’re willing to dig deep and play the game out, that’s a really good sign and becomes contagious.

“Hopefully our fans see that and are just as impressed by that as they are a running goal from 50m, those are the acts that make good teams great teams and that’s what we’re aspiring to be.”

Melbourne will now look ahead to its match against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, the team's final game before their well-earned bye in Round 16. 

Having not won at Adelaide Oval since 2024, King said he is looking forward to the challenge that awaits. 

"I’d love us just to really attack this week, get ourselves up for that opportunity to play Adelaide in Adelaide," King said. 

"We’ve done an enormous amount of work and our players have been unreal embracing a new way of playing.

"That’ll be a really great challenge for us and a real opportunity to sit back at the bye and reflect on where we’re at."