WHEN the AFL world was told the 2020 season was to be postponed, the Melbourne players were on a bus to their Round 1 game.

The match that followed at Optus Stadium had an eerie feel, with no crowd, no noise, and no real purpose.

But with four points still up for grabs, Max Gawn, who captained his club for the first time on Sunday afternoon, was impressed with the group’s efforts.

“Credit to the boys, we completely shut it out, which I think is a real growth in this young group and a show of maturity,” he told Melbourne Media post-game.

“Once again, it didn’t look like we coped with it out on the ground probably, because we lose by five goals, but we did.

“And we coped with the late flight and we coped with being away from our family during this tough time.

“I’m really, really proud of what we dished out, apart from the scoreboard.”

West Coast was undoubtedly the better side across the four quarters, but the Dees ruckman saw some genuine positives on an incredibly challenging day.

“It still doesn’t take away the pride that I have in the group in how they played today – how they fought back from the quarter-time result,” Gawn said.

“I know there’ll be commentary and fans and what not out there that could be thinking same old, but it definitely wasn’t.

“It was a tough performance in tough circumstances, and I hope the people at home were able to enjoy just a little bit of the Dees playing footy.”

A wasteful opening term saw the Demons trail by 27 points – which ended up being the final margin – at the first break.

From that point on, Melbourne was up for the fight, racking up more contested possessions and inside 50’s away from home.

“I felt in the game right until the end,” Gawn said.

“All the boys have reported back saying they felt fit in the fourth quarter, so potentially we could’ve gone a little bit harder maybe early.

“They’re all things we’re learning, which we’d like to play next week, but unfortunately that’s not the case at this point.”

The future of the season remains up in the air, with the competition suspended until May 31.

This provides the players with an opportunity to spend some time away from the club, but Gawn ensures he won’t be taking a backwards step.

“I’m going to keep training, somehow,” he said.

“If it’s inside or outside, or on the treadmill or at the park – I don’t know what’s going on.

“My mind is still footy 2020.”