Melbourne veteran Jordan Lewis says Sunday's victory over West Coast to qualify for the finals was a great relief but now they must push on in the hopes to achieve something greater.
"Yesterday was the release of a bit of relief," Lewis told SEN.
“There’s been some pretty high pressure put on this group, there’s been 12 years of the football club not playing finals football.
“For this group to hold that burden was something that we probably didn’t want, but it was there and to get that relief after the game, it was a really important win interstate, they’re hard to get.
The 303-gamer added that Melbourne are now looking to be contenders when September action starts.
"We understand that making finals is one thing, but we want to be competitive in finals and go as far as we possibly can," Lewis said.
Lewis spoke of the mindset his side will need to come with to be as successful as they can in the finals series.
"I think the biggest thing with finals teams and successful finals teams is belief.
"There are stages within finals games where sides get run-ons and momentum shifts, your ability to stay in the game for the four quarters is really important, but also not for a player to drift to the end result.
"You need to actually break down the game into quarters and understand what’s important in that moment and not let your mind drift too far forward.
"The intensity lifts, the crowd lifts and there’s obviously more at stake, but I suppose the basics become really important and the reliability on your teammates becomes ever so greater," he said.
