Melbourne midfielders Nathan Jones and James Magner say the club are approaching the remainder of the 2012 AFL season as a new start.
The Demons suffered a horror beginning to the year, losing their first nine matches, and entered the bye with just one win from 11 in coach Mark Neeld's first year at the helm.
But with a bye giving the club a much-needed week off to reassess, Melbourne are focused on moving forward.
"We are treating it (the rest of the year) almost like a semi (or) mini season," Jones told reporters at AAMI Park on Thursday.
"In the second half of the year we are just trying to continue to develop and improve. We did show signs, particularly in the last month, in the real key areas.
"We had some sole focus on contested possession and tacking and clearances, the real key indicators in which the top four teams are dominant in. That's where we were trying to really have a focus of improving."
Magner echoed the thoughts of his more experienced midfielder, with the club's 'second season' set to start against Greater Western Sydney at the MCG on Sunday.
"We're looking to use this as a second season starting now," Magner said.
"We're just looking forward to the second half of the year and really trying to put in some better results and hopefully get a few more wins on the board."
Both the Demons and the Giants have won just once in 2012 and the clash between the two could prove vital in determining who wins the wooden spoon at season's end.
The return of Tom Scully and James McDonald, GWS midfielders previously at Melbourne, is a fascinating sub-plot to the contest as well.
Scully - the No.1 draft pick of 2009 - left the Demons at the end of last season to take up a multi-million dollar deal with the Giants, signing a six-year contract with the AFL's newest club.
And although the silky midfielder is sure to receive plenty of attention from his former Melbourne teammates and the crowd, Jones says the playing group hold no grudges.
"I'm really looking forward to (playing Tom) and I'm sure he is too. It's going to be some good fun. There'll be plenty of banter and the boys are looking forward to it," Jones said.
"He made a decision for his future which is fine really, as a footy club, from the playing group; there is no real resentment towards that. At the same time he is the enemy now, so we just really look forward to taking him on and taking GWS on."
McDonald left the Demons in very different circumstances.
After 251 games with the club he was surprisingly delisted at the end of the 2010 season despite being captain of the side, leaving him in limbo for a year, before he signed a role with the Giants to be a playing assistant coach.
"He is highly respected," Jones said.
"His achievements and how he led the footy club and just the bloke that he is around here - he will never be forgotten."