The Demons' days in premiership contention were over and the axe had fallen on flag-winning coach Simon Goodwin.
Fast-forward three games into Steven King's tenure, and senior leaders believe a reinvigorated playing group is on the right path to acquiring that winning formula.
"Not to look too far in the past, but we were very good at that for a period of time and then we sort of lost our way in that aspect," Demons wingman Ed Langdon told AAP.
"It's such a fine-margin game that you're always going to be in close games, especially in last quarters.
"So you've got to have the confidence and belief that you can win games, you've got to be calm and understand what needs to be done.
"It's a learnt skill and we've come a long way."
It showed in round one when Melbourne outpointed much-hyped St Kilda, and again when they completed the fifth-greatest comeback in club history by overcoming a 43-point deficit against Carlton last week.
"It doesn't really matter how far we find ourselves down," Langdon said.
"Ideally we start games a lot better than we have been, but there's just so much confidence and belief that if we play the right way we can put points on pretty quickly."
A thumping from Fremantle in round two was a sobering reminder that there is still work to be done, and perhaps an even greater test lies ahead against unbeaten Gold Coast at the MCG on Sunday.
The ladder-leading Suns boast a percentage of 191.0 and are on the cusp of equalling a club-record winning run at the start of a season.
But Langdon is adamant the Demons can give Damien Hardwick's flag contenders a contest.
"We're going to try and put together four quarters because we haven't really been close to doing that yet, so that will be a big focus," Langdon said.
"If we can get four quarters out I'm sure we'll give them a good run."
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