The off-season additions of Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross and Dom Tyson have certainly addressed some of the problems associated with the Demons' lack of midfield depth.
They have all contributed in releasing some of the reliance on Nathan Jones, but indicators such as contested possessions (17th in the competition), clearances (18th) and centre clearances (18th) still need a pile of work.
Melbourne believes promising youngster Christian Salem will eventually make the transition from the forward flank into an on-ball role, but targeting a gun midfielder is certainly in Roos' and the Demons' sights.
"We'd love to have a couple of really good midfielders, because probably the absolute class is what gets us at times," Roos said at AAMI Park on Tuesday.
"The class of (Scott) Pendlebury and (Dane) Swan and you look at the Swans with guys like Kieren Jack, Jarrad McVeigh and Joey (Josh) Kennedy.
"We still know we're still a long way away from being a really top side, there's no doubt about that."
Having taken down one top-eight contending team in Essendon last week, the challenge is in front of the Demons to back it up against another in North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.
The Kangaroos' form line has been up and down, but Roos said the Demons were preparing for their opponents' best.
"We know the Kangaroos are a very dangerous team and they've played some terrific footy this year," Roos said.
"They're a high scoring team. When they're playing their best footy, they play good contested footy as well."
Far from being content with their 4-8 win-loss record, Roos said the club was still striving for further improvement.
"We're still only a four-win team, a battling team and a team that needs to work really hard on a weekly basis," he said.
"We're still trying to find our way and get our respect back and we're still trying to climb the ladder.
"It's a real collective effort – everyone's working really hard – and that's the good thing about what happened on Sunday (against Essendon), you get a bit of reward for that hard work."
Meanwhile, the Dees have received mixed injury news, with ruckman Jake Spencer to miss the rest of the year with an ankle injury but young forward Jesse Hogan pencilled in for a late-season return.
Jesse Hogan may be a chance to make his long-awaited debut later this season. Picture: AFL Media
Hogan, who has battled a back injury for most of the season, is now listed on the club’s injury list as six weeks away, rather than indefinite.
“Jesse’s now done a couple of runs outside,” elite performance manager Dave Misson told Dee TV.
“He’s pretty comfortable with those. We’re still taking it reasonably slowly and he’s still got to get a bit of confidence back in his body, but the initial signs are good.
“Jesse’s been pretty positive and we’ll keep progressing his rehab, with his running for the rest of this week, and for another few weeks after that.”
Misson said Spencer had been “battling this ankle for a while” and surgery was now required.
“He reported it early in the season. What we’ve tried to do is pursue conservative management and hope that the ankle would heal to the point where he can get back and play,” he said.
“He had a further scan and review with a surgeon last week, who said that the crack in his ankle had actually increased, so he’ll actually have to get that surgically repaired and [he] will miss the rest of the season unfortunately.”
