MELBOURNE is on the cusp of its first finals campaign in 11 years and the emerging club is set to break new ground during Saturday's crucial clash against Collingwood at the MCG.
The Demons need just 18,033 people to walk through the MCG gates for their game against the Magpies to pass a home and away attendance mark of 800,000 in a season for the first time in the club's history.
The MCG is estimating a crowd of 45,000 for Saturday's clash against the traditionally high-drawing Collingwood, with a win over the Magpies ensuring the Demons a spot in September.
Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson told AFL.com.au it was exciting to see fans so optimistic about the club's journey.
"It's a significant milestone for the club," Jackson said.
"It shows we're relevant as a football team and people want to watch us play."
Jackson said Melbourne's home crowds had risen by 14 per cent in 2017, providing a good indication that Demons supporters were getting behind the club.
Melbourne's previous high home and away crowd attendance was 799,889 in 2010 when, under coach Dean Bailey, the club developed a reputation for playing an exciting brand of football.
The Demons reached 731,108 fans through the turnstiles in 2011 before Bailey's sacking at the end of the year, following the infamous 186-point thrashing at the hands of Geelong, heralded a tumultuous period in the club's storied history.
In the following five seasons, Melbourne did not notch a home and away attendance figure above 700,000 and slumped to a total of just 548,431 in 2013 – its lowest home and away crowd number since 1993.
Melbourne won just two games in 2013, in a year Mark Neeld was sacked after just 33 matches in charge. The club also recorded the lowest percentage (54.07 per cent) of any AFL team since 1919.
"We've had a lot of people who have walked away from the club with membership and a number of things and you wouldn't blame them because they were living in hope for a number of years and we weren't able to deliver," Jackson said.
"We always felt they would come back to the game once they believed things were starting to turn around."
Jackson said he could sense the anticipation among Melbourne fans about a likely upcoming finals series, particularly after the team's close-run contest against the Brisbane Lions last week.
"I can sense a lot of nervousness. There's nervous excitement," he said.
"Melbourne people have been down for so long that I'd say there's certainly a lot of joy around the club that we've been able to turn things around, both on and off the field.
"But there's still more nerves than outright excitement about playing finals – I think they just want to get there first."
