Dees do it for their favourite son

MELBOURNE midfielder Cameron Bruce labelled Saturday's game against West Coast as one of the most important days he had been involved in since he arrived at the club in 1999.

Bruce said the build-up to the clash with the Eagles, headlined by the revelation that club president Jim Stynes was battling cancer, had been "huge".

"We really needed to make a stand and show that we've got a bit of pride and show how much people mean to us and what the club means to us," Bruce said after the match at the MCG.

"We've been unacceptable the last three weeks and we had to really make a statement today.

"We've had a really tough week, had a wake up call this week on the track, and then to get the news that our favourite son was doing it tough just added to how important the week was.

"It was a great reward for the effort we put in this week."

Pre-game television footage showed the Demons gathered in a circle in the rooms with Stynes' jumper being held by coach Dean Bailey.

Bruce said the pre-match address was centred around the guernsey to demonstrate the memories it had generated for the ill president.  

"Bailey mentioned how much playing for this club means to individuals and how it's an honour to be able to wear it," he explained.

"It was all based around that so we would take a little bit of Jimmy out there with us.

"He's done so much for the club, got us into a stable position, and now we have to start performing on the field and showing a little bit of his determination."

Bruce said the three-quarter time address was focused around the knowledge Stynes was watching the match on television from his hospital bed.

"He was briefly mentioned, about how we'd come as far as we had in the first three quarters and how a pretty important person would be watching and not to let him and the rest of the supporters that came today down," he said.

"We knew once we had that lead we weren't going to let it slip."

Bruce revealed the Demons had been "flogged" in training last week, which involved a swim in Melbourne's freezing Port Phillip Bay on Monday morning.

He said the players had showed true grit to get over the Eagles, after they returned fire and got within three goals midway through the final term.

"It was a real gutsy effort, and the way we did it with tackling pressure and the intensity that we showed was something we focused on," he said.

"It's a simple thing for us to do, but we just haven't been doing it the last three weeks and it shows that footy is a simple game when you do the basics well.

"It was a really good win and the boys will really celebrate.

"Next week is a really winnable game for us too. We've got a good record at the MCG against Port, and we'll be going into that game with some confidence."