MELBOURNE forward Matthew Bate says his team will take confidence from Sunday’s effort against Hawthorn – despite falling short in one of the club’s best efforts of the season.

Bate said lapses of concentration in the third term – when the Hawks booted six goals – as well as a free kick awarded against teammate Aaron Davey at a crucial stage of the final quarter proved decisive in the 19-point loss.

But after leading for much of the game, the Demons will take heart after an 85-point improvement from round one, when they were belted to the tune of 104 points by Alastair Clarkson’s team.

“It’s a confidence-builder, because you sort of think to yourself ‘[they’re the] best team and we can push them to the edge, so why can’t we do that to every team and do that every week?’” Bate said.

“I think the boys … without being happy with the game, [should] take a lot of confidence out of it.”

Bate, who was among his team’s best and has been instrumental in helping the Demons play better football over the past month since returning from injury, said former skipper David Neitz also played a big part in the Dees’ fighting display on Sunday.

Neitz retired last week but addressed his teammates before they ran through the banner, and Bate said his words had stayed with the Demons throughout the match.

“It was a great message and it was a touching moment,” Bate said.

“There were definitely some tingles down my spine. He just spoke to us about what the game means to him and how lucky we are to be out there playing, and he obviously won’t get a chance to play again, unfortunately.

“He just wanted us to play with the spirit that he played with and just go out there and try to earn respect.”

Melbourne might have fallen short in its bid for victory, but Bate said the former skipper was “proud” of his teammates’ efforts.

And Neitz’s message will be one the Demons players carry with them for the remainder of the season.

“It has to be, because we can’t just get pumped up for one game,” Bate said.

“We’ve got to take that message and play like David Neitz did for his whole career for the rest of the year.”

Bate also said he and his teammates were aware another competitive performance against St Kilda – in the wake of stinging words from coach Ross Lyon – was needed this week or his side would lose the ground it has made up in recent weeks.

The Saints are under fire at present in light of two recent losses. Last week, the Demons were at the centre of much speculation after Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett suggested the Demons should look at relocating to the Gold Coast.

While Bate said players weren’t in control of the “business side of footy”, he admitted the players’ pride was pricked by the comments.

“We never spoke about it, but I guess sub-consciously it does stir something inside and you think ‘I’ve got to show these people, I’ve got to show these critics’,” he said.

“I think a performance like on the weekend is a step towards doing that, but you know, [if we] play bad next week, we’ve just lost all credibility again. So our focus has to be doing it for the rest of the year.”