IT WOULD have been easy for a teenager in his third game to swept away by the avalanche that was Geelong on Friday night , but Melbourne's Addam Maric was able to stick to his guns and can only benefit from the experience.

Stats can be deceptive in this day and age, but 23 possessions was no mean feat against such dominant opposition.

While he expressed his admiration for Geelong, Maric certainly wasn't awestruck.

"It was definitely another step up from North Melbourne and Essendon. They are the best and we have to learn from that. They are the benchmark and that's where we have to get to.

"It was a pretty big step but it's no excuse for what happened out there and the boys are pretty disappointed. Now we just have to look forward to next week against West Coast."

The Melbourne faithful had hoped that Friday's rain might take the edge off Geelong, but that wasn't to be.

"They showed us how to play hard contested footy, to put your body on the line in wet conditions," Maric said.

"Obviously it was a big learning curve for me and the other boys out there who probably haven't seen that sort of intensity yet."

Maric started on the bench and was initially picked up by Josh Hunt when he came on. He then played for a while on Corey Enright.

"If there was a positive it was that the young blokes are stepping up. Simon Buckley and especially Dunny (Lynden Dunn) with his role this year; Shane (Valenti) off the rookie list and Stefan Martin who hasn't played much footy. If there is positive it's the young guys looking to the future."

Maric entered this year knowing he had to get his body in peak condition following last year's shoulder reconstruction. While many youngsters playing their first year in senior company start to feel the wear and tear by this stage of the season, he is relatively unaffected.

"I'm not too bad," he said.

"The VFL has a lot of byes which is good for the younger boys. It's only my third AFL game so I'm probably not feeling the pinch like Aussie (Wonaeamirri) and some of the guys that have played a lot more. I'm fresh and ready to go."

He is sure to make a name for himself, even if that name is often mispronounced because it is the same spelling as Adelaide's Ivan Maric.

It is Maric as in 'Patrick'.

"I get 'Maritch' a lot because of the other guy. It's pretty weird because he is from Calder Cannons as well and people think we are related."

At 178cm Addam says he wouldn't mind a bit of Ivan's height of 198cm.