Queensland could be very handy this weekend, most welcome the next as Melbourne scramble to recover from their round-two AFL shocker against Hawthorn.

Demons coach Dean Bailey, who is out of contract at the end of this season, said his side deserved all the criticism heaped on them after last Sunday's third-term capitulation to the Hawks.

But the short-term draw is perfect to the Demons - a home match on Sunday against injury-ravaged Brisbane, followed by an away game against newcomers Gold Coast in round four and then the bye.

Given the two Queensland teams are strong candidates for the bottom four, the upcoming fortnight will give Melbourne their best-possible chance to gain some early-season traction.

The obvious flipside is a surprise loss against either team will send speculation about Bailey's future into overdrive.

It also a big season for Melbourne because they expect to start progressing up the ladder after three years of development.

But Hawthorn's woeful inaccuracy - they kicked 16.26 - was the only factor that restricted the margin last Sunday to 46 points.

It followed Melbourne's round-one draw with Sydney.

"The criticism that was thrown at us was certainly deserved after the manner we played the 22-23 minutes in the third quarter, no doubt," Bailey said on Thursday.

Melbourne led by 27 points in the second term, but fell apart in the third as Hawthorn piled on 8.11.

"The greatest experience you can have is what we went through during that third quarter," Bailey said.

"We'll have something to play for ... it's almost like last Sunday's game is sitting on the back of our shoulder.

"The only way we can move forward is through our actions on Sunday."

Bailey's assessment of what went wrong for Melbourne was damning - they simply could not win contested possessions.

"We were unable to achieve what we've been practising, partly because of the pressure the Hawks had, but also because we just could not get our hands on the footy.

"You can't do anything unless you've won the ball and we needed more players to win the ball, to make something happen."

Bailey added there would be extra tackling drills at training on Friday to sharpen the players' focus ahead of the Brisbane match.

While he did not forecast wholesale changes, Bailey said Jordan Gysberts and Austin Wonaeamirri were pushing for senior recalls.

They were among five additions to the 25-man squad as Neville Jetta and Addam Maric were dropped.

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