MELBOURNE has found its groove back this AFL Women’s season, defeating St Kilda on the weekend to win its second match of the week and third in a row.

“I think we definitely started the game well into the breeze. Getting our hands on the ball first, creating scoring opportunities, really pleased with that,” Melbourne coach Mick Stinear said post-match.

“Then more the second quarter we started to become a bit unpredictable in our offence. “Saints pressure lifted and we turned the ball over a few times and lost a lot of territory off turnovers, then they started to get back into the game.

“But then I thought as the game went on and start to make better decisions with the ball, we continued to get our hands on it first, the tackle pressure was pretty sound, and then I think the team was able to finish pretty strongly and particularly off the back of three games in 11 days, I’m really pleased with the way they were able to finish.”

The Dees are now firmly back in contention for finals after a rough start to the season, and Stinear noted how much things have turned around for the red and blue.

“We lost four in a row, that was pretty tough and pretty gruelling, and for this group to stay positive and work their way through that and now win three in a row, it’s got us right in the mix. “I think now the team’s just focused on competing hard and playing good footy together,” Stinear said.

“No matter who the opponent, no matter what the occasion, we’ve kind of let go of expectations and tying ourselves up in knots. “We’ve been through that and now we just want to get after it and enjoy playing good footy together.”

The Dees did get a massive boost ahead of the St Kilda game, with Eden Zanker, Paxy Paxman and Liv Purcell all returning after stints on the sidelines because of injury.

“Those three loved watching the team play last Wednesday night and they’re really inspired by it,” Stinear said.

“I think it wasn’t going to be a case of them coming in and it was going to have things are going to happen for us. “I thought they played well and they played with intensity, so it’s credit to them and our medical and high performance team for getting them in.

“They’ve had some different injuries and for Edo, probably at least three or four weeks out, Purcell, that was her first game for the year, and Pax has had a lot of trouble with that foot but she had to play a significant role on the wing today.”