Melbourne great Garry Lyon says that Jack Watts' omission from the squad of 29 to play the Bulldogs on the weekend is a timely reminder that new coach Simon Goodwin is going to put his own stamp on the team.

"I think it was a good day for the Melbourne footy club, not a great day for Jack Watts," Lyon said on SEN Radio. "Now there's a pretty stern message in that and what I love most was that Tom McDonald spoke, Max Gawn spoke last and those boys didn't try and dodge around it, they just said 'he has to be better'."

Watts had a solid season in 2016 after years of battling to live up to his selection as a No.1 draft pick in 2008, but Lyon says he has to lift the bar higher.

"Footy is all about climbing mountains ... you've got to strive and climb and some players can't handle the altitude, you know, and he was dumped on the mountain a fair way up because of his No.1 pick - hadn't done anything - but because of that he gets put there and he struggled for years.," Lyon said.