Christian Petracca's return from serious injuries, coupled with Clayton Oliver's promising performance after a turbulent off-season, gave Goodwin cause for optimism despite a three-point defeat to GWS in round one.
So, too, did the integration of six new faces in the team, including first-round draft picks Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay among five AFL debutants.
But it was just one small step in the right direction as the Demons seek to take another stride forward against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
"We're by no means the finished product," Goodwin said.
"There's clearly chemistry with those (senior) guys that have been together for a long time, but it's also the addition of six new players to our team last week.
"Cohesion is a big part of the game and it takes time to operate at your maximum.
"We took a step in that direction last weekend but the more they train and play together and understand the game and scenarios together, the better we'll be."
North Melbourne also suffered a first-up defeat in their round-one match against the Western Bulldogs, and lost Jackson Archer to a three-match suspension after his collision with Luke Cleary.
But Goodwin saw enough in the Kangaroos' performance to remind his players that Alastair Clarkson's rebuilding outfit cannot be taken lightly, as both sides seek to open their account for 2025.
"You can see the amount of talent they've got in their team is really high," Goodwin said.
"They certainly move the ball really well and their contest work is really strong.
"Those are a couple of areas of their game that we're going to have to be on top of.
"If they get good access in and around the ball and through the middle of the ground then (Nick) Larkey comes into the game pretty quickly."
Key forward Larkey looms as a serious threat after booting 5.1 from seven kicks against the Bulldogs, while Cam Zurhaar is similarly dangerous.
The pair have been joined in attack this year by former West Coast forward Jack Darling, who will play his 300th AFL game when he lines up against the Demons.
Melbourne will be without key defender Steven May (fractured larynx) for a second straight week, but are confident versatile replacement Tom McDonald can do the job alongside Jake Lever and Harrison Petty.
"Darling adds another layer to their forwards and he's providing a great pillar to go alongside Larkey, but we'll back our defenders in," Goodwin said.
"Our key backs were really good last week ... so we've got the personnel to be able to deal with opposition forwards and we want to really stabilise from the back end of the ground."
Melbourne are also without Caleb Windsor (foot) and Aidan Johnson (suspended) this week, while round-one substitute Langford has been left out.
Charlie Spargo is back for his first game since the start of last season after overcoming his achilles problem.
Daniel Turner and Taj Woewodwin are the Demons' other inclusions, while North have brought in Toby Pink and Dylan Stephens for Archer and Griffin Logue (hamstring).
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