Dyron Daal's 31st  minute missile launched Fury into eighth spot on the table and gave the North Queensland coach plenty to be pleased about.

 "I felt as if we were the better team in the first half, and the playing through to Robbie Fowler and to Dyron Daal was fantastic," Ferguson said. 

"I am happy with a 1-0 win, the good thing is we are playing some good football and we are in there creating some good chances too.

"The biggest problem has been we have been inconsistent but the performance and the effort the boys put has been fantastic.

"Melbourne gave us some scary moments, they are a quality side, they move it well and they have taken the ball well.

"I always felt I wanted us to be competitive, and we are competitive. There is a long way to go. Six games left, we'll just keep plodding away."

Daal's contribution was hailed by his boss after he grabbed the decisive goal.

"The big fella has come in and he has taken his chance, and he has scored three goals in two weeks," Ferguson said.

"I struggled to bang them into the net over the past few weeks. It's good to get opportunities in front of goal and hopefully one will fall into the back of the net will come soon," added striker Jeremy Brockie.