SIMON Goodwin has emphasised Melbourne’s determination to “be better” following its five-point loss to Carlton in Thursday night’s AAMI Community Series match.
The Blues proved to be the best team at the end of the hit-out, Melbourne taking its first loss of 2022 at 15.8 (98) to 14.9 (93).
Speaking post-match, Goodwin said the Melbourne group were quick to acknowledge the room for improvement, particularly in its adjustment to the AFL’s new 'umpire dissent' rule that saw the side concede eight 50m penalties.
“We want to be seen as a really disciplined footy club and eight 50s is clearly an adjustment to the new rules but also, we’ve got to be better,” Goodwin said.
“It is different, but that’s okay, that’s what the game is.
The Thursday game also saw Melbourne fall to Carlton through its stoppage and contest work, with the Demons managing just 26 clearances in comparison to their opposition’s 49.
Goodwin recognised this deficit through the midfield but said his team was committed to the work required ahead of Round 1.
Be there for the rematch
Join as a member today + lock in your spot as the flag is unfurled.
Join Now“There’s lots of things in tonight’s game that weren’t quite up to level, and I’ll give Carlton credit,” Goodwin said.
“They were obviously scattered really well, they exited contest areas really well and they were quite dominant in the centre bounce and that put us on the back foot a lot so that’s an area of the game that we’re generally pretty strong in.
“So, we’ve got work to do in the next 13 days.”
And if there’s one major takeaway from the pre-season match, said Goodwin, is the team’s awareness of the improvement needed and their hunger to build further for the blockbuster season-opener against the Bulldogs on Wednesday 16 March.
“They knew that wasn’t them tonight, but one thing that I do know about this group and this leadership group is that they do respond,” Goodwin said.
“We start with a blank canvas, we’ve got Round 1 coming up, last year was last year, we start fresh, we start again and we’ve got to build the way we want to play and how we want to be seen again.”
Hear more from Goodwin’s press conference below.
