MELBOURNE utility James Frawley admits the loss to the Western Bulldogs hurt more than usual, with the expectations on the side high following last weekend's stirring win over Adelaide.
The Demons haven't strung together two consecutive wins since rounds 13 and 14, 2011, and were unable to achieve that goal on Saturday night, going down to the Bulldogs by 16 points.
Melbourne had 13 more inside 50s than the Bulldogs but were unable to make the most of their opportunities, with the Demons missing five shots on goal in the final term.
"I thought we were definitely a good chance to win," Frawley told AFL.com.au.
"It probably hurts even more when you think you're a chance to win and you fall short.
"Tonight was pretty disappointing, we were definitely playing all right footy but just those little things let us down. Effort things like tackling and pressure.
"Last week we kept Adelaide to nine or 10 goals and tonight obviously the Dogs kicked a few more than that. That’s something we'll have to work on, our defensive game."
Frawley was the walking wounded in the Melbourne rooms after the loss.
The defender-turned-forward injured the medial ligament in his big toe against the Crows last round, and on Saturday night in the second term received treatment for hamstring and groin related tightness.
"I've got a few things going on at the moment, but the toe is the main issue," Frawley admitted.
"I hurt it last week against Adelaide. It wasn't too bad tonight for three quarters, just a bit sore in the last quarter but I toughed it out."
Frawley is hopeful he will be fit to play Richmond next Saturday at the MCG but admitted he was looking forward to the bye the week after.
"I'm looking forward to playing Richmond next week hopefully," Frawley said.
"They’ve got the bye this weekend so they'll be nice and fresh. It's been a pretty big battle Richmond-Melbourne over the past couple of years so hopefully that rivalry continues and we can try and play some good footy next week and get the four points."
