THE DEMONS let themselves down on Friday night, according to coach Simon Goodwin.
The home side suffered a seven-point loss to Collingwood, in a defeat that would see them drop out of the top-two on the AFL ladder.
Despite the final result, Melbourne was able to display flashes of dominant footy throughout the match, leading clearances at 52 to 32 and inside 50s at 65 to 41.
“For large parts of the game we were able to dominate and get the game on our terms, but we let ourselves down,” Goodwin explained.
“In the end, Collingwood walked through the door…they won critical contests at the end when it mattered and we left that door ajar, and to be the team we want to be, you can’t do that.
“You have to execute better in big moments and when you’ve got a team on the ropes, you’ve got to finish them off and as a group, we left that door ajar for them.”
A challenge that has continued to face Melbourne throughout the season has been its inability to play out a full four quarters.
This was again the case on Friday night with the Demons leading by nearly four goals in the second quarter, before the Pies kicked four goals to two in the final term to seal the win.
“You’ve got to be able to execute your method, you’ve got to be able to execute your processes and your role for a long period of time to be successful in AFL football,” Goodwin said.
“To be the best, you need to do it all year, all the time, and that’s our challenge.
“We were able to do it for big parts of that game, but we weren’t able to execute when it really mattered, so we’ve still got work to do.
“But the positives are that we are putting ourselves in some really dominant positions to then finish teams off, so that’s up to us to keep working on it and to keep finding a way because there is still a great opportunity that sits in front of us, and we’ve got to start doing it now.”
Despite the clear disappointment following the loss, if there was one thing that Goodwin emphasised post-match, it was his faith in the playing group and the club as a whole.
“We’ve got a special group of players, a special club and for large parts of things we’re getting it right,” Goodwin said.
“So, I’ve got enormous belief in this group and the people involved and there’s still plenty to go.”
