THURSDAY night saw Melbourne suffer a disappointing one-point loss to Carlton despite immense effort in the second half.

Despite being 31 points down at half time, the Dees were valiant in defeat, evident with Christian Petracca’s five-goal blitz and increased defensive pressure.

The Demons fought in wet and slippery conditions at the ‘G, with captain Max Gawn reflecting on the contrasting halves.

Melbourne’s last three matches all saw similar first halves, with only three goals on the scoreboard by half-time, but all concluding with ten plus goals, two of those matches being victorious.

“Our first quarters have just not been quite up to it, especially in these big games,” Gawn told Melbourne Media.

 “[Our] character to get back in the game is good. [Our] character to try and win the game late is good, but we shouldn’t be in that position.

Melbourne’s forward line was desperate for goals after a score-less first quarter. Petracca’s forward pressure allowed for the Demons’ first goal in the second quarter, quickly followed by another four minutes later.

Despite him going into the game with a different role, he adapted and contributed massively, finishing with five majors, 21 disposals and 10 score involvements.  

Alongside Petracca, the last quarter saw goals from Gawn, Caleb Windsor and Jacob van Rooyen, assisting in closing the gap.

Defensive pressure was also high, which was evident with Carlton only kicking one goal in the last term.

“[Trac’s] a little weapon when he gets tagged because teams can’t really tag him,” Gawn said.

“Trac went and played one for the team and in the wet weather to go play forward, it’s really doing one for the team.

“To regroup from a tag and then kick five, he did a completely different role than what he thought he was going to play.

“There’s a lot of selfless roles going out.”

With high pressure games being faced in the next few weeks, Gawn discussed utilising the rest period over the next few days before travelling to Perth to face West Coast.

The following weeks will see the Demons facing St Kilda at the MCG, and then Collingwood for the annual King’s birthday blockbuster.

“You’ve got to use these three days to rest, recover, and come back and play in-form,” Gawn said.

“There’s no easy game, so I’m going to really utilise this rest.

“I can’t wait for the challenge over in the west.”