SKIPPER Nathan Jones says Friday night’s two-point loss to Essendon at Etihad Stadium was a genuine wake-up call.
After a solid opening NAB Challenge effort against Fremantle at Fremantle Oval and a win over the Western Bulldogs at Ballarat last week, Jones said the team would hone in on this loss.
“It was probably a bit of a kick up the bum,” he told Dee TV.
“It’s something we can work on in the next couple of weeks, but it’s not the end of the world.
“From where we’re at, the inconsistency with how we perform is probably the real issue. When we play really well as a team unit, we’ve shown we can play some really good footy and we are a good side.
“When we step away from that, we see, no matter who we play, the better team on the night always wins. Credit to Essendon, they were the better team, and it’s something that we’re going to have to continue to address.”
Jones said he had been “pretty excited about the signs”, but added that the loss reinforced there was still plenty to work on.
“In the end, it was really disappointing. Although it’s only a pre-season game, we were really focused on trying to build that consistency,” he said.
“We felt like we’d done some pretty good things in the first couple of weeks … but credit to Essendon, they were the better team on the night, and we let ourselves down.
“There wasn’t great cohesion and it was disappointing and it was a bit of a step back in some ways.
Jones said Heritier Lumumba was “terrific” and Jeff Garlett provided a genuine spark against the Bombers.
“He’s been great for us all throughout the pre-season and he’s been such a terrific addition for us with his leadership and now he’s starting to run himself into some great form,” he said.
“He’s going to be a real key for us this year and Jeffy up forward gives us a real spark.
“It’s probably something we missed in the past – being able to crumb goals.
“Both of those guys have put their head down and bum up and made such an impact on the group and we’re really excited to have them both here, and I’m really excited to see what they’ll put out this year.”
Jones said the squad was set to have a solid training hit out in the lead-up to round one. It would also simulate a match, before tapering off for round one.
“We’ll really hone in on the issues that cost us today and work on them and then hopefully coming out and playing as a really strong Melbourne Football Club team and hopefully on the day we can string that together and put in a good showing,” he said.
