MELBOURNE co-captain Elise O’Dea was disappointed by the way her side bowed out of the AFLW competition after a 60-point loss to Adelaide on Saturday.

With a finals spot on the line, the Demons were completely out played at Casey Fields, ending a positive season on a sour note.

“It definitely wasn’t the way we wanted to play our last game,” O’Dea told Melbourne Media.

“I think we know as a group we didn’t bring our best footy, but to Adelaide Crows’ credit, they put on a pretty dominant display there.

“It was just a frustrating day.”

Heading into the Round 7 clash, Melbourne required a victory in excess of 26 points to jump the Crows and qualify for the finals in Conference A, but the Demons couldn’t match the ladder leaders when it mattered most.

“We knew going into the game that we’re both really strong contested sides, so it wasn’t going to be a battle of who was the strongest,” O’Dea said.

“Obviously they came out on top today so that’s something we’ve got to live with and learn from and get better.”

With a winning margin in mind, the Dees needed to play a near-perfect game to find themselves in the top-two, but Adelaide was dominant from the first bounce, making it a one-sided affair.

“They put the pressure on from the word go and then they got a few goals early and we just couldn’t arrest that momentum back,” O’Dea said.

“That’s the thing about scoreboard pressure, it becomes a bit of an avalanche, that’s what it felt like.”

After what was a seemingly successful season where Melbourne won four of its seven games, O’Dea was shattered to finish the year in such poor fashion.

“I think that’s the most disappointing thing – that’s what we finish on and that’s the memory that lingers in the mind,” she said.

“I know how much we have improved over this year and how many girls have stepped up this season and what a strong group we’ve had.

“We just didn’t do ourselves justice.

“I feel like the girls really tried and I couldn’t have asked for much more from them, but we just got out played today.”

The Melbourne players will now breakaway for the off-season, but O’Dea said the girls won’t lose sight of their end goal.

“We’re always hungry, always just wanting to play your best footy,” she said.

“That’s what was the most unsatisfying thing, we just didn’t play our best football.”