MELBOURNE defender Michael Hibberd is frustrated by the club’s inability to put together a four-quarter performance after its 46-point loss to Richmond at the MCG on Tuesday night.

Despite competing well at times throughout the game, Hibberd said the Demons need to learn to play consistently for the entire match if they want to become a successful side.

“We were pretty good for three quarters, but that last quarter was unacceptable, so we’ll work on that and hopefully next week have a four-quarter performance,” Hibberd told Melbourne Media.

After a disappointing display against Hawthorn last week, there were some key focuses for the Demons heading into this round five clash.

“We lacked that real hunt and desire to win contests last week, so we wanted to come in and be harder to play against this week,” Hibberd said.

Melbourne laid 79 tackles throughout the match, and its attack on the ball early can't be faulted.

“There was definitely an improvement,” Hibberd said.

“That first quarter was as intense of a first quarter as I’ve been involved in for a long time. The ball and bodies were flying around everywhere, and people were crashing and bashing.

“That’s the game we want and it was good to see, but that last quarter is sticking in our minds and something we need to work on going into next week.”

While Melbourne’s hunger for the ball was generally strong, basic skill errors let the Demons down.

“They were sharper than us around the ball and with the ball in hand, so we need to work on our craft,” Hibberd said.

“It was pretty greasy out there, and it has been most of the games this year so far – pretty wet, greasy and slippery conditions.

“We need to be better with the ball when it’s on the ground … so that’s something we’ll improve on, as well as the competitiveness when the game is still on the line.

“In the last quarter we dropped away and let them run away with it.”

Last week, the Hawks booted six unanswered goals to close out a 67-point victory over Melbourne, and in similar fashion on Tuesday night, the Tigers kicked four majors in just five minutes during the final term.

“It’s hard to put a pin-point on why it’s happening, but we’ll look at it during the week,” Hibberd said.

“It felt like they were a bit sharper, they won the ball around the stoppages and were able to burst out of clearances and get numbers forward.

“We lost a few one-on-ones that we should’ve won as well.”

The 28-year-old was left with blood dripping down his face after a gutsy performance at half-back, and noted that the defensive unit is starting to jell together.

A bandaged Hibberd gets past Trent Cotchin early in the night's proceedings

“I felt like the backs held their own tonight,” Hibberd said.

“We had a lot of inside 50’s against us but we showed a lot of fight.

“We need to work on that last quarter, but all in all there’s a lot of positives as well.

“I felt like Jake (Lever) had a really good game. He had a good balance of going when he had to in the air and helping out others as well.”

In 2017, Hibberd made his debut for the Demons in the equivalent ANZAC eve fixture, and said it is a match he loves being a part of.

“It always is a great game,” he said.

“To play on ANZAC eve is a real honour, in memory of the ANZAC’s. We as players are really privileged to play in it.

“Personally, I love playing in big games and ANZAC eve is as big as it gets for this club now.”

Pulling on the red and blue guernsey in front of 77,071 people at the MCG gave Hibberd a taste of finals-like football, and he knows exactly what it will take to feature in September this year.

“That first quarter was definitely finals intensity,” he said.

“I haven’t played in a final for years now but that’s the expectation for what it’s going to be like, so we’ve just got to bring that for four quarters now.”

Despite an unfavourable record for the Demons after five rounds, Hibberd is adamant there’s plenty of time for the club to achieve something special in 2018.

“I don’t think you can rule anyone out at this time of the year,” he said.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint … so I wouldn’t count us out just yet.”