In one corner of Melbourne's rooms sat four pairs of discarded boots. Two red socks were crumpled in the corner. Four supporters stood along one wall. There was no other sign of life.
Every member of the club was behind a closed door, embarrassed, yet resolving to stick together. At such moments, careers are on the line, trust is tested and people reveal their capacity to act under pressure.
The silence in the rooms beyond those doors was worse than usual. It was an airless void, hollow, as quiet as swimming under water.
This was not a normal moment in football.
Only one time in the game's history had the margin between two teams been bigger. In 1979 Fitzroy defeated Melbourne by 190 points at VFL Park.
Both Fitzroy and VFL Park are no longer part of the AFL scene. Only the record survives. By Saturday it had stood for 32 years and two days.
It was a record few thought would ever be beaten but with two minutes to go in Saturday's game against the Cats at Skilled Stadium it looked certain to fall.
Geelong pushed and pushed and drew within four points of equalling the record margin. The Cats kept attacking but could not conjure their 38th goal. If they had, it would have been the most goals ever kicked by a team in AFL football. They had to settle for 37, equalling their own record, one the Cats set in 1992.
When the siren sounded this Melbourne team had become part of the second biggest losing margin in AFL history, a margin of 186 points.
No wonder Melbourne officials and players emerged from behind that closed door crestfallen.
Defender Jared Rivers slumped against the wall and stared at the ground.
People looked for an appropriate response in the immediate aftermath but it was difficult to find one.
However, history does provide some heart that the Demons can turn the football disaster around in the short-term.
Of the top three great losses recorded before Saturday, two of the losers won the next week. The other was leading at three quarter time.
In 1979 after losing to Fitzroy by 190 points in round 17, the Demons hit back to defeat Essendon at the MCG the following week by 29 points.
In the week leading up to the game Melbourne captain-coach Carl Ditterich admitted in The Age he was warming the seat for Ron Barassi to return to the Demons to take over as coach. But he had no doubt the players would hit back in round 18: "Really I think they will be in the right frame of mind because of the humiliation," he said. "You can cajole them, rant and rave, whatever you want but it is up to each one of them to realise the position the club is in, and accordingly to lift."
After six changes, including the inclusion of Ditterich and Robert Flower, the Demons managed to overcome the Bombers who were at the end of a four-game losing streak. Melbourne also managed to defeat Fitzroy at exactly the same venue the next time the two teams met, in round 2 1980.
In 1979 Collingwood dismantled St Kilda at Victoria Park to win by 178 points. It was the same day Peter Daicos made his debut with Collingwood.
The Saints were immediately in crisis as their reserves - coached by John Northey - had been beaten by 151 points and their under 19s by 106 points. It was a dark day. The result had come just three weeks after starting the season with a win over the defending premiers, Hawthorn. Barry Breen was in his first season as captain while Mike Patterson was in his second season as coach.
Back at home against Geelong the next week, the Saints were competitive and threatened to pull off an unlikely victory when they kicked seven goals to five in the third quarter to be five points up at three-quarter time. However, the Cats eventually won by 30 points. Unfortunately, the Saints would only win one more game before round 17 and only three for the season.
In 1919, the Saints were on the receiving end of what was, until Saturday, the third biggest margin in the game's history when they lost to South Melbourne by 171 points. South Melbourne kicked 17 goals in the final quarter to turn a 65-point margin at three-quarter time into a 171-point win. The Saints failed to score in both the first and last quarters.
The Saints faced Essendon the following week and responded. Led by captain-coach Wels Eicke, the team took a three-goal lead in at half time and ended winners by 15 points. The Saints then defeated Geelong the following week. Amazingly Geelong kicked 18 behinds without scoring a goal in that game at Corio Oval.
As players began to pack their gear and leave the scene of what Demons coach Dean Bailey described as a dark day for the Melbourne Football Club, they would have been battling to think only of the future. In a week they face Carlton and a chance at redemption.
History shows what can be done.
Can Melbourne repeat the efforts of those teams that have suffered a defeat similar to the one they endured on Saturday?
