KEY forward Jesse Hogan says his team’s inconsistency cost it another potential victory, when it went down to North Melbourne by 35 points at the MCG on Sunday.

The Western Australian said it was a frustrating performance, given Melbourne came back from a 34-point quarter-time deficit to get to within two points on three separate occasions in the third quarter.  

“Inconsistent is probably the key word [for the team] and it has been for most of the year,” he told Dee TV.

“We showed a lot of resilience fighting back in that second quarter and getting to within 10 points, and then holding on again in the third and then getting close.

“Letting them get away at the end was very disappointing, but consistency is the underlining key of the game.”

The 20-year-old said he thought the Demons were still right in the hunt when he kicked his fourth at the 10-minute mark of the final term. At that point, the Dees trailed by just eight points.

Hogan said Melbourne showed it could match it with North Melbourne, when it kicked 9.6 to 5.6 in the second and third terms.

“If we can be first at the ball and put our head over the ball – that’s when we’re playing our best,” he said.

“In that first quarter, we were second to the ball and a metre off, but when we’re playing our best footy, we’re right up there.

“We competed and got back into it and won the second and third quarters, so we showed that we could play that footy … but you can’t let teams get six or seven goal lead at the start of the game – it just hurts you.”

Hogan, who again shone for Melbourne with four goals, 15 disposals and nine marks, said it was a hard to assess his individual game, given his team lost. But he acknowledged he played his role for the team and had an impact.