SUNDAY’S clash against Fremantle at Domain Stadium was a fascinating game in many respects.

For a while there, it looked like it was going to be awful final margin.  

And although the scoreboard looked far from ideal in the first term, to be there and witness the contest, the Demons actually gave genuine effort. The problem was that Fremantle was far too slick.

After all, Freo is an outstanding football side.

What was most worrying for Melbourne was the first 11 minutes of the second term, when the Dockers piled on another five goals in a fraction of the time it took in the first term. After Tendai Mzungu kicked Fremantle’s 10^th goal, the scores were: Fremantle 10.2 to Melbourne 0.2.

The Demons were massively up against it and the 60-point margin looked like it could’ve doubled.

But when Jeff Garlett finally opened Melbourne’s account at the 15-minute mark of the second term, the game took a remarkable turn and became an even contest.

With two men down – skipper Nathan Jones (ankle) and big man Jake Spencer (concussion) – the Demons actually outscored the Dockers for the rest of the match, booting 8.4 to 7.4.

A 54-point loss still ensued, but the fact that Melbourne lost the second term by just 13 points, and the third by five and the final quarter by a goal showed some genuine grit against a first-class opposition.

As Paul Roos said, Fremantle doesn’t sit on top of the ladder with just four losses for the season for nothing. And it must be noted that the Dockers entered the clash with 3123 games experience as opposed to 1771. That’s a difference of 1352 games in Freo’s favour. The home side also possessed a side that on average was three years older.

“I think they’ve got such a good foundation to their game,” Roos said.  

“People talk about their scoring, but I look at teams that have a really consistent foundation and a really consistent attack on the ball around the footy. They’re really consistent with their tackling … they’re as good as anyone in the competition at doing that and that’s why if they go through a slightly down patch, they’re able to win.

“They’re a terrific side and I give them as much chance as anyone in the competition to win it (the premiership).”

Midfielder Jack Viney backed up Roos’ thoughts.

“They’re a top class team Freo. They’re top of the ladder for a reason and a first class team. It was a really good experience for us boys playing against them,” he said.

So with one more match remaining for the season, Roos is determined for his side to finish off 2015 on a positive note.

Has the group moved forward?

Roos said he thought so and added there was one more opportunity against Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium next Sunday to show it.  

“When we do get a contest, we’re actually a good side and we proved that again [against Fremantle]. When the backside falls out of our game – it falls out of our game,” he said.

“We’re certainly not a team that has enough talent at the moment to have so many players out of the team. We also need to make some decisions in the off-season and get some new players in.

“I want to finish off the season really well next week. As I said to the players ‘come ready to play, like you did today’. That’s what we want next week. I’m really excited about having another pre-season with these guys.”

And so should the red and blue faithful.