A GREATER percentage, double the wins, deficits decreased significantly, improved players and genuine promise have been among the features to emerge in Melbourne’s first season under Paul Roos.
But after Melbourne’s 66-point loss to Geelong at the MCG on Saturday, Roos knows that the hard work has only just started – and there is plenty more to be done.
Although finals are well out of the equation, the next six rounds are critical for the Demons – simply because they are opportunities to make further advancements.
“It's really six weeks to play some good footy and learn those things that we are not doing really well at,” Roos said.
“Sometimes I get really frustrated, but I recognise that players have learned a lot, but equally I think we have to continue to push minimum standards at this footy club and we dropped off in that area [against Geelong].”
Roos said his side still fell back into bad habits from the past, which he believed was evident against the Cats.
“[As I’m] getting to know the group more and more – and as we’re going through the season – it’s hard to tell whether there’s still some [players] that hang onto the past, and I think there is,” he said.
“I think there is a bit of that ‘poor me and here we go again’. That tends to creep in and I don’t know how you actually get it out. It’s up to the individuals and the players themselves.
“Certainly that’s what it looks like to me, because we started off competing pretty well and then you miss a couple of goals and have some chances, and you come out of the first quarter with two points. Our second quarter, [Geelong kicked] eight goals and for the rest of the game, [it kicked] six goals in three quarters.
“For whatever reason, we just tend to fall away and I thought we dropped back below the minimum standard required to compete at AFL level [against Geelong].”
Roos said he could understand Melbourne supporters were getting frustrated at the moment, but he praised their resilience.
“I think Melbourne supporters have been fantastic and I think they can see some real improvement, but they get frustrated. I’m a coach and a fan. You go to the footy as a fan as well and sometimes I get really frustrated, but I recognise the players have improved a lot,” he said.
“I think [Melbourne supporters] want to make sure when they’re coming, they’re seeing a minimum level of effort. I think Melbourne people understand there is a big difference between Geelong’s talent and the Demons talent, so we’ve got a big gap.
“As coach, I think the Melbourne supporters have been fantastic and I think it’s my responsibility to make sure that against Port next week, we come with a better effort and we continue to do that over the next six weeks.”
With matches against Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Brisbane Lions (Etihad Stadium), Hawthorn (MCG), Greater Western Sydney (MCG), West Coast Eagles (Patersons Stadium) and North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium) remaining, Roos said Melbourne needed to maximise its opportunities before a massive pre-season.
“It's going to be a big pre-season – [we’ve got] six weeks of dress rehearsals and six weeks of getting things right,” he said.
“I already know that this group needs to have a really, really big pre-season, otherwise they're going to be struggling.
“It’s not a case of ‘oh, we’ve done pretty well this year and let’s get through the next six weeks and have a big pre-season and hopefully have another big rise next year’. It’s really, [we’ve got] six weeks [left], so let’s play some good footy and learn those things that we’re not doing really well at.”
