EXCITING youngster Dean Kent says the Demons need to get back to basics quick smart after they endured their second worst loss for the season against Fremantle at TIO Stadium on Saturday night.
Melbourne went down by 63 points, after Fremantle broke away in the third quarter. Kent said the Demons could ill afford to do that against their next opponent Geelong at the MCG this coming Saturday.
“We were really looking forward to playing Freo, so it was disappointing to walk off [the ground] the way we did,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“But we’ve just got to keep bouncing back and getting back to basics and Roosy (Paul Roos) was really disappointed on the things we’d talked about to help us win, which we just didn’t do this week.
“Roosy said he’d show us more vision of what he showed us last week and we’re going to have to bounce back against Geelong next week. It’s going to be a big challenge, but hopefully we can.”
Kent said Melbourne’s inaccuracy in front of goals – it booted 1.5 in the first half – was also pivotal in the result.
“There were a few easy goals that we missed and it hurt us – they bounced back and kicked five goals in a row in the third quarter,” he said.
“It was a massive turning point for Freo and they’re an elite side and that’s what they can do to you, if you can’t put the score on the board.
“It was disappointing.”
Although it was a frustrating result for the Demons, Kent worked hard and was one of the few positives of the match.
“We didn’t want to give in as a team – we just wanted to keep fighting, but Freo is a really good side and they showed us how to play footy inside and outside,” he said.
“It was disappointing that we lost, so I can’t really rate my game too high, but I was happy with the contests I got to and the drop of balls. I had a few shots at goal, which was always good, but it was disappointing to miss a few tackles early and let myself down there.
“But it was an OK game.”
As for his outstanding running goal in the second quarter, which was akin to his effort against Essendon in round 12, Kent said coach Paul Roos gave him the licence to take on the game and kick those types of majors.
“Early on, I had the ball up the other end and I gave the handpass to Grimesy (Jack Grimes), trying to do the team thing, and when the siren went, the coach came down to me and said ‘back yourself and kick the goal, because you’re a big kick’,” he said.
“So I took [that] into [account] and I saw space to run – and I looked inside three times – and then I was strolling into 50 and then kicked the goal, so it was good.”