LEADER Colin Garland says Melbourne’s 13-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium was one of the most frustrating of 2013.

Garland said the Demons had the chance to nail their third win of the season, but blew several opportunities.

“It’s probably one of the more disappointing losses of the year, to be honest,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“We definitely had our chances. We had more inside 50s, and we felt like we dominated in patches.

“In the end, it was a few basic errors that really cost us and that’s why it was one of the more disappointing losses for the year.”

The defender said the Dees were confident entering the match.

“We felt like we planned really well for this game,” Garland said.

“We felt like our preparation was really good as well. We felt like we executed a lot of the things we wanted to do.

“In the end, we just made a few basic errors around the ground and in front of goal. You can’t do that - they made us pay a couple of times and they’ve got some classy young players.

The 25 year-old has been one of Melbourne’s finest performers this season, but he said he battled last round against Greater Western Sydney, having missed his only match of the season against North Melbourne in round 18.

“I probably struggled a bit last week. I really pushed hard to come back and last week, it probably started to hurt a bit throughout the game,” Garland said.

“I was a bit disappointed with how I played, but I felt a lot better and was able to run a bit more freely.

“For me, it’s probably been my best year, but we’ve got to really run hard to the line at the moment. Personally, it’s been a good year for me, but I’ve been here seven years now and it’s been quite tough for the club.”

The experienced campaigner – he is due to play his 99^th AFL match against Fremantle at the MCG next Sunday – acknowledged that it had been a trying year. But he remains determined to help the club turn its fortunes around. 

“When you’re young and you’re playing quite well, it’s water off a duck’s back, but when you’ve been here for a while at the club, it’s really hurt this year,” Garland said. 

“The good thing is that under the water – people see the tip of the iceberg on game day – but I know under the water, the club’s in great shape.

“Craigy (Neil Craig) and Jade Rawlings – these blokes are still working really hard and pushing us to the line. That’s why tonight was really disappointing, because it was a chance for a victory."