DESPITE notching up a season high 27 disposals, co-captain Jack Trengove says it mattered little in yet another frustrating performance, this time against Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday.
Trengove said it was a “very disappointing” team performance, and one the Demons could never accept.
“It’s hard to rate your individual game in [almost] a 100-point loss,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“I played mainly on the wing all day, and we just really tried to keep that width on the ground, because Freo are used to playing on a skinny Subiaco ground and we thought we’d make the most of the wider MCG.
“A fair bit of the time, I just sat out there with our spare behind the ball, and we were able to move it around a fair bit. I got my hands on it a little bit, but you never look too far into it, when you’re losing by [almost] 100 points.”
Trengove said the Demons felt like they were in the match at half time, after kicking the last three goals in the second term.
“We felt like we were gaining momentum in that second quarter especially, and we would’ve loved that second quarter to keep going for another 10 minutes, the way we were going,” he said.
“It just so happened that we came out in the second half and they got back on top.
“Our big focus at quarter time was to really go at them defensively, and we know how good a defensive unit they are. They rank No. 1 in just about every key area defensively, so we really wanted to test them – their defence with our offence and really go at them.
“I thought we did, which got us back into the game in the second quarter, but we were just unable to sustain it in the second half.”
Looking ahead to next Saturday’s clash against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, Trengove said the Demons were still eager to run to the line, which has been a team focus in the past two months.
“We’re second bottom and finals are out of the question, so it’s really important that we go into the off season with a lot of confidence - that’s our focus for these remaining two weeks – really running to the line and playing it out,” he said.
“Our big goal is to change the perception of this footy club. A lot of people are saying out there that it means nothing to us, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I train closely with the boys every day and we’re really working our hardest to try and turn it around, so we’re going to try and show that in the last two weeks and really change the perception around the place.”