NEIL Craig was adamant Melbourne’s 95-point was a great experience for his young charges – even if the result was far from acceptable.

In his own words, Craig rates Freo highly.

“I always have. They’ll do really well in the finals,” he said.

So he was certain – albeit disappointed by Sunday’s loss at the MCG – that Melbourne knows how far it needs to go. Being exposed to the Dockers can only help the Dees’ cause.

“No one likes 100-point losses. But for our team to play against Freo, who are in really good shape, you can’t buy that experience and you couldn’t have asked for a more difficult day of footy, in terms of the opposition, and the way the game unfolded for us in terms of injury,” he said.

“What it did, it enabled the players to experience real adversity. I actually thought for the most part of the game their grit and their resilience to hang in there – I was really pleased with it.

“We got caught out with our style of ball movement in the first quarter and all that indicated to me is that this team is not yet sophisticated enough to play against Freo that way – that’s OK, we learn from that.”

One aspect of his team’s play was during the second quarter, when Melbourne kicked three in a row before half-time. Craig said it was a glimpse of what it was capable of, but sustaining it for the long term was the ultimate challenge.

“I was really pleased with the capacity of our playing group to change the style of ball movement to use a bit more kicking, rather than handball, in the second quarter in particular, and as the way went on,” he said.

“Overall, it was a tough day for our players, but an important day for our players, because they played against a fair dinkum AFL team in terms of the way they’re coached, their style of play, their strong bodies, their experience and their talent.

“[I was] disappointed with the end result, yes, with the scoreboard, but a lot of good experience.”

Fremantle’s style of play wasn’t lost on two of Melbourne’s best performers on the day: Jack Trengove and Jack Viney, who both claimed 27 and 28 disposals respectively.

“You’ve got to give some credit to Freo – they’re a great outfit and if I was a betting man, I reckon they’d go pretty close to it this year,” Trengove said.

“The way they play together and how they performed today and the whole season – we gave them too big a head start and we fought our way back in the second quarter, but just couldn’t run out the second half, which was really disappointing.”

Trengove said the Ross Lyon-coached Fremantle had the ability to “choke” any opposition, which made it a tough outfit to play against.

“It’s what Ross Lyon’s really about. He brings that defensive element to the game and they just work so well together as a team. You feel like you get past one and then their next section of their defence is right up in your face again,” he said.

“It is really hard, but there have been teams who have showed this season that they can beat it. It’s just a matter of really attacking them offensively and hitting your kicks and continually going for your kicks.

“As soon they get on top and they start closing in on you, and they’re really taking you back into your defensive 50 – that’s when they get on top, so you’ve just got to try your best to stop that from happening.”

For Viney, who collected a career best 28 disposals, the ability to play against one of the best in the business was something he relished.

“With Freo’s elite defensive pressure – that football suited me and I really enjoyed the contest. I really enjoyed hitting bodies and trying to squeeze the ball out to the outside runners, but it’s just a massive learning experience,” he said.

“Neil [Craig] said after the game that, in his opinion, he thinks that Fremantle is the No. 1 team in the competition.

“To have a few touches against a team that’s renowned for their defensive pressure and press, it was a really good learning experience.”