OF THE 2,281 VFL/AFL games Melbourne has played since 1897, only eight times has it produced greater losing margins than its 122-point loss to North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

In summarising, coach Neil Craig quite simply said it was a “bad day” for the football club.

Furthermore, Craig said his charges may have come to play, but did not come to perform – a theme echoed strongly throughout his post-match media conference.

“It’s the way you prepare, it’s the steeliness you take the ground with, it’s the fight you take the ground with, it’s the resilience you take the ground with and in the last few weeks, we’ve had a bit of a taste of it – what it feels like to perform, even though we haven’t necessarily got the scoreboard results,” he said.

“[On Saturday], we got another revisit and another dose of what it feels like when you actually play this game, instead of performing this game.

“AFL level is about performance. It’s not about just having a game of footy and that’s why people want to play in this competition. That’s why guys like Jack [Grimes] and the [rest of the] guys will respond.”

Early on in the match, Melbourne showed some form. It opened proceedings and at half-time was still within reach, trailing by 25 points. But when North Melbourne booted 16.9 to 1.2 in the second half – Melbourne did not even score a solitary behind in the final term – it gained a top 10 win in its club history.

The loss was a bitter blow for the Demons, given it has recorded a win and has produced some improved performances under Craig.

So - where to now for the Demons?

Well, it’s interesting to note that the former Adelaide coach, who also experienced a 141-point loss in his fourth match with the Crows in round 17, 2004, said Melbourne still had the ability to turn its fortunes around sooner rather than later.

“When I was interim coach of Adelaide, we got beaten by 24 or 25 goals in Brisbane, so I’ve experienced this before. But I’m more concerned about what the players are going through and the help that I can give them,” he said.

And Craig should know. Although it seems hard to fathom at the moment in Melbourne’s situation, Craig did guide the Crows to back to back preliminary finals in 2004-05.

The Demons have far greater things to get back on track before looking at remarkable rises such as Craig’s Crows did back then. But, although it doesn’t seem the case at the moment, the Demons can get back on track.

Craig said it won’t be easy, but it can be done.

For Melbourne, it can be inspired by Port Adelaide’s turnaround this year.

“I think any club can bounce back quickly,” he said.  

“First of all, we need to run to the line this year. That’s the most important thing. The hardness required to do that, to stay with the season and to play the last five games … to the best of our ability and to play the season out, will require a characteristic that will be important for us in the future.

“That’s why we need to be really strong with that.”

Craig remains steadfast in his commitment to guiding the Demons through until the end of the season.

In fact, the loss didn’t make him reassess his future one iota – in terms of dissuading him from coaching.

“No, not at all, that’s not the issue for me,” he said.

But he remains adamant that a process will dictate whether he pursues the Melbourne position next year and beyond, after the club makes its decision on what type of person it wants at the helm.   

“My commitment to the playing group was that I would coach as hard as I could for 11 weeks. I’ll be true to my word and I’ll be doing that and the rest of it will look after itself,” he said.

“It’s a challenge. It’s a real challenge for where Melbourne has been and for where it wants to go. It requires a lot of resilience and grit required to move up the scale. No one will give it to you and you have to have nearly superhuman perseverance – more perseverance than you would ask of people.

“But that’s where we’re going, and we’ll dig in and keep moving now.”