SO THIS WEEKEND has proved to be a frustrating one for all those who bleed red and blue.

On Friday night, Melbourne failed to build on its past three competitive outings against the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda and Geelong. 

Sure, a win over Hawthorn was against the odds, considering the brown and gold had beaten Melbourne the past eight times, but a better showing was expected.

Despite Hawthorn’s inaccuracy (2.6 to 3.3) in the opening term, Melbourne showed enough promise to gain a three-point lead at the first break, courtesy of three consecutive goals from the in-form Mitch Clark.

But a poor second term unravelled the encouraging start. 

Melbourne lost the quarter by 40 points, which all but ended the match. Although the Demons levelled the third term, they went down by 29 points in the final quarter, resulting in a 66-point defeat.

It was a disappointing outcome, given that Melbourne was under the football fraternity spotlight via its only Friday night match for the season. 

Although the Demons had the weekend to ponder the loss, they endured another frustrating moment on Saturday when Greater Western Sydney produced its inaugural win on Saturday.

GWS’s win over the Gold Coast Suns meant that the AFL’s newest team climbed off the bottom of the ladder to 16th position. In return, Melbourne slipped from second last to 18th.

It was the cherry on top to coach Mark Neeld’s thoughts on where Melbourne sits in the football landscape.

Post-match and again on Saturday pre-match radio, Neeld drew parallels with teams of recent years: Hawthorn (2005) and Richmond (2010).

“You don’t have to go back too far in the history of the AFL to find success stories,” he said.

“The one that we talked a fair bit about pre-Christmas was the example of when Alastair Clarkson took over Hawthorn and how they went about it in ’05.

“Damien Hardwick in 2010 - similar type of thing, taking over from coaches who have been there for a while, has completely changed the place.”

The Hawks won five matches that year in Alastair Clarkson’s first season as senior coach. In Clarkson’s second season, Hawthorn achieved nine wins, before playing finals in 2007.

Richmond, under Damien Hardwick in his first year, lost its opening nine rounds, before chalking up five wins from its next six matches. The Tigers ended up with six wins in 2010 and increased the number to eight victories last year.

Rationally, Hardwick’s team has met expectation so far this year, taking into account that Richmond’s four losses have come against Carlton, Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast.

This round, it produced its best win for the season against the Sydney Swans.

Neeld might have likened the 2012 Melbourne side to the Hawks of seven years ago and the Tigers of two seasons back, but it’s important to note there will be differences along the way.

Neeld reaffirmed that he knew exactly what he was taking on when he was anointed Melbourne coach.

“We talked about the way that it was going to be in terms of the standards we wanted to bring to the football club, and the manner in which we wanted to play,” he said.

“We’re going to start a course and we’re going to stay true and that’s where it is - that’s what we see every weekend.

“What we see every weekend is an outcome and it’s a short-term outcome, and if this is still happening in three years time, then we’ve got a big issue.

“But, if you look back into that recent history - that’s pretty much where we’re at and that’s OK.”

Since the season is still only seven rounds old and 15 games remain in the home and away season, there are plenty of chapters to unfold in Melbourne’s season.

It will be fascinating to see if the Demons can turn the tide, and what they will write.