Reflecting on Melbourne’s 23-point loss to Richmond at the MCG on Saturday, which was marred by skill errors from both teams, Neeld said his team’s kicking in particular was poor.
“There were some basic fundamentals, like your Auskick stuff [that couldn’t be achieved],” he said.
“Like, when you mark the ball, it’s a really good idea to get back quickly from the man on the mark, and then be moving forward when you kick it.
“It’s not earth shattering stuff. The Tigers pressed up on the mark, and they had a lot of energy and we made some basic errors, but their pressure was really good.”
But Neeld was pleased with Melbourne’s ability to stick at it and reduce the deficit, especially in the final quarter when the Demons kicked 6.6 to 4.3.
“There were periods in the game where we felt we had some momentum going our way, and we were able to wrestle back,” he said.
“We were within four goals on the scoreboard, so that was relatively competitive.”
Midfielder Colin Sylvia, who collected 25 disposals and was one of Melbourne’s best, concurred with Neeld, saying the team’s ball use let it down.
“It’s always hard to bounce back after a poor start with catch-up footy,” he said.
“Our basic fundamentals of the game, [such as] turnovers, really cost us.”
