CO-CAPTAIN Jack Trengove says he felt all sorts of emotion heading into Saturday’s clash against Brisbane Lions at the MCG, and that didn’t change afterwards, following Melbourne’s 41-point loss.

On the back of the sad passing of club great Jim Stynes, Trengove also became the youngest ever VFL/AFL captain when he led the team out with Jack Grimes against the Lions.

In a somewhat new era for the club, the Demons produced a poor round one display. Speaking post-match, Trengove said he had plenty to ponder after the final siren.

“There’s no doubt there was a lot going through my head,” he said.

“At the end of the day, we lost, and that’s the main thing I’m getting out of it.

“It’s just really disappointing, because it was a big build-up and we really wanted to put in a good effort, and we didn’t.”

Trengove said the Demons were poor in the engine room, which was telling in the overall result.

“I think the stats will say that we got smashed in the clearances in the middle of the ground,” he said.

“You don’t even give yourself a chance if you’re letting that happen. We were pretty disappointed with that.

“We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Trengove said the Demons needed to quickly regroup for the round two trip across the Nullarbor to take on the West Coast Eagles at Patersons Stadium next Saturday.

“It’s always a tough one, going to Subi. We just have to go through the required reviewing process and get as much out of that loss as we can,” he said.

“There are a lot of learning points out of it, and for individuals it’s about keeping our head up and going again, because that’s what AFL footy is about.”

Despite the frustration of the day for all the red and blue faithful, Trengove said the team had to remain upbeat with so much ahead for 2012.

“No one likes to lose a game, especially round one,” he said.

“It’s a tough one, but at the same time, as a team, we’ve got to keep our heads up and move on, because we can’t do anything about it now.

“We just need to do the necessary review and move on, so we can really have a crack next week.