ALTHOUGH Melbourne went down to the Western Bulldogs by 21 points at the MCG on Sunday, coach Mark Neeld says the endeavour displayed by his players was exactly what he wants each week.
Although the Demons remain winless after four rounds, Neeld said his sole focus was on the long term, rather than just four matches he has coached.
“We think that the endeavour of the players and their desire today was terrific, and that was the same with the Bulldogs,” he said.
“It was a really good contested brand of footy. We’re going through a stage of building a base and building blocks.
“It was a terrific round for our club - in terms of paying tribute to Jim [Stynes]. We as a group need to make sure that we play like that all the time.”
Neeld said no one could predict how long it would take Melbourne to hit its straps and become a consistent outfit, but he was adamant progress was being made slowly but surely.
“When you’re starting to build something from scratch, people tend to analyse the tiny little things that got away, but it’s a lot bigger than that,” he said.
“The last thing is the scoreboard - it’s a tough caper and you’ve got to get everything under control, before you can compete consistently.”
Although the Demons remain winless after four rounds, Neeld said his sole focus was on the long term, rather than just four matches he has coached.
“We think that the endeavour of the players and their desire today was terrific, and that was the same with the Bulldogs,” he said.
“It was a really good contested brand of footy. We’re going through a stage of building a base and building blocks.
“It was a terrific round for our club - in terms of paying tribute to Jim [Stynes]. We as a group need to make sure that we play like that all the time.”
Neeld said no one could predict how long it would take Melbourne to hit its straps and become a consistent outfit, but he was adamant progress was being made slowly but surely.
“When you’re starting to build something from scratch, people tend to analyse the tiny little things that got away, but it’s a lot bigger than that,” he said.
“The last thing is the scoreboard - it’s a tough caper and you’ve got to get everything under control, before you can compete consistently.”
