STAR Melbourne recruit Mitch Clark was taken to hospital following his sickening fall in the third quarter of the Demons' loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

Clark leapt for a mark in the forward pocket and landed on his neck late in the term. He lay prone on the ground and appeared concussed, before getting to his feet and jogging off the ground.

The 24-year-old, who crossed to the Demons from the Brisbane Lions at the end of last year, was substituted out of the game and taken to hospital for scans.

After the match, Melbourne coach Mark Neeld said he did not know the severity of the key forward's injuries.

"He's at hospital having the appropriate scans. That's all we've been told," Neeld said.

It capped a disappointing day for the Demons, who remain winless and anchored near the bottom of the ladder after the 21-point defeat.  

Despite the poor start to the year, Neeld said the long-term direction of the club remained his No. 1 priority. The short-term pain may linger for some time. Results might not go the Demons' way immediately. But tweaking things and instilling basics is his focus.
 
"We're trying to put in some building blocks in the way we play, some standards at training, teaching basic defensive principles," Neeld said after the loss.
 
"That's where we're at. We're certainly looking long-term [with] all the decisions we're making."

He cited Melbourne's decision to leave playmaker Colin Sylvia out of Sunday's game as an example of a hardened approach.

Sylvia had an in-club suspension for round one before he injured his spinal cord in the NAB Cup, but was fit to face the Bulldogs. However, Neeld said Sylvia's suspension needed to be served when he was fit to play to set the benchmark for the group.

"We're making decisions with the big picture in mind," Neeld said.

"You can't jump in this game. You've got to have solid foundations. You have to be able to prepare at an elite level, and we have to be able to be able to train at a consistently elite level, and I think both those things are coming along quite well.

"And we've got to make sure that the endeavor we showed today becomes a permanent part of our game."

Defender Jared Rivers said it was the most spirited Melbourne performance of the year, and noted that the players are learning, and sticking stronger for longer.

"I thought today was the first we've really had a crack for four quarters," he said.

"Definitely every week we're getting better. Our training's getting better and we're improving, so it's going to come. We're just hoping it's sooner rather than later."

Callum Twomey is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs