Mark Neeld looks on during three-quarter-time with no hope. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: News Limited
A SHATTERED Melbourne coach Mark Neeld described the team's record-breaking 148-point loss to Essendon as "unacceptable" and "clearly not good enough", but said "we can't pretend the last two hours didn't exist".
Asked what his message was to his charges after the loss, Melbourne's worst from 1134 appearances on the MCG turf, Neeld replied: "Two-fold. Clearly, not good enough. Secondly was (there's) only one way out of this and it's together. Whole club hurting - in every component - that's what we talked about. Head down, work hard, there you go."
Asked which specific aspects were not up to scratch, he replied: "How long have you got?"
Essendon hands Melbourne a hiding
The loss was Melbourne's worst to Essendon, surpassing the 122-point loss to the Bombers in Round 15, 1986. It was also Essendon's highest score against the Demons.
"We have to allow some time for a huge disappointment to the players ... We've all got to man up and accept that.
It wasn't good enough," Neeld said. "I went through and articulated that these aspects of the game were not good enough. We've just got to work at them during the week."
Neeld said after the match he asked the players and assistant coaches whether they had any answers about ways to improve ahead of Saturday's home match against West Coast, but their only response was "nobody there came up with any other way than .... to work our backsides off. It's a long road. Second crack at a rebuild in five years. And we're not out of the basement yet."
Dees hit rock bottom
He said he was terribly disappointed by the drop in intensity in the second half, in which Melbourne managed just one goal, because the early signs were that the Demons would be competitive against Essendon.
Neeld said it was too early to lose patience with individuals: "I want to show them a lot of care, but also a lot of tough love at the same time."
The coach was asked about the third-quarter substitution of the player who bears the brunt of many Melbourne supporters' frustrations, Jack Watts. The former No.1 draft pick struggled to 11 low-impact possessions before he was replaced by David Rodan 17 minutes into the second half.
"Jack Watts was ill and (also) subbed out for form," Neeld said. "He didn't feel great, he was sick, and his performance was also one that we thought 'that was enough'. (But) when you take the field you're 100 per cent fit. That's how it works."
Live HQ: Essendon v Melbourne
Melbourne was smashed in all statistic counts: tackles (61-35), inside 50s (a record 78-28) and disposals (453-262). It had few players who put in for four quarters. Nathan Jones, Jeremy Howe, James Frawley and Matt Jones had a crack, while Jack Viney put in despite rolling his ankle at the opening bounce of the second quarter.
Melbourne's average losing margin under Neeld's coaching is now close to 10 goals.
The Demons now face one of the teams regarded as a premiership fancy, West Coast, before a potentially make-or-break game against Greater Western Sydney, also at the MCG.
Asked how he would get his charges up for next week's match, Neeld replied: "I'm not going to forfeit next week. We'll have as big a crack as we can. The beauty of competitive sport in particular is that you get another go. In this case in seven days' time."
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