CO-CAPTAIN Nathan Jones says Melbourne’s 23-point loss to the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium on Sunday was one of the team’s most frustrating performances of the season.
Speaking post-match to Dee TV, Jones said he was bitterly disappointed about not pouncing on a golden opportunity, when the Demons led by 14 points at the six-minute mark of the final term.
“There’s not a doubt about that,” he said.
“We just didn’t capitalise. It’s hard to digest at this stage, but the basics we couldn’t even get right. It shows where we’re at. We’re producing a really good effort one week and then we drop away the next week – it’s very frustrating for the players and even more frustrating for the fans, who aren’t in the inner sanctum.
“One of our key areas is not fumbling and ball security, and we were terrible at that today. Credit to Brisbane, they capitalised in the last quarter and really ran away with it.”
Jones said the fact Melbourne let the Lions kick six goals in a row from the nine-minute mark of the final term was poor.
“It’s as if we rolled over. It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of players,” he said.
“For me, I’m pretty bitter when we turn it up like that. There is a lot to ponder about it. It’s hard to put it in words – whether it’s a byproduct of the previous years gone by, but I don’t think it’s an excuse.
“It’s pretty disappointing and frustrating really. It’s tough to cop. When you produce an effort like we did [in Adelaide] against Port, and at stages this year – to not capitalise on it, it’s extremely frustrating.
“You get what you put in, in this game, and we didn’t want it enough.”
Given Melbourne had two more scoring shots than the Lions, Jones said that statistic only added to his frustration.
“I think we gave ourselves opportunities – we were 14 points up [in the last term],” he said.
“It’s a funny game you know. There are a lot of momentum shifts and when you don’t capitalise on those [shots at goal], it really hurts you.
“We could have really put them to the sword, but instead we didn’t. We turned the footy over too easily and coughed it up and we kept them in the game.
“They got on a run and their belief and confidence builds, and ours took a dive and they ran away with it.”
Jones said former teammate Stefan Martin, who was outstanding with 24 disposals, including an equal game-high 14 contested possessions, was crucial in the Lions’ win.
“He’s in a purple patch of form isn’t it? He’s a terrific player. He was always a really great athlete here [at Melbourne] and it’s shame to see him doing that in Brisbane Lions colours,” he said.
“That’s history now and good luck to him – he’s really gone up another level and in the last eight weeks, he’s probably been the most in form ruckman in the comp.”
As for next Saturday’s twilight clash against Hawthorn at the MCG, Jones said the Demons simply needed to turn things around quickly.
“We’ve got 24 hours to lick our wounds. I think it’s up to the players though. It’s not the coaching staff. It’s not anyone else who is going to change it. The players need to take it upon themselves,” he said.
“It’s going to be a difficult week to digest that result. We were expecting to produce the goods after running into some pretty good form. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done today.
“It’s a huge challenge and Hawthorn is in some terrific form and they’re right up there at the top of the table, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
