DEFENDER Colin Garland says some skill errors and lapses in concentration were the reasons behind Melbourne’s 28 point loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Sunday.
Speaking post-match, Garland said the Demons worked hard throughout the match, but pointed to some areas that need addressing.
“We stuck at our task throughout the day, but it was probably just a lack of defensive spread in the end,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“They just worked a little bit harder at the stoppages and to the credit of the boys, we didn’t drop our heads and we kicked the last couple of goals. It was a good learning curve of how hard you’ve got to work in pretty tough conditions.”
“When Jordie kicked that [first] goal [of the final term] … the boys fought really hard throughout the day and there were a couple of mistakes here and there, which wasn’t competitive stuff – it was more errors. A few times, they got out quicker than us from stoppage, and that was the difference.
“If you only do that 90 per cent of the time, you’re going to lose by four goals, which was the end result.”
Garland said coach Mark Neeld highlighted areas that needed to be better post-match.
“We needed an even spread of competitors out there and [we] had a few lapses in concentration,” he said.
“As Neeldy said, we’re not talking about effort as a whole – it’s more talking about little things throughout the game.
“The first couple of weeks, you couldn’t really find a competitor out there, whereas 90 per cent of the guys are trying really hard. It’s just a few mental lapses – it wasn’t blokes actually turning it up.”
Garland said the opportunity to play on the road was important, as it was Melbourne’s first match away from the MCG this year.
“We really enjoyed coming up here,” he said.
“It was good to get away as a group, especially with what’s going on, and it’s been really positive, the last couple of weeks.
“We probably missed a golden chance to get a win – the inside 50 differential of 16 probably hurt us in the end, when you lose by four goals. But when you’re getting 63 to 47 inside 50s, you’re not going to win too many games.”
