MELBOURNE’S second top of the table clash in just three weeks didn’t end the way it had hoped, falling to the Cats by 28 points.

But the finals-like contest at GMHBA Stadium taught the Demons plenty of lessons as they head towards the pointy end of the season.

“That’s the best thing about a loss, whether it’s the start of the year or this time of year, you’re always willing to learn,” Alex Neal-Bullen told Melbourne Media post-game.

“We’ll take a lot of things out of this game.

“I look forward to being able to bring it back next week.”

In front of a hostile away crowd, the Dees got within five points in the final term, but ultimately couldn’t get the job done.

“Down here is finals-like footy,” Neal-Bullen said.

“We do like to think we thrive in hostile environments, but tonight they were just too good, the Cats.

“They’re a very good side and they [brought] the contest tonight.

“We came with a mindset that that was going to be on.

“Credit to Geelong, they were a lot better in that area of the game.”

Stemming from that contest dominance, the Cats led the clearance battle 54-36, allowing them to have 20 more inside 50s and 14 more scoring shots.

“We felt like Geelong had the ball in their forward half,” Neal-Bullen said.

“I felt like when we actually went forward, we were able to impact the scoreboard, or look dangerous, we just probably didn’t get the opportunities as a group.

“On top of that our defence just lacked at stages tonight.”

To hear more from Neal-Bullen, watch him review the match below.