NATHAN Jones was absolutely gutted after Sunday’s loss to Carlton at the MCG.
He couldn’t find the answers for Melbourne’s performance, when he spoke post-match.
The skipper was simply at a loss as to why his team started miserably yet again and played catch-up football against the Blues.
“At the moment, I’m just trying to digest [the match] as much as I can,” Jones told Dee TV.
But coach Paul Roos didn’t mince his words in his post-match media conference, when he said his side’s loss to Carlton was a sample of Melbourne’s season.
“There’s a serious problem – we can't as a footy team play four quarters. It's something that we need to address one way or the other,” he said adamantly.
Roos was filthy with his side’s 23-point loss to Carlton, which entered round 21 on the bottom of the ladder and with just three wins.
“I’ve been here for the last two years and it’s been a pattern over that period of time. It’s not just isolated to a couple of weeks,” he said.
“In the second half we looked a completely different team, but the game goes for four quarters and the fans expect more than what we gave them in the first half.
“We had two tackles in the first 20 minutes. We didn't come to play the game style that we knew we had to.”
The clear message from Roos was that his patience had been severely tested again.
He said Melbourne’s performances could no longer be linked to the past. They were, for want of a better word, past it.
It was all about the here and now. And the players needed to address it.
“I don't really care what is, to be honest,” Roos said in response to a question about whether the players were still troubled by the past.
“It's about performance. We've got to improve our performance as a footy club.
“Whilst I was sympathetic to the footy club and where it's been, the coaching group’s been here long enough to not worry about what happened in the past.
“It's more about where we want to go and the direction we want to take the football club.”
Although Roos made mention of Carlton’s performance, he said Melbourne people deserved better.
“I don't want to disrespect Carlton either because they've played some really good footy. They came out with some real life,” he said.
“You don't want to disrespect the opposition because I think Melbourne people are sick of hearing the same thing to be perfectly frank. They would come and expect more from the first half.
“Sometimes you come in here and the way people spin it is how bad you were and not how good the other team was. But I thought Carlton were terrific, they played consistent footy.
“Melbourne people deserve better when they come out the MCG and watch us play.”
