CO-CAPTAIN Jack Viney says Melbourne’s disappointing first quarter, when it kicked 1.1 to Hawthorn’s 5.4, came back to haunt the red and blue, when it fell three points short at the MCG on Sunday.

Viney said Melbourne’s “really poor start in the first half" cost it the match.

“We can’t let that happen every week and expect to win games with a fast second half,” he said.

“There are positives in every game that you can take out of it. The third quarter was a very good quarter for us, and it got us back in the game.

“You can’t rely on a couple of good quarters to win games. The competition is so competitive at the moment that you need to put consistent performances over all four quarters to get the win.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t do that and it seems to be a bit of a theme this season, so we’re really looking forward to our next opportunity to try and get a fast start.”

The midfielder produced his best match of the season, winning a game-high 33 disposals, and said he was reasonably pleased with his game.

“It was an OK performance,” he said.

“I was pretty happy with my third quarter and I felt like I tried to get the team back into it.

“The other three quarters were ‘so so’. It was disappointing – we would’ve liked to have got over the line.”

Viney said he was already eager to head to Adelaide to take on the Crows next Saturday night at Adelaide Oval.

“We’re really excited about it. Adelaide is a very good team … so we’re looking to respond and I’m sure the boys are looking forward to it,” he said.