HIGH-flyer Jeremy Howe says the Demons were “horrible” in the first half against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, before producing a stunning comeback, which fell short by a goal.

The Demons trailed by 37 points at the 11-minute mark of the second term, but managed to lead by six points in time-on during the final term.

Howe said it was a golden opportunity missed by the Dees, but ultimately Melbourne needed to stand up when the game was on the line.

“It was a tough one [to assess]. The way we started in that first half was horrible. You can’t give any team a 37-point lead,” he told Dee TV.

“To the boys’ credit, the third quarter was the way we wanted – no doubt about it. We kicked seven goals [to three in the third quarter], but our ball skills in the first half, especially by foot early, wasn’t good enough.

“They (the Bulldogs) were capitalising on our mistakes and they made the most of their opportunities early and we found ourselves playing catch-up for the majority of the day.”

Howe said his side’s skill errors put Melbourne on the back foot early on.

“We went back into our shells a bit and they were tackling and [winning] contested possessions on top of that, so that didn’t help,” he said.

“In the second half, we just focused on how we needed to play – and we went out and did that in the third.

“But we can’t afford to start the way we did.”

Howe said it was yet another match where the Demons were in a winning position, but were unable to hang on.

“We’ve got to learn how to win those games, because if you’re on the right side of those, our season can look a lot better than it has done,” he said.

With Melbourne heading to Darwin to take on Fremantle next Saturday night at TIO Stadium, Howe said it was critical the Demons bounced back strongly against a tough opponent.

“The positives that will come out [of this match] are definitely that third quarter – that’s our style, that’s our brand and that’s how we want to play consistently, [but] we didn’t do it today (Sunday),” he said.

“We’ve got to be on from the start and we’ve got a tough run coming up – the next month’s a solid one.

“It’s definitely not going to get any easier and we’ve got to make the most of our opportunities like the one we missed tonight (Sunday). It’s going to be a tough next month and we’ve got to crack in right from the word go.”

The forward-turned-defender managed 23 disposals and once again took some outstanding marks, but said it continued for little in the end. 

“I was probably the same as the team. It’s funny, when things aren’t going well, we don’t have any players standing up, but when things are going, it’s amazing how we started joining in and everyone gets involved,” he said.

“As a defence, everyone started linking up and helping each other, so we made each other play better.

“We just need to do that from the start.”