AFL 2018 Round 1 live: Re-cap all the Sunday footy action

MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin says Jake Lever would have been disappointed with his Demons debut while remaining pragmatic about Max Gawn’s game-defining miss.

MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin says the Demons’ poor defensive were to blame for Sunday’s thrilling three-point loss to Geelong.

The Demons landed Jake Lever in the trade period to bolster the back line but it was sliced open by the Cats who hammered on 80 points in the first half. While Melbourne conceded only two goals in the second half and ultimately had a chance to win the game when Max Gawn missed a last-minute set shot, Goodwin said the team’s defensive performance all over the ground had to improve against Brisbane next weekend. MATCH CENTRE: LIVE SCORES AND SUPERCOACH POINTS PAINFUL REMINDER: UGLY DEJA VU FOR BUCKS, PIES WINNING START: WILD WEATHER CAN’T DAMPEN SUNS “I didn’t like our first half much at all. Our ability to defend in the first half wasn’t to the level we certainly trained all summer,” Goodwin said. “And really ultimately when they have 20 scoring shots from 24 inside 50s, that’s the game in a nutshell. We just didn’t defend the way we wanted to play.” Goodwin said Lever “would not have been happy” with his first half. “It’s his first game for Melbourne. He’s obviously still understanding how we play, how we operate, the chemistry with the back six,” he said. “So I’m sure he will respond but I’m sure he will get more comfortable as he plays more footy for Melbourne.” Goodwin was pragmatic about the loss and Gawn’s costly last-minute set shot miss. “I was watching it, but if he kicked it, I was trying to set up what the ground would look like, so I was more focused on the next play rather than that play,” he said. “But when he missed it with only eight seconds to go, we certainly felt like the game was over. Yeah it’s agonising, but that’s footy. RE-CAP ALL THE SUNDAY ACTION IN OUR BLOG BELOW

Originally published as AFL 2018 Round 1 live: Re-cap all the Sunday footy action

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