Coach Simon Goodwin confident Melbourne will bounce back from after-the-siren loss
SHATTERED coach Simon Goodwin says Melbourne is “past the point of having admirable losses” after the Demons blew a big lead against Geelong in the final quarter, but the team won’t lose belief.
Melbourne
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SHATTERED coach Simon Goodwin says Melbourne is “past the point of having admirable losses”.
The Demons stared down a famous victory at GMHBA Stadium when leading by 29 points early in the last quarter, but Geelong’s mature midfield had other ideas.
The Cats got on top in the middle and Tom Hawkins ensured the home side benefited on the scoreboard, finishing with seven goals including four in the final term to set up the two-point steal.
“We came down here to win and we didn’t so that’s the reality of it, clearly there’s disappointment in the rooms,” Goodwin said.
“The little things become the moments and the moments become the big things, ultimately when you go through a game like that a lot of the little things add up and you end up with the result you get.
“We need to learn from that and we need to be better than that, I think we’re past the point of having admirable losses, we want to be a club that starts to win and win these types of games.”
Gary Ablett inspired Geelong with 14 disposals — seven contested — in the final quarter alone, while Tim Kelly and Patrick Dangerfield helped the Cats win the centre clearance count 8-1 in the last term.
While the damage was already done, it didn’t help Melbourne’s cause when Max Gawn, a specialist in dropping back to fill the hole in the backline, was sent from the field under the blood rule with 73 seconds left on the clock.
“It was pretty clear where we broke down in the last quarter and to their credit, I think the will and the want of Ablett, Kelly, (Mitch) Duncan, Dangerfield and (Joel) Selwood, I thought they were outstanding,” Goodwin said.
“They’re a mature group so that’s something that we got to endure for a bit longer than what we did tonight.
“Our boys were up for the fight and they were up for the fight for the majority of the night, we just weren’t efficient.”
The Cats were lethal going forward in the last quarter, kicking eight goals straight from 16 entries.
And Goodwin rubbished suggestions the loss could play on the mind of the Dees going forward.
“No, not at all,” Goodwin said.
“We played in a manner that was capable of winning but we didn’t get it done.
“Our group has got belief that they can beat anyone, wherever they want to play.
“We got taught a lesson in the last quarter by a really mature midfield group and I think that’s good experience, but we need to be better if we want to take that next step.”
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