Jack Watts unable to explain what went wrong for Melbourne

IT wasn't enough that first-gamer Jack Viney was probably Melbourne's best in its 79-point shelling at the hands of Port Adelaide.

IT wasn't enough that first-gamer Jack Viney was probably Melbourne's best in its 79-point shelling at the hands of Port Adelaide.

He then endured another gruelling challenge: addressing his older teammates, as a lifelong Demons fan, to tell them what it meant to have pride in wearing the red and blue.


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Viney, already seemingly a father-son recruiting steal at pick No.26, had 22 touches to be one of three Demon standouts alongside captain Jack Grimes and fellow debutant Matt Jones, earning praise from coach Mark Neeld.

"He's got a mature head on his shoulders, he acquitted himself well in his AFL debut," Neeld said of Viney.

"If it's possible when you play your first game, he's probably been a Melbourne person longer than anyone in that room.

"He spoke about that, from his heart."

That sense of empathy for the fans wasn't lost on Grimes or defender Jack Watts, who spoke honestly of their pain at being booed as they left the MCG.

But both said they understood the attack.

Watts, who's seen his share of pain since his 2009 debut, said it was "right up there" among his most miserable days.

"The work we put in pre-season and the way we're training can't be faulted," Watts said.

"Then to come out and play a game like that, it's right up there with the most disappointing couple of hours I've had since I've been at the club.

"You look at our training and we feel like there are no excuses.

"There's no way we're not as fit as Port Adelaide, there's no way we're not as strong, no way we haven't put in as much work as them over summer.

"Jack Viney and Matty Jones, playing their first game of AFL footy and they're two of our best three players.

"How can that happen in a Round 1 clash against Port Adelaide when everything is on the line?

"We've trained for six months, working our bloody a---- off and it's ... I can't explain it."

Watts said to feel the Demon fans' pain was "shocking".

"But they've got every right the way we played today," he said.

"You'd hope your supporters would really stick by you and support you through no matter what, but jeez ... with what they've been through, I certainly don't blame them.

"It is just Round 1, one game of 22, so we've got a lot of chances to turn it around and change the perception of a lot of people - because right now I don't think it's too flash, to be honest.

"It's not a fitness or skills thing, it's a mindset thing and we've got to try to get everyone on board."
Grimes said everyone at the club was frustrated.

"We feel like we let the supporters down most of all," Grimes said.

"There's a lot of guys who need to have a good, hard look at themselves.

"When you hear some of the stuff (the fans are) saying, you think, 'Fair enough'.

"It wasn't good enough what we dished up.

"I'd be frustrated, too, if I was sitting there as a Melbourne supporter."