Melbourne players already thinking about end-of-season footy trip says Paul Roos

MELBOURNE players switched off against the Bulldogs last week and are mentally already on their end-of-year footy trip, coach Paul Roos says.

Melbourne coach Paul Roos after the round 20 AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and Western Bulldogs, played at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Sunday 16 Aug. 2015. (AAP Image/David Crosling) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

MELBOURNE players switched off against the Western Bulldogs last week with their minds seemingly already in a tropical destination, coach Paul Roos says.

The Demons fell by 98 points, with Roos saying he and his fellow coaches now face the challenge of re-engaging the players for the last three rounds.

“We’ve got to reset for the three games,” he said on Friday morning.

“The difficulty is trying to get into the players’ heads. Clearly last week they looked like they’d sort of switched off and were on their end-of-season footy trip, which is probably indicative of the bottom teams last week.

“The challenge for all of the coaches in that area is to get their players up and that’s our responsibility.

“I don’t think it’s unusual for players at this time of year.”

Roos says there is still plenty to play for — for some players, their career — despite finals being out of reach, and has put it on the team’s leaders to lift their charges out of the funk.

Melbourne players watch Marcus Bontempelli run amok.

Looks nicer than Etihad Stadium, you have to admit.

“We (coaches) are not with them the whole time, so we don’t know what the conversations are in the locker room and away from here when they’re having coffees,” he said.

“We’ll ramp up our preparation this week and make sure it’s really better than it has (been). We’ve got to take responsibility for that as well.

“It’s one of the great unknowns in footy — how do you keep players engaged at the end of the season?

“You can either just ignore it and pretend it doesn’t happen, or you can try and do something about it.

“I would have thought they’ve got a lot to play for and I hope they do and we’ll find out on Sunday.”

Christian Petracca moving strongly away from main group. Knee reco road can be a lonely one. pic.twitter.com/qLv4rvGe2A

— Lauren Wood (@LaurenA_Wood) August 21, 2015

Young gun Christian Salem is almost certain to return for his first game since Round 7, with Roos saying he would have been selected last week were it not for illness.

Meanwhile, Roos says the situation at Carlton involving Lachie Henderson looms as setting a dangerous precedent for the AFL.

“What Carlton have done is a bit of a window into the future,” he said.

Originally published as Melbourne players already thinking about end-of-season footy trip says Paul Roos