Paul Roos disputes claims Melbourne players got ahead of themselves after shock loss to St Kilda

DANNY Frawley says Melbourne players “got ahead of themselves” talking prematurely about their finals ambitions leading into Saturday’s loss to St Kilda.

Nathan Jones leads the team off the ground. Picture: George Salpigtidis

DANNY Frawley says Melbourne players “got ahead of themselves” talking prematurely about their finals ambitions leading into Saturday’s loss to St Kilda.

Melbourne had won back-to-back games for the first time in five years last weekend, with hard-nut midfielder Jack Viney saying a September berth was within reach if they maintained top form.

But the 39-point loss at Etihad Stadium continued the Demons’ horror record there, with only one win from their last 24 matches at the indoor venue.

Speaking on Triple M during the game, Frawley, a St Kilda great who is also a back line coach at Seaford, said the Demons lost focus this week, believing the “Tommy Bugg thing (goal celebration) started the rout” last Sunday.

Melbourne coach Paul Roos after the loss. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“You’ve got to show every opposition respect. All the talk this week was about Melbourne playing finals, but the facts are they have won three games,” Frawley said.

“You can talk about them (finals) when you actually get in. I thought it was a little bit, maybe a bit over the top.

“Melbourne clearly got ahead of themselves after last Sunday’s game against Richmond, with talking finals.

“There is no doubt the mindset coming into the game was all in St Kilda’s favour. St Kilda were the hunters.”

Melbourne coach Paul Roos disputed the complacency accusations.

“I didn’t sense that during the week and even during the game I thought there was a willingness to try and dig in,” Roos said.

“There were times when we looked like we were going to get back into it and then (there would be) a bad kick or a miss at goal, and we couldn’t stop them from scoring for the majority of the day.

“I don’t think it was a lack of effort, I think we just couldn’t get our structures right and they (Saints) played really well.”

Shane Savage blocking James Harmes in the forward line. Picture: AAP

Roos said the coaching staff discussed whether it needed to select and structure the team differently to cater to Etihad Stadium’s dimensions, compared to its home ground, the MCG.

“All we spoke about maybe after the game is changing the team a little, and it’s really difficult because it’s like trying to pull a crystal ball out and saying ‘Well, he is not going to play well etc etc’,” Roos said.

“If we rested three players would it have made any difference? Not today.

“You want to set up a game style that doesn’t make any difference where you play and we were not able to get any defensive pressure on at all today and they kicked far too many easy goals.”

Defender Christian Salem was taken off the ground in the third term and was assessed for concussion after a heavy collision with Viney.

Roos said Jesse Hogan’s seven-goal haul showed “how far he has come as a player”.

“He has really worked hard over the last month and we have been really happy with the amount of contests he has got to,” he said.

“Today was a reward for a three-week effort that he has really put in on the training track,”

Originally published as Paul Roos disputes claims Melbourne players got ahead of themselves after shock loss to St Kilda