Paul Roos says Melbourne’s worst football is a serious problem, John Barker praises Patrick Cripps

PAUL Roos conceded Melbourne’s inability to play four quarters was a serious problem, while Blues coach John Barker said Patrick Cripps was “absolutely” this year’s Rising Star.

AFL Round 21 - Carlton v Melbourne at MCG, Bernie Vince tackled by Sam Rowe and Patrick Cripps. Melbourne. 23rd August 2015. Picture: Colleen Petch.

A DEFLATED Paul Roos conceded Melbourne’s inability to play four quarters was a serious problem and the Demons’ worst football had failed to improve under his watch.

Melbourne was embarrassed by bottom-placed Carlton on Sunday, laying just two tackles in the first 20 minutes and falling 53 points behind in the third quarter.

Roos has previously said some of his players were permanently scarred by the club’s poor recent history, but he shouldered the blame after the 23-point defeat, distancing the 2015 group from that uncompetitive era.

MATCH REPORT: BLUES END HORROR WEEK WITH WIN OVER DEES

“I don’t really care what it is now, to be honest,” Roos said.

“We’ve got to improve our performance. I was sympathetic to the footy club and where it’s been, (but) the coaching group has now been here for a long enough period of time to not worry about what happened in the past.”

Asked if there were any positives, Roos said: “The ­weather.”

He said Demons supporters deserved better.

“We’ve got to identify why we have such big drop-offs,” Roos said.

“That’s really the biggest challenge now that we face in the next two weeks and moving forward over the next 12 months. It’s obviously a serious problem that we can’t, as a footy team, play four quarters.

“It continues to happen over and over again and it’s something we’ve got to address one way or the other.”

Blues interim coach John Barker said best-afield Patrick Cripps was “absolutely” this year’s Rising Star as his side ended any tanking suspicions.

“We don’t like (tanking) talk,” Barker said.

Patrick Cripps starred against the Dees with 26 disposals and two goals. Picture: Colleen Petch

“We’re competitive animals and I think (the players) feel it’s a slight on their character and their personalities”.

Barker praised his side’s spirit after it finished the game with one fit man on the bench.

Skipper Marc Murphy will have scans on a dislocated shoulder on Monday.

Matthew Kreuzer (cramp) and Michael Jamison (head knock) are both likely to tackle Greater Western Sydney on Saturday but Murphy is expected to be ruled out for the season.

Marc Murphy suffers a shoulder injury. Picture: Colleen Petch

Barker said the out-of-contract Kreuzer was “a Carlton man” and lauded Cripps’ new-found acceleration and dominance in the contest.

“He was tagged today by one of the premier run-with players in the competition (Bernie Vince) and put a nice sizeable gap on him a few times,” he said.

“He’s an exceptional talent and they’re the sort of players that we look at for our fans and our members, they’re the sort of players we need to build around.

“I don’t know if I can say much more about him, my wife might start getting concerned.”

Originally published as Paul Roos says Melbourne’s worst football is a serious problem, John Barker praises Patrick Cripps