MELBOURNE still has a long way to go as it strives to reprogram its players to reach a competitive level against the AFL's best teams, coach Paul Roos says.
The Demons were annihilated by a superior Hawthorn unit to the tune of 110 points at Casey Fields on Saturday.
It was a reality check for a side which had shown improvement during the first two weeks of the pre-season competition – in an exciting win over Richmond and a narrow loss to Geelong.
But Roos was realistic about the direction the club was heading.
"We've made so much ground over the pre-season. Clearly the competitiveness for longer is going to be the greatest challenge for the group," he said.
"We were able to do it for two weeks, but in the third week it became really difficult.
"That was always going to be a challenge for a team that's trying to cement a game style and trying to re-educate and all those sorts of things.
"Today just tells everyone what we already know, but it probably tells the footy public that there's still a long way to go."
The Demons coaches have made some headway but Roos said it would take a year before the club knew which players were up to playing at AFL level.
Patience is something he has continually preached and that is the case for young forward Jesse Hogan, who is dealing with a stress reaction in his lower back.
Roos said the club would treat Hogan's case with a cautious approach.
"I suspect, depending on how it settles down, you might see him playing in two or three weeks," Roos said.
"But with a young player like that you've got to make sure there's no long-term problems, which I'm led to believe there's not."
"If it settles, and it's quick enough, he'll probably play straight away."
But that might not necessarily be in the AFL, as the Demons take a long-term view of Hogan's development.
"The reality is that he's a young kid. He wouldn't have played 22 games this year (in the VFL or AFL). He's still a player we have to manage," Roos said.
"It might be part of his management process that you sit down now and say, 'Righto, we can get him back and he'll play two or three games and then he'll have a rest. '"
