SIMON Goodwin has admitted Melbourne was "nowhere near the level" to compete with the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
Goodwin's Demons lost by 51 points, with the Dogs' return of 15 goals from 35 scores saving Melbourne from a larger defeat.
BULLDOGS v DEMONS Full match coverage and stats
The Bulldogs won the first 10 clearances of the match, and despite the final metric of 41-36, the Demons were soundly beaten at the contest for the duration.
"The start was incredibly disappointing," Goodwin said post-match.
"They dominated around the ball and were able to score way too easily. So, incredibly frustrated with how we started the game, and in patches we were able to bring that back… but overall, just nowhere near the level required."
Goodwin noted that Melbourne's clearance game "hasn't been anywhere near the level for a period of time now", with typically dynamic duo Jack Viney and Kysaiah Pickett combining for just three clearances and 21 disposals.
The challenge was thrown to young gun Trent Rivers (25 disposals, six clearances), and a slow-starting Clayton Oliver (22 disposals, five clearances) to compete with the Dogs' guns.
Adam Treloar, Tom Liberatore, and Marcus Bontempelli recorded 82 disposals and 17 clearances between them, taking the game out of Melbourne's hands early.
Despite the horror loss, Goodwin took a moment to reflect on just how good Bontempelli is.
"If he's not the best, he's one of the best. He was outstanding again tonight," Goodwin said.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was also in awe of how his captain is performing.
"His first half was extraordinary, wasn't it?" Beveridge said.
"Is he the greatest Bulldog ever? Well, I mean, at the end of his career he just may be, but he's got a few years left."
Bontempelli has led the Bulldogs out of a lull in form, with the side now charging toward finals and sitting inside the top four with the round to play out.
"There's always uncertainty, and I'm one of the supreme optimists and even when things aren't going well, I've been involved in the game for long enough to know what may be around the corner," Beveridge said.
"The game is hard. We've seen this year how even the competition is… your fortunes can change pretty quickly, and it can be because the opposition has just surprised you and ambushed you, but it can also be because you have a bit of bad luck. Bad luck with injury, or whatever it may be, so you don't take anything for granted."
Beveridge's Dogs will now prepare to travel to South Australia to take on Adelaide on Sunday in an effort to maintain that strong momentum.
Meanwhile, Melbourne will face Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday night, and may be without important defender Steven May who was subbed out of the game at half-time with a rib injury.
It is May's second rib injury this year, and he was taken to hospital for scans.
"We'll just have a really good look at that, get the scans, get a good assessment and see where that sits," Goodwin said of May's injury.
"But fingers crossed."
