MELBOURNE will continue to be inconsistent until it learns the team and individual behaviours that stand up under immense pressure, Demons coach Simon Goodwin says.
Goodwin was speaking after Melbourne's 14-point loss against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, a defeat that came less than eight days after the Dees' best win of the year, a 41-point triumph over Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
After being a popular pre-season pick to make the finals for the first time since 2006, Melbourne sits 11th on the ladder after nine rounds, its 4-5 record putting it a game outside the eight.
After opening the home and away season with wins over St Kilda and Carlton, the Demons have not won consecutive games since.
Goodwin attributes that inconsistency to the fact his team remains in a development phase.
Five talking points: Melbourne v North Melbourne
"We are a developing team and that's not an excuse and I don't want to be sitting here and using that as an excuse. But we're still creating the right behaviours, both for our team to play the way that we want to play and also individually within that system to be able to play your role and have your fundamentals stand up under immense pressure," Goodwin said.
"Until we get to that level, we'll be inconsistent. We've got to keep pushing and pushing as a footy club, as a footy department, as a coaching group, to keep building those habits that are going to stand up for us short-term and long-term."
Sunday's contest was extremely spiteful, especially in the first half, with melees regularly breaking out over the ground as players from both teams appeared willing to test the MRP's limits on jumper punches and, in North midfielder Ben Cunnington's case, stomach punches.
Goodwin downplayed the niggle between the two teams, saying both played fierce styles of football.
The Dees coach also dismissed suggestions his team had targeted Shaun Higgins physically, saying Bernie Vince had simply been given a run-with role on the North midfielder.
"Bernie went out there to play his role and to shut Shaun out of the game and I thought when Shaun went forward in the second half he certainly gave the Kangas a fair bit, so we ended up releasing that (tag) in the second half," Goodwin said.
Goodwin also said he had not brought up North's club-record winning streak over the Demons – the Kangaroos stretched it to 16 with Sunday's victory – in his pre-game address.
"Those things are irrelevant for us. We're still a building footy club, which has had a pretty poor past and we've got a few things that we've got to continually come up against: (our poor record at) Etihad Stadium, St Kilda, the Kangaroos, travel.
"They're all things we've got to deal with, but they're all irrelevant to what this group is trying to achieve."
