THERE'S no getting away from how lacklustre Melbourne was in its 26-point loss to Greater Western Sydney on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.
Seven last-quarter goals made the scoreboard look more respectable but those came when the match was effectively over.
However, coach Simon Goodwin gave a compelling reason why his 3-7 side could improve quickly.
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"(Jake) Lever, (Mitch) Hannan, (Michael) Hibberd, (Christian) Salem, (Alex) Neal-Bullen, (Steven) May, (Kade) Kolodjashnij, (Sam) Weideman and (Jay) Kennedy Harris are all available next week," Goodwin said.
"That's something we can look forward to in progressing our team, but there were some good signs today as well."
Lever could face his former team Adelaide next Saturday night at TIO Stadium, depending on how he pulls up after his second-straight VFL game on Sunday in his return from a left knee reconstruction, while young forward Sam Weideman (hip) and Jay Kennedy Harris (leg) lined up in their first.
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Despite being shown up by a premiership contender, Goodwin had reason for optimism.
"(Oskar) Baker was a sign moving forward, Marty Hore continues to play to a reasonable level," Goodwin said.
"We've got some things that we've got to work on and get better at, but we are getting better as a club. I feel we are, but we're disappointed with the loss.
"We could've turned it up today, but we stuck at it."
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Goodwin didn't shy away from where it all went wrong though.
"We got smashed around the footy early. I think we were minus 30 by half-time around the footy," Goodwin said.
"That's not how we want to play but we got beaten all over the ground as well. We've still got some improvement, but we had a really young side in today."
Backman Harrison Petty was a "little bit sore" in his left knee and will be looked at, Tom McDonald suffered a corkie and co-captain Nathan Jones passed a concussion test to return to the field.
